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creates a trust to keep the craft alive. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your passions and the way you enrich your community. life well planned. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" . i am christian fraser and this . is the context. >> 51 people have been rescued because they've responded so quickly. he did say that amounts to the 12 were a pregnant woman and a number of children. >> it is very dangerous, but that is all they have left. they hand their lives over to whoever but that is all they have left. they file response ability to

provide a future for their families. >> we need a treat a migration treaty between the u.k. and the european union. ♪ christian: another tragedy in the channel. at least 12 migrants dead in the worst loss of life since 2021. the labour government says the european governments have a mutual interest in disrupting the criminal gangs that send these boats. we will get the view tonight from germany. shameful is how benjamin netanyahu describes the uk's government decision to cancel some arms exports but what is he doing terrain in the settler violence in the occupied west bank? we have a special report on the expanding number of illegal settlements. and could mobile phone companies do more to stem the sudden rise

in snatch thefts on our streets? good evening. the french interior ministers says at least 12 people have died and two still missing after a boat carrying migrants capsized in the english channel. 10 of them were female, six said to be young girls. there has been a large search-and-rescue operation underway since this morning. a spokesperson for the french coast guard says 50 people have been saved. all were in the water when they were rescued and now being treated at french hospitals. the french authorities said many of them are thought to be asylum-seekers. it is understood to have happened off a stretch of coastline between bologna and c alle. our correspondent is where an emergency care center has been set up. >> french rescue helicopters busy once again today, bringing

casualties from the sea to the shore. this is the scene this active at a harbor in the big port city. bodies on stretchers, many survivors taken hospital for emergency care. this is not the deadliest incident in the channel since november 2021 when 27 people died. today's incident happened in choppy seas near a headland that jets out towards dover. it appears the flimsy boat simply tore apart. earlier this morning, other small boats made it across the channel. people landing here, illegal under british law and increasingly dangerous. earlier this year, five people died in one overcrowded boat, including the young girl trampled to death. so far, over 20,000 migrants have reached the u.k. in small boats. that is slhtly more than last year. just last week, the french and

british governments promised tougher and better coordinated action to break up the smuggling gangs. the french authorities have warned their forces patrolling the beaches are facing growing violence, and charities say a more nuanced approach is needed. >> it needs a much more multipronged approach. of course, includes police smashing the gangs but critically also includes safe ways for people to reach the u.k. or to have their case heard before they have to take a dangerous crossing. >> meanwhile, the death toll this year is already more than double last year's. a grim trend but not enough to stop tens of thousands of people from attempting to cross the channel. andrew harding, bbc news. christian: tonight the minister for asylum and border security said increasingly, these boats are being filled with many more people we've seen in past times

and that the quality of those boats is deteriorating. you will recall the prime minister was in germany last week to discuss measures to tackle the criminal gangs with the german chancellor. many of the boats are coming fromermany. good to have you on the program. why is there a link with germany? what intelligence is there that these boats are coming from germany? >> germany is a country that shares a border with nine countries. we have a long stretch of border so germany is increasingly dealing with people who come here via other eu countries. so from the balkan routes via the south. we have temporary border controls in place at the moment. that is also because we hosted the euros. there's a big discussion at the moment about whether or not these current temporary measures

should infect be turned into something that is more permanent because germany is very aware it is at the core of the european continent and keir starmer actually talked to olaf scholz about their joint efforts to tackle irregular migration. and that britain and germany need to work more closely together on that issue. christian: i wonder if there is a political moment approacng here because the prime minister, when he was in berlin last week, was saying tackling these channel crossings is critical for him to seeing off the challenge from reform of the u.k. the german chancellor is facing the similar challenge with the afd. how open do you think the german government is to working with a labor government post brexit on this issue? nina: i think germany has got the message that britain, the u.k. is not going to return to the eu anytime soon. olaf scholz stressed that.

keir starmer stressed again that britain would not rejoin. having said that, these two leaders are people that are very similar in style. they come from the same political family, the social democrats. they are very few and far between on the european continent at the moment so they do get on. this is a good moment in time to say, ok, let's see what we can do outside of eu rules. what we can do in rms of bilateral deals that we can find and let's start by increasing intelligence and data sharing, for example. and let's get down to the bottom of the problem where people exchange information before they embark on those dangerous routes. this is something where britain and germany have not worked together in the past. now, they have said they want to work on this, what they call a landmark economic and defense agreement, a bilateral one. of course, migration is also an

issue when it comes to security. christian: the european union would like to u.k. to be working through brussels but given the political threat there is to the german chancellor and emmanuel macron and marine la pen, the national rally, do you sense we are looking at coordinated and better approaches to this problem through paris and berlin, the three capitals working closer together? nina: irregular migration definitely ithe topic of the hour and olaf scholz and his government are under tremendous pressure to deliver. we mentioned the regional elections already where for the first time since the second world war, a far right party in germany won the most votes in a state election. that is a very big deal. they campaign very strongly on the anti-migration topic. another party, populist, a new party on the horizon took away a lot of votes as well. they are also on the

anti-migration platform. this is something that olaf scholz feels he and his partners need to do a lot more than they have. they have already tightened asylum policies but tonight, they held across party talks with the opposition parties, with the conservatives, saying we need everyone to get on board. there are some 44,000 people in germany that are actually supposed to leave the country. germany can't deport 80% of them for various reasons, simply because afghanistan and syria are not necessarily countries we want to deport people to or you can. having said that last friday. the government is trying to show that they are doing a lot to cope irregular migration. christian: good to talk to you tonight. ukraine's president zelenskyy says 50 what people have been

killed today and more than 200 injured by a russian missile strike. he said two ballistic missiles partially destroyed a building belonging to the institute of communications. it is one of the deadliest single strikes of the war to date. the country's defense ministry called it a barbaric attack against an educational establishment. will vernon has the story. will: another ukrainian city battered by russian missiles. scores were killed and injured in what was the deadliest attack in almost a year. just minutes after air raid siren started blaring, the missiles hit. the authorities say many people were still making their way to bomb shelters. >> we were at home at the time. it was 9:00 in the morning and there were two very strong explosions. we were very scared. we don't have a basement so we could only sit and wait. will: and this appears to have been the target. the poltava military communications institute, seen

here in an earlier photo. pro-kremlin military bloggers today called it a military training center. >> i have ordered a full and prompt investigation into the circumstances of what happened. all necessary services are involved in the rescue operation. i'm grateful to everyone who's been saving lives from the very first moment following the strike. will: poltava is a city that has been largely spared that instruction seen elsewhe in ukraine. it's far from the front line in the east where the russian military says its forces are advancing. and attacks on cities across ukraine have intensified in recent weeks following kyiv's successful incursion into russian territory. the message from the kremlin, russia's response has begun. will vernon, bbc news. christian: we can go to poltava

and speak to a resident there. thank you very much for being with us. what can you tell us about the search-and-rescue that is still ongoing in the city? >> well, the airstrike was about 9:00 a.m. by 12:00, there were a lot of volunteers willing to start and trying to find wounded people. after 12:00, there were services, emergency services that came down onto the site. they forced all the volunteers to leave and they have been doing all the rescue work from that time. there is a moment of silence where they try to hear any kind of noises of people who are injured and under the blockages. and trying to ask for help.

as far as i know, they are going to be working there all night. christian: the russians say they were targeting military communications. can you tell us more about that facility and what it was used for? >> it has been there for ages. honestly, i live nearby. it's a military commit occasions institute -- communications institute. there are usually people that are willing to join there. the communications warfare defense and defend our country in this kind of system. yeah, so, it has been on site all this time. it is not secure or obscured from the citizens' vision. christian: so, it is not a

secret facility or anything like that. there's a hospital close by, i understand. >> there is a hospital nearby, yes. usually, you can see people 18, 22 years old and at this university. there are no professionals. christian: there were some reports that there was a roll call that was underway this morning. some people were saying that maybe they should not have been holding a roll call when the threat of russian missile attacks is around. do you know anything about that? with t -- would that explain the number of casualties we have seen? >> i know that there was education going on. there is war, and unfortunately, there was not enough time for people to get to the shelter. i think, as far as i know, there was less than a minute between

the siren and the two strik went down on the facility. so, yes. christian: i'm just really sorry to hear what's happening in your city today. thank you for coming on to talk to us about it. >> you're welcome. christian: ilya there in the city of poltava, where the search-and-rescue continues. around the world and across the u.k., you are watching bbc news. ♪ ♪

christian: welcome back. the british government is defending its decision to ban some arms sales to israel. benjamin netanyahu called the decision shameful and accused the government of emboldening hamas. the defense secretary john healey says the u.k. remains a staunch ally of israel but must follow the law. around 30 licenses out of 350

have been withdrawn because ministers say there's a clear risk the weapons could be used to violate international humanitarian law. here is our political editor, chris mason. chris: the decision announced is a signal that this government is acting differently from its predecessor. it is worth keeping a sense of proportion. around 10% of the u.k.'s arms export licenses have been suspended to israel and the u.k. is not a big arms exporter to israel. but a small percentage of a small amount can still provoke a big reaction at home and abroad. israel's prime minister said this shameful decision will not change israel's determination to defeat hamas. britain's misguided decision will only embolden hamas. >> we are a staunch ally of israel. weemain a staunch ally of israel. we made this legal judgment as a result of the process we are required to follow. our determination to stand with

israel, to be part of the collective defense if they come under direct attack again remains resolute and absolute. chris: so, what is the process that governments follow? u.k. law sets out that goods that could be used for military purposes or even potentially military purpose cannot be exported if they could be used in a violation of international humanitarian law. the government has concluded that in this instance, they might by israel in gaza. we have not seen the legal advice that led them to that conclusion, nor have we seen the legal advice that led the previous conservative government to the opposite conclusion. >> it is not clear precisely what has changed, if it justified an arms embargo against israel. could you have done the same thing, should you have done the same thing? >> all governments mt follow

the rule of law. we don't publish the legal advice. if the advice was as it was when we were in government, which i don't think that would have justified an arms embargo. chris: the government's decision provoke this protest outside the foreign office today. far from thinking ministers have gone too far, some left wing mp's think they have not gone far enough. >> on one hand, the government is saying they are stopping arms that might be used except f-35 fighter jets. it is like saying we have given up gambling but placing bets. chris: for much of the last year since the hamas atrocities in israel end of the killing so many in gaza, labour has felt political pressure from some who have argued there have been too supportive of israel and we saw the consequence of that in some places. ministers insist this decision is about upholding u.k. law and international law, but the political danger for labour's

that this pleases very few, whatever their view. christian: chris mason reporting for us. let's get the thoughts of john, a former british officer in the occupied palestinian territories. the wording of the law is clear but the application of the law is less than clear especially when you consider the 40,000 people who have been killed in gaza, so why now? john: thanks for the question. it is entirely straightforward to me. much better to jump than to be pushed. i believe if this new british government continued to proceed in the way the last government did, it would have been taken to court, as was the case of a few years ago. in that case, the british government lost the case. so, better to jump than to be pushed. christian: the foreign secretary said it has not been possible to reach a determinative conclusion on the allegations regarding

israel's conduct of hostilities because of a lack of edence from jerusalem. do we normally determine our sale of weapons on what the buyer is saying they are used for or do we take an external evidence? john: we look at a whole slew of evidence. it's been going on for 10 months plus. to my mind, there is ample evidence that not only weapons have been used at risk of violating, but they have violated ihl. my view is the british governments decision is sensible. there is a view that the israeli defense forces and british forces might have a different view about the tolerance in terms of -- i don't except that. proportionality is not infinitely elastic in terms of the weapons used or the civilians who become casualties of those weapons. christian: we've talked about that on the program before. we've had weapons experts who talk about the risk and tolerance of civilian

casualties, and there have been suggestions as you say that the israelis have a greater tolerance for civilian casualties than a nato country would using the same weapons. is that because they are operating in gaza or is that because of the desperation to reach targets that don't often appear? john: i would say as far as any outsider can do, it is a product mainly of the current israeli government. having gotten up in the past many senior israeli defense force officers during previous invasions or actions against gaza, my experience of idf officers as they are often quite wary about what they are being asked to do. these decisions are largely political. not looking at proportionality in terms of weapons used, but also indeed targets which are essential for support of human life, e.g. water. again, from my knowledge

internationally of our own forces or any other forces, to target such sites would itself be in dereliction of ihl. that's another aspect as well, which is certainly not elastic at all. christian: thank you for coming on the program. john: thank you so much. christian: in more positive news from gaza, the world health organization says it is ahead of its targets for poo vaccinations. day three of the mass campaign has inoculated about a quarter of the children under age 10. the program began over the weekend. it will take place in three locations, gaza city, rafah, and north of the strip with localized cease-fires being arranged. a doctor working for u.k. med is in gaza and has been deeply involved with the polio vaccine program. thank you for coming on. we've been talking about the challenge of reaching traumatized children, getting them to come forward with their families. are you encouraged by the

progress you've made in recent days? >> i am very encouraged actually. very surprising how the health system is set up here in terms of the desuction and the ability to move freely. over the past three days, we vaccinated 1600 children and it is going fantastically well. tomorrow, we wilhave more children vaccinated. christian: i am looking at these pictures of the children coming through. when you see them face-to-face, how do they appear to you? >> it is a range of things. unfortunately, most of the children here are malnourished, very some are stumped depending on the age they are. it is a look of destitution as well which is quite tragic. when you see children up close, and most of the children thawe see have skin conditions unfortunately because of the disruption of hygiene. we are looking at cases of

scabies and fungal infections as well. christian: the work you are doing relays -- relies on the positive fighting in the specific areas you are working. has it been straightly observed? >> what we've seen at the hospitals, operations ve been working as normal. for us, we are very grateful we are able to send our community engagement team out to bring children and speak to the families and get them to bring the children to the vaccination center we are running. christian: 2.8 million people in gaza. anyone up any age unvaccinated could contract the disease. are you satisfied that the wider population is protected? >> it is difficult to see. before this conflict started, there was great vaccination acceptance. 99% of the population. it has dropped down to 89%. with the unvaccinated population

who have been born throughout this conflict, the younger children, i am hoping the 95% vaccine coverage needed will be met. christian: it is great wk you are doing. thank you for coming on and stay safe. >> thank you. christian: dr. silva working in gaza for announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app

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