after president biden pledged to do so on friday. and rishi sunak says islamist and far—right extremists are "two sides of the same coin" who loathe britain. hello, i'm samantha simonds. we begin with the conflict in gaza. the head of the world health organization has described an israeli air strike near a hospital in rafah — that killed at least 13 people — as unspeakable. he posted on x... "reports that tents sheltering displaced people "in rafah were bombed — reportedly killing 11 "people and injuring 50, including children — "are outrageous and unspeakable. "among those killed are two health workers.

"health workers and civilians are not a target, and must be "protected at all times. "we urge israel to cease fire." the idf said it had carried out a �*precision strike�* in the area of the hospital that targeted militants from the islamichhad group. meanwhile, the us military has carried out it's first air—drop of food aid, amid a growing humanitarian crisis in the territory following months of war. us vice president kamala harris will meet with israeli war cabinet member benny gantz on monday as washington seeks to reach a dealfor more aid and a temporary ceasefire. a us official said today the framework for a deal that would establish a six—week ceasefire in gaza is in place — with israel's agreement — and depends on hamas agreeing to release hostages. and a un team has found that many palestinans who were injured as lorries were delivering aid on thursday, were wounded by gunshots. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams has the latest. how were so many people injured? were they shot or crushed in a desperate stampede? at gaza's shifa hospital, the un

says there's evidence of both. this hospital is treating more than 200 people that were injured. we have seen people with gunshot wounds. we have seen amputees and we have seen children as young as 12. jihad is haunted by what he saw when the convoy arrived on thursday morning. "were the soldiers firing deliberately?" he's asked. "yes. with tanks, soldiers, aircraft." why the shooting started is still not clear. israel says troops felt threatened. how, these pictures do not show. tanks were present, there is no evidence of aircraft being involved. the un finally reached gaza city yesterday, taking badly—needed fuel and medicine to shifa hospital, demanding israel do more to open up the north. today, the first airdrops by american planes, 35,000 meals,

but these are desperate measures. airdrops, no substitute for proper relief. no matter where we go into north gaza from, or indeed all of the gaza strip, it could be from air, land, sea, it does not matter as long as there is enough aid to help the more than 2 million people here. israel's closest allies are now sounding increasingly openly frustrated. aid flowing to gaza _ is nowhere near enough now. it is nowhere nearly enough. the president wants a ceasefire, but in rafa this morning dreadful scenes outside a maternity hospital, some images too shocking to broadcast. gaza's health ministry said this was an air strike. but is a ceasefire deal getting close? as the families and friends of israeli hostages march onjerusalem there is talk of a fresh round of negotiations in cairo tomorrow.

paul adams, bbc news, jerusalem. i spoke to paul injerusalem a little earlier and he told us more on the us vice president's upcoming meeting with many grants. well, it's not quite the same as meeting president biden, obviously, but i think it is being suggested here that prime minister benjamin netanyahu is not terribly happy. he thinks there's only one prime minister. and i think he probably is a little concerned that benny gantz — who could well be a political rival in the not too distant future — is going to the white house for talks with the american administration. mr netanyahu, by the way, we're told, has a case of the flu and won't be chairing tomorrow evening's meeting of the security cabinet. but whether these political, internal political shenanigans result in some kind of challenge to mr netanyahu? well, i think that's probably a story for another day. yeah. we're also hearing from a us official in the past hour or so saying that a framework

for a deal that would establish a six—week cease fire in gaza is in place, they said, with israel's agreement. and they say it now depends on hamas agreeing to conditions. what do you understand could be perhaps coming into play right now? well, you would think that the omens are not exactly great for the conclusion of a cease fire deal with all of the horrors that we have seen in gaza this week. and yet maybe it is helping the process to move along. clearly, the united states is extremely frustrated at the fact that the worsening humanitarian situation in gaza directly led to what we saw on the edge of gaza city in the early hours of thursday morning. and it really, really wants to avoid that happening again. and there's a realisation, a strong growing realisation, that the only way to avoid it happening again is to flood the gaza strip with aid.

and the only way that's possible is if there's a cease fire. no other change in the circumstances on the ground could possibly result in an effective aid operation that would relieve the suffering of 2.2 million palestinians. there has to be a ceasefire. and so i think we are seeing pressure coming from washington on the israeli government to conclude that deal soon before the beginning of ramadan, in a week's time. and of course, pressure on hamas, too, to abide by the terms of the deal. there are an awful lot of moving parts to this negotiation in terms of how many hostages will be released for how many palestinian prisoners. will israeli troops move out of population centres? will the people of gaza, the northern part of the gaza strip, be able to return to their homes? all of these things are in play. all of these things have to be addressed before a deal is in place. but it does seem tonight

as if perhaps, just perhaps, we're moving in that direction. paul, as you reported on the us military carrying out their first airdrop of aid into gaza on saturday today. other countries have done that, including jordan and france. what do you make of the fact the us have done this now? will there be more? will it make a difference? well, no, it won't make a difference. 36,000 meals to go round 2.2 million people. you know, it's not going to get you very far. i think it is, as i said in my report, a desperate measure, a sign that, frankly, countries are grasping at any mechanisms they can find to make even the smallest bit of difference. and it perhaps sends a political message, too, which is that here is israel's closest ally reduced to dropping aid from the air when it can't be brought in by land. that is a powerful message,

and not a not a positive one at all. but i think it is symptomatic of the growing frustration that exists now about the inability to get aid to the people who need it so badly. paul adams in washington there. 0ur washington correspondent, will vernon, told us more on the progress made regarding a ceasefire deal. well, we've been hearing from a us administration official who was speaking to journalists a little earlier, and this official said, referring to that potential ceasefire deal, that there is a deal on the table, a framework deal, this official said the israelis have more or less accepted it. but he also said the talks are ongoing and a deal is not done until it is actually done, and this official did not want to create expectations one way or the other, but the us is doing everything they possibly can. now, president biden, several days ago, said he expected a deal to be in place, a ceasefire deal, by monday.

it appears that has now slipped. yesterday during a meeting with the italian prime minister, giorgia meloni, mr biden said he did not think it would happen by monday. but again, the us was working very hard to agree that deal. now, this potential agreement is something that the us secretary of state, antony blinken, several other us officials, have been working on for many weeks now. they have been like kind of diplomatic ping—pong balls bouncing around various capitals, capital cities in the middle in the middle east, in europe, trying to negotiate this deal. and what it would entail would be potentially a six—week pause in fighting, the release of dozens of hostages held in gaza, some of whom are of course us citizens, and also crucially more access for international aid. and talking of aid, the us have carried out their first airdrop into gaza since this conflict began nearly five months ago, haven't they? what is the analysis

there of what difference that could make and the timing of this? well, that is right, the us military earlier said this would not be the last airdrop, that there will be more, this will be an ongoing effort, so i think we should expect more of these. the white house says this mission is supported by the israelis, the israelis are aware of it. now, i think by announcing this airdrop... remember air drops, as my colleague, paul adams, was saying there, this is an incredibly inefficient and complex way of delivering humanitarian relief. sending aid via road and trucks makes much more sense, so i think, you know, the fact that the us have opted for this method says two things. one, that washington considers the humanitarian situation in gaza to be dire, to be incredibly serious, and the other thing is that the us wants to send a message, wants to put pressure

on israel to allow more aid in by road, by trucks. and this is something again president biden said yesterday during that meeting, he said that at the moment only a handful of trucks with humanitarian aid are getting into gaza, whereas really what's necessary, the necessary number, is more like hundreds. will vernon there. some news about the attacks that have been taking place on shipping vessels off the coast of yemen. the uk maritime trade agency says there's been an attack 15 nautical miles west of the yemeni port of mokha. the crew of the vessel has been evacuated. separately, the cargo ship rubymar, which was abandoned in the red sea after being targeted by houthi rebels, has now sunk, that's according to the yemeni government. here, the government is expected to lay out measures in the coming weeks to tackle what it sees as rising extremism in the uk. it follows as uk prime minister rishi sunak 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. london's mayor, sadiq khan, has also been speaking about the politics of division — after the former tory deputy chairman lee anderson said he was under the control of islamists. take a listen. it's important to say a few words about the level of debate in public life. what we're witnessing is a concerted and growing attempt by some to degrade and humiliate minorities for political and electoral gain. and remember — we've been here before. we've been here before in 2016, when the tories waged a disgraceful, disgraceful campaign against me and against us. we cannot let them

try to do it again. as the poison of anti—semitism and the poison of islamophobia continues to infect our politics, now more than ever, we need to display our best values rather than our worst fears. germany's chancellor says his government is intensively investigating an apparent intercept of military officers discussing details about the conflict in ukraine. 0laf scholz, who's been meeting with the pope at the vatican, called it a very serious matter. it follows the publication in russia of what's purported to be a confidential conversation between german officers. russia's foreign ministry has demanded an explanation from berlin the recording involves a discussion of targeted missiles. the russian foreign minister, segei lavrov, said the secret

recording clearly revealed the ultimate motive of a �*certain camp�* in europe. translation: this isj blatant self exposure. the latest statements by both macron and austin and the conversation between german generals still indicate that the war party does not want to change its course at all and wants to inflict a strategic defeat on russia on the battlefield, and we acknowledge that. i asked dr thomas withington, who is an analyst and writer specialising in electronic warfare, to share his opinion on the claims made by the kremlin. interesting, isn't it? i mean, i read the transcript this afternoon, and i must say that going through it, i didn't find anything in that that was staggeringly revelatory. i think it would be fair. it was a discussion, i think, assuming it is true

and it is indeed an intercept that russia's performed, a very sober discussion regarding the challenges of supplying these weapons, many of which have been already been discussed in the public domain. so i think there was nothing terribly, as i say, revelatory about it. i think the interesting thing is if russia has the capability to regularly intercept german military communications and strategic communications like this, i mean, why leak something relatively anodyne? that's a question that i have, and it's very difficult to answer that. it's from a russian source. we can't discount the fact that it could be nonsense. that perhaps some of it is correct. the rest has been embellished. it's very, very hard to say. that being said, the fact that the germans have launched an investigation, as you mentioned just now, that would seem to indicate that there is some concern about this. and that may be a tacit admission that this is indeed the transcript of a conversation which did indeed take place. yeah, if it is an intercept,

how easy or difficult would it be for the russians to have gone about achieving that? well, logically, it should be quite difficult because any conversations, communications like this, should be encrypted and secure. now, this then begs another question and. which is, was this conversation assuming it is true? was it deliberately left unencrypted sometimes in the cloak and dagger world of intelligence? something that you do is you deliberately put something out there. is this, assuming that's the case, an attempt to say, look, due diligence is going on, there is a proper discussion regarding supplying these weapons to ukraine and the german government is taking this extremely seriously and going through the right protocols. so that's another, if you like, a sort of donald rumsfeld style known—unknown. but it does raise questions as to if this was supposed to be a confidential conversation, then clearly that raises questions regarding the security of these communications and whether the right protocols and encryption

and everything else is being used as it should be. yeah, i suppose when a country is at war, or perhaps even when it isn't, would you assume always that your enemies are trying to spy on these kind of confidential conversations? yes, there is. that's a very good point. i mean, there is that sort of zero trust idea, isn't there, that you should always assume that any communications you're making are being listened to, that the enemy is getting intel or can potentially get intelligence from that. but obviously, at some point you are going to have to discuss things confidentially and possibly with an even higher level of classification like that. so in a sense, it is unavoidable using the electronic means of communications we all use every day, to have very important and potentially very secret discussions. but it does focus the spotlight on levels of security. this isn't the first time we've had and we've seen other cases where communications which should have been secure, should have been encrypted, haven't been. and that's caused

some embarrassment. now it's time for a look at today's sport. samantha, thank you. it might be a new formula one season, but it's a familar old story. max verstappen has won the bahrain grand prix in dominant style. the reigning world champion started from pole and held off a brief challenge at the start from ferrari's charles leclerc, eventually cruising to victory ahead of his red bull team—mate, sergio perez, and carlos sainz in third. leclerc fourth, ahead of george russell's mercedes. verstappen has now won the last eight formula one races, dating back to last season. next, to late drama in the english premier league. it looked as though they were heading for a 0—0 draw, but a 99th minute winner has ensured liverpool will stay top of the table this weekend. darwin nunez the hero, coming off the bench to score deep in added time at nottingham forest to secure all three points much to the relief of manager jurgen klopp and the travelling liverpool fans.

they are now four points clear of city who play the manchester derby on sunday. to get to that point tally was for us always a big fight. it never was easy. it never came easy to us. there might be a game where you are 2—0 up after 20 minutes and then you can bring it over the line or whatever. we did not have that now for a while because it is just really tough, but again, we don't wave the white flag. we will fight, we will keep fighting. yes, let's see. late goals at tottenham too — ange postecoglou's side coming from behind to beat crystal palace in north london. son heung min capped off the 3—1 win. christian romero and timo werner with the other goals for spurs. elsewhere in the late game, luton town were denied a point as aston villa scored a winner — a minute from time. 3—2 it finished.

chelsea came from behind to draw 2—2 at brentford. fulham were convincing 3—0 winners over brighton. 3—0 was also the score at st james's park — newcastle beating wolves, their first home win in the premier league since mid—december. and west ham scored twice in stoppage time to beat everton 3—1. real madrid can extend their lead at the top of la liga in spain if they can beat valencia. it is currently valencia who lead, as you can see, by 2—1. bellingham starting the game. three other games to tell you about in the spanish top flight. sevilla got a much needed win over real sociedad — they won 3—2 and climb to 14th. rayo vallecano and cadiz drew i—i. getafe against las palmas ended 3—3. frenchman ugo humbert has won the dubai tennis championships. he beat alexander bublik of kazakhstan in straight sets to claim his second title of the season. humbert becomes the third man

in the open era to win their first six atp finals and will move up to a career—high ranking of 14 in the world on monday. the reigning olympic and world long jump champion, miltiadis tentoglou, has threatened to quit the discipline, if the rules change to eliminate fouljumps. on saturday tentoglou has added the world indoor title to his collection in glasgow. the amendment proposed by world athletics involves introducing a take—off zone to make it more appealing to fans, something the champion is against. the hard part is the run up. not many people see it but i guarantee it is like that. they want to remove this and after this the long jump will be the easiest event. anyone will be the easiest event. anyone will be the easiest event. anyone will be able to do the long jump. so my second comment is that if that happens i will not do the long jump

any more. the home favourite in glasgow has taken gold in the 3000 metre final. a new world record in the women's event as well. more on the bbc sport website, but that is all of the spot for now. singapore's culture minister has played down reports the city state paid a substantial sum to secure taylor swift's only live shows in south east asia after a backlash from neighbouring countries. pierre—antoine denis has more from the newsroom at the very heart of this political bad blood surrounding taylor swift in south—east asia, a press conference from the prime minister of thailand who said the singaporean government is clever.

they told organisers of the taylor swift concert not to hold any other shows in south east asia. so in other words, an exclusivity clause for taylor swift against a hefty price, around £15 million. is the claims that he made in this press conference. the singaporean government neither denied or confirm the solidarity clause, but did say that the actual amount was nowhere near that price. but has singapore gone above and beyond to get the taylor mania all to itself? looking at the scene all week in singapore, as you can see in these images, one can easily think so, but swifties are loving it. and, you know, everyone here, you know, even if they're not watching the concert, they still, you know, experienced and enjoyed it. so i do think these activations actually really emphasize that she's actually in singapore because like, it's getting real. so it's like this feeling of like it's getting real. it's getting serious. well, as you can expect, overseas fans have paid a heavy price to be part of the event. our team in singapore has collected a few testimonies, including one from a chinese tourists who said she spent over $900 in flights alone to be at the event. but it seems that there is clearly no bad blood between taylor swift

and her asian fans because all of the seats were sold out in a matter of hours as soon as it became public. you can read all about frances moore's feature on our website, bbc.co.uk. let's just remind you of our top story. the us military has carried out it's first air—drop of food aid into gaza amid a growing humanitarian crisis in the territory following months of war. the parachuting in of 35,000 meals, from three military planes, came a day after president biden confirmed the air—drops would begin, following the deaths of more than a—hundred palestinians during a rush on an aid convoy on thursday. meanwhile, a senior us official has said that the framework of a deal for a six—week ceasefire in gaza is in place. but the official said it depended on hamas agreeing to release hostages.

at least 11 palestinians are reported to have been killed by an israeli air strike in the city of rafah in the south of gaza. the air strike took place in an area where displaced palestinians have been taking shelter. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. it's been quite a cold day, hasn't it? it's a lot of cloud, frequent showers. we had that snow earlier on across parts of england and wales, but the skies are starting to clear across some parts of the country. a touch of frost on the way, some fog, too, but showers never too far away in northern england and scotland. let's start with the air mass saturday evening — the blue colours indicating the relatively cold air over us and that will be in place in the short term. if we look at the satellite picture, the recent snapshot here,

these rugged, swirling cloud structures across england and wales. same in scotland, too — these are shower clouds. but in between these gaps in the clouds will become bigger through the course of this evening. but look at that, 9pm, two degrees in some spots in the midlands. still some wet weather around merseyside southern scotland. —— merseyside and southern scotland. but notice this persistent rain moving into central and eastern scotland. a bit of snow across the mountains there. but to the south of that, those skies clearing and the temperatures early on sunday morning, even in some city centres as far south as the south coast of england could be around freezing or below. so certainly a chilly start to sunday on the way. now, here's the weather map for sunday. weather fronts in the north sea and generally to the north of scotland. and there's another one coming our way, but we're sort of in between weather systems. that also implies it's going to be a slightly brighter day on sunday. remember, a chilly start, a frost in places, but a fog, too. and then through the day, generally bright or sunny skies,

i think out towards the south and the west, perhaps a bit more cloud around east anglia, the southeast, maybe the lincolnshire coastline with that weather front close by. but overall a brighter day for most of us. and as a result, it's going to feel a little bit, let's say, less cold. now into monday morning. another weather front moves into south western and western parts of the uk. so it moves across ireland here there is also some rain and strengthening winds too, but it tends to kind of stall out towards the west during the day. so that does mean that many central and eastern areas — certainly eastern scotland — should have a bright, if not sunny day, for example, around aberdeenshire. how about the outlook for the week ahead? a bit of a mixed bag, but the temperatures holding around double figures, i think, across most parts of the uk. that's it. bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the world health organization condemns an israeli air strike near a hospital in rafah that killed at least 11 people. the united states has carried out its first air—drop of food aid into gaza amid a growing

humanitarian crisis in the territory. and tonight at the brit awards, the singer—songwriter raye has so far won three awards, including the brand new category, best r&b, after being nominated for a record seven categories. the head of the world health organization has described an israeli air strike near a hospital in rafah — that killed at least 11 people — as unspeakable. he posted on x... the idf said it had carried out a �*precision strike' in the area of the hospital that targeted militants from the islamichhad group. let's speak to mark schwartz, former us security coordinator for israel & palestinian authority and senior fellow with the rand corporation.

welcome, the rand corporation. thank you for being with us. welcome, thank you for being with us. i want to start asking you about reports from within the biden administration a few hours ago saying that israel had agreed a framework for a ceasefire agreement and they were waiting to hear whether or not hamas would agree to their demands when it came to the hostages. what is your understanding about what may be happening and how close we could be to some kind of ceasefire hostage deal? samantha, aood ceasefire hostage deal? samantha, good evening. _ ceasefire hostage deal? samantha, good evening, good _ ceasefire hostage deal? samantha, good evening, good to _ ceasefire hostage deal? samantha, good evening, good to be - ceasefire hostage deal? samantha, good evening, good to be with - ceasefire hostage deal? samantha, good evening, good to be with you. ceasefire hostage deal? samantha, l good evening, good to be with you. i believe the fact that senior administration officials are announcing that a deal is a lot closer than it was just even six days ago is a positive sign. i would suspect the majority of the dialogue right now it's related to the types of israeli hostages that will be released, they will probably not going to release if the negotiations complete any idf active war reserve

this that may be under control of hamas. and what that exchange will be. so they are talking about a six week operational pools, which i think is great, the tically for the humanitarian crisis that is ongoing and getting worse by the hour. but the types of palestinians that will be released, in other words, those that have been maybe held in administrative detention or convicted of crimes or access terrorism, i imagine that is part of the intense dialogue that has been ongoing in the last few days. yes. the intense dialogue that has been ongoing in the last few days. yes, a few da s ongoing in the last few days. yes, a few days ago. _ ongoing in the last few days. yes, a few days ago, president _ ongoing in the last few days. yes, a few days ago, president biden - ongoing in the last few days. yes, a few days ago, president biden said | few days ago, president biden said he hoped a deal might be in place by monday, that is very unlikely to happen but we understand talks are due to commence tomorrow, on sunday, and the aim is for this to happen by ramadan, which is a week on monday, isn't it? , , , ., isn't it? yes, it is. it is a religious— isn't it? yes, it is. it is a

religious holiday - isn't it? yes, it is. it is a religious holiday and - isn't it? yes, it is. it is a religious holiday and it l isn't it? yes, it is. it is a i religious holiday and it may isn't it? yes, it is. it is a - religious holiday and it may be the furthest thing from the minds of the palestinian civilians that have been suffering from this ongoing offensive operation, but it will be that much harder because of the fast that much harder because of the fast that takes place throughout the entire day and devout muslims want to honour that so i understand the rationale. we to honour that so i understand the rationale. ~ ., ., ., , ., rationale. we have heard a member of the war cabinet _ rationale. we have heard a member of the war cabinet in _ rationale. we have heard a member of the war cabinet in israel _ rationale. we have heard a member of the war cabinet in israel is _ rationale. we have heard a member of the war cabinet in israel is going - the war cabinet in israel is going to meet with us vice president, harris, in washington on monday. what you make of that? i think it is very encouraging. in my time in israel as a security coordinator, the times that i met with mr gantz, he was actually pragmatic about the relationship between israel and the palestinian authority and the israeli security forces and the palestinian security forces, so i think it is great that he is doing this and i think the administration

rightfully so is extremely frustrated by the lack of acknowledgement through action of israel addressing the humanitarian crisis, also some of the challenges we are seeing, just as you reported earlier, about the targeting that is taking place and the innocent lives that are being lost, as a result of the targeting that is ongoing in gaza. ideally, this would be a productive discussion but i was encouraged to hear he is travelling to washington to speak with the vice president. d0 to washington to speak with the vice resident. ,., , ., ~ �* president. do you think the biden administration _ president. do you think the biden administration has _ president. do you think the biden administration has enough - president. do you think the biden i administration has enough influence over the war cabinet over prime minister benjamin netanyahu? are they really are effectively able to bring about any difference to this conflict at this moment?- conflict at this moment? well, unfortunately, _ conflict at this moment? well, unfortunately, we _ conflict at this moment? well, unfortunately, we haven't - conflict at this moment? well, | unfortunately, we haven't seen conflict at this moment? well, - unfortunately, we haven't seen that play out in actions by the israelis but i do believe that we, the united states, and specifically administration, have significant

influence over the actions, and i think we need to be tougher with respect to our discussions on providing assistance to israel, to include conditionality for additional military assistance, and we need to be much more direct in terms of what we expect to happen of humanitarian aid coming from israel into the gaza strip, notjust through rafah, as it has been trickling in over the last, you know, for months now. qm. trickling in over the last, you know, for months now. 0k, mark schultz, thank— know, for months now. 0k, mark schultz, thank you _ know, for months now. 0k, mark schultz, thank you for _ know, for months now. 0k, mark schultz, thank you forjoining - know, for months now. 0k, mark schultz, thank you forjoining us | schultz, thank you forjoining us from colorado, thank you. commuter towns in england have seen some of the biggest rent rises of the last three years. new data from the property website zoopla show that rents have risen by more than a third, in areas such as bolton, wigan and newport as cities become increasingly unaffordable. our business correspondent marc ashdown has more on the numbers

we tracked rent prices in 65 cities and large towns across the uk. now, this chart shows that on average, rent look that dotted black line, have gone up by 31% over the past three years. these are the top ten rises. the usual suspects are still in there, glasgow, manchester, and london. but interestingly, close towns new —— near to big cities have also seen rises. rents in bolton have gone up by 9039%, so what is driving all of this? of course supply and demand, the number of rental properties has stayed the same since 2016 but demand has been started to soar. students had been returning to campus after the pandemic, immigration has also played a role, so to working habits, more and more people working flexibly, often from home, so perhaps commuting into the office a bit less. let's look at the pressure on household budgets, it has also

grown, wages versus rent bumbling along but suddenly shot up, earnings didn't really keep pace, although the gap is starting to narrow, the hope being that as inflation starts falling, wages might catch up. now, if you are a tenant about to move or looking to read your first place, here are some start searching really early and sign up with multiple lettings agents. also, make sure all your paperwork is in order, things like references, payslips, and know your budget,. plenty more advice like this on the bbc website. the american businesswoman and fashion model, iris apfel, has died at the age of 102. she became, in her own words, "a geriatric celebrity" in her eighties, known for her flamboyant clothes, signature big round glasses and bright red lipstick. graham satchell looks back at her life.

you're not pretty and you'll never be pretty. but it doesn't matter. you have something much better — you have style. they are the words that came to define iris apfel, who described herself as a geriatric starlet. she became a global phenomenon at the age of 87 when her extraordinary collection of clothes and accessories were exhibited in new york. she signed a modelling contract when she was 97. i think dressing up should be fun. i think too many women — in america anyhow, i don't know how it is here — just get themselves into such a snit about what to wear and whatnot to wear that i often say it's better to be happy than, well—dressed. apfel made her name as an interior designer, working on projects for nine different american presidents at the white house with her husband, carl. we're not supposed to talk about the white house. they get very upset. we had a problem withjack. stop! listening to apfel was as beguiling as watching her. she was a cross between anna wynter and joan rivers. in the words of my grandpa, a woman

is as old as she looks when a man is never old until he stops looking. apfel would scour flea markets for accessories. her more—is—more approach based on what she loved rather than price. i get more kick out of this because for $4 and change, than if my husband took me to harry winston. she had more than three million followers on social media — inspired by her honesty, creativity and razor—sharp wit. fellow designer tommy hilfiger said she was an incredible talent with a huge heart and a magic touch. the huge glasses were iris apfel�*s trademark. she even had her own doppelganger in the cartoon, the incredibles. people would say, "why do you wear them so large?" and i would say, "the bigger to see you," and that would shut them up.

the spice girls singer geri horner appeared hand—in—hand with her husband, the f1 team boss — christian horner — at the bahrain grand prix today. the red bull team principal has denied allegations of inappropriate behaviour after the leaking of a series of messages. horner was cleared on wednesday by an internal investigation. our sports news correspondent laura scott reports. (vt if there's one person keen to get a grip on the narrative, it's christian horner. having spent weeks denying allegations of inappropriate behaviour, he arrived for the first race, flanked by his wife and former spice girl, geri horner. a display of unity in the desert amid the drama. who better to defuse the heat surrounding red bull than the cool headed max verstappen? a slick start kept the world champion in front and his rivals

were soon nowhere to be seen. hopes for lewis hamilton soon fell flat, courtesy of a battery issue. and then this. grabbing the bull by the horns, verstappen made it into a procession. his team—mate, sergio perez, the nearest challenger, some 20 seconds behind. picking up where he left off last year, verstappen was focused. he was fast. a 1—2 for the team, much to horner�*s delight. brilliant, brilliant. red bull starting the season with a bang, bringing the team together, but the turbulence off the track continues. laura scott, bbc news. this week south korea broke its own world record for the lowest birth rate in the world. 230,000 babies were born there last year, in a country with a population over 50 million. low birth rates are now being seen in many countries across the world — including the uk. our analysis editor ros atkins has been looking into it. for years, two things have been true. the world population is increasing and the birth rate is falling.

south korea already had the world's lowest birth rate but new data shows it had fallen further. japan also recorded a new low. translation: the decline of births is a crisis, i believe we are at a time where we have to take urgent measures. the birth rate is the average number of children each women have. you will see this number a lot, 2.1. this is the rate needed to maintain populations, south korea is not close. last year, its rate was 0.72, japan is at 1.26. the eu average is 1.53, and the uk is at 1.119 and that is a record low. many countries are now below 2.1. even countries with relatively high birth rates are often at half the rate of what they were. the average person now lives in a country that has a lower

than replacement fertility rate. birth rates matter because they contribute to long—term changes in population and the consequences that follow. low birth rates can cause populations to fall, japan is expected to decrease by 30%, south korea by 50%. in some countries including the uk the situation is different. populations are projected to increase mainly because of immigration. but immigration can't counter all the impacts of a low birth rate. there is no quick fix to population decline or population ageing. birth rates affect population growth in the long run, whereas immigration effects in the short term. immigrants also age. as people live longer, elderly people will make up a greater proportion of the population. it is no surprise that japan which has this very low fertility

rate and the older population in the world has the worst government finances in the developed world because the government is spending more on health care and pensions and has fewer taxpayers. in the uk, the shift in the make—up of the population is coming. by 2070 the number of workers is rising by a million, the number of pensioners is rising by 5 million. economists argue that for countries with low birth rates the implications are higher taxes, later retirements, low returns for savers and possibly budget crisis. we will see but there is no doubt that some governments are increasingly preoccupied with birth rate and what is causing them. in south korea there are many reasons including the cost of education and women and the workplace. childcare is a consideration just as in the uk.

according to a recent study, the uk has some of the highest childcare costs in the world. there's also a shortage of places. around the world availability of childcare impacts women's decisions. research shows if you affordable, high quality child hood education, that is associated with higher birth rate. this helps explain what is happening, but fully explaining what is happening is hard and it makes responding to low birth rates hard too. it is difficult for policymakers to address the complexity of cultural reasons why we are not having as many children. what they have in their arsenal is only economic tools and it goes well beyond that. it is difficult for policymakers but some are acting. in south korea they tried cash incentives and subsidise health care, that didn't work.

in france the president talked of demographic rearmament and announced a plan that included changes to parental leave. italy which has won the lowest birth rate, the prime minister announced a range of initiatives. but evidence suggests it is difficult to reverse a falling birth rate, while some countries try, the global population continues to go up. the un highlights two factors, the gradual increase in human life span and high and persistent levels of fertility in some countries. there are those to whom this publishing growth is the real issue, ——there are those to whom this population growth is the real issue, in particular for the climate. and who believe no birth rates are welcome. already, many countries have low birth rates and some want to increase theirs, population growth and low birth rate

are demanding attention. a lot of people are surprised to see that the global population numbers are still growing, the total number of people on the planet, at the same time we talk about birth rates declining. i like to think of it what is on the surface versus what is beneath the surface. those declining birth rates will cause major shifts in populations, which may lead the population to start falling in the next century, shifts that, for better or worse, will have consequences for how our societies function. that was ros atkins looking at falling birth rates around the world. the brit awards — one of the biggest nights in british music — has finally arrived. with performances from dua lipa, raye, tate mcrae and kylie minogue — who has received a brits global icon award at this year's ceremony. 1a gongs up for grabs, with all eyes on london—born singer raye, who made history with a record—breaking seven nominations. 0ur correspondent mark savage went to meet the biggest names in music

on the red carpet. raye, you are here as the most nominated artist in the history of the brit awards. what is going on? i don't know what is going on, mark, i don't know. i've got tears in my eyes already, i've got waterproof eyeliner on. it can only be described as a miracle, mark. remember when we did that interview, like, about four or five years? we sat... remember when we did that interview, like, about four or five years? we sat... that was eight years ago. that was eight years ago? yes, 2016. stop. we were sat in that room and i was talking to you about all my aspirations and this, that, and the other, and now, wow. yeah, so, for context, for people who don't know, you were telling me then that you had said to your dad in the playground as a child that you wanted to be a pop star, and that at that point you had just signed a publishing deal,

a record deal, you were having really buzzy singles, you had just been nominated in the bbc sound of 2017, and you had success. you don't know me was a big hit, but you weren't getting to do what you really wanted to do. and that is to be an artist. it is all i ever wanted. be an albums artist, put out bodies of work, being able to be in control of my craft, and more importantly than anything, love what i put my name too. and i think that sounds obvious but it is not always the case, sadly, you know? no, and i don't think you are alone in being put in a position where you are asked to write music that is not what your heart wants to make. have you spoken to other people who have been in the same situation as you, since you went independent? i mean, yeah, definitely, definitely to a degree. it is a complex thing when there are formulas and ways people like to do things and has been done over the history of time. we are just in a new time now where i do think art is more important than ever, and you can't force something down people's throats that they don't want.

does that make sense? you can't cheat the system, put a bag of money down and be like, play my artist on the radio, and expect everything. do you know what i mean? yeah, absolutely. we've raked over the bad stuff, let's focus again, seven nominations, and you have already won before you got here songwriter of the year. which, i guess, songwriting is what you live for, so that must be the most important of all of them? honestly, it is where the journey started for me, songwriting is a craft that is... i will never not be writing until the day i die, so what an accolade i will put next to my bed or my piano or something, i don't know, it is a miracle, mark, it is a miracle. i'm going to perform training season. so that is your new single? that is my new single. incredible song. you've performed it already at the grammys, in what i can only describe as... a little snippet at the grammys, it was a little teaser, this will be the first full performance of it. i'm very excited. it is a big energy performance, so we are going to have some fun.

well, at the grammys, you were on what i can only describe as a playground climbing frame that had come untethered in a hurricane and you were having to navigate over it. anything like that tonight? we've got some extras, some extreme sports. extreme sports! what are your warm up stretches if you are doing training season? there is a lot of jumping up and down. i've got to get limber, you know, there is a lot of travelling, i'm going to say that. i understand. now, we have heard training season. before that, we heard houdini. that means there is third dua lipa album imminent, i guess. when are we going to hear more? very soon. are you going to announce it on stage, like taylor swift? i'm not going to announce it on stage but you will be hearing from me very soon about it. and this is an incredible outfit. thank you so much. long, leather dress. thank you, thank you, this is a custom versace dress that donatella made for me. we are very close, and so i feel very lucky to wear one of her pieces.

yeah, i feel very strong and powerful in all her stuff so... i felt like i needed that for tonight. and talking a strong and powerful women, i have to ask you about two of your, i'm not going to call them rival nominees, fellow nominees tonight, raye and kylie minogue. tell me about your thoughts. not rivals at all! i love them, i am so over the moon for raye, i think it is so deserving, she has been writing for so many other artists for so long, she has been doing her own projects, now it is her time, it is her moment. and kylie is our global icon. it is now 36 hours since you released your eurovision single dizzy. the reaction has been insane, the odds for the uk eurovision song contest are looking very favourable. how does it feel, now that it is out in the world? honestly, i am just relieved. i have been sitting on the song for so long, and i have never had a song with 70 people have been waiting to hear it, which is amazing.

but quite stressful, so i was quite nervous, so i am just really happy it is out there now, and ijust feel really excited to be performing it. did you read any of the reaction online or did you just batten down the hatches? i don't read anything so i literally... i just get sent little bits from my team, so they obviously only send me the nice stuff. so everybody loves it, as far as i am concerned! kylie minogue, you are here knowing that you've got an award, which is a nice position to be in, but what an award, global icon, how does it feel? totally surreal, to be honest. amazing. amongst all the preparation for today and getting through today, i've got my performance and everything, there is a part of my brain that is kind of scanning the years to go, wow, how did i get here? i mean, i am trying to compute it myself, it is not that easy. when you were an actress on neighbours recording locomotion, did you ever think that, span forward to the 21st—century,

you would have a catalogue of more than a0 top ten singles? no. no, iwas, you know, as an eight, nine, ten, getting into pop music, as a young teenager, i had all my icons, people i was obsessed with, and ijust loved music. this has been for the most part my life, i mean, i've done other things but music has remained a constant, and it came from that little love. and i feel like right now, although we are kind of taking this moment and looking back at a career's worth, i feel really more in love with music than ever, and in love with the process and the connection with people.

plenty more detail on the brit awards and who has won what on our website. a single killer whale off the coast of south africa has been caught — on camera — hunting and killing a great white shark. scientists say the behaviour showed the exceptional hunting skill of killer whales and demonstrates how adaptable they can be. but, it also raises questions about how shark—eating orcas might affect the food chain in that part of the ocean. hello. it's been quite a cold day, hasn't it? it's a lot of cloud, frequent showers. we had that snow earlier on across parts of england and wales, but the skies are starting to clear across some parts of the country. a touch of frost on the way, some fog, too, but showers never too far away in northern england and scotland. let's start with the air mass saturday evening — the blue colours indicating the relatively cold air over us and that will be in place in the short term.

if we look at the satellite picture, the recent snapshot here, these rugged, swirling cloud structures across england and wales. same in scotland, too — these are shower clouds. but in between, these gaps in the clouds will become bigger through the course of this evening. but look at that, 9pm, two degrees in some spots in the midlands. still some wet weather around merseyside, southern scotland. but notice this persistent rain moving into central and eastern scotland. a bit of snow across the mountains there. but to the south of that, those skies clearing and the temperatures early on sunday morning, even in some city centres as far south as the south coast of england, could be around freezing or below. so, certainly a chilly start to sunday on the way. now, here's the weather map for sunday. weather fronts in the north sea and generally to the north of scotland. and there's another one coming our way, but we're sort of in between weather systems. that also implies it's going to be a slightly brighter day on sunday. remember, a chilly start, a frost in places, but a fog, too. and then through the day, generally bright or sunny skies,

i think out towards the south and the west, perhaps a bit more cloud around east anglia, the southeast, maybe the lincolnshire coastline with that weather front close by. but overall a brighter day for most of us. and as a result, it's going to feel a little bit, let's say, less cold. now into monday morning. another weather front moves into south western and western parts of the uk. so it moves across ireland here there is also some rain and strengthening winds too, but it tends to kind of stall out towards the west during the day. so that does mean that many central and eastern areas — certainly eastern scotland — should have a bright, if not sunny day, for example, around aberdeenshire. how about the outlook for the week ahead? a bit of a mixed bag, but the temperatures holding around double figures, i think, across most parts of the uk. that's it. bye.

live from london. this is bbc news. the world health organisation condemns an israeli air strike near a hospital in rafah — that killed at least eleven people. according to reports sourced to a us official, israel has "more or less accepted" a proposal for a six—week ceasefire, as talks resume in egypt on sunday.

hello, i'm samantha simmonds. we begin with the conflict in gaza. the head of the world health organisation has described an israeli air strike near a hospital in rafah — that killed at least thirteen people — as unspeakable. he posted on x... "reports that tents sheltering displaced people "in rafah were bombed — reportedly killing 11 "people and injuring 50, including children — "are outrageous and unspeakable. "among those killed are two health workers. the idf said it had carried out a �*precision strike' in the area of the hospital that targeted militants from the islamichhad group. meanwhile, the us military has carried out it's first air—drop of food aid — amid a growing humanitarian crisis in the territory following months of war. 0ur diplomatic correspondent paul adams has the latest.