ukraine is just about holding the front here in the kharkiv region while the russians have launched this fresh assault. thank you forjoining us. israel says it has recovered the bodies of three hostages from gaza. israeli defence forces says it believes they were killed during the october seven attacks with around 1200 others. the victims are shani louk, amit buskila and itzhak gelerenter, seen here from left to right. until now it was hoped that amit buskila and 7 7metamacro were hoped that amit buskila and 7 ?metamacro were still alive. 7 7metamacro were still alive. they were among more than 250 hostages taken into gaza of which roughly half are still unaccounted for. the idf

expressed condolences to the families of the victims. fiur families of the victims. our hearts 90 — families of the victims. our hearts go out _ families of the victims. our hearts go out to _ families of the victims. our hearts go out to them. - families of the victims. oi" hearts go out to them. to the families at this difficult time. we will leave no stone unturned. we will do everything in our power to find hostages and bring them home. we will not rest until we do. meanwhile, lawyers for israel told the international court of justice that south africa is making a mockery of genocide. it comes after south africa urged the un's top court to order israel to stop its incursion into rafah. another both sides are presented arguments it is up to the judges to decide whether it is necessary to issue a ruling. israel describes south africa's case is an inversion of reality divorced from fact and accused south africa of exploiting the genocide convention by presenting outlandish allegations such as accusing

israel of creating extermination zones using language reminiscent of the holocaust and comparing the situation in rafah to the genocide in eastern europe. a state wishing to commit genocide would not provide aid as israel has and would not have waited to commence a grand operation in rafah to give civilians time to evacuate. they said if the icj granted south africa's request for a provisional measure and ordered idf troops to immediately withdraw, then it would be violating israel's right to defend itself and enabling hamas to continue to commit crime. israel said that if hostages were released and hamas lay down its arms then hostilities would cease.- hostilities would cease. anna holick and — hostilities would cease. anna holick and reporting - hostilities would cease. anna holick and reporting there. i hostilities would cease. anna holick and reporting there. the us military confirmed that a temporary period built by american troops has been used for the first time to deliver

humanitarian aid to gaza. central command said aid trucks began coming ashore in the morning, they began building the floating base weeks of go and it will take hundreds of tons of aid to palestinians. the pier is welcomed but it is not a long—term solution. we not a long-term solution. we welcome _ not a long-term solution. we welcome all _ not a long—term solution. - welcome all efforts to get more aid into the gaza strip even how desperate the situation here is when this pier was set “p here is when this pier was set up it was intended to be complementary to land routes. it was not supposed to be the solution. we are now in a situation where those crossings, the land crossings have all but closed so we welcome it.— have all but closed so we welcome it. , ., , welcome it. ground deliveries to gaza have _ welcome it. ground deliveries to gaza have essentially - to gaza have essentially stopped since israeli forces took side of the gaza side of the rafah crossing last week. un continues to warn the palestinians on the region are on the brink of famine. doctor say the supreme that make the

lack of nutrition is pushing gaza to the brink. al—aqsa hospital is one of the last functioning healthcare facilities — where doctors from around the world have been volunteering their services. professor nick maynard, a consultant surgeon, is one of them — here's part of a video diary he sent the bbc. it was very different to the first trip we had to al—aqsa. what we did see were the most appalling effects of the malnutrition that we're seeing in gaza. severe malnutrition prevents wound healing and will prevent these patients from recovering from injuries that otherwise they would recover easily from. and you get this vicious cycle where they really, rapidly deteriorate in their health. they will then die of that, if they're not treated. but these are often very young people who, under normal circumstances, would recover fairly well from their operations. but because they have such severe malnutritions, their wounds will not heal properly at all.

one of our patients, lama, was an 18—year—old girl who had significant explosive injuries. there's no doubt in our minds she would have survived these injuries if she had not been malnourished. very sadly, she died the day we left gaza. vladimir zelensky has given a wide—ranging interview to a french news agency, touching on a variety of topics including casting doubt on emmanuel macron�*s proposal for casting doubt on emmanuel macron�*s proposalfor a casting doubt on emmanuel macron�*s proposal for a truce during the upcoming olympics. mr zelensky said with certain terms are truce is not out of the realms of possibility to translation: we the realms of possibility to translation:— the realms of possibility to translation: ., ., ., ., , translation: we are not against a truce and _ translation: we are not against a truce and not _ translation: we are not against a truce and not against _ translation: we are not against a truce and not against the - translation: we are not against a truce and not against the end . a truce and not against the end of the war. but we want a fair and to the war and we are againstany and to the war and we are against any truce that plays into the hands of the enemy. that is what we are against. it

is clear why. ijust do not want to let them take more of our territory. want to let them take more of our territory-— our territory. and as russian forces make _ our territory. and as russian forces make advances - our territory. and as russian forces make advances in - forces make advances in ukraine, president volodymyr zelensky has signed new laws to boost army recruitment. under the new legislation — some prisoners will be allowed to join the military. they'll be released on parole to enlist under special contracts. certain prisoners, however — including rapists or convicts who have murdered two or more people — are not eligible. the new law also raises the penalty for men who ignore the draft to $650. it comes amid heavy fighting in the north east of ukraine. while president putin has said he had no plans to capture the second largest city, kharkiv — russia is making its biggest gains there in 18 months. our defence correspondent, jonathan beale, sent this special report from the front line. near the village of lyptsi, the russians are closing in. the fire from a recent rocket attack near a ukrainian position. we are told to immediately head to a bunker.

taking shelter, recently arrived ukrainian reinforcements. a week ago, they were fighting elsewhere on the front. andrei tells me the situation is dynamic and tense. from a drone feed, they are nervously watching and waiting for another attack. he says it's time to leave. they've just spotted enemy forces advancing. this is where they are directing artillery fire. they are telling us to get out. they've said this area is under threat, and we're going to go. at a field hospital further from the front, medics are treating victor. he has lost his fingers

in a mortar explosion. he says he and his men were fending off wave after wave of russian attacks. they were outnumbered and also outgunned. translation: they have - everything, whatever they want, and we have nothing to fight with, but we do what we can. ukraine's been starved of ammunition, but president zelensky says the shortage is now being addressed. at an artillery line outside the town of vovchansk, they've just received another batch of shells, for their old soviet—era gun. ukraine is just about holding the front here in the kharkiv region, while the russians have launched this fresh assault, but only by pulling units like this from elsewhere on the front, in places where the russians have been advancing. these guys have just been given a new target.

but they are frustrated, too, that the russians were so easily able to cross the border. translation: we could have built some kind - of fortifications and lost less human lives, fewer villages. now, we will have to fight for it again. we will need to use more resources. we could have used logs and concrete. now we will have to use shells and people to take this land back. kharkiv was fortified, but these defences were built well away from the border, beyond the range of russian artillery. too far to make a difference. explosions further east, where the russians are also gaining ground, ukraine is building more defences — a recognition it may have to pull back here too. but digging so close to russian lines is dangerous and difficult, as we're about to find out. johnny, johnny! johnny!

get down! we are told to take cover... quick, quick, quick. ..as a russian armed drone hovers right above us, scanning for potential targets. drone whirs there is palpable relief when it passes. this is a war in which it is getting harder to hide, where the enemy's watching your every move. yeah, let's go. jonathan beale, bbc news, kharkiv. live now to kay bailey hutchison — a former republican us senator and former us ambassador to nato. a lwa ys always good to have you on bbc news. how serious do you deem the situation to be?—

the situation to be? thank you. i am very _ the situation to be? thank you. i am very concerned, _ the situation to be? thank you. i am very concerned, of- the situation to be? thank you. | i am very concerned, of course, that there has been such a russian offensive. i am hopeful that what our supreme allied commander has said is that russia really does not have the troops to do the necessary events to take over kharkiv however i do hope that america will get its weapons to help the ukraine and nato is certainly doing that and i hope that we will be able to allow the ukrainians to attack the areas in russia that are lobbing the bombs and the missiles into ukraine from the russian side. i think that is the next step that needs to be taken. ., . ., ~ the next step that needs to be taken. ., ., ., ~ ., taken. you are talking about the us providing _ taken. you are talking about the us providing weapons i taken. you are talking about l the us providing weapons with which ukraine can attack into

russia. is that not supremely risk key and considered a provocation to vladimir putin? i do not think so. i think that when ukraine isjust a sitting duck and russia has virtually no constraints then they can log these missiles and continue to kill the ukrainian people and destroy their infrastructure. i think the time has come that we say yes, we do not want to escalate the war but that is what russia is doing and you cannotjust be on the defence all the time. you have to have the ability to take out the bombs that are being logged into your country from outside. you cannot say, you cannot take those out. we need to freely ukrainians to be able to take out those offensive weapons. i know president _ offensive weapons. i know president zelensky - offensive weapons. i know president zelensky would | president zelensky would certainly welcome the kind of support. he's been given an interview to afp where he

expressed frustration with the west. i want to play the clip now. this is what he said. translation: we now. this is what he said. translation:— now. this is what he said. translation: we are in a nonsense _ translation: we are in a nonsense situation - translation: we are in a nonsense situation west i translation: we are in a nonsense situation west isj nonsense situation west is afraid that russia will lose the war and it does not want ukraine to lose it because ukraine's final victory will lead to russia's defeat in the final victory of russia will lead to ukraine's defeat. [30 lead to ukraine's defeat. do ou lead to ukraine's defeat. do you think — lead to ukraine's defeat. do you think that is a fair assessment, that the west is afraid of russia losing the war? ., ~' afraid of russia losing the war? ., ~ ~ .. afraid of russia losing the war? ., ~ ~ ., , war? no. i think america wants ukraine to _ war? no. i think america wants ukraine to win _ war? no. i think america wants ukraine to win but _ war? no. i think america wants ukraine to win but i _ war? no. i think america wants ukraine to win but i do - war? no. i think america wants ukraine to win but i do think i ukraine to win but i do think we have been too timid to allow ukraine to do everything necessary to win which is to take out the missiles that have been launched from russia and then go on the offensive to push the lines back where it russia has invaded and to start pushing back toward the boundaries of ukraine. irate pushing back toward the boundaries of ukraine. we know that russia _ boundaries of ukraine. we know that russia is _ boundaries of ukraine. we know that russia is receiving - boundaries of ukraine. we know that russia is receiving help - that russia is receiving help

from its ally, china, certainly financial help and we know china has been buying a lot of russian oil. we saw president putin visit president xi and ukrainian president zelensky wants china to take part in a peace summit that will take place in switzerland injune. do you think china can realistically play a role here in somehow leading towards a ceasefire or some sort of resolution?— resolution? we would all welcome _ resolution? we would all welcome any _ resolution? we would all welcome any entity - resolution? we would all welcome any entity that| resolution? we would all- welcome any entity that could do this. but i think the question is where do you start the boundary lines? we want to start the boundary lines where ukraine wants them which is what is recognised as ukraine but russia has taken over so much of that ukrainian region that would china come in and say yes we will work for peace but we are going to start at russia's lines not ukraine's lines. ., , lines. that will be the

question. _ lines. that will be the question. the - lines. that will be the l question. the question lines. that will be the - question. the question asked lines. that will be the _ question. the question asked by some republicans in particular here in washington is that if that vision of ukraine's sovereignty will be realistic to pursue. that ukraine can regain all its territory. what do you think of that? i think that we have _ do you think of that? i think that we have to _ do you think of that? i think that we have to see. - do you think of that? i think that we have to see. let's i do you think of that? i think i that we have to see. let's give them the chance to win, first of all, let them go on the fence and then let's negotiate where the lines are, where ukraine says the lines are. and thatis ukraine says the lines are. and that is where i think ukraine has to be the final word on that. maybe ukraine would be willing to make accommodations but it is their decision to make and i think that having china be an arbiter would really have to be questioned if they would take the russian positions since they are helping russia in this way so i think all of that is to be determined. there should be a

negotiation. ukraine needs to start that process and then i think all of us that are helping ukraine would want to be helpful in every way whether it is china or whoever would be the right leader of that. i don't think we would quibble but i think ukraine has to start the conversation about where those boundaries are and not deal with a russian substitute in china. thank you so much for— substitute in china. thank you so much for having _ substitute in china. thank you so much for having this - substitute in china. thank you so much for having this on - so much for having this on tonight. in georgia, thousands of supporters of the country's powerful orthodox church have marched in the capital tbilisi to mark "family purity" day. it was established by the country's orthodox church to counter international day against homophobia. it comes amidst the ongoing mass protests against a controversial "foreign agents" law adopted by the georgian parliament earlier this week. our correspondent rayhan demytrie sent this report. today, georgians are marking family values day. may the 17th is the international day against

homophobia and transphobia in the rest of the world. here in georgia, some years ago, there were serious attacks against lgbt activists on this very day, 17th of may, and after that, the georgian orthodox church proclaimed it as family purity and family values day. so important to us to have a family which is very strong, which has a strong base, based on georgian traditions, history, and mostly on georgia's religion. it's like family is love, i i think, and god is love. and we should - celebrate this day. a lot of people here, thousands and thousands of people, conservative groups that are affiliated with the church and traditionalists, they're marching towards the country's main cathedral. this rally is taking place amidst ongoing mass protests in georgia against a controversial law which the government passed earlier this week. it's called "on the transparency of foreign funding",

and it targets non—governmental organisations and independent media. translation: of course i support this law. - we should have adopted it a long time ago. we don't know how these ngos are spending their money, and they are doing everything against the faith and against the motherland. the people that are marching today are the ones that the government is trying to appeal to when they talk about the threat that is coming from non—governmental organisations that are being targeted by this controversial law. they accuse these non—governmental organisations of lgbt propaganda, for example, and that's what these people also oppose. they see their country's future as part of the eu, but they are absolutely adamant that georgia has to preserve its traditional

conservative values. cctv footage has emerged appearing to show the rapper sean diddy combs assaulting his then girlfriend cathy ventura at a hotel in 2016. she made allegations of rape and physical abuse against him in a lawsuit that was settled last year. mr combs is at the centre of several civil lawsuits accusing him of sex offences. this report by our correspondent contains images you may find upsetting. cassie ventura claims she suffered years of abuse in her relationship with p diddy, one of the most influential artists in hip—hop. in the cctv footage, she is seen leaving a hotel room. sean combs appears to run after her before carrying out a violent assault. the full tape shows her being kicked as she lies on the ground. after taking her items, next, the rapper seems to be seen

throwing an object towards her. the video — obtained by the american news channel cnn — has not been independently verified, but lawyers for cassie ventura, who has not objected to it being shown, say it confirms p diddy�*s disturbing and predatory behaviour. last month, homes linked with sean combs were raided by police in what they said was an ongoing investigation into sex trafficking. officers searched properties in beverly hills, new york and miami associated with his production company. cassie ventura had previously brought a lawsuit against sean combs in relation to the incident in the video, said to be at a los angeles hotel. she reached an out—of—court settlement, but since then, several other women have come forward, accusing him of sexual abuse. sean combs has previously denied all the allegations. his lawyer is calling it a witch—hunt and saying he would fight to clear his name. but the video appears to corroborate one of the incidents described

in cassie ventura's case. her accusations and others against p diddy — a self—proclaimed bad boy — now part of a dramatic downfall for one of hip—hop's biggest names. emma vardy, bbc news, los angeles. cu ba ns cubans are enduring some of the bleakest economic times since the cold war amid worsening inflation, a scarcity of basic goodsin inflation, a scarcity of basic goods in the decades long us economic embargo. in an unexpected move the country's economy minister was arrested in march for corruption many think it will take more than one ministerial had to roll to pull cuba from its economic woes. our correspondent travelled to the heartland of one of cuba's most quintessential industries, sugar, to see how tough the situation has become. sugar is in cuba's dna. in fact, there's a saying on the island, "without sugar, there's no country." but this year's sugar cane harvest will be one of the poorest on record.

sugar is supposed to be the mainstay of the cuban economy, as emblematic to the island as its tobacco, but a series of factors — principally the lack of available fuel and years of underinvestment — have made cuban sugar an industry in near terminal decline. "there's not enough trucks. "and the fuel shortages mean sometimes we can't work "for days," says miguel guzman. it's a situation made worse by the decades—long us sanctions on the island. "still, cuba needs the sugar," he adds. it certainly does, in part for its famous rum. but the problems here aren't just the fault of the us embargo. they're also from mismanagement of cuba's centralised economy. this 19th—century sugar mill in cienfuegos runs on rusting, obsolete technology, and it's one ofjust two dozen working mills on the island. once unthinkable, cuba now imports sugar to meet domestic demand, a far cry from the glory days when cuban sugar was exported to the world.

one man who can get his hands on enough sugar is martin nizarane. part of a new breed of cuban entrepreneur, his business produces yoghurt and ice cream. the production of foodstuffs in private hands is a big change in cuba, yet it's been hailed by the cuban president as a model for the future. this is capitalism, pure and simple, no matter how much the businessmen behind it display their revolutionary credentials. translation: the government has never proposed anything _ that benefits me economically. it treats me like just another private entrepreneur — no special privileges whatsoever. amid spiralling inflation, cuba's government recently imposed a fivefold increase on subsidised fuel at the petrol pumps. ordinary cubans say they're suffering more than at any other time since the cold war, and the us election brings no hope of respite from washington, no matter who wins.

but cuba's problems extend beyond the race for the white house. with its sugar plants barely operational, the island's in danger of losing part of its soul, its once iconic trade now a ghost industry, a mere shadow of its former self. will grant, bbc news, cienfuegos, cuba. let's ta ke let's take a quick look at some other headlines now. the man who attacked husband of nancy pelosi, the former speaker of the us house was sentenced to 30 years prison on friday. please put a camera footage of the incident shows the man breaking into the house and stroking poor policy with a hammer in 2022. mr pelosi suffered a fractured skull and other injuries. lawyers for the accused say he was motivated by right wing conspiracy theories. the vatican will provide new guidelines for reporting apparitions and supernatural phenomena. some including weeping statues have been recognised by church officials

to be credible but social media means cases of disinformation have also sought. us zoos may soon be panellists as preparations are under way for the last zoo with bears to say by this fall. officials at zoo atlanta say they are set to return a pair along with their american—born twins to china. not all hope is lost as pandas could arrive at the san diego zoo as soon as this summer. that is a show at this hour. thank you for watching bbc news. hello there. it was another day of contrast on friday with high—temperature's across northern scotland. 2a degrees celsius compared to 13 and 1a

degrees for some lossy facing coasts. —— compare that to just 13, 1a degrees for some north sea—facing coasts, plenty of fret and haar lasting for much of the day and a cool onshore breeze, too. now, there will be more mist and fog forming through the weekend, a weekend of sunny spells and some showers. but there will be plenty of dry weather, with a large area of high pressure out in the atlantic starting to nose in. low pressure over the near continent, and that's going to send some rain tracking westwards across southern england as we head through saturday morning. otherwise, a dry start to the day. it's mild. there'll be plenty of mist and fog, general murk and some sea fog, too, out towards those north sea coasts. now, all of that is going to be burnt back by the warm, strong may sunshine. plenty of that throughout the day, lots of dry weather, too. the rain in the south will gradually clear away, but some heavy, thundery downpours perhaps developing for western areas. more isolated showers further east. here, it should stay largely dry. and it's cloudier and cooler across northern ireland and northern scotland. still cool again for those

north sea—facing coasts, maybe 2a degrees for the central belt of scotland. otherwise, temperatures just slightly above the seasonal average — high teens, low 20s. and all of that mist and murk, sea fog willjust reform again as we head through saturday night into sunday morning, a slightly fresher feel to the morning. and again, that mist and the fog first thing is going to start to burn back with all of the sunshine developing. again, it's quite cloudy, i think, towards parts of northern scotland. some of that mist and fog could gradually sink southwards down towards parts of northeast england as we head throughout the day. but there will be a lot of sunshine around, a scattering of showers again, perhaps towards the south of england and again across southwest scotland. once again, it's cooler and cloudier for northern scotland. should be some sunny spells developing across northern ireland. monday is looking largely dry for most. again, some mist and fog, some isolated showers, but then this area of low pressure is going to start to move in from the near continent as we head through tuesday and wednesday. so through the middle parts of next week, it could turn rather unsettled and a little cooler again, but temperatures building again perhaps by the end 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.

this is taipei, capital of taiwan, an island democracy of 23 million people. but taiwan's international status is highly contested. it's claimed by beijing, but it's never been part of the people's republic of china. instead, over the last 20 years, taiwan has evolved into a thriving democracy. in 2016, people here chose their first female president, tsai ing—wen. she rejects china's claims to taiwan and has moved the island further towards japan and the united states. when i sat down with president tsai at her home in taipei, i began on that delicate topic, the threat from china, and whether it's increased under the leadership of xijinping. do you fear xijinping7 do you think the world, the democratic world, should fear xijinping and his ambitions7 i think xijinping now, despite the fact that he may have a plan of some sort, but i don't think that is

a definitive plan because, you know, the world