a ship carrying 200 tonnes of aid to gaza prepares to leave cyprus, after securing all necessary permits to travel. victims of islamist terror attacks in the uk urge politicians to stop suggesting all british muslims are extremists. portugal's centre—right democratic alliance is poised to finish first in the country's parliamentary election — just short of an outright majority — according to exit polls. and the biggest night on the entertainment calendar is finally upon us. it is the oscars. will oppenheimer win big? hello. i'm azadeh moshiri. welcome to the programme. an aid ship is about to set sail to gaza from cyprus,

as concerns continue over the humanitarian situation in the territory. the united nations says more than half a million people are one step away from famine. aid going into gaza is being held up because of intense security checks at two southern land crossings. air drops are helping palestinians. these, some of 10,000 meals that landed in the northern part of the territory today. but so much more is needed, and now this charity ship — with 200 tonnes of food — is part of the effort, on its way from cyprus. quentin sommerville is in the port city of larnaca. he sent this report. it's a drop in the ocean of gaza's need, but this is the first direct aid shipment by sea about to leave cyprus. the spanish ship the open arms, seen here in larnaca port, getting ready to set sail. it has a long journey ahead of it.

the barge has 200 tonnes of desperately needed essentials — rice, flour and pre—prepared meals. this has taken months in planning. the cargo was loaded all weekend. the final security clearances from israel came through in the last few hours. well, we've done truckloads of food through the rafah crossing. we've done airdrops with thejordanian army. this is the next step into providing food aid into gaza. but this is only a small breakthrough. israel's offensive has led to a collapse in civil order. few aid organisations dare risk delivering to the north. gaza is on the brink of famine. world central kitchen, the us charity, provided the speeded—up footage of preparations under way to build a pier to receive the aid. gaza has no functioning port. and israel will be watching. this aid will be allowed to pass, says its defense minister.

translation: we will bring the aid through a maritime route that is coordinated with the us on the security and humanitarian side with the assistance of the emirates on the civil side and appropriate inspection in cyprus. we will bring goods imported by international organisations with american assistance. at the operations centre here in cyprus, they're mapping its route. it would normally take 15 hours, but the vessels involved and the cargo means it could take as long as two days. 50 starting point is larnaca port, and the landing zone is somewhere in the gaza strip. the open arms is on a journey that should be unnecessary. all the food that the hungry of gaza need is right by their border in israel and egypt. but the politics of war keeps it from their grasp. quentin somerville, bbc news, larnaca.

what is latest where you are in larnaca? — what is latest where you are in larnaca? ~ ., ., larnaca? well, we are in the “oint rescue coordination * larnaca? well, we are in the “oint rescue coordination centre h larnaca? well, we are in the joint rescue coordination centre where| rescue coordination centre where they are monitoring the ship's departure and they will be monitoring its progress. at this screen, the open arms is still import with its barge attached. and there is a live thermal camera beaming images and we can see the ship. they will be monitoring from here the progress that the ship is making. it normally takes about 15 hours for a ship to make it from larnaca to gaza, but because of the vessels involved and the cargo, they expect this could take as long as two days, but they will be tracking it all the way from this operation centre. if this mission is a success and they hope it will be, many more are expected to follow. find and they hope it will be, many more are expected to follow.— are expected to follow. and you mentioned _ are expected to follow. and you mentioned a — are expected to follow. and you mentioned a new _ are expected to follow. and you mentioned a new report - are expected to follow. and you mentioned a new report that . are expected to follow. and you i mentioned a new report that there are expected to follow. and you - mentioned a new report that there is no functioning port right now. have you heard anything else from that operation room about how this is

supposed to work when it gets there? well, that then hands over to the other side, to the israeli side. and we know that the charity involved, world central kitchen, has been making preparations on the ground in gaza. we have seen heavy lifting equipment and heavy machinery moving huge chunks of rubble and rock to prepare a jetty and a pier that will allow the aid to be transferred from the sea on shore. that is really the tricky bit after that because as we know, in gaza and particularly northern gaza, people are really suffering. they are in desperate need and desperate conditions. and those people need to stay on short while all that aid is coming ashore. so the real challenge will happen after the open arms has made that large journey and getting that aid onshore and distributing it across

gaza to the most in need people. thank you so much for monitoring that. quentin somerville. meanwhile, sweden and canada have said they will resume aid payments to the un agency for palestinian refugees, unrwa. they were among 16 countries that paused funds after israel accused at least 12 unwra employees of involvement in the brutal attacks by hamas on the 7th of october. unrwa is the biggest un agency operating in gaza. it not only provides healthcare, education and other humanitarian aid, but also employs about 13,000 people in gaza. the un says it is still investigating. earlier, i spoke to scott anderson, deputy director of unrwa affairs in gaza. the investigation is ongoing. it's being conducted by the office of internal oversight services from the un headquarters in new york. it's the highest investigative body within the united nations, and as unwra, we have no input or control over the investigation. so, like everyone else, we're just merely waiting for the outcome and hope that

will come soon. and it's my understanding that unwra has agreed to make some changes, to make some checks on its staff and its finances, in order for donors like sweden, for example, to start resuming its payments. is there any more you can tell us about some of those changes? well, i'd say every donor has different requirements based on their national law, and we do our best to adhere to those at all times. and then for our staff, we already do a lot. we do reference checks, we do background checks for all our staff. and in addition to that, we share our staff list with host countries, including israel, every year. and the last time we'd shared the list for staff employed in gaza or in west bank was in early—2023. and we've never heard from israel or any of the other hosts about the status of any of our staff having ties that would be contrary to un values. right, but in this case, you have now and an investigation has been launched, and that's why these countries —

some of your largest donors, 16 in total — pulled some of their funding. philip lazzarini, at the time — the head of unwra — said that unwra was close to death after these payments had been suspended. is that still the case? well, i'd say we're not close to death, but probably on life support would be a better way to say it. thankfully, we had donors such as the european union and now sweden, canada, united arab emirates that have stepped up and sent additional money. there is an increase in funding from spain recently. so many donors have really stepped up and provided additionalfunding. that doesn't mean we're out of the woods. there's still a lot of work that we have to do, but the funding situation looks better, which is very important for the people we're taking care of in gaza, and the entire population of 2.2 million that's in need, and we're most critically concerned with 300,000 people in the north, where there are pockets of starvation. well, so you bring up the north, and that is one of the problems, isn't it, getting that aid to the 300,000 people

it's estimated up north? what do you believe needs to be done to make those land routes more viable for aid groups? do you believe aid groups like unwra, but also others like the world food programme, are receiving the adequate amount of security that they need? i think that it will require all of us working together — unwra, wfp, unicef, who, unfpa — to fix the problem that's been created by the lack of supplies flowing to the north. i think the security environment certainly has degraded across unwra, to the point that it's become dangerous in some cases for the convoys to move. and i think what would really change the approach of the entire humanitarian community is if there was an opening from israel into the north of gaza where we could transit supplies directly. there's a port in ashdod, not even 50 kilometres away. we could move food in very quickly, and i think we could begin to address the problem of malnutrition and pockets of starvation that exist.

that was scott anderson, from unrwa. more than 50 victims of islamist—inspired terror attacks in the uk have signed a joint letter warning against what they describe as "anti—muslim hatred". they say it's the "height of irresponsibility" for some politicians to equate extremists with "the vast majority of british muslims, who deplore such violence". their letter comes as the government prepares to set out a new definition of what "extremism" is. damian grammaticas reports. 58 signatories who have survived terror attacks by islamist extremists, lost children, parents or partners. hamas's attack on israel, 7/7 in london, and many more. they say it's important to distinguish between the extremists and the vast majority of british muslims, who deplore such violence, but warn recently, some politicians and others have been facilitating anti—muslim hate. one of those who signed, who lost his partner elaine mciver in the manchester arena attack, is paul price.

everything is to divide and people wanting to choose sides, and thatjust leads to hatred, people being entrenched in eitherside, and ijust... you know, i thought it was important for someone like me to put an open letter to mps to say, you know, stop using this inflammatory language. crowd chants: ceasefire now! ceasefire now! this weekend, tens of thousands were out in london again. the signatories to the letter say it's important that being muslim is not equated with being an extremist. mr anderson... lee anderson was suspended as a conservative mp last month. commenting on the marches, he said islamists had got control of london and its mayor, sadiq khan. but the government is concerned about extremist elements within such protests who makejewish communities and others feel unsafe, so it's taking action.

there are some people, sadly, who hold views that are contrary to the values that we hold as a country, and we should not allow those views to percolate through society. this week, the government will unveil a new definition of what constitutes extremism, to highlight groups that threaten democracy. they'll be banned from getting government funding. but civil liberties campaigners say it could be far too broad and backfire. and essentially, this new definition scoops up a number of community groups and charities that it might not be intending to scoop up. ministers say free speech and religious belief will be protected. labour says it's important extremism is defined and hatred tackled, wherever it's found. damian grammaticas, bbc news. a man and a woman have been arrested in connection with an investigation into a funeral director. a 46—year—old man and a 23—year—old woman were arrested after reports of concern for the care of the deceased, according

to humberside police. the police said it removed 3a bodies from legacy independent funeral directors and took them to the mortuary in hull. our reporter, yunus mulla, is in hull. what is the latest? you can see a olice what is the latest? you can see a police presence — what is the latest? you can see a police presence still _ what is the latest? you can see a police presence still outside - what is the latest? you can see a police presence still outside the l police presence still outside the legacy independent funeral directors here in hull as part of this investigation into the care of the deceased on these premises. what humberside police are saying is that they have moved the bodies of 3a people to a mortuary where formal identification will take place. now, legacy independent funeral directors has a number of premises in this area, two in hull and one also in beverley. all of those businesses remain sealed off tonight as police continued their investigations. they were called in after reports of

concern for the care of the deceased on these premises. as part of that investigation, they also said they have set up a dedicated phone line on friday. so far, they have received about 350 calls to that phone line. police say they will call each and every person as soon as possible. as part of their investigation, they have arrested two individuals, a 23—year—old woman under 46—year—old man. they were arrested on suspicion of the prevention of a lawful and decent burial. but also, fraud by false representation and fraud by abuse of position. we understand both individuals remain in custody tonight. thanks so much for that update. and there is more on the bbc news website and app. in the netherlands, hundreds of protesters have demonstrated against israel's actions in gaza, as the israeli president attended the inauguration of a museum commemorating the holocaust. some of those protesting

about isaac herzog's visit were themselves jewish. they chanted "never again is now!", accusing him of complicity in a genocide — an allegation he and the israeli government strongly reject. the human rights group amnesty international put up detour signs around the museum, directing mr herzog to the international court ofjustice in the hague. let's get more on president herzog's visit to amsterdam. our europe regional editor, danny aeberhard is following the story. well, he's representing the israeli state at the opening of this extremely important museum. the dutch national holocaust museum is the first and only museum in the netherlands to concentrate exclusively on the fate of dutch jews. it also obviously looks at other victims of the holocaust, such as the roma, but the vast majority of people who died were jewish. 102,000 dutchjews were killed during the second world war. that's about three quarters of the population.

it was a very well—integrated population at the time, and it's the worst percentage for any nazi—occupied country in western europe. so, you know, some terrible tales of killings, also some tales of survival as well, and it's about educating people never to forget. president biden and donald trump are expected to clinch their parties' nominations this week for november's presidential election, and both men have been campaigning in the swing state of georgia. joe biden won it four years ago, but with a majority of fewer than 12,000. now there's a fear among democrats that african americans may be turning away from the party. gary o'donoghue has more from atlanta. victory here in november could turn on just how many african americans decide to vote. are you going to vote this upcoming election?

i wasn't looking at doing it. wasn't? 0k. it's an attitude voting advocates are trying to combat and they're finding frustration with the democrats on the doorstep. the republicans, they can say one thing and people will catch on to it, you know, and it is sticks. you know, and it sticks. and so i want us to have more one—liners. i do want more aggression. 88% of black voters supported joe biden in 2020. but some surveys show that as many as one in four could now back donald trump, with the cost of living a big factor. with eight months to go until the election, this race is going to be a long one, and few seem excited about the trump—biden rematch. a lot of people in my community kind of feel like we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. biden is a good president. he's not a great president. and a lot of us are concerned about his age. look, i'm not a young guy. that's no secret. the biden campaign has sought

to address the age issue head—on. here in georgia, his focus was squarely on voters of colour. and we're here to say a simple thank you. thank you. 2020 was the first time in more than a quarter of a century that democrats won the presidential election here. and with more than a third of georgia's voters coming from the african—american community, joe biden knows he needs that support to win and cannot take it for granted. 70 miles up the road, it was a very different looking crowd for donald trump, who's facing 13 criminal charges in the state connected to the last election. his message to black voters was blunt. i did more for black people than any president other than abraham lincoln. it's true. the road to the white house runs through battlegrounds like georgia. and joe biden will take comfort that despite doubts, some african americans still want to be seen with him.

gary o'donoghue, bbc news, atlanta. the first exit polls from portugal's snap general election suggest no party is set for an outright majority. the centre—right democratic alliance appears to have the biggest share of the vote — projected to be between 27 and 33%. the far—right chega party is set for as much as 21% of the vote — much larger than at previous votes — although other leading parties have ruled out forming a coalition with them. seven people, including two children, have been reported missing after a violent storm in the south of france. rising waters are believed to have swept away cars trapped on flooded bridges. only the mother out of a family of four escaped from one vehicle as it fell into the gardon river, north of the city of nimes. rescue crews and helicopters were dispatched to help with search efforts. let's bring you these pictures from germany. hundreds of people have have been marching outside

berlin to protest against tesla. the us carmaker wants to expand its plant there. but the plans have met with fierce resistance, due to concerns about the deforestation required for the expansion and the potential impact on local water supply. well, it's hollywood's big night, the oscars. things are livening up in los angeles, as stars start hitting the red carpet. we have seen some big ones so far tonight. christopher nolan's oppenheimer, which has 13 nominations, is expected to sweep up many of the top awards. then there's barbie — last year's biggest hit at the box office — which has eight nods. our culture editor, katie razzall, has the latest from hollywood. a last chance to rehearse, a few final adjustments for the day that hollywood prepares for all year. this red carpet will soon

be full of the a—list, stars vying for the highest accolade the movie business has to offer. and the sense here in hollywood is that this year belongs to director christopher nolan. his oppenheimer biopic looks set to win best picture, best director, best actor for cillian murphy, and best supporting actor for robert downeer. .. can you explain quantum mechanics to me? ..but not best supporting actress for britain's emily blunt. i heard you got stuck with baby—sitting duties... it would be a huge oscars shock if the holdovers' da'vinejoy randolph didn't win that one. the only acting race that feels uncertain is best actress. and here, history could be made. if lily gladstone triumphs for killers of the flower moon, she'll be the first native american to win an acting oscar. she's an experiment! but she could lose out to emma stone for her tour de force in frankenstein—esque poor things. it's not all red carpet glamour for oscar nominees. jonny byrne is also collecting sound

for a new film while he's here. it's the background sounds, the unusual things that you only get if you go out and collect them in the real world. those are the things that give credibility to a film soundscape. byrne created the haunting sound in the zone of interest. you never see what's happening in auschwitz, what you hear tells the horrors. he also worked on poor things. i've worked on films that have come to the oscars, but never with this much buzz around them. and obviously, to be here with two films is pretty extraordinary. so, yeah, it's quite wild. here we are, the oscars. with the academy trying to lure back viewers, oscars hostjimmy kimmel made a parody film with the barbie cast. the biggest film of the year is unlikely to be taking many oscars back to the barbie dreamhouse, but what it's done for cinema is something to shout about. screaming katie razzall, bbc news, los angeles.

we have some live pictures in la and you can see the stars are arriving now. we have been watching them keenly in the last few hours. the stars are of course waiting for the ceremony to begin. and one of the big, big films of the year is oppenheimer with 13 nominations, and we expect them and it start cillian murphy to come out with quite a few awards. —— and its staff. poor things. maestro. anatomy of a fall also. jimmy kimmel is the host, there has typically been a lot of controversy around the hosts. i have to pause, that is ryan gosling who is due to perform i'm just kenningham a mark ronson song, for barbie. i don't think that is his outfit for the night —— i'm just ken. he will perform with dozens of performers, one of the biggest acts

of the night. and he did win awards for his song. the critics are not necessarily tipping him to win tonight, but he is a big focal point, starring him barbie, one of the fixed —— big box office hits of the fixed —— big box office hits of the year. and that is unusual for the year. and that is unusual for the oscars to have so many box office hits receive so many nods and thatis office hits receive so many nods and that is not a bad thing for the oscars, it means a lot of the films around the cultural conversation will be up for awards, making it even more exciting. our correspondent emma vardyjoins us now from the red carpet. thanks so much. i have to say, it looks pretty glamorous at that vanity fair party behind you. i glamorous at that vanity fair party behind vom— behind you. i tell you what, it is the hottest _ behind you. i tell you what, it is the hottest ticket _ behind you. i tell you what, it is the hottest ticket in _ behind you. i tell you what, it is the hottest ticket in town. - behind you. i tell you what, it is the hottest ticket in town. you | the hottest ticket in town. you might think you want to be inside the oscars, but this is the place to be, really. after all the speeches are done and the awards have been

handed out, people come here and they can relax and let their hair down. this is where they come to have a good time. they travel from hollywood to beverley hills and then it is down another red carpet, this one, and into the party where there will be cocktails, dancing, burgers, all sorts of things. it is notjust the winners who get invited, it is also pop stars and sometimes royalty, politicians, fashion icons, they all get to party under one roof. it is quite a crowd. the vanity fair party has been going for 30 years so it is an iconic night and we will watch to see who is coming down here celebrating later. i am notjealous at all, of course not! but what is it you are looking forward to the most? we saw ryan gosling who will be performing. we have some excitement around who will win best actor. bradley cooper is on the red carpet, we are showing him right now, there he is, walking and waiting for his shot. what are you looking forward to most? i mean,

there is a new _ looking forward to most? i mean, there is a new really _ looking forward to most? i mean, there is a new really interesting i looking forward to most? i mean, there is a new really interesting ifj there is a new really interesting if for films. there is a new really interesting if forfilms. we're there is a new really interesting if for films. we're told there is a new really interesting if forfilms. we're told on there is a new really interesting if for films. we're told on the edge of tick tack and mobile phones we have short attention spans. but look at oppenheimer, kills of a flour mill, three hours longer —— on the edge of tiktok. perhaps we don't have such short attention spans after all. —— killers of the flower main. i look forward to seeing the battle between christopher nolan and martin scorsese, the battle of big directors, interesting to see who comes away with the most awards. to make you less jealous, comes away with the most awards. to make you lessjealous, i comes away with the most awards. to make you less jealous, i will have to stand in high heels for ten hours so give me a bit of sympathy. fir so give me a bit of sympathy. or write, take a break now because the programme is about to end. have fun. —— all right. there is more from the our correspondent on the bbc news website and the app. tom brake from talking movies is there. again, i am notjealous. please do stay with us on bbc news.

hello there. march so far has been quieter, but colder and the wind direction has played its part. we've seen an easily wind so far, and in the last few days, it's brought a lot of cloud in off the north sea and temperatures struggled along those exposed coasts — only around six degrees. but the story is set to change as we go through the next few days. with the wind direction swinging round to a south—westerly, temperatures may well peak into the mid—teens, but there's still a chance of seeing a return to some showers or longer spells of rain. monday, however, will be a quieter story. this weakening weather front still producing a cloud thick enough for some drizzle. first thing monday morning, a lot of cloud and some fog around as well. early on. some showery outbreaks of rain moving out to the far north of northern ireland, into the far north—west of scotland. and still, the wind direction coming from an easterly.

here, always that little bit cooler, eight or nine degrees. but out to the west, with the best of any brightness, we could see temperatures peaking at 12 celsius. now, as we move into tuesday, this weather front could bring some showery outbreaks of rain into wales and southern england for a time. it's a really messy story. on tuesday. there'll be outbreaks of rain drifting their way steadily, drizzle as well a little bit further north. but the far north of scotland could cling onto some sunshine here, not quite as warm, around 6 to 8 degrees, but further south, we'll see temperatures peaking at 13 celsius. low pressure will sit to the north by the middle part of the week and this trailing cold front will introduce the risk of more rain. but the south—westerly winds starting to pick up the milder air moving in. so despite a lot of cloud around potentially on wednesday, there should be some breaks in the cloud. temperatures will start to rise. highs of 16 degrees. brighter, with a few scattered showers, into the far north and west. so as we move into thursday

and friday, weatherfronts will continue to bring the threat of showers or longer spells of rain. and some of the showers could be heavy and thundery, but the wind direction will continue to push this milder air across the country. so temperatures on the rise, particularly in comparison to march so far. so, yes, there is a risk of some showers or some heavier rain from time to time, but it will be mild, with highs of 16 celsius.