live from washington, this is bbc news. final preparations are under way for the first aid shipment by sea from cyprus, carrying vital supplies to civilians in gaza, on the brink of famine. another mass kidnapping in nigeria, the third in a week as the hundred hundreds continues. we speak to the first american woman to sell around the world although. —— follow. we begin with the ongoing humanitarian crisis in gaza. a ship carrying much—needed food and medical supplies is preparing to set sail to gaza, from cyprus, the closest eu nation to gaza. the spanish vessel

hopes to use a newly opened shipping route to arrive in the next few days. but where it will arrive remains in question. with no functioning port in gaza, its unclear where it will dock upon entry. the open arms will set off from the port of larnaca. it taken an enormous effort to get this far with it taken an enormous effort to get this far with this it taken an enormous effort to get this far with this relief mission but the real challenge will come as they get closer to gaza and it may take as long as three days for them to make the 210 nautical miles from cyprus to gaza but when they get there, they will arrive in a territory with no functioning port so they have to offload the aid and in the north of gaza, distributing aid is the most badly affected and desperately in need part of gaza, distributing aid there is extremely difficult. all law and order has broken down, absolute chaos on the ground so

they will also have to manage that. that will be a great success if they managed to open that first maritime aid corridor. however, there are others who say maritime aid corridor than air drops by western governments are a sign of western failure because the west have been asking israel for many months to send more trucks through the land into gaza at the two crossing points in the south. that is the quickest and most effective way of getting aid into gaza but still, israel refuses to budge. 100 trucks make through before the war there was a 420. the need is much greater than that. the british foreign secretary david cameron have been asking for 500 trucks and has been asking for months but still israel has not been listening. the situation in gaza tonight is desperate. people are going to sleep hungry hungry and when they wake in the morning, they are scavenging for food and having to make bread from

animal feed having to make bread from animalfeed and we having to make bread from animal feed and we have having to make bread from animalfeed and we have been hearing that children and the elderly are beginning to die from malnutrition. adults are losing their hair and teeth because they are not getting enough food. gaza really is on the brink. the un says famine is almost inevitable. and as the aid ships departs, another one has departed from america. and while attempts to get more aid into gaza are progressing talks of a ceasefire are not. the head of israel's intelligence service accused hamas of hardening its position in ceasefire talks, saying hamas was planning to escalate tensions during ramadan. hamas has similarly blamed israel for a lack of progress in ceasefire negotations, which are expected to continue in cairo next week. presidentjoe biden said earlier that israel will be crossing a redline if go with

its anticipated invasion of the southern city of rafah. he also said he would never stop defending israel. the comments come days after his fiery the union speech. i spoke earlier with former israeli defense forces spokesmanjonathan conricus about how humanitarian aid efforts are connected to efforts to stop violence. thank you so much for being here. i wanted to start with some of the remarks made by presidentjoe biden in that state of the union address where he talks about the situation in gaza, take a listen. to israel i say this: humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration, or a bargaining chip. protecting and saving innocent lives has to be priority. as we look to the future, the only real solution to the situation is a two state solution over time. applause yeah, a lot in there, and we heard the president essentially warning israel against using aid as a bargaining chip. what's your response to what he said there? yeah, there were many

very positive things from my perspective said by the president, regarding that specific statement, i think it is very much correct. humanitarian aid shouldn't and isn't used as bargaining. the only people who are bargaining humanitarian matters are hamas, who are keeping israelis hostage for more than 154 days. and they are the ones who on the humanitarian front are the cruel, the heartless and the terrorist. and i think that we will have to look forward, there are lots of people in gaza who probably are not affiliated with hamas and should get humanitarian assistance. it would have been great if these people would have been taken care of by the un facilities in gaza, un organisations in gaza, and put in humanitarian zones and provided their needs,

that was a decision unrwa decided 3.5 four months ago, not to do, not to provide that assistance and we are seeing it on the unfortunate consequences... we have spoken to many people from unrwa, many leaders of humanitarian aid organisations and what they've been telling the bbc is they simply cannot continue with those humanitarian missions. they are not able to access areas, not able to get supplies in and they say it's simply too dangerous. the security situation doesn't allow them to do that. is israel doing enough to provide the conditions in order to actually deliver aid safely to those civilians that needed? definitely, yes. i think israel is doing far and beyond what any military in fighting, in combat is doing, while there is a clear and imminent threat to israeli citizens and there are still israeli hostages held in gaza. israel is transferring humanitarian aid into the very same combat zone and i would like to say that unrwa is a complete and utter failure of their mandates. they have failed the palestinians, they have failed in their charter,

they have failed the values of the un, and they have failed their humanitarian mission and they are just nothing more but a front for hamas, doing hamas�* dirty work and enabling the continued rule of hamas over the gaza strip. it seems as though the ceasefire has broken down and were not far from ceasefire has broken down and were not farfrom ramadan. they were not farfrom ramadan. they were trying to get a ceasefire in place before the holy month and how optimistic are you for that to happen? i and how optimistic are you for that to happen?— that to happen? i think the lan that to happen? i think the [an of that to happen? i think the plan of hamas _ that to happen? i think the plan of hamas is _ that to happen? i think the plan of hamas is working l that to happen? i think the - plan of hamas is working nicely and they are getting support in using the international community and the us very cleverly. their plan all along was to bide time, spend time until the month of ramadan comes along, banking on or hoping that israel will not do major combat operations during that month in fear of additional escalation in other

parts of the middle east and religious extremism bubbling over into general violence in the area. sadly, that plan appears to be working. according to all the information i have, hamas never wanted to release israeli hostages and a real hostage deal was not in the works. they were playing for time in order to get close to ramadan and then to try to derail israel from continued fighting and i think they are hoping that they will be able to wiggle their way out of the fighting and out of the war and claim victory by existing and having some long—term unofficial ceasefire. i don't think that will happen. i don't think that will happen. i hope it will not happen. i hope israel stays true to its mission which is to defend civilians and get the hostages home and to defeat the threatened menace of hamas from gaza. . ~ ,, threatened menace of hamas from gaza. . ~ i. ., threatened menace of hamas from gaza. . ~ .,

there has been another mass kidnapping in nigeria in the early hours of saturday. there is already a major search on for nearly 300 students who were abducted by armed men on thursday from a north—western town. is the biggest mass abduction from a score since 200 were abducted on february 29 then. more than 749 had been kidnapped since the president came into power in may. we don't know very much. all we know is that it happened very early this morning in an area called gada in sokoto in the northwest of nigeria. local members of the community told the bbc�*s hausa service that gunmen came into the town

shooting into the air, they took a number of women, and as they were fleeing, they saw some students running into their dormitories and decided to abduct them too. this, obviously, is coming at a time of heightened tensions in the region. a search operation is under way to recover these almost 300 students that were taken from their school in kaduna on thursday. the military, the police and local hunters are combing the forest in the region trying to recover the students. i spoke to a global rights worker, early. we are hearing more than 280 students kidnapped earlier this week and another incident on saturday morning involving about 12 more students kidnapped. what more do we know at this point about the fate of these children and who may be responsible for these abductions. it

who may be responsible for these abductions.— these abductions. it is the numbers _ these abductions. it is the numbers that _ these abductions. it is the numbers that alarms - these abductions. it is the - numbers that alarms everyone at this point in time but these go on every day in nigeria. it has become a regular crime in nigeria. and that is disturbing. just last week we had more than 400 kidnapped in the northeast, internally displaced people, kidnapped by terrorists. there are a lot of terrorists. there are a lot of terrorist groups ravaging the north of nigeria, in the north—west and northeast and these kidnappings have gone on for a long time. the children that were kidnapped were elementary school and high school children in this area, if you know, is a christian community in a very divided state where the lines are divided between muslims and christians and it is a really troubling phenomenon that is

going on there.— troubling phenomenon that is going on there. why students? wh are going on there. why students? why are they — going on there. why students? why are they going _ going on there. why students? why are they going after - going on there. why students? why are they going after young people? is this trying to get a ransom or are they political or terror? �* u, , ransom or are they political or terror? �* , ., �* 4' ., terror? because we don't know them, we _ terror? because we don't know them, we don't _ terror? because we don't know them, we don't know— terror? because we don't know them, we don't know their - them, we don't know their reasoning but i think the very easy once we can think about first of all is that it is easier to kidnap schools region because together they are constantly together and they are unprotected school all the time and that makes them very easy targets. if you remember the girls, the chibok girls and other kidnappings around the country, it makes it very easy and we have recorded that we have had more than 1800 students kidnapped in the past ten years, across nigeria. that

is verified. the other is because they are children, parents are more panicked are more willing to pay ransom. also because they are children, the government is more pressure to act because they are a vulnerable group. the third reason why i think they consider kidnapping students is if they can make the kidnapping en masse, they make more money. and you mentioned money, this is becoming a business in nigeria? it is becoming a business in nigeria?— nigeria? it is and unfortunately - nigeria? it is andj unfortunately the nigeria? it is and _ unfortunately the government is doing very little to dis— incentivise this. there are many victims we have spoken to who said they have gone to the police, who sometimes would advise them to pay the ransom. for the children kidnapped in state, the government is

talking about a negotiator. and when the government talks about a negotiator, most of the time thatis a negotiator, most of the time that is money exchanging hands or money being exchanged in return for the children —— kaduna state. that continues to be a troublesome trend going on in nigeria. forthe be a troublesome trend going on in nigeria. for the non— maths kidnapped cases you all think you're a lot where people just have to pay ransom. you're a lot where people 'ust have to pay ransom.�* you're a lot where people 'ust have to pay ransom. briefly, it has been _ have to pay ransom. briefly, it has been almost _ have to pay ransom. briefly, it has been almost ten _ have to pay ransom. briefly, it has been almost ten years - have to pay ransom. briefly, it has been almost ten years to i has been almost ten years to the days since the kidnapping of 300 girls from that school, in chibok. has anything changed since then? it in chibok. has anything changed since then?— since then? it has not improved. _ since then? it has not improved, it - since then? it has not improved, it is - since then? it has not| improved, it is worse. since then? it has not - improved, it is worse. we had a lot of initiatives and funding that went into that and it felt like a lot of funding went into black holes. no, as you've seen

now with these rethink kidnappings, in this state, across the country, there are more mass kidnappings and across all the states, it is all over the country now. it is all over the country now. it is a dimension that is absolutely scary. it is a nightmare. thank ou so scary. it is a nightmare. thank you so much — scary. it is a nightmare. thank you so much for— scary. it is a nightmare. thank you so much for your - you so much for your perspective. now to the crisis in haiti, where the country's most vulnerable people are suffering from an overwhelming surge of gang violence. on friday, gangs attacked at least three police stations in the capital, port—au prince, gunfire continued saturday, with reports of bodies piling up in the streets. it all comes after gangs broke thousands of inmates out of haiti's two largest prisons. the violence has led to a state of emergency and a nightly curfew,which has severly impacted the country's economy, causing shortages of food and water. the united nations says half of the country's more than 11

million people don't have enough to eat, and that 1.4 million people are starving. leaders in the region have called for an emergency meeting injamaica on monday. the delegations invited include the the united states, ambassador dan foote, who served as special envoy for haiti in 2021 following the assassination of then—presidentjovenel moise. how close is the government to completely losing control of the situation? it already is. haiti has been a failed state since the assassination. the us appointed de facto prime minister, that has the entire country including gangs calling for his resignation and has done nothing for the haitian people. the united states has held him in power. at this point, it is not a coup or a protest, it is a revolution. i think the haitians are really reaching out for the sovereignty they did not gain when they defeated

the french in 1804 for their independence because ever since then, international countries and white people have been making their governmental decisions for them and they never had a social contract between the people in their government. the vatican has released a statement explaining what the pope meant about his statements in ukraine. stated that they should have a courage with a white flag. the vatican said that by white flag he meant there should be a cessation of hostilities, not a surrender. the pope made the comments in an interview recorded last month with a swiss broadcaster before friday's latest offer by the turkish president to host a summit between ukraine and russia to end the war. translation:

russia to end the war. tuna/mom- russia to end the war. translation: the word negotiator _ translation: the word negotiator is _ translation: the word negotiator is a _ translation: the word | negotiator is a courageous translation: the word - negotiator is a courageous word when you a thing you are defeated and things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate. one may feel shame but how many dead—ball the war ended up with? one should negotiate in time and find a country that should be a mediator. other stories making _ should be a mediator. other stories making headlines, i should be a mediator. other. stories making headlines, joint forces have shot down dozens of drone in the red sea launch by suspected houthis. us central command says it poses an imminent threat to merchant vessels and warships and the houthis said they attacked an american commercial sheep and a number of warships and says it is targeting the ships of israel's and its allies in solidarity with gaza. the younger brother of princess diana has said he was sexually abused as a child. el spencer says he was targeted by a female member of staff at his boarding school. now 59, mr

spencer says the abuse happened when he was 11 and the school said it was sobering to learn of its experiences. the irish government has been defeated in its attempts to broaden the definition of family and altar language on women in the constitution. the prime minister admitted he fell to commence most voters voting in a referendum in friday and the first asked whether they should expand the word family to include relationships outside of marriage. the second would have removed references to women inside the home. boundaries were broken this week in the world of sailing. on the screen behind me right now is cole brauer — a 29—year—old who became the first american woman to sail around the world by herself. she completed the solo journey on thursday — a journey which spanned 130 days and 30,000 miles. thats about 48,200 kilometres. she started and finished at a coruna, spain —

coming in second place in the global solo challenge race despite suffering a rib injury midway through. brauer, a new york native, was the youngest sailor, and only woman, in the fleet of 16 boats competing in the challenge. and just days after making history she spoke with me about the experience. cole, thank you for taking the time to speak with us and welcome back to dry land. you sailed 30,000 miles around the globe, all by yourself! you are back now and you have had a little bit of time to reflect on this. can you believe you actually did that? it does not really feel real. getting onto land and seeing my friends and family and just way the they looked at me and everyone was crying. it was really beautiful but for me it felt like i had not been gone for very long. it felt very confusing of why they are looking at me so strange.

this competition you did, more than half of the competitors actually did not finish the race. was there a moment where you thought this is so difficult, i am not sure i will be able to do this? no. for sure, no. when we first started preparing for this race, the entire goal was to have enough spares, have enough food, enough tools to pretty much repair or bills —build anything that we really needed to do without stopping. if we are going to put all this money, time, energy, take people away from their families for months on end, to do this project we wanted to make sure we are very serious about it and so we had so much supplies on board that we really hoped that would be a last—ditch effort to have to stop.

you were the only woman in this race. how significant was the fact to you? i felt it was a little strange. we all know is a male—dominated sport but there are so many really amazing offshore sailors and i really think that now that women see this and see that this is what i have done, and one out of 16, that is a terrible percentage. we really need to get it better next time around. i hope that women in the offshore world or even not in the offshore world and mainstream media see this and go ok, well, she can do that, i can too. i know you documented a lot of this trip on your social media. if you go there there is just incredible pictures and videos. tell me about the response you have been getting because i know you have about 500,000 followers on instagram now. yeah, it was really shocking.

i really do not think sailing was going to get this much mainstream media coverage. it has been really cool. so many people, men and women, we have 5054 followers right now for men and women, the response is overwhelmingly positive. usually on social media to get some negativity and it is a mixed bag and it is overwhelmingly positive. i found this particular fact just crazy. at some point you were in such remote waters that the nearest human being to you was likely the astronauts up above in the international space station. what was it like to be so alone in the ocean and how do you make sure that you keep a healthy mental state during that? it was really good. i had starlink. this was the first time that starlink had gone

around the world. their customer service was fantastic. i would definitely use them again. it never really felt like i was completely alone because they always had my team on call and if i got sad or if i needed — i facetime my mother every single morning, that is so close, and the quality of that service was better than i have in this hotel room right now. i never felt alone and i think it is to be important that we keep going in the sailing world, trying to open this up because the ocean is so beautiful and i would like to continue to show it to the world. you have been backjust a few days now after 130 days at sea. was there anything you missed the most when you came back onto land? what was the first thing you did? the first thing i did?

i hugged my parents. i wanted a cappuccino, i wanted a croissant. a magnum of champagne. i miss the ocean. that is still the only time so far that i have really cried since i have been back on land and it was when i was asked what do you miss the most? i started remembering the smell of the ocean and how pure the ocean is and how clean it is and there are no cars. there is significantly less pollution. that is something that you cannot really buy, and the ocean and nature is so beautiful. i will miss that every single day until i get back out there. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello there. cloudy skies will remain a dominant feature with the weather story as we continue through the weekend. so mothering sunday, a rather grey start for many of us and there will be more in the way of rain around at times. now it really is quite a messy story, but we're still under this influence of low pressure, despite itjust sinking a little bit further south towards northern spain. the isobars open up, lighter winds across central and southern england. but this trailing weather front will introduce cloud and showery bits and pieces of rain. a relatively bright start across wales and south—west england. but the rain will tend to drift its way westwards as we go through the afternoon. so sunny spells and a few scattered showers, potentially, across cornwall, devon and parts of south wales. a line of more persistent rain moving its way slowly

eastwards, cloudier skies remaining behind. quite a lot of clouds to the east of the pennines, some showery outbreaks of rain moving into northern ireland and always along that east coast. it will stay cloudy, cool, breezy and wet at times. so that could have an impact once again on the feel of the weather — 6—8 degrees here. but further west where we may well see the best of the brightness, 11—12 celsius. now, as we move out of sunday into monday, that low pressure is going to drift its way over into central europe. the trailing weather front still producing quite a lot of cloud and a few bits and pieces of showery rain across parts of london and towards kent first thing on monday morning. so monday, again, a grey start. we've got this easterly feed continuing to push in cloud and maybe some outbreaks of light drizzle along exposed east coasts. so sheltered western areas potentially seeing the best of any brighter weather. and that's where we'll see the best of the warmth.

10—11 degrees, always cooler on those exposed coasts where the cloud and the drizzle may remain all day. now, as we move through the middle part of the week, there is another weather front. but on the whole, a quieter story until we get to the end of the week where we could see weather fronts starting to push in from the west, but the wind direction will change to more of a southwesterly and we will tend to see it turning a little milder. so it is going to stay pretty messy throughout the week, a greater chance of seeing more persistent rain by the end of the working week, butjust that little bit milder.

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. this week — shiona is in barcelona, which is full of the newest mobile tech, but where the wearables know too much. how old is spencer kelly from the bbc? spencer kelly's - currently 50 years old. blatant lies! to be fair, he does look good for his age!

you wish!