it's seven in the morning in singapore, and two in the morning in gaza and i want to start the program with this. "if we have to stand alone, we will stand alone." those are the words of benjamin netanyahu, after us presidentjoe biden confirmed the white house had paused a delivery of munitions, that could be used in a major assault on the city of rafah, in the south of gaza. for weeks america has said such an attack would lead to many civilian deaths — with more than a million palestinians sheltering in the southern city. but as the families of more than 100 israeli hostages continue to pressure their government, israel remains adamant that an assault is the only way to finish off hamas and secure their release. in the past few minutes the white house has said it's provided israel with some alternatives on how to go

after hamas operatives. but the relationship between america and israel, is more strained now, than at any time for a generation. paul adams sent this report from jerusalem. haitham is trapped. after three operations for a bullet wound that punctured his lung, he needs treatment abroad. all set to leave until israel captured and closed the rafah crossing. forced to wait in a tent. "i feel helpless," he says. "the world is powerless to open the border. "the hospitals here can no longer help me." just when rafah�*s need is greatest, its main hospital lies silent and abandoned, hastily evacuated in the face of israel's sudden advance, now dangerously close to the front line. israel insists its operation is limited. but new images of tanks massing on the border earlier this week

have raised fears that rafah�*s densely populated centre could soon be attacked in defiance of washington. translation: if we i have to stand alone, we will stand alone. i have already said that, if necessary, we will fight with our nails. last night, a rare warning from president biden — an all—out assault will have consequences. they go into rafa, i'm not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem. for one former israeli prime minister, this is a significant moment — the current government squandering the goodwill of its most steadfast ally. i ask myself, what did we do that the person that was perhaps more supportive of the state of israel than any president in the history of the relations

between the two countries, reached the conclusion that he has to do it? so this is a major turning point. the most dangerous government for the state of israel on these days is not any foreign country. it's the government of israel. with ceasefire talks apparently deadlocked, rafah is being pounded. air strikes and artillery leaving trails of destruction in a city which still fears an invasion. paul adams, bbc news, jerusalem. colin clarke, is the director of research at the soufan centre. i asked him if he thinks that the us/israel relationship is at a �*major turning point�*. i do. somewhat if you look at one of the things that didn't tweeted out today was hamas loves joe tweeted out today was hamas lovesjoe biden and it's highly antagonistic and that is quite

counterproductive thing to because it is pushing american centrists and moderates who would support israel to back away and say why are we supporting this far right extremists cabinet? and there are a lot of variables in play plus we are in an election year in the united states and we are in the united states and we are in a bit of an impasse of the moment. in a bit of an impasse of the moment-— in a bit of an impasse of the moment. �* . ., , ., moment. ben'amin netanyahu remains moment. benjamin netanyahu remains defiant _ moment. benjamin netanyahu remains defiant and _ moment. benjamin netanyahu remains defiant and if- moment. benjamin netanyahu remains defiant and if we - moment. benjamin netanyahu remains defiant and if we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. will israel continue its operations without us military support? it’s operations without us military su ort? �* , . operations without us military su ort? �*, ., ., operations without us military su--ort? v . ., ., support? it's a lot of hyperbole _ support? it's a lot of hyperbole on - support? it's a lot of hyperbole on the - support? it's a lot of. hyperbole on the behalf support? it's a lot of - hyperbole on the behalf of benjamin netanyahu, they're not going to stand alone and joe biden is taking about limiting some weapons from certain operation and are completely cutting off lap and are completely cutting off lapin supplies and a lot of hyperbole and exaggeration on the part of benjamin netanyahu who tends to throw fits when he doesn't get his way in joe throw fits when he doesn't get his way injoe biden stood strong against the israeli prime minister and it doesn't

look like they're on good terms and a lot of playing out in the press byjeff to givejoe biden credit for standing up and not being bullied and pushed around by benjamin netanyahu. in being bullied and pushed around by benjamin netanyahu.- by benjamin netanyahu. in the release of _ by benjamin netanyahu. in the release of hostages, _ by benjamin netanyahu. in the release of hostages, what - by benjamin netanyahu. in the release of hostages, what did l release of hostages, what did these remarks means the progress of the release talks? it does look good, i'm not overly optimistic that a deal is going to get done, especially if you have hardliners within hamas and also within the israeli government to some would suggest have a vested interest in not making a deal and others speculation that benjamin netanyahu is going to try to keep the war going and old that donald trump wins the election and i might be a bit too cynical and at the end of the day, were talking about human beings that are being held hostage that are involved in this snitzer humanitarian part that i think we often neglect and gloss over.—

that i think we often neglect and gloss over. and what will tell us where _ and gloss over. and what will tell us where this _ and gloss over. and what will tell us where this conflict - tell us where this conflict will be headed?— tell us where this conflict will be headed? looking at the size, will be headed? looking at the size. scale _ will be headed? looking at the size, scale and _ will be headed? looking at the size, scale and scope - will be headed? looking at the size, scale and scope of- size, scale and scope of israeli operations into rafah, israeli operations into rafah, i had an insurgency trap report and the mission in gaza even with a rafah operation, it is unclear whether they'll be able to impact the total network to be successful in killing or capturing high target individuals. the eurovision song contest is supposed to be a festival of music — promoting international friendship. but this year it's mired in controversy because israel is taking part and its war in gaza has provoked a wave of protests at the song contest venue, which this year is malmo in sweden. israel's contestant eden golan was booed when she rehearsed her song hurricane.

she's through to saturday's final. outside thousands of pro palestinian protestors demonstrated against the war in gaza, with smoke canisters in the colours of the palestinian flag set off in malmo's central square. the climate activist greta thunberg was among those taking part. young people are leading the way in showing the world how we should react to this. our correspondent sarah rainsford is in malmo. earlier today when they're preparing for the party, there was a big protest in the city centre. he was shouting that israel should not be allowed to compete in this music contest and lots of people from the local palestinian community and lots of other groups who just do not feel that israel should be taking part at a time when israeli forces are bombing gaza there so many civilian casualties in one of the

arguments we have heard is people talking about hypocrisy saying that your vision should not be allowing israel to compete with a band russia after the full scale invasion of ukraine. that been security concerns all along and at time where feelings are running so high and we saw a small number of people gathering to waive the israeli flag and the performer from the israeli flag and the performerfrom israel who the israeli flag and the performer from israel who was performing here on stage tonight and when they gathered, there was a lot of riot police and they came together in) there was a lot of riot police and they came together in ) a police and every single area controlling it to make sure they can wave their flags and singing the songs and could do so in peace and safety. and concerns that there are intentions and this event is taking place. everything went off peacefully in his evening shifted off and what this is shown is that even though

eurovision are adamant that is contest by music and having fun, and not about politics, politics is pervading the event and it is inescapable and there is a big final to this weekend. the porn star, stormy daniels, at the centre of donald trump's hush money criminal trial, has ended her testimony in court in new york. under fierce cross examination, she was accused of trying to profit from the case. the former president, is charged with hiding a payment to her, to cover up an alleged affair, before the 2016 election. he's pleaded not guilty, to sa counts of falsifying business records. sarah smith has the latest, from new york. stormy daniels�* lawyer posted this picture of his client, looking very happy to have finished with a hostile cross—examination. in the courtroom, she was repeatedly accused of being a liar, of having made up the story of having sex with donald trump in 2006.

referring to her career in adult films, mr trump's attorney said to ms daniels, "you have a lot of experience in making phony stories about sex appear to be real." she replied, "the sex in the films is very much real, just like what happened to me in that room," referring to her alleged sexual encounter with mr trump and then saying, "if that story was untrue, i would have written it to be a lot better." donald trump denies ever having sex with stormy daniels and claims the case against him is bogus. this is a frankenstein case. they took a dead misdemeanour, they attached it to a dead alleged federal felony and zapped it back into life. so many of us are just amazed to watch us actually walk into court, because it's not a recognisable crime. thejudge and jury kept straight faces as ms daniels described being called a "human toilet" online and replying that she was the best person to flush that orange turd down. because she tweeted a link to her online store selling

team stormy merchandise the day mr trump was indicted, ms daniels was accused of trying to make money from this case. "not unlike mrtrump," she said. he sends out frequent e—mails to supporters, trying to raise money to defend himself. stormy daniels�* testimony over a day and a half was explicit and explosive, talking about donald trump in black silk pyjamas and describing having sex with him. but it may not have much impact on this criminal case. earlier, i spoke with julia manchester, political reporter at the hill, for some insight into the testimony of stormy daniels she went into detail and she basically laid out everything that she allegedly claimed happened between her and donald trump. she is one of the key witnesses here in this trial because she is the person at the centre of this hush money payment controversy which is between donald trump, michael cohen and and of the 2016 election. in addition to the

salacious nature of the testimony, it was very interesting about how much she went into detail she talked about how her to hurt the night her and former president trump first met and at their first sexual encounter and is interesting to see and hear that perspective and really here, i think, that perspective and really here, ithink, herside that perspective and really here, i think, her side of the story and today, she sat on the witness stand and she was cross—examined by team donald trump trying to paint her as someone who was out for money and out to profit off of the donald trump name but we will see on thejury donald trump name but we will see on the jury reacts to this. we also saw donald trump reading a statement from a piece of paper outside the court, different from his usual off—the—cuff remarks, and a thing to note there? off-the-cuff remarks, and a thing to note there?- off-the-cuff remarks, and a thing to note there? yes, it's different and _ thing to note there? yes, it's different and it _ thing to note there? yes, it's different and it probably - thing to note there? yes, it's different and it probably hasl different and it probably has to do with the fact that he has gotten a number of penalties for violating a gag orderfrom thejudge. he would criticise

thejudge. he would criticise thejudge, criticise thejudge. he would criticise the judge, criticise the prosecution, make comments about the jury online before the court and i think this is definitely a way to rain trump and. we have a saying here in the us, covering donald trump comments teleprompter trump and when he is glued to a paper, glue to a screen like that, he is able to stay on message and stay on point. we know that the judge threatened him with jail time potentially for violating the gag order again if he did so this probably from the legal team to real and then stopped right and the court of public opinion and what impact this may have on his reelection campaign? americans are paid attention to this trial and that it attention to this trial and thatitis attention to this trial and that it is historic and you�*ve never seen a former president be on trial in a criminal matter and this is major. i don�*t think americans are paying attention to the day—to—day part of it in the

majority of americans are living in a very fast—paced new cycle and quite frankly, they�*re looking at this trial and essentially inside baseball between washington and new york at in terms of the election, it�*s really not on the radar of many voters in terms of their voter priorities the majority of voters say the economy and inflation in southern border, health care, crime, abortion and those issues in the united states, that is a priority for these voters and the stuff with donald trump is a sideshow to them. in the uk the mp natalie elphicke — who defected from the tories to labour — has apologised for comments she made supporting her ex—husband after he was convicted of sexual assault. charlie elphicke was found guilty of sexually

assaulting two women in 2020. some labour mps had raised concerns about her saying he was "an easy target" for false allegations because he was "attractive". 0ur political editor, chris mason, has caught up with her. what do you say to your new colleagues who are upset about the remarks you made about your former husbands victims? it was incredibly difficult and stressful period but i do recognise that it was much worse for all of those people and those women who had to give evidence of that time and so, i would like to take the opportunity to apologise to them. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

the city of neom, a futuristic development planned for the saudi desert. it�*ll cost 500 billion us dollars, and is being built by dozens of western companies. but the uk foreign secretary, lord cameron, says he�*ll be looking into allegations the saudi government is using lethal force to clear

ground to build the new city. it comes after bbc verify and a bbc eye investigation, found the authorities encouraged the use of violence, to evict villagers. here�*s merlyn thomas. promo video: this is neom. neom — saudi arabia�*s grand plan to transform the country and its image. a project almost the size of belgium, built by companies from all over the world, including more than a dozen from the uk. at its heart — the line. a city carved from the desert, envisaged to be 100 mile straight line, but only 1.5 miles will reportedly be built by 2030. neom�*s driving force is the country�*s leader, mohammed bin salman. so since we have empty place and we want to have a place for 10 million people, then let�*s think from scratch. but it wasn�*t empty. near the line, thousands of people lived in

these three villages. for years, they objected to being moved, but still the project went on. these satellite images show one of the villages where they lived. homes, schools, hospitals, have been wiped off the map. this former saudi intelligence officer has been living in fear since he went into exile in the uk last year. he told us he was ordered to clear one of the villages near neom in 2020 and that security forces were permitted to kill those who refused eviction. translation: the order said whoever continues l to resist should be killed, so it licensed the use of lethal force against whoever stayed in their home. he says he dodged the mission, which went ahead without him. this is the aftermath — walls littered with bullet holes. this man, abdul rahim al—huwaiti, refused to leave his home. saudi forces shot him dead.

the saudi government says he was an armed terrorist who opened fire on security forces, but the un and human rights groups say he was killed for refusing eviction. neom�*s grand plan also includes trojena, a ski resort built in the desert. andy wirth became ceo shortly after the shooting. he repeatedly asked about the killing of abdul rahim al—huwaiti. he resigned after less than a year. it was clearly unnecessary. it was clearly murder. you don�*t accelerate human progress at the detriment of other humans. you don�*t step on their throats with your boot heels so you can advance. that�*s not human progress. the saudi government and neom both declined to comment, but critics say the project has cost some saudis their freedom and their lives. merlyn thomas, bbc news.

president putin has marked russia�*s annual victory day celebration, commemorating the defeat of nazi germany, with a warning that he won�*t tolerate threats from the west. in a speech in red square, he acknowledged his country was going through a difficult period, because of the war in ukraine. fewer soldiers took part in the parade than usual, and only one tank. from red square, here�*s steve rosenberg. on red square... ..they were celebrating victory. military band plays it was the annual parade to mark the defeat of nazi germany and to remember the 27 million soviet citizens killed in world war two. among the troops here, soldiers who�*ve been fighting in a very different war — russia�*s war in ukraine. each each and from the kremlin leader, who�*d ordered and from the kremlin leader, who�*d ordered the invasion, a warning to ukraine�*s western backers — "don�*t push russia."

translation: russia will do everything to avoid a global l confrontation, but at the same time, we will not allow anyone to threaten us. our strategic forces are always on combat alert. minutes later, out came the intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads. a less than subtle hint that russia has no intention of being defeated. victory day isn�*t just about the past. it�*s very much about russia now, because if this country today has anything approaching a national idea, that idea is victory. russians are constantly being told that russia was, is and always will be unbeatable. mournful music plays and yet russia is paying a heavy price for its war in ukraine and it�*s becoming difficult to hide.

in a town near moscow we saw the funeral of a soldier who�*d taken part in the "special military operation." same day, different town. more soldiers killed in ukraine. russia�*s military hasn�*t made public the official death toll there, but already in 2022, the kremlin was admitting to significant losses. and so, in many russian towns, new war memorials are being put up. valeria�*s husband was killed fighting in ukraine. the russian state calls him a hero, and she�*s willing to accept that. "he�*s a hero with a capital h," she says. as for the president, he�*s predicting victory for russia, even though his invasion of ukraine didn�*t go at all to plan. vladimir putin isn�*t

only waging war against russia�*s neighbor. he�*s taking on the west. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. let�*s take a look at some other stories in the headlines. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has fired the head of the department responsible for his personal protection. it comes after two of its officers were detained this week over an alleged assassination plot. the announcement did not state a reason for his dismissal or name a replacement. a general strike against austerity measures in argentina has brought most of the country to a halt. in the capital, buenos aires, schools, banks and most shops remained closed. train and metro services were suspended and only a few buses have been running. the port in the city of rosario, where most of argentina�*s grain exports are produced, was also closed by the unions. a self—styled "eunuch maker" who mutilated paying customers and streamed it online has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years. marius gustavson admitted offences including five counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

he was described at a three—day sentencing at the old bailey in london as "a lunatic" and "a butcher". an 18—month—old girl, who was born deaf, has become the first person in the world to have their hearing restored as part of a new medical trial. opal sandy, from oxfordshire, was given an infusion into her ear which replaced the dna which caused her inherited deafness. it was replaced shortly before her first birthday. six months on, her hearing has improved and she is starting to talk. opal�*s mother, jo, said the results of the treatment have been mind—blowing. i think we�*d been given a really unique opportunity with no real evidence that any harm or adverse effects was likely to come to her and i think a lot of parents,

regardless of the difficulties their children face, to be given an opportunity to potentially make obstacles easier for her to overcome was a risk definitely worth taking. that�*s all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. our settled week of weather is set to continue. in fact, thursday, it was warmest day of the year so far. we reached a high of 24.6 celsius in st james�*s park, london. when you round that up to 25, that is 77 fahrenheit. we could see similar values over the next couple of days with high pressure staying with us, but this weak weather front will continue to bring some showery outbreaks of rain and a cooler feel across the northern isles. it�*ll be a relatively mild start to our friday morning. double digits, some early morning mist and fog quickly melting away, a lot of sunshine coming through. we�*ll get a little bit of fair weather cloud developing into the afternoon, but on the whole, a promising day. more sunshine as well for scotland in

comparison to thursday. top temperatures here of 20 to 22 degrees. we could see 2a further south. into the start of the weekend, we continue with this warm, sunny theme. however, the risk of some sharp showers will start to increase. now, as we go through the early hours of saturday morning, we could see some fog coming in off the north sea, anywhere from the vale of york down into lincolnshire, over into the south—east. again, double figures to greet us first thing on saturday morning. so, could be a pretty murky start across eastern england, but we�*ll expect that sunshine to get to work — it�*s quite strong at this time of year. a lot of sunshine coming through. risk of a few scattered showers anywhere north of manchester, up to the scottish borders, but top temperatures generally at around 23 or 2a celsius once again. now, as we move into sunday, we�*ve got this weather front which will enhance the risk of some sharp, thundery downpours and some showers moving up from the near continent.

now, if we get some sunshine across east anglia and south—east england, we could see temperatures as high as 26 degrees. a lot of uncertainty about the detail for sunday, but at the moment, there�*s a greater chance of seeing some sharp thundery, downpours developing. and so out to the west, not quite as warm. then into monday, an atlantic influence is set to return, low pressure will start to push in from the west as the high drifts away, and that means that it will turn wetter and windier. and that is going to stay with us throughout the week, so it looks likely to see showers or longer spells of rain returning.

elevating bilateral ties. we�*ll look at the highlights of chinese president xi�*s trip to europe. plus, why this advertisement for apple�*s latest ipad is drawing criticism online. hello and welcome to business today. i�*m steve lai. chinese president xijinping is currently in hungary, where he will wrap up his european tour after stops in france and serbia. xi has been on a mission to boost trade and diplomatic ties with the region. on thursday he met the hungarian premise or vicar or bun and had the two countries

had updated their ties to an all weather partnership. —— the prime minister viktor orban. kishore mahbubani was singapore�*s former ambassador to the united nations. he gave me a sense of what lies ahead for eu—china relations. trade differences are normal. the important thing is notjust the trade in balance but the trade volume. at the end of the day, as you know, europe is looking for new sources of growth for itself and europe is acutely aware that china is going to become a very, very important market for eu product too, and let me give you some very important statistics consider listeners understand how things have changed. in the year 2000 the european economy combined, eu economy combined will, was six times bigger than china�*s economy full tub now they are the same size. in it forfive they are the same size. in it for five years�* they are the same size. in it forfive years�* time they are the same size. in it for five years�* time china will be bigger than the european union. europe is aware of this. while they will have difficulties over trade they also rely china is it going to

become the big market for them also,