news understands to be rape and multiple other sexual offences. prime minister benjamin netanyahu approves a new round of ceasefire talks a day after the un top court ordered israel to allow aid into gaza. and actorjohn boyega speaks for the first time about how the killing of his childhood friend damilola taylor shaped his life. more now on northern ireland. news thatjeffrey donaldson, the leader of the democratic unionist party, has been charged with historical sexual offences and has quit as leader. the bbc understands that sirjeffrey donaldson has been charged with rape and multiple other sexual offences. the police investigation is understood to have started within the last number of months, after two women came forward. sirjeffrey�*s resignation letter to the dup states he will be strenuously contesting the charges. the dup says mr donaldson, who has been in politics

for almost ao—years, has had his membership suspended pending the outcome of a judicial process. let's speak to mick leary, who's the editor at slugger o'toole — a web blog on northern irish and british politics that has been running for more than 20 years. let me ask you first of all when did you first hear whispers or wind of all of this?— you first hear whispers or wind of all of this? ., , , ., ., ., all of this? probably not long after 7am this morning _ all of this? probably not long after 7am this morning when _ all of this? probably not long after 7am this morning when rumours . 7am this morning when rumours started to pass around the numerous networks of journalists and other commentators. the information was fairly sketchy. i think the indication something something major was going to happen

was indicated by the circumstantial evidence thatjeffrey donaldson removed all content from his social media channels. that's an indication something really big was going to happen. there has been feverish speculation going on in the background, none of which we can really commentate on directly because obviously there is an ongoing legal process. that early indication has been confirmed by the fact that he has quit from the dup, they have suspended his membership and in the meantime, there is a situation i think that has come as a surprise to most commentators. most importantly to his own political party. importantly to his own political .a . , importantly to his own political -a . , ., importantly to his own political party. yes, we then got the police statement and _ party. yes, we then got the police statement and dup _ party. yes, we then got the police statement and dup statement, i statement and dup statement, confirmation of everything being reported. you use the word surprise. that does not really seem to, you

are shaking your head because in terms of the reaction we have had through the course of the last few hours, people have used the word stunning, seismic. just give me a sense of how this news has actually gone down where you are. the thing is, jeffrey donaldson is somebody that northern ireland people in northern ireland know him for more than 20 years. he northern ireland know him for more than 20 years-_ than 20 years. he was one of david trimble is's — than 20 years. he was one of david trimble is's biggest _ than 20 years. he was one of david trimble is's biggest sceptics - than 20 years. he was one of david trimble is's biggest sceptics of - than 20 years. he was one of david trimble is's biggest sceptics of the | trimble is's biggest sceptics of the good friday agreement, he has been prominent ever since, moved after the 2003 election from the ulster unionists and the party that cohn negotiated the good friday agreement, to the dup after 2003. he effectively shifted the balance of power back to a much more hardline

dup. ironically in recent times he has been the person who ended the boycott of the stormont elections who has accepted the recent settlement on brexit for northern ireland. he has played a much more prominent role in politics than he had done heretofore. at the moment, not quite the moment but has things are beginning to settle after that crisis, this has really brought about another crisis within the dup if not more widely within northern ireland. it is notjust a surprise that the effect of one of the major players suddenly exiting the game. that throws up questions for the immediate future. you that throws up questions for the immediate future.— immediate future. you were describing — immediate future. you were describing his _ immediate future. you were describing his personal - immediate future. you were i describing his personaljourney immediate future. you were - describing his personaljourney and the fact he was pivotal described as the fact he was pivotal described as the sales and for bringing back power—sharing in northern ireland. there were already major split within the party, his political

clout dragged the party over the line. how precarious would you say the position is around power—sharing? the former northern ireland secretary less bothered, others less sure. you ireland secretary less bothered, others less sure.— others less sure. you frame the auestion others less sure. you frame the question correctly, _ others less sure. you frame the question correctly, it _ others less sure. you frame the question correctly, it is - others less sure. you frame the question correctly, it is how - others less sure. you frame the question correctly, it is how is l question correctly, it is how is this unwinding within the dup itself? the council officers met this morning with senior members. immediately they seem to have found at least an interim leader in one of jeffrey donaldson's fellow westminster mps gavin robinson. it was a different era to one of those older, the unkind term is dinosaurs within the party from the ian ian

paisley era. we simply don't know whether there are more and where this goes, it is difficult to speculate on the afternoon there are signs within the party that they have moved to stabilise the situation. it is how this unwinds after easter. we will figure out whether there is an unravelling to happen. immediate signs that this is a party in more political trouble than any other certainly northern ireland and within the united kingdom. it might be hard for your viewers to believe that but it has had serial trouble. from the liberal

wing to less liberal the conservatives has understood that if they fall apart under pressure they are gone. they are all campaigners, they have been through controversy before, i suspect that instinct for survival is far stronger than any trying to split the party up under pressure. trying to split the party up under ressure. ., . , trying to split the party up under ressure. ., ., , ., pressure. you are right, these are early hours _ pressure. you are right, these are early hours after _ pressure. you are right, these are early hours after we _ pressure. you are right, these are early hours after we had _ early hours after we had confirmation of the news. thanks for that analysis. so much of the action and reaction on the website. a lot of useful information and reaction.

in the last few hours israel's prime minister has approved a new round of gaza ceasefire talks to take place in doha and cairo. it comes after the un's top court has ordered israel to enable the unhindered flow of aid into gaza in order to avert a famine. 0ur correspondent yolande knell is injerusalem. we're hearing of new aid drops by air into northern gaza in the past few hours. and also israeli defence officials saying that nine lorries with supplies from the world food programme were allowed into that part of the gaza strip in the night. that, of course, is the area where the un says the risk of famine is highest. and this comes after the un's top court issued new provisional measures, saying that the catastrophic living conditions in gaza had deteriorated further. and it's asking israel to open up more border crossings, open them up for longer hours, and to let in more food, more fuel, more water,

medicines, other supplies. now, israel has got one month to reply formally to the court, but its foreign ministry has come out saying that it doesn't limit supplies going into gaza, it's working with the un and other agencies to ensure continuous flow of aid. it said that hamas was really responsible for the situation in gaza and for starting the war. separately, syria is blaming israel for deadly air strikes in aleppo overnight. the reportedly killed more than a0 people, mostly syrian soldiers, but also apparently members of the powerful lebanese armed group hezbollah. now, israel's military hasn't commented on those reports, but this has raised fears of further fighting across this region. a senior mp has called for a police investigation, after secret papers seen by the bbc showed the post office continued to fight compensation claims brought by sub postmasters, despite knowing its

defence was false. labour's kevan jones, who sits on the horizon compensation advisory board, has called the post office's actions "an abusive use of public cash against innocent people" — and said there would be no justice until someone was brought before the courts. here's our business correspondent, marc ashdown. it's the latest twist in this ongoing drama and now there are calls for the police to widen its investigation into the horizon scandal. the computer system designed by fujitsu and used by subpostmasters to tally their accounts was central to hundreds of wrongful prosecutions. now a secret draft report from 2017 uncovered by the bbc shows the post office spent £100 million fighting court cases even though it knew its defence was untrue. commissioned by the post office, the bramble report by deloitte found

that fujitsu employees had the ability to amend or delete transactions entered by branch staff. there would be no flag to a postmaster if a change had been made, and those changes could cause a shortfall in branch accounts. it also said a malicious actor could potentially change data, although there was no evidence this actually happened. janet skinner, a former subpostmistress from hull, lost herjob and was sent to prison in 2007. they could have prevented that court case. you know, the 555 of us that went to that court case, they could have prevented that and they could have saved a lot of time, money and tears. the labour mp kevanjones who sits on the horizon compensation board is calling on the police to widen its investigation. i do now think the police need to start looking at this. more will obviously come out at the public inquiry, but there is enough out there now i think to start looking. the metropolitan police first started looking into the post office and fujitsu back injanuary 2020.

an investigation into potential offences of perjury and perverting the course ofjustice is ongoing. and the met told us today it continues to monitor the evidence being heard by the public inquiry. the post office said it is deeply sorry for the impact the scandal has had on people and told us the next phase of the public inquiry would look at the issues we raised. fujitsu group said it regards the matter with the utmost seriousness and offers its deepest apologies to sub—postmasters and their families. a group of more than 500 sub—postmasters and mistresses won their first court case against the post 0ffice back in 2019. earlier this year, every person wrongfully prosecuted was exonerated. but their long fight for full compensation and justice goes on. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

it was one of last summer's big blockbuster movies and it swept the board during the awards season.

but up until now, people injapan haven't been able to see the film 0ppenheimer. but that has changed as it opened in cinemas today. the film tells the story of the scientist, j robert 0ppenheimer. he created the first atomic bomb, which was later used against japan during world war ii, killing more than 200,000 people. it was seen as too controversial and sensitive a topic for the people of japan. 0ur tokyo correspondent, shaimaa khalil, reports from hiroshima. no location, no place is eerily more relevant to the 0ppenheimer story than here in hiroshima. the first atomic bomb fell nearly directly above the building behind me, known as the hiroshima peace memorial, or the a—bomb dome. and for years it has been meticulously preserved to be in the state it was in during that bombing.

and over here is the river where thousands of people who skin was burning at the time jumped in for refuge. 80 years on, the legacy ofj robert 0ppenheimer is felt very deeply here in hiroshima, and for months, people injapan couldn't see the film. not because it was just sensitive, it was very controversial. and it may be one of this year's most celebrated motion pictures. but for the people here in hiroshima, it's felt much, much more deeply. the screening of 0ppenheimer has been quite controversial, and not just because of the sensitive subject matter, but also because the initial releasing of it worldwide coincided with the film. barbie and there was this cross—promotion called barbenheimer, if you remember where people were dress for barbie and dress for 0ppenheimer and see the films back to back. and for people here injapan, they thought this was insensitive because of the horrors that they suffered.

but also, i spoke to a survivor who watched the film in a private preview. and he said one of the things that that stopped him when he was watching the film was that the horrors that were suffered here injapan weren't really depicted in the film. translation: | thought - that the devastation of hiroshima would appear somewhere in the storyline of the film, but it didn't. there were only scenes in the united states. i wanted them to show and tell what happened in hiroshima. i wish they'd shown the burned ruins of hiroshima. the museum here has displays of other children's heads were burned, how their clothes were burnt. i wanted people in the us in particular to be able to see this. do you think it's important for people injapan to watch this movie? i hope that the people ofjapan, including other survivors of hiroshima and nagasaki, will see this film and have a conversation about it.

i hope that this film will be seen and discussed at length. i have only a small and narrow viewpoint, but i think it would be great if people all overjapan could see it and talk about what happened. my biggest worry right now is that the us, russia or china might test a nuclear device without us knowing. i think there are smaller and better performing nuclear weapons and there could be the next oppenheimer in the shadows now. i felt that way when i saw the film. hiroshima survivor, toshiyuki mimaki, ending that report from shaimaa khalil. actorjohn boyega has spoken publicly for the first time about the impact of childhood friend damilola taylor's killing, calling it life—changing. he's told the bbc that the recent death of damilola's father, campaigner richard taylor, had motivated him to speak about his experience. the star wars actor says the tragedy has "shaped me through the years". he was one of the last people to see 10—year—old damilola alive before the fatal stabbing in south london in 2000. he's spoken tojohn wilson

from radio 4's last word podcast. ijust remember damilola with a silverjacket... he laughs ..running through the playground of oliver goldsmith primary school, already sweating as if he just had to run a marathon. and it's near enough 9am in the morning, drinking from the water fountains, flirting with my bloody sister. they laugh and just being around us and cracking jokes and being flamboyant and charismatic. and ijust remember him being a big personality. i mean, it was such a short time, but everybody knew he was this new kid in school and he came straight from nigeria. so there was something about that energy that, you know, in the nigerian community, especially in the yoruba community, is like, protect this guy and make sure he's good, that's your brother. that was kind of a language that was used at the time. i don't think you've really ever spoken publicly about your relationship with damilola. no, i haven'tand, you know, on purpose too. i'm quite private in general, but on richard taylor's passing,

ijust was so kind of motivated to speak up because now he's gone, if i don't speak out now, when am i ever going to speak up? myself and my sister was one of the last people that was with damilola taylor on the very day. and ijust think from the hours we left him in peckham to the hours when i went home and then the police was at our door was definitely life—changing for me. he had been at the library, i think, before heading home. were you with him there? we were literallyjust with him right before he went to the library. it was me, grace and damilola, and damilola basically went one route and so we kind of split paths. and once i got home a few hours from then, the police was at our door. and what was your reaction when you heard? i was so young, but ijust remember thinking i didn't know that mortality worked that swiftly. that the days kind ofjust went on and then somebody was gone instantly. somebody that i just saw, somebody that i just spoke to. but it was definitely hard. we talk on the memories, we talk on the trauma, you know, and try and get over it, because to be involved in that way,

even in passing, it makes you feel like you're inches away from something so tragic, but also to keep the memory of damilola taylor alive, because that was a funny, very energetic guy that everybody really, really loved in the community. and if you'd like to listen to that full interview betweenjohn boyega and john wilson, visit radio 4's last word on the bbc sounds app. now to one of the most read stories on the bbc news website so far today. and it involves temu. the chinese e—retailer has significantly changed the terms of a cash giveaway after customers expressed concerns. participants in the promotion receive up to £50, but had to agree to permanently hand over considerable amounts of personal data. pierre—antoine denis has more from the newsroom it has been nicknamed amazon 0n steroids and it has taken the e—commerce world by storm.

i'm talking about temu, the chinese—owned online marketplace that is on the rise, emerging as the world's second largest retail giant behind amazon with just short of 500 million users. why? mainly because it beats all competitions, price—wise. and its slogan, very catchy — shop like a billionaire. and when we think about it, that giveaway campaign is empowering just that, giving the customers free money in some sort. but as many analysts would say, if the product is free, it probably means that you and your data are the product. and social media users were very quick to point this very fact, because when we look at the very first t&cs of that giveaway, it states that participation in the programme constitutes a member's consent to use and publish such member's photo name, likeness, voice, opinion, statements, biographical information and hometown and state for advertising or

promotional purposes. but it does not end there, because all of this data can be used in any major worldwide, now known or hereafter developed in perpetuity without notification, review, payment or consideration. and that was the cause of the backlash on social media, with users saying that this was essentially not worth it. and it prompted temu to react. in the last few hours, a new statement came out saying, "the previous terms and conditions were overly broad and inadvertently included promotional uses that teemu does not engage in." and it now says that only the name and the profile picture will be used for rewards in the future. but as temu is becoming a leader in online marketplace, many more questions will be asked towards the chinese company as to how they handle the data of their consumers. you're watching bbc news.

more now on our top story. earlier i spoke to professorjon tonge from the university of liverpool about his reactions to the breaking news well, it was extraordinary news, absolutely shocking news. the british and irish governments will be shocked as well, becausejeffrey donaldson was someone they eventually came to rely upon. it was known as the donaldson deal, and that wasn't just a piece of alliteration, it was the fact that jeffrey donaldson had sold the deal to return power sharing, to return the dup to the devolved power—sharing institutions. had it not beenjeffrey donaldson selling that deal, that deal might never have been on and we might have been suffering from a lack of power—sharing full stop. jeffrey donaldson was determined, he went on the airwaves, he sold the restoration of power—sharing as a good deal for unionism and as a good deal for northern ireland. it's true, asjulian smith has indicated, that the interim leader, the replacement leader of the dup,

gavin robinson is very much on the same political wavelength is jeffrey donaldson, and it's also true that jeffrey donaldson wasn't part of stormont itself, jeffrey donaldson loved westminster. so in that sense, the instiutions, the political institutions should be secure, but nonetheless, unionism has lost its main leader here. remember, the dup is the only unionist party that is represented at westminster. yes, i was going to come on to exactly that point, because for those people watching around the world, i mean, just make your assessment, because he is such a huge figure within unionism, first with the ulster unionist party, then he left them to join the dup, and eventually become leader of the dup. he's been there at the forefront for almost a0 years, hasn't he? that's right. jeffrey donaldson was elected to westminster in 1997, he is one of the longest serving parliamentarians. he was an opponent of the good friday agreement, he walked out on 26 good fridays ago today, he walked out

on the good friday negotiations and argued that his party leader david trimble had not secured sufficient guarantees from the british government that the ira would decommission its weapons. he was an opponent of the good friday agreement, and eventually left the ulster unionist party to join the anti—agreement democratic union party, but he was largely seen as something of a political pragmatist, and it was a surprise to many when he took the dup out of the political institutions after he became leader in 2021, a year later he took the dup out of the political institutions, because he said post—brexit trading arrangements damaged unionism. but he was fairly soon after that determined to take the dup back in, and he succeeded six weeks ago in taking the dup back into political institutions, and if opinion polls are to be believed, most dup supporters supported the decision. so he was a figure of substance, he did have the ear of the british and irish governments. he was by far the dup's biggest player on the westminster stage,

and in that sense politically he may be a hard act to fill, but the fact that he has been obliged to stand down as dup leader doesn't mean that the political institutions are now more vulnerable to collapse. now it's time for a look at the weather with elizabeth rizzini. hello there. good afternoon. well, a gradual improvement for most of us weather—wise over the next couple of days. here's the forecast for the bank holiday weekend. so, today, sunshine and some heavy showers. lighter winds than yesterday. fewer showers on saturday and sunday, but there could be some more rain in the south on bank holiday monday. drierfurther north. lots of rainbows spotted today with the general sunshine and showers theme. already some lightning strikes across parts of pembrokeshire. there could be some heavy downpours, some hail and some thunder in some of these showers,

but generally fewer of them than we saw yesterday, with more in the way of sunshine. it's still breezy for england and wales, but not as gusty as yesterday. could be a bit drier across northern scotland and for most it will feel a little warmer too. 0vernight tonight it's still going to be quite chilly by night. we'll see the skies largely clear. the showers fading away. a scattering of them still out towards the west. a touch of isolated frost, i think, into tomorrow morning, with lows in low to mid—single figures. also bit of patchy mist and fog, as well, but it will still be breezy for part of the night, but then lighter winds tomorrow morning. that's because our area of low pressure is pulling away towards the west. so the winds are lighter and it'll feel a bit warmer in the sunshine tomorrow, but another area of low pressure possibly giving some patchy rain across the far east of east anglia for a while, more cloud in the south—east of england, but a lot of dry weather on saturday, plenty of sunshine. the focus for any showers out towards the north and the west. it will feel warmer again — 11 to 15 degrees celsius.

now, don't forget that the clocks spring forward by an hour on saturday night into sunday, so darker morningsjust for a while and, of course, lighter evenings on the way. easter sunday isn't looking too bad either. again, we could see some showers out towards western spots as we head through the morning, largely fading away into the afternoon. a lot of dry weather around with some sunshine, but perhaps a bit cloudier and cooler towards north sea—facing coasts with more of an easterly wind developing. again, highs of 11 to 1a degrees. then we look to the south as we head through sunday night and into bank holiday monday because we are going to see some areas of rain perhaps across england and wales. still a lot of uncertainty with the forecast, so do keep an eye on it. but it could be drier further north, perhaps. temperature—wise, it's a bit cloudier and cooler again towards north sea—facing coasts, so a bit milder further west. bye—bye for now.

live from london, this is bbc news. jeffrey donaldson resigns as the leader of northern ireland's

democratic unionist party after being charged with what bbc news understands to be rape and multiple other sexual offences. ukraine's president zelensky warns that a new russian military offensive may come in the next few months. and it's one year since the wall streetjournal reporter evan gershkovich was detained in russia on spying charges. his sister has spoken to bbc news. the uncertainty is very hard to deal with, but we just see evan and how strong he is. and the actorjohn to speak for the person about the killing of his childhood friend shaped his life. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala. welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories and checking out the truth behind them. let's start with that stunning

development in northern ireland — news thatjeffrey donaldson, the leader of the democratic