lam i am outside the courts in london on what could be a decisive day on the legal battle with mirror group newspapers. early results in the pakistan election show a tight race — with at least two parties claiming victory. an israeli airstrike hits a residential area in rafah in southern gaza — hours after the us said it wouldn't support an offensive that failed to prioritise civilian lives. hello, welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. prince harry 5 legal fight with the publishers of the daily mirror continues today at the high court in london. the court has already ruled that the duke of sussex was hacked 7 the question now is to what extent. it's looking at some unresolved matters including legal costs and additional articles

in prince harry 5 claim. let's speak to our correspondent, charlie rose, who's outside the city court house in london asi as i was saying, charlie, we had this ruling back in december. it was over a number— this ruling back in december. it was over a number of— this ruling back in december. it was over a number of claims _ this ruling back in december. it was over a number of claims from - this ruling back in december. it was over a number of claims from harry | over a number of claims from harry but there are still many more outstanding.— but there are still many more outstanding. good afternoon. proceedings _ outstanding. good afternoon. proceedings got _ outstanding. good afternoon. proceedings got under - outstanding. good afternoon. proceedings got under way i outstanding. good afternoon. i proceedings got under way here outstanding. good afternoon. - proceedings got under way here at around about iiam uk time, after a half—hour delay because of a technical glitch to do with the video and audio feed. that is pretty important if you are prince harry and you want to follow things from your home 5500 miles away in california. even if he is not following the video feed, no doubt his legal team will be keeping him fully apprised of events here. we know that at the end of last year, prince harry and his legal team won 15 of 33 sample cases against the mirror group newspaper. he was

accusing them of unlawful phone hacking, unlawful information gathering, accessing his personal phone and voicemails. prince harry says that, basically, that is just the beginning. he is making many more claims against mirror group newspapers. 115 or so. we are going to find out whether those other claims will go to trial or whether there will be a settlement. the newspaper articles we are talking about involve his relationship many years ago with a young woman called chelsy davy. those articles spoke about the relationship they had, arguments, dates they went on and even tattoos. prince harry has argued that there is no way the mirror group newspapers, its journalists and reported, could have access to information unless they hacked into his phone and voicemails. other celebrities have been making claims against mirror

group newspapers. not all of them successful. we have had some detail this morning. two celebrities, actress nikki sanderson and fiona wightman, who is the ex—wife of the comedian paul whitehouse. thejudge comedian paul whitehouse. the judge has comedian paul whitehouse. thejudge has ruled that mirror group newspapers will not have to pay their legal costs after they failed to settle with the mirror group newspapers. basically they turn down a settlement. just to give you an idea of the scale of the financial challenge, the financial burden facing mirror group newspapers at the moment, apparently there are 100 claimants still waiting to have their claims processed in all of this. there will be pressure on the mirror group newspapers to settle with all of them. it is a huge, huge financial pressure on the mirror group newspapers at the moment with these claims involving phone hacking and unlawful gathering of

information. it and unlawful gathering of information.— and unlawful gathering of information. , , information. it will be interesting to see whether— information. it will be interesting to see whether prince _ information. it will be interesting to see whether prince harry - information. it will be interesting to see whether prince harry goesj information. it will be interesting i to see whether prince harry goes for the settlement or not. he has always said this wasn't about the money, it was about the principle of it. this is really such a big issue to him. he has called it his life's work. yes. during the trial last year, in actual fact, yes. during the trial last year, in actualfact, he spoke yes. during the trial last year, in actual fact, he spoke about not being able to trust anybody because his phone and his voice mail was being hacked. when thejudgment his phone and his voice mail was being hacked. when the judgment came through at the end of last year, he and his legal team described it as a great day for truth and accountability. a lot of legal arguments going on in there right now. you can see the reporters and journalists gathered outside, waiting for an announcement, which we are waiting... well, at some point this afternoon. we are waiting. .. well, at some point this afternoon.— we are waiting... well, at some point this afternoon. thanks very much and we _ point this afternoon. thanks very much and we will _ point this afternoon. thanks very much and we will come - point this afternoon. thanks very much and we will come back- point this afternoon. thanks very much and we will come back to l point this afternoon. thanks very l much and we will come back to you point this afternoon. thanks very - much and we will come back to you as soon as we hear anything. do keep us up—to—date. thank you very much, charlie rose at the city courthouse.

candidates loyal to jailed former pakistan prime minister imran khan have a narrow lead in the national assembly election — with just over half the seats declared. both khan's party and the party of three—time prime minister nawaz sharif have claimed victory. nawaz sharif had been seen as the favoured candidate of the powerful military and is expected to be elected pakistan's prime minister for a fourth time. but early results are still not conclusive. mr sharif told the bbc the vote had been �*absolutely fair�* despite the recentjailing of his rival imran khan on corruption charges. let's speak to our pakistan correspondent. not all the boats through but all sides claiming victory.— sides claiming victory. that's ri . ht. if sides claiming victory. that's right- if you _ sides claiming victory. that's right. if you look _ sides claiming victory. that's right. if you look at - sides claiming victory. that's right. if you look at how - sides claiming victory. that'sl right. if you look at how many sides claiming victory. that's - right. if you look at how many of the results are back we are seeing about 49 independents have been able to claim victory. most of those independents are unpacked backed by the pti which is the political party

thatis the pti which is the political party that is being run by imran khan. if you look further down you see that nawaz sharif�*s party, has 42 seats and then ppp, which is the party for the mac which has 3a seats. there is no clear winnerjust the mac which has 3a seats. there is no clear winner just yet. the mac which has 3a seats. there is no clear winnerjust yet. there are indications that there is this kind of feeling that it is going to be up to the independents, whether they are going to form some sort of coalition government. now the real political trading is going to begin. just explain what has been going on in the run—up to this. imran khan has beenjailed. there have been all sorts of restrictions put on his party. some candidates have been campaigning from prison.- campaigning from prison. exactly. this has been _ campaigning from prison. exactly. this has been an _ campaigning from prison. exactly. this has been an election - campaigning from prison. exactly. this has been an election that - campaigning from prison. exactly. this has been an election that hasj this has been an election that has been mired in difficulty and accusations that they are not going

to be free and fair. for imran khan, he is still wildly popular in this country. he was banned from contesting in these elections. members of his party were able to participate in the elections but they couldn't participate under the pti name. that posed some challenges and of course then you had many of the candidates for the pti that were fearful of publicly campaigning. they werejust fearful of publicly campaigning. they were just conducting their campaign online and some are holding rallies in secret locations. that was on the one side. on the other side you see there is the three—time former prime minister, nawaz sharif, back from self—imposed exile and on the ballot again. he was the favourite candidate to win coming into these elections. this was mostly because he is the candidate thatis mostly because he is the candidate that is favoured by pakistan's very powerful military, which wields a

lot of influence in this country. let's talk a bit more about that. in terms of if there was any attempt to form a coalition, presumably the military would have a lot to say on that? ., , a, , military would have a lot to say on that? ., y a, , a, military would have a lot to say on that? a, y a, , a, that? the military has made it... it seems pretty _ that? the military has made it... it seems pretty clear _ that? the military has made it... it seems pretty clear that, _ that? the military has made it... it seems pretty clear that, if- that? the military has made it... it seems pretty clear that, if you - that? the military has made it... it| seems pretty clear that, if you have military support in this country, your pathway to victory is pretty guaranteed. i think because of that, and because these early results are showing that the independents are doing well, if you talk to voters on the ground, as i have, there is quite a bit of scepticism with regards to these results. i was speaking to a few people out in a market place and they were saying, look, it has been now 2a hours since the polls have closed. we still don't have any clear results. there have been delays for a variety of technical reasons but for them, it is this worry that their vote actually won't translate into the results that they would expect them

to be, meaning that the votes could possibly be manipulated. this is something we certainly heard from pti backed candidates, that they were worried about voter manipulation.— were worried about voter manipulation. were worried about voter maniulation. ., ., , ,. manipulation. how long is expected? this afternoon, _ manipulation. how long is expected? this afternoon, at _ manipulation. how long is expected? this afternoon, at local _ manipulation. how long is expected? this afternoon, at localtime, - manipulation. how long is expected? this afternoon, at localtime, i- manipulation. how long is expected? this afternoon, at local time, i was i this afternoon, at local time, i was at the electoral commission office. the spokesperson there said that within one or two hours we will be able to get all of the results. that was about five and a half hours to go and we have only got half the results in. it is perhaps going to be yet another long night of counting. be yet another long night of countinu. ., ~ be yet another long night of counting-— be yet another long night of countinu. ., ~' . counting. thank you so much, in islamabad- _ counting. thank you so much, in islamabad. we _ counting. thank you so much, in islamabad. we will _ counting. thank you so much, in islamabad. we will bring - counting. thank you so much, in islamabad. we will bring you - counting. thank you so much, in islamabad. we will bring you all| counting. thank you so much, in i islamabad. we will bring you all the details on that as and when we get them.

israeli forces have carried out fresh air strikes on the city of rafah in southern gaza — hours after the us stressed the importance of protecting civilian lives there. the us warned israel that staging a military offensive into rafah without planning would be a "disaster" — after israel anounced its military was prepared to extend its offensive into the south. us presidentjoe biden says that conduct in gaza has been ”over the top” and he is working to get a sustained pause in fighting. israel bombed parts of rafah from the air on thursday morning and israeli tanks also reportedly opened fire. about half of gaza's 2.3 million people have fled to rafah and many are now surviving in dire humanitarian conditions. we can go live now to rafah and speak to a gaza resident and journalist ghada oudah, who's had to move 46 times in the past it months since the war broke out. thank you for taking the time to join us. can you tell us what is going on at the moment? the last coule of going on at the moment? the last ample of days _ going on at the moment? the last couple of days the _ going on at the moment? the last couple of days the government i couple of days the government announced there would be ground... through rafah. more than one and a

half million displaced people are now living inside the small city, rafah, and it is overcrowded. we can hear meanwhile lots of air strikes over the days and nights.- over the days and nights. people were told to _ over the days and nights. people were told to move _ over the days and nights. people were told to move from - over the days and nights. people were told to move from the i over the days and nights. people i were told to move from the north, weren't they, and go down to the south, and that is why there are so many people there. are you able to tell us a bit about how you are getting food? how is day—to—day going on for you? we getting food? how is day-to-day going on for you?— going on for you? we have been dislaced going on for you? we have been displaced many _ going on for you? we have been displaced many times _ going on for you? we have been displaced many times from i going on for you? we have been| displaced many times from north going on for you? we have been i displaced many times from north gaza to the middle area, to khan younis, and then we had to come to rafah, the last city on the border area of the last city on the border area of the gaza strip. the only thing we can provide our services...

inaudible it is almost running out of products... it is almost running out of products- - -_ it is almost running out of products... it is almost running out of roducts... ., . a ., ., products... no chicken, no meat. sometimes _ products... no chicken, no meat. sometimes aid _ products... no chicken, no meat. sometimes aid is _ products... no chicken, no meat. sometimes aid is being _ products... no chicken, no meat. sometimes aid is being sold i products... no chicken, no meat. sometimes aid is being sold for l products... no chicken, no meat. | sometimes aid is being sold for us with expensive rice. == sometimes aid is being sold for us with expensive rice.— with expensive rice. -- prices. i don't know— with expensive rice. -- prices. i don't know where _ with expensive rice. -- prices. i don't know where people i with expensive rice. -- prices. i don't know where people could| with expensive rice. -- prices. i. don't know where people could go with expensive rice. -- prices. i- don't know where people could go in terms of what may be safe. are people trying to leave? this terms of what may be safe. are people trying to leave?- terms of what may be safe. are people trying to leave? this is the last oint people trying to leave? this is the last point that _ people trying to leave? this is the last point that they _ people trying to leave? this is the last point that they have. - people trying to leave? this is the last point that they have. we i people trying to leave? this is the last point that they have. we are l last point that they have. we are away from the border area between gaza and egypt, just less than one kilometre. they are able to conduct their ground incursion. we have no place to go. maybe they order the

people to flee to the border go back to the middle area or they will open the roads to go back to gaza and north of gaza. this is the only choice that we have here in rafah. thank you so much for talking to us. i appreciate how difficult it is and i appreciate how difficult it is and i appreciate how difficult it is and i appreciate you taking the time. that is ago as a journalist, ghada oudah, currently there in rafah. she left both her daughters in another part of gaza and has already moved her location 46 times. two weeks ago she was in khan younis. really interesting to hear from she was in khan younis. really interesting to hearfrom her. there is plenty on our website if you want to look at the latest on gaza. you're watching bbc news. let's look at some other

stories making news. a new oscar for best casting will be introduced from 2026. it will be the first new competitive category at the ceremony since 2002. casting directors have campaigned in recent years to be recognised in the way other film crafts like sound and costume are. the future of the red bull formula 1 team is in the spotlight as their boss christian horner faces an internal hearing today into a complaint of inappropriate behaviour. it is understood the claim has been made by another member of staff. horner, who is married to the former spice girl geri horner, has said he completely denies the claims. the premier league has ruled out being part of a trial of sin—bins and blue cards by the international football association board. the football lawmakers will announce a new trial today, which would see a player spend ten minutes in the technical area after being given a blue card by a referee. sin—bins have been used at grassroots level for dissent. you're live with bbc news. us presidentjoe biden is angrily

rejecting suggestions that he has a poor memory and is unfit for office. he was responding to a long—awaited report which concluded he shouldn't face any criminal charges for mishandling classified documents during his time as vice president, but questioned his ability to remember several important events. my memory is fine. my memory... take a look at what i've done since i have become president. nobody thought i could pass any of the things i got passed. how did that happen? you know, i guess ijust forgot what is going on. in the same news conference in which president biden addressed concerns about his memory, he made another slip—up when referring to president el—sisi of egypt... describing him as the president of mexico. as you know, initially the president of mexico, el—sisi, did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in. i talked to him. i convinced him to open the gate.

let's speak to michael george from cbs news in new york. reminder is a bit more about what this report said. you reminder is a bit more about what this report said.— this report said. you would think that the white _ this report said. you would think that the white house _ this report said. you would think that the white house would i this report said. you would think that the white house would be l this report said. you would think- that the white house would be happy about this report. it found no criminal charges are warranted for mishandling classified documents. at the damaging parts as you mentioned is how the report portrays president biden. it calls him an elderly man with a poor memory, especially when it comes to remembering dates. it says he couldn't recall the years he had been vice president or even the exact time when his son died. we saw some angerfrom exact time when his son died. we saw some anger from president biden exact time when his son died. we saw some angerfrom president biden in responding to this. he said about his cognitive abilities, quote, i know what the hell i am doing. i put the country back on its feet. in terms of what impact this may have on his run for the presidency, in terms of perhaps how voters respond to it, do you think it will make a difference?— difference? certainly a lot of --eole difference? certainly a lot of people are _ difference? certainly a lot of people are talking _ difference? certainly a lot of people are talking about i difference? certainly a lot of people are talking about his| people are talking about his cognitive abilities. this is exactly

what republicans have been attacking him on, saying that, at 81 years old, his cognitive abilities are not up old, his cognitive abilities are not up to thejob, old, his cognitive abilities are not up to the job, and old, his cognitive abilities are not up to thejob, and again, he made a mistake even during a news conference yesterday, defending his cognitive abilities. it is worth pointing out that his opponent, former president trump, who is 77, has also had some problems lately mixing up the leaders of countries and his political opponents. he has mixed up a lot of names lately. it is a discussion being cabin delivery happening about both. it is is a discussion being cabin delivery happening about both.— happening about both. it is the focal point _ happening about both. it is the focal point of _ happening about both. it is the focal point of nikki _ happening about both. it is the focal point of nikki haley's i focal point of nikki haley's campaign, that she talks about two grumpy old men. campaign, that she talks about two grumpy old men-— grumpy old men. certainly the opponents _ grumpy old men. certainly the opponents are _ grumpy old men. certainly the opponents are jumping - grumpy old men. certainly the opponents are jumping on i grumpy old men. certainly the opponents are jumping on this grumpy old men. certainly the i opponents are jumping on this and saying that both of them, both president biden and former president trump should have to take cognitive tests to prove their ability. this isn't looking good for either of them, but certainly president biden has borne the brunt of this discussion.— has borne the brunt of this discussion. ., ,, , ., , . ., discussion. thank you very much for talkin: to discussion. thank you very much for talking to us. _ discussion. thank you very much for talking to us, michael— discussion. thank you very much for talking to us, michael george, i discussion. thank you very much for talking to us, michael george, we . talking to us, michael george, we appreciate your time.

let's stay in the us, because the supreme court has heard arguments in a case — that could decide whether or not donald trump is eligible to run for president. it's considering a ruling by colorado's top court, which said mr trump could not run in that state's primary, because it considered his actions during the assault on the capitol on january the 6th, 2021, as insurrection. speaking to the press after the hearing, mr trump argued that striking him from the ballot would result in chaos across america. you cannot allow a president to be out there without immunity. if you don't have immunity, you don't have a presidency. you lose all form of free thought and good thought. you probably weaken the presidency to a point that it was never supposed to be weakened. it would be a very bad thing for our country. donald trump has won the nevada caucus, adding more delegates in his seemingly unstoppable march to the republican party's presidential nomination. mr trump was the only major candidate on the ballot when party members gathered in public buildings across the southwestern us state to cast their in—person votes.

a short time ago this was his response. this has been an incredible period of time, i think, for our country, for the world. the world has not been like this for many, many years. when you look at the attack on israel or the attack on ukraine with russia, that this would have never happened. the israeli attack would have never happened. inflation would have never happened. the world would be a much different place right now. and we're going to make sure that we bring it back and we're going to bring it back fast. and we're going to bring it back very, very strong. cheering. very, very strong. our north america correspondent anthony zurker is in las vegas and gave us the latest on donald trump's win. the results aren't finalised but we have projections that donald trump is going to win the nevada caucuses. he is running with no significant opposition, not at all surprising.

but it does mean that donald trump is moving one step closer to securing the republican nomination. the more you prove the more likely it is that you are the majority at the convention to secure the nomination. but more than that it is a sign, once again, that donald trump has all the momentum in this nomination race. he won in iowa. he won in new hampshire. he won today in the us virgin islands and has one in the us virgin islands and has one in nevada. there is an increasing perception that the donald trump campaign is a juggernaut that nikki haley simply cannot stop. if you look at polls for upcoming contests in south carolina and a whole slate of states, donald trump has two primitive leads and all of those states. all of this is evidence that donald trump is essentially unstoppable and something significant, something unpredictable, that we haven't been able to foresee yet, would have to

take place in orderfor nikki haley to have a chance at making this a competitive race once again. the world's third largest democracy goes to the polls next week. more than 200 million indonesians are eligible to vote in an election which will choose a successor to presidentjoko widodo. he is still hugely popular but has reached the limit of two terms in office. all three rival candidates to replace him are promising to continue his development— and infrastructure—focused policies. but the front—runner, prabowo subianto, is a controversialfigure. our south east asia correspondent jonathan head reports from jakarta. long after the end of dictatorship here, some things still aren't settled. families of those who died or disappeared in the last months of the suharto regime have been protesting outside the presidential palace every thursday for 17 years, demanding answers. this man is one of the disappeared,

presumed kidnapped by special forces. "every week we campaign to stop human rights abusers being elected," he said. and he showed me the words printed on his t—shirt. "bring back those who disappeared. don't let him rule the country." by "him" he means prabowo subianto, the former special forces commander and son in law of suharto. this is him 26 years ago, just before he was dismissed from the army, accused of ordering the kidnapping of activists... ...and of masterminding this — the chaos and rioting which preceded suharto's resignation. today, he's the front runner in the election. the transformation of prabowo's image from feared military hard man to cuddly, avuncular candidate is the most remarkable aspect of this campaign.

younger indonesians with no memory of his past have been flocking to him, thanks to some slick social media messaging. but the real key to prabowo's success has been the unexpected alliance with his one—time adversary and today, the most popular politicalfigure in indonesia, outgoing presidentjoko widodo. through a controversial court ruling, he's made the president's son his running mate, bringing a decidedly dynastic flavour to this election. presidentjokowi's poll ratings remain astonishingly high for a leader who's been in power ten years. but he's now being accused of misusing that popularity and the power and resources of the presidency to extend his influence beyond his constitutional term limit. in these last days of the campaign, there's been a flurry of online debates highlighting the dangers of a jokowi prabowo axis. do you seejokowi as

a threat to democracy? yes. the word may be big, strong, but, yes. even though he's so popular, he's got such a great reputation. democracy has nothing to do with the popularity. rival parties have been struggling to match the momentum of the prabowo campaign. that indonesia has such a lively and well—regarded democracy after only 25 years is an impressive achievement. but no one is quite sure which way it will go after this election. jonathan head, bbc news, jakarta. a state of emergency is in place in reykjanes peninsula after the volcano that erupted for the third time since december. it started shooting lover 80 metres into the air on thursday. it has dissipated

today but still has caused significant damages. the images are extraordinary. rates have been destroyed and pipelines broken, cutting off hot water to part of the peninsula which is suffering freezing temperatures at the moment. schools, kindergartens, museums and other public institutions in the region are close today. it is hoped that the hot water will be restored within hours. there is a crack in the earth which is about two miles, which is three kilometres, long. you can see the lather there spewing across the road. really extraordinary images. that is all for me. i will be back shortly with the headlines. do stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. as temperatures have continued to rise, so the focus has shifted from snow to rain and flooding.

this was the weather watcher picture taken earlier today in leicestershire. it's a combination of the rain and in some cases the melting snow that's led to a large number of flood warnings. the bulk of those have been across the midlands and southern england, but the weekend looks like it should be drier. this weather front has been moving northwards, taking the wetter weather up towards scotland and that's where we've got the colder air still in place, but elsewhere it is much milder and we are seeing some spells of rain. with that milder air coming in over the cold ground here in staffordshire, it's meant quite misty and murky conditions, as well as the snow gradually thawing. we've got misty, murky conditions across much of northern england and northern ireland. those are the temperatures we've got as we head into the evening. somewhat colder in scotland. there's still a strong easterly wind blowing and it's over highland and grampian, above about 300

metres, there could be as much as 20 centimetres of snow, so it really is well over high ground. it's rain elsewhere. we've got more rain in southern scotland into the night, moving away from northern ireland, and some clearer skies will develop further south and it may well be a little bit chillier than last night across southern england, with lows of two or three degrees here. it depends on cloud and mist and fog, and we could see some mist and fog developing through the midlands towards lincolnshire. that will be a little slow to lift. and we've still got more cloud around in scotland on saturday. the rain and snow mainly in the far north of the country. some showers will follow to the south, mainly in south wales and south—west england. but we should see some sunshine and, even across northern england, southern scotland and northern ireland. that will certainly give the temperatures a boost. it's continuing to get milder in the next day or so. the colder air is getting pushed to the north of mainland scotland by that weather front by sunday, but we've still got low pressure close by, so there still could be some showers and there may even be a bit of rain running its way close to these north sea coasts. otherwise, it could be quite cloudy with mist and fog patches to lift,

particularly in the north. some sunshine coming through, but still a few showers, mainly in the south and west of the uk. blustery winds still through the english channel, otherwise the winds fairly light and those temperatures in scotland will continue to rise.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: prince harry s phone—hacking legalfight with the publishers of the daily mirror returns to the high court in london. early results in the pakistan election show a tight race — with at least two parties claiming victory. an israeli air strike on a residential area in rafah — hours after the us said it wouldn't support an offensive that failed to prioritise civilian lives. president putin has insisted that russia has no interest in invading poland, latvia or other nato countries, calling such a scenario "absolutely out of the question". the comments were made during a lengthy interview that was conducted in the kremlin with former fox news host tucker carlson. the interview was broadcast on the tucker carlson network. mr putin accused nato member states of trying to intimidate people with what he called an imaginary russian threat. he said however that the atlantic alliance must accept moscow's territorial gains in ukraine, which he invaded in 2022.

he again claimed it was an artificial country.