the south pacific eruption sent a shock wave around the world, with air pressure changes recorded as far afield as canada and even scotland. the concern is now that, for the tongans who may not have scrambled to safety in time, and the fear that further eruptions can't be ruled out. russell trott, bbc news. let's go live to fiji and speak to the red cross and the head of the mission there, katie greenwood. what has been the impact? international red cross have been urgently trying to re—establish communication international red cross have been urgently trying to re—establish communication with international red cross have been urgently trying to re—establish communication with red international red cross have been urgently trying to re—establish communication with red cross international red cross have been urgently trying to re—establish communication with red cross teams on the ground for about 24 hours. we had some initial contact with our teams just after the major eruption, and when the tsunami alert had been raised, our teams were supporting local authorities to move

pacific. washington and kyiv accuse russia of preparing to carry out "false sabotage operations" — to create a "pretext" for an invasion of ukraine. the kremlin denies the claims. andy murray's bid for a first tennis title in more than two years has ended in defeat. he was beaten in straight sets in the final of the sydney classic by russia's aslan karatsev. hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. a prominent conservative mp has told the bbc that borisjohnson must "lead or step aside." tobias ellwood, who chairs the defence select committee, said leadership was required. it comes as some conservative mps say they've been inundated with emails from constituents angry about reports that downing street staff held parties during lockdowns. at a speech in london this morning, the labour leader sir keir starmer has urged tory mps to "get rid" of the prime minister "in the national interest". the moral authority matters in relation to enforcing coronavirus rules. we hav

communications with tonga remain limited in the wake of an underwater volcano erupting in the south pacific — which appears to have covered much of the island nation in a layer of ash. the tsunami, triggered by the eruption caused flooding on parts of the us west coast and japan. rupert wingfield—hayes reports. from high up in space, where the satellites caught the moment the huge underwater volcano let loose, sending a cloud of ash and rock 20 kilometres high and at least 500 kilometres wide. that's an ash cloud that could stretch from london to edinburgh. somewhere beneath it is the tiny island kingdom of tonga. the first thing to hit the island was the shock wave. then came the rushing waters of a tsunami, smashing into sea walls and flooding what here appears to be a church. next, day turned to night as the ash begun to fall. these pictures are reportedly from saturday afternoon as people were trying to flee from the coast. in new zealand, prime minister jacinda ardern said communication with tonga remains difficult. shops along the coast have been damaged and the significant cleanâ

pacific. some communities are still without basic necessities. foreign aid is arriving but strict coronavirus—prevention rules are hampering humanitarian efforts as the local authorities try to keep the virus out. a un official there says the nation will be heavily reliant on food aid for some time. lord fakafanua is tonga's speaker of parliament. he's currently separated from his family in auckland, new zealand, and is not sure when he can return home to help clean up. when i flew out, i came to see my mother, who was in auckland, and we didn't anticipate any of this would happen, so it came as a great surprise to everyone, the shock of the volcanic eruption and tsunami. absolutely. and i want to ask you if you've got updates for us but i know how difficult communication is there. but do you feel that you are building up a clear idea now of the communities that have been worst affected? yes, we — it's been a week now from last saturday and even though comms are intermittent at this stage,

pacific. some communities are still without basic necessities. foreign aid is arriving, but strict coronavirus—prevention rules are hampering humanitarian efforts as the local authorities try to keep the virus out. a un official there says the nation will be heavily reliant on food aid for some time. lord fakafanua is tonga's speaker of parliament. he joins us from auckland, in neighbouring new zealand. lord fa kafanua, thank lord fakafanua, thank you indeed for your time. i understand you are in new zealand because you were flying outjust zealand because you were flying out just as this zealand because you were flying outjust as this broke, leaving family behind. i'm hoping, i guess you've heard from them. i trust allow ok? guess you've heard from them. i trust allow 0k?— trust allow 0k? yes, my family is ok. trust allow 0k? yes, my family is 0k- when — trust allow 0k? yes, my family is ok. when | _ trust allow ok? yes, my family is ok. when i flew— trust allow 0k? yes, my family is o

tonga — which is made up of a group of islands in the south pacific — has recorded just one covid case throughout the pandemic. entire villages were destroyed in the tsunami and some are still without basic neccessities, like clean water. much of the relief effort for tonga is being coordinated in neighbouring fiji. our correspondent shaimaa khalil is in the fijian capital suva with this update. aid has arrived in tonga, and a lot of it is being coordinated from here in fiji. countries like australia, new zealand, japan and britain have sent everything from water supplies to shelter kits, generator, even sweeping machines as well. the concern now is that this is going to be a slow process. getting aid and distributing it to people who need it the most is very, very tricky on any occasion — add the fear of a covid—i9 outbreak to that equation and you see how complex this is. the tongan government has insisted that the aid should be contactless. theyjust do not want a covid—i9 case in the country. they don't want to be dealing with a covid—i9 outbreak as they're dealing with the

the south pacific eruption sent a shock wave around the world, with air pressure changes recorded as far afield as canada and even scotland. the concern is now that, for the tongans who may not have scrambled to safety in time, the fear that further eruptions can�*t be ruled out. i�*ve been speaking to katie greenwood who is the head of the pacific delegation for the international federation of red cross. she explained the difficulty of getting through to those people affected. there�*s a lot that we do know but, unfortunately, there�*s still a lot that we don�*t know. international red cross has urgently been trying to re—establish communication with our red cross teams on the ground for about 2k hours now. we did have some initial contact with our team just after the major eruption and when the tsunami alert had been raised and our teams were supporting local authorities to move people to the very limited higher ground around nuku�*alofa on the main island in tonga, so we do know that. we do know also that there has been some significant damage in the northern shore o

the south pacific country remains virtually cut off from the rest of the world due to a damaged communications underwater cable. the australian and new zealand military are scrambled to provide humanitarian aid in what's fast becoming a race against time. both countries are carrying drinking water and humanitarian aid and disaster relief supplies for a three day voyage. aircraft have also been sent to the islands, although the airport has yet to be cleared of ash. the muslim council of britain is condemned an attack on a synagogue in texas in the strongest possible terms. the man from blackburn was shot dead by police after taking four people hostage.

alongside struggling to contact the tiny south pacific nation, the aid effort will be made doubly difficult by the coronavirus. tonga has only registered a single case of covid—i9, and is determined to keep the virus out of the country. from what we have seen and been advised of, drinking water is one of the first main issues of priority for the people in tonga. here in the uk, the family of a british woman swept away by the tsunami say her body has been found. 50—year—old angela glover ran a dog sanctuary in the tongan capital, and was reportedly killed as she tried to rescue one of her animals. she was living on the beach and she was living her dream. you know, she always wanted, to live, you know, in a place like tonga, and was so proud that she she was able to fulfil that. days after the hunga tonga—hunga ha�*apai volcano erupted, there�*s still so little information as to the scale of its impact. for now, the international aid community can only prepare for the worst, but hope for the best. gareth barlow, bbc news. katie greenwood from the international federation of the re

the aftermath of the tsunami that hit tonga — aid planes finally arrive in the south pacific bringing much needed supplies. and how blisters put pay to britain's emma radacanu's hopes at the australian open.

pacific bringing much needed supplies. and how blisters put paid to the hopes of britain's emma radacanu at the australian open. and coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel... we'll tell you who's through to the league cup final after arsenal and liverpool go head to head at the emirates. president biden has offered his full backing to ukraine, saying any incursion by russian forces massed on it's border would constitute an unacceptable invasion. he says there would be a "severe and coordinated economic response" from the west, and that retaliation has been "laid out very clearly for president putin". the comments come on the eve of new talks in geneva between the us and russia to reduce tensions. meanwhile, the first members of a 30 strong british military team have arrived in ukraine to help train local members in the use of anti—tank measures. borisjohnson says any russian incursion into ukraine would be a disaster for both countries and the world. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale, has the very lates

the aftermath of the tsunami that hit tonga — aid planes finally arrive in the south pacific bringing much needed supplies. and how blisters put pay to britain's emma radacanu's hopes at the australian open. and coming up on the bbc news channel. a different series but a familiar story for english cricket as england's women lose their opening match of their ashes series. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. some of england's plan b measures have been scrapped today with people being told they no longer have to work from home and secondary school pupils removing face coverings in class. from next thursday, facemasks will no longer be compulsory in most settings and covid passes for large venues will be dropped. but there's concern that the move will increase pressure on the nhs which is already under a lot of strain as waiting list backlogs continue to grow. in wales, the latest figures show that more than a fifth of the entire population is now on an nhs waiting list. here's our health correspondent, dominic hughes. how many discharges have we got to do? i'm thinking four

pacific. a senior conservative mp has urged tory backbenchers facing "intimidation" over their support for a no confidence motion in borisjohnson to report it to the police. william wragg, who chairs an influential house of commons committee, accused the government of blackmail, saying rebellious mps were being threatened with the withdrawal of funds for their constituencies. it comes as mrjohnson's political allies are suggesting the immediate threat to his leadership has eased. they say the defection of the conservative mp for bury south, christian wakeford, to labour, appears to have persuaded other mps not to challenge him this week. this is what mr wragg had to say in the past hour. i have a brief statement i wish to read to the committee. as the committee of the house of commons overseeing the work of the civil servants, including the cabinet office, of which 10 downing street as a department, and the proper functioning of the constitution, i'd like to make this brief statement. in recen

the west coast we had tsunami warnings north of point conception, so the los angeles area, which is south of point conception, had an advisory at that time. but up on the central and northern california coastline and further north there were tremendous amounts of damage incurred as a result of that major earthquake and tsunami back in 2011. joe sirard speaking to me a little earlier. let's return to our breaking news this hour: all four people taken hostage at a synagogue in a suburb of dallas in texas have been freed, but the police say the man who held them for more than ten hours has died. let's speak to jessika harkay, who's a reporter for the forth worth star telegram, a local newspaper. it is all over, the hostages are safe, the hostage taker not? ., �* , are safe, the hostage taker not? . �*, . are safe, the hostage taker not? . not? that's correct, that's what the _ not? that's correct, that's what the police _ not? that's correct, that's what the police came - not? that's correct, that's what the police came outl not? that's correct, that's i what the police came out and repo

the west coast we had tsunami warnings north of point conception, so the los angeles area, which is south of point conception, had an advisory at that time. but up on the central and northern california coastline and further north there were tremendous amounts of damage incurred as a result of that major earthquake and tsunami backin major earthquake and tsunami back in 2011. joe major earthquake and tsunami back in 2011.— back in 2011. joe sirard speaking _ back in 2011. joe sirard speaking to _ back in 2011. joe sirard speaking to me - back in 2011. joe sirard speaking to me a - back in 2011. joe sirard speaking to me a little j speaking to me a little earlier. the here in the uk, there is no let up on the parties. boris johnson must lead or step aside, some say and other conservatives in government report been inundated with messages from the public expressing their anger over the growing list of parties. borisjohnson has come under renewed pressure following number ten's apology to buckingham palace over a leaving do held last year on the eve of the duke of edinburgh's funeral. so t

the most recent that i can recall was from the japan earthquake in 2011 and it caused a pacific wide tsunami, on the west coast we had tsunami warnings, north of quake inception, the los angeles area which is south had an advisory at that time. up on the central and northern california coastline and further north there was a tremendous amounts of damage occurred as a result of that major earthquake and tsunami backin major earthquake and tsunami back in 2011.— major earthquake and tsunami back in 2011. you have dodged a bullet this _ back in 2011. you have dodged a bullet this time _ back in 2011. you have dodged a bullet this time as _ back in 2011. you have dodged a bullet this time as well, - back in 2011. you have dodged a bullet this time as well, thank l bullet this time as well, thank you. thieves are leaving thousands of opened and damaged packages strewn across the railway tracks in east los angeles after looting goods trains passing through. products that are difficult to move or re—sell, or are too cheap, like covid—19 test kits, furniture and televisions, are just d

a new oil leak is being tackled on the pacific coast of peru, just ten days after a major crude spill which has been called the biggest ecological disaster to hit the south american country in recent years, killing scores of seals, fish and birds. stephanie prentice reports. volu nteers volunteers have been inching forward in an attempt to clean up forward in an attempt to clean up the coast here but now efforts have ta ken two steps back as another leak has seeped into the problems of teams here on the beaches. 0n into the problems of teams here on the beaches. on a coastline, local fishermen says smells like death. mopping up the oil is slow work and doing it quickly no small feat of ingenuity. the major smell almost two weeks ago led to a national cry for help in one unusual campaign, asking people to donate not their time but had to be used in cleanup efforts. that is because human hair repels water but actively absorbs oil. peruvians across the country headed to hairdressers, or even the streets, for a few cut. the hair then formed into cylinders and shipped to the coast. the fee

the most recent that i can recall was from the japan earthquake in 2011 and it caused a pacific—wide tsunami. on the west coast we had tsunami warnings, north of quake conception, the los angeles area which is south, had an advisory at that time. up on the central and northern california coastline and further north there was a tremendous amounts of damage occurred as a result of that major earthquake and tsunami back in 2011. experts in scotland are hopeful that progress is being made in efforts to save the native red squirrel. alexandra mackenzie reports. the native red squirrel. not a common sight in the uk, but now limited to areas like here in barhill wood in dumfries & galloway. how many red squirrels would you have in this wood? in november last year we had over 30, which is an exceptional amount. you know, there's not many places in scotland where you'd find that level. so what makes this the ideal habitat for the red squirrel? principally, it's the age of the trees that they are now producing cones regularly and that enables food to be available at different times of the year

a new oil leak is being tackled on the pacific coast of peru. it happened just ten days after a major crude spill which has been called the biggest "ecological disaster" to hit the south american country in recent years, killing scores of seals, fish and birds. but the clean—up teams have been using a rather unusual method to mop up the spill as stephanie prentice explains. volunteers have been inching forward in the attempt to clean up the coast here in ventanilla, but now efforts have taken two steps back, as another leak has seeped into the problems of teams here on the beaches on the coastline local fishermen say smells like death. mopping up the oil is slow work and doing it quickly no small feat of ingenuity. a major spill nearly two weeks ago led to a national cry for help and one unusual campaign, asking people to donate not their time but their hair to be used in the clean—up effort. that's because human hair repels water and actively absorbs oil. peruvians across the country headed to hairdressers or even the streets for a free cut