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. 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? watching sport injapan — face masks, temperature checks and polite applause instead of cheering. is this what the olympics will look like when they open in just 50 days�* time? back to venus — nasa announces two new missions to the mysterious planet for the first time in decades. # hello, girl, hello, darling. # what's your name and what's your number? # beg your pardon?

the grandads from south london who have become the latest stars of the rap world. 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. there he is, there he is, there he is. 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. 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 that 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. tom bateman in jerusalem. joining me now is dan arbell — he's a veteran of the israeli foreign service and currently is a scholar in residence at the american university in washington. good to have you with us. what you make at this coalition, can it survive? it you make at this coalition, can it survive?— it survive? it is an historic coalition. _ it survive? it is an historic coalition, definitely - coalition, definitely unprecedented in many, many aspects. it still has to jump over the hurdle of the knesset confidence vote in about a week or ten days and that is quite a challenge, but once it is on the ground and running it will be very difficult to manage it

as there are parties from left, right and centre. in the core of it there is a good strong bond and friendship and ca legality between mr bennett and yair lapid. it will not be easy, there are many tasks and challenges ahead, both domestic and foreign. it can work depends upon the will shown by the parties in this unprecedented coalition. when someone has _ unprecedented coalition. when someone has been _ unprecedented coalition. when someone has been in - unprecedented coalition. when someone has been in power i unprecedented coalition. when | someone has been in power for someone has been in powerfor as long as benjamin netanyahu, 12 years, both friends and foes know consistently what they are getting. what does this mean, say, for iran and from the us with this change in government now? i with this change in government now? ~ . , ., now? i think that in terms of foreian now? i think that in terms of foreign and _ now? i think that in terms of foreign and defence - now? i think that in terms of foreign and defence policy i foreign and defence policy there will not be a big change in the israeli government's policy, the new government. on iran there is a new consensus

among zionist parties to prevent iran getting nuclear weapons. there is also a desire on all parts, on behalf of all parties to have a good relationship with the us. after netanyahu is gone there will be an opportunity to improve relations with the us, and have dialogue betweenjerusalem and washington after years of tension. under obama and the first months ofjoe biden. i don't expect much of it forward because bennett and yair lapid agreed to maintain the status quo. iran security there will be continuity with the new government policies.- be continuity with the new government policies. how much influence can _ government policies. how much influence can be _ government policies. how much influence can be arab _ government policies. how much | influence can be arab lawmakers have on this government, given they are in a minority within a broad coalition. what influence if any? broad coalition. what influence if an ? ., ., ., , if any? you have to remember that this is _ if any? you have to remember that this is a _ if any? you have to remember that this is a very _ if any? you have to remember that this is a very narrow - that this is a very narrow majority coalition, 61 out of

120, which means every member of knesset is very powerful. the arabs have sat on the fence for many years and did not get too involved in the political game but this is an opportunity for them to get into the political game and to make gains for their own community, so to advance budgets, to take care of crime in the arab sector, constructing in the arab sector, get more jobs and more infrastructure. this is an opportunity for the arab israelis to integrate in a better fashion israelis to integrate in a betterfashion into israelis to integrate in a better fashion into israeli society and i think their voice will be heard and they have to make an impact on politics and society. make an impact on politics and socie . �* , ., ., society. briefly, what next for benjamin _ society. briefly, what next for benjamin netanyahu? - society. briefly, what next for benjamin netanyahu? that. society. briefly, what next for benjamin netanyahu? that is| society. briefly, what next for. benjamin netanyahu? that is the million-dollar— benjamin netanyahu? that is the million-dollar question _ benjamin netanyahu? that is the million-dollar question here! - million—dollar question here! he probably would head to the leader of the opposition at first, and then there are several options. you may decide to step down, he may be ousted

by his own party leaders. it is still an open question. the first phase of it, i think he will be leader of the opposition, and then we will see. , ., , see. ok, we shall see indeed, dan arbell— see. ok, we shall see indeed, dan arbell from _ see. ok, we shall see indeed, dan arbell from the _ see. ok, we shall see indeed, dan arbell from the american | dan arbell from the american university of washington, thank you very much. 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. 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. 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. it is exactly 50 days until the delayed summer olympics is due to open in tokyo. controversy is still raging over whether the even should go ahead — with the organisers and the international olympic committee insisting it can go ahead safely, and japanese doctors calling

for it to be cancelled. last weekjapan was forced to extend a state of emergency because of a fourth wave of covid infections, and the united states centre for disease control put japan on a list of countries us citizens should not travel to unless absolutely necessary. from kawasaki, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. applause this is sport in the time of covid. fans may clap but cheering is strictly forbidden. masks are mandatory and so are temperature checks. it's sunday night in kawasaki, and for the football fans heading into the stadium are now used to the routine. and, despite a new wave of covid raging across japan, here, it all feels very relaxed. translation: i'm going to take all prevention measures we can | take, and we'll be watching the game away from other fans.

inside, just 5,000 spectators are allowed. they've 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 the safety measures that they've put in place, and they say they haven't had one single cluster of covid traced back to any of these games since the beginning of the pandemic. all this is evidence to support the olympic committee's latest mantra, which is repeated at every opportunity. we will be able to deliver a safe and secure games for everyone. these games will be able to be staged in a safe and secure manner. we will be able to deliver a safe and secure games this summer. but safe and secure is not how it feels in the emergency ward of this hospital in osaka. the last month has been exhausting for staff here,

with more covid patients than ever before. dr nishiguchi is the head of the unit. he says the fourth wave here has been much faster and more deadly than previous ones. it is being driven by a new wave of variants that have entered japan from the uk and india. "about three weeks ago, the number of infections increased very suddenly," he tells me. "many patients could not get into hospital. they had to wait at home. by the time they got to hospital, their condition was much worse." that is exactly what happened to 74—year—old kazuyuki shiyota. his wife, asuko, tells me that when kazuyuki 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 makiko doesn't want to show her face but it is clear who she blames for her father's death. translation: this country |

is run by politicians who take people's lives so lightly and want 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 says events like this show that going ahead with the olympics can be done with minimal risk. but, in the country were 95% of people remain unvaccinated, the question many here are asking is, why is the ioc so determined to take that risk? rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in kawasaki. stay with us on bbc news — still to come... it's our most overlooked neighbour — now two nasa missions are set to explore venus.

the queen and her husband began their royal progress to westminster. the moment of crowning, in accordance with the order of service, via a signal given with the great guns of the tower. tributes have been paid around the world to muhammad ali who has died at the age of 7a. outspoken but rarely out—fought, ali transcended the sport of boxing of which he was three times world champion. he was a good fighter, he fought all the way to the end — even through his illness. yes, he did. uefa imposes an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe. today is the 20th anniversary of the release of the beatles lp sgt pepper's lonely hearts club band, a record described as the album of the century.

this is bbc world 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. a chemical—laden cargo ship is sinking off the west coast of sri lanka. 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 sinking, with 350 tonnes of oil on board. translation: there are two possibilities. | 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 a leak. 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 can't go to sea, which means we can't make a living. the singapore—flagged container vessel was carrying close to 1,500 containers — including 25 tonnes of nitric acid and several other

dangerous 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 i 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. a police complaint has been launched against the captain, lodged against the captain, with a court order issued to prevent — them along with the chief engineer and an additional engineer — from leaving the country. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. nasa has announced that it is

sending two new missions to venus in order to examine the planet's atmosphere and geological features. the missions are scheduled to launch at the end of the decade. nasa's last venus orbiter was magellan, which reached the planet all the way back in 1990. since then, there have only been fly—bys. so why this announcement now? so there is a huge possibility that there is some kind of life — it is possible right now — on venus. that is one of the reasons we are actually taking a step back and looking at venus again. we have not been to venus in the past 30 years — at least nasa has not tried missions in the last 30 years. even before that, the majority of them were failures. part of the reason is because of the hostile conditions and the acidic environment. although there is a belief that venus is like an evil twin to the earth. so once upon a time conditions on venus were very conducive to life.

we wanted to go ahead and check that aspect of it and how much has changed since and why it has changed since. nasa has come up with two brand—new missions. the first one is davinci+, which is going to analyse the gases in venus' atmosphere. we are going to determine when the... determine the evolution, basically — when the life forms were able to be, and what is the current status. we will determine whether venus ever had an ocean. 0k. i suppose the question is, what benefit will that give us, how will we benefit from it? the difference being with mars, people think about whether it is habitable. venus, there is no way we can live there, is there? correct, but the knowledge we gain from venus can be

translated into other research and we at nasa are doing a lot of exoplanet research and we will know what kind of life forms can be expected. if we study our a neighbour, it's a better chance to study further objects like exoplanets in the future. that is one of the driving motivations, i would say. of course. of course, mars is a better prospect right now. of course. it is interesting how venus is often overlooked, though it is closer to earth than mars. correct. one of the reasons venus was exciting for the russian space administration was because earth and venus had a lot of similarities in size. although the atmosphere was conducive, as i already told you, once before. so there were persistent on seeing whether we could change something on venus. they landed their lander,

venera 7, back in 1970 and then analysed for 23 minutes. there is a close connection to venus and earth, just that conditions now are not at all conducive for life — it is highly acidic and, as i said, and hostile. nasa's solar system ambassador. a novel about senegalese troops fighting for france in the first world war has won this year's international booker prize for literature. the book at night all blood is black, is written by the french writer david diop. the international booker is split each year between the author and the book's translator into english. the judges said the book did not win because it addressed the current conversation about race and politics but because as a story "it spoke with the most power". details of celebrations to mark the queen's platinum jubilee nextjune have been released by buckingham palace.

there'll be a four—day holiday weekend from thursday, june 2nd, to sunday, june 5th. events will include a pageant with 5,000 performers and a live concert, at buckingham palace. now meet pete and bas — 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 bermondseyj everyone i know is talking about you. we love it. add that to my tab, yeah? see you later. see you later, boys. 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 be just 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. # jaykae still didn't send his verse. # skepta get left in a casket case. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @benmboulos.

it is bbc news. thank you for watching. 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 northolt. 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, for 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, 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. organisers say they remain confident the event can be held safely. the us space agency, nasa, has announced two new missions to venus aimed at understanding why earth's nearest planetary neighbour became a fiery hellscape, while earth thrived. the missions — which will be the first in 30 years — are scheduled to launch at the end of the decade. now on bbc news it's hardtalk with zeinab badawi.