i first heard the news of when i first heard the news of jacob's death, i was crushed and shattered. emergency workers in taiwan are still trying to reach around 600 people trapped by wednesday's earthquake. hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the us has welcomed news that israel will allow three humanitarian corridors into gaza, following a phone call between president biden and the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. for the first time since the start of the israel—gaza war, israel will temporarily reopen the erez crossing in northern gaza. ashdod port will also be opened for humanitarian deliveries. and more aid trucks from jordan will be allowed to cross israel to gaza. the call between mr biden and mr netanyahu was their first since an israeli air strike killed

7 international aid workers from the charity group world central kitchen, sparking international outrage. the white house is urging israel to allow a "dramatic" increase of aid into gaza within hours or days. sean dilley reports. in the heart of the white house, a phone call with israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu and a clear message from the us president that he is patience is running low. joe biden told his counterpart that israel must do more immediately to protect civilians and aid workers in gaza if he wants american support to continue. it is no secret that tensions between the two leaders have been bubbling for quite some time. the us is israel's most powerful ally. the us is israel's most powerfulally. in the us is israel's most powerful ally. in his hardest criticism yet, joe biden called

the growing humanitarian crisis unacceptable said he expects benjamin netanyahu to take steps towards an immediate ceasefire. steps towards an immediate ceasefire-— steps towards an immediate ceasefire. , , ., ceasefire. the president made it clear and — ceasefire. the president made it clear and our _ ceasefire. the president made it clear and our policies - ceasefire. the president made it clear and our policies with i it clear and our policies with respect to gaza will be dependent upon our assessment of how well the israelis make changes and implement changes to make the situation in gaza better for the palestinian people. better for the palestinian eo - le. better for the palestinian --eole. ., . people. reporter: how much time are ou people. reporter: how much time are you giving _ people. reporter: how much time are you giving them _ people. reporter: how much time are you giving them to _ people. reporter: how much time are you giving them to make - are you giving them to make these — are you giving them to make these changes and implement these — these changes and implement these concrete steps?- these changes and implement these concrete steps? again, we would meet _ these concrete steps? again, we would expect to _ these concrete steps? again, we would expect to see _ would expect to see announcements and changes in coming hours and days. fix, announcements and changes in coming hours and days.- coming hours and days. a clear messaue coming hours and days. a clear message and — coming hours and days. a clear message and one _ coming hours and days. a clear message and one israel - coming hours and days. a clear message and one israel has - coming hours and days. a clear l message and one israel has been quick to hear. within hours israel is that it had approved more humanitarian routes to increase aid to gaza. the erez gate will be temporarily opened his in the first time since the war. more will enter through kerem shalom crossing. this was

sent 78 workers were killed in an israeli austrac. among the dead three british citizens working to distribute food. israel said their deaths were tragic mistakes, for the families of the dead, it is a claim they do not accept. they were in the — claim they do not accept. they were in the conflicted - claim they do not accept. they were in the conflicted side, - were in the conflicted side, controlled by the idf stop they were following all the rules and procedures. which israel is laid out. they've never lost a person since opening their doors so we felt reasonably confident that he could accomplish the mission safely. i grew up without having a father... and now my grandson will grow up without having his father. ., ., , father. the united nations said 580 dru~s father. the united nations said 580 drugs will _ father. the united nations said 580 drugs will be _ father. the united nations said 580 drugs will be needed - father. the united nations said 580 drugs will be needed every day to support civilians in gaza. right now though, any

progress is being welcomed by those who desperately need food, water and medicine. sean dilley, bbc news. our reporter will vernon sent this update, from washington. this was quite a dramatic intervention byjoe biden. for many weeks and months now, the president has shown increased frustration with the way the israelis are waging this war and it appears those tragic deaths of the seven aid workers in gaza on monday they have been the final straw. in that focal, president biden essentially gave an ultimatum to benjamin netanyahu that us policy on gaza could change if israel does not improve the humanitarian situation and protect aid workers in gaza. and that was a significant shift in us policy. this was the first time that washington has tried to leverage american aid in order to influence the

conduct of the war. an initial signs suggest that perhaps there is some sort of shift in israel now. we will have to see what happens in the hours and days ahead but perhaps that us tactic is beginning to have an effect. we saw that announcement that three aid corridors will be reopened or widened, but i think now the americans were want the israelis to do even more and to take concrete steps to demonstrate that they are protecting civilian life. of course, president biden is under huge pressure here in the us. there is a growing chorus of voices in congress from his own party he was saying that america should put more conditions attached conditions to the aid it sends to israel. the us is a supply of military equipment to israel and provides free $.8 billion of military aid to the country annually. —— three point aid. also many ordinary voters, many

traditionally democrats, they too are unhappy with the biden administration's support for israel and in a crucial election year, when the polls are more or less neck and neck, that would be a huge concern for the white house. the parents of the american—canadian man who was among the 7 aid workers killed in the israeli airstrike in gaza, have told the bbc they regard it as a " ' cr|me" john flickinger and sylvia labrecque paid tribute to their son, jacob flickinger, as a loyal and devoted humanitarian worker. they told our correspondent in washington, tom bateman, they rejected israel's explanation of a tragic mistake and have called for an independent investigation. the idf knew exactly who they were and where they were and they were targeted as they were leaving, after they dropped the food aid at a known humanitarian warehouse.

they were chased down, in a sense, after the first vehicle was hit, people fled from that vehicle and they were targeted again. the idf continued firing on trucks that were clearly marked with the bright logo of the world central kitchen. they continued firing until all aid workers were dead. israel claims it was a tragic accident and i think there needs to be an independent investigation. if it is a tragic accident, as they claim, then i think the idf is inept and incompetent and i think israel owes the families and the world an explanation. do you accept that explanation they have given so far that they say, that it was a mistake? no, i think that is a joke. they say it

to protect themself. but, i mean, you know, i think it was meant. they wanted to do it in a way that they want to keep on starving refugees out there. when you heard the israeli prime minister say that this happens in war, in relation to the death of your son and these other aid workers, what went through your mind? that is an irresponsible comment. anyone looking at the situation, 200 aid workers killed delivering in the process of delivering food aid to starving populations. what does that look like to you? it looks like using food as a weapon. and i know this is a few days in and i cannot imagine how things are feeling for you. how do you feel about the hole this leaves in your life

going ahead now? there is definitely a hole in our hearts. there is definitely a hole in my heart. when i first heard the news ofjacob's death as i said i was crushed and shattered and what i thought of immediately was sandy, jacob's life partner and his son who is only 18 months old. their dreams have been completely shattered. the only thing that i think will help us tremendously is jasper. knowing that through jasper there is still part ofjacob's life, you know? and that is one main reason why we are doing what we are doing right now. i'm an old man. sandy is a young woman. jacob was a young man and sandy is a young woman, they had their whole lives ahead of them.

so what my mind went to was that... ..all of his hopes and dreams, sandy's hopes and dreams for the future, the life they were building together was destroyed. my father was killed. my father was us military and served in world war ii, the korean war. he was a fighter pilot and died when my mother was pregnant with me, i never met him and i grew up without having a father. and now my grandson will grow up without having his father. let's get some of the day's other news now. a new york court has sentenced a british billionaire to three years' probation and a $5 million fine for insider trading. joe lewis, the founder of private equity firm, tavistock group, and former owner of tottenham hotspur football club, had pleaded guilty

to passing stock tips to his girlfriend, friends and employees, including several private jet pilots. the 87 year—old was granted leniency on the basis of his age and willingness to cooperate with the court. boeing has paid alaska airlines $160 million in initial compensation, after a panel blew out of one of its 737 max 9 planes. the airline said it expected more to come. the compensation covers loss of business after boeing grounded all of its max 9 fleet for three weeks. no one was injured in the incident. a federal investigation is continuing. thieves in los angeles have made off with at least $30 million from a cash storage facility in one of the biggest heists on record. no details have been shared about how the heist was pulled off and police have no suspects.

in taiwan emergency workers are still trying to reach around 600 people either trapped in highway tunnels or cut off in remote areas after wednesday's earthquake. almost all are guests and staff of a remote hotel who are unable to leave because of damaged roads. ten people were killed and more than 1,000 injured, after the island's biggest quake in more than a quarter of a century. strict building regulations in taiwan helped prevent a major catastrophe, as our correspondent, rupert wingfield hayes, reports. in a high valley gorge in the eastern mountains of taiwan, a badly injured survivor of yesterday's quake is winched aboard a rescue helicopter. down below another team works frantically to free someone trapped in a massive rock fall. the huge rescue effort in the mountains here in eastern taiwan is relentless and exhausting. but a steady stream

of survivors have been emerging all day. they are being brought to this dressing station to have their injuries assessed by teams of paramedics. their wounds are quickly cleaned and bandaged, but the mental scars may take much longer to heal. i asked this singaporean couple to describe what they've been through. your worst nightmare coming true. it's like they show in the movies. you never think you are going to experience it. we were in the tunnel when it happened and we felt the earth tremble and we just held on to each other for i don't know how long, until it passed. and so we stayed there overnight but the night was a terrible, terrible ordeal with aftershocks, tremors and rocks falling every few minutes. so these are more rescue teams heading up into the mountains here behind me. this is called taroko gorge,

and this is a very famous tourist spot, it's a very narrow, deep gorge that runs way up into the mountains here. and this is where most of the more than 600 people now listed as trapped are thought to be. this lady has run a little restaurant at the mouth of the gorge here for more than 30 years. she has experienced many quakes living here before, but none prepared herfor this one. "it was completely different," she says. "so much of the mountain has come down. "this morning there were still rocks falling over here. "when i was sleeping last night there was an aftershock "and as soon as it hit, i leapt up and i ran outside." in hualien city, the buildings badly damaged by yesterday's quake still pose a serious threat. frantic work has been going on all day to shore them up and stop them from toppling over. here too, the physical scars from the quake will soon be removed. but not the memory of what it

felt like for the people who experienced it. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in hualien, eastern taiwan. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

the senior british conservative mp, william wragg, has reportedly admitted passing phone numbers of some fellow mps to a person he met on a gay dating app. speaking to the times, mr wragg apologised and said he was scared the individual would have compromising things on him. the bbc has attempted to contact mr wragg. around 12 people working in westminster are believed to have been targeted, all receiving unsolicited whatsapp messages from suspicious mobile numbers. 0ur political correspondent, hannah miller, reports. good afternoon, prime minister. good afternoon.

questioning the prime minister last week, the senior conservative mp, william wragg. now reported to be at the centre of a romance scam that targeted some of the most powerful people in the country. william wragg told the times newspaper he handed over the personal phone numbers of colleagues to a person he met on the dating app grindr. he apologised, reportedly saying... among the victims, one former mp who last month received this message from a person going by the name of charlie. the former mp told me "it seemed so realistic". the last part of that message was "westminster misses you", and that was basically something thatjust friends usually do say anyway

to make me feel better. i was embarrassed, thinking i'm speaking to someone who knows who i am. the messages continue and the former mp admits he doesn't have the number saved. that reassured him for a while, but it turned out not to be true. when the attacker went on to send a sexually explicit image, the former mp blocked the number. tonight, after william wragg made his disclosure to the times, the former mp says he feels awful for his friend. "will is just a victim as much as the rest of us," he said. "i hope the authorities can find out who it was." for now, the scale of the scam and who is behind it remains unclear, with the website politico reporting there are at least 12 victims. as leicestershire police said they have opened an investigation into malicious communications targeting one person in their area, a parliamentary spokesperson said they take cyber security

extremely seriously and work closely with the government in response to such incidents. hannah miller, bbc news. here rail passengers are being warned of major disruption, as the latest wave of strikes by thousands of train drivers starts today. i6 rail companies are carrying out industrial action over the next four days, which is likely to lead to cancellations, delays and no services in some areas. 0ur transport correspondent, katy austin reports. a series of strikes on the railway began in the summer of 2022 and while several despairs of vendor, the one between train drivers into the as live union and more than a dozen train companies continues. a band started yesterday and carries on until tuesday although sunday is not included. that is likely to cause some last—minute

cancellations. than a handful of strike action is today. different ones tomorrow. it is another strike day on monday, again effecting a different list of train companies. they will all run a limited service or no trades at all on instructors. settlement feels far away. instructors. settlement feels faraway. new instructors. settlement feels far away. new year was the last time an offer was rejected and things have not moved.- time an offer was rejected and things have not moved. when a government _ things have not moved. when a government refuses _ things have not moved. when a government refuses to - things have not moved. when a government refuses to talk - things have not moved. when a government refuses to talk to l government refuses to talk to employers he hasn't spoken to in eight months. my people have not had a pay rise in half a decade and unless we maintain the profile of this, we are trapped in the cycle to do this to maintain the voice of the people we represent. the group representing — people we represent. the group representing train _ people we represent. the group representing train companies i representing train companies insists he wants to find a resolution.— insists he wants to find a resolution. ~ ., ., resolution. with three out of the four union _ resolution. with three out of the four union to _ resolution. with three out of the four union to represent l the four union to represent people who work for the railway and we want to find a solution to this dispute. we have is that it cannot continue on as we. we need the aslef to accept

that it we. we need the aslef to accept thatitis we. we need the aslef to accept that it is a severe situation. a strike on the underground on monday has been called off offer many passages around the country more misery to come over the next few days and once again is to check yourjourney before setting off. katy austin, bbc news. some nato countries along russia's border are calling on their western allies, including those further afield, to bring back mandatory military service as a deterrent to moscow's war on ukraine. estonia's prime minister kaja kallas says conscription is essential to winning the war. 0ur europe correspondent nick beake is in estonia's second largest city tartu, with more on how the war in ukraine is changing military preparedness. this city, tartu, is actually a european capital of culture this year and that status is reflected in the genteel and relaxed vibe this place has. certainly there is no sense of any panic and when you talk

to people here you do not pick up on real concern that there could the russian aggression anytime soon. but certainly here in estonia they say their neighbours do pose a real threat to the country and that is why they have this system of conscription and why they are actually asking other european allies to follow suit and to boost their own military service programmes. but also if you listen to the prime minister here, in our interview with her she was saying that the best thing nato allies could do at this moment is to boost their own spending on defence to hit that figure of 2%. the reality is, though, that this year by nato's own admission only about two—thirds of the 32 countries in the club are set to hit that benchmark figure and that is of concern to the likes of estonia and the other two baltic countries and other nations on russia's doorstep because they say that by boosting military funding, that is the best way to provide deterrents to vladimir putin

and, of course, if there were to be an attack, best way of making sure their country's military are in the best possible shape to respond to it. of course, russia for its part rejects any sort of notion that it is looking to attack a nato country at all. weather forecasters are predicting what they call an extremely active 2024 atlantic hurricane season. forecasters at colorado state university are projecting 23 named storms — five of which will be major hurricanes. last year, there were 3 major hurricanes and 20 named storms — the fourth greatest number of named storms since 1950. the most damaging, idalia, tore up the west coast of florida and made landfall as a category 3 hurricane. it is never good news when it

comes to hurricane season and we dread a seasonal focus where we dread a seasonal focus where we have to put out high numbers because of la nina. however this year has seen the potential for london had to develop over such a warm ocean and it is because concern was we never feel good looking at those indicators and you hope that things will work out fine and that these storms will miss land, which i would like to reiterate does happen. a piece of boxing memoribilia from one of the greatest fights ever is going up for auction. these are muhammad ali's white satin boxing trunks from his epic, thrilla in manila bout, with rival, joe frazier. it's expected they could sell for up to $6 million. he wore them in his bruising victory over frazier, these shows are one of only�*s iconic designs. —— ali. it is

something he walked throughout his career. you can see it is made especially for muhammed ali and we have done a process called photo matching we have lined minute details of threads and different wrinkles into the shores to authenticate them back to the match in 1975. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. the weather will be throwing all sorts at us over the next few days — some wet weather, some warm weather and some windy weather, particularly driven by storm kathleen, a storm named by the irish weather service, for impacts it will have in the republic of ireland over the weekend. but for northern and western parts of the uk, it will bring gales and the risk of disruption. here is storm kathleen developing, still well away to the southwest of our shores, but low pressure already in charge of the scene

for friday. rain and snow across scotland that tending to peter out, but more rain pushing into southern scotland, later. for northern ireland, bands of showery rain with sunny spells in between. england and wales seeing a day of sunny spells and showers. it will be quite windy, particularly around western and southern coasts, but pretty warm — 15 degrees for belfast, 18 for norwich. still cold in the north of scotland, but it will turn milder here, as we go through friday night. further bands of heavy rain driving northwards, turning increasingly windy around some western parts, but a very mild start to the weekend. down towards the south, 12 or 13 degrees, first thing on saturday. so storm kathleen, this deep area of low pressure, well to the west of us, but coming close enough to bring some very strong winds, and with those winds coming from the south, well, they will be pulling some really warm air into the mix. it is likely that saturday will be the warmest day of the year so far, with some outbreaks of rain moving northwards across scotland, showers following on behind,

some decent sunny gaps in between, but i think it is the strength of the wind that could cause some issues, especially around western coasts. we'll see gusts of 50, 60, maybe 70 mph in exposed spots. so that could cause some travel disruption, maybe a little bit of damage. temperature—wise, though, well, values up to 20 or 21 degrees in eastern england, and certainly much, much warmer than it has been across the north of scotland. now, storm kathleen, this area of low pressure continuing to track to the northwest of us as we move through saturday night into sunday. still a lot of isobars squeezing together on this chart for sunday, so still very windy, the strongest winds up towards the northwest of scotland, where there will be gales. yes, there'll be some sunny spells, but there'll be some heavy, perhaps thundery, showers, and it's going to be a windy day for all of us. not quite as warm on sunday — temperatures between 10 and 17 degrees.

live from london, this is bbc news. a new law in the uk allows employees to request flexible working from day one of employement. from the collapse of the bridge in baltimore to the situation in the panama canal and the red sea, we examine the continued threats to global shipping. and remember the internet of things? i'll talk to a company that's developed battery—free printable sensor tags to monitor everyday products from sources

to stores and homes. hello, i'm lukwesa burak. welcome to bbc news. changes to employees' rights to ask for flexible working are due to come into force in the uk tomorrow, saturday, when the employment relations act 2023 becomes law. the new legislation removes the requirement for an employee to have 26 weeks' continuous service before they can make a formal flexible working request. this means the right to request flexible working becomes a day—one right. after experiencing discrimination as a new mother, victoria usherfounded her own company in 2010 and made sure flexibility was embedded into its dna.