have full control over more than 40% and the rest is mostly contested. for over a year bbc eye has been following one of the rebel units and reveals that spies in the military are helping the resistance. rebecca henschke reports. this pro—democracy rebel unit is preparing to attack. their leader daeva has received intelligence from a spy inside the military — the enemy camp. translation: we've been told about their capabilities, - where their reinforcements will come from and which route they will use to withdraw. our strategy is to mentally pressure the enemy day and night.

they keep up the pressure for nine days. the final strike is made at night using a drone. the next day, daeva surveys the damage. translation: we started with nothing and now - look at our success. a bbc data investigation reveals that while the military still control the major cities, they now only have full control of less than a quarter of myanmar�*s territory. a patchwork of resistance groups and ethnic armies now fully control over a0%. spies within the military ranks are helping the pro—democracy uprising achieve what was once unthinkable.

translation: through them, | we know the enemy's positions, movements, strands and plans. we prepare our military operations using that. these spies are known as watermelons — green on the outside, appearing to be loyal to the military, but inside, red, working for the resistance. we've gained exclusive access to the opposition�*s watermelon unit. one of their agents says they're getting new spies every week. translation: our watermelons come from all ranks _ of the military. they include senior officers. we have very senior watermelons. if caught, they would likely be killed. this is a voice note from one of their front—line watermelons. translation: it's no longer an army - it's a force - that is terrorising our people.

i've witnessed military intelligence killing innocent people. i'm angry. my anger is bigger than my fear. the military is aggressively trying to reclaim lost ground, carrying out a wave of deadly air strikes. they did not respond to our request for an interview. rebecca henschke, bbc news. it's the week before christmas and while shoppers are out and about enjoying the holdiay spirit securing last minute gifts, the overall economic figures are not looking so rosy. inflation has gone up, leading the bank of england to hold interest rates yesterday. here is keir starmer speaking yesterday. one of the biggest mistakes i think of the last 14 years was the idea that everything could be fixed by christmas. it can't. the planning will take time. the change to regulation will take time.

we've got a national wealth fund which is investing, getting record investment into the country. that will take time. but already some of the lowest paid are already feeling the benefits of a labour government through what we did in the budget. for more on this we're joined now by our business correspondent marc ashdown. joined now by our business it joined now by our business is the end of the year, �* are it is the end of the year, we are trying to work out where we are trying to work out where we are individually and in the wider economy. we had interest rates being held yesterday and a lot of economic data out at the minute. borrowing is something we take the temperature of to look at the temperature of to look at the national finances. generally, water gets the nationalfinances. generally, water gets in, the national finances. generally, water gets in, the government, doesn't cover what it has to spend, so it has to borrow money. in november edits borrowed £ii.8 borrow money. in november edits

borrowed £11.8 billion. that figure was down from the 17.4 billion in october and the lowest octoberfigure billion in october and the lowest october figure for three years, and to bring in less than was forecast. the reasons are the tax take increased and the interest on the amount the government has borrowed went down. a bit of an early christmas present for rachel reeves. borrowing can be pretty volatile so we are expecting it to go up again next month. so far this financial year the government has borrowed the third highest novemberfigure third highest november figure since 1993. third highest novemberfigure since 1993. the third highest november figure since 1993-— third highest november figure since 1993. ~ , since 1993. the prime minister talkinu since 1993. the prime minister talking yesterday _ since 1993. the prime minister talking yesterday in _ since 1993. the prime minister talking yesterday in front - since 1993. the prime minister talking yesterday in front of. talking yesterday in front of mps at the liaison committee. effectively calling for patients. they want to bring in a certain number of changes. that takes time. does the public have the patience to wait for that? we have seen some quite difficult measures for parts of the public that

have not gone down well. what is the wider picture going into next year? it is the wider picture going into next year?— next year? it is balance. politics _ next year? it is balance. politics is _ next year? it is balance. politics is day-to-day, l politics is day—to—day, economics takes longer. inflation has ticked up again, above the bank of england target of 2%. prices will be rising faster and will feel that in our pockets. the bank left interest rates are 4.75% so no respite there for mortgage holders. we are expecting fewer cuts next year, potentially two cuts from the bank. next year we are waiting to see how this policy by then. there are a lot of economic things in the budget, the national living wage is going up, we will see fewerjobs being created, wage stagnation, that kind of thing. keir starmer stand there hoping for a boost by floating these big investment projects we could get a boost for the economy. global factors are at play here. a new president in

january. trade tariffs could have a big effect. also global politics, we have russia, the ukraine, the middle east. a cautiously optimistic forecast but anything could happen. people have been spending more than they would normally because of christmas pop —— christmas shopping. how are people financing that? seam; people financing that? any retailfigures? _ people financing that? any retailfigures? ritual- people financing that? my retail figures? ritual rose people financing that? jifiy retail figures? ritual rose by retailfigures? ritual rose by no .2% in november after a 0.7% fall in october. so a rebound there, but not as much as was thought. a bit of residual gloom around the budget is working its way through. consumer confidence is coming back slowly. supermarkets shoot some pretty good sales. department stores and clothing stores were down. fuel has ticked up again. not a lot of

festive cheer at the moment for retailers but we are expecting a reasonable end to the year. i think a kind of whimper for the end of the year, but there is hope next year that things might pick up. hope next year that things might pick urn-— hope next year that things might pick up. thank you very much. migrants from vietnam now make up the fourth largest group of people crossing the channel in small boats to come to the uk, with many finding work illegally in places like nail bars. despite a national crackdown, including raids on suspected businesses, many manage to evade being detected by authorities. divya talwar has more. mid—morning, south wales. immigration enforcement teams are visiting workplaces where they suspect people are working illegally. you were working when i came in, you were working on this lady's feet? on the basis of what you're telling me at the moment i'm arresting you. can you explain to her that i'm arresting her? so there was a woman working in the shop. she was wearing a pink tracksuit. she saw the the officers

and she ran out the back of the shop. and i think the officers have gone, you can see one of them running to try and track her down at the back. have you got some identification on yourself? oh, in my house. 0k. yeah, at the lights by the train station at the moment. are you in position? the government says it's ramped up visits on premises like nail bars, barber shops and restaurants, arresting over 2,000 people sincejuly. if an employer hires an illegal worker now, they can get fined £45,000 for, you know, for every illegal worker. and if they offend again subsequently, it could be £60,000. it sends a message out that, you know, that you shouldn't be coming here to work illegally. you know, people still do and we'll keep going out and trying to catch them. despite a national crackdown, we found many are still working underground and hiding from authorities. the number of people arriving in the uk by small boats exceeds 30,000 this year, with vietnamese nationals being one of the largest groups making the perilous journey.

i met this young vietnamese man who paid thousands to smugglers to come to the uk, and has been working under the radar since. we've agreed to hide his identity in return for finding out more about his criminal activity. when he first arrived, he worked in a cannabis farm. i was not allowed to leave. staying in that house, i always felt scared, scared of being robbed, scared of being caught by the police. after he was robbed, he moved to working in nail bars, trying to pay off smuggling debts. but he says there's stiff competition forjobs and work's dried up because he doesn't have the right skills. there are so many people arriving in the uk recently, it has become much harder. can you understand why people listening to your story may not be very sympathetic? you came to the uk illegally, carried out dangerous and criminal work while you were here. people can think what they want.

i want to tell the truth to those wanting to take a similar route as mine. please do not come here to work illegally. she currently has no permission to work in the uk. as immigration raids take place nationally, we find many businesses are on high alert. posts on vietnamese facebook groups warn businesses about the raids. others offer services to keep a lookout for officers, and there are still hundreds of posts from people here illegally looking for nail barjobs. posing as a vietnamese skilled nail technician in the uk without a visa, a team member called a dozen nail bars to see if they'd give her a job. i got thejob. this shop, she asked me when they can come. so she wasn't deterred that you didn't have papers. within an hour, she'd been offered work at two nail bars. clearly, the risk of huge fines isn't a deterrent to some employers in need of cheap, skilled workers.

for those working underground, life in the uk is very different from what the smugglers promised them. this man's been sofa surfing around the country for the last few months with just a few belongings. i am in a difficult situation. jobless, no place to stay. he now plans on returning home to vietnam, while many others are continuing to make the opposite journey. divya talwar, bbc news. let's speak to fizza qureshi, ceo of migrants rights network. thank you for being with us. 3307 arrivals this year from vietnam. why are so many people coming from there to the uk? if you look at the small crossing thatis you look at the small crossing that is because there are no other safe routes for other nationalities beyond the

ukrainian scheme and people from hong kong. people are arriving fleeing from persecution, poverty. we don't know until we speak to the individual what their motivations are for making that journey to the uk. and the situations they end up in as you allude to in your piece. the vietnamese in particular, what proportion would you say are fleeing persecution, he would perhaps have a valid claim for asylum seeker status, and how many of them are economic migrants? i and how many of them are economic migrants? i wouldn't be able to _ economic migrants? i wouldn't be able to give _ economic migrants? i wouldn't be able to give you _ economic migrants? i wouldn't be able to give you any - economic migrants? i wouldn't be able to give you any data i economic migrants? i wouldn't| be able to give you any data on that. what we would want is a system where those people who are fleeing persecution and need safety are willing and able to present themselves to the authorities so they can speak to the situation they are facing. at the moment we have a

system which criminalises migration and seeking safety, which means that people are more likely to go underground rather than present themselves to the authorities. i don't think we will ever get that figure accurate until we have a more welcoming, open system that offers people the ability to share what their issues are. in practical terms, when people say there should be a valid way for people right around the world to claim asylum openly, how would you want that to work? obviously, the fear is that any system would be swamped and it would be unworkable. i swamped and it would be unworkable.— unworkable. i don't think thins unworkable. i don't think things would _ unworkable. i don't think things would be - unworkable. i don't think - things would be unworkable. i think it isjust things would be unworkable. i think it is just getting states to recognise and implement that. we don't go into what that. we don't go into what that solution would look like, it is about having, well,

firstly, not criminalising migration, so removing the current legislation that we have around a legal migration, that means that if you claim asylum you are seen as someone who needs to speak to your issue and the situation you go through the asylum process. we would like that to be similar to what has been offered to ukrainians in terms of them fleeing conflict and the war with russia. we would like that offered to other nationalities. it is replicating something that already exists and to a great extent has worked very well, to extend that other nationalities. there are many other complex that could be translated to. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

lord mandelson is expected to be formally confirmed as the uk's next ambassador to the united states today. peter mandelson was a former cabinet minister in the governments of tony blair and gordon brown and is seen as the architect of labour's landslide victory in 1997. he will take up his new role as donald trump enters the white house. let's speak to sir simon fraser, who was peter mandelson's chief of staff when he served as european trade commissioner. simon, thank you for being with us. is peter mandelson to the right man for this very, very sensitive and delicate job? thank you for having me. yes, i think probably at the moment it is a very good choice. peter mandelson is always somebody who can generate a bit of controversy, but if you look at his career he has a very experienced political operator, a very experienced

international negotiator. with the americans, with the chinese, he has operated with the european union. he brings great experience to this. he is very well—connected politically in this government and that is what we need in our ambassador. it is a really important appointment at a very important time, so i think it is a good one. ~ . , time, so i think it is a good one. ~ ., , ., . ., one. we have seen a certain level of public _ one. we have seen a certain level of public animosity - one. we have seen a certain l level of public animosity from people like elon musk towards the keir starmer government. elon musk has used the bites —— talked about using nigel farage as a kind of link. i talked about using nigel farage as a kind of link.— as a kind of link. i think peter mandelson - as a kind of link. i think peter mandelson will. as a kind of link. i think| peter mandelson will be as a kind of link. i think- peter mandelson will be the link himself, that is hisjob, but i think he will be pragmatic. hisjob it is to represent the british people at washington. with all of his experience and his pragmatism and his political savvy, he

should be able to do that. but how does _ should be able to do that. but how does he _ should be able to do that. but how does he start to mend those bridges in your view? has how does he start to mend those bridges in your view?— bridges in your view? has he already started? _ bridges in your view? has he already started? it _ bridges in your view? has he already started? it is - bridges in your view? has he | already started? it is possible to exaggerate the degree to which there is any animosity. there is a good relationship between washington and london. donald trump is pretty favourably disposed towards the united kingdom. obviously he didn't like the fact that the labour party sent people to lobby in the democrat campaign, we can play beyond that. peter mandelson is the kind of person who can get beyond that. he will forge relationships. 5ir will forge relationships. sir simon fraser, thank you very much indeed forjoining us. with less than a week to go until christmas, the shops will be full of frenzied shoppers trying to secure last—minute gifts for loved ones, but luxury goods might not be at the top of consumers�*

wish lists this year, with many high—end brands reporting a difficult year with falling revenues, but it's a mixed picture, with some labels bucking the trend. let's speak to maliha shoaib, a reporterfor vogue business who joins us now from glasgow our people bang more or less on the luxury goods front if they can afford that? i the luxury goods front if they can afford that?— can afford that? i think the ke art can afford that? i think the key part of— can afford that? i think the key part of that _ can afford that? i think the key part of that question . can afford that? i think the key part of that question is that they can afford it. what we have seen is that prices have almost doubled in the last five years. we have the aspirational customers, middle class, they save up for a handbag after a promotion. those kind doing well financially. hermes, chanel, those brands who typically it

is that high net worth customer thatis is that high net worth customer that is coming to them, they're fine. it depends on the pricing and the consumer group. fine. it depends on the pr