a vote on aid. plus, and dramatic but dangerous, show in iceland where an erupting volcano has drawn tourists and warnings. hello, i'm helena humphrey. just hours ago at a military base in texas, americans imprisoned in venezuela arrived home after they were freed as part of a major prisoner swap with the us. it follows months of negotiations. when people come home, it is one of the most important things our nation does. we love to hear the secretary of state and the president say that the most important thing we do in the united states government is protect the safety and security of our citizens. six of the 10 americans released by venezuela were wrongly detained, according to the biden administration.

the release includes infamous former defence contractor leonard glenn francis — known as fat leonard. he's at the center of one of the us navy's largest corruption cases. in exchange — the us has freed alex saab, an aide and top ally to venezuela's president nicolas maduro, accused of laundering money on behalf of the maduro government, which he denies. mr maduro is also releasing 20 venezuelan political prisoners. it's all part of the biden administration's efforts to improve relations with venezuela, and push mr maduro to hold fair elections next year. earlier, i spoke with our reporter mimi swaby about the deal. president byers was emphasising that this was all about encouraging venezuela to hold free and fair elections. how much leveraged you think the biden administration has in that regard? this is yet another sign of significant flowing between relations between the us and venezuela after months of really

high—level negotiations. this comes as biden is grappling with a worsening situation on the southern us border largely driven by venezuelan migrants pushing us federal resources to the brink. the leveraged the us has over venezuela is that washington has some economic sanctions to hold fair presidential elections next year as well as release prisoners, he says or the us says are being unfairly imprisoned venezuela. venezuela is suffering with a severe economic crisis as hyper inflation, the economy has basically collapsed but it does have a very large oil reserves. the easing of sanctions has been welcomed really happily by venezuelans in the country who are hoping that this country whose income already heavily relies on fossil fuels finding time, that these sanctions will revive the oil economy in venezuela. i want to touch on who

has been released, specifically alex saab, a key ally of maduro. is that a win for the election year? it is seen as a huge win. he is a closer aid and ally of mr maduro. he was welcomed back by mr maduro�*s wife as well as them being hosted at the presidential palace by maduro himself. it is thing that he has demonstrated his willingness to go to any lengths to ensure that his own members of party or allies are protected, even if that means giving up resources . that is seen is really bolstering his political support especially internally and that what he is doing is — we have seen the start of the month with a referendum, trying to claim sovereignty over a large area of their neighbours. he's trying to boost his internal image, really showing that he is a powerful president and he can mobilise supporters in times of need, which venezuela is currently

experiencing right now. i want to touch on a fugitive, essentially, returning to the united states. what will he face back in america? the malaysia businessmen, leonard francis, also known as fat leonard, has been accused of corruption in a huge scandal involving the us navy. he was arrested back in 2013, he pleaded guilty to corruption charges, but whilst on house arrest, waiting for his sentence, managed to escape. he cut off his ankle tracking tag and fled to venezuela via mexico. before his escape, he was a very cooperative person with authorities, however, this escape will have definitely soured and weakened his position and could be facing decades injail. he has pleaded guilty to the corruption charges he is facing but he has also been very vocal about his anger for other us officials, high—ranking us officials who have not been in court.

we will hear more as the case develops. thank you for unpacking that for us. it's the largest release of american prisoners in venezuela's history. human rights groups in venezuela are now advocating for the close to 300 people they list as political prisoners still in venezuelan prisons to also be freed. to another american behind bars overseas, paulwhelan, the former us marine being held in russian prison, told the bbc he feels betrayed by the american government. mr whelan has spent more than 1,800 days in russian prison with next week marking five years since he was imprisoned while on holiday in moscow, accused of being a spy. 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford spoke with mr whelan and has this report. this is where an american�*s holiday to moscow ended up. in a remote russian labour camp, convicted of espionage. the us government calls paul

whelan wrongfully detained. he's always said he's a political hostage. how are you doing? you all right? i followed his story since he was arrested in moscow. but for five years, all negotiations to try to free him have failed. now speaking to me from prison, paul whelan says he feels abandoned by his government. you know, it's serious betrayal. it's extremely frustrating. i've never heard him talk like this before. i know that the us has come up with all sorts of proposals, serious proposals, but it's not what the russians are after. so they keep going back and forth. the only problem is, it's my life that's draining away. why would you do this? you know, its five years. it's unfathomable to me that they'd left me behind. the us can get its prisoners back. last year, an american basketball star was swapped

for a convicted russian arms trader released by the us. but paul whelan was left behind. and now it seems like russia is collecting hostages. evan gershkovich was detained in march, accused of espionage for doing hisjob as a journalist. his newspaper, his government are clear. the charge is false. dear evan, i didn't take my laptop... polina writes to evan in prison every week. they started out together as reporters in moscow. now, he's locked up and she's abroad for safety. evan's friends collect and translate letters of support for him from all over the world, helping keep his spirits up and their own. evan is not a spy. evan is a journalist. and my greatest hope is that evan is released as soon as possible and can go home, can go back to work and go back to his family, can come

and spend time with all of us again, as he should be doing right now. that's the greatest hope. the conditions in the camp have declined seriously. the barracks have black mould. but paul whelan is now facing his fifth christmas as a prisoner. are you worried that there's going to be another deal that you're going to be left behind again? yeah, i am worried that there'll be a deal to leave me here. with each case, my case is going to the back of the line that's being left in the dust. it is russia that put him here, but paul whelan wants america to push harder to get him home. sarah rainsford, bbc news. to gaza now where hamas says more than 20,000 people have now been killed since israel began its military campaign after the attacks of the 7th of october that killed 1,200 people. that death toll of 20,000 represents almost 1% of gaza's 2.2 million total population. and it's an average of nearly 300 people per day. hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by some western governments, says more than 111,000 of those

killed are women and children. and, it says there have been over 52,000 people injured in the conflict so far. our special correspondent fergal keane reports on the toll that this deadly conflict is taking on families there. a warning, you may find this report distressing. the world is debating calls for a ceasefire and a bleak new reckoning of the dead is declared. but for the people of gaza, the suffering is felt. not counted. dead children brought to be touched a final time by their wounded father. a mother comes to mourn

a lost daughter. translation: imagine that j yesterday i was brushing her hair, making her a sandwich for dinner and putting her to sleep. then, you wake up in the morning and there is no fatima anymore. from the beginning, they have known there is no escape. not from gaza orfrom grief... ..or trauma. the wounded now number in their tens of thousands. in al—aqsa hospital, the child holds to symbols of a vanished normality. nearby, this child, aged 13, who lost ten members of herfamily, among them, a two—year—old brother and three grandparents. the fear of death is ever present.

people driven from one unsafe place to the next. we interviewed this person over six weeks ago as she tried to escape gaza with her disabled brother. today, our colleagues in gaza caught up with them. without vital medicine, he is suffering from seizures and is terrified by the israeli drones in the skies above. it's been really hard, like, every time i hear a rocket, that's going to drop, it's horrible to say this, but it's a sort of relief that it's not us, but it does not mean... ..we're fully safe. it's like we are next. today, as every day, they gathered to bury the dead of gaza. for this child, the loss of his father leaves a void to last a lifetime.

"dad, why did you leave me?" he asks. fergal keane, bbc news. 0ur middle east correspondent hugo bachega has more on international pressure for another ceasefire. diplomatic efforts continue for a new deal between israel and hamas in gaza and the have been some indications from the israeli authorities that they could agree with a pause in hostilities. hamas is been saying it was a permanent ceasefire in gaza, someone that has been rejected by the israeli authorities, they are talking about a humanitarian pause. reports on israeli media suggest there is a proposed plan for a pausing hostilities of one — two weeks and that would pave the way for the release of between 30 and a0 hostages who remain in captivity in gaza. the priority

would be the remaining women and also men who are elderly and also men who are elderly and in need of medical care. and in return, palestinian prisoners were being held in israeli jails would be free. there is a lot of pressure domestic pressure on the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, to try to negotiate a new deal, especially from the families of the hostages who remain in captivity. more than 120 people remain in gaza. and, i was in tel aviv a few days ago, talking to some relatives and friends of the hostages, essentially, they believe that time is running out to guarantee their safe return to israel. it is interesting that as these efforts are being made, the prime minister released a statement saying that those people who believe that those people who believe that israel is going to stop the war, in his words, detached from reality. the united nations security council has postponed another

vote on a draft resolution calling for "urgent and extended humanitarian pauses" in gaza to thursday morning. previous versions had opted for the word "ceasefire." language that the united states had objected to. it's the third time this week the vote has been delayed following tense diplomatic wrangling over the wording. the main sticking point now seems to also be over the monitoring of humanitarian aid into gaza. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. voters in the democratic republic of congo are taking part in a presidential election that has been extended into thursday after being marred by delays and claims of fraud. president felix tshisekedi is facing 18 candidates as he seeks a second term. voting is not taking place at all in some parts of the country due to the presence of armed rebel groups. an inmate in the state of oklahoma has been declared

innocent after spending almost 50 years in prison. glynn simmons was convicted of murder in 1975. on wednesday, a judge ruled there was clear evidence he did not commit the killing. this makes simmons the longest—serving inmate to be declared innocent of a crime in the history of the united states. the us senate has confirmed 11 senior generals and admirals, nearly a year after republican senator tommy tuberville delayed their nominations. he'd been protesting the pentagon's abortion policy, but dropped his objections after mounting pressure from those in his own party. defence secretary lloyd austin said the "unprecedented hold hurt our military�*s readiness and morale." you're live with bbc news. returning to the israel—gaza war. we learned from more about what the us expects from secretary of state antony blinken at his year end press conference. our state department correspondent barbara plett usher has more.

it has been a tough couple of months for the united states as it has grown more and more internationally isolated over its support for israel's war in gaza. at the secretary of state, antony blinken, indicated that there would be no change in policy when he gave his end of year press conference. he did talk about the us expectations that israel would begin to shift to low intensity combat, which means that it would move from these massive bombing campaigns and ground operations to something thatis ground operations to something that is more targeted, more like counterterrorism tactics. that is something the administration is really pushing because it would mean less civilian casualties. mr blinken made it clear that the us did not think the war should enter now. he said that if the war ended while hamas was still in place, while it still had military capabilities then an attack like one that happened on 7 october could happen again at some point and that was unacceptable. annie bush pretty hard on israel of —— criticism of israel. he said hamas had

started the war, but you didn't hear international voices calling for hamas to lay down its arms or stop hiding behind civilians, as he put it. nevertheless, he did say that the united states, like everyone else, want to end as soon as possible and the coming month, january, is going to be crucialfor month, january, is going to be crucial for these month, january, is going to be crucialfor these us month, january, is going to be crucial for these us efforts to get israel to try and get israel to scale back its operation. former us president donald trump says he will appeal tuesday's ruling by the colorado supreme court that would disqualify him from the state's presidential primary ballot. the historic a—3 decision bars trump from appearing on the ballot under the 1ath amendment of the us constitution, which prohibits anyone engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" from holding federal office. this is in relation to trump's actions onjanuary 6th, 2021 during an attack on the us capitol by his supporters. the question now is whether the ruling will stand. mr trump has not been formally charged with insurrection and has denied any wrongdoing. to break down the fallout from the ruling, i spoke with krista kafer, a columnist for the denver post who is a plaintiff in former president trump's case in

colorado. very good to have you with us on the bbc. they understand you have been a republican, you say, for around 30 years. you have voted yourself or donald trump and you have also run for office yourself as well. just tell us, to begin with, why did you bring this case? 50 i brought _ you bring this case? 50 i brought this _ you bring this case? so i brought this case - you bring this case? so i l brought this case because you bring this case? sr i brought this case because they believe in rule of law, believe in our constitution, and i believe in our democracy. and our constitution is clear, it has five requirements for officeholders for the office of the presidency. there is an age requirement, a residency requirement, a residency requirement, a residency requirement, a citizenship requirement, a citizenship requirement, one cannot serve more than two terms, and one cannot participate in insurrection. it is very clear that what happened is that donald trump lost an election. and i've voted for him in that

election. he lost the election, he refused to concede that election, he then went on to push lies and misinformation, he fomented a mob, he tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power to overturn the election, thatis power to overturn the election, that is by definition insurrection and because of his actions he has disqualified himself to run again and the supreme court has ruled in our favour and he will not be on the ballot.— favour and he will not be on the ballot. , t, the ballot. let me 'ust ask you this, donald h the ballot. let me just ask you this, donald trump, _ the ballot. let me just ask you this, donald trump, he - the ballot. let me just ask you this, donald trump, he has. the ballot. let me just ask you| this, donald trump, he has not been explicitly charged with insurrection or rebellion in any of these four criminal cases at this stage his participation is subjective. he hasn't undergone due process. is it fair to take him off the ballot? ., , ., is it fair to take him off the ballot? ., , t, , , , ballot? he has had due process, any sense _ ballot? he has had due process, any sense of— ballot? he has had due process, any sense of the _ ballot? he has had due process, any sense of the 14th _ ballot? he has had due process, i any sense of the 14th amendment any sense of the 1ath amendment does not require criminal conviction. it is basically self fulfilling. if we were to roll back the clock and look at people who lost their ability

to run or disqualified for ballots back in 1860s, we would see that these people had participated in insurrection, had fomented rebellion, and then were not allowed to run. so you don't need a criminal conviction. what you do need is evidence and we had to colts, first trial court, then the colorado supreme court examine that evidence, president trump, he was well represented by his attorneys, there were brees put forward on his behalf as well as on our behalf, the court had as on our behalf, the court had a lot of information in front of it including expert witnesses and they decided in our favour. witnesses and they decided in ourfavour. we had as witnesses and they decided in our favour. we had as you process, he had his day in court. he will have another day in court in the us supreme court and they will decide ultimately whether he is disqualified from being on the ballot. , ., ., disqualified from being on the ballot. , ., t, ., , ballot. krista, i want to put some comments _ ballot. krista, i want to put some comments to - ballot. krista, i want to put some comments to you, i ballot. krista, i want to put - some comments to you, would you have probably seen, they came from former newjersey governor chris christie, we know chris crewther isn't exactly a backer

of donald trump, but he rebuked the decision of the colorado supreme court. you can see it there. this is what he said. what do you make of that argument, that the question of whether donald trump should be elected president ultimately should be up to the american people to decide, not a court? it is an understandable sentiment, but by the same token, you know, former president 0bama cannot run for office again because he has already served two terms. your prime minister could not run for our president's office because that person is not a citizen. so we have these requirements that are in the constitution because we believe in rule of law we absolutely have to apply them. i in rule of law we absolutely have to apply them. i mean, if we take a _ have to apply them. i mean, if we take a look— have to apply them. i mean, if we take a look at _ have to apply them. i mean, if we take a look at section - we take a look at section three, it is rarely used, of course, days from the post— civil war era and as goal essentially was to prevent those who held roles in the confederacy from becoming a member of congress or being elected to other officers, should essentially something

that comes from the civil war era be applied to modern day presidential politics? you know, other _ presidential politics? you know, other people - presidential politics? you know, other people are l presidential politics? 7m. know, other people are making the argument that because our constitution was written in the 18th century that it should not be applied today, whether it is the second amendment or the first amendment of the fourth amendment, that somehow these things are pase. none of them are pase unless it is formally amended. people decided the 1ath amendment or at least section three of the 1ath amendment no longer applies there is a process for that. you can have it amended. so people don't like it that is because they should take. i want to ask you about something else, quickly, if they may, thatis else, quickly, if they may, that is donald trump's support. if we take a look at the figures right now his support has swelled since the sum with those judges coming has swelled since the sum with thosejudges coming into now stand at 6a% of republican primary voters. ijust stand at 6a% of republican primary voters. i just want, was there a part of you that was there a part of you that was worry come in bringing this case, that it could actually rally donald trump's ayce? i was more concerned about the

principal nano was about politics. think it is also important to keep mind that when you look at republican members a lot of people have left the republican party. it is unusual that i have stay given a of the things he has done for a lot of folks have left the republican party and therefore are not included in therefore are not included in the poll. wadeye would like to see is polling among republicans and right—leaning independence and see what comes out and i can guarantee the numbers would be different. mi numbers would be different. all ritht, numbers would be different. all right, krista kafer, a plaintiff in that case. good to have you want. thank you for your time. have you want. thank you for your time-— iceland remains in a state of uncertainty after monday's volcanic eruption which continues to spew lava into the sky for a third day. evacuated residents from the town of grindavik fear that their homes will be destroyed. but scientists warn the volcano is not friendly to tourists. those visiting or living in the capital city

of reykjavik, could soon be exposed to toxic gases, according to the country's meteorological office. 0ur nick beake filed this report. the icelandic authorities had brought us within two or three kilometres of the volcano. it's just over there and you can see every now and then the lava thatis every now and then the lava that is spreading up into the air, it is not as dramatic as yesterday but nonetheless this is a reflection that lava continues to flow. the authorities here are saying that the number of events from which the lava is coming up, you just got another spread there, has reduced, but still they are concerned. so, for example, the people that were evacuated from the nearby town five weeks ago, they are not being allowed to go home and, sadly for them, there is no chance they will be back in their homes before christmas time. there was also concerned about some gas being created as part of this, wafting away towards reykjavik, the capital. that hasn't happened. and in terms of the lava flow, it has been moving away from the built—up areas. so the authorities here continue to say that the volcanic activity

we have seen over the past four or five weeks that really came to a head on monday night, that it doesn't present a threat to life, but nonetheless, as we continue to see the volcano spurs up like this they say they are monitoring the situation very carefully indeed. finally, a christmas in rome comes with a message. a dazzling display along rome's via del corso shopping street is dedicated to world peace. a carpet of lights measuring 1,a00 metres long, that's a,600 feet, is adorned with the word "peace" in various languages including french, german and spanish. it includes 300,000 points of light. you are watching bbc news. i'm helena humphrey in washington, dc. thanks for your company. alcoholics in london will take over now. theyby. —— our colleagues. hello. the weather in the run—up to christmas now is looking fairly unsettled, especially so over the next 2a hours

because we've got a spell of really windy weather right across the uk. the danish met service have named storm pia. now, that's moving to the north of us, but it's going to bring really windy conditions wherever you are, especially the further north. some heavy showers in the mix, too. and there's the potential for some significant travel disruption on thursday. so there's that area of low pressure, storm pia, heading towards denmark. lots of isobars on the map here and we've got really windy conditions for scotland, northern ireland, northern england, north wales too. even further south, it's going to be a blustery sort of day. so some heavy showers, especially towards the north and the west. a bit more sunshine returning across scotland through thursday morning. but look at the gusts of wind — 65—75mph, even 80mph up towards the northern isles. really windy, too, for northern ireland, the isle of man, into northern england — 50—60mph gusts. more around the exposed coasts and hills. windy too, but not quite as windy as further north for the likes of south wales and southern england. so cloud and patchy light rain in the south, sunshine and blustery, squally showers moving into the north. even a little bit of snow over the highest ground of scotland. temperatures just 5 degrees

in aberdeen, but still up to around 12 down towards the london region. so we've got the mild, cloudy and fairly damp weather in the far southwest overnight. clearer skies elsewhere as we head through into thursday morning, but then more rain returns from the west through the early hours. i think it's going to be frost—free again heading into friday morning, but the lowest temperatures will be across the northeast of the uk. so we're in the colder air there, but further towards the southwest, we've got milder air, this weather front that is the dividing line between those two air masses. heading through friday, and this area of milder air will spread its way across the uk, the winds coming in from a westerly direction. so that weather front will bring some rain initially across northern ireland, parts of england and wales, tracking its way eastwards — perhaps a little bit of snow fora time, again, over the highest ground across the north of scotland. but for most of us, it'll be rain showers and, again, temperatures between around about 5 to 12 degrees. colder than that, though, towards the northern isles. and then looking ahead towards the festive period, it's a little bit up and down, it's fairly unsettled. mild for the next few days, perhaps things a little bit colder into boxing day.

bye— bye.

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. are the machines about to take over? that basic fear seems to underpin much of the discussion about artificial intelligence, and parallel developments such as synthetic biology. the latest wave of tech advances offers us extraordinary new possibilities, but do we flawed human beings have the will and the means to contain and control them? well, my guest is mustafa suleyman, ceo of inflection ai and the author of a challenging book on al and us. is that a doomed relationship?