nearly half the parliamentary seats are filled but it could be weeks until a government is formed. hello, i'm nicky schiller. after two years of discussions, attempts to secure the world's first ever global treaty to limit plastic production, in an effort to stop it polluting the planet, have collapsed in south korea. the world currently makes far more plastic than it can recycle, with much of it ending up in the oceans. at a week of talks, delegates from nearly 200 nations around the world could not agree on a unanimous declaration — with mostly oil—producing nations wanting to focus on waste, rather than production. it comes two years after countries agreed that a global treaty was needed to tackle the issue of plastic pollution, particularly the impacts on the marine environment —

and this should be completed within two years given the urgency of the issue. the chair of the talks says, "unresolved issues remain challenging and additional time will be needed to address them effectively". our environment correspondent jonah fisher has more. this was supposed to be the moment the world came together to tackle its addiction to plastic. but after two years of talks, the last week of it in south korea, there was no sign of a global plastics treaty. a few critical issues still prevent us from reaching a comprehensive agreement. the key one — whether we need to reduce the amount of plastic we make. this year, the world made 430 million tonnes of plastic and that figure could triple by 2060. just 9% of it ends up being recycled, with the rest going to landfill, being burnt,

or dumped at sea. plastic is mostly made from fossil fuels, and at the talks it was oil—producing countries who blocked any attempt to put cutting production in the treaty. there should be no problem with producing plastics, because the problem is the pollution, not the plastics. attempting to phase out plastic in material, - rather than addressing the issue of plastic- pollution risks undermining the global progress - and exacerbating - economic inequality. those who wanted action were left wondering if it was time to move ahead without the oil producers. high ambition countries need to step up and prevent a minority of groups from holding the rest of the world hostage from achieving the type of agreement that we all know we need to. the only way to end plastic pollution is to reduce plastic production. this could have been a turning

point for plastic pollution. it is nowjust another missed opportunity. jonah fisher, bbc news. eirik lindebjerg, from the wwf, was one of the delegates at that summit in busan — and he told me the vast majority of countries agreed on the urgent need for action, only to be stopped by a handful of others. the negotiators are now deciding to suspend the meeting and continue later. the meeting saw really a vast majority of countries uniting around globally—binding measures, and at the end, only to see that being stopped by a few countries and the need for consensus. it's obviously very serious in terms of the failure to address the plastic pollution crisis because we can't really wait to stop plastic pollution. what was the sticking point that led to the collapse? there is a disagreement around

whether there will be binding measures upstream. so will there be bans banning the types of chemicals in plastics that are potentially harming us? will there be bans on problematic products that we know are polluting the environment, and will there be product design requirements to ensure that the plastics we use can actually be sensibly recycled then reused. some countries don't want any kind of upstream measure in the treaty, while the vast majority do, so they are still stuck at that point. many of us try and cut out plastics, for example, using reusable bags rather than single throw away plastics and also, say, cutlery. is any of that any good unless the big countries do the big things? we need binding global rules. we consumers can do as much we can but we need regulations,

we need to not be overwhelmed by plastics every time we go into a supermarket. i think this meeting really was a wake—up call to all those countries wanting a strong treaty, that they probably have to do this on their own or they need to vote. they cannot rely on consensus for getting such a deal in the future. so are you optimistic that there will eventually be a deal that will lead to a cut in plastics globally? i think it's inevitable. citizens are demanding it. we see growing support among governments. we see businesses, scientists, rallying behind it. there has to be a deal. this was a huge blow, but now these ambitious countries must take this in their own hands ahead of the next meeting. briefly, is there any particular country you would like to see do more? i think all countries need to do more. this is a collective responsibility and in

particular the ambitious countries that have been strong here at this meeting need to also take it in their own hands and go for a vote potentially at the next meeting. eirik lindebjerg from the wwf. to georgia now — where thousands of protestors are on the streets for a fourth night, after the government announced it was suspending its bid tojoin the european union. there are some flashing images in these live pictures that i am going to show you. they are from the capital _ am going to show you. they are from the capital tbilisi - am going to show you. they are from the capital tbilisi where i from the capital tbilisi where it is 2am and there is a large number of crowds on the main avenue outside the parliament building. a lot of security forces as well. many of the protesters have come equipped with gas masks or helmets. they are prepared for the riot police to try and make them disperse. about 45 minutes ago

we did see a lot of those security forces tried to move some of those protesters. there are huge numbers of security forces down a lot of the streets around the parliament building. inside the building police were earlier targeting the protesters outside with streams of water, trying to prevent anyone from getting too close. the protesters all through the night have been lighting fires. i can show you some pictures from state television which has a number of cameras everywhere. you can see those masks and there have been fireworks thrown. you can also see the protesters using lasers as well that have been over the last four nights. they have been throwing some fireworks at the building. the protests come after georgia's prime minister seemed to contradict the very comments that sparked the demonstrations. he's denied that his government is suspending moves to join the european union. he was speaking to the bbc�*s

russia editor, steve rosenberg, who's in tbilisi. fireworks explode in tbilisi, now, every night is fireworks night. a fourth night of protests outside parliament, while inside, police try to keep protesters at bay. a brolly helps at moments like these. so the police right now are firing streams of water from inside the parliament, and going the other way, fireworks hurled by the protesters. it is the most surreal stand—off. the crowds are huge. so is the disappointment that the government here has frozen accession talks with the eu. but people are still hoping. every single day, there is more and more people coming. and it gives me hope that this government will finally go away.

no sign of that. earlier, the head of the government praised the police and condemned the protests. many of the protesters have said to me that by suspending until the end of 2028 georgia's bid tojoin the european union, you have stolen, your government has stolen their european dream, their european future. people feel betrayed. can you understand that? the response is very clear. so, we have not suspended anything related to the european integration. it'sjust a lie. and there are the opposition leaders, there are the media outlets linked with the opposition, who are just lying to these people. you suspended this until 2028. no, it's not true, it's not true. really? here's what he said three days ago. translation: today, we have decided not to put the issue i of opening negotiations with the european union on the agenda until the end of 2028. we also refuse any budgetary grants from the european union

until the end of 2028. it was that announcement that sparked the protests and violence. here, a makeshift firework gun fires at police, while police officers have been accused of assaulting protesters. you must have seen videos of the brutal way in which the police have treated some of the protesters in the last few days. what is your reaction to that? an investigation will happen against this kind of incidents, but also, in this case, it's important to have a clear position with regard to the violence from both sides. the protesters accuse the government of selling out to russia, which the authorities deny. neither side shows any sign of backing down. steve rosenberg, bbc news, tbilisi. and we have a live page

with the very latest on those protests in tbilisi, for a fourth night in a row, on the bbc news website site and app. this includes a live feed from the pictures outside parliament. exit polls in romania's closely—watched parliamentary election are coming in. nick thorpe has been watching the count. the suggestions of the exit polls there in romania are that the social democrats are in the lead — that's the main governing party at the moment, they're the leader of the current coalition government. also that the far—right parties, led by the alliance for the union of romanians, they're doing well — but not well enough, as far as these exit polls say, to actually replace the current government. so, the alliance for the union of romanians is second to the social democrats in these exit polls, with about 20%, followed by two other centrist parties, with two other far—right parties also looking as though they'll get into parliament.

so, again, we should be very cautious with the exit polls — they got it wrong a week ago, and they don't include the diaspora vote, which is also very important in romanian elections. but for now, cautious optimism among the centrist parties that, despite this far—right surge, they seem to be holding on to power. yes, because this comes a week after that first round of the presidential election, in which that far—right pro—russian candidate secured a shock victory, didn't he? that's right, calin georgescu shocked romania a week ago by leading by winning with a similar turnout, also about 52—53% — that's 9.4 million votes cast altogether — and mr georgech came a shock first in that election. that's been legally challenged. there's a recount going on, even as we hold a new parliamentary election this weekend. and also, the constitutional

court is due to decide tomorrow, monday, on whether that first round can stand — there have been various legal challenges. and obviously, that put romania right in the international spotlight because, were the far—right to win, whether in the parliamentary or in the presidential elections, that could challenge this long—standing stability of romania as a pro—eu country, a pro—nato, very much a western country, with us and nato bases on its territory, with the war in ukraine going on very close by in the neighbouring country. so, we've got the exit polls from this parliamentary election — how long is it likely to take until we get some results from the election? just in the last few minutes, we are seeing the first, the beginning of the real count being published — but it's only an infinitesimal proportion of real votes. but, as the evening goes on, i think already in an hour or two, we should be getting

the first proper count — and obviously, through the night and into tomorrow, also, as those very important votes from the diaspora also come in. the masterchef presenter gregg wallace has hit out against allegations of inappropiate behaviour on the show, saying they've come from "a handful of middle—class women of a certain age". he released a statement on social media this morning, and his lawyers have previously said the allegations are false. 13 women have complained about him to a bbc news investigation. 0ur correspondent noor nanji has the latest. now, in the newspaper, i can see the complaints coming from a handful of middleclass women of a certain age, just from celebrity masterchef. this isn't right. gregg wallace in an instagram video this morning, hitting back at his critics. the masterchef presenter has

been under pressure after bbc news revealed a string of misconduct allegations against him. jemma not her real name says gregg wallace made her and her colleagues feel uncomfortable. working with gregg was tricky. he was constantly making sexually inappropriate jokes and comments. his behaviour was unacceptable in any kind of workplace. he's posted this video today. what do you make of that? i was mortified when i saw it this morning, because it's so dismissive of the people that have come forward, especially the younger girls, and about their experiences. i don't know what class and age have to do with it. 0ur our investigation heard from 13 people who worked in five different shows up until 2022.

allegations began in 2005. 2011's contestant kirsty wark said greg used sexualised language. a woman working on a channel five show said he asked how she had sex as a lesbian. the same year two women say wallace came out topless in front of them. another woman, working on masterchef in 2019, said wallace stared at her chest and asked her for a massage. more claims have since emerged, including from the presenter kirsty allsop, who said she was left tearful after an incident. i said she was left tearful after an incident.— an incident. i had never met him before _ an incident. i had never met him before and _ an incident. i had never met him before and he _ an incident. i had never met him before and he was - an incident. i had never met| him before and he was there with her partner, i think a new partner at the time. i had been chatting to her and she left the room and he made a reference to something that they did in bed. but then it came out this morning and said this thing about middle—aged, middle—class women. that is an

acceptable. middle-class women. that is an acceptable-— acceptable. gregg wallace remains one _ acceptable. gregg wallace remains one of— acceptable. gregg wallace remains one of the - acceptable. gregg wallace remains one of the most l remains one of the most recognisable faces on tv. and for now he is still on our screens, with the remaining episodes of this season's masterchef still to go out. tomato puree, which is made using forced labour in china, is probably being sold by some of britain's biggest supermarkets, without the knowledge of customers, a bbc investigation has found. chains including tesco, waitrose, asda, and morrisons are supplied by a major italian food processor that's linked to coercive labour in xinjiang province. runa ko celina reports. tomato puree — a staple of our supermarket shop. but how is it produced — and at what cost? the tomato fields of china's xinjiang region are so big they can be seen from space. but they hide a dark secret.

the bbc spoke to more than a dozen people from xinjiang's muslim minorities who have endured or witnessed forced labour in the region's tomato industry. some, like mamajan, say they were tortured. translation: the first | time we were told we had to pick a50kg of tomatoes. they said, "we're warning you — if you can't do it, we'll punish you". the next day, i still hadn't picked a50kg of tomatoes, so they beat me up badly in a dark prison cell. there were chains hanging from the ceiling. they hung me up there and they said, "why can't you finish the job?" china denies there is any forced labour in its tomato industry. but following extensive reports of abuse in xinjiang, the us banned all imports from the region in 2021. the uk did not. under the modern slavery act, supermarkets can self—regulate to ensure forced labour isn't

used. using global shipping data, we traced the route the tomato paste takes to get to europe. millions of kilos made by one company, xinjiang guannong, were sent to one italian tomato manufacturer, the petti group. i have a meeting with pasquale petti. posing as a client, we went undercover to meet with an executive. but all the paste is produced in italy? the paste? no. if you want italian, we put italian. in this way it's more expensive. yes. nothing from china? you don't get any cheap ones? if you want, also from china. you can get cheap ones there? yes. the petti group told us they have not bought from xinjiang guannong since the us sanctioned them for forced labour in 2020. but our camera filmed a tomato paste barrel clearly labelled "xinjiang guannong" produced in 2023.

the petti group also supplies tomato products to uk supermarkets. it's really hard to know if tomato paste sold to consumers at supermarkets worldwide are made with tomatoes from xinjiang. to establish if any are chinese, we're sending 64 samples made by petti and other manufacturers forforensic testing. trace element analysis can give an indication as to where a product has come from. what we use that analysis for is to build a pattern or a fingerprint, which are unique to the country of origin. 0ur testing showed that 17 tomato purees — some branded as italian — likely contain chinese tomatoes, including those sold in asda, morrisons, tesco and waitrose. the question is, were they made with forced labour? all the supermarkets said they take these allegations very seriously, but they dispute our findings. some said their own testing and audits show no evidence of chinese tomatoes in their products.

the petti group said they purchased tomato paste from another chinese supplier who assured them they did not engage in forced labour. we approached xinjiang guannong. they did not respond. runako celina, bbc news. votes are still being counted in ireland's general election — but nearly two thirds of the seats in parliament have now been filled. the centre right parties fianna fail and fine gael seem most likely to form a coalition government for the second time. my colleague caitriona perry, has been following events in dublin for us. some of the seats are still outstanding, but it looks at this point like the two biggest outgoing government parties, fianna fail and fine gael, will buck the global trend for incumbent government parties and will actually be returned to power. not so the case for the junior government partner, the green party, which has been almost wiped out, keeping only one of its 12 seats.

fianna fail will return to dail eireann, the highest part, the biggest party with the highest number of seats, it looks at this point, and it will seek to build a coalition with fine gael. now, it's not going to make the numbers for a majority. they're going to need some support in that. and the big success stories of this weekend have been the smaller left—leaning parties — the social democrats and the labour party. fianna fail and fine gael may look to them to help them build a coalition, or indeed they may look to the support of a number of independents. now, on the other hand, sinn fein also has had a successful weekend and the leader, mary lou mcdonald, has pledged herself to build a left coalition government. she'll also be courting those smaller parties and, indeed, the independents. however, the maths make it a much more difficult route to government for her than for fianna fail and fine gael. and the other point to note is there had been an expectation — perhaps there could have

been a rise in far—right or anti—immigrant sentiment — but the candidates that ran on those platforms have had an unsuccessful time of things. now, the one thing all parties do agree on is that the next stage, the horse trading, the discussions to try and build a government — well, that's not going to happen any time soon, and it's unlikely that there will be a government in place this side of christmas. caitriona perry in dublin. the oxford university press has just announced their word of the year, and it is... brain rot! with me is our reporter yasmin rufo. it's an old word but with new meaning. it it's an old word but with new meaning-— it's an old word but with new meaninu. , ., ., ., , meaning. it is an old word but most peeple _ meaning. it is an old word but most people know _ meaning. it is an old word but most people know it - meaning. it is an old word but most people know it for - meaning. it is an old word but most people know it for its . meaning. it is an old word but. most people know it for its new meaning. some won't know it at all. brain rot is a term that captures concerns about the impact of those consuming low quality content on the internet, particularly on social media. it's crawling on instagram, tiktok, something we

are all guilty of and some of us are suffering from brain rot. �* ., ., , ., rot. brain rot is the word. they have _ rot. brain rot is the word. they have a _ rot. brain rot is the word. they have a short - rot. brain rot is the word. they have a short list. - rot. brain rot is the word. i they have a short list. what with the other words that could have been in the list. the? with the other words that could have been in the list.— have been in the list. they do and some _ have been in the list. they do and some of— have been in the list. they do and some of the _ have been in the list. they do and some of the other - and some of the other shortlisted words were demure, which might have heard of from tiktok. and romantacy, and dynamic pricing, and law and slot. there were five shortlisted words that didn't make it and brain rot has beaten them. we spoke to a psychologist about, can you actually get brain rot? as soon as i saw it i thought, can i be diagnosed with it? you can't actually have brain rot really. it is just more a word that captures what it means to be chronically online and be dissatisfied with social media. briefly there are a lot of words of the year. there are a lot. in other _ words of the year. there are a lot. in other words _ words of the year. there are a lot. in other words we - words of the year. there are a lot. in other words we have i words of the year. there are a l lot. in other words we have had this year, collins has called

brett and we have manifest for mike from cambridge dictionary, manifesting your dreams, hoping there will come true. and dictionary dot—com announced their word was demure which is something we might have heard on tiktok. all generation z words and words that are popular on social media. thank ou ve popular on social media. thank you very much- _ popular on social media. thank you very much. hopefully - popular on social media. thank you very much. hopefully you i you very much. hopefully you won't get brain rot. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. meteorologically speaking, sunday was the first day of winter. now, there were a number of showers around, but it was a pretty mild day. indeed, across wales, we had temperatures of 15.4 celsius recorded at both hawarden, in flintshire, and also in cardiff — those temperatures way above the december average. and those mild weather conditions were brought to us by these southwesterly winds, which are still across a good part of the country. however, look at this band of rain sinking south across scotland.

behind that, we start to see the winds turn more to a northerly direction — and it's those northerly winds that, through monday, will push this zone of colder air southwards. so, it will feel much colder as we go through the day, across northern areas in particular. so, the rain starts today — southern scotland, pushes southwards across northern england, reaches north wales and the midlands through the afternoon. brighter conditions follow, but it will be gusty around irish sea and north sea coasts, gusts of around 40—50mph. temperatures in england wales about 8—11 celsius, so still relatively mild. through the afternoon, it turns colder for scotland and northern ireland — temperatures here around 4—6 degrees. and then, that cold air surges southwards — monday night, a much colder night than we have used to, with a widespread frost. so, a frosty and cold start to your day on tuesday, but with plenty of sunshine for most areas, however. band of rain is going to move in off the atlantic, so it

turns wet in northern ireland, and eventually, the rain reaches western scotland, as well. temperatures really struggle — 4—7 celsius — it will be a chilly day on tuesday for most. then tuesday night, the rain starts to turn to snow — and that's especially the case in scotland, and especially for eastern areas, we could have some accumulations of snow, potentially bringing some localised disruption. but ultimately, the snow will turn back to rain, as milder air works its way in. and, as we head through wednesday, that milder weather pushes in from the west, we'll have a lot of low cloud, some mist and fog. quite a murky—looking day, perhaps turning a bit brighter as we head into the afternoon for some. but it's another day with struggling temperatures, particularly for central and eastern areas. starts to turn a bit milder in the west. and then, thursday and friday, areas of low pressure on the way could bring some very strong gusts of wind, but certainly will be bringing some pretty wet weather our way.

this is bbc news, the headlines... attempts to secure the world's first—ever global treaty to limit plastic pollution have collapsed under pressure from oil—producing nations. big anti—government protests are taking place for a fourth consecutive night in the georgian capital, tbilisi. the demonstrations were sparked by the prime minister saying he would suspend moves tojoin the eu. he's now denying those comments. the masterchef presenter gregg wallace has hit out against allegations of inappropiate behaviour on the show, saying they've come from "a handful

of middle—class women of a certain age". his lawyers have previously said the allegations are false. and counting continues in ireland's general election — nearly two thirds of the seats in parliament have now been filled. but it could be weeks until a government is formed. helena humphrey will be live in washington with the latest at 11pm — but now, it's time for newscast. hello, sunday's newscast with some exciting new talent. not me. well, you are exciting talent, but we've got new talent in the room. yes, joe pike is with us. hello, hello, hello. hi, vic. hi, paddy. you've got two titles in the bbc. which one are we going to use?