an increase in sickness — after a parasite enters the water supply. the man accused of trying to assassinate slovakia's prime minister appears in court for the first time. and shocking footage emerges of an assault by the rap star sean diddy combs on his then—girlfriend cassie ventura. hello, i'm azadeh moshiri. we begin in ukraine, where president zelensky has admitted that a lack of manpower is sapping morale in the war against russia. mr zelensky�*s warning about troop shortages, comes as laws to boost army recruitment come into effect. prisoners will now be allowed to join up and fines have increased for men who ignore the order to fight.

in his tv interview, mr zelensky also said ukraine has just a quarter of the air defences it needs to hold the front line against russia. the situation on the frontline is tough. the regional governor of ukraine's northeastern kharkiv region said that nearly 10,000 people have been forced to leave their homes, since russia's ground attack there last week. let's hearfrom president zelensky about those troop shortages. translation: we need to staff the reserve. - there are a serious number of brigades which a large number of them are empty. we need to do this so that guys can have a normal rotation, then their morale will be improved. earlier, our correspondent in kyiv james waterhouse told me how ukraine is now in a different chapter of the war with morale very low. you have ukrainian forces which are thought to make up around half a million personnel, either fighting on the front line or in operations around it.

you now have a large proportion of those who are exhausted, who have been fighting for the best part of two years with little to no rest. and then you have men either avoiding or fearful of the draft being legally compelled to fight and join the country's cause. and so it's incredibly difficult for ukraine at a time when we are seeing fighting in the northeast, in towns and settlements close to the russian border, in an area where there is really intense fighting, which makes up more than 300 square kilometres. it's a real departure from the trench warfare we've seen over the past 18 months. and president zelensky acknowledges this. he's saying that morale is low. and i think for ukraine to openly be admitting that its troops are overstretched and struggling is a sign of how serious things are at the moment. and they are hoping for two things to take effect. firstly, a controversial mobilization law where it hopes

enough men will be able to join the fight and slow that russian advance. but it's also hoping that will be combined with billions, tens of billions of dollars worth of american ammunition and weaponry. but at the moment, it is a time delay that is seeing russia take more and more territory, and that's only increasing the political pressure here on kyiv. well, to that point, james, we're also hearing warnings from president zelensky about air defences and their supply. what is it that president zelensky is asking for from his allies? you've just said it. i mean, its air defences have been top of the list over and over. he prioritizes that over tanks, fighterjets, armoured vehicles, ammunition, everything else. but he's sort of really quantified his needs. he says the reason the russians have been advancing in the northeast is because his forces have a quarter

of the air defenses they need. and we're notjust talking about protecting cities. it also means challenging russia's air superiority because they've dropped thousands of guide bombs, guide bombs from fighterjets almost unchallenged across many parts of the front line. and at the moment, he is struggling to get what he needs in that regard. he also says he needs at least 120 f—16fighterjets, which have been promised by western allies. but as of now, none are thought to be being used operationally. so, you know, president zelensky really sees this as a gap in his armoury because we're also seeing people being urged to be rationed energy. there are planned blackouts once more. thermal power stations and water stations are being hit once more. it really does feel like ukraine is less able to defend, defend itself, not least when you look at the percentage of russian missiles that are being intercepted. this time last year,

it was a majority, a vast majority that were taken out by air defence systems. now it's around half. and those that do get through can cause real damage. health officials in devon, in southwest england, say they expect an increase in cases of a diarrhoea—causing illness, a total of 46 cases of crypto—sporid—iosis have been confirmed so far — with more than 100 other people reporting symptoms. south west water has said it's �*truly sorry�* for the outbreak and that the company will not stop working until the situation is resolved. 0ur climate and science reporter, esme stallard has been following the story from brixham. well, as you said, they said they're sincerely sorry. and part of that investigation, which they think is caused by an air valve up by hill, had a reservoir here and they think some animal manure got in by this faulty valve.

so what they've started to do is to drain that reservoir. and they're saying that once they've done that, they'll do further tests to make sure that it's all cleaned up. i mean, as you said, they've been criticised heavily from the fact that early in the week they denied there was a problem and then said there was and they're trying to respond to that. so they increased the amount of compensation being offered to people here to £115. and they've also set up a dedicated business line. but some people still remain angry. they said that £115 is an insult, in particular to businesses who obviously have been severely hit by people staying away as a result of this issue. well, esme, as you said, people are angry. this must have really shaken the residents and the businesses confidence in the water. what's the advice that they're getting? so at the moment, residents here remain under a boil water notice. so as you can see behind me, we're at a water distribution point. so residents are being advised to allow any water they consume, whether it be for drinking or for cleaning your teeth, either to make sure the wall is water is rolling boil. so that means that it's approaching

100 degrees or to be using this bottled water here. but as you said, people are very much shaken. you know, they were falling sick last weekend and they were told everything was fine and then suddenly actually everything isn't fine. so i think people don't have a lot of trust right now in south west water. and esme, this, you know, the wider context of this, there has been a number of issues and concerns when it comes to water across the uk, haven't there? there has been. absolutely. i mean, last week we heard that bbc news reported about a sewage spill into lake windermere, which was the responsibility of united utilities. and this comes off the back of an investigation that's ongoing at the moment by the environment agency and also the water regulator 0fwat into all nine water companies in england about their performance in terms of sewage and also their infrastructure. so i think that's the sort of background for this crisis. and so i think people here are just they think this is an example

of lack of investment in the infrastructure by water companies. cctv footage has emerged of the rapper sean �*diddy�* combs physically assaulting his then—girlfriend cassie ventura in the corridor of a hotel in 2016. ms ventura made allegations of rape and physical abuse against him in a lawsuit that was settled last year. combs is at the centre of several civil lawsuits accusing him of sex offences. this report from emma vardy has some distressing images. cassie ventura claims she suffered years of abuse in her relationship with p diddy, one of the most influential artists in hip—hop. in the cctv footage, she is seen leaving a hotel room. sean combs appears to run after her, before carrying out a violent assault. the full tape shows her being kicked as she lies on the ground.

after taking her items, next, the rapper seems to be seen throwing an object towards her. the video — obtained by the american news channel, cnn — has not been independently verified, but lawyers for cassie ventura, who has not objected to it being shown, say it confirms p diddy�*s disturbing and predatory behaviour. last month, homes linked with sean combs were raided by police in what they said was an ongoing investigation into sex trafficking. 0fficers searched properties in beverly hills, new york and miami associated with his production company. cassie ventura had previously brought a lawsuit against sean combs in relation to the incident in the video, said to be at a los angeles hotel. she settled out of court, but since then, several others have come forward, accusing him of sexual abuse. sean combs has previously denied all the allegations. in march, his lawyer called it a witch—hunt. today those lawyers said they no

longer represent him. the video appears to corroborate one of the incidents described in cassie ventura's case. her accusations and others against p diddy — a self—proclaimed bad boy — now part of a dramatic downfall for one of hip—hop�*s biggest names. emma vardy, bbc news, los angeles. in the last hour, slovakian officials have given an update on the condition of prime minister robert fico. they say his condition remains serious, but there is a positive prognosis. it follows the assassination attempt that sent shockwaves across europe. the suspect charged with trying to murder mr fico is appearing in court for a hearing to decide whether to hold him in pre—trial detention. the 71—year—old was brought to the court complex northeast of the capital bratislava in a police convoy. 0ur europe correspondent bethany bell is in bratislava.

what is the latest update with regard to the prime minister's health? . , health? the health minister said that his condition _ health? the health minister said that his condition appears - health? the health minister said that his condition appears to - health? the health minister said| that his condition appears to have stabilised following the surgery he had yesterday to remove dead tissue. she said we can speak, in her words, a positive prognosis for the prime minister but he still remains in a very serious condition in hospital and we were told by the deputy prime minister that it is unlikely they would be able to move him from the hospital where he is in central slovakia back to bratislava in the next coming days. the deputy prime minister also said it was possible to communicate with mr 0leksandr within the limits of his condition. —— mr fico within the limits of his condition. we -- mr fico within the limits of his condition-—

-- mr fico within the limits of his condition. ~ ., ~ ., ., ., condition. we now know that the man who has been — condition. we now know that the man who has been charged _ condition. we now know that the man who has been charged with _ condition. we now know that the man | who has been charged with attempting to assassinate the prime minister has arrived in court. what is the mood now in the country given there was this attack which shocked many around the world? fix, was this attack which shocked many around the world?— around the world? a very shocked and uuite around the world? a very shocked and quite concerned atmosphere - around the world? a very shocked and quite concerned atmosphere here - quite concerned atmosphere here among many, many people. the country had already been going through a period of political turmoil, but this has just increased fears of increased polarisation in this country. and there are accusations on both sides that people are making the situation, rather than the interior minister accusing the opposition and media of creating an atmosphere of hate. critics on the opposition side would say that mr fico is known for his confrontational and aggressive attitude, but what the slovakian

president has said is that this hate speech had got to stop. many slovaks are waiting to see whether the temperature will start to calm down. we will hear more from bethany as we get more updates on the prime minister's health. to the middle east next, where the israeli army says it is involved in intense fighting in the jabaliya area of northern gaza — which it previously said was mostly cleared of hamas fighters. the israel defence forces says tanks supported by warplanes and drones are fighting both above ground and in tunnels. troops went back into the area this week after previously pulling out, saying hamas had regrouped there. hundreds of thousands of palestinians have fled the fighting and bombardment. earlier i spoke to our diplomatic correspondent paul adams who's injerusalem, and started by asking him what the latest situation on the ground injabaliya is.

it seems to be intensifying. and this is several days after the israeli military went back into the refugee camp up there in the northern part of the gaza strip, saying that they had evidence of hamas reconstituting itself in the area. and we've seen pictures over the last 2a hours of israeli troops operating in these densely, tightly—packed streets. this is difficult, complex warfare. and i think it points to something that could become a feature of the conflict in the coming weeks, weeks, which is the possibility that even as the army pursues what benjamin netanyahu continues to call total victory with its assault in the south, there is a real danger of an insurgency that could pop up pretty much anywhere in the gaza strip, with hamas fighters, perhaps equipped with kalashnikovs and rocket propelled grenades popping out of tunnels or bunkers or abandoned buildings

and attacking the israelis. so this is a worrying sign. it is something that american officials have warned about. and it is going on while we while we still had the situation in the south where the israeli army is edging closer to the last city, which has yet to experience a full scale ground invasion — rafah. and we don't quite know when or if that will take place. and paul, on the humanitarian side, we've seen aid entering through that new us pier that's been completed. aid groups, though, keep warning that land routes need to exist, that they're vital. could you put this development into context for us? yeah. so the aid situation obviously remains extremely precarious as a result of the israeli operations in the south. the rafah crossing into egypt is still closed and egypt and israel are in something of a row

about who is responsible for that and whether or not that could be reopened and how it should be reopened. the kerem shalom crossing, which is from israel into the southern part of the gaza strip, is technically open, but because it leads into an active war zone, it's not really functioning as it should. and very little aid is getting in that way. in the north, there are a couple of crossings into the northern part of the gaza strip, which the israelis have opened in recent weeks. and of course, we saw yesterday the arrival of this new maritime route constructed by the americans and capable, the americans believe, of delivering anything up to 150 trucks worth of aid a day. we're not seeing that volume at all yet. but even if that volume is attained and aid agencies welcome any route that gets aid into gaza, it is not going to compensate for the lack of large scale effective land routes. and that is something which continues to cause the aid agencies great concern.

hamas has warned that a new floating pier off the gaza strip will not deliver enough humanitarian aid to meet the needs of people there. the group — which is designated a terrorist organisation by many western governments — has demanded that more supplies enter gaza via land crossings. the pier was used for the first time on friday, the israeli army releasing this video, which it says shows the arrival of the initial shipment. washington estimates that the route will deliver 500 tonnes of aid "in the coming days" to some of the more than two million palestinians in dire need of food and shelter. meanwhile, the israeli military says it has recovered the bodies of three hostages who were killed by hamas on 7th october and taken back to gaza. 0ur middle east correspondent lucy williamson reports. shani louk. yitzhak gelernter.

and amit buskila. killed near the nova music festival on the 7th of october. their bodies taken hostage and brought back home this week by israeli forces. our hearts go out to them, to the families, at this difficult time. we will leave no stone unturned. we will do everything in our power to find our hostages and bring them home. israel's prime minister has vowed to bring home the remaining hostages — the living and the dead. but that promise is wearing thin with many hostage families as the war in gaza continues. today israel's army said it had found this hamas arsenal, with a stockpile of heavy weapons. hamas released this video from the samejabalia neighbourhood weeks after israel said

the area was cleared. the un says aid to gaza has plummeted as southern routes are blocked by israel's operation in rafah, and that more than half a million people have fled, in search of safety, shelter and food. today, the first test of a new temporary pier and causeway built by us and british forces to get aid in. a lifeline for gaza to relieve the pressure on local populations and distant politicians. these the first pictures of cargo being driven along the floating causeway to un lorries waiting on gaza's shore. among the supplies, temporary shelter kits from the uk. we welcome it. we hope that it can be effectively scaled up. but it is no substitute for proper opening of borders, it is expensive and it's inefficient, but we hope that it will work.

but the new pier was little comfort for some of those watching from the shore. translation: they want to bring us food, - they should bring us back to our homes, they should stop the bloodshed, they should come and see how we are living on the streets. israel's allies are taking on gaza's growing humanitarian crisis with a $300 million response that will salve not solve. lucy williamson, bbc news. flash floods triggered by heavy rains have killed at least 50 people in afghanistan. officials in the province of ghor in central afghanistan say thousands of houses have been damaged or destroyed and about 2,000 shops shops are under water.

many key roads have been cut off. the un says more than 300 people died last week after flash floods caused by the unusually heavy seasonal rains devastated villages in the north. now tojohannesburg, where jacob zuma is officially launching the manifesto for his new party at a rally today. the former south african president was previously barred from running for the upcoming general elections, but the decision was later overturned. the elections will be held on the 29th of may. earlier, i asked our deputy africa editor anne soy how jacob zuma was viewed in the country. he's quite a divisive figure here in south africa, which is why when he launched this new party, which is barely four months old, we have seen ipsos polls, for instance, show that it has gone up to 8% in popularity. so that tells you that he has some support within the country and particularly in kwazulu—natal, the province where he comes from. and that is really the big worry for the ruling party, the anc, which he led and, you know, through which he was president from 2009 to 2018, that he is going to eat into their support. and that is really crucial for this

post—apartheid the party that has led this country since the end of apartheid, because they need 50% of the vote to be able to form a government. and if they fail to get that, they will be forced to form a coalition. and therefore, that is the huge debate going on here in the country. there have been attempts by the ruling party to try and clip the former president's wings. they have gone to court to challenge the use of the name of the disbanded military wing of the party, mk, but they lost twice. so quite a divisive figure in this election. and anne, could you remind us of his tenure in power and some of the controversies from before?

well, there's so many controversies that have been following the former president. at the moment, he's still in court, in the constitutional court because there's a challenge there that he should not run as a parliamentarian because he has been convicted. he has had a criminal conviction in the past. and so there are all these controversies that follow the former president. but it is nothing unusual here in south africa. donald trump says he wants to debate joe biden ahead of november's us presidential election, but will ask for a drugs test. campaigning in minneapolis, the former us president claimed mr biden would be "jacked up" for the two debates, to be held injune and september. let's hear some of what he had to say. i just want to debate this guy but, you know, and i'm going to demand a drug test here, by the way.

iam, no, i really am. i don't want him come in like the state of the union. he was high as a kite. i said, "is thatjoe up there?" by the end of the evening, he's like, "where?" it was exhausting, right? this was donald trump and joe biden debating ahead of the 2020 presidential election. the sudden agreement to hold two televised debates this year comes after mr biden challenged his republican rival to "make my day". mr trump quickly responded in a post on his truth social network that he was "ready to rumble". pope francis has found himself surrounded by a group of nuns, as he attended a ceremony in verona. the nuns, who rarely leave their convents, were released for the special occasion, at the basilica of san zeno, and took the opportunity to touch the pope's hands and kiss his crucifix. after the encounter, pope francis joked that "even cloistered nuns do not lose joy".

scientists say the solar storms that led to spectacular displays of the northern lights a week ago could return towards earth in two weeks' time. the conditions have been caused by a sun spot — 15 times as wide as earth — which can expell storms of plasma and magnetic field, causing the displays. this sun spot has now rotated away, but will return, allowing conditions when the aurora could be visible again. stay with us here on bbc news. hello, a fine weekend for many. hard to believe storms have been raging across western germany and eastern france, that's this cloud over the last 2a hours, but some of that cloud has floated our way, producing cloudy skies across southern counties of england and wales today, and the weather front with it has been producing some patchy,

light rain and drizzle. as it works its way west, with temperatures rising, we could see some showers and thunderstorms. for the vast majority notjust today but this weekend will be dry and warm once the sun is out. we have seen a lot of mist and fog to start the day. but whilst it will linger around some hills and coasts, particularly in scotland and eastern england, many will be seeing the sunshine come through. just that small chance of a few thunderstorms later. cooler day than yesterday across the north of scotland with more cloud, but the warmest conditions in south—west scotland, 2a degrees and plenty of sunshine for most to end with. any showers will gradually fade into tonight. tonight, more mist and sea fog forming down the north sea coasts, becoming quite extensive. eastern scotland, north—east england, east anglia, the south—east and maybe into home counties as well. temperatures fairly similar to what we saw last night. the mist and fog inland will gradually clear through the morning.

by mid—to—late morning, gone for most, but will still be coming and going along the coast in the east and north of scotland. more cloudy in the north of scotland, the chance of a shower, england and wales, much more sunshine around especially in the south compared with today. today we will see the highest temperatures, 2a degrees possible, mid—teens across northern and eastern scotland, a bit cooler along some where the fog lingers. it is the fog which comes back on monday morning, leading to a sluggish commute in some parts of the country. most of it will shift again by mid—morning. more of a breeze on monday for east anglia and the south—east but it should be a fine day for most. temperatures down a little bit for most but in the west of northern ireland, 2a degrees, with a few heavy showers here to end the day. next weekend, dry to begin with, but into the middle part of the week, two areas of low pressure combining, one of them moving out from the near continent to produce heavy rain on wednesday and thursday for england and wales, but a fair amount of sunshine also, and some warmth in that sunshine.

take care.

this is bbc news, the headlines... president zelensky has admitted that ukraine's lack of military manpower is sapping its forces' morale. he was speaking to the french news agency on the eve of the implementation of a new law which will extend kyiv�*s powers of conscription. mr zelensky reiterated his country's

need for better air defences. the uk health security agency's expecting the number of people with a parasite that causes diarrhoea to rise, following the contamination of drinking water in the south—west of england. so far, 46 cases have been confirmed, but officials say hundreds of people have reported symptoms of cryptosporidiosis. the man charged with trying to murder slovakia's prime minister, robert fico, is appearing in court for a hearing to decide whether to hold him in pre—trial detention. the country's deputy prime minister says mr fico had stabilised but still remained in a serious condition. more now on our top story, the russia—ukraine war. after russian troops crossed the border into north eastern ukraine last week, president putin has said there are no plans to capture the country's second city kharkiv, at least for now. the russian leader said his forces were advancing in order to protect the russian border region.

this is how the battlefield currently