israel warns it's prepared after iran vows punishment for the killing of its commanders in syria. russian missiles and drones destroy a large electricity plant near kyiv and hit power facilities in several other regions of ukraine. waiting lists for routine hospital treatment in england have fallen for the fifth consecutive month, latest figures show. but the targets are still missed. also coming up — it's time to roll out the red carpet — sport, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's chetan. hello from the bbc sport centre. because of adverse weather, thunderstorms at augusta national, the start of golf�*s first major of the year was delayed but play is just getting under way at the masters. jon rahm is hoping to defend his title,

having won his first green jacket last year. thejump from no majors to us open was smaller than what it was from the us open to the masters. it is the biggest tournament in the world. no offence to anything else but it is probably the most formative one by people who don't even play golf, that is what makes the difference, where your notoriety goes up quite a bit. you can follow the masters on the bbc sport website and app. south africa's erik van rooyen, i can see, is the first to tee off. these are some of the updated tee times for round one. jon rahm won't get out there for a few hours yet. five—time winner tiger woods is scheduled to be among the later starters too. dustinjohnson, collin morikawa, and tommy fleetwood set to be last out. it looks likely that a number of first rounds will have to be finished on friday. the weather is thankfully looking a lot better for the next three days.

after two nights of cracking champions league football, attention now turns to the europa league with the quarterfinal first legs on thursday. ac milan face roma, benfica marseille, liverpool play atalanta at anfield, while west ham are up against xabi alonso�*s bayer leverkusen, the runaway german league leaders, who are unbeaten in all 41 of their matches this season. but west ham manager david moyes is looking forward to the challenge ahead. i see it as a great opportunity. i really d0~ _ we've had a pretty good run in europe. we are playing a lot of good teams in europe, and, as things go, the challenge we have got of a team that is 15 points clear, 16 points clear, in the bundesliga, is a big one, but one that hopefully we can rise to, and perform well. from a former everton boss to the current one. sean dyche says he's hopeful his side's latest points

deduction in the premier league won't negatively impact his players as they look ahead to playing chelsea on monday. he's been speaking for the first time since everton were deducted two points for a second breach of premier league financial rules, leaving them just two points clear of the relegation zone. unexpected in the sense that we thought— unexpected in the sense that we thought it had been dealt with, obviously it wasn't, and obviously the time — obviously it wasn't, and obviously the time window for the appeals, the club will_ the time window for the appeals, the club will be _ the time window for the appeals, the club will be looking into that, but yes, the — club will be looking into that, but yes, the last response was, what is done _ yes, the last response was, what is done is _ yes, the last response was, what is done is done, we know, we are very confident— done is done, we know, we are very confident it — done is done, we know, we are very confident it will not change again as regards anything this season for so, therefore our focus is on the next _ so, therefore our focus is on the next round — so, therefore our focus is on the next round of games coming up, after the news, _ next round of games coming up, after the news, i_ next round of games coming up, after the news, i spoke to the players ahout— the news, i spoke to the players about it. — the news, i spoke to the players about it, and the truth is to stay focused — about it, and the truth is to stay focused on _ about it, and the truth is to stay focused on the one in hand. rfrom one former burnley manager — to the current one. vincent kompany has been handed a two—match touchline suspension

following his red card against chelsea in the premier league last month. kompany was dismissed for protesting against a penalty decision that led to one of his players being being sent off. he'll serve a one—game ban immediately, which means he'll miss burnley�*s game against brighton at turf moor this weekend, the fourth seed daniil medvedev has been knocked out of the monte—carlo masters in monaco by fellow russian player karen khachanov. just like in the previous round, medvedev was upset with officials, this time voicing his anger about what he perceived to be a bad line call. khachanov winning this one 6—3, 7—5. he'll now face the 12th seed stefanos tsitsipas in the last eight, after he beat alexander zverev. the rain has cleared, and the masters _ the rain has cleared, and the masters golf is under way. and that's all the sport for now. more now on the middle east, and unicef says a joint un aid convoy waiting to enter the north of gaza on tuesday was hit by gunfire.

the organisation says no—one was harmed but their armoured vehicle was hit by three bullets during a pre—planned co—ordinated mission. according to the us—funded aid worker security database, more than 196 aid workers have been killed in gaza since october. and last week, seven aid workers from the world central kitchen were killed in an israeli air strike in gaza. israel says it's implementing lessons learned from this. let's speak to tess ingram, who was part of that unicef convoy on tuesday. she's in gaza right now. tess ingram, thank you for your time. tell us what happened to you. we were on a tell us what happened to you. - were on a coordinated mission to bring life—saving medical and nutritional supplies to the north of gaza. we departed from ratho on tuesday morning and went up towards the checkpoint at wadi gaza, then we

were told to hold out a designated holding area before carrying on to the checkpoint once we get the green light. we were in that holding area when gunfire broke out in the vicinity. it seemed to come from the north from the direction of the checkpoint towards civilians who turned and fled the other direction. fortunately unicef colleagues, and colleagues at unwra were safe, we were inside the vehicle at the time of the shooting, and the bullets hit the car, two on the side and one on the car, two on the side and one on the bonnet so we were lucky that nobody was hurt, but i think this underscores how difficult and dangerous the situation continues to be in gaza for us, and for the people we are here to serve. that moment must _ people we are here to serve. that moment must have _ people we are here to serve. that moment must have been terrifying. what was going through your mind? i what was going through your mind? i was trying to figure out where it was trying to figure out where it was coming from and whether everybody was ok, and safe inside the vehicle. it was really shocking. this was a designated holding area,

where we were instructed to sit. our presence was known, cast lily mark. so it is completely unacceptable that we were in the line of fire. —— the cars were clearly marked. [10 that we were in the line of fire. -- the cars were clearly marked. do you know who fired _ the cars were clearly marked. do you know who fired the _ the cars were clearly marked. do you know who fired the shots? _ the cars were clearly marked. do you know who fired the shots? we - the cars were clearly marked. do you know who fired the shots? we knowl know who fired the shots? we know that they came _ know who fired the shots? we know that they came from _ know who fired the shots? we know that they came from the _ know who fired the shots? we know that they came from the direction i know who fired the shots? we knowj that they came from the direction of the checkpoint, and they were fired at civilians who then turned around and had to flee. you at civilians who then turned around and had to flee.— and had to flee. you are implying that it was _ and had to flee. you are implying that it was the _ and had to flee. you are implying that it was the israelis, _ and had to flee. you are implying that it was the israelis, but - that it was the israelis, but obviously you cannot confirm that. is it possible that other groups could have been involved from the hamas militant site.— hamas militant site. there is no indication that _ hamas militant site. there is no indication that that _ hamas militant site. there is no indication that that was - hamas militant site. there is no indication that that was the - hamas militant site. there is nol indication that that was the case. we have raised the incident with a relevant israeli authorities, and i hope it is something that can be examined as we get more answers in the coming days and hours. hence the coming days and hours. herve said that they _ the coming days and hours. herve said that they will _

the coming days and hours. herve said that they will come _ the coming days and hours. herve said that they will come back - the coming days and hours. herve said that they will come back to i said that they will come back to you, because we have contacted the idf and have not heard from them. we have idf and have not heard from them. - have contacted them, this incident was on tuesday and we have still not heard back. in was on tuesday and we have still not heard back. , ., heard back. in terms of the processes. _ heard back. in terms of the processes, israel— heard back. in terms of the processes, israel says - heard back. in terms of the processes, israel says it. heard back. in terms of the processes, israel says it is| heard back. in terms of the - processes, israel says it is trying to ensure that what happened a few days ago is not repeated, and yet obviously you are in a very dangerous area, is it to some degree inevitable that, you know, tragically, these sort of things can happen? i tragically, these sort of things can ha--en? .�* tragically, these sort of things can ha en? ., �* ~' tragically, these sort of things can hauen? ., �* ~' , happen? i don't think it is inevitable. _ happen? i don't think it is inevitable. i— happen? i don't think it is inevitable. ithink- happen? i don't think it is inevitable. i think that - happen? i don't think it is| inevitable. i think that this indicates the kind of war that is being conducted is volatile, and we have already seen that so many civilians have been caught up in this. it is clear that something has to change. too many civilian lives are being lost, including 200 humanitarian aid workers, more than

13,000 -- 30,000 humanitarian aid workers, more than 13,000 —— 30,000 palestinians, and more can be done to protect people on the ground through international humanitarian law. fine on the ground through international humanitarian law.— humanitarian law. one hears that there are malicious _ humanitarian law. one hears that there are malicious on _ humanitarian law. one hears that there are malicious on the - humanitarian law. one hears that. there are malicious on the ground, out of control, so it must be impossible to safeguard everywhere or anywhere. you are fairly clear in your own mind, are you, that this wasn't, that this is more likely to be coming from the israeli side, the shots. mil be coming from the israeli side, the shots. �* .., be coming from the israeli side, the shots. �* . ., , be coming from the israeli side, the shots. . , be coming from the israeli side, the shots. ~ , shots. all i can say is where we saw the gunfire — shots. all i can say is where we saw the gunfire coming _ shots. all i can say is where we saw the gunfire coming from, _ shots. all i can say is where we saw the gunfire coming from, from - shots. all i can say is where we saw the gunfire coming from, from that| the gunfire coming from, from that direction. i don't believe that there was any fire return. it seemed to be coming only from one direction, from the direction of the checkpoint. direction, from the direction of the checkoint. �* , direction, from the direction of the checkpoint-— checkpoint. briefly, you are still sta in: in checkpoint. briefly, you are still staying in gaza _ checkpoint. briefly, you are still staying in gaza at _ checkpoint. briefly, you are still staying in gaza at doing - checkpoint. briefly, you are still staying in gaza at doing that - checkpoint. briefly, you are still i staying in gaza at doing that work despite what happened to you. fit despite what happened to you. of course. this is ourjob. we are actually going to try to reschedule this mission for a few days was'

time, it takes some days to coordinate these things as per protocol, but the great tragedy here is that we never got to bring the supplies to the north, and that is what we were aiming to do, and we hope that we will be able to do that, before the end of the week. thank you, tess ingram, from unicef. we asked the idf to respond to these claims, but haven't recieved a response yet, however a spokesman for the israeli army says they are trying to find more ways of getting aid into gaza. israel continues to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into gaza. and find new ways to increase this effort. we are constructing the northern crossing, new land crossing, from israel into northern gaza to enable more aid to flow directly to civilians, in the areas that have been challenging

for the trucks to access. is there, from the israelis. —— that response, they are, from the israelis. waiting lists for routine hospital treatment in england have showed little change, according to new figures. 7.54 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of february, down from 7.58 the month before. the fall happened largely because some community cases were removed from the statistics — nhs england said the trend was broadly flat from the previous month. the prime minister says the figures show the government's plan when i became prime minister i said that cutting waiting lists was one of my five priorities, and whilst we haven't made as much progress as i would have liked, today's figures show that we are making headway towards that goal, and over the last five months of reduction of around 200,000 in the overall waiting lists, which is positive and if it wasn't for industrial action, an extra 430,000 patients would have been treated, so whilst there is of course a lot

more work to do, the plan is working, so, more broadly, we have seen the first year over year reduction in a&e and ambulance waiting times, we have record numbers of staff working in the nhs, a long—term workforce plan, and we are sitting here in the new diagnostic centre that has come in, demonstrating that we are doing everything we can to give patients the care they need, when they need it. but the shadow health secretary wes streeting says the nhs is still in the grip of the worst crisis in its history. the prime minister has failed in the promise he made to the country to cut waiting lists, they are higher than when he became prime minister, we see the nhs still in the grip of the worst crisis in its history, people waiting far too long for an ambulance, and we cannot go on like this, that is why it is crucial that at the general election this year we see a change with labour, we have a plan to cut nhs waiting list, deliver a 2 million more appointments a year, with extra people in at weekend working funded ijy people in at weekend working funded by closing tax loopholes and

clamping down on tax avoidance because we prioritise doctors, not tax dodgers. to because we prioritise doctors, not tax dodgers-— tax dodgers. to bring you some breakin: tax dodgers. to bring you some breaking news _ tax dodgers. to bring you some breaking news this _ tax dodgers. to bring you some breaking news this hour. - tax dodgers. to bring you some breaking news this hour. the i tax dodgers. to bring you some - breaking news this hour. the family of oj simpson have posted on x, formerly twitter, that he has died. that needs just coming into us at the minute, that oj simpson, involved in a hugely high profile murder trial, involved in a hugely high profile murdertrial, has involved in a hugely high profile murder trial, has died. we will bring you more on that as soon as we can. that seems to have just been posted online at the moment. now to vietnam, where a court has sentenced a wealthy property developer to death for defrauding a bank of billions of dollars in one of the biggest corruption cases ever. 67—year—old tru—ong mee lan was found guilty of embezzlement, bribing state officials and violating bank lending regulations, after she used her hidden ownership of the saigon commercial bank

to channel $41; billion of loans to her own companies. our south east asia correspondent, jonathan head, has more. it isa it is a big chunk of the economy she managed to siphon off. the communist authorities released a lot of details about the case against her, about how she carried out the fraud, and encouraged the vietnamese media to control it. they have made an example of her. she is getting tremendous coverage over there. she has now been given the death penalty, the most severe penalty. as an example and possibly a warning to others involved in fraud. it is the latest in a chapter of an anti—corruption campaign launched by the veteran communist party chief eight years ago. i don't think

anyone can remember a trial like it, and there were 85 other defendants with her. with that the communist authorities are hoping that they can channel public anger about corruption in general at official levels, which is very high in vietnam, to make an example of her, and show that they are doing something about it, and that is why the case is such a high—profile case. she was the early one of the 86 defendants denied the charges to the very end. she can now appeal against the death sentence and may get leniency if she follows the court injunction, the court has asked to find and give back a lot of the money that is missing, around $27 billion is unaccounted for. more on the breaking news. the family of the american football that 0j family of the american football that oj simpson say that he has died, he has succumbed to cancer on wednesday and was surrounded by his children

and was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. oj simpson was one of america's top football players, then was involved in a trial over the murder of his wife nicole brown simpson, the trial was televised around the world with massive audiences. he was acquitted, but later found liable for her killing in a civil case. needsjust coming into us that oj simpson has succumbed to his battle with cancer. that has been put out on twitter by his family, his children and grandchildren, and the family have asked for their wishes our privacy, and a statement from the simpson family. his televised trial caught the attention of audiences right around the world. a huge sports star in the us, accused of the murder of his wife, nicole brown simpson. we

will be speaking to our correspondent in the us shortly, but that news has just broken online at the moment. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

this is bbc news. the breaking news this hour is that oj simpson, the huge american football star, has died of cancer. he was surrounded by his children and grandchildren from the family, who have put that news out. he was of course involved in a huge televised murder trial over the murder of his wife nicole brown simpson. he was acquitted in that lie but then found liable for her killing in a civil case later. he has died of cancer according to his

family, who have released that news on x, formerly twitter,. his trial caught the attention of the public right around the world. he was a huge, high—profile us star. and there was a huge televised trial. he convinced the jury of his innocence in that murder case. but he was then later convicted. so, we will bring you more on that case and his life, and why he hit the headlines after his fall from grace, as a huge us sports star, because of the case around his wife. he was accused of the murder of his wife initially during that court battle, and then later found liable for it.

now, lt�*s a big day in the games industry — the bafta gaming awards take place tonight in london. gaming is big business here in the uk — sales topped more than £4] billion last year — more than double that of the music industry. this marks the 20th year of the gaming baftas, and 2023 was widely considered to be one of the best years ever in the industry. our technology reporter mark cieslak has been looking at for many, it's been a vintage yearfor games. leading the bafta field, nominated in ten categories, is baldur�*s gate 3. it's inspired by table top role—playing game dungeons and dragons, reimagined for console and pc. this is the game to beat. let's make this interesting. it's closely followed in the nominations by fan favourite spider—man 2. this is crazy. also hotly—tipped is nintendo's incredibly innovative zelda: tears of the kingdom.

you are our final hope. the baftas are famous for confounding expectations, with indie games and smaller titles often taking home some of the big awards. so, quirky deep—sea exploration/sushi restaurant management sim, dave the diver, might snatch some silverware away from the blockbusters. but even an industry worth over £4] billion a year in the uk isn't immune from financial pressures which are being felt all over the world. big companies like playstation, microsoft and electronic arts have all shed jobs in recent months. we can fight this together. comedian phil wang will be hosting the event — task which always falls to somebody with proper gaming credentials. growing up in malaysia, in borneo — which is beautiful, but not so much going on — video games were a real escape. i'm really looking forward

to celebrating the industry, the games industry, the creativity that goes into it, and i feel like it finally proves to my parent that games are art, just like i said, all those years when they were trying everyone, from developers to the actors whose performances appear in games, are hoping to take home a coveted golden mask. samantha beart is nominated for their performance as barbarian karlach in baldur�*s gate 3. that's my reward for everything i suffered. for anyone that still thinks that this is pac—man and for kids in their parents' basements and all the stereotypes, this industry makes more money than film, tv and music combined, and yet it's still seen as quite an underground thing and, yeah, having the academy itself, which is such a global brand represent that, it's really something, it's really special. the games baftas, now in its 20th year,

offers the industry a much—needed chance to celebrate its many creative successes. marc cieslak, bbc news. let's speak to leah alexandra, gaming presenter and streamer. what do you think of the nominations? it what do you think of the nominations?— what do you think of the nominations? , ., ., , , , ., nominations? it is an absurd year. we have so _ nominations? it is an absurd year. we have so many _ nominations? it is an absurd year. we have so many sequels - nominations? it is an absurd year. we have so many sequels to - nominations? it is an absurd year. | we have so many sequels to games which is incredible to see a sequel living up to the hype of games that came out previously. in any media, sequels are always a little bit scary so to see so many good sequels with alan wake, with baldur�*s gate 3, with spider—man, it is a testament to how incredible the talent is of these teams right now. do you have favourites among the nominations? i’zre do you have favourites among the nominations?— nominations? i've played a lot of baldur's gate _ nominations? i've played a lot of baldur's gate 3, _ nominations? i've played a lot of baldur's gate 3, it _ nominations? i've played a lot of baldur's gate 3, it is _ nominations? i've played a lot of baldur's gate 3, it is an - nominations? i've played a lot of| baldur's gate 3, it is an incredibly baldur�*s gate 3, it is an incredibly astonishing game. and why it has got

so much talent, clearly, so much love has gone into it, and the fact that it love has gone into it, and the fact thatitis love has gone into it, and the fact that it is so beloved despite being a turn —based strategy game is incredible. and it has captured the widespread attention of the gaming audience but with the rise of dungeons and dragons, it has created a perfect storm. pym; dungeons and dragons, it has created a perfect storm-— a perfect storm. any games that have missed out you _ a perfect storm. any games that have missed out you think— a perfect storm. any games that have missed out you think should - a perfect storm. any games that have missed out you think should be - a perfect storm. any games that have missed out you think should be in? i missed out you think should be in? there was no game of the year lot to that final fantasy 16, but hundreds of thousands of games released every single year so it is hard not to miss out on something and this year has been huge for aaa games. looking at other categories there is very wide variety, a huge amount, like every major game that came out has been nominated in some way, so that is quite impressive. truth? been nominated in some way, so that is quite impressive.— is quite impressive. why do you think it has _ is quite impressive. why do you think it has been _ is quite impressive. why do you think it has been such _ is quite impressive. why do you

think it has been such a - is quite impressive. why do you think it has been such a huge i is quite impressive. why do you i think it has been such a huge year for gaming? taste think it has been such a huge year for gaming?— for gaming? we are seeing the culmination _ for gaming? we are seeing the culmination of _ for gaming? we are seeing the culmination of a _ for gaming? we are seeing the culmination of a lot _ for gaming? we are seeing the culmination of a lot of - for gaming? we are seeing the culmination of a lot of things, l for gaming? we are seeing the| culmination of a lot of things, a lot of franchisors getting to a point where, games take many years to develop, they take anything from 3-8 to develop, they take anything from 3—8 years, typically, so a little bit of coincidence that we have had so many awesome games coming out in one year, and maybe next year will be a different story but this year has been a bit of a bumper one, for releases. leah alexandra, thank you very much indeed. taste releases. leah alexandra, thank you very much indeed.— releases. leah alexandra, thank you very much indeed. we have a stream of those awards, _ very much indeed. we have a stream of those awards, to _ very much indeed. we have a stream of those awards, to date, _ very much indeed. we have a stream of those awards, to date, and - very much indeed. we have a stream of those awards, to date, and you i of those awards, to date, and you can follow that stream on bbc tiktok. just to let you know, our breaking news this hour, the family of oj simpson, who was enrolled in a trial over the murder of his wife

nicole brown simpson, has died. hello, there. the weather we've got over the next couple of days is really quite unusual for april. if we take a look at this anomaly chart, the redder the colours, the more unusual the heat is, and as you can see, we're towards the top end of this scale. how warm is it going to get? well, some places could see temperatures around 21 degrees celsius. for example, around greater london. temperatures for quite a few areas will be around six or seven degrees celsius above average for the time of year. and the reason we've got this mild flow of air is down to the jet stream pattern, which is bringing mild and quite humid air up from near the azores. now, it might be mild, but it's not necessarily sunny. the best of the sunshine today has been across the midlands, northwards across northern england into scotland. however, it stays pretty cloudy for southern and western wales, southern parts of england with occasional spots of drizzle around, particularly towards coastal areas. and for northern ireland, some thicker cloud is on the way. outbreaks of rain here to end the day. the rain probably turning quite heavy. but whether you've got cloud

or the sunshine doesn't really make that much of a difference for the temperatures. it's very mild nationwide. now, overnight tonight, that rain in northern ireland moves northwards to reach the far north of england and across parts of scotland for a time as well. temperatures stay mild, 11, 12 degrees celsius. there will likely be some mist and fog patches around towards the end of the night. and so for some, it's going to be quite a grey start to the day on friday, perhaps a bit more rain for a time in northern ireland moving back towards scotland, this time across most southern regions of england and wales, you've probably got a better chance of the clouds thinning and breaking to give us some sunshine. and those temperatures still well above average for the time of year. 18 in aberdeen, we're up to 20 or 21 across parts of eastern england. saturday is something of a transition day. again, there'll be some mist and fog patches around. we keep the mild air across southern and eastern parts of england, but to the north west of the uk we're getting some heavier outbreaks of rain moving in and the weather will be turning significantly cooler

along with that rain for northern ireland and for scotland as well. and that's just the first day of the change because as we head through sunday and into next week, we've got a ridge of high pressure to the west of the uk that's going to send down a northwesterly flow of air across the country. that will reduce temperatures probably even a bit below average in places and will bring us a mixture of sunshine and heavy showers.

live from london, this is bbc news.

former nfl star oj simpson dies aged 76. his family said simpson succumbed to his battle with cancer. israel warns it's prepared after iran vows punishment for the killing of its commanders in syria. translation: whoever hurts us, we hurt him. l we are preparing to meet the security needs of the state of israel, both in defence and in attack. russian missiles and drones destroy a large electricity plant near kyiv and hit power facilities in several other regions of ukraine. former post office boss david smith apologises for celebrating the conviction of a pregnant sub—postmistress, seema misra, who was eventuallyjailed.