hello, welcome to bbc news now. we start today in the middle east — where israel's army says it has seized gaza's rafah crossing with egypt, after continuously bombarding eastern rafah overnight. there's a massive plume of smoke over the south of gaza. the israeli defence forces say they now have operational control on the gaza side of the rafah crossing, after continuously bombarding eastern rafah overnight. these images have been issued by the israel defense forces — and show tanks moving in on the area, a vital entry point for aid, a day after israel ordered civilians to evacuate the area. aid agencies say that could be disastrous for civilians caught up in the conflict. these pictures show lorries queuing up at the rafah crossing

waiting to get into gaza. the un has accused israel of not allowing aid into the area and any delay would put their gaza operation in its grave. there was a brief glimmer of hope yesterday. these were the scenes outside the al—aqsa hospital as palestinians celebrated news that hamas had accepted a ceasefire deal. but this was rejected by israel as "far from meeting" its "core demands". instead, the country's war cabinet voted to continue operations in rafah. talks are resuming in cairo and israel is sending a delegation to the talks. our middle east correspondent yolande knell has the lastest. rolling into rafah. israeli tanks have now taken control of gaza's key crossing into egypt. the israeli army says it has killed what it calls 20 hamas terrorists and destroyed tunnels in a precise operation. but palestinians, mourning their lost loved ones, say children were among those killed

in the latest air strikes. muhammad has his family lined up in body bags. translation: my wife, my brother, my brother, my sister _ and my niece were martyred. we did nothing. we were sleeping peacefully. we are not hamas, nor any faction. i am a construction worker. what is happening in rafah still falls short of the full—scale ground offensive that world powers have warned against in this city, crowned with the displaced people. there are new concerns that israel has now closed the two main crossing points for aid to gaza. the rafah crossing is now under the control of the israeli defence forces and is currently closed for the movement of goods and people in both directions. the kerem shalom crossing is also closed. currently, the two main arteries for getting aid into gaza

is currently choked off. last night, gazans rejoiced after hamas declared it had accepted a ceasefire proposalfrom mediators. celebrations were short—lived, as israel said its core demands were not met and it would continue negotiations. israelis supporting the hostages took to the streets, demanding a deal to bring them back. relatives of those still held captive accused the prime minister putting his own political survival ahead of their loved ones. some went to parliament today. translation: there are civilians there that need rescuing, - soldiers that need rescuing. so far what i am seeing is the state of israel and netanyahu are simply delaying. back in rafah, israel has again been ordering palestinians to leave the east. after seven months of war, and end had seemed tantalisingly close, but now there

is more painful uncertainty. and, in the last hour, yolande gave us this up date from jerusalem. there's now an israeli flag flying inside that crossing point. otherwise, there have been israeli air strikes quite intense overnight. and while the israeli army said that it had killed 20 hamas terrorists and destroyed three tunnel shafts that it found in rafah, we've been hearing from palestinian families that they have lost children. they have been killed in these latest strikes. it remains a very tense time. we've seen more leaflets dropping in the east of rafah with israel, giving those evacuation orders, telling people to go to what they deem humanitarian zones to the north in the center of the gaza strip and close to khan yunis. what are the conditions like, though, yolande land, in those humanitarian zones? well, i mean, the israeli army says that it's expanded these zones that

are basically tent cities and that it's allowing more humanitarian supplies to get in. but in general, as you were referring to there, there's now increased concern about aid operations in gaza, particularly in the south, where you have more than half of the population of the gaza strip now living really because you have these two key crossing points which are used for aid. both the rafah crossing closed off to humanitarian organizations and also the kerem shalom crossing that's been closed since sunday following hamas rocket fire, which the israeli military said came from inside rafah and that killed four israeli soldiers. the israeli military, when asked about that earlier, did say it was working to try to reopen that crossing. but this is a huge concern. there was a un official who said that these are the two main arteries for aid and they're currently choked off. yolande, there's talks taking place in cairo today. israel said it is sending a delegation, egypt saying today what we're seeing in rafah undermines those talks,

those ceasefire efforts. do we know what the terms of any talks will be, given that israel has already rejected the fact that hamas agreed to. i mean, that is still unclear. we do know that these israeli officials are supposed to be heading to cairo in the coming hours. we're told that they are mid—level negotiators, not the top ones, who are usually sent when it looks like israel is moving very close to a deal. and really the main sticking point reading between the lines here and looking at a document that's been leaked to the media because we haven't had anything officially announced about the exact content of the proposal that hamas has signed up to. but it looks to be a multiple stage deal. in the initial stages, you have just over 30 of the israeli hostages from the most vulnerable category being released in exchange for a0 days of ceasefire and palestinian prisoners

from israeli jails being released. but that moves on ultimately to what's being described as a period of sustained calm, and that looks, in effect, like an end to the war. and that's a real problem for israel, because it has said it does not want to end this war until it has dismantled hamas in gaza. you sort your land no mention to main arteries to get aid and fuel into gaza, one is rafah and the other is the creme shalom crossing, which has been closed by israel for security concerns. we've got some pictures we've just received showing an armoured vehicle showing large flags from creme shalom on the gaza side used to aid trucks to gaza. we don't know who film these, but we will bring you more as soon as we get it. it's been reported that stormy daniels will take the stand and donald trump's criminal trial

today as prosecutors argue the former president was responsible for illegally covering up a hush money payment to the porn star in the run—up to the 2016 election. mr trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denies that he ever had sex with daniels. let's speak now to nada tawfik, our north america correspondent. she has been covering the trial since the very beginning. we are expecting stormy daniels today, not confirmed yet, though, but many sources saying the bbc she will appear? sources saying the bbc she will a- ear? . , sources saying the bbc she will a . ear? ., , . , appear? that is right, lucy. according — appear? that is right, lucy. according to _ appear? that is right, lucy. according to many - appear? that is right, lucy. according to many sources | appear? that is right, lucy. - according to many sources now, stormy daniels will be the next witness to take the stand in what promises to be one of the most dramatic days in this trial. donald trump has already hinted it could be a very significant witness. he posted to truth social that he was told relatively late who the next witness would be, and he said that was unprecedented and unfair. but, he then deleted that post, because

remember, he is under a gag order that prevents him from posting about potential witnesses. and the judge, just yesterday, gave him his strongest warning yet, that he could face jail time if he continues to do so. it was quite telling, lucy, that donald trump posted that and then deleted it immediately, because of course, that could be seen as intimidation of a witness. but stormy daniels, of course, she is the adult film star at the centre of this hash mini payments. an opening statements, donald trump's lawyer told jurors that while her testimony will be salacious, it doesn't matter. for prosecutors, stormy daniels can't offer evidence about how business records were falsified, the charges that underpin this case, but she can certainly give insight into the motivation for that payment, and whether it was related to the election or protecting donald trump's wife who had just given

birth at the time of the alleged affair. . , birth at the time of the alleged affair. ., , , ., , affair. donald trump is on his way to the courthouse, _ affair. donald trump is on his way to the courthouse, we _ affair. donald trump is on his way| to the courthouse, we understand. where are we at in terms of the trial and who apart from stormy daniels, were yet to hear from? trial and who apart from stormy daniels, were yet to hearfrom? we daniels, were yet to hear from? we are now in — daniels, were yet to hear from? - are now in the third week of testimony. this case, prosecutors say, they'll need an extra week after this one, so two more weeks to argue their case. we will enter into the defence, of course, then closing statements before the jury gets the case, but we are still some way from that point. we are still yet to hear from daniel keohane, donald trump's from daniel keohane, donald trump's from a lawyer. we are still to hear from a lawyer. we are still to hear from documents that underpin this case, key characters are part of the discussions. what we haven't seen yet is the solid proof connecting donald trump as the architect of this alleged scheme to catch and kill stories and in falsified

documents. michael cohen's testimony is important to make that connection. of course, he himself is someone who has been characterised very negatively throughout this trial, so that prosecutors are going to have to overcome some of those characterisations of michael cohen, but he is a key witness that we are waiting to hear from. but he is a key witness that we are waiting to hearfrom. irate but he is a key witness that we are waiting to hear from.— waiting to hear from. we will be s-ueakin waiting to hear from. we will be speaking to _ waiting to hear from. we will be speaking to you _ waiting to hear from. we will be speaking to you throughout - waiting to hear from. we will be speaking to you throughout the | waiting to hear from. we will be - speaking to you throughout the day, thank you forjoining us from outside the courthouse today. ukraine says it's foiled a russian plot to kidnap and kill president zelensky. two ukrainian security officials have been arrested. the assasination attempt was said to have been timed for president putin's inauguration, in what was described as a , present�* the bbc have claimed this from the ukrainian intelligence service, which is to suspects admitting. earlier i asked our ukraine correspondent,

james waterhouse, who's in kyiv, to explain more about the plot. well, at least the assassination plots against president zelensky are common and they have been since the full scale invasion when russian paratroopers attempted to land in kyiv and take him out. but this is an alleged plan which really does stand out. you have the country's intelligence service claiming to have held two serving colonels in the country's security service, which is responsible for keeping institutions as well as senior officials safe. and they are accused of planning to leak president zelensky and these other officials, their movements to moscow. the details of how they're protected by security guards, as well as the addresses in which they stay. and the alleged plan was for those addresses to be struck by russian missiles. but the detail doesn't stop there. these colonels reportedly took weapons from the ukrainian regions where they were serving, which included drones, mines, explosives. they allegedly took them to kyiv

to carry out this attack. now, we don't know how close these men got to carrying out their plan. it is claimed that they were hired by moscow's moles before the full scale invasion in meetings in other european countries where large sums of cash were transferred. it's got it all, really, this plot. but it's also a reminder of the dangers that president zelensky, a wartime leader, faces in this conflict. if these two men are convicted, they face a life sentence in prison. james, how well protected is president zelensky? he is incredibly well protected. i remember a press conference where i tried to pop to the loo just before it started, but president zelensky was coming in and he has a sizeable detail. they're armed to the teeth and you can't really move. you can occasionally

hear his motorcade moving around kyiv, but this is a president who is keen to still travel around. he often makes visits to the front line, some very hostile areas where he will be seen to meet troops. and often those journeys are made in low flying helicopters. it's a means of transport which has claimed the lives and lives of other top officials when a helicopter crashed a couple of years ago in heavy fog. but he has become accustomed to the risk. this is a guy who was willing to stay despite offers to leave ukraine early on in the full scale invasion. and with this country still being in martial law, with elections still on hold, for now it seems he is intent on staying, but of course, he still is now grappling with other political domestic issues as part of the job. that gloss of the early invasion has worn off now. he is now trying to mobilise as many men as possible for a fight that is not going ukraine's way

at the moment. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

welcome back. president vladimir putin has been sworn in for a new six—year term at a ceremony at the kremlin. putin, who's been in power as president or prime minister since 1999, now begins his new mandate more than two years after he sent tens of thousands of troops into ukraine. in march, vladimir putin won a landslide victory in a tightly controlled election from which two anti—war candidates were barred on technical grounds. earlier we heard from our russia editor, steven rosenberg, who's in moscow following the story... after taking the oval office, he pledged to serve the russian people, but he said he was open to dialogue with the west, with western countries, but accused the west of displaying aggression towards russia, or putting pressure on russia. this of course from the

kremlin leader who launched a full—scale invasion of ukraine two years ago, waging a war against ukraine, but russian officials turn all of that round and pointed the finger of blame on the west for waging a war in ukraine against russia. after the ceremony, interestingly, we were in a position where we could speak to people we never usually have access to, and i managed to catch a word with the head of russian foreign intelligence service, and he said to me that he interpreted it in's speech as an invitation to the west for mutual cup corporation. those were his words. but i suspect it will be viewed quite differently in western nations. britain, america and the european union didn't send any representatives to the inauguration ceremony today. that reflects, i think, the level of tension that is between moscow and the west at the moment. as he goes into his fifth term, if you could just put the war

with ukraine aside, what kind of domestic pressures does he face, with things like the economy, the fact that inflation is still so high, daily living costs are high, too. of course, there are domestic pressures. what happened two years ago when we saw a tsunami of western sanctions, what didn't happen was the collapse of the russian economy that people in the west predicted. often, putin will refer to this and say we survived, all this, things are going well and the economy has sustained pretty well. we have a great future ahead of us. but of course, there are domestic, economic pressures too, and the so—called special military operation in ukraine, the one ukraine, takes up a lot of money. the defence budget in russia has increased steeply. at some point, that'll have a big effect on the economy.

let's got to scotland now, where humza yousaf has signed a letter to the king formally tendering his resignation as scotland's first minister afterjohn swinney was elected as the snp�*s new leader. mr swinney is expected to become first minister later. that'll be scotland's seventh first minister, but we will hear from humza yousaf who tendered his resignation earlier today. he will make a formal— resignation earlier today. he will make a formal statement. - resignation earlier today. he will make a formal statement. we i resignation earlier today. he will. make a formal statement. we will bring you that live here on bbc news, but let's speak now to brian taylor. a political commentator and columnist for the herald. not the easiestjob in politics right now, being the first minister in scotland, i imagine. what will be his priorities? it’s in scotland, i imagine. what will be his priorities?— his priorities? it's exceptionally difficult considering _ his priorities? it's exceptionally difficult considering the - difficult considering the circumstances last year, given the

circumstances last year, given the circumstances of the tense leadership contest when nicola sturgeon stood down just over a year ago, after a difficult year that humza yousaf has endured. and given the circumstances he obliged to quit. he abruptly gave up the beach house agreement, and in doing so, he says he miscalculated, misunderstood the extent that it would be from their side. the extent that it would be from theirside. he the extent that it would be from their side. he got it ran, it was a blunder. john swinney now comes in, he was leader 20 years ago. he stood down in 200a. he said shortly that a year ago, a week ago he couldn't have envisioned he'll be coming back as a candidate for first minister, but he is. there is a unity within his party, which has been somewhat fractious in the last year or so. he is seeking unity in parliaments, and work if possible with other parties. i think the parties that advocate the union will find exceptionally

difficult. the greens say they are willing to talk, and have also said in the last few minutes they will have abstained in the vote for first minister to listen to the discourse. john swinney has said he wants to unify the country, as well as the objective of this party, which is of course scottish independence. it's very intriguing. he listed a series of priorities. he started with the economy, cost of living, nhs, education, and the concerns of the people. he intends to isolate and eliminate child poverty. there is one thing missing from that. does he abandon the aim of independence? no, is a passionless nationalist. he is a zealous advocate of the scottish nation, but wants to place them in context. he will work with the

concerns and anxieties of people, i have never encountered... he was to work on the economy, the concerns of people on the cost of living, the concerns of public spending and nhs waiting list. simultaneously, we will do everything we can within the devolve powers of the scottish parliament to tackle these, your concerns, but at the same invite people to calculate from his perspective, just how much better that has to be done with independence. it is a dual strategy, graduates strategy and it places the concerns of the people first, and perhaps the party at obsessively second. ~ �* , . ~ ., second. we'll be back at the scottish parliament - second. we'll be back at the scottish parliament as - second. we'll be back at the | scottish parliament as events second. we'll be back at the - scottish parliament as events get under way later. scottish parliament as events get underway later. let's scottish parliament as events get under way later. let's take your life to new york, now. here is president donald trump as he always does, as he at the court. it all

president donald trump as he always does, as he at the court.— does, as he at the court. it all by dinner, because _ does, as he at the court. it all by dinner, because it's _ does, as he at the court. it all by dinner, because it's an _ does, as he at the court. it all by dinner, because it's an attack - does, as he at the court. it all by dinner, because it's an attack on | dinner, because it's an attack on his political— dinner, because it's an attack on his political opponents. it hasn't happened in this country. it happens in third _ happened in this country. it happens in third world countries, but hasn't happened — in third world countries, but hasn't happened in this country. it's a shame — happened in this country. it's a shame it _ happened in this country. it's a shame. it is a very unfair trial. the _ shame. it is a very unfair trial. the good _ shame. it is a very unfair trial. the good news is they have nothing. thank _ the good news is they have nothing. thank you _ the good news is they have nothing. thank you. mr the good news is they have nothing. thank ou. ~ , , ., thank you. mr president, due plan and testifying? _ thank you. mr president, due plan and testifying? why _ thank you. mr president, due plan and testifying? why is _ thank you. mr president, due plan and testifying? why is the - thank you. mr president, due plan and testifying? why is the trial - and testifying? why is the trial unfair? reporters _ and testifying? why is the trial unfair? reporters shouting - and testifying? why is the trial unfair? reporters shouting at. and testifying? why is the trial i unfair? reporters shouting at the auestions unfair? reporters shouting at the questions to _ unfair? reporters shouting at the questions to donald _ unfair? reporters shouting at the questions to donald trump. - unfair? reporters shouting at the questions to donald trump. he . unfair? reporters shouting at the l questions to donald trump. he was earlier saying that the gag order he is under is unconstitutional in this trial is incredibly unfair. but the big news of the day, is that we are expecting, we hearfrom a number of sources, that prosecutors will call it stormy daniels to stand today, in this criminal hush money trial. she might be called first this morning, but a reminder, she was paid

$130,000 as payment is to keep quiet about her alleged affair with donald trump. these are payments that donald trump made to michael cohen. we haven't heard from michael cohen yet, he is the next big stars witness. they are at the heart of these 3a charges of falsifying business records. you had it very clearly, once again, there, he has pleaded not guilty. he believes prosecutors don't have the detail that they need to convict him. we are keeping across this trial today as we see stormy daniels, we expect to be called to the stand. the other big story is reactions of what is happening in rafah right now. you can still see smoke in the sky, whether idf say they have

operational control on the gaza side of the rafah crossing. there has been targeted strikes against her mask and eastern rafah as well, that's the same time, we know that talks will resume in cairo and israel is sending mediators to those talks with her mask. we will continue to keep you up—to—date with events in the middle east as well. stay with us. hello there. finally, a spell of settled weather, not just for the next few days but in fact for much of the upcoming week and this weekend. the best of the sunshine will always be for england and wales but we will have weather fronts in the north west of the country at times, which bring a little bit of rain, more cloud here but it will be quite warm in the sunshine for all of those, but certainly for england and wales. this is the high pressure starting to build in today across the country. there is a weak weather front across the north of the uk, that will generate quite a lot of cloud for scotland, early sunshine across northern ireland will tend to fade as well and we will see patchy cloud

for northern and western part of england and wales and some showers likely to develop ear but nothing as heavy or as widespread as we have seen over the last few days. the best of the sunshine towards the south—east, where we could be up to 20 degrees or so, but for most it is the mid—to high teens. through this evening and overnight, it looks like any showers will fade away. most places will be dry, some clear spells but sea fog lapping coasts of both the north sea and the irish sea, and there will be variable cloud here and there. temperatures generally six to 10 celsius. on the mild side for most. into wednesday, this area of high pressure will bring a dry day for much of the country but we do see these weather fronts, tighter isobars pushing into the north—west of the country. the wind will start to pick up across scotland and northern ireland. cloud is building. we will see splashes of rain moving in, mainly to the north and west of scotland. but southern scotland, eastern part of northern ireland should tend to stay dry. the best of the sunshine again for england and wales with light southerly winds, it is going to feel even warmer, the low 20s for many of us, even up to 20 degrees

there across south—east scotland. on thursday, a similar story. more cloud generally in scotland and northern ireland, some splashes of rain in the north west of scotland, where it will be easier. lighter winds further south and for the bulk of england and wales it should be mostly dry, barely a shower around. lots of sunshine and feeling a bit warmer. 22, maybe 23 degrees in the warmest spots, high teens even where we have cloud across scotland and northern ireland. we hold onto high—pressure on friday and indeed the weekend, although it starts to retreat out towards the east, low pressure will begin to push in to the west of the country later on sunday and certainly into next week it looks more unsettled. but a fine end to the week to come, just the chance of some showers across western areas later on sunday. take care.

a muted opening for us shares — disney shares sink after the entertainment giant reports a loss for the first quarter. de his new boss tells investors we have turned a corner. the streaming division of the firm finally turns a profit, six months earlier than you promised wall street —— disney's new boss. bp profits slump, the result is worse than expected, raising questions about their business plan.

back on the radarfor us radar for us regulators,. boeing faces a new safety investigation — this time over the 787 dreamliner. welcome to business today. us markets have made a muted start here in new york — shares of disney sinking after the entertainment giant reported a loss for the first three months of the year. that's despite the bombshell that its streaming business has made a profit for the first time after years in the red. we'll get into more detail on that a bit later. wall street's leading shares closed at a three week high on monday — on hopes interest rates may be coming down in the coming months. so — will that optimism last? lets speak to sam stovall, chief investment strategist at cfra here in new york. thanks forjoining us. we have seen the dowjones trying to push forward on hopes that maybe the us economy is not overheating, can it sustain

that?