live pictures from iceland, 3 live pictures from iceland, a volcano erupting there, as he can see, and fears of gas pollution for the capital nearby. aid agencies voice frustration at the worsening conditions for civilians in gaza, as the un security council prepares to vote on a new — and repeatedly delayed — ceasefire resolution. the vote is not expected to take place in around three hours. more than 120 people are killed in china's deadliest earthquake in 13 years. rescue efforts are being hampered by sub—zero temperatures. hello, welcome to the daily global, where we'll bring you the top stories from around the world. we will start in iceland, that

volcano is still interrupting. let's take a look at the live feed. absolutely stunning images of the lava flowing there from the ground. now, this is southwest iceland, around 4000 people have actually already been evacuated from the area. there was warning there was seismic activity before the eruption late on monday nights, and enough time to get people who live nearby out of the way. nick beake reports from iceland. fountains of gold... ..lakes of lava. iceland's own breathtaking winter illuminations. the fieryjets reaching up more than 100 metres, after blasting through the surface of the volcano. creating a rupture more than two miles long. all this, the result of a series of small underground shakes on the reykjanes peninsula. i'm very excited to be here in this place, in this time,

just being able to see this natural phenomenon happen, just seeing lava emerge from the ground, even if it's in a particular content such as this, it's just fascinating to see nature and action. i just... it'sjust like something from a movie! these dutch tourists said they were in awe. 0ur b8b hosts, they sent us a message that the volcano erupted, so, of course, we came here to go see, because it's a once—in—a—lifetime for us. crucially, the lava has been flowing away from the nearest town. grindavik, a fishing community, home to 4000 people, was evacuated last month when the volcano first showed signs it could blow. translation: this is a huge eruption. | we've yet to see how it will develop throughout the day. in the meantime, i can say that lava seems to be flowing in that convenient direction, but we also know the flow of lava

can change the surrounding landscape, so this can change with short notice. the power of the eruption has been evident, away from the lava, for the authorities, this is the fourth eruption in the past three years. we have cleared the town and the area and now we are just securing the area and closing every road to the area. that'sjust in process now, but... then we are just trying to manage the situation here. experts worry the gases that continue to spurt out are polluting the air, but they say there won't be a giant ash cloud like 13 years ago, which grounded more than 10,000 flights. that's because this volcano system is not trapped under glaciers. it may be that the most memorable part of this christmas performance is over, but they are not letting down their guard here.

nick beake, bbc news, iceland. extraordinary images from iceland. we have a correspondent nearby who we will speak to a little later on in the programme. if you are with us 24 hours ago, we said something similar, we were expecting a vote on a potential cease—fire in gaza. that was delayed until today, tuesday, and we have just read in the last few minutes, delayed for another three hours or so until we get to the boat. just one line to bring you, also, we have heard from the us�*s un ambassador, asked by reporters that they were getting close on a gaza resolution said, "we are trying, we really are." let's take a look at some of the potential rating here, because

it is detailed. this is what they will be looking at. the original wording of this resolution that they want to vote on called for an urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities. questions about whether the us would support that where vote for it. so potentially a change, replace word "cessation" of hostilities with suspension" of hostilities. we are still waiting on any final text or on any final vote. we've got, we think, at the moment, under three hours or so to wait. meanwhile i spoke to our correspondent who is at the united nations in new york. it's been really something here at the united nations to see the flurry of diplomatic activity unfold, resulting in this vote being delayed several times over two days now. the

uae's several times over two days now. the uae�*s ambassador, she spoke to reporters here at the un. she was asked about the likelihood of this resolution succeeding. she was very frank and characterised the negotiations as complex, but did say she still had hope that the security council could speak with one voice. now, remember, the goal here for the uae is to make sure the united states does not to be told this resolution. diplomats are saying that there is really a broad consensus amongst councilmembers that they don't want to see another failed vote, because that would just kind of underline some of the criticisms that have already come their way that the security council is ineffective. therefore, we have seen, as we have been talking about, these intense negotiations to try to come to some agreement on a resolution. come to some agreement on a resolution-— come to some agreement on a resolution. , ,., , ., resolution. getting some lines out ofthe resolution. getting some lines out of the us state _ resolution. getting some lines out of the us state department - resolution. getting some lines outj of the us state department saying the us, this is the a would welcome

resolution that supports addressing humanitarian needs of gaza. but details of a resolution matter. so i think that takes cash doesn't take as much more forward, does it come i'm not going to ask you for a timetable because we are just getting delays, but can you map out what we are expecting now and the hours ahead?— hours ahead? yeah, well, the un security council— hours ahead? yeah, well, the un security council is _ hours ahead? yeah, well, the un security council is expected - hours ahead? yeah, well, the un security council is expected to . security council is expected to perhaps come together for a vote later this afternoon. i think it does matter, that comment there from the state department because the signal diplomats here are getting as well is that the united states is interested in having a resolution, so that would seem to suggest the state department is as well putting out fat signal. which is very different than the united states not engaging on a resolution. it signals they do want a product, but as i say

come at the moment, they are scheduled for later this afternoon for a vote, but we have seen many postponements before. so we will have to see how this plays out. we will be back in — to see how this plays out. we will be back in new— to see how this plays out. we will be back in new york— to see how this plays out. we will be back in new york as _ to see how this plays out. we will be back in new york as and - to see how this plays out. we will be back in new york as and when | to see how this plays out. we will i be back in new york as and when we get any hint that it will be coming. that's the big broad international diplomacy in america. we will head to israel now, because the president isaac herzog speaking. israel ready for another humanitarian pause in gaza to enable more hostages to be released and more aid to be delivered. said responsibility forfulfilling the conditions of such a ceasefire lay with the hamas. the israeli government is under growing international pressure a little earlier i spoke to our correspondent. an interesting choice of words by the israeli president talking about the israeli president talking about the humanitarian prize, talking with our correspondent in new york about these very long negotiations about these very long negotiations about the wording of this resolution. so the wording of this resolution. so the israeli government has been

rejecting any kind of proposal for a cease—fire. they believe that a cease—fire. they believe that a cease—fire would only benefit thomas. the americans have been supporting this veal. and they have been rejecting growing international calls for a cease—fire in gaza amid concerns over mounting civilian casualties and also over the humanitarian situation in gaza with the un and aid organisations warning of a humanitarian catastrophe. it is also interesting that pressure is also interesting that pressure is also growing domestically for the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, especially after those neta nyahu, especially after those three netanyahu, especially after those three israeli hostages were killed by mistake by israeli soldiers in gaza last week, and the families of the hostages who remain in captivity in gaza, more than 100 hostages, are now urging the government to engage in any kind of negotiations with hamas to reach a dll for more hostages to be freed and families

are saying that time is running out for these captives to be freed alive. so there is a lot of pressure on the government. again, so far the israeli authorities have rejected any cease—fire, but the president today saying that israel is open, is ready to a humanitarian pause for more humanitarian aid to be delivered to the palestinians in gaza, but also for more hostages to be freed. what's interesting is that thomas is saying that no talks are going to take place unless the war stops. we have heard a number of times from the prime minister from top israeli officials that the goal here is to not only guarantee the release of the hostages but also to guarantee the elimination of hamas in gaza. ., , ., guarantee the elimination of hamas in gaza. . , ., , guarantee the elimination of hamas in gaza. . , . , ., in gaza. that is an insight into the view from israel. _ in gaza. that is an insight into the view from israel. we _ in gaza. that is an insight into the view from israel. we have - in gaza. that is an insight into the view from israel. we have done i in gaza. that is an insight into the | view from israel. we have done the international diplomacy, now we will head to gaza to take a look at the situation, the humanitarian situation, the humanitarian situation there on the ground in

gaza. i spoke to ?james elderfrom?unicef — the united nations organisation that helps children around the world. when i left the rother crossing, two weeks ago, you felt the tension, the anxiety of people change every single hour, i literally had people holding my coaching take me with you, take me with you. horrible, horrible scenes because people are now aware that the bombardment as it maintains one of the great threats they've got to because it is indiscriminate and relentless, but disease now, disease is taking hold. you've just got hundreds of people, a lethal lack of water, sanitation, medicine, food, and that is what they are enduring right now. it is a desperate situation, and for the first time in the last few days, i have heard people say to me that their primary concern is now not the bombardment, it is dehydration. i5 bombardment, it is dehydration. is it in your view that this collapse and those basic needs is because the

so—called safe areas or areas where people are asked to move to don't have the infrastructure, don't have the facilities to support the numbers. the facilities to support the numbers— the facilities to support the numbers. ~ ,,., , �* ~' numbers. absolutely. and i think we have to no numbers. absolutely. and i think we have to go a — numbers. absolutely. and i think we have to go a step — numbers. absolutely. and i think we have to go a step further. _ numbers. absolutely. and i think we have to go a step further. i - numbers. absolutely. and i think we have to go a step further. i think- have to go a step further. i think that if you choose evacuation as you are a form of keeping civilian safe, which is what israel has done, then you must take them somewhere to a safe zone. safe must be, by law, and by morals, it must be water, sanitation, food, it must be life's essentials. i think it's been callous in calculating that they are well aware that those things are not just in short supply, they are nonexistent. so you are moving people around from place to place who have often been in the north, who have often been in the north, who have often been in the north, who have seen family members killed and they resolve psychologically and physically has become more and more depleted untilfinally physically has become more and more depleted until finally they end up on a street corner or on a dusty field, and they were in a shelter with one toilet for 700 people. now

there is none. so these places are not safe zones. they are zones of disease. ., ., , ., , not safe zones. they are zones of disease. ., ., i. , ., disease. how do you try to combat that? is it in _ disease. how do you try to combat that? is it in your _ disease. how do you try to combat that? is it in your eyes that - disease. how do you try to combat that? is it in your eyes that you . that? is it in your eyes that you just cannot ask people to move, in which case they are in danger of the direct line of fire, or this could be solved with simply massively increasing the amount of aid and to those areas. it’s increasing the amount of aid and to those areas-— those areas. it's a very good question- — those areas. it's a very good question. this _ those areas. it's a very good question. this is _ those areas. it's a very good question. this is exactly - those areas. it's a very good j question. this is exactly why those areas. it's a very good l question. this is exactly why a cease—fire is the only option because we simply have not got the capacity, there is no chance of getting the amount of aid in to those people in need without that cease—fire. so a cease—fire stops the bombardment, but a cease—fire also enables aid workers to get that aid in. right now we are not even close to that, not even a fraction of the food, water and medicine that is needed. a cease—fire, i've often took neck often been asked, without a cease—fire, what do you need? without a cease—fire, disease takes hold, this perfect storm of

rainwater, lack of food, malnourished children. 6—figure digits of children with diarrhoea. they cannot go to a hospital. hospitals are war zones, so a cease—fire is the only chance we've got to safely distribute a massive amount ofaid. of aid. thank you to james earl, chattin: of aid. thank you to james earl, chatting to _ of aid. thank you to james earl, chatting to me _ of aid. thank you to james earl, chatting to me in _ of aid. thank you to james earl, chatting to me in the _ of aid. thank you to james earl, chatting to me in the last - of aid. thank you to james earl, chatting to me in the last hour. | chatting to me in the last hour. we've got under three hours, we think before we get some kind of vote on that un security council resolution, for language, talking about, we don't know, cease—fire, we don't know whether a cessation of hostilities, suspension of hostilities, suspension of hostilities, that is all being negotiated as we speak. we don't know exactly what the outcome will be, but we will be back in new york at the united nations as and when. now come alive to iceland, the volcano that started erupting on monday nights still going, as you can see there, of who truly stunning images. there was seismic activity

in the run—up to this, so thankfully people did get away. 4000 people are so evacuated already to safety. live now to our correspondent sofia bettiza, who's in reykjavik. give us an idea of where you are exactly in the lay of the land there. , , . , exactly in the lay of the land there. , , . exactly in the lay of the land there. , . there. this is as close as we could aet there. this is as close as we could net to there. this is as close as we could get to the — there. this is as close as we could get to the volcano, _ there. this is as close as we could get to the volcano, which you - there. this is as close as we could i get to the volcano, which you should be able to see right there behind me. so we landed about two hours ago and started driving in this direction, but after about 20 minutes, we were stopped by the authorities who told us that we couldn't drive any further. in fact, the authorities are urging everybody to stay away from this area for their safety. to stay away from this area for theirsafety. it to stay away from this area for their safety. it also to allow scientists and responders time to assess the situation. just to give you an idea, louis, as we were

driving from the capital, about 30 km from the volcano, we could immediately see the flames, and that gives you an idea ofjust how powerful this abruption is. i can tell you, louis, we can smell the smoke, we can see ashes in the air. every once and a while, we can feel the vibration under our feet and we can definitely hear the sound on the volcano rumbling in the background. the lava is flowing, clearly, and it is always slightly unpredictable in terms of direction.— is always slightly unpredictable in terms of direction. that's right. so the subjects _ terms of direction. that's right. so the subjects are _ terms of direction. that's right. so the subjects are very _ terms of direction. that's right. so the subjects are very high, - terms of direction. that's right. so the subjects are very high, jets - terms of direction. that's right. so the subjects are very high, jets ofl the subjects are very high, jets of lava flowing in all directions, and, of course, iceland was prepared for this. they had been preparing for weeks. evacuated at a nearby town

with 4000 people not having to live away from their homes, but what the authorities here have told us is they are very well prepared to deal with the situation. ijust they are very well prepared to deal with the situation. i just spoke to a local policeman who told me that this is just a a local policeman who told me that this isjust a normal tuesday this is just a normal tuesday for people in iceland. 0f this is just a normal tuesday for people in iceland. of course, this is a country where volcanic eruptions are quite common. so also the authorities are telling us that there is no immediate threat to life. there have been no incidents, in fact, in the last i have seen lots of people you're taking photos, taking southeast, wanting to see the volcano up close and to experience what they have told me they see as quite an amazing and unique force of nature, really. just quite an amazing and unique force of nature. really-— nature, really. just a normal tuesday- — nature, really. just a normal tuesday- i — nature, really. just a normal tuesday. i like _ nature, really. just a normal tuesday. i like that. - nature, really. just a normal tuesday. i like that. thank l nature, really. just a normal. tuesday. i like that. thank you nature, really. just a normal- tuesday. i like that. thank you very much for that. speak to you later on. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. record rainfall is continuing

to cause widespread flooding in the northern australian state of queensland. rescuers are struggling to reach stranded people after extreme weather dumped a year's worth of rain on some areas. brett moller — deputy mayor of cairns regional council — told us more about the situation. major flooding, record majorflooding, record flooding, and crossed the coast last wednesday as a category two, about 140 km guests coming from it. what normally happens here in the tropics, we get cyclones in the coral sea to the east. it comes across the coast and then hits west into the gulf, but then hits west into the gulf, but the unpredictability ofjasper, once it hit the coast, it actually stopped, so we had torrential rain for five stopped, so we had torrential rain forfive or six days, stopped, so we had torrential rain for five or six days, which resulted in this record flooding. we do all our modelling on a one and 100 year event, well, this water industry been downpour was even more than the

one in 100 stop the neck. you're live with bbc news. the prime minister has faced one final grilling before christmas, as he answered questions from the liaison committee of senior mps. the liaison committee is made up of the chairs of all the other committees — and its job is to scrutinise the prime minister's work. it's been a testing couple of weeks for mr sunak — and the pressure will continue to build next year, as a general election looms. during his evidence, the prime minister defended the foreign secretary's recent call for a sustainable ceasefire in gaza. it's important, for a cease—fire to be sustainable, it's exactly right to ask what are those conditions so it doesn't collapse. there isn't a perfect formula for peace, but what i can say is that a cease—fire is clearly not going to last if hostages are still being held. that was your first question. also if hamas, who is stated in is to destroy israel is still able to

operate in underground tunnels and launch rocket attacks into israel. so those are important facets that we need to grapple with. in the head of a permanent cease—fire, what we would like to see our immediate and sustained humanitarian pauses, which allow the release of more hostages and more aid to enter gaza and in particular, to go to the previous question about leadership, i think we were the first country to say to the israelis they had to open the crossing so that we could get more aid and, and something i spoke to benjamin netanyahu about myself, and i am pleased that that is now happening, not in the quantities we want but it is an improvement. that is the uk showing leadership on this issue. i think it's been a testing couple of weeks for rishi sunak, but pressure will continue to build as a general election looms. rishi sunak will ask voters tojudge him on his record — and how well he has delivered the five priorities he set out at the start of the year. bbc verify�*s nick eardley has been digging into the detail.

back injanuary, the prime minister set out his five priorities for 2023, focusing on the economy, the nhs and stopping small boats. here's what rishi sunak said. i will only promise what i can deliver. and i will deliver what i promise. a big pledge, but how has the government done so far? let's start by looking at inflation. as you can see, at the start of the year, it was high. 10%, went up to just below 11%. but on this one, the government is doing pretty well. you can see that inflation has come down. in the latest figures, it was 4.6%. so it has more than halved. now, we're still waiting for the overall figures for the final three months of the year. it's worth pointing out this is the job of the bank of england rather than the government, but it looks like this one is going to be achieved. the second big economic pledge was to get the economy growing. we're going to say that this one is unclear. if you look at these figures,

they're quite up and down. but if you look at october 2023, growth is pretty flat over the course of the year. so this one — a question mark. it's in the balance. finally, on the economy — debt. the government said it was going to make sure that debt was falling when compared to the size of the economy. you can see here as things stand, it's actually gone up a bit since january. now, ministers are saying that they will bring debt down in a few years' time. forecasts say that is likely to happen, but it would involve some unpopular spending cuts. so again, with this one, we're going to say it's in the balance. now, if we move on from the economy, it actually gets a bit trickier for rishi sunak. let's start with the nhs. rishi sunak said he would bring waiting lists down. have a look again. it's not happening. when he made that pledge, waiting lists were just over 7.2 million, now there just above 7.7 million.

they've gone up by 500,000. strikes haven't helped. there's a covid backlog involved in this. and we should point out that some of the longer waits have been cut. but for ministers to achieve this, there's a long way to go. finally, small boats. this is something we've talked a lot about in the last few weeks. but if you have a look at this, 2022 — record highs. the number has dropped this year so far, but it's still pretty high. it's still around 30,000. so that doesn't really equate to stopping the boats. the government did pass legislation earlier in the year, as it promised, but so far ministers can't actually remove people from the uk in large numbers because the courts of course blocked the rwanda plan. so this one, we're going to say not on track at the moment. so to summarise our report card for rishi sunak — one tick, two question marks, two crosses. rishi sunak didn't say all of this would be done this year,

but as 2023 draws to a close, there's a lot to do if the government is going to turn that into five ticks. at least 118 people have died after an earthquake struck the united states as that's working with the un security council to resolve outstanding issues on a draught resolution calling for a suspension of hostilities in gaza. a vote has already been delayed for more than a day, amid continuing efforts to find wording that would persuade the us. ezra's struck a style i use its veto. at the us state department media briefing, spokesperson confirmed that the american delegation to the un was trying to find suitable wording to pass the legislation. eager trying to find suitable wording to pass the legislation.— pass the legislation. ever can constructively _ pass the legislation. ever can constructively related - pass the legislation. ever can constructively related to - pass the legislation. ever can constructively related to that| constructively related to that resolution. we fully support addressing the humanitarian needs of gaza as this resolution should set out to do and we are working through

theseissues out to do and we are working through these issues with other countries on these issues with other countries on the security council. that international _ the security council. that international diplomacy l the security council. that international diplomacy very much ongoing, as it has been for a while. we were talking about it 24 hours ago, still no votes, but we were expecting into a half hours or so in new york. we will be there as and when. let's take it to iceland now, live pictures of the erupting continuously erupting volcano there. you can see it is in the southwest iceland. there are some fears of pollution from the gas is heading towards the capital flowing there. some concern as well because the flow of lava is always unpredictable, but so far, it has been on a relatively safe path and people have been safely evacuated. the images though are stunning. i'm louis vonjones. this is bbc news. hello there. it's been quite a poor day today

across many southern parts of england with a lot of rain around. further north, we did see some sunshine eventually across the north of england and into parts of wales, and we've seen a mixture of sunshine and showers earlier in scotland. this was the shield of cloud that stretched across england and wales. you can see how it's been shifting southeastwards and the rain is getting taken away at long last. following on from that, we've got clear spells through the night. showers continuing in the north, maybe a bit wintry over the hills in scotland and some further rain coming in from the atlantic to northern ireland and western scotland by the end of the night. a bit chilly ahead of that in the north east of scotland. typical temperatures elsewhere around 6—7 degrees. now, there may not be a lot of sunshine around for tomorrow. we've got this rain coming in from the northwest. now, most of it will continue to affect the hills in the west where it's going to be very misty and murky with some hill fog. there is going to be a lot of cloud, but it's going to be a lot drier than today in the south and the southeast. and it's a milder day on the whole — temperatures typically 10—11 degrees, but it will turn windy

through the day. however, the winds will strengthen further on wednesday night and into thursday, and it's during this period that we've got a greater risk of some travel disruption. and it's getting windier because this deep low pressure here, possibly a named storm, will sweep across the north of scotland, head in to scandinavia with the really strong winds wrapped around that. and it will be a windy day everywhere on thursday, wildly gusts of 50—60mph, but it's across northern parts of scotland that we're more likely to get gusts of 80mph. very windy day in scotland, sunshine and wintry showers to come here. sunshine and showers across other areas, but further south may well hang on to more cloud and a bit of patchy rain as well. here in those strong winds, temperatures will reach 12—13, but the day gets colder, i think, with those wintry showers and strong winds in scotland. and as the low pressure moves away, we get this push of strong winds south through the north sea, bringing some big waves, some rough seas, bit of a storm surge going on and the risk

of some coastal flooding. things could be a lot worse, though, if we had some spring tides. now the winds do gradually ease down a bit on friday. for most of us, we're in some colder air, more wintry showers in scotland, milder air trying to come in to the west.

this is bbc news. the headlines. aid agencies voice frustration

at the worsening conditions for civilians in gaza, as the un security council prepares to vote on a new — and much delayed — cease—fire resolution. this is the scene live in new york, where the voting ukrainian president zelensky has been holding an end—of—year news conference. he rejects suggestion that his country could be starting to lose the war against russia. gas pollution warning for reykjavik after a spectacular volcano eruption in southwest iceland. welcome back, i'm louis fong jones. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky has been giving an end—of—year news conference in kyiv. in it, he rejected a suggestion that his country could be starting to lose the war against russia, though he acknowledged ukraine face challenges, including getting aid and supplies of artillery shells. —— lewis vaughan jones. mr zelensky also claimed ukraine had won a big victory by breaking russian naval dominance of the black sea. he also explains the lack of success in this summer's counteroffensive on the ground.

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