are "two sides of the same coin" who loathe britain. voting closes in iran's elections, with officials saying turnout was around 40% — a record low. and american fashion icon iris apfel has died at the age of 102. the united nations says its team visiting gaza's largest hospital has met many people wounded by gunshots as they crowded around an aid convoy on thursday. there have been international calls for an investigation into the incident, in which more than 100 palestinians were reported killed. israel admits its forces opened fire, but said most of the deaths happened in a crush. one of the un team shared what he saw at the hospital.

this hospital was treating more than 200 people that were injured yesterday. we have seen people with gunshot wounds. we have seen amputees and we have seen children as young as 12 that were injured yesterday. these events cannot be allowed to go on. we need to have safe, secure passage throughout gaza to reach the people that need humanitarian aid. president biden has promised that the us military will airdrop humanitarian aid into gaza in the coming days. the air—drops will be coordinated with the jordanians, who have been at the forefront of efforts to send assistance to gaza by air. there has also been a lot of other international reaction to life loss following a rush on aid convoy in gaza. french president emmanuel macron wrote, "deep indignation at the images coming from gaza where civilians have been targeted by israeli soldiers. i express my strongest condemnation of these shootings and call for truth, justice, and respect for international law.

african union has released a statement, saying the commission chairperson moussa faki mahamat strongly condemns the attack by israeli forces that killed and wounded more than 100 palestians. it says the chairperson calls for an international investigation into the incident to bring perpetrators to account. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, has more on the international pressure for an independent investigation. israelis will say, look, we will investigate this. we will see if there are lessons to be learned. they've said they're going to do that. whether they will do a kind of open, internationally supervised investigation of the kind that's being alluded to by some outside israel, i slightly doubt that. but they clearly recognise that they're under pressure to explain what happened in the early hours of thursday morning, because now it isn'tjust a question of what the israeli army is saying

versus what palestinian doctors are saying. you now have, for the first time, international observers in the form of representatives from the un who were in shifa hospital yesterday and who met people who they said had experienced gunshot wounds. now the un team says they did not see dead bodies, so they were not able to make an assessment of how those people died. but they did say they talked to people who had experienced gunshot injuries at the scene of the convoy. so we're trying to reach out to the un, trying to find out more about what they heard and what they saw. but in the meantime, we have these growing demands not just for an investigation into what happened, but for israel to do more to address the humanitarian situation. because what that awful episode in the early hours of thursday demonstrated was just how chronic and desperate this humanitarian situation has become, how dangerous it has become,

and the urgent need for more to be done to address it. and that's why you're hearing from the united states, for example, from joe biden, a reference to starting to do airdrops over the gaza strip, something thejordanian government has already been doing for some time. i think that's a measure of the desperation that the international community is feeling about trying to find whatever way they can to improve the situation in gaza. as world leaders plan try to get aid into northern gaza, the need there is ever more desperate. the world food programme has warned that, "if nothing changes, a famine is imminent in northern gaza". according to local health officials, a tenth child in the area has now died there from malnutrition and dehydration. as hospitals struggle with a lack of equipment, several other children remain in a critical condition. the aunt of one child told journalists he didn't have enough milk. translation: this child is suffering from severe dehydration _ due to a lack of milk.

his mum breast—feeds him, but she hasn't eaten and there is no artificial milk. he was rescued from the rubble when he was just a month old. he has lost 2a members of his family. dr hussam abu safiya is the head of paediatrics at the kamal adwan hospital in northern gaza, where he has been treating children suffering with malnutrition. i spoke to him earlier. i began by asking him how widespread that condition is. a few days before in the hospital, many children were presenting with severe dehydration. many children were suffering from severe malnutrition. when we took the family history, the mother said that the mother cannot give him food and clean water. children who present to our hospital have severe dehydration.

it is clear they are not receiving water and food for a few days before. many children are appearing in the paediatric icu with electrolyte imbalances. all medication which was needed was given. doctor, also, we have been reporting on the chaos and deaths surrounding the aid convoy on thursday. we understand that you treated wounded who appeared at the hospital in the wake of that, who were rushed in. what injuries did they have? about 170 patients who were injured. due to the army, the israeli army. they were injured by a gunshot. all those who appeared in our hospital were injured in the upper part of the body

due to gunshots. the israeli army shot the people who were looking for food. how able are you to treat these people, given the resources that you like? —— given the resources that you lack? we have a lack of food. we are starting to give people first aid, to stop the bleeding by compression. many people who needed physical interventions, we cannot do much for these patients because we haven't food to work in the hospital. the uk prime minister, rishi sunak, has warned that britain's democracy is under threat from islamist extremists and the far right. in an address outside downing street, he said

the government and country must face down the extremists. mr sunak�*s unexpected intervention follows the by—election victory of the controversial far—left politician george galloway, whose campaign in a seat with many muslim voters focused on gaza. in recent weeks and months, we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality. what started as protests on our streets has descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence. jewish children fearful to wear their school uniform, lest it reveal their identity. muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group that they have no connection with. now our democracy itself is a target. with more on this let's go live to our political correspondent, harry farley. harry, it is not usual or frequent

that the prime minister would use this particularforum, is it? why do you think you did it, and why now? that's right. a podium moment outside downing street is unusual. it is rare and normally an indication of a big moment, a big intervention, or even calling a general election. i think the reason why rishi sunak wanted to have this moment outside downing street is his fear, and the government's fear that temperatures are rising over the war in the middle east here in the uk, and not falling. you reference the election of george galloway, the left—wing firebrand politician, i suppose. he will arrive in the house of commons on monday. there is concern about that, there is concern about the policing of pro—palestinian protests as well. i think rishi sunak wanted to take a moment to reset, in his mind, what

he sees as normal levels of political protest. 0bviously he sees as normal levels of political protest. obviously the context to all of this is we have seen a number of mps expressing fears about their safety. we have seen protests outside mps' personal houses. tobias ellwood, one former conservative minister had a demonstration outside his home, and the police told him that the protesters were not doing anything illegal. there is concern about that and threats facing mps. perhaps the criticism from opponents of rishi sunak, both within the party and outside, is that the speech was strong on rhetoric but perhaps less so on substance in terms of new measures and policies to tackle this. it is worth saying that the government is expected to layout more measures in the next few weeks to tackle what it sees as rising extremism, and one possibility is

that we understand that michael gove is looking at possibly redefining how the government defines extremism. so the government is looking to set out measures in the weeks to come. find looking to set out measures in the weeks to come-— looking to set out measures in the weeks to come. and also, of course, the prosraect — weeks to come. and also, of course, the prosraect of— weeks to come. and also, of course, the prosraect of an — weeks to come. and also, of course, the prospect of an election _ weeks to come. and also, of course, the prospect of an election looms . the prospect of an election looms this year. he may be trying to lay some political groundwork. that's certainly one _ some political groundwork. that's certainly one possibility. - some political groundwork. that's certainly one possibility. sir- some political groundwork. that's certainly one possibility. sir keir. certainly one possibility. sir keir starmer, the labour leader, was largely in agreement, he said the prime minister was right to try to unify the country. the liberal democrat leader did not agree with that, he accused rishi sunak of sowing the seeds of division four years. the snp, the scottish national party's home affairs spokesperson also criticised the prime minister, saying the can services were the architects over culture wars in the uk.— services were the architects over culture wars in the uk. unofficial figures from iran's parliamentary elections held on friday put the turnout

at about a0%, which would be the lowest since the islamic revolution in 1979. iran's rulers had been pressing for high participation to help repair the regime's reputation after nearly two years of protests, sparked by the death in custody of the young woman mahsa amini. the bbc hasn't been allowed to report from iran for five years, but now our correspondent, caroline davies, has been given rare permission. the marks made. the polls are closed, but the question is how many voted. at a central tehran polling station, a celebratory mood. this is one of the polling stations where both foreign and local media are directed to come, which means that for some, it's also a place that they come to if they want to be seen to be voting. a newly married couple, former ministers and families like mr rohani's, out to cast their votes here. translation: those who don't vote are cutting themselves off—

from their own fate. they are saying "we don't want to decide the future of our country". for me, it's not the right choice. early polling suggested that this could be a record low turnout across iran, but officials are optimistic. translation: the presence of people today proves that all the threats - to the country and all the negative propaganda of the foreign media has failed. still, people have come out. iran has suggested that failing to vote risks undermining the country's security, but some have other reasons not to. shoppers were nervous to speak to foreign media today. one woman agreed, but anonymously. translation: the | economy is very bad. everything has gone very expensive

and the salary we get is very low. even if i vote or not vote, my demands are not solvable. some analysts think a lost turnout means lost faith. low turnout means dissatisfaction — dissatisfaction on cultural issues, on political issues, on economic issues. i feel that people have lost their interest in politics in general, and this low turnout will be another sign of that too. final turnout is pending. this ballot comes at a sensitive time for iran abroad, as the authorities are counting their popularity at home. caroline davies, bbc news, tehran. let's get some of the day's other news now. argentina's president javier milei has vowed to "speed up" his plans to overhaul the country and solve its economic woes in a fiery speech to congress. mr milei, speaking to lawmakers in a state—of—the—union style address, took an aggressive tone, inviting congress to

join him but warning that he would make changes with or without the legislature. a major blizzard blowing into the us states of california and nevada has forced the closure of yosemite national park. ski resorts in the lake tahoe region have also shut down. high winds are expected to hit the ridges of the sierra nevada, with up to three metres of snow forecast for some areas. weather forecasters are warning that life—threatening white—out conditions could last through the weekend. three people have been injured in a south london shooting. two of those were hurt whilst drinking inside a pub at clapham common when they were hit with shotgun pellets — by a rider on a moped — who was being pursued by police. sydney's annual mardi gras pride march in australia is taking place, but uniformed police have been barred from taking part in the event after an officer was charged with the murder of a gay couple.

a moment of silence was planned for the victims, jesse baird and luke davies. a serving constable who'd previously been in relationship with mr baird has been charged with two counts of murder. in the coming month, india is set to go to the polls, in what's expected to be the largest democratic elections in the world. the rise in popularity of india's prime minister, narendra modi, and the bjp in the last ten years has in part been due to a weak opposition that has failed to raise the voice of the people or effectively corner the government on crucial issues. a united front of opposition parties formed last year is developing cracks, with key allies deserting them. in these circumstances, the main challenger to prime minister modi remains the indian national congress. its leader, rahul gandhi, has been on a country—wide roadshow, to try and reclaim hope for india's opposition. arunoday mukherjee reports.

this is the man seen as the opposition�*s hope to take on prime minister narendra modi. congress leader rahul gandhi is travelling across the country asking voters what they want. this is a question you will have to ask yourselves every day. unemployment, inflation. this is your future. well, going by the support over here, it seems like a vote of confidence, at least from the supporters of rahul gandhi for the congress party. this is a very significant, politically significant constituency of a meeting which has always belonged to the gandhi family. for 15 years, rahul gandhi represented this seat. before that, his mother, his father, his uncle. so it's really remained with the gandhi family until 2019. in a shock defeat, the congress party lost to the bjp over here. so can he win them back and away from the noise and away

from the noise of the campaign trail i meet 65—year—old shabir khan in the village ofjudge kapoor in a meeting. for generations, his family has voted for the congress. but even staunch loyalists like shabir feel the party is not doing enough. translation: nothing will change i if they don't raise our issues. i rahul gandhi needs to roar like other politicians. he's a good man, but that's not enough. if he speaks with more conviction, it will be good for him, for the party and for us. since india's independence, the congress party dominated the country's political landscape. from 400 seats in parliament in the 1980s, they were down to 52 in the 2019 elections. to counter the bjp's rising popularity, injuly last year, opposition partiesjoined hands to form a united front.

if this alliance wins, our country will win. but in less than a year, there are cracks in the alliance. key partners have left, joining the bjp, and others are bickering over seats. you're not worried about these differences? i'm not worried. these are differences. we have to recognise they are differences. but a divided house isn't going to be house divided. we are a house with multiple voices. but multiple voices of dissent as well. not necessarily dissent, divergent points of view. these differences, though, are casting a doubt in voters. the most raw, yet nuanced political conversations in india often happen at these kind of tea stalls. it's the best way to get a pulse of what people are thinking. translation: since i became eligible to vote, _ i have only voted for the congress.

but last time we voted for the bjp. i asked them, the bjp has one face, narendra modi, but the opposition hasn't projected anyone. do you think they should? absolutely. that's what we are thinking. there has to be a face that this is our candidate. there is no leader here who can take our problems. they need to build our roads. whoever builds this road for us, we will vote for them. _ there is no bigger- issue for us than this. this is interesting because in the middle of all the national issues that are being debated for the people over here, something as small as building a road to connect this village to the city is as important to them. and just on the basis of that road being built, they will vote for the party that gives it to them. young people here are roaming around withoutjobs and prices are rising. do you think religious politics will give the bjp political mileage? they are gaining votes only on the basis of religion.

if they set religious politics aside, they won't even get 100 seats in parliament. they should talk about development. they should stop this hindu—muslim politics. carrying on the conversation over tea, i asked them what their message to the congress party is. rahul gandhi should realise he won't get votes just by waving at crowds. he has to find a way to listen to our problems. just a cross—country road show short of elections is not enough. when you are in the opposition, you need to be hungrier. you need to be bolder. you need to be more imaginative. and above all, you've got to work harder. i think if mr modi is looking like a front runner, i think the full credit for this anomaly has to be given to the congress party. the opposition says they are up against a lot more. multiple raids, several arrests

and over 140 opposition mps suspended in the last session of parliament, all being seen as an act of intimidation. rahul gandhi's show of strength is an attempt to reclaim a space for the opposition. but can these crowds turn into votes and can rahul convert this roadshow into his victory lap? some breaking news for you now. we are getting news that the united kingdom trade of operations agency says that it has received a report of an attack 15 nautical miles west of an attack 15 nautical miles west of yemen's capital. these attacks have been reported many times since the outbreak of hostilities in gaza. the who —— the houthis have been

carrying out these attacks. that is an attack on a ship off the coast of yemen. a killer whale off the coast of south africa has been caught on camera hunting and killing a great white shark in less than two minutes. scientists say the behaviour showed the exceptional hunting skill of killer whales, but raised questions about how shark—eating orcas might affect the food chain in that part of the ocean. our science correspondent, victoria gill, has more. the shark—hunting orcas in south africa have fascinated scientists since they were filmed working together sharks back in 2022. now, there's been a solo attack. it's filmed from a boat and tricky to make out in all the surface splashing. but watch carefully. the pointed dorsalfin at the front is a young, eight—foot—long great white shark with a solitary male orca in pursuit. two minutes later, scientists say

the orca was consuming parts of the shark's liver at the surface. why would they go specifically for their livers? i suspect that it's quite an easily digested and easily obtainable part of the carcass. what really stands out is, is how skilful that behaviour has to be. these animals have clearly become able to handle what would otherwise be an absolutely terrifying creature and handle them very efficiently with some skill. the behaviour and intelligence of these marine predators is constantly surprising. scientists, researchers are still trying to work out why a population of orcas in the atlantic that we filmed last summer have taken to deliberately ramming into sailing vessels. the orcas in south africa appear to have learned to attack the sharks from the side, avoiding theirjaws. it's risky, but experts say it makes sense because if an orca can tackle a great white shark,

that's a very large meal. it's another snapshot of the hunting prowess of one of the ocean's most impressive predators. victoria gill, bbc news. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. it's been a cold and, for some of you, wintry start to the weekend and will stay chilly. rest of today, though, further sleet and snow still possible in the widespread showers that we see across the country, but more of it will be rain, maybe a little bit of hail, and equally more sunshine breaking out later on. now, what we have at the moment is low pressure, cold air tied in around it. the focus for the heaviest and longest showers have been around this centre of that low. that's where we've seen some sleet and snow today. that's edging into parts of wales. so we're going to see a bit more

snow in the hills here, a little bit of snow from the showers elsewhere across england and wales, but increasing amounts of sunshine to the south and east. of note, we will see persistent rain slide across the north—east of scotland for a time with strengthening winds. but western scotland — bright afternoon. northern ireland — brighter than yesterday. for all — chilly, particularly where its continuing to see that rain, sleet and snow mix. temperatures maybe for some in parts of wales and the north only around 3 to 5 degrees. now tonight, the showers continue to be focused mainly now to the north and the west of the country. that means, with clearer skies across england and wales, there'll be a colder night, more widespread frost and the risk of ice into sunday morning. the centre of our low pressure, though, is on the move. into the morning, it starts across scotland and northern ireland before sliding out northwards and westward. so we start with the showers mainly focused across scotland and northern ireland on sunday morning. still wintry over higher ground. a spell of more persistent rain pushing across orkney and then later into shetland. but if anything, whilst i still see

some showers dotted here and there, mainly of rain and hail, more of it will be dry and bright. the one potentialfly in the ointment is more cloud in eastern counties of england, and along the coastal strip we could see some rain from a weather frontjust grazing us. temperatures up a little bit on today, but feeling chilly out of the sunshine. into monday, we start with a frost to the north and east, some clear skies. this next weather system, though, will bring strengthening winds and more cloud across the south—west, wales and northern ireland. outbreaks of rain developing here. sunshine turning hazy elsewhere as cloud gradually increases. but for more of you, especially in the north and the east, it will be a drier day on monday, even if we still get temperatures at if not a little bit below average for the time of year. the temperatures will lift a little bit further. as we go through this week, a bit more in the way of drier weather around. the rain that we do see should be lighter and patchier. that's how it's looking. see you soon.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the un says many of those injured in a rush on an aid convoy in gaza on thursday suffered gunshot wounds. hamas accused israel of firing at civilians — israel said most died in a stampede after troops fired warning shots. crowds continue to lay flowers for alexei navalny. russia's main opposition leader was buried yesterday in a ceremony which was tightly controlled by russian authorities.

a human rights monitoring group said 45 people have been detained across russia. rishi sunak says islamist and far—right extremists are "two sides of the same coin". speaking outside number 10, the prime minister expressed concern over recent protests, asking the country to "stand together" to "combat the forces of division" voting ends in iran's parliamentary elections. officials say the turnout was about 40% — the lowest since the islamic revolution in 1979. these are the first elections since anti—government protests were held in 2022 the united nations says its team visiting gaza's largest hospital has met many people wounded by gunshots as they crowded around an aid convoy on thursday. there have been international calls for an investigation into the incident, in which more than a hundred palestinians were reported killed. our special correspondent fergal keane, working with bbc verify, has been piecing together more details of what happened. and just a warning his report contains some distressing images.