election say they'll work together to try to form a government. the head of nato slams donald trump for saying he would encourage russia to attack any nato ally that doesn't spend enough on defence. and we'll talk american football — the half—time show and taylor swift, with only a short time to go til the nfl super bowl in las vegas. we begin the programme with the latest on the israel—gaza war. the us presidentjoe biden has warned israel's prime minister that no military operation should go ahead in rafah in southern gaza unless there's a plan to ensure

the safety of the population. president biden has become the latest leader to voice his concern about israel's proposal to invade the city. rafah, on the border with egypt, has become the last refuge for palestinians fleeing the bombardment elsewhere in gaza, which has been going on since the hamas attacks of october 7th last year. hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by the uk. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has insisted an evacuation plan for the city is being prepared. with the latest, here's the bbc�*s international editorjeremy 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. ass opportunities appear, we see the attacks on these trucks, 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 it's 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. here in the uk, the opposition labour party'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 october 7th. 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 about this attack on israeli civilians by hamas on october 7th last year that has caused a backlash. in a recording given to the mail on sunday, azhar ali reportedly told a community meeting in rochdale israel had allowed the attack to give them the green light to do whatever they want. he has since issued a statement in which 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 hamas' horrific terror attack was the responsibility of them alone, and they are still holding hostages who must be released. the hope is that he has learned a lesson. he must be released. the hope is that he has learned a lesson.— he has learned a lesson. he has civen a he has learned a lesson. he has given a full— he has learned a lesson. he has given a full apology _ he has learned a lesson. he has given a full apology and - he has learned a lesson. he has given a full apology and a - he has learned a lesson. he has given a full apology and a full i given a full apology and a full retraction that the comments were completely wrong and they certainly don't represent the labour party. azhar ali remained the labour candidate, election rules mean he

cannot now be removed from the ballot paper. labour hasn't withdrawn support from him, though, which the conservatives have seized upon. it’s which the conservatives have seized u on. �* , . , which the conservatives have seized uon. h . , , which the conservatives have seized uon. h , , ,, upon. it's really very distressing. we have been — upon. it's really very distressing. we have been told _ upon. it's really very distressing. we have been told labour- upon. it's really very distressing. we have been told labour have l we have been told labour have changed — we have been told labour have changed but we are back to those dark days — changed but we are back to those dark days of corbin and the anti—semitism that came with it. an anti—semitism that came with it. additional anti—semitism that came with it. in additional complication for labour is a challenge from george galloway. the former labour and respect mp is standing and targeted their 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 stepped back this week over historic social media posts about palestinians. he will also still appear on the ballot paper. it's a contest that would usually be a safe bet for labour, now increasingly influenced by events thousands of miles away.

protests have broken out across pakistan after the general election provided no clear winner. candidates supportive of the former prime minister imran khan, who's in prison, have secured the largest number of seats in parliament. weeks of political wrangling to form a governing coalition is now expected, as caroline davies reports from rawalpindi. 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's been going on like this. imran khan is the only hope now for this country to get out of this mess. why did you want to come down here today? it's just to aid our peaceful protest that we need to have a respect for the people's mandate. the people have shown their desire, they want imran khan. 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. for more on this, let's speak to samina yasmeen, a professor at university of western australia's centre for muslim states and societies. thank you for your time on bbc news. there has been uncertainty over what would be the final outcome. what are you hearing, is the picture finally getting clearer about a possible coalition government or there could

be more surprises in store? i coalition government or there could be more surprises in store?- be more surprises in store? i think there were — be more surprises in store? i think there were different _ be more surprises in store? i think there were different possibilities. l there were different possibilities. the structure created before the elections it's becoming more obvious what's going to happen with ppp and pml(n) with some smaller parties. and some independents who got seats could join the coalition. inaudible. the numbers for two parties, ppp and pml(n) could increase and form a coalition. but the sticking point would be who is the next prime minister, what would be the division in terms of the president's position... inaudible. but there's another possibility that the other party has been exploring.

while they have been elected as independent candidates with separate electoral symbols, they could join a party and then claim the right to have extra seats from others... that could also be a possibility. but i would say so far, it looks more likely the structures created with pml(n) and ppp would be there. fin pml(n) and ppp would be there. on the ground, imran khan's independent candidates have won the majority of seats. how worrying is the concern of widespread unrest? i seats. how worrying is the concern of widespread unrest?—

of widespread unrest? i think it is there, of widespread unrest? i think it is there. you _ of widespread unrest? i think it is there. you can't _ of widespread unrest? i think it is there, you can't exclude - of widespread unrest? i think it is there, you can't exclude the - there, you can't exclude the possibility. the reason behind that is since he was ousted from power in april 2022, is since he was ousted from power in april2022, imran khan is since he was ousted from power in april 2022, imran khan has mobilized the use. a large proportion of the population under 35, and they have been given a clear narrative that says pml(n) and ppp have sold their soul either to the military or external powers. so younger people who do not have a history and knowledge, they tend to accept that. they have a strong emotional attachment to imran khan. some of them are very young. so with that backing, it's quite possible that the anger against the military, which is presented often as mobilizing these structures in pakistan... if the government tries

to control demonstrations against the election, which a lot of people are doing, there is the possibility that some young people would lose control or even some elements elsewhere could do that. the possibility of violence at some stage. possibility of violence at some sta . e. ~ . possibility of violence at some staue. ~ ., ., ., stage. we will have to leave it there, stage. we will have to leave it there. but _ stage. we will have to leave it there, but thank _ stage. we will have to leave it there, but thank you - stage. we will have to leave it there, but thank you very - stage. we will have to leave it | there, but thank you very much stage. we will have to leave it - there, but thank you very much for your perspective on the developing situation in pakistan, which we continue to watch closely. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the united nations�* children's agency, unicef, has warned that nearly 70,000 children in western nepal need further humanitarian aid following november's devastating earthquake. more than 150 people died in what was the country's deadliest quake in eight years. unicef is appealing for more than 14 million dollars in funding to help rebuild the lives of those affected. finland's presidential election has been won by the conservative former prime minister alexander stubb. mr stubb takes a hardline

approach towards russia, with which his country shares a long border. 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. the united nations humanitarian coordinator, martin griffiths, has warned that ongoing telecom blackout in sudan is preventing people from accessing essential services. most of sudan's main internet service providers have been offline for more than a week. mr griffiths said people were also unable to transfer funds because of the blackout. in a post on social media, he urged those responsible to restore the networks. the head of nato has strongly criticised donald trump, after he suggested at a campaign rally, he might encourage russia to attack any nato members who didn't pay their dues. jens stoltenberg said the comments could undermine security and put soldiers at risk. the white house called

mr trump's words �*unhinged'. our security correspondent frank gardner has more. we're still nine months away from the us presidential election, but already the man who wants to be back in the white house has been accused of encouraging russia to attack nato countries that don't pay enough for their defence. have a listen. one of the presidents of a big country stood up, said, well, sir, if we don't pay and we're 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. but not everybody does. here are the countries in green that do meet the nato requirement to spend at least 2% of their gdp on defence. the uk passes the test, but a lot of others don't. here in red are all those nations

from nato that are not meeting their commitment. trump's point is, why should america pay for those countries that won't pay their way? but nato's chief has been quick to put out this statement of reassurance. any suggestion that allies will not defend each other, he says, undermines all our security, including that of the us, and it puts american and european soldiers at increased risk. well, these are tense times for nato. the war in ukraine is still raging. russia is ramping up its military production lines. it aims to win. that's making countries like poland and the baltic states worry that when that war is over, they mightjust be next. so frankly, the last thing nato's wanted now was a potential future us president saying if some members are attacked, he just might not come to their defence. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's take a look at some of the stories

in the headlines in the uk. greater manchester police say they've arrested four boys aged between 12 and 14 on suspicion of rape in rochdale in northern england. more details from our reporter nick garnett. the people arrested, four young boys, one is 12, i3 and two ia—year—olds, being questioned by specialist detectives. the alleged victim is believed to be a young girl who is being helped and supported by specially trained officers. police are very keen to hear from anybody who was in the area or who may have seen anything to get in touch with them. a vigil has been held in warrington to remember the murdered teenager brianna ghey. her family, friends and teachers were among those in attendance. brianna, who was 16, was stabbed to death in a park near the town a year ago today. a man and a woman have been charged after an eight—year—old boy was bitten on the head by an xl bully in merseyside. the boy was taken to hospital

yesterday with "life—changing "life—changing injuries". you're live with bbc news. our reporter simi jolaoso has been at the afcon. a great night for the ivory coast, they have won the africa cup of nations. we will get you more on those celebrations. the scene at full—time is what you are looking at, just a short while ago, at a party in london when ivory coast beat nigeria 2—i. our reporter was there soaking up the atmosphere. figs there soaking up the atmosphere. is you can imagine, a lot ofjubilation here. ivory coast brands, they have just beaten nigeria 2—i

here. ivory coast brands, they have just beaten nigeria 2—1 to become the afcon champions this year. it is thanks to two players, sebastien haller and kessie. thanks to two players, sebastien hallerand kessie. i thanks to two players, sebastien haller and kessie. i have some plans who have been celebrating tonight. what do you think about ivory coast winning this year's afcon? i’m what do you think about ivory coast winning this year's afcon?— winning this year's afcon? i'm 'ust very happy — winning this year's afcon? i'm 'ust very happy about it. i winning this year's afcon? i'm 'ust very happy about it. just �* winning this year's afcon? i'm 'ust very happy about it. just very h very happy about it. just very excited _ very happy about it. just very excited i_ very happy about it. just very excited. ijust can't believe it. very— excited. ijust 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, honestl i feel the same way? i feel the same, honestly i knew— feel the same way? i feel the same, honestly i knew they _ feel the same way? i feel the same, honestly i knew they were _ feel the same way? i feel the same, honestly i knew they were going - feel the same way? i feel the same, honestly i knew they were going to l honestly i knew they were going to win. honestly i knew they were going to win nigeria. — honestly i knew they were going to win nigeria. we_ honestly i knew they were going to win. nigeria, we love _ honestly i knew they were going to win. nigeria, we love you - honestly i knew they were going to win. nigeria, we love you lot, - honestly i knew they were going to win. nigeria, we love you lot, butl win. nigeria, we love you lot, but today— win. nigeria, we love you lot, but today you — win. nigeria, we love you lot, but today you had _ win. nigeria, we love you lot, but today you had to— win. nigeria, we love you lot, but today you had to go _ win. nigeria, we love you lot, but today you had to go home. - win. nigeria, we love you lot, but today you had to go home. ipt'tt�*haitl win. nigeria, we love you lot, but today you had to go home. what about ou? did today you had to go home. what about you? did you — today you had to go home. what about you? did you exoeet — today you had to go home. what about you? did you expect ivory _ today you had to go home. what about you? did you expect ivory coast - today you had to go home. what about you? did you expect ivory coast to - you? did you expect ivory coast to win? , , . ., ., win? yes, i did expect that. from the beginning- — win? yes, i did expect that. from the beginning. i— win? yes, i did expect that. from the beginning. i knew— win? yes, i did expect that. from the beginning. i knew we - win? yes, i did expect that. from the beginning. i knew we were i win? yes, i did expect that. from i the beginning. i knew we were going to win _ the beginning. i knew we were going to win. nigeria have to go home! what _ to win. nigeria have to go home! what about you? do you have any message for nigerian fans who are disappointed tonight? thea;t message for nigerian fans who are disappointed tonight?— disappointed tonight? they are

unluc ! disappointed tonight? they are unlucky! unlucky _ disappointed tonight? they are unlucky! unlucky indeed. - disappointed tonight? they are i unlucky! unlucky indeed. nigerian fans all over _ unlucky! unlucky indeed. nigerian fans all over the _ unlucky! unlucky indeed. nigerian fans all over the world _ unlucky! unlucky indeed. nigerian fans all over the world probably i unlucky! unlucky indeed. nigerian. fans all over the world probably sad and a bit disappointed but that's not the same for ivory coast fans who are celebrating their third afcon title. the last one in 2015. now they are africa cup of nations title holders and this year's kings of african football. 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. we will try and get you live pictures later on. our correspondent nesta mcgregor has been soaking up the atmostphere ahead of the match. not long to go until kick—off at allegiant stadium. 65,000 fans are expected here today. feels like most are already inside the compound. tickets are very, very pricey for this one — this morning they were still selling for £6,500 or thereabouts. i'm going to speak to some people

who were 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? oh, i mean, mahomes. mahomes. we can't forget about pacheco, i love that guy, he is the fastest. we are going to take this all the way. some may differ. the 49ers fans. the favourites but the quarterback who is the underdog, why is it the 49ers today? we have the best running back in the league. - not to forget one of the best quarterbacks that came from the last round pick to being the number one quarterback of his second—year season. it would be some underdog story. the half—time show is a big part of it. are we looking forward to usher? yeah absolutely. what songs are you looking forward to usher performing? yeah!!

we haven't even talked about taylor swift but we will say that. a very, very busy day here. the kansas city chiefs versus the 49ers. it could go down as a classic. who's going to win? we will keep looking at that story and development there. could it be third time lucky for carey mulligan at next month's oscars? she's one of only two british actors to be nominated for an academy award this year for her performance in maestro, about the complicated life of the composer and conductor leonard bernstein. the film is co—written and directed by bradley cooper, who also plays bernstein. carey mulligan has been speaking to our culture editor katie razzall. oscar—nominated first for best actress in an education... how old am i? ..then more recently for promising young woman... what's my name? hello, i'm lenny. hello, felicia. ..could it be third time lucky for carey mulligan in maestro? and while she says she doesn't

choose roles with awards in mind, she's frank about how much fun it can be. it is really exciting, principally because you get to be in a room with people that you really admire, directors you want to work with, writers you want to work with. i've introduced myself to everyone the last couple of months. i've been like, "hi, jesse armstrong! we've never met, but i'm a big fan of succession." she's a fan, too, of bradley cooper, nominated for acting and writing maestro — which he also directed — about the complicated love story between the conductor and composer this leonard bernstein and his wife, the actress felicia montealegre. i've been in some incredible kind of overtly feminist films, which i've absolutely loved and relished being in, like promising young woman, she said and suffragette. i have resisted playing the wife to the great man. but what was amazing about this was that they wrote this character, who was so well written, fully fleshed out, complicated, and that in itself is such a feminist statement. i have heard actresses talk in the past about how, actually, it's very depressing to always get

the script, which is, you know, "the wife of", "the wife of", and is that changing? looking at this year, there are extraordinary roles for women. and i do think progress isn't a straight line, but everything is moving in the right direction. and i see it definitely in the writing. so how long do we have to do this for? maestro is up for a best make—up oscar, despite the criticism from some about bradley cooper's prosthetic nose. did it worry you? you know, there was sort of claims it was anti—semitic. you know, bradley's whole focus from the offset was, "how do i make this as real as possible, to people who knew him, didn't know him, to his kids?" and part of that was the look. so i wasn't worried because i knew that when people saw the film, they would realise that this was, you know... and the family felt like, "yeah, he looks like our dad. that's amazing." your truth makes you brave... preparation for their roles included five days of dream workshops, in which these actors bared their souls. a little bit la woo woo? or did you think, "this works"? i think there's la woo woo, but it's also... you know, we're actors!

it's all quite woo—woo anyway. we're dressing up and pretending to be other people. you can't go too far, really. as long as you're nice to people, do whatever it takes! so does maestro have what it takes to woo oscar voters? katie razzall, bbc news. taylor swift has been stealing the pregame headlines, she is behind the umbrellas after racing back from her tokyo concert to watch her boyfriend, kansas star travis kelce in the big game. that's all for the moment. hello there. sunday was a dry day for many of us, but we've still got a number of flood warnings on rivers in scotland and england together with saturated ground. and there's more rain to come over the week ahead. but we start the week with a mixture

of sunshine and showers and we've got some showers around at the moment. they're moving their way eastwards, particularly around that area of low pressure, some heavier ones in the north. and it's colder air that we're seeing. so temperatures are close to freezing in quite a number of places. the heavier showers to begin with in scotland and northern england, one to two further south. but they're fading away in the morning, moving out of the way, and then it gets dry for a while with some sunshine. but then the showers return and they're focused across northern ireland and western scotland with some snow over the higher parts of scotland, stronger winds here, the odd shower possible for western parts of england and wales, but many places will be dry with some sunshine, and seven to ten degrees. that's near normal really for this time of the year. showers will continue on monday nights, close to that low in the north. and if we look to the southwest for shrove tuesday, this is where the next change in the weather is going to come from. heading into tuesday, though, those heavier showers continue in scotland, particularly in the north. some sunshine, but perhaps only briefly because the cloud is going to increase quickly. and with that weather front coming in, we've got these outbreaks of rain and drizzle moving

into england and wales, perhaps towards northern ireland as well. but if anything, temperatures could be a little bit higher on tuesday, so around 9 to 11 degrees. but there are higher temperatures to come by the middle part of the week. now, this weather front coming in from the southwest, heads northwards, takes rain northwards overnight and into wednesday. and then following on from that, we trace the winds all the way back down to the south, drawing in some mild air, some higher temperatures, but bringing in a lot of cloud. and we've got showers or longer spells of rain. so wetter weather through northern ireland and scotland, some wetter weather in southern parts of england and wales. and whilst there may be a bit of sunshine in other areas, we're going to see some showers. so rain's never too far away, but those temperatures are continuing to rise. could make 13 degrees in belfast on wednesday and 1a in norwich. very mild for this time of the year. we start the week on a chillier note though, with some sunshine but also some showers. and then from the middle part of the week, we see thicker cloud outbreaks of rain and those temperatures will be rising.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, as newsday continues straight after hardtalk. 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. thank you, stephen.

ambassador, i want to begin with some words said recently