this is bbc news. the headlines: two israeli women have been killed in the israeli—occupied west bank. earlier, israel launched air strikes. northern ireland on high alert — police warn republicans could provoke violence as the country marks 25 years of the good friday agreement. and escaping north korea, we speak to a mum and daughter who are one of the few to have fled. let's return to the violence unfolding in the middle east —

after the israeli military carried out one of the largest air strikes in recent months in gaza and lebanon targeting sites of the islamist group hamas. the latest we are hearing from israel itself is their chief of staff has called up reserve soldiers in air defence units, fighterjet pilots and drone operators. israel says they are in retaliation for a major rocket attack on israel launched from southern lebanon, which the israelis blame on hamas. carine torbey who is in beirut for us. what is being said in lebanon about who launched these rocket attacks from lebanon to israel?— from lebanon to israel? well, nothinu. from lebanon to israel? well, nothing- no — from lebanon to israel? well, nothing. no one _ from lebanon to israel? well, nothing. no one in _ from lebanon to israel? well, nothing. no one in lebanon i from lebanon to israel? well, i nothing. no one in lebanon has claimed responsibility for what happened yesterday. no one is taking the blame and the government has only called for calm, for

restoration of some sort of calm across the border, without actually identifying who is behind the rockets that were launched from lebanon into israel. of course, israel said that the palestinian factions within lebanon are mainly hamas is behind the rockets but lebanon remains completely silent when it comes to who is responsible. it is not unusual to see attacks over the border but is it the intensity of the attacks that makes it unusual? ~ , ,., , intensity of the attacks that makes itunusual? ~ , , it unusual? absolutely. basically, eseciall it unusual? absolutely. basically, especially there _ it unusual? absolutely. basically, especially there is _ it unusual? absolutely. basically, especially there is a _ it unusual? absolutely. basically, especially there is a lot _ it unusual? absolutely. basically, especially there is a lot of - it unusual? absolutely. basically, j especially there is a lot of tension in israel between palestinians and israelis. we have seen in the past some action of sympathy from palestinian factions toward palestinians within israel, factions trying to launch one or two rockets towards israel. of course, most of these rockets were intercepted and none of them really caused damage in

the past years. yesterday, the intensity, we are talking about dozens of rockets launched from lebanon towards israel. it is the, it's a change in intensity. but the way everything unfolded later on, especially in lebanon, retaliation from israel that happened this morning, but it was extremely limited and it was within what was expected. everyone seems to agree that there is no intention of escalation from either side at this point of the conflict and that basically this is one more leg of the confrontation that is happening across the border every now and then. . , ., across the border every now and then. . i. , ., then. can you explain the relationship _ then. can you explain the relationship between - then. can you explain the i relationship between hamas then. can you explain the - relationship between hamas and then. can you explain the _ relationship between hamas and his brother and how close it is? this relation is _ brother and how close it is? this relation is not _ brother and how close it is? this relation is not a _ brother and how close it is? ti 3 relation is not a stable relationship. it has been going

through ups and downs and it has been very much affected by what happens in the region, especially within western syria and other countries across the region. but at the moment, the leader of hamas is in lebanon and has been activating its relationship. hezbollah saying it's ready to put all its expertise in the region in the conflict to share this expertise, to help wherever it can. other factions share this expertise, to help wherever it can. otherfactions in this confrontation with israel. so basically at the moment, there are talks of some close coordination, talks of some close coordination, talks about trying to unify all different fronts of confrontation with israel and not leave the palestinians to confront israel without any support from other areas. but this has not materialised into something that we can

definitely identify as a joint front oras definitely identify as a joint front or as a strong alliance at this point. it is more a question of intention of coordination and, you know, showing readiness to help with expertise. know, showing readiness to help with exertise. . ~ know, showing readiness to help with exertise. ., ~ ,, know, showing readiness to help with exertise. ., ~ i. . know, showing readiness to help with exertise. ., ~ . ., expertise. thank you so much for “oininu us expertise. thank you so much for joining us from — expertise. thank you so much for joining us from beirut. _ aaron david miller is an american middle east analyst and a senior fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace — he joins us now. very good to see you. we just had the biggest barrage from lebanon in about 17 years but she says it has been seen as a defiant operation thatis been seen as a defiant operation that is now over. is the sense that you are getting is none of the parties involved want to see an escalation? i parties involved want to see an escalation?— escalation? i think that is absolutely _ escalation? i think that is absolutely the _ escalation? i think that is absolutely the case. - escalation? i think that is| absolutely the case. since escalation? i think that is - absolutely the case. since 2006, which they major israeli lebanon war, israelagainst which they major israeli lebanon war, israel against hezbollah, which caused over 1200 lebanese dead there has been a remarkable degree of restraint, even while both sides have manoeuvred in an effort to

pre—empt and weaken each other. the fact you have an israeli—palestinian explosion here is not new. everyone anticipated ramadan, passover, there is a perfect storm building. you have hamas newly energised, planning active attacks. you have lone wolves, individuals that are not associated with other palestinian groups are planning attacks and you have the sensitivity of the temple mount which in may 2021 was the trigger that provided a major confrontation. i think that for now, and the israeli response so far has been relatively restrained, given it was the a larger single rocket barrage since 2006. however, israelis and palestinians are in a strategic cul—de—sac and frankly right now, i see absolutely no way out. it is only a matter of time

before you see another trigger and another escalation. the real damage to me may not be israel, gaza, or around jerusalem but the potential for a major confrontation between israel and hezbollah with the lebanese border. that is serious business. we have avoided it now for 17 years, since the last round but this fire from lebanon is worrisome. when you say there is no way out, we know the americans are talking to egypt, talking tojordan as well. so there is there is perhaps some diplomatic activity happening. do you see any of the other actors in the region being able to play a role to calm things down? i the region being able to play a role to calm things down?— to calm things down? i don't. i see this as diffusing _ to calm things down? i don't. i see this as diffusing temporarily - to calm things down? i don't. i see this as diffusing temporarily a - this as diffusing temporarily a problem. but the broad strategic reality it seems to me is unmistakably clear. you do not have

leaders either at the israeli or palestinian side willing or able to make the kinds of decisions that are required even to structure a negotiating process. having been involved for decades to broker agreements, the raw materialfrankly is not there. the americans are preoccupied with ukraine and rising china, their own elections and frankly, the region, a source of support however ambivalent towards palestinians, they have also decided in large part, the abraham accords, to go their own way. so i the danger here is the israeli— palestinian conflict is becoming a localised affair which has tremendous resilience and resonance forjordan, partially for egypt, mainly for israelis and palestinians. without external intention and internal will, it's the only a matter of time

before we see a level of confrontation which goes beyond anything we have seen before. that is a rim anything we have seen before. that is a grim and _ anything we have seen before. that is a grim and worrying focused you are giving us but very good to hear your thoughts. thank you so much for joining us. let's turn to the us now, and the ongoing debate there over transgender rights and visibility. in the latest high profile controversy, a backlash is brewing over trans influencer dylan mulvaney — after two major brands sponsored the tiktok star. let's go live to our newsroom now and naomi choy smith — who can bring us up to date on this story. just give us some of the background, naomi. della mullaney has found herself at a storm of controversy over the latest sponsorship by major brands. for those not aware of della mulraney is, she is a massive star and tiktok and social media. she is and tiktok and social media. she is a comic and actor simon has about 11 million followers on tiktok alone.

all of this popularity she has garnered has garnered her the attention as well of major sports brands and major food and advertising brands. in the past couple of days we have seen nike do a partnership with dylan where she is seen sporting nike leggings. and we will hear a snapshot. i thought we were alljust having a hectic month but it turns out it had something to do with sports and i'm not sure exactly which sport but, either way, it's a cause to celebrate. this month, i celebrated my day 365 of womanhood and bud light sent me possibly the best gift ever — a can with my face on it. well, that tiktok video has sparked a massive backlash among conservative circles, including on the conservative media in the united states, people like kid rock, who

expressed concern that a transgender woman was modelling women's sportswear. for its part, this is not the first time bud light has shown support for the lgbtq community. and its parent company defends its decision and its partnership with dylan mulvaney. theyissued partnership with dylan mulvaney. they issued a statement saying they work with hundreds of influences across their brands is one of the ways to connect or with audiences across various demographics. that has done little to calm the controversy at this point. we have to remember as well, this is coming against a broad ad backdrop and a debate in the united states about the visibility and access of transgender athletes. for example, tra nsgender athletes. for example, just yesterday, transgender athletes. for example, just yesterday, president biden actually hit back against states who are trying to ban transgender athletes from competing and this reverses the ban on trans students participating in sports according to their gender identity but it does limit how those athletes are allowed

to participate in competitions. critics of this say that there could beissues critics of this say that there could be issues of fairness around sports. in west virginia also just yesterday, there was a ban on transgender girls participating in female sports teams. that has now been halted, which the west virginia attorney general says he was deeply disappointed about. he said that it is just basic fairness and common sense to not have biological males play in women's sport. but civil rights campaigners have hit back at that argument, saying this is an issue of your own determination of your identity and fairness as well. so of course this is just the tip of the iceberg of this issue as the debate around visibility on transgender sports rages on in the united states. it is transgender sports rages on in the united states.— united states. it is indeed the tip ofthe united states. it is indeed the tip of the iceberg. _ united states. it is indeed the tip of the iceberg. thank _ united states. it is indeed the tip of the iceberg. thank you - united states. it is indeed the tip of the iceberg. thank you for - of the iceberg. thank you for joining us, naomi. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

ready? go. good catch. back clowning around, coco, the labrador cross. the two—year—old arrived at this animal shelter with canine friend georgie after their owner, believed to be a heavy drinker, died. the dogs health quickly deteriorated. staff soon realised the pets had become addicted to booze. it could be thatjust after, like say the owner's had a drink and they've just gone to sleep, the dogs may have drank it. but we just don't know. we do know that they were very, very well loved. coco made a full recovery but georgie, struggling with fits, didn't make it. the two—year—old is now available to adopt. he does need someone who's home quite a lot. he does suffer a little bit with his anxiety when he's left. we believe he's never really been left. coming off alcohol almost killed coco but now he's clear, healthy and looking for a loving home. you're live with bbc news.

more now on one of our top stories, police in northern ireland are warning of the possibility of public disorder linked to the 25th anniversary of the good friday agreement over this easter weekend and into next week. events begin today and wednesday sees the us presidentjoe biden visiting belfast. he won't address lawmakers there as the government assembly is still suspended. so a quarter of a century after the agreement, political tensions and obstacles are still present, as emma vardy reports. news of the troubles in northern ireland became a nightly refrain during the decades of bloodshed. explosion. a huge ira bomb rocks central belfast. the aftermath of another bomb in an northern ireland high street. 27 soldiers are still in hospital. i rememberjust being struck by the sense of tension in the city. you had barbed wire everywhere, soldiers everywhere. when you went there, you felt the presence of conflict. republican armed groups waged a campaign of violence

to try to bring about the end of northern ireland as part of the uk, and loyalists attacked catholic communities, leading to a huge loss of life on both sides. there's no sign of any immediate end to ulster's violence. in 1997, tony blair, the newly elected british prime minister, vowed to make dealing with northern ireland a priority. i thought, here we are, we've been decades in this conflict, we're approaching the 21st—century, this is not a conflict that has got any place in the new millennium. the core of the problem is the british government's refusal to acknowledge sinn fein's electoral mandate. sinn fein, the political wing of the ira, wanted a way in to peace talks, and much to the hatred of some unionists, gerry adams, the leader of sinn fein, was given a seat at the table. how are you doing? the ira leadership, if they were nothing else were intelligent, and they grasped the opportunity for peace. you can be blue in the face talking

to people who are not _ involved in violence, - but will that stop violence? we had at last bought the people. who could stop this into the room. but some unionists remained highly sceptical that violent paramilitaries would give up their weapons. there's no surrender. i had to satisfy the unionists if we are going to be in an executive with people, there's no threat of armed resistance, or, you know, leverage hanging over us. the prime ministers continue their marathon effort... - the talks had reached the moment of truth. ifeel the hand of history upon our shoulder. the two governments and the political parties of northern ireland have reached agreement. when i went out to brief the media, ijust felt - i was going to start crying. partly exhaustion, because we'd been | going days without that much sleep, i but just a sort of sense of... ..god, this looks like it's actually happening. -

good evening. after 30 years of conflict, after thousands of violent deaths, northern ireland was given the chance of a new beginning. the agreement was hailed around the world. northern ireland today has the promise of a spring time of peace. but 25 years on, the question of whether to be part of the uk or ireland is still unresolved and there's no functioning government. the political battle between the two visions for northern ireland continues as ever today, and the fragile power—sharing partnership between unionists and nationalists set up here by the good friday agreement, has often collapsed. the agreement wasn't a settlement. the agreement was an accord to bring an end to the conflict. now the stage is set to mark the historic turning point that changed northern ireland in ways once believed impossible. for some, this anniversary is a testament to those who led

northern ireland away from bombs and to the ballot box. this was an ugly conflict. it was brought to an end and that peace is worth preserving. but in a divided society, questions remain over whether the agreement of the past is now in need of reform to help unlock the political paralysis of today. emma vardy, bbc news. south korea, the united states and japan have called on united nations member states to repatriate all north koreans working overseas. they say their income is helping to fund pyongyang's weapons programme in violation of un sanctions. the three countries said in a joint statement that north korea was also quote "stealing and laundering funds, as well as gathering information through malicious cyber activities" which supports its military expansion. they claim that pyongyang stole as much as 1.7 billion us dollars in cryptocurrency last year alone.

under a un resolution unanimously approved in 2017, member states had until december 2019 to send back all north koreans working in their countries. but on friday special envoys from seoul, tokyo and washington said overseas workers were continuing to fund unlawful programmes in north korea — which support the production of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. our asia pacific regional editor, celia hatton, joins me from the newsroom. hello. some people calling this state—sponsored slavery, why is that? state-sponsored slavery, why is that? , .., state-sponsored slavery, why is that? y ., state-sponsored slavery, why is that? ., , , that? they call it that because north korean _ that? they call it that because north korean workers - that? they call it that because north korean workers are - that? they call it that because| north korean workers are sent overseas to countries often with very little choice about where they are going to go and what they are going to do. for example, we know that there are thousands of north koreans working in construction in russia or working in logging farms in construction. what is key is that

those workers are paid by the russian authorities directly into north korean accounts and those workers we believe only receive a small fraction of what they are actually supposed to be paid. they are reallyjust given money to buy cigarettes and that is about it. we also believe such workers are still present in china, sometimes working in factories forjust present in china, sometimes working in factories for just really present in china, sometimes working in factories forjust really pennies an hour, or working as sometimes waitresses in north korean restaurants. i have even been in restaurants. i have even been in restaurants in beijing where they are clearly run by a very unhappy north koreans. 50 are clearly run by a very unhappy north koreans.— north koreans. so is there something that --eole north koreans. so is there something that people want _ north koreans. so is there something that people want to _ north koreans. so is there something that people want to do _ north koreans. so is there something that people want to do if— north koreans. so is there something that people want to do if they - north koreans. so is there something that people want to do if they are - that people want to do if they are in north korea, do they want to leave, how are they selected? amazingly, lots of north koreans we have heard through defect actually want to go overseas. they see it as a way of perhaps making a little bit more money than they might do inside north korea. they have to apply for such programmes and they are tested

on their political loyalty. what is really key is they leave their family members behind in north korea. their husbands or wives, their children, they have to surrender their passports once they arrive in the location where they are going to be working and they really live and work on site. so if they work in a construction site, they work in a construction site, they will sleep there. they don't do a lot of travelling. this is in an overseas tour but a chance to go abroad, make a little bit of money in hopes of being able to go home and have a little bit more money when you get home to north korea. briefly, can you explain the extent of this, what kind of numbers are we talking about? we of this, what kind of numbers are we talking about?— talking about? we used to think there were _ talking about? we used to think there were north _ talking about? we used to think there were north korean - talking about? we used to thinkl there were north korean workers talking about? we used to think - there were north korean workers and lots of places. we knew that, we knew there were north korean doctors working as doctors in african countries. some venues in qatar were built by north korean construction workers. in 2017 there was a un agreement that calls on all un member state to send back their north korean workers by the end of 2019. most countries did this,

except he countries china and russia are thought to still have a lot of north koreans and they are really not going to heed the call today from japan, the united states and south korea to return those workers. great to see you, thank you. republican legislators in the us state of tennessee have voted to expel two democrat members from the regional house of representatives. it comes after they took part in a protest for stricter gun laws. justin jones and justin pearson were ousted, a third democrat, gloria johnson, narrowly survived the vote. last week, hundreds of demonstrators marched to the state capitol after six people died in a school shooting in nashville. one of the expelled politicians has been speaking to my colleague sumi somaskanda about what happened. i have to leave. they've shut off my id badge already, so they shut off my access to the building. i had to get another former colleague to let me in. they shut off my e—mail access and so i am no longer a legislator. that means that the 78,000 people from district 52 have no representation in the state of tennessee. 78,000 voters, i represent

the most diverse district in the state of tennessee. i'm here in nashville, district 52, and now they are left without a voice because of the decision of extreme republicans, supermajority, which is almost completely a white caucus, exelling the two youngest black lawmakers because we stood demanding action on gun violence. i think the nation and the world are surprised and should be shocked because what they said is that democracy does not matter in tennessee. they took a very extreme step. there's only been three expulsions in the house in tennessee history — all of them involving crimes or unethical behaviour. this is the first expulsion for first amendment activity for a breach of decorum, they said, violating decorum rules. we're a month away from king charles' coronation — and with a new monarch, comes new money. millions of banknotes featuring the image of the king are currently being made, but will only enter circulation next year. kevin peachey has been given exclusive access to the printing process. here's your change. a new monarch means a new portrait on new banknotes. on this day alone, six million tenners carrying the image of king charles are being printed

for the bank of england in this highly secure site. they're ready to begin replacing nearly five billion notes out there featuring the queen, but only as the older ones become worn or damaged. up until now, she's been the one and only monarch shown on the bank's circulating notes. portrait of her majesty the queen. currency which will still be accepted in the shops. the king is already on 50p coins, but the monarch doesn't appear on banknotes issued by banks in scotland and northern ireland. and these look but aren't quite ready to go out. you may not be lucky enough to have a wad of cash like this, that's £50,000. but even to just get one of these notes, you're going to have to wait until the middle of next year, when the king charles notes enter circulation. the bank's chief cashier, whose signature is on these notes, says there's plenty to prepare in the next 12 months. there's a huge amount that has to happen just to make sure that people can use their bank notes. there are thousands of machines up and down the country

that take bank notes. things like self—service checkouts in supermarkets, and they all have to be updated to recognise the new designs. but do we still use cash to pay? where better tojudge than at the king's head? a site with its own rich history said to have once hosted james ii. i think we know it's the biggest change during covid, when people didn't want to be touching cash and theyjust started using their phones more, their watches, their credit cards. how did you pay? did you use these? this is this. it's so much faster, - it's a lot easier, a lot quicker and you keep control. so, yeah, i think as- a dinosaur we've moved on and evolved and you go, that's the future, isn't it? l is there anything you use cash for these days? parking, you know, the pound meters, that is literally... and car washes, that is literally it. so cash may no longer be king, but in time and for some time to come, kings will be on our cash. kevin peachey, bbc news.

only a month to go, their coronation taking place on saturday the 6th of may at westminster abbey in london. stay with us on bbc news. hello. it may have been a chilly start to this easter weekend, but we've got plenty of fine weather to come over the next few days. changes late on sunday, turning wetter in the west, and that rain pushing south across the uk overnight and into monday, with showers following on behind. until then, it's high pressure holding on, keeping atlantic weather systems at bay. that means there's going to be plenty of fine weather and some sunshine, the best of the sunshine in the west until late sunday, when this weather system moves in and you can see it turning wetter overnight and into monday. let's look at the detail for the rest of today. we are going to see cloud increasing towards eastern coastal parts of scotland and north—east england, so turning grey this afternoon, maybe some drizzle and a rather chilly day here.

just one or two light showers are possible across the south—eastern parts of england. other than that, there will be patchy cloud here and there. most places will stay dry, we'll get to see some sunshine. high we'll get to see some sunshine. is mainly in the ra 11-15. but those coastal parts of eastern scotland and north—east england with the cloud here may not get into double figures. the cloud is becoming a bit more widespread across eastern areas overnight and into the morning, and some patchy mist and fog is possible here and there. not quite as chilly going into saturday morning, but the coldest spots in the countryside will be close to freezing, so a touch of frost is possible. we are going to see often quite large amounts of cloud towards eastern coastal parts of the uk during saturday, whereas further inland, you get to see some sunny spells. the odd spot of drizzle can't be ruled out and another fairly chilly day where the cloud is thickest. but elsewhere, a touch breezier, but there will be plenty of dry and sunny weather on the way. the high pressure is trying to hold on going into sunday, but this weather system in the west

will gradually start to move in. and whilst there is still something to play for in the timing of the arrival of the rain, it looks like northern ireland and western scotland will be first to see that moving in. other western areas, it could be well into the evening. ahead of that, there will be some areas of cloud and sunny spells, and temperatures are warmer on sunday, so more places with highs in the range of 15 to 17 celsius. overnight and into monday, that rain moves south across all areas. look at these showers following behind. some of these will be heavy and thundery on a blustery day with stronger winds, with more wet weather to come next week.

the israeli military has carried out overnight airstrikes on what it says which were the biggest to be launched from lebanon for 17 years. northern ireland on alert. police warned republicans could provoke violence as the country marks 25 years of the good friday agreement. iam i am live in dover where passengers trying to get away for easter are once again facing delays, though fortunately, not on the scale we saw last weekend. millions of banknotes featuring the image of the king are being made for release next year. we have exclusive access to the printing process.