if hostages are released. ministers insist health is a priority after the tory mp daniel poulter defects to labour because of concerns over how the nhs is managed. the tesla chief, elon musk, has landed in beijing — where he's expected to meet chinese officials to discuss electric vehicles. and a gold pocket—watch, worn by the wealthiest passenger on the titanic, sells for six times the asking price. hello, i'm catherine byaruhanga. we start in the middle east — where efforts are being made to try to bring about a ceasefire in southern gaza. israel's foreign minister has said a planned ground assault on the southern gaza city of rafah,

could be suspended — if a deal emerges to free the hostages still held by hamas. israel katz said their freedom was a top priority. hamas has posted a new video, which shows two of the hostages captured during its october attack. keith siegel and omri miran, both identify themselves. while the video is not dated, there is a reference to the recent passover holiday. it's the second such video that hamas — considered a terror group by the uk and us governments — has published in the past few days. our correspondent, anna foster, sent this update from tel aviv. omri miran�*s father was actually already on the list of confirmed speakers for this event tonight. when he got up on the stage, he talked about the moment, he said he was sitting having coffee with someone and talking about his grandchildren when the man he was talking to held his phone and said, "look, they have released a video of omri." what was also interesting was as the crowd were gathered

here tonight, is they showed that video in full, it is not something that normally happens because of course when you see the people in it, the two men in this case looking very malnourished, obviously speaking under duress, sending messages to their families and urging the israeli government to come to some sort of arrangement, some sort of deal to try and achieve their release. now, of course that deal and those talks have been going on for weeks and weeks. the last time we saw a significant hostage release was at the end of last year. at one point, we were told the talks had very much broken down, the two sides weren't really in communication at all but the egyptian delegation�*s visit this week and the further efforts of the us and us secretary of state, antony blinken, we are led to believe that perhaps they are moving slightly closer in terms of trying to achieve a deal, but certainly those powerful messages we heard tonight on the stage from the hostage families, they were talking directly to israel's leaders, directly

to the politicians and were saying, "you need you to do a deal. "while we know they are alive, you need to do what they can "to ensure their release now". the us secretary of state, antony blinken, is set to travel to saudi arabia on monday — as negotiations between israel and hamas remain in limbo. this will be his 7th trip to the middle east since the war began. it is part of president biden�*s efforts to encourage a ceasefire — and prevent the conflict from spreading. he will also call for the release of hostages from the october the 7th attack. ahron bregman is from the department of war studies at king's college london. i asked him what he thinks hamas is trying to achieve by releasing the hostage videos. well, first of all, very good news for the families because they can see that their loved ones are still alive. and the message of hamas is basically "here, "you have the hostages,

and you, the israeli government, "should compromise." it is also a message to the american administration because one of the hostages has got american nationality. so hamas pressure on israel, on the americans and on the israeli public, so the israeli public put pressure on the israeli government to compromise. and do you think that will work? will the pressure be enough to get the israeli government to compromise? well, you know, the main bone of contention is the hamas demand that israel stop the war and allow palestinian refugees to move from the southern part of the gaza strip to the north. if israel stops now, it's not going to achieve its aims. so it is tough for the israeli government politically to accept the hamas demands. and we've also been hearing in the last couple of days of a visit by egyptian mediators to israel. there seems to be some kind of optimism that there might be a deal reached

between israel and hamas. what's your reading on that? the egyptians are important because they have an interest that israel stop its military operation and not go into rafah, because rafah is very close to egypt. and if israel operates in rafah, there is the danger that many palestinian refugees willjust move into the sinai, which is egyptian territory. and we also heard from the israeli foreign minister, israel katz, saying that israel wouldn't stage an invasion of rafah if hostages were released. do you think the israeli government ever planned on invading rafah? the israelis did move forces — a division — closer to rafah. this, i believe, is in order to put pressure on hamas to compromise. "you, if you don't compromise with us, hamas, "we will move into rafah." but they are not there yet.

in rafah, there are 1.2 million palestinian refugees. if the israelis want to operate in rafah, they have to evacuate the refugees first. it would take them between four and six weeks to do that. so the tanks are ready, but i don't think that they are going to start their engines and move into rafah anytime soon. you talk about evacuating over a million people who are now in rafah. just how possible is that going to be? well, it's going to be a big operation, and the first sign for it will probably be if the israelis drop leaflets over rafah telling them to move to khan younis or to another area which is close to the sea. it's a big operation. it's going to be very messy. and just what are the conversations within the israeli government, if we're hearing of any of these conversations, or within israel itself about the impact of such

an operation on the people there? many of them have been displaced several times over the past seven months and now the prospect that they would have to move again. again, i believe that there is a low probability that the israelis will operate in rafah. there is strong american pressure on the israelis not to operate there, including hints that we, the americans, will not provide you with the weapons necessary to operate there. so in my view, it's not going to happen, at least not now. it is just a way that israel is trying to put pressure on hamas to compromise. here in the uk, ministers have criticised a conservative mp who has defected to the opposition labour party. dan poulter, who combines his political career with practising medicine as an nhs hospital doctor, said labour would get the health service "back on its feet". but the tory minister chris philp

said the government was spending more on the nhs than at any point in its history. here's dan poulter explaining his defection to the bbc�*s laura kuenssberg. i found it increasingly difficult to look my nhs colleagues in the eye, my patients in the eye, and my constituents in the eye, with good conscience. and ifeel that the nhs deserves better than it has at the moment, in terms of how it is run and governed. the party i was elected into valued public services. it valued... it had a compassionate view about supporting the more disadvantaged in society. i think the conservative party today is in a very different place. its focus is not on delivering or supporting high quality public services. our political correspondent georgia roberts has more on the reaction to dan poulter�*s defection. yes, a big headache for rishi sunak this weekend, overshadowing the final weekend of campaigning ahead of the local elections which many polls suggest are going to be rocky for the conservatives and defections

aren't common, often signalling bad feelings or something wrong in political parties and as well as dan poulter�*s criticisms on the nhs, he also talked about the conservatives becoming a nationalist party of the right. this is also the second conservative to labour defection under keir starmer�*s leadership so let's have a listen to the home office minister, chris philp, speaking to laura kuenssberg about dan poulter�*s decision. well, i don't accept what dan is saying at all. he talks about the nhs as a priority. of coruse, the nhs was one of only two departments that was protected during those years _ of spending restraint after the labour government bankru pted the country. as we heard earlier, we are now spending £165 billion on the nhs. that's more than ever at any point in history. it's a 13% increase above inflationjust over the last four or five years alone. in just the last year, the nhs has hired an extra 68,000

people, of whom 7,000 are doctors, a net increase, and there are 21,000 more nurses today than there were a year ago. that isn't a sign of a party deprioritising the nhs, it's the sign of a political party, the conservatives, investing heavily in our nhs because it is a priority. in his defence of the conservatives�* record, chris philp was backed up by his colleague, the former immigration minister robertjenrick who was speaking on the panel with laura kuenssberg and said dan poulter�*s comments were clearly wrong but that defection is clearly a big boon for the labour party ahead of local elections next week so let's now listen to labour's shadow health secretary, wes streeting. he has abandoned the conservative party to save the nhs. i think there are millions of conservative voters across the country feeling politically homeless who can see the chaos and the failure to deliver of now five conservative prime ministers, who are now looking for an alternative. i hope they will trust the doctor

who has seen the conservative party up close in parliament and also the changed labour party up close in parliament and i hope they will give change a chance at the next general election by following dan poulter backing labour. speaking elsewhere this morning, the prime minister very much on the attack, saying labour has no plan, no vision and he talks about the announcement on defence spending this week to say that is a big success and he has also been talking about the fact are finally into law and talks about that being a big deterrent, so trying to keep the focus, this morning, away from this news, these words from dan poulter nonetheless a very damaging blow to rishi sunak, a blow from a former colleague. and dan poulter, his words this morning, also ahead of course, as we have been talking about, of local elections where the nhs will be front and centre as an issue and it also of course be front

and centre of the upcoming general election campaign, whenever that is. the bbc�*s george roberts. let's get some of the day's other news now. officials in kenya have warned people to brace themselves for even heavier rainfall, as severe downpours continue to batter parts of east africa. at least 76 people have been killed by flooding in recent weeks and more than 130,000 displaced. a tornado has ripped through the southern chinese city of guangzhou, killing at least 5 people — and injuring more than 30 others. officials said 140 factories were damaged, whilst residential properties were largely unscathed. the disgraced hollywood film producer, harvey weinstein, has been hospitalised in new york, just days after the city's top court overturned his 2020 rape conviction. his lawyers say the 72—year—old is undergoing tests and is being

kept in hospital for observation. tesla chief, elon musk, has landed in beijing. chinese state media is reporting the tech entrepreneur is there by invitation, for the promotion of international trade. it's understood he will meet officials to discuss data and technology relating to electric vehicles. tesla has been facing a price war with chinese brands in the electric vehicle market. it has recently said it will lay—off 10% of its global workforce. our business reprorter david waddell explains why the visit is so significant. chinese drivers have requested it be available thereto. mr musk has tweeted in recent weeks it will be rolled out there very soon. here is

his challenge. the data release is stuck in shanghai service and can't be released to the united states under chinese regulations. mr musk once that data released so the company can learn from its fleet in china. if vehicles there can operate with full self driving software, both safely and effectively. that is the heart of his negotiations with chinese officials. for its part china has competitive companies such as this, its biggest ev manufacturer, also that and others, such as the smartphone maker. x is paying a company that produces not only ev vehicles for the rose but also ones that can fly. its own version of full self driving software. this is where tesla is trying to compete with chinese providers, both in the chinese

domestic market and internationally. a lot of these companies are producing cars more cheaply and selling them more cheaply to international markets. tesla's challenge is posed to have these negotiations with china but all toast to compete with chinese producers. it has reduced its prices for vehicles sold in the chinese market in recent weeks by $2000 per vehicle. it has reduced its price for its full self driving software in the united states by a third, from $12,000 it is struggling in many respects. it has recently announced it would reduce its workforce by 10%. that's around 111,000 workers. its share price this year alone has fallen by about one third. now it's time for a look at today's sport. we start with what could prove to be a significant weekend in the english premier league title race. after liverpool dropped points again, the top two both play on sunday.

the champions manchester city are at nottingham forest but before that the leaders arsenal, just a point above them in the table having played a game more, face tottenham away. spurs are a chasing a top four finish, meaning there's a lot riding on the north london derby for both managers: we have to look at ourselves and try to perform the best possible way, when our matches, and wait to see what happens. what i can tell you is that the boys are going to be fully ready on sunday to go, to play against a great opponent. everything is very difficult for us, we are going to have to be very good to beat them. we understand the importance of the game and we understand the importance of, you know, particularly at home in these kinds of games, to not let our biggest rival, the biggest star before us,

get on top of us. we understand the consequences of that. here's a check on sunday's matches then. bournemouth against brighton and hove albion. and then later city travel to nottingham forest who are just a point above the relegation zone. emma hayes voiced herfrustrations about the referee after her hopes of leaving chelsea this summer with the champions league were ended by barcelona. the chelsea boss, who's not won the trophy in her illustrious time at the club, believes the sending off of her player kadeisha buchanan is the worst decison the competition has ever seen — as barca went on to reach the final 2—1 on aggregate, with lyon or psg awaiting. iam i am gutted for them. we were robbed. i genuinely believed we were

on top of the game. i could feel the momentum going in that direction. we didn't have the chance to experience that. when you lose a game, for us, we got the opportunity to losers. that was taken away. i was surprised when i saw her selected. she is famous for easy cards and i think thatis famous for easy cards and i think that is probably the worst decision in uefa women's champions league history. inter miami are top of the eastern conference in th mls and no surprise over the force behind their 4—1 win over new england revolution — that man lionel messi. miami actually went behind in front of a record crowd of over 65,000 in massachusetts before messi weaved his magic — equalising before half time. and after the break it was all miami. messi scored again to give his side the lead, and later he came up with an assist as his side cantered to a 4—1 victory.

that's nine goals in just seven games for the legendary argentinian. next to the nba where lebronjames has helped the los angeles lakers avoid elimination in their first—round western conference playoff series. they beat the the visiting denver nuggets 119—108 in game 4. lebron in fine form with 30 points as the nuggets fell to the lakers for the first time since december 2022. the teams head back to denver for game 5 on monday with the nuggets leading 3—1 in the series. here's a check on the other results. boston, the nba's top seed, lead their best of seven series against miami heat after a comprehensive 1011—81; win. it's all square between orlando and cleveland with the magic winning the latest game there. and oklahoma city thunder will try to complete a sweep of their first—round series on monday in new orleans. they beat the pelicans 106—85. ronnie o'sullivan has taken his impressive form into his second round match

at the world snooker championship in sheffield. o'sullivan — who's looking to win a record breaking eighth title at the crucible — lostjust one frame in his frst round match and was quickly into his stride winning the first two against welshman ryan day. day hit back to take the third. first to 13 will reach the quarter finals. elsewhere stephen maguire leads shaun murphy 11—7. leads shaun murphy 12—8. and that's all the sport for now. police have moved in on a pro—palestinian protest at northeastern university in boston. officials said about 100 people were detained as they were taken away from the site. those with student identification will not face any legal action. it's the latest standoff in a wave of pro—palestinian sit—ins, at campuses around the united states — including this demonstration, which has been ongoing at columbia university in new york for one week now. a teenager who'd paid to be on the small boat crossing

the channel last week, has told the bbc he decided not to make the journey because he was worried about the number of people getting on board. an investigation is continuing into exactly what happened, when violence broke out, resulting in the deaths of five people — including a young girl. our correspondentjon donnison, reports from calais. chaos, desperation and violence as more than 100 people tried to cram onto a small boat in the early hours of tuesday morning. among them was 16—year—old marcus, not his real name, from south sudan. where are you here? i'll be on this side. on that side? yeah, this side. five people were killed, including a seven—year—old girl. and how do people die? there were too many people. they were crushed maybe. i didn't see them die. ijust wanted to save myself. 30 or a0 guys were trying to force themselves on the boat because they did not pay the money. marcus, who is fleeing life

as a child soldier in south sudan, says he paid people smugglers $1,000 to make the crossing and even though he was injured in the last attempt, he,s willing to pay more to try again. you can see today that the sea is calm and the wind has dropped, and that means more attempted crossings. here you've got a boat that's been abandoned, it looks like police have slashed it open. you've also got a tear gas canister, which police have been using, and some abandoned children's clothing. despite the dangers, people like marcus are not going to give up. and what of the government's rwanda policy? the government is saying they will deport people who cross to rwanda. does that worry you? that will not stop me, i will never give up. i will try my best to cross the english channel. and the chance came sooner than we expected. after we left marcus this morning, we heard that he'd headed to the beaches once more for another attempt to reach the uk.

jon donnison, bbc news, in calais. a british man who was attacked by a bull sharkjust ten metres off the coast of the caribbean island of tobago — is in a stable condition. 64—year—old peter smith has serious injuries to his left arm, left leg and stomach after the attack on friday. aru na ayengar reports. a perfect caribbean getaway that turned to horror. peter smith was on the beach in front of the starfish hotel in tobago. the retired it worker was on holiday with his wife and friends. he'd been due to fly back to the uk on friday before he took a last swim in the sea. peter smith suffered severe injuries to his left arm, leg and stomach. he's currently recovering in hospital in tobago. they were in about waist deep to shoulder high water so they weren't out of their depth. i think their backs were turned and they were just kind of lounging

around and nobody saw the shark coming. and even while the shark was around and doing the attack, the other people in the water were physically trying to fight off the shark. it's believed mr smith was attacked by a bull shark. they're found in shallow waters along tropical coastlines. authorities say they've a vital role in protecting coral reefs. we will see sharks pop up from time to time. it is part of theirjob, but it is ourjob to ensure we can keep you safe, while at the same time we keep our environment safe. officials closed several beaches and coastal areas between plymouth on the north coast and crown point on the western tip. the foreign office is supporting mr smith and his family. aruna iyengar, bbc news. the annual white house correspondent�*s association dinner is a staple of the washington

political calendar. and last night, president biden delivered an election—year comedy roast in front ofjournalists, celebrities and politicians. he made fun of himself, and his rival donald trump. of course, the 2024 election is in full swing. and, yes, age is an issue. i'm a grown man! running against a six—year—old! president biden there. you are watching bbc news and if you want to follow up on any of our stories you can go to the bbc website. we have a life page. and that news of the defection of the conservative mp dan poulter to labour. you are watching bbc news. hello.

we've seen some fairly heavy rain through the overnight period and this morning as well, pushing its way northwards across much of england. it's going to sit for eastern parts of england and eastern scotland through the course of the day, gradually easing. but there'll be some sunshine coming in towards the west. so certainly a day of mixed fortunes. this area of low pressure has been bringing us that rain. it's pushing northwards around the east coast in particular, some blustery winds around that area of low pressure too. some sunshine out there for western scotland, northern ireland, wales and the south west of england. but there'll also be a scattering of showers that'll be fairly hit and miss. that rain slowly easing away from the south east of england and east anglia, but sitting across northeast england and eastern scotland for a good part of the afternoon. some blustery winds in and around that area of low pressure in the east. we could see gusts around 30 miles an hour or even a little bit stronger close to that east coast. and it's really going to feel quite chilly, just seven degrees in aberdeen. feeling cooler than that with the wind chill but up to about 13 in the sunshine towards the west. into the evening hours, we'll eventually lose that wet weather from most places. it's going to linger longest up

towards parts of northern scotland, the northern isles in particular, more rain moving in to northern ireland by dawn. for most of us, a frost—free night, but we still could see a touch of frost across rural parts of central and eastern scotland. now into monday, the next area of low pressure arrives from the west. this time, quite a few isobars ahead of it, showing us it's going to be a fairly breezy sort of day on monday, but certainly an improved day for central, southern and eastern england. mostly dry here with some sunshine. there will be showery rain, though, pushing its way gradually into many central and western parts of the uk. so blustery, quite windy and still rather cool in the north—west. 12 or 13 degrees, but 18 down towards the south—east, so significantly warmer than we've seen over the past week or so. nto tuesday, low pressure is out towards the west, higher pressure in the east and that combination means we'll be drawing the air in for more of a south—easterly direction. so the orange colours arriving again across the map, showing us it's going to be a little bit warmer at last. not completely dry, though, and still quite blustery, showery and rather cool

across western parts of the british isles. for instance, belfastjust 12 degrees, but norwich and london sitting at around 18 in the sunnier spells. and then for the week ahead then, we'll continue to see those temperatures rising for a time. could be close to 20 degrees at times towards the south, but low pressure not too far away, still some showers, perhaps something a little drier towards the bank holiday weekend.

this is bbc news, the headlines...

israel says a planned ground assault on the city of rafah could be suspended if a deal emerges to free the hostages still held by hamas. the statement —was made as hamas released a video of two hostages. us police in riot gear clash with students staging sit—ins at university campuses. it's the latest escalation in a wave of pro—palestinian protests around the country. the tesla boss elon musk lands in china, wheres he's expected to meet chinese officials to talk about electric vehicles. tesla's facing stiff international competition from chinese rivals. and a gold pocket watch worn by the wealthiest passenger on the titanic becomes the shipwreck�*s most expensive item ever bought at auction. the timepiece, owned byjothacob astor, sells for more than £1 million. now on bbc news... ten years on, how equal is gay marriage?