and endorses donald trump for president, just two days before the new hampshire primary. tensions ramp up between israel and the us over what post—war gaza would look like. and — as hindus celebrate a new temple in india where a mosque once stood, many muslims accuse narendra modi of violating the constitution. hello. i'm azadeh moshiri. welcome to the programme. ron desantis, the governor of florida, was once expected to be the biggest threat to his republican rival, former president donald trump. but today, he has suspended his presidential bid. in an abrupt end to his campaign, he said he no longer believed he could win the nomination — and this is who he endorsed. if there was anything i could do to produce a favourable outcome —

more campaign stops, more interviews — i would do it. but i can't ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don't have a clear path to victory. accordingly, i am today suspending my campaign. trump is superior to the current incumbent, joe biden. that is clear. i signed a pledge to support the republican nominee, and i will honour that pledge. he has my endorsement because we can't go back to the old republican guard of yesteryear — a repackaged form of warmed—over corporatism that nikki haley represents. earlier, i spoke with the bbc�*s carl nasman, who'd been planning to cover a rally for mr desantis — and instead ended up at an empty restaurant. i know you were at a restaurant. you were expecting to be at a big desantis campaign event. that's not quite how the night's gone, has it? that's not how things have gone, clearly, as you can see. this restaurant, this area where we were supposed

to have the desantis campaign rally — it is empty. he never showed up. in fact, a couple of hours before this event was supposed to start, we got that announcement that ron desantis was dropping out of the race. there was some expectation that he would continue to fight on. he'd go until votes were cast on tuesday, despite what we know were some very low polling numbers here in the state of new hampshire — he was in the single digits. i've been speaking with desantis supporters who did come down, who did try to make it to this campaign event. they tell me that they are surprised at the timing, but they're not shocked that he decided to drop out. here's what one voter told me. it kind of had to be inevitable at this point, because we just couldn't pick up the votes that we needed to here in new hampshire. and, ah... i'm disappointed. what we need to do is consolidate and unify ourselves to make sure that we can make sure that the best for all of the people in the united states get what they need, right?

we need to fix the economy. we need to fix the border. we need to fix everything that's broken. and we need to consolidate behind the person — or people — who are best able to make sure that that happens. carl, he said it was inevitable. is that because it hasn't been the smoothest ride for ron desantis during this campaign trail? it has been a bit of a bumpy ride. of course, if you look back to 2023 — as you mentioned — ron desantis was really the frontrunner. he was the candidate on the republican side that people thought might be able to take on or take down donald trump. he was pitching himself as the former president but without the baggage and without the drama. and then, as we saw, month after month, the momentum seemed to decrease. the polling numbers went down. and this was due to several behind—the—scenes issues. there was some turmoil among the campaign brass,

his advisers. there were several high—profile firings or leavings within his staff. and then we sawjust this struggle to find a message that really resonated with voters, not only in the early states, but really in states across the country. and then the big strategy decision for desantis was to go all—in on the state of iowa, to spend resources and precious money there. the florida governor himself personally visiting all 99 counties. that got him a second—place finish, but it really was a distant second. he was still miles away from donald trump. it took about 51% of the vote in iowa. and that might have been the end of the road. crucially, ron desantis, until the very end, seemed reluctant to really go after, to really criticise, the former president. some people thinking that might be part of the reason why ron desantis decided to come out and endorse the former president for his run in 2024 to try to get back into his good graces. of course, now it is a two—person race — donald trump, and nikki haley.

voting here in new hampshire begins on tuesday, and we will see which one of them is able to come out on top in the state. with desantis out of the race, all eyes now are on nikki haley, the former south carolina governor who served in the trump administration as us ambassador to the united nations. on sunday, haley continued to campaign, in seven locations across new hampshire, where she is relying on a strong showing on tuesday, and says she's out to win against donald trump. nikki haley's campaign has ramped up attacks on the frontrunner in recent days. everything from trump's age to his relationship with foreign dictators has been fair game. upon learning the news that desantis would drop out, haley quipped that the race is down to "one fella and one lady". but ron desantis's endorsement of donald trump may make haley's chances even slimmerthe bbc�*s gary o'donoghue has been following the haley campaign

in exeter, new hampshire. this hasigate to be one of nikki haley's biggest events of her new hampshire swing. probably nigh on 1,000 people in the school gym behind us, hearing her say that this was now a two—horse race, which of course it actually is now. i'm joined by one person who came to see nikki haley tonight, tom. tom, you're a former veteran, now a schoolteacher. what do you make of her tonight? i what do you make of her tonight?— what do you make of her tonight? what do you make of her toniaht? ~ , �*, ., tonight? i think she's the one we need for _ tonight? i think she's the one we need for the _ tonight? i think she's the one we need for the next - tonight? i think she's the one l we need for the next president of the — we need for the next president of the united states. did we need for the next president of the united states.— of the united states. did you vote donald _ of the united states. did you vote donald trump _ of the united states. did you vote donald trump last - of the united states. did you | vote donald trump last time? of the united states. did you i vote donald trump last time? i did, because the alternative was — did, because the alternative was not _ did, because the alternative was not what i wanted. gk. was not what i wanted. 0k. what's put _ was not what i wanted. 0k. what's put you _ was not what i wanted. 0k. what's put you off - was not what i wanted. 0k. what's put you off him - was not what i wanted. oil. what's put you off him now, then? i what's put you off him now, then? ~ �* . what's put you off him now, then? ~' �*, ., ., then? i think he's - again, like nikki _ then? i think he's - again, like nikki haley _ then? i think he's - again, like nikki haley says - - then? i think he's - again, like nikki haley says - a i then? i think he's - again, | like nikki haley says - a lot like nikki haley says — a lot of chaos _ like nikki haley says — a lot of chaos with the court cases and, _ of chaos with the court cases and. i— of chaos with the court cases and, i think he's getting to the — and, i think he's getting to the point that he's getting too old. , , . the point that he's getting too old. , ., ., , ., old. he says that he wants to rotect old. he says that he wants to protect peeple _ old. he says that he wants to protect people that _ old. he says that he wants to protect people that are - old. he says that he wants to protect people that are in - old. he says that he wants to j protect people that are in the military, not send them on all these sort of foreign jaunts. she's more of an internationalist. is that something you like? i like it. i don't something you like? i like it. i don't think— something you like? i like it. i don't think she's _ something you like? i like it. i don't think she's out - something you like? i like it. i don't think she's out for - something you like? i like it. | i don't think she's out for war - she — idon't think she's out for war - she wants— i don't think she's out for war — she wants peace — but she'll supriori— — she wants peace — but she'll support ukraine. i think if we

don't — support ukraine. i think if we don't support ukraine, we don't know_ don't support ukraine, we don't know where putin's going to end up, know where putin's going to end up. going — know where putin's going to end up, going through eastern europe _ up, going through eastern europe. and of course, she's a bil europe. and of course, she's a big supporter of israel as weii~ _ big supporter of israel as well. , �* ., well. of course, we've had some --eole well. of course, we've had some peeple dmp _ well. of course, we've had some peeple dmp out _ well. of course, we've had some peeple dmp out - _ well. of course, we've had some people drop out - ron _ well. of course, we've had some people drop out - ron desantisl people drop out — ron desantis has dropped out, vivek ramaswamy has dropped out, all those votes will probably go to trump, which makes it a lot harderfor her. i trump, which makes it a lot harder for her.— trump, which makes it a lot harder for her. i don't know, because _ harder for her. i don't know, because a — harder for her. i don't know, because a lot _ harder for her. i don't know, because a lot of _ harder for her. i don't know, because a lot of desantis . because a lot of desantis pe0pie _ because a lot of desantis people were never trumpers. they _ people were never trumpers. they went to him because they didu'i— they went to him because they didn't like what trump stood for~ — didn't like what trump stood for~ we _ didn't like what trump stood for. we hope some of those votes — for. we hope some of those votes will _ for. we hope some of those votes will go towards haley. you've — votes will go towards haley. you've been on this primary a while and have seen a few politicians come and go. i have. politicians come and go. i have- how _ politicians come and go. i have. how much - politicians come and go. i have. how much of - politicians come and go. i have. how much of a - politicians come and go. i i have. how much of a chance politicians come and go. i - have. how much of a chance does she have? — have. how much of a chance does she have? i _ have. how much of a chance does she have? ithink— have. how much of a chance does she have? i think she's _ have. how much of a chance does she have? i think she's an - she have? i think she's an excellent _ she have? i think she's an excellent chance. - she have? i think she's an excellent chance. as - she have? i think she's an excellent chance. as she l she have? i think she's an - excellent chance. as she moves from _ excellent chance. as she moves from new — excellent chance. as she moves from new hampshire to south carolina — from new hampshire to south carolina and beyond, i think she — carolina and beyond, i think she has— carolina and beyond, i think she has an excellent chance. tom, _ she has an excellent chance. tom, thank you so much for 'oinin- she has an excellent chance. tom, thank you so much for 'oinin- us she has an excellent chance. tom, thank you so much for 'oinin- us on she has an excellent chance. tom, thank you so much for 'oinin- us on bbc she has an excellent chance. tom, thank you so much for 'oinin- us on bbc news. she has an excellent chance. tom, thank you so much for 'oinin- us on bbc news. thank joining us on bbc news. thank ou. the joining us on bbc news. thank you- the last— joining us on bbc news. thank you. the last 24 _ joining us on bbc news. thank you. the last 24 hours - joining us on bbc news. thank you. the last 24 hours before l you. the last 24 hours before the campaigning _ you. the last 24 hours before the campaigning in _ you. the last 24 hours before the campaigning in the - you. the last 24 hours before i the campaigning in the primary on tuesday. loads of events packed in tomorrow. they're really pushing for this, but they're looking for a strong finish, which is a slight change in the rhetoric from, perhaps, before when they were talking about winning. back to you in the studio.

trump celebrated the news of desantis' endorsement at a speaking engagement. he called desantis a "very capable person" despite the many attacks he launched against the florida governor throughout the campaign. trump said he would stop calling him "ron desanctimonious" going forward — in case you forgot, that's his nickname for him. earlier, i spoke with jim merrill, a political strategist based in new hampshire. he's served on campaigns for george w. bush, mitt romney and marco rubio. jim, thank you so much forjoining the programme. i'd first like to ask about donald trump's reaction. do you think ron desantis has a shot at a vp slot? i don't think so. i don't believe that's what today's announcement was about. i suspect donald trump is going to be looking in a different direction for a vp position, but i do think it's obviously significant to the course of this race in that it's consolidated rapidly.

so i think it's impactful for the remainder of this campaign, but i do not believe he'll be in consideration for vice—president. impactful in what way? do you think any of his supporters would flock to haley, or are most of them going to go to donald trump? i suspect a lion's share will go to donald trump. i think that, from that standpoint, trump benefits. and i think it makes it a little more difficult for nikki haley to break through in new hampshire on tuesday. but i do think that it creates pressure for haley to do well in new hampshire, to give her momentum heading into south carolina. there's been a great deal of consolidation behind donald trump's campaign over the last week. the desantis decision today to drop out and endorse trump really now creates a binary race in a circumstance where haley is really — she's got to do well in new hampshire, and then be

able to articulate to voters and the country her path forward heading into south carolina. but is it really a binary race? nikki haley said "may the best woman win." she's said that before. but do you really see a path for victory for her, for her to get that nomination? i think it's certainly challenging. i mean, to be clear, donald trump is the odds—on favourite here. he came into this cycle effectively as an incumbent. he came in with the benefits of quasi—incumbency, and he's benefiting from that as we come into the final stretch before tuesday. i will say that nikki haley is positioned to have a good night here on tuesday. now, a few things have to break in her direction but, if she were to win new hampshire, or at least finish very closely to make it clear that she's competitive, that could change the dynamic heading into south carolina.

but, to be clear, it is a steep hill for her to climb. there's no question she is a significant underdog right now. and, again, given the desantis decision, we do see a great deal of consolidation behind donald trump, and you saw senator tim scott endorse him the other night — another former opponent — and so i do believe there's a path forward for nikki haley, but it's a narrow one. well, in that case, if you think there's a narrow possibility or path for her here, is she endangering any chance at her own slot on that ticket as a vp by staying in this race longer? i don't think so. 0n the campaign trail in new hampshire the other day, she said that she was not interested and would not accept that slot. but, realistically, i don't think that she is. i suspect that donald trump is likely to pick a woman tojoin him on the ticket eventually. as we've seen in the past with prior presidential campaigns, bitter rivals on the campaign trail do

have a way of finding accord with one another in coming together as a unified ticket. so i don't think she's jeopardising that standing. she's obviously sharpened her attacks on donald trump in recent days. but, you know, ithink that she will be in strong consideration, contention, for that position should he eventually win the nomination. you say that but, as you say, she has sharpened her attacks on donald trump — and donald trump values loyalty more than any other candidate in the race. will he really be able to get over any attacks that haley throws his way? you know, ithink the answer is yes. you know, recall that, betweenjoe biden and kamala harris, they had some pretty sharp exchanges early in that campaign before eventuallyjoe biden secured the nomination and made kamala harris

his running mate. so i think, if you go back to 2016 and you look at senator marco rubio, for example, or senator ted cruz — both of whom drew very sharp distinctions with donald trump and there were very sharp exchanges between them — they ultimately worked together fairly well during donald trump's four years in office to enact certain policy positions that they were able to find common ground on and then, as you saw in the recent week, again going back to the consolidation, both marco rubio and ted cruz endorsed donald trump. donald trump certainly appreciates loyalty, and expects it, but i don't believe that nikki haley would be harming herself by running as hard as she can right now and perhaps changing the whole narrative of the campaign cycle here. all right. we'll have to leave it there. jim, thank you so much for your time. pleasure being with you. thank you very much.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news: people across the whole of the uk are facing strong winds and extreme weather warnings from storm isha. the met office has warned of life—threatening conditions with wind gusts of more than 100mph recorded in coastal areas. flights, railand bus services have faced delays and cancellations. thousands are without power and there are flood warnings in place. a woman and man found dead in a house near norwich, in england, died from stab wounds to the neck. postmortem examinations on two children, also found dead there, will be carried out on wednesday. norfolk police have referred themselves to the independent watchdog after officers didn't quickly respond to an emergency call. dozens of people are reported to have been killed by ukrainian shelling in the russian—controlled city of donetsk in the eastern part of the country according to officials there.

meanwhile, ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, said in a video posted online that russia shelled 100 cities, towns and villages across ukraine. you're live with bbc news. let's turn our attention now to the war in gaza. the health ministry run by hamas says the last 24 hours have been one of the deadliest days of the war so far. it says that in the last day, there have been 178 deaths in gaza. the health ministry also added that the total number of those killed in gaza since israel began its offensive some three months ago has now topped 25,000. and on the ground, israel's military campaign is pressing on, bombing the city of khan younis in the southern gaza strip. all of this comes as benjamin netanyahu remains defiant against calls for the creation of a palestinian state. he has repeatedly rejected the idea despite the united states

and other allies arguing a palestinian state alongside israel — what's known as a two—state solution — is vital for long—term stability. and in a recent development, netanyahu has also rejected an offerfrom hamas to release the roughly 130 hostages still held captive. under conditions proposed by hamas, israel would completely withdraw its military operation in gaza, and leave hamas in power. netanyahu said that the proposal is unacceptable. i discussed the growing tensions around a two—state solution and much more with ambassadorjim jeffrey, a former us deputy national security advisor under george w bush. ambassadorjeffrey, thank you so much for your time. i want to address the comments benjamin netanyahu has made about his refusal for a two—state solution. in your view, do you believe that this is out of politics

or genuine ideology? it's a little bit of both and, also, it is the public posturing of both president biden and netanyahu, particularly after the call at the end of last week, where neither are in the same place, but they are going back and forth. i'm not as discouraged as i was about a week or two ago. i think netanyahu realises there has to be some solution beyond permanent israeli garrison of gaza, and they're looking at what the options are. what are those other options that you are referencing there? because arab states don't seem like they are especially interested in providing their own peacekeeping force in gaza. would the un? israel will not trust the un nor should they, from the un pullout of sinai in 1967

to the disgraceful un failure to execute the lebanon resolution in 1701, the un is not a credible peacekeeping force. but there are other options — we had them in bosnia, we had them in kosovo, we have a peacekeeping force in the sinai still today from the 19705, but i don't know what it would be, and i wouldn't rule out local palestinians there playing a role. but for the moment, the key thing is — and that's what netanyahu is focused on, as are the united states — is dismantling hamas and getting the hostages back. because if hamas emerges victorious, then there is no talk of a two—state solution, there's no talk of who will run gaza, hamas will run gaza. so that is a problem and an obstacle to any consideration of the day after. the director general of the united nations, antonio guterres, has been really encouraging and talking

about the fact that palestinians do have a right to self—determination, but i understand what you are talking about is their effectiveness when it comes to their peacekeeping forces. i do want to ask about the palestinian authority because you have just said there that perhaps one option is palestinians being their own safeguarding peacekeeping force there. but what confidence do you think arab states even have and palestinians themselves have in the palestinian authority? at this point, there is very little confidence in the palestinian authority either to run a security operation — remember, they controlled security in 2007 in gaza and hamas launched the three—day uprising and slaughtered the palestinian authority security forces, and everybody remembers that. there are also real doubts about the administrative capacity of the palestinian authority under president abbas

to really run a very complicated reconstruction operation, which is what gaza will require. so i think these are the initial back and forth. there is no doubt that the region as a whole, as president biden constantly emphasises, the region as a whole is not going to take a turn towards peace if there is not a commitment by everyone, including israel, to a two—state solution, with the exception of iran, of course, which rejects a two—state solution because it rejects israel. but to isolate iran, which is particulary critical for everyone in the region, there needs to be at least a theoretical movement towards a palestinian state, and that's what president biden is pushing. what president netanyahu is pushing back on is a right, but meanwhile, they are not capable of taking over from us in gaza, so is what's the alternative? that is where the back—and—forth is going right now. as a reminder — iran does

back hamas, hezbollah and the houthis, which is complicating things further. ambassador, thank you for talking to us. we really appreciate it. thank you for having me on. tomorrow, india's prime minister, narendra modi, will open a hindu temple for one of the faith's most revered deities in a northern city an event that's being seen as the start of his campaign for the upcoming election. millions of hindus are celebrating. but for muslims, it evokes painful memories. a mosque which stood on the site was illegally torn down 30 years ago, and that triggered religious violence across the country. from ayodhya, here's the bbc�*s south asia, correspondent yogita limaye. a display of hindu faith in a manner that's perhaps never been seen before in modern india. "hail lord ram," they shout, in praise of one of their

most revered deities. ayodhya is described as his birthplace in hindu epics. and at the spot that millions believe he was born, a grand temple will now be opened by the prime minister. translation: our dream has finally become a reality. - it's like god himself has appeared before us. this city has shaped india. it sits on one of the country's biggest hindu—muslim fault lines. the temple, built at a spot where a mosque once stood. many see it as a declaration of hindu dominance. translation: we don't| want to destroy anyone's mosque, but what has been built on the birthplace of our gods, we will not tolerate that from now on. the site was given to hindus

by a supreme court order. hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on the temple, funded from private donations. but the prime minister's presence would turn a religious ceremony into a state event many say. especially controversial because of the history of the site. until 1992, a 16th—century mosque stood there. they raise the saffron flag... illegally destroyed after a mass campaign by hindu mobs. religious violence broke out across india. thousands were killed. a campaign which has now led to hundreds of deaths. for ayodhya's muslims, it was a painful time. this lady's husband, mohammad amin, was among 17 killed in ayodhya. "they cut his arms and legs off "and stuffed his body

in a sack," she tells us. "on that day, i lost my biggest support, "the person i shared my life with." her son, sohrab, had hoped the country's leaders would reach out to them. translation: they should have come to us and said . what happened was wrong. they should have showed compassion. but they haven't. many in the community told us they're worried there might be trouble again after the inauguration. and so, they were leaving the city for a few weeks. all major political parties have sought to appease voters through this politics of religion. but for prime minister narendra modi's bjp, its support of the temple as part of its aggressive assertion of hinduism is the reason why it's transformed from being a small party just a few decades ago to being seen as one that is virtually undefeatable now. at a local bjp office,

preparations are on for the inauguration. i met a member of parliament from the party, lallu singh. do you think it's appropriate for the prime minister of a secular country to be the main figure at a major hindu religious event? translation: it's 100% right. the culture of the majority community in a country dominates the nation. this does not mean we do not respect minorities. the opening of the temple is being seen as the start of prime minister modi's re—election bid, and its expected to give him another resounding victory. one that could further polarize the nation. yogita limaye, bbc news, ayodhya. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. storm isha is likely

to cause significant damage and disruption to parts of the uk as we push into monday morning. met office amber warnings remain in force for severe gales with these damaging gusts of wind and heavy rain. this heavy rain combined with snow melt, because of milder temperatures across northern areas, likely to lead to localised flooding. the centre of storm isha passing just to the north of scotland, widespread severe gales on its southern flank pretty much covering most of the uk. these are the sorts of wind gusts we can expect, even inland up to 60mph or more, and in excess of 70, 80mph around irish sea coasts. we could be looking at in excess of 90mph over parts of northern ireland and western scotland. this amber warning is valid until 6am this morning. these are the sorts of temperatures we can expect to start monday morning — 6—11 celsius. so, storm isha's likely to bring significant disruption to travel for the monday morning rush. stay tuned to your bbc local radio bulletins and also bbc breakfast

for all the latest updates. monday itself looks very windy, though storm isha pulling away into the norwegian sea, stays blustery with scattered showers, most of these in scotland, northern ireland. some showers will be heavy at times. best of the sunshine will tend to be over eastern parts of the country, and these temperatures can be 7 to 11 celsius. but as we move through monday evening and overnight, the winds will begin to ease down as a ridge of high pressure starts to build and the showers will also die off over northern and western areas. it'll turn dry, clear and cool over the north and east of the uk, but the next spell of wet and windy weather will work its way into western areas early on tuesday morning. here it is then on the pressure chart — the next low—pressure system to bring a spell of rain and gales. not as severe as storm isha, but still, a blustery day to come, wet and windy weather across western areas will spread to all

areas during the day. could see some transient snow on the mountains of scotland before the milder air starts to move northwards across the whole country and it will be very mild indeed for the time of year with temperatures reaching 14, maybe 15 celsius. the weather remains quite changeable as we move through the rest of the week, wet and windy spells interspersed with drier and sunnier moments. and generally for the time of year, it's going to be staying mild throughout.

us markets defy geopolitical concerns, surging to a record high. we'll take a look at what's behind the optimism. plus, why americans pay twice as much for sugar than the rest of the world. hello, and welcome to asia business report. the us stock market surged to a new high on friday — signs investors are shrugging off global headwinds. the rally�*s being driven mainly by big tech and is seen spilling over to the s&p 500 — a benchmark index that investors closely watch. asia seems to be following. the nick kay is up 1.15%. —— nikkei. it ended friday's trading session at a record high, outstripping its previous record more than a year ago.