live from london, this is bbc news. the us military carries out a fourth round of airstrikes against yemen's houthis just hours after the group hit an american ship. the rwanda deportation bill passes through the house of commons. downing street calling it a "major step" in stopping migrant boats crossing the channel. the boss of intel, the us chip giant, warns of a "turbulent world" — the reason they've invested billions building factories closer to home. and deadly fire ants have been filmed forming rafts to survive and travel on flood waters across storm—ravaged australia.

hello. i'm sally bundock. a very a very warm welcome to a very warm welcome to the a very warm welcome to the programme. the us military has carried out a fourth round of airstrikes against the iranian—backed houthis in yemen. the us says it struck 1a houthi missiles which may have been intended for attacks on shipping in the red sea. it came just hours after the houthis used a drone to hit another us—owned cargo ship in the gulf of aden. on wednesday, the united states has announced that it's returning the houthis to a list of global terrorist organisations. the designation will require american financial institutions to freeze houthi funds and its members will be banned from the us. the houthis began attacking merchant vessels in november, saying they were responding to israel's military operation in gaza. since then, the group has launched dozens of attacks on commercial tankers passing through the red sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

answering questions about the latest us strikes in yemen, the pentagon's press secretary major general pat ryder said the united states is focused on deterring the attacks in the red sea. in our assessment, we hit what we intended to hit with good effect. again, the objective here was to disrupt and a great capabilities to conduct attacks and we believe that overall, in terms of the scope and the number of strikes that we took, we have degraded their ability to attack. clearly, they maintain some capability and we anticipated that after any action there would likely be some retaliatory strikes. we can speak live now to our correspondent will vernon in washington. tell us more about these latest developments. obviously hearing from the pentagon there on their take. from the pentagon there on their take-— their take. that's right, the

us military _ their take. that's right, the us military saying - their take. that's right, the us military saying 14 - their take. that's right, the| us military saying 14 houthi us military saying ia houthi missiles were targeted and these missiles, it seems, were primed and ready for launch. it is interesting the language used in that statement, the military essentially saying this was an act of self defence. and this is a narrative we have seen time and again over the course of the last week, when the us and its allies are talking about their military action in yemen they are very much trying to portray this as a kind of coalition of forces undertaking a defensive mission, that is to protect international shipping, mission, that is to protect internationalshipping, protect the lives of mariners, and nothing else. now, these were the fourth round of strikes on houthi targets in the yemen in the course of the last week. we remember, don't we, last thursday those co—ordinated large—scale strikes carried out by the uk and the us with support from four other nations. and, really, since then we have seen the situation

descend into a kind of tit for tat where the houthis fire a missile or a drone and us forces respond. and it comes, these latest fresh strikes come a few hours after us owned vessel, a bulk carrier, was hit by a drone fired from hootie territory. that ship sustained minor damage and was still seaworthy, according to the us military this gives you an idea of the kind of tit—for—tat nature this situation has now become. pa, nature this situation has now become. �* ., ., become. a part of that tit-for-tat _ become. a part of that tit-for-tat nature - become. a part of that tit-for-tat nature is i become. a part of that - tit-for-tat nature is returning tit—for—tat nature is returning the houthis to a list of global terrorist organisations, is it? and what does that mean for the houthis in practical terms? that's right. earlier on wednesday the white house announcing that the duties will be redesignated as a global terrorist organisation. they previously had a similar label that was lifted, that was revoked in 2021. this means

basically that, you know, the houthis are under additional sanctions, anyone who does business with them also find themselves under sanctions. the white house, washington hopes that this will interrupt the flow of weapons and make it more difficult, put more pressure on the houthis. but i think the big question now is really what comes next? because when the us and the uk and those other nations launch those other nations launch those straight, one week ago, they really only had two objectives, one was to dissuade the goodies from wanting more attacks on the second was to degrade their capabilities to do so. now, a week on, it doesn't really seem that they have had much success in either of those. the attacks continue, albeit on a smaller scale. anna think the danger now is our the us and the uk and those other nations going to go to drawn further into a regional conflict, further escalation,

or, you know, is this tit—for—tat situation going to continue at no go declared exit strategy. continue at no go declared exit strate: . ., ., ., ,, strategy. 0k. for now, thank ou, strategy. ok. for now, thank you. will— strategy. 0k. for now, thank you, will vernon _ strategy. 0k. for now, thank you, will vernon in _ strategy. 0k. for now, thank. you, will vernon in washington for us. we can speak now to kirsten fontenrose, a former us national security council official and a non—resident fellow at the scowcroft middle east security initiative at the atlantic council. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. what are your thoughts about these latest developments? i about these latest developments? about these latest develo - ments? ~ developments? i think the objective _ developments? i think the objective of— developments? i think the objective of these - developments? i think the objective of these strikes i developments? i think the i objective of these strikes and the designation is to reduce the designation is to reduce the houthis people's ability to conduct attacks in the red sea for a long time with great intensity. so every airstrike that reduces the arsenal by a bit in the tit—for—tat exchange do you talk about technically work. the coalition is being careful to not strike in a way that endangers civilians and the houthis are giving them reasons to strike again every day by launching attacks on ships on the red sea every day, as you mentioned, this is a fourth day of araujo. it will

be an iterative process of removing them from the stockpiles bit by bit in return for houthi strikes oliver richards of either been unsuccessful minimally invasive so far. officials on saturday told the strikes it more than 60 ms ireland drone targets with more than hundred and 50 precision guided munitions and damaged or destroyed about 20 or 30% of the houthis�* offensive capability. i think what we're seeing this very restrained, very co—ordinated coalition based approach to just retaliating to the extent that the houthis themselves are striking, but with the strategy of eventually removing a large portion of the houthi arsenal from the battlefield. that portion of the houthi arsenal from the battlefield.- from the battlefield. that is lookinu from the battlefield. that is looking at — from the battlefield. that is looking at it _ from the battlefield. that is looking at it from _ from the battlefield. that is looking at it from a - from the battlefield. that is looking at it from a military| looking at it from a military point of view, a very practical point of view, a very practical point of view, a very practical point of view. in terms of the geopolitics, where does this leave us, do you think? the designation _ leave us, do you think? the designation itself _ leave us, do you think? the designation itself is - leave us, do you think? tue: designation itself is one leave us, do you think? tte: designation itself is one of tools the us is using to address this barrage of

attacks. in terms of economic statecraft the us can still reapply the foreign terrorist organisation designation and encourage other nations to follow suit. this would make it a criminal offence to provide the houthis with so much as a cadbury flake and anyone who did, anyone affiliated with them, anyone in a supply chain would then be prosecuted... crosstalk. sorry to interrupt you, if there supply chain is iran or other countries that are going to supply anyway regardless, they're not really by that so much, are they, orare they're not really by that so much, are they, or are they? with iran? no. the truth is the houthis source many of the components and parts for their drones and many of their missiles from commercial companies located worldwide. so anywhere that these transactions intersected with us financial system under this going designation, those purchases would have their assets are locked. this is not

assets are locked. this is not as robust as the foreign terrorist organisation, the fto designation would be, but the us hopes that it would dent the supply chain. us hopes that it would dent the suoply chain-— supply chain. 0k, interesting to net supply chain. 0k, interesting to get your — supply chain. 0k, interesting to get your take _ supply chain. 0k, interesting to get your take on _ supply chain. 0k, interesting to get your take on this, - supply chain. 0k, interesting. to get your take on this, thank you for talking to us, kirsten fontenrose from the atlantic council. just to say, of course, we are keeping a very close eye on what's happening in the red sea and, of course, across the middle east. we will be updating you all the time on our website, be updating you all the time on ourwebsite, on be updating you all the time on our website, on the bbc news app, our website, on the bbc news app, and business coverage as well. back to the uk. prime minister rishi sunak has seen off a rebellion of right—wing conservatives and successfully steered his rwanda asylum legislation through the house of commons. the government won the vote with a majority of aa. mr sunak argues that the rwanda plan will deter people from crossing the english channel in small boats from france. our political correspondent peter saull reports. the ayes to the right, 320, the noes to the left 276. by,

noes to the left 276. a government victory, in the end by a relatively comfortable margin. but at times this was in doubt. 61 conservative mps stride but failed to change the legislation, including the former home secretary. this bill needs — former home secretary. this bill needs to _ former home secretary. this bill needs to work, _ former home secretary. this bill needs to work, it - former home secretary. this bill needs to work, it is - former home secretary. t�*t 3 bill needs to work, it is our last chance. if we get it wrong the british people will not forgive us and they would be right to do so.— right to do so. most of her colleagues _ right to do so. most of her colleagues fell _ right to do so. most of her colleagues fell back - right to do so. most of her colleagues fell back into . right to do so. most of her i colleagues fell back into line, but she was one of 11 conservatives to rebel in remain vote. and this is what the latest tory row is all about, the plan to dissuade people from getting in boats by saying if you come to the uk like this we will send you here, to rwanda, where you will have your asylum claim process and you can stay. but the scheme has been beset by problems. borisjohnson was prime minister when the idea was first mooted nearly two years ago. the first flight was

blocked by the european court of human rights a few months later. and then, after a series of legal battles, the uk's supreme court ruled that the policy was unlawful in november last year. so the bill going through parliament at the moment is to address the court's concerns and declare that rwanda is safe.- court's concerns and declare that rwanda is safe. there is a risk and this _ that rwanda is safe. there is a risk and this is _ that rwanda is safe. there is a risk and this is the _ that rwanda is safe. there is a risk and this is the point - that rwanda is safe. there is a risk and this is the point you i risk and this is the point you raise with the minister, that this bill will not lead to people leaving fast enough. it is unlikely we will see flights going before an election. we need action _ going before an election. we need action on this. people in the country want to see the small— the country want to see the small bow crossings of the channel— small bow crossings of the channel come to an end. it is clear that _ channel come to an end. it is clear that there _ channel come to an end. it is clear that there rwanda - channel come to an end. it is clear that there rwanda plan is unworkable, _ clear that there rwanda plan is unworkable, unaffordable, - clear that there rwanda plan is unworkable, unaffordable, and unlawfub — unworkable, unaffordable, and unlawful. what _ unworkable, unaffordable, and unlawful. what we _ unworkable, unaffordable, and unlawful. what we have - unworkable, unaffordable, and unlawful. what we have seen. unlawful. what we have seen over— unlawful. what we have seen over the _ unlawful. what we have seen over the last _ unlawful. what we have seen over the last two _ unlawful. what we have seen over the last two days - unlawful. what we have seen over the last two days is - unlawful. what we have seen over the last two days isjust| over the last two days isjust how— over the last two days isjust how weak_ over the last two days isjust how weak rishi _ over the last two days isjust how weak rishi sunak- over the last two days isjust how weak rishi sunak is. - over the last two days is 'ust how weak rishi sunak is. having cleared the _ how weak rishi sunak is. having cleared the house _ how weak rishi sunak is. having cleared the house of— how weak rishi sunak is. having cleared the house of commons, | cleared the house of commons, the legislation will now go to the legislation will now go to the house of lords, where it is likely there will be much more opposition. peter saull, bbc news. four brothers killed earlier this month by an israeli air strike in the occupied west bank

were palestinian civilians who posed no threat to israeli forces, witnesses have told the bbc. violence in the territory has been rising. the un says more than 300 palestinians have been killed by the israeli army in the west bank since the hamas attacks in october. our middle east correspondent lucy williamson has been to investigate the killing of the four brothers, which happened hours after a 19—year—old israeli officer was killed during clashes with palestinian groups in jenin. 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 some other stories making news. an urgent review has been launched after a 2—year—old boy was found dead with his father at a property in lincolnshire. it's thought kenneth battersby, who was 60, had a heart attack at home in skegness in the days after christmas. when social workers were let into the property by the landlord last week, they found his son bronson dead beside his body. nurses, teachers, civil servants, and tens of thousands more public sector workers go on strike in northern ireland today. trade unions are demanding higher salaries for their members, but the westminster government has said it will not release the almost £600 million to settle the claims until the devolved government, which hasn't functioned since 2022, is re—established. rail passengers are paying significantly more for tickets from machines at stations than those bought online. the consumer group, which sent mystery shoppers to 15

railway stations in england and compared fares with those on the ticketing sites. you're live with bbc news. let's turn to australia now, where fire ants have been filmed forming rafts to survive and travel on flood waters in south east queensland. have a look at this footage. it was captured by a farmer on the gold coast, indicates there's been a surge in the population of the ants, which have infested about 700,000 hectares in brisbane. fire ants are one of the world's most invasive species that can damage crops, and their sting can be fatalfor humans. experts are warning wild weather may accelerate their spread. we can speak now to jack gough, who is with australia's invasive species council.

it sounds very scary. these are fire the move and perhaps becoming incredibly invasive. what is going on? firebrands, as ou what is going on? firebrands, as you say. — what is going on? firebrands, as you say. one _ what is going on? firebrands, as you say, one of— what is going on? firebrands, as you say, one of the - what is going on? firebrands, as you say, one of the world l as you say, one of the world super pests. all around the world, they are native from south america but they have moved up from the southern united states and they have a large proportion of these ads, which causes enormous damage both to crops, livestock, farming but also in terms of native species and it can transform the way of life for societies in terms of people not being able to go outside air force, people being stung and causing increased numbers of medical visits from people in those areas. fire ants have come across to australia about 20 years ago from the united

states and fortunately australia is probably the world leader when it comes to having both really strong by security protocols, to stop new invasive species coming in, but also dealing with some of these invasive species when they come. there has been a effort over about 20 years which has limited their spreads by comparison in the united states, we have seen them at moving to read about a0 or a5 kilometres per year, up from the south. in china they moved about 80 kilometres per year. in australia, we have kept their spread to about four or five kilometres per year because of the government efforts. they are getting into more and more areas and with the floods, the fire ants are more active after the wet weather and the can form incredible rafts. we have not seen this behaviour before in australia. there is evidence of it happening in the us but it is part of their natural way to

survive when the floodwaters come, no means they can move into new areas quickly. that is all we are concerned about. th all we are concerned about. in the introduction, i said they can be fatal to humans. what happens if you get stung? fire ants, i happens if you get stung? fire ants. i have — happens if you get stung? fire ants, i have not— happens if you get stung? f a: ants, i have not been bitten, i have been assigned by one thankfully, but the sting is slightly less painful than a bee sting but the difference with a b is you do not intend to get stung by one of them. they have a swarming behaviour which means if you disturb their nest or step on them, if your child is out in the garden or going down to the beach and disturbed a nest, they will come out in large numbers. we see these people covered in wealth over their arms and legs and in the us, large numbers of people have been killed by them. evidence suggests globally that the rate of anaphylaxis, people having these allergic reactions, is

significantly higher and maybe three times higher than what it is for bees. it can start it was serious pressure on the health system. it might seem a long way away in australia but fire ants were just found in september last year in italy, and at last of are also climatically suitable for fire ants to spread. if the eradication does not occur in italy, it could spread through europe as well in the years to come. ~ . , , come. we have been listening with great _ come. we have been listening with great interest _ come. we have been listening with great interest and - come. we have been listening with great interest and we - come. we have been listeningj with great interest and we will be keeping a close eye. they give very much. —— thank you very much. within the past hour, pakistan has confirmed it carried out missile strikes inside iran targeting baluchi militants. earlier, iranian media reported that several missiles had hit a village on the iran—pakistan border. a number of people have been injured. it comes two days after iran conducted strikes inside pakistani territory.

a rap trio from belfast are making their acting debut — in the first irish language film to be included in the sundance film festival in the us. kneecap — who've had sold out gigs in the uk, ireland and america — are starring in the film alongside michael fassbender. our culture correspondent, charlotte gallagher, has been talking to them. a warning there is flash photography in her report. kneecap are at the forefront of irish hip hop, rapping in both irish and english. their self—titled film, a semi—fictionalized account of how they got together, also blends the two languages, and it's the first irish language film to be included at the sundance film festival. they called our generation the ceasefire babies. so it's about these three fathers trying to find their place in the world. and it's about, you know, their identity and stuff

like that. so everybody has this idea of the irish language, that we alljust sit about in pubs, playing fiddles and talking about grammar. you know what i mean? when in actual fact, these three characters don't really mention the language that much. the whole film they're, like, selling drugs and like talking about, you know, youth culture. you've heard of intergenerational trauma, right? right. our history. our history has become our biology. kneecap are not without controversy. this mural, showing a police landrover on fire, did upset some local politicians, but the band say they're about making music, not stirring up tensions. we had the song get your brits out, which that has nothing to do with a mass exodus of british people from the north of ireland or anything like that there. which people like to believe. you see this kind of aestheticl as well, where people wearing tracksuits and - the kind of clothes you wear, that's associated with a type of scumbaggery and people just have that image. - it's the clothes you're wearing, it's the balaclava. i was just about to say that as well! l

with the balaclava as well, i people look at this and see, think it's a kind of sectarian statement or something, . but it's the opposite. their name is derived from so—called kneecapping, where people are shot in the legs by paramilitaries, but kneecap say their name isn't a celebration of violence. we're glad that there's peace right now. we're not trying to stoke any fires and, like, we're all the same people. do you know what i mean? and the pioneers in irish rap gave me a language lesson before i left. ta me anseo i mbeal feirste... ..le kneecap inniu. thank you, guys. no problem. what's thank you in irish? go raibh maith agat. that's not easy! that was, "i'm here with kneecap today in belfast." apologies about the pronunciation! charlotte gallagher, bbc news. the american company that was hoping to land on the moon will bring its craft crashing back to earth in the coming hours. pittsburgh—based astrobotic

says its peregrine spacecraft will be directed to re—enter the earth's atmosphere and burn up. the lander suffered a major propulsion failure last week that made a safe touch—down on the lunar surface impossible. let's hope it does not come crashing down. that could be messy. let's hope it goes well, and they have another go at trying to land on the lunar surface. we have plenty more for you here on bbc news. if you watch at this time of day, the world economic forum is under way and i met this woman there, this is a sandboe, the former chief operating officer of messe, which is the company that runs facebook. she has announced she is stepping down from the board. we have the details here on bbc news online and also on our avenue. we will be hearing a lot from davos in just a moment, which is where i

met her a few years ago. see withers here on bbc news. the top is a resign next. dominic the top business stories are next. 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 a0—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.

live from london, this is bbc news. delayed but not derailed. markets push back bets on interest rate cuts here in the uk after an unexpected rise in inflation. but lower borrowing costs are still on the way. there is a question as to when it starts, if we get tax cuts in the spring that my delaet a little bit, but we are talking a rate cut by the sum up. —— that might delay it. also coming up, inside intel. the boss of the us chip giant warns of a "turbulent world" — the reason they've invested billions building factories closer to home. there will be new, resilient supply chain to keep the economies of the world moving forward and being less impacted by events in any single place in the world. plus, dialling up the competition. samsung unveils new ai—powered phones as it tries to regain the top spot from apple.