that are a �*cause for concern' and could face restrictions. hundreds of people have been rescued from a scam centre in the philippines that made them pose as lovers online. elon musk�*s spacex mission is hailed a success, even though the starship rocket is lost on re—entry. hello and welcome to the programme. we start with the israel—gaza war. the leader of the us senate has made the strongest criticism yet — by a senior american official — of benjamin netanyahu's handling of the war in gaza. chuck schumer said israel should hold new elections — and suggested mr netanyahu risked making his country a " pariah. "

republicans have already hit back at his words. schumer is one of america's highest ranking jewish politicians — and a close ally of president biden. here's some of what he had to say in the senate. the fourth major obstacle to peace is israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who has all too frequently bowed to the demands of extremists like ministers smotrich and ben—gvir and the settlers in the west bank. the state department has responded to chuck schumer�*s comments, stressing they are not a reflection of president biden�*s position. obviously, congress is an independent branch of government. i think the government of israel understands quite well how the us government works. they interact frequently, notjust with members of the executive branch, but with members of congress, including senator schumer, who has travelled to israel a number of times over the years. and i'm sure they fully understand that he speaks for himself. he's obviously someone we are in close contact with, but not a statement

from the executive branch. mr netanyahu's likud party has responded to senator schumer, saying �*israel is not a banana republic�*, but a �*proud democracy�* that elected its prime minister. it comes as israel has announced plans to push ahead with an offensive against hamas in rafah city. the israeli military wants to move people out of rafah and into what they�*re calling humanitarian islands in the middle of the gaza strip. it�*s not clear yet what these islands will actually look like, or how they�*ll operate. benjamin netanyahu says he won�*t bow to international pressure. translation: there are international pressures l to prevent us from entering rafah and completing the work as prime minister of israel. i push away these pressures. we have been doing this successfully for five months already. this is record time in the history of israel's wars. i will continue to push away the pressures. we will enter rafah. earlier i spoke to our correspondent will vernon in washington. well, washington has

been very clear in its position on rafah. the us does not support an israeli military offensive in that southern gaza city without proper planning to protect civilians. and there�*s been an increasing note of frustration, progressively more critical comments coming from president biden and other us, us and other us officials over israel in recent weeks and months. president biden recently said that he thought that the israeli military offensive in gaza was over the top. and just in the last the course of the last week or so, the us has begun dropping aid in by air into gaza and also beginning a mission to construct a temporary pier to bring more humanitarian aid in by sea. those steps, i think, aiming to push the israelis into letting more humanitarian aid into gaza. this is something the us has been calling for for many months now. but many democrats want the biden administration to go

even further than that, to put more pressure on the israelis, perhaps by attaching conditions to the supply of military aid or by withholding it altogether to ensure that the israelis comply with international law, take further steps to protect civilians and to allow more humanitarian aid into gaza. the israelis, of course, deny all allegations of any violations of international law. so how significant then are chuck schumer�*s comments about leadership in israel, particularly pointing to benjamin netanyahu being an obstruction for peace? well, steve, ithink it�*s difficult to overstate just how electrifying these comments were. these could be a watermark in us israeli relations. chuck schumer, this is a man who is the highest ranking jewish politician in the us. over the course of the last 50 years. mr schumer has been a great friend

of israel in washington. so for him to make comments like these and we heard them there, didn�*t we? "netanyahu�*s lost his way. his coalition no longer fits the needs of israel. new elections are necessary." i mean, really critical stuff. and i think this is a sign, again, of the growing frustration in the corridors of power here in washington at the high death toll in gaza, and with the israeli authorities apparent unwillingness authorities�* apparent unwillingness to listen to us pleas to let more aid into gaza and to comply with international law. but in terms of the reaction to mr schumer�*s words, many democrats were absolutely delighted when he said this speech. some of them, of course, are very unhappy with the situation in gaza and unhappy with the biden administration�*s stance on israel and its support for the israeli government. one democratic senator apparently got up and hugged chuck schumer after he made this speech. but in terms of the republicans, they are, of course, traditionally the more pro—israel party here in the us, many of them not

happy at all at these words. the leader of the republicans in the senate, mitch mcconnell, he called this mr schumer�*s speech grotesque and hypocritical, and he suggested it amounted to foreign interference in the internal affairs of a democratic ally. and that was a sentiment we heard repeated by many others, including, of course, the israelis themselves. the uk government has released a new definition of extremism, which ministers say is to stop the promotion of hatred, violence and intolerance. the new terminology will be used to assess whether groups are eligible, to receive public funding or support. critics though, argue that freedom of speech could be affected. here�*s damian grammaticas. they chant. conflict in the middle east driving polarisation here. the government says it�*s not seeking to stop protests or curb free speech, but it needs to deal with groups whose actions, while lawful, are a threat to democracy. so this isn�*t a new law. but michael gove will have

the power to label groups extremist, cut them off from contact with government or any funding. our definition will not affect gender critical campaigners, those with conservative religious beliefs, trans activists, environmental protest groups. but the government cannot be in a position where, unwittingly or not, we sponsor, subsidise or support in any way organisations and individuals opposed to the freedoms we hold dear. we need much stronger action to tackle the corrosive forms of hatred that devastate lives and corrode communities. but today's statement does not go far enough. and regardless of how workable and effective this new definition and centre of excellence is, this announcement will not be enough. the new definition, like the old one, says extremists aim to undermine or replace the uk�*s system of democracy or destroy fundamental rights and freedoms. what it adds is that they promote an ideology based on violence or intolerance, and it can be by creating a permissive environment for others. mr gove named two groups

he said promote neo—nazi ideology and three, he claimed, have islamist views. he�*ll assess them to see if action is needed. i fear that the definition, though well—intentioned, lands in no man�*s land. not going far enough to tackle the real extremists. not doing enough to protect the non extremists, those people who are simply expressing contrarian views. one, mend, says its aim is to advocate for muslim communities and tackle islamophobia. are you extremists? we�*re not at all. we�*ve worked with police forces. with muslim organisations, non—muslim organisations. and we definitely don�*t fall into the new extremism definition that michael gove has put forward. so if he puts you on this list, you will take him to court? we will. we�*ve already sent legal notice to his department. in north london this evening, a multi—faith gathering to break today�*s ramadan fast.

here they say the government hasn�*t done enough to consult with communities who have a stake in this. it will divide because it won�*t create a sense in which everyone is being treated equal. to impose something in this way just feels to me to be the, not the right way to do it, especially at the moment. the government says this is about protecting communities, but controversial, too, is that it�*ll take just the decision of a minister to put a group on the list, but an expensive high court challenge to get off it. david grammaticas, bbc news in north london. polls are now open in the far east of russia for the presidential election, which will stretch over three days. the result is not in doubt — critics say the poll is neither free norfair and it�*s designed to hand vladimir putin a fifth term in office. our russia editor steve rosenberg reports from a town just outside moscow. these days, when vladimir ovchinnikov paints russia, the result is very dark.

from a mountain of skulls and a dictator�*s ambition to this — russia�*s war in ukraine likened to stalin�*s terror. the 86—year—old artist had taken his anti—war message onto the streets, graffitiing "stop the war". all these paintings were scrubbed out, and vladimir fined twice for discrediting the russian army. but he continues to speak out against the invasion of ukraine. translation: i believe that this is a crime - against the territorial integrity of a neighbouring country. it is a crime. and if i keep silent about it, it is like i am condoning it. last month, after the death in prison of opposition leader alexei navalny, vladimir went into town. on this memorial to victims of political repression, he painted mr navalny�*s face.

it was quickly erased. but vladimir has created this navalny portrait at home. translation: where is russia heading? . some say we are on our way to more repression, totalitarianism, and to full dictatorship. but there is another picture of russia, one much brighter. the official version. the picture the authorities want russians to see is not of a country that is aggressive abroad and repressive at home, but a russia with a glorious past and a bright future, of heroes and patriots who not only love their country, but also their current president. instead of dictatorship, it�*s devotion to the leader on state tv and an action man president flying high and on course for an election landslide.

mind you, vladimir putin faces no serious challenge. his fiercest critics are in exile or in prison, or in alexei navalny�*s case, dead. but he is on the ballot. although, when i caught up with the communist candidate, nikolay kharitonov, he praised putin. "vladimir putin," he said, "is consolidating the nation for victory." and back in borovsk, many seem to believe that. "i hope putin wins," lyudmila says, "although we do have talented leaders who could run the country in an emergency." a putin—less russia means an emergency. now, that is a picture of the kremlin will be more than happy to see painted. steve rosenberg, bbc news, borovsk.

around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let�*s take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. rishi sunak has ruled out holding a general election on the 2nd of may, which would coincide with local elections. mr sunak must hold a general election by january next year. he�*s previously said his working assumption" is that it will take place in the second half of 202a. an raf plane carrying the defence secretary, grant shapps, had it gps signal brieflyjammed while flying near russian territory on wednesday. it�*s understood the incident happened while the aircraft was travelling both to and from poland. a security source has told the bbc the safety of the plane was never threatened. a 17—year—old boy has admitted killing a schoolgirl, who was stabbed at a bus stop in south london last september. elianne andam, who was 15, was attacked on her way to school. at the old bailey, the teenager, pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murder. the plea was not accepted

by prosecutors, and he�*ll stand trial in november. you�*re live with bbc news. elon musk�*s space x company has completed a third test of a rocket in space as part of its efforts to make a reusable craft for taking people to the moon. the starship rocket broke up as it headed back to earth — but that hasn�*t stopped the company to declare the mission a success. our science correspondent pallab ghosh reports. new objectives that�*ll eventually get us to that glorious, rapid, reusable future... twice before, starship blew up just minutes after launch. was this going to be third time lucky? so far, so good. we are feeling the rumble. we are seeing 33 out of 33 raptor engines ignited. and now the critical part, where it blew up before — the successful separation of the upper

and lower sections. ok, we got a starship on its way to space and a booster on the way back to the gulf. oh, man, i need a moment to pick myjaw up from - the floor because these views are just stunning. _ and here�*s a view of the lower section falling back to earth. but then, communication is lost. and acquisition of signal, we�*ll see if we can get some other video... but back in space, it�*s all going fine, and the upper section begins reentry into the earth�*s atmosphere. this is where the earth�*s atmosphere is doing the work to slow us down. its heat shield red—hot, until its signal is lost. again, this is the furthest and fastest that _ starship has ever flown. but overall, it�*s been a good day for the flight team. looks like success today. they haven't managed to bring the booster back,

but that's, i think, a readily solvable problem with a few more trials. and it looks like the starship activities in orbit have gone very well. things keep going wrong because spacex is testing brand—new technologies, but each time, they get a little bit further. starship is absolutely enormous. it�*s 120 metres tall — that�*s nearly 400 feet. the rocket has two main parts. at the bottom is the super—heavy booster, which is incredibly powerful with its 33 engines. on top is a spacecraft, which can carry cargo or a crew of an astonishing 100 people. and what makes it really special is that in theory, both parts are reusable. the eventual aim is to build a spacecraft able to send astronauts back to the moon... ..and maybe one day take them to mars. pallab ghosh, bbc news.

hundreds of people have been rescued from a scam centre in the philippines that made them pose as lovers online. police said they raided the centre on thursday and rescued 383 filipinos, 202 chinese and 73 other foreign nationals. the centre was apparently masquerading as an online gambling firm. south east asia has become a hub for scam centres where the scammers themselves are often trapped and forced into criminal activity. troy gochenour is an investigator at gaso — global anti—scam organisation. he explained how the schemes, known as "pig butchering" scams work. try to get a hold of people on messaging apps or the random wrong number texts to your phone. and their goal is to

start a conversation with you and if possible try to build an online relationship, perhaps a romantic relationship. m0??? online relationship, perhaps a romantic relationship. now we understand — romantic relationship. now we understand it _ romantic relationship. now we understand it that _ romantic relationship. now we understand it that some - romantic relationship. now we understand it that some of - romantic relationship. now we j understand it that some of the scammers themselves are victims of scams, how did they end up in these centres, and how vulnerable are they once they are there? i vulnerable are they once they are there?— are there? i forgot to add, once they _ are there? i forgot to add, once they do _ are there? i forgot to add, once they do that, - are there? i forgot to add, once they do that, their i are there? i forgot to add, l once they do that, their goal is to lure you into buying crypto currency and investing it in their fake platform. crypto currency and investing it in theirfake platform. some of the people who do this are trafficked, there are fake job advertisements placed injob boards are around the world, enticing people to come to what is basically a fake job, where they are then, their passports are confiscated, identities are confiscated, their cell phones, they are are then sent to scam compounds in cambodia, me and mark, laos, other places. and sometimes they choose to go there, unfortunately. this scam is global and it�*s a scourge to

our world. is global and it's a scourge to our world-— our world. and once they are there, our world. and once they are there. they _ our world. and once they are there, they are _ our world. and once they are there, they are sort - our world. and once they are there, they are sort of- our world. and once they are i there, they are sort of coerced into this?— into this? are they threatened with violence? _ into this? are they threatened with violence? that _ into this? are they threatened with violence? that is - with violence? that is absolutely the case. they do not... talk to enough people, or if they do not scam enough money, they can be forced to do anything from squats or push—ups to running laps, all the way to electric shocks, beatings, and perhaps worse. 50 beatings, and perhaps worse. so tell us, then, what are some of the telltale signs that some people should be keeping in mind when they�*re interacting online so they don�*t fall prey to be sorts of scams. if online so they don't fall prey to be sorts of scams.- to be sorts of scams. if you are getting. _ to be sorts of scams. if you are getting. if _ to be sorts of scams. if you are getting, if somebody i to be sorts of scams. if you - are getting, if somebody online is trying to get a hold of you and you don�*t know them, you need to be immediately suspicious. particularly, watch out for the wrong number texts into your telephone on your cell phone. if you are talking to somebody online and they send you a picture of an attractive male or female and they start talking about crypto

currency, wanting to lure you into a platform that you�*ve never seen before, you need to be very, very suspicious. understand that when they start to ask people questions about their lives, they are doing this so that they can manipulate you. the stories that they tell her all fake, the numbers on their platforms when they tell you they�*re making all kinds of money, that�*s all fake as well. find that's all fake as well. and how are — that's all fake as well. and how are authorities - that's all fake as well. and how are authorities looking to break up the scams, then, what do they need to be doing? the most important _ do they need to be doing? tue: most important thing do they need to be doing? tte: most important thing that somebody can do if they fall victim to a scam is report immediately. the money moves so fast that unfortunately most victims cannot get their funds back. so if the thing is to report immediately and also understand that they are not alone. this scam has ensnared hundreds of thousands of people around the world. there�*ve been billions of dollars lost to the scam, so folks out there are not alone. we at the global

anti—scam organisation understand this, most of us are victims ourselves. we tried to give the victims support that they need and also to tell them where to go to at least try to get their funds back. let�*s take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the us ambassador to hungary has accused prime minister viktor orban of unhinged anti—american messaging. david pressman said mr orban�*s �*close and expanding�* relationship with vladimir putin and russia was a security concern that couldn�*t be ignored. while budapest opposes russia�*s invasion of ukraine, orban refuses to send weapons to kyiv and criticises eu sanctions against russia. france�*s lower house of parliament has approved a bill designed to make it less attractive for people to buy what�*s known as fast fashion. the measures include taxes on low—cost items, particularly from china. if the senate approves the law, the government says france will become the first country to tackle the environmental

problems caused by the flood of cheap imported clothes. one ofjamaica�*s most popular musicans, vybz kartel, has won an appeal against his conviction for murdering an associate more than a decade ago. the a8—year—old, who has worked with the likes ofjay—z and rihanna, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014. from 1920s starlets, to the supermodels of the 90s, the fashion bible, british vogue has seen it all. now, the magazine has a new boss, chioma nadi, replacing edward enninful, to be become the first ever black woman to sit in the editor�*s chair. noor nanji has been to meet her. style, famous faces, outlandish outfits. for decades, vogue and its editors have informed us of the biggest fashion trends. now the british magazine has a new woman in charge determined to make her mark. yeah, his show was one of the best. you�*re the first woman

of colour to hold this post. what does that mean to you? it�*s obviously an incredible honour. and i think, thinking about the sort of younger baby chioma, thinking about what she might have thought and i know how meaningful it is for, for younger people to see someone like me, who looks like me, in a position like this. my first childhood memories is just fixating on a pair of shiny shoes, these patent leather shoes, when i was a kid. and ijust remember getting my dad to buy them because my mum wouldn�*t. and ifeel that getting dressed is one of the mostjoyful things i get to do every day and i like to bring a sense of colour and joy and optimism. chioma spent the last 1a years working at vogue in new york before returning to london, where she grew up. the thing i brought to american vogue was a sense of british style and that eccentricity and that sense of cherry picking from different things. and i think leaving the uk made me realisejust how much of a london girl i was.

i really love this cover image. for her debut issue, nnadi chose to feature the singer fka twigs — a nod to her early days as a musicjournalist. that colour was all over the runways this season. the magazine circulation has remained steady over recent years, but it does still face challenges. vogue has been criticised for being out of touch and for displaying fashion that is unaffordable to most people. what would you say to that? for me, when i open a magazine, that�*s really what i want to see. and there is obviously a fantasy aspect of fashion, and that�*s obviously what drew me in, too, as a young person. and how would your colleagues describe you? are you sort of a terrifying, devil wears prada type editor, or are you more easygoing? i hope i�*m not terrifying. i would say i�*m pretty easygoing, but i also have a really strong sense of what i like. her new chapter starts now as she takes the helm of the industry�*s fashion bible. noor nanji, bbc news.

finally — when superstar baseball player shohei ohtani announced two weeks ago that he�*s married, it nearly broke the internet. being a very private person, all he told the media at the time was that his wife is a normal, japanese woman. well, the secret is now out — revealed by ohtani and his team. they shared on social media a few images of the couple taken ahead of a dodgers trip to seoul. the woman was quickly identified as basketball player mamiko tanaka. she�*s 27, stands nearly 6 feet tall and has played for waseda university and fujitsu red wave injapan�*s women basketball league. we wish the couple well, that�*s all from us here on bbc news. bye—bye for now. hello. well, the weather has been very mild in the last day or so. in london, temperatures on thursday reached 18.1 degrees celsius, so spring is definitely in the air. how about friday? i don�*t think it�*s going to be

quite as warm and if anything, a lot of cloud and a good chance of catching some rain. now, currently, an area of low pressure is crossing us with its weather fronts and that spells a lot of rain—bearing cloud. and in fact, through the night, it will have been a wet picture across many parts of scotland. rain also around the lake district and elsewhere we�*ve got showers crossing the uk. temperatures early in the morning on friday — double figures for london and norwich and many of us around 9—10 degrees. a bit colder there in scotland — 5 for aberdeen. the forecast, then, for friday, and a lot of cloud first half of the day, very few glimmers of sunshine. showers possible through the morning and afternoon across england and wales, cracks of thunder likely, but out towards the west — and in some other areas as well — there�*ll be some bright spells. temperatures — well, from yorkshire southwards i think we�*re still talking about the mid—teens, but further north and west, closer to around 10 or 11. and then friday night the skies clear, and into saturday morning with lighter winds, it is going to be a chilly start. so crisp sunshine early

on saturday with temperatures in parts of scotland around —3 degrees celsius. i don�*t think it�*s going to be frosty in the south. so saturday, lots of bright if not sunny weather across many northern and eastern areas. but this weather front is approaching — its southwesterlies pushing the rain bearing clouds so there will be some damp weather for the south—west, for wales, the irish sea and into northern ireland. temperatures though, around 10—13 degrees. and then for the rest of the weekend, while weather fronts keep on crossing the uk, notice that the winds are blowing out of the south—west — that�*s a mild direction. so if anything, despite all the cloud and the early outbreaks of rain, i think on sunday with that even southerly, i think the temperatures are going to rise. we�*re talking around 15—16, maybe even 17 degrees celsius in one or two spots across the east and the south—east. let�*s have a look at the outlook. it is going to be a mixed bag, every weather icon you can possibly imagine. but those temperatures are going to remain on the mild side. mid—teens across the south —

around, say, 8—13 in the north of the uk. that�*s it from me. bye— bye.

who should own us steel? the proposed sale of an american industrial powerhouse risks driving a wedge between two close allies.

bitcoin has an extraordinary week. we look into what�*s driving the rally in the world�*s biggest cryptocurrency. hello and welcome to asia business report. i�*m steve lai. we begin in the united states, where the shares of us steel have dropped for a second day, after presidentjoe biden came out against the proposed sale of the domestic industrial powerhouse to a japanese steel—maker. this comes ahead of his meeting with japan prime minister fumio kishida next month. our north america business correspondent erin delmore has more from new york. president biden is taking a stand against a deal in the making. us steel, an american company, is set to be bought by nippon steel, a japanese company. but president biden says us steel should stay in the us. the president praised the us. the president praised

the iconic 123—year—old american steel company and said it is