hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says his troops are just "one step away from victory". it's six months since hamas gunmen stormed into southern israel, massacring twelve—hundred people and kidnapping more than two—hundred— and—fifty. the attack sparked what's become the deadliest and most destructive israel—gaza war, killing over 33 thousand palestinians. speaking at a cabinet meeting, mr netanyahu said a ceasefire would not be agreed until israeli hostages, captured by hamas in october, were released. the achievements of the war are great. we eliminated 19 out of 2a of the hamas battalions, including senior commanders. we killed, wounded or captured a significant number of hamas terrorists. we purged shifa and many other terrorist headquarters as well. we destroyed factories, manufacturing rockets, control rooms, weapons, ammunition, and we continue to systematically destroy what is underground. we are one step away from victory. israel is not the one preventing a dea

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. you're watching the context on bbc news.

i am rajini vaidyanathan. this is the context on bbc news. hello.it stay dry was relatively warm, 16 degrees, 61 fahrenheit, but cloud and rain pushing its way steadily northwards, it stayed rather grey and overcast and western scotland with just a high of five celsius here. that weather front is going to linger, we can all the time, but he brisk north easterly wind will dominate the story across the far north of scotland. clear skies for a time, early morning mist and fog for england and wales perhaps, some showers easing away from the southeast, but eventually as we go through the day, we will start to see some outbreaks of rain pushing into the southwest, and is this front gradually moves its way, the winds will strengthen here. ahead of it, one or two spots again could see temperatures into the mid—teens. not a bad afternoon with a few i slid showers for northern ireland. scotland will say rather grey and overcast without brakes of showery rain and that brisk north easterly wind at times will make it feel rather cool, just a maximum of 6-8 c. we

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. welcome to bbc news now.raint on all sides after an apparent israeli air strike on iran. the g7 foreign ministers meeting in italy have urged all parties to work against any further escalation. where expecting to hear from the us secretary of state antony blinken any moment now. that is the same life as we wait for the secretary of state, antony blinken, to deliver remarks in the italian city of capri. two us officials have confirmed to our broadcast partner cbs news that it was an israeli attack. state television in iran reported explosions near an army

i am rajini vaidyanathan. hello there. april certainly can be quite a fickle month.arts of nottinghamshire. and there were two tornadoes reported. we also had a light dusting of snow in bradford earlier on this morning. but at the same time, as the cloud, the wind and the rain eased away, there were windows of brighter, sunnier, spring—like moments — this was deal in kent. so let's take a look atjust what was responsible, this area of low pressure. the front moved through quite quickly, but a strong north—westerly wind fed quite a lot of showers in and, yes, to higher ground, there'll continue to be some winteriness from time to time as well. so the showers will gradually recede as the low pulls off into the north sea. always the risk of a cold northerly wind driving more cloud and showers along that east coast. but clearer skies elsewhere mean a chilly start to our tuesday morning. tuesday on the whole will be a slightly quieter day for most of us. again, anywhere from yorkshire down towards east anglia could continue to see some cloud and showers. and with that str

i am rajini vaidyanathan, thanks for watching. hello there.r winds generally, today, and that�*s given us a chance for some sunshine and to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossom that we�*ve got. but it�*s still coming from the north. this high pressure is trying to dominate, but as it sits out to the west and the winds circulate around there, it means that we�*ve got showers coming in from a north—easterly along the east coast and along the west coast as well. sandwiched in between the two for the remainder of the afternoon is where we�*re likely to see fewer showers and some sunny moments. but because the wind direction coming from the north, it�*s cool out there for the time of year, highs between 8 and 13 celsius. a few scattered showers easing away from east anglia in the south—east. clearer skies developing overnight tonight. that�*s going to allow those temperatures to fall away. gardeners and growers take note — we could see a touch of frost out to the west under those clearer skies. not quite as cold in the north—west because there�*s mor

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan, welcome to verified live, bringing you three hours of breaking storiesaid that air strikes on a convoy in gaza, which left seven aid workers dead, happened after a series of "grave mistakes". israel has sacked two senior officers, and it's now given its first detailed account about how and why it carried out the attack. here are the key points. the idf says the strike should not have happened, and expressed its deep sorrow for the incident. it says those who approved the strike were convinced

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. you're watching the context on bbc news.sea at stamford bridge. it is that man there, cole palmer, in prolific form for them. a first have patrick for palmer, passing the 20 goal mark for chelsea, and what he sees and he is having —— first—half hat—trick. what a season he's having. everton came into the game just two points above the relegation zone — but are up against a chelsea side, who're unbeaten in their last seven in the league. 3-0 3—0 chelsea in the first half.

i'm rajini vaidyanathan, stay with us. hello there.ly side, as well. but for northern ireland, the rest of england and wales, a lovely bright afternoon to come. plenty of sunshine around. a few passing showers being blown on a very brisk south—westerly wind and very mild for the time of year at 18 or 19 degrees. it's still quite chilly across the north. that rain pushes its way northwards across scotland. through the night we see the next batch of wet, windy weather spreading up from the south. some of this rain could be quite heavy in the north and the west as it pushes its way northwards. by the end of the night, though, temperatures will be lifting, even across scotland, so turning milder here, but very mild further south. that takes us into saturday. this deepening area of low pressure hurtling towards the west of ireland has been named by the irish met service storm kathleen, as it's across ireland where we'll see the biggest impacts with the winds. but it's the feel of the weather as we head through saturday. it's dragging in som

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan.overed the body of a hostage who'd been held in gaza by hamas. a7—year—old elad katzir was kidnapped from a kibbutz during the hamas attacks on southern israel on october the 7th. it said its mission to search for hostages and return them to israel would continue. allison kaplan sommer is a journalist at israeli newspaper

hello, i�*m rajini vaidyanathan.two—hundred— and—fifty. the attack sparked what�*s become the deadliest and most destructive israel—gaza war, killing over 33 thousand palestinians. speaking at a cabinet meeting, mr netanyahu said a ceasefire would not be agreed until israeli hostages, captured by hamas in october, were released. the achievements of the war are great. we eliminated 19 out of 2a of the hamas battalions, including senior commanders. we killed, wounded or captured a significant number of hamas terrorists. we purged shifa and many other terrorist headquarters as well.

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. you're watching the context on bbc news.increasingly dangerous war between iran and its allies and proxies and the israelis has tonight taken quite a big step up. even if benjamin netanyahu brings home the hostages l or dismantles hamas, i there are new posters — "you're in charge," _ "you're responsible," they say. but they wanted him out for the war. now, they're back and they want him gone even more. _ iran's state media says at least five people were killed after a suspected israeli air strike on an iranian consultate building in the syrian capital. we'll have the latest on that developing story. staying in the middle east — israeli forces pull out of gaza's largest hospital after an operation which they say killed hundreds of hamas fighters — palestinian medics say they are retrieving dozens of bodies from the al—shifa, which is now in ruins.

you're watching bbc news with rajini vaidyanathan. has led to more than 20 arrests in italy, austria, romania and slovakia. in italy — the biggest recipient of the fund — police seized assets including villas, luxury cars, watches and jewellery — with a total value of more than 600 million euros. let's speak to andres ritter, deputy chief prosecutor at the european public prosecutor's office — which coordinated the raids and the arrests. we are talking about a raid which involve things like relics as, luxury cars, cartierjewellery, this was money that was meant to go towards the covid recovery fund. tell us what exactly happened. —— rolexes. it tell us what exactly happened. -- rolexes. , _, , rolexes. it is the recovery funding post-covid — rolexes. it is the recovery funding post-covid and — rolexes. it is the recovery funding post-covid and it _ rolexes. it is the recovery funding post-covid and it was _ rolexes. it is the recovery funding post-covid and it was instigated . rolexes. it is the recovery funding | post-covid and it wa

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. we start the programme in the middle east where american diplomats and their families in israel have been told not to travel outside of tel aviv, jerusalem and beersheeva. the us embassy said it had made the order "out of an abundance of caution", due to fears about a possible attack by iran. earlier the israeli defence minister, yoav gallant, has told his us counterpart that israel will respond appropriately if it is directly attacked by iran. washington continues to try to dissuade iran from launching a retaliatory strike following the attack on its consulate in syria last week. let's speak to our middle east correspondent, hugo bachega, in jerusalem. heightened sense of alert. what more can you tell us?— can you tell us? four days we have been talking _ can you tell us? four days we have been talking about _ can you tell us? four days we have been talking about those _ can you tell us? four days we have been talking about those warnings | been talking about those warnings that have

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. israel says it's recovered the body of a hostage who'd been held in gaza by hamas. 47—year—old elad katzir was kidnapped from a kibbutz during the hamas attacks on southern israel on october the 7th. it said its mission to search for hostages and return them to israel would continue. allison kaplan sommer is a journalist at israeli newspaper haaretz and host of the haaretz podcast. she told us how israelis were reacting to today's news. they want their hostages back. they want them alive. as many as still remain alive. and the mood was encapsulated by a facebook post from his sister, she posted... basically, she was the one who announced as much as the israeli army announced that her brother's body had been recovered and returned to israel. and she wrote on facebook, "you're going to hear from the army about their daring rescue operation "in which they got my brother's body and returned it to israel." and she said, "don't let anyone fool you. "this is not a rescue operation. "this is

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan.ust "one step away from victory". it's six months since hamas gunmen stormed into southern israel, massacring 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250. the attack sparked what's become the deadliest and most destructive israel—gaza war, killing over 33,000 palestinians.

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan, welcome to verified live, bringing you three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. the israeli military has said that air strikes on a convoy in gaza, which left seven aid workers dead, happened after a series of "grave mistakes". israel has sacked two senior officers, and it's now given its first detailed account about how and why it carried out the attack. here are the key points. the idf says the strike should not have happened, and expressed its deep sorrow for the incident. it says those who approved the strike were convinced they were targeting hamas operatives. the strikes on the three vehicles were carried out in "serious "violation of standard operation procedure" and that the brigade chief of staff, an officer with the rank of colonel in reserve, and the brigade fire support commander with the rank of major will be dismissed from their positions. the strikes this week left seven aid workers dead, three of them british. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams has been monitoring today's events and gave us the latest.

i'm rajini vaidyanathan. we start with the middle east, where israel is coming under increasing international pressure over how it's conducting the war in gaza. president biden has said he believes prime minister benjamin netanyahu is making a "mistake" and has called on israel to agree to a six to eight week ceasefire. the president had previously said hamas should agree to pause and to release its remaining hostages. meanwhile australia has suggested that formally recognising a palestinian state would strengthen momentum towards peace. and in the past hour, the spanish prime minister pedro sanchez has said recognising a palestinian state is "in europe's geopolitical interests". in a speech to parliament, he also warned that israel's "disproportionate response" in the gaza war risks "destabilising the middle east, and as a consequence, the entire world". more on that later in the programme. first to mr biden. he made his comments in an interview recorded last wednesday with univision, which is a us spanish—l

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. welcome to bbc news now. world leaders are calling for restraint on all sides after an apparent israeli air strike on iran. the g7 foreign ministers meeting in italy have urged all parties to work against any further escalation. where expecting to hear from the us secretary of state antony blinken any moment now. that is the same life as we wait for the secretary of state, antony blinken, to deliver remarks in the italian city of capri. two us officials have confirmed to our broadcast partner cbs news that it was an israeli attack. state television in iran reported explosions near an army base and an airport in the central city of isfahan, activating local air defence systems. blasts have also been reported in the country's north—west. video online shows iranian defence missiles being fired into the air. commercial flights were initially diverted around iranian airspace, but iranian media say all restrictions have now been lifted. iran's state broadcaster irib downplayed reports of an attack. let's hear how t

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. you're watching the context on bbc news.that time in the programme for the sport. let's get a full round—up from the bbc sport centre with jane. hi, rajini. we start in italy, where inter milan are in action against empoli in serie a. a short time ago, it was 1—0. we arejust coming up to we are just coming up to half—time, 43 minutes gone. federico dimarco with inter�*s goal after just five minutes. a win will take inter 14 points clear at the top of the table. elsewhere, bologna were 3—0 winners over bottom—of—the—table salernitana, beating them for the second time this season. they're currently fourth in the table, pushing for a place in the champions league. in england, burnley look like they will be heading back to the championship. their manager, vincent kompany, says the standard of refereeing in the premier league hasn't been good enough this season. he was shown a red card over the weekend during their draw at chelsea, after he protested against a penalty decision that saw

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan.stormed into southern israel, massacring 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250. the attack sparked what's become the deadliest and most destructive israel—gaza war, killing over 33,000 palestinians. speaking at a cabinet meeting, mr netanyahu said a ceasefire would not be agreed until israeli hostages, captured by hamas

this is this world today with rajini vaidyanathan.mass sanctions on iran after its unprecedented drone and missile attack. donald trump returns to court in new york as jury selection for his hush money trial continues. let's ta ke let's take you live to the house of commons where a vote on a controversial phased ban on smoking is expected shortly. also coming up on the world today... we will look at the devastation caused by a fire at copenhagen's historic stock exchange. welcome to the world today — an hour of international news from the bbc. we begin in the middle east, where israel says it's killed a local hezbollah commander in an air strike in southern lebanon. the israel defense forces have released these images of the strike. it said ismail yusaf baz had been involved in rocket and missile launches against israel from lebanon's coastal area. the idf described him as a senior official who had served in several positions of hezbollah's military wing.

this is the context and i am rajini vaidyanathan.l earlier today, presidentjoe biden took the opportunity to express his optimism about america, urging people to show "love and grace toward one another". i've never been more optimistic about america than i am today. we have enormous opportunities, enormous opportunities. we just have to remember who we are. we're the united states of america, and there's nothing — nothing — beyond our capacity. god bless you all, enjoy the day, and i'm coming down to do that easter egg roll injust a minute. presidentjoe biden at the easter egg roll, which happens every year. i'm still with leon and mary anne. don't worry, i am not going to ask you about what easter eggs you have eaten today. let's discuss the speech that we heard from joe biden. i will ask you, mary anne, because there is definitely a tone of optimism there from president biden. in many ways it is very different to his rifle on the republican side, donald trump, who definitely paints a much darker, more fear generated message. you th

hello, i�*m rajini vaidyanathan. you�*re watching the context on bbc news.stions over whether it will help reduce or increase the illicit trade. earlier, i spoke to andrew hathaway, associate professor of criminaljustice and public policy at the university of guelph in ontario, canada. i spoke to him because in 2018, canada brought in a similar law. i think there�*s some real potential benefits to the social club model that germany is adopting. it�*s got a bit of a spanish flavour, actually, and kind of a nice sense of community associated with it. one of the issues... well, i mean, there�*s many stories to cannabis legalisation in canada — you�*ll get a different story depending on who you talk to —

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. an earthquake has hit the us state of newjersey, rattling buildings in nearby new york city. the us geological survey said that the quake was magnitude 4.8. the quake was centred in lebanon newjersey. there are no reports of any damage but social media users have reported feeling the tremors from philadelphia up to new york along the coast. this is the moment the quake prompted the temporary pausing of a un security council meeting at its new york headquarters. women stood in line for three hours to make use of it. schools normally form a spinal protection for children, a place where children can see humanitarian services and normality... g0 see humanitarian services and normality- - -— see humanitarian services and i normality. . ._ education normality... go ahead. education is... is normality... go ahead. education ism isthat— normality... go ahead. education is... is that an _ normality... go ahead. education is... is that an earthquake? - is... is that a

i'm rajini vaidyanathan.

hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. you're watching the context on bbc news. parliament resumes voting on the government's plan to send asylum—seekers to rwanda — the bill could be given final approval by the end of the week. let's go live to the house of commons, where the government's flagship rwanda bill is being debated. the government wants to send some asylum—seekers to rwanda. it has been going back and forth. voting on some of the lords amendments. they voted to reject a lords proposal for remanded to be only regarded as safe or as long as the provisions of the uk's to do with that country —— for rwanda. a big debate between the governments and some of its critics over whether rwanda should be deemed a safe country for asylum—seekers to be sent to, and effect supreme court here in the uk a year ago deemed that it was not a safe place. so that it was not a safe place. so that was one of the votes that has come through this evening, another one here, and peas rejected another amendment from the house of lords which would have required age assessments for