more than 100 people are killed in china's deadliest earthquake in 13 years. rescue efforts are being hampered by subzero temperatures. the volcano erupts in iceland after weeks of intense seismic activity. this is the scene live as jets of molten lava spewing from the ground. broadcaster dame esther rantzen joins the swiss clinic — dignitas — and is considering assisted dying if her lung cancer doesn't respond to treatment. schools in england are to receive government guidance telling them that they should generally tell parents if their child wants to change gender. hello, i'm lucy grey. we start with a developing story in china. at least 118 people have died after an earthquake struck the north—west of the country. the epicentre of the quake

was in the remote gansu province. tremors were also felt in the neighbouring qinghai region. a second magnitude 5.2 quake struck neighbouring xinjiang hours later on tuesday. more than 250 people have been injured. rescuers are braving freezing weather — with temperatures below minus 13 celsius — to search for survivors. the government has dispatched teams of rescue workers to assist local emergency crews. we spoke earlier to matthew blackett, associate professor of natural hazards of coventry university on why this shallow earthquake had such an impact on this remote region. it was a 6.2 magnitude, which, in the whole scheme of things, isn't particularly large, but it was ten kilometres in depth and that means that there isn't much space between where the fracture happens in the ground and where the energy hits the surface. so, that... the energy directly from that fracture makes its way to the surface and causes really intense shaking. and that's, i guess, going to be one of the main concerns here, one of the reasons for so much damage that we're seeing. this area, this part

of china is very, very used to earthquakes. going back sort of 1a or so years in sichuan, which is nearby, a very large earthquake killed tens of thousands of people. so, the people in this area are used to earthquake events. but the fact that they're happening, or the fact that this has happened, and with such a shallow depth, in really cold conditions, means that it's going to really hamper the rescue efforts. some of the deaths that we're starting to see and certainly some of the casualties are as a result of landslides. so the ground is... sorry, the topography is very steep in this region. so, the earth shakes and the mountains can quite simply collapse. so, people have been buried under landslides and that would have blocked roads off, which means it's really hard to get supplies in to get people out who are injured. so, the chinese authorities are going to face quite a challenge over the next couple of days to help people. and when the temperatures are minus ten degrees, it's going to be a quite precarious situation that we're seeing. let's go live to our china correspondent, stephen mcdonell who is in beijing.

talk is through the conditions these rescue workers are having to work under. —— talk us through. trier? under. -- talk us through. very tou~h under. -- talk us through. very tough conditions. _ under. -- talk us through. very tough conditions. freezing, - under. —— talk us through. - tough conditions. freezing, and as you can possibly see behind me, the night is closing in so it will be even worse. i imagine it is —17, -18, even worse. i imagine it is —17, —18, plus the wind—chill factor up there on the tibetan plateau. so the so—called golden period to rescue people which is thought to be about 72 hours when an earthquake hits, is much shorter in such conditions. they are up against the clock now to try and find anyone else because, imagine if you are alive under the rubble, you might freeze to death. if you travel around the area you will know the houses are built from bricks and mud and wood and have collapsed quite easily when this powerful shallow earthquake hit

there just before midnight. powerful shallow earthquake hit therejust before midnight. some people raced out of their houses and they described then the hills around them coming down as well. so they were coming out of the house only to see boulders coming down from the mountain and having to run away from them. so it has been a very hazardous earthquake for them. terrible for that area. but thousands and thousands of rescue workers have arrived. china is used to these earthquake disasters and you would think that they will have mobile hospitals, generators, water, food, all that sort of stuff up and operating pretty quickly.- food, all that sort of stuff up and operating pretty quickly. that's the issue again. _ operating pretty quickly. that's the issue again, isn't _ operating pretty quickly. that's the issue again, isn't it, _ operating pretty quickly. that's the issue again, isn't it, for— operating pretty quickly. that's the issue again, isn't it, for people - issue again, isn't it, for people who have lost their homes and are now out in the cold, and where they are going and being looked after in -13 are going and being looked after in —13 temperatures. there is a risk that things continue getting worse for them. we that things continue getting worse for them. ~ . , ., ., .,

that things continue getting worse for them. ~ . , ., ., for them. we have seen footage of --eole for them. we have seen footage of peeple lighting _ for them. we have seen footage of people lighting fires _ for them. we have seen footage of people lighting fires and _ for them. we have seen footage of people lighting fires and cooking . for them. we have seen footage of| people lighting fires and cooking of the local traditional beef noodles to stay warm. but i think most areas will be reached by rescue teams eventually. the problem of course is that roads in some places have collapsed. local government officials have pleaded with people not to come up as volunteers to try and join in not to come up as volunteers to try andjoin in the not to come up as volunteers to try and join in the rescue effort because they need to keep these roads clear in order to get vast amounts of equipment in their to help with the rescue effort, but also to assist all those who, as you say, have had their homes destroyed in this terrible, powerful earthquake. i in this terrible, powerful earthquake.— in this terrible, powerful earthuuake. , , , earthquake. i suppose there is alwa s earthquake. i suppose there is always the _ earthquake. i suppose there is always the risk _ earthquake. i suppose there is always the risk of _ earthquake. i suppose there is always the risk of aftershocks l earthquake. i suppose there is i always the risk of aftershocks as well, isn't there? we always the risk of aftershocks as well, isn't there?— well, isn't there? i've been in earthquakes _ well, isn't there? i've been in earthquakes in _ well, isn't there? i've been in earthquakes in china, - well, isn't there? i've been in earthquakes in china, the - well, isn't there? i've been in - earthquakes in china, the sichuan earthquakes in china, the sichuan earthquake and when the arth no

aftershocks come they are as big as another earthquake. imagine you have another earthquake. imagine you have a building which is damaged, which may have been significantly damaged by the original quake, along comes an aftershock and they can still come down. so you are not out of danger. also, everybody is traumatised because the original earthquake was so strong and the aftershocks come and it brings memories of what has happened, possibly their loved ones have been killed, their home which has been brought down. so this will go on for weeks, you'd imagine, when they have a big earthquake usually the aftershocks last for several days. thank you very much, stephen mcdonell, our china correspondent. next to iceland. a volcano has erupted following weeks of intense earthquake activity. this is the moment of the eruption captured by on webcam from the icelandic broadcaster ruv. that's the start of it. you can see the red hot lava start to erupt from the ground like a fountain. the icelandic coastguard

then flew over the area in a helicopter capturing these remarkable images of the lava erupting and spewing across the landscape. the authorities have already evacuated the nearly 4,000 inhabitants of the fishing town of grindavik. the areas is a volcanic and seismic hot—spot south—west of the capital. let's talk to professor david pyle, a volcanologist from the university of oxford. you are in the business of predicting these things, are you, or explaining how you can predict them, but it isn't that easy to predict when these things are going to happen? when these things are going to ha--en? when these things are going to ha . en? . ., . ~ happen? indeed, the icelandic met office have had _ happen? indeed, the icelandic met office have had an _ happen? indeed, the icelandic met office have had an amazing - happen? indeed, the icelandic met office have had an amazing job - happen? indeed, the icelandic met office have had an amazing job in l 0ffice have had an amazing job in monitoring the proceedings over the last several months and the interesting thing is that after the events of november ten when there was really intense in earthquakes underneath grindavik extending northwards, that was the point at which the authorities realised there was a magma intrusion close to the

surface and since that time the authorities have been keeping a close eye on that, on the seismicity of the earthquakes and the ground changes in that area. over the last few weeks the earthquakes have died down but the area of most interest was an area about four kilometres north of grindavik, which is the area where the eruption has now started. ., , ., ~ area where the eruption has now started. . , ., ~ ., ., started. there was talk of an earthquake _ started. there was talk of an earthquake swarm _ started. there was talk of an earthquake swarm in - started. there was talk of an earthquake swarm in the - started. there was talk of an l earthquake swarm in the hour started. there was talk of an - earthquake swarm in the hour before the eruption started. what is a swarm? , ,., the eruption started. what is a swarm? , , , . , . swarm? yes, so the seismicity had died riaht swarm? yes, so the seismicity had died right down _ swarm? yes, so the seismicity had died right down so _ swarm? yes, so the seismicity had died right down so there _ swarm? yes, so the seismicity had died right down so there was - swarm? yes, so the seismicity had died right down so there wasjust l died right down so there was just some smaller earthquakes, but the scientists realised that the main signal of the start of an eruption would be that rock would break as magna started to push its way to the surface and as the rock breaks it creates small earthquakes and when there is a lot of magma moving then you get a swarm. so the earthquake, hundreds of earthquakes began around 9p in local time, then the eruption

started about an hour and 15 minutes later. started about an hour and 15 minutes later, ., started about an hour and 15 minutes later. ., ., , started about an hour and 15 minutes later. ., . , ., later. some of the images we have been showing. _ later. some of the images we have been showing, at _ later. some of the images we have been showing, at the _ later. some of the images we have been showing, at the moment - later. some of the images we have been showing, at the moment we | later. some of the images we have i been showing, at the moment we are looking at their live pictures, not as clear as the one that we showed before we came to you but there is a line of lava spewing up out of the ground. so would that have been from the eruption itself breaking through, orwould the eruption itself breaking through, or would have been caused by the earthquake activity prior to it? it is extraordinary seen this really long line of liquid fire basically coming out of the earth. here we go, we can show it now. it is enormously long. it is here we go, we can show it now. it is enormously long.— is enormously long. it is an extraordinary _ is enormously long. it is an extraordinary natural - is enormously long. it is an - extraordinary natural phenomenon is enormously long. it is an _ extraordinary natural phenomenon and what has happened this is the magma is moving towards the surface it is breaking open a fracture, so the rock near the surface is fracturing. this is part of the rift. as the fracture opens up by a metre or two then the magma comes out of that

fracture along this, what is now probably a three kilometre or a four kilometre long fisher and it is completely extraordinary, essentially you get this curtain of fire effect at the start of an eruption and eventually as the eruption and eventually as the eruption precedes some parts of that fisher will start to open up and then you will get pockets of activity focused on particular areas. , , , , . , areas. -- fissure. these pictures areas. -- fissure. these pictures are extraordinary. _ areas. -- fissure. these pictures are extraordinary. thank - areas. -- fissure. these pictures are extraordinary. thank you - areas. -- fissure. these pictures| are extraordinary. thank you very much. i'm staring at these pictures, much. i'm staring at these pictures, much like with a fire. probably what you do most days in yourjob. appreciate your time. international pressure is growing for israel to ease its military campaign in gaza. this is the scene live looking into gaza from israel. the un security council is due to vote on a new resolution today, calling for an urgent cessation of hostilities in gaza, and the release of all israeli hostages. it's reported that the language

in the resolution may be watered down to a "suspension" of hostilities, to get us backing. live now tojerusalem and our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. i suppose the question is whether the changing of the language to a cessation of hostilities will work in terms of the us.— cessation of hostilities will work in terms of the us. there has been a lot of effort — in terms of the us. there has been a lot of effort but _ in terms of the us. there has been a lot of effort put into _ in terms of the us. there has been a lot of effort put into the _ lot of effort put into the negotiations, even the delay of this vote to the today to get the us on board because it has really been seen as a kind of failure of the un security council in these last few weeks to come up with some sort of unanimous position, even the un secretary—general has been critical, saying it is failing to address the global emergency marked by the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in gaza at the moment. so we expect that language to be different from what was originally on the table, put there by the

united arab emirates. probably a suspension of hostilities what's been talked about. that tallies more with what we are also hearing from the israelis about what could be possible because we know now as well that we have had the us intelligence chief, the israeli intelligence chief, the israeli intelligence chief going off to poland to meet the qatari prime minister. qatar was the qatari prime minister. qatar was the mediator with hamas that really was such a key player in bringing about that week—long truth that we saw just at the end of last about that week—long truth that we sawjust at the end of last month in which more than 100 hostages, mostly israelis, were released, and also we saw 240 palestinian women and children being released from israeli prisons. and a big increase in aid during that time that was able to make it into gaza. now, it's being stressed that at the moment this is just an initial meeting after those different players really hadn't met in recent weeks to talk about a possible new deal. but still it's an encouraging sign. irate

possible new deal. but still it's an encouraging sign.— encouraging sign. we had a us defence secretary _ encouraging sign. we had a us defence secretary lloyd - encouraging sign. we had a us defence secretary lloyd austinj defence secretary lloyd austin yesterday in israel talking about what the us has been trying to say to israel. he was talking about things like we have been offering advice about how to move from a high—intensity operation to a low intensity one. but still very much trying to do a show of support for israel. he was saying he was not trying to dictate times or timescales but we are still very much in support of what they are doing. much in support of what they are doinu. �* much in support of what they are doinu. ~ ., much in support of what they are doinu. ~ . doing. indeed. and after we saw shows of division _ doing. indeed. and after we saw shows of division between - doing. indeed. and after we saw shows of division between the i doing. indeed. and after we saw| shows of division between the us president last weekend the israeli prime minister, i think there was a real effort by lloyd austin when he was here to show that the israelis are in the same page with the americans to a great extent, that they believe that this war should continue but theyjust they believe that this war should continue but they just want operations to come down from major combat operations with a lot of air strikes taking place, with large numbers of israeli troops deep

inside the gaza strip, to a low intensity which will cause less harm to palestinian civilians. we are not really seeing any signs of that happening on the ground at the moment. but the suggestion as this will be a transition that takes place in the coming weeks and that israel will still reserve the right of course to go after hamas. we have had the israeli prime minister vowing that he will destroy hamas, that he will dismantle it in gaza and there will be an israeli victory. hamas also talking back very strongly when it comes to this issue of a hostage release. they have said that all of the israeli hostages still being held in gaza will not be free until there is a permanent ceasefire to stop this war. ., ., g war. yolande knell in jerusalem, thank you- _ live now to james denselow, head of conflict team and humanitarian advocacy at save the children. let's talk about the humanitarian situation in gaza. in terms of your optimism, do you have any in terms

of the situation changing at all when we hear all of this international pressure growing and we have this un security council vote again, another one today. do you have any sense that things are changing any time soon? irate you have any sense that things are changing any time soon?— you have any sense that things are changing any time soon? we have to have ho -e changing any time soon? we have to have hone that _ changing any time soon? we have to have hope that things _ changing any time soon? we have to have hope that things can _ changing any time soon? we have to have hope that things can change - changing any time soon? we have to have hope that things can change for the better but certainly things have been getting romantically grim for children in gaza. let's not forget there is the equivalent of 11 full size of wembley stadium is of children living in gaza, and half the population is starving, 7000 children estimated to have died —— unremittingly grim. 85% of the population are now homeless. winter is coming. there's not enough aid to meet the needs that the population we do welcome the opening of an extra crossing from kerem shalom from israel on sunday but we are still very much disconnected between the scale of need and the ability to deliver it. for

the scale of need and the ability to deliver it. ., ., ., , deliver it. for what aid is getting are the issues _ deliver it. for what aid is getting are the issues of _ deliver it. for what aid is getting are the issues of distribution - deliver it. for what aid is getting i are the issues of distribution now. we have seen these images of desperate peoplejumping on the back of the aid trucks and trying to take what supplies there are. we are showing them now, peoplejumping on board and then throwing the supplies down to people. it must be making the job of distribution pretty tricky for your teams right now. desperate is the right word. 0ur teams are finding it incredibly hard to operate in gaza. last week we saw a member of the save the children teen killed in an air strike along with his entire family. so it is the hardest place to be an aid worker, the hardest place to be a child and those scenes you are showing are evidence of something the un has warned about for several weeks now which is the breakdown of public order in gaza. i don't think that should come as a surprise if you see what people have been through and continue to go through. aid

distribution, we shouldn'tjust think about border crossings, trucks going on, we need to think about the ceasefire that allows us to operate, we need to think about whether aid is getting to all parts of the gaza strip, particularly in the north. those operations are way off what they need to be.— those operations are way off what they need to be. what could be done immediately? _ they need to be. what could be done immediately? if— they need to be. what could be done immediately? if you _ they need to be. what could be done immediately? if you were _ they need to be. what could be done immediately? if you were in - they need to be. what could be done immediately? if you were in the - they need to be. what could be done | immediately? if you were in the room in these negotiations and you are asking for one thing to be changed, would it be something like the supply of water? what exactly is needed immediately? the supply of water? what exactly is needed immediately? the supply of electricity is — needed immediately? the supply of electricity is critical _ needed immediately? the supply of electricity is critical because - needed immediately? the supply of electricity is critical because that. electricity is critical because that allows water desalination plants to operate, those that haven't been damaged or destroyed. the fuel that allows power that allows desalination i guess is the natural ordering of things. you have seen in the trucks that are going on a lot of bottled water. it is very difficult, nigh on impossible, to supply over 2 million people within enough water with bottles of water. you need to have water pipes with clean water going into the population again, that is in parts

of gaza that is not designed for human habitation, warehouses or distribution centres that have one toilet for 700 people, a showerfor 1000 people and that's why we are seeing so many warnings about public health outbreaks coming out, skin diseases, waterborne diseases, the prospect of more children being killed by these diseases in gaza than by the violence itself. clean water is absolutely essential and it's an obvious thing to say but unfortunately this is a man—made conflict, not like the situation in china you talked about earlier where everyone is rushing to provide aid without impediment and obstacle. there are a lot of obstacles to aid in gaza and is not good enough for the children living there.— in gaza and is not good enough for the children living there. thank you for talkin: the children living there. thank you for talking to _ the children living there. thank you for talking to us, _ the children living there. thank you for talking to us, james _ the children living there. thank you for talking to us, james denselowl for talking to us, james denselow from save the children. around the world and across the uk this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making the news now. the northern ireland secretary is expected to set out the government's next steps after a pre—christmas deal

to restore power sharing in northern ireland was ruled out. chris heaton—harris is due to host the four largest parties for roundtable talks later. it's been 22 months since the dup started boycotting a devolved government in protest against post—brexit trade arrangements. an independent energy think tank estimates that £40 will be added to the average uk household's electricity bill this year, because of the grids inability to handle extra wind power. carbon tracker says turbines must be switched off if it's too windy to avoid overloading the grid, and the costs involved are passed on to the public. the housing secretary is expected to announce a pledge to intervene if there have been delays to house building as a result of poor performance among planning teams. michael gove is set to say that he will call out local authorities that are �*dragging their feet�* when it comes to processing housing applications. you're live with bbc news. dame esther rantzen has said she's considering the option of assisted dying. the 83—year—old broadcaster — who has lung cancer — said she's currently receiving a "miracle" treatment but that she has joined the zurich—based assisted dying clinic, dignitas, in case her condition gets worse. talking to bbc radio 4's the today podcast, dame esther said british

laws need to be updated. i have joined dignitas. i have, in my brain, thought, "well, if the next scan "says nothing's working, i might buzz off to zurich." but, you know, it puts my family and friends in a difficult position because they would want to go with me and that means that the police might prosecute them. so we've got to do something. at the moment, it's not really working, is it? let's speak now to baroness ilora finlay, a consultant in palliative medicine and a crossbench member of the house of lords. you were listening to that interview earlier. what you make of what she says about how she wants to go, she's made the decision if she wants to go she will tell her family but the problem is that if they went with her they could be prosecuted?

she makes some other important points in that interview, one of them is you can't predict how long somebody will live. she hadn't expected to see her birthday or christmas and she is still really in fine spirit and living well. i think there is something very important in there is something very important in the interview, she speaks about hospice care being good. we are now only a third of funding for hospices is coming from the nhs and we know people need to access care when they need it at the time they need it and we just don't have that spread widely enough yet in this country. so i would say, can we help people live well during all the time that they have got and actually not think about ending their lives prematurely when they might miss out on some wonderful times? that even if people do get the best care that would be possible, there may still be people who would say that

possible, there may still be people who would sa— who would say that life is unbearable _ who would say that life is unbearable in _ who would say that life is unbearable in its - who would say that life is unbearable in its current| who would say that life is - unbearable in its current form for them and that they would like to choose the manner of their own death, even if palliative care was the best possible it could be in this country. and it's about that choice and giving people the choice and not wanting to put their loved ones through seeing them in that way in the end. she talks about it strongly, about her not wanting them to see her in that way and the last memories being of her in that way and it's about choice, isn't it? when we look at what has happened in countries that have gone down this road you can see the choices in care get less because if you are offering people lethal drugs and early death than actually what you are doing is you're taking services away from providing the things that would improve the quality—of—life and focusing on bringing their death

forward. so if you want to improve choice you've got to have all the choices in care available and all the support available to help people live well. and when you look at the reason that people go to end their lives early in those countries that have changed the law, many of them are social reasons, they are not because of their illness. but when it is because of their illness, quite often it's because we know what to do but itjust isn't being done, it hasn't happened. and so i really think it's terribly dangerous to take clinicians away from providing care and get them to become the people who give lethal drugs. become the people who give lethal dru:s. ., ., , become the people who give lethal dru:s. ., . , ., ., drugs. unfortunately we have to leave it there _ drugs. unfortunately we have to leave it there but _ drugs. unfortunately we have to leave it there but thank - drugs. unfortunately we have to leave it there but thank you - drugs. unfortunately we have to j leave it there but thank you very much forjoining us, baroness ilora finlay. thank you very much for your time. the government is expected to publish advice today on how schools in england should support children who are questioning their gender identity. the bbc understands that the guidance will say

that their parents should be informed about their wishes , unless there's a safeguarding issue. the guidance is also likely to advise that schools should have single—sex toilets and changing facilities. here's our lgbt & identity correspondent, lauren moss with a breakdown on what this advice is likely to be. talk us through what we are expecting. talk us through what we are exoecting-— talk us through what we are exectina. . . , ., ., expecting. the guidance is going to advise teachers _ expecting. the guidance is going to advise teachers what _ expecting. the guidance is going to advise teachers what they - expecting. the guidance is going to advise teachers what they should . expecting. the guidance is going to | advise teachers what they should do if a child is identifying as transgender or nonbinary, not solely male orfemale, and a big chunk of the guidance, as i understand it when it is published later, is likely to centre around the involvement of parents in the decisions that teachers make or allow a child to make. for example, if a child wishes to socially transition, this is the non—medical changes that a child might make like changing their name or their pronouns, the uniform, and match the way they wish to identify, then the guidance is expected to advise teachers that they should tell parents before any of those changes take place, except in exceptional circumstances. the social transition aspect of this is what has led to this guidance being delayed for so long, the government missed an earlier deadline this year because there were some in the draft forms

that want to prevent social transitioning altogether, as i understand it, but would have changed the equalities law. it is also going to address things like single sex toilets, contact sports and that sort of thing. {lilia single sex toilets, contact sports and that sort of thing. ok, thanks very much. _ and that sort of thing. ok, thanks very much, lauren _ and that sort of thing. ok, thanks very much, lauren moss. - and that sort of thing. ok, thanks very much, lauren moss. we - and that sort of thing. ok, thanks very much, lauren moss. we will| and that sort of thing. ok, thanks l very much, lauren moss. we will of course keep following that today and bring you much more on it when the guidance comes out. let's show you some of the pictures of the volcano in iceland that is still erupting. these are the live pictures we're showing now. about 4000 people were evacuated earlier from a fishing town in grindavik, and the nearby blue lagoon geothermal spa was closed. no reports of people getting any injuries but such extraordinary images. there is more of them on the bbc website if you want to check it out. stay with us on bbc news.

hello, again. the weather is going to remain fairly changeable all the way through the rest of this week and even into christmas day. we're looking at rain at times. it's also going to become very windy, especially so on thursday. and there's the chance of snow for some. a lot of that will be on the hills in the north. now, you can see the cooler blues today, but then we've got the milder yellows and ambers during the course of wednesday and thursday. but on thursday and friday, some colder air tries to push in from the north, but the milder air wins out from the south for many of us as we head in towards the weekend. but into this afternoon, we've got the dregs of this morning's rain continuing to pull away from the south and the east. a lot of dry weather behind, a fair bit of sunshine, but all these showers coming in on the brisk winds across the north and the west. strongest winds will be in the north and west, but it will be picking up across the south western approaches and also the english channel. now, temperatures will go down following on behind that band of rain. and as we head on through the evening and overnight, there will be some clear skies for a time.

we hang on to all these showers in the west, the winds are going to strengthen and then a weather front, a warm front, arrives. temperatures three in lerwick to about nine in plymouth. now that we're in front is quite salient because this means now that warm front is quite salient because this means the temperature is going to change through the course of tomorrow. so there is a front moving from the west to the east, taking the rain with it. behind it, there's a lot of cloud, low cloud mist, murk, dank conditions, especially in western areas and the hills and the coasts. 0ut towards the south, something a bit drier. but the cloud building through the course of the day. and these are our temperatures widely11s and 12s. so, milderairfollowing on behind the warm front. but then it changes on thursday. this potent area of low pressure is crossing us. look at all those isobars. it's going to be windy wherever you are. the strongest winds likely to be in the north of scotland, particularly shetland. here we could have gusts 70 or 80 miles an hour, but widely 50 to 60 miles an hour. so, a windy day. we've also got a plethora of showers. most of them will be of rain.

in the highlands, it will be of sleet and snow in the hills. but that will come down to lower levels for a time. and you can see the colder air trying to filter further south, but the south itself hanging on to the milder conditions. looks like it's still going to be pretty windy, but not as on friday. and temperatures going down in the north. and the jury's still out for christmas day. there could be some snow, though, in the hills in the north.

this is bbc news, the headlines:

more than 100 people are killed in china's deadliest earthquake in 13 years. rescue efforts are being hampered by sub zero temperatures. protecting commerical ships in the red sea — the us is to lead a taskforce of ten countries to counter attacks by yemen's houthi rebels. schools in england are to receive government guidance telling them that they should generally tell parents if their child wants to change gender. now, let's focus on the middle east. the united states is leading a new international taskforce of ten countries to protect commercial ships in the red sea from attacks by houthi rebels. the iranian backed group says they are in response to israel's attacks on gaza. the group targeted two more vessels on monday. the us defence secretary, lloyd austin, called it reckless and dangerous behaviour. the attacks are beginning to disrupt global maritime trade. this is the route taken by around 12% of world shipping which then passes through the suez canal. but several major freight companies

have stopped passing through here and are now taking the much longer route all the way