welcome to bbc news. i'm vishala sri—pathma. our top stories: heading for the exit — the chairman of britain's governing conservative party is sacked following an investigation into his tax affairs. russian troops continue to attack the ukrainian city of kherson. three people are killed. president zelensky describes it as atrocious. translation: the enemy does not count personnel, _ and despite numerous casualties, keeps the intensity of its attack high. america's secretary of state is to visitjerusalem to try and de—escalate growing tensions between israel and the palestinians.

and iran says it has foiled an unsuccessful drone attack on a military facility in central isfahan province. here in the uk, allies of the prime minister rishi sunak have defended his decision to wait for the outcome of an inquiry before sacking the chairman of the conservative party nadim zahawi. the investigation judged the former chancellor had failed to be open about his finances in a serious breach of the ministerial code. opposition parties say mr zahawi should have been dismissed as chairman sooner, and that he should step aside as an mp. with all the days events, here's our political editor chris mason. nadhim zahawi arrived

in the uk as a child, unable to speak english. he became a multimillionaire and rose to be chancellor of the exchequer. but tonight, his political career and reputation is in tatters. in a 2,000—word letter to the prime minister, the government's ethics adviser is devastating in his criticism of mr zahawi. sir laurie magnus says... minutes after the prime minister had sacked his party chairman for what he called a serious breach of the ministerial code, the questions began. for a start, why hadn't he got rid of him days ago? as a general rule, i think it is important when allegations are raised that they're investigated promptly. but also, we shouldn't rush to judgement before there's been that investigation.

the prime minister's ethics adviser highlights seven occasions when nadhim zahawi breached the ministerial code, albeit some for the same mistake — a failure to declare the tax authority were investigating him while he was covid vaccine minister, making the same error when he became education secretary for england in september 2021 and repeating it a third time when he became chancellor injuly last year, a failure to declare he'd paid the penalty to revenue and customs in september last year, a failure to tell the then prime minister liz truss about this when she appointed him to government and a failure to tell rishi sunak when he took the top job. what's your reaction? plus, there was this last july, which sir laurie says was untrue. so, i was clearly being smeared. i was being told that the serious fraud office, that the national crime agency, that hmrc are looking into me. you know, i'm not aware of this. but there was an investigation by the tax authority.

mr zahawi has maintained he didn't think it amounted to an investigation. the opposition party say all this reflects badly on the prime minister. this is very serious, and nadhim zahawi has spent a very long time dodging this. and i dojust think it speaks to rishi sunak�*s character and hisjudgement and his weakness. nadhim zahawi should have been sacked or at least have stepped aside until the inquiry took place. instead of which, he was allowed to stay in government while there were these serious questions. on a day of letters, a final one — nadhim zahawi wrote to the prime minister, saying he took pride in having been in government, including his role in the roll—out of the covid vaccine, but he made no mention whatsoever of any of the criticisms levelled at him. the focus now returns to the prime minister and questions about hisjudgement. chris mason, bbc news. the us secretary of state

antony blinken will be in jerusalem later today to discuss how to de—escalate tensions between israelis and palestinians. on thursday, nine palestinians were killed during an israeli military raid in the west bank, followed on friday by the killing of sevenjewish settlers outside a synagogue in occupied eastjerusalem. israeli forces have now moved in to evict the family of the palestinian gunman who carried out friday's attack, as our middle east correspondent yolande knell reports. in shock at their sudden loss. the grief—stricken family of rafael ben eliyahu, killed by a palestinian gunman outside a synagogue on friday when he was trying to help another victim. "dad, you're my hero," his son says. "you chose to sacrifice your life for others." seven people were shot dead in a jewish settlement in the deadliest attack of its kind in years.

now, israel's cabinet is promising a strong response, making it easier for israelis to carry guns and tougher measures to punish the families of palestinian attackers. translation: our answer to terror is a firm hand, i and a powerful, fast and precise reaction. packing before the bulldozers come. relatives of the dead gunman from the synagogue shooting are forced out of their home and the doors sealed shut. these videos were released by israel's far—right minister for police to show there will be retribution. israeli forces have told us to keep back but we're just along the street from the family home of the palestinian who carried out friday's deadly attack. his parents, his siblings have been able to take out some of their things but soon, they are expecting their apartment to be demolished. the gunman�*s father says he had no idea of his son's plans and he's numb to the punishment. "god will compensate us," he says.

"if people are gone, will we care about a house?" recent days have seen surging violence with ten palestinians killed in israel's most deadly raid in the west bank in years. the top us diplomat was already due to visit this week. now, his main focus will be ways to stop the rising unrest. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. let's now speak to giorgio cafiero, the ceo and founder of gulf state analytics. thank you very much forjoining us. what do you think this visit by antony blinken will do for the region? what will it bring? will it bring a sense of confidence, would you say? thank you so much for having me on your programme. you know, the us secretary of state is visiting the middle east at a time when tensions are soaring in the region right now that i

don't think that we can expect any drastic changes in the biden administration's policies towards the middle east right now. i think this is really sort of a cover visit, sort of a band—aid. ithink sort of a cover visit, sort of a band—aid. i think america's top diplomats would like to go top diplomats would like to go tojerusalem and try to put a lid on things, try to lower some temperatures, but i don't really think that we can expect anything better than that to come out of blinken�*s visit. [30 come out of blinken's visit. do ou come out of blinken's visit. do you think _ come out of blinken's visit. do you think you will be met with a warm reception? hat a warm reception? not necessarily. _ a warm reception? not necessarily. i- a warm reception? not necessarily. i think- a warm reception? not necessarily. i think it l a warm reception? not| necessarily. i think it is totally expected that he would go and visit and, as you mentioned, this trip was planned before the recent eruption of violence just within the past couple of days.

it is totally customary for a us secretary of state to meet with the israeli officials, but blinken is going to go and speak with the israeli officials in this new government in which extremists have a tremendous amount of influence, and he will use language to try to urge israeli officials to, baby, move away from some of the most aggressive pro— settlement policies, but the israeli officials know that condemnations are simply condemnations, and words are simply words. i don't think anyone in israel is any reason to think that there will be any actions from the us in terms of trying to hold israel accountable. so, it is a sort of more of a charade rather than anything else.- of more of a charade rather than anything else. what do you think they would _ than anything else. what do you think they would like _ than anything else. what do you think they would like to - than anything else. what do you think they would like to see, - think they would like to see, then, if you don't think that this visit will de—escalate

tensions in the way it is intended to be?- tensions in the way it is intended to be? well, i think what blinken _ intended to be? well, i think what blinken would - intended to be? well, i think what blinken would like - intended to be? well, i think what blinken would like to i intended to be? well, i think| what blinken would like to do is see to it that tensions don't exacerbate beyond the current level. i, however, think it is important to realise that the root causes of these problems in this tension, in this deadly violence, has to do with the occupy occasion, the fact that the israeli government does not believe the palestinians are entitled to basic rights, and unless us policy is going to shift in ways that can actually put pressure on israel to address some of the root causes of this violence and this tension, like i said, this isjust simply the band—aid. i think as long as the us is going to continue providing israel with the very high levels of military support and diplomatic support, there

is really no incentive for israel to change, and i think, probably, the israeli government does not even think blinken�*s visit is too important. blinken's visit is too important.— blinken's visit is too important. blinken's visit is too imortant. ., ~ ,, blinken's visit is too imortant. ., ~ ., important. 0k. thank you for “oininu important. 0k. thank you for joining us _ important. 0k. thank you for joining us there. _ important. 0k. thank you for joining us there. giorgio, - important. 0k. thank you for| joining us there. giorgio, ceo and founder of gulf state analytics. it's been reported that a late—night missile attack has hit a residential building in ukraine's second largest city, kharkiv. that's according to local officials who say one person has been killed. others are reported to have been injured, but it's not yet clear how many. it follows intense fighting in the key southern city of kherson, which has come underfire once again from russian troops stationed on the opposite banks of the dnipro river. three people have been killed there, and six others injured. local officials say multiple launch rocket systems, artillery, mortars and tank shells were used. damage was reported to a regional hospital, a school, and residential buildings. kherson, in the country's south, was captured by russian forces in the early days of moscow's invasion. it was recaptured by ukraine in november. in his nightly address,

president zelensky said the attack had been relentless. translation: the enemy does not count personnel and, _ despite numerous casualties, keeps the intensity of its attacks high. this can only be countered by extraordinary resilience and a complete awareness that our soldiers are defending the whole of ukraine when they defend the donetsk region. the iranian defence ministry says it has foiled an unsuccessful drone attack on a military facility in central isfahan province. this footage filmed and posted online by a local journalist appears to show the explosion at the facility. according to local media, three drones were involved and only minor damage was caused to the roof of the building. our news reporter azadeh moshiri told me more about what's being said within iran.

iranian state media did release footage of the explosion, but they also had a broadcast correspondent tour the facility, and show that everything was going on, workers were still working, and that there was essentially nothing to see here. they said that while the drones did try to attack and really damage this facility, thanks to their defence capabilities, they were able to ensure there was only minimal damage. of course, the bbc has not been able to verify that, and when you look at the footage it is clear something really serious happened there, but what the foreign minister has said was that this was a cowardly attack, and that iran was going to continue with its peaceful nuclear programme. now, the pentagon has denied that it is responsible, but fingers are being pointed towards israel, and that is because of the history between these two countries. israel has had its — has said that it has been responsible for several operations in the area in the past, and iran has certainly blamed it for explosions at different facilities. there was one attack in 2021 at a very key nuclear facility in natanz, which iran said israel was responsible for,

and, of course, there is the backdrop that we have been talking about in the last few minutes, of course, which is the war in ukraine, and certainly there is a lot of attention around iran's relationship with russia. tell us a bit more about that because there seems to be a lot of sort of, perhaps, collaboratory relations between russia and iran. absolutely. it was only in december that the united states said that iran had become russia's top military backer, and that this relationship had morphed into a fully fledged defence partnership, and that is partly because of the kamikaze drones that iran has been sending russia, that ukraine and the west insists it's been sending russia, and iran has said that it only started sending those drones before the war began, but either way, it has been the subject of very serious sanctions because of it. and sanctions are really the key here because russia has also had to deal with sanctions because of the war, and in particular it was

blocked out of the swift banking system. that is the way that money flows and transfers effectively across the world. thousands of banking institutions participate in that system, and so the intention was that if russia is blocked out of there, money won't be flowing into the country as easily when it comes to exports like energy or the agricultural industry. and, so, in comes iran once again, and they've announced today that iran and russia are now participating in iran's own system, and that 13 other countries are joining in as well. so, certainly, this is going to add to the concern around iran and its backing of russia during this war. our reporter there. stay with us on bbc news. still to come — another day of mourning in ukraine: family and friends pay tribute to a hidden hero of the war.

this is the moment that millions in iran have been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid, and the anc leader nelson mandela is to be set free unconditionally. mission control: three, two, one. a countdown to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 of its engines at once. and apart from its power, it's this recycling of the rocket, slashing the cost of a launch, that makes this a breakthrough in the business of space travel. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it "a piece of cake". thousands of people have given l the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming - in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record . for sailing solo _ around the world, non—stop.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines — the chairman of britain's governing conservative party has been sacked following an investigation into his tax affairs. russian forces continue to bombard the ukrainian region of kherson after a day of attacks which has left at least three people dead. let's stay with ukraine now, because among those killed in the east of the country last week was denys sosnenko. he died while carrying out the dangerous task of retrieving the bodies of fallen soldiers and civilians. my colleague andrew harding has more now on his story — and a warning that you might find some of andrew's report distressing. fresh snow and a funeral in the donbas this morning — this time, for a man who was not quite a soldier and not quite a civilian, either. 21—year—old denys sosnenko

was a body collector. his mother is led towards his open coffin. sobs. last year, we met denys, standing in the background here. he was with his team of volunteers, close to the front lines. a grim and dangerousjob, scouring ukraine's battlefields for abandoned bodies — ukrainian and russian soldiers alike. and now, he's being buried a few days after driving over an anti—tank mine. "he always told us, �*i have to do this work. "�*if not me, then who?”', says his mother, lyudmyla. sobs. last october, another bbc team caught up with denys, collecting more russian bodies — after checking they weren't booby—trapped,

as they often are. denys spoke then of the horrors of the work, of picking the dead up limb by limb. but today, his team—mates talk of his dedication. translation: he did so much with his short life. _ he brought back so many dead people. and we must carry on with that work because there are families still waiting for the dead to come home. distant explosions. so many of those unclaimed bodies are here in the northern donbas — a blasted landscape littered with russian corpses. but the kremlin's forces are learning from their mistakes and slowly seizing more ground. russia are learning every day and they change their strategy and it's very hard for us, and i think we need to learn fast.

faster? than russia, yeah. in the meantime, denys�*s coffin is brought to his home town cemetery. the mood here — and, indeed, across ukraine — is one notjust of grief but of exhaustion. the fear that this long war has barely even begun and that the work of body collectors like denys will be needed here for months, if not for years to come. andrew harding, bbc news, ukraine. at least a0 people have died after a bus plunged off a bridge in pakistan. the accident happened in the south—west of the country. officials said the vehicle hit a bridge pillar before losing control and bursting into flames. separately, at least ten children have died in a boat accident in the north—west of pakistan. it capsized on tanda dam lake in kohat district. caroline davis reports.

still dripping water, carried to the ambulances. this was the fear and panic after a boat capsized on a lake in north—west pakistan. several children aged between seven and 1a were killed. local police were some of the first on the scene. translation: when we came here, we heard some noise. _ and then, we saw a few heads bobbing in the water. we took a boat out and rescued 12 kids from water but we think there are still eight to ten boys missing here. the children were visiting from a seminary, where they were students. one official told the bbc the children were not wearing life jackets. it was not the only tragedy in pakistan today. in the early hours of this morning, a coach travelling from quetta to karachi came off the road. officials said that it did hit a pillar before veering off a bridge and into a dry riverbed below. they told reporters that the coach burst into flames on impact. almost everyone on board died.

those who survived are in a serious condition in hospital. officials have said that some bodies are unidentifiable because of the severity of their burns. road and water accidents are not rare in pakistan. authorities have said that there will be investigations of what led to two such great losses of life on different sides of the country. caroline davies, bbc news. only 11% of tunisian voters turned out for the second round of parliamentary elections in what's being seen as a clear rejection of the controversial reforms of president kais saied. opposition parties boycotted the poll, accusing the president of staging a coup after he shut down parliament two years ago and gave himself almost unlimited executive powers. he also introduced a new constitution at the same time. turnout was similarly low in the first round of voting. the german state of bavaria is one of the most picturesque places on earth, with mountains and lakes, forests and fields. many of the people living there love to commune with nature.

but can sometimes be a little competitive about it — as the bbc�*s tim allman explains. they are a majestic sight. one of the most impressive animals in the wild. but imagine for a moment that you might, for some reason, want to attract the attention of a stag or deer. how would you do that, you may wonder. how about this? imitates grunting stag. these are some of the competitors in the annual stag—calling championships, held every year in the city of dortmund. imitates stag noise. it's an eclectic mix of groans, grunts and wails, each one designed to be as close to the sound of the animal as possible. translation: you 'ust call during the rut, h

around mid—september some time, and then, the stag calling actually goes quiet most of the time. and a week before the contest, you practice to see if you can still do it. some attempt stag calling solo... imitates stag grunts. ..while others find safety in numbers. all imitate stag groans. and you can do it almost anywhere. translation: when they're rutting, i have to drive over. and call them. i've also called in a zoo once, and the stag answers, and when you hear deer answering from right and left, it makes your heart beat faster. next up for the stag—calling community is the european championships. this is a centuries—old tradition. the call of the wild... stag groaning. ..or something near enough. tim allman, bbc news.

just before we go, i want to show you some dramatic footage we've had in from the us state of georgia, where a suspected car—jacker�*s had a lucky escape. while police officers were occupied, speaking to the driver of a car they'd pulled over, another man stole their patrol car. it sparked a high—speed chase in the city of atlanta that ended up with the car overturning on train tracks. things quickly got serious with a train approaching and the driver apparently stuck inside. with just moments to spare, the driver was freed suffering only minor injuries from the car flipping over. just seconds later and it could've been very different. police charged a 29—year—old man with a number of offences, including traffic violations and theft. just in the nick of time. that's it from us for now. you can reach me on socials

and instagram and twitter. — i'm @bbcvishalasp. thanks for watching. hello. we're looking at a pretty quiet start to the new week weather—wise. there should be a lot of fine weather around this monday and the winds that were pretty keen, particularly to the north of the uk, on sunday will fall considerably lighter. and here's why — this area of high pressure pushing up from the south—west. this area of low pressure that brought the windier conditions on sunday is off towards scandinavia. still a bit of a breeze for the north and west of scotland, still one or two showers feeding in here, could be the odd one coming in off the irish sea coast earlier on in the day as well. but overall, monday, we're dominated by dry weather. there should be a lot of sunshine and temperatures 8—10 degrees. high cloud, though, pushing into northern ireland later on in the day is the first signs of some weather fronts that will sweep into the north—west of the uk late monday into early tuesday. some wet weather for scotland, briefly for northern ireland. ends the night, that front, across northern england,

feeding into wales. clearer skies behind the weather front but quite a lot of showers slamming into northern ireland but particularly western scotland on what will be a very strong westerly wind. and that's because of this low pressure centre here to the north—west of the uk. thats�*s going to mean strong winds right the way across the uk on tuesday but gales for western scotland and to the north of the country, too. frequent showers. wintry across the higher ground. some showers of rain for northern ireland, northern england. largely dry further south, but distinctly windy, yes. temperatures still 11—12 to the south of the uk, but feeling chillier atjust seven degrees there, for example, in aberdeen. and then, through the evening into the early part of the night, as that centre of the low pressure goes through to the north, a real squeeze in the winds across northern scotland. severe gales, possibly damaging winds, widespread gales for scotland, certainly, though to take us into wednesday. but off goes that low towards scandinavia for the middle part of the week and the winds become relatively lighter once again. it will be a breezy

day on wednesday. we'll see our next weather front trying to push in to the north—west, so more cloud as the day plays out for northern ireland, for western scotland, northern england and some outbreaks of rain, but sunshine for southern and eastern areas. another pulse of rain to run through to the north of the uk on thursday. to the south, though, high pressure close by keeping things fine. and then, for the end of the week, it looks like the high will come to dominate and there should be a lot of fine weather across the uk. and in terms of our temperatures, after those big extremes of last week, it looks like we're going to see a fairly average picture across the uk.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the chairman of britain's governing conservative party has been sacked from his post, and the government, following controversy over his financial affairs. nadim zahawi had admitted incorrectly filling out his tax returns and having to pay a penalty, thought to be more than $1 million. russian forces have continued to bombard the ukrainian region of kherson into the night, after a day of attacks, which left at least three people dead. president volodymyr zelensky described the shelling as atrocious. he said a hospital and a bus station were among the targets.

the us secretary of state, antony blinken, will be