this is bbc news, the headlines... a new york court overturns harvey weinstein's 2020 conviction for rape, ordering a new trial in the landmark "metoo" case. israel's war cabinet is meeting to discuss a possible major military operation in southern gaza, despite growing international calls against it. and venice becomes the first city in the world to charge day trippers for entry in an effort to tackle over tourism. time for a look at the business news now. ben thompson is here on time today, get in the leftmost early, did you? i made sure i was down nice and early, i couldn't cope with the grief yesterday. good afternoon, time for a look at business. let's start in the us because we've

just had the latest reading on the economy there for the first three months of the year. official figures revealed the economy expanded at an annualised rate of 1.6%, far below expectations and also less than the growth seen in the final months of 2023. meanwhile, inflation, which measures the pace of price rises, has increased. at the start of the year, experts had been forecasting a series of interest rate cuts in the us — so how do these figures play into that crucial decision? let's talk to our north america business correspondent now, erin delmore. erin, the economy is growing — but those figures aren't as good as expected. it is inflation that is still a big issue? w , it is inflation that is still a big issue? , , , ~ , issue? exactly. numbers like this like gdp give _ issue? exactly. numbers like this like gdp give us _ issue? exactly. numbers like this like gdp give us a _ issue? exactly. numbers like this like gdp give us a good _ issue? exactly. numbers like this like gdp give us a good thing - issue? exactly. numbers like this like gdp give us a good thing on | issue? exactly. numbers like this i like gdp give us a good thing on the pulse for how the us economy is doing but it isn't a forward—looking measure, it looks backwards and that is what leaves a couple of? for us. the question is where are we headed? what we know as the federal reserve is holding off on cutting interest

rates, something long anticipated by investors and everyday consumers that could stand to see their borrowing costs go down and what they have been trying to do is keep interest rates higher for longer so that they can try to call these price rises, inflation, without cooling the general economy. when we get a number like this today, 1.6% of gdp, it is about half of what we saw in the last quarter. the growth there was a 3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023. so you do see this slowing down full stop it prompts the question, what's changed? consumer spending is still strong, propped up by a strong jobs market with a low unemployment and rising wages. what we are seeing is some of the more volatile measures, the things that do fluctuate from quarter to quarter like business inventory is or international trade or business investment in new facilities and that makes us wonder whether businesses are feeling more reluctant about the path of the us economy ahead.— reluctant about the path of the us economy ahead. erin, it is that old adaae economy ahead. erin, it is that old adage that — economy ahead. erin, it is that old adage that elections _ economy ahead. erin, it is that old adage that elections are _ economy ahead. erin, it is that old adage that elections are won - economy ahead. erin, it is that old adage that elections are won back| adage that elections are won back and lost on how the economy is

faring but president biden faces a problem that actually the economy is doing 0k problem that actually the economy is doing ok but people don't really feel it in their pocket so there is a real mismatch in what the economic numbers are telling us and how people actually feel. absolutely. it is a paradox _ people actually feel. absolutely. it is a paradox that _ people actually feel. absolutely. it is a paradox that could _ people actually feel. absolutely. it is a paradox that could really - people actually feel. absolutely. it| is a paradox that could really stand to hurt president biden�*s re—election efforts. i have been covering politics for more than a decade at this point and i always say that when come back down to that tuesday in november, you have to look at the price of gas and the cost of a gallon of milk and people are voting on the bottom of for budgets and their own wallets. broadly, the labour market has been kind to americans. we haven't seen an appointment under 4% and a stretch like this more than 20 months in many many years and it is a really interesting feat when you think about how many losses ofjobs have occurred during the pandemic but it isn't something people are feeling day today because they still see the prices of everyday household items larger, they don't feel like their wages are keeping up with inflation and high borrowing costs

are putting off big purchases. when they get asked are you better off today than four years ago, a lot of americans say no, economically, i don't think i am.— americans say no, economically, i don't think i am. interesting to see how that will _ don't think i am. interesting to see how that will play _ don't think i am. interesting to see how that will play out _ don't think i am. interesting to see how that will play out in _ don't think i am. interesting to see how that will play out in this - how that will play out in this election campaign. erin, for now, thank you. we will talk more soon. erin delmore live in new york. let's turn our attention to the mining industry now — mining companies carry huge weight on stock markets and a huge employers around the world. a metal that's in focus at the moment is copper because it's a crucial part of the drive towards clean energy. it's needed everywhere from electic vehicles to the wires that carry electricty from power stations to where its needed. and that's why it's prompted the australian mining giant bhp to make a nearly $40 billion offer to buy its smaller uk based rival anglo american. what is at stake? ali i spoke to head of research at an investment firm specialising in mining. he explained what is so attractive

about anglo—american. bhp spent the last couple of years talking copper and its plans for copper. just last year, they completed the acquisition of a smaller company in australia to step up their australian assets and anglo american has a huge suite of assets in chile and peru, which would fit nicely with the rest of bhp's portfolio. they have really hung their hat on copper as where they will play rather than lithium or these smaller minerals. a clear message from bhp they love copper and want to get bigger and this is clearly a major way of going about it. it would make them the largest copper producer in the world if this transaction was completed, overtaking others in the us. what would this deal give bhp access to?

physically what changes for them. what would a deal allow them to access they currently can't get hold of? they currently produce about 1.5 million tonnes of copper a year. anglo has aimed to get to one million tonnes of the next four or five years, so there is scope for them to significantly increase production immediately. there's also some expansion potential, i think, within some of the anglo american assets that bhp would be looking at. some of the older projects, some of angle's assets are 100 years old, and certainly technological advancements that bhp are looking at in their own portfolio, potentially leveraging that into some of these anglo american assets as well to potentially grow copper beyond those targets. i said in the intro, demand for copper soaring given the push towards renewables. it is a concern that if power falls into the hands of the few key players, that gives certain companies to match power?

the copper market is 25 million tonnes a year or more globally, so whilst bhp would be the largest player, they would only be 10% of the whole market. it is also a freely traded commodity every day on various exchanges around the world. in fact, copper barely stops trading from shanghai into the us so it is quite liquid and very difficult to control from a supply point of view, so i don't think there will be too much opposition from bhp moving from where they are to 10% or i2% of the global market. no great surprise that after $40 billion offered to buy, anglo—american shares are up. around i6%, so investors encourage by that takeover bid. the wider london market is looking very positive at the moment, the ftse 100 is having a great week — hitting new records after what seems like an age in the doldrums.

there's also been some interesting movement in the us, with tech giants reporting earnings at the moment. let's take a closer look now with dani hewson, head of financial analysis at the stockbroker aj bell. dani — let's start with the ftse, breaking ground but a lot what is driving that? dani, i think you may have accidentally muted yourself somehow. is that possible? there is a mix of things driving that particularly today, you were just talking about that bid for anglo... it just talking about that bid for anulo... . ., , just talking about that bid for anulo... . . i, , anglo... it certainly seems you didn't read _ anglo. .. it certainly seems you didn't read yourself— anglo... it certainly seems you didn't read yourself but - anglo... it certainly seems you didn't read yourself but there l anglo... it certainly seems you | didn't read yourself but there is anglo... it certainly seems you i didn't read yourself but there is a strange delay on that line so we're going to try again. dani, if you can hear us, just explain what is driving that push in the ftse 100 driving that push in the ftse100 right now? i think we are going to

have to call it a day on that. dani, i'm really sorry, we can see you on to you but not at the same time which isn't very helpful for television. that was dani hewson explain to us by the ftse100 has been hitting those record heights. some suggesting that undervaluing has gone on for too long and certainly in the london market, looking pretty cheap right now. we will try and re—establish that line and talk some more with dani a little later. in other news... american airlines — which is the world's biggest by passenger numbers — says its confident about the future thanks to the return of business travel and strong demand flights in the summer. the airline says it brought ina record $12.6 billion in the first three months of this year, however it did make a small loss on that. the chief executive said he wasnt satisfied with that but expected things to improve this year. the results have helped the share price reverse some of its recent losses.

the tech and retail giant amazon is to spend $11 billion on data centres in the us state of indiana. it says the new faciltiies are needed to cope with the huge growth in demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence services. the midwestern state has been picked partly because of tax breaks it's offered amazon as many companies race to build new data centres. the uk's opposition labour party says it plans to re—nationalise the country's rail network within five years if it wins the next general election. labour wants to set up a publicly—owned organisation — great british railways — which would inherit rail contracts held by private firms as they expire. almost 70% of uk voters support bringing rail back into public ownership according to a recent poll. but the government has called the plan �*unfunded' and �*pointless�* and warns it will mean tax rises. those are your business stories, you are watching bbc news.

israel's war cabinet is meeting to discuss the military operation in rafah in southern gaza. israel says its plans to launch an assault on remaining hamas battalions in rafah. washington has warned israel not to carry out a full—scale attack without a credible plan to protect civilians. more than a million displaced people are taking shelter in rafah. the white house has challenged israel to say how it could safely evacuate civilians from the area. merlyn thomas from bbc verified has more. israel has signalled its intention to carry out an offensive on rafah. but prime minister benjamin netanyahu hasn't specified when this will happen. currently, there are estimated to be at least 1.2 million people living in rafah here on the border with egypt. most of them have been displaced from other parts of gaza because of the israeli offensive. many are in tents with limited essential services.

israel says they will evacuate them from rafah but haven't given details about how this will happen. we've been analysing satellite imagery to see where preparations are being made. now, we don't know exactly where people are going to be moved to, but about seven kilometres north of rafah is the southern city of khan younis. and these satellite images show what appear to be olive groves. then, just over two weeks later, hundreds of tents have appeared. and another example, this is the border city of rafah, the city that the israeli army have said they'll attack soon. over the past couple of weeks, hundreds of tents have been put up here on the outskirts of rafah. but this is just a fraction of what's already been put up here in the past couple of months. a city covered in tents and getting hundreds of thousands of people out of rafah will be a huge challenge. there are four main roads that lead out of rafah, covered in debris and damage from months of fighting.

this is a video from the center of khan younis on one of the main roads. cars are driving through a landscape of rubble. and on this road, you can see on satellite imagery a crater, one of the remnants of earlier bombardment. cars could still technically go around it, but it's damage like this that is likely to make evacuation extremely difficult. and the question of what awaits palestinians fleeing rafah is still unclear. israeli media reports say preparations are under way, including the purchase of 40,000 tents each designed to hold 10 to 12 people. so while the offensive of rafah hasn't begun, it doesn't mean it's a safe place. the israeli army carried out several strikes overnight. this is a video that shows the aftermath of one of those strikes we've geolocated to the city by matching identifiable features in this video with publicly available images — children's toys, a carseat, whole lives scattered. and about 57% of gaza's buildings have been damaged or destroyed.

that's according to satellite image analysis. khan younis has borne the brunt of israeli strikes in the south since the war began. so even if people were evacuated to the city, there's little for people to return to. netanyahu hasn't yet said when the attack will take place, but the israeli army has confirmed two reservist brigades have been called up for missions. palestinians are already living in dire conditions in crowded camps in rafah, which had a population of around 275,000 before the war. now, more than 1.7 million will need to flee again. and where and how they'll do that is still unknown. hamas has published a video showing an israeli—american hostage, hersh goldberg—polin, in captivity. the short, undated video shows the man in his early 20s missing his lower arm. he was shown saying he had sustained serious injuries during the october 7th attack. there's been anger injerusalem,

with some gathering near prime minister's netanyahu's official residence. demonstrators have been calling on the israeli government to do more to secure an agreement to release the hostages. there were also clashes between police and protesters. officers had to escort the far—right israeli national security minister itamar ben—gvir to his car through the crowd of chanting protesters. hersh goldberg—polin�*s parents have responded to the video of their son pleading for negotiating parties to reach a deal. my name is rachel and this isjohn, and we are the parents of hersh goldberg—polin, an american—israeli civilian who was kidnapped into gaza 201 days ago. seeing a video of hersh today is overwhelming. we are relieved to see him alive, but we are also concerned about his health and well—being, as well as that of all the other hostages and all of those

suffering in this region, and we are here today with a plea to all of the leaders of the parties who have been negotiating to date. that includes qatar, egypt, the united states, hamas and israel. be brave, lean in, seize this moment and get a deal done to reunite all of us with our loved ones and end the suffering in this region. and hersh, if you can hear this, we heard your voice today for the first time in 201 days. and if you can hear us, i am telling you, we are telling you, we love you. stay strong. survive. venice has become the first city in the world to charge tourists coming on day trips to enter the city. the five euro charge is part of a wider scheme aimed at managing the city's problem with over—tourism. around two—thirds of the estimated

30 million visitors to venice each year are day trippers. the scheme will be watched closely by other cities facing similar problems. critics say the fee is too low to have any significant impact. i spoke to to rachel ardman, co—founder of the tour company, venice daytrips. she gave us her assessment. i think i am a little bit... i have mixed emotions about this. on one hand, it is good that the city government of venice is finally beginning to address the matter seriously, the overtourism, though i am a bit pessimistic as to whether this is 5 euros fee is going to dissuade many people from coming to venice. we are trying to encourage a bit more slower tourism and many of our clients come to venice for three, four, up to a week at a time, three or four days, up to a week at a time. we rarely have clients coming just for the day. so we might not be

directly impacted, i hope it does manage to reduce the numbers at peak days, but that kind of remains to be seen. you need to change the name of your company, then, if day trips is not the thing you do! you already pay costs, don't you, when you stay in a hotel, don't you? right, people who come to stay in hotels for at least one night do already pay a city tax. we encourage people to spend enough time in venice to be able to take a day trip from venice. that is actually what is behind our company's name. so taking time not only to see venice, the capital of this region, but now there's more to venice than saint mark's square and the bridge, more to the region than just venice. let's go live to the us wearer world central kitchen workers killed in

gaza. seven people working for the aid organisation died when their vehicles were hit by israeli forces. israel has said it was trying to target militants but the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has acknowledged that israel's forces hit innocent people. world central kitchen is one of the main suppliers of aid to gaza. it has said it will be making decisions about the future of its work at some point soon and in terms of what happened, the charity said the aid convoy was hit while leaving a warehouse where the team had apparently unloaded more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian food aid brought to gaza on the maritime route. the convoy was made up of three vehicles including two that were armoured. the bbc understands all three were hit in the strike. the world central kitchen said it had coordinated that convoy�*s movement with the idf when it was hit. this is the ceremony, let's quickly listen in. oh, it is taking

a short pause. that is happening at the cathedral there in washington. you're watching bbc news. here in the uk... labour says it will renationalise most passenger rail services if it wins the next general election. the party says its proposals, which include creating a new publicly—owned body which would be responsible for infrastructure, would be the industry's�* biggest overhaul in a generation. the government says the plans are pointless and unfunded. more details from our transport correspondent katy austin. what's the way ahead for britain's railway? today, labour outlined what it would do, arguing its plans would fix a broken model. 0ur railways have become a symbol of national decline. of a country that no longer works and a government with no plan to fix it. cancellations are at record highs. fares have risen almost twice as fast as wages since 2010 and strikes are costing us £25 million a day. when contracts held by private

train companies expire, they would be brought into a new public body, great british railways, which would oversee both infrastructure and train services. but labour would not nationalise freight or rolling stock companies and private operators like lumo and hull trains, which run independently without government subsidy, could continue. other measures include automatic delay repay, digital season tickets and a best price guarantee making fares more transparent, although not necessarily cheaper. labour claims its new model would mean cost savings for the taxpayer. the transport secretary disagrees. they've got no idea how to pay for it. there are going to be increased costs. if you nationalise all those companies, you are going to have to hire civil servants to manage it. they are setting up another quango. the lib dems want to freeze fares but haven't committed to nationalisation. the snp said it would work with labour. scotland and wales already have nationalised passenger rail services and several

large england—based operators are publicly run after being brought into the government's operator of last resort. also, the government has a large degree of control over most private train companies because of the type of contract they are currently on. a group which speaks for private train companies say a structure used like the one by transport for london would be better. that alternative model gives you the best of both worlds, so greater public control through a governing body in the public sector like great british railways, but then harnessing that commercial expertise of the private sector train company to deliver better outcomes for the passenger. even if it does gain power, labour admits it would take time for passengers to see change. katy austin, bbc news. 0fsted's single—word judgments are set to remain in place despite campaigners asking for them to be scrapped following the suicide of a primary school headteacher.

ruth perry died after her school in reading was downgraded from �*outstanding' to �*inadequate'. 0ur education editor, branwen jeffreys, reports. an inspection at this small primary started this debate. the single—word judgement, "inadequate", haunted the head teacher. ruth perry took her own life, knowing the school would be downgraded. a coroner found the inspection had contributed. ruth's sisterjulia waters has campaigned for single word judgements to go. mps agreed after an inquiry, but the government says the system should stay. i'm deeply upset — more than a little bit angry that after all that time, all that commitment, all that talking, all that apparent listening, they're not going to act. they are not going to do the things that they know my family and so many others need and want to change.

headteachers�* unions said the government was failing to listen and concerns remained about the system. if we have another tragedy that will sit firmly on the shoulders of ministers, who are failing to grapple with this problem right now. we have calls from members regularly on our helpline, in crisis because of inspection, and we know we are so very close to that happening again. it's not scaremongering. we've seen it happen once, we cannot afford to see it happen again. the new head of 0fsted says he wants to consult widely. the labour party have already said they would scrap the one—word judgements. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. the british military has given an update — after the incident on wednesday, which saw four horses break free from their handlers, and run through london. they say that seven horses in total were spooked, five of which tried to bolt, resulting in four breaking looses.

two of them were injured, and were operated on last night. one has been transferred to an equine hospital. all of the remaining horses are being closely observed. and the statement, which thanks everyone who has shown kindness and concern, also notes that all three of the soldiers involved are expected to recover fully and to return to duty. now it's time for a look at the weather. there were two different types of weather across the country for thursday, neither being worn. across england and wales, a lot of cloud around with some patches of rain and these grey skies, the rain, all tied in with an area of low pressure out in with an area of low pressure out in the north sea. the extent of the cloud seen here. further north, much brighter weather in scotland with some lengthy spells of sunshine so if you wanted the sunnier weather, scotland was the place to be. however, we did see some of those brighter skies pushing into northern ireland and england through the afternoon. 0vernight, a few patches of rain to come and go across

southern areas of england, perhaps southern areas of england, perhaps south wales as well. away from that, most of the uk having clearing skies, especially during the second part of the night, becoming largely dry and there will be quite a widespread frost in rural areas so we are looking at a cold and frosty start to the day for many on friday but overall, it's a much brighter day with more in the way of sunshine. the exception, southern england, the threat of some rain especially in the south—west. through the afternoon, some showers break out, becoming white spread but especially across northern and eastern scotland and eastern areas of england —— widespread. wherever you are, looking at a chilly time of day wherever you are with temperatures around about eight to 14 degrees. this weekend will see an area of low pressure move up from the south and this brings with it the south and this brings with it the threat of some rain. 0n the threat of some rain. on saturday, the rain will be affecting southern england, parts of wales, the midlands and east anglia. there will be a chilly wind, gusting into the 20 mph, not desperately strong but given those low temperatures, the wind will make it feel that bit

colder. for northern ireland, scotland and northern england, after a cold and frosty start, again looking at an afternoon of sunny spells and passing showers. some of the show was having a bit of hay were mixed in and temperatures below average once again. second part of the weekend, the same area of low pressure threatens rain across eastern england and there is a chance this rain could be a bit more extensive across the midlands and slower to clear away from that area, again after a cold and locally frosty start, looking at some sunny spells and a number of showers, especially across the north and west of the country. temperatures continue to run below average for the time of year. however, as we get into next week, if you are fed up with this chilly weather, it looks like we will see something of a change to much milder weather conditions however it isn't necessarily dry, some rain and showers around next week.

live from london. this is bbc news. a new york court overturns harvey weinstein�*s 2020 conviction for rape, ordering a new trial in the landmark "metoo" case. scotland's first minister, humza yousaf faces a vote of no confidence after a power—sharing deal with the greens collapses. the us supreme court is considering whether donald trump is immune from prosecution for actions he took as president. the outcome will determine whether he can face trial on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election. a former post office executive tells the inquiry into the scandal that she's "truly sorry for the devastation" caused to branch managers. hello, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them.

the disgraced hollywood film producer, harvey weinstein, has had one of his rape convictions overturned.