against accusations of genocide brought by south africa. rishi sunak makes a suprise visit to kyiv as the uk announces its $3 billion aid package for ukraine. and here, the former dj annie nightingale has died at the age of 83. let's return to her main story and take a closer look at the american and british air strikes in yemen over night targeting the iranian—backed houthis. bbc verify has been examining video from inside yemen, and what we know so far. here's merlyn thomas. these are some of the images that have come out of yemen overnight. we verified this video of an explosionjust east of yemen's capital, sanaa. and the uk has also released

this video of a strike, which we've geolocated to be nearly 100 miles north of the other strike you've just seen. the houthis are a political and military group who control a large part of yemen, including the capital, and they're allies of iran, who give them backing in the form of weapons and political funding. this is a map showing some of the strikes by the us and uk in yemen. a number of these have been confirmed by the uk's ministry of defence. the us has said over 100 weapons were fired at 16 houthi locations. the uk, meanwhile, has said it's been involved in strikes in two locations, and this is all in response to repeated houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the red sea. the houthis released this video in november of them seizing a cargo ship which they've been holding with its crew off the yemeni coast. they've been targeting ships heading to israel or those which they believe have israeli connections following the outbreak and most of these attacks have all been in this narrow channel

in the red sea called the bab—el—mandeb, separating africa from yemen. over 17 ships have been targeted so far and this is part of a vital shipping route. to the north is the suez canal, which connects to asia and europe. around 12% of global trade goes through it. and some of the ships the houthis are attacked are heading to israel or have israeli connections. the uk has said the strikes are intended to limit the houthis�* capability to violate international law by launching attacks on shipping. but the houthis have proved very resilient in the past. they were the target of years of a bombing campaign by the saudi air force. in public, at least, they remain defiant, saying these us and uk strikes on them will not go without punishment or retaliation. and they said that this wouldn't deter them from supporting palestine and gaza. the latest from bbc verify. there have been comments in the last hour or so from the white house. john kirby saying the air strikes targets went right to the houthis ability to for lunch or guide its

missiles and drones, so the white house's first comments —— to launch. and saying they were proportionate and necessary. dr hasan al hasan is a research fellow for middle east policy at the international institute of strategic studies. hejoined me from bahrain — and i asked him how these air strikes are being viewed across the region. even traditional us and uk partners in the region think saudi arabia, kuwait, 0man, jordan, even turkey came out with statements that suggested that even though they recognised the need to protect the freedom of navigation in the red sea, they nevertheless view these attacks by us and uk forces in yemen as potentially leading to further regional escalation. it appears that these states would prefer a de—escalatory pathway that would involve a ceasefire in gaza as the best way to lead to a lowering of the temperature

of the entire region, which they believe would also spill over in a positive way in the red sea. the ceasefire clearly is the sticking point, but when you listen to western capitals, they want to keep the two issues separate — the gaza war and the threat to global shipping. are you saying from where you're sitting, the sorts of things you're hearing that simply isn't flying? that's right. i mean, you seem to have a battle of narratives at the moment where the us, the uk and the predominantly western nations that have joined this coalition and operation prosperity guardian are trying, as you said, to separate the two issues and to paint the houthi attacks in the red sea as being unconnected to the war in gaza. the houthis and the iranians, of course, have conducted these attacks very clearly under the pretext that these are meant to raise the cost for us and uk and, of course, also for israel and to attempt to bring

about a change in the course of events unfolding in gaza. at the moment it seems that the latter narrative has been more successful in the region, and it seems that countries in the region are not only worried about obviously the risk of escalation. the risk of escalation — some of them have been at war with the houthis for many years and don't necessarily want to see a repeat of that — but it seems that this attempt at splitting the two issues and painting them as being wholly unconnected hasn't been very successful so far. i was reading one analysis earlier today suggesting that the houthis have been itching for 20 years to get into direct conflict with the americans, with israel, they're delighted by these airstrikes. is that a sentiment, an analysis that you share? it certainly plays into their political and ideological rhetoric.

0bviously, their motto is "death to israel and death to the united states". so insofar as they can portray themselves as being directly involved in conflict with the us and indirectly with israel, or actually even directly by launching missiles at israel, especially in support of the palestinians, which is a cause that receives widespread support and sympathy in the arab world, this obviously constitutes a very important political and ideological accomplishment for them. neither the houthis nor the iranians are going to let this strategic opportunity go to waste. and at the same time, it seems that the houthis might be fairly confident that they will be able to withstand the cost of us and british strikes. there are multiple challenges that the americans and the brits face in establishing long standing deterrence against the houthis. 0n the one hand, the houthis have mobile, compact capabilities

that they can conceal, and so targeting them on a constant basis will need a lot of intelligence and a lot of strikes. and at the same time, it's not clear how long the us and the uk can sustain a robust naval posture in the red sea, and so perhaps the houthis are betting on waiting them out. john kirby at the white house has just given some recent comments. i've read out a couple of them, but the most recent saying, "the us is not looking for conflict with ira". the problem is that by their analysis, iran are the ones pulling the strings behind the houthis, hezbollah in lebanon. how do you go about trying to tackle that? do you think the us and others can tackle the root cause of this? well, there's no silver bullet here, that's for sure. i think the easiest way to sort of knock the political winds out of what iran is trying to do is actually to do something about the situation in gaza and to get the hostilities to cease. this will obviously remove any

political pretext for iran to continue targeting us and other forces and capabilities of the region. insofar as whether iran stands behind all of this, and what we know for certain is that there is a very high degree of coordination and orchestration among iran and its partners in the region across multiple theatres, so in iraq, in syria, lebanon, and now in yemen of the red sea, so this suggests a degree of strategic alignment, obviously, and perhaps orchestration by the iranians. we also know that iran is absolutely critical to the houthis ability to continue targeting shipping in the red sea. they provide the intelligence that the houthis use. they provide some of the advanced systems that the houthis use, and they provide essential components for some of the missiles and other munitions that the houthis use to target shipping, and so the iranians are critical to that effort.

they provide the intelligence, and there is a high degree of coordination among iranian partners, including the houthis, which suggests that the iranians might be actually directly involved. the view from the region. just in the last few minutes, the reuters news agency reporting a little more detail about the events on tuesday, wednesday, the attacks by houthis rebels that prompted us and uk response we saw overnight. a reuters reporting that the united kingdom maritime trade operations organisation receiving a report of that incident on tuesday and at the report saying a missile landed in the water 400—500 metres away from a vessel and was being followed by three small craft, and we know no injuries reported. more of the details, msl landing 400 500 metres away from a vessel followed by three small craft. —— a missile. those attacks 0n small craft. —— a missile. those attacks on tuesday 0r wednesday, the largest 0f attacks on tuesday 0r wednesday, the

largest of their kind. . that prompted the us uk to take the action we saw overnight. we will have more on that, very much in story on the programme, in the next little while. let's turn to the situation in ukraine. britain says it'll give ukraine more than three billion dollars�* worth of military aid in the financial year beginning in april. it's britain's biggest annual commitment since russia's full—scale invasion nearly two years ago. the announcement coincides with a trip to kyiv by the british prime minister, rishi sunak. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale is travelling with mr sunak. 0vernight, and by train amid tight security, rishi sunak and his team arrived in ukraine. 0nly his second visit as prime minister, but the first world leader here this year. he came to see for himself the destruction being wrought by russia's renewed attacks on kyiv. he spoke to local people about the impact of the missiles and drones — more of which were getting through ukraine's weakened air defences.

what this country needs is more military support, and that's what the prime minister promised. i'm pleased to be here today to announce an increase in the aid that we're providing. the aid that we've got in place already runs through to the early part of this year, so we're acting in advance of that expiring with a new commitment of £2.5 billion — more than we've provided in previous years — that represents the seriousness of the situation here and our determination to stand with ukraine. his new financial commitment — a bit larger than previous years — will focus on providing long—range missiles, air defence and artillery, with £200 million spent on thousands of drones — most built in the uk. is the purpose of this military aid to help ukraine defeat russia orjust to survive the year? the purpose of this military aid is to make sure that ukraine can first and foremost keep its people safe and regain its freedom and its sovereignty. rishi sunak�*s come here notjust to see the devastation for himself,

but also promise ukraine more support — to try to show a little bit of british leadership while america and europe hesitate. but the new money's only for one year, and it's been promised later than some mps wanted. thank you very much for all your support. yeah, no, well, you will keep having our support. but ukraine's leaders will be grateful — not just for the military support, but also for mr sunak�*s sheer presence — a reminder to the world that while their eyes may be on the middle east, the people of ukraine are still facing an existential threat from russia that hasn't gone away. james landale, bbc news, kyiv. let me show you a few more pictures from the visit because the prime minister and president zelensky have visited a hospital in ukraine. , ,, ., ~ zelensky have visited a hospital in ukraine. , ,, .,~ ., ~ ., ukraine. rishi sunak talking to in'ured ukraine. rishi sunak talking to injured soldiers, _ ukraine. rishi sunak talking to injured soldiers, some - ukraine. rishi sunak talking to injured soldiers, some who - ukraine. rishi sunak talking to | injured soldiers, some who had fought in the city and east of ukraine which has been under heavy russian attack during recent months. ukrainian doctors also explained the

details about the rehabilitation process for injured soldiers. just a few more of the pictures coming into us from that trip by rishi sunak. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news bringing you different stories from across the uk. at the nearby council house financial stability is a subject of concern to this year's budget has a £12 million shortfall and next year's is forecast to be almost as bad. the alarm bells are ringing loud and clear, but if we don't make the right decisions now and over the next 12, 18 months, then that is a real possibility. the possibility the conservative council leader refers to is bankruptcy. but he warns increased tax revenue won't cover the rising costs. there is net of adult social care and if governments, whether it's a labour or conservative government, do not grasp that nettle that is adult social care, then councils up and down the country will continue

to issue 114s. once the public consultation is complete, it will require both sides of the chamber to agree a plan on how to make savings, maintain services, and attempt to avoid bankruptcy. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. campaigning has ended in taiwan for saturday's key general election, which will see the island elect a new president and members of parliament. the results are expected to have major implications for the island's relationship with china. under president xi jinping, china has vowed to bring taiwan under its rule, and has not ruled out the use of force to achive this goal. in the past hour china's military has vowed it will "crush" any taiwanese "independence" efforts. taiwan has accused china of intimidating its citizens in an attempt to influence saturday's elections. 0ur presenter steve

lai is in taipei. i think what they're looking for, people who are looking the kyiv tea party is a more relaxed dialogue relationship -- tft —— tft party. we were just at the ruling dpp party rally as well. tens of thousands of supporters have rallied across across taipei and new taipei city. and i think what you get is a mix of two things. one, the domestic issues, the economy. this has come up many, many times to the people that i've spoken to, mothers who talk about child care policies, young people who actually feel quite unheard by the two establishment parties, if you will, and are tilting towards the dpp, and are tilting towards the ——tpp, that third force, as they describe themselves about about employment, about housing. but in the back of everyone's mind, i think, is the cross—strait relationship, that strained relationship with beijing, how beijing is going to react to whoever comes into power. so geopolitics is very much present here. that context that you were talking

about, this is thought to be a very close race. of course, we hadn't had polling for ten days. and a very consequential election. geopolitics looms large. china's shadow looms large over this election. apologies, shaimaa khalil reporting there on the latest on those elections. there on the latest on those elections-— there on the latest on those elections. , ., _, ., ., elections. plenty more coverage over the next 24 — elections. plenty more coverage over the next 24 hours _ elections. plenty more coverage over the next 24 hours from _ elections. plenty more coverage over the next 24 hours from the _ elections. plenty more coverage over the next 24 hours from the region. i the next 24 hours from the region. scientists have discovered a gigantic ring—shaped structure in space which challenges our understanding of the universe as it is so big. university of central lancashire see is 1.3 billion light—years in diameter and appears to be roughly 15 times the size of the moon as seen from earth. named the moon as seen from earth. named the big r by astronomers, it is made up the big r by astronomers, it is made up of galaxy clusters and structures that make should not exist —— big ring. alexia lopez is the student identified that and when she joined me from new orleans, i asked how it

felt to make a discovery like this. yes, i mean, it is amazing. it is surreal. you know, we stumble across these discoveries accidentally so it is so fun to be able to write an analysis on these kind of discoveries, so yeah, really exciting. discoveries, so yeah, really exciting-— exciting. my brain is clearly smaller than _ exciting. my brain is clearly smaller than yours - exciting. my brain is clearly smaller than yours so - exciting. my brain is clearly smaller than yours so you | exciting. my brain is clearly - smaller than yours so you better just explain in simple terms what you've actually discovered. 50 just explain in simple terms what you've actually discovered. so i've discovered — you've actually discovered. so i've discovered a _ you've actually discovered. so i've discovered a really _ you've actually discovered. so i've discovered a really massive - discovered a really massive structure in the universe, so these are the biggest things in our universe. so it is made up of galaxies and galaxy clusters and creates this really big ring—shaped. and how did you find that? because, as it's pretty obvious, no one else has stumbled across this, so how did you actually do it? so has stumbled across this, so how did you actually do it? 501 has stumbled across this, so how did you actually do it?— you actually do it? so i was using a relatively unique _ you actually do it? so i was using a relatively unique tool— you actually do it? so i was using a relatively unique tool to _ you actually do it? so i was using a relatively unique tool to find - you actually do it? so i was using a relatively unique tool to find this i relatively unique tool to find this

large—scale structure. so the method uses these millie bright sources of light known as quasars and when we measure the light from these quasars, it can tell us about things that are in between the quasar does —— use of these are really bright sources of light. i use all these quasar spectra and it tells us about all these intervening air systems and tells us about where these galaxies are. you can imagine it is kind of like looking at bright spotlights any dark room, so the spotlights any dark room, so the spotlights are highlighting towards where all these galaxies and galaxy clusters are, so without the bright spotlights, without the quasars, we would usually not be able to see these galaxies and galaxy clusters. yes. so that is how you did it. just again in simple terms, explain why it challenges what we thought we knew. ~ ., ., ., ~ knew. well, in order to make the mathematics _ knew. well, in order to make the mathematics simple, _ knew. well, in order to make the mathematics simple, to - knew. well, in order to make the mathematics simple, to model . knew. well, in order to make the i mathematics simple, to model our universe, we need to make some

assumptions, and one of those assumptions, and one of those assumptions is on large scales we should see the universe and the matter distribution looks smooth everywhere, so this essentially puts a limit on how big we should fine structures existing. so when we find that these large—scale structures, these huge large—scale structures like the big ring or the giant arc, these are so big we are now not the statistical modulator, the smoothness in the universe, so it challenges this cosmological principle, it challenges our finding assumptions on what the centre model is built on. 50 assumptions on what the centre model is built on. ., , is built on. so if there was absolutely _ is built on. so if there was absolutely basics - is built on. so if there was absolutely basics we - is built on. so if there was i absolutely basics we thought is built on. so if there was - absolutely basics we thought we is built on. so if there was _ absolutely basics we thought we knew are necessarily what is actually the truth, what sort of questions then get thrown up? truth, what sort of questions then get thrown op?— truth, what sort of questions then get thrown on?— get thrown up? well, this is the bi est get thrown up? well, this is the biggest question, _ get thrown up? well, this is the biggest question, what - get thrown up? well, this is the biggest question, what do - get thrown up? well, this is the biggest question, what do we i get thrown up? well, this is the | biggest question, what do we do get thrown up? well, this is the - biggest question, what do we do now? really, we need to start thinking about if we should be using

alternative models of cosmology, so these are proposed by lots of different people including a nobel prizewinner, roger penrose, who has a alternative feature of cosmology, where you would deter circular features. so maybe we should start taking these alternative theories and cosmology seriously and seriously questioning whether our standard model can hold if the basic assumptions are proving to be challenged. assumptions are proving to be challenged-— assumptions are proving to be challenaed. �* ., ., ,, ., challenged. alexia lopez talking to us here on bbc— challenged. alexia lopez talking to us here on bbc news. _ challenged. alexia lopez talking to us here on bbc news. now, - challenged. alexia lopez talking to us here on bbc news. now, the i us here on bbc news. now, the liberal democrat leader ed davey followed up allegations made by a campaignerfor sub—postmasters but was met with a conspiracy of lies. there has been

lot of questions about his involvement during the time he was minister. sir ed who was minister for the post office between 2010 and 2012, says he spoke to various people connected with the post office and they all told him the horizon computer system was sworking. well, when i met alan bates, i listened to him very closely and i put his questions to my officials, to post office executives and indeed to the national federation of sub—postmasters, a bit like their trade union, because he had many questions, but they all told me the same thing, that the horizon system was working, that there weren't that many sub—postmasters involved, and it was clearly a conspiracy of lies. and what's become clear throughout this, through itv�*s programme and from others, is that the post office were lying to the sub—postmasters, lying to the victims, lying to courts and judges, lying to ministers of all parties

over two decades, and also lying to the british public. the inquiry into the horizon it scandal has turned its attention today to the failure by the post office to hand over documents on time — delaying the inquiry considerably. hundreds of sub—postmasters were convicted after faulty software made it look as if money had gone missing. 0ur correspondent zoe conway has been at the inquiry. today's hearing, so far, has been very technical, very dry, but it's also been incredibly important because it's been about the late disclosure of documents by the post office. the post office has been accused of obstructing this inquiry by producing evidence very late in the day. to give you an example, lastjuly, on the eve of an important evidence session, it announced that it had discovered 4,000 documents that it hadn't shared with the inquiry. as a result, the evidence session had to be delayed. the lead counsel to the inquiry, jason beer kc, today said that has happened several times.

in fact, the chair of this inquiry, sir wyn williams, has become so concerned by this that he's threatened criminal sanctions against the post office if it doesn't produce evidence in a timely manner. this morning giving evidence was chris jackson. he's a lawyer with burgess salmon and he's been brought in by the post office to help them to speed up the delivery of evidence. he started his evidence session by apologising for the delays. really, what this session has been about has been about trying to work out what the post office intends to do to make sure that these delays stop happening because, as i say, this is a serious criminal issue. this is a statutory inquiry. there's nothing voluntary about the giving of evidence here. that threat of criminal action remains if the post office doesn't get its house in order.

zoe, at that inquiry. the radio1 dj, annie nightingale, the station's first female presenter, who went on to become its longest—serving host, has died, at the age of 83. her family said she was a "pioneer, trailblazer and an inspiration to many." david sillito looks back at her life. annie nightingale. annie nightingale on bbc radio 1. there was kind of a lot of expectation about it, i guess. you know, i was the first female on their first show. i hadn't ever done a live show before! you know, it was a very steep learning curve. when radio 1 launched, there were no women presenters. it's two o'clock in the morning in a club in bristol. the group's finished for the night, they've packed up and they're ready to go home. a young musicjournalist called annie nightingale was furious.

i think they thought, "we'll have to have one — who do we know?" annie nightingale. and so i became the token women. and she stayed for more than 40 years. and what made her really stand out was that, even in her 70s, her taste in music hadn't aged. it's fatboy slim, live! for some reason, for me, i've gone on on that interest in the new music, the undiscovered, the underground, and seeing it — nurturing it, really. she was 17 when she decided to become a journalist. she got a job in brighton, she got to interview the beatles, and she became one of the first musicjournalists on fleet street. you don't mind mind the lack of money at the moment? in the largely all—male world of rock, she was something of a pioneer. joey, johnny, dee dee and mark, the ramones... and in the late �*70s, helped drag the old grey whistle test into a new era. ladies and gentlemen, the damned! annie nightingale. more than 30 years later,

she was still at the turntables — her passion for the new, the undiscovered, as young as ever. annie nightingale, news of her death. we will have more tributes on that story here on the programme in the next little while. we will pause and catch up with the weather now from helen willetts. good afternoon. it's pretty chilly out there and it has been for much of the week, but colder air is on the way by the end of the weekend. behind this weather front, we've got a blast of arctic air to contend with and stronger winds. for the meantime, the winds are, for the most part, relatively light, but they've just dragged a lot of cloud under this area of high pressure, some drizzle near the east coast and a weather front is starting to make its way into the northern and western isles and that will bring about that change.

the best of the sunshine the rest of the day is likely still to be across parts of scotland, northern ireland, western fringes of england and wales, but we're seeing a few breaks near the east coast. temperatures aren't quite as low as they have been because it wasn't quite as cold last night. again, the frost will be with us in some parts, but our weather front slinking southwards through scotland and northern ireland will bring a smattering of rain behind it. temperatures won't be as low as they were this nightjust gone. furthersouth, patchy frost and patchy fog, but still quite a bit of cloud for england and wales to start our saturday. clearing away, though, from northern ireland and any patchy rain here and for scotland. just a scattering of showers following. in the south, as we're seeing today, there will be quite a bit of cloud with some sunshine coming and going. as we move into the latter part of the weekend, sunday into next week, it will turn a lot colder. that blast of arctic air will bring, we think, the coldest snap of the winter so far because there will be the wind chill to add to it and the increasing risk of snow. as you can see on sunday, still a lot of cloud in southern and western areas, but further north we're starting to get colder with those snow showers.

there are already warnings out for snow in the north for sunday. into monday, as well, when the risk extends further south. these are the most likely areas to see snow. we're not saying those will be the only areas, but where it's likely to cause disruption. still a question mark about this low pressure system running east across perhaps northern ireland, southern scotland, northern england as we go towards the middle of the week — tuesday, wednesday. we have and will have to keep putting the detail on this. we could see a system running close to the south later in the week, wednesday into thursday, so that will increase the risk of some disruptive snow across the southern half of the uk, but still that risk with us further north. so the devil's in the detail in terms of where we're going to see the snow next week, but it does look set to be colder, as well, with some severe night frosts.

live from london. this is bbc news. yemen's houthi movement vows retaliation — as us and uk forces launch air strikes against houthi targets. britain says the strikes were "a limited, necessary and proportionate response" to repeated houthi attacks on global shipping in the red sea. we need to send a strong signal that this breach of international law is wrong. people can't act like this without impunity and that's why together with our allies we decided

to take this action. 0n on bbc 0n bbc verify we've been examining video of us and uk strikes on yemen and what's triggered this latest crisis. also on the programme will get the very latest details on the attacks. we will also hearfrom military experts, top diplomats and our teams in london, washington and the region. 0ne our teams in london, washington and the region. one of the made headline here... the international court of justice is israel's defence against allegations of genocide. the entirety of — allegations of genocide. the entirety of its _ allegations of genocide. the entirety of its case - allegations of genocide. tie: entirety of its case hinges on allegations of genocide. ti2 entirety of its case hinges on a deliberately curated decontextualized and manipulative description of the reality of current hostilities. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala. welcome to verified live — three hours of breaking