welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm steve lai. the headlines... a powerful earthquake strikes japan, destroying buildings and killing at least six 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. and stunning images captured by the james webb space telescope have been released, two years after it was launched by nasa. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday.

it's 8am in singapore, and 9am injapan, where we begin this hour. thousands of people have spent the night in evacuation centres, following a powerful earthquake. six people were killed and dozens injured, with many more thought to be buried under the rubble of buildings. in the past hour, british prime minister rishi sunak said the uk stands ready to support tojapan, and is monitoring developments. the epicentre of the 7.6—magnitude quake was noto province in the centre of japan, with the tremors felt as far away as the capital tokyo. tens of thousands of people were told to head to higher ground, in the country's first major tsunami warning since 2011. the warning was later downgraded, with waves of less than one metre reported. suranjana tewari is injapan, and sent this report. this footage from inside someone�*s home captures the moment the powerful

earthquake struck. some staff at this news network took cover, while others wanted to cover the story. the 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck just after 4pm 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: | 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. 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 given us an alert, there's been another little earthquake up north again. the whole evening, there have been aftershocks. 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.

a short time ago our reporter, suranjana tewari filed this update from japan. what we know is that houses have been damaged, that some fires have started, and army personnel have been deployed to try and help with the response. there are already reports that infrastructure has been damaged, and officials have warned that there may be more shocks, aftershocks and tremors in the coming days. now, as you mentioned, almost 100,000 people spent the night in evacuation centres. tens of thousands of homes don't have power and even here where i am in the mountains, neighbouring nagano prefecture, we felt the tremors. also, it is nearfreezing temperatures here, so it's a real problem if there are power cuts. japan's vast transport network has also been affected by those power cuts. because japan is such a hotbed of seismic activity,

the government has a pretty great and sophisticated warning system of tsunami and earthquakes. we all got signals on our mobile phone ahead of the earthquake, and so people were able to go and get shelter. and, as you said, it's daybreak now, so we'll know more about what the real damage is to buildings, roads, and infrastructure, and how many people are trapped, as well. greg beroza, a professor of geophysics at stanford university, in california, has told me earlier about the key things to look out for during earthquakes. we look to see the context of the occurrence, or the tectonic context. so in this case, the earthquake occurred off the west coast of japan — that's unlike the 2011 earthquake, which occurred on the plate boundary off the opposite coast of japan. earthquakes in this region aren't unheard of, including large earthquakes. some in the past have

generated large tsunamis, so we look immediately at things that are relevant to the earthquake response. but of course, we'll be pouring over the data from earthquakes such as this for years. and as more information becomes available, how do you assess the severity of this latest one? are we likely to see aftershocks in the coming days, and more tsunami warnings perhaps? yeah, there will be aftershocks. so after any earthquake, there will be thousands, if not tens of thousands of aftershocks, many of which can be felt — a few of which may be large enough to cause damage. a tsunami — it's possible, so there's a small probability that there'll be another major earthquake off the coast, and if there were, then we'd go through this again. there would be a tsunami warning generated automatically. japan has seen significant earthquakes in the past — you mentioned 2011 —

what is it about the country's location and geology that makes it so susceptible to big quakes? well, tectonically, it's extremely complex — so in this part ofjapan, there is the pacific plates ducking underneath japan, and a little further south there's a different plate, the philippine sea plate. so this collision of multiple plates leads to earthquakes, leads to volcanism. japan is tectonically about as complicated as it gets. given how these are a regular occurrence injapan, you're certainly no stranger to them, how good are the alert systems for ea rtquakes like this so people can be evacuated to higher ground, and to safety? so, the systems injapan are as good as they are anywhere. japan is a very earthquake—aware country, because all of japan's earthquakes threaten, and they're a very

tsunami—aware country, because they have a large history of damaging tsunamis. so we're unable to predict earthquakes, but when they occur, we can get the notification out very quickly, sometimes before the shaking arrives — that's called earthquake alerting — and japan has been doing that sort of thing for decades. and he same thing goes for tsunamis, we can use seismic waves to tell that an earthquake has occurred under the ocean, and such as this one, it would have vertical motion that it might generate a tsunami, so the warning goes out before the very rapid tsunami waves hit coast. and just quickly, what countries like japan can do to protect its people, buildings, and infrastructure? well, the first defence against earthquakes is building good buildings — so having a building code that accounts for the strength and variability, and shaking, and implementing and enforcing

that building code, as well, are all critical to... that's really the most important thing that can be done to mitigate the risk from earthquakes. in israel, the supreme court 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. 0ur correspondent shaimaa khalil has the latest from jerusalem. this is a big blow to benjamin netanyahu and the hardline governing coalition in this showdown between the judiciary and the right—wing government. this is the supreme court taking their power back when it comes to checks balances. before the october 7th deadly attack by hamas on israel, before the war in gaza,

israel had experienced unprecedented division and turmoil internally because of these proposed judiciary reforms by the government, many calling it a threat to democracy and also there were many, many disagreements about the separation of powers. and at the heart of this was this bill that the government pushed through, this reasonableness bill, essentially stopping the supreme court from its ability to stop the government from making any decisions that were deemed unreasonable. now the supreme court has overturned that, saying, "we will keep you in check." this could not have come at a worse time for the benjamin netanyahu government — already under extreme pressure and anger from the hostage families who are saying that the government is failing to bring the hostages back — and now, this government is staring down a constitutional breakdown and crisis in the middle of this conflict.

israel's supreme court decision comes against the backdrop of the country's war in gaza. as the war grinds on, concerns are mounting that the conflict could draw in other regional players. the british defence secretary, grant shapps, says britain is considering direct military action against houthi rebels in yemen if they continue to attack commercial shipping in the red sea. the uk has already deployed a war ship to protect against the iran—backed militants, who've declared their support for hamas, and have launched more than 100 drone and missile strikes against ships travelling to israel. amid these rising tensions in the red sea, a flotilla of iranian warships are reported to have sailed through the area. iranian media said the county's war ships have been operating in open waters to secure shipping routes, combat piracy, and carry out other tasks since 2009. in the uk, migration is likely to feature as a key issue in the general election —

expected later this year. the number of migrants crossing the english channel in small boats from france fell by more than one third in 2023, compared with the year before. but more than 29,000 people did make thejourney. our home editor mark easton, has more details. well, 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 ? 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 game—changer 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 ? 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, that's the blue bars, that's shrinking, but the backlog of new claims — the so—called flow cases — well, they are, as you can see, still numbering around 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. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. 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 boy, who's also 16, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward. 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. 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. you're live with bbc news. 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 — most of which were destroyed by the country's air defence systems. we spoke to locals in 0desa, kharkiv, and 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, 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. olga malchevska, bbc news. 2024 is set to be an historic yearfor elections, with more than two billion voters expected to head to the polls in 50 countries, including the united states, the uk, and russia. but the start of the year will have a focus on asia — where the coming weeks and months will see elections in taiwan, bangladesh, indonesia, and pakistan, with south korea and india likely to take place in the spring. to help us break down the key things to watch for, i'm joined by syetarn hansakul, a senior analyst at the economist intelligence unit. it's a bumper year for elections, but which are the main ones in asia that you'll be focussing on?

there are plenty to be focusing on. injanuary, we will have elections in bangladesh and taiwan. the taiwan election will be worth watching because it will determine the course of relations between taiwan and china. and then in the spring, in february, there'll be an election coming up in indonesia which is the most populous country in southeast asia. and in the spring, we have one coming up in india that will solidify democracy. the taiwan election is fast approaching on 13 january — how do you see it going? we think that the incumbent, the ruling party, the dpp, their candidate will prevail in their candidate will prevail in the presidential election. and this outcome will not be what china has hoped for — they would hope that the candidate

for the kmt, the opposition party which has friend earlier relations with china, will win, but we don't think that will happen. best friendly relations. this will lead to a more tight period between china and taiwan relations. if more tight period between china and taiwan relations.— and taiwan relations. if we can elaborate _ and taiwan relations. if we can elaborate on — and taiwan relations. if we can elaborate on that _ and taiwan relations. if we can elaborate on that perhaps. - most elections are fought on domestic issues, but taiwan's election carries broader implications for the region, doesn't it? it does, because asia has been growing among the best growth rate in the world in terms of gdp growth, and that has been made possible because of stability, and there's no more than india and other parts of the world. so any hint of stability will not be boding well for the region's outlook. but having said that, we do not think that we will have an

irruption of full—scale military confrontation between the two countries. but an outcome that hints at a more assertive taiwan will probably be met with some reaction from china, just to remind them that china, just to remind them that china has the redline and they want that to be respected. and i think because of that, we can expect some uncomfortable feelings in terms of investor sentiment coming up in the first quarter of the year. what is the one thing to understand about the us—china rivalry when it comes to the democratisation of other countries in asia? the us china rivalry is intensifying, and a lot of countries in asia actually pursue friendly relations with

both. both are economic partners, the us and china are supporters of some countries. so what asian countries would like to see, in terms of regional peace — if that's disrupted, than that's very negative for asia. but having said that, when one country has elections that may not please one with the outcome, the other countries may try to step in and offer more friendship or help. so in that sense, in a country that, if there is an election outcome, in the us or the west, is not free and fair and they may want to impose sanctions, they may not want to be too harsh because that will

probably push the country into the orbit of china.— the orbit of china. thank you for our the orbit of china. thank you for your insight _ the orbit of china. thank you for your insight and - the orbit of china. thank you for your insight and sharing i for your insight and sharing your thoughts with us this morning. syertan hansakul, a senior analyst at the economist intelligence unit. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. taiwan's president has said ties with china must be decided by the will of the people, and that peace must be based on "dignity". president tsai ing—wen made the comments after china's leader, xijinping, said that quote, "reunification" with the island is inevitable. china has been ramping up military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims over democratically governed taiwan, which on 13 january, holds presidential and parliamentary elections. the mexican actress, ana ofelia murguia, who voiced one of the main characters in the oscar—winning animation coco, has died at the age of ninety. the movie celebrates mexico's culture and highlights the day of the dead. the mexican national institute

of fine arts and literature said murguia's career was a vital part of the country's performing arts. it's been two years since the james webb space telescope was launched by nasa, and has already sent back some stunning images. it has also made some astonishing discoveries, which are transforming our understanding of the universe. 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, 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 farfaster 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. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. we've got some very strong winds and some heavy rain on the way for tuesday, that brings with it the risk of some disruptive weather. little sign of that yesterday across northern england and scotland, with clear, blue, sunny skies for many. however, towards the southwest of england, the waves were picking up as the winds increased, all tied in with the next weather system. now it's this lump of cloud that's out to our west

that we're watching, to develop into quite a nasty—looking area of low pressure. now, through the remainder of the night, one band of rain clears eastwards, another one heading into scotland, a bit of snow up over the scottish hills for a time, as well. and then, we've got the next pulse of rain working into the southwest. now, bear in mind, we've already got lots of flood warnings in force, and that's before really the next dollop of heavy rain works in. so the rain, heavy enough to cause some localised flooding, but as well as that, into tuesday, some very strong winds heading into southwest england, southern wales, and around the bristol channel. top gusts could reach 60—70mph — strong enough to bring down 1—2 trees, hence the risk of disruptive weather. very windy for the northern isles, and the winds will be increasing inland across england and wales as this area of rain becomes much more extensive through the course of the day. and then, we get a second swathe of really strong winds across parts of lincolnshire, east anglia, southeast england, especially through the dover straits. could get gusts again getting up into the 60s of miles an hour, maybe even towards 70. so there is the threat

of some disruption — weather from the heavy rain and the risk of flooding, or the strong winds that could be strong enough to bring down a few trees. either way, that lot will be clearing out of the way as we head into wednesday, but just to be followed by another unsettled day — a day of sunshine and showers. the showers heavy with hail and thunder across england and wales, blustery conditions here. lighter winds for northern ireland means the showers could last a bit longer. some heavier, more persistent rain for northeast scotland perhaps causing 1—2 issues, and cold enough to see some of the rain start to turn to sleet or snow over the hills in shetland. quite a lot going on, then, but the weather will eventually calm down. low pressure later this week will start to slide away from our shores — and instead, we get an area of high pressure building in as we head towards the end of the week and the weekend beyond. indeed, quite a long spell of dry, settled weather conditions is on the card — notjust through the weekend, but well into next week. with the sunshine comes much lower temperatures and a return of some sharp overnight frosts.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. margaret atwood. one of the world's best—selling critically—acclaimed authors, she's published more than 60 books and has won the booker prize, twice. the winner of the first booker prize of the 21st century, margaret atwood.

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