voters go to the polls in the general election. it's the first december election for almost a century — people are voting in 650 constituencies. it's the third election in five years — the first results are expected around midnight. also this lunchtime... police in new zealand prepare to retrieve the bodies of those killed by the white island volcano. there's been quite a bit of volcanic activity in the area — toxic gases, ash, tremors, and of course the risk of another eruption. the man who fought off the london bridge attacker with a fire extinguisher says he was prepared to die. cutting the packaging that surrounds online deliveries — from this to this. and why this pensioner who's spent the last 20 christmases alone won't be by himself this year.

# silent night... and coming up on bbc news... ferrari confirm they've had social discussions with mercedes‘ six—time formula one world champion over driving for them in the future. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. after weeks of campaigning, voting is under way in the general election. this morning, the party leaders were out casting their ballots. it's the third election in less than five years and the first to be held in december for nearly a century. the first results are

expected before midnight. here's our political correspondent ben wright — and a warning his report includes some flashing images. voting at 7am. the prime minister, borisjohnson, had voting at 7am. the prime minister, boris johnson, had some voting at 7am. the prime minister, borisjohnson, had some canine company as he cast his ballot at this polling station in westminster. have you all got your pictures, are you all right? the labour leader jeremy corbyn posed for the cameras too after voting in his north london constituency. it was dawn in dumbartonshire when the liberal democrat leaderjo swinson arrived at the polling station. while in glasgow the snp leader nicola sturgeon cast her ballot at a community hall, ones —— one of tens of thousands across the uk. many people have already voted by post,

including the brexit party leader nigel farage. in wales the plaid cymru leader adam price had a soggy walk to the polling station in carmarthenshire, as did the green party co—leaderjonathan bartley in london. we are not used to wrapping up london. we are not used to wrapping upfor london. we are not used to wrapping up for polling day, and in the highlands voters have faced snow on their way to cast their ballot. the last december election was almost a century ago in 1923 and the most recent winter election was in 197a. the way we have voted hasn't changed much since, putting a cross on a ballot paper, but taking snaps of dogs at polling stations is a much newer election day tradition. this is the third general election in less tha n is the third general election in less than five years. there are 650 constituencies in total and the candidate who secures the most votes in each seat is elected to the house of commons. polling stations are open until 10pm and we will start to see results soon after that. ben

wright, bbc news, westminster. tens of thousands of polling stations are open now across england, wales, scotland and northern ireland. christian fraser has this simple guide with what you need to do to cast your vote. it is decision day, time to cast a vote. this is what i hope will be a short but helpful guide on how to vote if you've not done it before, and what you can and cannot do once you are inside the polling station. so, they are all open and they close this evening at 10pm. remember, if you in the queue at the polling station but not inside the booth by the deadline, you will still be allowed to vote. hopefully, you will have had a polling card sent to you if you are on the electoral register. if you have lost it or it didn't arrive, you can go to the electoral commission, put in your postcode, and they will tell you where to go to vote. it will be a public building like a school or library. you must go to the polling station assigned to you. you do not need to take your polling card with you. when you get there, you will be checked off a list and issued

with a voting paper that looks like this. take it into the voting booth, there will be a pen or pencil in there, and put a mark next to the candidate you are selecting, preferably a cross, just one. if you spoil your ballot paper by accident, and you need to get another one, they can issue that so long as you haven't put it in the box already. and if it is your wish, you can spoil their ballot paper as well, some do if they don't like any of the candidates provided. we are also asked sometimes whether you can take a selfie inside the voting booth. we do live in this age. the electoral commission urge you not to do that. they would prefer you to take a picture outside the polling station to encourage people to go and vote. the reason they say that is because there is a risk that you might reveal how other people have voted and that is punishable by a £5,000 fine or six months in prison, so, you don't want to do that. you are also not allowed to take a photo of your ballot paper. but once you have done it and it is in the box,

you can tell people, family, even tweet it, how you have voted. there you go, a very simple process, i hope that helps a little bit. one word of advice... take a brolly with you, it's going to be very wet in some parts of the country. a polling station has had to be moved in motherwell after a suspicious device was found in the early hours of this morning. officers were called to the ground floor of a block of flats, close to where people were due to vote. a controlled explosion was carried out, but police said the device was not viable. a 48—year—old man has been arrested. our results coverage starts just before polls close tonight. on tv, huw edwards and the team will be on bbc one and the bbc news channel from 9.55pm. there s full coverage online at bbc.co.uk/news and on the bbc news app, and special programmes on bbc radio 4 and radio five live. police in new zealand are launching

an operation to return to white island in a few hours‘ time to retrieve the bodies of those killed in monday's volcanic eruption. two people who were being treated for their injuries in hospital have now died, taking the confirmed death toll to eight. until now, rescue teams have stayed away from the island because of the danger of further eruptions. shaimaa khalil has sent this report. eight bodies have been stuck on this island for four days. and now there is a chance that finally they could be recovered. members of new zealand's defence force will attempt to reach the volcano to get the job done. they will go on to the island, and they will make every effort to recover all of the bodies from the island. a lot has to go right for this to work. let there be no mistake, there is not a zero risk with regard to this plan. we flew close to the island to get

a sense of what it's like. the heavy plumes of smoke still billowing. a sign of how precarious this situation is. we are five nautical miles away from whakaari, or white island. there's a restriction zone around it so this is as close as we can get. there's been quite a bit of volcanic activity in the area, toxic gases, ash, tremors and of course the risk of another eruption. police have said they're quite confident they know where the bodies are. they say they are within a 200 square metre area and that technically they could go in and out and retrieve them, but it is a trade—off. the deputy police commissioner said that that would compromise the evidence that could then help them identify the bodies. but he said it was a compromise they were willing to consider if it meant going in and getting the bodies out. hayden inman is among those missing on the island.

his brother says he's frustrating that it's taking so long to get his body. red tape, bureaucracy, leadership has failed. we're trusting experts that sit behind a desk making calls based on statistics. jason hill is one of the pilots who went in and helped rescued people after the eruption. he said the bodies should have been recovered more quickly. it's been a little bit frustrating but hopefully might get something happening soon. to get those loved ones back. would you go on the island and get the bodies? definitely, 100%, yeah, without a doubt. there's been growing desperation among families who just want their loved ones back home. now, for the first time, there is hope this may happen. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, whakatane. a former prisoner who fought off the london bridge attacker has told bbc news he was prepared to die to protect others. john crilly used a fire extinguisher to tackle usman khan, even though he thought he was wearing a suicide vest.

mr crilly has been speaking to our legal correspondent, clive coleman. nearly two weeks ago, ex—offender john crilly found himself at the centre of mayhem and butchery at a prison education event at fishmongers‘ hall, where his good friend jack merritt was murdered. yeah, just a very high pitched wail — like, a scream. john saw a woman sprawled on the stairs, bleeding, then usman khan, two knives out, wearing what looked like a suicide belt. john attacked him first with a wooden lectern, then a fire extinguisher, shouting at khan to blow his belt. instead of waiting for the police... he said he was waiting for the police? before he blew it, yeah. i was prepared to lose my life, yeah, iwas. did it seem like he was targetting anyone in particular or any group?

no, itjust seemed like anyone there was fair game. ijust assume now, he'd just seen a big target — a room full of...probably in his mind, and to a certain degree it's true, a roomful of establishment people. judges, police, security — they was all in that room. with others using makeshift weapons, john pursued kahn onto the street, spraying him with the extinguisher. within minutes, police arrived, john shouting at them to shoot khan because of the belt. they did. john's thoughts then turned to his friend jack merritt, the cambridge graduate who changed john's life, and who, along with saskia jones, had been murdered by kahn. had been murdered by khan. can you tell me what he meant to you? jackjust basically meant hope.

people think of you as a hero. do you think of yourself as a hero? a hero? no. jack gave up his life. he's... he would be my hero. john crilly speaking to our legal affairs correspondent, clive coleman. in india, there've been violent protests against a new bill which would fast track citizenship for immigrants from neighbouring countries unless they are muslim. 0pposition parties say the bill is another move by the hindu nationalist bjp party to marginalise the country's 200 million muslims. this report is from pratiksha ghildial, in delhi. anger on the streets of north—east india.

the people here do not want immigrants from neighbouring countries to settle here. locals feel that their ethnic identity is under threat, and that the implementation of the new law will lead to demographic changes. but that's not the only reason this new law has divided india. rights groups are furious because the new law will not allow muslim migrants to become citizens. the government says it is not discriminatory, but aims to help minorities fleeing persecution in pakistan, afghanistan and bangladesh. all islamic countries. campaigners like these say that, by excluding muslims, the government is undermining the values on which india was founded. secularism, and religious tolerance. and that faith should not be a consideration for citizenship. many are suspicious,

and see it as a tool to marginalise the muslim community. this just seems to be the framework for a hindu nation. and in general, if you've seen the last five years, the anti—muslim rhetoric has been huge. there is a large number of violent attacks going on against the community all over the world. this will put them in a further vulnerable spot. there have been heated scenes in the parliament as the government tried to defend the move. translation: this is not meant for taking away anyone's rights. it is to give people rights. that's the difference between a refugee and an infiltrator. but critics say this sends out a negative signal to the country's 200 million strong muslims. clearly, you are catering to your hindu base, by telling them that this country is only for hindus. the world's largest democracy had a big heart, that it could accommodate people.

right now we are coming across to the world as petty, vindictive civilisation. that's not what india stood for. there are concerns about what this means for india's secular democracy as it grapples with this complex issue of religion, citizenship and identity. pratiksha ghildial, bbc news, dehli. the disgraced hollywood producer harvey weinstein has reached a $25 million civil settlement with dozens of women who have accused him of sexual misconduct. the money will be split between more than 30 actresses and former employees. mr weinstein is still facing sexual assault charges and will stand trial in the new year. the court of appeal has been told that a woman who spent £16 million in harrods over a decade is the victim of the "most draconian and intrusive powers" ever used by british investigators. zamira hajiyeva, the wife

of a bankerjailed for corruption, could lose her london mansion if she fails to explain to authorities how she could afford her spending. our home affairs correspondent, dominic casciani, is in central london. bring is up—to—date with what's being said in the court. yes, ben, this is a really important test case at the court of appeal for the national crime agency's unexplained wealth orders powers and quite similar this is a power which they can use to target someone they believe has benefited potentially benefited from overseas corruption and they say if you can't explain where your wealth in the uk has come from, we are having your property, and in this case zamira hajiyeva, who denies all wrongdoing, is the target, because her husband in azerbaijan state banker is injail for corruption and embezzlement. she is fighting this case to hang onto her mansion and a separate golf course and today, the court of appeal, her counsel said this power

was a tool is draconian because her husband had been subjected to an unfair trial husband had been subjected to an unfairtrial in husband had been subjected to an unfair trial in their native country, he couldn't come to court to defend himself, his reputation or his wife and the legitimate sources of her well. now, his wife and the legitimate sources of herwell. now, if his wife and the legitimate sources of her well. now, if she loses this case and we don't expect a judgment until the new year, this will be a really important moment for the national crime agency in its attem pts national crime agency in its atte m pts to national crime agency in its attempts to use a broad range of powers to target what it believes and suspects to be corrupt wealth in the uk, but if zamira hajiyeva wins and she believes she has got a case here, then it's a real setback for the government. the fact it's taken two years to get to this point actually shows how complex it is to investigate suspected corruption, buried into properties in the uk. back to you, ben. dominic casciani, thank you. our top story this lunchtime. after weeks of campaigning, voting is under way across the country in the general election. the first results are expected before midnight. and how rampant spending in the championship is threatening

to send clubs into the red. coming up on bbc news... arsenal's interim boss freddie ljungberg says they'll not take standard liege lightly in the europa league tonight. they're one of five british sides in european action later on. games consoles are once again at the top of many christmas present lists. parents might worry they're a waste of time, but in the united states playing e—sports can be a way into university. some colleges are now hosting championships, with the best players offered full scholarships. here s our north america correspondent, chris buckler. in the us, college sports are big business. at the largest universities, basketball and american football are worth tens of millions of dollars. but you'll find the newest college athletes not in helmets — but in headsets.

i've got you in my sights. i'm sitting here with soames, one of the overwatch players at harrisburg university. he's currently playing overwatch, which is a competitive team—based game. coaches at this pennsylvania college watch every strike of the keyboard and move of the mouse. meet the fiercely e—sport athletes on full university scholarships. —— meet the fiercely competitive. my mum, it was kind of like a sigh of relief because she was able to go, wow, all that time you wasted in your bedroom was actually for something. they are going to need to come out with their best defence. some might be cynical, but this is being presented as the latest university team sport. the tournament on the line, harrisburg! this year's collegiate tournament was even covered by the leading us sports network espn. harrisburg is your champion! it cost the equivalent of £1 million, building this training facility and fitting it out with some of the best equipment, including some of the fastest computers, and harrisburg university is spending another £1.5 million

every year on coaching its teams and providing scholarships. this is a big investment for the college. competitive video gaming that we have at harrisburg university is night and day different than casual gaming on your couch, eating doughnuts and drinking diet coke. this is not that. harrisburg is an old industrial city, but its young university is focused on the future and it believes it can use gaming to get noticed as interest grows across america. nearby, in philadelphia, a multi—million dollar e—sport stadium is being built. it will host tournaments like the recent competition in new york that attracted huge crowds to watch people playing the game fortnite. your world champion! it was viewed online all over the world and there

was big prize money. as a professional at the top level, it's very cut—throat and you need to play like ten, 11, 12 hours a day, and i don't know if i have that in me or want to do that, i'd rather have a more balanced life. one thing striking about this university team is it's all male, but that is likely to change if players are recognised and rewarded as 21st—century sports stars. chris buckler, bbc news, harrisburg. pharmacists are calling for better regulation of household products which contain a cannabis derivative, cbd. it's used as an ingredient in a range of products, including shampoo, chocolate and fruitjuice. because it's not psychoactive, it doesn't have to be licensed by the home office, but pharmacists want clearer information about the products.

the third and final day of hearings is under way at the international court ofjustice in the hague, in the case against myanmar over the alleged genocide of its rohingya muslim minority. myanmar‘s civilian leader, aung san suu kyi, said military action against the rohingya, which left thousands dead, was a "necessary operation against militants". an analysis by the bbc has shown players‘ wages in football‘s efl championship are outstripping their clubs‘ income. figures seen by bbc radio five live investigates show clubs are posting record pre—tax losses, as they vie to reach the premier league. one former chairman has said the amount of spending in the league is a bubble waiting to burst. andy swiss reports. it‘s football‘s richest competition, but is the battle simply to reach the premier league coming at a hefty cost? when wolves celebrated promotion last year they did so having spent far more than they‘d earned, and they weren‘t alone. figures analysed by the bbc showed championship sides racked up

a record £307 million in pre—tax losses. only five of the 2a teams in the division made a profit, while spending on wages exceeded revenues by 11%. one former championship chairman believes some owners are gambling with their clubs‘ futures. it is a billionaire gamblers‘ paradise. my worry is the one who may be putting in money, in four, five or six years‘ time, when they get bored and leave a club in such debt with such high wage bills, who is going to be there to pick up what they‘ve left? it‘s a bubble that will burst. and questions over football‘s finances have been getting louder after bury were expelled from the football league in august. well, the collapse of bury here is a stark reminder that football clubs can never be taken for granted. if the money runs out, well, this is what can happen, and so ensuring that clubs are financially sustainable is one of the sport‘s biggest challenges.

under the rules, championship clubs are allowed losses of £39 million over three years, and last season birmingham city were deducted points for exceeding that limit. the football league says its owners are aware of the economic challenges, but the rules are being reviewed. how much do they want to address the issue of losses, because it‘s not a revenue problem. it‘s a cost problem. what do they want to do about costs? yes, clubs need to be worried, but it‘s about the environment that they‘re in. they are chasing to be a premier league club because that‘s where the money is and frankly they are a football club and they want to win and get as high up the pecking order as they can. but the challenge is to ensure chasing that premier league dream doesn‘t become a financial nightmare. andy swiss, bbc news. retail firms are under pressure to put less packaging around their online deliveries. and now there‘s a new initiative to make sure the box fits the size of the item — helping to cut waste and carbon emissions.

our correspondent emma simpson reports. it‘s the time of year when the online deliveries are coming thick and fast. how many of us have had this? an online purchase in an oversized box. it drives us mad and it‘s bad for the environment. all this wasted space means more delivery vans in our towns and cities, and the bigger the parcel the bigger the cost for retailers — so what can be done? we‘ve come to france to see a new machine that can produce a box to fit the product. well, this machine can take a standard sheet of cardboard and can make 10 million different varieties of box to make sure we have no wasted space at all around the product that somebody is trying to send in the post to a customer. so, let‘s put it to the test. i‘ve got my christmas decoration and a few other items. stefan, press the button. a cuddly toy.

some toiletries. clothes. the item is scanned to take the exact dimensions. meanwhile the box is being assembled, cardboard creased and then folded around the product. it can make and pack up to 1000 boxes every hour. hey! here it is. look at that — not much empty space. alex, how big a difference can this machine make? it‘s a game changer, because already the uk is the biggest e—commerce market in europe. 18% of what we buy goes online, so imagine if that doubles. there is a mountain of cardboard already. most is recycled, but campaigners say bigger changes are needed for all this internet shopping to be sustainable. as well as looking at reducing the amount of packaging, we also need to look towards different systems, different systems of getting products to people, looking at reusable packing options and also looking at decarbonising

the vehicles which are used to transport the products. this machine isn‘t in operationjust yet, but it is one way our everyday online purchases could eventually be made to fit the box. emma simpson, bbc news. christmas can be a lonely time for many people and the bbc has been talking to one man, terrence, who has spent every christmas day alone for 20 years. this year, as a volunteer with age uk, he will be other people. but when it emerged that terrence didn‘t have a christmas tree, bbc breakfast launched an appeal to get him one. dan walker has been to see him. hello. what are you doing here? it‘s dan walker from the telly, nice to see you again. we made you a promise — can we come in? yeah, of course you can. do you know what we‘ve had, terrence, an incredible reaction to you coming on. i think the real thing

that really struck home was when you were mentioning how many times you‘ve been on your own on christmas day. yes, a lad said, what used to happen, i used to around to my mother‘s on christmas day because i always cooked a mealfor her here and i always took the things round to her, and one day — i neverforget her saying to me — she said, do you know, she said, without you, she said, bringing me my presents at christmas, i wouldn‘t have any presents, would i? and i often think about that now, you know, people on their own now don‘t get any presents from people. and the good news is this year you have got christmas dinner taken care of, because of your work with age uk. i have indeed, yes, i have indeed. so who are you going to go for christmas dinner with this year? i‘m going to go with our nancy. she‘s your good friend you‘ve been talking to through age uk. she is, yes. we‘d love to do something for you. we said you didn‘t have a christmas tree. no. which we promised we‘d sort out for you. am i allowed to go and

open yourfront door? yes. ok, you stay there, terrence, we‘ve got some people waiting for you outside. oh, right. hello, everybody, would you like to come in? terrence, can i please introduce these lovely people who‘ve come to see you from oldham college. hi, sir. we're here to decorate your tree. we've brought you're a christmas tree to brighten your christmas. thank you! oh, terrence. and there was one more surprise for terrence. some other students were waiting outside to sing his favourite carol. this is the oldham college choir, just for you. # silent night # holy night # sleep in heavenly peace

# sleep in heavenly peace.# hgppy happy christmas. time for a look at the weather. we have cloud spelling in, it doesn‘t feel particularly warm. i did manage to find some sunshine. i had to go into northernmost parts of scotla nd had to go into northernmost parts of scotland to see it, more showery weather across scotland. you can see the extent of cloud that‘s been spilling in from the atlantic. a lot of it is diving down into spain and portugal. our area of thick cloud has been producing this rain, also a little bit of snow over the highest ground in northern england. that rain continuing to move slowly eastwards. it may turn a little brighter and more showery for

northern ireland, wales