the malign actor in been exposed as the malign actor in the region. he saw that as a win that israel should take. you would expect to hear more from the prime minister when he gets up to give his statement to the comments about the escalate in that situation and making sure it doesn't get any worse. with these kind of addresses to parliament, these statements, what you would usually expect to hear from the prime what you would usually expect to hearfrom the prime minister what you would usually expect to hear from the prime minister is what you would usually expect to hearfrom the prime minister is more detail about what action was taken and why the uk did it, so we know from the prime minister's official spokesman that they shutdown and number of one—way attackjones, the raf. it is clear that this is being done under existing conditions for an existing operation in the region, so they don't believe there is any need for them to publish any more legal advice. the other thing we might expect as calls from politicians for iran's revolutionary

guard to be prescribed as the terrorist organisation, and they said they were open to that. parliament wasn't consulted. what are we hearing from other parties about the military action that was taken? , , , ., , taken? very broadly, other parties are uuite taken? very broadly, other parties are quite supportive _ taken? very broadly, other parties are quite supportive of— taken? very broadly, other parties are quite supportive of this - taken? very broadly, other parties are quite supportive of this action. i are quite supportive of this action. we know that sir keir starmer was kept updated about this over the weekend. labour is supportive of the action that has been taken but they want to hear more about the diplomatic process for a path to peace and potential for a diplomatic process for a path to peace and potentialfor a ceasefire. the liberal democrats have said they would have liked to vote on this military action and they will call for a vote on that but it made it clear that they would vote in favour of it. the snp, the scottish first minister was out this morning, saying he condemned iran and the focus should be on a ceasefire. there is not a lot of descent really

in terms of this particular action. thank you for that, helen. there is more on this on the bbc news website and app. monday marks one year since the eruption of the civil war in sudan. fighting between the sudanese armed forces and the rapid support forces has claimed thousands of lives, displaced more than eight million, and triggered "the world's largest hunger crisis," according to the un. and a year in, there's seeemingly no end in sight. earlier i spoke tojustin brady, the sudan head of the un office for coordination of humanitarian affairs. this is what he told me about the situation there. we have this huge displacement problem, which has a disabling effect on the region as a whole. we

have a famine more proportions of the country, including the capital, which was overrun by the rapid support forces and is now heavily contested area, as well as portions of darfur, states where we have seen reports of atrocities that echo back. the first year of this conflicts has brought, it might be nothing compared to three weeks and months ahead. we nothing compared to three weeks and months ahead-— months ahead. we have had some concerning — months ahead. we have had some concerning warnings _ months ahead. we have had some concerning warnings about - months ahead. we have had some concerning warnings about what i months ahead. we have had some concerning warnings about what is | concerning warnings about what is going on with children and pregnant women there. could you lie some of that out for us. we women there. could you lie some of that out for us.— that out for us. we have 730,000 children that _ that out for us. we have 730,000 children that have _ that out for us. we have 730,000 children that have severe - that out for us. we have 730,000 children that have severe acute i children that have severe acute malnutrition without supplemental feeding their future is quite tame. you are likely to see tens if not hundreds of thousands of deaths due to the hunger and malnutrition situation in sudan. equally, the

mother is lacking food, lacking nutrition, so it is a stacked pyramid of problems that we are facing. children's abuses are well documented. we have 19 million children out of schools, so this war is not only decimating the president of sudan but the future, as well. there are a lot of global conflicts right now, israel, gaza, ukraine, do you believe sudan is getting lost in the mix? it you believe sudan is getting lost in the mix? , . ., , you believe sudan is getting lost in the mix? ,. ., , the mix? it is certainly lost in the mix. it the mix? it is certainly lost in the mix- it feels _ the mix? it is certainly lost in the mix. it feels at _ the mix? it is certainly lost in the mix. it feels at times _ the mix? it is certainly lost in the mix. it feels at times when - the mix? it is certainly lost in the mix. it feels at times when we i the mix? it is certainly lost in the - mix. it feels at times when we speak from sedan nobody hears us. this is a conflict that will have implications notjust for saddam but the region. it will take the world coming together to stop the madness thatis coming together to stop the madness that is happening here. today we

have a conference in paris and we are hoping that that is the start of that conversation to really try to bring an end to this conflict and not simply a one year anniversary meeting, then we go back to the back of the line as far as the intention of the line as far as the intention of the line as far as the intention of the world. 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 19th april and firstjune, is set to be the biggest the world has ever seen. 969 million people will be taking to the polls, that's roughly one in eight of the global population. prime minister narendra modi is hoping to win a third successive term. our correspondent samira hussain is in rajasthan and gave us this update.

rajasthan is considered a swing state and so it has gone to either the ruling party or the opposition party in past elections. now, the last election here, it actually went to the bjp. you can see that there are lots of flags behind me and there are flags for the bjp absolutely everywhere. it's a real sign that the bjp is campaigning hard here to try and be able to retain this seat. in fact, in just a few hours, the home ministerfor the ruling party will be having a roadshow here, traveling through the streets in an effort to bolster their party's chances. the entire state of rajasthan is not going to be voting in this first phase. remember, there are seven phases. so what they've done is they've carved out a part of the state that's going to vote and then other parts are going to vote at different stages because when you're talking about 968 million people that need to head to the polls, it's very hard for all of that

to happen all at once. and, samira, you've been covering some of the religious tensions that exist. how does that fit into all of this and what are the stakes of this election? there's certainly going to be a large swath of people when it comes to voting that is going to take that into consideration. i mean, if you listen to what the main opposition parties and the alliance have been saying is that under a full decade of the prime minister, narendra modi, you've seen a real erosion of values or a real erosion of some fundamental rights. you look at the kinds of pressures that the press has been feeling, and then you look at the pressures on minority populations, especially the muslim communities. so that will certainly be on the minds of many voters. what will also be on the minds of many voters, of course, is the economy, that while you have on the top the fact that india is doing really well economically, that it's going to be one

of the three biggest economies going forward, in the country you have a raging unemployment problem, especially when it comes to young men. and, of course, there is the issue of inflation. well, as samira pointed out, there the economy is in sharp focus as india goes into election mode. the incumbent prime minister, narendra modi, is riding the wave of massive infrastructure development — roads, highways and metro lines are being built in india at a pace, some say, is reminiscent of china's heyday. our india business correspondent nikhil inamdar has this report from kolkata. kolkata, a city of rusty trams. horns to0t. and traffic jams. crossing this stretch across the mighty hooghly river usually takes up to 30 minutes.

but a shiny new underwater metro line hasjust come into operation. significantly reducing travel time. so this is india's first underwater metro line and we've just plunged about 100 feet under the hooghly river that connects kolkata with the twin city of howrah on the other bank. this is just one example of the ambitious upgrade that many of india's creaky public infrastructure assets are finally getting. a swanky bullet train is another. it's a showpiece project of prime minister narendra modi. the upcoming $15 billion high—speed rail route will connect india's financial capital, mumbai, with ahmedabad in gujarat. the infrastructure blitz has been a key driver of india's galloping gdp, and projects are getting completed faster than ever. the timelines have shrunk.

timelines, which used to be five years, six years, seven years, all come to two years, two—and—a—half years, three years in terms of logistics, if you look at it. india hasjumped 38 places higher. crisscrossing the country to unveil these mega projects, has been india's prime minister, narendra modi. his government has spent over $100 billion every yearfor the last three, building highways and sea bridges. this infrastructure focus is expected to pay rich election dividends for the prime minister. but has it come at the expense of other parts of india's economy? agriculture hasn't done well, and agriculture supports a large part of the population, so the rural incomes suffer because of that.

the other area, which is a little weak, is the consumption. private consumption. the household consumption growth is not even half- of the overall gdp growth, but overall, it's a good story. mr modi will be hoping his infrastructure bet will spur large scale industrial growth and create jobs. a major missing piece in india's growth story. nikhil inamdar, bbc news, kolkata. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello there. wild weather to greet us first thing this monday morning. we've had heavy rain, we've had damaging gusts of wind that have brought trees down in parts of the east midlands. we've also seen some snow showers and some hail mixed in there, as well. just a couple of days ago we had the warmest day of the year so far, just over 21 degrees in south—east england, but take a look at south—east england as we go through the week. it's cool, showery and pretty

unsettled until we head towards next weekend. more on that in just a moment. but on the whole, low pressure dominates the story at the moment. the rain may be easing away, but the winds will drive in a frequent rash of showers. so we've seen this spell of heavy rain pushing into the south—east, the showers tucking in behind. yes, they will be wintry across the tops of mountains in scotland, across the lake district and north wales. there will continue to be a rash feeding in with the strong north—westerly wind. so sunny spells and scattered sharp showers as we go through the remainder of the day. the wind, quite widespread gusts in excess of 40mph. maybe the lightest winds into the far north of scotland. but factor in the strength, the direction of the wind and those showers from time to time, it's going to feel disappointingly cool out there — nine to 12 degrees at the very best. as we move through the evening, a spell of more organized showers pushes its way down into the south—east,

but the low will gradually ease off into the north sea, so clearer skies out to the west, still windy with a few scattered showers across east coasts. overnight lows generally of four to eight celsius. first thing tomorrow morning still could be cool and breezy on exposed north sea coasts, with some showers just clipping perhaps east yorkshire, lincolnshire down into east anglia. if that happens, it will stay disappointingly cold. fewer showers and a little more sunshine further west and with slightly lighter winds it might feel a little bit more pleasant out there, but still the temperatures are struggling at nine to 13 degrees. through the middle part of the week we've got another front moving through, but then high pressure is going to start to build in from the west and, hopefully, quieten down the weather story as we move towards the weekend. so, yes, there will still be some showers around, gradually the temperatures creeping back up to where they should be for this time of year and it will turn a lot drier.

live from london, this is bbc news. donald trump is on his way to court in manhattan ahead ofjury selection for his hush money case. the first former us president to face a criminal trial. this is the theme live outside the court where the former president is expected to

arrive shortly. iran rejects western criticism of its attack on israel involving hundreds of drones and missiles saying its restraint should be appreciated. france calls for an end to sudan's and forgotten war. translation: the and forgotten war. translation: tie: sudanese and forgotten war. translation: tue: sudanese have and forgotten war. translation: tt2 sudanese have been victims of a terrible war. one they did not want, and it only produces chaos and suffering. and it only produces chaos and sufferinu. �* ., ~ ., ., ., ~' and it only produces chaos and sufferinu. �* ., ~ ., ., suffering. and we take a look at india's infrastructure _ india's infrastructure transformations as prime minister narendra modi looks to win another term in office. welcome to bbc news now. treating to a is arrived at a courthouse in manhattan, he is the first us president, current or