six more years in power. plus, a judge in florida rejects donald trump's bid to dismiss his classified documents case as a separate trial in new york could be delayed. hello, i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us. us senate majority leader chuck schumer has called for new elections in israel, accusing israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu of prioritising his political survival above the country. mr schumer, a democrat and america's highest—ranking jewish elected official, said the us should use its leverage to persuade mr netanyahu to change course. while the us remains israel's closest ally and biggest provider of military aid, concerns have been mounting within the biden administration over israel's conduct in gaza, as the humanitarian crisis there worsens. now, president biden�*s top ally on capitol hill is calling for israel to make

"course corrections". i have known benjamin netanyahu for a very long time and while we have disagreed on many occasions, i will always respect his extraordinary bravery for israel on the battlefield as a younger man and i believe in his heart he has his highest priority as the security of israel. however, i also believe prime minister netanyahu has lost his way. senior israeli figures, including the ambassador to the us, michael herzog, and mr netanyahu's chief political rival, benny gantz, criticised mr schumer�*s intervention, calling it "unhelpful, counterproductive and unacceptable. " mr schumer�*s comments come as the biden administration continues to pressure mr netanyahu not to launch a ground offensive on gaza's southernmost city, rafah, something the white house says is a �*red line', but talking to troops on thursday, mr netanyahu sounded undaunted.

translation: there are international pressures l preventing us from entering rafah and completing the work. as minister of israel, i push away these pressures and we have been doing this successfully this record time in the history of the war. i will continue to push away the pressure and we will enter rafa h. we will complete the elimination of the rest of the hamas battalions. dozens of palestinians have been killed or injured by israeli forces while waiting for humanitarian aid at gaza's kuwaiti roundabout. the hamas—run health ministry said that at least 11 dead bodies arrived at al—shifa hospital. while a ceasefire deal between israel and hamas remains elusive, hamas said it has presented to mediators a truce deal based on stopping what it has called israel's "aggression" against palestinians in gaza. in exchange for the return of all hostages, hamas proposed a more than a—month long ceasefire. the deal would include relief aid and the return of displaced gazans to their homes.

it also includes the withdrawal of israeli forces from gaza. meanwhile, israel's military says it plans to move the 1.4 million palestinians sheltering in rafah before a planned ground offensive in the city. civilians would be moved to areas israel calls "humanitarian islands" in the middle of the strip. aid groups warn it will be difficult to move so many people to such a small area — especially since a lack of fuel means many will likely have to travel on foot. much of the infrastructure in the areas designated as "islands" has been badly damaged by israeli attacks. the un and us have warned that a full—scale assault in rafah could be disastrous. earlier, a former spokesperson for the israel defence forces, jonathan conricus, told the bbc that without the support of aid groups, moving people would be a complicated process. ideally there would be un involvement and aid organisation involved in doing this but sadly we have seen the same aid organisations refuse to help and participate

in alleviating the suffering in gaza, so sadly i think it will be done by the idf alone and it would be ideal if these palestinians could find refuge elsewhere, for example egypt or any other location that is not the combat battlefield, but sadly that has not been available and therefore the idf is forced to do what it is doing now. in response to israeli forces moving palestinians to humanitarian islands, this is what sari bashi, program director at human rights watch had to say. it is hard to imagine that would happen, considering the experience of the last five months. the israeli military from the very first day has flouted its obligations to protect civilians, in particular by refraining from attacks on civilians, and facilitating the rapid delivery of humanitarian assistance. throughout the war, the israeli military has issued evacuation orders when there is no safe place to go to and no safe way

to get there. that is why we have seen more than 31,000 people killed in gaza since 7 october, including over 12,000 children. meanwhile, there's also conflict growing in the occupied west bank. president biden has imposed sanctions on three extremist israeli settlers accused of harassing and attacking palestinians. the settler movement is a controversial issue, with many in the international community saying the land belongs to palestinians. 0ur middle east correspondent lucy williamson sent this report from zanuta — a village located in the southern hebron hills. dog barks. woman screams. yinon levi says he's never been violent towards his palestinian neighbours... shouting. ..that he is the victim of attacks, not the perpetrator. the us and uk governments say different. so does fares, a palestinian shepherd who says he was forced

out of his home in a village overlooking levi's farm. translation: some people were afraid i of him, but my wife wasn't. he told her, "you will get out." and she shouted and swore at him that we won't. he said, "you are dogs and you should all die." then he hit her with his gun. yinon levi established this hilltop farm near hebron three years ago with the financial backing of the state. he's now the target of sanctions by america and the uk. translation: when there isjewish presence, then there is no arab presence. we keep a watchful eye on the land, ensuring that no unauthorised construction takes place, keeping the area under jewish ownership. we showed yinon this video of him apparently entering a palestinian village with a gun. he declined to comment. britain said that he and another man

used physical aggression, threatened families at gunpoint and destroyed property, as part of a targeted effort to displace palestinian communities. yinon says he didn't. translation: i'm not worried. this is not against me personally. it's against those who obstruct the creation of a palestinian state. there's no legal process against me here in israel. here, everything's fine. and in the end, the government is on my side. there's been a show of support from some israeli politicians, like the ultra nationalist zvi sukkot, a settler himself. you say it's just a few people. the uk says israel's failure to act has led to an environment of near total impunity for extremist settlers in the west bank. translation: when we have a functioning judicial system | in israel, we don't want our allies to say we'll do thejob for you. if there was evidence

against yinon levi, he would be in israeli prison. who is britain to come and say we are smarter than israeli security services? new us sanctions today target another farm belonging to moshe sharvit. his crowdfunding campaign for a synagogue and education centre there now at risk. yinon levi's israeli bank account blocked weeks ago. a far—right cabinet minister has raged against the insult to israel's sovereignty. but it will please some of the us president's voters back home. the un says more than 15,000 palestinians were displaced from their homes in the west bank last year, 80% of them after the gaza war began. the sanctions have not led fares to return home. his village of zanuta still stands empty, the levi farm clearly visible on the next hill. settlers point to attacks by palestinians and

say they are scared. but it's palestinians who are leaving. lucy williamson, bbc news, south hebron hills. russians in the far east of the country are heading to the polls in a 3—day long presidential election. vladimir putin, the incumbent whos been in powerfor 25 years, is expected to easily secure another 6—year term. putin faces three challengers in the election, though none have been critical of him. the bbc�*s russia editor steve rosenberg went to the town of borovsk, south of moscow — where two very different pictures of russia are on display. these days, when vladimir 0vchinnikov 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.

it is impossible to say about our election that it is fair and free. this politician was barred from running from the election and he claims it was because his anti—war message was growing too popular with the public. in russia we have propaganda, we have the belief that everybody in russia supports vladimir putin and supports the military operation. it is really not the effect, and my election campaign shows that a lot of people are against vladimir putin and against the special military operation. 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 look at some top stories in the uk. prime minister rishi sunak has ruled out 2 may as a possible date for a general election. that's when local elections are already taking place. speaking to itv news, mr sunak said they would not happen on the same day. earlier this year, mr sunak had suggested that the vote would be in the second half of 202a. but there had been speculation he might move that up. ministers have unveiled a new definition of extremism. the guidelines would block

certain groups from government funding and meeting with officials. it would apply to groups that promote an ideology based on "violence, hatred or intolerance," but the label will not criminalise them. civil liberties advocates and some mps have criticised recent government rhetoric on extremism. and the lineup for one of the world's biggest music festivals has been announced. dua lipa and sza top the bill for glastonbury — meaning two female headliners for the first time in the festival's history. theyjoin coldplay and shania twain, who'll perform in the coveted sunday legend slot. you're live with bbc news. ajury in michigan has found the father of a school shooter guilty of involuntary manslaughter. james crumbley — father of the oxford high school shooter who killed four of his classmates in 2021 — was found guilty on all counts. the jury determined that crumbley bears partial responsibility for giving his son access to the gun he used to carry out michigan's

deadliest school shooting. crumbley�*s wife was also found guilty on the same charges last month — a jury saying she was negligent and ignored warning signs. their son ethan, a teenager at the time, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. the case marks the first time american parents have been convicted of manslaughter in connection with a school shooting. former us president donald trump appeared in a florida court earlier on thursday, where a judge denied his request to dismiss charges of illegally holding onto classified documents. mr trump's legal team argued that the central charge against him — illegally retaining information related to national defense — is improperly vague. however, us district judge aileen cannon — who was appointed by the former president himself — ruled that that the question of vagueness should be decided during a jury trial. she has not yet set a date. mr trump has pleaded not guilty to the a0 charges accusing him of taking sensitive government documents with him when he left the white house in 2021.

that case in florida is one of four criminal cases he faces as he ramps up his presidential campaign. another is the so—called hush—money case in new york. on thursday prosecutors said they would not oppose a 30—day delay in a trial that was set to begin on 25 march. in that case, mr trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide a payment to adult film star stormy daniels. he's pleaded not guilty to all 3a felony counts. earlier i spoke about all this with mark zaid, an attorney who focuses on cases related to national security. let's look at the florida case on classified documents. trump's team challenged whether he should be prosecuted under the espionage act for retaining classified documents. judge aileen cannon, a trump appointee, threw that out. she said that would be premature. what do you make of that? this is a 2—page order and i was very surprised

that they took literally almost the entire day to argue two motions that frankly were a long shot to begin with and did not deserve as much time as they received. the motion that was denied with respect to the constitutionality and vagueness of certain terms in the espionage act, this is an act that dates back to world war i, 1917, last amended during the korean conflict 70 years ago, and it has been used countless times against not only spies but also leakers of classified information or those who just mishandle it, national defence information, the term in this older statute. this has been decided multiple times over the years, so i am not sure why she denied it without prejudice, because these are not questions of fact that will come before the jury, but at least she acted really quickly, which has been somewhat

unusual for her. i want to talk about a second point as well. trump's lawyers raised another point with regards to the presidential records act, saying it should be up to a president's discretion whether something is personal or a presidential record. the thought here being it could be up to their thought process. what do you make of that argument? anyone and certainly our generation or the one above us, our parents, who had microwaves know they did not need an instruction in the owners manual not to dry your pet in it. that is the sort of framework of this motion that i view it by. the presidential records act which was created in the aftermath of watergate in the nixon administration where richard nixon wanted

to retain tape recordings of oval office meetings, the infamous 18 minute gap, to decide what was personal and what were presidential records act, prior to that statute staff and presidents and vice presidents would take home all sorts of documents for decades, including classified information. this statute makes it very clear as to what is and what is not personal and presidential. it does not apply to classified or national defence information. there have been numerous executive orders which govern classification, no mention of the presidential records act, there were numerous orders that existed before the presidential records act and there was no mention in that statute. it is a civil statute and president trump wanted to challenge whether or not these are his records, he could have returned them to the national archives and then filed a civil lawsuit to challenge.

i don't know why this motion is still on the table and my hope is that judge cannon will issue a very well reasoned, whether lengthy or short, opinion and puts this issue to bed very quickly. i know you specialise in national security but i do want to get your take on the hush money case. it was the first criminal case we expected to move forward and now the potential for it to be delayed up to 30 days. briefly, what does that mean for the trump team and defence? it is great for the trump team because the delays this case even further which is frankly what they want. it is a horrible look for the prosecution but the reality is it was not their fault, it was the federal government's fault in the southern district of new york in the us attorney office for not providing these documents to the new york city prosecutors sooner. this is a real egg on their face, an unnecessary, unforced error as we say. mark zaid, an attorney who focuses on cases related

to national security. we always appreciate your analysis. thank you. let's turn to some important news around the world. at least 60 migrants were reportedly killed trying to reach europe from libya after their overloaded dinghy broke down and drifted at sea for several days. survivors say its engine cut out three days into the migrants' journey across the mediterranean sea, leaving them stuck without food or water. 25 people were rescued by a humanitarian group. france's lower house of parliament has approved a bill that would apply penalties on so—called �*fast fashion�* products. the measure targets companies like china's shein, which increase their output of certain clothing based on demand. critics say the textile industry is responsible for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions and widespread water pollution the bill now heads to the senate before it can become law. the us ambassador to hungary has blasted the country's prime minister for what he called

"dangerously unhinged anti—american messaging". the comments during a speech in budapest come during a deepening rift between the two countries. ambassador david pressman warned that mr 0rban�*s "close "and expanding relationship" with president putin and russia was a security concern that could not be ignored. spacex has declared its latest test rocket launch a success as the company aims to produce a reusable craft to take people to the moon. the starship rocket reached orbital speed before breaking up as it headed back to earth. two earlier missions by spacex ended in explosions. pallab ghosh has more. 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. 0k, 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. and before we go — another story from the skies, and this british airways concorde jet was transported across the hudson river and back to the intrepid museum in new york after undergoing a 7—month restoration. concorde, which was retired in 2003, was known for its supersonic speed, flying passengers between new york and london in under three hours. it took almost that long to make its journey across the hudson today. that's all from the team here in washington, i'm helena humphrey. thank you for watching bbc news. 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 southwest — 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 southeast. 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.

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.

since retaking power in 2021, the taliban have imposed severe restrictions on everyday life in afghanistan... ..limiting freedoms for women and banning non—religious music. and the consequences for those who dare to defy them are dire. but women are fighting back... ..using the power of their voice to resist a regime which the un says could be committing gender apartheid.