welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm steve lai. the headlines. in iran, the supreme leader promises a harsh response, after nearly a hundred people are killed in bomb attacks. the united states warns houthi rebels in yemen against carrying out further attacks on merchant ships in the red sea. rescue efforts continue in japan after at least 73 people were killed in a powerful earthquake that hit the country on new year's day. a long list of people associated with the late sex offenderjeffrey epstein has been believed to the public after a judge in the us audit core documents to be released. voiceover: live from our studio | in singapore, this is bbc news. | it's newsday.

welcome to the programme. we start in the middle east. iran's supreme leader says there'll be a harsh response, after at least 95 people were killed, by two explosions in the southeastern city of kerman. the blasts were near the saheb al—zaman mosque, where thousands of people had gathered to mark the anniversary of the death of a senior general, who was killed in a us drone strike in 2020. caroline hawley reports. the roads leading to the cemetery were packed with people who had gone to qasem soleimani. officials say the bombs had been planted in bags and were apparently set off by remote control. whoever did this was clearly aiming to cause mass casualties. the iranian red crescent said their efforts to evacuate the injured were complicated by the size of the crowds. and a first bomb was followed swiftly by a second, more deadly explosion.

it comes four years to the day since qasem soleimani was killed himself in an american drone attack while on a visit to iraq. general soleimani was a huge figure in iran, commander of its powerful revolutionary guards, responsible for arming its proxy militias in the middle east, including hezbollah in lebanon and forfunding hamas. he had a devoted following among supporters of the iranian regime. his funeral was attended, according to estimates, by more thani million mourners. so who would have wanted to attack the commemoration of his death and why? the most telling thing here is that this attack in kerman does not fit any modus operandi of what the israelis have traditionally done. they are looking for specific individuals, not for large events with lots of people. but there are at least two groups that have a history of doing just this type of thing in iran. the sunni jihadist groups on whom suspicion but this is likely to fall,

although no group has yet claimed to have carried it out. the iranian supreme leader, ayatollah khomeini warned of a harsh response. it is the deadliest attack in the country in decades and can only increase tensions in a region that is already a tinderbox. caroline hawley, bbc news. here's bahman kalbasi, bbc persian�*s un correspondent with more. obviously the first hours was more of shock, especially given the high number of casualties. and this kind of bombing is not unprecedented, we've had explosions like this in other government—sponsored events. but to see this many people die — especially in the second explosion that happened 20 minutes later, where people gathered to help the first explosion�*s victims — clearly put it on a scale that is somewhat unprecedented. in reality,

the deficit of trust in the iranian government, in large proportions of the iranian public, is so deep that their assessment of who has done it and how it has happened is immediately met with scepticism. but of course, solidarity and pain runs deep in the population across the country, children, women — many of them weren't necessarily even mourning qasem soleimani's death, this was used as an event — usually the government—sponsored events are — to distribute food, and a lot of maybe poorer sectors of society gather to collect food. and they were also among the victims, so it has been... we've heard from the iranian government officials that they immediately blamed israel it is unclear how and based on what they have made this accusation.

obviously, the united states here came out, the government spokesperson, the white house, and the state department saying that is a ridiculous accusation. so the fact that they so quickly pointed the fingers at israel at this time also shows that maybe it is not one that is very quickly — very clearly investigated, yet at least. so it's hard to put any value on their accusations. well, while the accusations continue to fly, ayatollah ali khamenei has vowed a harsh response. how real is the concern that this could escalate? the fear of escalation is very real. and it's notjust because of this event — obviously, this will throw more fuel on the fire — but what has happened in lebanon in the last few days, the possibility that the war would expand to lebanon, the tit—for—tat between iran—supported groups and us forces in syria and iraq, and of course, what's happening

between us forces and houthis in yemen — all point to the potential for a major escalation. meanwhile, majoractors, including the iranian government officials and the us, keep insisting that they don't want a confrontation between tehran and washington, or israel and iran. but these events are clearly making that harder and harder every day. tracking other developments, the leader of the lebanese armed group hezbollah has made armed group hezbollah has made a public address offering condolences to the palestinian people following tuesday's attack. the blast killed the singer hamas leader. in the speech. previously said they would be severe reaction to any israeli killing. following the

killing it is not admitted or denied the attack but i must accused of being responsible. spokesperson for the group promise retaliation. come up is considered a terrorist organisation by israel. on tuesday he described as a flagrant israeli aggression. he said this was a crime that would not go unpunished. obviously this happened in an area of beirut that is hezbollah a stronghold. this was not only a blue for hamas but perhaps a message to hezbollah that attacks like this deep in areas controlled by the group. they also said we're not afraid of what and in

a message to israel, he said if israel decided to go to war against hezbollah, this would come at a very high price. this reflects the message given by the israelis to hezbollah warning of any escalation of the situation here. israeli authorities have been saying the israeli military could do to beirut what has been done to gaza. i think what we're seeing here is hezbollah has been trying to show it is to support hamas in its war in gaza but at the same time, its actions have been calculated to prevent an escalation of the situation and to prevent another war with israel. here in level people still remember the devastation brought by the 2006 war between israel and hezbollah. there is virtually no public support for

another conflict here. obviously the hezbollah leader trying to show leadership but at the same time is aware of any kind of misstep could drag this country into another conflict with israel. the un security council has been meeting, to discuss the huge disruption to shipping in the red sea, as houthi rebels from yemen continue to attack ships heading to the suez canal. there are warnings that consumers are going to have to pay more for goods because of the extra cost of re—routing container ships. here's our north america correspondent will vernon. the un security council holding a meeting today to discuss the situation in the red sea. and while there were no resolutions or votes taken, i think it's still a sign of the increasing alarm globally at the risk to trade in one of the world's most important shipping routes and one of the us representatives to the un, chris liu, said at that meeting that the situation requires

a global response and is at an inflection point. but not everyone, of course, is in agreement. the representative from russia, for example, blamed the us and israel, saying the situation was a direct response to israel's war in gaza and accused the us of fanning the flames in the red sea. but this meeting came shortly after a joint statement was released by the us, the uk and ten other nations. quite a strong, strongly—worded joint statement, saying that these illegal attacks are profoundly destabilising and sent, i think, a very clear warning to the houthis that they will bear the responsibility of the consequences should these actions continue. these are actions, of course, that not only threaten the lives of merchant sailors, but also disrupt trade. and this comes two weeks after the announcement of the creation of a multinational naval task force — operation prosperity guardian, as it's called — and this is also

to protect shipping in the red sea. but attacks have continued. yesterday, the us military said that two anti—ship ballistic missiles were fired from houthi—controlled territory towards commercial shipping. luckily, no ships were damaged in that incident. now, why is this important? well, the red sea is one of the world's most important shipping routes — around 15% of all global trade passes through the area — and several major shipping firms have already announced that they will be redirecting their ships via other routes. this, of course, takes longer, costs more, and indeed, several international trade bodies have said that consumers should even expect price rises at the cash registers as a result of these actions by the houthi rebels. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. voice-over: bbc news, - bringing you different stories

from across the uk. tacking up to take down criminals. it might not be theirjob, butjess and claire have volunteered to even up the fight when it comes to crime in the countryside. i love tilton, where i keep my horse, and i want to give a little bit back to the community. i'm out on my horse almost - every day, and the role came up and i thought, "yeah, let's go for it. - "why not? " the aim? to crack down on incidents like this, which last year nfu mutual says cost the midlands economy more than £11 million. you've had a tip off already? yes, we were contacted by a volunteer. - she had been out riding - and come across some silver tents in a hedgerow ditch line. she's hopped off to have a look and it was the remains - of a cannabis grove. there was also a large box with cannabis in it. - the 20 riders are vetted and recruited and will work alongside rural policing teams to be their eyes and ears along quiet country lanes. voice-over: for more - stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website.

you're live with bbc news. a long list of people associated with jeffrey a long list of people associated withjeffrey epstein has been made public. the documents are expected to include nearly 200 names including some of epstein �*s accusers, prominent business people, politicians and more. the disclosures could be a new light on the sex trafficking network directed by epstein who died in 2019. peter bowes is in los angeles. what else do we know? these documents. — what else do we know? these documents, some _ what else do we know? these documents, some previously. documents, some previously unseen. what we are doing right now is trying to scrutinise essentially what is new, what

we had been told that was not already in the public domain. it is no surprise the names of some very high profile individuals that have long been known to be associated with jeffrey epstein, people like former presidents donald trump and bill clinton, yes there are names appearing these documents. since prince andrew as well. high profile individuals that were known to historically have been associated with jeffrey epstein. prince andrew has faced allegations which he has strongly denied. one thing that should be stressed is anyone named in this document, it does not necessarily mean they are guilty of anything. it may well be they are a witness to an alleged incident of wrongdoing. they could be an accuser. they could be one of the alleged victims. i will tell you victims. iwill tell you behind the scenes what is happening right now, and newsrooms around

the world, newspapers, television, organisations are scrutinising these names to determine what is new, what has not previously been made available to the public and how can we responsibly report the names of these people because these documents are highly sensitive. and highly anticipated over the last few weeks since a judge in new york announced they would be made public. they originally stem from a civil case that was settled out of court. and the judge saying the names no longer need to be kept under wraps. that is why they are in the public domain now. some of the, many of those individuals will be highly sensitive about the fact are in these documents. that is why we and no doubt other organisations have been careful about how we report them. the have been careful about how we report them-— report them. the context which of these names _ report them. the context which of these names appear - report them. the context which of these names appear will - report them. the context which of these names appear will be l of these names appear will be incredibly important to those involved in this. what happens

next now that these documents are in the public domain? there are two aspects that will be quite interesting. as you say, they could well shed further light on the sex trafficking network that was orchestrated byjeffrey epstein. remember, he took his life in 2019 while waiting to go on trial, facing these sex trafficking allegations and for many that would have been an opportunity, that trial, to learn more about his activities and certainly for many victims that opportunity was denied so i think some people looking to these documents to see if they do not unveil anything new. there will be people who have been named in these documents who will be relieved that their names are in these documents and that they show they did nothing wrong and it will be interesting to see the response of those people, whether they

want to acknowledge or indeed talk publicly about their past association with jeffrey epstein. association with jeffrey epstein-— association with jeffrey estein. ., ., ~ , epstein. thank you for keeping us u- to epstein. thank you for keeping us up to speed- _ epstein. thank you for keeping us up to speed. rescue - epstein. thank you for keeping us up to speed. rescue efforts| us up to speed. rescue efforts in japan us up to speed. rescue efforts injapan are continuing after at least 73 people were killed in an earthquake. rides collapse, buildings caught fire. the 7—.6 magnitude quake hit the province of noto in centraljapan. wajima is burnt and broken. it's taken us two days to reach this city, closest to the epicentre. these are the remnants of the town's market, which was filled with small wooden stalls. but when the earthquake hit, a fire broke out and spread instantly, wiping out this entire site, and firefighters are still having to comb through this smoldering rubble to check that the flames

are fully extinguished. the town is devoid of people. the sound of alarms, crushed and activated in the quake, adds to the eeriness. it's not known if people are trapped inside these splintered homes. rescue teams have struggled to get here. 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. this resident has come to tell the rescuers she thinks her husband's aunt is inside. translation: she's 95 and can't move much. l we've looked in all the evacuation centres, but can't find her.

but the dog can't get far enough in. the team must move on. time is too critical. here, some certainty — there is a woman inside, but alive? they don't know. the window to find people is closing. jean mackenzie, bbc news, and wajima injapan. authorities say the coastguard aircraft involved in a fatal collision was not cleared for takeoff. it collided with a passengerjet on takeoff. it collided with a passenger jet on tuesday. takeoff. it collided with a passengerjet on tuesday. air traffic control transcripts showed the japan airlines flight was cleared to land. all 379 passengers and crew on board the passengerjet were safely evacuated, but five coastguard crew members were killed in the fiery crash.

to the uk and 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 19118. facing up to the first day of strike action, ben, the lead consultant in the emergency department. morning, everyone. good morning. how was your night? we were handed 15... 15 patients waiting. that's a lot more than we normally have. junior doctors who've been on overnight hand over to the consultants who'll take over. and aphra is supporting the strike action. i'm only two years into being a doctor, so knowing the longevity of the career and seeing how many of my friends have already left go to australia, i think on balance, it's an issue about retention rather than pay. and the hospital, along with others in north london, is coming under pressure. we're seeing high numbers

of attendances in emergency departments, in nearby hospitals. we're having lots of ambulances coming both to uclh and also to the other hospitals. ok, so we could do with a few more discharges, guys. it's 9.30am and a key planning meeting has to work out how to free up more beds for new patients. not the best position to be in, particularly with the junior doctor industrial action going on. so we all know what we need to do. we'll try and get you home today. we'll try and get everything sorted. and louisa, who's a matron, is hoping danny can be discharged after an operation. but hopefully, third time lucky. because of the doctors' strikes, her ward has to take in some emergency patients as well as those recovering after surgery. it has been frustrating. i think it's — we want the best for our patients. so it's feeling for the patients and also for the nurses, because the nurses want to give that expert care. and when you're looking after patients

that aren't your speciality, you're not necessarily doing that. and i think that's always something that they struggle with. hi, i'm calling you because we need to reschedule your appointment due to strikes. here's a part of a hospital you rarely see — staff who have to call patients with bad news about cancellations on strike days and try to rebook them. they are in pain. so i understand that they can be aggressive, although i'm trying to calm them down and i'm trying to find a new date. i'm trying to make things right. that's what we aim for. every bed you see here has a patient in it. it's the middle of the day, and the emergency department's filling up. ben's a consultant helping cover the strike. he'll be working nearly 70 hours over the six days. it's so tiring to do this 24/7 cover. we can't do it for much longer than the six days we're going to attempt to do. but how does six days feel? i enjoy my work, but it's going to be busy and it's going to be hard.

and after the sixth day, i'm going to be pretty exhausted. the message today is that the hospital's extremely busy but safe, though they are nervous about the next five days. 2024 was rung in without any announcement of a host for the 2026 commonwealth games. the australian state of victoria pulled out lastjuly, saying that hosting would be too expensive, and the organisers have so far failed to find a replacement. so will these games happen? and what do these troubles mean for their long—term future? hunter fujak, from melbourne, is a lecturer in sports management at australia's deakin university. tell me who the organisers might be considering. well, we know with reasonable certainty that australia is off the list now, as are the uk, and that really narrows down the prospectives candidates to places like new zealand, or potentially further left field, a place like india, south africa, or some of those more developing nations.

and with just a two—year lead time for any prospective host, is 2026 still realistic? not particularly. the commonwealth games federation wants to announce a winner by february — and realistically, 2027 is very much on the table, simply because of the incredible infrastructure requirements around getting venues ready and around the chosen sports. so �*26 is looking very unlikely, and if it will proceed, it'll most likely be in �*27. you mentioned the infrastructure needed — are these huge sporting events just getting too expensive and unsustainable for cities now? we've seen both the olympic movement and the commonwealth games introduce measures to try to become more flexible and adaptive to try to lower the cost burden on these mega events. in the case of the commonwealth games, there's only actually two sports which must feature on the program, which is athletics and swimming — and everything else is entirely flexible, up to the prospective host bidder. so, there is an attempt to make

these games more feasible simply by being more flexible to the requirements of that host nation. but undoubtedly, the longer—term trend is that these are getting more expensive, which is narrowing down the prospective host bidders. and when it comes to the commonwealth games in particular, since the death of queen elizabeth, republicanism in commonwealth countries has been rising. are the commonwealth games still relevant? it's a really difficult challenge for the commonwealth games movement. of course it's reinvented itself in the past, from originally being the empire games, for instance — and undoubtedly if it is to survive, it will need to reinvent itself once more. what we do know is the commonwealth games, whilst colonialism might be a vex challenge in other —— many countries, the games are very valuable to these other small countries that can't necessarily compete at the olympic level. so there is still intrinsic value in the games, but it's certainly in need of a rebrand.

stay with bbc news. hello there. we're only a few days into the new month, but already, some spots in eastern england have seen more than half their averagejanuary rainfall. and there's potentially more wet weather to come, too, in the forecast before things tend to settle down into the weekend, and it will turn drier. but plenty of flood alerts, flood warnings still in place. keep up to date with those on the bbc weather website, and of course, on your local bbc radio station, too. now, this is the pressure chart for thursday — low pressure still centred out towards the north—west of scotland. still a brisk southeasterly wind with more rain for the northern isles, and some more rain heading towards the south of england, too. more on that in just a moment. temperatures to start off thursday morning above freezing — 4—7 celsius north to south. there'll be more showers across the far north of scotland into the northern isles, also for western scotland, with a few showers heading across northern ireland into north—west england. more sunshine further south, but it's this area of rain

that is of most concern. it will be falling on pretty saturated ground, and that band of rain will be pushing further northwards as we head through the afternoon. this is how we'll end the afternoon, between around 7—10 celsius. that rain set to push further northward. still some debate as to how far north it will eventually get, but it's likely to bring us some strong, gusty winds towards the south coast as it curls off towards east anglia — of course, all unhelpfully timed with the evening rush hour — so do expect more problems, particularly where we've seen the recent flooding. but friday is happily a much quieter day of weather, that low pressure starts to move away. we've still got a legacy of cloud and some rain towards eastern coastal areas, as we head through friday morning. there'll still be some showers, too, across parts of aberdeenshire, heading towards the northern isles, and a good scattering of showers out towards those western coasts, but plenty of sunshine around. the winds will be lighter, and the temperatures will be a little lower, too, 6—9 celsius. and then, as we head through the weekend,

the high pressure starts to build in. it will become quite firmly established across the uk, and should stick around into next week, but of course, as the jet stream dips southwards, we're also going be drawing in much colder—feeling air, so there will be a drop in temperature. so feeling colder, turning dry, though, with some frost and fog through the mornings. bye—bye for now.

are in the public domain? inflation fears mount as attacks and continue. wall street presents for the federal reserve �*s first 2024 meeting later this month. plus, what if it took you three hours to get to work every day? a special report on how people deal with long commutes. hello and welcome to asia business report. we begin the programme at this hour with news about the us federal reserve. because investors hoping for a quick interest rate cut from america's central bank may be disappointed. discussions about a timetable following rates were absent from minutes in their last meeting but it did show that officials believing further hikes are off the table as inflation calls. from europe, our north america business