live from london. this is bbc news the uk economy flatlines. revised figures show gdp failed to grow at all in the last quarter. it comes as leading business groups warn "the uk economy is headed for the worst of all worlds". the french president emmanuel macron leads a minute's silence for the victims of cyclone chido. a woman dies after being set alight on the new york subway — in an apparently random attack — police arrest a suspect. this is the scene live in magdeburg, as tributes continue to be laid for the victims of the german christmas market attack. and dating in south korea takes an unusual turn with government organised speed dating events. we find out why.

hello, i'm geeta guru—murthy. new figures on the state of the uk economy — suggest it failed to grow at all in the third quarter of this year. the revised official figures for gross domestic product — or gdp — coverjuly to september — the months after the general election, and the run—up to the labour government's first budget. and there are warnings too for chancellor rachel reeves — from the influential business groups — the british retail consortium and the confederation of british industry. they predict a difficult economic start to 2025 — with data suggesting concerns that the tax—raising autumn budget could affect sales. the government insists it's delivering stability for companies — and encouraging long—term investment. our business correspondent theo leggett explained the significance of the ons decision (pres)with me is.... weight the revision is a

psychologically significant one and what lies behind it is the smaller businesses like legal firms and businesses and service sector have performed a bit more poorly than expected. that is why we are seeing this today there is a bit more information on the understanding is there has been no growth. our political correspondent damian grammaticas is with me. the government is saying the challenge they inherited from the previous government is huge. you could say they have a bit of a point there, because these figures relate to the july to september, which comes immediately after the election at the beginning ofjuly, but before the government's budget at the end of september. this reflects the inheritance and it is a very small revision of

0.1%. that has now been tweaked down to 0% in the revision. they say they are tackling things for the long—term and very early this morning the chief secretary to the treasury was giving his account. this labour government is going | into 2025 with absolute resolve | to work with investors, - wealth creators and workers across the country to stimulate economic growth and improve i living standards for workers across the country. - this is our number one mission as a government, and we start| from a disappointing set of economic statistics i as we end 2024, but that's why we're going to fight every day l to make sure we improve the lives of working - people across this country. when you talk to some people in the labour party they will say you have got to give us time, patience and politics for journalists and for everyone is important, because you cannot change things overnight. at the same time, there is concern,

isn't there? including economists and saying that the language and the sense of optimism doesn't seem to be there. , ~ , , there. yes, i think this is the difficulty the _ there. yes, i think this is the difficulty the government - there. yes, i think this is the | difficulty the government has found itself in. they came into office and immediately began talking about this huge problem they had, the difficult inheritance. that was politically designed to set up the framework for things they felt they would have to do any budget, but was taken by many as talking things down and talking things down perhaps too much. that was followed by decisions in the budget including big tax raising decisions from which we have heard businesses particularly, many of them, feeling it has dented their confidence. raising taxes on businesses and employers, so businesses looking ahead. i think the crucial thing here for the government is not so much these figures, but the data we have got at the same time from employers today. the

conservatives and liberal democrats have picked up on this and are calling on the government to reverse budget decisions. the shadow treasurer saying things had been tweaked tweaked. the government is putting its faith in the fact that what it is trying to do is make gear changes in the economy, planning changes, stimulate house—building. those are going to take time and there will be bigger decisions in the coming months about the longer term government finances. that is coming early next year and that is when i think things will really matter. that is when they might make their ship turned around and make things pay off. thank ou. france is observing a day of national mourning for victims of the powerful cyclone which devastated its

overseas territory of mayotte. president emmanuel macron has led a minute's silence at the elysee palace. authorities fear the final death toll could be in the hundreds, or possibly thousands. i've been speaking to mathilde hangard, a journalist working on the island and i asked how the community was recovering from the cyclone. well, the day of mourning doesn't change anything because some residents don't know that there is national mourning because they are still deprived of electricity. and just tell us how the recovery process and the clean—up are going. well, health professionals and aid centres specialising in the management of this type of disaster and specific equipment have arrived. the population had criticised this aid

for not being fast enough. it has been nine days since the cyclone ravaged the island and many residents still have no water, food or electricity. we know the death toll is expected to rise. are there any preparations for that? in my opinion, the population is waiting for the state to take responsibility and look for other possible victims, those who are under the rubble and those who have been already buried and can be identified thanks to their families, yes. and what more do the people there want to see from the french government? the population needs water,

food and electricity. they told us that everything was coming, but it is not the case. maybe planes and boats have arrived at the port and airport the population is waiting for that. so water, food networks and electricity are the urgent points. but i know it's going to be very long for electricity because 9% of the electrical infrastructure has been destroyed by the cyclone. so for several months, mayotte will continue to have severe water cuts and now electric cuts. in new york police have arrested a suspect, after a woman was set on fire

and killed on a subway train. police said the man approached the woman on board the f train at coney island on sunday morning, as she appeared to be sleeping and set fire to her clothes with a lighter. officers responded with fire extinguishers, but the victim died at the scene. here's transit chief, joseph gulotta. that will be part of the investigation. she's definitely there. she's motionless. if she's asleep or not, we're not 100% sure, but she appears motionless at that spot. there's no interaction between the two, and when the incident happens, there's no interaction between the two. the cbs news correspondent tammy mu—ta—sa spoke to us from new york. this was a brutal attack on a woman who just appeared to be sleeping on a public train, and police found that victim when they saw smoke during a routine patrol. after the nypd released images of a person of interest, three young men called 911 when they saw the suspect on a different subway. police stopped the train

and arrested the man. there must be strong, swift consequences on this person, and i use that term lightly, who committed this brutal, brutal homicide. nypd said cameras have been installed in every subway car, and it's because of images from those cameras that led to this arrest. this week governor kathy hochul announced an additional 250 national guard members will be deployed on subway cars to make sure everyone is safe. to germany now and the aftermath of friday's car attack at a christmas market in magdeburg where five people were killed and many more injured. the country's interior minister has promised to leave no stone unturned in the investigation into what happened. this is the scene live in magdeburg, where people have been leaving flowers and candles near the scene of the attack with the growing number of floral tributes stretching across the pavement.

people still gathering to pay their respects after this terrible tragedy. our correspondent bethany bell is following developments in magdeburg. the head of germany's federal criminal police unit office yesterday said on german television that they had received a warning from the saudi authorities about the suspect a year ago. he said the police initiated an investigation, but the threat was deemed to be too unspecific. we're seeing questions in the local german media about how there were other complaints and warnings about this man. he was not an unknown quantity, in the words of one official. he was known to be an activist and was very active on social media. there are many questions as to whether more could have been done to alert the authorities about the danger.

there are also questions about what happened in this market. what about the security here? how was it possible for this car to get in? most of the market where i am now was surrounded by a concrete perimeter, of concrete blocks, but the car seems to have entered through a route that was meant for emergency vehicles. there is a lot of discussion about why it wasn't possible to put a barrier across that route and just lift it for emergency vehicles. one man came up to me and said, "i'm from magdeburg, but it's clear something went very badly wrong". what about wider security now at christmas markets? obviously, this is a holiday period, a time when families want to celebrate, but what is going on on that front? the market here is now closed. people behind me have been able

to come to their stalls and clear away the food and dismantle what they had. security has been increased at christmas markets around the country. as i said, there are a lot of questions about what more could have been done to protect this place. it's known that there have been attacks in markets in germany in recent years, including eight years ago, an attack on a christmas market in berlin. but people are saying much more should have been done here. it shouldn't have been possible for this car to drive through the way it did. around the world and across the uk.

now it's time for a look at today's sport with john watson. liverpool manager arne slot has praised the impact mo salah is having on their season. the club mainatined their position at the top of the premier league table with an impressive 6—3 victory over spurs with his first goal salah overtook manchester city's erling haaland as this season's top scorer and with his second moved fourth on the all time list of goalscorers in liverpool's history. fast bowler kate cross has recovered from an injury to be named in the england squad for the women's ashes which starts in australia next month. cross who has been included in the odi and test squads for the series, will be joined by heather knight, who captains the side across all formats during the series that features three odis, three t20s and a four—day test match. all—rounder freya kemp, spinner linsey smith and wicketkeeper—batter bess heath are part of an ashes squad for the first time.

it's been a year to rememberfor british number one katie boulter. after climbing to a career high ranking of 23 in the world she's revealed she's engaged to fellow professional alex de minaur. there won't be many celebrations over the festive period however, the newly engaged couple will actually play each other on court, in the united cup on new years day . i wouldn't say i was thrilled at the idea — . i wouldn't say i was thrilled at the idea of _ . i wouldn't say i was thrilled at the idea of playing - . i wouldn't say i was thrilled at the idea of playing him . . i wouldn't say i was thrilled at the idea of playing him allj at the idea of playing him all over again. at the idea of playing him all overagain. obviously, he is at the idea of playing him all over again. obviously, he is a top ten player and he knows how top ten player and he knows how to play tennis. there is a personal side of it as well, which is difficult. i am looking forward to the match, of course. it's going to be a great atmosphere and playing in australia is always fun. as a opportunity for us. and is this a sight we can expect to see more of?

tiger woods son charlie, celebrating with his dad after sinking his first hole—in—one. he holed out at the fourth to send the pair into the lead in the final round of a family event in orlando— he said he "just kind of hit it". his dad was clearly pleased for him, as it was high fives all round when he realised it had dropped in. they might have lost overall in the team family event, but charlie i'm sure will be reminding his dad for a while about that one. and that's all the sport for now. donald trump has threatened to reassert united states control over the panama canal, saying american ships are being charged excessive fees by the central american nation. panama's president has hit back — insisting panama's sovereignty and independence are non—negotiable.the canal — which links the atlantic and pacific oceans

— is critical to international trade — with about 40% of american container traffic passing through it. largely built and administered by the us from the beginning of the last century, it was eventually handed over to full panamanian control in 1999. mr trump made his comments to a conference of the conservative �*turning point usa' group in arizona. it's his first political rally since winning the presidential election in november — and comes four weeks before he officially takes office on january 20th. he told the audience he is not happy about the panama canal arrangement — and is concerned it is falling into quote "the wrong hands". here's a little of what he said. you've got to treat us fairly, and they haven't treated us fairly. if the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the panama canal be returned to the united states of america in full, quickly and without question. i'm not going to stand for it.

so, to the officials of panama, please be guided accordingly. the ongoing conflict in sudan, pitting the sudanese army against the forces of the rsf, has devastated the country and led to many thousands of deaths. civilians in towns and villages across the country have been attacked as atrocities are committed by both sides. the bbc verify team have obtained footage filmed at the time of one incident in which dozens of people were killed to piece together what took place. here's merlyn thomas — and we should warn you, that some of the imagery in this report is particularly graphic. in sudan, a brutal power struggle has been raging since last april between the army and a paramilitary group. human rights groups have condemned both sides for widespread atrocities. a series of recent incidents appears to have been the result of one man's defection. abu shakeel. he became a senior commander with sudan's paramilitary group, the rapid support forces, or rsf, shortly after the conflict broke out last year.

but he recently switched sides back to the sudanese army, which appears to have triggered a series of reprisal attacks. now there are almost 70 attacks in towns and villages injazirah state, south of sudan's capital khartoum, in the two weeks following his defection. at bbc verify. we've been investigating one of these attacks in detail and how it unfolded. the massacre took place on the 25th of october. we've analysed four separate videos of the aftermath. much of the footage is very graphic. this is one of the videos showing bodies lined up in the courtyard of a mosque covered with shrouds and blankets. the un said 124 people had died in the killings. we were able to independently confirm at least 80 people were killed by counting the bodies. we've also uncovered evidence of freshly dug earth mounds in the town cemetery. have a look at these satellite photos. so this was taken in may and this was taken after the attack.

an expert who analysed these images told us that the graves appear to have been recently dug, and the size of the earth mounds measured against nearby buildings like this one, suggest many bodies may have been buried there. so who is responsible for these killings? we don't have any videos of the killing itself, but we do have videos of fighters before talking about their plans and videos of the aftermath. by analysing videos like this one, we confirm the troops are wearing rsf insignia on their arms. and you can hear them celebrate their attack on the town and the killing of locals. the rsf denied those seen in the clips with their troops and said you can easily obtain their uniforms and then commit crimes against civilians. and we located this video by matching it up with satellite imagery using distinctive features like these you can see in the coloured boxes. in videos we verified to be from the same incident,

fighters also filmed their hostages, including the elderly. we've blurred their faces and some appear to be in bloodstained white robes, and in other videos the troops mock and humiliate them. we've been told by a resident of the town that the fighters have been demanding ransoms for their captives, and many are still being held, but we haven't been able to confirm this ourselves. the conflict in sudan, which continues to this day, has killed at least 20,000 people, according to the un. in september, in what they've called one of the world's largest displacement crises. marriage matchmaking and government organised speed—dating events the search for love in south korea has taken an unusual turn, as the country continues to battle extremely low fertility and marriage rates. but will these unusual ways to meet a partner really help tackle the country's demographic problems? from seoul, rachel lee reports.

fairy tale weddings are expected in south korea, but they don't all begin with meet cutes or dating apps. some couples are embracing new ways to meet. these newlyweds are unpacking their new life and business together. their story started when they met through a marriage—matching agency. i signed up because i wanted to meet someone who also wanted to get married. lots of people don't want to these. working in construction. there weren't that many chances to meet new people. it was time effective to have an expert help find a good partner. the pandemic made it difficult to meet people in person and caused a resurgence in marriage. matchmaking. the industry has - grown by 30 to 40%.

perceptions have changed. in the past young people thought i these agencies were for those who had failed to get married. - now they're seen as a way- to find someone who matches their specific needs. the matchmaking isn't always successful, and not everyone agrees with this method of finding a partner. using a marriage matching agency isn't always viewed very positively. it can seem like people are being judged by their profiles and are getting married without love. it felt a bit embarrassing to tell friends and family that i signed up with an agency. despite the increased popularity of marriage matchmaking, south korea has extremely low marriage and fertility rate. they've been falling steadily for the past decade. in fact, the fertility rate here is the lowest in the world. and this is a huge challenge for the government who's committed to tackling this issue. they too are playing matchmaker. they're organising speed dating events and marriage is the theme. they say they're providing young singles

with an opportunity to meet and mingle. young people today lack opportunities to meet new people, so i really appreciate that the city is providing a venue for this. but critics say they should be tackling high living costs and supporting women returning to work after children instead. meanwhile, the government says these events work with two marriages and many more on the horizon. as young people search for love, they're also seeking stability and security, something the country needs to as it battles its demographic crisis. rachel lee, bbc news, seoul. you may be used to seeing father christmas flying through the night sky — but have you ever seen him dozens of sa ntas swapped their sleighs for gondolas to bring some festive cheer to venice — over the weekend. they rowed along the grand

canal dressed in their signature red suits as part of the city's annual hello. there was a little sunshine around first thing this morning, but it's been fading, and today is a day of transition to much milder weather. less windy, yes, and still mostly dry, but there will be much more cloud for the week ahead. and the reason is that we are losing that chilly north—westerly wind and instead we are picking up this milder south—westerly, which has come right the way over the atlantic. so, as it does so, it picks up a lot of moisture, a lot of cloud, and with it these weak weather fronts. even though we've got high pressure to the south, we've still got some weak weather fronts. so the rain will always be heaviest towards the north and the west. so, the brightness continues in the east, the sunshine fading but remaining bright, the showers easing, too, but instead we got all this cloud rolling in, misty and murky over the hills, patchy rain or drizzle, but temperatures will be lifting, 10s, 11s by the end of play.

but further east, still feeling chilly, particularly with the cloud overhead and the breeze still hanging on for east anglia and the south—east. through the evening and overnight, we've got our weather fronts crossing, so introducing that milder air right across the uk, the rain most noticeable over the scottish highlands, but i think the most significant feature of the night's weather will be how mild it is, temperatures 10—11 for most of us, picking up in the south and east, as well, after the chilly day. and that's because then we are in this mild atlantic air throughout as we go into christmas eve. high pressure is to the south, very little rain around, but a lot of cloud, and i do think if you're heading out onto the roads, it will be quite misty and foggy over the higher routes around the coast as well. a chance of some brightness, perhaps, around moray and towards aberdeenshire, perhaps the welsh marches, but look at the temperatures, it could be the mildest christmas eve, one of the mildest christmas eves on record, i think. we are still in that mild air as we go into christmas day. still a lot of weather fronts close to the north, that's where we are most likely to see some rain, some risk

south—westerly winds, strong winds, gales at times, but not as windy as it has been. and at that point will help to break the cloud up a little bit, but it is still predominantly dry and cloudy, and not quite as mild, but still temperatures well above where they should be for this time of year. so, no white christmas from the looks of things, a rather grey one, and that rather grey weather looks set to continue into boxing day and indeed friday, as well. as ever, to stay up to date, you can head to the website for more detail.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the uk economy failed to grow in the last quarter according to revised figures forjuly and september. it comes as leading business groups warn "the uk economy is headed for the worst of all worlds". police arrest a suspect after a woman was set alight and killed on a new york subway in an apparently random attack. officers said the man approached the woman as she appeared to be sleeping and set her clothes on fire. she died at the scene. the french president emmanuel macron leads a minute's silence for the victims of cyclone chido. the country is observing a national day of mourning for mayotte after 35 people were killed in the worst cyclone in the overseas territory in nearly a century. authorities fear the final death toll could grow. at his first rally since winning the us presidential election, donald trump threatens to try and regain control of the panama canal.

the panamanian president hits back, saying that