welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore. i'm karishma vaswani. the headlines: a family's grief — the funeral takes place for two british—israeli sisters killed in a shooting in the occupied west bank. china continues to simulate an attack on taiwan on another day of large—scale military drills. at least four people are killed in an avalanche in the french alps. rescuers are still searching for survivors. and royal revelations — fresh details are released about the upcoming coronation of king charles iii. live from our studio in singapore, this is bbc news. it's newsday.

hello and welcome to the programme. it has been a day of worship and a day of grief in israel and the occupied territories. tens of thousands ofjews gathered atjerusalem's western wall for passover prayers. not far away, hundreds ofjewish worshippers walked close to the al aqsa mosque. and in a settlement in the west bank, the funeral took place for two british—israeli sisters shot dead on friday. from jerusalem, my colleague lucy williamson reports. as maia and rina were brought in, the wailing of rina's teenage school friends filled the prayer hall. theirfather, a rabbi, bent low over their bodies. the pain on his face hidden for a moment, in a last embrace with his daughters.

today, thejewish people have proven that we are one. we are united. this simple, quiet family is devastated. the whole country hurts. maia was 20 years old when she died, rina was 15. their mother, still unconscious in hospital, doesn't even know yet they are dead. they were travelling from their west bank settlement to the sea of galilee for a family holiday this week when their israeli car came under fire. among the mourners today, israel's national security minister, itamar ben—gvir — a hard—right leader, who was once a member of a banned extremist group. each unique loss here pulls up deep, unresolved questions about land, security and rights. funerals are the fingerprints of this conflict.

contested land mapped by the graves of israelis and palestinians. tensions have risen sharply here this week asjewish, muslim and christian religious festivals coincide. jerusalem's old city was packed today, with easter congregations and jews attending a blessing at the western wall. somejewish worshippers also walked past the al—aqsa mosque on a passover visit to the site, known tojews as temple mount. moments like this are watched carefully by security forces, activists and militant groups. the behaviour of israeli police here this week triggered anger in the region. today, the compound has so far remained peaceful even if, beyond it, tensions remain high. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. our middle east correspondent yolande knell is following

events for us in jerusalem. she has more on the story. this is an extremely sensitive time and officials and diplomats have been warning that that could put pressure onjerusalem's most contested holy sites through this period and really could lead to an escalation in violence. that is exactly what we've seen. during the day, there was a lot of concern about what would happen because at the al—aqsa mosque, hundreds of palestinian muslims marking ramadan had barricaded themselves in the mosque. and there were fears there could be another raiding of the mosque by israeli police, as we saw last week. that had caused regional condemnation. instead, actually, what we saw were that israeli police allowed palestinian muslims to stay. you could see that some people were praying in the courtyard of the compound, while the heavily armed police allowed hundreds ofjewish visitors to go around the site for the passover celebrations.

a mass prayer that was taking place at the western walljust below, that had brought thousands ofjewish worshippers into the old city. i mean, that went off in the end without incident. also at the holy sepulchre church, which is quite nearby, easter sunday services happened without incident. that was yolande knell, reporting on that story for us. and some breaking news for you this hour — with just 26 days to go to king charles�* coronation, we have fresh details about the ceremonial celebrations. buckingham palace hasjust released a wealth of information about the procession route, the carriages and the priceless crown jewels chosen to play a starring role. without further ado, here's the latest from our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. less than four weeks now to their big day,

and preparations for the coronation of king charles iii and the crowning of camilla as his queen are in full swing. first, the route that will take them from buckingham palace to westminster abbey and back again has been confirmed — from the palace, down the mall to trafalgar square and then down whitehall, around parliament square to the abbey's west door. the return route will be the same journey in reverse, a much shorterjourney than that taken by the late queen elizabeth. after her coronation, the king and queen consort a much shorterjourney than that taken by the late queen elizabeth after her coronation. the king and queen consort will travel to the coronation in one of the newest royal carriages, the diamond jubilee stagecoach, escorted by the household cavalry. inside westminster abbey, the service itself will see the crownjewels, the regalia, the symbols of the monarch's authority, being used for the first time since queen elizabeth was crowned. the sovereign�*s orb and sceptres, swords, bracelets and spurs

all will have their part in this elaborate religious service, which culminates with the crowning of the monarch with st edward's crown. camilla will be crowned with queen mary's crown, which contains some of the cullinan diamonds. she'll also hold the queen consort�*s rod, which is made of ivory. they will process from the abbey, just as queen elizabeth did, for the return journey to the palace. and for that, they will board this, the 18th—century gold state coach. it weighs four tonnes, and it's notoriously uncomfortable. the king and queen may be relieved that their journey back to the palace, escorted by military detachments, will be only a quarter of the length of that undertaken by queen elizabeth in 1953. royal staff have done their best to make the gold coach as comfortable as possible. back at buckingham palace, there'll be a royal salute and one imagines an appearance on the palace balcony, though that hasn't been confirmed.

one innovation — the palace has launched a new emoji to mark the coronation. so, a ceremony rooted in history with at least one modern touch. nicholas witchell, bbc news. i'm joined now by kelly swaby in huddersfield, who's a royal historian, having extensively covered the british royal family through her social media work. it is wonderful to get you on the programme, kelly, andjust it is wonderful to get you on the programme, kelly, and just to say, i don't know how much of my colleague nicholas witchell�*s report you are able to listen into there, but this decision to go for the shorter route and only use the 260—year—old golden state coach just one way, why did they make that decision? i state coach just one way, why did they make that decision?- they make that decision? i think there are two — they make that decision? i think there are two reasons. - they make that decision? i think there are two reasons. the - they make that decision? i think there are two reasons. the first| they make that decision? i think. there are two reasons. the first is it is 260 years old. it has been observed very well for the last 70 years, has not come out forjubilee.

do not think we saw it for the platinumjubilee for do not think we saw it for the platinum jubilee for instance. the second reason is the king is 7a and the gold state coach is and is firstly horrible ride. no one has ever enjoyed writing it and i think for a bit of an order gentleman, in contrast to the queen, who was only 25, maybe an hour, multiple our long journey through london may be a bit too much. i think it is a wise decision. it will be nice for us to see the gold state coach on the day, because there was a question on whether we would see it, but they fact that we are will only add to the splendour of the day. yes. the splendour of the day. yes, absolutely _ the splendour of the day. yes, absolutely indeed, _ the splendour of the day. yes, absolutely indeed, and - the splendour of the day. yes, absolutely indeed, and another aspect of that splendour you're talking about, the crown jewels being confirmed. can you talk us through the holiday we might see there, in terms of the really specialjewels there, in terms of the really special jewels that there, in terms of the really specialjewels that might be on display? specialjewels that might be on disla ? .,, specialjewels that might be on disla ? ,, u, specialjewels that might be on disla ? ,, ., display? the most special and will robabl display? the most special and will probably be _ display? the most special and will probably be the — display? the most special and will probably be the crown _ display? the most special and will probably be the crown itself - display? the most special and will probably be the crown itself was l display? the most special and will. probably be the crown itself was sub when we say the crown, there are two

grounds. we only really see one of the imperial state crown, but we'll see saint edward's crown, and that is the crown that monarchs are crowned with on coronation day. that will be out on full display, and i think unless you've been to the tower london, you will not have ever seen saint edward's crown. we will also see the orb and the sceptre, the key monarchical symbols, and they will be used on the day as they were intended to be used as opposed to satiny tower of london for people to satiny tower of london for people to see when they visit the museum itself. we'll see a lot of other things, other diamonds that relates to key moments in our history, one of them being the like prince's rouble, and these jewels really go back to key moments in our history and people who want to do further research will realise how embedded the coronation is in british history and english history. it is fascinating _ and english history. it is fascinating stuff, - and english history. it is fascinating stuff, and i l

and english history. it is i fascinating stuff, and ijust and english history. it is fascinating stuff, and ijust wonder whether you make of the decision —— what you make of the decision to keep some controversialjewels, i best dialect is the best way to describe them... the queen camilla has opted for queen mary's crown, as opposed to queen mary's crown, as opposed to queen elizabeth's crown, and i think in some ways it is a wise decision. it is... it has a bloodshed history. there are multiple countries that lay claim to the diamond and it passed down over centuries and quite dramatic scenes, and was ultimately given to queen victoria in the mid—19th century, and since then it has been within the british crown jewels and only one by women, because if a man wears it, he will meet his fate in bloodshed. it is only ever one by women, and quite interestingly it was in queen mary's

crown that queen camilla will wear on the day, but it was changed and put on to queen elizabeth's crown, because queen mary attended kherson�*s coronation of which was quite rare, but she wanted to show support. but in choosing point and that has not been mentioned, that queen mary commissioned her crown for all future consorts to wear it, and honestly the next after her coronation, there was a pick—up, which she attended as well, which is not dissipated. it does stick to tradition, but i think leaving the diamond out of the ceremony and trying to negate that sense of controversy, i do think it is very wise decision, that it is not prevalent on the day.- wise decision, that it is not prevalent on the day. kelly swaby in huddersfield. _ prevalent on the day. kelly swaby in huddersfield, royal— prevalent on the day. kelly swaby in huddersfield, royal historian, - prevalent on the day. kelly swaby in huddersfield, royal historian, thank| huddersfield, royal historian, thank you so much for your thoughts and fascinating insights on this story. we will have to leave it there. around the world and across

the uk, this is bbc news. what i love most about myjob and what makes it most unique is the ability to tell stories about people from all over the world, give them a platform to be able to share their stories. and i love doing it, whether it's in the studio or out in the field. the focus of my storytelling throughout my career has been women and children, those who have been impacted by conflict, by upheaval. i often find in my storytelling that the issues that concern a young woman in kabul is also something that young women here in london are also thinking about. so we are far more connected. our concerns, whether that's about child care or about the cost of living or about energy prices, is something that's truly global. and so to be able to bring uk audiences those stories into their living rooms, on their mobile phones, on their digital platforms is so critical in an increasingly interconnected world.

you're live with bbc news. migrant rescue charities have raised a safety alert for some 400 people on board a boat that they say is adrift and taking on water in the mediterranean sea. one group called alarm phone says the boat left tobruk in eastern libya and is currently at this location, which is in malta's search and rescue area. according to the charity, those on board say the captain abandoned the boat. we will try and get you more on that story as and when we can, but for now i want to tell you more stories that are making headlines today. south korea says it'll hold discussions with the united states after reports surfaced that us intelligence agencies had intercepted south korean communications on whether to sell weapons to washington. secret papers leaked from the pentagon appear to reveal

that seoul was concerned artillery shells would end up in ukraine — violating south korea's policy against supplying lethal aid. security forces in pakistan say a soldier and two militants have been killed in separate clashes in waziristan. they said weapons and ammunition had been recovered following an intense exchange of gunfire, and a "clearance operation" was under way to secure the area. the military has stepped up its operations in the north—west in recent months after a series of attacks by the pakistani taliban. with covid cases on the rise, hospitals across india are to run a two—day mock drill for emergency responses. following more than 5,000 new infections and ii covid—related deaths nationwide in 2a hours, several indian states have reintroduced strict

coronavirus guidelines. some have already announced mandatory mask—wearing in public places, as well as in education, hospitality and entertainment sectors. to china and taiwan now, because china's military has carried out another day of simulated attacks on the self—ruled island of taiwan. chinese state media say operationjoint sword is using all elements of the military to practice simulated precision strikes on key targets. meanwhile, the taiwanese defence ministry says it spotted 70 chinese fighterjets and bombers and ii navy vessels on sunday. the drills began shortly after taiwan's leader, tsai ing—wen, angered beijing by meeting us house speaker kevin mccarthy in california, a move that china considers to be fuelling calls for independence for the island it considers its own. i'm joined now by our reporter katie silver, who has been looking into this story for us.

kt. kt, great to get you on the programme. i understand there has already been reaction from the knighted states about the drills. what if they said which --? the us state department have called on beijing _ --? the us state department have called on beijing not— --? the us state department have called on beijing not to _ --? the us state department have called on beijing not to split - --? the us state department have called on beijing not to split this i called on beijing not to split this visit. they have called for restraint and there is no change in the status quo, but they also say they are monitoring the situation closely, and they have also spoken about some level of firepower, saying they have sufficient resources and capability in the region to ensure peace and stability. as you mentioned this as part of the similitude encirclement. we have seen for simmo beijing approached taiwan from all four sides, both in the air, with those 70 aircraft that you mention, on saturday as well as 11 ships approaching by c as well. all elements of the military being deployed here. that includes long—range rockets, naval

destroyers, boats as well as the air force. from taiwan we have heard they are enraged by this. they say for example that this seriously undermines peace and syphilis in the region and they have also issued two lives of video footage was they say shows how wendy's boots having encounters with chinese boats, basically telling them to turn around and saying their visit —— taiwanese boats... it undermines peace in the region. we have heard so far from peace in the region. we have heard so farfrom all peace in the region. we have heard so far from all three parties within this and we are going have to wait and see, but as you mentioned, it is supposed to be a three day similar to it encirclement, today being the last day, according to chinese state media. ., ., ., last day, according to chinese state media. . . ., , media. yeah, katie, we have seen this sort of — media. yeah, katie, we have seen this sort of action _ media. yeah, katie, we have seen this sort of action from _ media. yeah, katie, we have seen this sort of action from beijing - this sort of action from beijing before, haven't we, on previous occasions, when in beijing's view taiwan does something that angers it? talk to us about the presidents of this and how this compares to that. �* ., . ~

of this and how this compares to that. a . ~ �* , that. back in august, when then seaker that. back in august, when then speaker nancy _ that. back in august, when then speaker nancy pelosi _ that. back in august, when then speaker nancy pelosi visited - that. back in august, when then - speaker nancy pelosi visited taipei, we saw a very strong reaction from beijing. a similar simulated encirclement. in fact, beijing. a similar simulated encirclement. infact, many beijing. a similar simulated encirclement. in fact, many could say that that was larger. we saw for example missiles being fired during that time, and the discourse was very, very stern. as part of this as well, it was seen as one of the largest simulated attacks in decades, we also saw for example between christmas and new year last year about 71 aircraft flying into the space, and many saying this is an exercise in demonstrating firepower. we've also seen president tsai saying, thank you, us, for their support, as a result of this visit, and the bbc has been on the streets in taipei speaking to residents, who say that many seem unperturbed by this, accustomed to these displays of military might from beijing, so it does seem in

some ways life goes on and life is somewhat continuing in taiwan, because they have somewhat become accustomed to his this, particular in the last eight months.- in the last eight months. while i have you. _ in the last eight months. while i have you. i _ in the last eight months. while i have you, i wonder— in the last eight months. while i have you, i wonder if— in the last eight months. while i have you, i wonder if you - in the last eight months. while i have you, i wonder if you can . have you, i wonder if you can reflect on how china is viewing all of this, given we heard a lot of a re—rhetoric in the days leading up to that visit between the taiwanese president and us house speaker kevin mccarthy, beijing of course very vocal about its displeasure. we are now hearing from the united states, taiwan as well for some what might beijing be expected to do in the coming days as a reaction to some of those marks by the taiwan and the us, notwithstanding the military drills we have seen over the last few days? $5 drills we have seen over the last few da s? �* , drills we have seen over the last few days?— drills we have seen over the last few da s? �* , ., , , few days? as i mentioned, this is only supposed — few days? as i mentioned, this is only supposed to _ few days? as i mentioned, this is only supposed to continue - few days? as i mentioned, this is only supposed to continue for - few days? as i mentioned, this is| only supposed to continue for this three—day period. whether or not they may proceed into the future, that remains to be this is without a

doubt one of the biggest nila terry exercises that we have seen in the last 30 years, and of course any strengthening of relationship between taipei and washington is something that angers beijing. basi taiwan as part of their territory, it is a self—governing nation and taipei for its part has long defended its right to self rule, so any sort of closer relations or this meeting between speaker mccarthy and president tsai is likely to continue to incite the ire of beijing, and exactly what or how this may proceed going forward, we are going to have to wait and see.— to wait and see. katie silver, alwa s to wait and see. katie silver, always great _ to wait and see. katie silver, always great to _ to wait and see. katie silver, always great to get - to wait and see. katie silver, always great to get you - to wait and see. katie silver, always great to get you on i to wait and see. katie silver, | always great to get you on the programme and get your thoughts. thank you forjoining us. today marks 20 years since the fall of the regime of the late iraqi

president saddam hussein. in 2003, then us president george w bush launched operation iraqi freedom with a ground invasion involving thousands of us and british troops, claiming that iraq had an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. my colleague lucy grey spoke to balsam mustafa, a research fellow at warwick university, about life in baghdad during saddam hussein's rule. living under the dictatorship was very hard, and before the invasion also, there was a wave of wars and conflicts, and also the economic sanctions. so, we were living through hardships and it felt like we were living in a big prison. and we were longing, or many of us were longing, to see saddam hussein's rule and the ba'athist regime come to an end one day, but we would never think at that moment that what would follow would be much worse, because saddam hussein's dictatorship and tyranny, for us, was the maximum level of brutality.

so, just talk me through how you felt in 2003, then. we're watching images as we talk to you of that famous statue of saddam hussein in baghdad being toppled and peoplejumping around on top of it and it being dragged through the street. how did you feel then, at that moment, when that was all going on? it was... i had mixed emotions. on one hand, i wanted saddam hussein to be gone, and so seeing that statue, his statue being toppled after one year of being set up in firdos square, in baghdad, was something that was really hard to comprehend. i was happy to see him gone, but at the same time, this was led by us troops and allies. it was not at the hand of iraqis, but at the hand of invaders. however, there was a sentiment of optimism and hope at least four people have been

killed in an avalanche in the french alps. it's thought the victims were hikers. the interior minister, gerald darmanin, said several more people were injured on the armancette glacier. azadeh moshiri has more. now, this is what we know about the area where the avalanche happened. it happened in southeastern france, in the french alps. the glacier itself was near the mont blanc. now, four people were killed in the armancette glacier. several others were injured. but french authorities believed that they are part of a hiking group and that several other people are actually trapped beneath the snow. now, we're about to show you a video that's been circulating on social media. it's also been verified by the french news agency afp. this is the statement french president emmanuel macron made on twitter shortly after the incident. he said...

now, there hadn't been an avalanche warning that day, but this isn't the first time that this has happened. in 2014, two brothers died on this same glacier as they were hiking. even though they were experienced mountaineers, they still couldn't survive the avalanche. in this instance, the region and the ski resort have warned people to be very careful and take extreme caution, as they can't guarantee another avalanche won't happen. but for now, rescuers are engaged in a search and rescue operation as they look for more survivors. azadeh moshiri there. now take a look at this — this is possibly the biggest picasso in the world. well, kind of. saturday marked 50 years since his death, and so to pay

tribute, an italian fan and fellow artist dario gambarin used a tractor to create what he says is the largest portrait of the spanish artist in the world. look at that! thanks so much forjoining me on newsday. do stay with bbc for the latest. hello. compared to the week gone, the week ahead looks different weather—wise and that there'll be more rain around. rain totals totting up right across the country as this chart shows. but where we see the green colours appear, the hills of wales, parts of scotland, we could see 60—80mm of rain before the week is out. notjust wet, it's going to be windy at times. some of the windiest conditions will be through tuesday and into wednesday around some of these western areas. gusts of wind maybe up to 60mph. bear that in mind, if you've got any of this week under canvas or if you're on the move. now, the change to the more unsettled and changeable conditions has already started, this weather front pushing eastwards overnight into the morning, bringing outbreaks of rain for all. through the morning, some of the wettest conditions will be across the south and east of the uk.

quite abundant rain to begin with, but don't write your day off, sunshine will come out. there'll be a scattering of showers across the country through the day, showers most frequent through the afternoon, northern england and northern ireland, as well as the highlands of scotland. winds going into a more westerly direction through into the afternoon, gusty in the south, it will make it feel a bit cooler for some of you compared with today, but for the likes of east of scotland, it'll actually feel a bit warmer with a bit more sunshine. now, as we go into tuesday morning, we'll see showers gradually fade away overnight, and it will be a chilly start to tuesday. only i—2 showers continuing, and we'll get used to some colder nights through this week at times. but actually, a reasonably pleasant day for some on tuesday. to the north and east of the country, save just i—2 isolated showers, a lot of dry weather, some will stay dry throughout the day. to the south and the west, though, make the most of the morning brightness because the afternoon turning cloudier, wetter, and also windier, gales in the southwest before the day is out. temperatures again dropping just a little bit. and that brings us into our windiest spell of weather this week, tuesday night into wednesday, deepening area of low pressure pushing across, a pretty wet night through the uk to take us through tuesday night into wednesday.

the rain persisting in parts of northeast scotland with some snow over the mountains as we go through wednesday. but south of that, we'll see a mixture of sunshine, heavy thundery showers with hail mixed in, as well. a little bit of brightness here and there. but it's going to be a windy day across the board with winds touching 50—60mph, as i said, in the south. and that will make it feel distinctly cool. those windy conditions will last as we go through wednesday night and into thursday. that low pressure gradually pulls away, but another wet and windy low hits the south on friday. take care.

welcome to hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. the international criminal court's arrest warrant for vladimir putin on war crimes charges represents a massive boost for advocates of internationaljustice, or does it?