a us drone strike on baghdad kills a senior leader of a pro—iran armed group. it was launched in retaliation for the attack last month that killed three us soldiers. israel's prime minister strikes a defiant tone saying he'll settle for nothing less than the total defeat of hamas. polls open in a couple of hours in pakistan after two exposions near the offices of election officials killed 28 people. as millions in china make their move to celebrate the lunar new year, freezing rain and snow storms cause travel chaos. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. hello and welcome to the programme. we begin in baghdad.

a us drone attack which killed a senior leader of an armed pro—iran group. three people were killed in the attack, including a commander of the group that us officials say was behind recent attacks on us bases in iraq and syria. this was the scene in baghdad earlier tonight. angry crowds surrounding the burnt out vehicle hit in the attack chanting "america is the biggest devil". our senior international correspondent orla guerin is in baghdad for us tonight — she tried to get close to the scene of this attack. this was a high profile strike inside the capital. it happened at 9:30pm local time. there were three distinct explosions. they were audible from our hotel. we reached the scene pretty quickly. an angry crowd had gathered around the charred wreckage of the car which had been hit. now, we know that the american drone strike killed a senior commander of condition

kaitab hezbollah — a powerful pro—iranian militia. us officials have blamed kaitiab hezbollah for the drone attack which killed three us personnel injordan. when we arrived, there was a lot of anger on the streets. people were chanting anti—american slogans. when we were seen, we were surrounded quite quickly by angry protesters who said, "foreigners have done this, and you are foreigner, you are not welcome here." and they pushed back against the camera and we had to pull back against the security cordon. now, we were not harmed but it was a small example of the anger on the streets. we have seen tonight calls from pro—iranian militia for supporters to come out on the streets and to move towards the streets and to move towards the us embassy. we have also had an angry response from a spokesman for the iraqi army, saying that this will threaten security and stability here, and it's hard to see how it can

do other than increase the tension in iraq. to the conflict in gaza now. and israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu has rejected a ceasefire proposal, a counter offer from a ceasefire proposal, a counter offerfrom hamas. pledging to continue the offensive in the gaza strip until victory. the israelis say that they plan to expand the operations towards the city of rafah. about half of gaza's population has sought refuge there. in his remarks, netanyahu refuge there. in his remarks, neta nyahu vowed to refuge there. in his remarks, netanyahu vowed to continue the war against hamas and rejected what he said were "delusional demands" from the group. hamas laid out a process to release israeli hostages in several phases exchange for palestinian prisoners and a period calm to allow a dramatic increase of aid to gaza. but it also said that any truce had to guarantee a permanent ceasefire — something israel has rejected. a senior hamas official says a delegation will head to cairo for peace talks with egypt and qatar. it comes as antony

blinken wraps up his visit where he says that the us will keep its focus on bringing israeli hostages home. and there are also other potential flash points for a wider conflict, including on the border with lebanon with our international editor reports from. israel's border with lebanon feels isolated and empty. in israel's most northerly community, the only residents left are i willised army reservists. here, they're surrounded on three sides by hezbollah — iran's powerful ally in lebanon. one of the men, who didn't want his face shown, pointed to hezbollah�*s positions. 3 shown, pointed to hezbollah's ositions. �* ., ., ., positions. a quarter of a mile, and then _ positions. a quarter of a mile, and then to — positions. a quarter of a mile, and then to the _ positions. a quarter of a mile, and then to the north - positions. a quarter of a mile, and then to the north is - positions. a quarter of a mile, and then to the north is half. positions. a quarter of a mile, and then to the north is half a| and then to the north is half a mile. the border with lebanon. and then in the east of us, it is half a mile.— is half a mile. definitely can turn into — is half a mile. definitely can turn into a _ is half a mile. definitely can turn into a big _ is half a mile. definitely can turn into a big war, - is half a mile. definitely can turn into a big war, and - is half a mile. definitely can turn into a big war, and a i is half a mile. definitely can | turn into a big war, and a big war_ turn into a big war, and a big war with _ turn into a big war, and a big war with hezbollah is not like hamas —

war with hezbollah is not like hamas a— war with hezbollah is not like hamas. a real army, very trained. — hamas. a real army, very trained. greatly equipped. great _ trained. greatly equipped. great intelligence. and they have — great intelligence. and they have a — great intelligence. and they have a lot of experience, real experience in syria.— experience in syria. israel released _ experience in syria. israel released video _ experience in syria. israel released video of - experience in syria. israel released video of their - experience in syria. israel- released video of their attacks on what they said were hezbollah positions. tens of thousands of civilians on either side of the border have been evacuated. the war there is intensifying. more urgent for antony blinken is a ceasefire in gaza. but prime minister netanyahu doubled minister neta nyahu doubled down, minister netanyahu doubled down, calling for total victory and dismissing the hamas response to the us ceasefire proposal. the us secretary of state still believes a deal is possible, and at the h the rivals of hamas, the palestinian authority, he repeated to president mahmoud abbas that america wants a palestinian state, which israel's leader opposes, and reminded israelis later that their suffering was no justification for killing palestinian civilians. that

cannot be _ palestinian civilians. that cannot be a _ palestinian civilians. that cannot be a licence - palestinian civilians. that cannot be a licence to - cannot be a licence to dehumanise others. the majority of the people in gaza had nothing to do with the attacks of october seven. and the families in gaza whose survival depends on the deliveries of aid from israel arejust depends on the deliveries of aid from israel are just like ourfamilies. they're mothers our families. they�* re mothers and ourfamilies. they're mothers and fathers, sons and daughters.— and fathers, sons and daughters. and fathers, sons and dau:hters. ., , ~ , and fathers, sons and dau:hters. ., , ~' , ., daughters. gaza is the key to stabilising — daughters. gaza is the key to stabilising the _ daughters. gaza is the key to stabilising the middle - daughters. gaza is the key to stabilising the middle east. l stabilising the middle east. this is the occupied golan heights — another potential flash point where the borders of israel, lebanon and syria meet. over on the syrian side, you can see ruins from previous wars. antony blinken warns this is the most dangerous moment for the middle east since 1973. without a ceasefire in gaza, the risks that a wider war will intensify remain very real. israel has heavily reinforced its northern border lands. this is a former syrian base

occupied by the israelis since 1967. inside the ruin, the head of the regional council, a retired colonel, was preparing for the worst. it retired colonel, was preparing for the worst.— for the worst. if we go, to where do _ for the worst. if we go, to where do we _ for the worst. if we go, to where do we go? - for the worst. if we go, to where do we go? to - for the worst. if we go, to l where do we go? to haifa? for the worst. if we go, to - where do we go? to haifa? then they bomb us in haifa. if we go to tel aviv, then they bomb us in tel aviv. to tel aviv, then they bomb us in tel aviv-_ in tel aviv. people prefer to move by _ in tel aviv. people prefer to move by night _ in tel aviv. people prefer to move by night in _ in tel aviv. people prefer to move by night in the - in tel aviv. people prefer to move by night in the most l move by night in the most exposed roads in northern israel. don't think of this war on the lebanonese border as a side show to gaza. it could become even worse. this is the most dangerous, the most unstable frontier in the middle east at the moment. what started as a low—level war back in october has been intensifying. but all sides know how much worse it could get. notjust causing great destruction in israel and in lebanon, but it's also got the

capacity to ignite the region. the fate of the whole middle east, notjust israel's empty evacuated northern towns, depends on breaking through the shock and hatred of war. so far, the diplomats are fighting a losing battle. let's move away from the middle east to ukraine. russia launched the biggest attack in recent weeks on wednesday with at least 5 civillians killed and over a0 injured across the kyiv, mykolayiv and kharkiv regions in the last 2a hours. it comes as the us senate blocked new bipartisan legislation tying tougher border restrictions with aid to ukraine and israel, which has been months in the making. it has also regularly been criticised by donald trump. our reporter in washington explained to me now the senate got to this point and what could happen in the coming hours. ~ ., , ., , hours. well, one bill has already _ hours. well, one bill has already failed _ hours. well, one bill has

already failed in - hours. well, one bill has already failed in the - hours. well, one bill has i already failed in the senate today. now, that bill would have granted billions of dollars to additional security, additional measures for the us southern border. now, that is a very contentious political issue here. there is a crisis at the border. illegal migration has reached record levels. on some days in december, there are up to 10,000 illegal crossings per day of that border. but crucially, this bill would have granted billions of dollars in foreign aid. $60 billion to ukraine. $14 billion to israel. more money for taiwan and a few other national security priorities. now, that bill did not pass. senate republicans voted against that. so that version of the bill is essentially dead. but we're now waiting to hear whether there might be a new incarnation of this bill with the essentially, the border element stripped out. sojust the border element stripped out. so just with the foreign aid elements of that bill remaining, but the situation with that bill is unclear at

the moment. politically speaking then, what's going on? republicans originally wanted to tie border security to the bill that would fund both ukraine and israel, but they voted against it? yes. a bit of a _ but they voted against it? yes. a bit of a complicated - a bit of a complicated situation, isn't it? so if we cast our minds back to last year, president biden asked congress to approve a new tranche of military aid for ukraine. now, congressional republicans oppose that. they said no, we're not going to give any more money to ukraine unless you sort out the situation at the southern border. so president biden said — fine, let's tie together the foreign aid, money for ukraine, foreign aid, money for ukraine, for israel and those others, with border security. so democrats and republicans then spent months negotiating a new deal on that basis. and that agreement was published a few days ago. now, enterformer president donald trump. he urges congressional republicans

to oppose this deal. it seems that mr trump doesn't want to give president biden a win, a political victory, so close to the election, so that president biden can't say — you know, i sorted out the border. as we know, donald trump will almost certainly be the republican nominee. of course, publicly, republicans in congress say — actually, we oppose this deal because it doesn't go far enough on border security. but democrats and the white house are saying — look, you wanted this. you said — we'll help ukraine if there's additional money and measures for the border. and now all of a sudden, you oppose it. but as i say, we need to see now whether there is a new version of the bill, whether there is a vote on it. even if there is a vote in the senate, and it does pass, then i think it will be very difficult for that new version of the bill to then pass the house of representatives. as we know, the republicans dominate that. i think that that would be very

difficult. but, again, ithink the whole situation, the whole question of whether there will be a new version of this bill is not clear at the moment. {line is not clear at the moment. one ofthe is not clear at the moment. one of the issues — is not clear at the moment. one of the issues republican candidates linked to the southern border crisis is the growing fentanyl crisis. over growing fenta nyl crisis. over one growing fentanyl crisis. over one 10,000 people died of it. most of the fentanyl consumed illegally in us is made abroad with the state department saying that mexico is the biggest source. $110,000 people. our latin america correspondent sent us this. there are no quiet nights for tiguana. they're called out to a blaze here. as some of the only available paramedics, they're attacking another crisis sweeping the city like wildfire — fentanyl. these two men, their lives fast slipping away, may not have even known they were taking it. cheap and highly addictive, affects could's cartels cut it into

recreational drugs like cocaine. the paramedics deliver a drug to overcome the fentanyl overdose. if it is, it is not already too late. fentanyl overdoses are now simply part of daily and nightly life in tiguana, part of a fabric of a city descending fast into the grip of a full—blown drug epidemic. yet, it's a crisis whose very existence has been denied by the country's president. having claimed mexico neither produces nor consumes fentanyl, president andres manuel lopez obrador says he'll introduce a new law to make taking fentanyl illegal. people on the front lines fear that's too little, too late. last year, the state forensic service found a staggering one in three bodies in the city's morgue contained fentanyl. in the united states, the biggest illegal drug market in the world, fentanyl is now a nationwide crisis. cost—to—coast, border—to—border, us cities are increasingly in its vice—like grip. the drug claimed 70,000

lives in 2022 alone. not all victims were regular drug users. in el paso in texas, this 15—year—old was studious and sporty when he overdosed on one pill of the widely available prescription drug, xanax. he had no idea, but it was a counterfeit fentanyl laced pill from mexico. it was his first time experimenting with drugs, with his best friend and his best friend's sister. within a year, all three had died the same way. three lives snuffed out by fentanyl. three lives snuffed out by fentanyl-— three lives snuffed out by fentan l. ., ~ ., ., ., ., fentanyl. you know, a lot of arents fentanyl. you know, a lot of parents tell _ fentanyl. you know, a lot of parents tell me _ fentanyl. you know, a lot of parents tell me - _ fentanyl. you know, a lot of parents tell me - oh, - fentanyl. you know, a lot of parents tell me - oh, my . fentanyl. you know, a lot of| parents tell me - oh, my son fentanyl. you know, a lot of. parents tell me - oh, my son is parents tell me — oh, my son is in football, my son is in band and my son is not in that crowd. i'm like — well, neither was mine. and i had no idea. so i think it starts at home. it starts in the school system. i mean, just all the way around. are you angry at elijah? ha. are you angry at eli'ah? no. i'm not are you angry at eli'ah? no. m not angry. h are you angry at eli'ah? no. i'm not angry. i've _ are you angry at elijah? no. i'm not angry. i've never- are you angry at elijah? i157. i'm not angry. i've never been angry. not even at the person

that gave my son drugs. i forgave her. i'm just angry that it happened to me. i'm angry atjust the that it happened to me. i'm angry at just the situation itself. eli angry at 'ust the situation itself. ., , ., angry at 'ust the situation itself. ., ,., , , angry at 'ust the situation itself. ., , , , ., itself. el paso sits 'ust over the border h itself. el paso sits 'ust over the border from h itself. el paso sitsjust over the border from one - itself. el paso sitsjust over the border from one of- itself. el paso sitsjust over- the border from one of mexico's the borderfrom one of mexico's most dangerous cities. i met kevin, a 17—year—old drug trafficker and cartel hit man. he showed me how his gang uses tunnels to smuggle fentanyl across the us border. i ask kevin if he felt any remorse over the deaths of us teens like elijah? translation: no. it's all part of the trade. it's like the guns. then send weapons south. we send fentanyl north. everyone is responsible for their own acts.— everyone is responsible for i their own acts._ back their own acts. wake up! back in tiguana. — their own acts. wake up! back in tiguana. it— their own acts. wake up! back in tiguana, it took— their own acts. wake up! back in tiguana, it took three i their own acts. wake up! back| in tiguana, it took three doses of narcan, but the paramedics brought one man back from the brink. his friend, however, died right there on the barroom floor. his mother arrived to devastating news. her son is

another victim of this potent narcotic. his death a footnote in the polarised debate over us—mexico border. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news bringing you different stories. a couple from manchester with a special place in their hearts for cumbria. second homeowners like howard and mandy are due to get clobbered with a doubling of council tax from next april. with he tried to put as much in the community to be involved in the community to be involved in the local area when we're here. we don'tjust come here and bring all of our stuff and go. a short drive away, don says villages in derwent parish have seen a rise in second homes and he thinks second homeowners should pay more council tax. in this parish, we have a lot of holiday let's also. and this is having a knock—on effect of young people being able to afford a house to live in the

area. . . afford a house to live in the area. , ., _, . afford a house to live in the area. , ., . area. cumberland council says the second — area. cumberland council says the second home _ area. cumberland council says the second home council i area. cumberland council says the second home council tax l the second home council tax premium would still raise £5 million — some of which could be used to tackle the housing crisis in beauty spots like this. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. polls open soon in pakistan's general elections — an election already marred by violence. two bomb explosions near candidates' offices in the province of balochistan killed at least 28 people and wounded dozens on thursday. our pakistan correspondent caroline davies reports. these are the images the pakistan government didn't want to have in the public mind before the election. two explosions at two election offices the day before the polls open. isis has now claimed responsibility for one of them. pakistan has seen an increase

in militant attacks, and that comes on top of economic problems and political instability. but the question that's hung over these elections is whether they are free and fair. former prime minister imran khan is disqualified and injail — sentenced to 14 years. on the 9th of may last year, his arrest led to violent protests. since then, his party say they've seen a sustained campaign of harassment against them. key leadership have left, many supporters are in jail. but the party has kept going. like yasmin rashid, now running her campaign from prison, charged with inciting violence on the 9th of may that she denies. her husband of 55 years visits her most days. it's nine months now. it's...not easy, i tell you, especially for our children

who are not in pakistan. for them, it's a torture. her brother—in—law has been organising her campaign. you know, our people have been sometimes removed from the scene, sometimes at night their houses are being raided. we are not being provided a fair level playing field. the authorities deny any campaign against the party, calling the allegations baseless and absurd. many see a repeat pattern in pakistan's politics. ms rashid is running to win a seat from the three time prime minister nawaz sharif. his party is now seen to be the one in favour. he was in prison last election when khan won. on the eve of the elections, pakistan is facing questions about its future. many fear the result will still not answer them. caroline davis, bbc news, lahore. this weekend marks the start of the lunar new year, and millions across the world are gearing up for celebrations.

the holiday sets off the "largest annual human migration", as millions in china travel to their home towns. however, snowstorms and freezing rain have disrupted transportation in large parts of the country — potentially ruining plans for many. saturday marks the lunar new year, which is the beginning of a new year in the lunar solar calendar. it's also known as the spring festival and it's celebrated by millions across the world. and in countries like singapore, thailand, vietnam, japan and china. streets are i will —— illuminated with grand, colourful displays. in indonesia, displays have already been set up to usher in this year of the dragon. in china, the 15—day holiday creates what many call the largest annual human migration. now, that's because millions will be making journeys to their home towns in order to celebrate with their families. it's estimated that 480 million

journeys are set to be made this year. that's 40% higher than last year. however, it's proving very difficult, and that's because of the weather conditions, particularly in southern and central parts of china where there's been freezing rain and snow storms. take a look at this. motorists stuck on the highway. flights and trains have been cancelled. people have been stuck at railway stations, as well as in trains themselves, because of power lines being cut. in fact, the chinese weather service has said that this has been the worst winner weather since 2008. and 255 cities across the country have seen their average daily temperatures drop below zero degrees. that's far colder than in previous years. the national broadcaster has said that the central government allocated 141 million yuan. that's around $20 million, towards snow being removed from

major roads and highways. people have been sharing on social media their gratitudes and their thanks towards those who have offered hot drinks and hot food to commuters who have been stuck on the motorways. now, the weather is set to improve over the next couple of days. the major severe blizzard warnings were lifted on wednesday. but snow will continue to fall. but it is expected to get warmer by friday, just in time for the lunar new year. this next story has been one of the most read on our website. take a look at the video. it shows a pod of killer whales appearing stuck in the drift ice off the coast of japan. the drone footage showed a group of at least 10 orcas about half a mile from the shores of rausu, in hokkaido. but we can now tell you they seem to have escaped. earlier i spoke to andy rogan — science lead at ocean alliance — and asked him just how dangerous situations like this are for orcas

yeah, it's really dangerous. there are a handful of incidents of this happening around the world in a few plays. it doesn't happen in many. but still, when it does happen, it can result in death, either through starvation or drowning. either through starvation or drowning-— either through starvation or drownina. �* ., ., , ., drowning. and from what you know of orcas _ drowning. and from what you know of orcas and _ drowning. and from what you know of orcas and their i know of orcas and their behaviour, how do you think they got themselves stuck in they got themselves stuck in the drift isles in the first place? the drift isles in the first lace? . the drift isles in the first . lace? ., , ., the drift isles in the first lace? . i. the drift isles in the first lace? . ~ ., place? yeah, so you know, it has happened _ place? yeah, so you know, it has happened in _ place? yeah, so you know, it has happened in the - place? yeah, so you know, it has happened in the past. i place? yeah, so you know, it. has happened in the past. there are a number of occasions where this has been documented. it's possible that it is happening increasingly with naive animals, with animals that haven't spent as much time in this environment. you know, if things like climate change are pushing them into new areas, into warming waters, pushing them northwards, into areas where they're not as familiar with this ice. so it's certainly possible that we're going to be seeing more of it, yeah. going to be seeing more of it, eah. �* , ., , yeah. and why would they stru: ale yeah. and why would they struggle to _ yeah. and why would they struggle to free _ yeah. and why would they i struggle to free themselves? can't whales hold their breaths for long periods of time? yeah, ou for long periods of time? yeah, you know. _ for long periods of time? yeah, you know, these _ for long periods of time? yeah,

you know, these ice _ for long periods of time? yeah, you know, these ice flows i for long periods of time? yeah, you know, these ice flows are l you know, these ice flows are quite unpredictable. i've been in some myself on a boat. and they can really move around very quickly. very strong, even though it appears to be this broken up pieces of ice. and these whales, orca, can't hold their breath as long as some of their breath as long as some of the other larger whale species. maybe 15—20 minutes. and even then, they still don't know if there is a gap in the ice. it's hard for them to really know where that gap is. so it's a lot of trial and error of then diving under, searching for a place and then coming back to that breathing hole that we see in the drone video. find that breathing hole that we see in the drone video.— in the drone video. and i suppose _ in the drone video. and i suppose that _ in the drone video. and i suppose that that - in the drone video. and i suppose that that could l in the drone video. and i i suppose that that could lead to exhaustion as well. to some extent. how common is this? you mention that it doesn't happen that often? and what should we know about the orcas and their habitats? . ., , �* habitats? yeah, it doesn't ha en habitats? yeah, it doesn't happen very _ habitats? yeah, it doesn't happen very often. - habitats? yeah, it doesn't happen very often. there | habitats? yeah, it doesn't i happen very often. there have been a couple of papers that have documented it. it's been documented in a few certain places, a few bays in particular, actually, where you get these unpredictable ice

flows. again, orca have been moving northwards, from the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere, moving into waters that they might not be as familiar with. you know, any animal, it's not going to live in a place where there's a great danger. it's going to revolution... evolution will teach them that this is not a good place for them to live. but as animals encroach into new areas, they might increasingly face threats such as this, that they have little experience in dealing with. the winning images in this year's wildlife photographer of the year competition have been made public. this stunning picture of a young polar bear sleeping on an iceberg — captured by the british amateur that brings us to a close here on newsday. goodbye for now.

hello there. there is some snow in the forecast over the next couple of days, but it's certainly not going to be everywhere. most of the snow — the disruptive and heavy snow — will be mainly for northern parts of the uk and particularly over the hills, where there'll be some drifting as the easterly wind picks up. and that's going to bring some travel disruption, particularly for transpennine routes. now we're seeing colder air move across most of the uk, but things are a bit milder towards the south and southwest, and where we've got that boundary, we've got this weather front here, and that's bringing wet weather up from the southwest, and as it hits the colder air, so this is where we're going to see it turning to sleet and snow. and the coldest air early on thursday morning is certainly going to be in scotland. we'll have a frost for a while in northern ireland and northern england. and we've got this amber snow and ice warning from the met office for thursday covering north wales, northwestern parts of shropshire, also the peak district and the southern pennines. and you can see it's mainly over the hills, but there could be a lot of snow over the higher ground. it's going to be more likely rain as you head further south across wales,

the midlands and southern england. but as you move that wetter weather into the colder air, so we've got the threat of some snow mainly over the hills of northern england and also northern ireland, perhaps heading into the far south of scotland by the end of the day. could be some sunshine for the rest of scotland. chilly day, of course, with that wet weather, although it does turn much milder across the south, as that first band of wet weather moves through, briefly turning drier, but more rain coming into the south and more snow over the northern hills of england into southern scotland as well. now, this area of low pressure is bringing all the wet weather. it is pushing milder air northwards, but we've still got the cold conditions on friday in scotland. so this is where we're more likely to have some sleet and snow. there'll be a cold easterly wind picking up. could still be some snow over the northern pennines, but on the whole, across the rest of the uk, it's going to be too warm for snow. we're more likely to have some rain from time to time as temperatures are starting to rise. but it's still cold in scotland. but even here, temperatures are going to be rising on saturday.

the colder air is really only in the far north of scotland, so there could be some sleet and snow here. otherwise there may well be some sunshine, may well be some showers. these are more likely to be of rain. temperatures are rising in scotland and reaching double figures across much of england and wales and also northern ireland.

disney's cost cutting strategy pays off. the house of mouse announces the quarterly results and the biggest move in the gaming sector. plus is the world's second largest economy at risk of more deflation. we'll have the latest price data from china. hello and welcome to asia business report. we begin with disney because the media entertainment giant is reported earnings that beat estimates sharing its shares soaring in more than 6% in after—hours trading. it unveiled what is its biggest bent to date in the gaming industry. our north america business correspondent erin delmore has more from new york. disney says it's on pace to bring in more money this fiscal year and that it expects earnings at least 20% higher than last year and the company says it's on pace to cut costs. it expects to meet or surpass

its goal