live from london. this is bbc news a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake strikes japan prompting a major tsunami warning. people are warned to move to higher ground. the new year brings more hamas rocket attacks as israel warns the war in gaza could go on throughout 202a. uk defence secretary grant shapps says british forces are ready to take direct action against houthi rebels in yemen after a series of attacks on cargo ships in the red sea. disney's copyright of the earliest versions of mickey and minnie mouse expires today along with the rights for a range of other films, books and music. and countries around the world celebrate the new year with spectacular firework displays.

hello i'm lauren taylor. officials injapan have issued a major tsunami warning after a powerful earthquake struck areas to the north coast of the main island of honshu. several powerful aftershocks have also been recorded. the tremor which according to the us geological survey had a magnitude of 7.5 struck at just after 4pm local time. it happened in the ishikawa area close to the town of anamizu. several buildings are reported to have collapsed in the nearby town of suzu. this camera caught the moment the earthquake happened. officials have urged people living in coastal areas to move to higher ground. some tsunami waves ofjust over a metre have already reached the coastline. there are warnings that waves of up to five metres could follow. this video shows the moment

the tremor happened inside a supermarket. we're getting reports that some major highways have been closed and more than 33,000 homes have lost power supplies but the agency which administers japan's nuclear power plants says they have not been affected. 0ur correspondentjean mckenzie is following the story from seoul. the major tsunami warning has been issued for the noto region in ishikawa prefecture, in centraljapan, on the west coast. they are warning that waves of up to five metres high could hit that coast. at the moment there have been waves of up to two metres but officials are saying that those waves could get bigger, we could see more of them. there have also been tsunami warnings for the surrounding prefectures niigata and toyama. and so people living in these coastal areas have been told to evacuate immediately, to go inland to higher ground or to go to the shelters,

people are being warned not to try to go to the coast to see what is happening, that of course to the first waves that hit are often not the biggest, people are also being warned that there could be a second earthquake, there are still tremors taking place in that ishikawa prefecture. and of course, some of the concern is linked to people's memories of the fukushima disaster in 2011, and i understand that the chief cabinet secretary has said that so far there are no irregularities at any nuclear power plants but that is still a concern with potential further quakes? yes, so, there are actually five nuclear power plants in this area which has received the major tsunami warning and just the tsunami warnings. now at the moment they are not reporting any damage or any rise in radiation levels surrounding those plants, but of course this could change as they are being monitored, and as you rightly say, i think many people will be thinking about that disaster back in 2011, one of the biggest nuclear power

plant disasters we've ever seen, in this huge tsunami that hitjapan, it was the biggest earthquake and tsunamijapan had ever recorded, the magnitude of the earthquake today is 7.5, the one back in 2011 which caused the fukushima nuclear power plant disaster was magnitude nine, so it is a smaller earthquake that has hit today earthquake that has hit today and officials are monitoring those power plants closely. how prepared are people? are the systems different from what they were then? japan is a country which is used to a lot of earthquakes and it has put a good warning system in place and a good system of shelters and people are being told to go and seek those shelters now so people will know what to do. it is getting dark, it is just gone six o'clock in the evening and the authorities are saying to people, don't try to go back to your homes when it's getting dark, stick together and get to those higher ground areas or to the shelters. we've seen some videos on social media of some initial damage,

small houses that have collapsed, we haven't seen much more at this stage and we haven't had any reports yet of casualties or deaths. live now to professor david tappin from the british geological survey, who specialises in tsunamis. thank you for being with us, i wonder if you can give us your assessment?— wonder if you can give us your assessment? , �* , ., , assessment? yes, it's on the west coast, assessment? yes, it's on the west coast. the — assessment? yes, it's on the west coast, the earthquake _ assessment? yes, it's on the west coast, the earthquake was - assessment? yes, it's on the west coast, the earthquake was quite i coast, the earthquake was quite small, magnitude 7.4, and an earthquake of this magnitude could generate a tsunami but not a large one such as the 2011 event where the waves were up to 15 metres. so far, the waves reported have been 1—2 metres high but obviously in the right circumstances, these can be

very damaging. tell right circumstances, these can be very damaging-— very damaging. tell us about the sequencing. _ very damaging. tell us about the sequencing, how _ very damaging. tell us about the sequencing, how long _ very damaging. tell us about the sequencing, how long is - very damaging. tell us about the sequencing, how long is it - very damaging. tell us about the i sequencing, how long is it normally between the quake and a tsunami? 0k. the between the quake and a tsunami? ok. the earthquake between the quake and a tsunami? oiq the earthquake was very close between the quake and a tsunami? i>if;. the earthquake was very close to the shore, so, the tsunami would have struck locally within a few minutes, and from what i can make out, that is what actually happened. find and from what i can make out, that is what actually happened.- is what actually happened. and so initially they _ is what actually happened. and so initially they said _ is what actually happened. and so initially they said it _ is what actually happened. and so initially they said it was _ is what actually happened. and so initially they said it was a - is what actually happened. and so initially they said it was a wave . is what actually happened. and so initially they said it was a wave of| initially they said it was a wave of about one metre high, is that what you would have expected for this scale of earthquake?— you would have expected for this scale of earthquake? yes. as i said, it is cuite scale of earthquake? yes. as i said, it is quite a — scale of earthquake? yes. as i said, it is quite a small _ scale of earthquake? yes. as i said, it is quite a small earthquake, - scale of earthquake? yes. as i said, it is quite a small earthquake, it - it is quite a small earthquake, it is shallow and because it is small and shallow, then the tsunami waves could be quite high, but yes, 1—2 metres, and they have been forecasting waves of up to five metres, so, these are the sort of wave elevations that i would expect from this magnitude of earthquake.

there is a lot of analysis done and warning systems in place for earthquakes, was this one one which was foreseen? figs earthquakes, was this one one which was foreseen? $5 i earthquakes, was this one one which was foreseen?— earthquakes, was this one one which was foreseen? as i said, on the west coast it is quite _ was foreseen? as i said, on the west coast it is quite unusual. _ was foreseen? as i said, on the west coast it is quite unusual. on - was foreseen? as i said, on the west coast it is quite unusual. on japan, l coast it is quite unusual. 0njapan, it is on the east coast that they have the major earthquakes, i've mentioned, in 2011 there was a magnitude nine, with tsunami waves up magnitude nine, with tsunami waves up to 40 metres, so this is quite unusual. but injapan they have a very sophisticated warning system, in following the events, they have the earthquake and the warning system, and the warning was issued, and injapan they also have a lot of information which is broadcast and also people know what to do. so i expect that the warning was issued on the radios, mobile phones, and people would be prepared and evacuate. ., ~ , ., , people would be prepared and

evacuate. ., ~' , ., , . evacuate. thank you very much indeed, professor _ evacuate. thank you very much indeed, professor david - evacuate. thank you very much | indeed, professor david tappin. the start of the new year has brought a warning from israel that the war in gaza could continue throughout 2024. further hamas rocket attacks andair raid sirens were heard in tel aviv and israeli towns close to the gaza strip. there were no reports of any casualties or damage. earlier the israeli military has begun to withdraw some troops especially reserve units from the gaza strip. but it said its campaign against hamas was continuing. 0ur middle east correspondent yolande knell is injerusalem. she gave us more details about last night's rocket attacks. so, it was just after midnight local time, people in tel aviv had been seeing in the new year and there were these air—raid sirens that went off as a barrage of rockets, hamas said it used its longer—range m90 rockets, were fired towards tel aviv, also a part of southern israel. now, israel's iron dome missile defense system was quickly in action. there were the thuds of interceptions bringing down those rockets but really a very grim start to the new year.

meanwhile in gaza itself in the dark we had scenes of rescuers scrambling in the rubble of buildings that had been newly flattened by israeli air strikes. some 50 people killed in the latest air strikes in gaza city, about 20 of them people who were taking shelter at the al—aqsa university, we understand. also in the centre and in the south of the gaza strip, fighting there remains extremely intense. britain's defence secretary has said the uk won t hesitate to take further direct action against houthi rebels who are attacking ships in the red sea. it's been happening since the start of the war between israel and hamas, and writing in the telegraph newspaper grant shapps said that what was happening was a test for the international community. air strikes are reportedly among the actions being considered. i asked our security correspondent frank gardner how significant would it be for the uk to be involved in strikes on yemen. it would be a big step.

the uk has already been in action in shooting down yemeni houthi drones that have been fired across the red sea at shipping. so a hms diamond, a type 45 destroyer, has used its sea viper missiles to shoot these down. but there's a huge imbalance here in terms of cost. these missiles that the royal navy and the us are using cost over £1 million each time they're fired. the houthi drones only cost, i don't know, about £15,000, and they've got a lot of them, they are supplied by iran, primarily, although iran denies this. but it would be a big step in escalation, and i think the worry here, the dilemma for the us and the uk, is that they are very reluctant to get drawn into this conflict, because they don't want to be seen as taking sides on israel's side, or anybody�*s side in the hamas—israel gaza conflict. because that is how the houthis

will depict this, they are saying, we're doing everything we can to support our brothers in palestine, as they put it, they see themselves as allies of hamas, and they're trying to interdict any shipping they suspect of visiting israeli ports or having any israeli commercial links. a lot of the shipping they've attacked has had no israeli links whatsoever, and it's blatant sea piracy, what they're doing. they've hijacked a ship called the galaxy leader, a big container ship, they've kidnapped the crew, they've turned them into a tourist attraction. so it's a problem for global trade and it's a dilemma for the us and britain. authorities in ukraine say five people have been killed in separate russian attacks on 0desa and donetsk. 0ne official said there had been massive shelling. these are the latest in a series of air attacks by both sides over recent days. in his new year address volodymyr zelensky promised a big increase in the production of weapons in ukraine, saying at least a million

drones would be built. 0ur ukraine correspondent james waterhouse sent us this update from kyiv. we've had this end—of—year address from president zelensky, where, as you'd expect, he looked back, he talked about the country receiving more than 150 military aid packages. he talked about ukraine surviving more than 6,000 air raids. and, as you say, that was a tally added to last night, with more than 90 russian drones being launched towards the south and west of the country. russian—installed officials in occupied donetsk also reported shelling, which is the reminder, well, a reminder of the fighting that very much continues. but it's been a week where we've seen deadly exchanges, really, in aerial bombardments. it's a tit—for—tat, but russia launched its biggest ever aerial bombardment on ukrainian cities earlier this week, and i think president zelensky is now starting to look inward, i think.

if you look at the words he used, he talked about ukraine manufacturing its own equipment. he's promised to build more than a million drones to use against russian forces. he's talked about, you know, everyone having to work and fight in order to continue in its fight against ukraine. conversely, you have vladimir putin, in his end—of—year address, sounding very confident, thanking his brave soldiers and saying his government would never retreat. i don't think anyone in ukraine was expecting him to announce pulling out, but itjust shows you, i think, at the moment where the winds of this war are blowing. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news here in the uk. almost three million people were seen for an urgent cancer check over the last 12 months according to new analysis from nhs england. the number being tested has increased by more than a quarter compared with the same period before the pandemic. the government says catching

the disease early is crucial to improving survival rates. period underwear could be set to fall in price after the government said the product would no longer be subject to vat from today. the treasury says removing the tax should make the pants up to £2 cheaper per pair. they are seen as a greener alternative to tampons and sanitary towels. an increase in the cost of domestic energy in england, wales and scotland has taken effect adding pressure to household budgets in the new year. a higher price cap set by regulator 0fgem from now to april means gas and electricity costs will be 5% higher than the last three months. you're live with bbc news. a host of famous films, books, music and characters including mickey and minnie mouse enter the public domain from today.

this means disney will no longer enjoy an exclusive copyright over the earliest versions of the characters in the us. our culture reporter noor nanji has more. mickey whistles. it was the animation that launched the house of mouse. 1928's short film steamboat willie featured non—speaking versions of mickey and minnie. these early images are now available to the public in the us to use as they like. this is a deeply symbolic and long—awaited moment, because of disney's perceived role in the extension of the copyright term, which prevented these properties from going into the public domain for an additional 20 years. but there are still limits on how you can use these images. what i cannot do is start making merchandise and the same kind of products that disney sells. and so if i'm selling t—shirts with mickey and minnie on it and someone seeing those t—shirts

thinks erroneously that they're getting a disney product when they're not, that's what trademark stops. other famous properties now available to the public include the silent film the circus by charlie chaplin, let's do it by cole porter, and the novels lady chatterley�*s lover by dh lawrence and orlando by virginia woolf. pooh, piglet, eeyore, we were friends for many years. but there are few successful examples of beloved old property being used for new original content. winnie the pooh, which is also owned by disney, was turned into an r—rated horrorflick blood and honey after entering the public domain in 2022. the movie was a far cry from the childhood book, and with that in mind it will be in disney's interest to keep tight control over how their most iconic characters are used. noor nanji, bbc news.

meanwhile here in the uk, the river thames was the setting for london's new year fireworks — and tens of thousands of people gathered in edinburgh for the hogmany celebrations. greg mckenzie reports. big ben strikes midnight. it's europe's biggest fireworks display and as the countdown began more than 100,000 people watched along the river thames as the london skyline lit up and the sounds of big ben chimed. you can actually smell the gunpowder, the air, you can smell it. it's fireworks night here. big ben, the chimes have rung and we are now officially in 2024. best show on earth. amazing, indescribable, no words. so worth it, i am loving it so much. this is my first time for london, coming here and seeing this. i

i love it, it's so good. # ijust # i just came # ijust came to say hello... many had travelled _ # ijust came to say hello... many had travelled to _ # ijust came to say hello... many had travelled to london _ # ijust came to say hello... many had travelled to london from - # ijust came to say hello... many had travelled to london from all. had travelled to london from all over the world to see in the new year from the capital's iconic london eye. year from the capital's iconic london eye-— year from the capital's iconic londone e. ., ., ., , _ london eye. go, london! happy new year! we are originally from the philippines but we live inl liverpool, so hello to the scousers! happy happy new year! this year's theme is unity — a message played from the king. 0ur society is woven from diverse threads. and the london mayor, who thanked those working in the nhs, the police and the fire service. he said the event took months to organise. we've been planning this sincejuly. there is a team of 75 who have been working over the last four days. one of our strengths as a city

and country is our diversity. we'll be celebrating our diversity but also trying to bring communities together. pipes play. meanwhile in scotland, edinburgh's hogmanay celebrations saw revellers from all over the globe as it celebrated its 30th anniversary. a total of 85,000 people there alone. best new year's eve ever. new year'seve on princes street is the place to be. it's, like, really cool. # should auld acquaintance be forgot #. and as those headed home singing auld lang syne and putting 2023 behind them, the focus now turns to a new day as 2024 is officially here. happy new year. greg mckenzie, bbc news.

the archbishop of canterbury has called on political leaders contesting elections this year to show respect for one another. justin welby urged them to disagree passionately but not to focus on division. 0ur correspondent jon donnison has more. in the year he crowned a new king, archbishop justin welby opens his new year message on the coronation. all: god save the king! and, in particular, the example set by the country's military. for the first time in 70 years, our forces swore an oath to a new monarch. they promised to be faithful and to observe and obey all orders. they understood that it wasn't about being served by us, but to serve. hip, hip. all: hurray! and at a time when headlines have been dominated by wars, much of the archbishop's message is focused on the world's conflicts — first in ukraine. wars seem everywhere at the moment.

wars we know about, wars forgotten. i've seen for myself the ongoing human cost of war. in ukraine, i went to bucha, where evidence of atrocities was found. i've met ukrainian refugees most recently in georgia and romania. families having to start again in a new country. he also touches on the current conflict in the middle east. injerusalem last october i sat and listened to some of those traumatised by war — palestinian and israeli. faith—based organisations are contributing to support communities in the uk. and separately, in an interview with radio 4's today programme to mark the new year, the archbishop urges politicians in an election year not to focus on division and what he called wedge issues. we have to say my opponent is never my enemy.

my opponent is always my fellow human being. we disagree profoundly. we disagree on incredibly important things, but they're human. we respect each other�*s dignity, their humanity and the humanity of those who support them. and that is a decision by leaders. and i hope and pray that, in this country, they will forswear wedge issues. happy christmas. archbishop welby ends his new year message to the country by wishing everyone a peaceful 2024. john donnison, bbc news. it's been two years since the james webb space telescope was launched by nasa and it has already wowed us with the stunning images it has beamed back. it has also made some astonishing discoveries which are transforming our understanding of the universe. 0ur science editor rebecca morelle reports.

the beauty of the cosmos captured by the james webb space telescope. from the tarantula nebula, where stars are born amidst the dust, to a dying star, the ring nebula, throwing off its outer layers as it runs out of fuel. and the phantom galaxy glowing eerily with 100 billion stars amongst its spiral arms. these images are stunning but they're also transforming what we thought we knew about the cosmos. the telescope can look back to the very dawn of the universe and it's revealing game—changing galaxies that are breaking all the rules. it can see the cosmos 13 and a half billion years ago, just after the big bang. scientists thought the first galaxies would be primitive structures, but, infact, they're forming far faster and earlier than astronomers ever thought possible. we certainly thought that we'd be seeing things that were — i might call them fuzzy blobs of stars, collections of stars. and what we're actually seeing

is fully formed galaxies. and when you look at them, they have sort of perfect spiral arms. you can see that these galaxies in the early universe already have those mature structures. so in that sense, it's really changing scientific thinking. this isn't the only discovery that's shaking up the early cosmos. the telescope is also spotting a surprising abundance of giant black holes. black holes are scattered throughout the universe. this is the one at the centre of our own milky way. they form when a massive star dies and collapses in on itself. what we're now finding with jwst is surprisingly large black holes already existing quite early on in the universe's history, when there hasn't been time to go through this process of stars forming and living their lives. so what that suggests is that, actually, these black holes are completely skipping the star formation part of the process.

we're also seeing the unexpected closer—to—home, bizarre, planet—like object nicknamed jumbos. this is the orion nebula, a star—forming region in the milky way. but look a little closer and there's something incredibly strange — huge planet—like objects floating free, not tethered to any star. these tiny pairs of light here. they're called jupiter mass binary objects orjumbos and they've left astronomers scratching their heads. nobody predicted or expected you would see objects the size ofjupiter orbiting around each other, freely floating. we thought we would see singles — isolated ones — but to find binaries like this is crazy. we don't expect to find the answer on day one, year one. this is a long journey for all of us now. no doubt there will be more if serial images. and it will start to look even further back in time as it continues its quest to detect the light from the very

first stars to shine. rebecca morelle, bbc news. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. i think most of us are ready for a bit of a change in weather type. december was pretty dull — for some in england and wales, the dullest on record. also rather wet, too, across the uk, with above—average rainfall quite widely, but wettest of all, eastern parts of scotland. eastern parts of scotland, where we saw as much as three times our normal december rainfall. now there's more wind and rain to come over the next few days. but that change i mentioned — it could be turning drier. also colder, and an increased chance of wintry weather as we go from late week onwards. now, out there at the moment there's a bit of sunshine around for new year's day walks, but the morning sunshine gives way to cloud and rain across parts of southern england, wales and northern ireland during the rest of this afternoon. winds also picking up here, lightest winds

towards the north—east of scotland, where it's still on the chilly side. temperatures around 3 to 6 degrees for many, but most parts of the uk will see temperatures, again, above average for the start of the new year. if you're on the move, though, this evening, more rain arrives, some heavy and persistent rain, lots of surface water and spray on the roads across much of england, wales and northern ireland as we head in towards the evening. that wetter weather spreads into scotland and after a brief frost here we will see temperatures low enough for some snow on the hills. temperatures will lift, though, for many, through the night, and by the end the night into tomorrow morning, a pretty mild start across the south, 9 to 11 degrees. warmer by night, again, than it should be by day. but a wet and windy day to come across some southern areas, particularly during the morning. that rain spilling its way northwards earlier than we saw through today, and with stronger winds, maybe a little bit of brightness later. morning rain and mountain snow across scotland edges its way northwards towards 0rkney and eventually shetland. it does mean many parts of scotland brighten up. further rain at times in northern ireland. again, a mild one. but a windy end to the day, particularly across the south and the far north.

rain at times across much of northern england into the midlands, which will eventually push out in towards the continent to give some pretty stormy weather here, as we head through into wednesday. a quieter area of low pressure moves in and it won't be quite as windy. still breezy though, through shetland and through some english channel coasts. but there'll be varying amounts of cloud, some sunshine, a scattering of showers, mainly to the north and west. most persistent rain will be there across parts of 0rkney. temperatures still on the high side but things will there change afterwards. area of low pressure starts to push its way southwards. a ridge of high pressure moves in. it turns colder, temperatures closer to average, but also drier.

now on bbc news...lives well lived: episode two. the national portrait gallery in london, where there are thousands upon thousands of faces from the past and present. for centuries, we've immortalised them in pencil, paint and through the lens of a camera. and each year, we mark the passing of people we may never have met but have meant so much to many of us. there was an energy here that brought something out in me, that excited me. in 2023, we lost legendary singers and composers... cheering ..sporting greats, political trailblazers. ..