thanks very much, helena humphrey, on l. -- - helena humphrey, on l. —— capitol hill. the union address here on bbc news live from washington and on the bbc news website — starting in an hour's time. the uk has pledged a further £125 million to supply ukraine with drones to target the russian army and its black sea fleet. the defence secretary grant shapps made the announcement during a visit to kyiv. in eastern ukraine, russian forces continue to push forward. and a slowing of western support is affecting ukraine's ability to halt the advance. i'm joined now byjohn e herbst, senior director of the atlantic council's eurasia center and a former us ambassador to ukraine. thank you forjoining me this morning. biden will almost certainly highlight the importance of getting his assistant package through congress when he makes his state of the union address. he wants to break the deadlock there. we are seeing of russia's success in eastern ukraine. is there an appreciation in ukraine about how desperate the situation is becoming? inaudible i think ithink ukraine i think ukr

i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join me.s senate majority leader chuck schumer has called for new elections in israel, accusing israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu of prioritising his "political survival" above the country. mr schumer, a democrat and america's highest—ranking jewish elected official, said the us should use its leverage to persuade mr netanyahu to change course. while the us remains israel's closest ally and biggest provider of military aid, concerns have been mounting within the biden administration over israel's conduct in gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens. now, president biden�*s top ally on capitol hill is calling for israel to make "course corrections". i have known prime minister netanyahu for a very long time and while we have vehemently disagreed on many occasions, i will always respect his extraordinary bravery for israel on the battlefield as a younger man. i believe in his heart he has his highest priority as — is the security of israel. however, i also believe prime minister neta

iam helena humphrey. we will have more at the top of the hour so join humphrey. there. at last some beautiful spring sunshine for much of the uk on saturday including here in cumbria. it wasn't long before we saw the cloud thicken from the west before outbreaks of rain moving northwards and eastwards. this will come down as rain over wales for a time into central and southern england and eastern england so a soggy start to the day but it is a mild one, milder than it was on saturday morning. temperatures between 5—11 degrees. double figures in the south still. a mild start of the day, more sunshine on offer throughout the day on sunday but also a few showers in the afternoon. it's a very wet start for parts of southern england. the heavy rain clears over the north sea. here it should brighten up by lunchtime and perhaps more sunshine developing. sunny spells elsewhere. coastal and hill fog for a time across the west. it will cloud over northern ireland in the afternoon. outbreaks of rain here, some of the shower is heavy and thundery the northern england but mild

i'm helena humphrey. hello.o relinquish its grip. here in northern ireland, enniskillen, seeing a fresh fall of fairly chunky snow. there were also some snowfall over the peak district — this is the cat and fiddle road — road that goes between macclesfield and buxton — it's quite high up, but we had some problems reported on that, as well. low pressure then has been across the uk, with this cold air mass in place. we've got lots of showers at the moment, particularly across england and wales, northern scotland, and this band of rain and hill snow across parts of the far north of england and southern scotland. now there is a chance of seeing a centimetre or two of snow across the cheviots, the north pennines, the southern uplands over the next hour or two, so it could get quite icy here. and also in the showers affecting the higher parts of wales — again, above 200 metres elevation, you might come across an odd centimetre or two of snow across the high ground here. temperatures getting close, if not below freezin

hello, i'm helena humphrey. we begin with the war in gaza.fter months of warning about an impending famine, the united nations says children and adults are now starving to death, and that more than half—a—million palestinians are on the brink of famine. ceasefire talks between israel and hamas have stalled, making it unlikely a deal will be reached by the start of ramadan this weekend. reports have emerged that five palestinians were killed on friday after being hit by an airdropped aid package that failed to deploy its parachute. the bbc has not been able to independently verify the claims of civilian casualties. however, this social media footage, verified by the bbc, shows aid being dropped on friday, and a number of parachutes failing to open. the us is among countries air—dropping meals to gaza. the pentagon says it delivered more than 11,000 meals on friday by air. us central command released this statement in the last couple of hours. we are aware of reports of civilians killed as a result of humanitarian airdrops. we express sympathie

hello, i'm helena humphrey.entjoe biden says he wants the senate to take swift action to pass a bill that could force tiktok�*s chinese owner to sell their stake in the platform orface a nationwide ban. this comes after the us house voted overwhelmingly in favor of the bill on wednesday. lawmakers say the app poses a national security threat as its parent company, bytedance, is based in beijing and is subject to a law requiring it to share data with the chinese government. tiktok has told lawmakers that it has taken steps to ensure the data of american users isn't compromised by employees in china. nevertheless, the legislation should head to the senate next. its fate there is uncertain. following the house vote, tiktok urged its 150 million users in the us to lobby against the bill by calling on them to contact their members of congress. tiktok influencers also protested against the bill outside the white house. here's what they told our correspodnent. i am aware that i'm giving my data, right. i'm aware. i'm o

helena humphrey, thank you very much. and china blocked a us draft resolution that tied an immediate ceasefire in gaza to the release of hostages held by hamas. the two countries said the text put conditions on a pause in the fighting and failed to clearly oppose a planned israeli ground offensive in rafah. it was the first time america supported calls for an immediate ceasefire in the region, having previously used its own veto to block such demands. the draft us resolution also called for more aid to enter gaza and voiced us concerns about an expected israeli offensive in rafah. meanwhile, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu told us secretary of state blinken that israel remains determined to send troops into rafah, saying it is the only way to defeat hamas. the defind message from mr netanyahu came after he held talks with blinken in tel aviv. translation: i met with antony blinken today. - i told him i greatly appreciate the fact that for more than five months, we have been standing together in the war against h

since becoming the presumptive republican nominee for president. lam i am helena lam helena humphrey. it is good to have you with us. russia has accused ukraine of disrupting its presidential elections. voters headed to the polls on the second day of a three—day election that is almost certain to result in victory for incumbent president vladimir putin. but moscow said ukraine is "intensifying its terrorist activities" to signal to the west it needs more financial assistance and weaponry. russian authorities say two people were killed by ukrainian shelling in the city of belgorod near the border with ukraine. shops and schools were closed in the city. authorities also reported shelling at a voting station in a russian—occupied part of ukraine's zaporizhzhia region. the head of russia's electoral commission said there have been 20 incidents so far of people targeting ballot boxes. protests are likely to continue on sunday, when supporters of the late opposition leader alexei navalny are calling on people throughout russia to protest against president putin. meanwhile in the estonian to

i'm helena humphrey. the us has carried out an airdrop of aid into gaza, using three military cargo planes. us central command said it dropped more than 38,000 meals along the gaza coastline in a joint operation with jordan's air force. the uk, france and egypt have already airdropped aid into gaza, but this is the first time the us has done so. negotiations over a temporary ceasefire are expected to restart sunday in cairo. meanwhile, israeli war cabinet member benny gantz will visit the white house monday to meet with us vice president kamala harris. they're expected to discuss a humanitarian truce as well as reducing palestinian civilian casualties and increasing deliveries of aid. inernational calls are intensifiying for accountability for recent violence, including the killing of more than 100 people at an aid convoy on thursday as well as the killing of at least 11 people — including two health care workers — in an israeli raid in the city of rafah — that's according to gaza's health ministry. the b

i'm helena humphrey, good to have you with us. us presidentjoe biden has signalled he hopes to see a deal for a ceasefire in the israel—gaza war in time for the start of ramadan, which is set to begin in about ten days. earlier this week he said he thought monday would be a reasonable deadline. mr biden�*s latest comments come as he announced plans on friday to order a us military air—drop, to get food and aid supplies into gaza in the coming days. the air—drops will be co—ordinated with the jordanians, who have been at the forefront of efforts to send assistance to gaza by air. president biden�*s announcement comes after more than 100 palestinians were killed on thursday and more than 700 were injured as crowds formed around an aid convoy in northern gaza, desperate for food. witnesses say the israeli army shot into the crowd. the israeli army, which has released this overhead drone footage, admits its soldiers opened fire — but claims most of the deaths were caused by a crush, or aid trucks running people over. the united nation

i'm helena humphrey, glad you could join me. biden delivered his state of the union address, and in it, he touched on key issues at home, the economy, immigration, and reproductive rights, the type of issues you'd expect to hear in an election year.

i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join me.d for new elections in israel, accusing israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu of prioritising his "political survival" above the country. mr schumer, a democrat and america's highest—ranking jewish elected official, said the us should use its leverage to persuade mr netanyahu to change course. while the us remains israel's closest ally and biggest provider of military aid, concerns have been mounting within the biden administration over israel's conduct in gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens. now, president biden�*s top ally on capitol hill is calling for israel to make "course corrections".

i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join me.t's almost 2a hours since us presidentjoe biden delivered his state of the union address and in it, he touched on key issues at home — the economy, immigration, and reproductive rights — the type of issues you'd expect to hear in an election year. biden set out his achievements and what's next for his presidency. he also took aim at his likely republican opponent in november, former president donald trump, without mentioning him by name. and it was clear that the president saw his speech notjust as a state of the union address but also an address about the state of the world and america's role at the centre of it. history is watching. united states walks away, it will put ukraine at risk. europe is at risk. the free world will be at risk, and modern others to do what they wish, to do us harm. my what they wish, to do us harm. my message to president putin, who have known for a long time, is simple. we will not walk away.. cheering. i have had many of my republican and democratic friend

i'm helena humphrey, good to have you with us. here in the us, when it comes to presidential elections, it's women who consistently vote at a higher rate than men. and while they're far from being single issue voters — reproductive rights are expected to play a large role in the upcoming presidential election. debate has raged in the us since the supreme court rescinded the nationwide right to a termination injune 2022. but polling shows why this is proving a difficult political issue for republican presidential candidates. among all americans, some 73% support allowing abortions in the first six week of pregnancy. including 56% of those in states with the most restrictive abortion bans. as of last month, 21 out of 50 states have either total or partial abortion bans on the books. and so, unsurprisingly, it's an issue that is playing out on the campaign trail. republican frontrunner donald trump has been reminding his supporters that he appointed three conservative judges to the supreme court when he was president. the same judges

hello, i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us.minister benjamin netanyahu of prioritising his political survival above the country. mr schumer, a democrat and america's highest—ranking jewish elected official, said the us should use its leverage to persuade mr netanyahu to change course. while the us remains israel's closest ally and biggest provider of military aid, concerns have been mounting within the biden administration over israel's conduct in gaza, as the humanitarian crisis there worsens. now, president biden�*s top ally on capitol hill is calling for israel to make "course corrections".

hello, i'm helena humphrey. owner to sell their stake in the platform orface a nationwide ban. this comes after the us house voted overwhelmingly in favor of the bill on wednesday. lawmakers say the app poses a national security threat as its parent company, bytedance, is based in beijing and is subject to a law requiring it to share data with the chinese government. tiktok has told lawmakers that it has taken steps

hello, i'm helena humphrey. to pave the way for free and fair elections in the country. that comes as the us state department is urging citizens to leave as soon as possible, with the country bracing for more violence. tensions remain high in haiti, after one of the country's most powerful gang leaders warned that there will be a civil war if prime minister ariel henry does not resign. jimmy cherizier, who is also known as barbecue, has been opposed to the prime minister since he took power following the assassination of presidentjovenel moise in 2021. mr henry was not yet elected to his current position. on tuesday, the prime minister landed in puerto rico after his plane was denied permission to land in haiti due to security concerns. the us ambassador to the united nations addressed the situation on wednesday, saying that while the us is not pushing for mr henry to resign, it does wants to see a political transition. what we've asked the haitian prime minister to do is move forward on a political process that

hello, i'm helena humphrey.s and cost the economy billions. in a video message posted to the social media app, shou zi chew said his company will do all it can to protect itself. this comes after the us house on wednesday voted

i'm helena humphrey. it's good to have you join us.. us central command said it dropped more than 38,0000 meals along the gaza coastline in a joint operation withjordan�*s airforce. the uk, france and egypt have already airdropped aid into gaza, but this is the first time the us has done so. negotiations over a temporary ceasefire are expected to restart sunday in cairo. us officials say israel has endorsed a framework of a proposed truce and hostage release, but hamas has yet to agree to it. meanwhile, israeli war cabinet member benny gantz will visit the white house monday to meet with us vice president kamala harris. they're expected to discuss a humanitarian truce as well as reducing palestinian civilian casualties and increasing deliveries of aid. international calls are intensifiying for accountability for recent violence, including

iam i am helena iam helena humphrey. it is good to have you with us.pting its presidential elections. voters headed to the polls on the second day of a three—day election that is almost certain to result in victory for incumbent president vladimir putin. but moscow said ukraine is "intensifying" its terrorist activities to signal to the west it needs more financial assistance and weaponry. russian authorities say two people were killed by ukrainian shelling, in the city of belgorod near the border with ukraine. shops and schools were closed in the city. authorities also reported shelling at a voting station in a russian—occupied part of ukraine's zaporizhzhia

hello, i'm helena humphrey. we begin with the war in gaza.n and adults are now

our helena humphrey breaksdown the issues facing the former president, and voters. his part insist that this is all part of the witch—hunt designed to stop him from running for the white house, department ofjustice has said that that isn't not the case, they deny double what you will see is that it likely will have an impact on the campaign trail, it's been having an impact, if you take a look here at the key republican campaign dates and then trump's court date, you will see how they directly into sex so if we take a look at the beginning of the year, the deformation case, donald trump ordered to pay over 83 million us dollars to the writer and caucus races, primary races and the new york civil fraud trial and the vote in which donald trump was ordered to pay over 350 million us dollars to the state of new york and then super tuesday where we are today and around three weeks time, this is going to be a case to watch, the first criminal case against donald trump moving forward with regards to hush money payments and then the classified files trial after that in flor

i'm helena humphrey. glad you can join glad you canjoin me. we begin with the war in gaza.

i'm helena humphrey, good to have you with us.e in the israel—gaza war in time for the start of ramadan, which is set to begin in about ten days. earlier this week he said he thought monday would be a reasonable deadline. mr biden�*s latest comments come as he announced plans on friday to order a us military air—drop, to get food and aid supplies into gaza in the coming days. the air—drops will be co—ordinated with the jordanians, who have been at the forefront of efforts to send assistance to gaza by air. president biden�*s announcement comes after more than 100 palestinians were killed on thursday and more than 700 were injured as crowds formed around an aid convoy in northern gaza, desperate for food. witnesses say the israeli army shot into the crowd.

i'm helena humphrey. it's good to have you with us.idential elections. voters headed to the polls on the second day of a three—day election that is almost certain to result in victory for incumbent president vladimir putin. but moscow said ukraine is intensifying its terrorist activities to signal to the west it needs more financial assistance and weaponry. russian authorities say two people were killed by ukrainian shelling in the city of belgorod near the border with ukraine. shops and schools were closed in the city. authorities also reported shelling at a voting station in a russian—occupied part of ukraine's zaporizhzhia region. the head of russia's electoral commission said there have been 20 incidents so far of people targeting ballot boxes. protests could to continue on sunday when supporters

i'm helena humphrey. it's good to have you with us.s. us central command said it dropped more than 38,000 meals along the gaza coastline in a joint operation with jordan's air force. the uk, france and egypt have already airdropped aid into gaza, but this is the first time the us has done so. negotiations over a temporary ceasefire are expected to restart sunday in cairo. meanwhile, israeli war cabinet member benny gantz will visit the white house monday to meet with us vice president kamala harris. they're expected to discuss a humanitarian truce as well as reducing palestinian civilian casualties and increasing deliveries of aid. international calls are intensifiying for accountability for recent violence, including the killing of more than 100 people at an aid convoy

, nikki haley, return to the campaign trail, as super tuesday approaches. lam i am helena lam helena humphrey into gaza, using three military cargo planes. us central command said it dropped more than 38,000 meals along the gaza coastline in a joint operation with jordan's air force. the uk, france and egypt have already airdropped aid into gaza, but this is the first time the us has done so. negotiations over a temporary ceasefire are expected to restart sunday in cairo. us officials say israel hasendorsed a framework of a proposed truce and hostage release, but hamas has yet to agree to it. —— has endorsed. meanwhile, israeli war cabinet member benny gantz will visit the white house monday to meet with us vice president kamala harris. they're expected to discuss a humanitarian truce as well as reducing palestinian civilian casualties and increasing deliveries of aid. inernational calls are intensifiying for accountability for recent violence, including the killing of more than 100 people at an aid convoy on thursday as well as the killing of at least 11 people,

iam i am helena iam helena humphrey. it is good to have you with us.ters headed to the polls on the second day of a three—day election that is almost certain to result in victory for incumbent president vladimir putin. but moscow said ukraine is "intensifying its terrorist activities" to signal to the west it needs more financial assistance and weaponry. russian authorities say two people were killed by ukrainian shelling in the city of belgorod near the border with ukraine. shops and schools were closed in the city. authorities also reported shelling at a voting station in a russian—occupied part of ukraine's zaporizhzhia region. the head of russia's electoral commission said there have been 20 incidents so far of people targeting ballot boxes. protests are likely to continue on sunday, when supporters of the late opposition leader alexei navalny are calling

i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join me.n key issues at home — the economy, immigration, and reproductive rights —

i'm helena humphrey — good to have you with us.y vote at a higher rate than men. and while they're far from being single—issue voters, reproductive rights are expected to play a large role in the upcoming presidential election. debate has raged in the us since the supreme court rescinded the nationwide right to a termination injune 2022. but polling shows why this is proving a difficult political issue for republican presidential candidates. among all americans, some 73% support allowing abortions in the first six week of pregnancy. including 56% of those in states with the most restrictive abortion bans. as of last month, 21 out of 50 states have either

i'm helena humphrey, good to have you with us.stently vote at a higher rate than men. and while they're far from being single issue voters — reproductive rights are expected to play a large role in the upcoming presidential election. debate has raged in the us since the supreme court rescinded the nationwide right to a termination injune 2022. but polling shows why this is proving a difficult

i'm helena humphrey — good to have you with us.in time for the start of ramadan, which is set to begin in about 10 days. earlier this week, he said he thought monday would be a reasonable deadline. mr biden�*s latest comments come as he announced plans on friday to order a us military air—drop to get food and aid supplies into gaza in the coming days. the air—drops will be coordinated with the jordanians, who have been at the forefront of efforts to send assistance to gaza by air. president biden�*s announcement comes after more than 100 palestinians were killed on thursday and more than 700 were injured as crowds formed around an aid convoy in northern gaza, desperate for food. witnesses say the israeli army shot into the crowd.

i'm helena humphrey, thank you for waching. i'll be back in 30 minutes with the headlines.cking up from the east or south—east. it's going to be particularly windy on friday. we'll have more of the cloud affecting eastern parts of the country. i think western areas will see most of the sunshine. that's because high pressure over scandinavia will be pushing westwards against this low pressure system, so we'll start to see the isobars squeezing together. so for thursday, it's a bright start across northern and western areas. quite a chilly start, mind you — early mist and fog will clear as the wind begins to pick up. eastern areas seeing thicker cloud at times. it will stay rather grey here, maybe some spots of drizzle. a few showers into the afternoon across the midlands, into east wales. otherwise, many places should stay dry and we should see sunny spells. top temperatures 11 degrees but cooler along north sea coasts with that increasing onshore breeze. the winds continue to pick up through thursday night, pushing more cloud into the midlands, northern england, large parts