or belarus won't be a part of the paris 2024 opening ceremony. we'll tell you why shortly. hello there and welcome along to the programme. it could be the start of an historic new era in english men's football. the creation of the first independent regulator moved a step closer after the government introduced new proposals. if passed into law, a new body would oversee clubs across england's top five tiers, independent of government and the footballing authorities. here's our sports editor, dan rowan. whether it's controversy over teams docked points for overspending, clubs getting into financial difficulty or the threat of a european super league, english football has faced various crises in recent years. when�*s your next game?

and today, the government published legislation that will establish the game's first independent regulator. we've seen 64 administrations since the premier league was formed in 1992. today, this bill is about making sure that we bring financial resilience and stability back into football so we don't see those clubs go under. this comes just days after the premier league failed to agree a proposed £900 million funding deal that would have seen its share more with clubs like this leyton orient of league one. so i was hugely disappointed. the government has been very clear from the outset in these discussions that if football didn't come to a deal, the regulator would be able to in the bill that we were going to be bringing forward. as well as the power to impose a financial settlement on the game and to block clubs joining breakaway leagues.

the regulator will be able to issue club licences linked to financial security and fan power on key decisions. fine clubs, up to 10% of their annual turnover for noncompliance and implement a tougher owners and directors test. in 2017 this club was almost in liquidation once upon a time, and then since then we've had bury. we have now had to go through what they've gone through, the financial difficulties of what readiness currently going through. when you look at it from the outside in, there's definitely a concern and you definitely want there to be robust measures in place that can protect football clubs. this constitutes the most significant reform to the way that the game is run in england for a generation. but the premier league has said that it's concerned about any unintended consequences that could weaken the competitiveness or appeal of the game here. the premier league reiterated it distributes one and a half billion pounds over three years to all levels of the game. and while some campaigners say the legislation hasn't gone far enough, the football league welcomed it. the gulf between top and bottom

has grown to it's a chasm. when we formed the premier league, the premier league's turnover was 45 million, afl's was 34, gap of 11 million. the gap is now three billion. it's not bridgeable. the regulator, which ministers want to become law before the general election, will not block state ownership of clubs and with the possibility of amendments, its final form is still in play. now, chelsea will fancy their chances of making the women's champions league semi—finals after a convincing three nil win away at ajax in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie. laurenjames got them on their way in amsterdam in front of nearly 36,000 dutch record for a women's game show. scoring to completing the comfortable victory ahead of the second leg next week. emma hayes side in pole position then to reach a fifth european

semifinal in six seasons. and in the knights the quarterfinal tie lyon beat benfica two one, but not without a scare. it was the portuguese side who led at half time, andrea faria putting benfica ahead. but leon fought back after half time. delphine cascarino equalised before sara de vries scored the winner" minutes from time. the second leg is next wednesday. the tennis amd the bbc understands the tennis and the bbc understand that arena sabalenka is due to play as planned in the miami 0pen. it follows the death of her partner, constantin kozlov on tuesday. having received a bye in the first round, sabalenka wasn't set to be in action until thursday or friday, although it's understood there may be discretion in the scheduling given the circumstances. miami police have said in a statement that no foul play is suspected around sophie's death. is suspected around the death. well, sabalenka will face paula badosa in that second round match after she sports simona halep�*s return to the court following a successful appeal to the court of arbitration for sport

over her doping ban. badosa came from a set down to win in three in a match that lasted two hours. we're staying with tennis — the draw for the group stages of the davis cup have been made with defending champions italy set to face the netherlands, belgium and brazil in bologna. great britain will come up against canada, finland and argentina in manchester as they try to reach the knockout stages in malaga later in the year. arguably, the toughest group appears to be in valencia, where spain will take on australia, france and the czech republic. now, for the third time in four years, australia's cricketers have withdrawn from an upcoming tour of afghanistan following the taliban's return to power in 2021. this time they've withdrawn from a men's t20 three match series in august because of continued restrictions on women and girls in the country, with cricket australia saying government advice is that conditions for females in afghanistan are getting worse. now the international olympic committee have confirmed athletes from russia and belarus will not be part of the parade during the opening ceremony at paris 2024. qualified athletes from those countries will compete under a neutral flag following

russia's invasion of ukraine two years ago. meanwhile, the ioc have also called the russian organised friendship games a cynical attempt to politicise sport, describing the event as a purely politically motivated sports event. the inaugural summer friendship games are reported to be taking place in september, something the ioc have called a blatant violation of the olympic charter. well, it's nowjust four months to go until the olympic games get under way in paris. and when it comes to final preparations, team gb is leaving nothing to chance. multiple state of the art training facilities have been set up around the british, around the city for british athletes. reporter sarah dawkins was granted access inside the camps and sent this report. it may seem peaceful, but paris is preparing for an olympic takeover. but before the medals can be won, the hard work needs to be done. and forteam gb, final preparations will take place here.

this is st germain, about 12 miles west of the city centre, home to a famous chateau and an even more famous football club in psg. but come the summer, this town will be swapping footballers for 0lympians. from rugby sevens to hockey to tennis. time is ticking as athletes hope to turn potential into podium finishes. around 140 british athletes from 12 different sports will pass through this complex in the final weeks and days before they compete, and absolutely no expense has been spared by the local community. this is a brand new athletics track designed to replicate the one used for competition at the stade de france. we're very good at travelling, you know, our acclimatisation, our selection of preparation camps like this where we are today, you know, they're very, very acute in terms of the technical training and the competence and that's slightly been taken away from us just because of the geography

of europe. but we're still very, very confident in our plans. we left kind of no stone unturned. such is the size of team gb that not all of the 350 predicted athletes will be able to train here. some will fine tune for longer in the uk while others will be here. welcome — all the way on the other side of paris. and about 40 minutes from the olympic village, another french town, another state of the art prep camp. i suppose i would just put matting up against the mirror. nothing is left to chance when it comes to planning an 0lympics. hundreds of thousands have been spent by the city on new facilities, a legacy investment to maximise british and ultimately french potential. when you explain that to other countries that you've got that access, they're a bit like, oh my god, like, why haven't we got that? you know? i think you obviously see that in reflection in the performances as well, you know, tgp go out and they, gb go out and they,

they do incredible things and it's all about the 1%. when you get to our level, we've done everything, we've done all the hard training. and if we can have that extra 1% against everybody else, then it's yeah, it's beneficial. ambitious plans to stage the opening ceremony on the river sen means security concerns and the threat of a strike or two could rain on paris 2024 parade. but british athletes will be hoping to shut out the noise with olympic glory. sarah dawkins, bbc news, paris. finally, chris gayle, a man known for providing box office moments with the bat for west indies, had the honour of kicking off the t20 world cup trophy tour in the grandest way by lighting up the empire state building. gayle, a two time champion alongside usa star ali khan, pulled the lever to illuminate the famous building in new york with the trophy on top of the skyscraper. injune, 20 teams will be competing across the west indies and the usa. the first time a cricket world cup will be held in the us. there we go. very grand indeed. that is just about it from us. you can, of course, get

all the latest sports news from the usual places, the bbc sports app or from our website at the usual address of bbc.com /sport. but for me and the team, thanks very much indeed for watching. we will see you next time. hello. we are marking the spring equinox and for some parts of the uk, wednesday will bring some spring warmth just as tuesday did actually in parts of lincolnshire, 17 degrees, with some hazy sunshine in some relatively mild air. now, as we head through the next few days, we are going to start to see a change. the wind direction will change. we'll get into north or north westerly winds and that will bring a much colder feel in time for the weekend, but not just yet.

a mild start to wednesday with extensive cloud cover, some mist and murk and some hill fog and some outbreaks of rain. now, in many locations, the rain will turn increasingly light and patchy through the day, and for some, it will brighten up. in fact, if we see some hazy sunshine in the south east of england, temperatures could climb to 18 degrees. but parts of southwest england, wales, the midlands, eastern england are likely to stay grey with some bits and pieces of rain. it may brighten up a little bit across northern england and for northern ireland and for scotland, actually, the afternoon should bring a decent amount of sunshine. feeling quite pleasant in light winds — 11 or 12 degrees — just the small chance of a shower in the northeast of scotland. and then, through wednesday night, well, this window of clear skies moves southwards and eastwards. but that will be replaced by the end of the night across northern ireland and the western side of scotland by more cloud, more outbreaks of rain. this is our next frontal system. the winds will be strengthening as well. it is going to be a windy day, particularly in the northwest of scotland on thursday, with outbreaks of rain pushing southeastwards. that rain particularly heavy and persistent over high ground in the west of scotland.

further south and east, quite a lot of cloud, but where we see some sunny spells, again, it may feel warm — 17 degrees likely in the london area. but through thursday night and into friday, this cold front slips southwards and eastwards, and that will bring a change to colder conditions, a deep, low passing to the north of scotland that will bring some really strong winds, gales likely in the far north. for the northern half of the uk, there will be showers, some heavy, some thundery and some wintry up over higher ground. and for some places, temperatures will actually be dropping as the day wears on the afternoon — for example, in glasgow, around 8 celsius. we stay in that cold air for the weekend. they'll be showers, some of which will be wintry over high ground. and when we factor in the strength of the winds, it will feel decidedly chilly.

welcome to newsday. reporting live from singapore, i'm steve lai. the headlines: millions of people are at a risk of dying from diseases and starvation in sudan after 11 months of civil war. we have a special report. my last pills finished three days before the war. from that moment on, i'm suffering. i'm in constant pain. i'm so tired. a stark warning about the worsening humanitarian crisis in gaza from america's

top diplomat antony blinken, who calls on israel to prioritise providing for those in need. the uk's foreign secretary lord cameron has criticised hong kong's new security law — but the authorities say new restrictions are neccessary to keep order. kensington palace confirms the footage taken in windsor over the weekend is of the princess of wales. and the name's bond, james bond — but who will play him? we look at the runners and riders in the race to become the next 007. we begin in sudan, with a conflict described as the war the world forgot. sudan, a predominantly muslim country, is situated in northeast africa. it is one of the continent's largest nations, but also one of the poorest — with 46 million people living