and never will. germany's leader, olaf scholz, warns israel's prime minister about the �*terribly high costs' of the war in gaza. we cannot stand by and watch palestinians risk starvation. that's not us. that is not what we stand for together. and we have a special report from cap—haitien in haiti — where displaced people from the gang violence have been fleeing. hello and welcome to newsday. we start with russia, where president putin has hailed his predicted victory in russia's presidential election, saying it would allow the country to become stronger. he was the only serious candidate and now has a fifth term in office, after a landslide

87% of the vote. but there was defiance — in the form of large queues at some polling stations in russia — heeding the call of allies of the late opposition leader, alexei navalny, who urged people to turn out to spoil their ballots or to vote for any other candidate. mr navalny died suddenly in a penal colony in russia last month. at least 80 protesters were arrested. mr navalny�*s widow, yulia navalnya, cast her vote at russia's embassy in berlin. there were also protests held and voting queues in a number of other countries. in london, there was a line a mile long outside the russian embassy. from moscow, here's our russia editor steve rosenberg. for vladimir putin, six more years in the kremlin. russia's president is sounding more confident than ever. translation: whoever might want to intimidate us, - whoever might want to suppress us, ourwilland our

conscience, they have never been able to do it, and never will. then, mr putin's first public comments on the death ofjailed opposition leader alexei navalny. translation: you may be surprised, but a few days i before mr navalny died, some colleagues of mine told me there was an idea to exchange him for certain people in prison in the west. you can believe it or not. i said, "i agree," even before he had finished talking. but what happened, happened. election results on russian tv, not a hold your breath moment. "the winner, by a mile and a half, vladimir putin." "what an incredible level of support and unity around the figure of putin," he says. "and a powerful

signal to the west." but in this race, vladimir putin was, from the start, unbeatable. there were other candidates. but no serious challenger. potential rivals here are swiftly removed from the political stage, forced into exile or put injail. and elections, tightly controlled by the kremlin. but if they couldn't win, mr putin's opponents could at least protest. and they did, in many parts of russia. opposition figures had called on russians to flood polling stations at midday, to vote against putin, or spoil their ballots, a symbolic protest against the system. we were here. i've never seen queues like this before at a russian polling station. before his death in prison, alexei navalny had backed the protests. it took courage to come. the authorities had warned that large crowds at noon would be

viewed as illegal gatherings. ivan, not his real name, told me why he had come. it was important for me to see the faces of other people who would come here today, and to see that i'm not alone in my political views. and that there are a lot of muscovites and other people who believe that russia can be another country, with another future. for now, there'll be no change in the kremlin. this election was never about would vladimir putin win or wouldn't he? elections here are designed to ensure he wins, and wins big. from the outset, for the kremlin, this vote was about creating the impression that mr putin has a mandate from his people, not only for war in ukraine, but also for what he's doing at home, transforming russia into an increasingly militaristic society, in confrontation with the west.

but across town, muscovites continue to pay tribute to alexei navalny, the man who had wanted to be russia's president. here, a ballot paper. in place of putin's name, navalny�*s. and this message — "he's the candidate we wanted." more of the same, the direction of travel is pretty clear and that means probably more oppression at home and more confrontation with the west. steve rosenberg. amy knight is a former soviet & russian affairs specialist for the library of congress, and author of seven books on russian history and politics. she told me putin's landslide win is hardly a suprise. we know how russian elections work and there

were no opponents on the ballot and russians are fed a steady stream of propaganda and so, in favour of the government and in favour of the putin. it is not really surprising, although i would say that i think we should, we in the west should realise that this victory of putin and the amazing turnout of over 87% of the vote thus far has gone to mr putin, i think it is a performance patriotism in a way. i don't think that mr putin should be as confident as he is because he is facing a lot of problems. the german chancellor, olaf scholz has said his country cannot stand

by and watch palestinians risk starvation in gaza — and called for a longer—lasting ceasefire. gaza's hamas—run health ministry says 61 palestinians were killed overnight, including 12 members of the same family whose house in deir el—balah was hit. medical sources say most of the victims were women and children. this girl has been speaking about her cousin who was killed. translation: what do they want from us, translation: what do they want from us. to _ translation: what do they want from us, to kill— translation: what do they want from us, to kill her? _ translation: what do they want from us, to kill her? there - translation: what do they want from us, to kill her? there are - from us, to kill her? there are no markets in gaza, if we want to rebuild gaza, we need many years. look at houses destroyed. we don't love hamas and have relations with them. nothing is left and she is dead. only headdresses left, this is the best gift from her. —— only pair dress is left. speaking after talks with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu injerusalem, mr scholz said he had shared his concerns over what he called the �*terribly high costs�* of the war in gaza.

we cannot stand by and watch palestinians risk starvation. that's not us. that is not what we stand for together. much more humanitarian aid is needed continuously, reliably. i shared my concerns with the prime minister. that provision of aid from israel into gaza and the conditions for distribution must be urgently and massively improved. and finally, we need a hostage deal with a longer lasting ceasefire. i know how difficult it is to reach an agreement with the hamas terrorists, but we understand the hostage families who say after more than five months, the time has come for a comprehensive hostage deal for saving those who are still held captive. mr netanyahu said israel would not leave palestinian civilians trapped during its planned military operation in the city of rafah in southern gaza, where more than a million people are taking refuge.

i assured chancellor scholz that our goal in eliminating the remaining terrorist battalions in rafah goes hand—in—hand with enabling the civilian population to leave rafah. it is not something that we will do while keeping the population locked in place. in fact, we will do the very opposite. we will enable them to leave because our consideration for reducing and minimising civilian casualties has guided us and will continue to guide us in the future. meanwhile, israeli families of the 130 or so hostages are urging the government to do a deal to release them before it is too late. our senior international correspondent orla guerin spoke to one mother about the agonising wait for her son, who was taken when hamas attacked israel on october 7th. as soon as i turned my phone on, two consecutive messages came in that had arrived at 8:11 from hersh. the first of the messages

said, "i love you." and the second one immediately after said, "i'm sorry." this is rachel's son, hersh goldberg—polin, 23 and much missed. here he is in happier times with his parents. the american—israeli is still a hostage in gaza. five months on, his mother still in anguish. every morning when i wake up, i make a concerted effort and say to myself, "now pretend to be human." so that i can get up. and try to save hersch, my son and the other remaining 133 hostages. what i want to do is lay in a ball on the floor weeping. but that won't help them. hersh was caught up in this

horror when a music festival became a killing field on october 7th. he sought refuge with friends inside a bomb shelter. but hamas was at the entrance, throwing in grenades. allahu akbar! he was last seen surrounded by gunmen, his left arm blown off, as hamas loaded hostages onto a truck. do you believe you will get him back? i really do. hope is mandatory. and i believe it. and i have to believe it. that he will come back to us.

rachel wants an end to the agony and not only for israelis. there are thousands and thousands of gazan innocent civilians in gaza who are suffering. there is so much suffering to go around. and i would love for our leaders, all of them, to say, "we're going to do what we have to do so thatjust the normal people can stop suffering." everybody�*s going to have to give in. there's no perfect scenario. and we need the suffering to stop. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. iamii i am 11 years old and from lincoln. i havejust done i am 11 years old and from lincoln. i have just done the english championships and in a few weeks�* time, i have got the british championships, which is quite big for me. it�*s

exciting. i quite big for me. it's exciting.— quite big for me. it's excitina. ., g ., ., �* ., exciting. i am jo'o, i'm 13 and i'm exciting. i am jo'o, i'm 13 and m from h exciting. i am jojo, i'm 13 and i'm from lincoln. _ exciting. i am jojo, i'm 13 and i'm from lincoln. it _ exciting. i am jojo, i'm 13 and i'm from lincoln. it feels - exciting. i am jojo, i'm 13 and i'm from lincoln. it feels like| i'm from lincoln. it feels like you _ i'm from lincoln. it feels like you are — i'm from lincoln. it feels like you are flying and you just feel— you are flying and you just feel so_ you are flying and you just feel so much better. i you are flying and you 'ust feel so much better.h you are flying and you 'ust feel so much better. i am lexi, i'm 13 feel so much better. i am lexi, pm“ and _ feel so much better. i am lexi, pm“ and i'm _ feel so much better. i am lexi, i'm 13 and i'm from _ feel so much better. i am lexi, i'm 13 and i'm from lincoln. - i�*m 13 and i�*m from lincoln. you just get to do flips and amazing how fun it is. it is satisfying _ amazing how fun it is. it is satisfying to _ amazing how fun it is. it is satisfying to know - amazing how fun it is. it is satisfying to know all - amazing how fun it is. it is satisfying to know all the l satisfying to know all the hours _ satisfying to know all the hours of _ satisfying to know all the hours of hard _ satisfying to know all the hours of hard work - satisfying to know all the hours of hard work they. satisfying to know all the - hours of hard work they have put in — hours of hard work they have put in actually _ hours of hard work they have put in actually comes - hours of hard work they have put in actually comes to - put in actually comes to fruition _ put in actually comes to fruition. we _ put in actually comes to fruition. we have - put in actually comes to fruition. we have got i put in actually comes to i fruition. we have got three qualified _ fruition. we have got three qualified this _ fruition. we have got three qualified this year- fruition. we have got three qualified this year and - qualified this year and h0pefuiiy_ qualified this year and hopefully we - qualified this year and hopefully we can - qualified this year and hopefully we can keep qualified this year and - hopefully we can keep that going _ you�*re live with bbc news. after weeks of deadly violence in haiti, police say several gang members have been killed

in an operation to clear roadblocks and seize weapons in the capital port—au—prince. the united nations estimates 350,000 people have been displaced by the unrest, adding to an already complex political and security situation. our central america correspondent will grant is one of the first journalists to be able to get into the country and reports now from cap—haitien, where many displaced people have been heading. cap—haitien suffers from almost all of haiti�*s deepest problems — grinding poverty, chaos, disorder and corruption. but, crucially, not gang violence. so it�*s becoming the main safe haven for people forced to leave the gang—controlled capital, port—au—prince. another bus—load arrives, having run the gauntlet of a dangerous journey. "it took us hours longer than it should, as we had to reroute around the gang checkpoints and there was gunfire," says this passenger, who was clearly shaken. phanel pierre made the same journey six months ago.

it�*s almost impossible to pull yourself from poverty in haiti. phanel managed it. but becoming a middle—class businessman made him a target. the gangs destroyed his business, ransacked his house and tried to kidnap him, and in the process plunged him and his family back into poverty. translation: this isjust 296 of the life i used to live. - infact, i�*m not living. i�*m just existing. the longer the power vacuum in haiti continues, the worse the humanitarian emergency here becomes. in turn, more and more displaced people will flock to the city of cap—haitien in search of refuge from the violent gangs that have such a tight grip on the capital. one of haiti�*s main gangs has released a slickly produced video, currently circulating online. it shows a well armed militia, a group prepared to take on the haitian state and any international force

which might be deployed here. while the security situation is that of a failed state, so are the politics. we have violence in haiti. uri latortue was the head of the senate and is currently under us sanctions for alleged links to drug trafficking and gangs. that�*s something he denies, and points the finger of blame at his opponents instead. the government works with the gangs, and this is the problem. the gangs become another institution of the state. and in this situation, police can�*t do anything. amid the worsening crisis, the us state department has laid on a charterflight for americans to leave for florida. several dozen took up the opportunity to flee. however, that�*s a luxury most haitians aren�*t afforded and must seek a safer place inside haiti instead. will grant, bbc news,

cap—haitien, haiti. in the past few hours, japan�*s coastguard said north korea fired a ballistic missile towards the sea of japan. prime minister fumio kishida has called the launch �*unacceptable�*. it comes as south korea hosts the third �*summit for democracy�*, aimed at discussing ways to stop the erosion of rights and freedoms worldwide. 2024 in itself has been called the biggest election year in history, with more than 60 countries, representing nearly half the world�*s population, going to the polls. these elections are taking place against a backdrop of authoritarian regimes in many nations. peter lee, a research fellow, at the asian institute for policy studies told me more about what would be at the top of the agenda at the �*summit

for democracy�* in south korea. this summit is the third - since it started in 2021 under president biden in the first international host of this . and really, it is a case - of showing the importance of democratic solidarity in determining - working close together. and a country that made i the transition to democracy and it is really a contrast - with what we see in only a few short kilometres north- of here and continuing regimes in north korea, the i government is looking to champion its achievements on technology and digital- democracy as well. antony blinken is expected to be there as well, how important is it for south korea to have relations with the united states? we have antony blinken and other foreign- ministers from many key

partners and allies - around the world joining here today and i think— for the south korean government in this administration, - the alliance is really central to its policy and i think it'si about democratic solidarity with partners and also really showing that its alliance - in solidarity with the i biden administration. and south korea's government is taking a lot of important steps - in the past two years to really sure up its. credentials _ and by hosting the summit and taking more values—based approach was foreign - policy, it is showing - that it is on the same page as the biden administration. the british singer steve harley, the frontman of cockney rebel, has died peacefully at home at the age of 73. # come up and see me...#

this track�*s his best known song and went to number one in the charts in 1975. the musician had cancelled recent tour dates to undergo treatment for cancer. steve harley, who fronted the long—running band, cockney rebel — has died at the age of 73. his best known song — �*make me smile�* — reached number one in the british charts in 1975. # you�*ve done it all, you�*ve broken every code... steve harley and cockney rebel, and make me smile. it wasn�*tjust a huge hit, it was one of those songs that never seems to have gone away. # you spoilt the game, no matter what you say... and right from the beginning, there was a feeling about it. they always ask me, did you know at the time that it would be a big hit? actually, we did think it would be. i knew the managing director of emi at the time who came to abbey road where i was mixing it. he said, "number one." and i said to him, "0k, can i hold you to that?" he said, "yeah." # mr soft, turn around and force the world to watch the things

you�*re going through... during his �*70s heyday, there was more than a touch of glam theatricality and single—mindedness. some of that determination grew out of his childhood. polio had kept him in hospitalfor years. at three and a half years old, here, i caught polio. there was an epidemic at that time. they said, "stephen won�*t live through this." but during those years in and out of hospital, he developed a passion for music, and after a spell as a journalist, he began trying out his songs at folk clubs before finally hitting the big time. but when his chart success began to slide, his attention shifted to another musical avenue. # sing once again with me... he was given the chance to record the single for andrew lloyd webber�*s phantom of the opera, but he was devastated when he wasn�*t chosen to play the role for the west end. # you�*ve done it all, broken every code... nevertheless, he continued to perform. the effects of his childhood

polio were lifelong, but onstage in the spotlight he said it was the one place he could forget it all and simply be steve harley, the rock star. # ooh—ooh, la—la—la. ..# thousands of people in ireland and around the world have been celebrating st patrick�*s day. the event, which dates back to 1762, is one of the world�*s largest irish heritage festivities. here�*s sofia bettiza on how communities across the globe have been marking the occasion. millions of people are coming together this weekend to celebrate st patrick�*s day. this, for example, is new york, which has the largest irish community in the us. you can see lots of people attending the st patrick�*s day parade on fifth ave. but one of the most iconic celebrations is here in

chicago, where the tradition is that the chicago river is infused with about £40 of green dye. infused with about £40 of green d e. , ,., , , infused with about £40 of green de. dye. everybody is saying abby st patrick's _ dye. everybody is saying abby st patrick's day, _ dye. everybody is saying abby st patrick's day, and - dye. everybody is saying abby st patrick's day, and it - st patrick�*s day, and it doesn�*t matter who you are aware you are from, it is fabulous. it aware you are from, it is fabulous.— aware you are from, it is fabulous. , ., , , fabulous. it is absolutely... everybody _ fabulous. it is absolutely... everybody wants _ fabulous. it is absolutely... everybody wants to - fabulous. it is absolutely... everybody wants to be - fabulous. it is absolutely... everybody wants to be irish j everybody wants to be irish today, _ everybody wants to be irish today, and why not? but everybody wants to be irish today, and why not?- everybody wants to be irish today, and why not? but it is not 'ust today, and why not? but it is not just the _ today, and why not? but it is notjust the us, _ today, and why not? but it is not just the us, this - today, and why not? but it is not just the us, this is - today, and why not? but it is not just the us, this is the i notjust the us, this is the spanish capital, madrid, where more than 500 bagpipers marched in the city centre. take a look. they even celebrate st patrick�*s day injapan, on the opposite side of the world, these images are from tokyo, and you can see lots of people in the greenhouse great time. so why is it that so many people get involved in the

celebration even if they have no connection to ireland? st patrick�*s day was originally a religious holiday but when it was imported to the us by irish immigrants, it transformed into a show of irish—american solidarity. today it has become celebration of irish culture, music and dance, and of course, enjoying a glass or two. just before we go, ed sheeran has sung in punjabi for the first time during his concert last night in mumbai. he invited the indian singer diljit dosanjh to perform with him on stage. crowds went wild when the duo gave a rendition of dosanjh�*s hit track lover in punjabi. it�*s not the first time he�*s paired up with a western star in punjabi. last year, he dropped a song called hass hass, which he worked on in collaboration with cheap thrills singer sia. the concert was part of his

asian europe tour. a reminder of our top story. president putin has hailed his predicted victory in russia�*s presidential election, saying it would allow the country to become stronger. he was the only serious candidate and now has a fifth term in office after a landslide 87% share of the vote. that�*s all for now — stay with bbc news. hello there. we�*re into some much milder feeling air now with temperatures in the mid—teens quite widely on sunday with a wet start to the day for some of us. but we saw some sunny spells emerging such as here in nottinghamshire and there�*s more sunshine on offer as we head through monday — it�*s a similar looking day. for the vast majority of us, it should stay dry, some low cloud, mist and murk to begin

with, but then it will brighten up quite nicely. but overnight there are some weather fronts just gradually clearing eastwards. a lot of the showery rain is starting to fizzle out on the easterly track. and this is how we�*ll start off the day on monday. temperatures between five and eight degrees. it�*s a cooler start than yesterday morning across much of england and wales. but still temperatures in mid to high single figures so mild for the time of year. lots of dry weather around these areas of cloud just pushing further eastwards, the rain fizzling out. a lot of dry weather, some sunshine, clouds thickening from the west as we head through the afternoon. and there will be some rain across northern ireland for the second half of the day, too. a brisk south—westerly wind blowing, particularly for irish sea coast. and it�*s still mild, it�*s warm but not quite as warm as on sunday, perhaps temperatures between 11 and 16 degrees celsius. and there�*s more rain on monday night. it�*s just dragging its way further eastwards as we head through the night and into tuesday. so tuesday we�*ll see this front sinking southwards and eastwards bringing more cloud across east anglia, the far south east of england. showery outbreaks of rain pushing eastwards

across scotland. but for many central areas there�*ll be some bright spells and perhaps a scattering of showers, too. it�*s turning cooler now in the north and the west. but still, that mild air hangs on further south and east, 16 degrees celsius here. and you can see that quite nicely on the air mass chart here with that milder feeling air, still the south—westerly wind, colderfeeling, conditions taking hold across the north and the west. now, as we go through wednesday, we�*re going to start to see this wave develop on this front, and that�*s going to bring us perhaps some further outbreaks of rain, but still a lot of uncertainty regarding just where this rain is likely to be. it could clear away from eastern scotland towards the end of the day. and i think many northwestern areas could stay largely dry, too. look, it�*s still very mild across the south east of england, 17 degrees celsius, perhaps here. as we go through thursday though, we�*re likely to see some more rain, especially in the south of england and wales. and it could turn a bit colder by friday. bye— bye.

the stage is set for a new round of ceasefire talks in the middle east as maritime tensions in the red sea simmer. and as muslims around the world observe ramadan, we look at how some businesses are supporting their workers who fast from dawn to dusk.

hello and welcome to asia business report. i�*m steve lai. let�*s begin in the middle east, where negotiators are set to make a fresh push for a ceasefire in the war between israel and gaza. israeli said it would send a delegation to qatar for a new round of discussions, even as it rejected hamas�*s latest proposal for a truce. geopolitical tensions are a risk for the martime industry as the houthi rebels have kept up attacks on ships in the red sea. we spoke to peter tirschwell, vice president of maritime and trade at s&p global market intelligence. i think that the way we should look at it is to say that this is certainly a maritime disruption. it�*s certainly a supply chain disruption. it is far less clear that it is a trade disruption. it does not seem to be an economic obstruction.