live from washington, this is bbc news. the us and uk lead international airstrikes on iran—backed houthi positions in yemen in the latest response to attacks on red sea ships. it comes a day after the us hit iraq and syria with airstrikes, in retaliation for last weekend's deadly drone strike on us troops injordan. 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 in the middle east, where a us and uk coalition launched more strikes against the iran—backed houthis in yemen. within the last hour, the pentagon announced

that a us strike destroyed a houthi anti—ship cruise missile in the red sea. these pictures from the pentagon show american aircraft taking off for the earlier us and uk raids. according to centcom, 36 houthi targets were struck in these raids. it was the third round of strikes 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 defense secretary, loyd austin, says: "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, "this is not an escalation. it is our duty to protect innocent lives and preserve freedom of navigation." the raids in yemen 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. earlier i talked about the strikes and the us role in the mid east with former us central command spokesperon col.joe buccino. he also served several deployments in the middle east. good to have you back with us here on bbc news. i want to start with these targets in the us and uk led strikes we saw on houthi targets today. 36 targets, 13 locations, and what we saw in the statement from central command was these were deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defence systems, radars.

help us understand what we can take away from what we saw there. if we think about the spectrum of targets that were presented here to the white house, on one end you've got limited violence, on the other end you've got pretty significant violence, escalation. the first series of strikes that went in iraq and syria were in between the middle and the low. these are a tick up closer to the middle, particularly because we hit sana'a, the capital of yemen, which we have not done before. we hit command control centres there, and we also has hit these deeply buried targets which we had not done previously in yemen. nonetheless, we didn't go as far as i thought we would or as far as i thought we should in really hitting the targets that are going to cause iran pain because they can replenish these sites. they can push material into these sites and they probably will have these replenished within three, four or five weeks. how is that possible they can be replenished so quickly despite now regular strikes

on these locations? the drones and the missiles and the radars that we blew up here, that we hit, they're pretty easily replaced and the drones are pretty much handmade drones. you're not talking about cutting—edge or high—quality or high—tech drones — these are things they can make there. in terms of flushing missiles back into yemen, that's something that iran has been doing since october and they can continue to do that here. i want to ask you 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 thought we would scale — i don't think we will do this — but i thought we would scale up and hit, there is an iranian naval destroyer — the alborz — that's operating in the arabian gulf. i think we could scale up to hit that, hit their spycraft

that's operating in the red sea, and then maybe hit some of their facilities on the iranian coast. you're talking directly iranian entities? correct. and you don't see a risk there that escalating this? i think there's risks and offsets and trade offs all around this thing. if you think about the primary impulse of the biden administration's foreign policy, it seems to be risk aversion and conflict avoidance. that's a great quality. that's a great impulse for presidential administration. here i don't think it serves us well because it emboldens iraq. they know we're just going to hit these shia groups in iraq and syria and the houthis in yemen. and they can just replenish those and they don't really care that much about it. they've subcontracted the fighting to these other groups and we're not really going to make iran feel pain. if there were to be a direct iranian target, would the iranians then respond

in a way that would pull the us further into a wider conflict in the middle east? that's of course a risk. i think what the history of iran tells us, since the revolution of 1979, that if iran is threatened with an existential threat, if there's a real pain felt that's in iran, like when we sunk half of their navy in the 1980s, or when we took out soleimani here a few years ago, if there's a real strike that inflicts pain, they back down. because you think about the supreme leader, khamenei — his primary impulse is survival. he was the president, then he stayed in power as the ayatollah. he's been there for almost a0 years now. he's done it in the most volatile country in the most volatile region in the world by being a pragmatist. he wants a survival, that's why he's got the quds forces surrounding him, keeping him in power. at the same time it is a particularly volatile situation in the middle east at the moment. we of course have the 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 are the two men presiding over this war. benjamin netanyahu and yahya sinwar. neither one of them want this war to end. netanyahu does not want to win this war, he wants to be winning this war. once this war is over he knows that he's going to be faced with election, he's going to be voted out and he's going to be held on trial. yahya sinwar, on the other hand, the leader of hamas, he wants to bleed israel dry, he wants to keep this thing going, he can't win. he can't win this thing, israel has overwhelming superiority. so those are the main road blocks here to some kind of long—term resolution. netanyahu's already said he's not going to allow the palestinian authority in, he's not going to allow a sunni arab coalition to come in. what else is there

besides that? sojust very quickly, you don't think the prospect of a longer ceasefire is very good at this point? not at this point, i don't. colonel, it's been good to get your perspective and analysis and expertise on this. thank you so much for joining us tonight. thanks for having me. moving on to the 2024 campaign for president in the us, 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 2024 saturday. biden posted on x saying: earlier, i talked with hyma moore, a political strategist and principal at cornerstone, a bipartisan government relations firm for his take on what the biden campaign will face this election year. hyma is former chief of staff and advisor to the chairman of the democratic national committee. hyma, great to see you and great to have you on. the current president's age, concerns about his standing amongst black voters —

how big are these stumbling blocks for president biden? i think all of these things will be very important for the president. when you look at what he said this week and what vice president harris has said this week in south carolina, they're taking this election very seriously. here's the reality — former president trump is also up in age and can be seen in some of the same light so i think the president understands that this will be a liability in some ways but he's trying to figure out a way to use it as a sign of experience — he's been around for long time. it was said before, we know joe and joe knows us, and i think he's going to try to bring that back to the table and try to take the age off as a big liability. that will be tough among youngervoters, hyma. but it's notjust south carolina. looking at some of the polls, joe biden is not particular popular among democrats as well. how is the dnc dealing with this? when you get to these election years, these polls come out in rapid succession

and it is hard to really look at the numbers as one singular poll. the dnc has been working for the last four years to make sure that president biden�*s message is resonating. i think the reality is there are some issues of reservation right now so the dnc, the democrats across the country, the local state parties, are trying to figure out the best direct way to deliver this message. at the end of the day, there are some really great things the president can point to, all across the country, particularly in the battleground states that will be very important to him. jobs have risen, people say anyone who wants a job has a job and that is a big deal. so you'll see him talking about that a lot more. you'll see democrats�* governors, mayors, all the surrogates around the country, having that conversation a little more more directly. the point is, on the economic messaging, the jobs numbers are strong. until now, however, americans haven't seemed to trust president biden over the former president, in particular on the economy. how do you think we will see

the strategy change on messaging on the economy in particular? one of the things folks have realised is the bidenomics messaging hasn't worked as well or as quickly, but the reality is, there are real, tangible things the president can point to that have changed people's lives. and i think the country is in a better place than it was four years ago. we remember the chaos of donald trump, of former president trump, we remember covid—i9, we remember all of these things and so i think the president is going to want to remind us what it was like four years ago and then talk more about how he's going to finish the job. he believes he's not done and he believes he can do a lot more but he has to go get out there and get the votes. you will see him out there a lot more campaigning directly with voters. we know that is one of his strong suits and he is going to take the message directly to these states. and you will see it sharpening more and more, as we get closer to the election. we heard that we will see a lot

of the president out on that voter line. one more question about a specific voting group, there are real concerns about arab american voters, as well, particularly over the president's handling of the israel—gaza war. it is something we also heard from black voters, of course. we saw protests in michigan during the president's visit there. we have not really heard him address that directly. how do you think the campaign is going to try to address some of these issues? i think you are absolutely right. this is going to be a huge issue for this election, on both sides, and one of the things the president is trying to do, on one hand he is actually trying to get in there and do some of the work that's going to alleviate some of the pressure of these conflicts, and, secondly, he is going to have to articulate what he has been able to do over the past few months, to just lower the temperature, and really try to do his best to makes the reality— i believe and the president believes that this conflict has to end and i think he will start talking about that a little bit more. but it is a tough issue and he knows that

he's going to have to present a case to americans and the global audience in a way that allows people to see that he is concerned and he is working hard and working on both sides to bring this to a close. one more question, hyma. looking at the head—to—head match up with the former president, donald trump, if he is the nominee. if you look at those polls, sometimes donald trump is a point or two ahead, sometimesjoe biden is a or two points ahead. as the campaign ramps up, what do you think the main strategy is going to be? pointing out what the donald trump presidency was like four years ago? yes. here is a reality — president donald trump's campaign is very strong and he is getting stronger, i believe. but the reality is still the reality. donald trump when he was president was a president of chaos and we were not in a better place when he left the white house and so president biden and vice president harris are going to use that as a key linchpin in their messaging to voters over the next few months. and there are real things that they can point to that show that evidence.

but here is the thing, like i said before, donald trump's campaign is in a really strong place, as you saw iowa, new hampshire, and as you will see in south carolina in three weeks. he is in a much better position than he was even in 2016. so president biden cannot take this for granted. and vice president harris. they have to get out there and share this message more directly and they have to be a little more direct with the people about why their lives are different than they were four years ago. hyma, good to have your take on the story. thank you forjoining us. thank you. 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. to africa now, where the president of namibia, hage geingob, has died, after begining cancer treatment. he was 82 years old. president geingob was namibia's third president, elected in 2014. mr geingob was a prominent figure in namibia's liberation struggle, and promoted economic development and good governance. he was a dedicated football fan, attending many games. the country is already set to hold presidential elections in november. the former pakistan prime minister imran khan and his wife, bushra bibi, have each been sentenced to seven years in prison, after a court declared their marriage illegal. the court was set up inside the adiala jail where mr khan is already serving sentences for other cases. the court also fined them each a million pakistani rupees — that's about 1430 british pounds, or about us$1800 us. the verdict declared their marriage was un—islamic and illegal. let's turn to some important news around the world.

forest fires in chile have killed at least 51 people in the coastal tourist city of vina del mar, according to officials there. rescue teams are working throughout the central valparaiso region — home to one million people. the fire has destroyed homes and cars in urban areas. the country's interior minister says the full extent of the destruction is not yet known. 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. 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 will not run for a third term but some opposition candidates condemn the move as a constitutional coup and say they will challenge it in court. influential islamic clerics warn that postponing the vote risks destabilising senegal. american football's biggest night is just over a week away — the superbowl.

with interest high in the approaching championship game, it's bringing back questions of safety in the sport. reports say that players in the nfl suffered 219 concussions during regular season and preseason practices and games, which is on par with the season before. that's down from 2015 and 2017 when the annual number reached 281 concussions. just this week, the washington post released what it calls �*the concussion files�*, an examination into a 2015 settlement that promised compensation for players with dementia and theirfamilies. i spoke about the findings of the investigation, and the wider problem facing impact sports, with neuroscientist chris nowinski. i won't ask you about the washington post's concussion files published, looking at how nfl's concussion settlement as they said routinely failing to deliver medical care and money to former players. what stood out to you?— to former players. what stood outto ou? ., ., ., , , out to you? two ma'or problems. first, i out to you? two ma'or problems. first. i did _ out to you? two ma'or problems. first. i did not— out to you? two major problems. first, i did not realise, _

out to you? two major problems. first, i did not realise, a - out to you? two major problems. first, i did not realise, a lot - first, i did not realise, a lot of people did not realise, they are using a scale for dementia that has not been used before and most doctors would consider far too high for people to meet with dementia. therefore, a lot of people whose doctors diagnosed with dementia and have severe problems are not being given dementia settlement because of this odd scale they are using. point number two, they are looking bureaucrats basically tell doctors they made a wrong diagnosis, so hundreds of cases have been rejected off longshot, you did not check for vitamin b deficiency, all these kind of wacky things doctors do check box, claiming therefore they do not deserve the dementia diagnosis because it could be another cause. basically, an injustice to former players, even though more than $1 billion has gone to former players. another 700 million potentially should be in the hands of families are needed. but we are talking about

players suffering from dementia and chronic encephalopathy, doctors at washington post spoke to here were wrong. can you spell out why you think this is happening?- you spell out why you think this is happening? why think it is happening — this is happening? why think it is happening is _ this is happening? why think it is happening is pretty - this is happening? why think it is happening is pretty standardj is happening is pretty standard that the nfl is looking for a clever way to not pay out, dashed the money families are dominic deserve. the rayleigh disses a pittance to the nfl, a couple of billion dollars is a lot of money. part of the problem is i cofounder brain bank at boston university, that has now shown that of the people that did apply for benefits had been diagnosis with severe ct when they died. the settlement said they did not have problems. we know that people with severe ct always have cognitive problems and often have dementia. so the idea that these people had dementia diagnoses, had upon death proven to have severe ct and did not get it is sort of

the most troubling part of this all. but what about on the field? we know this is being discussed, do you see an improvement in how players's penalties are being called in on the field in nfl and hits to the head and such? eom and ko do but i think it is important to put it in context, it is an illusion of safety. the game is more ethical than it used to be because there are attempts to eliminate some of the worst hits and there are some attempts, mostly driven by the player association, to limit repetitive seats and practice. but the reality is because these players are bigger, stronger and faster and because none of the changes are being made at the lower levels, the ten years they have to play at least, to get to the nfl, we will not see changes in long—term ct risk based on what we're doing today. in fact, because they are bigger stronger and faster it will get worse. we can say, gosh, they are trying but they are not trying hard enough by any stretch of the imagination. we're just going to give needed see the problem go on until we take this far more seriously. not just the

take this far more seriously. notjust the nfl, in other sports like rugby there has been widely publicised research into the potentially devastating long—term impact of hits to the head in a sport like rugby. we saw a new stroke about by three british universities that said allowing children is to play impact sports like rugby or boxing amounts to ourform sports like rugby or boxing amounts to our form of child abuse. what you think about characterisation? i understand why they're — characterisation? i understand why they're making _ characterisation? i understand why they're making it. - characterisation? i understand why they're making it. often l why they're making it. often make this point in educational conversations, i say that inaudible in america averages 378 blows to the head e.g. fig. in america averages 378 blows to the head e.g.— to the head e.g. a. we know that now _ to the head e.g. a. we know that now because _ to the head e.g. a. we know that now because the - to the head e.g. a. we know that now because the (t e. i to the head e.g. a. we know. that now because the (t e. ever that now because the cte. ever parented their own child and they had 378 times they would go to jail. but of apparent signs up their children in a programme in which other children hit them in the head 378 times we all cheer. that is an unsustainable system topographically, there is something wrong there. it is important to us these questions and to use this difficult aggressive language sometimes

to get people's attention, because i'm a firm believer that we should stop hitting kids in the head. we should not be giving children cte but that is where we are today and that is where we are today and that is not where we should be. one more question, there will be some people watching who will say these are impact sports, sports where you understand what you are getting into. especially talking about nfl, these are adults of course. why do you think it is important to highlight what is happening? this idea we all know what we're getting into is complete garbage. that's because everybody in the sports is starting up as a small child, sometimes as young as five. wants or in the system, it is a culture that if you quit you a week. also rewards a good. my reality, nfl players meet donna commy in their early 20s and as soon as they wake up to ct is a thing and it is real and i do not want to do this anymore. i am watching them quit quietly, multiple players in the early 20s when they're old enough to

understand cte up walking away from million. if that is really happening, the idea we should have kids taking the same risks is insane. so nobody knows what they are getting into until it is too late. they are getting into until it is too late-— they are getting into until it is too late. chris, thank you so much- — is too late. chris, thank you so much. great— is too late. chris, thank you so much. great to - is too late. chris, thank you so much. great to have - is too late. chris, thank you | so much. great to have your insights into the story. scientists and engineers with the british antarctic survey have arrived in antarctica to test a new scientific drone. it's been designed to fly in harsh weather and could travel to remotest parts of the continent but it's been designed and tested here in the uk. in fact it's been flying over the hills of north wales on its test runs. our climate reporter georgina rannard has been in north wales to see the drone put through its paces scientists are fighting to understand how climate change is altering antarctica. decades ago they travelled by foot — and paw — before taking to the air. but now they need technology that works whatever the weather. this could be the answer — a new drone tested, not in antarctica

but in snowdonia. we have 700 litres... in here? can we open it? wow, it's like opening a car boot. pretty much. most of the sensors will be fitted here. it increases safety because you do not have a pilot on board. it means you can bring this aircraft into more remote locations. it's designed to withstand harsh environments and challenging conditions. researchers have used drones before, but this autonomous drone can fly one thousand kilometres and uses a fraction of the fuel a traditional plane uses, so it's also better for the planet. also going to antarctica is scientist, tom jordan. he has mapped the continent before but needs more data. he will use radar on the drone to draw picture of what is under the ice sheets, to help predict how fast they could melt. these spiky bits in the middle are a mountain range

about the size of the european alps. looking around you can see other areas that look suspiciously smooth, actually they are not smooth at all. these are gaps in our knowledge, gaps in the map. it's just that no—one has ever been there to make those measurements. but this drone will not stop the ice melting but the knowledge it gives us will help us prepare for our planet's future. georgina rannard, bbc news, north wales. in rio dejanerio, street parties kicked off the city's carnival season. dancers and performers dressed in bright, glittering costumes weaved through the santa teresa neighbourhood in a celebration called ceu na teirra or heaven on earth that first started in 2001. it's one of 49 street parties that took place saturday in rio. that is our show at this hour.

stay with us here on 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 14 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 14 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 for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. this week, we're bringing power to the flower. shiona is in kenya with the drones and ai that are dealing with the changing climate of this blooming industry. when we come and we monitor these crops using the drones, we are able to, first of all, get accurate numbers because we're seeing each and every stem. romana's in finland to see how we can keep a smarter eye

on our loved ones.