i'm helena humphrey, good to have you with us. we start in the middle east where white house national security advisorjake sullivan has confirmed that the united states will impose new sanctions on iran in the coming days. the announcement comes after the iranian attack on israel last saturday, with more than 300 drones and missiles launched. according to the israeli defence forces, 99% of them were intercepted by israel's aerial defence system and its partners. well, iran says the attack was retaliation for a deadly strike on its consulate in the syrian capital damascus on i april. that attack killed a top iranian commander, alongside six others — including civilians. the us has vowed that its support for israel is ironclad but has urged restraint in its response. a senior us official says israel is not sharing its targeting of iran with washington, so the biden administration does not know how or when israeli retaliation will take place, though some officials

expect it to be a limited strike inside the country. uk prime minister rishi sunak has used a telephone call with israel's benjamin netanyahu to appeal for "calm "heads," after iran's missile and drone attack over the weekend. while he emphasised the uk's support for israel's security, mr sunak said a significant escalation in tensions was in no—one�*s interests. lucy williamson reports from jerusalem. israel's prime minister is weighing up the risks of another war before he's finished the existing one. today, he told new army recruits that operations in gaza were just one part of a wider conflict. translation: it's part of a bigger system. - you can see it. iran stands behind hamas, behind hezbollah, behind others. but we are determined to win there and defend ourselves in all arenas. new footage released

by the army shows the moment the military focus here changed. the first interceptions of iranian missiles ordered from this control room. israel's ongoing conflicts with iranian—backed groups have been pushed into the shadows by a direct attack from tehran. how israel responds could take the world down a much more dangerous path, and international allies — the uk among them — have been lining up, urging benjamin netanyahu to show restraint. today, the prime minister, rishi sunak, told his counterpart it was a moment for calm heads to prevail. but israel's former national security advisor says the iranian strike leaves israel with an opportunity to take on the groups it should have confronted before. we didn't wage a war against hezbollah two years ago — huge mistake. when you see them even growing, becoming stronger, you have to do something.

should we wait? i think it would be a huge mistake to wait with hezbollah, with hamas and with the iranians. we have to alleviate this threat to israel, but it's notjust israel. the west is next. israel is already treading a tightrope in its conflict with hezbollah. this, an air strike on a senior hezbollah today, the army said. the war in gaza is where the crisis began, over six months ago. the road north to gaza city today packed with people hoping to return to their homes, turned back again and again by the army. the war here has already inflamed israel's other conflicts. israel's next decision could push them into all—out war. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. the airdrop mission continued

in gaza on tuesday, this time carried out by the us central command of another united nations has voiced concerns about escalating violence in the occupied west bank. it comes after a wave of attacks, sparked by the killing of an israeli teenager. the un accused israeli security forces of active participation in attacks on palestinians by jewish settlers. the vast majority of the international community considers the settlements in the west bank as illegal under international law. israel disputes this. here's hugo bachega. caught on cctv — a man setting fire to a car as israeli settlers storm a palestinian village in the occupied west bank. israeli soldiers watch outside and appear to do nothing. across the west bank on the weekend, israeli settlers went on a rampage. this was the village of mughayir near ramallah on saturday. settlers set houses and cars on fire, killing one man. jihad abu alia was 25 and planning to get married in june.

translation: jihad was trying to prevent the settlers - from breaking the house door, where dozens of the town residents arrived in the home to prevent them from burning the house. it wasn't the first time settlers attacked us, but we weren't expecting a huge number of them. the violence was sparked by the disappearance of this israeli boy, 14—year—old binyamin ahimeir. he went missing on friday, and a day later was found dead. the israeli army says he was murdered. the attacks show how tensions in the west bank are escalating. since the hamas attacks on the seventh of october, more than 460 palestinians and 13 israelis have been killed. if nothing changes, there will be even more violence. for this campaigner monitoring settlement activity, the situation is unprecedented. i think that the level of the settler violence is the highest that i remember.

there is also a lot of support from the government, and probably from the public — at least their public — that the violence is kind of necessary against the "evil", which are the palestinians. it's not only settler violence that's on the rise. raids by the israeli army have intensified, killing many palestinians. the israeli army says it's investigating the arson incident caught on cctv. but across the west bank, many palestinians are living in fear. they don't know when the next attack will come. hugo bachega, bbc news, jerusalem. the first seven jurors have been selected on day two of donald trump's historic hush money trial. the jury selection process proved complicated after day one of the proceedings when dozens of called jurors were dismissed after saying they couldn't be impartial in the case. the former us president faces 3a felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a payment to adult film star

stormy daniels, who alleges she and mr trump had an affair in the 20005. meanwhile, earlier in court, tensions grew high between mr trump and the presiding judge, justicejuan merchant, as our north america correspondent nada tawfik reports. the court session it ran over in a time because the judge was so eager to make headway in a jury so eager to make headway in a jury selection. a dramatic moment came where donald trump was reprimanded for, as the judge water, audibly muttering and gesturing in front of one juror. he said he would not take jewellery is juror. he said he would not takejewellery is being take jewellery is being intimidated in his courtroom. we had a point where several jurors said they could not be impartial or for personal reasons they were excused. both sides, the defence and the prosecution, got the opportunity to strike jurors they did not want to be seated. at one point donald trump and his lawyers went far back in

social media posts of the jurors, saying that one man had posted to have donald trump locked up. that man was struck from the jury. locked up. that man was struck from thejury. 0f locked up. that man was struck from the jury. of those who were seated, they are a diverse group. a young black woman who was a teacher, a woman who was a nurse, an oncologist, the fourth person is originally from ireland, an older man from puerto rico. thejurors who were sworn in so far are a diverse group, they have all assured the judge and both sides they can be impartial. this was a day where many got to see how various new yorkers feel about donald trump. some say they read several of his books and are a fan of the reality show he started before he became president. 0thers reality show he started before he became president. others say they had negative things about how he treated women or they just were not fans. nevertheless, today has shown how time—consuming it will be

typically jewellery how time—consuming it will be typicallyjewellery but it is a task that is possible. it was also a busy day on capitol hill with new developments setting the stage for a packed week. first, the house of representatives will vote on long—delayed funding for israel, ukraine, and other american allies. that's according to republican speaker mikejohnson. for months, mrjohnson has stalled a vote on the aid package amid opposition from some republicans over sending further support to kyiv. the new proposal separates ukraine aid from other funding, potentially giving the bill a better chance of passing in the house. his strategy has outraged many in his party, with a second republicanjoining efforts to oustjohnson from power over the plan on tuesday. that same day, house republicans delivered two articles of impeachment against homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas to the senate. they allege that mr mayorkas failed to enforce us immigration laws, kicking off a trial in the democratic—controlled senate, which is expected

to dismiss or table the charges later this week. let's talk about all this now with our panel. with me in studio is rodney davis, former republican us congressman who represented the state of illinois. i'm also joined by stephanie murphy, a former democratic us congresswoman who represented florida. lots to talk about and thank you forjoining us. a high—stakes week on capitol hill. rodney, let's start with the foreign aid bill. it's now been divided up — do you think that boosts its chance of approval, or do you think there will still be sticking points — with the freedom caucus over ukraine, for example? there is always a chance for the freedom caucus you have issues with any piece of legislation that comes up, whether to gather or split into parts. mikejohnson is one of the nicest people i ever had a chance to speak with, is trying

to do what he can to move it across the finish line. do i believe that separating these bills out is a good idea? no, i don't, but i am not there. mit? don't, but i am not there. why not? eventually _ don't, but i am not there. why not? eventually you _ don't, but i am not there. why not? eventually you will- don't, but i am not there. why not? eventually you will need l not? eventually you will need to ut it not? eventually you will need to put it back— not? eventually you will need to put it back together - not? eventually you will need to put it back together again | to put it back together again and pass it through the senate. it becomes a choice, a choice that speakerjohnson is having to make to be able to put this legislation that is in the senate on a better position to become law. i do not begrudge him for it, ijust don't agree it will get him anywhere are some of his colleagues. i think that to stefanie. _ some of his colleagues. i think that to stefanie. what - some of his colleagues. i think that to stefanie. what do - some of his colleagues. i think that to stefanie. what do you | that to stefanie. what do you make of it and do you think there is the potential here for some democratic resistance potentially over the fact it looks less likely to have any provisions with regards to israel? any mechanism they on military aid, do you think they can also cause some issues? i honestly think of speaker johnson has to give up his leadership role to do the right

thing or the american people, that would be a noble cause. if he cannot win here, that is the best remedy in politics. dominic if he cannot win. the way he is approaching this, he has a procedural issue and then he has a floor vote issue, if he has a floor vote issue, if he can get over the procedural part of how to get these bills to the floor, he will have the votes he needs to pass the individual bills. when it comes to national security on a number of previous votes, the house has voted anywhere from 275, tewinga 73 to about 300, so we know there is a bulk of members in the house who believe in supporting america's role in the world and supporting national security efforts. i think that he has to get through the procedural hurdles and then when these

votes are ta ken before, hurdles and then when these votes are taken before, they are likely to pass.— votes are taken before, they are likely to pass. rodney, it is a question _ are likely to pass. rodney, it is a question of— are likely to pass. rodney, it is a question of where - are likely to pass. rodney, it is a question of where that l is a question of where that support comes from. if he relies more heavily on endeavour attic votes, do you then think for mikejohnson of then think for mike johnson of then think for mikejohnson of the prospect of ousting becomes more real?— more real? the prospect of a motion to — more real? the prospect of a motion to vacate _ more real? the prospect of a motion to vacate being - more real? the prospect of a motion to vacate being real. more real? the prospect of a| motion to vacate being real is very likely. i was on capitol hill before i came here tonight and i talked to many of my former colleagues and they tell me multiple sources that the folks like marjorie taylor are talking about six people willing to voted to oust mike johnson right now. imilli willing to voted to oust mike johnson right now.— johnson right now. will she -ull the johnson right now. will she pull the trigger? _ johnson right now. will she pull the trigger? i - johnson right now. will she pull the trigger? i certainly | pull the trigger? i certainly ho -e pull the trigger? i certainly hepe not — pull the trigger? i certainly hope not but _ pull the trigger? i certainly hope not but i _ pull the trigger? i certainly hope not but i will - pull the trigger? i certainly hope not but i will never i pull the trigger? i certainly l hope not but i will never say that some of my former colleagues are not unpredictable. i do not know the answer to that. you have to

be prepared and that is what speakerjohnson is. that is why he is trying to do what he can to get enough members of his confidence appears about the process and i agree with stephanie, once these bills get to the fort, they will pass, they will have bipartisan support, but the problem is mikejohnson knows the noble thing to do is to pass this aid package at the last person in his shoes they did the noble thing on the debt limit, on shutting the government down, we still abandon not only by enough people of his own party but abandoned by the democrats as well. . ~ ., ., as well. talking about that, if we look at — as well. talking about that, if we look at the _ as well. talking about that, if we look at the past, - as well. talking about that, if we look at the past, when - as well. talking about that, if we look at the past, when it i we look at the past, when it comes to getting a speaker, how difficult that was, the kind of chaos we saw come out of that, can the house, can washington for the right now? i can the house, can washington for the right now?— for the right now? i think we have to get _ for the right now? i think we have to get through - for the right now? i think we have to get through this - have to get through this national supplemental as well as passing the foreign

intelligence surveillance act through the senate and then really you start to stumble into a place where there is not a ton of legislating that happens when there is an election. we have to get through these things. speaker johnson is in a different place than mccarthy was, his relationship with the democratic caucus, but those things kind of have to be held separately and the reality is speakerjohnson and his term and even mccarthy's term has depended on bipartisan support to get anything done, so do they ask for concessions to quantify their role, the democratic role as partners in the house? maybe. there is an opportunity there. you first have to get through the national—security vote. we have to get through the national-security vote. we have not one national-security vote. we have got one minute _

national-security vote. we have got one minute left _ national-security vote. we have got one minute left with - national-security vote. we have got one minute left with each i got one minute left with each of you but also with regards to the trump trial, i wanted to touch on that. the fact that now we have seven jurors seated so far. it was tough to get them selected, what does that say about the polarisation in this country? it say about the polarisation in this country?— this country? it is indicative of what we _ this country? it is indicative of what we see _ this country? it is indicative of what we see across - this country? it is indicative - of what we see across america. half of america thinks donald trump is in is in amount of the charges and half thinks he should be put injail or possibly electrocuted five times. this is where we are in america right now with our polarised environment and frankly when you look at the fact that donald trump is going through a trial right now, it is not in his best interests to shutdown a motion vacate in the house of reps because it takes the attention away from his trial. , ., ., , trial. interesting how that is linked. stephanie, - trial. interesting how that is linked. stephanie, we - trial. interesting how that is linked. stephanie, we have| trial. interesting how that is| linked. stephanie, we have a few weeks ahead in this trial to go through that process but no matter what happens here, what do you think this means in his bid for the white house? i

am naively want to believe that our justice system am naively want to believe that ourjustice system should be able to operate separately and apart from our political system but i do understand that every time the former president is indicted or at court he uses it as a platform for his presidential campaign and i think we should expect that, especially since all of the camera and media attention, to him at those moments. they are an opportunity for him to speak to his face. an opportunity for him to speak to his face-— to his face. stephanie and rodney. _ to his face. stephanie and rodney, thank _ to his face. stephanie and rodney, thank you - to his face. stephanie and rodney, thank you very i to his face. stephanie and - rodney, thank you very much for sharing your insights. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a �*smoke—free generation'. presented by the health secretary, mps have backed the plan to ban anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes.

most of the opposition came from the conservative party, with several representatives, including former prime minister liz truss, voting against the bill, arguing it would limit personal freedom. there was widespread agreement to the parties that the government idea is a good idea, except when you look amongst the conservative party. around 60 conservative mps voted against this and around 100 abstained. it was a free vote, able to vote how they chose, but plenty decided they would not back rishi sunak. the bill passed by 383 votes to 67. if they become law, the uk's smoking laws will be among the strictest in the world. the approach is thought to have been inspired by the similar law in new zealand, later repealed by a new administration. you're live with bbc news. one of denmark's most famous buildings — the copenhagen old stock exchange — has been destroyed by a fire on tuesday.

the building's iconic spire collapsed in the flames as more than 100 firefighters battled to save it. 0ur correspondent adrienne murray was there. it started in the small hours of the morning. soon, flames and thick grey smoke had engulfed the historic former stock exchange. 0nlookers watched on in disbelief as one of the capitol�*s best known landmarks was consumed by an inferno and scores of firefighters were dispatched to tackle the blaze. they fled as flames ripped through the building. there were horrified gasps as the 180 foot spire collapsed. those inside managed to escape and police say no—one was harmed. some even raced towards the fire, desperate to rescue its treasured artworks.

every moment mattered and, luckily, many were saved. among them, this precious painting as seen inside the stock exchange itself by the danish artist piet kruger. this is the closest we've been allowed to come. while the orange flames have now died down, smoke still billows from the heart of the building and there are dozens of fire crews continuing to fight the blaze. this is what the old stock exchange looked like before. built by one of denmark's most powerful kings, christian iv, this autumn was supposed to be its 400th anniversary celebration. for many copenhageners a moment of shock and sadness. four centuries of cultural history have been reduced to ruins. translation: it's terrible.

it's terrible. i can't put into words what the stock exchange means for us as a building and a symbol for copenhagen. i can't really explain. it'sjust a building, but it means so much to us copenhageners. meanwhile, the city's skyline has been forever changed. adrienne murray, bbc news, copenhagen. let's turn to some important news around the world. heavy rain has battered gulf states causing flash flooding with some places recording a year's worth of rain in a single day. the dubai airport was forced to divert incoming flights for around two hours but operations have since restarted. cars washed away in the streets as a fierce storm causes destruction across the gulf region. venezuelan president nicolas maduro ordered the closure of his country's embassy and consulates in ecuador, protesting ecuador�*s detention of former vice presidentjorge glas. ecuador had ordered authorities to raid mexico's embassy in quito — subsequently arresting glas, who had been hiding there. the move drew immediate condemnation, and mexico asked the un to suspend ecuador until it apologises

for the breach. we're just days away before the largest election the world has ever seen as people in india head to the polls for its general election. just under one billion people are eligible to vote — that's roughly one in eight of the entire global population, and more than 13 million indian citizens who live abroad can also cast ballots, but they'll need to return to india in person to do so. voting takes place over six weeks, beginning 19 april — that's this friday. it will conclude on 1june. the election result are expected to come three days later on june 4th. polls suggest the prime minister narendra modi will win a third consecutive term. but as our south asia correspondent yogita limaye reports, throughout india, he's a controversial figure. cheering. narendra modi is the reigning superstar of indian politics. rallies like these are

an integral part of an indian election, but only a few leaders have evoked such a response in the country's history. what we are seeing here is the confidence of the party that very much believes it's going to win another resounding victory. and what we've also seen amidst the crowd is confidence about being indian on the global stage — one of the things that prime minister modi's tenure will be remembered for. mr modi is a divisive figure. but here, among his mostly hindu following, he can do no wrong. translation: he's like god for me. - he's made women like us feel safe. translation: he's a good - speaker and he has built drains and roads and villages and cities. no—one had done that till now.

building infrastructure has been one of the strengths of mr modi's government. a few miles from the rally in uttar pradesh, we saw a road that was made just over a year ago and met farmer ashoke singh transporting his produce. translation: we can move freely now, and security - is better, too. but unemployment and price rise are big issues for us. the realities on the ground might be mixed, but the picture that reaches voters overwhelmingly, one that the ruling party wants people to see. mr modi's bjp runs an exhaustive and unparalleled campaign, door to door, as well as on social media. it is a crucial power to influence what people believe to be true. ultimately, it will

affect how they vote. yogita limaye, bbc news, mairead. and finally, the olympic flame was lit at ceremony in greece ahead of its journey to paris. the event took place at the temple of hera — the birthplace of the games in olympia. the flame will now travel 3,000 miles through greece and france before arriving in paris before the start of the olympic games in paris on the 26th ofjuly. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. tuesday was another fairly cool day, winds a little bit lighter. but we had further showers, some heavy with hail and thunder once again. next few days, it's pretty similar, it stays on the chilly side. there will be further showers or longer spells of rain, a bit of sunshine. nights will be cool. we're still in this chilly air mass, as you can see here, for wednesday. so it means things starting off rather chilly. further showers across eastern areas, and this tangle

of weather fronts will bring thicker cloud and some rain to western parts of the uk through the day. so we'll start with some showers across eastern scotland, some snow on the hills, showers, windy weather affecting the northeast of england. could be quite cold and windy for north sea coasts of yorkshire. this area of cloud and rain pushes across the hebrides, northern ireland down into parts of wales, southwest england through the course of the day. in between, there will be some sunshine around, but it's going to be a cooler day, we think, temperatures 9—11 celsius for most of us, single digits along north sea coasts. the showers linger on for a while through wednesday night before it turns drier and clearer with lighter winds across england and wales. so, here it will turn quite chilly. temperatures recovering, though, in the northwest as wetter and windier weather starts to move in thanks to this little area of low pressure, which will bring wet and windy weather to the northern half of the country through the day on thursday. this area of high pressure will tend to keep things drier in the south. so england and wales starting off chilly but bright, plenty of sunshine, wetter,

cloudier windier weather will move across scotland, northern ireland and down into parts of north wales, northern england, the north midlands. southern england, south wales will do pretty well with staying dry, i think, with some sunshine, lighter winds here. so temperatures around 1a celsius, but windier, wetter, cooler further north. that area of low pressure clears away gradually during the course of friday, high pressure starts to topple in, but we could start off with a few showers through central, southern and eastern areas on friday, a brisk northerly breeze affecting much of the country, particularly towards the east. lighter winds further south and west, variable clouds, some sunshine, temperatures could be up to 111—15 celsius degrees in the south. still quite cool in the north. now into the weekend, we're expecting this area of high pressure to move in. so i think it'll be turning a lot drier, but we could see quite a bit of cloud around. that depends on what we'll see with temperatures. if we see some sunshine, then we could see the high teens across some central and southern areas. if it's cloudier, it could be a bit cooler than this.

higherfor longer — higher for longer — the higherfor longer — the us fed says inflation isn't quite whether central bank will i to be. and new zealand's prime minister speaks of the bbc about the economy and the reversal of that controversial smoking ban.

hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. the head of the us central bank has dashed hopes that interest rates will calm down any time soon. jerome powell said that data showed inflation isn't quite where he would like it to be in order to start easing monetary policy. here is michelle fleury from new york with more. higherfor longer. that is the message from america's top banker, jerome powell on us interest rates. the chair of the federal reserve said policymakers hadn't seen enough progress on inflation since its rapid decline last year. and with inflation likely to take longer to return to the fed's desired target of 2%, a cut in rates, he said, didn't seem justified. we've said at the fomc that we'll need greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2% before it would be appropriate to ease policy. you know, we took that cautious approach and, sought that greater confidence

so as not to overreact to the string of low inflation readings that we had