hello, i'm caitriona perry. we begin the program with two new developments from the biden administration in dealing with events in the middle east. first, presidentjoe biden has approved sanctions on four israeli settlers accused of attacking palestinians in the occupied west bank. biden signed the executive order saying violence in the region had reached intolerable levels. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says the vast majority of settlers are law abiding — but israel takes action against law—breakers and there was no need for the measures by washington. violence against palestinians in the west bank has spiked since hamas launched an unprecedented attack on israel on october 7. the united nations estimates about 370 palestinians have been killed in the west bank since then. here in washington, the us state department urged israel's government to do more to stop the violence against civilians.

there is no justification there is nojustification for extremist violence against a billions whenever the national orchard, ethnicity or religion. —— national origin. concerns been raised about israel and palestinian counterparts in violence in the west bank and stresses that israel must do more to stop islands against civilians and hold accountable those responsible. —— stop violence. the second development in us actions towards the middle east is the approval of plans for strikes against iranian personnel and facilities in iraq and syria. this is in response to the drone attack sunday which killed three american soldiers injordan. our us news partner, cbs, says the action will be launched over a number of days. several iran—backed groups have increased attacks on us and israel—linked entities since the israel—hamas war began. us defense secretary lloyd austin called on iran to stop supplying weapons to houthi rebels in yemen. he adds that although the us does not want a wider conflict, it reserves the right to respond to attacks on american personnel

in the region. this was a dangerous moment in the middle east. we will continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region, but we will take all necessary actions to defend the united states, our interest and our people. and we will respond when we choose, where we choose and how we choose. our correspondent nick beake was listening to mr austin's press conference and gave us his assessment from jerusalem. yes, well, some of the details about what happened here last night are pretty horrific and distressing. it was an insight into how to it was an insight into how exotic stabilising. the biden administrative employees this is at a level that has not been seen for some 50 years so on the one hand the american say they will be responding strongly after that fatal attack injordan at the weekend

in which three american service personnel were killed but they say that they do not want to spot a wider conflict. listening to lloyd austin, there is concern about what the houthi rebels are doing her control lots of parts of yemen and up and firing missiles to the red sea. they claimed our targeting ships linked to israel, the united states and united kingdom but there is huge concern about the effect this is having on global trading. the fact that lots of vessels are having to go all the way around africa because they are concerned that maybe it out at sea. overnight we know that american military was targeting what they said were ten drones in yemen that were about to be used, there are about to be used, there are about to be set out towards the red sea. the rebels say their work will continue, they claim over the past week or so ten missions have been carried out. we don't know the extent to which they have been successful in their eyes but they certainly say they will

continue to do this in solidarity with the people of gaza and they will not stop until the israeli troops moved from there. there's no sign of that happening anytime soon. you heard nick talking about the houthi rebels there — well, bbc verify has been analysing the impact of those strikes, and if they are making a difference. our correspondent nick eardley has more. there have been 11 sets of strikes in yemen in the past three weeks. many have been limited. the most recent were last night, focused on houthi military targets. the uk has been involved in two sets of the strikes so far. but are they working? let's start off back in november, in this area off the coast of yemen. this is where houthis — backed by iran — have been launching attacks on ships. the first few are mostly here, in the red sea. many are near a pinch point, the bab al—mandab strait. here's an example, when houthis seized a part—israeli—owned cargo ship, the galaxy leader, and released this footage. after the initial attacks, the us and uk launched air strikes on the houthis

on the 11th of january. there were more joint strikes 11 days later, too. the us has also launched several attacks on its own and intercepted this vessel, which it says was transporting iranian weapons to the houthis. all the while, though, houthi attacks continue. they're starting to move south, into the gulf of aden. one example — the marlin luanda, a tanker with links to the uk. it was set on fire after being hit by a missile. the frequency of houthi attacks, though, hasn't fallen. in the three weeks before the first us and uk strikes, there were six. in the three weeks since the us and uk action, there have been nine. and here's the impact — there's a lot less traffic going through the red sea now. instead, vessels are sailing around africa, which takes a lot longer. and it costs a lot more too. this is the increased cost for transporting freight — it's shot up. those growing costs will have an impact here. it'll take longer for some goods to get to the uk,

and it could mean higher costs for customers. joining me to discuss the developments in the region is david makovsky, former senior advisor to the special envoy for israeli—palestinian negotiations and director of the koret project on arab—israel relations at the washington institute. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. let's have a look at that move byjoe biden today, the sanctions on the israeli settlers in the relation to the attacks carried out in the west bank. what impact do you think that will have? it’s bank. what impact do you think that will have?— that will have? it's a signal, the administration - that will have? it's a signal, the administration that - that will have? it's a signal, the administration that it i that will have? it's a signal, l the administration that it will not tolerate these attacks by those vigilantes among the settlers who have been attacking palestinians since october seven. attacking palestinians since octoberseven. i attacking palestinians since october seven. i was over the and talked to senior us military officials and israelis

and leaders as well, there is and leaders as well, there is an understanding that it cannot stand and i think the white house wanted to be clear that this is something that was a priority and was time, interestingly, the president went to michigan which is the one state where he had some problems with arab americans. it was a signal to them that mistake support for israel during this war with the kind of blank check when it comes to settlers and i expect there will be more sanctions to come. it's a sign that from what you're saying perhaps the president patience is wearing a little thin? there's a break perhaps in the relationship with benjamin netanyahu? the with ben'amin netanyahu? the main with benjamin netanyahu? the main event _ with benjamin netanyahu? tue: main event is the with benjamin netanyahu? tte: main event is the guise of war. the settlor violence has gone down since october seven, the us officials tell me notjust on that is israeli side,

there's a fear that both at home abroad but the president support for israel is being mistaken to say he will tolerate these attacks. i don't think, those wider issues that need to be dealt with in terms of humanitarian aid getting on but the settlor issue is an issue where they all agree that no—one should mistake that. there is a zero tolerance policy. i don't see it as part of a wider break at all. this is something that needs to be dealt with and it has do not just happen but it has to be seen to have been happening and thatis seen to have been happening and that is why the us made move. you mention the perception of the us abroad though, there are some who would say that it is us and president biden alone who can influence benjamin netanyahu when it comes to easing off the attacks on gaza. when it comes to getting

humanitarian aid in there. using the die situation day in and out? �* , ., , using the die situation day in and out? �*, ., , ., and out? there's doubt that this has been _ and out? there's doubt that this has been an _ and out? there's doubt that this has been an issue - and out? there's doubt that i this has been an issue between the two countries. though sometimes, it's broken from the hard right cabinet ministers who are convinced that the humanitarian aid is hijacked by hamas itself and they not doing anything for the hostages and why you helping hamas? there been protests at a keep crossing point that israel has tried to clear away to get trucks in. there's been improvement and the us has gotten six months of wheat into gaza. they didn't even go through the cabinet because of the two hard right members. as workarounds here to get more aid in. but the israelis thinks the us doesn't focus on how

hamas has been hijacking some of the age. most israeli officials and especially in the military are in the view of their is the civilians and there is the hamas and it should be important that the civilians are not hurt by this even though this is a humanitarian crisis and is no way around it.— humanitarian crisis and is no way around it. looking into the future than _ way around it. looking into the future than if _ way around it. looking into the future than if we _ way around it. looking into the future than if we can _ way around it. looking into the future than if we can and - way around it. looking into the future than if we can and you l future than if we can and you have been involved previously in israeli palestinian negotiations, there are talks under way at the moment. what is your view on the prospect of those talks, particularly when we are waiting for us action in the region as well in relation to the killing of those three soldiers? t5 to the killing of those three soldiers?— to the killing of those three soldiers? , . ., , ., soldiers? is a great question and i think— soldiers? is a great question and i think really _ soldiers? is a great question and i think really what - soldiers? is a great question and i think really what the i soldiers? is a great question | and i think really what the us would like to see is a package deal. it would like to see a hostage deal that israel is doing with qatar and egypt and the united states, they had the cia, they would like to see a

deal that hamas releases hostages in return for a 45 day pause. the us would like to pivot of that is possible to get aid, more humanitarian aid in and also to try and restart a saudi an israeli movement and have a message that says look, here is the broader regional story and make some sort of statement about a two state solution if possible. that would be a part of that package. in the middle east you don't noise get a lot of windows of openings and i think the administration wants to use this as offramp to create some sort of dipper maddick momentum in the region. —— diplomatic. we'll wait to see what happens over the coming days, david,

now at the washington institute, thank you for joining us. institute, thank you for joining ne— institute, thank you for joining us. institute, thank you for “oininu us. , ., , joining us. delighted to be with you. _ joining us. delighted to be with you. any _ joining us. delighted to be with you, any time. - around 900,000 children are thought to be internally displaced in gaza — that's according to the charity save the children. lama jamous, known as gaza's youngestjournalist — is among them. since the start of the war, she's been documenting her journey and the stories around her, as they've unfolded. our reporter yasmin khatun dewan has been speaking to her. this is lama jamous. at nine years old she's acquired a huge following on social media, posting snippets of her life in gaza and her aspirations to become a journalist. we caught up with lama, whojoined us from gaza, close to the rafah crossing. lama, what made you want to do this? translation: i want to document the struggle we are going - through so the world can see it. all we wish is to go back to our school, to seek education. even our school became

for displaced people. lama's father has been helping the nine—year—old document herjourney, navigating the changes around her as the family were displaced from their home in northern gaza. she told us so much in her life has changed, though her dream is to continue the work she is doing now. translation: | wish when the war - ends i can turn into a great journalist and work so i can grow more and more. as lama continues to find comfort in sharing the stories of her community, her portfolio just keeps on growing. yasmin khatun dewan, bbc news. the european union has voted unanimously for a $54 billion aid package to ukraine. this decision comes after hungarian prime minister viktor orban initially vetoed the package in december. eu leaders said they were determined to provide sustainable military support to

kyiv in its war against russia. european commission president, ursula von der leyen, says the aid package sends a strong message to russian president, vladimir putin. the new funding promise comes as aid from the us is being held up by congress. ukrainian president, volodymyr zelenskyy welcomed the eu funds, saying they'll directly help his country's war effort. i'm gratefulfor your i'm grateful for your decision on the financial instrument for us. for our people bought ukraine. ukraine facilitated with people in euros for a full year period, this is a signal that ukraine will stand and will withstand.— will withstand. our correspondent - will withstand. our correspondent has| will withstand. our- correspondent has more will withstand. our correspondent has more reaction from there. huge relief, all the responses stressing the fact that this is

a united european response, the symbolism of that is important to ukraine as well as the fact that it means that the funding is now approved. because ukraine has been stressing all along that this is notjust about supporting this country, it's about the broader course of european security that ukraine is fighting for europe as well against russia's attempts to change the world order by force. but war cost a lot of money and it's notjust about getting missiles and ammunition and shells and tanks from the west, it's about how to cash because the government needs to kyiv doing what a normal government in a normal country would do, that is paying steak sector salaries, paying steak sector salaries, paying pensions, it's about even keeping the heating on, the price is high and ukraine needs help with the money because anything else, all these other income is going to these other income is going to the war effort directly so this is important money in particular important as american funding to ukraine at the moment is being blocked by domestic politics there.

another thing that the response you and ukraine has been underlining is about this is money which guaranteed for several years and it gives ukraine some stability as it looks to the future and it looks to the future and it looks to the future and it looks to continuing to fight a war that frankly two years ago, people here in ukraine didn't even believe was possible. the bbc also spoke to ukrainian member of parliament lesia vasylenko. she addressed the need for the us to allow more military aid into ukraine. we have our we have oui’ concerns we have our concerns and this concern were very much moist at the end of 2023 when ukraine was in need of that ukraine is always in need of people supply of military aid of the ammunition, of the weapons and deliveries to be financial to do the proper procurements. so, this is a major concern and it should be in the us interest as

well to make sure that the delivery network of all the military aid into ukraine for ukraine to kyiv pricing and for there to be a final victory for democracy. ukrainian member of parliament, lesia vasylenko, speaking there. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at a top story in the uk now. police in london say an alkaline substance was used in an attack on wednesday on a mother and her two girls as they sat in a car. officials say the injuries to two of them could be "life—changing". a total of eight people were treated in hospital. that includes officers on the scene and neighbours who tried to help. the bbc has been speaking to eyewitnesses. just heard the commotion is when it all kicked off, obviously didn't want to come out and get involved because were even down the end but... what did you hear? the screaming _ what did you hear? the screaming and - what did you hear? tta: screaming and shouting. what did you hear? the - screaming and shouting. you didn't get — screaming and shouting. you didn't get involved _ screaming and shouting. you didn't get involved but a lot of people didn't try to help, what are your thoughts towards

those people? what are your thoughts towards those negate?— those people? heroes. heroes. the attack _ those people? heroes. heroes. the attack is — those people? heroes. heroes. the attack is believed _ those people? heroes. heroes. the attack is believed to - those people? heroes. heroes. the attack is believed to be - the attack is believed to be targeted, police said they are looking for a 35—year—old male who was last seen at a tesco store on wednesday night in north london. the suspect has a significant injury on his face, police have advised people not to approach him but instead to call the authorities if they do encounter that individual. you're live with bbc news. in france, farmers' unions have called for the suspension of nationwide roadblocks after the government promised more financial assistance. that comes as farmers from across the european union have taken their protests to brussels, where eu leaders were at a summit. they've been protesting against government regulations and cheaper imports — from countries like canada and ukraine. our paris correspondent andrew harding reports. from early this morning, farmers from across europe gathered in the belgian capital. their target — the european union's headquarters. the farmers are, as you can

see, angry and increasingly united by concerns about cheaper imports, rising prices and new eu regulations designed to help tackle climate change. without agriculture, without farmers, there is not life. we produce food, the food is life. in france today, more signs of anger. motorways blocked by farmers insisting their way of life is becoming unviable. some here huddled around a television to hear the french prime minister promise more reforms to support local farmers. but would it be enough to prompt an end to these protests? the police here are treading very softly. they know that what these farmers are doing is overwhelmingly supported

by the french public, that these protests reflect broader frustrations here with the rising cost of living. in a medieval town outside paris, this couple summed up the mood. "it's not just about farmers," said louise herzog. "it's about the fact that we're all having problems right now." "we french like our food," alain added. "so, we need to stand by those who make our wine, "who produce our meat." across the nearby river, yves showed me his grain store. new eu environment rules mean he now has to set aside 4% of his land. he's not happy. "as a result," he says, "i lose 100 tonnes of wheat. "that's the equivalent of 300,000 baguettes that "never get made. "it's the same for all my neighbours." this afternoon, though, a breakthrough. french farmers unions agreeing to halt their protests, at least for now. andrew harding,

bbc news, paris. let's turn to some important news around the world. officials in turkiye say police have freed seven workers held hostage by a gunman at a proctor and gamble plant in istanbul. the local governor told reporters that police staged a raid when the lone gunman took a bathroom break. no—one was injured in the nine—hour siege. the gunman has been detained and is unharmed. the first parent to go on trial in the us for a mass shooting carried out by a child has tried to place the blame on her husband. jennifer crumbley told jurors that the gun she and her husband purchased for their son was not her responsibility. her son is serving life in prison for killing four classmates in michigan in 2021. he was 15 years old at the time of the attack. they've been called the british supergroup no one has heard of. cymande erupted on the music the scene in the 1970s.

they played to sell—out stadiums, before breaking up 50 years ago. now they're enjoying a comeback, and reaching a new audience. our entertainment correspondent colin paterson has been speaking to them. cymande. a band who split up 50 years ago and were almost totally forgotten, but whose music has been discovered by new generations. i cannot think of too many people of our age having this kind of opportunity. cymande are back together and the little—known story is becoming a big—screen documentary. move my feet, yeah, sure. it moved my soul. it is so funky! how do these people come together to create something incredible? and most people have never heard of them. cymande emerged from south london at the start of the 1970s.

the caribbean influence taking funk brought them success in america. we were playing in stadiums with 40,000 people. when you came back, you might have expected a heroes' welcome but indifference. what was going on? i don't think the music industry had much time for black music at that time. and they often say out i am from, i have more time for black music and less time for black musicians. they split up in 1975 and steve and patrick became barristers. but then something unexpected started to happen. decades later, some of the biggest names in hip—hop sample their songs, including the fugees. and de la soul. and ever since, word—of—mouth has helped their influence grow and grow.

they started in the 1970s and they are now in their 70s, back in the studio and about to go on tour to play to their new fans. what is the alternative to this? sitting in front of the telly in the rocking chair? but here we are. living the kind of life that you probably look for in your 20s and 30s. yeah! and finally, a monkey that had been missing in the scottish highlands for five days has been recaptured. the japanese macaque — otherwise known as a snow monkey — escaped from the highland wildlife park on sunday. its capture comes after someone spotted the monkey eating bird food from their garden. on facebook, the park confirmed the monkey's capture saying we can confirm we have successfully caught the macaque that escaped from the park on sunday named honshu. so a big sigh of relieve in scotland — and a happy ending for honshu. i guess that means honshu won't be monkey—ing around anymore.

you can keep up on all our website. thank you for watching, i'm caitriona perry. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. full uk forecast in a moment. first of all, i thought i'd reflect on storm ingunn that came across the north atlantic wednesday and hit sweden and norway wednesday night, bringing what looks like being record—breaking winds, sustained winds of 122 miles an hour, parts of norway, and 116 miles an hour in sweden. unimaginable strength of the winds. there were even stronger gusts. the gusts that we recorded were even much stronger than those that hit southern england in the great storm of 1987 — one of the most powerful storms i've ever seen, storm ingunn. now it's the lovely end to the day on thursday, fine sunsets many of you spotted caused by the clear skies illuminating

the cloud out west. but it is the cloud that's going to be winning the battle, i suppose, over the next few hours, progressively turning quite cloudy, a few patches of drizzle around, some rain into western scotland, but very mild air, again flowing in off the atlantic. we see high pressure to the south, weather fronts to the northwest where it will be windy. gusts of wind reaching 50 odd miles an hour across northern scotland, where it'll be damp and drizzly across western areas. elsewhere, a lot of cloud to start the day. but given it's quite windy, i suspect we will see some sunny breaks breaking through across parts of east scotland, to the east of the pennines, probably eastern parts of wales, and maybe eastern side of both antrim and downs. so you might see some glimmers of sunshine. either way, it will be a very mild day. the air gets a little bit cooler across northern areas on saturday, say cooler, temperatures coming a bit closer to average, sunshine and showers working in here. again, it's quite blustery. england and wales having the thickest of the cloud with some patches of light rain coming and going. temperatures 1a degrees, again, well above average for this time of the year.

the average in london is nine degrees. for sunday's forecast, again, we've got the mild air with us, but thicker cloud this time, so probably a higher chance of seeing some damp weather at times. the far north of scotland, again, quite blustery with some showers working in here. for most of us, temperatures again on the mild side, ten to 1a degrees pretty widely. but then after this mild run of weather, might be something of a shock to the system to see the weather turns a lot colder next week. and for some of you, that means a return of seeing some snowfall. now it's a little bit less certain just how cold it gets further southwards across england and wales. but it could be that we see some snow. for the time being, the models are picking up thick cloud with outbreaks of cold rain at times.

big tech gets bigger: meta, apple and amazon report their earnings. that beat expectations. we'll have the latest. and a look at india's last budget head of the country's elections. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. we begin today with the focus on the tech sector, with major names in the industry reporting quarterly earnings. starting with meta, the social media giant's shares sold more than 14% after the bell after the company that owned

facebook beat analyst expectations. the revenue rose 25% to just over $40 billion. the company announced its first ever dividend assent at 50 cents per share. this comes days before meta, which was one of the first tech unicorns, celebrated the 20 anniversary of facebook. it all started like this, facebook, or �*the facebook�* as it was known, launched from mark zuckerberg's digs at harvard. more features have been added and the design slowly tweaked into what it is today. but the impact of the app was almost instant. and in the last 20 years, it's altered society, politics and business, in profound ways. here are four ways that facebook has changed our world. facebook was a social media game changer, other social networks existed like myspace, but mark zuckerberg's took off.