because the icj judges decided| that there is a plausible reason they believe that they need to intervene in this case. i the un's highest court says israel must make every effort to prevent genocidal acts in gaza. south africa welcomes the result. israel says it is blatant discrimination. we'll have reaction from both countries. also tonight, reports that beijing has asked iran to rein in attacks on commercial shipping in the red sea. the surging violence in ecuador — we have a special report on the government's war on the drug cartels. and the "helicopter that could" but can't any more. nasa's ingenuity will fly no more.

good evening. the un's international court ofjustice says israel must ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide against palestinians in gaza. in an interim judgment delivered on friday, the court stopped short of ordering an immediate ceasefire to the war. the ruling is not the final word from the court on whether israel's indication that the judges believe there is at least a credible risk. israel strongly denies the accusation, and its prime minister said it would continue to defend itself while adhering to international law. here's our diplomatic correspondent, paul adams. gaza's despairjust seems to deepen. in gaza city, a rare glimpse of aid brings chaos and precious little relief. after three and a half months of war, the palestinian population is on its knees — hungry, sick or dead. whether this amounts to genocide

is a decision for another day, but all this, the un's top court insists, has to stop before it gets worse. the military operation conducted by israel after 7th october 2023 has resulted inter alia in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries, and the destruction of homes, schools, medicalfacilities and other vital infrastructure as well as displacement on a massive scale. in these circumstances, the court considers that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the gaza strip is at serious risk of deteriorating further before the court renders its final judgment. by overwhelming majorities, the court's i7 judges ruled that israel must avoid killing or seriously harming palestinians mentally or physically, inflicting living conditions designed to destroy the palestinian population, in whole or in part, or imposing measures which prevent palestinian births.

the judges also said israel must take all measures to prevent and punish public incitement to genocide, and do more immediately to improve humanitarian assistance. in the west bank, palestinians watched intently, wondering if anything will change. states now have clear legal obligations to stop israel's genocidal war on the palestinian people in gaza and to make sure that they are not complicit. the icj order is an important reminder that no state is above the law. crucially, the court did not demand an immediate ceasefire, but it wants israel to behave very differently, at a time when its prime minister says the war could go on for many more months. like every country, israel has - an inherent right to defend itself. the vile attempt to deny israel this fundamental right is blatant-

discrimination against the jewish | state, and it was justly rejected. j the charge of genocide levelled | against israel is not only false, | it's outrageous, and decent people everywhere should reject it. - the court also called for israeli hostages to be released without condition, but it's powerless to make any of this happen. today's ruling was significant, but it doesn't necessarily mean that an end to the agony of palestinians or israelis is any closer. paul adams, bbc news. let's speak to oona hathaway, a professor of international law at yale law school. thank you for being with us on the programme. the ruling today came into parts, so i like to take them one by one if we could and start with the jurisdiction of this case. israel has said they don't believe the court does have jurisdiction over this case. what do you hear on that? . ., w

that? the court said, in fact, it does have _ that? the court said, in fact, it does have jurisdiction, - that? the court said, in fact, it does have jurisdiction, it - that? the court said, in fact, it does have jurisdiction, it says. does havejurisdiction, it says there is a dispute under the genocide convention, that means two sides have diametrically opposing views about whether there is a credible allegation of genocide here in the court said that they have differing views and therefore there is jurisdiction under the genocide convention. the court also found that south africa does have standing to bring this case against israel, for the violation of genocide convention, using a new technique that the court developed that allows states that are party to the genocide convention to bring a suit against another state that they think is violating the genocide convention even if they are not directly involved or directly harmed by those claims acts of genocide, so in that case, in that respect, this was a resounding win for south africa. , . ., was a resounding win for south africa. , _, ., africa. the second part of the rulin: africa. the second part of the ruling referred _ africa. the second part of the ruling referred to _ africa. the second part of the ruling referred to the - africa. the second part of the

ruling referred to the status l africa. the second part of the i ruling referred to the status they expect israel to take in the next month to protect civilian lives. who is going to adjudicate that? in month to protect civilian lives. who is going to adjudicate that?- is going to adjudicate that? in the first instance, _ is going to adjudicate that? in the first instance, it _ is going to adjudicate that? in the first instance, it is _ is going to adjudicate that? in the first instance, it is going to - is going to adjudicate that? in the first instance, it is going to be - is going to adjudicate that? in the first instance, it is going to be up| first instance, it is going to be up to israel to decide how it is going to israel to decide how it is going to respond to these orders. the court made clear and it is true under international law that the decision is binding on the parties, without anything else having to happen, it does not require any additional action other than the court issuing its ruling. this is binding on israel. he requires binding on israel. he requires binding obligations, and they are obligated under international law to follow this order that the international court ofjustice has issued, so the first step is going to be to see what they do. do the acts consistent with this order? and the order does call on them to wage this war in a way that is not going to prejudice the claims of genocide, the concerns about killing civilians, creating conditions in which it is impossible for civilians to live their lives, providing for

humanitarian assistance and access to food. these are some of the measures that the court has called on israel to do, including preventing incitement to genocide and not engaging in incitement to genocide itself, so the first instance, it is going to be to see whether israel actually takes those actions. the court did require that israel report back within a month on the actions that it is taking to carry out this order, and so we will see what they say. they have done. we will also be seeing how other states are going to react. so one key thing to look for is how does the united states respond to this? because for many states, providing assistance to israel, one of the key questions is, are they now potentially at risk of violating the genocide convention if they continue to provide support to israel, if israel... , , israel... interesting. there is precedent — israel... interesting. there is precedent for _ israel... interesting. there is precedent for the _ israel... interesting. there is precedent for the court - israel... interesting. there is precedent for the court to - israel... interesting. there is i precedent for the court to order israel... interesting. there is - precedent for the court to order an immediate cease—fire. it did so two

years ago when ukraine brought a case against russia under the same convention, underthe case against russia under the same convention, under the genocide convention, under the genocide convention, so why did it stop short in this case and what is the difference?— in this case and what is the difference? , ., , ' difference? these two very different cases. so recall— difference? these two very different cases. so recall that _ difference? these two very different cases. so recall that the _ difference? these two very different cases. so recall that the case, - difference? these two very different cases. so recall that the case, the i cases. so recall that the case, the ukraine brought against russia, it was a case where they were saying, look, rushes claiming that we are committing genocide in their claiming that that is why they have the right to engage in this invasion of ukraine and we want the court to say that that is not correct, that there is no active genocide and that russia's invasion is notjustified by any claims of genocide, and that's what the court did say. it said, look, there's no credible allegations of genocide against ukraine here and therefore the invasion cannot be justified in that way. this is very different case. this is a case where south africa is alleging that israel is committing genocide in the course of its war in gaza, but it does not challenge, and i don't think, certainly, the court

challenges the right of israel to defend itself in light of the attacks by hamas, so israel does have a legitimate right of self—defense against hamas, and the court was not questioning that, but it was saying, you are going to have to wage that work in a way that is consistent with the genocide conviction and that there are credible allegations here, plausible allegations, that that is not happening, and so it is not ordering the end of the war that it is ordering that israel change the way in which it is conducting this war. professor hathaway, always good to talk to you. thank you for coming on the programme. let's get a view from the programme. let's get a view from the palestinian side. live now to tareq shrourou. he's the director and principal lawyer with lawyers for palestinian human rights. thank you for coming on the programme. they stop short of calling for a cease—fire. are you disappointed by that? calling for a cease-fire. are you disappointed by that?— calling for a cease-fire. are you disappointed by that? thank you very much, christian. _ disappointed by that? thank you very much, christian. i— disappointed by that? thank you very much, christian. ithink_ disappointed by that? thank you very much, christian. i think the _ much, christian. i think the question of that cease—fire is, it's

an important one, it is very understandable the focus on a cease—fire is there. however, isn't important to see the light in this decision, and there are a few things that should be emphasised. —— it is important. the court has recognised the fund much human rights of the palestinian people, including different mental rights to life. —— theirfundamental right different mental rights to life. —— their fundamental right to life... it is an indication of the shock felt by humanity witnessing fellow human beings being inflicted with extreme human suffering. sorry, christian, go ahead. i extreme human suffering. sorry, christian, go ahead.— christian, go ahead. iwas 'ust auoin to christian, go ahead. iwas 'ust going to say. i christian, go ahead. iwas 'ust going to say. but fl christian, go ahead. iwas 'ust going to say, but it i christian, go ahead. iwas 'ust going to say, but it also h christian, go ahead. i wasjust i going to say, but it also depletes that all parties are bound by this law and that includes hamas. they are gravely concerned, they say, about the fate of 136 hostages who continue to be held, and they called

for their immediate and unconditional release, so should we be making the same demands today of hamas and is the palestinian side doing that? i hamas and is the palestinian side doing that?— doing that? i think this is really im ortant doing that? i think this is really important that _ doing that? i think this is really important that you _ doing that? i think this is really important that you raise - doing that? i think this is really important that you raise this i doing that? i think this is really - important that you raise this point, christian. the courts properly raise theissue christian. the courts properly raise the issue of the hostages, and very much emphasised that they should be immediately and unconditionally released, and that is a very important, essential demand, and it very much sits alongside with the court has done in relation to its order to try to ensure that the parties to this conflict abide by international humanitarian law. it is not a very good line, so we will leave that they are, but thank you very much for your thoughts with me in the studio, as our international

editorjeremy bowen. a lot of angry rhetoric, but i would imagine that as usual in these cases. will it change the way that israel executes the war? . , change the way that israel executes the war? ., , g, , g, the war? that is what the court ho es. the war? that is what the court hopes- the _ the war? that is what the court hopes. the court _ the war? that is what the court hopes. the court has _ the war? that is what the court hopes. the court has said - the war? that is what the court hopes. the court has said very| hopes. the court has said very clearly that israel did itdid it did not ask for a cease—fire. save heavy —— states have the right to self—defense. they were attacked on seven of october, they're fighting back. issue of how they fight. the court wants them to fight in a very different way and has said, come back to us in a month from now and show what you're doing. will israel change the way it is fighting? we will have to see. the americans have been onto them for what feels like months to try to fight in a more targeted way, don'tjust drop big bombs on the area that you want to hit, be more surgical, is what the americans are putting, the way they put it, any hope of reducing the number of civilians who have been killed, but the court has been very

specific about what it wants. so let's see if it does make a difference. i certainly think it will increase pressure for cease—fire stop at it is interesting what professor hathaway set about the influence that key allies have over israeli policy, and whether they now feel that they are on the hook because of what the court has said. and they obviously are bound by the samejudgment. said. and they obviously are bound by the same judgment. do you think the united states and the uk, germany, might now think there is some urgency? getting israel to change the way it is behaving? the? change the way it is behaving? they are in a difficult _ change the way it is behaving? iie: are in a difficult situation. change the way it is behaving? "iie are in a difficult situation. it really is complicated the politics of sporting israel the way they have. when it all started, and said very clearly this is terrorism, israel has a right to defend itself, and then the american started saying, don't get blinded by vengeance, as the americans did after 9/11 —joe biden vengeance, as the americans did after 9/11 — joe biden said that — and now they are saying, you're killing too many palestinians, but

at the same time, americans and the prince in a much more minor way are pertaining —— brits in a much more are providing weapons to the israelis. in the genocide convention, its signatories, parties it, have an obligation to prevent and punish genocide if they see it happening. the courts are saying, there is a risk it could be happening in gaza, they still have to work on that and spend a couple years debating it, but they feel that the case south africa has made his plausible and the risk is real enough to demand these special measures, which they have said israel needs to respect. {line measures, which they have said israel needs to respect.- measures, which they have said israel needs to respect. one of the tests, israel needs to respect. one of the tests. one — israel needs to respect. one of the tests. one of _ israel needs to respect. one of the tests, one of the _ israel needs to respect. one of the tests, one of the key _ israel needs to respect. one of the tests, one of the key tests, - israel needs to respect. one of the tests, one of the key tests, will. israel needs to respect. one of the tests, one of the key tests, will be| tests, one of the key tests, will be whether they can alleviate the humanitarian crisis in gaza, which is well—documented, getting more aid into the strip, but can you disperse and distribute aid within the gaza strip without a cease—fire? you

strip without a cease-fire? you certainly cannot _ strip without a cease-fire? you certainly cannot do _ strip without a cease-fire? you certainly cannot do it _ strip without a cease—fire? gm. certainly cannot do it at the moment, the way things are. one of the things that the president of the court ofjustice said was in northern gaza, she quoted a really horrific statistic i think from the world health organization, saying that some feeling 90% plus of people there are effective restarting, they are very high rates of malnutrition —— something like 90 plus percent. gazais —— something like 90 plus percent. gaza is a small territory, but because of the way the israelis are deployed anyway they are movement and shoot people if they go to places israel does not want them to be in, they cannot get food and medicine and aid to these people, so to run a proper aid operation there, they need freedom of access and freedom of movement and they've got neither at the moment, and i don't think it is possible for israel to continue fighting the way that it has been and to allow all those things to happen. you has been and to allow all those things to happen.— things to happen. you might have seen this report _ things to happen. you might have seen this report and _ things to happen. you might have seen this report and ask- things to happen. you might have|

seen this report and ask yesterday that the patience is running out in the white house, that apparently, it is pretty well sourced, this, joe biden said, i am not going to support you indefinitely over a year. he has bill burns, the cia director, brett mcgurk, the envoy in the region as well. are they perhaps trying to find a two month pause from which they can then sort of extract a cease—fire? i from which they can then sort of extract a cease-fire?— extract a cease-fire? i think the ho -e not extract a cease-fire? i think the hope not just — extract a cease-fire? i think the hope not just from _ extract a cease-fire? i think the hope not just from the - extract a cease-fire? i think the i hope notjust from the americans, lord cameron, who has been talking a bit about this from the perspective of the british today, is that if there is a two—month, 60—day pause, thenit there is a two—month, 60—day pause, then it is good be really, really hard to start shooting again the sub however, from the political side in israel, netanyahu, he stated what victorie looks like, destroy hamas, get the hostages back. so, where does that leave him if they do a deal, effectively, with hamas and hamas is still there? none of the

key men and hamas have been captured or killed, as far as we know. he will be under pressure from the right—wing parties that sustain his government, not to make those kind of compromises and, in theory, they could pull the plug on his government, in that case israel would go to elections and would be in political turmoil even more so thanit in political turmoil even more so than it is at the moment, so there is a whole other new road—building, i think, which is opening up as a result of this ruling that does change the way that events may unfold. . , . , change the way that events may unfold. ., , ., , , unfold. that is really interesting and complex — unfold. that is really interesting and complex. jeremy, _ unfold. that is really interesting and complex. jeremy, thank- unfold. that is really interesting| and complex. jeremy, thank you unfold. that is really interesting - and complex. jeremy, thank you for and complex. jeremy, thank you for coming in. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the bbc has found that more than 60 phone calls were made to the police and social services in the three years before a nine—year—old boy was killed by his mother and her partner. alfie steele died in worcestershire

in 2021, after suffering abuse. a report has highlighted a string of missed opportunities. the uk has halted trade talks with canada due to a disagreement over beef and cheese. the two nations have been negotiating for the last two years after britain left the eu, with trade continuing under the same deal originally brokered when the uk was a member of the bloc. the conservative peer michelle mone and her husband, doug barrowman, have had millions of pounds in assets frozen or restrained by a court order obtained by the crown prosecution service. the national crime agency is investigating allegations of fraud in contracts for personal protective equipment, awarded during the pandemic to a company linked to mr barrowman. you're live with bbc news. us central command confimed today it shot down another anti—ship ballistic missile that was flying towards the uss carney from houthi—controlled yemen. the ship was operating

in the gulf of aden. a lot of the focus so far has been on the us uk response to these attacks. but reuters is reporting that china is now getting involved. citing four iranian sources, the report says officials from beijing have been asking iranian courterparts to help rein in the houthis. -- iranian —— iranian counterparts. the discussions took place in recent meetings in beijing and tehran. the attacks have raised the cost of shipping and insurance for western companies, that much we know, but this is also a route used widely by ships from china, who are exporting to europe. and we all know what sort of pressure the chinese economy is under. beijing does have some leverage too. they take 90% of the iranian crude that was exported last year. live now to neil thomas. he's a fellow for chinese politics at asia society policy institute's center for china analysis. welcome to the programme. it is really interesting, this, because we have been heavily focused on the

western companies, but of course a large part of the chinese economy is still dependent on exports and they come on this route.— come on this route. that's true. it is certainly _ come on this route. that's true. it is certainly something _ come on this route. that's true. it is certainly something that - come on this route. that's true. it l is certainly something that concerns international trade, writ large, not just the western countries. there are some reports, however, that the houthi rebels in yemen are allowing chinese flagships to sail through those contested areas and the chinese virtual navy is not experiencing the same type of difficulties, but still creating that instability, creating that threat of something going wrong in a chinese ship or chinese trade routes coming under attack or seeing the danger, plus therefore the insurance premiums of the rise more generally, that's certainly a trip to china's interests as well in the longer term. . , interests as well in the longer term. ., , ., ., interests as well in the longer term. ., ., term. yeah, dust on that point, presumably _ term. yeah, dust on that point, presumably not _ term. yeah, dust on that point, presumably not all _ term. yeah, dust on that point, presumably not all chinese - term. yeah, dust on that point, .

presumably not all chinese exports travel on chinese flagships? exactly, so it is a problem that is maybe less direct and less present for chinese importers and exporters in the chinese economy writ large, so you have not seen quite as strong or immediate a reaction from the chinese government, but perhaps it's an indication that that is beginning to change. we an indication that that is beginning to chance. ~ ., , , ., to change. we have seen before, we saw it last year. _ to change. we have seen before, we saw it last year, the _ to change. we have seen before, we saw it last year, the sort of - saw it last year, the sort of influence that china has over some of its allies. they brokered a deal between saudi arabia and iran, for instance, so emigrate that they do have significant leverage over tehran? . , have significant leverage over tehran? ., , ., ., tehran? -- am i right? they do have some leverage _ tehran? -- am i right? they do have some leverage over _ tehran? -- am i right? they do have some leverage over tehran, - tehran? -- am i right? they do have some leverage over tehran, that - tehran? -- am i right? they do have some leverage over tehran, that at l some leverage over tehran, that at least is clear. china buys a huge majority of iran's exported oil, a lifeline for a regime that is under significant us and international sanctions, and china is trying to increase its own presence and

diplomatic power within the middle east, so china has some leverage and some intentions of interest there, but at the same time, iran also has its own interests and its own allies, if you like, various rebel groups and other organisations in the region, that it has to account for, so there is not necessarily a complete convergence of interest or a complete asymmetry of power, where china can subtly say something to iran and that would be enough to stop the houthis from threatening international shipping —— simply say something. it will be interesting to see just how much influence china has, this would be a big test of its leverage over iran, and whether this leads to any kind of calming of the situation, if it does, that is a big dip of medic victory for china and that will be seen across the region and across the world. if does not make any difference, that is going to make china question, potentially, what it is getting out of its relationship with iran, and you could even see some type of economic

pressure being put on tehran by beijing. neil, while we have you, can we talk about another issue? we learned today that a british man who disappeared in china five years ago was jailed on espionage charges two years ago. beijing's foreign ministry confirmed ian stones, a businessman around 70 years old, was jailed for five years by a chinese court in 2022. he was found guilty of being bribed into providing intelligence illegally, they said, by external forces. translation: the chinese court tried the case strictly _ in accordance with the law, fully guaranteed the various rights of ian stones and arranged for the uk side to visit and attend his trial. china is a country governed by the rule of law. sir iain duncan smith, the former conservative party leader, he said he had raised this issue over number of kneels and nothing had come out of

it until we got this news today, and he just asked the question what the right strategy is, because there are others being held in china and the policy seems to me that they don't like, the british government, publicity while the negotiations are ongoing. does this suggest that maybe publicity would be better? it is hard to say definitively. it all depends, i think to some extent, on the nature of the charges, the nature of different cases, but it is certainly true that we have seen in the past that the level of publicity attached to some of these detentions of foreigners in china has arguably contributed to their eventual resolution, not necessarily the quick resolution. if we remember the case of the two michael's, the two canadians detained after the executive of flywheel was detained in canada, it took them three years to be released by chinese authorities, after mum had been

released —— huawei. there was a judgment of attention on that case and now both the michael's are back home in canada, so it did lead to a resolution, and arguably that publicity did contribute. interesting. neil thomas, thank you very much for your thoughts this evening. we will see what comes of that chinese leverage over iran. coming up after the break, they are going to talk about a country in latin america, ecuador, which has tipped into chaos in recent weeks. we've got a deep dive into what has gone on there. do stay with us. hello there. earlier on today, we saw a lot of sunshine and dry weather to end the week. we had some wet and windy weather overnight last night, which is long gone now. but we have seen a slight change in the weather because we've introduced cooler and fresher air around the top of that area of high pressure.

now, closer to the high across southern parts of the uk, the winds are a bit lighter, but further north, where we still got these strong and gusty winds, gales likely in the northwest of scotland through the rest of the night. and it's going to be across northern scotland that we see most of the showers, one or two for a while, maybe for northern ireland, perhaps the far north of england. clearer skies and lighter winds further south means it's going to be quite chilly. and across the southeast of england, we could start early saturday with a touch of frost. but on the whole, the prospects for this weekend are looking pretty good. for many places, it is going to be dry. there'll be some sunshine. the winds will pick up through the weekend, but that in turn will lift the temperatures now on saturday. now on saturday, most of the rain is here from that band of cloud across northern scotland. maybe seeing a few spots of rain later for northern ireland and western scotland. otherwise, it should be dry with some sunshine. now, the sunshine could be a bit hazy, there could be quite a bit of high cloud around, but temperatures are going to be a bit higher than today — around 9—10 degrees. now, there is a weather frontjust

sort of waiting in the wings in the atlantic that will eventually slide towards the northwest of the uk. but ahead of that, we're going to pick up a stronger southerly wind on sunday. it'll bring up some of the warmth, actually, that we've seen across iberia of late. but we may well see a lot of cloud to begin with, especially around western hills and coasts. the best of the sunshine will be across eastern areas of the uk, and then there's that weather front bringing rain towards northern ireland and particularly into northwest scotland during the afternoon. it will be a windy day, but temperatures continuing to climb. could reach 1a degrees around the murray firth, even along the north coast of northern ireland, ahead of that rain on that weather front there. and that willjust push its way into scotland and northern ireland overnight, making slow progress into england and wales. now, some of this rain could be quite heavy for a while, and with colder air coming in to scotland and northern ireland, there may be some snow over the scottish hills for a while. not much progress of that rain beyond northern england and wales, so the midlands, east anglia and the south is still dry on monday and quite warm as well —

highs of 1a or even 15 celsius.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. police in ecuador have destroyed more than 21 metric tonnes of seized cocaine in it's latest effort to combat organised crime.

really interesting story coming up on that. before we get to ecuador, let's go to the bbc sport centre. jurgen klopp has been explaining at length, the thinking behind his decision to leave liverpool at the end of the season. the german still has another two years left on his contract but he says he just doesn't have the energy levels he says he told the club last november that he would be leaving in the summer. two important things they had to do was to tell, of course have to tell them but our supporters and the players and to play was top. and really good and i don't say things like that and walk away but i am here and i am fully here and besides that, it's just the right thing to do and i am convinced in the right