or president obama and that kept a lot of the despots and dictators on their best behaviour. we can get to those days again. i think he can end the war in ukraine and i think he can end the war in israel. and why do you think the war in ukraine should end? too many people are dying and no—one's going to win. we're in this huge crisis. if something doesn't happen, if he doesn't get back- in there and do what he did before, i mean, i don't know- where we're going to be. it's going to be only america first. from the moment he took the oath of office donald trump was different. we're closing the border. limiting immigration was and remains a priority. i am going to issue our notification of intent to withdraw from the trans—pacific partnership. he talked and acted tough on trade, provided strong support for israel —

his abraham accords helped normalize relations between it and some arab states — but if re—elected, perhaps his most controversial intervention could be on russia and ukraine. he said this on gb news. if i were president and i say this, i will end that war in one day. it'll take 2a hours. president zelensky has called his rhetoric "dangerous". and on climate change, donald trump pulled out of the paris climate accords. this pulitzer prize—winning historian argues that although america first isn't new, and there's long been a tension in the us politics between interventionism and isolationism, donald trump's first term still saw a shift. american power, no matter how great, in relative terms, it's ultimately limited. so you've got to work with others. trump, of course, as we know, questioned this, to say the least, was inclined to pursue a much more unilateral, unilateralist course.

and i say inclined because, in practice, one could argue that donald trump didn't change things as much in this regard as some had expected, some had hoped, many had feared, including many overseas, many allies. so he found, i think, his own constraints and as a result, he bears in some respects at least a closer resemblance, much as he would hate to acknowledge this, to his predecessors than one might have thought. yet mr trump's presidential prospects and his unpredictability already seem to be having an impact abroad. it wouldn't surprise me, for example, if vladimir putin is holding off on any decision to try to negotiate some sort of deal in ukraine pending the outcome of this election. chinese leaders wondering if trump might pull back from the global trade system. they're hedging.

it's also possible that we would see a trump foreign policy in the second term that is not that different from the first term, meaning that his rhetoric is stronger, maybe, if i can put it that way, than his actions. if anyone in new hampshire knows the impact of us presidents and theirforeign policy decisions, they live here. five years ago, many at this veterans�* home had served during world war two. now the memories are mostly of vietnam. for six years, stephen was in the air force, largely in southeast asia. i don't think most americans really think it through. i don't think they stay in touch with what's going on in the middle east, with what's going on in ukraine. i hate to say this, america, or the united states, has a bad influence on the world. i don't...| don't approve of it, what i see, the americans through their politics, has done.

and you think donald trump could change that? he'll shake it up. yeah. anything's better than what we have now. awesome. chicken ham pie. trump is is a big i topic of discussion. ijust don't like the guy. he never did anything personally to me. - i'm very, very anti—trump. but the people believe him. and i really think that he wants to become king of usa. - if donald trump is crowned by the voters in november, his foreign policy will surely be unpredictable and possibly explosive. and joe will be back tomorrow night after the results. will nikki haley still be

still, with dissent in russia pretty much silenced, this is a rare public display of discontent. translation: when will they decide that our husbands have _ discharged their military duty? when they're brought back to us with no arms and legs? when they can't do anything because they're just a vegetable? or do we have to wait for them to be sent back in a zinc coffin?

the russian authorities have not reacted positively to what amounts to a call for demobilization. the head of the russian parliament's defence committee said recently, "can you imagine in world war two, wives of soldiers asking stalin to send their husbands home after a year on the front line? it would never happen." his conclusion was that such demands today are being put out there by russia's enemies. maria's husband and cousin were drafted. she fears another wave of mobilization. but not all russians, she says, recognise the danger. translation: some people act like ostriches, _ they stick their heads in the sand and try not to think about what's happening. i can understand them. it's hard to accept that in your country, the state doesn't need you to be happy. itjust treats you as biological material. but if people want to survive, sooner or later, they need to recognize this and say that they don't agree.

antonina had always trusted the authorities and now... translation: i used to have enormous respect for vladimir putin. _ now, i'm more neutral. but if he really does see us as traitors and outcasts for wanting our husbands back, i don't understand why he'd have this attitude towards citizens who once voted for him. in russia, the possibilities for public protest are limited. so once a week, the women meet by the tomb of the unknown soldier, just to lay flowers. opponents of the invasion of ukraine have little sympathy. they say the draftees should have ignored the call up. their wives just want their husbands back now. red carnations — a reminder of the human cost of war. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. a man has been arrested on suspicion of 76 murders and 120 counts of attempted murder

in connection with a devasting building fire in johannesburg last year. the 29—year—old was giving evidence during a hearing at the public inquiry into the disaster when he confessed to starting the �*tragic fire'. he was arrested shortly afterwards and charged. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. there are warnings that storm jocelyn could bring gusts of wind of up to 80 miles an hour to the uk. it comes a day after storm isha wreaked havoc and left at least two people dead. up to 39—thousand homes in the north of england, scotland and northern ireland remain without power because of the damage caused. parts of york have also been flooded. a man who stabbed three people to death in nottingham last year has had a plea of manslaughter — on the grounds of diminished responsibility through mental illness accepted by prosecutors. valdo calocane killed two 19—year—old university students —

barnaby webber and grace o'malley—kumar and ian coates, a 65 year old school caretaker. nottingham crown court heard calocane, who is 32 years old, believed mi6 was spying on him. he had been detained four times under mental health laws before the attacks. in cricket, spinner shoaib bashir has returned to the uk in order to sort the visa delay which is preventing him from joining the england squad in india. the uncapped 20—year—old, who is of pakistani descent, was initially left in abu dhabi when the rest of the team travelled on sunday. the somerset off—spinner is still to receive the visa and will not be in india until at least the weekend, meaning he will miss the first test in hyderabad, which begins on thursday. in the uk, the government has released a statement saying the armed forces of the united states and united kingdom — with support from australia, bahrain, canada, the netherlands, and new zealand — carried out

additional strikes against eight targets in houthi—controlled areas of yemen. it goes on to say the strikes were conducted in self—defence, because any iranian—backed houthi attacks on commercial and naval vessels threatens all countries that rely on international maritime shipping. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has this report. is this to become a recurring mission? rafjets loaded with guided bombs flew from cyprus last night, for the second time within a fortnight. the aim, once again, to prevent the houthis from launching drones and missiles at merchant shipping in the red sea. the prime minister making clear, as before, that, if necessary, they will do it all again. we are not seeking a confrontation. we urge the houthis and those who enable them to stop these illegal and unacceptable attacks. but if necessary, the united kingdom

will not hesitate to respond again in self defence. it is a us—led operation — the bulk of the firepower coming from an american aircraft carrier in the region. britain was the only other nation to directly participate. the impact of the strikes soon visible from the ground. this is what they've been trying to stop — video posted on social media, believed to show the moment a houthi missile hits a cargo ship in the red sea. they've damaged several others. and so far, air strikes are not halting these attacks. the pentagon said they conducted air strikes at several locations overnight aimed at degrading the houthis�* military capabilities. that included bombing a weapons storage bunker underground. remember, this is the second set of strikes the us

and uk have conducted. so what's been the impact so far? this graph shows houthi attacks on merchant shipping. they started in november — the houthis say in response to israel's war in gaza. the black dotted line marks the moment when the uk and us first carried outjoint air strikes, nearly two weeks ago. but look since then — the houthi attacks have only increased. there have been another eight. even president biden admits they won't stop the houthis. are the air strikes in yemen working? well, when you say "working", are they stopping the houthis? no. are they going to continue? yes — air strikes may have destroyed some of the houthis�* arsenal, but by no means all. and this could all be repeated yet again, with no clear end. jonathan beale, bbc news. the oscar nominations have been announced with the epic oppenheimer leading the way

with a massive 13 nominations. they include best director for christopher nolan, and best picture. barbie, which took over a billion dollars at the box office last year, was nominated for best picture but margot robbie and great gerwig missed the cut for best actress and director respectively. katie razzall reports. countdown to the 96th academy awards. the world will remember this day. and christopher nolan's spectacular film about the father of the atom bomb looks hard to beat. oppenheimer is the juggernaut that's going through awards season at the moment, 13 nominations. i think on the night, it could well scoop best film, best director, best actor for cillian murphy, best supporting actor, which would be robert downeyjunior, his first oscar. hi, barbie. hi, ken. but the barb—enheimer rivalry continues. barbie has eight oscar nominations, including best picture and best supporting actor for ryan gosling. but there's no directing nod for greta gerwig and margot robbie isn't up for best actress.

i think it's actually great that there are so many snubs and surprises in the actress category. itjust shows how many meaty roles there are for actresses this year, which is very unusual and heartening, ithink. i am bella baxter. on that list, emma stone for her fearless performance in poor things. you talk too much. and killers of the flower moon's lily gladstone, who's made history as the first native american acting nominee. i cried a little. of course, it's a huge joy for us. french directorjustine triet is the only woman nominated for best director. anatomy of a fall is about a woman accused of murdering her husband. stop. i did not kill him. triet is the first ever french female directing nominee. things are changing for women. so i'm really proud for me and for all my team. and i'm not alone, of course, in this. any brits nominated ? yes. the british are coming again, storming down the red carpet. you've got carey mulligan and emily blunt. we've also got obviously christopher nolan up for oppenheimer, could win his first

oscar. the holocaust drama the zone of interest is a british film with five nominations, and a brit designed the costumes for the fantastical poor things and is now up for her first oscar. amazing, yeah. thrilling. delighted. it's a very rare opportunity as a costume designer to be able to be so creative. i feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity. others that could steal the show on oscars night, the 1970s tear—jerker the holdovers, and the pointed satire about racism, american fiction. katie razzall, bbc news. flying the flag for asia is past lives for the and sample for best picture and best writing. hello there. good evening. it's a very stormy period of weather and we're seeing the second named storm in just a few days.

storm jocelyn follows hot on the heels of storm isha, hampering the clear—up. we've seen heavy downpours of rain move eastwards today along with strengthening winds. and here goes that deep area of low pressure just passing to the north of scotland, following the same track as isha. perhaps the wind gusts not as severe for most, but with the trees, the structures having been weakened from the previous storm and the ground pretty saturated, there will still be some strong impacts. much of the north and the west of scotland, towards exposed coasts in particular, underneath a met office amber weather warning until 8am tomorrow morning for gusts of wind of up to 75—80 mph. gusts towards irish sea coasts of up to 65 mph. widely, 40—50 mph gusts, even to low levels and away from the coast. so a very windy night all in all, but it will be mild. dry towards the south, blustery showers, torrential downpours at times further north across scotland. so still a very windy start to the day. in fact, much of the north of the uk throughout the day tomorrow is covered by a lower level yellow weather warning for the strength of the wind still. there'll be some blustery showers

blowing across scotland, down through wales, and towards the end of the day, we'll see this area of cloud just creep into south—west england. some patchy rain on that. temperatures not quite as high as on tuesday, but still mild for the time of year, with double figures for most. but it will be turning milder still as this warm frontjust creeps its way further northwards and eastwards as we head through thursday. again, a tight squeeze on the isobars. it will be windy, but not as windy as on tuesday, with further downpours of rain across northern ireland, north—west england and into western scotland too. possibly some of that rain a little wintry over the tops of the hills before the milder air digs in. highs of 13 degrees celsius for many. there will be more rainfall, of course, across western scotland. it's here where we'll see the ground pretty saturated. another ioo millimetres of rainfall, perhaps, by the time we get to the end of the week here. also north—west england, some high rainfall totals. so, while wind is the main concern, rain could also be a problem by the time we get to the end of the week. and there are some flood warnings in force. as we head through friday,

it's a bit more settled. it will be turning cooler by night, particularly towards the north and the east, as we head through the week. some more rainfall for many, particularly in the north and west, over the weekend. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour as newsday continues straight after hardtalk.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. when chinese sovereignty was restored in hong kong, beijing's communist rulers saw the logic of maintaining the one country, two systems principle. so, how come some 26 years later, hong kong's autonomy looks more like a convenient fiction than a fact? my guest is regina ip, convenor of hong kong's executive council and leader of the new people's party. what does hong kong's fate tell us about beijing's worldview?