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 for nfl super bowl in las vegas. could it be third time lucky at the oscars for british actress carey mulligan? we talk to her about her role in maestro. 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 the 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. 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 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 that azhar ali made about this attack on israeli civilians by hamas on the 7th of october last year that have caused the backlash. in a secret recording given to the mail on sunday, mr 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 his comments which he said were deeply offensive, ignorant and false. he went on to say... the party's national campaign coordinator told the bbc he hoped mr ali had learnt a lesson. he's given a full apology and a full retraction for those comments which were completely

wrong, and they certainly don't represent the labour party's view. azhar ali remains the labour 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's really, very, very distressing. we've been told the labour party has changed but we are back to square one and the dog days ofjeremy corbyn on the anti—semitism that came with it. an additional complication from labour is a challenge from george galloway. the former labour and respect mp has been targeting the labour 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 post about palestinians. he also will still appear on the ballot paper. it is a contest which would usually be seen as a safe bet

for the labour party, 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 have just 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, we spoke to samina yasmeen — a professor at university of western australia's centre for muslim states and societies. i think there were different possibilities. the structure created

before the elections is becoming more obvious what's likely to happen with ppp and pml(n) with some smaller parties. and some independents who got seats could join the coalition. already, one of the endorsed candidates hasjoined pml(n). the numbers for two parties, ppp and pml(n) could increase and form a coalition government. but the sticking point would be who is the next prime minister, what would be the division in terms of the president's position. but also within the different provinces. but there's another possibility that pti has been exploring and suggesting it would go for that. that is that while they have been elected as independent candidates

with separate electoral symbols, they could join a party that's got already even one or two seats 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. on the ground, imran khan's independent candidates have won the majority of seats. how worrying is the concern of widespread unrest? i think it is there, you can't exclude the possibility. the reason behind that is since

he was ousted from power in april 2022, imran khan has mobilised the youth. 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. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. the 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 who've been arrested — it's four young boys, one who's 12, one who's 13, and two ia—year—olds. now they're being questioned by specialist detectives. as for the alleged victim, well, she is believed to be a young girl and is being helped and supported by specially trained officers. police 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. herfamily, 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 on the 11th of february. 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. you're live with bbc news.

jens stoltenberg has said donald trump's comments cupid sulter is a risk. the white house called mr trump's words unhinge. frank gardner has the details. we are still nine months away from the us presidential election but already, the man who wants to be back at the white house has been accused of encouraging russia to attack nato countries do not pay enough for their defence. have a listen. ., , , a listen. one of the presidents stood u- a listen. one of the presidents stood up and _ a listen. one of the presidents stood up and said, _ a listen. one of the presidents stood up and said, if— a listen. one of the presidents stood up and said, if we - a listen. one of the presidents stood up and said, if we don'tl stood up and said, if we don't pay and — stood up and said, if we don't pay and we are attacked by russia, _ pay and we are attacked by russia, will you protect us? are — russia, will you protect us? are you _ russia, will you protect us? are you didn't pay? you are delinquent? he said, let's say that_ delinquent? he said, let's say that it — delinquent? he said, let's say that it happened, i wouldn't protect— that it happened, i wouldn't protect you, in fact i would encourage them to do whatever the hell—

encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.— the hell they want. you've got to -a the hell they want. you've got to pay your — the hell they want. you've got to pay your bills. _ the hell they want. you've got to pay your bills. but - the hell they want. you've got to pay your bills. but not - to pay your bills. but not everybody does. here are the countries in the 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 you can read all those nations that are not meeting their commitment. trump's point is why should america pay for those countries that will not pay their way? but the nato chief has been quick to put out this statement of reassurance. well, these are tense times for nato foster the war in ukraine is still raging, russia is ramping up its military production lines and aims to win. that is making countries like poland and the baltic states worried that when the war is over, they mightjust be next. so the last thing nato

wanted now was a potential future us president saying if some members are attacked, he just might not come to their defence. india has welcomed the release of eight of its nationals who were given the death sentence in qatar last october. the indian foreign ministry has said seven out of the eight men have returned home. let's give more details on this from our south asia regional editor. thanks forjoining us. what more do we know about the circumstances that led to this release was back obviously a lot of diplomatic efforts behind the scenes. india and qatar have _ behind the scenes. india and qatar have been _ behind the scenes. india and qatar have been negotiating| behind the scenes. india and i qatar have been negotiating for months for the release of these eight former indian naval officers. they were given the death sentence last october that triggered widespread anger

on social media in india. in fact, one of the indian media reporters were saying that narendra modi personally raised this issue with the emir of qatar and the silence of the cop28 meeting last december in dubai. —— on the sidelines. neither qatar nor india have confirmed what the charges were that led to this capital punishment, but then as the indian media reported yesterday, there were accused of spying. so these men were working for a gulf —based private company that worked with the qatari defence forces and that triggered a lot of concern in india, how come eight of its nationals were given the death sentence in qatar which is supposed to be a friendly nation. last december, the death sentence was commuted to varying jail terms and the indian foreign ministry says they have been released and at least seven of them have returned to india. this is big

news for india's diplomatic efforts. , w' , news for india's diplomatic efforts. , w , , efforts. very quickly, it is also election _ efforts. very quickly, it is also election season, - efforts. very quickly, it is also election season, this would be politically significant is also the relations between india and qatar are significant? the elections _ qatar are significant? the elections are only - qatar are significant? the elections are only a - qatar are significant? the elections are only a few. qatar are significant? tue: elections are only a few months away in india, the national parliamentary elections, so the government led by narendra modi will count this as a picked diplomatic victory because there was some criticism about why india would allow this in the first place to happen and also they were languishing in jailfor months. so also they were languishing in jail for months. so this becomes a big boost for mr modi himself. on qatar, it is a big victory for both qatar and india bilateral relations. we were there. _ india bilateral relations. we were there, thank you very much for putting that in perspective. it's been a great night for fans of ivory coast football — the host nation has won the africa cup of nations.

that was the scene at full—time just short while ago at a party in london. ivory coast beat nigeria 2—i. our reporter simi jolaoso was there, soaking up the atmosphere. as you can imagine, a lot ofjubilation here. i'm with ivory coast fans, they have just beaten nigeria 2—1 to become the afcon champions this year. it is 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 just very happy about it. just very excited. ijust can't believe it. very excited indeed. i'm sure you feel the same way? i feel the same, honestly, - i knew they were going to win. nigeria, we love you lot, -

but today you had to go home. what about you ? did you expect ivory coast to win? yes, i did expect that. from the beginning. i knew we were going to win. nigeria have to go home! what about you ? do you have any message for nigerian fans who are disappointed tonight? they are 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 are tuning in to watch the super bowl, pitting the kansas city chiefs

against the san francisco 49ers. our correspondent, nesta mcgregor, was outside the stadium, soaking up the atmostphere ahead of the match as fans streamed into the stadium. 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? those reactions just a short while before the super bowl began. 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 yearfor 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 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. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. 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 nine 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.

as tensions continue to escalate in the middle east — we take a look at the impact on oil markets. and toasting to the new year. we'll find out how whisky is starting to make a mark in china.

hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm arunoday mukharji. let's start with taking a look at how tensions in the red sea are impacting oil. houthi groups based in yemen say they will not bow to international pressure to stop attacks. the group — backed by iran — says the us and uk's attempts at getting china to mediate have not been fruitful. the houthi campaign has disrupted international shipping, forcing forced vessels to take a much longer journey around south africa rather than through the suez canal. it's a costly exercise and comes as demand from the world's top oil importer, china, is slowing. lets cross to frankfurt to speak to oil analyst carole nakhle. interestingly when you look at oil price development you think

and let