for a truce in gaza, after hamas gave what it called a "comprehensive vision" to mediators. the bbc gains special access inside haiti, as the country grapples with violence and political chaos. we'll have the latest. hello. i am caitriona perry. you are very welcome. another six years in power is almost all but certain for russia's vladimir putin, as the country is in the midst of voting to choose its president. mr putin faces no serious opposition, with his rivals dead, in prison or in exile. acts of protest have taken place across russia, including incidents involving dye being poured into ballot boxes and fireworks being set off at the polls. yulia navalnaya — the widow of putin's most vocal, late critic alexei navalny — has called on kremlin opponents to go en masse to the polls

at noon on sunday to protest the election. she's urged the west not to recognise what will be putin's fifth term as president. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, is in moscow with more. russia's democracy is the best in the world, the kremlin says. and at polling station 38 in moscow, we found a choice of candidates and plenty of voters. democracy in action, right? not quite. realistically, only one man can win this. vladimir putin! the man who's been on russia's political stage for the last quarter of a century. vladimir putin faces no serious challenger. his fiercest rivals are in exile or in prison. not that this woman, whose son is fighting in ukraine, wants any change at the top. "of course i voted for putin," she says. "i trust him."

but not everyone who came out today was actually voting. this, one of a string of attacks on polling stations across russia. they are unprecedented. after chaotic scenes here... ..an arsonist is detained. and green ink poured into a ballot box. the authorities called the attackers scum. some voters were greeted with a show. well, it's one way to bang the drum for russian elections. there is voting, too, in parts of ukraine, which are under russian occupation — what russia calls its new territories. the ukrainian government called the election here illegal. polls close on sunday night. expect a putin landslide.

unpredictability is very much a feature of life now in russia, but that does not apply to elections. the political system here is built around one man — vladimir putin — and the kremlin tightly controls that system, including elections. so mr putin's re—election is not in doubt. and neither is the message the kremlin will be sending after this. that vladimir putin has the full support of his people. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. leaders of germany, france and poland met in berlin to ease tensions over support for ukraine. the french president, emmanuel macron, called on kyiv�*s allies not to be cowards, and said he would not rule out deploying western troops on the ground in ukraine. that suggestion was rejected by the german chancellor, olaf scholz. now european allies have agreed a mechanism to supply kyiv with long—range artillery. a shortage of weapons, including ammunition, has been blamed for russian advances in the war.

meanwhile, russia and ukraine continue to exchange fire in the battlefield. officials in the ukrainian city of odesa say at least 20 people were killed in a double missile attack on a residential area. more than 70 people were wounded. earlier, the kremlin said ukraine carried out attacks in the region of belgorod in southern russia, and accused kyiv of attempting to disrupt russia's presidential election. our correspondent, sarah rainsford, is in kyiv with the latest. this is the deadliest attack in some time on odesa. and it is the details that are particularly grim, because ukrainian officials are saying two missiles were fired by russia from crimea — the first one landed on the city, and it was when emergency teams rushed to the spot that a second missile was fired from crimea and hit exactly the same place. now we know that a medic was killed, a young firefighter was also amongst those killed and injured. many dozens of people are in hospital. now we are being told that those

missiles were fired from crimea — we are saying we don't know exactly what russia was targeting, but we do know there were some interior ministry personnel amongst the casualties. now president zelensky has called this a vile attack, saying ukraine's military will respond, but i do think it is a stark reminder of what that vote in russia means for here in ukraine. because of course, more vladimir putin in the kremlin means more war here in ukraine, more missile attacks, and more days like today in odesa, with dozens dead and injured. the white house says they are "cautiously optimistic" after a new truce proposalfrom hamas. the us says that it is within the bounds of a deal they have been working on for the last few months. israel's prime minister has downplayed any chances of a truce in gaza, however, saying that hamas is making unrealistic demands. despite that, an israeli team is heading to qatar for new talks about a possible ceasefire and hostage deal. meanwhile, mr netanyahu's office has approved a plan

for an offensive against hamas in gaza's crowded rafah city, where almost 1.5 million palestinians are currently sheltering. israel says they are preparing to evacuate people to other parts of gaza. it comes amid emerging signs of discontent within the biden administration about a lack of progress towards a resolution between the two sides. us secretary of state antony blinken said the united states needs to see a clear plan for israel's proposed assault on rafah, including how civilians will be moved out harm's way. and on friday, president biden praised a speech made by us senate leader chuck schumer, in which he said the israeli prime minister was a threat to peace and called for new elections. 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. i've been speaking to michael singh — he's the managing director at the washington institute for near east policy. we saw a gradual and they were more marked shift. in the language - coming from the biden administration about israel's offensive in gaza and those i comments from senator schumer today which president biden - praised. is this a deliberate - and co—ordinated strategy, do you think? it certainly seems like it. president biden was ready to volunteer that he approved of senator schumer�*s speed without getting into the details was ready to volunteer that the speech had been reviewed by senior staff. so i think it is clear a signal of approval and it does seem to be part of a strategy to, on one hand, show that while president

biden is close to israel and supporting israel he does not necessarily agree with the prime minister of israel and the decisions he is making. there is also perhaps effort by senator schumer and by the president to use this criticism to also help diffuse some of the calls within the democratic caucus for things like placing conditions on aid to israel. maybe defending those and delaying those a bit by using this criticism. is it unusual to give military support with one hand and then arranging airdrops and criticise the approach on the other? i've heard this many times but this is a dilemma that the united states is facing many times. you give military aid or you sell military armoury to governments like egypt and saudi arabia and have found ourselves in this position. i would say what makes this unique for president biden is that israel has strong support within the united states and yet this war has

been more controversial than other past israeli actions. so it makes it much more difficult for him to walk this political tight rope. it would appear that prime minister netanyahu was not paying much attention to those warnings and the strong language that is coming from the biden administration. does the president still have a level of influence over the israeli prime minister? the curious thing here is that both men are almost making a political virtue of opposing the other. president biden is showing distance from israel by criticising prime minister netanyahu and i think he is sensitive to the political feelings especially in places like michigan which are important for the presidential election. prime minister netanyahu on the other hand is trying to shore up his own political support, especially the support of the right wing, showing that he is willing to stand up

to american demands for things like working with the palestinian authority or acquiescing to a two—state solution. and in a strange sense, the friction in the combat may help both men, to some extent, politically. president biden has described the offence into rafah as a red line but prime minister netanyahu said he has the plans ready and he will do that. how do you see that playing up between the two? it is a conundrum. even the rhetoric on the side of israel is a conundrum. israel feels as though it has to go into rafah, it feels that that is where the hostages are in the leadership is and those are two of the big war aims — freeing the hostages and eliminating the leadership. yet there are also 1.5 million civilians densely packed into rafah. it would be a potential disaster on a humanitarian level to go in. so israel has a dilemma that it needs to go in but it cannot go in without moving those civilians and then you see this long delay in implementing any kind of plan to go into rafah.

most of the world including the white house would prefer that israel simply not do it, would prefer that israel simply refrain from going into rafah and find another method to achieve its aims. and just briefly, one final question, an israeli delegation is on the way to qatar. do you see that is something positive, the deal may be imminent? it is a promising sign. the fact they feel that feel this deal is not good enough by hamas that it is something that is promising enough to negotiate over. you hear similar noises from the white house. maybe we are closer now than we were in the last few weeks to getting that hostage deal. leaving on the positive note. michael singh, managing director at the washington institute and middle east affairs at the national security council, thanks for joining us. security council, thanks for joining m— talks are under way to try to establish a transitional

council in haiti, but gang leaders have warned they may not accept any new leadership. the news comes as the carribbean nation continues to face a political and humanitarian crisis. heavily armed gangs have taken over much of the capital. violence in the region was initially quieter following prime minister ariel henry's announcement that he would step down on monday. but violence appeared to be flaring up again as of wednesday. the united nations estimates that more than 360,000 people are internally displaced. 0ur central america and carribbean correspondent, will grant, was recently allowed access into the country, and sent this report. after a couple get a few days at the border, we are now among the first international journalists to make it into haiti since the current wave of violence began. and we have driven to the coastal city of cap—haitien. now, haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and this current crisis is creating so much more humanitarian need

and what was already an extremely complex picture. some statistics lay outjust how difficult and grim that picture is — 360,000 people are internally displaced in haiti at present, some 3,000 women due to give birth may receive no maternity care whatsoever, with so many hospitals closed, particularly in the capital port—au—prince. now, the government has promised promised millions more in aid — and in truth, some is now trickling in, some aid has made it into the country. yet it is nowhere near sufficient to cope with the scale of this emergency. in the political realm, the transitional council has been agreed — however, the gangs that control the capital port—au—prince don't recognise the council and have threatened its members in very, very stark language. so haiti remains stuck in a complex and dangerous situation, and the civilian population

caught between the politicians and the gangs. here in washington president biden met the irish prime minister taoiseach leo varadkar. public fury has grown in ireland over presidentjoe biden's handling of the israel—gaza war. although mr varadkar complimented the biden administration's efforts in trying to broker a truce between israel and hamas, he also pressed mr biden for a permanent ceasefire in gaza. joe biden is proud of his irish heritage and today's events marked st patrick's day, this sunday. mr varadkar invoked the saint in discussing the ongoing conflict. when i reflect on the catastrophe that is unfolding in the middle east, the savage attacks of october 7 on israel and the terrible violence and loss of human life in gaza which has followed

and continues and we very much want that to end. these are global challenges that demand our courage, our empathy and our action. we pray for the wisdom of saint patrick in facing them. this year's annual visit of the irish taoiseach follows the recent restoration of power—sharing in northern ireland, after two years of political stalemate. last month sinn fein deputy leader michelle 0'neill became the first nationalist first minister with emma little—pengelly of the democratic unionist party taking the role of deputy first minister. both have vowed to continue their positive partnership despite their contrasting political backgrounds. they were also here at the capitol at a lunch hosted by speakerjohnson and attended by the president to mark st patrick's day. us special envoy to northern ireland joe kennedy iii was also in attendence at that gathering and i spoke to him earlier about the us—ireland relations and the recent return to stormont. us special envoyjoe kennedy

to northern ireland, thank you forjoining us. we might begin by looking at the special relationship between the united states and northern ireland. so many engagements over this weekend between the president, the taoiseach and ministers. what is special about the relationship? thank you for the opportunity. the united states has no better friend in the world than the people of the island of ireland and the united kingdom. this is our origin story. this is were so many people from the united states, where our families emigrated from. where have ties to. and they go back, the history, theirfamily and cultural business, tourism, these places are as close to us as they can be so the opportunity this week to celebrate saint patrick's week, month, as the holiday seems to expand, but it is an opportunity to recommit ourselves to the connections that we have and to strengthen those relationships and really see how together we continue to prosper afresh. is there more to it

than just photo opportunities? we saw the taoiseach, leo varadkar, bring up the us position on israel and the war on gaza today. does that sort of political intervention have any influence? without question, there is more to this than just the toasts and the celebratory meals and whatnot. there is real engagement taking place and there has been deep engagement with members of business and members of the political system here in the united states at the highest levels between the taoiseach and the president but also over lunch today we introduced the president to the first minister and deputy first minister and he will see them again later this week. building these relationships are talking about areas of cooperation and collaboration is important and that is what this week is for. you mentioned the speakers lunch and speaker johnson welcoming a democratic president. the bipartisan relations

seemed to proceed around st patrick's day and at all other times of the year... come back next week, please. it is because the commitment here goes well beyond politics and the history here, the genesis of this tradition was from the republican president ronald reagan and democratic speaker tip o'neill and recognition of their own irish heritage and attachment to the island and the desire to continue to keep the tradition going and no party, democrat or republican, no president, no speaker has wanted to break it. so i give kudos to speakerjohnson who has a lot on his plate these days but still making sure they set the time aside to recognise that tradition and continue it because of the opportunity it affords for real engagement on so many issues. the first minister and deputy first

minister are hear, and the institution is a back up and running few weeks ago. michelle o'neill and the other have been speaking in unity with a serious message that northern ireland is open for business. what can the us contribute to that? we have a lot to contribute. there are 250—year—old us companies operating in northern ireland that employ thousands of people. it goes well beyond when i was able to lead a business delegation to northern ireland back in october. some members of the delegation had been doing business in northern ireland for a long time and some had not. some had been coming for the first time and the unified message out of this was that we had no idea that this opportunity existed. nonetheless there are still plenty of challenges in northern ireland that they have to deal with when they get back. when they finish those, they can come here. are you hopeful for the future of northern

ireland given what we have seen in the political situation there in recent years and how hard it is been to get to this point? northern ireland is not the only place around the world that is wrestling with these political challenges and some are unique to northern ireland. they are real. and financial challenges. no question. the us is not immune to some of those challenges, we have them in our own way. you have two political leaders from different histories and traditions and different visions for the future of northern ireland. united in the idea now that people of northern ireland can hold those outcomes together and still support each other on a pathway forward. we are about to go through a difficult campaign season here in the united states and there is a lot we can learn from northern ireland and the leaders of northern ireland about that pathway forward. so, yes, i am excited about the prospect of northern ireland going forward. not to say that it is without challenges,

but what place in the world does not have them? what lessons do you think you could leave the campaign season? 0ur politics at the moment is polarised and divided. northern ireland has been polarised and divided. one of the great lessons from northern ireland from my perspective is that our future is shared — the future in ireland is shared among the people who call it home. the idea that one side will win and the other side will lose is not the case. we can prosper together or struggle together. we can send a message that needs to be interred a bit more here in the united states and the opportunity that we have to succeed, that needs to be shared and one side and one party is going to win and you define success of someone else�*s failure. there are struggles ahead. president biden's special envoy to northern ireland, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. a new yorkjudge has granted a 30—day delay for donald trump's trial involving a hush money payment he made to an adult film star.

the judge allowed the delay due to the late disclosure of evidence provided to mr trump's legal team. the first ever criminal trial for a former us president was originally set for 25 march, and though the delay has been formally granted, a new trial date has not been set. and in georgia, after months of hearings, a judge ruled that the lead prosecutor in mr trump's election interference proceedings can remain on the case. fani willis' status as lead prosecutor was in question after it was revealed she had a personal relationship with nathan wade, a special counsel she hired for the case. but while ms willis can continue her prosecution of the former president, thejudge also ruled that she or mr wade would have to leave the case. hours after that ruling, mr wade resigned. mr trump had tried to disqualify ms willis, arguing her relationship with her special counsel compromised the trial. thejudge disagreed, but said it did create an "appearance of impropriety."

in another development stemming from mr trump's time in office, his former vice president says he will not be endorsing the presumptive republican nominee in the 2024 election. mike pence said it should come as no surprise he is not endorsing his former boss, whom he has publicly distanced himself from over mr trump's role in the 6january capitol riots. mr pence said during his own bid for he white house that his life was put in danger during the siege. he suspended that campaign in october. now that spring is finally here, millions of tourists will travel to japan to admire cherry clossoms in full bloom. but global warming has brought the date earlier and earlier, as sofia bettiza reports. cherry blossoms are a symbol of spring and the most famous cherry blossom spectacle in the world is undoubtedly injapan. now, normally, peak

season is at the end beginning of april, but this year, they've started blooming sooner than ever before and, as you can see here, people are in the streets of tokyo admiring the flowers and taking lots of pictures. and this is a really big event in the country. the cherry blossoms only appear for 11 days and because of that, an estimated 63 million people travel to and within japan every year. and it's big business — it adds about $2.7 billion to the japanese economy every year. now, unfortunately, the reason why the flowers are blooming so early is worrying, according to experts. japan has seen record—breaking high temperatures in february and march. the world is getting warmer because of climate change and the climate crisis is having an impact on cherry

blossoms not only injapan but in other parts of the world, too. this is washington, dc, for example and, as you can see, the cherry blossoms there have bloomed early this year, too. so, experts are warning that these sorts of things are a consequence of the fact that we are overheating our planet and that early cherry blossoms are a sign of more change to come. they are, indeed, blooming in washington dc. i can confirm. i am caitriona perry. stay with us here on bbc news. hello again. friday was a day of sunny spells and passing showers, as those shower clouds started to collapse down late in the day, we had some pretty still conditions there in the highlands. temperatures in scotland, northern ireland and wales generally quite close to average, but across large parts of england, in contrast, it was very mild,

17 degrees in east anglia, six above average for the time of year. now the showery conditions on friday were caused by this area of low pressure that's working out of the way now. it will be bringing some heavy snow to parts of sweden and norway into saturday. get a quiet ridge of high pressure, a weather window, if you like, ahead of the next system that's working in off the atlantic. what all that means is over the next few hours, increasingly, the skies will tend to clear. and what that means is we'll see temperatures drop like a stone. and heading into the first part of saturday morning, there'll be quite a widespread frost, scotland, northern ireland, parts of northern england as well. a chilly start to the day then, but a lovely sunny morning through most of the uk on saturday. however, rain will quickly spread into northern ireland along with some strengthening winds, and we'll see some splashes of rain getting into wales and southwest england. the rain probably not too heavy here through the course of the morning. across eastern england, eastern areas of scotland after that sunny but chilly start to the day,

ok, the weather will tend to turn a bit cloudier, but it should stay dry until after dark, really. temperatures 10—14 celsius. now for the second half of the weekend, we've got a band of rain that's going to come through saturday night. the dregs of that still around across eastern england as we start the day on sunday. following that, we'll have southwesterly winds bringing mild air across the uk, and we'll be looking at some showery conditions moving back in. so, sunday weather—wise we start off with rain across east anglia, southeast england. that clears away. sunny spells follow widely, but there will be some scattered showers, some of them turning quite heavy through the course of the afternoon. the southwesterly winds drudging up some mild air across all parts of the country. temperatures about 13 celsius in glasgow and belfast, but up to around 15—16 celsius in the warmest parts of england. beyond that, southerly winds are going to kind of dominate into the early part of the new week. however, with low pressure never far away, there will be some showers or longer spells of rain affecting western areas at times. however, it does stay mild, i3 celsius, the top temperature in edinburgh through monday and tuesday, and it stays mild, really, through the week in london with highs of around

16 celsius or so.

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. car horns and hubbub

we're so happy. yeah, we're justjoyful. so, on the mayor, we're 57.6% of results. we have a long way to go. we've got some water coming upstairs. i know it's hot here. please keep the effort... cheering gunfire let's go back. abdullah, can you hear me? abdullah, we need help. we need help. we're in the party office. they're firing live bullets at us.

we're on the floor and the tear gas is coming.