here's our middle east correspondent yolande knell.ip of the country's veteran prime minister benjamin netanyahu. israel has had the fastest covid vaccine roll—out in the world, and his campaign has been stressing his role in securing the vaccines and bringing in the green pass scheme, which is for people who have been vaccinated or have immunity and is helping to reopen the economy, but from the political left and right, mr netanyahu is facing opponents who argue that he should not remain in office while he is on trialfor corruption. the evidence stage of that trial begins next month. the prime minister has pleaded innocent. in the previous three elections, neither mr netanyahu and his right—wing likud party and its partners nor his political opponents managed to win a parliamentary majority, but there was an emergency unity government set up to deal with the covid crisis after the last round. ultimately that didn't last. with the country so deeply split, israelis are expecting lots of wrangling after these election results. that's to

our middle east correspondent yolande knell reports.irst results are in, again, after israel's unprecedented fourth trip to the ballot box in under two years. it's still unclear. benjamin netanyahu appears to have a good chance of staying in office but will face a struggle to form a new government. the campaign trailfor this pandemic election has been mostly on tiktok — mr netanyahu pushing the message that he got israel vaccinated... ..and made peace with new arab countries. his opponents don't agree on much, except the need to knock him out of office. amir�*s chair is rarely empty these days. he's making up for lost time since covid closed his salon for six months. what he hears from his clients points to netanyahu's survival. they're very afraid that somebody new came without experience, and they're very, very afraid, of this, so they want to go with the old and the not new, you know? amy's more up for changing her hair than her leader. she says no one else has the global clout. and we can see in the way he's found the vaccinations f

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.istant professor guy siv, from the american university's school of international service in washington. professional, good to talk to you. many people said this was going to be a referendum on benjamin netanyahu, is that how it worked out?— it worked out? every recent election in _ it worked out? every recent election in israel— it worked out? every recent election in israel has - election in israel has essentially been a referendum on netanyahu. we are not talking about the kind of traditional left right divide that used to define israeli politics, we are talking about a pro netanyahu camp and an anti netanyahu camp. find a pro netanyahu camp and an anti netanyahu camp. and what is the verdict? _ anti netanyahu camp. and what is the verdict? the _ anti netanyahu camp. and what is the verdict? the stalemate i is the verdict? the stalemate continues- — is the verdict? the stalemate continues. we _ is the verdict? the stalemate continues. we saw _ is the verdict? the stalemate continues.

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. and here's our correspondent tom bateman in tel aviv.en israel's "try again" election. that's exactly what the voters have done — gone back to the polls for the fourth time in two years. and once again, if the exit polls are to be believed, they have returned the same kind of result, which is inconclusive. those forecasts are suggesting that both the bloc that opposes mr netanyahu, wants to oust him from government, and the right—wing bloc that supports them, neither of them have a clear path to victory. but it is suggesting that mr netanyahu has the political upper hand, that the horse—trading that may now commence will give him the advantage. and already, he's put out a statement saying that this is a victory, in his view, for the right—wing bloc and for his likud party. now, it has been a campaign that has been characterised, as far as mr netanyahu's concerned, by the coronavirus pandemic and the way in which, in his view, he has single—handedly procured vaccines for israel. tom bateman in tel aviv for us. president biden has urged co

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.itics analyst based in washington. he says the low turnout suggests voters are losing confidence in the election process. every recent election in israel has essentially been a referendum on netanyahu. we're talking about the traditional left, right divide is to define us fairly text. we are talking about the pro and anti—camp. what has that referendum said? what has that referendum said? what is the verdict? the verdict is that the stalemate continues. this is the fourth election in two years. unprecedented in israel. the voter turnout today was lower. 67.2%. lowerthan voter turnout today was lower. 67.2%. lower than all recent elections and that tells you something. it tells you that israelis are tired and exhausted and fed up with their never—ending political crisis. the system, as they see it, is broken and many people have essentially decided to stay home today.— essentially decided to stay home toda . ., , home today. there was always likel to home today. there was always likely

yolande knell for us there.ked by a grounded giant container ship. at least 10% of global trade passes through the canal, which connects the mediterranean sea to the red sea. the hold—up has sent oil prices to higher levels on international markets. our global trade correspondent dharshini david has the story. there are bottlenecks on the daily commute, and then there's this — a ship the size of the empire state building blocking one of the busiest shipping lanes, after it was aground by strong winds, it's claimed. behind the stricken ever given, a mounting queue of marine traffic, carrying cargo from oil to clothes and food. whereever they hail from — china, the middle east or south asia — they're going nowhere. seen from above, the problem is clear. ships have grown to match our appetite to consume more, but they are ill—suited to a waterway that's just 205 metres wide. this canal, connecting the red sea and the mediterranean, was originally built 150 years ago. it's still crucial for modern trade. the ever gi

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.en has urged congress not to "wait another minute" to bring in a ban on assault rifles and tighter checks on gun owners. it's a long—running issue in american politics, and bitterly contested. mr biden said he felt personally devastated by another killing spree on monday in boulder, colorado where a gunman killed ten people. police have now charged a 21—year—old man with murder. sophie long has the latest. a crowded grocery store in the city of boulder became the scene of the latest deadly attack on innocent americansjust going about their business. terrified shoppers and workers scrambled and were led to safety. ten people between the ages of 20 and 65 didn't make it. they include eric talley, who was the first police officer on the scene. the father of seven was shot while trying to protect the community he'd served for more than a decade — a community now torn apart by tragedy. we feel these losses in our bones, some of us more deeply than others, but all of us are agonised by this

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem.ndent tom bateman sent this report from tel aviv. well, this has been israel's try again election, that exactly what the voters have gone back to the polls, gone back to the polls for the time in two years. and once again, if the exit polls are to be believed, they returned the same kind of result, which is inconclusive. those forecasts are suggesting that both the block that opposes mr netanyahu, wants to oust him from government, and the right one block to support them, neither of them have a clear path to victory. it is suggesting mr netanyahu has the political upper hand, the horse trading that may now commence will give him the advantage, and already has been done i put out a statement saying this is a victory, in his view, for the right wing block and for his likud party. it has been a campaign that has been characterised as far as mr netanyahu is concerned by the coronavirus pandemic and the way in which in his view, he has sickle handily procured vaccines for israel. ~ . ., .,

yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. contest — russia's entry tells the bbc about the hatred she's received after bring selected. let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. with great regret, the committee have decided that south africa be excluded from the 1970 competition. singing streaking across the sky, the . white hot wreck of the mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: a packaging defect casues hong kong and macau to temporarily suspend the use of the pfizer— biontech covid vaccine. egypt's suez canal has been blocked by a large container ship that ran aground in the narrow channel. president biden has urged congress not to "wait another minute" to bring in a ban on assault rifles and tighter checks on gun owners. it's a long—running issue in american politics, and bitterly contested. mr biden said he felt personally devastated by another killing spree, on monday in boulder, colorado, where a gunman killed ten people. police have now charged a 21—year—

our middle east correspondent, yolande knell reporting.after india beat england in the t20 series, the teams have moved on to poona, where the one—day series starts in the coming hours. it's the best of three matches and there are a number of notable absentees in the england camp. joe root hasn't returned to the setup after leaving india following the test series, and the skipper is wary of this. i hope it doesn't change the dynamics too much. obviously losing joe root is leaving a massive hole, for a guy who scores and averages 50. he is an exceptional player and has been for a long time. so we will miss him. but it is going to be a matter of somebody slotting in at three and going about it in their own business. england may be missing some experience, but the indian captain is keen to see how the newer players to international cricket in his team perform. it will be interesting because there are a few younger players who are getting an opportunity in the one—day set—up for the first time. so i am keen to see how they go about executing t

any new government will last, given how close the election was. 0ur middle east correspondent yolande knell mr netanyahu's party his efforts there is plenty of drama about who is to sit in the parliament here and who is going to be in charge. well it is clear that binyamin netanyahu's party has won the biggest number of seats, about a quarter of the total. there are several small party, each with a few seats and they could determine whether he remains in power or whether his points can keep him out. what united opposition leaders is their insistence that israel's longest serving prime minister must go. he is currently on trial for corruption, but denies doing anything wrong. with so little movement from the results of previous elections, this result shows once again how divided israeli politics are. who are against him. but already moves are being made and deals are being done behind the scenes. it looks like binyamin netanyahu's best path to secure another term could be a highly unusual one, involving building a coalition with orthodox and arab parties, how that would work is anyone's gues

our correspondent, yolande knell, is injerusalem. not the resolution that they were after?t the resolution that they were after? . , , ., ~ not the resolution that they were after? ., , , ., ~ , after? it really is not. we 'ust have plenty i after? it really is not. we 'ust have plenty more i after? it really is not. we just have plenty more political- after? it really is not. we just i have plenty more political drama about who exactly is going to sit in the parliament over there and especially he was going to be in charge. bench and not know you party has the biggest number of seats, a quarter of the total but it will still have to build a coalition with smaller parties. it looks like the best path for the prime minister to secure another term in office would be to team up withjewish culture orthodox and arab parties, something never seen in israel before and it is not clear if the government like that could work this is shown once again that israel is deeply divided between those who skip support benjamin netanyahu and those who oppose him and say he should go because he

our correspondent yolande knell is injerusalem and gave us this update.w seats and they could determine whether he remains in power or whether his opponents can keep him out. what unites opposition leaders is their insistence that israel's longest—serving prime minister must go. he is currently on trial for corruption, but denies doing anything wrong. with so little movement from the results of previous elections, this result shows once again how divided israeli politics are. there are those who support netanyahu and those who are against him. but already moves are being made and deals are being done behind the scenes. it looks like mr netanyahu's best path to securing another term could be a highly unusual one involving building a coalition with ultraorthodox, ultranationalist and arab parties. how that would work is anyone's guess. israelis are left wondering if the latest election will again prove inconclusive, whether the long political stalemate will continue. inafew in a few minutes i'm people continue hearing how efforts to free a giant boat stuck

israel is a model for the whole world, it is a great success. 0ur correspondent in jerusalem yolande knellnt has been complicated by the unexpectedly strong showing of an israeli arab party. certainly a struggle to try to build a new stable government, which is what he said that he wants for israel. with different coalition partners. things have happened in the last few hours as results have been coming in. there has been political drama as small israeli arab party passed the threshold for entering the parliament. we saw dancing at its headquarters. very unusually, its leader has actually expressed support for benjamin netanyahu during this election campaign, splitting off from other israeli arab parties. that makes him into a potential kingmaker, as they try to form a new coalition. also, we know already that one of his long—time political rivals, somebody who is are you logically close to him, the former defence minister, he will also have to win him round if he wants to have a chance of forming a narrow majority in the 120 seat in israeli parliament, but things still remain extremely cl

our correspondent in jerusalem yolande knell says the task of forming a coalition government has been a new struggle, which is what he says for once but israel a different coalition partners. different things have happened in the last few hours, there has been some political drama as unexpectedly, a small israeli arab party passed the threshold for entering the parliament. we saw dancing in its headquarters. very unusually, its leader has actually expressed support for benjamin netanyahu during this election campaign, splitting off from other israeli arab parties. that makes him into a potential kingmaker, as benjamin netanyahu tries to form a new coalition. we know already that one of his long—time political rivals, somebody whose idea logically close to him, the former defence minister, he will have to win him round if he wants to have a chance of forming a narrow majority in the 120 seat israeli parliament. but things still remain extremely close and we won't get the final results until the end of the week. authorities in myanmar have released an estimated 600 people from prison in