this is bbc news. the headlines: fears are growing of an iranian attack on israel. the white house says it is a real and viable threat. it's the biggest miscarriage ofjustice in british history — but in a startling development, a former head of the post office tells an inquiry he didn't know his company was prosecuting its own staff. and — researchers find the brightest burst of light ever recorded was caused by an exploding star. that, though, has created a new mystery for scientists.

let's return to our top story — fears of an iranian attack on israel. the white house says it's a real and viable threat, and that they're watching �*as closely as they can'. earlier today, a us official told our broadcast partner cbs that strikes could start as early as today — although nothing is certain and other outcomes are possible. we can talk to the director of the middle east security initiative. welcome to the programme. in terms of what we have heard from that us official, what is your take on this? it sounds on the surface, on the face of it, quite concerning, quite alarming? face of it, quite concerning, quite alarmina ? . ~ face of it, quite concerning, quite alarmina ? ., ~ ,, face of it, quite concerning, quite alarmina? . ~ ,, face of it, quite concerning, quite alarmina? . ~' . ., alarming? thank you so much for havin: alarming? thank you so much for having me- _ alarming? thank you so much for having me. yes, _ alarming? thank you so much for having me. yes, i— alarming? thank you so much for having me. yes, i think— alarming? thank you so much for having me. yes, i think the - alarming? thank you so much for having me. yes, i think the most|

having me. yes, i think the most concerned us officials have been since the start of the war. the potential for a since the start of the war. the potentialfor a real iranian since the start of the war. the potential for a real iranian attack which could lead to a spiral. not sure israel is fully prepared to have another major front open in this war. it is really going to come down to how iran chooses to respond, are they being forthright about the potential for hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles attacking israel or is that a bluff and they will go for something smaller, asymmetric, a terrorist attack, for instance, an israeli consulate outside the region? israeli consulate outside the re . ion? , israeli consulate outside the reuion? , ., ., region? there is a wide scope and scale of potential _ region? there is a wide scope and scale of potential responses, - region? there is a wide scope and scale of potential responses, the l region? there is a wide scope and i scale of potential responses, the us official zeroing in on the most dangerous. what are your view on the options here for iran? we dangerous. what are your view on the options here for iran?— options here for iran? we mention two. one options here for iran? we mention tw0- one is _ options here for iran? we mention tw0- one is an _ options here for iran? we mention two. one is an asymmetric- options here for iran? we mention two. one is an asymmetric attackl two. one is an asymmetric attack which would be smaller, outside the

region. i think on the other extreme end is the one us and israeli officials are growing more concerned may be likely which is a direct iranian attack on israel. there is also the option for iranian proxies to attack, a smaller attack, not trying to hit key israeli military and infrastructure. and then the potential that iran says look, we're going to hold the us responsible. it is the one providing so many arms to israel and will have attacks on us forces in the region. my guess is you are looking not at that one. i think the us have done a good job of messaging on this. but we are going to have to wait and see, to be totally honest. there is a wide range of possibilities out there. how critical is the actual target, the fact that if it was on israeli soil, how much does that change things, how much does that cross red

lines? i things, how much does that cross red fines? ~ , things, how much does that cross red lines? ~ , ., , ,., , things, how much does that cross red lines? ~ , ., , , ., lines? i think it is absolutely one ofthe lines? i think it is absolutely one of the most _ lines? i think it is absolutely one of the most critical _ lines? i think it is absolutely one of the most critical pieces - lines? i think it is absolutely one of the most critical pieces of - lines? i think it is absolutely one | of the most critical pieces of this. it is notjust if it is on israeli soil but what is the target on israeli soil? an israeli target of a military base or military infrastructure is obviously going to be responded to by israel but that in and of itself may not get the same response as if iran hits intentionally or unintentionally civilian infrastructure and civilian targets and you have civilians who are killed or injured. i think as you go up that eskimo tree ladder, anything that impacts civilians domestically in israel will get the harshest response possible. but once you are hitting israel directly, it may not matter. israel's likelihood to respond is so high that it will cause a concern for the region and in the us and europe for the potential of spiralling events.

there were some reports earlier in the week that suggested iran had told washington that president biden had to get a ceasefire imposed and that would change potentially how iran would respond here. we also know that washington was not told in advance of that israeli strike on damascus. how weakened is the biden administration, do you think, by all of these things happening in them not being in control? i of these things happening in them not being in control?— not being in control? i don't know if it is weakened. _ not being in control? i don't know if it is weakened. i _ not being in control? i don't know if it is weakened. i think - not being in control? i don't know if it is weakened. i think it - not being in control? i don't know if it is weakened. i think it is - if it is weakened. i think it is certainly true that of the two major priorities the biden administration had in the last six months, one was to provide support to israel for its war against hamas. the other is to prevent a regional conflict and having the war expand beyond the borders of gaza. right now, there is obviously great concern that that us is not going to be able to have sufficient deterrence to prevent that because the iranians think they

have to restore their own deterrent. i think the us is obviously right to be concerned. i think they're probably isn't a lot of control held by them but i think it is doing everything in its power right now. just really briefly, if it tilts into the broader regional war, since october the 7th they have been desperate to avoid, what is really clear is it is difficult to see where this then ends? that is 10096 riuht. where this then ends? that is 100% riuht. if where this then ends? that is 100% right- if you — where this then ends? that is 100% right. if you have _ where this then ends? that is 100% right. if you have a _ where this then ends? that is 100% right. if you have a broader- right. if you have a broader regional war directed against iran thatis regional war directed against iran that is notjust involving the houthis or hamas but hezbollah, targeting us targets as well as israeli assets and maybe even european targets. this could go sideways very, very quickly if it is not contained in a meaningful way. we have to leave it there but thank you so much forjoining us live on the programme. let's turn to ukraine. ukraine's president has warned

that the country is quickly running out of air defences and artillery to fend off russian attacks. volodmyr zelensky has said that if us congress continues to hold up a multi billion dollar military aid package, then ukraine will lose its war with russia. on thursday, power plants were attacked in a russian bombardment, with hundreds of thousands of people being left without power. our eastern europe correspondent, sarah rainsford, sent this update. i think what we're seeing here now is clearly a sustained and a deliberate assault by russia on ukraine's energy system. and it started actually back in march — there were two massive attacks on this country with drones and missiles that, here in kharkiv, destroyed all the power stations, essentially. so it left this city without power for some time. they've worked to restore it, but there are rolling blackouts here, a real limit on the amount of electricity available, customers urged to avoid using too much. there's also generators everywhere you go on the streets. and then on thursday morning, in the early hours, we got

this next huge attack — dozens of drones and missiles fired by russia that overwhelmed ukraine's air defences. and in kyiv, a major power plant there has been completely destroyed. and i spoke to the boss of the company that ran that plant, and he says that they can repair it — if they get the spare parts from allies in the west then, in theory, they can rebuild that power station — get it up and running again. but he asked me what the point of that would be if they can't protect it. and that is the problem. if there are renewed russian attacks — which looks like it will happen — then the problem is air defences. in ukraine, they are extremely stretched, extremely limited, and it is very difficult to protect these power plants. so that's why we've heard again from president zelensky a real plea to the west to help ukraine with its air defences. a sense of frustration, i think, about lots of promises being made, but very limited aid coming through, specifically in terms of air defences. and i think that's important because it is quite clear that

russia is continuing these attacks, and they're not only becoming more intense, these attacks, they're also more accurate. and that means, for ukraine, they're more devastating. sarah rainsford. people in the flooded russian city of orenburg have been told to leave immediately, as water levels keep rising. parts of russia and kazakhstan are battling what's been described as �*the worst flooding to hit the region in 80 years'. about 100,000 people have been forced from their homes in kazakhstan in the past week. the flooding was caused by several major rivers burst their banks because of rapidly melting snow and ice. oleg boldyrev from the bbc�*s russian service is following developments. yes, so orenburg experiences the critical hours of the critical days of the critical week. there are sirens are on the streets and the local authorities are telling residents in several districts to evacuate. they really need to hold for a few hours more because the waters are expected to peak today, but what they've already done is pretty bad.

hundreds and hundreds of houses, be it one or two—storey ones have been flooded. there are large residential complexes, the high rises, which are under threat now. if the water gets into those, obviously the damage will grow more and more and it's already very substantial. the local governor said the first estimates of damage is at about a0 billion russian roubles, that's about $420 million. belgium has opened an investigation into suspected russian interference in the european parliament, just weeks before elections injune. the prime minister, alexander de croo, says meps have been paid to work for moscow — with the immediate aim of getting more pro—russian politicians elected. he says in the long term the aim is to weaken european support for ukraine. he says he's been in contact with the czech republic, which has opened its own investigation.

our europe correspondent nick beake has more. this is a story which has been bubbling away for about two weeks now. as you say, the czech republic were the first country to say that they'd uncovered evidence of an alleged russian network to try and influence the elections which are coming up injune — the elections to the european parliament. so, the czech prime minister said right at the end of last month that there was this system that had been put in place to spread disinformation, or certainly to promote what moscow was doing and today we've heard from the belgian prime minister. he's been giving a press conference in which he said that the belgian intelligence services were now involved and he said there was evidence that some meps, members of the european parliament, had been paid and although these cash payments, he alleged, didn't actually take place, the transactions weren't made here on belgian soil, because belgium is home to the key eu institutions, it was basically belgian's duty to investigate and so this investigation

is now under way. that was nick beake in brussels. around the world and in the uk, you are watching bbc news.

you are live with bbc news. to a rather startling development today at the post office inquiry in the uk. it is investigating why post office workers we re were prosecuted for fraud when it was the fault of the it system, horizon. a former managing director of the post office, has told the inquiry that he didn't realise the company itself had been bringing prosecutions against sub—postmasters. their own staff. hundreds of people were wrongly accused between 2006 and 2010, of theft and fraud, while alan cook was in charge.

certainly that evidence today rising, raising a lot of eyebrows. we will be live at that inquiry on the programme in about 15 minutes. now to latin america, where residents of the colombian capital bogota have started rationing water as the el nino weather phenomenon leaves reservoirs at critically low levels. schools and hospitals are exempt — but the measure will affect about ten million people. sofia bettiza reports. this is the first time in recent history that the colombian capital, bogota, has been forced to implement water rationing. now, this is the plan. bogota and other surrounding towns have been divided into nine different zones. each zone will take turns to switch off all water services for 2h hours on a rotation that will reset every ten days. so what can be done to save water? while colombians are being urged

to reuse rainwater, to reduce shower time, to minimise clothes and car washing and to reduce irrigation. so the question is, what is causing this drought? well, look at this image. it shows one of bogota's water reservoirs. now, compared to what it looked like just a few months ago, now this is where people get drinking water from. but reservoirs rely on rain to refill. and this year, there's been very little rain in colombia and it has been unusually hot. but the problem is that it's notjust bogota. there are major cities around the world that are at risk of running out of water because of drought caused by climate change. and some of those cities are mexico city, montevideo in uruguay and johannesburg in south africa. now, according to the un

at the moment, 2.2 billion people don't have access to safe drinking water. and as the global temperatures increase, those numbers are expected to get worse. let's turn to space. a fascinating story. researchers have discovered the brightest burst of light ever recorded was caused what's known as a supernova — or the massive explosion of a star. the explosion was detected by telescopes in october 2022 — but what is still puzzling scientists is why it was so bright. the research published in the journal nature astronomy says the star was of typical size, so why it was so bright remains a mystery. earlier, i spoke to the lead researcher at north—western university. so this was a really surprising discovery when we got our

observations from the james webb space telescope, that this was a fairly normal supernova that was associated with this brightest gamma ray burst of all time. so despite this very bright gamma ray burst, we have this normal supernova explosion. but this confirms that this source of the gamma ray burst was the collapse of a massive star. and what we think is going on here is because we don't have an unusual supernova explosion, it's likely that what's going on here is the light that's coming out from the collapsing star. ..after the core of the star has collapsed is very narrowly columnated into very narrowjets of material. that's the source of the gamma ray emission. and in this case, we think it got so bright because those jets of material were very narrow. just like if you take a focusing flashlight and focus it into a beam against a wall rather than a wide beam that washes across the wall. so essentially, the energy is getting concentrated in a narrow beam.

now, normally with a supernova that would produce heavy elements, gold — that hasn't happened here again, another puzzle. what is your best guess at that? yeah. this was another surprising discovery from this data, is that we were expecting to see some of the heaviest elements on the periodic table that until now we haven't fully understood where these elements are coming from. and it's continuing to be a mystery. and since we didn't see these elements in this explosion, this is telling us that these very extreme gamma ray bursts are likely not producing these elements like we thought that they should. so this is telling us we have to go back to the drawing board and look at our theories and figure out what's going on here. why are we not seeing elements in heavy elements produced in these explosions? and also, go back and get more observations with the james webb space telescope of future gamma ray bursts to address the... that's interesting going back to the drawing board. i suppose

it underlines notjust perhaps you guys have to work a bit harder, but it underlines that actually what we know is still absolutely out, trumped by what we don't know. exactly, and that's really the what makes the journey of science so exciting. it's that thrill of discovery. we've just answered a couple of questions, understanding the nature of this extreme gamma ray burst. but it led to new questions, and that's what science is all about. that was developing. i will come to angela rayner in a moment, labour's deputy leader being investigated by the police over the sale of their council house. that story has rumbled on for weeks now. but first, britain' energy minister graeme stewart has resigned from the government. we have learned that in the last half an hour. we can go to

westminster. let's talk about that resignation strike first of all, slightly puzzling because previous resignations quite often they have made it clear that they are going to stand down from parliament, not in this instance, is he going? fatten this instance, is he going? often when ou this instance, is he going? often when you get— this instance, is he going? often when you get a _ this instance, is he going? often when you get a minister - this instance, is he going? often when you get a minister resigning from the government, it sent shock waves around westminster. i don't get the sense that is the case this time. graham stuart has been in and around government for eight years now. he attended cabinet when liz truss was prime minister and attending cabinet under rishi sunak. a middle ranking energy minister role he has held recently. his reasoning for it, he says, is just to spend a bit more time in his constituency. he will be standing for re—election in his constituency, a relatively safe conservative seat. the majority of around 20,000 but i suppose at the moment, with the state of the opinion polls, the tories cannot take any seats for granted. he says he wants to focus

on issues he has been campaigning on locally, around improving broadband provision, local health care, that kind of thing. we are awaiting a response from the prime minister to it. i suppose the concern here for rishi sunak as he has lost three quite experienced ministers in the space of about a month. we had the armed forces minister resigning and also the education minister a few weeks back. both of those very well respected figures but the difference, as you say, is with those two, they are planning to stand down as mps as well when it comes to the general election. not so with graham stuart. but i don't think we should read too much into this resignation other than it creates a little bit of hr headache for rishi sunak and he will have to find someone else to fill that pretty important role. find find someone else to fill that pretty important role. and peter, tell me more _ pretty important role. and peter, tell me more about _ pretty important role. and peter, tell me more about those - tell me more about those developments with labour's deputy leader. the developments with labour's deputy

leader. ,., . , ., leader. the police in greater manchester _ leader. the police in greater manchester are _ leader. the police in greater manchester are now - leader. the police in greater- manchester are now investigating a potential breach we think of electoral law here. it is worth may be giving you the timeline here. it is to do with angela rayner�*s for my living arrangements in stockport. she bought her council house there in 2007, under the right to buy scheme. she got a 25% discount. she then got married in 2010 and was spending some time that her husband' house, although she maintained the original property was her principal residence. she sold in 2015, made a bit of a profit. there was a suggestion she might have owed capital gains on it but that is something she strongly denies. she says she has had tax and legal advice and does not believe she has done anything wrong. where the allegation is potentially concerning for her is whether or not she provided inaccurate information about where exactly she was living at that time, to do with register, the registry of her children's

births. the conservatives have been banging on about this and i think what has changed its new information that has been put to greater manchester by conservative mp, daley, who represents bury north, it is understood he had said to the police, why are you not looking at what some of angela rayner�*s neighbours have been saying? contradicting her accounts about where she was living. the labour party do not appear overly concerned about this, other than it being a distraction to what they would like to be talking about today, keir starmer maintaining he has full confidence and his deputy and they welcome the chance to draw a line under this affair. in the last couple of hours, keir starmer was asked in an interview with itv news three times whether he thought angela rayner should resign if she is found to have committed an offence here. hejust would not answer that question.— offence here. hejust would not answer that question. peter, thank ou ve answer that question. peter, thank you very much _ answer that question. peter, thank you very much for _ answer that question. peter, thank you very much for the _ answer that question. peter, thank you very much for the update - answer that question. peter, thank you very much for the update on i answer that question. peter, thank i you very much for the update on both of those stories. the nhs could be facing a potential crisis as it tries to retain doctors.

the general medical council says action is needed now to try and reduce the number of medics going to work abroad. our health editor hugh pym reports. medical royal college leaders say low morale, the working environment and pay and conditions were factors behind doctors considering their future outside the nhs. now the general medical council says there's evidence that a trend may be developing, including a survey revealing that 30% of doctors said they were likely to move abroad to work in the next 12 months. the number actually leaving has been stable in recent years and the chief executive said surveys should be treated with caution, but there were grounds for concern. i think it is a wake up call. it's another data point that shows that we need to take action now to make sure that we are retaining the doctors and indeed other health care professionals on whom we rely. it's not rocket science. there are places that do this well and we need to be replicating that more across the board. mike is a junior doctor. he moved to new zealand early last year. he was attracted by salaries and better working conditions.

eight hours less a week for the same pay, so i guess proportionately it's a higher wage per hour. and then also the pay for additional shifts is a lot higher, especially at the moment. if things don't change dramatically, in the next couple of years it's going to be difficult to go back to that. the department of health and social care covering england said doctors were hugely valued and the long term workforce plan would increase the numbers trained and improve culture. hugh pym, bbc news. before it because with all the fears growing about an iranian attack, the white house saying the threat is real and viable. we will be live in washington and also live in the programme injerusalem. so all of the latest on that story. we will also have more on the whatsapp story

with the age limit for whatsapp users being reduced, both in the uk and europe. also, there has been that really disturbing bbc investigation, the sort of images and content that children as young as nine being able to access. so we will talk to one of the leading teaching unions who also have huge concerns about that story and also live here on the programme we will have the latest on the post office inquiry. that incredible revelation today that the post office boss, saying that he didn't realise that actually the post office was prosecuting their own employees. so we will have the latest from our correspondent at the inquiry to stop all of that coming up in the next 60 minutes but first, a chance to catch up on the weather with ben rich. not completely dry out there but drier than it has been and feeling

warmer, particularly in the sunshine. turning cooler through the weekend. often quite windy. the wettest weather in the north and west of the uk. for the time being, west of the uk. for the time being, we have the south or south—westerly winds feeding warm air in our direction. the higher temperatures where we have the brightest of the skies, hazy sunshine and east wales, the midlands, southern and eastern england. also sunny skies in north—east scotland. more cloud and some showers in northern ireland, northern england, south—west scotland, even here, 15 or 16. but in the sunny spots, north—east scotland, central and eastern parts of england, 18—21. tonight will see one band of rain pushing southwards and eastwards, more showers into north—west scotland, where it will be windy. some areas of mr murk and low cloud for southern and western coasts and a mild night for all of us. saturday, a couple of different weather fronts to point out. this one here pushing its way across

england and wales, there is a relatively weak affair and then a more active frontal system pushing across northern ireland, the north west of scotland, some heavy edge thundery rain weather and a weaker weather front bringing cloud and showers to england and wales. there will be some spells of sunshine as well. it will be windy, particularly across northern and western areas. gusts of a0 or a5 mph, may be a little more than that. it will be turning cooler from the north as the day wears on. the highest temperatures across east anglia and the south—east, 19 or 20 degrees. the cooler air will be brought further south—eastwards as the weather fronts cleared through. some showers following on behind under the blue colours across our air mast chart, quite a different feel to the weather for the second half of the weekend. there will be some spells of sunshine around but also some showers, particular across parts of northern ireland and scotland. yes, some of the showers will be turning wintering over high ground because the air will be turning colder. 9—15, those

temperatures actually around the average for the time of year but the temperatures may drop back a little further, particularly into the start of next week, and it will be quite unsettled, showers particularly in the north and west. live from london. this is bbc news. fears are growing —

of an iranian attack on israel. the white house as the threat is real and viable. we're live injerusalem and washington. former post office boss says he did not know the institution was prosecuting its own staff. as meta reduces the minimum age to join whatsapp, a bbc investigation finds that children as young as nine are being added to groups with an appropriate contact. —— inappropriate. and later on the programme — researchers find the brightest burst of light ever recorded — was caused by an exploding star. that though — has created a new mystery for scientists. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala,

welcome to verified live. the white house has confirmed that an iranian attack on israel