,call -- ell: ell! held one of its call -- held one of its commanders. cross—border raids have raised fears of a broader conflict. and united airlines finds loose bolts during inspections of its boeing 737 max jets. it comes after a section of an alaska airlines flight fell from the sky. a state of emergency in ecuador and a nationwide manhunt after and a nationwide manhunt after a convert gang leader vanishes from his prison cell. hello. i'm sumi somaskanda. thank you forjoining us. america's top diplomat antony blinken arrived in israel on monday night in an attempt to prevent the war between israel and hamas from escalating into a regional conflict. his visit comes as a leading military commander for the iran—backed hezbollah group was killed by an israeli drone attack in southern lebanon. our correspondent wyre davies has been to the israeli kibbutz of kfar giladi near the lebanon border. the frontier communities of northern israel are like ghost

towns. more than 80,000 people have been evacuated because of the border war between israel and hezbollah. people have been killed, houses and property damage. this businessman and civil defence member has stayed to help his community. the scenery is beguiling but this border has always been volatile. this is one of the most beautiful parts of israel but thousands of people and businesses have been forced to leave here because of shelling coming leave here because of shelling comin- from leave here because of shelling coming from hezbollah leave here because of shelling coming from hezbollah positions across the border. this coming from hezbollah positions across the border.— across the border. this is not 'ust the across the border. this is not just the short-term - across the border. this is not just the short-term prospect| across the border. this is not l just the short-term prospect of just the short—term prospect of a wider pool are worried about and why they will not return it is what will happen in the long—term. is what will happen in the long-term— is what will happen in the long-term. is what will happen in the lona-term. ~ , , ., long-term. absolutely it is not only meet _ long-term. absolutely it is not only meet 85% _ long-term. absolutely it is not only meet 85% of— long-term. absolutely it is not only meet 85% of the - long-term. absolutely it is not i only meet 8596 of the population only meet 85% of the population in israel this is what they are demanding. from our government, take care of hezbollah. to

demolish the threat here in the southern lebanon. last month we filmed just across the border in lebanon in those frontier villages. they are being hit daily by israel because it says hezbollah is hiding in communities to launch rockets and sophisticated weapons. thousands of people have left these areas too, and many have been killed. there's loss on both sides of the border. and two high—profile assassinations have significantly raised the stakes in this border conflict. an air strike in beirut killing hamas's number two last tuesday and now a senior hezbollah commander, wissam al—tawil, targeted, it is also believed, by israel. i am not allowed to go inside. none of this is good news for those trying to make a living near the front line. this man can't bring

in his valuable avocado crop. he thinks wider war can be averted. i am not afraid. most of the people are not afraid but they are looking for solution — army and diplomatic together. you can't make just the army go inside to make a war and finish it, no. diplomacy was given little chance today as israel carried out some of the heaviest bombing so far along its northern border, and with a devastating war in gaza and these developments in the north, the challenge for the us secretary of state antony blinken, arriving in israel tonight, seems almost impossible. wyre davies, bbc news, northern israel. the death of wissam al—tawil is the latest escalation linked to the war in gaza. israel's military did not comment on his death but said it had hit hezbollah targets in response to cross—border attacks. tensions spiked after hamas' deputy political leader saleh al—arouri was killed in a drone strike in beirut on tuesday. israel has not confirmed nor denied its responsibility in that attack.

a day later... massad vowed to hunt down every member of the massacre including where they are. including in gaza where human rights group said the humanitarian situation is worsening with millions display. i spoke with stephen rapp, former us ambassador—at—large for war crimes issues for global criminaljustice. we are seeing strikes that are killing hamas and hezbollah leaders and we are hearing from the israelis that their campaign is shifting somewhat towards targeted assassinations. what do you make of this? there are questions of law and there are questions of whether this is wise in terms of maintaining a limitation on the gaza operation. but in terms of law, the question as always, is it a legitimate

military target? and certainly a commander of a military force that is actually involved in that attack against israel, or any other party, can be appropriately attacked and targeted artility and they can be done under the laws of war, certainly within the battlefield area, the bigger question is whether it can be done in a third country. if i could jump in there and ask you... that is indeed the question... what if those attacks are carried out in a third country? under international law, it is possible to take action against an imminent threat. that presents itself from the territory of a third country, provided that country is unwilling or unable to do anything to suppress that threat. and in such an operation it is stated it has to be extremely limited and

proportionate to the threat that that individual or commander presents. obviously this is controversial countries don't want attacks on their own soil. it most happens when that country does not control its own territory or where the armed group is essentially supported by political leadership of the country or that political leadership is too weak to counted that for. to counter that force. israel is continuing to bomb gaza. the us president calls this an indiscriminate bombing campaign. we have seen the un and other international organisations accusing israel of collective punishment of civilians in gaza. is this campaign — does it constitute a war crime? whether particular actions constitute war crimes is a legal question and it depends upon the target and it does not depend unnecessarily what the outcome of the attack

was. there is in conflict always situations in which innocent civilians are killed unintentionally, and particularly that happens when the conflict is fought in built up urban areas. law requires however that the attacking force distinguish between military and civilian targets, that it only goes after the military target or if there is a possibility of civilian loss it is maximises the maximum precautions to prevent it and any sort of civilian loss of life that can't be prevented through precaution — i just want to be clear that sometimes seeing it is impossible to give a satisfactory answer when one would like to know yes or no. when there is loss of life it is tragic, it inflames a population.

it alienates them for ever, has diplomatic repercussions around the world and certainly the kind of guidance the us administration is giving is solid on the law to make sure that every attack, everything that occurs is consistent with the law, but also to look at the political and human repercussions, which go outside the law but can affect the possibility of ever having a lasting peace in this region. we will have to leave it there. thank you so much for joining us on bbc news. us defense secretary lloyd austin was still in the hospital monday, a week after he was admitted to intensive care for an undisclosed illness. the pentagon says he has returned to full duties. however, the secrecy of austin's hospital stay has raised concerns about transparency problems from the nation's top security establishment. here's what we know so far.

on december 22, austin had an elective medical procedure while on leave, returning home the next day. the secretary was admitted to the intensive care unit at walter reed medical center on new year's day after experiencing �*severe pain�*. on january 2, austin transferred his authority to deputy defence secretary kathleen hicks, but it would not be until three days after his hospitalisation that the defence department officially notified hicks and the white house national security council of austin's hospitalisation. four days after austin's visit, the pentagon notified congress and the public. 0njanuary 6, austin released a statement taking full responsibility for the delay, saying he "could have done a betterjob" of informing the public. president biden is not considering firing the defense secretary according to reporting by the bbc�*s us partner, cbs. nebraska congressman don bacon told the bbc why he believes the top us defence official failing to communicate a serious hospital stay poses a national security risk. it was a failed judgement by the secretary of defense

ata minimum. to be out of action for three days where the white house did not know he was unavailable for any kind of emergency, control and communications, and that his own deputy did not know he was really unavailable. she was on vacation in puerto rico. it is a terrible mistake in judgement and i want to just relay the importance of this — i used to work with nuclear weapons and russian and china have weapons today that can strike our country, indeed all of our allies, within 15 minutes. we have to have a very confident nuclear command and control capability and have to know where that chain of command is that at an all—times. and for the president to not know who is the number two person in the chain of command for the military, with the president being number

one, that is a disaster. alaska airlines technicians have discovered loose bolts on the door plugs of several of its grounded 737 max 9 jets during inspections ordered by the federal aviation administration. airlines began inspecting over 100 boeing 737 max 9 jets on monday after an explosive depressurisation accident occurred over the weekend with the door plug blowing out just minutes after take—off. investigators have also revealed that alaska airlines had placed restrictions on the boeing plane in the days before the accident, preventing it from making long—haul flights over water. and after days of searching, investigators said they have now found the missing section of the plane. i am excited to announce that we have found the door plug. thank you, bob. bob — i will not give you bob's last name — but he contacted us with two

photos of the door plug and said he found it in his backyard. we're going to go and pick that up and make sure we begin analysing it. a number of personal items have also been found from the flight, including a working apple iphone. despite falling more than 16,000 feet, the phone was discovered in a bush, perfectly intact, not even a cracked screen. it was left open on a baggage receipt for that alaska airlines flight. 21 people have been injured in a major gas explosion at the sandman hotel in fort worth, texas. as you can see, the explosion caused extensive damage to the hotel. authorities said one person was in critical condition and two are in serious condition. the fire department said witnesses reported smelling gas explosion.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at a major story out of the uk. idris elba is calling on the british government to immediately ban the sale of certain knives and machetes. the actor says such actions could help prevent further deaths among young people. elba has teamed up with victims' families to launch a campaign to address the increase in serious knife crime. it is a nationwide issue and the government needs to just look at it as an issue that is not proportionally black, is not london. the highest crime rates are in the midlands right now. we really need to think about this outside the colour of our skin. i'm not here is a celebrity, i'm here as a human being, as a parent. as part of the don't stop your future campaign, piles of neatly folded clothes were laid across london's parliament square to represent those who've died from knife crime. police figures for england and wales show that around 21r7 people lost their lives due to knife crime in the year ending lastjune. the number of people treated for stabbing injuries from black, asian and "other ethnicities" was far higher than for white patients.

you're live with bbc news. thousands of farmers across germany blocked roads in a protest against fuel subsidies, they say the loss of the payments will make them non—competitive, the government says it is necessary to fix a budget crisis after spending plans were ruled under constitutional. the dispute is threatening to bring down the government. with surging support for the far right government. this isn't your average monday on the germany autobahns, some farmers are taking the fight and tractors to the heart of birdland. like james who grows crops in the northeast of germany. politics for the last — northeast of germany. politics for the last ten _ northeast of germany. politics for the last ten - _ northeast of germany. politics for the last ten - 15 _ northeast of germany. politics for the last ten - 15 years - northeast of germany. politics for the last ten - 15 years hasl for the last ten — 15 years has had only a negative approach to

farming, full of rules and regulations, that's a problem. there is no other industry in germany that is limited by red tape. germany that is limited by red ta e. , germany that is limited by red tae. , ,, tape. these protests were s - arked tape. these protests were sparked by _ tape. these protests were sparked by plans - tape. these protests were sparked by plans to - tape. these protests were sparked by plans to phase j tape. these protests were - sparked by plans to phase out certain diesel fuel subsidies as the three party traffic light coalition government grapples with a budget crisis, but there is a wider wave of political discontent that the far right is trying to catch. the alternative for deutschland party reaching record highs in the polls. do you mind your cause is being harnessed by the far right? we cause is being harnessed by the far riuht? ~ ., ~ cause is being harnessed by the far rirht? . ., ~' ., . ., far right? we make agricultural olicies far right? we make agricultural policies and — far right? we make agricultural policies and political _ far right? we make agricultural policies and political demands. | policies and political demands. whoever supports these demands is beyond our control. farm trucks and _ is beyond our control. farm trucks and tractors - is beyond our control. farm trucks and tractors parked l is beyond our control. farm | trucks and tractors parked up next to the berlin brandenburg gate, it is an incongruous but striking image and one that plays into the sense that

germany's coalition government is beleaguered, even under siege and playing right into its political enemies hands. there are fears of a drift into a darker, more radicalised politics, last week a boat carrying the vice chancellor was nearly stormed by an angry crowd. the man in charge says criticism as part of democracy but. in criticism as part of democracy but. ., w but. in view of the fact the government _ but. in view of the fact the government has _ but. in view of the fact the government has made - but. in view of the fact the - government has made concessions to farmers, it is important to keep things in proportion and to strike the right balance. this should be a concern for all democrats. there will be more rolling travel disruption this week — train drivers are due to go on strike. 2024 brings gloomy economic forecasts for germany, but the sound of political discord has already arrived. jessica parker, bbc news, in berlin. brazil is celebrating democracy in his capital, one year after

the january eight riots that shook the nation. thousands of right—wing protesters stormed the congress, attacking the presidential palace and the supreme court. they demand the military overthrow the president days after he took office. more than 2000 people were arrested. then the president is now under investigation for allegedly masterminding the riots, something he denies. at ceremonies, the president of the country must never forget henry viii, 2023. —— january 8, 2023. translation: if the coup . attempt had been successful, much more than glass, furniture, works of art and historical objects would have been stolen and destroyed. the sovereign will of the brazilian people that was expressed at the ballot box would have been stolen and democracy would have been destroyed. 0ur south america correspondent ione wells is at a pro—democracy rally in sao paulo with more.

there was a loud and passionate protest taking place today in the centre of sao paulo to mark the one—year anniversary since supporters of the former right—wing president bolsonaro stormed these government buildings in brasilia, including the congress, the presidential palace and the supreme court. this rally, though, tonight is in support of democracy with many people here strongly condemning those rioters from last year and the former president bolsonaro as well, saying that they should never be forgiven. also in latin america... ecuador�*s president has declared a country—wide state of emergency after the boss of the powerful los chinelos group escaped from a maximum security prison. daniel noboa announced the 60—day order on monday, a day after adolfo macias villamar, also known as �*fito', vanished. more than 3,000 soldiers and

police are now looking for him. we go to our latin america regional editor. very good to see you. tell us more about this man. who is he?- see you. tell us more about this man. who is he? state of emergency — this man. who is he? state of emergency has _ this man. who is he? state of emergency has been - this man. who is he? state of emergency has been declared j emergency has been declared after he escaped prison on sunday from a maximum security cell on the coastal city. he is the leader of an extremely powerful criminal organisation. he was sentenced to 3a years in prison back in 2011 for various crimes including murder and drug extortion. authorities have linked them to lots of different crime, again, extortion, murder, drug trafficking. they also accuses organisation of controlling the main gangs in the country. home

main gangs in the country. how did he manage _ main gangs in the country. how did he manage to _ main gangs in the country. how did he manage to escape? details are still emerging. we are not 100% sure yet, but because this huge powerful gang is thought to control many of the prisons across ecuador, many people think that would have had a part to play. we have had a part to play. we have seen videos on social media circulating of a uniformed guards in prisons being surrounded by inmates wooded with knives and machetes. there is a lot of violence at play here. we're not sure exactly the details but i think this manhunt is under way for him. he is considered the most dangerous and they most wanted criminal in ecuador. a huge effort has gone into trying to find him. but alongside this serious security crisis, this escape of fito has been seen as an embarrassment for the president as he took office in november, promising to tackle organised

crime, and this surging rise of gang—related violence in recent years, ecuador has in plagued ljy years, ecuador has in plagued by violent feuds between inmates of rival gangs, which is often resulted in really bloodied massacres of inmates. official figures say that more than 400 inmates have been victims, have died in such massacres, in such clashes between rival gangs in prison since 2001. a huge surge of violence which is reasonably new —— which the reasonably new president is trying to grapple with. fir, president is trying to grapple with. �* , ., ., _ with. a state of emergency, tell us what _ with. a state of emergency, tell us what is _ with. a state of emergency, tell us what is happening i with. a state of emergency, tell us what is happening in| tell us what is happening in ecuador right now as i try to find this escape fell in. —— escaped fellon. he find this escape fell in. -- escaped fellon. he basically means that _ escaped fellon. he basically means that search _ escaped fellon. he basically means that search and - escaped fellon. he basically. means that search and rescue search operations, this manhunt can go ahead across ecuador without needing a warrant, so really giving all the help

needed to try and find this individual. this state of emergency could last up to 60 days and it also includes overnight curfew. people are being told to stay inside during certain hours. they are taking it extremely seriously. it is not the first time ecuador has seen date of emergencies, especially nationwide, and there has been a surge in violence. both inside and outside of the prison, of its prisons has been linked to fighting between different cartels, drug cartels, both local and foreign, overthe cartels, both local and foreign, over the control of cocaine routes to the us and uk. and europe.— cocaine routes to the us and uk. and europe. thank you so much for _ uk. and europe. thank you so much for that _ uk. and europe. thank you so much for that update. - uk. and europe. thank you so much for that update. now- uk. and europe. thank you so much for that update. now to | much for that update. now to some other news from around the world. french prime minster elisabeth borne resigned on monday amid expectations that president emmanuel macron may soon reshuffle his top team. borne will stay on in a caretaker role until a successor is named. political commentators say macron is under pressure to overhaul his government

before european elections injune, especially after recent legislative setbacks and widespread public protests over pensions reform. german football legend franz beckenbauer, widely regarded as the best defender of all time, has died at the age of 78. he won the world cup as captain of west germany in 1974 and he lifted the trophy again as manager in 1990. as a player, he won the ballon d'or for being the world's best player, twice. apple has started making payments in a class—action accusing of slowing down certain iphones in the us. complainant will receive a cut of a $500 million settlement which works out to around $92 per claim. apple agreed to settle the lawsuit in 2020, saying it denied any wrongdoing but was concerned with the cost of continuing litigation. a nazi who killed 77 people in norway's worst peacetime atrocity is suing the country

to end his prison isolation. he appeared in court on monday at the prison where he is serving his 21 year sentence. norway's justice ministry that he must separated from other prisoners over security concerns. in 2011 he killed eight people with a car bomb in oslo before shooting dead 69 people at a summer youth camp. finally, a private company's mission to the moon may have fallen short. us—based company astrobotic says a propulsion system of its robot lander is faulty. the peregrine mission one took off earlier on monday from cape canaveral, florida. its aim was to become the first american mission in half a century to make a controlled landing on the moon. but very shortly after take—off, engineers noticed that the spacecraft was struggling to maintain a stable lock on the sun, and that means the solar was not receiving a constant supply of sunshine to be able to recharge the on—boa rd battery.

mission astrobotic engineers has been working on alternative plans for the lander to make the very most of the mission. thank you for watching. we will have on our top headline, antony blinken heading to the middle east to try to convince israel to reduce civilian deaths in gaza. we have more on that top story you at the top of the next hour. i'm sumi somaskanda. you can get the very latest on our website or on our app. thank you so much and stay with us. hello. the week has got off to a cold start. some of us even got to see some snow on monday. tuesday will be another cold day, but it should be largely dry with a bit more in the way of sunshine. high pressure is in charge of the scene right now, centred across the north of the uk, where you can see

the isobars squeezing together further south. well, that shows quite a strong wind. and where you're exposed to that wind, it is going to feel very cold indeed through the day ahead. a widespread frost and some icy stretches through tuesday morning. fog could also be an issue in the northern half of the uk, especially in the north of scotland, where some of that fog could linger for a good part of the day. this area of cloud across the southwest of england producing some wintry showers, more cloud rolling in across the eastern side of scotland and northeast england through the afternoon. again, that could bring some wintry showers. most places, though, dry with some spells of sunshine. temperatures on the thermometer — 3, 4 or 5 degrees. but when we factor in the strength of the wind, particularly across southern areas, these are the feels—like temperatures, including that wind chill, it will feel subzero for many. now, as we head through tuesday night, clear skies for the most part, although more cloud rolling in

across scotland and northern england. that may hold the temperatures up to some degree, but for the majority, it is going to be a cold night. temperatures dropping below freezing in many locations. so quite a widespread frost to take us into wednesday. again, there will be some spells of sunshine, but we will see more cloud filtering its way in from the northeast, affecting scotland, northern england, perhaps getting into the midlands, wales, maybe even northern ireland through the day. best of the sunshine down towards the south. still feeling quite cold, but notice those temperatures not quite as low further north. we will have some slightly less cold air feeding in around our area of high pressure, the high, slightly changing shape, so that's what will be bringing some slightly less cold air, but also more in the way of cloud. so thursday and friday, generally quite cloudy but not quite as cold. temperatures getting up to around 7 or 8 degrees, around the seasonal average. however, as we go through the weekend, it looks like this cold front will slip its way southwards and that will reintroduce some cold air from the north. as that cold air floods its way

southwards, well, it will bring the chance of snow showers as we head through next week. bye for now.

new questions emerge about the safety of boeing 737 max planes as a airlines conduct inspections following a mid—flight incident. plus, ces, the world's biggest knowledge the fair is just getting under way. we are on the ground in vegas to tell you all about the latest trends. welcome to asia business report with me, mariko oi. we begin this morning with boeing because its shares have fallen by more than 8% on wall street. as it continues to reckon with the fallout from a midflight incident. involving a 737 max two operated by alaska airlines. there are renewed questions about the safety of the plane and there's in order to grant dozens of aircrafts that remain in effect. the plane maker has now put out a statement promising to help airlines address any findings that result from the inspections. erin delmore has more from new york. after a panel blew off a boeing 737 max 9s jet operated by alaska airlines midflight on friday, the faa grounded more

than 170 other max 9s.