�*of �* of conservative substantial number of conservative opponents. also tonight: rishi sunak urges israel not to escalate tensions in the middle east. he's been speaking today to benjamin nethanyahu, who's still deciding how to respond to iran's missile attack on his country. finding a jury that doesn't have an opinion on donald trump. we speak to two people ruled out of sitting on his criminal trial. i thought in my head, unconscious bias. i could be fair, but unconscious bile. —— unconscious bias. 3 unconscious bile. -- unconscious bias. �* . . , . , , bias. a fair trial is incredibly important. _ bias. a fair trial is incredibly important, more _ bias. a fair trial is incredibly important, more importantl bias. a fair trial is incredibly - important, more important than donald — important, more important than donald trump. absolutely monstrous. anger as a get—together of right—wing politicians in brussels is shut down by police. and a once in a decade sight as this rare flower from the children andes blooms in birmingham.

on bbc london... reaction as a muslim student on newsnight at 10:30pm... it seems the prime minister will get his smoking and vape ban, but only because the opposition rode to the rescue. what does it tell us that a senior cabinet minister, five other ministers and two tory former prime ministers refused to support rishi sunak? the vote in the commons was overwelming and never destined to be a close—run thing, with labour backing the government's plans to ban anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes. 57 conservative mps did vote against the bill, including the business secretary kemi badenoch, arguing it was an attack on personal freedoms. but the health secretary victoria atkins said, "there's no liberty in addiction."

in a moment, hugh pym will look at the implications of any new law for the nhs, but first, chris mason is at westminster. good evening. this is a place normally associated with tribal and noisy party politics but there was less of that today because there was widespread agreement across the parties that the government's idea is a good idea, except when you look amongst the conservative party, and as you mentioned around 60 conservative mps voted against this and around 100 abstain. it was a free vote and they could vote how they wanted but plenty decided they were not going to back rishi sunak and another cabinet minister, penny mordaunt, one of those who abstain, it is being made clear to me that she did that because she opposes this idea. but let's step back from the politics because arguably what really matters here is quite the societal shift.

smoke hanging everywhere. in bars, beer and smelly clothes. by the time they reach the sixth form, regulations have been relaxed, to the extent that they wear what they want. and never mind what these �*705 sixth formers are wearing, they're smoking at school! and remember, lighting up on a plane was fine, too. but smoking has been slowly wafting from the mainstream to the marginal. take the ban on cigarettes on london's underground in 1984. are you going to be tempted i to light up when you shouldn't? i know i shouldn't do that but, yes, lam. and the ban on smoking in enclosed public places in 2007 led to strong views being exhaled outside the bingo in stoke. not herd us out here like bloody prostitutes standing on this corner, which is what you feel like when you're standing here with a cigarette in your hand! and so, to today, and these 19—year—olds.

smoking is still banned for people under age, but they still do it. yeah. — so i don't know, like. and they're more likely to maybe get into the idea of doing it _ because it's got such a, like, - there's such an image of being cool if you're an underage smoker. anything that deters a child starting to smoke has to be a good thing. you used to be able to have your own opinions and your own thoughts on it. if you're a smoker, you're a smoker. if you're not, you're not — you just have your individual views. order! from outside parliament to inside, and the verdict of mps. the ayes to the right 383. the noes to the left 67. a substantial majority in favour of this change. a substantial minority, mostly conservative mps, opposed. earlier, the debate... there is no liberty in addiction. nicotine robs people of their freedom to choose.

the vast majority of smokers start when they are young. and three quarters say that if they could turn back the clock, they would not have started. from labour, agreement... this is a lethal addiction. a scourge on society. an enormous burden on our nhs. a drag on our economy. and it is time to consign it to the dustbins of history. and the scottish national party, too... smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in bothl scotland and the uk. we know this. and so, we are surely duty—bound to act and prevent harms. - the liberal democrats are conflicted... i do think that there are some good legal arguments to be made both for and against the proposal. i myself will be supporting the measures in the bill, but some of my colleagues do have remaining liberal and practical concerns. nearly 60 conservatives including some familiar faces,

nearly 60 conservatives including some familiarfaces, really nearly 60 conservatives including some familiar faces, really do not like the idea, and voted against it... the instinct of this establishment, which is reflected by a cross—party consensus today, in today's chamber, is to believe that they, that the government, are better at making decisions for people than people themselves. habits, the role of government, social change. this one, quite profound. chris mason, bbc news, at westminster. hugh pym is here with me. this is a huge piece of public health legislation and the government's case is based on the health implications of lighting up. that is right. health organisations have welcomed the vote and the four chief medical officers put out a joint video on social media earlier warning of the dangers, chris whitty saying it was the single biggest preventable killer. smoking rates in

the uk have fallen progressively over the years to about 13%, but according to official sources, smoking causes about 80,000 deaths per year, smoking causes about 80,000 deaths peryear, one smoking causes about 80,000 deaths per year, one in four cancer deaths are caused by smoking, and hospital admissions caused by smoking, more than 400,000 because of things like cancer and respiratory diseases. the cost to the nhs and social care in england is put at about 3 billion per year and a tax take from tobacco products is about ten billion and thatis products is about ten billion and that is often pointed out by critics but one estimate in terms of people being off work and of sake is put at about £17 billion per year in terms of the cost to the economy, and the bill also has measures about cracking down on underage vaping, and that has been welcomed by campaigners but they say more should be done on this.— be done on this. thanks for “oining us. thejudge in donald trump's

criminal trial in new york says opening statements will start on monday. the former president is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a hush—money payment to the former adult film star stormy daniels. the selection of a panel ofjurors, who'll be impartial, is still under way. yesterday, 60 people said they'd have trouble being objective while weighing the evidence. donald trump denies all the charges against him, and sarah smith has the very latest from new york. donald trump departs for court every morning from his famous trump tower, frequently complaining he can't get a fair trial in new york — the city he's adorned with his own name on so many buildings. in manhattan, only tiny numbers of people have voted for mr trump, but does that mean they can't judge him fairly in court? kara mcghee was a potential juror excused today because of her work commitments, not her political opinions. what are your own feelings about donald trump? to be honest, i don't like him. i don't approve of a lot of what he did as president.

i don't appreciate a lot of what he's said. but the institution of a fair trial in this country is incredibly important and something that is so much bigger than donald trump or how i feel about donald trump. donald trump has listened to dozens of potentialjurors being quizzed about whether they can be truly impartial about him through this trial. they're all asked 42 questions, including... have you ever supported an extremist organisation like those who stormed the capitol on the 6th of january? this man feared he could be biased as he grew up with republican friends and family in texas. you know, everyone says it's going to be a six week trial, but you have to carry that burden the rest of your life. whether he's guilty or innocent, you know, people are going to know that you were on one one side

or the other side of history. donald trump was told off for muttering in the court. the judge told him he will not toleratejurors being intimidated. six people have so far been selected as jurors. the court needs six more, as well as six alternative members, before the trial can get started. there were a few testy arguments in the courtroom this afternoon as the lawyers of donald trump objected to some of the jurors and one lawyers of donald trump objected to some of thejurors and one man lawyers of donald trump objected to some of the jurors and one man was dismissed when it turned out he had posted on facebook when donald trump was president, get him out and lock him up. he's not on thejury but they are moving swiftly to get together a panel of unbiased jewellers and as a result of the judge said we can expect the case to start properly on monday —— unbiased jurors. start properly on monday -- unbiased 'urors. ., ,, ., ., jurors. sarah smith, thanks for 'oinin: jurors. sarah smith, thanks for joining us- _ rishi sunak has used a telephone call with israel's benjamin netanyahu to appeal for "calm heads" after iran's missile and drone attack over the weekend.

while he emphasised the uk's support for israel's security, mr sunak said a significant escalation in tensions was in no—one's interests. israel is still deciding how to respond to tehran. lucy williamson reports from jerusalem. today benjamin neta nyahu today benjamin netanyahu told new army recruits and operations in gaza with just one part of a wider conflict. it with just one part of a wider conflict. , ,., with just one part of a wider conflict. , ., ., , conflict. it is part of a bigger s stem conflict. it is part of a bigger system and _ conflict. it is part of a bigger system and you _ conflict. it is part of a bigger system and you can - conflict. it is part of a bigger system and you can see - conflict. it is part of a bigger system and you can see it. l conflict. it is part of a bigger. system and you can see it. iran stands behind hamas and hezbollah and behind others but we are determined to win there and defend ourselves in all arenas. help? determined to win there and defend ourselves in all arenas. new footage released by — ourselves in all arenas. new footage released by the _ ourselves in all arenas. new footage released by the army _ ourselves in all arenas. new footage released by the army shows - ourselves in all arenas. new footage released by the army shows the - released by the army shows the moment of the military focus changed. the first interceptions of iranian missiles, ordered from this control room. israel's ongoing conflicts with iranian backed groups have been pushed into the shadows by

a direct attack from iran, and how israel is rare response could take the world down a much more dangerous path —— israel responds. and israel's and eyes including the uk have been urging benjamin netanyahu to show restraint —— allies. rishi sunak told his counterpart it was a moment for calm heads to prevail. but israel's former security adviser says the iranian strike leaves israel with an opportunity to take on the groups it should have confronted before. we didn't wage a war against hezbollah two years ago — huge mistake. when you see them even growing, becoming stronger, you have to do something. should we wait? i think it would be a huge mistake to wait with hezbollah, with hamas and with the iranians. we have to alleviate this threat to israel, but it's notjust israel. the west is next.

israel is already treading a tightrope in its conflict with hezbollah. this, an air strike on a senior hezbollah today, the army said. the war in gaza is where the crisis began, oversix the war in gaza is where the crisis began, over six months ago. the road is packed now with people hoping to return to their homes, turned back again and again by the army. the war here has already inflamed israel's regional conflicts. its next decision could push them into all—out war. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. the united nations has voiced concerns about escalating violence in the occupied west bank. it comes after a wave of attacks sparked by the killing of an israeli teenager. the un has accused israeli's security forces of active participation in attacks on palestinians byjewish settlers. the vast majority of the international community considers the settlements

in the west bank as illegal under international law. israel disputes this. caught on cctv — a man setting fire to a car as israeli settlers storm a palestinian village in the occupied west bank. israeli soldiers watch outside and appear to do nothing. across the west bank on the weekend, israeli settlers went on a rampage. this was the village of mughayir near ramallah on saturday. settlers set houses and cars on fire, killing one man. jihad abu alia was 25 and planning to get married injune. translation: jihad was trying to prevent the settlers - from breaking the house door, where dozens of the town residents arrived in the home to prevent them from burning the house. it wasn't the first time settlers attacked us, but we weren't expecting a huge number of them. the violence was sparked by the disappearance of this israeli boy, 14—year—old binyamin ahimeir.

he went missing on friday, and a day later was found dead. the israeli army says he was murdered. the attacks show how tensions in the west bank are escalating. since the hamas attacks on the 7th of october, more than 460 palestinians and 13 israelis have been killed. if nothing changes, there will be even more violence. for this campaigner monitoring settlement activity, the situation is unprecedented. i think that the level of the settler violence is the highest that i remember. there is also a lot of support from the government, and probably from the public — at least their public — that the violence is kind of necessary against the "evil", which are the palestinians. it's not only settler violence that's on the rise, violence that's on the rise. raids by the israeli army have intensified, killing many palestinians.

the israeli army says it's investigating the arson incident caught on cctv. but across the west bank, many palestinians are living in fear. they don't know when the next attack will come. hugo bachega, bbc news, jerusalem. a muslim pupil has lost a high court challenge to a ban on praying at her school. restrictions were introduced last year at michaela secondary in wembley in north london because of its non—religious ethos. but the girls' family had argued the ban was discriminatory. branwenjeffreys is here with me. what were the reasons the high court ruled against the girl and her family? ruled against the girl and her famil ? ~ ~ . . ruled against the girl and her famil? a . ., ,. ,, ruled against the girl and her famil? a . . ,. ,,, family? michaela describes itself as the strictest — family? michaela describes itself as the strictest school _ family? michaela describes itself as the strictest school in _ family? michaela describes itself as the strictest school in england. - the strictest school in england. pupils are expected to follow very strict codes around behaviour and discipline within the school. it also makes it clear that it is a nonreligious school. it expects

pupils to set aside cultural and religious differences to integrate together as one school community. the ban came about after more than 20 muslim pupils started gathering to pray in a yard outside the school. thejudge has accepted to pray in a yard outside the school. the judge has accepted the school's core argument that in prohibiting prayer rituals, it was acting in accordance with that ethos of strict discipline and an aggressive approach to integrating pupils into one school community. the head teacher, katherine birbalsingh, described it as a victory for all schools. she said families choosing the school, half of whom are muslim, choose it because of its traditional values. but the family at the centre of the case said they were dismayed by this ruling, that they had brought the case because of the profound importance of prayer to being a muslim. but there must be far reaching implications for other schools as a

result of this ruling? there are potentially implications for every single nonreligious state funded school in england that faces a similar request. many of them are dealing with this already. some schools accommodate prayer by providing some space. a smaller number have prayer rooms. and some just make it very clear they are a secular school and that they don't allow prayer on their premises. this reinforces the right of individual schools and school governors to make those decisions for their own school community, and gillian keegan, the education secretary, said she hoped it would give head teachers confidence to do so. thank you, bronwen. downing street has condemned an attempt to shut down a conference in brussels for right—wing politicians from across europe. nigel farage was among the speakers at the national conservatism conference, which was told to close by local authorities, who claimed the event could spark public disorder. the belgian prime minister said the move was "unacceptable". our europe correspondent nick beake was there.

the authorities have decided to shut the event... in brussels today, a movement that wants to go global collided with very local politics. the police came to shut down a gathering of conservatives from across europe and the us, because the local socialist mayor declared the far right were not welcome here. the leading lights of this anti—eu movement, which says it champions traditional values, had already filed in. top of the bill, the uk's former home secretary suella braverman. i understand the police are very, very keen to close this down... but by now, local officials had decided the views of the speakers could cause public disorder, so ordered the event to stop. what do you make of this? it's monstrous, absolutely monstrous. a very decent and respectable group of people, members of the european royal family, prime ministers, academics and business people being told they cannot have an alternative view. thank god for brexit. there were fears over anti—abortion

and anti—gay sentiments held by people in the building. cobblers. so was this silencing free speech or protecting people from extremist ideology? what's happening now is that the brussels police have lined up outside the venue and they're refusing entry to anyone wanting to get in. they're not going inside and dragging people out. many delegates here say that they've been cancelled, but the reality is that this conference is continuing — at least, for now. the ban did mean that the far—right french politician eric zemmour was unable to give his speech, and it's unclear where the event will be held tomorrow. and so, a gathering of only a few hundred people was catapulted onto the front pages of papers and websites. as one organiser put it, "you can't buy publicity like this". nick beake, bbc news, brussels.

the number of people out of work in the uk has gone up, along with a rise in the number of those who are economically inactive — no longer looking for or able to work. this reflects a rise in the number of people who are long—term sick. here's dharshini david. i would give anything to not kind of wake up every day feeling absolutely rubbish. 21—year—old chloe lives with depression, borderline personality disorder and autism. she's now a student and receiving disability—related benefits after earlier attempts to work didn't last. they don't really understand the complexity of mental illness. it's not something that, although there were days that i can't get out of bed, days and weeks and months i don't get out of bed in a depressive episode, there's also days and weeks and months that i can't keep myself safe and going to work is dangerous for me. but it's older people who account for much of the rise of those on such benefits. they are more likely to have physical ailments, some affected by nhs waiting lists, others, like ruth, by long covid. she suffers asthma, fatigue

and mobility issues. she can't return to work in a supermarket. ok, this is me before i had covid and long covid. i'd like to be back there again and not have that, but you can't change things, can you? it changes how you feel about yourself, your contribution you can make to society, your contribution to the family, with bills, everything like that. so it's been very, very hard at times, but i've had to come to terms with it. there's a record 2.8 million people not working due to illness, over 700,000 more than before the pandemic, hurting households and employers. but there's no simple answer as to why. this is a trend that's become more apparent since the pandemic, but it was there for the decade before the pandemic as well. the working age population's health has been deteriorating since the early 2010s, and that fits with a broader thing where the uk's health had been doing worse than other countries in that decade, with stalling life expectancy gains. the minister responsible acknowledges that some

have complex challenges, but thinks that the dependency on benefits, particularly when it comes to mental health disorders, may have gone too far. the public purse paid out £55 billion in benefits related to ill health and disability in 2022. that could rise to 90 billion by 2029, making up a quarter of the welfare budget. the government thinks that many more could be better supported if in work. so it's focusing through measures such as benefit reforms and occupational health on getting people intojobs. but for ruth, chloe and many more, it may require a different approach, with more support from employers and public services at a time of squeezed budgets. a complex prescription may be needed to keep britain working. darshini david, bbc news. india is gearing up for a general election, set to be the largest the world has ever seen. just under one billion people are eligible to vote — that's roughly one in eight

of the entire global population — and more than 13 million indian citizens who live abroad can also cast ballots, but they'd need to return to india in person to do so. the voting takes place over six weeks beginning this friday, with the result expected at the beginning ofjune. the polls suggest the prime minister, narendra modi, will win a third successive term. but he is a controversial figure. yogita limaye reports. "thank you, modi," a woman shouts, waiting for the prime minister to arrive. modi, modi! narendra modi is the reigning superstar of indian politics. rallies like these are an integral part of an indian election, but only a few leaders have evoked such a response in the country's history. what we are seeing here is the confidence of a party that

very much believes it's going to win another resounding victory, and what we've also seen amid the crowds is confidence about being indian on the global stage, one of the things that prime minister modi's tenure will be remembered for. mr modi is a divisive figure, but here, among his mostly hindu following, he can do no wrong. translation: he is like god for me. | he's made women like us feel safe. | translation: he's a good speaker, land he has built dreams and roadsl and villages and cities. no—one had done that till now. building infrastructure has been one of the strengths of mr modi's government. a few miles from the rally in uttar pradesh, we saw a road that was made just over a year ago, and met farmer ashok singh

transporting his produce. translation: we can move freely now and security's better too, _ but unemployment and price rises are big issues for us. the realities on the ground might be mixed, but the picture that reaches voters overwhelmingly one that the ruling party wants people to see. this is a local cell of mr modi's bjp. across the country, they're a key driving force for the party's success. every member from the bottom to the top of the party is given a one—page list like this one of 60 voters... ..who they are tasked to meet several times ahead of the election. that's coupled with an unparalleled and exhaustive social media campaign. translation: every day, - i send messages on 400 groups.

each of them has hundreds of members. our target is to reach at least 150,000 new people each day. sometimes, the message is far from the truth. this bjp ad states that mr modi got russia's war on ukraine paused for a few hours in 2022 to evacuate indian students, a claim spread by the ruling party, even though india's foreign ministry itself had called it absolutely inaccurate. much of mainstream news media and bjp leaders have amplified the claim. we asked a group of first—time voters outside a university what they believe. ukraine and russia paused the war for some times for the students to come out. translation: | think _ prime minister modi paused the war, as it was important

to get our students out. only a few questioned the claim. it is a crucial power, to influence what people believe to be true. ultimately, it will affect how they vote. yogita limaye, bbc news. don't look away, because it could be another decade before you see this flower again. the puya alpestris, from the chilean andes, can take 10 years to flower, but has now bloomed at birmingham's botanical gardens. phil mackie reports. towering over all the cacti and succulents in the arid house, the sapphire tower, as it's known, is an extremely rare gem. but getting to it isn't an easyjob. after its sudden growth spurt, it now stands at 3.5 metres tall. it takes so long for the plant to gather the energy and be ready to flower, and then to create this masterpiece of flowering.

it's just rare and really exciting just to witness it, and it lasts maybe a week or two, and then it's gone and the plant itself dies. it's remarkable. nectar is literally falling out of it, and in its natural habitat, it would have all the pollinators flocking to it, but there aren't any hummingbirds in birmingham, so alberto has to use a paintbrush to do the job instead. it's a very slow growing plant, so it takes years to get to the flowering stage. word has spread, and visitors have been making a beeline to see it. but they won't have very long. so, normally, it looks completely lifeless, absolutely dead. every ten years or so, it gets enough energy to flower, and in a couple of months, it will completely die back again and look as lifeless as it did to begin with. once the flowers have faded, it will fruit, and later this year, alberto will collect the seeds so visitors will be able to see the next generation of puya alpestris in the nursery

in the future. phil mackie, bbc news, birmingham. fa ncy flowers, fancy flowers, but no fancy weather? israel's prime minister is weighing up israel's prime minister is weighing up the risks of this programme continues on bbc one.