high—stakes drama followed by another delay, as the un postpones a vote on a ceasefire resolution for gaza. and civil rights groups are suing the texas governor over a law that would allow state officials to arrest illegal migrants. we'll speak to an attorney from the aclu. hello. i'm caitriona perry. we begin with a major decision in the us state of colorado that could impact the 2024 us presidential election — the colorado state supreme court ruled that donald trump is disqualified from holding office and not eligible to appear on the state's republican primary ballot next year. the case was tied to the former president's actions onjanuary 6 2021 —

the day of the attack on the us capitol building. the decision is based on a rarely used provision of the us constitution that bars officials who have engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" from holding office. the ruling says he's ineligible to appear on next year's ballot because of his role instigating violence against the us government. the ruling only applies to colorado's republican primary ballot, but is on hold pending appeal until next month. the decision came down shortly before mr trump gave a campaign speech in iowa, where the first contest of the 2024 season will take place in less than a month. the former president did not explicitly mention the case, though he has discussed other legal cases against him before on the campaign trail. in a statement, the trump campaign said the court had "issued a completely flawed decision," adding they "will swiftly file an appeal to the united states supreme court." in a moment we'll hear from one of the lawyers who brought the case against mr trump, but first let's go to the bbc�*s

madeline halpert, who's been covering this. what did the colorado sc say about why it was removing president trump from the 2024 primary ballot in the state? so you mention, you know, section three of the 14th amendment which bars individuals who have engaged in insurrection from holding office and so basically a group office and so basically a group of voters have filed lawsuits in several states, including colorado, basically claiming that trump should be kept of the 2024 balor because of his role in the 6january capitol rights. last month after a week—long trial in colorado a judge ruled that mr trump had participated in an insurrection but because that was did not specifically state that it applied to present mr trump did not need to be kept off the ballot. so today the supreme court in colorado reverse the decision than actually mr trump did participate in an insurrection, called and his supporters divide responded to the call and that section three

does apply to presidents, meaning he is not on the 2024 republican ballot in colorado. president trump intends to challenge this, but, as it stands, what does this mean for president trump in the colorado primary? yes, so, as of now, after 4 january, depending on what happens on the supreme court he would not be on that republican primary ballot in colorado, as you said, it does not apply to other states, depending on what happens on the appeals process, but i think they concern for them is perhaps other states will follow suit. trump lost colorado by a wide margin in the last election, but there is more concern about more competitive states.- competitive states. other states have _ competitive states. other states have tried - competitive states. other states have tried and - competitive states. otherl states have tried and failed competitive states. other - states have tried and failed to have him removed from their primary ballot papers but given this ruling from the colorado state supreme court are we

likely to see other states taking similar challenges? i think that is definitely a concern, especially given what the supreme court rules. there have been several other lawsuits that have been filed and to this day have not been successful, including in michigan, but i think there is awareness is because at the president and that could pose problems for him in battleground states in the 2020 for election. battleground states in the 2020 for election-— for election. ok, madeline halert for election. ok, madeline halpert thank _ for election. ok, madeline halpert thank you - for election. ok, madeline halpert thank you for - for election. ok, madeline . halpert thank you for bringing us up—to—date on that. the suit was brought by six republican and unaffiliated colorado voters. live now to mario nicolais, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the case. thank you very much forjoining us. can you tell us a little bit about the six voters who took this case and what their reaction is to be ruling tonight?— reaction is to be ruling toniaht? ,, ., ~ ,, reaction is to be ruling toniaht? ,, ., ~ ., tonight? sure, thank you for havin: tonight? sure, thank you for having me- _ tonight? sure, thank you for having me. they _ tonight? sure, thank you for having me. they are - tonight? sure, thank you for| having me. they are thrilled. they're thrilled with the outcome. these are six

individuals, i cannot overstate how courageous they are to bring a lawsuit like this and to bring it out. and basically say that the united states constitution says for the fact that this country is a rule of law country and that is what they believed in. so it includes six people, four are republicans, two unaffiliated, unaffiliated scan voting primers in colorado. among the republicans we have our lead plaintiff, norma anderson is a former state and house majority leader in colorado, so she served as a republican official, a high—ranking official, a high—ranking official in our state and she has been adamant that she does not and he is qualified, under the us constitution to serve in the us constitution to serve in the presidency again. we have a form of chief—of—staff republican governor, we have a conservative republican columnist for the denver post, we just have a great group of people who basically said,

look, we think this is our duty as citizens in this country to stand up for our constitution and say that when you cross the line to engaging in insurrection after taking an oath to protect our constitution you are no longer eligible to hold office, you are no longer eligible to run for office. are no longer eligible to run for office-— are no longer eligible to run for office. ,, . �* ,, ., for office. similar ben seufale previously _ for office. similar ben seufale previously and _ for office. similar ben seufale previously and three - for office. similar ben seufale previously and three other - previously and three other states. you think it is that yours succeeded? welcome i think this _ yours succeeded? welcome i think this is _ yours succeeded? welcome i think this is a _ yours succeeded? welcome i think this is a fundamentally| think this is a fundamentally different case because none of those cases had any evidentiary hearing. we engage in a full five day hearing where we put on witnesses and we put on evidence and we made arguments to a court and went through that whole process, so we had officers who were there during the insurrection who testified, we had experts who testified about what the meaning of the 14th amendment was. so the fact that we had a full evidentiary hearing in which no other state

has done was very useful for us. i think also we had a team that was a very strong team, primarily from colorado lawyers here who are helping to push this through. we had help from a group from elsewhere as well. and we were able to make sure that we could win this case. i think because we had that evidentiary basis it may be the supreme court, the colorado supreme court, the colorado supreme court, the colorado supreme court look at this and say, well, we know what you put on as a case and we agree with it. so now the question is what will donald trump do... crosstalk. just to jump in there, the former president has said he will appeal this, former president has said he willappealthis, he former president has said he will appeal this, he intends bringing to the us supreme court. how confident are you that today's rawling will be upheld there? i that today's rawling will be upheld there?— that today's rawling will be upheld there? that today's rawling will be uheld there? ~' ., i, upheld there? i think we have a really strong — upheld there? i think we have a really strong argument, - upheld there? i think we have a really strong argument, a - really strong argument, a strong argument for it to be appealed. while our decision

here was 4—3, only two of the justices, only one of the justices, only one of the justices really appealed, descended on constitutional grounds. those are the grounds supreme court will have to hear this on. and they're going to have the questions of is the president and officer of the united states or does he maintain an office under united states. that a legal question. was his speech protected under the first amendment? that's a legal question. as of the things they will be hearing. we think we have really strong argument to move up there. in one of the arguments you can see is the supreme court quoted justice courses, something from years ago denying to be on the ballot in colorado than we could protect our ballot from people who don't belong on it. so i think there is a very good chance that when this court, even a cord that does have what

people would typically consider conservative justices look at our case i think they will find it is incredibly strong and will let it go through. we're short on — will let it go through. we're short on time, _ will let it go through. we're short on time, just - will let it go through. we're short on time, just want - will let it go through. we're short on time, just want to | will let it go through. we're i short on time, just want to ask another question. you mentioned neil gorsuch there, appointed ljy neil gorsuch there, appointed by donald trump when he was present previously. any ruling today the judges wrote that they hadn't reached these conclusions lightly, that they were mindful of the magnitude and the weight of the question that was before them. do you think the victory you have had in the colorado state supreme court might encourage other states, voters in other states to take similar cases now? absolutely. and i think a lot have in other cases, there is one being heard in maine right now the i think what this helps them to do is to prove their cases. and i think it also requires the supreme court to step in and say, ok, we need to make a decision for the country as a whole. make a decision for the country as a whole-— as a whole. given that donald trump lost — as a whole. given that donald trump lost colorado - as a whole. given that donald trump lost colorado by -

as a whole. given that donald trump lost colorado by a - trump lost colorado by a reasonable margin in 2020, will his name not being on the primary ballot paper make any tangible difference to voters there? ~ . ., ~' there? welcome i think it well. so, first there? welcome i think it well. so. first of— there? welcome i think it well. so, first of all, _ there? welcome i think it well. so, first of all, if— there? welcome i think it well. so, first of all, if he _ there? welcome i think it well. so, first of all, if he goes - so, first of all, if he goes through the nominating convention his electors would not be able to go to convention to vote for him to be the nominee for the republican party. but i think also when you take this particular ruling and other states could use it to say, ok, we are going to buy him now or we find that this decision is persuasive in our state as well and that could have a snowball effect. mario nicolais, one _ have a snowball effect. mario nicolais, one of _ have a snowball effect. mario nicolais, one of the - have a snowball effect. mario j nicolais, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the colorado state supreme court case, thank you for joining us. court case, thank you for joining us— court case, thank you for “oinini us. ., ~' ., joining us. thank you for your time. joining us. thank you for your time- have — joining us. thank you for your time. have a _ joining us. thank you for your time. have a good _ joining us. thank you for your time. have a good night. - there's been lots of diplomacy on the israel—gaza war, but no new deals yet. a vote at the united nations on a draft resolution calling for a cessation in fighting has been delayed again and in the middle east possible talks on hostage releases

are making progress. it's the second time the un has delayed the vote, with the language in the resolution standing in the way. in the latest wording, the un would be calling for a "suspension" of hostilities. that's watered down from the stronger language calling for a ceasefire in the original draft. the holdout is the us who has vetoed the previous resolutions. here's white house national security spokesman john kirby earlier. we don't support a permanent ceasefire at this time. it would simply validate what hamas did on 7 october. we would leave them in power in gaza, which is unacceptable to us and our israeli friends and, of course, it would give them a much longer time line to prepare and plan additional attacks. we do support smaller more localised, more targeted humanitarian pauses to get hostages out and more aid in. another vote is set for wednesday morning in new york. nada tawfik is at the

united nations with more. intense negotiations continue here at the united nations to try to reach an agreement that would avoid a us veto on this resolution. now, we have already seen this vote postponed numerous times of the last two days and we will see if they vote on wednesday morning sticks. but the united states has said it is against a ceasefire, along with israel, because they feel it would only benefit hamas and therefore there is still disagreement on some of the language around a cessation of hostilities, even though the draft has been watered down to instead call for a suspension, there is still a phrase that calls for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities. the united states also has issues with this call for a un monitoring mechanism for aid into gaza to be established.

now, israel is fearful that that would take its control away from the delivery of humanitarian aid and so diplomats are trying to bridge the gap on that point of the resolution as well. so while diplomats had initially believed they were very close to an agreement, we can see that the language here is being tightly negotiated. meanwhile, the hamas—run health ministry says dozens more palestinians have been killed this week in air strikes in the north and south of the strip. and in rafah at least 20 people were were killed and tens more wounded. the israeli army says it targeted and killed a hamas financier there. negotiations seem to be restarting over a new hostage deal that might see a pause in fighting. reuters reports that a meeting between qatar's prime minister and the heads of both the us and israeli intelligence services was positive, but no new hostage deal is imminent. and a source tells the bbc that the leader of hamas is expected to visit cairo on wednesday, a sign that

negotiations could be resuming between israel and hamas. a volcano in iceland is still active following a dramatic eruption on monday. the flare up is gushing lava and smoke from the mountain filled with magma. morethan 4,000 residents of the nearest town, grindavik, were evacuated after a spate of earthquakes last month. reports say lava is flowing at a rate of around 100 to 200 cubic metres per second, despite iceland's meteorological office saying the power of the eruption is decreasing. there are concerns of gas pollution in the region as fumes could reach reykjavik between tonight and wednesday morning. 0ur correpsondent sofia bettiza has the latest. well, this is as close as we could get to the volcano, which you should be able to see right there behind me in the distance. and that's because the authorities here are urging people not to come to this area for their safety and also to allow scientists to assess

the situation on the ground. but i can tell you we can smell the smoke, we can see ashes floating in the air. from time to time we can hear, we can feel the vibration underneath our feet, and we can definitely hear the sound of the volcano rumbling in the background. and just to give you an idea of the situation, as we were driving here from the capital reykjavik, which is about 40 minutes away, we could immediately see the orange jets of lava in the distance. that gives you an idea ofjust how powerful this volcanic eruption is. now, in the past few hours we have seen people here taking selfies, taking videos, but that is mostly tourists and we spoke to people from the us, from the uk, and from india who were here on holiday but wanted to come here and see this in real life because they have told us that this seems like something out of a movie, something that feels like a once—in—a—lifetime

experience. but when you speak to people from iceland they will tell you a very different story. i spoke to a policeman who told me that for people here, who live here, this is just a regular tuesday. of course, that might be an exaggeration, but this is a country that is used to volcanic eruption. the authorities here say that they have everything under control, that this does not pose a threat to life. that they had been expecting this to happen for weeks. and as a precaution they have evacuated a nearby town. now, the good news is that in the last few hours the intensity of the eruption has been decreasing. and according to forecasts, in the next few days the wind is going to push away the smoke from the inhabited areas and that is very good news for thousands of people who have been evacuated and are hoping to be able to come home, to come back to their homes for christmas. around the world and across

the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at a story out of the uk. the british prime minister has faced one final grilling from mps before christmas, as he answered questions from the liaison committee of senior mps. the group is tasked with scrutinising the prime minister's work. with a general election looming next year, rishi sunak will ask voters tojudge him on his record. bbc verify�*s nick eardley has assessing whether the prime minister has achieved his goals — starting with inflation. i think ithink and i think and see at the start of the year it was high, 10%, went up the year it was high, 10%, went upjust below ii%, but the year it was high, 10%, went up just below ii%, but i missed one the government is doing pretty well. can see that inflation has come down. in the latest because it was 4.6% so it has more than halved. there were still waiting overall figures the final three months of the year and it's worth pointing out this is the job of the bank of england rather than the bank of england rather than the government it looks like this one is going to be

achieved. on other matters though, like the overall economy, wait times at medical facilities and migrant arrivals, our bbc verify team has found the prime minister and his government have been less successful. you're live with bbc news. civil rights organisations filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a new texas law that would allow state officers to arrest people suspected of crossing the us—mexico border illegally. the lawsuit, filed by the aclu of texas and the texas civil rights project, argues that the measure is unconstitutional because the federal government has sole authority over immigration. it comes after the state's republican governor greg abbott signed the measure during a ceremony on monday. the number of illegal crossings at the border surpassed two million for the second year in a row this year. that's according to the us customs and border protection. abbott is blaming the biden administration for the surge and says it isn't doing enough to help.

biden's deliver an action has left texas to fend for itself. the authors of the united states constitution foresaw a situation when the federal government would be in attendance to states. states that face challenges that their borders. and in response they inserted article one section ten to the united states constitution to empower states to take action to defend themselves. and that is exactly what texas is doing. joining me now to discuss the lawsuit is david donatti, senior staff attorney with the aclu of texas. thanks forjoining us. what is your primary reason and concern for challenging this legislation that governor abbott has introduced? the -rima abbott has introduced? the primary reason _ abbott has introduced? the primary reason is _ abbott has introduced? iia: primary reason is very simply that texas has no authority to police immigration under our constitution and under international law. we here in texas are deeply concerned

about this legislation primarily because of the way it will impact our communities, and impact ourfamilies, so we find it is urgent to see federal court relief against implementation of this law. your affiliated organisation in neighbouring states have issued a travel advisory for texas, warning of a possible threat to civil and constitutional rights while passing through texas. what are your concerns there? absolutely. we partly lived this reality for the past two years as the state of texas has implemented this policy emigration. we have seen racial profiling, targeting communities of colour, people who the step believes don't belong here. we think increased incidence of deadly vehicle chases and from the perspective of migrants themselves, this sheer bodily charge and a risk of mortality that texas has imposed upon them. by things like laying concertina or razor

wire at the border and also people to go back into treacherous waters of the rio grande. , i, i, treacherous waters of the rio grande. i, ~ , .,, treacherous waters of the rio grande. i, grande. governor abbott was so these laws are _ grande. governor abbott was so these laws are needed - grande. governor abbott was so these laws are needed becausel these laws are needed because of security and national security, security in the state of texas, that it is at risk because of the record numbers of migrants that are crossing over the border. what do you say to his point at night? i disagree with the governor's assessment of the data in the first instance i disagree with his assessment of the problem. the problem is a humanitarian crisis so people are forced to leave their homes and the problem is that rather than honouring our international obligations and federal laws that empower people to seek asylum and refuge in our country, we are responding by spending billions of dollars to cause them harm.— spending billions of dollars to cause them harm. there has not been reformed _ cause them harm. there has not been reformed to _ cause them harm. there has not been reformed to the _ cause them harm. there has not been reformed to the federal - been reformed to the federal immigration system for many, many years now. would reform at a federal level solve the problem is that the governor has, as he sees them, and also

ease your concerns? i has, as he sees them, and also ease your concerns?— ease your concerns? i can't seak ease your concerns? i can't speak for— ease your concerns? i can't speak for the _ ease your concerns? i can't speak for the governor. - speak for the governor. instinct is that the government would claim that there is an issue whether or there is mine and we would certainly disagree as to what the problem is. we would also welcome federal reform and we believe that it is absolutely critical. we have people in united states that have been undocumented since the 1980s when was last ronald reagan's a silent programme in 1986 and that the situation that's forced people to live in the shadows in our community and is a situation that is inhumane and untenable. given that the federal— inhumane and untenable. given that the federal government - inhumane and untenable. given| that the federal government has traditionally had jurisdiction over immigration as we have just been discussing there, how confident are you that your lawsuit will succeed? i confident are you that your lawsuit will succeed? i want to emphasise _ lawsuit will succeed? i want to emphasise it's _ lawsuit will succeed? i want to emphasise it's not _ lawsuit will succeed? i want to emphasise it's not merely - lawsuit will succeed? i want to emphasise it's not merely a i emphasise it's not merely a matter of tradition as in the day before and so they should continue doing so, it's actually baked into the very idea of sovereignty itself. since immigration controls existed, and international law, level always been a prerogative

of the federal government and there are over 100 years of supreme court cases in this country but it has to fact. the system that texas proposes that each of the 50 states gets to design its own systems of immigration of who gets to belong and execute its own deportations, would not only imperil the united states' unified system immigration but sadly harm our international and relations which taxes's actions summary done. —— have already done. david donatti, senior staff attorney with the aclu of texas. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. thank you for “oining us on bbc news. i, ., thank you for “oining us on bbc news. i, ,, , i, let's turn to some important news around the world. ukrainian president wants to mobilise hundreds of thousands more soldiers for the war and has rejected suggestions the country is losing the fight against russia. in an end—of—year news conference, volodymyr zelensky said he is confident that the us won't betray ukraine, after republicans in congress blocked a $60 billion military aid package. france's lower house of parliament passed a bill

on tuesday that would tighten rules on immigration. the french government says the law will make it easier for migrants working in sectors facing labour shortages to get a residency permit. however, it would also make it easier to expel illegal migrants. human rights groups denounced it as the most regressive immigration law in france in decades. sudan's army has acknowledged that it has lost control of the central city of wad madani to the paramilitary rapid support forces. the city had been sheltering hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflict. the united nations says at least 250,000 people have fled the safe haven. a resident tells the bbc that many fled the city without having anywhere to go. mourners paid tribute to the late supreme court justice sandra day o'connor on tuesday. all nine sitting justices attended tuesday's funeral at the national cathedral, as did retired justice anthony kennedy. presidentjoe biden was among those who spoke. 0'connor was the first woman to serve on the nation's

highest court. she died earlier this month in arizona at the age of 93. and finally, scientists in the uk have used dna evidence to retrace the steps of a man who travelled from what is now southern russia all the way to the english countryside, some 2,000 years ago. it's the first biological proof that these people came to britain from the furthest reaches of the roman empire. the remains were discovered during excavations to improve a main road between cambridge and huntingdon. such dna analysis methods mean that experts can learn about people and events, in ways that once relied on historical documents and archaeological evidence. thank you for watching. i'm caitriona perry. stay with us here on bbc news. take care. hello. wintry weather does not feature heavily in our forecast between now and christmas day,

but cloud, wind and rain will. 0n the earlier satellite picture, you can see this stripe of cloud that brought rain in the south on tuesday. then a zone of clear skies not lasting long. more cloud rolling in from the atlantic, in association with a warm front, bringing a rather grey and quite damp wednesday in many locations. also quite a windy day out there, so any early brightness across england and wales will be replaced by cloud spreading from the north and the west with some outbreaks of rain. northern ireland and scotland just having a generally grey and cloudy day with some bits and pieces of rain and drizzle. it's going to be a breezy or indeed a windy day, but a mild one for most. just a little bit colder in the far north there in shetland. and then through wednesday night, extensive cloud cover, some mist and murk, splashes of rain, heavier rain pushing into scotland and the winds really picking up. gales likely across northern scotland, but we could see gales developing elsewhere by the start of thursday morning. it's going to be a mild start to thursday but a really windy start to the day,

with this deep area of low pressure passing to the north of the uk. this frontal system bringing cloud and a little bit of rain as it slides just a touch further southwards. behind that, some sunny spells, but some showers which could be wintry over high ground in scotland. and it is going to be very windy. particularly gusty conditions to the east of high ground — say, to the east of the pennines, northern and eastern parts of scotland. we could in places see gusts of 70 to 80 miles per hour, very rough seas and maybe even some coastal flooding around some north sea coasts. temperatures, well, just two degrees by the middle of the afternoon in lerwick, 12 there for cardiff and plymouth, so staying mild in the south. quite a messy weather picture for friday. it looks like we'll see a band of rain trying to push northwards and eastwards. that could run into some cold air to provide a bit of snow over high ground in scotland. temperatures are four degrees in aberdeen, 12 for london, 12 for plymouth. now, mild air will win out for most of us over the weekend and as we head towards

christmas day. just a little bit colder in the north. and it is over higher ground in the north of the uk, particularly in scotland, where we do have the chance of a little bit of snow.

shipping rates rise and companies warn of delays. we take a look at the fallout on businesses from the suez canal disruption. and the future of ai. predictions for how this game—changing technology might change our lives in the year ahead. hi there, welcome to asia business report, with me, mariko 0i. we start the programme this morning in the suez canal as companies scramble to avoid shipping disruptions following recent attacks on vessels by the iran—backed to houthi rebels. about 12% of global trade passes through the canal, that's around 17,000 ships each year. now many companies, including oil giant bp as well as danish shipping firm maersk, are rerouting to take the much longerjourney around the southern tip of africa. appliance company electrolux

is also setting up a taskforce to find alternate routes, while ikea is warning