lam i am surrendering atari. the headlines. florida governor ron desantis drops out of the race for the white house , and throws his support behind donald trump. i can't ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don't have a clear path to victory. accordingly, i am today suspending my campaign. more than 25,000 people have now been killed in gaza since the war with israel began — according to the hamas—run health ministry. and. tens of thousands of homes in the uk are without power — as storm isha brings high winds and rain.

we begin in the united states, where florida governor, ron desantis, has dropped out from the republican presidential race — and endorsed donald trump. the surprise video announcement comes ahead of this week's republican primary in new hampshire — where mr desantis was polling in the single digits. his departure leaves nikki haley as mr trump's only significant rival. let's take a listen to what he had to say. if there was anything i could do to produce a favourable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, i would do it. but i can't ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don't have a clear path to victory. accordingly i am today suspending my campaign. i'm proud to have delivered on 100% of my promises. i will not stop now. it's clear to me that the majority

of majority republican primary voters want to give donald trump another chance. they watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance and they see democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him. while i've had disagreements with donald trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of anthony fauci, is superior to the current incumbent, joe biden. that is clear. i signed a pledge to support the republican nominee. i will honour that pledge. he has my endorsement because we cannot go back to the old republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed—over corporatism that nikki haley represents. this is how donald trump reacted, a short time ago. we had the big day in iowa, and we will have a big day and new hampshire, i think equal to, and we just got some word that one of our opponents, very capable person, is dropping out, ron desantis. and ron is dropping out and he, in doing so, he endorsed us.

cheering. live now to where all the action is happening , new hampshire. 0ur correspondent carl nasman is there for us. carl, great to have you in the programme. how is this likely to affect the race for the white house? this immediately makes it a two—person race in new hampshire, ives broken with some of it ron desantis�*s supporters, who showed up right here, expect and greet camping event with the florida governor, all of a finding out that the event is cancelled and ron desantis has dropped out. what they have been telling me is, they were a bit surprised by the timing, they expected to get the chance to vote for him on election day on tuesday, wanted to hear from for him on election day on tuesday, wanted to hearfrom him at for him on election day on tuesday, wanted to hear from him at one of the intimate gatherings that you see across the early states like new hampshire and iowa. but they also

say they were are not shocked, they are aware of the polling numbers and that ron desantis was only pulling in the single digits in new hampshire, so it really was a campaign that when all in on iowa, the previous state, desantis finishing in second with a big gap from the former president donald trump, and a big up here as well. now, as you mentioned, it is a nikki haley and donald trump vying for first place amongst republicans. nikki haley made some comments about racism over the weekend, how is that being received where you are? ianthem being received where you are? when ou talk to being received where you are? when you talk to nikki _ being received where you are? when you talk to nikki haley _ being received where you are? �*w'iez�*i you talk to nikki haley supporters, she is facing some barriers within the republican party, she has been seemingly attacked by donald trump for her heritage and ancestry, she is born to indian parents here in the united states, also, of course, a woman, which can be some factors

that can play against a candidate in the republican party amongst conservatives. when he speaks it nikki haley, she wants to be sure it's a campaign running on the issues, she is at second donald trump right back and stepping up her criticisms of the former resident, not only saying he is not fit for office, talking about his mental acuity, donald trump had a moment where he seemed to confused nikki haley with former speaker of the house nancy pelosi, so these are barbs going back and forth and rhetoric we have seen from donald trump, as people and calling them by names, bringing up things like ancestry, we remembered the controversy that donald trump started over false claims that barack 0bama was not fit for office because he might have a week birth certificate which was not true. these are things we've seen from the past from the donald trump camp and we are seeing as he tries to wrap up the nomination as quickly as he can.

that was carl nasman in new hampshire, many thanks. i'm joined now by carrie sheffield, a conservative commentator who has worked closely behind the scenes with people from the desantis campaign. she joins us from washington dc. great to see you, in your opinion, what went wrong for that descent is campaign? what went wrong for that descent is camaiun? ., ., , what went wrong for that descent is cam-iain? ., ., , ., what went wrong for that descent is camaiun? ., . , ., ., what went wrong for that descent is camaiun? ., ., , ., ., campaign? unfortunately for ron, as a went wrong- _ campaign? unfortunately for ron, as a went wrong- big — campaign? unfortunately for ron, as a went wrong. big picture, _ campaign? unfortunately for ron, as a went wrong. big picture, he - campaign? unfortunately for ron, as a went wrong. big picture, he was i a went wrong. big picture, he was trying to replicate and go after the trump base, and what he should have been instead is try to get anybody but trump alternative, and there was a bit of momentum for him early, even this time last year and early spring last year, he was almost pulling neck and neck with donald trump at that point, but instead of taking the strategy of where he would go after, again, the people

who wanted an alternative to trump, he sought to erode the trump base, and they were not having it might deeply loyal to the trump, and some of them viewed one desantis as someone who benefited from donald trump, because in his first race for florida governor, he was not doing well in the primary and donald trump gave him a boost and an endorsement that got him over the finish line, so lot of second or —— trump voters said he is being disloyal because you are the are princess and know you're trying to run your former patron under the bus a month so they perceive it as disloyal. lots of messaging problems that the desantis campaign did, and also the fact that she over spends it, in my view, on iowa, putting almost all his chips on iowa a month and a disappointed finish there, and it was reported he knocked on almosti million doors to no avail, only to have it a very

disappointed 30 points below donald trump, first place, ron desantis was second—place, so lots of issues, also his communication style was not perceived as warm, but in doing so he was not perceived as authentic to who he was as a policy expert. in my view, he did exceptionally well in florida, i applauded a lot of what he did in florida focusing on policy and substance, and said he tried to wade over into the hot button cultural issues and tried to be the role of a kosher warrior, who is not he —— who is not he is as a politician. he -- who is not he is as a politician-— he -- who is not he is as a politician. weather warnings are in place across the uk as storm isha brings rain and gusts of wind exceeding 130 kilometres per hour. the strongest winds are expected in the coming hours. all trains in scotland have now been cancelled, with many services

in england affected too. meteorologists are warning there's a risk to life in coastal areas, and there've been warnings of widespread power cuts, affecting mobile phone coverage. here's the lastest from our reporter sharon barbour in blackpool. storm isha has landed. almost all of the uk is now under amber weather warnings for strong winds, some reaching up to 90 mph. if you do come near the coast, please make sure you err with caution. the idea is, even when it is rough, the wind and the waves will come over, and it could sweep you out to sea and it is hard in this weather to try and find anyone. so, please, if you do come down, or if not, please steer clear of the sea, if you can. what hasn't been able to land is a number of planes. dublin airport has cancelled more than 100 flights and strong winds meant many were unable to land.

some have been diverted to france as all uk airports were full. even in london, planes struggled to land. all transport has been affected. in scotland, a tree fell on top of a car, but thankfully no one was injured. 0n the trains, there has been huge disruption, with scotrail stopping all services tonight. the extreme weather conditions brought about by storm isha means it wouldn't be safe to run passenger trains. that is in the interests of passengers and staff, and as a result there will be no early morning service on monday morning. services will not start up until late in the day because we have got to check every track and route to make sure it is safe. earlier in the day, blackpool started to feel the force of storm isha. the rain is here and the strong winds have started to arrive, and the sea is on its way in. the real warning is around coastal areas with large waves and debris posing a risk to life. many on the promenade are planning

to batten down the hatches. we are just wrapped up really warm and we are going to go home and stay inside, i think. we just knew the high winds were coming in, but we didn't expect them now, yet. right across the uk, storm isha is causing widespread disruption and emergency services are responding to multiple incidents. sharon barbour, bbc news. the bbc�*s meghan 0wen is in the newsroom in london. she is following the latest developments. yes, look at this map, you can see how much of the uk has those amber weather warnings and in the last few hours we have been finding out that thousands of homes across northern ireland and the north of england and wales have lost power. we want to

bring other updates, this is a nuclear site in the north of england, to stop their operations overnight, they expect to resume tomorrow, but say they are stopping them at the moment because of that severe weather. in terms ofjust how fast the wings are, the fastest wins were measured in wales at 90 mph, 130 km an hour, left us in north yorkshire and killing in northern ireland, really extensive and powerful all over the uk, in fact, it is thought to be the most powerful storm of the season. here are some of the latest pictures. there's been widespread travel disruption in belfast, these are people waiting for flights, lots of flights disrupted. this was a clock tower that came down in galway, ireland, and we saw earlier trees have been crushing cars in scotland but you can see that there, a powerful image, and obviously very

disruptions as well, this is between wales and ireland, a very rough seas to stop and i want to finish with this striking image in the cancar mountains in scotland, you can see how heavy the snowfall has been, lots of disruption expected to continue in the early hours, and we will have all the latest updates on our website and through bbc weather. many thanks to megan for that. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. the man and woman found dead alongside two children in a house near norwich both died from stab wounds to the neck, according to the postmortem. norfolk police have confirmed they're not looking for anybody else in connection with the deaths. the force has referred itself to the independent police watchdog after it emerged that officers didn't attend a 999 call from the house on friday morning, about an hour before the bodies were found.

a 17—year—old boy who died after a stabbing in birmingham city centre has been named by police as muhammad hassam ali. he was found with serious injuries in victoria square yesterday and died later in hospital. west midlands police say they believe he was killed in a case of mistaken identity, and have renewed their appealfor information. the duchess of york, sarah ferguson, says she's been diagnosed with skin cancer. her doctors discovered malignant melanoma while she was being treated for breast cancer. according to sources close to the duchess, she is back in the uk after initially recuperating in austria. you're live with bbc news. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has again rejected the idea of creating a palestinian state, despite a phone call with us president biden who said he believed that might still be possible.

mr netanyahu also rejected hamas's demands for israeli forces to withdraw from gaza — in return for the release of the israeli hostages. the death toll in gaza has now surpassed 25,000, according to the hamas—run health ministry. with the latest from jerusalem, here's mark lowen. lives on a list that grows by the day. an overnight air strike adding them to a new milestone — more than 25,000 killed in gaza since israel's offensive began, says hamas. numbers out of date by the hour. israel's focus is now southern gaza, pounded from the air, backed by naval strikes, but there have been clashes in the north too.

israel's army — vastly superior to hamas — is still facing significant resistance across the territory. the israeli defence forces released pictures of a new tunnel they say they found, booby—trapped and more than 800m long — and, they say, it's likely to have held israeli hostages. translation: in the tunnel, we found five cells, _ each had a toilet and a mattress, enclosed by metal bars. according to testimonies we have, about 20 hostages were held in this tunnel at different times, in difficult conditions — without daylight, with stuffy air, very little oxygen, and terrible humidity that makes it difficult to breathe. but more than three months in, israel still hasn't destroyed hamas or got the remaining hostages home, and splits are growing here. anti—war protesters — still few — scuffled with police. most israelis have rallied around their flag, but not their prime minister — and his continued opposition to a palestinian state

is angering allies. i think it is very disappointing that benjamin netanyahu has said that. it's not, in some sense, a surprise — he's spent his entire political career against a two—state solution. but the point is, which other routes is there to seriously resolve this? here in israel, public patience with the war isn't limitless. and us intelligence is reported to have concluded that israel has only killed between 20—30% of hamas fighters, and that the group has enough weapons to continue striking back for months — raising the spectre of a prolonged conflict. and prolonged suffering on both sides. for children wracked with fever but unable to get medicine as gaza's hospitals run desperately short, and a lack of clean water makes disease rife. doctors resort to a weak syrup to treat the young, often orphaned.

but it does little to dull the pain of gaza's war. mark lowen, bbc news, jerusalem. i'm joined now by gerald feierstein, a former us ambassador to yemen under president 0bama who's now a distinguished senior fellow at the middle east institute. many thanks for your time today on newsday, i want to focus more on how this conflict that we just the report about, is spreading in the entire region, especially given your experience. the rise of the houthi has been incredible in the last three years but could there rise have been prevented? it’s three years but could there rise have been prevented?— three years but could there rise have been prevented? it's a pleasure to be with you _ have been prevented? it's a pleasure to be with you tonight _ have been prevented? it's a pleasure to be with you tonight i _ have been prevented? it's a pleasure to be with you tonight i think- have been prevented? it's a pleasure to be with you tonight i think the - to be with you tonight i think the reality is that the houthi movement, israeli, about 25 years old —— is

really about 25 years old, the geopolitical movement, irreligious revival movement, became a confit with the former government for a number of years before, of course, the events of 2011 among the arab spring, there overthrow of the transitional government and the beginning of the civil war. so this is a group that has grown in strength and significance over the years. i don't think that it was possible to turn them back because they really tapped into some very real issues within yemen, and now more broadly in the region. does america bear— more broadly in the region. does america bear some _ more broadly in the region. does america bear some responsibility for their rise, and now their power within the region? the

their rise, and now their power within the region?— within the region? the original osition within the region? the original position that _ within the region? the original position that really _ within the region? the original position that really raised - within the region? the originalj position that really raised their profile was anti—americanism in the. after 2001, the global war on terror, and the impact that had in yemen. so, you know, there is a us components, if you will, to the growth of the houthi movement, no doubt about that. i’m growth of the houthi movement, no doubt about that.— growth of the houthi movement, no doubt about that. i'm afraid we have run out of time, _ doubt about that. i'm afraid we have run out of time, but _ doubt about that. i'm afraid we have run out of time, but the _ doubt about that. i'm afraid we have run out of time, but the former us l run out of time, but the former us ambassador to yemen, many thanks for your time. india s prime minister narendra modi is set to open a hindu temple for one of the faith�*s most revered deities. it's being seen as the start of his election campaign. millions of hindus are celebrating the temple opening, saying it's a long—standing dream come true. but it evokes painful memories for muslims —

a mosque that stood at the site was illegally torn down, triggering religious violence across the country. many accuse mr modi of violating india's secular constitution by opening the temple. from ayodhya, the bbc�*s south asia correspondent yogita limaye reports. a display of hindu faith in a manner that's perhaps never been seen before in modern india. "hail lord ram," they shout, in praise of one of their most revered deities. ayodhya is described as his birthplace in hindu epics. and at the spot that millions believe he was born, a grand temple will now be opened by the prime minister. translation: a dream has finally become a reality. - it's like god himself

has appeared before us. this city has shaped india. it sits on one of the country's biggest hindu muslim fault lines. the temple, built at a spot where a mosque once stood. many see it as a declaration of hindu dominance. translation: we don't - want to destroy anyone's mosque, but what has been built on the birthplace of our gods, we will not tolerate that from now on. the site was given to hindus by a supreme court order. hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on the temple, funded from private donations. but the prime minister's presence would turn a religious ceremony into a state event, many say. especially controversial because of the history of the site. until 1992, a 16th century mosque stood there.

they raise the saffron flag... illegally destroyed after a mass campaign by hindu mobs. religious violence broke out across india. thousands were killed. a campaign which has now led to hundreds of deaths. for ayodhya's muslims, it was a painful time. this lady's husband, mohammad amin, was among 17 killed in ayodhya. "they cut his arms and legs off and stuffed his body in a sack," she tells us. "on that day i lost my biggest support, the person i shared my life with". herson, sohrab, had hoped the country's leaders would reach out to them. translation: they should have come to us and said . what happened was wrong. they should have showed compassion. but they haven't.

many in the community told us they're worried there might be trouble again after the inauguration. and so they were leaving the city for a few weeks. all major political parties have sought to appease voters through this politics of religion. but for prime minister narendra modi's bjp, its support of the temple as part of its aggressive assertion of hinduism is the reason why it's transformed from being a small party just a few decades ago, to being seen as one that is virtually undefeatable now. at a local bjp office, preparations are on for the inauguration. i met a member of parliament from the party, lallu singh. do you think it's appropriate for the prime minister of a secular country to be the main figure at a major hindu religious event? translation: it's 100% right. the culture of the majority community in a country dominates the nation. this does not mean we do not

respect minorities. the opening of the temple is being seen as the start of prime minister modi's re—election bid, and it's expected to give him another resounding victory. one that could further polarize the nation. yogita limaye, bbc news, ayodhya. south korea says exports of kimchi — a staple korean food — has recorded an all—time high last year. shipments of the spicy fermented cabbage exceeded 114,000 tonnes last year. an official cited the growing popularity of south korean culture around the world as the main reason behind the surge. that's all the time we have on newsday, stay with bbc news. hello there.

storm isha will cause significant damage and disruption in parts of the uk, as we push into monday morning. met office amber warnings are in force for severe gales with damaging gusts and heavy rain. this combined with snow melt, because of milder temperatures across northern areas, is likely to lead to localised flooding. the centre passing to the north of scotland, widespread severe gales on the southern flank covering most of the uk. these are the kind of gusts we can expect, even inland up to 60 mph and 70, 80 mph around irish sea coasts and 90 mph over parts of northern ireland and western scotland. the amber warning is valid until 6am. these are the temperatures we can expect to start monday morning, 6—11. storm isha is likely to bring significant disruption to travel on monday morning. stay tuned to your local radio bulletins and also bbc breakfast for the latest updates.

monday looks very windy, storm isha pulling away. staying blustery with scattered showers, and some showers will be heavy at times. the best sunshine over eastern parts of the country. these temperatures are 7—11. moving through monday evening and overnight, the winds will begin to down as high—pressure starts to build and the showers die off over northern and western areas. turning dry and clear and cool over the north and east of the uk but the next spell of wet and windy weather early on tuesday morning. here it is on the pressure chart, the next low pressure system bringing rain and wind, not as severe but a blustery day, wet and windy weather over western areas spreading to all areas. you can see some snow on the mountains of scotland before the mild air starts to move north over the country and it will be very mild indeed for the time of year,

temperatures reaching 1a or 15. the weather remaining changeable through the week, wet and windy spells interspersed with drier and sunnier moments. for the time of year, staying mild.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines at the top of the hour as newsday continues, straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. one of the key drivers of human thought and behaviour throughout history has been knowledge of our own mortality. from childhood each of us knows we will die. religion, philosophy and science all wrestle with that fact and have in different ways embraced the quest for immortality. my guess today, stephen cave, director of the cambridge institute for technology and humanity, is at the centre of a growing debate about the merits of extending human longevity. is it wise to seek to live forever?