formula one returns this weekend — and red bull's max verstappen has picked up where he left off last year. by coming top in qualifying for the season opening bahrain grand prix. the three time defending champion has taken pole position for the race, which is taking place on saturday because of ramadan, verstappen finished ahead of ferrari's charles leclerc. mercedes george russell was third quickest but his team—mate lewis hamilton could only finish ninth fastest, two places behind another british driver — lando norris in his mclaren. it was a lot of fun filled up the track had a lot of grip. but the wind, the last few days have been quite tricky to get all lapped together. it's a semi—qualifying units naturally go a bit faster for the to really get everything out was little more difficult. it was a little more difficult. it was a little bit unexpected but luckily qualifying the car came to us i'm happy with the whole car.

meanwhile 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 1 personnel and media yesterday. horner said... "i won't comment on anonymous speculation, but, to reiterate, i have always denied the allegations. tim jotischky is a reputation management expert. clearly he has repeatedly said he has been an exonerated and he has nothing to answer for. but it can be difficult to do that because the weight of events, the fact that you are the centre of the story, it becomes impossible to focus on what you are therefore, which is the win races. a mean, sometimes you don't think your position is sustainable, there might be someone in business who does, it's something you might see it happen, but it's not impossible that he would run it out. noah lyles is safely

through to the final of the world indoor 60m final after winning his semifinal in glasgow. the outdoor 100m world champion didn't make the best of starts but powered through towards the closing stages of the race to take the win in 6.47 seconds ahead of ferdinand omanyala of kenya. the biggest threat to lyles is expected to be his compatriot and formwer world 60m champion, christian coleman. the 2018 gold medallist won his semi—final comfortably in a world leading time of 6.15 seconds. a controversial finish to one of the semi—finals at the dubai tennis championships. the world number five, andrey rublev was disqualified, after screaming in the face of a linejudge. it was a heated clash with alexander bublik, both players lost their cool at the officials throughout — rublev was defaulted by the chair umpire for unsportsmanlike conduct, after the linejudge, a russian speaker, said rublev had abused him in russian. he'll now will lose all points and prize money from this week. bublik progresses to tomorrow's final.

and he'll meet ugo humbert. after the frenchman caused an upset in the other semi—final, beating the defending champion daniil medvedev in straight sets 7—5, 6—3 to reach his second tour—level final of the season. medvedev was competing for the first time since he reached the final at the australian open last month. finally, ireland's men have won their first ever test match. 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. and that's all the sport for now. gavin, thank you very much. the west's united front on ukraine is looks shakier than ever tonight — kyiv left with little choice but to grin and bear it. after a supposed show of unity in paris on monday, the europeans are at odds over

supplies, and the speed with which things are being deployed. the latest row is over long range missiles. the german chancellor says berlin won't send the long—range missiles known as �*taurus�*. kyiv says they would help its defence against a russian attack. sholtz is concerned that if the missiles were delivered, berlin would have to deploy military personnel to ukraine to guarantee the weapons aren't used against targets deep inside russia. translation: a weapon which is in even the most powerful one, the rocket launcher achieves a lot more than a taurus, which is a 500 km range in which if used wrongly can reach a concrete target somewhere in moscow. as a weapon where the question, what are we gonna do with it and how should be used cannot be decided just like that. but mr scholz then went on to say germany would not become

�*directly involved', as britain and france had become, by sending their state—of—the—art missiles the storm shadow — telling his audience in dresden: the former chair of the commons defence committee accused the german chancellor of a "flagrant abuse of intelligence". if german won't send them to ukraine he said then maybe they can send them here, so we can send our to support the ukrainian effort. guntram wolff is director and ceo of the german council on foreign relations, and a senior fellow at the european economic policy institute bruegel. let me read you the words tonight from the chair of the commons foreign affairs committee, she said shows his comments are wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the phase two allies with the we gave storm shadow, will have to give what we can, he should give taurus and

stop holding back the security of europe. pretty strong words. how will that be received in berlin? the german will that be received in berlin? tue: german chancellor will that be received in berlin? tte: german chancellor should deliver these long range missiles to ukraine to help ukraine because ukraine needs these kinds of missiles to really cut off russian supply and be able to hold the line against the russian advances. he didn't want to do it for a variety of reasons. but certainly his statements weren't addressed at the british or french audience, they were not attended for an international audience. he clearly plays two parts of the german electric mall. it wants to convince the part of the german electorate that he is that convincing chancellor who will prevent an escalation and will

prevent an escalation and will prevent direct confrontation between germany and russia. it's really domestically driven. it's a move that he does in the face of a lot of resistance even among his own allies and his own coalition government. the debate that characterised the first couple of years of this conflict was where the red lines were where they should be set in those red lines were crossed time and time again. you think it mind of the advances the russians have made in recent weeks that that attitude has gone. is that at the root of some of the frustrations we now see across europe? red some of the frustrations we now see across eur0pe?_ some of the frustrations we now see across ewen?— some of the frustrations we now see across europe?— across europe? red lines don't help much. we across europe? red lines don't help much- we have _ across europe? red lines don't help much. we have to _ across europe? red lines don't help much. we have to really _ across europe? red lines don't help much. we have to really provide - across europe? red lines don't help much. we have to really provide to | much. we have to really provide to ukraine what ukraine needs to protect itself. we've been terribly slow in delivering the kind of weapons that ukraine really needs

that even though germany has by now the biggest of weapons in europe, well ahead of the uk and massively ahead of france. germany could still deliver on some weapon systems, it could deliver more including on taurus. ., �* , could deliver more including on taurus. ., v ., could deliver more including on taurus. . �*, ., ., taurus. that's an important point. it's 17 times _ taurus. that's an important point. it's 17 times what _ taurus. that's an important point. it's 17 times what francis - taurus. that's an important point. it's 17 times what francis applied, | it's 17 times what francis applied, beyond what the uk has supplied as well. was there some frustration in berlin among the chancellors count that it was emmanuel macron grandstanding on in paris on monday and then getting into trouble over whether we would send troops to ukraine? has that irritated the german? tt ukraine? has that irritated the german? ., , ukraine? has that irritated the german? . , ., ukraine? has that irritated the german? . , . , ., german? it has irritated the german cam a german? it has irritated the german camp a lot- — german? it has irritated the german camp a lot- i — german? it has irritated the german camp a lot. i think _ german? it has irritated the german camp a lot. i think it _ german? it has irritated the german camp a lot. i think it was _ german? it has irritated the german camp a lot. i think it was a _ camp a lot. i think it was a strategic mistake to even throw in a public statement like this without proper consultation. so france made a mistake here. and you can debate whether the french position is the right ones. i personally think some

strategic ambiguity can be helpful in the current situation. but publicly announcing it without having consulted with its allies is certainly a big mistake. we need to speak with one voice, rishi sunak, emmanuel macron and olaf scholz they have to speak with one voice in the face of russian aggression. absolutely. the russian president will certainly take advantage if they don't as we have seen this week. guntram wolff, thank you for coming on the program. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

you're live with bbc news. on paper india is the "world s largest democracy". but there are several global rankings that suggest the country is on a dangerous downward trajectory. the us—not for profit freedom house put out a report this week, in which india is downgraded from a free democracy to "partly free".

the indian government has dismissed these rankings, arguing that delhi does not "need outside sermons". narendra modi would point us to recent polling. his recent polling is at 78%. it is the increasing religion under mr moody's leadership which is fermented anti—muslim feeling and damage the political fabric of the country injanuary this year mr modi inaugurated this temple on the grounds of a demolished 16th—century mosque. it was widely seen as a marquee event towards the bjp election campaign. our correspondent has been looking at the adoring appeal of the prime minister and what this forthcoming campaign will bring. in prime minister narendra modi's home constituency courts have ruled that hindus can worship in the basement of the giant buffy mosque built, where they believe a 17th century temple once stood.

a ruling welcomed by these women who see it only as a first step. translation: it's not | a mosque and a temple. it is our giant rabbi temple. and we want to take our temple back. we want them to happily give us our temple back and they can go somewhere else, like in ayodhya. bringing the lord ram back to his birthplace in ayodhya was an election promise made by the prime minister of a secular country for the temple sits where a 16th century mosque once was torn down by right wing hindu mobs. three decades earlier, influenced by a brand of hindu nationalism called hindutva. minorities are left fearfulfor their place in narendra modi's india.

translation: i'm angry. i'm frustrated. there is pain, but there is also anger because we're not able to do anything. we have been praying there for 50 years, but we can't do anything to save it. i don't understand. is this the way our country will? is this the way our country will work? some at this local tea shop, though, don't understand why muslims feel excluded. why muslims feel offended, why only muslims feel offended. why only muslims feel offended? yet they say since this country's inception, since people have known this country, since then it has been a hindu country. but only now has the word hindutva been coined. away from the politics of divide, i head to india's agricultural heartlands, where sanjay prajapati shows me his crops. he tells me he gets money and rations for free from the government, a great financial benefit for him and mr modi it means votes.

i was a congress supporter, but then narendra modi came with his ideologies, his way of working, and the way he connects to the people on the ground. he understands people's way of thinking and what they want. now i vote for the bjp. the popularity of mr modi's so—called welfare schemes, is also bringing him electoral success. the lot of schemes that used to be schemes run by governments, departments, every scheme has been on one three roads, ghar yojana pradhan mantri yojana. so everything. pradhan mantri meaning prime minister, prime minister. not from the department, not from any other person. it's all coming from government. and it's that spin that makes mr modi appear unstoppable. everywhere voters go, his face is visible, plastered on billboards and even covid vaccination certificates. and that energetic projection of himself and his embrace of hindu nationalism may have alarmed minorities, but will likely win mr modi a third term. samir hussein, bbc news, varanasi.

you can watch a special programme all about india's upcoming elections. on the bbc news channel over the weekend and here in the uk you can watch it on the iplayer. this week south korea broke its own world record for the lowest birth rate in the world. 230,000 babies were born there last year, in a country with a population over 50 million. and south korea is at the extreme end of a trend which is affecting many countries across the world — including the uk. our analysis editor ros atkins has been looking into it. for years, two things have been true — the world's population is increasing and its birth rate is falling. south korea already had the world's lowest birth rate, but this week, new data showed it had fallen further. japan also recorded a new low.

translation: the decline of births is in a state of crisis. _ i believe we're at a time when we have to take urgent measures. the birth rate is the average number of children that each woman has. and when birth rates are discussed, you'll see this number a lot — 2.1 this is the birth rate needed to maintain population levels. south korea is not close. last year its rate was 0.72. japan is at1.26. to put this in context, the eu average is 1.53 and the uk is at 1.119 and that is a record low. in fact, many countries are now below 2.1. even countries with relatively high birth rates are often at half the birth rate of what they were. and the average person now lives in a country in the world that has a lower than replacement fertility rate. and birth rates matter because they contribute to long term changes in our populations and the consequences that follow. low birth rates can cause populations to fall. japan's is expected

to decrease by 30% by 2017. south korea is to halve by the end of the century. in some countries, including the uk the situation is different. populations are projected to increase mainly because of immigration. but immigration can't counter all the impacts of a low birth rate. there is no quick fix. there's no one fix to population decline or population ageing. so birth rates affect population growth in the long run, whereas immigration can affect in the short run. but immigrants also age. and as people live longer, combined with low birth rates, elderly people will make up a greater proportion of the population, as we've seen injapan. it's no surprise that japan, which has had this very, very long, very low fertility rate and the oldest population in the world has got the worst government finances in the developed world, because the government is indeed spending more and more on health care and pensions and has fewer and fewer taxpayers.

if that'sjapan — in the uk, a shift in the makeup of the population is coming. by 2070, the number of workers is projected to rise by a million. the number of pensioners will rise by five million. this will inevitably create pressures. the economist argues that for countries with low birth rates, the implications are higher taxes, later retirements, lower real returns for savers and possibly government budget crises. we'll see. but there's no doubt some governments are increasingly preoccupied with low birth rates and what's causing them. in south korea, there are many reasons, including the cost of education and expectations of women in the workplace. childcare is a consideration too, just as it is in the uk. according to a recent international study, the uk has some of the highest childcare costs in the world. there's also a shortage of places and around the world. and around the world the availability of childcare impacts women's decisions.

research really shows that if you have affordable, high quality, early childhood education, good daycare for everybody, that that is associated with higher birth rates. this helps explain what's happening, but by the admission of those who study birth rates, fully explaining what's happening is hard and it makes responding to low birth rates hard too. it's difficult for policymakers to address the complexity of the cultural reasons why we're not having as many children. what really they have in their arsenal is only economic tools, and it goes well beyond that. it's difficult for policymakers, but some are acting. in south korea they tried cash incentives and subsidised health care. as we've seen. that didn't work. in france injanuary, president macron talked of demographic rearmament and announced a plan that includes changes to parental leave. or in italy, which has one of the lowest birth rates in europe.

prime minister maloney has announced a range of initiatives. but evidence suggests it's very difficult to reverse a falling birthrate. and while some countries try, the global population continues to go up. and the un highlights two factors to explain this — the gradual increase in human life span and high and persistent levels of fertility in some countries. there are those to whom this global population growth is the real issue in particular for our climate and who believe low birth rates are welcome. but as we've seen, already many countries have low birth rates and some want to increase. there's population growth and low birth rates are both demanding attention. a lot of people are surprised to see that the global population numbers are still growing, the total number of people on the planet. at the same time that we keep talking about birth rates declining and i like to think of it as what's on the surface versus what's beneath the surface.

and beneath the surface those declining birth rates will cause major shifts in the nature of our populations, shifts that may lead the global population to start falling in the next century. shifts that, for better or worse, will have consequences for how our societies function. let's crossover to tokyo — and speak to writer, director & producer of �*birthgap — childless world', stephenj shaw. i'm immensely grateful for you coming on the program. it's important we come to the issue in japan. as ross wasjust important we come to the issue in japan. as ross was just saying they have the worst government finances link directly to this problem. how far have they gone, have they gone far have they gone, have they gone far enough? t far have they gone, have they gone far enough?— far enough? i don't think any government _ far enough? i don't think any government policy _ far enough? i don't think any government policy can - far enough? i don't think any government policy can really| far enough? i don't think any - government policy can really through any financial incentive to do anything to solve this problem. because there are no clear examples if you see this tk and birth rates

go on for decades, it's been tried new policies, korea, japan as well. simply nothing from central government works. with a lot of evidence now to what will not work. birth rates have been consistently low in japan, birth rates have been consistently low injapan, what's happening in korea is beyond frightening. we're watching in real time the demise of a nation. that's a big thing to say but when you look at birds in korea right now of 230,000 this year, ten years ago there was for hundred and 30,000. literally in ten years we're seeing almost a housing of births they are. i look a little bit beyond what governments can do. i think we need to look at broader societal issues like education that we heard a little bit about things like that. we talk about education, government payments, child support, child care. is it the one thing that roz didn't

talk about their is our attitude? are we more selfish about protecting our freedoms, are we more selfish about protecting ourfreedoms, liberties, we don't want to be tied down by children? women have careers, they are and professional lives, they don't want to take nine months out and then the subsequent years to take care of children. is that at the root of a? actually, no. some of the issues we have in demography looking at the overall birth rate, the reality is there's no more such thing as the average woman. i don't think there ever was necessarily. in south korea right now you are seeing societal childlessness of 55%. as measured by taking teenagers today and protecting forward how many are likely to have children by the time they reach 49 years old based on what's happening today. childlessness is around 15 50%. in japan, most other countries you

mentioned, motherhood does not decrease at all. mothers injapan are having the same number of children as they were nearly in the 19605. that children as they were nearly in the 1960s. that hasn't changed throughout that time around 2.3 children. what has changed is the delay and parenthood, which inevitably for many most often not by choice. which may surprise some people. it increases the likelihood of childlessness. in south korea what's driving this is the dominance of women shifting motherhood or house for very good reasoning, there are intensities in korea career—wise, evenjapan doesn't experience for that was in a shift towards people having children in their late 30s. once you have children in your late 30s that challenges are much less and the likelihood is forcing people having only one child because that's all they're able to have.— only one child because that's all they're able to have. steve, i could talk to you — they're able to have. steve, i could talk to you for _ they're able to have. steve, i could talk to you for a _ they're able to have. steve, i could

talk to you for a long _ they're able to have. steve, i could talk to you for a long time - they're able to have. steve, i could talk to you for a long time on - they're able to have. steve, i could talk to you for a long time on this | talk to you for a long time on this issue. it's a fascinating subject. thank you very much for getting up this morning to talk to us. stephen shaw, the producer of birth camp, the childless world. on the other side of the break the panel will be here. we will talk about that by election in northern england yesterday. also perhaps in the context of what happened in michigan in the united states on tuesday. do stay with us for that. we will be right back. hello there. february in england and wales was the mildest on record, but the first day of march has brought something quite chilly. a lot of showers, too, for england and wales. and in norfolk, we had some hail in those showers as well. and again, we've seen a bit more snow over some of the higher hills — here in derbyshire, a very slushy mix earlier on today. we've got cold air in place right the way across the uk. we're going to stay in cold air through the weekend as well.

and with that cold air, we've got low pressure in charge, which is why we're seeing this wet weather with some winteryness over the hills. that weather front has been taking some rain and hail, snow across northern england. that's moving away, but heading its way into scotland overnight tonight. the same time, we'll see a northerly wind bringing showers into northern ireland and some wet weather developing in the south east of england, pushing into the midlands and other eastern parts of england. that could keep temperatures just above freezing. but it's touch and go. it will be a cold and frosty start for many, i think, on saturday morning, especially where we have the clearer skies. but through the weekend, we do stay in this cold air, and it's on saturday that we'll see most of the showers or longer spells of rain. drier picture on sunday, but more mist and fog around. and there will be some frosty mornings, as we've seen already. we've got this wetter weather on saturday across the south east of england, moving through east anglia, the midlands, up into northern england. also some wet weather and some hill snow for northern parts of scotland. that northerly wind keeps those cold showers across northern ireland,

wales in the southwest, the midlands and the south east of england should improve during the afternoon with some sunshine, but those temperatures aren't really improving from today. again, we're going to be around 7—8 degrees fairly widely. that low pressure is still with us. it's tending to drift northwards and weakening, hence something a bit drier. but this weather front is not far away. it looks like at the moment it's bringing rain through the north sea and up towards the northern isles. we're going to start with a bit more mist and fog, central, southern england, the midlands and northern england lifting and brightening up with some sunshine. a bit cloudy though, i think, for scotland and the odd shower out across these western areas. but many places will have a dry day, i think, on sunday with some light winds, hence the mist and fog. those temperatures still struggling to seven or eight degrees — below par for this time of the year. now, heading into next week, we start with a bit of rain around, particularly towards western areas. but crucially, it does become drier, but it also becomes less cold as well.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. i want to send a message to biden that we the voters in michigan that are supposed to elect him in november, we really want him to stop supporting the ongoing hostilities in gaza. keir starmer, this is for gaza.

i thoughtit was disgusting and i'm very disappointed in the voters of rochdale. there have been those trying to take advantage of the very human angst that we all feel about the terrible suffering that war brings to the innocent, to women and children, to advance a divisive, hateful ideological agenda. on the panel tonight: annabel denham — deputy comment editor at the telegraph. and the president & founder of the eurasia group, ian bremmer. first — the latest bbc news. president biden has announced that the us is to begin humanitarian air drops in gaza, including supplies of food. earlier, the foreign secretary, lord cameron, said there must be an urgent investigation into how more than a hundred palestinians were killed while waiting for an aid delivery yesterday. the armed wing of hamas has claimed that seven hostages who've been held in gaza have died as a result

of israeli bombardment. the statement can not be independently verified.