full if you are justjoining us this hour, let me bring up to speed, fast—moving events in downing street, that cabinet—making hasjust wrapped up as the uk and united states are prepared to launch military strikes against the who the rebels in yemen. just hours after us and uk shut down missiles and drones by that iran backed group. along with a meeting of the national security council and chris mason our political editor has been telling us in the last few minutes that rishi sunak has spoken to the leader of the opposition and has informed the speaker in the house of commons which does tend to suggest that things are imminent. we are watching events of the pentagon as well, not

much reaction thus far in the united states but of course we will bring that as and when we get it. let's pause for a moment and get a check on the sport. after 2a seasons and six super bowl titles, bill belichick is leaving the new england patriots. it ends an era of historic success at the nfl franchise, with its owner calling belichick the best coach of all time. despite his achievements in new england, the patriots lost 13 of their 17 regular season games in 2023, finishing bottom of their division and handing belichick his worst ever win?loss record for a season. all nine super bowl appearances came alongside tom brady, but once the quarterback left, the patriots only reached the playoffs one more time. belichick is 71, but he's only 1a wins behind the legendary dawn shula wins behind the legendary don shula in all time nfl victories and is likely to continue his career elsewhere. after a series of discussions with meet robert and i have agreed

i have agreed mutually to part ways. for me this is a day of gratitude and celebration. we had a vision of building a winning championship football team here for that that's exceeded my wildest dreams. and expectations so i'm very proud of that. always had those great memories that i will carry with us, and the rest of my life. of my life. ireland head coach andy farrell will lead the british and irish lions when they tour australia in 2025. farrell is named as head coach of the lions for the first time having served as assistant to warren gatland when they triumphed in australia in 2013 and again in new zealand four years later. farrell has just signed a new contract to be in charge of ireland until the next world cup in 2027, butwill miss next year's six nations to concentrate on his work with the lions. to be thought of as a candidate for the head coach is pretty special to be chosen. it's pretty magical. in 2013 i wasn't

enjoying it that much. itjust lit something within me that said to me i need to make sure that that i need to make sure that i get back on this in four years�* time again. so to miss out on the covid in south africa was hard. but at the same time now to be able to get to this point is extra special. former england manager sven goran—eriksson has revealed he has, at best, a year to live after being diagnosed with cancer. eriksson was the first foreign coach to manage england, reaching three major champoinship quarterfinals in a row. after spells in english and italian club football, he was most recently working at klaastad in his native sweden before stepping down 11 months ago. eriksson says he will "fight for as long as possible". i have cancer where you can't operate. and you have to try to slow it down as much as possible. that is what i'm doing. when you get a message like that i think you appreciate every day

and you are happy when you wake up in the morning and you're feeling okay. so that's what i'm doing. azeem rafiq says colin graves�* expected return as chairman of yorkshire county cricket club �*empowers�* racists. rafiq is the former player who revealed experiences of racism at the club, some of which happened during graves�* first spell as chairman. the yorkshire board have approved a controversial takeover from a consortium headed up by graves, with the club's members now voting to decide whether to accept the deal. having previously denied knowledge of the systemic use of discriminatory or racist language, for which the club was fined, graves has now apologised personally and unreservedly to anyone who experienced any form of racism at yorkshire. but his potential return has stunned rafiq. struggling, really, to be honest. struggling, really, to be honest. struggling to understand everybody to be honest. it's a mix of

emotions, you know, a lot of anger. my emotions, you know, a lot of anger. my first, it's something i took a lot of pride on. and that's all the sport for now. mr trump is in court today for the for closing arguments — he's not obliged to be there he could be campaigning in iowa. but he has barred from speaking during the closing argument, which he had intended to do, because he failed to agree to limits on what he could say. donald trump and two of his sons are accused of wildly inflating the value of their properties to secure better loans. speaking outside, court, this afternoon president trump said speaking outside court, this afternoon president trump said a ruling against him would drive other companies from new york. she is a political hack, the attorney general. she's obviously friendly with the

group, and we'll see what happens. i think he may surprise people on a positive side, we'll have to see what happens exactly. but we've proven this case so conclusively that we've asked for directed verdict many times. they don't have any facts, they don't have any evidence against us. millions and millions of pages, years of litigation, and all politically motivated. your campaign donor, if you've seen any, if you've she's got serious drug derangement syndrome, there's no question she's got serious trump derangement syndrome, there's no question about leticia james, the corrupt attorney general of new york. live now to new york, and our correspondent nada tawfik. he did actually speak this afternoon despite what thejudge he did actually speak this afternoon despite what the judge had said and it got very agitated at one point. well, yeah, look christian, donald trump has, you know, tested this

judge's patients before, and his lawyer had asked the judge to let donald trump speak, a last—minute appeal again. and as thejudge donald trump speak, a last—minute appeal again. and as the judge was asking him if he would abide by the restrictions, trumpjust restrictions, trump just steam—rolled restrictions, trump just stea m — rolled by restrictions, trumpjust steam—rolled by him and went on this rant. and as you say, it got quite heated as he sat there and insisted heated as he sat there and insisted he was innocent, insisted this would never have happened if he wasn't running for office, and thejudge never have happened if he wasn't running for office, and the judge at one point had to tell his lawyer to get his client under control. another interesting kind of exchange in that rant, christian, was when thejudge in that rant, christian, was when the judge asked in that rant, christian, was when thejudge asked him, you know, by thejudge asked him, you know, by the way you're speaking it's as if you've never been sued before. by saying that he had never been through anything like this in the past. so it was quite an acrimonious kind of final moment there in the defence closing statement. just a cuick defence closing statement. just a quick point. _ defence closing statement. just a quick point. we — defence closing statement. just a quick point, we should _ defence closing statement. just a quick point, we should make - defence closing statement. just a quick point, we should make it i defence closing statement. just a quick point, we should make it clear to viewers that a decision in the civil case has already been made, what is at stake is the level of the

fine, correct? what is at stake is the level of the fine. correct?— fine, correct? that's right. the 'udue is fine, correct? that's right. the judge is looking _ fine, correct? that's right. the judge is looking at _ fine, correct? that's right. the judge is looking at six - fine, correct? that's right. the judge is looking at six other. judge is looking at six other counts, looking at it intends in terms of conspiracy, falsifying business records. but but the real thrust of this case was already decided by this ruling that the trump organisation committed fraud. what we saw actually go up after ten weeks of testimony with the attorney general raising the stakes. originally she asked for $250 million in a fine, she now wants $370 million in fines. so we'll see what thejudge has $370 million in fines. so we'll see what the judge has to say about that. she's also trying to ban trump permanently from ever doing business in new york again. what's been really interesting question, and even today we saw it, is that even though donald trump faces some real threats to his business, he's been far more focused, i would say, on his political fortunes. far more focused, i would say, on his politicalfortunes. whether his political fortunes. whether that's his politicalfortunes. whether that's because he feels he already lost his case or not, he has been fundraising off these appearances and that's why we have seen him take

advantage of every appearance in front of cameras to hammer home and rally his base. front of cameras to hammer home and rally his base-— rally his base. thank you very much. in the rally his base. thank you very much. in the next — rally his base. thank you very much. in the next hour _ rally his base. thank you very much. in the next hour will _ rally his base. thank you very much. in the next hour will focus _ rally his base. thank you very much. in the next hour will focus on - in the next hour will focus on another court case in california where hunter will appear. one of rishi sunak�*s five key targets is hospital waiting times. today's figures for england showed a slight fall in the numbers that are waiting for appointments and operations — but its still above 7.6 million people. and new bbc research reveals that most key nhs targets have been missed across the uk for at least seven years the review of these missed across the uk for at least seven years. the review of these records focused on the three key hospital targets, covering a&e, cancer and waiting times for planned care. going back 20 years you will see that northern ireland and wales have never met the four—hour accident?and—emergency target. here's the opposition labour leader keir starmer. there are hundreds of thousands of children waiting for treatment, disproportionately more children than adults, and we have to address that.

we all know that survival rates for cancer depend on detecting it we all know that survival rates for cancer depend on detecting it early. there were some really improper or important progress being made in another direction and others that genome sequencing of tumours. scientists here have been able to demonstrate that some common cancers have a genetic profile, and in the future that could guide decisions about patient surgery and drug therapy. the research was led by the government—owned genomics england, in collaboration with the nhs and it involved nearly 14000 volunteers. nearly 111,000 volunteers. let's speak to sir mark caulfield, former chief scientist for genomics england and professor of clinical pharmacology at queen mary university london. thank you so much for being with us. what do we know about the role genes play in cancer? we what do we know about the role genes play in cancer?— play in cancer? we know that approximately _ play in cancer? we know that approximately one _ play in cancer? we know that approximately one in - play in cancer? we know that approximately one in two - play in cancer? we know that approximately one in two of. play in cancer? we know that. approximately one in two of us play in cancer? we know that - approximately one in two of us will be experiencing cancer during our lifetime, and that as the cancer

grows, it is a disease where you'd have disordered genomes. so your genetic makeup changes as the cancer evolves, and as a result of that, understanding the changes in the dna of your tumour understanding the changes in the dna of yourtumourare understanding the changes in the dna of your tumour are very very important. that can help us choose the therapy, the right therapy for the therapy, the right therapy for the right patient, it can also help us understand the potential outcomes for the patients and today what we've identified is essentially the basis for expanding the use of sequencing as much as you and i can today, over our genetic code, and what that means is that there will be more genome sequencing in the national health service and what that will achieve is better cancer care. ., y ., that will achieve is better cancer care. . i” that will achieve is better cancer care. ., ., care. can you look explain that oint to care. can you look explain that point to me? _ care. can you look explain that point to me? you _ care. can you look explain that point to me? you analyse - care. can you look explain that point to me? you analyse the l point to me? you analyse the mutations that might be driving to tumour growth, but how does that alter how you tailor the prognosis and the care that you give to that

patient? and the care that you give to that atient? ~ ., and the care that you give to that atient? ~ . ., , ., patient? well, what we were able to do in this study _ patient? well, what we were able to do in this study is _ patient? well, what we were able to do in this study is to _ patient? well, what we were able to do in this study is to combine - do in this study is to combine clinical data by following the patients over a long period of time, and that allowed us to see changes in their dna to make a difference in outcomes. in some of those cases, that identified particular treatments that those patients would benefit from, and we can choose those treatments in some settings based on the genetic makeup. otherwise, what we have tended to do in the past is give treatments for specific tumours that now we can do that guided by the low molecular signatures within the tumour and that, it will improve our conservations. , ., , , ., conservations. obviously, genome sequencing — conservations. obviously, genome sequencing is _ conservations. obviously, genome sequencing is becoming _ conservations. obviously, genome sequencing is becoming more - conservations. obviously, genome i sequencing is becoming more readily available, it's becoming cheaper, it's faster. should we all be doing this ahead of, ahead of later life when we are more prone to developing

cancers? indie when we are more prone to developing cancers? ~ ., when we are more prone to developing cancers? ~ . ., , , when we are more prone to developing cancers? . . , , , cancers? we are really lucky because in the nhs in — cancers? we are really lucky because in the nhs in england _ cancers? we are really lucky because in the nhs in england we _ cancers? we are really lucky because in the nhs in england we now - cancers? we are really lucky because in the nhs in england we now have i in the nhs in england we now have that national genomic medicine service, and that has a genomic test rate. so wherever you are in england you have equal access to genomic testing of your tumour, in some cases it doesn't make any difference, but in other cases it makes a difference to what we choose. and as a result, it's available today. what we showed in the nature medicine paper today is there are two particular cancers which have now been added to the national genomic test directory in which genomic sequencing really makes a difference and that is brain cancer and ovarian cancer where the genome ring is superior to all other tests. and that will be available to all in england, and scotland, wales, northern ireland will follow suit. you can read more on the bbc

website, lots more content there. thank you very much for coming on the programme. the immanent response we are expecting in the red sea in reaction to the houthi attacks. they discussed the rise in attacks on commercial vessels in the red sea and disruptive impact on global shipping but that is having. the prime ministers of the uk would continue to take action to defend freedom of navigation and protect lives at sea. as frank gardner was telling you at the top of the programme, of course there is no love lost for the houthi in the arab world, from an egyptian point of view they took big sums of money for ships going to the suez canal this is causing a severe economic problem

as well. we will continue to watch events here and also at the pentagon, and we'll bring you plenty more of that in the next hour. do stay with us, at the other side of the break, ai decoded. 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 cheltenham where i'll 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 this volunteering 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, yes. we were contacted by a volunteer. she had been out riding, had 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 grow, but it was also quite a large box with cannabis in it. the 20 riders vetted and recruited will work alongside rural policing teams to be their eyes and ears along quiet country lanes. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. - you're live with bbc news. you are watching the context. it's time for our weekly segment — ai decoded. yes, it is that time of the week when we step back to look at all the key stories related to artificial intelligence. so lets start tonight with the new york times — which reports on that dilemma facing microsoft. in 1998 the company opened an advanced research lab in beijing — which pioneers some of the work in artificial intelligence. but now, as tensions mount between china and the us — what does microsoft do with it? the ft reports that in denmark

scientists are using al to calculate when people might die. the algorithm has a 79% accuracy rate. which on the face of it sounds rather gruesome — but they are hoping that kind of information will lead to a longer life. the wall streetjournal says the us intelligence groups are using al to stay one step ahead of the hackers who are trying to infiltrate and attack american infrastructure. you may recall that two years again oil supplies were shut down you may recall that two years ago oil supplies were shut down between ny and texas by a ransomware attack on the colonial pipeline. every fingerprint is unique — at least that's what i learnt from watching csi. but apparently it might not be the case. engineers at columbia university — have discovered with the help of ai that our fingerprints may not be so unique after all. and finally — what impact will artificial intelligence have on comic books and animation? ai is already being used in the industry. but the verdict of one animator is that it won't win you an oscar. with me our regular experts —

stephanie hare — author and ai commentator. lovely to see you, happy new year. tensions between the united states and china mounted over the advances in al, that's been going on for some time. now the focus is falling on the slab that microsoft operates in beijing, what's been the response of the company? itinfoil beijing, what's been the response of the company?— the company? well it's interesting because microsoft _ the company? well it's interesting because microsoft maintains - the company? well it's interesting because microsoft maintains this | the company? well it's interesting| because microsoft maintains this is not a problem, it shouldn't have to shut down the lab and pull people out, but at the same time it does have a back—up system in place which would expect being an it company, they've got a lab in vancouver on they've got a lab in vancouver on the west coast of canada, where they could if they needed to transferred they are researchers. the big fear is having a labouratory —based inch beijing exposes their research to infiltration, manipulation, classic espionage, etc, even weaponisation. so, is that tenable? that's what the us government has been asking microsoft. , ., , , us government has been asking microsoft. , . , , ., us government has been asking microsoft. , , ., microsoft. this has been a pattern thou~h,

microsoft. this has been a pattern though. the _ microsoft. this has been a pattern though, the accusation _ microsoft. this has been a pattern though, the accusation that - microsoft. this has been a pattern though, the accusation that china | though, the accusation that china steals intellectual properties, it's a consistent problem. what do the intelligence agency say about it? and do microsoft lose people who have the expertise to other chinese companies?— companies? that's what's really funn as companies? that's what's really funny as they — companies? that's what's really funny as they were _ companies? that's what's really funny as they were worried - companies? that's what's really funny as they were worried that | companies? that's what's really - funny as they were worried that one of the risks was microsoft brings these wonderful researchers together, they work on great tech, and then they might even go work for and then they might even go work for a chinese company, that already has been happening, and it's notjust going to chinese companies they might go to any tech company anywhere in the world. that one doesn't really stand up as much this haemorrhaging of talent. i think the really big question is, what kind of technologies are they working on and are they potential risks to national security from a us perspective, or that of its allies? that is open for interpretation because were talking about things like facial recognition technology which china uses to persecute weaker muslims because they've got several million of them in concentration camps in the west of the grantor, so it's already a problem with china. just

of the grantor, so it's already a problem with china. just looking at this uuote problem with china. just looking at this quote from _ problem with china. just looking at this quote from brad _ problem with china. just looking at this quote from brad smith, - problem with china. just looking at this quote from brad smith, the i this quote from brad smith, the present microsoft. countries succeed ellipses that really tells you where the board board is looking and it seems that the clamp will really stay for a while. let's talk about the ai death calculator. can that ever be a good thing? i'm not sure i know what i want to croak. i ever be a good thing? i'm not sure i know what i want to croak.- know what i want to croak. i have bad news for _ know what i want to croak. i have bad news for you, someone's - know what i want to croak. i have - bad news for you, someone's already got you in their systems, they've just been using actuarial tables. they're just using data to give a more accurate prediction. so if you were to go take out alone right now you might need to ensure that loan so somebody is going to take your medical history age, all that... the medical history age, all that. .. the applications— medical history age, all that. .. the applications of _ medical history age, all that... the applications of this are awful. , they say you're going to die at 55, your premium goes up. xtet. they say you're going to die at 55, your premium goes up.— your premium goes up. yet, but that's already _ your premium goes up. yet, but that's already happening. - your premium goes up. yet, but that's already happening. so - your premium goes up. yet, but that's already happening. so if.

your premium goes up. yet, but i that's already happening. so if you had like a very high adrenaline sports lifestyle for instance or if you are a regular smoker or heavy drinker, those things are already factored into things like getting insurance, right? so all this does is give them, hopefully, greater accuracy. that's not to say we can predict the exact date of your death, it's more of a probability that you would make it to 77 or 95, and that's taking in family history and that's taking in family history and all sorts of stuff. but this particular death gpt tool was trained on danish data and that would be very different data that we would be very different data that we would have here.— would have here. whether ai can track ai would have here. whether ai can track al and _ would have here. whether ai can track ai and deal _ would have here. whether ai can track ai and deal with _ track ai and deal with misinformation, this story about the us intelligence tracking the hackers who might be targeting critical infrastructure, i pulled out that point about the pipeline from new york to texas but because that was one instance that really set alarm so the hacking of critical info

structure has always been a problem and with every other story we cover ai just ups the ante.— ai just ups the ante. hackers are usin: ai ai just ups the ante. hackers are using al and _ ai just ups the ante. hackers are using ai and so _ ai just ups the ante. hackers are using ai and so are _ ai just ups the ante. hackers are using ai and so are the - ai just ups the ante. hackers are using ai and so are the people . ai just ups the ante. hackers are i using ai and so are the people who are defending us from hackers, law enforcement and intelligence services. we've got synthetic media, we cut deep fake voice, we've got deep fake image and video, they can probably come up with a deep fake version of this programme and give a massive misinformation. you could say oh, the spelling is not accurate so it's probably not legitimate, that's harder to do now. all of these things are leading to greater risks, started to detect you're dealing with a criminal then it was. the amazon chief security officer stephen schmidt said they are going super aggressive on this, they think cybersecurity defence is where it's

at. i cybersecurity defence is where it's at. ., , cybersecurity defence is where it's at. . , , , ., at. i mean it is, because it has to be. the threat _ at. i mean it is, because it has to be. the threat is _ at. i mean it is, because it has to be. the threat is increasing, - at. i mean it is, because it has to be. the threat is increasing, the | be. the threat is increasing, the defence has to be more invested as well. so they're using these tools, who is going to get better? i would argue that unfortunately that hackers and innovators are usually a little bit ahead. the defence is playing a very difficult game. amazon is going to have the best people in the business working on it so if anyone can do it, i hope it's him. ., ,, ., , him. i love csi, i thought every fingerprint _ him. i love csi, i thought every fingerprint on _ him. i love csi, i thought every fingerprint on every _ him. i love csi, i thought every fingerprint on every finger - him. i love csi, i thought every fingerprint on every finger was| fingerprint on every finger was different. but according to columbia university, no. because they've... they've looked at 60,000 fingerprint and they fed them in pairs to this ai system which is known as deep contrastive network. they found the pairs that belonged to the same person which suggests they are not all that unique. 50. person which suggests they are not all that unique.— all that unique. so, as you say, this sort of— all that unique. so, as you say, this sort of truth _ all that unique. so, as you say, this sort of truth in _ all that unique. so, as you say, this sort of truth in the - all that unique. so, as you say, this sort of truth in the world i all that unique. so, as you say, j this sort of truth in the world of forensics, every fingerprint is unique, even those of twins. the way

a computer look at something is different to how we would look at it, it shows it's all about your perspective in life. so human beings study finger prints from the outside in, the computer is studying it from inside out. that seems to be the shift in perspective that has yielded this result, and thatjust shows you this is a way that computers can maybe show us reality in a different way.— in a different way. obviously it's not in a different way. obviously it's got implications _ in a different way. obviously it's got implications for _ in a different way. obviously it's got implications for forensic - in a different way. obviously it's i got implications for forensic work, but what about, i use a fingerprint to get into my phone.— to get into my phone. well, so that's an _ to get into my phone. well, so that's an interesting _ to get into my phone. well, so that's an interesting one - to get into my phone. well, so i that's an interesting one because to get into my phone. well, so - that's an interesting one because i again, identicaltwins that's an interesting one because i again, identical twins have been able to get into each other�*s funds using fingerprint and even face eddie, so that's not 100% accurate anyhow. it has to be said also in forensics, i don't think anyone who is a police officer is going to say that something that's going to convict or not, it's part of circumstantial evidence. so we don't have to relight the plot of every csi episode going forward yet, but it's really exciting because you've got people who've maybe been

wrongfully committed, cases that have gone cold, maybe this can generate new leads of again. it creates art, so easily, ai. according to those in the business, it doesn't do it as well as humans. i mean that's the thing, is it a tool or is it a greater? i think i would argue right now it's a tool that human creators could use to make great comics. but... ? but can a computer learned to have a soul, that's what humans use to make art. so it's a philosophical question not a technical question.— a technical question. that's a lovely way — a technical question. that's a lovely way to _ a technical question. that's a lovely way to end _ a technical question. that's a lovely way to end the - a technical question. that's a - lovely way to end the programme. lovely to have you read it, we'll connect like next week with day ai decoded. the emergency cabinet meeting that took place about an hour ago for cabinet called by rishi

sunak. also he's been speaking to the leader of the opposition about imminent attacks that we are now expecting on the houthi rebels in yemen, will talk about it in the following hour and we'll get information from washington on the pentagon as well, please stay with us. hello. it has been a cold day again up and down the uk. mostly dry though, thanks to the high pressure and that area of high pressure will be with us again for friday to bring another cold and dry day with variable amounts of cloud, a little bit of sunshine, but there will be quite a bit of cloud around i think through friday across england and wales. best of the clearer spells across scotland and northern ireland with the best of the sunshine. but through tonight, under those clear skies, light wind scotland, northern ireland could see some fog developing and it really will turn quite cold. a sharp frost developing in places particularly central scotland, down to minus eight celsius. but where we have more cloud for england, wales,

then it should remain frost free. but it does mean friday will be a rather gray, gloomy morning for england and wales. cold, frosty stuff, crisp start for scotland, northern ireland, best of the sunshine here. stubborn mist and fog could linger all day in places and we could see a few breaks in the cloud further south till off some sunny spells here and there. temperatures again struggling to get much of a two to get much over two or three across scotland, seven or eight for england and wales. as we move through friday night, we'll see this weather front bring some patchy rain, maybe some hill snow to northern scotland for a while. elsewhere, it's patchy cloud and clear spells. and where we have clear skies and it'll be frosty where we hold on to the cloud, then frost free. this weather front seeing south was weakening into a band of cloud. this weather front sinking south was weakening into a band of cloud. as we head on into saturday, another one will push into northern scotland to bring further showers here. and then by sunday, much colder air pushes in across northern scotland to bring frequent snow showers. here, it'll turn cold and windy. saturday, then, a chilly day to come, variable cloud, the odd spot of rain with those weak weather fronts,

some sunny spells here and there, and temperature wise, generally range between five and eight celsius. as we head into sunday, though, we'll see this weather front sink southwards and weaken. there'll be some patchy rain on it, some sunshine to the south. it turns windy, cold and snowy across northern scotland. these snow showers becoming quite frequent, even down to lower levels. and there'll be significant accumulations by the end of the day, but less cold in the south. into next week it stays cold across the northern half of the country. further snow showers, maybe even an area of more prolonged snow for a while. then we need to keep an eye on this area of low pressure which could approach the south. if it pushes northwards into the cold air, it's likely that we could see a spell of sleet and snow across the south of the country. but it's quite a lot to play for here, so stay tuned to the forecast.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. our top story tonight... rishi sunak hasjust finished a our top story tonight... rishi sunak has just finished a meeting with his full cabinet as the uk and united states prepared to launch military strikes against the houthi rebels in yemen. grant shapps, defence secretary, suggested yesterday that military action was imminentjust

hours after uk and us destroyers in the red sea shot down a barrage of drones and missiles launched by the iran backed group. the government held a cobra emergency meeting this morning, along with a meeting of the national security council. our panel this evening who'll guide me through events in washington, mona charen, who is a policy writer at the bull work and also tonight wills robinson, who is assisted politics editor at the daily mail in new york. we'll be back with them in a moment, but let's bring in our political editor, chris mason, who has been gathering reaction tonight after that cabinet meeting wrapped up. what you did getting from your sources tonight about the plans of the imminent?— the imminent? yes, hello, that cabinet call _ the imminent? yes, hello, that cabinet call happened _ the imminent? yes, hello, that cabinet call happened in - the imminent? yes, hello, that cabinet call happened in the - the imminent? yes, hello, that| cabinet call happened in the last hour or so and cabinet call happened in the last hour orso and it cabinet call happened in the last hour or so and it was a conference call in which it would appear the prime minister was briefing the cabinet on the prospect of uk military action that will be imminent, in and around the red sea.

shortly after that cabinet call,