joe biden and benjamin netanyahu speak about the ongoing war in gaza — and say there are plans to open new aid delivery routes starting this week. ukraine's commander—in—chief says the situation on the frontline �*has worsened' after rounds of russian attacks. and uk's rwanda policy enters its final phase. and that asylum seekers ready for deportation would begin later today. and what the uk can learn from australia off off shoring asylum and speak to a man who spent six years in the papua new guinea processing centre. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it's newsday. welcome to bbc news,

broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we start in the us and the white house has confirmed that president biden has spoken to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu about the situation in gaza. in a statement, the white house said that the president reaffirmed his ironclad commitment to israel's security. it referenced what it said was a �*successful defence house against iran's unprecedented missile and drone attack earlier this month. the two leaders reviewed ongoing talks to secure the release of hostages together with an immediate ceasefire in gaza. and they also discussed increases in the delivery of humanitarian assistance into gaza — through preparations to open new northern crossings, starting this week. the statement concludes that �*the leaders discussed rafah — and the president reiterated his clear position�* — although it didn't give details of what that is. in the last few hours it's also been announced that us secretary of state, antony blinken will visit jordan and israel after a stop at the world economic forum summit in riyadh. our north america correspondent will vernon is in washington

with more details on the biden—netanyahu call. 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. those talks have stalled in recent weeks. they also discussed increased access for humanitarian aid into gaza.

we know this is something that the americans are very frustrated with. president biden has spoken about this many, many times before. there was that tense phone call, another one three weeks ago betweenjoe biden and benjamin netanyahu in which the us president essentially gave his israeli counterpart an ultimatum — take concrete steps to improve the humanitarian situation in gaza and let more humanitarian assistance in, otherwise us policy over the war could change. now, since then, we know the israelis have increased the amount of assistance going in but aid agencies say that's still not enough. as the diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire continue, the united nations is warning of looming famine in northern gaza, where it says 70% of the population is facing �*catastrophic hunger�*. on sunday israel�*s military said the amount of aid going into the territory will be scaled up in the coming days, and that the issue

is a top priority. the bbc isn�*t allowed to report from inside gaza — but bbc news has obtained exclusive access to footage filmed by an american doctor recently returned from northern gaza, where the crisis is most acute. fergal keane sent this report — and a warning, 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. you can�*t forget 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 at 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 mom, 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.

staying with gaza. the aid organisation, world central kitchen, which provides meals for hundreds of thousands of people in gaza — has announced that it will resume operations there. it suspended its work after seven of its workers were killed in israeli air strikes, at the start of this month. world central kitchen says it has 276 trucks, with the equivalent of almost eight million meals, ready to enter through the rafah crossing. they will also send trucks from jordan, and are exploring the maritime corridor — as well as adding a third high production kitchen. the organisation�*s ceo, erin gore, says that they have no concrete assurances about the safety of their staff, but had to make a choice: to either stop feeding people during one of the worst hunger crises ever, or continue, knowing that aid workers and civilians are being intimidated and killed. ms gore signs off by saying — "we must continue our mission".

as the war continues, so too does pro— palestinian protests and encampments on college protests —— campuses. they have demands ranging from a ceasefire in the war in gaza are to universities endings investments in israeli enterprises into the military. several schools have called on the police to remove demonstrators. on saturday, more than 275 people were taken into custody on campuses from arizona to massachusetts however, their solidarity is being felt in rafa were displaced gazans can be seen writing gratitude messages on their tents for student protesters. away from the middle east and to the ukraine. ukraine�*s commander—in—chief says the situation on the frontline there has worsened in the face of multiple russian attacks. oleksandr syrskyi confirmed that ukrainian forces had withdrawn from positions close to the town of pokrovsk

in the eastern donetsk region, where there has been fierce fighting. he also said russia had what he called �*partial successes�* near kupyansk, but said ukrainian forces had stopped their advance. russia is trying to take advantage of its current superiority in manpower and artillery before ukrainian forces get much—needed supplies of us weapons. meanwhile, ukrainian military intelligence has released a video it says is of a drone strike on an advanced russian radar station. the radar is reported to be able to detect targets up to 300km away. our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse sent us this update 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 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. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

let�*s take a look at some of the stories in the headlines in the uk. the home office says it�*s entering the final phase of putting its rwanda policy into practice. a report in the guardian newspaper suggests the detention of asylum seekers — ready for deportation — would begin on monday. a home office spokesperson said at some stage people would inevitably start being detained in preparation for the first flight, which is due to take off in 10—12 weeks. it comes as a result of decisions being made after people risking their lives.

there are currently 52,000 people who could be considered. £240 million has already paid, been paid by the uk to rwanda and the cost is expected to be at least £370 million over five years. the scheme follows a similar model to australia�*s stop the boats policy in which asylum seekers were processed offshore in now roo and papua new guinea over two decades was that policy sparked legal challenges and condemnations from human rights bodies but the australian government maintains it was successful in deterring people from reaching the nation does �*s shores. the camp in papua new guinea was closed in 2017 but dozens of people remain on now roo. the british government even asked the former australian foreign minister, an architect of the policy, to help oversee the plan to help send migrants to rwanda. how successful was canberra�*s policy and what was the cost? today i�*m joined by someone who is affected by it personally. writer behrouz

boochani who was held for six years in papua new guinea and now lives in new zealand. thank you so much forjoining me today. could you start by telling us about your experience and what lessons do you think might apply to the uk's you think might apply to the uk�*s rwanda policy? you think might apply to the uk's rwanda policy?- you think might apply to the uk's rwanda policy? thank you very much _ uk's rwanda policy? thank you very much for— uk's rwanda policy? thank you very much for having _ uk's rwanda policy? thank you very much for having me. - uk's rwanda policy? thank you very much for having me. first| very much for having me. first of all i should mention that in the report you say that the manus prison clamp was closed in 2017 but actually it was closed in 2019. but generally, i think the history of australia detention system and the policy on manus island was clear, it has been recorded by human rights organisations, it is recorded byjournalists and people who have been writing to expose that system and definitely the uk and people in

the uk can learn a lot from what australia has done. i think the biggest lesson that people in the uk can learn is that in any way that you do this policy, definitely it will end up in tragedy because we know in australia that they create the tragedy and hundreds of people, thousands of people, have been damaged mentally and physically so there is no way to do this policy, what the government said in a human way. it is impossible and definitely that will end up in tragedy. so that will end up in tragedy. so that will end up in tragedy. so that will stay in your history and so the government cannot get away with that. you and so the government cannot get away with that.— get away with that. you are held for six _ get away with that. you are held for six years. - get away with that. you are held for six years. can - get away with that. you are held for six years. can you | held for six years. can you tell us a little bit about the experiences you went through?

the biggest challenge for refugees being banished is the banishment itself, the banishment, when you as a person seek a silent banish you, think the i think is a deep violence and, you know, i was there for six years and later when i left manus, still i have problem with that. still i have problem with that. still i cannot accept that australian government banished me and i lost six years of my life in that prison camp. but of course the circumstances, the place that they keep people there. i call it the systematic torture. you know, like, 15 people killed under that system and

manus island and nauru and generally, 45 people in australia detention system over the past decade. so i think that it the past decade. so i think thatitis the past decade. so i think that it is recorded, you know? people who want to know about this, who want to know about, understand this system, how it is brutal, can definitely go and find something on the internet and many people have been working to expose this system. been working to expose this s stem. �* ., been working to expose this s stem. �* . �* ., system. and and behrouz, tell us a bit about _ system. and and behrouz, tell us a bit about your _ system. and and behrouz, tell us a bit about your life - system. and and behrouz, tell us a bit about your life now. i l us a bit about your life now. i don't think my life is don�*t think my life is important in this context but i am in new zealand and i live in wellington. so i�*m just doing my work, writing and doing advocacy and soon i will visit europe for a conference in a university which is about camp

studies. but really, what is really important, how australia has become an example in the world. how australia has been active to introduce this policy, this brutal policy to other countries such as the uk and that is really painful that i as a person who have been through this system and experience the brutality of that system, i see that now australia, what has happened for us as a refugee is going to happen for other refugees and thatis happen for other refugees and that is quite scary that this system has become an example to other countries.— other countries. behrouz, the uk government _ other countries. behrouz, the uk government presents - other countries. behrouz, the uk government presents this | other countries. behrouz, the l uk government presents this in a way of, in part as a way of saving lives. you have seen the dangers of small boat channel crossings with people drowning of overcrowded, on overcrowded

boats. the australian government says the policy is a saving lives. what do you make of that claim?— of that claim? you know, this is a really _ of that claim? you know, this is a really unacceptable - is a really unacceptable because you know, australia says that but actually — i mentioned before, 15 people killed in the detention system in manus island, nauru, and 45 people generally in total, and many people have been damaged, physically, many families have been separated, so you cannot really justify this tragedy. you cannot reallyjustify a violation of human rights in this way that we saved lives. it is just ridiculous, you know? because we know what is happened and — but, ijust wanted to say something about how this policy is not only

about refugees. of course the refugees are the first victim under this policy, but actually, that impact on political culture, you know, that has happened in australia. that became like a wave of politicians in as a way for politicians in as a way for politicians in as a way for politicians in australia to use refugees close to the election, use the refugees to manipulate the public and i think that is really important.— the public and i think that is really important. behrouz, that is very important _ really important. behrouz, that is very important and _ really important. behrouz, that is very important and that - really important. behrouz, that is very important and that is i is very important and that is something we will be picking up with more on tomorrow. behrouz boochani who was held in papua new guinea in australia�*s of —— offshore detention stood for six years. as mentioned, we will be bringing you more on this tomorrow about lessons for the uk�*s rwanda policy when we speak to australia�*s foreign minister alexander downer, and architect of australia�*s model who has been overseeing the uk's who has been overseeing the uk�*s offshore processing

scheme. in other news, a wave of australia women being killed by men, has better ways of protest. thousands of people call the action on gender—based violence. the australian government said on average a woman is killed by a man every four days. anthony albanese, the prime minister, dick declared that issue a national crisis at a rally. i declared that issue a national crisis at a rally.— crisis at a rally. i know, i know. — crisis at a rally. i know, i know. and _ crisis at a rally. i know, i know, and that - crisis at a rally. i know, i know, and that is - crisis at a rally. i know, i know, and that is why i l crisis at a rally. i know, i. know, and that is why i am here. i am know, and that is why i am here. iam here. i know that know, and that is why i am here. i am here. i know that we must do better that i know this as well. that i�*ve got to be honest — it is notjust government�*s problem it is a problem of our entire society. cheering and applause. the prime minister�*s commentate —— comments was not celebrated by all. . , �* , , .,

all. he wasn't invisible to women — all. he wasn't invisible to women today, _ all. he wasn't invisible to women today, he - all. he wasn't invisible to women today, he was - all. he wasn't invisible to i women today, he was upset all. he wasn't invisible to - women today, he was upset that it was hit called out that he didn�*t want to make change and he decided to pretty much come up he decided to pretty much come up and ask to speak. in revenues, officials in kenya have warned even heavier rainfall as downfalls that are 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 are also fears that five key dams on the tana river, can you�*s loud —— longest, could overflow with people being urged to move to higher ground. these pictures coming southeast of nairobi. so far have any six people have died there with a further 130,000 displaced. meanwhile in tanzania, floodwaters have engulfed houses in the capital and displaced more than 200,000 throughout the country. tanzania�*s prime minister has

blamed environmental degradation the severity of the damage. tornadoes have left a trail of destruction in the us state of oklahoma, killing at least four people. cleanup operations have been taking place in the town of sulphur which was badly damaged. it flattens buildings and tourist rooms —— groups. oklahoma�*s governor kevin stitt has declared a state of emergency. now, before we go, if you are headed to japan soon, you might be in for a treat, or a rude shock, depending on whether you are a fan of godzilla. 100 metre tall godzilla will be projected onto buildings in the area and it will be run, be making three appearances a day, on weekends and national holidays until may. something to look out for if you are heading that way. in the meantime, thanks forjoining me here on newsday, goodbye.

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 14. 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 we�*ll find out how a big us firm is coping with the challenges of doing business in the world�*s second largest economy. hello and welcome to asia business report. i�*m steve lai. tesla�*s chief executive elon musk says he hopes to have more win—win results with china. the comments came after he made an unannounced visit to the country when he has met the chinese premier. mr musk is expected to make a case for the enabling of a self—driving feature on its cars. he cancelled a troop to india earlier this month, citing heavy obligations. our business reporter david waddell has more. here�*s mr musk�*s challenge. he�*s trying to sell tesla�*s full self—driving software to more users, to more drivers.

that�*s the software that enables vehicles to drive