off the coast of gaza. russia heads to the polls — with vladimir putin certain to secure his fifth term as president — with any sort of dissent crushed. at least 20 people are killed in russian strikes in odesa — as the leaders of germany, france and poland hold emergency talks on ukraine. and in a warming world — can we stop the arctic�*s sea ice from melting away? we have a special report on a group of researchers trying to do just that. hello, welcome to verified live, 3 hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. an israeli team is travelling to qatar for new talks on a possible ceasefire and hostage deal. israel's pm benjamin netanyahu has downplayed the chances of a truce

in gaza, after hamas gave what it called a "comprehensive vision" to mediators. mr netanyahu? office said he also planned an assault on rafah, the city in the southern edge of the gaza strip where more than half of the territory's two and half million people at residing. meanwhile, a ship carrying food supplies for gaza has arrived, and is now waiting off the coast in a test run of what is hoped will become a new route for aid into the territory. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has been speaking about the negotiations. answering questions from the press in austria, mr blinken said both sides were working to bridge the remaining gaps. he said he was yet to see a plan for the israel military in rafah. you asked specifically _ the israel military in rafah. 7m. asked specifically whether we've

seen the plan, and now we have not seen the plan, and now we have not seen it. regarding the hostages. yes, there has been a counter proposal put forward by hamas, i can't get into the details of what that involves. but what i can tell you is that we are working intensively with israel, with qatar, with egypt to bridge the remaining gaps and to try and reach an agreement. we have conversations that are happening now as we speak here, and i am convinced that they will go on into the coming days. israel has sent back a negotiating team to pursue this and i think it reflects the sense both of possibility and emergency. to getan to get an agreement, to get a ceasefire, to get the passengers back, and more humanitarian assistance in. this is something we are committed to, and we will work as long and as hard as it takes to

get it done. as long and as hard as it takes to get it done-— as long and as hard as it takes to et it done. ., , �* ., , �* ~' get it done. that is antony blinken over the last _ get it done. that is antony blinken over the last 24 _ get it done. that is antony blinken over the last 24 hours, _ get it done. that is antony blinken over the last 24 hours, more - over the last 24 hours, more pressure on israel out of washington. today, president biden has praised the speech made by the us senate leader chuck schumer, where he called for elections to be held in israel. yesterday, schumer, the highest ranking jewish partition in the us described benjamin netanyahu as a threat to peace. the president said he thought that mr schumer had expressed concerns shared by many americans. do you have any comments around senator schumer's speech on israel yesterday? senator schumer contacted my staff, my senior staff, he was going to make that speech. and he... i'm not going to elaborate on the speech, he made a good speech and i think he expressed a serious concern shared notjust by him but by many americans.

let's turn to what is happening in gaza. that aid ship who spent two days arriving to gaza has got there. i spoke to one of the groups responsible for the relief, where i was told more about the progress of this mission. they distributed in the moment. logistically, how can because it has this mission been? of course, getting together a bus—load of aid is one part of the mission but being able to land it anyway, was first of the many challenges, wasn't it? yes, actually, this is the tricky part.

and i think that is why this corridor wasn't open so far. i mean, it was open since november, if i'm not mistaken. but this is the first ship arriving there. and it is because the waters are very shallow in this last mile and the big ships can't go close. i mean, even ourship can't get close enough. so that's why we decided to charter a barge, 200 square meter barge, and then we load it with this 110 pallets all together, more or less 200 tonnes. and we just push this barge by using our ships, our rescue ships, crafts, our rescue crafts to get it close enough to the jetty. and then theyjust take the lines and fix it to the ground. give me an idea of what is probably happening as we're speaking now. does the aid have to be inspected again by the israelis or has it been inspected already before the start of this journey? it was inspected before we start from cyprus.

so i'm from cyprus. i don't know if it will happen again. i don't think so, because it was once it was inspected, we couldn't get any more load or we couldn't even get inside or outside of the ship or step on the barge. so it's since that moment, it's completely secured. do you have any idea because this, of course, in operation together with world kitchen, in terms of the distribution, where are you hoping this aid actually ends up in gaza? whereabouts and how is it actually going to be distributed, do you know? no, i'm afraid i can't answer those questions. i mean, we are — this is a joint operation between open arms and world central kitchen. but i think we only fill this gap at sea from the moment that we link this barge to the ground. they are the ones taking all the food and taking the responsibility on how to distribute this food. a final quick thought, because i know a second

operation is being planned. do you have any idea of how frequent shiploads could actually use a route like this potentially? i mean, this is the first operation. and obviously, the amount of food that we brought here isn't enough. it's just a tiny part of the daily needs. but we have to thinking it on as a test and we are doing it. so open hours obviously is a small ship, but bigger ships can come closer and then we can just transfer the goods to open arms to this barge and then we can repeat this last part of the operation. so i think we can bring a lot of food if this operation ends well. and again, this isjust a test and probably we can continue and scale it up. so as a test, its worked so far. yes. it is working so far. i mean, it's still ongoing. but i mean, we did the most difficult and now we are just waiting to and disembarking

on the food. let's start with what russia is calling a �*democratic election�* — but which is not. russians are heading to the polls — with vladimir putin the only serious candidate in the presidential elections and certain to win. the three day voting exercise, comes a month after the death of the main russian opposition leader, alexei navalny, in an arctic prison colony, with the kremlin widely seen as responsible. russia's only independent election monitoring organisation — has been deemed a �*foreign agent�* and banned. let me show the live pictures from moscow, just one of the polling stations, because a steady stream throughout the course of the day, we saw the pictures ilia vladimir putin. he was voting online, so not at a polling station, but three days of voting ahead. i have been speaking, as we watch these pictures, to an actor and

playwright, asking people to come out at noon to the polling stations inside russia. the russian authorities have already said that to be seen as an illegal gathering. i asked her whether she is putting people in harm�*s way, given that russian authorities have banned such gatherings. we�*re hoping to see a turnout of people who are against current regime, who are against those fraudulen, we know forfact, elections and so—called re—election or reinstatement of vladimir putin and obviously against the war. and we saw the we saw that kind of a something we took out from the funeral of alexei navalny. but what alexei navalny funeral showed is that even though there were a lot of same kind of sort of threats, really, there�*s no better word for that from the authorities before the funeral. a lot of people, maybe not hundreds, but definitely tens of thousands of people showed up. many young people showed up, even though a lot of them are students. and they were warned by other

universities that there will be consequences. they went to the funeral nevertheless. so and of course, people make their own mind up. we can�*t really, and will never will force anyone to do anything of this nature. vladimir putin was a service, he�*s got a mandate to be in power. just to train final thoughts, because you have been labelled as i think i�*m right in saying, for an agent. you did go back to russia to protest a few years ago. give me an idea of the difference between russia then and the russian now.— the difference between russia then and the russian now. there was hope, and the russian now. there was hope, and there really _ and the russian now. there was hope, and there really was _ and the russian now. there was hope, and there really was a _ and the russian now. there was hope, and there really was a chance - and the russian now. there was hope, and there really was a chance that - and there really was a chance that unfortunately we might have wasted. we overestimated ourselves, and an estimated dictatorship that was already there in place, and only becoming stronger. so, yes, we wasted that chance back ten years ago when we should have rallied people better around us. the

repressive machine was ahead of us, and we wasted a chance, they put everything in place to make sure people are scared of us. we no longer have that momentum, really. not ever since then, we�*ve not had it once. today, as you mentioned, there are so many people here in the country that are afraid to speak, or just attend events. i hearfrom friends of mine, acquaintances, they tend some sort of social gathering and people look into their plight, afraid to speak. that is where we are at today, and that a site. having said that, there are a lot of great people, we are talking about huge countries. we might be dropping the brackets. we hope there is still something in the future to turn things around.— something in the future to turn thins around. . �*, ., . , things around. that's in organising the protest —

things around. that's in organising the protest on _ things around. that's in organising the protest on sunday. _ things around. that's in organising the protest on sunday. anthony i the protest on sunday. anthony gutierrez condemns the effects of the russian federation. those commentsjust the russian federation. those comments just coming the russian federation. those commentsjust coming in the russian federation. those comments just coming in from the russian federation. those commentsjust coming in from un secretary—general in the last few moments. let�*s get some of the day�*s other news now. labour have accused rishi sunak of chickening out of the next general election. the prime minister rose as having a general election on the 2nd of may, ruling that out yesterday. that to be the same day as the local elections in england. he said previously as assumption is in the second half of the year. mps will get a 5.5% pay rise from april , meaning their annual salary will increase to over 91,000 pounds. the independent parliamentary standards authority says the decision was in line

with the award recently agreed for senior civil servants, adding that it aims to be "fair... both for mps and the public". food delivery firm hellofresh denies taking subscriptions from customers who say they had cancelled their accounts. some customers say their accounts reactivated with money taken for orders they had not made. they believe thatjust logging on to the app reactivated their accounts. you�*re live with bbc news. how can we stop the arctic�*s sea—ice from melting away in a warming world? an international team of researchers are carrying out a remarkable experimentjust north of mainland canada in the arctic circle, to see if they can do just that. they�*ve been testing a technology to try to thicken the arctic�*s sea—ice. if it proves successful, the researchers believe it could help to slow or even reverse the sharp decline in the sea—ice, providing welcome relief to locals, wildlife, and the global climate. here�*s our science

correspondent pallab ghosh. it's it�*s such a simple idea, but it�*s surprising that no one has tried it before. the team here are pumping sea water on top of the ice so that it freezes and thickens. the aim is to stop, maybe even reverse the loss of arctic sea ice caused by climate change. we of arctic sea ice caused by climate chance. ~ ., of arctic sea ice caused by climate chance.~ ., , , of arctic sea ice caused by climate chance.~ . , , ., ., ':::::: change. we are pumping around 1000 litres er change. we are pumping around 1000 litres per minute _ change. we are pumping around 1000 litres per minute of— change. we are pumping around 1000 litres per minute of sea _ change. we are pumping around 1000 litres per minute of sea water. - litres per minute of sea water. today we will add an extra layer, so we will add quite a bit of ice thickness in the area. this is the extent of arctic _ thickness in the area. this is the extent of arctic sea _ thickness in the area. this is the extent of arctic sea ice - thickness in the area. this is the extent of arctic sea ice in - thickness in the area. this is the extent of arctic sea ice in 1979. l extent of arctic sea ice in 1979. it's extent of arctic sea ice in 1979. it�*s a sharp decline since then is alarming. so could thickening the ice. this trend? if not, polar bears and other arctic sea creatures will be worse off, because the sea ice is the air—conditioning system for the

entire planet. this is the centre for climate repair. researchers are assessing whether the ice thickening will work, and be implemented across the attic which is affordable and practical. if the attic which is affordable and ractical. , ., ., , ., practical. if we 'ust allow the sea ice to go. — practical. if we 'ust allow the sea ice to go. the — practical. if we just allow the sea ice to go, the artic— practical. if we just allow the sea ice to go, the artic ocean - practical. if we just allow the sea l ice to go, the artic ocean becomes one of our greatest heat absorbers, rather than one of our heat reflectors. if we let it go, things will get worse. we have to try and fix that. , ., , will get worse. we have to try and fix that. , . , ., ., ~' fix that. his team is also working with australian _ fix that. his team is also working with australian researchers - fix that. his team is also working with australian researchers who l fix that. his team is also working i with australian researchers who are trying to reduce temperatures by spring salt particles into the clouds to make them brighter, sir offending the sun cut heat into space. the idea of repairing the climate is a controversial one. if you can fix the damage, so the argument goes, then it�*s a green light for countries, not reducing their emissions quickly enough. researchers here believe the situation is so dire that there is no alternative but to do both. if gee

no alternative but to do both. if we sto doinu no alternative but to do both. if we step doing effort — no alternative but to do both. if we stop doing effort and _ no alternative but to do both. if we stop doing effort and leave it as it is, then_ stop doing effort and leave it as it is, then we — stop doing effort and leave it as it is, then we will for sure results in a really— is, then we will for sure results in a really had — is, then we will for sure results in a really bad scenario. are is, then we will for sure results in a really bad scenario.— a really bad scenario. are you personally — a really bad scenario. are you personally optimistic? - a really bad scenario. are you personally optimistic? yes. . a really bad scenario. are you - personally optimistic? yes. that's wh i'm personally optimistic? yes. that's why i'm working — personally optimistic? yes. that's why i'm working here, _ personally optimistic? yes. that's why i'm working here, that's - personally optimistic? yes. that's why i'm working here, that's why | personally optimistic? yes. that's i why i'm working here, that's why i'm doing _ why i'm working here, that's why i'm doing this _ why i'm working here, that's why i'm doing this research. of course, and i want _ doing this research. of course, and i want to— doing this research. of course, and i want to he — doing this research. of course, and i want to be optimistic. the researchers _ i want to be optimistic. tie: researchers expected i want to be optimistic. tt;e: researchers expected no i want to be optimistic. t"t;e: researchers expected no by i want to be optimistic. tte: researchers expected no by next i want to be optimistic. t“t;e: researchers expected no by next year whether there ice thickening has the potential to fix the attic. it could buy a bit more time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. let�*s speak to dr shaun fitzgerald, director at the centre for climate repair in cambridge. welcome hits of the programme. a really fascinating idea, what do you make of it? t really fascinating idea, what do you make of it? ., �* , really fascinating idea, what do you make of it?— make of it? i think it's got great potential- _ make of it? i think it's got great potential. were _ make of it? i think it's got great potential. were still— make of it? i think it's got great potential. were still in - make of it? i think it's got great potential. were still in the i make of it? i think it's got great i potential. were still in the process of trying to find out more. just to confirm whether actually pumping sea water on top of sea ice can indeed lead to an increase in the areal

extent of sea ice, especially over the arctic sun.— the arctic sun. before we look in more detail— the arctic sun. before we look in more detail at _ the arctic sun. before we look in more detail at this _ the arctic sun. before we look in more detail at this radical i the arctic sun. before we look in more detail at this radical idea, l more detail at this radical idea, just viewers, how does sea ice formed naturally? it just viewers, how does sea ice formed naturally?— just viewers, how does sea ice formed naturally? it forms naturally with ice being _ formed naturally? it forms naturally with ice being less _ formed naturally? it forms naturally with ice being less dense _ formed naturally? it forms naturally with ice being less dense than i with ice being less dense than water. its accumulator on the top of the water. once you get some ice formed, then the new ice forms on the underside of the existing ice. the latent heat of solidification there needs to be conducted through there needs to be conducted through the sea ice and radiated out into space. that is how sea ice forms naturally. so space. that is how sea ice forms naturall . ., ., space. that is how sea ice forms naturally-— space. that is how sea ice forms naturally. so the notion of trying to seed naturally. so the notion of trying to speed that — naturally. so the notion of trying to speed that up... _ naturally. so the notion of trying to speed that up... how - naturally. so the notion of trying i to speed that up... how problematic is that? it�*s to speed that up... how problematic is that? �* , . to speed that up... how problematic is that? �*, ., . ., to speed that up... how problematic isthat? ., , , is that? it's a challenge because what happens — is that? it's a challenge because what happens is _ is that? it's a challenge because what happens is that _ is that? it's a challenge because what happens is that as - is that? it's a challenge because what happens is that as the i is that? it's a challenge because what happens is that as the sea | is that? it's a challenge because i what happens is that as the sea ice thickens, it becomes an even better insulator, therefore the rate at which we can get rid of the heat

decreases, and function of thickness, which new ice forms naturally on the underside decreases naturally on the underside decreases naturally in the time. pumping sea water over ice speeds the process, with a contact of the cold, dark active sky in the winter. the hope is we aet active sky in the winter. the hope is we get to _ active sky in the winter. the hope is we get to a _ active sky in the winter. the hope is we get to a point, _ active sky in the winter. the hope is we get to a point, if— active sky in the winter. the hope is we get to a point, if this - active sky in the winter. the hope is we get to a point, if this work, | is we get to a point, if this work, of reversing the amount amounting that were seeing. in terms of potential problems and things actually going wrong, and how you research this problem, give me an idea of what you are doing, and what of the potential downsides here could be? ., , , ., could be? the approach that were takin: is a could be? the approach that were taking is a multipronged - could be? the approach that were| taking is a multipronged approach. when using modelling, american modelling, mathematical modelling.

we are a that with field work to understand exactly it happens in the real world. understand exactly it happens in the realworld. one understand exactly it happens in the real world. one of the issues that wrestles the receipt here, is that when you introduce sea water on top of ice, you notjust bringing up h20, you�*re bringing the epsom salt with it as well. the fact that we�*ve now got ice that is formed of salty water on top of existing ice, saltwater obviously have a differing melting temperature to freshwater, to have to make make sure that we understand the ramifications of building up ice over arctic winter, but also that the temperature of thatice but also that the temperature of that ice will be lower. we want to avoid the situation where we create more ice that actually melt more quickly then a thinner layer of ice altogether. i�*m optimistic and i�*m hopeful, but will indeed show that is a good idea, but need to confirm

first. it is a good idea, but need to confirm first. , . . , is a good idea, but need to confirm first. , . ., , ., is a good idea, but need to confirm first. ,. ., , first. it is clearly a complicated idea, but first. it is clearly a complicated idea. but a _ first. it is clearly a complicated idea, but a good _ first. it is clearly a complicated idea, but a good idea. - first. it is clearly a complicated idea, but a good idea. thank. first. it is clearly a complicated l idea, but a good idea. thank you so much forjoining us here in the programme. let�*s return to the middle east. mcclellan is in jerusalem. you now have an israeli delegation heading back to qatar, to assessment on that, and your assessment on that, and your assessment to one report that the israeli prime minister has now given the green light to the operation that they have planned in rafah? that you almost seem contradictory, don�*t they? that is really going back to joe hart don�*t they? that is really going back tojoe hart is to discuss a new ceasefire proposal, while at the same time, the prime minister�*s office have said they heard benjamin netanyahu was green—lighted a

military operation in rafah, which goes against the peace talks. saying they have green—lighted the operation means it adds pressure to her mask for any future talks in qatar that looks set to begin. the fact that israel is sending a delegation back is clearly a sign of progress, a sign that channels of communications are still open. this comes off the back of a new high mass proposal, a change to put hamas proposal, i think, mass proposal, a change to put hamas proposal, ithink, in mass proposal, a change to put hamas proposal, i think, in which there would be a six week truce, there would be a six week truce, there would be a release of some israeli hostages, rom 40, in exchange for hundreds of palestinian prisoners being released from israeli jails. and hamas also once the israeli forces to be withdrawing from dad to cities, and the civilian population to be returning to the cities. israel�*s premise office have called the demands and realistic, because as far as israel is concerned, they are not willing to accept a permanent ceasefire, or a withdrawal from gaza, they want have overall

security control in gaza. in these negotiations one size i�*m here, another says i�*m try and see what spaces between them. clearly, there are going to be more talks in qatar, as for the rafah line, if israel does decide to send military to rafah, which is where half of gaza�*s petition shall try, it carries huge risks for the civilian charters there, and also, huge risks further international condemnation, because president biden said that would be a red line as far as he�*s concerned. yes, and the americans saying they still haven�*t seen any rafah plant. thanks so much for that update. an update now from a situation that we have seen in ukraine. officials in the ukrainian city of odesa say, at least 20 people have been killed — in russian missile attacks — on a residential area.

the governor of the black sea port said another 75 people were wounded. earlier, the kremlin said, ukraine had carried out attacks in the region of belgorod in southern russia, and accused kyiv of attempting to disrupt russia�*s presidential election. let�*s speak to sarah raynsford, and since we last spoke, both casualties have risen significantly. yes. since we last spoke, both casualties have risen significantly.— have risen significantly. yes, the numbers are _ have risen significantly. yes, the numbers are really _ have risen significantly. yes, the numbers are really pretty - have risen significantly. yes, the numbers are really pretty high. i have risen significantly. yes, the i numbers are really pretty high. were talking about 20 people who have been killed now, that we know, in this attack. dozens of people have been injured, some we understand to been injured, some we understand to be seriously injured. some 40 or so in hospital after this attack. what actually happened was two missiles hit odesa today. the first hit a residential area. civilian houses, and some kind of recreational infrastructure are how the authorities are describing it. when rescue workers went in to look for casualties to the fire, there was

another russian ballistic missile strikes on the same spot one rescue worker was killed. in fact, emergency services have named him, and said he is a 29—year—old man who was killed. there was also a ukrainian medic that was killed, also trying to help people at the scene of the missile strike. it is a devastating attack, and we don�*t know what russia was targeting. we only know what the hits. we know that amongst the dead, the interior ministry has said that there were losses among ukraine�*s national police force, who i believe sometimes act in a military capacity. certainly, as i said, we don�*t know what was targeted but know what was hit. many civilians are among the injured and dead today in the attack. are among the in'ured and dead today in the attack.— in the attack. sarah raynsford in k iv for in the attack. sarah raynsford in kyiv for us- _ in the attack. sarah raynsford in kyiv for us. thank _ in the attack. sarah raynsford in kyiv for us. thank you _ in the attack. sarah raynsford in kyiv for us. thank you for - in the attack. sarah raynsford in kyiv for us. thank you for that i kyiv for us. thank you for that latest update. one must try to

squeeze in, because i can�*t remember seeing this before. lots of has its tennis players, but look at this. a swarm of bees descending on the indian wells quarterfinals in california. carlos alcaraz tried to swat them away with his racket, but ended up getting stung on the side of his head. they were particularly attracted to the spider can, and cables, and the matter had to be delayed. a beekeeper was called in to get rid of them. despite the alcaraz went on to win a very bizarre match. hello. we�*ve seen some cloud and some rain across most parts of the uk today, but that cloud has slowly but surely been breaking. and, as the skies continue to clear overnight tonight, it�*s going to get quite cold — in fact, it�*ll be a frosty start to the weekend for some.

by the end of the weekend, though, we will flip our fortunes, it will feel much milder. along the way, we�*ll see some spells of rain, but also some spells of sunshine. so, we�*ve had quite a lot of cloud today, showers or longer spells of rain, but all tending to drift away eastwards — and notice this clear gap. so, through tonight, largely clear, starry skies, bit of cloud just plaguing these eastern coasts for a time. 1—2 showers in northern scotland, cloud, and some rain into the southwest of england by the end of the night. but under those clear skies, there�*ll be a few mist patches. temperatures will drop away around or below freezing in places. so, yes, a cold and frosty start to saturday morning underneath this slice of clear weather, this ridge of high pressure. however, it won�*t last long because our next frontal system will already be approaching from the west. that will bring cloud, it�*ll bring outbreaks of rain but, as it moves its way northwards and eastwards, it will introduce ever—milder air. that process of mild air wafting northwards continues through saturday and on into saturday night, actually. but for saturday daytime,

cloud and some splashes of rain spitting across western parts — northern ireland likely to see the heaviest of the rain, then getting into southwest scotland. further north and east, holding on to some increasingly hazy sunshine. these are the temperatures by the middle of tomorrow afternoon. but for some spots in the north of the uk, those temperatures will rise even further through saturday night — this frontal system bringing some quite heavy rain eastwards, with that feed of south—westerly winds continuing. so let me show you the temperatures for sunday morning — compared with saturday morning, starting on a frosty note, sunday morning, starting in double figures for quite a few places. there will be a band of rain to clear away from eastern parts, then we�*ll see the cloud breaking to some extent to give some spells of sunshine, scattered showers out towards the west. but temperatures on sunday afternoon — northeast scotland, up to 15—16 celsius, it may be that eastern england gets to 16—17. very mild indeed, even feeling warm in any sunshine. into next week, still some changeable conditions, rain at times, some spells of sunshine.

but broadly speaking, we�*re expecting it to stay mild.

this is bbc news, the headlines... israel sends a delegation back to qatar for ceasefire talks, despite branding hamas�* proposals unrealistic. meanwhile, benjamin netanyahu approves plans for a military

operation in rafah. an aid ship with 20 tonnes of food and medical supplies arrives off the coast of gaza. the government�*s under pressure over a new £5 million donation from frank hester, the tory donor at the centre of the racism row. and stung in action — a swarm of bees halts the indian wells open tennis tournament, in california. we tournament, in california. will talk to the bbc�*s ru fuller. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre. good evening, matthew. we�*ll start at the final day of the cheltenham festival — gold cup day — and more history has been made in the prestigious race by trainer willie mullins — and his winning horse

lizzie greenwood hughes is there for us. once again,