biden has welcomed me biden has welcomed israel's decision to _ biden has welcomed israel's decision to allow - israel's decision to allow humanitarian causes in gaza. four—hour breaks should help the palestinians escape the worst of the violence and let aid in, the agreement came after weeks of us pressure. president biden earlier said he had asked for pauses of several days rather than a few hours. did you ask him to pause? yes, i ask for an _ did you ask him to pause? yes, i ask for an even _ did you ask him to pause? yes, i ask for an even longer - did you ask him to pause? yes, i ask for an even longer pause. | i ask for an even longer pause. the israeli defence minister says the pauses would not interfere with military objectives, and he reiterated israel would continue the war until hamas was defeated and all hostages were freed. the pauses are intended to allow in humanitarian aid and help civilians flee south along evacuation routes, escaping the intense bombardment and air strikes in the north. this footage shows a stream of people leaving gaza on foot and

arriving at refugee camps in the south. talks continue to free the 240 hostages in gaza. the palestinian group islamic had released a hostage video. stills show hanna katsir, a woman in her 705, in a wheelchair. the second ho5tage, a teenage boy. both 5harply criticise i5rael�*5 prime minister benjamin netanyahu, but it is not clear if they are reading from a script. the israeli army called it psychological terrorism. i spoke with our diplomatic editor. at this point, what more do we know about the video and the hostages that were featured in this video? this is a video released _ featured in this video? this is a video released not - featured in this video? this is a video released not by - featured in this video? this is | a video released not by hamas a video released not by hama5 but by one of the other palestinian factions, palestinian factions, palestinian islamichhad, a smaller group which is thought to be holding a number of hostages itself. there were two in the video. they are hanna

katsir, a woman in her 705, abducted from a kibbutz near 0z on october the 7th, and a 13—year—old boy. both of them speak in the video and boat issued quite har5h speak in the video and boat issued quite harsh criticism of benjamin netanyahu, the israeli prime minister. —— both issued. we don't know if they were reading their own words or some kind of scripts. the i5raeli5 once again have greeted the release of this video as a bit of psychological warfare by the palestinian militants. but they have also recognised, at least as far as those two hostages are concerned, it is proof of life. . ., life. indeed, and at the same time we are _ life. indeed, and at the same time we are seeing _ life. indeed, and at the same time we are seeing reports i life. indeed, and at the same i time we are seeing reports that they will be four—hour pauses daily to allow aid into gaza. what is israel saying about how this is intended to alleviate the civilian suffering in gaza? it's not quite clear how it is going to work. the i5raeli5 are

saying for the last few days they have had pauses to allow tens of thousands of civilians to move away from gaza city, the focus of the fighting right now, down towards the south where they can find relative safety. no place in the gaza strip is safe, but it is certainly safer down there than in gaza city. so in effect, there are pauses already in place. whether they will have a slightly wider purpose, in terms of access to humanitarian aid, we will have to see. none of the aid is getting to the north, it's only really coming to the south. the other thing people are hoping, it might buy some space and time for some kind of hostage deal. but again, all of these things are very uncertain at the moment. what is certain is those pauses are being used by tens of thousands of palestinians to flee the fighting. fin thousands of palestinians to flee the fighting.— flee the fighting. on the diplomatic _ flee the fighting. on the diplomatic front, - flee the fighting. on the diplomatic front, cbs i

flee the fighting. on the i diplomatic front, cbs news flee the fighting. on the - diplomatic front, cbs news in the us reporting that international mediators are closing in on a possible deal for a three—day humanitarian ceasefire in exchange for the release of around a dozen hostages held by hamas, citing egyptian officials and un officials. what more do we know at this point? the officials. what more do we know at this point?— at this point? the israelis have said _ at this point? the israelis have said for _ at this point? the israelis have said for some - at this point? the israelis have said for some time, | at this point? the israelis i have said for some time, no ceasefire unless a significant number of hostages are released. we don't know what significant really means. but we had a meeting in the capital of qatar, doha, between william burns, the director of the cia, the head of the israeli intelligence agency mossad, and qatari officials, at which presumably the issue of hostages wa5 presumably the issue of hostages was very much front and centre. and we had news of two senior hamas officials in egypt talking to the head of egyptian intelligence. again presumably hostages would have been part of that discussion. and we are also hearing the leader of qatar is flying to

egypt tomorrow. would he be going there if there wasn't something that perhaps he wanted to announce? we will find out tomorrow, but what is absolutely clear is that a great deal of diplomatic effort is being put into this issue of trying to get hostages out of gaza. ~ ., trying to get hostages out of gaza. ~ . ., gaza. meanwhile, growing concerns _ gaza. meanwhile, growing concerns about _ gaza. meanwhile, growing concerns about the - gaza. meanwhile, growing| concerns about the conflict spreading, bringing in countries like yemen. jeremy bowen reports from israel. more palestinians left their homes — moving along salah al—din street, the road to southern gaza, after israel said they would not be attacked if they left the battle zone to the north. pauses in israeli combat operations were welcomed by the americans. all this raises the ghosts of 1948 for palestinians, when more than 700,000 of them fled or were expelled byjewish troops as israel won its independence. israel never allowed them home. two of the gaza hostages were in new videos. hanna katsir blamed

benjamin netanyahu, israel's prime minister, for their plight. so did yagil yaakov, who's 13. hostage videos are usually made under duress, so the bbc is not broadcasting them. and across the west bank, the other side of the occupied territories, more palestinians were killed as armed groups fought israeli raids. the gaza war is igniting the west bank. the israeli army's reprisals included the destruction of roads and infrastructure. existing tension and hatred have been deepened. the danger remains of the war spreading across the middle east. in yemen, the houthi regime, an ally of iran, posted more videos of attacks on israel with missiles and drones. so far, they've all been intercepted by american and israeli air defence systems. muhammed ali al—houthi, a senior man in the regime,

gave the bbc an interview from yemen's capital, sana'a. he said islam legitimized attacks on israel, which he called "the entity". do you think the war here in gaza and israel can spread elsewhere in the region? translation: if the americans and the british and the french l continue backing this entity, or to participate in the war alongside this entity, this would be a normal response and result of the american and european attacks and movements. there are people who say that you're attacking israel because iran told you to. translation: we in yemen en'oy freedom and democracy more b than the british people are given these days, jeremy. the british people these days are unable to express themselves freely. the secretary of state, ie home secretary, is calling to stop all demonstrations that back palestine.

where is the freedom and the democracy that you enjoy in britain? not a straight answer. they were digging through the ruins in khan younis, part of the area of gaza israel has ordered civilians to get to. what is certain is the dispo55e55ion and loss suffered by palestinians caught up in israel's war to crush hamas. they might have dreams of home. many already know that israel has turned their homes to rubble. jeremy bowen, bbc news, southern israel.

i5 isa is a deal contingent on longer pause in time fighting? it’s pause in time fighting? it's not 'ust pause in time fighting? it's not just the _ pause in time fighting? it�*s notjust the deal to pause in time fighting? it�*s not just the deal to get notjust the deal to get hostages released, it's about getting them safe pa55age so they can get to safety, get to medical care, get to their families. so in the context of getting hostages released, yes, you are going to have to have some flaws in the fighting for at least a period of time, hours if not days, in a localised area. —— some pause in the fighting. but again i want to be careful i don't negotiate much in detail here. the us special envoy said, we do not believe a conflict involving lebanon and israel is involving lebanon and israel is in any way inevitable, but the bbc interviewed the second—in—command of hezbollah this week.

what is your response to that? we would agree with our special envoy. of course we don't believe it's inevitable that this conflict should be widened or escalated. in fact, almost everything we have done in the early hours, and since, has been to prevent that outcome by adding additional force to the region, two carrier strike groups, air missile defence, even fighter aircraft, to send a strong signal to anyone in the region, iran, hezbollah, that this is not the time to take advantage and escalate this conflict. good to get your thoughts. you bet. also on tuesday, an international conference was held in paris discussing a ceasefire in gaza. the host, president emmanuel macron, said there should be a swift humanitarian pause. there was no israeli representative.

the only way of getting things in is with israeli co—operation, so you wonder whether the point is to do anything rather than much more anything rather than much more a forum where parties in the international community can make clear their concern about the humanitarian crisis unfolding, and may be that accumulation and focus of international concern will add pressure to the parties, of course mainly on talking about israel, to do what everyone is calling for, to have a humanitarian pause, a truce or even the dreaded word ceasefire, which is now 5uch even the dreaded word ceasefire, which is now such a word people at only with great caution. today we saw president macron saying we should be working only towards a ceasefire. it meant the french president had said the word ceasefire for a first time.

what he said was we should work towards a ceasefire, so very carefully calibrated words. but clearly from this humanitarian conference, nothing tangible has come out of it, but an added weight to the pressure towards some kind of humanitarian truce. this is bbc news. let's look at other stories making headlines. britain's's home secretary faces questions on her future after defying downing street over an article accusing the police of bias. suella braverman claimed aggressive right wing protesters were rightly met with a stern response while pro—palestinian mobs were largely ignored. the article was not cleared by the prime minister'soffice.

step away from politics and home secretary and all that kind of stuff, and put it in your own world. if you went to work and you chose to undermine the boss, then you did undermine the box, then you publicly humiliated the boss, would it leave your job security prospect enhanced or diminished? a spokesperson for the prime minister said downing street is looking into the article but they added that rishi sunak had full confidence in the home secretary. miss braverman is seen as possible future conservative leader. you are watching bbc news. west virginia senatorjoe manchin says he won't run for the election. the democrats for west virginia has held a powerful spot in the democrat, with democrats having a narrow majority. it's anotherjolt in a week of political stories as the 2024 presidential campaign heats up. i spoke to his former communications director. and nathan gonzales, editor of the website inside elections.

starting with jonathan, the former communications director forjoe manchin, were you surprised with the news? i wasn't, i know he's been frustrated with the political bickering and the partisanship in the senate for years. it's a complaint he's had and something he has tried to fix. since he got to the senate. so i'm not surprised. i was a little surprised he did it today given how close we are to the filing deadline. but when manchin makes a decision, he announces it to the world the second it's set in his mind. i want to get nathan's thoughts — what do you think? if manchin had run for re—election, democrats were still going to lose the seat. now that he is not, republicans are definitely going to win the seat. manchin has an impressive track record of winning over decades in west virginia, but the state has been running to the right, towards republicans. i think the senator is smart enough that he felt the ground shifting underneath him

and he knew he was going to be in for a very difficult race. this crystallises that democrats already have a difficult path to maintaining control of the senate and this makes it a reality. as he said, speaking out and mobilizing the middle... possibly preparing a presidential run? i think we are seeing him getting ready to go around the country and see if there is a group of people in the middle who want to be a more powerful voice. i think he believes the fringes on both parties are destructive to the centre, which is where most of americans are. i think is going to try to mobilize those people and see if there is an appetite for something bigger than just mobilizing them and having conversations. something bigger, maybe even the presidency, let's see. nathan, you just said about what this means for democrats in 2024, do they have any chance at this point of holding the senate?

they have a chance, but they basically have to run the table. republicans need a net gain of two seats to gain control. right now, they have a net gain of one. if each party wins the seat they have now, and republicans win the white house, the republicans would have control because the new vice president would break the tie. if president biden wins the election, republicans need another senate seat. they have six or seven other opportunities to take over a seat they don't already have, including two great opportunities in ohio, in montana, where trump is likely to win even if he doesn't win the presidential race. do you agree with that? i still think the democrats have a strong shout. john tester, in montana, there is a ballot... for those of us who have watched yellowstone, they don't take kindly to outsiders. brown has won repeatedly

in his state. which had him within a few points ofjim justice. had he run, he would have been a formidable opponent in the state. he has won a lot of races and he knows where every vote is personal. we won't find out, but that is a good point. nathan, now we have seen republican presidential debates and donald trump is still far and away the leader, do you think we will start to see the field narrow even more? it doesn't look like it in the near future. particularly you have both ron desantis and nikki haley believing they are the one in the strongest position to be that alternative to trump. as long as everyone believes they have a path, no—one wants to cede ground. the presidential race is important to these senate races, and to the house races, because there is a strong correlation to how voters vote at the top of the

ticket and down ballot. in 2020, only one stated voted a party for president and the other for the senate, and that was maine, where they voted for biden and senator susan collins, the republicans. what happens at the top of the ticket has a down ballot effect. we saw some poll5 coming out this week that were pretty bad for the incumbent president biden, showing donald trump leading, in the new york times poll, in five swing states. do you think we will see change of strategy from president biden looking ahead to 2024? i don't think so, i would just suggest they act more like donald trump and tout his accomplishments. donald trump used to have a rally and a press conference and lots of tweets about nothing, no actual accomplishments.

joe biden has had historic levels of accomplishments... i think he needs to get out more and sell it and tell it. i would also point out that the polls in those states, itjust so happens democrats keep winning every election, so the polls might show one thing, but democratic policies are actually what the voters liked, not republican policies. democratic policies whenjoe biden's name is not on the ballot? even though democrats had a great week in elections, it was in spite of biden, not because of him. he is still in a weak position. what democrats need is they need this election to be a choice between biden and a flawed alternative, in donald trump or focused on republicans. a reason democrats did so well is voters are focused on abortion access, and what people want to do... if the focus is — do you think president biden is doing a good job or not? that's not going to go well for democrats, so they

have to make the case and point to the alternative which is going to be worse than the status quo. five seconds each, nathan first, is this going to be a trump biden match—up? yes, i think so. yes. thank you so much for being on bbc news. the father of liverpool footballer luis diaz has been welcomed home nearly two weeks after being abducted by colombian guerrillas. he was handed over to the united nations by members of a rebel group. he was abducted on october 20th in the family's home town. the footballer�*s mother was also seized but freed within hours. the group later described the kidnapping as a later described the kidnapping a5 a mistake. a new yorkjury has ordered robert de niro's production company to pay his former personal assistant more than $1 million. the company was found guilty of engaging in gender

discrimination against chase robinson. she quit his company in 2019. robinson says the star underpaid her, made 5exi5t comments and assigned her stereotypically female task5 when she worked as an executive. de niro was not found personally liable in the civil trial. hollywood is celebrating the end of the longest actors strike in its history with a huge sigh of relief and a dose of glamour. the first major premier since the 118 day walk—out ended is the hunger games latest instalment, in one of the world's most successful and critically acclaimed franchises. the bbc�*s culture correspondent reports from the red carpet. let correspondent reports from the red carpet-— red carpet. let me ask you one final time. _ red carpet. let me ask you one final time, what _ red carpet. let me ask you one final time, what are _ red carpet. let me ask you one final time, what are the - red carpet. let me ask you one| final time, what are the hunger games for?— games for? after eight years, the hunger— games for? after eight years, the hunger games _ games for? after eight years, the hunger games is - games for? after eight years,

the hunger games is back. i games for? after eight years, i the hunger games is back. and it remains a dangerous, dystopian world where the elite force children to fight each other in an arena.- force children to fight each other in an arena. your final assignment _ other in an arena. your final assignment to _ other in an arena. your final assignment to prove - other in an arena. your final assignment to prove your i assignment to prove your worth... _ assignment to prove your worth... it assignment to prove your worth- - -_ worth... it is set decades before the _ worth... it is set decades before the first _ worth... it is set decades before the first films, - worth... it is set decades . before the first films, telling the origin story of one of the main billions, and his descent into darkness. but it was all smiles on the red carpet. —— main villains. the cast and crew attended the world premiere in london, celebrating notjust the film premiere in london, celebrating not just the film but the end of the actors strike which shut down the industry for months. and it's the first big premiere since the actors strike finished. 0ne since the actors strike finished. one of the stars is behind me. a british actor in his first blockbuster film. how are you feeling, the lead actor and the world premiere in london? it and the world premiere in london?— and the world premiere in london? ., ~ , ., , london? it makes me a bit nervous! — london? it makes me a bit nervous! i'm _ london? it makes me a bit nervous! i'm honestly - london? it makes me a bit| nervous! i'm honestly really glad we have the welcome in england, ifeel very glad we have the welcome in england, i feel very grateful to share it with my friends and

family. and i'm really proud of what we've made, it's a really good film and i hope people enjoy it. good film and i hope people en'o it. , ., , enjoy it. dedicated fans queued from six o'clock _ enjoy it. dedicated fans queued from six o'clock in _ enjoy it. dedicated fans queued from six o'clock in the - enjoy it. dedicated fans queued from six o'clock in the morning | from six o'clock in the morning to get onto the red carpet. many clutching copies of the book. something this actre55 can relate to. this book. something this actress can relate to.— book. something this actress can relate to. as a fan myself, i 'ust can relate to. as a fan myself, i just really — can relate to. as a fan myself, i just really wanted _ can relate to. as a fan myself, i just really wanted to - can relate to. as a fan myself, i just really wanted to do - can relate to. as a fan myself, ijust really wanted to do a - ijust really wanted to do a good — ijust really wanted to do a good service to me, my 12—year—old self that logged these — 12—year—old self that logged these films, because that is who— these films, because that is who these fans really are. such a joy— who these fans really are. such a joy to — who these fans really are. such a joy to do _ who these fans really are. such a joy to do that and i had amazing _ a joy to do that and i had amazing collaborators to help me along the way. i volunteer as tribute... _ me along the way. i volunteer as tribute... the _ me along the way. i volunteer as tribute... the first - me along the way. i volunteer as tribute... the first hungerl as tribute... the first hunger games film _ as tribute... the first hunger games film is _ as tribute... the first hunger games film is propelled - games film is propelled jennifer lawrence to superstardom. this has a new cast, but the same director. it really is truly a stand—alone film. we are hoping to get new fans, even some people who don't know the other books and movies, they can come in fresh and have a great experience. for the fans, i think they will love that it's really a movie

about origins, turning into snow the villain we know. the origin of the games, the names and relationships, the dynamics. it is so satisfying for fans of the franchise. the previous _ for fans of the franchise. the previous films _ for fans of the franchise. the previous films have - for fans of the franchise. the previous films have been lapped up previous films have been lapped up by previous films have been lapped up by teenage and young adult audiences. the themes of human nature, powerand audiences. the themes of human nature, power and war resonating with many. film—makers will be hoping the ballad of songbirds and snakes can repeat the success. new zealand is holding its annual vote about its favourite bird to raise awareness of endangered species. this year, this bird has found an unlikely backin this bird has found an unlikely back in us chat show host this bird has found an unlikely back in us chat show ho5tjohn 0liver, who has paid to erected billboards around the world in support of the bird, dubbing it the lord of the wings, and his involvement has ruffled a few feathers. within 24 hours of

the campaign, there were an extra 50,000 votes, a5 the campaign, there were an extra 50,000 votes, as well as calls for the bird to be disqualified. more on that story and many others on our website. thank you for watching bbc, 5tay website. thank you for watching bbc, stay with us. hello there. the weekend is just around the corner and it could be cooler, but quieter. more details on that injust a moment. but for friday, we still got some showers around and they'll be a real nuisance first thing in the morning across wales and south west england, driven along by some strong to gale force gust5 of winds on exposed coasts. the good news is that'll pu5h those showers through at quite a pace, moving south of the m4 corridor during the early morning and probably clearing the kent coast before lunch. behind it, quite a clearance, some sunny spells coming through. the winds still coming from a northerly direction, that'll drive in a few showers across exposed coasts of scotland, northern ireland and maybe running down through the irish sea. but temperatures generally a little bit more

subdued than of late. we're looking at 7—12 degrees as the overall high. now, into the start of the weekend, it looks likely that saturday will be mostly fine and dry — there'll be some sunshine around. there will be some rain on sunday, but into the west and it will take its time. frost and fog could be an issue, too. so with this little ridge of high pressure building on saturday, hence the reason the quiet start, the wind direction still coming from the north — a cooler source. so temperatures are going to be struggling a little, but there will be plenty of sunshine. early morning fog will lift, sunshine come through and highs again peaking between 6—11 celsius, generally, across the country. now, as we move out of saturday into sunday, that frontal system starts to push in from the atlantic. it's going to take its time in doing so, but it will throw in a little bit more moisture into the atmosphere. so there's a greater chance of some more dense fog which could linger. so early on sunday morning, if you're heading out for remembrance services,

it's certainly worth bearing in mind that it could be chilly and it could be pretty murky. widespread fog, some of that pretty stubborn to clear away. and if that does happen, the temperatures really will be impacted. there will be some rain by the end of the afternoon out to the west as well, highs of 6—11 once again. now, as we move into monday and tuesday, we're back to more of a south—westerly wind and more frontal systems pushing in from the atlantic, which means it will get that little bit milder once again. but unfortunately, there's going to be showers or longer spells of rain returning for most of us. that's it. have a great weekend.

our top story — hundreds of mcdonald's employees say they've seen things like harassment, sexual abuse, racism and bullying after an investigation into how staff are treated. injuly, more than 100 mcdonald's workers told the bbc about a toxic culture. now one group are planning legal action and mp5 are going to question the company's uk bo55. ed wa516 when he started working at mcdonald's and says a senior manager repeatedly asked him for sex. i would get really upset about going into work and i would cry a lot before my shift. the uk boss of mcdonald's says

after the first investigation, he immediately ordered measures to address things and says he's completely determined to root out any behaviour that falls below high standards the company demands. the dad of liverpool footballer luis diaz has been released by colombian rebels nearly two weeks after he was abducted in the family's home town in northern colombia. liverpool's bossjurgen klopp says diaz was really happy and the club are delighted by the news. and top gear presenter chris harris says co—host freddie flintoff is healing after his huge crash while filming for the show. the former cricketer was injured last december, but we don't know a lot about what happened. freddie was first seen back in public in september with scars on his face. and time now for ten seconds of a wavy world record. australian surfer laura enever paddled into this huge wave which was over 13 metres high,

beating the previous women's record by just a foot.