-- economic ties with moscow. —— economic bloc, ecowas. hello and welcome to the programme. as president joe biden is vowing to respond to a drone attack that killed three us troops and injured at least 3a more. while campaigning in south carolina, president biden called for a moment of silence.- president biden called for a moment of silence.

president biden. -- president biden said _ president biden. -- president biden said the _ president biden. -- president biden said the attack - president biden. -- president biden said the attack took - biden said the attack took place close to the border with syria in northeastjordan but a spokesperson said the attack took place at the location of a larger us base in southwest syria. since october seven, they have been more than 160 attacks on us troops or bases in the region about, this is the first time that us soldiers have been killed in those strikes. no—one has claimed responsibility for the attack and biden said it was carried out by iran backed military groups operating in syria and iraq. iran has denied any link to the strike. jordan, a close ally of the united states, has condemned what it called a terrorist attack and says it is cooperating with the us to secure the border. it is a sharp escalation intentions and is raising fears of a wider regional conflict. diplomatic correspondent paul adams has more. the american say the attack happened at a base known as tower 22, right on the syrian— jordanian border.

it is one of many american bases across the region. there have been dozens of drone and missile attacks in recent months, but no american personnel had been killed until now. joe biden, seen here attending church this morning, was quick to point the finger. it's not necessarily a tipping point into uncontrolled escalation between the united states and iran, but it's another very dangerous step because, as i say, the us will have to respond more strongly than it has done to previous attacks. carefully cultivated over years, iran has a wide network of allies and proxies operating in countries across the middle east. they're all opposed to israel and the united states — it's sometimes called the axis of resistance. there are pro—iranian militias in lebanon, the palestinian territories, gaza and the west bank,

plus iraq and syria, and far to the south there's also the houthis in yemen. over the weekend, the houthis have been launching their own attacks, hitting a tanker in the gulf of aden. and last night, a british warship, hms diamond, used an air defence missile to bring down a houthi drone. with british help, the us had been hitting houthi military targets for weeks. so far the houthis seem undeterred. they say they'll stop attacking ships if and when there's a ceasefire in gaza. the problems america is dealing with across the region aren't all about gaza, but the war there has left the whole middle east a lot more dangerous. paul adams, bbc news. he was a reaction from members of the senate here in the united states. democratic senator chris goons posted on x, formerly known as twitter," us must respond to protect our nation and send a strong

message to our adversarial that such heinous attacks will not be tolerated". and republican senator dan sullivan who sits on the armed services committee said... " irani and terrorist proxies have crossed a red line". i spoke with barbara fellowes and a veteran pentagon correspondent for her take. welcome to the programme. do we have any sense of what the biden administration's redline is? it has been very traditional that the redline for the us is us military personnel are killed as a result of an attack. that is exactly what happened in this case. we have three us soldiers killed in action. a great number wounded and injured and now the biden administration is in the position finally of having to determine what it wants to do to respond to that. we've seen all of these attacks

over last couple of weeks by these iranians backed. the us has been able _ these iranians backed. the us has been able to _ these iranians backed. the us has been able to successfullyl has been able to successfully counter them. shoot down the incoming that is fired down by these iranians backed militias today. they did not work, us troops got killed and now tonight, here in washington, all eyes are really on what the next step will be. we know president biden has said the what us will respond and the question is what is that going to look like?— to look like? right, and earlier this _ to look like? right, and earlier this month - to look like? right, and earlier this month as i to look like? right, and - earlier this month as senior militia leader was killed in baghdad and secretary lloyd austin and president biden had said," they will val retaliation at a time and place of their choosing so given none of their choosing so given none of that work to determine —— given that none of that worked to deter them, what are we looking at now? element that is the critical and unanswerable the critical and una nswerable for the the critical and unanswerable for the rest of us question right now. you are right.

deterrence really did not work. this was a military escalation by these iranians backed militias. the us has been collecting intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, pinning down where their locations are, where they are firing from, where their fighters are assembling, their commanding control, all the targets you might expect the us to now turn around and hit but will that be enough? i think thatis will that be enough? i think that is a very significant question. it that is a very significant question-— that is a very significant question. it has not been enough _ question. it has not been enough so _ question. it has not been enough so far. _ question. it has not been enough so far. hitting . question. it has not been | enough so far. hitting the iranians backed militias in syria or iraq simply has not deterred them. the alternative of basically going into iranians and airspace and striking targets in iran has a real possibility of a massive escalation and destroying the middle east into security chaos even further than it is right now. i ., ., ,, ., even further than it is right now. ., ,, ., ., ~

even further than it is right now. barbara starr, thank you for our now. barbara starr, thank you for your time. _ now. barbara starr, thank you for your time. for _ now. barbara starr, thank you for your time. for more - now. barbara starr, thank you for your time. for more on - now. barbara starr, thank you | for your time. for more on the situation i also spoke to lieutenant colonel retired and —— adam clements. iran backs hamas, has militias, as well as the houthis. at what point does the houthis. at what point does the us need to strike back directly?— the us need to strike back directl ? ., ~ , ., ., directly? thank you having me and i also _ directly? thank you having me and i also want _ directly? thank you having me and i also want to _ —— first, thank you very much for having me, and i also and i also want to extend my condolences too, as a former military, retired, to everyone that was killed or injured. this is a good question and i think the biden administration does face something significant here now because us forces have been injured and killed. unfortunately as well, this has happened many times where these iranian—backed groups have attempted to injure or kill us forces deployed in this counter—isis campaign, but you are right. there is a point now where i think that there will have to be further strikes just to show the us will not stand for when its servicemembers have been,

in this case, injured or killed. but there have been strikes since october 7, and this is still happening. as barbara starrjust said, it has not acted as a deterrent. so, couldn't you argue, as republicans do in congress right now, that this strategy of containment and the approach the biden administration is taking towards iran is failing? i'm not sure necessarily that as far as containment or so far as even deterrence — these are subjective words. it's hard to measure. it's hard to know where the lines are drawn, but i do think something of suggesting a strike inside of iran, that would definitely be escalatory, and given the greater context of what is happening on the lebanese border with israel, what's happening in the red sea, what's also happening elsewhere in the region, that that would be quite escalatory, and so i think there is a balancing act here that has to take place. and then even outside of this there are other strategic priorities that the us has to address as well going on with ukraine and russia. right. and can i ask — troops have been killed.

if this were a concerted decision by iran to escalate things rather than, perhaps, a militia gone rogue from their direction, would that, in your view, make a difference in terms of the required military response? in my mind right now, it depends, and of course i don't have access to all the intelligence to understand some of the thinking, but it is very, very difficult to understand this thinking and line of thinking for national leadership in iran, but i think very definitely as well there are other contextual issues at play here as well. very definitely war and conflict is not an interest for other gulf states, for other states in the arabian peninsula, forjordan. they have signalled recently as well — i think it is in their interests as well that there is not a conflict. so, there are very definitely incentives on all sides that we find a way to lower the temperature, find some way to de—escalate, and i think that starts a lot in gaza of finding a way to get these hostages released, and that at least gives political space for the israeli

government, and also from a military standpoint as well, because that is right now a very difficult thing in the military context because there are so many hostages that are still in gaza. and can i ask — because you mentioned russia and china there — what will president vladimir putin as well as xi jinping be looking at right now when they are looking at the way things are escalating in the middle east? i think strategically this is the most important question that we are asking because it is notjust about military escalation in name or some type of tactical operational operation here. we are talking about resources, so when the united states and other allies such as the united kingdom and other allies have to remove resources such as support from ukraine, then that is a victory. that is something positive for russia, and, of course, china is watching very, very closely, and so the more political, military, economic resources that the united states has to devote, in this case at the middle east conflict, that plays into russia's and china's favour.

so, finally, because we are running out of time, can ijust ask — if we know now that us troops have been killed, that there has been this escalation, and you believe that the biden administration should continue just with these strikes, is there a red line in your view that would require more response? it's very difficult to say. i think it depends on the location. if we have more escalations, obviously something we've had in the past where iran's proxies are targeting resources or personnel within the united states, or within some of our other bases, notjust in the middle east or also in europe or elsewhere around the world, so i think those are some other things to consider as we see and try to evaluate what this red line means. it can be often a very difficult thing to ascertain where that is in the grand picture of strategy in the geopolitical understanding of what is going on. colonel adam clements, thank you so much for your time. thank you very much.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.— uk, this is bbc news. letter's look at some _ uk, this is bbc news. letter's look at some other _ uk, this is bbc news. letter's look at some other stories - look at some other stories making the news today. an mp has been suspended from the labour party after a post about holocaust memorial day in which she enlisted gaza along with other genocides. kate oswald who represents north london apologise for any offence caused by the comments. the jewish labour movement has condemned the inappropriate and offensive remarks. two boys aged 15 and 16 years old have died after being stabbed in bristol on saturday night. police say they were attacked by a group that led the norwest area of the city. 44—year—old man and 15—year—old boy have been arrested. the chairman of the post office henry staunton was sacked by the business secretary can be bad a knock she confirmed today after what she confirmed today after what she called various disagreements with the company's board. she said his

departure was about more than the horizon it scandal where hundreds of sub— postmasters and mistresses were wrongly accused of fraud and false accounting. many were also jailed. you alive with bbc news. now, hundreds of thousands of people across germany have taken to the streets again this weekend to protest against the rise of the far right. the rallies were sparked by activists allegedly discussing the mass deportation of immigrants, even if they held citizenship. the controversy have printed questions for the alternative for deutschland party which is polling strongly right now, capitalising on concerns about the economy and immigration. our corresponded physical parker reports now from saxony. in her 80s, but undaunted by a crowd, renate speaks at one of the many protests sweeping germany. she survived the holocaust. many of herjewish

family did not. translation: it's very important that we jews | raise our voice. the situation in germany has become threatening because of alternative for deutschland and other far—right groups — notjust for usjews. cheering and applause. these demos were sparked by revelations that senior figures from the alternative for deutschland party met with right—wing extremists where the mass deportation of asylum seekers and so—called non—germans was allegedly discussed. there's a debate about whether to ban the afd or deprive them of state funding. where do you stand on that? i'm against the ban of afd. i think we have to tackle them on the political wave because if we ban them, i fear that they attract more attention and that more people try to support them. for all these shows of staunch mass resistance against the afd, there is great uncertainty, even a nervousness about how to tackle the rise of the far right, particularly here

in germany's east. a sense of disaffection lingers in the once—communist part of this country, where the afd is leading the polls ahead of key elections. translation: they never had a chance to be in power - because no—one wants to work with them. maybe if they got into power, it would be good for us. the afd, designated by domestic intelligence as extremist in saxony, says it's being smeared by its opponents. what do you think about the fact there are hundreds of thousands of people protesting against your party and some people at those demonstrations saying they're scared by what they've heard? translation: we're aware of it. but we believe that many of these demonstrators do not know our programme. we are in the absurd situation where people demonstrate with the government against the opposition. that's unheard of. this city of chemnitz

was once named after karl marx. that was reversed, but the monument remains. the father of communism now watching over the rise of the far right. jessica parker, bbc news in chemnitz. a high court judge a high courtjudge in hong kong has ordered the liquidation of the chinese propertyjoint evergrande. it was once china's biggest real estate firm but was marred by hundreds of billions of dollars in debt. thejudge said there billions of dollars in debt. the judge said there had billions of dollars in debt. thejudge said there had been billions of dollars in debt. the judge said there had been a lack of progress in coming up with a viable restructure plan. the movie is likely to send ripples through the financial markets, and trading in evergrande's shares have been suspended on the hong kong stock exchange. this week saw the first ever execution by nitrogen hypoxia in the us state of alabama. and there's been a global reaction with the un condemning the act, as did the eu and the white house but now, top law enforcement

official in alabama is promising more such executions to come. they've out also share the method with other us states. after 35 years in java prison kenneth eugene smith was put to death thursday night. the attorney—general called the new method humane and said 43 other death—row inmates in the state had requested to be executed by nitrogen. that human rights groups have condemned the method as cruel and torturous. this is how one media witness described the moment he died. he appeared conscious _ moment he died. he appeared conscious for _ moment he died. he appeared conscious for several - moment he died. he appeared conscious for several minutes | conscious for several minutes into the execution, for about two minutes following that kenneth smith shook and writhed for about two minutes on a gurney. that was followed by several minutes of deep breaths on the gurney. following that, his breath slowed until it was no longer perceptible for media witnesses. the governor's offers pronounced the death at 825 and again the curtains closed to that room at 8:15pm.

as mentioned the un condemned alabama's use of nitrogen to execute smith. earlier i spoke with the un special reporter on extrajudicial summary or arbitrary executions. i would like to first ask you because you are coming to this not only from the perspective of a special reporter but also someone with a medical friends or background, what is your concern with the method used —— forensic background. i concern with the method used -- forensic background.— forensic background. i have exoressed _ forensic background. i have expressed with _ forensic background. i have expressed with other - forensic background. i have expressed with other un i forensic background. i have - expressed with other un special procedure mandate holders absolute condemnation of the execution of mr kenneth eugene smith with this novel, untested method of nitrogen hypoxia. which was known, is known, to cause suffering, intense

suffering, in animals and, in fact, the use by the alabama department of corrections of mr kevin's using smith back of kenneth eugene smith as a guinea pig actually to test this new method amount in one hand to unethical human experimentation and was nothing short of state sanctioned torture. hence, we are calling for a band to the use of nitrogen hypoxia is a method of execution in alabama and other states and the horrific death suffered by mr smith last thursday evening actually is a stark reminder of the barbaric nature of the death penalty and a very, very potent call to step up efforts to abolish the

death penalty in the united states and the world over. oklahoma and mississippi have also authorised nitrogen gas. other states may follow suit. the biden administration already has a moratorium on federal executions but do you believe that the white house should go further? absolutely. i mean, should go further? absolutely. i mean. this — should go further? absolutely. i mean, this case _ should go further? absolutely. i mean, this case is _ should go further? absolutely. i mean, this case is absolutely| i mean, this case is absolutely shameful on a country which regards itself as a beacon of human rights. this was clearly also a violation not only of the eighth amendment of the united states constitution but its obligations under international law — in particular, the international covenant on civil and political rights — which united states actually signed in 1992 and has since been supreme law of the country. since been supreme law of the count . , , . ., since been supreme law of the count. ,, country. the special rapporteur

there. thejump to the jump to the governments of three west african nations have announced their withdrawal from the economic community of west african states, accusing the groups of inhumane sanctions —— junta—led. the penalty were in response to coups carried out in their countries. e.g., mali and burkina faso had already been suspended. the countries issued a joint statement, accusing ecowas i fell into provide support for what they called their accidental fight against terrorism and security in the region —— niger, mali. 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. the move from the countries is a further blow to ecowas's efforts to reverse a series of military takeovers to hit western central africa in recent years and despite sanctions and threats of military intervention the leaders have distanced themselves from their former colonial powers, france. they've strengthened ties to russia. in september they a mutual defence pact called the alliance of sahel states. this hell is considered one of the world's most conflict ridden regions. ecowas has since responded, saying it remains committed to finding a negotiated solution to the political impasse. i spoke to former us ambassador lisa williams. could you spell this out for us because it seems like this is a real clash

between whether democracy or military rule is the solution to the violence in the region —— bisa. well, thank you for having me on. i think you've got to unpack your question into several layers. the decision by the three states niger, mali and burkina faso to cut ties with ecowas comes after the strained relationship between those two groups because of the sanctions which were imposed on the three because of the coups in those three respective states. while ecowas had attempted to do some negotiations, there really wasn't a significant progress. except recently for the release of president bazoum of niger and his son and wife were being held hostage in niger so one

small concession was the release of their son but no concessions to ecowas for undemocratic progress on reinstatement of a rule of law in any of those three states and a transition to an elected government. so that's one thing that's happening. the notion or the fact that these are hell is a region that is tormented by violent extremism, bioterrorism, and also by extreme poverty is also true —— the sahel is a reason. the solution is that the states are choosing, which is basically to change military partners is actually the same sort of solution that they were complaining that their former partners were using, there was too much concentration on a military solution in the area to rid it of terrorism. before we go, big sports news.

the match—up is set for super bowl lvii eight, the kansas city chiefs taking on the san francisco 49ers in las vegas in a fortnight. let me know if you think we buried the headline. i do! there was star power helping the chiefs across the line in their win against the baltimore ravens. who else but taylor swift? she is dating the kansas city star travis kelce. she joined the on field celebrations after the game. thank you for watching. 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 or 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 chillierfrom 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. 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 or 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.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. for almost two years,

the us and its european allies have been pledging to do whatever it takes to ensure vladimir putin's defeat in ukraine. increasingly, that looks like a serious case of overpromising and under—delivering. further american military assistance has been blocked by partisan warfare on capitol hill, and in europe, too, cracks are evident in the ukraine support network. my guest is radek sikorski, foreign minister in poland's new government. has support for ukraine become a burden that kyiv�*s allies are no longer ready to bear?