finland's conservative former prime minister, alexander stubb, has won the country's presidential election. the political blocs which came second and third in pakistan's election say they'll work together to try to form a government. and the final of the africa cup of nations is over, with hosts ivory coast having won. with fans cheering on ivory coast and nigeria at the africa cup of nations. hello, i'm azadeh moshiri. welcome to the programme. we begin with israel's planned offensive in rafah. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has insisted it will go ahead — despite the fact that more than half of gaza's population has taken shelter there. he says israel will give civilians safe passage to areas

they've cleared north of rafah. and he claims israel's army has killed one hamas fighter for every civilian. the army has continued to target the city with air strikes, which medical workers say killed more than a0 people in the last day alone. the armed wing of hamas says israeli strikes have also killed two hostages in the last four days, and seriously injured eight others. and a senior hamas official has threatened to halt hostage exchange negotiations if israel goes ahead with the assault on rafah. meanwhile, us president joe biden has told benjamin netanyahu israel should not proceed with the offensive in rafah without a plan to ensure the safety of the huge number of palestinians sheltering there. with the latest, here's our international editor jeremy bowen. at the southern end of gaza, this is the heavily guarded border fence with egypt. for palestinian refugees, there is no further to go. laila abu mustafa fled here

with her two handicapped daughters. getting on for 1.5 million palestinian civilians have been forced into southern gaza, living in dreadful conditions. now, israel says it will attack this area, claiming it will find a safe haven for civilians in one of the most dangerous places for them on earth. "every day," laila says, "we've been on the run. "i can't carry my daughters. we are not moving again". in israel, which feels a world away. the prime minister's allies are backing his demand for total victory. history isjudging us. and if we don't eliminate i mean, hamas, if hamas or a terrorist entity continues controlling a territory beside israel, whether in the north or in the south, then i mean, we haven't done our moraljob towards our population. at israel's parliament injerusalem,

strains of war are showing. an mp who supported the genocide case against israel has been accused of treason and faces expulsion. defending oneself doesn't give one the right to kill other people, especially innocent civilians. it's very clear. everybody, myself and my comrades, we were, of course, totally against the terrible carnage that hamas carried out. but we said from the beginning that the solution and is not retaliation, is not revenge, and it's not war. so what is it? only a political solution. and the strain of war here in northern gaza — no police, no law and order, food convoys attacked. it's even worse in the south, with looters threatening to paralyse the entire aid operation. we've seen it growing over the last weeks. and i think as the situation, people become more desperate. as opportunities appear, we see the attacks on these trucks, the attacks on vehicles,

and now the attacks on drivers. and so it's become a very lawless area for people then to operate and for us to operate in that, it's impossible, actually. we can't get into gaza's chaotic, desperate tent cities to check israel's claims that hamas is stealing the food. the un says its young men not in uniform, mostly unarmed. president biden has told israel once again it must not attack here in rafah unless it keeps civilians safe. one question — is israel listening? jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. for more on this, i spoke to former pentagon official — and middle east advisor — jasmine el gamal. we have seen these warnings and circle frustrations and so—called frustrations from the american administration at the israeli prime ministerfor months now. they continue to get stronger

and this is for sure the strongest wording that the president has used. but the president also has not brought to bear anything he might do if prime minister netanyahu refuses to heed his advice. if i were president netanyahu, i would say no—one has really stepped in to stop me for the last four months, why would they do so now? and that's where we are in this incredibly critical juncture in the war right now. you have 1.5 million palestinians, many of them displaced several times over from the north down south to khan younis, and now further south to rafah who literally have no place to go as the prime minister of israel is saying we now want to evacuate you and start further operations there. jasminr, washington sends about $3.8 billion in military aid to israel each year, around £3 billion, is that a card president biden would ever use, that financial aid?

is there any card he would pull at all? it's very hard to see president biden doing that. there was a moment in the last four months when he said something off—the—cuff about conditionality may be something we can think about at some point but he has never seriously stated that that would be on the table. there are some senators, some members of the us congress who have started calling for a review of us assistance to israel based on its conduct over the last four months. however, president biden has stopped short of saying anything that would firmly signal to prime minister netanyahu that the us would take concrete steps if this operation goes ahead and puts these civilians further at risk than they already are. just to recap because that is

fascinating coming from yapping happy being a former pentagon official. to support the us and uk is showing towards israel is because of long—standing ties, because of this cultural connection between them. is there not a red line of some sort that you believe can break the camel's back? i've been asked this question for the last four months and every time i answer the same. if this is not a red line, if what has happened so far has not been a red line for the united states with all of the values that the united states claims to represent in the global community and as a global leader, what is that line? we have 1.5 million people stuck in tents in rafah right now with nowhere to go, basically starving with no fuel, food, water or medicine to sustain them. if this isn't a red line for the united states, i would certainly like to know from my former colleagues and employers what is.

now, over in the united states, former president donald trump says he would encourage russia to quote "do whatever the hell they want" to nato countries that haven't invested enough in their militaries. that's been met by a fierce response from nato's secretary general. jens stoltenberg says any attack on nato would be met with a united and forceful response. and that "any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security." nato countries are supposed to spend 2% of their gdp, their economic output, on defence. but not all of them do. at a campaign rally in south carolina, mr trump said he wouldn't defend nato members who don't meet their financial obligations to the alliance. nato was busted until i came along. i said, everybody�*s got to pay. they said, if we don't pay, are you still going to protect us? i said, absolutely not. they couldn't believe the answer. they asked me that question, one of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, "well, sir, if we don't pay

and we are attacked by russia, will you protect us?" i said, "you didn't pay, you're delinquent?" he said, "yes, let's say that happened." "no, i would not protect you." in fact, i would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. you've got to pay. you've got to pay your bills. earlier, i spoke with our security correspondent frank gardner. i asked him how russia's vladimir putin will be viewing these events. he will be loving it, it is grist to the mill for the kremlin because donald trump is a disrupter and anything that threatens to weaken the nato alliance is good for moscow. they see the world in kind of zero—sum game, what is bad for america in the west is good for russia and vice versa. there are two ways to look at this, you could say, come on, this isjust donald trump, loves to be provocative and grab the headlines, upset his critics and thrill his supporters. but actually,

as i think you are hinting at, these are pretty dangerous times. the crane war is raging, ukraine isn't winning, it's offensive last summer failed, the russians are still occupying most of four provinces in the south, they are rearming, russia has put itself onto a war footing, its economy at least, 40% of national income is now devoted to defence. nato isn't doing anything like that. what president trump is saying is he's kind of rehashing a point he made in 2018 when he president that countries that don't commit, orthat president that countries that don't commit, or that don't actually spend 2% or more of their gdp, gross domestic product, on defence, they are letting themselves and nato down and why on earth should america carry the burden of that? that plays very well at home with loss of his supporters saying, yeah, why should they? look at the cheers he got at they? look at the cheers he got at the end of that. but this is extremely threatening for nato because nato's entire deterrent value rests on something called

article five of nato's constitution which states that if one member is attacked then it can call on the whole alliance to defend it. in other words, to put it down to a practical basis, if russia decided to finish the war in ukraine, three years down the line it decides to send tanks across the border into estonia, a tiny country most people have not been to, but that would be an attack on the whole of nato which in theory would call for us defence. at president trump is saying if a country does not pay its 2%, why should i defend it? frank gardner there. finland's former prime minister alexander stubb has won the country's presidential run—off. mr stubb — from the centre—right national coalition party — earlier declared himself the winner with 51% of the vote. his rival, ex—foreign minister pekka haavisto from the green party has already conceded. the president heads up foreign and security policy, acts as commander in chief of the military and represents finland at nato, which the country joined last year, after russia's invasion of ukraine.

this is some news that came in in the last half hour. us secretary of defense lloyd austin is back in hospital, a pentagon spokesman said, this time "for symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue." austin was criticised last month for failing to disclose a cancer diagnosis and stays in hospitals in december and january, including to presidentjoe biden. this time, officials say biden, congress and austin's deputy were all informed. here in the uk — greater manchester police say they've arrested four boys, aged between 12 and 1a, on suspicion of rape in rochdale in northern england. nick garnett is there for us now. nick, what more can you tell us? a very distressing story. this

started at six o'clock yesterday evening when police were called and in the hours afterwards they came down to this car park of a supermarket in rochdale on the outskirts of manchester in northern england to seal off the area. you can see the yellow tape around me. behind me you can see... broadcast interrupted by interference. apologies for that, we had a bit of a technicalfailure but apologies for that, we had a bit of a technical failure but let's apologies for that, we had a bit of a technicalfailure but let's move on. if we can find nick again we will return to mad as we have updates on the story we will bring those as well. we will stay in rochdale but on a different issue. labour's candidate in the forthcoming rochdale by—election has apologised for remarks he made about israel during a local meeting. in a secret recording obtained by the mail on sunday, azhar ali reportedly said that israel had allowed the deadly attack by hamas on 7th october. mr ali now says his claims

were "deeply offensive, ignorant, and false". the conservatives have called on labour to suspend their campaign for the by—election. here's our political correspondent helen catt. it was comments as ali made about this attack on israeli civilians by hamas on the 7th of october last year that have caused a backlash. in a secret recording given to the mail on sunday, azhar ali reportedly told a community meeting in rochdale that israel had allowed the massacre to happen that gave them the green light to do whatever they want. he has since issued a statement in which he said he apologised unreservedly to the jewish community for unreservedly to thejewish community for his comments which he said were deeply offensive, ignorant and false. he went on to say that hamas�*s horrific terror attack was the responsibility of hamas alone and they are still holding hostages who must be released. the party's national campaign coordinator told laura kuenssberg he hoped mr ali had

learnt a lesson. he laura kuenssberg he hoped mr ali had learnt a lesson.— learnt a lesson. he has given a full a olo: learnt a lesson. he has given a full apology and _ learnt a lesson. he has given a full apology and a _ learnt a lesson. he has given a full apology and a full— learnt a lesson. he has given a full apology and a full retraction. - learnt a lesson. he has given a full| apology and a full retraction. those comments were completely wrong and they certainly don't represent the labour party's view.— labour party's view. azhar ali remains an — labour party's view. azhar ali remains an labour's - labour party's view. azhar ali l remains an labour's candidate. election rules mean he cannot now be removed from the ballot paper. labour has not withdrawn support from him, though, which the conservatives have seized on. it is really very — conservatives have seized on. it 3 really very distressing. we have been told that labour has changed but it seems we are back to square one, back to the dark days of corbyn, back to the anti—semitism that came with it. rem corbyn, back to the anti-semitism that came with it.— that came with it. an additional complication — that came with it. an additional complication for _ that came with it. an additional complication for labour - that came with it. an additional complication for labour is - that came with it. an additional complication for labour is a - complication for labour is a challenge from george galloway. the former labour and respect mp now standing in rochdale for the workers party of britain has been targeting labour's stance on a ceasefire in his campaign. the contest in this constituency which has a large muslim population has already been impacted by the situation in gaza. the green party candidate guy alton stepped back this week of historic

social media posts about palestinians. he will also still appear on the ballot paper. it is a contest which would usually be seen as a safe bet for labour, now increasingly influenced by events thousands miles away. let's look at pakistan now. against the odds, independent candidates backed by pakistan's jailed former prime minister, imran khan, have won the most seats. but the second and third largest political blocs say they have started formal discussions about forming a government together. the two parties, led by nawaz sharif and bilawal bhutto zardari, formed an alliance to oust mr khan from power in 2022. they've issued a statement saying they plan to work together to bring political stability. if they do form a government, it's likely to anger mr khan's followers. his pti party was barred from taking part in the election, forcing its candidates to stand as independents. our correspondent caroline davies has more. two sides are claiming victory in pakistan, but there is still no new government.

both need more seats to get a majority. this is part of imran khan's pti party's plan — protests like these in karachi. accusing the authorities of rigging the vote, they are challenging them in court and on the streets. this is the road outside the election commission here in rawalpindi and a few hundred protesters have gathered. this is not a mass level at the moment, but the idea is it keeps pressure up while the pti try to work out what to do next. in the crowd was aftab alam from oxford. this country has been in this situation for the last decade, and it has been going on like this. and imran khan is the only hope now for this country to get out of this mess. meanwhile, imran khan's political rival nawaz sharif is publicly looking for alliances. today, his brother met bilawal bhutto from the ppp to start formal discussions about forming a government. the two parties previously ruled together after, ousting imran khan in a vote of no confidence.

will they join up again? as the political wrangling continues, frustration is growing among the many imran khan supporters. just over an hour and a half into the protest in rawalpindi, suddenly the mood turned and a decision was made. so, we havejust been pushed back by a cloud of tear gas that was used on the crowd of protesters that were outside. they're now being completely dispersed. you can see the reaction of everybody behind me as well. pakistan has already faced months of political instability with no answer yet to who will lead the country. caroline davies, bbc news, rawalpindi. here in the uk, king charles has attended a church service in sandringham — the first time he's been seen in public since buckingham palace announced he'd been diagnosed with cancer.

the king and queen camilla walked to st mary magdalene church. last night, he thanked the public for the support he's received since news of his illness emerged. millions of people around the world will soon tune in to watch the super bowl — pitting the kansas city chiefs against the san francisco 49ers. these are live pictures from las vegas, where the match is taking place. you can see some people are rolling in right now. our correspondent, nesta mcgregor, has been soaking up the atmostphere ahead of the match. not long to go until kick—off. 65,000 fans are expected today. feels like most are already inside the compound. tickets are very pricey for this one, this morning they were still selling for £6,500 or thereabouts. they were still selling for £6,500 orthereabouts. i'm they were still selling for £6,500 or thereabouts. i'm going to speak to some people lucky enough to get tickets for the game. you don't have to tell me how much you paid. why are the chiefs are taking home the

super bowl today?— are the chiefs are taking home the super bowl today? patrick mahomes. you can't forget _ super bowl today? patrick mahomes. you can't forget him, _ super bowl today? patrick mahomes. you can't forget him, he _ super bowl today? patrick mahomes. you can't forget him, he is _ super bowl today? patrick mahomes. you can't forget him, he is the - you can't forget him, he is the fastest, — you can't forget him, he is the fastest, i— you can't forget him, he is the fastest, i love that guy. we are going _ fastest, i love that guy. we are going to — fastest, i love that guy. we are going to take it all the way. some may differ- _ going to take it all the way. some may differ. the _ going to take it all the way. some may differ. the 49ers _ going to take it all the way. some may differ. the 49ers fans. - going to take it all the way. some may differ. the 49ers fans. the . may differ. the 49ers fans. the favourites but the quarterback who is the underdog, why is it the 49ers today? irate is the underdog, why is it the 49ers toda ? ~ ., is the underdog, why is it the 49ers toda ? ~ . , , is the underdog, why is it the 49ers toda? . , , today? we have the best running back in the league- — today? we have the best running back in the league. not _ today? we have the best running back in the league. not to _ today? we have the best running back in the league. not to forget _ today? we have the best running back in the league. not to forget one - today? we have the best running back in the league. not to forget one of- in the league. not to forget one of the best quarterbacks _ in the league. not to forget one of the best quarterbacks that - in the league. not to forget one of the best quarterbacks that came i in the league. not to forget one of. the best quarterbacks that came from the best quarterbacks that came from the last round pick to being the number one quarterback of his second—year season. it number one quarterback of his second-year season.— number one quarterback of his second-year season. it would be some underdo: second-year season. it would be some underdog story- _ second-year season. it would be some underdog story. the _ second-year season. it would be some underdog story. the half-time show i underdog story. the half—time show is a big part of it. are we looking forward to al shaar? yeah absolutely. what songs are you looking forward to are shown performing?— looking forward to are shown performing? it is looking forward to are shown erformin: ? ., , m performing? yeah!! -- usher. it is a bus da performing? yeah!! -- usher. it is a busy day at — performing? yeah!! -- usher. it is a busy day at ella _ performing? yeah!! -- usher. it is a busy day at ella jan _ performing? yeah!! -- usher. it is a busy day at ella jan stadium. - performing? yeah!! -- usher. it is a busy day at ella jan stadium. the . busy day at ella jan stadium. the kansas city chiefs versus the 49ers.

it could go down at us —— it could go down as a classic. he was going to win? that was nesta mcgregor. celebrations are under way in ivory coast, after the host nation won the africa cup of nations, beating out nigeria. these were the celebrations at a watching party in london at full—time. the score 2—1. this is a far quieter event, the rival watching party where nigerian fans were watching. there wasn't much noise, to be honest, throughout the match and now it is virtually empty. since there aren't many fans to speak to there, let's go live to our news reporterjimmy dai simi

jolaoso. so many celebrations throughout this match. what is going on right now? —— reporter simi jolaoso. there is lots of celebration here with ivory coast fans who have just beaten nigeria to have the afcon champs this year. cheering it is all thanks to two players, sebastien haller and frank kezia who both scored. now i've got with me fans who have been celebrating tonight. what do you think about ivory coast winning this year's afcon? �* , ., , _ ivory coast winning this year's afcon? �* , . , _ ., ivory coast winning this year's afcon?�* , g , afcon? i'm very happy about it. just very excited — afcon? i'm very happy about it. just very excited and _ afcon? i'm very happy about it. just very excited and i _ afcon? i'm very happy about it. just very excited and i can't _ afcon? i'm very happy about it. just very excited and i can't believe - afcon? i'm very happy about it. just very excited and i can't believe it. i very excited and i can't believe it. very excited indeed. i'm sure you feel the same way. i very excited indeed. i'm sure you feel the same way.— very excited indeed. i'm sure you feel the same way. i feel the same wa , i feel the same way. i feel the same way. i knew _ feel the same way. i feel the same way. i knew we _ feel the same way. i feel the same way, i knew we would _ feel the same way. i feel the same way, i knew we would win - feel the same way. i feel the same way, i knew we would win from - feel the same way. i feel the same| way, i knew we would win from the -et way, i knew we would win from the get go _ way, i knew we would win from the get go when i knew it would be in our homeland. nigeria, we love you lot, your— our homeland. nigeria, we love you lot, your energy was amazing but tonight— lot, your energy was amazing but tonight he — lot, your energy was amazing but tonight he had to go home. what about you? _ tonight he had to go home. what about you? did _ tonight he had to go home. what about you? did you _ tonight he had to go home. twist about you? did you expect ivory coast to win tonight? i did expect

it from the _ coast to win tonight? i did expect it from the beginning _ coast to win tonight? i did expect it from the beginning and - coast to win tonight? i did expect it from the beginning and i - coast to win tonight? i did expect it from the beginning and i knewl coast to win tonight? i did expect i it from the beginning and i knew we would _ it from the beginning and i knew we would win — it from the beginning and i knew we would win. nigeria, _ it from the beginning and i knew we would win. nigeria, you _ it from the beginning and i knew we would win. nigeria, you have to - it from the beginning and i knew we would win. nigeria, you have to goi would win. nigeria, you have to go home! _ would win. nigeria, you have to go home! ~ ., would win. nigeria, you have to go home! . . . i. would win. nigeria, you have to go home! ~ . ., ., home! what about you? do you have any message — home! what about you? do you have any message for— home! what about you? do you have any message for nigerian _ home! what about you? do you have any message for nigerian fans - home! what about you? do you have any message for nigerian fans who i any message for nigerian fans who are disappointed tonight? thea;r any message for nigerian fans who are disappointed tonight? they are unluc . are disappointed tonight? they are unlucky- unlucky — are disappointed tonight? they are unlucky. unlucky indeed. _ are disappointed tonight? they are | unlucky. unlucky indeed. obviously ni . erian unlucky. unlucky indeed. obviously nigerian fans _ unlucky. unlucky indeed. obviously nigerian fans all— unlucky. unlucky indeed. obviously nigerian fans all over _ unlucky. unlucky indeed. obviously nigerian fans all over the _ unlucky. unlucky indeed. obviously nigerian fans all over the world - nigerian fans all over the world will be sad and a bit disappointed but that's not the same for ivory coast fans who are celebrating. this is their third afcon title, the last in 2015. now they are africa cup of nations title holders, and also's king of african football. was this expected? were people planning to celebrate this way? whether any nerves? throughout the night when we have been speaking to you, all we heard has been cheers. that's right. people were excited. i don't know whether they expected it

or they were just hopeful. one fan has just told me that they did expect it. they did expect to crush nigeria. i had another girl saying that the nigerians have been a bit too stubborn this week expecting to win. but ivory coast has come out on top. despite nigeria beating ivory coast in the group stages, ivory coast in the group stages, ivory coast have done a sensational, fantastic turnaround in this tournament. they are definitely a team to watch in the future. simi jolaoso, team to watch in the future. simijolaoso, thank team to watch in the future. simi jolaoso, thank you so team to watch in the future. simijolaoso, thank you so much team to watch in the future. simi jolaoso, thank you so much for that. enjoy the celebrations. taylor swift has been stealing the pregame headlines against dummigan head of the super bowl. she is behind the umbrella there, after racing back from her tokyo concert to watch her boyfriend chiefs start travis kelce play in the big game. a bakerin travis kelce play in the big game. a baker in the uk has created something rather sweet for this occasion a life—sized taylor swift cake. it took 38 hours to make using almost 130 kilos of ingredients. not

the typical super bowl feast, normally it is chicken wings. let's bring you the live pictures of las vegas. those are the fans trickling in. kansas city chiefs fans, 49ers fans and probably taylor swift fans as well. that's brought a lot more attention to the game. there is much more on the website about all of that. so please do stay with us on bbc news and go on the website if you need any updates and pregame news. thanks so much. that's all from me. hello there. very pleased to say it's been a quieter weekend of weather for most of us, but there's still a lot of waterlogged fields and pavements out there, as you can see by this weather watcher picture sent in from hull a little earlier on. now, as we go through the week ahead, we might start off quite

optimistic with some sunny spells around, but it will turn increasingly unsettled, with the showers turning to longer spells of rain, breezy at times, but it will be mild, particularly through the middle part of the week. this has been the story today. we've had some nuisance rainjust clinging onto the far east coast of scotland and north—east england. some brighter spells and a few scattered showers out to the west. now, those showers will continue to feed in across west—facing coasts overnight. but with some clearer skies, temperatures are likely to fall away. it's going to be a chilly start to our monday morning. low single figures for many, perhaps in rural parts of scotland, below freezing, a touch of ice not out of the question where we've got those lingering showers. low pressure dominates the scene as we move into monday, the wind direction coming from a north—westerly, slightly fresher source and that's going to continue to drive in plenty of showers closest to that area of low. so northern ireland, scotland, perhaps northwest england as well. and some of the showers to the tops of the mountains once again could be wintry in nature.

but there will be some sunshine elsewhere and those temperatures are likely to peak between six and ten degrees. as we go through monday evening and into tuesday, we've got this little ridge of high pressure keeping things quiet. but all the time this weather front is approaching from the southwest, that is going to gradually spill in more cloud ahead of it. so after a bright start, clouding over. a few scattered showers in the far northwest, more persistent showery rain develops across the channel islands, south west england, wales and eventually into the midlands, north west england and northern ireland by the end of the afternoon. 7 to 11, our overall highs. so as we move out of tuesday into wednesday, it's here where the showers potentially could merge to longer spells of rain as it stays pretty unsettled. the wind direction there coming from a south—westerly, so a very mild direction and that is going to just push that milder air further north across the country. so it does mean that we could see temperatures perhaps into the mid—teens as we go through the middle part of the week. but it stays pretty unsettled for many of us. take care.

this is bbc news — the headlines. president biden tells israel's prime minister not to press ahead with an offensive in rafah without a plan to ensure the safety of the one and a half million palestinians sheltering

there. the head of nato slams donald trump for saying he would encourage russia to attack any nato ally that doesn't spend enough on defense. the africa cup of nations final is now over with hosts ivory coast beating nigeria to — one. celebrations are now under way, including watching parties in london. and with the football over there is another big game coming up— the super bowl is about to get under way in las vegas and these are the lives pictures from outside the stadium. now it's time for today's sunday episode of newscast — with laura kuessnberg, paddy o'connell and henry zeffman. newscast. newscast from the bbc. hello, it is paddy in the studio.

laura in the studio. and henry at home.