the head of the government's climate watchdog, chris stark, criticises the prime minister. he told the bbc that rishi sunak has left the uk at risk of falling behind. and thousands of people take to the streets of the canary islands in protest at what they say are the damaging effects of over—tourism. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. politicians in the united states have approved a multi—billion dollar package of military aid to help ukraine in its fight against russia. the move has been warmly welcomed in ukraine and president biden has hailed it as an answer to history's call. in russia, the kremlin have reacted, saying the move will further enrich the us and ruin ukraine even more, by killing even more ukrainians. on this vote, the ayes are 311, the nays are 112,

the bill has passed. oh, one voting present. this is the moment the house of representatives approved a $60 billion package of military aid for ukraine. it was a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation in the binary world of american politics, with democratsjoining moderate republicans to see off opposition from the hard—right. us officials have indicated that deliveries of munitions and air defence systems are ready to go as soon as there is approval in the senate. joining me live from washington is our correspondent helena humphrey. she's on capitol hill following the vote. it is six months since president biden first sought approval for this aid package, there has been a bitter row over it —— over it ever since, what got it over the line today? figs

what got it over the line today? sis you what got it over the line today? is you say, this is long—awaited, high—stakes, and what this finally got this over the line was that rare display of bipartisanship which we sell. what you will see with a vote tally is that we had more republicans voting against it than voting in favour of it when it came to the bill for ukraine and it was the democratic votes that eventually got it over the line. this has been the crux of it for all of those months, with regards to speaker johnson's previous apparent reluctance to bring it to the floor, republican concerns about passing more foreign aid to ukraine when they were calling for more stringent border regulations. nevertheless, we saw it pass, it heads to the senate and president biden has called on senators to site off quickly. we know that weaponry has been pre—positioned by the pentagon in an effort to try and get those much

needed air defence systems to kyiv in the coming days as opposed to weeks, but this was multipronged as well so also what we saw signs of today, 82 israel also a provision for more humanitarian assistance when it comes to gaza, and also security aide for taiwan made concerns about china's intention but i won. all of this will be sewed back together, now heads to the senate and the present�*s desk. president zelensky has welcomed this, he has visited washington just months ago to try and get this pushed through. talking of timings, have soon do you think they could see any munitions that they so desperately need? 50. see any munitions that they so desperately need?— desperately need? so, it could potentially _ desperately need? so, it could potentially be _ desperately need? so, it could potentially be days, _ desperately need? so, it could potentially be days, because i desperately need? so, it could| potentially be days, because of desperately need? so, it could - potentially be days, because ofjust exactly how the pentagon has been looking at all of this political chaos, trying to do what they could behind—the—scenes to put weapons in the right places. if you look at the bill and how it breaks down, what you will see is brilliance,

actually, which are intended to replenish us defence coffers. —— what you will see is billions. president zelensky was at the white house back in september when we were still having the same conversation about $60 billion in us funding and questions about missiles, for example. but to talk more, i am joined now by dr nola haynes. a warm welcome to you, thank you for joining us here on bbc news. i would like to get your reaction to what we have seen today, this foreign aid bill passing in the us house of representatives, what does it mean? well, first of all, thank you for having — well, first of all, thank you for having me _ well, first of all, thank you for having me. this is a wonderful day, not having me. this is a wonderful day, minist— having me. this is a wonderful day, noiiusl for— having me. this is a wonderful day, notjust for us having me. this is a wonderful day, not just for us democracy, for bipartisanship, but a wonderful day for the _ bipartisanship, but a wonderful day for the world because the us has shown— for the world because the us has shown the — for the world because the us has shown the world that we are keeping our world _ shown the world that we are keeping our world and we are standing by our

allies— our world and we are standing by our allies and _ our world and we are standing by our allies and partners, so it is an exciting — allies and partners, so it is an exciting day today.— allies and partners, so it is an exciting day today. keeping its word but after a long _ exciting day today. keeping its word but after a long time _ exciting day today. keeping its word but after a long time coming, - exciting day today. keeping its word but after a long time coming, i - but after a long time coming, i think, many people would say. america said it would stand with ukraine for as long as it takes but getting this sign off has taken a long time, and it has onlyjust passed in the house, what does this mean for the war effort in ukraine? is there the risk that america could be perceived as being an unreliable partner? be perceived as being an unreliable artner? , , ., ., ., be perceived as being an unreliable artner? , ,, ., ., ., partner? listen, you are not wrong there, democracy _ partner? listen, you are not wrong there, democracy is _ partner? listen, you are not wrong there, democracy is incredibly - there, democracy is incredibly messy. — there, democracy is incredibly messy, and a lot of people around the world — messy, and a lot of people around the world are watching for the moment— the world are watching for the moment that they think the us is declining, — moment that they think the us is declining, so i think two statements were made — declining, so i think two statements were made here today, yes democracy is messy— were made here today, yes democracy is messy but _ were made here today, yes democracy is messy but we came to the table and we _ is messy but we came to the table and we delivered, and it made a very clear resounding sound to folks in congress — clear resounding sound to folks in congress who were not as willing to stand _ congress who were not as willing to stand behind a bill without domestic infrastructure border concerns being

attached _ infrastructure border concerns being attached to this bill, but the statement that was made today is that we _ statement that was made today is that we have made a commitment and promised _ that we have made a commitment and promised to— that we have made a commitment and promised to ukraine, and not only a commitment and promised to ukraine, i commitment and promised to ukraine, i want _ commitment and promised to ukraine, i want to— commitment and promised to ukraine, i want to make it very clear, this is a three — i want to make it very clear, this is a three tier show of us strength, we are _ is a three tier show of us strength, we are talking about deterring china and taiwan — we are talking about deterring china and taiwan with our security package, _ and taiwan with our security package, we are talking about the security— package, we are talking about the security package we are sending to israel— security package we are sending to israel to— security package we are sending to israel to deter more iranian aggression and also with the war that was— aggression and also with the war that was started years ago in ukraine _ that was started years ago in ukraine that russia thought it was going _ ukraine that russia thought it was going to _ ukraine that russia thought it was going to end within a few days, and i did going to end within a few days, and i did not— going to end within a few days, and i did not happen, so, yes, while democracy— i did not happen, so, yes, while democracy is incredibly messy, the showing _ democracy is incredibly messy, the showing of— democracy is incredibly messy, the showing of strength today showed the world that our commitments and our promises _ world that our commitments and our promises can circumvent and can definitely— promises can circumvent and can definitely be the core thing that is most _ definitely be the core thing that is most important to americans versus all the _ most important to americans versus all the kind — most important to americans versus all the kind of political infighting, so i think two very important messages were sent today, very clear. _ important messages were sent today, very clear, very loud. let�*s

important messages were sent today, very clear, very loud.— very clear, very loud. let's talk about that _ very clear, very loud. let's talk about that point _ very clear, very loud. let's talk about that point of _ very clear, very loud. let's talk about that point of political - about that point of political infighting then, ijust wonder there might have been some kind of collective sigh of relief among western allies, allies of ukraine, but do you think there is the potential here that this could all change with a new administration? that is a reality, that is a reality of democracy and a lot of conversations are happening about that reality. but here is the situation, here is the large international security situation, if russia _ international security situation, if russia is— international security situation, if russia is not stopped in ukraine, russia _ russia is not stopped in ukraine, russia will— russia is not stopped in ukraine, russia will continue. i have said this many— russia will continue. i have said this many times since the start of the war. — this many times since the start of the war. it — this many times since the start of the war, it is every sinner to the late 19)30s— the war, it is every sinner to the late 1930s when britain was faced with hitler at the start of world war ii, — with hitler at the start of world war ii, we _ with hitler at the start of world war ii, we do not want a world war iii, war ii, we do not want a world war ill, in— war ii, we do not want a world war iii, irrthe— war ii, we do not want a world war iii, in the same regard is that if russia — iii, in the same regard is that if russia is— iii, in the same regard is that if russia is not stopped in ukraine, that we _ russia is not stopped in ukraine, that we could be looking at another situation _ that we could be looking at another situation where the world has to come _ situation where the world has to come together and repel russia, so

my hope _ come together and repel russia, so my hope is— come together and repel russia, so my hope is even if there is a change. _ my hope is even if there is a change, even if there is a new administration, that the larger picture — administration, that the larger picture that global security, international security, and us nationals— international security, and us nationals will be the most important thin- nationals will be the most important thing over— nationals will be the most important thing over whatever political backbiting and infighting that politics will take a seat to international security concerns because — international security concerns because what happens in ukraine is notjust— because what happens in ukraine is notjust an — because what happens in ukraine is notjust an issue because what happens in ukraine is not just an issue for because what happens in ukraine is notjust an issue for ukraine, it is an issue — notjust an issue for ukraine, it is an issue for— notjust an issue for ukraine, it is an issue for our partners and allies and it— an issue for our partners and allies and it is— an issue for our partners and allies and it is also— an issue for our partners and allies and it is also an issue for us soldiers _ and it is also an issue for us soldiers also whose mums and dads and cousins — soldiers also whose mums and dads and cousins and aunts and everyone is worried _ and cousins and aunts and everyone is worried if— and cousins and aunts and everyone is worried if their loved ones will have _ is worried if their loved ones will have to — is worried if their loved ones will have to go — is worried if their loved ones will have to go off and fight a fight to protect— have to go off and fight a fight to protect nato so this is an all hands on deck— protect nato so this is an all hands on deck situation and even if there is a switch — on deck situation and even if there is a switch in — on deck situation and even if there is a switch in the administration, i am hoping — is a switch in the administration, i am hoping that the professionals, let the _ am hoping that the professionals, let the experts will be able to be the adults in the room and be able to explain— the adults in the room and be able to explain why it is important to

continue — to explain why it is important to continue to support ukraine. | to explain why it is important to continue to support ukraine. i do 'ust want continue to support ukraine. i do just want to _ continue to support ukraine. i do just want to come _ continue to support ukraine. i if just want to come back to a point you made at the start of our conversation with regards to the southern border, the border between the united states and mexico, there was a vote on that, it failed, it needed a two thirds majority, how important do you think action on that border is as well for us national? it that border is as well for us national?— national? it is incredibly important- _ national? it is incredibly important. but - national? it is incredibly important. but there . national? it is incredibly| important. but there are national? it is incredibly - important. but there are those national? it is incredibly _ important. but there are those who say this— important. but there are those who say this is— important. but there are those who say this is little bit of political theatre — say this is little bit of political theatre because a recent bill was passed _ theatre because a recent bill was passed in— theatre because a recent bill was passed in the house recently and their— passed in the house recently and their concerns that the senate would not pass _ their concerns that the senate would not pass it _ their concerns that the senate would not pass it so to hold a critical security— not pass it so to hold a critical security aid to our partners and allies. — security aid to our partners and allies, taiwan, israel, and ukraine, that we _ allies, taiwan, israel, and ukraine, that we can — allies, taiwan, israel, and ukraine, that we can no longer, as you pointed — that we can no longer, as you pointed out, it has been six months since _ pointed out, it has been six months since folks— pointed out, it has been six months since folks like me and a lot of people — since folks like me and a lot of people in— since folks like me and a lot of people in our country and allies around — people in our country and allies around the world have been pushing for the _ around the world have been pushing for the supplemental, so the supplemental can no longer be held hostage _ supplemental can no longer be held hostage to what is happening on the

border, _ hostage to what is happening on the border, and i am not trying to make li-ht border, and i am not trying to make light of— border, and i am not trying to make light of our— border, and i am not trying to make light of our critical infrastructure security— light of our critical infrastructure security because our national security— security because our national security is— security because our national security isjust as security because our national security is just as important as foreign — security is just as important as foreign policy and international security — foreign policy and international security. however, there is a concern _ security. however, there is a concern that this was a little bit of political theatre, and again i 'ust of political theatre, and again i just want— of political theatre, and again i just want to say that today was definitely a huge win for democracy and again— definitely a huge win for democracy and again it shows people around the world _ and again it shows people around the world not— and again it shows people around the world not only that the us keeps its words _ world not only that the us keeps its words to— world not only that the us keeps its words to our partners and allies, but it— words to our partners and allies, but it was— words to our partners and allies, but it was three tiers of us strength— but it was three tiers of us strength sent today by the passage of this— strength sent today by the passage of this bill. dr strength sent today by the passage of this bill. , ., ._ , of this bill. dr knowler haynes, thank you. _ of this bill. dr knowler haynes, thank you. very _ of this bill. dr knowler haynes, thank you, very good _ of this bill. dr knowler haynes, thank you, very good to - of this bill. dr knowler haynes, thank you, very good to get - of this bill. dr knowler haynes, l thank you, very good to get your thoughts, thank you for speaking to us. dr haynes was saying that in her view, this is a win for democracy, certainly, samantha, i can tell you the atmosphere here on capitol hill outside the chamber where we saw supporters of ukraine waving the

blue and yellow flags, we saw the same scenes, in fact, inside the chamber largely from the democrats so, certainly a feeling at last some progress here for a key ally. helena in washington. _ progress here for a key ally. helena in washington, thank _ progress here for a key ally. helena in washington, thank you. - our correspondent in kyiv — james waterhouse — has been telling us the funding has been welcomed by the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky. yes, he'sjust said, "i'm grateful to the united states house of representatives, both parties and personally speaker mikejohnson, for the decision". he says that keeps history on the right track. he talks about democracy and freedom always having global significance and will never fail as long as america helps to protect it. and a slight reagan quote where he says, "just peace

and security can only be attained through strength," he hopes, he says, the bill will make it to president biden's desk and he signs off by saying, "thank you, america". so this is a long—awaited moment, i think the past six months where ukraine has had to sort of look increasingly inward when it's come to fighting on the ground, when it's come to manufacturing weapons domestically, because increasingly america's help has waned. i don't think it's been helped by a lack of military progress on the battlefield, but it's been a sort of deadly cycle for ukraine, where after the failed counter—offensive last year, president zelensky was denied that crucial bargaining chip when it came to western allies to say, look, look at what progress i can make with your help, keep it coming," which i think has led us to this six—month political delay. nevertheless, it is quite the turnaround. you could hear many ukrainians criticise speaker mike johnson online. and now, over the last few days, when they're hearing what he's been saying about the need for ukraine to prevail and for vladimir putin to be defeated, you know, he's now gone from sort of villain

to hero in these parts. and i think that's the kind of currency ukrainians are after now — military help, how much are you going to give it, give for us to continue this fight? so it is a moment, it is an undeniable significant changing of the tide, politically. is it going to be enough to change momentum in the same way in a battlefield sense? i don't think so in the near to medium term. it simply, and in the simplest way, it keeps ukraine in this fight because all of the discussion here in kyiv certainly has been about what happens if ukraine loses. and there have been calculations by generals over how much territory it could potentially give up to preserve cities, for example. i think the approval of this bill allows ukraine to keep the negotiating table at bay. it allows ukraine.

it extends its window, i think, to continue defending itself, to continue to take the fight to russia in the hope that it could put the pressure back on invading forces, back on vladimir putin to make his invasion unsustainable and to force a concession on the russian side. the pressure is still absolutely on ukraine and now there is a lot of logistical pressure to get that weaponry and ammunition here and deployed by soldiers, but ukraine is also having to straddle with its own mobilization issues and getting enough men trained, called up to the front line to replace exhausted soldiers who've been there for up to two years in some cases, so this is welcome good news. this will be celebrated as much as you can in times of war. but now eyes will focus to when this kit will arrive and what difference it will make in the long term. you wonder when history books are written how costly this delay might be or how significant this bill's passing could be in terms of helping ukraine in its goal of trying to to stand

up against russia. now it's time for a look at today's sport with lizzie greenwood—hughes. we're starting with football and manchester city are through to the fa cup final after beating chelsea at wembley. (00v)bernardo silva made up for his penalty miss in the champions league midweek by scoring the only goal of the game in the 84th minute. the result takes city, who are the fa cup holders and premier league leaders, into anotherfinal. but their manager pep guardiola had plenty to say about the scheduling of the match and concern for his players who'd had a long,

hard game against real. here he is with the bbc pitch side team after the game. it's for the health of the players. honestly, it's not normal. so because i wouldn't have the courage to tell you the defeat that we should have. it is not possible. it is unacceptable to do 120 minutes. all of you are football players — the emotion too, madrid, the final, the way we lose and everything, so honestly, so i know this country is special for many things, but it's for the health of the players. so i don't understand how we survived today. i don't understand it. in the premier league, it's a huge weekend for the teams at the bottom of the table, hoping to avoid relegation, but sheffield united are all but down. in the premier league, it's a huge weekend for the teams at the bottom of the table, hoping to avoid relegation, but sheffield united are all but down. beaten 4—1 by fellow strugglers burnley today leaving them firmly bottom of the table, 10 points from safety and they could be officially relegated as early as wednesday depending on other results. burnley remain second from bottom, 3 points from safety. elsewhere just above burnley, luton's chances of staying—up took a blow when they were thrashed by brentford. and arsenal are about to go back to the top of the table, they�* re beating wovles i—nil. .. and if it stays like that they'll be

a point ahead of manchester city, having played one game more. chelsea's women stunned barcelona to take a 1—0 lead after the first leg of their champions league semi—final. scotland international erin cuthbert scored the goal, firing past goalkeeper catalina coll in the first half. and defending champions barca missed a chance to equalise — alexia putellas putting it wide from a few yards out. so chelsea hold—on for the win and with it ending barca's 5 year unbeaten run at home. the other semi—final was an all french affair and it was an absolute classic as lyon — who were 2—0 to psg — fought back to beat them 3—2. the women's six nations is into the penultimate round and england are still on course for the grand slam after a record win over ireland. (00v)abby dow and ellie kildunne both scored a hat—tricks as they hammered them at twickenham.|n total there were 8 different try scorers for england who were utterly dominant. ireland managing only a penalty try in response. 88 points to 10 the final score. we are so happy to play in front

of this crowd at a home stadium. 88-10. no discredit to ireland but we really turned it on, theyjust kept on coming, everyone knew their role, it was enjoyable. there was also a huge result for scotland in the womens six nations — they won in italy for the first time. scotland scored two tries in the second half. emma 0rr and chloe rollie got the crucial scores. it's a second six nations win for them and goes some way to help them qualify for next year's world cup. one of the favourites to win the world snooker championship, judd trump has the advantage in his opening match with hossein vafaei. trump is 6 frames to 3 up after the first session at the crucible theatre in sheffield. they'll conclude the match on sunday afternoon with the first to 10 frames the winner. trump last won the world title in 2019 and is in strong form with five ranking titles so far this year with five ranking titles so far this year. that's it from,

the latest from the first women's golf major of the year — the chevron championship is on the bbc sport website. during today's vote the us house of representatives has also passed over $26 billion in new military aid to israel. the country continues to prosecute its war against hamas, despite growing international concern for the fate of civilians in gaza. the bill would provide funds mainly to reinforce israel's iron dome air defence. prime minister benjamin netanyahu said the decision showed strong support for israel and defended western civilisation. the palestinian authority will reconsider bilateral relations with the us after washington vetoed a request forfull un membership. the palestinian authority has had observer status since 2012 but cannot vote in proceedings. on thursday, 12 countries voted in favour of the resolution, with the us opposing. palestinian president mahmoud abbas said in an interview with the wafa

news agency that he will reconsider relations with washington to ensure the interests of the palestinian people are protected. meanwhile in gaza, there've been more israeli air strikes in rafah in the south of the territory. this is the moment an israeli air strike hit rafah on saturday. there were more air strikes overnight, when nine people including at least four children were killed after their homes were hit. the israeli war cabinet has been planning a large offensive against hamas in rafah, which is where an estimated 1.5 million displaced palestinians are sheltering. the us and other allies have warned israel against a full—scale assault on the city. rafah isn't the only city to come under attack. israel has carried out air strikes across the strip. these images show the entrance of the al—aqsa hospital in central gaza where many of the injured or dead were taken. one of the main un agencies responsible for getting aid to palestinians,

the united nations relief and works agency is warning that the risk of disease is increasing across gaza because of the lack of sanitation and aid. 0ur correspondent in jerusalem wyre davies reports. the effect of six months of war has created a desperate humanitarian crisis in gaza. but amid the ruins of conflict, in some areas, aid is now getting through and can make the difference between surviving or dying of hunger. a flour delivery, organised by the world food programme, allowed this bakery in gaza city to reopen for the first time since the war began. translation: finally, i there is something to eat. you can go to the bakery and buy bread. just a few days ago, it was hard, we were looking for wood, flour and you couldn't find anything to feed the children. but for most gazans, the brutal reality of war is a constant companion. at najar hospital in rafah,

parents and siblings consoled each other after several civilians, including children, were reported killed in overnight air strikes. israel said fighterjets and other aircraft struck dozens of terror sites. among the targets, it said, was military infrastructure, compounds and armed terrorists. the us has repeatedly urged israel not to launch what is expected to be a major offensive in rafah. we cannot support a major military operation in rafah. we believe that a major military operation, with a large presence of a civilian population, would have terrible consequences for that population. words that seem to have little impact on benjamin netanyahu. he has repeatedly said the offensive in rafah must happen if hamas is to be defeated and israeli hostages released. for most gazans, survival is still a daily struggle. retrieving food parcels from the sea — after an air drop — shows how chaotic the delivery of aid often is, as agencies warn of a worsening humanitarian crisis.

wyre davies, bbc news, jerusalem. scott anderson, unrwa's affairs director who is now in gaza, told us about the situation in rafah, and the prospects of a bigger israeli offensive. i think very much it's a daily struggle for people here in rafah. there's close to 1.5 million people that have been displaced, most of them multiple times. they spend most of their day trying to find food, water, toilets. and as the weather starts to get hotter now, they're trying to find shade as a means to keep cool. so i think that we've had increased aid coming in, which is welcome. i don't think we're at the scale that we need to be at yet to ensure that the 2.2 million people that reside across gaza are cared for. but the other thing that you see in rafa is there's a kind of a palpable aura of fear as they wait to see what will happen with an idf operation in rafah. thus far, there has not

been any communication. 0ur expectation is that they will give the innocent civilians that are here in rafah an opportunity to relocate. they'll probably be given instructions to do so. our hope is they'll be allowed to take their belongings with them as they try to find somewhere safer than would be in rafah. but at this point, other than believing this operation will happen, we don't have any indication around the timing of the operation, nor what the plan is for the innocent civilians and to deal with the humanitarian outfall of such an operation. israeli forces and palestinian militants have been exchanging fire for a second day of an israeli military raid in nur shams refugee camp in the occupied west bank. a number of people have been killed including ten militants, according to the israeli army. palestinian authoroties say that at least 1a people have been killed, including a child. at least four israeli soldiers have also been wounded. violence in the west bank has intensified since the war between israel and hamas

erupted last october. stay with us here on bbc news, i'll be back in a few minutes with plenty more on the top stories. i'm samantha simmons. hello. well, this time of the year, it really is all about the sunshine. it can feel quite pleasant, even if the temperature is not particularly high. but as soon as it clouds over, it can feel really cold. and i think that is the outlook over the next few days. a fair amount of cloud and feeling quite chilly, and it feels chilly right across europe. this is the temperature anomaly mapped through the weekend. across the whole of europe — almost the whole of europe — the temperatures are below the average for the time of the year. even snow across northern europe and some snow across the alps, too.

now, over us, high pressure is in charge of the weather, but notice that northerly breeze close to the north sea coast, on the eastern side of the high pressure, which is centred around ireland. so this is the satellite picture from earlier on. it started off quite sunny, but then the clouds developed during the afternoon and it turned quite cold. now, through this evening, variable amounts of cloud, but some clear skies out towards the west here. just a little bit of rain sneaking in on a weak weather front across northern and central scotland. how about the temperatures? yes, a chance of a little bit of frost outside of town where the skies are clear through the night. but i think in city centres, it's closer to around four, five, six degrees. so tomorrow, a similar day, in that there will be a chilly breeze on the north sea coast, maybe one or two showers, but i think quite cloudy across northern, eastern scotland, the north—east of england, too. a little bit of rain. the best of the weather by far out towards the west. the west of northern ireland could see temperatures

around 17 or 18 degrees. now, the high pressure is with us into monday, but these annoying weather fronts do sneak in on the eastern side of this high pressure. they are weak weather fronts, which means that there will be a fair amount of cloud, maybe a period of a little bit of rain moving through england, maybe reaching wales too. the best and brightest of the weather will be again out towards the west of the uk. we mightjust nudge into the mid—teens — 1a, 15, maybe 16 degrees. but again on the north sea coast and central parts of england, it'll be closer to around 10 or 12. is it going to be warming up? well, no, the outlook is remaining chilly. you can see temperatures of around 12 degrees there in london. about that in edinburgh, too. towards next weekend, it could turn a little milder, but it may turn more showery.

this is bbc news, the headlines: lawmakers in the us house of representatives vote in favour of billions of dollars in us military aid for ukraine after months of delay. kyiv has been pressing western allies for more air defence systems in the war against russia. palestinians take cover as israel strikes homes in southern gaza. nine people have been killed, including at least four children, after strikes in rafah. meanwhile, the un agency for palestinian refugees warns that the risk of disease is rising. thousands of people take to the streets of the canary islands

in protest at what they say are unsustainable levels of mass tourism. they say it's damaging the environment and driving up costs for local people. the head of a uk government watchdog has told the bbc that rishi sunak has "set us back" on climate change. chris stark says the pm has left the uk at risk of falling behind other countries. iran's foreign minister has questioned whether israel was involved in friday's attack on iran, saying the weapons used were like "toys our children play with". but in an interview with nbc news, he said if israel did take "decisive action" against iran, the response would be "immediate" and "to the maximum". us officials said an israeli missile hit iran on friday. israel reportedly targeted an air defence radar system

near the city of isfahan, which protects the natanz nuclear facility. it follows weeks of tensions between the rivals, during which israel attacked an iranian compound in syria, and iran launched an unprecedented assault against israel. i have been speaking about the situation in the region with jasmine el—gamal, a political analyst and former middle east adviser at the us department of defence. so the iranian response was basically to play down the attack. there was a clear signal from iran after the attack that they did not want to escalate further. you will remember that before the israeli strike, the iranians were warning that if there was an israeli strike that was significant enough that the iranians would not hesitate to counterattack once again. and so the fact that they are downplaying this strike, there are a lot of messaging, there was a lot of messaging on social media from iran linked accounts that were almost kind of making fun of the types of weapons that had made their way onto their sites.

so that is a clear signal, as we can understand from the iranians, that they are going to let this go, they are not interested in escalating any further. they've made the point that they wanted to make by striking israel and, for now, are sort of content to let things simmer down. and what about israel? what do you think their possible next step would be? would you categorise this as a limited operation i do. i think it was very much a fairly symbolic strike. again, as much as the us and other countries were urging israel not to respond, i think israel was going to have to respond, of course. this was an unprecedented attack from iran onto its territory, even though the iranians gave them plenty of warning to intercept those missiles. so it was a show of force from iran but it still had to be responded to so they responded with this fairly symbolic attack.

there were no casualties or anything that would force the iranians or embarrass the iranians into responding. so i think, for now, the iranians are using this attack the ——israelis are using this attack and counterattack between israel and iran to try to warn the international community of the danger that iran poses and to try to impose further sanctions on the iranian regime. that's as far as i think they are going to go for now. as a former middle east adviser at the us department of defence, we know that the us, president biden and antony blinken have been very vocal about their fears for what could happen in the region if both sides escalate theirs. but they continue to back israel 100%, they are still their strongest ally. what do you think the conversation will be in the department of defence? what do you think their planning is right now?

i think defence secretary lloyd austin, secretary of state antony blinken, and of course president biden, they have all been speaking to israeli counterparts. trying to get them to understand that an escalation that could lead to a miscalculation or a regional war is not in israel's interest, that israel still has this huge issue in gaza that they have to focus on, that they have to make sure that their goals of dismantling hamas are somewhat fulfilled, they are not near those goals yet, there is still this operation in rafah that they are talking about and also the americans are very against that and trying to get the israelis to rethink. so there are a lot of moving parts, a lot of sort of unfulfilled objectives, a lot of dangers and of course in the middle of it all, you have this horrific humanitarian situation in gaza where people are facing famine, people are still displaced from their homes with no hope

of going back and so the last thing israel needs right now is to get dragged into a war and of course, we can't forget that president biden has explicitly said to the israelis that the us will not support an israeli offensive attack on iran that would be akin to a war. so all of those, the diplomacy behind the scenes, the public statements and also the desire of the americans to get the israelis to start thinking about the day after in gaza and how to achieve this long—term security that the israelis need is going to hopefully lead the prime minister netanyahu to avoid escalating things further in iran and really start focusing on the priorities of the israeli state as its stated objectives have laid out. meanwhile in iraq, a base used by pro—iranian militias has been damaged by a large explosion, a day after israel's

presumed strike on iran. one person was killed and eight others injured in the blast and intense fire at the kalso military base, south of the capital baghdad. this footage from the scene shows the aftermath of the explosion, which iraqi security sources have described as a "bombing" which hit weapons and vehicles. the base is used by the popular mobilisation forces — an umbrella organisation linking several pro—iran militias who've recently attacked us personnel in iraq. the pentagon says it has not carried out any new strike in iraq. at least 58 people have been killed after their boat capsized in the central african republic's capital bangui on friday. most of the 300 passengers on the overcrowded ferry were travelling to attend a funeral. police in new york say a man who set himself on fire outside the manhattan court where former president donald trump's hush—money trial is being held has died. the man doused himself in a liquid before throwing conspiracy theory pamphlets into the air.

he was taken to hospital but later died. as our north america correspondent nada tawfik reports, it happened as the jury selection for mr trump's trial was completed. journalists here had just learned thatjury selection had concluded slightly after 1:30 in the afternoon, when the man, later identified as a florida resident in his mid 30s, entered the park. he threw coloured pamphlets in the air, doused himself in lighterfluid and set himself on fire. and we here could see the blaze, could feel that heat. now, officials later said that he wasn't targeting any individual, any group or, in fact, this trial. their investigation is ongoing, but they believe he was a conspiracy theorist. now, they say they are going to be reviewing security protocols around this courthouse in light of the high—profile nature of this trial and whether, in fact, to close that park down to the public. but nevertheless, court resumed. it remained on schedule. and opening statements in this trial will now begin on monday.

donald trump leaving the court today again slammed this case as a hoax, as a witch hunt. he is charged with falsifying business records to hide a so—called hush money payment to the adult film star stormy daniels in order to influence the 2016 election to hide a potentially damaging sex scandal. he denies all wrongdoing and the extramarital affair. and again, opening statements will begin on monday. here in the uk, the head of the body which advises the government on climate change policy has attacked rishi sunak�*s commitment to cutting carbon emissions. chris stark, from the climate change committee, told the bbc that the prime minister had set back progress towards reaching net zero, and says he "clearly" hasn't made it a priority. here's justin rowlatt. the climate change committee's job is to mark the government's

homework on climate, says chris stark, and he is marking rishi sunak down in dramatic fashion. the reason? in the autumn, the prime minister delayed a ban on petrol and diesel cars and watered down targets for phasing out gas boilers. we seem to have defaulted an approach which will impose unacceptable costs on hard—pressed british families, costs that no—one was ever really told about. here is what mr stark had to say about that. i think it set us back. so i think we have moved from a position where we were really at the forefront, pushing ahead as quickly as we could on something that i believe to be fundamental to the uk economy, fundamentally beneficial to the people living in this country, whether you care about the climate or not. a government spokesperson said the uk was the first major economy to halve greenhouse gas emissions since 1990 and said that record speaks for itself. mr stark was critical of other parties too. he told the sunday with laura kuenssberg

programme that politicians, across the political spectrum, have a collective fear of talking about climate. and he said he was disappointed by the snp government in edinburgh's decision to drop a key carbon reduction target this week, saying the targets had been overambitious from the start. the scottish government chose to choose an even more ambitious path than the one that we'd advised. and that's fine — i mean, i love ambition — but it only matters if you actually deliver against that. a scottish government spokesperson said the country remains steadfast in its commitment to reaching net zero by 2045. the interview with mr stark comes as marine experts warn the world's coral reefs are experiencing their fourth mass bleaching event — driven, they say, by record high sea surface temperatures. justin rowlatt, bbc news. members of the scottish green party

are to vote on whether to continue their power—sharing agreement with the snp. it follows an outcry about the scottish government's decision to ditch key targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions — a move which is said to have angered green party colleagues. the vote will be held at an extraordinary general meeting, and officials say it will be binding on the party. after a huge public backlash, the welsh government is pulling back from imposing 20mph speed limits in built—up areas. it's expected some roads will now revert to 30mph. almost half a million people signed a petition, saying they didn't want the lower speed restrictions. here's tomos morgan. since this sign changed to being the rule and not the exception in september, a large part of the welsh public have not been happy in the slow lane. the £34 million policy to make 20 the default limit in urban areas was introduced by the welsh labour government in order to reduce collisions and save lives.

but there has been overwhelming public response against it. an online petition calling for 20 miles an hour to be scrapped reaching just shy of 500,000 signatures, far outweighing cycling and other campaign groups that supported it. so now the new transport secretary, who has been in thejob forjust a month, has said the policy will be reined in, making it easier for previous speed limits to be reintroduced. back in september, this dual carriageway in the centre of cardiff had its speed limit changed to 20 mph. but it's not in a built—up residential area, there is no hospital here and no school. so feasibly it could have its original speed limit of a0 miles an hour reinstated very soon. yeah, more than happy to see the move back to 30. itjust holds everyone up. i am happy with the 20 miles an hour limit. i notice the difference, when i was driving outside of cardiff, i had less time to react. some roads i can understand it, but there's some roads that - are so quiet, nothing and nobody around and driving 20 miles- an hourjust takes ages.

further details about how the welsh government will help fund councils to reverse changes on certain roads will be announced on tuesday. some within welsh labour had been critical of this policy and in an expected general election year there is no doubt, the government here is facing political pressure to keep the public onside. tomos morgan, bbc news, cardiff. an app designed to reduce disruption for people travelling from the uk across the channel will not be ready in time for a new eu border scheme, according to the boss of the rail firm eurostar. under the much—delayed entry exit system, non—eu citizens will need to register fingerprints and a photo at the borderfrom 0ctober. the app is meant to replace passport stamping by allowing passengers to scan their fingerprints remotely and prevent long queues. i spoke to our business reporter esyllt carr earlier about what this means.

well, this new it system is supposed to replace that traditional stamp in the passport, and it'll mean that there's basically more oversight of who is entering and leaving the eu. now, for british travellers, it will mean that they'll have to scan their passport at an automated kiosk, where their details will be registered. now, the system is already delayed. it was due to come in back in october 2022, but even so, there are still plenty of concerns about what this will mean amongst the industry, about how these changes will come in and whether it will lead to more disruption and queues at places, in particular like the port of dover, eurotunnel and eurostar, where those border checks are actually carried out by french officials before people leave the uk. this app is being developed by the european commission and it's one of the ways that many people hoped some of these issues could be speeded up and smoothed out. but now the chief executive of eurostar, gwendoline cazeneuve, has confirmed to the bbc that she's not expecting that technology to be ready by the time these changes come

in in october this year. now, some groups have suggested that it could be, in fact, next summer by the time the app is up and running and that's really adding to this concern over the risk of queues and disruption. and, in fact, a director of p80 ferries has recently said that he'd like to see that date, that delayed date of october 2024, pushed back even further. the chief executive of eurostar told us that while the app would certainly help make things smoother, they were already putting in kiosks, 49 kiosks at their terminus at london st pancras to deal with these extra checks, and making sure that they have additional staff to help people through those changes initially. we know eurotunnel owner getlink is building new processing areas in folkestone and calais to deal with the changes, but the port of dover is expected to face some particular challenges because of the constrained area there and because they have so many cars, lorries and coaches going through every day,

and the port, along with ferry companies and tourism groups in kent, have previously warned that this disruption could have a significant impact on communities, businesses and the authorities there. thousands of people have taken to the streets of the canary islands to protest against the impact of mass tourism. they say too many visitors are damaging the environment and pricing locals out of the housing market. there are now calls for the spanish government to limit the number of visitors. here's simonjones. in the baking spanish heat that helped bring in 16 million visitors to the canaries last year, local people are hot under the collar. the message from tenerife — tourism has gone too far. translation: the canary islands say, "enough is enough". _ they have a limit. 0ur resources and our population can't take any more. the environment is continuing to deteriorate and residents are suffering as well. the demonstrators insist they're not against tourism itself, it's vital for the economies

of the island, but they want controls. there's particular concern about the supply of water in such a dry climate, and they claim there's too much focus on building hotels rather than local housing, making the area increasingly unaffordable for residents. the beaches are particularly popular with the brits. the authorities in the canaries stress they remain open for business. the spanish government admits it's about finding the right balance so holidays can continue harmoniously. simon jones, bbc news. clio 0'flynn is a freelance journalist living in adeje on tenerife. she told us about the key issues driving the protests. i think the last speaker that you had on just there actually underlined what the main point is — the model, the tourism model that needs to change. that's what the protesters are saying. and in fact, they're just saying

to us now, the government, the regional government has said 32,000 people have taken part in the protest march in santa cruz, a lot more than i think people expected when this was planned a couple of weeks ago. and one of the main things that they are also stressing is they're not against tourists. and some of the international headlines over the last couple of weeks might have led people to think that local canarian businesses don't want tourists anymore. and that's not the case. what they're saying is the model of tourism, the way that tourism profits are reinvested, that needs to change. it needs to benefit the local economy and the local eco structure. i think certainly some of the groups that would have organised today's protests across all of the canary islands would be calling for a limit on numbers because they feel that the canaries have been oversold. they're kind of saying that the current model is out of date and some of them are saying, "let's take a step back, let's have a moratorium, a temporary one on, say, building any more hotels, any more resort areas," because the amount of tourists here has got to the point where there is very little wiggle room, wiggle room in terms of the land

that's available for building and little wiggle room in terms of the land that's available for housing for people who work here, which is one of the primary problems, is that in tourist areas, because of high rents and people buying second holiday homes, a lot of workers here who service the tourist industry itself can't actually live near their work and have to travel many hours to get to and from work. so perhaps a limit on tourism numbers. there's also talk of a tourism tax, but how that would be invested is also a hugely important issue that any money garnered from a tourism tax would need to go back into perhaps building houses for the workers in the tourist resort areas. but i think what the protesters today are saying is pause, take a step back. let's reimagine how the canary islands is and are for both the people who live here and the people who want to visit us, because we need to continue to have tourists. but perhaps we want tourists

who will stay longer or spend more money and appreciate more that the island has to offer. the world's largest digital astronomy camera has finally been built. with a whopping 3200 megapixels, the camera can produce 1000 images per night. it will allow scientists to study dark energy, dark matter, and the distribution of galaxies. it will now be sent from the united states to chile, where it will arrive in a month. the public will see its first images in 2025. taking 1,000 pictures a night is wild. that is not something that is currently done by other telescopes and taking that many pictures in addition to having a view of more of the sky and in addition to being able to see really far is a powerful combination of being able to connect a lot of data and i like to think about it as if you are looking for a needle in a haystack which is what you are doing when you are trying to pinpoint something in space.

something in space, the more haystacks you have, the more likely you are to find some needles so we are putting together 1 million haystacks and we are really confident there will be some pretty fun needles in there! a chess master has broken the record for the longest marathon of the game ever played. tunde 0nakoya, who is from nigeria, played for 58 consecutive hours in new york's times square. he is trying to raise $1 million for charity to support chess education for children, and was cheered on by supporters from the city's nigerian community. i can't process a lot of the emotions i feel right now, i don't have the right words for them, but i know we did something truly remarkable. i mean, in documented human history, no—one has ever played chess for this long, you know, 56 hours nonstop, and we just broke that record, and i think we can keep going for a few more maybe minutes or hours, so the next person finds it extremely difficult to break

the new record as well. a tough 50 or so hours there! retro's back, vinyl is in — and what better way to celebrate than world record store day? first started in the us, here in the uk more than 260 indie record shops are taking part across to celebrate the staff, customers, artists and labels that keep the industry going. emer mccarthy has more. more than 260 independent stores, including a number of them here in soho, have been marking record store day. we were speaking earlier to the owner of sister ray and he told us what makes april 20th so special. we've got records for people who wabt taylor swift records, 0livia rodrigo records, the 1975 records, and then, of course, we've got stuff for the older collector, should i say — rolling stones and things like that, so record store day now has the ability to cater for anyone

from ten to 100 years old, so we're lucky. we've managed to get the balance right over many years. we've seen hundreds of people streaming through record stores here in soho from all sections of the community and of all ages as well. we spoke to a few of them to hear about what made them come out today. i spent too much money, but i got the maddest 0ne, the beat, billy bragg, blur, pulp and the fun boy three. i've come today for 60s psych pop. keeping it forever, and the ritual, the whole act of putting it - on and listening to it. it's just a bit of, like, an experience, isn't it? i think when you put a vinyl on, you kind of have to sit down and listen to it and really enjoy it, flip it over halfway through. just, yeah, it's like an opportunity to really focus on the music and, yeah, just, like, enjoy the experience of it rather thanjust, like, having it on in the background. dragging her out to the shops today, trying to get her flicking through allthe records, digging. you know, enjoying the artwork

on the covers is really good as well so, yeah, it's all part of the ritual of it. and although record store day only comes around once a year, the vinyl trend doesn't seem to be slowing down. some of us still have our vinyl from backin some of us still have our vinyl from back in the day! and this probably won't come as a huge shock to swifties — taylor swift's new album release has already broken a number of records. the highly—anticipated the tortured poets department which turned out to be a double album became the most streamed album in a single day on spotify and amazon music, with taylor also becoming the most streamed artist in a day on spotify. the album also broke the record for the biggest pop album of all time by first—day streams on apple music. not a surprise to swifties. just a

reminder of the news any past few hours over in the us, congress has approved a very large aid package to israel, $26 billion, billion 9.1 billion is going to humanitarian aid,... stay with bbc news. hello. well, this time of the year, it really is all about the sunshine. it can feel quite pleasant, even if the temperature is not particularly high. but as soon as it clouds over, it can feel really cold. and i think that is the outlook over the next few days. a fair amount of cloud and feeling quite chilly, and it feels chilly right across europe. this is the temperature anomaly mapped through the weekend. across the whole of europe — almost the whole of europe — the temperatures are below the average for the time of the year. even snow across northern europe

and some snow across the alps, too. now, over us, high pressure is in charge of the weather, but notice that northerly breeze close to the north sea coast, on the eastern side of the high pressure, which is centred around ireland. so this is the satellite picture from earlier on. it started off quite sunny, but then the clouds developed during the afternoon and it turned quite cold. now, through this evening, variable amounts of cloud, but some clear skies out towards the west here. just a little bit of rain sneaking in on a weak weather front across northern and central scotland. how about the temperatures? yes, a chance of a little bit of frost outside of town where the skies are clear through the night. but i think in city centres, it's closer to around four, five, six degrees. so tomorrow, a similar day, in that there will be a chilly breeze on the north sea coast, maybe one or two showers, but i think quite cloudy across northern, eastern scotland, the north—east of england, too. a little bit of rain. the best of the weather by far out towards the west. the west of northern ireland could see temperatures around 17 or 18 degrees. now, the high pressure

is with us into monday, but these annoying weather fronts do sneak in on the eastern side of this high pressure. they are weak weather fronts, which means that there will be a fair amount of cloud, maybe a period of a little bit of rain moving through england, maybe reaching wales too. the best and brightest of the weather will be again out towards the west of the uk. we mightjust nudge into the mid—teens — 1a, 15, maybe 16 degrees. but again on the north sea coast and central parts of england, it'll be closer to around 10 or 12. is it going to be warming up? well, no, the outlook is remaining chilly. you can see temperatures of around 12 degrees there in london. about that in edinburgh, too. towards next weekend, it could turn a little milder, but it may turn more showery.

live from london, this is bbc news. lawmakers in the us house of representatives vote in favour of billions of dollars in us military aid for ukraine, after months of delay. the scene as israel strikes homes in southern gaza. nine people have been killed, including at least four children, after strikes in rafah. the head of the government's climate watchdog criticises the prime minister. he told the bbc that rishi sunak has left the uk at risk of falling behind. and thousands of people take to the streets of the canary islands in protest at what they say

are the damaging effects of over—tourism. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. after months of stalling, the us house of representatives, has finally approved a multi—billion dolar military aid package for ukraine, in its fight against russia. president zelensky said it was a "solution for saving lives". the vote had been delayed for six months by some republicans, who said they objected to the money being sent overseas, instead of being used at home. the aid is likely to be approved by the senate tomorrow, before being signed into law, by president biden. sarah smith has the very latest, live from washington. this is a five minute vote. as representatives voted on aid for ukraine, the country's blue and yellow flags appeared across the chamber, celebrating finally getting the much—needed money approved.