very i'm sally bundock. warm welcome to the programme. president biden has said the us will not supply heavy weapons to israel that could be used in a major assault on the southern gazan city of rafah. in an interview with cnn, mr biden said america would continue to give israel the weapons it needed to defend itself, including interceptors for its �*iron dome�* air defence system. but he said us—supplied heavy weapons had already killed civilians in gaza, and that israel would not keep washington's support if it carried out military operations in those population centres. it comes after the us state department confirmed that one arms shipment destined for israel was delayed last week, and others were being reviewed. civilians had been killed in gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centres, and they declare that

if they go into rafah, they haven't gone in rafah yet, if they go to rafah, i am not supplying the weapons used to deal with rafah, to deal with that problem. we will continue to make sure israel is secure in terms of iron dome and their military response to attacks that came out in the middle east recently. for more on that, our north america correspondent will vernon sent this update from washington. president biden said america would continue to give israel the weapons it needs to defend else, but he said the us wouldn't supply heavy weapons, bombs, artillery shells that could be used in a major assault on the city of rafah. and mr biden said it is these us supplied weapons that have already killed civilians in gaza stop human rights groups say these munitions are responsible for the utter devastation in gaza. now,

earlier we heard from us officials who confirmed that one shipment of heavy bombs was delayed last week and that other shipments were under review, and that was a hugely significant announcement. a historic step not for a0 years as the us held up any arms deliveries to israel for this kind of reason. the israeli government said that it was very disappointed. now, the us of course is israel's biggest supplier of military equipment. its most important ally. and mr biden has already come under criticism from republicans in congress for example who say he is abandoning a key us ally. but i think mr biden is hoping that by making this move, there have been many months of expressions of deep concern from president biden, from other officials as well about the conduct of the war in gaza, about the plans for rafah, those warnings have been more or less ignored by the israelis

who said they are going to go into rafah regardless. so i think mr biden is hoping that this will send a clear message, sufficiently clear to the israelis that they must change course. for more on that, we are joined now by benjamin radd. he is an expert of government and politics in the middle east, and research fellow with the ucla center for middle east development. good to see you again. give us your take on this statement from the president and its impact. it from the president and its im act. . , , from the president and its imact. , ,, impact. it has been consistent with biden's — impact. it has been consistent with biden's message - impact. it has been consistent with biden's message in - impact. it has been consistent with biden's message in the l with biden�*s message in the recent weeks about pressuring the israelis to minimise civilian casualties, not use the most devastating weapons in highly populated areas. in an interview president biden gave earlier today in wisconsin, he did differentiate between israeli operations in urban centres, population centres in rafah versus the periphery, outside the civilian population areas. so he is giving a little

bit of a grey area to allow for some operations, but nothing that would put a lot of civilians in harm's way. who is he considering _ civilians in harm's way. who is he considering most _ civilians in harm's way. who is he considering most with - civilians in harm's way. who is he considering most with this| he considering most with this latest move, his audience in the united states, or benjamin netanyahu, the israeli government?- netanyahu, the israeli government? netanyahu, the israeli covernment? �* . government? again, given the statement _ government? again, given the statement today _ government? again, given the statement today came - government? again, given the statement today came at - government? again, given the statement today came at a - statement today came at a campaign stop where he gave a speech, there is definitely not to his domestic constituency here in the united states. the pressure he is fielding from many in his political party as indicated by the weeks of campus protest and destruction that we have been witnessing here, so absolutely it is playing a factor into his calculations. also at the same time to rein in netanyahu and understand there is tremendous international pressure on the israeli prime minister as well. and no reaction from israel to the specific comment from the president? what do you think it will be when it comes, and what impact will this have on israel us relations going forward? it

will definitely impact president biden�*s relationship with netanyahu and his current cabinet, and i anticipate the israeli reaction will demonstrate it is limiting the ability to conduct operations. the argument being this provides them with greater leverage from the perspective of hamas, why would it need to make further concessions or negotiate further when simply by stalling, holding out from international pressure and pressure from the us will come to bear on israel with the threat of arms being withheld as well. absolutely, it weakens israel's ability to conduct what it needs to in rafah and also with regards to negotiating for a hostage release. ~ ., negotiating for a hostage release. ~ . ., ~ negotiating for a hostage release. ~ . . ~ ., release. we have talked to you at various _ release. we have talked to you at various points _ release. we have talked to you at various points during - release. we have talked to you at various points during this . at various points during this war that has been going on between hamas and israel, so where are you at in your thinking about the hope for a resolution to this, to perhaps a ceasefire in the near future? yes, i think the sticking point in the last few days, it seemed like a deal was imminent, and

ultimately i think what happened was the number of hostages to be released that israel agreed to ended up being less than what it was going to receive. i think hamas indicated that fewer than a0 hostages are alive that meet the criteria that were agreed upon. i believe that had to be elderly, those who are sick and women as well. so the question really remains, does hamas have the number of hostages it is believed it is holding, are they alive, what is their status, their condition? that makes it really difficult to negotiate when it is hard to see if there is good faith on the other side with regards to the other side with regards to the condition of the hostages being capped. so i think that ended up being the sticking point. untilwe ended up being the sticking point. until we know really what the situation of the hostages are from netanyahu's perspective, there is little to negotiate by the pressure is also feeling within israel the domestic population that is very much in favour of putting the hostage release first before decimating hamas's

leadership structure.- leadership structure. once auain, leadership structure. once again, thank _ leadership structure. once again, thank you - leadership structure. once again, thank you for - leadership structure. once again, thank you for your i leadership structure. once - again, thank you for your time and your thoughts on where we are at with regards to this conflict. these are live pictures we are receiving now. this is the gaza border with israel, southern gaza, as you can see once again, plumes of smoke in the sky. a very similar picture to what we saw yesterday with operations in rafah under way. the humanitarian situation on the ground is already dire and getting worse, an investigation by bbc verify has sound over half of gaza's water and sanitation facilities have now been damaged or destroyed since the beginning of the war. here's caroline hawley. water in gaza is in dangerously short supply, posing serious health risks to the population. bbc verify has analysed more than 600 water and sanitation facilities. here, the dots represent a mixture of water wells, tanks, desalination and sewage treatment plants.

the red dots are all those that have been destroyed or damaged. that's more than 300 facilities across the gaza strip. gaza used to have six functioning waste water treatment plants, which are crucial to preventing the build—up of sewage and the spread of disease. this was one of them. here it was, before october 7... ..and now after. three others are also damaged or destroyed and we've been told the remaining two are out of action largely because of a lack of fuel. now, to compound the problem, officials in gaza say they are struggling to repair damaged infrastructure after an attack on a key warehouse where fuel and spare parts were stored. this shows the warehouse before... ..and after it was struck at the end of january. the idf said that it was targeting hamas fighters nearby. it's accused the group of storing weapons and ammunition inside civilian structures, including in and near waterfacilities. all of this has had a

very direct human consequence. the world health organization says that the average person needs 15 litres of water each day for drinking, washing and cooking, but most people in gaza are getting just a fraction of that. and that scarcity of water and untreated sewage are causing dehydration and disease. so, we are seeing death coming from the outbreaks of disease in the highly vulnerable and the small children, in the elderly and in the pregnant women. hepatitis in pregnant women is very, very dangerous. this is killing people. people in gaza have told us that they are queueing for hours to access drinking water. others are drinking dirty water. aid agencies want to truck in more water, but say they can't because of limited access to fuel. and this isn'tjust an acute problem now exacerbated by the current israeli operation in rafah, gaza's infrastructure will take years, decades to rebuild. you can see our full analysis

on the bbc news website. you can indeed. with me is said shehata from bbc arabic. let's start with what has been going on overnight on the ground in rafah. what are you hearing? ground in rafah. what are you hearin: ? , u, hearing? they call it the limited operation - hearing? they call it the limited operation that i hearing? they call it the limited operation that isj limited operation that is ongoing, since monday night, there is a real attack, tank attacks and people are inferior. some people living in rafah, inaudible some people said not yet. so there is the fear and scared people there, fear and scared people there, fear of the imminent ground invasion. israel said it is still a limited operation but the ground is like in the plans of mr netanyahu and his government. and some people are killed and there isjihad movement in gaza, israeli

troops and some soldiers, israel and some other organisation inside gaza, some people were killed and injured through these attacks since monday night. also, controlling the crossing of rafah from the gaza side is affecting the age, because the crossing was closed. israel said it was open again but still there is no more imports of aid going through there and the situation is very bad there inside. what's the latest with the negotiations? the latest is the american head of the cia went to egypt after a talk with israeli officials, but still there is no sign of any progress because one of the hamas leader said the is israelis use the ceasefire talks in order to attack rafah on the ground. there is

suspicion between both of them, israeli officials saying the hamas proposal is not close to the israeli requirement, so the gap is still huge, and there is no sign of progress to bring them together and avoid any invasion of rafah. mil them together and avoid any invasion of rafah.— invasion of rafah. all right, thank you _ invasion of rafah. all right, thank you very _ invasion of rafah. all right, thank you very much. - invasion of rafah. all right, thank you very much. let's| invasion of rafah. all right, - thank you very much. let's look at other stories. china's president xijinping is in hungary where he's expected to announce further economic cooperation. hungary provides an important gateway for beijing into the big eu automobile markets. from budapest, our central europe correspondent nick thorpe has the latest. here then in hungary, the third and final leg of his three—nation visit to europe, the chinese president will be hoping to drive home some of his main messages. notjust to hungary, but to the people of europe. don't be afraid of doing business, of trade with china. it is to our mutual benefit.

there will be none of the criticism we've heard, for example, from the european commission president ursula von der leyen orfrom the french president, president macron, the hungarian prime minister has been seeking chinese investment with open arms. he has reaped some of the benefits of that. in hungary, —— two chinese car factories were already planned in hungary, and several chinese electric vehicles battery and battery component factories already built or planned. some of the astonishing 36 factories, many of them chinese, associated with this green energy with battery production already planned orfunctioning here in hungary. so, none of the criticism from elsewhere, a very warm welcome here and hungary's chance, viktor 0rban, the prime minister's chance to show the world and the rest of europe the fruits of cultivating a close friendship with china. let's get some of the day's other news now.

three men in greater manchester have been arrested on suspicion of planning terrorism offences. 0fficers carried out raids across bolton and wigan. the men, aged 35, 36 and 51, are in custody and are being questioned by detectives. the arrests were part of an ongoing investigation. the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has been criticised by some of his mps for allowing natalie elphicke to defect from the conservatives to his party. the mp for dover says rishi sunak has failed on his pledge to stop the boats, but had previously accused labour of having no plan to deal with illegal immigration. a court in mexico has ruled that there are grounds to prosecute a man accused of murdering three foreign surfers. the decision to prosecute jesus gerard comes after a hearing held for him in ensenada, baja california where the victims�* bodies were found last friday. australian brothers callum and jake robinson and their american friend jack carter had been on holiday when they were killed.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

dozens of people remain trapped beneath a building that collapsed in the south african city of george. emergency services have been in contact with some of those buried beneath the rubble, leaving relatives waiting anxiously for news. shingai nyoka sent this report. three days into this rescue mission and hopes of finding survivors is fading. among those who are missing, 29—year—old kelvin cyphers. we first met his father at the scene, clinging to hope. i believe my son will come out of there alive. i believe because since yesterday every now and

then he sent me messages. in his final message, he sounded increasingly desperate. his girlfriend, nicole, also sent him this photo of the two—year—old son to help him stay positive. then rescuers heard a sound.— heard a sound. stop! applause _ applause . as night fell, three people were pulled from the rubble. he later learned one of them was delving. later learned one of them was delvinu. ~ . , later learned one of them was delvina.~ . , ., , _ delving. we are very happy. a smile on _ delving. we are very happy. a smile on his _ delving. we are very happy. a smile on his face, _ delving. we are very happy. a smile on his face, and - delving. we are very happy. a smile on his face, and when l delving. we are very happy. a smile on his face, and when i | smile on his face, and when i saw him walk, it was one of my greatest moments. figs saw him walk, it was one of my greatest moments.— greatest moments. as hopes dwindle for — greatest moments. as hopes dwindle for those _

greatest moments. as hopes dwindle for those still - dwindle for those still missing, delving is likely one of the last survivors. the second semifinal of the eurovision song contest is taking place tonight amidst a big increase in security. officers from denmark and norway have been drafted in to help sweden police the event. 0rganisers are expecting protests about israel's participation in the event at a time when many are critical of its actions in the conflict in gaza. david sillito reports. eurovision 202a and fans are here in force, but there is also a very visible police presence. it also a very visible police presence-— presence. it is a bit of a mixed vibe _ presence. it is a bit of a mixed vibe because - presence. it is a bit of a - mixed vibe because obviously there is a high security presence, you are aware that there are sometimes more police. there are sometimes more olice. ~ , . .,~ ., police. with israel taking to the stage — police. with israel taking to the stage tonight, - police. with israel taking to l the stage tonight, organisers are being extra vigilant. this was the reaction to the

rehearsal from this was the reaction to the rehearsalfrom parts this was the reaction to the rehearsal from parts of the eurovision audience. there has also been pressure on the performers to boycott the event and police expect in protest. we are expecting some demonstrations of course, and the voicing of opinions and the writer demonstrated highly protected in the swedish constitution. so it has been a part of our planning since the beginning. but part of our planning since the beginning-— beginning. but on or if is bein: beginning. but on or if is being made _ beginning. but on or if is being made to _ beginning. but on or if is being made to keep - beginning. but on or if is being made to keep the | beginning. but on or if is - being made to keep the event free of politics. 0ne being made to keep the event free of politics. one was told to remove somebody writing with the word ceasefire. 0utside, the word ceasefire. outside, there is not the same atmosphere of previous years. there is definitely a wariness this year. last year in liverpool you would say performers out and about the crowds, mingling. not this year. they are staying indoors as much as possible. when they do go into the arena, it is under police export. there is

still plenty of the eurovision spirit. an open mix ofjoyful. but for an event that tries to avoid logics, this is a testing ointment. david sillito, bbc news, malmo. when people think of great british cinema from the past, more often than not, titles like lawrence of arabia, chariots of fire and trainspotting come to mind. all great films, but as champions of black british cinema like to point out, they are all made by white men with white protagonists. now, black film classics from an almost forgotten era in british cinema are gaining currency in both the uk and us, as tom brook reports. black british cinema from decades passed is gaining new currency. a restored version of the landmark 1976 picture pressure, the first film was recently rereleased in uk cinemas are now some 17 black

british films are being shown at the brooklyn academy of music, a major new york cultural institution. among them is babylon from 1980, and centre at the time because it was feared it would incite racial tensions. was feared it would incite racialtensions. it was feared it would incite racial tensions. it had a reggae soundtrack as it followed a young dj confronting terrorism with the police. another film terrorism with the police. anotherfilm in terrorism with the police. another film in the series is burning an illusion, made in 1982. a time capsule of london at the time involving a young woman and her political awakening. it is also a love story. i awakening. it is also a love sto . . ., ., , awakening. it is also a love sto. .. story. i had a really nice time. wan— story. i had a really nice time. will there - story. i had a really nice time. will there be - story. i had a really nice| time. will there be more story. i had a really nice - time. will there be more after? i don't know — time. will there be more after? i don't know. this _ time. will there be more after? i don't know. this programme l time. will there be more after? | i don't know. this programme of black british — i don't know. this programme of black british cinema _ i don't know. this programme of black british cinema has - i don't know. this programme of black british cinema has been i black british cinema has been put together by ashley clark. applause. put together by ashley clark. applause-— put together by ashley clark. applause. ., ~ ., , applause. taken together, these films can test _

applause. taken together, these films can test official— films can test official narratives of written and they are made and feature the children of empire in many ways, but these are filmmakers and actors wanting to question the empire and actually question the official histories that are made by britain. and i think that is something that is really exciting. there is a place that film celebrate english heritage and british heritage but these are a kind of challenge and that is what i find so exciting about these films. and what makes them so relevant today. it was ultimately aligns racism hasn't been solved, these films will been solved, these films will be timely. been solved, these films will be timely-— be timely. black food or else ou end be timely. black food or else you end up _ be timely. black food or else you end up looking _ be timely. black food or else you end up looking like - be timely. black food or else l you end up looking like them. to this — you end up looking like them. to this month, the celebrated pressure made by horace over who died last year will be shown in a separate presentation. this film focuses on three generations of a london family and how they relate to their black identity in the 1970s.— relate to their black identity in the 1970s. ., ., ., , ., in the 1970s. how long have you been in this _ in the 1970s. how long have you been in this country? _ in the 1970s. how long have you been in this country? i - in the 1970s. how long have you been in this country? i was - been in this country? i was born here- _ been in this country? i was born here. the _ been in this country? i was born here. the chief-

been in this country? i was - born here. the chief character, son of immigrants _ born here. the chief character, son of immigrants from - born here. the chief character, son of immigrants from the - son of immigrants from the caribbean, doesn't he belongs. he works as an editor can understand the alienation. that moment where _ understand the alienation. that moment where he _ understand the alienation. that moment where he is _ understand the alienation. t'isgt moment where he is walking along the canal, it is really a depiction of a sense of isolation that he feels but i think a lot of people felt in being rejected by what you think of as your home, but you are also not fully connected to the place that people are telling you that you are from. and i think it really comes through in that sequence, the visuals, sounds, everything culminates in the true feeling of isolation, and that is what is really important about having a black filmmaker make that film because he can really give you that perspective. the black british _ give you that perspective. the black british films that are being shown here were made a while ago in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, that doesn't mean that they are inert period movies. quite the contrary. many of

them have contemporary relevance and somebody is a great degree of vibrancy, particularly in the use of music in their storytelling. music is extremely important in this series. there are films about reggae and the emergence of reggae and having come from jamaica and becoming very important cultural and spiritual and social force in the uk. , , , . the uk. film series such as black written _ the uk. film series such as black written on _ the uk. film series such as black written on film - the uk. film series such as black written on film are i black written on film are having to redefine what constitutes british cinema around the world and few would argue that some of these black films, especially the new restored pressure certainly deserve a base in the pantheon of great cinema. tom brook, bbc news, new york. before we move on to business... here are some rare pictures from chile — it's an almost winter wonderland in the capital, santiago. drones captured santiago's metropolitan area after an unusual autumn snowfall. more that 200,000 people have been affected by power outages.

snow is rare for the city due to its dry temperate climate with mild winters. iam sure i am sure it brought a lot of excitement and disruption. see you when a moment. —— in a moment. hello. we've got a long—awaited spell of dry and sunny weather for many of us over the next few days. not quite dry everywhere. a bit of rain around across the far north of scotland. and we'll also see some misty, murky patches during the mornings. they could be a little bit slow to clear. so, not wall—to—wall blue skies for the next few days, but high pressure is bringing a lot of dry, settled weather, with light winds, too. now, we're likely to start thursday morning with that patchy rain in the far northwest, but further south, i think some mist and some fog patches around here and there, particularly so for parts of the southwest of england and wales. could be some mistiness creeping in to east anglia. around some of these irish sea coasts, the isle of man, towards cumbria, some of that fog could be quite slow to clear. for scotland, there'll be some brighter spells across eastern areas —

like aberdeenshire, for instance — but there'll be more cloud and outbreaks of rain moving in across the western isles, parts of highland too. that rain looks like it eases away, pushes a little bit further northward. so for much of the uk, dry with sunny spells, and that's going to lift those temperatures to somewhere between around 19—22 degrees for many of us. just a little bit cooler across the north of scotland. now, through thursday evening, overnight into friday, we've got some more rain that'll push across parts of highland. elsewhere, dry once again, relatively mild temperatures — in double figures for many of us. but, again, i think friday morning could see a few misty patches that will gradually clear away. so, friday itself, i think longer spells of sunshine on offer, light winds and those temperatures probably up a degree or so. so, more widely, we're looking at temperatures in the low 20s, possibly the mid—20s in the south. still a little cooler than that for stornoway and lerwick, for instance. into the weekend, high pressure still close, but it slips away towards the east, and that will just open the doors for areas of low pressure to try and move in from the west. but i think saturday itself, a good deal of dry weather.

cloud will tend to bubble up through the day, and that could just spark off one or two showers, perhaps northern england, southern scotland, but they'll be hit and miss. temperatures are again up in the mid 20s — could see 2a in one or two places. similar start to the day on sunday, but you'll notice these showers trying to push in towards the west. they could be quite slow—moving, potentially heavy and thundery in places. where it does stay dry, probably towards the south and southeast, we could well see temperatures again in the mid—20s, but then it looks like the showers will dominate as we head into next week. so, more unsettled weather on the cards for the start of next week. still a little bit warmer than average, but not as warm as the next few days.

more boeing safety claims. a former quality inspector at the company's biggest supplier spills the beans to the bbc. profits from frozen russian central bank assets held in europe will be steered into a military fund for ukraine that's been agreed by eu ambassadors. it's interest rate setting day for the bank of england. the cost of borrowing is expected to stay unchanged but for how long? chainsaw howls. and unions have called fresh strikes in argentina to protest president milei's so—called

"chainsaw economics". live from london this is business today, i'm sally bundock. a former employee of boeing's biggest supplier has claimed that sections of 737 max aircraft regularly left its factory with serious defects. spirit aerosystems builds fuselages for the 737 max, which are then shipped to boeing's own plant for final assembly. speaking publicly for the first time, former quality inspector santiago paredes told the bbc that some managers actively tried to discourage him from flagging up flaws in half—finished planes. 0ur reporter theo leggett asked him just how many problems he would typically find on aircraft reaching the end of the production line: anywhere from 50 to 100, 200. you were regularly finding more than 100 faults on a plane

that was being shipped? oh, yeah.