hello, i'm sarah campbell. we start this hour in the united states. it is super tuesday — the biggest day so far in the 2024 race for the white house. millions of voters are heading to the polls in 15 states and one territory to choose their preferred candidates for president. the first voting will get under way in virginia in just a few hours�* time. it promises to be a big day for polling, but presidentjoe biden and former president donald trump are almost certain to face each other again in november's election. some states had tried to exclude mr trump from the ballot, but on monday the supreme court overruled that. our north america correspondent emma vardy reports from a hockey game in colorado. america's getting ready for a big political contest. but despite the millions of votes being cast, it's already pretty clear which candidates will be facing off in the presidential battle.

as colorado goes to the polls, sisters mandy and nicky are headed to the ice. we are such a divided nation. but the one thing i like is when i walk into the hockey rink, we're all the same. the feeling is rather different on the campaign trail, as 15 states are holding votes to pick their presidential candidates. crooked joe biden, you're fired! before polls have even closed, there's been a victory for donald trump. the state of colorado was in a fight to kick him off the ballot entirely for his role in the capitol riots onjanuary 6. but the us supreme court struck it down. his republican opponent is undeterred. i defeated a dozen of the fellas. cheering. ijust have one more fella i got to catch up to. the question is whether nikki haley quits the race, or decides to hang on. it wasn't presidentjoe biden,

but the first lady doing the rounds on the democratic side, going after female voters. donald trump is dangerous to women and to our families. we simply cannot let him win. but the prospect of a joe biden rematch with donald trump is unpopular with many voters. i do wish there were more choices. that's another thing i don't lovei about our political system here. contenders that have been there before and they're kind of ready to go again. so not the most exciting match? not this time, no. because neitherjoe biden nor donald trump has any serious competition this year, as political games go, the result is rather a foregone conclusion. what matters now is that after tuesday, the real start of the election campaign will begin. and unlike this somewhat predictable super tuesday, the result of the presidential election in november will be much harder to call. emma vardy, bbc news, colorado.

let's speak to the director at chatham house, the us and americas programme. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. we heard from emma vardy that super tuesday might be slightly predictable and not as superas slightly predictable and not as super as it normally might be? idietitian super as it normally might be? when it comes to that _ super as it normally might be? when it comes to that headline _ super as it normally might be? �*w'iez�*i it comes to that headline news of who the candidates will be for president it is absolutely predictable. i think one thing to watch is how enthusiastic are the voters, do they turn out? when it gets to know them by one of the key predictors of who will win is difficult to anticipate and that is how many people will vote. primary voters tend to be more passionate and more towards the extremes of the party so it is a little hard to read but it tells us something about the enthusiasm or possibly the lack of

enthusiasm or possibly the lack of enthusiasm amongst us voters. the second thing to watch that i think fewer people here in the united kingdom are paying attention to are the primary is for seats in the house of representatives and the senate. this is where we will see some very important races and results, those primaries will determine who runs the house of representatives, it is certainly up for grabs. the democrats would only have to win four seats to take the house back regardless of who the president is. if you have been watching us politics carefully over the last few months we know that what happens in the house happens a huge amount with things that are significant for the rest of the world such as whether or not spending bills that go to supporting ukraine are even taken to a vote. if the democrats when the house they control those committees and have a

lot more capacity to influence outcomes and so these are significant. they also tell us about whether the democrats who are running will be more conservative or progressive, more moderate or more progressive, more moderate or more progressive, where the republican balance of power will be, so there is a lot happening below the headline news which is significant and will shape the future of us politics. and will shape the future of us olitics. �* �* , and will shape the future of us olitics. �* v . , politics. but it's really interesting. _ politics. but it's really interesting. let's - politics. but it's really interesting. let's talk| politics. but it's really - interesting. let's talk about politics. but it's really _ interesting. let's talk about nikki haley, she is trailing far, far, far behind donald trump as far as republican candidates, as it is the last day do you expect to see her on the campaign trail? what is her strategy likely to be? that the campaign trail? what is her strategy likely to be?— the campaign trail? what is her strategy likely to be? that is the $100 million — strategy likely to be? that is the $100 million question. _ strategy likely to be? that is the $100 million question. i- strategy likely to be? that is the $100 million question. i suspect| strategy likely to be? that is the i $100 million question. i suspect it depends very much and how voters cast their ballots and one does not want to pre—empt that but it certainly looks like this will be the beginning of the end of this

phase of her name being on the balance. but i think nikki haley has a clear vision, she is looking not only add 2024 by 2028 and so her visibility, one of the questions for nikki haley is how can she remain visible and remain an influencer. she is gaining a lot of wealthy republican voters, she has a different set of policies, much more international, and that appeals to a lot of republicans who have felt alienated from the party since donald trump was elected. she will continue to have an important voice, it is unclear and it seems less likely that that voice will be on the ballot after today.- likely that that voice will be on the ballot after today. good to talk to ou, dr the ballot after today. good to talk to you, dr leslie _ the ballot after today. good to talk to you, dr leslie vinjamuri, - to you, dr leslie vinjamuri, director at the chatham house us and americas programme.

and if you want to find out more about super tuesday and why it is so important in the race for the white house then head to the bbc news website or app where we have a special guide to the day along with more articles in the run up to the presidential election. to the middle east and the israel—gaza war. israel has repeatedly said that the brutality against the victims of the hamas attacks on october 7th included sexual violence. now, a team of experts from the un has concluded there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that sexual violence occurred during the attacks, and there's convincing information that hostages taken by the group have been subjected to it. hamas has denied the allegations. pramila patten is the un special representative on sexual violence in conflict. with regard to hostages taken to gaza, we found clear and convincing information that sexual violence — including rape, sexualised torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment — has been committed against captives.

and we also have reasonable grounds to believe that sexual violence may still be ongoing against those still held in captivity. i pause and must add that i am of the strong opinion that this finding does not in any way legitimise further violence, but actually reinforces the need for an urgent ceasefire. our middle east correspondent yolande knell —— yolande knell is in jerusalem. some really important accusations and allegations by the united nations, but also a big day because benny gantz is in the us meeting kamala harris, the us vice president. comments from the us increasingly putting pressure on israel over the humanitarian situation?—

israel over the humanitarian situation? , , situation? yes, so benny gantz met kamala harris _ situation? yes, so benny gantz met kamala harris one _ situation? yes, so benny gantz met kamala harris one day _ situation? yes, so benny gantz met kamala harris one day after- situation? yes, so benny gantz met kamala harris one day after she - situation? yes, so benny gantz meti kamala harris one day after she had given the strongest rebuke yet that she had heard from a senior us government official about conditions in gaza, describing them as inhumane, saying there is a humanitarian catastrophe, that people are starving. what we understand from the white house is that ms harris spoke to benny gantz, a member of the israeli war cabinet, about the need to have a humanitarian plan before israel conducts anything and rougher on the border which is something that israel it plans to do, and that is where you have hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the fighting elsewhere, currently living in makeshift tents in very difficult conditions. there has also been this call from the us to have more aid in general entering the gaza strip and we saw over the past few days that a measure of the us�*s frustration with

the state of affairs, we have had these warnings from the un about famine being almost inevitable in gaza and even the us began tojoin our lifting operations to parachute food supplies into gaza because they are so desperately needed, especially in the north. we heard about the world _ especially in the north. we heard about the world health - especially in the north. we heard - about the world health organization, you are touching on edge, the world health organization chief saying children are dying from starvation currently in gaza, so the stakes at the moment could not be higher? yes. the moment could not be higher? yes, and in the past — the moment could not be higher? yes, and in the past few _ the moment could not be higher? 133 and in the past few days the the moment could not be higher? i2: and in the past few days the world health organization says it has sent one of its teams to two hospitals in the very north of the gaza strip which it has not been able to visit since early october, it describes grim conditions and said italy's children have died resulting from starvation. we have heard many stories from the north about how

people have even been turning to animalfodder in order to people have even been turning to animal fodder in order to try to find food to feed their families but it has really become that desperate. it is highlighting more and more that there have been health officials in gaza talking about the numbers of children dying from diseases resulting from malnutrition and disease that could easily be prevented. there is a lack of medicines and fuel, hospital buildings like those that the world health organization visited in the north of gaza, the buildings have been very badly damaged by fighting and this makes things more desperate. and this makes things more desperate-_ and this makes things more deserate. . ~' ., ., desperate. thank you, yolande knell injerusalem- — around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news here in the uk. the prisons watchdog has found that a vulnerable girl being held at a young offenders' institution was twice pinned down and forcibly stripped by male guards. the children's commissioner

for england, dame rachel de souza, said she was "appalled" by the report on wetherby young offender institution in west yorkshire. birmingham city council is to vote on a wave of cuts to local services and a 21% rise in its rate of council tax. the largest local authority in europe declared itself effectively bankrupt last year and is now trying to make £300 million worth of savings. libraries, parks and cultural projects may be affected. the academy of medical royal colleges has given its backing to a plan to increase the number of health professionals known as physician associates in england. there are currently more than 3000 of them in hospitals and gp surgeries. ministers hope to have 10,000 more over the next decade. you're live with bbc news. at least 35 people died while dozens more were injured

as freezing rain and unexpected snowfall hit remote areas of pakistan over the weekend. 22 children were among the fatalities, many of whom were crushed in landslides that buried their homes, disaster management authorities said. the extreme weather hit pakistan's northern and western regions, clogging roads and damaging hundreds of houses. with me is farhat javed from bbc urdu. take us through. this is caused by extreme weather and it has clearly caused a lot of damage? in extreme weather and it has clearly caused a lot of damage?— extreme weather and it has clearly caused a lot of damage? in the last three years — caused a lot of damage? in the last three years i _ caused a lot of damage? in the last three years i think— caused a lot of damage? in the last three years i think it _ caused a lot of damage? in the last three years i think it is _ caused a lot of damage? in the last three years i think it is the - caused a lot of damage? in the last three years i think it is the second i three years i think it is the second time we are witnessing the impact of climate change in pakistan. last time was in summer when we saw devastating floods in the country and now this time it is the winters. we are seeing areas hit by floods, landslides, heavy rain and snowfall,

and snowfall in most of these areas is not unusual but we have cities where this never happened before and this time there was continuous snowfall which resulted in the deaths of so many people, as you have mentioned. it is so unusual and so unexpected that people are not ready for it, we have a very poor infrastructure there, people go to school by walking so that has all been disturbed that these areas need almost daily road connections to the main cities of pakistan for the supply of commodities and food items. that has been disrupted. for example in the north—west one highway connecting pakistan to china has been blocked at several points. thousands of tourists stranded in those areas. thousands of tourists stranded in those arm-— thousands of tourists stranded in those areas. ., ~ ., ., ., those areas. what kind of areas are bein: those areas. what kind of areas are being affected? _ those areas. what kind of areas are being affected? are _ those areas. what kind of areas are being affected? are they _ those areas. what kind of areas are being affected? are they all- those areas. what kind of areas are being affected? are they all hire i being affected? are they all hire areas or is a very widespread? ilighten areas or is a very widespread? when we talk about _ areas or is a very widespread? when we talk about the _ areas or is a very widespread? when we talk about the north-west - areas or is a very widespread? wief'i we talk about the north—west of pakistan, but is a very mountainous

region. that is affected heavily by landslides and is why there have been many deaf in those areas. —— thatis been many deaf in those areas. —— that is why there have been many deaths in those areas. further south it is a barren land which has never had snowfall, so that two people by surprise. if you go to the soulful —— the coastal belt in the south of the country, there are heavy rains for the past many days now which has resulted in floods destroying property, millions of rupees of property, millions of rupees of property, and people are homeless. so a huge area affected, and we saw the depth of the snowfall, there were several feet of snow. absolutely. in one area the snowfall is very common, it happens almost every year, but if we come down to another area where there was snowfall for 45 minutes for the

first time, people were not ready and that resulted in property damage and that resulted in property damage and many deaths. up in the mountains, because the infrastructure is destroyed and the snowfall has resulted in landslides also, which has ultimately destroyed homes and the kids and women inside their homes, many died and many are injured, it is creating chaos in all of these areas, wherever it is. rains are hitting, there is snowfall and landslides.— rains are hitting, there is snowfall and landslides. presumably making the rescue operation _ and landslides. presumably making the rescue operation very _ and landslides. presumably making the rescue operation very difficult. | the rescue operation very difficult. i know you will keep across this and keep us updated on the situation in pakistan, so thank you. here in the uk, the countdown is on until the chancellorjeremy hunt announces his budget on wednesday. but has he delivered what he promised back in 2023?

bbc verify has been looking back at last year's budget pledges. here's nick eardley. let's start with the theme back in 2023 — a budget for growth. well, growth has been flat. as we can show you on the screen here, in the first two quarters of the year it was pretty flat, and in the final two quarters growth was negative, so we went into recession. so this hasn't been achieved so far. the other big economic priority was to cut inflation. that did happen — you can see on the screen here, it fell over time, it more than halved. so a tick on that one, but it's a mixed picture overall on those economic pledges. there was also a big promise in the budget to expand childcare in england. you can see on the screen here the pledges the government made. ministers say this is on track, particularly the part due to happen next month, but some in the sector aren't as confident — there are warnings over recruitment and fears some nurseries might go bust. so this one, we think, is still in the balance. another aim last year was reducing economic inactivity —

people out of work. if we show you this graph here, though, the number of people in this category has gone up slightly this year. the treasury isn't counting students, so if you take out that bit in grey, there is a small fall, but it's only a small one. this one is likely to take time so, again, we think it's still in the balance. next up — prepayment energy meters. the government promised to make sure people on these weren't paying higher standing charges. this has happened. ministers initially subsidised it, then ofgem confirmed a couple of weeks ago new rules on this. finally, one that matters a lot to a number of people — the price of a pint. there were tax changes last year designed to keep the price of a pint in pubs down. well, as you can see here, the price has gone up 7.5%. that's not as much as it might have been, not as much as prices have gone up in the shops, but it's another one where the picture is mixed.

remember, these measures can take time to work, but from these priorities, as you can see on the screen here, it's a mixed bag, with more to do. and after wednesday, there will be more priorities for ministers to concentrate on. nick eardley from bbc verify. to china next, where the biggest event in the country's political calendar is under way. nearly 3000 delegates have gathered in beijing for the national people's congress. the country's premier delivered a major address on the economy, where he's announced that import tarrifs on advanced technology will be cut to try and boost growth. security at the annual gathering inside the great hall of the people is tight. from there, our china correspondent stephen mcdonell sent us this update. here we have it, the government work report, as it's called. it gives you an idea of the marathon nature of the speech. there's a lot in here.

big emphasis on the economy in the congress this year, and apparently, the government is telling its people that a consumption—led recovery is going to be key. how are they going to boost consumption? well, apparently by improving employment and also improving people's wages. also, needs to be more investment in research and development for science. that is especially crucial for china because it's finding, as relations sour with various western countries, it's finding it difficult to get high—tech stuff from other countries, so it needs to do all this stuff domestically. but when you look at this report, you know, at times it can be big on rhetoric and a bit thin on detail. so i'lljust give you some examples. i mean, as wejust dip into it, i'll read a bit. "in order to fulfil the development goals and tasks for this year,

we must act on xi jinping's economic thinking, and to devote full energy to promoting high quality development." well, you know, what does that really mean? there's all sorts of jargon along those lines. and here's another taste. 11.7 million students are due to graduate from college or university this year, and we must "do more to promote employment for young people. " now, the words "do more" are doing a lot of heavy lifting there. what does that mean? what exactly is the government going to do to improve the employment situation for young people? now, that said, at least talking about these things and acknowledging the difficulties will, you know, be a good thing for people in china to hear. i'm just not so sure, though, that they are any closer to understanding how the government intends to fix the major problems this economy has,

as a result of this speech. stephen mcdonell reporting from beijing. now, slightly further afield! a satellite has blasted into orbit to measure the levels of methane gas in the atmosphere. methane is believed to be a major contributor to global warming, because it traps in heat. the new project will flag where there are high levels of the greenhouse gas. our climate editor justin rowlatt has more. three, two, one, ignition. and lift—off. a falcon 9 rocket blasts off overnight. amongst its payload, a satellite designed to sniff out the tell—tale fingerprint of methane in the light reflected back from earth. it will orbit 15 times a day, tracking methane emissions leaking from oil and gas facilities around the globe. the sector is an important source of this powerful planet—warming gas.

we know that these emissions are fixable, so with current technologies all the methane emissions from the oil and gas operations can actually be fixed at almost zero cost. so, if you don't know where the emissions are happening, you cannot fix them. so, if you have data on where the emissions are happening, you can fix them. the data will be publicly available. it will help oil and gas companies identify leaks from their operations, and at the same time regulators and the general public will be able to check to make sure those leaks are fixed. the environmental defence fund, the us—based charity behind the satellite, hopes the data it provides will help cut methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure by almost half by the end of the decade. justin rowlatt, bbc news.

why not stay in space?! the hatch to the spacex capsule carrying three us astronauts and one russian cosmonaut has opened for the crew to make their way onboard the international space station. this was the moment the hatch was opened. let's have a listen. cepy. copy, hatch open. we just heard confirmation that the dragon _ we just heard confirmation that the dragon hatch is open so we should see those — dragon hatch is open so we should see those crew members short jo floto _ see those crew members short jo floto board shortly. you can currently _ floto board shortly. you can currently see the japan space exploration agency astronauts and there _ exploration agency astronauts and there is_ exploration agency astronauts and there is a — exploration agency astronauts and there is a european space agency astronaut — there is a european space agency astronaut and also a nasa astronaut.

they were _ astronaut and also a nasa astronaut. they were working to set up for the welcoming — they were working to set up for the welcoming ceremony that will take place _ welcoming ceremony that will take place shortly after crew eight floats — place shortly after crew eight floats aboard.— place shortly after crew eight floats aboard. ., ., , ,, ,., . floats aboard. that was the spacex crew. if floats aboard. that was the spacex crew- if you — floats aboard. that was the spacex crew. if you want _ floats aboard. that was the spacex crew. if you want to _ floats aboard. that was the spacex crew. if you want to follow - floats aboard. that was the spacex crew. if you want to follow all - floats aboard. that was the spacex crew. if you want to follow all the i crew. if you want to follow all the details from both of those nations, they are there on the bbc news website. stay with us on bbc news. hello again. at the moment we've got high pressure anchored over scandinavia, which is effectively keeping weather fronts at bay out towards the west. now, having said that, there is a weather front to the east which is producing cloudy and damp conditions. and around the high pressure we pull in the south—easterly breeze or wind, so here in the east we are going to see a lot of low cloud and murky conditions in the next few days. but by the weekend it looks very much like a weather front is going to come into south bringing some rain with it. as we go through the course of today, here is our weather front. at times it will lap offshore but it will remain cloudy and damp across eastern parts of england

with some heavy showers drifting into the south—east which could be thundery. at the same time we've got some showery rain moving out of northern ireland into western scotland accompanied by gusty winds. gusty winds across the northern isles and a lot of dry weather in between, with some sunshine. through this evening and overnight a weather front comes back into the east bringing in more cloud, murky conditions, some light rain and drizzle. under clearer skies in the west, though, we'll see mist and fog patches forming, across parts of wales, south and central southern england, once again, and it'll be frosty under clear skies in parts of wales, the southwest and potentially north—west england and western scotland. so tomorrow, we've got all this cloud in the east, still with some dampness in it. it should tend to break up in its southern end but having said that too, we are still going to see some showers. brighter skies will be out towards the west with temperatures 5—12 degrees north to south. then as we head into the latter part of the week, well,

here's the high pressure drifting a bit closer to us. again, if you remember the wind around it, comes in from the south—east, so it's going to be dragging in a lot of cloud, dank conditions across eastern areas at times. getting into some central parts. some light rain, some drizzle. but out towards the west we still are looking at something drier and brighter. these white circles represent the average wind speeds. the gusts will be a little bit more, and these are our temperatures, 7 to about 12 degrees north to south. it's after that it looks like a weather front�*s going to come in across southern areas overnight friday into saturday, bringing in some rain. it will also be quite breezy at times, and chilly by night.

we are nowjoined on bbc news. tony travis, an expert on local councils and has been for many a long year, he has read the book and he wrote it as well. we are talking about cancer this morning, and we are asking you wherever you are, are you getting value for money from your council tax? —— we are talking about councils this morning. nottingham council with huge problems, birmingham has massive problems. up and down the country budgets are squeezed and many people point their fingers at local government. 10%

less now than 14 years ago, basically. the array of services, the panoply of services, what is it like where you are, something has to give, what is giving and what should stay where it is, funded how it is at the moment. tony travis, what are the basic problems facing councils up the basic problems facing councils up and down the country? the problem are uuite up and down the country? the problem are quite sober. _ up and down the country? the problem are quite sober, really. _ up and down the country? the problem are quite sober, really. they _ up and down the country? the problem are quite sober, really. they are - are quite sober, really. they are facing the fact that it is now 14 years since an attempt was made by national government to bring down its deficit, and that involved piling cuts, more on local government, and the home office and justice departments than other parts of public spending such as the national health service and state pension which have been predicted. local government took deeper tucks than other parts of the public sector. —— deeper cuts. in the last few years the covenant has found real terms slightly extra money for local government, it is still

spending around ten