of the grenfell fire. the final seats in the irish general election are expected to be filled later today. only a small number of seats separate the three major parties, with fianna fail and fine gael best placed to form a coalition government. our chief presenter caitriona perry is in dublin with the latest. it's this little bit of mixed fortunes for the government parties, though. fianna fail on course to come back as the biggest party in the dail. it's actually built on its level of support, although the minister for health has lost his seat. but the fianna fail leader, at this point in time looks most likely to be the taoiseach, to be the prime minister in the next government. the other current government coalition partner, fine gael, has had a good turnout as well. it's held on to all

of its seats. some of its candidates had retired and have been replaced by new tds. so fianna fail and fine gael saying that they're best placed to put a coalition government together. now the third party currently in government, the green party, has been all but wiped out, losing all but one of its 12 seats. so fianna fail and fine gael best placed to put together a coalition. however, they will need the support of some independents or of some of the smaller left leaning parties like the social democrats and the labour party, who have had a good weekend also building on their seat tally. on the other side of the house, then, in the opposition benches currently is sinn fein. mary lou mcdonald, the leader of sinn fein, saying that she intends to try and put together a left leaning alliance for a coalition government as well. now the maths are a little more difficult. they're not impossible, but a little bit more difficult. but she says that's her intention at this moment. and, katrina, how long do you think it will

take before we see a government take form there in ireland? well, that's the question that everybody is asking. the last election that was held here almost five years ago in february 2020. it took until the end ofjune before the dail was able to come into session. so many, many months. covid occurred in the middle of that, of course, so that caused some of that delay. the dail is due to sit for the first time after this election on the 18th of december. but all of the major parties are saying that they think it's unlikely that the government formation talks, the political horse trading that has to take place now, will have concluded by that point. nobody seems to think there'll be a government here before christmas. there is a hope one can be put together by the middle ofjanuary, in advance of president elect donald trump. taking office on the 20th of january is the goal because of how closely linked the irish and the american economies are, and because of what president elect trump has said his intentions are for trade relationships and for american

multinationals, many of whom have their european headquarters not far from where i'm standing now. so the viewpoint of many of the parties here is that they want a firm, solid and stable irish government in place by that time. and briefly, what do you think have been the key issues for voters? well, the key issues that voters have said they were voting on is the housing crisis in this country. it's a problem that successive governments have failed to get a handle on. there's a shortage of housing. costs of rents are beyond the level of affordability of most people. supply is an issue and there's also a homelessness crisis. figures came out actuallyjust before people went to the polls on friday showing record levels of homelessness in this country, 15,000 people homeless. nevertheless, it looks like most people have backed a situation of a status quo, with

likely, not certainly, but likely to be returned early in the new year. building safety minister alex norris says the government will be launching a plan to accelerate the identification and remediation of buildings fitted with dangerous cladding. thousands of buildings with flammable cladding have yet to been identified, more than seven years after the grenfell tower fire. the government's new remediation acceleration plan means that, by the end of 2029, unsafe cladding on all high—rise buildings will be removed, with landlords facing tough penalties — including jail time — if they fail to comply. the united nations�* top court has started hearings on the legal obligation of countries to fight climate change, and the consequences of contributing to global warming. the international court ofjustice will hear testimony from 100 countries, the outcome of which could dictate the future of climate change talks. 0ur correspondent anna holligan is in the hague with more on this

landmark case. these vulnerable, small island nations are calling on the un's highest court to protect the rights of the people living on the front lines of the climate crisis. the hearings havejust opened here, historic hearings. they will last for two weeks. each country, we are down to 97 now, each country will have 30 minutes to present their testimony. we have just heard from vanuatu. there the envoy said that a profound sense of urgency exists that will reverberate for generations. how we got here is a fascinating story, this case originated with a group of students in the south pacific islands. they were trying to find a way to use climate litigation to protect the rights of the people. they encourage states to get on board. it was taken to the un general assembly, the un general assembly, the un general assembly, the un general assembly then came up with these questions, which

they have posed to the judges at the icj. the questions are, what are the obligations of states under international law, to ensure the protection of the climate system and other parts of the environment from anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, full states, for future and present generations? that is talking about pollution from human activities, and the second question is, what are the legal consequences under those obligations for states where they, by their acts under omissions have caused harm to the climate under the part of the environment? so it is for the environment? so it is for the small island nations about how you make the wealthy nations cover the costs of their suffering. nations cover the costs of theirsuffering. i nations cover the costs of their suffering. i willjust explain to you, what you can hear now is a group who have set up just outside the gates of the peace palace, home to the international court of justice, and they are live streaming this hearing which gives you a sense ofjust how

important this is seen by so many inside and beyond the gates of the international court ofjustice today. just lookin: court ofjustice today. just looking at _ court ofjustice today. just looking at the _ court ofjustice today. just looking at the impact - court ofjustice today. just looking at the impact of a ruling from the courts, just talk us through the impact of it. , , ., talk us through the impact of it. , ., it. this is an advisory opinion- _ it. this is an advisory opinion. that - it. this is an advisory opinion. that means| it. this is an advisory l opinion. that means it it. this is an advisory - opinion. that means it is not legally binding. but it will have a potentially considerable impact. it is more thanjust have a potentially considerable impact. it is more than just a powerful symbol, symbolic, what it means is that any decision made by thejudges here could pave the way for a future climate litigation. it will be used by bodies like the un and others, and it could set a precedent that could then be taken on by domestic courts, human rights groups all over the world. so it is politically and legally symbolic. but it's not like this court will have the power to actually go out and force governments or countries to change their behaviour. it kind of goes deeper than that. the reason why it is considered to be so important is because this is

the un's highestjudicial body. the decisions made here, for these small island nations, they especially hope they will reverberate for generations to come. and potentially increase their voice, to give them an equal standing and, potentially, in the future, have a greater hope of survival as they face the climate crisis. georgian authorities say 21 police officers have been injured during the fourth night of pro—eu demonstrations on sunday. the unrest was triggered by the prime minister's announcement on thursday that he would suspend georgia's bid tojoin the eu. on sunday, he rowed back on those comments. let's speak cross live to tiblisi and speak to our south caucasus and central asia correspondent rayhan demytrie. tensions continue in georgia, what is the latest?— what is the latest? more than 243 peeple — what is the latest? more than 243 people were _ what is the latest? more than 243 people were arrested - what is the latest? more than | 243 people were arrested over the last few days, that is according to the latest figure

published by the ministry of interior. the country's president, she said on social media that a lot of those people who were arrested by the police, they suffered injuries, head injuries, facial injuries and broken facial bones. we also hit a figure from the country's health minister, and he said the 37 people were hospitalised last night, including 12 police officers. and their injuries, the police officer injuries, are linked to the use of fireworks by the protesters. last night, we saw once again massive crowds here in tbilisi, huge crowds in other cities across the country, people are furious, people are angry at the government decision to turn its back on europe. that follows the announcement by the country's prime minister on thursday, november28,

country's prime minister on thursday, november 28, when he said the georgian dream, the ruling party and currently the only party in the parliament, because the opposition is boycotting it, citing rigged elections in october. the party decided unilaterally to put the extension talks with the eu on hold for four years. that made 70 people angry, the protests are ongoing as we speak, a number of schools and universities, they are on strike, in the capital, tbilisi, and also in the second—largest city. tbilisi, and also in the second-largest city. and we mentioned _ second-largest city. and we mentioned earlier _ second-largest city. and we | mentioned earlier comments second-largest city. and we - mentioned earlier comments by the prime minister that appeared to row back on the government decision to suspend talks tojoin the government decision to suspend talks to join the eu. he was speaking to the bbc�*s steve rosenberg. has there been reaction to those comments? there has only been reaction from the country cosmic prime minister. sorry, from the country's pro—western

president, who is in opposition to the government. she said the messaging that is coming from the government suggests that they are confused, that they did not expect such a huge reaction from the population. earlier today, the prime minister accused the opposition leaders of instigating the unrest in the country. and he said there will be consequences. but what we witnessed in the past few days is that the protests have been organic, there are no speeches by the opposition. it's not really being organised by the supporters of the opposition. these are citizens of georgia who are unhappy with the government's decision to turn it back on the eu.— it back on the eu. thank you for our it back on the eu. thank you for your analysis _ it back on the eu. thank you for your analysis there. - visitors to spain will now face more paperwork as a new law comes into force. hotel owners and car hire firms will now need to send personal information about their customers

to the government. the rules will also apply to rental properties and campsites but tourism experts have raised privacy concerns. louisa pillbeam reports. spain has long been a favourite overseas holiday destination, but from today the 17 million people who visit from the uk each year could face extra delays before the relaxing can begin. that's because tourism bosses will be required to collect and submit additional customer data to the government under a new law aimed at improving security in the country. the new rules apply to hotels, rental accommodation, campsites and car hire firms. from today, they're required to send all customers' passport details, home addresses and methods of payment to the ministry of the interior. they'll need to submit that data daily and store it digitally for three years.

businesses that breach the rules will face fines of between 100 and 30,000 euros — that's around 80 to £25,000. the consequences, i think, are going to be longer queues — not just at hotels but also at car rental locations, where you're going to have to provide a lot of information for the first time. i dare say, within a few weeks, there will be more efficient digital ways of providing that information, but meanwhilejust hope for the best but be prepared for delays. the confederation of spanish hoteliers and tourist accommodation says it's concerned the changes will cause delays and disruption. some hoteliers say even the fear of additional delays could put some people off. we know that we already collect a lot of this data, so it won't make a great difference when people arrive at our hotel and we ask them to check in. but i think it is the fear. over the last couple to three years, we've had to contend with news of extreme high

temperatures in spain in the summer. then there was the economic crisis and all of that which puts doubts in people's minds. so it is that fear and level of doubt, and people say, "all right, we'll do something else this time." spanish authorities say the extra information will help them track criminals and terrorists, making the country safer for those who live there and for those enjoying a holiday. louisa pilbeam, bbc news. it's now a decade since the government introduced shared parental leave. it was supposed to give couples more choice after the birth or adoption of a child — but take—up is still pretty low. 0ur education reporter kristianjohnson has been speaking to two families about their experiences. do you want to try and move this one around? yeah! last year, pete and georgia became parents

to 13—month—old jay. when he turned nine months old, pete used shared parental leave to spend nine weeks with him. it meant i had time with my son wasn't packed in to, you know, getting home from work, rushing home from work. but actually we had the whole ahead of us. the whole day ahead of us. we had time to learn how to be with each other. and now, when he falls over or something, he runs to me just as much as he runs to his mum, and that means the world to me. but by this time, the funded element of shared parental leave had come to an end, meaning pete's time off was unpaid. to make a decision quite far in advance that we were definitely going to take an extra financial hit rather than trying to figure it out another way was scary. but for some dads, shared parental leave simply isn't an option. instead, they take statutory paternity leave. that's a fortnight off paid

atjust £184 a week. look at the camera! autumn and her twin sister winter are nearly two, but dad josh couldn't afford to take shared parental leave. like many others, he just took statutory paternity leave. after the twins were i born, i really struggle to engage with them. it was awful. i don't know howl we got through it. like i was almost a stranger, because i didn't have - that time with them. some companies decide to lay on more help for new parents by giving extra time off for topping up wages. but for most small businesses, that's just not possible. bowen pies in chorley employs about 30 people. it's so hard in the current climate. obviously even coming forward, we've got the rise in minimal wage, we've got the national insurance. you know, we're a family business. we simply can't afford it. paul says he'd welcome extra government support for new parents, but even that might need to complications for businesses like his.

as a small business, it is so hard to not only afford it but also manage the time off as well. it is a really hard factor to bring into the business. we started it about two months ago... george gabriel is the co—founder of the dad shift. he campaigns for better paternity leave for dads, but he also says shared parental leave isn't fit for purpose. there's a big awareness gap. there's a complexity problem. there's a very low amount of money, and then lastly there's this challenge around most men feeling a bit uncomfortable about the idea ofjust taking a bunch of leave off the mother of their child. so in terms of working families, it's a policy that's broken and completely failed. changes are happening. the government is carrying out a review of parental leave, and dads could soon be given the right to take paternity leave from their first day in a job. but today a group of backbench labour mps are meeting to see whether more ambitious reforms are possible in the future. of course you've got to have one eye on the economic-

circumstances when you make any decision, but we can't look at - this in one—dimensional terms. society has moved on, but the rules around . paternity haven't. we need to bring those up to date to help fathers bel the type of dads that most of us want to be. - quack, quack. pete says the nine weeks he took off to be with his son were magical, and a new chapter could be written on parental leave in years to come. kristian johnson, bbc news. rugby league legend kevin sinfield is taking on day two of his latest challenge to raise money and awareness for motor neurone disease. it's his fifth epic fundraiser. this time, in memory of his late teammate and friend rob burrow, who passed away from mnd earlier this year. today's route takes him from gloucester to bristol, which is around 35 miles. this report from john maguire. what better way to raise awareness than to join 8,500 santas running on the first

sunday of advent in liverpool? five, four, three, two, one. cheering. in a city where you're either a red or a blue, if there were santa suits from both teams and a couple of club legends here to support kevin sinfield on the first day of his latest challenge. even in times, our tough times, we come together, as sportsmen. so i'm here for kevin. the way kevin did when rob got it. doddie weir, um... it's a terrible, terrible disease and the turnout from the people in liverpool has been absolutely fantastic. liverpool player gemma bonner is here — friends with steph houghton and her husband, stephen darby, who has motor neurone disease. i've done a few of the challenges with kev before and to see the huge impact that it's had, it'sjust incredibly special to be a part of,

and we keep trying to push as far as we can. as the team crossed the mersey, people living with mnd turned out. this is a celebration of kev�*s endurance, but also of their lives — lives that are tough. i can't swallow. swallowing is really affected. it's those struggles — real struggles. big changes in quite fast time. but he's such an amazing man. it's an honour to meet you. um... are you having a wonderful christmas? all right. and we will keep going. we're delighted that you'll be the first today to bang the drum for us. all right. bangs on drum. cheering. as they ran on, port sunlight lived up to its name. and there was a special message from the prince of wales. i think you know this guy. kevin, catherine, ijust want to wish you the very best of luck for what's going to be

a very gruelling week — raising money and awareness around mnd. what you and rob have achieved has been incredible and it's a very fitting tribute to his legacy what you're achieving again this week. and i'm sure you'll be running with him in your mind the whole way round. the very best of luck from catherine and i, and we'll be thinking of you all week. good luck. that's brilliant. well done, kevin. brilliant. the next seven days will make a real difference. it's absolutely amazing that the turnout and the support for kevin and the marvellous things that he's doing for mnd. it's just absolutely amazing. i don't think there's anybody in the country that hasn't heard of mnd now. again this year, the extra mile is a chance for kevin to stop, albeit briefly, and to meet and run with people from the mnd community, including stephen and his family. amazing the amount of people have turned up —

he does an incrediblejob, kevin. i feel a bit of a cheat only doing one mile. and he's got the rest of it to do and the rest of the week as well. and every now and then, there's a surprise. don't ever, ever let me do 7k with him. they run so flipping fast. i know. amazing. and we just flew. kevin is relaxed as you like going at what is for him a really slow pace, but for normal humans it's quite fast. what an honour! you did well. what an absolute honour to run with those people. into wales for the second country of the day. and what a welcome to wrexham it was! cheering.

the support, like, we couldn't have asked for any better, like, wherever we've been. and to meet so many different families. although it's been fleeting at times because you're trying to catch up, um, it's still been extra special for us. i'd just like to present you with a shirt — - wrexham shirt — obviously. the wrexham manager, phil parkinson, and his assistant, steve parkin, both worked with stephen darby when he played at bradford, so they understand the toll mnd takes and how important this challenge is. it's absolute inspirational what kevin and his team are doing. and you know, the mnd foundation is very close to mine and steve's heart because we work with stephen darby, um, at bradford and bolton, and we've done our little bits, but nowhere near what kev�*s doing. but, you know, to do with one ultramarathon is incredible but to be doing seven — and you've got to understand what an achievement that is. so day one done, six more to go. so many miles, but so many smiles. jon maguire, bbc news, wrexham.

now it's time for a look at the weather with simon king. hello again. we have had some rain and showers around this morning but one thing that all of us will notice as we go through today is how much colder it is going to turn. we have had a few rainbows spotted by weather watchers this morning. that one was from york earlier today because we have had some showers. but it's the cold air that is moving southward at the moment across the uk. the arctic air is going to mean the temperatures are taking a big drop compared to where they were yesterday and the weekend. you can see this band of rain during this afternoon across north wales into northern england, eastern england, some sunny spells ahead of that and some sunshine coming up behind that as well but we still have that northerly wind bringing in some showers which could turn wintry over the high ground of scotland,

temperatures here four or five celsius. further south, temperatures will drop away as the afternoon goes on, eight or nine degrees later on. tonight the area of rain will continue clearing away and with a rather brisk northerly wind we will continue to see some showers coming in around the north sea coasts. for many of us, with clear skies it will turn quite cold. there will be a frost around tonight, temperatures as low as —6 or —7 celsius in northern areas of scotland. throughout tuesday, for most of us a fine start to the day, we might see one or two mist or fog patches, bit of cloud, some showers in cumbria, lancashire, but for most dry day with some sunshine, but you will notice we have some rain that will spread into northern ireland into western scotland and it will bump into the cold air so we could see some snow on the leading edge. highs around 4—7c. tuesday night, as the rain continues to move in, they will be some snow across the high ground of scotland, perhaps fleeting snow across northern areas

of england but we could see 1—3 centimetres of snow over higher ground of northern scotland overnight into wednesday morning. that is something to keep an eye on. as we go through wednesday the weather system fizzles away, and into wednesday and thursday we have low pressure moving in. a return to some milder conditions but wetter and windier conditions for many of us. we will keep a close eye on that one, temperatures about 11 or 12 celsius. it will turn colder again as we go into the weekend, as the weather quietens down and the wet and windy weather for the end of the week. bye— bye.

a live from a london. this is bbc news. presidentjoe biden grants a controversial pardon to his son, hunter, sparking anger among top repubicans. syria's president turns to iran and russia for support, after rebel groups stormed the country's second largest city. the bbc should consider pausing masterchef while gregg wallace is investigated, an mp has suggested. and the german chancellor

makes a suprise visit to ukraine, pledging nearly 700 million dollars in millitary equipment. hello, i'm catherine byaru hanga. we start in the us, where president biden has been criticised by leading republicans for pardoning his son, hunter, who was due to face sentencing this month on federal gun and tax convictions. the president gave him a full and unconditional pardon covering a decade, despite previously saying he would not interfere with thejustice department's decisions. i'm extremely proud of my son hunter. he has overcome an addiction. he is one of the brightest, most decent men i know, and i am satisfied that i'm not going to do anything, i said i'd abide by thejury decision, i will do that and i will not pardon him. in issuing the "full and unconditional pardon" for his son, joe biden

addressed why he had made the decision in a statement.