israeli tanks press further into rafah as the un security council holds an emergency meeting. and south africans go to the polls on wednesday for their seventh democratic election and it could bring a big political shift. after nearly six hours of closing arguments, the donald trump hush money case will be in the hands of a jury. the united nations security council held an emergency meeting on tuesday to discuss the israeli 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 has

reached the centre of rafah of rafah for the first time and the hamas—run health authority says at least 21 people were killed in west rafa after an explosion in an attended zone deemed safe for palestinians which comes two days after israeli bombs swept through a refugee camp in rafah leaving 45 dead including women and children. lucy williamson has more. rafah was once gaza's refuge, the safest place in a dangerous war. today, the city's west and centre was emptying, those still sheltering here fleeing again amid air strikes and artillery fire. taking whatever they need to survive, whatever they can't leave behind. there's been no evacuation order from israel's army and for many, no sense of where to go. translation: i'm just walking in the street, l i don't know where to go,

there is nowhere safe. where should we go? this is not a life, this is not a life. 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 its allies suggestion it was a tragic mistake. joe biden had previously called an invasion of rafah a red line for israel but national security spokesman john kirby said the deadly strikes do not constitute a major ground operation which will be crossing the red line

set byjoe biden. he also cric -- cric —— strike killed the strike killed two hamas leaders. a spokesman for the government earlier said israel was making the efforts and the blame lies with hamas for all casualties of the war.- blame lies with hamas for all casualties of the war. none of this takes _ casualties of the war. none of this takes away _ casualties of the war. none of this takes away from - casualties of the war. none of this takes away from the - casualties of 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 but it is the hammer strategy. this attack took place 1.8 kilometres, more than a mile away from where the safe zone is where we are civilians to move to. separately in a blow to humanitarian efforts in gaza, the temporary peer used to deliver aid has been damaged by rough seas. a spokesperson for the us defence department said it could take over a week to be repair and would need to be re—anchored once fixed. it became operationaljust re—anchored once fixed. it became operational just two weeks ago. we spoke about the

latest out of the middle east with david hale, the former us undersecretary state for political affairs. undersecretary state for politicalaffairs. do undersecretary state for political affairs. do you deem what we saw in rafah to be a crossing of the red line that president biden has described? thank you. i would preface the question by proposing that perhaps offering red lines might be a mistake. israel is clearly intending to move into rafah and there is no doubt the government will 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 see an israeli operation there regardless. are will see an israeli operation there regardless.— there regardless. are you surprised _ there regardless. are you surprised there's - there regardless. are you surprised there's not - there regardless. are you | surprised there's not been there regardless. are you i surprised there's not been a full throated condemnation from the biden administration at the tragic strike that killed 45 people? tragic strike that killed 45 eo - le? tragic strike that killed 45 --eole? ., , . ., tragic strike that killed 45 n-eole? ., , ., ., , people? the administration is in a difficult _ people? the administration is in a difficult spot _ people? the administration is in a difficult spot and - people? the administration is in a difficult spot and they - in a difficult spot and they want to have it both ways. on the one hand they want to support israel as 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 and at the end of the day you cannot have it both ways. israel is going to make its own decisions regardless of the red lines so i think we should focus on what comes after the military operation, where is their diplomacy on police —— peace operations that can come into place once israel has ended its military strategy. sticking with what's happening on the ground there's 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 and the pictures seem to tell a different story so why do you think we are seeing this disconnect?— think we are seeing this 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 hand supporting israel and say they can do whatever it takes to eliminate hamas as a threat to them that on the other hand try to define red lines about how

to define red lines about how to conduct a military operation so it would be better to allow israel to continue to deal what it feels it has to do that then focus on the day after. what are we going to do to enable israel and the arabs and the palestinians to reach a peace settlement after this is over with. �* ., , ., settlement after this is over with. �* ., ., with. allowing the israeli to not allow — with. allowing the israeli to not allow the _ with. allowing the israeli to not allow the israelis - with. allowing the israeli to not allow the israelis to - with. allowing the israeli to not allow the israelis to do | with. allowing the israeli to i not allow the israelis to do to if hamas could see more scenes like we have we seen and already tens of thousands of people have been killed. that's a ureat people have been killed. that's a great tragedy _ people have been killed. that's a great tragedy and _ people have been killed. that's a great tragedy and israel - people have been killed. that's a great tragedy and israel will i a great tragedy and israel will be accountable for whatever it doesin be accountable for whatever it does in the military operation at the end of the day. who does in the military operation at the end of the day. who will hold israel— at the end of the day. who will hold israel accountable? - at the end of the day. who will hold israel accountable? the l hold israel accountable? the israeli people _ hold israel accountable? the israeli people at _ hold israel accountable? tie: israeli people at the end of the day. it's a sovereign state under democracy and has shown over time you go back to the 80s when vegan was held a council of a received —— and they were held accountable for they were held accountable for the war in southern lebanon and netanyahu will be held accountable for what is

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

not able to establish red lines and defend them all of our friends and allies in the middle east at the end of the day believe that the us is not able to enforce its will.- able to enforce its will. what should the — able to enforce its will. what should the red _ able to enforce its will. what should the red line _ able to enforce its will. what should the red line b - able to enforce its will. what should the red line b from i able to enforce its will. what. should the red line b from the us perspective? i should the red line b from the us perspective?— us perspective? i would focus not on the _ us perspective? i would focus not on the war— us perspective? i would focus not on the war but _ us perspective? i would focus not on the war but the - us perspective? i would focus not on the war but the piece. | not on the war but the piece. what do we do diplomatically and politically to accomplish our goals once israelis realise they cannot accomplish what they cannot accomplish what they want to do militarily. thank you is always for the conversation. really appreciate it. 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. 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? if the pollsters are to be believed, south africa is closer now than ever before to a coalition. the anc has been in power for the last 30 years and over that time they've enjoyed numbers over 50% election after election and it was 58% 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 here, 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. if you have a coalition, i would be worried that service delivery and the services people require would suffer. i'm not against coalition as a principle, but what i've seen in the case of south africa has not been a good picture. we really need one party that we can hold accountable for serving the people of south africa — the bbc also spoke to our representative of the democratic alliance,

the second—largest party in parliament and 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 alliance is 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 and 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 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 in the world in a poll last year and for the young people here, ladies concerned about gender—based violence and some of the statistics out of the country have been worrying, saying they are looking for leadership that can tackle some 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 leaders available 110w. so the mandela effect is still there but for younger voters they want to see solutions. we will be watching all of your reporting going forward. thank you. you're live with 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. you said diane abbott was going through a disciplinary process and it is now reported that the process ended months ago, so if that is right, why are we and she still waiting to hear if she can stand as a labour mp? the process overall is a bit 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. the full list

of labour candidates is set to be endorsed next tuesday. you're live with bbc news. thejury will the jury will convene thejury will convene on the jury will convene on wednesday to begin the process of reaching a verdict on donald trump. he faces 34 counts related to falsifying business records to hide a $135,000 payment to adult film star stormy daniels. if he was found guilty he would be the first us president with a criminal conviction and the first major party candidate to run for the white house as a felon. it was the final chance _ white house as a felon. it was the final chance to _ white house as a felon. it was the final chance to win - white house as a felon. it was the final chance to win over. the final chance to win over the final chance to win over the jury, the final chance to win over thejury, the the final chance to win over the jury, the defence and prosecution deliver closing arguments. first up was trump steam, telling jurors that the case turns on michael coen. they claim the ex—president formerfixer they claim the ex—president former fixer was the human embodiment of reasonable doubt

on the greatest lie of all time. the court argument was that thejury cannot time. the court argument was that the jury cannot klimowicz trump of any crime based on the word of cohen alone. —— cannot convicted trump of any crime. they also try to undermine key points in the prosecution case saying there is nothing unlawful but campaign trying to influence an election and trump was too busy running the country from the white house to pay attention to the financial records of the case. the prosecutor started by addressing cohen micro possibility head on. he said his ability to lie and cheat is precisely why he was chosen to be his fixer. they asked the jury be his fixer. they asked the jury to see hammers a tour guide through indisputable evidence showing trump loomed over every moment. they laid out every piece of testimony, even joking with out every piece of testimony, evenjoking withjurors, say out every piece of testimony, even joking with jurors, say i hope you're getting all of this. late in the evening they outlined in detail all again what they say was an illegal

election conspiracy and cover—up. trumps lawyer said it should be a quick and easy verdict but if it —— but it is anyone's guess how long the jurors will need to deliberate. for more on the trial and what lies ahead i spoke to the politics editor at bloomberg. closing arguments. what stood out to you? what stood out to me was that the defence continues, in my view, to have too much of a scatter—gun approach to this. there is no particular focus. they may be handicapped by trump insisting the lawyers perform a certain way and a lot of the things they talked about didn't really seem to tie together and that even goes back to cross examinations. you could take the whole argument as liar, liar, pants on fire and while it is fine and can get you some traction to attract his

credibility, you need to tie it in to specific areas to get reasonable doubt. couldn't the prosecution be accused of not getting to the point in four hours as well? they have a heavier burden. so it will take the prosecution longer to walk people through. it's very hard not being in the courtroom and assessing exactly how the arguments are going, so the jury from people in there seems like they were attentive. laura, this is such a monument week for the former president. tell us what it means for him. this is a huge week and we could get a verdict in the case as soon as tomorrow if not later this week. this could pose a big unknown and it's been an unpredictable election with two candidates that everybody knows and two of the most famous men in the world and no one needs any introduction tojoe biden and donald trump but if it is suddenly "donald trump, convicted felon", we know from polling there is a small margin of people on the edge said that they would change their vote and not vote

for trump if he were convicted of a crime. and we are still five months out from the election and a lot can happen but this could be a real turning point in what has been a strange election so far. do we have a sense of americans are following the trial? we know donald trump supporters are and he's had supporters outside the courthouse. we know his most avid supporters are following and donating and getting people to contribute five or ten or $15 but what we know broadly is that people aren't following the specifics of the case or any of the cases, they know the trump has legal problems and they are divided on whether it is a witchhunt or these are legitimate legal pursuits that the courts are taking. as laura said, that could change if there is a conviction. so take us through what happens now. what will happen next is in the morning,

because they stayed quite late overnight to finish the closing, the judge will give them the legal instructions so he will tell them these are the definitions and the laws that apply and for the lawyers part they are hoping that it mirrors what they told the jury and after that the jury will get the case and deliberate and if they have questions they can send out notes but the lawyers are kind of over in terms of talking to the jury and it is up to them now. it is indeed and that is why all eyes are on the jury and how they will react. laura, what about donald trump himself, what have you been able to read, and your colleagues in court about his expressions or how confident are not confident do you think he is? it's been interesting watching him. at times he's had his head back, eyes closed but when his allies were there, in cross examination of cohen or hope hicks, he was even smiling at times, and we hear what he thinks going in and out of the courtroom

everyday as he stops for cameras and this has been another thing that has been unusual about the case is normally there would be a press every morning outside the court room but through his social posts on what he says at rallies, he sees this as a positive and a way to rally his supporters and get people to stay engaged with what he's doing every day. the conclusion of the trial is more important because it appears this would be the only one of the four criminal cases that donald trump is facing that has gone to trial. that's absolutely right. it was always a long shot that several of them would start in time and conclude, but at this point it seems obvious this is the only one that is going to go and the one in florida is kind of paralysed, the classified documents and the january 61 in dc, we are still waiting on the supreme court which inexplicably has still not ruled on the immunity issue which would certainly affect the federal cases. looking at the prosecutors in the case, from your point,

do they feel confident in their ability to get a conviction? i think they do. for prosecutors the question is, how do you think the evidence went in and i think the evidence went in well and it's looking like a strong case. the chances for acquittal are very low. you never know, you could have some holdouts, may be that jury will hang that i think it's probably going to be a conviction. laura, one question on what is happening with president biden and the democrats, as we saw the national committee is planning to virtually nominate president biden ahead of the party's convention in august and this is all over a dispute about ballot access in ohio. what does it mean for the convention in august? we are used to the images of the delegates showing up and raising their hands, will that change? we will have that delegate roll call we had but the analogy is having the wedding and the elopement before and then having a delayed

party and reception, so they will have all of the pomp and circumstance but that documents will be signed ahead of the actual convention. so still something to look forward to in terms of the pomp and spectacle of the convention. really good to get both of your analyses tonight and let's see what happens. thanks so much forjoining us. good to see you. 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. researchers have long suspected that venus — has active volcanoes. 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 24 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.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm sarah montague. my guest today is a singer—songwriter who was propelled to global fame when her protest song, kelmti horra, became the anthem of the arab spring more than a decade ago. emel mathlouthi combines the traditions of her native tunisia with western influences to create compelling and original music that addresses themes such as identity and justice, as well as freedom. she's just released a new album featuring an all—female line—up of musicians and producers. she feels a responsibility to use her music to shake people, but resists being called political.

so what drives her creative vision?