and in greece, an endangered pygmy hippo has been born at athens' zoo. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. hi there, thank you for being with us. european union leaders have called for an immediate humanitarian pause in gaza that would lead to a ceasefire. it comes as the us secretary of state, anthony blinken, is in egypt to discuss a post—war plan to govern and secure gaza. after meeting senior ministers from six arab states and the palestinian authority in cairo, mr blinken says there's consensus between them on the need for an immediate and sustained ceasefire. in a news conference with the egyptian foreign minister, he set out their shared

priorities. there's clear consensus around a number of shared priorities. first, the need for an immediate and sustained cease—fire with the release of hostages. that would create space to surge more humanitarian assistance to relieve the suffering of many people and to build something more enduring. we have been working, as you know, with egypt and qatar and with israel to put a strong proposal on the table. hamas responded to that and negotiators continue to work, the gaps are narrowing, and we are continuing to push for an agreement in doha. it is still difficult work to get there, but i continue to believe it is possible. our correspondent in jerusalem mark lowen gave us his analysis. well, the wheels of diplomacy still very much in motion

with the us secretary of state, antony blinken, talking about how he believes an agreement is possible to end this war, even if it will be difficult, in his words. and also talking about how there's progress, also in talking with regional actors about who and what could run gaza and reconstructing gaza after the guns fall silent. now, israel is sending a delegation back to doha tomorrow, on friday, led by the head of the israeli intelligence agency mossad, who will be holding talks with the head of the cia and mediators from qatar and egypt, suggesting that there is possibly some progress on the cease fire proposals, even if we don't necessarily expect an imminent breakthrough. mr blinken was also saying that the us has circulated a draught un security council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian cease fire linked to the release of the hostages by hamas. and now the fact that that the us has blocked and vetoed three previous resolutions calling for a cessation of hostilities suggests that the us is hardening its language and getting increasingly exasperated by israel and by the conduct

of the war in gaza. even if the resolution that the us has circulated is still very much linked to the release of the hostages and demanding that the hostages be released as part of that cease fire deal. now, the exasperation with israel, i think, would grow if the israeli military does indeed invade rafah, as prime minister netanyahu has said he is determined to do so. he said that israel needs to enter rafah in order to completely destroy hamas, but that it would be in defiance of huge of dire international warnings over the fate of the one and a half million civilians sheltering there. and antony blinken has said once again that the us believes that an israeli incursion into rafah would be a grave mistake. marco and reporting. ambassador gina abercrombie winstanley is president of the middle east policy council. i asked here, what are

the main takeaways from blinken�*s speech. i think the secretary of state is sending yet another clear signal that the united states is drawing closer to enough is enough. again, the objections are the way that the government of israel is prosecuting this conflict, not their right to self defense or the need to ensure that hamas does not lead a new government in the gaza strip. but the demand to take care of the civilians in the gaza strip, i million millions of gazans as well, millions of gazans, as well as the hostages, the return of the hostages, but recognising that the hostages are in just as much danger as every other person in the gaza strip. we do have to keep in mind, i do want to add, with regard to a un security council resolution, that there have been over 200 resolutions with regard to israel over the years. and the last one that passed in december called for the opening of every border crossing into the gaza strip to get humanitarian assistance in.

and that has not happened. indeed, i do want to ask you about the un resolution, but we've been talking about this possible ceasefire. the negotiations have been ongoing. how close are we to an actual ceasefire? i believe we're very close. when you have the secretary saying that he thinks movement is possible, reaching a deal as possible, recognising that he has made very clear that the united states understands the need is standing with our partners in the region, specifically egypt, jordan, qatar, the uae. all of these states are working with us to put pressure on hamas. do not misunderstand pressure on hamas for getting hostages to put pressure on hamas — do not misunderstand, pressure on hamas — for getting hostages released from the gaza strip. at the same time, getting the cease getting

the ceasefire put in place, i think there's a very good chance we're going to get there. as we see the pressure is up on hamas, the pressure is up indeed, but it's one thing for the united nations to agree on a ceasefire deal, but israelis, as you said, have ignored the un in the past. they have indeed. there are different ways forward on this because the the border crossings haven't been open, but the united states is making clear they have to make a change. when the delegation arrives next week, you can be assured that there is going to be an exchange of to be an exchange of plans, of information between the united states and israel. the united states has made clear do not go into rafah in a way that will harm civilians. that means the israelis are going to be presenting their plans as how they want to do it and hope that the united states agrees that these are credible plans.

what the united states has been doing will continue to do is offer alternative ways of carrying out what the israelis need to carry out with regard to protecting their civilians. no—one is saying that they should not go after hamas, but they must not continue to impose collective punishment. and that is the reality of what's happening in gaza. and that is the reality of what's happening in gaza — collective punishment on palestinians. so, we'll see which way those plans go, how they are swayed. but that is the discussion that's going to be going on with the delegation arrives. as you say, the pressure has been mounting on the united states and some senators who've long supported israel's are starting to change their terms. why do you think that is? so often, people refer to young people, arabs, muslims, progressives as being pro—palestinian or supporting palestinian civilians. the reality is that anyone seeing this death and destruction in the gaza strip is made uncomfortable at the very least, and wants a ceasefire,

wants an end to this death and destruction. so you see people who are staunch supporters of israel and the israeli people coming out saying the israeli government has to change how it's conducting this war, whether it's democratic senators, whether it is foreign policy, whether it's churches. these statements are coming out increasingly making clear to the leadership that this is no longer tenable, and the president is listening. he sees what the rest of us sees. and the positions are changing, as we've seen over the past weeks from his public statements. ambassador gina abercrombie a little bit earlier. a generation of women born in the uk are owed apologies and thousands of pounds in compensation —

that's the finding of an independent investigation into pension changes.|t argues that women, who expected into pension changes. it argues that women, who expected to claim their state pension at 60, were not adequately informed of the government's decision to raise the age to 65. the campaign group — women against state pension inequality — say many have suffered financially because of those changes. in order to find out how something has to change, you have to have some idea what you are looking for. they could've given me 15, i6 are looking for. they could've given me 15, 16 years' notice, but they chose not to. i don't know why they made that choice. that's why we've always asked

for fair and fast compensation. the government doesn't have to act on the findings — and so far has not committed to paying compensation. here's the reaction from the home secretary james cleverley and shadow home secretary yvette cooper. that report is just that report isjust come out. obviously, the government will look at — obviously, the government will look at the findings and the recommendations of that report. i'm not_ recommendations of that report. i'm not in— recommendations of that report. i'm not in a — recommendations of that report. i'm not in a position where i can— i'm not in a position where i can comment on the details of it. can comment on the details of it i _ can comment on the details of it. ., �* , ,., it. i haven't seen the report et. it. i haven't seen the report yet- but _ it. i haven't seen the report yet- but i — it. i haven't seen the report yet. but | think _ it. i haven't seen the report yet. but i think this - it. i haven't seen the report yet. but i think this is - yet. but i think this is a really— yet. but i think this is a really important - yet. but i think this is a really important issue i yet. but i think this is a - really important issue because when — really important issue because when many— really important issue because when many women _ really important issue because when many women across - really important issue because when many women across the | when many women across the country— when many women across the countryiust_ when many women across the countryjust feel— when many women across the countryjust feel like - when many women across the countryjust feel like they- when many women across the countryjust feel like they had| countryjust feel like they had the goalpost _ countryjust feel like they had the goalpost moved - countryjust feel like they had the goalpost moved from - countryjust feel like they had i the goalpost moved from them. they— the goalpost moved from them. they didn't _ the goalpost moved from them. they didn't know— the goalpost moved from them. they didn't know what _ the goalpost moved from them. they didn't know what was - they didn't know what was changing _ here's the analysis from our political editor chris mason. so widespread has the failure been the breadth of blame so broad that accountability is almost impossible and any government trying to sort this out, it's confronted by a big blunt truth — it will cost a vast amount. back in 2019, labour offered compensation. they said if they won the general election, that is what they would do. they were crushed in the general election and they are now much more

cautious, and so too are the conservatives. and here is the context, a catalogue of failures, think the post office scandal, the infected blood scandal and now, this. that is the context which means that campaigners have to show real stamina if — and it's a big if — they are ever to be compensated. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

you're live with bbc news. opposition figures in india have strongly condemned the arrest

of delhi's chief minister. police surrounded the home of arvind kejiriwal, a prominent opposition leader, in connection with corruption allegations relating to the city's policies over alcohol sales. a probe into the matter has already seen two of his top allies jailed. he was detained after several hours of questioning by india's main financial crimes agency. mr kejriwal�*s arrest comes weeks before voting starts in a general election. our south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan updated me earlier. it is a hugely significant moment, as you say, that elections are only elections are only a few weeks, a few as you say, that elections are only a few weeks away from now on, starting on the 19th in seven phases. it'll go on for weeks. so this arrest has triggered widespread condemnation by opposition parties because arvind kejriwal is one of the top opposition leaders and he is ruling in delhi and also his party is in power in the state of punjab and they are part of this opposition alliance called india.

so his arrest has triggered anger, condemnation, saying that it is a political conspiracy by the governing bjp to stifle opposition, to stifle dissent. and that is why the governing bjp is doing this. this is the accusation by supporters of mr kejriwal. however, the bjp and its leaders deny these charges and they say these are letting someone through how they were favouring private retailers alcohol sales in delhi. so the law is taking its own course, but this has caused a lot of anger and also worries among the opposition leaders. what could happen next? it is not simply about mr kejriwal.

what the opposition is saying, that the bjp and the prime minister narendra modi are completely trying to silence the opposition because for elections you need star campaigners like mr kejriwal who can go around the country to campaign. so if he is going to be injail, which means his party won't be able to have one of the important speakers. and earlier in the day, the main opposition congress party alleged that its accounts had been frozen, which means they cannot take out any money from their account to pay for tv commercials or newspaper advertisement or even to pay for transport. sometimes they hire helicopters to travel around the country. so there are many opposition parties. they are saying that the government is using investigative agencies like the enforcement directorate and the cbi to stifle dissent, to to reduce the opportunities of the opposition leader so that they cannot campaign. however, the bjp and prime minister narendra modi, they strongly deny these charges.

to haiti now. the head of the united nations children's agency, unicef, says it is unable to get enough aid into the country and that "many, many people" are suffering serious hunger and malnutrition. our correspondent will grant is one of the only international journalists in haiti and sent this report. to describe some of the living conditions in port—au—prince as precarious is an understatement. but sarah mullins, a particularly tough the 20—year—old student and her family had to flee their home because of gang violence and now live in a temporary camp inside an abandoned theatre. and on some days, she says, they don't eat at all. "i go to school with no food, spend the day hungry, and then go to bed with still nothing in my stomach", she says. now she sees no choice

but to abandon her studies. but daily struggle to find enough food in haiti is nothing new. the difference now is the scale of the emergency and food insecurity. potentially millions of people are in danger of falling into malnutrition and already don't know when or where their next meal is coming from. there are some success stories. joseph was dangerously malnourished a few weeks ago, but a local ngo, second mile, was able to hospitalise him and he's 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 ngo says it's had huge success with just i% of children being readmitted after they leave. with aid still barely making it into haiti, this work is crucial, but the ngo fears mistakes of the 2010 earthquake disaster response could be repeated in this crisis. of the 2010 earthquake disaster

response could be repeated in this crisis. a lot of these larger ngos fly in and fly out and they're handed all of these supplies and all of these aid, and suddenly all of these funds to now hire all these people. you're actually hiring from all of these local ngos when you could just help pay their staff members and give them the aid to distribute. tilling the land in haiti is dry, thankless work. climate change has meant crops of maize and beans often yield poor harvests or fail altogether. as haiti unravels, it's clear malnutrition is no longer a temporary or passing crisis here, and aid alone won't solve it. rather, it's becoming the norm — another part of the country's dire new reality. will grant, bbc news, haiti. just to bring you the latest

breaking news from haiti — according to reuters news agency, the country's gang leader ti greg was reportedly killed in the capital on thursday. he escaped prison in a jailbreak earlier this month. breaking news coming just from reuters at the moment. patient gained the leader ti greg was killed in the capital on thursday. —— haitian gang leader. a japanese baseball sensation who plays for the major league in america has been caught up in a scandal, with his representatives alleging he'd been the victim of a �*massive theft�* at the hands of his english interpreter. shohei 0htani's team said the interpreter — ippei mizuhara — had been fired by the los angeles dodgers after a theft reportedly involving millions of dollars. it's alleged mr mizuhara stole money from the player to place bets with an illegal bookmaker. adam yamaguchi from our partner

station cbs has this report. commentator: here it comes. that wasn't — commentator: here it comes. that wasn't shohei _ commentator: here it comes. that wasn't shohei ohtani's - commentator: here it comes. that wasn't shohei ohtani's at i that wasn't shohei 0htani's at the season opener in seoul. ippei mizuhara, his long—time friend and interpreter. friend and interpreter by his side and the dugout, but now no longer. he was fired after that game after the la times reported his attorneys accused him of method theft. accused him of massive theft. in an interview with the 0utlet on tuesday,... on wednesday, however, espn reported of spokesmen who made mizuhara available had not transferred money to the associate.

this is one of the la times reporters who broke the story. 0htani had no knowledge about this. according to his own sources, even they had no idea about this until the la times contacted him. i didn't think it was going to be this good. mizuhara has known 0htani for more than a decade. the number one thing is phiiosophx _ the number one thing is velocity. _ and has been his personal translator since 0htani first came to the mlb in 2017. first of all, i would like to thank the los angeles dodgers... i they were almost inseparable from the moment that 0htani entered major league baseball. he was more than just interpreter. he would go out and buy groceries for 0htani when he was on the injured list. they would drive together to the ballpark. the idea that such a close confidant of the biggest player in baseball could allegedly

betray him in that manner involving his money, this is what's shocking. that report by adam yamaguchi. turning to botswana now — the country's president has criticised a proposed bill in the uk to ban the imports from the trophy hunting of endangered species. the british government says the ban will play an important role in protecting threatened wildlife. but the government of botswana says hunting is necessary as it has too many elephants. they also say the industry is an important source of income, and createsjobs for local communities. the president of botswana, mokgweetsi masisi, i think it is a really sad tragedy that the british leadership would bring this upon us without even so much as a courteous call to us,

nor even attempt to understand what our circumstances are. it's also hypocritical in our view, deeply so, that you allow your species to be hunted and trophies to be exported from the united kingdom and not the united kingdom and not the same for us to do. speaking of endangered species. let's turn to some happy news out of greece now, where an endangered pygmy hippo has been born at athens zoo. here's the newborn, enjoying bathtime with its carers. pygmy hippos are native to swamps and rainforests in western africa, but are listed as an endangered species and it is estimated that fewer than 2,500 are living in the wild. here's the vet at athen�*s zoo, on how important this birth is for the conservation of the species.

we're absolutely thrilled, not only because it's very endangered species but also because it's a boy. every captive birth of pygmy hippos is important. and we're very happy to see this baby grow into a healthy adult hippo, and hopefully one day reproduce and produce more pygmy hippos. and hopefully one day reproduce the us has filed a landmark lawsuit against apple, accusing the tech giant of monopolising the smartphone market and crushing competition. in the lawsuit, the justice department alleges the company used its power to limit competitors as well as the options available to consumers. apple denies the claims and has vowed to "vigorously" fight the lawsuit. we will have a lot more on asia

business report. the difference between monopolising versus being a very, very successful company. we'll have a guest on that and also a special report from new york, so dojoin us for that as well. thank you so much for watching newsday. hello there. it's going to be turning colder right across the uk as we head through the rest of the week. sunny spells and showers through the day on thursday. lots of rainbow spotted by our weather watchers towards the north. that theme at least is set to continue, so more blustery showers, a brisk northwesterly wind and just some chillier feeling air with a possibility of some nighttime frosts in the more rural sheltered spots. why? well, because this cold front will be sinking southwards and eastwards as we head through the day on friday, introducing that colder feeling air. already a chilly start to the day from north wales, across northern england, scotland and northern ireland — some showers blowing in here. a cold front pushes more

clouds towards the far southeast of england and some outbreaks of rain. and the hang—back of that rain is still across parts of kent, sussex into perhaps eastern areas of hampshire. as we head through the afternoon on friday, it will eventually clear. temperatures now round about the seasonal average, a few showers, particularly out towards the west, most frequent across northern and western scotland, are likely to be wintry over the high ground. gales across the northern isles and the far northwest of scotland. now, low pressure continues to push eastwards just to the north of scotland as we head through friday and into saturday. saturday, a particularly cold start to the day. temperatures for many will drop back to low single figures, and in the shelter of that brisk westerly—to—north—westerly wind, we're likely to see a touch of frost, though gardeners beware. also some icy stretches out there as well.

saturday, a day of sunshine and showers again, the showers most frequent in the north and the west. some of the showers could be wintry over the tops of the hills just about anywhere across the uk. there will be some sunny spells in between, but a lot of added wind chill. these temperatures are below the seasonal average. it will actually feel colder than that because of the strength of the wind, too. but there will be some sunshine here and there as well, and it does look like it's going to turn a bit sunny up through the day on sunday. brief ridge of high pressure should keep us largely dry, but clouding over towards the west by the end of the day. low pressure always close by as we head through into the start of next week, so it's going to be feeling colder. we'll see the drop in temperature and it will be quite showery. some longer spells of rain at times too as we head

a landmark lawsuit against apple as the us government accuses the tech giant of monopolising america's smartphone market. and what lies ahead for asia's second largest economy after a crucial decision on interest rates. decision on interest rates? hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm mariko 0i. shares in apple have closed it% lower, after the us department

ofjustice filed a landmark lawsuit against the company. it is accusing the tech giant of monopolising the smartphone market. apple denies the claims and has vowed to fight the lawsuit. it is the third time the company has been sued by thejustice department since 2009. the bbc�*s michelle fleury has more from new york. more than a billion of us around the world own an iphone. for many people, it's almost unthinkable that they would use any other sort. for me, apple works a little bit better than android. i have had an android before. it didn't do too well with me. it's just what my parents always got me and it'sjust like, easy to stick with it. but i've never really| looked into anything else, which is the main reason why i've never switched. - i think having an iphone is i practical because like i have, like the rest of my- family also has iphones. and so it's they're i just very compatible. all of which makes it one of the most successful companies. last year, sales ofjust the iphone

made it more than £150 billion in revenues.