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announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" s is bbc "world news america." s benjamin netanyahu approves a military action plan for southern gaza. voting is underway in russia. a special prosecutor investigating donald trump's alleged election interference in georgia redesigns after weeks of controversy surrounding the case. ♪

welcome to world news america. the white house says it is cautiously optimistic after a new truce proposal from hamas. u.s. officials say it is within the bounds of a deal they have been working on. israel's prime minister downplayed any chances of a pause in fighting saying hamas is making unrealistic demands. hamas said it is giving up comprehensive vision to mediators. there are talks over a possible cease-fire and hostage deal. benjamin netanyahu's office -- more than half of the territory's 2.5 million residents or sheltering. israel said it is preparing to evacuate. there are signs of discontent within the biden administration about the lack of progress. secretary of state antony blinken said the u.s. needs to see a clear plan for israel's proposed assault on rafah

including how civilians will be moved out of harm's way. president biden praised a speech made by chuck schumer in which the senator called for new elections and said the israeli prime minister is a threat to peace. pres. biden: senator schumer contacted my senior staff. i am not going to elaborate on his speech. he made a good speech. i think he expressed serious concern shared by many. >> the israeli government has pushed back against chuck schumer's comments. aid agencies continue to warn about the situation in gaza. a ship carrying supplies has arrived and is waiting off the coast. it is a test run for what hopes to become a new route for aid. >> israel has said it will send a delegation to doha are to discuss the new cease-fire proposal that was put forward by

hamas which would involve a six-week truce. the release of some israeli hostages, dozens and possibly hundreds of palestinian prisoners from israeli jails. israel's prime minister's office has said the demands by hamas are unrealistic. that is putting down the idea of progress. the prime minister's office says benjamin yet yahoo! has -- benjamin yet and yahoo! -- half of gaza's population is now sheltering. it runs counter to any kind of cease-fire. that has been declared to put pressure on hamas ahead of any cease-fire talks. a military incursion into rafa would be risky given the number of civilians sheltering their and would further incur the

wrath of the u.s. president biden said a week ago that the incursion would be a redline. secretary of state antony blinken said the u.s. has not received israel's plan for rafah. it does not seem that an incursion is imminent but that is the stated intention of the israeli government. on aid, the ship carrying 200 tons of aid from cyprus has started to offload the aid into gaza on smaller ships that are taking it toward gaza. it is unclear how it will be distributed on the ground. in a sign of how risky that is, there was another fatal instance on wednesday in which 21 people were killed at an aid distribution point in gaza city. hamas said it was is really troops that opened fire. israel said it has investigated and its troops are not to blame. it has blamed armed palestinian

men. it shows how disorderly these aid distribution points can be in a point where civil order has broken down. in the sixth month of war, there is no credible local authority present. sumi: there has been more unrest in the capital of haiti despite efforts to reestablish law and order. emergency response teams were called to the main jail after a fire broke out. the storming of the prison by gangs, releasing of hundreds of convicts, led to the resignation of the prime minister and the collapse of the government. u.s. -- set to announce $25 million in humanitarian assistance for haiti. the additional aid comes after u.s. secretary of state antony blinken pledged $33 million in humanitarian aid for haiti which comes on top of the $146 million

already provided by the u.s. since october 2022. talks are underway to try to establish a transitional council but gang leaders said it might not accept any new leadership. antony blinken told reporters about the progress being made. >> what we have seen over the last 24 hours is there are seven seats on this transitional council. most of the parties or stakeholders that were given a seat have named the representative to the council. there are couple that still have not so that is a work in progress but we have seen that move forward. sumi: let's go to haiti now. are central america and caribbean correspondent will grant is standing by. very good to see you. it is not easy to get into haiti at the moment. can you tell us what that journey was like? will: yes, we had quite a long

and difficult few days at the border but now we are among the first international journalists to make it into haiti since the latest crisis began. we have come two hours' drive to a coastal town. it remains clear that this is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. additional humanitarian need created by this crisis is abundantly clear. statistics alone give us a sense of the grim picture. 360,000 internally displaced people in haiti. some 3000 women due to give birth in the coming weeks can expect no maternity care whatsoever with so many hospitals in the county over shuttered. it remains very difficult. you mentioned the aid premises. some aid is beginning to trickle

in but it seems, particularly to those who need it most and the most desperate, that it is just not enough for a crisis of this scale. sumi: we know the situation remains volatile in the capital. tell us what things are like where you are at at the moment. will: this is a calm are part of the country and it is important to note there are differences across haiti. during the coverage of this current crisis, it has felt like everything is as bad as the pictures we are seeing out of port-au-prince. you do feel the effects of what is happening to the nation as a whole. the political vacuum in power that there is no current government sitting, the prime minister has stepped down. there is a power vacuum, the control of the gangs and the pressure on people in the

neighborhoods that have come to places like this to try to find refuge. the picture is desperate across the country, largely as a result of how bad things are in the capital. sumi: are haitians trying to leave the country? what does that look like? will: yeah, they are. it is not necessarily in droves heading to the border crossing because even getting there from port-au-prince is difficult. the roads are controlled by the games. -- controlled by the gangs. movement is restricted and complex. there is this issue of being internally displaced within the capital city with so much gang control in certain neighborhoods. there is a long way to go with all of the politics and the efforts by the international community, particularly from

washington, to try to make some kind of headway in terms of re-stabilizing haiti. you talk to people and you hear their stories and you realize many are concerned about the country and how long it will take before any semblance of security returns to the capital. sumi: our correspondent, will grant, one of the first international journalists reporting from inside haiti. very good to talk to you. russians are going to choose their president. 112 million people are eligible to vote, among them residents of russia so-called new territories in ukraine. with vladimir putin's opponents in exile, prison or dead, his victory is almost certain. if he fills out the six-year term he is likely to win, he will become the longest russian leader since catherine the great. >> russia's democracy is the best in the world, the kremlin

says. at polling station 38 in moscow we found a choice of candidates and plenty of voters. democracy in action, right? not quite. realistically, only one man can win this. the man who has been on russia's political stage for the last quarter of a century. vladimir putin faces no serious challenger. his fiercest rivals are in exile or in prison. not that she wants any change at the top. of course i voted for putin, she says. i trust him. but not everyone who came out today was actually voting. this, one of a string of attacks on polling stations across russia. they are unprecedented. after chaotic scenes here.

an arsonist is detained. and green ink 42 a ballot box. the authorities called the attackers "scum." some voters were greeted with a show. that is one way to bang the drum for russian elections. there is voting, too, in parts of ukraine that are under russian occupation. what russia calls its new territories. the ukrainian government called the election here illegal. polls close on sunday night. expect a putin landslide. unpredictability is very much a feature of life in russia. that does not apply to elections. the political system here is built around one man -- vladimir putin -- and the kremlin tightly controls that system, including elections. mr. putin's reelection is not in

doubt. and neither is the message the kremlin will be sending after this. that vladimir putin has the full support of his people. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. sumi: the leaders of germany, france and poland met in berlin to ease tensions over support for russia's war in ukraine. the french president said he would not rule out deploying western troops on the ground in ukraine. that suggestion was rejected by the german chancellor. russia and ukraine continue to exchange fire. odesa had at least 20 people killed in a missile attack in a residential area. 70 people were wounded. the kremlin said ukraine carried out attacks in southern russia and accused kyiv of attempting to disrupt the election. we have this report from kyiv. >> there is a lot of focus at the moment on what the reelection and pending reelection of vladimir putin

means for russia but here in ukraine, it is clear what that means. it means more war, more missiles, more aggression. we saw that in odesa, the city on the black sea, which was hit by russian ballistic missiles fired from crimea. one missile hit what ukrainian officials are describing as 10 homes and a recreational facility and what they are calling civilian infrastructure. this they would rescue teams headed to the scene, they went there to try to find casualties, to put out the fire that began. when they were at the scene, they said another russian missile hit the spot and more people were killed and injured. dozens of people injured, some 55 people in hospital and at least 16 have been killed. in terms of what exactly russia was aiming at, it is not clear but we do know what they hit. we know about the casualties.

the interior ministry in ukraine also talked about losses among the national police force. a former deputy mayor who joined the army was killed as a police battalion commander. some police military security forces among those dead. also rescue workers, emergency workers and one medic were killed in this double missile attack on odesa. sumi: here in the u.s., the special prosecutor in the georgia election fraud case against donald trump resigned. nathan wade stepped down hours after a judge determined fani willis could remain on the case as long as wade stepped aside after it came out that the two were having a romantic relationship. . trump and his codefendants try to disqualify the case saying there was a conflict of interest. will is admitted to the relationship with wade but said it had no bearing on the case. the allegations set off days of fiery testimony last month. the judge said willis had

committed a tremendous lapse in judgment but georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices, even repeatedly. 'trumps lead lawyer criticized the decision. we do not believe the court put proper significance to the conduct of listen wade and promised to continue fighting until the end of the case. the georgia election interference trial -- trump is also facing federal charges for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election. he is accused of falsifying business records to urgent adult film actress to stay quiet after an alleged affair and is accused of mishandling classified documents at his mar-a-lago residence. there have been updates this week. our north american correspondent has been looking into all of this for us.

great to see you. let's start with what we saw in georgia. the decision about fani willis. what impact does this have? >> we do not know when the trial was due to start. there were some suggestions it could be in august. it is a win for georgia prosecutors in the sense that fani willis will remain on the case but it is also a win for donald trump because we do not know when the case will start. there are 18 co-defendants, it is a huge racketeering case. the general feeling is it could take months before we even get a date. remember, you have to do jury selection, as well. sumi: it has been quite a week for donald trump's legal cases. >> i feel like keeping up with trump's trials is almost a full-time job. you have seen what has happened in georgia. just about an hour ago, the new york case, the alleged

hush-money payments, the judge has agreed to a delay for at least 30 days. donald trump's team wanted a delay of 90 days. the chief prosecutor said he would agree to 30 days. that was the only trial we thought was definitely happening, on march 25. now it is looking like he could happen in mid april, we. do not know and then you have the florida case for classified documents. donald trump is trying to get the whole thing canceled. the judge in that case did not agree with that. he said the case would go ahead but did not commit to a date. there was suggestion it could happen may 20 but we do not know. that was expected to be postponed. to be honest, all these delays play into donald trump strategy, which is to push everything back until after the presidential election. >> is any of this having an

impact on donald trump? if you look at the polling now that it is confirmed he will face joe biden. >> we saw after his indictment that his popularity just grows. i saw that at the primary races, as well. for his supporters, this is proof of everything he says. he is being persecuted. with these cases being delayed, his emails, he does fundraising off the back of it. he has to win over the general american electorate. whether the rest of america and the voters like this, we will have to see. sumi: our north america correspondent, thank you so much. the newly appointed u.s. special envoy for sudan said he is concerned the war risks fueling a concern of islamic extremists. he is on a trip to africa seeking ways to address the severe humanitarian needs of the

sudanese people. he has seen signs of political will to bring the conflict to an end. barbara caught up with him in nairobi. >> i think we are raising the heat on all of those fueling this conflict in trying to convince them to be partners in peace. what we are seeing is many of those in the region who have been involved, not always constructively, and realize they will help light a fire that will burn everyone involved. if we start to look at a failed state and affection lies conflict, we are seeing the return of militant extreme islamists. the people of sudan tried to eradicate for decades. this is a problem that could go on for 10, 20 years. >> do you think the are getting the message they could be affected? >> anyone with eyes wide open can see the situation. it has been publicly reported about the rise of extreme islamists.

it is deeply concerning too many of us, including our gulf partners. we see a war with no sign of either side having a clean victory. anyone who thought that was an outcome to root for, that day has come and gone. it is a very clear message that we need to end this. i think we have to keep emphasizing the urgency. we are talking about the next two weeks before a situation where the fragility crosses a point of no return. sumi: let's get a quick look at other global headlines. police say in islamist military attack on a hotel killed three people and injured 27 others, including several soldiers. the five gunmen were also killed. the hotel is popular with government officials who are often targets of attacks linked to the al qaeda group. >> a skins game actor was given

a prison sentence for sexual misconduct. he was charged in 2022 with sexually assaulting a woman twice. the assault happened in 2017. he said he will appeal against the verdict. a team of international scientists is carrying out an experiment in the arctic circle to find out if they can stop sea ice from melting as the world gets open. they are trying to thicken the ice by pouring salt on it. >> it is such a simple idea. it is surprising that no one has tried it before. the team here are pumping seawater on top of the ice so it freezes and thickens. the aim is to stop, maybe even reverse the loss of arctic sea ice caused by climate change. >> we are pumping around 1000 liters per minute of seawater. we added an extra layer. another five to 10 centimeters of ice thickness in this area.

>> this was the extent of the arctic sea ice in september, 1970 night. its sharp decline is alarming. t couldhickenin -- could thicken ing the ice stop this trend? if not, polar bears could lose their homes and the rest of the world would be worse off because it is the air conditioning system for the entire planet. researchers are assessing whether the ice thickening will work and could be implemented across the arctic in a way that is affordable and practical. >> if we just allow the cis to go, the arctic ocean becomes one of our greatest heat absorbers rather than one of our greatest heat reflectors. if we let it go things will get worse. we have to try to fix that. >>'s team is also working with australian researchers who are

trying to reduce temperatures by spraying salt particles into the clouds to make them brighter, reflecting the sun's heat back into space. the idea of repairing the climate is controversial. if you can fix the damage, the argument goes, it is a green light for countries not to reduce emissions quickly enough. researchers believe the situation is so dire that there is no alternative but to do both. >> if we stop doing efforts, we will for sure result in a really, bad scenario. >> are you personally optimistic? >>. yes yes. that is why i'm working here and doing this research. i want to be optimistic. >> the researchers expected no by next year if there ice thickening has the potential to fix the arctic and buying time to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions. sumi: thank you so much for watching world news america. do not forget to check out our website, bbc.com/news or follow us on twitter for the latest. i am sumi somaskanda in washington. stay with us. announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. bdo. accountants and advisors. cunard is a proud supporter of public television. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ amna: good evening. geoff bennett is away. on the newshour, a ruling in former president trump's georgia election interference case allows the district attorney to