welcome to bbc news. i'm lisa—marie misztak. our top stories: the russian and chinese presidents stress their political ties and discuss a possible road to peace in ukraine. but in kyiv, japan's prime minister kishida voices his country's support for ukraine in the war. the us condemns a vote in israel's parliament, allowing its citizens back into four evacuated settlements in the occupied west bank. the oscar—winning hollywood star gwyneth paltrow is in court after a ski slope collision. mr sanderson is seeking $300,000, saying he sustained a permanent brain injury and four broken ribs but the lawyers for gwyneth paltrow say

his is overstating injuries and filed a counterclaim forjust $1. and, in paris, notre dame cathedral's famous statues are being carefully recreated, four years after the fire that gutted the world heritage site. president putin says russia will be forced to react, if the uk goes ahead with a plan to give ukraine ammunition containing depleted uranium. he made the threat while hosting a joint news conference with china's president xijinping in moscow. the two leaders have been discussing what's been described as a peace plan for ukraine put forward by beijing. 0ur russia editor, steve rosenberg, has been following events. take two world leaders... ..a dash of kremlin choreography... ..and you get this.

the symbolism was clear. 0n the world stage, xi and putin, china and russia, are coming together to forge what they claim is a strong partnership. the talk at the table was about expanding cooperation, but equal partners they are not. russia, under pressure over its war in ukraine, is increasingly dependent on china. and vladimir putin is increasingly critical of the west. later, he slammed the uk for deciding to provide ammunition to ukraine that contains depleted uranium. translation: i would like to note that if this | happens, then russia will be forced to take action accordingly. i'm talking about the fact that the west is already starting to use weapons with a nuclear component. tonight, this warning from moscow has sparked a reaction from london.

the uk ministry of defence has pointed out that depleted uranium has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities. it says it's a standard component the british army has been using for decades and that russia is deliberately trying to disinform. a chinese peace initiative for ukraine made little headway. president putin blamed kyiv and the west. but this is a war he started, and he shows no sign he's ready to pull out his troops. might beijing be ready to supply russia with weapons? that key question was left unanswered. in any case, xi's visit is seen here as a diplomatic coup. at last, the kremlin has something to celebrate. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. well, at thatjoint news conference, xijinping made clear his continued

support for russia. translation: iwould like to emphasise that| on the issue of the ukraine crisis, china has always followed the principles of the un charter — holding an objective and fair stance, actively promoting peace talks. china is always standing firmly on the side of peace, dialogue and on the right side of history. as we just heard in the previous report, china published a 12—point plan calling for dialogue on the war. here's what vladimir putin had to say. translation: we believe that many of the provisions - in the peace plan put forward by china are consistent with russian approaches and can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement when they're ready for it in the west and in kyiv. however, so far, we've not seen such readiness on their part. i'm joined now by china affairs 0bserverjennifer zeng who is in new york.

thank you for taking the time to come on the programme. what to come on the programme. what are our to come on the programme. what are your observations _ to come on the programme. what are your observations of— to come on the programme. what are your observations of the china and russia president meetings? {iii china and russia president meetings?— china and russia president meetinus? , , , ., meetings? of course, this is a renewed unlimited _ meetings? of course, this is a renewed unlimited support - meetings? of course, this is a l renewed unlimited support from the chinese side. i think it such a stage, just after vladimir putin was accused of war crimes by the icc xi jinping giving such a high—profile visit to russia is great support for its potential and military armour. it is already allied unlimited friendship. in already allied unlimited friendship.— already allied unlimited friendshi. , ., friendship. in terms of when china describes _ friendship. in terms of when china describes itself - friendship. in terms of when china describes itself as - china describes itself as neutral, it is offering this 12 point peace plan, it does not mention russia withdrawing from ukraine. can china remain

neutral? it ukraine. can china remain neutral?— neutral? it has not been neutral— neutral? it has not been neutral from _ neutral? it has not been neutral from the - neutral? it has not been neutral from the very i neutral? it has not been - neutral from the very beginning of the war. to date, it has never ever willing to condemn the invasion of ukraine, and the invasion of ukraine, and the so—called peace treaty did not even mention this is even an invasion or war against ukraine. it is not mentioned in russia at all. it is mentioned as a ukraine crisis as if the problem started with ukraine. there is no so—called neutral stands at all. it is all pro russia. stands at all. it is all pro russia-— stands at all. it is all pro russia. ~ . ., , russia. the ukrainian president zelensky has — russia. the ukrainian president zelensky has been _ russia. the ukrainian president zelensky has been calling - russia. the ukrainian president zelensky has been calling for i russia. the ukrainian president zelensky has been calling for a | zelensky has been calling for a telephone conversation with president xijinping, that telephone conversation with president xi jinping, that has not happened yet. what are your thoughts on that? fit not happened yet. what are your thoughts on that?— thoughts on that? of course i think president _ thoughts on that? of course i think president xi _ thoughts on that? of course i think president xi jinping - thoughts on that? of course i think president xi jinping if i think president xijinping if possible would like to play the role of a so—called peace broker but i'm afraid he cannot

really do that to anybody in this world. is really do that to anybody in this world.— this world. is spoke about military support. - this world. is spoke about military support. do - this world. is spoke about military support. do you | this world. is spoke about - military support. do you think there is any potential that china may supply russia with any military support?- any military support? yeah, there were _ any military support? yeah, there were already - any military support? yeah, there were already quite - any military support? yeah, there were already quite a l any military support? yeah, i there were already quite a few reports and there has already been evidence of china already supporting russia with military supplies. actually, i have some exclusive interview with chinese veteran who served in the air force. according to his information, all the military factories across china are now rushing to produce i factories across china are now rushing to producei billion rounds of bullets and i2 rounds of bullets and 12 million rounds of artillery for russia already. they plan to send those ammunitions to iran

and pretend it isjust a private company so it is already happening, according to my source. in already happening, according to my source-— my source. in your own assessment, _ my source. in your own assessment, what - my source. in your own assessment, what you | my source. in your own - assessment, what you think china really wants from the talks from russia? i china really wants from the talks from russia?- china really wants from the talks from russia? i think it 'ust talks from russia? i think it just wants _ talks from russia? i think it just wants to, _ talks from russia? i think it just wants to, this - talks from russia? i think it just wants to, this is - talks from russia? i think it just wants to, this is the - just wants to, this is the chinese communist party's chinese communist pa rty�*s strategy chinese communist party's strategy for a long time. it's plan is to i think have a final showdown with the us led west, so in this case it needs russia as its ally to form a new alliance to fight against the us. that is the big plan. that is the strategy, so everything else works around the strategy. thank you very much for your time. ., ~' ,, well, while xijinping has been in moscow, japan's prime minister fumio

kishida is in ukraine and has been visiting the town of bucha, just outside kyiv. tokyo has voiced support for ukraine since the beginning of war and joined other g7 countries in extending sanctions against russia. mr kishida had been the only g7 leader not to visit ukraine, until now. bucha's mayor has said more than 400 civilians were killed in the town last year by russian forces and mr kishida laid a wreath and observed a moment of silence. translation: as | step - on the ground of bucha today, i really feel great anger for all the atrocious acts. i would like to give my heartfelt condolences to all the victims and the wounded on behalf of the japanese nationals. at a joint press conference during his visit, ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky highlighted pledges of aid and reconstruction from japan. translation: we have enormous opportunities for such _ cooperation, thanks to japan's powerful technological potential and a strong

aid package. since february 2a, 2022, it has reached more than 7 billion and it is already clear thatjapan can become one of ukraine's key partners in its reconstruction, and i am confident that this will be the case and i thank you once again for such a powerful package. uganda's parliament has passed a bill which would criminalise people who identify as lgbtq, with those found guilty facing up to ten years in prison. under the proposed legislation, friends, family and members of the community would have a duty to report individuals in same—sex relationships to the authorities. homosexual acts are already illegal in the east african country, but the bill seeks to go further and criminalise people on the basis of their sexual identity. the bill passed with widespread support in uganda's parliament. in our country, we have our

morals and we will protect our children, and we are making this law, we are making the law for ourselves, we are making this law for our children. we are making this law for the children of our children. this country will stand firm. and onceit country will stand firm. and once it will pass i would tell you madam speaker we will enforce that make sure that homosexuals have in uganda. —— have no place in uganda. the us state department has said it is deeply troubled by a vote in israel's parliament to allow israeli citizens back into four evacuated settlements in the occupied west bank. a spokesman in washington condemned the move as provocative; he said it violated promises to the us. all settlements in occupied territory are deemed illegal under international law. there's been widespread criticism of the move, including from the palestinian authority and the european union. 0ur north america correspondent, david willis, joins me now for more on that story. david, we have seen that there has been a lot of reactions so far. what more has been coming

out? ~ ,, , ., out? well, the us state department _ out? well, the us state department has - out? well, the us state| department has strongly condemned this move, calling it provocative and extremely troubling in making the point that there was a commitment by the former israeli prime minister ariel >> to the then us president george w bush. in this regard, nearly 20 years ago and is effectively is a breach of that agreement. the state department spokesman said "advancing settlement is an obstacle to peace and the achievement to a two state solution". as to whether there would be any repercussions from this move, the state department spokesperson was asked repeatedly that question in all the good say was that basically there would be representations made to israeli officials. that, after assurances were given in regard to president biden in the last few days, and

to a regional meeting in sharm el—sheikh on sunday. to a regional meeting in sharm el-sheikh on sunday.— to a regional meeting in sharm el-sheikh on sunday. could this move potentially _ el-sheikh on sunday. could this move potentially risk— el-sheikh on sunday. could this move potentially risk inflamingl move potentially risk inflaming tensions there, we have seen in the last few months there has been clashes between both sides? ., ., sides? there are growing concern _ sides? there are growing concern here _ sides? there are growing concern here in _ sides? there are growing concern here in the - sides? there are growing concern here in the us i sides? there are growing i concern here in the us over sides? there are growing - concern here in the us over the possibility that the new government of benjamin netanyahu, the right—wing neta nyahu, the right—wing government, netanyahu, the right—wing government, with threatening governing systems and legal systems to undermine the values that have been part of, that have served as the bedrock of us israeli relations over the decades. the feeling is that if any country in the world is to put a break on these sort of development, and it is the united states. it after contributes nearly $4 billion in aid to israel. but there are those who criticise the biden

administration's so—called weight and see policy in regard to this new government. they say he has been too timid and need to put his foot down. it is worth mentioning though that benjamin netanyahu has not undertaken a state visit to the us, that nearly three months after the government was installed there in israel. that is seen as unusual.— is seen as unusual. david willis, thank _ is seen as unusual. david willis, thank you - is seen as unusual. david willis, thank you for - is seen as unusual. david willis, thank you for the l willis, thank you for the update. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: notre dame cathedral's famous statues are being carefully re—created four years after the fire that gutted the world heritage site. all applause. i'm so proud of both of you. let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis.

with great regret, _ the committee has decided that south africa will be excluded from the 1970 competition. i chanting. streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. this is bbc news — the latest headlines: the russian and chinese presidents stress their

political ties and discuss a possible road to peace in ukraine. but in kyiv, japan's prime minister kishida voices his country's support for ukraine in the war. police in major us cities are preparing for potential unrest in case ex—president donald trump is arrested this week as part of a hush—money investigation. a manhattan prosecutor may charge mr trump over how he declared a payment to a adult film star, stormy daniels, to keep quiet about an alleged affair. it would be the first criminal case brought against a former us president. nada tawfik has more details. the world's media has descended on lower manhattan. they've been camped out here ever since news broke that donald trump might be arrested this week. the focus right now is on this building, the office of the manhattan district attorney. now, just a few steps away from here is where trump's aides and michael cohen, his former lawyer and current

antagonist, have been testifying to a grand jury. if the da pulls the trigger and charges former president trump, his lawyers would likely negotiate a time for trump to turn himself in voluntarily. he would be formally booked, meaning he would be fingerprinted, have his mug shot taken, and be read his miranda rights, just like anyone else under arrest. but unlike a typical person, he will be escorted throughout the whole process by his secret service detail. a trial would ultimately take place at the manhattan criminal court, opening up what could be a long, drawn out legal battle that could last well into, if not past, the 2024 presidential campaign. the nypd are already working on security plans in case of protests, after donald trump urged his supporters to turn out. more protests have been taking place in various french cities, after french president emmanuel macron used controversial executive powers to push through a pension reform — — without a vote in parliament.

mr macron is due to give a rare tv interview on wednesday — he is facing a big political crisis, less than a year after his re—election to a second term. sofia bettiza reports. there is an outcry in france. in the past week, more than 1500 protests have taken place all over the country. this was plus still republic in last night. some protests turned violent. police clashed with demonstrators. and hundreds were arrested. this all happened after president macron used controversial executive powers last week to push through his deeply unpopular pension reform. this means that the retirement age in france will now be raged from ——

raised from 62 to 64. translation: i think today the fifth republic is showing its true face, which is that of a regime which is not democratic, since the president can decide to pass a law that is rejected by 90% of france people. translation: to think of all those — translation: to think of all those people who were already in really — those people who were already in really trying jobs will have to keep _ in really trying jobs will have to keep going until they are 64 is not — to keep going until they are 64 is not right. theyjust see peorrle _ is not right. theyjust see people as prophets. translation: macron never listened _ translation: macron never listened to— translation: macron never listened to us _ translation: macron never listened to us that _ translation: macron never listened to us that this - translation: macron never listened to us that this is - listened to us that this is wan _ listened to us that this is wan i_ listened to us that this is war. i think— listened to us that this is war. i think that - listened to us that this is war. i think that at - listened to us that this is war. i think that at one i listened to us that this is - war. i think that at one point, he won't _ war. i think that at one point, he won't have _ war. i think that at one point, he won't have a _ war. i think that at one point, he won't have a choice. - war. i think that at one point, he won't have a choice. he i war. i think that at one point, i he won't have a choice. he will have _ he won't have a choice. he will have to — he won't have a choice. he will have to withdraw— he won't have a choice. he will have to withdraw his _ he won't have a choice. he will have to withdraw his reform. i have to withdraw his reform. but president _ have to withdraw his reform. but president macron - have to withdraw his reform. | but president macron doesn't seem to have any intention of backing down. he said there would be no government reshuffle, no fresh elections and no referendum on his pension reform. and after a week of not being seen in public, today he will give a rare tv interview. it is hoped will be to use the interview to

calm things down and put an end to the protests but that's easier said than done. macron is facing his most serious challenge since the yellow vest riots four years ago. and with more strikes planned for thursday, the anger that many french people feel is not going away. sofia bettiza, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. a strong earthquake has struck north—eastern afghanistan, causing tremors across the region. two people are reported to have been killed. the 6.5—magnitude quake was centred in the hindu kush. in neighbouring pakistan, dozens of people have been injured in the north—west of the country. more than half a million children have missed lessons in los angeles as schoolworkers started a 3—day strike. bus drivers, cafeteria workers and special education assistants employed by los angeles unified school district,

the second biggest in the us, are striking over what they say are poverty wages. many teachers who aren't part of the dispute refused to cross picket lines so didn't go into school. the former british prime minister borisjohnson has accepted that he misled parliament over gatherings at 10 downing street during the covid lockdown. mrjohnson also insisted his actions were not reckless or intentional. he made the admission in a written defence of his actions, ahead of a televised appearance in parliament on wednesday. the hollywood star gwyneth paltrow has appeared in court in utah, accused of crashing into a man in a skiing accident in 2016, causing a head injury and broken ribs. terry sanderson — who's now 76 — alleges he was hit from behind but ms paltrow says it was mr sanderson's own fault. the case — which is drawing media attention worldwide — is expected to last eight days, as our correspondent sophie long reports.

the oscar—winning actress was used to gracing the red carpet and appearing on the silver screen, before founding her wellness company, goop. today, she appeared in court, accused of a human hit and run. this is the case of terry sanderson versus gwyneth paltrow. at the centre of this case is who hit whom on the slopes of park city, an upmarket mountain resort and celebrity hang—out that hosts the sundance film festival. 76—year—old terry sanderson says she was skiing recklessly and struck him from behind, smashing his body to the ground, before continuing her descent down the mountain, leaving him stunned and seriously injured. ms paltrow has sentimental feelings about skiing. her dad, who left this life too early, took her skiing as a kid at alta. but her lawyer said she's a conservative skier, and he was the culprit in the collision, and she who received the full body blow. the court will decide who should pay damages. mr sanderson is seeking $300,000, saying he sustained a permanent brain injury

and four broken ribs. but miss paltrow�*s lawyers say he's overstating his injuries and filed a counterclaim for a symbolic $1. the central question is who had right of way, who was further down the slope when they slammed into each other? miss paltrow is expected to testify in the case, which continues. sophie long, bbc news, los angeles. "the high presence of pests and diseases are affecting the forests. much is associated with water stress, which concerns a climatic issue. —— conservationists say they're concerned about the shrinking population of monarch butterflies in north america. every year millions of the butterflies migrate from canada to mexico on a two—thousand mile journey. but the world wildlife fuund says the numbers are down by nearly a quarter, this year alone. the butterflies go to mexico during winter to hibernate. experts say climate change is having a "considerable impact" on the butterflies' migration pattern. the reconstruction of notre dame cathedral

in paris has undergone many challenges in the four years since it was gutted by a fire. and now with much of the structural work done, teams there are narrowing their focus to recreating the famous statues said to be its protectors from harm. though maybe the new guard will do a slightly betterjob at that, as stephanie prentice reports. they sit up high on historic buildings, tasked with redirecting rainwater from roofs, and also said to provide spiritual protection from the wrath of heaven by scaring off evil spirits. no self—respecting cathedral could operate without its gargoyles, but some of them didn't survive the fire in 2019, and a dozen of france's finest sculptors were called in. translation: it is very fine. there are edges that are very fine, there are edges that are very fine, well drawn.

we have to reproduce them as they were originally done. it's our duty. these new creatures are being made out of clay, or huge blocks of stone shipped down the seine, but some of the older ones are also being saved. translation: this is older, i think it dates from - a restoration in the 18th century. you can recognise the style, it is very busy. you can see on the column there are lots of little spikes. each piece takes at least three weeks to complete, and after that, of course, the task of getting them into position begins. translation: these are stones that will now be part _ of the cathedralfor 400, 500, 600 years. this is another element that shows that the cathedral is rising from its ashes. and notre—dame, or our lady, is set to rise again as paris's gothic masterpiece in 2024. stephanie prentice, bbc news. that's all for now. thanks your

company. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @lmmisztak. hello. scotland had its warmest day of the year so far on tuesday, with temperatures reaching 16 degrees in fyvie castle in aberdeenshire. overall, it was a brighter kind of day, but we still had a number of showers around and those rainfall totals continue to mount up. of course, it's already been a wet month. there are quite a few places now that have seen more than one and a half times the march average rainfall, but there's loads more to come. and, indeed, as we look at this satellite picture, we've got a current batch of rain falling from this cloud, working its way eastwards right now. and the rain's quite heavy, actually, across parts of scotland, england and wales. it will be clearing

over the next few hours in northern ireland, but we'll have some heavy showers flowing in here. all the while, south—westerly winds will be picking up in strength. of course, it means it's going to be a mild start to the day on wednesday, temperatures for some into double figures. but for wednesday, it is another unsettled one. more rain around. and we're going to see some strong winds particularly affecting western scotland. it's here where, through the morning, we could see gusts of around 75mph for a time, so potentially seeing some disruption from those very strong winds. elsewhere, it will be blustery, gusts of wind generally around 40—50mph. and it is a day of sunshine and showers. the showers will be heavy and thundery at times, but at least they won't hang around. they'll be blown across the sky pretty quickly, thanks to those strong winds. another mild one, temperatures up to 14 or 15 degrees. thursday sees another showery day and, again, the showers will be heavy, some of them with a bit of thunder mixed in. temperatures still on the mild side and anotherfairly blustery kind of day, the winds still coming

in from a south—westerly direction. now, thursday night, we may well see a more prolonged spell of rain work into parts of eastern england, this and certainly it looks pretty wet across western areas of the uk as well. well, that sends us on to friday's forecast and the low pressure is still with us. still fairly brisk winds around, still loads and loads of showers, some of them heavy with hail and thunder. 0ur temperatures just coming down a little bit across northern scotland — highs of around eight or nine degrees here — but otherwise, we're staying into double figure temperatures. now, for the weekend, we're going to start to get some slightly cooler airjust working into northernmost areas of scotland. there will be more showers around, so for most of us, it's more of the same, really. but across the far north of scotland, we'll start to see some of those showers turn wintry for a time.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the russian and chinese presidents stress their political ties and discuss what they say could be a possible road to peace in ukraine. the japanese prime minister, fumio kishida, has been in ukraine, where he has been visiting the town of bucha, on the outskirts of the capital. japan has voiced its support for kyiv since the start of the war and joined other g7 countries in extending sanctions against russia. the us state department has said it is deeply troubled by a vote in israel's parliament to allow its citizens back into four evacuated settlements