welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm steve lai. the headlines... the united states says air strikes against iranian—backed militias in the middle east have been effective, but officials insist more attacks are needed. as pakistan prepares to go to the polls this week — opposition parties turn to technology to get their message out to the voters. and we report on the buildup to the grammy awards — set to be dominated this year by female artists.

our top story this hour — the us says there will be more attacks against houthi forces in yemen after overnight american and uk airstrikes, which hit more than thirty positions. the houthis, who are backed by iran, have been targetting vessels in the red sea since november — they say this is in support of the palestinians in gaza. they are one of several militias in the middle east with iranian backing. the us targeted others in syria and iraq earlier this weekend — and there have been funerals today in iraq's capital baghdad after 17 people were killed. our international editorjeremy bowen considers whether there is any chance of a cessation of the conflict at the heart of all this — between israel and hamas in gaza. rfjust took off rf just took off from cyprus for the long flight to hit houthi targets in yemen. other western allies also affected by who the attacks on

shipping decided not tojoin affected by who the attacks on shipping decided not to join the american air strikes. britain said these rates do not escalate a widening war in the middle east. others in the middle east and beyond say that they do. others in the middle east and beyond say that they do. in yemen, the houthis re—enacted the hamas attacks on israel that started the war. they get their weapons from iran. the latest air strikes, like america's in iraq and syria, are aimed at forcing iran to rein in its proxies and allies. in yemen, the houthis celebrating hamas hostagetaking have said out their attacks. when the war in gaza does. in gaza, most people do not get the chance to queue for food. aid workers told me that even the 45 day ceasefire currently being talked about might not be long enough to tackle gaza's huge humanitarian crisis. but, all sides need a ceasefire.

a pause or an end to the killing might stop the wider middle east war escalating. palestinian civilians in the ruins of gaza need some hope. so do the families of the israeli hostages held by hamas. their pictures are everywhere, and the square in tel aviv where they have a 24—7 protest. there is an installation representing the tunnels under gaza where the hostages are held. israelis were told, only destroying hamas would get them back. but, their army hasn't managed that yet. so, families are demanding a ceasefire. here in tel aviv and right across the middle east warnings are coming thick and fast about the danger of this moment. a cease—fire in gaza at least buys time. us secretary is state antony blinken

is heading for saudi arabia. he'll then travel to egypt, qatar, israel and the occupied west bank. mr blinken will focus on efforts to agree a truce between israel and hamas that would allow aid into gaza strip and help secure the release of israeli hostages. meanwhile, mediators are awaiting the response of hamas — a group designated as terrorist by the us and the uk governments to a proposalfor a pause in flighting in the gaza strip. during the negotiations, key players the us, israel, qatar and egypt use complex channels to reach agreement between the two sides. to know more about the complex mechanics involved, i'm joined by randa slim, senior fellow and director of conflict resolution and track 2 dialogue programme at the middle east institute in washington. welcome to bbc news. a long—term stop to the fighting still appears someway off, but there may be a second pause since the conflict began in october last year. what are the mechanics

of putting that together? good to be with you. there have been a number of proposals until recently about how to start this pause. finally they have come to gather around one proposal. it is a framework proposal based on what other principles to underpin this agreement for the and proposal could go anywhere from 45 days to 60 days as it's being talked about —— the paws. now they are awaiting the response from hamas. the israeli war cabinet has agreed to the framework agreement proposal. hamas, there is still disagreement among the leadership, i think. still disagreement among the leadership, ithink. those still disagreement among the leadership, i think. those in verses those out about whether they should seek a temporary halt in the fighting or they should go for a permanent cease—fire for that which israel will not agree to. once they

had the ok from hamas qatar seems to be positive they will get it eventually from hamas. then they can proceed to ironing out the details. then the devil lies in the details but both sides i think, israel and hamas are at the stage where they need some kind of a temporary cessation of hostilities, release of hostages, release of palestinian prisoners and more importantly, increase in humanitarian assistance. remind us they role that qatar and egypt play here. bath remind us they role that qatar and egypt play here-— remind us they role that qatar and egypt play here. both of them have aood egypt play here. both of them have good patients _ egypt play here. both of them have good patients with _ egypt play here. both of them have good patients with hamas. - egypt play here. both of them have good patients with hamas. both - egypt play here. both of them have l good patients with hamas. both have good patients with hamas. both have good relations with israel. the two parties to this conflict, egypt has intelligence services have bad relation with hamas based where the guitars because political office in

dalhart they have external leadership of hamas access. both parties have good relations with israel, leadership, especially intelligence leadership. thank you for our intelligence leadership. thank you for your insight. _ let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. the daughter of a woman who died after being attacked by two dogs in essex has told the bbc that she believed they were the banned xl bully breed. esther martin, who was 68, died at the scene of the attack near clacton—on—sea on saturday. police say they are working to identify the breeds of the dogs. a 39—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous dog offences. police have charged a fourth person in connection with the murders of two teenagers in bristol. the 17—year—old — who can't be named for legal reasons will appear before magistrates tomorrow. mason rist, who was 15,

and 16—year—old max dixon died in hospital after being attacked in the knowle west area just over a week ago. police in london say the suspect in a chemical attack on wednesday, used a "very strong concentrated corrosive substance" against a mother and her daughters. police are offering a reward of up to £20—thousand for information leading to his arrest. abdul shokoor ezedi was last seen leaving tower hill tube station on wednesday night, hours after the attack. a 31—year—old woman suffered potentially life—changing injuries. to el salvador now where polls have just closed in the presidential elections with president nayib bukele expected to win another landslide victory. the campaign has been dominated by the president's war on gangs. he's credited with slashing

the country's homicide rate and making el salvador one of the safest places in latin america, but critics have described his two year crackdown on street gangs as draconian. pakistan is heading to the polls this week. but there are questions about how free or fair these elections will be. former prime minister imran khan is disqualified from running and received three jail sentences this week, keeping him in prison for 14 years. his party, the pti, had their electoral symbol of a cricket bat removed, meaning all candidates are now running as independents. they have alleged there is a campaign of intimidation, abduction and harassment against them. the authorities have denied it. our pakistan correspondent, caroline davies, reports. a public return. nawaz sharif has been prime minister three times. back from self—imposed exile last year, he's looking likely to win a fourth. in 2018, he was the one in prison when imran khan won. the tables have turned. this time these elections are overshadowed by allegations

that the state is turned against imran khan and his party. some of his candidates have found new ways to campaign. atif khan conducts rallies on a screen — he's hiding from the police. surreal as this is, this isn't the only one of the candidates backed by imran khan's party that are running their campaign remotely. others are also doing it from hiding, whether that's online, social media — some are even running their campaign from prison. many see this as a reversal of what happened last election. your opponents will say that you celebrated when they were being targeted, when they were being put in jail. do you regret that now? should you have done more? no—one should celebrate anyone's conviction. we also have made mistakes. i hope we learn from those mistakes and hope that we don't repeat that. the authorities deny there's a campaign against the party. we find these allegations baseless and absurd.

yes, people have been arrested, but those arrests were made, some related to may 9th incidents, and some involved in other criminal cases. 9th of may is when imran khan's arrest led to violent protests. hundreds of his supporters were jailed and many of his leadership team left... parting ways with| politics for now... ..including ex—minister usman dar. now dar�*s mother, who has never been in politics, is campaigning in his old seat... translation: i am with imran khan and will stay with imran khan. - if i'm left alone in public, i will still carry imran khan's flag and take to the streets. imran khan himself is in prison, serving several sentences. jailing political leaders is not new in pakistan. there is a clear and sustained

pressure that the pti has had to absorb that is not dissimilar to the pressures other parties have absorbed. this is the set piece. when you decide to fall out with the military, you better have the preparation that will allow you to take on the military and win. the pti are marching on. but will their potential voters feel despondent at each new blow or void to come out? caroline davies, bbc news, multan. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bbc news — bringing you different stories from across the uk. - it's a feat of engineering, moo tonnes of steel, seven years in the planning. great yarmouth�*s long awaited third river crossing. today, hundreds gathered for the grand opening. we pray you bless this bridge and all who pass over it and those who sail through it.

back in 1933, thousands turned out for the opening of the town's haven bridge by the prince of wales. in the crowds, then, jenna brown, who at the sprightly age of 105, was guest of honour at today's opening. i was in school and we were all lined up as children and cried lined up as children and crowds the people and the then prince of wales opened it. yes. here you are now at the third river crossing. seeing that open, too, its a wonderful thing. what accounts. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. - you're live with bbc news. indonesia's general election enters the final 10—day stretch up to the 1a february vote following the fifth and final debate between the three presidential candidates on sunday with online attacks seen as a threat to the process.

the polls will elect a new president the parliament. however, if no presidential candidate could cross the 50 % threshold for an outright victory, a runoff vote will follow between the top two candidates. live now to jati savitri sekargati, a doctoral candidate and researcher on media and journalism at glasgow caledonian university. welcome to bbc news. incumbent presidentjoko widodo has reached his term limit. so indonesia will have a new president, does that heighten public interest? yes, that has heightened public interest. social media is also expected the battleground of hateful content and disinformation ahead of the election. your research has shown that public comment online for preferred candidates and parties has often veered into hate speech ? what are some of the examples and the consequence there? my my research last year during june

and july was part of the greater internet freedom project. i monitored horrible content on social media and ifound monitored horrible content on social media and i found at least 60 instances of hate speech for the 45 had political overtones targeting presidential candidates. before they were named as presidential candidates by the indonesian election commission. i can give you an example of the first candidate mentioned on x, previously twitter with hashtag in english means a lying governor. there also posts of one minute videos with muslim religious leaders, as we know in the 2017 election jakarta religious leaders, as we know in the 2017 electionjakarta election this was backed an islamic defender group. the second candidate on x was mentioned with a hashtag in english

is outlier. also a dangerous man. also a dangerous man. it's not just hate speech that is a concern, deep fakes and disinfrmation too. it's hard to police. yes. it's getting complicated to be recognised as we need to report instantly to the social media platform. each social media platform has a an internal feature that we can report everything that is against their community guidelines. jati savitri sekargati, thank you for your time. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. wildfires raging in the centre of chile have now killed at least 99 people. officials have warned that the figure is likely to rise significantly. emergency teams have been struggling to control the fires, which have spread rapidly across the valparaiso region.

more than a thousand homes have been destroyed. the forest fires are thought to be the deadliest ever recorded in chile. officials in the us state of california have issued evacuation orders ahead of a potentially major storm. forecasters have warned of hurricane—force winds and potentially deadly floods between santa barbara and los angeles. some schools have already cancelled classes on monday. it's the second time in a matter of days that california has been hit by torrential rain and high winds. the kenyan government says the number of people who died in a huge gas explosion in nairobi on thursday has risen to six. more than fifty others are still receiving treatment in hospital. a lorry laden with gas canisters blew up just before midnight in a densely populated area of the city, causing several fires. on saturday president william ruto blamed incompetent and corrupt government officials for allowing the plant to operate in a residential area.

the grammy awards, celebrating the best of the music industry, are taking place tonight. stars including taylor swift, olivia rodrigo, miley cyrus and lana del rey have multiple nominations in a female—led field. our los angeles correspondent emma vardy is on the red carpet. dominating musics biggest night. it's hard to imagine a more successful 12 months for taylor swift after her record—breaking errors tour, auntie hero is a favourite to win record of the year. it makes her the most nominated songwriter in the category. she faces tough competition with olivia roderigo, miley cyrus and says are battling it out for record of the

year. —— sza. does this mark a turning point in the music business which is still seen as a heavily male industry? i which is still seen as a heavily male industry?— which is still seen as a heavily male indust ? ~ ., , ., , male industry? i think that grammies can be a bit delayed. _ male industry? i think that grammies can be a bit delayed. i— male industry? i think that grammies can be a bit delayed. i think- male industry? i think that grammies can be a bit delayed. i think they - can be a bit delayed. i think they 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's all women dominating but a lot of women have been dominating music for several years. been dominating music for several ears. :: :: been dominating music for several ears. :: z: ., , ., , been dominating music for several ears. :: z: ., , ., years. 2020 foretells a bit late. it's a nice _ years. 2020 foretells a bit late. it's a nice set _ years. 2020 foretells a bit late. it's a nice set to _ years. 2020 foretells a bit late. it's a nice set to be _ years. 2020 foretells a bit late. it's a nice set to be a _ years. 2020 foretells a bit late. | it's a nice set to be a celebration of female voices. our correspondent emma vardy is in los angles for the latest. there's a whole host of awards to get through before you get to the really big categories. and so the next couple of hours, we're expecting to see the likes of taylor swift and lots of big names coming down here. and women are really dominating in those big categories this year. virtually every nominee this year is a female artist up for those big awards. so really exciting and particularly significant for the grammys because it is an awards ceremony that has faced some accusations

of overlooking female artists in the past. well, it's undoubtedly a huge year for taylor swift. of course, she's everywhere, isn't she? she's coming off the back of her record breaking errores tour. ——eras tourso she's a big favourite to win the album of the year award. if she gets it again this year, she will have broken records and really made history here. but it's a really competitive field when it comes to the women. you've got the likes of billie eilish and dua lipa of billie eilish and dua lipa up for their hits from the barbie soundtrack. they're also facing competition from miley cyrus, olivia, rodrigo and sza is the artist here tonight who's got the most nominations overall. so a really tough field. it really interesting, though, to see female artists dominating like this. but of course, it's notjust about who walks away with the trophies. those coveted little golden gramophones. the grammys is also very much watched for the musical performances on stage. and tonight, there's going to be a live remote performance from las vegas, from u2. but what everyone's really excited about is this legendary comeback from joni mitchell, the artist

who's now 80 years old. she almost died back in 2015 from a brain aneurysm, made a remarkable return, had to relearn how to play guitar. and she is going to be singing on stage tonight. and i think that's going to have a lot of affection from everybody. so a real celebration of female voices tonight across several generations. facebook is marking its twentieth anniversary today. it has grown from a network for harvard university students to one of the biggest online platforms in the world. but it has also come under increased pressure from regulators and triggered numerous concerns. our technology correspondent james clayton looks back at a turbulent two decades. for me, there are two chapters for facebook over the last 20 years. the first is more than a decade's worth of exponential growth. people signed up in their droves. it was almost impossible to find someone who wasn't on facebook, and the platform

was relatively uncontroversial. but then the next chapter began to develop, a very unwanted chapter for facebook. they don't care whether or not what they do is legal as long as it gets the job done. first came the cambridge analytica scandal, which involved the misuse of data to micro—target voters in both the brexit referendum and the 2016 us presidential election. and then there was the frances haugen scandal, the whistleblower who said that facebook was putting profits over safety, particularly over young women and girls. only this week, mark zuckerberg was asked to apologise to families who said their children had been harmed by social media. no—one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered. two years ago, mark zuckerberg changed facebook�*s name to meta. now, officially, that was because he wanted it to better reflect his vision of a company that was going to build a metaverse. but, unofficially, the brand had become toxic.

in making this piece, we wanted to film next to meta's famous sign. sir, you can't be filming. no recordings? no recording. that is what meta is now, it is a lot more nervous of the media than it used to be. meta now, of course, is a lot more than just facebook. it owns whatsapp, it owns instagram, and it also has its own vr headset. and that's where mark zuckerberg thinks the future lies — in vr. he believes that the world is shifting from a place where people connect online to a world where people want to connect virtually. the problem, though, is that mark zuckerberg has already spent tens of billions of dollars building the metaverse, and there's very little evidence to suggest that people really want to spend much time in vr chatting to their friends. the world is kind of appealing, and that's mark zuckerberg's major problem. he might think that the vision of the future is the metaverse,

but it makes all of its money through social media, and that makes trying to predict what meta's going to look like in even a year's time or two years' time pretty difficult to do. lionel messi is considered one of the best footballers in the world. lionel messi was booed in hong kong after he sat out inter miami's pre—season friendly with an injury. he spent 90 minutes sat on the bench. the mls club were playing a hong kong select 11, but both messi — who picked up the hamstring strain in saudi arabia and new signing luis suarez weren't fit enough to take part. intermiami won 4—1. fans who'd paid up to $600 for a ticket weren't happy when messi stayed on the bench. inter miami head coach gerardo tata martino had this to say after the game. translation: well, first. and foremost, we feel really flattered by the way we've been treated in hong kong

for the past few days. the truth is, everyone has shown us lots of affection. secondly, we understand the disappointment from the crowd because lionel messi and luis suarez were absent from the game. this decision was made based on advice from the medical team, as we were running the risk of aggravating their injuries and that's why they couldn't be part of this game. football in asia is strongly supported and a law of the teams when they come over to asia can be seen by some fans is a bit of it opportunity and they get very upset when they are not seen playing. chances of refund were ringing around the stadium and that was altering david beckham speech at the end of the match. he is the co—owner of inter—miami. you can find out more about that story on our

website. hello. there is a change on the way. this week we will see colder weather pushing down from the north, but that change to colder conditions will not be quick. and it won't be straightforward either. as that cold air pushes erratically southwards, we will see some rain. some of us may well see some snow at the moment. most places are in this mild air, cold air across the north of scotland and along the boundary between these two air masses where we have a weather fronts. and this will continue to bring some heavy and persistent rain across the north and the west of scotland. the met office still has this yellow warning in force. by the time all is said and done, we may well have seen up to 170 millimetres of rain falling in the wettest locations, some snow mixing in on the northern edge of our weather front as it engages some colder air.

t the south of our weather front to the south of our weather front well, extensive cloud cover, some mist and murk, some spots of rain and drizzle, particularly for western coast and hills. again, it will be breezy, but miles, 12, 13 degrees cold in northern scotland, just three there in lerwick. now, as we move through monday night, eventually that front will get a kick southwards. so that rain pushing southwards across scotland into northern ireland and northern england. some wintry showers following into northern scotland. temperatures here will drop close to freezing further south, exceptionally mild to start tuesday morning to the south of wriggling a weather front. that fronts will be slicing the country into really on tuesday. some rain across parts of northern ireland, the far south of scotland, into northern england, north wales. we may see something wintry mixing in over higher ground as that colder air digs in from the north. certainly some snow in the showers, even to quite low levels across parts of scotland. still for the time being, very mild in the south, highs of 1a degrees. but that weather front looks like it will clear southwards into wednesday, may be lingering across the channel islands,

but elsewhere some spells of sunshine, some wintry showers across the northern half of the uk and temperatures lower for just about all of us. and then as we get into thursday, a lot of uncertainty about this aspect of the forecast. low pressure expected to spin in from the southwest as this front pushes northwards into the cold air it may be that some of us see some quite significant snow. a lot of uncertainty about exactly where that might happen. it's likely to stay mild in the south, colder in the north.

we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi. the conflict in sudan that broke out last april has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. about 11 million people have been forced to flee their homes and more than 13,000 have died. the fighting continues between the sudan armed forces, which is headed by general abdel fattah al—burhan, the de facto president of sudan, and his erstwhile deputy general, mohamed dagalo — better known as hemedti — who heads the rapid support forces militia, the rsf.

my guest is the former prime minister abdalla hamdok,