us president biden meets with asia—pacific leaders focusing on trade, competition and military might. the body of a 65—year—old woman abducted by hamas has been recovered by israeli troops near the hospital where israel says militants have stored weapons. plus, we visit the community in iceland threatened by a volcano at risk of erupting. hello, i'm carl nasman. the asia—pacific economic cooperation summit continues in san francisco with president biden reassuring world leaders that the united states is committed to the region's economic growth. he also said his talks with chinese leader xijinping on wednesday would provide stability not only in the indo—pacific but around the world. the us and china agreed on resuming high—level military communication and slowing the production of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of drug overdose deaths in the us.

however, the leaders are still at odds over taiwan. beijing considers it part of its territory while the us maintains unofficial relations with the democratically self—governed island. biden updated apec leaders on the us's relationship with china on thursday. let me be clear. we're de—risking and diversifying our economic relationship with the prc. not decoupling, not decoupling. we'll be firm standing up for our values and our interest. and i was very straightforward, as he was with me yesterday. at the same time, when critical global issues such as climate, ai, counter—narcotics where it makes sense to work together, we've committed to work together. we're going to continue our commitment to diplomacy to avoid surprises and prevent misunderstandings.

the bbc�*s sumi somaskanda joins us now live from san francisco. you have been there covering this apec summit this week. what is the latest?— this apec summit this week. what is the latest? there was another flurry _ what is the latest? there was another flurry of _ what is the latest? there was another flurry of activity - another flurry of activity today, you saw the clip of president biden speaking earlier to apec delegates and ceos in the room. a lot of bilateral meetings taking place today. a little while ago we saw president biden on the stage with indo—pacific leaders, this is part of the indo—pacific economic framework, a smaller subgroup of the larger summit. agreement on accelerating the battle against climate change. what was supposed to come out of this group was a larger trade agreement, the problem was president biden�*s plans for a larger trade agreement in the

indo—pacific framework were derailed by opposition in the us, with some people worried about us workers not being protected by such an agreement. so they will have to go back to the drawing board and look next year to renegotiate, recalibrate. why is that important? it tells us the biden administration is putting a focus on indo—pacific leaders, the indonesian leader, the south korean leader. it is also looking for democratic allies in the region to make sure the us has a foothold in the indo—pacific, which is something we have seen underlined time and again today. underlined time and again toda . ., ., , ~ today. coming into this week, so much focus _ today. coming into this week, so much focus on _ today. coming into this week, so much focus on the - so much focus on the high—stakes meeting between president biden and president xijinping. we heard biden speaking earlier about that meeting. what does this mean? how does it set the table going forward for relations between the two countries?— the two countries? that's a really important _ the two countries? that's a

really important question. | the two countries? that's a i really important question. the answer is we don't exactly know. we know smaller agreements were reached between the leaders. an agreement to crack down on fentanyl from china. an agreement on artificial intelligence, to create a working group for the countries to work on guard rails for artificial intelligence. and climate change, something we took to —— we spoke to the climate envoy john kerry about earlier. but whether these will be put into place is the question. there are big tensions remaining, from taiwan to the south china sea and trade policy. president biden again said today, we want to make sure there is a level economic playing field and that is not the case at the moment. going forward, we will have to see, when tensions go back up, if they are able to pick up the phone and speak about dialling down tensions again. we know

they are not going to see each other any time soon, with president biden heading into an election year. this is the test, if they can rely on the ground established at this summit. ,, ., ., summit. sumi somaskanda, reporting — summit. sumi somaskanda, reporting from _ summit. sumi somaskanda, reporting from san - summit. sumi somaskanda, l reporting from san francisco, great to see you. earlier, my colleague caitriona perry spoke to us congressman raja krishnamoorthi, who is also the ranking member of the house select committee on strategic competition between the us and china. congressman, thanks indeed for joining us on bbc news. president xi and president biden have both been speaking about us china competition not veering into conflict. president biden today said its not all kumbaya, but it... do you think it will have improved? i you think it will have improved?— you think it will have improved? you think it will have imroved? ~ , ., ., improved? i think they are on the ath improved? i think they are on the path to — improved? i think they are on the path to stabilising, - improved? i think they are on the path to stabilising, which| the path to stabilising, which is the most we can hope for

right now. the expectations for this meeting were pretty low, so long as there is no spiralling following this meeting, we will have exceeded expectations. meeting, we will have exceeded expectations-— expectations. when president biden referred _ expectations. when president biden referred to _ expectations. when president biden referred to president i expectations. when president biden referred to president xij biden referred to president xi as a dictator after the meeting, was that surprising to you? meeting, was that surprising to ou? ., ~ , ,, ., ~ you? no, i think he is speaking the truth- _ you? no, i think he is speaking the truth. obviously they - you? no, i think he is speaking the truth. obviously they have | the truth. obviously they have a different form of government than we do. i think we just want to continue to have these types of dialogue. i was very glad to see a couple of things come out of it yesterday, including the military to military communications channel opening, as well as steps to, for eight close on reducing fentanyl shipments into mexico and the us. —— —— co—operating on reducing fentanyl shipments. it does have the potential to

impact everyday lives, that deal. how impactful do you think it will be? we deal. how impactful do you think it will be?— deal. how impactful do you think it will be? we will have to see. chairman _ think it will be? we will have to see. chairman xi - think it will be? we will have to see. chairman xi jinping l think it will be? we will have | to see. chairman xi jinping in to see. chairman xijinping in the past has said various things and didn't always follow through on what he said. actions speak louder than words, so we need to see a reduction in the shipments of precursor chemicals that are necessary for creating fentanyl necessary for creating fenta nyl pills necessary for creating fentanyl pills that are flooding our country and killing a lot of people. in one year, 77,000 americans died of synthetic opioid overdoses, mostly fentanyl. so this is of great concern to my constituents and all americans.— all americans. what do you think trust _ all americans. what do you think trust levels _ all americans. what do you think trust levels are - all americans. what do you think trust levels are like . think trust levels are like between the two leaders now? it's a good question. i think trust comes when you see actions following words, or actions following words, or actions matching words. that's

what we have to say at this point. we need to see confidence building actions that keep up with the talk that was occurring yesterday. i did like the fact xi jinping was pandering, so to speak, sending more pandas to the united states. people will welcome that. but on a more serious note, we need to see this military to military communication channels open, we need to see action on fentanyl, and i would argue, two other issues which didn't get reported which i hope were discussed. i would like to see action to reduce human rights abuses against uyghur muslims, tibetans, hong kongers and so forth. and less economic aggression, the incessant cyber hacking, intellectual property theft, spying and so forth. the other issue — theft, spying and so forth. the other issue was _ theft, spying and so forth. the other issue was co—operation as

it relates to climate change. what did you make of that? again, i am what did you make of that? again, iam hopeful. one of what did you make of that? again, i am hopeful. one of the different climate pacts that the chinese did not sign yet is the chinese did not sign yet is the reduction pact. if they sign on to that, it will be a good first step towards a successful cop 28 summit coming up successful cop 28 summit coming up here shortly. i want to see them take greater steps to lower the use of coal fired power plants. unfortunately they are expanding and making more of them. of course, that greatly contribute to greenhouse gas. it i greatly contribute to greenhouse gas. greatly contribute to areenhouse as. . greenhouse gas. if i can ask ou a greenhouse gas. if i can ask you a question _ greenhouse gas. if i can ask you a question on _ greenhouse gas. if i can ask you a question on a - greenhouse gas. if i can ask| you a question on a different issue, we know israel has sent ground troops into the al—shifa hospital in gaza, the humanitarian crisis continues, against a cacophony of international voices, including from the white house, urging israel to protect civilian

lives and protect hospitals, should the us be questioning its unwavering support for israel and funding of its operation?— israel and funding of its operation? israel and funding of its oeration? . ., ., operation? we are always going to stand strong _ operation? we are always going to stand strong with _ operation? we are always going to stand strong with israel. - to stand strong with israel. even at the same time israel might rightfully go after those hamas militants, they obviously have to avoid harming civilians. so we are going to continue to demand that, and ask for that's on the israelis. we are also going to want to have more humanitarian aid flowing into the gaza strip, and the hostages have to be released. and the hostages have to be released-— and the hostages have to be released. ., , , ., released. 0k, congressman, thanks so — released. 0k, congressman, thanks so much _ released. ok, congressman, thanks so much for— released. 0k, congressman, thanks so much forjoining i released. 0k, congressman, | thanks so much forjoining us on bbc news. thanks so much for “oining us on bbc news._ thanks so much for “oining us on bbc news. ., ,, i. . turning now to the war in the middle east. the israeli military says it's found a tunnel shaft on the grounds of al—shifa hospital in gaza. it released this video, which it says shows an operational tunnel shaft, and claimed there was also a vehicle containing a large number of weapons. the bbc has not yet been able to independently verify the footage, nor the location.

but israel has consistently said it believes hamas has an underground command headquarters beneath al—shifa hospital — claims hamas has denied. during the idf�*s raid of the hospital, they also found the body of a hostage near the site. yehudit weiss was one of the people abducted by hamas during its attacks on october 7th, from her home near the israel—gaza border. the israeli foreign ministry says weiss was a 65—year—old cancer patient, whose husband was murdered by hamas in those attacks. her body was reportedly recovered at a building adjacent to the al—shifa hospital, which remains the centrepoint of the war. meanwhile, across gaza, communications are down. multiple telecoms firms there say phone and internet services are not working due to a lack of fuel. the firms say all energy sources supporting their generators have run out, as israel has only allowed one fuel delivery into gaza since the war began just over a month ago. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu told

our news partner cbs there were "strong indications" that hostages held by hamas were at gaza's al—shifa hospital. first of all, we had concrete evidence that there were terrorists and terrorist minions in the hospital and they fled as our forces approached. that's why we had no firefight. we entered the hospital with arabic speaking israeli doctors, with incubators, we had no firefight, but hamas was using the patients in that hospital as a human shield. 0n level —2, we found a command and control centre, military communications, equipment, we found bombs, we found weapons, and we also found terror tunnels in the hospital compound.— tunnels in the hospital comound. ., compound. that interview conducted _ compound. that interview conducted by _ compound. that interview conducted by cbs. - around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other

stories making news. embattled new york republican congressman george santos says he won't run for re—election. it follows a damning report on his conduct from a us house ethics panel. it found mr santos "blatantly stole from his campaign" and exploited his position in congress for "his own personal financial profit." 0n social media, mr santos responded, calling the report a "politicised smear". a man who attacked the husband of former us house speaker nancy pelosi with a hammer has been found guilty of assault and attempted kidnapping of a federal official. prosecutors argued he broke into the pelosis' san francisco home a year ago to target the former speaker, but instead assaulted her husband paul. mrs pelosi wasn't home. david depape could spend up to 50 years in prison. he's also awaiting trial on state charges. fans of pandas in the united states are celebrating some other news out of apec. chinese president xijinping

has signaled china will send new pandas to the us. you're live with bbc news. returning to the israel—gaza war, as israel continues operations on the ground in gaza. earlier, i spoke with us senator chris coons about the conflict, and the us�*s role in the release of the hostages. senator, thank you so much for joining but on bbc news. i know you have followed the fate of the hostages taken by hamas very closely. only four of more than 200 have been released. given the military operation moving ahead, every minute is crucial. is this process moving quick enough to get those hostages free? i quick enough to get those hostages free?— quick enough to get those hostaaes free? . . ., . hostages free? i had the chance esterda hostages free? i had the chance yesterday to _ hostages free? i had the chance yesterday to once _ hostages free? i had the chance yesterday to once again - hostages free? i had the chance yesterday to once again meet i yesterday to once again meet with the families of hostages being held by hamas, including americans, whose children, grandparents, siblings are still being held a0 days later

by hamas. just behind me in the senate is a display of images of those being held. it's not moving fast enough for those families, it's not moving fast enough for the world. there needs to be more pressure on hamas to release these innocent civilians. i can't imagine what value there is to hamas in holding infants, little children, grandparents as hostages, the folks who have been kidnapped, they haven't been kidnapped, they haven't been able to visit the red cross. the world community isn't coming together to demand their release, so we in the united states are doing everything we can to press qatar, to press hamas to release the hostages, to support israeli leaders, to come to a compromise agreement that will release these hostages, and frankly to release the families from the living hell, not knowing whether their loved ones are alive or dead, their condition

and when or if they will be released. and when or if they will be released-— and when or if they will be released. , . ., , released. the israeli military sa s it released. the israeli military says it has — released. the israeli military says it has evidence - released. the israeli military says it has evidence hamas i released. the israeli military i says it has evidence hamas was using gaza's largest hospital as a command centre, which hamas denies. presidentjoe biden said recently that hamas has committed war crimes. what do you make of the situation at the al—shifa hospital in gaza? well, there is a documented practice by hamas of shielding missiles and arms depots and tunnels underneath schools and hospitals. i can't speak to specific intelligence about the al—shifa hospital, and operations there in recent days, but what has been publicly reported is that the israelis are producing evidence of arms they were covered there. the body of a hostage found nearby. so this is a very difficult moment. the united states, our president has been pressing the israelis to be very precise, to be careful,

because of the number of civilians sheltering at that hospital. but also to move quickly to release hostages if there are any beneath the hospital. and to take what action they must in order to ensure hamas is not using that hospital as a base of operations. this is a summary of what is so difficult about this campaign in gaza. israel has a right to defend itself and to go into gaza, to try to take out as many hamas terrorists as they can, but they also have an obligation to protect civilians, to not strike against critical infrastructure like hospitals, without being very careful. to give warnings to evacuate and routes to evacuate before they do so. b, routes to evacuate before they do so. �* ., , ., routes to evacuate before they do so. . ., ,., ., routes to evacuate before they do so. . ., , ., ., ., do so. a group of former world leaders, including _ do so. a group of former world leaders, including former i do so. a group of former world | leaders, including former prime minister is an presidents, the former un secretary—general ban keane moon, has called on president biden to set out a serious peace plan. —— former prime ministers and presidents.

what role would you say the white house play in a potential peace plan?— white house play in a potential eace lan? , �* peace plan? president biden was direct, forceful _ peace plan? president biden was direct, forceful and _ direct, forceful and successful. not just direct, forceful and successful. notjust in going to israel personally after october the 7th and embracing the israeli people and saying, we have your back. but in deterring further aggression from iran by deploying two aircraft carrier groups to the region. and saying after october the 7th, everything has got to be different. the next step is for our president to lay out general guidelines about what must happen next. speaking on my own behalf, i would say it is important israel is clear they are not going to reoccupy with macro and they are willing to embrace and they are willing to embrace a pathway towards peace which includes real steps towards a two state solution. we need regional arab allies and partners like egypt and jordan,

and hopefully saudi arabia, finding a path forward towards securing gaza post hamas and providing a real pathway towards an independent palestinian state that also has critical guarantees for israeli security. critical guarantees for israeli securi . �* , critical guarantees for israeli securi .�* , security. briefly if you don't mind, senator, _ security. briefly if you don't mind, senator, you - security. briefly if you don't mind, senator, you and i security. briefly if you don't| mind, senator, you and your colleagues in the senate last night voted on a bill to provide short—term funding for the government until about january. that bill does not include any money for israel, there is no extra defence funding for ukraine. how concerned are you about that and how confident are you that congress can pass an extra bill with more funding for those two conflicts? irate with more funding for those two conflicts? ~ ., ., ., conflicts? we avoided a government _ conflicts? we avoided a government shutdown l conflicts? we avoided a i government shutdown that conflicts? we avoided a - government shutdown that was the good news. i'm now concerned, we need to bear down to a conclusion for a robust supplementalfunding bill to supplemental funding bill to meet the supplementalfunding bill to meet the critical goals our president has laid out. sustaining funding for ukraine's fight for freedom

against russian aggression for the coming year. contributing to israel's security. contributing to humanitarian relief for ukrainians, palestinians in gaza and dozens of other countries that depend on american leadership to meet the growing global challenge of hunger. and our indo—pacific partners, enabling them to push back against china and some of the ways in which they have become more assertive in that region. the supplemental president biden set up did all of that, and domestic security as well. negotiating that resolution in the next two weeks is our challenge in the senate and we have to move forward as soon as we come back from our thanksgiving recess. senator, thank you forjoining us. to the war in ukraine, where, for the first time since the start of the war, russia has admitted that some ukrainian forces have crossed onto the russian—occupied eastern bank of the dnipro river. they've managed to gain

a foothold in a village around 30km from kherson. here's our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse. the state of this war is best reflected in avdiivka. once occupied, but the russians are trying to take it back. shooting. thousands of soldiers, mostly russian, have been killed here in recent weeks. it is this lack of movement which has fuelled a political fatigue in some corners of the west. yes, sir, welcome. an enormous honour to meet you. not, though, for the uk's new foreign secretary. lord cameron arrived with a simple message. we will continue to give you the moral support, the diplomatic support, the economic support but above all, the military support that you need, notjust this year and next year but for however long it takes. the uk is a staunch supporter of ukraine. it has given billions of pounds in military aid, including

tanks and long—range missiles. there is disagreement here over whether this war is in a stalemate. the head of ukraine's armed forces thinks several innovations are needed to seize the initiative and those mostly rely on western allies who, at the same time, want to see battlefield progress. it is a tricky cycle which kyiv wants to break. and it's trying. this russian social media channel appears to show a village on the occupied east bank of the dnipro river. it's hard to verify but soldiers are in close combat with ukrainian troops. but it's far from a push. against all odds, ukraine's defence forces have gained a foothold on the left bank of the dnieper. david cameron also visited the southern port city of odesa, including its opera house.

ukraine knows it must share the spotlight with another war in the middle east. it's just trying to not lose it completely. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. in southwestern iceland, long deep cracks in key main roads continue to appear, as signs of bubbling magma from a nearby volcano threaten the community above. the icelandic coastguard flew our correspondent jessica parker over the volcano in a helicopter and she sent this report. there are some places you can only fly to. this land of steaming volcanoes is one of them. dormant for 800 years, eruptions began in this area in 2021. this looked like this two years ago. the difference now is the earth—shattering effects on a community. we are now flying over the evacuated town of

grindavik, and looking down the streets are completely empty. ripped apart by earthquakes, there are fears volcanic lava could cause even more destruction. the coastguard do a quick supply drop to their colleagues out at sea. this is all part of the icelandic authorities constantly monitoring the area around where they think the volcanic eruptions may occur. they don't know when that could happen. it could be days, it could be weeks. it's thought the is—kilometre tunnel of magma runs right under this ridge. the possible eruptions led to defences being built up around a geothermal plant. ultimately we have to, as we've been doing for many years now, planning for volcanic activity, planning aggressively to be able to defend areas, to increase monitoring, and this is exactly where we are. we're almost at war with mother nature yet again in iceland. the anxious wait has

hit tourism too. no one's bathing in the famous blue lagoon spa. closed for now, its waters are empty. as iceland readies for another violent recreation from the earth. jessica parker, bbc news, the reykjanes peninsula. iceland's biggest bulldozer is now on its way to that community to help build up defences to stop lava from destroying key buildings. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. it's a very mixed picture of weather across the uk on thursday and the rain

and the winds will return along with the milder feeling air over the weekend. but on friday it's looking largely dry. a few showers out towards the west, plenty of sunshine around. temperatures now close to the seasonal average. so we're between weather systems on friday. these fronts clear into the north sea. this is the weekend's weather, a deep area of low pressure approaching from the southwest, we'll be seeing that by the time we get to the end of the day. but most of the day, it's certainly looking dry. the early cloud will clear away into the north sea a few showers across north west england, the isle of man down through wales and possibly the south west of england. and here it will cloud over, also northern ireland as we head towards the end of the afternoon. but plenty of sunshine around, temperatures close to the seasonal average, generally eight to 13 degrees. but still that cold air lingers across northeastern areas of scotland. as we head through friday night and into saturday morning, that wet, windy weather spreads in from the southwest, brisk southeasterly winds, spells of heavy rain,

the temperatures rising unusually through the night. so this is how we're set to start off saturday morning, between 12 and ia degrees celsius out towards the south of england. the rain gradually clears its way eastwards, so it will turn a lot drier across much of england and wales, eastern scotland as we head through the afternoon, some showers further west. temperatures certainly very mild rising to 15 or 16 degrees celsius in the south, ten to 13 degrees celsius further north. now, that deep area of low pressure is still spinning its way eastwards as we head through sunday. the focus of the rain on sunday will tend to be towards the north. so across northern england and much of north west scotland, also northern ireland seeing some hefty showers at times, a few showers out towards western wales. further south across much of england and wales is dry. but here we'll see some very blustery winds, gusts of a0 to 50 miles an hour. temperatures perhaps just that little bit lower. now, as we head through sunday night, the area of low pressure starts to clear away, but it does leave a legacy of showers. still, the milder air hangs

on for part of monday, but you can see we draw down more of a northerly wind. so the temperatures are set to turn cooler as we head through into the start of next week. a drop in temperature turning more settled, too, as we head into the middle of the week for most of us. bye for now.

substantial progress —

the us president says there will be more trade in the indo—pacific region, but there's still work to be done. plus — the everything store goes the extra mile. us shoppers will soon be able to buy their next car on amazon and have it delivered to their homes. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm suranjana tewari. we begin with the latest from the summit of the asia pacific economic cooperation forum in san francisco. speaking a short while ago, us presidentjoe biden says substantial progress has been made on the indo—pacific economic framework, a ia—nation group created by his administration. biden has been seeking to reassure apec nations about america's commitment to the region, despite beijing's efforts to expand its influence there. for more on this, we're joined live by our asia

business correspondent, nick marsh.