we do not have that. a bbc sorry, we do not have that. a bbc investigation finds many women from malawi working in an are being abused by their employers. the tiny critters posing a threat to australian wildlife, why the senate in the country is tackling fire ants. a bbc investigation has revealed extensive abuse of african women working in oman as domestic servants. dozens of malawian women, who have been lured there by recruiting agents, have told bbc africa eye they were beaten, raped and treated like prisoners whilst working in the gulf country. awarning... this report by africa eye's azeezat olaoluwa contains distressing details from the start. ifeel like i'm in prison. please, please, please, madam, please. these videos were recorded by domestic workers in oman. they are all from malawi, one of the world's poorest countries. the women came together in a whatsapp group after being

duped by dishonest recruitment agents into going to oman. georgina was promised a lucrativejob in dubai, but instead she found herself in the omani capital, muscat. translation: i was not allowed to rest. - i was waking up at 3am and going to bed at 1am. the most difficult thing that made me desperate to escape was the boss forcing me to have sex with him. it was so painful because i had no way to say no. he threatened me and said if i shouted he would shoot me. i got badly injured because it wasn't only him. he would bring friends and they would pay him after.

in oman alone, there are an estimated 300,000 domestic workers, most of them from africa or asia. ekaterina runs an ngo which supports migrant workers in the gulf. we identify them as victims of trafficking or forced labour or other forms of exploitation. so we negotiate with their employer for them to be released. the laws that are in place prohibit a domestic worker to leave the employer. she cannot change jobs and she cannot leave the country, no matter how you are treated. woman screams. man shouts. you crazy! please help me out. the malawian government asked ekaterina to help negotiate the release of over 50 women.

the body of 23—year—old ida, who had died in uman, was also brought home. the majority of these women have been released because money has been paid to the employer, from $1,000 to $2,000 per person. how can you buy somebody else's freedom? the malawi government says it has paid over $160,000 for these women to return. oman�*s labour ministry has told the bbc that it only received one complaint from a malawian domestic worker in the two years to 2023. it said it is prohibited for employers to impose any form of forced labour on workers or to keep their private documents without their written consent. azeezat olaoluwa, bbc news. you can watch bbc africa eye's full film, trapped in oman, on the bbc africa youtube page.

as the world looks to move away from using fossil fuels, as the world looks to move away from using fossilfuels, demand as the world looks to move away from using fossil fuels, demand for deep sea mining permits is increasing. there are tens of billions of pounds worth of metals and minerals lying on the ocean's seabed, which could be used in renewable technologies. but what impact could mining have on marine life and coastal communities? our climate editor, justin rowlatt has been exploring the issues. in november last year, a research vessel chartered by a mining company is assessing the impact of mining on the abyssal plain, the sea bed of the deep ocean. protesters from greenpeace board the vessel, hampering the research, according to the mining company. you might think this is the usual conflict between industry and activists, except that in this case the miners, like the greens, claim to be acting in the best interests of the planet. why? they claim the potato sized metallic nodules they are after are crucial to the green transition,

and that hoovering them up from the sea floor is far less damaging than mining on land. this is what the miners are after. this is a polymetallic nodule. they take millions of years to form and they contain cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese, all metals used in renewable technologies. the problem is getting hold of these destroys the creatures that live among them. for years, it was assumed there was little life in the cold, dark depths of the ocean. it's true there aren't many animals per square metre, but what scientists are learning is that what is there is far more diverse than was expected. but the abyssal plain is vast. it covers 40% of the entire surface of the earth. land makes up just 29%. mining companies say the area they plan to work is a tiny proportion of the total. i understand why the greens are cautious, but on this occasion they've got it wrong.

let's go back to first principles. we should be carrying out extractive industries in parts of the planet where there is the least life, not the most life. mr barron says greenpeace's approach is anti—science. as the world is saying, "give me more scientific evidence", here we were going back to an area that we had been harvesting these very same rocks from a year earlier. greenpeace, unfortunately, do not sit into that group that want more scientific evidence. what they wanted to do was to disrupt us. greenpeace says its protest wasjustified because the metals company plans to press ahead with mining before regulations have been agreed. there is so much science out there already which is urging extreme caution. 800 scientists, more than, have said we should not be transitioning right now to actually mining. we don't want to see licences coming forward... they're not transition to mining, they're collecting evidence, right?

with the intention to put that into application... you've said we need more science and then greenpeace is blocking the effort to get that science done, aren't you? i think there's a big difference between tick box science by a company that has a clear commercial interest in the outcomes of that research, and independent scientific research, which is helping us understand the complexity and the fragility of deep ocean environments. a decision about greenpeace's future with the international seabed authority will be made at the meeting injamaica. in the meantime, scientists continue to gather more information about the ocean depths. it's a new industry and we should be concerned and we should ask difficult questions. essentially, there's always a risk with these things. and collecting data, collecting evidence is the way to reduce that risk, to understand what it is, and then ultimately to make a decision. and i suspect that decision will be difficult. the really good news, says dr glover, is that decisions about regulating the collection of these nodules are being made before the industry begins.

and that, he says, is very rare indeed. justin rowlatt, bbc news. conservative party plotters ending to oust rishi sunak should stop the psychodrama, according to the business secretary. she has been speaking on bbc breakfast to my colleague and jon kay studied asking her about the 500 million pounds donations to the conservative party, worth £500 million by frank hester. i've just said that he's apologised for his comments. i think that that should be the end of the matter. i think this endless churning around of exactly when and how much the donations were is a distraction from the work which i am doing here today in coventry, where we're talking about small businesses and how to make life easier for entrepreneurs. the prime minister has been working

very hard on a package that is going to improve the wellbeing and welfare of small businesses and self—employed people across the country, including many people who are ethnic minorities. that's what's going to make their lives easier, irrespective of whether or not there's been a donation here or there to the conservative party. but while you talk about jobs in coventry with the prime minister, it is the prime minister's own job which is the speculation on the front page of virtually all the newspapers i've got here in front of me. and people are saying part of that is that he didn't lead quickly enough on this issue about donations, that, yes, he said these comments, these alleged comments, were racist after you said they were racist. but until you spoke out, he didn't that he was he was following your lead. well, i disagree with that. i believe that they were establishing the facts of the matter. i gave a personal opinion, and to be honest, i don't want a prime minister who'sjust going to be lurching out making comments every five minutes in

response to the media. what he's not doing is following the media's lead, and i'm very pleased that he agreed with me. but i was making my comments in a personal capacity as the only black woman in the cabinet. this was last tuesday. live now to westminster and our political correspondent, henry zeffman. thank you for your time. two big issues there, the business secretary talking about but could you paint the picture for us about the speculation around any sort of leadership change? the speculation around any sort of leadership change?— speculation around any sort of leadership change? the mode is really dark _ leadership change? the mode is really dark and _ leadership change? the mode is really dark and the _ leadership change? the mode is really dark and the conservative | really dark and the conservative party at the moment and it got a lot darker last week. a couple of reasons. one chap and right at the start of last week, a week ago today, the decision by lea anderson for conservative mp tojohn reform uk, that the sudden on the right which many conservative mps are worried about but the other thing happened when she heard a little bit

about in that interview was these allegations about comments made by frank hester, a big conservative party donor, he gave the party £10 million last year. now the conservatives initially repeated the defence of frank hester which was that he was sorry for the comments he made but that they were not related to race or gender but within 24 related to race or gender but within 2a hours of that line you had the prime minister rishi sunak saying actually the comments at least as reported were racist and it was that mishandling that most aggrieved conservative mps so the mood in the party is bad, especially because those two episodes, against a very bleak backdrop. they are way behind the labour party in the opinion polls and have been for some time. those polls do not seem to be budging, a general election is coming at some point this year and at the polls do not budge and turn out to be correct in the conservative party is headed for a

bad defeat. conservative party is headed for a bad defeat-— bad defeat. kimi badenoch at one oint this bad defeat. kimi badenoch at one point this morning _ bad defeat. kimi badenoch at one point this morning talked - bad defeat. kimi badenoch at one point this morning talked about i bad defeat. kimi badenoch at one | point this morning talked about the fact penny mordaunt who a lot of this speculation is around would shut down the rumours as well but have we heard anything from her and what has been the history here of penny mordaunt often being touted as a potential conservative party leader? ~ ., ., ., ., leader? we have not heard from her and i wonder— leader? we have not heard from her and i wonder if _ leader? we have not heard from her and i wonder if we _ leader? we have not heard from her and i wonder if we are _ leader? we have not heard from her and i wonder if we are reaching - leader? we have not heard from her and i wonder if we are reaching a - and i wonder if we are reaching a point she might want to say something especially if she does want to host on the rumours because they are on the front pages of certain newspapers since friday and in political terms that is quite a long time for that story to be running. the history she has wanted to be conservative party leader for some time, we know that because she stood in both of the 2022 conservative party leadership election is to succeed boris johnson, she came third and she stood against rishi sunak in the aftermath of liz truss so she wants to be leader and a lot of mps wanted

her to be leader instead of liz truss and she seems to be popular with the grassroots. let's be clear. this is just some conservative mps who are muttering about the leadership. for many as it stands, i think the overwhelming majority of mps, changing leader again will be completely ridiculous. but you have got to remember that context, as it stands a lot of conservative mps think they are going to lose their seats and jobs at the general election and that is what is behind all of these ramblings.— election and that is what is behind all of these ramblings. henry, thank ou so all of these ramblings. henry, thank you so much- _ all of these ramblings. henry, thank you so much. around _ all of these ramblings. henry, thank you so much. around the _ all of these ramblings. henry, thank you so much. around the world - all of these ramblings. henry, thank you so much. around the world and | you so much. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across — news, bringing you different stories from across the _ news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. _ news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. life _ news, bringing you different stories from across the uk.— from across the uk. life on the road. from across the uk. life on the road- being _ from across the uk. life on the road- being a _ from across the uk. life on the road. being a van _ from across the uk. life on the road. being a van dweller - from across the uk. life on the road. being a van dweller are l from across the uk. life on the - road. being a van dweller are simply down to the housing crisis in bristol. . , ., . , down to the housing crisis in bristol. . . , ., bristol. circumstances, the cost of livin: , the bristol. circumstances, the cost of living. the rent— bristol. circumstances, the cost of living, the rent in _ bristol. circumstances, the cost of

living, the rent in bristol— bristol. circumstances, the cost of living, the rent in bristol is- living, the rent in bristol is insane. i pay £70 a month to live here. ~ . . ., ., insane. i pay £70 a month to live here. ~._, ., . , insane. i pay £70 a month to live here. according to the city council the numbers _ here. according to the city council the numbers of— here. according to the city council the numbers of people _ here. according to the city council the numbers of people living - here. according to the city council the numbers of people living in i here. according to the city council. the numbers of people living in vans and caravans has gone from 150 before the pandemic to around 600 today but unless the council considers an encampment to have a high impact on residents they will not take enforcement action. last year people living on the roadside and is bristol were moved on after the council obtained an injunction following a glut of complaints. with the cost of living crisis showing little sign of easing, it is unlikely that van dweller sa bristol will be hitting the road anytime soon. ., ., , ., , will be hitting the road anytime soon. ., ., , ., soon. for more stories from across the uk head _ soon. for more stories from across the uk head to _ soon. for more stories from across the uk head to the _ soon. for more stories from across the uk head to the news _ soon. for more stories from across the uk head to the news website. | soon. for more stories from across i the uk head to the news website. you are here the uk head to the news website. are here with bbc news. millions of muslims around the world are observing ramadan. it is a spiritual time of fasting, reflection and community. some employers in the uk are making adjustments to the workday

to support those workers who are observing the holy month. the bbc�*s nina warhurst sent this report. around 800,000 items are sent from this warehouse every week. it's a busy workforce of around 1,500 people, and more than a quarter of them are british asian or pakistani. and one of those fasting over ramadan is the manager. nine hours into your fast today, how are you feeling? honestly, ifeel ok. being at work makes it go a lot quicker. you don't feel any hunger because you're too busy, like, working, interacting with people. so you're managing a big, busy team. be honest, when they getting on your nerves does that hanger kick in? trust me, it does. it does, massively. but, because i've been doing it for a very long time, i've managed to control. and in my religion, this month is all about controlling. it's all about being spiritual and being kind to people. when you talk to staff here who are fasting, they say

they're used to it. they've been doing it since they were teenagers. but what's also interesting is talking to those who aren't fasting, because they've been asked to be mindful of the fact that their colleagues might want to ask for shorter shifts, they might want to break out more frequently for prayer time, and they might feel those energy levels starting to dip in the afternoon. everyone received an email explaining over ramadan that muslims like miriam might pray more or book extra leave, and bosses say extra effort that they've put into relaxing the rota, means productivity is protected. we haven't noticed a drop in productivity. i think it may be due to the staggered breaks. so when someone is feeling a little bit fatigued, they're able to take a break at the time that they choose. i was going to say you're on hour ten now of fasting. how are you feeling? do you know what? great. i don't have the afternoon slump that i'd normally have after having having a lunch break. oh, that's interesting. yeah, very productive, very ready to go. but what about when you're fasting

and working from home? close to the french and close to the kids! khaleel works on it systems for cambridge university. how's the concentration levels? erm, they're good. i'm looking forward to having dinner. . for me personally, it's actually, i i'm more productive in ramadan. wow! i think i've found that the tea breaks, the lunch breaks, - nipping out for a saladi or something like that, . sacrifice — that and i give it to my work. this year, adam's fasting for the first time. he's not enjoying the 4am alarms for breakfast, but... we've got about three minutes to go until your evening meal. are you excited? yeah. what are you most excited about? i'm excited to have the dates. yeah. and fruit salad. ooh, lovely! and your mum's chicken looks really good. really good. can i have some? yeah. great. and we ask you to i bless all of mankind, whoever they are, - wherever they come from. we seek refuge in you in our worst times - and in our best times.

an early night and an early morning will follow for a breakfast before the sun rises. less food, less sleep. but khaleel says a clearer mind to focus on work, family and faith. i mentioned to you earlier about fire and why they are proving to be a big problem for australia despite their tiny size. our correspondent is in sydney and has more for us. when these ants attack they do so as a swarm and they use theirjaws to lock to the victims skin and they use a stinger or a spike in their abdomen to inject venom into their victims and they sting multiple times and the authorities say that these creatures pose a threat not just to people but to pets, livestock and wildlife. these

creatures were first discovered in australia at the port of brisbane in 2001, they have spread throughout the south—eastern part of queensland state, encroaching now over the border into neighbouring new south wales. and also they have been found at major ports around australia as well. so this federal inquiry in the australian capital of canberra, looking at ways these ants are affected or potentially affecting australia's health economy, and society. australia's health economy, and socie . ., ., australia's health economy, and socie. ., ., let's ta ke let's take a look at some other news now. there've been violent clashes at the end of a top—flight football match in turkey. supporters of trabzonspor ran on to the field and attacked visiting fenerbahce players who were celebrating their victory. the turkish interior minister has promised to investigate the clashes. david seidler, who is best known for writing the oscar—winning film, the king's speech, has died aged 86.

the london—born screenwriter, who had a stammer, brought the true story of how king george vi overcame his speech impediment to the big screen. seidler passed away on saturday while fly fishing in new zealand. uber has agreed to pay $178 million to compensate thousands of taxi drivers in australia who said they lost income when the ride—share company aggressively entered the local market. the lawyers who led the case say the payment will be the fifth—largest class action settlement in australian history. you are watching bbc news. 35—year—old claudia lawrence disappeared in 2009, prompting the biggest missing person inquiry in the history of north yorkshire police. today marks 15 years since claudia failed to turn up for work as a chef at york university. police have made a plea for those with information to break their silence. graham satchell has this report.

what happened to claudia lawrence? her disappearance 15 years ago remains a mystery. she was last seen walking home from the university of york, where she worked as a chef. that evening, she sent a text message to her mum. and then, nothing — no sightings, no calls. the search for the 35—year—old became one of the biggest ever carried out by north yorkshire police. they questioned nine people, but no charges have ever been brought. for claudia's family, not knowing what happened has been torture. it's been a sentence, a 15—year sentence. it's like somebody having an illness for 15 years, because that's what it is every year. every day's an illness with this going on. i never would imagine it would be 15 years down the line. i mean, quite honestly, it's appalling. in 2021, police searched a lake and woods six miles from claudia's home, but again found nothing.

detectives are treating her disappearance as suspected murder, and today, 15 years on, have renewed their appeal for information. they remain convinced someone knows what happened to claudia lawrence. the single barrier to unlocking the answers for claudia's loved ones, and bringing those responsible for her disappearance to justice, remains the same, in my view. and that's silence. silence from the people who know, or may suspect what happened to claudia, who have, so far, for reasons that are only known to them, been unable to come forward to the police. claudia's mum goes to church every day. she continues to pray for answers. graham satchell, bbc news. great britain's most succesful female olympian, dame laura kenny, has told the bbc she's retiring, and won't compete in the paris games this summer. the 31—year—old won five olympic golds and seven world championship titles in a distinguished cycling career. but following the birth of her second child injuly,

laura has made the difficult desision to take a step back from elite sport. joe lynskey has this report. london in the summer of 2012, a 20—year—old cyclist made her olympic introduction. commentary: the gold medal is going to go to laura trott, i and i can't believe it. two golds at a home games were just the start of the ride. laura trott would become britain's most successful female olympian. in 2016, she became laura kenny, 12 years at the top brought her five olympic titles. now she says she's crossed the line for the final time. so, i have decided that i'm going to retire from professional cycling. i know — big, eh? i always knew deep down that i would know when was the right time. and you're never going to have a perfect time to do it. but i can sit here today and say

now is the right time for me. at the last olympics, kenny found a way to do it all. she'd given birth to albie in 2017, and yet came back to ride in tokyo and won gold in the madison. since then, she's faced personal trauma, speaking openly about miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy. last year, the kennys had their second son, monty, and the balance laura struck between elite sport and motherhood has changed. just the sacrifices of leaving your children and your family at home is really quite big. and the more people asked me what races was i doing, what training camps was i going on, i didn't want to go, ultimately. and i think that's what it came down to. and then once i said to jase, you know, "i don't think i want to ride a bike any more", i started to feel relief, then, to be totally honest. kenny's retirement is immediate. she won't compete this year in paris. instead, she'll watch and reflect on a track career that gripped

a nation, a record haul of medals, and that london summer. commentary: and look at the face here, on young laura trott. - joe lynskey, bbc news. much more on the bbc news website about that remarkable career of laura kenny. the first half of the week will be mild with temperatures closer to average but today we are looking at dry weather, sunny spells and some shower surround and as we go through the day they will ease because we have a weather front pushing from west to east, weakening all the time and bringing this line of cloud and possibly the odd shower. when arriving in northern ireland with strengthening winds. as we head through the evening and overnight

this weather front brings rain from the west towards the east, fragmenting and turning showery as it does so and it will be cloudy and blustery, and another mild night, temperatures 6—10 . so we start tomorrow on that cloudy note with some showers, a lot of these pushing towards the east, we may end up with a band of cloud lingering in the far south—east but dry weather following behind with sunshine. temperatures similar in the south—east to today, 15 or 16 degrees and still quite mild for the time of year, 9—12— 1a quite widely. heading into wednesday, this is the front lingering in the south—east and it has another attachment pushing north and east during wednesday. this forecast could well change. what it looks like at the moment, it will have cloud and rain across central and eastern areas pushing away as we go through the day. behind it,

brighter skies, some sunshine but we could hang on to more cloud and some showery outbreaks of rain in the far south—east. temperatures fresher in the north, mild as we push further south. then as we had three thursday and into the weekend, look at the isobars, they are squeezed so it will be windy at times and we have weather fronts drifting through so weather fronts drifting through so we will see some rain and the wind changes through the weekend to more of a northerly so the outlook is windy at times, some rain, as the northerly wind comes in it will turn colder with some wintry showers on the tops of the hills.

live from london. this is bbc news. vladimir putin wins a fifth term as russian president — and says he will prioritise the war in ukraine following his latest landslide victory. i'm anna foster, live from eastjerusalem. the idf launched a raid on al—shifa

hospital. hamas say the idea for violating international law. the idf is conducting _ violating international law. the idf is conducting a _ violating international law. the idf is conducting a high _ violating international law. the idf is conducting a high precision - is conducting a high precision operation in limited areas of al—shifa following intelligence had demanded immediate action. a bbc investigation has found that many women from malawi working in oman are being abused by their employers. the tiny critters posing a threat to australian wildlife — why the country's senate is tackling fire ants. hello, i'm azadeh moshiri. welcome to the programme. we begin in russia, where vladimir putin has vowed to strengthen the armed forces and prioritise what he calls, russia's special military operation in ukraine. he was speaking after a presidential election that was tightly—controlled by the kremlin. it delivered him more than 87% of the vote, and mr putin said the result had demonstrated people's trust in russia's current path.