today's combined strikes against them come after a call between rishi sunak and president biden. also tonight, senior iranian commanders trying to incite students here in the uk — we have a special investigation. violent islamist extremism, its purpose is to radicalise british students. storm isha leaves thousands without power and storm jocelyn is on its way. after months on the rise, energy bills look set to fall in april, and then again in the summer. in the us, a man facing execution by suffocation with nitrogen, and the controversy it's created. 0k, ok, i know what to call it! and reece witherspoon�*s chococinno made with snow — would you eat it?

and on newsnight at 10.30, we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories. plus, we take a first look at what's on tomorrow's front pages. good evening. in the last half hour, it's been reported that the uk has taken part in further strikes against the iranian—backed houthis who operate in yemen. the attacks are in response to strikes by the houthis on cargo ships in the red sea. the houthis say they are attacking vessels bound for israel, in support of palestinians. our defence correspondent jonathan beale is here with me. this story has just broken, what more do we now? all we have at the moment is confirmation from two unnamed us officials at jets from confirmation from two unnamed us officials atjets from that us carrier in the red sea, the uss

eisenhower, along with britishjets, they say, have been taking part in strikes on the houthis in yemen. we've not yet had confirmation from downing street or the mod that that has happened but remember that this is the second time that this coordinated action has taken place. it happened ten days ago when british jets from it happened ten days ago when britishjets from raf it happened ten days ago when british jets from raf akrotiri in cyprus, which i think probably would have been involved again, took part with american led strikes against the houthis, specific going over command and control and sites also where they have been storing, manufacturing drones and missiles which they have been using to target merchant shipping in the red sea and the gulf of aden. the hope was that initial set of strikes on the 12th of january would stop them but they have not stopped, they have carried on fighting. in between that, the us says there have been some limited unilateral action, just their own ships in the red sea priming and trying to destroy what they say are

houthi missiles about to be fired. this looks like it would have been a lot more intelligence used, like the first time, a coordinated attempt to try to degrade at least the houthis parkes ability to do this but the trouble is they show no signs of backing down at the moment, a determined group who have been fighting the saudis. the other thing to say is that the us and uk have been involved in this action, no other country, and i think that is because they do not know what the endgame is here. this tip for could go on for weeks. endgame is here. this tip for could go on for weeks— endgame is here. this tip for could go on for weeks. thank you, jonathan beale. iran is also at the centre of bbc investigation into videos of senior iranian commanders operating online in the uk, addressing british students and describing what they call an �*apocalyptic war�* against dues. —— againstjews. the footage is part of an investigation into the islamic revolutionary guard corps, or the irgc, and its activities in the uk. a separate video contains chants

of death to israel — it was recorded in west london to commemorate the death of an irgc commander. the irgc was set up over a0 years ago to defend iran's islamic revolution and is now one of the most powerful paramilitary organisations in the middle east, using its vast funds to support allied governments and militant groups across the region. there are growing calls for it to be banned in the uk. a warning this report from our special correspondent, ed thomas, contains material that some may find offensive right from the start. the chant inside kanoon towhid, a west london islamic centre... ..associated with the iranian regime in the uk. we don't know exactly who was chanting, but we do know it's a meeting place for islamic students associations of britain. and for the first time,

we see the speeches of iranian revolutionary guard commanders they promoted to talk at online events. violent islamist extremism. its purpose is to radicalise british students. we hear urgent calls for this to be made illegal... this cannot be allowed to continue. it is a risk to the stability of our country. ali khamenei, the supreme leader of the iranian regime. _ ..and speak to those who say their lives are at risk. they've been threatening me. he says, "i'm going to cut your neck." l 0n the picture below, senior irgc commander hossein yekta... kasra aarabi obtained these speeches. he investigates iran's islamic revolutionary guards, the irgc, forthe campaign group united against nuclear iran. hossein yekta, commander of the irgc�*s notorious plainclothes unit, which has committed gross human rights violations in iran... and he examines its links to the uk.

this event by the islamic students association of britain, hosted and moderated by mohammad hussain, the british citizen, talking to one of the most powerful and violent irgc commanders. this is the only video mohammad hussein ataee appears in. yekta had this message for uk students. he says you, as students, are the irgc basij�*s soft war officers. the concept of the soft war officers was an initiative by the revolutionary guards, which is proactively conducting terror plots on british soil. mohammad hussein ataee is no longer secretary of the islamic students associations of britain.

he said the organisation doesn't make decisions through one person. that's him. here he is injanuary last year, at the heart of the iranian regime, a british citizen, educated in yorkshire, meeting supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei in tehran. 0n the far right there, you have a hardline islamist cleric... kasra identified eight promoted events from 2020 to 2021. irgc commander ali fazli, who, by the way, is on the uk's sanctions list. irgc commander saeed ghasemi is one of the most violent islamist extremist irgc commander. in this talk, the now retired commander falsely claimed the holocaust was a lie and described an apocalyptic war againstjews.

the charity commission is examining these promoted events. the islamic students associations of britain told us its activities are lawful and independent, with no affiliations to any government. it is peaceful and respects all faiths. the al—tawheed charitable trust, which runs this place, the kanoon towhid centre, did not respond to our questions. it's a brazen act of radicalisation. i'm horrified. alicia kearns mp is the chair of the foreign affairs select committee. they are aiding and abetting people who would commit terrorism on our soil, and i want to see the proscription of the irgc because this cannot be allowed to continue. it is a risk to the stability of our country. they were threatening me. they said, "we are here to kill you, we're going to your head." we've also learned the threat

from iran to people in the uk has risen, with more than 15 kidnap or assassination plots identified by security services. these are the people. they came, i was there. vahid beheshti, a british—iranian activist, says he's been warned his life is at risk. that's a picture of ali khamenei, the supreme leader of the iranian regime. i recognise few faces. so they were a small group, which i believe they are organised by iranian regime, irgc�*s agent freely operating in this country and our streets. the government said it's working to identify and deter threats from iran. mohammad hussein ataee wouldn't answer our questions, but said the allegations are false and he has no affiliations to the irgc or any army or government, and the islamic students associations never had any physical gatherings in kanoon towhid or anywhere else with any of the falsely accused individuals.

and ed thomas is here with us now. what is going to happen now? security services are increasingly concerned about the threat of the irg sea and the risks it poses to the uk and this time last year the government was said to be very close to prescribing the irgc formally as a terrorist organisation, making it illegal to support or belong to the group. but that has not happened yet. and one suggestion is that the government is balancing british interests, the uk has an embassy in tehran and direct channels of communication to the iranian regime, crucial in a crisis. but still many people at home watching those online speeches tonight will be really worried about what they were listening to and for now it is the charity commission who is investigating, but the islamic

students associations of britain was clear with us, saying it was independent, it was independent, respect all communities and operates within the law. respect all communities and operates within the lava— respect all communities and operates within the law-— the hamas—run health ministry in gaza estimates that more than 25,000 people have been killed since the war with israel, with the un warning repeatedly of the miserable conditions endured by the people there. some of them have been sending us videos and voice messages of their lives. tonight we hear from khalid ? a medical equipment supplier and father of five. he's injabalia in the north of gaza. khalid, his wife and five children have moved three times since october, trying in vain to find safety. khalid used to sell medical supplies, but he's not a doctor.

yet, as gazan hospitals shut down, his home becomes a makeshift clinic. it's now december. they're at home injabalia, and his work and the war are affecting his children. on december the 22nd, an air strike hits the next street to his home. the danger is too close. khalid decides it's time to leave.

on december the 26th, khalid moves his family to shelter near al—shifa, which was the main hospital in northern gaza.

the next day, they're back in jabalia, families now all live together in blown—out buildings. by january the 1ath, khalid is in the al zeitoun district of gaza city. storm isha has wreaked havoc across the uk, leaving two people dead in scotland and in northern ireland, while thousands of homes are still without power. there were gusts of up to 99 miles per hour, disrupting the journeys of many

road, rail and air travellers. storm isha has now left the uk but another storm — jocelyn — is on the way. danny savage reports from cumbria. as storm isha barreled in from the atlantic, northern ireland saw some of the worst conditions, so dangerous that a man in his 60s died after his car crashed into a fallen tree in county londonderry. power cuts were widespread. thousands of people were left in the cold. michaela was one of them. as a disabled person, i rely on electricity to live. she has her own generatorfor this very event, to keep her alive. we can put a man on the moon. why can we not ensure that disabled people have access to power? in scotland, the storm wiped out the train timetable. no services ran for much of the day. flight was cancelled

so then booked this and this is now delayed as well— so who knows when we'll get there? with parts of britain seeing their strongest winds for more than a decade, a second person died. an 84—year—old man was killed when a car he was a passenger in hit a tree near grangemouth. the wind of sstorm isha may have grabbed the headlines, but plenty of water came with it too. in north yorkshire, the river ure burst its banks in masham. it rarely gets this bad. a few miles further north, we were escorted to the summit of the closed a66, what normally should be a busy cross—country route linking the a1 and the m6. it's lunchtime now and the worst of the weather has passed, but it's still blowing a gale up here on the top of the pennines. this lorry still rocking in the wind and this, one of several vehicles that got blown over here last night. it took until early afternoon for the damaged lorries to be safely recovered and for the road to reopen.

elsewhere, a driver in lincolnshire had a lucky escape when a roof cheers up, she is down, she has gone. it cheers up, she is down, she has one. . , �* cheers up, she is down, she has .one, ., , �* ., , gone. it wasn't the only thing unexnectedly _ gone. it wasn't the only thing unexpectedly airborne - gone. it wasn't the only thing unexpectedly airborne last i gone. it wasn't the only thing - unexpectedly airborne last night. lots of flights had to be diverted to airports with calmer weather, like this one, which should have gone from manchester to dublin but was first diverted towards east midlands, before being sent to paris. ., , midlands, before being sent to paris. ., , ., ., ., ., midlands, before being sent to paris. ., ., ., ., paris. there was a lot of, are you kiddin: paris. there was a lot of, are you kidding me? _ paris. there was a lot of, are you kidding me? oh _ paris. there was a lot of, are you kidding me? oh my _ paris. there was a lot of, are you kidding me? oh my god yells. i paris. there was a lot of, are you - kidding me? oh my god yells. people sa inc, kidding me? oh my god yells. people saying. how — kidding me? oh my god yells. people saying. how will _ kidding me? oh my god yells. people saying. how will i _ kidding me? oh my god yells. people saying, how will i get _ kidding me? oh my god yells. people saying, how will i get home? - kidding me? oh my god yells. people saying, how will i get home? here . kidding me? oh my god yells. people saying, how will i get home? here is| saying, how will i get home? here is the reaction when it finally got back to dublin. cheering another storm is coming tomorrow. people are being warned to brace for more travel disruption and with river levels already high in some areas, flood defences are once again going to be tested. danny savage, bbc news, cumbria. in ukraine, drones have become

a crucial weapon for both sides. president zelensky has promised to produce a million drones within ukraine this year. russian forces still have a significant presence in the east of the country, as shown in red on this map, but it's a stalemate between the two sides. 0ur ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, reports from the southern kherson region to see what difference drones are making. artillery fire. he breathes heavily. we just had some incoming fire. when you're this close to the river, which is a front line, you are always watched, through drones in the sky or from the russians themselves, so you have to move quickly. 0k, they want us to go down here. we've been invited to join the 11th brigade of ukraine's national guard. not in a trench, but this

militarized living room. they specialize in these attack drones — basic, cheap, deadly — and one of the defining weapons in this war. translation: we have now received information that several enemy - drones have taken off from a location we know. we're flying there right now. system message: telemetry lost, telemetry recovered. _ a drone is launched and inches into russian occupied territory. a few kilometers later, artem finds his target — a drone antenna used by a russian unit in a building just like his. it explodes on impact. system message: telemetry lost. translation: the first time i hit the enemy or their equipment - i was more emotional than i am now. now, this is business as usual. this cycle of search and destroy has

pushed the russians back. but they are doing the same here, draining life from kherson's streets. it's much celebrated liberation feels long ago. many people have since fled. russia controls the eastern bank. the dnipro river looks calm, but the invaders are constantly watching and striking. some ukrainian troops have crossed upstream but have yet to make an impact. despite being a mile from invading forces, there are still fragments of civilization. here in the form of alexei. translation: russians attack every day. - you never know where exactly the next hit will be. it's then you notice the bullet hole

in his coffee machine. when his customers leave, they sometimes write messages outside. his reads: "we are invincible." with the russians still close and not going anywhere, kherson will be hoping he's right. james waterhouse, bbc news, kherson. a coroner has ruled that a 13—year—old boy died after being deliberately pushed into a river in south wales in july 2019. the coroner said christopher kapessa had been pushed into the water in fernhill in what he called a "dangerous prank". other children, including the boy found to have pushed him, thenjumped into the river to try to save him. household energy prices are predicted to fall this spring. the consultancy cornwall insight says they could drop by 16% in april. it says a typical annual

bill is expected to fall from £1,928 to £1,620. 0ur cost of living correspondent colletta smith can tell us more. this is still only a forecast. there's still a couple of weeks to go before the energy regulator, 0fgem, sets the price that we'll all be paying from the start of april. still time for global oil and gas prices to have an impact. but, if this is correct, then this significant drop of more than £300 off a typical bill will bring those annual prices to the lowest point that we've seen since the invasion of ukraine. massive relief for households right the way across the uk, particularly as there have been concerns that activity in the yemen at the moment may well have impacted those oil and gas prices. so a relief that we're not necessarily seeing that feed through from the start of april. it is worth saying, though, that it's significantly above the level that we were paying before the energy crisis. in fact, the latest figures show that there's £3 billion worth

of unpaid debt to energy companies right now, and because prices rose again at the start ofjanuary, with cold snaps like this, we're going to see a lot more households struggling to pay those bills. colletta smith reporting. the us state of alabama has been urged to abandon plans to execute a man by suffocating him with nitrogen gas. the un human rights office said the untested method could amount to torture. kenneth smith was sentenced to death for a murder committed in 1988. 0ur north america correspondent tom bateman reports. hidden in the alabama woods, the jail meant to strike fear into every convict. here, more than 160 inmates await execution. among them, the fate of one — kenneth smith — is sparking an outcry. this prison was already among the top in the us for carrying out executions. but what is planned for thursday will put it in a new league —

the first in history to gas an inmate to death using nitrogen. and that, warn experts, could cause convulsions, brain damage but not death, or other catastrophic mishaps. smith has already been subjected to one failed execution by lethal injection. his supporters say trying again with an untested method breaks the law on cruel and unusual punishment. he suffers from ptsd, from the terribly attempted botched execution. and now one's going towards something... ..which might even be worse. smith was jailed in 1989 for his part in the murder of a preacher�*s wife. the jury voted for life, but the judge sentenced him to death. kenneth. sorry. ..sorry about that. i wasjust... go ahead, kenny. i reached smith on the phone, but he said he was too unwell to talk.

he later wrote to say he felt he was being tortured. alabama's governor wouldn't talk to us. yeah, you can't. .. the attorney general�*s office said it would proceed with the execution this thursday. while one lawmaker, in favor of the new method, rejects the un's criticism. i don't know about degrading. i don't know about inhumane. i think we're improving. but this one's suffocation. yeah, i know. and i don't remember exactly how the victim died, but i think it may be even better than what the process was that he did to the victim. capital punishment rates in america are falling, but on alabama's death row, they fear this execution could create a lethal new turning point. tom bateman, bbc news, atmore, alabama. former england rugby captain, and record points scorer, 0wen farrell willjoin the french club racing 92 — in a move that

makes him ineligible to play for his country. patrick gearey has the story. 0wen farrell is as close to a guarantee as rugby offers. farrell with two off the tee. england's all—time leading points scorer, at the heart of england's teams far more than a decade, but now he'll be playing in france. the parisien club racing 92 this evening announced he's to move to them from the english club saracens in the summer on a two—year deal. farrell had decided not to play in the six nations, which starts next month, to look after his mental well—being, after a stressful period in the run—up to the recent world cup when he was criticised for his tackling. but now it's unclear when or even if he'll play for his country again. unlike some other nations, english rugby has a policy of not picking those based abroad, a decision that's been questioned by some, but farrell's replacement as england captain says the players understand it. i think the rules are very clear. if you choose to not play in england then you won't be able to represent your country. you know, that for me is a choice that those guys have made

and they're very clear about that. the rfu have been very clear about that for a long time. the well—funded french league routinely lures in the best players. england have lost a series of talents across the channel but none as big a name as farrell. english rugby's brilliant, constant will be, for the foreseeable future, absent. patrick gearey, bbc news. now, would you eat snow? the actress reese witherspoon likes hers dressed with coffee, caramel and chocolate sauce. but her chococino has got her into hot water. noor nanji reports. ok, so we had a tonne of snow over the past few days. we decided to make a recipe... snow, syrup and cold brew coffee, or as reese witherspoon put it... a snow salt chococino. she said it was delicious... the internet was divided. "don't eat it if it's yellow", warned one. another said they'd been eating snowy ice cream for 60 years and they're fine. witherspoon has defended her icy recipe.

you only live once and it snows maybe once a year here. i don't know. medics say... snow that falls from the sky is often formed around little particles in the sky, which can be pollutants and microorganisms such as bacteria. and if you were to ingest a huge amount, then that could make you ill with illnesses such as diarrhea and vomiting. but what if you're up a slope and have no other option? mountaineers and people on polar expeditions do all the time. - there's no water except snow, so they melt snow and that's l their source of water. yes or snow, the jury's out. noor nanji, bbc news. back to our breaking story. the uk and the united states have once again carried outjoint air strikes tonight against houthi targets in yemen. 0ur political editor chris mason is in westminster. chris, what are you hearing tonight? two statements issued in the last couple of minutes, one from the ministry of defence in london,

another via the pentagon in washington and that is referring to all of the countries involved in one way or another in what has happened tonight. let me bring you what the ministry of defence are saying. they are saying four royal air force typhoon aircraft accompanied by two voyager tankers, who are involved as far as the uk because my involvement is concerned, dropping what are described as precision guided bombs on two military sites in the airfield in yemen. they say that as ever, there was a very vigorous analysis in planning the strike. then the statement from the pentagon talks about this coalition of australia, bahrain, canada, the netherlands, the uk and the united states involved in what has happened tonight but with the uk and the us being the two directly involved, in other words, being the two directly involved, in otherwords, dropping being the two directly involved, in other words, dropping bombs and missiles. what they describe in the statement is a proportionate and necessary set of strikes against eight houthi targets in yemen. they

make the argument that since previous air strikes, there has been continual attacks on the houthi player magga and it is justified for them to strike again. they say they would be willing to continue to strike if necessary if there is not a de—escalation. strike if necessary if there is not a de-escalation._ strike if necessary if there is not a de-escalation. ., ~ , ., , . a de-escalation. thank you very much for that update. _ a de-escalation. thank you very much for that update. chris _ a de-escalation. thank you very much for that update. chris mason - a de-escalation. thank you very much for that update. chris mason from - for that update. chris mason from westminster.