columbia university begins suspending students involved in pro—palestinian protests. four police officers are killed after an hours—long standoff in north carolina. and king charles returns to public engagements today with a visit to a cancer treatment centre. hello, i'm sally bundock. we start in the middle east. there are renewed hopes of a breakthrough in the ceasefire negotiations between israel and hamas after weeks of stalemate between the two sides. a hamas delegation has reportedly left cairo and will return with a response to a gaza ceasefire proposal. it is unclear how many israeli hostages would be released

under this proposal — the israeli media has put the figure at 33 in return for the release of an unspecified number of palestinian prisoners. us presidentjoe biden has been speaking with the leaders of egypt and qatar who have been mediators. the us secretary of state, antony blinken, who is in saudi arabia, said he is hopeful hamas will accept what he described as a very generous proposal. hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of israel and in this moment, the only thing standing between the people of gaza and a ceasefire is hamas. they have to decide and they have to decide quickly. with me is mohamed taha from bbc arabic. how close are we to a

breakthrough? the information from cairo shows every party looks like very close. there is a massive amount of taxability from each side but this flexibility is coming with lots of complexities and challenges. i will give you a brief about the challenges if you may allow me from both sides. from the israeli side there is challenges that israel would accept a deal with hamas, something israel would not believe in the last months that war only would bring the hostages back. now israel may consider this deal and this may manifest challenges that right—wing investors may withdraw from the government and threatened the collapse of the benjamin netanyahu the benjamin neta nyahu government. the benjamin netanyahu government. on the hamas side the challenge is manifested in accepting the israeli military presence in gaza and the long—term hamas accepted being

disarmed for the sake of long—term negotiations towards a palestinian state, and also hamas is considering even moving their leadership from gaza to outside country which might bejordan. in gaza to outside country which might be jordan._ might be jordan. in terms of what is on — might be jordan. in terms of what is on offer, _ might be jordan. in terms of what is on offer, what - might be jordan. in terms of what is on offer, what do - might be jordan. in terms of what is on offer, what do we know, we are hearing 33 hostages could be released on the part of hamas and term for numbers of prisoners currently in israeli jails?— in israeli jails? what we understand _ in israeli jails? what we understand it _ in israeli jails? what we understand it would - in israeli jails? what we understand it would be | in israeli jails? what we i understand it would be 40 in israeli jails? what we - understand it would be 40 days understand it would be a0 days of pause of fighting during this period, 33 hostages would be exchanged with an unknown number of palestinian prisoners. and there would be an opening of the point that might allow the people to return to northern gaza, and also making the aid arrive into gaza or easier.—

gaza or easier. very briefly what has — gaza or easier. very briefly what has been _ gaza or easier. very briefly what has been happening l what has been happening overnight in terms of the fighting?— fighting? overnight the fi . htin . fighting? overnight the fighting has _ fighting? overnight the | fighting has intensified, fighting? overnight the - fighting has intensified, hamas has showed their ability they can hit the israeli army, two officers were announced died in a trap, there was also 33 people died in shelling on both rafa and also read. mohamed taha from bbc arabic. columbia university in new york has begun suspending students involved in pro—palestinian protests after they defied an ultimatum to disperse. the demonstrators said they would not move until their demands for the college to divest from israel were met. college leaders warned those failing to disband from the two—week encampment that they would face disciplinary action. but as the deadline passed, tens of students rallied at the site. our correspondent nomia iqbal has been giving us the latest from columbia university. the atmosphere here

on campus is pretty calm. people are in an upbeat mood. earlier today, there was this deadline. students were told by the president of the university to voluntarily start moving. and there was an implication, therefore, that police might come in. we did see police outside, but that's not happened. students are still inside the encampment and they're saying they're not going anywhere until their demands are met. and essentially those demands are cutting economic and academic ties with israeli institutions. they also want an amnesty for students who have been suspended, any faculty members — so professors at the university — who have also been suspended orfired — many of them were actually standing outside the entrance of the encampment, arms linked to protect the students inside. i spoke to a student who's a negotiator trying to get these demands met. and he said to me — his name is mahmoud khalil — he said that the students weren't budging until all these demands are met and they will keep going. one of the key dates coming up is graduation on may the 15th.

there are students here who aren't on either side, really, whojust want to get to graduation. but the students with the gaza solidarity movement have said to us that they will keep going as long as it takes. let's speak to erin ailworth, who is the wall street journal's new york city reporter. erin has been following the protests at columbia. welcome to bbc news. from what you have been seen, talk us through what has been going on? the protesters have basically said repeatedly, at every moment the university has set a deadline, they will not be moved and they repeated that today, they said we will not be moved unless by forest, and so the university this morning set a 2pm deadline, that deadline came and went, the encampment

remained in the hours afterward, the university announced it had begun suspending students. to be clear, what _ suspending students. to be clear, what are _ suspending students. to be clear, what are the - suspending students. to be | clear, what are the students demanding from the university to happen in orderfor the protest to end? to happen in order for the protest to end?— to happen in order for the protest to end? they want university _ protest to end? they want university divest - protest to end? they want university divest from - university divest from companies that do business with israel. and they also want the university to stop some programmes that it has in israel, they are also asking for the school to grant students that it has been disciplined because of this protest, amnesty. there have been a number of students who have already been suspended, there were more than 100 students who were arrested when this first began, and there have been students and professors who have been banned from campus, and they are asking for those people to not face those disciplinary actions.

face those disciplinary action— face those disciplinary actions. ~ ., , actions. what is the feeling in the university _ actions. what is the feeling in the university about - actions. what is the feeling in the university about this - the university about this generally, what is the mood like as these protests continue among other students many in the middle of final exams, it is a very pressurised time? it is, it is very intense out there and today one, today was one of the more intense, the crowd was big, was hundreds of students and people who came out and marched around the main plaza of colombia. they were chanting, the energy was very high, there was a smaller presence of counter protesters, people who are in support of israel, and jewish students, who say they have felt essentially threatened by some of the rhetoric they are hearing out there. thank you for talking — hearing out there. thank you for talking us. _ hearing out there. thank you for talking us. erin _ hearing out there. thank you for talking us. erin ailworth i for talking us. erin ailworth from wall streetjournal, new

from wall street journal, new york from wall streetjournal, new york city. four police officers have been shot dead in the us state of north carolina during a stand—off that lasted several hours. several others were injured. police in charlotte said the officers were trying to serve a warrant when the suspect opened fire outside a house. he was shot dead in the front garden, before more gunfire erupted from inside. the siege eventually ended with police storming the house using armoured vehicles. two people who were inside the building are being questioned. the usjustice department said it was heartbroken by the deaths. johnnyjennings is the local police chief. two day's is an absolute tragic day for the city of charlotte. and for the profession of law enforcement. today we lost some heroes that are simply out there trying to keep our community safe. let's speak to david willis in los angeles.

david, four police officers did at the scene, talk us through what happened?— what happened? indeed, a devastating _ what happened? indeed, a devastating and _ what happened? indeed, a devastating and tragic- what happened? indeed, a devastating and tragic day| what happened? indeed, a i devastating and tragic day for law enforcement and the city of charlotte north carolina. four of their members killed in the line of duty, shot dead as they attempted to arrest a man wanted on suspicion of possessing an illegal firearm, the whole thing started about 130 in the afternoon, and a part of the city to the east, when three members of a task force, a federal task force charged with hunting down and arresting fugitives ofjustice, turned up at the suspect�*s house only for him to emerge onto the front lawn and start shooting at them. those three task force members died on the spot, a local police officer who had been accompanying them was pronounced dead some while later in hospital. the suspect also died, he was shot dead on

the front garden, he has since been named as terry clark hughesjunior, who was 39 years of age. as a swat team and other officials from the surrounding area flooded to the scene, a second person starting this —— started shooting from within the house, we are told, that gave way to a very tense three—hour stand—off during which the fbi was deployed, and as you mentioned, an armoured vehicle was also sent in to smash their way into the property and their local law enforcement found two people, said to be two women, initial reports said it was a woman and a 17—year—old man, they are now saying it was two women found in the property and they have been taken into custody and are now helping police with enquiries.— now helping police with enauiries. ., ~ , ., enquiries. ok, david thank you very much- _

enquiries. ok, david thank you very much. more _ enquiries. ok, david thank you very much. more details - enquiries. ok, david thank you very much. more details on - enquiries. ok, david thank you| very much. more details on our website and that developing story as well. now to iran where a teenager found dead during high—profile anti—government protests was sexually assaulted and killed by undercover agents working for iran's security forces, according to a leaked document obtained by a bbc world service investigation. nika shakarami was 16 years old when she disappeared in september 2022 — she told a friend police were chasing her. her family found her body nine days later. the authorities denied any involvement in her death, claiming she took her own life. reha kansara has this report from bbc eye investigations. you may find some details distressing. this is the moment an ordinary teenage girl became an ordinary teenage girl became an iranian icon. nika shakarami is burning the hijab as part of

the woman life freedom movement that swept around september 2022. nine days later, her motherfound her dead. at the time, the iranian government claimed nika shakarami had killed herself. but the bci investigations has obtained a document telling a very different story. it appears to be a classified report from the islamic revolutionary guard corps, part of iran's security forces. we have translated it into english. it summarises a secret hearing on her case. according to the document, she was hunted down and arrested by team 12. one of many undercover units at the protest. she was put on the back of their vehicle, an unmarked freezer truck with hands bound. the report includes the direct testimony of team 12 explaining what happened, next. as she

breathing? we crosscheck the document contents with geo— located videos from the protest. her death certificate, and her mother's testimony. her face and cheek— and her mother's testimony. ha: face and cheek bones were broken. herteeth face and cheek bones were broken. her teeth knocked out in the back of her head hit so hard and caved in. that's what killed her, the damage to her head. ~ ., ,., killed her, the damage to her head. ~ . , ., head. we also showed the document _ head. we also showed the document to _ head. we also showed the document to multiple - head. we also showed the . document to multiple experts and overall, despite a few inconsistencies, they said it looks genuine. one expert

agreed to test the report's id number with his own sources inside the iranian revolutionary guard. this re ort revolutionary guard. this report is _ revolutionary guard. this report is a _ revolutionary guard. this report is a small - revolutionary guard. this report is a small part - revolutionary guard. this report is a small part of. revolutionary guard. this report is a small part of a j revolutionary guard. ti 3 report is a small part of a 322 page case file. report numbers from a judicial investigation about writers in 2022, they confirmed this. is about writers in 2022, they confirmed this.— about writers in 2022, they confirmed this. is there anyway document _ confirmed this. is there anyway document could _ confirmed this. is there anyway document could be _ confirmed this. is there anyway document could be a _ confirmed this. is there anyway document could be a fake? - confirmed this. is there anywayj document could be a fake? no, it is original _ document could be a fake? no, it is original and _ document could be a fake? no, it is original and i _ document could be a fake? iifr, it is original and i have accepted that.- it is original and i have acce ted that. accepted that. the document also revealed _ accepted that. the document also revealed the _ accepted that. the document also revealed the hearings i also revealed the hearings conclusion. that sexual assault caused the fight in the rear compartment and that strikes from team 12 caused the death of nika shakarami. none of team 12 receive any punishment for her death, we put our allegations to the irg sea and the government of iran will stop they did not respond. reha kansara, bbc news.

you can watch the full investigation, nika's last breath, on the bbc world service youtube page or on bbc iplayer if you're in the uk. let's get some of the day's other news now. devastating floods have hit several countries in east africa after weeks of heavy rain. the red cross say around 50 people were killed in central kenya after a makeshift dam collapsed during the night following torrential rainfall. a gun attack at a shia mosque in western afghanistan has left at least six people dead. the taliban confirmed one other person has been injured. it happened in the guzara district of herat province a gunman stormed the mosque as the worshippers were leaving after evening prayers. it's not immediately clear who's responsible. english premier league football clubs have agreed in principle to introduce a new spending cap. at a shareholders meeting, a majority of clubs voted in favour of the plan, which will be determined by the amount of money earned in television rights by the lowest—earning club in the league. if approved, the new model

will come into place from the 2025—26 season. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

the us has singled out the united arab emirates among a group of countries it says must stop providing support to the warring military factions in sudan. america's un envoy said the sudanese army and the rival rsf militia were both receiving support, which was leading to the destruction of sudan and millions being displaced. let's speak to dr deepmala mahla, chief humanitarian officer for care international in nairobi. welcome to bbc news. are you aware of the support the us has singled out from the united

arab emirates and others? good mornin: , arab emirates and others? good morning. care — arab emirates and others? good morning, care is _ arab emirates and others? good morning, care is a _ arab emirates and others? (emf. morning, care is a humanitarian organisation and the core mandate and expertise is on delivering life—saving humanitarian assistance and elevating people's suffering, what we are aware of, more than one part of the country which is 17 .7 million people in and sudan are acutely hungry and at risk of famine.— risk of famine. clearly, that is our risk of famine. clearly, that is your area _ risk of famine. clearly, that is your area of, _ risk of famine. clearly, that is your area of, your- risk of famine. clearly, that i is your area of, your concern. talk us through how this can be upset because it is an enormous challenge with the civil war raging, it is so dangerous for international aid agencies to come into sudan? absolutely, and also in — come into sudan? absolutely, and also in the _ come into sudan? absolutely, and also in the last _ come into sudan? absolutely, and also in the last one - come into sudan? absolutely, and also in the last one year l and also in the last one year we have seen eight point million people forced to flee their homes, we are talking about the largest displacement crisis in the world. 8.7

million people, a.6 out of which our children and then it seems like an overwhelming number but each single person has a home, a family, dreams, hopes of future and we are hearing about an imminent attack on a town in northern darfur, the last city in the greater darfur area and we are really concerned about the significant devastating influence this attack might have on the civilians because it will lead to further displacement and this will also affect the aid which is going to the neighbouring states of south darfur and staff for because the roads will likely because the roads will likely be cut off. this is highly likely we will see more people fleeing from sudan to chad. chad which is already putting 571,000 sudanese people in a country which is itself facing a crisis, every day to 50

sudanese people are walking into chad, what does this mean? these people have left everything behind, probably utterly scared, taking whatever they could in search of home and safety. i they could in search of home and safety-— and safety. i can ask you because _ and safety. i can ask you because we _ and safety. i can ask you because we are - and safety. i can ask you because we are almost l and safety. i can ask you l because we are almost out and safety. i can ask you - because we are almost out of time, i know many in your position and sudan denham said the international community has overlooked this war, the civil war going on for more than a year, and the consequences. do you feel this move on the part of the us is helpful or not in terms of it singling out uae and others in terms of what is happening?— and others in terms of what is happening? there is no shadow of doubt this _ happening? there is no shadow of doubt this crisis _ happening? there is no shadow of doubt this crisis has - happening? there is no shadow of doubt this crisis has been - of doubt this crisis has been overlooked, what is helpful at this moment, please resource the humanitarian crisis in sudan, into the hostilities and ceasefire, protect the civilians and civilian infrastructure and most importantly, let aid workers do theirjob. we are on the ground, we have delivered life—saving aid, we know how to

do it but what we need is protection, safety, government and resources and let me say this is a war on women and girls, nothing more. this is a war on women and girls has to stop and why because only the they are women and this is not acceptable. they are women and this is not acceptable-— acceptable. rsf dr deepmala mahla, thank _ acceptable. rsf dr deepmala mahla, thank you. _ over the past year, there have been increasing numbers of clashes between coastguard ships from china and the philippines in the south china sea. the filipino government, led by president marcoer, has authorised increasingly aggressive patrols to challenge the dominant chinese presence in areas both countries claim as their own. our correspondentjonathan head witnessed a confrontation this morning near the disputed scarborough shoal. i'm on board the philippines coastguard vessel the chinese media are saying they expelled, we are being shadowed you can

see over there one chinese coastguard ship on that side, three orfour behind us, in fact so many chinese ships in this area, they dominate it and kept the philippines out of here 12 years ago, part of a mission to re—establish a philippines presence. i would not say they have kept the philippines out they have corralled some of the filipino votes but this one is going back to help one vessel we are in scarborough shoal and it tends to come back to show support filipino fishermen who traditionally fished these waters but say they have been harassed by chinese vessels. we have seen aggressive tactics by chinese vessels, the one over there was water canning it has damaged quite a bit of exterior parts of the vessel by doing that, we heard that inside when it happened, they cut very close, right across the bow of vessel. these are very aggressive tactics, you have to remember the philippines under ferdinand marcos is pushing

much harder to establish its claim to these waters, lots of countries claim the south china sea, a very busy shipping lane and the philippines has reinforced this relationship, its alliance with the united states and the us has said it will back the philippines if there is a serious escalation. so these clashes really matter and they are happening on a regular basis. we don't know what these ships will do we wait to see if they come for us again stop. wait to see if they come for us again stop-— wait to see if they come for us again stop. let's focus on what is happening — again stop. let's focus on what is happening in _ again stop. let's focus on what is happening in scotland. - again stop. let's focus on what is happening in scotland. nowl is happening in scotland. now nominations have opened for a new first minister of scotland after humza yousaf announced his resignation. he said he is underestimated the level of hurt caused by the decision to end the snp power—sharing agreement with the scottish greens. this meant he was facing two no—confidence votes, the former deputy first ministerjohn sweeney says he is giving very careful

consideration to succeeding as first minister. so as the search begins for a new first minister of scotland it is our lead story on the bbc online, as you can see here, do take a look at the story, if it is something you are following, analysis, and of course, look at has been happening as this week progresses. king charles is going to make his first public appearance after positive news about his cancer treatment was revealed last week by buckingham palace. the king and queen will visit a cancer treatment centre and will pay tribute to the efforts of those helping cancer patients. keep with us here on bbc news. all the top business stories here next, i will see you in just a moment. hello there. monday brought some bright and breezy conditions for some of us, and in

the sunshine it felt pleasantly warm, particularly if you had a little bit of shelter. in fact, we saw temperatures around 17 degrees through east anglia and down into the london area. it was a very different story furtherwest, however. cloud and rain lingered for much of the day and in some spots we had just shy of half an inch of rain. now, if we take a look at what's going to come through tuesday, it will be a similar kind of story. unfortunately, out to the west we'll see quite a lot of cloud and some outbreaks of rain. clearer skies further east and with lighter winds we'll see a little more in the way of sunshine. so showery rain across south—west england, wales and into northern ireland through the morning. that low pressure not moving very far, so it'll stay rather grey and damp. we could see a few scattered showers across east anglia and south—east england into the afternoon. but sandwiched in between the two, a lovely slice of sunshine. temperatures will respond, the high teens quite widely here. even in the cloud and rain, well, we'll see temperatures mid—teens for some. some improvement into northern ireland. western scotland keeps a few scattered showers, but eastern scotland a little bit cooler with a breeze coming in off the sea, but it will be largely

dry and sunny. so that low pressure just pulls a little bit further out to the west and the wind direction changes to more of a south—easterly. now, to start off with on wednesday it'll be a relatively mild start but that south—easterly breeze, well, that could just drive in a little more cloud in off the north sea and the potential for some showery rain to drift its way along those east coast once again. so west will be best on wednesday in terms of sunshine and potentially in terms of warmth. so we could still once again see temperatures into the mid to high teens quite widely. now, as we move out of wednesday, towards the end of the week, the weather story gets a little bit messy. it's likely that that weather front could still enhance some showers across central and southern england. the low pressure never too far away with the best of the drier, brighter weather the further north. we are always going to keep those temperatures, though, slightly above the average for the time of year. but still, that wind coming in from the east.

so at times we will be chasing cloud amounts around. there will be some outbreaks of rain, but it'll stay relatively mild into the bank holiday weekend.

live from london, this is bbc news. costs rise as businesses grapple with new physical checks at the uk border on eu

plant and food imports. europe's largest bank, hsbc, reports better—than—expected profits and announces that ceo noel quinn is to retire. explosion the day—to—day disruption of life next to a cobalt mine as the world rushes to secure the minerals vital for the green transition. hello. if you've destroyed us, you are in the nick of time for the top money stories with me, sally bundock. we start here in the uk where the second phase of britain's new post—brexit border controls for imports from the european union have come into force. from today, businesses face new checks and charges for food and plants coming across the border including a fee, known as the "common user charge".