welcome to bbc news. i'm ben boulos. our top stories — after days of frantic negotiations, a coalition of opposition parties signs an historic deal to form a new israeli government. the deal is likely to mean an end to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's 12 years in power. is 12 years in power. this your last week as prime minister? is this your last week as prime minister? is is this your last week as prime minister? , . . is this your last week as prime minister?— minister? is that a wish or a question? — watching sport injapan — facemasks, temperature checks, and polite applause instead of cheering. is this what the olympics will look like when they open in just 50 days' time? salvage experts try to tow a burnt out cargo ship, away from the coast of sri lanka before tonnes of oil leak into the ocean.

and the grandads from south london who have become the latest stars of the rap world. it is all about rhyming. and rhythm. the words are important, but the rhythm is what they love. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. israel looks set for a dramatic change. after days of frantic negotiations, a coalition of opposition parties has been formed to oust the prime minister benjamin netanyahu from power. if it wins support in the knesset, a new government would be led for the next two years by naftali bennett, a hardline former settler.

he would then be succeeded by the centrist yair lapid. for the first time in israeli political history, arab lawmakers would be part of the government. ourjerusalem correspondent tom bateman has been following the day's events. benjamin netanyahu is edging towards the precipice, trying everything to stop a fall from power. so far, his calls for help are going unanswered. in the chamber of israel's parliament, those who are hatching a plan for his demise, a once loyal ally and an opponent, forging friendship. they could be israel's next leaders. mr netanyahu's still doing everything he can to derail the formation of a new government, even as those politicians are still meeting in the building here. this is a prime minister determined to cling on. then israel's longest—serving leader leaves his office, not yet for the final time. mr netanyahu, is this your last week as prime minister?

will this be your last week as prime minister? is that a wish or a question? israel has had four deadlocked elections, mr netanyahu couldn't muster a right—wing majority. on trial for corruption, with a country divided, support from key coalition partners drained away. one rebel is naftali bennett, now set to lead the new government. he's a nationalist who opposes a future palestinian state. he's joined up with the centre ground opposition leader, yair lapid, who will become pm after two years. israel's recent war with hamas in gaza paused the political pressure. but violence between jews and arabs erupted inside israel. in the town of lod, things are still tense. so what of the challenge to bibi, as mr netanyahu is known, by naftali bennett?

translation: it's disgusting. a man with six seats will be prime minister? it's unheard of. bibi is dividing us. because he is trying to be a prime minister for four times. he didn't succeed. with protests outside, the talks went to the wire and an agreement has now been signed. a picture from inside makes history in israel, ajewish nationalist and an islamic religious arab party aiming tojoin as part of a new coalition. tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. the letter has gone in from the leader of israel's

opposition to the israeli president saying that they are ready to form a new government without benjamin netanyahu. and he says in that letter that they will unite all parts of israeli society. now, this is unprecedented, not just because of the fact that right—wing parties are now joining with an arab—israeli party in government for the first time, but also because of the broad ideological range of all the parties involved. but that could, at the same time, point to this government's inherent weakness, and remember, it's not all over yet still for benjamin netanyahu. it will be some long days before this government is finally sworn in. and in the meantime, mr netanyahu and his party will do all they can to try and stop it. joining me now is khaled elgindy from the middle east institute. he served as an adviser to the palestinian leadership in ramallah on permanent status negotiations with israel. good to have you with us. this historic aspect of an arab party being in the governing coalition for the first time in israeli political history. what effect do you think that will have on the people who live in the region?— the region? well, it is setting a precedent. _

the region? well, it is setting a precedent, it— the region? well, it is setting a precedent, it is— the region? well, it is setting a precedent, it is quite - a precedent, it is quite historic. this is the first time an arab party, remarkably, after 73 years since israel was formed, it is the first time that a majority palestinian party is actually included in the government. so that is something, but they are definitely not necessarily out of the woods. the single solitary thing that brought this very diverse group of parties together was the removal of benjamin netanyahu, and there really is not much more that they have in common. so how durable this coalition will be going forward is a very big open question. lets will be going forward is a very big open question.— big open question. lets take one issue. — big open question. lets take one issue, and _ big open question. lets take one issue, and that - big open question. lets take one issue, and that of- big open question. lets take one issue, and that of the i one issue, and that of the settlements, the israeli settlements, the israeli settlements in the occupied west bank. within this coalition, if they continue along that policy of benjamin netanyahu with settlements,

neta nyahu with settlements, there netanyahu with settlements, there will be supporters of the arab party who think, why are we keeping this party in government? if they break away from that, some of the further right nationalist parties might lose support because they are seen to be backtracking. so how did the balance? that is just one of several issues. how do they balance that very delicately?— they balance that very delicately? they balance that very delicatel? , ., delicately? exactly, you have ut our delicately? exactly, you have put yourfinger— delicately? exactly, you have put your finger on _ delicately? exactly, you have put your finger on the - delicately? exactly, you have i put your finger on the problem. finding that balance will be very difficult, as you said, there is any number of issues that could bring this coalition crashing down. if they are too aggressive on settlements, they are not aggressive enough in settlements, there will be, you know, one group or another will have reason to torpedo our rhesus coalition, and so what that argues for is really doing as little as possible, at least in terms of high—profile

activities, so we might not see the kind of very loud and aggressive settlement announcement that we saw during the benjamin netanyahu era, because he was always catering to his right flank. naftali bennett, who is a much more vocal advocate of settlements, even with an benjamin netanyahu, will have to exercise some constraint, in terms of his own personal instant to support the settlements but at the same time preserve his status as prime minister by keeping the coalition together. so you're likely to see movement in any direction, otherwise this close cannot survive. for direction, otherwise this close cannot survive.— cannot survive. for those who are in gaza — cannot survive. for those who are in gaza watching - cannot survive. for those who are in gaza watching these - are in gaza watching these developments, what do you think this will all mean for them? i don't think it means a lot of difference, frankly, for the 2

million palestinians in gaza. one way or another, the blockade will remain. lifting the blockade would be a very heavy political lift for any israeli government, and much more difficult for a government thatis more difficult for a government that is this fragile. so we can expect the blockade to continue, we can expect the settlements to continue maybe in the quieter way, but this, i think this new government really does not promise very much change at all for palestinians in the occupied territories.— territories. 0k. perhaps a situation _ territories. 0k. perhaps a situation of _ territories. 0k. perhaps a situation of everything . territories. 0k. perhaps a - situation of everything changes but nothing changes. thank you forjoining us, khaled elgindy. thank you. let s get some of the day's other news. the world health organization says that there are "staggering health needs" in the occupied palestinian territories, following the recent conflict between israel and the hamas militant group.

in a statement, the who said it was scaling—up its efforts in order to help nearly 200,000 people. president macron has confirmed that all 12— to 18—year—olds in france, will be able to get a covid vaccine as ofjune 15th. he said the country's aiming to vaccinate 30 million people by mid—june, and added that the rule on mandatory mask wearing outdoors will be lifted gradually on a regional basis. thousands of people have taken to the streets of colombia's main cities to insist on their demands for less inequality and better public services. the daily protests began over a month ago, triggered by government proposals to increase taxes, which have since been scrapped. the trainer of kentucky derby winner medina spirit has been banned from the prestigious horse race for two years. bob baffert has been at the centre of a doping scandal after the horse tested positive for a banned steroid after powering to victory in last month's race. an iranian navy ship has caught fire and sunk near the entrance to the gulf.

the crew was safely evacuated. a statement from the navy said that the fire started in one of the ship's systems. but analysts say that until there's a fuller explanation, there's bound to be speculation as to whether what happened may have been the result of enemy action. there are 50 days left until the delayed summer olympic games are due to kick—off in tokyo. but there's a lot of debate over whether they should go ahead at all. the international olympic committee insists that the event can be held safely. not many people in japan are convinced. reports suggest that some 12% of the 80,000 volunteers for the olympics and paralympics have quit. the country is in the middle of a fourth wave of covid infections. rupert wingfield—hayes reports from tokyo. this is sport in the time of covid. cheating is strictly forbidden, masks are mandatory, and film cameras scan every

passing body. it is sunday night in kawasaki, and fully football fans flocking to watch their local team, all of this is now routine. translation: i am going to take all prevention measures we can take, and we will be watching the game away from other fans.— from other fans. inside, 'ust 5000 spectators * from other fans. inside, 'ust 5000 spectators are i from other fans. inside, justl 5000 spectators are allowed. they have been holding football matches like this injapan with audiences throughout the covid pandemic, and they say they can do so safely because everybody wears masks, because of a safety measures they have put in place, they say they have not had single cluster of covid traced back to any of these games since the beginning of the pandemic. the tokyo olympic committee appointed to this as proof of the games can go ahead in 50 days' time, safe and secure. but safe and secure is not how it feels in the

emergency ward at this hospital in osaka. the last month has been exhausting. here, with more covid patients than ever before. this doctor is the head of the unit. this is the fourth with —— he says the fourth wave has been much more deadly and faster than previous ones. translation:— faster than previous ones. translation: �* translation: about three weeks auo, translation: about three weeks a . o, the translation: about three weeks ago, the number _ translation: about three weeks ago, the number of _ translation: about three weeks ago, the number of infections - ago, the number of infections increase very suddenly. many patients could not get into hospital. they had to wait at home. by the time they reached hospital, their condition was much worse. hospital, their condition was much worse-— much worse. that is exactly what happened _ much worse. that is exactly what happened to _ much worse. that is exactly what happened to the - what happened to the 7a—year—old. his wife tells me that when he got sick with covid last month, it took six days to find him a hospital bed. and by then, he was extremely ill. his daughter does not want to show her face, but it is clear who she blames for her father's death.

translation: for her father's death. tuna/mom- for her father's death. translation: , . ., , for her father's death. translation: , _, , , translation: this country is run by politicians _ translation: this country is run by politicians who - translation: this country is run by politicians who take - run by politicians who take people's lives so lightly, and wants to go ahead with the olympics. we have lost 2000 people in osaka, so that is 2000 families going through the same as us, and they still want to go ahead with the olympics. the international olympic committee points to events like this, says the olympics can be held with little risk to public health. but with the pandemic still raging across the world, the question many here are asking is why is the ioc so determined to take that risk? stay with us on bbc news, still to come — the grandads from south london who have become the latest stars of the rap world.

this is bbc news, the latest headlines — after days of frantic negotiations, a coalition of opposition parties signs an historic deal to form a new israeli government. 50 days before the start of the delayed toyko olympics, around 10,000 volunteers have pulled out over coronavirus infection concerns. organisers insist the event can be held safely. let's get more now on our main story. we can now speak to guy ziv, associate professor at american university's us foreign policy programme. good to have you with us. what do you think is the likelihood of this coalition lasting into the months ahead?- of this coalition lasting into the months ahead? first, we should note _ the months ahead? first, we should note that _ the months ahead? first, we should note that nothing - the months ahead? first, we should note that nothing is i should note that nothing is certain until the swearing in of this new government, which will most likely take place on june 1a, so it is not

inconceivable that this government will fall short of a 61 seat majority, and you can be assured that benjamin netanyahu will do everything neta nyahu will do everything possible netanyahu will do everything possible to sabotage it by trying to work to get defectors. assuming that this government is formed, it is unlikely to survive its full four year term, unlikely to survive its full fouryearterm, given unlikely to survive its full four year term, given how eclectic this coalition is of right—wing nationalist parties, centrists, leftists, for the first time it will include an arab party. so it is unlikely that it will serve out its full term, given how disparate these parties are. term, given how disparate these parties are-— term, given how disparate these parties are. anyone who watches israeli politics _ parties are. anyone who watches israeli politics will _ parties are. anyone who watches israeli politics will struggle - israeli politics will struggle to remember a time when benjamin netanyahu was not a key figure, eitherwithin benjamin netanyahu was not a key figure, either within power or influence and power. what do you think is really politics will look like with benjamin netanyahu at the helm of the opposition? what effect will that have? how much sway will you have from that role? indie you have from that role? we don't know _ you have from that role? - don't know what he is going to

don't know what he is going to do as the opposition leader, rather than trying to sabotage and trying to create rifts within this new coalition. what we do know is that the israeli people have voted to end his political career after over 12 years of consecutive power where we have seen him essentially become addicted to power, and his desire to avoid prosecution has really created a lot of problems for israel at home and abroad. it was undated a a half ago on bribery fraud and breach of trust, yet he decided not to resign, despite his legal troubles. he tried to seek immunity from prosecution at any cost, and he has been prepared to drag the country in yet another election which most is strongly opposed. so i think at this point, the majority of the country is looking toward the country is looking toward the post benjamin netanyahu era. i

the post ben'amin netanyahu era. , ., , ., era. i 'ust wonder whether you see era. i just wonder whether you see any parallels _ era. i just wonder whether you see any parallels between - era. i just wonder whether you see any parallels between the | see any parallels between the situation where you are in the united states and former president trump's influence of the republican party despite losing the election. do you think we could see a similar thing in israel with netanyahu, albeit not as prime minister, but still a very dominant controlling force within his party and stealing a long into the future? i party and stealing a long into the future?— party and stealing a long into the future? i think there are a lot of very _ the future? i think there are a lot of very interesting - the future? i think there are a lot of very interesting and - lot of very interesting and disturbing parallels, including the cult of personality around trump and around netanyahu. netanyahu is shown a disturbing willingness to cross all red lines. he has made these dramatic policy pronouncements on the eve of every election, he has made promises to politicians from across the political spectrum that he has had no intention of keeping, he has pitted israeli's against one another, incited against the arabs, and cited against the arabs, and cited against the left, in against the

gatekeepers of israeli democracy, the media, the courts, his own hand—picked attorney general, basically anyone who dared to challenge. so he has become a palpable danger to israel �*s future. fiiq danger to israel 's future. 0k. the league — danger to israel 's future. 0k. the league is _ danger to israel 's future. 0k. the league is to _ danger to israel 's future. 0k. the league is to get _ danger to israel '5 future. 0k. the league is to get your thoughts, guy ziv. —— really good to get your thoughts. my good to get your thoughts. ij�*i pleasure. to sri lanka now where a chemical—laden cargo ship is sinking off the country's west coast. it's sparked fears of an environmental disaster and has been labelled a "death blow" to the country's fishing industry. tanya dendrinos reports. a pristine coastline and a looming environmental disaster. the x—press pearl has been ablaze for two weeks, and despite the efforts of the sri lankan and indian navies, it is with 350 tonnes of oil on board. translation: either all

the fuel has caught fire, | or the oil could still be there. if the oil is still there, we have already taken precautionary steps to handle that situation in case there is on wednesday, attempts were made to tow the vessel to deeper waters to minimise marine pollution, but attempts were later abandoned. beaches along the west coast have been littered with debris, and the government has banned fishing along an 80 kilometre stretch of coastline. boats lie covered on the shore, and livelihoods are on the line. translation: the ship has dealt a death blow to our lives. - we cannot go to sea, which means we cannot make a living. the singapore flanked container vessel was carrying to 1,500 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid and several other chemicals. sri lankan officials believe the fire was caused by a nitric acid leak, which the crew had been aware of since may 11.

translation: similar- incidents have taken place in other countries, and those governments have ta ken steps to get compensation. we hope to get compensation in accordance with local and international law. we will never give up on that effort. we will calculate the cost from the beginning of this incident. questions have now been raised about why the ship was allowed into sri lankan waters after being rejected by two other nations. the police complaint has been launched against the captain, with a court order issued to prevent them along with the chief engineer and an additional engineer from leaving the country. nasa has announced two new missions to venus aimed at understanding why earth's nearest planetary neighbour became a fiery hellscape while our own planet thrived. the missions are scheduled to launch at the end of the decade. an initial development budget of about $500 million has been allocated to the two missions.

now, meet pete and baz, the grandad duo from london who've been making a name for themselves on the rap and drill music scene. the pair say their cockney roots have helped as it's all about rhythmn and rhyming. thomas magill has been talking to them about how they're handling their new—found fame. # still livin' on the old estate...# an unlikely collaboration — one of the uk's biggest drill artists, m24, and these two, pete and bas — a pair of grandads from bermondsey, and now international stars hoping to bring something quite unique to the world of rap. it started off as rap, but we are pushing the boundaries of rap. yeah, it's the rhythm, isn't it? _ beginning to bang into hip—hop. it's all about rhyming. rhyming. and being a cockney, rhyming slang is a big thing. and rhythm, it's about rhythm. the words are important, but the rhythm is what they love.

# i'm a lovely geezer... # i'll give you an example. doo—doo—doo, doo, doo—doo—doo—doo... it's catchy, isn't it? it's catchy. you couldn't not tap your foot to that, could you? # hello girl, hello darling...# and millions of fans have been doing just that during lockdown. their latest song — plugged in with fumez — notching up over1 million hits on youtube in just three days. and with this new—found fame in their 70s, visiting their old manor helps them keep their feet on the ground. i love their music. i love the style of music. i love the way they do it. i love that they are from bermondsey.| everyone i know is talking about you. we love it. add that to my tab, yeah? see you later. it is these fans the boys turn to for help when it comes to the lingo. we do talk to a few younger guys to help us with bringing it back into the age... modern idiot, really, they call it, don't they? modern idiot, yeah.

and then they say stuff like the feds... we used to call them the fuzz, didn't we? the old bill, that kind of thing, but they call it the feds these days. and ops — do you know what an op is? we use that now, that is your opponent. with lockdown beginning to ease, pete and bas have big plans for the future, even if they cannot say them. global denomination! they laugh well, i think the gigs are going to bejust off the scale, because they were good before, and when people can get out and about, they realise what they missed, it is going to be absolutely epic. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ ben m boulos. if you want to check out any of the stories we have covered in more detail, or see which other

ones we are covering as well, you can have a look at the bbc news website. thanks for watching, see you soon. hello there. in the past few days, the heat has been building. in the next few days, the heat is going to be ebbing away. it was certainly warm, though, in the sunshine in particular on wednesday. the sunniest weather was actually in suffolk. but it wasn't here that we saw the highest temperatures. that was further south in northholt. 28 celsius, the hottest day of the year so far. it was the warmest it's been all year in wales and scotland, 26—27 celsius. now, all that heat was ahead of a band of showers, which for a while were heavy, even with one or two rumbles of thunder. that's been moving up from the southwest, and behind it, we have seen slightly cooler air and much more cloud across southwestern parts of the uk. a very different day here in devon compared with tuesday. that cloud is still around at the moment, hence the high temperatures

that we are starting with on thursday morning. many places will start dry, we've still got some showers left over across northern ireland, northern england. those should quickly move northward into scotland, and as they do so, a lot of those showers will fade away. northern scotland probably dry with some sunshine. and we should get more sunshine in the afternoon across other parts of the uk as the cloud thins and breaks. but it will be a bit cooler than it was on wednesday. the heat getting confined to east anglia, southeast england. lincolnshire could reach 26, maybe 27 celsius, a warm day still here. as we head into the evening, most places will end the day dry with some sunshine. but look what's coming our way from the near continent. there's the threat overnight, and into friday, there are some showers or longer spells of heavy rain, perhaps thundery, affecting some eastern parts of england, mainly east anglia and the southeast, a lot of uncertainty about that. elsewhere, it looks generally dry, and there will be more in the way of sunshine, it cloud over a bit more, i think, in northern ireland. a cooler day certainly for eastern parts of england

with more cloud and the threat of some rain. top temperatures, 21 celsius. now, let's head into the weekend, and we see the back of that threatening rain in the southeast of england. a weather front is coming in from the atlantic. this one, mind you, is going to be very weak. it will bring with it a bit more cloud across northern ireland into western parts of scotland. the chance of a little light rain or drizzle, but it's not moving very quickly into the uk, and for many, it will be a fine day with some spells of sunshine. it will be warmer in the southeast, 23 celsius. those temperatures won't change a great deal on sunday, but for one or two showers, it should be dry with some sunshine at times.

this is bbc news, i'm ben boulos.

the headlines: a coalition of opposition parties has been formed in israel to oust the current prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, from power. if it wins sufficient support in the knesset, a new government would be led for the next two years by naftali bennett, a hardline former settler. with 50 days left until the delayed olympic games are due to begin in tokyo, around 10,000 volunteers have pulled out over coronavirus infection concerns. japan has been struggling to contain a fourth wave of the pandemic, but organisors say they remain confident the event can be held safely. salvage experts are trying to tow a burnt—out cargo ship away from the coast of sri lanka before tonnes of oil from its fuel tank leaks onto some of the country's most pristine beaches. the vessel, the x—press pearl, is sinking after being badly damaged by a huge fire.

now on bbc news — duncan kennedy reports on the story of historical forced adoptions and