israel's foreign minister says his country's military could suspend its planned incursion into rafah — if there is a deal where hamas releases its remaining hostages. after more russian attacks on ukraine, president zelensky renews his appeal for western allies to provide more air defences. the united nations warns of an attack in sudan's north darfur state saying the consequences would be "devastating". i'm helena humphrey. good to have you with us. we start in the middle east, where israel's foreign minister has said a planned military incursion into rafah in gaza could be suspended — that's if a deal is made to free the remaining hostages held by hamas. ceasefire negotiations between israel and hamas have been stalled for weeks.

but local media are reporting "notable progress" this weekend. us secretary of state antony blinken is expected to visit saudi arabia in the coming days. meanwhile, hamas has posted a new video, which shows two of the hostages captured during its october attack. keith siegel and omri miran both identify themselves. while the video is not dated, there is a reference to the recent passover holiday. it's the second such video that hamas — considered a terror group by the uk and us governments — has published in the past few days. our correspondent anna foster is in tel aviv where families have been gathering to again call for the release of all the hostages. omri miran's father was actually already on the list of confirmed speakers for this event tonight. when he got up on the stage, he talked about the moment, he said he was sitting having coffee with someone and talking about his grandchildren when the man he was talking to held his phone and said, "look, they have released a video of omri." what was also interesting was as the crowd were gathered here tonight, is they showed that video in full, it is not something

that normally happens because of course when you see the people in it, the two men in this case looking very malnourished, obviously speaking under duress, sending messages to their families and urging the israeli government to come to some sort of arrangement, some sort of deal to try and achieve their release. now, of course that deal and those talks have been going on for weeks and weeks. the last time we saw a significant hostage release was at the end of last year. at one point, we were told the talks had very much broken down, the two sides weren't really in communication at all but the egyptian delegation's visit this week and the further efforts of the us and us secretary of state antony blinken, we are led to believe that perhaps they are moving slightly closer in terms of trying to achieve a deal, but certainly those powerful messages we heard tonight on the stage from the hostage families, they were talking directly to israel's leaders, directly to the politicians and were saying, you

need you to do a deal. while we know they are alive, you need to do what they can to ensure their release now. our correspondent anna foster there. demonstrators have also been calling for the resignation of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. thousands gathered in tel aviv on saturday to protest against the handling of the war and to demand new elections. in gaza itself, the hamas—run health agency says at least 50 people have been killed in israeli air attacks in the past day. on saturday, residents of two houses in rafah that were hit by israeli fire searched through the rubble.the united nations continues to warn of a lack of food, with half of the population starving. the us military has said a new humanitarian pier being built off the coast of gaza could be up and running by early may. the us has said there will be no american troops on the ground — but the bbc has learned that british troops could be deployed to help deliver the desperately needed aid. our diplomatic correspondent james landale reports 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'd like to think they won't

and 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'sjust an option. there's been no decision and it's 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. here in the us, police in boston shut down a student protest demanding a ceasefire in gaza, after university authorities said

the demonstrators were using "virulent anti—semitic slogans". northeastern university said about 100 people — a mix of students and outsiders — were detained. one of the student organisations involved in the protest rejected the university's statement. at columbia university in new york, the epicentre of the nationwide protests, one student leader was barred from the site and officials are looking into how the protests there are being handled. the situation has also been tense at the university of southern california in los angeles. these are scenes from earlier this week as skirmishes broke out between protesters and police. dozens of demonstrators were arrested on wednesday. the university has also cancelled its main graduation ceremony and the valedictorian speech by a muslim student due to security concerns. i've been speaking about the fallout of those protests withjonathan park — he's a student at the university of southern california and the digital managing editor with the daily trojan newspaper. what is the mood on campus right now? have bigger concerns

about anti—semitism? —— how big are concerns about anti—semitism? the mood in general is frustration and anger. the thing on people's mines right now is the cancellation of the may commencement ceremony, and no matter what people's view is on gaza, that affects all graduating seniors. these are seniors that have already had to have their graduations cancel back in high school because of the covid—i9 pandemic. and now they are not able to get that proper academic celebration — a celebration of their academic achievements with this final commencement ceremony, because that has been cancelled. with the protests right now, there has been anti—semitism both against pro—palestine demonstrations that have beenjewish and pro—israel. we had recently had a seder,

after the protests held by pro—israel students, a symbolic maker asking the israeli government to bring them home. the hostages to be brought home. there was an anti—semitic heckler shouting insults and expletives targeting jewish people. the next day, pro—palestine groups, for example, the local chapter ofjewish voice for peace, they celebrated a seder celebrating the tens of thousands killed in gaza. there was an anti—semitic heckler that they had to sort of suppress. so there's really been anti—semitism on both sides, there. and how is your university, or would you say your university handling this idea of balancing the right to protest, free—speech, with real security concerns that you mentioned there? i concerns that you mentioned there? ~' ., , , there? i think ufc has been doubfinu there? i think ufc has been doubling down _ there? i think ufc has been doubling down ever - there? i think ufc has been doubling down ever since i there? i think ufc has been i doubling down ever since they cited safety concerns is the reason for cancelling the

valedictorian speech. —— usc. usc was particularly notable in how quickly it was shut down. we have seen at columbia for example where they were able to have that encampment for a few days before liz came by and tried to shut it down and arrested dozens of protesters there. for us, here, at usc, it was 4am. as of them set up on wednesday. it was about starting at 5:30am through 9pm, where police had sort of finished clearing up the area and addenda arresting that it's very protesters. about 50 of them are students, no confirmation from the university as yet on that number. usc was notable in how quickly that protest was suppressed and the president put out a statement yesterday saying that they — the

university didn't want to have those protesters arrested but they said the protesters flagrantly violated — a direct quote — that safety policies and ignored directions. in terms of what protesters are calling for, most of them, run us through that. we calling for, most of them, run us through that.— calling for, most of them, run us through that. we received a mission statement _ us through that. we received a mission statement from - us through that. we received a mission statement from them | us through that. we received a l mission statement from them is the protest was starting and there is a list of six demands, i can't recall all of them of the top of my head, but they include an academic boycott of israel for us to divest from all businesses that support the israeli military, a ceasefire for gaza as the baseline. in that mission statement they directly cited the protests ongoing in columbia as the inspiration for what is going on at usc right now. and that

protesters standing in solidarity with the rest of the country. solidarity with the rest of the count . �* , , ., solidarity with the rest of the count . �* , .,�* country. briefly, if you don't mind, jonathan, _ country. briefly, if you don't mind, jonathan, are - country. briefly, if you don't mind, jonathan, are there i country. briefly, if you don't l mind, jonathan, are there any indications that some of these projects going on could have been infiltrated in the same way we have seen, for example, accusations of infiltration and other parts of the country? that claim was also echoed by our university administration colours guzman. in one of his announcements about their response, say there may have been outsiders on the protest. —— carlos guzman. on wednesday, the campus was open, but the majority were students as well as media there on wednesday. the protests, that is ongoing right now, with the camps — the campuses close to everyone but students. and faculty. and people who have business at the university. right now i would emphasise that it is completely student run, besides the legal

advises overseeing the protests. advises overseeing the protests-_ advises overseeing the rotests. ., ., ., ~ ., ~ protests. jonathan park, thank ou for protests. jonathan park, thank you for speaking _ protests. jonathan park, thank you for speaking to _ protests. jonathan park, thank you for speaking to us. - you for speaking to us. jonathan park, a student at the university of southern california and the digital managing editor with the daily trojan newspaper.— trojan newspaper. thank you very much- — to ukraine, where president volodymyr zelensky is calling on western allies to urgently send at least seven more patriot missile systems. it comes after another night of russian bombardment seriously damaged energy infrastructure in ukraine — with four power plants hit. president zelensky said the targets included facilities supplying gas to the european union. fighting continues in the eastern donetsk region. russian troops made gains there earlier this week. ukrainian media reports that another village near avdiivka has been captured as russia tightens its hold

on the region. earlier, i spoke to brigadier general mark kimmitt, former us assistant secretary of state for political—military affairs. all of this is coming off the back of the granting of some $60 billion in military aid. was it that that a didn't go far enough, do you think, potentially? well, the first issue is we need get it on the ground. it is clear the russians realise that they are not making as much ground progress as they would like, so they are starting to attack infrastructure again, using ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. and without the patriot missile systems and other systems which are critically short of ammunition right now, ukraine is taking some pretty significant attacks on their infrastructure, particularly gas and oil and electrical creation facilities.

is this an aim to get the upper hand for ukraine, or, the situation therein, looking at the other village near avdiivka being captured, is it that troops are in a trickier position than we might have thought? well, it is clear the case that the ground troops are having a tough time in the defence. they're not losing a significant amount of ground. they are certainly not seeing any breakthrough by russian forces. but those carefully dug defensive positions in some areas, they've had to evacuate, move back to less defendable positions. the russians are continuing to push. they're not making progress — significant progress — but they're still grinding down the ukrainian forces in a way that's a historical norm for how russia fights these types of wars. in spain, thousands of supporters of the prime minister, pedro sanchez, have rallied in madrid, urging him to continue leading the government after he suspended his public duties. the demonstrators met outside the socialist party headquarters following mr sanchez�*s announcement that he is reconsidering his political future.

in a statement published wednesday on x, he said he would pause his public agenda, after a court opened a preliminary inquiry into his wife over corruption claims. the socialist leader says the allegations against begona gomez are false, and has suggested conservative and far—right political parties, as well as right—wing media groups, are trying to capitalise on the accusations. the organisation behind the initial inquiry — manos limpias, meaning �*clean hands' in english — is led by a man linked to the spanish far—right who has in the past been investigated for corruption and extortion by the spanish high court. mr sanchez says he will address the nation on monday about his next steps. the united nations warns a possible assault by paramilitary forces in sudan's north darfur state would have "devastating consequences" in a region that is on the brink of famine. the agency says the rapid support forces are reportedly encircling the regional capital al—fashir, suggesting a coordinated move to attack the city may be imminent. at least 43 people,

including women and children, have already been killed there in the past two weeks. war between the sudanese army and the rsf erupted last year. more than 8 million people forced from their homes due to conflict since april 2023 —— in what is the world's largest displacement crisis. on friday, the un's human rights office expressed grave concern about the recent escalation of violence in north darfur.

civilians are trapped in the city. those in darfur, afraid of being killed by the srs, flee. it is compounded by a shortage of supply as imported goods and humanitarian aid have been suppressed by the fighting. and enter the conflict that has ravaged the country for more than a year now. and it investigation of all alleged violations of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law. for more on the situation, i spoke to quscondy abdulshafi, senior regional advisor at freedom house — a nonprofit dedicated to the expansion of freedom around the world. i know that you've been closely monitoring the situation on the ground, speaking with people, where possible, in al—fashir. what are they bracing for, basically? thank you helena, and thank you for having me. i appreciate it. an attack on al—fashir would have a far—reaching and devastating consequence and it would really be a new story of the storyline of sudan conflict,

harsher, potentially harsher. in the past few days there have been an increase in ethnic targeting and rhetoric. this time it is minority ethnic groups that are stationed at, that exist in al—fashir. this attack on al—fashir will have that aspect of ethnic cleansing. the saf army in al—fashir are under the command of former rebel movement that made the peace agreement in 2018. that was to be absorbed into south. they are from arab ethnic groups. it means the conflict in al—fashir is absolutely different than the conflict in other cities. it has a key ethnic aspect on it. and that is very much dangerous. if this attack happens, it will have very far—reaching, devastating and far—reaching consequences. i mean, anyone listening to that will understand how concerning that sounds — the prospect, there, of ethnically motivated violence. but, as i understand it, the area is already encircled, so anyone wanted

to give we could find it find it difficult. it's an area also on the brink offamine. there is no way for people to sleep. it is the second—largest city controlled by rsf, there is increased check—in entering the city. people being ethnically targeted are being targeted seriously. dozens of people fled in the past to date —— two days after attacks of cities around al—fashir. they have no place to flee and there is nowhere to go. north darfur is a very desert area and people can die because of lack of water to drink. and it is very — still very dry season at this moment. it is very difficult for the large number of idps living in the city. there are no options

or way for people to run from the city. south africa is celebrating a landmark moment in its history — it's 30 years since the first free and fair elections in the country, which for decades was ruled by a white minority. under the violent apartheid regime, the state segregated different ethnicities, with black africans having virtually no rights, no vote, no freedom of movement and only limited ownership rights. after decades of struggle, the african national congress secured the freedom of its leader, nelson mandela, and negotiated a peaceful transition away from white—only rule. that process culminated on april 27th, 1994, when south africans of every ethnicity queued together for miles to cast their ballot, electing mr mandela south africa's first black president. at the 30th anniversary celebrations in pretoria on saturday, south africa's current president cyril ramaphosa paid tribute to those who helped fight for the country's freedom. on that day, as we cast our votes

for the first time, a great heaviness lifted from our shoulders. our shackles have been cast off. the shackles that have tied us down for hundreds of years. the weight of centuries of oppression was no longer holding us down. even though our backs bore scars of the cruel lashes of those who had whipped and subjected us for more than 300 years — on that day, as a united people we stood tall, as south africans. mr ramaphosa is up for re—election in may. his party, the african national congress, or anc, has been in power continuously since 1994. while it remains far ahead in opinion polls, it potentially faces

the prospect of losing its parliamentary majority for the first time. and mr ramaphosa faces a novel threat — his predecessor, jacob zuma, left the anc in december to form his own party that is challenging the anc. earlier this week, five people died after a boat carrying more than 100 migrants ran into trouble in the english channel. a man who had paid to board the overloaded dinghy, but then decided against it, has spoken to the bbc. our 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 40 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. let's turn to some important news around the world. iraq's parliament passed a law criminalising same—sex relationships with a maximum 15—year prison sentence on saturday. the move is said to uphold religious values, but it's been condemned by human rights advocates. the us responded to the decision saying it was a threat to human rights and freedoms and would weaken iraq's ability to diversify its economy and attract foreign investment. russian journalist konstantin gabov has been arrested on charges of extremism. he's accused of preparing material for a youtube channel once run by the late opposition leader alexei navalny. aides and allies continue to run that channel after mr navalny died in a russian prison back in february. mr navalny�*s movement is designated as "extremist" by vladimir putin's government.

a lawyer for harvey weinstein says the former film producer has been hospitalized after being moved to a new york prison. it comes days after the state's highest court overturned a rape conviction against him, saying he had been treated unfairly during the case. mr weinstein remains in prison on a 16—year sentence for a different rape conviction in 2022. and a gold pocket watch worn by the wealthiest passenger on the titanic has sold for £900,000 at auction. that's over $1 million. when taxes and other fees are taken into account, the anonymous buyer will have to pay nearly £1.2 million — or $1.5 million. that's more than seven times its estimated pre—auction price. stay with us here on bbc news.

more news at the top of the hour. hello there. we're seeing some changes to the weather this weekend. part two of the weekend promises to be quite wet across some eastern areas, another chilly but bright day further west that you are, but it marks a changed all weather because as we move into the new week, we'll start to draw up some warmer air from the near continent. many areas will actually turn a lot warmer than what we've had over the past week. this area of low pressure will continue to bring some rain to central, southern and eastern parts of england through the night. so early sunday, this is the position the rain will be in. less cold for england and wales, 5—8 degrees, but another cold night for scotland and northern ireland, a touch of frost. but it's here you'll have the best of the sunshine from the word go for sunday morning. further east, it will be a cloudy, wet picture, with that rain slowly pulling away from eastern england, becoming confined to north—east scotland, the northern isles.

elsewhere, plenty of sunshine around, a few scattered showers developing into the afternoon, and a windy day to come, particularly close to the north sea, close near to that area of rain. temperature—wise, the low teens for many, but distinctly chilly again across this northeast corner. that rain continues to clear northwards into the northern isles during sunday night. it turns a lot drier for many with clear spells. we'll start to see thicker cloud and some showery bursts of rain pushing into western areas, though, by the end of the night, though many areas will stay dry. temperature—wise, well, actually milder for many, particularly scotland and northern ireland, than we've had of late. still a few chilly spots there for northeast scotland. this is the picture for monday, certainly the pressure picture. we've got low pressure out toward the west. this will be bringing south or southwesterly winds across the country. and actually for large parts of england and wales, particularly towards the south and east, it's going to stay dry all day with some good spells of sunshine. but rain will be splashing into western areas and moving across the irish sea as we move through the course of the day. some of this will be quite heavy. we've got the low teens celsius in the north and the west.

could be up to 16 or 17 celsius in the southeast with that sunshine and the warm wind coming off the continent. for the rest of the week, we hold on to lower pressure towards the west of the uk. that will continue to bring ourair source from the south—east or the east at times, and there will be weather fronts close by. so it's an unsettled theme, i think, but it's going to feel warmer throughout this week than what we've had over the past week. it could be up to 20 degrees in the warmest spots across the southeast. but with low pressure nearby, it will tend to remain on the unsettled side. take care.

voice-over: this is bbc news.

a warning awarning — a warning — our next programme contains flashing images. i think if i look back to when i came out, when i was 22 — a couple of years before, you know, gay marriage was a thing that you could do — the world that was around me or any person thinking about coming out then is so different to what a lot of people seem to experience now. there's a couple of teachers who are, like, lgbt—trained. i didn't come out till i was in my 20s. yeah, that was a difficult, difficult time for me. i mean, i always knew- i was gay, so i actually saw all of my siblings get| married, one by one. and we've a decade since that law changed. society's changed. expectations have changed. i'm interested to know whether gay marriage has