put on a war footing against russia. and the local community fighting the pollution of one of britain's haiti descends into anarchy — violent gangs now controlling large parts of the caribbean nation. hello, welcome to verified live. the entire population of gaza is in need of humanitarian assistance and is suffering severe levels of acute food insecurity — those are the words of the us secretary of state, antony blinken, today. it's a stark assessment of the ongoing crisis in the territory as american pressure on israel grows. mr blinken has urged israel to prioritise the delivery of supplies into gaza. it comes as the un human rights office has said israel's continued restrictions on getting aid in may amount to use of starvation as method of war.

in a phone call, president biden told the israeli prime minister of his deep concerns over a planned assault on rafah in southern gaza. in the last hour, the white house has said that a meeting between the us and israel to discuss rafah will likely take place next week. but benjamin netyanyahu has just said there's no way to destroy hamas in rafah other than by a ground incursion. all this as talks continue in qatar in a bid to secure a ceasefire deal. let's get this report from anna foster, injerusalem. at gaza's southern tip, the aftermath of another israeli air strike. 1.4 million displaced people are now sheltering in rafah, and israel has made it clear it wants to go further. a ground offensive, it says, would remove hamas from gaza entirely. but there's international pressure to avoid even more deaths. the message from israel's allies to its leaders is getting stronger. our position is that hamas should

not be allowed a safe haven in rafah or anywhere else, but a major ground operation there would be a mistake. as rafah�*s displaced fear what might come next, their presence is just as hard. medical supplies, water and food are scarce. translation: my daughter said that she wants to eat _ boiled eggs and i say, "how can i bring you boiled eggs? "the situation does not allow us to. "our situation was below zero before the war. "so what do you expect after the war? "worse and worse." in the north of gaza, famine is nowjust weeks away. few aid convoys are reaching that part of the strip. and in a second us intervention overnight, its top diplomat antony blinken said more needs to be done to save lives. if you look at some of the assessments that we're seeing now, they only underscore the urgency of making sure that this assistance is a priority and that it's sustained.

again, 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. talks towards a ceasefire have restarted in qatar. i'm cautiously optimistic that - the negotiations have continued... negotiators cautioned that a deal will still take time. screaming explosion and in gaza's rubble, the prospect of a pause in fighting feels as far away as ever. anna foster, bbc news, jerusalem. let's go to mark lowen injerusalem. we've been reporting on those comments from the secretary of state, antony blinken, they are pretty stark in what he sees as the

situation in gaza. what reaction i we had from the israeli government, if any? we had from the israeli government, if an ? , ., ., ., , if any? the israeli government has accused reviewed _ if any? the israeli government has accused reviewed accused - if any? the israeli government has accused reviewed accused hamasl if any? the israeli government has l accused reviewed accused hamas of disrupting a deliveries, in fact they even blocked the head of the un... the first time they've done that since the war began. i went to a briefing with him, the secretary—general of the un mission for palestinian refugees, and he said that he feels there is an attack at the moment on his function, and on the function of the un mission for palestinian refugees, with the israeli government depicting it as some kind of —— somehow politically biased and trying to discredit the un mission itself. now he said that the situation in terms of famine in gaza is unprecedented, because what we've

seenin is unprecedented, because what we've seen in somalia and parts of east africa, and the sahara over the last decade or so is that famine was the result of a mixture of climate change, conflict and failed policies. what we see in gaza is this has happened under the world's watch in the last four months of this war, and that therefore the famine that is looming now and could be declared in northern gaza as early as the end of may is entirely man—made, and is unacceptable in the eyes of the un that the world is stepping back and watching this. so they are calling for not only an urgent and massive injection of aid, but an urgent cease—fire for those aid deliveries to have some kind of level of security as they get into much—needed areas. find level of security as they get into much-needed areas.— level of security as they get into much-needed areas. and i'm 'ust readina much-needed areas. and i'm 'ust reading thatfi much-needed areas. and i'm 'ust reading that the i much-needed areas. and i'm 'ust reading that the us i much-needed areas. and i'm 'ust reading that the us has i much-needed areas. and i'm 'ust reading that the us has been h much-needed areas. and i'm just i reading that the us has been saying that israel should let the head of that israel should let the head of that agency that you are talking about into gaza, a state department spokesperson saying, "our believe is

they should be able to..." they say there is to be a meeting between the us and israel next week to talk about that much talked about incursion into rafah. does it seem like the israeli position will ever change on that? it seems like mr netanyahu is determined that that is the way forward, as he said, he believes that's the only way to contain hamas. he believes that's the only way to contain hamas.— believes that's the only way to contain hamas. he said as much toda , contain hamas. he said as much today. he _ contain hamas. he said as much today. he was — contain hamas. he said as much today, he was speaking - contain hamas. he said as much today, he was speaking to - contain hamas. he said as much today, he was speaking to the l today, he was speaking to the knesset, the israeli parliament, saying israel is determined to push in and destroy hamas battalions there. that would be in defiance of not only huge concerns over the fate of the 1.5 million palestinians sheltering down and rafah, but also in defiance of warnings coming from virtually all of israel's western allies. the us leading the pack — joe biden and netanyahu spoke by phone last night, their first

conversation in month, and biden has somehow summoned an israeli delegation to washington to present them with a credible plan for rafah, saying it is absolutely unthinkable that the israelis would send in the military to such a crowded area without having a proper evacuation plan. now it is very difficult to read netanyahu's intentions and all this because he sent an israeli delegation to doha or peace talks in qatar, while at the same time going on everyday about his intention to push into rafah. is hejust trying to up the pressure on hamas, it's very hard to tell. but i think israel's firm belief is that unless they go into rafah destroy hamas there, than their aim of the destruction of hamas would go unfinished.— destruction of hamas would go unfinished. ~ ., ., ., ~ abeer etefa is the senior middle east spokesperson for the world food programme. she gave me her assessment of the situation. well, the situation as described

by everyone is quite catastrophic. we have a famine imminent in the north of gaza and is expected to arrive any day. we could actually be in it. unless the fighting stops and aid agencies are able to send supplies and have full access throughout gaza and especially the north, then hundreds if not thousands of people, especially children, would die of hunger and starvation. we need immediate action. many, many people have already died and too many lives have been lost. that means getting essential aid in. we're showing pictures on the screen of people who are queueing up to get food, holding pots and pans in those visuals that we showed a moment ago, desperate for food. how much aid are you able to get in? there is more aid getting through. there is aid getting through, but not in the way that is enough to avert the famine.

the only way to avert the catastrophic hunger in gaza is to bring in huge amounts of food assistance today, tomorrow and every day for the next few months. we need a minimum of 300 trucks going into gaza every day and especially to the north. there are food supplies ready to be deployed and, given the right conditions, we can scale up to feed all the 2.2 million people across gaza at least for a month or two months. we need more entry points into gaza including one into the north. we need many crossing points to bring in food aid. we need to be able to use the parallel raods so that they are available for daily convoys and safe access to the north. road access is a priority, there is nothing that can replace the efficiency and the safety

and having an organised delivery overland. all other attempts are going to be a drop in the ocean. and what else can be done? we're talking aboutjust basic food supplies now? what do people have access to at the moment? nothing. they have very limited access to food supply. the assistance that's trickling in is still really a drop in the ocean, otherwise we would not be sitting today and talking about an imminent famine. and the other important element is that we need a ceasefire, a decisive factor that could turn this around. as well stopping the fighting it would allow the humanitarian community to roll out massive relief supplies and that is what is needed at the moment. kensington palace has confirmed that images taken by a member of the public and published

by the sun of catherine, princess of wales, on a shopping trip with prince william in windsor, are genuine. the photograph has been published just over a week after she admitted editing an official portrait of her and her children. the princess has been out of the public eye since christmas, after having abdominal surgery. here's our royal correspondent sean coughlan. a blurry video of a couple going shopping at the weekend has become an international talking point. the pictures of prince william and catherine, published by the sun, are the first video images of the princess since her abdominal surgery injanuary. the unexpected appearance of a house of windsor in a windsor farm shop shows that she's back on herfeet and looking relaxed and smiling. there has been a whirlwind of social media speculation and conspiracy theories about the princess's health. it follows the release of a photograph on mother's day, which added to a febrile sense of uncertainty, when it was withdrawn by photo agencies after concerns it had been manipulated. people on london bridge this morning gave their views.

it's good to see she's back and hopefully she's doing well. i'm sure it will be quite nice for her to potter around, do some shopping with her husband. —— to walk around. if she is well, fantastic, but yeah, i couldn't say| i was really concerned about it. she looks fine, she looks just going about her day, doesn't she? i've no feelings about that at all, i'm afraid. it's neither here or there whether she is out and about or not, really. kensington palace has not commentated on the video and are still calling for privacy, but there are further questions about a previous picture of the late queen elizabeth ii, taken by catherine. getty images are now saying the photo has been digitally enhanced. prince william will hope the focus can switch to his more official engagements, as he visits projects for the homeless in sheffield. our royal correspondent sean coughlan joins us from the newsroom. just bring us up—to—date on what we

know now, so this is the first video footage we've seen of catherine, princess of wales, since her abdominal surgery. princess of wales, since her abdominalsurgery. have princess of wales, since her abdominal surgery. have we heard any more from the family? i abdominal surgery. have we heard any more from the family?— more from the family? i think this is the most _ more from the family? i think this is the most significant _ more from the family? i think this is the most significant fact - more from the family? i think this is the most significant fact that it| is the most significant fact that it is the most significant fact that it is a video image. we had previous stills showing catherine with her family and also some grainy paparazzi shots, which we didn't publish in the uk but was seen overseas. here we've seen her in moving images, and it shows that she's up on her feet and looking relaxed, and smiling. it might go some way to challenging some of the more outlandish conspiracy theories that have been doing the rounds— because in the background all this in the last few weeks, there's been a frenzy of speculation and social media rumour—mongering, and speculation that's gone around and around, so perhaps this will be a possible way of saying that she is quite well and looks 0k — of course

these artificial images, kensington palace has responded by saying that we have to respect the privacy of the princess, particularly when she's recovering from surgery. but this might go some way to suggesting that she is in quite well and seemed to be smiling and relaxed.— that she is in quite well and seemed to be smiling and relaxed. thank you very much- — around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

this is bbc news. nicholas hawkes was convicted last month of sending unsolicited explicit photos to a 15—year—old girl and woman. unsolicited explicit photos to a 15-year-old girl and woman. nicholas hawkes has — 15-year-old girl and woman. nicholas hawkes has been _ 15-year-old girl and woman. nicholas hawkes has been sentenced - 15-year-old girl and woman. nicholas hawkes has been sentenced to - 15-year-old girl and woman. nicholas hawkes has been sentenced to 66 - hawkes has been sentenced to 66 weeks in prison — that's a year for these new offences, and 1a weeks for

breaching existing court orders. he had pleaded guilty to sending pictures of his genitals unsolicited to two women on february the 9th. one was a woman in her 60s, another a teenage girl. one message was sent by whatsapps, the other by eye message. in his defence, his barrister said that he had suffered from very severe posttraumatic stress disorder after being kidnapped and tortured back in 2016. he said this had left him wanting to "create chaos," and he claimed mr fox got no sexual gratification from sending these messages. thejudge, samantha lee, said she did not accept that, and she sensed mr fox, as i was saying, to 66 weeks in prison. and he will remain on the sex offenders register for 15 years from now. w . sex offenders register for 15 years from now. ,. ., �*

the us secretary of defence, lloyd austin, has tried to reassure allies about his country's commitment to ukraine in its fight against russia's invasion. he said in an opinion piece carried by a number of european publications, mr michel said russia's full—scale invasion of ukraine posed the greatest security challenge since the second world war, and urged members to invest in weapons procurement and production. elisabeth braw is a senior fellow at the atlantic council and author of the book goodbye globalisation. it is an old saying, is it not? if you want peace, prepare for war. and the point i think that michel is making is that we say, we want peace. but that means having to address a pretty uncomfortable fact with the public, which is that we have to run our economy differently, run our societies differently, because if we don't, we won't be able to support ukraine to the extent it needs. and we may face aggression from russia and others ourselves.

what is a wartime economy? in this economy — an economy that's that's really set up to produce the things, the items that the armed forces need to defend the country, or indeed, in this case, to to help defend ukraine. and one of the issues we have seen when it comes to deliveries to ukraine, and indeed western government's efforts to shore up our own armed forces, is that they can spend money. they can allocate money, they can sign the contracts with defence manufacturers. but if the defence manufacturers don't have enough workers to make the equipment, and indeed to make the ammunition, then not very much will happen. so the 2% debate that keeps being hashed out and regurgitated across various western countries is pointless. if we don't have people who can make the equipment which we intend to buy with this 2% of gdp.

to haiti next — and there seems little the world can do for the moment, but simply watch the country slide further into anarchy. gangs control much of the capital, port—au—prince, where the bodies of at least a dozen people were discovered in a wealthy suburb. the us is hopeful a transitional council, might be able to restore order, along with the deployment of international troops, but for now the violence continues — as will grant reports 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. earlier, i spoke to matt knight — he is the country director of aid agency goal haiti. element currently in lockdown in our compound at the— compound at the minute, i'm not allowed out _ compound at the minute, i'm not allowed out of _ compound at the minute, i'm not allowed out of the _ compound at the minute, i'm not allowed out of the compound. . compound at the minute, i'm not| allowed out of the compound. we opened the office yesterday, but we were aware there was a shooting

incident relatively close to the area where our office and our compound is. so staff safety is always a priority for us, so we had to close the office and make sure that our staff could get home safely. so yeah, and it's a constant daily occurrence that we can hear shooting — and like i said, it's disrupting our services, or office opening hours, and it's disrupting everybody�*s lives. so yeah, it's pretty scary. everybody's lives. so yeah, it's pretty scary-— everybody's lives. so yeah, it's pretty scary. mark drakeford has held his last _ pretty scary. mark drakeford has held his last session _ pretty scary. mark drakeford has held his last session of - pretty scary. mark drakeford has| held his last session of questions as the first minister of wales. he told the senedd that he was proud of the welsh assembly for its mature progressive politics. in his resignation speech, he thanked the welsh people and his colleagues for their support during the hardest and saddest year. his wife died suddenly at the beginning of last year, he also said he'd support the new first ministerfrom also said he'd support the new first minister from the back benches. let's have a listen. this minister from the back benches. let's have a listen.— minister from the back benches. let's have a listen. as my time is first measure _ let's have a listen. as my time is first measure comes _ let's have a listen. as my time is first measure comes to _ let's have a listen. as my time is first measure comes to an - let's have a listen. as my time is first measure comes to an end, l first measure comes to an end, i look forward to playing my part in

the backbenchers. to supporting the new first minister and the welsh government, and to work with others to see how the beliefs and values of the great welsh radical tradition. i'm a socialist myself, always have been and always will be. at the work is to see how we can continue to make relevant that tradition to the nature of wales today. circulation over speculation over which actor will take on the role of james bond has been mounting once again, after reports that british actor aaron taylorjohnson has been offered the role. emer mccarthy has more. it's one of the most coveted jobs in cinema and speculation is rife that aaron taylor—johnson is set to be the nextjames bond. the sun newspaper is reporting that the 33—year—old has been formally offered the role, and he's set to sign a contract later this week. he would, of course, be taking overfrom daniel craig. he stood down as zero seven back in 2021 after starring in five films.

but there are a few other names in the mix. they include henry cavill. he's already played superman, but he says that he'd love to play bond. idris elba has also shown interest, but at 51, he's acknowledged that he may now be too old to take on zero seven. -- 007. hot off his oscars win, cillian murphy's name has also been thrown in the mix. his fellow irishman and former bond, pierce brosnan, says that he thinks he'd do a magnificentjob. but pierce brosnan has also been singing the praises of bridgerton heart—throb rege—jean page. he thinks that he'd be a wonderful bond as well. the next bond film will be the 26th in the series, with insiders saying production is set to start later this year. some breaking news thatjust come into us — we are hearing that

russian and belarusian athletes will not take part in the olympics opening ceremony, that's come from the ioc. now the ioc last year suspended russia from the games but gave the green light for russian athletes to compete as neutrals outside of team events, as long as they do not actively support the russian invasion of ukraine. we will have more on that in the next half hour. please stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. although south—east england and east anglia kept a lot of cloud during tuesday, the rest of the uk actually the weather brightened up quite nicely, with some good spells of sunshine coming through — for example, here in county durham. and it was mild, especially around lincolnshire. temperatures widely here reached around 16 celsius. but the next weather system is already showing on the satellite picture, with cloud thickening from the south—west. and overnight tonight, we're looking at rain moving in. now the rain will be at its heaviest across northern ireland, northern england, wales, and probably the north midlands.

temperatures keeping up at around 9—11 celsius across england and wales. scotland and northern ireland, around sixes and sevens. wednesday, then, we start off with rain in northern ireland — but the wettest weather looks likely to affect wales, northern england, and the midlands through the course of the day. it's not clear that we'll see rain as far north as northern scotland, so it might actually be a dry and bright day here, and a lot of cloud for east anglia, south—east england — could thicken up to give an odd patch of rain through the afternoon. but it will stay mild — 15—16 celsiusin the warmest spots. north midlands northwards, the weather will be cooler — temperatures around 10—11 at best. now, that cooler slice of weather across the north isn't going to last long, because we've got this slab of milder air moving in behind this warm front for thursday. and that is going to be bringing some more rain, particularly to scotland. and it's notjust wet weather, it's also going to be windy — with gusts across northern scotland reaching 50, perhaps 60mph. the rain trickles southwards into northern ireland through the afternoon — but on thursday, across england

and wales, cloud will probably thin and break to give some sunny spells. it will probably stay dry for wales, midlands, east anglia, and southern england. highest temperatures up to 16 celsius. so pretty mild, but it's all change again for friday — a cold front pushes southwards, introducing much cooler and fresher air, with those north westerly winds following. so, weather—wise, our cold fronts bring some cloud and rain to england and wales during friday. the rain could be slow to clear away from south—east england. behind that the sun comes out, but there'll be loads of showers for scotland, northern ireland, and the north—west of both england and wales. the showers for these areas — heavy with some hail and thunder, and temperatures for the most part around about average, 9—12 celsius. it stays unsettled, then, through the weekend. loads more showers to come, and, as well as that, there'll be a chilly north—westerly wind. bye for now.

this is bbc news, the headlines. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, warns the entire population of gaza is suffering �*severe levels of acute food insecurity�*. new footage shows the princess of wales out shopping with prince william the first video of her since her abdominal surgery. the president of the european council calls for eu economies to be put on a war footing against russia.

and the uk parliament tackles football — a new bill is introduced after calls for an independent regulator. sport and for a full round—up, here�*s the bbc sport centre. a football governance bill that will see an independent regulator oversee professional football in the uk has been introduced to parliament for the first time. the legislation would grant powers to a body, free from control of government and football authorities to oversee clubs in england�*s top five men�*s tiers and ensure long term financial stability of the men�*s professional game. it would include a funding deal for premier league clubs to give some of their money to clubs lower down the football pyramid. i see all sides and it is not for me as a government minister to be saying how much the premier league should be giving to the efl. what i would say is you need to make, it would say is you need to make, it would be helpful if you made an offer to efl and come to an arrangement between the two leagues.

if they do not do that,