i'm helena humphrey. the us has carried out an airdrop of aid into gaza, using three military cargo planes. us central command said it dropped more than 38,000 meals along the gaza coastline in a joint operation with jordan's air force. the uk, france and egypt have already airdropped aid into gaza, but this is the first time the us has done so. negotiations over a temporary ceasefire are expected to restart sunday in cairo. meanwhile, israeli war cabinet member benny gantz will visit the white house monday to meet with us vice president kamala harris. they're expected to discuss a humanitarian truce as well as reducing palestinian civilian casualties and increasing deliveries of aid. inernational calls are intensifiying for accountability for recent violence, including

the killing of more than 100 people at an aid convoy on thursday as well as the killing of at least 11 people — including two health care workers — in an israeli raid in the city of rafah — that's according to gaza's health ministry. the bbc�*s diplomatic correspondent paul adams reports from jerusalem. 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. you 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's 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 air drops by american planes, 35,000 meals. but these are desperate measures. air drops, 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 doesn't matter as long as there's enough aid to help the more than two million people here. israel's closest allies are now sounding increasingly openly frustrated. aid flowing to gaza is nowhere nearly enough. now, it's nowhere nearly enough. the president wants a ceasefire, but in rafah 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 cease fire deal getting close? as the families and friends of israeli hostages marched onjerusalem, there's talk of a fresh round of negotiations in cairo tomorrow. paul adams, bbc news, jerusalem. as paul adams mentioned there — a march is taking place injerusalem calling for a ceasefire. and people around the world are taking to the streets to stand against the war. this is washington dc, where people are attending the "global day of action: hands off rafah" march. protesters are outside israel's us embassy calling on us leaders for a ceasefire. they also paid tribute to us airman aaron bushnell, who died last week after setting himself on fire outside the embassy to protest israel's bombing of gaza. earlier i spoke to elise labott, a senior adjunt professor at american university's school of international scienece and she's the author of the cosmopolitics substack.

the us military air dropping aid on saturday for the first time, what message do you think that sends that israel's closest ally has resorted to delivering aid from the air rather than being able to bring it in on the ground? a few things, first of all it's a message from the us that it is dedicated to getting more aid into gaza. you know that is one of the things the administration has spoken very clearly about, about the need to get more aid in. so there is a lot of discussion about whether it is because the borders are closed or because of breakdown of law and order, and you saw what has happened in the last few days inside gaza, with the aid trucks and opened fire. so, the us, israel is not really listening to the us right now about how many trucks should get in. so the us has resorted to getting that aid

in, also, look, we see what happened here in the united states and how strongly americans feel about getting it into gaza, we saw what happened in the michigan primary, so it's a message to president biden to his domestic supporters that he hears them and is trying to get aid in. that airdrop coming as a top us officials says framework for a deal for six weeks cease—fire in gaza is soon to take place. what do we know about that? we are waiting for hamas to 0k to deal with, what reports are saying is israel more or less has accepted the framework deal. that is a bit fuzzy. there are some basic frameworks of ideal. basically, both sides would stop their fighting, israel might stop aerial reconnaissance for eight hours a day and the main

thing is about hostages. how many really hostages would be treated for how many by civilians. it seems about a0 isreali hostages and that includes women, elderly, those really sick, i didn't do vulnerable ones will get out, it looks like a ratio of about one to ten. that means about 400 palestinians. one of the sticking point is who those palestinians are. 0bviously hamas want some of its fighters and people responsible for attacks on israelis to get out, and israel has been firm letting dangerous people out but also being clear on who should be letting out, and other sticking point of hamas is, is isreal going to withdraw its forces from the north to allow palestinians to return home to the north. as you know, in gaza, and rafah, in the south,

it is really chaotic, tragic situation and obviously there will be an advance on gaza by israel when this is all done, so what everyone is hoping at least for now there could be, for ramadan, we are talking about a0 days, where palestinians could get some aid and return home, a return to normalcy, and if there is a return to fighting, that israel will concentrate on the south. one of the things hamas would be looking for is a guarantee that after these a0 days there will be talk about a permanent cease—fire. those assurances seem to be fuzzy as well. we are also learning that isreali war cabinet member benny gantz is meeting with vice president, kamala harris on monday, what do you think about that meeting? what do you think might realistically come from it? i think the us is looking for clear assurances about what israel's plan is, about fighting resuming

and the advance on rafah and what is the israeli plan for getting palestinians out of harm's way, not dismissing them from rafah to some other area. what are the evacuation routes? this is what the us is saying. it does not approve of an offensive on rafah until israel gives us assurances. it is interesting that, the harvest will be the one meeting with benny gantz, obviously president biden is busy and is also campaigning as well, but at the same time i think kamala harris has been the one speaking very strongly about humanitarian aid, about what is going on in the palestinians, and i think there's a perception that she might be a bit tougher on benny gantz than president biden. i do not necessarily think that is why she would meet him but you do see her taking a bit of a more visible role in the conflict.

elise labott, a senior adjunt professor at american university's school of international scienece and she's the author of the cosmopolitics substack. the commander—in—chief of ukraine's armed forces, general 0leksandr syrsky, has indicated he'll replace some commanders on the eastern front. he said that after spending three days there, it had become clear why some battalions were managing to hold off russian attacks while others were not. general 0leksandr syrsky took on the role of ukraine's top military commander following a significant shake—up of army leadership earlier in february. meanwhile, ukrainian president zelensky renewed his plea to western allies for additional air defence systems, after at least seven people were killed in a russian drone attack on 0desa. local officials said a baby and a two—year—old child are among the dead. germany's chancellor says his government is investigating the apparent intercept by russia of a military meeting in which officers discussed the conflict in ukraine — including plans to supply ukraine with german—made missiles. 0laf scholz, who's been

meeting with the pope at the vatican, called it a very serious matter. audio of what's believed to be a confidential video conference between german officers was posted to social media in russia. dr thomas withington, an analyst and writer specialising in electronic warfare , spoke to the bbc about the signficance of the apparent hack. 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? former us president donald trump has clinched more wins

in the race to secure the republican presidential nomination. his victories in missouri and michigan give him more delegates, and deals another blow to nikki haley — who is mr trump's only remaining challenger in the race for the republican ticket. the biggest day for the two of them this week will be on �*super tuesday�* , when 15 states will vote. but with ms haley disantly trailing mr trump, he is already setting his sights on november's general election. a new york times siena poll out saturday says more registered voters would pick donald trump overjoe biden if they were the two candidates in a general election held today. mr trump leads mr biden a8—a3. it also says that the share of voters who strongly disapprove of mr biden�*s handling of hisjob has reached a7% — that's higher than at any point in his presidency. that will likely be welcome news to mr trump who is holding a rally in richmond virginia. live now to bernd debusmann who's in richmond outside of the rally.

what has donald trump insane? he is still inside speaking but at the outset of his remarks he spoke very heavily on the border and his perception that the border is out of control his criticism ofjoe biden�*s handling of migrant numbers there. and he is spoken about his time and again this week, he was at the border on thursday, and this is something clearly is campaign scenes as winners among his base, it is one of the strong topics amongst polls. he began his remarks tonight with that in mind and it is clearly a message his campaign things is strong with his supporters. it is something we will see time and time again going into

november. d0 and time again going into november.— and time again going into november. , ., ~ ., november. do you think that messages — november. do you think that messages will _ november. do you think that messages will chime - november. do you think that messages will chime with - messages will chime with supporters, you've been speaking to them, what are their top concerns that if two of you? their top concerns that if two of ou? ., their top concerns that if two of ou? . ., ., , their top concerns that if two of ou? . ., , of you? earlier today, i spoke for several — of you? earlier today, i spoke for several hours _ of you? earlier today, i spoke for several hours with - for several hours with supporters that arrived early for his event and the border is something that came up over and over again almost every single person i spoke with mentioned the border as one of their primary concerns head into the polls. there's a perception that the border and rising migrant numbers have led to crime in cities, including richmond, that is what people have mentioned and it's clearly a message that is top of the mind of many republican voters. 0ther mind of many republican voters. other issues came up, but the border came up most. this other issues came up, but the border came up most.- border came up most. this is cominu border came up most. this is coming ahead _ border came up most. this is coming ahead of— border came up most. this is coming ahead of super- border came up most. this is i coming ahead of super tuesday, where 15 states, one territory would be going to the polls. by that point, it could donald trump have closing by the nomination? ., ,

nomination? mathematically, he cannot quite _ nomination? mathematically, he cannot quite finish _ nomination? mathematically, he cannot quite finish the _ cannot quite finish the nomination on super tuesday but a strong showing, which every indication shows it would be strong for him, with which him within striking distance of quenching the nomination. his campaign has told reporters that probably around march 12 month there was secure enough delegates to clinch that nomination. at the latest, i've heard by march 19 from some of his campaign stop. he would be looking for a very strong showing to make his point on tuesday, at the beginning of his speech, he also kind of uploaded his supporters for having such a strong showing in previous primaries, so that is something he would be looking for a tuesday, that that and enthusiasm continues going into tuesday and further in march. talking about enthusiasm and excitement, i know in your recent weeks you have been out there on the campaign trail speaking to supporters for donald trump mike nikki haley, how do they come. when comes to

that energy that is needed for turnout and getting behind the candidate? ., ., turnout and getting behind the candidate?— candidate? here among trump supporters. — candidate? here among trump supporters. it's _ candidate? here among trump supporters, it's evident - candidate? here among trump supporters, it's evident that i supporters, it's evident that there are strong levels of enthusiasm, as i mentioned, i got here this morning and there were already people in line, which injust four exams were already people in line, which in just four exams to see their candidate. i also spoke to some form supporters who told me that they had kind of seen the writing on the wall, so far the primaries hadn't been particularly competitive, and they are no kind of shifting their support to donald trump, despite her strong criticism of him on the campaign trail. what we are seeing is in the increasing and through his for donald trump as their likely nominee, and we will see more and more nikki haley supporters float away as it becomes increasingly impossible for her to have success in the primaries. we even saw in her own state, she

lost by about 20 points, and she has been nowhere near to close to beating donald trump on any of the primaries so far, and that would affect in the enthusiasm of people on donald trump and nikki haley outside. there's also the fact that donald trump is facing some for criminal cases right now, 91 fenland charges against him that he is. could this be something that impact is campaign? it something that impact is campaign?— something that impact is campaign? something that impact is camaiun? , �* campaign? it is something i've asked a lot _ campaign? it is something i've asked a lot of _ campaign? it is something i've asked a lot of people - campaign? it is something i've asked a lot of people here - campaign? it is something i've asked a lot of people here in i asked a lot of people here in the crowd, and they generally have not been particularly concerned, if anything i think it does somewhat helped him with his base of his voters. multiple people told me for example that they see these legal issues as being a sign of a weapon eyes justice system, as the government persecuting donald trump. if you people told me they are voting for him more, they supported more now, after all these legal cases, because they see him as a

victim of what some see as an increasingly aggressive government and election interference, i heard that over and over again this week. bernd debusman _ and over again this week. bernd debusman outside _ and over again this week. bernd debusman outside that - and over again this week. bernd debusman outside that donald i debusman outside that donald trump rally in richmond virginia, but to speak with you. conservatives are leading the initial vote count in iran. voters went to the polls friday to elect members of parliament and the assembly of experts, the body responsible for selecting the supreme leader. the supreme leader — ayatollah ali khamenei, encouraged iranians to disregard prominent activists who had called for a boycott of the election. unofficial results suggest a historically—low turnout, around a0%. this was the first vote in iran since massive protests in 2022, sparked by the death of 22—year—old mahsa amini in police custody, after she allegedly violated the country's strict hijab laws. iran responded to the uprising with brutality, killing nearly 500 people and arresting approximately 20,000. iran, meanwhile, faces challenges from international sanctions that have hampered its economy.

reformist and moderate election candidates appear to have performed poorly. final results are expected on sunday. let's turn to some important news around the world. parts of the sierra nevada range in northern california are facing an extraordinary amount of snow. national weather service forecasters warn more than ten feet, three metres of snow at higher elevations will create �*life—threatening' conditions for residents around lake tahoe. tens of thousands of homes at lower elevations are also without power amid heavy rain. severe flooding in bolivia has prompted a dire situation. rising waters have deluged homes and farmland, leaving roads impassable and cutting of vital supply routes to villages along a major river. it's exacerbating food security challenges in the region. chad's military leader says he will run in presidential elections in may. mahamat idriss deby itno made the announcement during a speech on saturday, three days after his main rival was killed.

the militaryjunta says yaya dillo was killed in an exchange of gunfire after an attack on the country's security agency. dillo's opposition party denies he had a part in the attack, and says he was executed by soldiers at point blank range. the uk government is expected to lay out measures to tackle what it sees as rising extremism in the uk. it follows a warning by prime minister rishi sunak that britain's democracy is under threat from islamist extremists and the far right. human rights groups and opposition parties have criticised the comments, which mr sunak delivered in an address outside downing street on friday. mr suna k�*s unexpected intervention follows the by—election victory of far—left politician george galloway. the american businesswoman and fashion model iris apfel has died at the age of 102. the new york socialite originally specialised in interior design, and went on to sign a modelling contract in her 90s. she was known for her flamboyant clothes and signature big round glasses —

and as graham satchell reports, also for speaking her mind: 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 what not 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 $a 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. iris apfel, who has died at the age of 102. 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. the bbc�*s pierre—antoine denis has more. 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 confirmed the exclusivity 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. animal rights protesters took the spotlight of one of the most highly—anticipated moments of paris fashion week when they disrupted victoria beckham's show. members of people for the ethical treatment of animals stormed the catwalk to protest against the use of animal skins in the fashion industry. beckham's brand doesn't use fur or exotic skins, but the campaigners say some designs use leather. the group has urged ms beckham to use more eco—friendly fabrics. beckham made a brief appearance at the end of the show on crutches due to a recent foot injury. and before we go. singer—songwriter raye made history at the brit awards tonight, with a record—breaking six accolades, including the awards for best artist and best album. she went up against dua lipa, who won for best pop act and also opened the awards ceremony.

six of the ten nominees in the best artist field were female, after the brits came under fire last year for its all—male line—up in that category. you're watching bbc news, i'm helena humphrey in washington, dc, stay with us, we have more of the top of the hour. goodbye for now. hello. low pressure has been dominating our weather picture this weekend. and on saturday, we had widespread showers around, the vast majority of them coming through as rain. we did see some snow return to parts of cumbria and also some snowfall from somerset through the west midlands and into parts of wales as well. quite localised snowfall, but a covering in places. cold air, then, firmly in place at the moment, with our area of low pressure spiralling around, with further showers gradually moving their way northwards for the time being.

again, the vast majority of these are coming through as rain. a little bit of sleet or snow mixed in across some of the higher parts of dumfries and galloway. and over the next few hours, we'll also see a bit of snow across higher parts of the grampians. otherwise, any showers will come through as rain. it will then get cold with clearing skies across wales, the middle and southern county of england, lowest temperatures about minus two. so some frost and a few icy stretches to watch out for. sunday morning, few mist and fog patches around as well. by and large, though, a decent kind of day coming up on sunday. there will be some high cloud affecting eastern parts of both scotland and england. the best of the sunshine will be further west, with just one or two showers running through across parts of western scotland, northern ireland, wales and the south west of england. but even here, the showers will be pretty well spaced. so you've got a decent chance of having a dry day. through sunday evening and sunday night time, we'll start to see the next weather system approaching, and that will be bringing more rain our way into monday. so the rain making inroads in across parts of south west

england and wales pretty quickly monday morning. after a dry and bright start in northern ireland, it turns wetter through monday afternoon. we hang on to some brighter weather for scotland and northeast england, that's where the best of the sunny spells will be. temperatures continue to be a little bit below average for this time of the year, with highs between nine and 11 degrees celsius. deeper into next week, areas of low pressure in the atlantic will continue to threaten outbreaks of rain in the west. high pressure close to the near continent will keep the north and east largely dry. so, we'll see some changes in the weather from place to place. western areas likely to see the heaviest of the rain, particularly towards wales and south west england. the driest, brightest weather is likely to be across more eastern parts of the uk as we go through the week ahead. that's your latest weather. bye for now.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. i think the biggest climate issue is a bunch of egotistical men who refuse to change. dia mirza is a well—known indian actor and film producer with a film career spanning over two decades,

but she's also an outspoken advocate of the environment. bbc 100 women is focusing on climate change and we talked to dia mirza about why she's speaking out, and her hopes for the future of the planet. hi, dia. hi, vandna. welcome and thank you for speaking with bbc 100 women. how are you? i'm very well, thank you, and i'm so happy to be talking to you. so, let's begin. if we look back at your childhood, how would you describe it compared, for example, to your son's childhood today? oh, my goodness. ah... i think i grew up — i mean, it's safe to say that i grew up in a time when nature was in abundance. i also grew up in a space that offered free—flowing interaction with nature in a home that had big fruit—bearing trees,

so climbing trees was a daily ritual which made my childhood