activist last year. hello. i'm nicky schiller. we start this hour with the latest on the israel—gaza war. egyptian mediators say israel has given hamas a week to accept its current ceasefire deal orface an israeli offensive on rafah. hamas has confirmed that its delegation will travel to cairo on saturday to resume talks over a ceasefire in gaza. foreign mediators have been waiting for a response from the group to an israeli proposal to halt the fighting for a0 days and to exchange hostages for palestinian prisoners. it comes amid us media reports that israel has given hamas a week to agree to the current proposal or it will begin its long—threatened offensive in gaza's southernmost city, rafah. israel insists that is necessary

to defeat hamas�*s remaining fighters. but there has been widespread international concern over the fate of the more than i million palestinians sheltering there. our security correspondent frank gardner is monitoring events for us from jerusalem. everyone�*s waiting for the hamas team to give its first formal response after they arrive in cairo. the cia director william burns is reportedly in cairo and that's very important because us support for this deal has been crucial. now, the sticking point in all of this is that hamas wants a commitment by israel that the fighting stops. israel won't give that commitment, partly for political reasons and partly for political military reasons. it believes the remaining four group battalions of hamas are hiding out in buffer, probably below ground entitles and yahya sinwar, the leader of us, the military leader and the architect the october seven massacre, is amongst them. hiding out there, possibly even surrounded by hostages. so the israeli military want

to go in and finish the job. now, a ceasefire deal would certainly postpone, if not shelved that rafah military operation altogether. but hamas are taking their time over responding and i think they will want some reassurance that they don't give up hostages and then immediately find themselves coming under massive attack because that isn't much of an incentive to them. that's our security correspondent frank gardener. for more on the talks i'm joined now by bbc arabic�*s mohamed taha. just seeing on the news wires that america's top diplomat antony blinken is saying that the only hold—up to a gaza ceasefire is hamas. are we expecting at these talks any response from hamas over this israeli proposal? we response from hamas over this israeli proposal?— israeli proposal? we do expect hamas to _ israeli proposal? we do expect hamas to respond. _ israeli proposal? we do expect hamas to respond. israel- israeli proposal? we do expect| hamas to respond. israel asked hamas to respond. israel asked hamas to respond. israel asked hamas to put a written response this time — that might be the

reason for the delay. actually, there were statements from the israeli prime minister, binyamin netanyahu, that he will go to do rafah operation anyway, whether they will be opposing fighting or not, means the rafah operation, if it did not start now, it will start after the a0 days. that might also be a reason for the reluctance of hamas' response to these proposals, if they would see that the rafah operation would happen anyway. reports from israeli newspapers would say that, if israel would go to do the rafah operation, it might be unlikely that any of the hostages would come alive from rafah.— of the hostages would come alive from rafah. yeah, on that rafah point _ alive from rafah. yeah, on that rafah point again, _ alive from rafah. yeah, on that rafah point again, mr— alive from rafah. yeah, on that rafah point again, mr blinken l rafah point again, mr blinken also saying that an israeli attack would cause damage beyond what's acceptable, because there is international pressure still on binyamin netanyahu not to go into rafah? indeed. because it's very

difficult to mage that this operation would happen without many casualties. there are no clear plans from the israeli army where they are going to relocate the i million army where they are going to relocate thei million refugees — are they going to return them back to khan yunis, where hamas fighters return to regroup? are they going to ask them to move to egypt or somewhere else? and we saw overnight alarming increase of the fighting, which saw hamas operating from south lebanon for the first time, from the west bank as well, as well as from gaza — they are trying to attack the humanitarian corridor. that means they are sending the message that the only political solution would be viable in gaza, and other solutions would mean that they can't operate from somewhere else. and all the time. _ from somewhere else. and all the time, there _ from somewhere else. and all the time, there is _ from somewhere else. and all the time, there is still - from somewhere else. and all the time, there is still the - the time, there is still the humanitarian situation, and trying to get aid into gaza itself? .

itself? indeed. the aid situation _ itself? indeed. the aid situation is _ itself? indeed. the aid situation is in - itself? indeed. the aid situation is in a - itself? indeed. the aid situation is in a case i itself? indeed. the aid situation is in a case in itself? indeed. the aid - situation is in a case in gaza that that port that the americans are trying to build is still a work in progress. the israelis tried to make the aid come more from the north. and the egyptian front is really not bringing much aid. so, yes, the people in gaza are really suffering. they need for food, for medical supplies, and other stuff. food, for medical supplies, and other stuff-— other stuff. thank you, as always- — other stuff. thank you, as always- in _ other stuff. thank you, as always. in the _ other stuff. thank you, as always. in the us, - other stuff. thank you, as always. in the us, up - other stuff. thank you, as always. in the us, up to l other stuff. thank you, as - always. in the us, up to 1,000 pro—palestinian protesters have marched through new york following the shutdown of one of the last encampments. it comes after a turbulent week on us university campuses where thousands of students — who say they're angry at the scale of suffering in gaza — have been staging protests. nomia iqbal is in new york and sent us this update. chanting as you can see, more than 1,000 people have come out

here to protest. the space behind me was actually an encampment, one of the last encampments here in new york. this is the new york university. this is the new york university. but the tents were all cleared out earlier this morning by police. i spoke to a professor, who said she saw armed police go in and arrest students whilst they were sleeping. she described it as terrifying. as you can see, many of the students have returned here to carry on with their message, demanding the university divests from israeli institutions. many of the staff and students here are angry — they believe that the university is far more motivated in protecting its jewish students than allowing them the right to free speech, and they point out that many of the protesters here are also jewish. here, prime minister rishi sunak says he's disappointed after local elections delivered some of the worst losses for the conservative party for decades. 0n the other side, labour

arejubilant at their gains across the country, including in the blackpool south by—election, where they overtured a tory majority with a 26% swing. results in several mayoral races are expected later today. the bbc�*s political editor, chris mason, has the story so far. cheering and applause northallerton in north yorkshire this afternoon. the prime minister lives a few miles away, and look who's turned up to rub his nose in it. york and north yorkshire, the wider county so often rock—solid conservative, has elected a labour mayor. we've had really good results across the country all day long but this is a very, very special moment, david, to become the mayor here. and thank you to the team for all the fantastic work that they have done. cheering and applause. because through the villages and the towns of north yorkshire, people have voted for change. there have been smiles and red rosettes all over the place,

taking the council in the military town of aldershot in hampshire. taking nine police and crime commission rolls from the conservatives, including here in cumbria. and on the south coast in adur in west sussex, where they've never won before. but five independent candidate standing on a pro—gaza platform cost labour control in 0ldham in greater manchester as evidence labour's stance on gaza has had an impact, particularly in places with a significant muslim population. cheering and applause. earlier, keir starmer was in blackpool to celebrate winning a westminster seat there. cheering and applause. winning wasn't surprising. the scale of labour's victory was. the mood music for the prime minister pretty dire, then. rishi sunak was in catterick garrison in north yorkshire. obviously it's disappointing to lose good, hard—working conservative councillors and i'm grateful to them

for all their service in local government, keeping council tax low and delivering services for local people, but we've still got lots of results to come. one of their few islands of optimism in a sea of gloom, the tees valley. the conservative ben houchen wearing victory but not a tory rosette. he won by a million miles last time. it was much closer this time, and he had this message for the prime minister. the people that i'm hearing that may not be thinking about voting conservative or are currently thinking whether they want to vote conservative at the next general election, they want more progress. they want to give — we need to give them the excuse to vote for us, and we haven't quite given them that excuse yet. and in classic marginal harlow in essex, the conservatives managed to cling on — just. cheering and applause. the liberal democrats' delight in the less—than—subtle photo opportunity. here they are in winchester in hampshire. let's make this conservative government history! cheering and applause.

they're suggesting here the conservatives are soon to be as dead as, yes, the dinosaurs and point to gains they're making at the tories�* expense. in so many parts of the country, it'll be conservative mps worried about liberal democrats. across the south—east, the blue wall, the south—west, in many other parts of the country where we are the challengers to the conservatives, people know that if you want to get rid of this awful conservative government and make them history, they should vote liberal democrat. and tonight, they took control of cumbria 12s in kent. reform uk, the successor to the brexit party, gives some conservatives the collywobbles. they came within a whisker of beating the tories in the blackpool by—election. what's rapidly becoming clear is basically as more people hear about reform, we're becoming the real opposition to the labour party in the north, in the midlands, in wales. we're on the way up, and it's quite clear that the tories are on the way down. and the green party is volunteering a bow.

this is hastings in east sussex. the trend of the greens' steady rise in local politics continues. a fantastic set of results for the green party. the fifth local election in a row where we scored a record number of green councillors being elected, winning seats in all corners of the country from labour and from the conservatives, in rural and urban areas alike. the democratic process comes with certain rituals — colour, stamina and sleep deprivation. and winners clutching babies. there are yet more results to come tomorrow. chris mason, bbc news. we are expecting the results of the mayoral elections in the west midlands, london, greater manchester, and other regions today. you can follow all of those on our special live page thatis those on our special live page that is up and running on the bbc news website — you'll find that at bbc.co.uk/news, or if

you have the app on your mobile device. to canada next: police have charged three indian nationals with murder over the shooting dead of a prominent sikh activist last year. the killing of hardeep singh nijjar sparked a major diplomatic row between canada and india, after 0ttawa accused delhi of involvement. india denies the allegations. the police said investigations were continuing into possible links to the indian government. let's go live now to monika gul, a video journalist with citynews vancouver. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. can you explain who the suspects are that have been arrested and charged? well, to be honest, police have said that they weren't really known to them. we don't really known to them. we don't really know much about them. we do know much about them. we do know that they are all indian nationals. all three of them have been in canada forjust a few years. two of them are 22 years old and one of them is 28 years old and one of them is 28 years old. they were actually

not arrested in the vancouver area or british columbia, for that matter — they were arrested in edmonton, alberta, which is about a ten—hour drive from where the killing happened. police say they believe that they drove to the area to carry out the killing. edmonton is where they reside. but as i say, other than knowing that they are three indian nationals, police say they weren't known to them, and we don't know too much about them. ., we don't know too much about them. . ,., . we don't know too much about them. . . them. have the police said anything — them. have the police said anything about _ them. have the police said anything about a _ them. have the police said anything about a possible l anything about a possible motive? ., . , motive? no, and they were re motive? no, and they were pretty tight-lipped. - motive? no, and they were pretty tight-lipped. i - motive? no, and they were pretty tight-lipped. i was . motive? no, and they were j pretty tight-lipped. i was in pretty tight—lipped. i was in the press conference along with more than a dozen other reporters, and we were continuously asking questions trying to get more details about the motive and evidence. police pretty tight—lipped, saying that now that it's before the courts, they didn't want to, you know, release any information that might jeopardise thejudicial jeopardise the judicial process. jeopardise thejudicial process. and jeopardise the judicial process. and they also jeopardise thejudicial process. and they also did mention that there are still several other investigations

going on, and they didn't want to jeopardise going on, and they didn't want tojeopardise that. so, in terms of motive, every time reporters tried to get more answers on that, police were tight—lipped. answers on that, police were tight-tipped-_ answers on that, police were tir-ht-li ed. ~ . , tight-lipped. and what has been the reaction _ tight-lipped. and what has been the reaction there _ tight-lipped. and what has been the reaction there from - tight-lipped. and what has been the reaction there from the - the reaction there from the sikh community?— the reaction there from the sikh community? yeah - me and other colleagues _ sikh community? yeah - me and other colleagues heard _ sikh community? yeah - me and other colleagues heard from - sikh community? yeah - me and other colleagues heard from the | other colleagues heard from the community today. there's definitely a relief about the arrests. they're saying it's a good first step. but they would still like to see more happen. with this potential link to the indian government, they want to see how that pans out. one of the sikh leaders saying that, if the indian government is involved in this, they can hire other people to carry out potential future killings. other people to carry out potentialfuture killings. so, while there is relief, there is still big concern and they are keeping an eye on the other investigations, including the one potentially linking the indian government to this. yes, because this — indian government to this. yes, because this last _ indian government to this. yes, because this last year _ indian government to this. yes, because this last year did - because this last year did cause a major diplomatic row between india and canada,

didn't it?— between india and canada, didn't it? . �* , ., , didn't it? that's right. it was a high-profile _ didn't it? that's right. it was a high-profile killing - didn't it? that's right. it was a high-profile killing to - didn't it? that's right. it was| a high-profile killing to begin a high—profile killing to begin with, because he is such a prominent sikh leader. butjust a few months after his murder, the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, in the house of commons in our capital, said that there was credible evidence that the indian government had something to do with this killing. and that did spark this diplomatic kind of issue between india and canada. it still is a bit frosty, the relationship right now. and to be clear, india has denied any sort of involvement, but it is a bit of a sore topic between the two countries.— a bit of a sore topic between the two countries. thank you forjoining — the two countries. thank you forjoining us— the two countries. thank you forjoining us with _ the two countries. thank you forjoining us with the - the two countries. thank you forjoining us with the latest. russia has criticised recent remarks on ukraine by france's president macron and the british foreign secretary lord cameron as an escalation. president putin's spokesman, dmitry peskov, said mr macron's refusal to rule out potentially deploying french troops to ukraine at some future point

was part of a very dangerous trend. he also reacted angrily to comments from lord cameron, who's said that ukraine has the right to strike targets inside russia, using british weapons. mr cameron made the comments during a visit to kyiv, where he met president zelensky. mr peskov said such statements risked jeopardising the whole security architecture of europe. for more on this we can speak now to mykhailo samus, military analyst and director of the new geopolitics research network who is in kyiv. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. i wondered thank you forjoining us on bbc news. iwondered if thank you forjoining us on bbc news. i wondered if i could start with those comments from lord cameron saying that ukraine has the right to use british—supplied weapons to strike russia inside its territory. how significant do you think those comments are? good morning. actually, it's a kind of game—changer because, before, for days, cameron told ukraine they were prohibited to

use any foreign weapon in ukrainian territory. so ukraine used its own drones only, basically, to destroy military outside of ukrainian territory, which is very, very important, because it's impossible to fight an enemy without destroying their military infrastructure they're using in operations against ukraine. especially in aid fields, for example — they launch smart bombs against ukrainian troops from russian territory to ukrainian territory. so it's the first time when our allies and friends give us permission to destroy russians on russian territory. i think it will change the situation basically to, for example, in using russian aviation. and what is very important before ukraine get the f—16 aircraft to destroy russian air defence systems, staying on russian territory and threatening ukrainian aircrafts. do you think we — ukrainian aircrafts. do you think we will, _ ukrainian aircrafts. do you

think we will, at _ ukrainian aircrafts. do you think we will, at some - ukrainian aircrafts. do you i think we will, at some point, see western troops — maybe from france — on the ground in ukraine itself? france - on the ground in ukraine itself?— ukraine itself? president macron - _ ukraine itself? president macron - it's _ ukraine itself? president macron - it's not - ukraine itself? president macron - it's not his - ukraine itself? president macron - it's not his first macron — it's not his first time telling that, about using european troops in the russian—ukrainian war. from my point of view, i'm sceptically thinking about it, because it should be a first direct contact, military contact, actually the war between european country and russia, which would be a huge escalation. i'm not sure that europe now is going to be in this situation. so i think it will be maybe instructors, maybe some troops in western parts of ukraine to help ukrainian troops to be better prepared for actions against russians. but talking about direct contact, direct

engagement with russian troops, i'm not sure that will happen very soon. i'm not sure that will happen very soon-— i'm not sure that will happen very soon. what are the main challenges — very soon. what are the main challenges at _ very soon. what are the main challenges at the _ very soon. what are the main challenges at the moment. very soon. what are the main | challenges at the moment that troops on the ground in ukraine are facing?— are facing? actually, russia started offences _ are facing? actually, russia started offences operations| started offences operations last year, using the opportunity while united states' congress was thinking about the ukrainian support. finally, when congress and president biden signed it to help ukraine, russia is now trying to use this very short window of opportunity while ukrainian forces will get american and european support. actually, after signing this bill in congress, we have one month for bureaucracy and logistics to have these weapons on the front line. so russia has basically one month trying to get some success on the battlefield to break through the front line in donbas and trying to finally get some

territorial achievement. because since october last year, they don't have really territorial success. this is a problem for them because, after ukraine, of course, has the support injune — including f-i6 support injune — including f—i6 — support injune — including f-i6 - it support injune — including f—i6 — it will be a little bit different situation on the battlefield. i hope that ukraine will not only conduct the defensive operation, but even some counteroffensive actions. ~ . , ., ., i, ., actions. military analyst and director at _ actions. military analyst and director at new _ actions. military analyst and director at new geopolitics. director at new geopolitics research network in kyiv, thank you very much forjoining us. to mexico next: three bodies have been found during a search for two australians and an american who went missing last week during a surfing trip. australian brothers jake and callum robinson and their american friend jack carter were on vacation

near the coastal city of ensenada in the northwestern state of baja, california, when they failed to turn up at the planned accommodation. bodies not yet identified! let's speak to alison piotrowski, correspondent for nine network australiai. for nine network australia. she has been following this case. thank you forjoining us. just explain where and when they went missing.— just explain where and when they went missing. right. the two brothers, _ they went missing. right. the two brothers, jake, _ they went missing. right. the two brothers, jake, callum, . they went missing. right. the l two brothers, jake, callum, and theirfriend, the two brothers, jake, callum, and their friend, the american national, have not been seen since april 27. so we're coming up since april 27. so we're coming up to seven days, i think, since they have been heard from. they were on a boys' trip — jake had travelled over to see callum. callum, his australian brother, actually lives in sandiogo. so they'd gone to coachella together. they were going to celebrate callum's birthday. so they came down baja's coastline to chase waves, because these guys are surfers, and they were looking

for a big birthday celebratory holiday. but they disappeared off the grid. they failed to show up to an airbnb in rosarito, right up near tijuana, nearthe rosarito, right up near tijuana, near the us—mexico border. after they failed to show up, their mother debra had that instinct that something was wrong, so she posted on social media — she took to facebook groups on the baja coast and said, "have you seen my sons? they've been missing." that sparked an enormous response from mexican officials as this post went viral. now we are here today, where we're in are here today, where we're in a situation where they have found three bodies in the search area where they have been looking.— been looking. yeah, these bodies have _ been looking. yeah, these bodies have been - been looking. yeah, these bodies have been found i been looking. yeah, these bodies have been found -| been looking. yeah, these . bodies have been found - this bodies have been found — this is in an area where there is drug cartel violence, isn't there? ., drug cartel violence, isn't there? . ., , , there? yeah, absolutely. i travelled _ there? yeah, absolutely. i travelled out _ there? yeah, absolutely. i travelled out there - there? yeah, absolutely. i travelled out there today | there? yeah, absolutely. i. travelled out there today with a police escort, because that's what you need when you're going through the area. this is called labaccarana, about an hour away from the closest town. you have to go down this

dirt road. it's quite treacherous. and there's a few mexican ranches there, and that's about it. we got to a point at a camp ground where they had been, and it was so far from civilisation, they had been, and it was so farfrom civilisation, it had me thinking, "what have they been doing going this far out?" if it's incredibly remote. the local commander here in ensenada told me yesterday that there's no way that tourists ever venture into this area. it's just not something that they seek to do, it's not something that they should do, and that's because there are warring cartels in the area. we should say _ warring cartels in the area. we should say the bodies haven't been identified yet. i assume that the families back home in australia are very concerned, and it's making headlines there as well as with you there? yeah, it's enormous news in australia. these are two young men, two successful men. callum was a successful lacrosse player. he played for australia. his brotherjake is a doctor. he was about to start a doctor. he was about to start

a newjob in geelong hospital in melbourne. they are good—looking young men with their whole lives ahead of them, and now australia is wondering if their lives have been cut short. i can also tell you that debra and martin, their parents, are on a plane at the moment — they have departed perth, and they are on their way to los angeles, and they will make thatjourney by car, i would they will make thatjourney by car, iwould imagine, overthe mexican border. they are due here to meet with mexican authorities tomorrow, and we understand that they'll be providing dna samples to mexican authorities. allison, thank you — mexican authorities. allison, thank you for _ mexican authorities. allison, thank you forjoining - mexican authorities. allison, thank you forjoining us. - now finally this half hour he is best known as the frontman of the legendary us group the four seasons. well, frankie valli has marked his 90th birthday by being honoured with a star on the hollywood walk of fame. the band — founded in newjersey in 1960 — had a string of global hits including big girls don't cry, can't take my eyes off of you, and walk like a man, with their career later being

immortalised in the musical jersey boys. at a ceremony in los angeles on friday the singer described the star as a highlight of his life. there we can see him on the hollywood walk of fame. i have to say, if i look as good as he does when i am 90 — if i get to 90 - does when i am 90 — if i get to 90 — then i will be doing very well indeed! congratulations to franki valli getting his hollywood star on the walk of fame there in los angeles. stay with us here on bbc news. the headlines are on the way. hello there. the weather at this time of the year really can be very fickle, as we've seen over the past week, and during the bank holiday weekend, it's going to be a mixture, really, where there'll be some sunshine at times. there'll also be some heavy showers. it could be quite warm but we're not going to reach the high temperatures that we've seen in the past few days. take you back to thursday and all four home nations had their warmest day

of the year and we maintain those sort of temperatures in western scotland and northern ireland on friday. but for suffolk and north wales, it was much colder because of cloud and rain. that's moving its way a little bit further north but we've got some more rain to come on saturday across northern ireland. some heavy showers pushing across scotland may turn a bit drier in north wales and northern england but still a lot of cloud. to the south, though, we'll see some sunshine after a chilly start. a few showers developing in the south east of england. but in the sunshine across midlands, southern england, south wales, east anglia, it's going to be a warm day — i6, 17 degrees. we could reach 19 in the northwest of scotland before those heavy showers arrive. there's a few more showers, though, to come in scotland and northern ireland, perhaps the far north of england. should be a bit brighter but a bit of sunshine will trigger some thunderstorms. the odd shower across england and wales and a bit of rain coming into the far southwest. that's keeping temperatures a little bit lower here. but otherwise, widely, temperatures are going to be a reasonable 16—18 degrees on sunday afternoon. now, there is a bit of rain in the southwest — it's on that weather front there, an area of low pressure.

not really much wind to move things on at all. there's a bit of uncertainty as to how far north that showery rain could get but it's pushing a little further north into england and wales. there'll be some sunshine but we're also going to trigger some more of these slow—moving, heavy, thundery showers, particularly in scotland. and temperature—wise on monday afternoon for the bank holiday, typically 16 or 17 degrees. now, after the bank holiday, the weather is going to change, wouldn't you know it? and it's going to get a lot drier because that area of low pressure moves away and this area of high pressure will build in. now, around the top of it next week, we could well see a bit of rain towards northwestern areas of the uk but on the whole, it is looking like it's going to get dry after monday. there'll be more in the way of sunshine around as well and if anything, those temperatures are going to be rising, getting into the low 20s in many places later in the week.

this is bbc news. the headlines: egyptian mediators told a news paper that egypt has given hamas a week to agree to a ceasefire or israel will begin the offensive on rafah. they are travel to cairo to resume talks. thousands of

pro—lin demonstrators marched through new york city following the shutdown of another protesting eencampment after a turbulent week on university campuses. as labour celebrates victories, prime minister rishi sunak expresses disappointment following elections that dealt some of the worst losses for the conservatives in decades. and police in canada charged three independent nationals with murder over the killing of a si can, h separatist in vancouver that sparked a row between 0ttowa and delhi. i will be back with the bulletin at six. now the travel show. welcome to the most breathtaking, extraordinary places on earth. i am in antarctica.

0na i am in antarctica. on a journey across interest coldest...