israel's allies put pressure on netanyahu as france's foreign minister says an "immediate truce is necessary" and britain and germany call for a "sustainable ceasefire". the world health organization says it has delivered crucial medical supplies to gaza's al shifa hospital. the us describes the houthis as a "material threat" to shipping after american warships shot down 1a attack drones launched from yemen. and after years of denials, the former conservative peer baroness mone admits she stands to benefit from millions of pounds of profit from protective equpment sold to the government during the pandemic. i wasn't trying to pull the wool over anyone�*s�*s eyes and i regret and i am sorry for not saying straight out, "yes, i am involved".

hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. we start with the latest on the israel—gaza war. britain and germany are calling for an urgent sustainable ceasefire in gaza. both countries say too many civilians have been killed in israel's war against hamas and the sooner a truce comes, the better. france, meanwhile, has called for an immediate and durable ceasefire. it's being seen as a signifcant change in tone. the military campaign continues in gaza. these pictures were filmed in the north of the territory, where local reports say at least one person died in an air strike on a building. israel's prime minister benhamin netanyahu says his intention is to ensure that hamas can no longer function, and he's also working on bringing home the hostages held in gaza. and these pictures, filmed on sunday morning from israel, looking into gaza, show large plumes of smoke burning, with many damaged buildings in sight. israel's military says two more of its soldiers have

been killed in fighting. let's get the latest from our security correspondent frank gardner. and his german counterpart annalena baerbock, both writing in major newspapers in britain and germany. this is slightly semantics about the difference between an immediate ceasefire and sustainable ceasefire but the fact is, i don't think any of israel's allies, including britain, the us and germany, envisaged when on october the 7th, they pledged their full support for israel and its right to defend itself, i don't think any of them envisaged a death toll of approaching 20,000 people in gaza, which is what we're now seeing. so there is a real momentum internationally to curtail israel's military operation. not to stop it, but at least to reduce the amount of suffering and deaths on the part

of the palestinians. the issue of the three hostages who've been killed by an israeli patrol, that's really ignited a lot of public opinion here. it's in the papers. this is an israeli newspaper saying "the disaster of the hostages". it goes into some detail saying, look, let's notjudge the people who pulled the trigger, because they are fighting a difficult war amongst people with hamas not wearing uniforms, every boulder could be an ied. nevertheless, there are questions being asked internationally about the discipline and rules of engagement of the israeli forces. it wasn't long ago when a video emerged of israeli soldiers who took over a mosque in the west bank and started chanting jewish prayers from that, which is a very provocative act.

if there is ever to be a lasting peace here, things like that can't be sustained. to come back to your question about david cameron's op—ed in the sunday times, he specifically mentions what he calls hateful acts byjewish settlers in the west bank, which has seen a real surge in violence by hardcore settlers against palestinian families, against theirfarms and orchards, shooting at them as they try to gather olives, trying to burn them out of their houses. this is the land that is supposed to be a future palestinian state. if you take away that prospect, you are depriving people of a peaceful alternative and simply steering them into the arms of radical extremist, violent groups like hamas. pope francis has deplored the death of two women in a catholic church in gaza city. the elderly mother and her daughter

were shot dead by an israeli soldier in the grounds of the church, where many christian families have been sheltering since the war broke out. the british mp layla moran says her relatives are among the hundreds of civilians trapped in that church, as israeli forces operate nearby. members of the liberal democrat's extended family — a grandmother, her son, his wife and their ii—year—old twins, are christian palestinians who sought refuge inside the church after their home was bombed in the first week of the war. they have been staying on mattresses along with dozens of others in rooms in the holy family church for more than 60 days. earlier i spoke to layla moran, who told me the situation in gaza has been deteriorating all week. i haven't had an update overnight. we are now at the point where there is that blackout and generators have gone so i'm not sure we will get anything, which is terrifying of course. it's been going from bad to worse.

we lost a family member who desperately needed a hospital and wasn't able to get out. but the escalation began on tuesday. there was shooting. they were terrified. they went back into the sunday school rooms in the complex in the church where they are. they then heard the janitor had been shot, the bin collector had been shot. this was from forces who were outside at that stage. about 48 hours ago, it escalated yet again. there are three generators and two had already stopped working, so there was already dwindling electricity to charge phones to communicate what was happening. but the third caught fire. we understand that that was because soldiers had hit it. they managed to put out the fire, but that was the generator that pumped water. already, they were drinking contaminated water and were down to a meal a day. but this was the last straw.

so the last we heard is that now they are without water, without food, and there is a sniper inside the compound. there's a woman and her daughter who have been killed. what's been happening is that as they try to leave their room to go to the toilet or something, there is firing at them. what a remarkable and distressing story. how is food getting in, if you have a sniper outside? it's not. there's none. what had been happening is, and they've been brave about it — the odd person would go out. the nuns had been looking after everybody. it's also home to sa disabled people. it started off as 100 people and it swelled to 300 over the course of the last weeks. people would go out, as they do, they've been trying to get food from somewhere. it is very scarce. as it currently stands, no one can go in and out. they are absolutely terrified.

the soldiers were at the gate yesterday. and outside the gates, there was this sniper. i don't know the situation as we speak. i can only hope it hasn't escalated overnight. we've desperately tried to raise the alarm in the hope... bear in mind, this is the week before christmas. this time next week, it will be christmas eve. this should be a moment where, as awful as this is, and i have to tell you, the christmas carols stick in my throat at the moment, peace to all men, etc. this is an incredibly important time for christians, and yet they're doing this to christians in a church. it makes a mockery of when israel says it's not targeting civilians. i do not know what's happening here. either the rules of engagement are being ignored, or there is a plan to clear the whole of gaza. whatever it is, it needs to stop. my family are not justifiable

collateral damage in this war. they have nothing to do with hamas. they do not deserve this, and nor do the tens of thousands of innocent palestinians who have died so far either. have they told you about any kind of plan? do they want to try to move and head somewhere else? or can they not? obviously, we are desperately trying, as all are, to work out where they would be safer. if we can get them out, we'll try, although that's proving very complicated. they had already started to consider moving from north to south, but that's not safe either. the route you're told to take, there are soldiers lined up on either side and people are either arrested or shot as they do it, so that's not safe. what they're waiting for, to even consider this, is a truce or indeed, a ceasefire. so i do welcome david cameron and his change of language, saying he wants a sustainable ceasefire. i'm liberal democrat spokesperson

forforeign affairs, we have been calling for that for weeks, not just a freeze to the conflict, but also lasting peace which means this will not happen again. so notwithstanding my own desperation as any other person with family there feels, i'm sure the world looks on and says, how on earth did we allow this to happen? how on earth did we get here? in a way, looking back is important, but looking forward is more important. two states and lasting peace is how we get there. it will be complicated, but i'm glad the international community is now beginning to at least start talking about that ceasefire we need which would stop what my family is going through now. layla moran, speaking to me earlier. the french foreign minister says attacks on ships in the red sea cannot go "unanswered". the united states says one of its warships shot down 14 attack drones launched from houthi—controlled areas of yemen on saturday.

the national security adviser, jake sullivan — who is on a trip to the middle east — described the houthis as a "material threat" to shipping. the iranian—backed group has carried out numerous drone and missile strikes on vessels passing through the red sea in recent weeks. four of the world's five—largest shipping companies have announced they're suspending sailings through the route , one of the main arteries of global maritime trade. the houthis say they are targeting ships bound for israel, but experts say they're firing indiscriminately. sue terpilowski is a vice chair maritime for the chartered institute of logistics and transport and a pr specialist at image line communications. shejoined us earlier and i asked her how important the bab—el—mandeb strait is to international trade. the red sea is a vital area for world trade. it has at the end of it the suez canal and 12% of all goods traded in the world pass

through that canal. so it is a vital hub but more importantly for us in the uk, it is the artery between asia and europe and most of our goods that come through that canal. so it's a crucial area. what threat are the ships under? a huge threat. the safety for the seafarers is paramount. the ships themselves, and also the fact that world trade will have to change. so people are making plans at the moment. it's a vital link between us and asia. think of everything that comes to us that we buy from china, vietnam, india. all those goods are going through that canal. and what impact does it have when big shipping companies say it's too dangerous to go this way? it will mean an extended supply chain. so there could be short—term shortages in our shops while people re—route the ships.

they have paused now, and we are now re—routing and looking at how we can move things. it will probably mean that in the long term, there will be more short—term storage in the uk needed so people can bring goods in and allow for the exchange and supply chain. and how does security in the region work? obviously, there are lots of countries that have ships out there to protect that vital link because it is so important. that is what you're seeing at the moment. you heard this morning about the uk shooting down the drone. so there is a lot of security in the area. it's always been volatile, so people know how to patrol it, but it's never been impacted the way it is now, with the impact on world trade. let's talk about yemen specifically. is it the case that all countries have a threat risk assessment from yemen? i can't talk about countries. i can talk about the

logistics industry. 12% of the goods we have go through there. so it is a vital artery for us. we have strong risk assessments. at the moment, there is also an increase in the insurance premium is going through there, so there is a war risk put on shipping. let me take you live to rome, where the italian prime minister, giorgia meloni, is talking at a far—right political festival in rome, which she is hosting. the four—day gathering of right wing politicans, business leaders and other guests is organised by meloni's brothers of italy party. yesterday the british prime minister, rishi sunak, used the event to announce that the uk and italy would jointly finance a plan to return migrants in tunisia to their home countries, and warned that migration could "overwhelm" european states.

61 migrants, including women and children, are feared dead after their boat sank off the coast of libya. the international organization for migration quoted survivors saying the boat, carrying around 86 people, departed the libyan city of zwara and was headed to europe. here in the uk, after years of denials, the former conservative peer, baroness mone has admitted that she stands to benefit from tens of millions of pounds of profit made from personal protective equipment that was sold to the government during the coronavirus pandemic. the company was led by her husband, doug barrowman. she says she did help broker the deal, but claims she was made a scapegoat for the government's failings. 0ur political correspondent laura kuenssberg has more. questions about the pandemic, profit and politics have followed baroness mone and her husband to southern europe. for years, they denied links to a firm that received £200 million

in taxpayers�* money for desperately needed masks and gowns. only now the truth — that she does stand to gain. if one day, if, god forbid, my husband passes away before me, then i am a beneficiary as well as his children and my children. so, yes, of course. my family will benefit in due course. our family will benefit. that's what you do when you're in the privileged position of making money. a successful businesswoman and member of the lords, she didn't tell parliament she was helping broker a ppe contract. she now admits she didn't tell the truth when her links to the deal first emerged. you both denied it, why? we were simply listening to our advisers. hindsight�*s a wonderful thing. i wasn't trying to pull the wool over anyone�*s eyes. and i regret and i'm sorry for not saying straight out,

"yes, i am involved". my family have gone through hell with the media over my career and i didn't want another big hoo—ha in the press and my family to be involved in it. i don't honestly see there's a case to answer. i can't see what we've done wrong. doug and the consortium have simply delivered a contract — a delivery contract of goods. but after everything, you can't see what you've done wrong when you've admitted today that you lied to the press? that's not a crime. essentially, you lied to the public. laura, saying to the press that i'm not involved to protect my family, can ijust make this clear? it's not a crime. the company's being taken to court by the department of health. the pairare under criminal investigation. but the government wouldn't comment on the couple who only now want to have their say. laura kuenssberg, bbc news.

voting is under way in parliamentary elections in serbia. president vucic�*s progressive party has been in power since 2012. it's facing a coalition made up of fifteen parties, which came together following mass shootings earlier this year. 0ur balkans correspondent guy de launey is in belgrade and he explained who the main contendors in this election are. the progressive party. they've been in power for more than a decade now and they're led by president aleksandar vucic, who even though he isn't up for election himself because these are parliamentary, not presidential elections, he's been the big figure in the progressive party campaign telling everybody he'll listen, that his is the only party that can be trusted to govern serbia responsibly. 0n the other hand, you've got this coalition, serbia against violence, 15 different parties in there. now, this is the proverbial big tent. so you've got everybody

in there from eco—activists through to centre right parties, and they've got one or two things in common. one of the big ones, of course, is that they want to get rid of president vucic and his progressives. they also say that they're pro—european, although that applies to the progressive party as well. everybody wants tojoin the european union. so the big thing, perhaps, that the serbia against violence coalition has is the they're talking about this culture of violence which they say was allowed to be created in serbia, both rhetorically and physically under the government of mr vucic and the progressives. and that's why they're saying that people should not vote for them. and just talk us through the running order, the timetable for the day when does voting, start and finish and when should we know? so the polling stations opened at seven in the morning here in belgrade. we've already seen some of the big names casting their ballots, president vucic, dragon djilas,

who's the leader of the party of freedom and justice, which is part of the serbia against violence coalition. those sort of people have been out, obviously wanting to be seen to be voting. and as you can see here, it's a beautiful day. lots of people out and about. polls are open until eight in the evening. so if you know, the old adage goes that people vote when the weather's good, there could be a high turnout. british teenager alex batty, who was found in france last week, after being missing for six years, has returned to the uk. he vanished in 2017, while on holiday in spain with his mother and grandfather. 0ur reporter gerryjackson reports now from 0ldham, where his family are from. to recap this extraordinary story so far, in 2017, the then 11 year old alex batty travelled on holiday to spain with his mother and grandfather and effectively disappeared. since then, it appeared the three of them have been living what's been described as an itinerant alternative lifestyle, with alex not attending school and the three of them moving between spain, morocco and later southwest france.

it wasn't until alex's mother, who isn't his legal guardian, told him they were going to move to finland, that alex decided he wanted to leave. having spent around four nights trekking alone through the foothills of the french pyrenees, he was picked up by a local motorist who took him to the police. now, he used that driver's phone to contact his grandmother here in 0ldham and told her he wanted to come home. the french authorities described him as a composed and intelligent young man who was tired, but otherwise well. police officers from greater manchester, together with alex's step—grandfather, met him yesterday at toulouse airport in france and having announced his return to the media late last night, the police here say they're yet to fully establish the circumstances of his disappearance. they will, after all, have plenty to talk to him about, including perhaps the current whereabouts of his mother.

but they also reminded everyone that he is still a teenager and they're very focused on his and his family's well—being. the vast majority of us may never have known or recognise the name alex batty until a few days ago, but he is a british young person who at 17 has spent more than a third of his life off the radar of the british authorities. he's now safely home in the uk, in the words of the police, where he wants to be. after a year of unprecedented success, formula 0ne�*s red bull team returned home this week. world champion max verstappen had a hero's welcome back to milton keynes — and our reporterjames burridge was there. they're on a slightly slower form of transport, no cockpit exposed to the elements, but still a special homecoming for red bull and their drivers,

world champion max verstappen and sergio perez. this year has been extraordinary, 21 out of 22 races w011. for their boss, team principal christian horner, a sixth constructors title. and this has been the best yet. i doubt it will be repeated in in my lifetime. i mean, it's taken since 1988 to beat mclaren�*s record of ten victories in a row as a team. we achieved 15 this year. and with such strong opposition as well, such strong teams and stable regulations, i'm sure next year is going to be a lot closer, a lot tighter, and it's going to be a different kind of challenge. horner has been running the show here for almost 20 years, and this site in tilbrook, milton keynes, has been dramatically transformed. it now boasts 2,000 staff and by 2026, they'll be building their own engines here on site. i think the investment that's been made here in the uk, here in milton keynes has been phenomenal.

and now, of course, with the engine business as well, it's a true campus. and to see both drivers come back after such a successful year, you could see what it meant to the staff that have all worked so hard to provide them with the amazing cars that they've driven this year. when you come into reception here, you are blown away by the sheer size and scale of the trophy cabinet. when they first started winning in formula one, what, ten years or so ago, it was only on that side. well, now look at it. what is the secret behind the success? fast car, good drivers, good people. that's it. as simple as that? it is. it's a people sport. take people out of this place and the machines don't make anything. now, no composite laminating is created, no drawings are produced, no research is conducted. so you put the people in and they gel together and we produce a car and then we're tested against some of the biggest names in motorsport.

the rb 19, the latest and fastest in the business to be produced here. and after 22 races, time for a well—earned break. james burridge, bbc news, milton keynes. the uk could soon have its first operating space port after a site on the shetland islands was granted a license by the civil aviation authority. the spaceport on uist — the uk's most northerly inhabited island — is the first vertical launch site in western europe to be given the go ahead. saxavord's operators say several rockets from around the world are being prepared to blast off from the site. stay with us here on bbc news. i will be back with the headlines in just a couple of minutes. for now, thanks for your company. i'm lewis vaughanjones. this is bbc news. bye—bye.

it's been pretty mild this morning. temperatures in double figures across many parts of the uk at the moment. as we go through the rest of today, we'll keep that milder weather. it's going to be dry for most of us, with a lot of cloud, but also staying very wet towards western and north—west scotland. we have these weather fronts situated to the north—west. that's what's been bringing the incessant rain across western areas already through the last 2a hours. the rainfall totals are really starting to mount up. we could see 200mm by the end of today. that's why there is a met office amber warning in force for the northwest highlands. we could see some localised flooding and disruption. the rain will gradually move further south across scotland and into northern ireland.

further south, spots of drizzle around wales and the south coast of england. for most it is looking dry, but a few bright or sunny spells in central or eastern areas. through this evening, we continue with that rain spreading southward. it will then dry out across western scotland. but with a lot of cloud around again tonight, that feed of mild air from the south—west, the temperatures overnight are staying up. perhaps a bit chillier across the north of scotland, where we'll see clearer skies moving in. on monday, we have a few weather fronts across the uk, one giving some heavy rain across central areas. more rain will eventually spread to the far north—west of scotland. before that, there will be sunny spells developing across northern scotland and eventually northern ireland. you can see rain across england and wales, particularly heavy across wales, the midlands and eastern areas. it will tend to peter out in the afternoon, but again, temperatures are getting up to 12 or 13 degrees, way above the average for the time of year.

tuesday, we'll see this weather system giving heavy rain across england and wales. higher pressure building to the south—west. quite a large area of higher pressure. with that, we'll see a squeeze on the isobars and north—westerly winds starting to set up. colder air will start to move its way in across northern areas and eastern parts as we go through the week, so temperatures will drop down into single figures across the north. more like average for the time of year. we could see wintry showers in northern areas, but staying fairly unsettled for most of us. bye—bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: in a change of tone, britain and germany say there is an urgent need for a sustainable ceasefire in gaza. their foreign ministers say too many civilians have been killed in the fighting between hamas and israel. the world health organization says it has delivered crucial medical supplies to gaza's al shifa hospital which is working with a much reduced capacity. vladimir putin dismisses the us president's comment that russia would attack a nato country if it won the war in ukraine — as �*complete nonsense�*. more now on to the humanitarian situation inside gaza. the crossing has opened for eight tracks in the first time since the war began.

the world health organization says it has delivered crucial medical supplies to gaza�*s al shifa hospital which has been working under much reduced capacity following israel�*s military offensive. the organisation said the team supplied medicines, surgical and other medical equipment to the hospital which it said was "currently minimally functional". one member of who staff posted this update from the hospital. it�*s completely overwhelmed with patients. very few staff remaining. as we�*ve been here for the last 30 minutes, there�*s been a nonstop stream of injured people coming in on trolleys, on donkey carts, on stretchers being pushed down the road. there are almost no medical staff here. this largest referral hospital here in gaza has become a trauma stabilisation point. they can only provide the most basic care for people with very serious injuries and very serious illnesses. juliette touma is director of communications at the un agency for palestine refugees, one of the largest and most operational un agencies in the world.

so the largest or what used to be at least the largest medical facility in the gaza strip and our colleagues in the what they called the death toll since the escalation a couple of weeks ago when they first were able to go there. one third only of medical facilities currently operates across the gaza strip for 2.2 million people. yeah, just one third for operational. can i broaden it out now away from just those medical centres to the situation with aid? how are you and your organisation and i suppose other organisations to working with the israeli defence forces to get aid in and to get it to the right people? well, first of all, let me say that gaza continues to go through a blackout, and this is the fifth communications blackout since the war began. so it makes it very, very difficult for us to establish

contact with our colleagues and with the team on the ground, and that has an impact on the delivery of aid. so we do hope that this telecommunications blackout, which we understand is due to severe damage in the communications network, we do hope that this be repaired and that we establish communications so that aid resumes and the delivery resumes. having said that, we are very much limited to delivering humanitarian assistance to only the south and a little bit in the middle areas, but that�*s about it. there are many areas that we cannot reach in the gaza strip, and you can�*t reach because of the fighting or because of infrastructure or because you are not allowed in certain locations. what�*s some of the reasons? it�*s all the above. it�*s a combination of factors that stand in our way at unwra and other humanitarian organisations to reach people who need us most. it�*s the bombardment. it�*s the very little supplies that we are able to bring in due

to the restrictions. it�*s the siege and it�*s also the movement is extremely difficult. 0k. just lastly and just briefly, have you had any indication that you�*ll be able to get more aid in any time soon, increase the number of trucks? we saw the statements and we continue to call for the expansion of the direct flow of humanitarian assistance, including from the israeli crossing point directly to gaza. we�*ve heard how the uk and germany have issued a joint statement, saying there is an urgent need for a sustainable ceasefire in gaza. and france says it wants an immediate and durable truce in gaza. i spoke to the former british ambassador to libya, peter millett — and asked him if he thought the diplomatic pressure being applied would have any effect. what i�*m seeing from talking

to people in the middle east. i was ambassador tojordan as well. and jordan in particular is very vulnerable at the moment. is losing uk losing political traction because of that association with the united states? i think united states itself has lost influence in the middle east. and in fact, we�*re seeing the russians and chinese being regarded as more close to public opinion and even political opinion in many parts of the middle east than the us and the uk. that�*s interesting. but surely the us is still the country with the most influence over israel. so a division between the uk, germany, france and the us. how could that be productive? i think the united states has shown that it doesn�*t have much influence over israel. you�*re right, it is the only country that really has leverage and traction with the us. but blinken has been there, jake sullivan has been there, and they�*re still attacking civilians. a they�*re still using air strikes to kill large numbers of civilians.

two thirds of the civilians that have been killed are women and children. but i think the europeans working together and moving towards a ceasefire and hopefully having maybe another resolution where we can demonstrate that back in 2009, when there was an attack on on in gaza, the uk actually voted in favour of a resolution. the us then abstained and the bombing stopped a week later. so i think we do have traction and we should use it in the way we are seeing the foreign secretary, the germans and french working together. 0k. interesting. you say traction and you say the uk and others should use it. we�*ve heard from israel that they want to wipe out hamas. their position hasn�*t changed since day one. really, the only way in that kind of environment it seems to wipe out hamas is you can talk about a change of tactics, but a ceasefire doesn�*t seem like it will achieve israel�*s aims at all. is it in any way realistic

to be talking about it? but i don�*t think that air strikes is the way to eliminate hamas. in fact, different from a ceasefire, isn�*t it? you could call why? why don�*t you support or countries call for an end to air strikes, for example, rather than a ceasefire, which may be more realistic? because i think what we�*re seeing is, is more support from hamas, not only in gaza but also in the west bank. the only way for israel to have permanent security is through a political settlement, not through a military action. the ceasefire would then create the environment within which the regional countries, the european countries, the americans and others can work together both to release the hostages. because we�*re seeing the hostages themselves. the aim of releasing the hostages is actually not working. the aim of eliminating hamas is not working. the way that it worked was to have a a truce,

which then allowed for hostages to be released. i think talking and having a ceasefire is the best way to proceed. here in the uk, on laura kuenssberg�*s sunday political show we�*ve heard from the deputy prime minister of the united kingdom 0liver dowden, being asked about the uk�*s stance on the conflict. 0ur political correspondent tony bonsignore has more on this. 0liver dowden, the deputy prime minister to rishi sunak, was asked about an article written in the sunday times newspaper today, co—written, in fact, by the foreign secretary, the uk lord cameron and german foreign minister annalena baerbock. the article is here and you can see our write—up as well on the bbc news website. there is a total shift of tone here. david cameron, lord cameron, and the german foreign minister are calling for a sustained ceasefire. not necessarily calling for it but saying there should be won if we can get to that position.

0liver dowden was asked by laura kuenssberg whether that meant that the israeli government had gone too far. this was what he had to say. i wouldn't characterise it as israel going too far. israel is dealing with a very difficult situation. i think it's important for your viewers to remember this, not only the scale of the atrocity that was committed against israel, but if you're going after an enemy that literally hides underneath hospitals, hides amongst a civilian population, you are going to sustain high levels of civilian casualties. what we as the uk government are saying to israel is that you do need to exercise restraint. and by the way, we are also making sure in terms of getting the hostages out, that we support, whether that is in relation to intelligence from the raf planes and so on, we support israel in its wider effort to make sure we get the hostages out. that was the deputy prime minister 0liver dowden. also on the programme was the labour shadow health secretary wes streeting.

in recent weeks, he has made controversial comments suggesting that every year, the nhs ends up asking for more money, and that has upset some. he was asked about those comments ahead of the inevitable winter crisis in the nhs. here is what wes streeting had to say. whenever a challenge comes along, there is always a case being made for extra money. and i understand that. but by who? who are you pointing the finger at? by nhs leaders, by senior managers working across the system. and i understand why, i understand the pressures they are under and i understand why there is always a case being made for additional investment, but there are two big challenges. one is because the public finances are an absolute disaster, the idea that we are going to be able to come in after the next election and turn on the taps and there will be loads of money to go around... if you win. as i say, if there is a labour government. the second challenge is this. there are plenty of examples

where the nhs does not spend money as effectively as it could. that was the shadow health secretary wes streeting. he will know that if, and it�*s a big if, but if labour do win the next election, the performance of the nhs is one of the key things that he and his government will bejudged by. let�*s take you back to rome to rome where the italian prime minister, giorgia meloni, is talking at a far—right political festival in rome, which she is hosting.the four—day gathering of right wing politicans, business leaders and other guests is organised by meloni�*s brothers of italy party... and included british prime minister rishi sunak yesterday and billionare live now to naples, with us is a journalist and researcher andrea carlo martinez give us some background about this

festival is about. this festival is a celebration of the history of the italian far right. the prime minister belongs to a long tradition that has its roots in neo— fascism and essentially started in 1998 as a youth conference and recently sense her party has grown so dramatically and is now snowballed into becoming and is now snowballed into becoming a major conference as you can see has had desks such adds rishi sunak and elon musk. yes has had desks such adds rishi sunak and elon musk.— and elon musk. yes that is such a shift from — and elon musk. yes that is such a shift from the _ and elon musk. yes that is such a shift from the periphery - and elon musk. yes that is such a shift from the periphery to - and elon musk. yes that is such a shift from the periphery to be - and elon musk. yes that is such a| shift from the periphery to be able to attract such guests. yes absolutely. _ to attract such guests. yes absolutely, in _ to attract such guests. yes absolutely, in a _ to attract such guests. yes absolutely, in a sense - to attract such guests. 13; absolutely, in a sense she has to attract such guests. 13.1 absolutely, in a sense she has not talked about seeing herself as an underdog. it�*s well saying that she is not a complete outsider in italian politics. we see in her speech she thanked berlusconi for creating the force she now belongs

to. she has political experience before becoming premised but now we are seeing what was once an event at the fringe of italian politics is now very much in the mainstream. talk to us about what you think is being achieved. some people talking about the issue of migration. yes mi . ration about the issue of migration. yes migration is _ about the issue of migration. yes migration is a _ about the issue of migration. 1&1 migration is a major about the issue of migration. 1.111 migration is a major issue. we see there is a lot in common between rishi sunak and the italian feminist. especially if you compare the euro and to the italian premised as a plan to have agreements with albania. we also see other issues being raised for instance surrogacy, the question of the role of the family, elon musk talk about the importance of children and that is an issue which the italian premised is in favour of. she is strongly against surrogacy and is in favour of a traditionalfamily. against surrogacy and is in favour of a traditional family. we would call it a celebration in terms of

far right conservative values and bringing together people that bring spice these positions. the governor of the southern ukrainian region of 0desa, says debris from a downed russian drone have killed a civilian and destroyed several residential houses. the ukrainian air force said russia had launched overnight air strikes using missiles and attack drones. it said its air defence system had destroyed a cruise missile and 20 drones over 0desa, kherson, zaporizhzhya let�*s turn to the war in ukraine — and go to russia now — where vladimir putin has been making a series of public appearances — and has insisted that russia would never attack a nato member state. but — he also said that because of finland joining nato, russia would beef up its military presence along their mutual border.

let�*s cross to our newsroom and our europe regional editor paul moss. what has rush been saying? —— what has rush been saying? -- what has russia been _ what has rush been saying? —— what has russia been saying? what has rush been saying? -- what has russia been saying? he - what has rush been saying? -- what has russia been saying? he was - has russia been saying? he was talkin: to has russia been saying? he was talking to republicans _ has russia been saying? he was talking to republicans in - has russia been saying? he was talking to republicans in his - talking to republicans in his congress who do want to give more aid to ukraine. whatjoe biden said is that if we don�*t do this, if vladimir putin went in ukraine he will be involved and then he will attack and over nato ally. i guess the obvious ones would be lithuania, latvia or estonia. like ukraine they were part of the old soviet union, the breakaway of the same time. what vladimir putin said that this suggestion is nonsense. he said he thinks thatjoe biden knows it is nonsense and using a fake threats to justify his policy of giving assistance to ukraine. he said it

would not be in rush hours political or economic interest to attack a nato ally. there is one problem with these assurances. that is of course that this is the same vladimir putin who repeatedly assured the westie had no intention of invading ukraine. look what happened. indeed, paul ukraine. look what happened. indeed, paul, is going — ukraine. look what happened. indeed, paul. is going to _ ukraine. look what happened. indeed, paul, is going to tell _ ukraine. look what happened. indeed, paul, is going to tell our _ ukraine. look what happened. indeed, paul, is going to tell our viewers - paul, is going to tell our viewers about these live images. we got a sneak peek a few moments ago. the united conference is going, just a fuse beach being made. poor let�*s go back to vladimir putin in his comments. talk to me about finland. yes it was interesting what he said, trusting in two ways, he said that finland had been dragged into nato. i think you see the way russia sees nato as this amorphous force spreading across the continent like a growing empire rather than what it

is which is a collection of democratic countries choosing to join an alliance for their own safety. we know that finland, the majority of the population want to be in nato. it is vladimir putin, he said that finland had been dragged in. flint would have to reinforce their units that they have on the border. you can see this as a win for later. what it�*s suggests is that finland only had to join nato and vladimir putin is admitting he is going to have to divert troops which he could use in ukraine which perhaps he badly needs in ukraine and instead send them 2000 kilometres further north to the border with finland. it has been said before but once before we see that while vladimir putin wants to decrease nato is powered by invading ukraine he seems to have expanded it. ., ~ ukraine he seems to have expanded it. . ~ , ., let s get some

of the day s other news now the funeral has taken place for the emir of kuwait, sheikh nawaf, who died on saturday, at the age of 86. the country is observing forty days of mourning. he has been succeeded by the crown prince, his half brother, sheikh meshal. officials in the australian state of queensland are urging thousands of people to move to higher ground, because of flooding caused by torrential rain. areas around cairns have been particularly badly hit by tropical cyclone jasper. some weather experts are predicting that the water levels could rise to four metres above normal in some areas. a powerful storm has hit florida, dumping lots of rain before moving up the east coast. seventeen million people across the us state were under threat of severe weather with residents also warned about tornadoes. people in chad are voting in a referendum on a new constitution as the country tries to transition from military to civilian rule. eight million voters are expected to turn out, although there have been concerns over transparency and voter intimidation. both the military—led transitional government and the main opposition party support the new constitution.

a shortage of affordable housing in the uk is posing a significant threat to the survival of rural communities — that�*s the warning from one countryside charity. the cpre says record house prices, low wages and an increase in second homes are all part of the problem. 0ur reporter luke walton has been to hexham, to see how residents there are being affected. an historic town that looks good in any season, any weather. but living in hexham comes with a downside for people like cat. a lack of affordable homes means her two adult daughters have had to move away. 0ne�*s married and one�*s going to be married in the next few years and, unfortunately, there is nothing for them to buy in hexham. the market in hexham is very much geared towards four bedrooms, five bedrooms. and when smaller properties are available, they�*re too often out of reach. 0ne— and two—bedroomed

apartments, 475,000. meanwhile, jess and annie are living in newcastle and their mother is feeling their absence. they don�*t drive and they are not local enough to pop in. and the future means that when they eventually have a family, i�*m going to be a distant grandparent. and that�*s sad. i understand it�*s the way of the world, but it needn�*t be. she and others complain that what housing is built is designed for buyers with deep pockets — often from outside the area — leaving locals with few choices. it�*s supposed to be a nice place to live, but yeah, it�*s really, really hard for people to afford houses here. even rents — rentals are horrendous, as well. i've got absolutely no chance of getting a house in the next 5—10 years, i wouldn't think. just because of where you work, getting on the property ladder is just unattainable at the moment. i think it certainly is a crisis. and in this

conservative constituency, labour say a lack of affordable homes will be a key election issue, promising they would speed up planning and give residents more say, while accusing the government of failure. they have lagged behind on house—building. on providing providing a kind of long—term future. and it�*s something that we as the labour party are committed to tackling. keir starmer says he�*s against nimbyism. does that mean you�*ll be building on on many of the green fields around this town? absolutely not. we want to protect protect our green spaces. we want to protect our nature. meanwhile, local conservatives insist that affordable homes are afoot in hexham and further afield. this development in a northumberland village among those to include small, low—cost properties. over the last seven years, we�*ve provided 1,700 affordable homes. we are absolutely still on it, because it�*s a priority. we�*ve allocated nearly £50 million to this. so it�*s really a key priority for us because giving people the chance

to have their first home is vital. more house—building — a pledge likely to come from many politicians in the months ahead. but making sure those homes are obtainable by those who need them most will be an even bigger challenge. new plans to tackle spiking are set to be unveiled by the british government in the coming days. ministers have been coming under pressure to modernise laws — and make needle and drink spiking a specific offence. 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy reports. it�*s not all shopping and present wrapping. the festive season is also about partying and drinking. but take shrewsbury in shropshire. it�*s just one of those places where that social scene can come with a sinister side in the form of spiking. i hadn�*t had much to drink and then suddenly i was like paralytic on the floor, screaming. the street passers around

shrewsbury, they�*re great and they helped me. my mum came and picked me up and took me to a&e and theyjust monitor you here. they can�*t ever do anything about it and you really don�*t know where it�*s come from. my friend who's just talked, i was with her when she got spiked, which was obviously a big concern. it's definitely more of a worry now when i go out compared to when i was younger. spiking is when someone secretly puts drugs into another person�*s drink or directly into their body. it causes a range of physical and emotional effects where the victim can be taken advantage of. it�*s happening on a massive scale. in shropshire alone, there were 111 suspected cases in the last two years. nationally, there were more than 6,700 reported spiking offences between may last year and may this year, including nearly1,000 needle spiking offences. but despite those huge numbers — and, remember, not all victims come forward — there�*s no single dedicated offence of spiking.

but the home office says it�*s now going to act. the home office says it�*s going to amend the criminal justice bill and update the 0ffences against the persons act to make clear what spiking is and that it�*s illegal. the updated offence will include a range of measures, such as more training for front—line door staff in bars and clubs. it�*s thought they could help spot victims and perpetrators, who face up to ten years in jail if convicted. we welcome the home office and the home secretary�*s commitment to modernising spiking laws. it�*s something we�*ve been advocating for for some years. it�*s a really, really important step forward for our industry and wider society in terms of tackling this heinous crime. more details about what�*s to be done about spiking will be announced by the home office tomorrow. duncan kennedy, bbc news. now — to thailand — where an agricultural research

project has been used to create some fields of art. these creations, best seen from above, were made by planting different sorts of rice, with different coloured leaves. a bit of pre—planning meant that when the crop started growing — the outlines of some cartoon characters started appearing. this is what the technique looks like from ground level. once the crop reaches maturity, it will be harvested as usual — and presumably the researchers can think about their next planting patterns. until then — anyone who happens to fly over the fields will be treated to a display which is, literally, good enough to eat. stay with us here on bbc news.

dumfries galloway we are seeing that heavy rain from north—west scotland slip a little further south. turning rather wet to for the rest of the afternoon. we have still got this very mild feed of air. a brisk win, particularly blustery across north—east england. south—east scotland and the irish coast. this constant stream of frame just coming into western areas of scotland and the rain rainfall totals are big. we could see another hundred millimetres added on to that by the end of today. there is a met office amber warning end of today. there is a met office amberwarning in end of today. there is a met office amber warning in force as well. valid until 6pm this evening. again

we can see some landslips, some transport disruption, from a lot of heavy rain on that front tends to slide its way further southwards into northern ireland and cumbria and lancashire. it is drierfurther east with win teak conditions. it is staying mild for this time of year. as we head through this evening at overnight front slips a little further southwards. overnight front slips a little furthersouthwards. it overnight front slips a little further southwards. it is starting to ease but there will be some reign of the welsh hills and over the midlands and northern england too. elsewhere it is largely dry. it is a frost free start to the day. it has no feeling cooler across northern areas of scotland. we should see lots of dry weather across monday morning. meanwhile the ratherfronts further south will bring some heavy rain across western wales and possibly into northern england as well. some sunshine across northern ireland and eastern scotland. temperatures are still very mild, 11

to 13 celsius. while above the seasonal average. to 13 celsius. while above the seasonalaverage. 0n to 13 celsius. while above the seasonal average. on tuesday, the focus of the heavy rain is going to be across england and wales particularly across the site. this heavy rain will take much of the data clear. there will be a north—westerly wind and showers feeding into the north—west of scotland. some of those shows could turn out to be wintry. his the outlook for some of our cities as we head through the week. cold in the north and round and is high. goodbye.

good afternoon. the former conservative peer baroness mone has admitted that she lied about her involvement in the awarding of a ppe contract the uk and germanyjointly call for a "sustainable ceasefire" in gaza as prime minister netanyahu says israel will "fight to the end" to eliminate hamas. the world health organisation says it has delivered crucial medical supplies to gaza�*s al shifa hospital. former conservative peer baroness mone admits she stands to benefit from millions of pounds of profit from protective equpment sold to the government during the pandemic. i wasn�*t trying to pull the wool over anyone�*s eyes and i regret and i am sorry for not saying straight out, yes, iam involved. serbs vote in snap elections largely prompted by outrage over mass shootings in the country. i will be representing the uk at the eurovision song contest!

pop star and actor 0lly alexander is announced as the united kingdom�*s entry for next year�*s