welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. ambassador, i want to begin with some words said recently by the uk foreign minister, david cameron. he said this: the lights are flashing red right across the global dashboard. it is hard to think of a time when there s been so much danger, insecurity, instability in the world. would you agree with him on that? i would. and where do you see the instability at its most dangerous? the most pressing thing today is, of course, the middle east. you cannot deny it. it s obvious. it is a conflict that is fraught with the regional conflagration, potential global conflagration. you see what s happening what has been happening in recent days. you have seen what s been happening in the red sea with the us aggression on yemen, with the recent us was plus uk aggression on iraq and syria, the situation on the northern border of israel with lebanon. so, the middle east may explode, unfortunately. i m looking at some of your recent quotes. yo
rafah, as i ve said before, israel has the responsibility and the obligation to do everything possible to ensure civilians are protected and they get the assistance they need in the course of this conflict. any military campaign, military operation that israel undertakes needs to put civilians first and foremost in mind. and i suggested again some ways to do that. and that s especially true in the case of rafah, where there are somewhere between 1.2 and 1.4 million people, many of them displaced from other parts of gaza. so we want to make sure again that in anything that s done, any military operations, the situation for civilians is first and foremost in mind and that necessary steps are taken to make sure that they re protected and they have the assistance they need. you suggested some wa s assistance they need. you suggested some ways to assistance they need. you suggested some ways to do assistance they need. you suggested some ways to do that. assistance they need
happening now, breaking news. united states conducts another retaliatory strike in the wake of that deadly attack on american forces in jordan. u.s. officials confirmed the operation successfully targeted and killed an iran-backed militia commander in baghdad. also breaking tonight, more chaos on capitol hill. the united states senate rejecting the bipartisan border bill despite months of negotiations. what the sudden failure can also mean for aid to ukraine and israel. plus, final preparations for tomorrow s unprecedented u.s. supreme court arguments on donald trump s colorado ballot ban. we have exclusive new reporting on the trump team s strategy just ahead of the historic hearing. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. this is cnn breaking news. first up tonight, breaking news. the united states launching a targeted retaliatory strike against an iran backed militia commander blamed for a
foreign aid bill failed a procedural vote in the senate. both sides now blaming each other for tanking the measure. and now they are trying to get the funding for ukraine, taiwan, and israel. congressional correspondent aishah hasnie tells us what is causing the hiccups from capitol hill. good evening, aishah. good evening to you, bret. so, right now, the senate is paralyzed. we are waiting to see if there is a path forward on a foreign aid only package. some republicans want to be able to offer amendments, some to do with the border. if this does move tonight, bret, it will be the first time congress hasn t rejected a big bill this week. mr. mcconnell? no. senate g.o.p. leader mitch mcconnell the nail in the coffin as nearly every republican and several democrats blocked the bipartisan border deal from getting a vote on the senate floor. i just voted no on the border bill. i think it makes it worse. i came to serve in the senate because it s a serious place. a da
temperature north to south this morning. in the south we have rain but as it bumps into cold air especially in north wales and northern england it will turn to snow, disruptive on higher routes. in sport, england captain harry kane is on a mission to get young people thinking about, and prioritising their mental health. and prince william has a famous wingman as he returns to public engagements following the king s cancer diagnosis and his wife s surgery. it s thursday, 8th of february. labour is abandoning its promise to spend £28 billion a year on environmental projects if it wins the next election. prime minister rishi sunak is facing calls to apologise for comments he made about the labour leader s position on transgender people. he was speaking during prime minister s questions, when the mother of murdered transgender teenager brianna ghey was visiting the house of commons. let s get the latest from chief political correspondent henry zeffman. two party leaders under pr