live from washington, this is bbc news. the us and uk carry out more strikes on iran backed houthi positions in yemen — as washington continues its military response to the deaths of three us soldiers and houthi attacks on ships in the red sea. northern ireland's devolved government is restored after a two—year hiatus. sinn fein�*s michelle o'neill makes history as stormont�*s first irish nationalist leader. presidentjoe biden saunters to victory in south carolina, where democrats held their first primary election of the year. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. we start the programme in the middle east, where the us and uk have led fresh coalition strikes

against the iran—backed houthis in yemen. according to us central command, 36 houthi targets have been struck. this is the third round of strikes that led by the us and uk and involved support from australia, bahrain, denmark, canada, the netherlands and new zealand. in addition to these latest joint strikes. us central command says it also launched what it calls defensive strikes against six anti—ship cruise missiles in houthi—held areas in yemen. in a statement, the us defence secretary lloyd austin says the action sends a clear message to the houthis that they will continue to bear further consequences if they do not end their illegal attacks on international shipping and naval vessels. we have also heard from the uk defence secretary grant shapps. in a statement, he says: the raids follow us strikes in iraq and syria on friday. 85 sites were hit in retaliation for the killing injordan of three american soldiers by iranian—backed militants.

these pictures, verified by the bbc, show the aftermath of friday's strikes in iraq. iraqi officials say that 16 people were killed and 25 injured in those strikes. iran has condemned the attacks as a strategic mistake that is against the sovereignty of iraq and syria. the un security council will meet on monday to discuss the us strikes, on the request of russia. for the latest, i spoke with our senior international correspondent orla guerin, who is in baghdad. we've seen now the us and uk have launched the third round of strikes against houthi targets in yemen. what is the latest you can tell us that's been happening in the region? yes, third round ofjoint strikes, the third round carried out over the next month or so. we're being told that once again the aim was self—defense — to prevent the houthis from carrying out attacks on international shipping. and we heard a few hours ago

from the us that an earlier round of strikes had destroyed six anti—ship missiles that the houthis were, according to the white house, about to use. we have seen strikes of this kind being carried out and it hasn't so far stopped the houthis from carrying out attacks on international shipping, but i think it is a sign of the times and of the instability in the middle east at the moment that we're talking about american strikes on targets in three countries over the past 2a hours. we have these joint strikes with the uk on the iranian—backed houthis in yemen and of course last night, we had the strikes by the us on 85 targets — once again iranian—backed militia, here in iraq and also in syria. those strikes were the first part america's response to the killing of three us service people

last sunday. since then, the region has been counting the cost. there have been angry statements from the authorities here in baghdad accusing america fuelling instability in the region. there's been condemnation from syria and from tehran, but interestingly, that's all — angry words but no action. there's been no action taken by tehran and, of course, america was a careful last night not to hit iranian soil. so after that first round of us strikes — and we have been told there will be more — it seems as if the fundamentals have not shifted. the americans are still signalling clearly they do not want a major escalation with iran and it seems like that tehran�*s position is the same. it does not want things to get worse and so far, at least, we haven't seen any major response by the iranian—backed militias here on the ground in iraq. they seem — for now,

at least — to be lying low. at the same time, orla, we know it comes a time of tension in the region with israel's war on gaza. what you think the larger consequences of these strikes could be in the region? i think we really have to judge this day by day, and again, it's an indication of what a dangerous moment this is in the middle east — that we really can't look beyond the next 2a hours. to some extent, it will depend on what america does next. is the second wave of strikes of the same kind of magnitude? i expect it will be, and that's pretty much in line with what was expected in the region, and let's bear in mind that america signalled some days in advance that there would be a retaliation. there was plenty of time for senior iranian figures to get out of harm's way and indeed for weapons and ammunition to be moved to safer locations, so i think the white house has made its point without inflicting a massive military loss of the iranian—backed militias and without, so far, it seems, provoking any kind of major response from them.

that said, they may continue and probably will continue carrying out attacks on us bases, as they have been doing — more than 160 attacks since hamas attacked israel on october the 7th, leading to the israeli assault on gaza. but i think running through all of this now for the americans is the hope that there can be a diplomatic breakthrough coming from antony blinken�*s next trip to the region. he's pushing hard to try to secure another cease—fire in gaza for one to two months which would see the release of all the remaining israeli hostages, those who remain alive, and the release of a large number, perhaps all, palestinian prisoners from israeli jails. we do not know if he will be able to secure that agreement but that is certainly the increasing focus of the white house because

the belief is if there can be a ceasefire in gaza, it can try to take away the fuel for the fires that are burning around the middle east now. orla, thank you so much for your insights from baghdad tonight. with me is former us central command spokesperon with me is former us central command spokesperson coljoe buccino. he also served several deployments in the middle east. good to have you back on bbc news. i want to start with these targets in the us and uk lead strikes we saw on who the lead strikes we saw on who the lead targets today. —— houthi lead. what we saw in the central command was these were e—prix —— missile systems and launches, air despair shall dump —— air defence systems. if we think about the spectrum of targets that were presented here to the white house. on one end you have limited violence on one —— on the other hand you have escalation. the first

series of strikes that went in iraq and syria were in between the middle antelope. these are a teacup closer to the particularly because we hit the capital of yet yemen which we haven't before. we had control command centres there and we also has hit these deeply bearing targets which we had not done previously in yemen. nonetheless, we did not go as far as i thought we thought —— as far as i thought we should in hitting the targets that will cause the run pain because they can replenish these sites. they can push material into these sites and they probably will have these replenished between four or five weeks. how is it possible _ between four or five weeks. how is it possible they _ between four or five weeks. how is it possible they can _ between four or five weeks. how is it possible they can be replenished so quickly despite regular strikes on these locations?— regular strikes on these locations? , ., , ., locations? drones and the missiles — locations? drones and the missiles and _ locations? drones and the missiles and the - locations? drones and the missiles and the radars i locations? drones and the i missiles and the radars that locations? drones and the - missiles and the radars that we blew up here that we hit, they are pretty easily replaced and the drones are ready much handmade drones. we are not two

cutting—edge or high—quality or high—tech drones these are things they can make there. in terms of flushing missiles back into yemen, these are things iran has been doing since october and they continue to do that here. i october and they continue to do that here. ., ., ., ,~' october and they continue to do that here. ., ., ., that here. i want to ask you about the — that here. i want to ask you about the strikes _ that here. i want to ask you about the strikes on - that here. i want to ask you about the strikes on the - that here. i want to ask you i about the strikes on the sites in iraq and syria as well. 85 sites in the first round. if you look ahead from there, what do you think according to your analysis what the next targets should be? i analysis what the next targets should be?— should be? i don't think we will do this _ should be? i don't think we will do this but _ should be? i don't think we will do this but i _ should be? i don't think we will do this but i thought i should be? i don't think we | will do this but i thought we would scale up and hit, there is a naval destroyer in operating in the arabian gulf, i think we could scale up to hit that, hit best buy craft operating in the red sea and then maybe hit some of their facilities on the uranian coast. ., ., ., ~ . , coast. you are talking directly uranian entities? _ coast. you are talking directly

uranian entities? -- - coast. you are talking directly uranian entities? -- iranian. l uranian entities? —— iranian. you don't think there are risks? iiii you don't think there are risks? , ., ~' you don't think there are risks? , ., ~ ., risks? if you think about the rima risks? if you think about the primary impulse _ risks? if you think about the primary impulse of - risks? if you think about the primary impulse of the - risks? if you think about the | primary impulse of the biden administration's foreign policy, it seems to be risk aversion and conflict avoidance. that is a great quality. that is a great impulse for presidential administration. here i do not think it serves us well because it emboldens iraq. they know we're just it emboldens iraq. they know we'rejust going to it emboldens iraq. they know we're just going to hit these sheer groups in iraq and syria and the houthis in yemen. —— shia. they have subcontract —— subcontracted to these other groups and we will not make iran feel groups and we will not make iranfeel pain. groups and we will not make iran feel pain.— iran feel pain. respond in a way that — iran feel pain. respond in a way that would _ iran feel pain. respond in a way that would pull - iran feel pain. respond in a way that would pull the - iran feel pain. respond in a way that would pull the us| iran feel pain. respond in a - way that would pull the us into a wider conflict in the middle east? . , a wider conflict in the middle east? ., , ., , ., a wider conflict in the middle east? ., , ., east? that is of course a risk. the history — east? that is of course a risk. the history of— east? that is of course a risk. the history of iran _ east? that is of course a risk. the history of iran tells - east? that is of course a risk. the history of iran tells us - the history of iran tells us since the revolution in 1979 that if you run is threatened with an accidental threat, if

there is real pain felt any run like when we sang cover then navy in the 1980s, if there is a real strike that inflicts pain, they backed down. when you think about the supreme leader, his primary impulse is survival. he was the president and stayed in power as the ayatollah. he has been there for almost a0 years. he has done it in the most volatile country, in the most volatile region in the world by being a pragmatist. he wants a survival and that is why he has the forces him keeping him in power. fist forces him keeping him in ower. �* forces him keeping him in ower. ~ , ., power. at the same time it is a particularly _ power. at the same time it is a particularly volatile _ power. at the same time it is a particularly volatile situation i particularly volatile situation in the middle east at the moment we have israel gaza war and i want to ask you as well about the secretary of state antony blinken�*s upcoming trip to the region. once again, it seems that for the biden administration, part of lowering the temperature in the region is to help facilitate a ceasefire between israel and hamas. what do you think the challenges will be for the secretary of state? the

challenges _ secretary of state? the challenges of _ secretary of state? the challenges of the - secretary of state? the challenges of the two i secretary of state? tie: challenges of the two men residing over this war. none of them want to win this war. netanyahu doesn't want to win this war, he wants to be winning this war. he knows he will be held on trial after the election. on the other hand, the leader of hamas, wants to bleed israel dry and keep this thing going for. can't win this thing. israel has overwhelming superiority. those are the main road blocks year to some kind of long—term resolution. he is not going to allow the palestinian authority or that arab coalition to come in. what else is there besides that? you don't think _ else is there besides that? you don't think the _ else is there besides that? you don't think the prospect of a longer ceasefire is very good at this point?— at this point? not at this oint, at this point? not at this point. i _ at this point? not at this point, i don't. _ at this point? not at this point, i don't. it- at this point? not at this point, i don't. it has- at this point? not at this | point, i don't. it has been aood point, i don't. it has been good to — point, i don't. it has been good to get _ point, i don't. it has been good to get your - point, i don't. it has been i good to get your perspective and analysis and expertise on this. thank you so much for joining us tonight.— this. thank you so much for joining us tonight. thanks for havin: joining us tonight. thanks for having me- —

it's been a historic day in belfast, where devolved government has been restored in northern ireland, and it has chosen its first irish nationalist leader. michelle o'neill was elected first minister. her party, sinn fein, hopes to one day unite northern ireland with the republic of ireland. sinn fein became the biggest party during elections two years ago. it is also two years to the day that the assembly at stormont last met, after the main unionist party — the democratic unionists — walked out of the power—sharing agreement over post—brexit trading rules. our political editor, chris mason, reports from belfast. good morning, stormont! stormont�*s back up and running today, we've been running the past two years. limbering up and under way — park runners here first thing, pounding around the stormont estate. and the politicians are back, too. whoo! and it's notjust you guys rattling around here now. no, there's going to be a few others rattling around. whoo! and it's notjust you guys rattling around here now. no, there's going to be a few others rattling around. so there's going to be quite a number in the house, i believe, today. but they're welcome

tojoin the park run. good to see them back? erm... we'll see. to be confirmed, still. so you thought you'd run at stormont today because the politicians are back? yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. hopefully, a wee bit more conversation, going forward. arriving here not long later, today's headline—maker, michelle o'neill, walking towards a place in northern ireland's history as the first nationalist first minister. the assembly is back, and now with a first minister who speaks in english and irish. she speaks irish. today opens the door to a future, a shared future. i am honoured to stand here as first minister. michelle o'neill pledged that she would work for everyone in northern ireland. with all those colleagues of a british, of a unionist tradition who cherish the union, this is an assembly for all — catholic, protestant, and the centre.

on northern ireland's violence murder, known as the troubles, a notable apology for all deaths. we must never forget all those who have died or been injured or theirfamilies. i am sorry for all the lives lost during the conflict, without exception. history can at once be national, however defined, and deeply personal. and this is an historic day. and it does represent a new dawn. for the very first time, a nationalist takes up the position of first minister. that such a day would ever come was unimaginable to my parents�* and grandparents�* generation. northern ireland's first and deputy first ministers have equal legal powers, but sinn fein won more seats than the second—biggest party, the democratic unionists, at the last elections. so the dup take the deputy position. michelle is an irish republican and i am a very proud unionist. we will never agree

on those issues, but what we can agree on is that cancer doesn't discriminate and our hospitals need fixed. there is widespread support here for the return of devolution, but it's not universal. some unionists think the dup should not have come back because some eu rules still apply in northern ireland. of all those attempts to spin defeat as victory, this is a climb—down of monumental proportions. the business of governing, deciding, scrutinising resumes again here. chris mason, bbc news, in belfast. our news partner cbs projects president biden as the winner of the south carolina democratic race. it's where democrats voted in their first primary of 202a, on saturday. biden posted on x saying: the results are

hardly a surprise. in a campaign speech this morning, the president was already turning his attention to the general election in november. this is notjust a campaign. this is more of a mission. we cannot, we cannot, we cannot lose his campaign for the good of the country. and i mean that from the bottom of my heart. it is not about me. it goes well beyond me. it goes about the country. mr biden will likely face his rival, republican front—runner and former president, donald trump, in november, though mr trump has not officially been named the republican nominee. let's turn to some important news around the world. forest fires in chile have killed at least a6 people in the coastal tourist city of vina del mar, according to officials there. rescue teams are working in affected areas throughout the valparaiso region. the fire has destroyed homes and cars, reaching urban areas. the extent of the destruction has not yet been measured according to the country's interior minister. police in paris are investigating a knife attack at a busy train station.

police say three people were wounded saturday at the city's gare de lyon rail station. the suspected attacker was arrested, though a motive was not immediately clear. armed soldiers are now patrolling the station. thousands of people have again rallied in cities across germany against the far—right afd party. in the biggest protest in berlin, an estimated 150,000 people rallied outside the german parliament building — the reichstag. the demonstrations follow recent revelations that leading figures in afd joined a meeting with extremists, where plans were discussed to deport people with non—german backgrounds. in senegal, president macky sall announced he will postpone this month's presidential election, because of a political dispute that erupted after many candidates were barred from standing. sall reiterated that he would not be running for a third term, but some opposition candidates have condemned the move as a constitutional coup, and said they would challenge it in court. influential islamic clerics had earlier warned that postponing the vote risked

destabilising senegal. here in the us, the fbi says it has dismantled the hacking efforts of a chinese state—sponsored group that has been targeting key public infrastructure in the country. on wednesday, fbi director, christopher wray testified before congress and said that china was deliberately laying groundwork to cripple key us infrastructure systems in the event of a hostile conflict. key infrastructure like the country's transport systems and the power grid was at risk. i spoke to democratic us congressman, raja krishnamoorthi. he was at that hearing. congressmen, you were at the hearing on wednesday, about chinese hackers targeting us critical infrastructure, things like electrical grids, also water treatment plants and we also saw the fbi and justice department say they disrupted a hacking operation on critical infrastructure in the us and other countries. what needs to be done immediately to secure this type of infrastructure? to

hunt this type of infrastructure? “trr hunt and destroy the malware embedded in different routers and networks associated with critical infrastructure. this is something related to a campaign that was initiated by the chinese communist party to preposition malware that, if activated, would disrupt or damage infrastructure in the event of a potential conflict. looking at the type of defence is the us have, are you confident it can prevent an attack on some of the services that americans use every day? not yet. i think we have to up our game. what we heard in terms of testimony at the hearing is that unfortunately the ccp is targeting potential weak spots in equipment or any software that is outdated in our critical infrastructure and so the federal government

working with state and local government and the operators of this infrastructure have to do more to build resilience into the system, replace outdated infrastructure, update software and so forth. infrastructure, update software and so forth-— and so forth. the chinese embassy _ and so forth. the chinese embassy rejected - and so forth. the chinese embassy rejected the - and so forth. the chinese - embassy rejected the testimony saying the us has the superior cyber attack technology and that it should stop irresponsible criticism against other countries on cybersecurity but we have talked in the past about the relationship with china and we see this coming at the same time as the us and china are talking about stopping sentinel coming into the country, for example —— fentanyl. coming into the country, for example -- fentanyl.- coming into the country, for example -- fentanyl. how do you stop this? — example -- fentanyl. how do you stop this? you — example -- fentanyl. how do you stop this? you have _ example -- fentanyl. how do you stop this? you have to _ example -- fentanyl. how do you stop this? you have to do - example -- fentanyl. how do you stop this? you have to do both, l stop this? you have to do both, walk and chew gum. on the one hand, with regards to fentanyl, we know clearly in the people's republic of china, there are manufacturers of precursor

chemicals and shipping them, and unfortunately the ccp knows who the entities are that they are selling into and are not taking them enough to police that. and shame on them. on the issue of cyber attack, it is another instance of the ccp engaging in activities that we have to defend ourselves against. we will and it is important to shine a light on it. ., ~ , ., important to shine a light on it. ., ~ i. important to shine a light on it. thank you so much, congressmen - it. thank you so much, congressmen for - it. thank you so much, | congressmen forjoining it. thank you so much, - congressmen forjoining us on bbc news. congressmen for “oining us on bbc news. the top court at the united nations says it will take up the question of whether ukraine committed genocide in its own country. this is an allegation that russia used as a pretext to launch its full—scale invasion nearly two years ago. it was ukraine who brought this case to the international court ofjustice shortly after the invasion began, asking the court to strike down russia's accusation. the fact that the court is moving forward in considering the case is being hailed as a victory in ukraine. however, the icj said it would decline to hear a different part of ukraine's case,

that russia violated the 19a8 genocide convention through its invasion. my colleague caitriona perry spoke withjonathan gimblett, one of the lead lawyers representing ukraine at the icj. you might explain to us what is the significance of the icj ruling and will hear arguments. you are seeking a declaration that there is no credible evidence? it that there is no credible evidence?— evidence? it is a very significant _ evidence? it is a very significant decision i evidence? it is a very - significant decision because when russia launched its full—scale invasion of ukraine backin full—scale invasion of ukraine back in february 2022, resident perton specifically said the reason that the military action was required was to stop genocide alleged was under way in dundas and basically alleging that the ukrainian authorities responsible for that. —— president putin.

ukraine has made clear there is absolutely no basis for that allegation, that was a reason ukraine brought this case in the first place. the court has decided it will hear that claim on the merits so in the next stage, russia will be required to explain the basis for its allegation and it will be very hard pressed to do so because there is absolutely no evidence to support it. fin there is absolutely no evidence to support it-— to support it. on the other side, the _ to support it. on the other side. the k] _ to support it. on the other side, the icj said - to support it. on the other side, the icj said it - to support it. on the other side, the icj said it would l to support it. on the other. side, the icj said it would not hear whether russia's invasion had violated the 19a8 genocide convention, which is something you were looking for. we are surprised by that decision? you never necessarily _ surprised by that decision? ym. never necessarily expect to get 100% of what you ask for from the icj. ukraine would have liked that claim to remain in the case but the core of the case has been that russia launched this invasion on the basis of a lie and that they will now be exposed in the merit stage of this case because russia will not be able

to show any evidence that ukraine was engaged in a genocide that could possibly provide a basis for its full—scale invasion. fin provide a basis for its full-scale invasion. on that oint, full-scale invasion. on that point. what _ full-scale invasion. on that point, what happens - full-scale invasion. on that point, what happens next? | full-scale invasion. on that. point, what happens next? the case will continue _ point, what happens next? tie: case will continue into the merit stage where the court will look at specific evidence the parties bring forward on whether there is any basis for the allegation of genocide or not. the other element that remains in this case is that russia continues to be in brazen violation of a provisional measure of order of the court that required it to suspend its military operations and they will be consequences for its failings to observe that order.— for its failings to observe that order. we will leave it there for — that order. we will leave it there for the _ that order. we will leave it there for the moment - that order. we will leave it there for the moment and | that order. we will leave it - there for the moment and wait to see what happens at the next stage of proceeding. one of the lead lawyers acting for ukraine, jonathan, thank you for joining ukraine, jonathan, thank you forjoining us. just before you go — we have some breaking news

to share with you. the sitting president of namibia, hage geingob, has died. he was 82 years old. he had been receiving treatment for cancer. we will have more details on that story at the top of the next hour. stay with bbc news. hello. cloudy, windy and mild pretty much covers sunday's weather forecast in most parts of the uk. we do have this wriggling weather front which will bring rain for some, particularly in the western side of scotland. but with that front edging a little bit further northwards, it will introduce milder air for more of us. but with that extensive cloud cover, it will be quite misty and murky for some coasts and hills. a bit of rain across north—west england, parts of northern ireland, but more especially, this western side of scotland, the rain becoming heavy and persistent. eastern scotland with a bit of shelter from the winds, while here, we mayjust see a little bit of sunshine. but it is going to be a windy day for many of us. very windy in the far north. gusts of 60 miles per hour, for example, in shetland, where temperatures will only climb to four degrees. but elsewhere, further south, highs of 13 or 1a degrees — well above the average for early—february. and then during sunday night, the rain keeps on coming

in western scotland, hence this met office yellow weather warning. the wettest locations over higher ground could see 170 millimetres of rain. some snow mixing into the north of our weather front, where it engages some cold air. very mild, though, further south, as we start monday morning. through monday, we'll continue to see these outbreaks of heavy rainjust waxing and waning across the northwest of scotland, with some snow across the far north. but to the south of that, it stays mild, it stays quite windy, it stays very cloudy, with some mist and murk and some spots of drizzle. temperatures up to around 13, maybe 1a degrees once again, but always colder to the north of our weather front. just two degrees there, in lerwick. and by tuesday, well, that frontal system looks set to push a little bit further southwards. so rain for northern ireland, northern england, perhaps into north wales. to the south of that, still cloudy, a bit murky, very mild. to the north of our weather front, well, some sunny spells, a few wintry showers in the far north and something just

a little bit chillier. now, this weather front just wriggles around through the middle part of the week. it will bring further outbreaks of rain. later in the week, it does look like these various frontal systems will eventually push southwards and that will allow some colder air to dig its way across more parts of the uk. it is going to take a while for that colder air to spread southwards, but it does look like, as we get through the end of the week and into the weekend, it will turn colder for all of us. yes, there'll be some rain, but for some, there may also be some snow.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. i have a proposal that we take all the money people spend on doing diversity panels and just use all that money to hire women to make things. whether she's on a film set or on a stage at a political rally, actress, producer and director america ferrera has built a careerfighting against the labels that everybody told her would hold her back. she was the first latina and the youngest person ever to win an emmy award in a leading role for her character in ugly betty. and her speech in this summer's hit barbie film resonated with audiences across the world

when she goes on a rant about the double standards and pressures that women face.