we begin in haiti. welcome to the programme. a 72—hour state of emergency has been declared in the capital port—au—prince and surrounding area after armed gangs staged jailbreaks. the state of emergency covers the capital and surrounding areas. night curfews are in force until wednesday. this is what we know so far. the biggest incident happened at the national penitentiary in the centre of port—au—prince — the biggest prison in the country. the bbc has been told the vast majority of inmates held there have escaped — that's around 4000 men. 0ne inmate spoke of people being massacred in their cells. a gang leader had warned the haitian prime minister not to return to haiti. he was in nairobi, discussing the possibility of a kenyan—led multinational security force. but the bbc has established that he left and returned to haiti safely on sunday.

the decision to declare both a state of emergency and a night—time curfew in the haitian capital comes after fierce fighting by armed gangs who are now in control of most of the city. during the fighting, gunmen entered the main prison in port—au—prince and quickly overwhelmed the guards, allowing some 4,000 inmates to escape. eyewitnesses report seeing several bodies inside and around the prison compound. the gangs in haiti which oppose mr henry's rule sense a possible power vacuum and an opportunity to force him from office. a notorious gang leader, a former elite police officer called jimmy cherizier, also known as barbecue, has claimed responsibility for the latest outbreak of violence. he has warned mr henry to stay away from haiti, saying the armed groups in the provincial towns and the armed groups in the capital are united. given the strength of those gangs, enforcing a curfew may prove extremely difficult. that was our carribean correspondent will grant reporting.

harold isaac is a freelance journalist in port—au—prince. he gave us this update on the situation there. we have entered a state of emergency along with a curfew. and this is the answer of the government to the latest developments in the last few hours where the security situation has seriously degraded here in the capital of port—au—prince. for the most part, everybody here are expecting to have a disrupted week as over 4,000 inmates have fled the two detention centers the two detention centres here in port—au—prince. and creating a real security crisis, aggravating what was already a challenging time to be in the city. so it's really a lot of questions with very little answers at this point. many of the high profiles, especially the colombians or people that were involved in the assassination of the president, some of them decided to stay in order not to get

killed in crossfires between the police and gangs, or to have their sentence aggravated as a result of fleeing the prison. so there are many implications for those who have actually fled. 0ur correspondent barbara plett usher is in kenya and joins us now. thank you for your time. what more do we know about the situation? what do we know about the situation? what we know from — do we know about the situation? what we know from here _ do we know about the situation? what we know from here is _ do we know about the situation? wiat we know from here is that do we know about the situation? writ we know from here is that kenyan police are saying that the prime minister left the country via an emirates air flight to dubai minister left the country via an emirates airflight to dubai and he landed safely in haiti on sunday. he was in nairobi in order to sign a security deal with the kenyan government which would have removed the last obstacle holding up the deployment of kenyan police, a force of about 1000 kenyan police, which was aimed to go to haiti to try to

bring law and order. but while he was here signing that deal, the gangs took advantage of his absence and launched this coordinated move, as you were hearing. so we were wondering whether the prime minister might end up having to be in exile in kenya. but according to kenyan police he has returned to the country. we have not had confirmation of that as far as i am aware from haiti itself.— confirmation of that as far as i am aware from haiti itself. what more do we know _ aware from haiti itself. what more do we know about _ aware from haiti itself. what more do we know about his _ aware from haiti itself. what more do we know about his visit - aware from haiti itself. what more do we know about his visit to - do we know about his visit to nairobi and the negotiations he was having? he nairobi and the negotiations he was havin: ? , , ., having? he did sign this deal. there had been legal _ having? he did sign this deal. there had been legal challenges _ having? he did sign this deal. there had been legal challenges to - having? he did sign this deal. there had been legal challenges to the - had been legal challenges to the deployment of this kenyan force which is supposed to lead a multinational mission to haiti in order to deal with the gangs. so the courts had said it couldn't happen because there wasn't a reciprocal arrangement between haiti and kenya, kenya didn't have the authority to deploy police unless there was a reciprocal arrangements. so the two leaders assigned that deal. there

were still lots of questions about the next step, whether it would need to be ratified in parliament, whether they would need to go back to the court. whether the force can now be deployed at all given what has happened in porto —— port—au—prince. given they said the prime minister ariel henry is not a legitimate leader, so that's coming from this side as well.— from this side as well. barbara plett usher. — from this side as well. barbara plett usher, thank _ from this side as well. barbara plett usher, thank you - from this side as well. barbara plett usher, thank you for - from this side as well. barbarai plett usher, thank you for that update. let's look at the middle east now. negotiations for a six—week ceasefire in gaza, that is backed by the united states, have hit a major road block. members of hamas are in cairo, alongside international mediators, but israel says it won't attend the meeting until hamas provides it with a list of hostages still alive. hamas took 253 hostages when gunmen launched an attack on october 7th. it says it can't provide the information because of israel's

continuing bombardment and blockade of gaza, saying it was impossible to collect a list of names because the hostages are dispersed among different palestinian groups and in different areas of the gaza strip. the us vice president kamala harris has said that people in the gaza strip are starving, and has called on israel to do more to increase the flow of aid into the territory. she said that desperate people seeking food had been met with gunfire and chaos. here's what the vice president said. they must open new border crossings. they must not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid. they must ensure humanitarian personnel sites and convoys are not targeted, and they must work to restore basic services and promote order in gaza so more food, water and fuel can reach those in need. in another development, benny gantz,

an influential centrist member of israel's war cabinet, will call on senior american officials in washington on monday. israeli right wingers have criticised his visit. joining me from london is yossi mekelberg — he's an associate fellow at the middle east and north africa programme at chatham house. thank you for your time. what more do we know about the reaction from benjamin netanyahu's allies to the visit of benny gantz to washington, dc? , ., ., visit of benny gantz to washington, dc? h, ., ., ~ , dc? good morning. prime minister netan ahu dc? good morning. prime minister netanyahu is _ dc? good morning. prime minister netanyahu is very _ dc? good morning. prime minister netanyahu is very upset. _ dc? good morning. prime minister netanyahu is very upset. he - dc? good morning. prime minister. netanyahu is very upset. he doesn't like the idea that somebody who might turn against him, or will turn against him in the next election, and according to public opinion is actually going to win and win comfortably, is basically now discussing the security issues, how to conduct the role in gaza, the

humanitarian aid, the release of hostages, with the american administration, the biden administration. this is a clear sign by the biden administration they are completely fed up with netanyahu and his right—wing government and the approach that in their view harms american interests and the interests of stability in the region. and it is a clear sign also for the day after netanyahu.— is a clear sign also for the day after netanyahu. is a clear sign also for the day after netan ahu. ~ ., ., , , _ after netanyahu. what does this say secificall after netanyahu. what does this say specifically about _ after netanyahu. what does this say specifically about frictions _ after netanyahu. what does this say specifically about frictions right - specifically about frictions right now when it comes to israel's war cabinet? ., now when it comes to israel's war cabinet? . , . , ., cabinet? there are differences of oinions. cabinet? there are differences of opinions. bearing _ cabinet? there are differences of opinions. bearing in _ cabinet? there are differences of opinions. bearing in mind - cabinet? there are differences of opinions. bearing in mind that i cabinet? there are differences of- opinions. bearing in mind that benny gantzjoined only at opinions. bearing in mind that benny gantz joined only at the opinions. bearing in mind that benny gantzjoined only at the beginning of the war to play the responsible aduu of the war to play the responsible adult in a government full of far

right, ideology that is very dangerous, including people who think it is a good idea to reoccupy gaza long term and even building jewish settlements. so he along with some others, in order to bring some rational thinking into the government. there was no love lost, actually, before the last election benny gantz and his party said they want, because of netanyahu corruption, don't want to share power. but the october seven attacks changed everything. but now the frictions are obvious in how they conduct the future of the nation with the palestinian side, how to deal with releasing hostages, humanitarian aid. and i think benny gantz and his colleagues will probably lead to the israeli

government one day. probably lead to the israeli covernment one da . ., ., ,., government one day. from that point, what is it for— government one day. from that point, what is it for washington _ government one day. from that point, what is it for washington when it - what is it for washington when it comes to this meeting? how much leverage does benny gantz have domestically in israel? i leverage does benny gantz have domestically in israel?— domestically in israel? i think it is clear that _ domestically in israel? i think it is clear that the _ domestically in israel? i think it is clear that the united - domestically in israel? i think it is clear that the united states l domestically in israel? i think it i is clear that the united states and the biden administration is giving full backing to benny gantz and between him and benjamin netanyahu, they want to see the back of netanyahu. the american interests are the interests of peace. and also public opinion polls, they will see in washington that if there were elections today, benny gantz is the most likely candidate to become prime minister. so this is in preparation, but also sending a signal to the israeli people, you should move on to a new leadership because the current leadership doesn't serve your interests. yossi mekelberg. _ doesn't serve your interests. yossi mekelberg, thank _ doesn't serve your interests. yossi mekelberg, thank you _ doesn't serve your interests. yossi mekelberg, thank you for - doesn't serve your interests. yossi mekelberg, thank you for your time.

live to our middle east correspondent yolande knell. thank you forjoining us. we were just talking about this visit in washington, dc and we have heard of the strong comments from kamala harris. what more do we know about the international pressure on israel right now? the international pressure on israel riaht now? . , ., , right now? certainly that is extremely _ right now? certainly that is extremely intense - right now? certainly that is extremely intense at - right now? certainly that is extremely intense at the l right now? certainly that is - extremely intense at the moment on israel, and also on hamas, in particular to try to reach some kind of agreement on a six—week truce, the so—called paris framework deal that was laid out more than a week ago. there are talks currently going on in cairo involving egyptian and qatari mediators with a hamas delegation said to be present. it had been hoped israel should have its delegation there as well but israel has not sent a delegation. we understand that's because it has been demanding an advance official hamas response to the paris framework proposals. it also wants

in particular a full list of surviving israeli hostages being held by hamas in gaza so that would be part of an exchange deal swapped for palestinian prisoners in israeli jails. but a senior hamas official has told the bbc that at the moment, because of the ongoing israeli bombardment in gaza it is not possible for practical reasons to come up with that full list that has been demanded. he said a ceasefire is needed before that data can be provided. is needed before that data can be rovided. . . . is needed before that data can be rovided. . ., ., , is needed before that data can be rovided. . . ., , ., , , provided. ramadan is approaching. what are the _ provided. ramadan is approaching. what are the concerns _ provided. ramadan is approaching. what are the concerns about - provided. ramadan is approaching. what are the concerns about how l provided. ramadan is approaching. i what are the concerns about how that can impact the war?— can impact the war? ramadan is now about one week— can impact the war? ramadan is now about one week away. _ can impact the war? ramadan is now about one week away. the _ can impact the war? ramadan is now about one week away. the hope - can impact the war? ramadan is now about one week away. the hope was | can impact the war? ramadan is now l about one week away. the hope was to have this six—week truce deal in place for the holy month, but that looks increasingly in doubt. the concern is that during ramadan israeli restrictions are expected to

be imposed on palestinians' access to the most important it muslim site in the old city ofjerusalem, al aqsa mosque. israel expected to impose restrictions for its own security reasons, particularly driven by the ongoing war in gaza and that will actually ratchet up tensions even higher and could make it even more complicated to get some kind of truce deal.— kind of truce deal. yolande knell, thank ou kind of truce deal. yolande knell, thank you for— kind of truce deal. yolande knell, thank you for the _ kind of truce deal. yolande knell, thank you for the update. - kind of truce deal. yolande knell, thank you for the update. we - kind of truce deal. yolande knell, thank you for the update. we will| thank you for the update. we will have more on the war in gaza later in the programme. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news here in the uk. the charity barnardo's has told the bbc the closure of a fund for people struggling with cost of living pressures will be "catastrophic". more than 160 councils have warned that thousands of vulnerable families are facing a cliff edge without the household support fund. but the government says other benefits are rising to help cover living costs. there are calls for an independent inquiry into the treatment of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the uk.

a report by the now former chief inspector of borders claims �*basic bread and butter checks' to keep children safe were not being done. the home office says the safety of unaccompanied children is its utmost priority. a charity has warned that former coal—mining areas are falling further behind the rest of britain decades on from pit closures. 40 years after the miners�* strike, the coalfields regeneration trust said communities had been "let down" by a lack of investment since the loss of an industry which employed more than 220,000 people. you're live with bbc news. china's parliament, the national people's congress, will kick off its annual session on tuesday, with all eyes on plans to support growth in the world's second largest economy. ahead of the meeting, it has been announced that the country 5 premier will not be holding a press conference

at the end of the congress starting this year. this ends a tradition maintained for three decades signifying a major political shift. 0ur china correspondent stephen mcdonell reports. this is a big change in power politics in china. it has been announced at the premiere, the country's number two leader, will now no longer be giving a press conference at the end of the annual national people's congress. given that these press conferences have been staged events with only screened questions aloud, many people might wonder, well, who cares? the crucial thing is that it represents an even further reduction in the power of the premier and an even further increase in their power of china's number one leader, xi jinping. it seems that he doesn't want to be upstaged by another seniorfigure in the communist

want to be upstaged by another senior figure in the communist party for even the slightest amount of time, even a couple of hours. like i said, these press conferences have been dull in the past but they have also featured some big moments, like when the media conference was used to politically obliterate a would—be leaderjust before he was taken away. now we will not be seeing even scripted press conferences like this from the premiere, they are to be no more. it seems that yet again we are seeing evidence that xi jinping is a leader in china unmatched by any other in recent history apart from... chairman mao. that was stehen from... chairman mao. that was stephen mcdonell. _ spacex has launched three american astronauts and a russian cosmonaut into space on a mission to the international space station for nasa. the spacex falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the kennedy space centre

at cape canaveral. here's the moment they took off. three, two, one, ignition. engines full power. and lift off of nasa crew—8. go falcon, go spacex and go nasa. endeavour ascends, a beacon of human ambition. 1.7 million pounds of thrust are now propelling falcon 9 and crew—8. for more — here's keith cowing, the editor of nasawatch.com. the russian thing first. as you've probably noticed, being a news person, we don't get along with russia down here on earth, but up in space for the past 25 years, other than a few hiccups here and there, everybody gets along. and when things are bad down here, they're 0k up there. so, you know, people say, why are we doing all this stuff in space?

there's a reason to do all the science up there. but one important thing is maybe we're learning how to get along with each other up there. maybe that can be applied back down on earth. just a silly thought. at this point, the space station is fully functional. it's got everything that it's got to have. and there's something for everybody. there's biology, there's space medicine, there's material science, there's engineering, there's communications, pretty much... and they have 200 or so different things they'll be doing in the course of the six months that they'll be up there. so they'll be busy. i've been on some expeditions to the arctic and the himalayas that are long, so, you know, you arrive in a strange place and you don't know what's going on. they say, well, this is where the the food is, here's where the candy is, here's the toilet paper. and, you know, when you arrive in space, some people do get a little bit of nausea and that takes a day or so to clear. republican presidential candidate nikki haley has won herfirst primary, beating donald trump in washington, dc. she's the first woman to win

a republican primary in us history, though her victory is seen as largely symbolic. the win gives her a total of 49 republican delegates ? well behind donald trump's 247. and he's poised to rack up more delegates this week on what's known as super tuesday, when a dozen states nominate their choice. joining me now is naomi ruchim from cbs. can you tell us more about these results aren't what they mean in the grand scheme of things? it results aren't what they mean in the grand scheme of things?— grand scheme of things? it will not land nikki haley _ grand scheme of things? it will not land nikki haley the _ grand scheme of things? it will not land nikki haley the republican - land nikki haley the republican presidential nomination but the former un ambassador is celebrating her win last night in washington, dc. in a social media post she thanked voters in the nation's capital saying republicans closest to washington's dysfunction know that donald trump has brought nothing but chaos and division for the past eight years. it is time to start winning again and move our nation forward. nikki haley still trails far behind the former

president. the delegates do not stack up at this point. he is also expected to pick up hundreds more delicates tomorrow when voters in 16 states and territories take to the polls for super tuesday. trump spoke confidently to a crowd in virginia this weekend after picking up more wins in missouri, michigan and idaho. still, nikki haley made history last night becoming the first woman to win a republican primary in american history. you mentioned _ primary in american history. you mentioned donald trump's comments, how he is speaking confidently, but what has he said about these results in dc? fin what has he said about these results in dc? ., ,.,, ., what has he said about these results in dc? ., ., ., in dc? on a post on truth social trump attacked _ in dc? on a post on truth social trump attacked nikki _ in dc? on a post on truth social trump attacked nikki haley - in dc? on a post on truth social trump attacked nikki haley on | trump attacked nikki haley on previous performances in previous look at the larger results and new cbs polling against former president trump and president biden, former president trump like now nationally

is ahead by four points, which is the most significant lead of the entire campaign. it seems the economy is a huge issue for voters and we will likely see that as we head into super tuesday tomorrow. nikki haley has also hedged some of her language, hasn't she, when it comes to a pledge to support the eventual republican nominee. what has she said? you eventual republican nominee. what has she said?— has she said? you are right, normally _ has she said? you are right, normally it _ has she said? you are right, normally it is _ has she said? you are right, normally it is assumed - has she said? you are right, normally it is assumed that l has she said? you are right, - normally it is assumed that whoever wins the republican presidential nomination will then receive the support of the other potential candidates. but nikki haley has said she no longer feels candidates. but nikki haley has said she no longerfeels bound by a pledge that requires all gop contenders to support the party's eventual nominee in order to participate in if debates. it had been made a prerequisite for all candidates and nearly every major contender signed except forformer contender signed except for former president donald contender signed except forformer president donald trump, the current front runner, who ended up skipping

the debates. front runner, who ended up skipping the debates-— the debates. thank you for that u date, the debates. thank you for that update. we _ the debates. thank you for that update, we appreciate - the debates. thank you for that update, we appreciate it. - uk chancellor jeremy uk chancellorjeremy hunt is under growing pressure to introduce tax cuts in the budget on wednesday, likely to be the last budget before the general election. some backbench conservative mps want to see taxes lowered from current levels. mr hunt hinted he would do that but only in a responsible way. our political correspondent hannah miller reports. in homes across the country, and public services on the ground, it can seem like everyone is crying out for cash. we have got roads full of potholes. are you confident that the chancellor will be persuaded to give you more money to spend on housing in the budget in a few weeks' time? well, i'm doing everything that i can. i mean, short of laying siege to his own home. well, i want us to be, you know, l cutting taxes in a responsible way. under pressure from backbenchers — and with less money to play with than he'd hoped for — the chancellor's scrabbling around

for ways to pay for a tax cut on a scale that voters will notice. today, mr speaker, i'm going to cut the main 12% rate of employee national insurance. last year, he chose to cut national insurance contributions — and it's thought he may do that again. a tax cut for workers that brings no benefit to pensioners. the number crunching going on inside number 11 is not just about the state of the nation's finances — it's a political calculation, as well. under the rules the government has set for itself, there's a limited amount of money for the chancellor to spend. do people want to see more going into public services, or more cash in their own back pocket? while the government is today announcing £360 million for manufacturing, investing in medicines research and zero—carbon aircraft, labour say they would have a focus on getting young people into work — with careers advisers, mental—health support and new technical excellence colleges to cut youth unemployment.

businesses say those are welcome, but there's more that could be done to encourage growth. we'd like to see the rising tide lift all boats, and measures in the budget such as changing vat on international visitors, changes to the vat threshold, and changes to business rates that can actually help all businesses grow and prosper. whatever the chancellor chooses to do on wednesday, the tax burden is historically high. it's pretty much impossible to imagine that he can do anything to prevent households from paying more tax than in 2019, and that may come with a political price. hannah miller, bbc news. finally this half hour i wanted to show you some amazing pictures out the us. take a look at this. imagine driving into this. it's a tumbleweed swarm that has rolled into neighbourhoods in utah and nevada. roads and cars were covered by thousands of the invasive weeds

after a strong spring storm hit the region. homes south of salt lake city also got overtaken by the weeds which formed piles up to three metres high in some places. the non—native weed, called the russian thistle, was introduced to the us in the 19th century and is seen as a symbol of the american west. stay with us here on bbc news. hello again. some of us got off to a frosty and also a foggy start to the day. that's now lifting quite nicely. and most of us will have a dry day, but there is some rain in the forecast. we've got a weather front draped across the northern isles that will bring rain on and off through the day. and also rain which has been coming in from the southwest that's moving northwards and eastwards. but in between we do have the sunshine. at times the rain in shetland will drift towards 0rkney and we also have the rain

which has been coming into the southwest, pushing northeastwards with cloud building ahead of it and the wind picking up in the southwest and the english channel. temperatures seven to about 11 degrees. through this evening and overnight this band of rain continues to push northwards and eastwards. you can see the rain coming back into northern ireland by the end of the night. and we also have some heavy showers which could be thundery in the channel islands drifting in the direction of hampshire. these are overnight lows, but actually as the cloud and rain pushes northwards and eastwards, temperatures will rise by a degree 01’ so. so into tomorrow. we've got this weather front draped across us. we also have high pressure out towards the east and as the wet front bumps into the high, pressure really is a fairly weak affair. so we've got some showers across the far north east of scotland, a lot of dry weather. and then we've got some showery rain moving out of northern ireland

into western scotland, western parts of england and wales. the showers that came into hampshire overnight look likely to drift over towards the southeast. they could be heavy and thundery. and these are our temperatures, 6 to 12 degrees, but windy through the north channel and western scotland. as we head into wednesday, high pressure is effectively blocking all these fronts coming in from the atlantic. there will be quite a bit of cloud at times across eastern scotland and eastern parts of england. push further west, this is where we'll see the lion's share of the sunshine. but having said that will be some showers and a bit more cloud at times across northern ireland and also south west england. temperatures six to about 13 degrees, and it will be breezy in northern ireland and also western areas too. towards the end of the working week there'll be a lot of dry weather around. will be one or two showers at times in the west. but what you find is after chilly starts, these temperatures are roughly where they should be at this stage in march.

this is bbc news, the headlines: us vice president kamala harris calls for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict between israel and hamas. she also urged israel to "significantly increase the flow of aid" into gaza. the news comes as israel says it will not attend truce talks in cairo. a state of emergency is declared in the capital of haiti after armed gangs carry out major jail breaks, freeing thousands of inmates. night curfews are in force until wednesday. france is to enshrine abortion rights into its constitution

as a �*guaranteed freedom'. it's the first country in the world to protect the right to end a pregnancy in its basic law. polls show around 85% of the french public support the reform. let's start in the middle east. a senior hamas official has told the bbc that israel's continuing bombardment in gaza means it cannot provide a list of surviving israeli hostages. israel says that without such a record it won't attend this week's planned peace talks in cairo. on sunday, the us vice—president, kamala harris, said a ceasefire deal was on the table and hamas should agree to it. given the immense scale of suffering in gaza, there must be an immediate cease fire... crowd cheers ..for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table.

this will get the hostages out and get a significant amount