and fire engulfs the old stock exchange in the centre of copenhagen — one of denmark's most historic landmarks. you join me here injerusalem, as israel has launched what it says is a �*diplomatic offensive�* against iran — calling on 32 countries around the world to impose sanctions on what it describes as the iranian missile project. the israeli foreign minister israel katz put this statement on the social media site x, saying that iran must be stopped now, before it is too late.

however, it's worth noting that there is no mention of an israeli military response, even though israeli officials have promised to retaliate against iran, after it launched a wave of missiles against israeli targets late on saturday. only a handful of more than 300 missiles and drones got through the israeli air defences. iran says it was responding to an air strike at the start of this month on the iranian consulate in the syrian capital, damascus — which it blamed on israel, although israel has not acknowledged being behind it.

iran is calling for restraint, saying it doesn't want this to escalate into a wider war. we are going to look at the peril in this moment butjust to remind you that this tension takes place in the midst of the ongoing israel gaza war, is the i93rd day of war. today there are reports of fighting in the gaza strip and particularly in the north—east. there are also reports that more aid is now getting into gaza from the north. we are getting reports on the ground and that is what is really saying. that news has been greeted with relief from many weeks in aid agencies have been warning that more than half of the population of gaza is facing acute hunger.

joining me from doha is mehran kamrava — director of iranian studies unit at the arab center for research and policy studies. welcome to bbc news. of course, you are following every twist and turn of this escalating crisis between israel and iran. of this escalating crisis between israeland iran. how of this escalating crisis between israel and iran. how would you describe this particular moment? the israelis describe this particular moment? tue: israelis crossed describe this particular moment? tte: israelis crossed a red line by attacking iran's diplomatic compound in damascus and then the iranians crossed another red line by attacking israeli soil. so we are at attacking israeli soil. so we are at a very precarious and dangerous moment where we are likely to see an israeli retaliatory strike. for iran

is retaliatory strike. so the vicious cycle is likely to continue unfortunately.— vicious cycle is likely to continue unfortunately. vicious cycle is likely to continue unfortunatel . , ., , , ., unfortunately. this moment seems to underline the — unfortunately. this moment seems to underline the dangerous _ unfortunately. this moment seems to underline the dangerous differences l underline the dangerous differences in perception, iran was saying this was a very limited and calibrated strike and caused limited damage. for israel of course it was a reckless strike which breached its security and must —— they must be retaliation. that is what is going to feel this conflict is it not? absolutely. in fact, to feel this conflict is it not? absolutely. infact, i to feel this conflict is it not? absolutely. in fact, i think we do see that the iranians did hold back. they had to surmount retaliate for the attack on the embassy compound and so as far as they are concerned deterrence has been re—established. now they are saying that if israel attacks iran again or iranian interests of personnel they will be more of this kind of retaliatory

strike. of course benjamin netanyahu's political predicament inside israel doesn't allow for restraint and we have seen him have a punch on that overreaction. he is also under pressure from the right flank of his own cabinet. and so unfortunately we are at a precarious and very dangerous moment. the speculation _ and very dangerous moment. the speculation now seems to be that even though there are disagreements within the war cabinet and we are hearing the cabinet may need to meet again today, some former military generals are saying we should retaliate now and at the same let's build our international and regional coalition first because they are emphasising that this coalition, this abody�*s really is receiving at the moment, that matters too. absolutely. also crucial is the support that the united states will give to israel both diplomatically

and militarily. we have heard loud and militarily. we have heard loud and clear messages coming out of washington that the united states would not assist israel on an attack on iranian soil. that has also given samples to israeli military commanders. do they really want to go it alone, knowing that iran has this so—called axis of resistance, that it can activate when it feels threatened. that it can activate when it feels threatened-— that it can activate when it feels threatened. ., ~ , ., , . threatened. thank you very much, alwa s threatened. thank you very much, always good _ threatened. thank you very much, always good to — threatened. thank you very much, always good to hear _ threatened. thank you very much, always good to hear your- always good to hear your perspective. as i mentioned during that discussion, we are hearing reports that the war cabinet will meet again today. this will be its third meeting since that unprecedented attack in the early hours of sunday morning. what is absolutely clear is that israel has

decided it will respond but will it retaliate by attacking iran directly, that would also be unprecedented after decades of shadow war and covert operations, will attack some of iran's proxies in lebanon or iraq or syria or even in lebanon or iraq or syria or even in yemen? or will they wait until the coalition? these are questions which matter and the matter to the future stability at this region in the midst of what is already a very volatile time. we will keep an eye on developments but for now back to london. and i should say you can keep across all of the latest lines on the bbc news website, it has a life page running. any updates will be on there. one of denmark's most historic buildings — the seventeenth century stock

exchange in copenhagen — has been engulfed by fire. this was the moment the spire of the building — which dates back to 1625 — collapsed. everyone inside the building was able to leave and people rushed to rescue some of its historic paintings. the culture minister said 400 years of danish cultural heritage "had gone up in flames". firefighters say their efforts are hampered because the copper roof is keeping the heat in. let's just take a moment to show what the old stock exchange building looked like before this fire. this picture was taken five years ago, and it shows the twisting spire, which was put up in the seventeenth century — and which has now collapsed. the building, which is located next to the danish parliament,

has stood on the site since the 1620s. we can go live now to copenhagen and speak to elisabeth tea, a journalist at danish bradcasting corporation. she joins us from outside the old stock exchange. it has been quite the morning and it has caused considerable upset for people in copenhagen. this really is a very special building to local people. a very special building to local --eole. , �* ., a very special building to local neale, , �* ., ., a very special building to local --eole. , ~ ., ., , ., people. yes. a lot of people have been very — people. yes. a lot of people have been very sad _ people. yes. a lot of people have been very sad about _ people. yes. a lot of people have been very sad about this - people. yes. a lot of people have been very sad about this and - people. yes. a lot of people have been very sad about this and a i people. yes. a lot of people have | been very sad about this and a lot of people have been watching the fire all morning. it is still going on behind me. the fire department expect the fire to be under control and a couple of hours but right now the fire is not under control. the flames in the building, there is a

concern. the fire department is talking about fire from the ground and all the way through. you can see all the construction management going on and that has made it difficult to put out the fire. taste difficult to put out the fire. we have been _ difficult to put out the fire. we have been seeing pictures of people, they were people inside the building and we understand everybody managed to get out. it was also containing various important pieces of artwork and artefacts. what is the sense, has all of that valuable stuff been taken outside? is there any worry that things have been lost? things have been lost _ that things have been lost? things have been lost in _ that things have been lost? things have been lost in the _ that things have been lost? things have been lost in the fire. - that things have been lost? things have been lost in the fire. that - that things have been lost? things have been lost in the fire. that is i have been lost in the fire. that is what we here at the moment. some of the most important thing people work —— working in there together with the fire department rushed into the

building and throwing everything they could to make sure they could get the paintings down from the walls and out as fast as possible. they did get a lot of paintings out, especially when by the very famous danish artist has been saved. but a lot of them have been very damaged. just tell me a little bit about the building. it is hugely iconic, people talk of this is the notre dame moment for cope and hagan. notre dame is also undergoing refurbishment work when the fire started there in 2019. yes. refurbishment work when the fire started there in 2019.— started there in 2019. yes. the buildinu started there in 2019. yes. the building is _ started there in 2019. yes. the building is really _ started there in 2019. yes. the

building is really iconic. - started there in 2019. yes. the building is really iconic. this i building is really iconic. this building is really iconic. this building has always been there, they have been fired close by but it has always stood there. that is why it's so damaging the people living in copenhagen. this iconic building which would celebrate its 400th anniversary this year now has been so damaged by the fire. it's the centre of the nordic trade history and a place where a lot of people in copenhagen walk by every day. this is a very central place both for politics and also traffic. a lot of cars go by her every day so a lot of people feel this is a building that had a special place in the heart. that is why it's so sad to see it like this in this condition and to

see what damage has already been done. . . see what damage has already been done. , , ., , done. the fire is still going but the fire service _ done. the fire is still going but the fire service believe - done. the fire is still going but the fire service believe they i done. the fire is still going but - the fire service believe they might be able to bring it under control soon. . . be able to bring it under control soon, , ., . ., , be able to bring it under control soon. , ., , ., ., , be able to bring it under control soon. , ., ., , �*, soon. yes, in a couple of hours it's exected soon. yes, in a couple of hours it's exoected to _ soon. yes, in a couple of hours it's exoected to be _ soon. yes, in a couple of hours it's expected to be under _ soon. yes, in a couple of hours it's expected to be under control. - soon. yes, in a couple of hours it's expected to be under control. butl expected to be under control. but it's very difficult to say. the fire department say the building is in danger of collapsing. the outside of the building is not very stable. taste the building is not very stable. we have to leave it there because we are out of time. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

now to one of our top stories here in the uk.

a high courtjudge has ruled that a prayer ban at a secondary school in london can remain, as it does not discriminate against muslim pupils. michaela community school in wembley introduced the ban last year, after some pupils began praying in the playground. now a muslim student at the school has lost her high court challenge against the school's ban on prayer rituals. in his ruling, mrjustice linden said the pupil knew of the school's policy when she was enrolled there. his judgment will be seen as upholding the right of non—religious schools to make their own decision about whether or not to set aside time and space for pupils to pray. the headteacher of the michaela school — katharine birbalsingh, who introduced the prayer ritual policy at the heart of this court case, has issued a statement welcoming the judgement. she said — a school should be free to do what is right for the pupils it serves. the court s decision

is therefore a victory for all schools. schools should not be forced by one child and her mother to change its approach simply because they have decided they don t like something at the school. with more on this is our correspondent ben wolvin. it's a complicated case and it does have a lengthy background so just take us through what the issue was at the school and why this case came to court. . . . at the school and why this case came to court. , , ., , ., to court. this is a state funded secondary _ to court. this is a state funded secondary school _ to court. this is a state funded secondary school in _ to court. this is a state funded secondary school in wembley. to court. this is a state fundedl secondary school in wembley in london. it has around 700 pupils, half of them are muslim. a year ago in the spring of last year this prayer ban was introduced when around 20 pupils began praying during lunch times. that resulted in this legal action taken by one of the pupils at the school who said she was only asking to pray for five minutes during her lunchtime, she pointed out that being a muslim and she needed space and floor space in

order to do that with as a christian people could maybe pray quietly to themselves while they were walking around the school playground. today this judgment from the around the school playground. today thisjudgment from the high around the school playground. today this judgment from the high court has found against that people. as you were saying, the judge said the people who this claim had chosen the makayla community school, knowing of its strict behaviour policies and he pointed out that the people was freed to move to another school where she would be allowed to pray during lunch times if that's what she would like to do. he said the disadvantage to muslim pupils at the school caused by its prayer ban was outweighed by the aims which the school seeks to achieve overall for all of its pupils including the muslim pupils at that school. the people who brought this claim says that even though she has lost she

still feels she did the right thing in seeking to challenge the prayer ban and said, i tried my best and was true to myself and my religion and she said she is grateful to the non—muslim pupils at the school were shown her a great deal of understanding.— shown her a great deal of understanding. shown her a great deal of understandinu. ., ., understanding. the reaction from the head teacher. — understanding. the reaction from the head teacher, she _ understanding. the reaction from the head teacher, she says _ understanding. the reaction from the head teacher, she says this _ understanding. the reaction from the head teacher, she says this is - understanding. the reaction from the head teacher, she says this is a - head teacher, she says this is a court decision and a victory for all schools. are they wider implications from this ruling? yes schools. are they wider implications from this ruling?— from this ruling? yes indeed. the education secretary _ from this ruling? yes indeed. the education secretary thinks - from this ruling? yes indeed. the education secretary thinks so. - from this ruling? yes indeed. the | education secretary thinks so. she says she has always been clear that it head teachers are best placed to make decisions at the school and she hopes thisjudgment make decisions at the school and she hopes this judgment gives all head teachers the confidence to make decisions which are in the best interests of all the people. the head teacher here is quite a high profile and sometimes controversial head teacher and she is very proud of what the school is doing. it is

very traditional values and very strict. for example, you are only allowed to gather in groups of four at lunch times, there is no talking in the corridors and they have this lunchtime policy call it a family lunch, the children provide their own lunches, they provide the food and cleared up afterwards and they have a set topic which they talk about in order to improve their social skills. she clearly regards this code judgment as a victory for the school's traditional values which she says is improving integration in a multicultural society. here in the uk, a potentially world—first smoking ban for future generations will be debated in parliament today. the proposed ban means that it would be illegalfor anyone turning 15 or younger this year to ever be able to buy tobacco products. new zealand had planned something similar, but the country's new coalition government

scrapped the policy. uk prime minister rishi sunak is facing opposition from some of his own mps, while labour are in favour of the proposal. tim muffett reports. it would be a world first — a law that wouldn't just discourage smoking, but effectively phase it out completely. the tobacco and vapes bill proposes a ban on anyone born on or afterjanuary 1st 2009 from ever being able to buy tobacco. a bold move that has the backing of health experts. we know that smoking is the single biggest cause of preventable illness and death across the uk, and increases your risk of complications in pregnancy, through to asthma in children, and many other conditions like heart disease, cancer and dementia. mitalee shah has run this vaping shop in london for seven years. she's doubtful whether a smoking ban would work. banning something has never been a solution to anything. menthol cigarettes, for example,

have been banned, but people are still bringing them in from other countries. vapes don't contain tobacco, but often contain nicotine — and there are concerns over the number of children taking up the habit. the bill being debated today also proposes tougher restrictions on flavours and packaging to make vapes less appealing to children. although mitalee believes the link is overstated. i don't think anybody necessarily looks at the packaging and, "0h, let's just try that." it's more that, "oh, it's vaping, it's a cool thing to do." just as smoking was in the '805. kids will be kids. they will try smoking. they'll try vaping. so this is the freddie fox room. it's a museum of cigars and memorabilia. former customers of this shop include oscar wilde and sir winston churchill. he'd have his own special chair. there's been a cigar shop here for nearly 240 years. but the current director of jamesj fox believes that by classifying all tobacco products together — such as cigarettes, pipes and cigars — the new law

threatens its long—term future. i'm in favour in general of the smoke—free generation. i don't want my children to smoke cigarettes. we feel like. ..essentially outlawing cigars will not cure the problem which it's intending to cure, which is to stop children getting addicted to cigarettes. cigar smoking is currently permitted in this shop, but the tobacco industry faces major changes if today's bill becomes law. changes many will welcome. tim muffett, bbc news. for more on the political implictions of the vote let's speak now to ben wrightthe likeihood is the bill will pass this this has the backing of most health experts but rishi sunak is not necessarily got the backing of his own party.

necessarily got the backing of his own -a . ., ., , necessarily got the backing of his owna . ., ., , . ., own party. no, that is quite clear. there is a — own party. no, that is quite clear. there is a big _ own party. no, that is quite clear. there is a big argument _ own party. no, that is quite clear. there is a big argument going - own party. no, that is quite clear. there is a big argument going onl there is a big argument going on within the tory party about whether or not this is something a conservative government should be doing. rishi sunak plasma to recent predecessors have condemned the idea. borisjohnson said the phasing out of smoking in this bill is nuts as far as he was concerned. liz truss has condemned it as anti—conservative. so we will get a sense today of the depth of opposition within the tory party to this particularly on the libertarian wing of the conservative party. it is a free vote which means rishi sunak is not ordering his mps to vote for this and ultimately because labour is backing this policy the broad expectation is that this will go through parliament. but it has become something of a flashpoint in the argument raging within the tory parliament about where the conservative party goes next. put aside the policy for a second, look at it as a public health measure and this could perhaps be the most significant consequential thing

rishi sunak�*s government does. if it passes this will be remembered. it is very unlikely i think that a future government would reverse this phasing out of smoking. from future government would reverse this phasing out of smoking.— phasing out of smoking. from a health perspective _ phasing out of smoking. from a health perspective it _ phasing out of smoking. from a health perspective it has - phasing out of smoking. from a health perspective it has got. health perspective it has got backing pretty much across the board from health experts and he was saying that the process of where we are in terms of the timetable of the bill and suggesting this is going to go through today. this bill and suggesting this is going to go through today-— bill and suggesting this is going to go through today. this is the second readin: of go through today. this is the second reading of the _ go through today. this is the second reading of the bill— go through today. this is the second reading of the bill so _ go through today. this is the second reading of the bill so they _ go through today. this is the second reading of the bill so they will - go through today. this is the second reading of the bill so they will be - reading of the bill so they will be an afternoon debate and once this kicks off in the commons at about 1:15pm. a vote is expected towards the end of the afternoon at around six pmo 70. the first chance for mps to properly debate this and then vote on it. it will then go through parliamentary procedure, the report stage in the committee stage for more detailed scrutiny. the lords will have their say. if parliamentary time allowance between now and the general election the

expectation is that it will get onto the statute book. and as i said, this could be looked back on as the most significant part of rishi sunak�*s legacy. most significant part of rishi sunak's legacy.— most significant part of rishi sunak's legacy. most significant part of rishi sunak's lea . . ~' ., sunak's legacy. thank you for the moment. sunak's legacy. thank you for the moment- just _ sunak's legacy. thank you for the moment. just before _ sunak's legacy. thank you for the moment. just before we - sunak's legacy. thank you for the moment. just before we go, - sunak's legacy. thank you for the moment. just before we go, let'sj moment. just before we go, let's leave you with this amazing footage of an extraordinary cut. this is tofu the kitten, a stray adopted by jane sweet last year. since then she's spotted — through her security camera — the little cat repeatedly bringing random bits of rubbish home. hello. on the hole today's weather will not be quite as violent as yesterday's was. yesterday brought some really intense downpours and thunderstorms and some very scholarly and damaging winds. today is still quite breezy but not as windy. they will still be some showers but the showers should not

be quite as violent. the wind is coming down from the north so it is going to remain quite chilly. we've got a frontal system grazing the east coast, cloud and showering with that. otherwise it sunshine and showers in that north—westerly flow. high pressure will become more dominant is the we quaison. for the rest of the day, sunny spells and scattered showers, some of them heavy with hail. central and eastern parts of england most likely to see thunder. some wintry showers of the high ground in scotland and it will be quite windy and it is going to feel rather chilly for the time of year. eight to 1a degrees. temperatures below the norm for the time of year. as we go through this evening and tonight many of the showers will fade and the north—east of scotland will stay quite windy. underneath clear skies temperatures are going to drop down to around freezing or below freezing for a few spots in the north of the uk. so the could be a touch of frost to start

tomorrow morning but tomorrow should for many bring some good spells of sunshine. a frontal system will bring cloud and rain across northern ireland, grazing on the parts of western scotland and then that ring will pushed on across wales and into the south—west of england later in the south—west of england later in the day. temperatures generally between nine and 12 celsius. thursday we are going to see another frontal system this time pushing the north of the country, cloud and rain especially for scotland and the brisk wind. further south more in the way of dry weather. a slight change in the wind direction might make it feel less chilly. and then as we head towards the weekend that frontal system clears out of the way in this area of high pressure begins to make its move. it pushes its way eastwards and it will become scented quite close to the uk so the winds will ease a little and we will see more in the way of dry weather. perhaps the odd shower. those temperatures may creep up a bit. 1a

to 17 degrees by sunday.

this is bbc news, the headlines: israel calls for sanctions to be imposed on iran — after its unprecedented drone and missile attack. the leaders of germany and china meet in beijing — in a visit aimed at strengthening their economic and trading relationship. and — the olympic flame

is lit at a ceremony in greece's ancient olympia — ahead of the summer games in paris. at the inquiry into the post office scandal — the uk's most widespread miscarriage of justice — a former senior manager has said he should not have claimed the horizon computer system was "robust and fit for purpose". because he was previously aware it could have caused misbalancing of cash accounts in all post offices across the country. david miller was chief operations officer of the post office in the early 2000s. more than 900 sub—postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from a fujitsu computer system called horizon. news correspondent ellie price is at the inquiry — and joins us now.