for a wedding party thrown by asia's richest man. sport and time for a full round up from the bbc sport centre. hello from the bbc sport centre. the world indoor athletics championships have got under way in glasgow, with some of the sport's biggest stars ready to battle it out for gold. none more so than noah lyles. the world 100 and 200m champion at outdoors is targeting a first indoor title in the 60metres. indoor title in the 60 metres. he's safely through to the semi—finals which take place later on friday. everything is to get ready for paris, that is what this championships is for. i know that i have the speed, but have an acceleration go with it... i'm going to go home and not think about it,

i'm going to let my massage people do their thing, i'm going to come aggregate is a new race. i had nice warm welcome, and that is always nice and exciting, because, when the crowd is excited, i'm excited. his compatriot _ crowd is excited, i'm excited. his compatriot also won his heat. lyles�* compatriot christian coleman who is world record holder in this event, also won his heat, eight tenths of a second faster than lyles. britain'sjemma reekie ran the 800 metres in under two minutes for the first time indoors as she won her heat to qualify for the semi—finals. however fellow briton izzy boffey failed to advance, after coming fourth in her heat. the european indoorfour hundred metres champion karsten warholm will be looking to add the world title to his medal collection after qualifying for the semi—finals. the norwegian is also the olympic and world champion in the four hundred metres hurdles. and canada's sarah mitton won the first gold, with victory

in the shot put by a margin ofjust 3 centimetres. her throw of 20.22 metres enough to upgrade her world outdoor silver medal to gold indoors. red bull team principal christian horner, has again denied allegations of inappropriate behaviour, after a series of alleged messages were leaked. horner was cleared on wednesday, after an internal investigation, looked into his behaviour towards a female colleague. an anonymous email, with a link to messages, purporting to involve horner, was sent to formula i personnel and media yesterday. horner said: "i won't comment on anonymous speculation, but, to reiterate, i have always denied the allegations." 0n the track, ferrari's carlos sainz topped the time sheets in final practice ahead of the bahrain grand prix. he was a tenth of a second quicker than fernando alonso's aston martin. world champion max verstappen was third for red bull. qualifying gets under way in half an hour

and you can follow that on the bbc sport website. ireland 5 men have won a test match for the first time. they beat afghanistan in abu dhabi. captain andy balbirnie made an unbeaten half—century and lorcan tucker hit the winning runs as they chased down 111 to win with six wickets in hand. the team had lost their previous seven matches since being granted test status in 2018. australia are in control of their first test against new zealand, after a frantic second day in wellington. cameron green hit a test best 174 not out, as australia made 383 in theirfirst innings. a top—order collapse meant new zealand only reached 179 in reply. the tourists closed on 13—2 in their second innings, with a 217—run lead. france's celine boutier delivered a putting masterclass to take a one shot lead after round two of the women's world championship in singapore. she started the day

30th on the tanjong course, before taking just 22 putts on her way to an eight—under—par round of 64. the evian championship winner is on 7 under, with japan's ayaka furue one shot back. arsenal's vivianne miedema is set for "several weeks" on the sidelines after undergoing knee surgery. the women's super league record goalscorer only returned from an anterior cruciate ligament injury in october. miedema played for the netherlands in the nations league last week but it's understood that was not a factor in scheduling the surgery. plenty more is always using the bbc sport website. that is it from me at the moment. studio: thank you very much. in the coming month india is set to go to the polls, in what's expected to be the largest democratic elections in the world. in the lead up the bbc is looking into the issues facing india, the people and the politics — with all the latest

from across the nation. our correspondent arunoday mukharji joins me now from new delhi — these are such big election — what's are the big issues? well, there are several issues that have formed the narrative of various political parties ahead of the elections. the ruling party, the bjp, and premised on a render many have been campaigning based on what they say has been a stellar performance for a ten—year—old —— narendra modi. they said that they have elevated any of us make economic growth and strengthening your�*s national security. also, they have elevated in your�*s position on a global stage. india is considered by the west to be an emerging economy, to be a growing pallor, and is seen as a counterbalance to china's growing influence in the region. —— a growing power. one of the aspects of the ruling bjp

popularity is also accredited to a lack of opposition here in the country many say and point out that india's opposition parties have failed to corner the indian government on various key issues. one of the major topics of conversation in these elections is going to be about the indian economy, on paper, based on reports from organisations like the international monetary fund, india remains one of the fastest—growing economies the world, but there are key concerns as well. the opposition is using those concerns and highlighting them in their campaign speeches, while the ruling bjp has been talking about the important policies they have brought forth, which they say benefit the people of the country. to get a real look at the country. to get a real look at the ground, my colleague sat down with the former governor of india central bank to talk about the indian economy, which happens to be a real issue in these elections and also discussed concerns. i'm in the city of chennai.

this is really the cradle of south indian culture and civilization. but it's also a bustling, modern metropolis that's home to some of the biggest companies in the world. and i'm here to meet dr raghuram rajan, an economist of international renown, former governor of india's central bank, and somebody who's been a vocal critic of prime minister narendra modi's government. hi. i want to ask mr rajan what he makes of mr. modi's ten years in power, particularly from an economic standpoint. well, as with every government, there are wins and there are misses. implementation, especially of infrastructure, has been very strong. what is worrisome is it hasn't done more to liberalize the economy. but the biggest challenge, i would say again, and that is the focus of our concerns, is that we haven't built our human capital.

we haven't invested in people. we haven't. .. we had the pandemic. so many kids have fallen behind. we haven't spent them. keep the resources, with the exception of a few states, in bringing those kids back to school full time. malnutrition rates still being 35% above the rate in a number of countries in sub—saharan africa. that is not acceptable. but the perception, dr rajan, is that this is perhaps been the best decade for india in terms of economic growth. at least that's the kind of hard selling that the government does. it doesn't square with any of the numbers you want to look at. you know, we're growing back at seven, seven and a half right now. that's what the numbers say. we still are, you know, 4 to 5% below what the pre—pandemic trend would be. you look at the unemployment numbers, they still very worrisome. you look at the number of people applying for governmentjobs and they go through the roof.

12 million people applying for railwayjobs and so on. so all this is suggestive of a mixed bag. yes, there are wins. i don't think you want to say that it's not been, but it's not as rosy as the government would like us to believe. you know, you have expressed very clear sort of concerns about democratic backsliding in india. do you think we are dangerously veering towards an autocracy? i think these words are pretty strong. so i would stay away from that for now. what i would say is the direction of of drift is very clear. it has been clear by every index that you can look at in the indices of democracy, in the indices of free speech. at the same time, you know, one can always hope and india has done

this in the past, that you you have a strengthening once again. the markets recently cheered the bjp�*s victory in three state elections. do you think five more years of prime minister modi would be good for the indian economy? markets always like continuity. they don't like uncertainty. they don't like change. and one of the biggest questions that the opposition has to establish is what do they stand for? what is their economic policy? what is their economic vision? if you look at india's history of economic reforms, some of the biggest reforms have been done by coalition governments and some of the least reforms have been done by super majority governments. i would say that certainly from india's perspective, it's not just the economy it has to pay attention to, it's also the democracy. well, india's opposition parties have had daley try to raise some of those issues, but in your�*s

opposition parties appear to be a divided house, they tried to come together to form a united front in july last year, but in less than a year, there are cracks developing in that allowance as well, boy partner is leaving and existing ones bickering over seas. that united front to take on the bjp seems to also be in trouble. in these circumstances, the only national party on the stage remains indian national congress, as far as the opposition parties are concerned, and its leader, who many say appears to be the primary challenger to prime minister modi. studio: thank you very much. that was live from new delhi. you can watch a special programme all about india's upcoming elections. it is on the bbc news channel over the weekend and you can watch at anytime the iplayer. a new study has found that one in eight of the world's population are now classed as obese — that's more than1 billion people. the world health organisation says governments and the food industry need to support efforts to reduce obesity, particularly in young people.

in the uk, obesity rates have doubled in the past 30 years. our reporter, imogen faulkes has more. all over the world we're getting larger. the authors of this study say they are shocked by how fast obesity levels have risen since 1990. and they're urging governments to get serious about a health problem linked to heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer. so how did they measure us? by looking at our bmi or body mass index, which is calculated using a person's height and weight to work out whether they're under or overweight. the data showed that childhood and teenage obesity had more than quadrupled from 31 million in 1990 to almost 160 million in 2022. among adults, almost 880 million were obese in 2022, four and a half times as many as in 1990.

that's more than a billion people now classed as obese. asia and the caribbean have the fastest rising rates. in europe and north america, where obesity has been a health problem for longer, levels aren't rising so fast, but they aren't sinking either. many of these children and young people are going to be living with obesity unless something is done about it for the majority of their life and to the best that we know for many outcomes of obesity, the length of being affected by it matters. the world health organization says governments and the food industry should make healthy food cheaper, restrict the advertising of foods high in fat, sugar or salt, and support physical activity and good nutrition in schools. the new weight loss drugs might be

useful as part of a healthy diet, it says, but they're not the solution to global obesity. imogen foulkes, bbc news, geneva. let's speak now to, chris thomas — head of the comission on health and prosperity for the institute for public policy research. hello to you. what is this about? poverty? what is it about? this huge increase? especially in the nations were seeing it in? hi. increase? especially in the nations were seeing it in?— were seeing it in? hi. absolutely, to a certain _ were seeing it in? hi. absolutely, to a certain extent, _ were seeing it in? hi. absolutely, to a certain extent, these - were seeing it in? hi. absolutely, | to a certain extent, these worrying figures are about poverty in that we know that poverty makes healthy food less accessible, and healthy food in many countries is more expensive and unhealthy food. but, it is also down to a reticence of governments around the world to act over the last 20 and 30 and a0 years, and intervene on obesity, and the kind of action so would need to take would be supporting people to make healthy

choices, but also, making it harder for essentially, multinationalfood companies to continue with this proliferation of high profit older processed food. h0??? proliferation of high profit older processed food.— proliferation of high profit older. processed food._ so, processed food. how exactly? so, there is a lot _ processed food. how exactly? so, there is a lot that _ processed food. how exactly? so, there is a lot that national- there is a lot that national governments can do in terms of making healthier choices easier choices as there is a strong evidence base around health information and regulation of packaging so that it is clear what is healthy and what is not, that has become a harder differentiation in recent years. and also, making healthy food cheaper through schemes like subsidies. that healthy food cheaper through schemes like subsidies.— like subsidies. that is a problem, isn't it? fresh _ like subsidies. that is a problem, isn't it? fresh fruit _ like subsidies. that is a problem, isn't it? fresh fruit and _ like subsidies. that is a problem, isn't it? fresh fruit and lean - like subsidies. that is a problem, | isn't it? fresh fruit and lean meat isn't it? fresh fruit and lean meat is so expensive when the alternatives are empty calories which are so much more readily available, and are so much cheaper. that is issue, isn't it? i available, and are so much cheaper. that is issue, isn't it?— that is issue, isn't it? i think that is exactly _ that is issue, isn't it? i think that is exactly right. - that is issue, isn't it? i think that is exactly right. to - that is issue, isn't it? i think that is exactly right. to give | that is issue, isn't it? ithink. that is exactly right. to give one example of how that plays out in the uk, 1000 calories of unhealthy processed food would cost less than

half of 1000 calories of healthy food. thatjust goes to show that for many people, healthy food will now be unattainable. this is why bc obesity now in such a dominant form of malnutrition. the obesity now in such a dominant form of malnutrition.— of malnutrition. the number of adults class — of malnutrition. the number of adults class of _ of malnutrition. the number of adults class of underweight - of malnutrition. the number of| adults class of underweight has fallen by 50%. that ties him, it does not talk about malnutrition, in terms of these people previously being underweight, and now perhaps are not eating the right food but more of it?— more of it? yes, i think that is absolutely _ more of it? yes, i think that is absolutely right, _ more of it? yes, i think that is absolutely right, and - more of it? yes, i think that is absolutely right, and i- more of it? yes, i think that is absolutely right, and i think i more of it? yes, i think that is l absolutely right, and i think that the paper says that it is wrong to see those as entirely separate challenges. they are both challenges of malnutrition, whether people are getting high quality nutritious food that they need which on all accounts were failing to provide around the world. ~ , . were failing to provide around the world. ~ , , . were failing to provide around the world. ~ i, . .,, ., world. why is it so much worse for children? the _ world. why is it so much worse for children? the figures _ world. why is it so much worse for children? the figures here - world. why is it so much worse for children? the figures here are - world. why is it so much worse for| children? the figures here are that it quadrupled in terms of the rate of obesity when it came to children

than for adults. for of obesity when it came to children thanforadults. forwomen of obesity when it came to children than for adults. for women it doubled and it nearly tripled in men. . in doubled and it nearly tripled in men. . . , doubled and it nearly tripled in men.. ., , doubled and it nearly tripled in men.. ., _., , ., doubled and it nearly tripled in men.. ., , ., , men. . in many cases we have seen rises in poverty _ men. . in many cases we have seen rises in poverty which _ men. . in many cases we have seen rises in poverty which will— rises in poverty which will accentuate that fact. but, also, children are an easy target for older processed food companies. the sophistication and aggressiveness of advertising, particularly advertising, particularly advertising targeted at children has grown substantially over the last 20 or 30 years. that is a very at—risk vulnerable population to target. i think that plays into why we have seen such a sharp rise in the study today. seen such a sharp rise in the study toda . , . . seen such a sharp rise in the study toda ., . . seen such a sharp rise in the study toda ., , ., ., , today. just a quick one: can you be healthily overweight? _ today. just a quick one: can you be healthily overweight? so, - today. just a quick one: can you be healthily overweight? so, health i today. just a quick one: can you bej healthily overweight? so, health is a sectrum healthily overweight? so, health is a spectrum of _ healthily overweight? so, health is a spectrum of lots _ healthily overweight? so, health is a spectrum of lots of _ healthily overweight? so, health is a spectrum of lots of different - a spectrum of lots of different things that define our health. the work we do, whether we have good housing that is not housing, all of these types of things. what we do know is that, if people are living

with obesity, then it does raise the risk of, over the course of their lifetime, getting conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, lots of forms of cancer, so it is important to know about that, it is about the risk that people how that would otherwise have been avoidable so not really, note, is the answer. it certainly increases your risk. thank you. around the world and across uk, this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across uk. these clinicians have plotted a route through the spine. they are taking ct scans and x—rays which will be used to create a map for today's surgery. we will be used to create a map for today's surgery-— will be used to create a map for today's surgery. we see the white bits of any part — today's surgery. we see the white bits of any part of _ today's surgery. we see the white bits of any part of the _ today's surgery. we see the white bits of any part of the patient's i bits of any part of the patient's spine and the dark bits are the soft tissue we try to avoid. the spine and the dark bits are the soft tissue we try to avoid.— tissue we try to avoid. the spine lon . s to tissue we try to avoid. the spine longs to jeffrey _ tissue we try to avoid. the spine longs to jeffrey perry. _ tissue we try to avoid. the spine longs to jeffrey perry. for - tissue we try to avoid. the spine longs to jeffrey perry. for over l tissue we try to avoid. the spine | longs to jeffrey perry. for over 15 longs tojeffrey perry. for over 15 years he suffered society car. part

of his spine is crashing the major nerves running down his legs. to stop the spine from crashing his nerves, they need to support part of it with a metal cage held in place with four screws. if they are out by even a few millimetres, geoffrey could be paralysed, that is when the navigational robot comes in. it is like a navigation _ navigational robot comes in. ut 3 like a navigation in the car. we have the starting point, and then the end point within the bone off the end point within the bone off the side. for the end point within the bone off the side. ., ., , ., , ., the side. for more stories from across the _ the side. for more stories from across the uk, _ the side. for more stories from across the uk, head _ the side. for more stories from across the uk, head to - the side. for more stories from across the uk, head to the - the side. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbcj the side. for more stories from - across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. some of the world's most influential people have arrived in india's gujarat state to attend a wedding party thrown by asia's richest man. the wedding isn't untiljuly, but this weekend, guests such as mark zuckerberg, rihanna and bill gates will attend the three day pre—wedding gala hosted by mukesh ambani

for his son. the festivities kicked off earlier this week with an event where the ambani family served food to the local people in jamnagar. let's speak to haroon rashid from the bbc�*s asian network. this isn't even the wedding, but this is huge, isn't it?— this is huge, isn't it? absolutely hue. this is huge, isn't it? absolutely huge- everything _ this is huge, isn't it? absolutely huge. everything we _ this is huge, isn't it? absolutely huge. everything we have - this is huge, isn't it? absolutely huge. everything we have seen | this is huge, isn't it? absolutely l huge. everything we have seen so this is huge, isn't it? absolutely - huge. everything we have seen so far on social media makes this look like a pre—wedding celebration. this is just starters. the main yet to come. even here, we have seen the biggest leaders from around the around the world, the biggest influences from around the world gather in a city in gujarat which until now had barely ever seen in the spot light is shed on it. this is not only putting the city on a global map, but really telling me attention to india right now. . ~' telling me attention to india right now. ., " ., , telling me attention to india right now. ., ~ .,, ., , , now. talk as though the guest list. you mentioned _ now. talk as though the guest list. you mentioned several— now. talk as though the guest list. you mentioned several like - now. talk as though the guest list. you mentioned several like bill- you mentioned several like bill gates, mark zuckerberg, rhianna is performing, and i was wondering who

the family would have the pre—wedding function, they have already had beyonce, chris martin from coldplay, maroon five, john legend, this perform at previous festivities. rhianna felt like the right name for this event. but, there is essentially the who's who of bollywood, the who is who of the sorting on the upon the city. sharon carter —— shah rukh khan and ranbir singh, i could go on forever with the guest list. i singh, i could go on forever with the guest list.— singh, i could go on forever with the guest list. i wonder if there is an element _ the guest list. i wonder if there is an element of— the guest list. i wonder if there is an element of competition - the guest list. i wonder if there is l an element of competition between the siblings. if you had beyonce at the siblings. if you had beyonce at the sister's wedding, you have to try to do one better for that. i wonder if that is what it is about. the family put on a great show. whenever there is an event or function, they liked it on a spectacle, and this is no less than

that. they also have cirque du soleil confirmed this evening for the guests attending. and last year, when the family launched a cultural centre in mumbai, they flew down gigi had either, as supermodel, as well as a seven day, a—list actress and tom holland, a—list actor, to be there for the inauguration. d0 and tom holland, a-list actor, to be there for the inauguration.— there for the inauguration. do they know these — there for the inauguration. do they know these people, _ there for the inauguration. do they know these people, or _ there for the inauguration. do they know these people, or is _ there for the inauguration. do they know these people, or is it - there for the inauguration. do they know these people, or is it merely| know these people, or is it merely that they want their names there? there are a thought for the couple getting married having to talk to a bunch of strangers perhaps. i would imaaine bunch of strangers perhaps. i would imagine that _ bunch of strangers perhaps. i would imagine that if _ bunch of strangers perhaps. i would imagine that if you _ bunch of strangers perhaps. i would imagine that if you are _ bunch of strangers perhaps. i would imagine that if you are a _ bunch of strangers perhaps. i would imagine that if you are a family - bunch of strangers perhaps. i would imagine that if you are a family as l imagine that if you are a family as influential as they are, you would have struck up these friendships over the years. that is not to say that any of these people will come and perform herfree, it is a framed and perform herfree, it is a framed and rumoured rhianna is being paid millions to perform there this evening. i'm sure that they will be france by the end of the night. i’m france by the end of the night. i'm lad ou france by the end of the night. i'm glad you mentioned money, is there an estimate how much this will cost? i think that the last reading estimate was huge. i i think that the last reading estimate was huge. i think that the last reading estimate was hue. ., �* ., estimate was huge. i wouldn't want an estimate — estimate was huge. i wouldn't want an estimate on _ estimate was huge. i wouldn't want an estimate on it. _ estimate was huge. i wouldn't want an estimate on it. you _ estimate was huge. i wouldn't want an estimate on it. you we - estimate was huge. i wouldn't want an estimate on it. you we are - an estimate on it. you we are talking hundreds of millions of

dollars, big sam is here to put on the event forjust dollars, big sam is here to put on the event for just the pre—wedding party. —— big sums here for the event. the wildlife conservatory... there will be an evening dedicated to enjoying the magic of the animal kingdom. in the schedule it says that too. i think it is an unique that too. i think it is an unique that they have not decided to have an international destination. previous weddings for the family have taken place in lake como in italy. this is the first time that they have explored gujarat as a place for one of their wedding festivals. ., , ., . ~' place for one of their wedding festivals. ., , ., ., ,, ., festivals. lovely to talk to you. thank you _ festivals. lovely to talk to you. thank you very _ festivals. lovely to talk to you. thank you very much. - the prince of wales has kicked off saint david's day with a royal visit to the turf pub in wrexham which is a popular venue for football fans of wrexham. while there, prince william met one of the club's hollywood owners — rob mcelhenney — to hear about the positive impact the historic club is having on the local community. its fortunes were turned around after it was bought by mcelhenney and fellow actor

ryan reynolds in 2021. we feel like we have been invited into a fairy tale. the way that the community has opened their arms and welcomed us, as outsiders, not only as an american and canadian, but also two people from hollywood. we expected a fair amount of scepticism, but what we really got was open arms and people who are willing to allow us to come into the community. what we are trying to do, from the very beginning, is listen more than we talk, and give them exactly what they need and they are asking for. it's not very often you get an invitation to come, you get a call from the palace. my plan was not to be here. i start shooting on monday, but when you get a call from the prince, you come, because it is a great honour. it is great honour for the club, especially with everything that he has got going on.

breaking news to bring you from russia: police are saying that they have detained a5 people who were marking alexei navalny�*s funeral across russia. that is according to reports we are getting on the wires at the moment. we have been following events in moscow today where alexei navalny�*s funeral has been taking place. thousands of people defied a heavy police presence to show their respect to the opposition leader, risking a lot to be there themselves. that is the latest news, a5 people have been detained. hello there. today aversive meteorological spring and yet it was a christmas card that we saw this morning in northern ireland. cold air setting at the weekend. that will generate some showers which could be heavy and thundering. as

well as those shower clouds, a band if they can cloud here pushing it northwards. it is all spiralling around this area of low pressure which will stick with us for the next couple of days or so. these are the temperatures we have got at the end of the day. pretty chilly out there once again, a—7 also, this band of rain and snow for higher parts of the pennines, cumbrian fells, that will push northwards into scotland, some snow over the hills. more showers in northern ireland, but whether pushing from the south into at eastern parts of england. could keep temperatures above freezing. clear skies means frost and ice and missed out patches around as well. through the weekend, staying cold, on saturday, we will see most showers, perhaps longer spells of rain, a dry lecture on sunday, more mist and fog around possible as we seem one frosty mornings. wet weather in the south—east pushing northwards through the eastern part of england.

we also have this wet weather coming in from the north sea, snow on the hills of scotland, more showers for the northern ireland pushing into wales and the south—west, middle and south west of england telling dry in the way of sunshine. temperatures struggling up to seven or 8 degrees stop possibly nine. a below parfor the time of year. no pressure still winners of the second half of the weekend, this weather front we need to be benign. at the moment, it keeps the rain out in a north sea. not far away, and otherwise we have missed out through central and southern england. social lift, then brightening up with sunshine. and stay cloudy across parts of scotland. the western areas seeing a few showers with wetter area heading towards northern ireland and scotland. below average. forthe time of year. looking into next week, wet weather around, starting a week, wet weather around, starting a week, when falling lighter, more mist and fog, heading further into the week it does become drier, and also, it becomes less cold.

live from london, this is bbc news. thousands of mourners defy the russian authorities to turn out for the funeral of alexei navalny. the opposition leader, who died in prison two weeks ago, was buried at a cemetery on the outskirts of moscow. calls for an independent investigation grow after more than 100 palestinians died during an aid delivery in northern gaza.

and george galloway is returning to parliament after a resounding win for the former labour mp in the rochdale by—election. hello, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. the russian opposition leader alexei navalny has been buried at a cemetery in moscow. he was laid to rest two weeks after his death was announced in the arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19—year sentence for extremism. his parents were there, but not his wife yulia and children, who are abroad. nor his brother, who has been put on a wanted list. earlier, a funeral ceremony was held on the other side of the moskva river, at the church of the icon of the mother of god, in the district where navalny used to live. there was a heavy police presence outside the church.

eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford reports and a warning — some viewers may find some