hello. i'm nicky schiller. we start in the middle east, where nine people, including at least four children, have reportedly been killed in rafah in the southern gaza strip, as israeli planes and tanks pounded various parts of the territory overnight. the israeli war cabinet has been planning a large offensive against hamas in rafah, which is where an estimated 1.5 million displaced palestinians are sheltering. the us and other allies have warned israel against a full—scale assault on the city. from jerusalem, wyre davies reports. the effect of six months of war has created a desperate humanitarian crisis in gaza. but amid the ruins of conflict, in some areas, aid is now getting through and can make the difference between surviving or dying of hunger. flower delivery

organised by the world food programme allowed this bakery in gaza city to reopen for the first time since the war began. translation:— time since the war began. translation: ., , , translation: finally, there is something _ translation: finally, there is something to — translation: finally, there is something to eat. _ translation: finally, there is something to eat. you - translation: finally, there is something to eat. you can - translation: finally, there is something to eat. you can go l translation: finally, there is| something to eat. you can go to translation: finally, there is- something to eat. you can go to the bakery and buy bread. just a few days ago, it was hard, we were looking for wood and flower and you couldn't find anything to feed the children. but couldn't find anything to feed the children. �* ., .,, couldn't find anything to feed the children. ., ., , children. but for most gazans, the brutal reality _ children. but for most gazans, the brutal reality of _ children. but for most gazans, the brutal reality of war _ children. but for most gazans, the brutal reality of war is _ children. but for most gazans, the brutal reality of war is a _ children. but for most gazans, the brutal reality of war is a constant l brutal reality of war is a constant companion. at this hospital in rafah, parents and siblings consoled each other after several civilians including children were reported killed in overnight air strikes. israel said fighterjets and other aircraft struck dozens of terror sites. among the targets, it said was military infrastructure, compounds and armed terrorists. the us has repeatedly urged israel not to launch what is expected to be a major offensive in rafah. we cannot su ort a major offensive in rafah. we cannot surnport a major— major offensive in rafah. we cannot support a major military _ major offensive in rafah. we cannot support a major military operation l support a major military operation in retail —

support a major military operation in rafah. we believe that a major military— in rafah. we believe that a major military operation with a large presence _ military operation with a large presence of a civilian population would _ presence of a civilian population would have terrible consequences for that population. would have terrible consequences for that penulation-_ that population. words that seem to have little impact _ that population. words that seem to have little impact on _ that population. words that seem to have little impact on benjamin - have little impact on benjamin netanyahu. he has repeatedly said to be offensive in rafah must happen if hamas is to be defeated and israeli hostages released. for most gazans, survival is still a daily struggle. retrieving food parcels from the sea, after an air drop, retrieving food parcels from the sea, afteran air drop, shows retrieving food parcels from the sea, after an air drop, shows how chaotic the delivery of aid often is. as agency is one of a worsening humanitarian crisis. bbc news, jerusalem. —— as agency is one. this is a camp out in the gaza strip. one of the main un agencies responsible for getting aid to palestinians, the united nations relief and works agency — unrwa — has warned that the risk of disease in gaza is rising as israel's war

against hamas continues. scott anderson, director of unrwa affairs, who's also in rafah, told the bbc the aid situation was not improving on the ground. right now, there's well over a million people here in rafah, most of them are displaced. the population before the conflict was 275,000, so its four to five times the number of people. everything moves kind of at the pace of a donkey cart because the congestion and traffic is so bad. and what you have is people every day trying to find food, water, they're now trying to find shade, as the temperatures increase and move from winter to summer. so people are in a very difficult position and the conditions are not what we would hope they would be. our current concern really is around solid waste management and pest and infection control, as we move into summer and it gets hotter. five days ago, ibrahim assalia, his wife and children managed to flee gaza to cairo, but much of his family is still in rafah. he told me about their journey earlier.

in order to flee from rafah to the egyptian side, you have to register in a company called halla. you have to wait, like, 30 days to be approved in the list. actually, i have raised money and i paid for me and for my family. and part of my family make it, and right now, we are in cairo. but still, part of other family — like my brother and his wife and their sister and his husband and kids — are still trapped in rafah. and how concerned are you about the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's plans to carry out more of an offensive in rafah and what it will mean for the people that you've left there? actually, what makes me scared and other people, at the beginning, the us president and other leaders in the world, they were talking about, we are against any operation in rafah.

but before two days ago, there was, like, behind the same message, like, we are not supporting a wide operation in rafah. so, the message has changed. and now we are concerned that there will be a ground invasion in rafah. and right this moment, after what we witnessed in shifa hospital and khan younis in the north, we are fully understanding what ground invasion means. so, we are scared, we are traumatised, because we are fully understanding what that will mean. iran's foreign minister has downplayed israel's involvement in the recent attack on his country describing the weapons used as more like "children's toys", rather than drones. hossein amir—abdollahian made the comments in an interview with us media. he said israeli microdrones used in the operation had caused no deaths or damage, and dismissed it as a "desperate attempt" by israel to "make a victory out of their repeated

defeats". he said iran would respond at the "maximum level" if israel acts against its interests. tehran's muted response to friday morning's events has raised hopes that tensions between the countries can be dampened, and a wider escalation averted. a base used by pro—iranian militias in iraq has been damaged by a large explosion, a day after israel's presumed strike on iran. one person was killed and eight others injured in the blast and intense fire at the kalso military base, south of the capital, baghdad. this footage from the scene shows the aftermath of the explosion, which iraqi security sources have described as a "bombing" which hit weapons and vehicles. the base is used by the popular mobilization forces — an umbrella organisation linking several pro—iran militias who've recently attacked us personnel in iraq. the pentagon says it has not carried out any new strike in iraq. let's go live tojerusalem. a lot to

get through. let's start off with those strikes on rafah. an gaza overnight, what is the latest that we have? , ., _, , ., we have? yes, of course, the war in gaza had never— we have? yes, of course, the war in gaza had never gone _ we have? yes, of course, the war in gaza had never gone away, - we have? yes, of course, the war in gaza had never gone away, it - we have? yes, of course, the war in gaza had never gone away, it has i gaza had never gone away, it has been there for six months, it is just that the world's media attention seem to be diverted for a few days between what happened between israel and iran, but the humanitarian crisis and the war in gaza certainly continues. what we have heard overnight is israeli aircraft and other israeli jet and aircrafts and drones have struck sites in central gaza, but also perhaps more significantly in rafah in the southern city of rafah, several people have been killed in rafah, nine people reportedly according to the hamas run health ministry and many of those are children. israel has vowed that rafah remains very much in its sights and the israeli prime minister has repeatedly vowed to undertake a huge military offensive

against gaza because he believes, benjamin netanyahu, that is where much of the remaining hamas leadership and hamas fighters are now based after having been defeated and pursued by israel in other parts of gaza. and despite the international warnings and concern about this deepening humanitarian crisis, people dying of hunger, people without homes, more than i million people in and around rafah, it is israel's intention to undertake this huge military offensive. that big offensive hasn't started yet and i don't think it will stop for some time yet, for many reasons including the fact we are about to start the jewish holy week of passover. but in a week or a few weeks' time, you might see that israeli determination to get the job donein israeli determination to get the job done in rafah and there was an indication of some of that last night. indication of some of that last niuht. ~ ., indication of some of that last nirht.~ . ., , indication of some of that last niuht. . ., , indication of some of that last nirht.~ . ., , ,., night. we have also seen reports of an exchange _ night. we have also seen reports of an exchange of _ night. we have also seen reports of an exchange of fire _ night. we have also seen reports of an exchange of fire in _ night. we have also seen reports of an exchange of fire in the _ night. we have also seen reports of an exchange of fire in the occupied| an exchange of fire in the occupied west bank. an exchange of fire in the occupied west itank-—

an exchange of fire in the occupied west bank. , , ., ., west bank. yes, there is intentional over the west bank. yes, there is intentional overthe region. _ west bank. yes, there is intentional over the region, israel— west bank. yes, there is intentional over the region, israel is _ west bank. yes, there is intentional over the region, israel is fighting - over the region, israel is fighting a small confined war with hezbollah in addition to what is happening in gaza. we have also seen hundreds of people killed in the west bank, particularly around jenin and nablus in recent months. and there appears to have been recent military incursion into parts of the west bank and that may have resulted in several deaths. details are a bit sketchy. but that is of no surprise because the war in gaza has given rise to conflicts elsewhere and people here may be showing some relief in the region that what happened between israel and iran hasn't developed into a bigger regional conflict, but there are still dangerous goings—on in the west bank, in northern israel, southern lebanon and of course, in gaza itself. southern lebanon and of course, in gaza itself-— gaza itself. live in jerusalem, thank yon — to the latest now on the ukraine war.

a russian official says a ukrainian drone strike has killed two people in the belgorod region, which borders ukraine. the governor says a residential building and a barn in the village of poroz were completely burned down. the governor of smolensk, just north of the belgorod region, says a ukrainian drone hit a fuel depot there overnight, setting it on fire. it comes as the us house of representatives has moved a step closer to approving a much—delayed $60 billion package of military aid for ukraine. democrats backed a procedural measure that will allow a vote on the bill later on saturday. the republican house speaker, mikejohnson — who's long blocked the aid — still faces some resistance from the right of his party. i spoke to anna matveeva, a senior visiting research fellow at king's college london. she told me that if funding is approved for ukraine in the us, it would be a big win for the country. it would be a morale boost, it would create some kind of a sense

ofjoy and the solidarity within ukraine, especially among its leadership, armed forces. but materially, it does not change things on the ground immediately. remember, out of 60 billion, 23 billion will go immediately to reimburse the west's defence companies for weapons and stock already delivered. there is also quite a lot of loans — rather than grants — which, in theory, ukraine should be obliged to repay in some future to the united states. the controversial part of the package are the low—range missiles, 300—kilometre distance. they can easily travel to russia and hit russian targets, including civilian targets. and moscow already has said very clearly that it is a red line and they are going to retaliate. here in the uk, the head

of the government watchdog the climate change committee has heavily criticised the prime minister's approach to climate change. in an exclusive interview with the bbc, chris stark said rishi sunak has "set us back" on climate change, leaving the uk at risk of losing out to other countries. with more on this, our climate editorjustin rowlatt is in the newsroom. yes. when asked what the climate change committee does, chris stark has always said itsjob is to mark the government's homework on climate change, and he has been marking rishi sunak down in dramatic fashion. chris stark said rishi sunak�*s predecessors theresa may and boris johnson had done a good job cutting emissions. but when asked about a decision last autumn by rishi sunak to water down targets to stop the sale of petrol and diesel cars and also to phase out gas boilers, this is what he told laura kuenssberg.

i think it's set us back. so i think we have moved from a position where we were really at the forefront, pushing ahead as quickly as we could on something that i believe to be fundamental to the uk economy, fundamentally beneficial to the people living in this country — whether you care about the climate or not — and we are now in a position now where we're actually trying to recover ground. now, he was also critical of the lib dems and of labour. he said politicians across the spectrum in the uk do, he said what they have is a collective fear of talking about climate change. he said he was also very disappointed by the decision by the snp, the government in edinburgh, scottish government, to drop a key climate carbon cutting target this week. and this all comes as marine experts have declared a mass coral bleaching events, the fourth ever such events, because,

say experts, by the record high sea surface temperatures. so at a time where we are releasing profound evidence of the impacts of climate change around the world. that evidence of the impacts of climate change around the world.- evidence of the impacts of climate change around the world. that is our climate edit — change around the world. that is our climate edit in _ change around the world. that is our climate edit in the _ change around the world. that is our climate edit in the newsroom, - change around the world. that is our climate edit in the newsroom, thank| climate edit in the newsroom, thank you very much. and you can see more of that interview on sunday with laura kuenssberg at 9am tomorrow morning in the uk. he was in the uk can watch that here on bbc news, as well as on bbc two and also on the bbc iplayer. now it's time for a look at today's sport. hello, gavin. yes, hi. a massive day of sport across the bbc today. all the football to come, but we start in the women's six nations. scotland are looking to bounce back from heavy defeat to england. they're in parma to face italy. and the champions, england, are at home to take on ireland, with another grand slam looking ever more likely. let's head to twickenham, where kick—off is approaching, and get the latest from jo currie.

good to see you, as always. a huge crowd today. will they be expecting another big win, or can ireland put up some sort of fight today? well, like we have seen in previous years, england at the moment are in menacing form and have admitted they haven't even really hit top gear. they have three bonus point wins from three, they have scored the most amount of tries, made the most metres and conceded the fewest points. they look potentially to be strolling towards a sixth consecutive title. the only blot on their copybook so far is discipline. they conceded two red cards in their opening three games, and having player sent off, they are still enjoying pretty big wins. but the head coach says he doesn't want his side to lose that cutting edge they have played with so much this tournament, he does want them to start thinking about their behaviour on the pitch. but in terms of today, yes, england will certainly be expecting to win this. for many, it would just be by how many points?

island of course we'll certainly have something to say about that. after their disappointing tournament last year where they failed to win any games and finished rock bottom, they are a much improved site and last weekend, they picked up their first win of the year's tournament. having said that, in reality, anything less than an england win today, the world number one, would be a huge upset. but they will be roared on by a crowd in the region of 50,000 fans and if the rugby doesn't tickle your fancy, we have sophie ellis—bextor set to entertain the fans at half—time. i’m sophie ellis-bextor set to entertain the fans at half-time.— the fans at half-time. i'm sure! we look forward _ the fans at half-time. i'm sure! we look forward to _ the fans at half-time. i'm sure! we look forward to that. _ scotland are looking to respond to two defeats in a row. how confident will they feel against italy? scotland's six nations campaign so far has been a mixed bag. it started with that wonderful opening day victory over wales in cardiff. they followed it up with a battling performance against france, albeit ending in defeat. they went into the game against england last weekend full of confidence, only to walk

away 46—0, defeated. they will be bruised from that and need to show an improvement today. they have a point to prove against italy, a team who also only had one winter day, they know they can target points. the captain says they need to get their back row, in her words world—class back row come into the game today. whatever happens today, kick—off in italy is in around 3.5 hours' time. kick-off in italy is in around 3.5 hours' time-— kick-off in italy is in around 3.5 hours' time. . ~' , . hours' time. thank you very much indeed, hours' time. thank you very much indeed. from _ hours' time. thank you very much indeed, from twickenham. - the snooker world championship is under way at the crucible and the current champion, luca brecel, is at the table, as the first two matches commenced this morning. the belgian bullet�*s up against england's david gilbert, in the first round. he is currently 6—3 up at the interval. the first in nine frames wins it. wales's jakjones is at the other table. you can keep up—to—date with all the latest from the world championship via the bbc sport website. to the football. manchester city were knocked out of the champions league quarter finals by real madrid this week, but can still win a double with the next step,

their fa cup semifinal against chelsea, later. they might be without striker erling haaland, who asked to come off during that match. and city will be up against one of theirformer players, cole palmer, who's having a sensational season for chelsea. i said many times maybe i didn't give the minutes he deserved. he wanted the minutes. and now he has at chelsea. i am happy for him. he is a lovely guy, a shy guy. he has incredible potential. so, it is what it is. chelsea up against barcelona, erin, but with the goal. and that's all the sport for now. to the united states.

police in new york say a man who set himself on fire outside the manhattan court where former president donald trump's hush—money trial is being held has died. the man doused himself in a liquid, before throwing conspiracy—theory pamphlets into the air. he was taken to hospital, but later died. as our north america correspondent nada tawfik reports, it happened as the jury selection for mr trump's trial was completed. more on that, and the trial itself. 0n more on that, and the trial itself. on monday and we will have full coverage of that trial and the reaction from our reporter who has been covering that from their and that will be on monday here on bbc news, and we can now hear what happened yesterday. journalists here had just learned thatjury selection had concluded slightly after 1:30 in the afternoon, when the man, later identified as a florida resident in his mid—30s, entered the park. he threw coloured pamphlets in the air, doused himself in lighterfluid and set himself on fire. and we here could see the blaze, could feel that heat. now, officials later said that he wasn't targeting any

individual, any group or, in fact, this trial. their investigation is ongoing, but they believe he was a conspiracy theorist. now, they say they are going to be reviewing security protocols around this courthouse, in light of the high—profile nature of this trial, and whether, in fact, to close that park down to the public. but nevertheless, court resumed. it remained on schedule. and opening statements in this trial will now begin on monday. donald trump, leaving the court today, again slammed this case as a hoax, as a witch hunt. he is charged with falsifying business records to hide a so—called hush—money payment to the adult film star stormy daniels, in order to influence the 2016 election, to hide a potentially damaging sex scandal. he denies all wrongdoing and the extramarital affair. and again, opening statements will begin on monday.

for lovers of all things retro, today is record store day. more than 260 independent record shops across the country are taking part to celebrate the staff, customers, artists and labels that make the vinyl industry. emer mccarthy is in the thick of it in soho for us. hgppy happy record store day to you! we are here in the thick of it in soho. surrounded by final stores, including the one behind us which we heard at 6am had more than 200 people in line to celebrate record store day. it is about celebrating the artists, the store owners, the labels, and the fans of final as well. a short time ago, i was speaking to the owner of the shop and he said that they have had people of all ages and all

backgrounds in today, everyone from grandparents to even saw babies in prams and slings. we have also seen famous faces around today. and people are walking around soho with bags full of records and vinyl. it is lovely to see young people as well celebrating new releases today. we saw a release from 0livia rodrigo and also from britpop legends blur, just for national record store day. a very special day indeed for the music industry.— a very special day indeed for the music industry. yes, i was going to sa it's music industry. yes, i was going to say it's very — music industry. yes, i was going to say it's very interesting _ music industry. yes, i was going to say it's very interesting because . music industry. yes, i was going to say it's very interesting because i l say it's very interesting because i am vain age where i grew up with vinyl records, but we have seen a massive boost in them —— i am of an age. particularly from taylor swift who had the biggest vinyl record last year. youngsters are also getting back into the audio and nice sound of a vinyl record. that getting back into the audio and nice sound of a vinyl record.— sound of a vinyl record. that is absolutely _ sound of a vinyl record. that is absolutely true. _ sound of a vinyl record. that is absolutely true. i _ sound of a vinyl record. that is absolutely true. i will- sound of a vinyl record. that is absolutely true. i will share . sound of a vinyl record. that is absolutely true. i will share a i absolutely true. i will share a pretty crazy statistic with you. according to the bpi, last year, 6.5

million vinyl record sold here in the uk. that was the biggest year of growth since 1990. and that is 16 years of solid growth. 1990 is a long time, before my time. but it just shows the incredible resurgence in popularity vinyl has. and she mentioned taylor swift of course, she had a new album out yesterday which is going to be released on vinyl as well. so there really is this huge resurgence in people want to have —— wanting to have these tangible items and listening to them on a record player, as opposed to in their ears. so it is really nice to see a few popular ones today including anything by fleetwood mac. rumours is a popular one. but between blur, 0livia rodrigo, kate bush, there is really no shortage of variety here. bush, there is really no shortage of variety here-— bush, there is really no shortage of varie here. ., ., ., variety here. you have made me feel ve old variety here. you have made me feel very old because _ variety here. you have made me feel

very old because in _ variety here. you have made me feel very old because in 1990, _ variety here. you have made me feel very old because in 1990, i— variety here. you have made me feel very old because in 1990, i was - very old because in 1990, i was playing vinyl records on the radio, so thanks very much for that! but i will leave you to enjoy more vinyl at that store in soho. thank you very much! chess master has broken the record for the longest marathon of the game ever played. tunde 0nakoya, who is from nigeria, played for 58 consecutive hours in new york's times square. he's trying to raise one million dollars for charity to support chess education for children, and was cheered on by supporters from the city's nigerian community. i can't process a lot of the emotions i feel right now, i don't have the right words for them, but i know we did something truly remarkable. i mean, in documented human history, no—one has ever played chess for this long, you know, 56 hours nonstop, and we just broke that record, and i think we can keep going for a few more maybe minutes or hours, so the next person finds it extremely difficult to break the new record as well.

congratulations to him. i was reading in the article that you can reading in the article that you can read on the bbc news website and the 3pp, read on the bbc news website and the app, the fact that people in nigeria were tuning into the live stream to be able to watch him over those 58 hours. amazing achievement. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. quite a chill in the air earlier on, but at least the sun is quite strong. this is what we call the anomaly map across europe. where it is blue, temperatures are below the average for the time of the year and you can see across many countries, you can see across many countries, it you can see across many countries, it has been colder than what we would expect in april. in fact come across northern parts of europe, we had snow. this is helsinki today, three degrees, flurries of snow, central parts of europe not even making double figures. and we are feeling the chill as we see colder

air from the north. feeling the chill as we see colder airfrom the north. but at feeling the chill as we see colder air from the north. but at least it is high pressure, so that doesn't mean the weather is quiet. so a lot of welcome dry weather. this is a satellite picture. clouds have been building through the morning and into the afternoon. some areas are still quite sunny, other areas have turned more overcast. temperatures best in the west, possibly 15 in northern ireland. but on the north sea coast, with a chilly breeze, only around 9 or 10. temperatures may be on the down, but the pollen levels are on the up. moderate widely across some central and eastern parts of the uk and even high in the south west. through tonight, variable cloud. it will turn down for a time in scotland. particularly northern and central areas. i don't think this coming night will be quite as cold as last night. but still in some spots, temperatures could drop close to freezing early in the morning, given clear skies overnight. variable cloud tomorrow, there will be some

sunshine, for sure. further south is where the best of the sun will be. but some areas may be stuck underneath the cloud. it is going to be a relatively one day across western parts of northern ireland, 18 degrees. the closest in north sea coast in that breeze, maybe not even making ten sources. into monday, high pressure still, but a weather front is caught on that eastern edge of the high pressure meaning thick cloud across much of the uk. dribs and drabs of rain. i don't think it will feel pleasant. the further east you are. 0ut towards the west in belfast, around 11l celsius. is it going to warm up? not significantly so in the days ahead. if we look at the outlook for the week, it is going to stay generally on the chilly side to come up with a little rain now and then.

this is bbc news, the headlines... nine people are reportedly killed in israeli strikes on homes in southern gaza, including four children. it comes as the un agency for palestinian refugees, unrwa, is also warning that the risk of disease is rising, with sanitation in rafah a major concern. and the us house of representatives has moved a step closer to approving a much delayed 60 billion dollar package of military aid for ukraine. the republican house speaker, mikejohnson still faces some resistance from the right

of his party. that vote expected later on saturday. a man has died after setting himself on fire outside the courtroom where donald trump is being tried. stay with us here on bbc news. we will have your headlines after this programme... i've been an opera fan for decades, and i want to share my passion with you. so i'm on a mission to find out how opera is trying to attract new audiences and reinvent itself. this time, i meet welsh bass—baritone sir bryn terfel, a giant in the opera world, both in achievements and physical stature. sir bryn terfel is an artist who's

just known all around the world.