following an earthquake in northwest china. hundreds more are injured. the us defense secretary pushes israel to be more surgical in its strikes on gaza, even as the violence continues. the us isjoining with 10 other countries to protect shipping in the red sea following recent attacks by houthi rebels. hello. i'm caitriona perry. you are very welcome. we begin in china where at least 100 people have died and more than 200 injured after an earthquake hit the gansu-qinghai border region in the northwest of the country. there have been varying reports on the exact number of casualties as details of the devastation trickle in. the us geological survey says the quake had a magnitude of 5.9. thousands of rescuers worked overnight in subzero temperatures to help those affected.

firefighters, soldiers and police are searching for survivors as the temperature hits —13 degrees celsius — that's about 9 degrees fahrenheit. those efforts carried on into daybreak as authorities warned that more aftershocks may occur. a second quake struck neighbouring xinjiang hours later. the damage from that 5.5—magnitude strike was not immediately clear. in a statement, chinese president xi jinping said: he's ordered full rescue efforts to gansu, one of the country's poorest regions. taiwan president tsai ing—wen has expressed condolences to china on the gansu earthquake. the islands presidential office added that taiwan is willing to provide assistance to china. now, international pressure is growing for israel to ease its military campaign in gaza. on monday, the us defense secretary was the latest to add his voice during talks with prime minister benjamin neta nyahu and israel's

war cabinet. the department of defense says mr austin underscored the need for concerted efforts to protect civilians and urged israel to plan for transitioning to the next phase of operations. his israeli counterpart said israel would not control gaza in "any civilian way" after the war. in a press conference monday, the defense secretary reiterated us support, calling it unwavering. protecting palestinian civilians in gaza is both a moral duty and a strategic imperative. so we will continue to stand up for israel's bedrock right to defend itself. and we will also continue to urge the protection of civilians during conflict and to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into gaza. hamas, which has been designated by the uk and other western governments as a terrorist organisation, has released a video showing a group of three elderly men who are being held as hostages.

this is a still from that video. the men in it are between ages 79 and 8a. one of them urges the israeli government to reach a deal for their release, saying they are living in harsh condition. prisoners of war and hostages are protected under international humanitarian law, so the bbc does not broadcast the full details of material which may have been filmed under duress. israel defense forces spokesman daniel hagari has called it "a criminal, terrorist video" that shows "hamas�*s cruelty towards innocent, "very elderly civilians who are in need of medical care." 0ur correspondent hugo bachega is in tel aviv with more. the main message from the secretary of defense austin in that news conference alongside the israeli defense minister was now a familiar message from the biden administration that more needs to be done by the israeli military to protect the civilian population of gaza as this war against hamas continues.

he said he had discussed with the israeli leadership how to transition from major combat operations into what he described as surgical operations in gaza, as international pressure grows on israel amid mounting civilian casualties in gaza. but there were no timelines given, he said he hadn't come to israel to dictate timelines or terms for the israeli military. the israeli defense minister said he was going to take time to achieve the goals of this war, and again, he reaffirmed that the objectives of the israeli military are to eliminate hamas and guarantee the release of the hostages who remain in captivity in gaza. and shortly after they spoke, hamas released a video with three elderly israeli hostages pleading for their release.

one of them said they were being kept in harsh conditions, again urging the israeli authorities to reach a deal for them to be freed. an israeli government spokesman said that this video that had been released by hamas showed the group's cynical disregard for human life. the israeli military has shown journalists what it says is the largest ever hamas tunnel it has found in gaza with an entrance close to the erez checkpoint — the main pedestrian crossing point into israel. the israel defense forces said the tunnel is about 2.5 miles long. it was shown to journalists during a press tour. but the bbc has not been able to verify the video. the israeli army said on sunday that the tunnel facilitated the transit of vehicles, militants and supplies in preparation for the october 7 attack. inside gaza, the humanitarian situation is dire. trucks carrying aid and medical supplies have been crossing into gaza, but many organisations say it's not enough as over one million people are displaced

and hospitals are overwhelmed. the world health organization was able to enter the al—shifa hospital in the north for the first time over the weekend as part of a joint un mission to deliver medical supplies. i spoke with tarikjasarevic, spokesperson for the world health organization, to hear more. what is the situation as you are hearing it from your colleagues on the ground in gaza at the moment? the situation is catastrophic. we have our colleagues on the ground who are describing the unimaginable scenes of human suffering in gaza, they are trying their best to visit hospitals, to bring medical supplies, to assist health workers, but what we see is basically hundreds of newly wounded people being brought to hospitals while the capacity of healthcare

is getting less and less, people are being on the floor, not being able to be operated because simply operation theatres are not functioning, there is a lack of everything, a lack of fuel, a lack of food and water and medicines and even medical staff right now. so the situation is... we are really lacking words to describe what is going on right now in gaza for more than two million civilians there, and what we need desperately is a ceasefire, that is the only solution. your colleagues managed to get to the al—shifa hospital for the first time over the weekend with medical supplies, describing the scenes there as chaos. what is it going to take to bring some level of functionality to that facility? first of all, we need a ceasefire. we need bombs to stop raining from the sky,

killing and amputating people's limbs. we need security for ourselves to be able to get to those hospitals, so we need that humanitarian space first of all. then we need unhindered and sustained access for humanitarian supplies, including medical supplies. so, for all of this, there is really a need for political will to ensure those conditions so humanitarians can do theirjob. we may have supplies being ready, we may try to do our stuff, but if we are stopped at every checkpoint, delayed, if health workers are being detained, if hospitals are being raided and bombed, both suppliers will really help. and i noted you were extra concerned for one hospital. what is of particular note there? we are still trying to understand what happened,

but we understand that the health workers have been detained, that patients have just relieved themselves, the hospital, to look for a safer place. this should not be happening. under international humanitarian law, health facilities, health workers, patients and ambulance workers should be safeguarded from all acts of war, and we really again can only plead to all parties to really respect health. hospitals should be safe places where people who need care would get that care, and notjust talking about injured people, we are talking about 50,000 pregnant women in gaza, people with diseases, with cancer, people who need their regular treatments for renal diseases, all these people cannot get that care right now, as really the health system is collapsing at the moment. have any members of your team on the ground there have been able to get any information as to the condition of the remaining israeli

hostages being held in gaza as well as those civilians you are describing there? since the beginning of this conflict, we have been calling for immediate release of hostages, because it is a deeply traumatic experience for them and they have to get all the necessary care they need. there are vulnerable people. there were women and children being abducted, and we need those people to be released immediately, and provided with medical care. so it is really something that requires work on all levels, but at the political level, to get this conflict at least to the point where people will stop suffering. and speaking of the political level, we know the members of the un security council are debating a resolution, going over language about a ceasefire, a temporary pause. whatever that ends up as.

what impact does that have on the work that you do, if any? well, we want to be able to safely bring supplies, bring external medical capacity if needed, to be able to reach patients in a safe manner. health workers should feel safe to do theirjob. patients should feel safe to go to hospital to look for care they need. so it's really... there is no other solution than an immediate ceasefire. negotiations at a political level. and we, as humanitarians, we will do everything we have to do to help, and i would just really want to say how heroic health workers in gaza were throughout these horrible two months, being endangered themselves, theirfamilies, but still doing the best they can to provide the healthcare to patients they are caring for. indeed.

and we leave it on that note of heroism as you say. tarik, thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. thank you. meanwhile, us president joe biden is facing internal pressure from his own party over prime minister netanyahu's handling of the war. the bbc�*s media partner, cbs, has obtained a letter that top democrats in the house of representatives sent to the white house, saying: it comes as the un security council delayed a vote on a draft resolution calling for a ceasefire, postponing to tuesday. turning to recent events involving the red sea, the united states is forming an international coalition to protect merchant shipping in the vital corridor

after consistent attacks by iranian—backed houthi rebels. called 0peration prosperity guardian, it includes the uk, bahrain, canada and france, and many others. this is the route taken by around 12% of world shipping, which then passes through the suez canal. several major freight companies have stopped passing through here and are now taking the much longer route around africa instead, adding costs and delays. the oil giant bp and the taiwanese firm evergreen have become the latest to do so. secretary austin, who is in tel aviv, said the attacks were dangerous and reckless and it was an international problem, which required, he said, an international response. the houthis have been launching missiles since the start of this current conflict in gaza. they say the attacks are intended to show solidarity with hamas, which is also linked with iran. to get a better understanding of what this expanded protection force would look like, i spoke to sal mercogliano,

maritime historian at campbell university and host of the youtube channel what's going on with shipping. so, we have 0peration prosperity guardian now. what exactly does a shipping convoy like this look like? thank you for having me. it is a big question about what exactly they will do. it will probably not look like a world war ii convoy, i don't think you are going to see a tom hanks greyhound—style convoy going through. i think instead what you will see is patrol vessels set up between the main shipping line, which is a narrow little channel between yemen and djibouti, and basically pickets are set up and then they will run ships through that area, but it will take out a few warships to be able to set up that guard. and do these kind of shipping convoys these protection missions, do these happen frequently? if you go back to the 1980s during the tanker war between iran and iraq between 1980 and �*88, you saw a50 tankers get hit and it really wasn't until very

late in that war when kuwait decided to reflag their vessels to the us registry that you saw the us navy take an active role in escorting vessels. the most recent example we have was somali piracy where in the gulf of aden, us and allied warships would patrol the area, but there, you were dealing with pirates and small boats. here, you are dealing with drones, cruise missiles, and most dangerously, ballistic missiles. as you describe there, there is a high level of threat in the area. is this convoy, this protection going to be enough to change the minds of those big shipping companies who have said they are going to take the long way around and avoid the red sea? that's the big question. we are seeing ships right now pile up in the red sea and the gulf of aden beyond the ships that are heading around africa right now. i think they're waiting to see what level of security they're going to get. the ballistic missiles are really the tough one, this is the first time we've

ever seen ships hit by this type of weapon and this is a very difficult type of missile to shoot down, and very few ships have the capability to do that. if that's the threat that these ships are facing, many shipping companies may decide not to go that way. the thing we are seeing right now is an escalation in war risk insurance. before this all started, it cost about 0.02% of the value of the vessel to get war risk insurance. that's gone up to 0.7%, and during the iran and iraq war, it went up as high as 5%. you mention war risk insurance, but in terms of all of this, what is the impact of that on prices and how that's passed on to the consumer? well, i think you are seeing it already. the diversions and the fact that companies have already started to send ships around and holding them, you will see a domino effect across the entire global supply chain. ships that are supposed to arrive on berth, transload their cargo, shift it to over trucks and rail, they will not be there on time, which means

that this is going to have an impact. oil that needs to get to europe from the persian gulf may have to go the long way around africa. this is at a time when you are heading into winter in europe and we have seen the cut—off of oil from russia. same time, russian oil coming out of the baltic and the black sea may have to travel around africa to get to india and china for refining. basically, what you will see is inflation, higherfreight costs and more money the consumer will be paying. ironically, for the shipping firms, this is a bit of a windfall. they were dealing with lower freight rates and overcapacity and now suddenly, their ships are going to be busy and they'll get paid more for their business. is there any way of anticipating how all of this — how long will this might have to last for? no, the houthi are a unique force. you're seeing a nonstate actor who have basically cut the largest supply line in the entire world from europe to asia. we've never seen anything

quite this scale before in modern times. you have to go back to the world wars to see where supply lines like this get severed in this way. the houthi, being a nonstate actor, the genesis for the entire issue is of course what's happening in israel and gaza, and until you saw that, which is a big issue to resolve, mid east peace, this will keep resonating and so it'll be a very tough one to get the houthi to stop shooting missiles. the only hope is a defensive nature by the naval ships or a more overt act which involves striking missile sites and military placements in yemen. sal mercogliano, maritime historian at campbell university, thank you so much forjoining us. thank you for having me. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at a story making headlines in the uk: a new type of drug that

prevents hot flashes and night sweats for women going through menopause has been approved in the uk. the treatment is not hormone replacement therapy, commonly known as hrt. the new drug veoza could benefit hundreds of thousands of women, although it has not yet been recommended for the nhs to prescribe. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh has more. up to 80% of women going through the menopause experience hot flushes and night sweats, which can have a significant impact on daily life. the new drug veoza, also known as fezolinetant, works by placating a protein in the brain called neurokinin b, which plays a key role in regulating body temperature. it's said to be an option for women who can't take hrt, like those with a history of cancer or blood clots. however, the drug does not help with other symptoms like fatigue, muscle weakness or mood swings, and it can come with side—effects, including diarrhea and insomnia.

you're live with bbc news. a volcano in southwest iceland has erupted following weeks of intense earthquake activity. here are the pictures — you can see the moment of the eruption captured by a webcam from the public channel when that yellow lava started to erupt from the ground like a fountain. local authorities say they have already evacuated the nearly 4,000 inhabitants of the fishing town of grindavik. the areas is a volcanic and seismic hot spot southwest of the capital reykjavk. northern australia is seeing record rainfall cause widespread flooding that is expected to continue through tuesday. rescuers are struggling to assist residents that are stranded through some of the heaviest rain in decades. homes have been battered, roads now look like rivers, and cairns airport is partially underwater. a short time ago, i spoke with our correspondent phil mercer in sydney.

phil, tell us what's going on north of where you are? what's the situation like? well, australia is a very big place — the world's sixth largest country — and this flood emergency has been centred, really, around the city of cairns and a vast area of far north queensland state. so, that is a considerable distance away from sydney. we do know that major flood warnings remain in place in that part of north—eastern australia but severe thunderstorm warnings have now been cancelled, so we're getting the sense that the torrential rain that has battered that part of the country for quite a long time is now easing. the weather bureau here says that some areas in the last five days have had more than 1.5m of rain, so that is an enormous deluge. as a result, many communities have been cut off, roads have been washed away, bridges have been damaged and many homes are damaged as well.

so, this is a massive problem for the authorities trying to reach communities that are only contactable by boat or by air, and we understand that one remote aboriginal community about 2000km north of the city of brisbane has finally been reached by the emergency services and the entire town of about 300 people will be evacuated. phil, have there had to be other evacuations? i mean, the pictures that we are seeing coming to us from the region are really quite dramatic. military helicopters are on their way to that particular community of wujal wujal and the army has been involved in hundreds of rescues. also, private individuals flying what are known here as mustering helicopters — these are small aircraft usually used for moving cattle around and other livestock on very large farms, but they've been brought in to help rescue people who have sought refuge on top of their roofs.

other people have been using private boats to reach people. there was one video circulating online of a man who was going around in his small runabout boat and he saw one of his neighbours clinging to a tree, so those are the sorts of stories that are slowly emerging. mercifully, the torrential rain seems to be abating but the clean—up will be absolutely enormous. we were speaking a short time ago to a council leader to the north of cairns in north—eastern australia and he believes that cleaning up and repairing a lot of the damage in his area could take up to two years. wow. let's turn to some important news around the world. marvel studios says it has parted ways with hollywood actorjonathan majors after he was found guilty for assaulting his ex—girlfriend.

grace jabbari was attacked earlier this year, she suffered injuries including a broken finger. majors, who didn't testify, now faces up to a year prison. the actor's lawyer argues that he was the real vicitm of the assault. the governor of the us state of texas has signed a law that will allow state officers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entereting the country from mexico. the measure puts greg abbott directly in opposition to federal authorities, who usually have such enforcement powers. the governor and other republicans blame president biden for record numbers of migrant border crossings. pope francis has approved a landmark ruling that allows catholic priests to bless same—sex couples. the vatican said it should be a sign that "god welcomes all", but adds that priests must decide on a case—by—case basis. it's been seen as a significant advance for lgbt people in the roman catholic church. but critics say it doesn't go far enough. fatherjames martin

is a prominent americanjesuit priest who ministers to the lgbtq community he had this reaction. i'm delighted. it's a major step forward in the church's outreach to lgbtqi people and considering priests couldn't do it at all and now they can do in certain circumstances, so i think it is a wonderful pastoral step forward. and finally, the estate ofjrr tolkien has successfully sued a writer in the us who published his own sequel to the lord of the rings. demetrious polychron released the fellowship of the king last year. a court ordered him to destroy all copies of the book and halt distribution. polychron had filed his own lawsuit, claiming that the amazon tv show, rings of power, infringed the copyright of his work. that case was thrown out by the judge. that's all from the team here. i'm caitriona perry. stay with us here on 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 higher 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 away. 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 northwest 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 northwest scotland, northwest 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 hill 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 isobars there, and there'll be gales across the far north of scotland — gusts of wind here of up to 70—80mph. very brisk winds for irish sea coasts and also for north sea—facing coasts, there could be a coastal surge too. possibly blizzard—like conditions with wintry showers across parts of scotland. again, a very tight squeeze on those isobars 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.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. 50 years ago, london had a terrible reputation for food. generally, it was bland, stodgy and overcooked. but all of that has changed and now this city is a gastronomic destination. my guest today, michel roux, has played a big part in that transformation. his restaurant, le gavroche, has won michelin stars and international acclaim, but now, he's closing it. so is this the end of a golden age of master chefs and fine dining?