live from washington, this is bbc news. the us again hits houthi targets in yemen — hours after reinstating them as global terrorists. as israel continues to hit gaza, its forces are accused of a deadly attack on civilians in the occupied west bank. and we look at how republican candidates for the us presidential nomination are trying to appeal to new hampshire primary voters. hello, i'm caitriona perry. good to have you with us. the us military has hit houthi positions in yemen for a fourth time. a statement released by centcom said "forces conducted strikes on m iran—backed houthi

missiles that were loaded to be fired in houthi controlled areas in yemen. these missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and us navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time." the raids came hours after the us added houthis to its specially designated global terrorist list. speaking at the world economic forum, national security advisor, jake sullivan, called for the iran—backed group to stop its attacks on shipping vessels in the red sea, despite houthi fighters saying they would continue until there is a ceasefire in gaza. at the same conference in davos, iran's foreign minister said an end to the war in gaza is needed to stop houthis targeting ships in the red sea. the attacks on merchant vessels since november have disrupted global shipping and raised concerns that inflation could worsen as a result. live now to our correspondent will vernon.

what can you tell us about the new statement that we just received from us central command about what the us has done today?— done today? interesting statement _ done today? interesting statement we _ done today? interesting statement we just - done today? interesting - statement we just received, as you say, the us militia saying that 14 who the missiles were targeted in those strikes and it sounds like those missiles were primed and ready to launch and the us military in that statement basically said that this was an act of self defence and that is a narrative that we have seen time and time again from the us and its allies when they've been describing their strikes on yemen because this is the fourth round of strikes on who the target in the space of a week, last thursday, the weather co—ordinated strikes by the us, uk, supported by four other nations. we have seen the tit—for—tat situation emerge

where the houthi's fire a missile and the us and its allies response so the question is, what happens now? because there is a danger that this tit—for—tat situation will continue and that doesn't seem to be any clear exit strategy inside. when those strikes, those co—ordinated, large—scale strikes were carried out, the us and its allies are said that two objectives were, firstly, to dissuade the houthi is from carrying out the attacks on racy shipping and secondly, to degrade their capabilities to do so. now, it appears that both of those objectives haven't really been successful. the attacks continues albeit a smaller scale. the attacks continues albeit a smallerscale. i the attacks continues albeit a smaller scale. i think many will be asking what next? the other development is the us state department has moved to

name the houthi is as a designated global terrorist group, talk us through, what is a significant of that move? that's right, the nines men came a few hours after these later strikes and i think that the us is hoping that this will put pressure on the houthi's and also put pressure on those that support them, those that fund them and somehow cut off the supply of weapons to the houthi's. now, this wasn't a new designation, it was a resignation because the who these were earlier on a global terrorist list, it was a different gasification but a similar thing. different gasification but a similarthing. us different gasification but a similar thing. us officials very keen to stress that this should in no way disrupt humanitarian efforts, he military and aid getting into yemen because several major international aid agencies were there and us officials are very keen to stress that the us is still the largest international

donor to yemen and it's very important that this is not a fact in any the important that those aid agencies are doing. will vernon, thank you for that. iran has claimed responsibility for a missile and drone attack in western pakistan. officials in islamabad said two children were killed in balochistan. iran's foreign minister said the raid targeted the militant groupjaish al—adl, which he described as an "iranian terrorist group". pakistan's government recalled its ambassador to iran and has blocked tehran�*s envoy from returning. the attack on balochistan comes days after iran hit targets in iraq and syria. our correspondent in pakistan, caroline davies, reports. skirmishes between pakistan and a run on their border are not unheard of but there is high—profile as this particular incident. iranians state media said yesterday that the rain in military have hit and targeted the headquarters of a militant group that is known as jaish

al—adl which is carried out multiple attacks inside a run including claiming responsibility for an attack on a police station in december. the group itself has put out on social media, it says that this particular strike hit the homes of the militants and killed family members of the militants rather than the bases themselves. they have also vowed revenge on iran. they have not put out an official statement on this incident. pakistan's foreign ministry said that two children were killed and they have called this an unprovoked violation of pakistan is a space, pakistan has recalled its ambassador to iran and it is told that iran's ambassador to pakistan who is out of the country not to return. of course, the battle dropped all this and the reason why this is getting even more attention is because of the timing. the fact that a run, in recent days, hit both the rock and syria, put together, this

suggest that iran is trying to show a display of strength and force against any group that he considers to be a threat. israel has again hit gaza's southern city, khan younis. the hamas run health ministry in gaza, says 165 people were killed and 250 people injured in the past 2a hours. thousands of palestinians are moving towards rafah — near the border with egypt — in a bid to find safety. meanwhile, two qatari military planes carrying medicines for hostages in gaza have arrived in egypt. the shipment will be transferred to the territory under an agreement between israel and hamas which will also see increased aid for palestinian civilians in gaza. earlier, my colleague azadeh moshiri spoke to james smith, who recently worked in gaza as an emergency doctor for medical aid for palestinians. i know we spoke recently, just when you go back so, i wonder what your reaction is to the news that more aid will be sent to gaza? . ~

news that more aid will be sent to gaza? ., ~ ,, news that more aid will be sent to gaza? . ~' ,, �* , news that more aid will be sent to gaza? ., ~ ~ , , to gaza? thank you. any news that more _ to gaza? thank you. any news that more aid _ to gaza? thank you. any news that more aid will— to gaza? thank you. any news that more aid will be - to gaza? thank you. any news that more aid will be entering| that more aid will be entering into gaza is welcome, of course. the amount of aid that is entered into gaza since early october has fallen far, far below the minimum requirement to sustain human life. as we know, prior to october 7, life. as we know, prior to october7, on life. as we know, prior to october 7, on a quote on quote, normal day in gaza, approximately 500 trucks would enter into the gaza strip. there hasn't been a day since october 7 which we met that minimum requirement of 500 trucks. at the same time, the scale of needs is far, far higher than what", normal day in gaza. and of course, we know that there was a blockade on the gaza strip for more than a decade, priortalked the gaza strip for more than a decade, prior talked over seven so, already very high levels of

need, very high levels of manufacturing dependence on humanitarian assistance. so now, of course, the need for immediate humanitarian access to ever even greater catastrophe is phenomenon part and as i say, the news that more aid is coming is of course welcome. four brothers — killed earlier this month in an israeli air raid in the occupied west bank — were palestinian civilians who posed no threat to israeli forces — witnesses have told the bbc. the un says that almost 500 palestinians were killed by the israeli army there last year — the majority of them since the hamas attacks on israel on october 7. our middle east correspondent lucy williamson has been to al—shuhada, near the city ofjenin, to investigate. gunshots, sirens. the war is in gaza, but it's hard to miss the warnings coming from west bank cities likejenin. since the hamas attacks,

the israeli army has come intojenin again and again and again, determined to root out hamas and its sympathisers. jenin armed groups here, determined to resist. those armed groups proudly claim any members killed in israeli operations as martyrs for their cause. none have claimed the four darweesh brothers, killed in an israeli air strike ten days ago. their mother's first gesture on seeing where they died , to tidy a little. translation: i wanted to come and imagine where each - of them was sitting. alaa was there. ahmad, rami and hazza were here. there were the other martyrs. i wanted to see exactly

where my sons were. the men, all in their 20s, were filmed by a security camera sitting around a fire with three of their extended family as the air strike happened. one of the first paramedics on the scene is convinced they were doing nothing wrong. translation: there was no sign of any clashes _ or confrontation. not shooting, not throwing stones. was there anything you saw that could explain why these men were killed? translation: there was nothing. they had no weapons. they were drinking coffee by the fire. they were wearing slippers and pyjamas. we asked the israeli army why the men were targeted. it said an aircraft struck a terrorist squad that hurled explosives at israeli forces, and sent us this video. the black flashes near the passing vehicle, consistent

with explosives, analysts say. witnesses said soldiers drove through the village 15 minutes to an hour before the strike took place. we asked the army when their footage was filmed. it said it had nothing to add. their mother, ibtesam, found all four sons in the hospital morgue. the family showed us israeli entry permits for two of them. no—one israel sees as a security threat would have them. translation: they took my whole family away. i who can i complain to when all countries are supporting israel? if they wanted to do anything, they would have helped the children in gaza. my sons are under the soil now, and no—one stood with them. in the village cemetery, her caresses and her questions go unanswered. this is a place she can take her grief. but her anger has nowhere to go.

lucy williamson, bbc news, jenin. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at a top story in the uk making headlines: the british prime minister's flagship rwanda migrant bill has passed a major hurdle in the house of commons. lawmakers voted in favour of the government's revised plan to send some asylum seekers to rwanda. that's despite some conservative mps rebelling, and pushing for changes to the legislation. the bill aims to stop legal challenges against the deportation plan — after the highest court in britain previously ruled it unlawful. here's our political editor, chris mason. rishi sunak can breathe a sigh of relief, victory sometimes is, always is the absence of defeat, his plan still stands,

as i mentioned, in now had to the house of lords, it will face opposition there and the government faces a deadline, the deadline is that general election to try and prove that they can make this policy work. the policy is still alive proving it can work as a work in progress. after wednesday's vote, the opposition labour party slammed the rwanda plan as: "unworkable, unaffordable and unlawful". it is expected to face stiff opposition in the house of lords. you're live with bbc news. police in ecuador say a prosecutor investigating an attack on a television studio has been murdered. cesar suarez was shot several times in the port city of guayaquil. the dramatic assault last week during a live tv broadcast was the latest by criminal gangs in ecuador, in response to a state of emergency declared by president daniel noboa. i spoke to our south america correspondent ione wells. reminds us of this attack on the television station last

week, just what happened? viewers in ecuador were watching the news and what of the national broadcasters tc broadcast from the port city of guayaquil, when suddenly armed gunmen entered that tv studio when it was live on air and started holding staff members at gunpoint, some staff members were forced to the ground, others forced to read messages live on air. a terrifying moment for those staff of the television station. this moment really left ecuador reeling in shock and i think the world really in shock, seeing those images. police did then find those responsible and made arrest after that particular incidents but it came just a day after the president of ecuador had declared a national emergency after a spate of violent attacks initiated by drug gangs which included things like prison officers being held hostage, police

officers being kidnapped, explosions in the street and also two gang members escaping from dallas well.— from dallas well. what we know about the individual _ from dallas well. what we know about the individual who - from dallas well. what we know about the individual who has - about the individual who has been assassinated, cesar suarez?— been assassinated, cesar suarez? ,, ., suarez? cesar suarez is a ublic suarez? cesar suarez is a public prosecutor - suarez? cesar suarez is a public prosecutor and - suarez? cesar suarez is a public prosecutor and he | suarez? cesar suarez is a i public prosecutor and he had been tasked with trying to work out which criminal gangs may have been behind that particular attack on the television station. he focused on cases involving organised transnational crime in that province where the attack took place. guayaquil is one of ecuador�*s most violent regions at the moment, particularly because it has become a real hub for cocaine to be exported to the usa and europe back and as a result it has become quite as a result it has become quite a battleground for rival drug games and it was that kind of crime which guayaquil was responsible for investigated. —— cesar suarez is it likely his death will inflame that intense conflict i

his death will inflame that intense conflict— intense conflict i think it probably _ intense conflict i think it probably will _ intense conflict i think it probably will probably . intense conflict i think it i probably will probably will intense conflict i think it - probably will probably will and will be a great concern to residency ecuador and politicians too who have declared the state is in a state of internal armed conflict. one of the shocking things about the incident we have seen in the killing of cesar suarez is it is a really chilling reminder that often those in ecuador who have been responsible for tackling violent crime by drug gangs or even spoken out against the violent crime by drug gangs in the country often become targets themselves. i think this will be a reminder and i think a concern for many politicians and political leaders across the country who are tasked we try to tackle this problem at the moment. indeed. thank you ione wells, south america corresponded for bringing us up to speed on that. when poland elected a new government, prime minister donald tusk promised major reforms to repair democracy in the country, restoring the rule of law, the independence of the courts — and ending what he called the "factory of lies"

on public media. but his efforts so far have met fierce resistance from the former governing party now in opposition which still has allies in key positions, including the presidency. our eastern europe correspondent, sarah rainsford was behind the scenes at polish public television — to see how the battle for the airwaves is playing out. in the corridors of polish television, a radical transformation is taking place. there is a new face for the news bulletins, and a whole new mission. the team at tvp say they're ending eight years of propaganda now the government has changed. but the backlash is fierce. you're reading the news, but you have like an armed police guard outside. yes. i call this a changing, but because it's stressed, and, uh... so they protect you? yes. it's...it's crazy. there are police

officers everywhere. that's because there is a fight over the airwaves. mps, angry the new government had sacked the tv management and taken the main news channel off air. do you accept that your methods to take control of the public media were not as clean as they should have been? translation: we chose the right way. _ there was no cleaner solution. when i look at it today and i see how the opposition behaves, i see that the way we chose, what we are doing, is very clean and responsible. chanting it's part of a much broader power battle. at this rally, the crowd chanted insults at donald tusk... ..and portrayed the prime minister as a traitor. it's the language they used to hear on public television and it's why donald tusk�*s government moved so fast to change things.

do you think donald tusk is not democratic? no, no, because it's like they break the rules. they have own rules. it's all making for strange scenes at tv centre. the evening news team try to ignore all the politics and get on with reporting the news. some topics more straightforward than others. but blanka hopes independent reporting can help heal the divisions in poland, not make them deeper. it's a big opportunity to make new polish television. but it's tough. "she's a swine." you're getting insults on social media? yes. a lot of hatred, a lot of hatred. so it's emotionally difficult because now we are trying to make objective coverage. each night's countdown to air is a nervous moment, for a bulletin

renamed for the first time in history... ..and now with so much to prove. sarah rainsford, bbc news, warsaw. with the iowa caucus in the rear view, the focus of the us presidential election now turns to the new hampshire primary. but the republican debate before the primary has been cancelled. nikki haley, one of the lead challengers to frontrunner donald trump, refused to participate unless mr trump took part. the former president has not yet attended a debate but still won this week's iowa caucus by a record margin. meanwhile, one of trump's other primary challengers, florida governor ron desantis, has turned his focus to a later race. he has already relocated some of his campaign staff to south carolina, where he hopes to pressure haley, a former state governor. joining me live is lisa kashinsky, a politics reporter for politico.

she is covering the 2024 presidential election and is based in new hampshire for now. that is where all the action is right now. lisa, we saw in iowa just 100,000 people, a tiny percentage of the state turn out to caucus. what is the situation in new hamphire? are voters more fired up for a primary, a different methodology? yes, and the weather will definitely be better here in new hampshire that it was in iowa on caucus night. you can expect to see, folks are predicting a good turnout, particularly high turnout. there is a lot of interest in the primary on both sides of the primary on both sides of the aisle, even on the democratic side might not count. there is also in play in new hampshire independency make up new hampshire independency make up the largest lot of the state's voters and they are expected to turn out and play a major role in the gop primary.

on the point of independence, will have you on the ground match up with the polling without strong performance by south carolina nikki haley. nikki haley is definitely on the upswing and having a surgeon south carolina's —— new hampshire.... striking distance hampshire. . .. striking distance within hampshire.... striking distance within trump depending on the survey. that is really her focus right now, is to get those voters out. she has strong appeal to more moderate republicans and independent voters who are expected again to play such a big role in this gop primary. it is really on her to try and capture that moment and turn these people out to meet that polling reality. out to meet that polling reali . ,, , , ., reality. she is in the state, the former _ reality. she is in the state, the former president - reality. she is in the state, the former president is - reality. she is in the state, the former president is in, | reality. she is in the state, - the former president is in, the state but we see ron desantis moving his campaign apparatus around. what sort of presents to the candidates sat there with their it is a little more muted than you would expect for the run—up to the new hampshire primary view, which is the

first of the primary is here and usually a lot of action. trumpiest here almost every night with a rally. nikki haley has been keeping a somewhat lighter schedule in part because of family reasons. that is expected to brand, ramp up. ron desantis as you said is splitting his time between south carolina the next context and new hampshire. he was here today and gone tomorrow and back and forth for the next few days. that are wondering if they should stop his ballots for him. that is interesting because voters in new hampshire like and iowa are used to a high level of personal attention from candidates. if they are not giving that, does that potentially have an impact on the outcome as well? it very well could _ on the outcome as well? it very well could and _ on the outcome as well? it very well could and that _ on the outcome as well? it very well could and that is _ well could and that is something you see coming up right now we are not giving that, does that potentially have an impact on the outcome as well? it very well could and thatis as well? it very well could and that is something you see coming up right now where actually voters at her events here. she used to do the town hall style 0&a is where she would be on stage, take a bow to question. that has stopped and folks are starting to notice that. ron desantis when

he is here is taking questions from voters pretty extensively. but his absence is being felt as people try to make up their minds in the next few days. the cancellation _ minds in the next few days. the cancellation of _ minds in the next few days. the cancellation of the debate as well dutch these used to be key markers of a context there contest that you just couldn't skip? absolutely. not having the debates is really noticeable and it is a way to reach many voters at ones in the state are now none of that is happening. my mayor another, just briefly, this the end the road for at least one if not two of donald trump's competitors? it two of donald trump's competitors?- competitors? it could potentially _ competitors? it could potentially be. - competitors? it could potentially be. i- competitors? it could| potentially be. i know competitors? it could - potentially be. i know both of them have reasons to continue onto south carolina. obviously, nikki haley's home state and electorate more favourable to ron desantis. but new hampshire is a state where trump has been the weakest of the early states, states, heading into this contest and just and right now the best chance to either stop him or at least more significantly dent his lead in

this primary. we significantly dent his lead in this primary-— significantly dent his lead in this primary. we will have full covera . e this primary. we will have full coverage of— this primary. we will have full coverage of this _ this primary. we will have full coverage of this next - this primary. we will have full coverage of this next tuesday| coverage of this next tuesday on bbc news. for the moment, thank you so much forjoining us. that is it for the moment. i'm katrina parry. do stay here with us on bbc news. take care. hello there. our current cold snap may well be coming to an end, but before it does so, i think something of a sting in the tail. of course, over recent days, we've seen plenty of these snow showers — this one looking very heavy as it obscures the skyline of the island of skye. and it is in northern scotland we've seen the largest accumulations of snow. through wednesday, we had over 20cm on the deck in lerwick, and that was before this lot arrived. this is a trough bringing particularly heavy showers, widespread, prolonged showers, southwards, and that will just increase the risk of seeing some disruption. now, for northern scotland, an additional 5cm—15cm of snow as we go through thursday. a much greater chance of seeing some disruption in northern ireland, too. i think we could see around 5—10cm of snow building

in here, so a much greater risk of seeing some disruption. and for northern scotland, as well as all that heavy snow, winds gusting to around 40—50 mph, so blizzard conditions, significant drifting of the snow and, for some communities, it'd be very difficult to travel around at all. now, there could be a bit of snow elsewhere in scotland and a few wintry showers coming down to clip the western side of wales, a few coming down the north sea coast of england. you might see some localised accumulations, but otherwise, a lot of dry, sunny and cold weather. into thursday evening, a shower stream sets up off the irish sea that will bring some snow showers to north wales across cheshire, merseyside into the north—west midlands. accumulations will vary a lot from place to place, but you could see a few centimetres in a few spots. on into friday, temperatures come up with just a little bit and that means the showers that we have in scotland will start to fall as rain and sleet at lower elevations — the snow becoming confined to the hills. temperatures a degree or two higher. you probably won't notice much in the way of change — it will still feel cold. however, as we get into this weekend, that's when we see

a real change in our weather pattern as these south—westerly winds push mild air off the atlantic and that will really boost the temperatures for most. now, on saturday, we've got these bands of rain moving from west to east along with those gusty south—westerly winds. now, there'll be a rapid thaw taking place in scotland, so there could be some localised flooding concerns here, given all of that snow lying on the deck, being a much milder kind of day. very windy weather then, for sunday and early next week, top gusts could reach around 70mph, potentially disruptive winds, but it does turn incredibly mild. bye for now.

houthi fighters attack another vessel in the red sea. we take look at the impact the conflict is having on the cost—of—living. the value of foxcon is $50 billion, apple's value is 3 trillion, 60 times, why? because manufacturing is not that profitable any more. plus, the former governor of india central bank on why the country's plan to cut foreign investors may not be the best one. hello and welcome to asia business report, i'm suranjana tewari.