of workers in unrwa who are committed absolutely and robustly to their humanitarian mandate. a fire is extinguished on a british—linked oil tanker hit by a houthi missile. the us is urging china to help rein in iran's support for the houthi attacks. donald trump says he'll appeal against a court order to pay $83 million in damages to a woman he defamed. and the owner ofjohn lewis and waitrose is considering cutting up to 11,000 staffjobs in the next five years — as part of a plan to improve efficiency. hello i'm nicky schiller. welcome to bbc news. the uk hasjoined the us and several other countries in pausing funding for the un agency for palestinians, unrwa. it follows the sacking of several of unrwa's staff for alleged

involvement in the 7 october hamas attacks against israel. an investigation has been launched into the claims, as our correspondent injerusalem, mark lowen reports. crushed from the air. lives, homes, families and now the very mission set up to help gaza's desperate is taking a hit too. the un agency for palestinian refugees, or unrwa, firing several employees for alleged involvement in hamas�* assault on israel. a body set up to protect, accused of attack. britain and a handful of other countries have now paused their funding. the handful of other countries have now paused theirfunding. the foreign office said it was appalled by office said it was appalled by claims of complicity in what it called a heinous act of terrorism. hamas stormed israel on the 7th of october, killing more than 1200 0ctober, killing more than 1200 people and abducting at least 240.

israeli intelligence has reportedly passed on material set to show the participation of unrwa staff and the use of its vehicles and facilities. its government has seized on the allegations as the world remembers another massacre. translation: it another massacre. translation: , ., ., . translation: it was proven on elect international _ translation: it was proven on elect international holocaust _ translation: it was proven on elect| international holocaust remembrance day which we have been saying for years, that's the unrwa employees are collaborators with the terrorist organisation hamas and that the un has become not only a place where the existence of the state of israel is de—legitimised, but also a place where employees are physically collaborating in the extermination of israel. . ., , of israel. the un, which has frequently — of israel. the un, which has frequently batted _ of israel. the un, which has frequently batted away - of israel. the un, which has frequently batted away past| of israel. the un, which has - frequently batted away past israeli criticism, says it is horrified by the news and will ensure any unrwa employee should have participated or abetted what transpired on the 7th of october or in any other criminal activity be terminated immediately and referred for potential criminal prosecution. but as israel's

inoffensive intensifies, driving 70% of gazans from home, the un plays a great vital role there and say some emission with 30,000 staff shouldn't be tarred by the violations of a few. it be tarred by the violations of a few. . ., , .,, few. it certainly looks as if there is cause to _ few. it certainly looks as if there is cause to be — few. it certainly looks as if there is cause to be concerned - few. it certainly looks as if there is cause to be concerned about | few. it certainly looks as if there i is cause to be concerned about the actions of some of the members of unrwa, the un relief and works agency, but that does not or should it impugn the entire agency and the entire body of work they are doing. they have helped save literally thousands of lives in gaza. they do important work. the thousands of lives in gaza. they do important work.— thousands of lives in gaza. they do important work. the worst attack on israel's history _ important work. the worst attack on israel's history has _ important work. the worst attack on israel's history has left _ important work. the worst attack on israel's history has left scars - important work. the worst attack on israel's history has left scars here i israel's history has left scars here that will last generations. and with trauma, comes rage. towards those who aided the aggressors, not the victims. markjoins us now live from jerusalem. mark, it is worth re—emphasising how serious these claims are. what do we know exactly about them?—

claims are. what do we know exactly about them? _, . .,, _, about them? little concrete has come out about the — about them? little concrete has come out about the allegations _ about them? little concrete has come out about the allegations but - about them? little concrete has come out about the allegations but mark - out about the allegations but mark regev, senior adviser to benjamin netanyahu, told bbc news last week that a released israeli hostage had said they had been held in a home of a unrwa employee. now, israel has long accused the various un agencies of bias and anti—semitism and even worse and now the israeli foreign minister has said that unrwa is, in his words, the civilian arm of hamas and shouldn't be allowed to operate in gaza once the conflict comes to an end. there is anger here, serious anger at these very serious allegations, but this is also an opportunity for the israeli government, which is increasingly under pressure both at home and abroad, to kind of seize the initiative, to get back on the front foot to some extent and to bolster its argument. find foot to some extent and to bolster its argument-— foot to some extent and to bolster its argument. and the un is saying its argument. and the un is saying it has launched _ its argument. and the un is saying it has launched an _ its argument. and the un is saying it has launched an investigation - its argument. and the un is saying | it has launched an investigation and indeed, as you mentioned in your report, sacked some of the staff.

i'm sorry, i missed your question? so, first have launched an investigation and already sacked some of the staff as you said in your report?— some of the staff as you said in your report? some of the staff as you said in our re ort? ., ~ ., your report? yeah, indeed. and that shows the serious _ your report? yeah, indeed. and that shows the serious with _ your report? yeah, indeed. and that shows the serious with which - your report? yeah, indeed. and that shows the serious with which they i shows the serious with which they are taking these allegations. understand at least 12 employees have been dismissed and as i mentioned, israel's intelligence agency and the idf, the israeli defence say that they have passed on information that purports to show the involvement of the staffers of unrwa in those attacks. there have been allegations against un missions around the world in previous decades, i rememberallegations decades, i remember allegations against decades, i rememberallegations against un missions in parts of africa, for example, that local staff were involved in smuggling, corruption and that the sentiment that you heard in my report from john kirby is one which is being

shared and will be shared by many pro—un voices that a handful of very bad apples shouldn't be seen to be tarnishing the whole mission's work and that will certainly be felt by the un staff themselves in gaza who will feel obviously very depressed at this news, the vast majority of them, and determined to restore the reputation of that agency. meanwhile in gaza itself. — reputation of that agency. meanwhile in gaza itself, the _ reputation of that agency. meanwhile in gaza itself, the fighting _ in gaza itself, the fighting continues, particularly around khan younis? ., ., continues, particularly around khan younis? . ., ., ., younis? yeah, and around some hositals younis? yeah, and around some hospitals there. _ younis? yeah, and around some hospitals there. i _ younis? yeah, and around some hospitals there. i mean, - younis? yeah, and around some hospitals there. i mean, the - younis? yeah, and around some hospitals there. i mean, the aid | hospitals there. i mean, the aid agency mdf, doctors without borders, say the largest hospital in southern gaza, the largest remaining hospital in southern gaza has lost its surgical capacity now and says the entire health system of gaza has been rendered inoperative. there is

very intense fighting around medical facilities, israel continues to insist that hamas launches attacks from medicalfacilities, that is something denied by both hamas and local medics, but it is a very desperate situation there in the south and increasingly, people sheltering in the grounds of those hospitals are trying to get down to rough on the border with egypt which is a city now thought to be sheltering 1.5 million people. mark lowen in jerusalem, _ sheltering 1.5 million people. mark lowen injerusalem, thank you for joining us. we stay in the middle east. an oil tanker with links to the uk has been attacked by houthi missiles. the marlin luanda, which is operated by a uk registered company, was travelling in the red sea off the coast of yemen when it was struck. the uk government says it reserves the right to respond appropriately. it is the latest attack in and around the red sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams reports. this is the marlin luanda last

night, five visible from the bridge, threatening its cargo of russian oil bound for singapore. the houthis are 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. the fire was finally brought under control this morning is indian, french and american naval vessels arrived on the scene. the crew was unharmed and the scene. the crew was unharmed and the tank are now heading for a safe harbour. 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 oman. this afternoon, the defence secretary grant shapps condemned what he called this intolerable and illegal attack and said britain remained committed to protecting freedom of navigation. paul adams, bbc news. the us government has approved the sale of 40 new f—16

fighter jets to turkey, after ankara fully ratified sweden's long— delayed membership of nato. turkey will also get upgrades to the warplanes in its existing fleet as part of the 23 billion dollar deal. the sale had become contingent on turkey dropping its objections to sweden joining the alliance. f—16s are the same jets that ukrainian pilots are being trained on. 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 24 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. the post office chairman, henry staunton, has stepped down after a discussion with the business secretary, kemi badenoch. a government spokesperson says the decision was made by �*mutual consent�*. mr staunton had been appointed in december 2022 and had extensive experience on the board of companies ranging from itv to wh smith. the post office, which is state—owned, has been heavily criticised after hundreds of branch managers were wrongly convicted of fraud and theft because of faulty it software. a major incident has been declared in liverpool, because of fears a building could collapse following a huge fire in the city centre. more than 50 firefighters from the merseyside fire and rescue service were called to the blaze shortly after 2pm and evacuated nearby buildings. they say there are no reports of casualties.

with more on this our correspondent simi jolaoso joins us from the newsroom. simi, what more do we know? as you mentioned, what we do know is that the fire broke out in a four—storey building just after 2:20pm. more than 50 firefighters were sent down to fox street near the city centre and around 1.5 hours later, around 4pm, merseyside fire and rescue service declared it as a major incident. as you mentioned, again, there have been no casualties reported but we do know they have been evacuating nearby buildings because the building itself has been in danger of collapsing. in fact, they placed a cordon around the wider area and some nearby roads have been temporarily closed by the police. those roads include great homer street, great richmond street, nether field road south and prince

edwin street. local residents have been told to keep their doors and windows shut, presumably because of the dangers of inhaling the smoke. huge plumes of smoke could be seen across the city, including over the football stadium goodison park. now, people are being warned to keep clear of the area. the fire and rescue service have said they are yet to identify the cause of the fire. ,, . ~' yet to identify the cause of the fire. ,, ., ,, i. yet to identify the cause of the fire. . . ~' ,, , . fire. simi, thank you very much with the latest from _ fire. simi, thank you very much with the latest from the _ fire. simi, thank you very much with the latest from the newsroom. - fire. simi, thank you very much with the latest from the newsroom. i- fire. simi, thank you very much with i the latest from the newsroom. i know you will keep across and that us if we get any more from liverpool. british department store company john lewis has confirmed it's considering making further cuts to its workforce over the next five years. there are reports that up to eleven—thousand jobs could be axed at its stores and waitrose supermarkets. with me is business correspondent marc ashdown. these sounds like those are big cuts? potentially, it is the darling of the high street, john—lewis but it is not immune from the gloomy financial picture all businesses have suffered. hit by high

inflation, soaring costs for freight, energy, staffing. it posted a £230 million loss back in march, thatis a £230 million loss back in march, that is only the second ever time it has made a full year loss. had to scrap the annual pot staff bonus for the partners, don't forget, they are partners, they co—owned the business. somejob cuts partners, they co—owned the business. some job cuts were announced back then and john lewis and waitrose stores set to close now, it seems more pain coming on the line. a spokesperson told me today with sadness they are today drawing up plans to shrink the 76,000 workforce further. they didn't go into details, but the guardian reporting 11,000 jobs, potentially up to 10% of the workforce. i'm told the axe won't fall immediately, it could all take five years. a mix of the term natural wastage but also some redundancies potentially. you mentioned — redundancies potentially. you mentioned it _ redundancies potentially. you mentioned it is _ redundancies potentially. you mentioned it is a _ redundancies potentially. you mentioned it is a partnership and the staff own it, any reaction from staff to this?— staff to this? the guardian also re ort staff to this? the guardian also report they _ staff to this? the guardian also report they have _ staff to this? the guardian also report they have been - staff to this? the guardian also report they have been on - staff to this? the guardian also i report they have been on message boards, sharing their frustrations.

it does seem like, according to the spokesman, it is all part of a plan to return the business to profitability, they need to get those tills ringing, investing heavily in technology as well to enhance the customer experience. it has been a tough time for staff. last week, the partnership wrote to them saying they are going to reduce them saying they are going to reduce the redundancy package, cut it from february, anyone leaving after february, anyone leaving after february next month will getjust one week of pay per year of service instead of two. particularly galling as message board shafts have been showing frustrations, because quite a few senior executives have just left on that more redundancy package. some very gloomy news for the high street in general. everyone thought we were turning a corner in the uk, inflation coming down, interest rate cuts potentially on the horizon, i thinkjohn lewis is seen as a bit of a bellwether, a bit worrying, not out of the woods yet as businesses keep struggling as consumers more butchers notches on the boat to tighten. mart: consumers more butchers notches on the boat to tighten.— the boat to tighten. marc ashdown, thank ou the boat to tighten. marc ashdown, thank you for— the boat to tighten. marc ashdown, thank you forjoining _ the boat to tighten. marc ashdown, thank you forjoining us. _

king charles will stay in hospital for a second night, after a procedure for an enlarged prostate. queen camilla visited her husband at the london clinic, where the princess of wales is also staying following abdominal surgery. our reporter charlie rose, is outside the hospital this is day two of the king's stay in hospital here at the london clinic after undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate. his wife, queen camilla, has been to visit him a number of times over the past couple of days. three, we think. the latest visit took place this afternoon. yesterday, she told reporters that her husband was doing well after the procedure. now, she may also have been visiting katherine, princess of wales, who is also being looked after here. she has had abdominal surgery, it is her 12th day here and she is not expected to resume official public engagements until after easter when she feels much better and has fully

recovered. now, we have had a statement from buckingham palace regarding the king. it said, his majesty would like to thank all those who sent their good wishes over the past week and is delighted to learn that his diagnosis is having a positive impact on public health awareness. now, it is unusual for buckingham palace to speak about the king's health in this way but apparently, his majesty wanted to raise awareness and that is exactly what has happened because the nhs says that it has seen a surge in the number of men going to its website, seeking advice and help and information on enlarged prostate. now, the latest information here is that king charles is expected to spend the rest of the night here at hospital and tomorrow, to, when he may have another visit from queen camilla. charlie rose on the latest

on control—— king charles' condition. i want to take you life to auschwitz, you can see at a ceremony is taking place there to mark the 79th anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz. it also, of course, on the 6 millionjewish people that were murdered, alongside the millions of other people killed under nazi persecution of other groups. now, a group of around 20 former prisoners are taking part in these commemorations that you can see to mark the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the death camp. the ceremony being held under a tent also there because the remains of brick barrels for female prisoners also in the back and how section of auschwitz. we will bring you more on that a little later in this programme. ——birkenhau.

tourists have been forced to evacuate one of south africa's best—known attractions , table mountain, overlooking cape town , because of a wildfire. helicopters have been used to douse the flames with water. a dense cloud of smoke has engulfed much of the area. the emergency services say the blaze was contained after several hours. rangers at table mountain national park say they've dealt with more than 20 fires already this year. they say many of them were started deliberately. vince mcmahon, the co—founder of world wrestling entertainment, has stepped down from the organisation's parent company, after being accused of sexual misconduct and sex trafficking. he has denied the allegations. sofia bettiza has more on the background that led to his resignation. so, who is vince mcmahon? well, he is an icon in the world of wrestling. he is the co—founder of wwe, which is the biggest wrestling company in the world. this is what it looks like. commentator: if the queen lands this, it could be over. _ moonsault! leg and all! 450!

for the championship! oh, my goodness! and that is vince mcmahon getting a star at the hollywood walk of fame. he transformed wwe from a small regional operation into a global phenomenon. the country now... you know, they broadcast in more than 180 countries and in 33 languages. and the company is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. so, what kinds of allegations are being made against the boss of such a hugely successful company? well, janel grant, a former employee of wwe, filed a lawsuit against him. she claims that he trafficked her to his friends as a sexual pawn to entice world—famous wrestling talent. now, according to the lawsuit,

the two of them met in 2019 when miss grant was going through a very difficult time. both of her parents had recently died, she was unemployed and struggling financially. she got a job at wwe, but in return, she says, mr mcmahon expected to have a sexual relationship with her. the lawsuit states that he subjected her to acts of extreme cruelty and degradation. and it also says that she felt she was in an impossible situation. she... you know, either submitting to mr mcmahon's sexual demands orfacing ruin, so she felt trapped. now, what did vince mcmahon have to say about all of this? well, he strenuously denies the allegations. he released a statement on friday saying that the lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene, made up instances that never occurred, and that it is a vindictive distortion of the truth. now, miss grant's lawyer says that the reason behind the lawsuit is to hold wwe to account for trying

to sweep the whole thing under the carpet, and that she hopes this will prevent other women from going through the same thing. the world's biggest cruise ship — royal caribbean's icon of the seas — will set sailfrom miami later, on its maiden voyage. the 250,000—tonne ship took 900 days to build and cost £1.5 billion. it will house the world's first suspended infinity pool at sea, as well as the ocean's largest—ever water park — and has the capacity to carry nearly eight thousand people. that is one big boat! finally this half hour i want to show you some stunning pictures out of switzerland. take a look at this.

there you can see 75 hot air balloons have taken part in an international annual festival abover the swiss alps. balloon pilots and spectators from around the world headed to a town in an alpine valley that is renowned for winds that make it particulary good for flying. what an amazing view. one flier described it "like the earth moves away from you, versus you moving away from it." iam not i am not sure i would want to be on one of those balloons, though! some lovely pictures there from the swiss alps. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. temperatures have been a little bit higher today, but we have seen more cloud around, particularly across more western parts of the uk. a lot of the cloud is still quite thin, high cloud, mind you. and if you have a look at the satellite picture,

you can see all that cloud that's been coming in from the atlantic to the south of our weather front that's been hanging around in the north and north—west of scotland, bringing some outbreaks of rain. but through the night, as we see a southerly wind picking up, we're going to blow that rain band out of the way. it still could be quite cloudy in northern ireland and scotland, bit of dampness in the air now and again. rather more variable cloud across england and wales. and last night it got to minus three at exeter airport. lowest temperatures will be across eastern parts of england where we have clearer skies and there could be a touch of ground frost first thing on sunday morning. but with that wind picking up on sunday, we should see temperatures continuing to rise and most places will have a dry day again. some sunshine at times, a bit more cloud in the south west of england, maybe moving into the midlands and ahead of our rain band approaching northern ireland and heading into the north—west of scotland, it's going to be windy with some gales in the north—west, some quite lively winds developing through the irish sea as well. but it is a southerly wind and that's why temperatures are continuing to rise.

it's going to be a milder day on sunday, it could make 14 degrees in north wales and the moray firth. now those southerly winds are coming from a long way south and they could actually pick up some saharan dust, which will get blown in towards the uk just ahead of that weather front there, which will bring some wet weather. and we've got a bit more rain pushing towards england and wales. could turn quite heavy rain over the hills of wales, across northern england. and in the southern uplands, we're likely to find some snow falling as things get colder in scotland and northern ireland. but for the midlands, many parts of eastern england it may well be dry and we're in milder air here, so temperatures are likely to reach 14 or 15 degrees. that milder air, though, will get pushed away overnight as these weather fronts move their way eastwards. could bring some snow to other higher parts of eastern scotland before that low pressure is out of the way and all the wet weather is out of the way, leaving cloud for england and wales, sunshine across scotland and northern ireland. that'll push a bit further south through the day. it will introduce cooler air, mind you, so we've got eight in glasgow. could make 12 in the south—east.

the ukjoinsa the ukjoins a list the uk joins a list of countries to suspend funding for a us agency in gaza after some stuff, it has sacked a number of staff and is

investigating the accusations. a fire is extinguished on a british link oil tanker hit by a houthi missile off the coast of yemen, urging china to help rein in a random support for houthi attacks. mr trump had already been found to have defamed carol and 2019. pedri staunton has stood down following a phone call with the business and trade sec. kemi badenoch. he had beenin trade sec. kemi badenoch. he had been in thejob trade sec. kemi badenoch. he had been in the job for 13 months. hello and welcome to sportsday this saturday night — i'm chetan pathak. coming up on the programme... keeping the magic of the fa cop

alive... maidstone march on at the expense of ipswich town —