Anthony Reuben
BBC Verify senior journalist

With British energy bills due to rise slightly from January, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall was asked on BBC Breakfast whether the government still stood by its pledge to reduce energy bills.

“Absolutely, we will bring the cost of those bills down,” she said.

Labour’s election manifesto pledged, external: “We will save families hundreds of pounds on their bills, not just in the short term, but for good.”

Before the election, Labour leader Keir Starmer said, external his party would “help families save up to £300 off their energy bills” through its push for green energy, and this would happen by 2030.

But bills are currently higher than they were at the time of the 2024 general election.

When Labour came to office, a typical household on a price-capped, dual fuel tariff paid by direct debit was paying £1,568 a year, external. From January 2026, they will be paying £1,758, external, an increase of £190.

We’ve verified footage showing Russian soldiers pushing forward into the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region.

It comes as reports suggests Washington and Moscow have prepared a plan to end the war which may require major concessions from the government in Kyiv.

BBC Verify’s Reha Kansara has been looking into the latest developments in the war.

Anthony Reuben
BBC Verify senior journalist

Image source, EPA

Following the news of a small increase in energy bills from January, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall was asked on BBC Breakfast about the cost of energy.

She highlighted the Warm Homes Discount, external, which gives low income households in England, Wales and Scotland £150 a year off their electricity bills.

“We are taking immediate action, this winter, 6 million… households on universal credit will have access to the Warm Homes Discount scheme,” she said.

The government has doubled the number of households that are eligible to receive it. But the cost is not covered by the government, instead it is covered by energy suppliers, who are allowed to pass it on to their customers through bills.

Energy regulator Ofgem estimated that, external extending the scheme to an additional 2.7 million households would cost every customer an average of £17 a year.

Richard Irvine-Brown and Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify

We’ve been looking into reports that at least six people have been killed across Ukraine in Russian strikes since yesterday evening.

In the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, the regional administration said five people were killed in a strike and shared a video that showed buildings on fire and a crater in a road east of the city centre.

We could match the pavements, shops and street furniture seen in the footage with Google photos and a 2016 street view of the location on the Russian search engine Yandex.

Local officials posted an update this morning, claiming there had been 387 strikes on 16 locations within the Zaporizhzhia region in the previous 24 hours. They later added five people were in hospital including a 17 year old child.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has also posted images claiming to show the aftermath of overnight attacks in Odesa which have injured five and in the Chernihiv region where a woman was killed.

Image source, Telegram

Jake Horton
BBC Verify journalist

BBC Verify is using flight tracking data to investigate reports that US military jets flew near to the coast of Venezuela last night, as tensions continue to rise in the region.

We know from people posting FlightRadar24 tracking data on social media that aircraft including fighter jets and surveillance aircraft like the RC-135 Rivet Joint were apparently active in the southern Caribbean Sea.

I’m currently investigating which aircraft were operating off Venezuela based on publicly available tracking.

The US has deployed warships to the southern Caribbean in recent weeks as the Trump administration continues to put pressure on the Venezuelan government.

Image source, Getty Images

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

Good morning and welcome to BBC Verify Live.

Our late shift came across reports last night that US military jets had been picked up by a public flight-tracking website flying off the coast of Venezuela. We’re getting data from FlightRadar24 to see which aircraft it tracked in recent hours.

Last night there were more deadly Russian attacks across Ukraine - with officials saying five people were killed and three injured in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia. We’re verifying footage being shared online showing the impact of those strikes.

Elsewhere we’re looking into flooding in central Vietnam, where at least 41 people have died after days of heavy rain. We’re checking material from social platforms to show you the worst affected areas.

And our fact-check team is looking into today’s announcement that the energy price cap for Great Britain is increasing by 0.2% in January. Labour has pledged to cut prices by £300 by 2030 - we’ll see how this latest change affects that.