a houthi missile hits a british—linked oil tanker off the coast of yemen. the uk government threatens retaliation. donald trump says he'll appeal against a court order to pay $83 million in damages to a woman he defamed. in sport, a major update in the fa cup as non—league maidstone united who play in the sixth tier of english football knock out a site for divisions above them, beating ipswich town 2—1 at portland road reach the fifth round. hello — i'm rajini vaidyanathan. welcome to this hour. the uk hasjoined the us, australia, italy and canada in suspending funding to the un relief and works agency for palestine refugees — also known as unrwa. israel has accused some unrwa staff of being involved in the 7th of october attacks, in which hamas fighters killed about 1,200 people. unrwa's head said a full

investigation into the allegations is being carried out and anyone found to have been involved will be held accountable. philippe lazzarini added... "to protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, "i have taken the decision to immediately terminate "the contracts of these staff members." this latest news comes as pressure grows on the israeli government to change its conduct in its war with hamas. it's intensified its bombing of gaza, despite the international court ofjustice ruling on friday that israel must do everything possible to prevent genocide there. here's our middle east correspondent mark lowen. israel is seizing on another development as proof of what it says is the un's bias against it, which is that 12 members of staff of the un mission operating in gaza have been dismissed for... as they were found to be, to have been complicit in the hamas attacks on israel on the 7th of october. now, israel says that is proof that the un mission in gaza is not impartial — that it is pro—hamas. what the united nations and

pro—un voices are saying is, "look, the entire workforce of that un agency is 30,000 people. "so12 bad apples should not tarnish the entire "reputation of the un agency." but, you know, israel is saying this is proof that, "we are fighting," in israel's words, "a just war, "and we have the right to defend ourselves." well, hamas has been designated a terrorist organisation by the uk and the us. speaking to bbc world service radio, a member of the movement's political wing said it is asking for a thorough and transparent investigation into the case. bassem naim also denounced unrwa's decision to dismiss some of its employees based on israeli allegations. let's get more now on the uk joining other countries in halting funding for unrwa. 0ur political correspondent harry farley has been closely following the developments. i've been speaking to sources in the foreign office in the last hour or so, and they tell me the uk has

committed 60 million so far to the humanitarian situation in gaza. that has not all been paid. that goes out in tranches, in different instalments. the next instalment is due in april and what the foreign office ares saying is they are pausing that future funding, so the future instalments of that money that the uk government has committed, they are pausing that until this investigation is concluded. a foreign office spokesman said that the uk is appalled by these allegations against unrwa staff, that they were involved in the attack on the 7th of october, a heinous act of terrorism that the government has repeatedly condemned. that's the foreign office statement this afternoon. and what more do we know, harry, about the background in terms of how long the uk government's been funding unrwa and what the relationship is? well, unrwa is the main united nations body that works with palestinians in gaza. it's also the main body that the uk sends funds to if it wants to get

funding to the palestinians in gaza. and, as mark was saying, you know, israel has long accused different branches of the united nations, including unrwa, of bias and even anti—semitism and it is obviously saying that this proves that narrative. unrwa, from their point of view, maintain that they are doing vital work to ease the humanitarian situation in gaza and say they're one of the only organisations who are still working there. do we know any more about this investigation, then? what we understand is that israel handed evidence to unrwa that some of its staff were involved in the 7th of october attacks. unrwa themselves say they are looking into it, they have launched an investigation and have sacked those members of staff in the meantime. and, of course, just briefly, harry, this comes as the uk is nowjoining the us, australia, italy and canada when it comes to suspending funding to unrwa? yes, that's right. it's a growing coalition of countries. the us state department

said it was extremely troubled by the allegations, and as you say, australia, italy and canada alsojoining in, those countries suspending future funding to unrwa. harry farley speaking to me earlier. inside gaza, israel is pressing ahead with its military operation, with tanks advancing into khan younis, in southern gaza, where thousands of people have been forced to flee. gaza's health ministry says 174 palestinians have been killed in israeli strikes in the past 2a hours. that takes the total reported killed in gaza since the war started to at least 26,257. ——to at least 25,257. the head of the cia, the us�*s central intelligence agency, is expected to meet officials from israel, egypt and qatar in the coming days, in an attempt to negotiate the release of hostages held by hamas. let's hear more from mark lowen — here he is on those upcoming talks. they are due to begin,

we understand, as early as sunday, tomorrow, in france, there are reports, but the cia has not confirmed the location or the start date and they will involve bill burns, the head of the cia, who's meeting with his opposite numbers at mossad, israel's intelligence agency, and the egyptian spy agency, as well, and top officials from qatar, to try to revive attempts at finding a ceasefire — making progress towards a ceasefire in this conflict. tomorrow, sunday, will be three months since israel launched its ground offensive in gaza, and the warring sides are still far apart on ceasefire proposals. we understand from reports that israel has mooted the idea of a one or two—month pause in fighting or truce, and the phased release of israeli hostages and palestinian prisoners. but hamas is said to be demanding a permanent ceasefire as part of any hostage release deal. now, the fact that they are, these talks are due to take place show that the wheels of diplomacy are turning faster. president biden spoke

to the emir of qatar and the president of egypt on friday, yesterday. and it all comes, of course, as the international court ofjustice places, says that israel must do all it can to prevent genocide in gaza, placing renewed focus and renewed scrutiny on the israeli forces' actions down in gaza. that is mark lowe in there, our correspondent in the middle east. ——that is mark lowen there, our correspondent in the middle east. a fire on board an oil tanker which has links to the uk has been put out, a day after it was struck by a houthi missile, off the coast of yemen. these pictures show that fire on board the marlin luanda. the houthis said it was targeted on friday in response to what they called "american—british aggression". the operator of the ship, trafigura, paid tribute to the bravery of the captain and crew and thanked the indian, us and french navies

for their help. (pres)in a statement the company said(box we are pleased to confirm that all crew on board the marlin luanda are safe and the fire in the cargo tank has been fully extinguished. the vessel is now sailing towards a safe harbour. this latest incident follows us and uk air strikes on houthi targets in response to attacks on ships in the red sea region — one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. the uk government says it reserves the right to respond appropriately, and in the last few minutues the defence secretary grant shapps said "this intolerable and illegal attack on maritime shipping "is the latest on innocent people and global trade. "it's our duty to protect freedom of navigation in the red sea "and we remain as committed to that cause as ever." 0ur diplomatic correspondent paul adams reports. this is the marlin luanda, carrying russian oil from greece to singapore — the latest houthi target. the houthis were quick to take credit, their spokesman saying once again that this was being done to support the palestinians in gaza and in response to what he described as american—british aggression. it's been two weeks since britain and the us first hit back,

striking military targets inside yemen, aiming to deter the houthis. so far, the strategy doesn't appear to be working. so the attack on the marlin luanda in the gulf of aden signifies a great extension and escalation from the red sea to the gulf of aden, so a geographical extension, and also with the type of weapons. the missile used yesterday was a ballistic missile, and the houthis started their attacks in the red sea using drones, so we're seeing a technological expansion and a geographical extension. the houthis are using the attacks to bolster support at home, orchestrating huge rallies on the streets of the capital, sanaa, relishing this confrontation with the west — something they've thought about and planned for for years. they're being helped by iran. when us navy seals seized a dhow off the coast of somalia

earlier this month, they found parts of ballistic and anti—ship cruise missiles. diplomats say weapons are also being smuggled through 0man. the marlin luanda is operated by a uk—registered company. here, a government spokesman said britain and its allies reserve the right to respond. paul adams, bbc news. let's hearfrom paul adams, who has the latest developments. the multinational company trafigura, which is based in singapore and which has been putting out statements on the condition of the vessel, the marlin luanda, just a short time ago put out its latest bulletin, and i'lljust quote to you from that. they say that, "we are pleased to confirm that all the crew "on board the marlin luanda are safe and that the fire in the cargo tank "has been fully extinguished." that was a fire that was raging really throughout the night, and i think was a cause of grave concern to the ship's owners — bearing in mind, of course, that this was a ship

carrying oil products, and so the possibility of a fire spreading was a very real one. the vessel is now sailing towards what is described as a safe harbour, and the crew is continuing to monitor the vessel and the cargo closely. the statement from trafigura also compliments the role played by the navies of india, the united states and france, all of whom sent vessels to assist in the situation with the tanker. and, in fact, some of the images that we have seen of the tanker today were filmed from the indian vessel that approached to offer assistance. so, trafigura says, "we would like to recognise the exceptional "dedication and bravery of the ship's master and crew," who managed to control the fire in what the company described as, "extremely, highly difficult circumstances, "as well as the essential assistance provided by india,

"the united states, and french navies." so, this was clearly a serious attack. it was an attack not in the red sea but in the gulf of aden, which is not the first time that's happened. but there are indications that the houthis are becoming bolder — they are attacking targets in a wider area — and that so far, the strategy of the west, of the united states and britain in particular to attack houthi military targets inside yemen in an effort to deter the houthis from conducting these attacks on shipping, that strategy so far has yet to bear fruit. that update from paul adams there. donald trump says he'll appeal against a court order to pay $83 million in damages to a woman he defamed. ejean carroll said the former us president destroyed her reputation when he said she'd lied about him sexually assaulting her

in the 1990s. a jury in a previous civil fraud trial found ms carroll was sexually abused by trump back then. she said the ruling was a "great victory for every woman". mr trump said he'll appeal. nada tawfik reports from new york. ejean carroll has now taken on donald trump twice in court, both times emerging victorious. last may, he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and ordered to pay her $5 million in damages. this second defamation trial looks set to cost him far more — $83 million. donald trump was not present when the verdict was read. and earlier, he stormed out of court when ejean carroll's lawyer was delivering her closing statement, arguing that the former president acted as if the law didn't apply to him. afterwards, he slammed the verdict on social media as "absolutely ridiculous" and a politically motivated witch—hunt directed by president biden. we will immediately appeal.

we will set aside that ridiculous jury and i just want to remind you all of one thing. i will continue with president trump to fight for everybody�*s first amendment right to speak. everybody has a right to defend themselves when they are wrongfully accused, and to be able to say, "i didn't do it". donald trump has repeatedly denied raping the former advice columnist at a department store in the �*90s. ejean carroll's lawyer submitted as evidence videos and posts where trump continued to defame her while the trial was taking place. i have no idea who she is, where she came from. this is another scam. it's a political witch—hunt. the damages awarded to ejean carroll were far more than the 2a million she asked for. it signals that the jury agreed with her lawyers that only a very large sum that would hurt donald trump financially would convince him to stop. in a statement, ejean carroll described the verdict as a victory for every woman who stands up when she's been knocked down

and a huge defeat for every bully who's tried to keep a woman down. donald trump has plenty of other upcoming trials, where he faces a total of 91 felony counts and the threat ofjail time. but so far, it hasn't dented his chances of becoming the republican presidential nominee. quite the opposite — it's energised his base. nada tawfik, bbc news, new york. now it's time for a look at today's spor. we are going to start with a big upsetin we are going to start with a big upset in the english fa cup. the lowest ranked side left in the competition, non—league maidstone united have knocked out championship side ipswich town in the fourth

round maidstone are 98 places and four divisions below ipswich in the english football pyramid... but goals from lamar reynolds and sam corne helped them to a 2—1 win at portman road. it's a day their fans will never forget. they needed a few heroics from their brazilian goalkeeper, lucas covolan, and had to see out eight minutes of added time, but held on for a famous win. there are five other matches in the fa cup on saturday — goalless nearly everywhere. everton against luton, brighton against sheffield united and fulham versus newcastle is the late game of the day. next to melbourne, where aryna sabalenka has won the women's australian open singles title for the second year in a row. the number two seed beat china's zhung chinwen — playing in herfirst grand slam final — in straight sets 6—3, 6—2. 0ur tennis correspondent russell fuller was watching: —— zheng qinwen. the whole fortnight she has been very impressive end

underlined why many people think she is the favourite. not that easy thing to do, defending a grand slam title for the first time to do so without dropping a set. in this final she made a fast start, probably zheng qinwen having not paid any top 50 opponents to get the final was a little bit taken aback and took a little bit of time to get used to the pace of aryna sabalenka's bowl. after the break, zheng qinwen said three double faults in her opening service game and second she felt the writing was on the wall and there wasn't too much on the way ofjeopardy. it always felt as if aryna sabalenka was in control of the final. goad was in control of the final. good win for aryna — was in control of the final. good win for aryna sabalenka - was in control of the final. good win for aryna sabalenka again. | great win for sabalenka — but there's been disappointment for the british defending champion alfie hewitt, who's lost the men's wheelchair singles final to the japanese 17 year old tokito 0da. hewitt was beaten in straight sets by the same player he lost the wimbledon final to last summer. but he will still leave melbourne with silverware, with he and his partner gordon reid having already been crowned men s doubles champions. for 0da, it's his third grand slam singles title:

and india's rohan bopanna — who will become the oldest world number one at the age of 43 when the doubles rankings come out on monday — has won the men's doubles title with his partner, matthew ebden. they've beaten simone bolelli and andrea vavassori in straight sets. it's bopanna's first men's doubles grand slam title. england's 0llie pope has staged a one—man rescue act, to keep england's hopes alive in the opening test against india, in hyderabad. with wickets falling all around him, and the tourists in trouble, pope's epic 148 not out on day three has dragged england to 316—6 in their second innings, 126 runs ahead with four wickets in hand. the way they played today, honestly, it's an absolute masterclass on how to bat in these conditions is an overseas player, someone that is not exposed to these surfaces day in, day out, to come off the back of the saveis day out, to come off the back of the save is an injury like he had in summer, have that amount of time out

of the game and then put together that, well, that... i'm speechless. honestly, it's one of the best knocks that i've ever seen. the thou . hts knocks that i've ever seen. the thoughts there _ knocks that i've ever seen. the thoughts there of _ knocks that i've ever seen. the thoughts there ofjoe root. meanwhile, australia are on course to win their second and final test against west indies in brisbane. they'll resume on sunday 60—2 with steve smith 33 not out, needing another 168 runs for victory as they look to wrap up a 2—0 series win. the director of rugby for world champions south africa, rassie erasmus, is recovering in hospital after undergoing back now to our main story on the uk hasjoining the us, australia, italy, finland and canada in suspending funding to the un relief and works agency for palestine refugees — also known as unrwa. israel has accused some unrwa staff of being involved in the seventh of october attacks, in which hamas gunmen killed about 1,200 people. we can speak to chris gunness, who's a former chief spokesperson for unrwa,

and is now director of the myanmar accountability project. thank you very much a journey with him and bbc news. the first thing to ask is, what is your reaction to these accusations that israel has made against the agencies to work for? ~ ., , , ., ., for? like the commissioner general of unrwa. — for? like the commissioner general of unrwa, like — for? like the commissioner general of unrwa, like the _ for? like the commissioner general of unrwa, like the secretary - for? like the commissioner general. of unrwa, like the secretary general of unrwa, like the secretary general of the unrwa, i begin by condemning supposing attack of the 7th of october but my first pay tribute to the thousands of unrwa staff who have worked courageously under £2,000 bombs is another huge ammunitions flying into gaza to bring humanitarian support to an embattled population can i also offer my condolences to the families offer my condolences to the families of more than 150 staff members who have been killed. my reaction, as you've been asked, to this defunding the accusations. first of all, and the accusations. first of all, and the accusations, unrwa has a zero tolerance policy towards these kinds

of violations of its neutrality. it always investigates credible reports of this. this has clearly happened and what better evidence of unrwa's mitten so that zero tolerance policy than the fact that even before the investigation was finished, commissioner general, the executive, the chief executive of unwell philippe lazzarini has dismissed these people? —— chief executive of unrwa. that is clear evidence of a zero tolerance policy may have to report that back to its donors. 0n the defunding i have to say that is very sad because the donors have said repeatedly when i was at unrwa and since that unrwa's workers life—saving. it is said that unrwa contributes to its development and humanitarian work to the stability of the middle east so it is very sad to be seeing those same donors withdrawing their funds to these life—saving and regionally stabilising services and to say before i finish this answer it may before i finish this answer it may be that with 15,000 staff, there are

some bad apples among unrwa staff. they are working on an extremely complex and polarised environment. but you know, let us not lose sight of the fact that even though there may be some bad apples there are thousands and thousands of workers in unrwa who are committed absolutely and robustly to their humanitarian mandate. that absolutely and robustly to their humanitarian mandate. that may be the case, humanitarian mandate. that may be the case. chris. _ humanitarian mandate. that may be the case, chris, but _ humanitarian mandate. that may be the case, chris, but these _ humanitarian mandate. that may be the case, chris, but these are - humanitarian mandate. that may be the case, chris, but these are very l the case, chris, but these are very serious accusations. accusations that these members of staff were involved in the 7th of october attacks. it involved in the 7th of october attacks. , , , , ., , attacks. it is. it is very serious indeed and — attacks. it is. it is very serious indeed and unrwa _ attacks. it is. it is very serious indeed and unrwa is - attacks. it is. it is very serious indeed and unrwa is taking i attacks. it is. it is very serious i indeed and unrwa is taking this attacks. it is. it is very serious - indeed and unrwa is taking this very seriously. can i also say, not to detract from the seriousness of what is going on, forgive my unstable camera, can i say that when i was a unrwa spokesperson, particularly in the 2014 war, israel and israeli spokes be so, both civilian and military, made the most extraordinary allegations about

unrwa, many of which turned out to be utterly baseless. when the israelis attacked our schools on the 2014 war, they said that there were militants in our schools. that was investigated. that was shown to be complete nonsense. we had allegations that unrwa was hiding rockets components and at schools, it was colluding with hamas terrorists. we investigated and found, in fact, terrorists. we investigated and found, infact, it terrorists. we investigated and found, in fact, it was unrwa who found, in fact, it was unrwa who found the rocket packs in its schools, immediately reported to all our major donors and israelis condemned it. what did we get in reply in response to the israelis? we got further accusations, in spite of having done all this, that we were colluding with terrorists. so there is a long history of these allegations being made by israel, committed spokespeople, even at the level of the prime minister's office and its friends in various organisations in the large number of cases and i've not seen the evidence and i'm not saying this is the case here but i think we have been very

clear, there is a history to these allegations and when they are shown to be well founded, unrwa will investigate and always take disciplinary action up to and including dismissal which, by the way, means the staff member and theirfamily. below way, means the staff member and their family. below the way, means the staff member and theirfamily. below the poverty line because unrwa is the main employer. sorry. i because unrwa is the main employer. sor . ., ., , , because unrwa is the main employer. sor . ., , ., because unrwa is the main employer. sor. ., , sorry. i want to put this to you because on — sorry. i want to put this to you because on x. _ sorry. i want to put this to you because on x, formerly - sorry. i want to put this to you | because on x, formerly twitter, israel's foreign minister has said that they have been warning for years about this. they say unrwa perpetuates the refugee issue, obstructs peace and, this is a strong accusation, serves as a civilian arm of hamas in gaza. what would you say to that?— civilian arm of hamas in gaza. what would you say to that? well, i mean, it is interesting _ would you say to that? well, i mean, it is interesting that _ would you say to that? well, i mean, it is interesting that we _ would you say to that? well, i mean, it is interesting that we have - would you say to that? well, i mean, it is interesting that we have got - would you say to that? well, i mean, it is interesting that we have got a i it is interesting that we have got a member of the cabinet and his fellow cabinet ministers effectivelyjust cabinet ministers effectively just been cabinet ministers effectivelyjust been accused of inciting genocide at the international criminal court it is saying that unrwa is an impediment to peace so let's get that accusation into some kind of

context. but on this question of unrwa perpetuating the conflict, that i think is a nod to the fact that i think is a nod to the fact that unrwa like all refugee populations around the world, unhcr, the other un agency that deals with refugees, they too always register the children of refugees and that is something that is refugee practised throughout the world so israel always says unrwa is unique in registering the children of refugees and are perfect rates the conflict. that is simply not to. unhcr also registers the children of refugees. what actually perpetuates this crisis, the complex and the middle east as a failure of the parties to resolve it. that is israel and the palestinians. that is what perpetuates the crisis, not the work of an agency specifically mandated to work for human development and bring humanitarian soccer in times of war and alleged genocide that we now seeing. dash humanitarian succour. figs now seeing. dash humanitarian succour. a now seeing. dash humanitarian succour. ~ , ., ~ now seeing. dash humanitarian succour. a ., ~ now seeing. dash humanitarian succour. a . ~ y succour. as mason, thank you very much forjoining — succour. as mason, thank you very much forjoining us _ succour. as mason, thank you very

much forjoining us here _ succour. as mason, thank you very much forjoining us here on - succour. as mason, thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc i much forjoining us here on bbc news. we will have more on that story so do stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. we had a lot of sunshine around yesterday, things are not quite the same for this weekend. there is more cloud around, but it is staying dry still for much of the country through the rest of the weekend. as the winds continue to strengthen, so the temperatures will continue to rise. now, a lot of the cloud that we have seen today has been quite high cloud, making the sunshine rather hazy earlier on. you can see the extent of the cloud that has been coming in from the atlantic. that's ahead of this band of thick cloud that is in the north—west of the uk on that weather front. that is where we are continuing to see most of the rain as we head into saturday evening. a few spots of rain could head across northern ireland into western scotland, and those temperatures around 8—10. so it's a little bit milder than it was yesterday, that rain moves away from northern scotland, some dampness for a while across other parts of scotland and northern ireland

with more cloud. the clearer skies will be for eastern areas of england, but there's more of a breeze than there was last night, so it shouldn't be quite as cold, although there is the risk of a touch of ground frost. but we will have some sunshine here and sunshine across many parts of the country at times, but some more affecting but some more cloud affecting the south—west and heading into the midlands. and we've got this thicker cloud and rain pushing into northern ireland and particularly north—west scotland through the afternoon. gales picking up ahead of that, very windy in the north—west of scotland, and a keen wind blowing through the irish sea. but it is a southerly wind and that's why temperatures are going to continue to rise, so we could make 14 degrees in north wales and around the moray firth ahead of that rain. the winds are coming all the way from the canaries where there is a lot of saharan dust at the moment. some of that will feed our way, just ahead of that weather front which is bringing the rain in from the north—west. and we'll see some wetter weather pushing across more of the uk as we move into monday. this rain in wales and northern england could turn quite heavy, and it's notjust rain but we could well see some snow over the southern uplands as things turn

a little bit chillier in scotland and northern ireland. likely to stay dry through the midlands and many parts of eastern england, and here it is going to be very mild, temperatures of 14—15. now, that weather front will move away overnight and into tuesday, so a quieter day on tuesday, generally dry. but we are going to find some weather fronts approaching the north—west. temperatures should rise again a little on wednesday, but there is some colder air in the far north—west by the end of the day.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the ukjoins a list of countries to suspend funding for a un agency in gaza after israel accuses some staff of involvement in the 7th of october attack. unrwa has announced it has sacked a number of staff and is investigating the accusations. a houthi missile strikes a british—linked oil tanker off the coast of yemen. the houthis say the attack was in response to what they called

us and british aggression. the uk government has threatened retaliation. a jury in new york orders donald trump to pay $83 million in damages to the writer e jean carroll. mr trump had already been found to have defamed her with comments he made in 2019. mr trump says he will appeal against the order. john lewis has confirmed it's considering making further cuts to its workforce over the next five years. there are reports that up to 11,000 jobs could be axed at its department stores and waitrose supermarkets. let's get more on this with our business correspondent, marc ashdown. is this a surprise? potentially. it has been on _ is this a surprise? potentially. it has been on the _ is this a surprise? potentially. it has been on the cards, - is this a surprise? potentially. it has been on the cards, really. it| is this a surprise? potentially. it l has been on the cards, really. it is the darling of the high street, but it is not immune from these gloomy

financial pressures that all businesses are facing. it has