try to gain control. keir starmer pledges to make uk a �*great ai superpower�*, as he outlines plan for growth as hopes of an imminent breakthrough in the gaza ceasefire talks grow, sharp divisions over the potential deal have emerged in israel. kumbh mela, the world's largest gathering of pilgrims, begins as millions of hindus arrive to take a dip in the holy river the ganges. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala. there are fears that high winds could soon return to los angeles and again fan the flames of the wild fires there. three are still burning around the city. firefighters say they now have a small window of opportunity to contain them, before the arrival of winds of up to 70 miles per hour.

planes continue to dump fire retardant on hillsides across la and firefighters are cutting vegetation to slow the spread of the flames. at least 2a people have been killed in the fires so far. from los angeles, 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'tjust 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! greg! greg, you have to come with me! i've still got to process it. yeah, my neighbour needs assistance, and we told him early on to leave, and he said, "no, i'llstay." 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 engulfed. 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 fire's 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.

let's speak to the bbc�*s peter bowes, who's in los angeles. just bowes, who's in los angeles. give us the latest by telling just give us the latest by telling us where you are under sort of activity around you? i am in santa clarita which is a suburb of greater los angeles, the northernmost tip of the la county. next to the san fernando valley. one of the threatened areas which is also next to hollywood which again has faced its dangers. to the west of me is the —— one of the two huge fires still burning around pasadena, the pacific palisades fire which is also still burning mostly out of control and as you can tell from the trees behind me the santa ana winds have returned. they are likely to increase in intensity over the next couple of days. the critical period

will be between about this time tomorrow, tuesday morning, to wednesday afternoon. for better or worse things are going to change over the next few days. we hope for the better. but firefighters are prepared for these strong winds again, not quite as critical as they almost had force winds we had last week, which was serious enough to hamper the firefighting efforts. possibly endangering and if there was a danger the helicopters would not be in the sky, but that is the most critical aspect of the firefighting effort, to get these flames doused by chemicals and water from the air. so things are still in a perilous state in many parts of los angeles and people are very much still on edge, fearing that their homes are in danger. it is a vital next 2a hours and fire chiefs say it's a folk in

the road. tell me more about the road. tell me more about the sort of tactics because i have been reading about how they are worried that the embers could be whipped up if the winds come back.— embers could be whipped up if the winds come back. that's the roblem. the winds come back. that's the problem- it's — the winds come back. that's the problem. it's always _ the winds come back. that's the problem. it's always the - problem. it's always the embers. when the winds pick up they can blow sometimes several miles and create new fires. just to give you an example of how things can change quickly, at 4am this morning i received at 4am this morning i received a notification on my phone that there was a new vegetation fire a couple of miles down the road and i have been following the progress of that and now it is totally contained and they have brought it under control very swiftly. they have jumped brought it under control very swiftly. they havejumped on that fire and that is what they need to do and that is what the tactic is, to get control of these new fires that start very quickly so they don't expand and grow with the intensity

that we have seen. but it's a difficult task when we have these winds. to a large extent los angeles is used to these santa ana winds, they come in every year at about this time but this year is different in terms of the speed of those wins last week and the dryness of the brush, that's the other key factor. we haven't had reign for eight months and everything is so dry and it burns easily.— everything is so dry and it burns easily. everything is so dry and it burns easil . , , burns easily. the rebuilding is obviously _ burns easily. the rebuilding is obviously a — burns easily. the rebuilding is obviously a colossal _ burns easily. the rebuilding is obviously a colossal task, - burns easily. the rebuilding is obviously a colossal task, the | obviously a colossal task, the insurance bill also colossal, they have been concerns about they have been concerns about the time it will take to rebuild because there are certain property taxes that kick in after two years. what sort of changes are being made, what is the governor saying about the variety of timelines? it's an extremely difficult task for those people that need to face the prospect of rebuilding their homes again. one issue is indeed whether their insurance, they fire

insurance, is still valid because some insurance companies are refusing to ensure people and have been cancelling the policy. one thing that's happening as the authorities say that backdated for a period of several months to encompass this period of intense fires that they will force those insurance companies to honour policies. that will be positive news for some people. the things that are happening, the authorities say they will try to get around some of the red tape that people face in terms of planning policy to rebuild their homes. they are doing everything possible to speed up the process. everything possible to speed up the process-_ the process. peter, for now, thanks very _ the process. peter, for now, thanks very much. _ let's speak to the meteorologist alex dasilva from accuweather. peter talking about the santa ana winds and so much focus on that, what are you seeing in terms of wind speeds now and the projections for this next vital21i hours? the projections for this next vital 24 hours?— the projections for this next vital 24 hours? over the last 24 to 36 _ vital 24 hours? over the last 24 to 36 hours _ vital 24 hours? over the last 24 to 36 hours the _ vital 24 hours? over the last 24 to 36 hours the winds - vital 24 hours? over the last l 24 to 36 hours the winds came down — 24 to 36 hours the winds came down a — 24 to 36 hours the winds came down a hit _ 24 to 36 hours the winds came down a bit from their peaks and

that has— down a bit from their peaks and that has allowed the firefighters to get some containment on some of these blazes — containment on some of these blazes. you look at the hurst flyer. — blazes. you look at the hurst flyer, 89% containment. and the biggest _ flyer, 89% containment. and the biggest fire of them all, the palisades fire, is up to 14% containment. a bit of good news they that — containment. a bit of good news they that the firefighters have -ot they that the firefighters have got a — they that the firefighters have got a hit — they that the firefighters have got a bit of these fires under control— got a bit of these fires under control but unfortunately over the next — control but unfortunately over the next 24 to 36 hours these winds — the next 24 to 36 hours these winds are _ the next 24 to 36 hours these winds are going to be picking up winds are going to be picking up considerably coming out of the north—east right over those same _ the north—east right over those same areas dealing with the fires — same areas dealing with the fires right now. we could see gusts — fires right now. we could see gusts of— fires right now. we could see gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour_ gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour across a widespread area — per hour across a widespread area across los angeles. even 100 to _ area across los angeles. even 100 to 130 — area across los angeles. even 100 to 130 kilometres per hour in this— 100 to 130 kilometres per hour in this pink area just north of the city _ in this pink area just north of the city. this is the area where _ the city. this is the area where the fires are so we could see some — where the fires are so we could see some rapid spread of these fires _ see some rapid spread of these fires and — see some rapid spread of these fires and i— see some rapid spread of these fires and i am concerned about the embers that could be lifted into the — the embers that could be lifted into the airand the embers that could be lifted into the air and travel several kilometres away from the parent fire and — kilometres away from the parent fire and that has the ability to start _ fire and that has the ability to start new fires.- fire and that has the ability to start new fires. you have also been — to start new fires. you have also been monitoring - to start new fires. you have also been monitoring whatl to start new fires. you have i also been monitoring what we were talking about earlier, the

insurance bill. it's already colossal but what are the current predictions and can the insurance industry in california actually survive? this is the big concern. we just— this is the big concern. we just updated our numbers in the preliminary estimate is 250 to 275 billion dollars in economic damage — 275 billion dollars in economic damage and that is an insured and uninsured losses. they could — and uninsured losses. they could be _ and uninsured losses. they could be damages for years to come — could be damages for years to come perhaps in the los angeles area _ come perhaps in the los angeles area this— come perhaps in the los angeles area. this is not going to be a sneedy— area. this is not going to be a speedy recovery unfortunately. this may — speedy recovery unfortunately. this may take months or even years— this may take months or even years in— this may take months or even years in some areas and all those — years in some areas and all those numbers are baked into this figure. the concern is that— this figure. the concern is that a _ this figure. the concern is that a lot _ this figure. the concern is that a lot of the insurance companies could be pushed over the top — companies could be pushed over the top and a lot of their estimates so that is a concern as we — estimates so that is a concern as we go— estimates so that is a concern as we go forward. hopefully the insurance — as we go forward. hopefully the insurance companies on those policies — insurance companies on those policies in _ insurance companies on those policies in that area.— policies in that area. thank ou.

policies in that area. thank you- plenty _ policies in that area. thank you. plenty more - policies in that area. thank you. plenty more from - policies in that area. thank you. plenty more from los| you. plenty more from los angeles through the course of our programme. let's turn to the main stories. here in the uk, the prime minister keir starmer has been setting out how he wants britain to be a world leader in artificial intelligence. he says ai technology can boost growth and improve public services like schools and hospitals. but there was more bad economic news for the government this morning as the markets opened — the pound fell and the cost of government borrowing went up. our political correspondent helen catt reports. the prime minister seeing artificial intelligence in action. in this lab in london, it is used to manufacture pharmaceuticals. but the government has big plans for al across the uk and says it is throwing its full weight behind the tech. this is the global race of our lives. now, some countries are going to make ai breakthroughs and export them. others will end up buying those breakthroughs

and importing them. the question is, which of those will britain be — ai maker or ai taker? teachers, the government says, could use al to plan lessons. it could also be used to spot potholes that need fixing through camera feeds. ai growth zones, starting with this one in oxfordshire, will be set up and we'll see big building projects like data centres, but they use a lot of energy and some have questioned the feasibility of the plans. we need to see how they will fund all of the initiatives they are talking so enthusiastically about. it is a big deal to try to get this country's electricity grid fit for purpose, for instance, which it is not. it is a big deal to talk about small modular reactors — we are talking about small nuclear reactors to power people's data centres. who will pay for that? the big prize for the government from al is boosting the economy, which at the moment, is not showing any signs of picking up.

the pound has fallen today and government borrowing rates have gone up. some business leaders have criticised rachel reeves' decision to raise taxes on business. that came as a surprise to business — the extent of the hit, the tax hit out of business. but the truth is that in filling in one hole, it has created another, and that hole is the hole in the confidence and trust that business has in government. back in east london, sir keir defended his chancellor and said the ai plan would help. we've inherited a real mess in the economy by the last government, same with public services. we've got to turn it around. ai will help us with that, because that allows us to increase productivity hugely, to do things differently and to provide a better economy that works in a different way in the future. if things don't turn around soon, the government could be facing some difficult choices on spending.

the prime minister will be hoping ai can in part transform that choice for him too. helen catt, bbc news, westminster. with me is our artificial intelligence correspondent, marc chislack, who joins us from central london. tell me a bit more about how the government sees ai in terms of changing how we live. i the government sees ai in terms of changing how we live.- of changing how we live. i was at the speech _ of changing how we live. i was at the speech sir _ of changing how we live. i was at the speech sir keir- of changing how we live. i was at the speech sir keir starmer| at the speech sir keir starmer made earlier and he outlined the government's strategy for al. last year they commissioned ai. last year they commissioned ai. last year they commissioned ai entrepreneur matt clifford was nowjoining the number ten ai team to come up with an action plan and there are 50 recommendations on the action plan. the government says it's moving forward with single one of them. some of the headlines are things like ai growth sales, these will be areas of the country where they will have enhanced access to the power grid and streamlined planning permissions so that they can build things like data centres. data centres are vital

for the operation. they will be a new supercomputer which will pump up a new supercomputer which will pump up the uk's row competing power and there's going to be new energy council which will be led by peter kyle for science and technology secretary and ed miliband. that will try and take care of the huge energy demands that artificial intelligence brings because it's very hungry for energy. because it's very hungry for ener: . , ., _ , energy. obviously investment will be crucial _ energy. obviously investment will be crucial to _ energy. obviously investment will be crucial to all— energy. obviously investment will be crucial to all of- energy. obviously investment will be crucial to all of this, i will be crucial to all of this, take me through some of the hurdles because it will require massive changes, infrastructure development to energy, to skills? �* , ., development to energy, to skills? 2 . ., , , skills? it's a really broad lan skills? it's a really broad plan and _ skills? it's a really broad plan and that's _ skills? it's a really broad plan and that's part - skills? it's a really broad plan and that's part of i skills? it's a really broad l plan and that's part of the problem. it will affect employment to education to health care. as a consequence of that it creates quite a bit of that it creates quite a bit of risk. that risk is being skirted over perhaps by the government when we talk about safety. when we think about al it's notjust one technology

it's notjust one technology it's a whole suite of different technologies that come under the umbrella of ai and some of those technologies are more robust and safer than others. so the government could be so the gov