for ice and's m for ice and's ca-ital after a volcano eru-tion. this is the scene live — as jets of molten lava continue to spew from the ground. as aid agencies voice frustration on worsening conditions for civilians in gaza, the un security council prepares to vote on a new ceasefire resolution. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky prepares to hold an end of year news conference, as the war in his country grinds towards the two—year mark. the british prime ministerfaces one final grilling before he prepares for the liaison committee and senior mps. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them.

we begin with a dramatic volcano eruption in iceland, which is sending lava spewing hundreds of metres into the sky. let's take you straight to these live pictures from south western iceland — as the volcano continues to spew jets of molten lava from a crack in the earth that's now several kilometres long. the area is a volcanic and seismic hot—spot — not far from the capital, reykyavik. experts say the eruption could last weeks — or maybe even months. this is the moment the volcano erupted late on monday — captured on webcam by the icelandic broadcaster ruv — as smoke and fiery lava lit up the night sky. and look at these pictures, caught by an eyewitness from their phone — as they were driving past the volcano. scientists are continuing to monitor the explosion from the air and land. they had predicted an eruption — after detecting intense seismic activity over the past few weeks — butjust didn't know exactly when it would happen. more than 4,000 residents of the nearest town, grindavik, were evacuated recently — after a spate of earthquakes last month.

earlier, volcanologist, clive 0ppenheimer, gave me his reaction to the volcanic eruption and how it's being handled. it's been so impressive to me to see what my colleagues there have been doing, monitoring the volcano around the clock with sensors on the ground, with satellites monitoring from space and feeling all that information and interpretation into the civil protection authorities, the civil protection authorities, the emergency planners, so it's kind of textbook, really, how this crisis has been managed. yes, think there was always a high likelihood that the lava would eventually break out. tell us about the disruption volcanoes can have aside from the obvious impact on people who live nearby and the fact that we don't know how long this disruption could carry on for. 50. know how long this disruption could carry on for-— carry on for. so, on the peninsula commits not _ carry on for. so, on the peninsula commits not far _ carry on for. so, on the peninsula commits not far from _ carry on for. so, on the peninsula commits not far from the - carry on for. so, on the peninsula commits not far from the capital, i commits not far from the capital, the most densely populated part of the most densely populated part of the whole of iceland and it's near the whole of iceland and it's near the international airport and near a

power station and near the town and other roads and so on. there are people and infrastructure who have been affected by this eruption that are going to be air quality issues because their quantities of gas, acid gases that are being omitted and once they are in the atmosphere it is the meteorology that matters and where they well travelled. that's also because of the proximity to the airport, there could be visibility issues, again, if this plume of particles and gases draughts. international pressure is going to posits a military campaign in gaza. these are live pictures from new york, where the un security council is due to vote on a new resolution, calling for an urgent cessation of hostilities in the territory, 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, in order to get us backing.

the 15 members all say they want the fighting in gaza to end. but there are disagreements about the conditions of any ceasefire. meanwhile, the hamas—run health ministry in gaza says at least 20 people were killed in the latest attack on rafah in the south, and 13 more killed in jabalia refugee camp in the north. aid agencies continue to warn of the dire conditions faced by the more than two million people trapped in the beseiged territory. live now to our north america correspondent nada tawfik who's in new york. welcome to you and bring us the latest. what is happening behind you? e latest. what is happening behind ou? , ., . , . latest. what is happening behind ou? , ., ., , ., , latest. what is happening behind ou? ., , ., , ., you? e diplomats here have 'ust told me that the — you? e diplomats here have 'ust told me that the vote * you? e diplomats here have 'ust told me that the vote on this _ you? e diplomats here have just told me that the vote on this proposed i me that the vote on this proposed resolution by the uae has been delayed yet again. i needed time hasn't been proposed yet, but i think what this underscores us just how fluid the situation is here, how complex the negotiations are. the uae has really been trying to get the united states on board in this

resolution, diplomats tell me that nobody on the council wants to see another failed outcome, nobody on the council wants to see anotherfailed outcome, and because of that, as you mentioned, the language has already been toned down in this resolution. remember, it's a humanitarian resolution that really seeks to open all the land, air and sea borders into gaza to get aid in and to create the un monitoring mechanism to streamline the process, but in order for that to be successful, there needs to be a meaningful and to the fighting. that is what the un has said. the uae is responding to that. but they are being careful because the united states is well aware and against any language that talks about a cease—fire. they have been told to pass resolution that demanded a cease—fire and today, along with israel, have argued that it would only help, small steps of the uae has accommodated the us with language that calls for instead of

suspension of hostilities with urgent steps towards a cessation of hostilities, but we will wait to see if that is enough for the united states to get behind this resolution.— states to get behind this resolution. ., , ., , ., ,, resolution. the options for the us are to prevent. — resolution. the options for the us are to prevent, veto _ resolution. the options for the us are to prevent, veto or— resolution. the options for the us are to prevent, veto or abstain. . are to prevent, veto or abstain. tell us what difference it could make and if all countries agreed to it, what happen then?— make and if all countries agreed to it, what happen then? that's right. this resolution _ it, what happen then? that's right. this resolution would _ it, what happen then? that's right. this resolution would go _ it, what happen then? that's right. this resolution would go through i it, what happen then? that's right. this resolution would go through if| this resolution would go through if the united states voted in favour or abstain, because security council resolutions can only pass f9 members support it and if no permanent members veto it. now what impact it would have on the ground? i think that's a kind of separate hurdle if this resolution is passed. we have seenin this resolution is passed. we have seen in fact, security council members are debating right now the fact that their last resolution calling for humanitarian pauses hasn't been implemented fully on the ground. it un humanitarians are eagerfor there to be ground. it un humanitarians are eager for there to be a new product

out of the security council. we have heard them talk about how the crisis there is the worst ever. martin griffiths, the aide chief said that he said he doesn't use those words lately and say in order to get any aid in at scale in a meaningful way really does rely on their being a cease—fire, so they would welcome more pressure from the security council on the parties to do that. thank you. live now tojerusalem and our middle east correspondent hugo bachega. good to see you. what is the thinking there and what is happening at the un in new york? yes. thinking there and what is happening at the un in new york?— at the un in new york? yes, so it's very interesting _ at the un in new york? yes, so it's very interesting because _ at the un in new york? yes, so it's very interesting because the - very interesting because the israelis have rejected the possibility of a cease—fire, they have been supported by the americans on that position. they say that a pause in hostilities now would only benefit thomas. but there is growing international pressure on the israeli authorities for a cease—fire

to be implemented in gaza because of the humanitarian situation, widespread shortages of basic supplies and warnings from aid organisations that the situation is likely to get worse if there is no improvement in conditions on the ground. and also because of the mounting civilian casualties in gaza, so more countries are asking for a pause in the fighting in gaza, but there is also growing pressure on the authority is at home because of the hostages who will remain in captivity in gaza, and obviously there is more pressure following the killing of three israeli hostages by mistake by israeli soldiers and gaza last week. and i was in tel aviv on the weekend talking to some relatives and friends, of hostages who remained in captivity in gaza and they think the time is running out to guarantee the release of those hostages. so a lot of pressure

on the israeli government, on prime minister benjamin netanyahu to try and reach idealfor the release of the hostages, but also for a cease—fire in gaza so more humanitarian assistance can reach palestinians in the territory. but up palestinians in the territory. but up until now, again, the israelis have been rejecting any proposal for a cease—fire, but i think it was very interesting that today, the israeli president said that israel is ready for a new cease—fire in gaza, so perhaps opening up the possibility that the israelis could agree with another cease—fire. we understand that some talks are happening between the israelis and the qatar a's who have been acting as mediators in this crisis, but, again, very difficult negotiations because hamas has been saying that no cease—fire is going to happen, no talks for a cease—fire going to happen unless the war in gaza stops.

israel maintains that any cease—fire, as we have been saying, but only benefit thomas. who talks to tomas? was negotiating with them about them conducting any kind of cease—fire to stop firing their rockets into israel which continue every day?— rockets into israel which continue eve da? ,�* ~ , every day? exactly. and i think this really shows _ every day? exactly. and i think this really shows that _ every day? exactly. and i think this really shows that despite _ every day? exactly. and i think this really shows that despite the - every day? exactly. and i think this really shows that despite the war . really shows that despite the war and all the devastation brought by these israeli military offensive, hamas continues to have the ability to launch those attacks against israel, and i think this has been one of the points that has been made by the israeli authorities that a cease—fire right now would only give, last time to regroup and perhaps launch more attacks against israel. now qatar has been the key mediator here, also egypt and trying to facilitate talks between israel and hamas. they helped negotiate that lead to not only a cease—fire,

but also to the release of more than 100 hostages who had been captured by hamas and israel in october, and i think the families here in israel who are waiting for the captives to be returned, they say that this is the only way to bring back those hostages to israel. the authorities again in israel say that on the military pressure will help bring those hostages back home, but many people in israel disagree. thank ou. people in israel disagree. thank yom more _ people in israel disagree. thank yom more new _ people in israel disagree. thank you. more now and _ people in israel disagree. thank you. more now and our- people in israel disagree. thank you. more now and our top - people in israel disagree. thank. you. more now and our top strike, the volcanic eruption in iceland, this is the scene live now where that volcano started to erupt in the last 2a hours or so. around 4000 last 24 hours or so. around 4000 people have been evacuated from this area. it's a fishing town some four km away from the site of that eruption. we will speak to a

reporter now who has just reached the pendency alive. good to have you with us. tell us what you have seen as he arrived there in the past few hours. ie: as he arrived there in the past few hours. �* , ., as he arrived there in the past few hours. �* , . ., ., hours. b 'ust landed at the airport about an hours. b just landed at the airport about an hour— hours. b just landed at the airport about an hour ago, _ hours. b just landed at the airport about an hour ago, and _ hours. b just landed at the airport about an hour ago, and even - hours. b just landed at the airport about an hour ago, and even from there, which is about 30 km from the volcano that is erupting, be could see the flames and we can see the lava. that gives you an idea ofjust how powerful this eruption is. the volcano is behind me, you're probably not able to see it as i am using my phone at the moment, but we were told this is as close as we could get today, we drove for about 20 minutes and then the authorities told us that we had to stop, that nobody is allowed any further today because of their safety and said that they can give scientists and responders the space and the time to assess the situation in the area. let me tell you, we can smell the

smoke, we can see ashes in the air. every once and a while, we can hear vibration under our feet, and every once and a while, we can hear vibration under ourfeet, and even if we are quite far, we can hear the rumbling of the volcano right behind me, so it's quite incredible. tote me, so it's quite incredible. we know it's caused a lot of disruption. as you say you cannot get that close to it. 4000 people have evacuated. this wasn't expected, but i'm not sure people there expected the ferocity of the eruption. there expected the ferocity of the eru ttion. ., v there expected the ferocity of the eru ttion. ., �*, .,, there expected the ferocity of the eru-tion. ., �*, .,, ., eruption. that's right. people had been exneeting — eruption. that's right. people had been expecting this _ eruption. that's right. people had been expecting this for _ eruption. that's right. people had been expecting this for a - eruption. that's right. people had been expecting this for a week . eruption. that's right. people had | been expecting this for a week and people said the nearby town had been evacuated with nearly 4000 people having to leave their homes and only being able to take some essential items. but even though they had been expecting this for weeks, a lot of people told us that this cop done by surprise and that they were not expecting this to happen in and just to give you an idea of that, the

police yesterday had indicated that all the people who had been evacuated might be able to go home for christmas, so people were really looking forward to that, but, of course, they won't be able to do that now because their town is at risk of being inundated with lava the past few weeks, those nearly 4000 people have been in limbo, some of them angry that they can't go back to their homes. in general, you know, not knowing what comes next. very disappointing and upsetting for those local residents impacted, but as we were saying, you were able to fly in, something a lot of people around the world will be grateful for because back in 2010, there was an icelandic volcano that caused flight disruption across europe, didn't it? ., �* , ., didn't it? that's right. so that happened _ didn't it? that's right. so that happened in _ didn't it? that's right. so that happened in 2010, _ didn't it? that's right. so that happened in 2010, and - didn't it? that's right. so that happened in 2010, and fact i didn't it? that's right. so that - happened in 2010, and fact caused the worst air disruption in europe since world war ii with hundreds and hundreds of flights been delayed and

been cancelled. now, on our way here, we have no problems whatsoever, no delays, and so far i believe no flights have been cancelled. some of the authorities here are eager to stress that they are very well prepared to deal with the situation, they say there will be no delays for flights for people who want to come to iceland as tourists, to go back to their families for christmas. they are also pointing to the fact that, you know, volcanic activity in iceland is something quite common. they have been, we have seen something like this happening in the last few years. so the authorities are saying that they are prepared, there also pointing to the fact that there is no immediate risk, there is no immediate threat to life. there have been no injuries yet, in fact, as we stopped and looked at the volcano, there were lots of people here taking photos, taking videos, because despite the fact that this is... their challenges and dangers around this event, it is also a

spectacular event, people have told us, so they went to see it, want to witness it. us, so they went to see it, want to witness it— us, so they went to see it, want to witness it. ., ,, , ., , . ., witness it. thank you very much for beint with witness it. thank you very much for being with us- _ witness it. thank you very much for being with us. hopped _ witness it. thank you very much for being with us. hopped off- witness it. thank you very much for being with us. hopped off the - witness it. thank you very much for| being with us. hopped off the plane they are in iceland. he can keep across the life pictures on our life page on the bbc news act and web page on the bbc news act and web page there. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news the scottish government has announced a new 45 % band for people earning over 75 thousand pounds , meaning higher earners in scotland will be paying more income tax. the top rate , which is paid by those earning more than a hundred and 25 thousand pounds , will also rise to 48 %. the housing secretary announces a pledge to intervene if there have been delays to house building as a result of poor performance among planning teams. michael gove says that he will call out local authorities that are �*dragging their feet�* when it comes to processing housing applications. a woman and her child were left shaken but unhurt when a car veered off a road and

flipped on its side right in front of them. west midlands police say the crash happened in solihull at about 4pm on saturday. the woman driving the car suffered cuts and the force says an investigation is under way. quite a miracle there that her and her child were not seriously hurt. you're live with bbc news let's take you live to kyiv, where ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy is holding his end of year news conference , as the country's war with russia approaches the two—year mark. it comes after a top ukrainian general warned military operations were being scaled back because of a lack of foreign aid. he contrasted it with the much more complex situation, here he is speaking a little earlier. translation: regarding that

reduction in — translation: regarding that reduction in aid _ translation: regarding that reduction in aid if _ translation: regarding that reduction in aid if we - translation: regarding that reduction in aid if we are - translation: regarding that | reduction in aid if we are talking about weapons and if that had an impact, the fact that ukraine didn't have air supremacy, that had an impact on the operation in 2023. we don't control the skies, we don't have enough ammunition, but that doesn't mean that we will not find a solution, but for this, we really need support because we are simply lacking weaponry. it's three months since tens of thousands of ethnic armenians fled from the disputed territory of nagorno—karabakh. the territory is recognised internationally as part of azerbaijan, but large areas of it had been controlled by ethnic armenians for three decades. local forces in karabakh disbanded after an azerbaijani military offensive triggered intense fighting. the breakaway republic will "cease to exist" from the first of january 2024. the countries staged a prisoner exchange recently, and both say they want to sign a peace deal. here's the bbc russian services' olga ivshina with the background.

the bbc russian service has the background. and this september, the territory of nagorno—karabakh was finally, azerbaijan got full control of the territory of nagorno—karabakh. and because of that, ethnic armenians who lived in the region, nearly 100,000 of them have escaped to armenia, being afraid of ethnic cleansing and possible repressions. authorities in baku have promised that they are ready to welcome armenians to azerbaijan but they have to accept azeri citizenship. but i think the core thing here is, because of the conflict has been going on for decades and decades, there is a huge mistrust and a lot of bad memories on both sides. both sides accusing each other of war crimes and slaughtering civilians. and on that, bearing in mind that, it's really hard to build civil negotiations.

it's really hard to stick to the diplomatic process. joining me from the armenian capital yerevan, is vahan kostanyan, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, of armenia. welcome to you. thanks very much for being with us. bring us up—to—date on what is the latest situation three months on with the peace process and talks?— three months on with the peace process and talks? well, as was mentioned _ process and talks? well, as was mentioned already, _ process and talks? well, as was mentioned already, the - process and talks? well, as was mentioned already, the ethnic l mentioned already, the ethnic cleansing that happened in september of 19-20. cleansing that happened in september of 19—20. armenia gave shelter to all the people who were forests to be displaced, and meanwhile, we remain committed to peace talks with azerbaijan,... patients

unfortunately azerbaijan,... patients u nfortu nately several attem pts azerbaijan,... patients unfortunately several attempts to u nfortu nately several attem pts to organise unfortunately several attempts to organise meetings, relaunch negotiations were not successful. the president of azerbaijan... european political community, although they had accepted the invitation... later, during these three months, there were several attempts by brussels to organise meetings to work, but azerbaijan said they were reluctant to join this meeting. you might say that azerbaijan is also... stating that they are interested in finalising they are interested in finalising the peace treaty with armenia, but... we need to concentrate on

this, and the fact is that azerbaijan is reluctant to come into finalise the peace treaty, which are adopted in granada, and the principles are first to recognise the integrity and sovereignty of both of our states without leaving any... and for this we need to have any... and for this we need to have a clear borderline based on protocol that we both agree to implement. we need to use the freshest ussr maps as a foundation between our two countries. and what is also important, we need to agree the

principles of the opening of the transfer of communications in our region. we believe that these principles should be respectful, respectful of sovereignty of these states and reciprocity and equality stop at both sides accuse the other of ethnic cleansing. i talked to the foreign policy adviser of the president of azerbaijan in the last hour or so and asked him about how many people had returned who left in the past three months. he said everybody is welcome back but they must become azerbaijan said designs and live under azerbaijan rules and laws. do you accept that as a premise for those who fled the territory returning? i will leave to you to draw some conclusions, but the exact number of people who

returned to their ancestral homeland is zero, although the order of international courts ofjustice ordering azerbaijan to ensure these people to exercise their right to live in a safe and dignified environment, so... which means azerbaijan security and protection of these people. there is nobody who returned. probably we might assume that they don't see proper guarantees.— that they don't see proper guarantees. that they don't see proper tuarantees. ., ,, , ., , . guarantees. ok, thank you very much for “oinint guarantees. ok, thank you very much forioining us- — problems exposed on the front lines in ukraine. speaking at a defence ministry meeting in moscow

turning to the war in ukraine — because russian president vladimir putin has admitted — parts of the russian army need a serious overhaul due to problems exposed on its front lines in ukraine. speaking at a defence ministry meeting in moscow — mr putin said that improvements should be made to communications systems, air defences and the use of intelligence. but he insisted that russian manufacturers had reacted faster to the conflict than western countries. india's parliament has seen heated protests after 49 more opposition mps were suspended, taking the total number to 141. the mps were protesting against last week's security breach in parliament. most of them have been barred for the rest of the winter session , which ends on friday , but around two dozen could stay away for longer. just before we go, returning to those live pictures from iceland of that volcano, which has been erupting since late last night. you can head to our life page to continue watching those pictures. i will be back with plenty more in a few minutes. hello there. it's been quite a poor day today

across many southern parts of england with a lot of rain around. further north, we did see some sunshine eventually across the north of england and into parts of wales. and we've seen a mixture of sunshine and showers earlier in scotland. this was the shield of cloud that stretched across england and wales. you can see how it's been shifting south eastwards and the rain is getting taken away at long last. following on from that, we've got clear spells through the night. showers continuing in the north, maybe a bit wintry over the hills in scotland and some further rain coming in from the atlantic to northern ireland and western scotland by the end of the night. a bit chilly ahead of that in the north east of scotland. typical temperatures elsewhere around 6—7 degrees. now, there may not be a lot of sunshine around for tomorrow. we've got this rain coming in from the northwest. now, most of it will continue to affect the hills in the west where it's going to be very misty and murky with some hill fog. there is going to be a lot of cloud,

but it's going to be a lot drier than today in the south and the southeast. and it's a milder day on the whole temperatures, typically 10—11 degrees, but it will turn windy through the day. however, the winds will strengthen further on wednesday night and into thursday. and it's during this period that we've got a greater risk of some travel disruption. and it's getting windier because this deep low pressure here, possibly a named storm, will sweep across the north of scotland, head in to scandinavia with the really strong winds wrapped around that. and it will be a windy day everywhere on thursday, wildly gusts of 50—60mph, but it's across northern parts of scotland that we're more likely to get gusts of 80mph. very windy day in scotland, sunshine and wintry showers to come here. sunshine and showers across other areas. but further south may well hang on to more cloud and a bit of patchy rain as well. here in those strong winds, temperatures will reach 12—13 celsius, but the day gets colder, i think with those wintry showers and strong winds in scotland. and as the low pressure moves away, we get this push of strong winds

south through the north sea, bringing some big waves and rough seas, bit of a storm surge going on and the risk of some coastal flooding. things could be a lot worse, though, if we had some spring tides. now the winds do gradually ease down a bit on friday. for most of us, we're in some colder air, more wintry showers in scotland, milder air trying to come in to the west.

this is bbc news. i'm samantha simmonds. gas pollution warnings after a volcano erupts in iceland's reykjanes peninsula, after weeks of intense seismic activity. the volcano option. as aid agencies voice frustration on worsening conditions for civilians in gaza, the un security council prepares to vote on a new ceasefire resolution. the british prime ministerfaces one final grilling before he prepares for the liaison committee and senior mps. and a quarter of a million people flee a new battle 0ver over the long way to guide the lives of the subject of children wanting to change gender, schools in england are told to keep parents informed. from the bbc sport centre, here's catherine. nottingham forest have sacked their manager steve cooper. caleb has

released a statement which says he has