they're just opening the hatch ready to release the aid down into gaza. there is no organised distribution system down there. there it goes. further political instability for northern ireland with the resignation of the democratic unionist party leader, sirjeffrey donaldson. he says he will strenuously contest historical sexual offence charges. power blackouts in seven regions of ukraine after a wave of russian missile strikes, the second large—scale attack in a week. hello and welcome. i'm sarah campbell. we start with the war between israel and hamas, as international pressure mounts for action to address the prospect of imminent famine among palestinians in gaza. we're following a number of developments.

the us is said to have authorised the transfer of billions of dollars�* worth of bombs and fighterjets to israel in recent days. the package, reported by the washington post and reuters, comes despite growing calls for us military aid to be linked to changes in how israel conducts the war. it comes days after the un's top court, the international court ofjustice, ordered israel to allow the unimpeded flow of food aid into gaza. israel says un allegations that it's blocking aid are "wholly unfounded". the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has agreed to send officials to egypt and qatar in the coming days for a new round of talks on a possible ceasefire in gaza. in the past 2a hours, both the uk and the us military have airdropped food supplies into gaza. our bbc middle east correspondent lucy williamson, was on the us plane.

aid drops into gaza are expensive, inefficient and increasingly controversial. these ready—prepared meals from the us army are being flown more than 1,000 miles from the us in qatar. there's plenty of food just a short drive from gaza's borders, but this american aid is being flown right across the middle east. 80 crates of food on board two c—i7 transport planes, dropped into a population the un says is on the brink of famine. it's not perfect. we know that there's upwards of 2 million people who need food on the ground who are hungry, innocent civilians who didn't ask for this conflict, and we're dropping meals in the tens of thousands, but at least it's something. so does it feel like a drop in the bucket? maybe a little bit, but if you're a family on the ground who got some of this aid, it can be a life—saver. 12 people were reported to have drowned this week trying to retrieve packages from the sea, six others crushed in a stampede. what are you doing to try and mitigate those risks?

literally everything we can. i know you spoke with the colonel earlier. we use a chute that falls at a slower rate to give the gazans more time to see the parachutes and make sure they're out of the way. we also have assets overhead that clear the drop zone, so we will not drop if there are any sorts of groupings of people there. after three hours in the air, the ramp opens on gaza's devastated coastline. they've just opened the hatch, ready to release the aid down into gaza. there's no organised distribution system down there. there it goes. a drop of aid in an ocean of hunger. getting aid in this way is a last resort, but a growing number of countries are doing it. how much do these eye—catching flights relieve pressure on gaza's civilians, and how much the pressure on governments elsewhere? 0ur correspondent yolande

knell is injerusalem and i began by asking her about the us' weapons transfer to israel. so according to these reports in the washington post and reuters as well, they're quoting unnamed us state and defense department officials, and they're saying that more than 1,800 2,000lb bombs, some 500 500lb bombs and 25 f—35 fighterjets have been authorised in this latest set of military aid assistance coming across to israel. now, a lot of this has already been initially approved by congress, but the reason this is so interesting in terms of the timing — just after a visit by the israeli defence minister, yoav gallant to washington, is that really in recent days we have seen tensions deepening between israel and the us, and that really reached the lowest moment on monday after you had the us abstention

at the un security council when it came to a resolution being passed on a ceasefire in the gaza war for the first time. israel was very angered about that and there have been these calls from senior democrats in the us and from other groups of society, like arab americans, suggesting that if military weapons supplies, transfers to israel, are not going to be cut, then they should be limited or they should be conditioned by the biden administration. that doesn't seem to have happened. yeah, i mean, it's really interesting, isn't it? we've spoken over the last couple of weeks about the relations being strained. and just, as you say, there widespread calls for this, the two to be linked, that the military aid should be linked to the humanitarian aid to gaza. but that doesn't seem to be the case. indeed. and the white house has been saying that it supports israel's continued right to defend itself.

we know that the israeli defence minister in the us had been talking to washington about its declared aim to keep israel with what's called a qualitative military edge in this region, and also talking about, notjust waging war in gaza, but the prospect of a possible escalation on israel's northern border, where there have been, in recent months, these near—daily cross—border exchanges of fire with the powerful lebanese armed group hezbollah. some breaking news to bring you: the un peacekeeping mission in lebanon says three of its observers have been injured by an explosion near the israeli border. a statement from the un mission — unifil — says the peacekeepers and their lebanese translator have been taken to hospital. lebanese media had reported that israeli drones had struck a un car on the outskirts of the border town of ramish.

the israeli military immediately denied being behind the attack. we will bring you more details on that when we get it. to an ongoing situation in the netherlands, where police say three people have been freed after being taken hostage in the eastern town of ede, but the situation is ongoing. armed officers are reported to have been deployed to a cafe in the town. police have cordoned off part of the town centre and evacuated about 150 nearby homes. the motivation of the hostage—taker isn't yet clear but police say there is no indication at this stage that it is terror—related. now to northern ireland, where politics have been thrown into turmoil following the news

that the leader of the democratic unionist party, sirjeffrey donaldson, has resigned after being charged with rape and other historical sexual offences. he was arrested on thursday along with a 57—year—old woman who's been charged with aiding and abetting in connection with the alleged offences. they'll both appear in court next month. sirjeffrey is northern ireland's longest—serving mp at westminster. he says he'll strenously contest the charges. jennifer 0'leary reports. sirjeffrey donaldson, a leader who, just weeks ago, returned his party to power—sharing at stormont. now his political career appears to be over. in a statement issued at lunchtime yesterday, his party announced his resignation, his political exit prompted by his arrest and charges of rape and other sexual offences as part of a police investigation spanning months, after two women came forward. in a letter to his party, sirjeffrey donaldson said he will be strenuously contesting the charges.

the newly—appointed interim dup party leader, mp gavin robinson, spoke of the shock within the party and beyond. it's a devastating revelation and has caused tremendous shock, notjust for myself personally or my colleagues within the dup, but for the community right across northern ireland, it came as a great shock. but we are a party and individuals that believe in justice. we have faith in our criminal justice system and so, in the coming days and months, i think it is important that none of us say anything or act in any way that would seek to prejudice what is now an ongoing criminal investigation. in northern ireland, sirjeffrey donaldson is decades—long known for his unyielding defence of the union. he now stands apart from the unionist party he steered back into power—sharing. in a statement, the first minister,

michelle 0'neill, said her priority is to continue to provide the leadership the public expect and deserve. sirjeffrey donaldson�*s resignation comes at a criticaljuncture. the fault lines from this political earthquake go well beyond one man and one party. it creates a fissure at the heart of unionism at a time when some see it under increasing threat from those who want a united ireland. on a bank holiday easter weekend, when politics was supposed to be on pause, sirjeffrey donaldson�*s party political days look firmly in the past. jennifer 0'leary, bbc news. our correspondent dan johnson has more. politicians here in northern ireland are saying business as usual. this is a shock, but they will try to carry on. they are determined that things won't be destabilised here because they've been so determined, they've been working so hard. they've put things in place to get

northern ireland's government operating again in the last two months, after two years of political instability, disruption when things weren't working, so so much effort is being put on. people are saying they're determined that this won't wreck that, no doubt, this is a huge blow. i mean, you mentioned there the power sharing only back on track in the last couple of months, which illustrates the instability, the fragility of politics in northern ireland. there must be huge concern about what happens now. yes, it may look like a solid, stable building, but the politics within it are very delicate, are fragile, have to be carefully nurtured. sirjeffrey donaldson had been so key to that in putting together the deal that brought power—sharing, brought the parties representing different interests here across northern ireland's communities together, working together again for the first time in two years. he was so influential, so important in bringing his own party into that

power—sharing arrangement when there were voices opposing the deal that he had negotiated. he's been an important interlocutor with political interests in london and with dublin, as well. so with his influence now off the table, whatever happens to his court case, whether he's found guilty or not, it is what comes in his wake. how long can the interim leader hold things together? will he be in the position even longer? will he be elected? what happens to sirjeffrey�*s politicalseat, his constituency at westminster? there may have to be a by—election for that. what happens to the deputy first minister who is in power here but nominated by sirjeffrey donaldson himself? so with him removed, such a key, influential, long—standing figure who's been so important and was at the height of his political power, having successfully negotiated that deal which brought the northern ireland executive back into working function here just so recently, there are huge questions and although people say they are optimistic, they are determined, they are committed to making sure that things aren't destabilised here, the situation is so delicate, there are so many competing

interests and voices and opinions, people who want different things, who see an opportunity, and this naturally introduces instability into that picture, which will mean that the future is uncertain, that things could play out in different directions depending on which route the democratic unionist party now takes and what that then means for the whole unionist movement that represents the people who want northern ireland to be part of the united kingdom. sports news in a moment but before we go there, let me take you to moscow now. foreign ambassadors are laying flowers near the crocus concert hall, a week after an attack in which at least 140 people were killed. the islamic state group said it carried out the gun attack. president putin has acknowledged that radical islamists carried it out, but he and his officials have

persistently tried to link the attack to ukraine or the west, without providing evidence. now it's time for a look at today's sport. hello, gavin. louis rees zammit says he can't wait to see kansas city chiefs fans at their home arrowhead stadium afterjoining the super bowl champions. rees—zammit signed a three—year contract with the chiefs, just 10 weeks after quitting welsh rugby on the eve of this year's six nations tournament. but he is still a way off making the regular season roster and the hard work starts now. the fact that he has gone from being at the top of his game, playing for wales and gloucester, and now, you have been incredible here but now you are starting all over. it is like going into secondary school as the new kid. there is a lot of,

everyone knows me and think i'm so great, but here no one knows me and i have to start over and prove myself to a whole new group of athletes. myself to a whole new group of athletes. the premier league resumes injust over an hour's time, as newcastle host west ham. david moyes�* side are on a four match unbeaten run in the league, and know a win could move them seven points clear of newcastle. however, eddie howe�*s team have earned almost three quarters of their points this season at st james�* park. i don't look at any game any differently. this is a home game. we are back at home after a long period of time. our last home game was a good win for us. this will be a similar game, very difficult game. i think the expectation will be on us. we will try to embrace that. we will attack the game in the way that we know we can and try to produce our best performance. know we can and try to produce our best performance. a bumper schedule follows that, with a total of eight games on saturday. it'll be all eyes on the relegation battle, with luton, nottingham forest and everton all in action. follow all those scores throughout the day on the bbc sport website.

the women's final at the miami 0pen is to come on saturday, as elena rybakina takes on unseeded danielle collins later. in the men's singles, gregor dimitrov followed up beating carlos alcaraz by beating alexander zverev to reach the final. the result also moved dimitrov up to number 9 in the atp rankings, securing his return to the top 10 for the first time since november 2018. jannik sinner awaits dimitrov in sunday's final, after he overwhelmed third—seed daniil medvedev in straight sets in the other semi final of the miami 0pen. his only loss this season was to carlos alcaraz in the indian wells final earlier this month. tony finau leads the houston 0pen by two shots after the second round at the memorial park golf course on friday. the american carded at 62 to jump to the top of the leaderboard at nine—under, including this eagle on the 8th hole. while argentinian alejandro tosti sits two shots back after finishing with a 67. the third round gets underway

in around a few hours time. victor wembanyama had a career—high a0 points and 20 rebounds as the san antonio spurs got the better of the new york knicks — 130—126 in overtime on friday night, despite jalen brunson falling one point short of the knicks�* single—game scoring record. wembanyama made a 3—pointer to give san antonio a four—point lead in overtime. it was the first 40—point, 20—rebound game by a rookie since shaquille 0 neal in 1993. it just shows what itjust shows what he is going to be when he understands all the physicality that is coming at him all the time, and what to do about it. fortunately he is also a hell of an instinctive passer and he is willing to do what he needs to do in that regard. he is pretty special. and rhys hoskins may have left mlb�*s american league east, after departing the philadelphia phillies and joining the milwaukee brewers, but it didn't take him long

to tangle with a former foe. tempers flared as hoskins slid hard into new york mets�* second baseman jeff mcneil on a potential double—play ball in the eighth inning, which mcneil was angry about, and the pair needed to be kept apart as emotions boiled over. the visitors ended up winning the game 3—1, but play again later on saturday. and that's all the sport for now. we will be back with more later on. seven regions of ukraine have now been forced to impose emergency blackouts because of a wave of russian air strikes on power stations. russia launched nearly 100 drones and missiles across the border on thursday night ? the second large—scale attack in a week — hitting power plants in central and western ukraine. president volodymyr zelensky says russia is deliberately targeting energy systems. the white house has called the attacks "a terrible reminder of vladimir putin's efforts to break the spirit of the ukrainian people". ukraine is facing shortages of ammunition and air defences.

0ur eastern europe correspondent, sarah rainsford is in kharkiv. well, the authorities here in ukraine are calling this missile terror by russia. they're talking about a deliberate and cynical attack on ukraine's energy infrastructure, and that is having an impact in many regions. seven regions are now experiencing power blackouts, including here in kharkiv in the northeast, where we are now, where power is rationed. so essentially in the residential sector, you can be without electricity for up to 6 hours a day. it's supposed to be scheduled. sometimes it happens without notice. it is affecting life here. i think these are attacks that are aimed at morale, but it also, in fact, it is also affecting industries. so factories are struggling with power. i was speaking to the mayor and he told me they hope to get the power up and running as normal within a couple of months. but he didn't sound entirely convinced by that. and also, of course, there is the danger of further russian attacks. we have air raids here, air sirens here multiple times every single day. and this city, kharkiv,

is very close to russia or about a0 kilometres from the border. this area was right on the front line at the beginning of the full scale invasion. and there are nerves here again, because there are rumours and reports of another russian push to try to take kharkiv. and people here are worried about that. the authorities are saying it's important to bear that information in mind, but people shouldn't panic. but it is compounding the kind of the difficulty, really, of living in a place like kharkiv under constant threat of missile strike without power for many, many hours a day. and also that threat of russia just a few miles away from here. joining me in the studio a short while ago was kira rudik, a member of the ukrainian parliament and leader of the golos party. we already survived a winter blackout. it was the first winter in 2022 and we hope that it will never be repeated. but i can tell you it's a huge difference between sitting in a bomb

shelter when there are lights, when there is internet and your devices are charged so kids have somewhere to play. and when it's dark, when it's cold and it's really, really dangerous. it feels absolutely like armageddon when there are those blackouts, when there is cold, and when the attacks continue. and this is how it feels in ukraine. we are calling for the world to hear us in the matter that we do need the air defence systems and ammunition for them. it's a way for us not only to physically survive, but also to protect our critical infrastructure. we have already seen what russia can do and theyjust never stepped away from their plan to destroy our energy and try to break our spirits. energy seems to be the key target at the moment. your president is saying that russia is deliberately targeting those energy systems. it's absolutely true. this is open information because we see particularly

where the missiles hit and this energy infrastructure, it is usually located near people's homes. 0n 2nd january, there was a similar attack and the explosion was right near the home where i live and my windows were blown away and part of the wall was taken down. i can tell you, sarah, it was it was one of the worst experiences of my life. i cannot imagine how people deal with it every single day, over and over and over. i'm so proud of my fellow ukrainians, but i'm also trying to deliver this message to the world that we will fight, but we need the means to fight with. we cannot be facing our enemy empty—handed. where are you hoping their appeals will be listened to? presumably the us. the key place is the us right now because we really need this aid from the congress being voted in. it's already seven months delayed and even if the miracle happens

and it is voted these days, it will still take time until those promises will become the weapons in ukrainian soldiers�* hands. but we are also have calls here in the united kingdom and in the european countries on using russian assets that are being frozen to be seized and used to help us win the war, but also to help us rebuild all the destruction. can you just imagine the amounts that we will have to spend to rebuild what is already destroyed, including the energy infrastructure that is being destroyed every single day, literally every single day? just finally to ask, how difficult is it, two years on, to keep the spirit of the ukrainian people positive? we have no other choice. we have absolutely no other choice. we made a decision to fight two years ago and we will continue doing this. we will not retreat. we will not back down because we are fighting for our own freedom, for our own future

and we will do that. what we need is some help in the means to do that. tributes are being paid to louis gossettjunior — the first black man to win best supporting actor at the oscars. he�*s died at the age of 87. gossettjr took home the academy award for his role as a no—nonsense drill sergeant in "an officer and a gentlemen“ in 1982. he also won an emmy in the late 70s for the tv series "roots". he was our entertainment reporter in los angeles and she explained the impact he made on the acting world. i love louis gossettjr and he chose his roles. it was tough he was gritty, and that is the reason why he made history by winning an oscar, the first black man to win an oscar for best supporting actor because of that role. he was just so tenacious

and he brought that same energy to the tv series roots, where he won an emmy. he always went after those tough roles, even his very last role, with the color purple, he really knew how to choose the roles that best exemplify his acting skills. he never chose a bad role. so many actors in hollywood would have their good days and bad days in the roles they are known for and the roles they want to ignore. there really wasn�*t that with louis gossettjr. he just chose wisely and was just a consummate actor. tributes to louis gossettjr, the first black man to win best supporting actor at the oscars. you are watching bbc news. hello. today and tomorrow brings a window of quieter weather for many, which is good news, of course,

for the easter weekend. not completely dry, there will be a few showers around, but fewer of them. hello. today and tomorrow brings a window of quieter weather for many, which is good news, of course, for the easter weekend. at the moment, the low pressure which has governed things so far, the centre is out to the west, this is where the focus for the heaviest showers are, but we have been drawing up cloud across east anglia and the south—east. this is where it�*s been grey so far today for some. brightening up through the rest of this afternoon. there will be a few showers around, particularly across scotland. some heavier ones out towards the west, a rumble of thunder, but through much of southern scotland, england and wales through the afternoon very few showers. more of you will spend the bulk of the day, if not all day, dry. as i said, temperatures a little bit higher than recent days at 10 to 1a or 15 degrees. into tonight, some thundery showers across the channel islands and the south—west pushes towards ireland. a bit more of a breeze here. that will stop temperatures dropping too much. with lighter winds and clearer skies, central and eastern scotland, north—east england, this is where we could see frost to take

us into sunday morning, which of course is the start of british summertime, so get ready to put the clocks forward an hour tonight. it does mean tomorrow evening the sunset will be an hour later, so some longer afternoons and evenings ahead. as for easter sunday itself, well, for many it starts bright. there will be the chance of showers first thing across ireland. more of those could be heavy and thundery, but a greyer day through central eastern england, and especially along the coast. it could be quite misty. that is drifting its way northwards into eastern scotland later. a bit more cloud through central england. a few showers elsewhere, but a lot of dry weather. the best of the weather across scotland and in the west we could see highs of 15 or 16 degrees. with easterly winds here on monday, this is where the driest, brightest weather will be, but low pressure in the south brings a return of some more widespread rain drifting northwards through the day, breaking up into showers. some of those in the south—west could be heavy and thundery later. we will get a bit of sunshine, though. we could see temperatures at 13, 1a degrees around the london area. a cooler day in eastern scotland, north—east england with a breeze off the sea, but western scotland again in the sunshine, it could get to around 13 or 1a degrees. a quick look at some of the charts to take us into next week.

if you�*re on an extended break, of course, with it being easter, low pressure rules the roost. don�*t take the weather symbols too literally. there will be rain at times, breezy as well, but it won�*t be desperately cold with temperatures a little bit above average.

this is bbc news. the headlines... israeli media are reporting on government proposals for an all—arab peacekeeping

force in gaza to enable the delivery of aid. the united nations continues to warn of imminent famine in the strip. there�*s fresh political instability in northern ireland following the resignation of the leader of the democratic unionist party. sirjeffrey donaldson has been charged with rape and other historical sexual offences. he says he will strenuously contest the charges. counter—terrorism police in london are investigating the stabbing of pouria zeraati, a presenterfor a persian—language news channel. the broadcaster has been critical of the iranian authorities — and says mr zeraati was attacked by a group. and a treasure trove of never—before heard music from the late american singer marvin gaye has resurfaced in belgium. the discovery includes a huge collection of documents, notebooks, stage costumes and audio cassettes. now on bbc news, click from the consumer electronic show in las vegas.