this is bbc news. president biden steps up his criticism of prime minister benjamin netanyahu's handling of the war in gaza, calling it a "mistake" and urging israel to call for a ceasefire. meanwhile, spain's prime minister pedro sanchez says recognising a palestinian state is in europe's geopolitical interests. new analysis finds incidents of racial discrimination by police in the european union are being under reported. arizona's supreme court has ruled that the us state can enforce a near—total abortion ban, dating back 160 years. and south koreans are at the polls in what's being widely seen as a test of confidence in president yoon. hello. i'm rajini vaidyanathan. we start with the middle east, where israel is coming under increasing international pressure over how it's conducting the war in gaza. president biden has said he believes prime minister benjamin netanyahu is making a "mistake" and has called on israel to agree to a six to eight week ceasefire. the president had previously said hamas