hello, i'm samantha simmonds. welcome to the programme.iators in qatar say it will take effect from 8.30am sunday israel/gaza time — that's 6.30am gmt. after hours of discussion, the israeli cabinet gave final approval to the ceasefire and hostage release deal with hamas. the cabinet meeting lasted more than six hours, with some ministers who had threatened to resign arguing that the agreement rewards hamas. the first hostages are due to be released on sunday, under the first phase of the agreement. in broad terms, we understand the deal between israel and hamas will be implemented in three stages — the first stage beginning on sunday. three of the hostages taken by hamas during the attack

hello, i'm samantha simmonds.et's get more from the middle east, where the ceasefire in gaza is due to begin in less than 2a hours. mediators in qatar have announced it will take effect from 8.30am sunday israel/gaza time - that's 06.30 gmt. after hours of discussion, the israeli cabinet gave final approval to the ceasefire and hostage release deal with hamas. the first hostages are due to be released as early as sunday, under the initial phase of the agreement. nicky schiller has been looking at those hostages held in gaza who are expected to be freed over the next 42 days. the first six week face will deal with 33 hostages, including women, children and elderly people come in exchange for palestinian prisoners. with the first of those hostages set to be released on sunday, a list of names has been published in a number of israeli media sites. they include the p bass family. there is one—year—old cafe and his five—year—old brother. they are the youngest of those held. they were taken in attributes with their moth

i'm samantha simmonds. welcome to bbc news. the administration of u.s. donald trump has froze what could amount trillions of dollars of government funding. the memorandum calls for a pause on nearly all federal grounds and loans. the white house says the freeze will allow agencies time to ensure that they can comply with a rash of executive order signed by the president. karoline leavitt who at 27 is the youngest person ever to be white house press secretary said at her debut media briefing said the freeze is not for individuals but for pensions, health care, and food assistance. sacraments -- sec. leavitt: what does this mean? no more funding for the green new scam, that has caused american taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. it means no more funding for transgenderism and wokeness across our agencies. no more funding for greenville social engineering policies. people who are receiving individual assistance, you will continue to receive that, and president trump as being a good steward of your taxpayer dollars. samantha: government departments are sc

hello, i'm samantha simmonds.ast five wildfires are now raging across los angeles and its neighbouring ventura county. the latest blaze — starting here in the hollywood hills in the past couple of hours or so — has forced more people to evacuate, including in areas dotted with celebrity homes. these are live pictures from los angeles. at least 130,000 people have been evacuated and tens of thousands more have been told to pack and be ready to go. officials say, despite their best efforts, the fires are 0% contained. among the areas affected is the pacific palisades, which is between santa monica and malibu. a fire there doubled in size within hours, fuelled by tinder dry conditions and high winds. president biden visited los angeles on wednesday and met emergency workers. it's been announced he's cancelling his upcoming trip to italy to focus on the federal response to the fires. helena humphrey reports. as soon as you walk in, you would be met with the living room, which is literally right here in this area. the

and i'm samantha simmonds in london. also making news today...sian strike has killed three people. tiktok says it will "go dark" in america on sunday unless the government acts to stop a legal ban coming into effect. hello and a very warm welcome to bbc news, with me, mark loewen live from hostages square here in tel aviv. people in israel and gaza are waiting with bated breath, counting down until a ceasefire which is due to end the 15 months long war in gaza. the ceasefire in gaza is due to begin in less than 2a hours. mediators in qatar have announced it will take effect from 8.30am sunday israel/gaza time — that's 6.30am gmt. after hours of discussion, the israeli cabinet gave final

hello, i'm samantha simmonds. welcome to the programme. cautious hope is rising across the middle east ahead of the gaza ceasefire, which is due to begin in less than 2a hours. mediators in qatar say it will take effect from 8.30am sunday israel/gaza time — that's 6.30am gmt. after hours of discussion, the israeli cabinet gave final approval to the ceasefire and hostage release deal with hamas. the cabinet meeting lasted more than six hours, with some ministers who had threatened to resign arguing that the agreement rewards hamas. the first hostages are due to be released on sunday, under the first phase of the agreement. in broad terms, we understand the deal between israel and hamas will be implemented in three stages — the first stage beginning on sunday. three of the hostages taken by hamas during the attack into israel in october 2023 are due to be released. it's thought 30 more hostages will be released in the following weeks. israel is to free 737 palestinian prisoners in exchange. israel will withdraw its forces from all populated

hello, i'm samantha simmonds let's get more from the middle east, where the ceasefire in gaza is dueurs of discussion, the israeli cabinet gave final approval to the ceasefire and hostage release

hello, i'm samantha simmonds. sir keir starmer has launched a strong attack on those whose who have criticised his record on tackling historical sex gang cases when nhe was the uk's top prosecutor. a slew of online posts by elon musk, the tech billionaire, and a close ally of us president—elect donald trump called sir keir "complicit in the rape of britain". and mr musk also voiced support for the jailed far right political activist, tommy robinson. the prime minister didn't name elon musk directly — but he slammed those who he has said, use the sex abuse case to generate publicity. because those that are spreading lies and misinformation is far and as wide as possible, they are not interested in victims. they are interested in victims. they are interested in victims. they are interested in themselves. those who i'm not interested in justice. they are supporting a man who nearly collapsing —— he went to prison for nearly collapsing a gang green in case. those are people who are trying to get a vicarious thrill fro

hello, i'm samantha simmonds.inet gave final approval to the ceasefire and hostage release deal with hamas. the first hostages are due to be released as early as sunday, under the initial phase of the agreement. nicky schiller has been looking at those hostages held in gaza who are expected to be freed over the next 42 days.

hello, i'm samantha simmonds.sts by elon musk, the tech billionaire, and a close ally of us president—elect donald trump called sir keir "complicit in the rape of britain". and mr musk also voiced support for the jailed far right political activist, tommy robinson. the prime minister didn't name elon musk directly — but he slammed those who he has said, use the sex abuse case to generate publicity. because those that are spreading lies and misinformation is far and as wide as possible, they are

and i�*m samantha simmonds in london. also making news today...re in tel aviv, where they are holding their breath before the ceasefire in gaza is due to come into force tomorrow morning, sunday morning,

hello, i hello, lam hello, i am samantha simmonds. the long—awaited ceasefire in gaza has begun.t had been due to take effect at 8:30am local time but was delayed after hamas failed to give israel the names of the first of the hostages to be released. the three, orwomen, are hostages to be released. the three, or women, are expected to be released in and around and hours�* time. israel confirmed a short while ago that it now has those names. they are romi gonen, doron steinbrecher and emily damari. 31—year—old doron steinbrecher is a veterinary nurse who was in her apartment in kibbutz kfar aza when hamas attacked. emily damari, 28, holds dual british israeli nationality. she was taken from kibbutz kfar aza. 24—year—old romi gonen was ambushed as she tried to escape from the supernova festival. earlier, israel continued to carry out strikes on gaza. ten people have been killed today, according to the hamas run gaza civil defence agency. in gaza, thousands of displaced people clutching tents, clothes and other belongings have already begun heading back to their homes. families, ma

hello, i'm samantha simmonds.n update on the destruction across the uk caused by freezing temperatures. manchester airport has had the runways are closed because of significant snow as teams work hard to clear them as quickly as possible. they say the safety of passengers is the top priority and we appreciate patients in less time. they are asking passengers to check with their airline for the latest flight information and to allow extra travel time today. let us recap the wild fires burning across los angeles. firefighters say there are seven distinct areas but two of the blazes have been contained. five people are confirmed to have been killed. 137,000 people have been evacuated. and firefighting teams are reporting that they are running short of water — with people in affected areas being told to boil supplies before drinking or cooking with them. satellites have captured the spread of the fires from space. this image was taken on wednesday — it shows the area around the pacific palisades. the brighter areas sh