hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. the biden administration is warning that a supreme court decision to allow a texas law on migration to take effect will damage american border security. on tuesdayjustices refused to block an order that would let state officials arrest and deport people suspected of illegally crossing into the us from mexico. the court rejected a bid by the biden white house to block the controversial immigration policy, while a legal battle over the measure plays out in a lowerfederal appeals court. crossing the us border illegally is already a federal crime, but violations are usually handled as civil cases by the immigration court system. mexico's government says it will not accept migrants who texas state officials try to deport under the law. in a statement, the mexican foreign ministry said: "mexico patrick svitek covers texas

for the washington post. i asked him what impact this ruling will have. for the time being, it allows texas to move forward with implementing this very aggressive law that really asserts an almost unprecedented state role in enforcement of border and immigration enforcement, which is a federal responsibility. i should note that this issue, the merits of it, are still pending before a lower court, so this legal battle is far from over. you said "this unprecedented challenge" — we have seen a stand—off between the federal government, the biden administration and texas's governor greg abbott over this issue — immigration. where do you see this heading next? i think it is an issue that will continue winding up at the highest court, because these legal issues we are talking about are profound, and they get at the fundamental delineation between the state and federal

governments and their unique role in the constitutions. it will continue to be a political issue, but it will also continue to be a legal issue that continues to work its way back up to the highest court in the land, the us supreme court, whether it is related to this law, or other laws that texas lawmakers have passed in recent years. immigration is playing a major role in this year's presidential election. on tuesday president biden accused donald trump of "despising latinos". mr trump meanwhile released a campaign video slamming mr biden�*s handling of the migration crisis. both biden and trump have already wrapped up their parties�* presumptive nominations. but there are still primaries taking place. tuesday saw voting in some states that will be vital to victory come november. and down ballot races will be key to watch to see how some races might affect who controls congress. donald trump is easily projected to win his home state of florida this evening. earlier in the day he cast his ballot there. former first lady melania trump was by his side. she's been largely absent

from his campaign so far. germany said on tuesday it will send an aid package to ukraine, worth 500 million euro, that's about us $540 million. germany's defence minister boris pistorius announced the package. it includes 10,000 rounds of ammunition and 200 military vehicles. pistorius�*s announcement comes as the us, ukraine's main supporter in staving off a russian invasion, struggles to pass a $60 billion aid package of its own. but germany's defence minister said he has no doubt about the reliability of the americans. and speaking in germany, us defence secretary lloyd austin reaffirmed that message as he met with us allies and ukrainian officials. today, ukraine's survival is in danger, and america's security is at risk, and they don't have a day waste, and we don't have a day to spare either. so i leave here today fully determined to keep us security assistance and ammunition

flowing, and that's a matter of survival and sovereignty for ukraine, and it's a matter of honour and security foramerica, and, make no mistake, putin is watching, the world is watching and history is watching. 0ur berlin correspondent jessica parker had this analysis of mr austin's comments. i think lloyd austin's trying to reassure kyiv, trying to reassure other allies, as well, who send weapons support to ukraine. i think he also seemed to have a message for domestic audiences. he was making the argument that what happens in ukraine really matters to america's security, as well. but here in europe, people are talking more and more about how europe might need to become more self—sufficient, in terms of defence and deterrence, notjust because of the $60 billion aid package being stuck in congress, but also because of the uncertainty surrounding us election cycles.

there are officials i have spoken to who fear that a donald trump presidency, should the republican hopeful be re—elected, could undermine the nato military alliance, given remarks mr trump has previously made. but nations in europe, some of them here in germany, for example, they've got a long way to go, or much ground to make up. here in germany, yes, they are set to meet the 2% nato defence spending target this year, but that will be for the first time since the early �*90s. here in washington, two retired us generals who led the chaotic withdrawal from afghanistan in 2021, testified in front of congress. they placed blame on both the trump and biden administrations for the pullout that led to the rapid collapse of the afghan government, and allowed the taliban, characterized as a terrorist organisation by the us and the uk, to seize control of the country. mark milley, former joint chiefs of staff chairman, and kenneth mckenzie, who led the us central command were speaking to a house foreign affairs committee hearing on the withdrawal from afghanistan on tuesday.

it was their first testimony since each of them retired, allowing them to be more candid then in previous testimonies. having a plan is one thing. preparing the plan, vetting the plan, coordinating the plan with the people that are going to actually carry you out, the department of defence, that's another set of tasks completely. and that was too little, too late. it was myjudgement that it was far too little, far too late. was that your assessment, general milley? it was. and i would broaden it a little bit by saying it was a pretty. consistent assessment - by me and other members of the uniform military, up - to and including the secretary, that the withdrawal. of the military forces, and the contractors in the nato forces that went with it - would ultimately lead, j as i said in my opening statement, to a general collapse of the nsf - and the government. in the tumultuous final days of the exit, 13 us service members and dozens of afghan civilians were killed in a bombing at the airport in kabul, afghanistan's capital. family members of the american soldiers who died attended the hearing in

washington earlier. and as you heard in that sound bite a moment ago, the generals agree the biden administration is to blame for the poor timing of the evacuation. but general milley said that the doha agreement, which former president trump negotiated with the taliban to set the terms for the us departure, "pulled the rug out, morale wise" of the afghan security forces and government. despite the finger pointing, they agreed that no single factor alone led to american failures in afghanistan. they said the us should take a deeper look at entire 20—year conflict, notjust the exit. turning now to the war in gaza and israel says that it is doing "everything it can to flood gaza with aid". that's after the us secretary of state, antony blinken, warned that the entire population was experiencing "severe levels of acute food insecurity". meaning that their lives are in danger because they can't consume an adequate level of food. mr blinken called on israel to prioritise providing help for those in need, and issued this warning, during a trip to the philippines. 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. all of this comes as the un human rights office says israel's continued restrictions on getting aid in �*may amount to use of starvation as method of war which is a war crime�*. earlier today, white house spokesperson karinejean pierre said that the biden administration is "deeply concerned" by a report indicating an imminent famine in gaza. she also said there would be a meeting between the us and israel on the situation in rafah next week. meanwhile, benjamin netyanyahu said there's no way to destroy hamas in rafah, other than by a ground incursion. and efforts to secure a ceasefire are expected to continue on wednesday.

that's despite the political leader of hamas accusing israel of sabotaging talks, with its assault on monday at al—shifa hospital. for more on the humanitarian situation in gaza, i spoke to shaza moghraby, a spokesperson for the world food programme, based in new york. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, said today gaza's 2 million people are experiencing "severe levels "of acute food insecurity". how do you characterise what we are seeing across gaza? thank you so much for having me. i think the results that we've seen yesterday of the report really speak to the horrific images we have been seeing coming out of gaza on a daily basis. whether it is people resorting to extreme measures to feed themselves, such as making bread out of animal feed and animalfodder, to children who are acutely malnourished, their rib cages are literally poking out of their bodies, to people risking their lives and putting themselves in the line of fire to reach aid convoys,

because they want to spare their children the excruciatingly painful fate of death by starvation. no one can claim that they didn't see this coming. we have been warning, sounding the alarm bell since november, and 1.1 million people suffering the severest level of acute food insecurity, hunger, this is double the number that we had in december, in a matter of months. a stain on our collective humanity. we need to act now to stop it. we have heard the word famine be used, especially for the north of gaza. can a famine still be prevented in gaza at this point? the answer is yes. as catastrophic as this is, what we have learned in the last couple of months is that it could actually get much more darker than it is today, and we do have a very small window of opportunity to act.

what we need is an immediate ceasefire. we need unfettered access into gaza, and also within gaza, and we need that access to the road access, because there is no competition to road access, given the epic level of needs on the ground. when we speak to spokespeople for the israeli government, they have accused hamas of stealing aid that is meant to go to innocent people in gaza, who need it most direly. has your organisation seen any proof of that? we haven't seen any credible evidence of that. we know that the suffering in gaza is very severe, and we need to get in there. we need our suppliers to flow in as soon as possible, and for that to happen, we need all entry points to be open, we need crossings such as the karni crossing to open, and also we need israel to allow us the use of the ashdod port to facilitate aid through that. if we can do that, we can avert

famine, which can happen anytime between now and in the northern parts of gaza. at this point, looking at the situation as you have described it, what is your message to the international community, both nonprofit organisations, working of course to alleviate the situation, but also governments? this is entirely on the international community. if famine is allowed to happen, this is a shared responsibility, so we are calling on the international community to do whatever it takes to stop the situation from deteriorating any further. let us do ourjobs. we in wfp are experts at averting famine. we have averted famine in yemen, we can do a u—turn on this, but in order to do this, we need a ceasefire. we need unfettered humanitarian access, so let us do ourjob. what are we waiting for? time is running out, we don't have much time, and we need a solution

so that we can have the access that we need to prevent this humanitarian catastrophe from getting much worse. we'll have to leave it there, but thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news tonight. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some stories in the uk. a convicted paedophile has become the first person to be found guilty of the new offence of �*cyber flashing' in england and wales. nicholas hawkes from essex was sentenced to more than a year in prison after pleading guilty to sending unsolicited, explicit photos to a 15—year—old girl and a woman. the offence came into effect on january 31. fashion chain ted baker is set to go into administration, putting hundreds ofjobs at risk. us—based authentic brands group has owned the ted baker brand since 2022, and said that the "damage done" during a merger with anotherfirm was "too much to overcome". ted baker's stores and website will remain open during the search for

a potential buyer. the outgoing first minister of wales, mark drakeford, fought back tears as he made a farewell speech on his last day in office. the 69—year—old had to pause briefly as he mentioned the death of his wife of 46 years, clare. he thanked the welsh people and his colleagues for their support, during what he called the "hardest and saddest�* year of his life. at the end of his speech, drakeford received a standing ovation. you're live with bbc news. human rights groups in hong kong say a sweeping security law passed on tuesday will create a new authoritarian era. the measures, known as article 23, expand on security laws already imposed by china and establish harsher penalties such as life imprisonment for offences such as treason. they also allow for closed—door trials, and give the police rights to detain suspects for up to 16 days without charge. the territory's chief executive, john lee, said the law would help stop "plots and traps set up by foreign intelligence units", and prevent "black—clad violence and colour

revolution". the territory's largely pro—beijing legislative council passed the law unanimously. past attempts to enact article 23 met with stiff resistance from pro—democracy activists and lawmakers. this time, though, a month—long public consultation showed 99% support for the bill. the us state department, condemned the law, and said the united states is considering its response. but regina ip, one of the pro—beijing lawmakers, said hong kong's leaders wouldn't be deterred by threats from the west, including a possible further downgrade from credit rating agencies. the safeguarding national security bill, which was just enacted, will make hong kong safer and more secure, so i don't see why any country would want to downgrade a travel advisory. as the president pointed out, hong kong is a very appealing city. i think people who take actions against us, who downgrades us or threaten sanctions against us, they will regret it, and we are not daunted by these threats.

for more on all this i spoke with anna kwok, a hong kong democracy activist now based in the united states and executive director of the hong kong democracy council. what exactly would this article 23 change?— 23 change? four years ago we saw a limitation _ 23 change? four years ago we saw a limitation of _ 23 change? four years ago we saw a limitation of national. saw a limitation of national security law, that was the law that offered legal grounds for political arrest of a lot of hong kong refs. today with the passage of article 2031 think it is the nail in the coffin of hong kong as a globalfinancial hub because what the bill entails is not only an expanded grant of political rest of hong kong but also foreigners who happen to be in hong kong. in the bill, there are sentiments about theft of state secrets without really explaining what sticks in qatar. we can imagine

the law will be used quite conveniently manipulated by the hong kong government to arrest people over espionage concerns. what we are seeing is hong kong is becoming more and more similar to chinese dell judiciary through the new national security framework. if you look at what the authorities are saying, to bbc asked the hong kong government about article 23 and they said it targets a very small number of people who jeopardised national security, of people who jeopardised nationalsecurity, not of people who jeopardised national security, not the general public. how many people do you think this will impact? even though the number of people they will actually be put in jail through the claims of article 23 may be limited but at the moment we are seeing 1800 political prisoners in hong kong. it also poses a lot of thought to hong kong around the world i along with other hong kong activists are having this bounty on our head. the

ability not — this bounty on our head. the ability not only _ this bounty on our head. tue: ability not only affects this bounty on our head. tte: ability not only affects us but also impacts other people from hong kong who want to voice their opinions abroad, in the united states as well. even they will be subjected to the theorists and possible arrest through article 23 and national security law. at the end of the day, it is about the chilling effect it has created and about this mass mobilisation of fear and also your surveillance of hong kong residents. tt and also your surveillance of hong kong residents.- and also your surveillance of hong kong residents. it will be civen hong kong residents. it will be given authority _ hong kong residents. it will be given authority to _ hong kong residents. it will be given authority to ban - given authority to ban organisations from operating in hong kong, should they be found looking for "foreign forces". what do you think that means? what do you think that means? what would be considered a form for us? ., , , what would be considered a form forus? ., ,, _., , for us? for myself, my bounty was also _ for us? for myself, my bounty was also based _ for us? for myself, my bounty was also based on _ for us? for myself, my bounty was also based on polluting i for us? for myself, my bountyl was also based on polluting our foreign forces and what i did was on the top two international nonprofits around the world, talking to congress and the us government about what we can do for hong kong. in the future, once the article 23 is enacted this saturday, i

imagine hong kong residents would have to be more careful about engaging with foreigners and that includes international nonprofits. an environmental rights, non—profit, gender rights, non—profit, gender rights nonprofits, these communications can be considered as colluding with foreign forces. tt considered as colluding with foreign forces.— considered as colluding with foreign forces. it is no reason was of the — foreign forces. it is no reason was of the us _ foreign forces. it is no reason was of the us state _ foreign forces. it is no reason i was of the us state department issued concern. the uk as well. the government says the injustice and article 23 follows an edge present support group following the last public consultation in hong kong. is there way to get a sense of many people in hong kong to support this measure?- many people in hong kong to support this measure? what now there is no _ support this measure? what now there is no way — support this measure? what now there is no way of— support this measure? what now there is no way of actually - there is no way of actually getting the numbers because as we have seen in interviews conducted over the past month about article 23, if you walk up about article 23, if you walk up to someone hong and safety you support the article? they article? they say they cannot answer anything because they know if they said they do not support it, they will be subjected to political arrest. still a lot of hong kong residents overseas have made

our submission to the hong kong government to voice our concerns and opposition against the article in a public consultation proposed by the hong kong government. shortly after the government actually called us and take china and said we are colluding with foreign forces with our opposition. right now in hong kong i would say million people in hong kong would not agree with the enactment but they have no channels to express their views.— have no channels to express their views. ~ , their views. when we spoke last in july when _ their views. when we spoke last in july when the _ their views. when we spoke last in july when the bounty - their views. when we spoke last in july when the bounty was - in july when the bounty was placed on your head i asked if there was still room for dissent in hong kong. many months later, what is your answer to that question? the treat answer to that question? the great area — answer to that question? the great area we _ answer to that question? tte: great area we previously had answer to that question? tt9 great area we previously had in hong kong definitely has once again heavily limited itself. even though now hong kong faces a much higher price when they want to speak up for themselves. i believe there are still people in hong kong that are trying to do about it the

same time there is no space for dissent anymore. people have to actively create that space with the expectation of sacrifices. that sacrifice is not only made by themselves, also by people related to them. we have seen use of families and friends of hong kong residents getting arrested inside hong kong just for what they're doing abroad. that is why space is limited but still we must processed. thank you forjoining us once again on bbc news tonight. thank you. let's turn to some other news from around the world. a court in mississippi sentenced two former police officers to a total of 37 years in prison for torturing two black men in their own home. hunter elward and jeffrey middleton are the first of six officers being sentenced this week. they sexually assaulted and beat michaeljenkins and eddie parker. the officers plead guilty to federal civil rights offences in august. police in brazil have accused former presidentjair bolsonaro

of fraud relating to his covid vaccination records. the move opens the door to possible criminal charges in the supreme court. mr bolsonaro's health records say he received the vaccine in sao paulo in 2021. but an investigation later found he was not in the city at the time. mr bolsonaro has denied any knowledge of wrong—doing. the british privacy and data protection watchdog is assessing a report that staff at the clinic where the princess of wales underwent surgery earlier this year, allegedly tried to view her private health information. kate's absence from public life has sparked weeks of speculation about her whereabouts and health. kensington palace has made no comment about footage of the princess at a farm shop in windsor over the weekend. the video, published by the sun, is the first we've seen of kate, since the beginning of the year. from london, simonjones has the latest on the alleged data breach. princess are well spent 13 nights in the london clinic backin nights in the london clinic back injanuary. it is known for treating members of the

royal family, for treating members of the royalfamily, celebs, former royal family, celebs, former presidents royalfamily, celebs, former presidents and prime ministers. at the time she was admitted to hospital kensington palace said he was being treated for a problem with her abdomen, undergoing surgery but the palace and it would not give running commentary on her health or on her recovery because she wanted precise details to remain private. this morning mirror newspaper is reporting the london clinic and launched investigations into claims of at least one member of staff trying to access her medical record while she was undergoing treatment. the people said insiders at the clinic are shocked at these allegations. the watchdog for personal data has told us it received a report of a breach and is assessing that information. kensington palace told us this was a matter for the london clinic. metropolitan police would not confirm whether they had been made aware of these allegations. as

for the clinic itself, it has not responded for request for comment from the bbc but it has told the newspaper in a statement that any patient, whatever their status, has a right to full confidentiality and privacy. and we have an update for you on our top story, a federal appeals courtr has isued a new order effectively blocking the law again. the late—night ruling means that an injuction by a federal district court last month would again be in force. so some back—and—forth over the legalities of this. the upshot for now is, the state of texas can not carry out the arrests and deporatations we had discussed earlier. we will have to see where this story has next. before we go, wednesday marks the un's international day of happiness. and to commemorate, the world happiness report released its 2024 review on the state of happiness. topping the list of happiest countries: finland. second happiest was denmark, followed by iceland, sweden and israel.

the united states landed at 23rd happiest — eight spots lower than last year. the happiness report is a result of people in 143 countries evaluating their life on a scale of one to 10, with 10 representing the best possible life. and that is the result. that's all from the team here in washington. i'm sumi somaskanda. thank you for watching and stay with us here on bbc news. hello. we are marking the spring equinox, and for some parts of the uk, wednesday will bring some spring warmth, just as tuesday did in parts of lincolnshire. 17 degrees, with some hazy sunshine in some relatively mild air. now, as we head through the next few days, we are going to start to see a change. the wind direction will change. we will get into north or northwesterly winds, and that will bring a much

colderfeel, in time for the weekend, but not just yet. a mild start to wednesday, with extensive cloud cover, some mist and murk and some hill fog, and some outbreaks of rain. now, in many locations, the rain will turn increasingly light and patchy through the day, and for some, it will brighten up. in fact, if we see some hazy sunshine in the south—east of england, temperatures could climb to 18 degrees, but parts of south—west england, wales, the midlands, eastern england, are likely to stay grey, with some bits and pieces of rain. it may brighten up a little bit across northern england, and for northern ireland and for scotland, actually, the afternoon should bring a decent amount of sunshine, feeling quite pleasant in light winds, 11 or 12 degrees. just a small chance of a shower in the north—east of scotland, and then, through wednesday night, while this window of clear skies move southwards and eastwards, that will be replaced by the end of the night across northern ireland and the western side of scotland by more cloud, more outbreaks of rain. this is our next frontal system. the winds will be strengthening, as well. it is going to be a windy day, particularly in the north—west of scotland on thursday, with outbreaks of rain pushing

south—eastwards. that rain particularly heavy and persistent over high ground in the west of scotland. further south and east, quite a lot of cloud, but where we see some sunny spells, again, it may feel warm — 17 degrees likely in the london area. but through thursday night and into friday, this cold front slips southwards and eastwards, and that will bring a change to colder conditions. a deep low, passing to the north of scotland, that will bring some really strong winds, gales likely in the far north. for the northern half of the uk, there will be showers, some heavy, some thundery and some wintry up over high ground, and for some places, temperatures will actually be dropping as the day wears on. the afternoon, for example, in glasgow, around eight celsius. we stay in that cold air for the weekend. there will be showers, some of which will be wintry over high ground, and when we factor in the strength of the winds, it will feel decidedly chilly.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. trust underpins the unwritten contract between the citizen and the state in a democratic society. the citizen trusts the state to ensure that the enormous powers vested in key institutions like the police and the courts are exercised

fairly and responsibly. well, that's the theory. in practice, things go wrong. 50 years ago, six men were wrongly convicted and imprisoned for terrible ira bombings in birmingham. my guest writer and former politician, chris mullin, was instrumental in exposing this grave injustice. much trust was lost then. has it been restored? chris mullin, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me.

it's great to have you in the studio.