the headlines: desperate scenes: palestinians scramble for food from aid trucks entering gaza through the rafah crossing. the media tycoon and pro—democracy campaigner, jimmy lai goes on trial in hong kong for criticising china's communist leaders. a special report from afghanistan on what could be the bleakest winter in decades because of cuts to humanitarian aid. site and the shetland islands becomes uk's first spaceport for vertical rocket launchers. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news —

it's newsday. we begin in gaza, where in a sign of the growing hunger and desperation, crowds of people have scrambled for food from aid trucks entering the besieged strip, through the rafah crossing. for the first time since the war began, israel has also opened one of its crossings into gaza to aid. it's hoped the opening of the kerem shalom crossing will double the amount of food and medicine reaching gazans. until now, aid agencies have only been able to access the territory through the rafah crossing from egypt. israel has kept up its bombardment of gaza, killing dozens more people. in a change of tone you can generally have joined calls for a sustainable ceasefire. prime minister benjamin netanyahu insists benjamin neta nyahu insists israel will fight benjamin netanyahu insists israel will fight to the end

but reuters is quoting egyptian circularity sources as saying israel and hamas are open to a ceasefire but disagree over the terms. our correspondent lucy williamson has more. sirens sound, horns blow the target for israel in gaza is hamas. for palestinians, it's survival. the rafah crossing point exploded in desperation today, each aid truck a lifeline, each minute of the journey a lifetime of waiting. horn blares the border town of rafah has swelled to four times its normal size, as people flee the fighting elsewhere. empty stomachs filled with hope, empty bowls held out for food. the un estimates that almost half the households here are facing very severe hunger. today, the french foreign ministerjoined british and german calls for a ceasefire, saying it must be immediate and durable. but the israeli prime minister is so far standing firm.

translation: we are guided by the will of the fallen, we will fight until the end and we will achieve all of our objectives, eliminating hamas, releasing all our hostages and ensuring that gaza will not become again a centre forterror, incitement and attacks against the state of israel. israel has released footage of what it said is the biggest hamas tunnel found so far, 2.5 miles long and just inside the main erez crossing point to israel. this, the army says, is a hamas video showing how the tunnels were built. a major construction project, using industrial tools. and the man on the right of this video, it says, is the project manager of gaza's tunnel network. mohammad sinwar, brother of the hamas leader blamed by israel for the seventh october attacks. but pressure for a ceasefire is growing in israel, too, as funerals are held for three hostages mistakenly

shot dead by israeli forces this week. today, the army released photos of the place it said the hostages were held. signs calling for help written on the walls with leftover food. in gaza, the continued conflict is pushing hospitals to breaking point. the injured, brought in by ambulance, truck, donkey cart. pictures like this rarely make it to israeli tv screens. but they're shaping opinion abroad. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. pope francis has been speaking about the war in gaza, and has weekly blessing he suggested israel was using terrorism tactics in gaza, he was porting —— commenting on the killing of

two christian women sheltering in a church in gaza. the israeli military said it found no evidence that the incident took place. i no evidence that the incident took place-— took place. i continue to receive _ took place. i continue to receive from _ took place. i continue to receive from gaza - took place. i continue to l receive from gaza serious took place. i continue to - receive from gaza serious and painful news, unarmed civilians are being bombed and shot at and this has happened inside the holy family parish compound where there are no terrorist but families, children and sick people with disabilities and nuns, motherand her people with disabilities and nuns, mother and her daughter were killed and others by the snipers as they went to the bathroom. the health of mother teresa's nuns were damaged, the generator, some say it is terrorism, its war, yes, it is war, it is terrorism that is why scripture says god stops war, breaks vows and breaks spears. war, breaks vows and breaks sears. , ., ~ war, breaks vows and breaks sears. , . ~ , war, breaks vows and breaks sears. , u , ., spears. some breaking news for ou, spears. some breaking news for you. south _ spears. some breaking news for you, south korea _ spears. some breaking news for you, south korea and _ spears. some breaking news for you, south korea and japan - spears. some breaking news for| you, south korea and japan both you, south korea and japan both state north korea has launched a ballistic missile, and the

last few minutes the japan coastguard saying projectile has now fallen into the sea. japan national broadcaster saying the missile appears to have fallen outside japan's economic exclusion zone. this is the initial news alert published on social media by the japanese prime minister's office. south korean officials say the unidentified missile was fired to the east of the korean peninsula, the japanese prime minister is convened a national security council meeting to discuss the latest launch and this is the second missile in as many days. on sunday north korea launched a short—range missile which according to south korea flew more than 500 kilometres before landing in the sea. we will bring you the latest on that breaking news as we get it.

united states and britain have called for the release of hong kong prodrome is media tycoon jimmy lai was going on trial on national security charges. if found guilty he could be handed a life sentence. he has pleaded guilty to all charges. he is also a british citizen. i'm joined now by our hong kong correspondent martin yip. this trial has been going on quite some time give us a sense of what is likely to happen in the trial? , ., . of what is likely to happen in the trial?— the trial? first of all that has been _ the trial? first of all that has been delayed - the trial? first of all that has been delayed for- the trial? first of all that i has been delayed for quite the trial? first of all that - has been delayed for quite some time, jimmy lai was arrested initially in august 2020 after a rather sensational raid at the headquarters of apple daily, and then the publication was seized. he was briefly

released but the court of appeal rejected his bail approvals so he went back to detention and in between he was found guilty for a charge of fraud also related to the use of the apple daily complex. since then he has been under tension serving a six yearjail term forfraud until tension serving a six yearjail term for fraud until today that he is finally starting the trial for the national security charges of collusion with foreign forces and the colonial era charge of intention to publish seditious material. as you can see i am standing outside the court, there is quite some interest right here, just behind the shutter people queueing up to go to the courtroom to hear this case. some 200, at least to 20 people are queueing up, and police have increased security around

the entire court complex, plenty of officers as well as the order to search all these people who will come up to the courtroom. quite a major event around here. courtroom. quite a ma'or event aound heat courtroom. quite a ma'or event rond hoot courtroom. quite a ma'or event aod hoot courtroom. quite a ma'or event around here. martin, the son of jimmy lai _ around here. martin, the son of jimmy lai has — around here. martin, the son of jimmy lai has been _ around here. martin, the son of jimmy lai has been drumming l around here. martin, the son of. jimmy lai has been drumming up supportfor jimmy lai has been drumming up support for his father including a meeting with the british foreign minister lord cameron, well international focus on this case be of any significance?— significance? it's hard to tell, significance? it's hard to tell. like _ significance? it's hard to tell, like today - significance? it's hard to tell, like today we - significance? it's hard to tell, like today we have l significance? it's hard to i tell, like today we have just seen concealer representatives from britain, australia and new zealand joining the queue to hear the case, those statements you just mentioned from western countries calling for unconditional release ofjimmy lai but china has always insisted that they are doing all these things according to the law, while there are also senior beijing officials calling from day one of the

case thatjimmy lai should be severely punished so it is hard to tell if he would get any leniency. to tell if he would get any leniency-— to tell if he would get any lenien . a, , ., , leniency. martin yet outside the courthouse _ leniency. martin yet outside the courthouse where - leniency. martin yet outside the courthouse where the i leniency. martin yet outside i the courthouse where the trial ofjimmy lai is finally getting under way today. in afghanistan, this is the third winter since the taliban takeover and it is expected to be the worst in recent decades because of staggering cuts in humanitarian aid. donations are falling due to difficult global economic conditions, and international sanctions on the taliban government. but the taliban's harsh restrictions on women have also played a role. for those relying on international handouts, it means millions are now going hungry. three million children in afghanistan are now malnourished, with 90% of afghans not having enough food to eat. one third of the population, around 15 million people, are suffering from acute levels of hunger and food insecurity. the bbc has been documenting the collapse of health and humanitarian

structures in afghanistan, since the taliban seized power. here's our latest report from the bbc�*s south asia correspondent yogita limaye in kabul. nearly all the people in this country live on less than $2 a day. half of those are women, but you wouldn't know it if you stood on a kabul street. women have all but disappeared from public life under the taliban government. denied the right to work outside their homes, they were most reliant on charity, and are now hardest—hit by aid cuts. we went up the hills surrounding the city, where some of the most vulnerable communities live. crude homes dot the landscape. sewage flows by the side of mud tracks. sohaila niyazi's husband was killed in fighting during the taliban takeover.

baset and baby husna are two of her six children. she's one of ten million afghans who've stopped receiving aid from the world food programme this year. translation: it's been two | months since i was able to buy milk for my baby. i give her green tea in a feeding bottle and i give her medicine which makes her sleep from one morning to another, because if she wakes up and asks for food, i have nothing to give her. that medicine is an anti—allergy drug that sohaila is using as a sedative. now she relies entirely on food donated by her relatives and neighbours. aid has so far also prevented healthcare from collapsing.

but that's now being withdrawn, too, including from here, where zubaydah has brought her malnourished baby habisa. it's afghanistan's only children's hospital. in a corner is somaya. at ia months, she weighs as much as a newborn. they are among the more than three million malnourished children in the country. it's an unprecedented ravaging of afghanistan's youngest. both of mohamed shafy�*s parents are dead. he weighs less than half of what he should at 18 months. his grandmother, hayat bibi, said the taliban helped her bring the boy here, but doesn't know how she will get by now. "i'm relying on the mercy of god, i have nowhere else to turn to, i'm totally

lost", she told us. at this hospital, doctors and nurses have already had their pay cut by half. over the past two years, we have seen first—hand the situation deteriorating all across this country. we've witnessed how aid agencies are providing the only humanitarian link, keeping people away from famine, keeping the bare bones of hospitals up and running, and now, they're facing significant cuts because of a lack of funding from a world that's distracted by so much else, but which also doesn't want to give money to a country where the taliban government is imposing restrictions on women. i asked the taliban's main spokesman zabihullah mujahid, who's now based in their seat of power, kandahar, about their policies. do you recognise, though, that it's your government's policies, especially your

restrictions on women, that is a part of the problem, that is a part of the reason why donors do not want to give funds for afghanistan? translation: if aid is being| used as a tool to pressure us, then the islamic emirate has its own values which it will safeguard at any cost. afghans have made big sacrifices in the past to protect our values and will endure the cutting of aid, too. those words offer no comfort for this mother. her husband died and she must provide for her children. she told us she's been stopped multiple times by the taliban from selling fruit on the street, and even detained once. she doesn't want to be named, but she wants to be seen and heard. translation: i'm tired of this life. i they should at least allow us to go out and earn an honest living.

we are not going out to do anything bad. if i don't work, what will my four children eat? her 12—year—old boy now has to work to earn for the family. like most nights, they'll go to bed on bread and water, with millions of other afghans. yogita limaye, bbc news, kabul. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. british teenager alex battye has returned to the uk. his mother was not his legal guardian. alex was found on wednesday by a motorist who spotted him on a motorway near the french pyrenees. arsenal legend ian wright has

announced he will step down as a pundit for match of the day at the end of the season. mr wright made his debut on the bbc programme as a player in 1997 and became a regular pundit in 2002. writing on social media, he said the decision "had been coming for a while" and was "fast—tracked" by turning 60 last month. luton town have said their captain tom lockyer remains in hospital where he is undergoing more tests, after a cardiac arrest. the wales international collapsed on the pitch during a premier league match in bournemouth on sunday. you're live with bbc news. japan and countries in south—east asia have agreed to co—operate over maritime security in the face of an increasingly assertive china. the agreement made at a summit in tokyo comes amid an increase in maritime disputes involving china. japan has positioned itself as the country that will lead the response to chinese pressure.

earlier, i spoke to danny russel. he is the former assistant secretary of state for east asian and pacific affairs in the second obama administration and currently with the asia society policy institute. he explained what boosting maritime security cooperation hopes to achieve. it's a mix of defence capabilities, of surveillance and oversight capabilities, some very basic training for coastguards. these are, in southeast asia, as well as they should add, the pacific islands, countries with huge economic exclusive zones. a very little capacity to monitor them or to protect them and they are subject to regular and increasing incursions by the chinese navy and by massive

chinese navy and by massive chinese fishing fleets that are depleting the fish stocks in the south china sea, east china sea, and the western pacific. so it's an effort by japan sea, and the western pacific. so it's an effort byjapan and, should add, other countries, including the united states and australia to bolster the capabilities of these countries so they can defend their own sovereignty, their own territory, and their own rights. polls have closed in serbia's step parliamentary elections which are seen as a test of the president and his progressive party which have been in charge since 2012. the projections suggest his serbian progressive party will win almost 47% of the vote. turnout appears to have been similar to last year's election, at about 60%. our balkan correspondent guy delauney is following the story from belgrade.

the projected results appear to indicate a strong result for president aleksandar vucic�*s progressive party. the president himself wasn't up for election because of course these were parliamentary and local elections, but he was very much front and centre of the progressives campaign. a lot of people are viewing this as very much a confidence vote in the man that really embodies leadership in serbia. he remains an enormously popular figure in large parts of the country, particularly outside the larger metropolitan areas and among older voters. they like the image that he projects are being a strong leader who represents serbia's interests in a very powerful way to all the international partners that serbia has to deal with over issues like eu negotiations, normalisation of relations with kosovo, and its ongoing friendship with russia, which mr vucic has refused to drop despite appeals from brussels to do so. in terms of the

opposition, there was certainly some disappointment at some of the opposition events that i was at this evening as the results of the projections of the results started to come in, but there may yet be better news for them when it comes to what's happening in the capital, belgrade. the early projections here suggest that that tichular race is very close between the progressive party and the serbia against violence opposition coalition. guy de launey reporting there. some other stories in the headlines. emergency services in australia way through the night to try to rescue a dozen people trapped by flooding in the state of queensland. the authorities say people are stuck on the roofs of their homes and a hospital near daintree, and rising waters have cut off entire areas. severe weather warnings remain in place with the heavy rains that have swollen rivers and engulfed roads expected to continue for most of monday. egyptian officials have insisted that traffic is flowing normally through the suez canal, despite recent attacks further south in the red sea.

iranian—backed rebels in yemen have repeatedly targeted commercial vessels, leading some of the world's biggest shipping firms to suspend routes in the area. the suez canal authority reminded shipping companies that alternative routes via the cape of good hope would be much slower. there had been concerns that gaza could spread. the full effect of the suspensions has not been felt. results in chile show that more than half of people voted to reject a new conservative constitution to replace its dictatorship—era text. efforts to reform the current document, which dates back to the pinochet dictatorship, began four years ago after large sometimes violent protests against social inequality. an initial draft, written by a left—wing dominated assembly, was rejected as too radical in a referendum last year. the uk could soon have its first operating spaceport after a site on the shetland islands was granted a license by the

civil aviation authority. the spaceport on unst, 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. laura goodwin has more. unst initial alan dale's, honed around 700 people and the first lesson spaceport for vertical launches. construction has been under way for some time, one of three huge launchpad is already built. getting the green light from regulators is a big moment. from regulators is a big moment-— from regulators is a big moment. , , , ., ., moment. disbelief in a way that it has finally _ moment. disbelief in a way that it has finally come _ moment. disbelief in a way that it has finally come through - it has finally come through because we been waiting for it for so long and then just waiting for it to sink in because it has been such a journey and so, yeah, to finally have it is a huge sense of relief stop by the license allows up to 30 launches a year, with rockets taking small satellites into space. from a business perspective, that's

huge. that's probably twice as many as any other prospective spaceport in europe and it certainly over three times as many as some of the spaceport in the us. so it gives us a real fighting in the us. so it gives us a realfighting chance at real fighting chance at building a sustainable business.— building a sustainable business. ~ ., ., , business. the cia say rigourous safety and _ business. the cia say rigourous safety and environmental - safety and environmental conditions were a key part of their approval.— their approval. this is a really important - their approval. this is a i really important milestone their approval. this is a - really important milestone for the already very significant uk space industry that exists. saxavord becomes the first spaceport to be licensed for vertical rocket launchers. that's the first in western europe and it paves the way for rocket launchers from uk soil, from scottish soil.— from scottish soil. suborbital lodres from scottish soil. suborbital lodges will— from scottish soil. suborbital lodges will begin _ from scottish soil. suborbital lodges will begin next - from scottish soil. suborbital lodges will begin next year i lodges will begin next year with four launchers planned for 2025. laura goodwin, bbc news. before we go, a reminder of our top story. breaking news this hour. south korea and japan say north korea has launched a ballistic missile, which has

now landed in the sea. south korea says the missile was fired from an area near the capital, pyongyang, towards the sea of the northeast coast. the missile's slide range and maximum altitude were not immediately available. japan's prime minister has convened a national security council meeting to discuss this latest launch. it is the second missile launch in as many days. on sunday, north korea launched a short—range missile which, according to south korea, flew more than 500 kilometres before landing in the sea. a reminder of our breaking news this hour, south korea and japan saying that north korea has launched a ballistic missile which has now landed in the sea. that's all the time we have here on newsday. do stay with us bbc news.

hello there. the mostly cloudy and mild conditions that we've had over the weekend will continue into the start of this upcoming week, and there will be some rain about, too — some of it quite heavy across the south on tuesday. by the middle part of the week onwards, it turns very windy with widespread gales developing — and by the end of the week, it'll be turning colder for most of us, particularly across the north of the uk, with an increasing chance of wintry showers. now we have a load of weather fronts poised to push in for monday — one across the northwest of the country with cooler air behind it, another one which is associated with this milder air — and it will be bringing some patchy rain initially to wales, then into the midlands, northern england at times through the day. there will be some rain, as well, for southern scotland, but brighter for the rest of scotland and northern ireland compared to what we've had over the weekend, before this weather front starts to push into the west with some scattered showers. again, ii—i3 celsius, so quite mild for the time of year — and there will be some glimmers of brightness to the east of high ground.

as we head through monday night, though, rain perhaps up across england and wales, becomes quite heavy and persistent for a time. scotland, northern ireland clear, spells a few showers. here, it'll be chillier, but less cold further south. does mean tuesday will start quite wet for england and wales, but the rain should clear away eastwards fairly quickly through the day. so, a wet start to much of england and wales tuesday — that rain becomes confined to the south—east, eventually clears away, i think, late in the afternoon. and then, it's brighter for all — the sunny skies across the northwest pushing down towards the south—east, but there will be some blustery showers across scotland and northern ireland. they will be turning increasingly wintry as the air does turn cooler for many. as we push into wednesday, we pick up brisk west—north—westerly winds, and this weather front will bring some wet weather to scotland, northern england at times. i think northern ireland, central, southern england and wales will see cloud coming and going a little bit of brightness particularly to all these, but it will be quite a blustery day. and temperatures perhaps up a degree or so for england, wales, northern ireland. still on the cool side across northern scotland. but then, it changes again as we head into thursday and friday — turns very windy,

widespread gales developing. our air switches to a more northwesterly, and colder air will push its way southwards on thursday and certainly on friday, and into the following weekend. so things will be turning cooler, or colder towards the end of the week, with increasing chance of wintry showers across northern areas even into the christmas period.

hoped stop egyptian officials insist shipping traffic is flowing normally through the suez canal attacks on the red sea. streaming wars as netflix releases its viewing data, we look at the ever crowded streaming space. hello and welcome to asia business report. egyptian officials insist traffic is flowing normally through the suez canal despite recent attacks further south in the red sea. iranian—backed rebels in yemen have repeatedly targeted commercial vessels leading some of the world's largest shipping firms to suspend routes in the area. there had been concerned the

israel — hamas wore widespread the