hello, i'm caitriona perry. you're very welcome. celebration turned to violence in kansas city on wednesday after gunshots rang out at a super bowl parade, killing at least one person, and injuring 22. police say eight people are in hospital with life—threatening injuries, and at least nine children were among the wounded. three suspects were detained, police say, but there's still no word on the motive. the shooting happened minutes after a victory parade wrapped up, honouring the kansas city chiefs, who won the nfl�*s super bowl on sunday. thousands of fans had gathered for the celebrations. officials say all members of the team are safe. star player travis kelce posted on x — formerly twitter — to say he was "heartbroken over the tragedy." kansas city radio station kkfi says one of its djs was killed in the shooting. in a post on facebook

the station said... lopez leaves behind two children. kansas state representativejo ella hoye was at the parade, and shared her experience with me a little earlier. my heart is racing just hearing the reports coming through for something that i was there and my colleagues and my friends and fellow kansas city residents and kansans and missourians and it doesn't feel real yet. thankfully i was there with my son and we rushed out, we were rushed out before we realised what were going on. we were oblivious to the danger until we were loaded onto our buses and saw people running and getting on the bus in a panicked or hysterical way.

it was just a bunch of us getting on phones trying to get in contact with everyone we knew they are to make an event like this, a victory parade, would have a huge number of paramedics and police officers on the scene, what was their response like? the law enforcement was tremendous. throughout the entire time we were there, we saw police, there were snipers on the buildings, there was a great presence of public safety officials. and from experiences that i've heard with others, which are just grateful for their response, but it also just shows that good guys with guns can only do something as soon as the bad guy starts doing something bad. i think that is what we're all caught up on now. you mentioned there

was a sense of panic. did you feel afraid, was it scary? once i came to the realisation of what was actually going on, i was in shock so i did not feel any danger to myself or my son while we were there. but i did fear for those who were unaccounted for, we were hearing a nine—year—old child was unaccounted for and it was coming over the radio on our bus. that fear in the moment of where is everyone and sadly knowing there are reports that someone was killed, knowing that someone didn't make it out. you were there with your son, so many children would have been there, a joyous family—friendly occasion celebrating the great victory from the weekend.

how have you explain to your son just what happened today? we came home and started watching the news and it is something difficult to talk about with children. i ran for office originally because i am a gun violence prevention advocate. i used to be a volunteer for moms action for gun sense in america but it something he is familiar with and does understand. it's much harder to watch this happen and be a part of it when you are there. for our international viewers, people might query how guns were inside an event like this. can you explain to us just what gun laws are like in kansas city? kansas city is on a state line where i live on the kansas side, kansas and missouri are both states that have some of the weakest gun laws in the country. we don't require background checks on gun law sales without both states

have a carry list, we have a guns everywhere mentality around here. it would not have been unusual for individuals to have guns at events like this — that would be something that is permitted ? yes. i will say, inside union station they do not allow guns inside. do you think... we're still at the early stages, people are in hospital being treated and we wish everyone a speedy and full recovery, but do you think this will reopen once again that debate about gun control, about gun laws? six years ago today i was at the capitol for an advocacy day before i became a member of the kansas house of representatives. while we were there, the parkland shooting tragedy at marjorie stoneham douglas school had

happened and you hear time and time again that it's too soon to start talking about this or don't politicise it. at what point do we say it's too late? president biden has made a new appeal for action on gun control, following the shooting. in a statement he said... the president went on to highlight that wednesday marked the sixth anniversary of the parkland shooting — when 17 people were killed at stoneman douglas high school in florida. gun laws do very across the us.

i spoke about that with gun safety advocate kris brown, who's president of the brady campaign to prevent gun violence. if you look at the 15 mainly contiguous states and you are ranking which states have the strongest gun laws, you would look at a state like california, and which states have the weakest gun laws, in other words they have almost no public safety protections enshrined in law, missouri would be one of those states with the weakest laws. to give your viewer some sense of what i mean, just last year, missouri passed a law that restricts, stops, the ability to stop children from carrying firearms in public. that is, even in the united states, that is a very, very extreme law, and it puts folks at risk. why is that? if you are a law enforcement officer, how are you supposed to tell who is a good guy with a gun or a bad guy with a gun?

you can't. it is not like people are born with tattoos on the forehead that distinguishes them. so, lots of the permitting systems and carrying systems, the laws in states like my state of virginia, part of the reason they are so important is, if i am walking down my street and brandishing a firearm in public in the state of virginia, it is going to be presumed that that is unlawful to undertake, and law enforcement can act accordingly. in a state like missouri, who is to know? turning now to the war in the middle east. canada, new zealand and australia have issued a joint statement, warning israel against its planned "catastrophic" as they put it, ground offensive in rafah. but prime minister benjamin netanyahu has promised to press ahead. the southern city is gaza's last safe zone for civlians. around 1.5 million palestinians have relocated to the area. the red cross said an attack could be "disastrous". international criticism has increased

since the announcement of the offensive. hundreds of displaced palestinians sheltering at a hospital in southern gaza are evacuating, after israeli troops surrounding the building ordered them to leave. hamas officials say civilians at the nasser hospital, in the city of khan younis, face a potential massacre, but israeli officials say they are being offered safe passage. despite the international outcry, israel's heels are dug in. earlier on wednesday, the country left talks in cairo aimed at releasing hostages and securing a six—week truce with hamas. the palestinian leadership is urging hamas to agree to a ceasefire with israel to avoid further catastrophe. for more on the situation, nick beake sends this report from jerusalem. well, tonight, the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has doubled down. he's told the israeli people, "we will fight until complete "victory, and that includes powerful action," as he put it, "in the city of rafah after we allow the civilian population to leave the battle zones."

those were his words tonight, and i think what he's basically saying or what he's indicating is, despite all these warnings from the united nations, aid agencies, notably from the united states, he is going to pursue this course of action. and that means moving 1.5 million palestinians out of the city of rafah, so that the israeli military can embark on this big military operation to try and wipe out the remaining hamas fighters. of course, fighting continues elsewhere in the gaza strip. there's been a particularfocus in the city of khan younis around the nasser hospital, a really big medicalfacility. the israelis have been telling civilians who sought shelter there to move. they're being encouraged to evacuate. in fact, they're being instructed to evacuate. the israelis saying, though, that patients and doctors, they do not have to move. all of this, of course, makes a pretty bleak backdrop for the negotiations that continue to try and find some sort of cease—fire or a lull in the fighting.

they've been taking place in cairo, and we hear that representatives from hamas will be joining the discussions in the days to come. today, though, we've also heard from the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas, and he is urging hamas to do a deal very quickly. he says that has to be done, otherwise there will be, in his words, "another catastrophe". meanwhile, on wednesday, four people were killed in an "extensive wave" of israeli air strikes in lebanon launched after hezbollah rocket fire killed a soldier in israel. israel's military said it hit hezbollah infrastructure. in response to the deadly attack, the clashes along the lebanon—israel border have raised fears of a wider regional conflict. israeli forces and iran—backed hezbollah fighters have exchanged fire across the frontier since the war began and have a history of conflift. earlier: i spoke to

retired us general wesley clark, who served as nato commander in europe. israel has a real intent to force hezbollah to move back iokm. if they don't, i think israel at some point will undertake military operations to clean out south lebanon or force them back. because you've got tens of thousands of israelis who have left their homes because of rocket attacks. so for israel this is an existential moment, probably the greatest danger israel has faced since 1973. and both from hamas in the south and hezbollah in the north. if we speak about the hamas in the south element, israel has insisted that its troops will still advance on rafah and they've ordered evacuations there, although ngos say that 1.5 million sheltering there don't have anywhere safe to go. what do you think the us should be saying to prime minister netanyahu at this point? from the beginning,

the united states and our european allies should have insisted that israel evacuate those people and that egypt take them. if not all in egypt, then some in the southern israeli desert and we should have built refugee camps for them and moved everyone out of gaza, lock, stock and barrel. if we'd done that we would've avoided a lot of this humanitarian problem. yes, some hamas people may be mixed in with that but we would've identified who those people are and they would have been dealt with appropriately. instead we've had months of humanitarian crisis there. i'm glad to see israel has finally followed through with the idea of getting the civilian populace out of the way so they can focus on hamas. australia, canada and new zealand have all issued a joint statement in the last hour, calling for an immediate humanitarian cease—fire.

should the us go that far as well? i think you have to figure out what you're going to get for it. if there's a release of hostages, certainly. otherwise israel should do those people out. we can put a lot of constraints on israel but when push comes to shove and israel's existence is threatened, you are going to see british troops and american troops and others going back in there to try to help israel. all this is an israeli existential problem. they've got to deal with hamas. they've got to do it in the most humanitarian way possible and that means getting the population out of gaza or at least out of the southern area of gaza. the ngos would say that there is nowhere for those people to go, and they don't want to leave gaza for a fear they wouldn't be let back in. we've heard from the un saying this offensive could lead to a slaughter in rafah. what is your view, given your vast military experience of the israeli strategy? i think first of all,

you have to understand that this whole crisis since the 7th of october was brought on by a deliberate hamas ploy to provoke israel, kill people, seize hostages, withdraw into gaza and use the civilian population as hostages to prevent israel from retaliating and eliminating hamas. that's worked pretty well for hamas thus far and they've gotten a lot of sympathy from the world when they should've had nothing but condemnation. now israel has said they're going to eliminate hamas. is it easy? no, it is not. but israel can't live with the existential threat of hamas in the south and hezbollah and the north. they are living on borrowed time. once iran gets a nuclear weapon, everything in the region is going to change. so israel sees this as a decisive moment. that is the strategy. they are going to put in the refugee camps and give people the space

to move out. those people in rafah right now and in the south are living on the beach. are so they may as well live in a refugee camp. they're not in their homes, all their homes have been destroyed. gaza is good have to be rebuilt. it will be and i see european companiesjust thirsting to get in for the rebuilding of ukraine. there is a huge opportunity here to rebuild gaza. get the operation finished, go in and rebuild. let's look more closely now at a story in the uk. ten glass gems have been put on display for the first time since they were stolen from the british museum. the items are among the 350 recovered after the museum discovered that some of its precious pieces had been stolen and sold on ebay. the thefts came to light last year. our culture editor, katie razzall, has more.

the exhibition is its intent to signal openness and transparency. but is still grappling with the fallout of what happened. the police investigation is ongoing and many hundreds of items stolen from here remain unaccounted for. the museum's interim director sir markjoan says he expected it to take a couple of years to recover more of the 1,600 stolen items. the vast majority of the recovered items came from a danish gemstone dealer who alerted the museum to the theft in 2021. a member of staff has been dismissed. a police investigation is ongoing. ukraine's newly appointed military chief has visited two command posts in eastern ukraine and called the situation at the front line extremely complex and stressful. general oleksandr syrskyi went to the front line

hours after ukraine's military said it destroyed a russian warship off the coast of occupied crimea. pictures released by ukraine's military show the moment the warship was hit. moscow has not commented on the incident, although it did say russian forces shot down six aerial drones over the black sea, as well as another three over russia. elsewhere ukraine is struggling on parts of the front line. from kyiv, our ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, reports. heavy rock music plays as the dramatic music suggests, ukraine's military wanted to make a noise about this latest strike. several marine drones, packed with explosives, head towards a russian landing ship in the black sea. they're designed to leave a mark. crimea has been occupied by russia for a decade. the russian navy has dominated the black sea, but that's started to change. ukraine says this ship was destroyed here, near the south coast. kyiv claims it was the caesar

kunikov, in the centre here. bbc verify has confirmed it is at least the same type of russian vessel. these features are the same. landing ships are the most efficient way for russia to move machinery and men for its continued invasion. while it's not clear who or what was on board, it's another dent in russia's dominance around occupied crimea. translation: today, - we have increased security in the black sea and added motivation to our people. this is important. step—by—step, we will clear the black sea of russian terrorists. explosion ukraine has previous when it comes to striking russian vessels in the south. in december, a missile caused this. suggesting ammunition was on board. it's a strategy which has frustrated moscow and unblocked ukrainian ports.

according to this man, a military analyst, it's a kyiv success story. translation: after the damage inflicted today, _ this ship is impossible to repair. now they will have nine large landing ships remaining. this slightly decreases russia's capacity to supply troops in crimea. this is part of kyiv�*s long game. by targeting russian supply lines in the south, it hopes to eventually isolate invading troops in occupied crimea and it's a strategy which is working over water. but the story on land is a different one, where political delays in the west are having real—time consequences on the front line. and those are being felt the most in the eastern city of avdiivka. the russians released this footage, as they surround defending ukrainians with dwindling ammunition. the country's new head of the armed forces called

the situation here complicated and tense, and you can see why. farmers in northern india have clashed with police for a second day as they continue their attempt to march to the capital, delhi. our south asia correspondent samira hussein reports. explosions india's farmers have a message for the government — and they want to go to the capital to deliver it. in response, the police drop canisters of tear gas. and then everything turns chaotic. canisters explode the barrage is unrelenting. men shout every time the government drops tear gas, people disperse, but the farmers come back. that just shows you their determination. shouting and explosions the acrid smell and that feeling of getting that tear gas into your nose and your nostrils, it's incredible. this is the government and paramilitary forces that are lobbing tear gas onto farmers that are

protesting here for better financial protections. canisters explode they're demanding fair prices for their crops, debt forgiveness and pensions. india's farmers have been here before. in 2020 they spent more than a year protesting against agricultural reforms. armed with the same resolve, they are in it for the long haul. translation: when it comes to growing food in this country, - that is when they need farmers. but when the farmers want fair prices, the same farmers become a terrorist or separatist for the government. this time, the government is taking no chances, erecting barricades at every major entry point to new delhi, turning the capital into a fortress. farmers are left using kites to distract police drones, so uneven is the use of force. canister explodes

it seems prime minister modi's regime's tolerance for peaceful protests has reached its limits. samira hussain, bbc news, punjab. the duke and duchess of sussex have been in vancouver at an event to launch the 2025 invictus games. the games next year will be the first winter edition of the competition. our correspondent emma vardy reports from the slopes of whistler. the new website appears to be a moment to refresh their brand as a couple, and it describes their aim as "shaping the future through business and philanthropy". and the invictus games is an event very close to harry's heart. it's a sporting event that he founded to help people who've suffered life—changing injuries. so the couple are here in the canadian ski resort of whistler, meeting athletes one year out from the games, the event, including winter sports for the first time. and of course, harry and meghan have been working to establish their careers in other areas since stepping back as working royals and becoming financially

independent. meghan has recently signed a new podcast deal since ending her relationship, for example, with spotify. but of course, the big question on many people's minds since the king's cancer diagnosis is whether that and his treatment might help harry heal the rift with his family. of course, there's been tensions ever since he and meghan stepped back as royals and moved to california in the us. and we know that harry made a last—minute journey back to see his father last week, but we understand he spent some 45 minutes with him. didn't see his brother william either. but he is now back out here fulfilling his engagements and supporting athletes at the invictus games, something we know means a lot to him. now before we go, we want to show you a new super food that scientists claim could help tackle hunger around the world. this is a new type of hybrid rice made with beef cells. researchers in south korea say it could offer a more affordable protein food source.

plus, it has a smaller carbon footprint because it eliminates the resources and greenhouse gases involved in livestock production. but how does it taste?! stay with us here on bbc news. take care. hello there. some very wet, very mild conditions around at the moment. temperatures reached 16.5 celsius in hereford on wednesday and it could turn even warmer still, perhaps, as we head through thursday. but the focus for the day's highest temperatures will tend to be further east. there's a lot more rain to come in the forecast as well, all of these weather fronts just pushing northwards and eastwards as we head through into thursday morning. so temperatures rising unusually through the night across much of scotland.

and we'll start the day off on 12 or 13 celsius towards the south of england and wales. all of that mild airjust flowing in on that southerly wind from the azores. you can see all of that very mild air marked in the deep yellow there. it's a very wet start to the day across scotland, the heavy rain clearing northwards, being replaced by this batch of rain just pushing away from northern ireland. a cold front sweeping eastwards, giving some more heavy rain where the ground is already saturated, but it should stay largely dry ahead of the front across eastern areas of england. now, these are the average temperatures for this time of year, just 8 or 9 degrees. you can see just how mild it's going to be through the day on thursday. in fact, across parts of essex, we could even see 16 to 18 celsius, perhaps, given any brightness. that's still well off the february record, but it will feel pleasantly warm, i think, for the time of year. now, as we head through thursday night, that cold front continues to sweep its way eastwards. and behind it, there's some slightly cooler—feeling air, but only a drop in temperature by a couple of degrees or so.

we'll start off friday morning, then, with a legacy of cloud out towards eastern areas of england. that's going to be clearing away. a few isolated showers, perhaps, in the wake of the front, but generally speaking, i think friday should be largely dry for most of us. the best of the brightness probably towards central areas at first and then out towards the east, but also some brighter skies, perhaps, further west. temperatures really around 9—12 degrees celsius for the vast majority. on saturday, again, a largely dry day. the brighter skies really towards the east. it will cloud over from the west through the afternoon, with heavy rain by the end of the day across northern ireland. once again, temperatures will peak between 11 and 1a celsius, and that's where they'll tend to stay on sunday. that heavy rain clears eastwards as we head through sunday morning and the rest of the day should be largely dry with some spells of brightness. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk from new york city, i'm stephen sackur. americans are bracing themselves for a rerun of trump versus biden in the coming presidential election. now, that is a matchup that many americans have little enthusiasm for. but what is the alternative?

well, my guest today wants to be that alternative. cornel west is a writer, an academic, a civil rights and an anti—war activist. he's launched his own bid for the presidency, and while he's unlikely to win, could it be that his presence will tip the balance in a tight race? cornel west, welcome to hardtalk. well, thank you so very much, and it's always a blessing to be in conversation with you, my brother. well, it is great to talk to you. now, america, and the world, they know you as a philosopher, an academic, a writer, a civil rights activist, but right now, you are running to be president

of the united states of america.