it's 7pm in london, this is this world today with lewis vaughn jones. claims of mass graves at two hospitals in gaza — we have a special investigation. president biden signs the law to provide military assistance for ukraine, israel and taiwan. a teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at a school in southwest wales. we'll have the latest. the ceo of tiktok has hit back on the potential ban of the popular app in the us. make no mistake, this is a ban — a ban on tiktok and a ban on your voice. also coming up on the world today... what happened when four courses

broke free and galloped through central london? —— horses. welcome to the world today — an hour of international news from the bbc. the un's human rights chief has said he is "horrified" by the destruction of gaza's nasser and al—shifa hospitals and the reports of "mass graves" being found at the sites after israeli raids. volker turk has called for independent investigations into the deaths. let's look at the locations here. the hamas—run health ministry say they have exhumed the bodies of almost 300 people. the israel defence forces described reports that they buried bodies as "baseless and unfounded". so what's the truth? a warning — some viewers might find images in fergal keane's reports distressing. blasted into brokenness, a world of rubble and death.

khan younis today, from above. and on the ground, and below the ground... ..the searching of the graves. forfour days, this woman has moved through the overpowering stench of the mass graves at al nasser hospital. she is the mother of 21—year—old ahmed, who was killed injanuary. translation: i have been coming here all the time up till now, - until i found the body of my son. my son ahmed, the cherished little boy, his mother's love. he lost his father when he was 12, and i raised him. the graves are now at the centre of conflicting claims between hamas and local aid workers on one side, and the israel defence forces on the other. hamas claims some of the dead were executed, had their hands tied and were dumped in mass graves.

the israelis describe these allegations as "baseless", saying they had opened existing graves to check for dead israeli hostages. the examination was carried out respectfully while maintaining the dignity of the deceased. bodies were examined which did not belong to israeli hostages, and they were returned to their place. colleagues at bbc arabic and verify have confirmed the existence of graves at the hospitals before the idf began its operations at each. buried like this because staff couldn't reach cemeteries due to fighting in the area. today, the un human rights director for the palestinian territories told me there had to be an independent investigation to get to the truth. we still don't have evidence, we have information. and that information needs to be

corroborated from different sources. that's exactly why we do need an independent international investigation. what we cannot allow in this current situation, where we have seen in gaza numerous grave human rights violations, many of them potentially war crimes, and where we have raised alarm of potential atrocity crimes, that this becomes another blip, the intensity of violations have been massive. this woman retrieved her husband's body at nasser hospital, and was able to bury him with his relatives. his daughter is struggling to understand his absence. "he loved me," she says, "and used to buy things for me. "and he used to take me out." they will be searching and burying here for days. and all over gaza, the dying continues.

fergal keane, bbc news. meanwhile, new satellite images of southern gaza suggest that israel's military is preparing for an offensive in the city of rafah. rafah, by the border with egypt, is the only city in gaza that israel has not yet entered. over a million people have been sheltering there for months. these before and after pictures show rows of tents have popped up at a site to the west of khan younis in just the last few weeks. and it's a similar situation just outside rafah. again, you can see the change in just a few weeks. it would imply people are being moved by the israelis ahead of a military operation. reports in us media suggest that the idf will enter rafah in stages, with egyptian officials quoted as saying that the offensive could to take about six weeks. our correspondent injerusalem, wyre davies, has more. an israeli spokesperson told me

today that the israeli government is indeed moving ahead with plans to launch this operation in gaza, being described as a full—scale military operation. rafah is the town south of khan younis where you saw that report — this is the last bastion, according to the israelis, of hamas. about 19 of hamas�*s 2a military battalions have been destroyed thus far, say the israelis, so about 4—5 battalions, several hundred fighters. and the leaders, according to the israelis, remain in rafah. israel says it cannot declare victory in this more and return to israel confident that hamas won't rise again until these hamas battalions are taken on and defeated in rafah. the problem is, say the americans and british who have tried to persuade israel not to undertake this full—scale military operation, is there is a looming humanitarian crisis, about 1.5 million people, internal refugees, around rafah, and despite attempts by aid agencies to

establish tents outside rafah, it'll take a herculean effort to move that number of people in the wake of what's thought to be now an imminent israeli incursion. to the us — where president biden has signed off on a massive $95 billion package of aid for ukraine, israel and taiwan. he's been speaking a day after the us senate approved the aid package following months of congressional gridlock. $61 billion will be sent to assist ukraine in its fight against russia. president biden says the us would be sending fresh weapons, and equipment "right away". sending fresh weapons, i sending fresh weapons, find this amazing, there ai reports i find this amazing, there are reports of cheers breaking out in the trenches and eastern ukrainian, probably came from one of your faults, reporters, i'm not sure where it came from. but they were cheering as they watched the house vote and support ukraine. it's not like they don't understand what we've done, how critical this is for

them. we don't walk away from our allies, we stand with them. we don't let tyrants win, we oppose them. we don't really watch global events unfold, we shape them. that's what it means to be an indispensable nation. that's what it means to be the world's superpower and the world's leading democracy. this has happened as the uk and germany have pledged to support ukraine for as long as it takes, after talks in berlin on toughening europe's defence. the british prime minister, rishi sunak, and the german chancellor, olaf scholz, have agreed a new defence initiative to combat the threat from russia. mr scholz outlined the threat posed by russia. translation: russia's aggression a . ainst translation: russia's aggression against ukraine _ translation: russia's aggression against ukraine has _ translation: russia's aggression against ukraine has marked - translation: russia's aggression against ukraine has marked a - against ukraine has marked a watershed moment, i have repeatedly stated that. and that of course also means that we need to take note of the fact that the russian war of aggression has changed, and has put at risk the european security architecture. so in europe and the

world, we need to make it clear that we should not be shifted by force. that means we need to strengthen the european pillar of nato. sunak praised germany's shift in defence policy. and at this dangerous moment, the bond between our two nations are stronger— bond between our two nations are stronger than ever. we meet as a war rages— stronger than ever. we meet as a war rages on— stronger than ever. we meet as a war rages on our— stronger than ever. we meet as a war rages on our continent and new threats— rages on our continent and new threats arising around the world. i know_ threats arising around the world. i know -- _ threats arising around the world. i know -- and — threats arising around the world. i know —— and i want to congratulate you on _ know —— and i want to congratulate you on your — know —— and i want to congratulate you on your leadership, and recognising the need and you taking the historic decision to raise taremi's _ the historic decision to raise taremi's defence spending. and we stand _ taremi's defence spending. and we stand here — taremi's defence spending. and we stand here today as the leading defence — stand here today as the leading defence spenders in europe. that us foreign aid package we talked about also includes $8 billion for allies in the asia—pacific, including taiwan, to quote "counter communist china". this has angered beijing — here's the response of the government there. translation: the insertion of taiwan

related content — translation: the insertion of taiwan related content into _ translation: the insertion of taiwan related content into the _ translation: the insertion of taiwan related content into the us _ related content into the us congressional bill seriously violates the one china bill and the three joint violates the one china bill and the threejoint communiques violates the one china bill and the three joint communiques of china and the us, and sends the wrong signal to separate his forces in taiwan. we urge the us to honour its commitment of not supporting taiwan independence with concrete actions, and to stop i arming taiwan and indigent —— in any way. interesting timing then for america's top diplomat, secretary of state antony blinken, to be touching down in china for a three—day tour. he'll meet his counterpart in beijing on friday. let's speak to sheena chestnut greitens — associate professor at the us army war college and the university of texas, in austin, where she directs the asia policy programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme. thanks so much for havin: the programme. thanks so much for having me- — the programme. thanks so much for having me- so _ the programme. thanks so much for having me. so we _ the programme. thanks so much for having me. so we have _ the programme. thanks so much for having me. so we have the - the programme. thanks so much for having me. so we have the us - having me. so we have the us secretary _ having me. so we have the us secretary of — having me. so we have the us secretary of state _ having me. so we have the us secretary of state antony - having me. so we have the us i secretary of state antony blinken touching down there, let's talk about the visit — how sensitive,

difficult, challenging do you think it'll be? i difficult, challenging do you think it'll be? ~' , , difficult, challenging do you think it'll be? ~ , , ., it'll be? i think this will be a difficult visit _ it'll be? i think this will be a difficult visit because - it'll be? i think this will be a difficult visit because each l it'll be? i think this will be a i difficult visit because each side hasissues difficult visit because each side has issues at the moment that they want the other to change behaviour on that are fairly high on their priority list. so for the united states, its not happy with china's efforts to interfere with the resupply missions in the philippines, but also particularly unhappy with chinese support for russia and the sales and transactions within china that allow russia to reconstitute his military industrial base and keep its effort industrial base and keep its effort in ukraine going. for its part, beijing is upset that the united states is supporting... it is particularly unhappy with the financing provisions we are just a moment ago that were included in the legislation signed by president biden today. each site has things they aren't happy with and those will be aired candidly during this

visit. 50 will be aired candidly during this visit. , , ., visit. so they will be aired candidly _ visit. so they will be aired candidly behind _ visit. so they will be aired candidly behind closed - visit. so they will be aired - candidly behind closed doors, what will a good, successful visit look like from the us's part in three days' time? i like from the us's part in three days' time?— days' time? i think from the standpoint _ days' time? i think from the standpoint of— days' time? i think from the standpoint of secretary - days' time? i think from the i standpoint of secretary blinken days' time? i think from the - standpoint of secretary blinken and his team, they frame success as an effort to responsibly manage the more competitive aspects of the us china relationship to prevent miss communication from escalating into unexpected or unanticipated conflict. so i think the goal will be to communicate the united states's priorities, a successful visit would include either some scaling back or prevention of further increases in chinese support for russia. i think also the united states is looking ahead to the inauguration in taiwan of the new president in may and hoping to probably find some pathway to avoid that from escalating, as that's essential to beijing.—

that from escalating, as that's essential to beijing. essential to bei'ing. thank you very much for essential to beijing. thank you very much for coming _ essential to beijing. thank you very much for coming on _ essential to beijing. thank you very much for coming on the _ essential to beijing. thank you very l much for coming on the programme. thanks for having me. just bring you some breaking news from wales here in the uk three people — two teachers and a teenage pupil — have been taken to hospital after a stabbing at a secondary school in south—west wales. one line coming to us from bbc wales - bbc one line coming to us from bbc wales — bbc wales understands that one of the injured teachers, fiona elias, her injuries are not life—threatening. so our colleagues at bbc wales understand that one of the injured teachers is fiona elias, her injuries are not life—threatening. we will have plenty more coverage on that story in just plenty more coverage on that story injust a plenty more coverage on that story in just a few moments time. still to come on the world today — could tiktok soon vanish from the us? politicians have had their say, we look at what's really going on with the video—sharing app.

and later, these extraordinary scenes in central london as a spooked horses go on the run. around the world and across the uk, this is the world today on bbc news.

three people — two teachers and a teenage pupil — have been taken to hospital after a stabbing at a secondary school in south—west wales. a teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. the home secretary, james cleverly, says he is being kept informed of developments and pupils have been allowed to leave the school. a short while ago, police superintendent ross evans spoke at a press conference near to the scene. let's hear what he had to say. we received a calljust after 11:20am advising us people were injured following an incident at the school. emergency services immediately attended, and the school was locked down for the safety of everyone on the premises. two

teachers and a teenage pupil were taken to hospital with stab wounds. their injuries are not life—threatening. a teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and currently remains in police custody. let's speak to our correspondent hywel griffith. just bring us up—to—date with the latest. just bring us up-to-date with the latest. , . , just bring us up-to-date with the latest. , .,, i. �* just bring us up-to-date with the latest. , ., , , ., �* ., ., latest. yes, as you've heard from the superintendent _ latest. yes, as you've heard from the superintendent there, - latest. yes, as you've heard from the superintendent there, he - the superintendent there, he revealed a lot more about what went on at the school earlier today. we understand the incident happened around the morning break time, alarm around the morning break time, alarm around the morning break time, alarm around the schools and a code red called out over the school to hanoi — a code to tell teachers to lock down the classrooms. now the police were called, as were two air ambulances, and the police found three had been injured with stab wounds. we know that there were two teachers, one of whom was fiona elias. we understand all three people, it does make teachers and the person injured, do not have

life—threatening injuries, they were taken to hospital. police then made an arrest of a teenage girl, arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. now it was clearly a distressing moment for the pupils within the school and also their parents, who gathered at the fence outside as the school remained in lockdown, messages going back and forth between them to ensure them everyone was ok. at the end of the school day, though students were allowed to leave, we understand, from the school, they will not be open tomorrow but there will be support for those students and a strong police presence.- support for those students and a strong police presence. and we heard from olice strong police presence. and we heard from police that _ strong police presence. and we heard from police that update, _ strong police presence. and we heard from police that update, as _ strong police presence. and we heard from police that update, as you - from police that update, as you said, the school closed tomorrow, a continued police presence. when are we likely to get any more updates or information? what's the reaction from people been there? immediate concern for the _ from people been there? immediate concern for the police _ from people been there? immediate concern for the police will _ from people been there? immediate concern for the police will be - concern for the police will be investigating, potentially speaking to all witnesses and... i think

it'll be tomorrow before we hear whether a school will reopen for the rest of the week or whether it'll come back monday. clearly such a distressing moment, there will need to be a lot of help. they may decide that's best done together on the school premises or potentially may be waiting until the start of next week. but i think there will be some need for guardians and parents to also be informed of what happened so they can speak to their children too. ., they can speak to their children too. . , they can speak to their children too. ., , . too. indeed, thanks very much for that. tiktok — could it be banned in us? the us senate has approved a bill. president biden hasjust signed it into law. it gives tiktok�*s chinese owner — bytedance — nine months to sell its stake, or the app will be blocked in the united states. tiktok says it'll challenge the move in court. it's chief executive had his say — on tiktok, of course. make no mistake — this is a ban, a

ban on tiktok and you and your voice. politicians may say otherwise, but don't get confused — many who sponsored the bill admitted a tiktok ban is their ultimate goal. tiktok has huge reach. across the us, it has 170 million users. there are concerns among politicians that the chinese authorities could misuse people's data. tiktok has consistently denied ever sharing information with the chinese government. it's chief executive has been grilled by lawmakers twice in less than a year. i'm making following commitments to you and all of our users. number one, we will keep safety, particularly for teenagers, as a top priority for us. number two, we will firewall protect us data from unwanted foreign access. number three, tiktok will remain a place for free three, tiktok will remain a place forfree expression and 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 tiktok 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 tiktok on their work phones. for those of you not familiar with what happens on tiktok, here's a taste. it's an entertainment platform, full of short videos on... ..well, everything. this is one of the top videos on the platform at the moment, from influencer zac king, with a staggering 2.3 billion views. harry potter theme plays like my costume? how do you do that? is that my longboard? _ like my costume? how do you do that? is that my longboard? so _ like my costume? how do you do that? is that my longboard? so videos - like my costume? how do you do that? is that my longboard? so videos like . is that my longboard? so videos like that. let's speak now to pak nung wong, senior lecturer in politics, languages and international studies at bath university and author

of "techno—geopolitics: the us—china tech war and the practice of digital statecraft". thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme.- so - thank you very much for coming on the programme.- so do - thank you very much for coming on the programme. hello. so do you think tiktok— the programme. hello. so do you think tiktokwill_ the programme. hello. so do you think tiktok will be _ the programme. hello. so do you think tiktok will be banned - the programme. hello. so do you think tiktok will be banned in - the programme. hello. so do you think tiktok will be banned in the us? i think tiktok will be banned in the us? ,, ,, ., , ., us? i think the us government is now askin: the us? i think the us government is now asking the tiktok _ us? i think the us government is now asking the tiktok to _ us? i think the us government is now asking the tiktok to be _ us? i think the us government is now asking the tiktok to be sold _ us? i think the us government is now asking the tiktok to be sold to - us? i think the us government is now asking the tiktok to be sold to the - asking the tiktok to be sold to the us so that the us can own and operate tiktok on their own. now i think the tricky question for the chinese government, and also the chinese government, and also the chinese company byte da nce bytedance is, within the us by firing the dust firewall inc. tiktok in the us, the main concern for the us alleged later and also security officers is the chinese government

and companies still in charge of the form? to update and renew the entire tiktok platform regularly? now this raises critical concerns, and therefore we can understand why the us government is trying to ask the chinese government to sell tiktok for them. chinese government to sell tiktok forthem. but chinese government to sell tiktok for them. but for the chinese government, because the us is not the only territory outside china that tiktok is being operated, it's also being used by other countries, millions of people also, and therefore for the chinese government to think about selling the algorithm, the core technology to the us is something they cannot accept. so i think the chinese government is likely to refuse, and therefore a ban of tiktok is likely on the horizon.— therefore a ban of tiktok is likely on the horizon. fascinating issue, thank ou on the horizon. fascinating issue, thank you very — on the horizon. fascinating issue, thank you very much _ on the horizon. fascinating issue, thank you very much for - on the horizon. fascinating issue, thank you very much for coming l on the horizon. fascinating issue, | thank you very much for coming on the programme.

let's head to those protests you've seenin let's head to those protests you've seen in new york, the speaker of the house is due to visit there right about now. let's take a look at these pro—palestinian speakers having their say. more than 100 students were arrested last week, talks between university officials and students are taking place today, wednesday. newell mcgovern is in new york, i spoke to herjust a little earlier. york, i spoke to her 'ust a little earlier. �* ., , ., ., earlier. behind me as one of the elite colleges, _ earlier. behind me as one of the elite colleges, and _ earlier. behind me as one of the elite colleges, and ivy _ earlier. behind me as one of the elite colleges, and ivy league i elite colleges, and ivy league couege elite colleges, and ivy league college where protests have been taking place since october 7th. you mentioned of course over the past week that things have escalated, over 100 students were arrested here at columbia university — if you go inside those gates, and press can't go injust yet, you will see rows and rows of brightly coloured tents.

the people in those tents are speaking with columbia university, asking them to divest from israeli companies or anybody indeed who has affiliations with israel, particularly when it comes to military matters. now there was a deadline last night to take those tents down — that deadline has passed, the tents are still up. at the university have said over the last couple hours, and excuse me with the new york ambulance service going by, i'm sure it's difficult for our viewers to hear, give me one second. fdnyjust going by for our viewers to hear, give me one second. fdny just going by us. they've said that talks are actually progressing, so they've given them another 48 hours, another deadline which will take us to tomorrow, thursday midnight at new york time. now anybody i've spoken to feels they are pretty stuck in on their position — there doesn't seem to be a lot of ground given on either side, but it remains to be seen. a lot of people post my ideas are

being checked if you are to go in, we are expecting the speaker mike johnson to be here in about two hours' time. he said he's coming to supportjewish students who feel unsafe on campus, and i've spoken to some of those over the past day, i've also spoken on my way up on the subway to a young jewish man who said he's taken part in the protest against the gaza war. so you don't have to go too far before finding that have opinions and they very much feel that they are waiting for columbia university to make a move. i think both sides are quite angry, as is precedent — the president has been underfire for as is precedent — the president has been under fire for not de—escalating the situation, so she's definitely under pressure to come up with a solution that could be palatable to both sides. idistill come up with a solution that could be palatable to both sides.- be palatable to both sides. will be keein: an be palatable to both sides. will be keeping an ion _ be palatable to both sides. will be keeping an ion what's _ be palatable to both sides. will be keeping an ion what's happening l keeping an ion what's happening there in new york and other university sites across the us. stay

with us, i'll be back in a couple minutes. i'm lewis vaughanjones, this is bbc news. hello. it has been another rather cold—feeling day for many parts of the uk. any sign of the temperatures lifting over the next few days? well, certainly notjust yet — staying chilly through thursday and friday. there will be some sunshine, but also some showers — some of those showers wintry over high ground in the north of the uk. a cold air mass enveloping the country right now, that cold air being drawn down from the north. also coming down from the north overnight, some areas of cloud, some bits and pieces of showery rain — i say rain, cold enough for some of the showers over high ground in scotland to be falling as snow. some snow mixing in above, say, 2—300 metres' elevation. it'll be cold enough for a frost as well, temperatures dropping perilously close to freezing, below freezing in some locations. so for thursday morning, quite a cold start. areas of cloud bringing some showery rain across parts of england and wales,

brightening up through the day across northern england. northern ireland and scotland, seeing sunny spells and showers — still some wintriness in those showers over high ground in scotland, and temperatures in a range between 8—13 celsius, so below par for this time of year. through thursday night and into friday, it looks like we'll see this weather system here just grazing the south of england and the channel islands, so that will bring some cloud, perhaps some showery rain here through the day. elsewhere, it is another sunny—spells—and—showers day. still some wintry showers in those showers over the hills and mountains of scotland, and those temperatures for most between 8—12 celsius. now, as we head into the start of the weekend, for most, it'll be a cold morning on saturday, it's another sunshine—and—showers day. but turn your eyes to the south — an area of thicker cloud and some outbreaks of rain pushing across the channel islands, into southern counties of england through saturday afternoon. with that, temperatures will start to lift a little — 14 celsius in london. and that is the story

of the weekend weather, some slightly less cold air beginning to spill its way up from the south. certainly not going to be a heat wave, and it's certainly not going to be completely dry, because that slightly—less—cold air is being brought our way by this area of low pressure. looks like we will see some outbreaks of rain continuing on into sunday, particularly across england and wales. the chance of seeing something drier and brighter for northern ireland and scotland.

this is the world today from bbc news, the headlines president biden signs the law to provide military assistance for ukraine, israel and taiwan. british police arrest three people in connection with the deaths of five migrants in the english channel on tuesday. the former leader of the dup sirjeffrey donaldson appears in court — charged with sexual offences including rape. and what happened when four military horses broke free and galloped across central london. there were extraordinary scenes in london this morning when a group of military horses threw their riders and bolted through the streets leaving

four people including