welcome to newsday, i'm steve lai. us secretary of state antony blinken says he's confident that ceasefire between israel and hamas will go ahead on sunday as planned. that's despite major disagreements in israel's cabinet ahead of a crucial vote to ratify the deal. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu delayed the vote, accusing hamas of trying to alter the terms of the agreement at the last minute. israel's security minister, itamar ben—gvir, who is part of the hardline right—wing faction of the government, threatened to resign if the deal is approved, describing it as a reward for hamas. on wednesday night, there were jubilant scenes in gaza at the news

of a ceasefire — which will not come into effect until sunday at the earliest. but the violence in the territory continued. israeli air strikes killed more than 80 people including women and children, according to the hamas—run health ministry. our international editor jeremy bowen has this report from jerusalem. just a few hours after the ceasefire agreement was announced, men in northern gaza were back digging through the rubble for the dead and wounded after an israeli strike. the ceasefire is not due to start until sunday. then they heard a small voice. boy screams. he was alive. strong enough to wave for help. his name is assad fadel khalifa. his parents, sister, aunt and uncle, we're told, were killed in the strike. he's three years old. his mouth was full of gravel and dust. he was trying to pull it out himself. we went to nablus on the west

bank, the other side of the occupied palestinian territories, to try to assess the mood. israel won't let us into gaza. nablus is a palestinian city with a long history of resistance to the israeli occupation. it's a toy gun. down the street, the faces of men killed using real guns to fight israelis, some from a militia known as the lion's den. heroic martyrs here, terrorists as far as israel is concerned. amar has a stall selling sweetcorn. translation: peace is i difficult, because you need to go back to the religion and doctrine. but we would love for the bombing to stop and for them to leave gaza, and for the prisoners to get freed, and for everyone to go back to their homes and family, because they suffered a lot in this war. may god help them. at her stall, amina is desperate for the ceasefire

to work. translation: it affected us a lot here, both - financially and mentally. we, especially women, are affected by what we are seeing. the children who are dying. we hope we could help, but we can only pray. a ceasefire, if it could hold, would be a considerable and an overdue achievement. but the sad truth is that it wouldn't end the conflict between palestinians and israelis. everything that has happened since the october 7 attacks has made the conflict about as bitter as it's ever been. just outside nablus is the jewish settlement of kedumim, home to leaders of the settler movement. daniella weiss has lived here for 50 years. now she's working through her list of right—wing connections, trying to overturn the ceasefire deal she says is a betrayal. for me, today is a very difficult day. what government, what prime

minister, with common sense, will give back the area from where thousands of gaza people attacked us, conquered our — parts of our country? this is treachery. what does all this mean for israel? what does it add up to? in simple words, get ready for another war. it's cruel. dangerous, with many casualties. this is what it means today. itamar ben—gvir, minister of national security, shares her views, threatening to resign if the ceasefire is ratified. it is a reckless deal, he said, that releases hundreds of murderous terrorists, allows thousands of terrorists allows thousands of terrorists back to northern gaza

and erases what he called the war�*s achievements. back to northern gaza, and erases what he called the war�*s achievements. ben—gvir stalked off with supporters from his party, jewish power. ultranationalist opposition to the ceasefire is a major political problem for benjamin netanyahu. outside his office, israelis who want to bury the ceasefire deal held a fake funeral. they want the prime minister to keep his promise to destroy hamas and rescue all the hostages. for them, negotiating a phased prisoner exchange with hamas and pulling out of gaza smells like defeat. police made some arrests. many israelis support the ceasefire. for now the anger of those who don't is cancelled out by donald trump's determination to take a diplomatic victory into the white house. but the coffins, intended to warn about the ceasefire's dangers, are also a sign to the ceasefire's supporters that it might not end the war. jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem.

meanwhile, aid trucks are lining up at the southern crossing into gaza, waiting for the ceasefire expected to begin on sunday. aid has got into gaza from a number of crossings since the war began. before it, around 500 lorry loads of aid entered every day, according to the un. but that plummeted to nine a day in the period just after the war started. and since the beginning of january it's averaged 51 truckloads a day. the ceasefire deal allows for 600 lorry loads a day. our correspondent fergal keane has been travelling with an aid convoy from jordan, which has now been stopped at the israel border. horns blare. help is coming. down along the valley, the biggest aid convoy since the war began.

solidarity from the kingdom ofjordan. in two deliveries, 120 trucks on the road to gaza, from a country that is home to many palestinians. "we are carrying aid like food and medication for our brothers "in gaza," says mustapha. "this is a good deed. "we are happy to be part of this operation." we can travel with this convoy as far as the israeli border, but since the war began, israel does not allow the foreign media to enter gaza and report independently. but our bbc colleagues, living in gaza, have been filming every day, including today — the first real moment of hope. they're waiting for today's meagre charity. little wonder that tired tempers fray when you've lived they're waiting for today's meagre charity. little wonder that tired tempers fray when you've lived this struggle every day.

the aid from jordan is the tiniest fraction of what's needed here. but it does say to the people of gaza, by your neighbour, at least, you are not forgotten. translation: | used to shop| and go to school, and my mum used to cook for me, and when i got back she would tell me to come and eat. i dream every day about the ceasefire. i want to go home, and for my father to return to us. home — a word that holds so much in any language. a word that means dignity, for this girl, aged 16. translation: i never thought i'd be fed by a charity. - this is so unfair. if i don't get meals from here, i don't eat, so i keep coming. my life as a young girl, dreaming of studying

at a university or school, playing and having fun, has been reduced to accepting hand—outs. nearly two million people are dependent on aid here. less than three hours�* drive away injordan, some of what they need. but when will it arrive? the un complains of repeated israeli delays, of criminal gangs hijacking aid. the convoy we followed is still waiting to be allowed to cross into israel. fergal keane, bbc news, jordan. during the first trump administration, james jeffrey was his special envoy to syria and the global coalition to defeat isis. he's now chair of the middle east program at the wilson centre. we continue to see the suffering that has been taking

place in gaza. how fragile is this ceasefire? i place in gaza. how fragile is this ceasefire?— this ceasefire? i think it will hold, at least _ this ceasefire? i think it will hold, at least the _ this ceasefire? i think it will hold, at least the first - this ceasefire? i think it will. hold, at least the first phase, thatis hold, at least the first phase, that is the first six week 42 day period with the initial exchange of palestinian prisoners and israeli hostages. again, these by underground. it's amazing at elements of his government to vote on this, that may happen tomorrow as we just heard new reporting. there is a great deal of opposition to it. i don't think our opposition is large enough to block this but we will have to wait and see.— block this but we will have to wait and see. israel's security minister said _ wait and see. israel's security minister said he _ wait and see. israel's security minister said he would - wait and see. israel's security minister said he would resign| minister said he would resign if this deal is to go ahead. how much weight does he have? not enough to bring down a government, to block this. that would require his partner on

the far right. his supporters to pull out. even then, the opposition supporting the ceasefire which people believe he will, then netanyahu will get enough votes to execute the ceasefire. the fate of the netanyahu government thereafter neta nyahu government thereafter is netanyahu government thereafter is another question but for the moment everybody is focused lightly on the ceasefire. i5 moment everybody is focused lightly on the ceasefire. is it fair to say — lightly on the ceasefire. is it fair to say the _ lightly on the ceasefire. is it fair to say the middle - lightly on the ceasefire. is it fair to say the middle east is a bit of inflection point right now with the asada regime being toppled in syria and ssi on the table in gaza, donald trump looks to be walking into a presidency where things seem calmer. how much attention do you think he will be placing on events like the middle east? from my own experience with the trump administration, like it or not, the middle east... trump has been handed a huge victory due to the decisions of

the israelis. the biden administration, the syrian opposition, turkiye and a few other actors. the entire iranian proxy fuelled regional aggression and expansion has been blocked and largely dissipated. this is the second to last act. it is a dramatic change that bodes well for the region which is so important to us from refugees to risks of nuclear weapons, transfer of hydrocarbons, this organ after decades of turmoil become if trump plays his cards right. to do that he will need to have a qualified advisers around him towards those ends. do you think that is what he is going to be getting? he think that is what he is going to be getting?— think that is what he is going to be getting? he has the best team, as to be getting? he has the best team. as good _ to be getting? he has the best team, as good as _ to be getting? he has the best team, as good as any -

to be getting? he has the best team, as good as any other . team, as good as any other president. forthe team, as good as any other president. for the rest of the administration opinions differ, his present negotiator with men has worked very well and this is unusual for exchange of inefficient particularly between political parties with the outgoing biden administration to get this likewise with the lebanon deal. i won't go into all the names of most of the people were coming as the key positions of the middle east, people i and many others have worked well with. they have dramatic experience and that is what they need. marco rubio is going to be i believe a good secretary of state. all in all, i think the team that will focus on the middle east is extremely good.— extremely good. the other s - ecial extremely good. the other special envoy _ extremely good. the other special envoy to _ extremely good. the other special envoy to syria - extremely good. the other special envoy to syria and l extremely good. the other i special envoy to syria and to defeat isis, i wanted to grab the resurgence of the group.

there is and the attack in new orleans on new year's day has people very jittery orleans on new year's day has people veryjittery in the united states but my assessment is the islamic state not necessarily the corazon group in afghanistan and the moscow and iran but the core of the islamic state we have known since 2013 in central syria and parts of western iraq, they are basically on the run, not going to be able to make a major resurgence. the us has eyes on and troops on the ground. the new government in damascus has a history of fighting vehicle islamic state and encouraged by everyone to apply that same tactic. i think it is a concern but it is one of about a dozen concerns from chemical weapons

to mistreatment to what do we do with the kurdish that has occupied and that is good but these are nothing like terrible problems we had with iran in the last year, we saw the gaza war between israel and hamas make or frankly with a side and hezbollah placing everybody and pushing back on us and syria over the past decade. i would rather have these problems than the ones i had to deal with five years ago.— five years ago. thank you. thank yom _ from gaza to sudan, ukraine and haiti 2024 saw human rights violations at the most extreme and horrific instances of international inaction. that's according to a new report by human rights watch. researchers documented abuses and developments across 100 countries and territories, against a backdrop of rising authoritarianism, repression and armed conflict. the bbc�*s nada tawfik has been talking to the group's executive director

tira na hassan. the human rights report documents 100 countries and territories in the human rights situation but let's start with gaza. a ceasefire deal is meant to take effect on sunday. if everything goes as planned and it does, do you still have concerns this deal will lead to permanent ceasefire and and the bombardment of gaza and lead to releasable hostages?— releasable hostages? when we talk about long-term _ releasable hostages? when we| talk about long-term solutions, talk about long—term solutions, there has to be a reality where there has to be a reality where the parties to this conflict are actually meeting their obligations under international law. this ceasefire provides a pause but even within that pause, unless there is unfettered humanitarian assistance going into gaza, people will continue to starve. we know from our research that the health facilities have been

decimated for some water infrastructure has been destroyed. majority of the population in gaza has been placed multiple times and many of the homes are not liveable. we're not talking about the sort of humanitarian aid we have seen today, we our talk about meaningful levels of humanitarian aid and there was a long history of various limitations put on having goods and humanitarian assistance come in and that needs to stop. what are some of the worrying trends you are seen specifically in this years report? specifically in this years re ort? ., ., , report? there are two big thins report? there are two big things that _ report? there are two big things that a _ report? there are two big things that a to _ report? there are two big things that a to me. - report? there are two big things that a to me. one | report? there are two big l things that a to me. one is that we see blatant disregard for the international norms created after the second world war to protect us from the most heinous acts. there is a sense growing you can pick and choose

what human rights are important and where they should apply. that double standard is not only detrimental to the human rights framework, it undermines its legitimacy. but it is empowering others to actually follow suit. in empowering others to actually follow suit.— follow suit. in your report you savin: follow suit. in your report you saving here — follow suit. in your report you saving here also _ follow suit. in your report you saving here also highlighted l saving here also highlighted and often disregarded reality that liberal democracies are not always reliable champions of human rights at home or abroad and you specifically point to us presidentjoe biden. you see his foreign policy demonstrated a double standard. what do you thinkjoe biden �*s legacy is going to be? it is very chequered history and legacy. i think biden came in making some very grand statements that he was going to reset things when it came to the us's standing in the world and particularly human rights.

hypocrisy started well before the gaza war but gaza has been a real blight on the record of the biden administration. the double standards between how the us administration approached human rights and the protection of civilians in ukraine where they threw everything they had, the diplomatic pressure, their role in the multilateral system, at the un security council, general assembly at the un council but yet when it came to protecting civilians in the gaza conflict, the us actually played an obstructionist role. exercising its veto multiple times. that has not gone unnoticed by the whole world. in particular by china and russia who have been actively trying to undermine the human rights system and the principles of human rights have usedit

principles of human rights have used it as an excuse to say look at what america is saying that human rights apply to some people but not others. dangerous president has been set. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. home secretary yvette cooper has announced a three month national review into grooming gangs. it's a shift in the government's position on an issue that has become an international controversy — following comments made by the billionaire elon musk. critics want the government to go further and launch a national inquiry. hospitals in england were at their busiest so far this winter last week with 96% of beds occupied. flu continues to be a concern, with just under five thousand people in hospital beds across england on average every day last week. that's lower than a week before but it's still more than three times higher than at the same time last year. the liberal democrat leader sir ed davey has called on the government to negotiate a new customs union with the eu to improve trade with europe.

in his first major speech of the year, sir ed said closer eu trade ties could help mitigate any tariffs the new us administration might impose. you're live with bbc news. the british prime minister has visited ukraine for the first time since the general election. sir keir starmer was greeted warmly by president zelensky as he restated the uk's continuing commitment to the country in its war against russia, as sarah rainsford now reports. this was a show of solidarity for a country that's paid a huge price for defending itself. on his first visit to kyiv as prime minister, keir starmer paused to remember the ukrainians who've died fighting since russia's invasion. he came, too, to pledge more

support from britain than ever before. moments later came a message from moscow. a russian drone. then we heard ukraine's air defences, a reminder of the daily danger here. by then, volodymyr zelenskyy was hosting talks at the presidential palace, signing a treaty pledging 100—year partnership. the timing is important. in eastern ukraine, more territory looks like this every day. slowly and at great cost russian forces are advancing. and next week, the united states has a new president. i wondered how concerned you are that as donald trump returns to the white house, us support for ukraine is going to stop. we will continue to work with the us on this. we are working today.

we will work tomorrow. we will work into the future. in the end, the steps that we need to take must be robust enough to guarantee ukraine's security. president zelensky told me that still includesjoining nato. if not today, then when he wants to know. or will it happen at all? both men say ukraine can only talk peace with russia from a position of strength. but will donald trump agree with that? sarah rainsford, bbc news, kyiv. the american film—maker david lynch has died at the age of 78. he was best known for surealist television series twin peaks and for films including mulholland drive and the elephant man. our arts correspondent david sillito looks back at his life: twin peaks was a tv landmark. a murder mystery unlike anything that had gone before. i carry a log, yes. is it funny to you? laura palmer.

strange, surreal, disturbing, and very david lynch. his first love was painting. he had a feel for surrealism, the hidden. and his childhood had many echoes of the white picket fence perfection of his film blue velvet. # she wore blue velvet #. but in his movies there was always something lurking in the undergrowth. the elephant man. eraserhead. you were left wondering what sort of mind created this. but in person he had a folksy charm, all good cheer and passionate about meditation and positivity. negativity is the enemy, i say, of creativity. if you are super angry, you're...

you're poisoning yourself. and while perhaps not everyone's taste, a poll of critics declared his mulholland drive the greatest movie of the 21st century. a surreal thriller that was very david lynch. dark, fantastic dreams. and let me take you to live pictures coming out of hawaii. this is kilauea volcano which has started erupting for the fourth time, sending lava fountains 200 feet into the air. hello. there were winners and losers when it came to the weather story on thursday. for parts of northwest england and wales in particular, we have blue sky and sunshine, even some january warmth, with a high of 1a celsius. but it was a different story across the midlands — we had quite a lot of fog in the morning that lifted to low grey cloud. the misty conditions lingered,

and for parts of hereford and worcestershire, well, temperatures only climbed just up to four celsius. it was also quite windy, and there was a weak weather front bringing some outbreaks of showery rain to the northwest of scotland. but most of us under the influence of high pressure, and with light winds and that high pressure is going to stay with us for the next few days, further areas of fog could be an issue as well. that could bring poor visibility and, if it lingers, it will also impact the temperatures once again. the fog shouldn't be too widespread, though, on friday — it lifts quite readily, and we're chasing cloud amounts around, particularly for england and wales. still quite a fresh wind up into the far north and west. still outbreaks of drizzly rain from that weak weather front. but temperatures here 11—12 celsius — 7—8 perhaps a maximum across england and wales. now, as we move out of friday into saturday, still under this area of high pressure, it's blocking this weather front from making that much of an impression, but still the isobars squeeze together the further north and west. so, more wind, more cloud here. but for england and wales, it could be quite a cold start to saturday morning — temperatures dipping below freezing, and there will be some fog around, and some

of that fog has the potential to linger all day across central and eastern parts of england, and also parts of wales. if that happens, it will have quite an impact on the temperature. the wind out to the west breaking the cloud up. there will be some sunny spells, and again those temperatures at 10 or 11 degrees. but where the fog lingers, we once again could see a maximum ofjust four or five. moving out of saturday into sunday, the wind direction changes again, and it's a cooler source, dragging in some cooler air from the near continent. so that means a colder day for all of us. this weather front still being kept out into the west. it is going to arrive on monday, but before that, potentially, sunday could be a cold, cloudy, murky day for many of us. until then, take care.

two china's economy grew by 5% in 2024. two china's economy grew by 5% in 202a. american influences tell us why they are worried about a tiktok ban. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai.

in china, figures show the economy grew by 5%, hitting the target set by the government but that is one of the slowest annual growth rates in decades and comes of the world �*s second—largest economy faces a number of challenges. with donald trump sets return to the white house next week with a promise to hit china up with even more tariffs. some experts have warned the country faces a tough year ahead. let's turn to our newsroom for more on this. tell us about this 5% number and what it means. tell us about this 596 number and what it means.— and what it means. those numbers _ and what it means. those numbers just _ and what it means. those numbersjust coming - and what it means. those numbersjust coming in l and what it means. those l numbersjust coming in and numbers just coming in and showing as you mentioned that china's economy did grow 5% in 2024. these numbers are coming against the backdrop of a very real slowdown in china. there is weak demand, high local government debt and weakening sentiment in general about future prospects. with that said we are likely to see a pickup in demand towards 2025

and we saw