where the kansas city chiefs are facing the san francisco 49ers. we'll recap some of the biggest moments. hello, i'm helena humphrey. witnesses in gaza's southern city of rafah say israeli forces have launched dozens of air raids. the israeli military confirmed it conducted a series of strikes. it also said two hostages were rescued by israeli special forces in an operation in rafah. gaza's hamas—run health ministry says more than 50 people were killed in the overnight 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 on sunday by phone that israel needed a "credible and executable plan" to protect 1.5 million people in rafah, before israeli ground troops enter. there is nowhere safe to go for the one point five million palestinians sheltering in rafah. but speaking to abc, mr netanyahu defended the potential military offensive. the areas we have cleared north of rafah, plenty of areas they are 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 harms way, part of hamas�*s effort to keep them in harms way but we have succeeded so far and we will succeed again. those who say that we shouldn't enter rafah are basically saying lose the war, keep hamas there. hamas has promised to do there. hamas has promised to do the october the 7th must occur over over again.

the october the 7th must occur over overagain. —— by the october seven massacre. 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 seventh. 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 correspondentjeremy 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 trucks, the attacks on vehicles, and now the attacks on drivers. and so it's become a very lawless area for people then to operate and for us to operate in that, it's impossible, actually. we can't get into gaza's chaotic, desperate tent cities

to check israel's claims that hamas is stealing the food. the un says its young men not in uniform, mostly unarmed. president biden has told israel once again it must not attack here in rafah unless it keeps civilians safe. one question — is israel listening? jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. for more on this, i wasjoined by retired coloneljoe buccino, who served as a spokesperson to the 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 will heed the call, nothing has worked, none of the pressure has worked, none of biden�*s

urging has worked or secretary blinken�*s and i don't think it will amount to much, 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. 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 don't think they will, 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 and questioning whether in the eyes of the united states, the suffering of the palestinians is of

the same value as 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 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. let me ask you 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 clear place for them to go, 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 precision drones and precision guided missiles, they have ai —based targeting, they have the same level of intelligence that we do, in fact they strike inside iran with these precision capabilities. they could have adjudicated the war in this way and they haven't done so. why not? because i think they want to level gaza, they want 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. 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? of any further deal to get more 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. thank you so much, colonel.

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 defense dues. in a statement, president biden said, "donald trump's admission that he intends to give putin a greenlight 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 has received swift backlash to the comments he made during a rally in south carolina on saturday. 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. nato's treaty guarantees mutual defense of member states if one is attacked. for more on the political fallout after trump's comments, i spoke to our correspondent, will vernon. to begin, talk us through the reaction to those comments. the white house _

reaction to those comments. tue: white house has reaction to those comments. tte: white house has called these 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. european leaders reportedly were already very nervous about the prospect of a second trumpet presidency. to date on nato secretary general sought to send a message of reassurance to allies. he said any attack on nato will be met with a united and forceful response. with a united and forceful response-_ with a united and forceful resonse. ~ ~ ., . , with a united and forceful resonse. ~ ., . , , response. we know that this is the first time _ response. we know that this is the first time donald _ response. we know that this is the first time donald trump i response. we know that this is | the first time donald trump has taken aim at nato. is this an issue that could potentially appeal to voters?— issue that could potentially appeal to voters? yes, we have heard comments _ appeal to voters? yes, we have heard comments like _ appeal to voters? yes, we have heard comments like this - appeal to voters? yes, we have heard comments like this from | heard comments like this from trump many times before. he is a notorious sceptic of nato and of other international alliances. whilst he was in

office he was criticised for heaping praise on vladimir putin, for calling nato obsolete and unnecessary strain on american resources. but i think we should remember that is 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. tt 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 to think? that's right, and sunday session the senate proceeded with a procedural vote on that bill that would grant a round of $60 billion of us military aid to ukraine, so that moves that build 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

a 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 enough weapons, and president zelensky has called repeatedly on the us to pass that legislation to grant ukraine that much—needed aid. will burn on, thanks a lot. —— vernon. 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 centre—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 eastern neighbour. it was russia's invasion of ukraine that convinced

finland to join the nato alliance, after decades of choosing not to join 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 criticised 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 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. let's turn to some important news around the world. 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. two off—duty law enforcement officers killed a woman who opened fire at a houston megachurch 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. herbert wigwe, the co—founder of one of nigeria's largest banks, was among the six people killed in a helicopter crash in california friday. the 57—year—old banker's wife and son were also killed. federal investigators are trying to determine the cause of the crash, when the helicopter went down on its way from palm springs to boulder city, nevada. now — if you haven't heard, the nfl super bowl is on in las vegas. they came has just been tied with seconds remaining. that

means the super bowl will go into overtime. we will have more on the game shortly. but this year the game has another factor attracting fans and sparking debate. of course, i'm talking about taylor swift. she is in the stands tonight, watching her boyfriend travis kelce of the kansas city chiefs. her connection to the game has seen a rush from her fans to the nfl — but others aren't so excited. to talk about her influence on this year's big game, i spoke earlier with joanna weiss — a contributing writer at politico. thank you for taking the time to be with us. first, i want to get your take, how would you characterise the taylor swift effect the super on bowl and an american football? the effect the super on bowl and an american football?— american football? the taylor swift effect — american football? the taylor swift effect is _ american football? the taylor swift effect is larger _ american football? the taylor swift effect is larger than - american football? the taylor swift effect is larger than the | swift effect is larger than the super bowl. it's american culture, it is kind of global culture, it is kind of global culture at this point. she is an international phenomenon, she is an economic phenomenon, so when she turned her interest sort of late in the season to the nfl, she kind of upended

the nfl, she kind of upended the equation, she brought new fans into the football hemisphere, she brought new ratings, every time she showed up ratings, every time she showed up at a game, the tv ratings skyrocketed or at least had a great boost, and now there is so much interest in a game that's already a huge phenomenon, that's already been the number one show in america every year and now it is supercharged with a whole bunch of new fans. supercharged with a whole bunch of new fame-— supercharged with a whole bunch of new fene— of new fans. and with that, we are now seeing _ of new fans. and with that, we are now seeing online - of new fans. and with that, we are now seeing online along i are now seeing online along with that phenomenon also conspiracy theories, particularly with regards to her relationship with travis kelce of the kansas city chiefs. talk us through some of those conspiracy theories. tt those conspiracy theories. tit really started, i mean, taylor swift was very savvy musician business person for all of her career, and for a lot of time she remained very apolitical, which again was a wise business choice, you don't want to alienate any part of your fan base. but around 2018 she started to endorse a couple of

democrat candidates on the 2020 she endorsed joe biden for president over donald trump, so i think that's part the scene of other suspicion. i think we are already a little bit apt to question celebrity romances, some of them turn out to be not exactly what they seem, so when you are already inclined to mistrust that, then you have a kind of political concern, maybe this person is going to bring that giant fan base to somebody who is not the one i want elected, that's where conspiracy theories grow. so there have been a few conservative figures, some on the far right fringe some closer to the mainstream, or to the trump mainstream who have started to suggest maybe it's a big conspiracy to draw attention to the game and then right after the game she will endorsed joe biden. some people have even said that she is a cia sire. i'm not even sure

what! but that could have mistrust. so there is a corner of the internet that suspect none of this is true.- of the internet that suspect none of this is true. what do ou none of this is true. what do you think — none of this is true. what do you think it _ none of this is true. what do you think it tells _ none of this is true. what do you think it tells us - none of this is true. what do you think it tells us about. you think it tells us about taylor swift, the fact there appears to be so much of a tussle about who she may or may not endorse? she tussle about who she may or may not endorse?— not endorse? she is a very smart and _ not endorse? she is a very smart and savvy _ not endorse? she is a very smart and savvy public- not endorse? she is a very i smart and savvy public figure. she understands the power she has, she knows how to dial out information in little bits and pieces to her fans. information in little bits and pieces to herfans. she information in little bits and pieces to her fans. she also kind of encourages a little bit of mystery around her public pronouncements. she finds meaning in her song lyrics, she sometimes hides meaning on her instagram posts, ithink sometimes hides meaning on her instagram posts, i think she has built a little bit of a world of intrigue around herself and she knows what she's doing. whether she is planning to actually apply that to politics, i have my doubts. i think the taylor swift machine is probably the bigger concern of taylor swift. but i do think she has a point of

view and she understands that she can bring fans along to a lot of the places she wants to go. lot of the places she wants to to. lot of the places she wants to to, ., , lot of the places she wants to i o, ., , 4' ., ., go. one last thing, we know of course that _ go. one last thing, we know of course that taylor _ go. one last thing, we know of course that taylor swift's - course that taylor swift's direz tour has contributed to the us economy stop studies have shown that. —— eras tour. have shown that. -- eras tour. . again, her eras tour, from the moment— . again, her eras tour, from the moment it _ . again, her eras tour, from the moment it was - . again, her eras tour, from i the moment it was announced . again, her eras tour, from - the moment it was announced and from the moment the tickets went online, broke the internet, it was just a giant sensation. everywhere she goes, not only does she sell out giant stadiums but she also creates a boost for the economy for all the people who come into the town to buy merchandise, everywhere she goes, a little economic boost follows, that's also contributed to the nfl. donald trump in some ways it should really appreciate as someone with a business background and someone who is, who has been able to build a successful

brand himself, he really has a lot to admire and appreciate about the way she's done business, but his concern is that she might turn that power toward someone who he doesn't want to get elected.— want to get elected. joanna, thank you — want to get elected. joanna, thank you so _ want to get elected. joanna, thank you so much - want to get elected. joanna, thank you so much for- want to get elected. joanna, thank you so much for being i thank you so much for being with us. . ~ thank you so much for being with us. ., ~ , ., ., thank you so much for being with us. . ~' , ., ., . with us. thank you for having me. live now to las vegas — cbs correspondent danya bacchus is there for us. in the beginning it wasn't the highest scoring game and still isn't but it is all tied. it has gone into overtime, real nailbiter. any high heights so far? 50 nailbiter. any high heights so far? ., ., ~' nailbiter. any high heights so far? . . ~ ., far? so far and the like are mentioned, _ far? so far and the like are mentioned, the _ far? so far and the like are mentioned, the fact - far? so far and the like are mentioned, the fact this i far? so far and the like are l mentioned, the fact this has been a low scoring game has been a low scoring game has been a low scoring game has been a big highlight. iwrite here has been the defense of both teams, keeping each other from scoring during the game. right now it is going to go into overtime, it is a nailbiter, we know that both teams will get at least one possession to try to score so we will definitely watch this game closely to see who is going to come out national

champions. we going to come out national champions-— going to come out national champions. we will indeed. there was _ champions. we will indeed. there was overtime - champions. we will indeed. there was overtime rules i champions. we will indeed. l there was overtime rules are pretty complicated for rookies like myself. let's talk about the half—time show because that certainly provided some entertainment, pretty impressive what we saw, how has it been going down? you impressive what we saw, how has it been going down?— it been going down? you know, absolutely _ it been going down? you know, absolutely impressive. - it been going down? you know, absolutely impressive. if i it been going down? you know, absolutely impressive. if you i absolutely impressive. if you are a usherfan, you know he planned —— crammed over 30 years of music into a few minutes. he had special guests, alicia keys, ludacris, jermaine dupree, they all came together in what was a show of a lot of razzle—dazzle here in las vegas with his outfits he had on, he also performed in roller skates, it was just an amazing half—time show and i have to say, being on the inside and watching live, there was a certain electricity that was going through the fans as they were watching. so what i think could go down as one of the best half—time show in super

bowl history. best half-time show in super bowl history.— bowl history. and what an amazing _ bowl history. and what an amazing seek _ bowl history. and what an amazing seek to - bowl history. and what an amazing seek to have i bowl history. and what an | amazing seek to have had. bowl history. and what an l amazing seek to have had. i want to ask about another music legend we know was in the arena, of course, taylor swift, was the taylor swift effect probable?— was the taylor swift effect probable? was the taylor swift effect robable? , . ., probable? -- palpable. we have felt that the — probable? -- palpable. we have felt that the entire _ probable? -- palpable. we have felt that the entire week - probable? -- palpable. we have felt that the entire week we i felt that the entire week we have been a las vegas because of the first people were wondering if she would be able to make it to las vegas on time, because she was in tokyo performing a concert, of course the japanese embassy even sending out a memo to us here in the us saying that she will be able to make it here on time, and she did. there are people who are tracking her flight. making sure that she landed, then made her way to the games, so the fact she was there today, we have seen lots of cutaways of her during the game, so yes, there taylor swift effect has been felt this entire week. we are pretty sure that there are going to be more

eyeballs watching this super bowl game just because she is there. bowl game 'ust because she is there. ., ., bowl game 'ust because she is there. ., ,, ' . there. the taylor swift effect is indeed very _ there. the taylor swift effect is indeed very real. _ there. the taylor swift effect is indeed very real. thank- there. the taylor swift effect | is indeed very real. thank you so much for your reporting from las vegas. you are watching bbc news with the super bowl, which is currently gone into overtime. it is a tight right now. we will continue to bring you the very latest at the top of the hour. tojoin us you the very latest at the top of the hour. to join us for that. i'm helena humphrey in washington, thanks for your company and see you soon. 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 or 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 slate in the middle east we take a look at the impact on oil markets. and toasting to the new year, we will find out how whiskey is

starting to make a mark in china. hello and welcome to asia business report. let's start white delimiter by taking a look at how tensions in the middle east are impacting the oil markets. houthi groups in yemen say they will not bow to international pressure to stop attacks on the red sea. the group, backed by iran, says the us and the uk attempts at getting china to mediate have not been fruitful. it has interrupted international community is causing them to take a much longerjourney around the coast of south africa up year, as opposed to going right through the red sea and into the suez canal, which is a much shorter route and also way more cost—effective. all of this coming at a time when demand from the top oil importer, china, is considerably slowing down. our analyst says oil prices have so

far been surprisingly unaffected by the