in his time there. ukraine's troops are forced to withdraw from several frontline positions after months of russian attacks and dwindling resources. officials in kenya warn of further heavy rainfall, as deadly flooding and downpours batter parts of east africa. hello i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join me. the united nations says famine is looming in northern gaza — it says 70% of the population there is facing catastrophic hunger. israel's military says aid deliveries will be scaled up in the coming days, and that the issue is a top priority. it comes after seven months of war in which more than 3a,000 people in gaza have been killed, according to the hamas run health authority. the un's human rights director says israel may be using starvation as a weapon of war, an assessment israel rejects. but what is life like for people struggling to find food, while under israeli

bombardment? israel and egypt won't allow the bbc to report from inside gaza — but bbc news has obtained exclusive access to footage filmed by an american doctor recently returned from the north of the territory, where the crisis is most acute. fergal keane sent this report — you may find parts of it distressing. this is the story of a doctor who travelled to hell. desperate voices cry out. sam attar went to help people trapped by war. he usually works in a hi—tech hospital in chicago. in gaza, his skills and mental strength will be tested to their limits.

immediately upon crossing the border, we were met with the familiar stench ofjust millions of people packed on top of each other, living together. in some pockets, the air you breathe, you feel like you're decaying, just breathing it, because there are just so many people. the crisis is constant. lives in the balance. the wounded and the lost. woman cries. the mother who will not leave the side of her dead boy. amin, amin! you have no ct scans? no ct scans. so you just watch them and hope for the best? yes. rami, with shrapnel in his brain, but no equipment to properly investigate the damage. you 0k? long day. it is the great paradox of all war that, in the midst of slaughter, so many will risk

their lives for humanity. the doctor whose daughter was killed comforts rami's mother. but sam attar must now travel north, where the un human rights chief alleges israel may be using starvation as a weapon of war. israel rejects this, saying un figures are wrong, and blames delays and distribution on the un and aid agencies. in kamal adwan hospital — the desolation caused by hunger. baby nahed, three months old. a 22—year—old woman, malnourished and sick, photographed just after she died. this boy is dead — a victim, his mother says,

of disease and malnutrition. those who already had serious medical problems are now acutely vulnerable. jena, before the war, learning the alphabet. she already had a condition that made it difficult for her to absorb nutrition. now she's bed bound by sickness and the trauma of what she's seen. so this isjena. she presented, you said, as a skeleton? due to malnutrition. so she's just skin and bone. a child sam had to leave behind, like so many others in this war. jena's mom came to me, and she was saying, "i thought we were coming with you. "what's happening? "why are you going and we're staying?" and it's because the convoy was only approved for the delivery of food and fuel and not for taking any patients back.

but memories of war have their own way of following, as sam knows well. i left a piece of my soul in gaza, and i do hope to go back. i'd say it's the best time of my life but the worst time of my life. the best time because of the people, but the worst time because of all the horrors you witness. child cries. sam managed to organisejena's evacuation to the south. today, our cameraman visited and found a child whose sickness made worse by war has left her mother feeling hopeless. translation: what can i do? she can't be treated, and her mental state is very difficult. she doesn't talk at all whenever anyone talks to her. her situation is bad, and as a mum, i cannot do anything. in all of this, it is hard to speak of hope, except to know that gaza's medics keep going — the steady light of decency.

fergal keane, bbc news, jerusalem. in a statement on sunday, israel's military spokesman claimed the amount of aid going into gaza has increased significantly in recent weeks, and will �*scale up even more�* in the coming days. that statement came ahead of a sunday afternoon phone call between us presidentjoe biden and israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. the white house says mr biden emphasized the need for more aid to reach gaza. america's top diplomat — the us secretary of state antony blinken — is to expand his middle east trip this week to include israel and jordan, as well as saudi arabia. our north america correspondent will vernon has more. i think the most significant thing about this phone call was the timing, the language in the readout provided by the white house doesn't tell us anything hugely new, but this is a crucial moment

for the middle east. as you mentioned, the us secretary of state antony blinken, he's departed on another diplomatic tour of the region, he'll be meeting qatari and egyptian officials, other regional players, too, and he will be discussing a us—led ceasefire plan, that could entail a six week cessation of hostilities in gaza as well as the release of dozens of hostages still held by hamas in gaza and the release also, potentially, of hundreds of palestinians from israeli jails. and mr biden and mr netanyahu discussed the talks on this plan earlier in that phone call. there is also the issue of the planned israeli offensive on and the southern city of rafah. there are palestinians are sheltering there. and it was said if there is a deal over the hostages and they could potentially suspend that offensive in rafah. so really high—stakes game here. you have antony blinken trying to hammer out the crucial deal against the clock before any offence in the clock before any offence in the city of rafah which would happen against the wishes of the americans and also the

president of the palestinian authority, mahmoud abbas, he said earlier that america is the only country that can stop that offensive on rafah. will vernon there. and as negotiations over a ceasefire continue, so does the violence. overnight israeli air strikes on three houses in rafah killed at least 13 people and wounded many others. as the war continues, so do pro—palestinian protests at us university campuses — despite police making a series of arrests. the protesters — who some university officials say are not exclusively members of their student bodies — have demands that range from a ceasefire in gaza, to universities ending investments in israeli enterprises linked to the military. several universities have called on the police to remove demonstrators. on saturday, more than 275 people were taken into custody on campuses nationwide. however, the solidarity of the demonstrators is felt in rafah, where displaced gazans have written messages of gratitude on their tents. the commander—in—chief

of ukraine's armed forces has said that the situation on the frontline has worsened, in the face of multiple russian attacks. general oleksandr syrskyi confirmed that ukrainian soldiers have retreated from positions close to the town of pokrovsk in the eastern donetsk region. the withdrawal comes after weeks of fierce fighting that has depleted ukraine's already dwindling military resources . general syrskyi also said russia had what he called partial successes near kupyansk, but that ukrainian forces have stopped their advance. ukrainian troops are waiting for much needed weaponry from the us, following the approval of a $60 billion aid package by politicians in washington last week. russia is trying to take advantage of its current superiority in manpower and artillery on the battlefield. meanwhile, ukrainian military intelligence released a video it says shows a drone strike on an advanced russian radar station. the radar is reported to be

able to detect targets up to 300 kilometres away. our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse has the latest from kyiv. general oleksandr syrskyi painted a bleak picture. he talked about, as you say, the eastern donetsk region being the worst affected for ukraine, where defending troops have had to pull out from defensive lines which were established when the town of avdiivka fell earlier this year. we've just travelled from there, where we saw new trenches being dug — as many as 30 kilometres back from the front line, which gives you an idea of the direction of travel. but it doesn't stop there. russia is using its air superiority, notably in the north—east, around the town of kupyansk. president zelensky says more than 9,000 aerial bombs have been dropped on troop positions there as the russians fly almost unchallenged in the skies. ukraine does try and counter—punch where it can. today, its intelligence service released footage of a drone strike on a radar system in neighbouring belgorod region inside russia,

which can see targets as many as 300 kilometres away. so ukraine tries to hit back where it can. but you mentioned that us aid package, that multi—billion dollar offering. it's meant to arrive imminently, we're told, but it's clear from today's forecast that any ukrainian benefit won't come before significant russian gains along this eastern front line and right across it, in the words of general oleksandr syrskyi today. well for more analysis, former us marine chief of staff in europe and military affairs analyst, brendan kearney joins me now from san francisco. ukraine's top general says his troops have been forced to make a tactical retreat from three villages on the eastern front. talk us through what a tactical retreat means exactly.

i think it is an interesting turn that he used but i think the more appropriate term is that it the more appropriate term is thatitis the more appropriate term is that it is a repositioning of your defensive forces and it is not unusual, even in the most successful military campaigns, to go ahead and periodically shorten your lines and maybe flatten out some of the soldiers you have into enemy territory that make you susceptible to attack. so i'm not surprised that this sort of thing is occurring at all. is there any extent to which the shortening of lions, for example, could be taking place because of the fact there is that delay in military aid from western allies, from the united states? ., ., , states? elenna, i do believe that plays — states? elenna, i do believe that plays a _ states? elenna, i do believe that plays a part— states? elenna, i do believe that plays a part of- states? elenna, i do believe that plays a part of the - that plays a part of the decision—making process and of course everything is built,

quite frankly, on the reality of the ground situation —— helena. but those arms, it would have been nicer to have them a couple of months ago. the ammunition resupply. but i think those are going to flow very, very quickly because it is going to come from in europe so we are going to see this i think quickly change over the coming weeks. in think quickly change over the coming weeks.— think quickly change over the coming weeks. in terms of the otential coming weeks. in terms of the potential threat _ coming weeks. in terms of the potential threat to _ coming weeks. in terms of the potential threat to change, - coming weeks. in terms of the j potential threat to change, i'm just wondering what you think we could see in the year ahead, for example, whether there is a fully fledged counteroffensive. someone i spoke to yesterday said the best he thought the weapons could achieve was essentially to reinforce the lines that are currently there and perhaps not go any further than that. what do you make of that assessment? i’m than that. what do you make of that assessment?— that assessment? i'm not sure. i miaht that assessment? i'm not sure. i might disagree _ that assessment? i'm not sure. i might disagree with _ that assessment? i'm not sure. i might disagree with him - i might disagree with him slightly stop i think what you are initially going to see is that the ammunition resupply is

are going to allow for the lines to stabilise. then what you're going to see is the ukrainians to build up enough combat power in areas that they want to attack in where they will be able to launch that counteroffensive. the big question mark here is going to be air superiority. the russians have had some limited air superiority over small parts of ukrainian airspace but what the arrival of the f—i6s and some other aircraft, i think you are going to see the ukrainians to be able to go ahead and launch counterstrike �*s against the russians where they may very well have, and be able to achieve, air superiority. and that is going to be a telling difference on the battlefield.— to be a telling difference on the battlefield. one thing i am cufious the battlefield. one thing i am curious about _ the battlefield. one thing i am curious about is _ the battlefield. one thing i am curious about is where - the battlefield. one thing i am curious about is where you - curious about is where you think psychologically ukrainian troops might be at this

particular stage stop over two yea rs particular stage stop over two years now into this conflict. a time when people on the frontline have lost people that are fighting alongside. the draft has been expanded. how do you think they are feeling right now? of course, given the fact they are defending their own country, but nevertheless, this must be exhausting. film. this must be exhausting. oh, there is no — this must be exhausting. oh, there is no doubt _ this must be exhausting. oh, there is no doubt this - this must be exhausting. oi there is no doubt this is exhausting. it doesn't take anything at all to go ahead and understand that these types of situations will result in morale issues and physical exhaustion is phenomenal. but i do think the ukrainians still have a morale advantage over the russians. almost all the russians are draftees and they are draftees that have very, very limited training, very limited experience where the ukrainians have gotjust the

opposite. they have got superb training as they have got tremendous experience out there on the frontline. so i think the advantages still lies the ukrainian forces.— ukrainian forces. rendon keeney. _ ukrainian forces. rendon keeney. us _ ukrainian forces. rendon keeney, us analyst. - ukrainian forces. rendon i keeney, us analyst. thank ukrainian forces. rendon - keeney, us analyst. thank you for being with us tonight. my pleasure- — for being with us tonight. ij�*i�*i pleasure. thank for being with us tonight. iji pleasure. thank you. honduras is grappling with an epidemic of violence towards women, with the united nations warning of a femicide emergency. in 2022, six out of every 100,000 women in the central american country were killed because of their gender — and this figure is thought to be increasing. our latin america reporter mimi swaby has more: honduras is experiencing a femicide emergency, according to the united nations. with at least 66 women murdered so far this year, the country has the highest rate of femicide in latin america, and that's alongside some of the most restrictive laws against reproductive health, including a complete

ban on abortion. in 2021, xiomara castro became the first female president of honduras, generating high hopes for change in attitude towards women. she promised to not fail them to defend their rights and that all women could count on her. however, little has changed. as in 2023, around 380 femicides were recorded, according to the observatory of violence of the national autonomous university of honduras. the director also stated that the degree of hatred and contempt against women is evident. despite feminist movements across the country trying to tackle this epidemic of violence against women, the un has said the situation is alarming, as violence towards women and femicide is becoming normalised. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at another story making the headlines.

senior conservatives have been defending the prime minister, after the mp dan poulter defected to labour. dr poulter, who works part time as an nhs doctor, accused the tories of no longer valuing public services. the home office minister chris philp rejected that claim, and said the government was spending more money than ever on the health service. helen catt has more. for labour, the defection is a boost. the shadow health secretary denied speculation that it might have also offered doctor bull to any other inducement like a seat in the lords. , ., . ~ inducement like a seat in the lords. , ., ., lords. he is going back to the nhs full lords. he is going back to the was full time _ lords. he is going back to the nhs full time when _ lords. he is going back to the | nhs full time when parliament is dissolved which can't come soon — is dissolved which can't come soon enough, as far as we're concerned~ _ dr poulter said the labour party had a track record his defection is the third from the conservatives since 2019.

you're live with bbc news. officials in kenya have warned about even heavier rainfall as downpours flood parts of east africa. more than 150 people have been killed in neighbouring tanzania, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced in burundi and uganda. there's also growing concern that dams on kenya's longest river — the tana — could overflow in the coming days. these pictures are from kenya's makueni county southeast of nairobi — so far at least 76 people have died there and 130,000 have been displaced. our correspondent anita nkonge is in nairobi with more. we continue to see heavy rainfall this weekend. just last night, we saw such heavy rainfall here in kenya that caused flights to be disrupted, some delayed, some having to be diverted to other parts of the country, due to poor visibility and heavy rainfall.

like you said, in burundi, 100,000 people have been displaced, in tanzania, 200,000 have been displaced, with 51,000 households affected by the floods and 155 people dead in tanzania. in kenya, over 20,000 households have been affected, roughly 131,450 people affected by the floods as well and 90 dead. part of what we've been seeing and people posting on social media has been houses being flooded, people being stranded with the roads being cut off, trains having to be delayed. so it's definitely a very devastating time right now. the kenya meteorological department say that we should be expecting more heavy rainfall even tonight. and those who have been living in places where there are dams have been asked to go to higher ground, those in the main city have been asked to stay indoors or go to higher ground, especially if they're in areas that could be affected by flooding. and the government has been launching a multi—agency response unit to those places where they may predict flooding.

the red cross even created centres in parts of informal settlements where we have seen a lot of flooding in anticipation of houses and people being affected by flooding tonight. the first minister of scotland humza yousaf�*s leadership hangs in the balance as he faces two no confidence votes, which could come as soon as wednesday. it comes after the collapse of the power sharing agreement between mr yousaf�*s scottish national party and the scottish greens. our scotland correspondent alexandra mckenzie reports. a week that will decide his future with implications notjust for humza yousaf but also for his party, the snp. good morning, everyone. it comes just days after he decided to end a power—sharing deal, the bute house agreement, with the scottish greens. one senior snp mp

made an appeal to the scottish green party. i apologise for what has happened this week. it could have happened in a, in a different way, but we are where we are. but the choice that every member of the scottish parliament has this week is are we going to support that government under humza yousaf to make sure that we deliver the legislation that we all agree on. but the greens insists they will not back mr yousaf in the coming days. i cannot imagine anything at this point that could change that position. to saying the bute house agreement was worth its weight in gold to stopping it unilaterally on thursday. that's broken. the snp leader has written to the opposition leaders at holyrood, arguing that people want to see political parties work together and inviting them to discuss their concerns and priorities. ash regan of the alba party could be the kingmaker. her support alone might be enough for mr yousaf to survive. alba's leader, alex salmond,

has set out the political price for that support, prioritising a re—emphasise on independence. she will be meeting with humza yousaf at his invitation. she'll take with her some very reasonable, positive proposals, which hopefully, if the first minister accepts them, will help him to get out of a very tight political corner. the main opposition parties say that humza yousaf has run out of road. the scottish conservative party say that even if he is saved by alex salmond, that's just prolonging the agony. the scottish labour party have called for a no confidence vote in the scottish government, describing it as embarrassing and incompetent. but the snp leader struggles on in a bid to secure enough support to keep hisjob. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news. staying in the uk, the british government says it's entering the final phase of putting its rwanda migrants policy into practice.

a report in the guardian suggests detentions of asylum seekers — in readiness for deportation — could begin on monday. a british government spokesperson said at some stage people would inevitably start being detained in preparation for the first flight, which is expected to take off in ten to 12 weeks. meanwhile, the irish prime minister says foreign migration policies cannot be allowed to undermine ireland's own rules. simon harris said the country �*will not provide a loophole for anyone else's migration challenges', after it emerged that the majority of asylum seekers entering ireland had crossed from northern ireland. the irish government is looking at legislation to enable asylum seekers to be sent back to the uk. but a source said the uk "won't accept any asylum returns from the eu via ireland" until the eu changes its policies. let's turn to some important news around the world. burkina faso has suspended more western and african media outlets over their coverage of a human rights watch report accusing the army of more than

200 extrajudicial killings. the report said the soldiers had suspected local villagers of supporting islamist militants. bbc journalists were suspended earlier in the week for covering the report. on saturday, a spokesman for burkina faso's government said the report was premature tesla ceo elon musk met government officials, including china's premier, in beijing on sunday. mr musk was expected to discuss the rollout of autonomous driving software on tesla cars in china. chinese state media reported that the premier told mr musk that tesla's development in the country could be regarded as a successful example of us—china economic and trade cooperation. you are watching bbc news. i will have more updates for you at the top of the hour. join me thenif at the top of the hour. join me then if you can. goodbye for now. hello. expect a different feel

to the weather over the next few days. some warmer weather on the way this week, but with that, we will still see some outbreaks of rain at times, so don't be expecting blue skies and sunshine all the way. and certainly low pressure in charge of the scene for monday, this frontal system pushing in from the west. that'll make for a really soggy start to the day across northern ireland. conversely, central and eastern parts of england and a good part of scotland starting with some sunshine. a touch of frost first thing across parts of scotland. outbreaks of rain spreading from northern ireland, into southern and central scotland, northwest england, wales and the south—west as we go through the day. but for central and eastern parts of england, where we hold on to some brightness, temperatures could climb to 18 degrees. more generally, 11 to 1a. now, through monday night, this first band of cloud and patchy rain pushes a little bit further eastwards and northwards. we'll see further heavy rain returning to western parts by the end of the night. some clear spells, too, but temperatures

between seven and 11 degrees — much milder than recent nights. we should be frost—free as we start tuesday morning, but still with low pressure in charge, this frontal system bringing another dose of rain to western parts. and this front creeping in from the east, that is going to bring a band of clouds and perhaps some heavy, thundery showers into parts of eastern england as the day wears on. but in between our rain bands, a slice of sunshine across central parts of england, up into southern and eastern scotland. the warmth a little more widespread on tuesday, highs of16,17,18 degrees. the odd spot may be up to 19. now, by wednesday, levels of humidity will be climbing a little. that'll mean more in the way of low clouds, some mist and murk, particularly for eastern coasts. outbreaks of rain also likely to develop across many parts of central and eastern england. those temperatures, 16,17 or 18 degrees. as we head towards the end of the week, low pressure still fairly close by, so there'll still be some bouts of rain, but the winds coming from the east will feed some rather warm air from the near

continent in our direction. now, the highest temperatures of all for the end of the week may be across western scotland — could be looking at temperatures up to 20 degrees. as we head into the weekend, looks rather mixed. some dry weather, some rain at times, but staying just a little warmer than it has been of late.

tesla founder elon musk is hopefulfor more "win—win results" as he makes a surprise visit to china. and a big us firm is coping with the challenges of doing business in the world's second—largest economy. good morning and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. tesla's chief executive elon musk says he hopes to deepen relations with china to have more win—win results. the comments came after he made an unannounced visit to the country when he has met the chinese premier. he has met with chinese officials, including the premier. mr musk is expected to make a case for the enabling of a self—driving feature on its cars among other priorities. he cancelled a troop to india earlier this month, citing heavy obligations.

the visit comesjust a week after mr musk cancelled a trip to india, citing