tonight at ten — the moment ofjoy and relief as family in israel is reunited. 21—year—old mia schem sees her mother for the first time, after seven weeks held by hamas. and palestinian detainees recently freed and back home in the west bank tell us about their treatment in israeli prisons. many lives could have been saved had the uk locked down earlier, the former health secretary matt hancock tells the covid inquiry. the government intervenes in a possible takeover of the daily telegraph by abu dhabi's ruling family. tributes to alistair darling, the chancellor who steered the uk through the 2008 financial crisis. he's died, aged 70.

at edinburgh zoo — the tale of two pandas picked for love, who just didn t get on. on bbc london — the burning building, the black smoke, and on newsnight at 10:30pm... we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories. plus a first look at tomorrow's front pages. good evening. a 21—year—old woman who was kidnapped from the supernova music festival in israel on seventh october has tonight been reunited with her mother, as a temporary truce between israel and hamas continued for a seventh day. mia schem was one of eight hostages freed by hamas today, in return for the expected release of more palestinian detainees from israeli prisons.

but as one family celebrates the return of a loved one, another is facing fresh anguish. this is shira bibas and her two young sons — hamas claims they died in an israeli missile attack on gaza. tonight, the organisation, designated a terrorist group by the uk government, released a hostage video of her husband yarden. the israeli government said again that it's yet to verify what has happened to the family. our senior international correspondent orla guerin has the latest from tel aviv. a long—awaited reunion. a hostage back in her mother's arms. mia schem, who is 21, welcomed home by her family. safe at last. here she was before her ordeal. her mother, keren, spoke to us recently

about the agonising wait to get her home. ijust want her back now, you know. our life will never be the same. but we will be all right. the minute she will be here, we will be fine. there is uncertainty still over the fate of the youngest hostage, kfir bibas, just ten months old. he was kidnapped with his brother, ariel, and mother. hamas claims all three were killed by israeli bombing. their father yarden repeated that claim in a video issued by hamas tonight. we aren't showing it as he's clearly under duress and still a hostage. around 140 others remain captive in gaza. qatar is pushing to extend the truce

once again so more can come home tomorrow. israel has made it clear that when the release of hostages comes to an end, it intends to return to war in gaza with full force. the army says it's ready for the next phase. this time, the fight will be in the south of gaza, which is already densely packed with those who had to flee the bombing in the north. america is telling israel that the next phase can't look like the last one, which reduced parts of gaza to a wasteland and killed more than 14,000 people, palestinians say. back in israel, a shooting spree in rush hour today. two palestinian gunmen targeted crowds at a bus stop at the entrance to jerusalem. they killed three people before being shot dead themselves. once again, israel

on edge after a deadly attack by hamas. orla guerin, bbc news, tel aviv. well, since the truce began, 210 palestinian detainees have been released from israeli prisons to return to their families on the west bank. who controls this area is complicated. in 1994, control of the west bank, excluding eastjerusalem, was handed to the palestinian authority to administer fully, in some areas, orjointly with israel in others. and about 60% of the land here is run by israel alone. lucy williamson has spent the last few days in the west bank, speaking to people recently released, and hearing about their time in detention. released, and hearing we have come here to a village just outsidejenin. we've come to the house of mohammed, a teenager who was released from israeli jail this week.

he says that israeli guards beat him and injured his hands. mohammed says both hands were fractured in the assault, eight days before his release. freed from jail on monday night, mohammed is still imprisoned by his injuries. needing help to eat, drink and go to the bathroom, he says — first from his fellow prisoners, now from his family. the happy reunion they expected rewritten on the faces of his relatives around the room. translation: they arranged us| so the elderly prisoners were put in the back and the young in the front. they took me and started beating me. i was trying to protect my head. and they were trying to break my legs and my hands. israel's prison service says mohammed was examined by a doctor before release

and that his claims are false. it's published a video of him boarding a red cross bus on monday night, his hands unbandaged. but meeting his family on arrival in the west bank, both hands are wrapped in bandages. mohammed said the first treatment he received was on that red cross bus. on the day he arrived back, a hospital in ramallah confirmed that both his hands were fractured. we showed the x—rays to two uk doctors, who confirmed the diagnosis. his medical report recommends admission to hospital and possible surgery. mohammed says abuse of palestinian prisoners was common after the hamas attacks last month. he showed me the bruises where he says guards used sticks, their feet and dogs to assault them. translation: the dog attacking me wore a muzzle with sharp edges. - the muzzle and claws left marks all over my body. then they started beating us. they took our mattress,

our clothes, our pillows, and they threw our food on the floor. people were terrified. other prisoners have confirmed that guards' behaviour changed after the hamas attacks. the bbc has spoken to six prisoners who said they were beaten before their release. the palestinian prisoner society says it's heard testimony of guards urinating on handcuffed inmates. israel says it's not aware of these claims and that all are legally detained. -- all —— all prisoners are legally detained. mohammed's brother said something in him has broken. translation: this is not the mohammed we know. he was much stronger back then. it's as if his heart is filled with terror. mohammed's freedom was bought by hamas with israeli hostages. the impact of the hamas attacks keenly felt, he says, in the chance of release and in israeli jails. lucy williamson, bbc news. let's return to orla guerin.

orla, the ceasefire is due to end in a few hours. is there any word on a possible extension? it's hanging in the balance tonight. talks have been going on in carter involving —— in doha involving egypt and qatar, the talks have been difficult, told us in the last hour the chances of an extension were only 20%. israel's cabinet has been meeting tonight to discuss the same issue. clearly in the last few days the deal has been fraying. there have been arguments about who was being handed over, hostages have been released late in the day. if there is no agreement on another extension then tomorrow morning at 7am local time that ceasefire will expire and just add we've had antony blinken here today, the us secretary of state, telling israel that there cannot be a repeat of the massive

loss of civilian life that happened in the north of gaza if and when it resumes its offensive. firia in the north of gaza if and when it resumes its offensive. orla guerin, thank you. — resumes its offensive. orla guerin, thank you. in _ resumes its offensive. orla guerin, thank you, in tel _ resumes its offensive. orla guerin, thank you, in tel aviv. _ the former health secretary matt hancock has told the covid inquiry that, with the benefit of hindsight, the uk should have locked down much earlier at the start of the pandemic. he said "many, many lives" could have been saved if the first lockdown had been brought in at the beginning of march 2020. mr hancock also dismissed allegations from colleagues that he had lied to them and described a toxic culture in government. our political editor chris mason reports. one of the biggest names of the pandemic, the health secretary for england, matt hancock. the man in the middle on the television many nights, and the man who resigned for breaking the very rules he'd helped draw up. today, his moment of accountability. the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. and it's mr hancock's relationship with the truth that has regularly

featured here in recent weeks. how could, to a significant extent, important government advisors and officials have concluded that the secretary of state for health was a liar? well, i was not. you will note that there is no evidence from anybody who i worked with in the department or the health system who supported those false allegations. what there was, was a great deal of hard work on our side, and a toxic culture that we had to work with, which seemed to want to find people to blame. mr hancock blames borisjohnson�*s chief adviser, dominic cummings, for creating what he called a culture of fear and staging a power grab. the former health secretary also said an earlier first lockdown would have cut the number of deaths in the first wave by more than 90%.

i defend the actions that were taken by the government at the time, knowing what we did. but, with hindsight, that's the moment we should have done it. three weeks earlier, and it would have saved many, many lives. but what about this colourful and controversial claim matt hancock made repeatedly in may 2020? right from the start, we've tried to throw a protective ring around our care homes. i cannot improve on the glorious words of professor sirjonathan van—tam, who says in his statement, "my view is a ring is a circle without a break in it." whatever, however you describe the protective processes you put in place around the care sector, they did not form an unbroken circle, did they? it is quite clear from the evidence that professor van—tam is right. yeah, thank you.

this inquiry is about learning lessons from the pandemic to help us in the next one. it's also about the decision—makers then defending their reputations now. mr hancock is back here in the morning. chris mason, bbc news, at the covid inquiry. tributes have been paid from across the political spectrum to the former labour chancellor alistair darling, who's died at the age of 70. alistair darling spent 13 years in government, first under tony blair and then gordon brown — who today called him "a statesman of unimpeachable integrity". faisal islam looks at his life and career. alistair darling was a hugely significant and consequential chancellor, not for the tax policies in his budget box, but his role in preventing banking fires turning into an inferno during the financial crisis a decade and a half ago, and

also for his later role as a reluctant leader of the campaign to save the union during the 2014 scottish independence referendum. he arrived at number 11 in 2007 during arrived at number 11 in 2007 during a period of deceptive calm and fairly quickly there was a run on northern rock building society which turned out to be a trial run for the near collapse of half the banking system in the financial crisis and his actions to bail it out with hundreds of billions in funding and support. if hundreds of billions in funding and su ort. �* ., hundreds of billions in funding and su--ort. �* ., ., , ., , support. if we didn't do any of this there would _ support. if we didn't do any of this there would be _ support. if we didn't do any of this there would be a _ support. if we didn't do any of this there would be a massive - support. if we didn't do any of this there would be a massive cost - support. if we didn't do any of thisj there would be a massive cost and support. if we didn't do any of this. there would be a massive cost and i our firm view is it's necessary to act and i think people would generally support that. former prime minister gordon _ generally support that. former prime minister gordon brown _ generally support that. former prime minister gordon brown led _ generally support that. former prime minister gordon brown led the - minister gordon brown led the tributes. he minister gordon brown led the tributes. . , ., ., ., minister gordon brown led the tributes. ., ., ., , ., tributes. he was a man to be in a room at a — tributes. he was a man to be in a room at a time _ tributes. he was a man to be in a room at a time of _ tributes. he was a man to be in a room at a time of crisis _ tributes. he was a man to be in a room at a time of crisis because l tributes. he was a man to be in a| room at a time of crisis because it was calm — room at a time of crisis because it was calm and considered judgment during _ was calm and considered judgment during the — was calm and considered judgment during the fannish financial crisis from _ during the fannish financial crisis from which the whole country and i particularly — from which the whole country and i particularly benefited. an from which the whole country and i particularly benefited.— particularly benefited. an ever - resent particularly benefited. an ever present in _ particularly benefited. an ever present in the _ particularly benefited. an ever present in the cabinet - particularly benefited. an ever present in the cabinet and - particularly benefited. an ever present in the cabinet and was critical to the no campaign in the scottish referendum and kept the united kingdom together. i scottish referendum and kept the united kingdom together.- scottish referendum and kept the united kingdom together. i want to know what plan _

united kingdom together. i want to know what plan b _ united kingdom together. i want to know what plan b is, _ united kingdom together. i want to know what plan b is, tell _ united kingdom together. i want to know what plan b is, tell us. - united kingdom together. i want to know what plan b is, tell us. but i know what plan b is, tell us. but when you don't have to point, alistair. , ' alistair. his different political opponents — alistair. his different political opponents united _ alistair. his different political opponents united in - alistair. his different political opponents united in their - alistair. his different political - opponents united in their respect. alistair had ability, real statesmen have, _ alistair had ability, real statesmen have, not— alistair had ability, real statesmen have, not to — alistair had ability, real statesmen have, not to confuse _ alistair had ability, real statesmen have, not to confuse the _ alistair had ability, real statesmen| have, not to confuse the workplace of the _ have, not to confuse the workplace of the vigorous _ have, not to confuse the workplace of the vigorous debate _ have, not to confuse the workplace of the vigorous debate we - have, not to confuse the workplace of the vigorous debate we put - of the vigorous debate we put forward — of the vigorous debate we put forward your— of the vigorous debate we put forward your side's— of the vigorous debate we put forward your side's point- of the vigorous debate we put forward your side's point of. of the vigorous debate we put. forward your side's point of view of the vigorous debate we put - forward your side's point of view as best you _ forward your side's point of view as best you can— forward your side's point of view as best you can with _ forward your side's point of view as best you can with any _ forward your side's point of view as best you can with any personal- best you can with any personal animosity _ best you can with any personal animosity-— best you can with any personal animosi . ~ , ., , ~ animosity. when people will think about alistair— animosity. when people will think about alistair darling _ animosity. when people will think about alistair darling they - animosity. when people will think about alistair darling they will. about alistair darling they will think he is the sort of best of politics softly spoken, he wasn't big at grandstanding, but always tried to do the right thing. westminster and edinburgh united in shock tonight at the loss, aged 70, of alistair darling, crisis chancellor, a softly spoken political and economic giant. faisaljoins me now. you spent time with him, faisal, what are your reflections? yes, after he retired, he asked me to interview him for many hours as part of the process of doing his

memoirs about this crisis period. it sort of gave me an insight, all politicians have to make knife edge decisions but it doesn't get much more than this. a knife edge decision about financial products few people had heard about, that the bankers had sold them didn't seem to understand, with the government, the bank of england and the government not on the same page with markets falling in the bank is ringing up, he's not sure if they're trying to take advantage of the situation... and then he works out that perhaps they are actually on the list, the secret list he has in his back pocket of nearly bankrupt banks. he manages that situation. he didn't prevent a painful recession but prevented that recession turning into a depression and social catastrophe and did so with humility, calmness and no little dry wit as well. humility, calmness and no little dry wit as well-— wit as well. thank you. faisal islam remembering _ wit as well. thank you. faisal islam remembering alistair— wit as well. thank you. faisal islam remembering alistair darling. - a deal has been struck on the first day of the un climate summit in dubai,

to start giving money to the countries hardest hit by global warming. the un secretary—general antonio guterres said that what's being called the "loss and damage fund" was essential to delivering climate justice to the most vulnerable. our climate editorjustin rowlatt sent this report from dubai. a petrostate hosting a climate conference sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. but the president of cop28, who is also the head of the uae�*s huge state oil company, says he knows the world has to change and is taking action. hearing no objections, it is so decided. the cheers are because the conference has agreed to create a fund to pay for the loss and damage climate change is already wreaking on poorer countries. this whole area was destroyed. it has been a bone of contention between the developed and developing world for decades. it is great that we got it adopted here, at the start. it's been over 30

years in the making. and it's time now to get the job done, so that we can get money into the areas affected by the harms of climate change. more than £300 million has already been promised for the fund, including £60 million from the uk. so, what else is on the agenda? here are the three most contentious issues on the table. first up, cutting carbon. will countries be persuaded to include food and agriculture, a third of all emissions, in their carbon cutting targets? second up, cash for developing countries. the rich world caused the climate crisis, burning fossilfuels. poorer countries say now you've got to pay to solve the problem. and, finally, the future of fossil fuels. will the conference agree to phase down or maybe even phase out fossil fuels? at the moment, the only commitment the world has made is to phase down coal. it has been an eventful

start here in dubai, and it is only day one. justin rowlatt, bbc news. the culture secretary has intervened tonight, in a possible takeover of the daily telegraph by abu dhabi's ruling family. lucy frazer has asked the media watchdog ofcom to investigate the potential impact on press freedom. our media editor katie razzall is with me. how unusual is a government intervention like this? it is fairly unusual but it is fairly unusual for high—profile newspapers to be up for sale and plenty of people want to buy these titles. lucy frazer has been under pressure to make this intervention, not least from several conservative mps who are worried about foreign state investment. just a reminder of this story and how we got here. enjoying lloyds bank took over the daily and sunday telegraph because their owners, the berkeley family, owed the bank nearly £1.2 billion. an auction process had got under

way. it was dramatically halted last week because of this bid coming in on behalf of the berkeley family, backed by investment from a member of the ruling family of abu dhabi. lloyds clearly wants to just take the money move on but tonight, lucy frazer referred the deal to two regulators, the markets authority and off, and reference to concerns that free expression of opinion and accurate news presentation could be impacted by this sale. the company involved has previously offered its guarantee that if a deal did go ahead, the editorial independence of the titles would be protected. 0k, katie razzall. _ the titles would be protected. 0k, katie razzall, thank you. russia's supreme court has ruled that lgbt activists should be designated as extremists — in a move that lesbian, gay, bisexual and tra nsgender people fear will lead to arrests and prosecutions. it's the latest in a series of restrictions imposed on the country's lgbt community, as our russia editor as steve rosenberg reports.

at the supreme court, it was the ruling lgbt people in russia had been fearing. "i declare the international lgbt public movement an extremist organisation," the judge says, "and ban its activities in russia." even though no organisation with that name exists. how can you ban something that doesn't exist? oh, it's easy. we can ban any activities from lgbt international organisations here in russia. that's nice. we don't need them. sergei troshin, a city councillor in russia who has come out as gay, believes the court ruling will be used to launch a broad attack on lgbt groups. translation: this will mean that| anyone the state considers an lgbt activist could receive a long prison sentence for participating in an extremist organisation and an even longer prison term

for organising a group. anyone who's displayed extremist symbols, and that would probably include the rainbow flag, could face prosecution. this is real repression and there is panic in russia's lgbt community. panic, but little surprise. lgbt people in russia have been coming under increasing pressure, from restrictive laws relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. but why? lgbt groups here say they're being demonised and painted almost as enemies of the state. this is partly political. for the authorities, enemies can be useful scapegoats for problems at home. but there is an ideological backdrop here too, with church and state in russia embracing conservative values and promoting what they're calling traditional morality. like this.

at a moscow exhibition, they're staging weddings from different parts of russia. often exotic, always with a bride and a groom. same—sex unions in russia are not recognised. maxim has recognised there's no future for him here. an activist, supporting transgender and non—binary people, he didn't wait for the court ruling. he left russia a week ago. translation: i feel completely rejected by my own country. - the people we put in power are meant to take care of us. but the opposite is happening. they're punishing us. they're wiping their feet on us. i'm being forced out. he's packed his life into one small case and he's off to the airport. what maxim doesn't know is when — or whether — he'll ever be able to come home. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

tributes have been paid to the pogues frontman shane macgowan, who's died at the age of 65. famous for his 1980s christmas hit fairytale of new york, he was infamous for his drinking. david sillito looks back at his life. # it was christmas eve, babe # in the drunk tank # an old man said to me...# "happy christmas your expletive, i pray god it's our last." fairytale of new york — a bleak, drink—sodden duet about lives gone wrong isn't your normal christmas classic. but it was trademark shane macgowan. # and dreamed about you...# his band, the pogues, brought a rambunctious attitude to irish folk, born out of his years in the london punk scene,

but shane o'hooligan, as he called himself, had also won a literary scholarship to public school. # as i wondered down the long lonesome highway...# there was behind it all a writer, a rare talent. he created beauty and poetry out of hard lives and even harder drinking, something he understood well. it's true that i am out of it most of the time, right, but i...but i can write songs when i'm out of it. in fact, it's easier for me to write songs when i'm out of it. on his 60th birthday, ireland's president, bono, johnny depp, nick cave and sinead o'connor led the applause. his life often overshadowed his talent but... # the boys of the nypd choir...# we'll always have this to remind us. # and the bells are ringing out for christmas day. #

shane macgowan, who's died at the age of 65. britain s youngest olympic medalist sky brown is attempting to make history again. the skateboarder, who's now 15, won bronze in tokyo — and now has her heart set on competing in both skateboarding and surfing in paris, next summer. if she pulls it off, she'll be the first briton in more than a century to compete in two different sports at a summer olympics. she's been talking to our sports correspondent natalie pirks. sky brown has spent her life in the spotlight and with dreams as big as hers, that's not about to stop. commentator: there it is! that's what we needed! born injapan, living in la but with an english dad, she became britain's youngest summer olympic medallist when she won bronze —

aged to 13 — in tokyo. there's the kick flip fakie, hands in the air, yes, sky! it's really amazing. it's been my dream to inspire girls since i was little and being in the olympics, having a big platform to show what i love and being a young girl, i hope i really inspire girls. since tokyo, she's been riding a wave, which is apt. surfing has been her twin passion since she was four, and now she's set to try and do the double at next yea r�*s paris olympics. there's the small matter of qualifying first in february — no mean feat. surfing for paris is also being held almost 10,000 miles away from the french capital, in the big waves of tahiti. but with surfing and skateboarding finals a week apart, it's technically doable and she has big plans. now i want to make gb proud, i want to get two gold medals for them. i think that would be, you know, yeah... i hope it would inspire a lot of people because that's my dream

and i'm going to really try my best. but i do believe it myself. in sky's world, there are no limits. natalie pirks, bbc news. good luck to her! visitors to edinburgh zoo have been enjoying their last chance to see two giant pandas, before they're returned home to china. yang guang and tian tian arrived here 12 years ago. they're the first of their kind to live in the uk for nearly two decades, and have drawn people from all over the world, as our scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports. bye! are you going to say bye to the pandas? a last goodbye to these box office bears before they disappear from public view. some fans emotional, as they sought a final glimpse. i've got a panda jacket, pandyjumper, panda bag. some people call me a pandaholic! they've been here such a long time, but it's lovely that you've been able to see them before they go. you've driven from... portsmouth. how long did that take?

about nine hours. was it worth the drive? 0h,100%,100%. all right, buddy. you ready to go through? the keepers here know their charges well. good boy. yang guang was partially hand—reared as a cub, so he kind of greets the keepers when we come in, in the morning, he's much more kind of people focused, whereas tian is much more kind of wild in her attitude, as do enthusiasts, who followed them on panda cams from afar. oh, people watch it 24 hours a day. we get phone calls to say, "you know yang guang's not moved today, is he all right?" "i've not seen the keepers go in and feed him at that time." and as i say, that's great, we've never ever minded that. we know that pandas are special. the first panada crate. the animals, on loan, hit the headlines when they first arrived. a symbol of friendship from china, panda diplomacy to some. and hopes were high the two would breed. for more than a decade, the pandas have been the star attraction here, even though the much longed for cub never appeared.

what went wrong between the two? was it just that the chemistry wasn't there? well, sometimes animals just don't get on. it would have been lovely to have had panda cubs. but that in itself wouldn't have saved the species. that in itself is not the absolute conservation. what has made the difference is the research, the knowledge. capturing precious memories of this vulnerable species, as the sun goes down on their time in scotland. the pandas, soon to be heading home, unaware of all the attention. lorna gorton, bbc news, edinburgh zoo. now before we look at the weather we have to show these images of a world record that has been making us cast. kayaking down a 65—foot glacial waterfall in the arctic circle. it is your heart in your stomach? 32—year—old aniol serrasolses paddled through the rapids and ice tunnels of the glacial river,

before going down the ice waterfall in svalbard, norway.