donald trump is back inauguration. donald trump is back inauguration. donald trump is back in new york as storied —— stormy daniels is due to appear on the witness stand. i’m daniels is due to appear on the witness stand.— daniels is due to appear on the witness stand. �* ., , . ., witness stand. i'm outside the court in new york — witness stand. i'm outside the court in new york and _ witness stand. i'm outside the court in new york and what _ witness stand. i'm outside the court in new york and what promises - witness stand. i'm outside the courtl in new york and what promises to be one of the most dramatic days of testimony. one of the most dramatic days of testimony-— one of the most dramatic days of testimon . �* ., ., ., ., ., . testimony. and floral extravagance on the red carpet, _ testimony. and floral extravagance on the red carpet, as _ testimony. and floral extravagance on the red carpet, as stars - testimony. and floral extravagance on the red carpet, as stars attend l on the red carpet, as stars attend the met gala in new york. hello, welcome to verified live for the next three hours, all the main stories and checking out the facts behind them. the un says israel isn't allowing humanitarian workers access to the rafah crossing after israeli defence forces took control of the gaza crossing with egypt.

eight agents say the closing of the rafah crossing as well as the other main crossing makes it virtually impossible to assist civilians inside the enclave. these pictures have been issued by the idf saying troops are carrying out a limited operation in gaza, saying they've killed several hamas fighters and destroyed a number of titles. meanwhile, lorries are queuing up at the rafah crossing waiting to get into gaza. in the last few minutes, the un has demanded that gaza's crossings must be reopened immediately and says a full—scale assault on rough i would be a humanitarian catastrophe. there's been celebrations in rafah on monday night after hamas edit agreed proposals for a hostage release and cease—fire. relatives of the hostages in gaza up and demanding benjamin netanyahu accept the deal. but israel says the drafters is far from meeting its key demands. galarneau has sent this report.

and destroyed tunnels in a precise operation. but palestinians mourning their lost loved ones say children were among those killed in the latest air strikes. this man has his family lined up in body bags. translation: mi; family lined up in body bags. translation:— family lined up in body bags. translation: q , , ., , translation: my wife, my brother, my brother, my sister— translation: my wife, my brother, my brother, my sister and _ translation: my wife, my brother, my brother, my sister and niece _ translation: my wife, my brother, my brother, my sister and niece were - brother, my sister and niece were martyred. we did nothing, we were sleeping peacefully. we are not hamas or any faction, i'm a construction worker.- hamas or any faction, i'm a construction worker. what is happening — construction worker. what is happening in _ construction worker. what is happening in rafah - construction worker. what is happening in rafah still- construction worker. what is happening in rafah still fallsj construction worker. what is - happening in rafah still falls short of the full—scale ground effects of that world powers have warned against, but there are new concerns that israel has now closed the two main crossing points for aid into

gaza main crossing points for aid into gaz. ., ., main crossing points for aid into gaz ., ., , , main crossing points for aid into gaz. . . , , ., gaza the rafah crossing is now under control of the — gaza the rafah crossing is now under control of the idf _ gaza the rafah crossing is now under control of the idf and _ gaza the rafah crossing is now under control of the idf and is _ gaza the rafah crossing is now under control of the idf and is currently - control of the idf and is currently closed at the moment —— to the movement of goods and people. that means that currently, the two main arteries forgetting aid into gaza is currently choked off. last arteries forgetting aid into gaza is currently choked off.— currently choked off. last night, gazans rejoiced _ currently choked off. last night, gazans rejoiced after— currently choked off. last night, gazans rejoiced after hamas - currently choked off. last night, - gazans rejoiced after hamas declared it had accepted a cease—fire proposal from it had accepted a cease—fire proposalfrom mediators, but celebrations were short—lived as israel said its core demands weren't met, and it would continue negotiations. israelis supporting the hostages took to the streets, demanding a deal to bring them back. relatives of those still held captive accuse their prime minister of putting his own political survival ahead of their loved ones — some went to parliament today.

translation:— some went to parliament today. translation: there are civilians there who need _ translation: there are civilians there who need rescuing, - translation: there are civilians| there who need rescuing, soldiers who need rescuing. and so far, but i'm seeing is the state of israel and netanyahu are simply delaying. backin and netanyahu are simply delaying. back in rafah, israel has again been ordering palestinians to leave the east. after several months of war, the end had seemed tantalizingly close, but now there's more painful uncertainty. injust close, but now there's more painful uncertainty. in just the last few minutes, the un secretary—general antonio guterres has called for crossings into gaza to be reopened immediately to allow essential aid in, and he also urged israel to stop any escalation after it sent tanks into rafah. pm any escalation after it sent tanks into rafah-— any escalation after it sent tanks into rafah. �* . , into rafah. an agreement between the covernment into rafah. an agreement between the government of — into rafah. an agreement between the government of israel _ into rafah. an agreement between the government of israel and _ into rafah. an agreement between the government of israel and hamas - into rafah. an agreement between the government of israel and hamas is - government of israel and hamas is essential to stop the unbearable suffering of palestinians in gaza and the hostages and their families. it would be tragic if weeks of intense diplomatic activity for peace in gaza yield no cease—fire,

no release of hostages, and a devastating offensive in rafah. i irradiate my appeal to both parties to show the political courage and spare no effort to secure an agreement now —— i reiterate my appeal. to stop the bloodshed, to free the hostages, and to help stabilise a region which is still at risk of explosion. this is a crucial opportunity that the region and the world cannot afford to miss. yet things are moving in the wrong direction. i'm disturbed and distressed by that renewed military activity and rafah by the israeli defence forces. the closure of both rafah and karin shalom crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation. they must be reopened immediately. just to give an example — we risk running

out of fuel this evening. i urge the government of israel to stop any escalation and engage constructively in the ongoing diplomatic talks. after more than 1100 israelis killed in the hamas terror attacks of october 7th, after more than 311,000 palestinians killed in gaza, haven't we seen enough? haven't civilians suffered enough death and destruction two make no mistake, a full—scale assault on rafah would be a humana human catastrophe. with a humana human catastrophe. with more on the — a humana human catastrophe. with more on the israeli _ a humana human catastrophe. with more on the israeli operation in gaza, let's go to merlin thomas has been looking at the images released by the idf. the been looking at the images released b the idf. , ., been looking at the images released b the idf. , g, g, , been looking at the images released b the idf. , g, a, , by the idf. the israeli army has said its gained _ by the idf. the israeli army has said its gained operational - by the idf. the israeli army has l said its gained operational control of the gaza side of the rafah crossing here. the israelis say they've done this because mortars were fired from this area, killing

four of their soldiers. we haven't verified this ourselves but we have verified this ourselves but we have verified several videos of israeli armoured vehicles circulating on social media, including this one which appeared online this morning. it shows a tank ramming into two palestinian flags at the crossing on the gaza side. the long shadows stretching on the ground from the west to the east suggest this was filmed early in the morning, and we've located it to hear by looking at pictures and satellite imagery of the crossing. 0vernight there was continuous israeli bombardment on the border city, and we verified this video, which was sent to the bbc by someone in khan younis, looking towards rafah, and you can see flares in the skies over rafah. israel says a number of hamas fighters have been killed, but there are also reports of civilian casualties too. and israel says it's warned people of its strikes, and went way they say they are doing this is by dropping leaflets from the sky. you can see that in this

video, so we verified this video east of rafah, and these white specks falling to the ground are those leaflets. this is what one of those leaflets. this is what one of those leaflets. this is what one of those leaflets looks like. yesterday, israel directed people in the eastern part of rafah to move towards what they call humanitarian areas, so moving from here to here. this is a satellite image of one of those areas, north of khan younis. this is from 2a april and we counted 13 shelters here. and this is from the 5th of may, and you can see there are many more of them. we can't tell how many of them are occupied, but the israeli army have said that this military operation isn't yet the full—scale ground offensive that israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu has talked about. the us has warned against such an offensive because of what it says are the dire humanitarian consequences in a city where hundreds of thousands who fled fighting in gaza are still sheltering.— fighting in gaza are still shelterinr. ., ~' , ., , fighting in gaza are still shelterinr. ., ~ , ., , . sheltering. thank you very much. let's no sheltering. thank you very much. let's go live _ sheltering. thank you very much.

let's go live to _ sheltering. thank you very much. let's go live to jerusalem - sheltering. thank you very much. let's go live to jerusalem now, i let's go live tojerusalem now, frank gardner is there. hello, frank — what's the status of the negotiations right now to try to get a deal over the line in these tricky situation on the ground?— a deal over the line in these tricky situation on the ground? well, the cease-fire talks _ situation on the ground? well, the cease-fire talks are _ situation on the ground? well, the cease-fire talks are in _ situation on the ground? well, the cease-fire talks are in play, - cease—fire talks are in play, although there aren't any direct talks between the israeli and hamas allegations. they're always through mediators. the good news is that unlike last weekend, when israel didn't bother sending a delegation to cairo because they didn't think hamas's proposals were serious enough or hamas's position was serious enough, this time they have sent a delegation — it'sjust arrived in cairo, these are mid—level technical experts from mossad, shabbat, and the israeli defence force — they are there to study the hamas proposals and basically look for ways of closing the gap between what hamas is

prepared to accept and what israel is prepared to accept. the fundamentals are pretty much agreed — fundamentally this involves a set 42 day period of calm during which there will be an exchange of prisoners, but there's a bit of sniping around at the edges here, and i think the main sticking point which israel is objecting to is how this ends. hamas wants an undertaking that at the end of the cease—fire process, the fighting stops and israel commits to no more fighting. the problem for israel, particularly the israeli government, because there are plenty in israel who just want to take the deal, the hostage families are saying, "stop messing around, do the deal and bring the hostages home." but the israeli government has set out this hard—line right—wing government has set out its war aims as being two things — destroy hamas and bring the hostages home. the critics of the

cease—fire deal say, "if we sign up to a deal that leaves elements of hamas still intact underground and in tunnels, especially the architect of the october 7th massacre, then israel is laying itself open for another 0ctober israel is laying itself open for another october 7th, which hamas has promised to do." so that's what's holding back the israeli government — but there's an enormous international pressure on both sides, but right now i'd say primarily on the israeli side — hurry up and do this deal. but netanyahu — hurry up and do this deal. but netanyahu simply will not be able to please everybody at this point, will he? �* , ., ., ., please everybody at this point, will he? �*, ., ., ., , please everybody at this point, will he? �*, ., ., ., he? he's 'uggling a lot of balls of the he? he'sjuggling a lot of balls of the same time. _ he? he'sjuggling a lot of balls of the same time. he's _ he? he'sjuggling a lot of balls of the same time. he's caught - he? he'sjuggling a lot of balls of- the same time. he's caught between various conflicting factions— he's got the hard—line right—wing element in his party and coalition government, rather, so particularly the security minister, the finance minister, both of whom have said if

they do a deal that leaves hamas intact, they will walk and leave the coalition, and the coalition would collapse. somebody called up mr le bead, the opposition leader, said if that happens, he would step in. but at the same time, you've got those breathing down netanyahu's next saying, "don't go into rafah, do the deal," and he's ignored that. they say it's just a limited military operation in gaza — it's still a military operation, it's still interrupting the flow of aid into southern gaza and people are still being killed. the israeli government clearly believes its military pressure on hamas is succeeding because hamas appear very eager to do a deal, so they're obviously keen to press on with what they are doing. but they keep calling it a limited operation so it doesn't incur too much of wrath of the united states.— incur too much of wrath of the united states. frank, thanks very

much. united states. frank, thanks very much- that's _ united states. frank, thanks very much. that's an _ united states. frank, thanks very much. that's an appropriate - united states. frank, thanks very - much. that's an appropriate moment than to explore in a bit more detail the role of the united states at this critical point. i'm nowjordan democratjoined by lauren blumenthal atjohn hopkins university, thanks very much for your time today. president biden has been pretty consistent in terms of saying he doesn't want to see a military operation in rafah, he wants israel to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid, and he wants hamas to release hostages. so what is the next move from the us at this point? clearly president biden has made it very clear that the invasion of rafah is a battle of clashing redlines. he said multiple times that israel's invasion of rafah would be his redline, and prime minister netanyahu said we also have a red line, which is destroying hamas, and in orderto a red line, which is destroying hamas, and in order to do that we need to finish the job in rafah. so... and this is a crash test on

the credibility of the united states. until now, there's been a lot of words, weapons speak louder than words, and there were reports last week of a slowdown of weapons shipments from the us to israel. hopefully it won't come to that in terms of our bilateral relations with israel, and i think the next 2a hours will help us potentially get there if we can get to a cease—fire deal. as we learned yesterday, the devil is in the details — israel is charging that there is a cease—fire switcheroo that they had proposed one thing and hamas had agreed to another. so we will see how it goes, bill burns, our cia director, has skin in the game — he's been on the ground personally taking charge. where does the relationship with the us rank among the competing pressures facing benjamin netanyahu right now? in other words, how much influence can america bring to bear on the situation?—

influence can america bring to bear on the situation? netanyahu spoke on holocaust memorial _ on the situation? netanyahu spoke on holocaust memorial day, _ on the situation? netanyahu spoke on holocaust memorial day, which - on the situation? netanyahu spoke on holocaust memorial day, which was . holocaust memorial day, which was yesterday, referencing world war ii— i think he was referencing the uk — when he said, "if need be, we'll stand alone," and there was a time in world war ii where great powers stood idly by, which i think was a jab at the us during world war ii. i think the key ingredient that's missing unfortunately between multiple parties is trust. the israelis don't trust the palestinians, they feel like they were sucker punch on october 7th, they had been in a deterrence relationship with hamas, and they are now a bit suspicious of the us for allowing this suppose it acceptance... they feel they were blindsided by the announcement. they've been asking for guarantees for the cease—fire at least from the united states or from turkey or russia, and as far as the us

trusting anybody, as they used to say in the newsroom when i worked at the washington post, "if your mother says your lover, check her out." very little trust there —— if your mother says you love her. and mother says you love her. and the resonse mother says you love her. and the response on _ mother says you love her. and the response on israel, _ mother says you love her. and the response on israel, you _ mother says you love her. and the response on israel, you can - mother says you love her. and the response on israel, you can checkl response on israel, you can check that out on bbc news's website and 3pp, that out on bbc news's website and app, check out all the developers as they happen. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

aduu adult actress stormy daniels, the person at the centre of the first criminal trial of a former us president, donald trump, is being called as a witness today. it comes as prosecutors continue to argue donald trump was responsible for

illegally covering up a hush money payment to the pawn star in the run—up to the 2016 election. mr trump denies he's ever had sex with daniels. let's speak to nada tawfik, who's following the trial for us. this is box office stuff, isn't it? absolutely, we are gearing up for what is promising to be one of the most dramatic days of testimony in this trial yet. stormy daniels will take the stand evidently, we are told she's the second witness today. and really, the defence tried to block some of her testimony about the alleged sexual encounter with donald trump, saying this is a case about books and records. the prosecutors then order and —— establish that they need to ask her minimal questions about that alleged encounter, they sayjust minimal questions about that alleged encounter, they say just about how she felt about it, nothing too personal or graphic. in the judge

agreed with them, saying because stormy daniels had claimed the affair didn't happen before saying it did, that it was necessary to establish your credibility. as i say, turning out to be a dramatic day, there was a moment when donald trump posted complaining he wasn't given more advanced notice about the next witness on his truth social account, but he deleted that — remember, it's because he's subject to a gag order that prevents them from making posts about potential witnesses, and the judge yesterday threatened him with jail if you continue to do so. mada jail if you continue to do so. nada tawfik, thank— jail if you continue to do so. nada tawfik, thank you _ jail if you continue to do so. nada tawfik, thank you very _ jail if you continue to do so. nada tawfik, thank you very much - jail if you continue to do so. nada tawfik, thank you very much for keeping an eye on that trial for us president xi of china has arrived in the pyrenean mountains in southern france on the second day of his state visit. the french president, emmanuel macron, has invited mr xi to a local spa town, where he's expected

to press him to end the sale of dual—use goods to russia. it comes as china finds itself in controversy on the other side of the channel. beijing has been forced to deny being behind the hack of a payroll system for british armed forces. the bbc understands the uk government believes beijing was responsible for the attack on a third—party contractor, which has access to the names and bank details of all serving members and some veterans. china said the claims were "absurd". let's speak to now to isabel hilton, founder and ceo of china dialogue. thank you very much for your time. china has been denying these accusations, but for those saying the country is involved in espionage, what sort of fears are there or on the scale of this? this is actually — there or on the scale of this? this is actually the _ there or on the scale of this? this is actually the second _ there or on the scale of this? t�*i 3 is actually the second major breach that has been pretty much publicly announced — they haven't directly attributed to china, but attribution takes time and the hints are very strong, so we can assume that they are fairly confident that government. and it's a

characteristic operation — china goes for a very big data sets because it has big powers of processing in using these data sets for any number of operations, so you can identify people if you have their bank details, you can look for people who might be in financial trouble, who might be vulnerable in other ways, you're looking for a gambler, people that you can perhaps mark down as people who could be used or exploited for a further operation. and this is absolutely characteristic of the electoral roll that was hacked in the united states, we've seen massive packs of government personnel, the extraordinary details of tens of thousands of us government employees that were hacked by china, the christopher rae, intelligence operative in the united states, has

complained that china was on critical infrastructure — again, very large, sometimes quite diffuse operations, but extremely useful for future actions. but operations, but extremely useful for future actions.— future actions. but of course, with china being _ future actions. but of course, with china being such _ future actions. but of course, with china being such a _ future actions. but of course, with china being such a significant - china being such a significant global player, there is always that need for a dual approach by other countries who want more access to markets and will so forth. china routinely denies this operation like it does with this one, and there's a lot of fake indignation == it does with this one, and there's a lot of fake indignation— lot of fake indignation -- in damnation. _ lot of fake indignation -- in damnation. but _ lot of fake indignation -- in damnation. but i _ lot of fake indignation -- in damnation. but i think- lot of fake indignation -- in | damnation. but i think what lot of fake indignation -- in - damnation. but i think what we've noticed is that, at least the intelligence services, security services have been much more robust to the public in their assessment of china's operation. the uk government has been a little more cautious then certainly the us government has been. it defines china as a systemic

challenge, but not in a pocket defining challenge, but not actually a threat. the us is far more upfront, and if you look at the reaction to the hacked months ago, the us reaction was much more robust than the uk one. and i think the problem for the uk government is that britain is a relatively small country, that we have built up relationships with china over a long period of time in which there was much more trust than there is now, and we have created dependencies. we would still like to have chinese investment in this country, we would still like to have market opportunities. so there is a constant push and pull between economic and financial interests, and the lure of the big market and national security interests. these remain unresolved in the uk, and

also in bigger countries such as germany, it's very simple or. isabel hilton, thanks _ germany, it's very simple or. isabel hilton, thanks for _ germany, it's very simple or. isabel hilton, thanks for your _ germany, it's very simple or. isabel hilton, thanks for your thoughts - germany, it's very simple or. isabel hilton, thanks for your thoughts on | hilton, thanks for your thoughts on that story. you may know that prince harry is in the uk, this is in relation to his invictus games, various appointments he's attending in relation to that. but we are hearing that the duke will not meet with his father, king charles, while in the uk this week. a spokesperson for prince harry saying, "unfortu nately for prince harry saying, "unfortunately it will not be possible due to the king's full programme. the duke is understanding of his father's priorities and hopes to see him soon." ukrainian intelligence says it's foiled a russian plot to assassinate president zelensky. it's arrested two colonels from the government protection unit suspected of passing on secret

information to a russian fsb cell. 0ur ukraine correspondent, james waterhouse, told us more. assassination plots against president zielinski are common, and they have been since the full scale invasion went russian paratroopers attempted to land in kyiv and take him out. but this is an alleged plan which really does stand out— you have the country's intelligent service claiming to have held two serving kernels in the country's security service, which is responsible for keeping institutions as well as senior officials safe. and they are accused of planning to leak president zelensky and these other officials, their movements to moscow. as well as the addresses in which they stay, and the alleged plan was for those addresses to be struck by russian missiles, but the detail doesn't stop there. these kernels reportedly took weapons from

the ukrainian regions where they were serving, including drones, mines, explosives — they allegedly took them to kyiv to carry out this attack. now we don't know how close these men got to carrying out their plan, it's claimed they were hired by moscow's moles before the full—scale invasion in meetings and other european countries where large sums of cash were transferred. it's got it all, really, this plot — but it's also a reminder of the dangers president zelensky, a wartime leader, faces in this conflict. you've got a president who is still keen to travel around, he often makes visits to the front line, some very hostile areas where he will be seen to meet troops, and often those journeys are made in low—flying helicopters, it's a means of transport which has claimed the lives of other top officials when a helicopter crashed a few years ago in heavy fog. but he's become

accustomed to the risk, this is a guy who's willing to stay, despite offers to leave ukraine early on in the full—scale invasion, with this country still being under martial law, with elections still under hold — for now, it seems he's intent on staying, but they are grappling with other domestic issues as part of the job. in fact, other domestic issues as part of the job. infact, he's other domestic issues as part of the job. in fact, he's trying to mobilise as many men as possible for a fight that will not going —— is not going ukraine's way at the. james waterhouse in the ukrainian capital. stay with us for coverage of the day's main news. hello there. finally, a spell of settled weather, not just for the next few days but in fact for much of the upcoming week and this weekend.

the best of the sunshine will always be for england and wales but we will have weather fronts in the north west of the country at times, which bring a little bit of rain, more cloud here but it will be quite warm in the sunshine for all of those, but certainly for england and wales. this is the high pressure starting to build in today across the country. there is a weak weather front across the north of the uk, that will generate quite a lot of cloud for scotland, early sunshine across northern ireland will tend to fade as well and we will see patchy cloud for northern and western part of england and wales and some showers likely to develop ear but nothing as heavy or as widespread as we have seen over the last few days. the best of the sunshine towards the south—east, where we could be up to 20 degrees or so, but for most it is the mid—to high teens. through this evening and overnight, it looks like any showers will fade away. most places will be dry, some clear spells but sea fog lapping coasts of both the north sea and the irish sea, and there will be variable cloud here and there. temperatures generally 6—10 celsius — on the mild side for most. into wednesday, this area of high

pressure will bring a dry day for much of the country but we do see these weather fronts, tighter isobars pushing into the north—west of the country. the wind will start to pick up across scotland and northern ireland. cloud is building. we will see splashes of rain moving in, mainly to the north and west of scotland. but southern scotland, eastern part of northern ireland should tend to stay dry. the best of the sunshine again for england and wales with light southerly winds, it is going to feel even warmer, the low 20s for many of us, even up to 20 degrees there across south—east scotland. on thursday, a similar story. more cloud generally in scotland and northern ireland, some splashes of rain in the north west of scotland, where it will be easier. lighter winds further south and for the bulk of england and wales it should be mostly dry, barely a shower around. lots of sunshine and feeling a bit warmer. 22, maybe 23 degrees in the warmest spots, high teens even where we have cloud across scotland and northern ireland. we hold onto high—pressure on friday and indeed the weekend, although it starts to retreat out towards the east, low pressure will begin to push in to the west

of the country later on sunday and certainly into next week it looks more unsettled. but a fine end to the week to come, just the chance of some showers across western areas later on sunday. take care.