perry, you are we welcome. presidentjoe biden says he has decided how the us will respond to sunday's deadly drone attack on american soldiers injordan. what we don't know yet is exactly when, and how the us intends to retaliate. three us soldiers — all from the state of georgia — were killed on sunday morning, when a drone struck an army barracks on the border ofjordan and syria. the white house says president biden has spoken with theirfamilies. more than a0 others were injured in the attack. the strike injordan marked the first loss of life for american troops in the middle east since the start of the israel—gaza war. speaking to reporters outside the white house on tuesday, president biden said he holds iran responsible — because it is iran that supplies weapons to the militia group the us believes carried out the attack. but mr biden reiterated the white house position that the us does not seek war with iran.

as the middle east braces for a us response, some members of congress have called for retaliation against not only iran's proxy forces, but iran itself. others have argued the president does not have the authority for such strikes unless authorised by congress. republican congressman mike turner, who chairs the house intelligence committee, told the bbc the us response was likely to be robust. as the administration is seen, this will not be a one off. it is not as if iran will have one response, it will be perhaps over a period of time where they will see that their activities will come at a cost. they would know that the us will be continually engaged, as iran has become a destabilising factor in the region. for more on all of this, i'm joined by gerald feierstein, former us ambassador to yemen

and distinguished senior fellow on us diplomacy at the middle east institute. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. we knowjoe biden has now decided on taking action, we don't know what that is what it will look like, but given your experience in the region, what would you expect him to do? fix, would you expect him to do? pleasure to be with you tonight. what i anticipate is that the us will focus its response on those groups that it believes are responsible, these are the pro iranians militias operating in iraq and syria and perhaps to expand beyond that to go after some of the irani and revolutionary guard personnel who are aiding and assisting these groups to carry out these attacks. i don't think, as the president said, the administration is looking at going directly into

iran. understanding that would risk much expanded conflict with the iranians.— risk much expanded conflict with the iranians. what sort of tar: ets with the iranians. what sort of targets with — with the iranians. what sort of targets with a _ with the iranians. what sort of targets with a be _ with the iranians. what sort of targets with a be looking - with the iranians. what sort of targets with a be looking out l targets with a be looking out there in the list you mention? would it be individual, capabilities?— would it be individual, capabilities? would it be individual, ca abilities? . , capabilities? certainly it will be capabilities _ capabilities? certainly it will be capabilities but _ capabilities? certainly it will be capabilities but i - capabilities? certainly it will be capabilities but i think i be capabilities but i think they may also try to identify and target those individuals who they believe are the leaders of these groups as well as their facilitators, their advisers. as their facilitators, their advises-— as their facilitators, their advisers. . . ., advisers. what are the risks to civilians in _ advisers. what are the risks to civilians in that _ advisers. what are the risks to civilians in that kind _ advisers. what are the risks to civilians in that kind of - civilians in that kind of approach, if that is what the us will do?— approach, if that is what the us will do? , . , ,, ., ~ us will do? generally speaking, as lona us will do? generally speaking, as long as _ us will do? generally speaking, as long as they _ us will do? generally speaking, as long as they can _ us will do? generally speaking, as long as they can identify - as long as they can identify what the tigers are, the targets are discrete, that they will go to great lengths to avoid any kind of civilian casualties.— avoid any kind of civilian casualties. ~ ., ., , ., ~' casualties. what do you think are the considerations - casualties. what do you think are the considerations that i casualties. what do you think. are the considerations that the president and his advisers have had to bear in mind, notjust

in the region but here in the us domestically, when american troops are killed, it was the action onto a whole different level. . , action onto a whole different level. ., , , level. that is exactly right, and so the _ level. that is exactly right, and so the president - level. that is exactly right, and so the president is - level. that is exactly right, - and so the president is looking to battle between as a representative said, a robust response to my something that hopefully would have some deterrent value going forward. also one that would not trigger a wider conflict that the administration wants to avoid at all costs. he also needs to keep an eye on his domestic political situation, understanding that this is an election year and he cannot afford to appear unresponsive when american casualties are incurred. ., ., , j incurred. you measure they're not wanting — incurred. you measure they're not wanting the _ incurred. you measure they're not wanting the conflict - incurred. you measure they're not wanting the conflict to - not wanting the conflict to spread and we heard that from the administration ever since a couple of days after those terrific attacks on 7 october,

but looking at the level of us engagement already in the region, 165 attacks and growing on a us military and personnel, the deaths of the three soldiers now, can it be said that the conflict has not spread?— that the conflict has not sread? , , ,., that the conflict has not sread? , , ., spread? up until this point and what exactly — spread? up until this point and what exactly happened - spread? up until this point and what exactly happened on - spread? up until this point and what exactly happened on the l what exactly happened on the other day with the three personnel at tower 22, that each side has been trying to identify what the redlines are, how far they can go without triggering something that would actually turn into an all—out conflict. so far, the administration view has been that the iranians also do not want to see an expanded conflict, so each side is trying to measure, to maintain some kind of a manageable level without going too far. the

question is whether what happened the other night is, in fact, crossing the us redline, making a kind of expansion inevitable. if making a kind of expansion inevitable.— making a kind of expansion inevitable. if we bring all of this back — inevitable. if we bring all of this back to _ inevitable. if we bring all of this back to the _ inevitable. if we bring all of this back to the frame - inevitable. if we bring all of this back to the frame over| inevitable. if we bring all of. this back to the frame over the original conflict between israel and hamas in gaza, we are told that talks are under way for release of further hostages in exchange for a temporary pause inviting. what is the balancing job between any action that the us may take on the talks on a peace deal? certainly there is a direct correlation between what is happening in the broader region, both in the red sea with the houthi, as well as in the areas in the north and east of israel. with what is going on in gaza. the administration wants to make sure that as we go forward, that in fact we can

continue to maintain a dialogue between israel and hamas that will hopefully resolve the situation in gaza and that will have a positive effect also on a calming the other issues. the houthi have been clear they would stand down when the gaza conflict 2020 ceasefire. i think he would see the same in iraq and syria. tote think he would see the same in iraq and syria-— iraq and syria. we will wait to see. iraq and syria. we will wait to see- thank — iraq and syria. we will wait to see. thank you _ iraq and syria. we will wait to see. thank you for _ iraq and syria. we will wait to see. thank you forjoining - iraq and syria. we will wait to see. thank you forjoining us | see. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. aha, see. thank you for “oining us on bbc news._ elsewhere in the region, israeli forces raided a hospital, killing three members of palestinian armed groups in the occupied west bank. surveillance footage showed members of an undercover unit disguised as medics entering thejenin hospital. the israeli military said the men were hiding there, and that one of them was about to carry out an attack. our middle east correspondent, lucy williamson, has this report. a building with a mission to heal the sick.

visitors with a mission to kill. israeli forces, in headscarves and medical coats filmed on security camera, at the heart ofjenin's iba sina hospital. guns in one hand, handbag, baby cot in the other. here to assassinate a patient and his two companions, fighters with armed palestinian groups. translation: at dawn today, a military operation _ was carried out inside the hospital. three people were martyred, including a patient who was injured a month ago and was being treated in the rehabilitation unit. they targeted his room, and all the occupants were killed. on the third floor, they killed basel ghazawi in his bed as he slept, his brother mohammed shot in a chair. both fighters in jenin's resistance groups. a third man, mohammad jalamana, was a key hamas figure, wanted by israel, who says he was armed with this gun,

and hiding in the hospital, and that the group had been planning an imminent terrorist attack. israel has also targeted hospitals in its war with hamas in gaza, arguing that hamas makes them legitimate targets by hiding there. and today, more detail from israel's government on its accusation that the un's palestinian refugee agency is a front for hamas, and that some of its staff took part in the 7 october attacks. six unrwa employees infiltrated israel in the attack. not only does the evidence show that unrwa staff were involved in the massacre, they were also directly implicated in holding hostages once they were in gaza. israel says the agency, its shelters, schools and food aid should be defunded. aid workers say gaza's

humanitarian crisis is already slipping out of control. miriam and her seven children are living without a proper tent or food on a beach at the southern tip of gaza. a roadside cart for sweets now beach side housing for a baby. adults and infants alike, dependent on others for food and shelter, dependent on others to stop the war. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. turning now to hong kong. the territory has formally started the process of enacting a controversial new security law — after years of delay from public opposition. the move is expected to further clamp down on dissent. the proposed legislation would lay out five major areas of offences — treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets, sabotage, and external interference. hong kong officials say the new law will complement beijing's recent security law, and weed out hostile forces. but critics say it ensures

the erosion of human rights. martin yip from bbc chinese has more on the timeline of the law, and why the hong kong government is pushing it forward. john italy, since he resumed office, a few years ago, he has stressed from time to time that he will finish this article 23 national security, which is stipulated in the mini constitution, and last year in october, when he made his latest policy address, he says he will have this done by the end of this very legislated year. thejohn lee government claim if they do not bring in the legislation, hong kong will face what he calls a real threat to national security to china, which would then threaten hong kong's internal

security as well, that is what he is saying this morning. he made reference to threats from british intelligence agencies as well as the us cia for their recent comments that they will step up their activities against china and hong kong in terms of surveillance. to him, he kept emphasising the threats from a foreign government to threaten the national security in a china, in his words, is very real. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at a top story in the uk. a devolved government in northern ireland could return to work as early as this week. that's after the democratic unionist party endorsed a deal to restore power sharing. the party had walked out in 2022 over trade checks between northern ireland and great britain. the deal opens the door to sinn fein's michelle o'neill taking the role of first minister. our political editor chris mason is at westminster and has more

on what comes next. tomorrow we get the detail of this new deal in a so—called command paper and a debate as well in the commons, the law will be changed on thursday, meaning as soon as friday, the potential restoration and a sinn fein a first minister. us officials weighed in on the breakthrough. a us state department spokesperson told the bbc: "we welcome the news that important steps have been taken "toward the full restoration of the northern ireland assembly "and executive at stormont." a spokesperson for the white house also welcomed it. you're live with bbc news. farmers in france are taking part in mass protests for a second consecutive day. on tuesday, farmers blocked roads again with slow moving convoys of tractors, causing traffic jams on key routes into paris. they're hoping to put pressure on emmanuel macron's government to do more to fight inflation and help them compete with cheap imports.

similar protests have been held in other european countries including germany, holland, and poland. our paris correspondent andrew harding spoke to one french farmer who is taking part. they haven't quite sealed off paris yet, but french farmers are still bringing in more reinforcements by tractor, blocking more roads, even engulfing a tax office with tyres — a protest against the excessive red tape that farmers say is stifling their industry. it's a big challenge for the french government, worried it's losing more ground to the far right. the prime minister, gabriel attal, today promising to address farmers' concerns. but, watching his speech, dairy farmer arnaud basse is unconvinced. "he knows how to talk, but we need action", he grumbles. arnaud spends hours every day trying to keep up

with new regulations, often linked to european union climate initiatives. "not too much time behind a desk, not enough time "in the fields with our cows", he says. "too much time behind a desk, not enough time "in the fields with our cows", he says. arnaud's farm has been in the family for six generations but he says a third of dairy farms in the region have gone bust in the past decade. he blames cheap imports, unpredictable prices, and says it's become impossible to plan for the future. across france — indeed, across europe — farmers have a huge range of complaints, but they boil down to a sense of unfairness that, in a fast—changing world, they're being left behind, overregulated and underpaid, and so, another night of protest. arnaud hasjoined with his tractor. the farmers are hoping for a breakthrough at eu talks on thursday in brussels.

until then, the blockades continue. andrew harding, bbc news, northern france. let's turn to some important news around the world. at least 19 people have died and more than 20 were injured in a traffic collision in north—west mexico. the incident took place between a passenger bus and a truck early on tuesday along a coastal highway that connects two beachfront cities. the area is a popular tourist destination for us and canadian citizens, who fish in the area. footage of the aftermath showed the charred remains of the vehicles. venezuela accused the united states of blackmail after washington said it would re—impose a range of sanctions on the country. that's in response to a ruling by venezuela's supreme court that upheld a ban on a leading opposition candidate. maria corina machado won a primary to be the opposition's unity candidate for the 2024 presidential election. her exclusion from the ballot has raised questions over whether the country can hold free and fair elections.

here in the us, high usage of the drug fentanyl has forced leaders in one community to declare a state of emergency. the 90—day declaration was issued in downtown portland, a major city in the us state of oregon. state and local governments will work togther to assist people addicted to fentanyl, a synethic opioid. the fentanyl addiction crisis has wreaked havoc on america for years now. in the 12—month period ending may of 2023. the cdc reported that more than 112,000 lives were lost due to fentanyl overdoses. pakistan's former prime minister imran khan has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, after being accused of leaking state secrets. his party says the decision is a mockery. imran khan is already serving a three—year term, after being convicted of corruption. our correspondent caroline davies reports from islamabad.

his face is on the election posters, but imran khan is already behind bars. the former prime minister has not been seen in public since he was jailed almost six months ago. this is the closest we have got to imran khan, the outside of adiala jail. all of his court appearances now happen inside the four walls of the prison, and the verdict today suggests he will not be appearing in public any time soon. today's conviction is about this rally. in march 2022, mr khan appeared on stage waving a piece of paper he said showed a foreign conspiracy against him. he did not say the name of the foreign power but was heavily critical of the united states. prosecutors argued this was leaking state secrets and damaging diplomatic relations. the latter can lead to life imprisonment or the death penalty. the trial lasted several months but the results came fast today, taking even some of his legal team, outside giving a press conference at the time, off guard.

translation: just now we have heard that imran khan _ and shah mahmood qureshi were sentenced to ten years in prison. imran khan's sister said outside islamabad high court that they will appeal. translation: do i look worried? no. this is a fight. imran said this is about justice, that is why he is injail. they will not break any law, they will stay put and fight all the cases. people should not turn to violence, we will use the legal ways to fight this. pakistan is about to go to the polls, imran khan was already disqualified. but there are candidates standing supported by his by his party. the question now, will the verdict today break their and their voters' morale, or boost it? caroline davies, bbc news, rawalpindi. iconic performer and broadway

legend chita rivera has died at age 91. according to her daughter, ms rivera died in new york after a brief illness. she paved the way for many latin artists on broadway. our reporter rachel mcadam looks back on her life. # all the time there is... known as the triple threat, cheater rivera was a comic, dancer and actress, reportedly hailed by critics for the roles on broadway. trained in music and ballet from a young age, she was dancing on the new york stage before she was 20 and kept at it all the way into her early 805. the first two appear in the role of an eat in the 1957 original production of west side story, it made m5 rivera a star and earned her the first of many tony award nominations. after the enormous 5ucce55 nominations. after the enormous success of the leonard bernstein musical 5he success of the leonard bernstein musical she would go on to work with other legend5

like choreographer bob fo55e e, again being the role in the 1975 smash, chicago. she was awarded the presidential measure of freedom, the highest honour the us can give a civilian. speaking some years afterwards and still performing 5he afterwards and still performing she said i wouldn't know what to do if i wasn't moving or telling a story to you or 5inging telling a story to you or singing a song. that is the spirit of my life and i really am so lucky to be able to do what i love. for more on this, we're joined by patrick pacheco, co—author of chita rivera's new york time5 bestselling autobiography, chita: a memoir. patrick. thanks for joining patrick. thanks forjoining u5 patrick. thanks forjoining us on bbc news, and fir5tly my condolences to you and all of the other friends and family who are grieving today. thank you for talking to us, i know it must be difficult. she is best known of course for her

performance in west side story but tell us a little about her life as a performer. it but tell us a little about her life as a performer.- but tell us a little about her life as a performer. it is good to be with — life as a performer. it is good to be with you _ life as a performer. it is good to be with you and _ life as a performer. it is good to be with you and to - life as a performer. it is good to be with you and to talk - life as a performer. it is good to be with you and to talk to l to be with you and to talk to you about this extraordinary woman, this singular entertainer, who touched hearts around the world. anybody who ever met her will never forget her, because she was, as you said, this entertainer, who was a composer's be5t said, this entertainer, who was a composer's best friend, because she connected to every lyric. she was a director's be5t lyric. she was a director's best friend because she was daring and will try anything, she was a writer's be5t daring and will try anything, she was a writer's best friend because she was open—hearted and honest, and she was particularly gracious and generous with all her co—stars and anybody from the chorus to the main 5tar and anybody from the chorus to the main star who worked with her, because that was just who she was. she always sort of thought of herself as a member of the chorus, to some extent, and it wasn't until her second tony award when, at the age of

60, when she starred in case of the spider woman, that told me in the course of writing with her that she considered herself a star. fred ebb of kander and ebb who wrote many shows for her, including the visit, the rink, and because of the spider woman once told her, chita, you have to act like a star if you want to be treated like a star and she said i wasn't really interested in being treated like a star. but she finally came into her own at the age of 60 when she won her second tony award, that was just too 5he award, that was just too she was. award, that was 'ust too she was. ., ., ., , �* award, that was 'ust too she was. ., ., ., , ~ ., was. extraordinary. and in one small way _ was. extraordinary. and in one small way her _ was. extraordinary. and in one small way her life _ was. extraordinary. and in one small way her life sort - was. extraordinary. and in one small way her life sort of - small way her life sort of imitated life a little in the making of west side story i believe? , ., believe? yes, well, the main thin of believe? yes, well, the main thing of course _ believe? yes, well, the main thing of course is _ believe? yes, well, the main thing of course is that - believe? yes, well, the main thing of course is that she i thing of course is that she didn't even know that she was going to go up for the role of anita. she was going to go up for the role of anita. she wa5ju5t going to go up for the role of anita. she was just happy to be in the chorus, and leonard bernstein invented —— invited her to his studio to play her

oh boy like that, and she was so thrilled and so excited that a she was in leonard bernstein's studio, and that he was playing this thrilling music and all she could think of was, chita, don't throw up on leonard bernstein's piano, plea5e, because she was just that excited. once she was cast, it is when she became a triple threat. before that she told me dancers danced and singers 5ang, and it was in the course of that monumental show, collaborating with those monumental geniu5e5, arthur lawrence, leonard bernstein, stephen sondheim at 27, only 27, arthur lawrence the crater, that she absorbed all this stuff. she was forever, even earlier than that, 5tanding stuff. she was forever, even earlier than that, standing in the wings, watching elaine stritch, watching when burden, and she just absorbed it all.

and was forever grateful for the people that she met on her way up. bea arthur and everybody that she always gave credit to. ., ., . , credit to. extraordinary contribution _ credit to. extraordinary contribution to - credit to. extraordinary contribution to the - credit to. extraordinary contribution to the arts indeed. thank you so much, patrick, forjoining u5 indeed. thank you so much, patrick, forjoining us to talk to us about cheater rivera. that is it for the moment. thank you for watching. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. a fairly potent area of low pressure is going to move to the north of the uk. it's been named storm ingunn by the norwegian metservice. the southern half of the uk is going to be bright and breezy on wednesday, but that storm will bring some strong winds and heavy rain across northern parts of the uk, particularly so for parts of scotland, where the strongest winds could reach around 85 mph. here's the storm system; you can see it developing here. it is moving well to the north of us. but just look at all those isobars heading our way through the day on wednesday. so that's the active front that's bringing the strong, squally winds and heavy rain.

first thing, wednesday, i think temperatures are going to be nearfreezing, perhaps even a little below through central parts of england and wales. but i think frost—free further north, where we've got the cloud, the winds — gales already during wednesday morning and the rain moving in. so that rain willjust shift its way gradually further eastwards across parts of scotland through the morning. this line here could produce some really heavy bursts, perhaps some hail and thunder, and those gusts of wind could reach 85, possibly close to 90 mph up towards the western isles. but widely, we're looking at gales across scotland, parts of northern ireland and northern england as well. so gusts 55, perhaps 60 mph across this zone, enough to cause some significant disruption, particularly when combined with the heavy rain. further south, across england and wales, you should stay dry for a good part of the day, not as windy as further north, but still blustery. 8 to 11 celsius towards the south, a touch colder in the north, with that fresher air moving in, and some wintry showers follow on overnight into thursday across the higher ground of scotland. but eventually the cloud and the rain clear away, so it's going to be another fairly chilly night, actually. we're likely to see a touch

of frost in a few prone spots, certainly as we head on into thursday. but thursday does look like a much quieter day, because we'll lose the tail end of that storm system, and this ridge of higher pressure builds its way in for thursday. so that's going to squeeze away most of the rain and it will bring lighter winds. still quite a breezy day across northern and western scotland, with some rain arriving later. best of the sunshine for central, southern and eastern parts of the uk, and here, temperatures perhaps down a touch on recent days, 9 or 10 celsius, so a slightly fresher feel to the weather. but then it looks like we see things turning milder once again. so looking ahead for friday, into the weekend, some rain in the north and the west, drier towards the south, but it is looking mild for all of us. bye— bye.

alphabet and microsoft turn in their quarterly report cards amid an intensifying race to deliver new ai applications. plus, boeing tells all — the aviation giant is set to unveil its quarterly earnings, weeks after an embarrassing mid—air incident. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. we begin today with a focus on microsoft and alphabet, which have just reported quarterly earnings. microsoft beat wall street

estimates for fiscal second—quarter revenue, as new ai features helped attract customers to its cloud and windows services. quarterly revenue grew 18% to $62 billion, compared with the average analyst estimate ofjust over $61 billion. now, all that investment into ai from microsoft is putting the heat on its competitors. that's the case for google's parent company, alphabet, which reported results that disappointed investors. it came short of expectations for advertising revenue, recording $65.5 billion in the fourth quarter, while analysts on average had estimated just over $66 billion. those results overshadowed the company's efforts in artificial intelligence and the cloud. now, ai is increasingly becoming a central theme in the quarterly results presentations of major tech companies as they compete to place ever bigger bets on the technology. so, is all that investment starting to pay off? i spoke to ubs�* tech equity strategist sundeep gantori a little earlier.

if you look at the headline numbers... it suggests that results are mixed.