the fourth obstacle to peace is israeli prime minister benjamin minister benjamin netanyahu, who has all too frequently bowed to the demands of the extremists. at least 60 migrants are feared dead after an overloaded dinghy breaks down trying to reach europe. also coming up on the world today — elon musk�*s spacex mission is hailed a success, even though the starship rocket is lost on re—entry. welcome to the world today. i'm lewis vaughan jones. the uk government has released a new definition

of extremism in order, it says, to try to stop organisations which promote hatred, violence and intolerance. and there has been a backlash to it. it will be used to help decide if groups are able to receive public money. critics say the measure threatens freedom of speech. here is a look at it. this includes those who intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve those aims. five groups will have their activities measured against this new definition. speaking from the commons, michael gove outlined some of the reasons behind this change in definition. our democracy and our values of inclusivity and tolerance are under challenge from extremist groups which are radicalising our young people and driving greater polarisation within and between communities to further their own ends. in order to protect our democratic values and enhance social cohesion, it is important both to reinforce

what we all have in common and to be clear and precise in identifying the dangers posed by extremism. as our new definition makes clear, extremism can lead to the radicalisation of individuals, deny people their full rights and opportunities, suppress freedom of expression, incite hatred, weaken social cohesion and ultimately it can lead to acts of terrorism. we also heard from the leader of the opposition labour party, sir keir starmer. do we need to review the situation? yes, we do. are there new threats? yes, there are. but what's most important is that this is truly cross—party, and this'll be the test of the government. are they really reaching out to other parties to make something, this is something which can go forward as a matter of consensus or are they going to try and use this for party political processes, point—scoring as we go into the election? in a moment, we'll speak live to the government's indepndent adviser on anti—semitism, but first, let's hear from a former independent adviser to the government on defining islamaphobia.

we all want to tackle extremism, and i personally have been- at the forefront of tackling i extremism for over a decade. but i think the secretary- of state's proposed definition is problematic on many levels. firstly, it hasn't obtained a broad consensus, - so as a result, this is not- going to have a statutory backing. and it will create disproportionate impact that so, _ for instance, people or whole groups who may not usually fall— into extremism will bei labelled as extremism. and i think that's quite - problematic, because at a time when our society is already pretty divided and there _ is an extreme level— of hatred in our communities, it's important that those - in positions of power actually bring people together, _ obtain a consensus on what extremism is so that we can actually - all collectively tackle extremism.

sadly, i think the secretary - of state's definition and the work i that's been done to date doesn't. have an extremism strategy behind it so that we can all actually- realise when it will be implemented, whether it will be - implemented consistently. i because currently there's a dangerl that actually some people and some groups may be disproportionately impacted by this definition - whereas others might go scot—free. let's speak tojohn mann, the government's independent adviser on anti—semitism. thank you very much for coming on the programme. what is your response to this change of the definition? i5 to this change of the definition? is a tweak of the definition. it seems to meet the tweak is reasonable enough. i think the real challenge to government is that we are seeing an increase in polarisation between communities and in society. and the role of the communities department

in government has got to be to bring communities together and bring the nation together. and so what is essential is a clear plan of engaging across communities and bringing communities together. and in my role, without question, if there is polarisation, one of the big losers is thejewish community. tiny community, 300,000 people out of a population of around 60 million. thejewish community needs people working across community, and that has to be the critical objective of government. does this new definition _ objective of government. does this new definition help _ objective of government. does this new definition help that _ objective of government. does this new definition help that objective l new definition help that objective or hinder it? i new definition help that ob'ective or hinder mi or hinder it? i don't think it does not... or hinder it? i don't think it does not- -- it's _ or hinder it? i don't think it does not... it's neutral— or hinder it? i don't think it does not... it's neutral in _ or hinder it? i don't think it does not... it's neutral in the sense . not... it's neutral in the sense that it's a definition of extremism. and extremists are a problem wherever they are and we need to challenge extremists and deal with them. but as well as that, the vast

majority of people in this country, overwhelming majority, are not extremists. we need to be doing far more to bring those people together. that keep in defeating extremists is for the vast majority of normal people to stand up and say we are not tolerating extremism. and if you see an extremist in their midst, for them to cull it out. that's the real way in which we can tackle extremism, and i think that needs to be the key purpose of government and of all the political parties in parliament in this country. we have been reporting _ parliament in this country. we have been reporting on _ parliament in this country. we have been reporting on the _ parliament in this country. we have been reporting on the growing - parliament in this country. we have i been reporting on the growing number of incidents over the last six months or so. what is your experience of the change in the uk? well, there have been far more racist incidents, both against the jewish community and against the muslim community. i mean, my expertise and experience dealing

with the jewish expertise and experience dealing with thejewish community is not just have there been more, but there have been more serious and egregious offences against people. not always criminal. some of the worst stuff is not criminal. it is isolating people. it's targeting people and intimidating them. sometimes in the workplace, sometimes it's cool. and thatis workplace, sometimes it's cool. and that is very difficult to get on top of. you know, if someone, for example, is shunned at work and no one speaks to them, that's not a matter for the police, one speaks to them, that's not a matterfor the police, but one speaks to them, that's not a matter for the police, but it should be a huge concern for the government and for the country because if that becomes the norm, then we are going to have increased polarisation, increased separation and that's very, very bad for the communities themselves such as thejewish community but also very bad for the country itself. community but also very bad for the country itself-— country itself. 0k, thank you very much for coming _ country itself. 0k, thank you very much for coming on _ country itself. 0k, thank you very much for coming on the _ country itself. 0k, thank you very i much for coming on the programme.

some breaking news to bring you from here in the uk, is about the day of the upcoming general election. the prime minister has ruled out holding a general election on may the 2nd. the reason that date was and if you get is because that is when voters are set to go to the polls for local elections. previously, the prime minister had not definitively said that there would be no election in may, but now an interview with itv news west country he appears to basically have ruled it out. he was talking about the elections for police and crime commissioners, local counsellors and mayors across the country, saying they are important elections and then he was asked with there be a general election on that day, on the same day, and he said there won't be an election on that day. now you may remember the prime minister had previously indicated that his working assumption was that it would be towards the second half of the

year, i think emma was the phrase so we had a previously hinted that it would more likely be later rather than earlier this year but this now is the first time that that day of may the 2nd, that they of local elections, now seemingly won't be holding a general election on that same day. the prime minister appeared to be ruling that out. now to the israel—gaza war. the leader of the us senate has made the strongest criticism yet by a senior american official of benjamin netanyahu's handling of the war in gaza. chuck schumer said israel should hold new elections and suggested mr netanyahu risked making his country a "pariah." republicans have already hit back at his words. schumer is one of america's highest—ranking jewish politicians and a close ally of president biden. here's some of what chuck schumer had to say in the senate. the fourth major obstacle to peace is israeli

prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who has all too frequently bowed to the demands of extremists like ministers smotrich and ben—gvir and the settlers in the west bank. well, the state department has responded to schumer�*s comments, stressing they are not a reflection of president biden's position. obviously, congress is an independent branch of government. i think the government of israel understands quite well how the us government works. they interact frequently, notjust with members of the executive branch, but with members of congress, including senator schumer, who has travelled to israel a number of times over the years. and i'm sure they fully understand that he speaks for himself. he's obviously someone we are in close contact with, but not a statement from the executive branch. mr netanyahu's likud party has responded to senator schumer, saying "israel is not a banana republic", but a "proud democracy" that elected its prime minister. the statement said a senator "should respect israel's elected government and not undermine it, even more so in wartime".

israel announced plans to push ahead with an offensive against homes with an offensive against hamas in rafah despite widespread international concern about the safety of civilians there. the israeli military wants to move people out of rafah and into what they're calling "humanitarian islands" in the middle of the gaza strip. it's not clear yet what these islands will actually look like or how they'll operate. there are around 1.5 million people in rafah. benjamin netanyahu says he won't bow to international pressure. translation: there are international pressures to prevent _ us from entering rafah . and completing the work. as prime minister of israel, i i push away these pressures. we have been doing this successfully for five months already. _ this is record time _ in the history of israel's wars. i will continue to push away the pressures. i we will enter rafah. 0ur correspondent mark lowen is injerusalem.

i think all of this showing once again the incredibly fractious relationship at the moment between the israeli government and the us administration, and i think that that would worsen still if the israeli military move into rafah. i think with these comments suggesting that there would be some kind of humanitarian islands set up for the people evacuated from rafah, that shows that the israeli government is planning an operation in rafah. and you heard that as you heard there from benjamin netanyahu. but even president biden just a week ago said that would be a red line if the israeli military moves into rafah. so, you know, it is a very tense relationship at the moment, and it could could be set to get even worse if the incursion into rafah begins. benjamin netanyahu is staking his political survival on managing the conduct of this war. he's not mr security any more because he left this country vulnerable to its worst attack in its history. so he has staked his political

survival on his hardline opposition to a palestinian state and on defeating hamas. but we're in the sixth month of this war, and no senior hamas leader has been killed or captured yet. there are still 130 hostages that have not been returned. netanyahu's under intense political pressure here in israel among an increasingly war—weary public, although the majority of israelis still support the military action of some sort. and he's under a lot of opposition from within the cabinet itself. so, you know, he is now pushing a fairly consistent line and a consistent message. but it is not one which chimes with the us. and i think that, you know, as you see also the domestic pressure in the us growing as we go towards the the election later in the year there, particularly from arab—americans who are very frustrated with the biden administration's continued support for netanyahu, i think that if the israeli government pushes into rafah in a disorderly way, if there are mass casualties there,

calls will probably grow louder in america to start restricting us military aid to israel as well. so it's a very complex picture, and it is notjust what's happening on the ground in gaza. this has vast geopolitical ramifications, of course, as well. thanks to mark for that. a government spokesperson has confirmed that a royal air force plane carrying the defence secretary had its signaljammed as it flew near the russian territory of kaliningrad this week. this image released by the ministry of defence shows grant schapps on the plane during the journey in question. the electronic interference is understood to have happened on wednesday evening. mobile phones could no longer connect to the internet, and the aircraft was forced to use alternative methods to determine its location. the uk government says it isn't unusual for aircraft to experience this when flying near the russian territory. still to come on the world today, we'll be live on the ground in haiti as the un is trying to get some of its staff out of the country. and a huge leap for elon musk�*s spacex after a third test flight of its starship rocket.

around the world and across the uk, this is the world today on bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a 17—year—old boy's admitted killing a schoolgirl who was stabbed at a bus stop in south london. 15—year—old elianne andam was attacked in croydon in september on her way to school. during an appearance at the old bailey, the teenager, who can't be named because of his age, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but denied murder. the number of middle—aged people dying from cancer in the uk is at a 25—year low, according to new data. a study from cancer research uk found deaths among those aged 35—69 have fallen, thanks to screening, better treatments and policies aimed at reducing smoking. labour has set out plans to cap re—sale prices for concert tickets to crack down on people who buy them to list online at an inflated cost. sir keir starmer said access

to music, art and theatre should not be "at the mercy of ruthless ticket touts". the government says it's already introduced tough enough measures. you're live with bbc news. next, a charity says at least 60 people are feared to have died while trying to cross the mediterranean sea ona dinghy. 25 people were rescued. the survivors told an ngo they had set off from zawiya, on the libyan coast, last friday and were trying to reach italy. well, this is the latest incident in the mediterranean sea. the iom, the international organisation for migration, says that 2023 was the deadliest year for migrants since record began a decade ago. the un agency says at least 8565 people died on migration routes worldwide last year. the death toll represents an increase of 20% compared to 2022. let's cross now to alisha vaya from the migration charity

sos mediterranean. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme. pleasure, thanks for havinr me. the programme. pleasure, thanks for having me- what _ the programme. pleasure, thanks for having me. what we _ the programme. pleasure, thanks for having me. what we know _ the programme. pleasure, thanks for having me. what we know about - the programme. pleasure, thanks for| having me. what we know about what ha-nened having me. what we know about what happened here _ having me. what we know about what happened here in _ having me. what we know about what happened here in this _ having me. what we know about what happened here in this incident? - having me. what we know about what happened here in this incident? so i happened here in this incident? sr while happened here in this incident? 5r while our happened here in this incident? 5h while our crew was heading to a distressed case, they spotted a rubber boat from the bridge and they immediately put rescue boats at sea. they got to the riverboat and they realised that there were 25 people extremely weak, two of them unconscious, on this dinghy so they brought them back to the mother ship. that's where they were able to care for them. two of these unconscious people were never able to awaken, so they actually called the italian coastguard for a medical evacuation. that was done by

helicopter. the other survivors suffer from helicopter. the other survivors sufferfrom hypothermia, extreme dehydration, fuel burns due to the mix of gasoline and sea water. they are being taken care of by the medical team on board, and right now there were two more rescues that have been done by our ship, the ocean viking, so we have a total of 226 people, 224 people with the two people who were medically evacuated. and what about the scale of this, not just this and what about the scale of this, notjust this incident, but other incidents? , , , incidents? this scale is extremely horrific in this _ incidents? this scale is extremely horrific in this particular— incidents? this scale is extremely horrific in this particular case i horrific in this particular case because of the amount of missing people. so for the first rescue, the 25 people who were rescued were the only survivors out of about 85

people who have left libya, as you mentioned, and all of these other people, so around 60 people, have gone missing. they probably died of thirst, and they have left seven days ago so they spent seven days at sea with very little water, very little food and they most probably died of the condition of the journey, mainly not having drinkable water. so this is extremely new in the mediterranean to have this kind of situation where so people die when it's so little people make it all the way to the rescue or to the coast. we have a lot of knowledge of boats disappearing at sea, so it's not a new case, it's just that in this situation, they spent seven days at sea before being rescued. i'm afraid we have to leave it there, think you very much coming on there, think you very much coming on the programme, thank you. let's turn to haiti now, where the united nations says it's working to set up a humanitarian air

bridge to fly in aid from the dominican republic. a proposal to install a new leadership in haiti appears to be falling apart as some political parties rejected the plan to create a presidential council that would manage the transition. gangs now seemingly control much of the country. us secretary of state antony blinken says he hopes an international peacekeeping operation led by kenya could be in place soon. we should be in a place where that mission can go forward. it can, we believe, help reestablish security, take back control of the country from the gangs. meanwhile, the political transition's moving forward with this interim presidential council, with an interim prime minister, with these new bodies that are stood up, tracking towards elections. and that in turn creates a better environment in which we can actually get assistance in, get it people to who need it, get development moving again and create some opportunity for people. that was mr blinken there saying

he hoped that control of haiti could be taken back from the gangs. one of the most powerful gang leaders in haiti, jimmy sherizier, who is also known as "jimmy barbecue", says he will continue to fight for what he called haiti's liberation. he didn't indicate any willingness to work with any other party, whetherfrom haiti or overseas. meanwhile, the government of the dominican republic, which shares the island of hispaniola with haiti, has increased security. in a moment, we'll be speaking to an independentjournalist etienne cote—paluck live from port—au—prince, but first, here's this report from will grant on the border between haiti and the dominican republic. i'm afraid we cannot get that report right now. let's cross over to the capital port—au—prince to speak to independentjournalist etienne cote—paluck. thank you very much for coming on the programme. mi; thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on | the programme._ what thank you very much for coming on i the programme._ what is the programme. my pleasure. what is a situation there _ the programme. my pleasure. what is a situation there on _ the programme. my pleasure. what is a situation there on the _ the programme. my pleasure. what is a situation there on the ground? i the programme. my pleasure. what is a situation there on the ground? we l a situation there on the ground? we hear from the gang leaders with is

not a lot there is a political solution coming anytime soon. there mirht be solution coming anytime soon. there might be one — solution coming anytime soon. there might be one but _ solution coming anytime soon. there might be one but as _ solution coming anytime soon. there might be one but as you _ solution coming anytime soon. there might be one but as you said - solution coming anytime soon. there might be one but as you said it's i might be one but as you said it's already contested. so here in the streets of port—au—prince, a few blocks from the big place in downtown port—au—prince, there was an attack last weekend might be, heavy automatic firearms. but everything is calm. some businesses have opened it, but most of the offices and all the schools are still closed. we are all waiting at home to see how the criminal groups will react to the new political situation that is happening this week. �* ., situation that is happening this week. . ., ., ., week. and what about life for ordinary people _ week. and what about life for ordinary people trying - week. and what about life for ordinary people trying to i week. and what about life for ordinary people trying to get| week. and what about life for l ordinary people trying to get on with things, with against potentially in control? what is day—to—day life like? that potentially in control? what is day-to-day life like?- potentially in control? what is day-to-day life like? that is what reall is day-to-day life like? that is what really is the _ day-to-day life like? that is what really is the more _ day-to-day life like? that is what really is the more breaking i day-to-day life like? that is what| really is the more breaking aspect of this is that here most of the people live day to day life. they go

out and do what they can to bring food onto people's table during the evening. so every day of confinement like this is a really hard day for most of the population here in port—au—prince. but still it's better than taking to the streets for my people, so we are all waiting to see if those groups will still be violent again in the next few days. we heard some shots during the night yesterday evening, and they were next to the airport. we had a look at that because we still cannot have any flights out in port—au—prince. and let's focus on these gangs in the gang leader stand. seemingly in control, if they reject at the moment any kind of transitional council working with politicians, are you confident, do you see a way where they can be excluded from any process and a political power entity take over? 0r process and a political power entity

take over? or do you think they have to be in control or in charge in some way?— to be in control or in charge in somewa ? h ., , ., to be in control or in charge in somewa? , ., �*, some way? it's a good question. it's a big debate — some way? it's a good question. it's a big debate here _ some way? it's a good question. it's a big debate here in _ some way? it's a good question. it's a big debate here in haiti. _ some way? it's a good question. it's a big debate here in haiti. for- some way? it's a good question. it's a big debate here in haiti. for now, | a big debate here in haiti. for now, they are excluded from the negotiations, and some gang leaders said that they would reject everything that is discussed. 0thers everything that is discussed. others in political parties and ex—cons that were asked political statutes here in haiti, they are asking to be part of the council that is put in place to decide who is going to be the next prime minister, so we are all waiting for that. the latest news we are looking at today is the house of the police had has been, is burning right now. we don't know exactly what is happening with the police union just announce that right now while we speak. interesting. 0k, thank you very much

for being with us and bring us right up for being with us and bring us right up today, thank you. want to remind you of that breaking news the last half an hour that we have had confirmation from the prime minister here in the uk that they will not be a general election on may the 2nd. he had previously indicated that he was working on the assumption that a general election will be taking place in the second half of the year but had not ruled in or out any specific dates. there are local elections taking place on with his neck and he was asked whether they will be a general election as well and is now ruled out saying there won't be in election on that day. when more reaction coming up. this bbc news. hello. whilst many of us did have a lot of cloud and showery rain on thursday, not everywhere. we had some welcome drier and brighter weather across parts of the south—east of england, east anglia, too. this was the picture in suffolk.

i think over the next couple of days, we're still staying unsettled, though. so, through the day tomorrow, for friday, showery rain for some of us. still quite mild, particularly towards the south, slightly cooler air across the northern half of the uk. you can see the blue colours here, but the yellows and orange still with us further south and quite a few different weather fronts just drifting their way slowly eastwards. so, showery rain for this evening and tonight across much of scotland, a few showers for northern ireland, northern england, too. further south, some clearer spells, bit of a breeze blowing in later in the night. the next rash of heavy showers will work into wales, southern england as well. now, with the breeze, cloud and showers around, it's going to be a mild night — 10—11 in the south. further north, could just see a touch of frost in the most prone spots for scotland, but i think generally, there's going to be too much cloud and those outbreaks of rain. tomorrow, even a little bit of snow over the very highest mountains. an improvement in the weather for parts of northern ireland, into wales as well, certainly compared to today, but there will be a rash of sunshine and showers just drifting eastwards across england and wales through the day.

so a really hit—and—miss day — not as wet as thursday across scotland. still looking at 15 degrees down towards the south—east and east anglia, but single figures further north. now, it's through friday evening and overnight into saturday that most of the showers clear away, and under these clearer skies, it's going to be a cold night. we're likely to see a bit of frost across scotland, northern ireland and northern england. temperatures in the towns and cities here close to freezing, but in the countryside, it could be —3 or —4. so a bit of frost and some mist and fog patches here and there to start your day on saturday. then more cloud rolls in from the south—west, throwing a few blustery showers into northern ireland, perhaps wales and south—west england, whereas further north and east, you're more likely to stick with the sunnier spells for longer. so, 8—i3 degrees, so a touch down perhaps on what we've seen on thursday certainly. but as we head towards the second half of the weekend, we've still got a few weather fronts with us into sunday, so a bit of rain, i think, initially for eastern areas. that should clear away fairly quickly. there'll be more showers working in from the west later in the day, but i think in between, with the southerly breeze and some sunshine — shouldn't feel too bad.

and temperatures more widely across the board in those mid—teens, around 14—16 for most of us. bye— bye.

this is the world today from bbc news. the headlines. redefining extremism — the government here names groups that are a "cause for concern"

and could face restrictions. a senior us democrat says israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has lost his way and should call new elections. the children of some of the victims of the post office scandal seek compensation. and techno goes to unesco, as the rave scene in berlin gets added to the cultural heritage list. sta rt start with some breaking news. palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas has appointed his long—time adviser mohammed moustafa is the new prime minister. his predecessor resigned in february. the shake—up follows mounting pressure to reform the widely criticised body that governs part of the occupied west bank. i want to take you live now to tel aviv. we've