live from london. this is bbc news. japan downgrades its tsunami warning, after a powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the country, destroying buildings and killing at least one person. the new year brings more hamas rocket attacks and more deadly air strikes on gaza — where almost 22,000 palestinians have been killed since october the 7th. and in sport — the teenager from cheshire who's nowjust two wins away from being crowned a world darts champion. hello, i'm davina gupta.

a powerful earthquake and dozens of smaller quakes have hit the north coast ofjapan�*s main island — destroying buildings, tearing up roads and disrupting travel. the authorities are still assessing the damage, butjapanese broadcaster ntv says one man died when a building collapsed in shika town in ishikawa prefecture. initial tsunami warnings have now been downgraded to an advisory. south and north korea and russia also put out tsunami warnings earlier. the epicentre of the 7.6—magnitude quake was in the noto area of the ishikawa prefecture — but the effects were felt up to 200km away in the capital tokyo. dozens of buildings collapsed, including in the town of suzu, where cctv footage showed houses turning into clouds of dust, as you can see in the top left and right of the screen. helena wilkinson reports.

rumbling, screaming. this footage from inside someone�*s home captures the moment the powerful earthquake struck. it was also caught on camera in this supermarket. there was chaos and confusion. and this is the coastline in ishikawa prefecture, in the central region of the country. tsunami warnings had been issued and people told to head to higher ground. translation: i would like to ask | all residents to continue to pay. close attention to the occurrence of this strong earthquake and if you are in the region for a tsunami is expected, please evacuate as soon as possible. the 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck just after 4pm local time.

the red x on this map marks the epicentre, near suzu city in the ishikawa prefecture. there had been a major tsunami warning along part of the coastline but it has now been downgraded marked in red on the map. this earthquake is not as severe as the 2011 one which had a magnitude of 9 and led to a meltdown in the fukushima nuclear power plant. this time, all nuclear facilities are currently unaffected. following the earthquake, a huge fire broke out in one of the affected areas. there are fresh warnings of further earthquakes across japan on new year's day. israel's military says it has killed a senior hamas commander — adel msammah — in an overnight strike in central gaza. the israel defense forces

said he led an attack on a kibbutz in southern israel on the seventh of october. residents in gaza city say israel has pulled tanks out of some districts. this, after it announced plans to reduce troop numbers. but the military says it expects the war to continue throughout 202a. and there's no let—up in the intense bombardment of gaza. the hamas—run health ministry says 156 people were killed in the past 2a hours, taking the total number of palestinians killed in gaza to almost 22,000. in israel itself, the new year began with air raid sirens sounding in tel aviv and other areas, after hamas launched more rockets. 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 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.

earlier i spoke tojon b alterman — he is the senior vice president & middle east programme director at the centre for strategic and international studies. he says a resolution is still some way off. the israelis feel that hamas is still fighting. hamas still has the capability and if they let up the pressure now, hamas will come back bigger and stronger and angrier. that, to make any of this worthwhile, they have to really destroy hamas's ability to come back and they think there are some ways away from that. at the same time, hamas feels that the more they can resist this, the more world opinion is turning against israel, the more there are fissures in europe, in the united states about support for israel, and if they can hang on, israel will emerge weaker and they will emerge stronger. so at this point, each side feels that now is not the time to stop, now is the time to to bear down.

so in this sort of time—wait tactics, of course, there are civilian casualties that we're seeing in gaza. the families of hostages are also waiting and the wait is getting longer in israel. but the wider implication is also in the red sea, indeed, because just today iran's warship alborz has now also been deployed in the red sea. we have heard from the uk they could be joining the alliance of security with the us. how do you view that? well, certainly part of the iranian strategy is to do things that are attributable, but deniable. they have been supporting hamas for many years, but even more strongly they've been supporting hezbollah. there's increasing violence on the northern border. there is violence in iraq against american interests by groups affiliated with iran. and as you said, the red sea navigation is now under threat from houthi rebels who get about $100 million a year

from the iranians. i think the iranians see this as a broader effort to diminish us influence in the middle east, to make it a less hostile area. and from a us perspective, the danger of having a regional war remains very present and something that the americans are trying to work with allies to put down. so which are the allies then? let's talk about them, because there have been different stakeholders in negotiations as well. egypt, qatar, both rising in prominence there. and then you have the us. so what kind of role do you see them playing? oh, and there are other allies, of course. there are the saudis and the emiratis. europe has a role. i think everybody has a role. and here really is a test of american diplomacy. can it bring countries together? can it lead to a resolution, can deter aggression? and for the biden administration, this is the most complicated task they've had. so far there hasn't been a wider

war, but they also haven't been able to end the war in gaza. but i think as we look back on the biden administration in the future, this will be the historic confrontation, a historic test of a president really felt that he was a foreign policy president. some breaking news, israel's supreme court struck down controversial actual new law that limited court oversight of government administers. this is a law that has been controversial from this is a law that has been controversialfrom benjamin netanyahu government but not a supreme court statement said eight of 15 justices supreme court statement said eight of 15justices set an amendment passed by parliament injuly which instructs the reasonableness of course used by the court to overturn government decisions which are deemed unconstitutional. so basically, this is the top court ruling against the key component of netanyahu's government. neta nyahu's government. controversial legal overhaul. it

netanyahu's government. controversial legal overhaul. it was challenged and challenge the powers of the judiciary and sparked mass protests as well. the court, the top court in israel has now annulled this controversial bill. meanwhile... the defence secretary said the uk will not britain's defence secretary says the uk won't hesitate to take further direct action against houthi rebels who are attacking ships in the red sea. the houthis have been targeting foreign ships since the start of the israel—gaza war. writing in the telegraph newspaper, grant shapps said the situation was a �*test�* for the international community. 0ur security correspondent, frank gardner, has more on this. right now, the uk, the us and their partners in the region are discussing how they should best respond to a whole series of drone and missile attacks and hijacking attempts on international shipping

in the red sea. so the houthis, which are a rebel yemeni group backed by iran, they took over power in yemen in late 2014 and they control most of the populated areas of yemen and certainly the red sea coast. and they've got some quite powerful weaponry. they have announced their support for the palestinians, but specifically for hamas in gaza. and they are saying they're showing that by targeting any shipping they consider that is israeli linked, whether it's heading to israeli ports or not. and they have hijacked a major container ship, the galaxy leader. they fired missiles over a hundred of drones and missiles at others. this is a very crucial national international waterway. it goes through a narrow choke point, only about 30 kilometres wide and 17,000 ships a year pass through, 12% of global trade. and it's being disrupted. this is going to drive up oil prices, commodity prices and so on. so in response, the us and uk have formed a kind of coalition task force and they are considering

whether they've got to actually take out the houthi missile sites. more updates on the bbc website. a microfinance economist and nobel peace prize winner has been sentenced to six months in prison for violating labour laws in bangladesh. muhammad yunus was found guilty, along with three colleagues, of failing to create a workers' welfare fund. all four deny wrongdoing and have been granted bail, pending appeals. their supporters say the case is politically motivated. professor yunus has been a vocal critic of bangladeshi prime minister sheikh hasina. with more details here's our south asia correspondent anbarasan ethirajan. muhammad yunus is a well—known, acclaimed economist. he won the nobel peace prize for creating this micro—financing scheme, lifting millions out of poverty in 2006.

and this model has been followed in many parts of the world. now, the government has filed a number of cases and according to his lawyer, more than 180 cases in the last 10 or 12 years or so, charging him with several complaints, including how they violated labour laws and not creating a welfare fund for the workers. and today's judgment was in connection with that. but mr yunus and his supporters strongly denied these charges. in fact, he has issued a statementjust a few minutes ago where he said, "as my lawyers have convincingly argued in court, this verdict against me is contrary to all legal precedent and logic." now, if you look at the background, there has been a tension between mr yunus and the current prime minister, sheikh hasina, bangladeshi prime minister, and once described mr yunus as a "bloodsucker of the poor" and accused the grameen bank,

founded by mr yunus of charging exorbitant interest rate. mr yunus and his supporters, the grameen bank, denied these charges, so there is a bad blood between these two and she always viewed him as some kind of a rival. and she also challenged the international community, whoever wrote letters in support of mr yunus, saying, "you can come to bangladesh and view the legal proceedings in court and then you make yourjudgment." but many of his supporters, as well as staff members, say they were still in a state of shock following this judgment. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news here in the uk... the number of migrants crossing the channel has fallen year—on—year for the first time since current records began. government figures show total arrivals in 2023 were 36% lower than the record 45,774

crossings in 2022. police in london have named the sixteen—year—old boy who was stabbed to death on new year's eve as harry pitman. he died just before midnight at the top of primrose hill. a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward. an increase in the cost of domestic energy has taken effect in england, wales and scotland — adding to the pressure on household budgets in the new year. a higher price cap — set by the regulator 0fgem from now to april means gas and electricity costs will be five percent higher than the last three months. you're live with bbc news. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's jane. hello.

history has been made in the darts, luke littler has become the youngest player to reach the pdc world championship semi—finals. he has beaten northern ireland's brendan dolan in the last hour. littler was dominant from the start, taking the first four sets, but dolan began to fight back. it was 4—1 when they took a break, but littler came back out and won his fifth set, giving him the match. he picks up £100,000 in prize money for that. he'll now play fellow englishman rob cross in the last four on tuesday. rob cross came back from 4—0 down to beat chris dobey 5—4 earlier. tennis and disappointment for andy murray who is out of the brisbane international, losing in the first round. murray started well, taking the first set against grigor dimitrov. but the second seed came from behind to win the next two sets 7—5, 6—2.

murray is scheduled to play the kooyong classic next week ahead of the australian open. elsewhere in brisbane, naomi 0saka said she was proud of herself for winning her first match back after 15 months away from professional tennis. the four—time grand slam champion is playing in herfirst tournament since giving birth to her daughter. 0saka beat the unseeded german tamara korpatsch 6—3, 7—6 to set up a meeting with karolina pliskova at the brisbane international. speaking of having babies. the two time wimbledon champion petra kvitova has revealed she is expecting her first child and won't be playing in the australian open. kvitova was scheduled to play in the tournament, but did not take part in the qualifiers or travel to melbourne. the 33—year—old married her coach jiri vanek last year and announced her news on social media, saying she was "looking forward to spending some time at home while preparing for this exciting next chapter" in her life. to football now and liverpool can extend their lead at the top

of the premier league table later, if they beat newcastle at anfield. jurgen klopp�*s side have just one home defeat in 51 league matches, while newcastle have lost their last four on the road. eddie howe said he was prepared for the challenge that anfield would present, while klopp expressed concern about the effect the festive schedule is having on his players. we played five games in 13 days and that is insane as well. we came somehow through that but then it is about using that extra recovery time because the next games are coming because we are still in all cup competitions so we have a busy january as well. other teams maybe have a less busy january which is helpful. we'll have to get through that as well and then from february we all have the same schedule again.

tough games coming up, but they are the games we relish. we had a lot of space this season against very good teams so we are not daunted by it. we'll attack it and give it our shot. recent results have been a challenge for us. the last couple of performances haven't been as good as they can be so we are determined to get back and produce our best football. back to australia where opener david warner has announced his retirement from one—day international cricket. he'd aleady stepped back from test cricket before the current series against pakistan, but has kept the door open to a possible return if needed at next year's champions trophy. warner's one day career places him sixth on australia's leading run scorer list, having also won two world cups. more details on all of the stories including the darts sensationalist 16—year—old luke littler on the bbc

sport website but that is it for now. thank you forjoining us for now. some other stories from our newsroom... russia's president vladimir putin has pledged to "intensify" attacks on ukraine, after an escalation of deadly attacks by both sides in recent days. the russian—installed authorities in donetsk say ukrainian shelling has killed four people there. meanwhile, ukraine says one person was killed in the port area of 0desa after russia launched 90 attack drones last night — 87 of which were destroyed by the country's air defence systems. president zelensky has promised to increase the domestic production of weapons and ammunition this year — including the construction of at least a million drones. it's two years since the james webb space telescope was launched by nasa, and it has already wowed us with the stunning images it's beaming back. it has also made some

astonishing discoveries, which are transforming our understanding of the universe, as our 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 13.5 billion years ago, just after the big bang. scientists thought the first galaxies would be primitive structures, but in fact 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 objects 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. so, what's next for the james webb space telescope? no doubt there will be

more ethereal 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. you can check out some of those spectacular images on ppc .com. but on this planet... around the world people have been celebrating the start of 2024, after midnight celebrations and fireworks displays on new year's eve. from swimming to parades, different new year's day traditions have been taking place across the day — as rachel mcadam reports. after the new year's eve fireworks and festivities, come the new year's day traditions. in the morning, pope francis led a special new year's day mass from the vatican, calling on the world to look to mothers and women to find peace. a little later in rome, italians braved the chilly waters of the river tiber in the annual

dive to ring in the new year. the new year's day swim is a tradition round the world, dating back more than a century in some places, and it's seen as a literal and metaphorical fresh start to the year. netherlands, around 10,000 people ran into the sea in scheveningen, wearing red beanies for the annual new year's dive. hats were also a theme in germany where these people went for their traditional lake dip in berlin. and in london, thousands of musicians, dancers and other performers from around the world took to the streets of the west end for the annual new year's day parade, celebrating the start of 2024. rachel mcadam, bbc news. wherever you are in the world, thank you so much for being with us.

wishing you a very happy 2024. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. after wet and windy weather for weeks on end, now it looks like the weather pattern could be changing through this month. now, we started the new year with some sunshine across many parts of the country. already turning chilly in scotland where we've got those clearer skies. but towards the south—west of england, the clouds been rolling in, seen some rain coming in as well. you can see what's happening here on the earlier satellite picture. all this cloud is streaming up from the south—west, bringing yet more rain. and the winds are picking up, too, around that weather system. once that moves through, we've got another one following in behind. and those two combined could bring about two inches of rain, 50 millimetres of rain to england and wales and some flooding, too. we've got wet weather this evening across england and wales moving clear of northern ireland

heading into scotland. there may be some snow over the mountain tops here. clearer skies will follow for a while, but the rain returns into the south coast and the south—west by the end of the night, keeping temperatures up here. and by the end of the night in scotland, after an early frost in the east, temperatures will be lifting here. the wetter weather continues northwards up towards the northern isles where it will be windy. it's also going to be windy in southern parts of england, some gales, particularly along the south coast. and we've got the spell of wet weather returning from the south—west from overnight across england and wales, maybe affecting northern ireland for a while. could turn a bit drier in the south of england in the afternoon, 13 or 14 degrees in those strong winds. bit of sunshine in between those areas of rain in scotland, but here temperatures will be lower. most of the wet weather, though, will be for england and wales. that will move away as we head into wednesday. we've still got some brisk winds in the north—east of scotland with a bit of rain. maybe the risk of some sleet and snow up towards shetland, won't be as windy across the south and generally on wednesday it's a day where we'll see some

sunshine and some showers, particularly across wales and the south—west. temperatures though, looking quite healthy at eight to 12 degrees. now, things will turn colder by the end of the week. instead of low pressure that will bring wet and windy conditions, we're going to start to see high pressure building down from the north. that will leave us with a north—easterly breeze, introduce colder air and lead to some frost as well. but the weather pattern looks like changing after a few more days of this wet and windy weather with an increased chance of high pressure really through the rest of the month, even. that will mean things are going to be drier, which is good news, but it will also turn a bit colder.

now on bbc news — click: foreveryoung? from the moment we arrive on this planet, we are all heading in the same direction. i could come up with a date predicting when you would die. well, thanks, but maybe the way that the years play out isn't inevitable. so, how about the idea of being able to increase our health span — live the better years of our life for longer, till, like, we're 40 at 60. there is a 15—17 years of healthy life that is up for grab for all of us. we head to california to meet the scientists and founders

who want to make it a reality.