live from washington, this is bbc news. iran's president vows to punish israel for an air strike in damascus that killed five iranian revolutionary guards. with just days to the new hampshire primary, we ask whether anyone can challenge donald trump as he leads the race for the us republican nomination. and tens of thousands of people protest in germany against the far—right following revelations that a major party had discussed plans to deport immigrants. iam i am helena iam helena humphrey. it is good to have you with us. crisis continues in the middle east after missile attacks were reported in syria, lebanon, iraq and yemen on saturday. the strikes highlight the growing risk that the war in gaza could trigger a wider regional conflict, pitting iran

and its allies against israel and its allies — countries like the united states. iran's president, meanwhile, has promised revenge on israel for an air strike on the syrian capital that killed five members of tehran�*s elite revolutionary guard. israel has not confirmed or denied involvement in the attack. syrian activists say at least ten people were killed altogether in the raid, which destroyed a building used as a base by iranian military advisers in damascus. here's what those who witnessed the strike say happened. translation: l was - using my asthma inhaler. my little granddaughter, who is three years old, was sitting beside me. i swear, ijumped and the inhaler hopped too. i tried to protect the little one like this. during the earthquake, it didn't happen like that. three huge sounds shook the whole area. translation: within seconds, israeli missiles descended - in a terrifying manner with a sound beyond description. a building collapsed instantly, cars were shattered, buildings demolished. it is a crime of the most heinous kind.

in the last few hours, us central command says iran launched ballistic millies and rockets at al—assad airbase in western iraq. it said most of the missiles were intercepted by air defense systems, but that a number of us personnel are undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries. they also said at least one iraqi service member was wounded. as we mentioned, one country involved in the conflicts in the middle east is iran. i spoke about tehran�*s aims with negar mortazavi, who is a senior fellow at the center for international policy here in washington. thank you very much forjoining us here at bbc news, negar. we know typically israel doesn't speak about its campaign against the iranian military presence in syria. but explained was the background to this latest attack. this explained was the background to this latest attack.— this latest attack. this is a continuation _ this latest attack. this is a continuation of _ this latest attack. this is a continuation of a - this latest attack. this is a continuation of a shadow l this latest attack. this is a i continuation of a shadow war that has been ongoing between and israel way before october

seven. —— between iran and israel. it is related to the bigger conflict we have seen but it has escalated since the october seven attack and israel's subsequent attacks on gaza. i see the big picture view as part of that a proxy war, as is a nonconventional war, as is a nonconventional war, there were of attrition in support of the palestinian cause and raise the cost for israel. , ,., , cause and raise the cost for israel. , , ., , israel. in response to this, iran has — israel. in response to this, iran has now _ israel. in response to this, iran has now vowed - israel. in response to this, i iran has now vowed revenge. when you hear that, how do you interpret it, how much credence do you give it? what's sort of form do you think you could take? ~ . , , ., take? we saw a series of assassinations _ take? we saw a series of assassinations before - take? we saw a series of| assassinations before this round, we saw the assassination of a hezbollah commander in lebanon, a hamas commander in beirut, a couple of iranian top

irgc officials in syria. and we also saw a terrorist attack inside iran and saw iran respond to some of those by lodging missiles in an unprecedented move, lodging directly from uranian soil into iraq and syria, and is done, in response to another separatist group that has been launching attacks on iranian. —— iranian soil. —— attacks on iran. as far as retaliation, this could look more like a direct attack and also raise or escalate attacks that the so—called axis of resistance, the houthi s,

has below. i of resistance, the houthi s, has below— of resistance, the houthi s, has below. i want to touch on the distinction _ has below. i want to touch on the distinction between - has below. i want to touch on the distinction between a - has below. i want to touch on the distinction between a run | the distinction between a run acting through its proxies than carrying out attacks and claiming them, essentially. —— iran. we have seen more of that in this past week. what do you think that tells us, the fact that iran is clear about being behind these latest attacks. i think iranian officials, in policy and public statements, have made clear that their redline are attacks on iranian soil. this is something that a senior adviser to the supreme leader reiterated. assassination of commanders is one level of escalation, but attacks on iranian, that was one of the major redlines and

isis claimed the last attack. the attack on iraq, the iranian said this was a safe house or a centre connected to mossad. some of the case may be accurate, some may not, but the political messaging was that these were some of the major redlines that had been crossed and therefore they retaliation for them is much more severe, as you also mentioned, missiles being shot from uranian soil. the lotus operation we saw was in 2020. -- the lotus operation we saw was in 2020. —— iranian. this is in reaction to an association by the united states and in response iran shot missiles into the us base in iraqi. but this is not something that iran engages in, and this sends a signal that they are escalating

this further.— this further. negar mortazavi, thank you _ this further. negar mortazavi, thank you for _ this further. negar mortazavi, thank you for speaking - this further. negar mortazavi, thank you for speaking with i this further. negar mortazavi, l thank you for speaking with us. thank you. meanwhille in tel aviv, thousands of israelis are rallying in the streets, demanding the government does more to secure the release of hostages in gaza. protesters called for elections for a new government. our middle east correspondent mark lowen reports from jerusalem. in gaza's skies, where bombs have rained down, not an israeli attack, but an israeli appeal — for information on the hostages seized by hamas. around 130 are still not home. how many are dead is unknown. the subtext from israel — "this is why we're still on the offensive." but in israel, at the prime minister's residence, angerfrom families of the missing who want him to do more to get them back. polls show most think benjamin netanyahu should be prioritising their release.

many here still feel failed by a state created to protect them. translation: | want to | have a country that cares for us, because our prime minister and the war cabinet doesn't. splits have spread to the top. gadi eisenkot of the war cabinet accused mr netanyahu of dishonesty by vowing total victory over hamas, adding that he was responsible for leaving israel open to its attack. a war cabinet at war with itself spells trouble for israel's leader. benjamin netanyahu's growing unpopularity at home is increasingly echoed abroad — publicly rebutting the us by rejecting a two—state solution with a future palestinian state, and refusing allies' calls to ease the offensive in gaza. israel's great political survivor is looking isolated and vulnerable. after speaking to israel's prime minister, president biden tried to sound positive. could a possible future demilitarised palestinian state be discussed 7

there are a number of types of two—state solutions. there's a number of countries that are members of the un that still don't have their own military. a number of states that have limitations. so, i think there's ways in which this could work. fears continue over the spillover of this war. and today, it hit damascus, where syria and iran say an israeli airstrike killed members of the iranian revolutionary guard. israel doesn't comment on its attacks abroad. and so, as israeli troops pushed deeper into southern gaza, fires are being lit in different parts of this tinderbox region. and as the conflict escalates, the question is how far the flames will spread. mark lowen, bbc news, jerusalem.

here in the us, voters in new hampshire are getting ready to cast ballots in the 2024 us presidential primary. the vote on tuesday comes after former president donald trump dominated the iowa republican caucuses. he won 51% of the vote there, well ahead of florida governor ron desantis and and former un ambassador and south carolina governor nikki haley. three days out from new hampshire, the latest major poll suggests mr trump holds a significant edge over ms haley in the state — 53% to 36%. ron desantis is polling atjust 7% and has largely moved on to south carolina. the third primary state, where voters will cast ballots in late february. ms haley, on the other hand, says she is going for victory in new hampshire and has ramped up her criticism of mrtrump. today, she even questioned mr trump's mental fitness for office, after he confused her with the former house speaker, nancy pelosi, during a campaign speech. here's mr trump's apparent blunder, followed by ms haley's response. nikki haley is in charge of security. we offered a 10,000

people, soldiers, national guardsman — whatever they want to — they turned it down. they don't want to talk about that. these are very dishonest people. these are very dishonest eo - le. , , these are very dishonest --eole. , , ., , , people. these things happen because when _ people. these things happen because when you're - people. these things happen because when you're at, - people. these things happen i because when you're at, that's what _ because when you're at, that's what happens. you aren't as sharp— what happens. you aren't as sharp as _ what happens. you aren't as sharp as you want to be. this is impersonal. i voted for him twice~ — is impersonal. i voted for him twice i— is impersonal. i voted for him twice. i was proud to serve in his administration. we have a country— his administration. we have a country in _ his administration. we have a country in disarray and it was on fire — country in disarray and it was on fire and _ country in disarray and it was on fire and we need to know that— on fire and we need to know that we _ on fire and we need to know that we not giving our kids the option— that we not giving our kids the option of— that we not giving our kids the option of 280 —year—oldss going into presidency. —— two 80—year—olds. earlier i spoke with hannah knowles, campaigns reporterfor the washington post, currently in manchester, new hampshire. good to have you, we just saw there, nikki haley, taking more aim at donald trump than we've seen previously, what do you think? any indications that she can close the on donald trump? you know, it's not looking like she is seeing much movement.

i think there is a lot of excitement in recent weeks, as she was really moving up the polls, and it was as close as anyone had gotten to donald trump, and something could still happen, but at this point we are seeing her in double digits behind in some cases and she could certainly help cement her status as that main rival to trump, but it is not looking great in terms of beating him out right and we might have to move to south carolina. talking about south carolina, we know ron desantis has put a lot of his attention there — what does the path there ahead look like for him? the path ahead is even more bleak for ron desantis.

he put all his eggs in the iowa basket and counting on a strong showing there, that is where he wanted to pierce the sense of inevitability around donald trump's renomination, and what happened is trump gets a little bit over 50% of the vote, ron desantis behind at around 20%, so not to show of force he wanted. it it kind of effort the disaster would've been if he can buy nikki haley, so we had this russian ought to keep on going, but lots of people wonder how he could make it if you didn't come closer and iowa. in terms that, how long he could make it, then concentrating on south carolina, leapfrogging new hampshire in terms of campaigning, could that be a miscalculation and we could see if he doesn't do what he wants to do, him dropping out at that point was to mark so he is? talk to us a bit about the new hampshire electorate here, largely seen as more moderate, of course you have independent voters as well in this particular election. some people see new hampshire as something of a wild card that can recast the race, but this time around, do you think that is the case? i think it would be the most

interesting contest ahead. obviously we have only had one, which is iowa, but it feels like if trump is going to be beat somewhere, new hampshire it seems the best place to do it right now so it could be the be—all and end—all for the "stop trump" movement, which is really struggled to land on a message that works. i think the challenge is, even if nikki haley does come close in new hampshire, or beat trump, the next states, they do it different in terms of the make—up. they are more conservative, trump has a lot of support in south carolina even though it it is nikki haley home state, so it will be a tough road ahead. just talking about new hampshire and trump then, currently facing for criminal trials, speaking to caucus goers there in new hampshire, are they concerned about trump's considerable legal battles? there's a segment of voters that want to move on from trump for sure, and they do — that's part of it, they don't want someone with baggage, even if they liked a lot of trump's

policies, but the majority of the republican party here it does seem willing to look past that. sometimes it is because they think it is all a witch hunt, because all these people have been coming after trump for all these years and nothing has happened and they don'tjust believe it will drag him down after everything they think he has fought through. briefly, any particular counties that you might be watching come election night? that is a good question. i don't have a specific — i think we really are interested in what happens with independents, it is such a key group for it nikki haley, and she's doing a strange balancing act of trying to be the candidate that can excite more moderate republicans and independents but also, we've seen her trying to reassure reassure republicans. it is not the only thing

she is, she is quite conservative, and she said recently she's not so moderate. so, it is tough to speak to both ann's of the spectrum at once. certainly a tough end of the spectrum there, hannah knowles. great to talk to you hannah, thank you. we will have a special broadcast live from new hampshire on tuesday evening here on bbc news as results come in. please, join us for that. police in the uk city of norwich failed to respond to an emergency call from a house where a family was later found dead. the bodies of a man, a woman, and two girls were discovered by officers on friday, more than an hour after the first call for help was made. sam read has more. police said today at triple nine call was made by a man inside the property at about 6pm yesterday morning. no—one was deployed. officers then discovered the bodies around 1.25 hours later after another call from a member of the public. norfolk police has referred itself to the independent police watchdog.

all four people who died were found with injuries and post—mortem examinations will be held. norfolk police has confirmed its officers were also called to the same house on december 14th as part of a missing persons inquiry. the force says that particular investigation will now be re—examined. let's turn now to germany, where more demonstrations against right—wing extremism have been taking place across the country. the protests have been gathering momentum over the last week. they're a response to reports that senior figures within the far—right party alternative for germany, or afd, had met in november to discuss the deportation of millions of people with immigrant backgrounds. germany is wrestling with a potentially explosive debate over whether to ban the party, which is polling second nationally. the afd says it's being smeared by opponents. joining me live is hans—jakob schindler, senior director of the counter extremism project, a transatlantic think tank. very good to have you with us.

you have something of a split screen here essentially, those tens of thousands of people who came out to protest at the same time the fact that the aftd has increased, has been doing well increased, has been doing well in the polls, particularly over the summer. how does germany feel about this party, do you think? ., ~ feel about this party, do you think? . ~ , ., feel about this party, do you think? . ~ i. feel about this party, do you think? . ~ . ., think? thank you so much for havin: think? thank you so much for having me- — think? thank you so much for having me. it— think? thank you so much for having me. it is— think? thank you so much for having me. it is really - think? thank you so much for having me. it is really a - having me. it is really a difficult, difficult political subjects because half of the party are already officially declared right—wing extremists and under the constitution so the young alternatives, the youth wing, is for the country declared right—wing extremists and anti— constitutional and four of its federal state organisations are declared right—wing extremists. this meeting in november that came to light a couple of days ago reallyjust to light a couple of days ago really just confirmed to light a couple of days ago reallyjust confirmed the fact that we have a deeply, deeply undemocratic strand in this party which unfortunately is polling between 20—30% nationally. ii polling between 20-3096

nationally.— polling between 20-3096 nationall. ., ., nationally. if you take a lot of what we _ nationally. if you take a lot of what we have _ nationally. if you take a lot of what we have seen - nationally. if you take a lot of what we have seen in i of what we have seen in statewide elections in recent months, places like hezbollah, bavaria for example, we have started to see aftd come out from the popularity seat of the east coming out in the country so what do you think is behind the growing popularity? == the growing popularity? -- hesser- — the growing popularity? -- hesser. it's _ the growing popularity? -- hesser. it's the _ the growing popularity? » hesser. it's the same populist agenda that many parties in europe and some party in the united states is following, where you are playing all essential difficult problems that everyone finds themselves in, caused by climate change, caused by the energy crisis, caused by the energy crisis, caused by the wars in ukraine and of hummus against israel in the situation in the middle east really on foreigners —— blaming. that's basically the central argument that the afd has put forward since its inception. it essentially really a protest party but in difficult situations where crises and cost of living crisis are rampant, of course protest party always gather more votes.— protest party always gather more votes. one thing i am cufious more votes. one thing i am curious about, _

more votes. one thing i am curious about, though, - more votes. one thing i am curious about, though, and| more votes. one thing i am | curious about, though, and a distinction i guess between the very interesting comparison with the united states is germany's history. i lived in germany's history. i lived in germany for a very long time and there is such an awareness in rise of the nazi party 1933 with people always saying never again. and yet growing support among young people. are they new kind of tactics particularly when it comes to more underground, far right movements there in terms of getting young people on board and supporting? i getting young people on board and supporting?— and supporting? i mean, the right-wing — and supporting? i mean, the right-wing extremist - and supporting? i mean, the right-wing extremist scene | and supporting? i mean, the i right-wing extremist scene has right—wing extremist scene has been very active in the last years in germany. since 2019, consistently, every federal minister of the interior has said the greatest threat to democracy comes from right—wing extremism. extremism terrorism is a close second but the bigger threat is right—wing extremism. if seen a slew of movements and groups being banned in the last couple of years from this particular

spectrum. we've seen several attempts to actually conduct fairly serious right—wing extremist informed terror plots and in december 2022, we actually did have a coup d'etat attempt, incidentally, involving one former afd federal member of parliament. and so how do you tackle that, then, with all of your experience encounter extremism? experience encounter extremism ? when you experience encounter extremism? when you see calls, for example, to ban the afd as a political party, do you think that would tackle the calls here, the route? obviously, democracy _ here, the route? obviously, democracy needs _ here, the route? obviously, democracy needs to - here, the route? obviously, democracy needs to show i here, the route? obviously, i democracy needs to show that here, the route? obviously, - democracy needs to show that it has teeth when it comes to defending itself, right? you do not have to intolerance indefinitely. however, banning a party is an extremely difficult process in germany and for good reasons, we had a fascist and communist dictatorship in germany in the last century. the parties are highly protected by the german constitution article 21 so that's why very, very very

rarely this has been used and even fewer times it has worked — only in 52 and 56 the german communist parties were banned. the attempts to ban another right—wing extremist party ndd founded in 2003 and in 2017 although the constitutional court had stated in 2017 that indeed, the nbd is a right—wing extremist and constitutional party, the poor showing in the voting was polling about 3% and would notjustifiable enough to use this final sharp instrument of democracy. 0f use this final sharp instrument of democracy. of course, everyone is nervous in germany right now because we have several key state elections this year in some of the states where the afp is polling exceptionally well —— afd. at the banning process takes anywhere between 4—5 years so it is not an appropriate instrument of dealing with an immediate problem which is why the federal president steinmeier called this weekend at demonstrations for focusing

on what we can do now politically to get the votes for the afd down and don't obsess about the possibility of banning the party. hans—jakob schindler, senior director of the counter extremism project. very interesting to speak to you. very interesting to speak to ou. ., ~' very interesting to speak to ou. ., ~ , ., very interesting to speak to ou. . ~ ., ~ felix tshisekedi has been sworn in for a second term as president of the democratic republic of congo. he took the oath of office in a packed stadium in the capital, kinshasa. heads of state from across africa were invited to the ceremony. the opposition has refused to recognise mr tshisekedi's election victory last month, describing the result asa sham. bbc africa's emery makumeno was at the ceremony. there are tens of thousands of people here in this huge stadium in kinshasa, and a dozen heads of state, as the inauguration takes place. the venue has been packed for hours with singing and dancing as the crowds wait for the president.

mr tshisekedi secured a second term in office after winning last month's presidential election with 73% of the vote — a result which the opposition has rejected, citing massive irregularities. one of the opponents challenged the result by filing a petition with the constitutional court but the court have held mr tshisekedi's victory and rejected claims that the poll was rigged. even today, as president is sworn in, moise katumbi, the runner—up, and martin fayulu, who came third, have called for protests to demand an annulment of the result and a rerun of the elections. police in kinshasa have banned any such protests. emery makumeno, bbc news, kinshasa. let's turn to some important news around the world. an investigation is under way after two uk warships collided at a port in bahrain. no—one was hurt when hms chiddingfold reversed into hms bangor — that's according to the ministry of defence. the cause is still unclear.

the ships are part of the uk's long—standing presence in the gulf and are specialist minesweeper vessels, helping ensure the safe flow of trade through the waters. 13 children have been killed in a fire at a boarding school in central china, all of them aged nine or ten. the fire broke out in a boys' dormitory in the nanyang region of henan province on friday. state media said the head of the school had been detained and that authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. at least 10,000 new zealand maori gathered on saturday to discuss how to respond to government plans they say undermine indigenous rights. maori king tuheitia hosted the meeting on the central north island. new zealand's recently elected centre—right government aims to undo policies that seek to boost indigenous people's living standards and the maori language. you are watching bbc news. i'm helena humphrey in washington. i will have more at the top of the hour. join me then.

hello there. we're in for a very stormy spell of weather for the second half of sunday into the first part of monday, all thanks to storm isha. met office have a number of amber wind warnings in force for northern and western areas. heavy rain could lead to localised flooding along with snowmelt as it will be turning very mild indeed. but we could be looking at some significant disruption from this storm as it continues to hurtle across the atlantic towards our shores later on sunday. but sunday starts off on a fine note for many, england and wales dry with some sunshine. same, too, for north east scotland. the winds will continue to pick up, though, through the day and rain across northern ireland will spread across the irish sea into much of scotland, northern and western england and wales, so it will be turning downhill as we head through the afternoon but very mild for the time of year — up to 13 degrees in many parts of england, wales, northern ireland. storm isha continues to plough through during sunday evening and overnight. a real squeeze in the isobars across western scotland, northern ireland but lots of isobars across the charts.

amber warnings in force. gusts of 60—70 mph south west england, particularly irish sea coasts, much of wales, maybe up to 80mph north—west wales, 60—70 for northern england, maybe 80 mph in excess for northern ireland. some very strong winds expected across scotland through the night — perhaps in excess of 85mph across western scotland — so these are damaging gusts and likely to cause some disruption. there'll be some heavier rain and showers rattling through as well and we'll also see amber warning for the southeast of england for strong winds. sussex and kent could see gusts in excess of 60—70 mph early on monday. a mild night to come across the south, taking a little bit fresher further north. into monday, storm isha continues to push across the norwegian sea. lots of isobars on the charts, so monday will be another windy day as well — not as windy as sunday night — and there'll be lots of showers rattling into northern and western areas. best of the sunshine towards the east. some wintriness over the higher ground of scotland and northern england.

it won't feel particularly warm in the north if you factor in the wind but still double figures in the south. stays pretty unsettled for the upcoming week. tuesday, we see another spell of wet and windy weather and then, a ridge of high pressure for wednesday will bring some fine conditions. another spell of wet and windy weather, perhaps, for thursday and friday. so, the weather really will be up and down through this week, interspersed with fine spells. generally staying on the mild side. stay tuned to the forecast, though, for the effects of storm isha.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme.