hello, i'm samantha simmonds. after months of gridlock — the uk government's rwanda asylum bill is finally to become law. the measure designates rwanda a safe country and aims to allow some asylum seekers to be deported to the east african country. just hours after the bill passed, the bbc witnessed migrants on a beach in calais in france trying to get on boats and cross the english channel. these are some of the latest pictures from our team there. the french coastguard says at least five migrants have died in a separate attempt to cross the english channel from an area near the town of wimereux. the rwanda bill took four months to clear parliament because of a stand off with the house of lords.

it's a relief for prime minister rishi sunak — who hopes that, barring any last—minute legal objections, flights to rwanda could begin within ten to 12 weeks. official figures show the backlog of people waiting to be removed from the uk rose from nearly 1800 in july last year. to more than 50,000 a week ago. we'll be live in downing street, calais and at the uk port of dover in the next few minutes — but first, let's speak to our africa correspondent barbara plett usher, who's in the rwandan capital kigali. barbara? we have actuallyjust barbara? we have actually “ust received a fi barbara? we have actually “ust received a statement �* barbara? we have actually “ust received a statement from h barbara? we have actuallyjust received a statement from the | received a statement from the government here in response to the uk finally passing the bill. the government spokesman said we are pleased the bill has been passed by parliament, however it does not alter what we have known to be true, that we have worked very hard to secure the country, we have been able to offer safety to more than 100,000 refugees and we look forward to welcoming those who will be

relocated to rwanda. this is what we have heard from government officials in the past weeks, that they are committed to the deal, they have prepared to receive migrants for some time now. certainly the first plane loads that rishi sunak talked about, it is not clear what volume they can accommodate in the coming —— in the coming months, that is yet to be worked out. they are making changes to the law to respond to the concerns of the supreme court in terms of the safety and protection of those migrants. this is one of the hostels where the migrants are expected to arrive, it has been prepared for a long time, and you will hear more about it in my report in which i look at how rwandans have been preparing and how they view the deal. it's here the migrants will land — hope hostel, long poised for this moment. bedrooms laid out with meticulous care. attention to the needs of guests who've so far failed to arrive.

workers in surreal performance of their daily tasks. this place has been ready and waiting for nearly two years. now that the bill has passed, the people staffing it may finally have someone to serve. the british government is hoping that these rooms will be filled with asylum seekers in a matter of weeks. the hostel can house 100 of those britain plans to send to apply for asylum here. they could also try to go to other countries, but not back to the uk. if you get the news today... yes. ..you would be able to accept people tomorrow. not only tomorrow, even now. rwanda is a beautiful country nestled in the hills of east africa. the streets are tidy, safe from crime, there is order. rwanda works — that's the motto. some here welcome the idea of the new migrants. i think it will be good economically for the nation, considering that there is nothing

that is better than human capital. this man didn't want to identify himself because he's against the deal. where are you going to find the jobs for these people? we ourselves are... like, we've graduated, but we've not yet secured jobs. we are out there searching forjobs. the culture of fear runs deep here. there are allegations that dissent is suppressed. kigali strongly denies this, and its parliament passed a law to address the concerns of britain's supreme court to strengthen protections for asylum seekers. if they want to hold a protest, can they do it? our national laws are very clear about the right to protest. it is protected under specific circumstances. and if they do wish to protest peacefully within the confines of the law, they are welcome to.

rwanda has welcomed other migrants — africans who were stuck in libya trying to get to europe. this is a temporary haven for them while they sort out next steps. they could choose to settle in rwanda. none have. they want opportunities elsewhere. it's all about seeking a better future for those here and those coming — will rwanda be a detour, a dead end or a new home? barbara plett usher, bbc news, kigali. let's speak to the bbc�*s tom symonds — who's in calais in northern france. welcome, and within hours of this bill being passed you have been witnessing migrants boarding small boats, trying to head to the uk? that's right, we turned up quite early, it is a beach just north of calais, a well—known beach that migrants often use for trying to get to the uk, and we watched as a small

boat that was half full payment towards the shore, the police were here and a group of a0 migrants came out of the dunes, walked briskly to the water's edge and about a0 got on that boat. we counted about 67 when the boat finally left and it had a tiny, tiny outboard motor attempting to pateljon propel the boat. there are some waves here today. the police stopped the migrants as far as they could get into the boat, but they did not stop the boat. they seemed quite angry we were there and we wondered whether they might have perhaps made more effort to stop the boats. we know in the past the police have used knives and slashed up police have used knives and slashed up the boat to try to deflate it so it can't be used to go to see. we know from colleagues in another bbc news team down the coast between boulogne and calais, south of us, another boat tried to leave and there was a battle described to me

by a colleague between about 60 migrants armed with sticks and fireworks and the police. and finally some very sad news, not entirely confirmed, but seems to be coming from a french news outlet that around five, possibly more, people have died at some point as one of the boats has left the coast this morning. i think the french police have confirmed some deaths but obviously we will be looking into that and trying to get more detail as the day goes on. this government _ detail as the day goes on. this government policy _ detail as the day goes on. this government policy is - detail as the day goes on. this government policy is primarily aimed at deterring people from getting on those small boats and making, as you said, what is often a perilous journey. what kind of numbers are we talking about? i am journey. what kind of numbers are we talking about?— talking about? i am 'ust refreshing my memory. h talking about? i am 'ust refreshing my memory. 20:2 — talking about? i am just refreshing my memory, 2022 was _ talking about? i am just refreshing my memory, 2022 was the - talking about? i am just refreshingj my memory, 2022 was the highest talking about? i am just refreshing - my memory, 2022 was the highest rate of people leaving, a5,000 people made it across to the uk side. if you can imagine the english channel behind me, there is an imaginary international line between the uk

and france and the migrants know if they get across that line they will be taken to the uk are not brought back to france, a5000 and 2022. that number fell to back to france, a5000 and 2022. that numberfell to 29,000 back to france, a5000 and 2022. that number fell to 29,000 last year. the uk to deals with countries like albania to ensure people who came from albania were pretty much straightaway returned. numbers are climbing steadily this year, a000 or 5000 so far, and the concern is they will be going back up to nearer a5,000 when the year comes to an end. this is the season for crossing the channel beginning. is this legislative change at the uk which will see people taken not to the uk to rwanda, to apply for asylum in rwanda, no chance of coming to the uk, is that working as a deterrent? it does not seem to be changing the thoughts of people in the camps here about whether they want to get to the uk. lots of drawers, family members, they speak english better than other languages, they believe

they will be able to find work and provide forfamilies back they will be able to find work and provide for families back home they will be able to find work and provide forfamilies back home —— lots of draws. in some cases they believe the british system is fair. they do not seem to be deterred, perhaps because some have made very long journeys to get here, across europe, perhaps through turkey or the mediterranean. we have spoken to people from eritrea which is one country away from rwanda, if they wanted to go that they could go very easily but they have come here instead, which suggests that, for now, the boats are not stopping. . now, the boats are not stopping. , in calais, thank you. henry zeffman. a hugely significant moment for the prime minister, this has been his flagship policy and he has struggled for many months to push it through. take us through the political reaction. ~ reaction. relief i think it government, _ reaction. relief i think it government, because i reaction. relief i think it| government, because as reaction. relief i think it - government, because as you say reaction. relief i think it _ government, because as you say this has taken a long time. this

legislation has dominated parliament here since the start of the year, considered both by the house of commons and the house of lords last night in a dramatic moment, if you like, both houses were pinning it back and forth but ultimately, as they almost always do, the house of lords said they respected the privacy of the house of commons, the elected chamber. the question now is not legislative but practical. does this legislation, this law, work? the government had set is very big, they say this policy, once flights start taking off for rwanda, if they do, will act as a deterrent to stop people making the perilousjourney across the english channel. rishi sunak says he expects the first flight to take off in ten to 12 weeks, roughly earlyjuly. after that, the test becomes, do people stop making thatjourney as a result, as the government says it well? ~ .,

result, as the government says it well? . ., ., ., result, as the government says it well? e ., ., ., ., , ., well? what about legal avenues for those deemed _ well? what about legal avenues for those deemed to _ well? what about legal avenues for those deemed to be _ well? what about legal avenues for those deemed to be suitable - well? what about legal avenues for those deemed to be suitable to - well? what about legal avenues for those deemed to be suitable to be | those deemed to be suitable to be sent to rwanda? what happens to them, legally? we sent to rwanda? what happens to them, legally?— them, legally? we expect the government _ them, legally? we expect the government in _ them, legally? we expect the government in the _ them, legally? we expect the government in the coming - them, legally? we expect the i government in the coming days them, legally? we expect the - government in the coming days to identify for detention those people it wants to lend support to rwanda. i think we anticipate at least some of them will challenge that decision legally. how those legal challenges progress will in itself be a bit of a test of this law parliament passed last night, because the law that parliament passed last night has only been in gestation for four months also. the policy has been in place for two years but the law was designed to overcome the ruling by the supreme court late last year that the policy as it stands is unlawful. what parliament tried to do last night was constrain the legal avenues for appeal by declaring that in views rwanda is a safe country for asylum seekers. so how those legal appeals that we expect to take place over the next

few weeks develop will be a very interesting test of this legislation. the relatively widespread expectation in parliament even among opponents of this law is that not all of those challenges will succeed, but a flight will take off for rwanda, but c.— will succeed, but a flight will take off for rwanda, but c. henry, thank ou. the off for rwanda, but c. henry, thank yom the bbc's _ off for rwanda, but c. henry, thank you. the bbc's simon _ off for rwanda, but c. henry, thank you. the bbc's simon jones - off for rwanda, but c. henry, thank you. the bbc's simon jones is - off for rwanda, but c. henry, thank you. the bbc's simon jones is in i you. the bbc's simonjones is in dover. it is therein range over that many of these asylum seekers are housed, waiting for their applications to be processed. as we heard, the backlog is in the tens of thousands of those?— thousands of those? yes, because what the government _ thousands of those? yes, because what the government is _ thousands of those? yes, because what the government is saying - thousands of those? yes, because what the government is saying is i thousands of those? yes, because | what the government is saying is if you come here illegally on a small boat or the back of a lorry you will not be allowed to stay in the uk, you will be detained and deported and not allowed to claim asylum in the uk. down there at the port of dover is where migrants are brought to shore. 0nce dover is where migrants are brought to shore. once they make it halfway

across the channel they become the responsibility of the british authorities, so the lifeboat all of the border force pick them up in the channel, break them down, there is an initial processing in dover where people are arriving, they are searched and asked for basic identity details. they are then taken a few kilometres from here to a processing centre where they will spend about a couple of days. there will be further checks and many will decide to lodge asylum claims. then people will be dispersed around the country. it certainly dover is where you notice the issue most of all, because if you stand here on the famous white cliffs you see boats being brought in. that is why the people of dover feel very affected by this issue. speaking to many people in the town, there is a degree of scepticism over whether these flights to rwanda, if they take off in around ten or 12 weeks as the government hopes, will really

make a difference. people here will save over the past year also since these crossings have become a big thing, there have been a number of uk prime ministers, a number of home secretaries, a number of immigration ministers who have all promised to get a grip of this issue, there have been various ideas child, there was talk of turning boats back at sea but that was considered too dangerous, the military was brought in at one stage to really have a show of force in the channel but the military was accused of simply being a taxi service for migrants. there was even fanciful talk of using weight machines to try to deter the crossings. that did not become reality. but things have been tried in the past with limited success and the worrying thing for the british government it so far this year the numbers making the dangerous journey have actually increased by around a quarter compared with the same period last year.— quarter compared with the same period last year. simon in dover, thank yon _

some breaking news lines concerning the failed boat crossing we were just hearing about from france a little earlier, reuters is reporting local state media concerning five migrants were killed and one injured in a failed attempt to cross the channel in the past few moments. they said the boat had 110 people on board, this is a spokesperson of the french police confirming an earlier report from a local newspaper about five migrants have died in a failed boat crossing in the past few hours. let's get some of the day's other news now. the us secretary of state says washington is looking into allegations that israeli forces have committed human rights abuses in gaza. antony blinken denied suggestions of double standards when it came to israel. mr blinken's comments follow reports that for the first time an israeli defence force unit was facing sanctions for alleged violations in the west bank. a severely ill peruvian woman who was an advocate of assisted suicide has died after being given

a lethal drug overdose by a doctor. ana estrada had been fighting for the right to take her own life for eight years. the supreme court granted her the first ever exception to a national ban on euthanasia. it allowed the doctor to avoid punishment. tremors have continued to shake part of eastern taiwan that was struck by a deadly earthquake earlier this month. quakes were still being felt on tuesday morning in the hualien region. the strongest tremor shook buildings in the capital, taipei, but there are no reports of any casualties. a powerful quake earlier this month in hualien killed at least ia people and caused widespread damage. bolivian police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of teachers protesting in la paz. teachers and doctors have been protesting for weeks against a controversial retirement bill they say will force them to retire at 65. in bolivia, the voluntary retirement age is set at 58 for men and 55 for women.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

donald trump has returned to court in new york to hear the opening statements in his criminal trial over the alleged cover up of a hush money payment to the porn star stormy daniels. prosecutors told the jury — the case was about a criminal conspiracy and a cover up. but the defence said donald trump was not personally involved. from new york, gary 0'donoghue reports. president trump, how are you feeling, sir? i for the first time in american history, a former president went on trial for alleged crimes. donald trump stands accused of falsifying business records over hush money payments to a porn star just before the 2016 general election. for the prosecution, they said donald trump had cooked the books to cover up those payments and that had broken election finance law,

which amounted to election interference, a crime. mr trump's lawyers said paying a porn star is not a crime and the former president had no part in how the payments were accounted for. i should be in florida now. i should be in a lot of different places right now campaigning and i'm sitting here and this will go on for a long time. it's very unfair. the judge is conflicted, as you know. it's very unfair what's going on. and i should be allowed to campaign. the first prosecution witness was david pecker, a tabloid magazine editor who helped buy off people with damaging stories about donald trump. he has been promised immunity from prosecution. the prosecution are also expected to call the porn star stormy daniels herself and donald trump's former lawyer michael cohen. the defence hasn't yet decided whether or not the former president will go on the stand. i am praying that he will be acquitted, but i am scared that something can go wrong. he is a crook and a cheat,

so, yeah, i hope he gets the justice he deserves. later, the judge will consider whether donald trump had already violated a gag order that prevents him speaking publicly about witnesses and could get him fined. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news, new york. two helicopters from the malaysian military have crashed in midair, killing all ten naval personnel on board. the accident took place as the aircraft flew in formation over a parade ground. they were rehearsing for a ceremony due to take place next month. 0nline video shows the helicopters flying low over a naval base at lumut when they collide and plummet to the ground. china's weather agency has issued its highest—level rainstorm warning yet for the south of the country. more than a hundred thousand people have been evacuated from their homes in guangdong, after days of heavy rain caused massive flooding in the country's

most populous province. four people have died so far, while ten have gone missing, according to state media. weather forecasters say the situation's "grim." laura bicker has more from beijing. powerful storms across southern china turned rivers into raging torrents. roads became fast flowing rapids cascading down village streets as hail the size of golf balls fell from the sky. watch the right hand corner of the security camera. the bridge simply couldn't withstand the sheer force of the flood. the destruction became clearer in daylight, as did the number of people left stranded. some almost managed to sleep through their rescue, cradled from the worst

of the rising floodwaters. but others cried for help as their streets were submerged. rescuers had to navigate their boats through a flooded urban landscape. tens of thousands of people were evacuated across the province. several regions stayed on alert as water levels rose over the weekend, drowning dozens of crops. 61—year—old huangjing rong couldn't save his farm from being swamped. translation: it was my home. everything is gone, all the seedlings are gone. i lost over 13,000 us dollars. 0ur fields over there are all flooded. guangdong is prone to floods, but not this early in the year. weather events in china have become more intense and unpredictable due to global warming. in guangdong,

the clean—up can begin. officials will continue to monitor water levels in the hope that for now the worst has passed. laura bicker, bbc news, beijing. nasa says its voyageri probe — the most distant man—made object in the universe — has started sending usable information back to earth again after months of spouting gibberish. the spaceship left the solar system in 2012 and is currently more than 15 billion miles from earth, but still sends data back to nasa. engineers say a malfunctioning chip was to blame, which has now been fixed through coding. quite incredible. a reminder of our latest updates following the passing of the uk government pubs �*s rwanda bill last night, the plan designed to deter migrants from crossing the channel in small boats announced in

2022. no flights have set off yet. the government now says they hope they will set off in the next ten to 12 weeks. in the past few hours we have seen boats with migrants leaving calais, heading towards the uk. at the same time as we saw those pictures, french police say that at around 5am a different small boat to this one set sail from a german beach, wimereux, after an initial chanting on the sandbank it set out to sea again and an incident occurred in the overloaded boat, causing several victims. the report from the police in france say five people have died, three men, a woman and child, and one person was slightly injured. we understand 110 people were on that boat, a different boat to the one we are looking at now. head to the bbc news website where you can see all of the latest on the passing of the rwanda

bill and what it will mean for illegal migrants making their way to the uk. the illegal immigration minister says the deterrent effect will begin when the fight started. stay with her son bbc news, plenty more coming up in a few minutes. hello. today, again, it's going to be milder in the west compared to the east. and as we go through the next few days, you'll notice the temperature coming down everywhere — as represented by the blues on the chart — on wednesday, thursday and friday. but as we head on into the weekend, low pressure looks like it's going to move across our shores. that looks like too it will introduce some milder conditions, but there's still a lot to play for with that one. today, we've got the dregs of yesterday's front pushing slowly south—eastwards, with its cloud and patchy light rain and drizzle. eastern areas still exposed to this brisk wind, taking the edge off the temperatures. it will feel quite cold on the east coast. a few showers for wales into the south—west, and the cloud in the east thick enough for that drizzle.

it's the west that's going to see the lion's share of the sunshine today. and, as a result, this is where we'll have the highest temperatures. we could reach 16 degrees once again. in glasgow yesterday, it was 16.5 celsius here. as we head through the evening and overnight, still the brisk, keen wind coming in off the north sea, blowing in some cloud, one or two showers. we've got this lump of cloud across central parts of england, east wales, pushing down towards the south. but under clear skies, where we've got the blues, temperatures will be freezing or even below. so there will be locally a touch of frost, but it's going to be a cold night generally. tomorrow, still this keen wind, still the cloud coming in from the north sea. but out towards the west, we're looking at brighter skies, some sunshine. you could catch a shower once again in south wales or indeed south—west england. temperatures, ia in glasgow, so the temperatures coming down a little bit, 9 in norwich. and then as we head on into thursday, well, we've got low pressure out to the east, low pressure out towards the west, a front very close by,

and it does mean we will see one or two showers. it's going to be a colder day as well. some of those showers on high ground in scotland could well prove to be wintry, but a fair bit of cloud around, and again, nowhere really immune to a shower. this is a weather front trying to come in from the west. temperatures, 8 in aberdeen to about 13 in london. as we go beyond that into the end of the week and into the weekend, well, it looks very much like it's going to continue unsettled. there will be some rain at times, but the temperatures slowly starting to creep up.

this is bbc news. the headlines... after the british parliament passes legislation aimed at allowing asylum seekers to be sent to rwanda, dramatic scenes in calais as migrants try to board a small boat. the french coastguard says at least five migrants died in a separate attempt to cross the channel. about a0 migrants with children came across the sand, and as you can see now, are trying to get onto the boat, which was, i have to say, already crowded. life on the edge — as extreme soil erosion causes entire communities to disappear across africa and latin america. i want to talk to my friends and my family's accent.

and a student's successful search for a voice which really feels like his own. let's return to our top story. uk prime minister rishi sunak says last night's parliamentary approval of the rwanda bill represents a "landmark" moment in the government's efforts to deter illegal migration and end people smuggling. the measure, which aims to allow some asylum seekers to be deported to the east african country, took four months to clear parliament because of a stand off with the house of lords. human rights groups say the plan breaches international law, but mr sunak said nothing would stop him getting flights to rwanda "off the ground". and in the past few hours, our team in calais have been seeing small boats leaving the shore — with migrants on board trying to reach the uk. these are some of the latest pictures. let's speak to iain mansfield, who's director of research at policy exchange — which is right—leaning think tank. he's also a former adviser to the government in 2020—2022.