live from london, this is bbc news. screaming. at least 73 people in iran die in two explosions near the grave of a top revolutionary guards commander. authorities blame suicide bombers. lebanon accuses israel of trying to ignite conflict across the middle east, after a senior hamas leader is killed in beirut. junior doctors in england begin the longest strike in nhs history, joining a six day walk—out over pay. aftershocks and heavy rain complicate earthquake rescue efforts injapan. at least 64 people are now confirmed dead. hello, i'm...

i'm lucy hockings. welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. we start with the situation in iran. let's turn to iran, where state media is reporting that at least 70 people have been killed in several blasts near the tomb of iranian revolutionary guards general, qasem soleimani. these are pictures we have from social media saying these blasts occurred quickly in the south—eastern city of kerman. us drone attack, officials say two bags containing explosives detonated by remote control were at the entrance to the burial site and we have been watching ambulances, as you can see there, heading towards the cemetery. hundreds of iranian had gathered to to commemorate the anniversary of qasem soleimani's death. to put into context who he was, the most powerfulfigure in

context who he was, the most powerful figure in at around the time after the supreme leader. he was in charge of the revolutionary guards overseas operation, which made him incredibly significant. he shaped to foreign policy for iran, he helped to coordinate logistics, funding weapons and intelligence to other allied groups such as hamas and hezbollah and it was donald trump at the time who ordered his assassination. hundreds of people gathered there, he is still quite revered in kerman, the deputy governor they're saying it was a terrorist attack, now saying it is a suicide attack, but we do not have a claim of response ability. we will bring you more on the story shortly, but let's take you to level now, where the government has accused israel of trying to ignite conflict across the east after a senior hamas leader was killed by a drone strike 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, the al qassam brigades. hamas is considered a terror organisation by the uk and us governments. israel has not denied carrying out the explosion, and described it as a "surgical strike" on hamas. hamas called it an "act of terrorism", while hezbollah said it was an assault on lebanese sovereignty. hezbollah, a politically influential islamist group which controls the most powerful armed force in lebanon, has been exchanging fire with israel along the israel—lebanon border since the war in gaza began in october. there's been reaction to the strike in beirut from the un — its peacekeeping mission in lebanon says it's "deeply concerned" by any potential escalation. we will be speaking to them in a moment. this was a warning echoed by french president emmanuel macron. the lebanese foreign minister says his government has appealed to hezbollah not to retaliate. our correspondent, carine torbey, is in beirut at the site of the attack. she has the latest for us. just a while ago, this street has been reopened. it was sealed off since morning, was heavy presence of the lebanese army.

behind me is the apartment that was targeted yesterday. this is where al—arouri and six other members of hamas were killed yesterday in a surgical attack, believed in lebanon to have been carried out by israel. you cannot see well now because of the sheets that are shielding off the place, but we saw lots of forensic people trying to survey the place, to search for any evidence on location. also, workers are still clearing the rubble from that apartment. there was also another car that was hit yesterday by a rocket that we couldn't see at the moment, but could have been taken for evidence as well. as you see, for the rest of the image on the street,

it's business as usual — shops have reopened, people, crowds are actually in the place. lots of onlookers are coming to look at this apartment, to comment on how accurate and precise was the targeting, and also to ask what could happen next — this is the question on everybody�*s mind this morning. indeed, carine. what are people's concerns there in beirut today about what could happen next? what are people worried about? yes, they are concerned, they are concerned that this could be the start of a new chapter. this is widely seen as changing the rules of engagement between hezbollah and israel, who are engaged, as we know, for months now, in daily confrontations in southern lebanon, northern israel. hezbollah opened that front just after hamas attacked israel, and it said that this was a front

in support of hamas. and ever since, it has been carrying out daily attacks and said it wouldn't stop until israel stops its war on gaza. but what happened yesterday took things to a completely different level. this is an attack in the southern suburb of beirut. it is an area which was largely controlled for hezbollah, but it is also an area in the capital, a lot away from that open front, and also an assassination — the nature of that attack is completely different. targeted killings were something that has always said in the past will not tolerate to happen in lebanon. hassan nasrallah is expected to give a speech this afternoon. there is a lot of anticipation about what he might say, and whether he will get any direction towards what kind of retaliation hezbollah could have.

this is the director for the levant institute in beirut and he told me more about the role of saleh al—arouri within hamas. role of saleh al-arouri within hamas. �* ., ., ~' , role of saleh al-arouri within hamas. �* ., ., ~ , , hamas. being one of the key figures ofthe hamas. being one of the key figures of the hamas— hamas. being one of the key figures of the hamas movement, _ hamas. being one of the key figures of the hamas movement, he - hamas. being one of the key figures of the hamas movement, he is - hamas. being one of the key figures of the hamas movement, he is the i of the hamas movement, he is the vice president, is in charge of security in the west bank and all the information says that he was one of the very few who were aware of the... military operation. while it is not inside gaza, this makes him a very important figure often, and this, what happened is definitely a turning point in the development of the military operation because it has very significant meaning for at

least two reasons. the first reason is this is happening inside beirut, this is for the first time is really power during a military operation inside beirut, they haven't done that since 2006. and secondly, as you're correspondence mention, this is the stronghold of hezbollah in south beirut... 50 is the stronghold of hezbollah in south beirut...— is the stronghold of hezbollah in south beirut... , ., , , ., south beirut... so why, what is your reaction when _ south beirut... so why, what is your reaction when you _ south beirut... so why, what is your reaction when you hear— south beirut... so why, what is your reaction when you hear people - south beirut... so why, what is your. reaction when you hear people saying earlier, this is not a strike on hezbollah, not a strike on the lab and on, this is a surgical strike against hamas leadership? this is im ortant, against hamas leadership? this is important. i _ against hamas leadership? this is important, ithink_ against hamas leadership? this is important, i think this _ against hamas leadership? this is important, i think this is - against hamas leadership? this is important, i think this is a - against hamas leadership? this is i important, i think this is a message towards the destination, but most importantly towards washington because washington was pressuring israel lately to change the way they have been conducting the war. at no point in time washington was saying to israel, stop this war. they were

against a ceasefire, but they want them to change the way it is conducting the war and waging a targeted military operation, and what happened yesterday, this is what, in a way, it is abiding by the american wishes or standards on how to conduct this war. however, being done this way, this is not to avert what washington doesn't want, which is the enlargement of the regionalisation of this war. this is why it is very important now to spot what will be the washington reaction on what happened yesterday and it is worth mentioning as well... find on what happened yesterday and it is worth mentioning as well... and what will be reaction _ worth mentioning as well... and what will be reaction b _ worth mentioning as well... and what will be reaction b from _ worth mentioning as well... and what will be reaction b from hezbollah - will be reaction b from hezbollah cross we are of course going to be keeping a very close eye on hassan nasrallah speaking softening...

hezbollah is a very tough situation because on the one hand, he could not let this happen in his own stronghold, it puts into question his own security system because what happened is as well a breach in his own military system. so on the one hand, you cannot not retaliate, but on the other hand he has no interest whatsoever in escalation that would drag on and worse than what happened in 2006 because it will be detrimental, not only on the lebanese economy that is going through an upheaval today, the ii is in economic collapse, but this would put in danger the very existence of the lebanon, a giving the death given the political divide that is prevailing. given the political divide that is revailina. ~ ., given the political divide that is revailina. ~ . .,

given the political divide that is revailina. . . ., , given the political divide that is ”revailin_ . ., ., ., , ., prevailing. what are the fears of eo - le in prevailing. what are the fears of people in beirut _ prevailing. what are the fears of people in beirut and _ prevailing. what are the fears of people in beirut and 11 _ prevailing. what are the fears of people in beirut and 11 on - prevailing. what are the fears of| people in beirut and 11 on today? prevailing. what are the fears of - people in beirut and 11 on today? -- people in beirut and ii on today? —— and leben on today? people in beirut and 11 on today? -- and leben on today?— and leben on today? there is a lot of concern — and leben on today? there is a lot of concern across _ and leben on today? there is a lot of concern across all _ and leben on today? there is a lot of concern across all immunities i of concern across all immunities because they don't want to go through what happened in 2006. the cost of the war has been detrimental. it cost lebanon $10 billion and now that there are more than 80% of the lebanese people are under the line of poverty and the danger of a similar under the line of poverty and the danger ofa similarwar under the line of poverty and the danger of a similar war happening is really a nightmare for all the lebanese. really a nightmare for all the lebanese-— really a nightmare for all the lebanese. , ., ., ., ., lebanese. there is a huge amount of concern, lebanese. there is a huge amount of concern. not — lebanese. there is a huge amount of concern, notjust _ lebanese. there is a huge amount of concern, notjust in _ lebanese. there is a huge amount of concern, notjust in lebanon, - lebanese. there is a huge amount of concern, notjust in lebanon, but- concern, notjust in lebanon, but around the world about what has happened. let's speak now to a spokesperson to the un peacekeeping mission in lebanon, kandice ardiel.

thank you forjoining us. what is your reaction to this assassination of saleh al—arouri? where do you fear things could worsen now? b, mandate in south lebanon, so this incident didn't take place in directly in our area of operations. however, we are deeply concerned about the potential for escalation that something like this could have and the consequences that should be brought for people on both sides of the blue line between lebanon and israel and through the greater region. and as peacekeepers, we continue to implore the parties to cease their fire and we have asked interlocutors with any inference to urge them to restrain, to avoid this escalation that could possibly have serious consequences. when you say that, syria's devastating consequences, what do you mean? we devastating consequences, what do ou mean? ~ ., ., devastating consequences, what do ou mean? ~ . ., ., . you mean? we mean a greater conflict and potentially — you mean? we mean a greater conflict and potentially an _ you mean? we mean a greater conflict and potentially an all-out _ you mean? we mean a greater conflict and potentially an all-out war- you mean? we mean a greater conflict and potentially an all-out war like - and potentially an all—out war like in 2006. that is the fear and that is what peacekeepers are here and

working 24/7 through our various to prevent. in working 24/7 through our various to revent. , ., , ., working 24/7 through our various to revent. , ., ,, ,, ., prevent. in terms of your mission, what has been _ prevent. in terms of your mission, what has been happening - prevent. in terms of your mission, what has been happening on - prevent. in terms of your mission, what has been happening on the i what has been happening on the border recently?— what has been happening on the border recently? since the 8th of october, when _ border recently? since the 8th of october, when the _ border recently? since the 8th of october, when the exchanges . border recently? since the 8th of october, when the exchanges of| border recently? since the 8th of. october, when the exchanges of fire began in lebanon, we have seen daily exchanges, everything from mortar shells to gun fired two rockets, to air strikes that have been happening between lebanese territory and israel. these have gradually escalated. the number of exchanges vary day by day, but since the 8th of october we have definitely seen them intensifying. most of the conflict has been taking place so far within about five kilometres of the border, however there have been exceptions, including the alleged incident last night in beirut. find i incident last night in beirut. and i all staff or people _ incident last night in beirut. and i all staff or people at _ incident last night in beirut. and i all staff or people at risk? - incident last night in beirut. and i all staff or people at risk? well, | all staff or people at risk? well, peacekeepers — all staff or people at risk? well, peacekeepers are _ all staff or people at risk? well, peacekeepers are in _ all staff or people at risk? well, peacekeepers are in conflict - all staff or people at risk? well, l peacekeepers are in conflict zones and as peacekeepers, there is a risk that we accept, but of course we have security measures and different procedures in place that we have intensified and adapted since the beginning of the conflict to ensure our peacekeepers are safe and able to perform their duties and able to

help ensure that civilian security returns here in south lebanon. kandice ardiel, thank you very much forjoining us with your thoughts, good to see you and stay safe. let's bring you more in the breaking news we are getting from iran. the number is increasing of dead there. 81 now, we understand, people have died in two explosions near the tomb of the runyon revolutionary guards, general qasem soleimani money. these are blasts that happened in the south—eastern city of kerman during a ceremony marking the anniversary of the general�*s death. let's go to our correspondence,. the general's death. let's go to our correspondence, ._ the general's death. let's go to our correspondence, .— correspondence,. while you're readina correspondence,. while you're reading that — correspondence,. while you're reading that statement, - correspondence,. while you're reading that statement, in - correspondence,. while you're l reading that statement, in about people killed got updated to 103 people killed got updated to 103 people killed got updated to 103 people killed and injured and some

of them are reported to have been in dire conditions at the moment. two explosions took place in the southern city of kerman, where slain iranian general qasem soleimani marnie is buried. many people took part in the commemoration ceremony there and it was the fourth anniversary of his assassination. he was killed in 2020 in a us drone strike in iraq. today was the fourth anniversary and one explosion was heard and was seen on iranian state tv and then a second explosion took place. tv and then a second explosion took lace. , ., tv and then a second explosion took lace, , ., ., , tv and then a second explosion took lace. , ., .,, ,., tv and then a second explosion took lace. , ., ., place. yes, and as you mentioned, that figure — place. yes, and as you mentioned, that figure from _ place. yes, and as you mentioned, that figure from state _ place. yes, and as you mentioned, that figure from state media - place. yes, and as you mentioned, that figure from state media has i place. yes, and as you mentioned, l that figure from state media has now gone up in terms of those killed to 103. can you explain why qasem soleimani marnie is still so important to so many people and why we see these sorts of crowds sharply anniversary of his death qasem soleimani marnie is an extreme controversial figure, soleimani marnie is an extreme controversialfigure, both inside and outside iran. in controversialfigure, both inside and outside iran.—

and outside iran. in iran and outside. _ and outside iran. in iran and outside, many _ and outside iran. in iran and outside, many people - and outside iran. in iran and outside, many people see . and outside iran. in iran and l outside, many people see him and outside iran. in iran and - outside, many people see him as a person who was responsible for the killing of many syrians in syria and in a rock, but some people consider him as a hero. he was generally an architect of iran might�*s extraterritorial activities in the region, from syria to iraq to even afghanistan and the yemen, and he was extremely close to serena ian best syrian supreme leader ayatollah... he was believed to be guilty of creating many of the proxy groups in the region, some of those back to the 2020 us embassy and uat after that few days, qasem soleimani was killed in a drone strike at the direction of ex us president donald trump onjanuary 3—20 20. what direction of ex us president donald trump on january 3-20 20. what was the reaction _ trump on january 3-20 20. what was the reaction after _ trump on january 3-20 20. what was the reaction after his _ trump on january 3-20 20. what was the reaction after his death? - trump on january 3-20 20. what was the reaction after his death? sorry, l the reaction after his death? sorry, i come to the reaction after his death? sorry, i come to you- _ the reaction after his death? sorry, i come to you. when _ the reaction after his death? sorry, i come to you. when he _ the reaction after his death? sorry, i come to you. when he was - the reaction after his death? sorry, i come to you. when he was killed, when the assassination _

i come to you. when he was killed, when the assassination was - i come to you. when he was killed, | when the assassination was ordered by donald trump, as you mentioned, what was the reaction in iran, what was said, notjust in iran, but other groups, if you can explain that connection as well between him and hezbollah and hamas, what was the reaction when he was killed? i just heard the very last bit of your question. he was also extremely close to hezbollah in lebanon. after his killing, his daughter was actually married to hassan nasrallah's sun, so that shows how close these people are together. they considered themselves as a family. so he was extremely close. but we have to see this, no group has claimed response ability for this particular attack. such attacks in the past in iran were claimed by isis, but this situation today is very different because iran's tension with other countries in the region has increased tremendously,

like another top iranian commander was killed in syria a few days ago, so it is really not clear who might be behind today's attack. and so it is really not clear who might be behind today's attack.- be behind today's attack. and we certainly haven't _ be behind today's attack. and we certainly haven't had _ be behind today's attack. and we certainly haven't had a _ be behind today's attack. and we certainly haven't had a claiming l certainly haven't had a claiming responsibility yet. parham ghobadi, thanks so much, that one confirming their state media saying 103 people have been killed in that attack, so the number continues to go up. no group has claimed responsibility, but the deputy governor of kerman says this was a terrorist attack. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. provisional data from the met office suggests 2023 was the uk's second warmest year on record. the average mean temperature of 9.97 degrees celsius was just 0.06 degrees cooler than 2022. the data says 2023 was the hottest year on record for wales and northern ireland. a law that makes paying for sexual services a crime in northern ireland has led tojust one conviction since 2015.

there have been calls for a review of the legislation, which was brought in to tackle human trafficking. it comes as the charity women's aid said injuly there was a significant increase in the number of trafficking victims they're supporting. the government says pupils at english schools that have been partially closed because of dangerous concrete will not get extra help in their exams. since september, some students have not been able to access design and technology work rooms, laboratories and other specialist spaces, due to the crumbling concrete known as raac. you're live with bbc news. junior doctors working in england's public health services have begun a six—day strike. it's the longest industrial action in the history of britain's health service, and follows a break down in talks with the government over pay. before the strike, nhs england medical director professor sir stephen powis said the health service was facing one

of its most difficult starts to a year since 1948. 0ur reporter meghan 0wen has more on why this latest strike is so significant. this isn't the first time thatjunior doctors in england have walked out. in fact, they first went on strike in march 2023. since then, the nhs has had to cancel over 1.2 million appointments. let's just take a look at what a junior doctor actually is. now, they are qualified doctors who are going through clinical training, which can take around eight years or more. they make up around 50% of nhs staff, so actually, over the next six days of industrial action, the nhs could be losing half of its workforce, and that's at a time when the nhs is already facing pressure from the winter season. now, here's nhs england's medical director. we just had a really busy christmas and new year period, our nhs staff have coped magnificently with the pressures over that period, but we are now facing six days of industrial action byjunior doctors.

that's the longest period of industrial action in nhs history. of course, it's at a time when the nhs is always very busy with winter pressures, viruses such as covid and flu, so there's no doubt it's going to be challenging. first of all, let's just take a look at how muchjunior doctors are paid. well, for the basic foundation pay in first year, it's just over £32,000, and that's without extras such as night pay. this can climb to over £63,000 for specialty registrars, which is after a few years of training. now, the government have offered a 3% average pay rise from january, and this is on top of an existing 9% average pay rise, which was already received back in april, but the british medical association is saying that this is not enough, and that's because junior doctors are asking for a 35% pay rise. that's because they've received below inflation pay rises since 2008.

now, in terms of the government response, they say... "we urge the bma junior doctors' committee to call "off their strikes and come back "to the negotiating table so we can find a fair and reasonable solution on patients and their care." "and so we can all get back to focusing on patients and their care." the japanese government is stepping up the emergency response to monday's earthquake, which is now known to have killed at least 64 people. we've been seeing just how extensive the damage actually is. this is the coastal town of suzu — the sheer force of the quake here flattened homes and dumped boats in the streets. rescue teams have been searching collapsed houses. japanese prime minister, fumio kishida, says the number of military personnel involved would be doubled to 2,000. the region continues to be rocked by aftershocks and they're complicating rescue efforts. that is an aftershock we are seeing there on the screen. they have also had torrential rain.

0ur correspondentjean mckenzie is in the region and travelled close to the epicentre. we finally arrived in the town of wajima three days after the earthquake. and this is close to the epicentre, and it is by far the most destruction we've seen. a fire broke out here during the earthquake, and it spread to the houses and the stalls. this used to be an old market place, and the people in the town have told us that the flames could be seen from all around. you can see that much of the area is still smoking. walking around the side streets, and so many of the old wooden homes have completely collapsed. but most people have now left this town. they took those very early warnings to flee for higher ground because of the tsunami that was forecast. and they haven't been able to return, either because their homes have been destroyed or they are structurally unsafe. but people are returning here to search for their relatives who they think might still be trapped under the rubble. trapped under the rubble,

because three days on, they still don't know. it has taken some of the search and rescue teams nearly as long these search dogs only arrived here this morning. there has been a huge delay in searching for survivors, and the teams are now going one by one to each of these collapsed wooden houses to search for them. but they don't know if anyone is inside here. their searches aren't based on any information, they've told us. and so, this is an incredibly slow process and this is a critical time. dean mckenzie there and if we stay injapan... investigations continue into the cause of a crash between a japan airlines airbus and a coast guard aircraft at tokyo's haneda airport. teams today appeared to be inspecting the site — investigators can be seen standing in the debris. they have been searching for the airbus flight recorders. these are the scenes from tuesday,

when both aircraft were destroyed by fire. all 367 japan airlines passengers and 12 crew managed to escape. 0ur asia reporter suranjana tewari is in tokyo with more. the remnants of the plane are now being investigated, the passenger plane that had almost — more than 370 passengers and crew on it. japan airlines saying that it was cleared to land, the passenger plane was cleared to land, but the conflicting reports are coming from the smaller plane which was operated by japan's coastguard, and it's not really clear what the pilot was instructed to do — whether the pilot was asked to stay on the runway or to stay out of the way of the runway. five of the six people on board the coastguard aircraft died. 0ur reporter with the latest there

for us. up next, world business report. good afternoon, today has brought some brighter weather for many, but in the wake of storm hank is still a lot of water 0ut storm hank is still a lot of water out there, the ground is saturated, numerous flood warnings in force and some more rain to come, the rain today mostly in the form of hefty showers and it stays windy across southern counties of england at the channel islands. large amounts of cloud across scotland in particular with some showery rain, windy across the northern isles, called on shetland, with the temperatures ending the day generally around freezing here, and generally 6 degrees as we head into the first part of the evening. 0vernight we keep some showers, large amounts of cloud here, but some clear skies spreading from the south—west. temperatures dropping from 3 or 4 degrees, temperatures in some places

just a little colder than that. into tomorrow, low pressure to the north of the uk, still generating some showery rain. this frontal system bringing some rain into the south, in between this slice of sunshine, tending to drift a little bit further northwards through the day. the far north of england, parts of northern ireland and scotland staying cloudy, showery, windy in the far north, and then this rain starts to edge into southern counties of england. we will have to keep an eye on this, there's still a bit of uncertainty about this weather system, it may edge just a little bit further northwards, it will bring heavy rain in places where we really do not need it, moving into south—east england and east anglia through the evening, and on the southern flank it may be that we see another swathe of quite strong winds, but by friday that weather system is clearing out into continental europe. friday is a bit of a transition day, there will still be some showers around, but things will be slowly drying out and calming down. a lot of cloud, some sunshine, temperatures down on where they have been, and that drying out process continues into the weekend, with low pressure relinquishing its grip, and high pressure building more

strongly across the uk. there will be some showers around, some of those could even be wintry, because the air will be turning colder. with that colder air and high pressure, lighter winds, we will see some mist and fog patches by night, a touch of frost for some, as well, generally the days colder than they have been, but a lot of dry weather around with some spells of sunshine.

after another attack by houthi militants in the red sea, one in five commercial ships are now avoiding the key shipping route for their own safety, but the alternative routes come at a higher cost. and we meet the american workers taking psychedelic drugs to improve their performance at work. welcome to world business report. we start with the shipping crisis in the red sea. yemen's houthi militant group has claimed responsibility for another attack on a container vessel, belonging to the french shipping line cma—cgm.