live from london. this is bbc news. police clash with pro—palestinian demonstrators as a wave of protests intensifies at university campuses across the us. top us diplomat antony blinken is in china — aiming to put relations between the countries on a steadierfooting. film executives fear the summer movie season could disappoint, with fewer than expected blockbusters in the wake of last yea r�*s actors and writers strikes. hello, i'm sally bundock. we begin in the us, where police have clashed with pro—palestinian demonstrators as a wave of protests intensifies at university campuses

across the country. skirmishes broke out between protesters and police at the university of southern california in los angeles. at the university of texas in austin, the governor sent in state troopers in riot gear to confront demonstrators who waved palestinian flags and chanted �*free palestine�*. these demonstrations have spread since the arrest last week of more than a hundred protesters at columbia university in new york — sparking debates about free speech and the right to protest. our west coast correspondent emma vardy sent this update from the university of southern california in los angeles. protesters arrived here on campus around eight o'clock this morning. they have stayed for much of the day. earlier on tents put up by protesters, police asking them to take those down, that led to some

scuffles and clashes between protesters and campus police here. one person was detained but we understand they were released pretty quickly. in the hours that followed the protest here in los angeles on campus at usc continued pretty peacefully, there is been a number of points of tension especially on this campus, one of them is that the valedictorian of usc, the top graduate of the year university has hand—picked, had her speech cancelled at the graduation ceremony. she was accused of anti—semitism and the university here trying to de—escalate tensions which have escalated cancelled her speech and cancelled a number of other speakers as well. it seems that had the effect of galvanising support for this protest today, there were protesters here holding placards saying let her speak in relation to that cancelled speech. it seems the university of southern

california has been caught up in this energy, which has overtaken these protests in recent days, a lot of students here, pro— palestinian activists told me today they've felt they were able to come down and energised by the fact that arrested taken place at the university of columbia and arrests happening in texas as well, it is being very divisive, some of imagery shared online where bright police were sent out especially in texas to confront protesters there seems to bang a lot of people who say they are demonstrating peacefully and some police are taking a very hand —— heavy—handed approach. it is being made clear it is a struggle for the university of southern california and other universities to get the balance right between holding student's right between holding student's right to free speech and clamping down on incidents of anti—semitism, or allegations of anti—semitism on campus.

israeli officials have confirmed they are moving ahead with plans for a military assault on the city of rafah in southern gaza. israel says it hopes to launch an assault on the several hamas battalions remaining in rafah. however, aid groups and western allies have warned israel not to carry out a full—scale attack. more than a million displaced people are taking shelter in rafah. as part of its invasion, israel is planning to evacuate civilians out of the city. and an israeli official told reuters that it has purchased 40,000 tents, each with the capacity for 10 to 12 people. our middle east correspondent wyre davies has more on israel's plans. we got a very clear indication from an israeli government spokesperson today that israel is moving ahead and planning for what is expected to be a pretty full—scale military incursion into rafah, which is the city in southern gaza where israel says the remnants or significant remnants of hamas fighters and leadership are still based.

israel says it has destroyed 19 of the hamas military battalions, meaning there are four or five battalions, hundreds of heavily armed men remaining in southern gaza with the hamas leadership. israel has had to bear and respond to these criticisms and appeals from its allies, including the united states in recent weeks not to undertake this full—scale military invasion, principally because of the humanitarian consequences, there are thought to be a million people in and around rafa in southern gaza, people in pretty dire circumstances and the americans and british and others, including aid agencies, are worried about the growing humanitarian crisis there. there is some evidence that tents and other shelters are being built in preparation for the invasion to move some people away from rafah but a million people is a lot of people to move in the event of a military operation. egypt and israel are thought

to have been holding talks about the consequences of a big military operation right on the border with egypt. it's also worrying for israeli families, remember, 130 hostages are thought to be held in southern gaza, 100 of them still remain, and israeli families of the hostages are increasingly worried the military operation in this area mightjeopardise the lives also of the remaining hostages. meanwhile, pope francis has said he phones the roman catholic church in gaza every day to find out what people are experiencing. in an interview with the news network cbs, the pope said the hundreds of palestinians sheltering there had to fight for food. the pope has continued to talk in strong terms about the conflict in gaza. translation: every afternoon at 7pm i called gaza to the parish. there are about 600 people there and they tell me what's going on. it is

very hard. very, very hard. food goes in, but they have to fight for it. it's very hard. the us secretary of state antony blinken is in china aiming to put relations between the countries on a steadierfooting. mr blinken arrived in shanghai late on wednesday for meetings with business leaders before heading to beijing for talks on friday with foreign minister wang yi. though tensions have eased since last year, disagreements on issues such as trade and security remain. there was a sharp illustration of that on wednesday when president biden signed a foreign aid package which includes $8 billion for allies in the asia—pacific, including taiwan. here's china's reaction. translation: the insertion of taiwan related content into the us congressional bill seriously

violates the chinese principal and sends the wrong signal to separatist forces in taiwan. we urge the us to honour its commitment of not supporting taiwan independence with concrete actions and to stop arming taiwan in anyway. let's speak to political economist shirley ze yu — who is a senior visiting fellow at the london school of economics. good morning to you. that is one example, the funding for taiwan which china reacted to but also as well president biden signed a bill to see the ban of tiktok operating in the united states, how is anthony blink in�*s trip likely to go given what is happening at the moment? mr given what is happening at the moment? ~ �* ~ , ~ , moment? mr blinken is likely discuss for — moment? mr blinken is likely discuss for points, _ moment? mr blinken is likely discuss for points, the - moment? mr blinken is likely discuss for points, the first i discuss for points, the first one is the us seriously considers sanctions of chinese banks involved in supporting

russia's military industrial complex, the second one is the us recently restarted the 301 trade investigation on chinese steel, illumine shipbuilding and logistics sector so the tariffs imposed on chinese goods faces an escalation stopping the third point is the continued conversation on chinese overcapacity in the eb capacity, sector is considered vital to the us domestic economic success. the last point is certainly on taiwan with the looming inauguration of the incoming taiwanese president, the us wants to seek a broader understanding of measures to prevent a potential escalation across the taiwan strait. �* , . ., ., strait. it's quite clear what the american _ strait. it's quite clear what the american agendas - strait. it's quite clear what the american agendas you | strait. it's quite clear what - the american agendas you talk through, we had the us secretary treasury talking about the overcapacity issue in the global economy being

flooded with cheap chinese goods, often made by companies highly subsidised by the chinese state. what is china saying in response to all this? if we reflect on secretary yellin visit to beijing recently, china dismissed the allegations of overcapacity in the green economy, and who last date the russian foreign minister flew in date the russian foreign ministerflew in and met date the russian foreign minister flew in and met with the chinese president and let's bearin the chinese president and let's bear in mind secretary yellin didn't get a chance to meet with the chinese president, i wouldn't consider that was a very productive trip even if it was considered as a friendly gesture. in this time mr blinken comes with four policy tools and his toolbox, financial sanctions, trade sanctions tariffs and military deterrence and i don't think it will be welcome on the chinese part, however it is not

entirely impossible for mr blinken especially being invited by the chinese foreign minister, to beijing, he might propose a potential of a heads of state meeting between president biden and gees and penn, president biden is the only us president who has never paid a visit to china during his tenure. i think that will be welcome and that would be significant. —— xijinping. we significant. -- xijinping. we are watching _ significant. —— xijinping. we are watching with great interest. shirley ze yu thank you for your take on his trip. the us has confirmed that ukraine has begun using long—range ballistic missiles which were sent in secret by washington last month. the weapons were first used a week ago to strike a russian airfield in occupied crimea. the missiles have a range of hundreds of kilometres. the us national security advisor, jake sullivan said the us provided the weapons because russia was attacking ukraine with long range—missiles it had secured from north korea. it's not a silver bullet. one capability will not be

the ultimate solution, it's an amalgam of capabilities that come together and combined with the bravery and skill of the ukraine fighters, which will make the difference in this conflict. it is good we can provide them but i don't expect to stand before you and say one capability has been the silver bullet in this conflict. now let's take a look at the latest on tiktok — the social media app has vowed to fight a new law which could see it sold or banned in the united states. the bill gives tiktok�*s chinese owner, bytedance, nine months to sell its stake or the app will be blocked in the united states where it has some 170 million users every month. tiktok says it'll challenge the move in court. its chief executive had this to say — on tiktok of course. make no mistake, this is a ban, a ban on tiktok and ban on you and your voice. politicians may say otherwise

but don't get confused, many who sponsored the bill admit a tiktok ban is the ultimate goal. tiktok has huge reach. across the us, it has 170 million users and 40% of those users say it's their regular source of news. there are concerns among politicians that the chinese authorities could misuse their data. tiktok has consistently denied ever sharing information with the chinese government. its chief executive has been grilled by lawmakers, twice in less than a year. iam making i am making the following commitments to you and to all our users. number one we will keep safety especially for teenagers as a top priority. number two, we will i will protect us data from unwanted foreign access. number three

tiktok will remain a place for free expression and will not be manipulated by any government. the us is not the only country taking action. india is the largest country to place a blanket ban on the app. it also banned 58 other chinese apps. other countries have banned tik tok on government owned devices, like australia and canada. in the uk, the british government banned ministers from using it. staff from the european commission, and the nato alliance, are not allowed to have tik tok on their work phones. for more, let's cross over to san francisco to speak to paresh dave, senior writer at technology magazine, wired. there has been an awful lot of discussion and analysis, tiktok said it would fight this in the courts and this could go on for a long time?— a long time? absolutely unlikely _ a long time? absolutely unlikely this _ a long time? absolutely unlikely this will - a long time? absolutely unlikely this will get - a long time? absolutely - unlikely this will get resolved this year, next year at the earliest, tiktok has 270 days

basically to decide what it's going to do. if it will do a sale or not?— going to do. if it will do a sale or not? ~ . ., , .,, sale or not? what are people sa in: sale or not? what are people saying about _ sale or not? what are people saying about this, _ sale or not? what are people saying about this, we - sale or not? what are people saying about this, we have i saying about this, we have talked about the millions of us users, if you have already got the tiktok at and you are already using it, would you be impacted if there is a ban, it means you cannot update and you can't get the latest versions, what will it mean practically four people? what will it mean practically fuur maple?— four people? exactly, it will wither away _ four people? exactly, it will wither away from _ four people? exactly, it will wither away from users - four people? exactly, it will- wither away from users phones, it will become ineffective. the biggest thing to think about today, if you are a tiktok creator, someone relying on tiktok to run a business, to market yourself or a product, you might be wanting to look at a contingency plan, more seriously than you have needed to before because this has been the talk has been happening for the talk has been happening for the last four years, but now this is the most serious step the us has taken, i think the

people who should be most worried other people relying on tiktok for their business, and that's what i'm saying they should be looking for contingency plans right now. you might like to buy tiktok, the us business? fix, you might like to buy tiktok, the us business?— you might like to buy tiktok, the us business? a company like microsoft has _ the us business? a company like microsoft has expressed - microsoft has expressed interest in tiktok before, they want to get deeper into the social media game, oracle is tied up with tiktok over the last couple of years but mostly to tout its cloud services are legitimate, does not seem like they are a legitimate buyer, maybe a bunch of private equity funds could team up and put together their money, i would not rule out elon musk even though tesla stock has been sinking. perhaps he could make a run for tiktok, sinking. perhaps he could make a runfortiktok, i sinking. perhaps he could make a run for tiktok, i would sinking. perhaps he could make a run for tiktok, iwould not rule that out. the thing to keepin rule that out. the thing to keep in mind about a sale, the chinese government has the ability to veto a sale there because they have put bite dance the tiktok owner, they

have put their technology on the export control list, it is our understanding tritone could veto sale and it's unlikely they would want to approve a sale under these circumstances. interesting to get your take on that. paresh dave from wide. tiktok is a big rival to mentor, the owner of instagram facebook and whatsapp, it has released its latest results, its shares have plunged. all the information on that in ten minutes. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

a teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a stabbing at a school in southwest wales. two teachers and a teenage pupil were taken to hospital with non—life—threatening stab wounds. the bbc understands that one of the injured is the school's deputy head teacher. tomos morgan reports:

this was the scene at a school after what was a shocking incident. two teachers and people stabbed taken to hospital with nonlife threatening injuries. a raft of emergency service vehicles and personnel attended the scene, worried parents rushing to the gates waiting for any news. i was in the it room. i walked out as brake ended and i heard there has been a stabbing from a pupil but i did not believe her until i heard the code red. parents have been waiting here for hours, waiting for children to be released from classrooms. those that have contacted the parents say they have questioned by the police, parents have also said the

emergency services and the school have been sporadic with information about what has happened. i information about what has happened-— information about what has happened. i tried to ring the school several _ happened. i tried to ring the school several times, - happened. i tried to ring the school several times, they l happened. i tried to ring the l school several times, they are not answering the phones, the school is on lockdown so we can't get into the school. very wor in: can't get into the school. very worrying and _ can't get into the school. very worrying and very _ can't get into the school. very worrying and very concerning, still_ worrying and very concerning, still concerned about the well being — still concerned about the well being of— still concerned about the well being of their little minds. at being of their little minds. quarter being of their little minds. git quarter past three the children were released. by, quarter past three the children were released.— were released. a bit shaky, because — were released. a bit shaky, because it _ were released. a bit shaky, because it happened - were released. a bit shaky, because it happened and i were released. a bit shaky, - because it happened and that's happened and we were there. really. because it is over, everything is finished. the olice everything is finished. the police say _ everything is finished. the police say they _ everything is finished. iia: police say they recovered everything is finished. tia: police say they recovered and everything is finished. ti2 police say they recovered and a knife and a teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody. tomos morgan, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news 110w. the long—awaited installation of a presidential transition council in haiti will take place on thursday. the outgoing prime minister,

ariel henry, said last month that he would step down after gangs prevented him from returning to the country. the council is expected to name an interim prime minister and help install a government that will eventually organise elections legislators in the us state of arizona have voted to repeal an abortion law dating back to 1864 which was revived earlier this month by a court ruling. arizona's senate must also now vote to repeal the ban to prevent it coming into force. the state is a crucial battleground in this year's presidential election, in which abortion and reproductive rights have become a central issue. venice has become the first city in the world to introduce an entry ticket for those visiting for the day. at specific times over the next few months, it'll cost 5 euros to enter. it's part of a trial aimed at tackling over—tourism. in a few days' time, hollywood's all—important summer movie season will get under way. last year, the studios generated some $4 billion at the box office during

the traditionally lucrative summer months. but now there's concern among executives, this year, with fewer than expected blockbusters in the pipeline, in the wake of last year's actors' and writers' strikes, this summer could disappoint. audiences are also displaying superhero fatigue. in recent times, films based on comic book figures have been a hollywood mainstay. from new york, tom brook reports. plenty of viewing options on offer to movie lovers during the hollywood summer movie season. everyone has a film on the mrc list.— season. everyone has a film on the mrc list._ the - season. everyone has a film on i the mrc list._ the dead the mrc list. mad max. the dead ball movies _ the mrc list. mad max. the dead ball movies are _ the mrc list. mad max. the dead ball movies are funny _ the mrc list. mad max. the dead ball movies are funny and - the mrc list. mad max. the dead ball movies are funny and i - ball movies are funny and i want — ball movies are funny and i want to— ball movies are funny and i want to see a movie that is funny— want to see a movie that is funny and _ want to see a movie that is funny and we can laugh together. funny and we can laugh together-— funny and we can laugh touether. ., . ., . together. your little cinematic universe is _ together. your little cinematic universe is about _ together. your little cinematic universe is about to _ together. your little cinematic universe is about to change i universe is about to change foreven _ universe is about to change forever. ., ., ,

universe is about to change forever. ., .,, ., , forever. one of the most hotly disappointed _ forever. one of the most hotly disappointed offerings - forever. one of the most hotly disappointed offerings as - forever. one of the most hotly disappointed offerings as did l disappointed offerings as did paul wolverine starring ryan reynolds and hugh paul wolverine starring ryan reynolds and huthackman, it brings people into the marble cinematic universe, the only marble movie of 202a. superhero films are losing their potency but did paul three is expected to be a trial stop if i were in a box office pull i would put did paul three is my number one pick. it did paul three is my number one ick. , .,, did paul three is my number one ick. , ~' , pick. it is the most likely billion-dollar _ pick. it is the most likely billion-dollar movie - pick. it is the most likely billion-dollar movie this| billion—dollar movie this summer. billion-dollar movie this summer-— billion-dollar movie this summer. , ., , summer. there is some variety at the summer— summer. there is some variety at the summer box _ summer. there is some variety at the summer box office, - summer. there is some variety l at the summer box office, music film a amy winehouse movie, back to black. and there are some grand sweeping spectacles coming up generating excitement. among them kevin costner�*s western, horizon and american saga into parts. i want these movies to succeed so desperately because i love the idea of a big ego driven star project and i love the idea of

a big sweeping western movie to bring all those audiences out. i would love to see that. but what really _ i would love to see that. but what really defines the sum of 2024 is brand familiarity. so many franchise films and sequels. coming up kingdom of the planet of the apes. inside out two. despicable me, four. in horror offerings including a quiet place day one. and alien, romulus. where is the originality?— romulus. where is the originality? romulus. where is the oriainali 7~ ., , originality? we are 'ust in the time when t originality? we are just in the time when everyone - originality? we are just in the time when everyone is - originality? we are just in the| time when everyone is waiting to find out where the new direction is. a lot of the old giant franchises you're fast and furious, your marvel, all of those seem to be at the end of those seem to be at the end of their era, may be in need of rebooting or taking a break. does not seem like any of the know what the next big and is,

they also nobody wants to be they also nobody wants to be the one to take the lead. there is anxiety _ the one to take the lead. there is anxiety in — the one to take the lead. there is anxiety in the _ the one to take the lead. there is anxiety in the industry - the one to take the lead. there is anxiety in the industry and i is anxiety in the industry and questions over what kind of films to make. creative minds like british author and screenwriter neal gaiman has his own thoughts about what he would do if he was a studio executive. i would do if he was a studio executive.— would do if he was a studio executive. ., , ., , , , executive. i would probably try and greenlight _ executive. i would probably try and greenlight a _ executive. i would probably try and greenlight a lot _ executive. i would probably try and greenlight a lot of - executive. i would probably try and greenlight a lot of lower. and greenlight a lot of lower budget films. i would look at the fact genre films, traditionally, things like horror, things like humour, things like cheap science—fiction, have always done well. and when they work they can make you a lot of money and that pays for a lot of thoughtful and original films. , ., films. indeed these are challenging _ films. indeed these are challenging times - films. indeed these are challenging times for l challenging times for hollywood, last year's actors and writers strike means there are fewer films now in the pipeline. and with no barb and home a miracle on the horizon it is probably not going to be

every record making summer movie season for the studios. —— barbenheimer. hello there. some really chilly—feeling air for the time of year, and it's going nowhere for the next couple of days. but of course, the sunshine's helping to lift the temperature somewhat. lots of blue sky across many parts of scotland, 13 celsius in edinburgh, butjust seven degrees for these north sea facing coasts such as scarborough. lots of clouds, and a brisk, a bitter northerly wind blowing, too. and as we head through the rest of tonight, there's a little feature running southwards bringing the threat of some further showers, possibly wintry over the hills of scotland. temperatures dipping very close to freezing into thursday morning. watch out for some icy stretches perhaps. and it's still blustery for those north sea—facing coasts, and across the northern isles as well. a mixture of sunny spells, but also some showers across many northern areas of england, scotland and northern ireland. more cloud and some showers pushing southwards across

england and wales. temperatures again towards the east, just 8—10 degrees celsius, but a little milder again further south and west. now, as we head through thursday night, then there'll be a lot of clear spells around. again, it's another cold feeling night for the time of year, the snow levels again dropping across parts of scotland. another frost for many of us as we head into friday morning. again, watch out for some icy stretches here and there. friday, we'll start to see a few changes. this area of low pressure starts to push in to south west england, affecting parts of the channel islands as well, bringing some more showery outbreaks of rain here. and the winds will fall lighter as well, so it won't feel quite so bitterly cold towards those north sea facing coast. but still, the bulk of the showers will be here. a scattering of showers, also some sunny spells, probably sunniest out towards the north and the west again. but temperatures still very low for the time of year, below the average, 8—12 degrees celsius for most of us. things are set to turn a little less cold, though, as we head through the weekend. some milderfeeling air. and it's going to be quite unsettled, tending to be drier

in the north and the west. so, if we just look at this low pressure system. it's spinning in from the south. it's going to give plenty of wet weather, particularly towards the south and the east, but also some milder feeling conditions. temperatures will rise to more or less the seasonal average. so certainly no heat wave. here's the temperature outlook for our capital cities as we head through the weekend and into the start of next week. so not as cold, but really quite showery. bye— bye.

live from london. this is bbc news. tech tantrum. almost $200 billion wiped off the value of meta, the owner of facebook and instagram, after its forecasts worry wall street, raising fears its huge investment in al may not pay off. also coming up, mining mega merger? britain's anglo american says it's received a buyout proposal from giant australian rival bhp. plus, the world's biggest economyjust keeps getting bigger, but is it finally slowing down? investors brace for the latest growth figures from the us, they could be key to hopes of a cut in interest rates. and, upskill or get left behind. more than half of the world's employees need to retrain for a changing workplace, according to the world economic forum. are you one of them?