president zelensky again calls on ukraine's allies to provide more air defences. the bbc learns british troops could be used to help deliver aid to gaza via a new sea route. the scottish government is on the edge after a week of turmoil. first minister humza yousaf is looking to shore up his position, seeking talks with other party leaders. south africa celebrates freedom day — it's 30 years since the end of apartheid and its first democratic elections. a great heaviness has lifted from our shoulders. our shackles have been cast off. and the tragedy on the channel. we speak to a man who was due to board a dinghy to the uk but changed his mind because it was overcrowded.

hello, i'm lewies vaughanjones. welcome to the programme. ukraine's president zelensky has renewed his appeal for allies to provide his country with more air defences, after another night of russian bombardment caused serious damage to energy infrastructure. in kharkiv — ukraine's second city — officials said a missile narrowly missed a hospital with a thousand people inside, leaving a huge crater in the grounds, blowing out windows and injuring one person. there were also attacks in the dnipro region in central ukraine — and in the western areas of lviv and ivano—frankivsk. ukrainian officials say equipment was damaged and at least one energy worker injured. russia has repeatedly targeted ukrainian energy infrastructure over recent months. mr zelensky called for decisive action, saying the world could shoot down every missile and drone launched by what he called "russian terrorists". meanwhile, there are reports that ukraine has launched drone attacks on a military airfield

in the southern russian border region, as well as two oil refineries. our ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse, is in southern ukraine. even by the standards of this war this was a night of busy skies, where you have the ukrainian authorities saying that russia launched 3a missiles from land, sea and air, and it was a large—scale attack where you have these power stations reportedly hit in the far westerly parts of ukraine, as well as in the east around the eastern city of dnipro, as well as kharkiv city in the north—east, where we are told a psychiatric hospital was narrowly missed, with 1,000 people inside. president zelensky has used the strikes to renew his pleas for air defence systems. yes, this western aid is coming in, but he is saying that western allies have the resources to stop every russian missile from hitting ukrainian targets. he has used that political opportunity. but this wasn't a night

of one—way traffic. you have russian authorities in the southern krasnodar region saying they intercepted more than 60 drones launched by ukraine. they say two oil refineries were hit and there are reports that an airbase too. the us at one point warned ukraine about hitting energy sites inside russia overfears of energy price rises and an escalation in this war. it is clear from last night that kyiv still does not share in those concerns. dr marina miron is a post—doctoral researcher at the war studies department at the king's college university of london. let's speak about the systems that ukraine has. they have the us patriot systems, they have german—made systems, and they have the old soviet f300 systems. and the most advanced arguably is the us—made patriot. however, is also the most expensive system, costing about $1 billion. and the missiles for the system

are also very expensive and are in shortage in ukraine. even if ukraine has the systems, it needs to have enough interception missiles to fend off russian attacks. president zelensky has been stressing quite frequently that ukraine would need at least 50 patriot systems in order to cover the area that the russians are attacking. 0n the areas that the russian troops are attacking, what is the strategy with energy and infrastructure being hit? the russians want to destroy every single capability that ukrainian armed forces have. so they are destroying the energy infrastructure, they are targeting military facilities such as storage facilities, drone factories, ammunition storages. so the idea is to weaken the ukrainian armed forces and of course, without electricity, you cannot maintain equipment, you cannot produce

ammunition or drones. that is the idea and that is preparing the ground for an expected russian offensive which should be happening any time soon, end of may, perhaszune. there've been developments in ceasefire negotiations between israel and hamas — with both sides continuing to review proposals. egyptian mediators have arrived in israel — and local media are reporting there's been "notable progress" in finding common ground. in gaza itself, the hamas—run health agency says at least 50 people have been killed in israeli attacks in the past day. on saturday, people searched through the rubble of rafah, trying to recover what they could, after two houses were struck in the southern gaza city. meanwhile the bbc has learnt that british troops could be used to help deliver aid to gaza via a mediterranean sea route. aid would be delivered from cyprus on large ships before being transferred onto trucks and smaller landing craft.

the floating causeway is expected to be "several hundred metres long" and anchored firmly into the sand. the united states has decided not to put american boots on the ground. 0ur diplomatic correspondentjames landale has more from jerusalem. some aid is getting into gaza by land. trucks carrying food, water and medical supplies. some aid is being dropped by air, but the united nations says it is nowhere near enough to help the people of gaza who, it says, are facing famine. so there are plans for aid to come by sea. the us army is building floating platforms like this off the coast, where aid will be taken off ships and put into trucks. that floating causeway is expected to be anchored on the beach somewhere near here, where israeli forces will secure a distribution area. the us says there will be no american boots on the ground. so the uk is considering whether british forces should drive the trucks along the causeway that may look something like this.

but that would mean british forces being put in harm's way on the beaches of gaza, so—called wet boots on the ground, potentially at risk from hamas fighters. hamas at the end of the day could try and interrupt this. i would like to think they won't but i think probably they won't. but it's possible that they could. unfortunately in these sorts of operations, you end up in places you wouldn't want to have gone to. british forces could be deployed from this uk air base in cyprus, but, as of now, it is just an option. there has been no decision and it is yet to pass the prime minister's desk. the mod refused to comment. sending british troops to the beaches of gaza would be a big decision. they would be at risk in a war zone, they would be operating in the holy land for the first time since the 1940s. but someone has to drive these trucks and they've got to make a decision soon, the us says this new aid corridor is going to be up and running by early next month. james landale, bbc

news, injerusalem. chris parry is a former senior officer in the royal navy and nato. he explained how any operation might work. what we have to imagine is the coastline at gaza doesn't have any port facilities, and so, if anybody can remember what d—day was like we had piers and pontoons that lead from deep water into the shallow zone and also the shore. what this is called by the americans is called joint logistics over the shore, jlots. it is essentially a floating pier and it enables you to put heavy trucks and other loads ashore from ships that can only go into deep water. during the construction of this pontoon pier people are going to stay in rfa cardigan bay, which is a 15,000 tonne auxiliary ship that works for the royal navy. i think we have heard already that a third party is going to be

driving these trucks, and i suspect the interface would best be served by an arab country rather than any british troops going ashore. i suspect we are going to be limited to doing what is offshore and the truck driving and all the other things are best placed amongst those who are understand the local culture and can deal with it. in an attempt to save his political career, scotland's first minister, humza yousaf, has invited the leaders of other parties to talks in an attempt to find �*common ground'. he wrote to the leaders on friday night. mr yousaf is insisting he will not resign despite the tumultuous week. the crisis began when humza yousaf — who leads the scottish national party ended its governing coalition with the scottish greens. both parties are pro scottish independence. there'd been trouble in the coalition about the decision to scrap climate targets — and gender policy issues. theoretically, mr yousaf could lead

a minority government but he faces a confidence vote in his leadership — and all the main scottish parties say they will vote against him. there is also expected to be a confidence vote in his government. there's the possibility that a former snp member ash regan — who defected to another nationalist party — could save mr yousaf. but that's highly uncertain. the big picture in all of this is that the position of the scottish national party is weakening with uk elections due. and that also has implications for the likelihood of scottish independence. 0ur reporter catrina renton — who's in glasgow for us — has more. this all started when humza yousaf ended the power—sharing agreement with the greens on thursday. a lot has happened since then. without the scottish greens in government, humza yousaf leads a minority government and now he potentially faces these two votes of no confidence next week. that is one in himself and one in his government. the arithmetic is very tight. he will need the support of at least one opposition msp if he is to survive and that

of course means he needs all of his own msps in the snp as well. he has written to all of the party leaders asking them for talks on where they can find common ground. in the letter, he called for constructive contributions while acknowledging strong feelings remain in the lead up to next week's votes. and the responses are starting to come in. first, let's look at the prounion parties who it is very unlikely that the snp would be able to get a deal with. douglas ross, who is the leader of the scottish conservatives, tabled the motion of no confidence in humza yousaf and he has written back to him. in it he said that humza yousaf has prioritised his campaign for independence above the real concerns of the scottish public. and that he should accept his time in office is over, and should resign as first minister. definitely no deal there. scottish labour tabled the no—confidence motion in the scottish government.

today, they have said that this letter they have received from humza yousaf is an act of desperation and the government is chaotic and incompetent and a case of not if, when humza yousaf goes, but when, and they want a general election at holyrood. the liberal democrats said they will set out their position tomorrow. of the pro—independence parties, somewhat ironically, mr yousaf is reaching out to the green party who he dumped, but they are sore and said they cannot trust him and their position has not changed since receiving the letter. humza yousaf said yesterday he did not mean to upset or anger the scottish green party and there are a lot of issues where they share common ground. his only other potential lifeline is the alba party msp ash regan. that is the party that was led by the former first minister...that is led by the former first minister alex salmond. she stood for a leader of the snp against humza yousaf before leaving for alba. she set out a number of conditions. but if humza yousaf makes

concessions to her could that rock the boat elsewhere? if humza yousaf loses the vote in himself, he is not legally bound to reside but you can imagine the political pressure he will be under. we heard from an msp in his own party today say he would have to step down if he lost the vote. mr yousaf is trying to reclaim the narrative. we expect a raft of policy announcement this week to try and shore up some support ahead of those votes. some breaking news to bring you from the middle east. hamas have published a new video showing first proof of life from two more hostages in gaza: keith siegel and 0mri miran. the video is not dated, but miran says he has been held captive for 202 days and siegel mentions the passover holiday, indicating the clips were likely filmed recently.

siegel is a us citizen, taken captive with his wife from their home in kibbutz kfar aza on october 7. miran was was taken captive from kibbutz nir 0z. we will get more reaction to that a little later in the programme. a man who'd paid to join the small boat crossing from france to the uk this week, has told the bbc he decided against making the journey because he was worried the dinghy was overcrowded. five people — including a young girl — died. an investigation is continuing into exactly what happened. 0ur correspondentjon donnison reports from calais: chaos, desperation and violence as more than 100 people tried to cram onto a small boat in the early hours

of tuesday morning. among them was 16—year—old marcus, not his real name, from south sudan. where are you here? i'll be on this side. on that side? yeah, this side. five people were killed, including a seven—year—old girl. and how do people die? there were too many people. they were crushed maybe. i didn't see them die. ijust wanted to save myself. 30 or a0 guys were trying to force themselves on the boat because they did not pay the money. marcus, who is fleeing life as a child soldier in south sudan, says he paid people smugglers $1,000 to make the crossing and even though he was injured in the last attempt, he,s willing to pay more to try again. you can see today that the sea is calm and the wind has dropped, and that means more attempted crossings. here you've got a boat that's been abandoned, it looks like police have slashed it open. you've also got a tear gas canister, which police have been using, and some abandoned children's clothing. despite the dangers, people like marcus are not going to give up. and what of the government's rwanda policy? the government is saying they will deport people who cross to rwanda. does that worry you?

that will not stop me, i will never give up. i will try my best to cross the english channel. and the chance came sooner than we expected. after we left marcus this morning, we heard that he'd headed to the beaches once more for another attempt to reach the uk. jon donnison, bbc news, in calais. breaking news... in the past few minutes a conservative mp has quit the party to join the labour party. dan poulter — the mp for central suffolk and north ipswich — told sunday with laura kuenssberg about his decision. for more, i'm joined by ben wright. this has just happened. this hasjust happened. what this has just happened. what has just happened? dan this hasjust happened. what has just happened?— just happened? dan poulter has soken to just happened? dan poulter has spoken to laura _ just happened? dan poulter has spoken to laura kuenssberg - just happened? dan poulter has| spoken to laura kuenssberg and just happened? dan poulter has - spoken to laura kuenssberg and the full interview will be on bbc one tomorrow morning. it is a huge blow for rishi sunak. this is the first defection from the tories to labour that has happened on his watch since

he became prime minister. dr poulter, who serves as still as a working mental health dr in the nhs, has decided that now is the time to cross the floor and join the labour party. he says he has no animosity to rishi sunak but feels the country needs an election now and says labour and needs an election now and says labourand keir needs an election now and says labour and keir starmer would be trusted to run the nhs and the country. he says he could no longer look people in the eye and stay on as a conservative. he feels that the tory party today is not focusing on delivering or supporting high quality public services. that is what he is saying. it will be a big blow to number ten, no doubt about that at all. we blow to number ten, no doubt about that at all. ~ ., , that at all. we can hit a little bit of his interview. _ that at all. we can hit a little bit of his interview. let's _ that at all. we can hit a little bit of his interview. let's take - that at all. we can hit a little bit of his interview. let's take a - of his interview. let's take a listen. i of his interview. let's take a listen. ., . ., , , listen. i found it increasingly difficult to — listen. i found it increasingly difficult to look _ listen. i found it increasingly difficult to look my - listen. i found it increasingly difficult to look my nhs - listen. i found it increasingly - difficult to look my nhs colleagues in the _ difficult to look my nhs colleagues in the eye and my patients in the eye and — in the eye and my patients in the eye and my— in the eye and my patients in the eye and my constituents in the eye with good — eye and my constituents in the eye with good conscience. i feel that the nhs — with good conscience. i feel that the nhs deserves better than it has at the _ the nhs deserves better than it has at the moment in terms of how it's run and _ at the moment in terms of how it's run and govan. the party i was

elected — run and govan. the party i was elected into valued public services. it had _ elected into valued public services. it had a _ elected into valued public services. it had a compassionate view about supporting the more disadvantaged in society _ supporting the more disadvantaged in society i_ supporting the more disadvantaged in society. i think the conservative party— society. i think the conservative party today is in a very different place _ party today is in a very different place its — party today is in a very different place. its focus is not on delivering or supporting high quality— delivering or supporting high quality public services. we delivering or supporting high quality public services. we will get to the symbolism _ quality public services. we will get to the symbolism and _ quality public services. we will get to the symbolism and significance | quality public services. we will get i to the symbolism and significance in just a moment but on the practicalities, how does it work now? what happens? he practicalities, how does it work now? what happens? he simply goes and sits with — now? what happens? he simply goes and sits with labour _ now? what happens? he simply goes and sits with labour next _ now? what happens? he simply goes and sits with labour next time - now? what happens? he simply goes and sits with labour next time the - and sits with labour next time the house of commons assembles next week. he will now be a labour mp. he is not going to stand down so there is not going to stand down so there is not going to stand down so there is not going to be a by—election. i think his intention is to carry on as a labour mp until the next election and then stand down from parliament and carry on with his job as a dr. there is no requirement for there to be a by—election or anything like that. defections do happen in politics. i think there have been about 200 since 1979. but they are a big deal and i think they

are often a straw in the wind, a sign that something is up within the party from which the defection happened. i talk to tory mps a lot. there is a big malaise at the moment in the tory party. they look at the opinion polls. the mood is bleak. they have local elections in a few days' time that they feel like going to be bad. the clock is running down quite fast now until the general election and they are twitchy and nervous and despondent. i think that is what comes across from what dr poulter is saying. his majority is huge. he has a 23,000 majority. what will happen come the general election? we will see. a month ago we had a defection from the right of the party, when the former deputy chairman lee anderson, who had been suspended as a tory mp, joined reform. dr poulter is very much in the centre of the tory party. he feels rishi sunak�*s party is not delivering for the country and he is going tojoin keir starmer. it is a big coup for labour, no doubt about

that. , ., ~ , ., ., that. interesting. thank you for talkin: is that. interesting. thank you for talking is through _ that. interesting. thank you for talking is through the _ that. interesting. thank you for talking is through the breaking | talking is through the breaking news. in the us, pro—palestinian protests are continuing at major universities. several have called police in — leading to hundreds of arrests. about 100 people were detained at northeastern university in boston, although police said those with valid student id would not face legal action. this is the scene outside columbia university in new york — the center of the demonstrations. a student leader there has been barred from the campus over comments he previously made. at the same time, columbia's senate — which makes decisions on behalf of students and teachers — has voted to investigate how the university's leadership handled the protests. nomia iqbal sent this report from new york. another day and another encampment has cropped up in the us. in this part of new york students camped outside the city college. we should make sure that the administration knows that we will not back down. sarah is palestinian—american. students here and faculty here are not scared of anything. they're willing to risk their careers. risk their schools, their personal lives.

they know that there is a risk of arrest. they know there is a risk of suspension. but they're willing to stand here and risk it all for palestine and for divestment. sergei once studied here. i came here out of curiosity... he describes himself as very pro—israel. i do find it unfair that certain groups are allowed to occupy public space, block people's access to those spaces. i do find it offensive when my people are accused of genocide, when we defend ourselves. but at the same time, i do recognise freedom of speech, freedom of assembly. this protest is peaceful. though as the crowds grow, so does the police presence. tensions between officers and students have led to an escalation across many parts of america. from georgia to texas... you are under arrest l for criminal trespasss. ..to ohio and california, there have been hundreds of arrests with students accused of trespassing.

the protests were started here by columbia university students more than a week ago. tensions have been fraught between those who are pro—palestinian and those who are pro—israeli, both accusing each other of hate speech. one student has since apologised for prior remarks saying zionists "don't deserve to live." khymanijames has now been barred from the protest site. it's much calmer here today at columbia university, but the students in the encampment behind me aren't budging on their demands. they and other students who are protesting across the country are calling on their universities to essentially cut economic and academic ties with israeli institutions. all of our demands have to be achieved in orderfor us to leave the encampment. we're asking for financial transparency. we're asking for cops off campus. we're asking for amnesty for all students that have faced disciplinary charges or have been suspended or arrested. tally is one of those students.

i think it was veryjarring to be placed in zip ties and held for that long. but i will also say as kind of frustrating and angry and scary as it was, i was also very proud to be standing in solidarity with my peers. american campuses have long been political battlegrounds. the october 7th attacks in israel are the latest flashpoint, with many universities struggling to rein in the turmoil. nomia iqbal, bbc news, new york. south africa is marking 30 years since the end of apartheid and the country's first democratic elections. president cyril ramaphosa — who led the main ceremony in pretoria — has said freedom day unites the country in celebrating its democratic journey. south africa is preparing for elections next month, while experiencing failing infrastructure and high levels of crime and unemployment. for more on this i spoke to our correspondentjenny hill, who is in johannesburg. this is a moment when south africans think back, they commemorate the heroes of the struggle against apartheid.

many of them recall, too, thejoy and the hope which accompanied the election of nelson mandela and his african national congress party. the anc has been in power ever since. a lot has changed in this country since then, the current president, cyril ramaphosa, laid the commemorations today in pretoria. he said 30 years ago, the bell of freedom rang across our great country. he also went on to say the weight of centuries of oppression was cast off on that day. this is a big moment for south africa, an entire generation has grown up in post apartheid. cyril ramaphosa knows there are a lot of challenges facing his country, he acknowledged as much in his very stirring speech. he also knows he and his party are likely to face a bruising election in a month's time. many voters are frankly fed up

with failing infrastructure, electricity, power outages, water supply is often interrupted too. there are huge problems with unemployment, the youth unemployment rate is more than 60%. record levels of violent crime are also affecting people and making them very angry. most opinion polls reveal as though that will certainly be reflected on election day. as it appears some voters are turning away from the anc with some predictions suggesting that it could lose its majority for the very first time. thanks to jenny for that. i thanks tojenny for that. i will be back with the headlines in just a couple of minutes�*s time. this is lewies vaughanjones, this is bbc news.

we started off grey and wet in southern england. a lot of cloud across wales, the midlands, for much of the day. further north it was a different story. sunny spells and scattered showers but escape those showers, a beautiful afternoon in fife, as you can see. we have more heavy rain though arriving through the night tonight. it is across the south. that rain, some of it really quite intense, will gradually drift its way steadily north and east as we go through sunday. 0nce its way steadily north and east as we go through sunday. once again a day of contrasts because the rain will continue to move its way out of the midlands, open to the north—east of england and eastern scotland. west will certainly stay dry and brightest for longest. into the afternoon we should see an improving picture across much of england and wales. sunny spells, a few scattered showers, and temperatures peaking at around 13 degrees. it will be windy on those exposed east coast. sheltered western areas clinging on

some glimpses of sunshine was not a little mcleod generally in the rain still quite heavy and persistent with gusts of wind across the east coast of 40—50 miles an hour. that 8 degrees in aberdeen feel pretty disappointing. that low ease away. the isobars squeezed together and it theirs blustery into monday. 0n the whole a relatively quiet start to the working week. temperatures to greet us first thing, we are looking at around 2—6. it will be dry, there will be sunshine coming through early on. breezy but the south, southerly wind will make it start to feel just that little bit milder, particular in the sunny moments. here is the low moving into northern ireland and perhaps clouding over across western coastal fringes as we go through the day. temperatures in the sunshine should peak at 16 degrees. starting to feel a little better. tuesday, final day of april, could actually see a little more warm. we have still got this low pressure out to the south—west. because the winds are circulating around that low we are

tapping in to a milder south—easterly. that is driving and some warmth from the near continent and you really will start to notice the difference. for our final day of april, yes, it is likely because he temperatures peaking in one or two spots into the high teens. there will be some showers around but a little bit quieter and a little bit warmer than of late.

live from london. this is bbc news breaking news in the last hour... conservative mp dr dan poulter has quit speaking to the bbc, he said a general election is needed in the uk as soon as possible. ukraine says russia has carried out another air attack — narrowly missing a hospital. president zelensky again calls on ukraine's allies to provide more air defences. hamas publish a new video showing proof of life for two more hostages in gaza. scotland's first minister seeks to save his political career... inviting leaders of other parties to talks. hello. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's cathy. hello from the bbc sport centre liverpool's hopes of staying in the premier league title race have suffered another blow after they were held to a 2—all draw with west ham united. jared bowen put the london side

ahead just before half time. liverpool came back in the second half — left back andy robertson equalising soon after the interval. an own goal from the west ham keeper alphonse areola gave the visitors the lead again. but they couldn't hold on to it with bowen, who was later given the player of the match award, picked out michail antonio to earn a point for west ham a result that isn't much help to either team's ambitions. it's not a great day for liverpool fc. oh, my god, we were unlucky, obviously, unlucky too often most of the time, maybe we know it's not right to claim anything else. again, let's recover and then we go again. lets have a look at the other results from saturday. sheffield united's relegation from the premier league has been confirmed by their 5—1

defeat to newcastle united. fulham and in—form crystal palace drew 1—all. a late penalty from zeki amdouni gave burnley a point after a 1—1 draw with manchester united. luton could have moved out of the bottom three but they lost 2—1 to wolves. everton are taking on brentford, while aston villa are at home to chelsea the five time madrid champion. rafael nadal is into the third round at tennis�*s madrid masters. the 22 time grand slam champion is playing in spain for what is expected to be the last time but nadal has just defeated the tenth seed alex de minaur 7—6 6—3. top seed jannik sinner moved into the third round after a straight sets win over fellow italian lorenzo sonego. the australian open champion took just one hour and ten minutes to move into the third round — taking the first set without dropping a game. sinner will face the winner of pavel kotov againstjordan thompson, as he searches for his fourth atp title of the season.

in the women's draw, last year's finalist, iga swiatek, eased past romania's sorana cirstea in straight sets to reach the round of 16. play started with the roof closed but that had no effect on swiatek who rushed to a 4—love lead inside 22 minutes, the second set followed a similar pattern as swiatek wrapped up the win — 6—16—1— in one hour and 17 minutes. the world number one will now play spain's sara sorribes tormo in the fourth round in madrid. in rugby union, today will decide the women's six nations. england play france in bordeaux in a winner takes all game. the red roses have not lost in the competition for 28 games, but their last defeat was away against france in 2018. a short time ago — it was england with the lead winning 1a—28ireland have beaten scotland 15—12 with that victory giving irealnd both third place in the six nations table and it also qualifies them for a spot in the world cup. and in the first game of the day,

wales beat italy 22—20 but didn't get the bonus—point win needed to avoid finishing bottom of the table for the first time. former world championjudd trump says he has rejected an approach to join a potential breakaway snooker tour. there has been speculation that the sport's biggest names could be tempted to leave the existing world snooker tour and play in lucrative events elsewhere. but the world number two said he instantly refused, and that there was no chance he would quit the world snooker tour. well trump, who was the 2019 world champion, has progressed into the quarter—finals at the crucible by beating fellow englishman tom ford — 13 frames to 7. in saturday mornings other second round match, stephen maguire led shaun murphy by 10 frames to 6 at the end of the session. and that's all the sport for now.

let's go back to our breaking news here in the uk... a conservative mp has quit the party to join the labour party. dan poulter — the mp for central suffolk and north ipswich — told sunday with laura kuenssberg about his decision. here he is explaining why. i'v e i've had increasingly —— found it increasingly difficult to look my nhs colleagues in the eye, my patients in the eye and my constituents in the eye with good conscience, and ifeel constituents in the eye with good conscience, and i feel that constituents in the eye with good conscience, and ifeel that the nhs deserves better than it has at the moment in terms of how it's run and govern. the party elected values, public service. they had a compassionate view about supporting more disadvantaged society. at the conservative party today, it's in a very different place. it's focus is not delivering or supporting high quality public services. here not delivering or supporting high quality public services.— not delivering or supporting high quality public services. here is our olitical quality public services. here is our political correspondent. _

he's not going to stand down, there is hot _ he's not going to stand down, there is not going — he's not going to stand down, there is not going to be a by election. his intention is to carry on as a labour— his intention is to carry on as a labour mp_ his intention is to carry on as a labour mp until the next election and labour mp until the next election ahd then— labour mp until the next election and then stand down from parliament and then stand down from parliament and carry— and then stand down from parliament and carry on_ and then stand down from parliament and carry on with his job as a doctou — and carry on with his job as a doctor. there is no requirement to be a _ doctor. there is no requirement to be a by— doctor. there is no requirement to be a by election or anything like that _ be a by election or anything like that. defections do happen in politics — that. defections do happen in politics. it's been about 200 since 1979. _ politics. it's been about 200 since 1979, but — politics. it's been about 200 since 1979, but they are a big deal, and i think— 1979, but they are a big deal, and i think they— 1979, but they are a big deal, and i think they are often a straw in the wind, _ think they are often a straw in the wind, 6 _ think they are often a straw in the wind, a sigh — think they are often a straw in the wind, a sign that something is up withih_ wind, a sign that something is up within the — wind, a sign that something is up within the party from which the defection happens. i talked to tori and p _ defection happens. i talked to tori and p it— defection happens. i talked to tori and p it is— defection happens. i talked to tori and p it is a — defection happens. i talked to tori and p it is a big malaise at the moment— and p it is a big malaise at the moment in— and p it is a big malaise at the moment in the tory party. they look at the _ moment in the tory party. they look at the opinion polls. it got local elections — at the opinion polls. it got local elections coming up in a few days' time _ elections coming up in a few days' time that— elections coming up in a few days' time that they feel are going to be bad. time that they feel are going to be had~ the _ time that they feel are going to be bad. the clock is running down quite fast untit— bad. the clock is running down quite fast until the general election and they are _ fast until the general election and they are twitchy and twitchy and nervous — they are twitchy and twitchy and nervous and despondent, that is what comes— nervous and despondent, that is what comes across from what doctor poulter— comes across from what doctor poulter is — comes across from what doctor poulter is saying. his majority is actually— poulter is saying. his majority is actually huge. he 's got a 23,000 majoritx — actually huge. he 's got a 23,000 majority. what will happen come the general— majority. what will happen come the general election? we will see. but a

month— general election? we will see. but a month ago. — general election? we will see. but a month ago, we had a defection from the right— month ago, we had a defection from the right of— month ago, we had a defection from the right of the party, of course, when _ the right of the party, of course, when the — the right of the party, of course, when the former deputy chairman, lee anderson, _ when the former deputy chairman, lee anderson, who has been suspended as a tory— anderson, who has been suspended as a tory mp— anderson, who has been suspended as a tory mpjoined reform. doctor poulter— a tory mpjoined reform. doctor poulter is— a tory mpjoined reform. doctor poulter is very much in the centre of the _ poulter is very much in the centre of the tory— poulter is very much in the centre of the tory party. he feels rishi suhak's— of the tory party. he feels rishi sunak's party is not delivering for the country and he's going tojoin sir keir— the country and he's going tojoin sir keir starmer. and it is a big coup— sir keir starmer. and it is a big coup for— sir keir starmer. and it is a big coup for labour, no doubt about that _ plenty more reaction on that defection later on in the programme. donald trump says he's ready to debatejoe biden — anytime, anywhere, any place — after mr biden gave his clearest committment yet to take on the former president in a televised debate. joe biden had previously said it would depend on donald trump's behaviour. courtney bembridge has more from the newsroom. well, he's been asked many times, but president biden has been tight lipped about a presidential debate until now. i don't know if you're going to debate your opponent. i am somewhere.

i don't know when, i'm happy to debate him. donald trump was quick to respond, taking to his social media platform. truth social, writing... and outside the courtroom in new york, where he's been appearing at his hush money trial, he also spoke about it. take a listen. we're willing to do it monday night, tuesday night, wednesday night, i thursday night or friday night on national television. - we're ready. just tell me where. the last time the two men went head to head in a presidential debate was in 2020. there were two debates. let's remind ourselves of how that went. the question... will you shut up, man? give me a break. because you know what? there's nothing smart about you. well, it's hard to get any word in with this clown. excuse me. despite donald trump's enthusiasm, we may have to wait a while for the rematch. the official date for the first presidential debate is not until september. let's speak to thomas gift, associate professor of political science at university college

london. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you for having me. it's the programme. thank you for having me- it's great — the programme. thank you for having me- it's great to _ the programme. thank you for having me. it's great to be _ the programme. thank you for having me. it's great to be here. _ the programme. thank you for having me. it's great to be here. what - the programme. thank you for having me. it's great to be here. what do . me. it's great to be here. what do these debates matter? do they have a big impact? most of the research suggests that debates as entertaining as they are, don't typically sway outcomes of elections. it can give them a short—term bump in the polls. it usually fades within days. most already have their favourites picked by debate time and those who are undecided tend to base their decisions on a number of factors, notjust how well someone performs on a stage for a couple of hours. it's also the case that voters who are most likely to watch debates are the ones who are also the most politically minded, not coincidentally, that happens to be the segment of voters who generally have strong feelings about the candidates will stop they are partisan, they follow the news, they are more informed about the campaign. so their vote is not up for grabs. campaign. so their vote is not up for crabs. , , , ., campaign. so their vote is not up for .rabs. , , , ., ., ., for grabs. despite that, what are the calculations _ for grabs. despite that, what are the calculations being _ for grabs. despite that, what are the calculations being made -

for grabs. despite that, what are the calculations being made by l for grabs. despite that, what are l the calculations being made by the trump camp and the biden camp here? well, debates are all about expectations. in this case, i do think that it could end up helping biden. much of the narrative about biden. much of the narrative about biden has obviously been about his age and he's too old, he's lost his step, he is gaffe prone, he doesn't have the mental acuity to answer questions on his feet. i think of the bar is set so low that no one expects biden to be able to string two sentences together and turns out he can come of that could change the perception of his campaign. biden has managed, i think, so far to avoid a lot of scrutiny where he is in situations that demand impromptu answers. he rarely does press conferences. he doesn't do sit downs with uncongenial media. this could be up an opportunity for biden to see that he is up to these challenges. fortrump see that he is up to these challenges. for trump hejust thinks he can win. he so confident he feels that this is a no—brainerfrom his side, so he has really made that a key plank of his campaign so far, basically egging him biden, saying that if he doesn't come on that he is a scaredy—cat and so on.

that if he doesn't come on that he is a scaredy-cat and so on. looking further ahead. _ is a scaredy-cat and so on. looking further ahead, do _ is a scaredy-cat and so on. looking further ahead, do you _ is a scaredy-cat and so on. looking further ahead, do you see - is a scaredy-cat and so on. looking | further ahead, do you see these set pieces, these debates in the future continuing or is this from an era where tv dominated and that was that and we may see them fade away? it’s and we may see them fade away? it�*s possible that things are becoming inequities just like to some extent people say that the state of the union is becoming an anachronism, i do think that they get significant play, not necessarily when they are on during prime time, but afterwards. usually people aren't watching them in their full length. these are just bite sized viral moments. candidates who are able to exploit that 22nd one—liner that gets a laugh, they end up benefiting. i do think for the foreseeable future, we are going to continue to have the debates, it is just such an entrenched part of american campaigns. you're absolutely right. i think the number voters were watching the of each generation tends to be less and less. . ~

generation tends to be less and less. ., ,, , ., ., generation tends to be less and less. ., ,, ., ., less. thank you for coming on the programme _ british broadcaster itv news has said its presenter rageh 0maar is recovering at home with his family, following medical treatment at hospital— after he became unwell live on—air. he was presenting itv�*s news at ten programme on friday when he appeared to be struggling to read the bulletin. (pres)with me is our correspondent charlotte gallagher mixing stack of rageh what happened here? in presenting the fla . shi what happened here? in presenting the flagship news _ what happened here? in presenting the flagship news at _ what happened here? in presenting the flagship news at ten _ what happened here? in presenting the flagship news at ten but - what happened here? in presenting the flagship news at ten but he - what happened here? in presenting the flagship news at ten but he was| the flagship news at ten but he was visibly unwell, he was struggling to read the auto queue, and in fact, some viewers actually contacted itv during the programme to ask if everything was ok. then the programme that was meant to be repeated on the next hour was removed from the schedule. we heard that he had been receiving medical treatment and now we have heard from itv, some good news, following medical treatment at hospital, he is now recovering with his family at home. they look forward to welcome them back on screen when he feels

able to do so. he himself has thanked people for their good wishes, thanked the medical team that looked after him in hospital and also the viewers that did contact him to ask if he was ok, and he also said that he himself was determined to finish that broadcast because some people had said why didn't itv pulls him off air, he was so visibly unwell. but he said he wanted to finish that broadcast. here's one of the uk's best known from a most respected journalist, he reported from iraq in 2003, he was in afghanistan, he's worked for the bbc. and there he is at the produce broadcaster itv, and he is such a big figure in journalism, broadcaster itv, and he is such a big figure injournalism, thousands and thousands of people were expressing their concerns on social media. so obviously people really pleased to hear that he is well now. charlotte, thank you very much for that. thank you.

hamas have published a new video showing first proof of life from two more hostages in gaza: keith siegel and 0mri miran. the video is not dated, but miran says he has been held captive for 202 days and siegel mentions the passover holiday, indicating the clips were likely filmed recently.siegel is a us citizen, taken captive with his wife from their home in kibbutz kfar aza on october 7. miran was was taken captive from kibbutz nir 0z. hamas this week released another video. that one was of an israeli—american captive, hersh goldberg—polin. that one was of an israeli—american captive. at the time, it insisted it would not release any further hostages until the war in gaza ends. that person's parents have urged both sides to "�*seize the moment and get a deal done'. 0ur middle east correspondent lucy williamson has been speaking to a former hostage, moran stella yanai, about the conditions she was held in, and fears for those who remain. through the night, we had hunches and we felt something is going on. just after dawn on the 7th of october, moran stella yanai heard the first sounds of hamas gunmen

approaching the nova festival site. half of the people of 232 road was already murdered and people in the tent area was already murdering and we didn't know. as the gunmen stormed the site, she ran into nearby fields. twice she says she was caught by groups of hamas followers and talked her way out by pretending to be arab. the third time, she wasn't so lucky. i heard "cuckoo" and we raised our head up and the terrorists were standing on top of the mountain, smiling, happy. "we found them." she was put in a car with nine gunmen and driven into gaza. it's like a bull being entered to an arena. everybody�*s happy. the civilians, the children, the women, the men. and then the car door opened. and then i felt somebody trying to pull my leg.

and then i felt a pipe in my knee. all we can think of at that point is please let it end fast, like one hit to the head and i will not feel anything. moran was held captive for sa days, moved between seven different locations, quickly learning strategies to survive. what happened in the first house. . .stay there. doesn't come with you to the second house. it will not come with you to the third house. you need really to protect your story and come to the new house. my friends — "what are you talking about?" i'm fine, the terrorists, the hamas, everybody. why? because... ..if something will happen to a girl, in the arab culture, they will probably kill the terrorist and the girl, too. you mean something sexual? yeah. what happened in this house left in this house.

so it's not only sexual, it's also violent. what did happen? for me, it was more violence. it's like when you move from house to house, you need to be examined to see if you're not hiding something on you. it's a really necessary test, as they explained it to you. i always try to explain to people that "rape" is a really big word. it's not only the act. even when a guy stands in the front of your door, and you sit down and he's staring at you for ten minutes straight. it's power. five, six times a day, every day for sa days. trust me. that's rape.

moran was released in a ceasefire deal last november in exchange for palestinian prisoners held in israeli jails. her hamas captors filming the handover. i heard that people were saying, "but they were happy, looking happy when they came out," you know. nobody heard the whisper under the nose that i'm saying to the boy next to me, it's like, "hold on five more minutes. do not start to cry now. stay smiling. 0k? do not cry now." like, the minute we cross the border to egypt, we who waited for that minute that we can scream and cry, because we couldn't do it. we couldn't do it. we were hiding on the first day. we couldn't do it when they were dragging us into gaza. and we couldn't do it

when we sat down in the houses. 0bviously, that's the first thing i promise to myself, that the minute will step in my country, i will scream the loudest i can. because nobody will take my voice any more. elon musk�*s social media platform x has defended publishing a british man has been seriously injured after he was attacked by a shark in the caribbean. peter smith from hertfordshire was attacked off the north coast of tobago. officials on the island say the 64—year—old is stable and will stay on the island while he recovers. louise pilbeam reports. peter smith was on the beach in front of the starfish hotel in tobago. officials say he was on holiday with his wife and friends and had been due to fly back to the uk today before going for a last swim in the sea.

witnesses say the man suffered severe injuries to his leg, stomach and arm. i don't think they saw anything. they were casually and they went about waist deep to shoulder high water. so they went out of their depth and i think their backs were turned and they were just kind of lounging around and nobody saw it, saw the shark coming, you know. and even while the shark was was around and doing the attack, the other people in the water were physically trying to fight off the shark. the islands authorities said sharks play a vital role in protecting coral reefs. we will see sharks pop up from time to time. it is part of the job, but it is ourjob to ensure we can keep you safe while at the same time we keep our environment safe. mr smith was taken to hospital and officials from the island have told the bbc that he is recovering well. louisa pilbeam, bbc news. a hole in the ozone layer over antarctica — fuelled by smoke from bushfires in australia — is exposing wildlife to protentially damaging levels of uv light. scientists from the university of wollongong say animals and plants are having to put more energy into avoiding the rays.

here's our science correspondent, victoria gill. the ozone layer that protects us from the sun's most harmful rays is healing, gradually, but in antarctica, in cold, high—atmospheric clouds, a hole in that layer still appears every year. that ozone thinning, or loss, used to peak in september or october, when animals and plants are tucked under winter snow and marine animals are protected by sea ice. but it's now lingering until december, well into the antarctic summer, when wildlife is much more vulnerable. researchers say that has been driven in part by smoke from the australian wildfires in 2019 and 2020, which were fuelled by climate change. the researchers found evidence that antarctic plants might have to put more energy into producing their own protective sunscreen compounds, and krill, the marine crustaceans that are the foundation of the food chain in antarctica, move deeper into the ocean to avoid ultraviolet rays, while penguins and seals are protected

by protective feathers and fur, scientists say exposure to damaging rays could harm their eyesight. the researchers say we can no longer take the recovery of the ozone layer for granted. it is more evidence, they point out, that carbon emissions have to be reduced quickly so that more bushfires don't put extra pressure on a vital shield in our atmosphere. victoria gill, bbc news. one of london's most famous landmarks, tower bridge. a team of specialist window cleaners, with a good head for heights, has been abseiling from the tower�*s high—level walkways. 0ur reporter vince rogers has more. dangling from ropes off the famous london landmark are a team of abseilers reaching the parts that others can't reach. what i'm doing now is i'm protecting the ropes as we go underneath, as humans don't do too well when they fall from heights. so what we've done is we've put platforms underneath.

what the team will do is they will abseil over the platform as works positioning, clip into the steel beams underneath, and that way they can safely traverse and carry out the cleaning of the glazing. it's all right there. the walkways have glass floors for spectacular views of the bridge below, but now they've become a bit grimy and they've been clean for the first time. years of grime coming out of there, vince. look at that! beautiful. look at that. what we're doing is we're cleaning with a nylon brush. we're using purified water, which doesn't leave any imperfections. so when you use it on the glass it's like this, it dries spot free, which means we haven't got to squeegee it off and get rid of any excess water, just a good rinse like that does thejob. the bridge had to be closed through the night for the work

to take place was but, of course, river traffic was flowing as normal. have you ever done anything like this before? we have done it on smaller bridges, but nothing quite of this stature nor of this prestige as well. so it's a huge honour, a huge privilege as well. the cost of this extreme window cleaning won't be picked by the taxpayer, it will be picked up by an ancient charity called the city bridge foundation. is there a lot of grime up there? there's not a lot, because it's on the underside the bridge, the dirt doesn't get there, the rain doesn't get there particularly much, but it is now needed, particularly as you can see on the shelves and the steel work you can see the dirt on the tracks accumulating there. yeah, you can see years of dirtjust coming out there, it rinses off. lovely as well. though it's essentially only a matter of cleaning windows,

this is a job that luke and his team will rememberfor a long time to come. that was vince rogers reporting. let's just remind you of our breaking news here in the uk... a conservative mp has quit the party to join the labour party. dan poulter — the mp for central suffolk and north ipswich, who is also a working doctor — told sunday with laura kuenssberg that he could no longer look his nhs colleagues and patients in the eye and stay on as a conservative. labour leader sir keir starmer has tweeted: ple nty plenty more reaction and plenty more analysis— plenty more reaction and plenty more analysis coming up. do stay with us.

hello there. it it certainly has been a saturday of contrasts across the country. we started off grey and wet across southern england. the rain petered out to a blanket of cloud and drizzle. a lot of cloud across wales, the midlands, for much of the day. further north it was a different story. sunny spells and scattered showers but escape those showers, a beautiful afternoon in fife, as you can see. we have more heavy rain though arriving through the night tonight. it is across the south. that rain — some of it really quite intense — will gradually drift its way steadily north and east as we go through sunday. once again a day of contrasts because the rain will continue to move its way out of the midlands, up into the north—east of england and eastern scotland. west will certainly stay drier and brightest for longest. into the afternoon we should see an improving picture across much of england and wales. sunny spells, a few scattered showers, and temperatures peaking at around 13 degrees. it will be windy on those exposed east coasts. sheltered western areas clinging onto some glimpses of sunshine.

a little more cloud generally and the rain still quite heavy and persistent, with gusts of wind across the east coast of 40—50 miles an hour. that makes the eight degrees in aberdeen feel pretty disappointing. that low eases away. the isobars squeeze together. it stays blustery into monday. 0n the whole a relatively quiet start to the working week. temperatures to greet us first thing — we are looking at around 2—6. it will be dry, there will be some sunshine coming through early on. breezy but a southerly wind will make it start to feel just that little bit milder, particular in the sunnier moments. here is the low moving into northern ireland and perhaps clouding over across western coastal fringes as we go through the day. temperatures in the sunshine should peak at 16 degrees. starting to feel a little better. tuesday, final day of april, could actually see a little more warmth. we have still got this low pressure out to the south—west. because the winds are circulating around that low we are tapping in to a milder south—easterly. that is driving in some warmth from the near continent and you really will start

to notice the difference. for our final day of april, yes, it is likely that we could see temperatures peaking in one or two spots into the high teens. there will be some showers around but a little bit quieter and a little bit warmer than of late.

live from london. this is bbc news.

a conservative mp defects to labour — dan poulter says his former party is no longer focussed on public services. as a russian missile narrowly misses a kharkiv hospital president zelensky again calls on ukraine's allies to provide more air defences. hamas publishes a new video of two hostages as media covering ceasefire negotiations report notable progress. and thousands of people take to the canals of amsterdam to celebrate the dutch king's 57th birthday. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. we start with the news that a british conservative mp is defecting to the labour party — in a blow to the leadership of rishi sunak. dan poulter has been the mp

for central suffolk and north ipswich since the 2010 election.