the political blocs which came second and third in pakistan's 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. we will keep you updated with the 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 with the programme with the latest coming in on the israel gaza war. reports

are coming in from rafah in southern gaza saying the israeli army has carried out its heaviest bombardment of the city since the conflict began four months ago. as well as that, dozens of air strikes, local residents saying that helicopters were participating in that attack. he was presidentjoe biden has warned the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu that no military operation should go ahead in rafah in southern gaza and leicester was a plan to ensure the safety of the population. —— mcallister was. he has become the latest data to voice concern about israel because my proposal to invade the city. rafah 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 terror organisation by many western governments the uk. prime minister netanyahu has insisted that an evacuation

plan for the city is being prepared. with the latest, here is jeremy prepared. with the latest, here isjeremy 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 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. 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? and it's not war. only a political solution. and it's not war. 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. as 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. you can get more on the bbc news website.

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 real, 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 that 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 mobilising 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.

the head of nato has strongly criticised donald trump after he suggested that a campaign rally that 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 might just be next.

so frankly, 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. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bringing you different stories from across the uk. this bringing you different stories from across the uk.- from across the uk. this has been out _ from across the uk. this has been out of _ from across the uk. this has been out of action _ from across the uk. this has been out of action for- from across the uk. this has been out of action for more | been out of action for more than — been out of action for more than a _ been out of action for more than a year. been out of action for more than a year-— than a year. it's quite dramatic, _ than a year. it's quite dramatic, to - than a year. it's quite dramatic, to be - than a year. it's quite i dramatic, to be honest. than a year. it's quite - dramatic, to be honest. we got through— dramatic, to be honest. we got through to _ dramatic, to be honest. we got through to the _ dramatic, to be honest. we got through to the end. _ dramatic, to be honest. we got through to the end. hopefully, | through to the end. hopefully, we get — through to the end. hopefully, we get to— through to the end. hopefully, we get to the _ through to the end. hopefully, we get to the other _ through to the end. hopefully, we get to the other side - through to the end. hopefully, we get to the other side and l we get to the other side and can emerge _ we get to the other side and can emerge-— we get to the other side and can emerge. the railway was shut after— can emerge. the railway was shut after a _ can emerge. the railway was shut after a nearby _ can emerge. the railway was shut after a nearby wall - can emerge. the railway was shut after a nearby wall was | shut after a nearby wall was deemed _ shut after a nearby wall was deemed dangerous. the repair bill deemed dangerous. the repair hilt has — deemed dangerous. the repair bill has topped £750,000. at first bill has topped £750,000. first we bill has topped £750,000. at first we knew it would be a few months — first we knew it would be a few months kind _ first we knew it would be a few months kind of— first we knew it would be a few months kind of thing. - first we knew it would be a few months kind of thing. but - first we knew it would be a few months kind of thing. but the i months kind of thing. but the legat— months kind of thing. but the legal eagtes _ months kind of thing. but the legal eagles got _ months kind of thing. but the legal eagles got involved - months kind of thing. but the legal eagles got involved and| legal eagles got involved and it would _

legal eagles got involved and it would he _ legal eagles got involved and it would be months _ legal eagles got involved and it would be months and - legal eagles got involved and i it would be months and months before — it would be months and months before the _ it would be months and months before the work— it would be months and months before the work is _ it would be months and months before the work is started. - it would be months and months before the work is started. thel before the work is started. the cars have _ before the work is started. the cars have been _ before the work is started. cars have been carrying passengers since 1955. cars have been carrying passengers since1955. we cars have been carrying passengers since 1955. we have ke -t passengers since 1955. we have kept them _ passengers since 1955. we have kept them running _ passengers since 1955. we have kept them running virtually - kept them running virtually every— kept them running virtually every day, _ kept them running virtually every day, and _ kept them running virtually every day, and this - kept them running virtually every day, and this is- kept them running virtuallyl every day, and this is where we've — every day, and this is where we've been— every day, and this is where we've been kept— every day, and this is where we've been kept on- every day, and this is where we've been kept on to - every day, and this is where we've been kept on to keep| we've been kept on to keep these — we've been kept on to keep these things— we've been kept on to keep these things going. - we've been kept on to keep these things going. once i we've been kept on to keep these things going. once it| these things going. once it shuts — these things going. once it shuts down, _ these things going. once it shuts down, everything - these things going. once it. shuts down, everything starts to seize — shuts down, everything starts to seize up~ _ your life with bbc news. —— you alive. india has welcomed the release of eight of its nationals by qatar, who were given the death sentence by a court in the gulf nation last october. the indian foreign ministry said seven out of the eight men had returned home. with more details, here is our south asia regional editor anbarasan ethirajan. india and 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 reports

were saying that narendra modi personally raised this issue with the emir of qatar on the sidelines of the cop28 meeting last december in dubai. the charges against the men of never been published, and neither qatar nor india have confirmed what the charges were that led to this capital punishment. but then the indian media reported yesterday that there were accused of spying for israel. 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, particularly former naval officers, were given the death sentence in qatar, which is supposed to be a friendly nation? last december, the death sentences were commuted to varying jail terms and now 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.

very quickly, it is also election season in india, this would be politically significant, as also the relations between india and qatar are significant? the 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 big diplomatic victory because there was some criticism about why india would allow this in the first place to happen and also they were languishing injailfor 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. some news from the world of sports. 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, haller and kessie. i have some fans 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. 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 in funding to help rebuild the lives of those affected. 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 off—line 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. millions of people around the world are tuning in to watch the super bowl, pitting the kansas city chiefs against the san francisco 49ers. the 49ers are currently up by 10-3. we the 49ers are currently up by 10—3. we will get some pictures

from las vegas, from the stadium. it is half—time at the moment. we're counting down to a live performance usher. 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. king charles has attended church in sandringham in his first public outing since buckingham palace announced his cancer diagnosis. the king, who is 75, has thanked people for their many messages of support, which he said were the greatest comfort. around 100 well—wishers gathered on sunday as the king walked into church. our correspondent louisa pilbeam has this report. well, we saw king charles walk into sandringham church with his wife, queen camilla. they walked in and king charles waved once or twice to a crowd that had gathered. there were around 100 people who had come up to the gates here on the sandringham estate and were hoping that he might come and speak to them, so that they could give their warm, kind words that they wanted to, to the king. but he went straight in, he spoke to the vicar and then he went into

the church service. on the way out, the security here had actually opened the gates, and then there was some hope and quite a lot of excitement, actually, that they might be able to speak to the king and give them their warm well wishes. but on the way out, the king and queen camilla actually went past, gave a couple more waves and then went back to the private sandringham estate. so people here, perhaps a little bit of disappointment, they told me, that they didn't get to speak directly to the king. but a sense of understanding that perhaps he wanted a private day. and also perhaps the king felt that he had given his warm message from the heart. he released a statement last night saying that he was, he felt gratitude to people for their warm wishes and said that it meant a lot to him that he has this support from the public. back to the super bowl, and taylor swift has been stealing

all the headlines. she is behind the umbrellas here, racing back from her tokyo concert to watch a boyfriend travis kelce play in that big game currently underway. and a pick in the uk has created something special for the occasion, a life—sized taylor swift cake. well, it took 38 hours to make is almost 130 kilos of ingredients. you can find much more in all our big stories on the bbc news website. that's all for the moment, to stay with bbc news. hello there. sunday was a drier 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. i spoke to analyst carole nakhle. interestingly, when you look at

oil price development you think