and here in the us, president trump cuts aid says fails to recognise the history of apartheid. by hamas last week returned home. in the last hour the five men received a warm welcome at the airport in bangkok, met by theirfamilies after nearly 500 days in captivity. they had been working on farms in southern israel. following their release.

who is in bangkok and was at the airport as the hostages landed. very good to have you with us. just talk to us, firstly, about those hostages. how they were received there, how they seemed. received there, how they seemed-— received there, how they seemed. , . . ~ seemed. they arrived back here 'ust a seemed. they arrived back here just a short _ seemed. they arrived back here just a short time _ seemed. they arrived back here just a short time ago. _ seemed. they arrived back here just a short time ago. in - seemed. they arrived back here just a short time ago. in fact, i just a short time ago. in fact, they've now gone out of the airport. they didn't stay here they alot they a lot of; lang. they had'alet'sf with them. lehg; they hee'elet'ef with them. this has officials with them. this has been a big effort by the been a very big effort by the thai government to get them out, and the israeli ambassador was here. and for some of them, some of theirfamilies was here. and for some of them, some of their families had was here. and for some of them, some of theirfamilies had gone to see some of them in hospital in israel, but some of their families haven't seen them for years, because of course many years, because of course they've been working on farms in israel well before that

hamas attack, so there were very reunions between very emotional reunions between men and theirfamilies. greeted the reporters as they greeted the reporters as they came out. they didn't say a lot. now, it was made clear . us, that e? be; ehéefetéfiéélélifthée”"7777’7'" w” are e? be; ehéetetahéaélé’théf""twhw' w” are not ee es; eheefeeeheee�*ei’eeee""twhw' w” are not yet ee ee; eeeefeeeeeeeeejeeee”"fiffiw' w” are not yet ready talk they are not yet ready to talk about their ordeal. just one of them agreed to speak for all if: saying {firsayingthat w ”saying that they 7 w ”saying that they were five, saying that they were very for all the very grateful for all the efforts that have been made for them, and just how happy they were to be back in their homeland. and �*that they homeland. and after that they were moved pretty quickly. were mevee pretty uuieiely; ~ ~ mostly come from the they'd mostly come from the north and north—east of thailand, so they've got long north and north—east of thailand to ) they've got long north and north—east of thailand to get ey've got long north and north—east of thailand to get back got long north and north—east of thailand to get back to t long north and north—east of thailand to get back to theiri jeefeeee is set. bateifi their” ’ ' villages, and i jeufheee is set. bateifi their” ’ ' villages, and i imagine home villages, and i imagine you're warm receptions you're pretty warm receptions and celebrations once get and celebrations once they get into their communities. back into their communities. jonathan, you just mentioned there that of course these hostages, they are not able to speak about what they have endured so far, but we have endured so far, but do we have any indication at all, also, what previous thai from what previous thai hostages have gone through?

yésee ftte ”f fzt yes, because we spoke 7 yes, because we spoke to well, yes, because we spoke to a thai hostages who spent 53 in captivity. he was one days in captivity. he was one of the... in early stages, of the... in the early stages, thailand was negotiating to israel. not separately to israel. it's not a party to the conflict, and it a eefej? te the tenth“ aha” it ' t ' good a eefe?�* te the tenth“ aha” it ' t ' good relations e eefe?�* te the tenth“ ens." it ' t ' good relations with iran, has good relations with iran, for example, so it was able to its own negotiating establish its own negotiating track, and 23 thais were released 50 days after ireleased about 50 days after initial hamas attack. now, the initial hamas attack. now, that thai hostage we spoke to had a pretty gruelling ordeal, not least because he didn't speak any language with which he either to he could communicate either to his captors or to the three israelis he was held with. and he describes really grim conditions, little food. conditions, very little food. now, these hostages now; these hostages haven�*t; we we”, a, . about their blow; these hostages haven�*t; we we”, a, . about their much, much spoken about their much, much longer but it is 7 that they appear to be striking that they appear to be in pretty good health, in contrast, of course, to some of the israeli hostages who have been released as well. so just been released as well. so we can only guess that whatever they went and it must they went through, and it must been pretty awful, because have been pretty awful, because they were under that intense

israeli bombardment whole israeli bombardment the whole one assumes they were time, one assumes they were held underground for a lot of 7 time, 7 7 time, that at least in the time, that at least in recent weeks they appear to been treated reasonably have been treated reasonably well. �* have been treated reasonably well. . . well. and jonathan, we should sa that well. and jonathan, we should say that there _ well. and jonathan, we should say that there is _ well. and jonathan, we should say that there is still - say that there is still one thai still being held. thai national still being held, we know anything about do we know anything about to secure their efforts to secure their release, their whereabouts, or any other information?- not a whole that there's not a whole lot that thais can do. you should eee tfieie eefi. ee; eee eeeeee that eee thee. eefi. ee; eee eeeeee that these five remember that these five men. thai government had no the thai government had no information about them at all -e the past year. in fact, for the past year. in fact, they quietly told me they didn't even know. they had no idea they were alive until an between hamas and agreement between hamas and israel last month. so the m hostae, who comes remaining hostage, who comes from the north—east of thailand, and we met his family, we have spoken to his wife shortly after the hamas attacks — there has really been about him at all. we

attacks — there has really been no about him at all. we attacks — there has really been no idea t him at all. we attacks — there has really been no idea whetherall. we attacks — there has really been no idea whether he we attacks — there has really been no idea whether he is �*e have no idea whether he is alive, whether he is being alive; whether—heisbeing ~7——~——~—— it alive; whether—heisbeing ~ it is an awful weight alive; whether—heisbeing ~ ; it is an awful weight for held. it is an awful weight for his wife. she is still being paid by the company that hired him, so she is still receiving his salary, but of course, that is the cloud hanging over the celebrations today. he is the man for whom we have no information 7 information all, account, no information at all, and really all the thais can do is for hamas or one of its is wait for hamas or one of its affiliated groups to come n and say they've got forward and say they've got him. untilthen, they simply have to go on. him. untilthen, they simply have - to go on.- have nothing to go on. 7 asia correspondent southeast asia correspondent jonathan head at the airport in jonatha'n'i-iead at the'airport in where jonatha'n'i-iead at the—airport in where those five thai bangkok where those five thai national hostages have just returned. thank jonathan. israel and hamas followed through with their fifth hostage exchange on saturday since the ceasefire agreement went into effect three weeks ago. eli sharabi, 0had ben ami and 0r levy all appeared to be gaunt, frail and weak. to hospital, according to the palestinian red

crescent. israel says it is sending a delegation to doha for the next phase of ceasefire talks. for the families of the three hostages, held for 490 days amid a show of force from hamas fighters as the minibus carrying el sharabi, 0had ben ami and 0r levy arrived at the handover point, watching from their tel aviv home, eli sharabi's family couldn't contain their excitement. but as the three emerged looking gaunt and weak,

translation: it's mixed feelings. i been reduced to hit home. there is a renewed sense of urgency here to secure something that is by no means guaranteed. 70 had been convicted of serious crimes and were serving long sentences, but the majority were gazans detained the palestinian red crescent said seven of those released

in israeli jails. this prisoner said he was beaten on his hands to gaza's european hospital. all over my body, he says. all of the prisoners suffered from hunger, there have been many tragic stories on both sides of this conflict. for the hostages released today, the physical trauma of 15 months in captivity was obvious, the psychological impact impossible to quantify. of the hostages released today, eli sharabi, were killed

to see his frail condition. eli sharabi's relatives in the uk have been speaking to the bbc, giving their reaction to the news of his release. here is lucy manning. eli sharabi has gained his freedom but lost so much. frail, a father without his children, a husband without his wife. forced to speak, surrounded by gunmen. heartbreaking words. i am very happy, he said, to return to my wife and daughters. he wanted destroyed.

his british wife, lianne, and teenage daughters, noiya and yahel, murdered the day he was taken. in wales, lianne's parents watched with contrasting emotions as their son—in—law was freed. he's alive, he's out. to see the emaciated state that they've put him in — and we both sat and cried. we're relieved that he's home and he's alive, but itjust keeps reminding us of what we've lost and what he's lost. the only thing that keeps us going is the fact that we know yeah. so at least there's one member of our very close family that is still alive. the family will soon

travel to israel to mark and to reunite with eli. it's a combination of things, really. i that maybe we could get him back alive. i eli next week? it's reallyjust as simple i as wanting to put my arms he's still my brother. hamas destroyed his family, and they still hold his brother yossi's body. hard to bear. lucy manning, bbc news. for more on what these devleopments mean for rudman. envoy for middle east peace in the us state department.

i just wonder what you think the real chances are for that phase two of the ceasefire. into the riviera of the middle east. in at any time. of a lasting peace? sure, helena. well, first, i want to put president trump's comments aside for now. i'm happy to come back to them. ijust think, like a lot that he says, it's noise, better or safer or stronger. so in terms of what prime minister netanyahu is facing, even before this ceasefire agreement began, he had deep far—right, very ideologically driven, extremist, radical —

his ability to be prime minister. one of them left the coalition over the decision to go into the first ceasefire, and the other has said that he will leave if the ceasefire progresses to its second phase. throughout an extended period of time for prime minister netanyahu, has a choice to make between his own politics, in the best interests of his country and his people. and just coming back, then, to that idea of what donald trump had to say — to use your parlance, saying that it is noise — even if that is the case, even if it doesn't come to fruition, do words matter? process, like ceasefire negotiations?

i am living here in the united states and seeing the impact of president trump's words and the actions the white house with him far more than makes sense forany human being. and so it is noise. in the case, though, of his statements about gaza, which were very quickly walked back by his white house press comment on it, it has for all sorts of reasons the challenge is — and i think this is what you're

for some period of time. prime minister netanyahu returning from his white house so, yes, his words are very dangerous. the presidency of the united states is a prime bully pulpit, and we have a bully occupying it. in the past few hours president donald trump revoked security clearances for antony blinken, the former national security adviser. the move comes a day after he cancelled the security to daily intelligence briefings in a precedent trump said was started by the former president in 2021. attorney—general lisa monaco, who helped co—ordinate thousands of employees from the us agency for saturday morning saying

that they will now be president donald trump from placing the workers on paid leave. the reversal happened just hours before president trump's in response to a last—minute lawsuit filed by two unions trying to save the agency. the order will remain in place until ia february at midnight. a us federaljudge blocked elon musk�*s department from accessing the personal financial data of millions of americans in treasury department records. on saturday ordering musk and his team to immediately destroy any copies of records. that's after 19 state attorneys—general sued the trump administration when doge was given access to these records last week. there was no immediate comment from the white house. donald trump has signed an executive order freezing financial

aid to south africa, after threatening to do so earlier this week. president trump said he was bringing in the order because of south africa's new land law, which he says is violating people's rights, and also because of its international court case accusing israel of genocide. south africa says the order lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognise the history of apartheid. to the order, but earlier this week alluded to threats made

and land is a very politically contentious issue in south africa. a lot of the opposition to the anc elevates this issue since liberation. and essentially this new law aligns expropriation methods for expropriation without compensation. now, this is only allowable in very specific circumstances, and i think it will probably be tested in the south african courts, because this is a new idea. a number of people.

no. the united nations has warned this week of grave consequences to women's rights if the international community by 2030. than 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation and that they expect this year, nearly 4.4 million more girls will be at risk of this harmful practice. around the world could suffer from fgm. it's a tradition that dates back for centuries, although health experts say there are no actual health benefits to the procedure. lori post, director at the buehler center for health policy and economics at northwestern university's institute for public health and medicine. fgm has been condemned globally

as a violation of human rights, there, remain at risk. i know that you've worked on this issue firsthand. it exposes women and girls to through their lives. so to begin with, when girls undergo female genital mutilation, they oftentimes suffer from sepsis in the immediate aftermath, or exsanguination, and they die immediately. and so if they survive that then they go on to have urinary in cultural or perhaps religious traditions.

without alienating the communities themselves? like religion traditions, food, language, that bind people together, as opposed to a harmful tradition, where people are injured. and just because something was done doesn't mean you should pass it on, and those things need to be ended. and so it's also oftentimes affiliated with religions, when in fact there is no religion that supports fgm. and to any religion — any formal religion that exists. nobody supports it, but oftentimes it is believed to be part of a religion or part of a culture and therefore should be preserved, when it should not and it does not belong to these. and dr lori, there are many survivors, of course, perhaps struggling with access

to medical care or the kind of support they need, whether that is physiological or psychological. what kind of specialised services do they need? so the biggest ones are even cosmetic surgery, just without having horrible outcomes. they need mental health support. and then many of these women are afraid to come stigmatised, or they worry about people from their communities banning them or seeking consequences for them coming forward. out its call once again, saying that it has the goal of ending female genital mutilation by 2030. it is only five years away, of course. do you think enough is being done to make that happen? so, i mean, it's about time.

there have been advocates. since the 1960s. it's been criminalised by most governments, and then, also, another problem is we think of this as some and just talk to us a little bit more about that, potentially in immigrant communities as well, the understanding. right, that's true. so there are countries that have high rates of fgm, western europe.

it's driven underground. done. and then these people are afraid to seek help for people in their families or their communities. let's turn to some other important news around all ten bodies have been recovered from the wreckage according to the nome volunteer fire department in a social media post. the plane went missing on its way to nome on thursday of the crash. leaders of three baltic nations have welcomed

while estonia's leader called it an historic day. before we go, some live pictures from the superdome in new orleans, where the kickoff for the philadelphia eagles take on the kansas city chiefs, super bowl in a row. i have more news �*you at the top of the hour. see you hello there. a rather grotty day for many of us on saturday, and some of that rain turned to snow over the tops it's just more of the same as we head through the next few

brisk easterly wind. and the west in the shelter of that easterly wind, which we are set to keep, with high pressure out towards the east. the wind picking up across the southern half of the uk as we head through the day on sunday. this is how we'll begin the morning. of a patchy frost. perhaps lows of minus seven degrees celsius underneath some brightness and some sunshine to start the day. again, some hill fog. the cloud producing some drizzle, showers perhaps across east anglia. maybe something a little brighter developing out 5—8 degrees celsius. and into monday. this is how we'll begin the new working week,

those clear skies in the north and the west. that cold—feeling air, with high pressure out towards the north and the east. it will drive in more showers. some of those showers wintry over the pennines, but some brighter skies, i think, for western wales, scotland and for northern ireland. to factor in too. plenty of clouds, some breaks in the cloud towards the west. this area of rain not quite making it into south—west england, but do keep an eye on the forecast here. celsius, so below the seasonal average, and there won't be too much improvement either as we head through the rest of the week. so we are set to stay in that colder air. perhaps something a bit brighter later on through the week. of course, using our bbc weather app. bye for now.

voice-over: this is bbc news. which is straight after this programme. i'm here in seattle to meet bill gates,

once the richest billionaire on the planet... tell me about all your money. what do you spend it on? rid the world of preventable diseases. we join seattle's most successful son on a visit with his sisters to their childhood home. hey, lib. hi! good. with early computing. now bill gates is going back to his roots with a memoir about i loved how the computer forced me to think. sloppiness. the first time, and got hooked on coding. lives, the kids became the experts.

but what was bill gates actually like as a child?