hello. i'm carl nasman. ministers in israel have approved the opening of aid corridors to gaza, hours after us presidentjoe biden told israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu by phone that israel must prevent civilian harm to ensure continued us support. for the first time since the start of the israel—gaza war, israel will temporarily reopen the erez crossing in northern gaza. ashdod port will be opened for humanitarian deliveries. and more aid trucks from jordan will be allowed to traverse israel to gaza. the call between biden and netanyahu was their first since an israeli air strike killed 7 international aid workers from the charity group world central kitchen — sparking international outrage. the white house is urging israel to allow a "dramatic" increase of aid into gaza within "hours or days." in a statement released after the israeli ministers approved opening aid corridors,

the white house national security council said "we welcome the steps announced by the israeli government tonight at the president's request following his call with prime minister netanyahu." "these steps," the statement said "must now be fully and rapidly implemented." speaking in brussels earlier, us secretary of state antony blinken outlined what was expressed in that phone call. the president emphasised that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable. he made clear the need for israel to announce a series of specific, concrete and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers. he made clear that us policy in respect to gaza will be determined by our assessment of israel's immediate action on the steps. he underscored as well that

an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilise and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians and he urged neta nyahu to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home. in gaza, famine is becoming a reality. no aid trucks have entered northern gaza since the israeli strike on humanitarian aid workers on monday. un officials have accused israel of blocking humanitarian supplies to gaza. the latest figures say that 1.1 million palestinians are expected to witness �*catastrophic hunger�*. that's about half the population. residents say the price of flour has doubled in recent days, while products that were previously scarce and expensive are now all but unavailable. our correspondent hugo bachega is injersualem with more. israel was already under a lot of international pressure because some of the actions of the israeli army in gaza where nearly 33,000 palestinians have

been killed according to local authorities and a humanitarian crisis only gets worse. charities, the united nations and some of israel's closest allies have accused the country of not doing enough to protect the civilian population of gaza, to protect aid workers and also creating obstacles to the entry and delivery of much—needed humanitarian aid to the population of gaza. weaponising aid accusations that israel denies. there has been strong condonation and reaction from countries around the world. perhaps this is a sign that patients with israel could be running out. israel is also looking at potential fallout from the united kingdom. pressure is growing on the uk government to suspend arms sales to israel. three former supreme court justices are among 600 legal experts saying weapons exports risk breaching international law. in a letter to prime minister rishi sunak, they say exports must end, writing that �*the provision of military assistance and materiel to israel, may render the uk �*complicit�* in genocide as well as serious breaches

of international humanitarian law.�* mr sunak is already facing growing cross—party pressure, after seven aid workers with world central kitchen — including three britons — were killed in gaza. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale has more. the air strikes that killed international aid workers in gaza have prompted global condemnation, and now they're shaping political choices. more than 600 lawyers have written to the government, urging it to suspend arms sales to israel, because they believe there is a risk it's breaking international law. they said, "serious action is needed to avoid uk complicity in grave breaches of international law, including potential violation of the genocide convention." "to continue the sale of weapons and weapon system to israel falls significantly short of your government's obligations under international law." the whole framework of international

law, governing war, it dictates that the fact that you have been provoked and attacked, however outrageously, does not mean to say that you can do whatever you like. it doesn't mean to say that you can indiscriminately slaughter innocent civilians and children. it doesn't mean to say that you can attack aid convoys. british arms sales to israel are small — some of it are parts for american—made warplanes like this — but halting the exports would be a huge diplomatic blow to israel. at westminster, labour are pushing ministers to publish their internal legal advice about israel's compliance with international law. the lib dems and the snp want arms sales stopped now, as do some conservatives. the sheer scale of destruction is enough for us to take a political view to say that arms should not be sold to israel. you have seen the wanton destruction of acres of land

in gaza, it is leading to starvation and famine. we have reached the obscene position where we, the uk, along with the us, are having to build a supply bridge from the sea to gaza and drop stuff from the air to try to give food to needy people when this has been created by a so—called ally. you have to ask whether they are any longer fit to be an ally of decent western countries. some mps believe the foreign office is ready to do just that but claim downing street is resisting. but officials deny this, and the former home secretary, who is visiting israel, says number 10 should stick to its guns. we owe it to israel to stand with them. i think that we should maintain this military relationship, from which we benefitjust as much as they do, and i think that it would be a tragic shame if we were to walk away from our closest ally in this region. these lethal air strikes are disrupting more than just

aid supplies to gaza. they're also causing tensions within israel's allies, and the government has a difficult decision to make. james landale, bbc news. for more on the situation, let's bring in former ambassador to malta and president of the middle east policy council, gina abercrombie—winstanley. always great to have you here on bbc news. how serious warning is this do you think from the us and from president biden? , �* biden? president biden did exactly what _ biden? president biden did exactly what he _ biden? president biden did exactly what he needed - biden? president biden did exactly what he needed to | biden? president biden did l exactly what he needed to do biden? president biden did - exactly what he needed to do to take he has been saying for several weeks now and communicating to the israeli prime minister that the united states is not satisfied with how they are conducting the war, with how they are prosecuting it and quietly, behind—the—scenes, has been giving exactly what we needed to see from them in regard to the treatment of civilians,

with regard to providing humanitarian assistance and, of course, protecting health workers and aid workers and journalists. and without much to show for it. so at this point the president is being increasingly embarrassed by the prime minister and the prime minister has shown, previously, he is willing to do and it was a time to come to heel on what the us president wanted from the us president wanted from the israeli prime minister. you said there _ the israeli prime minister. you said there that _ the israeli prime minister. you said there that the _ the israeli prime minister. you said there that the president did not have much to show for his previous warnings and we now have reports that in the last few hours israel plans to take more steps to allow aid into gaza and open new routes into the territory. what do make of those announcements? does it potentially show that israel is taking this latest warning a bit more seriously? absolutely. the president needed to make a credible statement to the prime minister about what would happen if he was not listened to and it was

clear and it is now clear that the prime minister heard him. i think important lessons will be taken from this, from all sides. number one, that the united states, push comes to shove, the president will use the leverage that he has. that it is not acceptable to behave in ways that are counted to western values and ideals, the law of armed conflict must be followed and a collective punishment is not acceptable in this situation in gaza cannot be sustained. another lesson will be next time do not wait as long to make this strong statement. i think that there will be far less room for the israelis to work, frankly, against their own best interest. the president warned them from the beginning that their international standing has been severely compromised, creating a humanitarian

disaster and weakening the relationships that they have with nations in the region. we have seen the united arab emirates come out with a strong statement saying that the diplomatic relationship is in danger. thejordanians have made this point in the egyptians have made this point. so there has been no gain in posing this sort of misery on the gazans. fin posing this sort of misery on the gazans.— posing this sort of misery on the gazans. . ,., , the gazans. on that then, sorry to interrupt. — the gazans. on that then, sorry to interrupt, but _ the gazans. on that then, sorry to interrupt, but what - the gazans. on that then, sorry to interrupt, but what about. to interrupt, but what about the relationship with the us and israel? is this mark a turning point on the relations between those two countries? some lessons are going to be learned from this. that the united states cannot depend simply on asking nicely and standing by. i don't think there will be a drastic difference. the united states is not going to abandon israel but it is going to hold standards for israel and expect israel to meet them. i standards for israel and expect israel to meet them.— israel to meet them. i want to ask you. _ israel to meet them. i want to ask you. we — israel to meet them. i want to ask you, we have about - israel to meet them. i want to ask you, we have about one i ask you, we have about one minute left here, but looking

ahead now and prime minister benjamin netanyahu has been insistent that he plans to go ahead with an offensive into rafah in the southern part of gaza. what you now think this all means, and the phone call between the two leaders, what does that mean for the potential offensive? will that still go ahead ? potential offensive? will that still go ahead? i potential offensive? will that still go ahead?— still go ahead? i do not believe _ still go ahead? i do not believe it _ still go ahead? i do not believe it will _ still go ahead? i do not believe it will go - still go ahead? i do not believe it will go ahead j still go ahead? i do not - believe it will go ahead unless the united states is satisfied with the precautions and guardrails put in place to protect civilians. i did not think it would happen before but i believe now it will not happen. the president has made clear he is serious. it is interesting _ clear he is serious. it is interesting to _ clear he is serious. it is interesting to hear- clear he is serious. it is interesting to hear as l clear he is serious. it is i interesting to hear as well clear he is serious. it is - interesting to hear as well as we heard in the report that other countries including the uk are potentially starting to re—examine weapons deliveries to israel. could we see some changes now from the international community? the us concress, international community? the us congress, members _ international community? the us congress, members of _ international community? the us congress, members of congress | congress, members of congress are looking at it and you have people who would never have thought of questioning providing assistance to israel six months ago, one year ago,

now saying it needs to be conditioned to, that we have to maintain the standards that we have put in place, they are in black and white. us law about the conduct of those to whom we sell and provide weapons. and israel in the past has but in the future it will be more difficult to get a pass on this. ., ~ difficult to get a pass on this. . ~ , ., difficult to get a pass on this. . ~ i. .,, difficult to get a pass on this. . ~ ., , returning to the deadly airstrike on a world central kitchen aid convoy in gaza, for which israel was condemned. the parents ofjacob flickinger, the us—canadian citizen among seven aid workers killed, have told the bbc�*s tom bateman the attack was a crime and have rejected israel's explanation for it. they knew exactly who they were and where they were and they were targeted as they were leaving, after they dropped the food aid at a known humanitarian warehouse. they were chased down,

in a sense, after the first vehicle was hit, people fled from that vehicle and they were targeted again. the idf continued firing on trucks that were clearly marked with the bright logo of the world central kitchen. they continued firing until all aid workers were dead. israel claims it was a tragic accident and i think there needs to be an independent investigation. if it is a tragic accident, as they claim, then i think the idf is inept and incompetent and i think israel owes the families and the world an explanation. do you accept that explanation they have given so far that they say, that it was a mistake? i think that is a joke.

they say it - to protect themself. but, i mean, you know, i think it was meant. . they wanted to do it in a way that they want to keep - on starving refugees out there. when you heard the israeli prime minister say that this happens in war, in relation to the death of your son and these other aid workers, what went through your mind? that is an irresponsible comment. anyone looking at the situation, 200 aid workers killed delivering in the process of delivering food aid to starving populations. what does that look like to you? it looks like using food as a weapon. and i know this is a few days in and i cannot imagine how things are feeling for you.

how do you feel about the hole this leaves in your life going ahead now? there is definitely a hole in my heart. when i first heard the news ofjacob's death as i said i was crushed and shattered and when i thought of immediately was sandy, jacob's life partner and his son who is only 18 months old. their dreams have been completely shattered. the only thing that i think will help us| tremendously is jasper. knowing that through jasper there is still part ofjacob'si life, you know? and that is one main- reason why we are doing what we are doing right now. i'm an old man. jacob was a young man and sandy is a young woman, they had their whole lives ahead of them.

so when my mind went to was that... ..all of his hopes and dreams, sandy's hopes and dreams for the future, the life they were building together was destroyed. my father was killed. my father was us military and served in world war ii, the korean war. he was a fighter pilot and died when my mother was pregnant with me, i never met him and i grew up without having a father. and now my grandson will grow up without having his father. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at a uk story making news. the ringleader behind an armed robbery, in which a west yorkshire police officer was killed in 2005, was convicted of her murder thursday. 75—year—old piran ditta khan was found guilty at leeds crown court of pc sharon beshenivsky�*s

murder, following a six week trial. he fled to pakistan shortly after pc beshenivsky and a colleague were shot when they interrupted an armed raid at a travel agent in bradford. as she approached the entrance, three men burst out of the office and shot at both officers, killing pc beshenivsky. she will always be remembered. i would like to acknowledge the respect and dignity that sharon's family have shown over the past 18 years and i hope that today's conviction goes some way in enabling them to move on with their life. khan was also found guilty of two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon. you're live with bbc news. emergency workers in taiwan are still trying to reach around 600 people either trapped in highway tunnels or cut off in remote

areas after wednesday's major earthquake. almost all are guests and staff of a remote hotel who can't leave because of damaged roads. ten people were killed and more than a thousand injured after the biggest quake there in more than 20 years. from taiwan, our correspondent rupert wingfield hayes reports. in a high valley gorge in the eastern mountains of taiwan, a badly injured survivor of yesterday's quake is winched aboard a rescue helicopter. down below another team works frantically to free someone trapped in a massive rock fall. the huge rescue effort in the mountains here in eastern taiwan is relentless and exhausting. but a steady stream of survivors have been emerging all day. they are being brought to this dressing station to have their injuries are assessed by teams of paramedics. their wounds are quickly cleaned and bandaged, but the mental scars may take

much longer to heal. i asked this singaporean couple to describe what they've been through. your worst nightmare coming true. it's like they show in the movies. you never think you are going to experience it. we were in the tunnel when it happened and we felt the earth tremble and we just held on to each other for i don't know how long, until it passed. and so we stayed there overnight but the night was a terrible, terrible ordeal with aftershocks, tremors and rocks falling every few minutes. so these are more rescue teams heading up into the mountains here behind me. this is called taroko gorge, and this is a very famous tourist spot, it's a very narrow, deep gorge that runs way up into the mountains here. and this is where most of the more than 600 people now listed as trapped are thought to be. this lady has run a little restaurant at the mouth

of the gorge here for more than 30 years. she has experienced many quakes living here before, but none prepared herfor this one. "it was completely different," she says. "so much of the mountain has come down. this morning there were still rocks falling over here. when i was sleeping last night there was an aftershock and as soon as it hit, i leapt up and i ran outside". in hualien city, the buildings badly damaged by yesterday's quake still pose a serious threat. frantic work has been going on all day to shore them up and stop them from toppling over. here too, the physical scars from the quake will soon be removed. but not the memory of what it felt like for the people who experienced it. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news in hualien, eastern taiwan. the north atlantic treaty 0rganisation alliance — better known as nato — marked its 75th anniversary on thursday. a ceremony was held

at its headquarters in brussels to celebrate the occasion. it comes less than a month after sweden fullyjoined nato as its 32nd member, in response to russia's invasion of ukraine. nato secretary generaljens stoltenberg described nato as the world's most powerful and successful military alliance. but it is now being tested over its support for ukraine. meanwhile, ukraine is more focused on its immediate survival amid russian attacks. its foreign minister, dymtro kuleba, made an urgent appeal for more air defences and ammunition, both of which are running low. ido i do not want to spoil the party but my main message today will be... because suit saving will be... because suitsaving saving ukrainian life and ukrainian economy and cities depends on the availability of patriots and other defence systems. we talk about patriots because it is the only system

the russians have no access. and in march ukraine was hit with over 90 missiles. but providing patriots depends on the us, they have plenty of them. and that will be my focus today. meanwhile, some nato countries along russia's border are calling on their western allies, including those further afield, to bring back mandatory military service as a deterrent to moscow's war on ukraine. estonia's prime minister kaja kallas says conscription is essential to winning the war. the uk has shut down the suggestion, but some scandinavian countries like norway and denmark have recently increased the number of conscripted soldiers. the bbc�*s europe correspondent nick beake is in estonia's second largest city tartu, with more on how the war in ukraine is changing military preparedness. this city, tartu is actually a european capital of culture this year and that status is

reflected in the genteel and relaxed vibe this place has. certainly there is no sense of any panic and when you talk to people here you do not pick up on real concern that they could the russian aggression anytime soon. but certainly here in estonia they say their neighbours do pose a real threat to the country and that is why they have this system of conscription and why they are actually asking other european allies to follow suit and to boost their own military service programmes. but also if you listen to the prime minister here, in our interview with her she was saying that the best thing nato allies could do at this moment is to boost their own spending on defence to hit that figure of 2%. the reality is, though, that this year by nato's own admission only about two—thirds of the 32 countries in the club are set to hit that benchmark figure and that is of concern. the likes of estonia and the other two baltic countries and other two baltic countries and other nations on russia's

doorstep because they say that by boosting military funding, thatis by boosting military funding, that is the best way to provide deterrents to vladimir putin and, of course, if there were to be an attack, best way of making sure their country's military are in the best possible shape to respond to it. of course, russia for its part rejects any sort of notion that it part rejects any sort of notion thatitis part rejects any sort of notion that it is looking to attack a nato country at all. let's turn to some important news around the world. peru's congress voted against impeaching president dina boluarte, who's under investigation for corruption. she's being investigated over the ownership of expensive rolex watches and jewellery she's been seen wearing in public. last week, police raided her home and the presidential palace. thieves in los angeles have made off with at least $30 million from a cash storage facility in one of the biggest heists on record. no details have been shared about how the heist was pulled off and police have no suspects. and before we go, you'll have to dig

deep if you want this very special book going on sale at a new york book fair. the signed first edition of truman capote's breakfast at tiffany's is custom—bound in black goatskin. it's also encrusted with 1,000 white diamonds in a platinum setting totaling nearly 30 carats. the book is valued at $1.5 million. it sits inside a ebonized bird cage. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. the weather will be throwing all sorts at us over the next few days — some wet weather, some warm weather and some windy weather, particularly driven by storm kathleen, a storm named by the irish weather service, for impacts it will have in the republic of ireland over the weekend. but for northern and western parts of the uk, it will bring gales and the risk of disruption. here is storm kathleen developing, still well away to the south—west of our shores. but low pressure already

in charge of the scene for friday, rain and snow across scotland, that tending to peter out, but more rain pushing into southern scotland, later. for northern ireland, bands of showery rain with sunny spells in between, england and wales seeing a day of sunny spells and showers. it will be quite windy, particularly around western and southern coasts, but pretty warm — 15 degrees for belfast, 18 for norwich. still cold in the north of scotland, but it will turn milder here, as we go through friday night. further bands of heavy rain driving northwards, turning increasingly windy around some western parts, but a very mild start to the weekend. down towards the south, 12 or 13 degrees, first thing on saturday. so storm kathleen, this deep area of low pressure, well to the west of us, but coming close enough to bring some very strong winds, and with those winds coming from the south, well, they will be pulling some really warm air into the mix. it is likely that saturday will be the warmest day of the year so far, with some outbreaks of rain moving northwards across scotland, showers following on behind, some decent sunny gaps in between, but i think

it is the strength of the wind that could cause some issues, especially around western coasts. we'll see gusts of 50, 60, maybe 70 mph in exposed spots. so that could cause some travel disruption, maybe a little bit of damage. temperature—wise, though, well, values up to 20 or 21 degrees in eastern england, and certainly much, much warmer than it has been across the north of scotland. now, storm kathleen, this area of low pressure continuing to track to the northwest of us as we move through saturday night into sunday. still a lot of isobars squeezing together on this chart for sunday, so still very windy, the strongest winds up towards the north west of scotland, where there will be gales. yes, there'll be some sunny spells, but there'll be some heavy, perhaps thundery, showers, and it's going to be a windy day for all of us. not quite as warm on sunday — temperatures between ten and 17 degrees.

bridging the divide — the us treasury secretary is back in china with some thorny economic issues on the agenda. plus — we ask the head of a leading cyber—security firm how businesses can protect themselves from ai—powered cyber—attacks. hello and welcome to

asia business report. i'm steve lai. our top story today — us treasury secretary janet yellen is in china with a tough message. in her five—day trip, she plans to warn chinese leaders about overproduction, and make the case for american businesses in the country. ms yellen is in the southern city of guangzhou, where she is expected to tell chinese vice premier he lifeng that china is producing too many goods in certain sectors. but first, she'll be hearing from leaders of us companies about how their businesses are faring in china, and how trade tensions are affecting them. william zarit from the cohen group advises western companies operating in the chinese market. he says yellen�*s visit is more about form than it is content. the message for her will be to encourage the us government to continue to communicate with the chinese officials. you know

for a couple of years there