official permission. the business news is dominated this morning with developments at the white house. president donald trump has unveiled major new investment in artificial intelligence by the private sector. the chief executives of open ai, oracle and the japanese investment fund softbank were with the president at the white house on tuesday afternoon to announce they will work together and raise hundreds of billions of dollars for building data centers for artificial intelligence across the us. called stargate, donald trump said the joint venture is a "declaration of confidence in america". michelle fleury has the details. for months, even years, openai, the maker of chatgpt,

has been raising finance to build the massive computing power data centres that its artificial intelligence technology needs. in the past, its partner in this project has been microsoft, which is also its largest shareholders. now, openai is bringing other major backers on board. at the white house, oracle's larry ellison and softbank�*s masayoshi son from japan appeared with president trump as he announced that they will enter a joint venture with openai called stargate. now, stargate will initially open a data centre in texas and be open to other investors. mr trump claims the deal is evidence of his success in building america's ai infrastructure. claims the ceos were at pains to endorse. this monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in america's potential under a new president. let me be, a new president,

i didn't say it, they did. so i appreciate that, fellas. we wouldn't be able to do this without you, mr president. and i'm thrilled that we get to. thank you, mr president. we certainly couldn't do this without you. i it would simply be impossible. the ambition is for stargate to raise up to $500 billion for data centres over the course of mr trump's second term. one of his first actions on taking office 2a hours earlier was to rescind his predecessorjoe biden's plans for artificial intelligence. let's turn our attention to the uk. a lot of discussion of the firing of the boss of the competition and markets authority. according to the government,, the cma is not sufficiently focused on growth. marcus bokkerink, who has chaired the cma since 2002,

will be replaced by the former boss of amazon uk. the head of equities at premier brighton gave his view. it's a good move this, because actually the cma has actually been quite slow at actually coming to a decision on its mergers. clearly, the one which is particularly in focus at the moment is the vodafone merger with three network, which has been open since october 2023. but if you go back a little further to the microsoft activision merger, that was actually opened injuly 2022 and didn't opine a final determination until november 2023, it was the last of all of the regulatory authorities to clear it. so really we've seen a regulatory authority which is probably excessively bureaucratic, and i presume what they're looking to do is accelerate decision—making in this going forward. figures just out show uk government borrowing rose to £17.8 billion last month. that's the highest december figure for four years, according to official data. the office for

national statistics said public sector net borrowing was over £10 billion higher than the same month in 2023. the chief secretary to the treasury darrenjones this morning said the upcoming spending review would interrogate every line of government spending for the first time in 17 years. we will be across this at bbc news. the airline easyjet has this morning reported a smaller operating loss in the final quarter of 2024, as costs eased and holiday—makers travelled more over the christmas period. the loss came in at £40 million compared with £117 million a year earlier. the company has just taken on a new boss, the former chief financial officer kenton jarvis. and last week it announced it would resume flights to israel after halting them due to the ongoing conflict in the middle east. speaking to me a short time ago, airline analystjohn grant gave me his reaction

to these results. i think they're doing very well, they have improved in what is their first quarter of the year, and they are heading into 2025 in a very good position. yes, they have a new ceo but he was the cfo, and he is i think going to see what happens, implement the strategy that was already in place, and continue to grow the business. everything looks pretty positive for them. demand is strong, they still have some aircraft to take delivery of, the price of fuel is reducing, average fares have held up pretty well considering they have put more capacity into the market. so i think easyjet are very well placed for 2025 and beyond. earnings season is in full swing in the us, with netflix reporting its results for the october to december quarter. and it would seem netflix is going from strength to strength with the streaming giant outperforming analysts expectations by adding a record 18.9 million subscribers

during the holiday period. those numbers were helped by a whole batch of new content, with two back—to—back nfl games, including the jake paul vs mike tyson boxing match, and the return of the popular series "squid game." ross benes is senior analyst, tv and streaming, at emarketer and he told me about the strength of the netflix business. fewer people cancel netflix than they do to the other streaming services. it's almost like a utility bill that most people will just keep resubscribing. and netflix knows that so they're raising prices, knowing that most people won't cancel. and netflix has trained its investors to focus less on subscriptions and more on revenue and profit. they stopped reporting subscriptions. this was the last quarter that they've done so, and so raising prices right when you're telling people to look at profit is a good way of boosting your bottom line.

are you a netflix subscriber? i'm sure many of you are, that is the latest on how they are doing, profits going up and up. that is the latest business news. back to you. preisdent trump has been justifying his decision to pardon more than 1,500 supporters who stormed the us capitol four years ago. emma vardy reports from outside the dcjail where january 6th defendants are being processed for release. well, for two days now, supporters of the january 6th inmates in here have been waiting outside this prison, making phone calls to people still behind bars inside and giving a hero's welcome to those that come out. we've only seen a few actually coming out of this jail so far. others have been leaving prisons in other states across the us and roundly coming out to a hero's welcome because here they are characterised as political prisoners. donald trump often referred to them as the january 6th hostages. so they're being welcomed by friends and family and supporters now that

they're being released. but of course, elsewhere, we've heard a lot of criticism of these sweeping pardons, particularly from police officers who were injured in the capitol riots that day, who see this very much as a betrayal, as a message that if you're a supporter of donald trump, well, then he's giving you a free pass to carry out what they believe amounted to political violence on that day. but here for people, it's a feeling that donald trump made these promises and he kept them. and in fact, he carried out pardons, much more sweeping pardons than many people expected, because they included people that have been convicted of violent assaults that day at the capitol. and there were also commutations, effectively ending the prison sentences of the leaders of far right groups, the proud boys and the oath keepers. so it was a really expansive, very defining use of donald trump's clemency powers at the very beginning of his presidency.

the people here, they're determined to keep waiting. until every one of the january 6th defendants who remains behind bars comes out. they want to be here to see the moment and to celebrate it. people trying to buy knives online will face tougher restrictions after a man was convicted of stabbing to get three girls at a dance studio in southport. axel rudakubana was only 17 when he bought a blade on amazon despite having a prior conviction for violent offending. for doctors in ukraine, this is their battleground. these surgeons are cleaning a wound of a ukrainian soldier to stop infections. but often this is extremely challenging because medication doesn't work. such cases are called antimicrobial resistance.

this private nearly died because of it. he was wounded in eastern ukraine a year ago. shrapnel ripped through his back and abdomen. his legs had to be amputated. and because of multi—resistant infections, he had sepsis five times. "it was all very painful," he says. "i constantly called doctors at night." to treat his infections and wounds, doctors in kyiv operated on him more than 100 times. antimicrobial resistance is a global problem. but the war in ukraine makes it much harder to contain its spread here. more than 80% of patients admitted to this hospital in kyiv have multi—resistant pathogens. translation: antimicrobiall resistance is one of the major problems, especially when treating military. before they come here,

they go through several stages of medical evacuation where they pick up hospital acquired infections which are resistant to antibiotics. medicalfacilities in ukraine are facing an enormous pressure because of the war. since the start of the russian invasion, the number of beds in this intensive care unit at the hospital in dnipro has tripled and the number of staff has decreased, so maintaining sterile conditions have become very difficult. normally, all patients with multi—resistant infections must be isolated. however, due to the massive influx, hospitals here simply cannot afford to keep one person per ward. as a result, patients mix and contaminate each other. laboratories like this help to identify pathogens and advise on the most appropriate drugs to use. but when treating multi—resistant infections, only new antibiotics from a so—called restricted list can work. but the excessive use

poses new dangers. translation: we have to balance our scales. i on the one hand, we must save a patient. on the other, we mustn't breed new microorganisms that will have antimicrobial resistance. in the case of olexander, doctors managed to cure his wounds, but as pathogens grow more resistant, the struggle to save lives gets only harder. abdujalil abdurasulov, bbc news, kyiv. apologies for bringing you that report, you were expecting the southport report. that was our reporter visiting hospitals in kyiv and ypres to see how —— in dnipro. let's return to the southport story. people trying to buy knives online facing

tougher measures to prove that they are over 18 because of a conviction of the man in southport stabbing to death those three girls in the dance studio, axel rudakubana was only 17, he bought the blade on amazon despite having a prior conviction. horror born from just a couple of clicks. axel rudakubana was 17 when he bought, on amazon, the kitchen knife he used to kill three girls at a dance class in southport last summer. on monday, he pleaded guilty to the murders of bebe king, elsie dot stancombe and alice da silva aguiar after multiple authorities missed multiple chances to stop him. and despite the fact he had been convicted for violence and was just 17, he was easily able to order a knife on amazon. that is a total disgrace and it must change. a public inquiry has been launched and one area it will investigate is the ease with which he bought the weapon. the government wants

to move fast on this. sir keir starmer has pledged that online firms will be forced to ask anyone buying a knife for two types of identification — notjust a document, but something like a live selfie video, too. writing in the sun newspaper, the prime minister said: it is already illegal to sell most knives to under—18s. a former government adviser on terrorism gave us his assessment of the plan to toughen the rules. we all have some form of identity. students often have identity cards for their student lives. and so i don't see any reason why people who are buying things online should not have to establish that they are at appropriate age to buy those things online. it is no different from going into a bar and being refused service without proving that one is over 18. amazon has promised

an investigation into what happened and said it does have age verification in place. axel rudakubana's attack has prompted national anguish and a public inquiry — that may take years, but, on buying knives, change is coming fast. henry zeffman, bbc news. here, convicted benefit cheats could be stripped of their driving licences for up to two years under new draft legislation to tackle fraud. the bill being introduced in parliament today, would give officials the power to recover money directly from people's bank accounts — even if they are not on benefits but owe the government money.

our political reporter jack fenwick has more. at the budget three months ago, the chancellor said this. i can today announce a crackdown on fraud in our welfare system. today we've had the details. the plans could see new powers to retrieve the bank account details of some benefit claimants, and for government officials to recover public cash lost to fraud during covid, as well as people who defraud the system to the tune of £1,000 being stripped of their driving licence. high—street banks are understood to be uneasy about the department for work and pensions forcing them to hand over details about claimants thought to be cheating the system — as are charities who help people with their claims. what we need is a system that supports instead of suspects — we need support, not suspicion. there are hundreds of thousands of people in the uk who need support to get back on their feet, get back into work. immediately making people feel that they're going to be suspected as they apply for benefits, or as their

circumstances change, is a real inhibitor for getting the support that we need to get back on our feet. but the cabinet minister responsible insists the measures would save the taxpayer up to £1.5 billion over the next five years. the work and pensions secretary said people need to have confidence the government is opening all available doors to tackle fraud and eliminate waste, and said it would lead to greater consequences for fraudsters who cheat and evade the system. those worried will be watching events at westminster today in the hope of hearing more about when exactly bank account details might have to be shared. jack fenwick, bbc news, westminster. rewilding is often encouraged by environmental campaigners, as a way of reintroducing lost species to the uk. but there's a number of activists who are taking things one step further, by releasing rare animals into the wild — without permission. derek gow is the uk's leading

"guerilla rewilder" — breeding extinct dormice, adders and lynx with plans to release them, regardless of government rules. our climate editorjustin rowlatt went to meet him. derek gow is a renegade. some would call him a criminal. he breeds british indigenous animals with a view to releasing them into the wild. what he is doing is potentially illegal because some of the animals he breeds became extinct here hundreds of years ago, and there are laws against their release. animals like these magnificent creatures — lynx. derek, when was the last time these would have been seen in the wild in the uk? late middle ages — so you're looking at probably somewhere in region of 400, 500 years ago. freeing animals like this into the wild is very controversial. a few weeks ago, four lynx were released in the scottish highlands. they were caught. one of the cats later died. police scotland is investigating the incident.

you've got lynx. did you release lynx into scotland? i did not release lynx in scotland. would you consider doing that? would i consider doing it? mm, i think it'd be really difficult. and our cats would not be good candidate cats because they're so tame. the creatures that should be here aren't here because of what we did in the past. and... and now that we just don't need as many sheep or all the food, in theory, that the landscape's going to produce, why can't we start to restore some of the lost creatures to it? this is notjust a hobby. derek gow�*s 400—acre farm here in devon has become a centre for breeding rare species. he employs 15 people, and while he may not have any plans to release his lynx into the wild any time soon, this place has become a hub for other covert species reintroductions. it's a girl. some of his team are weighing water voles. 110.

so you've got some growing to do, my love. gow says he's released some 25,000 of this once common, now endangered species over the years. he's also responsible for releasing dozens of these — beavers — into the wild here in the uk. and he's working with other species. the last recorded uk breeding pair of black storks was in 1416. white storks were also once indigenous to the uk, but are now extinct. he's got polecats, and is now breeding insects, too — including these glow worms. this is irresponsible. you don't know the damage that could be done, you don't know the financial impacts that could be caused. where are the impact assessments? and in the event that we end up in a position where they need to be controlled, there is no ability to control those species. so i think it really is irresponsible.

derek gow says the uk is facing an urgent nature emergency, and government rules on reintroductions are too restrictive, too complex, and far too slow. you're making unilateral decisions without regard for what the regulations say you should do. well, i'm making unilateral decisions, but those decisions are to release — i don't know — a lot of benign water voles. you know, i'm doing good things. i'm on the side of, you know, of the small and oppressed. i don't think i'm doing anything bad. he plans to release these scottish wildcats later this year. now, gow�*s activities may sound noble, but his approach is divisive. some see him as a courageous visionary, others regard him as an arrogant maverick whose animal releases could do more harm than good. justin rowlatt, bbc news, devon. fly—tipping blights communities, angers residents and costs local authorities thousands to clean up. in litchfield, an enormous 15—metre—long mound of rubbish has been illegally dumped —

completely blocking a rural road. the waste, which was abandoned overnight on monday, is so huge, it prevents cars from passing and has forced local businesses to shut. our reporter laura may mcmullan has more. clearing up the mess after tons of rubbish was fly—tipped down this country lane in lichfield overnight on sunday. just unbelievable. it's just a nightmare. business owners arriving for work on monday morning couldn't access their premises. it's not normal fly—tipping, is it? no. it's tons of rubbish. we need to pay the staff. the staff can't lose their wages — that's not their fault — and we're going to have a lot of stock to throw away because we do everything from fresh. i really don't think. there's words, we're absolutely destroyed by it. how can somebody get away with doing this? i the beautiful countryside seems to just be disappearing quickly, and this is how, obviously, quite a few people view it — just a dumping ground. they say it's another

blow for the 40 traders at curborough hall farm on watery lane. the main issue is that the opposite end of watery lane environmental protection managerjack twomey says he's never dealt with such a large amount of illegal waste as this, despite investigating more than 500 fly—tipping incidents last year. we've found a fair bit of evidence in there. it's pointing in one direction, so we're going to follow up on those leads. as the waste is being removed, we've been going in there and trying to search through the core of the waste to see if we can find more, and that's throwing up a bit more. today's clear—up has cost lichfield district council — and its taxpayers — more than £10,000. they say they're determined to prosecute those responsible. laura may mcmullan, bbc news. there have been record snowfall in the gulf coast of united

states. they are more accustomed to tropical weather and hurricanes but look at it now, texas and florida experiencing icy conditions not seen for decades. this is galveston in texas which usually has average temperatures of 20 celsius in january, louisiana issued its first ever blizzard warning on tuesday. hundreds of flights have been cancelled and some very snowy pictures also going around from florida. let's go to the scene here at the crossing point in gaza, rafah, you can see the destruction alongside that road going inside and out of gaza along the rafah crossing. we have been watching many aid trucks going in with food aid, fuel and it looks like building materials as well. there are so many trucks going in now, 900 on tuesday alone, the target hour corresponded injerusalem was saying is 600 a day so that

is being exceeded, nothing at the moment but that shot is one we are watching all day with the aid deliveries going in now. hello. wednesday is going to be quite a quiet day weather wise, albeit a rather murky one at times. however, by the end of the week things will be a lot livelier. we have a named storm on the way. storm eowyn, already yellow warnings from the met office, the risk that some places could see gusts of wind of 90mph. but for the time being, certainly no strong winds. in fact, very few isobars on our pressure chart. so very light winds. that has allowed some mist and fog to form, some of that taking a while to clear. but across scotland, northern ireland, northern england, wales, the south west through the afternoon we should see sunny spells and just the odd shower, whereas for central and eastern parts of england we'll hold on to more in the way of cloud, maybe a little bit of rain and temperatures 5 to 8 degrees. so in spite of the light winds, it's going to feel fairly chilly. and it's going to turn cold

again through the night, especially where we have some clear spells. we could see some mist and fog patches, some areas of cloud. temperatures dropping down to freezing, below freezing in places. but later in the night into the first part of thursday morning, we see a band of rain pushing into northern ireland, that will swing its way eastwards through the day. could well see some snow mixing in over high ground across some northern parts of scotland. it's going to be fairly breezy, but that is just the precursor to what is heading our way on friday. now, to find out where storm eowyn is forming, we have to look out into the atlantic and look up to the jet stream. the winds high in the atmosphere atjet stream level likely to exceed 250mph. so that extraordinarily strong jet stream providing the fuel, the energy to deepen this area of low pressure. this low will be deepening rapidly as it approaches our shores, and storm eowyn is likely to bring widespread gales, outbreaks of rain, some snow across the north,

but it is across these irish sea coasts where at the moment it looks most likely that we could see wind gusts of 80 to possibly 90mph, maybe even stronger than that in the most exposed spots. obviously those winds could cause some damage and some significant disruption, and that does usher in a rather turbulent period of weather. there will be further spells of wind and rain in the days ahead.

live from london, this is bbc news. president trump public first day back in the white house ends with a 500 billion ai project and further controls. his plans to end diplomatic citizenship in the us have been met by opposition from 17 states. this is a scene live in gaza.

over 200 eight tracks have entered as displaced palestinians enter to assess the scale of the damage. and a day of mourning in turkey following a hotel fire that killed at least 70 people. hello. welcome to the programme. we start in the united states. it was a dizzying first full day in office for donald trump in the start of a second term as president. he signed more executive orders, but is key announcement was the creation of a huge artificial intelligence project called stargate. he called it the biggest project of its kind in history. it will see the private sector investment i've hundred billion dollars in al infrastructure over four years. mr trump said it would create around 100,000 jobs. the

initiative expand existing plans to build data centres.