of gaza. plus: a new yorkjudge fines donald trump for violating a gag order in his hush money trial. hello. i'm sumi somaskanda. it's another evening of unrest on campuses right now in the us. we want to show you some live pictures now. this is the scene at columbia university, where there is a large police presence and traffic has been shut down in both directions along broadway. the nypd says its operation on campus has begun there. they have set up a structure to enter hamilton hall. we have seen police in riot gear begin to enter hamilton hall, which a group of demonstrators has been occupying since the early hours of tuesday. according to local radio reports, students have been told to shelter in place. and according to a university

e—mail, administrators have told students that �*non—compliance may result in disciplinary action.�* the protest group, columbia students forjustice in palestine, posted a message on x warning that "mass arrests are expected". we can show you the moment when police officers begin to enter hamilton hall on the campus of columbia university. this was just moments ago — nypd officers in riot gear entering the building through a window. several officers using a ladder to reach an upper floor of the building, crawling through the opening to enter the hall. that is where a group of anti—war protesters has been since early this morning. we have not yet seen the officers leave the building. we will keep you up to date on the situation thre as more we can confirm that some arrests have been made but we will keep you up—to—date on the details there as they come in. this is all happening at columbia university, after administrators have threatened to expel students who occupied an academic building overnight.

dozens of anti—war demonstrators seized hamilton hall early tuesday morning — defying a deadline to disperse. they say they plan to remain there until columbia cuts financial ties with israel. in a statement, the white house condemned the actions of students, saying, quote: "president biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful. forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong." columbia university released a statement campus demonstrations have erupted from coast to coast in the few past days — many of them resulting in arrests — including at the university of texas at austin where police clashed with demonstrators on monday. but brown university in rhode island says it's made a deal with protesters: if they pack up, its governing body will hold a vote on divestment from companies with ties to israel. at the university of texas at austin at least 79 people were arrested during campus protests on monday. the university says 45 had no affiliation with ut austin. the bbc�*s tom bateman has more.

when we showed up it was very quiet and very calm here at the university of texas. that came after the scenes on monday where the university administration called in state troopers, texas state troopers, some armed with batons and bolt cutters who came in and forcibly removed the encampment that was on this site here. the university said that that breached university rules. they say they had repeatedly warned protesters and that that warning had been ignored. the university also said they believe many of the protesters on monday were from off—campus itself. speaking to protesters here today they accuse the police of using violence forcefully removing them. i spoke to one man who said that many people have been forcibly pulled away from the encampment and some sprayed with pepper spray little further on from

the protesters police were trying to take people away in police vans. he said he himself had been affected by that. over the last few hours what we have seen is a stand—off between the protesters, numbering 50 or 60 orso protesters, numbering 50 or 60 or so i would say on the lawn here and a smaller group of counter protesters who have come. there have been some moments of friction between the two but it has remained very peaceful here overall. tom bateman reporting there. we continue to see these pictures from columbia university and police have released a statement in the last hours saying that a little after 9pm this evening the nypd arrived on campus at the request of the university. the decision was made to restore safety in order to our community. they went on to our community. they went on to say that we regret protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions after the university learned overnight that hamilton hall had been

occupied, vandalised and blockaded, we were left with no choice. colombia public safety personnel forced out of the building and a member of our facilities team was threatened. we will not risk the safety of our community or the potential forfurther our community or the potential for further escalation. the leadership team met throughout the night and consulted with security x hurts and law enforcement to determine the best plan to protect our students and the entire community of columbia university. we made the decision early in the morning that this was a law enforcement adder and that the nypd were best positioned to determine and execute an appropriate response. live now to colombia to speak to a public safety reporter for a new york—based news outlet. great to have you and is great to speak to you. not a lot of action on our screen right number tell us what is happening where you are. i am

here in a _ happening where you are. i am here in a press _ happening where you are. i am here in a press pen _ happening where you are. i am here in a press pen just - here in a press penjust outside the school gates where police have sectioned us off. it is difficult to get a clear vantage point of what is happening on what is directly in front of us butjust now it is starting to rain and we have watched dozens and dozens of riot police enter the campus and bus students out in prisoner vans using plastic zip ties as they arrest them. we are listening and arresting and hearing yelling from all corners, trying to get a sense of what is happening. d0 corners, trying to get a sense of what is happening.- of what is happening. do you know how — of what is happening. do you know how many _ of what is happening. do you know how many people - of what is happening. do you know how many people have | of what is happening. do you - know how many people have been arrested at this point and who has been taken into custody? it is unclear how many people have been arrested as of now. definitely we have seen a dozen orso definitely we have seen a dozen or so students specifically be arrested and bussed out of the campus. we arrested and bussed out of the camus. ~ ~ ., arrested and bussed out of the camus.~ ~ ., ,, arrested and bussed out of the camus.~ ~ ., ., ., campus. we know you are a little further _ campus. we know you are a little further away _ campus. we know you are a little further away from - campus. we know you are a little further away from it. | campus. we know you are a|

little further away from it. is there a sense of if there have been clashes between those in hamilton hall and the police were entering? sorry, what was that? have there been any skirmishes between some protesters who were in hamilton hall and the police who are entering?— hall and the police who are entering? hall and the police who are enterina? ., ., ., ., ., entering? we hear a lot and are listenin: entering? we hear a lot and are listening to _ entering? we hear a lot and are listening to the _ entering? we hear a lot and are listening to the colombia - listening to the colombia student radio station. they reported clashes including one protester, one student protester, one student protester who became unconscious as a result of some sort of clash though it is unclear whether that was between police officers and the student or something that happened within the crowd. there are dozens of protesters outside the gate's that have been pushing to is there a big media presence? how much access to media have

to see what is happening in terms of the clearing of this building? terms of the clearing of this buildin: ? , ., building? very limited. i hear that there — building? very limited. i hear that there are _ building? very limited. i hear that there are a _ building? very limited. i hear that there are a couple - building? very limited. i hear that there are a couple of- that there are a couple of reporters inside the campus gates but only a couple and those reported to have been there since this morning and have been parked for 12 or so hours. there are more reporters here maybe 15 or so, local, national media but we are confined to a very small gated area with limited visibility about what is happening. i long they are blocking out student journalists who work with the columbia university's newspaper and radio from entering campus, they only allow students live on campus storms. we know the university — live on campus storms. we know the university told _ live on campus storms. we know the university told protesters - the university told protesters who had occupied the building that they would face expulsion. what led to the police now moving in? aha, what led to the police now moving in?—

what led to the police now moving in? what led to the police now movin: in? �* ., , ., ., ., moving in? a few hours ago at the nypd _ moving in? a few hours ago at the nypd headquarters - moving in? a few hours ago at the nypd headquarters i - moving in? a few hours ago at the nypd headquarters i was i the nypd headquarters i was present for a press conference with the new york city mayor, eric adams, and top officials who said basically that we are urging students to leave colombia as soon as possible, urging parents to tell their kids to leave the campus and they started to list specific criminal charges that students would face. students in the anti—war encampment and those outside or inside the hall, rather. we took that as a nod to say that this was imminent and if that was true. at the news conference police said students in the encampment will face charges ranging from trespassing to disorderly conduct and those inside the administration building that was taken over by students will be charged with burglary, criminal mischief and trespassing as well. irate criminal mischief and trespassing as well. we have seen the _ trespassing as well. we have seen the speculation - trespassing as well. we have seen the speculation the - trespassing as well. we have l seen the speculation the police would come in and clear protesters from this building. could you give us a sense of

how tense things are right there and what people and students are saying?- students are saying? very tense. reporters - students are saying? very tense. reporters and - students are saying? - tense. reporters and hundreds of protesters have been outside the campus gates for hours now, anticipating what might happen. you can see 20—30 nypd vans, large prisoner vans, double—decker buses patrolling the entire area. there are hundreds of police officers in riot gear and helmets, the classic zip ties. police drones hover above us and throughout this time i don't know if you can see behind me, students living in off—campus apartments are huddled behind the window looking out from the living room and just watching this all play out in real—time. irate room and just watching this all play out in real-time.- play out in real-time. we see imaues, play out in real-time. we see images. as — play out in real-time. we see images. as you _ play out in real-time. we see images, as you talk, - play out in real-time. we see images, as you talk, of - play out in real-time. we see j images, as you talk, of police officers marching there on campus. is the entire area cordoned off?— campus. is the entire area cordoned off? . ., , ., ., cordoned off? can anyone move around? no- — cordoned off? can anyone move around? no. if— cordoned off? can anyone move around? no. if you _ cordoned off? can anyone move around? no. if you were -

around? no. if you were entering the ten block radius around columbia university will have a difficult time getting anywhere at all. the press have had to walk two or three blocks around to get from point a to point b. it is very controlled by police using these long metal barricades across the entire area.— entire area. we hear that arrested _ entire area. we hear that arrested students - entire area. we hear that arrested students have . entire area. we hear that i arrested students have been moved to police processes so that reflect some of what you are hearing on the ground there as well. we will let you go but thank you so much for speaking with us tonight from columbia university. with us tonight from columbia university-— with us tonight from columbia universi . ., ,, . antiwar protests are also spreading to campuses in other parts of the world. in canada, demonstrators set up encampments at mcgill university. other canadian universities have warned activists that similar camps will not be tolerated on their properties. in france, school officials at sciences po closed part of campus following the occupation of the premises. and in lebanon, hundreds of students gathered

on campuses to protest against israel's campaign in gaza — the country's first coordinated university protests over the war. we will continue to watch those pictures as we are there of what appears to be police arresting more people, some bystanders there on columbia university campus. we will keep you updated on what is happening there as we look at what is happening in the middle east. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has again vowed to invade the southern gazan city of rafah, despite international pressure. the white house says just two days ago, us presidentjoe biden �*reiterated his clear position' to prime minister netanyahu in a phone call. mr biden previously called a ground invasion of rafah a �*red line'. another warning came from un secretary general antonio guterres, who said an assault on rafah would be an �*unbearable escalation.�* the doubling down from benjamin netanyahu comes as israel and hamas work towards an agreement for a ceasefire and hostage releases. but in a meeting with relatives of hostages, mr netanyahu said he would invade rafah �*with

or without�* a ceasefire deal. translation: we will enter rafah because _ translation: we will enter rafah because we _ translation: we will enter rafah because we have - translation: we will enter rafah because we have no i translation: we will enter . rafah because we have no other choice. we will destroy the battalions there and we will complete the war including the repatriation of all our. there have also been reports from israeli officials that the international criminal court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for mr netanyahu. other israeli government leaders and military commanders could also be charged for actions related to the war on hamas. in response to that speculation, the israeli prime minister said his arrest would be a scandal on an historic scale. live now to gina abercrombie—winstaley, president of the middle east policy council. very good to see you again. i just want to start, at the same time we are looking at pictures of what is happening at columbia university where police are clearing protesters. if i could first get your thoughts on what we are seeing there? it is an extraordinary

amount of conflict on campuses, as you noted, not only in the united states but around the world. i hope they understand that it may be a bit of a distraction from what is happening in the region itself but it is clearly an additional pressure on president biden that this is an issue that is grasping the attention of young americans, many from the democratic party but not solely democrats by any means. it certainly has proven to be a flashpoint. if you look at what we just discussed in the region, the prime minister netanyahu vowing to go ahead with an offensive in rafah whether there is an agreement on hostages or not. what do you think of that stigma i think he has several reasons for saying that. he can keep saying it until he changes his mind or

until he changes his mind or until he changes his mind or until he announces that he will not do it. it helps him to keep his coalition together, it keeps pressure on hamas and this is important as the negotiations go on and both sides are jockeying for negotiations go on and both sides arejockeying for a position not only to get sides are jockeying for a position not only to get what they want out of the negotiations for the israelis and the united states, the hostages are a primary concern, but hamas also needs to be seen to be getting what it wants out of these negotiations. the release of an extraordinary number of prisoners, the return of gazans to homes in the northern part and not leaving an occupation visible, worse than what was in place in october seven. they are both jockeying for position. what about the role of the white housein about the role of the white house in this? we spoke to a representative a few weeks ago and he said president netanyahu was embarrassing the white house by not heeding calls to

stop the offensive on rafah. d0 stop the offensive on rafah. do ou stop the offensive on rafah. drr you agree? it is a challenging time for president biden and he joins a lengthy list of american presidents who have beenin american presidents who have been in this position, please thereby premise to netanyahu. the president will unlikely big shoes to be embarrassed by this. he is putting up what he wants and it will be the president�*s decision to determine how he makes good on what his redlines are and what the united states will do in response to and in defiance of the israeli prime minister. we have seen _ the israeli prime minister. we have seen reports that the icc is preparing arrest warrants, possibly, for prime minister netanyahu and maybe other officials from the israeli government. that would be a significant step. what would that mean?— that mean? first of all it is an extraordinary _ that mean? first of all it is an extraordinary step, - that mean? first of all it is an extraordinary step, the | that mean? first of all it is - an extraordinary step, the leap from where the world was on october seven in regard to

israel, israelis, premised on netanyahu and how the israeli leadership got the country from such a position of sympathy from the rest of the world to having arrest warrants being considered for the leadership. this is going to make it difficult. not so much for the united states because i am certain that us leadership is not going to play a great deal of attention —— pay a great deal of attention to the decision of the icc but of course other countries do and that will have to be navigated. it is an extraordinary position for the israeli leadership to bn. for the israeli leadership to en. ~ ., ., ., bn. we have to leave the conversation _ bn. we have to leave the conversation there - bn. we have to leave the conversation there but. bn. we have to leave the conversation there but it | bn. we have to leave the l conversation there but it is always good to have you on bbc news. thank you forjoining us. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let�*s look at another story making the headlines. a fourteen—year—old boy has died after a man armed with a sword went on the rampage in north—east london. four other people, including two police officers were injured. police were called to reports of a car crashing into a house

and people being stabbed at around 7am on tuesday. a 36—year—old man is in custody. police say the incident is not believed to be targeted or terror—related. lucy manning reports. 22 minutes after they were called, officers tasered him. this was the dramatic moment the police finally brought him to the ground and arrested him on suspicion of murder. man prete witnessed the attack on the moment officers stopped him. ., , , ., him. people were trying to fiuht him. people were trying to fight the — him. people were trying to fight the guy. _ him. people were trying to fight the guy, they - him. people were trying to fight the guy, they ran - him. people were trying to - fight the guy, they ran towards the station and he got stabbed in the neck, he was holding his neck saying i got stabbed i got stabbed. . , ., stabbed. other victims are in hos - ital stabbed. other victims are in hospital but _ stabbed. other victims are in hospital but are _ stabbed. other victims are in hospital but are not - stabbed. other victims are in hospital but are not thoughtl stabbed. other victims are in i hospital but are not thought to have life—threatening injuries. the more around 250 fatal stabbings in england and wales last year alone. you�*re live with bbc news. we want to take you back to the scene at columbia

university now in new york. nypd police officers are now on the campus. students have been told to shelter in place. these are live pictures you are seeing. the nypd has said quote: �*the operation at columbia university has commenced.�* a letter was sent to the nypd from the university earlier today. it said that the group was led by students not affiliated with the university. we do not yet have confirmation but that is what columbia road earlier. we have seen some arrests and some demonstrators have been sent away and media have been sent away and media have been sent away and media have been told to leave the campus. an earlier e—mailfrom campus. an earlier e—mail from the campus. an earlier e—mailfrom the university told students that anyone who did not comply would face disciplinary action. we continue to watch those pictures and bring you the very latest from those developments there in new york.

a new yorkjudge fined former president donald trump a total of $9,000 on tuesday, for violating a gag order nine times. it was put in place with the aim of preventing mr trump from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and court staff. the judge warned the former president that further violations could result in prison time. donald trump is accused of trying to cover up a $130,000 hush money payment made to adult film actress stormy daniels ahead of the 2016 election. mr trump has pleaded not guilty to sa counts of falsifying business records and denies the affair. our north america correspondent, nada tawfik, sent this update. first thing in the morning donald trump was found in contempt of court. the judge siding with prosecution saying that he violated a gag order that he violated a gag order that prevented him from attacking witnesses and jurors attacking witnesses and jurors at least nine out of ten times. thejudge said that at least nine out of ten times. the judge said that the defence�*s argument that they were just responding to political attacks was without merit and said that donald trump would have to pay that

fine by end of day on friday. he also ordered him to remove the offending posts which donald trump ultimately did this afternoon. but the judge said that, ultimately, $9,000 forsomeone said that, ultimately, $9,000 for someone as wealthy as donald trump might not be enough to deter him and he said unnecessary might be jail time. when court got under way ultimately today we had four witnesses who took the stand. a few were really just there to introduce key evidence for prosecutors. prosecutors played clips of donald trump saying that he did not know the women who had come forward to question how he was treated other women or stormy daniels, for example and also a clip where he called michael cowan a very talented lawyer and a great friend. clips that they can use to discredit the former president. also, crucially, we had the lawyer, the former lawyer for stormy daniels.

remember it is that hundred $30,000 hush money payment at the centre of this case and the lawyer was helping to corroborate key pieces of the prosecution�*s narrative, that he spoke with the national inquirer�*s editor and they exchanged several text messages where they showed that in fact many of the tram campaign were concerned about how the stormy daniels story could impact his campaign and the efforts that michael cowan went to to try to arrange that payment, even addressing the fact that keith davidson, the lawyer, felt that michael cowan had to get permission from donald trump to be able to wire that money over. —— michael cohen. officials in kenya say more than 150 people are now known to have been killed by weeks

of flooding and a landslide, following heavy rainfall. more rain is forecast, and officials are warning that dams in other parts of kenya are already precariously full. around fifty people died monday when an overflowing reservoir washed away part of the town of mai mahiu. on a visit tuesday, kenya�*s president, william ruto, said that anyone living in areas at risk of flooding or landslides must move to a safer place. he said the army has been mobilised to help with evacuations. haiti�*s transitional council appointed the former senate leader, edgard leblanc fils, as its president on tuesday. fritz belizaire, a former youth and sports minister will become the country�*s prime minister. his appointment apparently surprised some of his fellow council members, with one saying he�*d never head of the new prime minister. president ariel henry, was effectively ousted from office by gangs in late february. the resulting power vacuum plunged the country into deadly gang warfare that saw hundreds of thousands of haitians displaced. mr fils has limited authority to act independently: the position of haiti�*s of head of state is vested in the entire seven—member transitional council. the council has a mandate from the caribbean community to run haiti until elections are held in 2026. let�*s turn to some important news around the world.

following on from a russian missile attack on an educational institution in ukraine�*s port city of odesa that killed five people on monday — another russian missile attack has killed three people and injured three in odesa early on wednesday, the regional governor oleh kiper said. mr kiper wrote on the telegram messaging app that the attack damaged civilian infrastructure. people attended the funeral of an attack on a shi�*ite muslim mosque in herat, afghanistan. the islamic state claimed responsibility for the monday mass shooting on worshippers that killed at least five people. the usjustice department has confirmed the attorney general is moving to loosen restrictions on marijuana. the proposal would reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous drug, in what�*s being described as an historic shift in federal drug policy. it would not legalise it. let�*s return to our top story following the latest protests

here in us including in new york columbia university. nypd police officers are now on campus en masse. they are arresting students, as we understand. the nypd tells the bbc that officers entered hamilton hall, we see the latter they have sent up there, thatis latter they have sent up there, that is where we saw officers entering earlier through a window into hamilton hall to clear the building of protesters. they were authorised to go in by university authorities after students defied a deadline to disburse earlier today. we are seeing a massive police presence. earlierwe seeing a massive police presence. earlier we spoke to a reporter who said that there was no access to columbia university at this moment so we will continue to follow these live pictures for you and on our website as well. stay with abc news, thank you for watching. —— stay with bbc news. hello. well, it has been gradually warming up over the last couple of days, at least for most of us. the weather, on the other hand, a little hit and miss. and in fact, that is the

outlook for the next few days. some warm sunshine, yes, but also a chance of catching some rain. now, weather fronts are close by — you can see it here on the satellite picture — and that also means some damp weather through the early hours and into wednesday morning, particularly around the irish sea coasts and also around the north sea coasts. but for most of us, it�*s a dry start to the day, a little misty and murky in places. here are the temperatures first thing — around 9 in london, 8 in belfast, maybe the glens of scotland around 4—5 celsius. now, many of us will wake up to some sunshine, maybe hazy skies in places. and i think it should stay generally dry through the day, although a few showers are possible inland in central parts of the uk, and also damp conditions at times are possible along the north sea coast where it�*ll be coolest. temperatures in newcastle, only ia degrees — deeper inland it�*ll be closer to 18, perhaps 20. and then wednesday night we�*re expecting some heavy rain to come in from the south. this could be thundery rain and downpours are likely almost anywhere across southern england, perhaps into the midlands and also southern parts of wales, and flashes of lightning certainly a possibility. so that�*s how we start thursday. then here�*s that weather front, which could bring the thundery

so that�*s how we start thursday. then here�*s that weather front, which could bring the thundery weather for a time across some southern parts of the uk. now, the air�*s relatively warm — it�*s actually coming in out of the east—south—east. but because the north sea is quite cold, see that wind blowing off the north sea? it will actually drag in that cooler air to the north sea coasts. so that does mean that places like newcastle and hull could only be around, say, 13, ia, 15, whereas out towards the west it could be as high as 20 degrees celsius. so that was thursday. this is friday, still a possibility of some showers brought in by that easterly breeze, maybe the odd crack of thunder as well. the best of the weather probably in western parts of scotland on friday. and in one or two spots we could even see highs reaching 20 degrees celsius. the north sea coast, once again, will be fairly chilly. so that outlook then,

yes, it is going to be a bit of a mixed bag. it�*s not going to be particularly cold — temperatures, in fact, closer to the average for the time of the year. that�*s it for me. bye— bye.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we�*ll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight

after this programme. can you teach creativity? and we will look at how to create tv formats that are successful around the world. we�*ll talk behind the creatives behind to entertainment formats. but first the secret of the celebrity interviewer with one of the finest in the business. we have achieved interview of the sunday times, interviewed bill clinton, madonna, jk rowling and many others and she is just one broadsheet interview of the year at the press awards in the uk. great to have you here and i know this is your second award and you are getting used to this. it is my fifth! you are getting used to this. it is my fifth!— you are getting used to this. it is my fifth!— it is my fifth! see you are really getting _ it is my fifth! see you are really getting used - it is my fifth! see you are really getting used to - it is my fifth! see you are

really getting used to it. | it is my fifth! see you are - really getting used to it. how do you go about setting up an interview?