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. 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 they 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." 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. our north america correspondent will vernon has more. there have also been arrests today at indiana state university. 69 people, we understand, detained there — at indiana university, too. and negotiations are ongoing at columbia university in new york over the protest camp there. and that's what really sparked this latest escalation in the protests, really. pro—palestinian demonstrations have been going on for several months now at a number of universities, but the mood has really changed in the last week or so, and that was because of an incident at columbia. on the 18th of april, the nypd were called

onto the campus to take down a protest camp there. dozens of people were arrested and that really ignited tensions. and a number of other protest camps were then pitched at various universities across the country. now, the protesters say that they're unhappy with the us government's support for the israeli military campaign. they want a ceasefire in gaza, but also they're demanding that their universities divest, so cut ties with companies with links to israel. but manyjewish students say that they feel intimidated by these demos. there have been a number of reports of verbal assaults or even physical attacks onjewish people by the pro—palestinian demonstrators. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, as well as many people in congress here, say that these protests are anti—semitic. of course, the demonstrators deny that. and university administrators

say that a lot of this trouble is being caused by radical outside elements that have infiltrated the ranks of the students. and that's certainly what we heard from northeastern earlier today. they told us that while around 100 were detained, only about 12 or maybe a bit more than that of them actually had student ids. so many of them were not from the university at all. 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 with jonathan park. he's a student at the university of southern california and the digital managing editor with the daily trojan newspaper. 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 cancelled 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, since that has been cancelled. with the protests right now, there has been anti—semitism both against pro—palestine demonstrations that have been jewish and pro—israel. we recently had a seder, after the protests held by pro—israel students, a symbolic seder 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 of jewish 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. 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. we have seen this call for more patriot missile systems. this is coming off the back of $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.

let's talk about what that means for civilians on the ground. we are over two years into the war. attacking that kind of energy infrastructure can have a serious impact on them, can't it, at a time when morale would already be very low. do you think that is moscow's aim? i think it is. look, it has been a tough number of years. they are counting on more and more troops coming to the front line. most of them, except for the draftees, are young, and ready to go, but at the end of the day, zelensky can't keep the war up unless he has the popular support of his people. if putin can break the morale of the ukrainian people, they will call the negotiations, and

the negotiations will be harsh and they will not be in ukraine's — independent ukraine's — they will not like what putin demands of them. talk about the patriot missiles, given it is come hot on the heels of the us aid package, what does it indicate on the ground, militarily? is it that this an aim to get the upper hand for ukraine, or, the situation they are in, looking at the other village near avdiivka being captured, is 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. yes. and looking at what you say about how russia historically has done with regard to that on the battlefield, in your frank assessment, do you think a ukrainian victory is still possible here? i think the best we can ask for this year is that when the ammunition gets into ukraine, it can stiffen up the lines. i think there is very little chance of success in this fighting season. in a year, it may be different, but this year, i don't think any side has a chance of victory. a yearfrom now, think about the future in that way, do you think that the western result would still be there?

do you think there would be that funding for a further military injection, for example? i think the west recognises the danger that a russian victory in ukraine would mean. it means, perhaps, attacks in other areas, other non—nato nations, perhaps a nato nation as well. if we have a second biden term, i'm pretty convinced that president biden will not only keep america in the fight, providing support, but will rally the europeans. it will be a long war but it is a war that has to be fought and it is particularly notable that the ukrainian troops are doing this without nato soldiers by their sides as they are fighting. brigadier general mark kimmitt, former us assistant secretary of state for political—military affairs, thank you, as ever, for your thoughts. 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, attempt to flee. it is compounded by a shortage of supply as imported goods and humanitarian aid have been

suppressed by the fighting. they call for an end to the conflict that has ravaged the country for more than a year now. and an 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 than al junaynah. 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 leaders that made the peace agreement in 2018. that was to be absorbed into saf. 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 difficult. it's an area also on the brink of famine. there is no way for people to flee. 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. it is people who are currently there. thousands of people fled in the past 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.

to find a way to get out of the city. there are no options or way for people to run from the city. a desperate situation. i want to talk about what is feeling this. there are two rival generals, government forces and paramilitary forces. but the united nations has been sounding the alarm of weapons coming in from foreign countries. flying in the face of un sanctions. how serious is that? this is a proxy war in the full terms of understanding that. particularly both of these actors, and when it comes to the war in darfur where dynamics are very clear, rsf is mainly controlling the whole region except for the al—fashir. the united arab emirates is supplying the arms and logistics in an unprecedented manner of supporting a conflict in the country. which makes a lot of,

you know, attention, which also makes it difficult for an effort to control the violence and hostilities. on the other side, yes, the south is already expanding its outreach. there is news that russia is getting in the other side of the aisle. and egypt is a main supporter of the saf, as well, with drones. so it is very difficult control and end the hostility in sudan and the escalation of violence without having a strong eye on external actors that are feeling the conflict for their own ends. i want to talk about international community on this. we have about a minute left, but in terms of donor pledges from paris, some 2 billion, do we know that money could be getting on any soon, when we know the humanitarian situation is very difficult. the united nations is also calling for deescalation.

it is difficult. it was very good to see that pledge is met, but it is also very gloomy picture of seeing that how this could reach the people who are in need. there are several very striking policies from the de facto government in port sudan, but also from the rsf side which is like "don't go there or you" — that come, they have to put conditions, that people have to be rsf and they have to obey the rsf rules to get access to aid. otherwise they will starve to death. that is why the question of also, you know, the access to aid, it is very difficult. it is — there are good support with regard to al—fashir to stop the war coming from the same department, from the secretary general of the un, but this is very much personal. it is very good for those calls to be directly directed

to the commander of rsf, mohamed hamdan dagalo, the person responsible who has the power to stop this attack, and also let him know if any genocide and mass atrocity happens again like happened before, he will be personally responsible, because he has the power to stop it not to happen. i think it is good that this message is made but i feel it is very much generalised than being directly tailored to those actors who have the power to stop the violence. quscondy abdulshafi, senior regional advisor at freedom house, thank you. 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 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. you are watching bbc news. i will have more at the top of the hour. join us again if you can.

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 to our 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. we'll have the headlines for you at the top of the hour,

which is straight after this programme. hello and welcome. this week, can you teach creativity? we've got the advertising exec who thinks you can and now runs a course in it. and we'll look at how to create tv formats that are successful around the world. we'll talk to the creatives behind two entertainment formats that are entertaining millions. but first, the secrets of the celebrity interviewer with one of the finest in the business. decca aitkenhead is the chief interviewer of the sunday times and has interviewed hillary clinton, madonna, jk rowling and countless other big names, and she'sjust won broadsheet interviewer of the year at the press awards in the uk. decca, it's great to have you here. i know it's your second press award, so you're getting used to this! er, actually, fifth!

oh, sorry! i got my facts wrong!