he misused party funds. and friendship never ends — the spice girls get back together to celebrate victoria beckham's 50th birthday. we start in the middle east where israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says the only way to secure the release of hostages in gaza is to increase the military pressure on hamas. in his message to mark thejewish holiday of passover, mr netanyahu vowed to hit hamas with painful blows. he said the army will launch a ground operation in the southern city of rafah, where more than a million

displaced palestinians are sheltering — and in the latest air strike on the city — 15 children of one family are among the dead. fergal keane now reports on the continued suffering in gaza. siren blares. the eyes of the world were on a bigger drama — played out in the skies above israel. but in gaza, nothing changed. this was rafah today, after 15 children from one family were killed in an air strike. translation: show me one man among them. l they're all children and women.

you can see my identity is completely erased with the deaths of my wife and children. a pregnant woman was among the dead. her baby daughter was saved in an emergency operation. a child born to a mother she will never know. there is the story of everyday death, and the story of what follows for the families caught in the shadows of death. nawara's husband abdulrahman was one of more than 70 civilians killed in an israeli raid to rescue hostages in february. these were the couple's children in the aftermath of their father's death. we went back to see nawara, now eight months pregnant

with her dead husband's child, and in grief, awaiting the arrival of a new life. nawara's words — the elegy of a wife and mother for all that's been lost. in central gaza, israeli forces hunt hamas. they're still launching attacks from tunnels and buildings. and thus the war rages on, sickness and hunger haunt gaza. these children in central gaza are queuing for food to try and feed entire families. many are weak, listless. the un says less than half

the amount of food needed is reaching the population. we have been coming here for six months, and we are completely dependent on the food charity. we come here to take food, to eat and feed the other children. in the north, where the threat of famine is most acute. amjad kanu, age three, suffers from kidney disease exacerbated by malnutrition. his six—year—old brother, ahmad, provides comfort for the youngster. souad has more than one sick child. her older boy has suspected cancer and in war ravaged gaza can't get the proper treatment.

such are the days and lives of gaza after six months of war. fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. at least five rockets are reported to have been fired from northern iraq towards a us military base across the border in syria. three of the rockets are believed to have hit the kharab al—jir base or nearby, causing minor damage. they were said to have been fired from the town of zummar. some iraqi media say the attack was launched by the shia popular mobilisation militia, which is backed by iran. they are also saying that a us fighterjet targeted a vehicle carrying rockets in zummar. i spoke to scott lucas, professor of american studies at the university of birmingham. he gave us his assessment on the reports of these rockets fired from northern iraq towards a us military base in syria. the media says this is not unexpected. early saturday there were explosions on an iraqi

base with pro—iranian militia. there was at least one pro iranian killed and eight wounded. some form of retaliation — and this appears to be retaliation was to be expected. firing a few rockets on an american base in syria more as a demonstration that i think is an escalation given that there is only minor damage and no casualties so far. in a wider sense, it could be significant. there were more than 150 attacks on bases with us personnel by around like militia ——iran—like since october seven. hamas, followed by israel's mass killings. those attacks stopped at the end of february. they stopped because the americans carried out air strikes on the iran—like militiamen. in the head of iran's force

which are responsible for operations in the region told the militias to back off. the question will be, is it simply a one—off attack is tehran going to say the militias, ok, you can resume periodic attacks on the americans at the risk of us retaliation and further inflaming the region. president volodymyr zelensky says the military aid package approved by the us house of representatives will give ukraine a chance of victory in its war against russia. he said it would help it retake the initiative. he pushed back at complaints that the us had spent too much on the war — saying ukraine was protecting freedom and democracy across europe. our correspondent in kyiv, james waterhouse, has the latest. a production line waiting for a presidential sign—off. freshly made artillery shells in this factory in pennsylvania, usa — now almost certain to make their way to a ukrainian battlefield, where there are holes instead of rounds.

after america threw its weight back behind ukraine the message here is "you make it, we'll use it." near kupiansk in the north—east it is the russians who are edging closer. translation: it's better now if we let them attack - and we defend but when we get the shells, drones, and whatever else in this package, we can turn things around. it's hoped this us aid will save ukrainian lives and cities like kyiv but it has been a painful wait. translation: our guys need help because they have - nothing to protect us. we always need help because without it, our enemy can advance further and can be in the centre of our city. of course it is not too late. in any case, it is needed, and whether it would be later or earlier, in any case it will help. there has been a constant flow of diplomats through kyiv

as they have tried to pave the way for this bill to be passed. "better late than never" is the reaction we are hearing this weekend. never would have meant almost certain defeat for ukraine. however, late still means it'll be difficult for kyiv to change momentum on the battlefield straightaway. translation: this aid will strengthen ukraine and send the kremlin a powerful signal that it will not be the second afghanistan. the united states will stay with ukraine and it will protect democracy in the world. this is a show of leadership and strength. while the west has wavered, russia has stayed committed to its invasion. ukraine needs to make america's return count to keep moscow and western doubt at bay. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. i'm joined now by normanj ornstein, emeritus scholar, at the american enterprise institute. norman, this us house vote

came with high political drama that will follow into the presidential race — can you untangle that for us a bit? sure. we've had a sure. we've had a very sure. we've had a very dysfunctional con- ress sure. we've had a very dysfunctional con-ress in a dysfunctional congress in a dysfunctional congress in a dysfunctional government that's been particularly true in the republican led house of representatives. this time historically, it was democrats managed against significant republican opposition at working with a very radical right speaker to get these bills to the floor and to pass the age ukraine. that's good news. the bad news is that it took many months with all of the damage that you've been talking about to make this happen. and we're still not there yet. the senate will have to act probably next tuesday then i think we will see this military aid move expeditiously to ukraine. but it was the remarkable achievement in a

place where we haven't seen many achievements. what comes next on the us political landscape after this vote — and how does it frame even the normal partisan back—and—forth in us politics? the speaker of the house in a very narrowly divided body has had real trouble from his own members, from the freedom caucus, the most radical right of a radical right party. we're still pending a motion to vacate the chair again. remember, he got there because the previous speaker kevin mccarthy was ousted by his own party. it's not likely that we will see a sudden lowering a bipartisan agreement. we're likely to see more gridlock and more conflict ahead. what we're looking towards in particular is, here we're in april, the presidential election is in november, we have a spending bill that keeps the government running until october one atop

the temptation for republicans to create chaos by shutting down the government on october one, chaos that they may cause but will often get blamed on the person who is in charge, the person who is in charge, the president and also to shutdown the federal government ability to oversee in election they could see a lot of interference is something that we're looking towards with a lot of trepidation. of course we're looking towards a lot of things, including trials of donald and the prospect that he could read with third parties with even more trepidation. norman, thank you for your interest site. normanj. ornstein, emeritus scholar, at the american enterprise institute. lets turn to one of the main stories developing in the uk — where the mp, mark menzies, who was suspended from the conservative party over allegations he misused campaign funds, is to quit as an mp at the next election. in a statement, mark meznies said "it has been an enormous privilege representing the people of fylde since 2010,

but due to the pressures on myself and my elderly mother i have decided to resign from the conservative party and will not stand at the forthcoming general election. this has been a very difficult week for me and i request that my family's privacy is respected." our political correspondent iain watson has been following the story. he'll sit as an independent. i can tell you... ican tell you... local party sources are pleased about that and by election rishi sunak will be pleased about that as well. perhaps less pleased about the publicity surrounding this mp. just to go back over the allegations troubled times alleged during the week that he used money needed for campaigning to pay for private medical bills without a more spectacularly to compensate the party. paying 6000 pounds to bar people from a flat he's been held. tonight you can comment on those allegations at all. he's disputed them. he said that because of

pressures on him and his elderly mother he will be resigning from the conservative party and standing down at the next election. the party has said that basically if you want to take this further they will cooperate with them. but because the money did not come from an official party account, therefore they could not conclude he had misused conservative party funds. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

ecuador�*s national prison agency say they are trying to establish who is behind the death of a prison director who died on sunday. his death comes as ecuadorians have been voting in a referendum to bolster security in response to a surge in violence by drugs gangs. measures include an expansion of military and police powers, that will allow the military to patrol the streets alongside the police.

they'll also signicantly boost gun controls and impose harsher prison sentences for "terrorism" and drug trafficking. president daniel noboha also wants to change the constitution so ecuadoreans wanted abroad for organised crime—related offences can be extradited. our correspondent says the prison directors death is part of the growing problem. unfortunately, this doesn't come as much of a surprise to a lot of people here in ecuador. the history would suggest that whenever somebody has tried to tackle organised crime or introduce topper measures to tackle gun violence often they have become targets of violence themselves. we see in this prison director killed today for them in the last week there's been two mayors killed this is all part of the bigger picture of rising violence, game criminality in ecuador. after last year we saw a presidential candidate who was assassinated. earlier this year a state of emergency was called up to one of the countries top

gang leaders escape from prison, which led to mass prison riots as well as lots of fighting in the streets. a rise and kidnappings like gang members. tells a bit more about the referendum is expected to happen next? this referendum was asking the people of ecuador to vote on toughening up security measures in the country. it included enshrining the military presence on the street to tackle gang violence. also measures like increasing prison sentences, allowing extradition for violent criminals. it is widely expected in the opinion polls before the vote suggest that these measures will pass. we're still waiting for that result this evening. the opinion in ecuador today has been mixed around this. i spoke to people who have been in favour of the new measures saying they think it will make them feel safer, it is got to the point where they can't even go out for meals or coffees without feeling like they're looking over their shoulder, worried about their safety. there is certainly people who are worried

about the implications of the security measures, particularly the human rights implications of them. i've spoken to some people have been victims even those who are not done anything wrong themselves with that there are concerns by human rights groups that giving more power to the military and the police could lead to increase in abuses like this. let's turn now to earth day and get an update on the key environmental issue facing the planet — climate change. earth day is an annual event on april 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection. it was first held on april 22, 1970 and now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally the official theme for 2024 is "planet vs. plastics." i'm joined now byjennifer marlon, senior research scientist, lecturer, and director of data science, yale university. jennifer has been gathering data globally with the help of meta to paint a picture of public awareness of the issue and tells us more.

jennifer, what does the data show us about the public�*s understanding and awareness of climate change? the data was collected from about 100,000 individuals and specifically we were focusing on extreme weather and vulnerability. we got some very interesting results indicating that a majority of people in most countries are now saying that they are experiencing unusually extreme weather. in the most extreme weather event about the others is extreme periods of heat it up longer heat waves. this is important because people are starting to feel the effects and experience can be a good teacher. we need to act more quickly to reduce carbon emissions. connecting the dots as — carbon emissions. connecting the dots as well. _ carbon emissions. connecting the dots as well. what - carbon emissions. connecting the dots as well. what are . carbon emissions. connectingj the dots as well. what are we seeing from this extreme weather events and the links

to, change in the scientific data? ~ �* , , , ., data? we're seeing very strong links between _ data? we're seeing very strong links between hot _ data? we're seeing very strong links between hot weather - data? we're seeing very strong links between hot weather and | links between hot weather and climate change. we know that burning of coal, oil and gas is leading to a build—up of heat trapping gases in the atmosphere, it's making the surface, the land, the oceans warmer. the warmer oceans are powering stronger storms, more wildfires, longer duration storms and wildfires. and even flooding because we have more humidity in the atmosphere. so the public is starting to feel the public is starting to feel the effects of these events. unfortunately, they are not connecting the dots primarily because the survey showing that there are still many people in many countries who say or notice that their local weather is changing but they don't understand that those local weather changes are connected to global climate changes. they don't understand that carbon emissions from cars and trucks

and industry and factories are actually causing the planet to warm. , ., ~' actually causing the planet to warm. , ., ~ ,, actually causing the planet to warm. , ., ~ i. ., warm. jennifer, thank you for aaivin warm. jennifer, thank you for giving us _ warm. jennifer, thank you for giving us that _ warm. jennifer, thank you for giving us that context - ensuring the results of your study. jennifer marlon, director of data science at yale university. the mayor of london, sadiq khan, has arranged an urgent meeting on monday with the metropolitan police commissioner to discuss the row over the way police treated ajewish man during a pro—palestinian protest in london earlier this month. prime minister — rishi sunak — said he was "appalled" by the incident. here's angus crawford. if i can ask you to stay there, please. thank you very much. gideon falter wants to cross the road — through a pro—palestine march. when the crowd is gone, i will happily escort you out. but he's told that's not possible. but why? you are quite openly jewish, this is a pro—palestinian march. i'm not accusing you of anything, but i am worried about the reaction to your presence. when he challenges police, he's given an ultimatum.

if you choose to remain here, because you are causing a breach of peace with all these other people, you will be arrested. that's not acceptable. today, he's calling for the head of the met to resign. after six months of sir mark rowley�*s metropolitan police deciding to curtail the rights of law—abiding londoners, including thejewish community, to appease lawless mobs, i think it's time for sir mark rowley to go. sir mark has apologised for the incident, the second time in three days. he'll speak tojewish community leaders tomorrow and open up operational planning to greater scrutiny. tonight, mr falter has been invited to a private meeting with the met, which he's accepted, to discuss what more the force can do to make jewish londoners feel safe. since the hamas attacks of the 7th of october and israel's response, every weekend the politics of the middle east have been brought to the streets of london, putting increasing pressure on the met to get the balance right —

between allowing legitimate protest and cracking down on hate speech and intimidation. strong voices, mainly on the right, believe the force has got that balance wrong and also want their commissioner to go. but the prime minister doesn't — downing street says he was appalled by the incident and there are questions to answer. what has happened is a serious misstep, because we can't be saying to particular groups in society that their very presence is a provocation. you don't want anybody of any community to feel like that, which is how thejewish community has been made to feel. the london mayor, sadiq khan, said, "the met must have the confidence of the communities they serve and it's right they've apologised for the way the incident was handled." protest, counterprotest, and in the middle, the met, at times struggling to police the divide. angus crawford, bbc news.

authorities in southern china have introduced emergency response plans — in preparation for severe floods. there have been heavy downpours in recent days in the guangdong province — which is home to around 127 million people. according to state media, landslides have injured six people and trapped others with some villages being cut off. local officials say some rivers are hitting water levels which have a one in 50 chance of happening every year. all five members of the spice girls have reunited, just perhaps not as you'd expect. on saturday night, victoria beckham, melanie brown, emma bunton, geri homer and melanie chisholm, better known as posh, scary, baby, ginger and sporty spice, came together to celebrate victoria's 50th birthday in london. the bandmates partied like it was 1997, performing their classic song, stop — which we can see a bit of now. # stop right now, thank you very much # i need somebody

with a human touch...# david beckham on instagram. that's all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. northern ireland was certainly the place to be on sunday. light winds, sunny skies and it turned out to be the warmest day of the year so far in the country, with temperatures reaching 19 degrees. by contrast, much further east across the uk remains cold, particularly so across northeastern parts of england with cloud and the breeze coming in off the north sea. now high pressure is close by, but it is tending to edge your way and that's allowing these weather fronts to bring cloud and even some rain southwards overnight. but ahead of that, we've got clearer skies for east anglia and the southeast. so temperatures could be close to freezing. first thing in the morning before that cloud comes

in and there will be a lot of cloud on monday, we've got this light rain and drizzle affecting northern england, the midlands, wales heading towards the south. there could be a few spots of rain moving down across scotland before northern areas. before northern areas see the sunshine returning in the afternoon but there won't be as much sunshine in northern ireland. it's not going to be as warm on monday. may make 16 degrees in glasgow, but it's going to be particularly chilly for the midlands and eastern parts of england. that area of high pressure continues to just get pushed away and these weather fronts move southwards overnight with clearer skies. though, following into scotland, there could be an early frost around here. most of the cloud will be affecting some eastern parts of england, heading to the south east and northerly wind then follows in the odd light shower around north sea coast. cloud will tend to build up the sunny skies for western scotland, northern ireland and wales. and here temperatures will be 13 or 1a degrees, but again it's going to be colder further east and generally over the next few

days west is going to be best. but high pressure is no longer with us by wednesday. but we're still in that cold air stream with the northerly wind bringing the odd shower down some of those north sea coast where it will feel particularly cold. we may well see a touch of frost here and there if the cloud breaks, but the cloud will tend to build up through the day on wednesday, and that could lead to a few showers, mainly for england and wales, looking a bit sunnier, perhaps for western scotland and northern ireland, but temperatures are 11 degrees in belfast and that's going to be a typical best number on wednesday. it is going to be a chilly week ahead. temperatures dropping across northern areas and there's even the risk of frost overnight before lower pressure, maybe bring some rain by the end of the week.

tiktok�*s future hangs in the balance in the us as lawmakers move closer to banning the popular social media app. we'll explain. and oil markets breathe a sigh of relief as iran downplays last friday's reported missile strike by israel. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. to one of our top stories today the us house of representatives have passed a bill that would ban the popular social media app tiktok if its chinese owner does not sell its stake within a year. our business reporter this morning monica miller

has more on the story. monica, could this be the end for tiktok in the us? this goes to the senate which will take this bill up in the next couple of days and president biden in the past has said of this bill lands on his desk, you will sign it. washington lawmakers are divided by many things but on this particular issue, republicans and democrats have given a bipartisan support at the heart of this issue is their concern over tick—tock�*s chinese owner but is worried thanis chinese owner but is worried than is the national security concerns because they're worried that the data from us users will wind up in the hands of the chinese government. they're also concerned that the chinese government is using it as a platform to promote their propaganda and to many of the users who were young and uses a primary source of their

information. at this bill means