they have just opened the hatch ready to release the aid down into gaza. there is no organised distribution system down there. there it goes. shock in northern ireland following the resignation of the leader of the democratic unionist party, sirjeffrey donaldson. he's to strenuously contest charges of rape and other historical sexual offences. power blackouts hit seven regions of ukraine after a wave of russian missile strikes, the second large—scale attack in a week. a treasure trove of never—before heard music from the late american singer marvin gaye has resurfaced in belgium. hello.

i'm sarah campbell. we start with the war between israel and hamas, as international pressure mounts for action to address the prospect of imminent famine among palestinians in gaza. we're following a number of developments. the us is said to have authorised the transfer of billions of dollars�* worth of bombs and fighterjets to israel in recent days. the package, reported by the washington post and reuters, comes despite growing calls for us military aid to be linked to changes in how israel conducts the war. it comes days after the un's top court, the international court ofjustice, ordered israel to allow the unimpeded flow of food aid into gaza. israel says un allegations that it's blocking aid are "wholly unfounded". the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has agreed to send officials to egypt and qatar in the coming days for a new round of talks on a possible ceasefire in gaza. in the past 2a hours both the uk

and the us military have airdropped food supplies into gaza. our bbc middle east correspondent lucy williamson, was on the us plane. aid drops into gaza are expensive, inefficient and increasingly controversial. these ready—prepared meals from the us army are being flown more than 1,000 miles from the us in qatar. there's plenty of food just a short drive from gaza's borders, but this american aid is being flown right across the middle east. 80 crates of food on board two c—i7 transport planes, dropped into a population the un says is on the brink of famine. it's not perfect. we know that there's upwards of two million people who need food on the ground who are hungry, innocent civilians who didn't ask for this conflict, and we're dropping meals in the tens of thousands, but at least it's something. so does it feel like a drop in the bucket? maybe a little bit, but if you're a family on the ground

who got some of this aid, it can be a life—saver. 12 people were reported to have drowned this week trying to retrieve packages from the sea, six others crushed in a stampede. what are you doing to try and mitigate those risks? literally everything we can. i know you spoke with the colonel earlier. we use a chute that falls at a slower rate to give the gazans more time to see the parachutes and make sure they're out of the way. we also have assets overhead that clear the drop zone, so we will not drop if there are any sorts of groupings of people there. after three hours in the air, the ramp opens on gaza's devastated coastline. they've just opened the hatch, ready to release the aid down into gaza. there's no organised distribution system down there. there it goes. a drop of aid in an ocean of hunger. getting aid in this way is a last resort, but a growing number of countries are doing it.

how much do these eye—catching flights relieve pressure on gaza's civilians, and how much the pressure on governments elsewhere? the us has said to authorise billions of dollars worth of arms to israel. i asked our middle east correspondent yolande knell will be new of those plans. so according to these reports in the washington post and reuters as well, they're quoting unnamed us state and defense department officials, and they're saying that more than 1800 2000lb bombs, some 500 500lb bombs and 25 f—35 fighterjets have been authorized in the latest set of military aid assistance coming across to israel. now, a lot of this has already been initially approved by congress, but the reason this is so

interesting in terms of the timing, just after a visit by the israeli defense minister, yoav gallant, to washington, is that really in recent days we have seen tensions deepening between israel and the us and that really reached the lowest moment on monday after you had the us abstention at the un security council when it came to a resolution being passed on a ceasefire in the gaza warfor the first time. israel was very angered about that and there have been these calls from senior democrats in the us and from other groups of society like arab—americans, suggesting that if military weapons supplies, transfers to israel are not going to be cut, then they should be limited or they should be conditioned by the biden administration. that doesn't seem to have happened. yeah, it's really interesting, isn't it? we've spoken over the last couple of weeks about the relations being strained

and as you say, there widespread calls for this, the two to be linked, that the military aid should be linked to the humanitarian aid to gaza. but that doesn't seem to be the case. indeed. and the white house has been saying that it supports israel's continued right to defend itself. we know that the israeli defense minister in the us had been talking to washington about its declared aim to keep israel with what's called a "qualitative military edge" in this region and also talking about not just waging war in gaza, but the prospect of a possible escalation on israel's northern border, where there have been in recent months these near—daily cross—border exchanges of fire with the powerful lebanese armed group hezbollah. thousands of protesters in thejordanian capital, amman, have taken part in a sixth evening of protests in support of palestinians in gaza. crowds again gathered near the israeli embassy, demanding

that the mission be closed. they also denounced the peace treaty betweenjordan and israel which was signed three decades ago, with some chanting in support of hamas. on tuesday, police used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowds. now to northern ireland, where politics have been thrown into turmoil following the news that the leader of the democratic unionist party, sirjeffrey donaldson, has resigned after being charged with rape and other historical sexual offences. he was arrested on thursday along with a 57—year—old woman who is been woman who has been charged with aiding and abetting in connection with the alleged offences. they will both appear in court next month. sirjeffrey is northern ireland's longest serving mp at westminster. he says he'll strenously contest the charges. jennifer 0'leary reports. sirjeffrey donaldson, a leader who, just weeks ago, returned his party to power—sharing at stormont. now his political career

appears to be over. in a statement issued at lunchtime yesterday, his party announced his resignation, his political exit prompted by his arrest and charges of rape and other sexual offences as part of a police investigation spanning months, after two women came forward. in a letter to his party, sirjeffrey donaldson said he will be strenuously contesting the charges. the newly—appointed interim dup party leader, mp gavin robinson, spoke of the shock within the party and beyond. it's a devastating revelation and has caused tremendous shock, notjust for myself personally or my colleagues within the dup, but for the community right across northern ireland, it came as a great shock. but we are a party and individuals that believe in justice. we have faith in our criminal justice system and so, in the coming days and months, i think it is important that none

of us say anything or act in any way that would seek to prejudice what is now an ongoing criminal investigation. in northern ireland, sirjeffrey donaldson is decades—long known for his unyielding defence of the union. he now stands apart from the unionist party he steered back into power—sharing. in a statement, the first minister, michelle 0'neill, said her priority is to continue to provide the leadership the public expect and deserve. sirjeffrey donaldson�*s resignation comes at a criticaljuncture. the fault lines from this political earthquake go well beyond one man and one party. it creates a fissure at the heart of unionism at a time when some see it under increasing threat from those who want a united ireland. on a bank holiday easter weekend when politics was supposed to be on pause,

sirjeffrey donaldson�*s party political days look firmly in the past. jennifer 0'leary, bbc news. our correspondent dan johnson has more. politicians here in northern ireland are saying business as usual. this is a shock, but they will try to carry on. they are determined that things won't be destabilised here because they've been so determined, they've been working so hard. they've put things in place to get northern ireland's government operating again in the last two months, after two years of political instability, disruption when things weren't working, so so much effort is being put on. people are saying they're determined that this won't wreck that, but there are serious risks. no doubt. no doubt, this is a huge blow. i mean, you mentioned there the power sharing only back on track in the last couple of months, which illustrates

the the instability, the fragility of politics in northern ireland. there must be huge concern about what happens now. yes, it may look like a solid, stable building, but the politics within it are very delicate, are fragile, have to be carefully nurtured. sirjeffrey donaldson had been so key to that in putting together the deal that brought power—sharing, brought the parties representing different interests here across northern ireland's communities together, working together again for the first time in two years. he was so influential, so important in bringing his own party into that power—sharing arrangement when there were voices opposing the deal that he had negotiated. he's been an important interlocutor with political interests in london and with dublin, as well. so with his influence now off the table, whatever happens to his court case, whether he's found guilty or not, it is what comes in his wake. how long can the interim leader hold things together? will he be in the position even longer? will he be elected? what happens to sirjeffrey�*s politicalseat, his constituency at westminster? there may have to be a by—election for that. what happens to the deputy first

minister who is in power here but nominated by sirjeffrey donaldson himself? so with him removed, such a key, influential, long—standing figure who's been so important and was at the height of his political power, having successfully negotiated that deal which brought the northern ireland executive back into working function here just so recently, there are huge questions and although people say they are optimistic, they are determined, they are committed to making sure that things aren't destabilised here, the situation is so delicate, there are so many competing interests and voices and opinions, people who want different things, who see an opportunity, and this naturally introduces instability into that picture, which will mean that the future is uncertain, that things could play out in different directions depending on which route the democratic unionist party now takes and what that then means for the whole unionist movement that represents the people who want northern ireland to be part of the united kingdom.

an iranian television reporter has been stabbed in london. the metropolitan police stairs while we are keeping an open mind, given the occupation of the victim and publicise concerns about that two employees of that organisation, investigation is being handled by the counterterrorism command. parham gobadi is with the bbc�*s persian service and has this report. as you said, it is a persian language news channel operating 24/7 based here in london and also

in washington, dc. they announced today that one of their most high profile tv presenters four years ago at 36—year—old had been stabbed here in southern london while leaving his home by unidentified men, a group of them. now, then, later on, metropolitan police issued a statement saying that although the motivation is not clear, but because of the nature of the job of this person who is a journalist and he's a prominentjournalist, and the previous threats, which is really important, directed towards iran international and other iranian journalists here in the uk, they have decided that metropolitan counter—terrorism command is going to be leading this investigation into this matter. seven regions of ukraine are experiencing emergency blackouts after a wave of russian missile strikes. russia launched nearly a hundred drones and missiles across the border on thursday night, the second large—scale attack in a week, hitting power plants in central and western ukraine. president volodymyr zelensky says russia is deliberately targeting energy systems. the white house has called the attacks "a terrible reminder of vladimir putin's efforts to break the spirit of the ukrainian people". ukraine is facing shortages of ammunition and air defences. meanwhile, poland's prime minister donald tusk has warned that europe is now in what he called

a "pre—war" era. mr tusk said the continent had not faced such uncertainty since 1916. he said nobody on the continent would feel safe if russia defeated ukraine. president putin says he has no plans to attack a nato country. 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford is in kharkiv. in the ukraine they are calling this north—south terrorism. several regions are experiencing power blackouts. where we are now power is rationed. you can be without electricity for up to six hours a day. it is supposed to be scheduled but sometimes it happens without notice. these are attacks that are

aimed at morale. it is also affecting industry. factories are struggling with power. i was speaking to the mayor and he said he was hoping to get the power up and running as normal in the next couple of months, but it didn't sound very definite about that. we have air raid sirens multiple times every single day. kharkiv is a a0 kilometres from russia. this was right on the front line at the beginning of the full scale invasion. there are nerves here because there are rumours and reports of another russian push to try to take kharkiv and people here are worried about that. the authorities say people shouldn't panic. it is compounding the difficulty of living in a place like kharkiv under constant threat of missile strike without power for many hours a day and also that the threat of russia just a few miles away from here.

i wasjoined in the i was joined in the studio earlier by a member of the ukrainian parliament. we already survived a winter blackout. it was the first winter in 2022, and we hope that it will never be repeated. but i can tell you it's a huge difference between sitting in a bomb shelter when there are lights, when there is internet and your devices are charged. so kids have somewhere to play. and when it's dark, when it's cold and it's really, really dangerous, it feels absolutely like armageddon when there are those blackouts, when there is cold, and when the attacks continue. and this is how it feels in ukraine. we are calling for the world to hear us in the matter that we do need the air defense systems and ammunition for them. it's a way for us not only to physically survive, but also

to protect our critical infrastructure. we have already seen what russia can do and theyjust never stepped away from their plan to destroy our energy and try to break our spirits. and energy seems to be the key target at the moment. your president is saying that russia is deliberately targeting those energy systems. it's absolutely true. and this is the open information because we see particularly where the missiles hit and this energy infrastructure, it is usually located near people's homes. 0n 2nd january there was a similar attack and the explosion was right near the home where i live and my windows were blown away and part of the wall and was taken down. and i can tell you, sarah, it was it was one of the worst experiences of my life. and i cannot imagine how people deal with it every single day, over and over and over. and i'm so proud of my fellow ukrainians, but i'm also trying to deliver this message to the world that we will fight, but we need the means to fight with.

we cannot be facing our enemy empty—handed. where are you hoping their appeals will be listened to? presumably the us. the key place is the us right now because we really need this aid from the congress being voted in. it's already seven months delayed and even if the miracle happens and it is voted these days, it will still take time until those promises will become the weapons in ukrainian soldiers�* hands. but we are also have a calls here in the united kingdom and in the european countries on using russian assets that are being frozen to be seized and used to help us win the war, but also to help us rebuild all the destruction. can you just imagine the amounts that we will have to spend to rebuild what is already destroyed, including the energy infrastructure that is being destroyed every single day, literally every single day? just finally to ask, how difficult

is it two years on to keep the spirit of the ukrainian people positive? we have other choice. we have absolutely no other choice. we made a decision to fight two years ago and we will continue doing this. we will not retreat. we will not back down because we are fighting for our own freedom, for our own future, and we will do that. what we need is some help in the means to do that. i want to bring you up—to—date. this is an eastern dutch town and there seems to be our hostage situation developing. it is a popular cafe called cafe petticoat. a man entered the premises in the early morning

and local media say he threatened to blow himself up. we understand that 150 homes around the area have been evacuated and the town centre has been closed down. the police are saying there is no indication of a terrorist motive at this time, but police have issued a statement on x saying a hostage situation involving several people is under way a building in the centre of the time. once again, this is the town of ede, an eastern dutch town. this situation is clearly developing. the police say there is no indication of a terrorist motive. you can see several police units have been deployed to the scene. 0ur reporter for a broadcaster said that a remote—controlled robots was also at the scene, as well as anti—exclusive

units and police in protective gear. we understand that trains to and from ede have been cancelled, according to the local railway operator. 0bviously according to the local railway operator. obviously we will keep you up—to—date with any developments on that story. you can also keep up—to—date with any of the latest developments on the bbc news website. tributes are being paid to louis gossettjunior, the first black man to win best supporting actor at the oscars, who has died at the age of 87. gossettjr took home the academy award for his role as a no—nonsense drill sergeant in an officer and a gentlemen in 1982. he also won an emmy in the late �*70s for the tv series roots. he was a soul legend who helped shape the sound of the sixties and seventies. now, nearly a0 years after the death of marvin gaye — there's a claim that previously unheard music has been found. he lived in belgium towards the end of his life, and now a lawyer representing the people he lived

with says they've found a huge collection of his belongings — including costumes and audio cassettes. # ..to make me blue. # with some other guy that you knew before... marvin gaye, seen here in the legendary performance at montreux, made some of the greatest records in pop history. but what if there are more songs, maybe more classics, that no—one has ever heard? these are the tapes that we found... this belgian lawyer says there is just such a track, although he's keeping it under wraps for now. he'll describe it to us but he won't play it to us. it's an amazing song, a great tune, great lyrics, catchy, and i thought, "this is a planetary alightment moment". i'm interested to hear them. the jazz musician and marvin gaye expect gary crosby is looking

forward to hearing any new songs. undiscovered marvin gaye tapes would be a gift to the world - of music at this present moment — from my perspective, you know? i because we don't know — until we hear the tapes, i we actually don't know. but we are talking about - marvin gaye, one of the greatest artists of all time. there's bound to be - something of value in there. we did, though, hear a sample of hours of private recordings. # ..but to those who wait and those... marvin gaye's voice is tuneful, his mood sometimes playful. is the tape on? thank god, because i would never remember that again! a vast collection of memorabilia has turned up in belgium because in the early �*80s, the seaside town of 0stend was a place of refuge for marvin gaye, whose life in london had spiralled

out of control. when he left, the family he lived with say he left them box after box — audio cassettes, documents, notebooks, lyrics and stage costumes — theirs to dispose of as they pleased. it's a bookful. that red jacket is the one marvin wore in montreux. under belgian law, the family's lawyer says they have the absolute right to sell it. the clothes and the accessories, they will be sold. any new music, though, could only be sold with the permission of marvin gaye's children. compromise is called for, says alex trappeniers. i want to reach my hand to the family because when you exploit the copyright which is in the tapes, you can't do that without the authorisation of the estate which is his three children. if his kids become aware of this —

marvin gaye's children, who are heirs — and theyjust say, "that's our dad and, like, and morally, you should give this back"? well, morally, i'd prefer to work with them on this. if there are to be negotiations over any new material, they have yet to start. but there is at least a chance that new marvin gaye music may one day emerge to add to the legend of one of the great names in the history of pop. kevin connolly, bbc news, 0stend. # to keep me from getting to you, babe. a fascinating story. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. today and tomorrow brings a window of quieter weather for many, which is good news, of course, for the easter weekend. not completely dry,

there will be a few showers around, but fewer of them. with a bit more sunshine, it should feel warmer for many for a time before things change as we go into monday, especially across england and wales. at the moment, the low pressure which has governed things so far, the centre is out to the west, this is where the focus for the heaviest showers are, but we have been drawing up cloud across east anglia and the south—east. this is where it's been grey so far today for some. brightening up through the rest of this afternoon. there will be a few showers around, particularly across scotland. some heavier ones out towards the west, a rumble of thunder, but through much of southern scotland, england and wales through the afternoon very few showers. more of you will spend the bulk of the day, if not all day, dry. as i said, temperatures a little bit higher than recent days at 10 to 1a or 15 degrees. into tonight, some thundery showers across the channel islands and the south—west pushes towards ireland. a bit more of a breeze here. that will stop temperatures dropping too much. with lighter winds and clearer skies, central and eastern scotland, north—east england, this is where we could see frost to take us into sunday morning, which of course is the start of british summertime, so get ready to put the clocks forward an hour tonight. it does mean tomorrow evening

the sunset will be an hour later, so some longer afternoons and evenings ahead. as for easter sunday itself, well, for many it starts bright. there will be the chance of showers first thing across ireland. more of those could be heavy and thundery, but a greyer day through central eastern england, and especially along the coast. it could be quite misty. that is drifting its way northwards into eastern scotland later. a bit more cloud through central england. a few showers elsewhere, but a lot of dry weather. the best of the weather across scotland and in the west we could see highs of 15 or 16 degrees. with easterly winds here on monday, this is where the driest, brightest weather will be, but low pressure in the south brings a return of some more widespread rain drifting northwards through the day, breaking up into showers. some of those in the south—west could be heavy and thundery later. we will get a bit of sunshine, though. we could see temperatures at 13, 1a degrees around the london area. a cooler day in eastern scotland, north—east england with a breeze off the sea, but western scotland again in the sunshine, it could get to around 13 or 1a degrees. a quick look at some of the charts to take us into next week.

if you're on an extended break, of course, with it being easter, low pressure rules the roost. don't take the weather symbols too literally. there will be rain at times, breezy as well, but it won't be desperately cold with temperatures a little bit above average.

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the us is said to have authorised the transfer of billions