hello, i'm mark lobel. we begin with the latest efforts to secure a in the war in gaza. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, is travelling to egypt today, where he's due to meet arab foreign ministers and a top palestinian official. from there, he's expected to go to israel for talks focused on securing the release of israeli hostages held by hamas, ensuring the defeat of hamas while protecting civilians and increasing the delivery of humanitarian aid to the gaza strip. there is no mention of the word "ceasefire" in two separate announcements from the state department. there's growing international concern over israeli plans to launch a ground offensive in the city of rafah, where more than 1.4 million gazans displaced by the war are currently sheltering. on wednesday, the israeli prime minister again rejected warnings about a ground invasion, saying he's already approved the plan.

in a video address, mr netanyahu said he told joe biden in their latest phone call that "it is impossible to complete the victory "without the idf entering rafah." the bbc�*s mark lowen has more from jerusalem. once again, israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has declared his intention and determination to send the israeli army into rafah in southern gaza, where some 1.5 million people are thought to be sheltering. it is a plan that has drawn international condemnation and warnings of atrocities that could take place there. he has said that he has approved the operational plan for rafah and that he will soon approve the evacuation of civilians, but added that it would take time for the incursion to begin.

now, it doesn't spell much hope really for the continuing ceasefire talks that are ongoing in the qatari capital, doha. and a senior hamas official has said that israel's response to the latest proposals there seemed negative and constituted a step backwards. now, all of this is likely to take centre stage of talks with the us secretary of state, antony blinken, when he comes to israel on friday at the end of a middle east tour that has taken him to saudi arabia and on thursday to egypt, that was the israeli side, the israel leg of the trip was previously unscheduled and comes amidst this increasingly acrimonious relationship between the us biden administration and the netanyahu government here in israel. and antony blinken�*s aim, i think, will be to try to restrain an israeli leader who seems increasingly intent on pushing on with this fight, both in the war and for his political survival. in the studio with me

is mohamed taha from bbc arabic. 167 days into this war — and the diplomatic divide seems as wide as ever — what are the us hoping to achieve? the us now hope to achieve a push to the two state solution. antony blinken in the region for his tour number six. he is trying to put this conflict in a wider perspective, trying to convince israel that it could be a normalisation to the relationship with saudi arabia and a contribution to arab states in the future rule of gaza and also a contribution to the palestinian authority. that is versus the vision of benjamin netanyahu inking the one state solution should be the only solution by the presence of israel in gaza and

the continuation of that. he will also — the continuation of that. he will also keep a close eye on what is going on inside gaza, the military effort there. what's the latest on the raid on the al—shifa hospital, the key medical centre in gaza that israeli troops returned to? whenever there is a tour by a top american diplomat in the region or the negotiation between israel and hamas, we see this intensifying of fighting in gaza and more than 400 people died in gaza in the last day during the month of ramadan, and the aim is targeting what so—called emergency communities, so hamas operates as the authority as the former police at the moment, the emergency committee to try to protect and provide assistance to hospitals and other facilities in gaza assistance to hospitals and otherfacilities in gaza but israel now are targeting these

committees as well. somewhere the have committees as well. somewhere they have already _ committees as well. somewhere they have already been - committees as well. somewhere they have already been another. they have already been another essay they need to go back as a sense of insecurity on both sides there. there are differing accounts emerging of how much aid is getting into gaza? what we understand from the international agencies that are working in gaza now that there is a state of famine in gaza. the people of finished eating the bird and animalfood and leaves of the trees, there is a massive need for food leaves of the trees, there is a massive need forfood but leaves of the trees, there is a massive need for food but also notjust massive need for food but also not just food massive need for food but also notjust food but medical not just food but medical equipment notjust food but medical equipment and medicine. aid is not only food so gaza, in this massive entire situation at the moment. some analysts say that israel have their troops and men on the ground, they have to act as an occupying authority and provide this assistance and aid to the civilians in gaza.

the feeling from inside gaza is thatis the feeling from inside gaza is that is not happening? it is not happening _ that is not happening? it is not happening at _ that is not happening? it is not happening at all, - that is not happening? it 3 not happening at all, people are starving. we saw that people are dying from malnutrition and lack of food more than even the people who are dying from shelling, and the chaos of distribution of aid in gaza, especially nothing is reaching to the north and is causing troubles to the people living up there.— living up there. thank you for “oininu living up there. thank you for joining us- — could working in extreme heat increase women's risk of miscarriage and stillbirth? as our planet heats up, a new study in india shared with the bbc has found women faced twice the risk of miscarriage, still birth, preterm birth and low birth weight if they were working in very hot environments, compared to those in cooler workplaces. india is one of the countries most exposed and vulnerable to heat. let's put that into context. over the past five decades, india has experienced more than 700 heatwave events, which have killed at least 17,000 people.

climate experts say that india's extreme heat events could cross the survivability limit by 2050. researchers are now working with scientists in the uk to better understand how extreme heat could have an impact on advice for pregnant women globally. the bbc�*s global health correspondent tulip mazumdar has been to the state of tamil nadu to meet some of the women who took part in the study. summer is coming. india is predicted to become one of the first countries where temperatures will top the safe limit for healthy people who are just sitting in the shade. it's workers like these who will be an already are most affected by the heat. these workers start early in the morning to avoid the worst of the hot sun, around 20 degrees

at the moment and very humid. i have been sweating all morning. this is just one of three jobs that sandia has to feed her two children. there was also a third child who she lost six months into her pregnancy. translation: i months into her pregnancy. translation:— months into her pregnancy. translation: ., ., 4' translation: i would work the whole day in _ translation: i would work the whole day in the _ translation: i would work the whole day in the heat. - translation: i would work the whole day in the heat. my - translation: i would work the whole day in the heat. my jokes| whole day in the heat. myjokes would swell. ifelt whole day in the heat. myjokes would swell. i felt thirsty all the time and out of breath. one day i was cutting the crops and i suddenly felt intense pain and i started bleeding. i went to see the doctor, and he told me my baby had died.- to see the doctor, and he told me my baby had died. most of us women who _ me my baby had died. most of us women who have _ me my baby had died. most of us women who have miscarriages i women who have miscarriages never find out why their babies died. do you think that working in the heat could have had anything to do with it? translation: i anything to do with it? tuna/mom- anything to do with it? translation: ithink so. i think translation: i think so. i think standing _ translation: i think so. i think standing in _ translation: i think so. i think standing in the - translation: i think so. i think standing in the heat i translation: | think so. || think standing in the heat for hours could have had an impact. sound here is one of hundreds of pregnant women who took part in a study about the impact of

heat stress at work on pregnancy. 800 pregnant women took part and researchers found that those who worked in extreme heat faced double the risk of stillbirth, preterm birth, miscarriage and low birth, miscarriage and low birth weight. this study took into account the heavy workload but they still found that heat was a key risk factor. throughout their five year study, the researchers set up this temperature gauge in a women's workplaces. it measures the various ways that heat affects our bodies.- the various ways that heat affects our bodies. there is a lona affects our bodies. there is a long way _ affects our bodies. there is a long way to _ affects our bodies. there is a long way to go- _ affects our bodies. there is a long way to go. in _ affects our bodies. there is a long way to go. in order- affects our bodies. there is a long way to go. in order to i long way to go. in order to find the exact a logical mechanism behind this. that may help to improve the reproductive health of the women globally.— reproductive health of the women globally. much of the ower to women globally. much of the power to protect _ women globally. much of the power to protect these - women globally. much of the i power to protect these low-paid power to protect these low—paid workers rests with the bosses of these types of workplaces. thank you for inviting us here. the owner of this organisation

says he is adopting to frequent hotter days by providing additional shade for his workers. before this was all open? the sun will be on the workers? making these and other changes, he says, is also making him more money. translation:— making him more money. translation: ~ ., ., ., translation: women no longer have to toil _ translation: women no longer have to toil under _ translation: women no longer have to toil under the _ translation: women no longer have to toil under the sun. - have to toil under the sun. this kind of work can be difficult for them. they used to have my health problems. since we started using the machinery and got these shades, they do not offer as much. this kind of work — they do not offer as much. this kind of work mainly _ they do not offer as much. this kind of work mainly undertaken by women is only going to get harder as a planet heats up. scientists investigating the impact on the most vulnerable warn that the world must adapt now. let's go live to professorjane hirst. she's chair in global women's health at the george institute for global health at imperial college london.

jane, what is it about the heat that researchers think adversly affects pregnant women's bodies in often devastating ways? thank you for the question. that is a good question and actually what we're trying to explore at the moment. by looking in detail whether the heat affects the mothers blood flow to the uterus and to the womb and whether that is affecting the baby adversely. we know from other work that there are changes in the baby's heart rate when the mother is exposed to heat we are still unclear of exact mechanisms by which being exposed to heat leaves to these poor outcomes with women. leaves to these poor outcomes with women-— leaves to these poor outcomes with women. people listening to this will be _ with women. people listening to this will be wondering _ with women. people listening to this will be wondering what - this will be wondering what type of heat we're talking about, what of temperature. is it around 28 celsius from what i understand? they considered a high risk above that of other depend on humidity? what do people look out for? it depends a lot on the _

people look out for? it depends a lot on the army _ people look out for? it depends a lot on the army and _ people look out for? it depends a lot on the army and air - a lot on the army and air temperature, as you say, the community but also the level of work which the level is engaging in and her clothing and also her acclimatisation to heat. unfortunately there is no simple threshold above this temperature it is safe and believe this amateur it is safe and above the separate it is not. it is a bit more complicated than that. that is another thing we're trying wake up. the current thresholds for safe working is determined of working men, 70 kg men in the united states, and you can imagine especially for these workers in india, those measurements are probably not going to be very relevant to their body functioning and physiology. we are trying to work out some more particular recommendations that can help women practically.— women practically. there are limits to working _ women practically. there are limits to working conditions, | limits to working conditions, innisplain in the uae. others always are working outside a reserve for indoor work as

well? it reserve for indoor work as well? , ., , ., well? it is important they are also for indoor— well? it is important they are also for indoor work - well? it is important they are also for indoor work if - well? it is important they are also for indoor work if indoor| also for indoor work if indoor workers are exposed to heat. in this india study, it was mentioned there was a brick workers but also people working in bakeries and other indoor environments where they can be quite extreme heat. women in the home please are often the ones in the kitchen cooking, and if that is in an enclosed area where there is no way for heat to escape, it potentially that could be risky for people. we are witnessing temperature rises around the globe and we're focusing on india at the moment for what is being done to measure the risks and warn people about them?— people about them? there is increasing — people about them? there is increasing recognition - people about them? there is. increasing recognition globally that the effects of climate change and not gender neutral and pregnant women are at the front line of the experience in these adverse effects. there were ten projects recently funded around the world to explore this issue in more detail and the india team is

one example. people are looking at this in australia, africa and in many other places around the world. what is important is to realise that this is an issue affecting everyone, not just people who live in tropical countries, and there is some evidence of slight increases in a poor outcomes even a much lower temperatures that we would see in europe or north america and those places. you say it affects everyone but a particularly affects vulnerable groups, pregnant women, and why has it taken so long to investigate this? you say lots of studies and their recurrent limits are based on male studies.— male studies. exactly. this probably — male studies. exactly. this probably reflects _ male studies. exactly. this probably reflects our - male studies. exactly. this probably reflects our lack l male studies. exactly. this| probably reflects our lack of good research into women's health globally which is finally being recognised that we need to consider how different medical conditions and environmental exposures may affect men and women

differently. it is quite shocking. i started working in this field, looking at breast—feeding, most data we have comes from dairy cows and we do not have that much from human women which i found shocking. human women which i found shocking-— shocking. thank you for bringing _ shocking. thank you for bringing it _ shocking. thank you for bringing it to _ shocking. thank you for bringing it to light - shocking. thank you for bringing it to light now. j shocking. thank you for - bringing it to light now. thank you forjoining us on the programme. you can watch the full documentary on the bbc iplayer. search for indian mothers: bearing the heat. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

back to ukraine, at least ten people are reported to have been injured in kyiv as the city was under an air missile attack on thursday. according to its mayor, vitali klitschko, air defence units were engaged in repelling the attack, purpotedly coming from russia.

he said missile debris fell in different parts of the city. the head of unicef, catherine russell, says the un is unable to get enough aid into haiti and that "many, many people" are suffering from serious hunger and malnutrition. this comes as gangs still control more than 80% of the capital port—au—prince and the country lacks a functioning government. our central america and caribbean correspondent will grant reports. to describe some of the living conditions in port—au—prince is precarious is an understatement. these 20—year—old student and her family had to flee their home because of gang violence and alimony temporary camp inside an abandoned theatre. on a sundays, she says, they do not eat at all. translation: i go

to school _ eat at all. translation: i go to school with _ eat at all. translation: i go to school with no _ eat at all. translation: i go to school with no food, - to school with no food, spending the hungry and then go to bed with nothing in my stomach. to bed with nothing in my stomach-— to bed with nothing in my stomach. ., , , , ., to bed with nothing in my stomach. ., , , , stomach. now she sees no choice but to abandon _ stomach. now she sees no choice but to abandon her _ stomach. now she sees no choice but to abandon her studies. - stomach. now she sees no choice but to abandon her studies. the l but to abandon her studies. the daily struggle to find enough food is nothing new. the difference now is the scale of the emergency in food insecurity. potentially millions of people are in danger of falling into malnutrition and already do not know when or where the next meal is coming from. there are some success stories. this woman was deemed literary malnourished a few weeks ago but a local ngo was able to hospitalise him and he is thankfully putting on weight. over the years, their residential malnutrition centre has pulled hundreds of children back from the brink. mothers typically spend four weeks at the centre receiving urgent care for their malnourished children and instruction on providing high nutrition on a

limited budget. the ngos as it has had huge success with just 1% of children being readmitted after they leave. with aid still barely making it into haiti, this work is crucial by the ngo fees mistakes at the 2010 earthquake disaster response would be repeated in this crisis. abs, response would be repeated in this crisis-— this crisis. a lot of these larr er this crisis. a lot of these larger ngos _ this crisis. a lot of these larger ngos fly - this crisis. a lot of these larger ngos fly in, - this crisis. a lot of these larger ngos fly in, fly i this crisis. a lot of these | larger ngos fly in, fly out this crisis. a lot of these - larger ngos fly in, fly out and they are handed all of the supplies and all of this aid and suddenly all of these funds do now hire all of these people. you are actually hiring from all of these local ngos when you could just help pay their staff members and help and give them the aid to distribute.— and give them the aid to distribute. . distribute. tilling the land in haiti is a dry. _ distribute. tilling the land in haiti is a dry, thankless - distribute. tilling the land in l haiti is a dry, thankless work. climate change has been crops often yield for harvest or fail altogether. as haiti unravels, it is clear malnutrition is no

longer a temporary passing crisis he and aid alone will not solve it. rather it is becoming the norm and other parts of the countries die a new reality. let's get some of the day's other news now. the house of lords has inflicted fresh defeats on the government over its flagship rwanda bill. seven proposed changes, including a provision to ensure "due regard" for domestic and international law were passed by peers. mps will now have to vote on the bill again, delaying the passage of the bill until after easter. the uk and australia have signed a new defence agreement which will make it easier for their defence forces to operate together in each other�*s countries. the new deal also includes a commitment to share military intelligence, work together in areas such as undersea warfare and develop a joint climate action plan. the vietnamese president vo van thuong has resigned, after only one year in office. after a meeting of the ruling

communist party, the government issued a statement saying he had broken party rules and had negatively affected public opinion, and the reputation of the political group. he is believed to have resigned over his links to a corruption scandal in his home province. in los angeles, the awards season is over and the film industry has been taking stock and a consensus has now emerged. the actor lily gladstone has become one of the hollywood's most promising new stars. she's also become a trailblazer in the fight to increase the representaion of native americans in movies and tv. from los angeles, tom brook reports. the golden globes goes to... lily gladstone! it is great to see hollywood new actor, and thatis see hollywood new actor, and that is most definitely been the case for lily gladstone, a star in the making. her

on—screen presence in killers of the flower moon was one of the most talked about performances of 2024 award season. she also made history by becoming the first native american to be nominated for a best actress academy award. you have a nice _ best actress academy award. you have a nice colour— best actress academy award. ym. have a nice colour skin... what colour would you say that he is? ~ , . ., ., colour would you say that he is? y ., if colour would you say that he is?_ if you - colour would you say that he is?_ if you look i colour would you say that he is?_ if you look at| is? my colour. if you look at the representation - is? my colour. if you look at the representation of- is? my colour. if you look at the representation of native americans and films, there was a study you are probably familiar with, and it looked at a bunch of hollywood films, looking for a native american speaking roles in he found there was less than 1%. were you surprised at how low it was? ., ., , ~' you surprised at how low it was? ., ., , ,, ., you surprised at how low it was? ., ., , «a, ., was? no. you seek out native performers — was? no. you seek out native performers and _ was? no. you seek out native performers and performances| performers and performances when that is who your role models are, but when you are watching these narratives where you are not directly represented and just protecting yourself into words and feeling

like there is a level of representation there, you are also acutely aware of their not being those native actors that you want to see in these incredible roles.- incredible roles. your nomination _ incredible roles. your nomination alone - incredible roles. your nomination alone has incredible roles. your - nomination alone has been historic. what do you hope your legacy is for this award season hoopla for want to a better term in terms of changing the representation of native americans? i representation of native americans?— representation of native americans? ., , ., americans? i keep thinking about this _ americans? i keep thinking about this conversation - americans? i keep thinking about this conversation i i americans? i keep thinking | about this conversation i just about this conversation ijust had a week and a half ago with my friend. he is the creator of the tbc reservation dogs. open our the tbc reservation dogs. open your eyes- -- — the tbc reservation dogs. open your eyes- -- he _ the tbc reservation dogs. open your eyes... he said _ the tbc reservation dogs. open your eyes... he said that i your eyes... he said that cooking _ your eyes... he said that cooking a _ your eyes... he said that cooking a door _ your eyes... he said that cooking a door down i your eyes... he said that cooking a door down and j your eyes... he said that i cooking a door down and the impulse is tojust cooking a door down and the impulse is to just run through it. i am impulse is to just run through it. iam here, i made it, i got through the door and i am in the room now. because there are so many shoulders we are standing on so many people that we want to be in the room, sometimes what we need to do is just stand there and hold it

open. i hope that is the legacy. open. i hope that is the legacy-— open. i hope that is the lea . �* , , legacy. at the oscars, lily gladstone _ legacy. at the oscars, lily gladstone did _ legacy. at the oscars, lily gladstone did not - legacy. at the oscars, lily gladstone did not wind i legacy. at the oscars, lily| gladstone did not wind the legacy. at the oscars, lily i gladstone did not wind the best actress trophy. that prize went to emma stone. the 2024 award season most definitely put on the map. she has earned recognition from movie fans, peers and industry executives as she appears to have a very promising future ahead of her as a thoughtful, talented leading lady. and as a very effective trailblazer for greater on—screen native american representation. baseball sensation shohei ohtani has made his regular season debut with the la dodgers in seoul. the japanese sports hero sent his fans into a frenzy on wednesday — with game tickets and ohtani merchandise selling out since he landed in south korea last week. widely regarded as one of the best to have ever played the game, ohtani was the mlb's most coveted

target during off—season. stay with us here on bbc news. we have interest rates, inflation and the gaming conference in san francisco all coming up in our business use. hello, there. it's been very mild to start this week, very spring—like indeed, and in fact, on wednesday, we saw a temperature of 19 celsius in charlwood, in surrey, making this the warmest spot of the day, but also the highest temperature in england so far this year. things are set to change, though, for the end of the week into the weekend, colder air moving in behind this low—pressure system will extend across all areas. it'll feel very different to how the week's begun, but still some mild airfor england and wales on thursday. much windier with outbreaks of rain, scotland and northern ireland, thanks to that area of low pressure gusts up to 60 miles an hourfor the northern and western isles. a bit of sunshine here and there.

for england and wales rather cloudy, some sunshine at times. we're still in the mild air mass here. so given some sunshine, we could see temperatures up to 16 or 17 degrees again, but it will be cooler across the north with the stronger winds. as you move through thursday night, the cooler air and this band of rain, a cold front will sink southwards across england and wales. behind it, it's much colder, there'll be a rash of showers, these wintry on the hills across scotland. you can see the temperatures there to start friday, but milderfor england and wales. but it won't last, as that cold front sinks southwards across the midlands, southern england through friday. eventually, it'll clear through, skies will brighten up, but we'll all be into the cooler air by the end of friday and there'll be a rash of blustery showers again for scotland, northern ireland, maybe north—west england. they will be wintry on the hills across scotland. thus the mild weather across the southeast, 12 or 13 degrees. into the weekend, it'll be noticeably colder and windier for all areas. a mixture of sunshine and showers and these showers will have a wintry element to them, certainly on the hills. you can see the colder air moving in behind

that cold front. by the time we move out of friday night into saturday, we're all into that colder air. lots of isobars on the charts, so it's going to be blustery, windy, particularly in exposure with strong west, north—westerly winds. lots of showers rattling through, as you can see. the white colours indicating hail, maybe some sleet, snow over the hills. some sunshine in between. it's not going to be raining all the time. these are the temperatures, though, seven to ten degrees. factor in the wind, it could feel even colder than that. so a bit of a shock to the system, after such a mild start to the week. sunday, marginally better, i think, although a blustery day, not quite as windy, and we should see more sunshine around. there'll still be few showers dotted around northern and eastern areas, but more sunshine around, slightly lighter winds. it may feel a little bit better across the board. take care.

live from london, this is bbc news. not today — but when? the bank of england's set to leave interest rates at a 15—year high. but it's facing growing pressure to ease the cost of borrowing, after a steep fall in inflation, not least from the government. we have turned a corner after the shocks of the past few years, and we are in a new economic moment. also coming up — the bulls are back on wall street — us shares close at new record highs again, as the federal

reserve signals it's on track for rate cuts this year, and plays down risk of a recession. plus — a tiny rival for big tech — cult social media platform, reddit, goes public, with a valuation ofjust over $6 billion. can it take on the likes of meta, and turn its loyal user base into hard cash? and — a tough new level for the games industry — thousands morejob cuts, as the pandemic gaming boom unwinds, and developers press the reset button. a very warm welcome to the programme. iam a very warm welcome to the programme. i am mark lobel. we start here in the uk, where, in the next few hours, the bank of england will make its latest decision on interest rates. it has pushed the cost

of borrowing up to its highest in 15 years, to try and get soaring prices under control,