live from london, this is bbc news. a powerful earthquake strikes japan, destroying buildings and killing at least four people. thousands have fled their homes, spending the night in shelters. israel's supreme court strikes down a controversialjudicial reform that triggered nationwide protests last year. migrant boat crossings in the english channel drop by more than a third, but the figures are still some of the highest on record. hello, i'm nicky schiller. we start injapan, where a powerful earthquake has hit the centre of the country, bringing down buildings and power lines. four people are now confirmed to have died, but the extent of the damage isn't yet clear.

the epicentre of the 7.6 magnitude quake was noto province, with the tremors felt as far away as the capital, tokyo. tens of thousands of people were told to head to higher ground and many are spending the night in emergency shelters. but a major tsunami warning has been downgraded to an advisory. presidentjoe biden says the us is ready to provide any necessary assistance to japan, as a close ally of the country. suranjana tewari has the latest now, from japan. rumbling, screaming. this footage from inside someone�*s home captures the moment the powerful earthquake struck. more than 140 kilometres from the epicentre, this video was taken by english teacher barnie davis. itjust kept going. it was really long. the fridge door was opening and shutting, pictures were going all over the place, everything fell off the shelves. it was pretty dramatic.

barnie and his family went to the local evacuation centre until he was told it was safe to return home. but then... literally just as we're talking, my phone's giving us an alert, telling us there's been another little earthquake up north again. the whole evening there have been aftershocks. further north, some staff at this news network took cover while others wanted to cover the story. the 7.6 magnitude earthquake struckjust after ii:00pm in the afternoon local time. it was caught on camera in this supermarket. there was chaos and confusion. tsunami warnings were issued then downgraded on the ishikawa coastline. and people were 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. if you are in a region where a tsunami is expected please

evacuate as soon as possible. despite the damage to roads and buildings, this earthquake is not as severe as 2011, when a magnitude nine quake triggered a tsunami, leading to a nuclear meltdown at the fukushima power plant. this time all nuclear facilities are currently unaffected. but following the earthquake a huge fire broke out in one of the affected areas, and thousands are now spending the night outside in below zero temperatures, fearful of going back into their homes as aftershocks continue to hit. dan faulkner is professor of geology and earth sciences at the university of liverpool. he told mejapan is very used to earthquakes on this scale. in this part of the world we kind of expect events of this kind of size. and in fact, 60 years ago, just about 200 kilometres

to the north—east of where this event happened, there was a similar sized earthquake back then, too. so it's certainly not unknown to have earthquakes of this size in that particular area. yeah, japan used to dealing with earthquakes. they have a very sophisticated warning system, don't they, particularly for the tsunamis. absolutely. i mean, i thinkjapan is probably one of the best prepared countries on the planet for events like this. and certainly the tsunami warning went out straightaway after the earthquake and people will have been prepared for that. and thankfully, it didn't turn out to be as hazardous as maybe we first feared after the earthquake happened. so just explain to us the tectonic plates and why japan is so liable to earthquakes. sure, so it's an amazing part of the world that japan is on — it's part of the pacific ring of fire where there's lots of huge fault zones.

so subduction zones where tectonic plates are being thrust back down into the earth's mantle all the way around the pacific. and whilst this earthquake didn't happen on one of those subduction zone faults, it's all part of that same system where the tectonic plates are pushing against each other. and this earthquake was a thrust fault earthquake where basically the earth's crust will have been pushed up by about 3.5 in this event. and it's all related to those stresses and those tectonic forces that are affecting the region. now, we've had dozens of other earthquakes today. could we get more and will they be small or could we have another large one? sure, so from studying many earthquakes over many years now, we do know that earthquakes of this size are typically followed by an aftershock sequence, with aftershocks becoming less and less severe in their strength. but this was a really huge earthquake, magnitude 7.6. so some of the aftershocks that japan might experience

are still going to be pretty large. and they could affect infrastructure and buildings which are already weakened by the main event. but what we would expect scientifically, i think, in this region is to see a gradual diminishing of earthquakes. and we wouldn't expect anything of a similar size. there should be less, but still, perhaps some pretty significant aftershocks still to come. that's dan faulkner. israel's supreme court has struck down judicial reforms that were a centrepiece of benjamin netanyahu's agenda in government. the reforms sparked months of protests, as the legislation limited the court's powers to cancel government decisions. its opponents said it prevented proper oversight of the government. the court was split in its decision — eightjudges voted in favour of striking down the law, while seven voted to uphold it. jordana miller is a reporterfor us network, abc news injerusalem. she explained why these reforms were so controversial.

well, the reason they were so controversial is because, first of all, they were almost pushed through the legislature without any real talk with either the court or the opposition to reach some kind of consensus on re—tinkering the balance between the judiciary, the executive and the legislature. and that is one of the reasons that we saw for weeks and weeks and weeks, tens of thousands of israelis taking to the streets because essentially they saw this as not only a move to significantly weaken the courts from the supreme court on down, but they also saw it as a kind of power grab by israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who, although this was only the first piece of a larger programme to overhaul the judiciary, they believed that there was a conflict of interest here, that in the end, netanyahu might benefit and find a way out

of his legal troubles. remember, part of this plan was also to pass an override bill with a slim majority. that is that the legislature, which is very aligned with the executive in this parliamentary system, would be able to essentially strike down the supreme court's decisions. so in a ruling of 8—7, the supreme court said that removing the reasonableness clause, which was at the base of this decision, just really struck and caused damage to israel's character as a democracy, that it harmed the separation of powers and the rule of law, and it could open the door to corruption and a lot of other problems also with individual rights, etc.

and so the court, in a really unprecedented step, struck down a basic law. it should be said that netanyahu and his government knew what they were doing when they framed this law as a basic law, knowing it would be harder for the supreme court to make such a huge step and strike it down. they can't appeal against what the supreme court said, but if they chose to, they could ignore the ruling, which would bring a kind of constitutional crisis to israel. israel says the war in gaza, which has reduced much of the territory to rubble, could go on throughout 202a. but it has signalled a shift in tactics, withdrawing some forces to focus on more targeted operations against hamas. there has been no let—up in the intense bombardment, though, which has now killed almost 22,000 people in gaza. shaimaa khalil reports. artillery round fires.

the sound of gunfire and air strikes ushering in the new year for the people of gaza as they continue to flee further south, seeking the ever—shrinking spots of safety. for many families it is an arduous and an all too familiarjourney. translation: there is no safe place left in gaza. - we used to live in gaza city, then we had to move to central gaza and from there, khan younis. right now we are outside khan younis but there is still no safe place. in central gaza the intense bombardment shows no sign of easing. in this building in deir al balah, people use their bare hands and whatever equipment they can find to pull out casualties from the rubble. this was meant to be one of the safer areas for people who needed to evacuate other parts of the centre. the un has yet again warned of the worsening humanitarian situation in gaza. it says teams on the ground are facing restrictions in different areas.

israel says it is not limiting aid. but with continuing fighting across the gaza strip, delivering aid to those who need it most has become a dangerous and complex process. "israel's war in gaza has come at a very heavy price." these were the words of the prime minister a few days ago, as the number of soldiers killed in battle now nears 200. israel's military says it is now withdrawing some combat troops and switching to more targeted operations, but the aim remains the same — to dismantle hamas and bring back the hostages. and this war looks set to last well into the new year. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, jerusalem. 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, including the construction of at least a million drones. seeing in the new year under shelling is what most of ukraine has had to go through for the second year in a row. we spoke to the locals in 0desa, kharkiv and the occupied crimea about what they've witnessed. 0lga malchevska reports. what is usually a moment to celebrate turns into another deadly night for people in 0desa, coming under attack from russian drones. hannah tells us she had to run to the shelter right at midnight. because of the russian fireworks, they are coming. the first time we came at midnight, and now it is again. ukraine woke up to at least five

killed in southern 0desa and eastern donetsk, occupied by russia. moscow blames kyiv, repeating it does not target civilians. kyiv says russia sent a record 90 drones all over the country. ukraine is still mourning the deaths of more than a0 civilians killed just two days ago. this is what is left from a 5—star hotel in the centre of kharkiv. katerina lives nearby. translation: when i was cooking our festive meal, l i had to shelter in the bathroom because of the attack. the drones were right above our home. it was very scary. and this video we received from the occupied crimea. decorated with ukrainian symbols, this christmas tree would be labelled extremism by russia if found. locals hope this year will finally bring freedom and peace. 0lga malchevska, bbc news. around the world and across

the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. police have launched a murder inquiry after a 38—year—old man was shot dead in edinburgh last night. officers were called to the scene in the granton area just before midnight after a gun was fired in what's believed to be a targeted incident. another man was seriously injured and is in hospital in a serious, but stable condition. police in london have named the 16—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. 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. you can get more on that story on the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's jane. hello, nicky. one new year's day game in the premier league and liverpool can extend their lead at the top of the table if they beat newcastle. they've kicked off at anfield and after 15 minutes it's still 0—0. jurgen klopp�*s side have just one home defeat in 51 league matches, while newcastle have lost their last four away games. liverpool have already had a couple of chances on target, forcing some saves from the newcastle goalkeeper but after 15 minutes, there are still no goals. history has been made in the darts. luke littler has become the youngest

player to reach the pdc world championship semi—finals. the 16—year—old beat 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. littler said that — despite a nervy start to the match — he thinks he has a chance to win the tournament. it always takes a few legs to settle in and that stage. you can see that i was two down with the darts and then i came one up and four up, so itjust takes a then i came one up and four up, so it just takes a few legs to then i came one up and four up, so itjust takes a few legs to get yourself focused and find your rep. you just have to be too bear is in front of you and that is what i've done so far. i know i have a good chance and in myself, i have a good feeling that i can go all of the way now. —— you just have to beat whoever is in front of you.

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 take part 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." over in perth, world number one iga swiatek has helped poland become the first nation into the quarter—finals of the united cup. she won her singles rubber against spain's sara sorribes tormo, before combining with hubert hurkacz to breeze through the mixed doubles. against sorribes tormo and alejandro davidovich fokina, the pair didn't even drop a game to give poland a 2—1victory over spain and confirm their spot at the top of group a. back to australia, where opener david warner has announced his retirement from 0ne—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. it was a decision i was comfortable

with, and to win in india from where we were was amazing. i've said all along that i was a boy from housing commission having a dream, you know, i have not always fit the mould, but i have been authentic and honest. i'm not someone different and i think that shows you on the field in test cricket i played the exact same way. just time for a quick update from anfield. liverpool had put the ball in the back of the net but it has been ruled offside so after 18 minutes between liverpool and newcastle, there are still no goals. that is the sport for now. thank you very much, jane. here in the uk, the number of migrants crossing the english channel fell by over a third in 2023, compared with the record number of crossings the year before. more than 29,000 people made thejourney, and migration is likely to be one of the key issues in the general election

due this year. mark easton has been analysing the numbers. with that general election looming, the government wants to start the new year with evidence that the prime minister's two big promises on immigration are being delivered. promise number one 7 stop the boats. well, no, they haven't stopped. but the home office claims its plan is working. the number known to have crossed the channel in 2023 was down around a third from 2022. still almost 30,000 individuals arrived on the kent coast, the second highest figure ever, but officials point to three key deals which they claim are helping turn the tide. a deal with france improving security on the coast around calais, a deal with turkey to disrupt smuggler supply chains, and a deal with albania to return failed asylum seekers. of course, the deal the government regards as the gamechanger is with rwanda, but that plan was ruled unlawful. almost everyone who arrived in small boats last year has claimed asylum, which brings us to the prime minister's second big promise on immigration 7 to clear the asylum backlog. we will have to wait until tomorrow

for the official numbers but we expect the prime minister to claim it'sjob done. number ten says the promise only relates to what it calls "the legacy backlog" — people stuck in the system for more than 18 months. this is what the picture looked like three months ago. the legacy backlog shrinking, the blue bars, that's shrinking. but the backlog of new claims — so—called flow cases — still numbering 100,000 people. there will be claims of "creative accounting" with thousands of legacy cases simply withdrawn and thousands more excluded as "complex" cases. yes, an election is looming and the arguments over promises kept or broken will only intensify. that is our home editor, mark easton. period underwear on sale in the uk is set to get cheaper after the government said it would no longer be subject to vat from today. the treasury says removing the tax should make the pants an average

of £2 cheaper a pair. they are seen as a greener alternative to tampons and sanitary towels. i spoke to love your period campaign founder, molly fenton, and i started by asking why this change has taken so long. it's a very good question, one many campaigners like myself ask. period products are still seen as a luxury, unfortunately. however, we do know they are not a luxury, they are a necessity. period pants are pretty much a new concept, although they've been around a while. they are getting more and more popular but i think it was an easy thing to continue to tax, since pads and tampons were seen as necessities, period pants were almost like an option. some retailers had already absorbed the vat in the cost of the pants. do you expect the others to pass it on now? well, i hope after today's announcement that will happen.

it's the jobs of campaigners like myself and those that have been part of this campaign to ensure that happens and continue the conversation. do you think it will actually help in raising the profile of the pants themselves? 100%. we know that period pants are growing in popularity. they are being asked for at food banks. they are now available in schools. and it's extremely important that people know about them because they are cost effective. as we already discussed, they are eco friendly. with our climate crisis, it's very important that this option is available for everyone, and we know that they are preferred by many people who would struggle with the original pads and tampons. now, i wouldn't, of course, go shopping for them, but are they in places like primark and m&s and the big high street firms already? so, yes, you can pretty much get period pants in every supermarket and places like primark and victoria's secret have their own lines of period pants, which are incredible. but of course, sometimes a one—off payment of quite a large price isn't always accessible to everyone.

so would you like to see, say, for example, them given away free to people who really need them and can't afford them? that would be amazing. and we know already that schools across england and wales already have period pants in schools available for pupils. however, because the conversation isn't that wide and there's still a lot of stigma, many young pupils and their parents do not know that these products are available, which is where the period stigma and conversation side comes into this, where we must keep talking about it so people know that they can access these products for free. yeah. do you think briefly more does need to be done by the government, for example, to address this problem? 100%. we know that at the moment, period poverty and poverty levels in general are skyrocketing. before the pandemic, it was one in ten pupils missing school because of periods. now it's one in four. things are getting worse. so whilst these steps are being made and we will celebrate things like this, lots more has to be done.

and in my personal opinion, i think that conversation is the first step within that. pope francis has celebrated the world day of peace at the vatican and called on people to emerge from the spiral of violence and hatred and called on all societies to try to see things with human hearts and minds. finally, how did you start the new year — maybe with a lie in? well, thousands of people in the german capital berlin were up early for a run. take a look at this.

the four kilometre fun run started at the city's famous brandenburg gate. nearly 5000 people took part. for many it was way of shaking off the excesses of new year's eve and kicking off fitness resolutions. you wouldn't catch me doing that. 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. that 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 this 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 1a 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.

a full billeting at 9pm, now on bbc news, the biggest stories of 2023. there's a huge barrage going on overhead just at the moment. yevgeny prigozhin seemed determined to march his men to the top of the hill. then, he marched them down again.

political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation.