the headlines. as pressure grows for a ceasefire in gaza, intense negotiations at the un security council to agree a new resolution. in hong kong, the media tycoonjimmy lai has gone on trial facing charges of breaching national security. new covid variant is spreading fast across the world, cases soar in asia as singapore encourages people to wear masks, once again and a volcano in iceland has erupted, sending fountains of lava into the air.

welcome to newsday. negotiations are continuing at the united nations in new york to agree a new resolution on gaza. a vote had been expected in the last hour, but its been postponed as diplomats try to agree a form of words that the united states may sign on to. on a visit to israel, the u—5 defence secretary lloyd austin has reaffirmed support for its ally, but demanded the country do more to protect civilians. from jerusalem, lucy williamson reports. they say there's nowhere safe in gaza. the children's unit at nasser hospital hit by a shell yesterday. doctors and parents who once raced to get wounded children in here now scrambling to get them out. the epicentre of the dust and panic, a children's bedroom on the second floor. translation: we were seated on the bed when something - exploded and all the ceiling

fell on us. i couldn't do anything. debris fell on us and we couldn't see anything. ijust grabbed my daughter and escaped. i don't know what happened to the others. this was 13—year—old dunia's bed. she was sitting here when an unexploded shell punched through the ceiling. and then the wall. it killed her without ever exploding. her leg had been amputated after a previous attack that also killed her parents. "i lost my family," she said last month, "and i lost my leg. "my dream is to become a doctor and treat children." strikes overnight on the jabalia and nuseirat refugee camps killed more than 100 people, according to hamas government officials. today, a senior hamas figure pointed to growing international calls

for a ceasefire and said the us was responsible for deaths in gaza. the united states administration is totally responsible of those massacres and violation taking place at the hand of the israeli occupation army in gaza through the us unconditional delivery of the weapons to kill palestinians without any form of accountability. america's defence chief has been meeting israel's government today. the us stopped short of calling for a ceasefire, but says it's keen to bring the current heavy fighting to an end. america's commitment to israel is unwavering. and no individual group or state should test our resolve. we'll continue to provide israel with the equipment that you need to defend your country, mr prime minister, including critical munitions, tactical vehicles and air defense systems.

israel's troops were reminded by their boss yesterday of the rules of war — when to fire, when to stop. orders for soldiers. questions for politicians. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. michael is a global affairs analyst at the atlantic council, and former spokesperson for unicef covering the west bank and gaza. he told me his reaction to the vote at the un security council being postponed. i guess it could be a good sign because diplomats are still intent on writing something out comparable to the united states but my fear is that it will be watered down so much that it be basically meaningless so this binding resolution is what is being put into the israelis is very shocked video coming out

of gaza and the draught wording similar to what the foreign minister called for during cessation of hostilities and humanitarian problems and they're trying to make something where none of the members would be tempted to use their veto power. in members would be tempted to use their veto power.— their veto power. in the united states is calling _ their veto power. in the united states is calling on _ their veto power. in the united states is calling on israel - their veto power. in the united states is calling on israel to . states is calling on israel to make the war more surgical while his senior uk lawmakers saying that israel's ambience of defence and increasingly, we are seeing the tone shifting. we are and people like myself over to gaza we think of these women and children every day as numbers creep towards 20000 and it could be a lot higher than that in searching completed and

there is much stronger language that can be used and mr biden could pick up the phone and put a stop to what's going on and another thing that was said the other day is that if you continue this type of bombing on civilians, you could deliver them into the enemy by increasing radicalisation and could replace the tactical victory with the strategic defeat. this is something i said on is your television is that they do risk not only more isolation by what they're doing and gaza but also they could increase the radicalisation of youth and you can imagine how youth and you can imagine how you would feel as a child who survives this but you wake up with no mother and father are brothers and sisters and no

friends, this is the situation playing out day by day. and you see the video _ playing out day by day. and you see the video hostages - see the video hostages there still more than a hundred of them held in gaza and negotiations are ongoing to secure the release. find negotiations are ongoing to secure the release.- negotiations are ongoing to secure the release. and it is very important _ secure the release. and it is very important to _ secure the release. and it is very important to israelis i secure the release. and it is. very important to israelis and the families that these hostages are released and is a heck of a lot more pressure on benjamin netanyahu to order forces to be much more careful in their operation and gaza and i think the way to do this to get the releases to do that humanitarian cease—fire and negotiations have been in use that to bring more agency to gaza. it'sjust mind—boggling gaza. it's just mind—boggling that, gaza. it'sjust mind—boggling that, for example, in ukraine, the biggest missiles and rockets the russians are using or 2050 to £500 whereas in gaza, it is much more densely

populated area is 1000 £2000 bombs with massive amounts of civilian casualties. this to stop. this has to stop. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the us has announced plans to form an international coalition to protect merchant shipping in the red sea. the assaults by rebels based in yemen have been taking place since the conflict began in gaza, and they're beginning to disrupt global maritime trade. the oil giant, bp announced on monday that it will stop running its ships through the red sea. the roman catholic church has granted approval for priests to perform blessings for same—sex couples. it said they must not be linked to weddings or civil unions, and would not be part of regular church rituals. the decision still marks a significant change in policy, as the vatican said it totally rejected such ceremonies two years ago. it remains opposed to gay marriage. a jury in new york has found the hollywood actor, jonathan majors, guilty of assaulting his ex—girlfriend. grace jabbari said she was attacked earlier this year

in the back of a car, leaving her in "excruciating pain". she suffered injuries including a broken finger. majors, who is best known for his role as kang in the marvel superhero franchise, didn't testify, and now faces up to a year in prison. a volcano in southwest iceland has erupted following weeks of intense earthquake activity. here are the pictures, you can see the moment now of the eruption captured by a webcam from the public channel when that yellow lava started to erupt from the ground like a fountain. and these are the live pictures. the authorities have already evacuated the nearly 4,000 inhabitants of the fishing town. the areas is a volcanic

and seismic hot—spot southwest of the capital reykjavik. live now to an icelandicjournalist for the iceland public channel ruv. as we mentioned, the residents have been evacuated but those lava fountains seem very high. yes, it's this seems to be the most powerful of the eruptions the receipt for the past three years and the latest information that i have is the lava crack and it has reached three and a half kilometres and thatis three and a half kilometres and that is like two miles and this looks to be the biggest of all

the eruptions that have recently been taking place in the peninsula. many of our viewers will remember the volcanic eruption in 2010 in iceland which created an ash cloud that led to the closure of most of the european airspace — is there any danger of that? when the eruption in 2010 created this habit, it was an eruption under a glacier which creates a much finer ash which is up in the airfor a long time and there were worries that it could have an effect on the engines and this is nothing like that and this is a typical lava crack eruption which doesn't reach as high in the air it's much bigger and it

shouldn't reach the highest, the only chance of that happening in this will be there was a rep to go to the sea but thatis was a rep to go to the sea but that is highly unlikely right now. so, there is a very slim chance that this will have any effect on flight traffic. h0??? effect on flight traffic. how lona effect on flight traffic. how long can — effect on flight traffic. how long can earn _ effect on flight traffic. how long can earn eruption - effect on flight traffic. how long can earn eruption like | long can earn eruption like this last?— long can earn eruption like this last? ., ., ., this last? no real way to say. lookin: this last? no real way to say. looking at — this last? no real way to say. looking at the _ this last? no real way to say. looking at the history - this last? no real way to say. looking at the history of- this last? no real way to say. | looking at the history of these last eruptions to realise the first eruptions and the biggest until this one started tonight, it lasted six months we've had eruptions that lasted only three weeks and so, there is no way to tell but the worries are now that this is very close and it's on the outskirts and apart

from the inhabitants there which have been evacuated, there are no inhabitants there now but it is electricity infrastructure that is very close to where the eruption is taking place right now.- taking place right now. what about the — taking place right now. what about the impact _ taking place right now. what about the impact on - taking place right now. what about the impact on the - taking place right now. what about the impact on the tourism sector pins should those visitors be concerned? in general, no. but by chance the biggest tourist attraction in this area on sunday after being closed for three weeks because of the earthquakes that took place in the eruptions that we were expecting to happen but did not happen at the time and what will happen after this, we do not know, expect at least temporarily, it will close and

apart from that, it really is, it should not really affect terrorists right now, apart from the fact that we just found out that the road that connects the capital area to the airport has been closed because of the eruption and there is now, no way to drive to the airport. how long that will happen, that remains to be seen but, that is at lease the only way it should affect taurus that are in iceland right now. —— that should affect poor risks. —— that should affect tourists. around the world

and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news, the bbc understands russell brand has been questioned by police for a second time investigating allegations of sexual offences. the comedian is believed to have been interviewed by detectives from the metropolitan police under caution over six non—recent sexual offences. in september, brand was accused of rape, assault and emotional abuse, which he has strongly denied. thousands of xl bully owners have been told they will not need to put down their dogs when a ban on the breed comes into force. from december 31st, the dogs will have to be muzzled in public and it will be illegal to breed, sell or abandon them. councils in england will receive an extra 4 billion pounds in funding in the next financial year — giving them 6.5% more on average to spend on services — assuming they also put up council tax. the local government association says the settlement will not be enough to meet demand for services.

you're live with bbc news. in hong kong, the veteran pro—democracy media tycoon jimmy lai has gone on trial facing charges of breaching national security and colluding with foreign forces. the 76 year—old self—made billionaire, who founded the pro—democracy newspaper apple daily, has been held in solitary confinement since december 2020 and faces life in prison if found guilty. he denies all charges. this is being seen as a landmark trial and lai faces charges under the national security law beijing brought in making it easier to prosecute protesters. it followed the massive pro—democracy uprising in hong kong three years ago. beijing considers mr lai a traitor who sought to undermine china s security. critics say this case is another example of china tightening its grip on the former british

colony. the us and the uk have called for him to be released. the foreign secretary lord cameron says he is gravely concerned at the "politically motivated prosecution of british national jimmy lai. from hong kong, danny vincent reports. record numbers of police lined the streets of hong kong for the city's most high—profile national security trial. supportjimmy lai! outside court, a lone protester, surrounded in silence by the police. another activist targeted by the authorities. translation: hong kong has turned into a useless city. - there is nojustice now, there is only a crackdown. they only understand the language of force and they imprison people every day. they have imprisoned jimmy lai for two or three years. pro—democracy campaigners say a beijing—imposed security law has ushered in a new political

era in hong kong. critics say that hong kong's legal system has been weaponised in order to silence anyone that dares to speak out. over the last three decades, jimmy lai has been the biggest critic of beijing. his supporters say this is simply a show trial but the authorities say jimmy lai has endangered national security. in 2020, jimmy lai became the most high—profile activist arrested under a sweeping national security law. for 25 years, he ran hong kong's most popular opposition newspaper. when arrested, he was paraded through apple daily�*s newsroom. in 2020, i was the last journalist to interview jimmy lai, just hours before his detention. fear... ..is the most inexpensive and convenient way of ruling people and controlling people. you know, if they can induce fear in you, that's the easiest way to control you.

that's the cheapest way to control you and the most effective way. today, his son, sebastien lai, is living in self—imposed exile in taiwan, campaigning for his father's release. last week, he met with lord cameron. freedom of speech as in freedom from, you know, freedom to say what they want you to say. it is freedom to say what they don't want you to say. and that's what it is, that is the message, that you can't hold jimmy lai, you can't hold jimmy lai in jail and tell everybody that hong kong is still fine, that people are safe to go to hong kong, people are safe to hold that firm beliefs in hong kong. jimmy lai's trial is set to last for 80 days, in what is seen as a test for hong kong's judicial independence. if found guilty, he could face life in prison. danny vincent, bbc news, hong kong. christmas is just around the corner, but there s another c word that nobody wants to hear at this time of year: covid.

this most unwelcome of guests has hampered festive celebrations in recent years ? but should we be concerned this time around? here in singapore, mask wearing is being strongly encouraged in crowded areas ? with the newjn.1 variant what they want you to say. here in singapore, mask wearing is being strongly encouraged in crowded areas ? with the newjn.1 variant driving up cases. the ministry of health talks about an increase of 75 per cent compared to the previous week, with over 50,000 cases recorded between the 3rd and the 9th of december. public hospitals are now building contigency plans —as well as opening a new treatment facility as well as opening a new treatment facility in an expo hall. singapore is not alone in this situation as many countries, including the uk, see a spike in numbers earlier, we heard from clare bryant who is a professor of innate immunity at the university of cambridge who began by explaining what is driving this.

the appearance of this new variant is a potential driver of this but probably the key factor driving up cases of the moment is like in previous years we had wide coverage of the strong vaccination campaign, not as many people have been vaccinated in the vaccine roll—out is restricted to the over 65 the susceptible and as a consequence, that means that less immunity and environment means that federal cases are going up and the uk, on the night birds called, we are all trapped inside and as an ideal situation for the virus spread and add into the mix, a new variant coming along as well and direct conditions in order to drive another peak. what do we know about this new

variant? is making people sick oras variant? is making people sick or as contagious as before? irate or as contagious as before? we know it's or as contagious as before? - know it's such a grandson of omicron we know it's not a mutation and we know some of these mutations are in the spike protein and generated again spike protein and it's got mutations in other areas it will be more transmissible and more infectious and it's also possible that spike protein needs and stick onto body cells more easily and potentially be more easily and potentially be more infectious and before your panic, we should still have some immunity from her vaccines if you have been vaccinated recently, you'll have as many antibodies but it may not be quite as sensitive from the antibody binding because of the spike protein and we still have

t cells in special cells that come out and what we do is bind onto and kill anybody cells that are infected with the virus in the should still functioning any of you have been function that you make vaccinated, the past and you should have some immunity against the virus and we should not see a big breasted hospitalisations and hopefully, that would not be the case and obviously, getting vaccinated is a great strategy to produce from this virus. i5 is a great strategy to produce from this virus.— from this virus. is there any advice that _ from this virus. is there any advice that you _ from this virus. is there any advice that you have? - from this virus. is there any advice that you have? maskj advice that you have? mask wearing? does that help still? i think it's something that people a lot more sensible about this and are happy to wear masks and in the uk in the states, certainly mask wearing even the crowded places and also in this time of year, that

will help and good hygiene, all these things that we were encouraged to do during the pandemic is a good idea and break masks the hallway and just recovering from a cold in this kind of thing is sensible strategies to do to protect people as well as yourself. let's return to this developing story a volcano in southwest iceland has erupted following weeks of intense earthquake activity. here are the pictures — you can see the moment now of the eruption captured by a webcam from the public channel when that yellow lava started to erupt from the ground like a fountain. and these are the live pictures. the authorities have already evacuated the nearly 4,000 inhabitants of the fishing town the areas is a volcanic and seismic hot—spot southwest

of the capital reykjavik. we were speaking to our guest and they will remember the volcanic eruption in 2010 was created in ash cloud that led to the closure of most of the european airspace player gets was saying at the moment, there is no danger of that in terms of how long this eruption can last, we still do not know. possibly days or months but it is a very public tourist area and there are more next to the residents as well as visitors there as well. this is it for there as well. this is it for the addition of newsday and for now, thank you for watching the programme and do stay with bbc news.

hello there. it's a rather cloudy start to the new week, but there should be a lot more sunshine emerging for most of us on tuesday. that's quite a mixed week of weather ahead. it will be tricky for travelling at times in the run up to christmas with more rain to come in. the forecast turning very windy too, on thursday and friday and in the colder feeling air. there could even be a few wintry showers at times, especially over the high ground, of course. and there's currently cold air sinking southwards. milder air lasts across southern areas of england and south wales for a time too, but then it's gradually moving again. it's a soggy, very wet start to the day on tuesday across southern england and wales. that heavy rain eventually clearing, but not until we get to the afternoon. it's still a legacy of cloud across parts of kent and sussex until the end of the day. but lots of more sunshine emerging further north and west with a brisk northwesterly wind and some showers just moving through into north west scotland.

again, wintry over the hills, temperatures dropping through the afternoon, but it's only a brief colder spell because then things will start to turn a lot milder from the west as we head through tuesday night. temperatures dropping lowest out towards the east, rising through the night for these western spots with that warm front gradually pushing further eastwards through the day on wednesday, you can see the winds turning a little bit more westerly and there will be some rain across north west scotland, north west england and northern ireland, western wales for a time the further south and east you are, the drier your wednesday is likely to be, but there'll be a lot of cloud around some rather murky conditions and some mist and fog too. but temperatures rising back up again into double figures pretty much across the board. but again, that mild air is not set to last because it's going to turn colder again, very cold for some spots on thursday with this cold front sinking southwards. a very brisk northwesterly wind tight squeeze on the east of us there and there'll be gales across the far north of scotland, gusts of wind here of up to 70 to 80 miles an hour. very brisk winds for irish sea coast and also for north sea facing coast. there could be a coastal surge to possibly blizzard

like conditions with wintry showers across parts of scotland. again, a very tight squeeze on those isa bars as we head into friday. so strong winds yet again. we're into colder feeling air and there'll be plenty of added wind chill. but as you can see, the mild air is still not too far away and that will be working its way in from the west again as we head through saturday, possibly turning colder once more for the second half of the weekend. bye bye.

the united states promises to form an international coalition to protect merchant shipping in the red sea from attacks by houthi rebels. and the bbc gained exclusive access to the netherlands' first legal cannabis cultivation plant. we'll take you behind the scenes. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm mariko oi. the united states plans to form an international coalition to protect commerce in the red sea. this comes after iranian—backed houthi rebels in yemen attacked a number of ships passing through the area. many of the world's biggest container shipping companies have diverted their vessels, having to go the long way around africa and playing havoc to global trade. speaking in bahrain, the us defence secretary lloyd austin said participating countries include the united kingdom, bahrain, canada, france, italy and spain, among others.