we re exactly what they are. there were fi . hts exactly what they are. there were fights going _ exactly what they are. there were fights going on — exactly what they are. there were fights going on too, _ exactly what they are. there were fights going on too, like - exactly what they are. there were fights going on too, like the - fights going on too, like the started hitting each other with sticks, and there were a lot of moments where there was a lot of pepper spray going on. in moments where there was a lot of pepper spray going on-_ moments where there was a lot of pepper spray going on. in the middle ofthe pepper spray going on. in the middle of the night. — pepper spray going on. in the middle of the night. we _ pepper spray going on. in the middle of the night, we received _ pepper spray going on. in the middle of the night, we received by - pepper spray going on. in the middle of the night, we received by nypd, l of the night, we received by nypd, assaulted. — of the night, we received by nypd, assaulted, brutally arrested. they have a right _ assaulted, brutally arrested. they have a right to _ assaulted, brutally arrested. they have a right to peaceful _ assaulted, brutally arrested. they have a right to peaceful protest, as [on- have a right to peaceful protest, as long as _ have a right to peaceful protest, as long as it's— have a right to peaceful protest, as long as it's within _ have a right to peaceful protest, as long as it's within the _ have a right to peaceful protest, as long as it's within the law- have a right to peaceful protest, as long as it's within the law and - have a right to peaceful protest, as long as it's within the law and thatl long as it's within the law and that it's peacefui — long as it's within the law and that it's peaceful. forcibly_ long as it's within the law and that it's peaceful. forcibly taking - it's peaceful. forcibly taking over a building — it's peaceful. forcibly taking over a building is— it's peaceful. forcibly taking over a building is not— it's peaceful. forcibly taking over a building is not peace. - -- is —— is not peaceful. more trouble at the us universities, as a crackdown begins on pro—palestinian protests. 300 people have been arrested in new york, after police are called in. we'll hear from our north america editor, who is on the campus of columbia university, in new york — and we will get the thoughts tonight of mike lawler, republican congressman in new york. also tonight — the father of the girl who died while being smuggled to the uk, on how he tried in vain to save her.

we will investigate the money trail and the banking system that supports this trade in human misery. good evening. the confrontations between pro—palestinian protesters and the police are continuing on campuses across the united states. i2 protesters were arrested this afternoon at the university of wisconsin, in madison as police cleared an encampment there. tensions are also high in los angeles, where overnight, cou nter— protesters attacked pro—palestinian demonstrators on the campus. footage from the scene shows people using sticks and poles to attack a makeshift barricade that had been put around the encampment. police did eventually respond to what the university's vice—chancellor described as "horrific acts of violence". let her go! let her go! there were scuffles too in new york, where police arrested dozens of pro—palestinian demonstrators who were holed up in a building at columbia university, and they removed

a protest encampment. a total of 300 people were detained at columbia, and city college elsewhere in the city. the speaker of the us house of representatives, mikejohnson, said the authorities needed to be called in. what are universityl officials waiting on? what do they need to see before they stand up to these _ terrorist sympathisers? and that is exactly what they are. what's worse, though, _ is that columbia's choice to ignore the safety of theirjewish students and appease anti—semites- has inspired even more - hate—filled protests to pop up across the country. and what we're seeing right now is people wave hezbollah - flags and hamas flags — - their homemade signs supporting what happened on october 7th, it's outrageous. - the president of colombia university, minouche shafik, who has been under immense political pressure in recent days, has appealed for a period of calm. "we regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions," said a statement. "we made the decision,

early in the morning, that this was a law enforcement matter, the nypd were best positioned to determine and execute an appropriate response." but this is not confined to new york. a protest that began organically some weeks ago has now spread to 20 different states and over 30 universities. there were dozens of arrests at the university of texas this week. protests from coast to coast, riot police on the grounds of ivy league universities, yale, harvard, berkely, the george washington university, in dc. it is spreading into a national movement, with protests reappearing in places where they have previously been cleared. let's go live now to our los angeles correspondent, emma vardy. it's been a political minefield for universities. protecting free speech and students on campus who want to

go about their day, and dealing with the claims of anti—semitism from somejewish students as well. all of those tensions really boiled over here last night. it seems that what happened at around iipm last night here, the pro—palestinian demonstration, the encampment here, there was a surge of counter protesters — that lead to violent clashes between these groups of rival protesters, there were wooden barricades picked up and used as weapons, fireworks thrown over the crowd, and there had been a relatively small number of police on site at that moment. so the university called in the los angeles police department, the lapd, and they suddenly rushed to try to break up they suddenly rushed to try to break up this violence — but by then, it had really escalated and it took police a number of hours to separate those protesters. what there is now behind me as i encampment from the pro—palestinian demonstration which remains there outside the main library of ucla, but it's now the

rival demonstration by pro—israel supporters that separated by some iron railing. so everything feels a lot calmer now, but it's a very strange atmosphere for a university campus, and many students and lots of teachers arrived here today, some had driven quite great distances and were frustrated to find all classes were frustrated to find all classes were cancelled. at ucla, there was particular frustration because many students today would have been taking midterm exams and had got here especially for that, some stayed up all night revising the night before to come in and find nothing happening here today. nomia lubal is at nothing happening here today. nomia iqbal is at columbia _ nothing happening here today. nomia iqbal is at columbia university - nothing happening here today. nomia iqbal is at columbia university for- iqbal is at columbia university for us. that statement from the columbia president was rather interesting because what we've seen is that where the police have been taking down encampments, protests have sprung up again, and now she's appealing for that period of calm — it remains to be seen whether she will get it. at

it remains to be seen whether she will aet it. �* ., will get it. at the moment, christian. _ will get it. at the moment, christian, it _ will get it. at the moment, christian, it is _ will get it. at the moment, christian, it is pretty - will get it. at the moment, christian, it is pretty calml will get it. at the moment, i christian, it is pretty calm and peaceful — as calm as new york city can be, i guess. it is still noisy, of course, but nothing compares to what it was last night when new york police seem to carry out this coordinated raid on encampments in different parts of the city. there were several universities here — columbia is almost like the main hub, it's the focal point for these nationwide protests, other encampments have been inspired by the pro—palestinian supporters here. but the president has been under pressure from right—wing politicians who say she's not doing enough to crack down on these protests, and also from many of the student protesters themselves who are really angry at what they say has been a heavy—handed approach. the police did go in on 18 april, if you remember, and there was a fear by some students that it could happen again, there was this deadline set

on monday for 2pm for them to leave, but then we saw the raids last night. but the president is saying, "look, i'm not against your cause, i'm against your actions," and i think what it really came down to was there is a distinction between protesting and disruption — and when we saw that building being taken over, that was the point where the police felt —— they felt the police needed to come in. police felt -- they felt the police needed to come in.— police felt -- they felt the police needed to come in. when you say there's a difference _ needed to come in. when you say there's a difference between - there's a difference between protesting and disruption, is that how republicans see it? i listened to senators this afternoon and they didn't seem to be making that distinction. people are entitled under their first distinction. people are entitled under theirfirst amendment distinction. people are entitled under their first amendment rights to go out and protest about a war they have concerns about — yet they were talking about little gaza and supporters of hamas, they were all being characterised as one. lsandwich

being characterised as one. which the pro-palestinian _ being characterised as one. which the pro-palestinian supporters . being characterised as one. wu m the pro—palestinian supporters essay is just not reflective of their movement. i've spent time in the encampments speak to them, there were lots ofjewish supporters amongst them, and some of the students have made this point to me about how conservative politicians, republicans particularly have been, for years, republicans particularly have been, foryears, going republicans particularly have been, for years, going on about free speech on campus and cracking down on cancel culture — but they say it simply because they don't like this particular speech, that actually if you look at the concept of free speech in america, they are allowed to protest and peacefully protest. so lots of them are very angry, many of them say they are not surprised at the right—wing politicians's view on this. i think what many of them are frustrated by his they feel that the president sort of caved into that — she was in front of congress

a couple of weeks ago and she was questioned by republicans over what she's doing to crack down on anti—semitism. but look, students say these protests won't end, and it's worth mentioning this was going on before october 7th, there's a long history of people here who have been protesting against the israeli government and israeli policies. but for now, the protests have updated, it is to be seen whether they pop up again. it is to be seen whether they pop up aaain. , , it is to be seen whether they pop up aiainh , it is to be seen whether they pop up auain., , ., again. just looking at these -ictures again. just looking at these pictures of _ again. just looking at these pictures of ucla _ again. just looking at these pictures of ucla - - again. just looking at these pictures of ucla - these i again. just looking at these - pictures of ucla - these people pictures of ucla — these people attacking the encampment, are they students or professional agitators, people who were put in the universities there is a focal point? are these people from wider los angeles that are getting involved in this? , , ., ., , angeles that are getting involved in this? , ., , ., this? this is one of the points that certainly here. _ this? this is one of the points that certainly here, the _ this? this is one of the points that certainly here, the new _ this? this is one of the points that certainly here, the new york - this? this is one of the points that certainly here, the new york city i certainly here, the new york city mayor has made — he says that they

are these outside agitators that have come in to cause this trouble, but a lot of the students here don't really buy it. they say that they want to see evidence of that, because they feel that the whole movement has been targeted by these accusations. the policejust haven't given us any information on who these individuals could be — so at ucla, there's also speculation and reports that again, it's outsiders who have come in may be from different groups to try and cause trouble for each side, and the extremists on both sides are not representative of how students on both sides feel. but as i say, we've not yet been getting —— been given any details on who police think these outside agitators are. and these outside agitators are. and where is joe _ these outside agitators are. and where isjoe biden on this? what is he saying about these protests? it's difficult for him because the youth vote is very important within his coalition. , �* ., , ,

coalition. president biden has been across this the _ coalition. president biden has been across this the whole _ coalition. president biden has been across this the whole time, - coalition. president biden has been across this the whole time, and - coalition. president biden has been across this the whole time, and he | across this the whole time, and he said that students have a right to free speech, but it's also been very critical of the pro—palestinian protests, saying that he can completely condemn anti—semitism. as i say, the movement has denied that, and again today, the white house spokeswoman released a statement, saying that people are allowed to protest, free speech is allowed, it's when you start disrupting and obstructing. but it's a difficult spot for him, it's an unpredicted challenge because at best, i think he'll probably hope it's a distraction, especially as we head towards the election, but at worst, this could really gain momentum. he's pretty much heckled at all lot of the union democrat of nc turned into, his motorcade had to be re—routed from the white house to the capitol for the state of the union address because of pro—palestinian demonstrators who had organised a sit in along the road. i've asked a lot of the students, will this affect your vote

come november? many of them are not committed to that, they say they don't want to think too far ahead into the election, that right now what they are focusing on is trying to raise a voice for people suffering in gaza.- to raise a voice for people suffering in gaza. nomia iqbal, thanks for— suffering in gaza. nomia iqbal, thanks for your _ suffering in gaza. nomia iqbal, thanks for your time _ suffering in gaza. nomia iqbal, thanks for your time this - suffering in gaza. nomia iqbal, i thanks for your time this evening, outside columbia university. our north america editor sarah smith is at columbia university for us. here's our north america editor, sarah smith, who said president biden was trying to tread a fine line. it's difficult for president biden to work out where to come down on this. his party is deeply split — he's got representatives who are very, very supportive of the student protest movement, and some who are very, very critical of it. and he knows that he's at risk of losing the votes of hundreds of thousands of young activists, pro—palestinian protesters who think he hasn't been critical enough of israel and its conduct of the war in gaza. but at the same time, he knows that there are many, many moderate swing voters watching with some dismay what's

happening right across america, and they would like to hear him being more critical of the widespread disruption that these protests are causing. so, it is a very fraught political question for a president who is just six months away from his attempt to get reelected. we will talk plenty more about what's going on in the middle east currently after the short break. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

in mind of what is happening at universities around the country, we've been reporting that harvey weinstein will be retried. he's back in court today in new york, one of his rape convictions of course was overturned last week. the state's appeals court overturned his 2020 conviction on allegations of rape

and sexual assault, his lawyers claimed he did not receive a fair trial as thejury were claimed he did not receive a fair trial as the jury were allowed to hear unrelated evidence from when he says. these are the first pictures we've seen of him incidentally in court. he's still being held in prison a separate conviction in los angeles. but these are live pictures from outside the courthouse, let me show you gloria already, a high—profile lawyer who's been resenting many of the women in this case. let's listen in. and resenting many of the women in this case. let's listen in.— case. let's listen in. and based on her testimony. — case. let's listen in. and based on her testimony, the _ case. let's listen in. and based on her testimony, the judge - case. let's listen in. and based on. her testimony, the judge sentenced the defendant to 20 years of the 23 year sentence for criminal sexual assault. and it was forcible. the other three years were for the of their victim —— for the other victim where there was a conviction of third degree rape. the other victim

was in the courtroom today. mimi is not in new york at this time. so she's still thinking about it. she certainly will let prosecutors know when she reaches a decision. it's not an easy one for her. having said that, as to the new york court of appeals's decision, obviously i do not agree with that, i respectfully would be with the dissent. i'm also licensed to practice in california, and was present at the california trial... . ., ., and was present at the california trial... ., ., ., , ,, trial... gloria already speaking outside the — trial... gloria already speaking outside the court _ trial... gloria already speaking outside the court in _ trial... gloria already speaking i outside the court in manhattan. a reminder that in february 2020,

harvey weinstein was convicted of sexual assault and rape. he appeared in court today in a wheelchair, the district attorney... come to a decision that they will retry the case, but obviously with different evidence, this time some of the character evidence they brought in will not be presented in that retrial. but harvey weinstein will return to prison tonight because he's serving a sentence that was secured in los angeles. in mind of what is happening at universities around the country,

us secretary of state antony blinken who is injerusalem trying to broker that deal, has told both side that "the time is now". mr blinken said the deal on the table is hugely generous, and hamas should agree to it. the mediators are awaiting a response. it reportedly involves a 40—day ceasefire and the release of more than 30 israeli hostages, in exchange for many more palestinian prisoners. mr blinken has also been pushing the israelis on aid. he visited the israeli port of ashdod today, where he has called for aid deliveries to be accelerated. let's take a listen. given the need, given the immense need in gaza, it needs to be accelerated, it needs to be sustained. and as we focus on all of the necessary inputs, the number of trucks that are moving, what matters most is the impact. and we are focused on measuring that, making sure that people are actually getting what they need. well, israel's opposition leader, yair lapid, has told mr blinken that israel's prime minister has no excuse to not support a deal for the release of israeli hostages.

he added that if some right—wing members of benjamin netanyahu's government resigned in protest, he would step in to ensure the prime minister still has a majority. mr netanyahu has made clear that he opposes hamas's demands for an end to the war, and will go ahead with an offensive in rafah which the us opposes with or without a ceasefire deal. hamas has yet to give its response. let's now speak to oliver mcternan on this. he's a former hostage negotiator who's in touch with people close to the talks on all sides, and also the director of forward thinking, an ngo which works to promote an inclusive peace process in the middle east. all of her, you're very welcome to the programme. where do you see the sticking points right now on this offer that is before hamas? well i think, although _ offer that is before hamas? well i think, although israel— offer that is before hamas? well i think, although israel has - offer that is before hamas? well i think, although israel has made i think, although israel has made concessions, and those successions of allowing those people in the south to return their homes to the north, as well as a concession of withdrawing troops from the gaza strip, the details of those i think have still to be agreed upon, and i

can imagine that's a very difficult time in the negotiations. but i think the main sticking point is that hamas have been saying they need a permanent cease—fire. israel is not prepared to give on that. the other think i think —— thing i think we talked about before is this double objective. netanyahu, on the other hand, saying "i'll do anything to get the hostages back, on the other hand i won't end the war, i want to see the total demise of hamas," it's that contradiction that's actually, in any negotiation, difficult — plus the continuous comment on what's going on, i don't think we are giving the qatari egyptians negotiators a real opportunity to get down and have time out of the camera to discuss these things, because everything democrat every day, twice a day we are getting comments on what will happen or what should happen. lmilieu

happen or what should happen. when the secretary — happen or what should happen. when the secretary of _ happen or what should happen. when the secretary of state _ happen or what should happen. when the secretary of state talks about it being a generous offer, the number of hostages that would come back, i'll put it at something like 30, gaston —— less than 30, is there any specific detail on how many palestinian prisoners would be released in turn? i palestinian prisoners would be released in turn?— palestinian prisoners would be released in turn? i understand that the numbers _ released in turn? i understand that the numbers to _ released in turn? i understand that the numbers to be _ released in turn? i understand that the numbers to be released - released in turn? i understand that i the numbers to be released has been reduced from previous negotiations, and that too is a problem. but christian, the problem i have is while all of this is going on, the life changing circumstances that gazans, 2.3 million gazans are facing every day, it's almost as if we are being distracted from it. the reality is since these latest rounds of negotiations have started, a few hundred people have died and god knows how many other people have had their lives changed irrevocably. and i think that's where the international community should be focusing. we should be calling for a

permanent cease—fire for the simple reason, for the sake of the hostages and their families, reason, for the sake of the hostages and theirfamilies, but reason, for the sake of the hostages and their families, but also to make her equally the 2.3 that are just 2.3 million suffering and because at the moment. the lack of humanity is shocking people in gaza, that's what we are getting from them — they feel neglected, they feel forgotten, and they're wondering what their future is. ,, ., , ., ., they're wondering what their future is. the us administration has sounded pretty _ is. the us administration has sounded pretty bullish - is. the us administration has sounded pretty bullish on i is. the us administration has. sounded pretty bullish on what is. the us administration has - sounded pretty bullish on what would flow from any cease—fire, clearly they see it as a bridgehead to something that might make a big difference to the situation in the middle east, they're talk about normalisation of ties with saudi arabia, between saudi arabia and israel, and the arab states buying into a future palestinian state. do you think from the negotiations in jerusalem, that they have a partner in this current israeli government?

from the start, the salaries were very critical, even going back to the trunk period where the salaries were very critical particularly of prime minister netanyahu and the foreign secretary who were talking of the normalisation, they felt that was creating a problem. i understood from our contacts with the saudis, they've always been saying you can only have normalisation if you have the establishment of the palestinian state. in all of this region, we have to distinguish between the desires of the governments and actually the reality on the street. and i honestly think that the majority in the surrounding countries, the gulf miller region, would not accept the full normalisation that is desirable unless there is an end of occupation and a viable palestinian state. just

and a viable palestinian state. just a cuick and a viable palestinian state. just a quick one _ and a viable palestinian state. just a quick one on _ and a viable palestinian state. just a quick one on the cease—fire, we wait for this response from hamas, how quickly would things develop if it was accepted by hamas in gaza? i think the problem i come back to, if it's a temporary cease—fire, you'd still have all the problems to deal with. so it'sjust giving still have all the problems to deal with. so it's just giving space to exchange palestinian prisoners to be released and the hostages to be returned where they should be, with their families. returned where they should be, with theirfamilies. but i don't think it will solve the real permanent issues of gaza, what people are suffering now, norwill of gaza, what people are suffering now, nor will it resolve the day after. i think what israel has to consider is, what is the position of the region going to be if they continue the war after an exchange of hostages and prisoners? so i think those deeper questions are not being looked at, and truthfully, i think antony blinken's running

commentary is not helpful at all. i think it is more likely to sit in resistance rather than encourage agreement. resistance rather than encourage agreement-— resistance rather than encourage aareement. ., ., agreement. oliver, thanks for coming on the programme. _ agreement. oliver, thanks for coming on the programme. white _ agreement. oliver, thanks for coming on the programme. white a _ agreement. oliver, thanks for coming on the programme. white a line i agreement. oliver, thanks for coming on the programme. white a line of i on the programme. white a line of news to bring you before we go to the break, london's metropolitan police have just charged a man with the murder of the 14—year—old who died and that sort attack on east london on tuesday. the man has been named as 36—year—old... a further four people, including two police officers were seriously injured. he's also been charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of attempted murder and two counts of attempted murder and two counts of grievous bodily harm. more on that very shortly. hello there. we're seeing a change across southern parts of the uk. eventually, some heavy rain and thunderstorms moving in here. we also got overnight some more mist and fog, low cloud developing more widely. and for some areas of scotland in particular, it was a struggle to clear that all day.

in marked contrast, in norfolk here, we've seen temperatures over 20 degrees in the sunshine. but at the same time, we've also seen this cloud moving up from france. and it's that that's bringing some rain into parts of england and wales this evening. that'll push up towards northern ireland as well before retreating back towards the south—west. and as that happens, we'll see some heavier rain later in the night and more of that mist and fog and low cloud pushing further inland further north. temperatures, well, typically 8 or 9 degrees, so pretty mild overnight, but getting wet and quite stormy potentially across southern parts of england and wales by the early hours, some heavy rain, thunder, lightning and some large hail and gusty winds. maybe some disruption. the worst of it may push away, but it could stay wet for much of the day in south—west england and south wales. and we may well find some further heavy bursts of rain developing in other southern areas, drifting later into the midlands and north wales. further north, it's dry, increasing amounts of sunshine away from these coastal areas in south—east scotland and north—east england, where there's going to be

a cold wind blowing. temperatures not too high in the south—west, where it stays wet, but it'll be a warmer day for northern ireland, warming the sunshine for western scotland and again for the north—west of england. now, there is warmer air coming ourway from the continent at the moment. it's coming over the cold seas of the north sea, which is why we're seeing that mist and low cloud. that's to the north of that weather front, and that's bringing the rain on friday and it's moving northward. so we've got a bit more rain more widely for england and wales. some bursts of rain likely across southern scotland, perhaps northern ireland. northern scotland seeing some sunshine and later in southern—most parts of england. temperatures here only around 13—14 celsius. and on the whole, temperatures are going to be lower because of the cloud and rain, but we still could make 20 celsius in western scotland for one more day. but even here, the weather will change on saturday, as the cloud and what's left of the rain pushes into scotland and northern ireland. more cloud for northern england. but to the south, the weekend starts on a brighter note and a dry note with some sunshine. it'll feel warm in the sunshine

and temperatures 16—17 celsius, but those temperatures dropping in scotland.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. uncovering sara's story, we hear from the father of a seven—year—old girl who died in a small boat, trying to cross the channel.

will get you an update on sport but for some more detail on this note is that we're getting from the metropolitan to billy's last few minutes was up there in charge a man in connection with the death of a 14—year—old who was stabbed with a sward in northeast london yesterday. the chief crown prosecutor for north london said that they have charged marcus aurelio arduini monzo with the murder of 14—year—old daniel anjorin on your screen there. a furtherfour anjorin on your screen there. a further four people including two police officers were seriously injured in that attack yesterday so charged with two accounts of attempted mortar, two counts grievous harm, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed weapon. —— attempted murder. he will appear that magistrate court in barking

side. the persecutor set