we will assess the results and watched as the prime minister gives a speech in downing street in the last few minutes in which he says extremism in all its forms isn't british. formula 1's christian horner still in the spotlight, as red bull prepares to defend its two world titles. record breaking rainfall. how warm weather is bringing us wetter conditions. # won't you make me dizzy from your kisses...# and could this be a eurovision winner? olly alexander unveils his song which is this year's uk entry. coming which is this year's uk entry. up on bbc news on ti the coming up on bbc news on the eve of the new formula 1 season, who will start on pole at the bahrain grand prix. will bring you the details from qualifying.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. thousands of people have gathered on the streets of moscow, defying a heavy police presence, to pay their last respects to russia's main opposition leader, alexei navalny. the crowds chanted his name as his funeral service was held, two weeks after he died in prison. alexei navalny�*s mother was among the mourners allowed into the cemetary to see him buried, but his wife decided not to travel to russia. steve rosenberg, our russia editor, sent this report from moscow. they came to say goodbye to the man who had given them hope but died in prison. and outside the church, longer and longer, the queue of russians wanting to pay their last respects to alexei navalny. he was

our hope, anna tells me. ifeel like i am burying our hope, anna tells me. ifeel like iam burying my our hope, anna tells me. ifeel like i am burying my own son. he our hope, anna tells me. i feel like i am burying my own son.— i am burying my own son. he is the only person — i am burying my own son. he is the only person i _ i am burying my own son. he is the only person i could _ i am burying my own son. he is the only person i could trust, _ i am burying my own son. he is the only person i could trust, and - i am burying my own son. he is the only person i could trust, and i - i am burying my own son. he is the only person i could trust, and i wasi only person i could trust, and i was dreaming of— only person i could trust, and i was dreaming of him to become our president. _ dreaming of him to become our president, and it's a huge tragedy for me _ president, and it's a huge tragedy for me and — president, and it's a huge tragedy for me and for my people. the — for me and for my people. the kremlin had called mr navalny an extremist, criminal, but listen to the reaction when his coffin arrived. by now, the whole street was watching. in chanting the name of vladimir putin's fiercest opponent. of vladimir putin's fiercest opponent-— of vladimir putin's fiercest ouonent. . . , . . , of vladimir putin's fiercest ouonent. . . , ., ., , . opponent. navalny! navalny! we will not rive opponent. navalny! navalny! we will not give in. — opponent. navalny! navalny! we will not give in. they _ opponent. navalny! navalny! we will not give in, they cry. _ opponent. navalny! navalny! we will not give in, they cry. and _ opponent. navalny! navalny! we will not give in, they cry. and suddenly, l not give in, they cry. and suddenly, the climate — not give in, they cry. and suddenly, the climate of _ not give in, they cry. and suddenly, the climate of fear _ not give in, they cry. and suddenly, the climate of fear that _ not give in, they cry. and suddenly, the climate of fear that has - the climate of fear that has descended on russia seemed to clear for a time, despite all the police that were here. no to war, they

chanted. in the church, alexei navalny�*s parents sat by the open coffin. as an orthodox priest recited prayers for the soul of the sun. mr na family's death first and foremost a family tragedy. —— mr navalny�*s death. in the service was over the coffin was carried back to the hearse. then from his supporters, a spontaneous show of respect for the man who had challenged the kremlin. with carnations and roses, they sent him on his finaljourney. and the crowds followed. as they walked towards the cemetery, they chanted the kind of anti—government slogans on herd on russian streets for two years. —— unheard. freedom to political prisoners in russia will be free. the authorities didn't want the

funeral to become a great public event, a public display of sympathy for the man who was a vocal critic of the kremlin. but that is what it is turning into. lots of flowers, but one tribute today came in a message for mr —— from mr navalny�*s wife who is abroad she may be arrested if she returns. she said farewell by posting, i don't know how to live without you, but i will try my best to make you opt they're happy for me and proud. as alexei navalny was laid to rest a band played music from terminator two. as we had been to challenge the kremlin and he had lost. george galloway has won the rochdale by—election, with a majority of more than 5,000. voters turned their backs on the traditional parties,

with an independent candidate, david tully, taking second place. labour had withdrawn support from its candidate, azhar ali, after he was recorded making remarks that were considered anti—semitic. george galloway said his victory was "for gaza", but the organisation representing britishjews described it as dark day for the uk's jewish community. here's our political editor chris mason. bizarre, colourful, angry. a by—election like no other. as polls closed, ballot boxes opened. the counting began. and at around 2:a5am... i do hereby declare that— george galloway is duly elected... he'd done it again. the fourth time town or city in his third party that has led mr galloway to parliament. keir starmer, this is for gaza.

you have paid, and you will pay, a high price. from crowd: george galloway, you want to burn our future! - punctuated by protest — he's used to that. a climate campaigner is led away. keir starmer and rishi sunak are two cheeks of the same backside. and they both got well and truly spanked tonight here in rochdale. down the road, in the middle of the night, in a car showroom, a victory rally. this is the beginning of a rochdale revival. that's our project. george galloway isn't an overnight success, but a politician with decades

of controversial heritage. a labour mp, until he wasn't. a tormentor of america's political establishment. now, i know that standards have slipped over the last few years in washington... an early reality tv star... pussycat, yes. oh, and he metand praised iraqi president saddam hussein, too. what was it about george galloway that made you think, you know what, he's our man? it's his experience. he's had 40 years of political experience, hasn't he, - so he's seen it, - he's bought the t—shirt. i thought it was disgusting, and i'm very disappointed in the voters of rochdale. i didn't vote this time, not because i'm not interested, but because ijust guess there was nobody really pulling along with the policies that i agreed with. what do you make of it? quite a result. astounding. politicians fear the word genocide.

i think as a layman i can. stick my neck out and say what's happening now is genocide. and so, today, questions for labour's keir starmer in particular. watch this — he is so angry he wouldn't use george galloway�*s first name. galloway only won because labour didn't stand a candidate. i regret that we had to withdraw our candidate and apologise to voters in rochdale. but i took that decision, it was the right decision. and when i say i've changed the labour party, i mean it. well, it was very concerning to see the reports of intimidation through the by—election, and by all accounts one of the most divisive campaigns we've seen in recent times. mr galloway wasn't the only candidate that thrashed the big beasts of politics here. so did this guy, who runs a local garage and came second. has it given you a taste for this politics malarkey? yeah, again, i'll come straight to it. i'm going to have to reflect

and see where we are. i'm not politically minded, i've no political agenda, ijust wanted the best for my community and the people in it. tonight, though, it's george galloway walking back towards westminster. we'll be hearing plenty more from him. well, just in the last half an hour the prime minister has been speaking in downing street. we will hear more from chris in a moment in rochdale. our deputy political editor, vicki young, was listening. vicki, what has he had to say? highly unusual step, to come out here into the street in downing street to make some remarks. building on what we heard here in chris's piece, i'm talking about the fallout as he sees it from what's been going on in the middle east and how it's affecting communities here and try to give a message of unity. some very tough language about his concerns and making the case that we are a reasonable country and we are

tolerant and he says there are forces trying to tear us apart, he talks about the streets being hijacked by some, and talking too about the anti—muslim hate and anti—semitism in saying everybody has to stand together to reject it. there was no policy and any others, i think he was trying to come out here with the backdrop of number 10 as prime minister of the whole country and really trying to rise above some of the divisiveness, the anger there has been on the streets, we have seen mps' houses, people turning up there to protest, saying he wants to rise above and if this message to the community to say we must all stand together against extremism, but no policies from him today. extremism, but no policies from him toda . �* , ., ., extremism, but no policies from him toda . �*, ., ., ., today. let's return now to rochdale. chris, today. let's return now to rochdale. chris. your — today. let's return now to rochdale. chris, your assessment _ today. let's return now to rochdale. chris, your assessment really - today. let's return now to rochdale. chris, your assessment really of- chris, your assessment really of where british politics is today after events overnight on what we've just heard from downing street? yes. just heard from downing street? yes, hello from outside _

just heard from downing street? yes, hello from outside a _ just heard from downing street? ye: hello from outside a motorbike garage in rochdale where george galloway is about another victory rally. what we are seeing this evening is politics in the list —— in its rawest form. who has influence, who has listened to, where does power lie and who is in charge? the around that. some other thoughts too about what is normal in our debate. the prime minister trying to reset that, clearly uncomfortable with how it has gone, clamouring for attention, as are people like george galloway. so questions for the prime minister tonight, questions too for the labour leader keir starmer. you might say, look, rochdale is not unique, it is not exceptional and it isn't, there are other communities like this. but what keir starmer will hope is that george galloway himself is exceptional at managing over his career to articulate a message to communities like this with a substantial muslim population to try and secure, as he has become

an election victory, and for that reason whilst today is uncomfortable for keir starmer, the bottle but cannot be repeated or repeated widely in the general election. chris, thank you. —— they will hope it cannot be repeated. there's growing international pressure for a full investigation into how more than 100 palestinians died as they crowded round an aid convoy in northern gaza yesterday. the israeli army has acknowledged that its soldiers opened fire at one point, but says most of the deaths were caused by a crush, or lorries running people over. our special correspondent fergal keane, working with bbc verify, has spent the day piecing together more details of what happened. his report contains some distressing images. shots cracked through the night. people start to move. then run to get away. in this section of the

crowd there is panic. as casualties streamed into local hospitals, the testimony of witnesses. translation: situation was unimaginably crazy. if aid is going to come to us in this way, we don't want it. we don't want to live on the blood of our children. to live on the blood of our children-— to live on the blood of our children. , . , ., ., children. the israelis say that at 4:40am, children. the israelis say that at 4:40am. the — children. the israelis say that at 4:40am, the convoy _ children. the israelis say that at 4:40am, the convoy left - children. the israelis say that at 4:40am, the convoy left here i children. the israelis say that at - 4:40am, the convoy left here under an israeli tank escort and began to move towards the crowds waiting for food. the army supplied drone footage but there is no way of telling the sequence of the images because there is no timestamp. at 4:45, because there is no timestamp. at 4:16, the israelis say, crowds began to surge around the tracks. in this sequence, bodies can be seen lying on the ground. so others can be seen crawling away. here, so it looks as if they are dragging themselves using their upper body. what we do not see is exactly what caused these

casualties. in its first statement, the idf said people had been trampled rushing the trucks and also that shots were fired by soldiers who felt threatened by the crowd. this tank is seen withdrawing from the scene. later the military blamed people in the crowd for the chaos. thousands of gazans descended upon the trucks _ thousands of gazans descended upon the trucks. some began violently pushing — the trucks. some began violently pushing and even trampling. other —— traveiling _ pushing and even trampling. other —— travelling other gazans to death, looting _ travelling other gazans to death, looting the humanitarian supplies. the unfortunate incident resulted in dozens— the unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of— the unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of gazans killed and injured. the israel_ dozens of gazans killed and injured. the israel defence forces operate according — the israel defence forces operate according to the rules of engagement and international law. no idf strike was conducted towards the aid convoy — was conducted towards the aid convoy h_ was conducted towards the aid convo . �* ., was conducted towards the aid convo . ~ ., , was conducted towards the aid convo . ~ ., ., was conducted towards the aid convo .~ ., ., ., convoy. a doctor we spoke to in gaza said the dead — convoy. a doctor we spoke to in gaza said the dead and _ convoy. a doctor we spoke to in gaza said the dead and wounded he - convoy. a doctor we spoke to in gaza said the dead and wounded he saw. said the dead and wounded he saw were all gunshot victims.

today ade was dropped byjordan's air force today ade was dropped byjordan's airforce in northern gaza. the hungry rushed towards the food, but nearly five months into this conflict that still no operation to deliver aid on the scale that is needed, in a place where 85% of the population is displaced.— population is displaced. people are so desperate _ population is displaced. people are so desperate for _ population is displaced. people are so desperate for food and - population is displaced. people are so desperate for food and fresh - so desperate for food and fresh water, any supplies, that they risk their lives in getting any food or supplies to support their children,

to support themselves. haifa supplies to support their children, to support themselves. how many were shot, how to support themselves. how many were shot. how many — to support themselves. how many were shot, how many trampled _ to support themselves. how many were shot, how many trampled in _ to support themselves. how many were shot, how many trampled in a - shot, how many trampled in a desperate crush? it's not yet possible to say, but without the secure aid operation in the midst of continuing war the people of gaza wait for the next tragedy. the foreign secretary david cameron described the deaths those in gaza waiting for aid as horrific and called for an urgent investigation. our correspondent paul adams is injerusalem. strong words from david cameron? this is a strong statement from the foreign secretary and it is word using the words he uses, this must not happen again, he said about events yesterday morning, but he also sets in the wider context of the dire humanitarian situation in the dire humanitarian situation in the gaza strip, he said we cannot separate what happened yesterday from inadequate aid supplies and mentions the fact that in february we saw half as many lorries going

into the gaza strip as january and this, he said, is unacceptable, he talks about the need to remove bottlenecks, to open more entry points into the gaza strip, to remove bureaucratic obstacles and protect palestinians better than the israelis are doing now. this tragedy underscores the importance of securing an immediate humanitarian pause, he concludes. our top story this evening... thousands have gathered in russia in defiance of president putin for the funeral of opposition leader alexei navalny. coming up... douze points? could this song win the uk the eurovision song contest in may? on bbc london... how luxury dining here is escaping the cost—of—living crisis. and we head to a research lab in hertfordshire creating alcohol—free alternatives.

this is the first day of spring — and a happy st david's day to all those celebrating — but new figures from the met office show that last month was the warmest february on record for wales and england. and with the warmth comes more rain. the south of england had its wettest february on record — going back to 1836. our weather presenter, ben rich, has been finding out what all of this tells us about our changing climate. it's been wet — and mild too. one magnolia in bloom isn't surprising in february, but seeing so many different varieties blooming early here at kew gardens is unusual. we've seen a lot less frost than normal this winter. good news for some, but not for trees like apples and pears that need their cold winter sleep. they need more of those chill hours.

if they don't get enough, they can produce less fruit buds, which later in the year will lead to less fruit or perhaps even not fruit at all. here we are at the bbc weather centre where it has been a really hectic winter for all of us. we've had so many different changes to contend with. the weather has thrown so much at us — a series of named storms, yes, a little bit of frost and snow, but also an awful lot of rain. climate scientists say our winters are getting wetter and we're seeing crisp, frosty scenes like this less often. we can see the least frosty winters all clustered in the recent decades and the most frosty ones through the '60s and '70s. here at the met office in exeter, they collect data every hour of every day, crunching the numbers to work out what the ups and downs of our weather can tell us about our changing climate. our climate has warmed by about a degree in the last 50 or 60 years. one degree in the average winter

temperature can have quite significant impacts. and if we're talking about frosts, that one degree warming is equivalent to about three weeks' fewer frosts over the course of a year. it's been a real mixed bag across the uk this winter with all sorts of weather extremes. but overall we've seen more mild wet days than cold frosty ones, and that's something we'll have to learn to live with as the climate continues to warm. ben rich, bbc news. in formula one, the red bull team principal christian horner has again denied allegations of inappropriate behaviour after the leaking of a series of messages, allegedly written by him. horner was cleared on wednesday by an internal investigation into his behaviour towards a female colleague. red bull are preparing to defend their two world titles in the opening race of the season tomorrow in bahrain. our sports news correspondent, laura scott, reports. greeting one of motorsport�*s top

officials earlier today, it might have looked like business as usual for christian horner but, on a balmy day in bahrain, he remains at the centre of a storm which doesn't show signs of passing. the sport is still reeling after 149 people, including f1 bosses and team principals, received an anonymous email yesterday containing a link to a drive of messages purporting to involve horner. in a statement, he said, "i won't comment on anonymous "speculation but, to reiterate, i have always denied "the allegations." but this doesn't just affect homer and his team. it's understood the bosses of formula one and the sport's governing body, the fia, discussed the matter during a meeting today as it continues to dominate the headlines. it certainly has been the talk of the paddock. everybody wants to talk to you about it and you want to talk to everyone about it as well. however, the atmosphere has changed now cars are on track. with horner at the helm, the team enjoyed record—breaking success last season, but his position remains injeopardy despite maintaining his innocence.

when you have someone in his position who is a business leader, who might often try and ride out the storm, and the weight of events, the fact that you are at the centre of the story, it becomes impossible to focus on what you're there for, which is to win races. i mean, sometimes, that, if you don't think your position is unsustainable, there might be someone more senior in the business who does. in qualifying tonight, reigning world champion max verstappen did his best to steer the focus back onto the track, finishing in pole position. but the sport's leadership will be braced for another twist in the road ahead. laura scott, bbc news. a man who stabbed to death his former partner and her new boyfriend in what a judge called a ferocious and merciless attack has been given a rare whole life prison term. marcus osborne inflicted 99 knife wounds on katie higton in her home before luring steven harnett to the house and murdering him. just days earlier, katie higton had told west yorkshire police she was worried that osborne would seriously hurt or kill her.

sanchia berg reports from leeds crown court. go, go, go! the moment marcus osborne was arrested by west yorkshire police for murder in may last year. you're under arrest - on suspicion of murder... he'd gone to the police station the evening after stabbing his ex—partner, katie higton, nearly 100 times and then tricking her new boyfriend, steven harnett, to her home, where he killed him too, mutilating both their bodies. children were in the house at the time — and another woman. osborne raped her. he has been given a whole life sentence. i'm in no doubt this is a case of such exceptional seriousness that even a very long minimum term would not amount to just punishment. what you did that night was horrific. a statement was read on behalf of katie's family.

there is so much we could say about the monster who took katie away from us. a man, if he can be called that, whose name does not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as hers. the court heard that, on the 10th of may, katie higton called police to say that marcus osborne was threatening to kill her and any new boyfriend. on the 12th of may, officers arrested osborne and released him the same day on condition he stay away from katie. on the 15th of may, the bbc has learned officers were in an urgent meeting to discuss protection for katie when the call came in — her body had been found. steven's twin says katie and his brother were failed. how does a man who had a history i of domestic violence and violent. crimes get to walk free - from the police station with no physical measures in place to ensure | that he stays away from the victim? | telling a violent criminal not to do something isn't enough. - west yorkshire police say today sentences will protect the public

from this dangerous individual. their own actions in this case are still subject to review, overseen by the independent office for police conduct. sanchia berg, bbc news. people in iran are voting in elections for a new parliament. it's the first test of opinion in the country since a series of protests against the hardline islamic regime sparked by the death of mahsa amini, a young woman arrested by the morality police. the bbc hasn't been allowed to report from iran for five years, but now our correspondent, caroline davies, has been given rare permission to report from there. what have you been seeing and hearing there today? it what have you been seeing and hearing there today?— what have you been seeing and hearing there today? it has been a fascinatin: hearing there today? it has been a fascinating day. — hearing there today? it has been a fascinating day, we _ hearing there today? it has been a fascinating day, we started - hearing there today? it has been a fascinating day, we started off- hearing there today? it has been a fascinating day, we started off in l fascinating day, we started off in central tehran at a polling station where foreign and domestic media had been invited to, there was a celebratory mood there, people were

handing out flowers, there was a newlywed couple with a bride dressed head to toe in white, and there were families and former ministers who came out, giving their comments to the media and casting their vote, and many said they felt it was their duty to vote, they had been urged by the supreme leader to do so, they felt they needed to show they were invested in iran's future. we also went to a different part of iran where we saw people shopping ahead of the new year in a couple of weeks' time and there we could barely get people to talk to us about politics, they said many of them were planning not to vote because they did not feel like their voices were going to be heard or make a difference. we still don't know what the final voter turnout would be. the wait is over — we now know the song that the uk will be pinning its hopes on in this year's eurovision song contest.

singer and actor olly alexander will perform the track dizzy at the competition in sweden in may. he said inspiration for the song came from 19805 music, including erasure and pet shop boys. charlotte gallagher has been listening. here's my new song! it's dizzy by me, olly alexander! # won't you make me dizzy for your kisses...# the uk's eurovision hopes rest on this song. he'll be heading to malmo in sweden in may to fly the flag. my family would have, like, watch along parties. so i remember in the late '90s, there's nothing else in the world like eurovision. it's so unique and i'm just excited to be taking part. olly is already a big name in music. what do people think about his eurovision song? it's brilliant. i would listen to this in the car. i think it's a bit corny.

i feel like, compared - to what we listen to a lot, when we are out anyway. you know, it is a very eurovision song. i feel like it could do well, who knows. we have a bad track record. i was waiting for it to kick in the little bit sooner. i what about you ? i think it is a dancy song. it should be played at the clubs. last year's eurovision was massive. it brought hundreds of thousands of people to liverpool. but when it came to the uk's entry, mae muller, we weren't able to repeat the success of 2022 and sam ryder. but how do experts rate our chances this year? it can be a bit overwhelming. olly has loads of experience and we're very confident he will be able to deliver.

now for the harder task of impressing europe and getting the rest of those votes. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. the first day of spring and the snow arrived on cue, not everyone saw the snowfall but here in enniskillen and higher parts of northern england this was the cat and fiddle road that goes between macclesfield and boxed in, a few problems here. cold air across the boxed in, a few problems here. cold airacross the uk, boxed in, a few problems here. cold air across the uk, the risk of snow is not finished just yet, not much around, most of us will see cold outbreaks of rain still, but across this weather front that works across northern england there is a risk of snowfall across the northern pennines and southern uplands, one or two centimetres in a few higher areas in another area to watch. a couple of showers affecting southern parts of wales, cold enough to get snow across the brecon beacons in

the valleys. it will be a cold night with temperatures pretty close to freezing, some places dipping below, so the risk of a few icy stretches as we head into saturday morning, one or two fog patches around as well, tomorrow and unsettled day, day of sunshine and showers, some of the showers will have hail and thunder mixed in, and across wales and the midlands you might find a bit of a sleet mixed in with those clumpy showers as we go the cause of the day. cool for most of us, temperatures below average for the time of year, hides between 5—9 c, the same area of low pressure hangs around for the second part of the weekend, drifting further northwards, we will start off with a cold start to the day with mist and fog patches, again some showers develop, the majority of these across scotland and ireland, further south fewer showers, more in the way of sunshine, but it will feel on the cold side again with temperatures

between 7—9 c. thanks, chris.