south africa asks the international court ofjustice to instruct israel to stop its offensive in rafah. we're live in the hague. president putin is given a red—carpet welcome on his state visit to china, signing a joint declaration with president xi, outlining the two countries�* close ties. and here in the uk, labour's keir starmer sets out his party's key messages ahead of the general election, insisting they have not �*scaled back�* on their ambition. a man has been charged with the attempted murder of slovakia's prime minister. robert fico was shot several times yesterday in while visiting a small town in the centre of the country. he's now in a serious but stable

condition in hospital in bratislava. at a news conference, the slovak interior minister described the suspect as a lone wolf, who opposed the government. more details about his condition and emerging all the time. in the last few moments, slovakian president—elect peter pellegrini had this update from the hospital where mr fico is receiving treatment. translation: the prime minister is now facing the most difficult and challenging days, hours, minutes in order for him to survive. and i hope that everything will work out for the best. i really hope for us all to see his soon recovery and coming to full strength. let's speak to bethany bell, our correspondent in bratislava.

as we heard, microphone is in a very serious condition. we have been told that the next few days will be critical for him. that the next few days will be criticalfor him. she that the next few days will be critical for him. she was shot at very close range, including in the stomach, and of course he underwent several arbours of emergency surgery yesterday. —— several arbours. we have heard people wishing him a speedy recovery from across slovakia's fractured political spectrum. and this is a moment of deep confusion, deep shock for this country. deep confusion, deep shock for this count . , ., ., country. tell us more about the reaction. _ country. tell us more about the reaction. how— country. tell us more about the reaction, how this _ country. tell us more about the reaction, how this shooting - country. tell us more about the reaction, how this shooting has| reaction, how this shooting has impacted people there? if reaction, how this shooting has impacted people there?- reaction, how this shooting has impacted people there? if you talk to some of — impacted people there? if you talk to some of the _ impacted people there? if you talk to some of the people _ impacted people there? if you talk to some of the people and - impacted people there? if you talk to some of the people and it - impacted people there? if you talk to some of the people and it is - to some of the people and it is treated as a real sense of disbelief that something like this could even happen at all here, and other people

expressing fears that this will perhaps deepen the divisions in this already polarised political atmosphere at the moment. we heard earlier today from the incoming president, calling on parties to either suspend or tone down their campaigning for eu elections, which of course are coming up injune, and appeals for calm. under has also been accusations by some of mr fico's are lies to suggest that they have said this particular incident was politically motivated by this man. —— mr fico's are lies. many people here say that the sort of feeble atmosphere and rhetoric has not helped the situation here. bethany, for no, thank you. let's turn to the hague now,

where south africa is asking the un's highest court to instruct israel to stop its offensive in rafah. these are live pictures from the international court ofjustice. the hearing is the latest intervention by the south african government in its legal case against israel. it says as well as direct military attacks, israel is starving palestinians in gaza by obstructing access to deliveries of food, fuel and medicines. israel has insisted it is acting in accordance with international law. it has dismissed the south african case as �*a baseless blood libel�*. south africa�*s legal team have been outlining their case, and have accused israel of breaching the court�*s previous orders with impunity. it is escalating its attacks on palestinians in gaza and in so doing, it�*s willfully breaching the binding orders of this court. israel similarly breaches the binding resolutions of the united nations security council, erroneously believing from the lack of countermeasures

by the international community that it is exempt from having to respect international law. we've heard assurances that israel was doing everything in its power to avoid civilian deaths as it exercised its claimed right of self—defense. we've heard boasts that israel's army is the most moral army in history. and we've heard denials that there is famine in gaza for months. people, particularly in the west, have appeared unwilling to accept that the accusations are true. how could people who look like us and sound like us possibly engage in anything like genocide? the case is taking place over two days, south africa is putting its

arguments to undoubtedly will respond on friday, and we bring you full coverage of that. we�*ll listen into more of those proceedings in a moment, but first let�*s get the latest from our correspondent anna holligan, who�*s at the hague. take a takea sip take a sip at the court has been heating. take a sip at the court has been heatinu. , ., , ., heating. testimony from south africa's legal— heating. testimony from south africa's legal team, _ heating. testimony from south africa's legal team, some - heating. testimony from south africa's legal team, some of. heating. testimony from south l africa's legal team, some of that africa�*s legal team, some of that harrowing testimony. in fact, one of the lawyers almost broke down when she was describing life on the ground in gaza at the moment. but this is all about the situation in rafah. so, south africa�*s legal team have asked the judges to issue an urgent message, kind of like an emergency injunction, to prevent the situation from deteriorating further while they consider the wider merits of this case, brought the genocide so, we have heard more of the evidence they say that exists, that

justifies the judges�* intervention, and they say that the judges should order that israel immediately withdraw from rafah and cease all hostilities. allow humanitarian aid access, investigators and journalists unimpeded access, and to report back. on the reason for all of this is because the lawyers were just think about rafah is the last refuge which has not been destroyed. the remaining centre of humanitarian aid, the host to one of the only functioning hospitals in gaza. so, for palestinians to continue to exist, south africa says, rafah it needs to continue to exist. they needs to continue to exist. they need a place from which to rebuild. in south africa says that palestinians�* rights are being violated under the genocide convention, which is why they have brought this case to the icj. you can see behind me camera crews are waiting because the hearing isjust

coming to an end. the cars are lined up coming to an end. the cars are lined up waiting to take the delegations away, and then tomorrow we will have away, and then tomorrow we will have a two hours listening to delta to respond to this allegation. israel of course has continued to serve it is acting within the limits of humanitarian law, and has accused south africa of the blood libel and bringing this case and acting as a legal arm of hamas. just bringing this case and acting as a legal arm of hamas.— bringing this case and acting as a legal arm of hamas. just remind us ofthe legal arm of hamas. just remind us of the powers _ legal arm of hamas. just remind us of the powers that _ legal arm of hamas. just remind us of the powers that the _ legal arm of hamas. just remind us of the powers that the court - legal arm of hamas. just remind us of the powers that the court has. i of the powers that the court has. the international court ofjustice is a euean�*s highest court. it deals with disputes between states, or disputes brought under which it controls the mounted, or has a mountain. —— the un�*s kyle scott. the powers of the khota bender, so if it issues one, it is binding, but it doesn�*t have any powers of

enforcement to go under and actually execute the it relies on states to comply. we have had orders to —— we have had orders in the past, and thatis have had orders in the past, and that is why they have come back with this request because you have been ignored, south africa say. it was requested by south africa just a few days ago and we are expecting, after israel presents its case tomorrow, probably next week, the judges will deliver their decision, whether or not they agree with south africa thatis not they agree with south africa that is an urgent intervention is needed to preserve palestinian life in gaza today, and in the future. and this is in the first case that south africa has brought against israel at the icj. just explain what they have done previously, and why south africa? anna, can you hear me?

apologies, i think we have lost a connection, but we will have plenty more coverage of that case. and if you would like to carry on watching her to our website, where you will find all of the details on the live page, and you can watch the court proceedings live and uninterrupted there, or you can also watch them in their entirety online at bbc news. viewers in the uk can also watch on the bbc iplayer. as we were given, you will observe also be able to watch when israel gives evidence tomorrow. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

here, the labour leader sir keir starmer has set out the first steps he would take if his party wins the next general election. he outlined six pledges, saying they�*re all fully costed, and ready to be delivered in the first term of a labour government. the conservatives called his speech �*yet another relaunch�*. our politcal correspondent,

damian grammaticas, gave us his analysis of labour�*s six pledges. well, i think the first thing you should sort of make of them is the manner in which this was all presented. i mean, it was very much like a sort of campaign event. you had keir starmer, his sleeves rolled up, jacket off, tie off, standing there with his entire shadow cabinet behind him. these six steps that they wanted to lay out, there are cards that will be able to be handed out. there�*s a digital version. there�*s going to be posters going up in key constituencies. so it felt like a campaign event, even if we�*re not in a campaign. and it was all about trying to send this sort of picture and this message that here is a man, a leader, a party who want to get their sleeves rolled up and get stuck in and make changes six key areas — these are not new things, but labour�*s trying

to hone in on things it can show that it could try to start delivering. so not new pledges, not changing old ones, but things like economic growth, more nhs appointments, more teachers, that sort of thing. here�*s a flavour of what sir keir starmer had to say. the big change that we need to make to our country to take it forward, to improve it, to make it a better place. long term ambitions. credible plans. fixing the fundamentals and giving an incoming government a driving sense of purpose about the change that we want to bring about. now this is going to be hard. sticking plasters is easy. itjust doesn't work. but i've never shied away from tough decisions. iran a public service. we changed it, we reformed it. lots of people said, you couldn't do it, you shouldn't do it. but we had to press on. we've changed the labour party and put it back in the service of working people. country first, party second. well, the conservatives have watched

all this and immediately got their riposte in, saying, here�*s a man who has changed his his policies and his positions multiple times. so you shouldn�*t put store in what he�*s saying. here�*s richard holden, chairman of the conservative party. look, i mean, this is keir starmer's 16th relaunch in a few months. i mean, he's dumped every pledge that he made during the labour leadership campaign. he's dumped every pledge he made when he tried to get jeremy corbyn in to be prime minister, not once but twice. i think people need to take with an enormous pinch of salt anything that he's putting forward. it's quite clear that labour don't have a cohesive plan and would take the country back to square one. i have no idea why anybody would believe a word that keir starmer says when every single time he's got a different audience to play for, he changes his tune. he changes what he's saying and changes what he says he stands for. you know, with 16 relaunches in a matter of a couple of years,

after four years in opposition, he's not got a cohesive plan. i think it says everything you need to know about keir starmer. keir starmer was asked about this and he said no, what he�*s been doing is changing the labour party, changing its focus, honing its policies. and these are all arguments you�*re going to hear played out much more in the coming months. china and russia have put on a display of unity and mutual support during a meeting of their two leaders in beijing. there were smiles, handshakes and warm words from both xi jinping and vladimir putin at the start of the russian leader�*s two—day visit to china. our correspondent laura bicker sent this report from beijing. in the west, he�*s seen as a pariah. but in china, president putin is a key partner as beijing seeks a new world order, one not led by the united states. the red carpet was rolled out, complete with a red army band

welcome as they walked together in a show of defiance against western pressure. mr putin needs china. it�*s become an economic lifeline for an isolated and heavily sanctioned russia. china will always be a good neighbor and the good friend of mutual trust with russia. mr putin said he would inform president xi about the situation in ukraine and he said he would welcome china�*s role as peacemaker. beijing put forward a 12 point peace plan more than a year ago, but it received a lukewarm welcome from both ukraine and russia. but while mr xi is trying to play peacemaker, he�*s also accused of helping to fuel russia�*s war. if the west wants to stop russia�*s advances in ukraine, they know here is one place they can do that. now, beijing is not supplying

moscow with weapons, but the west believes it is supplying russia with components that it can use in its war machine. the us has a raft of new sanctions at the ready, this time to target chinese banks. so president xi has a decision to make. beijing does need moscow. russia supplies it with cheap oil and gas. this soaring trade also helps shield mr putin from western sanctions, but there are ukrainians sheltering in beijing whose voices are growing louder. vita gold translates news from her home country and puts it on social media. just let them know the truth about this war. it was tough emotionally, to be honest, and it took a lot of time. but 100 people were working hard to translate official news and speeches of president zelensky.

so we decided to do this work because who else? beijing is not likely to make any policy shifts. instead, the two pledged to deepen their partnership. but mr xi will be calculating just how much he is willing to pay for mr putin�*s war. laura baker, bbc news, beijing. donald trump�*s former lawyer michael cohen has returned to the stand for another day of testimony at a new york court in the former president�*s hush—money trial. he�*s already been giving evidence for two days, with the defence attacking cohen�*s credibility, bringing up his many social media comments bashing trump. earlier i spoke tojessica roth, professor of law at cardozo school of law. he was an effective witness on the right to examination. he took the jury right to examination. he took the jury through the catch and kill

scheme to catch and suppress stories that were negative about donald trump in the lead up to the election. the payment to stormy daniels at he fronted, that he was reimbursed for by donald trump. and the scheme to falsify the records of the scheme to falsify the records of the trump organisation to conceal the trump organisation to conceal the true nature of those payments. so he essentially provided the entire narrative arc of the prosecution�*s is. and now he is on cross examination, which continues today, and we are going to see the defence attorneys try to destroy his credibility so that they can argue to the jury that the jury should place in no weight whatsoever on michael cohen�*s testimony. find place in no weight whatsoever on michael cohen's testimony. and what ou make michael cohen's testimony. and what you make of — michael cohen's testimony. and what you make of that _ michael cohen's testimony. and what you make of that argument, - michael cohen's testimony. and what you make of that argument, and - michael cohen's testimony. and what you make of that argument, and how| you make of that argument, and how they managed to construct that so far? i mean, he is a proven liar. he is a far? i mean, he is a proven liar. he: is a proven liar, he has pled guilty to telling lies to congress, he has put guilty to tax offences and bank fraud and campaign finance violations among other crimes. so far, however, doesn�*t prove that the defence attorneys are doing an

effective job of destroying his credibility. the facts about his past, including his convictions, have already been brought out on direct examination by the prosecutor. i think what the defence needs to do is really more effectively bring out times that michael cohen has light and show how he did so whenever he perceived it to be to his advantage. and then to suggest to thejury to be to his advantage. and then to suggest to the jury that she is lying right now because he thinks it is to his advantage to do so, given his current position. i think there are also going to need to do a more effectivejob of are also going to need to do a more effective job of persuading the jury that he is a biased towards the former president, because essentially he has not lost so much on account of his prior loyalty to the former president, and as a consequence he has not being careful about the details about what precisely donald trump was involved in and what she wasn�*t because the defence would suggest, michael cohen is so bent on bringing down donald trump. i is so bent on bringing down donald trum. , , ., , is so bent on bringing down donald trum. , , .,

trump. i 'ust remind us what is at the trump. ijust remind us what is at the heart of _ trump. ijust remind us what is at the heart of all _ trump. ijust remind us what is at the heart of all of _ trump. ijust remind us what is at the heart of all of this. _ trump. ijust remind us what is at the heart of all of this. donald - the heart of all of this. donald trump has pleaded not guilty to 33 counts of fraud, hasn�*t he? the counts of fraud, hasn't he? the charues counts of fraud, hasn't he? the charges are _ counts of fraud, hasn't he? the charges are 34 _ counts of fraud, hasn't he? tue: charges are 34 counts counts of fraud, hasn't he? tte: charges are 34 counts of charges are 3a counts of falsification of business records with the intent to conceal another crime. on the part of the prosecution�*s case that i think weakest and most depended on michael quinn�*s testimony is connecting donald trump to the falsification of the business records. the only people who were involved in those discussions about the falsification of the were michael cohen, alan was sober, the ceo of the organisation, and according to michael cohen, donald trump. but alan weiss and berger is not testifying as a witness, and that is why michael cohen�*s credibility is so critical in the tissue.

earlier this week, the first official portrait of king charles since his coronation was revealed depicting the king on canvas, in the uniform of the welsh guards. from friday, visitors to buckingham palace will have the chance to see one of the biggest collections of images from the royal family�*s archive, collated over more than 150 years. our royal correspondent daniela relph, has been taking a look. through the gallery doors, the faces of royalty loom large. some of the photos are familiar. here, the andy warhol print of the late queen from 1985. but many capture something more intimate. this photo was kept private until now. royal mothers with their newborn babies — the queen, princess margaret, princess alexandra and the duchess of kent. the photo was taken in 1964 as a thank you to the doctor who delivered the children. and then the more recent moments. these are all the work of photographer hugo burnand,

whose portfolio includes the king�*s coronation and the wedding of the prince and princess of wales. there�*s one picture which i discussed with them, which i hoped we might do, which was the picture of prince william and catherine with all the bridesmaids. i call it the tumble, and we had three minutes to do it, but three minutes isn�*t very long to take a portrait. and the reason why i mention that is because all the expressions and all the movements and all the positions are very spontaneous. they�*re from the people. they�*re not directed by me. and i think that has to come from a certain amount of trust going both ways. and in a way, it was probably the most successful picture for me of that day. so, it crosses the border between formal and informal. the retouching of portraits was commonplace from the earliest prints to make them look as good as possible. some images show the photographer�*s annotations. this picture of the late queen and prince philip includes notes which say, "background must be kept light and please do not cut."

the photographer was antony armstrong—jones, who later married the queen�*s sister, princess margaret, and regularly photographed his wife. the exhibition has been ten years in the planning and everyone involved has some favourites. tell us why you like this image of the late queen so much. i think it's very strong graphically. we have a very stark pale background and the sitter is portrayed in a very simple woolen admiral's cloak. and i think that she comes through as really kind of the woman behind the monarchy. the collection is a reminder of the power of photography over the past hundred years to shape public perception of the royal family. daniela relph, bbc news, the king�*s gallery at buckingham palace. scientists in britain say they have proved a theory of einstein�*s —

about the way matter plunges into black holes. for the first time, they�*ve been able to identify an area called �*the plunging region�* — the point where matter circling a black hole is suddenly pulled into it at close to the speed of light. the scientists say it�*s an exciting development that shows matter responding to gravity "in its strongest possible form". a p pa re ntly apparently they managed to capture the very first observations of the moment that matter disappears through the strange boundary. hello. some places continue to bask under blue skies and warm sunshine, but for others, it�*s quite a different—looking day. some cloud and rain for one of our weather watchers this morning in cambridgeshire,

in association with this frontal system. weather at the moment is still being driven by low pressure, centred to the south of us. but we will see some outbreaks of rain continuing westwards across the midlands into wales, some heavy thundery downpours to the south of that. for northern england, northern ireland and scotland, some decent spells of sunshine. but even here, one or two heavy thundery showers breaking out. temperatures in northern scotland up to around 2a celsius, more generally, 17 to 21. but always feeling a bit cooler than that where you have the cloud and the rain, which through the late afternoon and the evening could turn very heavy indeed across parts of the west midlands, mid and north wales. there could be enough rain for some localised flooding and some travel disruption before that rain clears away westwards, leaving a band of cloud behind across parts of wales and northern england. and elsewhere, there will be some patches of mist and fog, some clear spells, too. we start tomorrow morning with temperatures generally between seven and 12 celsius. so a band of cloud to start off across parts of northern england and north wales.

there�*ll be some patches of mistiness elsewhere, but a lot of that should tend to lift and break up. and then, we will see some spells of sunshine, albeit with a scattering of showers. temperature—wise, well, highs of 21 to 22, maybe 23 celsius in the warmest locations. now into the weekend, we will continue to see some mist and fog, particularly at night and in the mornings. also some spells of warm sunshine, but with some heavy showers, particularly on saturday, where you�*re closest to this area of low pressure. quite a flabby feature, but centred just to the south of us. could see some more persistent rain for a time sirst thing for a time first thing across south east england. that will tend to clear and it is southern parts that i think will bear the brunt of the showers on saturday. further north, a lot of mist and murk and low cloud first thing, some spells of sunshine, but more cloud creeping into north west scotland and northern ireland that�*ll knock the temperatures back a little bit for some areas. and then into sunday, a mostly dry day, actually, a few showers.

best of the sunshine likely to be across england and wales. more cloud for northern ireland and scotland, certainly turning cooler in the north of scotland.

soaring through 40,000. in new york, the dowjones index crosses the symbolically important 40,000 mark for the first time ever.

but can the rally last? walmart shares jump — as profits at the retail giant rise with wealthier customers shopping in—store and online. butjapan�*s gdp slumps again — with india on—track to overtake it as the world�*s number four economy. welcome to business today, i�*m ben thompson. we start in new york where we can witnes a historic moment... keep an eye on this number. because it has crept through 40,000 for the first time ever. that is the dow jones industrial average.