live from london, 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. more than 50 people have been killed and dozens are missing i n what's believed to be the deadliest wildfire on record in chile. the man—hunt continues for a man suspected of a corrosive substance attack on a mother and her daughters in south london. presidentjoe biden saunters to victory in south carolina, where democrats held their first primary election of the year. and an exiting night ahead in the music business as the 66th grammy awards takes place in los angeles, with women in contemporary pop being tipped as the big winners.

hello, i'm lauren taylor. the us and the uk have carried out fresh strikes on more than 30 targets linked to the iran—backed houthi rebels in yemen. they were supported by six other countries, as they continue attempts to stop the houthis targeting ships in the red sea. 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. louisa pilbeam has the very latest. british fighter jets taking british fighterjets taking off from an raf military base in cyprus as they prepared to hit more houthi targets overnight. it is the first time they have joined targets in yemen after what they say is a terrorist group backed by iran. the pentagon confirming it is on

houthis facilities. this is what the uk, us and its backers want to stop stop the houthis ability to carry out attacks on cargo ships in the red sea. the joint action comes a day after the us hit 85 targets in syria and iraq on friday. including what is thought to be a munitions depot in iraq was it is in reality —— make retaliation to an attack on three american troops on an attack they believe was carried out by militants in iran. iran has denied involvement in the attack on the us base and denies involvement with the houthis. the us president who has been out campaigning this weekend ahead of this year's us election set on social media...

uk foreign secretary david cameron however has vowed to hold iran to account saying he had had a robust conversation with their foreign minister about actions of countries backed by iran, warning him you will ultimately be held accountable for what they do. the us secretary of state antony blinken is visiting the middle east over the next few days, showing diplomacy is being considered as important as any military action undertaken. live now to benjamin radd, a senior fellow with the burkle center for international relations, a research fellow with the university of california center for middle east development. thank you forjoining us. give us an idea of how wide—ranging you think the strikes are and... it you think the strikes are and... . , you think the strikes are and... ., , ., , you think the strikes are and... ., , .,, , and... it remains to be seen what as _ and... it remains to be seen what as of— and... it remains to be seen what as of now _ and... it remains to be seen what as of now it _ and... it remains to be seen what as of now it seems - and... it remains to be seen | what as of now it seems they have restrained themselves from escalating further. the iranian foreign minister condemned the

strikes but did not signal any plans for retaliation reprisals. we are seeing that consistently with the militants, the militia groups in syria and iraq as well. what about the _ in syria and iraq as well. what about the ones _ in syria and iraq as well. what about the ones in _ in syria and iraq as well. what about the ones in yemen - in syria and iraq as well. what about the ones in yemen and | in syria and iraq as well. what about the ones in yemen and the houthis so far say they are still going to continue what they are doing was do you think in this case it will make any difference to them being hit again and particularly their operational capabilities? absolutely not. if anything, the houthis are benefiting from this escalating contact —— escalating conflict. it draws attention to their cause and motivates them and gets their people riled up and excited and from their opinion itjustifies the actions they are taking so they are using the opportunity of the gaza war as a front, as an opening, to really exert their influence. all of this is controlled by iran bow to a great extent given their funding and logistical support but also because iran is attempting to project its power beyond its borders.— beyond its borders. mentions the role of —

beyond its borders. mentions the role of iran _ beyond its borders. mentions the role of iran so _ beyond its borders. mentions the role of iran so it - beyond its borders. mentions the role of iran so it has - the role of iran so it has denied that it can actually control these groups do so how do you think iran is going to respond in these latest cases? if iran opted to cease funding, sees training them, providing them with intelligence and logistical support and weaponry, these attacks will come to an end, it is plain and simple. iran cannot dictate, pick up the phone and directly contact the militia leader and say do not fire or go ahead and do so but what they can do is control the supply of resources they need in order to make these missions successful so if and when iran chooses to exercise that option, it can do so. it has not indicated it is willing to de—escalate in the red sea but it has signalled it will de—escalate in and around syria and iraq. will de-escalate in and around syria and iraq.— will de-escalate in and around syria and iraq. and what about the impact _ syria and iraq. and what about the impact on _ syria and iraq. and what about the impact on all _ syria and iraq. and what about the impact on all of _ syria and iraq. and what about the impact on all of this - syria and iraq. and what about the impact on all of this on - the impact on all of this on efforts to try and bring about a ceasefire for the gaza conflict?— conflict? that is the collocated - conflict? that is the collocated part. - conflict? that is the j collocated part. the negotiations that have been taking place between the united states, the egyptians, the categories, hamas representatives and israeli

officials seem to be moving forward. —— officials seem to be moving forward. -- qatar. there seem to be a split in the hamas leadership about the length, duration or the type of ceasefire. hamas want an increment one and right now it seems all efforts are stalled but doesn't look like it is connected to what is taking place in and around iraq and syria and the us strikes against proxy forces there. how achievable _ against proxy forces there. how achievable do _ against proxy forces there. how achievable do you _ against proxy forces there. how achievable do you think it is, given what we are seeing in the region and the kind of tensions that there are? do you think it is still achievable to get to some of agreement? i is still achievable to get to some of agreement?- is still achievable to get to some of agreement? i do, i think there _ some of agreement? i do, i think there are _ some of agreement? i do, i think there are two - some of agreement? i do, i think there are two parallel| think there are two parallel events happening. as much as this idea of the axis of resistance operating in unison, we're not saying that. we have seen a lot of these groups acting independently of what others are doing. hezbollah, launching rockets into israel, has remained relatively quiet compared to other proxy forces are what i am saying is we're going to see two different trajectories going forward. hopefully there is a release of

hostages and a ceasefire and thatis hostages and a ceasefire and that is not going to impact necessarily what is happening with the proxy groups launching attacks against united states, uk and allied coalition forces or on commercial ships. that is going to be separate.— or on commercial ships. that is going to be separate. thank you very much _ going to be separate. thank you very much indeed _ going to be separate. thank you very much indeed for— going to be separate. thank you very much indeed for talking - going to be separate. thank you very much indeed for talking to l very much indeed for talking to us. with me now is said shahata from bbc arabic. thanks for coming in. i want to talk about yemen first of all. how much do you think these strikes will make a difference to those groups? i strikes will make a difference to those groups?— to those groups? i think it will not make _ to those groups? i think it will not make a _ to those groups? i think it will not make a difference| will not make a difference because it is, since the start of the strikes of the american british strikes, the houthis retaliate. it shows the strikes do not put the hoothees off. —— houthis. there is a problem regarding the global trade

route. through the red sea and now major shipping companies go around what is called the cape of good hope around southern africa. it takes about nine extra days which costs millions and millions of dollars for shipping companies and it shows that the american and the british strikes didn't make these companies change the mind and whatever the americans put pressure on the houthis, the houthis retaliate. and not as much as before but still the fear, the feeling of the fear and the trust in american and british and the coalition to stop and make safety for this route is not convincing these to come back so unfortunately those strikes don't bear the fruit or achieve their purpose so far. �* ., ., ,., so far. and what about the urou -s so far. and what about the groups themselves? - so far. and what about the groups themselves? if - so far. and what about the | groups themselves? if they decide to escalate against the us and the uk, what sort of things might they do? the

houthis and _ things might they do? the houthis and other - things might they do? tue: houthis and other groups things might they do? tte: houthis and other groups link it to a run because what happens, the 85 targets yesterday —— iran. groups linked to iran and iran and syria. now they are going to retaliate. in addition to that, iranians are saying what americans have done is a strategic mistake so they will be a response. the houthis will carry on with causing problems for the route of trade and this puts pressure on the countries because rishi sunak and his statement on 12th of january regarding the strikes said these strikes and these attacks puts pressure on consumers. so the houthis will put pressure on the knee international community because their cause is the war in gaza and the

israeli troops from gaza and let aid in. this is their objective. untilthis let aid in. this is their objective. until this objective is fulfilled and replied by the american and the israelis, i think they are going to carry on and this will be a problem for trade and for the consumer, prices and the international economy after problems, pandemic, ukrainian, now another problem for the international and global economy. international and global economy-— international and global economy. international and global econom. . ., economy. thank you for coming to talk to _ economy. thank you for coming to talk to us. _ you can stay up to date with all the latest on the us—uk led airstrikes against houthi targets in yemen on our website. there's a live page with reaction and reports from our correspondents in the region — along with more detail about the houthis and how powerful they are. just head to bbc.com/news — or download the bbc news app. let's get some of the day's other news now. russian—installed officials in eastern ukraine say shelling by kyiv�*s forces has killed at least 20 people in the city of lysychansk. russian media showed footage

of a heavily destroyed building, and emergency workers pulling out a crushed car from the debris. huge protests against the far—right afd party have been taking place across germany for the third weekend in a row. an estimated 150,000 people took part in a rally in berlin. the protests were called after revelations of afd leading figures' take part in a meeting with extremists, where plans were discussed to deport people with non—german backgrounds. the west african regional bloc has expressed concerns over the senegalese president's decision to postpone this month's elections. president macky sall said he was delaying the poll because of the political row that had erupted after many candidates were barred from standing. but opposition politicians have described it as a constitutional coup. british patients are taking part in an early stage trial of a new cancer vaccine made by the pharmaceutical firm, moderna. the mrna technology — which was adapted to make covid—19 jabs — works by helping the immune system

recognise and fight cancer cells. it's aimed at people with advanced melanoma, lung cancer and other solid tumour cancers. authorities in chile say at least 51 people have been killed and dozens more have been reported missing in the deadliest wildfires on record. a state of emergency has been declared in the valparaiso region. thousands of homes have been destroyed — and residents have been told to leave their homes in the city of vina del mar. the fires have been fuelled by higher—than—usual temperatures and strong winds. professor mark howden is the director of the institute for climate, energy & disaster solutions at the australian national university. thanks for being with us. how much do you think climate factors are playing a part in these fires?— these fires? hello. ithink that this— these fires? hello. ithink that this is— these fires? hello. ithink that this is largely - these fires? hello. ithink that this is largely a - these fires? hello. i think. that this is largely a climate change driven thing. when we look at what is happening in terms of sea surface temperatures, that is not i think the driver in that

particular case of those fires but when we look at the long—term climate change impacts, we are seeing a significant drying out of that central part of chile and that is actually resulting in these very significant fire dangers. there have been very significant fires over there over the last several years. what sort of factors do you think are important here? particularly drying out. she lay along with australia and south african —— chile. along with the mediterranean as well, we have seen substantial drying out due to climate change and thatis out due to climate change and that is the as the mid— latitude pressure systems strengthen the climatological reason and that is really reduced the amount of water in their dams and rivers. the heating has resulted in increased melting of this, their glaziers which provide water during the dry season and this, we have seen increases in temperature which dry out the fuel and increase the likelihood of a small fire

becoming a very big and dangerous fire.- becoming a very big and dangerous fire. becoming a very big and dancerous fire. .,, ., ., ~ dangerous fire. people of talk in the past — dangerous fire. people of talk in the past about _ dangerous fire. people of talk in the past about el _ dangerous fire. people of talk in the past about el nino - dangerous fire. people of talk in the past about el nino and | in the past about el nino and taking apart, is at play here? element probably not el nino in this case was not el nino is declining at the moment. tt is declining at the moment. it is becoming _ declining at the moment. it is becoming much _ declining at the moment. it is becoming much less - declining at the moment. te 3 becoming much less strong. we are seeing that influence over through south america actually declining since late last year so i suspect that is not the driver in this case.- driver in this case. and in terms of _ driver in this case. and in terms of mitigation, - driver in this case. and in| terms of mitigation, what driver in this case. and in - terms of mitigation, what are the best options for them? tt it is climate change, the first thing we need to do is reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. 0ur emissions last year were the highest on record and they keep on going up. we need to turn that around very quickly. if we are looking at more local solutions, clearly we need to put in place more effective fire warning systems, rapid response systems and get people out of harm's way very quickly and stop putting people in harm's way rice pudding buildings infire harm's way rice pudding buildings in fire prone areas.

__ by buildings in fire prone areas. —— by putting buildings in fire prone areas. a manhunt in the uk for the suspect in a chemical attack in south london continues into its fourth day. police have released more pictures in search of abdul shokoor ezedi after a mother and two children were attacked. helena wilkinson has more details. peeps. anyone home? hello, olice! peeps. anyone home? hello, police! footage _ peeps. anyone home? hello, police! footage from - peeps. anyone home? hello, police! footage from a - peeps. anyone home? hello, police! footage from a body l police! footage from a body warm camera, show police entering a flight to newcastle as part of the manhunt for abdul shokoor ezedi. empty containers were found during the search. there are corrosive warnings on the label. did they hold the substance used in the clapham attack? tests are under way to find out. 0fficers clapham attack? tests are under way to find out. officers have now searched five properties. this is one of the two addresses in east london where police were seen in hazmat

suit. this image is the last known sighting of the suspect. he has a visible injury to his face. it is from king's cross tube station on wednesday at nine o'clock at night. he boards a victoria line train, heading southbound, where did it go from there? the attack happened around 90 minutes earlier in clapham. abdul shokoor ezedi is suspected of throwing a corrosive substance over a woman and her two young daughters. the 31—year—old mother is a critical but stable condition in hospital, with life changing injuries. the three—year—old and eight—year—old's injuries are not as serious as first thought. detectives here at scotland yard and other police services and agencies are working around the clock in what is an extensive manhunt. they have had dozens of calls from the public with possible sightings of abdul shokoor ezedi, but the police need more help and so again they are

appealing to anyone who may have seen him, or has information about him, to contact the police. there was in 2016, when abdul shokoor ezedi travelled on a lorry from afghanistan to the uk. in 2018, he was convicted of a sexual offence, and was given a suspended sentence at newcastle crown court. he was also put on a sex offenders register for ten years. later, he was granted asylum after two failed attempts. the search for abdul shokoor ezedi is now in its fourth day and, still, there has been no major breakthrough. the metropolitan police says it is committed to using every available tool and tactic for as long as it takes to find him. helena wilkinson, bbc news, at scotland yard. president biden appears to be on course for a big win in the first official democratic party primary ahead

of november's us presidential election. so far, mr biden has — as expected — secured more than 90% of the ballots. he said he would make donald trump a loser again in november. more than a quarter of south carolina's population is black, and it was the state's black voters who helped to secure mr biden�*s bid for the democratic nomination in 2020 by handing him his first win. let's talk to brandon drenon — our digital reporter — who's written a piece on the bbc website, asking the question — are black voters losing faith in joe biden? thank you for being with us. he spoke to black voters to help joe biden to victory in 2020, what are the biggest concerns? many voters i spoke with are still fairly discontented with economic conditions in their communities and several communities and several communities have the poverty rate hovering around 25%, one quarter of the population, and it's been like that for four plus years. they are frustrated

with that and what they feel are laid — lagging improvements to safety so many of those issues. how is the biden campaign trying to reach out to them this time? by by making south carolina the first official democratic primary, that was one big gesture. biden and his campaign had been on the ground a lot in january trying to connect the black voters in the state, he'd been to historical black universities, churches, barbershops and spent hundreds of thousands of voters trying to reach young, black voters in particular where enthusiasm seems to be the loader. would these voters — seems to be the loader. would these voters vote _ seems to be the loader. would these voters vote for _ seems to be the loader. would these voters vote for donald i these voters vote for donald trump? i spoke to quite a few people and more often than not the answer was no, but i did find a voter, maybe a0 miles north of the state's capital in a capital where they say cameras do not come quite often and it was quite neglected, lots of boarded and abandoned

buildings and one guy there said he was strongly considering voting for donald trump and he said he was sick of empty promises and eager for change. in terms of turnup, how critical is it to motivate the voters to turn up at the polling stations? jae voters to turn up at the polling stations? joe biden barely won. _ polling stations? joe biden barely won, beating - polling stations? joe biden| barely won, beating donald trump by five percentage points and being that black voters make up a large group of the democratic constituency, is important to get them out of their seats and into the ballot box if you want to beat donald trump in 202a because donald trump in 202a because donald trump appears to have a strong base of loyalist.— trump appears to have a strong base of loyalist. when he spoke to voters. _ base of loyalist. when he spoke to voters, how _ base of loyalist. when he spoke to voters, how concerned - base of loyalist. when he spoke to voters, how concerned were l to voters, how concerned were they with events overseas or tension in the middle east and so on? ,, , ., so on? quite frustrated. some ofthe so on? quite frustrated. some of the younger _ so on? quite frustrated. some of the younger voters - so on? quite frustrated. some of the younger voters i - so on? quite frustrated. some of the younger voters i spoke l of the younger voters i spoke to are unhappy with the stanza joe biden and what seems to be unwavering support for israel but going back to the economic bit, quite a bit of frustration

with people watching the biden administration send millions of dollars overseas to assist in other wars, dollars overseas to assist in otherwars, meanwhile, as dollars overseas to assist in other wars, meanwhile, as they pointed out, people in their communities are sleeping homeless in the bus stop down the street from where they live or work. they can be frustrating for them as well. and you can read brendan's article on our website. sinn fein�*s michelle 0'neill has made history by being appointed northern ireland's first nationalist first minister. as politicians gathered at stormont, a power sharing government was restored after an absence of two years. the democratic unionist party agreed to the recall on the back of a deal with the uk government earlier this week on post—brexit trading rules. addressing the chamber, ms 0'neill pledged to "serve everyone equally" and speaking to the bbc she said a referendum on a united ireland was closer than many expect. i think

ithinka i think a lot of the old norms are gone and i think that as we move further into the next decade, a lot of things are changing in terms of our island and the opportunity to get towards an referendum is absolutely possible. —— ireland. the grammys take place in los angeles on sunday evening. the awards celebrate the best of the music industry and this year are dominated by female artists. only one male artist is up for the top prize of record of the year. taylor swift is predicted to top—off a hugely successful year, having already broken a grammy record, becoming the first songwriter to score seven nominations for song of the year. emma vardy reports from los angeles. talk to myself or ours... women improper having an excellent year, dominating most of the main categories at music's biggest night... mean, hi, i'm the problem... it's hard to imagine a more successful 12

months for taylor swift after her record—breaking errors talk, anti hero, all about self—loathing is favourite to win some of the year. it makes it the most nominated songwriter ever in that category. but she faces tough competition with 0livia rodrigo, miley cyrus and cicero also battling out the record the year. although their songs have a variety of songs, many critics agree that what these female artists have in common is an ability to write deeply personal and touching lyrics. that is something billy eilish is recognised for for her hit in the barbie film. it does this marked a turning point in the music business, still seen as a heavily male dominated industry? t as a heavily male dominated indust ? ~ as a heavily male dominated industry?— as a heavily male dominated indust ? ~' . ., , industry? i think the grammars can be a bit _ industry? i think the grammars can be a bit delayed. _ industry? i think the grammars can be a bit delayed. i- industry? i think the grammars can be a bit delayed. i think. can be a bit delayed. i think they can get it right but not necessarily at the right time. i even think the fact that this year it is all women dominating, a lot of people could argue that women have

been dominating pop music for several years so to see it happening 202a also feels delayed. happening 2024 also feels dela ed. ~ ., ., delayed. while women are exoeeted _ delayed. while women are expected to sweep - delayed. while women are expected to sweep the - delayed. while women are i expected to sweep the board delayed. while women are - expected to sweep the board in the big categories this year more than ever before, there is also a whole host of awards for the work that happens behind the work that happens behind the scenes and it is here where there is far less women involved when it comes to the music producers and sound engineers, the industry still overwhelmingly male. another challenge facing the six decades old grammys is that in the era of streaming, live television audiences for award ceremonies have decreased. so do awards still matter to music fans? t do awards still matter to music fans? ~' .,, do awards still matter to music fans? ~ ., , ., do awards still matter to music fans? ~' . , ., ., fans? i think most fans do not need an awards _ fans? i think most fans do not need an awards show - fans? i think most fans do not need an awards show to - fans? i think most fans do not need an awards show to tell i need an awards show to tell them who is popular but i still think people like tuning in. people like a little bit of drama. people want to root for their favourite artist and be mad if they don't win and start a conversation online. so i really do think the grammys matter, but whether or not they would you into tv they will engage in what is happening online. tt

engage in what is happening online. , ., engage in what is happening online. , . ., online. it is a night said to be a celebration _ online. it is a night said to be a celebration of - online. it is a night said to be a celebration of femalej be a celebration of female voices and monitor the music industry is still a man's world, it will not feel like that on stage tonight. emma vardy, bbc news, los angeles. and it all kicks off at 20:30 gmt on sunday evening, with the main show at 01:00gmt on monday. you'll find lots more useful information about this year's grammys on our website including the top nine things you need to know. who's a bigger rock star: mick or 0livia? that's just one of the questions posed. just head to bbc.com/news — or use the bbc news app. a reminder of our main story again: the us and the uk have carried out fresh strikes on more than 30 targets linked to the iran—backed houthi rebels in yemen. they were supported by six other countries, as they continue attempts to stop the houthis targeting ships in the red sea. 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. 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 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.

—— by putting buildings in fire prone areas.

this is bbc news, the headlines. 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 after the us launched strikes on 85 targets in syria and iraq on friday in response to a deadly drone attack on a us military base. more than 50 people have been killed and dozens are missing in what's believed to be the deadliest wildfire on record in chile. more than 1,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed. the fires have been driven higher—than—usual temperatures and strong winds. the hunt continues for a man suspected of a corrosive substance attack on a mother and her daughters in south london.

officers have now searched five properties in london