hello. i'm helena humphrey. it's good to have you join us. the us has carried out an airdrop of aid into gaza, using three military cargo planes. us central command said it dropped more than 38,0000 meals along the gaza coastline in a joint operation withjordan�*s airforce. 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. us officials say israel has endorsed a framework of a proposed truce and hostage release, but hamas has yet to agree to it. 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.

international 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 healthcare 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. 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'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 took 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. there's also some been some criticism of the airdrops with some saying it does little to provide targeted aid to gazans in need. for more on the aidrops i spoke tojoe buccino, former communications director for the us central command. i want to begin with what we are seeing today, central command saying it has dropped around 38,000 meals to people in gaza in desperate need. the humanitarian situation is clearly very great. i just wonder — how sustainable is something like that? not very. i think this airdrop is more theatre than actual assistance. this is one mealforfewer than 2% of the population in gaza. the videos at the top of this, of the airdrop. and airdrop of any kind, whether it is assistance, weapons, any kind — i'm an old paratrooper — relies on an element in the air and an element on the ground. a security element.

you don't have that here. there's no way you can assure this isn't pilfered and sold on the black market. there are also few aid workers in gaza to distribute this. there is also a hard time getting convoys, getting this convoy to people in need, because the roads are cratered. i don't think this will do much good. that context is important to understand the situation and how an airdrop might work. for the us administration, how much pressure do you think there is right now to get a ceasefire? we know talks will take place once again on sunday, ramadan is approaching, how much pressure do you think there is for the ceasefire? there is a lot of pressure on the us and a lot of pressure on netanyahu. i think there is pressure on hamas. i think hamas will pay for time, and go right up until ramadan, right up until the eighth or the ninth, but they need to reorganise,

they need to consolidate ammo, and they need to rebuild defensive positions in the south. i think they will come to an agreement. with regards to the us and its role, you touched on hamas, if the ceasefire doesn't come to fruition in a meaningful way, do you think biden will be able to exert any more influence over netanyahu? where do you see that relationship right now? biden will not be able to influence netanyahu at all. he hasn't been able to do so at all to this date. if you think about, you know, you saw those videos — on the one hand, the united states is dropping aid, and dropping food, into gaza. 0n the other hand, they continue funnelling money and weapons into the idf to indiscriminately bomb gaza. and, so, biden�*s message is not

resonating in the region. if you look at the main telegraph accounts, some of the main influencers — the media in the region, biden looks very weak here and his messages are not resonating. one more thing, sorry, one more thing, if you think about, from this perspective, the administration, the biden administration directed central command to release videos and photos of that aid drop. and that's really what it was — a photo op. to put it in your words, president biden appearing weak, if that is the case, and cognicent of the fact that he is also going into a presidential election in some eight months�* time, where are areas that you see potentially the biden administration could try to apply pressure if the calls on working, for example, to netanyahu? is there anything concretely that the administration can do to try to sway the course? stop aid. stop the — the flow of aid. stop the flow of money.

stop this next aid package from going through. i think that's really the pressure point that the administration can push on. coloneljoe buccino, thank you very much, once again, for being with us. thanks so much for having me. some news about the attacks on ships in waters off the coast of yemen. the uk maritime trade agency said on saturday that it had received reports a ship was attacked 15 nautical miles west of the yemeni port of mokha. the crew evacuated the vessel. separately, the us military has confirmed that the uk—owned cargo ship rubymar, abandoned in the red sea after being attacked by houthis on february 18, has now sunk. 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 eight people were killed in a russian drone attack on 0dessa. 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.

i think there was nothing terribly revolutionary about it. the interesting thing is if russia has the capability to regularly intercept german military communications and communications like this, why make something relatively anodyne? preliminary results from iran's elections show hardline and conservative candidates in the lead. voters went to the polls friday to elect new members of parliament and the assembly of experts, the body responsible for selecting the supreme leader. but unofficial results are suggesting a historically low turnout, around a0%. the country's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei, encouraged iranians to disregard prominent activists who had called for a boycott. this was the first vote in iran since widespread 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. supporters of the movement continue to face punishment. meanwihle, the grammy—winning iranian singer, shervin haji—pour, was sentenced friday to more than 3.5 years in prison, for writing an anthem about the protests. he's charged with "propaganda against the system" and "encouraging people to protest" and was also ordered to create a song about, quote, "us crimes". former us president donald trump appears to have clinched more wins in the race to secure the republican presidential nomination. cbs news projects he has won in idaho, missouri, and michigan, which would give him more delegates. it 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 and one territory will vote. but with ms haley distantly 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. mrtrump leads mr biden 48 to a3. it also says that the share of voters who strongly disapprove of mr biden�*s handling of hisjob has reached 47%, that's higher than at any point in his presidency. that will likely be welcome news to mr trump, who held a rally in richmond virginia saturday night. our digital campaign reporter bernd debusmann was outside of that rally speaking to mr trump's supporters about the issues that matter to them. well, earlier today i spoke for several hours with supporters that arrived here early for his event, and the border is something that came up over and over and over again. almost every person i spoke to mentioned the border as one of their primary concerns as they had to the poll. there is a perception that the border and rising migrant numbers have increased crimes in cities,

including richmond — that is what people have mentioned. it is clearly a message that is top of mind for many republican voters. other issues came up, but the border was the one that came up most often when i was speaking to people earlier today. 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. 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. 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. earlier this week, lawmakers in ghana's parliament unanimously passed a bill that would further restrict the rights of gay and transgender people in the country. the legisalation would impose a maximum five—year jail term for forming orfunding lgbtq+ groups and up to 10 years in prison for anyone involved in advocacy campaigns aimed at children. same—sex relationships are already illegal in the country. it's the latest sign of growing opposition to lgbtq+rights across africa, where 30 countries criminalise homosexuality. uganda's top constitutional court is currently examning a law that threatens life imprisonment

and even death for homosexuality. earlier, i spoke to ghanaian trans woman activist and founder of per—for—craze international artists residency va—bene elikem fiatsi, and the first openly non—binary queer photographer from uganda, delovie kwagala, also known as papa de, about the impact of this legislation on their lives. thank you for taking the time to speak with us and have this conversation here on bbc news. i would like to start with you, va—bene, if i may. watching what has happened in ghana this week i wonder how this makes you feel. and what are your concerns for the lgbtq+ community, there? thank you. when the bill was announced on the 28th, i was really broken.

even though we anticipated that this bill was going to be passed this week, it still came to me as a shock that all 275 parliamentary is allowjust eight members to propose such a deal and it was successfully adopted as a — as a law to be signed by the president. so it came to me again, deep in my heart. my concern for the community now is heavier than before. because there are so many queer ghanaians who don't even have shelter, and even homeless, just because their parents kicked them out of home. if the bill is assented to by the president, i wonder what will happen to all these young people. and all the people who i actually also care for and host in my house, they also lose their home because my landlord would also be jailed as criminalised

by the law. listening to that, papa de, knowing that left ghana because of the lgbtqia+ law that was passed there, can you remind viewers of the climate there for your community, and the risks? at the moment, as va—bene has said, things are not looking good for queer africans at the moment. uganda, particularly, of course, during last year, especially, like the peak of a lot of violence unleashed to a lot of queer people, especially transgender women and also, you know, trans men who are not particularly passing, right? so we have had a lot of collective rape cases, sorry to say, and a lot of evictions, a lot of people being fired from their works, and evictions have gone ahead

and aren'tjust going to be from a landlord or something, but to the village, where they all decide, collectively, that you don't need to stay in their village, in their community, because you are promoting immorality. so unfortunately that has been ruined, and continues to be ruined, because a lot of people actually want to leave because of how the system has been made, but, at the same, time, we don't have safe pathways to the freedom that we think that, you know, we are seeking for. a lot of us are even getting visitors, like the asylum system at the moment is really, really deeply broken. in south africa at the moment, they have a backlog of more than — more than five years of asylum—seeking applications, right? and i think the most unfortunate thing is a lot of activists within the country on the underground right now have been completely silenced.

and you talk very clearly, there, about that cycle of going from, you know, one danger, potentially, to another one, which brings me to the question, you know, what can be done in terms of international reaction? there has been talk from the us government about some kind of response to ghana, with the us proposing restricting foreign aid to ghana. is that something that you would support, va—bene? well, it is very complicated when it comes to the restrictions that the so—called "world superpowers" impose on countries that are imposing these kind of laws on the citizens. it is a double sword because when countries are even sanctioned economically, it affects the queer community and the list privileged people more than the one that they wanted to affect

because the people in power are not affected by any of these sanctions, because they are the same people who hoard the country's resources and money. so i don't know how to deal with situations of assumptions or restrictions on countries for these harsh laws. however, the ambassador from the united states to ghana has also made it very clear how this bill would impact the economy, not necessarily onlyjust the restrictions and assumptions, but there are so many investors who could stop investing into ghana simply because they themselves are affected by the law. evenjust imagine me, as a trans person, who is capable of caring for more than several tens of people in ghana, like, there are students at university, people who are learning trade, and i'm paying for their school fees from my salary as an artist. so if this bill is affecting me, and i will not be —

i will be injail, how do i contribute to support queer communities, and even the non—queer communities? because the people i support, not all of them are queer people. and we know there's also been us sanctions on uganda as well. papa de, i would like to pose a final question to you, i suppose, about hopes for the future. do you have hope of being able to return to uganda? honestly, at the moment, that doesn't seem to be an option. a lot of things, also, like, including the safety of my parents or, like, my relatives, also, obviously, they have been at the centre of all of this all themselves. moving at home because them accepting me and welcoming me into our home is also criminalised, because everyone is basically turned into your enemy by obligation from the government.

and i think, for now, like, how people can basically support us isjust, like, continuously amplifying the voices, and educating themselves about what is really happening on the ground. well, va—bene and papa de, thank you so much for speaking with us about this issue and speaking so candidly. we appreciate it. thank you. 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 $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. iris apfel, who has died at the age of 102. and before we go, singer—songwriter raye has 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 10 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. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. 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 —2, 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, withjust 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 nighttime, 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 southwest 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 9—11 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 southwest 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.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme.

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