hello in washington and this is bbc world news america. us secretary of state antony blinken trying to broker a deal between israel and hamas as he continues his tour of the middle east. a federal appeals court rules donald trump isn't immune from prosecution —but the us supreme court will likely have the final word. and a kenyan cult leader is charged with the deaths of hundreds of followers, after they were allegedly told to starve themselves to death. welcome to world news america. israel's military spokesperson says 31 of its citizens held hostage in gaza are dead — as negotiations continue to secure the release of the survivors. 136 of the hostages captured by hamas in its attack on october seventh are believed

to still be in gaza. hamas was presented with a proposal for a further release of hostages last week and just today has responded. the details of that response are not yet clear. the us secretary of state antony blinken is on a whirlwind tour of the middle east, meeting the leaders who are trying to broker that deal.he first landed in cairo, where he met egypt's president, abdel fatah al sisi. he then flew to doha, where he met the emir and the prime minister, sheikh mohammed al thani. at a press conference afterwards, mr blinken gave an update on the negotiations we are reviewing that response now, and i will be discussed —— we're reviewing that response now and i'll be discussing it with the government of israel tomorrow. there's still a lot of work to be done, but we continue to believe that an agreement is possible and indeed essential, and we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it. with me is our state department correspondent, tom bateman.

to be know anything about the response? we to be know anything about the resnonse?— to be know anything about the resonse? ., �* ~ ., ., , response? we don't know the details, but a senior— response? we don't know the details, but a senior official _ response? we don't know the details, but a senior official has _ response? we don't know the details, but a senior official has told _ response? we don't know the details, but a senior official has told the - but a senior official has told the bbc tonight that they believe that they have given a positive response, we know that has gone back to the israelis now be at the egyptians in qatar and the israeli spy agency. so they are looking at that. what time is saying is although there are specific issues, they want a better deal on. they are talking about, for example, the speed with which people go back to their homes in the north of gaza, which huge swathes of which are destroyed. talking about wounded people we know that has been a bit of a sticking point in the past three us officials have reportedly claimed that as a means to try to sneak hamas fighters across the border. but they are also talking about reconstruction of gaza with a clear and specific time frame. that is a code for a permanent cease—fire, an end to a war as part of this deal. we know that israel

doesn't want to get that. it wants this to be effectively a temporary pause to allow hostages out, but it's always said it will then continue the war until it destroys hamas completely stop at the us secretary of state has now arrived in israel. he will be discussing this. what is likely to happen next? it will be intensive discussions now between blinken and thomas. the key point here is that the americans are getting increasingly squeezed in the region, and that is going to add to depression they put on mr netanyahu to try and take a deal as quickly as possible. why is that happening? because american bases are now increasingly being attacked. it's on the deaths of three american soldiers last week and then the us response in the region. it is all leading to exactly the thing that president biden said he didn't want in the region, and escalation while they protect israel carry on in gaza. that huge level of apartment. so the regional issue is not adding

to the pressure and i think that will add to what mr blinken is saying to mr netanyahu to take a deal. it may be that this very difficult bridges that so far haven't been crossed are still too wide, that the gap is still too wide to cross. . ~ wide, that the gap is still too wide to cross. ., ~ , ., ., wide, that the gap is still too wide to cross. . ~' , ., ., , wide, that the gap is still too wide to cross. ., ~ , ., ., , , to cross. thank you for bringing us u . to cross. thank you for bringing us u- to to cross. thank you for bringing us up to speed _ to cross. thank you for bringing us up to speed on _ to cross. thank you for bringing us up to speed on that. _ joining me now is heather williams, she's the acting director of international security and defence policy for rand corporation. hamas has responded to this deal for a further hostage release in exchange for a pause in fighting, and a release of palestinian prisoners among others, why do you think it took so long to issue a response? i think that we are seeing this push them out by secretary blinken, this latest push for a second cease—fire because of how much things are starting to escalate in the region. i think it looks relatively promising that the prospects at least for a temporary cease—fire in

these early signals from hamas that they would be open to it even if their demands are currently unreasonable. i actually think it brings a bit of hope.— unreasonable. i actually think it brings a bit of hope. blinken will discuss it with _ brings a bit of hope. blinken will discuss it with the _ brings a bit of hope. blinken will discuss it with the israelis - brings a bit of hope. blinken will discuss it with the israelis when | brings a bit of hope. blinken will. discuss it with the israelis when he meets them tomorrow. what will he be trying to do there? i meets them tomorrow. what will he be trying to do there?— trying to do there? i think that he is auoin trying to do there? i think that he is going to _ trying to do there? i think that he is going to be _ trying to do there? i think that he is going to be trying _ trying to do there? i think that he is going to be trying to _ trying to do there? i think that he is going to be trying to get - trying to do there? i think that he is going to be trying to get at - is going to be trying to get at least a temporary cease—fire in place and i do think that both sides are potentially receptive to it, it is the details that are the challenge. but if these things were preordained, we would need skilled formats. it is very specific perhaps that israel is going to be looking for in terms of what are the acceptable demands from hamas if there is going to be any assurances already of how many hostages might be released in exchange for a temporary cease—fire that allows humanitarian aid to flow into gaza. in addition to that deal, secretary blinken is also on this trip trying

to ease the ten situation that we see around the red sea at the moment. can the regional spread of the conflict be contained at this point as the us says, it has been seeking to do from the outset. i think there is a desire from all parties for some temperance here. i ran�*s proxy, for example, they want to look for opportunities to do harm to look for opportunities to do harm to the united states and israel, but iran doesn't want to find itself drawn into a direct military conflict with the united states. i think it is important to recognise that sometimes there does need to be some kind of response by the united states, by the united kingdom, by others in order to de—escalate. a lack of response is not itself the escalatory, but there are essentially too complex happening here, a direct conflict between and israel and the regional competition between the us and europe, israel and iran and its proxies. they are interrelated but they are not resolved with the same solution. it is a different solution to each of those problems. 50

is a different solution to each of those problems.— is a different solution to each of those problems. so you don't think that they are _ those problems. so you don't think that they are linked _ those problems. so you don't think that they are linked in _ those problems. so you don't think that they are linked in some - those problems. so you don't think that they are linked in some way, l those problems. so you don't think| that they are linked in some way, if there is a deal between hamas and israel that that would also call him attacks that we are seeing? to think that conflict is already set? i think that a cease—fire in gaza can help temper is happening in the red sea and what is in terms of us forces in iraq and syria and proxy attacks that have been happening there. i also think that the direct response that has been happening against houthis targets and against the 85 sites that the united states struck in iraq and syria. i think that's also an important component for trying to de—escalate events stop at the us has said those 85 strikes in the syria and iraq on friday nights were the first stage of the response, not the last stage, do you think and what we have seen in the intervening days that there will still be more to come? i would

anticipate that the united states would hold true to those promises that were made. i think it's very necessary to respond to attacks on us forces, failure to do so invites more. the latest strike that killed three soldiers and injured a0 on january 28 was number 160 of attacks against us troops since october seven. i don't think that the us response is necessarily about degrading the militia's capability. i don't think that happened. but it was about sending the message that the united states is not afraid to use military force. i think that thatis use military force. i think that that is necessary because american military superiority is irrelevant if we are not willing to use it. weather williams, acting director of international security and defence policy, thank you forjoining us with your insights. policy, thank you for “oining us with your insights._ king charles has begun his treatment for cancer. today was the first time the king and queen consort camilla were seen

out in public together since buckingham palace confirmed his cancer diagnosis on monday evening. meanwhile, prince harry is in london to visit his father. he arrived this morning to heathrow from california. the king has now withdrawn from all public facing duties for the time being. the prime minister says the king's cancer has been "caught early" — though it hasn't been revealed which type of cancer he is being treated for. 0ur royal correspondent daniela relph reports. a first image of the king since news of his cancer diagnosis was made public. being driven into buckingham palace with his wife queen camilla, after beginning his treatment in a london hospital. this afternoon, the couple headed by helicopter to the sandringham estate in norfolk, where the king will spend time resting in between treatment. it is a place those who work with him say he finds solace and happiness. before he left london, there was a family visitor to host. straight from the airport to see his father, the duke

of sussex is back in the uk, flying in from his home in california. he spent around a5 minutes in clarence house with the king, who'd phoned him to tell him of his cancer diagnosis. the father and son were last together in may for the king's coronation. the relationship has been strained in recent years but this may be a moment for a thaw. my sense is although this is a national institution, the royal family at its core is a familyjust like any other and when a member of your family is unwell you want to go and see them, you want to express your love and support and you want to do what you can to help. with the king clearing his diary and focusing on his cancer treatment, royal duties are now for the wider family. princess anne carried out an investiture at windsor castle this morning. she already has one of the busiest royal diaries. she then travelled to nottingham for some scheduled engagements there. with the queen, the prince

of wales and the duke and duchess of edinburgh, she is likely to have to take on more public duties to support the king when he is unwell. princess anne said nothing about the cancer diagnosis, but earlier, the prime minister offered his support to the family. like everyone else, shocked and sad and just all our thoughts are with him and his family. thankfully, this has been caught early and now everybody will be wishing him that he gets the treatment he needs and makes a full recovery. the king will now rely heavily on the support of his family, both privately and publicly. last friday, the queen opened a new support centre for cancer patients and their families at a hospital in north london. she came here already knowing of her husband's diagnosis. that visit last week must have been incredibly challenging on a personal level for the queen. i can't imagine how difficult last week must have been for her knowing that life was changing and had been turned upside down,

but what happens quite quickly after a cancer diagnosis is a treatment path emerges. with his family on christmas day at sandringham. the king is now back here. for the time being, out of the public eye to concentrate on his recovery. daniela relph, bbc news. the us national transportation safety board released new details about a rapid decompressiorization event that happened on a boeing 737 max 9 jet flown by alaska airlines last month. the agency's preliminary report finds that four bolts used to secure the panel that ultimately blew off mid—flight appeared to be missing. the ntsb provided a photo of the door plug from september at a boeing factory as evidence. boeing delivered the plane to alaska airlines at the end of october. the findings come almost exactly a month after the incident triggered a 19—day emergency grounding of all max 9 jets and renewed scrutiny of boeing and their safety record. the airline manufacturer's ceo

dave calhoun issued a statement shortly after the report's release, saying, "whatever final conclusions are reached, boeing is accountable for what happened. an event like this must not happen on an airplane that leaves our factory. we simply must do better for our customers and their passengers." the report comes on the same day as the federal aviation administrator michael whitaker testified on the hill, telling lawmakers that boeing is being, "closely scrutinised" and pledging to expand inspections. we've begun an audit of boeing �*s production quality control practices as and we have informed boeing that they will not approve any process until these are resolved. going forward, we will have more boots on the ground closely scrutinising and monitoring production and manufacturing activities. a bipartisan senate border bill, hailed over the weekend is facing

mounting republican opposition, including from gop senators. they are now threatening to block the bill which they negotiated. president biden urged congress today to pass the bill which would invest in securing the us—mexico border, provide long—awaited aid for ukraine in its fight against russia, and security aid for israel.he blamed former president donald trump for influencing members of the republican party. meanwhile house republicans today moved to impeach the homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas. he was charged for willfully refusing to enforce border laws and breaching public trust. mr mayorkas — is the first and only sitting cabinet secretary to face the threat of impeachment in american history. at least two republican congressmen already expressed dissent. republican house speaker mike johnson called it "an extreme measure" that was necessary in this case. a federal appeals court says donald trump can be tried for plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat.in a hearing

injanuary, mr trump's lawyers argued the impeachment process is the only legal way to hold a president to account for acts taken while in office. but the us court of appeals for the dc circuit said... "former president trump has become citizen trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant". the three—judge panel ruled "any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as president no longer protects him against this prosecution". among other precedents, the court cited founding father alexander hamilton, who wrote "the president must be unlike the king of great britain, who was sacred and inviolable. mr trump is now likely to appeal to the supreme court. voters in nevada go to the polls today in that state's presidential primary elections. presidentjoe biden�*s name is on the democrats ballot. nevada state law mandates the holding of a primary election, but republicans decided to hold a caucus in the state as well, which will decide the awarding of the party's delegates.

nikki haley is running in today's primary and can win no delegates, and donald trump is running virtually unopposed in thursday's caucus to win all of the state's 26 delegates. a court in kenya charged the leaders of a doomsday cult with the murders of nearly 200 people. paul mackenzie and almost thirty other suspects were arrested after more than four hundred bodies were found in a forest last april. followers were allegedly told they would reach heaven by starving themselves to death. mackenzie is also facing charges of committting acts of terror, child cruelty, and torture. 0ur africa correspondent anne soy spoke to the victim's families. the pain of a father who has lost all his children. his wife followed the teaching of the controversial preacher paul mackenzie on television. that's when their lives changed, he says. she withdrew their children

from school, he says. these are their school uniforms in bags. the couple fought about it. he'd forcefully take them to school himself. then, one day, his wife and theirfive children disappeared from home. he showed this picture to the first survivors rescued from the cult and they gave him the crushing news. translation: they said the children were denied food and water. - after about five days, they would die, then their bodies would be picked up and buried in a mass grave. they told me they knew where my three children... he sobs. ..jacob, lillian and angelina were buried. there were about ten children in one grave. two more, helen and samuel, he was told had been starving for four days when the survivors were rescued. this is shakahola in kenya's south—east, where mackenzie's followers were kept.

mass graves, some containing the bodies of up to 20 children, were found here. a29 bodies have been retrieved. grave—diggers told us there are many more but the recovery was suspended last year. the area is a crime scene, access is forbidden. access is also restricted here at the malindi morgue where the bodies that were exhumed have been preserved. relatives have given their dna samples and now the agonising wait to find out if their missing kin were among the victims continues. after children, women were also forced to starve. this 29—year—old was pregnant when she went to shakahola. one day, she and two of her friends fled and they got rescued. it was difficult for us, imagine six men gang raping you. they would pick us in turns. it was a church initially but preaching stopped and they started raping

and killing people. if you were to meet mackenzie today, what would you say to him? i never want to meet him. this community leader helped with the rescue efforts. translation: some were frail, looking like they will _ die within hours. others were stronger but didn't want to be rescued. they were asking the police, "why are you disturbing us? we want to go tojesus. won't you also die one day?" beliefs that have only complicated the quest forjustice. mackenzie has told the court he never forced anyone to starve. some of his followers still believe in his teachings, but to the families that lost their kin, the pain they now have to live with is immeasurable. anne soy, bbc news, shakahola. it's been one year on from turkey's deadliest earthquake that killed fifty—three— thousand people in the

south—east of the country. at four in the morning — the time the earthrthquake hit — survivors held a pre—dawn vigil in the remains of antakya city. but many there were mad at the turkish government, saying there has been a lack of action to rehouse the homeless. that's an accusation president erdogan denies. he attended commemorations in kahraman—maras — the quake's epi—centre.0ur correspondent anna foster returned to southern turkey sent this report. now the rubble is going, the scars are clear to see. the city of antakya is a wasteland. more than 200,000 buildings were destroyed by the earthquake. and the work to clear and rebuild is still going on, even now. not everyone is able to move on. abu mustapha often returns to the place where he used to live. he managed to save his three youngest children but when their home fell, he lost sight of his teenage

daughters, salma and salwa. "i told her, salma, get up, there's an earthquake. everybody woke up. we got out from the building gate here. i had my other children, lama and mustapha, with me, and i stood right here." now they are missing. for months, he has searched hospitals and cemeteries. when everything he owned was destroyed, the few pictures he had left of his girls became even more precious. "my wife passed away 1a days before the earthquake. every time i go through difficult times, i go to her because i know where her grave is but i don't know where my daughters�* graves are, so i come here and talk to them." so much of this place was destroyed that even now, after a year of solid work,

they still have not managed to clear away all of the destruction. hundreds of thousands of people left this area altogether, but for those who stayed, the difficulties are still all around them, every day, and the vast majority still don't have proper homes to live in. tents and container villages should have been temporary solutions. now, they are bedded in, more permanent than was ever intended. less than a quarter of the promised new homes have been built. antakya's old city had stood strong for centuries. it may never recover. but its people have vowed to. 13—year—old zaliha remembers the night her life was saved. frightened and exhausted, the first rescue team who arrived said she was beyond help. but then, mersin city's fire

department came and pulled her out. today, they are back together, reunited in the same city. there are thanks and hugs, and memories of how lucky their family was. across southern turkey, daily life remains a battle for the earthquake survivors who stayed here, and the last year has not dulled their pain or their suffering. anna foster, bbc news, antakya. let's turn to some important news around the world. a michigan jury found the mother of a school shooter guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter. jennifer crumbley is the first parent in the us to go on trial in a mass school shooting carried out by their child. jury deliberations began on monday and lasted 11 hours after a week—long trial. the trial for her husband, james crumbley, is scheduled to begin march 5th. at least three people have been killed by the effects

of a powerful california storm. flooding, mudslides, and power outages led california's governor to declare a state of emergency in eight counties. officials have responded to over 130 flooding incidents. the storm is caused by an "atmospheric river" effect — in which long currents of water vapor flow in the sky like a river. the european union is calling for an ambitious 90 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 20a0. the eu's recommendation comes as the bloc�*s green policies are facing growing backlash. dozens of farmers protested outside the european parliament building, angry over shrinking incomes, rising costs and what they say are increasingly burdensome green regulations. remember you can find more on all the days news at our website, bbc .com/news, and make sure to check us out on your favourite social media platform. i'm caitriona perry in washington. thank you for watching world news america.

welcome to the catch up. tonight the king has been out and about, whilst miss japan was stripped of her title, and breaking boundaries around hearing loss. first the king has been out today since the first time since the palace announced he has cancer. here he is with queen camilla about to travel to sandringham by helicopter. prince harry flew back from california to visit, but apparently he doesn't plan to meet his brother whilst he is here. we know cancer in one way or another effects all of us, so if you are finding the news hard to deal with, you can find support here... some other news, ukrainian born miss japan has had to give back her crown after a newspaper exposed her affair with a married man. that title will remain vacant

for the rest of the year. tom holland is going to star in a west end production of romeo and juliet this year. this is the first time he will be on stage since he starred as billy elliot as a child. and former love islander tasha has been chatting about a cochlear implant. it is a small device that can help people who are deaf or hard of hearing. she is trying to break the stigma of how people talk when they take theirs off. it is great because everyone else out there who might want to go on love island and wears these cochlear implants, do not be afraid. you can do it. i am going to leave you with ten seconds of wrong direction as drivers in edinburgh say that sat nav's keep sending them down the set of steps. you are all caught up now.

hello. let's take a brief look at the weather for the week ahead. it's going to be turning colderjust about everywhere across the uk through the next day or so. we saw some heavy snowfall across parts of shetland on tuesday, strong, gusty winds and blizzard—like conditions. also blustery towards the south coast of england. here, the milder air hung on for much of the day, with outbreaks of rain eventually pushing southwards on this cold front. now, colder air towards the north and milderair hanging on further southwards, some heavy rain showers just pushing further southwards, too, along with some snow showers on tuesday night across parts of scotland. but there goes that colder air. the milder airjust hanging around into the start of wednesday morning towards the south coast, with the legacy of cloud and some outbreaks of rain. an ice risk across parts of scotland where we've seen those snow showers through the night and possibly some

icy patches further south, as well. but wednesday is a much quieter—looking day of weather. the winds are lighter, and it should stay largely dry, but still a hang—back of cloud towards the south coast for much of the day. lots of brightness further north and some wintry showers again pushing into northern scotland and perhaps one or two wintry showers across northern ireland, too. the air is colder, highs of only three to five degrees celsius across much of scotland, eight or nine degrees celsius further south, so a chillier—feeling day. now, that rain on the cold front that we saw on tuesday will be returning on wednesday night. it's set to push northwards as a warm front. but as it bumps into that colder air, it's likely to turn to snow most likely across northern ireland, north wales and into northern england. we're more likely to see accumulations on the higher ground, and towards the south this will all be falling as rain. even where we do see the snow, it's quite likely to turn back to sleet and then to rain as that milderair digs in. but there is a met office weather warning in force. we could see a couple of centimetres to low levels where we get the intensity of that heavy

rainfall, and over the hills, up to ten to twenty centimetres of snowfall, perhaps. but it should melt away reasonably quickly as that milder air pushes further northwards, the snow risk transferring into scotland as we head through friday, all driven by this deep area of low pressure. so there will be some really strong, gusty winds around, again possibly blizzard—like conditions, particularly over the higher routes just with that brisk north—easterly wind there across northern england and into scotland as we head through friday. the low pressure is going nowhere as we head through the weekend. milder air gradually pushing in from the south across the whole of the uk but still that colder air hanging on across northern areas of scotland, and these showers are likely to fall wintry, particularly over the hills. but elsewhere, the showers should be falling as rain. again, some strong, gusty winds. the showers are never too far away, with low pressure close by. temperatures rising again for most of us, eight to eleven degrees celsius. more of the same again on sunday. it's difficult to put too much detail on it at this stage, of course, but we're likely to see some more rain.

some of that rain could turn wintry, particularly over the hills of scotland. temperatures six to ten degrees celsius for the vast majority. but then it could turn colderagain, perhaps, as we head into the start of next week. so, the low pressure will gradually clear away as we head through monday and tuesday. it's just pushing its way further northwards and eastwards. high pressure starts to build in, and we could start to draw in more of a north—easterly wind, perhaps, so largely dry through monday, tuesday and wednesday, temperatures dropping to the seasonal average. so feeling colder then turning milder, possibly drier, more settled into the start of next week. bye— bye.