this is bbc news. i'm maryam moshiri with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. palestinians flee their homes in gaza amid fears of an ground invasion by israeli forces massed on the border. meanwhile, palestinian militants continue firing barrages of rockets at israeli cities, as the violence shows no sign of abating. india records almost the same number of coronavirus cases as the rest of the world combined. this is not an indian problem. what is happening here could affect the world's ability to recover from the pandemic. travel confusion for thousands of holiday—makers as portugal extends it's covid alert level.

and an interview with former manchester united manager, sir alex ferguson, who says things are very different for footballers now. israel has intensified its assault on the gaza strip, with a number of explosions seen in the hamas—controlled enclave. it comes as palestinians flee their homes, fearing a ground attack. explosions lit up the sky over gaza city. the number of people killed in gaza has now passed 100. earlier, multiple missiles were launched by palestinian forces inside gaza, towards israel. seven people have died in israel. sectarian clashes between jewish and arab citizens who live side by side, on the streets of tel aviv, lod and beyond have intensified

amid warnings of civil war. the bbc�*s middle east editor jeremy bowen is injerusalem. palestinian families are fleeing their homes in northern gaza this evening. they told the bbc they were escaping heavy israeli shellfire. dozens of civilians were killed in their area in the 2014 war, so they left in a hurry, with their children still in their new clothes they were given for the end of ramadan. one man said the criminal occupation shows them no mercy. a renewal of the war between hamas and israel was always likely. the unexpected frontline on the streets of israel was not. sectarian violence between israeli citizens brings a new and vicious dimension. not all israelis arejews. around 20% are

palestinian arabs. young men have been on the prowl for people to attack. jews versus arabs, arabs versus jews, all israeli citizens. president warned the country should not abandon itself to civil war. as for the other war, it was a day for decisions. among the hamas leaders assassinated by israel this week were top commanders. will that deter another escalation? probably not. israel has to decide whether it wants to follow artillery and air attacks with a ground assault against hamas inside that has been part of the pattern during 15 years of intermittent warfare between them. israel has called up 7,000 reservists. in jerusalem, tens of thousands of palestinians came to pray at islam's holiest place

after mecca and medina. in this city, religion is intertwined with politics, nationalism and power. the banners that celebrate hamas and its leaders, who wanted the people there to see them as the only true guardians of palestinian rights injerusalem. it was eid al—fitr, the holiday that marks the end of ramadan. it is meant to be a party. parents tried to make it fun. there is nothing right now to celebrate for the palestinian president mahmoud abbas, upstaged by his hamas rivals. no peace, security or stability as possible, he said, whilejerusalem is occupied by israel. this war mightjust save benjamin netanyahu's career. he was about to lose his job last weekend. he is still in political trouble but now he has soldiers to congratulate and his

rivals are quiet. the prime minister said the fight against hamas would take time, but israel would decisively restore quiet. it is a modest war aim, he will need more to tell israelis before this can end. especially in sderot, the town closest to gaza. a five year boy was killed after a rocket hit his building. his neighbours have had enough. it is very, very difficult to live under these circumstances and the government should wipe out gaza, should wipe out gaza, once and for all. right across israel and the occupied territories this week, there is serious violence. this was the town of hebron last night on the occupied west bank. young palestinians and israelis, confronting each other, another generation cursed by the failures of its leaders.

behnam ben taleblu is a senior fellow at the foundation for defense of democracies, focusing on national security and foreign policy. it's good to talk to you, thank you for taking the time to talk to us. jeremy said in his piece that ground assaults are usually part of the pattern, if you like, of what israel does in these circumstances. it has done it in the past, how likely done it in the past, how likely do you think we're going to see a ground assault now?- a ground assault now? indeed, it's ureat a ground assault now? indeed, it's great to — a ground assault now? indeed, it's great to be _ a ground assault now? indeed, it's great to be with _ a ground assault now? indeed, it's great to be with you. - a ground assault now? indeed, it's great to be with you. if - it's great to be with you. if pastis it's great to be with you. if past is any prologue here then yes there will be some sort of ground assault. no—one wants to get ahead of this, of course, not even the ibf, which retracted a statement it gave. as you know, there were reserves called out, there was a lot of tank, and other of activity moved towards the border but of course no official decision on a formal ground assault given, but i would say of pastors prologue

it is likely. would say of pastors prologue it is likely-— it is likely. let's talk about hamas because _ it is likely. let's talk about hamas because we - it is likely. let's talk about hamas because we have i it is likely. let's talk about. hamas because we have been talking about the way that hamas has been sending rockets into israel and it looks as if, doesn't it, hamas has accumulated even more weapons over the past year. it getting those weapons from and why is that important? it is those weapons from and why is that important?— that important? it is a critical _ that important? it is a critical part _ that important? it is a critical part of - that important? it is a critical part of the - that important? it is a - critical part of the equation because as you know, hamas is under a blockade but hamas received lots of material support from the world's received lots of material support from the worlds for most aid sponsor of terrorism. that's not to say that every munition and every rocket in the gaza strip comes from iran but they have received rocket technology from the islamic republic and you also see that from the pace of some of the volleys, they are firing more rockets and greater numbers at greater times at greater civilian targets than ever before and when you compare these volleys to previous rounds of escalation, 2008, 2012, 2014, you see that what has been fired in a shorter time in the big question that military analyst are, well,

there is big questions military analysts are pondering. one is how sustainable is this renal failure and what is the exact nature of iran's material support to domestic rocket production inside the gaza strip, using domestic materials rather than trafficking materials, as iran has of course been pulling the same strategy through syria to bolster hezbollah. another thin . bolster hezbollah. another thing that _ bolster hezbollah. another thing that differs _ bolster hezbollah. another thing that differs from - bolster hezbollah. another. thing that differs from these previous years, the mixed towns and cities within israel and what we have seen there is the israeli arabs and israeli dues attacking each other, talk of civil war. that is a key difference, isn't it, as well, that gives this current crisis a very different feel? domestically, yes. i'm no israel domestic politics expert but it does have a very different feel to the early 2000 and of course this has not fallen on deaf ears, for israel's adverse erreys. hamas of course used the

protests and use the pushback on the temple mount to begin launching these rockets so if the crisis continues in the domestic turmoil continues, i will expect israel's adverse erreys to, again, if pastors prologue to use these leverages as part of their public foreign—policy pressure against the jewish state. foreign-policy pressure against the jewish state.— the jewish state. what is the wa out the jewish state. what is the way out of — the jewish state. what is the way out of this? _ the jewish state. what is the way out of this? in _ the jewish state. what is the way out of this? in some - the jewish state. what is the l way out of this? in some ways there is no _ way out of this? in some ways there is no way _ way out of this? in some ways there is no way out _ way out of this? in some ways there is no way out but - there is no way out but through. of the israelis do end “p through. of the israelis do end up going with the ground or it will be up to them to decide the ways, ends and means if they are going to go against they are going to go against the rock at the post, rocket facilities or against hamas' leadership. that is a question for them to decide right now but i think ultimately the big win will be establishing deterrence, vis—a—vis hamas and palestinian islamichhad, which may be rocket fire, it may be something as complex as strikes, it is really too soon to tell. ., ~ strikes, it is really too soon to tell. ., ,, , ., strikes, it is really too soon to tell. ., ,, i. . to tell. 0k, thank you so much for talking _ to tell. 0k, thank you so much for talking to _ to tell. 0k, thank you so much for talking to us. _

every day, india is recording nearly as many covid—19 cases as every other country in the world put together. in the past 24 hours, more than 4,000 people have died from the virus. hospitals in many parts of the country are being overrun. one of the states seeing the most dramatic surges is west bengal, governed by a regional political party. from the state's capital kolkata, yogita limaye reports. 1,000 miles from delhi — kolkata. look at this. a frighteningly busy market in a region where covid has surged nearly 80 times in the past two months. people here are scared but they have to work, to eat. and this is the cost. in the entrance of a public hospital nearby, people are already struggling to get basic care.

all the beds here, hundreds, are already full. and the sick keep coming. "i don't know how long we can continue like this," says this doctor. "even a war comes to an end, but here it is wave after wave. " one in six people in the world live in india. and kolkata is among its most densely populated cities. covid has reached places where families live together in one room homes. distancing is impossible. amit and aarti's 63—year—old father died of covid. they spent the only money they had on trying to save him. as it spreads unchecked, the virus is taking on new,

more worrying forms. the highly infectious variant that is spreading through india has now reached more than 40 countries around the world including the uk. this is not an indian problem. what is happening here could affect the world's ability to recover from the pandemic. i spoke to dr soumya swaminathan, the world health organization's chief scientist. why should the world care about what is happening in india right now? this virus does not respect borders. it doesn't respect nationalities. it spreads before you know that it is spreading. if the virus keeps on replicating and multiplying, the number of variants is going to keep increasing and these variants will ultimately spread across the world. we will not be able to stop that from happening. the only way out is to immunise this vast population, but vaccine supply

is critically low. this country will need billions of doses. it's hard to see how it can do it alone. yogita limaye, bbc news, kolkata. portugal has extended its coronavirus alert level until the end of may raising questions over whether people from the uk will be able to travel there from next week. portugal is one ofjust 12 countries on the uk's green list which means you don't have to quarantine on return. our transport correspondent, caroline davies, has the latest. there are over 20 departures due to take off from the uk to portugal on monday. let's be clear to start with, the portuguese government hasn't announced either way if it is going to let uk tourists into the country on monday the 17th. bear in mind that isjust the country on monday the 17th. bear in mind that is just over three days away. as you say, the green list was announced last week, only 12 countries and territories including places like australia and new zealand which are not allowing british tourist and at the moment, so the industry has

really staked its hopes on portugal. we heard today that portugal. we heard today that portugal has decided to extend the state of calamities until the state of calamities until the 30th of may. non—essential travel is currently not allowed into portugal and when the cabinet minister was asked if uk tourists would be allowed in on the 17th, she said i have no information to give yet. what she did give information about was uefa champions league final which is due to be played on portugal on the 29th of may. anyone who is coming overfrom the uk will have to go and chartered flights, she said. they will have to leave within the same day, within 48 hours and remain and what she called and remain and what she called a bubble situation. plenty in the travel industry desperately waiting to hear of portugal is going to open up. key thing here is how volatile this situation is for international travel. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: why elon musk and his electric tesla cars have sent the value of bitcoin tumbling over concerns about fossil fuels.

"the pope was shot, the pope will live" — that is the essence of the appalling news from rome this afternoon that, as an italian television commentator put it, terrorism has come to the vatican. the man they called the butcher of lyon, klaus barbie, went on trial today in the french town where he was the gestapo chief in the second world war. winnie mandela never looked like a woman just sentenced to six years injail. the judge told mrs mandela there was no indication she felt even the slightest remorse. the chinese government has called for an all—out effort. to help the victims - of a powerful earthquake — the worst to hit the i country for 30 years. the computer deep blue has tonight triumphed over the world chess champion, gary kasparov. it is the first time a machine has defeated a reigning world champion in a classical chess match. america's first legal same—sex marriages have been taking place in massachusetts. god bless america!

this is bbc news. the latest headlines: israel has intensified its assault on the gaza strip with a number of explosions seen in the hamas—controlled enclave, while multiple missiles were launched by palestinian forces inside gaza towards israel. over 100 palestinians and seven israelis have now been killed since monday. official figures show more than 4,000 died in india from covid for the second day in a row as india's highly infectious new variant has now been found in 40 other countries. the value of bitcoin, the world's biggest digital currency, has tumbled after elon musk, the chief executive of tesla, said the electric car company would no longer accept the cryptocurrency as payment. and it's all because of fossil fuels. our chief environment correspondentjustin rowlatt explains.

there are real concerns about the environmental impact of these crypto currencies. you will of course i've heard of bitcoin, the biggest crypto of them all. it has seen its value saw in recent times. look at this. you could have picked up a bitcoin for $1 70 p ten years ago but now one would cost you more than $48,000, and that is because in part because of the port from elon musk. the boss of tesla. the electric car company said it would accept bitcoins for car purchases in march this year but today, mr musk performed a screeching u—turn. and it's true — bitcoin relies on the use of staggering amounts of energy, much of it from fossil fuels,

that is because of the way bitcoin is produced or mined. it's like a kind of lottery run every ten minutes. computers around the world compete to create a record of every transaction ever made in bitcoin. they also have to get a random number. —— they also have to guess a random number. get there first and you win the prize — 6.25 bitcoins, today worth £250,000. the idea is the more computers verify transactions, the more secure the currency is. and with such big cash on offer, huge numbers of people are getting in on the game. the effort they are making is truly enormous. bitcoin miners make some 160 quintillion calculations every second — that is 160 followed by 18 zeros — and that takes a huge amount of electricity. the uk uses just over 300 terawatt hours of electricity

a year. at the current rate, bitcoin is using 150 terawatts hours a year, so that is half of what the uk uses and about 0.5% of total world electricity use. we have a system with millions of devices all around the world that are constantly generating a whole load of useless competitions and using a load of energy in doing that, while bitcoin is, in essence, still very small at the moment. researchers say at least two—thirds of that will have been generated from fossil fuel which is why bitcoin is such a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions. something you may want to consider if you are thinking of buying the so—called currency. and also something that would make scaling it up to be a world currency on par with the dollar or the euro a real challenge. we can now speak to benjamin jones who's a professor of economics at the university of new mexico.

he joins us from albuquerque. thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. let me ask you first of all, what is your take on bitcoin? there seems to be a turning tide of opinion now about where it is in terms of the economy versus the environment. 50 in terms of the economy versus the environment.— the environment. so we know that bitcoin _ the environment. so we know that bitcoin uses _ the environment. so we know that bitcoin uses tremendous| that bitcoin uses tremendous amounts of electricity as part of its production process and just to give your view with some perspective, bitcoin is using about the same amount of electricity as the entire country of the netherlands. we are talking about a lot of electricity that is being used and the concern is that this is primarily produced with fossil fuels and fossil fuel power plants such as coal and natural gas. and these powerplants emit carbon into the atmosphere, they also emit other air pollutants into the atmosphere which has negative impacts on both the environment as well as on human health through air pollution exposure.- on human health through air pollution exposure. what is the

answer then? _ pollution exposure. what is the answer then? is _ pollution exposure. what is the answer then? is there - pollution exposure. what is the answer then? is there more - pollution exposure. what is the answer then? is there more in l answer then? is there more in —— is there a more environmentally friendly way of minding bitcoin that we can think about?— minding bitcoin that we can think about? that is a great question- — think about? that is a great question. there _ think about? that is a great question. there was - think about? that is a great question. there was a - think about? that is a great question. there was a lot . think about? that is a great| question. there was a lot of interest in making bitcoin sustainable or in creating a green bitcoin and one line of thought here is that we use more renewable energy to mine it coined so using things such as solar and wind and hydropower as well as fossil fuels —— and of fossilfuels and this would tremendously reduce both the carbon footprint that the coin has, as well as its environmental impact but the trade—off is we don't generally have access renewable energyjust don't generally have access renewable energy just sitting on the electricity grid so we take renewables and divert those towards bitcoin mining, it means we have less renewable energy to power our homes or to power our electric cars or factories and other businesses so it is really important trade—off that we have to consider, even if we were to

make bitcoin mining renewable. what about changing the way in which bitcoin is mind? who decided it has to be mined in this really kind of strange, involved way, that uses so much energy? involved way, that uses so much ener: ? ., involved way, that uses so much ener: ? . ,., involved way, that uses so much ener: ? . ., involved way, that uses so much ener. ? . . ., , energy? yeah, so there are lots of discussions _ energy? yeah, so there are lots of discussions around _ of discussions around alternatives and bitcoin is what is known as a proof of work currency, and that is what it requires this tremendous amount of electricity use. but there are lots of discussions and even other coins out there that use alternative systems such as the proof of state system, and this has a much lower energy use and electricity use but they are not widely used at this point compared to bitcoin or even other proof of work crypto currencies such as theory. good to talk to _ currencies such as theory. good to talk to you. _ currencies such as theory. good to talk to you, thank _ currencies such as theory. good to talk to you, thank you - currencies such as theory. good to talk to you, thank you very . to talk to you, thank you very much for your time —— ehterium. —— etherium. sir alex ferguson says he is "grateful for the three years extra" he feels he has had after surviving a brain haemorrhage in 2018. the legendary former manchester united manager made

the admission before the release of a new film about his life. he's been talking to our sports editor dan roan about his career and the men who played for him. i inherited aberdeen and manchester united, they were strong and powerful and that is changed because it's become a more protective life nowadays, you know? i know there is a social media and things like that which has created some problems but in the main, i was very lucky to inherit the kind of players i did in my earlier days, you know? do of players i did in my earlier days, you know?— of players i did in my earlier days, you know? do you think that ou days, you know? do you think that you would _ days, you know? do you think that you would find _ days, you know? do you think that you would find it - days, you know? do you think that you would find it harder l that you would find it harder if starting a managerial career today because the role of the manager seems to have shifted somewhat?— somewhat? personally, i don't think s0- _ somewhat? personally, i don't think so. ru— somewhat? personally, i don't think so. i'lltell_ somewhat? personally, i don't think so. i'll tell you _ think so. i'll tell you why. i think it's my personality. i think it's my personality. i think that it is something in

me that was bound to get me somewhere in life, you know? i'm not being boastful here but i'm not being boastful here but i think i have the personality to do well and the drive to do well and the hunger and the energy. i think that the young people out there with the drive, you see withjurgen klopp for instance and the drive he has brought. he is a young man, and ideology, the job he has done at city, is a place for people with the right print —— credentials and the right material —— pep guardiola. there are obstacles but the good ones will find a way. but the good ones will find a wa . ., . . , way. you gave it quite recently about the _ way. you gave it quite recently about the super _ way. you gave it quite recently about the super league - way. you gave it quite recently about the super league and i about the super league and the champions league final is the climax of the movie and builds to this crescendo, the whole film bills to that credible moment which i suspect even, what, 22 years on you actually struggled to believe what happened that night but the future of the tournament was obviously under threat up until recently. what did you make of that and what has happened

since? ~ ., , ., that and what has happened since? ~ ., , since? well, as a player, i -la ed since? well, as a player, i played in _ since? well, as a player, i played in european - since? well, as a player, i l played in european football, with rangers, and as a manager, i took a provincial club like aberdeen to beat real madrid in a final in gothenburg. it was a dream to achieve what aberdeen did so that is the answer. you cannot ever forget that the real reason is that the smallest guy can climb to the top of everest. and that is a place where i can put that, we cannot do without that, really. sir alex ferguson speaking to our sports editor dan roan. how can we safely hold large—scale events while easing coronavirus restrictions? large-scale events while easing coronavirus restrictions?- coronavirus restrictions? well, this is one _ coronavirus restrictions? well, this is one way _ coronavirus restrictions? well, this is one way to _ coronavirus restrictions? well, this is one way to put - coronavirus restrictions? well, this is one way to put on - coronavirus restrictions? well, this is one way to put on a - this is one way to put on a socially distance big, performing at an altitude of 3000 metres in the swiss health, this dj said he had

overcome his fear of heights and brave subzero temperatures at dawn to do this set. good on him. that's all for me. goodbye. hello. there's been no shortage of wet weather this week and there is plenty more where that came from as we head towards the weekend. thursday was a particularly soggy affair across some southern areas. you can see this curl of cloud on the satellite picture — a slow—moving weather system that brought heavy and persistent rain. there is more cloud behind me in the atlantic — another area of low pressure heading our way for the weekend. in between, well, arguably, a slice of slightly drier weather. there will still be some showers and actually, as we go through the day, the showers will tend to pop up in the areas where we develop some sunshine, so across northern ireland, eventually western parts of scotland, north—west england, wales, the south—west — it will turn into a sunshine and showers day after a dull start for some.

but for eastern england and certainly the north—east of scotland, we will hold on to more cloud. where we have more of the cloud, well, there won't be so many showers but it will feel chilly — 11 or 12 degrees — and there could be the odd spot of drizzle around at times. now, as we head through friday night into saturday, some bits and pieces of showery rain will be replaced by a band of more persistent rain pushing up from the south—west across england, wales into northern ireland by the end of the night. quite a mild start to the weekend but it is going to be quite a turbulent weekend of weather, actually, with some very, very heavy downpours and thunderstorms, always with some sunny spells in between. our band of rain will continue to push its way slowly northwards during saturday, perhaps getting up into the south of scotland at the end of the day. behind it, sunshine and showers, but those showers really will start to turn very, very heavy for wales and the south—west with hail and thunder later on. top temperatures between 11 and 15 degrees. and then, we head on into sunday and this area of low pressure is going to move

right across the uk. as this sits on top of us during sunday, it will allow for some very unstable conditions in the atmosphere. that means big shower clouds are going to develop with some hail and some thunder, frequent lightning potentially in these showers, torrential downpours of rain and some pretty squally, gusty winds. particularly windy for coast of southern england and the channel islands — gusts here in excess of 40 mph. but in any sunshine between the showers, not feeling too bad — highs of 16 degrees.

this is bbc news, the headlines: as hostilities enter their fifth day over 100 people have been killed in gaza and seven in israel. now, israeli defence forces say they have intensified their assault on the gaza strip, but have said ground troops have not entered the terrirtory. palestinian civilians have been fleeing their homes in gaza, while violence has also spread to mixed communities ofjews and arabs across israel. synagogues have been attacked and fighting has broken out in several towns, prompting israel's president to warn of a "senseless civil war". in india, more than 4,000 people have died from coronvirus in the last 24 hours alone, and hospitals in many parts of the country are being overrun, as the country records nearly as many coronavirus cases as the rest of the world combined.

now on bbc news it's time for newscast.