live from washington this is bbc news. israeli tanks press further into rafah as the un security council holds an emergency meeting. after nearly six hours of closing arguments, donald trump's hush money case will soon be in the hands of the jury will soon be in the hands of thejury and a bbc investigation uncovers the use of child labour in supply chains of some of the worlds most luxurious perfumes. thanks forjoining us. the un security council held an emergency meeting on tuesday to discuss israel's operation in southern gaza. the algerian ambassador to the un says he will propose a resolution to stop the killing in rafah where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have been sheltering. the ambassador said the draft would be short and decisive. on the ground, israeli tanks have reached the

centre of rafah for the first time. the hamas run health authority says at least 21 people were killed on tuesday in west rafah after an explosion in the same deemed saferfor palestinians, coming safer for palestinians, coming two saferfor palestinians, coming two days after israeli bomb swept through a fire in a refugee camp in rafah leaving 45 people dead including women and children. lucy williamson has more on the fallout. there has been no evacuation order from the israeli army. and for many, no sense of

where to this is not a lie. this is not a lie. they were packing up, too, in the displacement camp at tal al—sultan to the west of the city, still scarred by fires triggered in an israeli air strike on sunday. dozens dead, survivors spent. there's more than one way to lose a life. israel says its operation in rafah is key to defeating hamas and that the strike on sunday on hamas commanders in the camp was carried out with precise munitions that would not, by themselves, have caused so many deaths. we'e talking about munition with 17 kilos of explosive material. this is the smallest munition that ourjets can use. following this strike, a large fire ignited for reasons that are still being investigated. our munition alone could not have ignited

a fire of this size. while people fled today, gaza's health ministry said more than 20 were killed in fresh air strikes to the west, over half of them women. as far beyond these borders, three european nations officially recognise a palestinian state, and gaza's last urban centre begins to fall under israeli control. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. the us is repeating the message that the air strike was a tragic mistake. joe biden had previously called an invasion of rafah a red line for us support for israel but on tuesday a white house national security spokesman said the recent deadly strikes do not constitute a major ground

operation which would be crossing the red line. mr kirby also noted it killed two senior hamas officials but said israel must do more to protect innocent civilians. a spokesperson for the israeli government told bbc that israel is making the efforts and the blame lies with hamas for all casualties in the war.- blame lies with hamas for all casualties in the war. none of this takes _ casualties in the war. none of this takes away _ casualties in the war. none of this takes away from - casualties in the war. none of this takes away from the - casualties in the war. none of this takes away from the fact | this takes away from the fact civilians have been killed and thatis civilians have been killed and that is certainly tragic and not our intention that it is the hammer strategy. this took this as more than a mile from the safe zone where we asked civilians to move to. separately in a blow to humanitarian efforts, the temporary peer used to deliver aid has been damaged by rough seas and a spokesperson for the us defence department said it could take over a week to repair and would need to be re—anchored once fixed as it became operational two weeks ago. let's talk about this with ambassador david hale, former

undersecretary state for political affairs who also served as us ambassador ——. always good to have in the programme. do you deem what we saw in rafah to be a crossing of the red line that president biden has described.- of the red line that president biden has described. thank you. i would preface _ biden has described. thank you. i would preface the _ biden has described. thank you. i would preface the question - biden has described. thank you. i would preface the question by| i would preface the question by proposing that perhaps offering red lines might be a mistake. israel is clearly attending to move into rafah and there is no doubt that this government is going to pursue its strategy of trying to diminish and eliminate hamas as a threat to them so whether or not the american defines red lines, you will still see an israeli operation regardless. are you sur - rised operation regardless. are you surprised there _ operation regardless. are you surprised there has _ operation regardless. are you surprised there has not - operation regardless. are you surprised there has not been | operation regardless. are you | surprised there has not been a full throated condemnation from the joe full throated condemnation from thejoe biden administration the joe biden administration from thejoe biden administration from the tragic strike? the administration _ from the tragic strike? the administration is _ from the tragic strike? the administration is a - from the tragic strike? tue: administration is a difficult spot trying to have it both ways on the one hand they want to support israel because america always has, the right

of israel to defend itself by itself but on the other hand they want to establish red lines about humanitarian lines that exist yet at the end of the day you can't have it both ways. israel will make its own decisions regardless of the red lines so we should focus on what comes after the military operation and there is diplomacy and peace operations that can come into place once israel ends its military strategy. israel ends its military strategy-— israel ends its military strate: . ,, ., , strategy. sticking with what is ha enin: strategy. sticking with what is happening on _ strategy. sticking with what is happening on the _ strategy. sticking with what is happening on the ground - strategy. sticking with what is| happening on the ground there has been international condemnation of the strikes in rafah where civilians have been killed and it seems the administration is unwilling to say definitively that a ground operation in rafah is under way. the pictures seem to tell a different story. why do you think we are seeing a disconnect?— think we are seeing a disconnect? ., �* , , ., , disconnect? that's the problem with the strategy _ disconnect? that's the problem with the strategy of _ disconnect? that's the problem with the strategy of having - disconnect? that's the problem with the strategy of having it i with the strategy of having it both ways. on the one and supporting israel and saying they can do whatever it takes to eliminate hamas as a threat to eliminate hamas as a threat to them and on the other hand trying to define red lines

about how to conduct military operations, so it would be better to allow israel to continue to do what it feels it has to do but then focus on the day after and what we will do to enable israel and the arabs and palestinians to reach a peace settlement after this is over with. peace settlement after this is over with-— over with. but allowing the israelis to _ over with. but allowing the israelis to continually - over with. but allowing the israelis to continually to i over with. but allowing the j israelis to continually to do what they deem they need to do to defeat hamas could involve several more seems like we've seen and we know tens of thousands of people have been killed. , , ., ., killed. his right is going to account for _ killed. his right is going to account for whatever - killed. his right is going to account for whatever it - killed. his right is going to i account for whatever it does killed. his right is going to - account for whatever it does in this military operation at the end of the day —— israel it's going to be accountable. tt’s end of the day -- israel it's going to be accountable. it's a sovereign _ going to be accountable. it's a sovereign state _ going to be accountable. it's a sovereign state and _ going to be accountable. it's a sovereign state and a - going to be accountable. it's a sovereign state and a democracy and it has shown over time if you go back all the 1980s when there was the beirut siege and others were held accountable for in southern lebanon and benjamin netanyahu will be held

accountable for what is happening today. you are confident that will happen. t confident that will happen. i have great faith in israeli democracy, that accountability, there is other means to do that. but ourfocus is there is other means to do that. but our focus is america is about how we should be able to move israel from its conduct in the war to the conduct of the peace. we can't tell the israelis how to defend themselves but we can tell them how to conduct a peace negotiation with neighbours and thatis negotiation with neighbours and that is where our interests and efforts should live. i5 that is where our interests and efforts should live.— efforts should live. is the us losin: efforts should live. is the us losing credibility _ efforts should live. is the us losing credibility with - efforts should live. is the us losing credibility with the - losing credibility with the neighbours in the region and partners in the region if it hasn't been able to condemn the types of scenes we have seen and continues to supply israel with weapons?— with weapons? one of the problems _ with weapons? one of the problems is _ with weapons? one of the problems is getting - with weapons? one of the problems is getting a - with weapons? one of the - problems is getting a ceasefire and it seems to me the two parties involved, hamas and the israelis do not want a ceasefire. it is the outsiders who want to, america, the europeans, the arabs more than the parties. they show no interest in this, it is

posturing. at the end of the day if we are not able to establish red lines and then defend them then our friends in the middle east believe that the middle east believe that the us is not able to enforce its will. ~ ., , ., its will. what should the red line b from _ its will. what should the red line b from the _ its will. what should the red line b from the us _ its will. what should the red - line b from the us perspective? i would focus not on the war, but the piece. whatever we do diplomatically to accomplish our goals once the israelis have realised they cannot accomplish what they want to do militarily. accomplish what they want to do militaril . �* , ., ., ~ militarily. ambassador, thank ou for militarily. ambassador, thank you for the — militarily. ambassador, thank you for the conversation - militarily. ambassador, thank you for the conversation and i militarily. ambassador, thank. you for the conversation and we appreciate it. moving on to other top stories, closing arguments in the donald trump new york hush money trail wrapped up laced on tuesday and will enter its final stage when thejury begins will enter its final stage when the jury begins deliberations on wednesday after receiving extensive legal instruction from the judge. extensive legal instruction from thejudge. the extensive legal instruction from the judge. the former president faces 3a counts related to falsifying business records to hide a $130 payment to adult film star stormy daniels. if found guilty, he would become the first former

us president with eight us criminal conviction —— hundred and $30,000. given the high stakes involved in this case, closing arguments went well into the evening with both sides taking several hours. on the defence, they really honed in on the prosecution's star witness, michael cohen, calling him somebody who is the greatest lie of all time and the human embodiment of a reasonable doubt. they argued that the jury cannot convict trump of any crime based on michael cohen's word alone. they also try to undercut other parts of the prosecution case, claiming that because donald trump was in the white house as president running the country when he was signing the cheques to michael cannon, he had no idea how they were being labelled in business records —— to michael coen. but also claiming there was nothing illegal about it and donald

trump was paying michael cohen for legitimate legal work. but the prosecution when they came on trade to set the narrative backin on trade to set the narrative back in their favour, telling jurors that the case is not dependent on michael cohen and he instead should serve as a tour guide of what they said was indisputable evidence and evidence that trump loomed over every decision. they said there was a conspiracy and a cover—up. the conspiracy, they said, was trump working with a tabloid to kill negative stories to help kill his campaign and said one trust money changed hands, that made it an illegal violation of federal campaign finance law —— hush money. they and they said the cover—up was inconceivable that trump did not know about the scheme to falsify records when he knew about the hush money payments to stormy daniels and another playboy

model that was paid by the tabloid the national enquirer. they also said it was inconceivable that trump didn't know because michael cohen kept donald trump up—to—date about everything because he always wanted credit and finally that trump was the beneficiary of the entire scheme, saying it helped one person and one person only, trump himself. now thejury will get person only, trump himself. now the jury will get instructions from thejudge on the jury will get instructions from the judge on wednesday morning here in new york, and then they will be handed this case. it is anyone's guess how long they will need for deliberations and if they will be able to come to a unanimous decision in what will be an historic verdict that will have reverberations around the world. haiti's presidential council selected garry conille as the country's prime minister on tuesday, the council's leader said on x. reuters news agency reported the body picked mr conille in a 6—1 vote.

he'll lead the caribbean country that's still struggling with the rampant gang violence and instability which forced haiti's former leader, ariel henry, to resign in april. mr conille briefly led haiti over a decade ago serving just seven months, and resigning in february 2012. he'll be tasked with leading haiti as it awaits a kenyan—led force to assist haitian police to restore order to the country. the political and social upheaval has affected millions of haitians. the un estimates more than 360,000 people have been forced from their homes, and roughly 5.5 million haitians require humanitarian assistance. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at a story making news in the uk. diane abbott has been given back the labour whip after being suspended from the labour party for over a year. labour took the action against her in april 2023, over comments she made about thejewish, irish and traveller communities. the inquiry is understood to have been completed last december. it's not clear if ms abbott will run for parliament

in the upcoming election. labour's leader, sir keir starmer, had this to say when speaking to a reporter. he said diane abbott was going through a disciplinary process and it is now reported that the process ended months ago, so if thatis process ended months ago, so if that is right, why are we and she still waiting to hear she can stand as a labour mp? process overall is a lit longer than the fact—finding exercise but in the end this is a matter that will have to be resolved by the national executive committee and they will do that in due course. ms abbott has been contacted for a comment. you're live with bbc news. the bbc found that child labour has been used in the supply chains of companies creating some of the world's most luxurious performes.

during the 2023 jasmine picking season, egyptian children, some as young as five, were working in dangerous conditions throughout the night, often earning as little as $1 a day. heba bitar has that story. it's 3am and heba is waking her children to pickjasmine. it's hard work that must be done at night in order to catch this delicate flower�*s fragrance. the mosquitos and pesticides are overpowering. translation: i only have one head lamp and my children - won't be able to see in the dark. the strong smell from the jasmine gives me a chest allergy. some of my children have skin allergies and they keep scratching their skin. after a night's work, heba takes what she has gathered to a collection point. about a third of what she will earn will go to the owner

of the jasmine field. it is not enough to live on, so she needs her children to work at her side. she's not alone. during the 2023 jasmine harvest season, the bbc filmed on farms in four different locations in the al gharbia region, the centre of egypt's jasmine trade, and witnessed children, some as young as five, working in the jasmine fields that were supplying l'oreal�*s lancome, and estee lauder�*s hair and beauty through factories in egypt. both l'oreal and estee lauder have signed a letter of commitment to the united nations pledging to abide by the guidelines, promoting safe working practices and eliminating child labour. we took our evidence to professor tomoya obokata, the united nations special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery. looking at this footage, they are not actually doing things that they had promised to do.

there is no safety consideration, and their mental and physical well—being are affected as a result of that. all of these are quite clear indicators of hazardous work which may constitute the worst form of child labour. we put ourfindings to l'oreal and estee lauder. l'oreal told us, whenever an issue arises, l'oreal works proactively to identify the underlying causes and the way to resolve the issue. despite our strong commitments and actions, we know in certain parts of the world where l'oreal suppliers operate, there are risks to our commitments being upheld. we never request fragrance houses go lower than the market price for ingredients at the expense of farmers. estee lauder said, we believe the rights of all children should be protected and have contacted our suppliers to investigate this very serious matter.

you can watch the full bbc eye investigation — perfume's dark secret — on bbc iplayer if you're in the uk, or on the bbc world service youtube channel outside the uk. pope francis apologised for using derogatory language to describe gay men. during a closed door meeting a week ago, the pope reportedly referred to gay men using an italian word that translates to a highly offensive slur. the vatican in a statement said the pope never intended to offend anyone, adding that he believes there is room for everyone in the church. for more on the fallout, here's our religion editor aleem maqbool. slowly over the last week we started to hear reports he had used this phrase and it was in the context of being asked whether gay men should be allowed into seminaries to train for the priesthood, as long as they remain celibate

like other catholic priest were meant to do and his answer was, no, and then he used this phrase that was already too much of an air of this in the church. and even though there are some who defended him who attended the conference, some bishops who are defending in marseille that he did say the words, but he did not know quite what he was saying and how offensive the words were, but while he has made some mistakes in italian in the past, he was brought up in an italian immigrant households and was an italian speaker at and was an italian speaker at and it was inconceivable that he did not know the gravity of the words he was using. it's election day in south africa, with polls in the rainbow nation opening in just a few hours' time. at stake are all 400 seats in the country's national assembly. that assembly will go on to choose the country's president.

all nine provincial assemblies are also up for grabs. incumbent president cyril ramaphosa is hoping to lead his african national congress to its seventh straight victory — a winning streak unbroken since the end of apartheid 30 years ago. but opposition parties including the democratic alliance, the economic freedom fighters, and the new umkhonto we sizwe party, led by jacob zuma, mr ramaphosa's predecessor see this election as the best opportunity yet to end the anc�*s near monopoly on power. for more, i spoke to our reporter waihiga mwaura, who's covering the election from the city of ereha — formerly known as port elizabeth. you've been doing so many interviews surrounding the election. can you give us an idea of what the possible outcome might be looking at this point? it outcome might be looking at this point?— this point? if the pollsters are to be _ this point? if the pollsters are to be believed, - this point? if the pollsters are to be believed, south| are to be believed, south africa is closer now than ever before to a coalition. the anc has been in powerfor the last 30 years and over that time they've enjoyed numbers over 50% election after election and

it was 50% in the 2019 election and the vote went up to 70% at this time around in the election posters predict that the anc parliamentary majority could drop below 50% and this would force the country into something never seen before. a coalition at the national level. the people we've been speaking to hear, when you mention the word coalition, many of them don't look happy. coalitions in the past at lower levels of government have been associated with backbiting and backstabbing and infighting and eventually they collapsed leaving a gap in leadership and a gap in service delivery and at such a fragile time in this country, nobody wants a disjointed government. that's the general sentiment we've been getting and we posed the question of a coalition of the possibility of one after the election should the ruling party not get a majority to the former south african deputy president, and this is what she

told us. it president, and this is what she told us. , ., ., ., told us. if you have a coalition, _ told us. if you have a coalition, i— told us. if you have a coalition, i would - told us. if you have a coalition, i would be| told us. if you have a - coalition, i would be worried that— coalition, i would be worried that service delivery and the services _ that service delivery and the services people require would suffer~ — services people require would suffer. i'm not against coalition as a principle, but what — coalition as a principle, but what i've _ coalition as a principle, but what i've seen in the case of south — what i've seen in the case of south africa has not been a good — south africa has not been a good picture. we really need one party that we can hold accountable for serving the peopie _ accountable for serving the people of south africa. the bbc also spoke _ people of south africa. the bbc also spoke to — people of south africa. the bbc also spoke to our— also spoke to our representative of the democratic alliance, the second—largest party in parliament on the official opposition and they said that any chance of the da forming a coalition with the anc would be a tricky one because they do not want to be seen as propping what they call the failings of the anc in regard to governance of state institutions, land—use and ownership, just to name a few. the democratic alliance told the bbc that for them to consider any coalition with the anc they would need to be

radical changes in the policies of the anc to align with what the democratic alliances interested in, so that is what one of the parties told us in regard to the discussion. really interesting how the political landscape is changing and it is 30 years after the end of apartheid on the election of nelson mandela. the people you've been speaking to, what do they say about his legacy and what has been achieved in south africa and since then?— achieved in south africa and since then? this is how many remember — since then? this is how many remember nelson _ since then? this is how many remember nelson mandela i since then? this is how many| remember nelson mandela in since then? this is how many - remember nelson mandela in this country, a global icon of peace, justice, nonviolent resistance and forgiveness. some continue to compare him with the late martin luther king junior and mahatma gandhi, just to name a few people who stood out in the way they operated in the spaces that they were in and nelson mandela still remains a key talking point in this country. when it looks to how the nelson mandela effect could influence the election, it depends on who you talk to. there is an older generation, the ones during the apartheid era who remember him

as the first president of a country and someone who was synonymous with the anc and to let south africans into political freedom and they are willing to vote with that familiarity because it reminds them of days gone by and they hope the promises made in the nelson mandela era can still be achieved today but there is a younger generation, born towards the tail end of mandela's presidency and might not have seen him in power at all and they are asking for economic freedom and talking aboutjobs, and two years ago he had the highest unemployment rate of the country, 35.7% that the city was ranked in the top ten worst cities to live in, the most dangerous cities to live on in the world in a poll last year and for the young people is here, ladies concerned about gender—based violence and some of the statistics out of the country have been worrying away are saying they are looking for leadership that can tackle some of these issues so i remind you of these issues so i remind you of these issues so i remind you of the nelson mandela era for

many of them they speak with a reverence regarding that but they are asking for immediate solutions from the leader is available now so the mandela effect is still there but for younger voters they want to seek solutions. we younger voters they want to seek solutions.— seek solutions. we will be watching _ seek solutions. we will be watching all— seek solutions. we will be watching all of _ seek solutions. we will be watching all of your - seek solutions. we will be i watching all of your reporting going forward. watching all of your reporting going forward-— before we go — new radar images of venus�* surface are challenging scientists' perceptions of the planet's volcanic activity. scientists from italy's international research school of planetary sciences compared this 3d model of venus�* surface to ones taken in the early 1990s. comparing the images — new rock formations appeared. scientists say they were possibly created by fresh lava flows, suggesting active volcanoes on the planet. stay with us here on bbc news.

hello there. we've seen a lot of wet weather around lately. the ground is already pretty saturated in many spots, but on tuesday, there were some sunny spells around, and of course, in the best of the sunshine at this time of year, it always feels pleasantly warm. but the general theme doesn't change over the next couple of days — more heavy thundery downpours in the forecast, some brighter spells in between. it won't be raining all the time, but it has been very wet over the last 2a hours or so with this band of rain pushing eastwards, clearing away into the north sea. some showers still behind it as we head into wednesday morning, but it is a mild start to the day. and then on wednesday, it's another day of scattered heavy downpours, also some brighter spells, of course. this time the focus for the thundery showers will tend to be across central and eastern areas of scotland. now, some of these showers could be particularly slow—moving with light winds, so they could last for some time and lead to some very high rainfall totals, maybe even some flash flooding, so do take care within this area. also, some thunderstorms breaking out across northeast england,

down through lincolnshire, parts of east anglia, too. a good scattering of showers elsewhere, possibly drier out towards the south and west by the end of the day. and it will feel a bit warmer highs of 19, maybe 20 degrees in the south east of england, perhaps. a few changes as we go into thursday. the low has now pulled away. high pressure starts to build in from the west. that spells better news in time for the weekend. but still another day of showers on thursday. this time, the heaviest, most thundery of the showers will tend to be across the south of england and south wales. a good scattering of more isolated showers, though, still further north. and it will be feeling a bit cooler, too, on thursday with more of a northerly wind blowing, so a slight drop in temperature for many of us as we go into friday. the high pressure has been building in, remember? so lots of dry weather with some sunshine developing, but windy and really quite cloudy for many eastern coastal areas, particularly for east anglia down through parts of kent

as we head through friday. so, there will be some cloud around and it won't be feeling particularly warm, but temperatures could build a little further through the weekend, particularly out towards the north and the west as that high pressure starts to edge in. so lots of dry weather, but just a brisk wind for those north sea facing coasts and also more in the way of cloud here. but we could get to 21—22 celsius in parts of the north and the west, maybe. bye— bye.

apple makes a comeback in china, as sales of its iphones rebound in april. sri lanka is set to hike wages of workers in the tea industry next month — but not everyone is happy about that. hello, and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. to our top story today — as the world's biggest smartphone makers are battling it out for market share in china, apple has cause to celebrate. the bbc�*s north america business correspondent erin delmore tells us why. china is the world's biggest smartphone market, and apple is one of the world's biggest smartphone makers. but apple hasn't been doing so well in china. iphone sales fell by 37% during the first two months this year. see, competition is heating up in the region. home—grown rival huawei is increasing its market share, opening more stores, and selling more phones.

it overtook apple as the second—most