live from london. this is bbc news. searching for survivors — japanese officials say at least 48 people have died and many others are trapped beneath rubble after a powerful earthquake struck on new year's day. the uk government says it's fulfilled its promise to eradicate the backlog of outstanding asylum claims by the end of 2023. the israeli government sharply criticises a ruling by the supreme court which struck down judicial reforms that prompted months of mass protests last year. south korea's opposition leader is stabbed in the neck at a news conference during a visit to the southern city of busan. the spanish footballer, jenni hermoso, will testify in court about whether the former president of the country's football federation, luis rubiales, should face trial for sexual assault after he kissed her on the lips at the world cup.

hello and welcome to the programme. we start injapan where at least 48 people are now known to have died in the powerful earthquake which struck the centre of the country on new year's day. other people are feared to be trapped in the rubble. the prime minister, fumio kishida, says the quake has caused numerous casualties and extensive damage. hundreds of buildings have collapsed or burnt down, many of them in wajima city — as you can see here. some roads are blocked, hampering rescue efforts. mr kishida said he'd ordered army personnel to get to the disaster—hit areas by any means possible. rupert wingield—hayes reports. we've arrived at the small peninsula where the earthquake happened and we are travelling towards the epicentre. and we keep coming across these areas of destruction where homes have been partially destroyed or some of them

completely collapsed. now, they tend to be these older homes and made of wood, the houses that haven't been built to withstand these sort of earthquakes. we are trying to get closer to the epicentre, to a city where we know that at least a dozen people have been killed and many more are trapped in their homes because they have completely collapsed. but we are struggling to get there because, if you look at this road just here, it is totally ruptured and blocked off. and this is what we keep coming up against, these roads that are just totally inaccessible. and we know that the rescue teams are also struggling to reach these worst affected areas where people are trapped in their homes. and so it means that we are still trying to piece together the extent of the damage and how many people have been killed and injured in this earthquake. people's worst fears about this earthquake, though, haven't materialised. the tsunamis that were forecast to hit the coast last night didn't happen. but even so, this has been a terrifying day and night for people,

because the memories of that earthquake here in 2011, and the huge tsunami that followed, that killed nearly 20,000 people, those memories are still so fresh in people's minds. and then you have the constant aftershocks that we've been having since yesterday afternoon. we had one, a strong one, just a couple of hours ago and the authorities are warning that there might be more major aftershocks in the days to come. what this earthquake has done is remind people here just how vulnerable they are to these disasters. back now to our main story on the earthquake injapan — live now to our asia reporter suranjana tewari who's in tokyo for us tell us what the latest is there at the moment. we tell us what the latest is there at the moment-— tell us what the latest is there at the moment. ~ ., _, ., ., the moment. we have confirmation that the death _ the moment. we have confirmation that the death toll— the moment. we have confirmation that the death toll has _ the moment. we have confirmation

that the death toll has risen - the moment. we have confirmation that the death toll has risen up - the moment. we have confirmation that the death toll has risen up to l that the death toll has risen up to 38. the officials collecting those numbers have confirmed that number to verse and they expect it to rise because they said the rescue operation is far from because they said the rescue operation is farfrom over. night has fallen injapan, that will be challenging especially with so many buildings still flattened and many roads still damaged. the area for the earthquake struck yesterday, it's quite a narrow peninsula so it's quite a narrow peninsula so it's been quite difficult to reach all of the buildings and the people trapped there. 0fficial saying there is no concept of how many people are missing either, there is no estimate. there is no concept of how many people might still be missing. there are still lots to be careful because presumably there could still because presumably there could still be aftershocks? we because presumably there could still be aftershocks?— be aftershocks? we are hearing that there was an — be aftershocks? we are hearing that there was an aftershock— be aftershocks? we are hearing that there was an aftershock in _ be aftershocks? we are hearing that there was an aftershock in the - be aftershocks? we are hearing that there was an aftershock in the samej there was an aftershock in the same epicentre just a there was an aftershock in the same epicentrejust a short there was an aftershock in the same epicentre just a short time ago, not as big as the quake yesterday but

still fairly sizeable. japan has a different measurement, it measures how much the ground shakes and this was level five, five on a scale of 1-7 was level five, five on a scale of 1—7 so quite a significant tremor by japanese standards. officials had warned it was likely to be more aftershocks because the last big earthquake was in 2011 so a lot of pent up energy and quite a high likelihood of lots of tremors following on from this big earthquake, the 7.6 magnitude. thank ou so earthquake, the 7.6 magnitude. thank you so much — earthquake, the 7.6 magnitude. thank you so much for— earthquake, the 7.6 magnitude. thank you so much for bringing _ earthquake, the 7.6 magnitude. thank you so much for bringing us _ earthquake, the 7.6 magnitude. thank you so much for bringing us the latest. we've been hearing that japan is prone to earthquakes — so how does it stay resilient? to discuss, i'm joined now by ziggy lubkowski, he's an earthquake engineer and seismic skills leader at engineering firm arup based in the uk. tell us about what needs to happen in the aftermath of a clock like

this in terms of resilience. the initial process _ this in terms of resilience. the initial process and _ this in terms of resilience. tue: initial process and what this in terms of resilience. tta: initial process and what you've heard from your reporter is the immediate response to save lives from those people that have been buried in the unfortunate buildings that have collapsed. and then it's about ensuring that the people can get back to their normal lives. so that's a process which will take several weeks. japan is very versed in this, firstly because it experiences earthquakes on a regular basis. this peninsula has had three magnitude six events over the last 30 years which had some minor amounts of damage and minor injuries. but this one is significantly bigger than those last set of three earthquakes. hater significantly bigger than those last set of three earthquakes. how much does the type _ set of three earthquakes. how much does the type of— set of three earthquakes. how much does the type of building _ set of three earthquakes. how much does the type of building make - set of three earthquakes. how much does the type of building make a - does the type of building make a difference to further its damaged or

catches fire because i understand the buildings which caught fire were slightly older and did not adhere to the current building control codes? japan is a very densely populated country. buildings are very close together. if there is a fire in one building it can easily spread to the next. there's been a history of fires related to japanese earthquakes because of the japanese wish to cope with natural gas. and unfortunately if you use natural gas at the time of the earthquake, you can rupture a point, there is already flame, you get a fire. and because of the density of the buildings, there have been many cases, the great cantle earthquake for example in 1920, false locations

following major earthquakes. in following major earthquakes. in terms of practicalities as an engineer, if you were in a situation like this one much and look out for structurally?— structurally? what i have already observed from _ structurally? what i have already observed from the _ structurally? what i have already observed from the photos - structurally? what i have already observed from the photos that i structurally? what i have already i observed from the photos that have been circulating on the internet, you can see generally i think a large number of buildings have performed very well and i think we should take that as a very positive sign. there have been some buildings that have suffered damage. those tend to be more the older residential buildings in the chart, because they are older, they will not have been built to modern codes and they may have not been maintained as well as modern steel and concrete buildings. so i think once the scientific community has

had a chance to assess what has happened, there will be a lot of positive news in terms of our ability to build resilient buildings against very strong ground motions that have been observed in this earthquake. that have been observed in this earthquake-— that have been observed in this earthuuake. ~ ,., ~ , earthquake. when something like this ha - ens, earthquake. when something like this happens. and — earthquake. when something like this happens. and we _ earthquake. when something like this happens, and we know— earthquake. when something like this happens, and we know there - earthquake. when something like this happens, and we know there are - earthquake. when something like this| happens, and we know there are often aftershocks, or the particular things you can do to prepare for the second series, as it were? unfortunately it is really difficult to know from the next aftershock will occur. what tends to happen is that there is a period of several days when people are encouraged to stay away from buildings, especially those damaged. there will be engineers on the ground in all of the cities, trying to assess as a building safe to go back into? and

generally, we use a red, amber, green tagging system so if your building has received a green tag you are allowed to re—enter, it would be considered safe for a small aftershock that may follow a big event. if it is amber or red tagged it needs further investigation rat tagging suggesting it will probably need to be demolished and replaced. one of the things that people do not really understand is that it is very difficult to build buildings to be totally damage free. and also the cost of that can be exorbitant. so our aim as engineers is first of all to try and ensure the building does not collapse so people can walk out and be safe. that means we do accept and be safe. that means we do accept a certain level of damage in

buildings and that's a difficult balance. sometimes people are unable to accept that. balance. sometimes people are unable to accept that-— to accept that. thank you for “oininu to accept that. thank you for joining us- — the uk government says it has fulfilled its promise to eradicate the backlog of outstanding asylum claims by the end of 2023. a large number of migrants have been stuck in the system, waiting to hear whether they will be granted refugee status. the home office now says it has reviewed a total of 112,000 applications. but many are still awaiting a final decision, and critics have accused ministers of massaging the statistics. the home secretary, james cleverly, says the target has been successfully met because of "the incredible hard work" of the government. it's about disrupting the supply chain of engines and boats that are used to ferry people across the channel. it's about going after the money of these people smugglers and it is about working hard, both at the uk border and across europe. that is what's driven this 36% reduction at the same time is that

europe is seeing an 80% increase. we are a positive outlier because of the actions that we have taken. so this is not about the weather, this is about the work that the home office officials have been doing both domestically and with our counterparts across europe. and in the next few minutes we will be speaking to our chief political correspondent. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making the news. landlocked ethiopia has signeds a deal with somaliland recognising the breakaway republic in exchange for 20 kilometres of coastline — to gain access to a port on the red sea. the deal is likely to anger the government of somalia, which considers somaliland part of its territory. pope francis has condemned the recent arrests of roman catholic priests and bishops in nicaragua. the pope said he was following the situation with concern. at least 1a members of the clergy have been detained

in nicaragua in the past two weeks. the motive for the arrests is not clear. the hong kong pro—democracy campaigner and former newspaper owner, jimmy lai, has appeared in court to plead not guilty to all charges against him. mr lai faces two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and conspiracy to publish seditious material. there's tight security for the trial. you're live with bbc news. the israeli government has sharply criticised a ruling by the supreme court which struck downjudicial reforms. it said it was the wrong time for such a decision when israel was at war and needed unity. 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. gideon levy is in tel aviv. he is an israeljournalist and columnist for the haaretz newspaper. he says benjamin netanyahu's government is weaker after israel's supreme court struck down the judicial reforms. in any case, you see the polls, there was never a government in war in israel with so little support, even though there is overall support in continuing the war, the government itself gets very little trust and support. and after this ruling it's even weaker, but this does not mean that netanyahu is about to leave. it might take much more time. live now to tel aviv where we can speak to ambassador mark regev, a senior advisor to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu.

thank you forjoining us. so what the prime minister benjamin netanyahu is not accept the realm of the court? he netanyahu is not accept the realm of the court? . , netanyahu is not accept the realm of the court? ., , ., ., , the court? he has not said anything ublicl the court? he has not said anything publicly that — the court? he has not said anything publicly that he _ the court? he has not said anything publicly that he did _ the court? he has not said anything publicly that he did speak _ the court? he has not said anything publicly that he did speak before i publicly that he did speak before that when there were leaks about the decision and he said this is not time to be dealing with the issue of judicial reforms. in time to be dealing with the issue of judicial reforms.— judicial reforms. in that case, do ou think judicial reforms. in that case, do you think you've _ judicial reforms. in that case, do you think you've all _ judicial reforms. in that case, do you think you've all accepted - judicial reforms. in that case, do | you think you've all accepted even though he has not spoken publicly? t though he has not spoken publicly? i do not want to prejudge what he though he has not spoken publicly? t do not want to prejudge what he will say about his position has been consistent since the war started. we must win this battle against hamas, must win this battle against hamas, must destroy the military machine. it's a time for national unity in israel, the issue ofjudicial reform is polarising israeli politics, you saw how it divided the court itself, it's an issue that is divisive and the opinion of the prime minister is all issues that are divisive, we should put them aside now and focus

on what needs to be done. t’m should put them aside now and focus on what needs to be done.— on what needs to be done. i'm so sor to on what needs to be done. i'm so sorry to interrupt, _ on what needs to be done. i'm so sorry to interrupt, the _ on what needs to be done. i'm so sorry to interrupt, the defence i sorry to interrupt, the defence minister and bunnykins, sorry to interrupt, the defence ministerand bunnykins, part sorry to interrupt, the defence minister and bunnykins, part of the war cabinet, they have said decisions must be respected but are you not putting at risk national unity benjamin netanyahu decides to be the standout in the group? these are leadin: be the standout in the group? these are leading members _ be the standout in the group? these are leading members of _ be the standout in the group? these are leading members of the - are leading members of the government and i'm sure the prime minister will speak in the coming hours, i presume so but it must be remembered and i think it is important your viewers understand, when hamas stormed the border on the 7th of october and indiscriminately murdered israelis, burning people alive, beheading them, wiping women, they did not ask beforehand what is your opinion onjudicial they did not ask beforehand what is your opinion on judicial reform, they did not ask beforehand what is your opinion onjudicial reform, are your opinion onjudicial reform, are you a political rival of the prime minister? they did not ask you left or right—wing, they indiscriminately slaughtered its release. but or right-wing, they indiscriminately slaughtered its release.— slaughtered its release. but your critics have _ slaughtered its release. but your critics have said _

slaughtered its release. but your critics have said part _ slaughtered its release. but your critics have said part of - slaughtered its release. but your critics have said part of the - slaughtered its release. but your| critics have said part of the battle over this trying to block the judiciary, the government has been so keen to push through, has been part of the destruction which led to import being caught offguard and being vulnerable to an attack by hamas, that is what your critics say? hamas, that is what your critics sa ? �* . , ., hamas, that is what your critics sa? . , ., say? and that is the reason for me had ut say? and that is the reason for me had put everything _ say? and that is the reason for me had put everything else _ say? and that is the reason for me had put everything else aside, - say? and that is the reason for me had put everything else aside, if. had put everything else aside, if that allegation is true it is another reason for we must put everything aside today, focus on a national effort and as a reporter you interview before me said, and he obviously was not a great fan of the prime minister but he said that the goals of this work or to dismantle the military machine of hamas and get our hostages home and end its run of the gaza strip, there is a national consensus in its row from left to right, people who don't do not like the israeli prime minister, we must win this war, we have no choice. , �* ., ., .,

choice. isn't one of the main reasons _ choice. isn't one of the main reasons netanyahu - choice. isn't one of the main reasons netanyahu wants i choice. isn't one of the main| reasons netanyahu wants the choice. isn't one of the main - reasons netanyahu wants the reform is that so that he can strengthen the corruption cases against him? that has been set and we said that this issue needs to be put aside. t this issue needs to be put aside. i am so sorry to interrupt but the brothers in arms who are an anti—overhaul group formed by reserve soldiers have set me stand behind the independence of the supreme court so they agree with the ruling on the one court to make the decision and they have said in the past they have made it clear they were unhappy gone to war under a system for the power of the supreme court was being eroded and that is what they were part of strikes on the streets and they decided they would fight as there was a moment of national unity but they now say they stand by the independence of the supreme court? find stand by the independence of the supreme court?— stand by the independence of the sureme court? �* ., , .,, supreme court? and will have people in tanks in gaza _ supreme court? and will have people in tanks in gaza who _ supreme court? and will have people in tanks in gaza who are _ supreme court? and will have people in tanks in gaza who are fighting - in tanks in gaza who are fighting and risking their lives today against middle hamas murderers and killers who support that view and to have a contrary view. israeli politics like that i know democratic

countries can be polarised and passionate at times, we can debate and argue these issues until tomorrow but the truth is we are facing an existential threat from hamas and it is time to put this aside. tn hamas and it is time to put this aside. ., ., , ., , , aside. in order to put it aside, why not 'ust a aside. in order to put it aside, why notjust a groove _ aside. in order to put it aside, why notjust a groove the _ aside. in order to put it aside, why notjust a groove the findings - aside. in order to put it aside, why notjust a groove the findings of i notjust a groove the findings of the supreme court? and accept the decision? ., �* , the supreme court? and accept the decision? . �* , ., ., , decision? that's going to be the decision? that's going to be the decision until _ decision? that's going to be the decision until this _ decision? that's going to be the decision until this is _ decision? that's going to be the decision untilthis is over, - decision? that's going to be the decision until this is over, the l decision until this is over, the conflict is over because once again this is a time of working together, not time for a divisive political debate. it's almost as if during the battle of pattern, to use a british example, you have a huge argument about the level of local taxation for example? no! when you have an existential threat you must put everything aside and deal with the threat and that is hamas, we can no longer live next to this enclave when terrorists were across the border and murder people, unacceptable. israeli civilians will

not stand for that anymore, they will not stand for it any longer. obviously you're part of the government and dzhe represent benjamin netanyahu but personally, how would you feel about this ruling, do you not think the chief justice said that reasonableness was quite an important part of preventing government overreach? once again you suggest that there were seven justices on one side and eight of them on the other and there were many differences of opinion and this is an issue that will and has divided israeli society. we will not solve it in this conversation or the next week or two but there will be a time for a comprehensive democratic dialogue on this issue but it is clear it must be put aside until the war is won. clear it must be put aside until the war is won-— clear it must be put aside until the war is won. that is common sense. thank you — war is won. that is common sense. thank you for— war is won. that is common sense. thank you forjoining _ war is won. that is common sense. thank you forjoining us. _ war is won. that is common sense. thank you forjoining us. thank - war is won. that is common sense. j thank you forjoining us. thank you for having me.

heavy russian missile and drone strikes on ukraine this early morning killed four civilians, wounded dozens and caused widespread damage. russia attacked with waves of different missiles during the morning rush hour. military authorities issued air alerts that lasted for at least three hours. ukraine's air force commander says — in terms of number and types of missiles, today's russia's air strike was a repeat of major attack on december 29th. this new attack came a day after russian president putin vowed to intensify strikes on ukraine. drones and missiles struck residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. several districts of ukraine's capital had been cut off electricity and water, which brought back memories of last winter, when russia pounded the energy grid with missiles, causing frequent power cuts and plunging millions into darkness in the middle of winter. our reporter olga malchevska has been speaking to locals in odesa, kharkiv and occupied crimea about the past few days of heavy strikes. what is usually a moment to celebrate, turns into another deadly night for people in odesa, coming under attack from russian drones. this lady tells us she had to run to the shelter right at midnight. because of the russian fireworks, the first time we came at midnight and now it is again. ukraine woke up to at least five

killed in southern odesa 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's 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 occupy crimea. decorated with ukrainian symbols, this christmas tree would be labelled extremism by russia if found. locals hope this year will finally mean freedom and peace. olga malchevska, bbc news.

just want to take you to some live pictures in tokyo — a fire has spoken out on a plane on the runway, we can see fire coming out of the aircraft windows and this comes as japan out of the aircraft windows and this comes asjapan recovers from out of the aircraft windows and this comes as japan recovers from the earthquake, the scale of destruction caused by an earthquake in central japan is becoming clearer but they do not know yet what has caused this fire at the runway. looks quite serious. we'rejust fire at the runway. looks quite serious. we're just watching that and we know in the meantime there are hundreds of buildings injapan that been damaged, many at the port of wajima, destroyed by the earthquake and subsequent forest and we don't have been a number of after—shocks as emergency workers search for people feared trapped under the rubble. as i say, we do not know yet whether they fire at the airport is connected to further

after—shocks. the japanese prime minister has ordered army personnel to help with the relief effort, it seems as though they are trying to get this far under control at the airport. and we have got this information that has just come on, japan airlines, apparently collided with a coast guard plane and that was the cause of the fire. looks quite serious at the moment. not clear either at this stage whether there was anyone on board the plane. and that is flight 516 from hokkaido to tokyo, we do not know if people had come off the plane by the time it was in collision with the coast guard aeroplane and we are waiting for more information to come in from

the area. that fire is in an airport in tokyo, that is happening right now. as i say, flight 516 from hokkaido. it is on the runway, the emergency services are clearly dealing with it and we were told it was a collision with a coast guard aeroplane, japan airlines aeroplane on far at the airport. we continue to cover this story for you as and when we get more information coming in. please stay with us here on bbc news and check out the website any time for further details on that story and of course the rest of the news. goodbye

for now. hello. some good news, first, there is some drier weather on the way later this week and into the weekend. but for the time being, we've got more wind and rain set to cause problems today. this mass of cloud has been pushing off the atlantic overnight. around the hook towards the west of it is where we see some strong winds from the cloud itself, extensive rainfall. but it's the winds could cause an issue as we go through this afternoon and evening, southern counties of england and wales, particularly around the coast where we could see winds, isolated gusts up to 70 miles an hour, similar sort of speed through orkney and shetland. and then there's the rain, as i said, that's spreading its way northwards across england and wales, particularly persistent through parts of east wales, the midlands this afternoon turning cloudy and wetter through parts of northern england, south west scotland and east of northern ireland after a bright start to the day. does brighten up across the south,

even though we see those winds really pick up — 13, 1a degrees here. it's going to be a chilly day again in shetland, four celsius with the winds gusting 60, 70 miles an hour, so a notable wind chill. and as the rain pushes in here, we could see it turn to snow at times. lots of rain this evening through northern and eastern parts of england. that clears through with the strongest of the winds, but it stays blustery through tonight and there'll still be some showers around into the morning, particularly across the south and the west where some could be heavy and thundery. shouldn't be too chilly a night for most of you at least. so into wednesday we go and it's going to be a case of the deep air going to be a case of the deep area of low pressure that causes the problems today, moves off in towards central and northern europe, still left with low pressure on the scene and that means you can see shower clouds pop up for many, but some longer spells of rain across orkney and shetland turning to snow across shetland at times too. there will be some lengthier showers across western scotland, but elsewhere the showers a bit more hit and miss. where you do catch them, they'll be heavy and thundery, particularly around some southern and western coast. one or two of you could stay dry

with the cloud breaking up at times to allow some sunshine. temperatures still for most above where we should be for this stage in the year — should be around 5 to 8 degrees. similar sort of day really on thursday, too, with the more persistent rain and the strongest the winds in the far north of scotland. lighter winds further south on thursday with a bit more sunshine, a few showers. but there is a chance later on we could see more persistent rain creep out of france into the channel islands and maybe just clip the south east. that will clear out the way through into friday. still a few showers around on friday, but here's the good news — weekend and beyond looking dry but colder with overnight frost and fog.

this is bbc news, the headlines: searching for survivors — japanese officials say at least 48 people have died and many others are trapped beneath rubble after a powerful earthquake struck on new year's day. the uk government says it's fulfilled its promise to eradicate the backlog of outstanding asylum claims by the end of last year. the spanish footballer, jenni hermoso, arrives at court to testify about whether the former president of the country's football federation, luis rubiales, should face trial for sexual assault after he kissed her on the lips at the world cup. south korea's opposition leader is stabbed in the neck at a news conference during a visit to the southern city of busan. and the skull of a sea monster that was unearthed from thejurassic coast goes on display at a museum in dorset.