three fires still rage as firefighters try to gain control. israel and hamas consider a so called "final draft" of a possible ceasefire deal. the government sets out new plans to use artificial intelligence to boost growth and help with efficiency. the month of the blue origin rocket is cancelled and followed up for technical reasons. the number of people known to have died in the los angeles wildfires has risen to 24. with high winds forecast over the coming days, fire crews are now facing a race against time to avert further destruction. but from the ashes, many remarkable stories are rising — as people battle to stop

their neighbourhoods from burning down. our correspondent helena humphrey reports. oh, my house! for 36 years, fighting fires was rich snyder's profession. now retired, when flames tore through his community in pasadena, it was personal. armed with a hose, and with his bare hands, suddenly, he wasn't just saving strangers. he was saving his neighbours and their homes. lord help us. lord, with your hands. whether it was divine intervention, or rich's sheer determination, their lives were saved. among them, a neighbour with additional needs, confused amid the chaos. no, no! greg, your house is on fire. your house is... greg, greg! you have to come with me.

i've still got to process it. yeah, my neighbour needed, needs assistance, and we told him early on to leave, and he said, no, i'll stay. and i grabbed him and i was pulling on him, and he was fighting me, because he was going to go back in his burning house and lock the door. you know, we got him out and we looked back and his house was fully enveloped. across la county, some 60 square miles of land now scorched earth. firefighters have gained ground against the two largest blazes, the palisades and eaton fires. but the devastation left behind is staggering. this is malibu. normally, you wouldn't be able to see the pacific ocean from here. but all of those multi—million dollar mansions are gone. it is destruction as far as the eye can see, and the road to recovery will be long. and with forecasters warning that the fierce santa ana winds could return, the battle is far from over. residents in the fires�* path face a cruel waiting game, fearing that the nightmare

will strike again. i am terrified because if it does change, i actually don't know where i would go, to be honest. like, i don't have family here. i have friends, but they're all affected. so i don't have a set plan in mind and it's terrifying. amid the terror, a political storm brews. president—elect donald trump has criticised what he calls incompetent california politicians for the crisis. injust over a week, it will be one he inherits. is the incoming president expected to come here? i believe so. what awaits donald trump, if he comes, may reveal an even bleaker reality than what is known so far, as the number of missing continues to grow. helena humphrey, bbc news, los angeles. former california legislator and la resident mike gatto told us anger is mounting at how the authorities have reacted.

there is a lot of anger here, i'm not going to lie to you. you know, i am a democrat, california is a state that is run by democrats. there's a lot of voters here who are democrats. but more and more i am hearing quite a bit of rage from people who live in los angeles at our democratic elected officials. the common phrase that's going around was that this was 50% weather and 50% incompetence. it's things like the response time, the preparation, did we heed the warnings? i mean, angelenos, to give you a sense of things, the other day we all got a frantic notice on our cell phones that said you need to evacuate. just about everybody in this county of 10 million thought that their house was on fire or their street was on fire. it turned out to be a false alarm. they announced it was a false alarm. and then a few hours later we got another evacuation notice that was another false alarm. and so, you know, it's just things like that don't really impart much of trust with authorities. if you can't listen to the evacuation notices and it becomes the boy who cried wolf, people are going to die because they are going to ignore the next one.

our correspondent, david willis, is in brentwood in la says many there have lost everything they've owned. as you can see behind me a curfew is in place on this, at the outskirts of brentwood, the latest upmarket enclave to find itself in the cross hairs of the worst disaster in california's history. the evacuation orders are in place around here and the power is out all around us in this part of sunset boulevard after winds picked up over the weekend. and those winds are expected to gain in strength over the next three days to hurricane force and that has prompted officials here to declare the evacuation orders will remain in place until thursday morning at the earliest before they are lifted, to the chagrin of many people who have been

displaced from their homes and they are anxious to see what if anything remains of their homes and their belongings. a little earlier on it was revealed cadaver dogs have been brought in to help with the search for human remains in the worst affected areas of these fires. the la coroner's office has revealed 2a people are now known to have died in these fires with 16 people still missing. that death toll is almost certain to rise. you mentioned those displaced people, where are they and are they getting the food and shelter and help they need at this time? there are about nine separate evacuation centres that have been set up around los angeles. funded by church groups and other community organisations. some people have gone there.

others have housed themselves in hotels, air b&b is offering some sort of dispensation to people who can't afford their normal prices. and there are those who have moved out of town completely, some to relatives in other states, some perhaps to seek a new life away from the sort of threat these fires can pose. it will be a massive rebuilding operation and i think there are quite a few people who won't have the stomach for it. can you explain why the curfew is in place? it is basically to prevent people who may want to come back into the evacuation zones, possibly to steal or loot, from being able to do so.

there were reports of looting in the first few days of this disaster and as a result the national guard officers who you may see behind me have been drafted in, hundreds of them, to help the police secure these areas and make sure people who have gone through one tragedy don't have to endure a second such tragedy. in the next hour, the uk government is expected to set out its plan to use artificial intelligence across the country to try to boost growth and deliver public services more efficiently. the a! action plan will be backed by leading tech firms, and includes so—called growth zones where development will be focused. for more details on why prime minister keir starmer is focussing so strongly on al, i spoke to chief political correspondent henry zeffman. the prime minister i think is throwing his personal authority behind this

and is trying to demonstrate the message that the action plan expresses which is the uk wants to be a hospitable home for the ai sector and for al companies. i am really struck by the optimistic rhetoric that we have heard overnight and we will hear more from the prime minister on artificial intelligence because previous governments have flitted between stressing caution about the potential dangers of ai and optimism about the potential upsides. keir starmer and his government appear to have definitively landed on the side of the upsides and i think that is what we are getting in this speech and announcement and action plan today. do you think he will talk about the practical use because when you mention al to the normal person they will be thinking how can this improve and affect our lives? the government is trying to stress the ways in which a! could be used to improve what they do, the public

sector, so you have had them talking about ways in which they could use a! analysis of scans in the nhs, so that a doctor is not looking at the scans and the doctor is freed up to do clinical work but also some evidence the government says is that actually having a computer program analysing scans mean they might be able to detect disease, cancer for example, better than the human eye can. similar applications in terms of freeing up teachers in the education sector to teach and using ai to do some of the more mundane tasks they face, the government is even talking about ways in which a! can be used to detect pot holes which so aggravate motorists. so on that level you will hear the government talking about the ways in which it can be used practically in the public sector. the other side to this is economic because the government is quite open about the fact that if they are using a! more in the public sector

they hope that will mean they are spending less money frankly on humans in the public sector and saving money in that way. we'll bring you that speech by the prime minister shortly, when he takes to the podium in central london. in a blow to amazon founder jeff bezos, the launch of a reusable space rocket by his company blue origin, has been called off. blue origin�*s engineers were unable to resolve issues plaguing the rocket so flight controllers stood down the new glenn's take off from cape canaveral. after several earlier delays the rocket�*s now being drained of fuel and there's no word on when the next launch opportunity may be. in a statement, blue origin said it would be troubleshooting what it called "a vehicle subsystem issue" in the downtime. the new glenn has been touted as a serious rival to elon musk�*s spacex rockets. our science correspondent pallab ghosh explained why delays like this are to be expected. this is the first time

he is trying out this rocket, new glenn. a gigantic rocket, 98 metres tall. it ultimately is a competitor to elon musk�*s rocket but in its very first launch this is expected to happen, if everything isn't going to plan, call it off, and try again another day. when elon musk tried with his rockets there were lots of explosions and crashes and delays. this is part of the development process. i would imaginejeff bezos would want it to have gone up and performed successfully but i think it was more likely than not there would either be a delay or some little bit wouldn't go right. this is normal and part of the development process but the billionaires will be competing with each other in space very soon. the question is when new glenn will be ready for launch. it probably won't be in the next few days because they are draining it of fuel and they will have

to put fuel back into it which is time—consuming and they will have to resolve whatever issue it was and the launch window closes on the 16th of january so there is too much to do i think to do it in that time. if i were to guess, i might be wrong, but it will probably be in a few days they will have another go. it is a good job they are billionaires, because i am guessing it is costly. they blamed a vehicle subsystem failure and do we know what went wrong? something in the rocket wasn't working properly is the translation. so many things in a rocket have to go right, hundreds of things. before each launch, notjust for a test flight like this, isn't something quite right they call the launch off. they try and fix it and have another go. this is the norm but for the first maiden test flight, they are especially careful.

you talked about this window and that it finishes on the 20th of january, why is that? there are lots of launches happening. once upon a time you would have a launch every now and again but there are launches every day so it is a question of air traffic. they have booked these slots and if they miss them they have to rebook and convince the federal aviation authority that everything is good to go so we will have to wait and see but once it does launch we are in store for a really exciting battle between the billionaires because elon musk has achieved great things with starship and his falcon rockets. he has flown 400 times into orbit. jeff bezos hasn't flown a single time yet so he has a lot of catching up to do but he plans to make up for lost time. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

one of the world's largest religious festivals starts today in india. the kumbh mela only happens every 12 years and more than 400 million hindus are expected to take part. our correspondent samira hussain sent us the latest from prayagraj. you can see behind me that there are all these people that are coming over this way. just a little to my left is where the river bank is and that is where everyone is going to take a dip. hindus believe that taking a dip in where the ganges river meets the yamuna river and meets the mythical saraswati river, to take a dip at this particular time will rid one of their sins. that is the religious part of it and what has brought so many thousands of people here today on this first day. also i think there is a real sense of community here

and it is like a festival. there are lots of people that are selling different items, there is lots of food available. there is someone even doing circus tricks and there is a real community kind of feel. people travel far and wide to come to this, don't they? they do. just to give you a sense of how large these fairgrounds are we are talking about 15 square miles, roughly about 40 square kilometres, that is how large this area is. if you think about a comparison, you can think about something like 4000 football pitches. and at each different area you have different sections. there is one area that is full of tents, cotton tents meant for the common man that will be here for the next several

days or even for the entire 45 day festival. then there is another section where you have more of the religious leaders, the babas, and they are set up in these ornate tents that are decorated in orange and lights. it is really all about coming to take a dip here in the waters just off the side. can you explain a bit more about what that means and what the cultural significance of the festival is? it is still a very religious festival, because everyone is here to take a dip at this particular part of where the ganges meets the yamuna and meets the mythical saraswati river, so this is considered a very auspicious time and place to take that dip. the area is called the sangnam and we were there first thing this morning when everyone was taking their first dips and it was a sea of people.

despite how cold it was this morning, i was dressed in several layers, people were stripped down to shorts and various other pieces of garment and leaping into the water and fully immersing themselves quite a few times. it was really quite a scene to behold. there are reports this morning that israel and hamas have been given a �*final draft�* of a ceasefire and hostage release deal to end the war in gaza — that's according to the reuters news agency. a breakthrough was reportedly reached in doha after midnight following talks between israel s spy chiefs, president—elect trump's middle east envoy and qatar s prime minister. it comes as president biden and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu held talks over the phone for the first time in 3 months. our middle east correspondent emir nader is injerusalem. he gave us the latest details

on the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in qatar. it's quite hard to define exactly what's happening behind closed doors there in qatar, in doha. but we are receiving positive signals, it seems like, from all parties, as you mentioned, the phone call between president biden and prime minister benjamin netanyahu last night is being seen as a positive development. the israeli intelligence chiefs stayed in qatar over the weekend to continue the negotiations there. again, that was being seen as a positive development. and we heard last night that prime minister benjamin netanyahu was meeting with some of his cabinet colleagues, ministers who are opposed to a deal, who want the war to continue and want to, in fact, resettle gaza. we understand that he was trying to persuade them not to resign from the government. so it seems like he's doing the work politically inside israel in order to pave the way for a deal. but we don't know exactly

when it might come. obviously prime minister. sorry. president biden's term finishes in a week. and there's behind all of this, this threat from president, incoming president trump that if some sort of a deal isn't reached before he takes office, then all hell will be unleashed. so the momentum does seem to be heading in the right direction, but it's quite hard to wade through all the various briefings to various media outlets. israel foreign minister gideon sa'ar said progress had been made in recent talks, but stopped short of guaranteeing a deal. they said there is progress that looks much better than previously. i want to thank the dominican friends from the huge efforts they are investing to secure a hostage deal but i don't want to see more than that because i realise there

are families and they are sensitive to every word and sentence so we want a deal, we work out to have this deal, we have a huge effort done by our american friends, progress had been made and i hope that within a short time we will see things happening but it is still to be proved. let's go to central london, where prime minister keir starmer is about to set out plans to use artificial intelligence across the uk to boost growth and deliver public services more efficiently. let's speak to stepahnie hare, technology author who also co—presents bbc news programme �*artifical intelligence: decoded'

as we await the start of the speech, have you any idea what we are expecting to hear. the government _ we are expecting to hear. the government hasn't _ we are expecting to hear. tue: government hasn't actually published the 50 point plan, we have had a press release and the government response statements are very pr and marketing focused at the moment. we need to see how they both fund all the initiatives they are talking so enthusiastically about, it is a big deal to try to get the lhs to event for purposeful instance which it is not, a big deal to talk about small modular reactors, tapola data centres, who will pay for that, how long will it take. but the public be happy with it and the thing that has not got a lot of publicity they are talking about mining the nhs for health data, saying it would be a rich

offering we could give to researchers and companies. the british company tends to not make headlines like that but we need to hear more.— make headlines like that but we need to hear more. there's also scepticism _ need to hear more. there's also scepticism and _ need to hear more. there's also scepticism and fear _ need to hear more. there's also scepticism and fear about - need to hear more. there's also scepticism and fear about al - need to hear more. there's also scepticism and fear about al so | scepticism and fear about al so do you think that be addressed. i think that often comes from how the media portrays it and most people experience of ai is either check gpt or science—fiction movies and books so we need to have a more grown—up and mature discussion about al to track about empowering people and education and skills and using it safely and skills and using it safely and manage the risks and we need to have more transparency about the people leading the ai revolution in the uk but it seems to be being led by investors who are advising the government, that suggests a potential conflict—of—interest.

we have heard ai could potentially cut things like admin and the public sector, it could help spot potholes, they are very headline grabbing attention grabbing statements but could that actually happened. it but could that actually happened-— but could that actually ha ened. ., ,, happened. it could happen, the auestion happened. it could happen, the question as _ happened. it could happen, the question as more _ happened. it could happen, the question as more is _ happened. it could happen, the question as more is they - happened. it could happen, the question as more is they say i question as more is they say technology and such of a problem on only addressing these as problems based agenda is fast and then using technology to solve them. i don't know but i have been in the uk for 27 years and a good view our biggest problem is spotting potholes. we could come up with a list of things that are far more pressing for the country to solve. helping reduce admin, sure, but you could also say do we need take to do that orjust reduce the concept of administration, why is so much paperwork involved.

there are other ways to solve a problem rather than throwing very expensive privacy invasive technology at it. artificial intelligence is incredible that said and the rate cases, it can really help things like predicting disease and preventing disease and helping doctors identify things like heart attacks or cancer far earlier and getting people treated better. we wanted the users to help with the energy transition and climate change and biodiversity, there are good cases so focusing on some of the low hanging fruit like it might reduce your admin, that doesn't feel like the headline they think it is. there are more exciting things in the realm of scientific discovery to focus on. to the uk really _ discovery to focus on. to the uk really be _ discovery to focus on. to the uk really be an _ discovery to focus on. to the uk really be an ai _ discovery to focus on. to the uk really be an ai we - discovery to focus on. to the uk really be an ai we don't. | discovery to focus on. to the | uk really be an ai we don't. it uk really be an ai we don't. tit is already an ai leader, we are is already an a! leader, we are some distance from the us and china but we are from a number

three in the world and number one in europe still be adding really well but at the same time we do not have a supercomputer in the world top 50, that will cost investment and readjust to the government say only a few months ago we could not afford a supercomputer, it hundred million pounds, said the previous government had budgeted for it. now we have that money where is it. we are telling every civil servant to be more efficient, cut costs, we need to see the devil and the details, where is the money coming from to pay for this. it is good to talk enthusiastically, we need the detail. ~ ., ., ., ., detail. we are following what is happening _ detail. we are following what is happening in _ detail. we are following what is happening in central - detail. we are following what l is happening in central london where keir starmer is expected to speak any moment, and ai corresponded but is there and he says that the wi—fi connection is almost nonexistent but he is managing

to post but that is a more serious issue around that, there are some technology issues we could do with resolving before be moved to that next step. t resolving before be moved to that next step.— that next step. i don't know arthur mitchell _ that next step. i don't know arthur mitchell exclusive, i that next step. i don't know. arthur mitchell exclusive, we are capable of parallel processing, we can improve 5g and broadband through the uk and broadband through the uk and also go beyond ai and has important to maintain it, address some of the areas we are weak on al. a big thing will also be skills, we focus on deep mines which was started in the uk and sold out to google, many years ago and that is fantastic but that is a very niche example. if you talk to the person on the street and ask about al and did if you're confident using it to the understand it, ithink confident using it to the understand it, i think we have a journey they are and we have to get the next generation of children and young workers ready to go to make the most of

this and the work environment and be the entrepreneurs of tomorrow so notjust and be the entrepreneurs of tomorrow so not just an infrastructure computing problem, it is a human problem in terms of human challenge, we will need money and time to train everybody to use it. we can do it, we are very strong and that, we need if you want to go big to distinguish ourselves globally would be a really good area to focus on. we are staying here watching and waiting for keir starmer to outline the plans for artificial intelligence in his speech shortly, but also healing technology companies have promised to invest £40 billion to build ai centres in the uk. potentially creating thousands ofjobs so there is an investment from those tech companies behind this. yes, and! yes, and i love it. to give

with one hand and take with the other. they invest money and bring jobs. at the same time the financial times are saying that more companies will be investing in al than people because of the government's plan to charge more national insurance contributions. insu