live from london, this is bbc news. the us says strikes on iran—linked targets are just the beginning as secretary of state antony blinken heads to the region for his fifth visit since the october 7 hamas attacks. uk prime minister rishi sunak hails a "special opportunity" for northern ireland as he begins a visit marking the return of power—sharing government. chile's deadliest forest fire on record claims at least 112 lives in the valparaiso region local authorities say. and talyor swifts makes history at the grammy awards becoming the first artist to win best album four times.

hello, i'm sally bundock — welcome to the programme. the white house has warned that its air strikes on iran—backed targets in iraq and syria arejust "the beginning, not the end" of its response to iran. national security adviser jake sullivan told us media on sunday "there will be more steps". the warning comes as us secretary of state antony blinken embarks on his fifth trip to the middle east in the past four months. the us is responding to the deaths of three soldiers in an enemy drone attack on a military base in jordan last week. though iran denies involvement, its affiliate the islamic resistance in iraq has claimed responsibility. the us accuses tehran of having its fingerprints on the attack and said the drone was iranian—made. the british prime minister, rishi sunak, has said the uk carried outjoint airstrikes with the united states on houthi targets in

yemen in "self defence". mr sunak said the houthis�* attacks on shipping in the red sea and gulf of aden had put lives at risk and were having economic consequences. let's look a little more in depth at what the us secretary of state is hoping to achieve on his middle east tour. a us official says antony blinken will push for progress on a hostage deal that includes a humanitarian pause. talk to arab nations about what happens the day after a deal is struck, and we're told blinken plans to talk directly to countries in the region about the scope of us actions taken in retaliation for the deaths of us service members last week. the warnings come as us secretary of state antony blinken embarks on his fifth trip to the middle east in the past four months.

with me is mohamed taha from bbc arabic. good morning to you. the new week begins. talk through what you are seeing and hearing in the arabic press about this. after we were talking last week that it was imminent, after many statements from the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and some of his ministers, we can see that this truce, talks needs some work. benjamin netanyahu and his team do not want to stop the war, not withdraw completely from gaza. he still thinks he can get the hostages out with military action and there is that mounting pressure on him from the united states and from inside israel to accept this truce. some of these efforts

are made by the foreign minister antony blinken. i5 are made by the foreign minister antony blinken. is it thou~ht minister antony blinken. is it thought that _ minister antony blinken. is it thought that is _ minister antony blinken. is it thought that is his _ minister antony blinken. is it thought that is his priority on this trip, to broker this deal? we have been talking about it for more than a week now. you and i were saying last week it could be soon.— could be soon. this is on top of his priorities _ could be soon. this is on top of his priorities which - could be soon. this is on top of his priorities which is - could be soon. this is on top of his priorities which is why| of his priorities which is why is starting his visit from saudi arabia. apparently benjamin netanyahu wants widen his choices a little bit so if he would stop the war, he would want to appear in front of his people as he is going to broker a peace deal with saudi arabia. this is supported is government. practically sally benjamin netanyahu would accept a ceasefire or a long ceasefire that might mean the fall of his government, that is why he is pressing into khan younis where 127 people died in the last 2a

hours and there is intensified fighting. hours and there is intensified fiuuhtin. �* , hours and there is intensified fiuuhtin. , , ., fighting. briefly before we let ou no fighting. briefly before we let you go talk — fighting. briefly before we let you go talk as _ fighting. briefly before we let you go talk as to _ fighting. briefly before we let you go talk as to what - fighting. briefly before we let you go talk as to what is - fighting. briefly before we let| you go talk as to what is being said in the arab world about the strikes on iran— backed targets on the weekend. the united states _ targets on the weekend. the united states is _ targets on the weekend. the united states is in _ targets on the weekend. tue: united states is in an targets on the weekend. tte: united states is in an open war in two main places in the middle east. the united states striking targets in iraq market, and targets in yemen as well and the united states announced that they targeted more than 11 posts in the wright. at the moment there are many deaths. , iraq mac. there will be funerals for those who have died. they are furious and say iraq mac should not be the place where united states should retaliate. in yemen as well, there are more than 50 strikes the united states made

but the houthis are also replying that they would not back off and will keep striking the american ships, which is going on the red sea. we will see ou going on the red sea. we will see you again _ going on the red sea. we will see you again soon. _ going on the red sea. we will see you again soon. thank - going on the red sea. we will. see you again soon. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. us senators have announced a long—sought bipartisan bill that aims to combat illegal immigration and in return unlock funding for ukraine in its war against russia. the package, worth nearly $120 billion allocates $20 billion to border security and $60 billion to kyiv. a state of emergency has been declared in southern california as a powerful winter storm makes landfall. people had been told to evacuate ahead of the potentially life threatening weather event, which is bringing high winds, flooding and heavy snowfall between santa barbara and los angeles. some schools have already cancelled classes on monday. the australian writer yang hengjun has been given

a suspended death sentence in beijing, almost five years after he was arrested on charges of spying. yang, legally known as yang jun, is a chinese—born pro—democracy writer, blogger and political commentator who became an australian citizen in 2002. he was detained when he flew from new york into china in 2019 and charged with espionage. voters in paris have approved a plan to triple parking fees for people from outside the city driving suvs in the french capital. the referendum is part of the mayor's drive to make the streets of paris safer and greener. the british prime minister has arrived in northern ireland to mark the return of a power sharing government. two years ago, the democratic unionist party walked out in protest against post—brexit trade agreements. they have now endorsed a deal to restart the political institutions. charlotte gallagher reports.

rishi sunak is back in belfast, meeting staff and volunteers at an air ambulance station.- an air ambulance station. well, it is great _ an air ambulance station. well, it is great to — an air ambulance station. well, it is great to be _ an air ambulance station. well, it is great to be back— an air ambulance station. well, it is great to be back in - it is great to be back in northern ireland this evening, a special part of our united kingdom. a special part of our united kingdom-— a special part of our united kinudom. , ., kingdom. this morning he will face a tough — kingdom. this morning he will face a tough crowd, _ kingdom. this morning he will face a tough crowd, politicians at stormont. they went back to work on saturday after two years of political chaos. it was a landmark moment, with sinn fein�*s michelle 0'neill becoming northern ireland �*s first ever nationalist first minister. t first ever nationalist first minister-— first ever nationalist first minister. ~' , .,. minister. i think the very fact the very first _ minister. i think the very fact the very first time _ minister. i think the very fact the very first time a - the very first time a nationalist has been elected as first minister speaks volumes of the changes across ireland and i say again today, we are ina and i say again today, we are in a decade of opportunity. emma little pengelly of the democratic unionist party is now �*s assistant now 's assistant first minister.— now 's assistant first minister. ~ ., ~ ., .,

minister. we will work hard to deliver for— minister. we will work hard to deliver for all— minister. we will work hard to deliver for all of _ minister. we will work hard to deliver for all of northern - deliver for all of northern ireland. , ., ' deliver for all of northern ireland. , q g; g; ireland. they were offered £35 billion for public— ireland. they were offered £35 billion for public services - ireland. they were offered £35 billion for public services to - billion for public services to get evolution back up and running. they say they need more but the prime minister seems to be ruling that out. £3.73 seems to be ruling that out. £35 billion represents a generous and fair settlement for northern ireland and crucially it is sustainable and it's about ensuring public finances in northern ireland are sustainable for the long—term. that is the approach we have taken that i think will really benefit everyone here. also it stormont today, leo varadkar, the irish prime minister. michelle believes there will be a referendum about a united ireland the next decade. so what does the prime minister think?— minister think? everyone is committed _ minister think? everyone is committed to _ minister think? everyone is committed to the _ minister think? everyone is committed to the belfast . minister think? everyone is . committed to the belfast good friday agreement but also people agree that now is the time for delivering on the day—to—day issues that matter to families and people and businesses in northern ireland. a border poll will undoubtably be an issue in the years ahead. as politicians get back to work

today, there are plenty of immediate issues like hospital waiting lists and public sector pay that voters want dealing with. in 20 minutes when we focus on the top business stories i'll be talking to the head of federation of small businesses for northern ireland get his take on the new deal that has been brokered and what it means for trade between northern ireland, uk and the european union. the authorities in chile say wildfires raging in the centre of the country have now killed at least 112 people. an interior ministry official said there were still a0 active fires across chile. earlier, the president warned that the number of people confirmed dead was likely to rise ignificantly. 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. the government is investigating whether some blazes were started deliberately.

let's speak to henna hundal who is who is delegate to the un climate change conferences. good to talk to you again. what are you hearing about these wildfires? they are unusual, having a huge impact, 112 dead. it's an incredibly unfortunate situation and in a situation like this, the one known is that there is so much unknown and more information will be made available hour by hour. it was announced initially there were 99 deaths accounted for and that has risen to 112. there is an estimate of between 3000 and 6000 homes destroyed. in the valparaiso region which is a very important port city, officials have said hundreds of millions of dollars�* worth of damage has been created, so it�*s a devastating situation all around. there are reports of medical students being recruited to seven temporary bill hospitals, a lot of

devastation ongoing and president gabriel boric has set a disaster of this scale has not been seen since the 2010 earthquake which it chile. tt�*s earthquake which it chile. it's an unfortunate situation. also calls for international help and aid. what has been the response so far?— response so far? the international- response so far? the i international community response so far? tt;e: international community will be receptive to supporting as they try to battle these wildfires. we saw just last try to battle these wildfires. we sawjust last month, colombia was dealing with their share of buyers in the present was able to put out a call for international aid and we saw chile, the brew, the united states and canada to support so we think the international community will help. , peru. wildfires of this scale in chile up the rare. there will be questions about what has started this and why was able to spread so rapidly and be so devastating this time.- devastating this time. there are some — devastating this time. there are some government - devastating this time. there l are some government officials

who said they expected that there might be one or multiple people who started the spies intentionally but what is interesting is that they were able to spread so rapidly and cause destruction. , fires. just in the past week, there were record high temperatures. we see high—speed winds and drier conditions in the western region of south america, small disc and propagate fires and thatis disc and propagate fires and that is what is making it difficult to be contained. 0f difficult to be contained. of the 161 active fires, about 102 were considered to be controlled. it was earlier today. i�*m sure they are doing more efforts on that front now but president gabriel boric came into office on this ambitious agenda so wouldn�*t put it past him to utilise this opportunity regardless of investigations about who set these fires or if that is how they started. i think he will use this as an opportunity to can need to push forward his

climate agenda, recognising the fires of this scale and devastation are apart able to be by the conditions relate to human induced climate change. t human induced climate change. i was going to ask that question. un climate change conferences, you are constantly pushing for governments to recognise the impact of climate change so that their policy decisions going forward will be countering the impact or trying to prevent future extreme weather events. this adds to that, doesn�*t it, it adds to your case, i suppose? that, doesn�*t it, it adds to your case, isuppose? tt your case, isuppose? tt absolutely adds to the case and we see this microcosm, this one incident how much devastation it causes. we had thousands of people having to be evacuated from their homes, many deaths not accounted. president boric said the death toll will increase unfortunately. there is preparation as well, the president called a two—day mourning period which

underscores the impacts of climate change, so many crises and people in distress and worried about the future but it could come to a head. due president boric�*s credit he has a climate forward agenda and he will take a tragedy like this and figure out a way to bring the country together and highlight the importance of putting chile on the map in terms of its climate ambitions. thank you once again for joining us, hannah. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let�*s look at some other stories making news. 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. a 39—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous dog offences. 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 £20,000 for information leading to his arrest. abdul shokoor ezedi was last seen leaving tower hill tube station on wednesday night. 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 later. 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. you�*re live with bbc news. nayib bukele has claimed victory in the presidential election in el salvador, even though no official results have been released. he has been credited with sharply reducing the murder rate. last year, the murder rate fell to its lowest in three decades. but he�*s faced criticism over human rights violations and the methods used

to tackle violent crime. for more, let�*s hear from our latin america correspondent will grant who is in el salvador�*s capital, san salvador. let�*s talk more about how the incumbent, nayib bukele, has claimed victory. tie incumbent, nayib bukele, has claimed victory.— claimed victory. he claimed victory but _ claimed victory. he claimed victory but he _ claimed victory. he claimed victory but he said - claimed victory. he claimed victory but he said he - claimed victory. he claimed victory but he said he has . claimed victory. he claimed victory but he said he has a| victory but he said he has a margin of over 85% another partial results are coming in, looks like with a court of the votes counted, he does have someone in the region of 1,100,000 votes and his nearest challenger, just 94,000 so with his estimate of somewhere in the region of 85% of the vote, he is probably not wrong when the votes are tallied. is also saying they�*ve taken the

legislative assembly a huge margin. all but two seats. that one we definitely need to wait one we definitely need to wait on all the official results from over the country but it looks like it has been a very good light for him. . looks like it has been a very good light for him.- good light for him. , night. his popularity _ good light for him. , night. his popularity has - good light for him. , night. his popularity has soared l his popularity has soared because of his crackdown on violent crime which is changed society for many. talk is through that and the criticism about his methods. et through that and the criticism about his methods. el salvador has been plagued _ about his methods. el salvador has been plagued by _ about his methods. el salvador has been plagued by two - about his methods. el salvador has been plagued by two main | has been plagued by two main drug st banks for many, many years. the ms13 and the 18th st gang, which control swathes of the country, entire communities, submitting the population to intimidation and murder and rape, constant gang violence, into niece on violence, into niece on violence between gangs and their splinter groups. sometime

in 2022, nayib bukele launched what he called the state of exception and it was a huge clampdown, some 75,000 people arrested. in amongst them are many thousands of innocent people, people have no clear affiliation to gang crime but certainly it is change the face of el salvador. gang crime is in a negligible level now and as we�*ve seen, the populace and the electorate are very thankful for that. the electorate are very thankfulfor that. that the electorate are very thankful for that. that radical and quite draconian method of dealing with the gangs. what and quite draconian method of dealing with the gangs. what is likel to dealing with the gangs. what is likely to happen _ dealing with the gangs. what is likely to happen is _ dealing with the gangs. what is likely to happen is that - dealing with the gangs. what is likely to happen is that he - likely to happen is that he will be sworn in injune and his second term will begin. absolutely. he had to stand down for six months before june. he is not currently officially president, even though he is quite clearly the president behind the scenes. there was an order of him to be able to stand for re—election.

that was granted by the constitutional court here or the constitutional chamber of the constitutional chamber of the sub dream court. critics say that is a loyalist body that he filled with loyalist justices but they have granted him the right to stand for re—election. he is now done that and we see this overwhelming majority, it will take office for another five years in the summer. itrai’itt years in the summer. will grant, thank _ years in the summer. will grant, thank you - years in the summer. will grant, thank you very - years in the summer. will grant, thank you very much. taylor swift stole the show at this year�*s grammy awards, becoming the first performer to win the prize for album of the year four times. the singer had previously been tied on three best album wins, with stevie wonder, paul simon and frank sinatra. she received the prize from celine dion, who made an unexpected appearance, following her diagnosis of stiff person syndrome. the award show was dominated by women, with miley cyrus picking up the first grammy of her career for her song, flowers.

and song of the year went to billie eilish, for "what was i made for?". live now to la, and our correspondent peter bowes. we have to start by saying huge congratulations to taylor swift. what a night for her. there�*s no stopping taylor swift, is there? it really was a night of surprises. i think she had been tempted to win this award which is actually broken a record. the first person to win for album of the year is for midnights but she stole the show not for the awards but the announcement she made, she paused during an earlier acceptance speech for p0p earlier acceptance speech for pop vocal album, her 13 grammy which she revealed was a lucky number, and then she said she wanted to reveal a secret that she has been keeping from her fans for the last couple of years. you could almost feel

the collective intake of breath amongst swifties around the world. she revealed that she has been working on a new album that will be released on april 19. it will be called tortured poets department energy posted on her instagram page cover of that album. totally unexpected. it is one of those grammys moments produces dream of. absolutely. she is the gift that keeps on giving which is what everybody in the industry wants. women really dominated this year. in so many ways. we�*ve got to also mention sza getting so many awards. 52th. we've got to also mention sza getting so many awards. sza had more nominations _ getting so many awards. sza had more nominations than _ getting so many awards. sza had more nominations than any - getting so many awards. sza had more nominations than any other artist. not successful and would often described as the top four categories. album, song, record, but still doing very well. i think it was a total of three in those

categories. you mention some of the other names, that she had very stiff competition, the likes of billie eilish, who one for that song from barbie, what was i made for which could be successful at the oscars in a few weeks�* time. miley cyrus is never one an award before and she won two awards for her song flowers. those were the highlights. a clean sweep for all of those female artists doing well in those categories. the other highlights came in the performances. let us talk about that. miley cyrus got grammy awards today, not oscars. some of the performances, and also an arrest or some sort of shenanigans as well, from the point of view?— point of view? killer mike, a ra er point of view? killer mike, a rapper who _ point of view? killer mike, a rapper who had _ point of view? killer mike, a rapper who had been - point of view? killer mike, a rapper who had been having| point of view? killer mike, a l rapper who had been having a

good night, who won in categories he was nominated for, but reports began to emerge and some video on the internet that he had been held or escorted out of the venue. and actually spoke to los angeles police a couple of hours ago. they wouldn�*t confirm his name but confirmed the man had been taken away and was being questioned over an altercation that occurred during the evening. they wouldn�*t confirm his precise name but said if someone was arrested or charged they would name the person that something is gone on behind—the—scenes that would clearly come as a surprise to a lot of people, the kind of surprise you do not want to hear about other grammy awards. �* . . , want to hear about other grammy awards. �* ., , ., , ., want to hear about other grammy awards. ~ ., , ., , ., ., , awards. and tracy chapman was there and performed. _ awards. and tracy chapman was there and performed. tracy - there and performed. tracy chapman — there and performed. tracy chapman was _ there and performed. tracy| chapman was extraordinary. there and performed. tracy - chapman was extraordinary. she pretty much retired from the business 15 years ago. she was back performing. the voice is beautiful and clear as ever, as she never gone away and she was performing her 1988 it fast car

with luke combs, country singer who rerecorded that song last year which became a viral success. she was full of praise for his performance and they were on stage performing together, and this is right at the beginning of the show. it came as a surprise that she was there in the first place but there in the first place but the extra surprise was that she still had it, she was still performing, that voice does not seem to have changed over the years. seem to have changed over the ears. ., , ., , , ., years. the other performers you have to mention _ years. the other performers you have to mention is _ years. the other performers you have to mention is joni - have to mention isjoni mitchell. have to mention is joni mitchell.— have to mention is joni mitchell. , ., , mitchell. sorry to interrupt ou. it mitchell. sorry to interrupt you- it was _ mitchell. sorry to interrupt you. it was just _ mitchell. sorry to interrupt | you. it wasjust marvellous. you. it was just marvellous. this was towards the end of the show. 80 years old, she suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015. she was very seriously ill. she had to learn how to talk again, to move again. she recovered to the point that she was able in the last few hours to form at the grammys for the very first time.— very first time. just fantastic. _ very first time. just fantastic. thank - very first time. just| fantastic. thank you very first time. just - fantastic. thank you for

summing it all up. i will be back with the business stories next. 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 front. and this will continue to bring some heavy and persistent rain across the north and the west of scotland. 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. 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 mild, 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 our wriggling a weather front. that front will be slicing the country in two, 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 14 degrees. but that weather front looks like it will clear southwards into wednesday, maybe 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.

live from london. this is bbc news. stormont is back in business — but what are the new post—brexit trade arrangements? we�*ll be live to northern ireland for the latest. as national apprenticeship week kicks off here in the uk — we ask why we don�*t value them on the same scale as traditional academic routes. and we take another look at the grammys. but this time we�*ll leave the glamour and look at how the business of music is changing. hello, i�*m sally bundock with the top business stories. if you justjoined us, you are very welcome. we begin in northern ireland, where rishi sunak will attend stormont later today to mark the return of devolved government.