threatens the former president with jail if he continues to violate a gag order. hello, i'm lucy grey, welcome to verified live, the prospect of an israeli incursion into rafah has caused international alarm. the un agency for palestinian refugees said the consequences would be devastating for more than a million people. the eu's top diplomatjosep borrell called the evacuation order unacceptable, and said the international community must act to prevent a ground offensive. president biden has phoned prime minister netanyahu about rafah; he has repeatedly warned israel against an invasion. around 100,000 people in areas closest to the israeli border are being urged to move to what the israeli military calls expanded humanitarian zones in the al—mawasi

and khan younis areas. it says tents, food, water, and medication will be available. the israeli defence minister yoav gallant said military action against hamas in rafah is needed because of the group's refusal to negotiate the release of israeli hostages. a hamas official has described the move as a "dangerous escalation". jordan said what it called another massacre of palestinians was in the making. egypt has urged israel to exercise maximum restraint. jan egeland, secretary general of the norwegian refugee council, told us more about the situation in rafah. the fear is all over rafah now, because the idf has given us a map with eight sectors that are red and people are forced to leave them. it's a forced relocation, which is a violation of international law, because there is no safe place to go, there is no aid

for them ready there. there is no shelter and there is no return guaranteed for the people. so we are appealing for them to not invade rafah. it's the largest cluster of displacement camps on earth. the border crossings have now been closed. the whole lifeline to the civilian population will falter within days because we will have no new supplies. we will not have fuel for the aid workers. it would be a catastrophe, a bloodbath, if there was a war ploughing through rafah. so, hamas and israel has to agree on a deal that can end this madness and we can get a ceasefire. on a deal that can end this madness earlier i spoke to daniel levy, the president of the us/middle east project and former israeli peace negotiator. i asked him what he thought

benjamin netanyahu's endgame was: i think it is really hard to speak in terms of endgame, because the preponderance of analysis and opinion which i would align with is that netanyahu wants this to be a long war. people have talked in terms of the forever war. netanyahu is not looking forward to the morning after, not politically, not in terms of the investigations, not in terms of where the focus of attention inside israel would go. and also, when we think that term, endgame, it implies that after the military side, there something political. now, we know historically, consistently, netanyahu rejects anything that is even in the zone of a political outcome that accepts the palestinians have rights, that something can be done in terms of de—occupation. so those are the terms

netanyahu is thinking on. i think it would be more correct to say he is navigating, he is manoeuvring, is trying to make sure he has options and he's always tried to make sure that the continuation of war is one of those options, which is why... to scotland now, and the governing scottish national party has appointed the veteran politician john swinney as its new leader. mr swinney led the snp from 2000 to 2004 when the nationalists were in opposition. he will now face a vote in the scottish parliament later this week. here's a little of what he had to say at his news conference. as first minister, my focus will be the economy, jobs, the cost of living. it will be the national health service, our schools and our public services. it will be addressing the climate crisis. so, to everyone in every party, to every msp, to every mp, in fact,

to everyone in our great country, i say this — join me. don't let our disagreements dominate. join me as we open a new chapter, as we create a vibrant economy in every part of our country. as we tackle the challenges faced by the nhs, as we build on the strengths in our schools, as we build more homes, take climate action, improve public transport and create jobs. that's my job. that's ourjob. and i plan to get thejob done. more understory on the bbc news website, and we are hoping to speak to a professor of political science it is later, but we can't quite establish a line we were. hold on, i think i'm being told we can. let's speak to ailsa henderson —

professor of political science at the university of edinburgh — who also runs the scottish election study. we have got you. hello, thank you for coming in the programme. tell me what your views are, john swinney saying he's hoping to be able to unite his party, the snp, do you think you can do that?— unite his party, the snp, do you think you can do that? i don't know. he is certainly _ think you can do that? i don't know. he is certainly identified _ think you can do that? i don't know. he is certainly identified the - he is certainly identified the correct challenge, because picking up correct challenge, because picking up in the opinion polling, the electorate is viewing the snp as a party that is divided, not halved by the leadership contest when nicola sturgeon resigned, when it was clear there was divisions within the party on a range of policy areas to stop so he identify the correct challenge, whether he's up to the task, we will wait and see what the electorate says in the coming weeks and months. in electorate says in the coming weeks and month-—

electorate says in the coming weeks and months. in terms of challenges, one of the main _ and months. in terms of challenges, one of the main ones _ and months. in terms of challenges, one of the main ones is _ and months. in terms of challenges, one of the main ones is the - and months. in terms of challenges, one of the main ones is the threat i one of the main ones is the threat from the labour party when it comes to the upcoming general election. how are things on that front? do you do projections about seeds that may be gained and the like? there do projections about seeds that may be gained and the like?— be gained and the like? there are a series of different _ be gained and the like? there are a series of different ways we - be gained and the like? there are a series of different ways we can - be gained and the like? there are a series of different ways we can do | series of different ways we can do it but if we look at the average of polls right before the last election in 2019, and we look at the state of the polls now, it is clear there has been a significant change in fortune, so we would be expecting the snp to pick up a number of seeds. we would expect them to go from one at the moment to 16, 220, based on the way we do our calculations, which would see the snp dropped from 48 after the 2019 election, down to anywhere from 28 to 33, with the lib dems hanging on at five and the conservative party down as was a three to four. where

does all of — down as was a three to four. where does all of this _ down as was a three to four. where does all of this lead _ down as was a three to four. where does all of this lead the _ down as was a three to four. where does all of this lead the debate - down as was a three to four. where does all of this lead the debate on | does all of this lead the debate on independence? what is a general mood? are there been any recent modes —— polls asking people what their views are at the moment? we have their views are at the moment? - have loads of recent pose and they all ask about independence, and we see that none of this that is affecting the snp, none of the slow decline in the support from 2021 is having any impact on support for independence. support for independence. support for independence is hovering at about 45%, which is what it got in the 2014 referendum, so we see independent support is very sticky independent support is very sticky in scotland it is hard to knock it off that level, so we are seeing a decoupling in a of support from the snp on the one hand which is radically falling from where it was, and support for independence, which is stubbornly staying put. thank and support for independence, which is stubbornly staying put.— is stubbornly staying put. thank you for talkinu

is stubbornly staying put. thank you for talking through _ is stubbornly staying put. thank you for talking through it, _ is stubbornly staying put. thank you for talking through it, professor - for talking through it, professor ailsa henderson. the judge at donald trump's criminal trial in new york has threatened the former us president with jail for contempt of court. justicejuan merchan said it was the last thing he wanted to do but said mr trump had committed his tenth instance of contempt by making public statements about the jury and how it was selected. thejudge had previously issued a gag order preventing him from speaking about the trial proceedings or about witnesses. live now to new york — and our correspondent nada tawfik. a really strong warning there from thejudge. can you a really strong warning there from the judge. can you talk us through what he said? it the judge. can you talk us through what he said?— the judge. can you talk us through what he said? it was the strongest warnin: what he said? it was the strongest warning yet _ what he said? it was the strongest warning yet from _ what he said? it was the strongest warning yet from justice _ what he said? it was the strongest warning yet from justice juan - warning yet from justice juan merchan, saying that the last thing he wanted to do was send donald trump to jail but it was his job to protect the integrity of the justice system, so he would go there if necessary. he told donald trump that

he understood the implications that would have given he is a presidential candidate, and given that a former president who has a security detail, including the security detail, including the security service —— secret service, so the security challenges that go with that. it is important to know that the judge really signalled that he is trying to be careful with finding a donald trump in contempt of court because while he held him in contempt for the tenth time, he found other alleged violations put forward by the prosecution didn't raise the bar necessary, saying that some of them could potentially be just political responses to other political attacks by his former lawyer, michael going. can political attacks by his former lawyer, michael going. can you talk us throu~h lawyer, michael going. can you talk us through where _ lawyer, michael going. can you talk us through where we _ lawyer, michael going. can you talk us through where we are _ lawyer, michael going. can you talk us through where we are with - lawyer, michael going. can you talk us through where we are with the i us through where we are with the trial at a moment who we have heard from an can expect to hear from? we are on from an can expect to hear from? - are on the tenth witness, jeffrey mccartney, the former controller of the trump organisation, he worked

there for over 35 years. and the point of his testimony is so prosecutors can make the point that documents do not lie the stop in opening statements, they said the trump organisation and donald trump had cooked the books to hide the true nature of the hush money payment to stormy daniels when michael coyne was reimbursed so jeffrey mccartney had been outlining how in a january 2017 meeting with the chief financial officer, he was give a copy of the wire transfer of the money to stormy daniels lawyer and was told to take note on how they would reimburse michael cohen. and he said he never saw the league at returner for and he said he never saw the league at returnerfor michael and he said he never saw the league at returner for michael cohen, something that offence i said was the reason for these reimbursements. so, again some testimony there that helps the prosecution and hurts the defence. ., ~ , ., ., ., , .

defence. thank you, need a topic from new york. _ around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

more about our main story, the threat of an israeli incursion into rafah. that speak no to all our north america correspondent, will vernon. talk us through this phone call. he: read out from the white house short time ago, saying that president biden and benjamin netanyahu discuss holocaust memorial bill today, and they were talked about an effort to secure a hostage deal including in ongoing talks today in delhi.

administration officials have stepped up their diplomatic efforts in recent wheeze —— they ask, to secure that crucial deal to lead to a pause in fighting that could last several weeks, the leader use of several weeks, the leader use of several dozen hostages held by thomas as well as the release of many palestinian prisoners held in is reallyjails. those talks appear to have stalled over the weekend, and that is a blow to president biden. he is under huge pressure in the us from all sides over the war in gaza. there have been pro—palestinian demonstrations on over 130 college campuses, some turning violent, and many within his own party, many traditional democrat voters who are extremely unhappy with the biden administration support for israel. and there are those on the other side, republicans in congress, jewish groups, we see

these demonstrations we have seen on university campuses are anti—semitic and threatening and intimidated to jewish people. we should also mention from the call, is rafah, there is one sentence at the end of there is one sentence at the end of the readout seen the president reiterated his clear position on rafah, president biden himself has shown lots of frustration towards the israelis over the speed of humanitarian aid that is getting into gaza, but also over that crucial question of rafah. the americans have repeatedly said they would not support any israeli military assault on the city without proper planning to protect civilian life. as we know, the israelis have told over 100,000 people in that city that the need to evacuate. the fear is that they are preparing to carry out this assault. and i think if that happens, if there is a major is really assault on the city, it

would be a humidity it's an blow to president biden.— president biden. thank you, will vernon. let's speak to our security correspondent, frank gardner, who is injerusalem. very little detail about what was said there in the readout, just saying that the president spoke about his healing —— feelings on rafah, and presumably the answer from israel is that what is going on at the moment is limited in scope. they have chosen that phrase carefully to try and stay or a middle ground between the hard—line right—wing elements of benjamin netanyahu's coalition, who have been pushing hard for it military operation in rafah, they want to finish off hamas, the people who carried out the is horrific raid into israel on october seven, and on the other hand might the united states and britain and other allies and friends of israel are saying not to do it. we had the us secretary of state antony blinken here if you

physical, and as he was departed, he was active its views on rafah change, and he said they have not, they have not seen a plane from israel to satisfy them regarding safety of civilians. you can make this will rafah question down to three categories, admitted to kurt —— military, politically, and humanitarian, military, israel wants to defeat hamas and release the hostages, those two are mutually incompatible, there will be fighting when they going with hamas, but i'm not sure it will get the hostages out. last time they came out in large numbers was by negotiation. politically, they are steering this middle ground between satisfying the hardliners they are doing something in rafah, but try not to do it so big to upset the united states. the humanitarian aspect is the most wearing of all, is that israel says it affects 100,000 people,

humanitarian aid agencies say it's more like 200,000, and these people have already been displaced from northern gaza in most cases, so they are desperate and exhausted and wary and hungry, and are not sure they are going to a safe place, because frankly, nowhere in the gaza strip is safe. , _, , frankly, nowhere in the gaza strip is safe. , , ., is safe. this comes after we were here in what _ is safe. this comes after we were here in what seemed _ is safe. this comes after we were here in what seemed like - is safe. this comes after we were j here in what seemed like positive noises coming from negotiators involved in all of this, and then things seem to change so quickly. is that domestic politics at play there? ., , ~ ~' ., that domestic politics at play there? . , . ~ ., ., ., there? partly. we kind of monitor this over the _ there? partly. we kind of monitor this over the weekend. _ there? partly. we kind of monitor this over the weekend. it's - there? partly. we kind of monitor this over the weekend. it's the . there? partly. we kind of monitor l this over the weekend. it's the bank hollowed —— it isn't the bank holiday weekend here in israel, and we monitored it as talks fell apart has in cairo, is did not send a delegation, hamas did, they set on with egyptian and qatari mediators

supported by the cia chief, and it looked like they were close to a deal which was, and it still could be on the table and revived, not dead yet, the deal is a 40 day pause in the fighting and in exchange of 33 is really hostages coming out of gaza and large numbers of palestinian prisoners released from is reallyjails. the sticking point is reallyjails. the sticking point is that hamas said they would not sign up to a deal unless it means a final end to the fighting. and israel would not commit to that. and therefore, there was no deal will stop the hamas delegation have left and gone for consultations with their leadership, and it is quite likely the political leadership of hamas was prepared to accept the deal, but the military leader of hamas, hiding somewhere in turn those summary probably in rafah, the architect of the murderous rate on

october seven, architect of the murderous rate on 0ctoberseven, he architect of the murderous rate on october seven, he was opposed to it, 0ctober seven, he was opposed to it, thatis 0ctober seven, he was opposed to it, that is what we are hearing. so the deal fell apart, that is what we are hearing. so the dealfellapart, i know that is what we are hearing. so the dealfell apart, i know everyone is trying to put the egg chose back together again and try to find a way together again and try to find a way to make this work, because people in gaza that were desperately hoping for the 40 day pause and the hope was amongst the mediators at a 40 day pause in the fighting would turn into another 40 day pause, so they could build on it and it would eventually become a full and final cease—fire, but it did not happen and it is applets —— absolutely tragic for gaza. and it is applets -- absolutely tragic for gaza.— and it is applets -- absolutely tragic for gaza. thank you, frank gardner there _ tragic for gaza. thank you, frank gardner there in _ tragic for gaza. thank you, frank gardner there in jerusalem, - tragic for gaza. thank you, frank gardner there in jerusalem, or i gardner there in jerusalem, or security gardner there injerusalem, or security correspondent. russia says president putin has ordered tactical nuclear weapons drills near ukraine in response to what it called western threats to deploy troops there. the kremlin spokesman singled out statements by president macron of france and british officials. the foreign ministry in moscow has also summoned both the french and british ambassadors. it comes as front line troops in ukraine tell the bbc there should

be a re—think on how ukrainian men are conscripted. some of them say they've been fighting without a break since russia's full—scale invasion more than two years ago. they say the reason is that not enough other troops have been recruited. 0ur ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse sent this report. under the green canopy of a ukrainian spring, an artillery unit waits for their next order. some of these men have been fighting for months, if not years. "my men know each vehicle," says the commander. "it's like a woman, with her own characteristics." as russian forces inch closer, they are hunkering down and waiting for billions of dollars' worth of long—delayed american ammunition to finally be delivered. this time last year, ukraine was preparing for a counteroffensive, but this time it's different. they are preparing for what might be coming. this ammunition will help.

but ukraine is also grappling with trying to mobilise enough men to replace these ones. kyiv is widening the call—up age, but radio operator 0leksandr, who works and lives in this bunker, thinks it's more than just a numbers game. translation: if we all go home, | inexperienced soldiers might be | able to hold the line, but a lot of them will die. in the nearby city of kramatorsk, ilya, a front line medic, tells me officials are not honest with recruits who are thrown into the front line indefinitely with little training. he thinks there should be a limit on the toughest deployments. it would be more truth and effective if military recruitment office would say, "guy, you will have super—hard job, "infantry but, for example, for half a year. "then you will go to next level training and you will get more

specific tasks to do." ministers are trying to restore trust in the way the army recruits, whilst turning up the pressure for men to sign up. inna sovsun is a kyiv mp whose partner is fighting, and she thinks there are enough men to swap in and out from the front line. there are more people who are not serving than those who are serving, and the numbers are not even one—to—one, it's a much bigger ratio. the fact that your husband, your partner, is serving, how much has that shaped your view? of course, my understanding is shaped by who i am, by the fact that i, you know, spend countless nights worrying about where my partner is, if he is ok and so on and so forth. it's an anxiety shared by millions of ukrainians. tired soldiers are torn between needing to defend their country and wanting to go home.

james waterhouse, bbc news, the donetsk region. the presidents of france, china, and the european commission are holding talks in paris, where ukraine and trade are dominating discussions. in opening remarks at the elysee palace, emmanuel macron told xi jinping, coordination with china on crises in ukraine and the middle east was crucial. the europeans are hoping to persuade china's leader to refrain from supplying russia with potential war materials. he's urged the eu to remain committed to a partnership with china amid tensions over trade. it's been one year since the coronation of king charles. 0n the sixth may 2023, the ceremony at westminster abbey saw him crowned king charles iii, in front of a global audience. it's been a bumpy yearfor the king, marred by illness — he's just returned to public engagements following some time off to undergo cancer treatment.

this was the scene at london's green park earlier, as gun salutes to mark that one year coronation anniversary took place — notjust here but across the capital. 41 volleys were fired at noon by the king's troop royal horse artillery. stay with us on bbc news. hello. we've seen further drenching downpours in some parts of the uk this bank holiday monday, but the weather looks set to calm down over the next few days. something more settled, drier, and warmer, developing through this week as high pressure starts to build its way in from the west. as we move through tonight, still this area of low pressure fairly close by. so we'll keep some showers going for a time, particularly down towards the south east of england, where for some has been a pretty wet day. the rain here taking a time to ease off. most of the showers elsewhere will fade, we'll keep fairly large amounts of cloud, and where the skies do clear for any length of time,

say across central and southern parts of england, south wales could see some mist and fog patches. temperatures generally eight, nine or ten degrees as we start tuesday morning. still some showers around on tuesday, but not as many as we've had today. showers most likely, i think, across parts of england and wales, albeit with some spells of sunshine in between. northern ireland and scotland seeing a bit more in the way of cloud, maybe the odd spot of rain here and there. something brighter likely to develop in the north of scotland, 12 degrees for stornoway, 20 degrees there in london. now, as you move through tuesday night and into wednesday, this area of high pressure really starts to take charge. so for most of us, wednesday is looking like a fine day. it could be some early mist and fog, could be some areas of cloud around first thing tending to lift and break up to reveal some spells of sunshine. a dry day for most, but we will see some clouds and some patchy rain into parts of northern ireland and northwest scotland. a weak weather front approaching here. temperatures, though, 17 for aberdeen, for glasgow, for belfast, 21 likely in london by thursday. still weak frontal systems across the northern half of scotland.

cloud and some patchy rain here. but further south, some spells of sunshine and some warmth, with temperatures in some spots up to 21 or 22 degrees celsius. now it looks like we'll end the week on a warm note. this area of high pressure still with us for friday. the big question mark is about how quickly this area of high pressure will break down and allow frontal systems back in from the atlantic. the weekend certainly looks like starting off on a fine note, butjust with the increasing chance of some rain pushing in from the west as we get into sunday. there is some uncertainty about that, but it does look like it will eventually turn more unsettled and a bit cooler again into the start of next week.

this is bbc news. the headlines. israeli air strikes have been reported in rafah in southern gaza, hours after israel told 100,000 palestinian civilians to evacuate the area. rishi sunak dismisses calls to change course after poor xijinping attends xi jinping attends parisian talks, the first visit to europe since the outbreak of covid. rishi sunak dismisses calls to change course after poor local election results, arguing he can make "progress" with voters before a general election. a new study has found that schemes

like carbon office getting failed to protect trees or alleviate property. now it's time to get all the sports news with gavin. hello, lucy. let's start at the world snooker championship, where kyren wilson has a five—frame advantage overjakjones. going into tonight's final session at the crucible in sheffield. wilson took the final frame of the afternoon to share the third session 4—4. it leaves his lead at 15 frames to 10. he was twice pegged back to within three frames byjones, but will resume tonight with a five—frame lead. the first to 18 takes the title. former spain and wolves boss julen lopetegui has agreed a deal to replace david moyes as west ham united manager at the end of the season. no contracts have yet been signed, but it looks like a return to the premier league for lopetegui, who left wolves just before the start of this season. under moyes, west ham have twice finished in the top seven — and won the europa conference league, but he's faced recent criticism for his style of play.

there has been