i'm devina gupta, in london. also in the programme... britain's former immigration minister robertjenrick redoubles his attack on the government's rwanda plan, saying it's unworkable. i'm afraid it's very clear to all those people who really understand how the system operates that this will not succeed. and the huge skull of a 150—million—year—old sea monster is revealed, after it was extracted from cliffs on the south coast of england. iam anna i am anna foster and you are with bbc news.

israel has ordered residents to leave the centre of gaza s main southern city, khan younis, as fighting there intensifies. there s been heavy bombardment of the territory overnight; the head of the israeli army has called for the military campaign in gaza to be stepped up. israeli tanks are reported to be slowly advancing towards the centre of khan younis and there are reports of house—to—house fighting in the city. the head of the world health organisation has said the war in gaza is having a catastrophic impact on health care there. tedros adhanom ghebreyesus warned health workers are having to work in unimaginable conditions in a desperate effort to help civilians. more on that in a moment, but first, this report is from our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. the misery of life under canvas. four in five gazans have now fled their homes and away from the front lines, they're still fighting to survive, with severe shortages of food and drinking water. aid agencies say that they're struggling to deliver the basics

even close to the egypt border where supplies come in. humanitarian aid at the moment is the only lifeline for people, and we're simply not able to get the access that we need to get through. for the past four or five, six days, aid agencies such as unicef have only been able to access the rafah governorate, and even then it's been with very limited aid. and if we can't get through soon, people are going to really, really struggle because there isn't enough water, there isn't enough food, there isn't any shelter. israel's ground campaign is now focused on the southern city of khan younis. troops saying they're going house—to—house and tunnel to tunnel. and the head of the israeli army is calling for the offensive in gaza to be stepped up amid signs, he says, that hamas is falling apart here injabalia in the north, the battles are at close quarters. one local told the bbc they've received no food

or water for five days. israel is under growing international pressure to spare gaza's civilians. translation: other countries should also understand - that it is impossible, on the one hand, to support the elimination of hamas. and on the other hand, to call for an end to the war which will prevent the elimination of hamas. after this group of men and boys taken by israeli forces five days ago were released, they claimed they were tortured. among them, mohammed mahmoud salim, held separately from his dad. "they made us sleep naked," he said, "and kept hitting "us with their guns. "they hit me when i asked where my dad was. "they hit us with wires." the bbc has asked the israeli military for a response. new aerial shots show palestine square, previously a bustling spot of gaza city, now under control of israeli forces marking thejewish hanukkah holiday. after two months of the most intense ever war between israel and the palestinians, the scale of the suffering and devastation here is unprecedented. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.

this is the view from its role looking across to the gaza strip. we see regularly the sights and sounds of artillery fire and we know fighting is happening notjust in the north of the gaza strip but right the way down to the south and around khan younis. earlier, i spoke to mark regev, senior adviser to the israeli prime minister. i asked him to respond to claims from some quarters that israel is not doing enough to reduce the death toll among gazan civilians as well as accusations of genocide and war crimes in gaza. i think the body of evidence will support that israel has made a maximum effort to try to safeguard civilian life and as we pursue hamas, which as you said, is a brutal and horrific enemy

capable of the most atrocious violence, as we pursue that enemy, we are making maximum effort to safeguard civilian life. and i am sure when this conflict is over, and the dust has settled and the numbers are actually known, you will see that the effort that the idf has made to safeguard civilian life will be apparent to all when you compare the number of civilians killed with those in comparable operations, let's say in the operation against isis in syria and iraq, in places like mosul and fallujah where there was a comparable situation, a terrorist group in an urban area with civilians and forces coming into defeat the terrorists. we know what the civilian to combat death ratio was there and i believe we will be far superior at the end of this conflict in gaza when the final and accurate numbers come out. but how much longer will this conflict go on for? because no military anywhere

in the world enters a conflict with an open ended timescale and in fact the idf chief of staff was speaking at a hanukkah candle lighting last night and he said there were signs of the hamas system disintegrating inside gaza, so let's put a timescale on it. because civilians are dying. how much longer will this go on for? this could end tomorrow if we saw more and more hamas people surrendering and giving up their arms. this could end tomorrow if hamas released the hostages and unconditionally surrendered. this a war israel did not start or want, but it's a war israel has to win and we will win it decisively. if hamas wants to speed up the end of this they can do so. we've already seen and you have seen the pictures of them beginning to surrender. if they speed up the process, this can be over quicker. unfortunately the hamas leadership seems to be totally unconcerned about the civilians of gaza,

that they have brought this suffering upon them, and i am convinced when this is over, you will see an outpouring of pent—up anger by the people of gaza against hamas that have brought this disaster upon them. i wanted to ask you about the humanitarian situation in gaza because the head of the un, antonio guterres has said the whole humanitarian aid system could break down in the strip. israel plays a key part in allowing humanitarian aid inside gaza, so what are your plans to try and increase that so civilians do not continue to suffer while this military operation goes on? we are working closely with the relevant organisations to try to expedite humanitarian support for the people of gaza. as you know, at the first week of this war, the israeli cabinet took a decision there would be no limitations whatsoever on water and food and medicines going into the gaza strip,

and we have a situation today where trucks that have passed the israeli security inspection — and people understand that we have to have those inspections because we do not want to see hamas bringing into gaza weapons and other material for their war machine — but trucks that we have authorised to enter gaza, and who have passed the israeli security inspection, are still being held up in the south at the crossing, and one can only speculate as to why. is it possible that hamas understands the only way for them to survive is to have international pressure on israel, and the way to get that is to augment a humanitarian crisis? one has to be very, very sceptical here. why are trucks that israel has inspected, why are they still being held up? part of the problem, isn't it, mr regev, you talk about the fact

civilians suffer as a result of hamas, and they do, but civilians do not have the power to control what hamas is doing. they are onlookers to all of this. many of them did not vote for hamas, are too young to have voted for hamas so if you want to make israel different you need to consider the civilians in a way that maybe hamas doesn't. i've been arguing all along and throughout this interview that the steps we have taken to safeguard civilians are almost unprecedented. the fact we send warnings and ask people to leave neighbourhoods we know there will be fighting, we are giving information to the enemy in advance but we're doing so because we are wanting to safeguard civilians. i know the people of gaza are going through a difficult time, war is never easy and has never been without innocent people getting hurt, that is the sad reality. but having been forced to fight this war, israel is making maximum effort to safeguard gaza civilians, and when this is over and hamas has

been defeated, ultimately, the people of gaza will themselves be better off because they will get a government and regime that will worry about and care about their own well—being much more than this group of hamas terrorists who have orchestrated this disaster. that was a senior adviser to the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. in switzerland the world health organization held a special session on the health situation in the occupied palestinian territories. here's the director general tedros adhanom ghebreyesus. since the 7th of october, who has verified more than 419 attacks on health care in gaza and the west bank, and 60 attacks on health care in israel. health care should

never be a target. i also grieve the loss of more than 100 of our un colleagues in gaza, including our own dima alhaj, who was killed alongside her six—month—old son, her husband and her two brothers. in summary, health needs have increased dramatically and the capacity of the health system has been reduced to one third of what it was. as that recession continues in switzerland, this is the scene in gaza, in the southern city of khan younis, people attending this medical centre if they have been caught up in attacks and it is a

place civilians are sheltering but they do not have supplies inside the medical centre to give everyone the help that they need and it is not just the medical situation. the deputy head of the un world food programme, carl skau, has warned 90% of people in some parts of gaza can't eat every day because of the shortage of food. he said only a fraction of the humanitarian aid needed has been able to enter the strip. i've been speaking to nebal farsakh, spokesperson for the palestinian red crescent, who explained what the situation is like on the ground. the health situation is catastrophic. over 63% of hospitals are shut down due to bombing and running out of fuel and medical supplies. the aid that is getting into gaza isn't even 10% of the needs. hospitals are still lacking fuel as well as medical supplies and medicines. all the hospitals that

are still operating have gone beyond their capacity and they are overwhelmed with injuries and wounded, while you can see injured and wounded people are being treated at the hospital's corridor, on the ground, because there is no left space. if you allow me to just remember that today marks the 75th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights, these rights that should be granted to all people in the world at all circumstances. unfortunately, in gaza, these rights are just a dream. when we talk about the right to life and security, over 17,000 civilians have been killed and there is no safe place. let's talk about the right of education. all children have not been able to attend school for over two months since it's not safe and even dozens of schools have been destroyed. we talk about the rights to have basic human necessities,

including food, clothing, medical care and shelter. unfortunately, in gaza, there is no available food, people have no homes since their homes were destroyed or they have to evacuate them from a place to another. talk about clothing, they have left their homes without clothing and we can see children having extreme pain and suffering because they have not enough clothing and it's getting winter and so much cold. on top of that, all medical care has been reduced to the bare minimum. the humanitarian situation in gaza is not even imaginable. no—one can imagine the catastrophic situation that is going on right now in gaza.

it is well over a week now since the last humanitarian truce deal broke down. qatar's prime minister spoke at the opening ceremony of the doha forum. he warned the international community had a collective responsibility to tackle the crisis in gaza. it also affects an entire generation that might be radicalized because of these images and seeing the international community not responsible... not responding responsibly to it. so there is a collective responsibility on all of us to stop the killing. to go back to the table. to find a lasting solution... as the only solution for sustainable peace is to have a palestinian state, is to... that's why we are advocating for a two—state solution now for decades. he then went on to talk about the continuing effort to get hamas and israel to negotiate. we will continue pressuring the parties despite each party aims

to destroy the others. at the end, we know that the resolution will only come through the table. right now, maybe the openings are narrower than where we were before the last... the last pause. yet there are still an opening. we are still continuing our talks. we are still continuing our efforts. we are hoping to go back to the agreement that we have brokered a couple of weeks ago and continue in releasing the rest of the hostages who are still alive. but the continuation of the bombardment actually is just narrowing this window for us. it's exposing not only the lives of the palestinians who have been lost throughout this, er, this war, but also the hostages themselves, they are at risk. so i believe that the only way forward for this to end is through a negotiation table.

it will never... no—one go back... i mean, historically, with all wars, all conflicts, none of them being achieved this result in the battlefield. joining me now from our london newsroom is said shehata from bbc arabic. he was talking about the efforts to try and bring these sites back to the negotiating table but how far away from that do you think we are? it is very far because israel insists on destroying hamas and the palestinian prime minister said earlier to get rid of hamas is unrealistic and hamas is part of the palestinian fabric so there is no way to exclude hamas in future negotiations about the palestinian state. so israel, for them, there is no way to be close negotiation but

it is the only solution because israel is trying since the 7th of october and before to destroy hamas. the only way to get rid of hamas is a two state solution, a palestinian state because with that there is no justification for hamas during an attack and there will be an arrangement for transition, the palestinian state to come to the west bank and gaza together. so the qatari prime minister, the arab leaders, they see this is the only solution but for america and israel, getting rid of hamas is first before thinking about negotiation so unfortunately we talk about negotiations and a two state solution, it is hard for the time being. solution, it is hard for the time beinu. ~ . solution, it is hard for the time being. ., ., solution, it is hard for the time beina.~ . ., solution, it is hard for the time being. what about something even a short term as — being. what about something even a short term as we _ being. what about something even a short term as we saw _ being. what about something even a short term as we saw before? - being. what about something even a short term as we saw before? the i short term as we saw before? the seven days and there was a pause in

fighting, some of the israeli hostages released from gaza and some palestinian prisoners released from israeli jails. some sort of lasting resolution is a long way away but what about another short—term deal that sees people released on both sides? figs that sees people released on both sides? �* , ., that sees people released on both sides? ~ , ., ., , sides? as for the hostages with tomas there — sides? as for the hostages with tomas there is _ sides? as for the hostages with tomas there is lack _ sides? as for the hostages with tomas there is lack palestinian | tomas there is lack palestinian prisoners in israel, there is pressure from inside israel. yesterday there was a demonstration calling on the prime minister to release the hostages so for the hostages and prisoners and the department of gaza, it would be a truce. qatar is doing its best with egypt, the united states in order to convince israel that putting a truce is helping the humanitarian situation because that is very bad according to some agencies which say it is on a scale never seen before.

asking for a ceasefire. every four in gaza according to several international organisations they say the responsibility is in gaza so it puts pressure on the us to do that. the us vetoed a ceasefire, but a truce like what happened before, i think it's more pragmatic and realistic and i think it might happen soon because the loss of the palestinians, 17,000 dead, 7000 of them children, 116,000 injured, so there is a problem and the israeli hostages need to be released and there is a call for unconditional release of all hostages. as for all of these cards being there, the truce might happen sooner rather than later. ., ~ , ., truce might happen sooner rather than later. ., ~ i. .

than later. thank you so much. one ofthe than later. thank you so much. one of the various _ than later. thank you so much. one of the various things _ than later. thank you so much. one of the various things we _ than later. thank you so much. one of the various things we are - than later. thank you so much. one of the various things we are looking j of the various things we are looking at today. we were talking about the continuing efforts to try and negotiate coming from qatar, the session happening in switzerland with the world health organization looking at the humanitarian situation in gaza. more to come for me injerusalem. for now, i will hand you back to london. people in egypt are casting their ballots in the country's presidential election. voting will be spread over three days, with approximately 67 million egyptians eligible to vote. president abdel fattah el—sisi hopes to win his third term in office. sally nabil has the latest from cairo.

we know now it is getting quieter but how much voters believe the next election will bring about some change, that is the big question because right before the vote started, we've been talking to people in different parts of cairo and very few believe things are going to change for the better after the election. of course, their primary worry is the economy that has been going from bad to worse over the past few years, the devaluation of the currency, the unprecedented high inflation, going up unprecedented high inflation, going up by unprecedented high inflation, going up by the day, that is their major concern at the moment. but even if they go to the polling station, whether or not they believe that the days to come will be better, that's the big question, because you feel that they have a deep sense of pessimism at the moment, and they genuinely believe that not

much is going to change because as you've said, that president sisi's win is quite inevitable. sally, do tell us this, because we heard that voters are concerned about the economic situation, their own cost of living crisis that is playing out in egypt. but how much is the war that is happening in gaza also playing out in these polls? actually, things have been difficult for egyptians even before the war broke out in gaza. but there has been some reports suggesting that egypt is going to get some financial incentives to alleviate its deep economic crisis in return for opening up the borders for residents of gaza. the sinai, the egyptian sinai peninsula, borders gaza and israel. so there have been reports suggesting, make space for the residents of gaza to go into the sinai peninsula

in return for financial incentives from regional and international donors. so far, the official stance is that this is not going to happen. egypt is not part of the conflict. yes, it can be a mediator, but it won't be involved directly in this conflict. will that position change after the elections? we don't know yet. the deep economic crisis, will it influence the political decision in this regard? this is yet to be seen, but so far the egyptian decision—maker has refused to open up the sinai peninsula for the residents of gaza to walk in and stay there. let's go to oslo where the norwegian monarch king harald is in attendance at the handing out of the nobel peace prize. here are some live pictures from the

ceremony. in the absence of the winner, human rights activist narges mohammadi, who remains in prison in iran. she will be represented by her husband and teenage children. who will read out a speech that she managed to smuggle out. hello again. yesterday was a wet and a windy day. we had gusts up to 80 miles an hour around north wales, but that was all because of storm elin, which has cleared away to the east, and today we have this area of cloud moving in all linked into storm fergus, which is mostly going to affect the republic of ireland. there will be little if any impact to the uk, but we will have some rain moving and spreading north and eastwards across many areas. the winds are strengthening later around those irish sea coasts, but here is that rain,

and as we go through this afternoon, it will continue to push into scotland, but clearing for much of england and wales, some sunshine across wales, the midlands and through southern areas of england, a bit of sunshine for a time in northern ireland before further showers move in. temperatures about 7 or 8 degrees in the north, 11 to 1a celsius further south. so in that sunshine, that will feel fairly pleasant. now, through tonight, the area of low pressure, storm fergus, will continue to move eastward. there could be some strengthening winds around southern areas of england, some gusts here, but on the whole, not a great deal going on. we will see the showers clearing to the east. overnight temperatures could get close to freezing in central scotland, otherwise they will see those temperatures staying up at about 7 to 9 celsius. so, then, as we get into monday, that is remnants of storm fergus clearing away. we've got another area of low pressure waiting in the wings, but in between, a ridge of high pressure, something a bit more settled to start off the new working week. sunshine for many of us on monday, some showers, though, affecting north—eastern scotland,

north—eastern areas of england, maybe one or two showers coming into the south—west as well, but for most of us, monday is looking dry with some sunshine, and temperatures about 8 to 11 celsius for many, about 6 or 7 degrees across scotland. now, for tuesday, we are going to see a bit more in the way of rain. this area of low pressure moving its way eastward, rain moving north and eastward, it could be quite persistent and heavy at times across north—east england, eastern scotland. heavy showers coming into the south—west, those could be heavy, perhaps a bit thundery, some blustery winds across those channel coasts as well. temperatures on tuesday about 7 to 12 celsius, and then as we go through next week, things settling down a little bit into the end of the week. high pressure building in with some sunny spells and temperatures 9 to 12 celsius. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines... fighting is intensifying in gaza's second city, khan younis, with residents ordered by israeli forces to leave central areas. the head of the world health organisation has said the war in gaza is having a catastrophic impact on health care there. britain's former immigration minister, robertjenrick, redoubles his attack

on the government's rwanda plan, saying it's unworkable. and the huge skull of a 150 million—year—old sea monster is revealed after it was extracted from cliffs on the south coast of england. here in the uk, the prime minister rishi sunak is under growing pressure over his plans to send asylum seekers to rwanda. the government has published new legislation which it says will allow the uk to send asylum seekers to rwanda, despite a previous ruling by the supreme court. robertjenrick, who was until last week the immigration minister responsible for the plans, said he won't support the government in a key vote on the issue on tuesday. another senior backbencher says right—wing conservative mps have received legal advice that the legislation is not fit for purpose, increasing pressure on mr sunak. our political correspondent

peter saull told us more. robertjenrick, the immigration minister, as you say, resigned on wednesday, just hours after the government published this legislation designed to resurrect the rwanda plan, the essential plank really, of the prime minister's pledge to stop small boats' arrivals. it would mean that some asylum seekers would be sent to rwanda and would gradually ramp up and act as a deterrent in the first instance so people don't even get on thoser boats in the first place, if they won't actually end up staying in the uk. so robertjenrick sort of said on wednesday that wasn't happy with the plan. a much more detailed assessment from him today on the bbc�*s laura kuenssberg programme. this is the first interview he is given since resigning, and he made it abundantly clear he does not think the plan will work. we've already done two bills. this is the third bill.

it's three strikes and you're out. i want this bill to work and to be a powerful deterrent. we need to be clear to all the people who understand how the system operates that this bill will not succeed, as you just alluded to. what will happen is that absolutely everyone who comes across in a small boat will put on a claim that rwanda might be generally safe, but individually it is not safe for them. this matters because robertjenrick was at the heart of policy—making on this issue untiljust a few days ago, so conservative mps will be deciding on how to vote on this legislation when it comes before the house of commons, and will be listening and watching his words very closely. we had an indication from one of the different tribes within the tory party that they are not best pleased with the legislation. this is the daily telegraph, an editorialfrom sir bill cash, saying they were deciding

whether the bill was sufficiently watertight, at present, it is not sufficiently watertight, is his view. not clear whether that group will vote against the plan on tuesday. on the other wing of the conservative party, you have several conservative mps who think the plan goes too far. in the middle, i suppose, is the prime minister and his supporters trying to chart a course through this, and it was left of the levelling up secretary michael gove to make the case of the plan, as it stands. my confident expectation would be that people who we choose to send to rwanda will be sent to rwanda, but more than that, you don't need to take my word, we've had lord sumption and variety of lawyers have said. michael gove saying that legal experts agree that this will stop migrants from making legal challenges and getting

flights off the ground. opposition parties believe frankly this is a very expensive gimmick in theirview, there will be voting against it on tuesday, and actually the labour party standing back and quite enjoying this, because it is a big internal row once again within the conservative party. here is liz kendall, the shadow work and pensions secretary. it really does feel like the desperate dying days of this government, and labour understands that this is a serious issue dealing with the dangerous boats. it is a serious for national security, and because of the potential numbers of lives being lost, so we need a proper plan to deal with that. the pm put out a statement calling on the labour party to act in the public interest and stop playing politics about the throu on tuesday, but perhaps his biggest challenge is to get his own mps to back it.

it will be going through the various different parts of houses of parliament, they might be to make changes at later stages, so they might be to get it through on tuesday, but a massive challenge coming down the track for the prime minister, a hug week for him too, because tomorrow he will have to appear before the covid inquiry here in london. the international energy agency says pledges made so far at the cop28 climate summit are only about a third of what is needed by 2030. governments and the oil industry have made non—binding promises to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency by the end of the decade, as well as make sharp cuts in methane emission. the international energy agency said that while the pledges are positive steps, they would not be nearly enough to move towards reaching international climate targets,

in particular the goal of limiting global warming to one—point—five degrees celsius above pre—industrial levels. our climate and science reporter georgina rannard is in dubai and can tell us more. the conversation at the summit is now divided into two camps, phasing out of fossil fuels versus the other alternative. tell us more. i out of fossil fuels versus the other alternative. tell us more.- alternative. tell us more. i think there is a _ alternative. tell us more. i think there is a sense _ alternative. tell us more. i think there is a sense of _ alternative. tell us more. i think there is a sense of it _ alternative. tell us more. i think there is a sense of it is - alternative. tell us more. i think there is a sense of it is crunch i there is a sense of it is crunch time in dubai. ijust went to a press conference by the president of these talks, sultan al—jaber, also these talks, sultan al—jaber, also the head of the uae�*s state oil giant, and he told journalists that he was calling journalists —— ministers into a meeting. that is happening right now in the building on my right, and it is a type of discussion. i checked the live feed of this meeting, we are not allowed

in the room, and all the ministers are sitting in a circle and one by one they stand up and make their points, and what the president said in his press conference was that all parties are equal, he wants people to put aside their self interest and work in the common good, and really he is talking about this question of fossil fuel phase—out. two countries agreed to get rid of fossil fuel, when, how might that happen. it is incredibly divisive. there are countries on the front line of climate change who are very vulnerable, they want lots of action. but countries like cloudy arabia and iran rely on fossil fuels and they don't want this rapid action. we will have to see what the ministers decide today and how that plays out. this ministers decide today and how that -la s out. , . ministers decide today and how that -lasout. , . ., plays out. this recent conversation, because of— plays out. this recent conversation, because of the _ plays out. this recent conversation, because of the international - plays out. this recent conversation, because of the international energy | because of the international energy agency, the global energy think tank, and what they have said is so far the tank, and what they have said is so farthe summit tank, and what they have said is so far the summit has not done enough to live up to the changes and

limitations that are needed for fossil fuel to save the planet right now. how is it being seen, especially with the presidency being with sultan al—jaber, who is also handling the national oil project in the uae? it handling the national oil pro'ect in the uae? , , , , the uae? it is interesting because the uae? it is interesting because the way these _ the uae? it is interesting because the way these talks _ the uae? it is interesting because the way these talks work - the uae? it is interesting because the way these talks work is - the uae? it is interesting because the way these talks work is at - the uae? it is interesting because the way these talks work is at the | the way these talks work is at the start there is a lot of pledges, declarations, but what really matters is the deal they come to at the end after the two weeks here, and this conference will be judged on if they decide that all the governments and parties decide to phase out fossil fuels, and it is that people willjudge the presidency on. people were sceptical of this presidency because of his links to oil and gas, he is inside that industry, so the question is, can we bring all these parties together? we might see a deal that brings all parties closer to limiting the temperature rise to 1.5, but we may not, we don't have a

sense of that. he is speaking with great urgency, but can he bring all those parties together to agree that consensus? . ., those parties together to agree that consensus? ., ~ , ., ., ., , consensus? thank you for “oining us. over 30 countries * consensus? thank you for “oining us. over 30 countries have _ consensus? thank you forjoining us. over 30 countries have joined, - consensus? thank you forjoining us. over 30 countries have joined, also i over 30 countries havejoined, also the largest freshwater restoration project at cop28. we will be getting more details on that. thank you for being with us. a philippine boat and a chinese ship have collided in contested waters in the south china sea, with each country blaming the other for the confrontation. it's the second maritime clash between the two countries this weekend. here's david waddell. the collision occurred during a philippine resupply mission to a tiny garrison on second thomas shoal in the spratly islands. that's an archipelago between the philippines and vietnam. these are myriad tiny islands spread across a huge area and they are hotly contested. so much so, in fact, that the united states routinely patrols the area in what is known

as freedom of navigation exercises. here is the uss carl vinson making its way through what the us regards as international waters, much to the irritation of china. because china, taiwan and vietnam each have competing claims for the whole area. the philippines and malaysia each have partial claims. and between them, each of the five countries occupies at least some of the territory in the spratly islands. brunei claims an inclusive economic zone to a continental shelf which overlaps with the area. indeed, the economic implications are crucial to these disputes. around 112 ships a day pass through the south china sea. that's double the number that pass through the suez canal, triple the number that pass through the panama. it's also an area that is rich fishing territory and a source of guano, a type of fertiliser, along with oil and gas. so what has happened here? these pictures shared by the philippine coastguard show water cannons being fired upon philippine vessels by the chinese coastguard. there was a similar incident on saturday. these pictures are from today, sunday. and a further image from

the philippine armed forces is this. it shows a chinese coastguard vessel just after making contact with a philippine supply boat. it's the latest in a litany of maritime incidents between the two countries, but tensions have exploded in recent months as president marcos sought to improve ties with washington and push back against chinese ambitions in the south china sea. manila says its boat was rammed by the chinese vessel, beijing accuses the philippine boat of changing direction suddenly and deliberately colliding with the chinese vessel. it claims the philippine vessels were trying to take construction materials to an illegally based warship upon which their garrison is located. in 2016, an international tribunal claimed that china's claims to the south china sea have no legal basis. its been a weekend of extreme weather in australia. first, a severe heatwave swept across the country's eastern coast, followed by intense rain and flooding in south australia and now there are reports

tropical cyclone jasper is currently accelerating towards the queensland coast. the recent heatwave has also raised the risk of bushfires, leading authorities to ban fires in large parts of new south wales state. earlier, our australia correspondent phil mercer gave me this update from sydney. over the weekend, temperatures in parts of sydney have reached 44 celsius, furnace—like conditions evident for much of saturday across sydney and then we had what is known here as a southerly buster and essentially that does exactly what the name suggests. this is a weather system that barrels up from the southern ocean bringing with it, gustier windy conditions, that literally blow the heat away so we had one of those about 24—hours ago so certainly in coastal regions around sydney and other parts of eastern australia, the heat has

dissipated. still there is a severe heatwave warning for much of new south wales state. this is the most populous state in australia and as you mentioned before, the heat brings the risk of bushfires. the new south wales rural fire service says around 86 fires are burning across the state of new south wales, 26 of those are uncontained so australia has always been hot, stormy, there's always been the risk of bushfires that can happen at any time of the year depending on where you are and climate scientists are warning that these extremes are exacerbated and made more intense by climate change. so australians... what i wanted to ask, why are we seeing such wild weather in australia? you have a heatwave in one part and flooding

in the other? australia is a very big place, the sixth largest country in the world so we had this very oppressive heat here in new south wales for example, also very hot temperatures in the state of south australia. down there in recent days they experienced temperatures in some parts of south australia of 47 degrees celsius, in excess of 116 fahrenheit so extremely warm and fire authorities say they have not faced this sort of fire conditions that they have had in recent days for many years but such is the pressure, very changeable nature of the australian weather, we've had some heavy rain in south australia so the fire danger there has been mitigated somewhat but for the north as you indicate, cyclone jasper is slowly moving towards the coast of queensland. the first cyclone of the season.

it's bringing with it the threat of strong winds and heavy rains soaked those people in northern queensland are preparing for the onslaught of this tropical cyclone. now, imagine a sea monster with 130 razor—sharp teeth, the biting force of a t—rex and a skull measuring two metres. it might sound like the stuff of legend but this creature really did exist around 75 milllion years ago. it was called a pliosaur, and a fossil of its enormous jaws has been found off dorset�*s jurassic coast. our science editor rebecca morelle went for an exclusive look. 0k. oh, wow! there you go. it's huge! unveiling a jurassic sea monster. this is the 2m—long skull of a pliosaur, one of the most fearsome predators the planet has ever seen. so it's got big teeth — excellent for stabbing

and killing its prey. it doesn't chew its food, itjust breaks into bits and... throws it back to get in there... and digests the bone and everything. steve etches lead the efforts to unearth and prepare this ancient aquatic beast. so what makes this unique is it's complete. so the lowerjaws and upper skull are meshed together, as it would be in life. to find that, i think worldwide, there's hardly any specimens ever found to that level of detail. if they are, a lot of the bits are missing, whereas this, although it's slightly distorted, has got every bone present. it's one of the best fossils i've ever worked on. i'll never probably work on another one. the snout was discovered by a fossil enthusiast on a beach near kimmeridge bay in dorset. ijust found something quite extraordinary. it's the jaw of a massive pliosaur. it's enormous. it must've just come out of a cliff up there somewhere. over the course of weeks,

the rest was excavated — a perilous process with steve and the team dangling off ropes halfway down a fast—eroding cliff face. it was all followed by a bbc documentary team and sir david attenborough. in these waters, underneath my feet, lurked the ultimate marine predator, the pliosaur. this gigantic reptile lived 150 million years ago. reaching more than 12m in length, its bulky body was powered through the water with huge paddle—like limbs. it would have terrorised the oceans. so what we're looking at here is a surface scan of the skull of the pliosaur. scientists have scanned the fossil to try and learn more about its bite with its 130 razor—sharp teeth. they've calculated it had a bite

force similar to a t rex. i think what we're looking at here is the top predator in the environment. you know, this animal had a huge bite. it would have been able to eat pretty much everything else that was around in the water at that time, including some other very large animals, as well — other pliosaurs and plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, other marine crocodilians as well, would all be potential prey items for this animal. the dark clay of dorset�*s kimmeridge bay is rich in fossils. why is that? 150 million years ago, this whole area would've been a tropical ocean. and the cliffs behind me were the mud on the sea floor, where the bodies of prehistoric sea creatures were buried. and there they remained, hidden away for millions of years. it's only now, as the rocks crumble, that these fossilised skeletons are finally being revealed. the exact location where the pliosaur�*s head was found

is a closely guarded secret. the team believes the rest of the skeleton is still embedded in the cliffs. i'll stake my life on the rest of the animal is there, that's for sure. really, it should come out because it's in a very rapidly eroding environment. this part of the cliff is going back by feet a year and it won't be very long before the rest of it sort of drops out and it gets lost, so it would be advantageous to do this because the opportunity is once in a lifetime. the pliosaur will be put on display in dorset in the new year and it will bring scientists from all around the world to study it, to learn more about this monster of the seas and the world it lived in all those millions of years ago. rebecca morelle, bbc news, thejurassic coast in dorset. it's been a huge year for the video gaming industry, but while sales are soaring, not everyone has been able to play. blind and partially sighted gamers have often been

left out of the fun, but new technology and some gaming companies are working to change that. andrew rogers reports. video games have never looked better. with lifelike visuals and stylish cinematics, many are a feast for the eyes. but some players have to rely on other senses. players like ben, also known as sightless kombat. he is testing out a new kind of game codenamed project black kat, based entirely on sound. there are basic visuals there that can be used to play the game with sight, but also, as well, there is menu narration, so it will speak the menus as you go through. automation: audio glossary, j button two of five, a to select. and it will speak the tutorials. there is audio description, as well. a long, cold corridor extends before you. | slightly ahead to the right is a wooden crate. - it is kind of handholding, but it's a way of doing it that

feels relatively dynamic as you play through. he is also an ambassador for the royal national institute of blind people, and live streams his gaming on twitch to thousands around the world. and i wanted to just showcase how things work from my perspective, having absolutely no sight whatsoever. i've had a lot of people come in and just be very friendly, very curious, very interested in watching me and saying, wait, you can't see, and you're better than i am at this. so, that's always a fun compliment to have paid. and, as more of us than ever start picking up a controller, game studios like this when in oxford are finding ways to make sure their games can be played by everyone. one way they are doing this is by holing specialist accessibility consultants for their games. people like cari, who designed project black kat. i try to help teams make more inclusive and accessible games so that more people canjoin in and play them. it is the bestjob in games. my entire job is helping more people play games. like, that isjust the bestjob. her game isjust a prototype for now, but she's hoping it can get

more studios thinking about accessibility in their games. yeah! we are seeing progress, and progress will snowball and hopefully then those publishers, companies, studios, platforms, we'll all realise eventually, at least, overtime, that accessibility, if you want to be really shallow about it, increased accessibility equals increased sales. cari says access isn'tjust about reaching more disabled players, but future proofing the games industry. i still want to be playing games when i'm 80, if there is a platform! i still want to play games when i'm older, but my capabilities change as i age, and so does — everybody's, and it'sjust a case of wanting to make sure that the games are still supporting people who've been playing games their whole life. everybody should be able to play, you know? whether you've got sight or not, whatever your situation is, you should be able to enjoy the same games as everybody else. until then, ben and cari can still play some of their favourite titles by sharing the controls, giving them just another reason game together.

the hollywood sign is 100 years old and to mark the anniversary a spectacular lighting ceremony was set up by the hollywood sign trust. millions of people visit this tourist attraction every year in search of a photo or selfie of those huge, world famous white letters. to celebrate, the hollywood sign trust lit up the letters, with the original 4,000 vintage bulbs that illuminated the real estate sign — hollywoodland — back in 1923. they also bought 400 gallons of white paint to give the letters a makeover. and she is definitely ready for her close—up. you know, after the last several years, this is really a coming out moment for la because the hollywood sign really is our global icon.

it is the reason people choose to come to la, notjust because of getting that bucket list photo with the hollywood sign in the background, but also because it represents the fact that la is the city of endless possibility. here in the uk, members of the royal family have unveiled their official christmas cards. the prince and princess of wales have opted for a black and white family portrait showing william, catherine and the three children looking relaxed in jeans and white shirts. that's in contrast to king charles and queen camilla, who have gone for a more formal look in their card, which shows them in full regalia in the buckingham palace throne room on coronation day — may 6th. let's go to oslo where the nobel peace prize is being handed out in the absence of the winner, human rights activist narges mohammadi, who remains in prison in iran. she's represented by her husband and teenage children. they are reading out a speech

she managed to smuggle out. she said the iranian people will overcome totalitarianism. there was an empty chair at the ceremony. thank you so much forjoining us. stay with bbc news. how about the outlook for the week ahead? further spells of wind and rain in the forecast, but towards the end of the week, high pressure should build from the south and the weather will settle down. it will turn drier and brighter. here is the satellite picture. this is storm

fergus, named by the irish met service, and it is affecting ireland today with severe gales in the west. also some strong winds out towards the west later today. here are the temperatures at the end of the afternoon. around 10 degrees in the south, 5 degrees expected in glasgow and edinburgh. the rain moving through north—western england, into wales, ending up around lincolnshire and east anglia. towards the end of the night, the winds fall for light again. around 2 degrees in the lowlands, 9 degrees in the south, so a relatively mild night on the way. on monday, we are in between weather systems, so i think a greater chance of some dry and bright weather, at least for a time tomorrow, although not everywhere, because we have an easterly wind around aberdeenshire, so often cloudy and some spots of rain. the next weatherfront so often cloudy and some spots of

rain. the next weather front is approaching. and that will be sweeping over us during the course of tuesday, so frequent showers, quite windy as well of the welsh coast, the south west of england, central and southern england, and particularly wet in eastern scotland. that wind off the north sea constantly pushing in the rain clouds, so really wet. and then wednesday, that low pressure pulls away, we will still be brushed by weather systems to the north, but watch this high. it is starting to build in from the azores, spreading across the country from friday onwards, into the weekend, so it looks as though things are going to be settling down, and this is reflected for our outlook mid week onwards and into the weekend. from friday, much drier and brighter weather. goodbye.

this is bbc news live from jerusalem. fighting is intensifying in gaza's second city, khan younis, with residents ordered by israeli forces to leave central areas. the head of the world health organization has said the war in gaza is having a catastrophic impact on health care there. the who has verified more than 4119 attacks on healthcare in gaza on the west bank and 60 attacks on healthcare in israel. healthcare should never be a target.

i'm devina gupta in london. also in the programme... britain's former immigration minister, robertjenrick, redoubles his attack on the government's rwanda plan, saying it's unworkable. i'm afraid it's very clear to all those people who really understand how the system operates that this will not succeed. iam anna i am anna foster live injerusalem. israel has ordered residents to leave the centre of khan younis as the fighting intensifies. there's been another heavy bombardment overnight. the head of the israeli army is calling for the military

campaign in gaza to be stepped up. israeli