and limiting the number of family members that can be brought with them. the israeli army pushes into all areas of gaza, as the south of the territory comes under further air strikes. are you paying the right amount for your energy bills? if you have a smart meter, you may not be. and there's a new word of the year, but do you know what it means? it's a very silly word. have you ever heard of it? no. and coming up on bbc news... lionesses manager sarina wiegman says scotland will not �*give away�* the game at hampden to ensure team gb get an olympic spot. the two play tomorrow in the nations league.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the government has announced its plans to reduce legal migration, promising the biggest reduction in the number of people invited to the uk — either on work or student visas, as their dependants, or for humanitarian reasons. the plans include raising the minimum salary for skilled workers, except for health or social care workers, which make up the bulk of visas. and the number of family members that can be brought here will be further limited. last year, overall net migration reached a record high of around three quarters of a million — the difference in the number of people arriving and leaving the uk. that's a long, long way from the tens of thousands first promised when the conservatives came to power in 2010. the government claims its new plans will reduce the numbers eligible to come here by 300,000. the government's plan for a treaty with rwanda — part of their approach to dealing with illegal immigration such as people crossing the channel on small boats —

is expected tomorrow. here's our polticial editor, chris mason is at westminster. chris. yes, a double dose of migration — chris. yes, a double dose of migration policy _ chris. yes, a double dose of migration policy expected i chris. yes, a double dose of. migration policy expected from chris. yes, a double dose of- migration policy expected from the government this week. why? well, there has been a double dose of failure on their own metrics. their own targets, their own promises. they are committed, you will remember, to stopping the boats. those boats, more boats that crossed the english channel. the numbers are high, will be at lower than they were last year. and then there is legal migration, which has soared. the government is wrestling with a set of rules that itself set. the conservatives set just a matter of a few years ago. because remember, after brexit, governments here have all of the levers that they need to deal with legal it migration, is just a choice of which ones they decide to pull. and so there were questions for the conservatives and indeed labour about what they would do. saint cecilia's nursing home in

scarborough this afternoon. 225 people at work here, 35 from abroad. the wider social care sector has a vast number of vacancies. 0verseas staff are seen as crucial. but net legal migration has ballooned when the government promised it would fall. ., ,, . ., , the government promised it would fall. ., the fall. home secretary. the government wants to show — fall. home secretary. the government wants to show it _ fall. home secretary. the government wants to show it gets _ fall. home secretary. the government wants to show it gets that _ fall. home secretary. the government wants to show it gets that for - fall. home secretary. the government wants to show it gets that for many, . wants to show it gets that for many, this is unacceptable.— this is unacceptable. people are understandably _ this is unacceptable. people are understandably worried - this is unacceptable. people are understandably worried about . understandably worried about housing, about gp appointments, about school places. find housing, about gp appointments, about school places.— housing, about gp appointments, about school places. and so the home secretary said — about school places. and so the home secretary said the _ about school places. and so the home secretary said the government - secretary said the government will... ,, .,, secretary said the government will... ,, ., , ., ~ , will... stop overseas care workers from bringing _ will... stop overseas care workers from bringing family _ will... stop overseas care workers from bringing family dependants i will... stop overseas care workers i from bringing family dependants and we will require care firms in england to be regulated by the care quality commission in order for them to sponsor visas. he quality commission in order for them to sponsor visas.— to sponsor visas. he claimed he didn't think _ to sponsor visas. he claimed he didn't think this _ to sponsor visas. he claimed he didn't think this would - to sponsor visas. he claimed he didn't think this would cut - to sponsor visas. he claimed he didn't think this would cut the i didn't think this would cut the number of care workers coming here. secondly, we will stop immigration

undercutting the salary of british workers. we will increase the skilled worker earnings threshold by a third, to 38,700 from next spring. in line with the median full—term wage for those kinds ofjobs. that wage for those kinds of “obs. that means some i wage for those kinds of “obs. that means some will _ wage for those kinds ofjobs. that means some will need to earn more to get a visa. those working in health and social care will be exempt. allowing overseas workers to earn 20% less in sectors with big staffing shortages is to end and allowing graduates to stay on after their course will be reviewed. and... we will ensure people only bring dependants who they can support financially. by raising the minimum income forfamily support financially. by raising the minimum income for family visas to the same threshold as the minimum salary threshold for skilled workers, 38,700.- salary threshold for skilled workers, 38,700. . , . . workers, 38,700. that is an increase of £20,000- — workers, 38,700. that is an increase of £20,000. 300,000 fewer- workers, 38,700. that is an increase of £20,000. 300,000 fewer people | of £20,000. 300,000 fewer people will be eligible _

of £20,000. 300,000 fewer people will be eligible to _ of £20,000. 300,000 fewer people will be eligible to come _ of £20,000. 300,000 fewer people will be eligible to come to _ of £20,000. 300,000 fewer people will be eligible to come to the - of £20,000. 300,000 fewer people will be eligible to come to the uk . will be eligible to come to the uk than were coming last year. this is the largest reduction on record. secretary yvette cooper. labour are less than impressed. _ secretary yvette cooper. labour are less than impressed. the _ less than impressed. the conservatives— less than impressed. the conservatives are - less than impressed. the conservatives are in - less than impressed. the l conservatives are in chaos, less than impressed. the - conservatives are in chaos, they've -ot conservatives are in chaos, they've got no _ conservatives are in chaos, they've got no serious _ conservatives are in chaos, they've got no serious plan _ conservatives are in chaos, they've got no serious plan for— conservatives are in chaos, they've got no serious plan for the - conservatives are in chaos, they've l got no serious plan for the economy, no serious _ got no serious plan for the economy, no serious plan — got no serious plan for the economy, no serious plan for— got no serious plan for the economy, no serious plan for the _ got no serious plan for the economy, no serious plan for the immigration i no serious plan for the immigration system, _ no serious plan for the immigration system, no — no serious plan for the immigration system. no serious _ no serious plan for the immigration system, no serious plan _ no serious plan for the immigration system, no serious plan for- no serious plan for the immigration system, no serious plan for the - system, no serious plan for the country~ — system, no serious plan for the country. britain— system, no serious plan for the country. britain deserves - system, no serious plan for the| country. britain deserves better than _ country. britain deserves better than this! — country. britain deserves better than this! ,, ., ., than this! the snp said scotland badly needs _ than this! the snp said scotland badly needs migrant _ than this! the snp said scotland badly needs migrant workers. i l than this! the snp said scotland - badly needs migrant workers. i don't know if the secretary _ badly needs migrant workers. i don't know if the secretary of _ badly needs migrant workers. i don't know if the secretary of state - badly needs migrant workers. i don't know if the secretary of state has . know if the secretary of state has any elderly relatives in care, i do, and i know the invaluable contribution that overseas care workers make. the contribution that overseas care workers make.— contribution that overseas care workers make. ., .,' ., ., workers make. the trade-off around miuration, workers make. the trade-off around migration. a — workers make. the trade-off around migration, a colourful— workers make. the trade-off around migration, a colourful debate - migration, a colourful debate resumes. chris mason, bbc news. so how will the changes to who is allowed into the country affect those wanting to come here, those wanting to employ them and, indeed, all of us? here's our home editor, mark easton. since brexit, the uk has... since brexit, the uk has operated

a points—based system forforeign workers. as things stand, they have to have a job offer, they have to be skilled, they must speak good english. and importantly, at the moment, they must be paid £26,000 a year or more if the going rate for theirjob is higher than that. from next spring, as we have been hearing, that minimum salary threshold will rise to £38,700. but there are exceptions in what are called shortage occupations ? jobs where there are lots of vacancies which can't be filled by local people. well, not easily, anyway. and since last year, the sector which has seen the most workers come in is health and social care. the numbers are remarkable. in the year to september, 66,000 people got a conventional skilled worker visa. but in the same period, 144,000 people got a health and care visa ? mostly, to work in care homes. but many of the foreign workers bring close family with them. add dependants to skilled workers

and the total rises to 117,000. but in health and care, the combined figure rises to 318,000. that's an additional 174,000 dependants who would no longer be able to come, unless they earn more than £38,700. very unlikely. some in the care sector worry that stopping foreign workers from bringing their close family will mean they don't come either. i think we're going to find more businesses fail, as care homes are closing and, most importantly, which is part of the government's strategy, is people having care in their own homes won't be able to get the care they need because the staff aren't there. soto my mind, one department is working against the other. it doesn't make sense to me, what the government is saying they're going do. this is the difficult balancing act the government must perform. they want to cut immigration, easing pressure on services and housing, but without starving businesses of workers they desperately need. i think the main impact if you look

at the minority of the people who would still be the subject of the 38,000 threshold are people in sectors where employers recently have been bringing in people, salaries much closer to around 26,000. measures already announced mean net migration would almost certainly have fallen even if the government announced nothing new today, but these measures will have an impact. the question is whether british employers can recruit enough from our own population, without paying people more and pushing up prices. mark, thank you. uk families whose relatives are still being held hostage after the hamas attacks are pressing the british government to do more to get them back. today, some of those families held meetings with the foreign secretary, lord cameron, as lucy manning now reports. steve brisley�*s family in israel was almost wiped out by hamas, and now he wants the government here to do more to help the one who survived.

his sister, bristol—born lianne sharabi, was murdered, along with his two nieces, 16—year—old noiya and 13—year—old yahel. his brother—in—law eli is a hostage, abducted with eli's brother, yosi. getting him back is the one sort of chink of light in this, this whole continuing nightmare. i think it would be perhaps the greatest memorial to the lives of my sister lianne and my nieces noiya and yahel for him to be back home safely. today, he and eli's other brother met the foreign secretary, lord cameron. steve says they had felt abandoned, as it's been a struggle to get the government to respond to them. what was your message to lord cameron about what you now expect? you need to recognise that eli is part of a british family, and that we are a british family that have expectations of the government to serve us and to act on our behalf, and that eli is an integral part of that.

ten days ago, the foreign secretary visited israel and the kibbutz where the sharabis were murdered. the government has sent a surveillance aircraft to the region to help in the search for hostages. today, lord cameron said he would support the families through their ordeal and continue to work tirelessly to get all the hostages home. nadav popplewell, a british israeli, is also being held hostage, and 0ded lifshitz, the 83—year—old father of british israeli sharone. steve wants the british government to take up the battle for eli's release. we really do need to get eli's name spoken at the negotiating table. obviously, we accept that he's not a british citizen. however, my sister and both my nieces were. this time of year, they should all be coming over to us for christmas and enjoying that british christmas. just trying to save someone in this family that hamas destroyed. lucy manning, bbc news. israel says it has expanded

its ground operations into all areas of gaza, in its fight against hamas — designated a terrorist organisation by the uk. the city of khan younis, in the south of the territory, has come under further strikes, as witnesses report lots of israeli armour outside the city. the israeli military has asked civilians to move further south, posting on social media a fresh order for people to leave about 20 areas in and around khan younis. states called the specific evacuations of israel and improvement. the united states, britain and other allies of israel have condemned a sharp rise in attacks by armed jewish settlers on palestinian civilians on the west bank which, with gaza, makes up the occupied palestinian territories. leaders of the settlers claim they are protecting themselves in land that religiousjews believe was given to them by god. 0ur international editor jeremy bowen today travelled south of hebron, where an entire palestinian village has been destroyed.

palestinian farmers are using the donkey because of their neighbours — aggressive jewish settlers, who they say will steal or break their tractor if they use it. arabs and jews started fighting over every grain of soil in the land both sides believe should be theirs more than a century ago. in the west bank, it still comes down to that, in every rocky field. in susiya, in the south hebron hills, palestinians live under constant pressure from jewish settlers. but it's been much worse since the hamas attacks on the 7th of october. the settlers were watching. one of their leaders cancelled an interview with us at short notice. palestinians fear another 1948, when their society was destroyed by israel's independence, which arabs call the catastrophe, the nakba. translation: we have been passing| through one nakba to another through the palestinian occupation years. we cannot handle another one. we don't have any place to go.

this is our land, this is our property. we need to stand here, here in this land. soldiers came to check what we were doing. 0ne told an israeli colleague that he was a traitor for visiting palestinians. they filmed us, but took much less interest in what had happened a few miles down the road. the village of khirbet zanutah had been bulldozed, activists said, last night. zanutah's 200 palestinians left four weeks ago, after a barrage of threats from armed jewish settlers. the school was destroyed — britain helped fund it. the project was called supporting palestinians at risk of forcible transfer. activists said settlers did it to make sure the palestinians would never come back. someone drewjewish stars of david.

we went there with a former israeli special forces soldier who now campaigns against the occupation. they are demolishing palestinian villages, beating up palestinian farmers, stealing their olives. they are trying to open a third front, an east front, against the palestinians. why? the palestinian west bank. why? because they want this without any palestinians, they want the land without any palestinians. palestinians see all this, and the rest of the settler violence on the west bank, as confirmation of their worst fears, that there are powerful elements inside israel, in the government as well as the settler movement, who want them out, and who are using the enormous crisis surrounding the gaza war as an opportunity to further their agenda. zanutah's palestinians have petitioned israel's supreme court and hope to return. it is going to be much harder now. jeremy bowen, bbc news, on the west bank.

a bbc investigation has revealed how water companies can under—report sewage discharges and keep them off the official figures. leaked documents obtained by panorama suggest united utilities — which has seven million customers in the north west of england — wrongly downgraded dozens of pollution incidents last year. the environment agency agreed to all the downgrades without actually attending any of the incidents involved. united utilities denies any wrongdoing. joe crowley reports. sewage is often dumped in our rivers and seas because of blocked sewers or equipment failures. these pollution incidents are supposed to be accurately reported to the environment agency. but last year, the agency attended just one in 20 reported incidents in england, and insiders say that allows water companies to cover up pollution. 0ne whistleblower�*s words are spoken by an actor. the system's rigged to prevent the reporting and investigation of serious incidents.

panorama's looked at united utilities, and found evidence the company has been wrongly downgrading pollution incidents to category 4, the lowest level. category 4s are supposed to have no environmental impact, so they're not counted in the official figures. so if you downgrade pollution incidents to category 4, they drop off the books, they're not registered and everything looks better than it really is. they appear to be getting better. that's not the case, and people out there on the river bank, they know this isn't the case. take this example, on the river mersey, in wallasey. last november, the pumps stopped working for more than two hours, so sewage that should have been sent for treatment was just dumped in the river. leaked documents show it was initially thought to be a serious category 2 incident, but the environment agency didn't attend and it was downgraded to a no—impact category 4, so it wasn't counted

in the company's figures. we found more than 60 cases last year that seemed to have been wrongly downgraded to no impact category 4s by united utilities. there is discoloured water where the pollution is entering the river. all appear to have an impact, but the environment agency signed them all off without attending. caller states the area affected is 30 to 40 feet. united utilities says is false to suggest they must report pollution incidents and that the sewage spill in the mersey didn't have an impact because it was diluted by the large volume of water. we work extremely hard to get on top of pollution and we are extremely proud of our performance that we've been able to do. covering it up or missguiding the environment agency in any way is absolutely no part of that performance. the environment agency says some monitoring can be done remotely, it responds to all incidents and always attends the most serious. joe crowley, bbc news.

and you can see more on this story on panorama tonight on bbc one at 8 o'clock, or you can search for the water pollution cover—up right now on bbc iplayer. sir keir starmer says any future labour government will not be able to quickly turn the taps on when it comes to public spending. the labour leader says while economic growth would be his number—one priority in government, every pound would have to be spent wisely. let's speak to our political correspondent iain watson. iain, keir starmer clearly wanting to dampen expectations, ahead of a general election? keir starmer has not been slow to criticise the conservatives for a high interest rates and falling standards of living but today he really wanted to pour cold water on the idea that his party could quickly turn things round when in government. 0bviously quickly turn things round when in government. obviously this was aimed partly at his own party members and partly at his own party members and partly due trade unions but he also had a message i think for those voters who he is perhaps trying to

woo when he praised mrs thatcher's sense of purpose at the weekend. he is under attack from the conservatives for his plan to spend or indeed borrow to spend billions of pounds on green projects so it is a kind of political shield as he was emphasising fiscal responsibility today and also trying to make it very clear that there is no unannounced tax rises up his sleeve if he takes power. he said economic growth rather than tax rises would provide the pot of gold, if you like, for public services. there are those on the left of his party who think this approach is just too similar to the conservatives but i think the view he takes is it is better to disappoint people now rather than overpromise and under deliver if gets elected. iain watson. — deliver if gets elected. iain watson, thank _ deliver if gets elected. iain watson, thank you - deliver if gets elected. iain watson, thank you very much. the time is 18:20. our top story this evening: the government announces new plans to reduce the number of people coming legally to the uk. coming up... the couple from pembrokeshire whose much—loved garden ornament turned out to be an unexploded missile.

coming up on bbc news — he was the youngest, now ronnie 0sullivan is also the oldest to win the uk snooker championship. we hear from another legend of the game who says there's more to come from the rocket. and george clooney tells us about his new film, set in the world of olympic rowing. are you paying the right amount for your energy bills? almost three million smart meters in britain are not working properly, leading to customers being charged the wrong amount, according to new research. smart meters measure how much gas and electricity a household uses and how much it costs in near real time. the department of energy say they are aware of issues and are working to solve any problems. 0ur cost of living correspondent coletta smith reports. with a big family at home, keeping track of the gas and electricity is crucial for charlene, so she was delighted with her smart meter, until it went wrong. i've been able to do absolutely nothing at all. we have been helpless, completely and utterly

helpless through it all. she is one of nearly 3 million people who are frustrated by a meter that is suddenly not so smart. for most people, the problem comes from this piece of kit. this is the actual smart meter. it is reading exactly how much gas and electricity is being used and sending all of that information directly to your supplier. for lots of people, particularly in the north of england, the connection has been faulty right from the start. but for a lot of other people, particularly with the older model of smart meter, they find that when they switch supplier, it stopped working, so all of that information is going nowhere. for paula in east yorkshire, those faults have led to big bills, with extra money taken from her account with no warning. it was the weekend so i couldn't like, get food, petrol, nothing, because they had completely cleared my account out. so they then refunded that but it took seven days. so that is a whole week with, like, no money.

if you are worried that your smart meter isn't working, you should still be able to take a manual reading. there will be a button to press on your main meter that will show a total kilowatt hours figure. then check that against your latest bill. if those figures aren't in the same ballpark, then do tell your supplier and keep submitting those manual readings so you are only charged for the energy that you have actually used. and do ask for your smart meter to be fixed or replaced with a second—generation model. suppliers have been gradually doing those upgrades, halving the number of non—connected smart meters in the last two years, but that is cold comfort for those still waiting. colletta smith, bbc news. the culture secretary, lucy frazer, says the bbc should be realistic about how much the tv licence fee can increase by. the licence fee has been frozen for two years at £159 but is due to rise in line with inflation next year. 0ur media correspondent

david sillito is here. the government struck a deal with the bbc two years ago, but now it's saying the situation has changed and it may not stick to that deal. exactly, frozen for two years but there was this deal with the government that it would rise with a rate of inflation. the expectation was it would go up to about £173 but today the government said come up with the cost of living pressures, they are having second thoughts about that. one suggestion is that it would not be a rate of inflation based on the whole of last year but just on the rather lower level of last month. these are significant amounts of money, a increase of £15 is more than £300 million to the bbc, about a third of the cost of bbc, about a third of the cost of bbc one, the whole of bbc radio and you have to remember that the bbc has seen its income come down by about a third over the last ten years. also you have the streamers, who have lots of money, it may be putting up their subscription charges, about 14% from netflix.

this could be good news for hard—pressed licence fee payers but almost certainly it would have an impact on what programmes the bbc can afford to produce. daeid can afford to produce. david sillito, thank _ can afford to produce. david sillito, thank you. _ the uk's polar ship, the rrs sir david attenborough, has come face to face with the world's biggest iceberg. it covers 1,500 square miles — twice the size of greater london. the iceberg broke from the antarctic coast in 1986, and has spent much of the time since stuck fast to the sea floor. but the past year has seen the frozen block move rapidly across part of the southern ocean. the uk's only giant pandas have set off for china believed it mega leaving edinburgh zoo but that they were loaded on a cargo plane in a specially built crates for the flight and it brings their 12 year loan to scotland to an end after a breeding programme failed to produce a curb. —— produce a cub.

it's the garden ornament that turned out to be an unexploded missile. for more than four decades, jeff and sian edwards from milford haven in wales lived with the 64—pound naval artillery shell, thinking it was a harmless "dummy", until a police officer turned up on their doorstep last week. here's hywel griffith. oblivious to the jeopardy amongst their geraniums... it was sat here right in front of your window! ..jeff and sian say they spent decades happily living with the unexploded missile in their front garden. when they bought the house in the 1980s, they assumed this shell was a dummy. sian painted it red to match the windowsill. only when a policeman saw it last week were they told it could still be live. the bomb squad was called, and tests showed there was still a charge, so it would have to be destroyed. what we were concerned about was what was going to happen to the neighbours of our street, you know? the street being cordoned off, people being moved out... 0h, ithought, we're going to be really popular! we'll be off their christmas card lists!

over a century ago, the royal navy used to use the pembrokeshire coastline for target practice, taking aim at this beach. it is believed that the shell was found here and taken back to milford haven by horse and cart as a souvenir, along rather bumpy seven—mile stretch of road. oh, and i grew up here... came in �*49. it's been part of my life for 74 years. jeff says he now misses the missile. for sian, the 29kg shell had a role in her gardening routine. i used to put new plants in, put fresh, and i'd dig them with my trowel, and it was the right height for me to bang the trowel onto the bomb to get rid of the excess earth! i done it a couple of weeks ago. i've done it for 41 years! i patted the bomb the thursday morning and wished it good luck! the ornamental ordinance is gone but not forgotten. after detonation, it split,

but didn't shatter, sojeff and sian hope it may now find a new home in a museum. hywel griffith, bbc news, milford haven. the detail of banging it with the trowel gets me! this year's word of the year has been revealed by oxford university press. eight were in the running and the crown went to the word rizz. do you know what it means? have you even heard of it? felicity baker went to find out. the word of the year for 2023... 0k. have you heard of it? no, not at all. it is rizz. rizz? i think ijust saw the news, it was rizz. yeah, i know what that means. basically flirting or i think people say grafting on someone. - riz - r, i, z. r, i, z, z. have you ever heard of it? no! have you heard of the term, to rizz it up, as well? unfortunately, yes. yeah. my flatmate is big into trying to rizz things up. my generation use it every single day. - not myself, but a lot of people!

it is rizz. rizz? this man... do you have rizz? he's drowning in rizz! go on, tell her what rizz means. it's, like, when a boy. meets a girl and, like, if they are good—looking and you can get them to be your girlfriend, - then that is rizz. would you say you have both got rizz? 100%, yes! i would say so! rizz. i don't even know what that means. it means apparently to have charisma, romantic appeal. ok, i shall add that to my dictionary! i so now you know! i did spot —— spotted a distinct generational divide so i have to ask you, how you heard of it?— heard of it? sort of! i wasn't quite sure what it _ heard of it? sort of! i wasn't quite sure what it meant! _ let's get into the forecast. we have

been shivering for days, some of us have had snow and it's turning a little less cold now and the rain is going to be falling rather than snow. it is really wet out there at the moment, most of the rain across eastern parts of the country through the evening and into the night. frost free across the bulk of england and wales about 4—6 but in scotland and parts of northern ireland, a touch of frost on the way in the early morning so some sunshine first thing but for many of us tomorrow across england and wales, a pretty cloudy picture and basically the further east you are, the more overcast it will be. 0ccasional outbreaks of rain but towards the west perhaps some sunshine and a lot milder, seven in london and newcastle, still pretty nippy in aberdeen but tomorrow night the skies will clear once that front moves away and it will be chilly tomorrow night. that means that wednesday morning, again, another widespread frost on the weights but that will be the last widespread frost of this current cold spell.

after but it really is a lot more mild with southerly winds developing on wednesday and a mild air will reach the tip of cornwall but for a time still on wednesday it could actually be still pretty cold, critically in the midlands some mist and murk. iwant critically in the midlands some mist and murk. i want to show you the temperature anomaly map, blue is below average and towards the end of the week we get this faint yellow colour is so temperature is expected to rise at least it is yellow oak on my screen! looking at the weather palette for the next few days, a mixture main symbols and crucially, these temperatures are back into double figures so for some of us, from well below the average to somewhat above it. back to you. thank you. and that's bbc news at six. you can keep up with all the latest developments on bbc website. now it's time to join our colleagues for the news where you are.