but remains above the bank of england's target. south korea's suspended president is arrested after a failed attempt to impose martial law — police break through barricades to take him into custody. negotiations for a ceasefire deal in gaza continue — all sides indicate an agreement is closer than ever. hello, i'm catherine byaruhanga. police in south africa say at least 60 bodies have been recovered from an abandoned mine south ofjohannesburg. the stilfontein mine has been under siege since august, with the authorities cutting off food and water supplies to force people to the surface as part of a wider crackdown on illegal mining. more than a hundred people have been rescued, many of whom were then

arrested. let's speak to mayeni jones who's in our johannesburg bureau. you have been to the site of this operation around the mine. what did you witness there? we went what did you witness there? - went down to stilfontein yesterday to see how the rescue operation was going. the authorities there, yesterday was the longest working day they had. they started on monday and were working until 10pm last night recovering bodies and survivors. we witnessed some pretty emaciated miners pretty soon after they were pulled out of the mine, some to walk walk on their own, many supported by members of emergency services who got them into ambulances and tents. we witnessed the minister of police and minister of mineral resources and resources and petroleum patrolling the site to see how the rescue operation was going up they gave a press

conference shortly after.- conference shortly after. south africa is a _ conference shortly after. south africa is a developed _ conference shortly after. south africa is a developed economy. how did it come to this, that we are seeing such grim scenes of people coming out, dead bodies taken from the mine the sand people coming out emaciated, as you said? last earthe emaciated, as you said? last year the authorities - emaciated, as you said? last year the authorities decided, they launched an operation, it was meant to be a crackdown on illegal mining. the minister of hill mineral resources he said illegal mining takes away 60 billion rand last yearfrom illegal mining takes away 60 billion rand last year from the south african economy, around $2 billion. they say it is important to crack down on it because it takes away from the south african economy. it is also incredibly dangerous, causes environmental damage around communities affected and there is a lot of criminality attached to it. they decided to crackdown on illegal mining, take a tougher stance on things. in this particular mine stilfontein though initially refused to provide food and

water to miners, blocking off some exits, meaning there was only one way out for a lot of them to come out. that's why them to come out. that's why the siege has lasted this long with many miners were read because of the crackdown they would be arrested if they tried to come out. those who did come out found it incredibly difficult, this mine is two kilometres deep and at the one exit, people are telling us, they had to pull them out by rope and it took up to an hour. by rope and it took up to an hour. by then many of the miners were too weak to make the journey. many of the loved ones, relatives of people still trapped in the mine, have been gathering there trying to get answers. what do you think will happen next?— answers. what do you think will happen next? they were waiting there yesterday, _ happen next? they were waiting there yesterday, accompanied . happen next? they were waiting | there yesterday, accompanied by trade union members, members from civil society. they really want their relatives to be rescued. they have been advocating for this for months. they even took the authorities to court and on friday the high court found in their favour which is why this rescue

operation has finally started. for them the primary thing is to find out information about their loved ones, have they passed away, are they still alive? they are also very angry at authorities, saying the rescue operation should have started sooner. they acknowledge that perhaps what the miners were doing was illegal but they say they should have been arrested, saved earlier and arrested rather than being left underground to staff for this long. underground to staff for this lonu. �* u, underground to staff for this lon. �* long. our africa correspondent ma eni long. our africa correspondent mayeni jones. _ long. our africa correspondent mayeni jones, thank _ long. our africa correspondent mayenijones, thank you. - long. our africa correspondent l mayeni jones, thank you. those mayenijones, thank you. those are live pictures from the scene. the rescue operation is ongoing to try and get more of the illegal miners who are there in that shaft out safely. may onlyjones has been reporting from the scene, go to the bbc website to read the powerful reports and shocking scenes on some of the dead who have been removed from the mine and those desperate calls from

relatives to make sure the rest of them are brought out safety. survivors of a fatal dive boat sinking in the red sea allege the subsequent investigation tried to cover up safety failings they believe contributed to the disaster. the sea story sank in november last year, with at least 11 people dead or missing. for more than a month, our correspondentjoe inwood has been speaking to people who were on board the vessel, investigating notjust the causes of the disaster, but the way it was handled afterwards. as they came ashore, the survivors of the sea story thought their ordeal was over. they've told us it was not. their allegations are extraordinary, of witness statements translated by a company employee... because he had kind of posed as, just kind of fit in with, like, the police and the investigators in the back. and i said, "who are you?" and he said, "i'm a dive guide." ..of being pushed to sign

statements with safety concerns removed. . . under the pressure of the circumstances, we most of us did end up signing these statements. ..and ofjudges who they felt had already made up their minds about why the boat sank. he said, no. the only responsible for this is the sea, is the wave. these people were the first to be rescued from the sea story, the dive boat which sunk in egypt's red sea last november. they were exhausted and traumatised but say they were made to give statements almost straightaway. they gave them to someone they thought was a translator. they've told us he admitted after that he worked for the company that owned the boat. this guy who was interviewing us, he was the dive guide, they had left it where it felt like he was just another investigator, and not somebody who worked for the company. it felt very, very deceitful looking back. they say those translations were then taken by the judges leading the investigation.

a normaljudge, i would say, can't take a translation from someone that's obviously totally involved into the process. this was the sea story before it sank. all the survivors we interviewed had safety concerns. many believe they were removed from their statements. i noticed most of what i had said about the safety equipment and what was and wasn't there in the liferaft wasn't included. all my statements about the condition of the life rafts and safety issues on the boat, thatjust didn't, yeah, they were just away. the survivors initially thought the investigation might find what caused the boat to sink. they soon came to the conclusion it was all about avoiding blame. this question kept coming up over and over again. do you accuse anyone? and they were very eager to have us all sign that no, we don't, and make it quite difficult for us to answer

anything other than no. lucianna galetta had spent 35 hours trapped here. in the slowly sinking hull of the sea story before she was finally rescued. she says she was pressured to give a statement from her hospital bed. we just wanted to get rid of them, to be able to leave because they didn't want us to leave the hospital before doing this interview. it wasn't just those in hospital who say they felt pressured. he said, "until you don't sign this, you cannot even go to sleep." so we were there until 11 or 12 at night without having slept all night, without any psychological help. with the last survivors found, the group needed to return to cairo.

having lost their passports, special papers were needed to get through checkpoints. 0ne survivor accused the company, who owned the boat, of making one final attempt to get him to sign a liability waiver. he says, "0k, we have the papers, to leave. we just need everybody to sign this. there's one for each person and we can go." i get to the bottom and the last sentence is, it's the same release of liability question that he had put. "i do not accuse anyone of any criminal wrongdoing." and then he wants us to sign this. my blood was boiling and i went and got other people to see it. and then it was gone and it just magically disappeared. and then the paperwork that we truly needed was there. in total, 35 people were rescued from the sea story. four bodies were recovered. seven people have never been found, including jenny and tarig from devon. theirfriends and family are still waiting for answers. it would appear that the egyptian authorities are doing their very best

to kind of sweep this under the carpet, pretend like nothing's happened. but there's a clear track record there now, there's been many, many incidents in the last few years that, of dive boats sinking in the red sea. and, of course, they want to protect tourism. we've tried a number of times to contact both the egyptian government and dive pro liveaboard, but have never received a response. the survivors and the families of the dead and missing are still waiting for answers they now doubt will ever come. joe inwood, bbc news. the social media giant meta has announced its cutting 5% of its workforce. the company behind facebook, instagram and whatsapp says it expects 2025 to be an intense year. microsoft is also pausing recruitment in a major unit in america as part of its cost cutting plans. from new york, michelle fleury has more.

in a memo to staff, meta ceo mark zuckerberg said that 2025 will be an intense year for the company, as it works on building what he describes as some of the most important technologies in the world. mr zuckerberg went on to say that in order to raise the performance of meta staff, the company would take steps to move out low—performing employees faster than originally planned. currently, meta employs some 72,000 people. cutting 5% of its payroll would be its first major staff reduction since it shed a quarter of its workforce in 2022 and 2023. meanwhile, microsoft has also given a signal thatjobs maybe given a signal thatjobs may be becoming harder to come by in the us technology sector. it told its workers on tuesday that it plans to pause hiring in its consulting arm in america.

this comes only a week after it announced a round of lay—offs. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

to india now where businesses are focused on the incoming trump presidency and the impact of his threats to impose tariffs. mr trump will be inaugurated on monday, but already the president—elect�*s proposals have been making global traders nervous. but in india, manufacturers are more optimistic, hoping to benefit from companies seeking to find new factories located outside china, the us's main trade adversary. archahna shukla reports. humming with renewed energy, india's factories are hoping donald trump's threat of a tariff war with china brings in new business from global clients.

these are motherboards, the computer hardware that power your laptops, desktops, remotes, even your appliances. until five years ago, india was completely reliant on imports for such it hardware but today, factories like these manufacture almost 50% of it locally. this is one segment where india is trying to push its manufacturing muscle. bengaluru—based zetwerk feels this makes india well—placed to fill the gap if and when us imposes high tariffs on chinese imports and it forces global firms to look for alternatives. now that we are posed for the second term of president trump, i think global supply chain planners hopefully are ready with a solution. i personally feel india is a great choice. we have reached out to us potential customers and so they know about our offering, our capabilities in india.

the us is one of india's largest trading partners and its biggest export market, with a two—way trade of $190 billion last year. and it is notjust goods, india exports services of specialised talent that fuels the us tech industry. they tax us, we tax them. the word reciprocal is important because if somebody charges us, india, if india charges us 100%, do we charge them nothing for the same? economists say india will need to relook its own trade policies to deal with trump's aggressive tactics. trump is very pro—us business and in that contest, he has a us—first kind of approach. wherever the us businesses are going to face an issue, be it any country, be it india or otherwise, he is going to protest against it. he would be reactive if india

continues to have high tariffs on us products. in a changed world dynamics, india is already warming up to ease protectionism, looking to boost trade that helps create jobs. when you think of kenya, you don't necessarily think of snow and ice. but there is one place in the capital, nairobi, where it gets pretty cold. the ice rink at the panari hotel. that's where the kenya ice lions ? the country 5 only ice hockey team ? train weekly. despite the sport being uncommon across africa — the ice lions have continued to go from strength to strength. they will now get a chance to compete on the international stage having recently gained membership to the international ice hockey federation. priya sippy reports. this is the only ice rink in central and east africa. it's where the kenya ice lions

train, kenya's first and only hockey team. they were recently granted membership to the international ice hockey federation, becoming only the fifth african team to join. 0ur skill level has grown tremendously. we actually won a tournament internationally. this proved to us and to everyone else that yes, we are cut for this and we can do this. some of the things that i think we tried to focus on the most is the individual skills, the teamwork and the team skills — recognising what your role is on a team and when you're on the ice, what is your role? what is your responsibility? this is the defensive zone. one guy here, one guy here, the other guy, the third guy is going to go where their other guy goes. i never imagined that i could play ice hockey, especially in kenya. you'd see it maybe on christmas movies. that happens somewhere else, not in kenya. stepping onto the ice

was, it was exciting. it was... it was an experience, i'd say, out of this world. but because ice hockey is not a common sport in africa, they have faced many challenges along the way. the biggest challenge is ice time, access to ice, it's expensive. and then you have a lot of specialised gear. it's a very physical sport. you need a lot of protective gear. 0vertime, it's developed, its grown. thanks to media exposure, a couple of trips we've done — one to canada, a few others — we get people now giving us donations in terms of equipment, in terms of funds for ice time. and this has really helped grow the team. many of kenya's ice hockey players first started out in roller hockey. it's where the ice lions come to scout their new talent for the team. you see kids skating

and you see their potential, and you ask them, maybe, would you like to try? i love ice hockey very much because the coaches push you to be your best. like, you're playing on the ice, you forget about everything else. they are also looking to start a women's team. playing ice hockey feels amazing, together with the men, because we are also growing as women, because we also want to grow as a women's team. joining the international ice hockey federation will give them a chance to go for their dream — qualifying for the winter olympics. translation: they have to see the kenyan flag i flying on the ice. we must show others that we have arrived. an inspiring story, and if you want to find out more about the kenya ice lions look out for the bbc africa daily podcast

brought to us by colleagues from the world service. you can find out more there. two privately—constructed lunar landers and a micro rover launched from florida this morning. this is the moment the space x rocket carrying them blasted off from the kennedy space center. ignition and lift off. one of the landers is american, while the other two vehicles are japanese. the companies behind them hope to emulate the success of a texas—based firm, that last year became the first non—government entity to touch down on the moon. you're watching bbc news. virginia woolf is remembered as a legend of literature, though perhaps not always for her comedy. but a new period drama based on the novel night and day — one of her lesser known pieces of work — brings herfunny side to the big screen, with the help of some famous faces. 0ur reporter sharuna sagar got an exclusive look behind the scenes.

beneath the gothic architecture of one of newcastle's finest buildings, a new virginia woolf adaptation is being filmed. inspired by night and day — one of her lesser known novels — it explores themes of feminism and equality. but if you were expecting a serious and stuffy period drama, you're in for a surprise. it's actually more of a comedy, which might leave you thinking, "who knew virginia woolf was funny?" well, the cast of great british comedy actors, who are involved in the production, for a start. and that includes jennifer saunders. i play mrs hilbery, who is the mother of the main character, katharine hilbery. and she's very much stuck in the edwardian era, whereas katharine is moving

into being a modern woman. it's a lovely character to play because she wants to get there. but society is what it is. and i don't know how women ever operated in this clothing. is this your last period drama? the last ever — honestly. i did, um, lady windermere's fan on stage, and i swore that would be my last corset. i thought this was set after the war. reporter laughs. rudy, will you please find my daughter? playing her husband, another national treasure, timothy spall. mr hilbery, who certainly represents the most sort of trenchant attitude of the victorian sort of establishment, really. he cannot in any way perceive how modern attitudes are going to exist, particularly for his daughter, who he hopes is going to be married, have children and certainly not have a job. so this is actually a rom com.

hopefully, it's funny. in the nearly 50 years i've done... i never know whether it's going to work. timothy spall�*s in it, of course it's going to work! well, you say that! the story centres around a young edwardian woman, played by actor haley bennett, who does everything she can to avoid romantic love, so that she can pursue her real passion — astronomy. roll the camera, please. action! in this scene, our leading lady's trying to salvage her stargazing equipment. a well—meaning gent tries to help her, but she's having none of it. katharine hilbery has zero interest in love. until she... until this very fetching man comes along — ralph denham — who's unlike anyone she's ever met and changes her mind a little bit. i said when i get the vote, i'll be the one wearing the trousers and you'll be free

to do the ironing. the film is full of feisty women fighting for the vote, and it features lily allen in herfirst film role. the character i'm playing is a sort of ceo of her own little suffragette movement, and she is a sort of source of inspiration for katharine, who, you know, is the lead character in the film. and she sort of inspires her to follow her dreams and stand up for herself. will you please find my daughter? they're just resetting in the library. but i'vejust seen a familiar face over here. jack whitehall, what are you doing in here on your own? i'm waiting to be used. i'm like a coiled spring. they're about to get to my scene. well, i say they're about to get to my scene... they've been about to get to my scene for four hours. tell me about the character you play, then.

i play william rodney, who is one of the love interests. but i have modelled my character on, �*90s newcastle legend philippe albert. so that's what i was trying to channel with this moustache. is that your real...? this is a real moustache, yeah. sorry. yeah. no, that's actually, i've grown that all myself. that's impressive! i thought i looked very debonair, to be honest. and my father told me that i look like ned flanders from the simpsons. waiting to shoot the next scene leaves plenty of time for touch ups. i'm playing cousinjoan, who is a spinster aunt of the heroine. and i had never read virginia woolf until recently. and who knew that she was funny? night and day is a really, really funny novel. jennifer saunders and i actually had been through the book combing for funny lines. and when they're not looking, we sort of slide them in. so you can imagine it's quite a lot of fun. and to think that all these years, the wit in woolf's work has been overshadowed by the gloom. the hope is that with this

new film, her sense of humour will shine through. sharuna sagar, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello again. it's been a misty and murky start to the day today. we have had a lot of low cloud, some fog as well but thatis cloud, some fog as well but that is now slowly lifting from all but the far south—east of england. high pressure is firmly in charge of our weather. you can see the squeeze on the isobars indicating that it is pretty windy in the north—west and we've got an approaching weather front introducing thicker cloud through the afternoon. we will also see some rain. by then it should have brightened up for most. again, sunny spells except for in the far south—east where we do hang on to the cloud. so quite a grey afternoon in the south—eastern quarter of the country. temperatures, nine to ii country. temperatures, nine to 11 degrees, sojust a little bit above average for the time of year. now heading on into

the evening and overnight, we continue with the cloud across the south—east. we see further mist and fog patches form across central and southern england, into the south—west and dumfries and galloway in particular. but under clearer skies it will be a cold night, colder than last night. where we've got the blues that indicates temperatures below freezing. so once again we will see some pockets of frost develop. tomorrow morning then, we still have high pressure in charge but it is pulling a bit further away towards the east. isobars tell their own story but they effectively are keeping the weather fronts at bay in the atlantic at this stage will stop so mist and fog to lift slowly. we hang on to the cloud across the south—east once again. it will brighten up, but with high cloud across northern ireland and also parts of scotland, the sunshine will be hazy at times and still gusty winds. temperatures down a touch on today, looking at six to about ten degrees. so thursday into friday, you can

see approaching weather fronts do come in, push northwards. as we head towards the weekend, as the high pressure continues to edge further east across other parts of europe, weather fronts start to make inroads from the west. what's that going to do to the temperature? well, this weekend it's going to introduce in cooler conditions, as represented by the blues, not just by day but also by night. and once again we will have so mist and fog patches forming as well. so the outlook, we start off with mist and fog, slow to clear, but as we go through the ensuing few days you can see how very slowly the temperatures start to slide.

live from london — this is bbc news. air raid alerts and emergency power cuts across ukraine — as authorities say critical infrastructure has been hit in a �*massive' russian missile attack.

south korea's suspended president is arrested after a failed attempt to impose martial law — police break through barricades to take him into custody. negotiations for a ceasefire deal in gaza — all sides indicate an agreement is closer than ever. and there are fears over rising wind speeds in los angeles — which threaten to stoke multiple wildfires. hello, i'm catherine byaruhanga. our top story — critical infrastructure in western ukraine has been hit in a �*massive' russian attack, that's according to officials in the city of lviv. the extent of the russian attack in ukraine is still not completely clear. there are no reports of casualties at the moment. but ukraine has imposed emergency power cuts in six regions in response.

it comes as ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky