hello, welcome to verified live — three hours of breaking stories and checking out the truth behind them. the princess of wales has had planned abdominal surgery, and will be in hospitalfor up to a fortnight. kensington palace says the procedure was successful, and took place at the london clinic, a private hosptal in central london. the princess is unlikely to return to public duties until after easter. what more do we know? this was a surrise what more do we know? this was a surprise statement _ what more do we know? this was a surprise statement released - what more do we know? this was a surprise statement released by - surprise statement released by kensington palace an hour ago. the statement is fairly lengthy. we know

that catherine, the princess of wales, was admitted to the london clinic yesterday. that is a private hospital in central london, for planned abdominal surgery. we understand the surgery was successful. it is expected she will remain in hospitalfor ten to m days before returning home to windsor to continue her recovery. we are told by kensington palace that based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after easter. i will take you through some of the rest of the statement. it says she will appreciate the interest this statement will generate. she hopes the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible. of course, we know she has three young children, and her wish that personal medical information remains private. so we shouldn't expect over however

long it takes for her to recuperate to get a running commentary, but we understand it is noncancerous. but clearly, as our colleagues at the bbc health unit have been saying, it is clear from the turn of the statement that whatever was affecting the princess of wales was serious. it is a ten to m day stay in hospital and that is significant. do we know how serious? thankfully, the surgery was successful, but there we have any idea how severe it is? ., , , there we have any idea how severe it is? ., g , w ., , is? no. just the fact that it is noncancerous. _ is? no. just the fact that it is noncancerous. we _ is? no. just the fact that it is noncancerous. we can - is? no. just the fact that it is noncancerous. we can say i is? no. just the fact that it is | noncancerous. we can say that catherine was staying with her family on christmas day. there was no indication from anyone at sandringham that she was any in many in hell. she did have a busy december, hosting the annual carol service —— there was no indication that she was in any ill—health. the statement does say it was planned abdominal surgery, which suggests

that it wasn't a rushed to hospital, but i am speculating, frankly. we know no more than what is on the statement. we do know that after she is released from hospital, she will return home to windsor, where she lived with prince william and her three children. we would of course have expected the two of them to have expected the two of them to have undertaken some foreign engagements this year. all of that is going to be put on hold until the princess of wales is fully recovered.— princess of wales is fully recovered. ., , ., recovered. that is our royal correspondent, _ recovered. that is our royal correspondent, sarah - recovered. that is our royal - correspondent, sarah campbell. pakistan has recalled its ambassador to iran in response to a missile and drone attack on its territory. tehran�*s envoy has also been blocked from returning to islamabad. iranian state media say the strike targeted a militant group in the sparsely populated province of balochistan. but the pakistani foreign ministry said two children were killed in the attack.

a spokesperson called it a blatant breach of pakistan's sovereignty, and accused iran of violating international law. our correspondent caroline davies in islamabad and following developments. skirmishes between pakistan and iran on their border are not unheard of, but they're rarely as high—profile as this particular incident. iranian state media said yesterday that the iranian military have hit and targeted the headquarters of a sunni militant group that is known as jaish al—adl, which has carried out multiple attacks inside iran, including claiming responsibility for an attack on a police station in december. now, the group itself has put out on social media. it says that this particular strike hit the homes of the militants and it killed family members of the militants rather than their bases themselves. they have also vowed revenge on iran. iran itself has not put out an official statement on this incident.

now, pakistan's foreign ministry has said that two children were killed, and they have called this an unprovoked violation of pakistan's airspace. pakistan has now recalled its ambassador to iran, and it has told iran's ambassador to pakistan, who is currently out of the country, not to return. of course, the backdrop to all of this — and the reason why this is getting even more attention — is because of the timing. the fact that iran has also in recent days hit both iraq and syria. now, put together, this suggests that iran is currently trying to show a display of strength and force against any group that it considers to be a threat. iran's foreign minister has accused israel of carrying out genocide in gaza. speaking in davos, hossein amir—abdollahian said houthis who attacked ships in the red sea were acting in defence of the palestinian people. when challenged on iran's role in the violence, he said the fighting would stop when the israelis ceased their action in gaza.

we all benefit from maritime security, and the yemenis also believe that. what happened ? it has to do with the genocidal war of the israeli regime against the people of gaza and the yemenis defending the palestinians. if the genocide in gaza stops, then it will lead to the... to the end of other crises and attacks in the region. let's speak to our security correspondent frank gardner. frank, how much sway does iran have over this? ~ ., ., , �* over this? well, iran doesn't control all— over this? well, iran doesn't control all those _ over this? well, iran doesn't control all those groups. - over this? well, iran doesn'tl control all those groups. they over this? well, iran doesn't - control all those groups. they are allies, often described as proxies. but it does have a high degree of influence because in many cases, it

funds, arms and trains them, certainly in the case of the houthis in the red sea, there is no way they could have acquired the missile technology they have now without iranian help and training. but they are fundamentally national groups that happen to be allied with iran. so iran does have a high degree of influence over them. i have to point out that many of the actions of these groups predate the gaza war. so this is not the first time there have been exchanges of fire along the red sea coast, for example, or indeed along the lebanon and israeli border, all of which predates the october the 7th attacks on southern israel and the following israeli actions in gaza. find israel and the following israeli actions in gaza.— israel and the following israeli actions in gaza. �* , ., actions in gaza. and while they are allied in some _ actions in gaza. and while they are allied in some ways, _ actions in gaza. and while they are allied in some ways, how - actions in gaza. and while they are allied in some ways, how much - actions in gaza. and while they are allied in some ways, how much did the agendas of the houthis align

with the iranian authorities? the houthis are _ with the iranian authorities? the houthis are a _ with the iranian authorities? tue: houthis are a yemeni with the iranian authorities? tte: houthis are a yemeni mount tribal group that took over power illegally in yemen. they seized power on an anti—corruption ticket in september 2014. they are not the internationally recognised government of that country. but they have been in power effectively over most of the populated parts of yemen for nine years and they are the de facto government. they do share with iran virulently anti—western, anti—israeli view of the world. their motto is death to america, death to israel, a curse upon the jews, and they have been anti—western for about 20 years. they have also been fighting off a war with the saudis, who joined they have also been fighting off a war with the saudis, whojoined in

yemen's civil war in 2015 to try to restore the legitimate yellow yemeni government, which it saw as an ally. that war was inconclusive. the houthis are still in power. they have a powerful arsenal. only recently, there has been another interdiction of iranian weapons, but the saudis are trying to extricate themselves from this one now, which they have failed to win. that themselves from this one now, which they have failed to win.— they have failed to win. that was our security _ they have failed to win. that was our security correspondent, - they have failed to win. that was | our security correspondent, frank gardner. two qatari military planes carrying medicines for hostages in gaza have arrived in egypt. the consignment will be transferred to the territory under an agreement between israel and hamas, which will also see increased aid for palestinian civilians in gaza. these are the latest pictures from the rafah crossing where the aid convoy will enter the gaza strip. it's unclear how exactly the medicines will be delivered to some 45 of the remaining more than 100 israeli hostages, who are reported to be suffering from chronic diseases or in need

of other life—saving drugs. gaza s hamas government has described the last 24 hours of fighting as the "most difficult and intense" since the start of the war. the palestinian territory's health ministry says more than 80 people have been killed, many of them in overnight israeli air strikes and street battles in the southern city of khan younis. our middle east correspondent yolande knell gave this update on the deal to get aid and medical supplies into gaza. residents of khan younis in southern gaza tell us that they have been experiencing some of the most intense israeli air strikes since the start of the war. and, actually, in videos posted on social media, you can see the orange flames that leap up from some of these israeli bombs that hit. you can hear gunfire reverberating around the city as hamas fighters

fight with israeli soldiers at close quarters. that has led to displaced people — and there have been thousands of them sheltering at the nasser hospital, one of the main hospitals in the city — now heading out of the city on foot. one man told us it had been a night of terror. people were panicking, he said. the kids had been screaming and crying nonstop. a localjournalist told us that people were heading westwards, not really knowing what fate awaited them. at the same time, there's a lot going on diplomatically, with qatar now having mediated this deal that will see medicines at the same time, there's a lot going on diplomatically, with qatar now having mediated this deal that will see medicines going in for israeli hostages being held by hamas in gaza in exchange for an increase in medicines being taken in for palestinian civilians. that's been seen as a very positive sign. and, at the same time, we've had the white house saying that qatar is mediating here what it's calling very serious, intensive discussions for a possible new hostage release deal. it said that it looks hopeful.

live now to shaina low from the norwegian refugee council, who is in jerusalem. what difference do you think this deal could make? in what difference do you think this deal could make?— what difference do you think this deal could make? in terms of the aid that is coming _ deal could make? in terms of the aid that is coming in, _ deal could make? in terms of the aid that is coming in, any _ deal could make? in terms of the aid that is coming in, any aid _ deal could make? in terms of the aid that is coming in, any aid is - that is coming in, any aid is important. gaza's hospitals have been on the brink �*s of collapse for two months. only a few hospitals have been partially operating. but what is particularly troubling to us at the norwegian refugee council is that aid should never be something to be negotiated. it should never be something that is politicised. there are 2.3 million innocent civilians in gaza who have been living in hell for 100 days now, and the fact that those medical supplies are being tied up in political negotiations is something that is troublesome. aid should be entering gaza unhindered and unfettered access should be

available for a notice to distribute aid through all parts of gaza. but given the current circumstances with ongoing hostilities, movement restrictions in the north and the communications blackout, it's very difficult for us to have a concerted humanitarian response that meets the needs of the civilian population in gaza. t needs of the civilian population in gaza. ., ., ., ., ., ., gaza. i want to go to that in more detail, shaina. _ gaza. i want to go to that in more detail, shaina. it _ gaza. i want to go to that in more detail, shaina. it is _ gaza. i want to go to that in more detail, shaina. it is of _ gaza. i want to go to that in more detail, shaina. it is of course - gaza. i want to go to that in more detail, shaina. it is of course one| detail, shaina. it is of course one thing, aid getting sent, but is it getting through quickly enough and is it reaching the people who need it? �* , ., w is it reaching the people who need it? , ., , it? aid is not reaching people throughout — it? aid is not reaching people throughout the _ it? aid is not reaching people throughout the gaza - it? aid is not reaching people throughout the gaza strip. i it? aid is not reaching people | throughout the gaza strip. we it? aid is not reaching people . throughout the gaza strip. we at it? aid is not reaching people - throughout the gaza strip. we at the norwegian refugee council, due to safety concerns, have been forced to limit our distributions of aid to rafah and the southernmost part of gaza. the un has reported that less than a quarter of the requests to

bring aid convoys up to northern gaza, where people have been cut off since october the 13th, has been approved. this is a very small amount of aid that is reaching people who are desperate. we are hearing reports of people on the brink of starvation. millions of people have been displaced, 85% of gaza's population, but the aid isn't reaching them. on top of that, we have had a communications blackout since friday. and while our teams can access some internet connectivity and un facilities, we are not able to reach most of our staff scattered throughout the gaza strip. one of the most efficient ways we have been able to deliver aid is through cash distributions, whereby people can purchase whatever they can still find on the market.

but so long as there is a communications blackout, we can't transfer that money to people in need and we can't let them know there is money available for them to spend. 50 there is money available for them to send. ., ., , spend. so that communications blackout is _ spend. so that communications blackout is a — spend. so that communications blackout is a major— spend. so that communications blackout is a major obstacle. i spend. so that communications i blackout is a major obstacle. thank you for bringing us up to date on the situation, shaina. that was shaina low from the norwegian refugee council. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. politicians in northern ireland have once again failed to elect a stormont speaker. it is the seventh recall of the assembly since may 2022. the assembly collapsed almost two years ago due to the democratic unionist party's protest over post—brexit trade rules for northern ireland. a legal deadline to restore devolved government runs out on thursday. the final report of the public inquiry into the infected blood scandal will be published in late may. the chair of the inquiry, sir brian langstaff, said more time was needed to prepare "a report of this gravity".

victims and their families were initially told they would learn the findings in autumn last year. the rate of inflation unexpectedly rose to 4% in december — the first increase in ten months, up from 3.9% percent in november. the office for national statistics says tobacco and alcohol had the biggest impact on prices. the chancellor insists the government's plan to bring down inflation is working. the prime minister is facing another test of his authority today over plans to send migrants to rwanda. rishi sunak is trying to revive government proposals to send some asylum seekers to the east african country, arguing it will deter people from crossing the channel in small boats. but he suffered the biggest rebellion of his premiership in parliament last night — and two deputy chairmen of the conservative party resigned, saying the bill wasn't tough enough.

damian grammaticas has more. reporter: is your party too split to back the bill? i yesterday saw the biggest rebellion of his prime ministership. today, more tory divisions could be on show. all on a policy rishi sunak has put at the heart of his agenda — so a tempting target for an opposition leader. mps: hear, hear! it's a farce. only this, only this government could waste hundreds of millions of pounds on a removals policy that doesn't remove anyone. laughter. only this government could claim that it's going to get flights off the ground, only to discover that they couldn't find a plane. we have worked through a record number of cases and returned a record number of people back to where they have come. all of that is a plan that is working and we can see that is working because the numbers of people coming to this country are down by over a third, mr speaker. the labour leader seized on reports that mr sunak, when he was chancellor, didn't think the rwanda scheme would work as a deterrent.

he didn't want to fund it. he didn't think it would work. when he sees his party tearing itself apart, hundreds of bald men scrapping over a single broken comb, doesn't he wish he'd had the courage to stick to his guns? laughter. i have absolute conviction that the plan we've put in place will work, absolute conviction, because i believe it's important that we grip this problem. the attempt to deport asylum seekers to rwanda and leave the east african country to deal with their cases was halted by the courts before it got off the ground. the bbc caught up with the country's president in davos. he says it is up to mr sunak to revive the plan. reporter: the supreme court said that your country's not safe. i is it safe for refugees? ask the uk. it is the uk's problem, not rwanda's problem. the ayes to the right, 68. the noes to the left, 529. yesterday, dozens of tory mps tried

to amend mr sunak�*s new legislation. lee anderson and brendan clarke—smith resigned as deputy party chairmen, saying they couldn't vote for something they didn't believe would work. and jane stevenson quit as a ministerial aide. she now says she'll vote with the government today. other potential rebels are wavering, too. i have said very clearly, if the bill remains unamended, i will at the bare minimum abstain as i did on the second reading. i still leave voting against on the table as an option but i will want to do that collectively with colleagues if there are enough colleagues who believe that is the right thing to do. that "if" is the question — how divided will the conservative party look after today? will mr sunak get any flights to rwanda off the ground? and will that really stop the boats? damian grammaticas, bbc news, westminster. let's go live now to our deputy political editor, vicki young. downing street has said it is confident the rwanda bill will pass today. how likely does that seem at

the moment? tt today. how likely does that seem at the moment?— today. how likely does that seem at the moment? ., , , ., ~ , the moment? it does seem more likely than yesterday- — the moment? it does seem more likely than yesterday. the i the moment? it does seem more likely than yesterday. the bad i the moment? it does seem more likely than yesterday. the bad news i the moment? it does seem more likely than yesterday. the bad news for- than yesterday. the bad news for rishi sunak was the 60 of his own mps, a huge number in the circumstances, tried to harden up the bill yesterday. there is a they are trying again today. and because the opposition parties are not going along with it, they will fail today too. so the question is about the third reading. this is the last hurdle in the house of commons to get that bill through. that third reading will come later today. if they were to vote against that, it would kill the entire thing. looks like a lot of the rebels from yesterday has decided they would rather go along with this bill as it is even though they have said publicly that they don't think it will work. most of them have decided they will back the government. so we could end up with maybe ten rebels or a few more voting against it. there are always at abstentions, of

course. that is when an mp decides they are not going to vote for or against it. that can also be a problem for the government, but at the moment they are confident that it will go through. then it goes from the commons to the house of lords, where it will face a barrage of criticism and more attempts to change it. there are a lot of people with a legal background in the house of lords who will want changes to it and we have no idea how long it will take them to get it through. and we have to wait for that until it becomes law.— have to wait for that until it becomes law. . ., , ., , , becomes law. that was our deputy olitical becomes law. that was our deputy political editor, i becomes law. that was our deputy political editor, vicki i becomes law. that was our deputy political editor, vicki young. i chinese researchers say a rhesus monkey they cloned has survived for two years, thanks to a new technique. previous attempts have either not led to live births or the offspring have not survived for more than a few hours. critics say the suffering caused to animals by cloning is not worth any potential benefits. let's speak to professor robin lovell—badge, head of the laboratory of stem cell biology and developmental genetics, at the francis crick institute.

we will come to the ethics of this in a moment. first, how much of a breakthrough is it? they have only had one live birth, so how significant is this development? it's always difficult when you have only one of something. you can't determine frequency, so you don't know whether the method they have developed is more efficient than previous procedures. they need to have at least two to be able to give a rate of success. there had been a number of previous attempts to clone nonhuman primates, some macaques in particular. one species of macaque was cloned in 2018. again, it was a very inefficient process. only i% to 2% of attempts works. trying to clone the resus macaque, which is

what the present study has been doing, has met with no success in getting a live—born animal to live more than a few hours. while it is important to work with the rhesus macaques is because these other types of nonhuman primate that are most often used in research. so we have a lot of information about them in other respects. and if you want to use nonhuman primates in research which is closely allied to research on humans, it makes sense to develop the rhesus macaque as a model. the reason they want to do it is to be able to reduce variation between experiments. scientists always want to control for variables. and having genetically different animals in an experiment complicates things. so if

you use genetically identical rhesus macaques, you can use them in experiments which could apply to humans. �* ., . , humans. and turning to the ethics, the animal — humans. and turning to the ethics, the animal charity i humans. and turning to the ethics, the animal charity the i humans. and turning to the ethics, the animal charity the rspca i humans. and turning to the ethics, the animal charity the rspca saysl the animal charity the rspca says the animal charity the rspca says the suffering to the monkeys outweighs any scientific benefit. do you agree? t outweighs any scientific benefit. do ou auree? ., outweighs any scientific benefit. do ou auree? ~ ., ., , you agree? i think i do on this occasion- _ you agree? i think i do on this occasion- i — you agree? i think i do on this occasion. i don't i you agree? i think i do on this occasion. i don't always i you agree? i think i do on this occasion. i don't always agree i you agree? i think i do on this i occasion. i don't always agree with them, but i do on this occasion. the number of animals used, in this case to generate one live—born animal is a bit unacceptable, actually. there were 113 attempts reported, but there had been many attempts previously. if you add it all up, many monkeys have been used. and only having one survivor is not enough to do anything with. the whole idea is that you need to have

multiple animals. we whole idea is that you need to have multiple animals.— multiple animals. we have to leave it there. thank— multiple animals. we have to leave it there. thank you, i multiple animals. we have to leave it there. thank you, professor i multiple animals. we have to leave| it there. thank you, professor robin lovell—badge. stay with us on bbc news. although much of the country today and tomorrow will continue to see a lot of dry, sunny and cold weather, we have some concerns for the snow showers continuing to pile into the north of the country, particularly northern scotland into the northern isles, where we have an amber warning in force. this system across france will not pose any issues to southern britain. it will bring an area of thicker cloud and a few wintry showers it's the snow showers in the north we have more concerns about, with an amber warning issued here for an extra five to ten centimetres of snow falling on already deep snow. we could even see 15 to 20 centimetres of extra snow over the higher ground

and ice will continue to be an issue here throughout the day. further south, the best of the sunshine and another very cold today to come, particularly across the northern half of the uk. this evening, we lose the cloud and have a few wintry showers for the far south—east. it's cold, dry and clear for most. an ice risk and those snow showers will continue to pile into the northern isles and into the central northern highlands. a very cold night to come, wherever you are. it is a cold, frosty and icy start to thursday. bright with plenty of sunshine, but we will have snow showers draped around coasts. but the heaviest snow showers again are across northern scotland into the northern isles. another very cold day to come. subtle changes into friday. we lose that arctic northerly. high pressure builds in, starting to bring us some westerly winds. so a slightly less

cold day on friday. quite a lot of sunshine around, thanks to high pressure. but snow showers will come in thick and fast across the north and west of scotland, with longer spells of snow. that will add to the snow depths there. but elsewhere, you will see temperatures coming up a bit. and that is the theme for things to come in the weekend. big changes. we start to pick up atlantic low pressure systems, strong gale force, even severe gale force south—westerly winds and pulses of rain. this rise in temperature, with heavy rain, could lead to localised flooding, but certainly turning a lot milder this weekend.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the princess of wales is recovering following abdominal surgery. kensington palace says the operation was a success, and she will remain in hospital for up to a fortnight. iran's foreign minister says houthi attacks in the red sea — will only stop when the war in gaza ends. translation: if the genocide in gaza stops, then it will lead to the... i the end of other crises and attacks in the region. the hamas government in gaza says the last 24 hours of fighting has been the "most difficult and intense" since the start of the war with israel. and rishi sunakfaces a crucial vote on his plan to deport asylum seekers to rwanda after two deputy chairmen from his

own party resign over the issue. some breaking news to bring you now. buckingham palace has issued a statement saying king charles will be in hospital next week. i'll bring you the statement in full now. it says, in common with thousands of men each year, the king has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate. his majesty's condition is benign and he will attend hospital next week for a corrective procedure. the king's public engagements will be postponed for a short period of recuperation. so, that statement has just come through in the last few minutes from buckingham palace. just to reiterate, the king is attending hospital next week. as the statement said, it is for a corrective procedure. they say it is for an

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