conflict across the region. the uk's foreign secretary, lord cameron, is urging israel not to escalate the situation further. he says iran suffered a �*double defeat�* after its attack failed. and the first ever criminal trial of a former us president will begin in new york on monday when jurors are selected for donald trump's hush—money case. more on our top story now... there's a warning from the un secretary—general antonio guterres that it's time to "step back from the brink", after iran's attack on israel late on saturday. he was speaking at an emergency meeting of the un, where representatives from the uk and us condemned the attacks by iran, but made it clear they didn't want to see any further escalation. britain's foreign secretary, lord cameron, said israel should recognise iran's attack has been a failure and not respond. let's take a closer look at the strikes on saturday night. iran may have appeared to try

and overwhelm israel's air defences with multiple waves of drones and missiles. but israel's advanced defence system destroyed most of them in the air , destroyed most of them in the air, with the help of its western allies. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has more. so how is israel able to defend itself with the help of its allies? first, they knew about the attack. it was telegraphed in advance, but the scale was significant with more than 300 weapons fired, including more than 170 armed drones, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles, which can travel twice the speed of sound. most of those were fired from iran itself, the first time iran's directly attacked israel from its own territory. but the us says some were also launched from iraq, syria and yemen. iran has demonstrated that it has an appetite for risk,

but it doesn't have an appetite for too much risk. it wanted to impose a cost on the other side without necessarily triggering a broader escalation and an all out confrontation. so how were they stopped? well, both israel and the us were warned and prepared. american destroyers positioned in the eastern mediterranean shot down several ballistic missiles. raf typhoons flying from cyprus shot down a number of drones, as did us jets and fighters from jordan. israel itself has some of the world's most advanced air defences, providing layers of protection, its arrow missiles capable of intercepting ballistic missiles from hundreds of miles away. david sling is the next layer of defence with a range of more than 100 miles, and then it has its shorter range iron dome. these pictures over jerusalem show the iron dome in action. the last line of defence. i mean, ultimately, israel spent

billions of dollars to be prepared for exactly this scenario, had the help of its allies and very much neutralized what could have been a much more consequential attack. israel says most of what iran fired was destroyed even before it reached its territory. here's one that was shot down over iraq. but there was one exception. an iranian missile did get through its defences, hitting an air base confirmation that it was targeting military sites. but in this case, it caused limited damage. this was a calculated attack by iran using just a fraction of its firepower, enough to send a message, but not enough to overwhelm israel's air defences. so, what was iran trying to achieve? 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet spoke earlier to iran analyst esfandyar batmanghelidj. he's the ceo of the bourse & bazaar foundation, a think tank focused on economic

development in the middle east. i think ithink iran i think iran was going for a calibrated retaliation and that meant that its response was telegraphed over a period of weeks, giving israel and its partners time to prepare and it meant engaging in back channel negotiations in the lead up to attack to make clear that although iran was intending to show forth against israel, it was not trying to trigger a regionwide wall. the commander of the islamic revolutionary guard has declared that the attackers led to a new equation, demonstrating to israel that if iran and its personnel are attacked then they can expect a direct response from iran's territory rather than acts of resistance. does that new equation

mean that this has been re—established? i think it's unlikely given that israel has defended the attack quite successfully and wishes to continue its campaign against iran's aggression. we will have to wait and see how the chips will fall. here aggression. we will have to wait and see how the chips will fall.— see how the chips will fall. here in israel, see how the chips will fall. here in israel. they _ see how the chips will fall. here in israel, they were _ see how the chips will fall. here in israel, they were saying _ see how the chips will fall. here in israel, they were saying there - see how the chips will fall. here in | israel, they were saying there were more than 100 ballistic missiles fired at them and that they were just lucky that none got through. they sit a completely different way, hence their reaction to iran's attack. , ., , hence their reaction to iran's attack. , . , attack. understandably so. the spectacular _ attack. understandably so. the spectacular nature _ attack. understandably so. the spectacular nature of— attack. understandably so. the spectacular nature of iran's - attack. understandably so. the - spectacular nature of iran's attack, despite the expectation that they would go for a measured response to

hit from iran's territory, it creates frightening images. seeing the missiles streaming above the sky, it's the kind of thing that was reserved for propaganda posters but now it's become something that is real and understandably, civilians in israel have every right to be concerned about their security. 0n the other hand, it's clear that israel's defence systems in the air performed well and iran has taken certain steps to allow the intersection of a lot of those ballistic missiles. that being said, the political pressure for leadership in israel for the government to respond forcefully is absolutely going to be there. the

way that foreign secretary cameron and president biden has suggested is that israeli leaders is how israeli leaders approach this. so i ask, what is the role of the international community, whether they will give the spaces momentarily to israel to take the fight to iran and it seems unlikely at the moment that that will be the case. israel has continued to attack gaza in its fight against hamas, and there have been 68 palestinians killed and 94 injured according to the health ministry and that brings the health ministry and that brings the total to 33,797 palestinians killed and 76,000 wounded since october, according to the hamas

0ctober, according to the hamas —controlled health ministry. donald trump will become the first former us president to stand trial in a criminal case, when he appears in court in new york later. mr trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide a hush—money payment made to the former porn star stormy daniels, before the 2016 election. he has pleaded not guilty. if convicted he faces four years injail. helena humphrey has a preview of everything you need to know before the trial gets under way. for the first time in us history, a president will face a criminal trial and on monday the first of four criminal trials against donald trump gets under way in new york. monday's trial will examine 34 counts of fraud related to hush money payments that donald trump paid to an adult film star before the 2016 presidential election. prosecutors say that he arranged payments to stormy daniels in an effort to buy her silence in the run up to the presidential election and alleged that he falsified business records in violation of campaign finance laws. well, first, jury selection will take place.

it could take days, perhaps even weeks. 12 chosen individuals will then consider what could be the only criminal case that mr trump encounters before the 2024 us presidential election in november. now, donald trump, who is the presumptive republican presidential nominee, has pleaded not guilty in the case, and he argues that the allegations that he faces are not criminal. and unlike previous civil cases that he's encountered, mr trump is expected to attend almost every day of the court proceedings, and that could disrupt his presidential campaign for the duration of the six to eight week trial. speaking alongside us, house speaker mikejohnson on friday, the former us president says that he is ready to testify on the stand. i'm testifying, i tell the truth. i mean, all i can do is tell the truth. and the truth is that there's no case. they have no case. and again, you have to read the scholars, read all of the legal scholars. i haven't seen one legal scholar that said this is a case.

and in fact, even you people said, oh, gee, that's too bad, this is the first one. all of them are scams. they're all about election interference. it could be a tense trial. mr trump has expressed his hatred for manhattan supreme courtjustice juan merchan, who is overseeing the trial, and that resulted in a gag order against donald trump in late march, barring him from making public statements about court staff, jurors, witnesses and lawyers in the district attorney's office or even theirfamilies. but on saturday, donald trump attacked his former attorney, michael cohen. mr cohen is expected to be the prosecution's star witness. and other key witnesses include former media executive david pecker, who helped cover up the alleged affair. he testified before a grand jury in 2023. also, trump's press secretary during the 2020 presidential campaign, hope hicks. she could shed light on what was happening inside the political operation in the final weeks before the 2016 election.

and former playboy model karen mcdougal, who told cnn that she had had an affair with the former president that began in 2006, something that donald trump denies. prosecutors in new york cited evidence of payments made to her by mr trump. and of course, the woman at the center of the trial, stormy daniels. and while no cameras will be allowed inside the courtroom, donald trump is expected to try to use the media attention to his advantage as he once again eyes the white house. breaking news here in the uk. 534 migrants cross the channel yesterday in ten bytes and that's the highest daily figure this year. it brings it to an increase of 28% from last year. if you will remember, the uk government is trying to reduce the number of boats crossing the channel illegally and is trying to introduce

a measure to deport people to rwanda if they enter the country illegally. so, that number, the highest daily figure this year. the prime minister of singapore lee hsien loong has announced he'll step down next month. deputy prime minister and ministerfor finance lawrence wong will succeed him. in a statement on social media he asks "all singaporeans to give lawrence & his team your full support, & work with them to create a brighter future for singapore." mr loong has been prime minister for almost twenty years. it's understood he had planned his succession to happen earlier, but that was delayed due to the covid—19 pandemic. 2024 is the year of elections, with at least 50 countries around the world going to the polls. but when it comes to the numbers — one stands above the rest. india's general election to be held over six weeks between 19 april and 1june — is set to be the biggest the world 969 million people will be

taking to the polls. roughly one in eight of the global population. prime minister narendra modi is hoping to win a third successive term. so with the final week of campaigning before polls open — i spoke to samira hussain in rajasthan about how it's looking for mr modi and his government. i am in the swing state of rajasthan. this has gone for both parties at different times throughout the history of this country. but right now it is under bjp leadership. you can see some flags behind me, but if you go round the corner it is absolutely littered with bjp plaques. itjust shows you how fiercely that the bjp is campaigning for this state. 0nly part of the state is going to be voting at the end of the week, when the first days of voting takes place. it is important to remember that for the bjp, even though prime minister narendra modi is heavily favoured to win a third

consecutive term, they are fighting and they are contesting in every constituency they can. really making a push to gain as many seats as possible. what are some of the key election issues on the minds of the voters? you and i have spoken many times before about the economy. that is certainly a feature in their selection. that is certainly a feature in this election. as it is in elections around the world. although the indian economy is supposed to be among the top five in the next decade or so, there is still a few economic issues that are pressing for the people here. something you see around the world is inflation and just how expensive it is for basics, like food. the other issue plaguing india is the unemployment situation, it is quite high, especially for young people. and then there are the social freedoms and if you listen

to what the opposition party has said, is they say, look, this is something that has really eroded quite a bit under prime minister men narendra modi. you see freedoms especially for minorities in this country, the muslim population. if you look at the kinds of pressure the pressure has been under or any opposition parties. of course, the bjp would counter those claims by the opposition. but even independent organisations have really highlighted the increasingly authoritarian tone of the bjp government. sir salman rushdie has spoken in chilling detail to the bbc about the knife attack which almost ended his life. the acclaimed author was stabbed 12 times on stage in new york two years ago. he said he thought he was dying, and the loss of sight in one of his eyes "upsets him every day". he was speaking to the bbc�*s

alan yentob in new york, ahead of the publication of his new memoir. oh, my god! screaming. today at six, author salman rushdie has been stabbed... more breaking news tonight after author salman rushdie was attacked... august 2022. one of the world's most famous authors is left fighting for his life. it has shocked the entire world. author salman rushdie attacked. he was dressed in dark clothing and he had, like, a black covid mask, and hejust came sprinting up the stairs. in a major tv interview, he tells me what he remembers. i actually thought he'd punched me very hard. i didn't realise there was a knife in his hand. and then... then i saw the blood, and i realised there was a weapon. and then he just started... i think he was just slashing wildly at everything. so there was a very big slash here across my neck, as well as the stab wound here.

and there were wounds down the middle of my torso — one, two, three — like that. and there are two on the side over here. and then there was the wound in my eye, which was quite deep. it looked terrible — i mean, it was very distended, swollen, and it was kind of hanging out of my face, sitting on my cheek, like a...like a soft boiled egg. and... and blind. while this was happening, something extraordinary happened, in that the audience jumped onto the stage and... saved my life. talk about heroism — that's heroism. i was lying there on the ground, bleeding profusely, and i'm thinking, "i want my house keys." and i think that was that survival instinct that was saying to me, "you're going to live. live." ijust remember the sounds of the machines and the ventilator breathing for him. that's... that's what i remember.

and i thought, you know, at least he's come through this surgery. i thought... "at least i'm not a widow," is what i thought. shouting rushdie's life has been threatened before. in 1989, after the publication of the satanic verses, the iranian supreme leader, ayatollah khomeini, issued a death threat — a fatwa — calling the book an insult to islam. i had come to think of that whole episode as being ancient history. as i say in the book, i felt like a time traveller — it felt like somebody coming out of the past to attack me in the present. and so one of the first things i thought when i saw him coming at me is i thought, "oh, it's you." you know? "so it's you." the man accused of carrying out the attack is hadi matar from newjersey. he pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. he took very little trouble to inform himself about the man he was planning to kill.

he'd said he'd read a couple of pages — he didn't say of what — and that he'd watched a couple of youtube videos and decided that i was disingenuous. disingenuous. disin — and therefore right to kill. there's a sentence in the book where i say that language is a knife. you know, language is a way of cutting things open and revealing the truth. calling this book knife is notjust a description of the attack against me. the book is the knife. the book is my knife and and it's my way of fighting back. with me is the bbc�*s alan yentob. it's a moving interview and what is interesting is that it's still very vivid for him, the attack and how he talks about it. we vivid for him, the attack and how he talks about it— vivid for him, the attack and how he talks about it. we have to remember that the fatwa _ talks about it. we have to remember that the fatwa was _ talks about it. we have to remember that the fatwa was in _ talks about it. we have to remember that the fatwa was in 1989 _ talks about it. we have to remember that the fatwa was in 1989 and - talks about it. we have to remember that the fatwa was in 1989 and it - that the fatwa was in 1989 and it was on valentine's day of all things. and he thought he was at

risk and of course for the next 15 years, you could never see someone without security police. i was with him on that night, when it came, so his courage is amazing and it's a horror story and a love story, as you can see, with eliza, his wife, who has been supporting him, lined by the side of his bed throughout all this period and she has been amazing. all this period and she has been amazinu. ., �* ~ ., ., :: amazing. you've known him for 40 ears. amazing. you've known him for 40 years- how — amazing. you've known him for 40 years. how would _ amazing. you've known him for 40 years. how would you _ amazing. you've known him for 40 years. how would you describe - amazing. you've known him for 40 years. how would you describe his| years. how would you describe his state of mind now? h0??? years. how would you describe his state of mind now?— years. how would you describe his state of mind now? how is he? it's about a year— state of mind now? how is he? it's about a year and _ state of mind now? how is he? it's about a year and a _ state of mind now? how is he? it's about a year and a half, _ state of mind now? how is he? it's about a year and a half, august - state of mind now? how is he? it's| about a year and a half, august the 12th. of about a year and a half, august the 12th. of course, it was a shattering experience, devastating, and he's had to get through it. you've seen the vivid description of him. slashed just about every everywhere.

but then this extraordinary revelation, his calling the book knife. it's the power of language, the ability to describe and tell stories about what is happening. it's about freedom of speech. he still stands up about it. he got an award from pain. he was a president for them in america. an award for courage. —— pen. he understands he would not have survived without those people jumping would not have survived without those peoplejumping on stage would not have survived without those people jumping on stage and supporting him, as the man he was doing the discussion with, henry rees. tell us about the book. i

think it's quite remarkable. 0ne rees. tell us about the book. i think it's quite remarkable. one of the things in this book, you heard him say that actually, the man had only read a couple of pages of his book and did not know much about him. he used the phrase disingenuous, he used it because he thought if someone was disingenuous that... it's bizarre, isn't it? in this book, there is an imaginary sequence in which he imagines he is interviewing him. iwill sequence in which he imagines he is interviewing him. i will be dealing with that in a longer film that's coming out in a few weeks' time. and he was trying to understand what's going on in this man's mind. he's a man who was preoccupied with youtube. it's a book about storytelling, magic realism, writing, as well, so it's an

exceptional novel, not novel, actually, it's both speculative and also factual. he actually, it's both speculative and also factual-— also factual. he still has to face his attacker _ also factual. he still has to face his attacker in _ also factual. he still has to face his attacker in court. _ also factual. he still has to face his attacker in court. we - also factual. he still has to face his attacker in court. we also i also factual. he still has to face l his attacker in court. we also saw this disbelief about why this man attacked him on what seems to be flimsy grounds. how do you think that will go in court? we flimsy grounds. how do you think that will go in court?— flimsy grounds. how do you think that will go in court? we will have to see. that will go in court? we will have to see- he's _ that will go in court? we will have to see. he's going _ that will go in court? we will have to see. he's going to _ that will go in court? we will have to see. he's going to be _ that will go in court? we will have to see. he's going to be in - that will go in court? we will have to see. he's going to be in court l to see. he's going to be in court and he knows he will have to give evidence. i think he is waiting for what the man says rather than thinking about what he is going to say. the idea that he says he was not guilty and that, he used that knife 12 times and there no one who would have survived this. he’s knife 12 times and there no one who would have survived this.— would have survived this. he's a fiaure would have survived this. he's a figure who _ would have survived this. he's a figure who has _ would have survived this. he's a figure who has had _ would have survived this. he's a figure who has had to _ would have survived this. he's a figure who has had to pay - would have survived this. he's a figure who has had to pay on - would have survived this. he's a figure who has had to pay on a l would have survived this. he's a l figure who has had to pay on a big way for his views on freedom of speech.

way for his views on freedom of seech. , �* , way for his views on freedom of seech. , a ., ., , ., speech. yes. he's not ready to give that u -. speech. yes. he's not ready to give that up- he — speech. yes. he's not ready to give that up. he believes _ speech. yes. he's not ready to give that up. he believes in _ speech. yes. he's not ready to give that up. he believes in the - speech. yes. he's not ready to give that up. he believes in the last - speech. yes. he's not ready to give that up. he believes in the last 30. that up. he believes in the last 30 years more, that freedom of speech is even more imperilled. many regimes will not allow for freedom of speech so this is more and more of speech so this is more and more of a challenge and he does not intend to give that up. is of a challenge and he does not intend to give that up.- intend to give that up. is he optimistic — intend to give that up. is he optimistic about _ intend to give that up. is he optimistic about the - intend to give that up. is he optimistic about the future, j intend to give that up. is he i optimistic about the future, in spite of that?— optimistic about the future, in site of that? , , , ., ., spite of that? optimism is a tough world at -- — spite of that? optimism is a tough world at -- are — spite of that? optimism is a tough world at -- are tough _ spite of that? optimism is a tough world at -- are tough word, - spite of that? optimism is a tough world at -- are tough word, i - spite of that? optimism is a tough i world at -- are tough word, i mean, world at —— are tough word, i mean, look at what you are reporting on at the moment, palestine, ukraine. this attacker who has done this, anyone could jump up attacker who has done this, anyone couldjump up and attacker who has done this, anyone could jump up and do this, but salman rushdie wants to lead a new

life. he'd lived a relatively normal life. he'd lived a relatively normal life prior to that. he had a premonition the night before that this happen. he had a vision of a gladiator with a spear and he thought, i'm not going to go. he did. ., �* , ., ., thought, i'm not going to go. he did. ., �*, ., ., ., did. that's it for the moment. you can catch up _ did. that's it for the moment. you can catch up with _ did. that's it for the moment. you can catch up with more _ did. that's it for the moment. you can catch up with more news - did. that's it for the moment. you can catch up with more news on i did. that's it for the moment. you | can catch up with more news on our website. goodbye. a wet and windy morning. a fabulous rainbow has been sent in by a

weather watchers this rainbow has been sent in by a weather watchers this morning. rainbow has been sent in by a weather watchers this morning. but the wind gusts are particularly of note. we've got some rush conditions... those strong winds are likely to continue into the afternoon and the reason is this area of low pressure situated here. a blustery north—westerly wind. that rain clearing away from the south—east and throughout this afternoon, this afternoon, this mixture of sunny spells, and showers, with heavy showers with some hail and sleet, some snow over the high ground of scotland. very gusty winds within the showers as well. the odd rumble of thunder. gusts of wind steve 14—60 mph. ——

40-60 gusts of wind steve 14—60 mph. —— 40—60 mph. a strong north—westerly. the showers moving away from the south to the east. cloudy around the eastern side of england and scotland. rain continuing here. strong wind around on the north coast. temperatures for — seven celsius. throughout tuesday, that cloud will linger on through east yorkshire, lincolnshire, norfolk and suffolk and it will feel noticeably colder through tuesday. away in the west, dryaw. a few showers dotting around. as we go through the rest of the week we lose that area of rain and high pressure builds across the atlantic. he weather fronts initially but as we head into the weekend, it looks like it will be more established across the uk which means a longer spell of dry weather

and temperatures will creep up again. 14—17 c. goodbye.

live from london. this is bbc news israel pledges retaliation for iran's attack, but the un's secretary general calls for calm.

as israel weighs its response to iran's unprecedented attack , the un's secretary general calls for calm. the uk's foreign secretary lord cameron urges israel not to retaliate — saying they should �*take the win�* of repelling iran's attack. iran suffered this defeat because the attack was a failure. the world can see what a malign influence they are and i think the right thing to do is not escalate. donald trump will become the first us president to face a criminal trial on monday — facing 34 charges of fraud. and we focus in on sudan — as the country marks one year of a bloody civil war. it's time to "step back from the brink". that's the warning from the un secretary general antonio guterres, after iran's attack on israel late on saturday. he was speaking at an emergency meeting of the un where representatives from the uk and us condemned the attacks by iran, but made it clear that they didn't want to see any further escalation.