hello, i'm caitriona perry. you're very welcome. president biden is rejecting allegations from the international criminal court's chief prosecutor, who is seeking arrest warrants for israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and defence minister yoav gallant. the prosecutor, karim khan, is accusing the two of conducting war crimes and crimes against humanity in gaza. mr khan has also applied for arrest warrants for three leaders of hamas, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the october 7th attacks in israel. speaking at a jewish heritage month celebration at the white house, biden said there is no equivalence between israel and hamas. let me be clear, contrary to allegations against israel made by the international court ofjustice, what's happening is not genocide.

we reject that. and will always stand with israel and the threats against its security. mr khan alleges there is evidence to suggest �*starvation�* has been used by the prime minister and his defence minister as a �*method of war�* against civilians. he also alleges israeli leaders killed wilfully, intentionally directing attacks against civilians. mr netanyahu has described the allegations as �*absurd'. in respect of hamas, the prosecutor alleges there is clear evidence they ordered mass murder, rape and the inhumane treatment of hostages. a panel of iccjudges must now decide whether they believe the evidence is sufficient to issue warrants, something which could take weeks or months. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams explains more from jerusalem. the icc prosecutor's decision to seek arrest warrants against members of hamas and the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his defence

minister yoav gallant has caused outrage all around. hamas have said they believe the icc is confusing the perpetrator with the victim and benjamin netanyahu has released a long two passionate, angry statement in which he accuses mr khan, the prosecutor, of anti—semitism in very blunt terms indeed. he has called this step a moral outrage of historic proportions that will cast an everlasting mark of shame on the international court. israeli politicians, in fact the whole country really, has responded as one regarding with the degree of horror the comparison between three members of the hamas leadership and the israeli government. for most israelis, for almost all israelis, any suggestion that the two sides are equally culpable, equally guilty of committing war crimes and

crimes against humanity, is simply an outrage and they reject it completely. it has brought together politicians of all stripes, including many of mr netanyahu cosmetic ferocious opponents and even representatives of the israeli hostages and their families have said that they also reject that comparison. for more on this, i spoke to ambassador todd buchwald, former head of the office of global criminaljustice at the us department of state and current professorial lecturer in law at george washington university. israel does not recognise the international criminal caught. can it ignore these proceedings? it can it ignore these proceedings? can it ignore these ”roceedins? ., proceedings? it does not recognise _ proceedings? it does not recognise the _ proceedings? it does not recognise the court - proceedings? it does not recognise the court but l proceedings? it does not recognise the court but i | proceedings? it does not i recognise the court but i do not think it can ignore the proceeding. the court exerts jurisdiction over crimes, alleged crimes, that are committed in the territory of what it considers a state party and it considers palestine a state party. israel is not a

member of the cord but that will not stop... the reason it is important that israel canada ignored is that all the other 124 member states will be under an obligation to the treaty to carry out any arrest warrants the court might issue. so, it would be, israel would be operating against the power of... to state this isn't happening. of... to state this isn't happening-— of... to state this isn't hauenina.�* ., , �* ~' of... to state this isn't hauenina.�* ., , �* ~ ., happening. antony blinken also said today that _ happening. antony blinken also said today that the _ happening. antony blinken also said today that the icc - happening. antony blinken also said today that the icc does - said today that the icc does not have jurisdiction here either. not have “urisdiction here either. , ., not have “urisdiction here either. , . ,, either. yes. that may be the us osition, either. yes. that may be the us position, israel's _ either. yes. that may be the us position, israel's position, - position, israel's position, but it does not mean they can ignore that there are 124 other states that do not have the position. it can be a state's position. it can be a state's position that a citizen cannot be arrested if the codes to the uk but it does not mean the person... uk but it does not mean the person- - -— uk but it does not mean the person... uk but it does not mean the erson... ~ ., ., , ., ., person... what does it mean for the us than? —

person... what does it mean for the us than? obviously - person... what does it mean for the us than? obviously the - the us than? obviously the biden�*s administration, staunch defenders, staunch defenders of israel. self—defence. that prime minister netanyahu has taken on gaza. versus the rest of the world where those on hundred and 24 other countries imagine there? it hundred and 24 other countries imagine there?— hundred and 24 other countries imagine there? it remains to be seen how the — imagine there? it remains to be seen how the other _ imagine there? it remains to be seen how the other country - seen how the other country summit will deal with this but they will be under what they consider a legal obligation. so far the indications are this is not doing, if the idea should break the bond between the united states and israel, this is having the exact opposite results. we saw the statements by president biden and antony blinken this morning within an hour or two within the prosecutor's announcement and they were staunchly behind the israelis, calling the move outrageous in this kind of thing. i do not think this is going to at all break the bond between the united states and

israel, if anything it will ring them closer together if anything. ring them closer together if an hina. ,, , ., , anything. questions of jurisdiction _ anything. questions of jurisdiction aside, - anything. questions of jurisdiction aside, in i anything. questions of. jurisdiction aside, in your view looking at the case the prosecutor has put forward, is there evidence there for these charges, for the request for arrest warrants at the icc judges will have to decide upon? i5 judges will have to decide u on? . . judges will have to decide u on? , ., ., judges will have to decide uon? , ., ., ., upon? is hard to say, we have not seen _ upon? is hard to say, we have not seen the _ upon? is hard to say, we have not seen the evidence - upon? is hard to say, we have not seen the evidence the - not seen the evidence the prosecutor has put together. we have seen pictures on television and so forth and that they have been a tragic number of deaths and destruction, that does not necessarily tell us the extent to which war crimes have been committed or who was responsible for them. it is hard to know. the prosecutor announced the charges today, he gave a lengthy charges about what the charges were but did not release the actual evidence based on witness testimony or whatever estimation they put together in the case file. should the judges together in the case file. should thejudges decide together in the case file. should the judges decide to issue these arrest warrants, what effect was that actually

have on what israel, what hamas are both doing. obviously there are both doing. obviously there are arrest warrants issued for three senior leaders or application for arrest warrants for three senior hamas leaders as well. given they have been resolutions from the security council, un general assembly etc that have had limited effect? ~ .. etc that have had limited effect? ~ .,. ., effect? well, the fact that hamas leaders _ effect? well, the fact that hamas leaders and - effect? well, the fact that hamas leaders and the . effect? well, the fact thatj hamas leaders and the us effect? well, the fact that l hamas leaders and the us is completely different. the most immediate way in which the restaurants operate is a quasi— travel ban. it creates a situation in which the target of the arrest warrant travels at his or her peril to a country that is an icc state member because the icc state member because the icc state member may under their obligation arrest the person. that is much more of a problem for israel who has a leader who goes to other countries and meets with icc member states frequently and hamas, hamas

leaders do not really travelled to london, to paris, to meet with french and uk and german leaders and so forth. so it is much more important in my mind it is much more important for the israeli leaders than for hamas. now to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in gaza. the new york times reports officials on monday say one of the first aid shipments to arrive inside of the territory through a us—built pier was looted over the weekend. a un world food programme spokesperson says crowds intercepted a convoy of 16 trucks that were loaded with goods and ran off. the organisation suspended deliveries from the pier on sunday and monday. iran is observing five days of mourning, after its president, ebrahim raisi, was killed in a helicopter crash on sunday. he had been travelling with the foreign minister through thick fog and rain, in a remote area near the border with azerbaijan. iran's supreme leader, ali khamenei,

says the vice president will take over until elections onjune 28th. our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, reports. in the fog at first light on this forbidding terrain, the crash site was finally reached and the bodies pulled from this wreckage, including president raisi and his foreign minister, abdollahian. a journalist from iran's state tv reporting from this scene, the blue—and—white tailfin behind him. no—one survived when this helicopter came down in the mountains of north—west iran, killing eight people on board. they had flown in a convoy of three choppers, close to the border with azerbaijan. president raisi inaugurating a new dam. the azeri president, ilham aliyev, says he bid him a friendly farewell.

in tehran today, a sad goodbye — the grief of his faithful flock. and on social media, scenes of sorrow, but also, celebration. the bbc�*s persian service, which can't report inside iran, has been monitoring the messages. they see him, they call him, he is the president of the poor people. but the reality is, if you look at the mass majority of iranians, we know what we are hearing from inside iran and those people who dare to come on social media and express their opinions, we see there are huge numbers of people are expressing their excitement...his death. chanting on president raisi's watch, iran cracked down on unprecedented protests — a new generation lashing out against strict islamic rules, restricting their freedoms. his sudden demise won't change iran's direction.

it's a big mistake that western governments — they rely very much on people hostile towards iran for their analysis and for their information, and that's what makes them pursue mistaken policies that only backfire. in the islamic republic, the 85—year—old supreme leader, ayatollah khamenei, is the ultimate authority. raisi was seen as his possible successor. the hardliners control all the levers of power. as they start the process to select a new president, continuity is their top priority. lyse doucet, bbc news. and although some countries including iraq, syria and lebanon havejoined iran in mourning, the us state department had a harsher response. we regret any loss of life, don't want to see anyone die in a helicopter crash. but that

does not change the reality of his record, both as a judge and the president. run. the fact he has blood on his hands. —— run around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at another story making headlines: new research has shown that some people paralysed from the neck down have some movement restored by electrical pulses around the damaged area coupled with physiotherapy. a clinical study of the technique on 60 patients who had their injuries several years ago found that 43 showed some improvement in their hand movements. pallab ghosh has more. this is how it works — the brain sends instructions to move arms and legs through nerves in the spinal column. if there is a break, those signals are weakened. but the signals are boosted by electrical pulses from electrodes around the damaged area when coupled with physiotherapy. so, this is a device that the patients use, it sends pulses of

high—frequency electricity to these electrodes, which are attached to the patient�*s spine. and these are attached here and here, they are return electrodes to complete the circuit. it is the latest peace of work ——the device is the latest development of work of work by a swiss team, based in lausanne. you're live with bbc news. former president donald trump's lawyers have started their defence of the former president in his criminal �*hush money�* trial in a manhattan courtroom, after the prosecution rested. it followed another day of cross—examination of the prosecution's star witness — mr trump's former attorney and fixer michael cohen. during his testimony, mr cohen admitted to stealing $30,000 from the trump organization. it's the latest effort by the defence to discredit cohen. mr trump's legal team, once again, asked thejudge to dismiss the case. i think the case is going very well.

we have advanced the determination of the case. this case should be terminated, it should not go anywhere. it should be terminated right now. and new york state has to build up its system again. new york state cannot let this happen. cannot let this happen. there was no crime. we did nothing wrong and i want to get back to campaigning. i am representing millions and millions, — hundreds of millions of people. defence lawyers also called former legal adviser for mr cohen — robert costello — as a witness, prompting some moments of tension. the bbc�*s nada tawfik has more today's developments. a wildcard witness gets a dramatic dressing down by the judge. drum's lawyers got michael cohen to admit that he stole from his former boss. cohen built the trump organisation $50,000 to cover a $20,000 payment to an it

company stop and he pocketed the rest he said because he was angry about his bonus being cut. prosecutorspent angry about his bonus being cut. prosecutor spent the end of their case rehabilitating their star witness, reminding their star witness, reminding the court he was not the one on trial and refocusing jurors mind on parts of his testimony that mattered. cohen reiterated that mattered. cohen reiterated that donald trump gave him a final sign off to pay the adult film star stormy daniels. he said speaking out turned his entire life upside down. and things got heated. the defence called attorney robert costello who offered to represent cohen when federal authorities were investigating him in 2018, when thejudge investigating him in 2018, when the judge sustained several of the judge sustained several of the prosecution's objections, the prosecution's objections, the witness remarked, geez, in exasperation. thejudge paused to remind him of proper court decorum. then things escalated further, after he accused mr castillo of staring him down. thejudge castillo of staring him down. the judge cleared out the court, in what was one of the

most dramatic moments of this historic trial. the incident however will have little impact on the case itself, which is winding down. closing arguments will be next tuesday, may 28, after the long holiday weekend. britain's prime minister has apologised to the victims of an infected blood scandal, widely considered to be the biggest healthcare disaster in the history of the national health service. more than 30,000 people were infected with hiv or hepatitis c after being given contaminated blood between the early 1970s and early 1990s. 3,000 people have already died, while others are still living with the ongoing effects of infection. these are some of their faces. a seven—year public inquiry into the infected blood, published on monday, identified a catalogue of failures by the nhs and successive governments. victims and campaigners say those involved in the cover up over what happened, should hang their heads in shame.

the bbc�*s health editor hugh pym reports, on the conclusions, of a landmark hearing. looking this way. on day one of this enquiry, perry supported by family gave evidence. there is a hue by family gave evidence. there is a huge impact _ by family gave evidence. there is a huge impact on _ by family gave evidence. there is a huge impact on family. - is a huge impact on family. because they carry you and he did not survive long enough to see today's report. he did not survive long enough to see today's report.— see today's report. he was infected — see today's report. he was infected with _ see today's report. he was infected with hiv - see today's report. he was infected with hiv and - see today's report. he was - infected with hiv and hepatitis c through his haemophilia treatment. his memorial service was this month. today his wife heather and son isaac were here in his memory. it heather and son isaac were here in his memory-— in his memory. it is still very raw. in his memory. it is still very raw- him _ in his memory. it is still very raw. him not— in his memory. it is still very raw. him not being - in his memory. it is still very raw. him not being here. - in his memory. it is still very| raw. him not being here. and in his memory. it is still very i raw. him not being here. and it was five weeks ago to the day, today, so he so almost made it today, so he so almost made it to the end to see the result and have closure from what has happened to him. the and have closure from what has happened to him.— happened to him. the minute i read the first _ happened to him. the minute i read the first recommendation | read the first recommendation

which — read the first recommendation which was compensation in the second — which was compensation in the second was apologise, i thought, thank goodness, we have — thought, thank goodness, we have been heard.— have been heard. they had called for _ have been heard. they had called for truth _ have been heard. they had called for truth and - have been heard. they had called for truth and justice | called for truth and justice for decades and today campaign are subdivided as the final enquiry report was published at westminster. the findings are devastating indictment of health leaders in successive governments. the report says the scandal could largely though not entirely have been avoided. and that hiding the truth included not only deliberate concealment but also a lack of candour, the retelling of half—truths. and of patients harms already done to them were compounded by the refusal to accept responsibility and accountability. how shocked are you by what you have heard? haw you by what you have heard? how could anyone _ you by what you have heard? how could anyone not _ you by what you have heard? how could anyone not be _ you by what you have heard? finn-o" could anyone not be moved by a story story which begins with 30,000 people? one person is a tragedy, 30,000 is 30,000

tragedies. tragedy, 30,000 is 30,000 tragedies-— tragedy, 30,000 is 30,000 tracedies. ., tragedies. so, how did we get here? by _ tragedies. so, how did we get here? by the _ tragedies. so, how did we get here? by the early _ tragedies. so, how did we get here? by the early 1970s - tragedies. so, how did we get i here? by the early 1970s medics were aware of blood—borne infection such as hepatitis, but a new effective treatment was created for haemophiliacs called back to eight, a product from blood plasma. us pharmaceutical companies use blood that was collected from high risk paid donors, including drug addicts and prisoners. in 1975, the uk announced a plan to be self—sufficient, only using blood products from the uk. but by 1978, the nhs was still importing around half the blood products needed to treat haemophiliacs from overseas, primarily the us. by the end of 1982, there were warnings by health officials about hiv and us blood products but they were not withdrawn from use in the nhs. it was not until 1985 that blood products were heat—treated to remove hiv, by this time those infected were calling for action. by 1989,

hepatitis c was formally identified and other countries studied screening. but it was not until 1990 ones screenings of donations finally studied in the uk. stuart died at the age of 27. he was given american—made factor aid that infected him with hiv in 1983. the guilt of his illness lives with his mother still today. i have always blame myself for taking him to have his treatment, which infected him. it doesn't matter what people can say to you, you are not guilty of that, that was not your fault. guilty of that, that was not yourfault. it guilty of that, that was not your fault-— guilty of that, that was not your fault.- but i your fault. it wasn't. but today's _ your fault. it wasn't. but today's report _ your fault. it wasn't. but today's report confirmed your fault. it wasn't. but - today's report confirmed that stuart's infection could have been avoided. factor age should have been withdrawn earlier. $5 have been withdrawn earlier. as far as have been withdrawn earlier. is far as i'm concerned, this is just the beginning, this is not the end. we do not get some form ofjustice, somebody being taken to task, then this could happen again.

taken to task, then this could happen again-— taken to task, then this could happen again. they played with --eole's happen again. they played with people's lives. _ happen again. they played with people's lives. they _ happen again. they played with people's lives. they are - happen again. they played with people's lives. they are human| people's lives. they are human beings — people's lives. they are human beings. they were real people who died. beings. they were real people who died-— beings. they were real people who died. ., ., ., who died. there were emotional hu~s, who died. there were emotional hugs. seeing — who died. there were emotional hugs. seeing a _ who died. there were emotional hugs, seeing a childhood - who died. there were emotional hugs, seeing a childhood friend | hugs, seeing a childhood friend of stuart's. live who is now the head of the haemophilia society. the head of the haemophilia socie . ,., . society. government civil servants _ society. government civil servants and _ society. government civil servants and healthcare l servants and healthca re professionals servants and healthcare professionals for many years have thought they know best. well, today the community knows best and i think wanted the overwhelming emotions today will be one of vindication. cathy married nearly 1999, just two years later he died. he had contracted hepatitis c after a single blood transfusion a decade earlier. at the enquiry today, cathy said make you carry grief or ever. my husband died, potentially _ died, potentially unnecessarily, and my future could have been very different and my life could have been very different and my life could be very different. the prime minister _ could be very different. the prime minister said - could be very different. the prime minister said it was a day of shame, when he spoke on the common. it day of shame, when he spoke on the common-— the common. it did not have to be this way- —

the common. it did not have to be this way. it _ the common. it did not have to be this way. it should - the common. it did not have to be this way. it should never- be this way. it should never have been this way. and on behalf of this and every government, stretching back to the 1970s, government, stretching back to the 19705, i government, stretching back to the 1970s, i am truly sorry. the apology was noted but today it was all about the victims and those present remembering lives lost. tomorrow, they will want to hear plans for compensation. the uk high court has ruled wikileaks founder julian assange can appeal his extradition order to stand trial in the us on espionage charges. assange is accused of releasing highly classified information about alleged us war crimes, and potentially faces life in prison if convicted on all charges. the decision allows assange to challenge the us' promises about the prospective trial, including the guarantees that he would not face the death penalty, and that his freedom of speech would be protected. if extradited, assange faces up to 175 years in prison.

the us argues the leaks, which disclosed secrets about the wars in afghanistan and endangered lives. assange's lawyers argue the case against him is politically motivated. the wikileaks founder has spent more than a decade resisting deportation and facing espionage charges. our legal correspondent, dominic casciani, has more from outside the high court in london. hundreds of people have turned up hundreds of people have turned up to supportjulian assange and show solidarity with him because they believe he has been appallingly unjustly treated over the last few years sensed 2019 when he bought this extradition. there has been a sense of legal inevitability said, about the direction this was going on, by a succession of court ruling. this morning two seniorjudges put the legal blockers on the whole thing, they accepted a very narrow

argument that raisi has that in effect when he was part of wikileaks organisation in 2010 leaked us military secrets. he did so to expose war crimes and therefore had a right to free speech and doing that under the us constitution, and therefore cannot be prosecuted for doing so. the uss he has given assurances this is not the type of case where free speech comes into play but this did not satisfy the judges here into play but this did not satisfy thejudges here in london and they have said we will have a full appeal on this point. as we try to impact there. the other points of assurances by the us atjulian assange will not face the death penalty has been accepted by his team. that is no longer an issue. it fundamentally comes down to this question whether or not if he went on trial in the united states i have a defence of speaking out freely in order to expose war crimes and that should be heard in my trial. that is why this case is going away for a few months. looking over to my right at the moment, stella assangejulia's wife has started speaking. she

was in court for this judgement. the lawyers around her were absolutely durably and they had got it through to this final appeal stage and a few minutes ago she came outside, she said they want the us to drop this case once and for all because this is a waste of time, and ijust case and they wantjulian assange out of the prison where he is being held to be a free man. that is it for the moment. i will be back. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. we have had some late spring sunshine over recent days, also a few showers around — and we'll see a few more of them over the next few days. in fact, between tuesday and friday, the weather turns more unsettled. this is the rainfall we're expected to accumulate — and you can see, particularly across the northeast of scotland, some places will see close to 100 millimetres of rain by the end of the week, so things certainly turning more unsettled gradually. as for tuesday, after a bit of a misty, murky start,

some scattered showers building during the afternoon, but they will be fairly hit—and—miss. i think tuesday will dawn with some sea fog across the far northeast of scotland, aberdeenshire towards orkney, also some mist and fog around some other north sea coasts, northern ireland, too. some patchy rain i think almost anywhere by the afternoon, but the areas most likely to see it, perhaps some heavy showers for the southwest of england, 1—2 in the southeast, could be some thunderstorms around. showers fairly few and far between across parts of wales, northern england, but some heavy, potentially thundery ones likely tuesday afternoon across northern ireland, and a scattering of showers for central parts of scotland, as well. some areas staying a little bit murky close to the north sea coasts all day tuesday, and that sea fog will roll back in across parts of scotland as we head overnight into wednesday. we'll also start to see more persistent rain working in across this zone of eastern england and central scotland. and it'll be quite a mild night, with those temperatures staying well in double figures. now, into wednesday — and low pressure looks like it'll move in from the near continent, and just push its way gradually further north across parts of northern england and scotland, as well.

so you can see the blue and green colours indicating the more persistent spells of rain we're likely to see on wednesday around the east coast in particular. for northern ireland, wales, perhaps central and southern england, it'll be a day of sunny spells and some scattered showers, but temperatures down a notch compared to recent days — so highs between about 17—19 for most, but a little bit cooler close to some of those coasts. into thursday, we've still got low pressure — this time, it stalls across scotland in particular, so it's feeding in more moisture for parts of highland, aberdeenshire, for instance, as well. could be some localised flooding as those rainfall totals mount up. elsewhere, some sunshine, a few scattered showers, especially around some of those north sea coasts, and it is that bit cooler. so the middle of the week, fairly unsettled, some showers on the cards. it does look like the showers become fewer towards the weekend, and for some of us, those temperatures will be on the rise once again. bye— bye.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. this is taipei, capital of taiwan, an island democracy of 23 million people. but taiwan's international status is highly contested. it's claimed by beijing,

but it's never been part of the people's republic of china. instead, over the last 20 years, taiwan has evolved into a thriving democracy. in 2016, people here chose their first female president, tsai ing—wen. she rejects china's claims to taiwan and has moved the island further towards japan and the united states. when i sat down with president tsai at her home in taipei, i began on that delicate topic, the threat from china, and whether it's increased under the leadership of xijinping. do you fear xijinping? do you think the world, the democratic world, should fear xijinping and his ambitions? i think xijinping now, despite the fact that he may have a plan of some sort, but i don't think that is a definitive plan because, you know, the world is changing, the situation in china is changing, but the world is very different now, especially after ukrainian

war, because, erm, the democracies seem to be able