the command and getting the aid in the command back on getting a pause in the conflict in gaza. meanwhile, the un launches a $2.8 billion dollar appealfor aid for the palestinian population in the gaza strip and occupied west bank. in the uk, inflation keeps falling, now down to 3.2% in the year to march, partly driven by a drop in food prices. and heavy rain batters the united arab emirates, causing flash flooding — some places recording a year's worth of rain in a single day. welcome to jerusalem welcome tojerusalem at a time planning efforts intensify among leaders in this region and then

capitals beyond to avoid another dangerous escalation in the middle east. yesterday it germany's foreign minister who arrived in israel, and todayit minister who arrived in israel, and today it is the foreign secretary of britain. the uk foreign secretary, lord cameron, is in israel where he's expected to meet the country's prime minister benjamin netanyahu and other seniorfigures to discuss their response to the drone and missile attck by iran. lord cameron is expected to raise theissue lord cameron is expected to raise the issue of gas a's humanitarian crisis as well as the issue of the remaining hostages still held by hamas and other groups in the gaza strip. his visit has coincided with the un's launch of a $2.8 billion appeal, mainly for palestinians in gaza but also in the occupied west bank. iran and some arab states,

including jordan, have accused israel of abusing the crisis, diverting attention from the situation in gaza. since april one, since the strike by iran at the weekend which it says was in retaliation for the april four attack on its diplomatic compound in syria, israel's war cabinet has met five times. it is yet to see how and when and where it will strike back. lord cameron has spoken to the press earlier this morning, let's hear what he had to say. how concerned are you by israel's plans to retaliate against iran? well, it's right to be in here in israel today to show solidarity after that appalling attack by iran. we made clear our views yesterday about what should happen next. but we also said israel is an independent, sovereign country and gets to make these choices. we hope continue to hope that as they do so, they do so in a way

that is smart as well as tough, but is also does as little as possible to escalate this conflict. but i'm also here to focus back the eyes of the world onto the hostage situation. 192 days those people have been held. hamas should release them now, and there is a good deal for them on the table. the only reason the conflict continues in gaza is because they won't take that deal. we need the hostages out. we need the aid in. and i'll be discussing that with the israeli government and with the palestinian authority as well. and how concerned are you that we're right on the brink of a full—scale regional war here? well, the situation is very concerning. it's right to show solidarity with israel. it's right to have made our views clear about what should happen next. but it's clear the israelis are making a decision to act. we hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible and in a way that, as i said yesterday, is smart as well as tough.

but the real need is to refocus back on hamas, back on the hostages, back on getting the aid in, backing back on getting a pause in the conflict in gaza. that's why i'm here today to talk to the israeli government, to talk to the palestinian authority, to try and push those things forward. finally, you're off to foreign ministers at g7, italy. what sanctions do you want? well, we want to see a coordinated sanctions against iran. britain has in many ways led the way with our new sanctions regime, sanctioning dozens of people in iran, sanctioning the irgc in its entirety. and i think there's more that we can do to show a united front that iran is behind so much of the malign activity in this region, backing hamas, backing hezbollah, backing the houthis. they need to be given a clear and unequivocal message by the g7, and i hope that will happen at the meeting.

james described the situation is very concerning —— and is lord cameron mentioned, there is a call to impose more taxes on iran which will be discussed at the eu today. joining me now is adnan tabatabai, iran analyst and ceo of carpo, a thinktank focussing on iran and the middle east in germany. thank you forjoining us. glad to be thank you for “oining us. glad to be with ou. thank you for “oining us. glad to be with you. iran’— thank you forjoining us. glad to be with you. iran is _ thank you forjoining us. glad to be with you. iran is one, _ thank you forjoining us. glad to be with you. iran is one, possibly - thank you forjoining us. glad to be with you. iran is one, possibly the i with you. iran is one, possibly the country that _ with you. iran is one, possibly the country that has _ with you. iran is one, possibly the country that has the _ with you. iran is one, possibly the country that has the most - with you. iran is one, possibly the i country that has the most sanctions imposed on it. what more can the eu, us and others do if they say they want to sanction it even further? this is a fair question. i think the problem here is that the experience that was made prior to the

agreement, that imposing sanctions would raise the incentive for iran to change its ways, for sanctions to be lifted, this calculation is obsolete. it has shown that even if sanches are lifted without the us lifting its own sanctions, it will not be beneficial for iran, lifting its own sanctions, it will not be beneficialfor iran, so imposing sanctions may not have the effect it had roughly ten years ago. israel has launched a diplomatic offensive but iran has launched an offensive but iran has launched an offensive town on the phone to western capitals, capitals in the region, what is it trying to achieve at this moment?— at this moment? what we are currently _ at this moment? what we are currently seeing _ at this moment? what we are currently seeing is _ at this moment? what we are currently seeing is more - at this moment? what we are currently seeing is more or. at this moment? what we are i currently seeing is more or less at this moment? what we are - currently seeing is more or less the claim on both sides to have staged a huge victory over the past weekend, and of course it is a war of narratives as much in cities a real war on the ground. what i would

prefer european countries in particular to cst use its diplomatic back channels to somehow allow both sides to have their victories species so that the situation can calm down a bit, instead of taking sides to match, which is understandable, but not necessarily helpful in this situation. i5 understandable, but not necessarily helpful in this situation.— helpful in this situation. is the fear that they _ helpful in this situation. is the fear that they don't _ helpful in this situation. is the fear that they don't want - helpful in this situation. is the i fear that they don't want victory speeches, they want to be seen as the last one to strike, who knows where this will lead any cycle of retaliation? {iii where this will lead any cycle of retaliation?— where this will lead any cycle of retaliation? . ., , ., , retaliation? of course, what i 'ust sent doesn-t �* retaliation? of course, what i 'ust sent doesn't mean i retaliation? of course, what i 'ust sent doesn't mean that it is h retaliation? of course, what ijust sent doesn't mean that it is easy i retaliation? of course, what i just i sent doesn't mean that it is easy to do, and of course it is an extreme complicated situation. what we could say is that the attack of the israelis on the consulate building up israelis on the consulate building up iran in damascus was the beginning of this very recent huge escalation between iran and israel, and that iran's retaliatory attack can be viewed as being an overreaction but was in fact a response and that now things could be laid down to rest at least

between iran and israel, things that some officials seem to have been saying beyond their public statements but currently the views are different. statements but currently the views are different-— are different. good to hear your reflections. _ are different. good to hear your reflections, thank _ are different. good to hear your reflections, thank you. - there are many crises within these crises. the united nations has voiced concerns about escalating violence in the occupied west bank. tensions flared over the weekend. a teenager went missing. settlers went on the rampage, there are deaths. the un has accused israel's security forces of active participation in attacks on palestinians byjewish settlers. the vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, although israel disputes this. here's hugo bachega.

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 a village near ramallah on saturday. settlers set houses and cars on fire, killing one man, jehad abu alia. he was 25 and planning to get married injune. translation: jehad was trying to prevent the settlers - from breaking the house door of the house 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 campaign in monitoring settlement activity, the situation is unprecedented. i think that the level of the settlers' violence is the highest that i remember. they feel also a lot of support from the government and probably from the public , atleast their public, that their violence is kind of necessary against the evil which are the palestinians. it's not only settler 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 wonder when the next attack will come. hugo bachega, bbc news, jerusalem. the situation also in fire literally in the occupied west bank. let's take a closer look at the intensifying diplomacy as israel make that absolutely clear that it will retaliate, but in the words of a member of the war cabinet, it will be at a time and a place in a manner of israel's choosing. joining me now is our diplomatic correspondent james landale. israel has made it clear that they will retaliate and yet you have a parade of foreign ministers, germany and britain saying don't do it, what impact will they have? timer;r and britain saying don't do it, what impact will they have?— impact will they have? they will be art of a impact will they have? they will be part of a camphony _ impact will they have? they will be part of a cacophony of— impact will they have? they will be part of a cacophony of voices - impact will they have? they will be part of a cacophony of voices we i impact will they have? they will be | part of a cacophony of voices we are hearing from israel's allies around the world saying, we do not want escalation. david cameron the foreign secretary to clear and

saying we want as little escalation as possible. he echoes what the british prime minister said last night in a telephone call with benjamin netanyahu, the israeli prime minister. they realise there is a limit to how much they can restrain israel. david cameron was clear in saying israel is a sovereign nation that can make its own choice and retaliating are responding to the attack by iran, so i think he also wants to talk about other things, i think he also wants to talk about otherthings, put i think he also wants to talk about other things, put a bit more pressure on israel ever humanitarian access to gaza but he also wants to say, let's talk about hamas, hostages, the ceasefire, to get onto israeli territory. plus one other thing, sanctions. the israelis at the moment are trying to internationalise this issue saying it as much as them against the iranians but iran anchors the whole of the region and the world, and israel's allies are prepared to join in saying, let's talk about sanctions, so it is harderfor iran

to make those drones and missiles that flew over the skies if you days ago. sanctions obviously have no impact, it will take months, but it is about maintaining an alliance around israel. israel hasn't had one for months because of the criticism of the way it is prosecuting is war in gaza. he of the way it is prosecuting is war in gaza. ., , of the way it is prosecuting is war in gaza. ., ., ,., , ., in gaza. he has also been on the telephone _ in gaza. he has also been on the telephone with _ in gaza. he has also been on the telephone with a _ in gaza. he has also been on the telephone with a man's - in gaza. he has also been on the telephone with a man's foreign i telephone with a man's foreign minister, also with arab foreign minister, also with arab foreign minister is don't necessarily see and to i on this crisis, is britain trying to see this initial plasma camp and address the concerns of her and its allies? i camp and address the concerns of her and its allies?— and its allies? i think david cameron — and its allies? i think david cameron has _ and its allies? i think david cameron has been - and its allies? i think david | cameron has been criticised and its allies? i think david - cameron has been criticised within the uk and elsewhere and in this country for being quite punchy in terms of his criticism of israel but putting pressure on israel over the humanitarian crisis and treatment of civilians and aid workers in gaza. i think that has bought him a degree of audience within the gulf who have

been quite interested, the fact that david cameron has publicly said that he would be willing to contemplate recognition of the state of palestine before any endgame, all of that going down incredibly well in the gulf, buying him an audience. is the gulf, buying him an audience. is the uk the defining power here? no, it is the us and others like the saudis who will shape this. thank ou. so saudis who will shape this. thank you- so much _ saudis who will shape this. thank you. so much diplomacy- saudis who will shape this. thank you. so much diplomacy in - saudis who will shape this. thank you. so much diplomacy in this i you. so much diplomacy in this moment, so many wars within wars in the gaza — israel war. there was concern ever since the gaza war erupted after the events of october seven that this is a war that would spill over borders, and indeed it has. we'll keep an eye on all development from here and across the region, back to you in london. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

in the uk, new figures this morning rose by 3.2% in the year to march, down from 3.4% in february. that's slightly higher than the consensus forecast from economists. this means prices are rising at the lowest annual rate for two and a half years. a short while ago, prime minister rishi sunak gave his reaction to this as well as some other issues. today's figures show our economic plan is working and inflation continues to fall, having been 11% when i became prime minister, now falling to over 3%, lowest level in 2.5 years. we have seen mortgage rates fall, energy bills fall, day—to—day speech shows wages have been rising faster than inflation for nine months in a row. they have been able to cut people's taxies for average workers, and increase their state pension by £900 this month. that all shows our plan is working and my simple message would be if we

stick to that plan, people can have confidence there is a bright future ahead. ~ . ., confidence there is a bright future ahead. ~ u, , , . confidence there is a bright future ahead. ~ , , . ., ., ahead. when can we inspect inflation to fall to the — ahead. when can we inspect inflation to fall to the target? _ ahead. when can we inspect inflation to fall to the target? it _ ahead. when can we inspect inflation to fall to the target? it is _ to fall to the target? it is exoected _ to fall to the target? it is exoected to _ to fall to the target? it is expected to continue - to fall to the target? if 3 expected to continue falling over the coming months but these things don't happen by accident, it is because we have a plan and that plan is working. when i became prime minister is set out five priorities, halving inflation, we have more than delivered on that with inflation falling from 11% when i said that, down to just over 3% this week. with wages rising, energy bills fallen, we have been able to cut people's taxies significantly, putting more money in people's pockets, increasing state pension, you have to stick to that plan every want the brighter future that we all want to see, that is by our plan is so important. i5 see, that is by our plan is so important-— see, that is by our plan is so important. see, that is by our plan is so imortant. , ., ,, ., ., , important. is it appropriate to use the raf to — important. is it appropriate to use the raf to fly _ important. is it appropriate to use the raf to fly people _ important. is it appropriate to use the raf to fly people to _ important. is it appropriate to use the raf to fly people to rwanda? | important. is it appropriate to use i the raf to fly people to rwanda? my the raf to fly people to rwanda? ij�*i priority the raf to fly people to rwanda? m priority is to the raf to fly people to rwanda? m1: priority is to stop the boats, the raf to fly people to rwanda? m1' priority is to stop the boats, as i said, and right now we are trying to get the bill through parliament in the face of enormous opposition from the face of enormous opposition from the labour party and in the house of lords. once we get this bill onto

the statute books we will do everything we can to get flights off to rwanda because fundamentally we must stop about because it is a matter of fairness, it is not right that people can jump the queue and come to our country illegally, putting pressure on services and risk their lives. that's why i'm so determined to stop about, we will be able to do that with this bill. fine able to do that with this bill. five cabinet ministers _ able to do that with this bill. five cabinet ministers voted against smoking legislation, what does that say about your leadership? rah? say about your leadership? why announce a _ say about your leadership? why announce a policy _ say about your leadership? why announce a policy i _ say about your leadership? wi1' announce a policy i was very clear it would be a free vote, these things are mostly no up conscience and i completely respect that people would have different points of view. but what we should focus on is the substance of what this measure will do. smoking is responsible for 80,000 deaths a year in our country, responsible for one in four cancers, biggest cause of death, disability and ill—health. we had a chance to do something about it. i don't think any parent wants their children to grow up smoking, most people take it up grow up smoking, most people take it up when they are young, which they could quit when older but cannot.

with this legislation we can ensure that a whole generation of children grows up smoke—free, i think that is really important step for our country, it will save the lives and ease pressure on the nhs and save our country £17 billion a year. with more on this is our business correspondent, marc ashdown. can you remind us what inflation is? it has fallen today from the point for the .2%, was expected to go to 3.1%, so a touch over war forecasters and analysts were expecting but at this stage if we look back 18 months, at about 11%, so certainly in terms of the journey we are heading towards lower inflation. one columnist described it as a slow puncture territory, the sharp decline but now into a very

slow and steady. inflation is the rate at which prices rise, and this is all prices, a mixed bag. across the economy, something is going slower than others. this is how fast they are still rising, when we talk about it dropping, things are not getting cheap atjust coming up slower. to give you an idea of the highlights, food inflation running at 4%, highlights, food inflation running at 11%, that was once upon a time 19% previously, energy bills have come down, energy costs, services running at 6%, proving concerning, stickier than hope. petrol and diesel floppies reasons, oil price volatility causing concern. this reflects a picture across the world. in europe we are expecting the latest march figures at 10am today. that is expected to pull from 2.6% to 2.4, but across in america still proving difficult, ticked up last

month to 3.5%, a lot of what goes on in the global economy tied to america. concern there but in the uk and europe inflation on that path down. ~ i, i, , , i, and europe inflation on that path down. i, i, , , i, i, down. what does this mean for interest rates? _ down. what does this mean for interest rates? the _ down. what does this mean for interest rates? the big - down. what does this mean for interest rates? the big hit - down. what does this mean for interest rates? the big hit is i down. what does this mean forl interest rates? the big hit is the bank will cut _ interest rates? the big hit is the bank will cut them _ interest rates? the big hit is the bank will cut them soon. - interest rates? the big hit is the i bank will cut them soon. forecasters had predicted possibly three cats, as soon as august, now expecting maybe october, november to be the first cut, in the uk debt is still historically high rates of 5.2%. now analysts think a cut of maybe one can't, but it could change, we are hoping inflation falls to the target of 2% as early as next month, if that happens we could be looking at rate cuts as early potentially as june. now to the united states, and day two of donald trump's criminal trial has concluded in new york. the focus for the moment is selecting a jury to sit through the weeks of proceedings. so far, seven have been chosen, but dozens of potential jurors have been excused after saying they couldn't be impartial. this case marks the first time a us president —

former or current — has faced a criminal trial. it's over allegations he tried to cover up hush money payments to the adult film star stormy daniels in 2016. mr trump denies the allegations, and speaking after the court wrapped up, he once again made unsubstantiated claims that the judge was conflicted. the whole world is watching, this judge is so conflicted, you understand that, you will take a look at that. there has been a judge so conflicted, it is ridiculous. there's no crime. for more on this let's speak to cbs correspondentjared hill, who joins us from new york. what are we expecting? today the court is not in session, thursday it will resume with the jury selection. they still have to pick about half the jury as well as about half a dozen members of the alternative jury. that will be the focus of the next couple of days. the judges expecting that this trial could get

under way as sooner money. which means that thisjury under way as sooner money. which means that this jury selection process is moving on at a pretty good clip. process is moving on at a pretty aood cli -. i, i, i, i, i, good clip. the amount of attention this has garnered _ good clip. the amount of attention this has garnered is _ good clip. the amount of attention this has garnered is in _ good clip. the amount of attention this has garnered is in line - good clip. the amount of attention this has garnered is in line with i this has garnered is in line with expectations. talk us through the challenge ofjury expectations. talk us through the challenge of jury selection expectations. talk us through the challenge ofjury selection here. what other things being considered? there are about 500 or so potential jurors in manhattan, new york city. they have been considered or are being considered. we have these lawyers grilling these potential jurors on everything from their personal lives to their political views. there are some questions in this lengthy questionnaire that askedif this lengthy questionnaire that asked if they have ever been to a trump rally, if they follow former president trump on social media. one person who was disqualified was someone who they found in a social media post in 2017 said, lock him up. all these things are considered

as these lawyers tried to put together this jury of 12 people as well as alternates that they feel can be impartial. one thing is that unlike the vast majority of cases we see across the country, pretty much everyone in america knows who former president donald trump is and has an opinion on the former president. the question is going to be whether these individuals can put those opinions aside and judge and rule in this case based on below and fax presented inside the court. thank ou. —— fax presented. the sydney shopping centre that was the scene of the stabbing attack on saturday will reopen on friday. six people died in the attack, two people died in the attack, two people remain in intensive care. the centre will open on thursday for a community reflection day allowing members of the public to come and walk through and pay their respects. some of the victims�* families have already visited the centre where

their loved ones were killed. haiti�*s government has named the nine members of the new transitional council that is due to take over power and organise elections. it will oversee the transition from the current prime minister ariel henry. he promised to step down a month ago, after haiti�*s powerful gang leaders blocked his return to the country from an international trip. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. let�*s start with a bit of positivity, shall we? because more of you will get a break from the rain clouds this weekend as this area of high pressure moves its way, and you�*ve not seen this since early january. high pressure generally means dry weather, but we�*ll see areas of cloud trapped in among that, a few old weather fronts. so there still could be a few spots of light rain just here and there, especially in scotland. but as you can see from scotland, northern ireland, the emphasis

is on the dry weather. varying amounts of cloud. when the sun shines out, it will feel pleasantly warm. winds will be largely light across the country. but as i said, still a bit of cloud to come, and the dry weather won�*t last all the way through next week and certainly in the short term, still some more rain to come over the next few days, and staying chilly. got northerly winds with us at the moment, that�*s been bringing in a clutch of showers from scotland down and across parts of eastern england for the afternoon, and cloud across northern ireland. patchy rain spreads its way into wales and the south too. and between those two areas there will be some drier weather to be had this afternoon. some of you staying completely dry. but for all, 9 to 12 celsius in the sunshine, that will feel distinctly chilly. now, we finish the day with heavy showers across central eastern england. strong winds, cloud, patchy rain towards the southwest. that all clears through. we�*ll see some cloud and rain spread into the north west of scotland later in the night, lifting temperatures, but tonight will be an even colder night than last night. greater chance of frost around as we go

into thursday morning�*s commute. but after a bright start, particularly across southern areas of this little ridge of high pressure, low pressure dominates from the north, bringing outbreaks of rain, increasingly so across scotland through the morning. not too much rain in some central eastern areas, but patchy rain in northern ireland too. and eventually, after a bright start, the afternoon will be cloudier with occasional rain in northern england and the far north of wales as well as isle of man. south of that, though, you�*ll stay dry through thursday, increasing amounts of cloud and midding at best the sunshine in the south and east and feeling a little less chilly compared with today. but as that weather system pushes through during thursday night, bringing outbreaks of rain for many of us, then clearing, we�*re back into northerly winds, quite strong northerly winds as well. a blustery day on friday. strong gale—force winds down in eastern areas. the chance of some showers in that flow as well. but still some dry and brighter weather to be had. but in the wind and out the sunshine, it will feel rather cool before high pressure gradually builds in, as i said, this weekend. take care.

this is bbc news, the headlines... the un launches a $2.8 billion appeal for aid for the palestinian population in the gaza strip and occupied west bank, as the uk foreign secretary lands in israel. in the uk, inflation keeps falling, now down to 3.2% in the year to march. we�*ve also seen mortgage rates fall, energy bills fall and data this week showed that wages have been rising

faster than inflation for nine weeks in a row. for nine months in a row. russia�*s military death toll in ukraine has now passed the 50,000 mark. we have more from a bbc investigation coming up. and heavy rain batters the united arab emirates causing flash flooding. some places recording a year�*s worth of rain in a single day. uk inflation is down to its lowest level in 2.5 years. figures released show the rate of inflation has fallen to 3.2% in the year to march. it�*s down from 3.4% in the month before, thanks to a drop in price for some food items like crumpets, meat and chocolate biscuits. let�*s speak to steve nolan, lecturer in economics at liverpooljohn moores university. thank you for coming on the programme. ila thank you for coming on the programme-— thank you for coming on the i programme._ what thank you for coming on the - programme._ what you thank you for coming on the _ programme._ what you make programme. no problem. what you make ofthe programme. no problem. what you make

of the numbers? — programme. no problem. what you make of the numbers? generally _ of the numbers? generally as exoected. a _ of the numbers? generally as expected, a little _ of the numbers? generally as expected, a little bit -