verifiable defence. i would say _ defence? verifiable defence. i would say it — defence? i would say it is _ defence? verifiable defence. i would say it is 80-20 - defence? verifiable defence. i would say it is 80-20 in - defence? verifiable defence. i | would say it is 80-20 in favour would say it is 80—20 in favour of their argument. most of the move has been because of strong us economic data on inflation and thejobs side, we have us economic data on inflation and the jobs side, we have also heard from president—elect trump about potential for tariffs which could be inflationary, all received badly by global bond investors and the uk isjust party badly by global bond investors and the uk is just party to that but i would say there is that but i would say there is that 20, decreases and the bites, the tail risk associated with the budget, with the obvious slowdown in the economy since the general election in july last year. since the general election in july last year-— july last year. indeed, the buduet july last year. indeed, the budget announced - july last year. ind

that was us secretary i defence i god bless.sident donald trump will be giving press conference giving a press conference on this plane crash. he give briefing 77 briefing the 77 briefing thewhite briefing the white house gtbriefing at the white house iiam gtbriefing at the white house ”am eastern time, that is at ”am eastern time, that is for pm gmt. we will be hearing little more from a little hit—ef- fee— a president trump. a little earlier, he took to his truth earlier. he tooh to his trsthrw , . , ~ , platform and this. airline was on a the airline was on a perfect routine line of approach, and routine line of approach, the airport, the helicopter was going straight at aeroplane eethe elsetehl e�*.�* the sergeants—cg" —. ~ n , o w ~ an -�*—- stash-ht et the eeu-r�*e“; s. ~ s. . er a, —— an of -�*—- etreh-eht et the eeur�*erer re ee re e er rr ee an of time, for an extended period of time, it is a clear night, the lights the plane were blazing, why on the plane were blazing, why didn't the helicopter go up or down or turn? w

well, maritime trade and defence _ collaboration? well, maritime i manufacturer over the two key areas discussed this time around and also expanding their endeavours and their trade basket. remember indonesia in this region is a key ally for india as it seeks to position itself as it seeks to position itself as a counterbalance to china. more than half of india's trade travels through the south china sea and the malacca strait and this is something india wants to preserve and that is why the relationship between india and indonesia is crucialfor relationship between india and indonesia is crucial for india and that also was one of the key conversations between the indian prime minister and the indonesian president over the weekend. in fact, the indian prime minister said that ties with indonesia were crucial to promote a rule—based order in the region. apart from this, they also spoke about expanding partnership and defence manufacturing, that india would support indonesia in a their defence fleet and a missile was one of the key conversations, accor

mark we president zelenskyy speaking at a post today, calling europe to massively ramped up defence spending. iendina. ~ , spending. i think things might be shifting _ spending. i think things might be shifting because _ spending. i think things might be shifting because trump - be shifting because trump talked on his campaign trail about solving ukraine in 2a hours, like it was going to be really easy. and like some of the other stuff coming from around him, notjust him personally come about this sort of deal he might do is quite worrying because it talked about cease—fire, withdrawal of forces to lines of separation, but also ukraine excepting it wouldn't get the territory it's lost to russia back, and also accepting it can neverjoin nato or the eu. which looks pretty much like a comprehensive victory in terms of putin getting all his objectives. they've moved, they are not talking about the detail of that not very much now, but the man asked to negotiate on behalf of of trump, national security adviser during the last trump administration of a familiar figure to us, he is going on and inform

i do think the trump administration is going to increase defence spending with a focus on denying a chineseion trade, we saw that donald trump was willing to get tough with china on trade in the first term and i think he will go back to that, in interest of reviving this stage one trade deal they signed with china, if they can't get that off the ground they will turn to tariffs pretty quickly. i think the point isn't the tariffs themselves it is to put pressure on china to bring them to the to negotiate, number other issues as well — ideology but i do think defence and trade will be the top two priorities. the ccp seem eager to avoid confrontation, xi is sending a top—level envoy to the inauguration and in public, the leadership are saying that trump is someone they know, that they can deal with. might that strategy work? the trump administration will force them into that position? i would challenge the premise of the question, you are right china at a diplomatic and rhetorical level talks about cooperation but if you look at their behaviour on a day—to—day basis, they have military coercio

nick, what's been the response in parliament today to the defence secretary's announcement? it's interesting, ing—standing interest in defence, and said, you've got to get across this statement by the defence secretary, it's really important. because of course there was that disruption between finland and estonia on christmas day, to the undersea cables, and a seniorfigure said, you've got to know about it, and insisted on pressing into my hands a statement by the defence secretary so i could look at it and understand it. it's interesting that james cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary gave it a very, very strong, and did pick up on that revelation you talk to pollard about, that we had, it looks like it was a nuclear powered submarine p°pplng was a nuclear powered submarine popping up and saying, we are here, though that ship then came back. and the conservatives did give it a warm welcome but in his final remarks, james cartlidge said, please can we make sure we get an announcement on what is happening in defence spending because of the government is talking about 2.5% of gdp on that and w

i was working for some other candidates, advising on defence issues. lunch. and to my shock, i thought the man was terrific. very smart, very smart, very serious, and he understood the underlying problems. there's conflicts but there's usually something beneath them. he understood that. and i got to know him pretty well during the campaign. ihis know him pretty well during the cam aiun. , , , know him pretty well during the camaiun. , , , ., campaign. his biggest foreign oli campaign. his biggest foreign policy achievement _ campaign. his biggest foreign policy achievement is - campaign. his biggest foreign | policy achievement is probably helping to negotiate the camp david accords that brought a peace, really, between israel and egypt. it's one of the longest lasting, most stable treaties the us has helped negotiate. what did you make of that? and the way he really put such singular focus on what he did between those two nations? it was a high priority for him. that was one that — it was his initiative to bring about peace between these countries. i

defence contractor executives. and where has it gotten us? he believes and ito give someone with dust on his boots the helm. a change agent, someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programmes or approved narratives. my only special interest is the war fighter. deterring wars and if called upon winning wars by ensuring our warriors never enter a fair fight. we let them win and we bring them home. like many of my generation, i have been there. i have led troops in combat, i have been on patrol for days. i have pulled the trigger down range, herd bullets whizzed by, flex curved insurgents, called in close air support, dodged ieds, pulled out dead bodies. and not before a battlefield cross. this is not academic for me. this is my life. i led then and i will lead now. ask anyone who has ever worked for me or with me, i know what i don't know. my success as a leader and i very much look forward to discussing my organisations successes. i am incredibly proud of the work that we have done. but my success as a leader has always been setting a c

and north '03% economic growth which is why it was such a positive economic time and talking about defence ieve we need to spend obviously more on defence and also spend smarter on defence as it's broken the way we get these weapons are making it harder for nuke groups to develop new technologies and in russia and ukraine elsewhere in the face of the modern battlefield has changed and will keep on changing and america needs to keep pace with that change and it will save money and it's identified cost savings eight days into this thing and the most important thing it will do is making bureaucracy bureaucracy to the effective president. i can tell you stories i've heard we have other things to do unfortunately i would love to hang out for an hour but if you look at the president issues an executive order saying we won't give grants to organizations that do x, y, and z and they have identified grants that will be made in violation of an executive order to stop them right before the money was wired. we talked about making the people's government government responsive to the people's president do

people under occupation, and i think it is genuine, and will — inherited in the including armed resistance. is not about the resistance, because the resistance is an act of defencense. why not call the israelis dr naim, i asked you about october the 7th, look, resistance is a comprehensive approach. it could be political, it could be diplomatic, it could be by bds, it could be in the media, in the movement, in hamas, and with otherfactions, and with other palestinians who might have other approaches. the main goal is how to get rid of the occupation. to get rid of the occupation. we will come back to that. but what i'm wanting you to focus on, because you have never answered the question of the day itself. since then, you've admitted there were mistakes — you can imagine. cutting people's heads off is a form of torture. hamas committed widespread torture on the day. un organisations and human rights bodies — 20,000 palestinians were killed between 2000 and 2023. mm. is a response to a suffocating sieae. .. , , ., and occupation for 76 years. dr naim, i'm asking you, though, hamas is not responsible for that. because if you are suffocating me, i am defending myse

i believe. what will a reset achieve? so, this meeting is not your normal sort of european union council meeting or anything like that. so it's very specific. we have a strong finance sector. defenceurity. and i think this is the reason why this meeting is being held. security reasons. the five, the 5% of gdp spent on military by the us. if the uk don't start to move towards that. and that is a big target. it's huge expenditure and we need to think very different world to when we left the european the country's annual budget on saturday — outlining the government's spending plan for the coming year. the bbc�*s arunoday mukharji has been looking at what are the key priority areas for the government. car makers showcasing their best at this year's auto show in india. to a four—year low. even the smaller, affordable cars seeing a drop their affordability part of it vis a vis the increase in the to spend and the industry is hoping for some and because consumption makes up 60% of india's gdp, the urban consumption does require a handholding, incentive coming in from the budget. income class earners some kind of reprieve to give a boost to their disposable income, which ultimately trans

you heard another defence i how difficult will it be? c can look at his record at the time of the next general election and say has this been a success? he has highlighted it as an area that the public can keep tojudge him by as an area that the public can keep to judge him by and as an area that the public can keep tojudge him by and hold him to account. that will be significant in the election in four orfive years' time. significant in the election in four or five years' time. flank ou. four or five years' time. flank you- now— four or five years' time. flank you. now time _ four or five years' time. flank you. now time for _ four or five years' time. flank you. now time for a - four or five years' time. flank you. now time for a look- four or five years' time. flank you. now time for a look at l four or five years' time. flank i you. now time for a look at the weather. this week we are looking at the cold weather continuing. further wintry showers for some. widespread frosts and the risk of ice first thing. you can see the colder blues

i credit. he's done his time in war theaters and is now the new defence secretary. how surprised if at all are you? >> i'm not surprised. i think pete really put this confirmation process on his back when he stood up to a lot of the attacks that game against him. he refocused his entire confident -- confirmation through his meetings with senators in his hearing on the war fighter eat those. he said i'm going to be a different kind of defence secretary. after 4 years of no accountability, particularly in the fall of afghanistan and everything that went wrong there. the fact that nobody was ever fired after the absolute tragedy that we saw unfold there. i think it really paves the way for pete to come in and say i will be a change agent to fix this and congratulations to pete, to the hegseth family. this is a great night. he worked hard for this and i think it's going to be a refreshing change for that institution that hasn't passed an audit in 7 or 8 years. >> kevin: he really certainly went through it throughout the process. just a few things, first of all a few defe

we have to take into account all our security and our defence requirements. ially enumerate them here at the moment, the 7th of october it was a horrific blow and terrible pain, but with shared forces we push them back and we achieved amazing achievements. so the entire world were extremely impressed by these accomplishments. the state of israel ic with tremendous elevation of spirit, the way with your emotional strength, you are standing steadfast. and i want to thank you for the support that are giving us to continue leading the state of israel and such fateful times. israel and such fateful times. i have seen people in their best of contact, all of them, if we are talking about the 655, the most to sound, the general gss, the most to sound, the general security forces, the idf, the volunteers, are people truly, the creme de la creme at their best. whether it is in battle or whether they may stand —— whether they stand. with tremendous recognition we would like to remember all those who lost their lives. the bereaved families. we would like to embrace them an

i think he will lean towards no. if that is the case, vance will be the tie-breaking vote. and pete hegseth will be the secretary of defence. 37-30 on the screen. if that is the case, that is a big win for donald trump. and i would argue a big win for the military. we both know pete really well. he lives, eats, breathes, sleeps everything military. and we are at a time where i believe that the country has a gap of vulnerability. we are behind on hyper sonic. we need to develop the next generation of weaponry for warfare. we have a lot of work to do. recruitment is down. they have a lot of work there. >> they do. and you know, i covered the pentagon for four and a half five years, that building -- there is a lot of great people inside, but there is a lot of institutional bureaucracy that i think president trump talked about on the campaign trail of shaking things up which is why he chose pete. arguably both sides of the isle said that he was impressive in his confirmation hearing. obviously republicans more so than democrats, but even some democrats that i talked to said that they were impressed with how he handled himself.

the us is our closest ally especially on defence i sale. rity matters in the north atlantic, where _ security matters in the north atlantic, where tensions - security matters in the north atlantic, where tensions are| atlantic, where tensions are rising — atlantic, where tensions are rising above _ atlantic, where tensions are rising above the _ atlantic, where tensions are rising above the greenland i rising above the greenland remains _ rising above the greenland remains for— rising above the greenland remains for the _ rising above the greenlandl remains for the greenlandic people _ greenland is the world's largest island — it sits between the atlantic and arctic oceans and it's 80% covered by an ice sheet. the autonomous territory has some 56,000 residents, most of them indigenous inuit people. this was the reaction from one foreign ministry official. there have been offers from the us before in history. and there has been dispute between denmark and norway, but greenland is an inuit country, so greenland is the country of the inuit, whi

i have my own private concerns, but whether he is capable of serving as the secretary of defence is a say i'm not wrestling to the same degree. i will say i've had concerns about his reports on his behaviour. rose, thank you _ reports on his behaviour. rose, thank you for— reports on his behaviour. rose, thank you forjoining _ reports on his behaviour. rose, thank you forjoining us. - reports on his behaviour. rose, thank you forjoining us. we - thank you forjoining us. we just heard that the republican senator is going to vote no. they can lose three, but they still need the vote ofjd vance. this vote is not coming until friday afternoon. if i'm pete hegseth, i want to vote now. i think aside from the really bad stories, a lot of people are very split about hegseth. as an army officer, i think it's wonderful he's had boots on the ground experience. people would say he's a soldier, he's young and he's a soldier, he's young and he knows how things should run. on the flip side, he has virtually no management experience. he has one of the most difficultjobs in the federal government. i t

i think, that possibly the american relationship with nato may diminish because president trump has linked this to the the europeans, as he sees it, not paying their way, not contributing enough money to defencebout this relationship that is concerning a lot of people. but president macron, for one, saying, actually, this is an opportunity for europe to stand on its own two feet. 0ne things for sure, it's not going to be straightforward the next four years. mr trump was very vocal during the election campaign about the war in ukraine, saying he could end it within 2a hours. 0ur correspondent sarah rainsford has more from kyiv. think, you know, we're basically in a waiting game here. lots of big words, big promises about ending the war here in ukraine by donald trump when he was on the campaign trail. but of course, that 2a hour clock started ticking already. and and clearly, you know, ending this war in a day is not going to happen. i think there's a lot more realism now in the white house now that donald trump has returned to office. and it was interesting, i think, for people here in ukraine to notice that, in fact, in his speech, his big inauguration speech, he in fact made no direct refer

guard members but backin of national guard members but back in 2019, 2020 i was border patrol liaison to the department of defenceo, texas which called us army north. they would receive what is recorded request for assistance from the department of homeland security, what needed to be done and i would sit down with planners and we would come up with a plan of action. we will see what the department of defence right now at this moment is going to bejust support roles. they will help to continue the building of the fence, that border wall and then we will see them provide helicopter support and other aerial assets to provide surveillance capabilities. they will also operate what is called msc trucks. mobile surveillance cameras and they will help with detention and transportation. there will be in support roles that border patrol agents do and will free up patrol agents do and will free up more patrol agents so they can be on the line to catch people and we will have staff who help us with some of the otherjobs who help us with some of the other jobs that who help us with some of the otherjobs that do not necessari

i sacked. if the labour defence of she didn't resign. nor was she - sacked. are _ sacked. if the labour defence of all this is that we are just _ sacked. if the labour defence of all this is that we are just the same i this is that we are just the same as the last— this is that we are just the same asi the last conservative government... am asking _ the last conservative government... am asking about your— the last conservative government... am asking about your position - the last conservative government... am asking about your position and i the last conservative government... | am asking about your position and if it is a bit pot, kettle and black. we have a role now in opposition. the voters — we have a role now in opposition. the voters delivered their - we have a role now in opposition. the voters delivered their verdictl the voters delivered their verdict on the _ the voters delivered their verdict on the conservatives _ the voters delivered their verdict on the conservatives at - the voters delivered their verdict on the conservatives at the - on the

defence. the only thing i— ally spending more on defence. about nato, i think that was accurate and i do think that in li-ht was accurate and i do think that in light of— was accurate and i do think that in light of recent years and recent things— light of recent years and recent things that have happened, there are nato attics— things that have happened, there are nato allies who are now spending more _ nato allies who are now spending more on — nato allies who are now spending more on their own military which is really— more on their own military which is really what — more on their own military which is really what the issue is. spending more _ really what the issue is. spending more on — really what the issue is. spending more on their military, not paying bills _ more on their military, not paying bills. countries did not get bills for nato~ — bills. countries did not get bills for nato. what we must be realistic on is _ for nato. what we must be realistic on is the _ for nato. what we must be realistic on is the fact is president biden

sector have a strong finance sector and we can talk collectively defence about european defence and security. can ihe moment and those tariffs, is the possibility america at the moment and those tarif if is the possibility america at the moment and those tarif if those: possibility america at the moment and those tarif if those tariffs aility america at the moment and those tarif if those tariffs are 1 on the uk and the eu, could bring two it could bring the two together, closer i together. closer together? this is a reason why this think. this is a reaso'n'why this is held think. this is a reasoh'why this is held so the meeting is being held so the european union and the uk euteaeafi helen see! thesis ... that euteaeafi isms“ ass! that“! ... that with the euteaeafi h'is's�*is see! that“! ... that with the threat recognise that-with the threat tariffs recognise that-with therthreat tariffs from the us of ta riffs tress the us ahci seen of tariffs tress the us ahci seen the of tariffs free! the us ahei seen the case of we've seen the case of canada mexico, this is for reasons domestic security reasons

right, especially on the waste of time when they were such huge issues before the defence department and before the country. i pointed out they've been having hearing after hearing in that room. we do the same in the house armed services committee. on the poor state of our bearing's for our soldiers. should we privatize them, should the military keep running those things as government run. our health care issues for the military. how to incorporate ai. why is software so bad. china is passing 400 ships, the u.s. navy is cruising towards half that number. and those are tough questions. they are not easy answers. instead of asking about his vision they just went for the smear. let me tell you the good news. what you couldn't see on the cameras was the room full of lawyers that had stacked that room and were standing outside, standing room only. there to support people because he knows he's a leader. he is a junior officer that was on the front lines, not in the headquarters, of these wars on terror, these wars in the middle east and we were all out there as the policy just drifted and how we got decades and dec

the approach she took is more effectively the best form of defence is attack. i higher debt and economic uncertainty, and we have seen global economic uncertainty play out in the last week. but leadership is not about ducking these challenges. it is about rising to them. the economic headwinds that we face are a reminder that we should indeed, we must go further and faster in our plan to kick start economic growth. too kind of bill current state of economy. we have heard many times before, the legacy she was left by the outgoing conservative government, something they dispute. and secondly the turmoil in international markets which the treasury hopes will calm down once that resident trump has been inaugurated next week. and there is less uncertainty over tariffs and inflation rates. but i think the bigger problem that rachel reeves has if you like on her own side of the house of commons is this. she said several times during the statement that she would stick to her fiscal rules, statement that she would stick to herfiscal rules, that statement that she would st

let's speak to malcolm chalmers, the deputy director general of defence and security think—tank rusi. iaw preceding the inauguration was the ceasefire deal in gaza. donald trump has admitted he does not have much faith in peace in the middle east. what sense do you have of the next months in terms of his policy? i the next months in terms of his oli ? ~ , the next months in terms of his oli ? ~' , ., the next months in terms of his oli ? ~ , ., ., policy? i think it is going to be defining _ policy? i think it is going to be defining for _ policy? i think it is going to be defining for foreign - policy? i think it is going to l be defining for foreign policy of this presidency. the deal that has now gone into force over gaza between hamas and israel is one that had been in the making many months under the making many months under the biden administration. but joe biden's people were not able to get it over the line and persuade israel to sign off on it. trump has. one of the remarkable features of the past weeks is the way in which the outgoing biden team and incoming trump team have wo

notjust have defensive allies but capable defence allies but capable defence allies who are capable of defending their region, and i? the further east you move in europe, more money you see spent on the military as a of gdp, i think there is broad acknowledgement across europe and multiple administrations, that our nato partners, rich, advanced economies, need to contribute more to their own defence and ultimately to the nato partnership. that's a demand that's been made by multiple presidents across the years, and the fact that that is true has been revealed by what's happened with ukraine. look at the ramp up in defence spending and the industrial capacity of multiple countries in europe as a result. if you had been there before, it might have been a deterrent. we need alliances with strong and not those who have viewed the us and nato defence agreement as an excuse to spend less on defence and more domestic needs. we have domestic needs, too. countries in western europe have enormous safety net programmes they fund. we also have domestic needs, but they have been able to divert or grow those programmes because t

i should say that whilst the prosecution statement, the defence mitigation is not on camera, you caning remarks on the judge, when they start, will be on camera. you will be able to follow those live on bbc news. we will bring you all the latest from court but for the moment, back to the studio. we will be back with sarah at the top of the hour. weather now — here's carol kirkwood. hello again. the met office has issued two rare red weather warnings, one for northern ireland and one for scotland for wind, we could have gusts of wind 80—90 mph widely tomorrow and as much as 100 miles per hour with exposure. storm eowyn is currently forming in the atlantic, developing rapidly as it pushes across hours, not as it pushes across us, not clearing the far north—east of scotland and till we get through the day on saturday. today we have a weather front bringing rain, moving from the west to east, accompanied by squally winds, hail and possibly thunder and lightning, behind it things quietening down, brightening up with a few showers. for many it will feel chilly today, highs between five and

more or less lived through the time and world that i had lived in and who, like me, would turn out to be gay, but would have this further unignorable defencef a tactful way of doing it, and also because of the burmese thing, which is quite an unusual mixed ethnicity in this country, it would have that rather particular interest of... it's not like writing from the point of view of a second generationjamaican immigrant or something. have you had feedback from people? i don't know whether burmese people or other people, writers from minority communities who have either said, "do you know what, alan? that didn't work," or, "how dare you," or, "greatjob." well, happily, yes. the latter, yes, which is a great, great relief to me. yeah. i mean, you know, one does one's research and everything, but a lot of it is, in the end, purely intuitive. um, and... what about writing women characters? how do you find that? i've loved writing the women characters that i have. i've never written in the first person from a female perspective, but i have, i think, increasingly had important central female characters in my novels, and in this one, indeed... i me

i ever done that. >> you aref quite sure that evy general who serves should not gu directly into the defence industryt willing to make that same pledge. >> i am not a general senator. >> yes or no what are you afraid of you can't answer the question yes or no do you not know the senator answer yes or no. >> going top to bottom. >> the republican senator taking issue with the personal attacks by holding up a mirror to other members of congress.gr >> and many senatorses of showet up drunk at night to vote have any of you ask them to step down or resign from their job don't tell me you haven't seen it because i know you have how mant senators d bo you know have gotn a divorce for cheating on theiro wives. did you ask them to step downo but it is for show. it's ridiculous you hold yourself to this higher standar you forgetin the of a big plankn your. we'v made all made mistakes i lm him a lot. what is law wrong people named tim. they both looked terrible i feel bad for the female senators there it's hard to concentrate when the nominee is so good-looking.o ladies relax there is enough pete for everybody

speaking in the house of commons, defence secretary john healey said that britain is prepared to take robust action to protect its national security. and iips and aircraft cannot operate in secrecy near the uk or near nato territory. i discussed this story earlier with our security correspondent, frank gardner. britain as an island nation is very dependent on undersea cables, primarily for telecoms, for communications. and we're not alone in this. so there are also, in the baltic sea, a number of undersea cables, some of which have recently been cut. now, this particular vessel, the yantar, which is a russian surveillance vessel, was seen in november. loitering is the word that was used over britain's very sensitive undersea cables and it was effectively chased off. it departed southwards to the mediterranean, and it has now come backjust a few weeks later, and the royal navy surfaced a submarine quite close to it to basically give the russians the clear understanding that it was being monitored. and you saw therejohn healey, the defence secretary, saying that, you know, and he's also said this is a clear message to president putin that

well, i think. there is amongst most of them. we can track the current rise in defencees like poland and the baltics are spending far more than that, they know the consequences of appeasing putin. ., , ., the consequences of appeasing putin. ., , ., ., the consequences of appeasing putin. ., ., ., putin. lots to look out for in the year _ putin. lots to look out for in the year ahead _ putin. lots to look out for in the year ahead with - putin. lots to look out for in the year ahead with this - i putin. lots to look out for in i the year ahead with this - with the year ahead with this — with this war ongoing in ukraine. thanks very much for that. mick ryan, a retired major general in in the australian army and a senior fellow at the lowy institute. ca n lowy institute. can the cause of the blackout in puerto rico is under investigation, but preliminary findings point to a fault in an underground line, according to luma energy, the country�*s main distributor. fully restoring service could take up to 48 hours. earlierthis service could take up to 48 hours. earlier this y

defence. and while i have you it is not the only confirmation and swearing and we are expecting.ly any minute now. that's right, kristi noem, and she is perhaps somebody who will be best remembered by many of our viewers for the stories that surrounded her when it emerged she had shot her pet dog, cricket, because she said he was on trainable. she will now lead the department of homeland security which is a key department given donald trump's decision to basically clear out a lot of illegal immigrants from this country. kristi noem, the former governor of the state of south dakota, she was one of the first republican governors to send troops to the us border, a move that earned plaudits from many conservatives, and she would take up that key position, one that donald trump places great value on. david willis in dc. president trump has promised help for los angeles, as the city and its people try to recover from this month's wildfires. on friday he visited the area for the first time since he returned to office, to see the devastation for himself. having previously criticised the

was listening to the discussion of the korean situation before i came on and, i suppose the court would say in its own defence confrontation between the criminaljustice system and the president, that it is all tied up in some way with politics. who wrote the opinion would have said no, the president is not above the law, we have given immunity for certain things, we have given partial immunity for a lot of other things, but, that is all for pragmatic reasons. we don't think that presidents should he didn't think presidents will take that rather optimistically to be a message they are above the law. i certainly think, there is a segment of public opinion maybe, that is ready to embrace authoritarianism. but i think at this point that is quite a minority. that americans as a whole and american lawyers are very firmly committed to the rule of law. and democracy. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. elon musk has called for nigel farage to be replaced as the leader of reform uk, just weeks after reports that the billionaire was considering donating millions of pounds to the party. a rift emer

i wonder if he's going to pardon those charged with violent defences. >> are you planning to pardon thoseking at it and we have other people and as you can see, i guess 2420 people now came from the fbi that came out very quietly, no one reported it. but they had people in some form related to the fbi, for five people that were strongly related to the fbi, we have to find out about that. >> greg: and while we are against fbi, let's find out about those pesky pipe bombs you've done reporters! my god! but i wonder if they ask him about the police officers injured by rioters on january sixth? >> how many police officers were injured by rioters on january sixth. will you pardon anyone who attacked a police officer? >> you know, the only one that was killed was a beautiful young lady. she was shot for no reason whatsoever. in fact,, they say she was trying to hold back the crowd and the crowd was made up of a lot of different people so we will see. but i tell you this. the person that was killed was actually. >> greg: there you go. stupid reporter. [laughter] >> greg: there are so many things

good guys, that's what i want to hear, i don't want to hear he is going to go in like a small thing and destroy. >> trace: with that let's bring in criminal defence attorney and federal litigator vic, good to have you on the show . i think a lot of republicans appreciate cash patel because he's a straightforward guy, he's been on the show many times, congressman jim jordan wrote this about him in "newsweek" loading here, he was relentless and he was fearless following the facts and pursued the lead, even when the deputy attorney general threatened him if he did not stop. if he had succumbed to the pressure we would have never uncovered the depth and political motivation of the russian collusion hoax. i mean, is one of those guys that we bring on the show because he is a straight shooter and he loves to get to the bottom of stuff. >> he has the finger on the pulse of the legal community. he is not just a talking head he actually is out there in court litigating his issues, he has done a from both sides, we've talked about that on the defensive side, on the prosecution's side on the special investigation side, he is uniquely qualified to fill this

today the defence secretary said this was a sign of new, more robust rules of engagement. and iu, we know what you're doing, and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country. there are thousands of miles of undersea cables connecting both europe and north america. they carry more than 90% of the world's internet traffic, part of europe's critical national infrastructure. in the baltic sea, russia's suspected of using merchant ships — a so—called shadow fleet — to sabotage those cables, something moscow denies. but several cables have been damaged here, the most recent involving this oil tanker, the eagle s. last month, finland seized the vessel. it's accused of dragging its anchor for more than 50 miles. the question — was it deliberate? in response, britain and its allies have said they're now stepping up patrols around europe's critical undersea cables. jonathan, thank you. a 12—year—old boy who was stabbed to death on his way home from school yesterday in birmingham has been named as leo ross. his family described him as "the most beautiful, kind child" who

i will have more on the story coming later. initiatives in the military. in the armed forces, the defence department and the homeland security department. a third order directs the pentagon to determine the action does not immediately ban transgender service members. up the us military. accusations of womanising and heavy drinking. well for donald trump. it's an end to the transgender recruitment policy from entering the us military. former service members, about 8,000 of them, will be that they were following their bosses in terms of prosecutions people, defending private clients. sorry to interrupt you. it was his team, the lawyers from his team of classified documents. early in his office. but you do worry about the hollowing out of talented people who are very smart lawyers. development, as they're doing this vast halt, government right now. at all of these moves. house there. geographic names system. it the gulf of mexico. faroe islands. an estimated 1.1 million people died there — of human beings ever recorded. to pay their respects. # when light has and the land is dark # the moon

defence — jasmine el—gamal. thanks forjoining us. how close do you think this is? thanks forjoining us. it appears to be very close, much closer than we have been so far, ihoped in the months pass that we were close to a deal, but if you had seen the press conference that the qatari foreign ministry spokesperson gave this morning, he basically said there are breakthroughs that have been made in the last few days that were not made in the last few months, and that he was very optimistic a deal was going to be signed. he did say do not get ahead of yourselves and he did not want to say anything apart from that he was optimistic but he said it was more optimistic now than he has ever been, and the two parties are closer now than they have ever been in the last year, basically. ever been in the last year, basically-— ever been in the last year, basically. ever been in the last year, basicall . ~ , ., ~' basically. why do you think we have reached _ basically. why do you think we have reached this _ basically. why do you think we have reached this moment - basically. why do you think we l have reached this moment now? good question. there are several factors

pete hegseth did a superb job, i think will be confirmed for secretary of defence. seeing the democrats go after pete saying the democrats go after pam, they are in panic. you can tell from their attacks with pete hegseth they went into personal slanders and attacks faced on anonymous reports because they didn't want to address the job he will do as secretary of defence. with pam bondi they had very little to say about her distinguished career as a prosecutor, you trying violent criminals, serving eight years as the elected attorney general. they just screamed about donald trump and they channeled accusations to her about weapon i doj that i think are laughable because in many ways the most disgraceful aspect of the last four years under joe biden has been the absolute politicization and weaponization of the department of justice to go after donald trump, to go after biden's enemies, to protect biden's political allies. i believe pam bondi is going to come in and restore integrity to the department of justice. what she made clear, what i and others made clear at the

defence spending. that will have to change. the other thing that ithan in lots of european capitals, and i think we will see that played out through policy and the abraham accords. more broadly, where do you see the uk—us diplomatic relationship moving forward? we have seen lots of tweets from elon musk in the last few weeks being very vocal about the current british government. he now sits in mr trump's cabinet. a number of us are very critical about the current british government. i don't think that makes a difference because the fundamental relationship and what people call the special relationship is a security one between the united states and the united kingdom where there is greater sharing of security information than between any other two nations in the world. that will continue, that will be a very strong bond. we might see more aukus, a bringing in the australians into this relationship as well, because i think president trump sees nation states that are like america rather than looking to geographical blocs, which is where i think the eur

no, i should point out, just in keir starmer's defence, local authorities on the island said that he as just he was only following orders. >> but yes, but his excuse used before i believe it's also he's a prime minister. >> you don't want to get assassinated waiting in a toboggan queue, do you? that would be very embarrassing. >> ignominious way to get assassinated. >> that's terrible. terrible. >> that's terrible. terrible. >> but after the free the free gift scandal, this was, like, the dumbest thing possible to do, wasn't it? two tier toboggan rides. he should be. he should be queuing for everything and paying be queuing for everything and paying for absolutely everything and for a good few months yet as well. >> no. no holidays. just working in a salt mine, wearing, wearing a itchy shirt. we've got the guardian now reporting on the number one issue for leftists this week. tuberculosis in pakistan's transgender community. kyrie. very odd story. >> shunned and shamed pakistan's trans community finally, finally gets help for tb. so this is a town in in pakistan. i'm going town in in

i think i have to share with you on a personal note, it is so surreal, it really is surreal to see your friend -- soon to be confirmed as the secretary of defence qualified, he's one of the most qualified individuals eye could imagine. i don't know how you feel -- actually i think i do you know because so many -- so many have told me. d.c. has always felt far away but with seth we see one of us with the right value, the right wisdom which can lead america. the first rule about hunter bidons laptop is don't talk about, now revealing they squashed negative stories about hunter biden including the laptop story. >> i was told this came from. [inaudible] don't talk about the laptop, don't even look at the laptop. >> will: joining me now on real clear politics, todd. taught this is incredible, don't talk about the laptop, don't write about it, don't tweet about it. and i told other liquid leaders slow story. >> i mean -- finally a confession four years after the fact. look, we know that there was a conservative effort to suppress that story. copy sleep by social media, by the elements of the government that we're putting pressure on social media comp

and today, the defence secretary said this was part of new, more robust rules of engagement. i're doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country. now, there are thousands of miles of undersea cables connecting both europe and north america. they carry more than 90% of the world's internet traffic. part of europe's critical national infrastructure, which could be targeted. and in the baltic sea, russia's suspected of using merchant ships — a so—called "shadow fleet" — to sabotage those cables, something moscow denies. but over the past two months, there have been several incidents where undersea cables here have been damaged. the most recent, involving this oil tanker, the eagle s. last month, finland boarded and then impounded the vessel. it's accused of dragging its anchor for more than 50 miles. the question, was it deliberate? but in response, britain and its nato allies have said they're now stepping up their monitoring and patrols around europe's critical undersea cables. sophie. jonathan, thank you. a 26—year—old man who shot and killed his ex—g

i can also announce that we will be delivering a new mobile air defence system named greyhawk british needs. and we will keep going further to train ukrainian troops. in addition to the 50,000 we've already trained in the united kingdom, we will work with allies to ramp up this work. the blue origin rocket — belonging tojeff bezoz — has launched from florida and entered orbit for the first time, after technical problems caused delays to its launch. bezoz is the billionaire founder of amazon, and wants his company to rival spacex, which is owned by elon musk. pallab ghosh reports. lift-off. jeff bezos�* new glenn rocket hurtles into the night sky. its powerful engines take it toward space. pressures are good. vehicle's cleared the tower. but can it achieve its main objective — to reach earth orbit for the first time? we got to orbit safely. congratulations, blue origin. you've gone orbital! the folks behind me are celebrating. it is a good night here up in mission control. we have lift—off. blue origin�*s rival, spacex, sent rockets into orbit more than 400 times. and last october, it

i think there is still comfort in that institutions are still intact, legal processes are still being followed and government functions such as defence are still operating smoothly. ultimately, it is the key to a sustained recovery — political normalisation — but in the interim we need to see policy actions that help mitigate the downside risks. the new year raises a question for the major economies of the world. will they see strong growth in 2025? china and germany stumbled last year and it's unclear whether they have tackled their underlying issues. meanwhile, the us saw strong growth, but donald trump's return, and his tariff—centred, could have widespread effects. for a deeper look at what lies ahead, our reporters from new york, berlin, and beijing filed this report. wall street may not believe in santa claus any more but they are grateful for one older gentleman. donald trump may not be in office but he is promising large gifts to the markets and the economy. he says he will support the crypto industry, pointing friendly regulators. he says he can cut prices for consumers, although it is not clear how and he also claims he wil