this is bbc news, the headlines: lebanon accuses israel of trying to ignite conflict across the middle east after a deputy leader of hamas was killed in beirut. junior doctors in england begin the longest strike in nhs history as they take part in a six—day walk—out over pay. investigators in japan say they're still searching for the flight recorders from a passenger jet that caught fire on tuesday. and, archaeologists unearth a rare medieval cemetery not far from the end of the runway at cardiff airport. lebanon's government has accused israel of trying to ignite conflict across the middle east, after a senior hamas leader was killed by a drone strike in southern beirut. saleh al—arouri and at least five others died in the blast on tuesday. he was considered one of the

founders of hamas�* military wing. our correspondent, shaimaa khalil has this report from jerusalem. a hamas senior official killed in a hezbollah stronghold. this is the aftermath of the blast in the heart of the dahiyeh neighbourhood, beirut�*s southern suburb. hamas�*s deputy leader saleh al—arouri and several others died in the explosion. local media has said this was an israeli drone strike, but the idf has told the bbc they will not comment on reports by foreign media. this blast comes at a very volatile moment in the region. it was condemned by the lebanese caretaker prime minister najib mikati, who said israel wanted to drag lebanon into a new phase of the conflict. israel has not said it was behind this attack, but government adviser mark regev made this point — that whoever did it, this was not an attack on the lebanese state, but rather a surgical strike

on hamas leadership. saleh al—arouri was a senior hamas figure on both the political and the combat fronts. he helped establish the group's military wing, the izz ad—din al-qassam brigades. on october 7th, he was with ismail haniyeh, the head of hamas, watching footage of the deadly attacks in israel. al—arouri was one of the most closely connected hamas officials to both iran and the iran—backed hezbollah group in lebanon. he is seen here with iran's supreme leader, ali khamenei. this is his west bank house in his home town north of ramallah, destroyed by israel's military after october 7th. and this is ramallah tonight. hamas supporters mourning a leading figure and vowing revenge. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, jerusalem. the president of harvard university has announced her resignation.

claudia gay the first black woman to hold the post leaves her position after facing heavy pressure to step down following criticism of her handling of anti—semitism on campus. she also faced allegations of plagiarism. her resignation emerges after nearly 700 staff members rallied behind her as the university said she would keep herjob despite the controversy. will vernon has more on the story. claudia gave us the first black person to be appointed to that post when she got the job injuly last year. what a problem started in december when she and two other university leaders were called to give evidence in front of a congressional committee on anti—semitism on us university campuses and that followed a number of attacks on jewish students campuses and that followed a number of attacks onjewish students at universities in the us and that

followed those events in israel and gaza. during that testimony, dr gay provoked a furious backlash when she refused to say whether calling for the genocide ofjews would constitute a violation of harvard's code of conduct — she said that that would depend on the context. now, she later apologised for those remarks, but calls for her resignation continued — and added to those were accusations of plagiarism in her academic papers. now, harvard university said that it had investigated those complaints and that a number of errors of citation had been corrected. but in her resignation statement today, dr gay said that she was stepping down in the best interest of harvard — but she also said she'd been the victim of personal attacks and threats fuelled by racial animus, by racial hostility. and the reverend al sharpton criticised her resignation, saying that this was an attack on every black woman who had put a crack in the glass ceiling.

russia has continued its heavy winter bombardment of ukrainian cities following vladimir putin's pledged to intensify attacks of military targets. key have said 45 people were killed by russian aerial attacks on ukrainian cities. the number of ukrainian civilians killed since russia's full—scale invasion in february 2022 has risen to more than 10,000. our senior international correspondent orla guerin tells the story of two young women 7 both civilians 7 killed last summer in zaphorizhiya. in the heart of kyiv, pride of place goes to those who died defending ukraine. this man shows his wife the

sign of fallen. there are many. he was a poet, he tells her. and he was a banker. the country has lost all these people, he says. they were the best of ukraine full, the bravest, may be the most heroic. and ukraine has lost voices of the future, like christina and svetlana. this was in august in the city of zaphorizhiya. our last song will be for kherson, says christina, who was 21. 20 minutes later, both were dead. they

were having a rest at a playground around the corner when a russian rocket slammed to earth. christina's mother, helen, doesn't know how to live without her. translation: ., ., �* live without her. translation: ., ~ ., ., translation: you don't know what lans to translation: you don't know what plans to make _ translation: you don't know what plans to make for— translation: you don't know what plans to make for tomorrow. - plans to make for tomorrow. sometimes you are able to smile, but then you remember that she cannot smile any more. i can't explain it. it's as if you have died, but can still speak. svetla na's fa m ily svetlana's family inhabit their universe of grief. her father and mother and 12—year—old sister, sasha. i live in my own world, she

says. ifeel safer now. because i feel that svetla na says. ifeel safer now. because i feel that svetlana is always with me. herfathertells feel that svetlana is always with me. herfather tells me that svetlana, he was 18, was musical from childhood and wrote her own songs. he heard the explosion here at home and rushed to look for her. translation: i at home and rushed to look for her. translation:— at home and rushed to look for her. translation: ., , w ., translation: i went to the place and i saw what i saw. _ translation: i went to the place and i saw what i saw. svetlana _ translation: i went to the place and i saw what i saw. svetlana was - translation: i went to the place and i saw what i saw. svetlana was lying i i saw what i saw. svetlana was lying on the ground in front of me. how is it possible in the 21st—century to do something like this? completely unprovoked. i don't know.—

unprovoked. i don't know. christina and svetlana _ unprovoked. i don't know. christina and svetlana lie _ unprovoked. i don't know. christina and svetlana lie buried _ unprovoked. i don't know. christina and svetlana lie buried side - unprovoked. i don't know. christina and svetlana lie buried side by - and svetlana lie buried side by side. they sang to raise funds for troops and civilians and to raise morale. helena finds cold comfort at the graveside. translation: ., ., the graveside. translation: ., ., translation: you come here to see or hear something, — translation: you come here to see or hear something, the _ translation: you come here to see or hear something, the wind _ translation: you come here to see or hear something, the wind blows - translation: you come here to see or hear something, the wind blows and - hear something, the wind blows and you think it is the soul of your child hugging you. her you think it is the soul of your child hugging you.— you think it is the soul of your child hugging you. her child and so many more — child hugging you. her child and so many more are _ child hugging you. her child and so many more are gone, _ child hugging you. her child and so many more are gone, killed - child hugging you. her child and so many more are gone, killed on - child hugging you. her child and so i many more are gone, killed on and off the battlefield. the hope of ukraine filling early graves.

around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news — bringing you different stories from across the uk. oh, dear! kezia is 17 months old. she's thriving. when she was born, times were tough for her mother, alice. so when her midwife delivered a special basket full of items, it meant the world. it was such a relief to not have to worry how i was going to afford everything, that she had somewhere safe to sleep, but also that so much care and thought had gone into putting this basket together. the moses project began life in 2016 on a kitchen table. run by a local church, it's grown and grown. this year it's provided 200 moses baskets packed full of essentials from baby grows to toiletries and some little luxuries, too. we support families that are facing hardship, maybe from a workless household, refugees that have come into the country and don't have any other family support.

for more stories from across the uk headed to the bbc news website. we are live on bbc news. archaeologists have unearthed a rare medieval cemetery not far from the end of the runway at cardiff airport. at least 70 graves have been discovered, which are thought to date back to the sixth or seventh century. so far, 18 of the graves have been excavated and included several unusual artefacts. our science editor rebecca morelle reports. uncovering a medieval mystery. just outside of cardiff, archaeologists have discovered a graveyard they think is 1500 years old. the bodies buried so long ago are giving an insight into a period we know little about. what's being revealed is baffling the archaeologists. it's really rare to have a site like this.

each one of these is a grave, and the team of excavated i8, so far, but they think there could be more than 70 at this site. now they're all aligned in the same position, running from east to west. and in some of them, the skeletons are flat on their backs with their legs outstretched. but in others, like this one over here, the skeleton is in a really unusual crouching position. why this is isn't clear. were burial practices changing over time? or was there something else marking these people out as different? the skeletons are some of the best preserved. we're actually very, very lucky with that. and this particular individual is one of our better preserved ones on the site as a whole. the skeletons are being carefully excavated and they're already providing clues about how these people lived and died. as bones get cleaned, we'll find pathologies. they can tell us about health, tell us, in some cases, about work. we have some teeth that are very worn in kind of a funny way that

might indicate the use of teeth as tools — maybe for textile work, leatherwork, basketry, where they're pulling something through their front teeth. so, all together, we'll have a really good not only life history of these people, but also a community history. got something that looks like glass. pick it out carefully. what's being found alongside the skeletons is posing even more of a puzzle. it is glass. a shard of fine french glass has just been discovered. hopefully, the rim from a cone beaker. so which would have looked like an ice cream cone and it probably was imported alongside wine in barrels from the bordeaux region of france. a really nice find. it's just one of an array of artifacts from fragments of pottery, perhaps from north africa, to a tiny carved peg. this little object is manufactured from animal bone. it could be a peg for

fora gaming board. kind of cribbage or some sort of game? yes, yes. a medieval version. yes, something like that. it suggests people were coming to the cemetery to meet up, eat and drink — the living and the dead existing together. we tend to think of graveyards as sort of enclosed spaces that we don't really go to, but they probably would have been quite central to life in the past. and it's notjust a place where people are being buried, but it's a place where communities are coming together. they are burying their dead, but they're also undertaking other forms of activity and social practice, including eating and drinking and feasting. no nearby settlement has yet been found and the dig is creating a perplexing picture. the items unearthed in the cemetery suggest wealth — that the people there were of high status. that's what we're trying to find out as part of our work is what exactly is going on, who are these people being buried here? the people interred here have access

to very high—quality imported goods that you can only get through trading or exchange networks with people with a lot of wealth to bring it here. this unusual cemetery is just starting to give up its secrets. archaeologists have onlyjust begun to scratch the surface. they hope their excavation will reveal much more — not only about each individual buried there, but also about the medieval way of life that's remained an enigma for so long. rebecca morelle, bbc news, cardiff. a bit of sporting history will take place in london tonight, with all eyes on one thing: a dartboard. this is teen darts sensation luke littler. atjust 16 years old, he's become the youngest person ever to reach the final of the world darts championship. littler secured his place with a comprehensive 6—2 win over

fellow and 2018 world champion, brit rob cross. this was littler�*s reaction after the win. it is beyond believable. i only set my goals to win one game and come back after christmas and i am still here. he's still only a teen — but it seems littler�*s talents were already on display from an even younger age. he honed his craft at an academy in st helen's — where his influence and inspiration is still felt today. ididn't i didn't know he could do such big things, when he was at the academy i thought he was just a normal kid to play cards, but now i have seen him in the world championships. ianthem play cards, but now i have seen him in the world championships. when he nets to the in the world championships. when he gets to the oche. _ in the world championships. when he gets to the oche, he _ in the world championships. when he gets to the oche, he doesn't - in the world championships. when he gets to the oche, he doesn't feel - gets to the oche, he doesn't feel anything. — gets to the oche, he doesn't feel anything, hejust gets to the oche, he doesn't feel anything, he just gets on with his game _

meeting luke littler in the final is current world number one, luke humphries. he's looking to extend an i8—game winning streak with the world championship title. the final will take place on wednesday evening local time in london. 2023 was the most successful year ever for female musicians in the uk charts, helped by hit singles from dua lipa and miley cyrus. but miley cyrus isn't british expat. data from the british phonographic industry also revealed that while demand for music grew — it wasn't necessarily new music lsiteners were after. mark savage is in the for us. i listen to oldies on spotify instead of new music on the radio, which is bad news for new artist?— of new music on the radio, which is bad news for new artist? people tend to listen to the _ bad news for new artist? people tend to listen to the songs _ bad news for new artist? people tend to listen to the songs they _ bad news for new artist? people tend to listen to the songs they are - to listen to the songs they are familiar with, there's a reason those golden oldie radio stations are the ones people tend to tune in to. that is what we are seeing in the album charts in particular where

none of the top ten albums last year where from 2023. we had greatest hits albums from eltonjohn, abba, fleetwood mac, they were all kounde of crowding out the field because people are streaming those classic hits. the only album from 2023 in the top ten was taylor swift 1989, a recording of an album she first released in 2014. you are right, that does make it harderfor released in 2014. you are right, that does make it harder for new artists to gain a foothold to get high up the festival bills, get promoted and for the new classic songs to take hold and become part of the cultural fabric in the way that they used to. we of the cultural fabric in the way that they used to.— of the cultural fabric in the way that they used to. we saw this with the christmas _ that they used to. we saw this with the christmas number _ that they used to. we saw this with the christmas number one - that they used to. we saw this with the christmas number one with - that they used to. we saw this with the christmas number one with it i the christmas number one with it being wham, another golden oldie rather than some rider's new hit. what difference is social media making for this?— what difference is social media making for this? social media plays a hue making for this? social media plays a huge role- — making for this? social media plays a huge rate we _ making for this? social media plays a huge role. we saw— making for this? social media plays a huge role. we saw a _ making for this? social media plays a huge role. we saw a couple - making for this? social media plays a huge role. we saw a couple of. a huge role. we saw a couple of times last year, examples of where songs had been popular ten years ago

resurfaced, something like and another love which was one of the most streamed songs of the year. it was resurgence because it was being used to show people and their break—up clips on social media. he will have seen the bedroom artist from london who has been posting music by herself and posting it on tiktook. she puts on a 32nd clip and put it on all of her social media channels and she sees which ones are the most popular. you channels and she sees which ones are the most mutan— the most popular. you make me feel ve old, i the most popular. you make me feel very old. i have _ the most popular. you make me feel very old, i have never _ the most popular. you make me feel very old, i have never heard - the most popular. you make me feel very old, i have never heard of- the most popular. you make me feel very old, i have never heard of any . very old, i have never heard of any of that. but when we go back to 2023 being a landmark yearfor of that. but when we go back to 2023 being a landmark year for female artists, what has driven back? purely that female artists were

putting a great music. we had 31 weeks of last year out of the 52 weeks of last year out of the 52 weeks there was a chart that female artists were at number one, but two of the barbie soundtracks, ellie goulding, who was number one for eight weeks with the calvin harrison collaboration, miracle. and also miley cyrus flower, made it the biggest selling single of last year and then the only single to sell more than1 million and then the only single to sell more than 1 million copies and then the only single to sell more than1 million copies in and then the only single to sell more than 1 million copies in the last calendar year.— last calendar year. very briefly, the penularity _ last calendar year. very briefly, the penularity of _ last calendar year. very briefly, the popularity of vinyl - last calendar year. very briefly, i the popularity of vinyl continues? yes, 16 years vinyl has been growing in terms of the numbers of albums and singles and 12 inches that are bought. it is top 6 million this year so the first time since 1990 there has been that many vinyl records sold. cds are more popular,

10 million cds sold last year and take that had the biggest selling single of 2023.— take that had the biggest selling single of 2023. mark savage, thank ou. you. you are watching bbc news. around 38,000 homes in england and wales are without electricity after storm henk. this storm henk is the eighth named storm to batter the uk. gale force winds swept in from the south—west making life difficult for drivers disembarking from this ferry in dorset while wind speeds topped 94 mph in the isle of wight. in the bristol area squally showers took their toll on those outside. have we ever had as much rain as we have had

this last few weeks? it is unbelievable. _ this last few weeks? it is unbelievable. hanging i this last few weeks? it is i unbelievable. hanging onto this last few weeks? it is - unbelievable. hanging onto this to keep myself— unbelievable. hanging onto this to keep myself study. _ unbelievable. hanging onto this to keep myself study. falling - unbelievable. hanging onto this to keep myself study. falling trees i keep myself study. falling trees became a significant _ keep myself study. falling trees became a significant risk- keep myself study. falling trees became a significant risk to - keep myself study. falling trees became a significant risk to life. j became a significant risk to life. this dog walker escaping by seconds. across the country, roads were blocked and made travel difficult causing multiple accidents. in orpington a woman was taken to hospital after being struck by a tree. at london waterloo station passengers described the situation as chaos, as trains were cancelled from late afternoon and delays continued into the night. this was due to damage to cables and flooding in places like birmingham. 38,000 households were without power as up to 40 millimetres of rain fell in places. the national grid were on the case in wales. there is a lot of rain, notjust in the worcestershire area, but of course in wales and the river catchment as well, so thatjust going to come one way — down to us. so, i think we could see some significant impacts as the week goes on, and we need to be

very, very vigilant. no weather warnings remain today, but there are more than 300 flood alerts, and authorities are warning that travel will continue to be disrupted. louisa pilbeam, bbc news. a chinese foreign exchange student has been found freezing but i live in utah. his parents in china were extorted out of tens of thousands of dollars in a so—called cyber kidnapping scam. this is 17—year—old after being found very cold and scared in a tent in rural utah. police think he isolated himself after being manipulated by the kidnappers. but not in real life, rather virtually. officers found him isolating in a tent after his parents contacted school officials to say they had been sent a ransom demand and a

picture of their son, indicating he had been abducted. police say his family paid $80,000 into bank accounts in china during the scan. and their son was one of a number of foreign students targeted by so—called cyber kidnappers. so what is cyber kidnapping? it is not new. this article on the bbc news website is from 2021 chinese students in australia were targeted. the victims are made to believe their families could be in danger if they don't cooperate. the kidnappers then convince the victim is to isolate. they even get them to take photos that make it look like they are being held captive, even though the kidnappers are not there. they monitor the victim virtually through things like facetime or skype. the photos that are taken are sent to the victim's family and the kidnappers try to extort a payment from those families. when this boy was rescued, he asked for a warm

cheeseburger and to call his family after he had been checked for hypothermia. the chinese embassy in washington has now issued a warning to its citizens living in the united states to be on the alert for virtual kidnapping. we saw earlier the disruption caused by storm henk, so let's get the weather. we may be done with the worst of the wind and rain from this week but the impact of what is fallen is still being felt. all the details on the bbc weather website and for the impact bbc local radio is your best port of call for what is happening where you are. now the storm which brought some of the rain yesterday, storm henk, that's now in across parts of northern europe. still low pressure with us and that's why it's not a dry day out there. still got some showers around,

some of those heavy and thundery around the coast. fairly frequent, but fast moving showers through parts of wales and southern england. fewer showers northern england, far south of scotland and northern ireland, some staying completely dry here throughout the day, but some lengthier bursts of rain into the west of scotland and some snow in shetland, where it's still chilly — three degrees here. elsewhere, temperatures above average, but down on yesterday. now into tonight to continue with some rain across the north and east of scotland, some snow in shetland at times. isolated showers elsewhere, turns drier. but some clear skies around, colder night than recent nights. don't be surprised if one or two sheltered valleys sees such a frost into the morning. so your thursday commute will be a colder one, but a brighter one for the most part. a lot more sunshine around. still some outbreaks of rain to the north and east of scotland. a few showers elsewhere, scotland, parts of northern ireland, northern england, but channel islands turning wet through the morning and some of that rain could edge into southern counties of england. bear in mind that could be a bit further north than shown on these charts. and that's because of this system here, which is moving out of france. just how far north it gets a bit of a question mark, but it will get out of the way as we go into friday. still got low pressure

to the north west of scotland. so still the focus for the bulk of the showers here. but there will be a few showers elsewhere. as you can see, though, the winds for many of you will be still on the lighter side. some sunshine in places, temperatures dropping closer to where we should be injanuary and they will be set to drop further. low pressure that has dominated for so long gets squeezed away by high pressure building in scandinavia and out from parts of the atlantic. and that will eventually not only turn things drier but also colder across the country. with the arrival of more widespread night—time frost will be some mist and fog by night as well. but i think the crucial thing, especially with all those flood warnings around at the moment, very little rain. there will be a few showers, it's not to be a completely dry picture, but the emphasis for most of you is some longer, drier spells and that will continue through much of next week. take care.

live from london. this is bbc news. lebanon accuses israel of trying to ignite conflict across the middle east after a deputy leader of hamas was killed in beirut. junior doctors in england begin the longest strike in nhs history as they take part in a six—day walkout over pay. investigators in japan say they're still searching for the flight recorders from a passenger jet that caught fire on tuesday. aftershocks and heavy rain complicate rescue efforts injapan in the wake of monday's deadly earthquake which has now killed at least 64 people. hello and welcome to the programme.