the san francisco 49ers. we'll recap some of the biggest moments. i'm helena humphrey, good to have you with us. witnesses in 6323's southern city of rafah say israeli forces have launched dozens of air raids. the israeli military confirmed it conducted a series of strikes on southern gaza. gaza's hamas—run health ministry says more than 50 people were killed in the assault. it comes after us presidentjoe biden urged israel's prime minister to ensure troops prioritise the safety of palestinian civilians in rafah. the palestinian red crescent says there have been violent attacks across the city, some near its headquarters. residents told the bbc that israeli military helicopters and boats were involved. the white house says mr biden told benjamin netanyahu sunday by phone that israel needed a "credible and executable plan" to protect 1.5 million people in rafah, before israeli

ground troops enter. the united nations says there is nowhere safe to go for the 1.5 million palestinians sheltering in rafah. but speaking to abc, mr netanyahu defended the potential military offensive. the areas we have cleared north of rafah, patio areas there, but we are working out a detailed plan to do so and that's what we've done up to now. we are not cavalier about it, it is part of our war effort to get civilians out of harm's away and part of the hamas effort to keep them and harm a's way but we have succeeded so far and we will succeeded so far and we will succeed again. those who say we should not enter rafah are basically saying lose the war, keep hamas their command their command hamas has promised to do the top of the seven massacre over and over and over again. rafah has become the last

refuge for many palestinians fleeing bombardment elsewhere in israel's four—month war against hamas, since the group's attack on october the 7th. hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by the uk and us. conditions inside rafah are already dire — with food, water, and fuel shortages. president biden is not the only one condemning the looming israeli offensive there. many of israel's allies — including the uk and eu — have expressed their concern for the safety of civilians in rafah. before news of the latest strikes, our middle east correspondent jeremy bowen sent this report on what gazans are facing. 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, 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 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 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. with me is retired coloneljoe buccino, who served as as spokesperson us central command and was deployed several times to the middle east. we have been hearing about that phone call between biden and netanyahu, calls from the president for protection of civilians in rafah if that offensive does go ahead. do you think netanyahu will heed that call and if he doesn't, what do you think we could potentially see between the relationship between the us and israel? i do not think he _ between the us and israel? i do

not think he will— between the us and israel? i if not think he will heed the call, nothing has worked, none of the pressure has worked, none of biden because my purging has worked for secretary blink and's urging his work and i don't think it will amount to much, then the money will continue to flow, the aid will continue to flow and i think this town here in dc will continue to support israel. i do not think anything will change with regard to this situation. 50 will change with regard to this situation. , , situation. so despite the criticism _ situation. so despite the criticism we've _ situation. so despite the criticism we've seen - situation. so despite the - criticism we've seen growing in recent weeks, including president biden saying he believed that in some cases this operation had been, quote, over the top, you don't believe that there are any concrete steps that washington might take for example in military aid? i take for example in military aid? ., �* ~' , aid? i don't think they well, it's too far _ aid? i don't think they well, it's too far gone. _ aid? i don't think they well, it's too far gone. i - aid? i don't think they well, it's too far gone. i think - aid? i don't think they well, it's too far gone. i think in l it's too far gone. i think in the region, the entire region is looking at the united states and really questioning america's values and strategic interests in questioning whether in the eyes of the united states, the suffering of

the palestinians is of the same value of the suffering of israelis. if the suffering of a palestinian child is of the same value as an israeli child, i think there is a lot of questions that will continue stop in dc i don't think anything is going to change and i don't think biden will be able to move netanyahu from his position, he hasn't been able to yet and i don't think the aid is going to stop unfortunately.- aid is going to stop unfortunately. aid is going to stop unfortunatel . ., unfortunately. let me ask you this, what _ unfortunately. let me ask you this, what the _ unfortunately. let me ask you this, what the white - unfortunately. let me ask you this, what the white house i unfortunately. let me ask you this, what the white house is| this, what the white house is calling for now is for protection of these civilians despite the fact that doesn't appear to be any clearer place for them to gophers of the united nations has said that. is there a way that this operation targeting hamas in the south can be carried out in a safer more targeted way? there is a way to do it, and right now, as most of america is watching the super bowl, israel is bombing rafah in a pretty indiscriminate manner. 600,000 children are there, so there will be a lot of dead children. right now, this is

the way this war has been adjudicated, it's being done with american support, american funding and for the most part american weapons. however, there is another way. if you think about this past week, the united states, we took out a militia leader in baghdad on a busy street, in traffic, a guy was driving a car, wejust killed the one guy, we didn't even damage any other cars, using a precision drone. israel has that same capability, they have position drones and precision guided missiles, they have ai —based targeting, they have ai —based targeting, they have the same level of intelligence that we do, in fact they strike inside iran with these position capabilities. they could have adjudicated the war in this way and they haven't done so. truth? and they haven't done so. why not? because _ and they haven't done so. why not? because i— and they haven't done so. why not? because i think _ and they haven't done so. why not? because i think they - and they haven't done so. whyj not? because i think they want to level gaza, _ not? because i think they want to level gaza, the _ not? because i think they want to level gaza, the one - not? because i think they want to level gaza, the one to - to level gaza, the one to completely eradicate hamas. if you think about hamas, it is more, it has grown to be more than the military arm of gaza,

it is the police of gaza, the trash collection, the water services, the education. there is also a social function if you think about the right of return, there is a social protest movement. so hamas has grown into every aspect of life in gaza and if you want to eliminate hamas, which is what netanyahu said all along, you have to kill a lot of people indiscriminately.— indiscriminately. one final question. _ indiscriminately. one final question, with _ indiscriminately. one final question, with the - indiscriminately. one final. question, with the prospect indiscriminately. one final- question, with the prospect of this operation, as you say, those air strikes which are under way, what does this also mean further hopes if any —— of any further deal to give the hostages out? i any further deal to give the hostages out?— hostages out? i don't know because i _ hostages out? i don't know because i think _ hostages out? i don't know because i think that - hostages out? i don't know because i think that it's - hostages out? i don't know. because i think that it's hard to keep hostages alive. at this point we are talking about taking waste, putting food in, it will be very hard and i think it will be even harder when the ground offensive goes in. ., ~' , ., when the ground offensive goes in. . ~ i. when the ground offensive goes us presidentjoe biden

has rebuked donald trump for his comments suggesting he would encourage russia to attack members of the nato alliance that hadn't paid their defence dues. in a statement, president biden said... "donald trump's admission that he intends to give putin a green light for more war and violence, to continue his brutal assault against a free ukraine, and to expand his aggression to the people of poland and the baltic states are appalling and dangerous." the ex—president�*s comments during a rally in south carolina on saturday, prompted a backlash. republican challenger nikki haley accused him of supporting russian aggression. some trump supporters are saying he has a point about other nations not paying their way. but nato's treaty guarantees mutual defense of member states if one is attacked. for more, the bbc�*s frank gardner sent this report. 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. for more on the political fallout after trump's comments, i spoke to our correspondent, will vernon. good to see you. to begin with, talk us through the reaction to those comments. the talk us through the reaction to those comments.— talk us through the reaction to those comments. the white house has called the _ those comments. the white house has called the comments _ those comments. the white house has called the comments by - those comments. the white house has called the comments by mr- has called the comments by mr trump appalling and unhinged. it accuses him of encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes. i think mr trump's words will be very

worrying for a lot of european allies especially those on nato's eastern flank, as we know they are more vulnerable to russian aggression. and european leaders reportedly were already very nervous about the prospect of a second trumpet presidency. today the nato secretary general sought to send a message of reassurance to allies. he said any attack on nato would be met with a united and forceful response. with a united and forceful reaponse-_ with a united and forceful resonse. ~ ~ ., . , response. we know that this isn't the first _ response. we know that this isn't the first time _ response. we know that this isn't the first time that - isn't the first time that donald trump has taken aim at nato. is this an issue that could potentially appeal to voters? , ., ., voters? yes, we have heard comments _ voters? yes, we have heard comments like _ voters? yes, we have heard comments like this - voters? yes, we have heard comments like this from - voters? yes, we have heard . comments like this from trump many times before but he is a notorious and of other international alliances. —— a notorious sceptic of nato. while in office he was criticised for heaping praise on vladimir putin, for calling nato obsolete and a necessary strain —— by an unnecessary strain —— by an unnecessary strain on american resources. but we should remember that

these comments were made at a campaign rally, they will play well to many of his supporters. many of his backers are isolationists, they don't believe that america should be sending billions of dollars abroad to countries like ukraine to fight wars which in their opinion have nothing to do with the us. it their opinion have nothing to do with the us.— do with the us. it is interesting - do with the us. it is interesting that - do with the us. it is interesting that all. do with the us. it is i interesting that all this do with the us. it is - interesting that all this is coming as the senate has advanced aid to ukraine. how significant is that?— significant is that? that's ri . ht. significant is that? that's right- in _ significant is that? that's right- in a _ significant is that? that's right. in a sunday - significant is that? that's| right. in a sunday session significant is that? that's - right. in a sunday session the senate proceeded with a procedural vote on that builder would grant around $60 billion of us military aid to ukraine, so that bill one step ahead, but of course it still has to go to the us house of representatives so i think it could be quite difficult to get that bill passed. president biden has called on congress repeatedly to pass that crucial legislation but some republican lawmakers have been pushing back on that. this comes at a very sensitive time in the war

in ukraine. kyiv says its forces do not have enough ammunition, or in weapons. and president zelensky has called repeatedly on the us to pass that legislation, to grant ukraine that much needed aid. will vernon, thanks a lot. meanwhile, finland has elected its first new president since the nordic country joined nato. in a close runoff election, voters chose alexander stubb of the center—right national coalition party to lead the country. he defeated the liberal green party member pekka haavisto, who conceded on sunday night. mr stubb is the country's former prime minister. he is a strong supporter of ukraine and holds unfriendly views about russia, which borders finland. the president—elect says finland will have no political relationship with its western neighbour. it was russia's invasion of ukraine that convinced finland to join the nato alliance, after decades of choosing not tojoin it to avoid angering russia. mr stubb will assume office on the 1st of march. the pentagon says us secretary

of defense lloyd austin has transferred his duties to his deputy, as he receives hospital treatment "for symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue". the 70—year—old underwent surgery for prostate cancer in december. he was later hospitalised for complications from the surgery. he was criticized for not alerting the white house and keeping his cancer diagnosis secret. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making the news. 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 the 7th of october. mr ali now says his claims were "deeply offensive, ignorant and false". the mother of brianna ghey has described the murdered teenager as "unique and joyful", as a vigil was held to mark a year since she died.

16—year—old brianna, who was transgender, was stabbed 28 times by scarlettjenkinson and eddie ratcliffe. they were recently sentenced to 22 and 20 years respectively. king charles has attended church in sandringham in his first public outing since buckingham palace announced his cancer diagnosis. the king waved to members of the public as he walked outside st mary magdalene church with his wife, queen camilla. on saturday, the 75—year—old monarch thanked the public for their "support and good wishes". you're live with bbc news. the second and third largest political parties in pakistan have agreed to work together to form a coalition government, after a general election provided no clear winner. the move is likely to anger supporters of the jailed former prime minister, imran khan. independent parliamentary candidates affiliated with khan's pti party won the most seats — and courts are now hearing legal challenges. our correspondent 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. let's turn to some important news around the world. two off—duty law enforcement officers killed a woman who opened fire at a houston megachurch on sunday. two people were injured, including a child who was with the shooter. the church, formerly a sports arena, can host more than 40,000 worshippers and is led by celebrity pastorjoel osteen. world marathon record—holder kelvin kiptum has died in a traffic accident that also killed his coach, a kenyan athletics official confirmed to the bbc. in last year's chicago marathon, the 24—year—old kenyan runnerfinished the race in two hours and 35 seconds to set a new record. herbert wigwe, the co—founder of one of nigeria's largest

four people were injured——two seriously——when a tree fell onto a roller—coaster at a theme park in eastern spain. as we speak, super bowl 58 is under way between the kansas city chiefs and san francisco 49ers. we are in the third quarter. the 49ers are leading 10—6 and despite the relatively low score it has been an exciting game, the 49ers took a 10—0 lead in the second quarter on a trick play touchdown to cristian mccaffreyjust minutes cristian mccaffrey just minutes ago, cristian mccaffreyjust minutes ago, the chiefs kicker converted his second field goal from 57 yards. that breaks a super bowl record 55 years that was set by the 49ers kicker early in the game. the much anticipated half—time show featured pop star usher with guest appearances from stars including alicia keys, and phil john. we can bring in vincent mcaviney now who has been much of the action for us. some of

us and i include myself, it's all about the half—time show. talk us through some of the standout moments. for international _ standout moments. fr?" international audiences it really is all about the half—time show. it was the biggest night of usher's career, some 115 million people watching around the world and i think he definitely delivered. the game seems to have picked up the game seems to have picked up a bit in the last few minutes but the first half, there wasn't that much energy, it wasn't that exciting. usher definitely brought the energy. he came on and were surrounded by acrobats and performers and just sat in the middle of the ground in that throne chair and once he started singing, he did not stop moving, he got up from the chair and he went through that back catalogue, 30 years of r&b hits, he promised he would bring the soul, the spirit and the dance of r and b to that stadium and he definitely did. then of course, not content with going through his old big hits, he brought on

special guest at a special guest. alicia keys on an incredible red piano, they performed their duet, then they kept coming, the likes of ludacris, littlejohn, high—energy performance, then he put on roeder —— my roller skates to wrap it all up. i didn't think it could get much better and then i saw alicia keys. we know performing at the super bowl is a moment that is always reserved for the biggest music superstars. talk to us about how usher got there. it is a huge moment. he had a 30 year career, performed on star search when he was 30 years old, brought out his first record when he was 16 so he had the back catalogue. this performance really is the pinnacle for a legacy artist and i think usher established that tonight. he follows in the footsteps of the likes of

michaeljackson, beyonce, lady gaga, these big names in performance and was surprised when he was announced in september. the super bowl half—time show is now headed up by jay—z and his half—time show is now headed up byjay—z and his record label and he thought it was time for usher to get this big moment. he's been performing in vegas for the last four years in a residency, he had a new album out last week. so he has definitely made the most of this moment. it was a bit of a lower key performance and some we have seen, he didn't do the flying around the stadium that we and katy perry have done. diana ross landed a helicopter and took off. it was much more grounded in the field but that dancing, hejust didn't grounded in the field but that dancing, he just didn't stop from the moment the music started, he broke into a huge sweat and i think everyone thought it definitely had the energy of the first half of the game was certainly missing. usher watching that half—time show, great to talk to you. —— vincent mcaviney watching that half—time show. and the score now stands at 13—10 to the

cheese. we do stay was poor now. ivory coast have been crowned kings of african football again, defeating nigeria the africa cup of nations. they came back from 1—0 down in the first half. ivory coast define us to make the later stages of the chairmanship of the elephants lost two group stage manages —— much as before sacking the manager and only narrowly qualified for the knockouts. you're watching bbc news, stay with us if you can, more at the top of the hour. thanks forjoining us, goodbye for now. 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 night, 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.

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