ina in a bilateral show with china in a bilateral show with president xi. and michael ohen faced another day —— cohen faced another day at the hush money trial. great to have you with us. we start with the battle at the un's top court. the international court of justice has been asked to credit whether israel is committing genocide. south africa is calling for an order to immediately halt israel's operation in southern gaza. israel claims that the court is being exploited by south africa. on thursday, south africa's legal team said israel had intended from the very beginning to destroy palestinian life, but the israeli foreign ministry stayed south africa presented biased and false claims that relied on hamas sources. in a statement, they said, "israel acts in accordance with international law and its humanitarian obligations while thing

measures to minimise harm to civilians and civilian facilities." it is calling on the un's top court to reject it. south africa's lawyers accuse them of acting with legal impunity.— legal impunity. israel is increasing _ legal impunity. israel is increasing its _ legal impunity. israel is increasing its attacks i legal impunity. israel is increasing its attacks in j legal impunity. israel is - increasing its attacks in gaza, and in so doing, is wilfully breaching the binding orders of this court. israel similarly breaches the binding resolutions of the united nations security council. we've heard boasts _ nations security council. we've heard boasts that _ nations security council. we've heard boasts that israel's - nations security council. we've heard boasts that israel's army| heard boasts that israel's army is the — heard boasts that israel's army is the most moral army in history _ is the most moral army in history. and we've heard denials_ history. and we've heard denials that there is famine in gaza — denials that there is famine in gaza for— denials that there is famine in gaza. for months, people, particularly in the west, have appeared unwilling to accept that the accusations are true. our_ that the accusations are true. our correspondent is reporting on the story. she sent us this update from the hague. south africa's lawyers were unequivocal. they said palestinians did not need words or diplomacy, they needed an urgent

intervention by this court to ensure palestinians' right to life under the genocide convention was protected. the reason why they are focusing on rafah in of these provisional measures request is because they say it is the last refuge which has not been destroyed, the only remaining centre of humanitarian aid, host to one of the only functioning hospitals in gaza, and so therefore they said rafah is central to sustaining palestinian life. without it, there is no possibility of reconstruction. i spoke to allanah oh malley. i spoke to alanna o'malley, professor of united nations studies in peace and justice at leiden university. previously, she was at the icj for the south africa genocide case against israel earlier this year, and she was observing today's proceedings remotely.

what do you make of the offensive in there. so what south africa _ offensive in there. so what south africa did _ offensive in there. so what south africa did is - offensive in there. so what south africa did is ask- offensive in there. so what| south africa did is ask them offensive in there. so what - south africa did is ask them to comply with the orders and the previous nine provisional orders that have been ordered in response to their incursion into gaza from the beginning. and so, the grounds for this additional provisional measure is that south africa argues that the situation has changed and become extremely urgent, given israel's planned attack on rafah as the last refuge of the palestinian people.- the palestinian people. let's din into the palestinian people. let's dig into this. _ the palestinian people. let's dig into this, because - the palestinian people. let's dig into this, because you're| dig into this, because you're referencing the fact that icj already did deliver an interim judgement injanuary. and a lot of attention has been paid to a part of thejudgement of attention has been paid to a part of the judgement that says the following and i'm going to quote it:

it was the word "plausible" that many said that was they were doing it. how did you interpret it? i were doing it. how did you interpret it?— were doing it. how did you interpret it? i think that the word "plausible" _ interpret it? i think that the word "plausible" means - interpret it? i think that the | word "plausible" means that interpret it? i think that the - word "plausible" means that the court has now declared, or declared then, that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that it's possible that acts of genocide or genocide is being perpetrated by israel in gaza. and this is what allows the case to proceed to merits where the court will decide whether or not these are genocidal actions and a genocide is being perpetrated. what's important about that clause is that it really, firstly, emphasised the imperative nature of this moment and this context and this crisis. and also, it really — the provision that allowed the court to respond so quickly, so the issuing of provisional interim measures

was quite fast in the last round, and the idea of plausibility also really leads south africa to go back to the court several times, because they argue that if genocide is being commit, and they argue that it being commit, and they argue thatitis, being commit, and they argue that it is, then this raises the urgency of the question, especially now in recent weeks with the israel incursion against rafah.— with the israel incursion against rafah. indeed, and i “ust against rafah. indeed, and i just want— against rafah. indeed, and i just want to _ against rafah. indeed, and i just want to stick _ against rafah. indeed, and i just want to stick with - against rafah. indeed, and i just want to stick with the i just want to stick with the point. i know that it is legally, of course, quite complex. but the bbc also joke tojoan donoghue, former to joan donoghue, former president tojoan donoghue, former president of the international court ofjustice. and she told us that, "the court did not decide, and this is something that i'm often correcting in the media, it didn't decide that the claim of genocide was plausible, it did emphasise that there was a risk of irrepairable harm to the palestinian right to be protected from genocide. again, this is complex, but what impact do you think that this has on the case? i

what impact do you think that this has on the case?- this has on the case? i think that it is _ this has on the case? i think that it is incredibly - this has on the case? i think| that it is incredibly important and i think that it is terrific that you're providing that clarification and that's very, very important, and somehow that has been lost in some of the coverage of this. i think what we see being emphasised also in the submissions before the court today is that the rights of the palestinian people to self determination, and their basic human rights, are being violated. and the language that africa uses emphasises —— that south africa uses emphasises those around the convention. so what they actually argued today is that israel is deliberately inflicting conditions of life to bring about the physical destruction of the palestinian people. so the language and the rhetoric of both the court in its orders and of the applicants to the court is very important here. and really, what we see around this rhetoric are those terms and those phrases that are directed towards the deciding whether or not the provisions of the genocide convention are, indeed, being violated. and

indeed, being violated. and “ust one indeed, being violated. and just one last _ indeed, being violated. and just one last question for you, alanna. israel claims that the findings are wholly unfounded and lies from hamas. what do you think that we can anticipate from israel? i think that israel— anticipate from israel? i think that israel will _ anticipate from israel? i think that israel will say _ anticipate from israel? i think that israel will say the - anticipate from israel? i think that israel will say the right . that israel will say the right to self defence and south africa anticipated and laid out why there are no grounds for self defence in this case where there may be a genocide being perpetrated. and i think also, what we will see and tomorrow from israel is this argument that you know, they are the ones who have been under attack from hamas and that this is a response to this. and again, these are the arguments that they've laid out in defences. 0k, they've laid out in defences. ok, we have to leave the conversation there, but thank you forjoining us. the hearing at the top un court coincides with concerns about israel here in washington. the us state department said it maintains its support for israel to defend itself. but spokesperson vedant patel said aid going into

the territory through the rafah crossing in the south had come to a halt, as he urged israel to provide more sustained humanitarian access to gaza. so let me be clear, we continue to press for all border crossings to be open for overland deliveries of aid, but more must be done to address the scale of need. we have and will continue to press israel and other partners in the region to allow for — to ensure the safety of humanitarian actors and activities, open additional land crossings and remove impairments of the delivery of humanitarian aid and do more to make sure that aid can get to the places that it needs to go. those comments come as the us military announced that construction is complete on a temporary floating pier in gaza. the pier is designed to increase aid to gaza. ships carrying aid humanitarian assistance are expected to arrive in the coming days, according the white house. here's how the new aid distribution system works. commercial ships collect pallets from cyprus,

where hundreds of tons of aid are waiting. that aid is then delivered to a floating platform, anchored several kilometers off the coast of gaza. the aid is then picked up by smaller us military vessels who bring it to the newly constructed floating pier connected to the beach in gaza. the bbc spoke to someone and then until she and herfamily evacuated using humanitarian connectionsment and she spoke to us about living in a war zone. it was really horrible. until now, i have nightmares about my nights in gaza and rafah specifically. it wasn't easy. i couldn't sleep at flight. when i wake up in the morning, it doesn't feel like... like, i start asking myself — am i really awake? am i really

around my four family really awake? am i really around my fourfamily members? around my four family members? is around my fourfamily members? is it real? because it was horrible and no—one could actually understand what it was like living and facing. meanwhile, the biden administration said this week it would send $1 billion worth of weapons to israel. doing so requires certain approvals from members of congress. not all of them, even president biden�*s fellow democrats, are on board with sending that assistance, including congress woman jayapal, who i spoke to earlier. jayapal, who i spoke to earlier-— jayapal, who i spoke to earlier. ~ ~ . earlier. well, i think that the biden administration - earlier. well, i think that the biden administration is - earlier. well, i think that the biden administration is still. biden administration is still working to outline their doctrine in this moment towards the middle east and towards israel's funding. you heard the president last week make very clear on an interview that he is not going to provide offensive weapons to israel if israel launches a full—scale invasion of rafah. he also said that they had withheld a

shipment of bombs, 2,000lbs bombs to israel, which is still being withheld. the most recent assistance is troubling to us, because it hasn't really been put into context. my understanding is that it is defensive weapons that are part of the weapons that have been approved for some time. but i think that what i have communicated to them is, it's very confusing. because it muddies the message. i've also said that the president drew a redline on the rafah invasion. i want to make sure that that redline is not so thin you can't see it, because what we're seeing in rafah today is the amassing of troops to go into rafah, the leaf letting within rafah — 350,000 palestinians who have already fled rafah. these and the ground tanks that have already made their way into rafah. d0 made their way into rafah. do ou made their way into rafah. do you believe that there is an enforcement of that, of that redline? that if israel, as you said, it appears that israel is starting the ground operation. when don't know exactly what that looks like yet. what do

you expect to see from the biden administration there? well, i think that the president has been clear, and i spoke to him this weekend a couple of times on this topic. he has been clear and he's not backing down that if there is an invasion of rafah, that there will be no more offensive military assistance provided to israel. and the question is — what constitutes that invasion? people are fleeing. there's no safe place to go. there are tanks in rafah. the israeli army has taken over the rafah crossing. aid has essentially stopped. i spoke to administrator powers a couple of days ago, and she told me that the average trucks per day for the last seven days was 30 trucks per day that were making their way in to gaza, humanitarian assistance. that is paltry, meaningless, absolutely unacceptable for a

place where famine has set in and 1.1 million people are on the brink of starvation. we soke the brink of starvation. we spoke to — the brink of starvation. we spoke to one _ the brink of starvation. we spoke to one of _ the brink of starvation. we spoke to one of your congress woman cathy manning, who told us that the us has to live up to the agreements already made to the agreements already made to israel and help it defend against hamas. what is your response to that, that israel is doing what it needs to do to defeat hamas?— defeat hamas? well, i think that my response _ defeat hamas? well, i think that my response is - defeat hamas? well, i think that my response is that - defeat hamas? well, i think that my response is that the united states will always be there for defensive assistance against hezbollah, against iran, to protect innocent israelis with the iron dome, with the kinds of technology that are required in a defensive mode. what we will not do, and should not do is contribute to an offensive on innocent palestinians that have already led to over 35,000 people dead, over 75,000 injured — largely women and

children. and in a fight that the united states itself has said is not the way to defeat hamas. i said after october seven that that was a horrific attack. i condemned hamas. i even defended israel's right to defend itself. but, that does not include violating us domestic policy, withholding humanitarian assistance. it does not include violating humanitarian law, which i believe has happened. israel has said very _ believe has happened. israel has said very clearly - believe has happened. israel has said very clearly that. believe has happened. israel has said very clearly that we | has said very clearly that we are not responsible. hamas is embedding itself amongst civilians? ., ., ., civilians? international humanitarian - civilians? international humanitarian law - civilians? international humanitarian law does| civilians? international - humanitarian law does not distinguish between the cause of an event and the consequences of an invasion or of military action. so you can't say — because you did this bad thing to me, i am able to go in and target innocent civilians with impunity. that's just not how it works. that is why international humanitarian law very clearly states that it

does not take into account what started an event. whether you agree with or disagree with what started an event — it really looks at — how do you minimise casualties of innocent civilians once a conflict has started. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news: south west water says a parasite could have made its way into the brixham, devon, public water supply through a faulty valve.public health says 22 cases of cryptosporidiosis have been confirmed and up to 100 people reported symptoms to their gp in the last week. the illness causes diarrhoea and vomiting. people have been told to boil their tap water until further notice. bottled water is also being handed out. a five—year—old boy has died after falling from a block of flats in east london. he died at the scene. a neighbour who called the emergency services said the boy's parents were "inconsolable". police say the death is being treated as unexpected but not suspicious, and say they are working to establish the full

circumstances. the grocer morrisons is facing backlash from angry farmers for its trial of sales of new zealand lamb in 39 of its stores. the supermarket says it's in response to customer demand for cheaper prices. it says it will still sell british lamb. the national farmers union says new zealand lamb is produced to potentially lower standards. you're live with bbc news. russian leader vladimir putin and xijinping raised their deep ties. putin said russia and china wanted a political solution to the ukraine crisis, while xi called for a two—state solution to the war in gaza. the visit comes as russia faced hundreds of sanctions from the west for its invasion of ukraine. beijing has provided an important financial lifeline to russia. band plays. in the west, he's seen as a pariah. but in china, president putin is a key partner as beijing seeks

a new world order. one not led by the united states. the red carpet was rolled out, complete with a red army band welcome as they walked together in a show of defiance against western pressure. mr putin needs china. it's become an economic lifeline for an isolated and heavily—sanctioned russia. translation: china will always be a good neighbour and good friend of mutual trust with russia. mr putin said he would inform president xi about the situation in ukraine, and he said he would welcome china's role as peacemaker. beijing put forward a 12—point peace plan more than a year ago, but it received a lukewarm welcome from both ukraine and russia. but while mr xi is trying to play peacemaker, he's also

accused of helping to fuel russia's war. if the west wants to stop russia's advances in ukraine, they know here is one place they can do that. now, beijing is not supplying moscow with weapons, but the west believes it is supplying russia with components that it can use in its war machine. the us has a raft of new sanctions at the ready, this time to target chinese banks, so president xi has a decision to make. beijing does need moscow. russia supplies it with cheap oil and gas. this soaring trade also helps shield mr putin from western sanctions. beijing is not likely to make any policy shifts. instead, the two pledged to deepen their partnership, but mr xi will be calculating just how much he's willing to pay for mr putin's war. laura bicker,

bbc news, beijing. our guest shared what it meant for russia's offensive in ukraine. for russia's offensive in ukraine-— for russia's offensive in ukraine. . , ., ukraine. well, china is wanting eace. ukraine. well, china is wanting peace- we _ ukraine. well, china is wanting peace- we keep _ ukraine. well, china is wanting peace. we keep hearing - ukraine. well, china is wanting peace. we keep hearing that i ukraine. well, china is wanting i peace. we keep hearing that and xijinping was talking peace. we keep hearing that and xi jinping was talking about that, that they are looking — he said that the way to resolve the conflict is going to have some sort of negotiations or some sort of negotiations or some sort of a conference on that. but in which every side will be presented, so it wouldn't be — every side would agree to be present there. and so, as long as he is talking about this — i mean, he is on the side of peace, and in the meantime, vladimir putin is advancing precisely because china is willing not blocking any potential kind of moves forward for the russian side. so china is essentially

complicit, a complicit actor on putin's side in this relationship. and in relations to the war in ukraine. for more on the summit, i spoke to graham allison, former assistant secretary of defence for policy and plans he recently met with president xi during a private beijing visit in may. the relationship between china and russia is so unnatural. that is for all of the reasons of history, geopolitics, culture. these two countries should be adversaries. so most people have a hard time believing what they're actually seeing. and it makes the accomplishment of xi and putin all the more impressive in bending the structural forces to create this unnatural relationship. but in this unnatural relationship, there's no question that the benefit from china's point of view is that it from china's point of view is thatitis from china's point of view is

that it is has its longest border, secure and comfortable, with that — somebody has my back. so imagine if the us had been smart enough, or the europeans get russia on our side — how this would look, how it would feel for xi. and secondly, for every bit of time that putin folk yous european and american minds on ukraine and american minds on ukraine and are yous —— focuses european and american minds on ukraine and russia, is a day or an hour not focused on china. and what xi wants most in the world is to be left alone for china to do its own thing in its own neighbourhood. donald trump's former fixer faced another day of trial over the former president's alleged hush money payment to stormy daniels. trump's team is aiming to undermine cohen's history as a convicted liar. he's considered a star witness by

prosecutors. he received the $130,000 cheque from mr trump that ultimately led prosecutors indict the former president on business fraud. a contingent of far—right congressional republics attended including matt gates, the latest in a string of political trump allies to visit the courtroom. the bbc�*s allies to visit the courtroom. the bbc'sjohn sudworth was following from the courtroom in new york. michael cohen faced another hour's long crueling questions from donald trump's defence team. attempting to portray him as a compulsive liar out for revenge. for example, they played the jury some comments that mr cohen made in one of his podcasts in which he said that he wanted to see donald trump rot injail. for his part, mr cohen remained pretty calm under questioning, conceding that he had at times been dishonest. but his contention is that where he has lie, where he has committed

criminal acts, they have been at the behest and on behalf of his former boss. now, thejury might be asked to decide which of those two versions they believe fairly soon a verdict is expected if not next week, then probably the week after in a case that has major ramifications for this year's presidential election and, arguably, for the future of american democracy. here you have a former president, the first in american history to face criminal prosecution. a man who attempted to cling to power after the 2020 election. now claiming that the proceedings in the building behind me are an attempt to tip the scales of democracy in favour ofjoe biden without, it has to be said, any evidence at all. and all the while, surrounded by throngs of republican politicians here to support him, and up from washington in such numbers that

it now means that they are having to reschedule the business in congress. you'd want to say that you couldn't make any of this up, except, of course, in american politics in recent years, that phrase has lost something of its meaning. let's take a look at some other headlines now. there are reports of havy fighting and shelling in the city of el—faasher in the darfur region of sudan. the paramilitary rapid support forces — or rsf — are trying to capture the city, which is currently controlled by the sudanese army. medical workers say that since friday more than 50 people have been killed and about 400 injured. shifting winds are expected to push a major wildfire away from canada's major oil—producing region. this after over 6,000 people were ordered to leave their homes. wildfire season has come early this year, with thousands of people in western canada affected. more than 100 firefighters are battling the flames. and an anthrax threat prompted the evacuation a building in sacramento.

that is according to our news partner, cbs. a statement said that a package delivered to the building's ninth floor included a threat that it contained anthrax. and the us fda approved a treatment for people with the deadliest form of lung cancer. it is a targeted immunotherapy and was shown to reduce growth of people with small cell lung cancer. it increased their life expectancy and it is approved to patients whose have stopped responding to other treatments. thank you so much for watching bbc news. we're back at the top of the next hour. hello there. thursday brought us a real mixture of weather across the uk. it was scotland and, to a degree, the far north of england that had the best of the day's weather, with plenty of sunshine. and very warm in the highlands, temperatures reached

25 celsius in altnaharra — that was the warmest place in the whole of the uk, confirmation of the rather beautiful weather we had here. wasn't like that everywhere, though. for northern ireland, england and wales, we had rain or some thundery showers around, and across berkshire and also pembrokeshire, we had photographs sent to us of some funnel clouds there — tornadoes that don't quite make it all the way down to the ground. it was very wet for some. in nantwich in cheshire, we had 25 millimetres of rain. now on into friday's forecast, the tail end of the weather front will continue to feed in quite a lot of cloud across northern england, and we start off certainly with some mist and fog patches around some of our north sea coast. aside from northern england, though, i suspect overall, we're looking at a brighter day on friday with more in the way of sunshine. there will, though, be one or two showers popping up into the afternoon, one or two thunderstorms, but big gaps between those showers — that means probably for most of you, we're looking at a dry day with temperatures widely high teens to the low 20s. it will feel warm in the sunshine, highest temperatures,

probably west scotland, where i think we'll probably get to 2a — outside chance of a 25. on into the weekend, we've got a low pressure system threatening some heavier bursts of rain across southeast england, certainly more cloud around here as we head into the morning. otherwise, again, we're looking at a few mist and fog patches — clearing and lifting away, sunny spells, breaking through, and then, into the afternoon, one or two showers and thunderstorms popping up. temperatures still on the warm side — we're looking at highs well into the teens, 23—24 celsius in the very warmest areas. given the light winds and the may sunshine, that will feel very pleasant. for sunday, though, there is a slight change in the weather picture across scotland and northern ireland, in that there'll be a bit more in the way of cloud pushing in here — it could be thick enough to give us an odd patch of rain. england and wales mainly dry with some sunshine, but you will notice the temperatures just dropping a little bit across scotland and northern ireland, given that cloudier weather. now beyond that, into next week, looks like the start of the week should be ok — many of us will have drier

weather with sunny spells — but there's a tendency for the cloud to thicken, with rain arriving towards the second half of the week.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. just an average person in the world is rear—ended by a drunk driver.

isaid, "ok, well, mr chelsea, we need to leave now, "or we're both going to die." they described exactly what happened with the accident, and then, i wasjust in shock. he was burned over 75% of his body. he was almost unrecognisable. 68—year—old robert chelsea is the first african american| and the oldest person to receive a full face i transplant surgery. feeling all right? that's good. what we didn't really realise is what we were up against. facial transplantation has a lot of risks. squeeze. relax. he's notjust going to have this procedure and everything's

just going to be smooth sailing.