hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. in breaking news, prime minister sir keir starmer has announced a public inquiry into what he called the "senseless, barbaric" murders of three schoolgirls at a taylor swift—themed dance class, in southport last summer. on monday, 18—year—old axel rudakubana pleaded guilty to stabbing the girls. in the wake of his plea it emerged he'd had contact with a range of different state agencies throughout his teenage years, including the police, social services and mental health services. speaking in downing street, sir keir said the failure of state institutions leaps off the page but the tragedy -- sir —— sir keir starmer said the public inquiry into the killings would seek to answer difficult questions. the responsibility for this barbaric act lies, as it always does, with the vile individual who carried it out. but that is no comfort. and more importantly, it is no excuse. and so, as part of the inquiry launched by the home secretary yesterday, i will not let any institution of the state

i'm rajini vaidyanathan in london. also coming up... sir keir starmer arrives in ukraine to sign a partnership deal to deepen security ties. he says the uk would never let up he says the uk would never let up on support for ukraine. the indian film star saif ali khan is in hospital being treated for multiple store burns after intruder into his home in mumbai. reports say he is stable. the blue origin's new glenn rocket launch from cape canaveral honest as inaugural flight. hello and welcome to bbc news broadcasting live from tel aviv from hostages squire, part of the city that has become the focal point of the trauma of israeli since the 7th of october attack when at least 250 people were taken hostage and held in gaza. the pain of that continues to this day. but it is hoped from israelis that the pain and trauma will begin to be alleviated by a ceasefire deal that was struck between israel and hamas in talks in qatar. it was announced in the qatari capital doha last night after months of negotiation and mediation, a ceasefire deal that

i'm rajini vaidyanathan in london. also coming up... the lawyers who represented the late russian opposition leader alexei navalny have been jailed, accused of belonging to an extremist group. a bbc investigation has found the deaths of 56 babies and two mothers at two maternity units in leeds may have been preventable. and in breaking news, the award—winning actress damejoan plowright has died at the age of 95. hello and a very warm welcome to bbc news, i'm mark lowen and we are live here on hostages square in tel aviv where israelis are still waiting with bated breath for the israeli government to approve a ceasefire deal in gaza that has now been agreed upon. there were some last—minute disputes between israel and hamas that were holding up the final approval of the deal, but the security cabinet of the israeli government is now meeting to discuss the deal. we are here on the square in tel aviv that has become the focal point for israel's national trauma since the 7th of october 2023 when hamas gunmen stormed israel, taking 250 hosta

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan, welcome to this hour. we begin with breaking news. uk prime minister sir keir starmer has announced a public inquiry into the murder of three schoolgirls at a taylor swift—themed dance class, in southport last summer. after the violent events in southport, riots erupted across the country, with some social media posts wrongly claiming that the knifeman— who was born in cardiff — was actually an asylum seeker. on monday, 18—year—old axel rudakubana pleaded guilty to stabbing the girls last july. in the wake of his plea it emerged he'd had contact with a range of different state agencies throughout his teenage years, including the police, social services and mental health services. speaking in downing street in the last few minutes, sir keir said that the perpetrator was referred to a prevent programme on three occasions but, on each occasion, the judgment that he did not meet the threshold for intervention was wrong. he said the tragedy must be a line in the sand for britain and the attack in southport in the north west of england was

i'm rajini vaidyanathan in london. also coming up... sir keir starmer arrives in ukraine — the british pm is there to sign a partnership deal to deepen security ties. the uk's economy grew by 0.1% in november, the first time in three months. chancellor rachel reeves says she will �*fight every day�* to deliver economic growth. the indian film star saif ali khan is in hospital, being treated for multiple stab wounds after an intruder broke into his home. reports say he's stable. five, for... the blue origin's new glenn rocket has launched from cape canaveral on its delayed inauguralflight. hello, i'm mark lowen at hostage square in tel aviv — where the deal between israel and hamas is at the forefront of everybody�*s minds. it's raised hopes of an end to 15 months of war in gaza. the hostages were abducted on the 7th of october 2023 and a hamas attack on israel that killed 1200 people here and lead to 250 being taken hostage. the worst attack on israel's history that prompted a massive israeli retaliation which now it is hoped will end w