a us drone strike kills an iran—backed militia leader in baghdad. when a bbc team reached the scene, protesters were shouting "america is the biggest devil." and donald trump sets his sights on thursday's nevada caucuses, where he is running unopposed — after nikki haley's stinging defeat in the state's republican primary. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. welcome to the show. we begin in the middle east as israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu rejected hamas�* proposed ceasefire terms on wednesday — saying "total victory" in gaza is possible within months. mr netanyahu added that negotiations with the group were "not going anywhere" and described their terms as "bizarre". hamas laid out a process to release israeli hostages in several exchange for palestinian prisoners

and a period of calm to allow a dramatic increase in aid to hamas also said any truce had to guarantee a permanent ceasefire, something israel has senior hamas official says a delegation will head to cairo for peace talks with egypt and qatar. mr netanyahu's remarks are a blow to a sustained push by the us to reach an agreement. something the country's top diplomat, antony blinken, says there is still room for as negotiations continue. while there are some clear non—starter is in hamas�*s response, we do think it creates space for agreement to be reached, and we will work at that relentlessly until we get there. our correspondent barbara plett usher is injerusalem and sent us her analysis on where negotiations stand. the israeli prime ministers seem to slam the door shut on a ceasefire and hostage deal, he

dismissed hamas deals as delusional and said surrendering to them would only lead to another massacre and said that total bickering against the group was within reach. it was a pretty defiant statement and frankly quite a public rebuke of antony blinken�*s idiocy and efforts. antony blinken sort of stock is tow in the door —— diplomacy efforts. is that some of the terms were non— starters but he said it was enough space to pursue negotiations and he would do several endlessly stop he said he pressed the israelis to stress protection of civilians and maximise the efforts to get humanitarian aid into gaza and he highlighted key steps on how to do that. neither man spelt out the hamas demands that they were objecting but the group did say that any temporary truce would need to lead to a permanent ceasefire and an israeli withdrawal from gaza and that is something that israel reject

and antony blinken agreed that hamas should not have a role in gaza after the war. he medically seeking an extensive ceasefire and is hoping it will lead to wider peace talks to end the conflict. to get an understanding of what "total victory" looks like for israel at this point in the conflict, we spoke to tal heinrich, spokesperson for israeli prime minister netanyahu. we believe that these two goals that we have defined for the operation in gaza after we were dragged into this war following the seventh of october mexico, which is a release of hostages and also the elimination of hamas, they are not contradictory. they go hand—in—hand. we believe that the military pressure, heavy military pressure that we are exerting on the ground in gaza is what created the conditions for example back in november to reach a diplomatic framework by which we saw the release of some of the hostages. now, we want our stolen people back, there are 136 hostages in gaza, we believe that about 100

of them are still alive and we want all of them back. we will continue to hit hamas terrorists on the ground in gaza very, very hard, and we continue to pursue the diplomatic avenue as the secretary of state antony blinken just referred to. for an alternative perspective i spoke earlier with omar shakir, israel—palestine director for human rights watch. we heard antony blinken has said negotiations for a ceasefire will continue. what will this mean for both civilians on the ground in gaza and the hostages who are still being held? look, the reason why so many are calling for a ceasefire is the catastrophic situation we have today in the gaza strip. you have a reality in which you have the majority of the population displaced, the majority of homes that have been damaged or destroyed, you have 400,000 people starving, classified at the highest levels by aid organisations, and this is not some

humanitarian disaster, it is a man—made policy of the israeli government, to use starvation as a weapon of force, you have scores of bodies of palestinians piling up by the day, every day that passes more than 100 palestinians on average are being killed. you have hostages that remain held for more than 100... nearly five months, and so every day that goes by, the human toll continues to grow, and that is why there have been so many calls for a ceasefire the longer this continues, the more you push the people of gaza who are facing relentless bombardment, starvation, deprivation of, in many cases, there are homes, basic... i want tojump in there on the point that you said that this is israel's policy of creating the starvation. we did of course speak to the spokesperson for the israeli prime minister who said the israelis are doing what they can to protect civilians. it is hamas that is actually putting civilians at risk

by embedding themselves in the population. what is your response to that? it is flat—out false. the reality is here even if every single truck that entered gaza reached the recipients, it wouldn't meet a fraction of the needs of the population. according to the united nations, the vast majority of aid missions are not reaching northern gaza which is where you have the most catastrophic situation of hunger. the israeli government, let's not forget, turned off the taps of water, shutdown electricity. it has been almost five months. they are obstructing the entry of aid, not letting aid reach different parts of gaza, they are deliberately destroying agricultural land as we have documented through satellite imagery, destroying objects like bakeries and granaries necessary for human survival and of course when it comes to air strikes we have seen heavy bombs in densely populated areas, schools, hospitals, camps of displaced people, 27,000 people according to local authorities, the majority...

if i could jump in there. speaking to israeli authorities, they say clearly their goal is to make sure hamas is eradicated and what happened on 7 october can never happen again. given that position of course some of the negotiations we have seen over a ceasefire, are you confident that we are going to see some sort of long pause in fighting to get that needed aid you are describing into gaza? at the end of the day, ceasefire or not, unlawful attacks must stop, hostages should be unconditionally immediately released, humanitarian aid should be allowed into gaza, human beings are not bargaining chips and it is unfortunate that we are negotiating what are basic principles of international law. these are non—negotiable. they should be provided today. the reality is parties cannot use the lack of a ceasefire to continue to commit war crimes.

we all follow the press reports, obviously there is hope that there can be an agreement, but really, pressure needs to be put on the parties are to end their abuses today because, ultimately, we are talking about human beings that are nothing to do in gaza with the 7 october attacks that are paying the price. october 7 involve heinous war crimes, perpetrators should be held to account, the israeli government is looking for and appears to be pursuing a policy for revenge, the people of gaza paying the price. these are war crimes that are being committed. they must end, perpetrators must be held to account. we have about a minute left, but given the situation in northern gaza, can you tell us what is most needed on the ground right now by civilians? really, everything. the reality is starvation is rampant, we have a looming famine as aid agencies warned about. there is an urgent need for food to get in but it is also water. you have basically all of gaza not only going days without food and water,

but really aren't able to get clean water, that affects the operations of health facilities, half of gaza's population in rafah and southern gaza where you have disease spreading, an urgent need, hospitals, the majority of them are not functioning so there is a need for the basic necessities of life, food, clean water, medicines to get in, but ultimately, so long as unlawful attacks continue, people are struggling to survive so there needs to be an opportunity for the people of gaza to return to their homes, and that requires ending unlawful attacks and letting aid in. thank you so much forjoining us tonight on bbc news. thank you. a us drone strike has killed a senior kata'ib hezbollah commander in baghdad. iraqi security sources say the attack — in the east of the iraqi capital — killed three people in total, including a senior commander of kata'ib hezbollah, the iranian—supported militia us officials say was behind recent attacks on us bases in iraq and syria.

one of the victims has been identified as abu baqir al—saadi, a senior commander in the group. it comes days after other us airstrikes targeted militia positions in iraq and syria. 0ur senior international correspondent 0rla guerin is in baghdad and tried to get close to the scene of the 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 kata'ib hezbollah — a powerful pro—iranian militia. us officials have blamed kata'ib 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 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. in a statement following the strike, the us said it will continue to take necessary action to protect its people. and that it will not hesitate to hold those who threaten its forces�* safety. turning now to the race for the white house —

and a day after president biden clinched another win on the democrat ballot, one of his long—shot rivals, author marianne williamson, has announced she's suspended her presidential campaign. the 71—year—old had trouble making an impact with voters. and her campaign was riddled with staffing changes, with three different campaign managers during her short—lived campaign. meanwhile on the republican side, presidential candidate nikki haley suffered a stinging defeat in nevada. ms haley won just 31% in tuesday's contest, well behind the 63% of the ballots cast for "none of these candidates" — which observers saw as a symbolic vote for donald trump, whose name did not appear on the ballot. the former president — and current frontrunner for the republican nomination — will instead be running unchallenged in thursday's caucus. regardless of the result, the nevada gop has chosen not to recognise the primary — and will instead award all 26 of its delegates at the state's upcoming caucus. take a listen to one nevada voter — who explained his choice in tuesday's primary.

i actually voted for none of the above here because the primary here didn't include all of the people, and i'll be going thursday for the caucus to vote for trump. well following nikki haley's loss in nevada, the former south carolina governor vowed to forge ahead with her campaign. haley took to x — formerly twitter — to criticise her party, saying: "republicans keep doing the same thing and getting 0ur north america correspondent anthony zurcher is in las vegas, and joined me earlier. is this a big blow for nikki haley losing to the none of the above on the ballot?— haley losing to the none of the above on the ballot? losing two none of the _ above on the ballot? losing two none of the above _ above on the ballot? losing two none of the above is _ above on the ballot? losing two none of the above is not - above on the ballot? losing two none of the above is not a - above on the ballot? losing two none of the above is not a good | none of the above is not a good look. it's going to be a challenge for her to put this behind her, she really has not been spending a lot of time in nevada, she did not commit a lot of resources here. she is

focusing on her home state of south carolina in two weeks and i will be the real battleground, the polls show even there she is losing to donald trump by a significant margin. donald trump by a significant manin, ., ., ., donald trump by a significant maruin. ., ., ., , ., . , margin. tomorrow is caucus, explained — margin. tomorrow is caucus, explained to _ margin. tomorrow is caucus, explained to us _ margin. tomorrow is caucus, explained to us how - margin. tomorrow is caucus, explained to us how this - margin. tomorrow is caucus, explained to us how this will| explained to us how this will work and what you think we can expect to see? the work and what you think we can meet to see?— expect to see? the caucus was run here from _ expect to see? the caucus was run here from about _ expect to see? the caucus was run here from about 5:30 - expect to see? the caucus was run here from about 5:30 pm l expect to see? the caucus was | run here from about 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm and republicans are registered will show up at their specific caucus site and cast a secret ballot for the candidate of their choice. they only have two choices, donald trump or the texas chancellor, once they do that it's not an elaborate caucus, they can go home, it will be basically like a primary boat and a much smaller time for them to vote. we expect to see donald trump when handily and take all the nearly 50 delegates to the republican national convention that are at stake here.-

that are at stake here. racking u . that are at stake here. racking u- more that are at stake here. racking up more delegates _ that are at stake here. racking up more delegates at - that are at stake here. racking up more delegates at this - up more delegates at this point, looking ahead to south carolina you mention the beckley for donald trump. what chance does nikki haley have two competitive rates for the nomination?— two competitive rates for the nomination? she is hoping this something _ nomination? she is hoping this something that _ nomination? she is hoping this something that shakes - nomination? she is hoping this something that shakes up - nomination? she is hoping this something that shakes up the l something that shakes up the contest and that's a big question of what would do it. everything that's happened over the past year, nothing has really affected donald trump standing within the party. she is banking on may be some sort ofs a prize change. that doesn't seem to be in the cards but south carolina is a homestay, she was governor there and in underdog when she ran for governor. she proved a lot of political prognostic adders wrong and in that case she is hoping again this time but it's a tall task. something that make _ but it's a tall task. something that make it _ but it's a tall task. something that make it in _ but it's a tall task. something that make it in the _ but it's a tall task. something that make it in the way, - that make it in the way, possibly donald trump's legal troubles. we saw the dc appeals court saying that is not immune from prosecution. could we see him in a federal court this spring after all?—

him in a federal court this spring after all? the federal trial, january _ spring after all? the federal trial, january 6 _ spring after all? the federal trial, january 6 troubles - trial, january 6 troubles pushback from the early march start date and we don't have a schedule for it yet. if the supreme court decides to let that lower court opinion stand then yes, the trial could be moved back onto the calendar and we may be able to see it start sometime in the spring but not early much like we were expecting. but not early much like we were “petting-— expecting. great to see you, anthony. — expecting. great to see you, anthony, thank _ expecting. great to see you, anthony, thank you. - back here in washington, republicans in the senate have blocked new bipartisan legislation that tied tougher border restrictions to aid for ukraine and israel. after months of negotiations, the legislation could not secure the two—thirds majority of senators it needed to pass. the final tally was 49 for and 50 against. senators are now trying to fashion a new version of the legislation, to salvage a military aid package for ukraine and israel. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at a top story in the uk. britain's prince of wales has thanked the public in his first comments since his father king charles was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer. prince william returned

to formal duties on wednesday. he had taken a break while his wife catherine recuperates from abdominal surgery. one of his first events was a black—tie fundraiser for the london air ambulance, where he met with staff, and socialized with the likes of actor tom cruise. from the stage, he thanked the crowd. i'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you also for the kind messages of support for catherine and for my father, especially in recent days. it means a great deal to us all. it's fair to say the past few weeks have had a rather medical focus, so i thought i'd come to an air ambulance function to get away from it all. laughter meanwhile, prince harry has been seen at heathrow airport, seemingly on his return to the us after meeting his father. it's been reported that the two spoke for about 45 minutes. prince harry did not meet with his brother, prince william, during his visit to the uk.

you're live with bbc news. we want to turn our attention now to the growing fentanyl crisis here in the us. over 110,000 people died of opioid overdoses last year alone. the drug is 50 times stronger than heroin. most of the fentanyl consumed illegally in the us is made abroad. the us state deparment says mexico is the biggest source, with gangs smuggling the drugs across the us—mexico border. from there, our latin america correspondent, will grant, sent this special report. there are no quiet nights for tijuana. 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 — fe nta nyl. 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. fenta nyl overdoses are now simply part of daily and nightly life in tijuana, 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 lopez 0brador 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. you know, a lot of 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? no. 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 situation itself. el paso sits just over 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. they send weapons south. we send fentanyl north. everyone is responsible for their own acts. wake up! back in tijuana, it took three doses of narcan, but the paramedics brought one man back from the brink. his friend, however, died right there on the bar—room 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. let's turn to some other news around the world. the us attorney—general says a justice department probe into president biden's handling of classified documents has been completed. merrick garland said the results will be released soon. garland appointed a special counsel early last year after aides to mr biden found sensitive government materials at his home in delaware, and in an office he used after her term as vice president. mr biden has said he cooperated with the investigation. us military officials said they've located a missing marine helicopter in the california mountains, similar to the one shown here. the fate of the five marines travelling on board is unclear. but the officials said the rescue operation is ongoing. the marines were on a training flight near san diego

early on wednesday. the missing helicopter was found about 45 miles from its destination. that's about 70 kilometres. the un's humanitarian coordinator says the leaders of the two warring factions in sudan have agreed to meet for talks on the delivery of aid. martin griffiths said at least 25 million people are in need of assistance — and the un has had very limited access. it's appealing for more money to fund humanitarian operations in sudan and neighbouring countries hosting refugees. more than 9 million people have been displaced in ten months of conflict between rival military leaders. this image of a young polar bear asleep on an iceberg, has won the wildlife photographer of the year people's choice award. british amateur photographer nima sarikhani took the photograph after 3 days searching for polar bears through thick fog, off norway's svalbard archipelago. he's been telling us how he took the photo, and how it felt to win.

i'm still just totally shocked and incredibly humbled and it's such an important competition for anyone who is into wildlife photography and i never thought that i would get anywhere near this day. i'm still trying to take it all in. it was an ice breaker up exploring the north in the middle of covid. it was the only boat operating so we had the whole boat to ourself. the skies opened and we were able to spend eight hours with the bears. i couldn't believe it. it wasjust magical. unbelievable. this image wasjust before midnight. having the bear hunting through the ice flows and just looking for food. and then sort of, i guess, itjust got tired at the end of the day. clambered and clawed out a shelf to support him and went for a nap. i don't think that i would everfind an opportunity to see anything like that again. it was truly phenomenal. congratulations again to amateur photographer, nima sarikhani. and before we go, one of our most read stories from our website: a french model—builder had his hopes

dashed when his attempt at the world record for a matchstick eiffel tower was disqualified. richard plaud from western france spent eight years building a 23—foot tower, that's more than seven meters. but officials from the guinness world records told him he used the wrong kind of matches. he had contacted the match manufacturer to get a supply of matches without the familiar red sulphur tips we're used to. easierfor building, but technically not real matches. plaud told reporters that part of his dream had vanished. but there could be a silver lining to this story, plaud hopes his model will go on display for the paris olympic games injuly. that's all from the team here in washington. i'm sumi somaskanda. thank you for watching. 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.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur and today i'm in new york city at the headquarters of the united nations. and this building is supposed to symbolise a shared global commitment to peace, security and international cooperation. but right now, all of that sounds pretty hollow. at this time of spiralling global tension, the un is hamstrung by the mutual hostility of the great powers. my guest today is russia's un ambassador, vassily nebenzia. now, does deadlock and dysfunction here suit russia? ambassador vassily nebenzia, welcome to hardtalk.