the us secretary of state meets the leaders ofjordan and qatar as fighting continues in gaza, where the israeli military says it's broken hamas�*s military command structure in the north. the head of the us transport safety board says no passengers were seated next to where part of a plane fell off mid—flight. a warning that more properties will flood in the coming days because of increased river levels in some parts of england. and, a week into january, have you kept to your new year's resolutions? we'll be finding out what the residents of one care home have promised to do this year. hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. polls have opened in bangladesh after a day of violence on the eve of the country's

general election. at least 1a polling stations were set on fire. on friday, a busy commuter train was allegedly set on fire, killing four passengers. prime minister sheikh hasina is trying to gain a fourth—straight term in office. bangladesh's chief election commissioner has described the violence as an attempt to sabotage the vote. the main opposition bangladesh nationalist party has asked people to shun the poll. and international observers, including the un, have said the poll is taking place in a repressive environment. this was prime minister, sheikh hasina, voting a little earlier. the polls opened at 02:00 gmt — and close at 10:00 gmt. counting will start soon after the end of voting, with initial results expected by early monday. live now to the capital, dhaka, and our correspondent

samira hussain. tell us where you are and what has been happening? just behind me as a polling — has been happening? just behind me as a polling station _ has been happening? just behind me as a polling station here, - me as a polling station here, voting under way for the last three hours, and if you look around you can see these black and white posters everywhere they are actually posters for they are actually posters for the candidate from the ruling party. there is an independent candidate that is also on this ballot but you cannot see any kinds of posters for that candidate, there is little to no representation for an independent. and that is why there is a lot of criticism about these elections and why the main opposition party is calling them one—sided, because even those independents that are participating in the elections are really barely

visible. ~ ., ., elections are really barely visible. ., ., , visible. what other reasons behind main _ visible. what other reasons behind main opposition - visible. what other reasons i behind main opposition party calling for a boycott?- calling for a boycott? right, if ou calling for a boycott? right, if you go — calling for a boycott? right, if you go back _ calling for a boycott? right, if you go back to _ calling for a boycott? right, if you go back to 2018 - calling for a boycott? right, if you go back to 2018 when | if you go back to 2018 when bangladesh last held elections, there was widespread voter, boat irregularities in the elections were condemned by many international organisations, saying they were not free and fair. they did contest these elections but said many party members were not allowed to go and vote and campaign, so this time around they made a request for an interim caretaker government. that request was denied. therefore they said well look, forget it, we're not going to contest in these elections because have no guarantee they will be free and fair. in some ways that kinda plays into prime minister sheikh hasina's

determination and insistence that these elections will be free and fair. with no opposition really contesting, she is able to, she will probably be able to claim that these are in fact there elections and these are legitimate results. thank you very much — legitimate results. thank you very much for— legitimate results. thank you very much for that. _ irene khan is un special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. thank you for coming on the programme. what is your assessment of these elections? i am appalled at the level of human rights violations, the climate of fear and threats in which the election has been conducted, more than 20,000 political activists have been detained including most of the senior leadership of the opposition party, thejudicial system has been weaponised againstjournalists system has been weaponised against journalists and system has been weaponised againstjournalists and human against journalists and human rights againstjournalists and human rights defenders and activists, editors are scared to speak out so there is a culture of

censorship, voter intimidation has been right, or people are being told their social security cards and registration would be wiped out they do not go to vote, candidates of ruling party have openly said that if you are not going to vote for us, please do not turn up vote for us, please do not turn up at the polls. so people �*s right to vote, the right to protest and freedom of expression are all blatantly violated so how can these elections be free and fair. given that assessment what does this election do for the country's international standing?— country's international standin: ? ~ ., standing? well, the government seems to be _ standing? well, the government seems to be using _ standing? well, the government seems to be using this _ standing? well, the government seems to be using this election | seems to be using this election in such a way to ruin its own image, its positive achievements are forgotten when one looks at this authoritarian approach of trying to win the election at all costs.- election at all costs. what about the _ election at all costs. what about the changes - election at all costs. what about the changes you - election at all costs. what i about the changes you would like to see, what do you want

to see happen now?- like to see, what do you want to see happen now? well my fear is ost to see happen now? well my fear is post elections _ to see happen now? well my fear is post elections peoples - is post elections peoples grievances will not disappear, the elections may be false and are very real and there are is are very real and there are is a lack and there —— there is a possibility of more political violence coming up in the response from the government is likely to be authoritarian and crush any form of dissent and i am very worried about independent media, there are few very brave journalists and editors who continue to work and i am worried they could be shut down. so i hope the government will take a longer term approach to this, it is not about winning elections at all costs, it is about putting the country back on the right direction and i hope the government will open negotiations not what —— not just for the political opposition broadly with civil society and other stakeholders and sit down and talk about how the country can work together towards bringing about some peace, consensus and some

agreement on how to go forward from the very difficult problems, economic and social problems, economic and social problems that are now confronting bangladesh. what about the opposite _ confronting bangladesh. what about the opposite point - confronting bangladesh. what about the opposite point of view that these elections are being held and it is not the government who turns up into decides to boycott, they have done their bit they are holding the elections they cannot control the actions of other parties, that is up to them? well it is not about people not wanting to turn up, people are being forced to turn up when they do not want to turn up, people who are turning up do not have a choice because of the way in which the government has handled the situation prior to the elections in weeks and months prior. so there is no choice the government cannot stand back and say it is not responsible. 0nce stand back and say it is not responsible. once these polls knows and everyone knows what the results are going to be, the results are going to be, the same prime minister the country tomorrow as she is today and it is up to her now today and it is up to her now to show the leadership of bringing the country together,

of ensuring political violence does not derail the progress that this country has made so far. ., that this country has made so far. . ., ~ , ., , far. irene khan, thank you very much for _ far. irene khan, thank you very much for coming _ far. irene khan, thank you very much for coming on _ far. irene khan, thank you very much for coming on the - much for coming on the programme. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, will meet arab leaders on the second full day of his middle east trip, as he tries to prevent the conflict in gaza from spreading. he'll meet king abdullah ofjordan in amman and then head to qatar for talks with the emir. qatar has been a key player in negotiations with hamas to release hostages captured during the attack on israel in october. this is what mr blinken had to say before he left forjordan. we have an intense focus on preventing this conflict from spreading and a big part of the conversations we'll be having over the coming days with all of our allies and partners is looking at the steps that they can take, using the influence and ties that they have, to do just that — to make sure that this conflict doesn't spread.

second, we will be looking at what we can do to maximise the protection of civilians, maximise humanitarian assistance getting to them, and also to get hostages out of gaza. as the diplomacy continues, so does the fighting, with israel carrying out air strikes overnight in the city of khan yunis in southern gaza. the official palestinian news agency reported many dead and wounded. in the west bank, palestinian officials said six people had been killed in an israeli air raid onjenin. the israeli army says its completed what it claims is the �*dismantling" of hamas's command structure in the northern gaza strip. a spokesman said hamas fighters could operate only �*sporadically�* in the area. with me is said shehata from bbc arabic. thank you for coming in. let's go with the latest claim about

gaza. what have the israeli military been saying there? the israeli military _ military been saying there? tue: israeli military spokesman military been saying there? tte: israeli military spokesman said israeli military spokesman said israel finished dismantling the command structure of hamas in the north. and the fighters of hamas were now without any leaders or command. so you can understand from what he said it has weakened the ability of hamas to fire rockets from the north. now the focus will go on the central and south of gaza, and the israeli strikes and khan yunis in the south, aiming to dismantle hamas command structure in these areas, to claim they achieve victory so at least inside israel there would be some support for the benjamin netanyahu government because there is many pressure on them to release the hostages. but dismantling the

command structure will be tested in the next few days if they truly dismantle that it would the fighting would be less and there would be less threat to israel from this part. it would put pressure on israel to allow more aid to the north because it is a problem because since the crossing was opened, and rougher crossing only 128 trucks go there, and they need 500 trucks before it was happening, for second of october but the now —— need now is immense they need more than 500 trucks. now what the israeli said it will help more aid, especially after the american senator from the foreign affairs committee visited rafa and said there are backlogs and more need for aid

to come inside and set about the cumbersome and obstacle for the cumbersome and obstacle for the trucks to go in because of the trucks to go in because of the testing and scrutinising the testing and scrutinising the containers so it takes a long process so as pressure to let more inside —— more aid inside that and part of mr blank and's visit. his visit according _ blank and's visit. his visit according to _ blank and's visit. his visit according to the - blank and's visit. his visit according to the state - according to the state department he came to turkey, greece now and jordan.- department he came to turkey, greece now and jordan. then go to qatar, saudi _ greece now and jordan. then go to qatar, saudi arabia _ greece now and jordan. then go to qatar, saudi arabia uae, - to qatar, saudi arabia uae, israel west bank and egypt, a long one from four — 11 january, he will focus as he said in the clip on releasing hostages, more aid inside gaza and the most important thing, containing the conflict inside gazait containing the conflict inside gaza it does not spread outside. because there is fear of escalation from hezbollah because they fired dozens of rockets at israel and israel responded there is a fear to expand the conflict to lebanon

on and that would be a problem. in addition to that the houthi threat towards the international trade routes in the red sea is a problem and it is one of the reasons antony blinken to talk about how to contain the houthi threat because affecting the prices of containers, prices of goods, and even the secretary of the minister of finance, secretary of treasure in britainjeremy hunt said it will affect the british economy. so all of that on the agenda of antony blinken to convince the leaders to contain and also on the agenda to talk about the future, about the palestinian state, to set the palestinian state, to set the conditions, which lead to serious discussion in order to achieve peace and coexistence between the israelis and palestinians in this go through and will be achieved through a palestinian state. this would be with the leaders, the hope

this will help to ease the tension, it will help to contain the conflict because if it were to spread it will be problematic, it will be ongoing not affect only the politics but other regions in the middle east. said shehata from bbc arabic. let's get some of the day's other news now. the us defense secretary lloyd austin says he takes full responsibility for the secrecy surrounding his hospitalisation for an unspecified medical condition. the pentagon did not reveal the news for five days, prompting criticism, given his position in the us military chain of command. three more people have been arrested in connection with the january 6th assault on the us capitol building, on the third anniversary of the attack by donald trump supporters. nearly 1,300 people have so far been charged in relation to the riot. a us federal appeals court has reinstated a ruling that bars california from enforcing a new gun law prohibiting the carrying of guns in most public places.

the ban came into force onjanuary1 after an earlier ruling, but is now on hold. the president of the european council, charles michel, has said he intends to stand in european parliamentary elections in june. he says he'll step down from his post if elected, triggering a scramble to find a replacement. mr michel said his announcement gave the eu plenty of time to find a successor. alaska airlines says it's again halting flights by 18 of its fleet of boeing 737 max 9 planes that had returned to the air following safety inspections. one of the carrier's planes had to make an emergency landing on friday after losing part of its fuselage mid—flight. a second american airline, united, says none of its max 9s will now resume flights. a short time ago, the chair of the us transportation safety board gave an update

to reporters. we have the safest aviation system in the world. it is incredibly safe. we are the global gold standard for safety around the world. but we have to maintain that standard. we are very, very fortunate here that this didn't end up in something more tragic. no—one was seated in 26a and b. where the — where that door — that door plug is. let's get the background from our reporter, leigh milner. this video footage was taken by a passenger on board flight 1282 shortly after take—off. look closely and you can see a hole in the side of the plane, a panel has been blown out. we are depressurised, we do need

to return back. we have 177 passengers. to return back. we have 177 passengers-— to return back. we have 177 passengers. just 20 minutes after take-off, _ passengers. just 20 minutes after take-off, flight - passengers. just 20 minutes after take-off, flight 1282 i after ta ke—off, flight 1282 made after take—off, flight 1282 made an emergency landing back at portland international airport in oregon. luckily, no—one was injured. these pictures show the full extent of the damage in what was a terrifying experience for those on board. bill was a terrifying experience for those on board.— was a terrifying experience for those on board. all of a sudden i heard a big — those on board. all of a sudden i heard a big bang. _ those on board. all of a sudden i heard a big bang. and - those on board. all of a sudden i heard a big bang. and i- i heard a big bang. and i didn't know exactly what was going on. but, um, ilook didn't know exactly what was going on. but, um, i look up and the oxygen masks were hanging from the ceiling. and then i looked to my left and there's this huge chunk, part of the aeroplane, just like, missing. of the aeroplane, 'ust like, missinu. of the aeroplane, 'ust like, missing-h of the aeroplane, 'ust like, missing. there was a kid in that row- — missing. there was a kid in that row. his _ missing. there was a kid in that row. his shirt - missing. there was a kid in that row. his shirt was - missing. there was a kid in that row. his shirt was him| missing. there was a kid in - that row. his shirt was him and out of— that row. his shirt was him and out of the _ that row. his shirt was him and out of the plane. his mother was — out of the plane. his mother was holding onto him. last niaht, was holding onto him. last night. the _ was holding onto him. last night. the uk _ was holding onto him. last night, the uk civil- was holding onto him. last night, the uk civil aviation | night, the uk civil aviation authorities written to all foreign owners of boeing 737

max nine airport demanding that inspections are carried out before they can operate in uk air space. the us federal aviation administration has ordered the temporary grounding of 171 boeing 737 max 9s as investigators try to work out exactly what happened. this is the latest incident involving boeing's best selling model that was launched back in 2015. in october 2018, a 737 max operated by indonesian airline lion air crashed shortly after take—off, killing all 189 on board. in march 2018, an ethiopian airline 737 max was involved in a similar crash, killing all 157 passengers. that led to all boeing 737 maxs being grounded for the next 20 months. after this latest

incident, alaska airlines grounded its max fleet. boeing said they would cooperate with any investigation. the uk's environment agency is warning that more properties will flood over the coming days due to increased river levels in some parts of england. the agency said areas around the trent, the severn and the thames are likely to be impacted — with more than 1,800 properties already flooded. 0ur reporter emily brown has been looking at how widespread the flooding has been. this is the live flood map on the government website. we've been taking a look at how different parts of the country is impacted by the flooding. in leicestershire, this capsized canal boat was swept away. nottinghamshire county council issued warnings. many have been evacuated from their homes, here and across other parts of the country. meanwhile in

essex, people were rescued from a mini bus that was stranded in floodwater. and the fire and rescue service had to rescue people and even a dog from this flooded road near chelmsford. in other parts of the country, hundreds of flood warnings were issued, particularly here in the west of england, in gloucester. many people now have started to clear up the floodwater and the forecast of clear weather means that people should soon be able to assess the damage. experts say a warming atmosphere increases the chance of intense rainfall and storms. however, many factors contribute to extreme weather and it takes time for scientists to calculate how much impact climate change has on these particular events. a metropolitan police officer has been suspended after being charged with rape. pc andrej sagaidak has been charged with two counts of rape, one count of non—fatal strangulation and one count of causing actual bodily harm. the officer was off—duty at the time of the alleged offences.

some services on the london underground will stop running from sunday evening ahead of a complete walk out by tube staff for most of next week. the strike is part of a long—running dispute about pay and conditions. around three million journeys are made every working day on the tube and the strike is expected to bring major disruption. as we settle into january, many of us will be thinking about our new year's resolutions, whether its taking up a new hobby, spending less time on your phone, or giving up sweet treats. 0ur reporter philip norton has been visit one care home in grimsby where residents have set some unique resolutions for 202a. my my new year's resolution is to help more people. my my new year's resolution is to help more people.— my new year's resolution is to help more people. my new year's resolution is _ help more people. my new year's resolution is to _ help more people. my new year's resolution is to do _ help more people. my new year's resolution is to do more - resolution is to do more gardening. resolution is to do more gardening-— resolution is to do more uuardenin. , i. ., gardening. sometimes you need a little help from _ gardening. sometimes you need a little help from friends _ gardening. sometimes you need a little help from friends to - little help from friends to keep to your new year's resolutions. at this care home in grimsby. there's a

determination to keep all of them. ~ , determination to keep all of them. y ., �* , determination to keep all of them. y ., �*, ., them. my new year's resolution is to keep _ them. my new year's resolution is to keep going _ them. my new year's resolution is to keep going as _ them. my new year's resolution is to keep going as long - them. my new year's resolution is to keep going as long as - them. my new year's resolution is to keep going as long as i - is to keep going as long as i can. i haven't got much incentive at the minute. i don't have any sight. i can't bowl very much. but i will get there. i will keep this up. i will try. there. i will keep this up. i willt . ., , there. i will keep this up. i will try-— there. iwill keep this up. i willt . .,, will try. people feel a bit sad around christmas _ will try. people feel a bit sad around christmas time - will try. people feel a bit sad around christmas time so . will try. people feel a bit sad around christmas time so to| around christmas time so to cheer— around christmas time so to cheer them up around christmas time so to cheerthem up a around christmas time so to cheer them up a bit, around christmas time so to cheerthem up a bit, give around christmas time so to cheer them up a bit, give them something to look forward to, to get— something to look forward to, to get them excited about looking forward to it. what's our looking forward to it. what's your new — looking forward to it. what's your new year's _ looking forward to it. what's your new year's resolution, | your new year's resolution, albert? ., .,. your new year's resolution, albert? ., ., albert? to teach you lot football. _ albert? to teach you lot football. you _ albert? to teach you lot football. you like - albert? to teach you lot l football. you like teaching football, _ football. you like teaching football, don't _ football. you like teaching football, don't you? - football. you like teaching football, don't you? i- football. you like teaching football, don't you? i do. | football. you like teaching - football, don't you? i do. they came u- football, don't you? i do. they came up with _ football, don't you? i do. they came up with all _ football, don't you? i do. they came up with all sorts, - football, don't you? i do. they came up with all sorts, they i came up with all sorts, they had lots of laughs and jokes and talked about everything. i really loved john miller's comment about seeing his first great—grandchild, to be born this month. he's very excited about that. barbara and pat come as a double act. don't wear them- _

come as a double act. don't wear them. knickers. - wear them. knickers. laughter _ laughter these old school friends were reunited again here. you were the prefect and the teacher's pet. the prefect and the teacher's et. . . the prefect and the teacher's et, , , , ., the prefect and the teacher's et. . , ., pet. yes. i bet you loved her. how did _ pet. yes. i bet you loved her. how did you _ pet. yes. i bet you loved her. how did you guess? - pet. yes. i bet you loved her. how did you guess? my - pet. yes. i bet you loved her. how did you guess? my newl how did you guess? my new year's resolution is play more bingo with my friends. my new year's resolution _ bingo with my friends. my new year's resolution is _ bingo with my friends. my new year's resolution is to - bingo with my friends. my new year's resolution is to dance i year's resolution is to dance with me friends more. cos i like dancing with friends. really? laughter speaking of dancing... laughter ..are we going to have a dance? laughs yeah, i'm old as tall as you... what's your resolution? to do more dancing? mr; what's your resolution? to do more dancing?— what's your resolution? to do more dancing? my resolution is livina. more dancing? my resolution is living. living. _

living. living. laughter i laughter brilliant. a resolution for us all. hollywood stars are gearing up for the golden globe awards after a huge yearfor cinema which saw barbie and 0ppenheimer dominate the box office. the globes mark the first major ceremony of film awards season, which culminates with the oscars on 10 march. there are some new categories at this year's golden globes, including one which recognises box office achievement. barbie has nine nominations and 0ppenheimer has eight. the event starts at 01:00 gmt on sunday and usually lasts between three and four hours. this year's ceremony will be hosted by us comedian and actorjo koy. you know, this is hollywood. this is a tough business. if you dream to be, in this business, you know it's hard. but you got to wait it out.

it's all about waiting out and just capturing that moment when it finally happens. and i get to say it finally happened, bro, it's going to be a fun night. i can't wait. you will find lots more detail and background to the stories we're covering on our website. just head to bbc.com/news — or download the bbc news app. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there.

flooding still, of course, a concern for many, although the rain has now largely eased and the number of flood warnings is continuing to steadily drop. but there are still plenty of them in place. so do take a look at the details on those on the bbc weather website. of course, it's a lot drier now than it has been recently. we're set to keep that dry weather as we head through the next few days. it's certainly feeling colder. temperatures closer to the seasonal average, frost and fog forming through the overnight periods. also, some icy stretches with the ground so damp too. and the high pressure is set to stick around as we head into next week. it's just blocking all of these atlantic systems pushing in from the west. so we should stay dry and settled with some showers perhaps towards the east. and we're starting off sunday morning with quite a widespread frost, although temperatures a little higher, just above freezing where we keep the layers of cloud, fog lingering on for much of the morning yet again. it's going to be very slow to lift and close some very dense patches out there. the sunshine very weak at this time of year, not doing too much

to burn it back. but there will be a lot of sunshine around across scotland, northern england and northern ireland. sunny spells for england and wales, but always cloudier towards these north sea facing coasts with quite a noticeable northeasterly wind blowing a few showers onshore at times, but wintry over the northern york moors and perhaps over the downs of kent. but these will be the days highs — 2 to 6 degrees celsius, although in the northeasterly wind, it's going to feel a good few degrees colder than that. and it's more of the same as we head into monday. perhaps the breeze picking up a little across east anglia and the southeast of england as we head through the day. so feeling colder once again, but some sunny spells around again. any fog could linger on for much of the morning, even into the afternoon. temperatures between 3 and 5 degrees celsius. but once again, i think some places could possibly feel subzero in exposure to that brisk northeasterly wind. it will be windier through the channel as well. and then into tuesday, we'll see more of a wind developing towards the south of england. and this will allow the cloud to break up a little more.

so more in the way of sunshine probably. but again, highs of only 3 to 6 degrees celsius, some fog and some low cloud further north. and here's the outlook for our capital cities as we head through the rest of the week. temperatures will rise a little as we head into thursday and friday. it's still looking mostly dry. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines. voting is underway in bangladesh — most opposition

parties are boycotting the election, in which the current prime minister is expected to win a fourth consecutive term. the election has seen a wave of violence across the country, with 1a polling stations being set on fire before voting began. the us secretary of state antony blinken is holding more talks in a bid to end the conflict in gaza — he's meeting the leaders ofjordan and qatar today. fighting continues in gaza, where the israeli military says it's broken hamas's command structure in the north of the territory. the head of the us transport safety board says no passengers were seated next to where part of a plane fell off mid—flight. meanwhile, the american airline regulator has ordered the grounding of 171 boeing 737 max 9 jets after the incident, while inspections take place. now on bbc news, talking business. hello, everybody.

a very warm welcome to talking business weekly