hailed as a game—changer — a new study suggests widely—used weight loss drugs could cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes. despite huge protests, georgia's prime minister vows that parliament will pass a controversial law today that critics say will silence dissent. america's top diplomat arrives unannounced in kyiv, as ukraine forces continue to battle a russian offensive in the east of the country. hello. iam lauren i am lauren taylor. we start in the middle east, where the united nations says one of its staff members has been killed and another injured as they travelled to a hospital in southern gaza on monday. it said the workers were travelling in a un vehicle to the european hospital near rafah

when it was struck. there have been several clashes around the southern city of rafah — an area where many people had taken refuge from fighting elsewhere in gaza. thousands of people have fled the camp. israel has advised them to go to the al—mawasi area, near the coast, and to khan younis. there's also been heavy fighting injabalia, in the north of gaza. israel says it has returned to the area to counter any attempts by hamas to re—establish its military capabilities in the area. let's speak to our correspondent danjohnson injersusalem. give us more details about the un aid worker being killed. yes. give us more details about the un aid worker being killed.— aid worker being killed. yes, we don't have _ aid worker being killed. yes, we don't have a _ aid worker being killed. yes, we don't have a huge _ aid worker being killed. yes, we don't have a huge amount - aid worker being killed. yes, we don't have a huge amount of. aid worker being killed. yes, we i don't have a huge amount of detail yet, but we know that a un vehicle was struck yesterday and that one aid worker was killed, another one injured. that incident has been condemned by the un secretary—general, who has called for a full investigation into the circumstances. antonio guterres has used that to highlight the threat

that humanitarian aid workers are facing in gaza. the israel defense forces say their initial review of that incident shows that that vehicle, although it was marked, was in an active combat zone and that they had not been notified of its route and that they —— that may have been the cause, but the full circumstances are still being investigated. more than 190 un aid workers have been killed since this conflict erupted in october and it does outline the threat posed to humanitarian aid workers and the palestinian population, especially around rafah with the intensification of israeli military operations there over the last week also. �* , . ., ., ., ., also. and they have also had to go back into areas _ also. and they have also had to go back into areas they _ also. and they have also had to go back into areas they had _ also. and they have also had to go back into areas they had cleared . also. and they have also had to go| back into areas they had cleared of hamas, tell us about the operation targeting jabalia. hamas, tell us about the operation targeting jabalia._ hamas, tell us about the operation targeting jabalia. yes, we have seen israeli tanks — targeting jabalia. yes, we have seen israeli tanks going _ targeting jabalia. yes, we have seen israeli tanks going back— targeting jabalia. yes, we have seen israeli tanks going back into - targeting jabalia. yes, we have seen israeli tanks going back into that - israeli tanks going back into that area in the north of gaza, somewhere that was cleared earlier in this conflict. declared safe and free of

hamas fighters around january time. so the fact israel's military has had to re—enter that area and conduct operations perhaps suggests hamas battalions have been able to reorganise and pop up again in that area to the north of gaza, closer to israel, something that brings into question israel's strategy here and whether in suggesting that it can eradicate from hamas, whether it has been unrealistic in that aim. the israeli military had said that it needed to focus on rafah in the south of gaza, on the border with egypt, but at the same time it is intensifying its military operation there, we know that's fighting going on again in the north with the suggestion that hamas has been able to re—emerge there. and that is something people warned about, that as soon as israel had cleared one area, hamas fighters would reappear. so something for israel's military to consider as they move forward with their potential offensive against rafah in the south now. we

know there are now hundreds of thousands of palestinian refugees already sheltering in rafah who are now on the move again because of the intensification of military operations there.- intensification of military operations there. intensification of military oerationsthere. . ~ operations there. dan johnson, thank ou ve operations there. dan johnson, thank you very much _ operations there. dan johnson, thank you very much indeed. _ and for more on this story, you can visit the bbc news app or go to our website for all the latest updates. to georgia next. parliament is expected to have a final vote today on a controversial �*foreign influence' law that has provoked huge street protests. demonstrators fear georgia would impose the same clampdown on media as in russia, where similar legislation is already in place. protestors say the law silences dissent, and complicates moves tojoin the european union. let's go live to our correspondent rayhan demytrie, who is in tbilisi. i understand overnight, protesters tried to block the parliamentarians from going in and that didn't work, so it looks as though this will go ahead, doesn't it?— so it looks as though this will go ahead, doesn't it? well, the vote will no

ahead, doesn't it? well, the vote will go ahead _ ahead, doesn't it? well, the vote will go ahead because _ ahead, doesn't it? well, the vote will go ahead because yesterday, j will go ahead because yesterday, prime minister kobakhidze has vowed to adopt this law. he said that the government is going ahead no matter the protest, no matter the criticism that has been coming so far from georgia's western partners. we are now right outside the parliament, by the parliament and you can see behind me, there is already police reinforcement guarding the entrance to parliament. and this street was just full of protesters in the last minute or so, they moved to the main road outside parliament to block the traffic. so we can show, we cannot show you with a camera, but they are all here. there are lots of students, we know a lot of universities here in tbilisi, large universities, the students are on strike. they are not attending the lectures, they said they will all be out here in the streets protesting this law. ~ ., out here in the streets protesting this law. ~ . ., ,., ., out here in the streets protesting this law. ~ . ., ., ., this law. what about the role of the president? the _ this law. what about the role of the

president? the president _ this law. what about the role of the president? the president in - this law. what about the role of the president? the president in theory| president? the president in theory could veto this, but i understand thatis could veto this, but i understand that is only, that is not considered to be something that will actually happen and make a difference this time. ~ , ., , , .,, time. well, georgia's president has the ower time. well, georgia's president has the power of _ time. well, georgia's president has the power of veto _ time. well, georgia's president has the power of veto and _ time. well, georgia's president has the power of veto and she - time. well, georgia's president has the power of veto and she said - the power of veto and she said already short while ago, when we saw her hit out on the street, she said she will veto this law. it will give something like two weeks period time. salome zourabichvili has the veto power, but the governing party georgian dream have enough votes in parliament to override a presidential veto. the president is seen as a pro—western leader here, but she is largely ceremonial, she does not have executive powers. and does not have executive powers. and it sounds as — does not have executive powers. and it sounds as though it is quite a noisy protest. in the past, georgian protesters have got people to change things when they had protested. do you think now that this is over for

the protesters and there are no less possible changes? it the protesters and there are no less possible changes?— possible changes? it doesn't look like the government _ possible changes? it doesn't look like the government will- possible changes? it doesn't look like the government will change i possible changes? it doesn't look i like the government will change its mind. and they are expected to vote for this bill any moment now. but when it comes to the protesters, i think they are also quite determined to stand their ground. 0therwise, these three weeks of protests would have been all in vain. and they believe in the because they are fighting. they believe they are standing here and fighting for georgia's european future. 0therwise, georgia's european future. otherwise, they fear that their country will be lost to its northern neighbour, russia.— country will be lost to its northern neighbour, russia. thank you very much indeed _ neighbour, russia. thank you very much indeed for _ neighbour, russia. thank you very much indeed for that _ neighbour, russia. thank you very much indeed for that live - neighbour, russia. thank you very much indeed for that live update l neighbour, russia. thank you very l much indeed for that live update for tbilisi. —— from tbilisi. rayhan demytrie. and what researchers say could be a major medical breakthrough. a new study has found anti—obesity injections could reduce

the risk of heart attacks, strokes or heart failure in obese people, regardless of the amount of weight they lose. researchers spent five years studying more than 17,000 people in over a0 countries. they say the findings could prove as significant as the introduction of statins in the 1990s. with more, here's our correspondent chi chi izundu. obesity is considered a growing health problem in the uk, because alongside it can come other health complications. and one treatment — a weight—loss drug offered on the nhs only from last year — could help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. a new study — in part paid for by the company which makes one of the drugs, ozempic — is suggesting that the medication could cut the risk of heart attacks and stroke. scientists followed more than 17,500 people from 41 countries, with an average age of 62. all were either overweight or obese, didn't have type two diabetes, but did have a history of cardiovascular problems.

half were given a dose of the drug, the other half, a placebo. the report suggests that anti—obesity medications such as ozempic and wegovy appear to cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes, regardless of how much weight people lose. whilst the study still has to be fully reviewed, experts are describing its findings as a "game—changer", and could potentially change clinical practice like other drugs taken to help cardiovascular conditions. i think it's a really important discovery. it's an important change because it's the sort of thing we got with statins. when we — in the �*90s, when statins came in, we finally figured out that there was a drug class that would change the biology of this disease to benefit a lot of people. ozempic was originally used to help type two diabetes sufferers, but demand for it has seen shortages in recent months, leaving patients struggling to get their prescriptions. why these drugs are potentially helping fight things like heart disease is not yet fully known.

scientists think it could be related to inflammation. and there are other chronic diseases they also think this drug could help. chi chi izundu, bbc news. america's top diplomat, antony blinken, has arrived in ukraine on an unannounced visit. mr blinken arrived in kyiv by sleeper train, and was greeted by senior officials. his visit comes as weapons from the us start to arrive at the front line. ukrainian forces are struggling to hold back a russian incursion near its second biggest city, kharkiv. live to kyiv and our correspondent, james waterhouse. james, an unannounced visit from mr blinken and he has already been talking. what has he been saying? yes, he has described how a free and thriving ukraine is the best way to rebuke vladimir putin. he has described this visit is a real sign of reassurance. and this is not to say visits like this, not least from

ukraine's biggest military backer, are to be dismissed. these visits bear fruit and they are central to ukraine's continued war effort. but he will be talking with president zelensky and his senior ministers at a time when russian forces or expanding its invasion. where it is now starting to have a very different dimension, with this new north—eastern front line. and so you can be sure that they will be pointing mr blinken towards what is happening and president zelensky has already said he has raised the issue of the speed of this american ammunition and weaponry. because well it was a political coup for kyiv, for this huge $61 billion package to finally be unlocked in washington after months of disagreement, we are a month after that and we understand that only, there has been a trickle—down effect really in terms of ammunition. we're told artillery shells and long—range missiles have started to arrive. but

to give you an idea, kyiv acknowledges if all of it was to arrive tomorrow, its goal is only to stay in the fight and to hold the front line. and at the moment, we have more than 30,000 russian forces thought to be part of this cross—border incursion into the kharkiv region, we have mass evacuations in the surrounding area. we have a town called vovchansk which officials there say is being levelled. and you have evacuations further north. where there is constant shelling. it is clear russia's ambitions are widening and its confidence is increasing. so it is a timely visit by antony blinken, which of course is welcome, too. and which of course is welcome, too. and tell us what — which of course is welcome, too. and tell us what the _ which of course is welcome, too. and tell us what the troops or the generals in charge of the ukrainian side of things are saying about how important those weapons are and also about how difficult it is to get them to the right places. he has, there are huge — them to the right places. he has, there are huge logistical- them to the right places. he has, l there are huge logistical challenges

when your country is on the receiving end of a full—scale invention —— invasion. there isn't no—fly zone. if we heard a jet flying overhead, a lot people might flinch and turn their heads. so a lot of this kit comes by road or rail mostly comment never as efficient as air or by sea. and then course, even when you have to troops receiving it, they are already overstretched, the country is struggling to mobilise enough men for its right. and with this break—out fighting in the north—east, what little reserves ukraine has, they have been forced to redeploy further north, but there is still fighting going on further south, where russia is looking to take towns and cities there. so the delay to american aid is part of it. ukraine's domestic issues with mobilisation is another part of it. and it is clear they have had some issues in building fortifications around the border by the very nature of which russian forces —— russian

forces have in some parts seemingly wanted in and take in the settlements. so this is a very concerning time for ukraine. and you can be sure that they will be pushing antony blinken on longer term assurances as to how they can best defend themselves.— best defend themselves. james waterhouse. — best defend themselves. james waterhouse, thank _ best defend themselves. james waterhouse, thank you - best defend themselves. james waterhouse, thank you very - best defend themselves. james i waterhouse, thank you very much indeed. and you can get more analysis of antony blinken's visit to ukraine online from our us state department corrrespondent, tom bateman, who is travelling with the secretary of state. you will find that on the bbc news website or the bbc news app. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

let's get the latest now on donald trump's �*hush money�* trial in new york. the star witness for the prosecution, michael cohen, has been giving evidence. he was once the former president's lawyer and fixer, but he spent monday on the stand, outlining how he made a payment

to the adult film actress stormy daniels to stop her talking about a relationship she claimed she had with mr trump. the defence is expected to stress mr cohen's criminal record and openly stated dislike of his ex—boss. here's our north america editor, sarah smith. the star witness for the prosecution is also their biggest problem. he's been to prison for telling lies to congress, so why should thejury believe him now? do you plan on telling the truth? rude and loud—mouthed, he's already been called a bully and a jerk in this trial. and he frequently attacks donald trump online. even thejudge has asked him to stop it. trumpism is fascism, and we must eradicate it from our body politic. donald trump can't answer back. he has been threatened with a jail sentence if he says anything about michael cohen or any of the trial witnesses. so, instead, he's highlighting a new york times opinion poll that shows this trial is not damaging his political support. and there it is, it's trump, leading by a lot. in every state.

every swing state, leading by a lot. this trial is rigged. today, donald trump listened to his formerfixer saying he'd do whatever was required for the man he called "boss", including telling lies. mr cohen described working to kill salacious stories that could have hurt mr trump's first presidential campaign, including stormy daniels�* claim about a sexual encounter. for a felony conviction, prosecutors need to prove donald trump intended to influence the election outcome. he says he paid the hush money to stop his wife finding out. but michael cohen told the court, "he wasn�*t thinking about melania, this was all about the campaign." mr cohen says he paid ms daniels�* lawyer and kept donald trump�*s name away from the deal, but told him every detail because everything required mr trump�*s sign—off. political allies of donald trump are allowed to call mr cohen a liar.

does any reasonable, l sensible person believe anything michael cohen says? idon't think that they should, and i actually think— that his testimony will not affect any reasonable juror, _ and hopefully, we i have a few of those. michael cohen hates donald trump, he makes no secret of that. but will that stop the jury from believing his crucial testimony against his former boss? ifjust one juror is unsure of donald trump�*s guilt, that will be enough to save him from conviction. sarah smith, bbc news, new york. northern ireland�*s first minister, michelle 0�*neill, is due to appear before the uk covid inquiry today. many expect her to be asked about the funeral of senior ira figure bobby storey, which saw large crowds line the streets, despite covid guidelines. 0ur ireland correspondent, sara girvin, is in belfast. sara, what can we expect from today? yes, at the time of the pandemic, michelle 0�*neill was the deputy first minister of northern ireland and she was really at the heart of a lot of the decisions being made around how this place was going to

deal with covid. now, this is the third and final week of the uk covid inquiry sitting in belfast. so far, we have had a real picture painted about what has been described as political dysfunction, bad relationships between politicians and how all of that impacted on the decisions being made. the stormont executive, the power—sharing government here in northern ireland, had collapsed for three years in the run—up to covid and they had only been up and running again for a matter of weeks before the first case was detected here. so i�*m sure we will hear michelle 0�*neill�*s reflections on all of that. but as you say, she will most likely be asked about her attendance at the funeral of bobby storey. at the time, it was the height of the pandemic. it brought a lot of people onto the streets of belfast at a time when there were a lot of restrictions about funerals and public gatherings, how many people could gather. there were a lot of accusations at the time that michelle 0�*neill accusations at the time that michelle o�*neill and other senior members of sinn fein broke covid restrictions. the party was denied

that and said they acted within guidelines. it caused so much controversy that there was an investigation into the incident, but there was a decision at the end of that not to prosecute anyone in relation to the funeral. as i say, it did cause a lot of political controversy. 0ther politician said this really undermined public health messaging in northern ireland and gave an impression there was one set of rules for members of the public and anotherfor of rules for members of the public and another for politicians. 0f and another for politicians. of course, that is something that has been a massive think throughout the uk covid inquiry. so we will expect to hear from michelle uk covid inquiry. so we will expect to hearfrom michelle 0�*neill on that as well. —— a massive thing. in 2020, she said she would never apologise for attending the funeral of a friend. she later said she did accept the controversy around what happened did undermine public health messaging. will she go further than that today? we don�*t know, but a lot of people will wait and watch to find out. she is already inside the inquiry and we expect to hear from

her soon and that will take all day. and we will hear from baroness arlene foster tomorrow, the former leader of the dup and the former fizz —— first minister of northern ireland. so expect that talk about political dysfunction and bad relationships between politicians here in northern ireland to be a big thing tomorrow here at the inquiry as well. ., ., thing tomorrow here at the inquiry as well. ., ,, , ., thing tomorrow here at the inquiry as well. ., ~' , ., , thing tomorrow here at the inquiry as well. ., ,, i. , . in the us, one of the leading companies in artificial intelligence, 0penai, has unveiled its latest chatbot — called gpt—iio. it has advanced capabilities — including seeing, hearing and talking to the user. 0ur north america business correspondent erin delmore watched the launch from new york. 20 years ago, the biggest battle in tech was over who would win the war for search—engine dominance. google took the prize, and it isn�*t nowjust a multitrillion dollar company, it�*s also a verb. so now, enter the latest fight over who will lead on generative ai. the startup 0penai took the tech sector by storm with its chatgpt

chatbot in late 2022 that could answer users�* queries and carry out humanlike conversation. mark, you�*re not a vacuum cleaner... as of monday, we�*re now seeing that conversation happen out loud. the company demoed a chatbot that can field questions and give answers via voice. then exhale slowly... in the demonstration, the chatbot was asked to help someone prepare for a presentation by taking calming breaths. that�*s it. how do you feel? i feel a lot better. thank you so much. and to tell a bedtime story, even changing its tone from singsong to robotic. it also helped the user solve a math equation — not solve it, exactly, but teach him how to solve it open. 0penai got out ahead of a few expected announcements, including one from google this week, microsoft next, and apple injune. a woman who saved her twin sister from the jaws of a crocodile

has been recognised by king charles for her bravery. georgia and melissa laurie were on holiday in mexico when their trip of a lifetime became the stuff of nightmares. abi smitton reports. their family would describe twins georgia and melissa as keen and adventurous travellers. back in 2021, they took the trip of a lifetime to mexico, sightseeing and volunteering. with a group of friends, they signed up for a riverboat tour of the picturesque manialtepec lagoon. they were told it was safe to swim in the water. within minutes, though, melissa was dragged under by a crocodile. i actually heard her scream and i saw her being taken underneath by the crocodile. and then i realised she was really in trouble. it was georgia who saved her life, leaping into action. it grabbed her on the leg and her behind and tried to death—roll her and drag her away. so i was beating it on its snout and it grabbed my wrist and my arm. so i had to beat it off

with the other — with my other arm. both twins were rushed to hospital. melissa was left with life—threatening injuries. she contracted sepsis and was placed into an induced coma. it was touch and go for a while, but a few days later, georgia shared this positive update. they took the tube out of her. she�*s been breathing on her own very well. but she can�*t talk because of the soreness in her throat from the tube. she recognised me, knew who i was, seemed happy to see me. over the past three years, the twins have tried to put the ordeal behind them, but georgia�*s bravery is still being remembered and celebrated — she�*s now been awarded a king�*s gallantry medal for her life—saving efforts to protect her sister. abi smitton, bbc news.

the former boxing heavyweight king mike tyson and youtuber turned fighterjake paul have faced off ahead of their long—anticipated and much—hyped fight which is scheduled to take place in texas on the 20th ofjuly. tyson, who turns 58 injune, will take on the 27—year—old paul in a professional bout comprising eight two—minute rounds that has been sanctioned by boxing authorities. both say they can�*t wait. and just before we go, let�*s show you again the scene live in the georgian capital, tbilisi, where mps are expected to pass a controversial �*foreign influence�* law that has provoked huge street protests. demonstrators via georgia would impose the same clampdown on media as in russia where similar legislation is already in place. they say the law silences dissent and complicates moves tojoin they say the law silences dissent and complicates moves to join the european union. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello, the weather looks decidedly mixed over the next few days, just as it was on monday. for some others, there was a little bit of sunshine and someone. 2a degrees, or at least very close to it in parts of northern scotland. compare that with 14 of northern scotland. compare that with 1a degrees in south west england, with cloud, with outbreaks of rain. all in association with this area of low pressure and the slow frontal system. now, this weather front is now slowly on the move northwards and eastwards. you can follow that weather front here for tuesday morning. that is where we will see outbreaks of rain across eastern england, for a time across the midlands, certainly rain across northern england, southern and central scotland. rain pulling away from northern ireland. for wales in the south west, a mix of sunny spells and heavy showers. northern scotland should see dry and bright weather. we could well see the highest temperatures here, around 21 degrees. more generally, 16 to 20. andrew tuesday night, this is the weather front continued its very slow journey weather front continued its very slowjourney northwards and eastwards —— and through tuesday.

much of the rain fizzling out. a bit misty and making places as we stop wednesday morning. temperatures generally between nine and 12 degrees. —— and murky in places. a weather front still degrees. —— and murky in places. a weatherfront still in degrees. —— and murky in places. a weather front still in place, a degrees. —— and murky in places. a weatherfront still in place, a band of cloud and splashes of rain and heavy rain across eastern and northern parts of england. elsewhere, spells of sunshine, scattering of showers. possibly the odd heavy, thundery shower breaking out in the north west of scotland. temperatures in northern scotland might touch 22 or 23 degrees. in sunny spots elsewhere, in the high teens or the low 20s. the thursday, still the remnants of that weather from providing cloud and a focus for some showers. but we will see some showers breaking out quite widely on thursday. heavy and thundering places. but again in the sunshine, temperatures into the low 20s celsius. not bad at all for the time of year. into the end of the week on the weekend, this area of low pressure tending to weaken. the central low to the south of the uk.

so spots further north may escape most of the showers and see a decent amount of dry weather. temperatures could still get into the 20 celsius for some. could still get into the 20 celsius forsome. more could still get into the 20 celsius for some. more showers further south. some of those having thundery. but still with spells of warm sunshine in—between.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the united nations says one

of its staff members was killed and another injured as they travelled in a marked car to a hospital in southern gaza. hailed as a game changer — a new study suggests widely used weight loss drugs could cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes. america�*s top diplomat in kyiv — offering weapons and reassurances as ukraine forces continue to battle a ruissian offensive in the east. the isle of man is expected to move a step closer to legalising assisted dying — it would become the first part of the british isles to pass such legislation. the isle of man is considering legislation today which could see it become the first place in the british isles to legalise assisted dying. the island — off the west coast of england — is a crown dependency and sets its own laws. under the proposals, assisted dying would be lawful for terminally ill patients, with a life expectancy of 12 months or less, and who have a clear

and settled intention to end their life.