the pentagon says eight targets were hit. on the eve of the second major contest of the us campaign season, nikki haley and donald trump make theirfinal push to new hampshire voters. a us state prepares to execute a prisoner using a method un experts say could amount to torture. hello. i'm sumi somaskanda. it is great to have you with us. the us and uk have again hit houthi targets in yemen in response to attacks by the group in the red sea. the pentagon says the joint strikes on monday targeted eight locations in yemen, including an underground storage facility and missile systems. this is video released by the pentagon just in the past couple of hours. it shows fighters launching off the uss eisenhower. the pentagon says the strikes were intended to degrade houthi capability to launch attacks on us and uk ships in the red sea.

the us released a joint statement with the uk and four other countries. "the houthis�* now more than 30 attacks on international "and commercial vessels since mid—november constitute "an international challenge. "our aim remains to de—escalate tensions and restore stability "in the red sea, but let us reiterate our warning to houthi "leadership — we will not hesitate to defend lives "and the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most "critical waterways in the face of continued threats." for weeks, iran—backed houthis have fired missiles and other projectiles at commercial ships, as well as a number of us—owned merchant vessels. the attacks have disrupted global trade and stirred fears of a further—destabilised middle east. a houthi military spokesman responded to the us—uk attacks, saying: the us has carried out eight operations on its own against the houthi movement

in the past two weeks. monday's strikes mark the second joint action by the us and uk in yemen, the first, back onjanuary 11. the bbc�*s defence correspondent jonathan beale gave us his analysis. this looks like it would have been a lot more intelligence used, like the first time, a co—ordinated attempt to try to degrade at least the houthis�* ability to do this. the trouble is the houthis show no sign of backing down at the moment, a determined group who have been fighting the saudis. and the other thing to say is that the us and the uk have been involved in this action, no other country have, and that's, i think, because they do not know what the end game is here. this tit—for—tat could go on for weeks. the houthi movement says its attacks on red sea shipping are their response to israel's war on gaza. on monday, the us media outlet axios reported that israel has offered a proposal to hamas to pause fighting for two months in exchange for the release of all hostages still being held by hamas in gaza. families of those hostages are piling pressure on the israeli government

to strike a deal that will bring them home. on monday, relatives of some of the hostages stormed into the knesset, israel's parliament, injerusalem. the families broke through security and interrupted a finance meeting, accusing the government of a lack of urgency. it's been more than 100 days since hamas took hostages in the october 7 attacks on israel. israel says more than 130 hostages remain unaccounted for after more than 100 were freed through a deal in november. a dealfor a pause in fighting would be welcome news to palestinians who say they have no safe place to go. gaza's health ministry, run by hamas, says more than 25,000 people have been killed since october 7, most of them women and children. on sunday, the united nation's secretary general called the destruction and killing "utterly unacceptable" and reiterated the un's calls for a humanitarian ceasefire. for more on all of this, i spoke a little earlier with retired lieutenant general mark schwartz. he served as the

us security coordinator of the israel—palestinian authority from 2019 to 2021. lieutenant general schwartz, this is now the eighth strike that we have seen from the us on houthi targets, the second joint strike with uk forces, yet the houthis have remained defiant. what do you think these strikes can achieve? i think the strikes that occurred earlier, initially, they were a ramp—up of escalation of the attacks that occurred in the red sea against coalition maritime vessels, and the us was doing a lot with its partners and allies in the region, doing a lot of assessments in terms of where these attacks were coming from, the launch sites, the storage locations. so after the initial strikes, i think there's been some time to see what the houthi reaction was going to be and the strikes that took place just earlier, they were focused on weapon storage facilities, where the houthis had moved their weapons as a result

of the previous strikes. the aim of these strikes is to degrade houthi capabilities. do you think that the uk and us maybe underestimated the strength of houthi forces? i don't think they have underestimated it. i think we have a pretty good knowledge of the types of weapons and the amount of weapons that have been transited from iran into yemen to the houthis, so i think that the initial strikes, you are not going to hit all the targets that you hope to achieve. again, the intent is not to escalate, at least from the point of the administration. it is to de—escalate the crisis that's ongoing in the gulf of aden and the red sea. i think as ongoing assessments continue, if there is opportunities to continue to go after weapon stockpiles, that will be done. what do you think it is that has made the houthis so strong? we know they have gotten quite a bit of support, obviously training and weapons from iran. they have no economy, so i think the preponderance

of the resources that they have received, at least from the us standpoint, is coming from iran and there is really no—one else in the region that has a strategic interest or motivation other than the other terrorist organisations, like hamas and lebanese hezbollah and then the pmf organisations that exist inside of iraq and in syria as well. they are all vying for resources. so, clearly, it has been iran predominantly that has provided the weaponry. potentially some financial resourcing has come from other areas, but in terms of the hardware that we are seeing being used against maritime shipping, it is coming from iran. do you think this raises the concern again about the prospect of the israel—gaza conflict spreading in the region? i don't think it does. i believe that iran is very happy to see its proxies

taking opportunities to attack israel, to attack the us and to attack any other ally or partner of israel that is involved in this conflict, whether primarily from resourcing. so i don't think... there has certainly been horizontal escalation that has taken place across the region, but again, you haven't seen direct involvement other than strikes that iran has taken in syria late last week, and then also that took place in pakistan as well. one more question, lieutenant general schwartz. we have seen these reports but we have not been able to confirm yet of the possibility of a ceasefire in the israel—gaza conflict. what impact do you think this would this have on the houthis? they themselves have said they are launching these attacks because of what is happening in gaza. i think the houthis would certainly portray it as a victory and take credit for any military pause

or ceasefire that occurs in gaza because they want to be seen as contributing to the efforts of hamas, the efforts of iran and the rest of the proxies that are operating in the region, so i think they will certainly take credit. i don't think that as part of israel's calculus right now, the attacks occurring in the red sea is informing their decision to conduct another operational pause. it is primarily focused on the release of further hostages. 0k. lieutenant general schwartz, always good to get your perspective. thank you forjoining us. thank you. have a great evening. here in the us, we are down to the final hours before the 2024 us presidential primary in new hampshire. republican voters are rallying behind the last two standing candidates — former us president donald trump and former un ambassador and south carolina governor nikki haley. on sunday, florida governor ron desantis bowed out of the race

saying there was no "clear path to victory". governor desantis struggled to keep momentum after the iowa caucuses last week, which mr trump won by a landslide. the latest major poll suggests mr trump holds a significant edge over ms haley in the granite state, 53—38%. since the new year, nikki haley has ramped up her criticism of the former president. in recent days, she has even questioned his fitness to serve in office. the future of her presidential campaign now depends on what happens on tuesday, in new hampshire. we will talk about all of this now. with me isjess bidgood, a reporter at the boston globe. really great to have you with us right here in concord, especially because you have been going to a lot of the events that candidates have been bowling. what stood out to you in this final push from the candidates?— you in this final push from the candidates? absolutely. thank ou so candidates? absolutely. thank you so much — candidates? absolutely. thank you so much for— candidates? absolutely. thank you so much for having - candidates? absolutely. thank you so much for having me. i you so much for having me. voters here in new hampshire are ready to have an election,

they are tired of everything. they are also picking up on a sense that this year feels a little different, it feels a little different, it feels a little bizarre. bake today for example. donald trump, former president and frontrunner in this spent much of the day in new york, he had a court hearing, and meanwhile nikki haley was criss—crossing the state, seeking out support from her base of voters. but that is not the conservative republican base that is usually being courted around this time. she is looking for moderates and independents, and so i think it is fed a sense of things are a little bizarre, a little different this year. little bizarre, a little different this ear. ~ ., different this year. we had the sense of speaking _ different this year. we had the sense of speaking to _ different this year. we had the sense of speaking to voters i sense of speaking to voters that things felt subdued because that the former president has built up. is something you have heard from voters, it is not as exciting or tense as previous years?

absolutely. i think subdued is the right word. voters who are used to having, you know, everywhere you turn there is another candidate. they are looking around and wondering where they all are. it is really unusual to have the field just two candidates at this point. usually that is a role that new hampshire plays, and this time the state knows they could play a role in ultimately determining the nominee is to be. find ultimately determining the nominee is to be.- nominee is to be. and it is make or — nominee is to be. and it is make or break _ nominee is to be. and it is make or break right - nominee is to be. and it is make or break right now i nominee is to be. and it is | make or break right now for nikki haley. a few weeks ago with the governor of the state saying nikki haley could win new hampshire. now he says she could have a strong second place. what has led to sisley that change in narrative? i think it is some of the polling you are talking about, you talked about at the outset. nikki haley, despite all the work she has put in here, despite the inroads she has made with independent voters and moderates she is seeking, she still training form of

president trump by double digits. —— trailing. now we need to be stronger than we were in iowa. but they have been pretty careful not to set clear expectations, clearer goalposts about what stronger actually means.— actually means. does nikki haley have _ actually means. does nikki haley have enough - actually means. does nikki haley have enough of- actually means. does nikki haley have enough of an i haley have enough of an electorate here in new hampshire to be able to win this primary? it comes very close to donald trump. it is not impossible. _ close to donald trump. it is not impossible. new - close to donald trump. it 3 not impossible. new hampshire loves to talk about the years when it has delivered a big surprise, really changed the trajectory of a candidate's race, and that could happen again, particularly depending on how many independent bull republican ballots on tuesday and vote for nikki haley. however, even if that happens, evenif however, even if that happens, even if everything goes absolutely perfectly for her here, which seems unlikely, but let's say it does, the big question then facing nikki haley is where she goes next. south carolina is coming up on the primary calendar and, that

is her home state and she was elected governor twice and yet she is trailing resident from there, former president trump in a state that is much more conservative than this one, and then beyond that, the matter starts to look really tough for her even if things go really well here for her tomorrow night. well here for her tomorrow niuht. �* , . , well here for her tomorrow niuht. �*, ., ., ., night. let's fast forward to the general _ night. let's fast forward to the general election. - night. let's fast forward to the general election. if- night. let's fast forward to the general election. if it | night. let's fast forward to | the general election. if it is donald trump againstjoe biden, how do you see voters in new hampshire going? do you see them supporting, especially the republicans here, donald trump? the relationship between new hampshire and donald trump is an interesting one stop in 2016 new hampshire republican voters were the ones who gave him his first big victory in a primary and set him on the path to the nomination, and ultimately the presidency. but that said, this is a pretty purple state. at the bottom blow we have some recent polling that shows a trump by matchup here would see biden winning —— boston globe.

the polling looks good for biden, he is trailing and many other states so was something about this state where you have got a primary electorate drawn to trump, that is favourable to him, but overall, the state remains kind of moderate enough that it remains kind of moderate enough thatitis remains kind of moderate enough that it is not going to be an easy stage for him to win in a general, and it is close, new hampshire will really matter. it is such an interesting thing to watch this state of the game. thank you forjoining us. great to have your insides with us tonight. great to have your insides with us tonight-— us tonight. thank you for havin: us tonight. thank you for having me- _ around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at the top story in the uk. at least two people have died and thousands were left without power after storm isha hammered the uk. large areas of scotland, northern ireland, northwest england and wales were hit by heavy rain and winds

up to 99mph. our weather correspondent looks at how the cold air here in the us has led to the harsh weather hitting the uk. what we've got is what's happening in the us driving things. there's been some intense cold air, temperatures down to minus 29 by night. that's been coming across the mid—atlantic, firing up a particularly lively jet stream, picking up areas of low pressure, developing them further, and sending them our way, and our next named storm — storm josyln — set to show up tomorrow. amber warnings are in place across northern and western parts of the uk. in the most exposed areas, storm jocelyn is expected to bring gusts of wind of between 55mph to 65mph. and there will be yet more rainfall. you're live with bbc news. returning now to our coverage of the new hampshire primary, where former us president donald trump and former south carolina governor nikki haley

are the final candidates standing in the race for the republican nomination. the bbc�*s white house correspondent, gary o'donoghue, was at a trump event in laconia, new hampshire tonight. donald trump's last rally before tomorrow's primary — double—digit leads in the polls. still plenty of people here queuing to see him. chris is one of them. what brings you here tonight? i’m is one of them. what brings you here tonight?— here tonight? i'm here to suaport _ here tonight? i'm here to support donald _ here tonight? i'm here to support donald trump. . here tonight? i'm here to - support donald trump. hopefully he wins the state, and the election here tomorrow, and i want to see another four years of the guy. want to see another four years of the guy-— want to see another four years ofthe .u .~ ., ., ., ., of the guy. what do you want to see in those _ of the guy. what do you want to see in those four _ of the guy. what do you want to see in those four years? - of the guy. what do you want to see in those four years? he - see in those four years? he: denuclearised the korean peninsula, it was the first time it was energy—independent. hang on — north korea's still got nuclear weapons. hang on - north korea's still got nuclear weapons. hopefully we can get _ got nuclear weapons. hopefully we can get him _ got nuclear weapons. hopefully we can get him back _ got nuclear weapons. hopefully we can get him back and - got nuclear weapons. hopefully we can get him back and he - got nuclear weapons. hopefully we can get him back and he can do the samejob we can get him back and he can do the same job he did we can get him back and he can do the samejob he did before. he didn't build the wall either. ., , , u, either. hopefully he he could do that too. _ either. hopefully he he could do that too, because - either. hopefully he he could do that too, because we're . either. hopefully he he could | do that too, because we're on the verge of a civil war in texas. ~ ., the verge of a civil war in texas. ~ . the verge of a civil war in l tean-_ he texas. what did he do? he created a _ texas. what did he do? he created a lot _ texas. what did he do? he created a lot of _

texas. what did he do? he created a lot of jobs. - texas. what did he do? he created a lot of jobs. gas l created a lot ofjobs. gas prices were low. we didn't have any conflicts, and... ida any conflicts, and... no conflicts? _ any conflicts, and... no conflicts? i— any conflicts, and... no conflicts? i believe - any conflicts, and... no conflicts? i believe so, | any conflicts, and... no - conflicts? i believe so, yeah. 0k. conflicts? i believe so, yeah. 0k- what — conflicts? i believe so, yeah. 0k. what about _ conflicts? i believe so, yeah. 0k. what about the - conflicts? i believe so, yeah. i 0k. what about the opposition, ok. what about the opposition, nikki haley? she ok. what about the opposition, nikki haley?— nikki haley? she wants to take the retirement _ nikki haley? she wants to take the retirement away _ nikki haley? she wants to take the retirement away from - nikki haley? she wants to take l the retirement away from young people like me. i'm supposed to work 50 hours a week until i'm 75. not really the biggest fan of doing that. not big fan of mers. , , ., ., of doing that. not big fan of mers. , _, ., ::' mers. did you vote in 2016? yes, i mers. did you vote in 2016? yes. i voted _ mers. did you vote in 2016? yes, i voted for _ mers. did you vote in 2016? yes, i voted for trump. - mers. did you vote in 2016? yes, i voted for trump. so l yes, i voted for trump. so ou're yes, i voted for trump. so you're loyal? _ yes, i voted for trump. so you're loyal? yes, - yes, i voted for trump. so you're loyal? yes, sir. - yes, i voted for trump. so i you're loyal? yes, sir. thank ou. you. plenty of people here, plenty of enthusiasm still for donald trump. he looks like he's going to be a big winner in this primary. while trump and haley are getting the most attention in the race for the republican nomination, democratic challengers to us presidentjoe biden are also looking for public support in a non—binding democratic party contest in new hampshire. joining me now is our reporter carl nasman who is in salem, new hampshire. carl, very good to see you. we just mentioned that he's not on

the ballot here. this really is an interesting primary, isn't it, for the democrats? it’s an interesting primary, isn't it, for the democrats? it's an interesting — it, for the democrats? it's an interesting one _ it, for the democrats? it's an interesting one - _ it, for the democrats? it's an interesting one - it's - it, for the democrats? it's an interesting one - it's mainlyl interesting one — it's mainly symbolic. you could consider this really the first true test at the ballot box for president biden and his re—election campaign. as you mentioned, he's not technically on the ballot. there's a large write—in campaign for president biden. there are no delegates being awarded either. however, democrats will be going to the polls — and the president, a sitting president — has several challengers. one of them is actually a sitting democratic congressman, dean philips of minnesota. he's mounting a campaign against president biden, saying that he doesn't believe he can defeat donald trump at the polls come november. i sat down with him earlier and asked him how concerned he is that his run for president could be harming his own party's chances of maintaining control of the white house in 202a. here's what he told me.

white house in 2024. here's what he told me.— what he told me. carl, actually. _ what he told me. carl, actually, if _ what he told me. carl, actually, if i _ what he told me. carl, actually, if i didn't - what he told me. carl, | actually, ifi didn't run, what he told me. carl, - actually, ifi didn't run, that actually, if i didn't run, that would — actually, if i didn't run, that would he _ actually, if i didn't run, that would be harming our chances of winning — would be harming our chances of winning in— would be harming our chances of winning in november. that's the whole _ winning in november. that's the whole point of this. a man who is a good — whole point of this. a man who is a good man but is destined to lose, — is a good man but is destined to lose, in _ is a good man but is destined to lose, in which the country has — to lose, in which the country has lost _ to lose, in which the country has lost faith, in whom the country— has lost faith, in whom the country has lost faith, i believe. _ country has lost faith, i believe, and facing notjust a normal— believe, and facing notjust a normal republican — the most dangerous man in the history of this country. and i'm just afraid _ this country. and i'm just afraid that democrats are sleepwalking into disaster. we did it _ sleepwalking into disaster. we did it in — sleepwalking into disaster. we did it in 2016. it is unforgiveable and shameful to do the — unforgiveable and shameful to do the same thing knowingly this year. and i think most americans understand that democracy thrives with competition. and it dies with coronations. this is not about condemning someone, taking him down _ condemning someone, taking him down this — condemning someone, taking him down. this is about running for something. and i wish more democrats would do so. i've tried — democrats would do so. i've tried for— democrats would do so. i've tried for months — months — to -et tried for months — months — to get other— tried for months — months — to get other democrats who had names— get other democrats who had names that are better— known than mine right now — to participate. than mine right now - to participate-— than mine right now - to participate. what are you ho - in . participate. what are you hoping for. _ participate. what are you hoping for, then, - participate. what are you hoping for, then, when i participate. what are you i hoping for, then, when the results come out?- hoping for, then, when the results come out? first of all, i results come out? first of all, i believe _ results come out? first of all, i believe we've _ results come out? first of all, i believe we've achieved - results come out? first of all, i believe we've achieved morej i believe we've achieved more success— i believe we've achieved more success than i could have imagined, which is the practice of democracy. absent my

candidacy, there would be nothing _ candidacy, there would be nothing happening right now. there — nothing happening right now. there would be no coverage of democrats. we would have ceded hundreds— democrats. we would have ceded hundreds of hours of prime—time television — hundreds of hours of prime—time television only to the gop. there _ television only to the gop. there would be nothing to talk about, — there would be nothing to talk about, which is why young people _ about, which is why young people are apathetic, are not engaged. we have plenty of them in the _ engaged. we have plenty of them in the last— engaged. we have plenty of them in the last couple of days with energv— in the last couple of days with energy and optimism and joy at our events. we're doing a service _ our events. we're doing a service to _ our events. we're doing a service to the democratic party if people — service to the democratic party if people would simply pay attention. so, success tomorrow — i attention. so, success tomorrow - ithink_ attention. so, success tomorrow — i think we've already achieved it, that's one. but to quantify— achieved it, that's one. but to quantify it— achieved it, that's one. but to quantify it — 20% or so, or above _ quantify it — 20% or so, or above that, would be outstanding. we started at 0% 'ust outstanding. we started at 0% just two — outstanding. we started at 0% just two weeks ago. i had no name — just two weeks ago. i had no name recognition. the most recent— name recognition. the most recent tracking poll had us maybe _ recent tracking poll had us maybe above 32%. if we get in the 20s, — maybe above 32%. if we get in the 20s, it _ maybe above 32%. if we get in the 20s, it would be extraordinary. here's what the country— extraordinary. here's what the country should really pay attention to. bill clinton achieved 84% when he was incumbent. barack obama — 81%. and of— incumbent. barack obama — 81%. and of course, i thinkjoe and of course, ithinkjoe biden— and of course, ithinkjoe biden is— and of course, i thinkjoe biden is going to be way below that, _ biden is going to be way below that, with a big write—in campaign behind him, a super pacset— campaign behind him, a super pac set up to do it, every cabinet _ pac set up to do it, every cabinet member has come up here

- the _ cabinet member has come up here — the governor of massachusetts, the mayor of boston, _ massachusetts, the mayor of boston, my colleagues from congress — all hands on deck. hes— congress — all hands on deck. he's a — congress — all hands on deck. he's a weak candidate. a good man — he's a weak candidate. a good man not _ he's a weak candidate. a good man. not electable. i think tomorrow, the polls will show the votes. tomorrow, the polls will show the votes— tomorrow, the polls will show the votes. , �* ., , the votes. president biden has been suffering _ the votes. president biden has been suffering from _ the votes. president biden has been suffering from some - the votes. president biden has been suffering from some low| been suffering from some low approval numbers, of course. dean phillips did say that, if biden is the eventual nominee on the democratic side — which looks very likely — that he would put his support behind the president. shill would put his support behind the president.— would put his support behind the president. all right. thank ou, the president. all right. thank you. carl. _ the president. all right. thank you. carl. so _ the president. all right. thank you, carl, so much _ the president. all right. thank you, carl, so much for- the president. all right. thank you, carl, so much for your i you, carl, so much for your reporting tonight. carl nasman for us. we will continue to cover the new hampshire primary, but to other news now: a death row prisoner in the us state of alabama is set to become the first person in the country to be executed using nitrogen gas, a method which the united nations has called cruel and inhumane. it will be the state's second attempt to execute kenneth eugene smith, who was convicted in 1989 of murdering a preacher�*s

wife in a hired killing. despite growing calls for a stay of execution, the state authorities say they will press ahead with the death sentence. our correspondent tom bateman reports from atmore in southern alabama. 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 thejudge 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 favour 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. let's turn to some important news around the world: the us supreme court is allowing federal agents to remove razor wire that texas installed at its border with mexico to deter migrants. on, monday the justices voted 5—4 to vacate an appeals court ruling that had allowed the wire in eagle pass to stay in place amid a legal battle. the us government argued the wire illegally stopped them from managing the border. us vice—president kamala harris on monday started a national tour in support of reproductive rights. she spoke in wisconsin on the 51st anniversary of the roe v wade supreme court decision that legalised

abortion nationwide — and which the court overturned in 2022. presidentjoe biden also convened a taskforce on reproductive healthcare access, a key campaign issue in this year's presidential election. police in ecuador say they have arrested the head of a colombian armed group and that authorities will return him to colombia. carlos l, known as el gringo, was captured on sunday in the northern city of ibarra. his organisation has links to terrorist groups near ecuador�*s border with colombia. ecuador�*s military is fighting criminal gangs under a state of emergency. thank you so much for watching. bbc news will be back at the top of the next hour. stay with us. hello. storm jocelyn is the latest named storm to come our way, through tuesday and into tuesday night. the storm system has been fired

up by the same process which we saw with storm isha. cold arctic air recently across the eastern portion of the united states and in canada, big temperature contrast down towards florida, and that has really fired up an active and potent jet stream. and it's jet streams which have developed this low pressure system. this is jocelyn, not as potent as isha, but will still cross the country and have impacts. now, storm jocelyn is almost like a two stage storm. the winds will strengthen throughout tuesday, but by day it's the heavy rain which could have its greatest impact across parts of scotland, north—west england, north—west wales. and then into the night the winds start to peak with the worst of them across the northern half of the uk. by contrast, out there to start the day on tuesday, fairly quiet start. earlier frost will have gone across eastern areas as temperatures rise, clear and bright here to begin with with some high cloud around, but in the west already mild, windy and wet. some heavy rain at times in northern ireland throughout

much of the day, clearing into the late afternoon. some of the heaviest, most persistent rain, though, setting up across the hills of southwest scotland, also into parts of cumbria, yorkshire, dales and north—west wales. it's here where there's a real risk of flooding. rain will have pushed across all parts, turning a bit drizzlier, that rain across the south later and lots of low cloud. very mild but very windy to end the day. and it's into the night where winds will strengthen further. met office amber warning across the north and west scotland. we're expecting some of the greatest impacts and gusts of wind in excess of 80mph. so let me take you through tuesday night. there's jocelyn passing to the north. the isobars really packing in once the worst of the heavy rain's out the way and the winds strengthen right the way through into the start of wednesday morning rush hour, particularly in scotland. those winds will gradually ease there and impacts could still be ongoing, but wednesday, it's almost a repeat of what we saw on monday — a lot more in the way of dry and sunny weather around, a few showers in the north, and then clouding over across the south with some drizzle in cornwall later in the day. overall, a fresher day than tuesday. a fresher night, then with a touch of frost in the north—east of the country as we go through into thursday.

these next weather fronts that are pushing not quite as potent as we've seen so far this week. it will bring lots of cloud across the country. damp and drizzly, around some western coast and some of the heavier bursts of rain at times in the west, but a bit more erratic and not as windy as it will be during the next 36 hours. take care.

a deal that would have created one of india's biggest broadcasters falls apart. plus, the british high street shop that has found a new lease of life after covid. hello and welcome to asia business report. we begin our programme this hour in india where a mega merger between two media giants has broken down. japan's sony group has terminated plans to merge its indian unit with tv broadcaster zee entertainment. it would have created one of india's biggest media entities. let's bring in our reporter from mumbai with more on this story. what are the implications of this deal falling through? the implications _ this deal falling through? the implications are _ this deal falling through? iia: implications are required serious, particularly for zee.