he is due to appear in court next month after being arrested on thursday morning. gavin robinson, another dup lawmaker in the uk parliament, has been appointed as the party's interim leader. the syrian government blames israel for deadly air strikes near the city of aleppo, which killed at least 42 people. following famine warnings in gaza, the un's top court has ordered israel to enable the unhindered flow of aid into the territory hello, i'm annita mcveigh, welcome to bbc news now, three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. the democratic unionist party —

which is the largest unionist party in northern ireland — says that it's leader sirjeffrey donaldson is stepping down with immediate effect — after confirming that he has been charged with what they say are allegations of an historical nature. sirjeffrey, who has had an almost ao—year career in politics, was elected to the northern ireland assembly in 1985 — becoming the youngest person to win a seat at stormont at the age of 22. he became dup leader injuly 2021 following the resignation of edwin poots. pending the outcome of the judicial process, the dup have confirmed the appointment of gavin robinson as interim party leader. after news of sirjeffrey�*s arrest, the democratic unionist party met early on friday morning. in a statement it said that in accordance with the party rules,

our correspondent sara girvin joins me now from outside the northern ireland assembly, at stormont. asi as i look is standing there and thinking back only a matter of weeks since we saw those images show right around the world the restoration of that assembly, of the power—sharing at the assembly. as we have heard from many guests so far today, we knowjeffrey donaldson was absolutely instrumental in that happening.

absolutely instrumental in that happening-— absolutely instrumental in that haueninu. . . , a absolutely instrumental in that hauuenin, ., ., , �*, happening. yeah, he wants. as you sa , it happening. yeah, he wants. as you say. it was — happening. yeah, he wants. as you say. it was just _ happening. yeah, he wants. as you say. it wasjust a — happening. yeah, he wants. as you say, it wasjust a matter— happening. yeah, he wants. as you say, it was just a matter of - happening. yeah, he wants. as you say, it wasjust a matter of months| say, it was just a matter of months and stormont has been back up and running after a hiatus of two years, it was under sir geoffrey's leadership of the dup that that party came out of the power—sharing arrangements here. that was in protest at the time of the northern ireland protocol, the windsor framework, the special arrangements to allow in northern ireland, and there was a lot of that you didn't agree with, so much so much so he took his party out of stormont, collapse institutions, and it is just a matter of months since they were back up and running again. the relations between all the parties have seem to be quite good footing. at the moment there is no one at stormont because they are on their easter recess, but were now back after the easter break there's going to be a lot to discuss following this really seismic political news is broken today following the news

that sirjeffrey donaldson has stepped down as leader of the dup. interesting to hear the reaction from the former northern ireland secretaryjulian smith singh, i'm not concerned in any way that the shocking news today will lead to any change in the momentum behind power—sharing and the stability that it's now brought since its return a couple of months ago, and that is the fundamental, one of the fundamental question that people will be considering and weighing up the implications of what we have learnt today, you know, whether that could have any impact on the arrangements that to have people in northern ireland governed by their own elected representatives. weill. own elected representatives. well, absolutely. — own elected representatives. well, absolutely. i— own elected representatives. well, absolutely, i suppose _ own elected representatives. well, absolutely, i suppose if— own elected representatives. well, absolutely, i suppose if we - own elected representatives. -ii absolutely, i suppose if we consider the kind of practicalities of things, sirjeffrey donaldson is an mp, he is notan things, sirjeffrey donaldson is an mp, he is not an mla, things, sirjeffrey donaldson is an mp, he is notan mla, so things, sirjeffrey donaldson is an mp, he is not an mla, so he's been an mpfor lagan mp, he is not an mla, so he's been an mp for lagan valley since 1997, is actually northern ireland's

longest serving mp, so in terms of the practicalities that really shouldn't make a difference to what happens here at stormont, and even if we look at gavin robinson, he was the deputy leader of the dup, he is no interim leader, you read a statement earlier on, he is also an mp, so again, in practical terms, that shouldn't really affect things at stormont. it shouldn't affect the power—sharing institutions, but of course it will be discussed. we will also be aware these are now live legal proceedings, as the statement said from the dup, they're going to wait and see what happens during thatjudicial process. we know the 61—year—old man in 57—year—old woman will be in court next month based on these charges, but it will not be discussed here at stormont. after their easter break i would imagine that will be at the forefront of what everyone is talking, but we haven't heard any reaction as yet

from other political parties, just a brief statement from the dup confirming thatjeffrey has stepped down with immediate effect. obviously there are legal proceedings, but we expect any kind of statement from the dup or anyone else in response to what happened? well, i know that myself and colleagues have been trying to contact the party today, it's been really difficult to do so, then we had that statement, it is a brief statement, just three lines, three orfour statement, just three lines, three or four lines, statement, just three lines, three orfour lines, this statement, just three lines, three or four lines, this will released on social media, on x, and it says the party chairman has received a letter from sirjeffrey donaldson confirming that he has been charged with allegations of historical nature, and educate he is stepping down as leader of the dup with immediate effect, in accordance with party rules the party offices have suspended him pending thejudicial

process, and also the news the gavin robinson mp was deputy leader, he is now interim leader of the dup. we haven't heard anything else as yet, from the other political parties. i would be surprised if we hear anything else from the dup today, but that's not to be we know and why we are at now. earlier i spke to sam mcbride, northern ireland editor of the belfast telegraph. he told me the implication his resignation will have on the party. the very complicated politics of this are thatjeffrey donaldson had just taken his party back in, lots of his very senior colleagues did not support that move, they were very opposed to that, openly opposed to that in some cases, so he was not in a good position politically. obviously what has happened here is

outside the realm of politics, but the sense within the dup right now is the people who are opposed to that move are feeling emboldened. this leader has gone, the person i didn't like, in his place of someone who is not there in a proper sense, in the sense that he is in there are no temporary sense. he's very capable, he's been highly regarded for a long time, but he is very firmly tied tojeffrey for a long time, but he is very firmly tied to jeffrey donaldson for a long time, but he is very firmly tied tojeffrey donaldson in terms of his politics. he is from the same side of party, so it does mean that there is no immediate prospect of stormont falling. there will be a change in terms of the big p political decisions, the party is gone through chaos in recent years, thisjust gone through chaos in recent years, this just shows this is not a party

thatis this just shows this is not a party that is well run right now. so thisjust shows this is not a party that is well run right now. so your sense is that _ that is well run right now. so your sense is that as _ that is well run right now. so your sense is that as people _ that is well run right now. so your sense is that as people absorbed | that is well run right now. so your. sense is that as people absorbed the news of these allegations they will take some time to think about the implications of the absence of sir jeffrey donaldson. i implications of the absence of sir jeffrey donaldson.— implications of the absence of sir jeffrey donaldson. i think the first imlication jeffrey donaldson. i think the first implication of _ jeffrey donaldson. i think the first implication of this _ jeffrey donaldson. i think the first implication of this will _ jeffrey donaldson. i think the first implication of this will be - jeffrey donaldson. i think the first implication of this will be what - implication of this will be what happens in lagan valley. we know jeffrey donaldson is now not the dup leader or even a dup member in that he's been suspended... for leader or even a dup member in that he's been suspended. . ._ he's been suspended... for our viewers. _ he's been suspended... for our viewers. that — he's been suspended... for our viewers, that is _ he's been suspended... for our viewers, that is jeffrey - he's been suspended... for our- viewers, that is jeffrey donaldson's viewers, that isjeffrey donaldson's constituency, lagan valley. that viewers, that is jeffrey donaldson's constituency, lagan valley. that is, he has been — constituency, lagan valley. that is, he has been the _ constituency, lagan valley. that is, he has been the mp _ constituency, lagan valley. that is, he has been the mp there _ constituency, lagan valley. that is, he has been the mp there for - he has been the mp there for decades, he was very popular mp, that he'd been coming under pressure from the centre ground alliance party. that's going to be a big battleground regardless of anything that has happened over the last 2a hours, so now the treatment questionnaires does he keep the seat until the general election, which could be quite thin, or could be some time away, there was no sign of

that yet, i not only would they have lost their mp in very unusual circumstances, but it would give a chance for the people who are opposed to them going back to stormont to use byelection to rally to that particular standard. however, even if that doesn't happen and we have a general election in a few months' time, these are really awkward positions for the dup now. they were on him as a candidate? do they want somebody else? that is not situation this time yesterday that they thought they were going to be in. �* ., u, , they thought they were going to be in. and of course it comes at a time of much debate _ in. and of course it comes at a time of much debate about _ in. and of course it comes at a time of much debate about the _ in. and of course it comes at a time of much debate about the relative l of much debate about the relative positions and strengths of unionism versus nationalism in northern ireland, even though we now have a sinn fein first minister in the dup deputy first minister who from all appearances have been working very successfully to gather in the last couple of months.— successfully to gather in the last couple of months. absolutely. if you think about this _ couple of months. absolutely. if you think about this beyond _ couple of months. absolutely. if you think about this beyond the - couple of months. absolutely. if you think about this beyond the realm i couple of months. absolutely. if you think about this beyond the realm of party politics, jeffrey donaldson was the leader of unionism in northern ireland. even the ulster

unionist party, then moved about 20 years ago to the dup. he said about those camps, and he was someone who had wider responsibilities within unionism than simply to his own political party, and so this is a blow notjust political party, and so this is a blow not just at the dup, political party, and so this is a blow notjust at the dup, notjust atjeffrey donaldson personally, at jeffrey donaldson personally, this atjeffrey donaldson personally, this is a blow to unionism, and unionism has been under immense pressure, it is made is a very bad mistakes of recent years, obviously a very bad mistakes of recent years, of the sarah brexit, this is another area in which unionism finds itself in the back foot, and hopefully from the perspective trying to make up ground now they are losing. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

let's go now to the middle east — where israel is reported to have carried out air strikes in syria. observers say the strikes happened in aleppo — and may have targeted a depot

storing rockets, run by the militant group hezbollah. the reports suggest that at least 42 people were killed — including six members of hezbollah — and 36 members of the syrian army. israel hasn't commented on the claims, but there've been sporadic clashes between the israeli military and hezbollah on israel's northern borders since the outbreak of the war in gaza. if israel did carry out these air strikes, it may have been linked to that confrontation. there have also been air strikes in gaza overnight — palestinian officials say at least 12 people were killed when a building was hit in the southern city of rafah. and the hamas—run health ministry says several other people were killed or injured, in other air strikes across the palestinian territory. they say a number of the victims were children. fighting on the ground has also continued in gaza. the israeli military has released footage of what it says are attacks on hamas military structures. there are reports that armoured vehicles are massing around a hospital in khan younis, although no raid has yet been staged — and israel also claims it has

apprehended dozens of what it describes as terrorists. inside gaza, shortages of basic supplies have led the international court ofjustice to warn that famine is now setting in. the court ruled that israel should take all necessary israel has previously said that aid operations are being hampered by hamas fighters. our middle east correspondent, yolande knell, is following all of these developments from jerusalem, and she gave me this update — starting with those reports of an israeli air strike in syria. as far as the israeli military is concerned, when i approach then they said they don't comment on reports that are circulating in the foreign media. this is sticking really to a

regular position that we have from the israeli air force when it comes to strikes, particularly in neighbouring syria, but we know that over the past decade israel has carried out hundreds of strikes inside syria since the start of the civil war there, and in the past six months since the war in gaza began there have also been reportedly an increase in action, israeli military action, across the border in neighbouring syria. this is a worrying development, it appears to be the biggest number of people that have been killed in such a strike, certainly in many months, and there will be fears that this could lead to retaliation and there could be a further regional spill—over from this war. in the past we know israel has said it has drawn a red line, that it's acted against his hezbollah, and acted when they think

weapons have been transferred to that iran backed group, so we don't know any details of exactly what happened here beyond the observatory for human rights saying that happened out here in the countryside where they have rocky depots belonging to hezbollah, it said. we are not getting more information given to us from this site. earlier i spoke to soraya ali, global media manager for save the children about what her and her colleagues are seeing on the ground. the situation remains terrific and it is getting worse every single day. being here now for almost a week and spoken to so many families who tell me horrific stories, one woman said her husband is blind, they got six children and they had to walk from the north of south, they've lost countless family members, otheryoung

they've lost countless family members, other young children were an unaccompanied, don't have any parents with them as far as we can see, and they are in a situation our 12—year—olds are looking after four—year—olds. there are so many stories, horrific stories, horrific stories, horrific stories, horrific stories, but on such a massive scale it's unfathomable, and still the bombs continue to drop, we hear i strikes at night, and we know children are lacking food, water and the most basic supplies, so we need a ceasefire first and foremost. it's extremely difficult, the little that has managed to get through the border crossing right now, we know it limits getting through, trucks being checked and unloaded, there is only a limited number of truck drivers vetted, and once we actually get in, talking about places where there are such limited resources, so little fuel right now, there is a

limited number of vehicles, this limited number of vehicles, this limited power to the generators here, connectivity and communications, the logistical problemsjust keep on communications, the logistical problems just keep on growing. on top of all that we know air strikes and bombs are dropping in khan younis, the only way to solve those problems is a definitive ceasefire. staying with gaza — and aid agencies say there is still a severe shortage of food, water and humanitarian supplies. air drops of aid are continuing. these pictures were filmed on thursday in gaza city, in the north of the territory. it was one of the first areas targeted by israel when it began its ground operations inside gaza, and aid agencies have said it has become highly difficult and dangerous to deliver supplies there by road. ukraine says russia has launched another wave of missile and drone attacks overnight. officials in kyiv say 99 projectiles were launched — with more

than 80 being destroyed. the interior ministry says that civilian infrastructure was targeted, with three power stations being hit. several people were wounded, but there are no reports of any deaths. our correspondent in ukraine, sarah rainsford, sent us this update from kharkiv. this is another major attack on ukraine overnight. russia launched 99 drones and missiles, we are told, targeting ten regions of ukraine. this increasingly seems to be a strategy by russia. it's the second massive missile attack on a week, and northern ukraine was attacked like that a week ago, so the massive power outages here. a week on life seems back to usual, there are outages in some parts of there are outages in some parts of the city, but by and large they are coping. there were generators beginning, power is now being restored, we see lots of people out and about, we understand that in

these latest attacks, when i have targeting, houses were struck in the six civilians were injured. they say three power plants in ukraine have been seriously they said ukraine needs more air defences. as these attacks sufficiently to be back specifically on infrastructure become more frequent, that is the focus for calls at the moment. in the mood here is fairly nervous. people are worried there are lots of rumours about a possible offensive, and military offensive here, no real facts, but they said we can't ignore the plans, their increasing fortification on the front line, but is also warned that if russia tries

it, he said that would be a fatal step here, but the mood is fairly nervous because nobody quite knows what the russians might be planning next. one of the conservative party's largest donors has been awarded a knighthood after being recommended by prime minister, rishi sunak. labour said the decision to give an honour to the billionaire, mohammed mansour, showed the prime minister didn't expect to be in office for much longer. earlier i spoke to our political correspondent shelley phelps and asked her why these honours are happening now..... it isa it is a bit ofa it is a bit of a surprise to get this around easter, because typically these awards are made in the year and on the king's official birthday injune. there have been a few eyebrows raised, it's come at quieten news time,. tell

few eyebrows raised, it's come at quieten news time,.— quieten news time,. tell us more about mohammed _ quieten news time,. tell us more about mohammed mansoor. - quieten news time,. tell us more about mohammed mansoor. in i quieten news time,. tell us more . about mohammed mansoor. in some quieten news time,. tell us more - about mohammed mansoor. in some of the conservative party is biggest donors, and what else do we know about him? it's giving an honour to major donor like this will be problematic for the party? yes. major donor like this will be problematic for the party? yes, he is a ma'or problematic for the party? yes, he is a major donor _ problematic for the party? yes, he is a major donor to _ problematic for the party? yes, he is a major donor to the _ problematic for the party? yes, he l is a major donor to the conservative party, he gave them £5 million last year, he is also a senior treasurer at the party, and you are just mentioning labour's criticism, they accused the prime minister of showing blatant disregard for the office he holds, and they are saying this appointment shows rishi sunak is out of touch, and reform uk, they are saying this is example of what they describe as toxic cronyism, but number ten sources saying mohamed mansour�*s appointment is because of

his extensive charity work, including with the princes foundation.— including with the princes foundation. , ., , , ., foundation. tell us who else is on the son list- _ foundation. tell us who else is on the son list. you _ foundation. tell us who else is on the son list. you also _ foundation. tell us who else is on the son list. you also have - foundation. tell us who else is on the son list. you also have full. the son list. you also have full conservative _ the son list. you also have full conservative mps, _ the son list. you also have full conservative mps, tracey - the son list. you also have full. conservative mps, tracey crouch, the son list. you also have full- conservative mps, tracey crouch, she is standing down at the next election, a former sports minister, she has done a lot of work around football governance and campaigning on breast cancer. we also have philip davies, he is another conservative mp, he is married to esther mcvey, who is a cabinet minister, who used to present a show with his wife and gb news, and also have a democratic union as party mp on the list as well, and it's interesting, because as well as the politics we also have figures from creative and tech industries, for example christopher nolan, the oscar winning director of oppenheimer. police in south africa say they've arrested a man for reckless and drunken driving after his car collided with that of the former president, jacob zuma. no one was injured in the incident on thursday evening.

clear—up efforts are under way in baltimore, around the bridge which collapsed after it was hit by a ship earlier this week. the national transportation safety board has released this footage of its staff, on board the container ship, the dali. you can see it is still lodged in the collapsed remains of the bridge. fundraising efforts are under way for the families of the six people who were working on the bridge when it collapsed. two bodies have been recovered and the other four men are presumed dead. louis gossettjr, the first black man to win a supporting actor oscar, has died at the age of 87. gossettjr won the award for his role in the 1982 film an officer and a gentleman. he's also well known for starring in the tv series roots which earned him an emmy. his daughter confirmed his passing in santa monica in california on thursday night — in 2010 he had revealed that he was diagnosed

with prostate cancer. here's something you don't see every day — a volcano erupting with the northern lights playing in the background. the video was shot in southwestern iceland where the volcano has erupted several times since december. but the time—lapse images capture a rare pairing of natural wonders. the volcano is near the coastal town of grindavik. the 3,800 people were evacuated before the first eruption. defensive walls have been built around the town and a power plant in the hope of directing the lava away from the community. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. good afternoon. well, a gradual improvement for most of us weather—wise over

the next couple of days. here's the forecast for the bank holiday weekend. today, sunshine and some heavy showers. lighter winds than yesterday. fewer showers on saturday and sunday, but there could be some more rain in the south on bank holiday monday. drierfurther north. lots of rainbows spotted today with the general sunshine and showers theme. already some lightning strikes across parts of pembrokeshire. there could be some heavy downpours, some hail and some thunder in some of these showers, but generally fewer of them than we saw yesterday, with more in the way of sunshine. it's still breezy for england and wales, but not as gusty as yesterday. could be a bit drier across northern scotland and for most it will feel a little warmer too. overnight tonight it's still going to be quite chilly by night. we'll see the skies largely clear. the showers fading away. a scattering of them still out towards the west. a touch of isolated frost, i think, into tomorrow morning, with lows in low to mid—single figures. also bit of patchy mist and fog, as well, but it will still be breezy for part of the night, but then lighter winds tomorrow morning.

that's because our area of low pressure is pulling away towards the west. so the winds are lighter and it'll feel a bit warmer in the sunshine tomorrow, but another area of low pressure possibly giving some patchy rain across the far east of east anglia for a while, more cloud in the south—east of england, but a lot of dry weather on saturday, plenty of sunshine. the focus for any showers out towards the north and the west. it will feel warmer again — 11 to 15 degrees celsius. now, don't forget that the clocks spring forward by an hour on saturday night into sunday, so darker morningsjust for a while and, of course, lighter evenings on the way. easter sunday isn't looking too bad either. again, we could see some showers out towards western spots as we head through the morning, largely fading away into the afternoon. a lot of dry weather around with some sunshine, but perhaps a bit cloudier and cooler towards north sea facing coasts with more of an easterly wind developing. again, highs of 11 to 1a degrees. then we look to the south as we head through sunday night and into bank holiday monday because we are going to see some areas of rain perhaps across england and wales.

still a lot of uncertainty with the forecast, so do keep an eye on it. it could be drier further north, perhaps. temperature—wise, it's a bit cloudier and cooler again towards north sea facing coasts, so a bit milder further west. bye—bye for now.

rebuilding after disaster. washington sends $60 million to maryland after the deadly bridge collapse in baltimore. bitter harvest. how the soaring cost of cocoa is leaving a sour taste in the mouths of chocolate lovers. welcome to world business report. baltimore and the state of maryland are to get $60 million in federal aid to deal with the bridge collapse that's brought chaos to the port of baltimore. the accident happened after the bridge was hit by a giant ship on tuesday. officials say the first priority is to find four workers who are presumed to have died. they then hope to clear the wreckage to allow shipping to resume through one of america's busiest ports. the governor of maryland, wes moore, says it's a very complex operation.