let's get back to one of our top stories today. russia is observing a national day of mourning for the victims of friday's attack on a concert venue just outside moscow. people were laying flowers outside what remains of the concert hall. president vladimir putin did not attend the scene — he paid his tributes lighting a candle in a church. at least 137 people died in an attack by gunmen on the crocus city hall. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, has been reporting from the scene. well, we haven't heard much more

today from the kremlin, but i can tell you what, on this national day of mourning, there is a long queue of people outside the crocus city hall here. people queueing up with flowers, roses and carnations, lining up at the makeshift shrine to the victims of this attack. people have been leaving messages too. one that i read was addressed to the attackers and it read, "you are scum, we will never forgive you." and just from talking to people here, there is a deep sense of shock at what has happened, and a mixture, i'd say, of grief and also anger. one woman was in tears when i spoke to her. she said that she felt a great sense of loss and had to come. one man said that he wanted president putin to remove the moratorium on the death penalty. he was very, very angry. as to who was behind this, people here are not sure, but, as you mentioned, russian officials have been hinting very strongly that, in some way, somehow, ukraine is connected

to this attack. even though islamic state says it carried out the mass shooting, even though islamic state has released these graphic images of the attack, and even though american officials have said they have no reason to doubt that claim of responsibility by islamic state. the feeling is that the kremlin is trying to convince russians that somehow, ukraine played a role in this. let's get more on one of our other main stories, and the chancellor has confirmed that the conservatives will have a commitment to keeping the so—called triple lock on pension increases in their election manifesto. under the government pledge, state pensions rise every april, in line with whichever is highest out of inflation, average wage increases or 2.5%. the chancellor sat down with my colleague, laura kuenssberg, this morning for a wide—ranging

interview, and she started by pressing mr hunt on the cost of living that so many people say is the fault of the tories. well, let me tell you what we're trying to do politically. it was very straightforward as far as i'm concerned. the main reason people vote conservative is because they trust us to take the tough and difficult decisions that gets the economy back on track. now, in the last few years... not for a long time in the last few years, since 2010, we've talked about this before, we've grown faster than countries like germany. but, yes, in the last three years, we had a once in a century pandemic. we had a 1970s style energy shock. and what they've seen from this conservative government is that we've taken the really difficult decisions. i think the first time i spoke to you, the first interview i gave after i became chancellor, i had to put taxes up — very difficult for a conservative chancellor. i had to cut back

public spending plans. and those very difficult decisions, what they expect from a conservative government, we can now see they're bearing fruit. but those difficult decisions were taken by you as chancellor because the person who sat in your chair before you had made huge unfunded tax cuts that sent the markets completely crazy. well, that was a mistake. but that that was corrected very quickly. and, in fact, in terms of the markets, they reflected that correction very quickly. the reason why inflation was 11.1% when i took over is, i'm afraid, because putin decided to invade ukraine and that caused a global energy crisis. and that's in common with countries like america, france, germany. we've all felt the impact of that. that took very difficult decisions. but there's a way to go. but i think we are making progress. yes. let's talk then about the next few months, because everybody knows the economy is likely to be top of the list at the general election. now, your rival, rachel reeves, was here a couple of weeks ago and you're both sometimes criticised inside your own parties and outside

for sounding a little bit similar and some of the things you say are actually remarkably similar. i just want to show you a couple of things. higher growth means more opportunity, more prosperity, and more funding for our public services. economic growth is essential for raising living standards and funding strong public services. now, can you tell us which one of you said which sentence? because they are remarkably similar. i can tell you because i wrote the sentence at the top myself. so it was me. but, yes, iagree. and let me answer your question directly. let's see if you got it right. you did get it right. but do you accept that there does seem to be an awful lot in common? well, the first thing i say is i like and respect rachel reeves. and i think now this week is a big turning point because she's given a one—hour lecture in which she's said what our economic policies are. there are some very profound differences.

and you were talking about the cost of living crisis. i mean, the question is not simply how do we get through current difficulties, but how do we move decisively to higher growth, higher living standards? and to do that, we've got to confront very difficult questions. and i would say there are probably three that we need to confront. i don't think rachel has confronted those this week. let me give you one. if we're going to grow the economy, that means businesses are going to hire more workers. is that going to come from more migration or making work pay with the six million adults of working age who are not in work and not at university? now, she didn't mention welfare reform or controlling migration once in over 8,000 words of a speech, we have introduced free childcare, we've changed the rules on pensions so that people in their fifties want to carry on working male strides. plans to make to bring people back

into work will help a million people back into work. making work pay is a profoundly important part of the economic change we need to see. but are you saying if there's a big difference on welfare, which you are saying, do you believe actually you can make it harder for people to claim benefits then in order to get them back into work? i think it's a mixture of carrot and stick, but labour have actually ruled out sanctions. that's a very big thing, and i think we need to say that people who are out of work would be much better off in the majority of cases in work and we need to do that. can ijust tell you something else? a very profound difference. how are we going to create the jobs of the future for our children? i want to be clear on that point. would you tighten any increased sanctions then on people to get them back to work? it sounds like that is what you're saying. it should be harder still to claim benefits. well, that's what mel stride has said.

and he said, if people are out of work after 18 months, he will require them to do a work placement. and the changes in the work capability assessment that he's already announced, the office for budget responsibility say 400,000 fewer people will be getting the higher level of benefit. but can ijust go back to jobs? because you ask about differences. we've had many challenges. you've talked to me about them on many occasions with the british economy. one thing we've been very good at is creating jobs, four million additional jobs since 2010. that's 8,000 people every single working day that the conservatives have been in office. now, the question is, how do we sustain that? and what we have now is rachel reeves did talk about that. she talked about labour's new deal for workers. you have the president of the cbi, completely independent of government, saying that risks destroying the job creating factory that the uk has. but you have also presided over, and you've mentioned it yourself, a lot of people falling out of the workplace, often due to ill health, often because they can't get the treatments that they need

because nhs waiting lists are so long. but it's interesting, you've clearly articulated there, i think, that you are open to squeezing the welfare budget further and making it harderfor people to claim on a different form of payment though when it comes to pensioners, what about the triple lock? because you hinted this week that the triple lock, which guarantees pensioners income, keeps pace with inflation. you hinted that might be reviewed, but will the triple lock be in the tory manifesto this time round? well, i can confirm it will be, yes. and there's two very important things i would say about that. when we came to office in 2010, pensioners were more likely to be in poverty than other income groups. now, because of the triple lock that we introduced, they are less likely to be in poverty. and i think that's a very important social change because, unlike adults of working age, pensioners can't work, they've retired. and so we need to respect that. but the second thing i would say is that is an expensive commitment. it's very expensive.

indeed, and you can only make that commitment if you're confident that you're going to deliver the economic growth that's going to pay for it. the chancellorjeremy hunt speaking to laura kuennsberg. meanwhile labour's chair, anneliese dodds, said her party would be setting out economic details of its manifesto in due course. the liberal democrats dismissed mr hunt's pensions pledge as a shameless election trick. in west africa, delayed presidential elections are taking place in senegal. the outgoing president, macky sall, had tried to postpone the vote till december — long past the end of his mandate. it took considerable domestic and international pressure and a ruling by senegal�*s constitutional council to get today's date agreed. seven million people are eligible to vote for the 17candidates. our correspondent, thomas naadi, has more. the voting process has been largely peaceful.

there are long queues at some polling stations. this country has a very young population and many of them are determined to get their voices heard in this election. opposition candidatejoe maffei voted here earlier today. he called for a peaceful election and urged all parties to accept the outcome of the polls. former prime minister amadou ba of the ruling party also called for a peaceful election and said he was confident of a first round victory after casting his ballot. senegal is one of africa's most stable countries in a region where military coups are common. yet most of these voters see this election as a turning point for their country's democracy. whoever wins this election will have to tackle unemployment, rising cost of living, institutional reforms to safeguard the country's democracy and, of course, to efficiently manage

the country's natural resources as senegal begins oil and gas production later this year. in nigeria, nearly 300 schoolchildren who were abducted in the north—west of the country have been freed, according to local officials. last week, the abductors demanded nearly $700,000 in ransom, but no details were given about how the pupils were freed. the students, aged between eight and 15, were taken along with their teacher earlier this month. in a statement, the governor thanked president bola tinubu and nigeria's army for helping secure their release. a woman has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect after three young siblings went missing. gloucestershire police confirmed the three—year—old boy and the girls — aged five and eight — had now been found and were safe. the children, who are from cheltenham, were reported missing on friday. they are subject to a court order, preventing them from being in their parents�* care.

in the uk, crumbling courts, a lack of defence lawyers and not enough legal advisors — these are just some of the reasons why 66,000 court cases in england and wales are stuck in limbo. for victims of sexual abuse, the long wait forjustice can be particularly difficult, and there are fears that delays may be deterring some people from reporting it. our reporter, josie hannett, has been looking at this situation in south—east england. it was 38 years ago, i was ten years old and i was terrified. i froze on the spot. matt hayward is talking about his experience of being abused as a child by a family friend. for years, he kept it a secret and carried on life as normal. but when he finally decided to tell the story and report it to kent police, he did not realise how long it might take before he got justice. the delays that i faced in the court

system for me were really, really challenging. there were two cases that were being run together. the process ended up taking so long to get to court, it was seven years after i first reported the first offence. one of the perpetrators actually died. the courts were fantastic and the people working in the courts were fantastic, but it is just the huge pressure they are under. for me, for the last seven years, and for my family, life has been on hold. hiya, you all right? yeah, i'm good. matt was inspired by his best friend's daughter poppy who at 11 years old reported the abuse she faced at the hands of her paternal grandfather. i'd hidden it for so long, but the turmoil and hurt that it has caused me through the years, not saying anything. the bravery of her coming forward and being able to talk about it, and report it, was inspirational. i'm a firefighter at heart. that's perceived as quite

a macho thing to do. all big, strong, burly people doing it — it's not the truth, there are loads of different people in the fire service. it just goes to show that affects people right throughout society. the latest figures from the ministry ofjustice show the backlog of cases is at a record high, with 66,000 cases in england and wales incomplete last year. maidstone crown court the worst affected in the south—east with 1,600 cases for trial outstanding. hove trial centre had a backlog of more than 1,000 cases, and canterbury more than 700. it's a couple of decades of lack of investment in the court. we have crumbling buildings, in the personnel, where the courts are unable to recruit legal advisors at the moment. where defence lawyers are leaving in droves, all of these have added to the fact that there simply aren't

the resources to deal with the amount of work we have. poppy's grandfather was jailed for 13.5 years for abusing her. living now in east sussex she has become in an ambassador for kent charity family matters and the nspcc — she campaigns for better support for victims of sexual abuse and improving wait times in the court system. you haven't had that closure. yes, ok, you may have done this. but it's still so open—ended, - and to have to put your life on hold and mine was only two years. and i understand now it is way longer, it drives you crazy. like, to put it in- the most realistic way. i think being my age now, i would be, like, i don't i have the energy to sit with this and carry on through this, - like, i can imagine a lot of people i have think i've kind of half dealtl with for most of my life, i why should i now dig it up

and be left waiting? you put people's lives on hold - because they have had the courage to make themselves vulnerable. the ministry ofjustice says it is recruiting judges and maximising the use of remote hearings and nightingale courts. but the temporary nightingale court in maidstone is due to close by the end of march — they say it is no longer needed. meanwhile, matt's abuser will be sentenced next month. helping out friends and family with a spot of decorating is one thing, but what about two of the beatles? dudley edwards did just that. paul mccartney and ringo starr both invited him to live with them while he painted murals in their homes. 60 years later, he's back home in yorkshire with a new exhibition. our reporter, michelle lyons, went to meet him. voiceover: it isn't a car at all - it's a painting. i that's what joint owners douglas bourne and dudley edwards say. and if you want your car

jazzed up and have several hundred pounds to spare, this is the place to take it. the swinging �*60s catapulted halifax artist dudley edwards well and truly into the spotlight. having been to art college in bradford, he headed for the big smoke to make his mark in the world and, boy, did he do that. we moved down to london and all we had was a chest of drawers and a couple of chairs. and we said, "well, we're artists we may as well colour "them and paint them." david bailey had his studio directly opposite our studio. and he bought it. their colourful style took off and it was partly influenced by their yorkshire roots. when i was a student at bradford art college, the first asian immigrants had arrived in bradford and i suppose they came from such a colourful place, as pakistan and india, they painted their doors these really vivid and bright colours. and itjust really stood out,

likejewels in a gold mine. so we wanted to kind of perpetuate that. to bring colour and joy to london. it was so dull and grey. from furniture to cars to murals, dudley was in demand. he even got a commission from paul mccartney. paul had seen the car and he wants his piano doing. doug and i decided to go our separate ways. at the time, i was broke, more or less. and somebody got the message through to me that paul wanted me to do a mural in his house and to live with him while i'm doing it. this took place over three months or more. i didn't get much mural work done because he was always dragging me out to either restaurants or nightclubs. i was with him in the nightclub the bag of nails the night he met linda. paulsaid, "ringo

wants a mural doing." well, ringo lived way out in weybridge. as did john lennon and george harrison. so i went over to weybridge and i worked with ringo for a while. but doug always wanted to get back to his roots, so he returned to yorkshire to his first love of painting. most of the paintings were abstract. not quite as decorative as the �*60s work, but nonetheless abstract. but i gradually, it transformed into figurative work. you are approaching your 80th birthday. is this exhibition a culmination of your work, a celebration of your life? i hope not! i want another 30 years. michelle lyons, bbc news. a vet from midlothian has become the first woman

to complete one of the world's hardest running races. jasmin paris finished the 100—mile barkley marathons in tennessee with just 99 seconds to spare. our reporter, simonjones, has the details. cheering she said her body was screaming at her to stop, butjasmin paris believed in herself and made it to the finish gate. her legs scratched from days of running through thick woodland. this is what exhaustion combined with joy looks like. the legendary course once featured in a documentary called the race that eats its young, the barkley marathons involve running up and down the equivalent of 60,000 feet, about twice the height of mount everest, in extreme heat. the route is unmarked, so competitors have to memorise it and it begins when the race creator, known as laz, lights a cigarette. and for some people, just to get back to camp alive

is all they want in the world. fellow ultra marathon runners are full of awe. she has learned, she's grown, she's trained hard in races, and, of course, you have to train every week and be consistent, building up your mileage and the strength and endurance in your body, to even attempt the barkley marathons. there are some very, very famous well—rounded runners, with huge amounts of experience, who get one loop done of the barkley marathons, and then tap out and say, "that was too hard." jasmin paris did all five loops. this is jasmin about to set off on the final loop. and it's not the first time she has made history. in 2019, she completed the spine race, from derbyshire to the scottish borders, a mere 268 miles, in 83 hours, 12 minutes and 23 seconds.

she broke the course record by more than 12 hours, expressing milk for her baby along the way. i did lots of long, long runs, often mainly in the dark, actually, getting up at 4am and training in the dark. and carrying my full pack, so, long days over christmas and new year, training in the hills. jasmin paris, who is a vet back home, can't currently speak, because she did so much heavy breathing over the 100 miles, but she sent us a text to say... now some much deserved rest before the inevitable next challenge. simon jones, bbc news. now, tourists in paris today might have found themselves

in the unusual position of having to dodge hundreds of waiters and waitresses swarming the streets trying desperately not to spill trays of coffee and croissants. the infamous la course des cafes has returned to the city after a 13—year hiatus. the race, which is over 100 years old, sees servers complete a two—kilometre loop — that'sjust over a mile — in the city's historic marais area while trying to avoid any spillages. runners were split in different categories given age group and gender. the mayor of paris revived the race, after it was put on hiatus in 2008 due to high costs. here's one of today's winners captured there on social media — sprinting his way to the finishing line — and then a race from the others to make the podium.

these pictures purportedly show the four men who were detained in that attack on the city halljust outside moscow, which happened on friday night. the reuters news agency said this was the suspect they brought to the investigation committee's headquarters. their arms are handcuffed and tied behind their back, blindfolded and held in that position there, before they were questioned by investigators, the latest in that death toll is 137 people who died in the attack, we expect that number to rise. these pictures coming to us via the reuters news agency from russian officials who say those are the four suspects involved in friday evenings attack. we will bring more evening's attack. we will bring more when we have it, of course. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich.

hello. many of us have had at least some spring sunshine to enjoy so far today. but the forecast for the week ahead looks decidedly un—springlike, with spells of rain. it will often be windy and it'll be cold enough over scottish hills for some significant snow, at least for a time now. this chart shows the rainfall we're expecting to accumulate over the next five days, particularly wet for some western hills and also in eastern scotland. now, i say wet. across scotland, certainly over the next couple of days, that wet weather will be falling in this very cold air. and that is why we have that potential for some snow, as i'll show you in a moment. but in the short term, the rest of the afternoon will bring some spells of sunshine, scattered showers. it's a little bit less chilly than it was yesterday, but cloud and rain gathering out towards the west and that will push its way in across many western parts of the uk as we go through the night. ahead of that, some clear skies, maybe the odd mist patch. it will turn chilly for a time.

by the end of the night, certainly becoming milder out towards the west. but we will see a frost across the northern half of scotland. so, into tomorrow, it's a story of low pressure swirling its way in from the west with this frontal system running its way northwards and eastwards. now, i think some parts of eastern england are likely to stay predominantly dry with some spells of rather hazy sunshine. but rain across western england, wales into the midlands, northern england, northern ireland, southern scotland. and as that rain gets into central parts of scotland — well, it will start to turn to snow up over high ground. we'll be quite cold through tomorrow afternoon in northern scotland, 5—7 degrees south wales, southern england, 10—12 degrees. but through monday night into tuesday, this wet and indeed wintry weather will become quite persistent, with 50 millimetres of rain likely across some parts of eastern scotland. but come inland, snow even over fairly modest hills, above 300 metres elevation. you could be looking at 20 centimetres of snow, only slowly petering out through the day on tuesday. windy in the north of scotland, very cold as well. some places, particularly where snow

falls, will struggle to get much above freezing. further south, some sunny spells, some showers and a little bit milder. it does turn a bit milder for just about all of us as we head through the week towards the easter weekend. but there will still be some rain at times.

live from london, this is bbc news. russia mourns — president putin lights a candle for victims of the concert hall attack, where137 people were killed. israel tells the un it will no longer approve the palestinian refugee agency's food convoys — to the north of gaza — that's according to the head of unrwa. a pledge on pensions — the conservatives say they are committed to keeping the so—called triple—lock on pension increases in their election manifesto.

russia is observing a national day of mourning today, for the victims of friday's attack on a concert venue, just outside moscow. in the last hour, the russian president, vladimir putin, lit a candle in a church at his residence outside moscow, in memory of the victims. at least 137 people died in the attack on concertgoers in the crocus city hall — the latest death toll from officials. mourners have also been placing flowers at a makeshift memorial at the concert venue — others have queued to donate blood for the many survivors. the islamic state group has released graphic footage, which appears to back up its claim of responsibility, for the attack. caroline hawley reports and a warning it contains some images you may find distressing. a growing mountain of tributes in memory of those killed in russia's deadliest attack on civilians in two decades. many had been attending a concert. among the dead, three children. the country is in mourning and in shock.

inside the venue this morning, a complex rescue operation