this is bbc news. the headlines: britain and america defend their air strikes against houthis in yemen. saying it was a "necessary response" to repeated houthi attacks on global shipping in the red sea. houthi officials are warning the us and uk will pay a heavy price as thousands of yemenis take to the streets to protest

against the strikes. the other main story today — the international court ofjustice —— britain and ukraine sign long term security agreements, as rishi sunak makes a surprise visit to kyiv. and a cosmic super structure potentially challenges our understanding of the universe. more on our top story now — the united states says air strikes on houthi sites in yemen were targeted at the group's ability to launch its missiles and drones. the houthis have vowed to retaliate and continue their red sea attacks. let's ta ke let's take a look now at the reaction in yemen. thousands of people there, as you can see, on the streets. this is the capital sana'a. a houthi military spokesperson has warned of the attacks will not go without punishment.

some protesters cheered as a us and israeli flag was set alight. let's hear from some of the people on the streets. translation: the strikes on yemen by the americans — translation: the strikes on yemen by the americans and _ translation: the strikes on yemen by the americans and the _ translation: the strikes on yemen by the americans and the zionists - translation: the strikes on yemen by the americans and the zionists are - translation: the strikes on yemen by the americans and the zionists are a - the americans and the zionists are a clear aggression on the yemeni people and this is not only now, it has been going on for a long time. i'll houthi had warned us against america and what they are doing to islamic people in general. we are supporting al—aqsa, palestinians and gaza, and this is why they're doing this to us. translation: ~ translation: we condemned the terrorist criminal _ translation: we condemned the terrorist criminal strikes _ translation: we condemned the terrorist criminal strikes on - translation: we condemned the terrorist criminal strikes on the - terrorist criminal strikes on the yemeni — terrorist criminal strikes on the yemeni people, we have been at war for eight _ yemeni people, we have been at war for eight years, these strikes do not frighten us and do not worry a hair on _ not frighten us and do not worry a hair on our— not frighten us and do not worry a hair on our head. we will support our brothers in palestine and gaza. we are _ our brothers in palestine and gaza. we are with — our brothers in palestine and gaza. we are with them. translation: , , ~ , we are with them. translation: , , ., ., translation: these strikes do not friuhten us.

translation: these strikes do not frighten us- we _ translation: these strikes do not frighten us. we are _ translation: these strikes do not frighten us. we are moving - translation: these strikes do not frighten us. we are moving to - translation: these strikes do not frighten us. we are moving to dean| frighten us. we are moving to dean and we _ frighten us. we are moving to dean and we will— frighten us. we are moving to dean and we will expend _ frighten us. we are moving to dean and we will expend every— frighten us. we are moving to dean and we will expend every power- frighten us. we are moving to dean and we will expend every power we| and we will expend every power we have it _ and we will expend every power we have it the — and we will expend every power we have it. the political— and we will expend every power we have it. the political leadership, i have it. the political leadership, the armed — have it. the political leadership, the armed forces _ have it. the political leadership, the armed forces and _ have it. the political leadership, the armed forces and the - have it. the political leadership, i the armed forces and the yemeni people. _ the armed forces and the yemeni pennie. we — the armed forces and the yemeni pennie. we are _ the armed forces and the yemeni people, we are all— the armed forces and the yemeni people, we are all standing - the armed forces and the yemeni people, we are all standing as- the armed forces and the yemeni | people, we are all standing as one man _ people, we are all standing as one man we _ people, we are all standing as one man we are — people, we are all standing as one man we are all— people, we are all standing as one man. we are all al—aqsa _ people, we are all standing as one man. we are all al—aqsa until- people, we are all standing as one i man. we are all al—aqsa until every inch of— man. we are all al—aqsa until every inch ofjerusalem _ man. we are all al—aqsa until every inch ofjerusalem is— man. we are all al—aqsa until every inch ofjerusalem is liberated. - here is our international editor jeremy bowen. it here is our international editor jeremy i“wen-— here is our international editor jeremy bowen. it is clear it was cominu , jeremy bowen. it is clear it was coming. the — jeremy bowen. it is clear it was coming, the americans - jeremy bowen. it is clear it was coming, the americans and - jeremy bowen. it is clear it was i coming, the americans and british said, they drop such heavy hints it was just a matter of when, and they chose the moment when secretary of state blinken, us secretary of state, basically finished his latest middle east tour and got back to the us, and since he was talking but de—escalation, doing that while he was out there was clearly going to be awkward, to put it mildly. what is rather, you might call, and incomplete truth, america's truth, britain's truth about this, that somehow it is not directly related to what is going on in gaza. that's clearly political spin. of course

it's related. the houthis say that they are carrying out these attacks not because theyjust fancy it, but to help out the palestinians and to hit israel's allies. so hearing pentagon spokespeople saying, oh, no, no, no, it's about freedom of navigation in the red sea, yeah, it is partly, because that is economically eerie important for western countries, but there is also this direct link to the war in gaza, and it's another way in which that war is radiating out through the region, heating things up. bud war is radiating out through the region, heating things up. and what ha--ens region, heating things up. and what happens next? _ region, heating things up. and what happens next? because _ region, heating things up. and what happens next? because if— region, heating things up. and what happens next? because if the - region, heating things up. and what l happens next? because if the houthis continue to attack and continue to put those shipping lanes, that economic damage, are the us and uk forced to continue responding? {line forced to continue responding? one thin the forced to continue responding? que: thing the british forced to continue responding? iez thing the british have forced to continue responding? (zji9 thing the british have said is they would be letting it be known in london that this is just a limited operation, it is not delivered them to say that, because what if the houthis say, as they have promised they will do, what if the houthis do

more attacks? they have sophisticated anti—ship missiles which the iranians have furnish them with, long before october the 7th, and the start of the war in gaza. and so if they decide to use them and attacked again, does that mean the us and the brits say, we have made a point, we are not going to do another strike? of course they would do more air strikes, so then you go down quite a difficult and rocky road, because what if other parts of the so—called axis of resistance, which is this network iran has built, of allies and proxies and clients, through the region, they also include for example she militias in syria and iraq, what if they decided in the name of yemen, in the name of the palestinians, to attack american troops in those countries, in iraq and syria —— shia

militia. they've already done that. what if they did it again? the americans hit them again? and so where do we go from there? an escalation, a ramping up of what is happening. that is why i think, in my reporting, i am saying that this is directly related to what is going on in gaza, clearly. rilliur is directly related to what is going on in gaza, clearly.— on in gaza, clearly. our thanks to jeremy for— on in gaza, clearly. our thanks to jeremy for that. _ the recent houthi attacks have caused huge disruption to global shipping and trade. with more on the impact of that, here's our chief economics correspondent dharshini david. all of this is happening 3,000 miles away, but that red sea is one of the most crucial shipping routes, transporting 15% of traded goods, typically from east to west, and 90% of our imports in the uk come by sea, typically nonperishables from energy to furniture. already, as vessels have faced attack, many major shipping firms have diverted to this route, the red line there. it takes ten days longer, adding $1 million to the average container ship's fuel costs. in germany, already,

tesla has halted some production as components are held up. here, on the high street, next and ikea have warned of delays. but all of this is happening after the christmas rush, so consumers will notice less disruption and even if costs are passed on, the impact should be relatively small. however, 13% of crude oil also travels by this route. the price of crude is up overnight, but it does remain below where it was last autumn. and if the conflict escalates, there are worries about potential interruptions to shipments of liquid gas, but we are currently well stocked and any impact on energy bills would not be felt for several months. so, while this is not derailing our prosperity yet, that unrest in the red sea, if it's prolonged end escalates, could threaten growth and declining inflation, just at a time when the economy

is already feeling quite fragile. thanks to dharshini there. a maritime intelligence company told me about the skill of the disruption stop below right now, it is not very great, but as this conflict were to continue over great, but as this conflict were to continue ove— great, but as this conflict were to continue ove «a :, :, , continue over weeks and months we would exoect _ continue over weeks and months we would expect that _ continue over weeks and months we would expect that these _ continue over weeks and months we would expect that these disruptions| would expect that these disruptions will continue. but eventually, if this goes on for months or even into a year, the supply chain in our opinion will start to equalise a little bit with ships diverting around the horn of africa. find little bit with ships diverting around the horn of africa. and 'ust talk about that fl around the horn of africa. and 'ust talk about that diversion. �* around the horn of africa. and just talk about that diversion. clearly . talk about that diversion. clearly we know it takes a lot longer, it costs a lot more, but are those costs a lot more, but are those costs and delays manageable, in essence, if this went on and on and on? could we permit ly diver down there and everything kind of be ok? i think at some point it would be. if you look at, when you look at a

ship, average of 4000 genders, the diversion costs, as we just heard, was roughly $1 million. that is netra $250 per container, so it is pretty easy in container pricing to be able to i think absorb that, in the long—term. i don't think we are going to see this in the long—term. i think with prosperity guardian, with the other military option, and with the other military option, and with diplomatic efforts, i would be willing to bet that probably in the next few months we are going to see some sort of resolution to this. resolution is something _ resolution to this. resolution is something clearly _ resolution to this. resolution is something clearly everyone - resolution to this. resolution is i something clearly everyone would want, most everyone would want certainly, but does that mean the industry is supportive of these strikes against the houthis in the hope that it kind of access some kind of deterrent? we have been hearing that the houthis position is and may not be a deterrent at all. that is overly good question. we

have not told our clients are the industry to see where the support falls! we have not done a poll. the industry wants to support these vessels, protect the seafarers working on board these vessels. we today had actually seen two attempted strikes on ships now in the gulf of aden, we have put an advisory out to all of our clients come after the us and uk attacks, to avoid the gulf of eight in anglesey regions for lease the next 72 hours and depending on what happens, we may look to extended advisory —— and red sea regions. this may look to extended advisory -- and red sea regions.— red sea regions. this is an industry well-versed — red sea regions. this is an industry well-versed in _ red sea regions. this is an industry well-versed in risk _ red sea regions. this is an industry well-versed in risk and _ red sea regions. this is an industry well-versed in risk and there - red sea regions. this is an industry well-versed in risk and there were l well—versed in risk and there were clearly be very comic aided algorithms, that have been around for a while, that will factor in events like this —— very complicated. and the cost and how much action or inaction is required. is that right? everyone involved here has this, in a way, factored

in? , , , , , , :, , in? the shipping industry is really interestin: in? the shipping industry is really interesting when _ in? the shipping industry is really interesting when you _ in? the shipping industry is really interesting when you look- in? the shipping industry is really interesting when you look at - in? the shipping industry is really interesting when you look at it. i interesting when you look at it. when this concert for started you were dealing with ships that were arriving into this region with contraception put in place months earlier. so, now, as we see this conflict start to drag out, we are expecting those contracts terms will change, may dictate ships to divert around the horn or may call for other actions, around the horn or may call for otheractions, or even around the horn or may call for other actions, or even potentially increase pay for the people on board, so there's a lot that goes into the planning when it comes to moving ships and containers, cargo, oil, around the world.— oil, around the world. thanks to cory there- _ israel has announced it has made an arrangement with qatar that will allow the delivery of medications to hostages being held by hamas in gaza. the supplies are expected to be given over the coming days. our middle east correspondent wyre davies gave me an update from jerusalem a short while ago. in the last few moments, the families of the hundred and 30 or so

israeli hostages, and from other nationalities, who were held in gaza ijy nationalities, who were held in gaza by hamas and other armed groups have been lobbying and putting pressure on the israeli government notjust to get them released, but if they remained in captivity, to make sure they get the right medical and human terry in aid. and after the recent events in lebanon where two senior figures, one from hamas and one from hezbollah, were assassinated, presumably by israel, that hostage negotiation between israel and qatar, qatar speak to hamas, that had broken down, but this evening we have learned that negotiations have resumed and there is been a bit of a breakthrough in that the israelis and qataris have now agreed with hamas that medical aid and attention will get to those hostages, some of those hostages who are still held in gaza, and as part of the deal more medical aid and humanitarian aid needed by the people of gaza will also be allowed in by israel. this is a quid pro quo, but crucially for

the families of the hostages, specific medication, things like asthma medication, blood pressure medication, that many of the hostages have been denied or are unable to get, since they were held captive almost 100 days ago, that looks like it will soon get through to them. :, :, looks like it will soon get through tothem. :, , looks like it will soon get through tothem. :, :, :, around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bringing you different - stories from across the uk. age uk in gloucestershire is the county's largest charity working with older people. every year, like all charities, they go over their accounts. but the latest audit threw up something unusual — what they believed was a fraudulent transaction. now, the fraud came to light in july 2023, and when the charity investigated further, they found losses of almost £460,000 dating back to 2016. the charity's chief executive, who joined in 2022, says the fallout has been difficult to deal with. the charity's accounts say there is no evidence that any other person had any involvement or knowledge of the activity and the board was working to recover the funds.

is this something that you and the trustees would apologise for? because of the impact that that has had over a period of time —— we are deeply sorry that this has occurred to the organisation because of the impact that that has had over a period of time on the support we've been able to provide to older people in gloucestershire. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. - you're live with bbc news. the uk is to send another £2.5 billion of military aid to ukraine over the next 12 months. in an unannounced visit to the embattled country, rishi sunak said he wanted to send a strong signal to vladimir putin that the uk remained a strong supporter of the ukrainian people. the funding, which is £200 million more than in the last two years, will ensure the largest ever commitment of drones. james landale is travelling with the prime minister. the train to kyiv, snowy, secure, but even here, there is no escaping what ukraine wants.

rishi sunak came to offer just that, military and, yes, moral support too, for a country under fresh attack. prime minister, when you come here and you see the sheer scale of the devastation, how does it make you feel? i was here a year ago, talking to people who were impacted by what was happening, and doing the same thing again today is incredibly moving, reminds us why it is so important that we continue to support ukraine. but is the purpose of this military aid to help ukraine defeat russia orjust to survive the year? no, the purpose of this military aid is to make sure that ukraine can first and foremost to keep its people safe and regain its freedom and sovereignty. the prime minister saw the devastation of russia's latest strikes, meeting one woman who lost family, seeing first—hand the impact of ukraine's weakening air defences, something he hopes £2.5 billion of military aid can address. we are one of ukraine's most

significant supporters, particularly when it comes to providing military aid. i am pleased to be here today to announce an increase in the aid we are providing. we are not going anywhere, i am here with one clear message, the united kingdom stands with ukraine. rishi sunak has come here notjust to see the devastation for himself but also promise ukraine more support, to try and show a little bit of british leadership while america and europe hesitate. but the new money is only for one year and has been promised later than some mps wanted. but mr sunak�*s host was happy, notjust with the new money, but also the sheer fact of the prime minister's presence, the first world leader to visit this year. they signed a new agreement committing britain to support ukraine's security in the long term, mr sunak spoke of a new hundred year partnership. but in a speech to ukrainian mps... i come from the world's oldest parliament to address

the world's bravest. ..amid the solidarity, there was a warning too. we meet today at a difficult moment in the struggle for ukraine's freedom. as always during conflict, there will be difficult moments. but we must prepare for this to be a long war. and that is the reality these two men face, mr zelensky needs allies and ammunition, mr sunak needs time and money. and neither has enough of either. james landale, bbc news, kyiv. scientists have discovered a gigantic, ring—shaped structure made up of galaxies and galaxy clusters in space. they say that it's so big, it challenges our understanding of the universe. dr megan argo is an astrophysicist and senior lecturer at university of central lancashire. she told me more.

this is a ring of galaxies on the sky. it is quite a long from earth, it is not something you can see through the naked eye, you need a lot of data to find this. it is 9.2 billion light—years away — that is a very, very long distance away — and it is unusual because we were not expecting to find stretches this big in the universe. did kind of goes against our cosmological models of how we think universes evolved over the last 13.8... talk how we think universes evolved over the last 13.8...— the last 13.8. .. talk us that, then. you 'ust the last 13.8. .. talk us that, then. you just broke _ the last 13.8. .. talk us that, then. you just broke up _ the last 13.8. .. talk us that, then. you just broke up a _ the last 13.8. .. talk us that, then. you just broke up a little - the last 13.8. .. talk us that, then. you just broke up a little bit - you just broke up a little bit there, butjust talk us through white contradicts, potentially, what we thought the way the universe works? :, ,:, : ,, works? one of the in the dominick underpinning _ works? one of the in the dominick underpinning ideas _ works? one of the in the dominick underpinning ideas of— works? one of the in the dominick underpinning ideas of modern - underpinning ideas of modern cosmology is the universe on large goes is homogenous— on average the same ever and looks at him in every

direction, and those two principles that makes up that printable don't predict structures on the scale should be possible from when the big bang universe, the universe did not exist like this today. it was a giant soup of fundamental particles. there were no planes, no stars. over time, as that gas expanded, there were some bits of it more dense than others and we think those parts that were more dense subsequently turned into the that formed galaxies and the that we do see today and our understanding of cosmology as we currently have it says that structures on this scale should not have formed from what we think the early universe, superfund mental particles, was like...

breaks up our thanks to dr megan argo for speaking to us earlier today. 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." katie razzall looks back on a life that inspired generations of young women. annie nightingale. bbc radio 1. radio 1 launched in 1967, with no women presenters. it's 2:00 in the morning, in a club in bristol... annie nightingale refused to accept the all—male remit, and three years later, blazed a trail on to the station and into the history books. i think they thought we'll have to have one. who do we know? so i became the token woman. the first female presenter on radio 1, she stayed for more than 50 years, her passion for music undiminished. it's fatboy slim live!

most people, as they grew up, they lose interest, which is fair enough. to me, i'm obsessed. she was 17 when she decided to become a journalist, she got a job on the brighton argus and got to interview the beatles. she became one of the first music journalists on fleet street, a pioneer in the largely all male world of rock. and as the first female presenter on the old grey whistle test, ushered in punk, new wave and a new era. the damned. siouxie and the banshees. the skids. some of those who followed in her footsteps have been paying tribute. radio 2 presenter zoe ball said she loved her music like no other and could outlast any of us at the party, and 6 music's lauren laverne thanked herfor opening the door and showing us all what to do when we got through it. cassius' i love you so... a champion of the new, the undiscovered — even in her 80s,

her taste in music didn't age. from day one, annie nightingale said, "i chose the records i wanted to play and stuck to it ever since." we are going to reflect a bit more. i'm joined by nick reilly, content editor at rolling stone uk. thank you very much for coming on the programme. what are your overwriting reflections today? it is obviously a _ overwriting reflections today? it is obviously a very — overwriting reflections today? it 3 obviously a very sad day, but one where we can just look back on the incredible legacy that annie leaves behind and just how much of a trailblazer she was. that package said it, she was the first female dj on radio one at a time when it was a male—dominated music industry, and she was really kind of unapologetic anyway she played the music that she really wanted to. she said from day one, i chose the records i wanted to play, i stuck to it ever since stop she was largely on evenings for that

reason. she wanted to champion new talent, do things her own way, and then also be this incredible true blazer for female djs and also fema journalists at a time when itjust was not the norm. let's not forget the fact that untiljanice long came along in 1982, that is 12 years after annie started, she was the only female dj on the station, and so for those 12 years, she was really riding the wave and really representing everything that it meant for her. it is incredibly a sad day, but obviously one where we can really celebrate the incredible trailblazer and champion that she was. :, , :, :, , , trailblazer and champion that she was. :, ,:, , , was. trailblazer, absolutely, but also the longevity. _ was. trailblazer, absolutely, but also the longevity. it _ was. trailblazer, absolutely, but also the longevity. it is - was. trailblazer, absolutely, but also the longevity. it is a - was. trailblazer, absolutely, but also the longevity. it is a real. also the longevity. it is a real talent to be able to stay so loved and respected by the public, by your peers, and to keep on working on various different forums for so long. various different forums for so lonu. :, various different forums for so lon. :, , various different forums for so lon., :, , ., ,,

long. yeah, absolutely, and i think the fact that _ long. yeah, absolutely, and i think the fact that she _ long. yeah, absolutely, and i think the fact that she was _ long. yeah, absolutely, and i think the fact that she was the _ long. yeah, absolutely, and i think the fact that she was the guinness| the fact that she was the guinness world record holderfor the longest career as a female radio presenter reflects that, and i think right up until last month, bearing in mind this was a month before she died, she was still really championing the best new talent. i was listening to one of her later shows, back from december 2023, and on there, she was playing the duo dimitri vegas and like mike, one of the highly respected dj doers around the world. right until the end she was breaking through new talent, she knew what was relevant, and that after being on the airwaves for over 50 years, it is quite incredible. flick on the airwaves for over 50 years, it is quite incredible.— it is quite incredible. nick reilly, thank ou it is quite incredible. nick reilly, thank you very — it is quite incredible. nick reilly, thank you very much _ it is quite incredible. nick reilly, thank you very much for - it is quite incredible. nick reilly, thank you very much for your - thank you very much for your reflections. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you. just want to bring you one breaking _ thank you. just want to bring you one breaking line _ thank you. just want to bring you one breaking line we _ thank you. just want to bring you one breaking line we are - thank you. just want to bring you one breaking line we are gettingl one breaking line we are getting through from the us. this is to do with our main story this hour, the us and uk attacks on those houthi

targets within yemen. a response pretty houthi attacks on shipping lanes. we have now heard from the pentagon in the us. we did see one anti—ship ballistic missile that was fired today from the houthis that did not hit a ship of any kind. there has been, it seems, ever tell you already. that's it from me. i am lewis vaughanjones. —— a retaliation already. good evening. it's been a much colder week, with frosty scenes across the uk, and at least it's been drier. now, we do have some rain to come in the north overnight and at first tomorrow, but more significantly, this weather front will introduce even colder air surging down from the arctic on strong winds. so it will feel pretty bitter as we head into next week, with some severe frosts and a greater risk of snow. but i'll come back to that. for the meantime, as we go

through this evening and overnight, there will be some wetter weather making its way southwards, dampening the surfaces. so as we do go through the night and temperatures fall close to freezing, below freezing in a few spots, there could be the odd icy patch and, as we've seen this week, the odd fog patch, and it may well linger throughout the day on saturday. so quite a lot of cloud mulling around underneath this weather front, still a few spots of rain on it, but much brighter skies follow for scotland, then to northern ireland and northern england. some brightness further south as well once any mist fog clears, but we do hold on to a lot of cloud as well. but the wind direction changes. it's down from the north or the north—west, so it's not a particularly cold day on the face of things, but i think it will start to feel chilly in that brisk north wind, which will bring with it wintry showers, increasingly so as we go through tomorrow night and into sunday. so a colder night with the frost returning a little bit more sharply in the north, as you can see, with longer clear spells here. but sunday, we still got the remnants of the weather front in the south and a few spots of rain, but it's snow we're expecting across scotland.

already, warnings out for those snow showers piling up and causing potential disruption. you can see it's a colder day. so these are the areas we think through sunday and monday most likely to see some disruptive snow, initially scotland, but the risk increases on monday in northern ireland. you can see that yourself. and then potentially later monday into tuesday, we might see a spell of snow pushing further southwards into perhaps southern scotland, northern ireland, northern england, so therefore the risk of that disruptive snow pushes further southwards. we could see 5—10 centimetres over the hills. by wednesday, just the hint that we might see some snow in southern areas as well as those heavy showers continuing with the snowfall in the north. so you can see those areas where we're expecting to see most of the snow as we go into next week, but not exclusively. there could be snow elsewhere as well, but it certainly looks colder as we go through next week.

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. you're watching the context on bbc news. this type of behaviour can't be met without a response. we need to send a strong signal that this breach of international law is wrong. people can't act like this with impunity and that's why, together with allies, we've decided to take this action. whether the prime minister was acting appropriately in taking the decision as quickly as he did without consulting parliament. now, sometimes governments do, sometimes they don't.

this is directly linked to gaza. the houthis who are carrying out the attacks say that's why they are doing them. and they say clearly as well that if there was a ceasefire, they would stop. now, they may not be telling the truth about that but that is what they are saying. welcome to the programme. the white house says us and british air strikes on houthi sites in yemen have diminished the group's ability to launch missiles and drones. russia, turkey — and the main supporter of the houthis — iran — have condemned the action. we'll bring you the latest on the political and economic fallout. also in the programme — britain's prime minister rishi sunak promises £2.5 pounds worth of new aid for ukraine, as he pays a visit to the country.

we'll bring you an interview with ecuador�*s president in the week