hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. a powerful earthquake has hit the east coast of taiwan, triggering japan and the phillippines to issue tsunami alerts. officials say flights were suspended at okinawa's main airport, as a precautionary measure. the us geological survey says the quake measured 7.4 magnitude and say the intensity of the shaking was "very high." these are some recent pictures from on the ground in hualien, taiwan, where buildings have collapsed and there are reports of power outages. there have been reports of multiple powerful aftershocks in the region, with one measuring at 6.4 magnitude. a tsunami warning has been declared for nearby japanese islands in the southern prefecture of okinawa. the philippines, which lies to the south of taiwan, has also declared a tsunami alert for its northern coastline.

news reports that the foreign office says they are willing to provide disaster relief assistance. i spoke to ourjapan correspondent shaimaa khalil about how this might impact the region. authorities are warning people to evacuate as quickly as they can. i have personally been quinoa and they are very close to taiwan on a good day, if you stand on some of these islands you can see the horizon in taiwan and because of the magnitude of the earthquake in taiwan, the biggest in over two decades, there are these worries about the effect it will have lodges here injapan in the south—western region but also in the philippines. that is a fast-moving _ also in the philippines. that is a fast-moving story - also in the philippines. that is a fast-moving story and l also in the philippines. that is a fast—moving story and we will review the latest developments as they come in. israel is facing international condemnation over an air strike that killed seven aid workers monday night, including sharp rebukes from the united states, the united kingdom, and the united nations. the group of mostly foreign

nationals was working for us—based world central kitchen — a charity organisation that was delivering food and other humanitarian aid to gaza, including by boat. the organisation says its team members were travelling in a deconflicted zone in branded armoured cars and had co—ordinated movements with israeli forces. in the last few hours, the organisation named the seven victims of the attack on social media. palestinian saifeddin issam ayad abutaha. lalzawmi zomi frankcom of australia. damian sobol of poland. jacob flickinger, a dual citizen of the us and canada. and three people from the uk. john chapman, james henderson, and james kirby. the israel defense force's chief of staff, herzi halevi, released this video, calling the attack a "mistake". i want to be very clear. the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming wck aid workers. it was a mistake that followed a misidentification at night during a war in a very

complex condition. it shouldn't have happened. in response to the aid convoy attack, president biden released a statement, saying: meanwhile, prime minister rishi sunak posted on x: downing street says mr sunak described the situation in gaza as "increasingly intolerable" in a phone call with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. the un also criticised the attack with un secretary—general antonio gutteress calling it "unconscionable". another un official said the killings of seven staff

is a "dreadful failure of deconfliction". for more on the reaction and growing pressure on israel, i spoke to nimrod novik, who served as a senior policy advisor to former israeli president, shimon peres. amid the international condemnation of the israeli strike that killed foreign aid workers, there were calls for israel to be held to account. what do you think we will see happen? i what do you think we will see ha--en? , what do you think we will see ha . en? , , ., happen? i trust the israeli security forces _ happen? i trust the israeli security forces internal - security forces internal investigation to be furrow and transparent, i believe that everybody here in israel is not just shaken by the incident but heartfelt to the families of the victims of the different countries. it may lead to greater pressure on israel to cease their operation. i do not expect that to happen but that is a possibility they cannot be

ruled out. is a possibility they cannot be ruled out-— ruled out. there are concerns that an internal _ ruled out. there are concerns that an internal investigation | that an internal investigation will not provide full answers to what happened. should there be an external one? i to what happened. should there be an external one?— be an external one? i doubt that, i be an external one? i doubt that, l think _ be an external one? i doubt that, l think the _ be an external one? i doubt that, i think the record - be an external one? i doubt that, i think the record of. be an external one? i doubt. that, i think the record of the idf over the years and the decades, when it does undertake an investigation, it does so frequently, it does so thoroughly and i think that with the watchful eye of several friendly countries first and foremost the us, but also australia, britain, france and others, i think they will be satisfied when they get the findings and the full file of the investigation. i findings and the full file of the investigation.- findings and the full file of the investigation. i want to ask ou the investigation. i want to ask you about _ the investigation. i want to ask you about the - the investigation. i want to | ask you about the domestic politics in israel at the moment because we saw protesters demonstrating outside on a tuesday and the not happy with the prime minister's handling and the

fact that more than 130 hostages are still held in captivity in gaza. what impact will the domestic and international pressure have on prime minister netanyahu and his vows to continue military operations? fits his vows to continue military operations?— operations? as a protest to m self, operations? as a protest to myself. i — operations? as a protest to myself, i share _ operations? as a protest to myself, i share the - operations? as a protest to i myself, i share the sentiment that the prime minister strategy of 15 years of strengthening hamas and weakening the authority crashed in our faces weakening the authority crashed in ourfaces in a brutal way on 7 october. the government was missing in action in the months following the tragedy, and 75% of the public by every poll over months now wish him gone. the conduct of the war inaudible which was justified, if any, was over. we are now in

a phase of the fighting that is more of a war than a purposeful one and i think the people would like to see a different leadership. out of this crisis, embracing opportunities that may come out of this tragedy and taking care of both bringing the hostages and opening up the space for our team of superb negotiators to get a better inaudible from the leadership. run the country any more responsible way than we have seen in the past year and a half. ., . ' ., have seen in the past year and a half. ., ., , ., ., ., , ., a half. you afforded a group of 300 jewish _ a half. you afforded a group of 300 jewish leaders _ a half. you afforded a group of 300 jewish leaders in - a half. you afforded a group of 300 jewish leaders in the - a half. you afforded a group of 300 jewish leaders in the us l 300 jewish leaders in the us who sent a letter to the president and the minority senate leader chuck schumer, the highest ranking jewish official in the country, seeing the risley military solution to

the risley military solution to the israeli—palestinian conflict, only a political one. what is the political solution and how do you get there? the olitical and how do you get there? iie: political solution, and how do you get there? "iie: political solution, there and how do you get there? ii2 political solution, there is only one that i believe in. i believe it is inevitable. that is a two state solution. we are not there, not merely there, and 7 october in the war, the ensuing war did not bring us any closer by any means. inaudible are not in the mood for negotiations right now. if i canjump in, that precisely appears to be the issue that the current government does not appear ready to talk about a two state solution and a set of negotiations is not there either, so how do you get there? ., . ., i. there? connected to your previous _ there? connected to your previous question, - there? connected to your previous question, i - there? connected to your. previous question, i believe there? connected to your- previous question, i believe it is onlyjust begun. the sense that we are no longer in a purposeful war and therefore it is not becoming, the protest is

beginning to inaudible. people realise that this government cannot continue running the country with extremists self—proclaimed jewish supremacists, inaudible. the tremors within the political system are already felt and nobody knows how long it will take or what will be the shave of the transition to the new one, will it be by an election forced by a mega public protest? will it be internal dynamics within the various parties and produce an alternative leadership? maybury knows but i believe that the conventional wisdom, notjust among protesters but among 75% of the public, is a before the end of this year we will have a different government. we have to live a conversation _ different government. we have to live a conversation there - to live a conversation there but great to speak with you to know. thank you forjoining us on bbc news.

meanwhile, concerns are growing about the war in gaza spilling over into the region. yesterday, a suspected israeli strike destroyed an iranian consulate building in the syrian capital, damascus, killing at least seven people, including the top two commanders in the powerful iranian revolutionary guards. iran vowed to respond. iran, israel's arch—enemy, is a key supporter of hamas — the group designated a terrorist organisation by the uk government who carried out the attack on israel on october 7. iran also backs hezbollah — a militant—group based in neighbouring lebanon, who have been exchanging fire with israeli forces almost daily since hamas's attack. most of those flash points have been on the border of northern israel. our international editor jeremy bowen sent this report. 25,000 israelis lived in kiryat shmona, a mile or so inside the border. around 90% of them have left because of attacks out of lebanon from iran's allies. this is the other war that has been fought since 7 october. deeper and more dangerous after

the assassination in damascus. but as you can see, the little marks from the anti—personnel. designed to kill people, right? yep. the town's mayor, avichai sten, said last year, 10,000 hezbollah forces practiced taking over northern israel — just like hamas in october. "it can happen here," he said. "the only way to stop it is to go "into lebanon, to eliminate this threat as soon "as possible." further west, right on the border wire, the avivim winery was destroyed last week in a hezbollah strike. the winery's owner agrees that israel has to go into lebanon to finish hezbollah. this man, who was born here, says he isn't scared by their threats, sent by text with photos of him taken from their side. he says, "there's no other choice,

"otherwise the community won't return to live here. "maybe just a few crazy guys like me. "the children won't come back." it might not look it, but both sides have held back — conscious all—out war could be even worse than gaza. but the israelis are now pushing harder, saying iran's strongest ally cannot be tolerated near them. and the reason why the israelis say all this is completely unacceptable to them is because life here has really ceased. people have left. businesses are being destroyed. the area has been emptied. something similar has been happening, too, on the other side of the border. israeli firepower has done a lot of damage in lebanon and has forced tens of thousands of lebanese civilians to flee the border. in 2006, when these israeli conscripts were infants, hezbollah fought israel to a standstill. like their enemies in lebanon,

israeli commanders have spent years training for the next war. hezbollah is quite a strong enemy. but after 170, or more than 170 days, we understand them much better. we know their weaknesses, we know their modus operandi, and we can attack them when we want. the borderlands on a spring afternoon can feel peaceful. we're going to walk, it's a couple hundred... it's an illusion. there's no frontier in the middle east that's more dangerous or as saturated with weapons. on the border, hezbollah set the pace at first — aiding hamas by tying down israeli troops. but israel is escalating faster now. the empty, overgrown border communities won't be iran's first choice to retaliate for the assassination in damascus. they could try an israeli target in another country or cyber attacks rather than artillery. neither israel, iran or hezbollah wants all out war, but no side seems ready to stop

the slide towards it. jeremy bowen, bbc news, northern israel. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at another story making news. working parents in england can now receive more government—funded care for their children. up until the end of march, there were 30 hours per week of funded childcare available for three and four—year—olds. now, there'll be 15 hours per week available for working parents of two—year—olds during school term—time. the government says it will mean tens of thousands more children will be eligible for a government—funded childcare place. here's prime minister rishi sunak. this week it's being expanded to two—year—olds, that's really positive and i've been talking to families for whom that'll be a big difference. we fully funded the programme and increase the rates we are paid to nurseries, making sure there are more childcare places available, more childcare staff available and the future looks bright and it is a really

positive intervention which when it's fully rolled out will be worth around £7,000 of support to working parents. but many in the industry are warning that the funding simply isn't enough. labour said last week it would not commit to the government's plans, calling the system a "total mess". you're live with bbc news. the us state department is standing by a recent intelligence assessment that a foreign adversary wasn't behind cases of so—called havana syndrome in american officials. it has been the broad conclusion of the intelligence community since march 2023 that it is unlikely a foreign address every is responsible for these anomalous health incidents and it is something that the intelligence committee has investigated extensively and continues to look at. we will look at new information as it comes in and make assessments inside the state department and with our

intelligence community. the state department's response follows new reporting from cbs's 60 minutes, der spiegel and the insider has uncovered links to a secret russian military intelligence unit, and cases of the medical phonenom that us diplomats and intelligence officers in havana, cuba, began reporting in 2016. the kremlin has denied involvement. the us had called them "health attacks," and now labels them "anomalous health incidents" that have been reported by more than 100 americans around the world from germany to china and ukraine, according to cbs. some scientists say secret sonic weapons caused brain injuries, hearing loss, and other symptoms in the alleged victims. national security attorney mark zaid represents many of the americans who believe they were attacked and injured. good to have you back with us. what do you think of what the state department had to say? i think whether you're is nothing but doubletalk, quite frankly. i have seen a lot of the

evidence on the inside, i represent a lot of individuals who work within the cia and the intelligence community who have told me or show me where appropriate we have been authorised to no information, including cooperating a congressional investigation, and what the government says publicly is not the information it has privately.— it has privately. let's talk about the _ it has privately. let's talk about the information. i i it has privately. let's talk- about the information. i want to go through some of the points that have been made. a national institutes of health study published last month said mri scans had failed to detect evidence of brain injuries in dozens of us personnel who reported anomalous health incidents. us officials previously said it was unlikely a foreign power was to blame. and they also acknowledged there were varying levels of confidence in the assessment between the different intelligence agencies involved. if there's no smoking gun — how do we know for sure that these incidents are all related and point to a foreign adversary? the problem with a a lot of what you have described of what the us position it is that they

know they are being disingenuous with what they are providing information on. for example, the national institutes of health knows that the effect of the energy, whatever might have been, would dissipate within a short period of time, so that it would not show up in tests they conduct individuals months or even years after the attack. they also know that quite a number of the people who are in the study, including many of my clients, have actually been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries by the department of defence experts and have received compensation from the agencies for being in an anomalous health incident victim. why are you compensating people who are only suffering from something other than an only suffering from something otherthan an ahi? only suffering from something other than an ahi? truths; only suffering from something other than an ahi?— only suffering from something other than an ahi? why were the state department, _ other than an ahi? why were the state department, the _ other than an ahi? why were the state department, the national. state department, the national is due to health be denying that this is happening? what reason is there _ that this is happening? what reason is there for _ that this is happening? what reason is there for that? - that this is happening? what reason is there for that? the problem is security and

classified information. the heart of this case is within the classified sphere so it is easy for the us government to say there is nothing to see here, because you cannot look behind the wall to know what it is. there are so many cases where the united states has either failed to investigate because it did not want to or when it did investigate, it found evidence of problematic behaviour and just went the other way instead. the behaviour and just went the other way instead.- behaviour and just went the other way instead. the us has taken an aggressive _ other way instead. the us has taken an aggressive fossa - taken an aggressive fossa towards russia right now, looking at the war in ukraine. why do you think the us would not call out russia right away if people are seeing this happen?— if people are seeing this ha en? ., ., , if people are seeing this hauen? . ., , ., happen? there are a number of reasons but _ happen? there are a number of reasons but let's _ happen? there are a number of reasons but let's look _ happen? there are a number of reasons but let's look at - happen? there are a number of reasons but let's look at it - reasons but let's look at it from the one that would have catastrophic impacts for all of us. that is if this is russia undertaking these attacks, harming us diplomatic and intelligence personnel, which is violating the age—old rule that you do not hurt the other side's intelligence officers,

not just the officers, side's intelligence officers, notjust the officers, it is their family notjust the officers, it is theirfamily members, their their family members, their spouses theirfamily members, their spouses and the infant children. if that is happening, that literally is an act of war and that would require a very public response from the us government and that is not a response that my government unfortunately wants to give. those who have been impacted by this, how are they coping? it is difficult. everyone is different and there is no wide—ranging situation. we never know how they are impacted, exactly what impacted them, how long, assuming this is energy that has been directed at them. just like with covid—19, some people, it is like nothing, just the flu, this levels, other people have whatever might impact on owners along covid—19 a believer have something else or they die from it. itjust depends. the most recent report from 60 minutes

on the insider has incredibly energise them. we are only offensive now. there is now evidence out there that shows russian involvement, specific units of russian assassins and naming some of those individuals, so now the us government is going to have to respond to that information. it cannotjust respond to that information. it cannot just say we have investigated exhaustively like the state department spokesman said there is nothing to see here. i think 60 minutes and the others have something baby to differ. , ,., ., to differ. every something to see here- — to differ. every something to see here. really _ to differ. every something to see here. really good - to differ. every something to see here. really good to - to differ. every something to| see here. really good to have you want to show again. you for joining us tonight. at the white house tonight, presidentjoe biden and vice president harris were planning to hold an iftar dinner — a fast—breaking meal during the muslim holy month of ramadan — with muslim and arab leaders. instead, the dinner was canceled because of the optics of famine concerns in gaza. earlier, i spoke to sabrina siddiqui, national politics —— according to a white house official, the president made clear he mourns the loss of every innocent life in this conflict and expressed his commitment to continue working

to secure an immediate ceasefire as part of a deal to free the hostages and significantly increase humanitarian aid into gaza. sabrina siddiqui is national politics reporter for the wall streetjournal. it's interesting because the white house iftar as celebration dates back for decades. the first was traced to thomasjefferson in 1805 but a tradition under the clinton, bush, obama administrations, trump skipped one but still had iftar ambassador dinners and now the white house has a predicament under president biden who are trying to host what been a pretty bipartisan and noncontroversial event when there is so much pressure for the handling of the conflict in gaza by the president so instead of the dinner invited, most leaders said with more than a million people starving in gaza they don't want to sit down to break bread with the white house so they requested a poly

discussion with the president and state and that what they did was sit down to raise their concerns directly about the humanitarian crisis in gaza, some western leaders rejected invitations, calls to boycott and others i spoke to said they felt like it was a rare opportunity to have a direct audience with a president who they believe is one of the only people who can change the course of the war in gaza. ukrainians can now register losses they suffered since russia's 2022 invasion at a newly—established register based in the hague. kyiv says hundreds of people have registered since the online portal went live on tuesday, and tens of millions of applications are expected. ukrainians can currently submit claims for damage to their homes. but the scheme will expand to cover reparations for rape, of torture, the loss of a loved one, orforced displacement. it launched as diplomats convened in the hague to discuss the reparations claims, and efforts to prosecute russia at the international criminal court. in a video message, the country's president, volodymyr zelensky, told

delegates seized russian assets should be used "to restore ukraine to normality". but in moscow, vladimir putin said he will not let western countries "plunder" russia's assets. in another development in the war, mr zelensky approved a law to lower the age of conscription from 27 to 25 years old. the bill was passed by the country's parliament in may 2023, and mr zelensky did not explain why he is signing it into law nearly a year later. meanwhile, ukraine says it carried out a drone strike in russia 1300 kilometres, or 800 miles, from the border. the attack on the region of tatarstan is thought to be the deepest into russia that ukraine has managed to hit so far. i just want to take you back to the breaking news of a powerful earthquake hitting the east coast of taiwan. officials say flights were suspended at okinawa's main airport, as a precautionary measure. the us geological survey says the quake measured

7.4 magnitude and say the intensity of the shaking was "very high." these are some recent pictures from on the ground in hualien, taiwan, where buildings have collapsed and there are reports of power outages. there have been reports of multiple powerful aftershocks in the region, with one measuring at a 6.4 magnitude. the 7—point form attitude quake is the strongest to hit in 25 years. there are so far no reports of casualties yet but we are monitoring the situation and will have the leaders for you at the top of the hour. thank you for watching bbc news. hello, there. weather for the remainder of this week is going to stay very unsettled. it's going to be a frustrating week to try and make plans for those who have children off for the easter break. there will be some sunny intervals, but spells of wind and rain at times, and as we

head into the weekend, it will turn windier, but milder. in fact, in east anglia, we could see a high of 20 celsius — 68 fahrenheit — way above the average for this time of year in that area. bearthat in mind, but we are all starting to be aware that a warmer atmosphere means a wetter one, and you can see these areas of low pressure waiting in the wings to influence the weather story. so the first low is moving through on wednesday, bringing rain into northern ireland, southern scotland. behind it, there'll be a few sharp showers to come, as well, so by the middle part of the afternoon, expect some sunny spells, perhaps more than we saw on tuesday, and temperatures will peak at highs of 15 celsius. some of the showers across northern england, though, could still be quite heavy, and that showery rain will start to drift out of northern ireland, improving here into central scotland. the far north and east of scotland will stay largely fine and dry, with some showers, but a north—easterly wind will make it feel noticeably colder, temperatures a good ten degrees down on where they are further south.

so that low pulls away, another one is going to replace it on thursday, and then another significant low waiting in the wings for the start of the weekend. so on thursday, as that cloud and rain pushes its way steadily north through the night, it will be a mild start to thursday morning. we'll see showery outbreaks of rain pushing their way steadily eastwards throughout the day, so hopefully a slow improvement. but here's the next system already starting to show its hand across cornwall and south wales by the end of the day. ahead of it, with some brightness, we'll see highs of 16 degrees. but that north—easterly wind once again pegging those temperatures back — in aberdeenshire, a high ofjust 16. then, as we move towards the end of the week, this low could bring some very windy weatherfor a time, gales on exposed coasts, a spell of heavy rain moving its way steadily north, and it's this that will tap into that pretty mild air all the way down from the south—west, starting to push its way across scotland now, as well. but don't expect anything prolonged, settled and sunny. there will continue to be showers, longer spells of rain. windy but warm.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight

after this programme. welcome to hardtalk. we humans keep pushing the frontiers of bioscience. we now understand the molecular biology that makes us who we are. but we are still figuring out how to use that knowledge. should we screen all human embryos for genetic abnormalities? should we root out mutations? could we be sleepwalking into a new era of eugenics? my guest is the ethicist, disability rights activist and writer tom shakespeare who also happens to live with a genetic condition, condo plays here has restricted his growth. should we embrace difference rather than use science to rooted out?