Ben Chu
BBC Verify policy and analysis correspondent

The UK government is expected to announce later that it will provide additional relief for pubs affected by the forthcoming changes in business rates.

It announced a reform of the system in the November 2025 Budget, external, which it said would permanently reduce the business rates due from small retail, hospitality and leisure firms in England relative to other types of businesses.

However, in April all firms in the UK face a revaluation of their properties for the purpose of levying business rates, which happens every three years.

The temporary Covid-era business rates relief system for pubs is also being fully withdrawn in 2026-27.

The combination of these changes has left some - though not all - pubs facing a sizable increase in their business rates bill from April.

Image source, EPA

In the Budget, external, the government put a support package in place which it says will mean most firms’ bills will rise by no more than 15% this year, at a cost to the taxpayer of £4.3bn over the next three years.

The government is expected to increase the size of this taxpayer-funded relief package. We don’t yet know exactly which businesses - beyond pubs - will benefit, by how much and how long it will last.

The Office for Budget Responsibility, the UK’s economic forecaster, has projected the government will get £33.6bn from business rates in 2026-27 rising to £41.9bn in 2029-30, external.

Business rates are the sixth largest revenue raiser for the government after income tax, National Insurance, VAT, corporation tax and council tax.

Merlyn Thomas and Shayan Sardarizadeh
BBC Verify

The new videos emerging from Iran after some people were briefly able to access the internet have helped show the scale of the government's crackdown on protesters.

BBC Verify and BBC Persian have analysed videos showing hundreds of people protesting on a highway in west Tehran before multiple rounds of gunfire can be heard and people begin to scream.

Image source, X

Snipers have been recorded on the roofs of buildings in video from the north-eastern city of Mashhad, while in the south-eastern city of Kerman a video showed several armed men in military uniform walking down a road and firing their weapons continuously.

We have tracked the spread of the anti-government protests across 71 towns and cities in Iran, though the true number of areas where demonstrations have taken place is likely far higher.

Merlyn Thomas and Shayan Sardarizadeh
BBC Verify

BBC Verify and BBC Persian have been analysing new videos emerging from inside Iran that show bodies piled up inside a mortuary at Tehranpars hospital in east Tehran.

We verified the location of the hospital by matching its interior to other publicly available images and videos of the building, and counted at least 31 bodies in just one video. Another clip shows seven body bags laid on the ground outside the hospital's entrance.

BBC Verify has been tracking the spread of anti-government protests across Iran since they first erupted in late December, but the near total internet blackout imposed by the authorities has made it extremely difficult to document the scale of the state's deadly crackdown on protesters.

Some people have managed to access the internet in the last few days and upload new videos from 8 and 9 January, some ofthe deadliest night of protests in Iran so far. More than 6,000 people have been killed according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), though it says it is investigating 17,000 more deaths.

Joshua Cheetham
BBC Verify journalist

This morning we’re continuing to monitor a “dark fleet” oil tanker that’s been displaying unusual activity in the Mediterranean.

As we reported yesterday, experts have raised concerns about a ship called Chariot Tide.

As it approached the Strait of Gibraltar on 22 January, the 18-year-old ship began signalling “Not Under Command”. Four tug boats were seen sailing around it as it travelled east through the strait at low speed

On 24 January, tracking shows it made looping movements in the Mediterranean before continuing east at low speed.

Image source, MarineTraffic

It’s since been followed by a Spanish search-and-rescue vessel called Clara Campoamor.

Industry sources have told the BBC that efforts to organise a salvage operation are underway, which we’re working to confirm.

Shipping intelligence firm Windward says Chariot Tide is uninsured and falsely flagged to Mozambique, which would complicate any salvage effort.

Paul Brown
BBC Verify senior journalist

Image source, US Navy via Reuters

Our verification and open-source specialists are tracking the ongoing deployment of US military assets around the Gulf.

The build-up comes as speculation continues that the US will strike Iran in response to the government’s violent crackdown on street protests that broke out earlier this month.

The US military has now confirmed the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group had arrived in the Indian Ocean.

We're watching satellite imagery closely for any signs of its exact location. It last broadcast its position on the morning of 20 January which showed it was in the South China Sea around 60 nautical miles north-west of Indonesia.

We're also looking for movements of military aircraft in the region and will keep you updated throughout the day.

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

Welcome to our live page where we bring you the latest on the stories our team of verification specialists, fact-checkers and data journalists are working on through the day.

BBC Verify is looking into the US military build-up in the Gulf after the American military’s Central Command confirmed the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln had arrived in the region. Our team is checking what can be seen on aircraft and ship tracking as well as satellite imagery.

We reported on BBC Verify Live yesterday about the erratic course of a so-called “dark fleet” oil tanker in the Mediterranean. We’re using ship-tracking to find the latest location of the ship - Chariot Tide - which previously broadcast it was having mechanical trouble.

Our fact-check team is unpacking the UK government’s announcement on capping ground rents at £250 and what it means for leaseholders.

More on those stories to come throughout the day.