' after after four people, ' after four people, including murder afterfour people, including three children, die in a house fire in bradford. police believe the fire was started deliberately and the incident was domestic related. this is the seen live. we will be there with a reporter any moment. it's 2 o'clock. this is bbc news. i'm nicky schiller. we start with more on our breaking news. a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman and three children — two girls aged nine and one and a five—year—old boy — died following a house fire in bradford. these are some of the latest pictures coming to us from the scene. police officers were called by the fire service to reports of a house fire at a property on westbury road in the south of the city. a 39—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and taken

to hospital with critical injuries. let's speak to our correspondent liz roberts, who is at the scene. the police have been here throughout the night on westbury road in the queensbury area of bradford. a murder investigation has been launched after four people sadly lost their lives in a house fire here. west yorkshire police say they were called shortly after two o'clock in the morning by the fire service. two reports of that house fire. a29—year—old woman was tragically pronounced dead at the scene, with three children, two girls, one aged nine, one agedjust one—year—old, and a five year boy were taken to hospital but have subsequently lost their lives as a result of the injuries that they sustained in that fire. a39—year—old man has been arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder, and he has also been taken to hospital with

critical injuries. we understand he is a seriously ill. we have had a statement from west yorkshire police. "this is an absolutely devastating incident in which three children and a woman have died in this fire. our thoughts remain with the family and friends and loved ones." they say, "early inquiries show that the fire was started deliberately." and they have arrested a 39—year—old man on suspicion of murder who is currently still in hospital. they say that while their inquiries are at an early stage, they do at this time believe the incident is domestic related. so they are not looking for anyone else. but they are appealing for anyone he was in the area at the time of the incident or head cctv footage or door bell footage to come forward. and they added specially trained officers are supporting the family and they are working with local neighbourhood officers to

carry out inquiries and provide reassurance in the area. that is what you can see happening behind me now. , y ., what you can see happening behind me now. , , ., . . , what you can see happening behind me now. , , ., . now. yes, you can see that police activity and _ now. yes, you can see that police activity and the _ now. yes, you can see that police activity and the forensic _ now. yes, you can see that police activity and the forensic officers. l activity and the forensic officers. i imagine that this has come as a very big shock to that area? absolutely. this happened in the early hours of the morning. i am sure there will have been some people working and disturbed by the commotion that will have been caused by the fire service had subsequently the police and the ambulance service arriving here. —— working. others waking to the news that three very young children and a woman just 29 years old have lost their lives in a house fire. it is everybody�*s worst nightmare, isn't it, to know that it happened on your street? it is extremely shocking and disturbing. you are right, there is still a huge

police presence around here. there are some people who are still not aware of what is happening in their own neighbourhood. that is where the police are doing now, trying to reassure people that they have already issued a statement to say they believe this is a domestic, isolated incident. but they are carrying out their inquiries, i think the people who might have that footage to come forward, however insignificant they think it might be. but also to provide some reassurance, that they are not looking for anyone else and this is hopefully an isolated incident. imagine specially trained officers are supporting the family. it is two girls, aged one and nine, and a five—year—old boy. they really are young children. absolutely. this is a family, ultimately. we young children. absolutely. this is a family, ultimately.— young children. absolutely. this is a family, ultimately. we do not know who they are — a family, ultimately. we do not know who they are at _ a family, ultimately. we do not know who they are at the _ a family, ultimately. we do not know who they are at the moment. - a family, ultimately. we do not know who they are at the moment. no - a family, ultimately. we do not know. who they are at the moment. no names have been released. but they are

living in the same property, so one would assume that this is a family that have all been affected. and that have all been affected. and that wider family, what shocking news for them to find out, that a woman and three children that they know and are dear to them have lost their lives in this particularly horrific way. in a house fire. like i say, the 29—year—old woman pronounced dead at the scene. those children were taken to hospital, but sadly have succumbed to the injuries they suffered in that fire. yes. sadly have succumbed to the in'uries they suffered in that firefi they suffered in that fire. yes, and sp also said. _ they suffered in that fire. yes, and sp also said, the _ they suffered in that fire. yes, and sp also said, the 39-year-old - they suffered in that fire. yes, and sp also said, the 39-year-old man sp also said, the 39—year—old man who has been arrested on suspicion of murder, he got critical injuries. february isjustjoining of murder, he got critical injuries. february is justjoining us, of murder, he got critical injuries. february isjustjoining us, update us on exactly what we know at the moment. ~ ., . . ., ., . , moment. well, according to west yorkshire police, _ moment. well, according to west yorkshire police, they _ moment. well, according to west yorkshire police, they were - moment. well, according to west| yorkshire police, they were called to the property here by the fire service, to that fire just after two

o'clock in the morning. so the middle of the night for most people. and a 29—year—old woman was pronounced at the scene, three children, two girls, one aged nine, wonjust one—year—old, children, two girls, one aged nine, won just one—year—old, and a children, two girls, one aged nine, wonjust one—year—old, and a boy children, two girls, one aged nine, won just one—year—old, and a boy of five were taken to hospital, but they have subsequently died of their injuries. so for people are dead as a result of this house fire. another man, a 39—year—old man, who also suffered critical injuries and is in hospital, has been arrested on suspicion of murder by west yorkshire police. they are telling us that they believe this to be a domesticated incident. they are not necessarily looking for anyone else. but they are carrying out inquiries in this area of bradford, asking people if they have got cctv or door bell footage to bring that forward so that they can really get to the bottom of exactly what has happened

here. ., ~ bottom of exactly what has happened here. . ~ ,, bottom of exactly what has happened here. . ~ i. ., ., with more on this we can speak to martine croxall. we have been talking about the ages of the children. this must have been a horrific scene for the emergency workers, the firefighters, to turn up workers, the firefighters, to turn up too early in the morning? absolutely. as liz was saying, the call to west yorkshire police came from the fire service. they would have corus been the scene in this housein have corus been the scene in this house in this very quiet residential street, and then what they found prompted them to call the police. since those early hours of the morning, we have seen many, many different emergency service vehicles in attendance, notjust a several fire engines which were of course there to put out the fire but also several police vehicles will have arrived, along with the ambulances.

they have been there all morning, and a very heavy police presence. and local media have been talking to local residents, who have expressed their shock as we often hear in situations like this. people are so surprised and incredibly saddened and distressed by what they find happening on their own doorstep in what is normally a very quiet residential street. what is normally a very quiet residentialstreet. for what is normally a very quiet residential street. for anyone who knows the geography of bradford, westbury road is to the south—west of the city centre close to what in bag country park, where residents are said nothing ever normally happens, which isjust how you wanted. then the arrival of all of these emergency services in the middle of the night worked people up, and some residents have told the local media they went to see if they could help because they were

concerned about the sirens they were hearing. some people have also reported that they heard a scream or screams. but they were turned back by police and the fire service because obviously this fire had taken hold and they were very busy putting that out. as liz was saying, we have four fatalities here. putting that out. as liz was saying, we have fourfatalities here. a woman who is 29 and died at the scene, and then there's three children, aged nine and one, the little girls, and then a boy that was five. we do not know the whereabouts of the 39—year—old man who was arrested at the scene. he is in hospital now with critical injuries. but the police very much want to hear from anyone who might have relevant information, however seemingly irrelevant it might seem to anyone who is an eyewitness. these days a lot of people have bring door bell footage that they can contribute, and there could have

been something that i was picked up in the middle of the night. as is the way these days, it is possible to upload that information via the west yorkshire police website, and also it is possible to contact them via crimestoppers to people want to come forward anonymously. the police obviously wanting to make sure that they have gathered every bit of information they possibly can even if they say this is a domestic —related incident, meaning that those involved probably know each other. there is information out there that the police are very keen to hear. we there that the police are very keen to hear. ~ ., , to hear. we have seen the live ictures to hear. we have seen the live pictures here _ to hear. we have seen the live pictures here from _ to hear. we have seen the live pictures here from the - to hear. we have seen the live pictures here from the scene l to hear. we have seen the live - pictures here from the scene where, as is always the case for these incidents, the police tape is up the forensic teams are going into gather as much information as they can. we saw in some of the picture is a

little earlier that already flowers are being laid little earlier that already flowers are being [aid at the scene, as liz and hugh have been talking about. the fact that these are children, two girls aged one and nine and a five—year—old boy, any death in a fire is tragic but the fact they are so young, it really is going to have an impact on that particular street, because people in that street will know the family living in this house. ., , know the family living in this house. .,, ., .,, know the family living in this house. ., ~ , ., house. people in areas like this are often well known _ house. people in areas like this are often well known to _ house. people in areas like this are often well known to each _ house. people in areas like this are often well known to each other, - house. people in areas like this arej often well known to each other, are at stake? that is why many neighbours turned out to see if there is anything they could do. some of them have said they heard alarms and they wanted to see if there was anything they could do, then they saw the sirens of the emergency vehicles, which in some cases worked people up. somebody said it was just a terrible thing to happen here, it isjust awful and

horrendous. and many of the residents reported seeing flames and smoke billowing from the house. and their worst fears of course were realised with news that this did result in four fatalities and is now a murder investigation. there was one woman who said the smoke was really thick and it was filling the whole area of the street. "it actually looked as though it was foggy in the middle of this summer's night, it was all very overwhelming and you could hear sounds of distress." that is why it's special officers have been brought in, not just to support the family and loved ones of those who will have died, they will need a great deal of support because they will be so shocked by this, but also to offer reassurance and answer questions from people who live in the area, who will be so concerned by what is happening to some of their neighbours. for happening to some of their neighbours-_ happening to some of their neiuhbours. ., ., ., ~ neighbours. for the moment, thank ou ve neighbours. for the moment, thank

you very much- _ neighbours. for the moment, thank you very much- i — neighbours. for the moment, thank you very much. ijust _ neighbours. for the moment, thank you very much. i just want - neighbours. for the moment, thank you very much. i just want to - neighbours. for the moment, thank you very much. i just want to take l you very much. ijust want to take you very much. ijust want to take you to some pictures we have just got in. this is a drone footage from the street where this happened in west yorkshire. this is westbury roadin west yorkshire. this is westbury road in bradford. there you can see the house where the four people died, that women and three young children. you can see the burnt out top of that house from the drone footage. this is the back of the house where the burnt out window in that top floor of this house. here is another angle where you can see that there is a flames will have come out of those windows, and they are completely burnt out. you can imagine the scene that the fire service saw when they came there this morning, where you can see that black, bright out area. that will have been flames and smoke that they will have seen in those early hours

of the morning. there were reports of the morning. there were reports of this at around two o'clock in the morning. and we now know that four people died. that was a 29—year—old woman who was pronounced dead at the scene, whilst two girls aged one and nine, and a five—year—old boy, died after they were taken to hospital. 839—year—old man arrested at the scene as we have been saying, on suspicion of murder. he had been taken to hospital with critical injuries. as i say, these are the first drone pictures, which give us a sense of the scale of this fire in this property in westbury road in bradford. the police are in there of course with the forensic teams and getting the latest in terms of the

investigation as to how this place started. these are the latest pictures we have got from bradford.

welcome back. with antony blinken�*s departure from the middle east, there is one that remains elusive. the agreement. the secretary of state has been trying to broker a does it cease fire deal. there seems to be some ambiguity at the moment regarding israeli withdrawal. as he left the region, antony blinken�*s message was blunt. our message is simple, it's clear and it's urgent — we need to get the ceasefire and hostage agreement over the finish line and we need to do it now. former us ambassador to the un and israel, thomas pickering,

gave me his assessment of the us's role in the talks. us influence may be waning, but it interest is not. particularly in an election year in the united states. that i think is self evident. it is also clear that the administration is increasing what i would call both its attention and its concern, and indeed through that process its pressure. but for many observers, thatis pressure. but for many observers, that is still lacking in significant effect, both with israel where that pressure can be very, very important, and with hamas, where it is almost nonexistent. one clearly has to depend on friends in egypt in particular to help out and do everything they can to produce an early result. and there is deep

concern in the united states and has been of a much wider war, which in itself would take a catastrophe and top it with a disaster.— top it with a disaster. when it comes to _ top it with a disaster. when it comes to israel, _ top it with a disaster. when it comes to israel, pressure - top it with a disaster. when it comes to israel, pressure is l top it with a disaster. when it i comes to israel, pressure is one thing, then we keep hearing about the pressure they are putting in benjamin netanyahu, but one actual leveraged do they have now? limited leveraged do they have now? united states has enormous _ leveraged do they have now? united states has enormous h. _ leveraged do they have now? united states has enormous h. certainly i leveraged do they have now? united| states has enormous h. certainly the whole continuation of israel's defence operations in gaza depends clearly, as prime minister netanyahu has made it clear in a number of public statements over recent weeks, and the continued supply of military equipment and ammunition and technical advice to israel. but do ou think technical advice to israel. but do you think antony _ technical advice to israel. but do you think antony blinken - technical advice to israel. but do you think antony blinken would l technical advice to israel. but do i you think antony blinken would use that leveraged? i you think antony blinken would use that leveraged?— that leveraged? i think there is a medication _ that leveraged? i think there is a medication already _ that leveraged? i think there is a medication already that - that leveraged? i think there is a medication already that that - that leveraged? i think there is a medication already that that is i

medication already that that is something that increasingly prime minister netanyahu cannot consider totally out of the scenario. there seems to be _ totally out of the scenario. there seems to be the _ totally out of the scenario. there seems to be the sticking - totally out of the scenario. there seems to be the sticking point i totally out of the scenario. there seems to be the sticking point when it comes to the agreement that president biden put forward and it was agreed by the un security council, and now this bridging proposal we have, around israel's ability to continue the war if they want to and the us demand that there be a permanent ceasefire. how does that sticking point to get overcome? i think that that is a very important part of how and in what way this process has to be facilitated to go forward. some of that obviously has to do with israel's deep concern around defence and self—defence. and their commitments by friends and allies like the united states, as difficult as they may be, are certainly likely to add what i would call substance

to add what i would call substance to guarantees that were in some way supplement israel's own commitment but at the same time facilitate an agreement that would depend on continuation of the ceasefire, and where the us would undertake to invigorate and indeed employ its capacity to support israel's self—defence if indeed the terms of a permanent ceasefire were broken by the other side. an israeli strike on southern lebanon has killed an official from the palestinian fatah movement. a senior member of the group said the missile hit the man's car in the outskirts of the port city of sidon. it's the first such strike on a member of fatah, which is led by the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas, since the start of the gaza war. there were israeli attacks overnight on hezbollah weapons storage facilities in lebanon's bekaa valley. hezbollah said four of its fighters were killed on wednesday morning.

the iran—backed group said it retaliated by firing dozens of rockets into the israeli—occupied golan heights. now to pakistan, where police have told the bbc that a pakistani man allegedly linked to spreading false information thought to have fuelled riots in the uk has been arrested on cyber terrorism charges. farhan asif is accused of sharing a false name of the alleged attacker and falsely suggesting he was an asylum seeker who arrived in the uk by boat last year. our pakistan correspondent, caroline davies, has been looking into the reasons for the cyber terrorism charge. this all developed in the hours after the southport attack. what we understand is that this news website, called channebnow, then put out an article that cited a name that is incorrect for the alleged attacker and also said that this individual had come over recently on a boat to the uk and was an asylum seeker. that article was then shared by lots of different

social media accounts, it went viral, and so many people investigating what happened in the run—up to the riots started to look towards this website, channelsnow. farhan asif is the individual that has been linked to this website. the website itself put out an apology after the police in the uk disputed this particular account, put out an apology and took down the article. but by that stage, that information had already spread very widely. farhan asif has been questioned initially by police in lahore and i was also able to speak to one the officers there, who gave me more detail about what they had learned through questioning. they said that farhan asif had told them he had written the article himself. he'd done it by looking at a social media post that had appeared from a uk social media accounts, then put the information into this

article but had not done any form of verification before doing so. the other thing that is very interesting is that mr asif has said that he wrote the article. if you look back at the apology that appeared on channelsnow�*s website, it talks about the fact that multiple individuals had been fired for their part in this article. the bbc has also tried to get in touch with channelsnow and got a response from their official e—mail address, which talks about having more than 30 workers. however, according to the police in lahore, they say that mr asif said that he was running this website on his own. the police have also looked at his bank accounts, his social media and his e—mails, and they say at the moment there is no evidence to suggest he worked with anyone else. the case has been referred on to higher police here in pakistan, who continue to investigate if anyone else is involved. but we heard today from the police that this case has been registered against mr asif, he has been arrested for this case of cyber terrorism, and that is entirely

related down to his part, as they see it, with channelsnow. health authorities in thailand say a man's been hospitalised suffering what's thought to be the new and more dangerous strain of the mpox virus. the 66—year—old is a european who arrived in thailand from africa a week ago. he's being kept in isolation while laboratory tests are carried out to confirm which variant of the virus he's infected with. mpox has caused more than 500 deaths this year. hollywood starsjennifer lopez and ben affleck are divorcing after two years of marriage. the hollywood couple tied the knot in las vegas injuly 2022 and had a second ceremony in georgia a month later. they rekindled their relationship almost 20 years after calling off their first engagement. lopez filed for divorce, according to documents seen by the bbc. jeanne wolf is a journalist covering hollywood — she told us more about the couple and what went wrong. we must remember, it's exactly on the second

anniversary of their marriage — which is kind of a statement in itself. i have to say, i felt kind of sad when i heard it. they're both so gorgeous and glamorous and everything about what we know about their life is so, you know, almost like a fairy tale, that you have to remember that they're people. and so it's sad for them to break up and sad because he got to know her children, she got along well with his children and, you know, that will be upsetting, too. but it was inevitable. jennifer lopez are filing for divorce against ben affleck. stay with us here on bbc news. we will be live with the business news, and then the sport.

todayis today is looking pretty unsettled across much of the north and west of the country. drierfurther across much of the north and west of the country. drier further south, closer to this area of high pressure. this contains the remnants of what was hurricane ernesto, is a lot of moisture, some heavy and persistent rain continuing through the day and through the evening and night across scotland, northern ireland, pushing increasingly into north and west england and wales with gales north and west england and wales with gates are certainly around irish sea coasts. south—east, a quieter night to come but a mild one. there is to start of wendy, lots of isomers of the tracks, this front will be crossing england and wales as we go through the day, but weakening as it does so. some heavier bursts of rain to begin thursday because northern and western england, but as it pushes towards the south—west it does we can and break up. sunshine, blustery

showers for scotland and northern ireland. then it will stay quite windy particularly towards the south—east. temperature is below par for the time of year. and to the west, this new area of low pressure pushing on across northern ireland, england and wales. southern scotland, some of the strongest of the winds will be across wales and southern england as we head towards the early part of friday. mild in the early part of friday. mild in the south. quite cool across central and northern scotland. friday looks quite wild, gale force winds crossing england and wales. gusts up to 50 mph. the heavy rain does clear and it rains up through friday. lots of heavy showers pushing into western scotland and northern ireland. but it will be a blustery day wherever you are. went slowly easing down later on. up to 23, maybe 2a in the south—east. mid to high teens across scotland and northern ireland. into the weekend, we could see this area of rain

affect the south—east quadrant of the country on saturday. sunday, a ridge of high pressure starts to build in. afew ridge of high pressure starts to build in. a few chose in the north—west, i think it is looking better. we could see some heavy rain across south—eastern areas. a better chance of seeing some suncheon with lighter winds as we head into sunday.

live from new york at the opening bell, this is business today. a muted start to the day on wall street as investors wait for the minutes from the fed's last meeting. could canada's freight trains grind to a halt? businesses across the country brace for "devastating" consequences if talks fail to resolve a labour dispute. a fresh blow for boeing — it's grounded its entire test fleet of 777x aircraft after discovering a problem with a crucial component. welcome to business today, i'm michelle fleury live from new york, where us markets have opened marginally higher. this wednesday american retailers are in the spotlight with several big names reporting results. shares in big box store target are up after the company snapped a streak of sales declines.

price cuts led to more customer traffic in its shops.