live from london, this is bbc news. us secretary of state antony blinken travels to the middle east for the tenth time since the start of the war in gaza. ukraine says it's destroyed another key bridge in russia's kursk region, while the russian military claim to they've taken a village on the front line. a second world war bomb dug up at a building site triggers the evacuation of a community in northern ireland. and the french actor alain delon — once described as the most beautiful man in cinema — dies at the age of 88. hello, i'm martine croxall. the us secretary of state is travelling to israel as cautious optimism grows amongst israeli negotiators about the possibility of reaching a deal on gaza.

antony blinken is heading to the region after president biden also said a ceasefire deal was closer than ever. but a senior hamas official told the bbc no progress had been made. meanwhile, there have been more israeli air strikes in gaza — and israel said it had struck targets inside neighbouring lebanon which belong to hezbollah, the group that supports hamas in gaza. leigh milner reports. he's on his way hoping to seal a peace deal after months of negotiations. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, hopes the talks will lead to a ceasefire and the release of hostages in exchange for palestinian prisoners being held in israeli jails. us presidentjoe biden said he was feeling optimistic. however, hamas officials have already dismissed american optimism as an illusion. in tel aviv, thousands took to the streets last night, including anti—government protesters

and some of the relatives of hostages still in gaza, who are calling for the current negotiations as the last chance to get some of them out alive. we don't believe in this government at all. we want our hostages to be back and we want to find some sort of solution to what is happening here. but there are still huge obstacles to peace, despite two days of us us—backed talks in qatar. on friday night, an israeli air strike reportedly killed 15 people in the central area of gaza. although israel said it had eliminated a number of armed fighters, several women and children were also reportedly killed. this morning, theirfunerals began to take place. translation: an entire civilian i family, a mother and six children - the oldest of whom was 15 years old and the youngest

a year and a half. what was their crime? what was their crime in front of the world? and, in the south of gaza, the fighting continues, with israeli forces pushing through khan younis and hamas launching a series of rocket attacks. with more than 40,000 people killed in gaza since the war began, there is an urgency for the next round of talks to succeed with fears of a wider regional escalation. leigh milner, bbc news. 0ur middle east correspondent, jenny hill, has more on the ceasefire talks that have been taking place in qatar the us, along with qatar and egypt, is now pushing really hard to get hamas and israel to agree a deal. the us is also making a lot of positive noise about the chances of success. in the words ofjoe biden, "we're closer to a deal than ever before." israel, too, is expressing cautious optimism. but just listen to what hamas has said. it's rejected that position as "an illusion." a senior official has told the bbc

that no progress has been made. so all of this intense diplomacy continues urgently as the war in gaza rages on, with every day a greater human cost. that conflict is dangerously close now to spilling over into an all—out regional war. it's widely thought that ceasefire and hostage return deal mightjust avert such a scenario. so as antony blinken sits on his plane approaching israel, he knows that the stakes right now could not be higher. let's speak to yonahjeremy bob — author and senior military correspondent for the jerusalem post. thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc news. what are you hearing from your sources about the potential sticking point in the stocks? , , stocks? very mixed things. if you talk to some _ stocks? very mixed things. if you talk to some of _ stocks? very mixed things. if you talk to some of the _ stocks? very mixed things. if you talk to some of the negotiators, i talk to some of the negotiators, where people really want there to be a deal, they have been trying for

ten months to get these hostages back to their families, they are very optimistic. if you talk to some of netanyahu's people, they are very pessimistic. there is a reason here. even though it is part of the same country and system, netanyahu is worried about losing his government. he has two very right—wing ministers who can bring his government down and have said they will bring his government down if he ends the war without having destroyed hamas. he hasn't destroyed hamas yet. on the other hand, there's this huge contingent in israel that once the hostages back, even if the war has to be paused. what does paws mean? two months? six months? that's not the point. people and the negotiators want the hostages back. you can see sometimes this is exactly it makes almost no sense within israel, of different messages coming out. within israel, of different messages cominu out. ., within israel, of different messages coming out-— coming out. how... critical is this philadelphia _ coming out. how... critical is this philadelphia corridor, _ coming out. how... critical is this philadelphia corridor, that - coming out. how... critical is thisj philadelphia corridor, that stretch of land between israel and egypt? it

a super critical. if israel controls hamas cannot rearm. israel can prevent arms coming in from the air, from coming in from the sea, it has not been able to prevent arms coming in from there. we had recently there is something like 180 tunnels that hamas has had to be able to smuggle weapons. if israel controls that, hamas cannot rearm stock that is huge for hamas's future. 0n the other hand, hamas has made it clear that they will not give up the hostages if israel holds onto the corridor. as you can maintain technology on the border that it gets to man, because it does not trust either hamas or the palestinian authority with that. if you give them enough security, would netanyahu be able to keep the very right—wing ministers in his government from knocking the

government down? if he has that, thatis government down? if he has that, that is anyone's gas. fix, government down? if he has that, that is anyone's gas.— government down? if he has that, that is anyone's gas. a senior hamas official has told _ that is anyone's gas. a senior hamas official has told the _ that is anyone's gas. a senior hamas official has told the bbc _ that is anyone's gas. a senior hamas official has told the bbc that - that is anyone's gas. a senior hamas official has told the bbc that there i official has told the bbc that there is no progress being made. negotiators, directly or indirectly, will now have to deal with a new head of hamas, yahya sinwar, rather than ismail haniyeh. what difference will that make? i than ismail haniyeh. what difference will that make?— will that make? i want to step back for a second _ will that make? i want to step back for a second and _ will that make? i want to step back for a second and realise _ will that make? i want to step back for a second and realise that - will that make? i want to step back for a second and realise that at - for a second and realise that at this stage, the hostages, it is sad to say, they are not the main issue. the main issues are about potential iran — has blah regional war with israel, and whether there is going to be a future of hamas in gaza. israel has beaten most of hamas in gaza but not completely. maybe this is a failure from the israeli perspective, and with all their losses, even this is a victory from

the hamas perspective. can both sides declare victory? if they can find a magic formula to do that, then both yahya sinwar of hamas and benjamin netanyahu could sign on. if you think the other one is declaring victory too much, then yahya sinwar will feel like he has lost too much and it is not worth it for him to make a deal, and netanyahu, worried about losing his government, also want want to make a deal. find about losing his government, also want want to make a deal. and the talks continue _ want want to make a deal. and the talks continue this _ want want to make a deal. and the talks continue this week— want want to make a deal. and the talks continue this week in - want want to make a deal. and the talks continue this week in cairo. l talks continue this week in cairo. really good to talk to you, thank you for your time. ukraine's air force say they've destroyed another bridge in russia's kursk region. air force commander mykola 0leshchuck released this footage, saying russia was "minus one more bridge" and that strikes were depriving them of logistical capabilities. these are the latest pictures from the rostov region in south—west russia. the governor there says firefighters were called to put out a fire at an industrial facility struck by debris from a ukrainian drone.

both sides say air defences destroyed multiple drones and missiles fired by the other side overnight. meanwhile, belarusian president alexander lukashenko said his country had deployed nearly a third of its armed forces along the border with ukraine. in a television interview, mr lukashenko said minsk�*s move was aimed at defending the country against any threat posed by ukrainian troops. patrick bury is a senior lecturer in security from the department of politics, languages and international studies at the university of bath. he explained more about the tactics of the ukrainian incursion. well, i think in terms of dropping the bridges over the seine river, it is the second of three major bridges they have dropped right now. it serves two functions. 0n the one hand, what they are trying to do is stop reinforcements coming in over that river to help the russians and slow their logistics, or indeed stop

it. secondly, in a more longer term view, if you look at the way the forces are positioned, it is the north—west part of the pocket they managed to create. the same river will actually form a quite formidable defensive obstacle if the ukrainian forces can get out there, forced the russians out, or capture them, given the fact they don't have that many avenues of retreat by. and use that to anchor their lifeline, as it were, which should be an easier defensive line. that is really what is going on there. india's ministry of health has urged all doctors to return to work, promising to form an urgent committee to look into the safety of health care professionals. the ministry was responding to a nationwide strike over the rape and murder of a female junior doctor at a kolkata hospital. tens of thousands of people have been protesting over the last week, also calling for more action to tackle violence against women. for more on this — let's speak to our reporter salman ravi in kolkata.

how much progress are the authorities they making getting the doctors to pull off this action? part of the services have been resumed, but the call was for 2h hours, given by the medical association. still, the doctors are keeping away from performing their duties from the hospitals, and staging protests in their hospitals, and even taking out rallies, braving the reins and taking out processions here against that incident and demanding capital punishment for the culprits, and also demanding that if there are other culprits arrested, that they should also be put immediately. the chief investigator promises the investigation is being conducted fairly, but the case was handed over to the bureau of investigation. so, the cbi has taken

up investigation. so, the cbi has taken up the case, and... it will hear the position on tuesday. as we get the information from the supreme court website. this is a case where it has sparked a wide range of unrest and widespread anger among the people, and even today, the police are... 0rders and even today, the police are... orders in some of the areas, calling for restriction of movement or assembly of more than four or five people in a place. that is around the hospital where the incident took place. despite this prohibitory order coming in, people took to the streets, and even a football match, a prestigious mat between two prestigious football clubs, they had been cancelled today, and the

protesters were angry at this incident and angry against the cancellation of the derby match. police had to resort to... so the atmosphere here in kolkata, despite atmosphere here in kolkata, despite a ban on protest, he was coming out on the streets, activists, civil society member, political parties, society member, political parties, so the local government is under pressure after this case, because the police and the government is being accused of not doing their duty properly, and even the hospital administration where the incident to places being questioned by the people and even the family members of the victim. people and even the family members of the victim-— of the victim. thank you very much for the update. _ several people have been injured after a ferris wheel caught fire at a music festival in eastern germany.

videos show two carriages on the wheel alight, with smoke billowing into the air near the city of leipzig. 18 people were taken to hospital including one person who was injured in a fall and four people with burns. the cause of the fire is still being investigated. now it's time for a look at today's sport. hello from the bbc sport centre. manchester city begin the defence of their premier league title later. they play chelsea, a team they couldn't beat in the league last season on their way to becoming the first team in history to win the top flight title four times in a row. they also haven't lost in the premier league since december. but pep guardiola says it's going to take a lot of work to make it five. 140 points to play, we start from zero everyone, and we will see. 114 points to play, we start from zero everyone, and we will see. if we are going to conquer, we have to conquer again. because they are not going to give us now the premier league for 24—25 season, so we have to do it. so i understand because normally when people say, we are favourites, i will not accept it. when you have won four in a row, six and seven, it's normal

to accept we are favourites. we have to live with that but i know what we have to do. this is point by point, it must be, must we win, and of course every season is more and more difficult. i've said many times after eight, nine years together you can do so many different things, so pep is not a manager that is always doing the same. he is always changing and with us, we will be exactly the same so it will be a tough game but as you said, exciting. the start the premiership, start against the champions and we'll see. we're under way in the premier league, brentford against crystal palace has not long kicked off — just over 15 minutes gone at the gtech. the latest score there is 0—0. brentford head coach thomas frank has left ivan toney out of the squad because of the amount of speculation about him. linking him with a move away. tottenham have accepted a bid from leicester for midfielder 0liver skipp. the fee for the 23—year—old, who came through the academy

at spurs, is in excess of £20 million. he is expected to have a medical on monday, before the two clubs meet in their opening premier league match. the last three places in the scottish league cup quarter—finals are up for grabs on sunday. dundee united are goalless against st mirren, motherwell are also goalless against kilmarnock. and celtic v hibs kicks off at celtic park in just under 45 minutes. holger rune ended jack draper's run to the quarterfinals of the cincinnati 0pen. the danejoining frances tiafoe, alex zverev and world number one jannik sinner in the last four of the final tournament before the us open. the british number one had come from a set down to win his previous two matches, but was unable to repeat the feat against rune, who won in straight sets. each had three break points. draper took none, rune all three of his. australia plan to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first—ever test match by playing england in march 2027 at the melbourne cricket ground, the same venue as the original game. the two teams will return to the mcg, just like they did 100 years on from that first test. the match in 1977 remarkably

ended in exactly the same way as in 1877 — a 45—run win for australia. a second consecutive round of 64 has pulled hideki matsuyama away from the field, as the final round of the stjude championship in memphis gets underway. he's trying to become the first japanese player to win a fedex playoff event and is five shots clear on 17 under par. this is the first event of the fedex cup playoffs on the pga tour — and will determine the top 50 players who will advance to the next tournament. dricus du plessis retained his middleweight title at ufc 305, submitting opponent israel adesanya in the fourth round in perth. the south african rocked nigeria—born new zealander adesanya with a right hook before dragging him down and forcing him to tap out. following the contest, du plessis paid tribute to adesanya as the pair settled their differences after a heated build—up to what was the first defence of his title.

and that's all the sport for now. we will keep you updated throughout the afternoon. the courtauld gallery at somerset house in london — which houses paintings by vincent van gogh, claude monet and paul cezanne has reopened — after a fire in the building yesterday. no one was hurt in the blaze, with around 125 firefighters called in to tackle it yesterday afternoon. let's speak to our culture correspondent, noor nanji. she is in central london for us now. what is the activity like today? inaudible than they were yesterday. more than a hundred firefighters, and around 25 fire engines were sent to the scene around midday yesterday to try and tackle displays. bind me, you can see there are still some fire engines here. wejust one driving into the main courtyard in the middle of somerset house, but other than that, the fire does seem

to be contained, and there are no reported injuries. somerset house itself remains closed until further notice, but earlier today, around 10am, the gallery reopens to the public. that gallery houses a lot of priceless artwork, including by van gough and claude money. i was in there a little earlier, checking it out, and it does look absolutely fine in there. there were some tourists milling around, and the artwork seems absently fine. it appears to have broken out in a different part of the building, mostly home to things like offices and storage, and not the artwork. as i say, everyone inside of the building was also safe. they were evacuated as soon as these reports came out. there is still a presence here today as crews are trying to work out what actually happened and investigate the cause of this fire, which at this moment is still not known. we will bring you that when we get it. known. we will bring you that when we aet it. . ~ known. we will bring you that when we aet it. ., ~ i. , known. we will bring you that when

weaetit. ., , . the home office says it will include extreme misogyny — the hatred of women — among types of extremism which the government should take steps to tackle. it's started a review of potential gaps in the current system and the government says it will develop plans to "map and monitor" extremist trends — both on and offline. the home secretary yvette cooper said that "for too long" governments had "failed to address" the issue. hundreds of residents in newtonards in northern ireland have had to leave their homes following the discovery of a suspected world war ii bomb. police in county down say it was found at a building site at the rivenwood housing development on friday. let's speak to our reporter lynsey telford who's there for us now. lyndsey what's the latest? lyndsey, what's the latest? quite a lot of disruption for local people, then? quite a lot of disruption for local peeple. then?— quite a lot of disruption for local people, then? absolutely. this is . uite people, then? absolutely. this is cuite a people, then? absolutely. this is quite a new— people, then? absolutely. this is quite a new building _ people, then? absolutely. this is quite a new building site, - people, then? absolutely. this is quite a new building site, but - people, then? absolutely. this is. quite a new building site, but some new homes are currently being built. it was on this site where builders discovered, as you said, a suspected

world war ii bomb. it has been described... studio: let's see if her picture on freezes. no, unfortunately we have lost. we will try and get her back and speak to her in a bit. hong kong has says it will put a temporary ban onjapanese seafood. there had been a call for the restrictions to be dropped, saying they had no scientific basis. vietnam's top leader, to lam, is on a three—day visit to china. his first overseas trip since taking up the role. chinese state media reports he arrived in guangzhou — an industrial and export hub near hong kong. he's due to meet with chinese leader

xijinping and other senior officials during the trip. he's also expected to visit sites where the former vietnamese communist leader ho chi minh spent time. french film star alain delon has died at the age of 88. the actor was part of the golden era of french cinema, known for his tough—guy persona on screen in hits including the samurai and borsalino. his family say he died peacefully at home, surrounded by his children and family. in the last few hours president macron has paid his tribute, posting on x, "alain delon played legendary roles and "made the world dream. "lending his unforgettable face to shake up our lives. "melancholic, popular, secret, he was more than a star: "a french monument. " let's speak to film and culture critic ashanti omkar. welcome, thank you forjoining us. just what made alain delon such a legend in french cinema? he just what made alain delon such a legend in french cinema?- just what made alain delon such a legend in french cinema? he was 'ust so charismatic — legend in french cinema? he was 'ust so charismatic in �* legend in french cinema? he was 'ust so charismatic in all i legend in french cinema? he was 'ust so charismatic in all his i legend in french cinema? he was 'ust

so charismatic in all his roles. i legend in french cinema? he was 'ust so charismatic in all his roles. it h so charismatic in all his roles. it felt like though this man did not come from a background of acting, he imbibed those roles like he belonged to them. he is charismatic, good looking, women were gaga over him. yet these deep blue eyes that really drew people into the screen. what drew people into the screen. what was the appeal _ drew people into the screen. what was the appeal for _ drew people into the screen. what was the appeal for the _ drew people into the screen. what was the appeal for the top names later on in his career to work with him, people like martin scorsese and quentin tarantino, who sought him out? ~ . , , quentin tarantino, who sought him out? . ., , , ., quentin tarantino, who sought him out? ~ ., , , ., . , quentin tarantino, who sought him out? ~ , ., . , ., ~ out? was they did not directly work with him, they _ out? was they did not directly work with him, they cited _ out? was they did not directly work with him, they cited him _ out? was they did not directly work with him, they cited him as - out? was they did not directly work with him, they cited him as an - with him, they cited him as an inspiration in many of their work, including people likejohn woo, especially with the samurai, like you mentioned. people looked at the role and the way he assayed it, and said this guy has brought this magnetic character to the screen, how do we also do something like this? french cinema is very different from hollywood. when you look at alain's life, he has worked in france in europe, where he has

made the most mark. he was also very well loved in japan. made the most mark. he was also very well loved injapan. when it came to hollywood, hollywood directors looked at him and said, how do we make this happen in our own cinema? they have cited him as somebody that they have looked at and who has been very inspiring, because he indubitably has been an icon of cinema. he indubitably has been an icon of cinema. , , , indubitably has been an icon of cinema. , ,, ,., , cinema. he did express some views which peeple _ cinema. he did express some views which people find _ cinema. he did express some views which people find controversial. - cinema. he did express some views which people find controversial. he | which people find controversial. he was even accused of misogyny at times because of his attitude towards women, amongst other things? that is right. when he was given an honorary pandora, the guest award that the cannes film festival gives, and on the one hand, he has done the work, six decades of working in cinema to gain that, but he has had some very strange views on lots of things. —— palme d'or. he has been quite outspoken about them, so there is this thing between the art and the artist, and it seems that as a

person, as a man himself, there are lots of things about him not to like, but when you saw him on screen, you forgot all of that, and you let yourself be enveloped by the man, his face, the way he just crafted his roles. man, his face, the way he 'ust crafted his rolesi man, his face, the way he 'ust crafted his roles. and briefly, what should peeple _ crafted his roles. and briefly, what should people look _ crafted his roles. and briefly, what should people look out _ crafted his roles. and briefly, what should people look out for - crafted his roles. and briefly, what should people look out for if - crafted his roles. and briefly, what should people look out for if they l should people look out for if they are not familiar with his work? if there is one role, just briefly, that they should go to, which will would it be? la samurai, for sure. it has gone over to africa, it has been loved by people, and many people cited as one of their favourite films, because he imbibed that role in such detail, and such believability, this very silent man who was doing things very meticulously in his life and when he had a stroke today. that is something many men have really resonated with.

studio: good tip, thanks forjoining us. good afternoon. it's been a fairly quiet weekend of weather. it's all change again next week. even today, we're not without a few showers. they've been peppering scotland, one or two elsewhere across northern ireland, western fringes of england and wales, but hopefully the cloud will melt away. more sunshine will come out to end the day and it's feeling pleasantly warm, although there's quite a brisk wind in the north and west in particular, but the wind does tend to ease a little overnight, allowing some mist and fog to form across england and wales. but look for the west winds strengthening. the next band of rain is approaching, so temperatures won't fall quite so low here, and it is all about the areas of low pressure as we move into the new week. the first one sweeps in through the second part of monday, clearing tuesday, then a brief ridge of high pressure. this next one coming in wednesday. thursday contains the remnants of hurricane ernesto, so that's sure to give us some wet weather. and as you can see from the tightly packed isobars, some windy

weather as well. more rain hot on its heels for friday. it still looks as if many southern and eastern areas won't see that much rain this week. these are the rainfall totals for the next five days, but we could see in excess of 100mm up across the north west of scotland, so that's certainly one to watch. the early fog will clear, might be around for the first hour or so of the rush hour, and then some fine and dry weather, but the rain really takes hold mid—morning across northern ireland, the south and west of scotland, and the met office have a warning out for as much as 50mm of rain throughout monday, monday night and into tuesday morning. still quite warm, particularly where we see the sunshine in southern and eastern areas. but the wind and the rain does arrive here, although not as heavy, and we do have more rain through the night pushing back into the north. i think the main thing is it will be much warmer, more humid overnight monday into tuesday. more uncomfortable for sleeping, but most of the rain should clear, with it the humidity. but then we have a band of heavy thundery showers following as well. the rain could be thundery as well in the north and west close

to that low pressure. there's more of that to come in northwest scotland, but i think on the whole a fresher day. now, later tuesday into wednesday, brief bump of high pressure, but then the next weather system rushes in off the atlantic giving us some really quite wet weather. there are warnings out for this as well. across western scotland we could see another two, three, four inches of rain in places and some unseasonably windy weather as well. certainly one to watch.

this is bbc news, the headlines. the us secretary of state, antony blinken is making his tenth trip to israel since the war in gaza began, with hopes of encouraging a ceasefire deal. in gaza itself, the hamas—run health ministry says at least 19 people including six children have been killed in the latest israeli strikes. ukraine says it has destroyed a second key bridge inside the kursk region of russia. the attack will further isolate russian troops, as ukraine presses on with its kursk counteroffensive. meanwhile russia says it has captured another village in the donetsk region. the french actor alain delon, once described as the most beautiful man in cinema, has died at the age of 88. president macron has called him a french monument, who embodied legendary roles and made the world dream.