palestinian medics say they're recovering dozens of bodies from the ruins of gaza's biggest hospital after a two—week operation by israel which said it was targeting a hamas base there. russia denies any involvement in "havana syndrome" — a mysterious illness affecting us diplomats across the globe. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and thanks forjoining us on bbc news. iran has vowed to respond decisively, after accusing israel of killing a senior revolutionary guards commander — brigadier—general mohamed reza zahedi — in an airstrike on an iranian consulate building in syria's capital, damascus. at least five people are reported to have died in the strike — which has raised fears of an escalation of fighting in the middle east. israel has declined to comment.

our international editor, jeremy bowen has the latest. a few minutes after the attack, the building in iran's diplomatic compound in a well—off central area of damascus seems to be on fire. the israeli strike destroyed the iranian consulate. it was a precision attack against a senior commander who will have worked hard to keep his movements secret. despite that, israeli intelligence must have tracked general mohamed reza zahedi to the meeting he was having in damascus. he was the senior iranian general in syria and lebanon — two countries iran regards as critical parts in what it says is its system of forward defence, the so—called axis of resistance. in damascus the syrian foreign minister said the general and others who died were killed by israel. translation: we strongly condemn this criminal act l carried out

by the zionist enemy. these attacks can only be met by further steadfastness, further support for the palestinian people and further resistance whether in iraq or in southern lebanon. and the iranian ambassador to damascus hinted at retaliation. translation: definitely - the zionist regime knows better than anyone that such crimes and violating international law will have its response in an appropriate time. the raid is the biggest single escalation yet in the deepening war that has been fought since the hamas attacks last october between israel and iran's network of allies here in the north of israel across the border in south lebanon and in the wider middle east. since the beginning of this year, exchanges of fire between israel and hezbollah — the iran—backed militia and political movement in lebanon have become more intense. israeli jets have been raiding

deeper into lebanon and syria. in iran tonight, protesters went out onto the streets of tehran, chanting, "death to israel!" the iranian regime believes its security depends on deterring its enemies. the raid on damascus showed that it's not doing that. the question now is what the iranians will do to show that they are not deterred by israel. a response might not be immediate or straightforward and is likely to be calibrated to reflect iran's reluctance to get involved in an all—out war. jeremy bowen, bbc news in northern israel. michael o'hanlon is a senior fellow and director of research in foreign policy at the brookings institution — a us based think tank. he told me how he thinks iran will respond — if it is confirmed that israel was behind the attack.

it's hard to say because of course, there's already a fairly consistent amount of violence, notjust in the tragedy in gaza, but, of course, with hezbollah in lebanon. and a natural response would be to ask hezbollah to step that up for iranian operatives, to try to give that kind of an order or a direction. but there's already a fair amount of cross—fire, as your correspondent just said. of course, the goal here is not to do something so big that it requires israel to then escalate or wind up an all out war. and so i'm thinking that perhaps there could be a volley of rockets larger in scale and size and perhaps lethality into northern israel at some point in the coming week or two. that would be sort of the most straightforward. you could also imagine asymmetric or qualitatively different kinds of attacks that could involve terrorism directly on israeli soil of sort of the old traditional type. but on a larger scale, that would be a little bit more risky and hard to predict.

but i would think at a minimum, there would be some kind of a volley of rocket fire in the next week or two or three that would be disproportionate to what's been ongoing. and michael, the israeli military says it does not comment on foreign media reports, but why would this strike be in their interests? well, you know, i've been trying to place it in perspective. the united states, of course, of course, killed soleimani in baghdad in 2020. he was the top commander for the entire quds force, and he was in the iraqi capital city at the time, just as this operative was in the syrian capital city. and so perhaps israel thought that if the americans could kill soleimani, they can kill this one. you know, there's obviously plenty of attack against israel proper and israelis proper coming from lebanon. and this iranian mastermind was involved in that. so perhaps israel

is just trying to say, if you're going to attack us, we're going to go ahead and attack you. and we're still not having to go on to iranian soil to do this. so perhaps they still feel like there's a big threshold that will prevent iran from doing anything too big. but i think the simple and like this, israelis are dying, you know, and they're being killed by iranian—supplied weaponry. palestinian medical sources say an israeli air strike has killed three foreign aid workers and their palestinian driver in the city of deir al—balah in the central gaza strip. the israeli defence forces say they are conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident. our gaza correspondent, rushdi abualouf, who spent the first few months of the conflict inside gaza — has more from istanbul. information is still very small and it's still emerging as we as we speak. but what we know so far is that a car was travelling from north to south,

and when it was near the area in central gaza, it was hit by an air strike, according to the hamas—run health ministry and local people in the area... there was a big explosion and it took them like 45 minutes, according to a doctor in al—aqsa hospital, which i spoke to this evening, he it was about 45 minutes between the explosion and the bodies arrived to to the hospital. there was the three foreign nationals wearing blue vests with a bulletproof vest and with the words central kitchen sign on them. and also the palestinian driver who was driving them was also killed in the airstrike or the explosion near there. their bodies are now in central gaza hospital, al—aqsa, and there is more investigation

and more information will emerge in the next few hours about what exactly happened and what's the nationality of those who were killed. but so far, yes, we can confirm that at least four people killed in that attack, three of them are foreign nationals. the director of the media office in gaza has said that forforeign aid workers office in gaza has said that for foreign aid workers have been killed. the israel defence forces say they are conducting a thorough review and we will bring you more on this as we get it. staying with the situation in gaza. after two weeks of heavy bombardment, israel says it's completed its military operation at the biggest hospital in gaza and all troops have now left the area. most of al shifa's medical complex has been left in ruins. during the operation in northern gaza, the idf says it killed 200 "terrorists", claiming hamas had regrouped inside the grounds. palestinian media is reporting that a mother and her son, who were both doctors, were also killed. lucy williamson, has

the latest from jerusalem. shifa's protection was its identity. hard to recognise it as a hospital now. the surgery unit, emergency department, wards and corridors, imploded, anonymised by war. patients like jana, trapped inside during the two weeks of fighting. translation: they didn't provide water| for the last two days. there were sounds of shooting and bombing. the explosions from the artillery lit up the room we were in and shook the whole building. translation: they let in a very small amount| of food that wasn't enough. we're 150 patients and 50 medical staff. no treatment, no medicine, and constant bombing for 24 hours. israel called this a precise

and limited operation against hamas fighters. it says 200 gunmen were killed and hundreds of people arrested, and that its right to defeat hamas trumps the protection hospitals have under international law. at home, israel's war with hamas is popular, israel's prime minister is not. for months, benjamin netanyahu has been caught between the demands of hostage families and his own hard right government. now, pre—war protests over his judicial reforms are resurfacing too. tents have once again appeared outside the israeli parliament with the same simple demand — go. protesters here won't be satisfied even if benjamin netanyahu brings home the hostages or dismantles hamas. there are new posters — "you're in charge, you're responsible," they say. but they wanted him out before the war. now they're back, and they want him gone even more.

karen has protested for years against the man known here as bibi. if bibi netanyahu brings the hostages home, will you support him to stay? i don't see the relations between the two. he needs to go just for the fact that 250 people were kidnapped. he needs to go. it doesn't matter if he's bringing them back. the national unity that followed the hamas attacks is breaking down. six months on, israeli soldiers are still fighting an old enemy in gaza. but benjamin netanyahu is facing his own at home. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. looking at other stories in the headlines. imran khan has been in prison since august and will not be

released because he still faces other convictions. the corruption case relates to the selling of state gets when he was in power. a search is under way in south korea for two men who are allegedly helping a jurbert install dozens of spy cameras and voting stations. authorities believe the pair are there compasses of the social media influencer who was arrested last week. early voting in south korea selections is due to take place on friday and saturday. he did not meet rescue 250 of its citizens in cambodia who are forced to run online scams. the victims were mostly young and tech sappy were promised jobs but got lloyd into illegal online work ranging from money—laundering and crypto fraud to so—called love scams with a pose as lovers online. a hundred of thousands of people estimated to have been trafficked into scams in southeast asia. beijing says it urged the mexican authorities to step up efforts to

investigate the deaths of eight chinese citizens in a migrant boat disaster. the bodies of seven women and one man were discovered on a beach in the state on friday. a spokesman for the foreign ministry said the government was working closely with mexico to identify the victims. the number of chinese migrants illegally crossing into the united states from mexico is sought in recent years. more than 37,000 were detained at the border last year. let's get more on this with the senior fellow at brookings institution and has researched the rise of chinese smuggling in mexico. what is the main reason we are seeing such a dramatic increase in chinese nationals trying to get into the united states?- into the united states? thank ou for into the united states? thank you for having _ into the united states? thank you for having me. _ into the united states? thank you for having me. there - into the united states? thank you for having me. there are | you for having me. there are two actors. 0ne you for having me. there are two actors. one is the decline of the downturn in china's economy since covid. driven in

some part by the zero tolerance in politics, bat affected people in china. they are not able to access jobs in the same way they have been able to —— that have affected people in china. they not able to travel along other factors. china. they not able to travel along otherfactors. the second factor is the internationalisation of smuggling networks both in china itself as well as in mexico, there is long... in migration from china to the united states. today in china we... are seeing more sophisticated and organise networks bringing people into the states through mexico, interacting with mexican cartels that have themselves gotten involved in migrants not just from china but all the

world in a way that is like five years ago but it's coupled with social media and the way that these snakeheads as the chinese smugglers are known are using social media to advertise. finally thousand other factor, advertise. finally thousand otherfactor, a third advertise. finally thousand other factor, a third factor which is the fact that those who applied from china for asylum in the united states have a substantial chance of getting a visa. around 50% or more than 50%, many times the chance that someone applies from colombia, venezuela or central america has. that's because the us asylum system is heavily geared towards political prosecution, something taking place in china increasingly dramatically so as opposed to escaping criminal violence for example. it’s opposed to escaping criminal violence for example.- violence for example. it's a complicated _ violence for example. it's a complicated expensive - violence for example. it's a complicated expensive and| complicated expensive and andrew's journey for them to make. do we know more about who these asylums is our and more

about the risks they are taking? about the risks they are takin: ? ., ., , ., about the risks they are takina? ., ., , ., , taking? the ma'ority of people that have been — taking? the majority of people that have been coming - taking? the majority of people that have been coming to - taking? the majority of people that have been coming to the i that have been coming to the united states, 37,000 that you mentioned as opposed to 900 in 22, a dramatic escalation appeared to be working class chinese people or people from the middle class, often small—scale middle—class entrepreneurs. there is a level of income there if china strongly influences what kind of means they can get to the us or attempts to get to the united states. 0r affluent people can often afford to fly, sometimes distributors roads but two places closer to mexico or closer to mexico itself or parts of central america where they have to go on land or parts by boat to the states. less affluent people often end

“p less affluent people often end up along with many other migrants from africa and latin america in columbia and have to go through the channel that has become very notorious facing enormous risks along the way. thank you so much for your insight today and we will have to leave it there for now. from the brookings institution and we apologise for the breakup in some of her audio. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

the kremlin has dismissed a media report that links a russian intelligence unit to so—called �*havana syndrome', a mystery illness which has affected us diplomats. an investigation by the insider, der spiegel and cbs alleges that the americans were targeted with �*directed energy�* weapons. 0ne victim of the syndrome — an fbi agent — told 60 minutes about her experience of being hit by a powerful force at her home in florida 2021.

inside my right ear, it was like a dentist drilling on steroids. that feeling when it gets too close to your eardrum, it�*s like that times ten. it was like a high—pitched metallic drilling noise and it knocked me forward a 45 degree angle this way. it was first identified the capital city in 2016 when he was to pull matt�*s complained of dizziness, headaches and a pen for sound in their ears. dizziness, headaches and a pen forsound in their ears. us officials have previously said it�*s a likely a foreign power is to blame. the kremlin spokesman says the new accusations are on abounded. translation: it is not a new issue for many _ translation: it is not a new issue for many years - translation: it is not a new issue for many years an - translation: it is not a new issue for many years an issue | issue for many years an issue of so—called ivana syndrome has been played up in mass media. often it was connected with often it was connected with accusations of russian involvement but no—one has ever published or expressed

convincing evidence of these unfounded accusations anywhere. christo grozev, one of the authors behind the insider�*s year—long investigation explains what this syndrome actually is. it was a number of people simultaneously reported very similar health conditions, which included grating noises, loss of balance, vertigo and nausea, which actually went worse as the days went by. most of these people were american and some were canadian diplomats who were working at the compound, the consulate compound in havana. this did not happen only in havana, over the next few years. media have published reports about the same syndrome occurring on american diplomats in many places around the world, which includes china, geneva, vienna, london, warsaw and many other places. and until we published our investigation, there was a lot of confusion whether this thing even exists or is it some sort of a psychosomatic self—delusion by many of the victims.

we believe now that there is a unit within russia�*s military intelligence, the same unit that actually went after the skripals in 2018 in salisbury, who has developed the technology, has actually — we have written proof that they have been awarded monetary remuneration for developing a technology which they call a wave weapon, an acoustic weapon, and more particular a non—lethal acoustic weapon, to be used in urban warfare scenarios. and we also know that the same unit, members of this unit, have travelled around the world, partly overlapping with incidents that have been reported of this havana syndrome, in particular in germany, in frankfurt in 2014, two times in china in 2016, 2017, and in the republic of georgia in 2019. these are four incidents that we find an overlap between undercover spies from this unit and incidents that happened there. we�*re looking for more, but at this point, we can safely say the capability

and the presence of the russian intelligence at places where there were such incidents has been proven. germany has partially legalised cannabis, as the government tries to tackle the black—market trade in the drug. germans over the age of 18 can now grow marijuana plants at home and carry the drug for personal use. the new law remains contentious because of health concerns and questions over whether it will help reduce or increase the illicit trade. from berlin — jessica parker reports. # three little birds perch by my doorstep # singing sweet songs... it�*s out in the open. adults in germany can now possess up to 25 grams of cannabis in public — enough to make dozens ofjoints — and grow up to three plants at home. while people like marcel are planning newly—permitted cannabis social clubs. not for tourists, though — just german residents. every gram from cannabis

which goes from the cannabis social club is one gram that�*s not on the black market. what do you say to people who say, look, cannabis is addictive and it is harmful, especially to young people? everything has dark sides. and you have to know about the dark sides and only when it�*s not illegal, you can freely talk about these dark sides. but these cannabis clubs in cities like dresden won�*t pop up overnight, and come with their own rules — exacerbating fears that demand will quickly outstrip legal supply. translation: we assume that the black market - will be strengthened, particularly at the beginning in the chaos phase, when demand would be great because of the signal this law sends. the black market and criminal networks will adapt and they will also infiltrate the social clubs. into the highly secure halls of a medical cannabis grower, who are also

seeing some deregulation. cannabis will not be a narcotic any more in germany. it will be just as any other pharmaceutical product, which makes it much more easier for patients to get it from a doctor and to get it from the pharmacy. they keep this room at around 23 degrees, but it�*s also really quite humid. now, there are 650—ish plants in this room and they are almost ready to be harvested. and the psychoactive substance is... the benefits of medical cannabis are debated, while the relaxation around recreational use has been contentious. this is an argument in germany that likely hasn�*t yet reached full maturity. jessica parker, bbc news, in dresden. 0ne one of hong kong space independent bookstores because its doors for the last time after coming under pressure from authorities. hundreds of well wishes went to the books

store on the final day, the owners blamed the close on a large number of inspections carried out in response to anonymous complaints. they said they received an avalanche of letters from the government about alleged infringements of various regulations. japan�*s royal family has made its social media debut with the launch of an instagram page. the posts so far include pictures and videos of emperor naruhito, empress masako and their daughter, princess aiko, carrying out various engagements. the page gained 350—thousand followers in its first day — it�*s believed to be an attempt to spark more interest ifi if i was no other accounts. we will see you again tomorrow, goodbye for now. hello there. easter monday brought a day of mixed fortunes, and it�*s going to be a similar story throughout the week. now, across eastern england, we had some sunshine and where it stayed dry, it was relatively warm — 16 degrees, 61 fahrenheit. but cloud and rain pushing its way steadily northwards.

it stayed rather grey and overcast in western scotland, withjust a high of 5 celsius here. now, that weatherfront is going to linger, weakening all the time. but a brisk northeasterly wind will dominate the story across the far north of scotland. clearer skies for a time, early morning mist and fog, perhaps, for england and wales. some showers easing away from the southeast. but eventually, as we go through the day, we�*ll start to see some outbreaks of rain pushing into the southwest. and as this front gradually moves its way north, the winds will strengthen here. but ahead of it, with some sunny spells injust a few isolated showers, one or two spots, again, could see temperatures into the mid—teens. not a bad afternoon with a few isolated showers for northern ireland. scotland will stay rather grey and overcast, with outbreaks of showery rain, and that brisk north—easterly wind at times will make it feel rather cool, just a maximum of 6—8 celsius. now, we�*ll see that frontal system down to the south—west, bringing some wet and windy weather through the night tuesday into the early hours

of wednesday morning. the wind direction coming from the south—west, so it will be a mild start to wednesday, with double figures perhaps likely across the far southeast. but we will see outbreaks of rain gradually pushing their way steadily northwards. the wind direction here is south—westerly, so driving in some milder air, but we still keep that north—easterly feed in scotland — a real contrast with the temperatures over the next few days. so we�*re looking at 5—7 degrees across the far north—east, highs of 15, possibly 16 degrees once again, somewhere across south and eastern england. now, towards the end of the week, low pressure is going to continue to dominate, but still that wind source coming all the way from the southwest. so it will be mild, but it will still continue to be pretty wet at times. but the mild air sitting across the vast majority, still the far north—east of scotland staying on the cooler side. so, here, those temperatures will struggle a little, but there�*ll be showers or longer spells of rain. when we get some brightness, temperatures

are going to respond. take care.

what is up with tesla? america�*s ev giant is here to report sales figures and wall street doesn�*t seem optimistic.

plus, tourism�*s latest frontier, we look into the growing trend of it travel. —— arctic travel. hello and good to have you here on asia business report with me, steve live. 0ur business report with me, steve live. our top story — tesla could be facing a bumpy road ahead, american car company due to report how many cars are produced and delivered globally during the first three months of this year, possibly as early as today. and wall torres straight islanders worried. for more on this, he was a bbc north america business correspondent michelle fleury in new york. 0ne analyst called the start of this year a nightmare for tesla as he cut his delivery forecast from 475,000 to 425,000. wall street is bracing for tesla to report its first sales decline in years. the last time that happened was during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020. so what is going on? elon musk�*s car company has suffered multiple setbacks.

a fire at its gigafactory in berlin halted production. higher interest rates, which put up borrowing costs,