recently where you said you had did recently where you said you had slowly lost what the reporter described as an aloof image, saying it had taken you years to relax and show your real self. is that how it has felt to you? it’s show your real self. is that how it has felt to you?— has felt to you? it's not that... i wouldn't — has felt to you? it's not that... i wouldn't say _ has felt to you? it's not that... i wouldn't say that _ has felt to you? it's not that... i wouldn't say that the _ has felt to you? it's not that... i wouldn't say that the image - has felt to you? it's not that... i wouldn't say that the image was has felt to you? it's not that... i - wouldn't say that the image was me, i think it's more that when i started doing what i do, i think i kind of protected myself a bit, really. the lovely thing about having a long career and about getting older, i think, having a long career and about getting older, ithink, is having a long career and about getting older, i think, is that i've been able to feel less self—conscious about being myself. i mean, i neverwould self—conscious about being myself. i mean, i never would have thought that at the age of 44, which i am now, that i'd feel comfortable dancing onstage around leotards. when i started onstage i was standing dead still, i was very shy. i'm sure my children would have preferred the older version of my performances but this is what

they're stuck way. it's one of the hidden delights of getting older, actually. i really like it. i hidden delights of getting older, actually. i really like it.- actually. i really like it. i agree. it's been a _ actually. i really like it. i agree. it's been a joy _ actually. i really like it. i agree. it's been a joy having _ actually. i really like it. i agree. it's been a joy having you - actually. i really like it. i agree. it's been a joy having you on - it's been a joy having you on newsnight. thank you and congratulations on new success with an incredible hit from all those years ago. have a lovely weekend. thank you. years ago. have a lovely weekend. thank yon-— thank you. thank you, en'oy saubum! �* thank you. thank you, en'oy saltburn! id thank you. thank you, en'oy saltburn! i will, i thank you. thank you, en'oy saltburn! iwill, don't�* thank you. thank you, enjoy saltburn! iwill, don't worry. | let's have a look at some of the front pages. starting with the times, the post office facing a police inquiry over the it scandal. scotland yard have confirmed that to the times this evening. that's over the times this evening. that's over the horizon it scandal. and then a gorgeous photograph of kate garraway and derek draper. her husband has died, she announced it on instagram today. the guardian, sunak asleep at the wheel as floods devastated england. the front page of the daily mirror, goodbye darling derek. again, kate garraway and her husband. in her post on instagram,

kate said, i was so lucky to have you in my life. so moving and upsetting. on the front page of the ft, british library reeling from a cyber hit. and the story we did earlier, resignation over a climate which eat adding a by—election to sunak�*s worries. that's it breaking news from around the world 24 breaking news from around the world 2a hours a day. this is bbc news. u nfortu nately unfortunately where they've been told to go has been bombarded. there

frankly is no safe place in gaza, installations flying the blue flag are not safe. there's been some 217 incidences of the premises being bombarded or bombed, and 62 of those are direct hits— each of them are violations of international humanitarian law. we even have to any two instances of the israeli military using unwra installations for military operations. and we've had some 319 internationally displaced people, local palestinians who have been killed while in un installations. unfortunately even in the south, where some 1 installations. unfortunately even in the south, where some1 million, 1.25 million palestinians have fled, even there it's not safe. and again, there's simply no safe place for

civilians in gaza right now. we've seen an escalation _ civilians in gaza right now. we've seen an escalation in _ civilians in gaza right now. we've seen an escalation in the - civilians in gaza right now. we've seen an escalation in the west i seen an escalation in the west recently, as well —— west bank, you have operations there, as well, what have operations there, as well, what have you seen?— have you seen? we've seen significant _ have you seen? we've seen significant death _ have you seen? we've seen significant death and - have you seen? we've seen| significant death and injuries have you seen? we've seen . significant death and injuries in the west bank, as well. my colleagues have said that the west bank is at a boiling point, and we have seen the unlawful detentions, and we are very concerned on the behalf of settlers, as well. the us secretary of _ behalf of settlers, as well. the us secretary of state, _ behalf of settlers, as well. the us secretary of state, antony - behalf of settlers, as well. the us. secretary of state, antony blinken, is back in the region this week. what are you hoping for from his visit? ~ ., , what are you hoping for from his visit? ~ . , _, ., , what are you hoping for from his visit? ~ . , ., , . ~ visit? me and my colleagues in unwra are callin: visit? me and my colleagues in unwra are calling for — visit? me and my colleagues in unwra are calling for an _ visit? me and my colleagues in unwra are calling for an immediate _ are calling for an immediate humanitarian cease—fire. that means we need full throated humanitarian access into gaza. i know there was a un resolution to this event, but we've seen very little change on the ground. the border that allows trucks into it has opened, but it is

still very difficult, if not sometimes impossible for unwra to get those resources which come in, which are not enough by any means, but even to get those meagre resources into those in need. that's because in those... our own staff at unwra has come underfire, we have lost many of our own staff members, as i've said, and the road leading out from the rough crossing have been damaged. some of unwra's trucks have been stuck in we've not got access to them. so we not only need more medical supplies and goods, mind you there are 50,000 pregnant women in gaza right now, 180 giving birth a day. wejust women in gaza right now, 180 giving birth a day. we just don't have enough supplies to help this population in the way that any single human being on earth deserves.

single human being on earth deserves-— single human being on earth deserves. ., ~ , ., , . ., deserves. thank you very much for 'oinin: us deserves. thank you very much for joining us on _ deserves. thank you very much for joining us on bbc— deserves. thank you very much for joining us on bbc news. _ deserves. thank you very much for joining us on bbc news. thank - deserves. thank you very much for| joining us on bbc news. thank you. we put those claims mara made there about israeli strikes on un installations, and what she described as 62 breaches of international humanitarian law to asaf zamir, former israeli tourism minister and former consul general of israel in new york. thanks indeed for being with us. the united nations humanitarian chief has today said that gaza has simply become uninhabitable. do you think israel will agree to a cease—fire, either temporary or permanent, to allow civilians in gaza to receive the aid and assistance that they need? , ., . �* the aid and assistance that they need? , ., ., �* ., need? first of all, we've already allowed for _ need? first of all, we've already allowed for temporary _ need? first of all, we've already| allowed for temporary cease-fire need? first of all, we've already i allowed for temporary cease-fire at allowed for temporary cease—fire at the beginning of the war. it was a hostage deal, we held ourfire for a few days, and will be do it again? i'm sure — if we knew for a fact that the humanitarian aid would go through, and that it could also go

through, and that it could also go through to our hostages. but we've been doing anything and everything humanitarian possible for us since the beginning of this war, so they always have time to leave their homes. we gave out maps that show the areas which are safe zones, which they can move to make sure they're which they can move to make sure they�* re safe. which they can move to make sure they're safe. and on our hand, we've proven that we are willing to do everything possible to save innocent lives as long as we can still complete the target of this war, which is eliminating hamas. the un auen for which is eliminating hamas. the un agency for refugees _ which is eliminating hamas. the un agency for refugees in _ which is eliminating hamas. the un agency for refugees in gaza, - which is eliminating hamas. the un i agency for refugees in gaza, unwra, feel there is no safe place in gaza for civilians to go, and they say there's actually been 62 direct hits on unwra installations, which it says each of those is a breach of international humanitarian law. so if an ngo is saying there is no safe place, how can israel be saying that there are safe places?—

there are safe places? well, i do think after— there are safe places? well, i do think after so _ there are safe places? well, i do think after so many _ there are safe places? well, i do think after so many days - there are safe places? well, i do think after so many days of - there are safe places? well, i do think after so many days of war, | there are safe places? well, i do | think after so many days of war, it would've been fair if we were to disregard what unwra says as exact realities, because we have found their infrastructure hidden inside unwra centres. we've revealed this to the world, they have brought in gas which was stolen by hamas the day after, they've hidden hamas operatives inside their schools, and we've found double walls where they hid ammunition. so at this point, what they say is not, or should not be regarded as factual, and what we say should be. so we are doing everything we possibly could to try and abide by these rules — maybe we are not always succeeding. and abide by these rules - maybe we are not always succeeding.— are not always succeeding. firstly, we are in no _ are not always succeeding. firstly, we are in no position _ are not always succeeding. firstly, we are in no position to _ are not always succeeding. firstly, we are in no position to verify - are not always succeeding. firstly, we are in no position to verify the l we are in no position to verify the claims you're making about unwra, we have no way of independently verifying that. and in any event,

you're not at war with the civilians there in gaza, those civilian people have rights to safety, food and water, to basic human rights. the death toll is put at this point by the hamas lead health ministry in excess of 22,000 people, we see the images coming from their of utter devastation — what can israel do to protect his people more? that plea has been made to israel from the us, we see the secretary of state, antony blinken, travelling there this week. what do you hope to see come from that meeting with the prime minister? i come from that meeting with the prime minister?— come from that meeting with the prime minister? i can tell you that antony blinken, _ prime minister? i can tell you that antony blinken, between - prime minister? i can tell you that antony blinken, between he - prime minister? i can tell you that antony blinken, between he and l prime minister? i can tell you that l antony blinken, between he and us, there is no daylight about the goals of this war. the importance to continue it until hamas is eliminated. if hamas laid down their weapons tomorrow, there wouldn't be a humanitarian crisis. if they stop their aggressions — they are still

harbouring 128 israeli hostages, they are still launching rockets at israel almost daily. they're not doing anything in their to try to minimise... doing anything in their to try to minimise. . ._ doing anything in their to try to minimise... �* ,., , , ., minimise... i'm sorry, but we are havin: minimise... i'm sorry, but we are having some _ minimise... i'm sorry, but we are having some difficulties _ minimise... i'm sorry, but we are having some difficulties with - minimise... i'm sorry, but we are having some difficulties with the l having some difficulties with the signal there, sojust having some difficulties with the signal there, so just to having some difficulties with the signal there, sojust tojump in — you'rejust freezing signal there, sojust tojump in — you're just freezing slightly on us, so just to jump you're just freezing slightly on us, sojust tojump in you're just freezing slightly on us, so just to jump in there as you mentioned the hostages there, and you are obviously a member of the blue—and—white party, formed in opposition to benjamin netanyahu's party, you were briefly in a power—sharing operation with him, but what is your assessment of how he has handled this war, and in particularly the pursuit to try and find those hostages? there has been some criticism of him. my find those hostages? there has been some criticism of him.— some criticism of him. my opinion is that i was some criticism of him. my opinion is that i was a — some criticism of him. my opinion is that i was a minister _ some criticism of him. my opinion is that i was a minister under - some criticism of him. my opinion is that i was a minister under the - that i was a minister under the unity government, and i resigned because of netanyahu. i was the consul general to new york and i resigned when netanyahu was reelected. i'm in great opposition to some of his policies and israel.

and still to this date, we are all united in israel against our shared enemy. we are all frightened together after what happened on october 7th, and the war cabinet is still a united war cabinet. and after the war, we can look back and say things i agreed with, the things i didn't — but what i think should happen politically in israel, right now we are in the middle of the war, my brother—in—law is a very early in gaza fighting as a reserves officer, and i support him and everything the idf is doing fully because we've reached where we have no choice. i want to remind you i was on the opposition side of this government for ever, so i supported the disengagement of gaza in 2005. it's been 17—18 years, and gaza has been free of any israeli presence of a side, and instead of using those years to build a thriving economy

and democracy, the use that time to create a terrorist structure, not a two state solution, not living alongside me that we have talked about them for years, but the full elimination. so after october 7th in me and my surroundings stopped feeling safe, we now have to make sure that they are gone. we have to demilitarised the gaza strip, we have to de—radicalize the palestinian home inside gaza in orderfor the day after palestinian home inside gaza in order for the day after to be a day in which we can live side by side with each other, because no one is going anywhere. bud with each other, because no one is going anywhere-— going anywhere. and 'ust on that briefl , going anywhere. and 'ust on that briefly. the t going anywhere. and 'ust on that briefly, the israeli _ going anywhere. and just on that briefly, the israeli defence - briefly, the israeli defence minister has outlined some proposals for the future governance of gaza — if you've had a chance to look at those proposals, what do you make of them? ., ., , .,, ., , them? look, there are many opinions riaht now them? look, there are many opinions right now in — them? look, there are many opinions right now in israel, _ them? look, there are many opinions right now in israel, and _ them? look, there are many opinions right now in israel, and that _ right now in israel, and that is verging into the politics of it.

some of the things represent the mainstream majority of israelis, some don't — some are very radical, saying things i don't agree with sometimes. everyone agrees right now in israel that we have to make sure it is safe for the people evicted from their homes to go back and live in their homes. it was one of the most shocking moments of the october 7th attack on israel. hamas fighters stormed into the supernova music festival, killing more than 360 people, and taking a0 hostages back into gaza. now, almost three months on, some of the families of those hostages have visited the site. our correspondent wyre davies joined them, as they confronted the place where their loved ones were taken. there is little left now at the site of the nova music festival, apart from hundreds of photographs planted in the desert earth, mainly young people who were killed or abducted on october 7th. among them, this woman, a wife and mother of an infant son, a boy who will never see his mother again.

we told him that his mother won't come back and that his father is missing, we are looking for him. but i tried to keep my eyes on my mission, to bring him back and bring the rest of them back. three months ago this weekend, thousands of heavily armed hamas fighters burst through the gaza offence. among their targets, the nova festival. partygoers fled for their lives. more than 360 were killed. dozens were abducted to gaza. some survivors made an emotional return to the nova site today. the safe return of their friends, the only goal. the well�*s attention is still very much focused on the ongoing warjust over in gaza, where more than 22,000 people have been killed, most of them civilians — but israel doesn't want the world

to forget what happened in places like this on october the 7th. everything is gone from where the festival site was, but what happened here has not been forgotten. virtually everything from the festival site has been brought to this installation in tel aviv. the stage, the sound systems, and the music. it's an emotional project but with a positive message as a community, we look forward. we have this passport of we will dance again. we mean it, we want to dance again, we want to dance for the memory of my friends, my friends will be happy to see me dance again. with thousands of personal possessions that will never be claimed, the burned—out cars in which fleeing people were killed, this is also a difficult reminder of one of the darkest days in israel's history.

the leader of hezbollah has once again threatened to retaliate against israel for its suspected role in the assassination of a hamas leader based in lebanon. hezbollah is a poweful political and military group backed by iran. and in his second speech this week, it's leader, hassan nasrallah, said that a response to the killing of saleh al arouri was "inevitable." his comments came as lebanon issued a formal complaint to the un security council over the attack in beirut on tuesday. it said israel used six missiles in the strike on a hezbollah strong hold. israel has not confirmed whether it was behind the killing. meanwhile, tensions remain high in al arouri's hometown in the occupied west bank. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. london underground strikes are to set go ahead after talks with transport for london failed to make progress. earlier this week, tfl warned there would be "severe disruption" across the tube network from the evening of sunday the 7th of january,

until the morning of friday, 12 january. workers are walking out over pay, grading structures, and travel facilities. hundreds more homes in england have been flooded after a week of relentless rainfall and the impact of storm henk. it was the eighth storm to hit the uk since september — that's the highest number in a season since the met office started naming them in 2015. parts of france and the netherlands also experienced major flooding. hundreds of people have flocked to an industrial estate in essex to grab a glimpse of what is considered an "incredibly rare" bird. bird—watcher simon wood said he "nearly fell off" his chair when he saw the northern waterthrush, originally from north america, in his garden. you're live with bbc news. us presidentjoe biden gave the first speech of his 2024 re—election campaign. it was centred entirely around democracy, and the threat that he says former president donald trump poses to

america's most sacred cause. speaking in pennsylvania, mr biden hammered mr trump repeatedly by name, giving no mention to trump's republican challengers. he called mr trump's recent inflammatory language akin to that of nazi germany, and said the former president's campaign was all about "revenge and retribution." with tomorrow marking three years since the january 6th insurrection, mr biden criticised mr trump's inaction that day — where trump reportedly watched on television as his allies pleaded for him to do something, his supporters violently storming the us capitol, with chants of hanging the former vice president and the speaker of the house. mr biden said american democracy was pushed to the brink, and survived. he accused the former president of rewriting the history of something millions of people around the world saw with their own eyes. and he said former president mr trump was willing to sacrifice

democracy for his own cause. donald trump accused him of fear mongering. trump's protest wasn't peaceful, it was an assault. they were instructors, they and patriots. they were there to destroy the constitution. trump won't do what an american president must do. he refuses to denounce political violence. as we begin this election year, we must be clear — democracy is on the ballot. yourfreedom is on must be clear — democracy is on the ballot. your freedom is on the ballot. your freedom is on the ballot. �* �* ,, ballot. applause. care o'donoghue i ballot. applause. i care o'donoghue was ballot. applause. - care o'donoghue was there ballot. applause. _ care o'donoghue was there at the speech and gave his thoughts on it. we learned a good deal about the strategy for the coming year, and the fact that the biden campaign does plan really to focus on the fate of american democracy. not

focused on the american economy necessarily, not even some of his legislative achievements, but what he calls the defence, protection and preservation of american democracy itself. in the past, joe biden has been not very keen to mention donald trump by name in these big speeches, but he peppered with this one with references to the former president. he analogized his behaviour to that of the nazis back in the third reich, and really painted a cataclysmic view of what might happen if donald trump got back into power— that's a big gamble for this campaign because democracy is interesting but it's an abstract construct, and making it as concrete as possible while talking about the january 6th attack on the capitol, which marks its third anniversary this weekend. the us supreme court has confirmed that it will decide

whether donald trump will be kept off the 2024 ballot in colorado and also other states. the colorado state supreme court removed trump from the ballot, citing the constitution's11lth amendment to claim he should not be allowed to run because of his role in the january 6th insurrection. voters in dozens of states have filed challenges to trump's re election bid. the associated press reports the supreme court will hear arguments in early february, and that the case will be fast—tracked. the colorado republican primary is to be held march 5th. the pentagon says us defence secretary lloyd austin was admitted to the hospital friday following complications from a "recent elective medical procedure." the pentagon's press secretary says mr austin is "recovering well" and "expecting to resume his full duties" later friday. the us supreme court is allowing idaho to enforce its strict abortion ban ahead of the justices hearing the case this spring. it can penalise doctors who

performed the procedure in emergency situations. the court granted emergency requests filed by idaho state officials, putting on hold a federaljudge ruling that pa rt part of the state from forcing concerns that have violated us law on emergency care. i's law makes performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. justices say they expect to hear oral arguments in the case in april and issue a ruling by the end ofjanuary. oscar pistorius has been freed on parole from a jail in south africa. it's nearly 11 years since pistorius murdered his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. she was shot multiple times by pistorius at his home, in a crime that gripped the world's attention. he claimed he mistook herfor a burglar. the former olympic champion was whisked away from prison in pretoria earlier, and is now thought to be staying at his uncle's house. mr pistorius must adhere to strict parole conditions for five years orface re—imprisonment. reeva's mother, june steenkamp, said the conditions send a clear message that south africa took

gender based violence seriously. oscar pistorius, convicted murderer, was once a paralympic and olympic superstar nicknamed the blade runner. his victim was girlfriend reeva steenkamp, a law graduate and model. he's been serving his sentence at this prison. earlier this morning, the authorities announced he'd left, was now officially a parolee, and is at home. that understood to be this nearby house owned by an uncle where flowers addressed to pistorius today and family came and went. until late 2029, pistorius will live under conditions, including being required to attend anger management sessions and not speaking to the media. he can be returned to prison if he breaches them. pistorius murdered reeva steenkamp on valentine's day 2013 by shooting her through a locked toilet door at his home.

his trial absorbed the world. he claimed to have shot her by mistake, thinking an intruder was in the house. i got to the bed, and then i realised reeva wasn't there. at first found guilty of the equivalent of manslaughter, he was convicted on appeal in 2015 of murder, withjudges saying his story was inconsistent and improbable. reeva steenkamp's close friend says they've had no space to grieve. we want to mourn, and we would most certainly - like reeva to rest in peace. every time we start. processing and coming to terms with things, oscar pops up. - in my opinion, oscar walking around as a free man without the necessaryi training and treatments - and psychiatric evaluations, he is deadly on the streets. what oscar pistorius does next will be the focus of intense interest. campaigners against male violence say his release sends a terrible signal.

oscar's release is an indication that we have a serious problem, that there's, i guess, a normalisation of leniency when it comes to predators, when it comes to anyone who commits any type of femicide or gender—based violence. reeva steenkamp's mother today said those left behind after her murder are the ones serving a life sentence. daniel de simone, bbc news, pretoria. and before we go — what are the colours you think of when you imagine neptune and uranus? new research from uk astronomers tells us that our idea of these planets might be wrong. a study reveals that earlier images of neptune may have been enhanced to show details of its atmosphere altering its true colour. instead of neptune being rich blue and uranus green — the planets are both shades of greenish blue. stay with us here on bbc news. take care, bye—bye. hello. after such a wet week, i can bring you some better news

in the weekend weather forecast — because, although it will be colder, it is also going to be drier. now, not completely dry — still a few showers around, a few bits and pieces of rain, particularly as we start saturday across northern and eastern areas where we have had a fair amount of cloud. but this slice of clear sky spilling in from the west — that's been allowing temperatures to drop, with some frost and fog, and ice to start saturday morning, with so much water around. where temperatures have dropped to freezing or below, we're likely to see some ice. some of the fog could be slow to clear across parts of northwest england and southwest scotland. some rain persisting across the northern isles into the afternoon, this band of cloud quite persistent, as well, across eastern counties of england with a few bits and pieces of showery rain. the odd shower out west, but some sunshine to you — highs of 5—9 celsius. during saturday night, this band of cloud in eastern england will roll, i think, a little bit further westwards back into the midlands, again, could bring the odd shower. but where we keep clear, starry skies overhead, it will get cold — a widely cold night,

temperatures around or below freezing, maybe down to —4—5, or perhaps even lower than that in some parts of scotland. and then, we head into sunday with a bit of cloud, and quite a brisk wind in the southeast corner — that will provide the odd shower. but elsewhere, mainly fine conditions, some spells of sunshine, but it will feel cold — 2—6 celsius, particularly cold, actually, if any morning fog lingers for any length of time. now, as we head into monday, this area of high pressure, if anything, will be strengthening, centred across the north of the uk. quite a few isobars down to the south, though — that means some quite strong winds, and those easterly winds, combined with some quite cold air, will make for a decidedly chilly feel. so, there's brisk winds down towards the south. further north, not as windy, but we could have some persistent fog, certainly some misty, murky conditions, some sunny spells, as well. but top temperatures maybe just 2—3 celsius in parts of scotland — northern ireland, england and wales, 3—6 celsius. but, when we factor in the strength

of the wind, look at these "feels like" temperatures — this includes the wind—chill — in some places, it will feel subzero. so very chilly on monday, perhaps turning a little bit less cold as the week wears on, but staying mostly dry.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines

for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. welcome to the first newswatch of 2024 with me, samira ahmed. coming up in our round—up of your comments on bbc news coverage — the row over how the bbc reported on the resignation of harvard university's president in the united states. and was the removal of a christmas tree from the bbc bbc news studio premature? happy new year. darts tournaments don't normally feature on news bulletins, but this wednesday was an exception when that night's news at ten ten started, the progress of 16—year—old luke littler to the world championships had just finished with defeat to luke humphries in the final. natalie perks was the reporter on the spot at alexandra palace.

natalie pirks was the reporter on the spot at alexandra palace.