this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm sally bundock. president biden says the us is working to secure a ceasefire after more than a week of violence between israel and palestinian militants. he urges both sides to protect civilians. 200,000 people are evacuated as the indian state of gujarat is struck by the worst cyclone in decades. at least 20 people are known to have died. almost 5,000 north african migrants reach the spanish territory of ceuta — a record number of arrivals in a single day. the head of russia's foreign intelligence service

tells the bbc allegations of their involvement in last year's solar—winds cyber—attack are �*absurd.’ all cyber—attack are �*absurd.’ these claims about cybe attacks, all these claims about cyber attacks, poisonings, hacks, interference in elections which are blamed on russia are so absurd and in some cases so pathetic. like a bad crime novel. and after 1a months, london's west end, theatres can finally say the show must go on hello and welcome. the us presidentjoe biden has said he backs a ceasefire in gaza — and said the us was engaging with egypt and other partners towards that end.

in a phone call with the israeli prime minister, mr biden also voiced his support for israel's right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks — while urging mr netanyahu to protect civilians. more than 212 people, including 61 children, have died in gaza, and ten, including two children, in israel. this was the scene in gaza city as daybreak came, bringing with it more strikes. with the latest here's our middle east editor jeremy bowen. nightmares come true in gaza for parents and their children. this mother couldn't talk about the air strike that engulfed them last friday. nightmares come true in gaza for parents and their children. eight—year—old mustafa alzahana and his mother are further down the children's ward at shifa,

gaza's main hospital. she says mustafa trembles when he hears israeli attacks, ever since the one that wounded him almost a week ago as he left their home with his father to buy new clothes for the end of ramadan. his father was paralysed. mustafa's friend who went with them is dead. translation: his friend baraa was killed. - when baraa was dying, he was clutching my son tightly and telling him not to leave him alone. baraa died. when my son has a fever, he hallucinates about it. as well as the badly injured, 61 children in gaza have been killed in the last week. about 20 miles north is this synagogue in the israeli town of ashkelon, it was hit by a hamas rocket. it was the festival of shavuot, the feast of weeks, usually a celebration. it's a very sad time for us over here in ashkelon. i hope it will finish fast.

injerusalem, the western wall plaza was almost deserted. this is the holiest place forjews to pray. it's usually packed on religious holidays like today, but some of the worshippers said people were scared to go out. the grey dome of al—aqsa mosque is one of the most sacred places for muslims. you can see how close it is to the wall. above the wall is the golden dome of the rock, both muslim shrines are built on the site of the ancientjewish temple. these sites are all also national symbols. a month of tension here raised the hatred levels so high it led to war. the events of the last week have shown a couple of things. first of all, the power ofjerusalem to ignite this conflict. and hamas have sent a strong

message to palestinians that as far as they're concerned, they are their real protectors here in the holy city, even though hamas h0 is 60 or 70 miles away by the sea in gaza. 0ur gaza producerfilmed his drive to work this morning. you can see the bomb sites. if palestinians and israelis could be equally safe and secure, they might have a chance of peace. right now, they don't. jeremy bowen, bbc news, jerusalem. at least 5,000 migrants have reached spain's ceuta enclave from neighbouring morocco, a record number of arrivals in a single day, local officials say. they say the migrants, who include hundreds of minors, either swam around the border fences that jut out into the sea or walked across at low tide. mark lobel reports. i—person�*s borage for a more buoyant life resting on

inflatable ring. children were among the groups of families and many young men making the short trip neighbouring morocco. this area is a known magnet for african migrants. but it's the sheer number who entered spain's ceuta en clave in a single day that has surprised officials here. leaving morocco, these people either walked across at low tide or swim around fences in the sea. in sunny scenes, not a far cry from a relaxed day out on the beach. taken to a migrant reception centre on arrival, guards will be considering sending many back as spain belatedly scrambles to bolster its police presence here. last month almost all the dozens of young moroccans who made a similarjourney were sent packing, except for unaccompanied minors. spanish

media blames moroccan border guards for not stuffing the latest arrivals from leaving. but why would morocco let its guard down? the two countries are currently in dispute as madrid has allowed the treatment for covid on spanish soilfor the treatment for covid on spanish soil for the political leader fighting for the independence of western sahara from morocco, angering the kingdom. morocco�*s foreign minister had warned the move would have consequences. spanish officials insist it was done for strictly humanitarian reasons. an explanation that is no doubt also driven these thousands of others to make theirjourney thousands of others to make their journey to thousands of others to make theirjourney to spain as well, but for many of them, their stay in europe may be short lived. mark lobel, bbc a cyclone, classified as "extremely severe", has made landfall in india's western state of gujarat with wind speeds of up to 190 kilometres per hour —

that's 120 miles an hour. cyclone tauktae travelled along india's western coast, narrowly missing the city of mumbai. at least 20 people have been killed and 200,000 evacuated. sylvia lennan—spence reports. emergency officials evacuate coastal areas as india faces disaster on several fronts. this cyclone comes amid a covid—i9 wave that has also flooded india's hospitals. the navy has sent three warships to try to rescue hundreds of people stranded off the coast of. even mumbai's meteorological department is affected as winds of up to 190 kilometres an hour to people, property, and powerlines in the most powerful cyclone to hit the region since the late 90s.

storms and cyclones come from these waters, and now what has happened, we see temperatures, the ocean temperatures warming rapidly. the ocean temperatures warming raidl . , . ., the ocean temperatures warming raidl. _ ., ., ~ ., rapidly. cyclone tauktae has travelled up _ travelled up india's western coast, claiming lives in chorale, connecticut and goa. it has made landfall in gujarat, threatening storm surges in coastal districts. this is the time of year when a cyclone has formed during the cyclone has formed during the cyclone season in the island region, and this might be the third one which is forming very close to the west coast for this season again, and that means we need to be better prepared for the west coast. it's forced the temporary closure of mumbai airport and disrupted local rail services. there are wider fears it could accelerate the spread of coronavirus as more than 150,000 people in low—lying

areas have been moved into densely packed shelters. a vaccine drive in several coastal towns has been paused. the storm is also adding to the challenges faced in india's hospitals. some critical patients are forced to move buildings. it is hoped that having made landfall, the cyclone will lose some of its wind strength, but heavy rainfall still poses a threat to parts of northern india. let's get some of the day's other news. and staying in india where the health ministry has released its latest coronavirus figures revealing a record number of daily deaths, with a rise of 4,329. it takes the total death toll to more than 278,000. heavy rains in the amazon have caused flooding across small brazilian towns affecting more than 400,000 people, many of whom were evacuated as water levels rose to near record levels. floodwaters have also threatened the state capital,

manaus which has already been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. in an exclusive interview with the bbc, the head of russia's foreign intelligence service has denied that his agency was linked to a massive cyberattack in the us last year. sergei naryshkin was responding to accusations from uk and us authorities that russian intelligence carried out the solarwinds attack, which was described as the world's most sophisticated. 0ur moscow correspondent steve rosenberg reports. america says his spy agency hacked its way to the very heart of the us government. sergei naryshkin heads the svr, russia's equivalent of m16, and he says where is the evidence? translation: there is none, at least not made public. abuse

improve? no, neither have i. the hack has been dubbed the biggest cyber espionage operation the world has seen. by operation the world has seen. by infecting software of the company's solarwinds, the compa ny�*s solarwinds, the hackers company's solarwinds, the hackers gained access potentially to thousands of targets, including at least nine us federal agencies. when the us administration says it has traced the attack to a cyber group which goes by the name variously of cosy bear or the dukes, which it is claimed is linked to or part of the svr, is that not true? translation: all these claims about cyber attacks, poisonings, hacks, interference in elections, which are blamed on russia, they are so absurd, and in some cases so pathetic. they are like a bad crime novel. , , , , ,

they are like a bad crime novel. ,, ,, ,, novel. russia's despite steve is hinting _ novel. russia's despite steve is hinting that _ novel. russia's despite steve is hinting that america - novel. russia's despite steve is hinting that america is - is hinting that america is behind the hack. he says documents leaked by us whistleblower edward snowden in 2013 show that western spy agencies were inserting secret bugs into commercial equipment software. �* bugs into commercial equipment software. ~ software. translation: i don't want to see _ software. translation: i don't want to see this _ software. translation: i don't want to see this cyber _ software. translation: i don't want to see this cyber attack - want to see this cyber attack was carried out by a us agency, but the tactics are similar. recently, a former head of m16 accused moscow of aggressive intelligence activities across europe, but what about western agents in russia? is british intelligence very active in russia, in your country? translation: asked the director of mi6! and when i meet him, i will ask myself. [30 of m16! and when i meet him, i will ask myself.— will ask myself. do you have conversations, _ will ask myself. do you have conversations, do _ will ask myself. do you have conversations, do you - will ask myself. do you have conversations, do you have. conversations, do you have links at the moment with your

counterparts in britain, mi6? translation: we have started corresponding. i'm telling you a little secret. the correspondence is respectful and polite, and i hope very much that as a result of this, there will be contacts, including face—to—face. there will be contacts, including face-to-face. that's hard to picture, because right now, between russia and the west, instead of cooperation, its cold war. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a cold war in the arctic, as russia issues a warning to the us and nato about their military activity in the region. this morning, an indian air force plane carrying mr gandhi's body landed in delhi. the president of india walked to the plane

to solemnly witness mr gandhi's final return from the political battlefield. ireland has voted overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage. in doing so, it's become the first country in the world to approve the change in the national referendum. it was a remarkable climax to what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. it's been a peaceful funeral demonstration so far! - but suddenly, the police - are tear—gassing the crowd — we don't yet know why! the pre—launch ritual is well—established here. helen was said to be in good spirits, butjust a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor has become the world's newest nation. it was a bloody birth for a poor country, and the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it is time to celebrate.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines: president biden says the us is working to secure a ceasefire, after more than a week of violence between israel and palestinian militants. he has urged both sides to protect civilians. russia is accusing the us and nato of provocations in the barents sea ahead of a meeting of the arctic council later this week. military activity in the arctic as sara monetta explains. the temperature is rising over the freezing waters of the arctic, and notjust because of global warming. with the ice melting, the arctic is becoming more accessible for longer periods of the year. it means more business for maritime trade, the possibility to tap untouched natural resources, but also a new potential area of conflict between the west and russia. both sides know it and defence investments have increased

in recent months. denmark is spending $245 million for surveillance drones to fly over greenland, on his visit to copenhagen, us secretary of state antony blinken didn't miss a chance to give his stamp of approval on the initiative. we very much welcome denmark's recent decision to invest more than $240 million in north atlantic and arctic defence, in coordination with the governments of greenland and the faroe islands, and we will continue our close cooperation in the arctic council, where we are headed soon, to ensure that the arctic region is one that is free of conflict, where nations act responsibly and act together. but increased nato activity in the region has caused one of russia's top admirals to lash out last week. speaking from this arctic base, he said that the nato presence in the barents sea was a provocation and increased the potential for conflict.

on monday, russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov, spelt it out even more clearly. translation: this is our territory, this is our land, and we are responsible for our arctic coast to be safe, and everything that our country does there is absolutely legitimate. let me emphasise once again, it is our land and our waters. on wednesday, mr blinkin and mr lavrov will come face to face at the arctic council meeting in iceland. officially, to discuss climate change and international cooperation in the region, but the defensive and strategic issues at play won't be far from their minds. sara monetta, bbc news. let's catch up with all the sport now. hello, i'm chetan pathak with your latest sports news. roger federer makes his long awaited return to action on the atp tour on tuesday. the 20—time grand slam champion has only played a couple of matches this year after two knee operations in 2020.

he's preparing for the french open by playing at the geneva open in his home country. the 39—year—old admits the landscape of the men's game has changed since he last took to the court. 0ne one thing is for sure and that is what i would expect. the generation. _ generation, have all again gotten better. naturally because they have more experience. rafa and novak are still where they offered you would think that the game has improved again and for me that is going to be an extra challenge. the all—british heavyweight boxing fight between anthonyjoshua and tyson fury has been thrown into doubt after a ruling by an american court. ajudge has said fury must fight deontay wilder for a third time before september the 15th. joshua and fury were close to finalising a bout in saudi arabia on august the 14th. following further easing of lockdown restrictions

in the uk, fans will be returning to premier league matches for the first time since december. chelsea head coach thomas tuchel is hoping it'll have a positive impact on his side, who lost the fa cup final to leicester on saturday. both sides meet again at stamford bridge in the league on tuesday, in a huge game in the race to finish in the top four. it is in our hands and like i said, somebody asked me after the final if this was a major setback for us for tuesday. no, the setback was the arsenal game. it is ourfault the setback was the arsenal game. it is our fault that it isn't so close again. we left the door open and so liverpool put a foot into the door. meanwhile, the manchester united manager, 0le gunnar solskjaer, says that the fan protests against the club's owners has had an impact on his players. united were beaten by leicester and liverpool in the space

of two days last week. they play fulham on tuesday knowing a win would guarantee second place. physically, it is impossible for them to turn up and play at the intensity and the level thatis the intensity and the level that is required. then you look at the preparation in between. you haven't had the recovery in between, you haven't had the same routine as you normally do. i'm not saying it didn't affect them that i was impressed by how professional and how they went about it. there's a big game at the bottom of serie a later when torino travel to lazio. a win for torino would secure their survival. in monday's game hellas verona and bologna played out a 2—2 draw. it was level at1 a piece when nikola kalinic restored verona's lead early in the second half, but bologna snatched a draw thanks to rodrigo palacio scoring eight minutes from time. england's summer series against india and pakistan will go ahead despite the two countries being on the covid red list.

india's men and women are scheduled to play in england over the next few months — pakistan are due injuly. the players have been given permission to quarantine at the ageas bowl on—site hotel near southampton rather than government designated accommodation. new zealand are already at that hotel after arriving yesterday ahead of their test series next month. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, chetan pathak, and the rest of the sport team, goodbye. with all the hand sanitiser, face coverings and temperature checks, it wasn't exactly business as usual when theatres reopened yesterday — but make no mistake, the show did go on. ben boulos reports from london's west end. it has been months since any of us have experienced live theatre like this. but across

england, scotland and wales, stages are beginning to burst into life as audiences can return once again. everyone is so excited- — return once again. everyone is so excited. we _ return once again. everyone is so excited. we know - return once again. everyone is so excited. we know the - return once again. everyone is| so excited. we know the shows so excited. we know the shows so we're just fine tuning at the moment and everyone isjust happy to be together but when the curtain finally goes up and you hear the audience coming into the theatre, that is going to be a special moment. indie into the theatre, that is going to be a special moment. we love to be a special moment. we love to perform. _ to be a special moment. we love to perform. so — to be a special moment. we love to perform, so we _ to be a special moment. we love to perform, so we love _ to perform, so we love entertaining people and that is obviously a passion and what we love to _ obviously a passion and what we love to do — obviously a passion and what we love to do and it has been hard not to— love to do and it has been hard not to be — love to do and it has been hard not to be able to do that but finally — not to be able to do that but finally we can get back to it which — finally we can get back to it which is _ finally we can get back to it which is an amazing so yeah. 0h which is an amazing so yeah. oh yes, _ which is an amazing so yeah. oh yes, just — which is an amazing so yeah. oh yes, just missing the crowd. hearing _ yes, just missing the crowd. hearing the chair when you have 'ust hearing the chair when you have just done — hearing the chair when you have just done a — just done a number and the energy you get back as well when — energy you get back as well when you are running through the audience and you see the smiles — the audience and you see the smiles on _ the audience and you see the smiles on people's places. as smiles on people's places. lockdown smiles on people's places. is lockdown restrictions ease, agatha christie 's the mousetrap. the classic whodunnit said to be the longest running show is back after what has felt like the world's longest interval. well, no detective skills are needed to spot the experience is

different from before. hand sanitiser, the audience having to wear masks and temperatures checked on arrival. thank you. inside, the audience sits socially distanced and the drinks are brought to the seats. everywhere, clues and reminders of the pandemic is still not over. obviously no-one _ still not over. obviously no-one has _ still not over. obviously no-one has ever- no—one has ever been in the situation before so we are learning all the —— all the time put up with the mousetrap particularly, we have engaged two separate casts so that, which i don't think anyone has ever done before, and we have done it as a precaution so that if someone were to test positive in one of the castes, we have another cast that can step in straightaway. find we have another cast that can step in straightaway.- step in straightaway. and the audience delighted _ step in straightaway. and the audience delighted to - step in straightaway. and the audience delighted to be - step in straightaway. and the l audience delighted to be back. magical. audience delighted to be back. mauical. �* . audience delighted to be back. magical._ magical. i magical. amazing. magical. absolutely _ magical. amazing. magical. absolutely amazing. - magical. amazing. magical. | absolutely amazing. getting inside a spit _ absolutely amazing. getting inside a spit -- _ absolutely amazing. getting inside a spit -- inside - absolutely amazing. getting inside a spit -- inside as - absolutely amazing. getting inside a spit -- inside as it l inside a spit —— inside as it has — inside a spit —— inside as it has been _ inside a spit —— inside as it has been special. inside a spit -- inside as it has been special.- inside a spit -- inside as it has been special. what have you missed about _ has been special. what have you missed about the _ has been special. what have you missed about the theatre? - has been special. what have you missed about the theatre? the | missed about the theatre? the whole communal— missed about the theatre? tue: whole communal theatre missed about the theatre? tte: whole communal theatre of missed about the theatre? t'te: whole communal theatre of being in a house together and enjoying the same thing at the

same moment, i think. enjoying the same thing at the same moment, ithink.- same moment, i think. yeah, lau . hinu same moment, i think. yeah, laughing with _ same moment, i think. yeah, laughing with somebody - same moment, i think. yeah, j laughing with somebody else. the it— laughing with somebody else. the it is— laughing with somebody else. the it is an important part of the uk economy. each year, normally 34 million people go to see a show. through tickets, travel and restaurant, that generates over £1 billion for the government and the sector employs almost 300,000 people. 0nstage, back set —— backstage and supplying things like costumes and props. despite this week's reopening is, there were fears they could be an unwelcome plot twist. the bigger shows like matilda, hamilton and lion king, are more expensive to stage and only planned to return after the next easing of rules when they can fill the seats without social distancing. that is expected on the 21st ofjune that if it is delayed, they will be questions about whether the shows can go on. ben boulos, bbc news. and we will carry on that conversation in our business

news. stay with us. hello there. the torrential downpours, the thunderstorms were once again the talking point of the weather on monday. up to an inch of rain fell in some areas, and a covering of hail in others, as you can see. so, just adding to the rainfall totals that we've already seen this may. some areas, such as bala in north wales, having had twice as much rainfall as we'd normally see throughout the whole of may, and that's so far. and once again, for the day ahead, with low pressure sat to the west of the uk, it's going to throw showers our way. it gives the atmosphere that instability to grow the showers, and the sunshine strong at this time of year. not preventing perhaps a touch of frost for northern ireland first thing. a bit on the chilly side. a little bit of mist and perhaps valley fog, if you're up early enough.

that should clear quite quickly. plenty of sunshine first thing, but already showers, in fact a more persistent area of showers moving in across wales and the south west and then pushing eastwards. and elsewhere the showers build once again. we've got a weather front also to the north of scotland. a brisk wind coming down behind it. but with the light winds for most, those will be slow—moving and torrential downpours that we see once again. perhaps fewer in southern scotland and northern england, but expect some more hailstorms and thunderstorms and for them to continue well into the evening. in fact, there might be something a little bit more organised coming towards the south, as we go through the evening and overnight. once again quite chilly under the clearing skies. there's a little bit of mist first thing wednesday morning. but then again, it's a day of sunny spells and showers. it looks as if they may be focused across central and eastern areas. this is our weather front pushing southwards, across scotland, just giving more energy, more moisture to generate those heavy downpours. temperatures therefore just a little lower in the far north but as we saw on monday, tuesday and wednesday, probably mid to high teens at best. and then thursday looks set to bring a spell of wetter, windier weather. wind may be the main feature on this weather system, with gales even

across southern areas. unseasonably windy weather is what we're thinking about at this stage. obviously, it's a few days ahead, but it will push in some more general rain, continuing that wet theme for may, and then the winds really escalate as well. we could have gales, gusts of wind at 50 mph, possibly 60 mph. it's definitely one that we'll be keeping an eye on. until then, it's a sunny spells but torrential downpours sort of picture until later in the week when there could be something wetter and far windier.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. as the summer tourism season draws near, the eu is set to finalise its plans for a "digital green pass" proving vaccinations. and it's arguably the biggest word on wall street — the spac. but what exactly are they, and are they here to stay? we find out. and theatres in england are now open again, but can they survive with audiotoriums half full?