towards lower taxes, but only in a responsible way. and, as the counting continues in iran's election, unofficial reports suggest the lowest turnout since the islamic revolution. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in gaza, where a new ceasefire appears to be in question, after israel demanded more reassurances on which hostages are still alive. pressure for a deal intensified after an incident on thursday where at least 112 people were killed as crowds rushed towards an aid convoy. our senior international correspondent orla guerin

reports from tel aviv, and a warning her report contains images some people might find upsetting. a truce can't come soon enough. in rafah, one more day of harrowing loss. palestinians mourn for 20 members of the abu ansa family, they were killed in an air strike, according to hospital officials and gaza's civil defence. among the dead, five month old twins. as old as the war. they were late down gently with their relatives. their mother spent ten years trying to have them, and endured three rounds of ivf.

now all she can cradle is their baby clothes. "i gave birth during the war," she says. "it started on saturday, i gave birth next friday. "i didn't get enough of them, i swear i didn't get enough. "i have no one else," she says. "they have gone with their father. "we were sleeping, i swear". israel continues to say it takes feasible precautions to lessen civilian harm. "there were about 35 people in the house", says farouk abu ansa. "most were children. there were no fighters. the house collapsed on them,

three or four storeys." in israel, too, families and anguish. their loved ones trapped in tunnels in gaza. they need to be released now. this weekend, they have been pleading with their government to do a deal to bring the hostages back home. ofer is a very warm person. you can see, his smile, he is a family person. he has four children, lovely children. how hard is this time for the family? this wait must seem endless. it is like hell, you know. we are in some kind of loop since the 7th of october. we are living this day every day again and again. we have only one goal all these days, to bring him back alive to his family, to his children. this is the only thing that matters.

but there will be no homecoming for ofer or any of the israeli hostages without a ceasefire. and no respite for mothers burying their children in gaza. orla guerin, bbc news, tel aviv. the us vice president has called for an immediate ceasefire in gaza. kamala harris said that people there were starving, and has called on israel to do more to increase the flow of aid into the territory. they must open new border crossings, they must not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid, they must ensure humanitarian personnel, sites and convoys are not targeted. and they must work to restore basic services and promote order in gaza so more food, water and fuel can reach those in need.

let's speak to jon alterman, director of the middle east programme at the centre for strategic and international studies. thanks for your time today. firstly, we heard from vice president harries, stressing the need for a humanitarian cease—fire, what are the hurdles holding them back? there is not in agreement, _ the hurdles holding them back? there is not in agreement, israel— the hurdles holding them back? ti” is not in agreement, israel says they cease—fire comes when hostages are released, hamas has not yet released to the terms that reportedly the israelis have agreed to and brokered by the americans, the egyptians and qatar east. there is hope that within the next week before ramadan starts, there will be in agreement but there is no certainty. in agreement but there is no certainty-— in agreement but there is no certain . ~ , ., ., certainty. we understand that the vice president _ certainty. we understand that the vice president is _ certainty. we understand that the vice president is set _ certainty. we understand that the vice president is set to _ certainty. we understand that the vice president is set to hold - certainty. we understand that the vice president is set to hold a - vice president is set to hold a meeting with benny gantz, a member of israel's war cabinet, but a long time but rival of primus or benjamin netanyahu, what should be read into

it? �* , ., ., netanyahu, what should be read into it? a ., ., _ netanyahu, what should be read into it? ., _~ , netanyahu, what should be read into it? ., ., it? it's a move by benny gantz to t to it? it's a move by benny gantz to try to move _ it? it's a move by benny gantz to try to move politically _ it? it's a move by benny gantz to try to move politically against - try to move politically against benjamin netanyahu emma he has his own difficult political history with american presidents. in 2015, benjamin netanyahu arranged with republicans to a joint address to congress without telling the white house first in order to undermine support for the iran nuclear deal. in some ways you might see this as payback that the biden team is welcoming the person who is likely to be net senior whose primary political rival to the white house and it could be the beginning of a break in israeli politics. the biden team is saying we have tools to play your politics too.— your politics too. does it mean the 're your politics too. does it mean they're trying _ your politics too. does it mean they're trying to _ your politics too. does it mean they're trying to put _ your politics too. does it mean they're trying to put pressure i your politics too. does it mean i they're trying to put pressure on benjamin netanyahu? the they're trying to put pressure on benjamin netanyahu?— they're trying to put pressure on benjamin netanyahu? the us has been t in: to ut benjamin netanyahu? the us has been trying to put pressure _ benjamin netanyahu? the us has been trying to put pressure on _ benjamin netanyahu? the us has been trying to put pressure on him _ benjamin netanyahu? the us has been trying to put pressure on him and - benjamin netanyahu? the us has been trying to put pressure on him and he i trying to put pressure on him and he has said he is not going to do what

the us wanted to do that there's beenin the us wanted to do that there's been in lots of pressure already about letting humanitarian supplies into gaza, the us really wanted the level of violence to pan down at the beginning ofjanuary, it didn't nearly as much. there has been a lot of tension and we have heard reports that there have been some pretty heated phone conversations. the thing from a biden administration perspective, it's hard to convince foreign leaders to do things they really think are against their national interest and biden people say has been looking politically weak, not being able to get a state like israel, which gets billions of dollars of support from the united states, yet when the us says you need to conduct a war in a different way, benjamin netanyahu says he will not. way, ben'amin netanyahu says he will

not. ~ , ., , ., ., ., ., not. the muslim holy day of ramadan is cominu not. the muslim holy day of ramadan is coming up. — not. the muslim holy day of ramadan is coming up. what — not. the muslim holy day of ramadan is coming up, what you _ not. the muslim holy day of ramadan is coming up, what you see _ not. the muslim holy day of ramadan| is coming up, what you see happening and headed to that? i is coming up, what you see happening and headed to that?— and headed to that? i would guess that negotiations _ and headed to that? i would guess that negotiations would _ and headed to that? i would guess that negotiations would ultimately| that negotiations would ultimately be concluded successfully. i'm not sure how much before ramadan, it might even be a day or two into ramadan, and each side wants to extract as much as it can from the negotiations, neither side wants to look like it is weak or rushing. it feels to me like the signals are pointed to both sides eliminate the need to take a breather. a deal it seems to at least have the shape that people are willing to accept. so my guess is maybe not by march ten or 11th, but certainly by the 12th or 13th, we are likely to have a six—week pause. 12th or 13th, we are likely to have a six-week pause.— 12th or 13th, we are likely to have a six-week pause. thank you for your time, jon alterman. _ striking junior doctors

in south korea are facing a tough decision , the government has repeated its back to work orders , warning they must return to theirjobs now — or risk losing their licences or facing criminal prosecution. an estimated 20,000 people turned up for a doctor's rally in seoul on sunday. they are protesting seoul's plans to sharply increase the number of medical school places. the president of seoul medical association park myung—ha says the government needs to negotiate with doctors. translation: what we are demanding is to start the discussion _ from the beginning. the government says it has discussed the issues many times with doctors, but it is a lie. the president has been emphasising the plan to increase medical school quotas by 2,000, and officials have been saying they won't reconsider the plan. we want the government to go back to the beginning, and start earnest negotiations with doctors. let's speak to professor kwon soon—man from the school of public health at seoul national

university. thank you forjoining me. , firstly a big protest yesterday and how effective has the strike been, and will they be going back to work today? i will they be going back to work toda ? ., �* ~' will they be going back to work toda ? ., �* ~ will they be going back to work toda? , today? i don't think so because in the ast, today? i don't think so because in the past. andy — today? i don't think so because in the past, andy history _ today? i don't think so because in the past, andy history of- today? i don't think so because in the past, andy history of health l the past, andy history of health reform in korea, doctors or health associations have never been defeated, because at the last moment the government steps back and yielded to and listen to what they wanted. so because of the history, i do not think the medical association or trained doctors, would be back to work quite soon. the or trained doctors, would be back to work quite soon.— work quite soon. the doctors must know that the _ work quite soon. the doctors must know that the public _ work quite soon. the doctors must know that the public support - work quite soon. the doctors must know that the public support has i know that the public support has largely been with the government and not with them, so what do you make of their argument it is not about a fear of competition, but way ——

wider health care issues? i fear of competition, but way -- wider health care issues? i think the are wider health care issues? i think they are lying. _ wider health care issues? i think they are lying, i'm _ wider health care issues? i think they are lying, i'm sorry - wider health care issues? i think they are lying, i'm sorry to - wider health care issues? i think they are lying, i'm sorry to tell l they are lying, i'm sorry to tell this. the korean health system is predominantly private, so it means that increased numbers of doctors means more competition, and decrease the possibility of lower income for them. so that's the only reason they are the strengths, and high public support for the government means that none of the public is fully understanding the implications of the increase in the number of doctors. so it is quite true that the only reason the doctors, especially the medical association, what they want and are worried about, the increased supply of doctors will definitely result in the decreased income for them. so how do the doctors have a leg to stand on? what legal rights or they

have to carry out this process, are theyjust not have to carry out this process, are they just not scared have to carry out this process, are theyjust not scared of have to carry out this process, are they just not scared of what the korean government was due to them? as i mentioned, in the history of the reform, doctors always one the conflict with the government, but there is another change, recently, such as in the last year, the revision of some laws which makes it possible for the government to punish doctors when they leave the workplace. i think that is one change. another one is, in the past, evenif change. another one is, in the past, even if doctors, even when their licenses —— licenses have been revoked, it is quite easy to get the licenses back with a minimum retraining and some committed actions. but now the government is clearly maintaining that if it gets

more difficult to get the licenses back. so this is a new change in the licensing system, so that is one of the reasons the government is stronger than previous governments in saying that it is a quite strong political will to go ahead and be tough with the doctors.- political will to go ahead and be tough with the doctors. thank you for our tough with the doctors. thank you for your time. _ tough with the doctors. thank you for your time, professor _ tough with the doctors. thank you for your time, professor kwon - for your time, professor kwon soon—man. the uk's chancellor has said he wants to 'show a path' towards tax cuts in wednesday's budget, but that any reductions would be 'prudent�*. jeremy hunt is under pressure from some conservative mps to reduce taxes before a general election, widely expected later in the year. but the government's also facing a bleaker than expected economic forecast. 0ur political correspondent hannah miller reports. a chancellor who some have said was dealt a terrible economic hand.

as he prepares to do this again, he's trying to improve his party's fortunes. this morning, jeremy hunt was keeping his cards close to his chest as he toured the tv studios. but he did give this hint. i do want, where it's possible to do so responsibly, to move towards a lower tax economy, and i hope to show a path in that direction. but this will be a prudent and responsible budget for long term growth. with roughly £13 billion to play with, that's less than he'd hoped for. the chancellor is scrabbling around for ways to find more cash that would allow him to reduce taxes. and labour aren't saying whether they'd prioritise tax cuts or not. so would you bring down taxes now? well, we want to bring the tax burden down in the long run, but we're not going to promise anything which is not completely responsible and fully funded and fully costed. and you'll see all of our plans in the manifesto for getting the economy growing because that

economic growth is so crucial to making people better off, and for getting that sustainable revenue for public services. behind the doors of number 11, the calculations are both financial and political. the chancellor is under enormous pressure from conservative backbenchers to deliver tax cuts on a scale that they think they can sell on the doorstep. but the economy is in recession, interest rates are still relatively high compared to recent years, and evenjeremy hunt's power to do anything that makes people feel significantly better off is limited. and he's reined in by a target of getting national debt falling in five years' time, a rule one former bank of england economist says should be tweaked. he isn't convinced that the chancellor's plans for growth will come off. people are still feeling poorer, and they're feeling poorer, laura, because they are poorer. the tax take is going up, not down. monetary policy is getting tighter, not looser.

and all of those are big headwinds for growth that make me think this is another year of fogginess. and as the work to dot the is and cross the t's of wednesday's budget gets under way, the chancellor and the prime minister know it will take a significant announcement before many voters can smile about the budgeting they're doing at home. hannah miller, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk.... a seven—year—old has drowned after a small boat — carrying 16 migrants heading to the uk capsized, according to the authorities in northern france. the girl's parents and three siblings were taken to hospital in dunkirk. it's the third fatal incident in a channel crossing attempt so far this year. regulated railfares, which include most season tickets, have gone up by nearly 5% in england and wales — even though train cancellations are close to their highest levels in a decade. the fare increases are above the rate of inflation, but the department for transport says the move will help

invest in the network. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. bringing you different - stories from across the uk. there have been times when tom hughes thought about quitting athletics, but he kept going — hoping that one day he'lljump higher than ever before. hughes, then, 2.18. it's sort of reinvigorating my motivation, myjob, career. it's made me start to look up what i could achieve again. there's been a lot of times that i think it's not what happened. it's taken hughes seven years to jump three centimetres higher. but now he's raised the bar, the old bounce is back. initially not even invited to the uk indoor championships, hughes certainly wasn't expecting

to figure in the medals, but on the day he found what high jumpers call the pop. 2.18 metres was cleared. a golden day. the pb, the silver lining. you're live with bbc news. iranian media says that results so far in friday's elections show that hardliners and conservatives have won most of the seats. with ballots still being counted, it also still looks as if the turnout will be the lowest in the history of the islamic republic. the bbc�*s caroline davies was given rare permission to report from inside iran, and has been speaking to people there. iran is yet to announce its official results for the election but there are still some early indications from state media about turnout. this from one of the state newspapers. here it says, the turnout

is a1% across the country. and here, in the capital tehran, it is at 24%. now, these figures have not been finalised yet but if these are correct, a1% is thought to be a historically low turnout for iran during these parliamentary elections. it is difficult to get a sense here in iran about exactly how people are feeling. many people don't want to speak to foreign media, particularly on camera. we were able to speak to a few about what life is like in the country at the moment. translation: conditions are really hard here. - we don't have income. we don't have work. the cost of living is high. elections happened on friday. do you think that might change anything? translation: no, i i don't have any hope. there has been a lot of elections but the situation hasn't really changed. translation: the value of our currency keeps - going down on a daily basis, which is causing inflation and puts a lot of pressure on the iranian people. but the security situation is good. it is stable.

iran's authorities have given no indication that they are concerned by this low turnout figure. in fact, some have already started calling these elections a success. but throughout the course of our reporting here, it has been clear that many people in iran don't feel engaged with politics, and didn't feel like they wanted to vote because they didn't think anything was going to change. pakistan's newly formed parliament has elected shehbaz sharif as prime ministerfor a second term. it comes weeks after a controversial election, marred by allegations of widespread vote—rigging. he was elected by 201 votes to 92, and will now preside over a coalition that has shut out followers of the jailed opposition leader, imran khan. last month's election produced no outright winner. independent candidates backed by imran khan's party won the most seats, but failed to get a majority. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. hundreds of supporters of the late russian opposition leader, alexei navalny, are queueing for a third consecutive day

to visit his grave in moscow. mourners have added more red, white and yellow flowers to the pile on the grave which is now almost two metres high. it comes just two weeks before elections expected to give president vladimir putin another six— year term. malaysia's transport minister has pledged to restart search efforts for mh 370 — the missing jetliner which mysteriously disappeared en route to beijing almost a decade ago with 239 people on board. anthony loke was speaking at an annual rememberance event in kuala lumpur. he promised that he would try to sign a new contract to restart a search of the ocean floor. swiss voters have approved plans for a significant increase in old age pensions — and rejected a proposal to raise the retirement age by a year to 66. retirees will now get an extra month's pension each year, in line with the working population who are paid a salary for 13 months.

on monday, emmanuel macron is set to formally make changes to the french constitution. he is gathering mps and senators to enshrine women's guaranteed freedom to abort — a move that is full of symbolism and also political. pierre—antoine denis has more from the newsroom for emmanuel macron, this is definitely a win. france is about to be the first country in the world to put abortion in its constitution. for women's rights groups, who have been defending the move, this is widely seen as a guarantee against future changes. translation: it's sending a message that france is not only _ the country of men's rights, it's also the country of women's rights. we hope at least that it will have a symbolic effect with regard to other countries that are trailing behind on this topic. the whole project gained traction shortly after the roe v wade amendment was overturned in the us injune 2022, meaning the end of federal protection

on abortion rights. it's worth saying that france was already much more advanced than the us on the topic because the abortion right was already enshrined in law. on top of that, 81% of the population in france are in favour of the move in its 50 year history. abortion has never been challenged and if anything, when it came to parliament, the bill has already been strengthened nine times. this is probably why it led to a rare moment of almost complete unity in french politics, as both mps and senators overwhelmingly voted in favour of the motion. which begs a question. was this constitutional amendment necessary at all? was itjust pure symbolism, or was there actually a political gain in there? well, paris correspondent hugh schofield, emmanuel macron was hoping that abortion rights would be a political winner. hugh writes that the president hoped the constitutional revision

on abortion might open a clear fault line between his party and its main opponents, marine le pen's far right, casting them as reactionaries. actually, there were protests against the move by some groups, but it did not gain any political traction whatsoever. but either way, in the whole of the raging versailles congress on monday, the french president will definitely enjoy his victory lap while giving millions of women in france a reason to celebrate. israel's public broadcaster has requested changes to the lyrics of a song submitted for this year's eurovision contest. organisers disqualified "october rain" — which makes reference to the attacks by hamas five months ago — for breaking the competition's rules on political neutrality. israel's president has pushed for a change to the lyrics to avoid the country being left out. the public broadcaster has now asked for a redrafted version — while preserving what it

calls its artistic freedom. israel has won the eurovision contest for times of four, and this years addition is in sweden who won his last years contest in may. the eurovision contest takes place in malmo, sweden this year. hello. we did have a bit of spring sunshine around on sunday, but the clear skies are lasting through the night. the winds are fairly light, too, so temperatures are really dropping. it's going to be quite a chilly start to your monday morning. could be a touch of frost and some mist and fog patches they should clear away. there'll be a bit more rain moving into the southwest later on in the day, but for most of us, it's going to be a fine, bright, chilly start. some fog, perhaps the vale of york, the welsh marches, central southern england as well, that clearing away by around the middle of the morning.

there's the rain that's going to push into the south west of england to wales by around about lunchtime. a few splashes of rain arriving across northern ireland later in the afternoon. but generally further north and east, you should stay dry for a good part of the day and temperatures will range between around 7—12 degrees. now, moving into monday evening, that's when the patchy rain pushes its way further eastwards across parts of england, eastern scotland as well, tending to fizzle out a bit as it does so. it'll be another fairly chilly night as we head into tuesday morning for some parts of wales, central and southern england as well, but not as cold as the current night. now, as we move through monday night into tuesday, then this area of low pressure, this weather front continues to drift its way eastwards, but it's tending to fizzle out. so i think early tuesday, we are likely to see a bit of cloud and patchy light rain for eastern england and eastern scotland. once that clears away, sunny spells for most a little bit a little bit more cloud and a few showers in the west around some of these irish sea coasts. but reasonably light winds, temperatures not doing too badly up

to around about 8—12 degrees. so pretty typical for this stage in early march. and then as we look towards the middle of the week, then, we're going to see high pressure sitting across scandinavia. weather fronts try and move in from the atlantic. but as they bump into that area of high pressure, they're not going to make too many inroads. so for wednesday, perhaps some showery rain moving into the far south west of england, perhaps northern ireland, a little bit breezy here. but for much of the british isles, i think things are looking dry and settled again. again, some early morning mist, frost and fog possible clearing away to leave sunny spells and thankfully a dry spell of weather with highs around about 8—12 for most of us. so as we look towards the middle part of the week into thursday and friday, plenty of dry weather could be odd spots of rain, particularly towards the west. temperatures fairly typical of the time of year. and i think many of us will be pleased to see this quieter spell of weather through the weekend but by.

this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines at the top of the hour as newsday continues, straight after hardtalk.

russia's neighbour georgia is closely watching what happens in ukraine. it shares a 900km border with russia, who invaded in 2008. russian troops are still stationed in two separatist regions. georgia has just been granted eu candidate status and talks ofjoining nato, yet its government is seen as sympathetic to russia. it's a diplomatic tightrope, and one my guest needs to walk. salome zourabichvili is the country's president. where does georgia's destiny lie — with russia or the west?