that left one person dead. hello, i'm nicky schiller. we start this hour with the news that three us have troops have been killed in a drone attack on an american base near the jordan—syria border. us officials say more than 20 other personnel were injured. president biden said the attack had been carried out by an iranian—backed militant group operating in syria and iraq and vowed reprisals. as yet, no group has claimed it was behind the attack, and we have had no word from iran. jordan — a close ally of the us — has condemned what it called a terrorist attack and says its cooperating with the us to secure the border. our north america correspondent will vernon has more on the us reaction to the strike.

he said that america's heart is heavy today as the country grieves the loss of these three us service personnel. he described them as the very best of our nation. and in that statement, the white house said that iran backed militant groups operating in iraq and syria were responsible for this attack. we understand that dozens were injured, some of them seriously and those seriously injured, some were evacuated from jordan. now, there was a similar incident last month when us backed groups strike a base in iraqi with a drone. three us service personnel injured, one of them critically in that attack. us then carried out air strikes these iran backed groups in retaliation for that attack. now, joe biden today in his statementvowed that these

acts wouldn't go unpunished, that the us would respond in a time and in a manner, he said, of our choosing. i think this is a very concerning moment, a dangerous moment. as you said, these are the first american troops killed in the middle east since the war in gaza began. but there have been similar attacks, there's been a kind of pattern of escalation across the region. we saw what happened in the red sea with the houthi attacks on red sea shipping, the us and the uk and allies launching air strikes against houthi targets in yemen in response to those attacks. so, i think we'll have to watch closely now what the us response will be to this latest incident. well, i've also been talking to our diplomatic correspondent paul adams on what was known about the attack. we don't know exactly which side of the border took place, joe biden says. on thejordanian side, thejordanians don't seem to acknowledge that.

but these are facilities that are right there on the border. and so perhaps in some ways that is less important, though clearlyjordan has no interest at all in getting sucked into this whole regional cauldron that we've seen for the last three orfour months. the attack is the first time that american troops in one of those bases scattered across the middle east, of which they have many have been killed in a drone attack like this. they did lose a couple of us navy seals in the red sea a couple of weeks ago when they were intercepting a boat with weapons bound for yemen. but after dozens — i think as many as 150 attacks on us bases across the region since october — in iraq and syria primarily this is the first time this has resulted in american fatalities. so that is a stark reminder. in case anyone needed one, ofjust how dangerous and volatile this region is,

and if it did in fact take place on thejordanian side, asjoe biden suggests, then that is also a first. clearly, iran, which may not have said anything about this, has a very keen interest, one that it has demonstrated repeatedly in recent months to make life as difficult and uncomfortable for american forces wherever they are. and it is using its proxies and its allies to do precisely that. so do we have any idea who might be behind it? president biden saying iranian backed. but there are lots of groups in that area, aren't they? yes. and i think he actually said pro—iranian groups operating in iraq and syria. so he seemed to be slightly hedging his bets. i mean, there are a plethora of groups, more or less under the control or direction of iran in both syria and iraq. and it could have come from either. if you look at the map, that border area is very adjacent, obviously, to syria, but also very close to iraq. so it could have come from either. they are all fundamentally operating

with the same agenda. so again, that's perhaps less of a concern. you would imagine that us bases are very well defended. so was this something that they probably got lucky or...what do you think? possibly, yes, because as i say, after 150 attacks since october, it is kind of remarkable that we have yet... this is the first time we've actually seen any of those attacks resulted in resulting in us fatalities. if it took place at al—tanf, which is the base on the syrian side, it is not the first time that base has been attacked. it's a kind of secretive facility where the americans have been operating with a couple of hundred troops in recent years. it's been there since 2016. you know, it has been hit before. it's a place that the americans used for training, syrian opposition for mounting counterterrorist operations. it was established at the height of the campaign against islamic state, you know, more than ten... or ten years ago, or a bit less than ten years ago.

and so it has been a target. it is well defended. it is in the middle of nowhere. i mean, it's in the middle of the desert. so not an easy place to to attack on the ground. but we've seen throughout this whole recent period the use of drones and ballistic missiles, sometimes with devastating effects. and it does seem as though this was a drone. president biden vowing retaliation. so i suppose the big question is, in what form would that come? well, i mean, that's already happening. the americans — and indeed the israelis — have mounted airstrikes against targets in syria, against pro—iranian militias. that is an ongoing conflict. that is not something that is new to the last three orfour months. that is a long standing confrontation, albeit at a rather low level. so i guess we'll probably see more of that. i think the americans clearly have...are not interested in seeing a major escalation.

so i don't think we're going to be seeing necessarily action directed at iran, for example. and in fact, i think it still remains the case, despite everything and despite the sort of sense of unease that exists across the region, that neither the americans nor the iranians want to see a major full on escalation. it is not in anyone�*s interest. and so i suspect what we will see is more american intelligence led operations of the kind we've been seeing in recent months, but nothing much more than that. so you don't think it is a tipping point? no, i don't. i mean, you know, bear in mind what else is going on at the moment. you know, the region is full of dangerous spots. the houthis in yemen being one and one that we've been reminded, of in the last couple of days. but we're also at a time when there are intensive negotiations going on, involving intelligence officials. we just saw them today in paris, the israelis, the egyptians, the qataris and the americans talking about a deal that could result in a 60

day cease fire in gaza. now, if that were to happen, then the houthis have already said they would call off their attacks in the red sea. and it would also reduce the imperative for some of those pro—iranian militias in the region to keep up the heat on american troops as well. so, you know, the americans will be as keen as anyone to try and see if a cease—fire is possible in gaza, because even though that doesn't do away with all the difficulties that have been so regularly exposed over the past few months, it would remove the proximate, immediate cause for what everyone is so worked up about. president biden has also been talking on a campaign event that he

has been attending, of course the presidential campaign event in south carolina and he asked that event for a moment of silence for the three service personnel who have died. he service personnelwho have died. he also service personnel who have died. he also said, and i quote, we shall respond. joining us is dave der roach — professor at the near east south asia centre for strategic studies — he was the director of arabian peninsula affairs in the office of the us secretary of defense. — and is a retired us army colonel. president biden saying there will be a response, what do you think that response will be?— response will be? good question. it's auoin response will be? good question. it's going to _ response will be? good question. it's going to be — response will be? good question. it's going to be more _ response will be? good question. it's going to be more than - response will be? good question. it's going to be more than what i it's going to be more than what we've seen in the past, its most likely that instead of what we've seen before, have mostly been almost symbolic directed against buildings and vehicles on group weapons storage facilities in the middle of the night. there have been a handful of attacks for example people who

have just launched missiles and human american soldiers who have been killed. possibly targeting of iranian revolutionary guards, people who provide them they are logistics support, intelligence and some operational guidance. find support, intelligence and some operational guidance.— support, intelligence and some operational guidance. and you agree with the president _ operational guidance. and you agree with the president that _ operational guidance. and you agree with the president that it _ operational guidance. and you agree with the president that it was - operational guidance. and you agree with the president that it was irani . with the president that it was irani iranian backed groups that did this? iranian backed groups that did this? i have to disagree with your diplomatic correspondent. a group that calls itself, they are a well—known cutout group, a proxy script for iran. i don't think there's any question about that, and i think that that, you know, people who have looked at the weapons will be able to draw that conclusion pretty conclusively. i’m be able to draw that conclusion pretty conclusively. i'm interested in, of pretty conclusively. i'm interested in. of course _ pretty conclusively. i'm interested in, of course we've _ pretty conclusively. i'm interested in, of course we've had _ in, of course we've had the three—part service personnel that

have dropped died, but there were more than 20 who were injured. how unusual is it for a group of service personnel all to be, what sounds like, in the same location on a base at that time?— at that time? you know, i'm really lad ou at that time? you know, i'm really glad you asked _ at that time? you know, i'm really glad you asked me _ at that time? you know, i'm really glad you asked me that _ glad you asked me that question, because i've been doing a lot of media interview and people haven't caught onto this. so it's not unusual to have people in like a bunk, dormitory, sleeping together. but usually those facilitators are somewhat hardened. what happened in the last couple of years, we've got a great amount of traumatic brain injury from proximity to explosions, and the effect of concussions. when i was a young officer, something we might have said little punchy, walk it off, now it's treated as a casualty and rightly so. we just didn't know about the effect of this. so i think if you to compare a wounded report from contemporary military actions even to something

15 years ago, you're going to get much higher numbers and i think that that's a big part of it because you know, there is a blast and the effect of the blast is something that we are still figuring out on the complex brain chemistry. fascinating, thank you for clarifying that. and if we can look wider, of course there have been the houthi attacks in the red sea and we of course have the war in gaza. do you think this incident has more implications for the wider middle east? ~ ., �* , ., implications for the wider middle east? ~ . �*, ., , ., east? well that's a good question. i don't think it _ east? well that's a good question. i don't think it has _ east? well that's a good question. i don't think it has anything - east? well that's a good question. i don't think it has anything to - east? well that's a good question. i don't think it has anything to do - don't think it has anything to do with the war in gaza, thatjust provides a pretext for a capability that has been built up for direction that has been built up for direction that has been built up to institute a demand, that iran has had for decades, which is the withdrawal of us forces from the region. leaving iran as the top dog. the houthi cases are particularly interesting. there's a unique dynamic, a mini

single civil war going on there but the houthi's are armed by iran and receive some targeting information from iran. and i think they kind of initiated this on their own, and i think that you know, again, the pretext is the gaza campaign but you know, now that the cat is out of the bag, we are going to see this capability for a long time unless it's destroyed or unless they are effectively deterred. like it's destroyed or unless they are effectively deterred.— it's destroyed or unless they are effectively deterred. like you very much for giving — effectively deterred. like you very much for giving us _ effectively deterred. like you very much for giving us your— effectively deterred. like you very much for giving us your insight - effectively deterred. like you very i much for giving us your insight here on bbc news. we have a special live page up and running on the bbc news website and includes the latest analysis from the bbc team of experts. you can find that at bbc.com/news or on the bbc news app on your mobile device. representatives from israel, the united states, egypt and qatar have met in paris to discuss a proposed truce in exchange for the more than 100 hostages still believed to be held by hamas. israel says negotiations,

which would see it suspend fighting for about two months, have been "constructive", but significant gaps remain. before sunday's talks, president biden spoke by phone to the leaders of egypt and qatar, who are acting as intermediaries with hamas, to try to narrow the remaining differences. more talks are expected in the coming days. the uk government says it remains "undaunted" after houthis targeted a british warship in the red sea during the latest round of strikes. these pictures show the moment hms diamond repelled the attack by firing sea viper missiles at an incoming which was heading directly towards the ship. the warship is currently situated in the red sea to protect merchant ships from houthi attacks. the uk ministry of defence says there were no injuries or damage. this latest strike from the iran backed group comes days after an oil tanker with british links was also hit and went up in flames. the fire on the marlin luanda

was extinguished with no crew injured after french, indian and us naval ships provided assistance to the vessel. responding to the recent attacks, defence secretary grant shapps wrote... here she is protecting the freedom of passage to merchant our political correspondent harry farley has the latest. this is isn't even the first time hms diamond, which is a british navy destroyer in the red sea, not the first time that hms diamond has been targeted by houthi drones. the statement from the ministry of defence in london saying that this was an intolerable and illegal attack, which is completely unacceptable and the ministry of defence says it is our duty to protect freedom of navigation in international waters. and as you say, the defence secretary grant shapps also condemning this attack.

he says that the uk remains undaunted. so what happened, we understand, yesterday afternoon, the houthi group in yemen launched a drone targeting hms diamond. the crew on hms diamond activated the ship's sea viper missile system, a missile system that costs more than £1 million per missile, and destroyed the drone. they say that there was no damage or injuries to anyone on board. but of course this isn't the first time that hms diamond has been attacked and it does raise questions about whether the uk will be drawn into future air strikes. of course, the uk is already has already struck houthi targets in yemen once, joining the us in doing that, and it is raising the question of whether it will do that again. harry farley reporting there. to turkey next. one man has been killed in a shooting at a catholic church in istanbul. two masked attackers struck during morning mass. turkey's interior minister says that

both have been arrested. our senior international correspondent orla guerin sent this report from istanbul. two attackers in masks, captured on cctv, walking casually towards the church. a man enters. the gunmen follow and appear to target him. the congregation, ducking for cover. the victim had intended to become a christian, according to a relative, but was not baptised yet. police move in to seal off the streets around the i9th—century church, as a manhunt gets under way. a morning mass here became a scene of terror. police are still here and there is a real sense of shock in the community. local officials and government ministers have rushed to condemn

the attack. the local mayor told us there was no tension in the area between different religions. "the church doors are always wide open," said sukru genc, "even during mass." "muslims visit the church, as well as christians. "from time to time you see the priest having tea "in someone's house." and from the vatican, a message of support from pope francis. "i send my sympathy to the congregation of the church of santa maria," he said, "which suffered an armed attack during mass." the motive for the attack is unclear. but churches in this overwhelmingly muslim country have been targeted in the past. orla guerin, bbc news, istanbul. there are media reports now that the so—called islamic state has said it carried out the attack,

but so far this is unconfirmed. two boys, aged 15 and 16, have died after being stabbed in bristol last night. police say they were attacked by a group who fled the knowle west area of the city. a 44—year—old man and 15—year—old boy have been arrested. dan johnson reports. another street turned crime scene, after a deadly knife attack. everyone here is trying to work out why two young lives were taken late last night. poor boys, poorfamily, so many people affected. it needs to stop, it really needs to stop. i don't want my girls to grow up, i don't want them to grow up. do you worry that it's getting out of control? yeah, yeah. a lot, yeah. i thought it was bad when we were young, wasn't it? then, but no, it wasn't bad. that double—decker bus marks where this attack happened but we don't believe that was involved, itjust happened to be passing at the time.

what we are told is that the two boys lived on this street, so it really has hit people here hard. officers were here quickly and tried first aid. they found a car, but not yet the others they think were involved. it's demoralising but it makes me determined to support the community. it makes me determined to work with the team of police officers that we have committed to this to identify those and bring them tojustice. any idea what was happening beforehand and why these boys may have been attacked? not at this stage and that's still subject to the ongoing investigation, looking for that cctv and accounts from people in the locality. no child should be on our street with a knife. this evening, there is anger in this community as well as sadness. there are parents that have got to live the rest of their life, and their brothers and sisters, without them. it's heartbreaking, heartbreaking. there's talk of gang rivalries fuelled by social media.

people here believe these boys are two of knife crime's innocent victims. danjohnson, bbc news, bristol. now it's time for a look at today's sport with lizzie greenwood—hughes. we're starting with football and the fa cup where liverpool marched into the fifth round after a 5—2 win over norwich city. it was the club's first game since managerjurgen klopp revealed he's leaving at the end of the season. while the fans gave him a rousing reception before kick—off, his players didn't disappoint either. liverpool are still on for the quadruple this season. in the games, we need to be warriors, and not celebrate the old man on the sidelines! so that's what we need, atmosphere, and people know that. so today, good first match after the news. now we get used to it more and more. elsewhere, manchester united survived a real scare at newport county before finally seeing off the league two side's brave attempt at a giant—killing — 4—2 the final score there.

watford and southampton, will have to replay after they drew, while the english fa have launched an investigation into crowd trouble at the local derby between west bromwich albion and wolves in which the match was suspended for more than half an hour. wolves eventually won 2—0. guinea are into the quarterfinals of the africa cup of nations. they beat equatorial guinea 1—0 in abidjan after a very late goal from mohamed bayo. meanwhile, egypt are currently in action against dr congo, where it's currently i—i. england captain ben stokes says his side's incredible opening test victory in india was their best under his leadership over the last two years. facing an india side who'd only lost three times on home soil in the past decade, england somehow turned a i90—run first—innings deficit into a hugely unexpected 28—run win. before this, the biggest lead any touring team had previously overturned there was just 65, and that was by australia 60 years ago!

england's vice—captain ollie pope was player of the match after saving the game with a stunning knock of 196, while debutant spinner — tom hartley took seven wickets to force the win. england lead the five match series 1—0. we have been part of some amazing games over the last two years. we have had some incredible victories. i think considering where we are, who we played against in the position we found ourselves going to in our second innings batting, to be able to sit now and say we are 1—0 up it is a big reason to say why i feel this is our best victory since i have become captain. staying with historic wins, and west indies have pulled—off a shock victory in australia — their first test win there since 1997. australia went into day four in brisbane well on their way to reaching their target of 216, but the windies' new fast bowler — shamarjoseph, playing in only his second test and limping with a painful toe injury —

took seven of the remaining eight wickets to take them to an 8—run win. the result levels the two—match series. jannik sinner says he is ready for the pressure and expectation that comes with being a grand slam champion, after becoming the first italian to win the australian open. he beat daniil medvedev in an enthralling five—set final. medvedev took control early on, winning the first two sets 6—3, 6—3. but then the young sinner, who was playing in his first grand slam final, recovered under pressure and started to impose his game, winning the next three sets 6—4, 6—4, 6—3. sinner had been widely tipped as a potential champion at melbourne park after a standout year on the atp tour and also leading italy to their first davis cup title in late november. and all the action from the nfl conference championships is on the bbc sport website. and that's all the sport for now. finally, venice carnival has been kicked off by a giant rat. ok, not a real rodent — take a look at this. rather, a giant rat boat.

hundreds of vessels took part in the parade along the famous waterwaters. the famous waterways. this year, the carnival is markinge 700th anniversary marco polo — one of its greatest travellers who died in 1324. certainly looks fun in venice. that is it for the moment, stay tuned here on bbc. hello there. we did expect it to get a bit warmer today, but it may well turn out to be a record—breaking day with some sunshine and a southerly wind ahead of a band of rain. in highland, scotland, temperatures reached close to 20 degrees earlier on, and that would smash the previous january temperature record in the uk. now, the winds are dropping, actually, and the temperature is going to be dropping too. this band of rain moving through scotland and northern ireland

is heading into northern parts of england and wales. and following on from that, in the lighter winds, we're getting into colder air — so much so that in northern parts of scotland there's likely to be a frost overnight tonight, whereas ahead of the rain across england and wales, it's still a mild start to monday. but this rain is going to hang around in northern england and wales, heavy over the hills, particularly in the north west of england. much of scotland and northern ireland likely to be dry with some sunshine, lighter winds but much colder than today. temperatures typically 7—8 degrees, whereas where it's dry across the midlands and southern england, it's still mild, temperatures of 1a, maybe 15 degrees. now, it's notjust rain that we're going to see, though, on monday. after dark, there could be some snow in the southern uplands leading to icy conditions by tuesday morning, by which point that area of low pressure will have taken the wet weather away and we're left with a cloudy start for england and wales. some sunshine for scotland and northern ireland will push its way southwards

through the day. that very mild air is going to get pushed away, but 12 degrees is still possible in the south—east. but for many in the afternoon it's going to be nearer eight degrees or so. so it's turning chillier from the north. but if we look to the north again by the middle part of the week, we've got more isobars, some weather fronts. it's turning wet and windy, particularly in scotland. widespread gales here on wednesday and across northern ireland, northernmost parts of england. the really strong winds are in the far north of scotland, but over the highlands this time we could see a couple of inches of rain. that wet and windy weather in scotland will sink down into northern ireland. england and wales looking dry, the winds much lighter further south and some sunshine temperatures of 10—11 degrees. now the weather front bringing that rain is going to move southwards overnight. the rain petering out, chilly weather for a while, but then we change the wind direction by thursday, bringing in a milderair and also more cloud.

this is bbc news, the headlines. three american soldiers have been killed and dozens injured in a drone attack on a us base nearjordan's border with syria. the white house blamed the attack on an iranian—backed militant group. president biden promises to retaliate. mourners gather in the south west of england, after a 15 and 16—year—old are killed in a stabbing attack in bristol. two people have been arrested.

police say they are looking for futher suspects. israel says negotiations in paris over the release of hostages in gaza and a possible new ceasefire were "constructive", but "gaps remain". a deal could see fighting suspended for two months. the islamic state says it was behind a shooting on an istanbul church that left one person dead. turkish police are on the hunt for two gunmen, captured on cctv entering the church on sunday. so let's get more on our top story — that drone attack on a us military base on the border ofjordan and syria, which has killed three american service personnel. at least 25 others were hurt. on that we've just received more information on the injured. the bbc�*s us news partner cbs is reporting that eight

of the at least 3a injured had to be evacuated to receive medical help outside the base. they added that some are in critical condition but all are stable. cbs saying the number could be as high as 3a injured. president biden says those behind the attack will be held to account. earlier, i spoke to the former deputy prime minister ofjordan, jawad al—anani and got his reaction to the drone strike. well, it was surprising in every sense of the word. nobody expected that anything close tojordan or that may involvejordan in any way would happen. so in a way, it is surprising for us injordan, and i'm sure thatjordan does not like that at all. jordan, as one of your guests had

said, would like to be aloof and at the same time, while sympathising and empathising with the people of gaza and sending help and humanitarian aid, they are not encouraging an expansion of the war beyond what it is taking place, and it is working its utmost to contain the war in gaza. so in a way, it is surprising jordan has to deal with it. they have already expressed the fact that geographically it did not happen injordan, but very close to thejordanian border. so in a way, this area called neta or teknaf or you know, part of it is inside the syrian territory. and so we have to wait and see how this is verified. but for sure, it is a challenge tojordan and it will keep us on our feet for a while. do you have any idea who might be behind the attack?

well, the elements of you know, the elements of a crime are there. and if you look at them in detail to say, ok, who's who stands to benefit from such actions? of course, first of all, the islamic movements, especially the smaller ones, who would like to use this opportunity to do that. and i'm sure that this time they probably over—succeeded, surprised themselves by being over successful in killing american troops and american paratroopers probably. and so therefore, i think they are worried about how the united states is going to react to that. and the second problem, you know, people who might benefit is those who would like to see this war expand to different arenas and different borders. and i think the israelis must must also feel that they should make sure

that they vindicate themselves from this attack. they have been attacking in the area, you know, also before. and so probably there was a mistake or something. i don't know. you know, if you open the door for possibilities, the possibilities are there. and i think that the americans should not overreact. and immediately after the news broke out, you know, we saw many ex—american generals on major networks coming out and saying that we should react. but the two commentators we just interviewed said that americans should not overreact and they should keep it, should keep narrow, not ought to not to get entangled with hezbollah or with iran itself.

yes, i was going to say, jordan is a close ally of the us. what advice do you thinkjordan will be saying to the us over that action that president biden has vowed will happen at some point in time? well, they appreciate the fact that this issue of us reaction to the houthi attacks and other attacks, you know, inside iraq and syria has been less than what probably gentlemen, like mr... the ex—president of the united states wanted. so trump is using that as as a campaign tool to attack his major opponent. and the same thing will happen. so i think that american internal elections and very soon to take place will probably play a big role in how big the reaction is going to be.

but there certainly will be a reaction for sure. and jordan understands that. but it will play probably. ifjordan diplomacy is to engage the american diplomacy, they will say keep it down becausejordan has no interest to see the war expanded either. so, what is the answer to stop it spreading? well, the answer is, you know, we need to really go to the root cause, which is the war in gaza. everybody is using the war in gaza as a pretext to do what they are doing. you know, everybody has an agenda in this part of the world, for different reasons. and there are many players already. you know, if you look at syria, you have five different or six different armies already there. iraq probably has three or four. the same thing in lebanon, the same thing in yemen. so in a way, the whole region is full of adversaries who are trying to, you know, stress their point and stress and look like they are self—assured,

they are going to win. so in a way, you know, such events, such details actually could evolve into something much bigger and they could mushroom. so in a way, we need to really resolve the gaza issue and end up with a ceasefire and also probably a complete stoppage of this war, in order for players to sit down and really work this out soberly and with the intent of realising some sort of peace in this part of the world. we all need the resources in the middle east, but at the same time, you know, china is a player. india now is becoming a player. and those don't even have any military representation in this part of the world, but they are working. so in a way, who are we leaving this area for and what is going to happen if we allow the current modus operandi to continue for a long time to come?

patrick bury is a senior lecturer specialising in warfare and counter—terrorism at the university of bath. he is also a former british army captain and nato analyst. i spoke with him earlier and asked him for his reaction to this attack. there's been numerous us service people, very seriously injured, some with life changing injuries that have happened since october 7th. what is surprising from a military perspective is the amount of casualties from a drone strike, if indeed that's what it is. it suggests they've managed to hit them when they are together, probably in a building, potentially at sleep, at rest or indeed in a canteen or something like that. because normally your standard operating procedures are to keep well spaced out. again, if it's got through a building like that, they probably weren't expecting or didn't realise that militias had

this capability because then they wouldn't have been grouped together like that. that, potentially, is a tactical surprise. we'll have to wait and see what comes out. more surprising than the fact it's happened, indeed it's been incredibly lucky that both us troops in the region and also warships including a uk warship haven't been more severely damaged or hit, in fact, since the unrest has unravelled in the red sea and iraq, syria and jordan. now, you would imagine that us bases are very well defended, so would they try and shoot the drones down, normally? it really depends. it's very hard to speculate on that. normally they have defensive aids over the bases to counter drones, to counter uas systems, etc, but it depends if this is a new system or something they hadn't seen. you just don't really know. these are very isolated bases.

what i do know is that traditionally, in previous conflicts that had a higher ratio of us special operators, so special forces, and other elite guys like the ranger regiments. i noticed that the announcement of this came out of tampa, florida which is the head of us special forces command. we'll have to wait and see if that actually turns out to be the case but i wouldn't be surprised if it does. but no, the more interesting thing is, why is this happening? interesting, listening to paul, about the diplomatic efforts trying to take the oxygen out of the fire which is starting to burn in the region. hopefully that happens in paris and there can be some kind of concert where things start to stabilise again. some breaking news coming in to us. northern korean state media says

leader kim jong—un supervised a submarine—launched cruise missile test on sunday and inspected the construction of a nuclear submarine. the kcn news agency said the cruise missiles flew for 124 minutes. earlier, south korea's military said multiple missiles were fired into the sea on sunday morning. it follows a similar test on wednesday, which pyongyang said used a new type of cruise missile that could be capable of carrying nuclear warheads. more on that as we get it. the military rulers of burkina faso, mali and niger have announced they are withdrawing from the regional economic bloc ecowas with immediate effect. all three nations were suspended by the economic community of west african states after military takeovers. their withdrawal is a blow to the body's efforts to get them to provide a clear timetable to return to democratic rule. the three military leaders say they want to restore security before holding elections.

translation: after 49 years, - the valiant people of burkina faso, mali and niger regrettably, and with great disappointment, observe the organisation has drifted from the ideals of its founding fathers and the spirit of pan—africanism. they argue that ecowas, underforeign influence, betrayed its founding principles and became a threat to its member states and their populations, which it was supposed to ensure the well—being of. here in the uk, the business and trade secretary kemi badenoch has said she sacked the post office chairman henry staunton because the governance of the post office "just wasn't working". an interim chair is expected to be appointed shortly. it comes as the post office is reeling from the fallout from the horizon it scandal, which has been called the biggest miscarriage ofjustice in uk history. our business correspondent

mark ashdown has the latest. it's been thrown out and i've... that's me, i'm free! rab thomson sharing the emotional news this week with his sister that his 2006 conviction for embezzlement had been overturned. it's the moment all wrongfully convicted sub—postmasters are hoping for. there's been much debate over the quickest and fairest way to achieve that. now the chair of the post office, henry staunton, has been sacked. he was in post forjust a year, but the business secretary made it clear she felt the need for a change at the top. there were various disagreements within the board, and when i looked at it, i thought that a change of personnel was what was required. i decided that given all of the difficulties the post office is having, its notjust about horizon, it's about the entire business model, how we make it work, that we needed someone who could chair a board that had — that was able to deal with these things effectively. the government ultimately own the post office and campaigners have long called for it to take

tough action to bring justice for the more than 700 people who were wrongly convicted. i haven't got that money. jo hamilton's story was central to the itv drama. she doesn't think this departure will make much of a difference. the whole thing's a bit of a distraction from the real thing. it's the dead cat strategy, and i think it's designed to make it look like the department, the business department, is being proactive and listening to the postmasters. but, actually, they're not. but the business secretary did hint that further personnel moves could follow. one labour mp who's long campaigned on the issue says root and branch reform is needed. i hope this is the start of wider change. clearly, nick read, the chief executive, needs to go, and we need now an open and honest culture which is not there at the post office at the moment. the post office said it continues to make changes so the issues of the past cannot be repeated and said it continues to cooperate

with the public inquiry. questions about this sacking will rumble on. why now? who might be next? and who might now be tasked with ensuring the post office runs effectively and justice is finally served for those who've suffered for 20 years? marc ashdown, bbc news. labour has suspended mp kate osamor from the parliamentary labour party pending an investigation. she had sent a message to party members on the eve of holocaust memorial day in which she said there was an "international duty" to remember the victims of the holocaust, but also to remember �*more recent genocides in cambodia, rwanda, bosnia....and now gaza'. she faced backlash from the thejewish labour movement, who said the comments were "wholly inappropriate". she subsequently apologised on social media. a british basejumper has died in thailand after his parachute failed to open as he plunged

from a 29—storey building. nathy odinson was killed after leaping from a 29—storey apartment block in the thai resort of pattaya. eyewitnesses reported seeing a man fall to the ground after crashing through a tree. the police say they found a blue parachute on him, which had not opened. the victim's social media pages suggest that he was an experienced pa rachutist. king charles has spent a second night in hospital in london, after undergoing a procedure for an enlarged prostate. he was visited on saturday by queen camilla — charles is staying in the same hospital where the princess of wales is being cared for, following her abdominal surgery. our correspondent charlie rose has been reporting from the hospital. well, i imagine even if you're king charles, time in hospital can pass pretty slowly. so to speed things up today and make the atmosphere in hospital perhaps a little bit more cheerful. king charles has had a visit from his wife, queen camilla.

she arrived here at around about midday and she leftjust after 3:00. it's her fourth visit in the space of three days after accompanying her husband when he arrived at this hospital on friday. she visited twice yesterday and now she's visited again today. now, in one respect, king charles is pretty happy with things because he wants to use this health problem to help raise awareness of the issue of having an enlarged prostate. and it looks like he's achieved his aim because the nhs says since king charles has been in hospital, it's seen an upsurge, an uptick in the number of men going to its website, seeking health information, seeking help, information and advice on the issue of having an enlarged prostate, something that's been welcomed by doctors and charities, because apparently one in three men over the age of 50 have the condition. now, the issue of having an enlarged

prostate usually involves, if you have that condition, it usually involves a stay in hospital of around about three days or so. so, it's quite possible that king charles will spend the rest of the day here in hospital, and tonight, although there's been no official confirmation of any of that from buckingham palace, and it also means that he could well be discharged tomorrow or on tuesday. now, as well as king charles, there's another senior member of the royal family in the london clinic, this hospital behind me. and it's princess, the princess of wales, catherine, the princess of wales, the king's daughter in law, of course. she's being cared for after undergoing surgery, undergoing abdominal surgery. she's expected to be here for around about two weeks, but she's already on day 13, so it's quite possible that she'll be discharged on monday or tuesday as well. so, lots going on here at the hospital. lots to keep an eye on.

both king charles and his daughter in law are being treated, cared for, waited on by doctors, nurses and the medical team, carrying out assessments, medical checks, keeping an eye on them. but they're both said to be doing pretty well. doctors in england have reported an increase in demand for the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, after a national campaign to boost uptake was launched. it comes amid a surge in measles cases in many countries around the world. according to the world health organization, europe saw 30 times as many measles cases last year compared with 2022. it's thought that disruption from the covid pandemic and misinformation are to blame for the drop in vaccinations. nhs england figures suggest 3.4 million children under the age of 16 are unprotected. our reporter pam caulfield has been looking at the situation in bristol, in the south west of england.

the idea of events like this one in easton is to encourage more people to have the mmr jabs. the nhs is particularly keen for parents to vaccinate their children, as a fifth of under—fives in bristol are currently unprotected. there's been a couple of outbreaks over the last few years and some children have been very sick and gone to intensive care. it is concerning seeing those numbers rise again, especially vulnerable communities and people who are immunocompromised, young babies and pregnant mothers. research shows the vaccine uptake is particularly low among certain groups. we have seen the statistics and in the somali community among others such as bame, there are a lot of people who have not had the mmr vaccine. people just want to be able to have a conversation with health care providers and professionals within their own background and within their own community because i feel like there was a mistrust in the studies.

that's why salma became involved in making this awareness video that's going to be translated into several languages. it also features dr asha mohammed, who was on the panel answering questions today. there's definitely been some misinformation in the past with andrew wakefield and his study, that has been disproved. it has had long—lasting effects on the views of autism being caused by the mmr, which has been disproven. we are still seeing the effects and lots of people still believe that's true. coming to this event has reassured amira the vaccine is safe. she now plans to spread the word to other worried mums. i'll go back to them and answer the questions that there is no link between autism and a vaccination. and i will try to clear up their misconceptions. currently, there aren't any cases of measles in bristol,

but with outbreaks in birmingham and london, health care professionals say it's only a matter of time before it arrives here. the world's largest cruise ship, the icon of the seas, has set sailfrom miami in florida on its maiden voyage. it is 365 metres long, has 20 decks, and there is enough room for almost 8,000 passengers on board. but environmental organisations have raised concerns about the ship's methane emission. if you like going on cruises this is a dream country but if not it is probably the worst nightmare. it is called the icon of the seas and is the largest cruise ship in the world. it cost $2 billion. let me show you what's inside. it has seven swimming pools, six water slides and

40 restaurants like this one. it has an orchestra and an arcade. this is the ship setting sail from the port of miami and taking passengers and it can house up to 7600 on a trip to the caribbean. the royal caribbean group who own the shifts say that all of this is a co—friendly. this is the chief engineer. all of this is a co-friendly. this is the chief engineer. sustainable business is _ is the chief engineer. sustainable business is an _ is the chief engineer. sustainable business is an important - is the chief engineer. sustainable business is an important part - is the chief engineer. sustainable business is an important part of l is the chief engineer. sustainable i business is an important part of our business is an important part of our business off destination that a zero in the future and lng is one part of the step on thatjourney. he in the future and lng is one part of the step on that journey.— the step on that “ourney. he talks about the boat — the step on that journey. he talks about the boat being _ the step on that journey. he talks about the boat being powered - the step on that journey. he talks about the boat being powered by| the step on that journey. he talks - about the boat being powered by lng, liquefied national gas. even though it burns anyway that is cleaner compared to other marine fuels, it also contains methane, a powerful

greenhouse gas. some experts warn varies a risk that some gas could escape, leaking harmful methane. when you start producing lng as a marine _ when you start producing lng as a marine fuel you start to emit more greenhouse gas emissions than if you had done _ greenhouse gas emissions than if you had done nothing.— greenhouse gas emissions than if you had done nothing. when methane which is what lng is — had done nothing. when methane which is what lng is mostly _ had done nothing. when methane which is what lng is mostly made _ had done nothing. when methane which is what lng is mostly made of - had done nothing. when methane which is what lng is mostly made of is - is what lng is mostly made of is released into the airdrops 80 times more heat than co2 over 20 years so it's extremely harmful. most emissions is seen as crucial to slowing down. so for many experts this lavish cruise ship represents everything that we should not be doing to fight climate change. and so the icon of the seas, for all its sophistication, could be one

of the last ships of its kind. finally mexico's most famous giraffe hasjoined his new herd. this is benito, who was last year found all alone along in a dusty urban park. this well, now the four—year—old has been introduced to his new mates at a large conservation park in the centre of the country. the good news is keepers say that his first meeting with the seven other giraffes was successful without any mishaps. hello there. we did expect it to get a bit warmer today, but it may well turn out to be a record—breaking day with some sunshine and a southerly wind ahead of a band of rain. in highland scotland, temperatures reached close to 20 degrees earlier on, and that would smash the previous january temperature record in the uk. now, the winds are dropping, actually, and the temperature

is going to be dropping too. this band of rain moving through scotland and northern ireland is heading into northern parts of england and wales. and following on from that, in the lighter winds, we're getting into colder air — so much so that in northern parts of scotland there's likely to be a frost overnight tonight, whereas ahead of the rain across england and wales, it's still a mild start to monday. but this rain is going to hang around in northern england and wales, heavy over the hills, particularly in the north west of england. much of scotland and northern ireland likely to be dry with some sunshine, lighter winds but much colder than today. temperatures typically 7—8 degrees, whereas where it's dry across the midlands and southern england, it's still mild, temperatures of 14, maybe 15 degrees. now, it's notjust rain that we're going to see, though, on monday. after dark, there could be some snow in the southern uplands leading to icy conditions by tuesday morning, by which point that area of low pressure will have taken the wet weather away and we're left with a cloudy start for england and wales. some sunshine for scotland and northern ireland will push its way southwards

through the day. that very mild air is going to get pushed away, but 12 degrees is still possible in the south—east. but for many in the afternoon it's going to be nearer eight degrees or so. so it's turning chillier from the north. but if we look to the north again by the middle part of the week, we've got more isobars, some weather fronts. it's turning wet and windy, particularly in scotland. widespread gales here on wednesday and across northern ireland, northernmost parts of england. the really strong winds are in the far north of scotland, but over the highlands this time we could see a couple of inches of rain. that wet and windy weather in scotland will sink down into northern ireland. england and wales looking dry, the winds much lighter further south and some sunshine temperatures of 10—11 degrees. now the weather front bringing that rain is going to move southwards overnight. the rain petering out, chilly weather for a while, but then we change the wind direction by thursday, bringing in a milderair and also more cloud.

live from london. this is bbc news three american soldiers are killed in a drone attack near the jordan—syria border. president biden blamed iranian—backed militants and has warned of retaliation. mourners gather in the south west of england, after a 15 and 16—year—old are killed in a stabbing attack. israel says negotiations in paris over the release of hostages in gaza, and a possible new ceasefire, were �*constructive', but �*gaps remain'.

the islamic state group says it was behind a shooting on an istanbul church, that left one person dead. hello, iam nicky hello, i am nicky shiller. we start this hour with the news that three us have troops have been killed in a drone attack on an american base near the jordan—syria border. us officials say more than 20 other personnel were injured. president biden said the the attack had been carried out by an iranian—backed militant group operating in syria and iraq and vowed reprisals. as yet, no group has claimed it was behind the attack, and we have had no word from iran. jordan — a close ally of the us — has condemned what it called a terrorist attack and says its cooperating with the us to secure the border our diplomatic correspondent paul adams reports. the american say the attack happened

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