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 also 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 seven 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:

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 with respect to gaza will be determined by our assessment of israel's immediate action on these 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 netanyahu to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home. in an effort to bring those hostages home, the director of the us central intelligence agency, bill burns, is expected to travel to cairo this weekend to meet with his egyptian and israeli counterparts and the qatari prime minister to try to reach a breakthrough in talks on releasing hostages held in gaza by hamas. meanwhile 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 patience 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.

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, i spoke to former ambassador to malta and president of the middle east policy council, gina abercrombie—winstanley. always have you here. how serious a warning is this do you think from the us and from president biden? president biden did exactly what he needed to do. 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 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, when push comes to shove, the president will use the leverage that he has. returning to the deadly air strike 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. he wanted to help. his life has been about service. he served

with the world central kitchen first in the fall in mexico. he bring relief aid to hurricane victims there. he loved the work, his talents and military training, his love for adventure and his desire to serve and help others. that is how he felt about going to work with the world central kitchen in gaza. he hoped to build a long—standing relationship with the organisation and he was hesitant. he was hesitant, he was aware there are some risks involved. i was not all for the

idea because it was extremely chaotic situation. i.e. —— completely unpredictable. he felt that the world central kitchen knew what they are doing there, they are in ed conflicted zone controlled by the idf. they are following all the idf. they are following all the rules and procedures, israel was very strict in laying out that the world central kitchen has never lost a staff present since they open their doors. he felt reasonably confident that he can accomplish the mission safely. 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 1,000 injured

after the biggest quake there in more than 20 years. live now to our correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes, who's in taiwan. we can see the dramatic scene behind you, these buildings that are leaning to the side. can you give us an update on how authorities are trying to deal with the situation there? this is that i'm you mini closer to the epicentre of the quake from wednesday and you can see behind me here the result in the city here, a number of buildings, this is one of them that has partially collapsed in our leaning over at a very precarious angle. the authorities here, a few minutes ago they started the process of bringing this building down, so the plan today is they will start demolishing this building because it presents a real danger to people here. there

have been aftershocks and last night they were a number of quite large aftershocks and they are worried this building could topple over and there are a couple of others like this. a few minutes ago they started the process of breaking out the windows and you can see the hole in the side, that is what they did a few minutes ago. in they did a few minutes ago. in the next few hours they will start tearing this building apart and start tearing this building apartand bringing it start tearing this building apart and bringing it down so it is no longer a threat to the surrounding buildings in this area of the city.— area of the city. now that authorities _ area of the city. now that authorities have - area of the city. now that authorities have had - area of the city. now that l authorities have had some area of the city. now that - authorities have had some time to assess the damage, what is the sense there? how widespread is it and how many buildings might have to be dealt with in the way they want behind you is? i the way they want behind you is? ., �* 4' ., the way they want behind you is? ., �* ~ ., w is? i don't know the exact fiaure is? i don't know the exact figure but _ is? i don't know the exact figure but definitely - is? i don't know the exact. figure but definitely dozens is? i don't know the exact - figure but definitely dozens of buildings in the city here that have been structurally damaged. they are being assessed and the ones that are beyond repair i going to suffer the same fate, and it has been remarkable to see just two days how quickly

the authorities here are moving to remove these structures. in a backstreet down here there is a backstreet down here there is a smaller building that was badly and that was taken down yesterday morning in just a few hours. this is the way that i won it deals with these sorts of disasters, they move very quicklyjust to remove the buildings are damaged and start the process of reconstruction. that is what they will be doing in the next few days and a number of buildings will come down in the city here. we number of buildings will come down in the city here.- down in the city here. we can see live features _ down in the city here. we can see live features they - down in the city here. we can see live features they steal . see live features they steal some heavy machinery moving in and approaching the building. we heard earlier hundreds of people still believe to be trapped in a mountainous area, what are authorities doing to try to rescue them? what are the challenges there?- the challenges there? what a hue the challenges there? what a huge challenge _ the challenges there? what a huge challenge and _ the challenges there? what a huge challenge and that - the challenges there? what a huge challenge and that is i the challenges there? what a | huge challenge and that is the focus of the rescue effort now. all of the rescue operations in the city has ended and everybody is accounted for. as you say, outside the city,

about 15 kilometres away, ten miles from here, there are very large mountains, a popular tourist area, a very beautiful area with dramatic gorges and hiking trails and hot spring resorts. when the quake struck there are a lot of people up there are a lot of people up there in the mountains and the gorges in hotels, and hiking trails. many hundreds of those people are still up there, still stuck. we are at a rescue station where they are bringing people down yesterday and there is a steady stream of people being brought out by rescue teams, by helicopter but also on foot. it is a massive task, such a complex geography up there and people are scattered all over the place. they are in touch, about 600 people are in touch, about 600 people are in touch either by text message or mobile phone, so they know that most of those people are safe but many are outside in the open and have not got food, may be no water comes the need to

get them to make sure they are ok. it will be a long process 0k. it will be a long process to get those people out because there are so many of them as gaps in such a large area. fix, gaps in such a large area. a long process and a traumatic experience for many people in taiwan. you have been speaking to some survivors. what have they told you? we to some survivors. what have they told you?— to some survivors. what have they told you? we saw a number of --eole they told you? we saw a number of peeple being _ they told you? we saw a number of people being brought - they told you? we saw a number of people being brought down i of people being brought down yesterday, they are brought to a dressing station whether injuries were assessed and paramedics there who are giving them first—aid, cleaning their wounds and putting on bandages. you could see the people there were very shaken and i spoke to a couple from singapore about what they have been through and they talked about how terrifying it had been. they had been in a famous gorge, a very popular tourist sites, in a tunnel. quite a famous title, right on the side of the gorge. that is when the earthquake struck and they basically were stuck there for a day and a half and they talked about in

the aftershocks rocks came down and it was an absolutely terrifying experience you could see they were traumatised and shaken. ., ., ., ,. shaken. you are on the scene where you — shaken. you are on the scene where you can _ shaken. you are on the scene where you can see _ shaken. you are on the scene where you can see some - shaken. you are on the scene | where you can see some heavy machinery beginning to take some of those damaged buildings down. thank you very much for your report. 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 after a six—week trial. he fled to pakistan shortly after shooting two officers during an armed raid at a travel agent in bradford. as police approached the entrance, three men burst out of the office and fired at both officers, killing 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. the north atlantic treaty organization 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 appealfor more air defences and ammunition — both of which are running low. i do not want to spoil the party but my main message today will be... because 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 is a european capital of culture this year and that status is reflected in the genteel, relaxed vibe this place has, and certainly no sense of any panic when you talk to people here. you do not pick on any real concern they could be russian aggression any time soon. 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 asking other european allies to follow suit and boost their own military service programmes. also, listening to the prime minister here, in our interview with her she said the best thing that nato allies can do with this moment is boost their own spending on defence to hit that figure of 2%. the reality is this year, by nato prostate own admission, only two—thirds of the 32 countries are set to hit that benchmark figure and thatis hit that benchmark figure and that is of concern to the likes of westonia, also the other two baltic countries and other nations on russia's doorstep because they see boosting military funding that is the best way to provide a deterrence to vladimir putin and, of course, if there were to be an attack the best way of making sure their militaries are in the best possible shape to respond to it. russia, for its part, rejects any sort of

motion it is looking to attack a nato country at all. more than 55 million people around the world have dementia and ten million cases are diagnosed every year, so a new five—year trial is being watched with interest. blood tests for dementia will be offered at more than 50 memory clinics across the uk. the aim is to find out whether the test can spot the early signs. the trials are being run with thousands of volunteers. fergus walsh reports. what can our blood tell us about our brain? this small trial in oxford is looking for clues. lucy, like many of the healthy volunteers, has a personal family motivation for being involved. the main driver for the dementia was because my mother had dementia, and ijust have very close personal experience of how miserable that is. i mean, she wasn't...

fortunately, she was relatively old, she was in her 80s when it started, and she died at 97. but her last few years were really mired by the disease. what's your first language? over the next five years, around 5000 people will take part in research assessing blood tests to see how accurately they can identify various forms of dementia, most notably alzheimer's disease. in alzheimer's disease, rogue proteins can build up in the brain over 20 years before a person shows problems with memory and understanding. the test will search for biomarkers in the blood which can identify the early stages of dementia. if a reliable blood test for alzheimer's is eventually approved by the nhs, it would transform diagnosis and mean that people could be screened for dementia in their 50s, long

before symptoms emerge. the studies will aim to include people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities so a wide cross—section of society is represented. what's unique about these projects is the fact that we're going to roll them out across multiple centres in the uk to really make them accessible to people who are attending day—to—day in memory clinics. but once we have that data and we understand if these tests are effective, absolutely the next stage could be could they be used for screening in the community and primary care at an earlier age? around a third of patients with dementia never get a formal diagnosis, and only a tiny minority have access to specialist brain scans or spinal lumbar punctures, which are the gold standard tests. new treatments may soon be licensed which can slow down the progress of alzheimer's, so accurate diagnosis is more important than ever.

you will have to dig deep if you want this special going on sale at a new york book fair. this is a signed first edition of breakfast at tiffany's. it is decorated in a similar fashion, bound in a black goat skin and encrusted with 1000 white diamonds in a platinum setting totalling nearly 30 carats and value to $1.5 million. stay with us for more 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.

v0|ce—0ver: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. awarning, it a warning, it deals with distressing things and references to suicide. japan is reeling from the biggest child sex abuse scandal in its history.

last year, we revealed howjohnny kitagawa, the godfather ofj—pop, had spent a lifetime sexually abusing some of the young boys in his talent agency, boys that dreamed of becoming pop stars. loud cheering. since then, almost 1,000 men, ranging in age from 20 to 70, have come forward as survivors of kitagawa's abuse. in the aftermath of the scandal, the ceo resigned and the company, johnny & associates, was dissolved. japan's age of consent has gone from 13 to 16 and the prime minister is under pressure to strengthen sexual abuse laws. senior figures at the company have apologised publicly, but beyond the pr and the press conferences, there's another story — victims and their families facing scepticism, leading to life—changing consequences...