hello. welcome to the programme. i'm azadeh moshiri. we start this hour with ukraine, which has welcomed the $61 billion package of military aid, finally approved by us lawmakers last night. russia says it shows that washington is wading deeper into a war that will end in humiliation. the foreign ministry spokeswoman, maria zakharova, said the aid, which includes ammunition and air defences, was evidence that the us wants ukraine "to fight to the last ukrainian". the bill will see a $61 billion package for ukraine, including ammunition and air defences. presidentjoe biden welcomed the deal, which he said would "answer history's call". ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky described the american support as "vital" and said it would save thousands of lives. russian officials on the other hand, said it would further ruin ukraine and result in the deaths of even more ukrainians. there's a huge reaction from ukrainians to the news of the funding, many of them

thanking the us on social media. let's hearfrom residents in the capital, kyiv. translation: it will help a lot. i think that our guys will be alive. that is the most important thing, the most important, so that we have something to defend ourselves with, both peaceful people and our boys. they are our guardians, they are protecting us. this will save our lives. of course it is not too late. in any case, aid is needed. and whether it would be later or earlier, in any case it will help. the focus is now on when that aid will arrive. washington says the first deliveries of american military hardware and supplies could be in ukraine within a week. our ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse has told me earlier about the reaction from ukrainians and from russian officials. well, dmitry peskov, who is vladimir putin's official spokesman, said that the passing of this bill would cost more lives, more ukrainian lives. that was his claim,

and that it would damage america's image in the world. i think it's a reaction that you would expect when the west were united behind ukraine fully once more after a very costly six months for ukraine. i think on a ministerial level here in kyiv, they're certainly keen to talk up this military aid package finally arriving. i think the foreign minister called it a bad day for vladimir putin. maybe, maybe he will be privately frustrated that america has fallen into the same... fallen in line with other european allies. nevertheless, his forces have still capitalised. the last six months not only have seen russia mobilise men at a faster rate and use their deeper resources, they've also gained momentum, taking more and more ukrainian territory and bringing ukrainian cities firmly into the firing line.

so while this might be a political setback for vladimir putin, and we often hear the word "game—changer" thrown around a lot in this war, i think it's far too early to say what long term impact this aid will have, other than on paper, it gives ukraine the means to continue fighting this war. whether it's enough to fully liberate its territory, i think that's an enormous if at this moment in time, but we shouldn't underplay the diplomatic breakthrough this has been for kyiv. that was james waterhouse in kyiv. the us house of representatives also overwhelmingly approved a military assistance package for israel. that's amidst the country's military offensive in gaza — military offensive in gaza. gaza's health ministry says more than 3a,000 palestinians have been killed inside gaza so far, most of them women and children. overnight israel carried out more airstrikes in rafah, in the south of the territory. this is the aftermath.

18 palestinians have reportedly been killed — mostly children. the israeli war cabinet has been planning an offensive against hamas in rafah, where an estimated 1.5 million displaced palestinians are sheltering. but the us and other allies have warned israel against a full—scale assault on the city. early i spoke to the bbc�*s diplomatic correspondence james landale. here is his analysis. well, what it does is it's a reminder ofjust the core of the relationship between israel america and it's one that is purely military. the united states gives israel $3 billion worth of military aid every year. it's a law that was passed in america to say that this must happen. so the extra money, the $13 billion

there has been announced today, agreed by the house of representatives. that is on top of all of that. a lot of it will go to replace missiles for the iron dome self defence air defence system that they have here in israel. but equally a lot of it willjust go on buying arms that israel needs at the moment. so it is a substantial amount of money. it will be naturally welcomed by the israelis. the prime minister said that it was much needed and thanked the united states saying that it was all part of an attempt by the united states to help israel defend western civilisation. that was the way he put it. unsurprisingly, palestinian groups had not taken that view. have not taken that view. a spokesperson for the palestinian authorities here said that this is an act of the aggression by the americans. arming of the israelis they said would lead to thousands more casualties in gaza simply because of the amount of military support that it is getting. so although there have been differences between the united states and israel

diplomatically, the core support of the united states, namely, military kit, continues to grow. to that point, james, we did talk about that warning from the us israeli allies about this offensive, potential full out offensive in rafah. so there coming through. but what is the state of relationships between the white house and benjamin netanyahu in particular? well, i think they are pretty difficult at times. there has been some moments where i thinkjoe biden, the us president has expressed his frustration pretty clearly at some of the decision—making that is going on here. and the americans, the secretary of state antony blinken and others have been an incredibly explicit about saying to the israelis, do not carry out this offensive in rafah. you simply cannot do it. when there are so many civilians

packed into such a small space the potential impact on civilians is huge. the potential for bloodshed is enormous. so the question remains, how are the israelis going to get round it? are they going to ignore the americans? try and mitigate some of the impact? but at the moment the israelis are making very clear that at some point they do feel they are going to have to launch this offensive and rafah. launch this offensive in rafah. and, you know, the potential for bloodshed is huge. james landale in jerusalem there for us. let's speak to niall stanage, who is white house columnist for the hill. thank you so much for your time. when it comes to ukraine funding. as the war has been dragging on, this has been a sticking point for republicans.— has been a sticking point for republicans. has been a sticking point for reublicans. , , a republicans. gas. absolutely. as the war was dragged _ republicans. gas. absolutely. as the war was dragged on, _ republicans. gas. absolutely. as the war was dragged on, we _ republicans. gas. absolutely. as the war was dragged on, we have - republicans. gas. absolutely. as the war was dragged on, we have seen . war was dragged on, we have seen republican support really aired very considerably for the notion of aiding ukraine particularly at the

intensity that we have seen so far. it's not only unlimited to elected officials, over half of republican voters believe the aid to ukraine should be decreased. we saw that reflected in the house of representatives vote where, in fact, slightly more republicans voted against aid for ukraine then voted for it but overall it passed comfortably because it had overwhelming democratic support. haw overwhelming democratic support. how does the candidate for the republicans, the presidential candidate donald trump fit into all of this? it is part his influence thatis of this? it is part his influence that is creating a bit of division within the republican party on this as well, isn't it?— within the republican party on this as well, isn't it? 10096. not 'ust on ukraine but— as well, isn't it? 10096. not 'ust on ukraine but on i as well, isn't it? 10096. not 'ust on ukraine but on the i as well, isn't it? 10096. not 'ust on ukraine but on the general_ as well, isn't it? 10096. notjust on ukraine but on the general issue i as well, isn't it? 10096. notjust oni ukraine but on the general issue of how engaged the united states should be with the world beyond its borders. essentially, the former president donald trump is someone who believes in what he would term

america first idea. critics would turn that into isolationism. simply the idea that america needs to take care of its own difficulties and shouldn't be spending money elsewhere. when it comes to ukraine specifically, of course we have the former president's contentious relationship with russian president vladimir putin. this suggests that he could bring the war to ukraine with an end of one day within getting to the white house. it is assumed that he means he would pressure ukraine to make significant concessions with that goal in mind. when it comes to the aid for israel, things are aren't much easier for the democrats either, are they? can you talk about some of the internal challenges thatjoe biden has faced when it comes to what is usually staunch support for israel? yes. staunch support for israel? yes, absolutely- _ staunch support for israel? yes, absolutely. that _ staunch support for israel? yes, absolutely. that is _ staunch support for israel? yes, absolutely. that is changed - staunch support for israel? 1&1: absolutely. that is changed markedly over the past six months. when we

see the democratic party split right in the centre. democratic disapproval of israel's actions has risen. now the same kind of opinion polls is indicated on the republican side, with parallel sympathy of palestinians. there are significant numbers of pro israel democrats. that's what makes the politics of this issue very difficult for president biden. he hasn't really satisfied anyone in his own party. we saw almost a0 democrats voted against and is aid to israel. is against and is aid to israel. is there any sort of concern here for there any sort of concern here for the white house when it comes to what the us�*s foes may be thinking as they are watching this battle out? , ~ , , out? yes, i think there is. there is clearl a out? yes, i think there is. there is clearly a concern _ out? yes, i think there is. there is clearly a concern that _ out? yes, i think there is. there is clearly a concern that the - clearly a concern that the polarisation here in the united states affecting both domestic and

international issues is hollowing out american strength and is leading to these kind of long jams in congress where either nothing happens at all or something happens at the last second when the situation is particularly perilous. there is a realfear, particularly in foreign policy circles that russia or china or other potential american adversaries look at these kind of things and feel that america is becoming almost self—defeating in the way that its political culture is seizing up to a large extent. thank you so much for that context on the various pressures internally on the various pressures internally on the various pressures internally on the us. in another development from the middle east, the palestinian red crescent says one of its drivers was killed in the occupied west bank while trying to treat people injured by gunshots fired by israeli

settlers on friday. the health ministry in the territory gave a similar account of the death of 50—year—old mohammed awad allan. some hebrew—language media reports said he was killed by firing from the israeli armed forces, others that he was shot by armed settlers. there was no immediate comment from the idf. and don't forget you can get much more analysis from the middle east on the bbc news website. it includes bbc verify latest analysis of satellite images that appear to show that an iranian air defence site was damaged in friday's air attack by israel. you can read that online or on the bbc news app. a search is under way for missing japanese personnel after helicopters crashed in the pacific. at least one crewman has been and found dead. they were on anti—submarine training 600 kilometres south of tokyo. two

people have been killed and six others wounded in a shooting of the us city of memphis. police say that the shooting happened at an permitted party in the park attended by 200 to 300 people. one of the six people wounded is in a critical condition in hospital. the venezuelan president has accused the united states are failing to respect its promise to lift all of what he called the criminal sanctions imposed against his country. it's remarks followed washington's announcement that it had resumed the sanctions earlier this week. thousands have attended a candle—lit vigil in australia, to honour the victims of last week's stabbing at a shopping centre in sydney. joel cauchi killed six people, and wounded 12 others, before he was shot dead. in one glimmer of hope — doctors say a nine—month—old baby whose mother was killed, has been released from hospital. katy watson reports from the vigil.

as the sun set on bondi beach, families young and old came together, heartbroken and still hurting. in the crowds, police officers and rescuers who responded to last week's attack. a community left reeling, trying to come to terms with what happened. we gather here in bondi to grieve for all that has been stolen from us. all the possibility and potential, all the kindness and humanity, all the love and laughter of the six lives snatched away on that hardest of saturday afternoons. six people were stabbed to death byjoel cauchi, their names and their stories now so familiar to people here. those who had come to australia for a better life, others with their whole lives ahead of them. a young mother who died protecting her baby. ash was 38, i am 38, our babies are weeks apart. it felt like we should

come here and honour a mum in our community. we are going through the same life stage, and it is very hard to draw the parallel. i don't think anybody will ever walk into bondi junction westfield - again in the same way| as they did previously. it is kind of like - the loss of innocence. the vigil was about remembrance but also solidarity as the police continue their investigations. i want to send a specific message to the women of new south wales tonight. we might not know the exact motives behind this attack. what we can say is every australian woman deserves to feel safe in her community. this is your state and your city, this is your home. you have every right to live your life as you choose free from fear and violence. australia is not used to such attacks. this safe affluent area of sydney is grieving but bondi has also found strength in that loss. katy watson, bbc news, sydney.

now it's time for a look at today's sport. hello there. more than 50,000 people are taking part in the london a record number of people are taking part in the london marathon with 50,000 expected to finish the historic route. and there was a record broken in the elite races with kenya's perezjepchirchir setting a new women's only time as she stormed to victory. perezjepchirchir crossed the line in two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds to break the record by a5 seconds. second—place tigst assefa and joyciline jepkosgei in third were also within that time. in the men's, alexander mutiso munyao made it a kenyan double, munyao made it a kenyan double. britain's emile cairess was third. meanwhile, the wheelchair races were dominated by swiss duo marcel hug and catherine debrunner. now, manchester united take on championship side coventry in sunday's fa cup semifinal

at wembley, and it will see a man credited with playing a famous part in united's success come up against the premier league side. mark robins is now the manager of championship team coventry, but when he played for united, the side were struggling under sir alex ferguson. robin's winning goal in the fa cup against nottingham forest in 1990 is said to have saved his boss'sjob. what followed at old trafford was more than two decades of historic achievement, ensuring robins' legacy at his former club. it puts it into perspective. united have always been a top, top club. and to be involved in that was a brilliant experience. to win the competition, i'd just broken into the team, or into the squad, and played a part in the run—up to the final. so, it was a brilliant time. what can i say? it was part of my experience, part of my footballing background and history, but it's a long, long time ago. four games in the english

premier league today. everton hosting nottingham forest in the early game. after 88 minutes it's 2—0 to everton after idrissa gueye took advantage of a poor clearance by forest. just one point between the two sides and both battling to stay out of the relegation zone. in the late game, liverpool go to craven cottage hoping fulham don't spoil their title hopes. 0-0 o—o between aston villa and bournemouth. yet another victory for max verstappen in what appears to be an unstoppable run to a fourth formula one world title. he started from pole position and went on to win the chinese grand prix in shanghai ahead of mclaren�*s lando norris and verstappen�*s team—mate sergio perez. the red bull driver is already 25 points clear at the top of the drivers' standings after four wins from the season's first five races. this track is very

heavy on the tyres. so i was managing around that to make it work. but, yes, it was an incredible weekend where it was really enjoyable to drive the car. to golf now, and round three of the chevron championship has resumed after play had to be suspended on saturday because of storms in texas. canada's brooke henderson is in the clubhouse on ten under after finishing her round. world number one nelly korda and korea's hae ran ryo are also on ten under. meanwhile scottie scheffler�*s dominance of the pga tour shows no signs of letting up. after winning the masters last weekend, he's heading into the final round of the rbc heritage in south carolina with a one shot lead. the world number one's bogey free 63 on saturday included this long birdie putt at the ninth, which put him at 16 under. scheffler�*s one shot ahead of austrian sepp straka as he attempts to win for the fourth time in the last five tournaments he's played.

more details on all of these stories on the bbc sport website. and that's all the sport for now. thanks, jane. voting is getting under way in ecuador in a referendum on proposed tougher measures to tackle a surge in gang—related violence, which has seen two mayors killed in the last week. measures include an expansion of military and police powers that will allow the military to patrol the streets alongside the police. they'll also signicantly boost gun controls and impose harsher prison sentences for "terrorism" and drug trafficking. president daniel noboa also wants to change the constitution so ecuadorans wanted abroad for organised crime—related offences can be extradited. a state of emergency was announced injanuary after a top gang leader escaped from jail, there were prison riots, an armed attack on a tv station and several politicians were murdered. in the last year alone, 8,000 violent deaths have been recorded. but human rights groups

are concerned that if these measures are passed it could lead to abuses such as police brutality and arbitrary arrests which, they say, have already increased this year. let's speak to carolina jimenez sandoval, who's president of washington office on latin america. thank you so much for your time, karoly now. could you tell us more about how sweeping these changes actually are?— actually are? since january it was declared there _ actually are? since january it was declared there was _ actually are? since january it was declared there was an _ actually are? since january it was declared there was an armed - actually are? since january it was - declared there was an armed conflict in the country, we have seen, of course, an increase in the militarisation of the country and an increase in security. i think many of the measures that are included in the referendum are basically an attempt to legalise and put a firmer

legal base for practices that are already there. unfortunately, we know that the violence have in ecuador has increased tremendously in the last few years. when you look at 2020 there was only 7.7 out of 100,000 people and you look at the numbers in 2023, it rose to a6 per 100,000 people. it is very legitimate that ecuador is looking for tougher measures. but we are afraid that these measures are not the right ones because militarising cities and security is never really a good long—term strategy. cities and security is never really a good long-term strategy. right. in ecuador hasn't _ a good long-term strategy. right. in ecuador hasn't had _ a good long-term strategy. right. in ecuador hasn't had the _ a good long-term strategy. right. in ecuador hasn't had the same - a good long-term strategy. right. in ecuador hasn't had the same level. a good long-term strategy. right. in ecuador hasn't had the same level of violence traditionally are some of its neighbours so it is quite a change. could you tell us broadly, given that change, what the supporters amongst ecuadorians for the security proposals? i

supporters amongst ecuadorians for the security proposals?— the security proposals? i think that, you _ the security proposals? i think that, you know, _ the security proposals? i think that, you know, the _ the security proposals? i think that, you know, the indicators| the security proposals? i think i that, you know, the indicators of violence very telling. as you were saying, a presidential candidate was killed last year for presidential elections. i do think that it is normalfor elections. i do think that it is normal for citizens in elections. i do think that it is normalfor citizens in a country that sees a rise in violence at this level to demand tougher measures and therefore it is very likely that the president would be able to pass some of the measures that he is proposing. usually, these type of measures has short—term gains. but they fail in the medium and long term. unfortunately, people are now so desperate to feel safe that the president will probably be successful in passing the measure is that he is proposing.—

that he is proposing. there is a olitical that he is proposing. there is a political angle _ that he is proposing. there is a political angle to _ that he is proposing. there is a political angle to this _ that he is proposing. there is a political angle to this as - that he is proposing. there is a political angle to this as well, i political angle to this as well, isn't there? what kind of test is that —— this for the president himself? in that -- this for the president himself? ., , ., , ., himself? in roughly ten months from now there will _ himself? in roughly ten months from now there will be _ himself? in roughly ten months from now there will be president - now there will be president elections because he was elected only for one year and a half. and he will run for election. so it is very, very important to see his level of support. and i think this is a test and notjust to see if people support his security strategy, but also to see how popular and how accepted he is by the majority of the population. so it is clear that he is also looking at 2025 and when the presidential elections will be held. in february, at the moment, it's a political strategy, no doubt.— at the moment, it's a political strategy, no doubt. thank you so much for your— strategy, no doubt. thank you so much for your time. _ strategy, no doubt. thank you so much for your time. really - much foryourtime. really appreciate it. of course, there is plenty more on our bbc news website. we will keep you updated on the

results of that referendum once they have them. please do stay with us on bbc news. there is plenty more to come. hello there. good afternoon. well, april sunshine has a little bit more kick to it and it will feel quite pleasant in the best of that out towards western spots of the uk for the rest of the afternoon. lovely start to the day here in pembrokeshire, albeit a chilly one. the air is cold for the time of year and it's exceptionally cold towards north sea facing coasts with a brisk northeasterly wind blowing, and that colder air marked in blue is just set to stick around as we head through much of the rest of the week, although it could turn milder and more unsettled from the southwest by the time we get into next weekend. but lots of dry weather around today. high pressure centred over the uk.

a warm front though bringing some occasional rain, most of it light and patchy across many central eastern areas of scotland down through north west england, cloud ahead of the front, but some sunny spells still across east anglia and down through south east england. small chance of an isolated shower. best of the sunshine for western scotland and particularly northern ireland, where temperatures will rise in the best of the sunshine to 18 degrees celsius. now as we head through this evening and overnight, it's milder for most towards the north and the west, our warm front gradually sinks further southwards and eastwards, introducing some rain into north wales and northeast england as well. some coastal and some hill fog behind the front forming, but clearer skies across southeast england, and east anglia. here, maybe a touch of frost again into tomorrow morning. and then as our warm front introduces more cloud into these areas moving south, west and eastwards, then that cloud will overtop the cold start to the day. so it's going to feel really quite damp and very chilly for many of us, i'm afraid. through the day on monday there'll be further outbreaks of rain too,

moving into eastern wales and across the midlands. some spots here may not get much past six degrees celsius perhaps, but further north and west, well across northern ireland it's cloudier and it's a little cooler. the best of the sunshine probably across scotland where some spots in the central belt perhaps could get as high as 16 degrees. as we head through monday and into tuesday, then there's a cold front sinking southwards, that's going to introduce more of a northerly wind. so again, it's a cold feeling day for the time of year, the best of the sunshine out towards parts of the west. it's always cloudier towards north sea facing coasts with rain, gradually clearing away from east anglia and the south east of england, but feeling chilly once again for the time of year.

this is bbc news, the headlines... ukraine has welcomed the approval by us lawmakers of billions of dollars of new military aid to help it combat russia's invasion. moscow says it shows that washington is wading deeper into a war that will end in humiliation. israel's latest air strikes on rafah in southern gaza have reportedly left at least 18 people dead, including 1a children. gaza's health ministry says more than 3a,ooo palestinians have been killed in the conflict so far. the prime minister says he is "appalled" by the way police treated a jewish man during a pro—palestinian demonstration in london.

a man was steered away from crossing a protest march because he appeared �*openlyjewish'. and ecuador holds a referendum on proposals to boost security after a surge in gang—related violence that's seen two mayors killed in the past week. you're watching bbc news. here — the prime minister says he is "appalled" after a met police officer described an anti—semitism campaigner gideon falter as "openly jewish" and suggested his presence at a pro—palestinian demonstration in london last week might antagonise protesters. the incident has prompted campaigners to call for the metropolitan police commissioner, sir mark rowley to step down. the force has apologised twice for the remarks. let's see a video clip of the exchange which has been posted on social media.