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channel dropped by more than a third but the figures are still some of the highest on record. and what it means for disney is the copyright expires on the earliest versions of mickey and minnie mouse. hello. we start this hour in japan, where a powerful earthquake has hit the center of the country, bringing down golding's and power lines. four people are confirmed to have died, but the extent of the damage isn't yet clear. the epicenter of the 7.6 magnitude quake was moto province with the tremors felt as far away as the tokyo capital. tens of thousands of people were told to head to higher ground, and many spent the night in emergency shelters. a major tsunami warning has been downgraded to an advisory. president joe biden says the u.s. is ready to provide any necessary assistance to japan as a close ally of the country.

the latest now from japan. reporter: this footage from inside someone's home captures the moment the powerful earthquake struck. some staff at this news network took cover, while others wanted to cover the story. the 7.6 magnitude quake struck just after 4:00 in the afternoon local time. it was caught on camera in this supermarket. there was chaos and confusion. tsunami warnings were issued, then downgraded on ishikawa coastline. people were told to head to higher ground. >> i would like to ask all residents to continue to pay close attention to the occurrence of this strong earthquake. if you are in a region where a tsunami is expected, please evacuate as soon as possible.

reporter: more than 140 kilometers from the epicenter, this video was taken by an english teacher. >> it just kept going. it was really long. pictures were going all over the place, everything fell off the shelves. it was pretty dramatic. reporter: he and his family went to the local evacuation center until he was told it was safe to return home. but then -- >> just as we were talking, my phone gets this alert that there has been an earthquake. the whole finger had been aftershocks. reporter: despite the damage, it was on his severest 2011, when an earthquake triggered a tsunami leading to a meltdown at fukushima power plant this time facilities are unaffected. but following the earthquake, a huge fire broke out in one of

the affected areas, and thousands are spending the night outside in below-zero temperatures, fearful of going back to their homes as aftershocks continue to hit. bbc news, they perfecter in japan. >> a professor of geology and what science is the university of liverpool told me japan is very used to earthquakes on this scale. >> in this part of the world we expect the events of this kind of size -- 60 years ago just about 200 kilometers to the northeast of where this event happened, there was a similar-sized earthquake back then, too. it is not unknown to have earthquakes of this size in that particular area. >> japan is used to dealing with earthquakes. they have a very sophisticated warning system, don't they, particularly for the tsunamis. >> absolutely. japan is one of the best prepared countries on the planet for events like this. the tsunami warning went out

straight away after the earthquake and people would've been prepared for that. thankfully it didn't turn out to be as hazardous as may be we first feared after the great happened. d >> it's claimed the tectonic plates and why japan is so liable to earthquakes. dan: sure. it's an amazing part of the world japan is on, part of the pacific ring of fire, where there is lots of huge faults of, subduction zones where tectonic plates are being thrust back down into the earth's mantel all the way into the pacific. whilst this earthquake did not happen on one of those subduction zone faults, it is part of the same system where the tectonic plates are pushing against each other, and this earthquake was a thrust fault earthquake, were basically the earth's crust will have been pushed up by about 3.5 meters. and it is all related to those stresses and tectonic forces that are affecting the region. >> dan faulkner from the

university of liverpool. israel's supreme court has struck out judicial reforms that were a centerpiece of benjamin netanyahu's agenda in government. the reforms sparked months of protest as the legislation limited the court's powers to cancel government decisions. its opponents said prevented proper oversight of the government. the court was split in its decision. 8 judges voted in favor of striking other law, while seven voted to uphold it. a reporter for u.s. network bbc news in jerusalem explained wh -- abc news in jerusalem explained why the reforms were so controversial. >> the reason they were so controversial is, first of all, they were almost pushed through the legislature without any real talk with either the court or the opposition to reach some kind of consensus on retinkering

the balance between the judiciary, executive, and the legislature. and that is one of the reasons that we saw for weeks and weeks and weeks tens of thousands of israelis taking to the streets, because essentially they saw this as not only a move to weake n the courts from the supreme court on down, but they also cited it as a kind of power grab by -- saw it as a kind of power grab by israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who, although this was only the first piece of a larger program to overhaul the judiciary, they believe that it was a conflict of interest here, that in the end netanyahu might benefit and find a way out of his legal troubles. remember, part of this plan was also to pass and override built with the slim majority that -- an override bill with the slim

majority that the legislature would be able to essentially strike down the supreme court's decisions. in the ruling of 8-7, the supreme court said removing the reasonableness clause, the base of this decision, was a really -- caused damage to israel's character as a democracy, and it harm the separation of powers and the rule of law, and it could open the door to corruption and a lot of other problems with individual rights, etc. the court in an unprecedented step struck down a basic law. it should be said that netanyahu and his government knew what they were doing when they framed this law as a basic law, knowing it would be harder for the supreme court to make such a huge step and strike it down.

they can't appeal against what the supreme court said, but if they chose to, they could ignore the ruling, which would bring a kind of constitutional crisis to israel. >> i just want to bring you a line of breaking news coming into us on our top story, that earthquake in japan. we are hearing from the british prime minister rishi sunak, he says that the u.k. is ready to stand and support japan after the earthquake, and that the uk's monitoring developments closely. earlier president biden also said that the u.s. was ready to offer any assistance that was needed to japan. the british prime minister rishi sunak also now saying that the u.k. stands ready to help japan if needed after that massive earthquake that they had earlier. to israel, and it says the war in gaza, which has reduced much of the territory to rubble, could go on throughout 2024. but it has a shift in tactics, withdrawing some forces to focus

on more targeted operations against hamas. there has been no let up in the intense bombardment, though, which has killed almost 22,000 people in gaza. reporter: the sound of gunfire and airstrikes ushering in the new year for the people of gaza. as they continued to flee further south, seeking the ever-shrinking spots of safety. for many families, it's an arduous and all-too-familiar journey. >> there is no safe place left in gaza. we used to live in gaza city, then we had to move to central gaza. right now we are outside khan yunis, but there is still no safe place. reporter: in central gaza, the intense bombardment shows no sign of easing. in this building, people use their bare hands and whatever equipment they can find to pull

out casualties from the rubble. this was meant to be one of the safer areas for people who needed to evacuate other parts of the center. the u.n. has yet again warned of the worsening humanitarian situation in gaza. it said teams on the ground are facing restrictions in different areas. israel says it is not limiting aid. but with the continuing fighting across the gaza strip, delivering aid to those who needed the most has become a dangerous and complex process. israel's war in gaza has come at a very heavy price. these were the words of the prime minister a few days ago. as the number of soldiers killed in battle years 200 -- nearest 200, israel's military says it is withdrawing some combat troops and switching to more targeted operations. but the aim remains the same, to dismantle hamas and bring back the hostages. in this war looks set to last well into the new year.

>> the u.k. government says it won't hesitate to take further direction and action against yemen's who these -- houthis, who are attacking ships in the red sea to express support for hamas. i asked frank gardner what kind of action the u.k. could take. frank: euphemistically the defense secretaries calling it direct action, if the houthis don't stop there attacks. at the minimum it means continuing to shoot down the drones that the houthis are firing, but this is not a cost-effective exercise for the west. you have the u.s., britain, france, other nations, all have navies in that region as part of coalition called operation prosperity guardian. it costs roughly 100 times more to fire off a viper missile from a royal never destroy to shoot down a drone than it costs the houthis to launch a $20,000

drone. that isn't going to work in the long term. they are hoping to dissuade the houthis from doing more of these, with the implicit threat that if they carry on, there is the risk that the u.s. and britain and others will use our strikes and tomahawk cruise missile strikes to take out the houthi launch site. they don't want to do that, because it is quite risky. you risk of metastasizing the hamas-israel war into something much bigger, potentially pitting iran and u.s. forces into a direct confrontation, because iran supports the houthis. >> that is our security correspondent frank gardner. here in the u.k., the number of migrants crossing the english channel fell by over one third in 2023, compared with a record number of crossings the year before. more than 29,000 people made the journey. migration is likely to be one of the key issues in the general election this year. mark easton has been analyzing the numbers. mark: within the general

election looming, the government wants to start the new year with evidence that the prime minister's two big promises and immigration are being delivered. promise number one, stop the boats. no, they haven't stopped. the home office claims its plan is working. the number known to have front to the channel in 20 43 was down one third from 2022. almost 1000 individuals arrived on the coast, second-highest figure ever. officials .23 key deals they claim are helping turn the tide, a deal with france improving security on the coast around calais, a deal with turkey to disrupt smugglers supply chains, and a deal with albania to return failed asylum-seekers. the deal the government regards as the game changer is with rwanda, but that plan was ruled unlawful. almost everyone who arrived in small boats last year has claimed asylum, which brings us to the prime minister's second big promise on immigration, to clear the asylum backlog bid we have to wait

until tomorrow for the official numbers, but expect the prime minister to claim it is job done. number 10 says the promise only relates to what because the legacy backlog, people stuck in the system for more than 18 months. this is what the picture looks like three month ago. the legacy backlog, the blue bar, that is shrinking. but the backlog of new claims, well, they are as you concede numbering around 100,000 people. there will be claims of creative accounting with thousands of those legacy cases simply withdrawn and thousands more excluded as complex cases. yes, an election is looming, and the argument over promises kept or broken will only intensify. >> pope francis condemned the recent arrests of roman catholic priests and bishops in nicaragua. at least 14 members of the clergy have been detained in the country in the past two weeks, with no clear motive. in his new year's message, pope called for dialogue to get them released.

>> i follow with concern what is happening in nicaragua, where bishops and priests have been deprived of their freedom. i expressed my closeness in prior to them and their families and to the entire church of the country. i also invite all of you here to pray insistently and all of god's people and hope that we seek the path of dialogue to overcome difficulties. let us pray for nicaragua today. >> our americas regional editor is in the newsroom. we heard a little of what the pope said. what else did he have to say? >> he said that he made a call for dialogue, and he asked for prayers for those who have been arrested. we know at least 14th, possibly as many as 17 or 20 different figures coming out of nicaragua. that is very interesting that the pope is talking about dialogue now, because earlier

this year, or should i say earlier last year, he made a very strong criticism against the government, president ortega, comparing into a nazi regime, and said the leader, former marxist rebel daniel ortega, was probably unstable. at the moment the vatican and nicaragua have -- they don't have diplomatic relations. i think what the pope is saying is we need to do something, and the dialogue is the only way out. >> it is not the first time we've seen a crackdown like this in nicaragua. why is it happening again now? >> it is believed that these priests and bishops arrested, the nation detains a bishop who became like a martyr, a symbol of resistance to the government. he was sentenced to 26 years in

jail in february after refusing to go into exile. a group of more than 200 people including priests and other people going into exile in the united states, and he refused to go. what i think happened, and from what we are trying to get from nicaragua, is that those in the post-christmas prayers, they mentioned the name of that priest, bishop alvarez, and that seems to have a rotated the nicaragua -- irritated the nicaraguan government they also might be trying to put further pressure on the church, since relations have been really bad since widespread protests against the government in 2018 and the church came on very strongly denouncing human rights abuses and were accused of siding with the rebels, with the protesters. >> do we have any idea of what is likely to happen to the priests who have been arrested? leonardo: the most likely outcome is they will be expelled

from nicaragua as part of some sort of deal. that is what happened with dozens of other priests. and they will be probably sent to the vatican or the u.s., where they will be stripped of their citizenship. that is what happened to other religious leaders and priests in nicaragua. the message will be clear from the government in nicaragua, the message they are giving is that they are not going to tolerate that. they might even be pushing for a solution like you had in china and other countries, where they will allow the church to operate, provided that they don't interfere in politics, which is something very unlikely to happen. >> leonardo rocha, thank you very much for joining us from the newsroom. russia's president vladimir putin has pledged to intensify attacks on ukraine after installation of deadly attacks by both sides in recent days. the russian installed authorities in donetsk said

ukrainian shelling has killed four people there. ukraine says one person was killed in the port city of odesa after the russians launched 90 attack drones last night. president zelenskyy has promised to increase the domestic production of weapons, including the construction of at least one million drones. ukraine has seen in another new year under shelling. we spoke to people in odesa, ko kieft, and crimea about what they have witnessed. reporter: what is usually a moment to celebrate turned into another deadly night for people in odesa, cowering and attack from russian drones. this woman tells us she had to run to the shelter right at midnight. >> because of the russian fireworks, the for some became at midnight -- first time we came at midnight and now it is again. reporter: ukraine woke up to at least five killed in odesa and

donetsk, occupied by russia. moscow blames kyiv, repeating it does not target civilians. kyiv claims russia sent a record 90 drones all over the country. ukraine is mourning the deaths of more than 40 civilians killed just two days ago. this is what is left from a five-star hotel in the center of kharkiv. this woman lives nearby. >> when i was cooking our festive meal, i had to shelter and a bathroom because of the attack. the drones were right above our home. it was very scary. reporter: and this video we received from crimea, decorated with ukrainian symbols, this christmas tree would be labeled extremism by russia if found. locals hope this year will finally bring freedom and peace. >> a host of the famous films, books, music, and characters,

including earlier versions of mickey and minnie mouse, enter the public domain in the united states today. this means disney will no longer enjoy exclusive copyright over the earliest versions of the characters in the u.s., seen here in the animation that launched the house of mavs, "steamboat willie," way back in 1928. i've been speaking to jennifer jenkins, a professor of law and the director of the duke university center for the study of public domain. she told me why this is significant. >> this is a deeply symbolic moment, not only because disney among others have fought for this not to happen for years, but because disney itself has made so many wonderful reuses a public domain material. if you think about their movies, "the lion king" from "hamlet," snow white, pinocchio, all of these from public domain works. this is their opportunity to

give back to the public domain that they have drawn so heavily from in the past. >> the law says that after 95 years can anyone is allowed to use this property. jennifer: in the united states. it's only a few decades in the u.k. and other jurisdictions. in the united states you may use anything from the first two films, "steamboat willie" and another film, lesser-known, called "plane crazy," and the versions of mickey and minnie mouse in those films. >> what are we likely to see them made from these characters? are there limits on what people can do with it? jennifer: there are a few limitations f mickey and minnie mouse appear in later still-copyrighted works. that is the first limitation. the second limitation is from a different body of law called trademark law. you cannot use the logo in a way that misleads consumers into thinking that your product comes from disney. you cannot make merchandise prominently featuring the early mickey mouse if disney makes and

sells the same kind of merchandise, nor can you use steamboat willie as a logo in your film. you can make new creative works so long as it is clear to the public that it is your film and not coming from disney. it is like pandora's box. i can't wait to see what people do. i have some ideas of my own, but i cannot predict. >> just thinking really out-of-the-box, could we see mickey and minnie as serial killers or some thing silly is that? jennifer: oh, dear, but why do we always go there? that is what happened when winnie the pooh went into the public domain years ago. the use was the "blood and honey" film. that might happen in the short term, but think of the uses of public domain material that stand the test of time. in 20 years i don't think we will be talking about the slasher film.

when you talk about shakespeare, that has always been in the public domain. what do you think of? "west side story," "rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead." these other the works that stand the test of time. >> that is jennifer jenkins from duke university. you can find out more about story along with the rest of the day's news on the bbc's website or app. you can find that at bbc.com/news. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

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♪ geoff: good evening. happy new year. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is away. on "the newshour" tonight -- israel's supreme court strikes down a controversial overhaul of the nation's judiciary, a blow to prime minister netanyahu, already facing scrutiny amid the war. an investigation finds auditors consistently overlook child migrants being put to work in unsafe and often illegal conditions. and, the consolidation of health care services into corporate hospital systems is driving some doctors to uniiz