live from london, this is bbc news. two israeli women have been killed in an attack in the occupied west bank. earlier, israel launched airstrikes on gaza and lebanon, calling it retaliation for several dozen hamas rockets fired at israel. northern ireland on high alert — police warn republicans could provoke violence as the country marks 25 years of the good friday agreement. good afternoon. we start in the middle east, where the israeli chief of staff has ordered the mobilisation of a number of reserve soldiers in air defence

units, fighterjet pilots, and drone operators amid heightened tensions in the region. in the latest escalation of tensions between israel and the palestinians, two israeli women have been killed in an attack in the occupied west bank. the authorities say a third person was also seriously wounded in the incident, which happened near the settlement of hamra. the israeli military says troops are searching for suspects who opened fire at a car, causing it to crash. this latest development comes after the israeli military hit targets belonging to the palestinian militant group hamas. the air strikes hit areas of the gaza strip and lebanon. israel says they're in retaliation for a major rocket attack on israel launched from southern lebanon, which the israelis blamed on hamas. these images from gaza show the aftermath. they're the heaviest air strikes that israel has carried out on gaza since last august. our correspondent yolande knell has the lastest from jerusalem. there are some interesting messages coming up from the israeli security establishment. on the one hand, we have had the israeli military spokesperson

telling reporters that nobody wants an escalation right now. quiet will be met with quiet, at least for the coming days. but then we have also heard that they have been these troop reinforcements ordered both close to the gaza strip, although residents there are being told they can leave the vicinity of their bomb shelters for the time being. also troop reinforcements to the north of israel close to the disputed border with lebanon, after that very large barrage of rockets was fired from southern lebanon into israel yesterday. so, as i say, things remain on edge, but for the moment here injerusalem, we have seen relative calm over the past few hours, friday prayers proceeded relatively peacefully, as muslim worshippers flocked to the mosque here for the third friday of ramadan. the easter procession for good friday went ahead as planned, but then this incident

in the west bank a reminder of how things could flare up, how they could spread very quickly. is there also deepening concern about the conflict broadening now to also include lebanon? that's correct, and i think if you look at what has happened, how israel calibrated its response after it decided that palestinian militant groups were responsible for firing more than 30 rockets from southern lebanon into israel yesterday, it doesn't want to bring in hezbollah, it is an extremely powerful militant group. although we assume that there was approval for that rocket control because it has...

they don't want conflict right now if they can avoid it, and instead what we saw overnight was quite a careful response inside lebanon, three explosions reported there close to a palestinian refugee camp, close to where it appears it was the launch site of these rockets yesterday, but in the gaza strip, there was a much heavier bombardment, with the israeli military saying it was targeting hamas—linked sites, although i should say that there are no reports of anyone having been hurt in those overnight exchanges of fire. egypt and jordan, we understand, officials from there have been called by the us, so there are other countries getting involved to try to not necessarily offer solutions, but to calm the situation down. what other efforts are being made to try and ease some of the tensions? i mean, for months now we have had officials and diplomats warning that this would be a very volatile period. this time when you have both

the holiday of passover overlapping with the holiday of ramadan, and really so many people, muslims and jews in particular, wanting to go to the old city to the site which muslims know as aksa mosque, whichjews know as the temple mount. it is the third holiest site in islam, it has a millenniums old mosque on that site. jews look to it as the site of two biblical temples, it is the holiest site injudaism, and this is a time when people are on holidays that they come to jerusalem to try to mark those. now, in the coming days, i think what officials are really worried about is that these holidays continue to coincide. in fact, we are heading into next week, the final ten days of ramadan. those are days where it is encouraged for muslim

worshippers to spend the night at aqsa mosque, but at the same time we understand that israeli police will want to escort round numbers ofjewish visitors to go to visit. that is always a point of tension. in the past, historically, israel, which is the occupying force in eastjerusalem, has not allowed thosejewish visits to take place during the last ten days of ramadan, but this time you have the two holidays of ramadan and passover coinciding forjust the second time in three decades. what is going to happen? it is not really clear at the moment. police in northern ireland have warned that some republicans could try to provoke street violence over the easter weekend. the country is marking the 25th anniversary since the signing of the good friday agreement, which largely ended 30 years of sectarian violence. hundreds of extra police have been brought in for events which culminate with a visit to belfast by us president biden on wednesday. chris page reports. in northern ireland this weekend, people are holding events to mark

a quarter of a century of relative peace. the agreement signed on good friday, 1998, largely ended three decades of conflict. but there is also a reminder that the threat from paramilitaries hasn't completely faded. police have taken the unusual step of warning there could be street violence at a march held by dissident republicans. there is very strong community intelligence specifically coming forward in respect of monday's events in derry londonderry, and there are real concerns they may be attempts to draw police into serious public disorder and to use that then as a platform to launch terrorist attacks on police as well. republicans take part in parades every easter to commemorate a rebellion against british rule in dublin in 1916. the dissidents broke away when the ira's political wing sinn fein entered the peace process. a few weeks ago, a group known as the new ira shot and critically injured a detective,

john caldwell. a sinn fein politician who helped negotiate the good friday agreement says he is disappointed there is still paramilitary violence now. i hope that 25 years later we wouldn't be here, but let's be clear about this. it is a small number of people who are intent on reversing the peace process, the political process, and all of that, for no good reason. the agreement set up a power—sharing devolved assembly, but the democratic unionist party is blocking it from sitting in protest against brexit arrangements. the dup leader has rejected suggestions the political vacuum makes violence more likely. the idea that evil men and women who go out to commit murder react to political circumstances alone simply doesn't stack up. we want to see proper functioning government in northern ireland,

but it has got to be on the basis of a cross—community consensus, and that's what we're working to build. detectives don't believe the dissident republicans are planning violence directly because of the peace deal�*s anniversary or president biden�*s visit, but the police's warning shows that the peace process here still isn't finished. chris page, bbc news, belfast. turkey and russia have failed to reach agreement on further extending the deal that facilitates ukrainian grain exports via the black sea. following talks in ankara, russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov, said the terms of the current agreement had not been implemented. translation: we proposed extending the deal with for— translation: we proposed extending the deal with for 60 _ translation: we proposed extending the deal with for 60 days, _ translation: we proposed extending the deal with for 60 days, based - translation: we proposed extending the deal with for 60 days, based on - the deal with for 60 days, based on the deal with for 60 days, based on the fact that if there is no further progress in removing obstacles to the export of russian fertilisers and grain, then we will think about whether the steel is necessary. —— whether the steel is necessary. —— whether this deal is necessary.

meanwhile, in its latest assessment of the war in ukraine, british military intelligence has said russian forces have regained some momentum in their months—long battle for control of bakhmut. our correspondent hugo bachega sent this update from kyiv. fighting in bakhmut continues, and this morning, the british defence minister said russian forces had very likely take the city centre. they are now threatening a key supply route for ukrainian forces. we know that ukrainian soldiers are now concentrated in western parts of the city. a spokesman for the ukrainian army said the situation was very difficult and he also said russian forces were concentrating all efforts to take the city, but he said they were not having strategic success. earlier this week, president zelenskiy indicated that ukrainian forces could be pulled out of bakhmut if at risk of being encircled by russian forces. this would be a significant development after months of intense fighting in bakhmut. this city in the eastern region has become very symbolic for both russia and ukraine.

this happens as the ukrainians are planning for what is expected to be a major offensive to try to take back territory. in the uk, an advert posted to the labour party's official twitter account is receiving cross—party criticism for suggesting the prime minister doesn't believe adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison. so far, the labour party has stood by the ad. our reporter pete saull is in the newsroom. quite a lot of rancour in british politics today because of this tweet put out by the labour party yesterday. we are in election campaign mode here in the uk at the moment. local elections due to take place in a month's time. the labour party particularly keen to talk about crime. although it is not something that local councils are specifically responsible for, they believe it is potentially a vote winner. so it's this tweet here accusing the prime minister, rishi sunak, of not thinking adults convicted

of sexual assaulting children should go to prison that really has left a sour taste in the mouths of an awful lot of people, people watching politics of all persuasions. the figures accompanying it here, under the conservatives — so say the labour party — 4,500 adults convicted of sexually assaulting children under 16 served no prison time. that goes back to 2010, when the conservatives first came to power. rishi sunak, the man in the picture here, only became an mp in 2015, so it is perhaps a bit of a stretch to blame him for that. the conservatives are also pointing out that keir starmer, in a former life, was director of public prosecutions, and he actually sat on the sentencing council in 2012 when the sentencing for these kinds of offences was decided, although the labour party are saying it's the government that sets the tone for that kind of thing. but some criticism from within the labour party.

i'll show you another tweet here from the former shadow chancellorjohn mcdonnell, quite an influential figure in the labour party. he says, "this is not the sort of politics a labour party confident of its own values and preparing to govern should be engaged in. i say to the people who have taken the decision to publish this ad, please withdraw it." well, there's no sign the labour party are planning to withdraw that particular advert. it is still very much up on twitter as we speak. this morning on the bbc, we spoke to the shadow culture secretary, a seniorfigure within the labour party, lucy powell, and she was repeatedly asked whether she stood by the central claim in that tweet. well, the record of his government says that people are getting off lightly for these sorts of offences, and he is the prime minister of that government. and, you know, people produce digital campaigns and digital material and campaign literature to highlight these sorts of issues in these ways and there are really serious issues here at stake.

so that's lucy powell, the shadow culture secretary there. she was repeatedly asked whether she actually stood by it, she just wouldn't say specifically on it, but there defending what she said the advert was trying to say about the conservatives' record in terms of tackling crime. now, there are those within the labour movement who think that this has gone too far. keir starmer has been at pains to try to paint his party now as being the grown—ups in the room, and this rather contradicts that strategy, some might argue. equally, though, labour are quite happy, perhaps, to keep this issue of the conservatives' record, in terms of tackling crime, front and centre. the firm that audits the scottish national party's finances has resigned. accountants johnston carmichael, which has worked with the party for more than a decade, said the decision was taken after a review of its clients. police investigating the snp�*s finances this week searched the home of former snp chief executive peter murrell, nicola stu rgeon�*s husband. he was arrested and

released without charge. the bbc understands johnston carmichael resigned before mr murrell�*s arrest. a spokesperson for the snp said it was in the process of finding a replacement firm. police scotland has been investigating the snp�*s finances sincejuly 2021. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. the bells is nothing in�*s oldest church have run for the last 600 years, but last may, all large bells became largely silent due to an issue at the end wall which needs to be restored and strengthen. the bell-ringers _ be restored and strengthen. tue: bell—ringers are be restored and strengthen. tte: bell—ringers are sent an alarming video, they have noticed an ominous crack appearing. video, they have noticed an ominous crack appearing-— crack appearing. then the fundraising _ crack appearing. then the fundraising efforts - crack appearing. then the l fundraising efforts started. crack appearing. then the - fundraising efforts started. the church needs to raise £135,000 to

stabilise it. church needs to raise £135,000 to stabilise it— church needs to raise £135,000 to stabilise it. ., , ,., stabilise it. there have been some amazinal stabilise it. there have been some amazingly generous _ stabilise it. there have been some amazingly generous gifts - stabilise it. there have been some amazingly generous gifts from - amazingly generous gifts from individuals, both members of the church and people in the city. itrailiiiie church and people in the city. while £10,000 still— church and people in the city. while £10,000 still needs _ church and people in the city. while £10,000 still needs to _ church and people in the city. while £10,000 still needs to be _ church and people in the city. while £10,000 still needs to be raised to meet the fundraising target, the church bells will ring for the coronation of the king, but we will needs some extra support.- needs some extra support. people really want — needs some extra support. people really want is _ needs some extra support. people really want is bells _ needs some extra support. people really want is bells to _ needs some extra support. people really want is bells to ring, - needs some extra support. people really want is bells to ring, and - needs some extra support. people really want is bells to ring, and i i really want is bells to ring, and i have been delighted with the enthusiasm and how much it means to people. the enthusiasm and how much it means to --eole. ., , ., . people. the whole repair pro'ect will take three i people. the whole repair pro'ect will take three months, i people. the whole repair pro'ect will take three months, but h people. the whole repair project will take three months, but the | will take three months, but the bells will ring again for the king. you're live with bbc news. 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.

dyla n dylan mulvaney has found herself at the centre of a storm of controversy over these partnerships with two major brands over the past week or so. forthose major brands over the past week or so. for those who may not be familiar with dylan mulvaney, she is an extremely famous tiktoker, an actress, comics, she has about 11 million followers on media. she chronicled her transition to womanhood online, and she got more than a billion views, so she is extremely popular in the social media sphere. that has now garnered the attention of all kinds of major brands. most recently, she also met with president biden in the white housein with president biden in the white house in october to talk about trans rights, so she is a very high—profile figure. most recently, coming back to those brands, she has partnered with nokia, senior sporting the grand's leggings —— nike. in a social media videos here, she is advertising the nike sports

bra, the leggings, this has produced a major backlash from conservative commentators both in the united states and here in the uk, for example olympians like sharron davies has led the call in the uk, saying that they are concerned about a transgender woman advertising women's sportswear. that is not the only controversy to come out in the past week about dylan mulvaney. in her latest partnership, which we will take a listen to now, she is being sponsored essentially by the beer company bud light, she was sent a beer can with herface on it, let's take a look at it. t a beer can with her face on it, let's take a look at it. i thought we were all _ let's take a look at it. i thought we were alljust _ let's take a look at it. i thought we were alljust having - let's take a look at it. i thought we were alljust having a - let's take a look at it. i thought we were alljust having a hecticj we were alljust having a hectic month, — we were alljust having a hectic month, but it turns out it has something to do with sports. i am not sure _ something to do with sports. i am not sure exactly which sport, but either _ not sure exactly which sport, but either way, — not sure exactly which sport, but eitherway, it is not sure exactly which sport, but either way, it is a cause to celebrate. this month, i celebrated my day— celebrate. this month, i celebrated my day 365— celebrate. this month, i celebrated my day 365 of womanhood, and they sent me _ my day 365 of womanhood, and they sent me possibly the best gift ever,

a can— sent me possibly the best gift ever, a can with _ sent me possibly the best gift ever, a can with my face on it —— bud light _ a can with my face on it —— bud light sent— a can with my face on it —— bud light sent me. we a can with my face on it -- bud light sent me.— light sent me. we should also mention this _ light sent me. we should also mention this is _ light sent me. we should also mention this is not _ light sent me. we should also mention this is not the - light sent me. we should also mention this is not the first. light sent me. we should also l mention this is not the first time that bud light has come out in support of the lgbtq+ community. you may remember these rainbow pride bottles and drilled a couple of years ago. and for its part, the parent company of bud light has issued a statement, saying, we work with hundreds of influences across our brands as one of the ways to connect authentically with audiences across various demographics. that statement has done little to calm the storm, as the controversy goes on. ., ., the storm, as the controversy goes on, ., ., ., " the storm, as the controversy goes on. ., ., ., ~ i. the storm, as the controversy goes on. ., . a court in the united arab emirates has rejected south africa's request to extradite members of the gupta family wanted on corruption charges. atul and rajesh gupta fled to dubai in 2018 after south africa launched a judicial inquiry into large—scale money laundering and corruption. the gupta brothers are a wealthy and influentialfamily from india, who moved to south africa in the 1990s. they're accused of using their close relationship with former

presidentjacob zuma to win government contracts worth tens of millions of dollars. i spoke to bbc�*s shingai nyoka and asked why the uae turned down the extradition request from south africa. according to the south african justice minister which received that notification just last night, they say the court had ruled that on the charge of money—laundering which the guptas are alleged to have committed in both south africa and the united arab emirates that the uae courts could effectively deal with that particular case and so it struck down that extradition application. and there was another charge of fraud. because that arrest warrant had been cancelled, they ruled that the gupta brothers were free to go. so it south africa said it was deeply shocked.

they weren't expecting the court to rule in that way because they said they had received assurances that they had fulfilled all of the requirements to be able to have these brothers extradited to south africa. remind us of the specific allegations against the brothers. there are many allegations. as you mention, they are wanted in south africa for widescale corruption that has been dubbed state capture. they are alleged to have interfered with government appointments as well as securing bribes for budget of state contacts, they fled south africa, and that is why this particular warrant of arrest, that is why this had taken place. south africans have been written many years to see whether justice would been written many years to see whetherjustice would happen in this particular case, so there's a lot of frustration in south africa from the

authorities, and also from ordinary south africans, who are questioning whether the guptas will ever face justice. 50 whether the guptas will ever face 'ustice. ,, ., �* , whether the guptas will ever face 'ustice. �* , , whether the guptas will ever face 'ustice. �*, , , ., ., justice. so there's this frustration and a huge _ justice. so there's this frustration and a huge amount _ justice. so there's this frustration and a huge amount of— justice. so there's this frustration and a huge amount of anger - justice. so there's this frustration and a huge amount of anger from south africa, where hearing that across the board, but is there a path they could now pursue? any other legal mechanisms they could use? , ., other legal mechanisms they could use? ,., ., , other legal mechanisms they could use? , ., ., , ,., use? the government has said the received a note _ use? the government has said the received a note last _ use? the government has said the received a note last night, - use? the government has said the received a note last night, and - use? the government has said the received a note last night, and sol received a note last night, and so they have not received a complaint ofjudgment, and so on that basis, they will consider what that judgment is, but they are likely to appeal. i think one of the issues that really angered them was the fact that the guptas were cited allegedly in switzerland over the last couple of days, so they were unaware that they had in fact been released, and that this court case and this judgment had released, and that this court case and thisjudgment had happened as far back as february. pope francis, who came out of hospital last weekend

following a bout of bronchitis, will skip friday's outdoor "way of the cross" procession due tothe cold weather, the vatican said in a statement. the pope's recent three—day stay in hospital has intensified speculation over his longer—term future. he has indicated several times that he would resign, as his predecessor benedict xvi did, if poor health proved too great an impediment. he is 86, he has had bronchitis, it is currently very cold in rome, so he has decided not to take part

today. he is also scheduled to visit hungary soon, but as we understand it, you will currently attend the other services scheduled for easter weekend at —— he will currently attend. 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 "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. earlier i spoke to our asia pacific regional editor, celia hatton, who began by explaining why some people describe this as "state sponsored slavery." 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. for example, we know that there are thousands of north koreans working in construction in russia or working in logging farms in construction. now what is the key is that these workers are paid by the russian authorities directly into north korean accounts. these workers we believe only receive a small fraction of what they are actually supposed to be paid. they are really given money to buy cigarettes and that is about it. we also believe such workers are still present in china, sometimes working in factories, for reallyjust pennies an hour.

stay with us here 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 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. 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 the 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 pace of us job creation eases, suggesting the world's biggest economy is slowing down under pressure from rising interest rates. freshly minted — the bbc gets exclusive access to the first new king charles banknotes for distribution next year. welcome to world business report, i'm tadhg enright. let's start in the world's biggest

economy, the united states. the latest data from its labor department shows that 236,000