of the uk's worst miscarriages ofjustice resumes as hundreds of sub postmasters wrongly convicted of fraud are to have their convictions overturned. and last year's record—breaking heat is found to have significantly impacted the global water cycle by exercerbating severe storms and developing droughts faster. hello, i'm samantha simmonds, welcome to the programme. the international court ofjustice is holding the first hearing today, where it will consider whether israel is committing genocide against the palestinians in gaza. south africa brought the case to the court. israel has forcefully rejected the accusation, claiming it's acting in self—defence.

the hague where proceedings have just got under way. south africa are putting forward their arguments today, and israel will do theirs on friday. live now to the hague to speak to our correspondent anna holligan. welcome. just explain who the icj are and how the court makes their decisions. i are and how the court makes their decisions. ., ., , g ., decisions. i am outside the icj now, but we have — decisions. i am outside the icj now, but we have just — decisions. i am outside the icj now, but we have just banned _ decisions. i am outside the icj now, but we have just banned the - decisions. i am outside the icj now, | but we have just banned the camera around to show you what is happening behind the scenes. we have two sets of supporters here. palestinian on one side, and is really on the other. police are trying to keep them separated, but there have been a few heated exchanges. the court is just around the other side. as you can see, lots ofjournalists outside, the hearing isjust getting under way now. we are going to start this morning with two ad hocjudges being sworn in. one from south africa, one from israel, as

countries have a right to do when they do not have judges sitting on they do not have judges sitting on the bench inside the peace palace. this is home to the international court ofjustice. to be clear on this court's mandate, this was a court set up after the second world war, and it deals with disputes between states. we are not looking at any kind of criminal responsibility here, this is purely a court that deals with things like border disputes and also disputes under international treaties. here we are talking about the genocide convention. this court case was brought by south africa under the genocide convention, accusing israel of failing to meet its obligations. i want to just try to turn the camera around again, if we can. it is pretty busy here, but actually the action is happening outside the court as well as inside. this is really a reflection of how other countries are seeing this as an opportunity to express their support on both sides. the south african

case has a lot of support, israel to know, considerable support. later on today, we will be speaking to some of the relatives of the hostages, the israeli hostages. they have travelled here to the hague, family members, as have many palestinian supporters. evenjust in members, as have many palestinian supporters. even just in terms of the uk, how the split is manifesting itself, jeremy corbyn is here in the hague to support the palestinian cause, and we have heard from british foreign secretary lord cameron, he doesn't think this case at the icj is helpful. as you can see and hear, tensions are pretty high here in the hague. this hearing will last for three hours. this is south africa's chance to present its case. tomorrow israel will have three hours to present its defence. israel has denied any wrongdoing.

and on wednesday, we heard from benjamin netanyahu, he says israel has no intention of expelling palestinians from the gaza strip or permanently occupying the territory. right now, this hearing is dealing with interim measures. south africa has asked for urgent intervention. they want thejudges has asked for urgent intervention. they want the judges to do a number of things, including ask israel to immediately cease its military action in gaza, to refrain from any statements which could constitute incitement to genocide, allow humanitarian access and fact—finding investigative mission is to access the gaza strip. we will be following this, bringing you all the action from here in the hague.- this, bringing you all the action from here in the hague. thank you. we can see — from here in the hague. thank you. we can see all _ from here in the hague. thank you. we can see all the _ from here in the hague. thank you. we can see all the judges _ from here in the hague. thank you. we can see all the judges who - from here in the hague. thank you. we can see all the judges who have | we can see all the judges who have just lined up there inside the hague as they prepare to hear the case being put forward by south africa over the next few hours. our diplomatic correspondent,

paul adams, explains the arguments presented by both sides, and looks at the legal threshold for the crime of genocide. for three months, the world has looked on in horror at the scenes from gaza. the huge numbers of palestinian civilians killed orforced to move, the sheer level of destruction. south africa says this is evidence of genocide. israel says that is an outrageous accusation. according to a 1948 convention, genocide is a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group in whole or in part. that, south africa says, is what israel is doing in gaza. just look at the statistics. israel has killed more than 23,000 palestinians, more than 300,000 housing units have been damaged or destroyed, and around 85% of the population has been displaced. there is no place in gaza that is safe. we have seen the number of people that israel has killed, but notjust killed and wounded, they have destroyed

the infrastructure and made it so that life in gaza is no longer possible. then there is the question of israel's intent. look at what israeli politicians have been saying since october 7. israel's president, "it's an entire nation out there that is responsible." it's hard line minister for national security, "they are all terrorists and they should also be destroyed." and the deputy speaker of parliament, "we all have one common goal — erasing the gaza strip from the face of the earth." but can any of this be said to be proof of genocide? remember, this is not just about war crimes, genocide is notoriously difficult to prove. you have to have evidence of a plan or a pattern of behaviour that cannot be explained in any other way. israel will argue that it was acting in self—defence, following dreadful hamas attacks of october 7,

that it had no choice but to act. they are still motivated, israel would argue, presumably, on the basis of its military campaign. so, even if they have gone beyond what the law permits them to do in a military campaign, it is still driven by the logic of the military campaign and not by a genocidal logic. it will take the court years to reach a final verdict. but if it thinks the south african case has some merit, it could issue a temporary remedy known as a provisional measure, designed to curb israel's military campaign. israel could, of course, ignore the court ruling, but such calls from the un's top legal body could add to the pressure mounting on israel to act differently in gaza. we can speak to paul now. welcome. take us through the timeframe over the next couple of days and when any likely decision, short—term decision, could be made.

it is a very simple process, samantha, two hours for each site to present their case. it is all going to be overfairly present their case. it is all going to be over fairly quickly. present their case. it is all going to be overfairly quickly. how long it takes the court to decide on whether to issue provisional measures, that is the interim step that the court could take, is a little unclear, but it could happen quite quickly, in stark contrast to its final ruling, which, judging by the record of the court in recent years on other cases, could take several years. years on other cases, could take severalyears. but years on other cases, could take several years. but i think the south african intent here is probably all about those provisional measures, all about trying to do something that stops israel in its tracks as soon as possible, brings about some kind of ceasefire, primarily. so that, i think, kind of ceasefire, primarily. so that, ithink, is kind of ceasefire, primarily. so that, i think, is what the south africans are looking for, rather than, frankly, the rather unlikely prospect of a final verdict in the

coming years that indeed this was genocidal. the coming years that indeed this was aenocidal. , ., genocidal. the icj ruling are theoretically _ genocidal. the icj ruling are theoretically legally - genocidal. the icj ruling are| theoretically legally binding, aren't they, but they are not enforceable, are they?- aren't they, but they are not enforceable, are they? that is riuht. enforceable, are they? that is right- both — enforceable, are they? that is right. both south _ enforceable, are they? that is right. both south africa - enforceable, are they? that is right. both south africa and i enforceable, are they? that is - right. both south africa and israel are signatories to that 1948 convention. so in theory both countries should abide by the court's rulings. but you're right, there is no enforcement mechanism, and so israel could choose simply to ignore any provisional measures that the court decides to lay down. i think that is probably what israel will do, because it has been clear from the get go here that israel has a very clear... not a clear, necessarily, but a very strong sense of what it is trying to achieve in gaza, the complete destruction of hamas as a political and military force, and it will not be dissuaded by outside forces. i think what this... the implications of this

could be would be to add to the pressure that is building all the time on israel to try to modify its behaviour. we have already heard for weeks now the americans, israel's chief international backer, asking, pleading with the israelis to go about things in gaza differently. so far, there is little sign that the israelis have heeded those please. so, another one coming from the international, from the un's top legal body, would add to that sense of pressure. legal body, would add to that sense of pressure-— of pressure. paul, thank you very much for now. _ the 15 the isjudges now are presiding there. we can see the president of there. we can see the president of the international court ofjustice, joanne donahue, she is making her opening comments. we will of course keep across what is happening there and update you in the coming hours. here in the uk, a former post office investigator — whose work led to criminal proceedings against sub—postmasters — is to face questions at the public

inquiry into the horizon it scandal. the hearings began in february 2022, but these latest evidence sessions are set against a backdrop of increased scrutiny about the miscarriage ofjustice, triggered by the broadcast of an itv drama. ben boulos has the latest. i haven't got that money, and i don't know where it's gone. jo hamilton, the sub—postmistress portrayed in the recent itv drama, has played a key role in the fight for justice. she told bbc breakfast her story back in march 2020. 14 times i had to plead guilty. you just wanted to scream. i'd been told that i had to look like i was sorry, and... ..erm, and ijust couldn't explain it. the whole thing was crazy. and two days later, a powerful committee of mps promised they'd investigate. we will be launching an inquiry next week to try and get some answers, and to try and get some justice for people like seema and jo, but hundreds of others

in the same position. that was four years ago. do you remember how you felt when the announcement of the mps' inquiry was made live on breakfast? wow, it's so exciting. at least somebody somewhere is taking it seriously, you know, which, up until then nobody was really listening. that mps' inquiry led to the bigger public inquiry that resumes today. a statutory public inquiry like this one is a big deal. it has the full backing of the law to make witnesses attend and face questions, even if they don't want to. it can't punish anyone, but it can point the finger where it thinks people and organisations have failed or acted badly. and ultimately, it's about getting to the truth of what really happened and who was involved. and that matters, as one wronglyjailed branch manager told us on yesterday's bbc breakfast special. you're going to the inquiry, are you? lam, yes. what will you be telling the inquiry? i'm not. i'm actually watching one of my investigators, who helped send me to prison.

to hear them give evidence? give evidence, yeah, tomorrow. and what are you expecting to hear? what do you want to hear? what do you need to hear? i've brought a notepad just to write down, "i don't recall", "i don't remember". i'm going to calculate just to see how many times he says it. how important is it to see the post office's own investigators be quizzed and appear before the inquiry? well, i personally found it very cathartic. i enjoyed watching them squirm a bit. and i think it's good for you to see them put on the rack, just like we were put on the rack in the crown court, because i know how it felt when he was round here at the house accusing me. the prime minister's now announced a new law that will overturn all remaining convictions, and the 555 postmasters who took the post office to the high court in 2019, and won, will get an upfront payment of £75,000. they have lost everything. they've lost houses,

livelihoods, shops, businesses. you know, it's — to think that £75,000 is actually enough, to an average member of the public, they would think that's a lot of money. but actually, when you look at what people have lost, it's absolutely nothing, you know. i think they missed the nought off the end personally. and for our viewers in the uk, you can watch coverage of the post office inquiry live on bbc news from 9:30 this morning. let's move to the us now. republican presidential candidates ron desantis and nikki haley squared off in a tense debate on wednesday, trading barbs just days before the iowa caucuses. have a listen. we don't need another mealy—mouthed politician who just tells you what she thinks you want to hear, just to try to get your vote. he has switched his policies multiple times, and we will call that out tonight. but every time he lies,

drake university, don't turn this into a drinking game because you will be over served by the end of the night. well, one good rule of thumb, if she says she has never said something, that definitely means she has said it. and then she will say, "you're lying, you're lying." that means not only did she say it, but she is on video tape saying it. we can play this song and dance. she has a record, she makes statements, and i think part of the problem with her candidacy is, now that she is getting scrutiny, she has got this problem with ballistic podiatry, shooting herself in the foot every other day. leadership is about getting things done. how did you blow through $150 million in your campaign and you're down in the polls? you are not a manager. this is very instructive. this is very instructive about how nikki haley sees the world. i think i have the floor. despite the attacks to each other, both candidates criticised frontrunner donald trump's record. they questioned multiple times why he wasn't at the debate, but dodged a question about his character. the former president, once again,

opted not to participate. instead, he appeared at a fox news town hall event. on monday, republican members in iowa will be the first to vote for their preferred candidate, with donald trump still leading the pack. live now to cbs correspondentjarred hill. good to see you. how important was this debate and who came out on top? who came out on top, i think that will be left to the voters in iowa. this was a chance to see these two, in particular, going head—to—head, directly at each other, trying to take aim and not one of the two out. when it comes to how this plays in the grand scheme of things, in particular with iowa, this is really a race for second place. that does not necessarily mean that it does not necessarily mean that it does not matter for either of these two candidates, because potentially how they show up in iowa could really give a sign, particularly for ron desantis, or whether he could continue on with this race as he is trailing in the polls in the next

upcoming primary election in new hampshire. nikki haley, it be a could gauge of how to go forward. when it comes to new hampshire, she is really close to donald trump, according to some of the most recent polls, within single digits in new hampshire. again, there is the possibility that a good showing in iowa, even if it is not a win in iowa, even if it is not a win in iowa, could put them in a better position going forward. what position going forward. what explanation _ position going forward. what explanation did _ position going forward. what explanation did donald - position going forward. what explanation did donald trump get for not being there? does he intend to be at any of these debates? figs not being there? does he intend to be at any of these debates? $5 of be at any of these debates? as of now, no. be at any of these debates? as of new. n0- this— be at any of these debates? as of now, no. this has _ be at any of these debates? as of now, no. this has been _ be at any of these debates? ff: rrf now, no. this has been something that he and his campaign have talked about over the past couple of months, they do not see there being a need for him to show up to these debates because he is leading so significantly in the polls, in particular right now talking about iowa. in iowa itself will stop his campaign has made the argument that there is no point in him showing up to these debates because this allows for him to not have to answer to any of the direct commentary or direct attacks from his opponents until he

is able to do what we saw yesterday, have a solo town hall meeting where he can speak on his own. he has also been doing a lot of his campaigning or was i been doing a lot of his campaigning orwas i campaigning been doing a lot of his campaigning or was i campaigning from the courthouse, where he has been showing up over the course of the past couple of days in particular, defending himself against some of these multiple legal challenges. thank you for the update. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. researchers at oxford university say the death rate among pregnant women and new mothers rose during the pandemic, to its highest level in nearly two decades. blood clots in the veins was the most common cause of death, with heart disease and poor mental health also common. the department of health says, "last year, nhs england published a three—year plan to make maternity and neonatal care safer". the uk government is planning the biggest expansion of its nuclear power industry in 70 years. a new nuclear plant would quadruple supplies by 2050,

which the government claims would lower bills and improve energy security. nuclear power currently provides around 15% of the uk's electricity but many of the country's aging reactors are due to be decommissioned over the next decade. the authorities in the ukrainian city of kharkiv say at least 11 people have been injured in a russian missile strike on a hotel. the mayor of kharkiv said no military personnel were in the hotel. you're live with bbc news. the uk's maritime trade organisation says it has received a report of a vessel being boarded by a group of armed men in the gulf of oman. it happened off the eastern coast of oman, in a stretch of water between oman and iran. the location is said to be around 50 miles to the east of the port of sohar. in a message posted on social media, the organisation says four or five men, carrying weapons and wearing

military style black uniforms and masks, boarded the ship at around 0330 gmt. the name of the ship has not been made public, and it's not yet known who may be responsible. let's go to ecuador now where there's been a wave of deadly violence. the country's armed forces say they've arrested more than 300 suspected gang members since the president declared a state of emergency. it comes after pictures of masked gunmen storming a tv station during a live broadcast in the city of guayaquil shocked the nation. will grant has the story, from guayaquil in ecuador. viewers in ecuador watched in disbelief as masked and armed gang members entered a state tv channel and held staff hostage, all of it televised live. translation: they shot one of our cameramen i in the leg, broke the arm of another one. they were shooting bullets inside the studio. the police were called

and came in minutes. the gang was soon arrested and the hostages released. but the tv station ambush was just part of the descent into chaos. panic as gunmen stormed guayaquil university. explosions around the country. schools and businesses shut down. and widespread rioting inside ecuador�*s prisons. in response, president daniel noboa called a state of emergency and imposed a curfew. by decree he designated 22 gangs terrorist organisations and ordered the military to, as he put it, neutralise them. president noboa says that ecuador is now engaged in an internal armed conflict. but while this explosion of gang violence may have caught the nation off guard, in truth, the storm, which has turned ecuadorfrom one of the safest nations in latin america to one of the most violent, has been brewing for years. an iron fist on crime has been

used here before, but it did little to break the gangs' stranglehold on the andean nation or slow its slide towards bloodshed. will grant, bbc news, guayaquil. 15 people have died after riots in papua new guinea's capital city. port moresby saw widespread violence on wednesday, including looting and arson, after police went on strike over a pay cut that officials blamed on an administrative glitch. videos show large numbers of people in the streets, many carrying what appears to be looted merchandise as black smoke covers the city. live now to abc's papua new guinea correspondent tim swanston who is in port moresby. welcome, take us through what has been happening there. for welcome, take us through what has been happening there.— been happening there. for the last 24 hours, been happening there. for the last 24 hours. it— been happening there. for the last 24 hours, it has _ been happening there. for the last 24 hours, it has been _ been happening there. for the last 24 hours, it has been absolutely i 24 hours, it has been absolutely chaotic. there is significant carnage on the streets of port moresby at the moment. what started as effectively a protest over a pay

issue for public servants effectively laid the groundwork for these writes later in the day. we are hearing from papua new guinea's by minister, blaming police for taking part in that early demonstration, for effectively leaving the city vulnerable to the riots and looting you're probably looking at images of right now. dozens of shops and major businesses were torched right across port moresby. we saw very significant looting taking part across the city. ultimately, that violence then led to nine deaths in port moresby. that violence has then escalated across the country. seven people have also been killed in the second most populous city. things are certainly quite heated here in papua new guinea at the moment. two reasons— one is there is an impending vote of no confidence that could be triggered against papua new guinea's prime minister, and secondly cost of

living is of course it significantly biting don't work, and of those that do, they are on very low wages. it is also a very young population here in papua new guinea, as well. many young men live in settlements and capital cities like here in port moresby, so it effectively was a tinderbox ready to light. when police walked off the job yesterday during that pay issue, it set the scene for the kind of looting and rioting and violence that has just absolutely devastated the city. m. absolutely devastated the city. m, thank you very much for updating us from port moresby. let's ta ke let's take you back to the international criminal court of justice. this is at the hague where south africa is outlining its case against israel. they are bringing this case accusing israel of committing genocide against palestinians in gaza. the submission calls on the court to order israel

to stop military operations there. this is south africa's ministry of justice, they have just a few hours to outline their case. we understand that they have said that israel is subjecting palestinian people to apartheid, they have complained of genocidal acts and omissions by israel. they have just several hours to outline their case today. you shall have the opportunity to outline their case tomorrow. stay with us here on bbc news. we will have all the latest on all the day's top stories. on wednesday, we are all underneath the same area of high pressure. despite that, the amount of cloud from place to place varied a lot. the cloud was at its thickest across eastern scotland and north—eastern england where we saw drizzle move in from this sheet of cloud from the north sea. there was some sunshine, west of scotland did ok. east anglia and southern england, there was also

and southern england, there was also a bit of sunshine around on wednesday. what a difference essentially made to how the weather looked, for example, here in cornwall, barely a cloud in the sky. we will have the same kind of by the picture with us for thursday, with the cloud varying a lot from place to place. still got a bit of drizzle. you scotland, around the eastern coastal counties of england, otherwise a dry start to thursday. still some frost slowly melting away for southern england and western scotland initially. it is a cross is parts of the country where we will have the best of the early morning sunshine. the cloud across the north sea i think it's going to thin through the day. i would expect any drizzle to die way, the afternoon looking driver all of us. cloud will tend to encroach across the midlands, east anglia, due parts of south—east england, leaving the best of the sunshine probably across central southern england, southern wales and probably western scotland again not doing too badly for some sunny spells. you might see a bit of sunshine in northern ireland as well. into friday's forecast, the cloud comes further south, east

anglia, southern england a lot cloudier. this time probably more in the way breaks are generally across scotland, northern ireland and north—west parts of england and wales. temperatures around about 6 degrees, still on the cold side for the time of year. the weekend has more of the same. pressure still clinging on, some cold and frosty mornings, largely a dry weather picture with some of you seeing some sunshine, others staying a little on the cloudy site. it will remain on the cloudy site. it will remain on the cold side. beyond that, next week we get northerly went diving southwards, they will bring some snow to scotland i am sure about that. we could see a weather system move into the cold air which could bring some snowfall on its northern edge, as well, across parts of england and wales. there are still a little bit more uncertainty about that. however, there is plenty of potential to see some disruptive weather with cold, icy and may be snowy conditions next week.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the public inquiry into how

sub—postmaster is wrongly convicted of a foggy it system begin shortly. it comes after an itv drama raise the profile of the scandal. this morning a former post office investigator will face questions. stephen batchelor was part of the team whose work led to criminal proceedings against some sub—postmasters. the itv drama mr bates versus the post office has shone a light on how sub—postmasters were wrongly convicted of money which was missing due to a foggy horizon accounting software. it's a start tobyjones, will mellor and monica beaumont. patrick spence was the executive sponsor and james strong who worked as a director on the drama. thank you. patrick, starting with you. your reaction when it comes to this public outcry following your series. it’s when it comes to this public outcry following your series.— following your series. it's very gratifying- _ following your series. it's very

gratifying- it's _ following your series. it's very gratifying. it's stunning, - following your series. it's very gratifying. it's stunning, we i following your series. it's very i gratifying. it's stunning, we were not expecting it and