im azadeh moshiri in london. also making the news... haiti spirals into anarchy — how the island nation is succumbing to a security crisis. a new picture of the princess of wales — the sun newspaper publishes photos of catherine out shopping with prince william. and gillian anderson plays emily maitlis. the famous bbc newsnight interview with prince andrew hits netflix. hello, i'm anna foster in eastjerusalem. america's top diplomat, secretary of state, antony blinken, has said that 100% of gaza's population is at severe levels of acute food insecurity. those are some of the strongest

comments he has made so far and they come as a you backed report says that famine is imminent... is imminent in northern gaza, as the war between israel and hamas continues. the un is warning that 1 million people, that's half of the territory's population, are now facing starvation. the european union's foreign policy chief, josep borrell, accused israel of using starvation as a weapon of war, a claim israel rejects. here's what us secretary of state antony blinken said a short time ago. according to the most respected measure of these things, 100% of the population in gaza is at severe levels of acute food insecurity. that's the first time an entire population has been so classified. we also see again, according to, in this case, the united nations, 100% — the totality of the population — is in need of humanitarian assistance.

blinken�*s comments follow us presidentjoe biden�*s first call with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu in over a month on monday. mr biden told mr netanyahu that a major ground operation in the city of rafah would be a mistake. mr netanyahu defended the possibility saying opposing the operation was akin to opposing total defeat of hamas. us national security adviser jake sullivan called that "nonsense" and a "straw man" argument. the situation is enormously difficult. half of the population has been displaced. some 1.5 million palestinians from other parts of gaza are seeking refuge in rafah. let's find out a little bit more

about the situation for civilians. joining me now from rafah is sam rose, the director of planning at unrwa. first of all, we talked about how things are for people, how difficult they are. give us an idea of what you are seeing and hearing. thanks for havin: you are seeing and hearing. thanks for having me _ you are seeing and hearing. thanks for having me on. _ you are seeing and hearing. thanks for having me on. as _ you are seeing and hearing. thanks for having me on. as we _ you are seeing and hearing. thanks for having me on. as we have - you are seeing and hearing. thanks for having me on. as we have beenj for having me on. as we have been saying for several weeks, the situation is extremely catastrophic. it is beyond grim in rafah, i look out the window and there are people everywhere, the place is teeming with people who have nothing. many have been displaced multiple times, this includes unrwa staff as well. the place is full of people who have nothing. they are waiting, they are waking up with dread, this promised incursion into rafah will happen.

they listen to bombardments during the night and wait for news of relatives, friends, family who remain in the north whether situation is difficult. here in the south it is beyond catastrophic in gaza city and northern gaza. where ou are, gaza city and northern gaza. where you are. the _ gaza city and northern gaza. where you are, the closest _ gaza city and northern gaza. where you are, the closest point - gaza city and northern gaza. where you are, the closest point to - gaza city and northern gaza. where you are, the closest point to the . you are, the closest point to the rafah crossing where aid comes in. we have heard about the dire situation in the north, but even where you are, even at the point closest to entry there still isn't enough aid arriving. m0. closest to entry there still isn't enough aid arriving.— closest to entry there still isn't enough aid arriving. no, there isn't enou:h enough aid arriving. no, there isn't enough aid — enough aid arriving. no, there isn't enough aid arriving, _ enough aid arriving. no, there isn't enough aid arriving, there - enough aid arriving. no, there isn't enough aid arriving, there hasn't i enough aid arriving, there hasn't been now for several months since the border was closed in early october. we struggled to get shipments in, the situation is complicated, the with volume of aid in egypt, but it goes far beyond that. it is the procedures that are

in place, the time it takes to bring aid in, the fact that if a truck has one item that doesn't meet the israeli restrictions, the entire truck is turned back. we have functioning crossing points that could function in the north of gaza that aren't being used either. the un community and international ngos have trucks of aid backed up on the border. i think it is important to say, one of the reasons why the situation is so catastrophic, you can't feed a population on aid alone. people need fresh food and proteins, it is simply very difficult to bring in on a large scale basis through humanitarian shipments. this is why we are calling for the commercial sector to

begin functioning and to be allowed to resume functioning. the report that was referred to said it is the destruction of homes, properties. it is the health conditions people are facing but it is also the widespread destruction of the agricultural sector inside gaza. essentially, it means that the entire population is 100% reliant on aid. let's not ioo% reliant on aid. let's not forget that we are living here, ten kilometres away in israel there are gourmet supermarkets, some of the best hydroponic technology anywhere in the world. food is clearly available, this is a man—made situation as we have been warning for several months. we are watching it happen, as are the people of gaza. 50% of whom are children. flan gaza. 5096 of whom are children. can ou see a gaza. 5096 of whom are children. can you see a way _ gaza. 50% of whom are children. can

you see a way in which all those people, you see them, can you see a way in which those people can be logistically moved for a israeli ground offensive to take place? ida. ground offensive to take place? no, these are ground offensive to take place? iifr, these are people who have moved multiple times, they have moved to the north, the middle area, move down to rafah. some of them have moved back to the middle area, we cannot see a way in which this can happen without a large—scale loss of life and further disruption. this will only exacerbate further the nutritional situation that people are facing, the dire conditions of hunger and starvation. after almost six months of this, people's immune systems are breaking down, the sanitary conditions here are breaking down. things fall apart in this timescale on a human, community and society level. it is very hard

for us to see how any of this can be done without large—scale loss of life, which is essential to be averted. . ~ life, which is essential to be averted. ., ~ , ., ., life, which is essential to be averted. ., ~' , ., ., ., averted. the thank you for “oining us from rafah. * averted. the thank you for “oining us from rafah. reflecting _ averted. the thank you forjoining us from rafah. reflecting on - averted. the thank you forjoiningl us from rafah. reflecting on some averted. the thank you forjoining - us from rafah. reflecting on some of the comments we heard from that phone call between the us president and the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu yesterday about that potential ground assault in rafah. more to come from east jerusalem but now back to the studio. a new photograph that appears to show the princess of wales, has been published just over a week after she admitted editing an official portrait of her, and her children. the sun newspaper has printed the picture on its front page, as well as the video it was taken from. catherine is seen smiling and walking alongside prince william. the paper says the video was taken at a farmer's market in windsor. the princess has not been seen in public since attending

a christmas day church service and underwent abdominal surgery injanuary. our correspondent simonjones is live in windsor. what has the sunset about the video and picture? this what has the sunset about the video and picture?— and picture? this is the front page ofthe and picture? this is the front page of the sun newspaper, _ and picture? this is the front page of the sun newspaper, the - and picture? this is the front page. of the sun newspaper, the headline is a royal world exclusive. it says, great to see you again kate. they say this picture was taken from a video filmed by someone who was visiting the shop behind me on saturday. the paper has spoken to the man who took the footage. he says he was doing shopping, when he looked over towards the bread aisle and then he saw a woman who looked rather familiar. and then he saw a woman who looked ratherfamiliar. he said and then he saw a woman who looked rather familiar. he said when and then he saw a woman who looked ratherfamiliar. he said when he and then he saw a woman who looked rather familiar. he said when he saw the man, he thought is that the royal couple? after leaving the shop he went to the car and decided to

film the couple as they left. it is possible that in the past, the sun and other newspapers may not have published an image like this because the couple were on a private trip. it wasn't any sort of official royal engagement but the newspaper said it decided to publish the image and release the video because it says it wants to end what it calls the madness of recent social media speculation. eversince madness of recent social media speculation. ever since it was announced that kate had gone into hospital to have abdominal surgery, there has been a huge amount of speculation online about what exactly she was suffering from, how her recovery was going. and that speculation reached fever pitch when kensington palace released a picture of catherine surrounded by her children but from the word go people thought the picture looked odd, something didn't seem right about it. the following day, catherine

apologised saying she had edited the video like many amateur photographers. and she apologised for confusion. kensington palace will be hoping that this picture in the newspaper today might help dampen down some of the more fevered speculation, certainly looking at social media this morning the conspiracy theorists are very much out in force. conspiracy theorists are very much out in force-— out in force. when you look at the social media _ out in force. when you look at the social media sites _ out in force. when you look at the social media sites it _ out in force. when you look at the social media sites it is _ out in force. when you look at the social media sites it is certainly i social media sites it is certainly not dampening the speculation. thank you for this regulation. around the world and across the uk this is bbc news.

this is bbc news. we've been reporting on the situation in haiti — and as the days go by, it's clear the country is sliding further and further into anarchy. our correspondent was one of the first international journalists to gain access. he's described chaos, violence and has said the caribbean country is succombing

to a spiralling security crisis. gangs control much of the capital, port au prince, where the bodies of at least a dozen people were discovered in a wealthy suburb. that's amid fighting with militias armed with machetes, trying to protect their own neighbourhoods. america is hopeful a transitional council, might be able to restore order, along with the deployment of international troops. but for now— the fighting continues. here's the bbc�*s will grant, reporting from cap—haitien. baby crying. just a day old — baby woodley�*s first cries are the same of those of children born anywhere — for food and for comfort. but as they get older, the children born in cap—haitien�*s maternity wing will find such essentials are far from guaranteed in haiti. markinsonjoseph tells me she would take her newborn boy out of the country altogether if she gets the chance. but she doesn't have

the money to flee. the first ward for pathology. as he shows us around dark and empty wards, dr clervil says the gangs�* control of the roads is making it impossible to find enough fuel to keep the lights on, let alone to bring in the drugs and equipment they need. translation: as you can see, we have beds and staff, - but often the patients just can't reach us because of their economic situation — or, more often than not, their safety. for some, it has had terrible consequences. louisemanie was eight and a half months pregnant when she came into hospital. by then, she had dangerously high blood pressure, and lost the baby. pre—eclampsia is treatable, had she been properly monitored or the baby been delivered early. louisemanie knows her loss was avoidable. the head of unicef has called the situation in haiti horrific, and likened the lawlessness to the post—apocalyptic

film mad max. the security situation aside, the humanitarian need here is critical, and the aid response so far has been painfully slow. the essential things of life are increasingly hard to find. in port—au—prince, farah oxima and her nine children have been forced from their home by the violence, and she's struggling to provide the food and water they need. "only god can change this place," she says, "because from where i'm sitting, i can't see where any other change is coming from." the gangs have such a grip of haiti, they are, in essence, dictating what happens next in this country — who can govern it, who lives in it, and who dies. will grant, bbc news, haiti. our correspondent has a long read on the bbc website with more stories from the people he met.

here in th uk — a group compensation claim has been launched for those affected by the pollution of the fourth—longest river— river wye, which lawyers say could add up to hundreds of millions of pounds. last year, the government's nature watchdog said the river's health was declining — with many putting the blame on the rapid expansion of industrial chicken farms in the area. our environment correspondent jonah fisher has the details. this is england's favourite river, and now it's like something out of charlie and the chocolate factory. pete used to love taking his coracle out on the river wye. if you'd have come here four years ago and we'd have been stood here, you could have seen the bottom of the river right the way across. people'd shout from the bank to me and i'd encourage them down and show them how to paddle a coracle. it broughtjoy notjust to me, but to lots of people. but the joy for pete has gone. the declining health of the river means going out just isn't fun any more. it feeds my anxiety, my depression.

it's damaging for my mental health. rather than coming off the river with a big grin and taking lots and lots of photos, which i then share — instead of that, i'm coming off angry. angry with who? angry with the people polluting the river. so who's to blame? these guys are at least part of the problem — the last decade has seen a massive expansion in chicken farming near the wye... ..and that means lots of chicken poo. and if too much of that is spread on fields as fertiliser, it runs off into the river, and can turn it green. the use of huge industrial chicken sheds helps keep prices down at the supermarket. but with the decline of the river clear to see, the question now being asked is whether those who live and work along the river wye might be entitled to compensation. lawyers are looking to bring a group

litigation against avara foods — the company which dominates chicken production near the wye. we're saying to people who have property along the river, people who enjoy the river, people who use the river — they can all come forward. private property owners have a right — a legal right — to be able to enjoy the river, be able to enjoy it without interference from pollution. so this is the living room. 0k. and that's the view you get. the river wye in our garden. that's what people pay for. mark rents out a holiday home on the banks of the wye, and he's worried he'll lose out because the riverjust isn't an attraction any more. we can't, with all honesty, say to people, "help yourself, swim in the river," because it's damaged. so let's wait and see how badly it affects our business. what are you hoping to achieve by being part of this group litigation? holding them to account, hitting them where it hurts — in their pocket — because that seems to be the only way, the only thing they understand,

and getting restitution for the river. somebody has to repair the damage. avara foods declined an interview, but told bbc news the wye's problems started before the expansion of chicken farms, and that other types of farming can also lead to nutrients in the river. "this is a year—old opportunistic attempt to profit from a serious environmental issue," its spokesperson said. "it has no merit, and is not supported by evidence or expert opinion." legal proceedings in the case are expected to start later this year. some news just some newsjust in. the cabinet secretary will be giving evidence to the covid info inquiry on thursday 24th of may. simon case was due to give evidence last year but was unable to due to ill health. it is

very likely that he will be asked about whatsapp messages he sent that were critical of the government's response during the pandemic. that news, the cabinet secretary simon case will be giving evidence to the covid inquiry on the 24th of may. we have been bringing you that coverage news channel as well as our app and website. we'll be sure to bring you coverage of that event as it happens. the participation of russian and belarusian athletes in the paris 2024 olympics opening ceremony is being discussed today at the international olympic committee executive board meeting.russian russian and bela rusian athletes cannot take part in team competitions at the july 26—aug 11 olympics, but are allowed to participate as neutrals — without flags or

anthems being played. the ioc had sanctioned russia and belarus after the february 2022 invasion of ukraine, which moscow calls a �*special military operation�*, but has since paved the way for their return to international competitions. let�*s speak to our correspondent imogen foulkes who is in bern for us. what�*s being discussed exactly and what�*s at stake today? what they are discussing today is whether russian athletes should participate in the opening ceremony. we know that paris has a grand plan, athlete sailing down the river, it could be a very beautiful opening ceremony. forthe could be a very beautiful opening ceremony. for the international olympic committee, the key thing, and for other countries participating, is that russia should not be allowed to demonstrate itself

as a powerful country, as a military power, particularly now as it has annexed these parts of ukraine. called in moscow the new territories, theoretically you could have athletes from those parts going to the olympics, representing russia. what the ioc is looking at is can we allow the few individual russian athletes who will come, can they be in the opening ceremony? candidate sail down the river under the russian flag? the answer is almost certainly going to be no. they will have two, if they take part, going under the olympic flag. one thing we should say, because russia�*s participation is already limited, no team sports, nobody who has come from one of these russian military teams which russia is

famous for. it will be individual sports, as few as a0 athletes. it will be the rump of a russian team compared to what we have seen in the past. compared to what we have seen in the ast. , . , compared to what we have seen in the ast. , ., , . ., , compared to what we have seen in the ast. , . , , _ past. they have been comments by the ma or of past. they have been comments by the mayor of paris — past. they have been comments by the mayor of paris when _ past. they have been comments by the mayor of paris when it _ past. they have been comments by the mayor of paris when it came _ past. they have been comments by the mayor of paris when it came to - mayor of paris when it came to israel, could you tell us more? there have been one or two questions recently with israel�*s attack on gaza following the hamas terrorist attack on israel. should israeli athletes be allowed to compete? there are many international lawyers, israel is being examined at the international court ofjustice at the moment on charges of crimes against humanity. that israel should not be competing either or not under the israeli flag. that has been completely dismissed by both the mayor of paris and by the head of

the ioc. many would agree with them, the ioc. many would agree with them, the situation between russia and israel are entirely different. what israel are entirely different. what i would say is that i also report for the united nations in geneva, there are member states from the global south, from muslim countries who point to what they say is evidence of serious violations of international law during this conflict in gaza and that should raise the participation of israel into question.— raise the participation of israel into cuestion. . ., , ., ., ., into question. thank you for that, we will bring _ into question. thank you for that, we will bring you _ into question. thank you for that, we will bring you more _ into question. thank you for that, we will bring you more updates i into question. thank you for that, | we will bring you more updates as into question. thank you for that, - we will bring you more updates as we have them. the organisers of a football match in hong kong have begun the process of reimbursing fans disappointed by the non—appearance of the argentine striker lionel messi six weeks ago. almost forty—thousand fans attended the friendly between messi�*s inter miami and a local hong kong team, only for messi to sit out the match because of injury.

the no—show sparked boos from the crowd and accusations from some that his absence was a political snub to china. ticket holders will be entitled to a fifty—percent refund, on the condition that they don�*t launch legal action. we have plenty more stories coming up we have plenty more stories coming up so please stay with us here on bbc news. hello. many of us started the day on a cloudy note with a fair few showers. a lot of showers will ease through the course of the day but as we go through the next few days, we are looking at spells of wind and rain, it will be mild by day and night but it will turn cold at the end of the week. significant wind—chill when we get the weekend. this is the kind of rainfall we can

expect, we are looking at accumulations especially in the west where you see the dark blues and greens. up to 50 millimetres, possibly a bit more in places, following an already saturated ground. today, a lot of the cloud will break up, sunny spells will develop but there will still be a few showers here and there, cloud thickening in the south—west heralding the arrival of rain and the wind will continue to ease. temperatures, 9—16 c. the rain gathers pace as it moves northwards and eastwards, it will miss a lot of the south—east, it won�*t get into the south—east, it won�*t get into the north west of scotland where we will have clear skies. he attempt as could dip towards freezing so you could dip towards freezing so you could start the day with a touch of frost. mild for the time of year as we push down towards the south. tomorrow, we start with rain across parts of wales, northern england, southern and eastern scotland. it could travel for the north but sunny skies will follow behind pushing

eastwards. sunny skies will be in the south—east where we can have highs of 18 degrees. a lot of cloud will linger across northern england and wales with patchy light rain. as we move from wednesday into thursday, this ridge of high pressure, weather fronts across the north of country and we can see from the isobars it will be windy. we are looking at the risk of gales across the northern and western isles, pushing to the east, dry conditions as we can further south. it will be fairly cloudy but is mild, 16 degrees and 12 in the north. beyond that, a cold front comes in and pushes south chasing a way that mild air, the blues representing colder conditions and the wind changed to a northerly direction. this weekend we will see a significant wind—chill, it will be wet and windy at times and the temperatures will be lower so don�*t put away your big coatjust

yet.

this is bbc news, the headlines... homeless and addicted to fentanyl — we have a special report on a near—death experience that helped one user get clean as the epidemic rages on in the us. donald trump�*s assets could be seized — the former us president fails to make an almost half a million dollar bond needed to appeal a judgement in a civilfraud case. and gillian anderson plays emily maitlis.

the famous bbc newsnight interview with prince andrew hits netflix. let�*s come back to the situation in haiti. gangs control much of —— much of the capital, port—au—prince, where the bodies of at least a dozen people were discovered in a wealthy suburb amid fighting with militias armed with machetes trying to protect their own neighbourhoods. of course, there is a humanitarian crisis that is beginning. let�*s speak to a spokesperson for the humanitarian aid organisation medecins sans frontieres. we appreciate your time. our own correspondence has described extremely violent scenes, he is inside the country.— extremely violent scenes, he is inside the country. what have you heard? i inside the country. what have you heard? i am _ inside the country. what have you heard? i am hurt— inside the country. what have you heard? i am hurt the _ inside the country. what have you heard? i am hurt the city- inside the country. what have you heard? i am hurt the city is- heard? i am hurt the city is literally being buried under the violence which has spread to

practically every neighbourhood in the last few