voting is taking place in municipal elections across turkey, with president erdogan�*s party hoping to regain control of cities it lost five years ago. and the white house correspondents�* association tells journalists to stop stealing souvenirs from the us president's official aircraft, air force one. hello. king charles is to make his first formal public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. he's due to attend the easter sunday service at st george's chapel in windsor, along with other royals. but prince william and his wife, the princess of wales — who's also receiving treatment for cancer — will not be there. here's our royal correspondent, jonny dymond. to the family church — and that of many monarchs —

the king is expected to walk today in what will be his first public sighting since the announcement of his cancer diagnosis. it was after a procedure in january that cancer was found. since then, the king has continued with constitutional duties, but avoided all public engagements. messages and images, there have been aplenty — most recently an audio message on maundy thursday. may god bless you all this easter. what a change it will all be from a year ago — just before the coronation, a royalfamily made its way to church. king and queen. prince and princess. happy easter. kate spoke out over a week ago — revealing her preventative chemotherapy treatment for cancer. she is, she says,

focusing on recovery, and she won't be seen in public for a while to come. the priority this easter for the princess and prince — their family. all eyes, then, on the king this sunday — himself mid—treatment for an unknown cancer. his reign on hold as he, too, devotes his time to recovery. jonny dymond, bbc news. as the royal family marks easter sunday, pope francis is preparing to deliver his annual message and blessing from st peter's square in rome. the 87—year—old leader of the catholic church is expected to speak in the coming hours. his appearance comes just two days after the vatican unexpectedly announced the pope would miss the city's good friday procession to "conserve his health" ahead of a busy weekend. millions of workers in the uk will see their pay increase tomorrow as more people become eligible for the national living wage.

previously, you had to be 23 years old to qualify, but that's been reduced to 21. it has been just over £10 an hour — just over $12. it's going up to just over £11 an hour. our business correspondent marc ashdown has the details. barista sam loves hisjob, but after paying his essential bills, he's often left with just a few hundred pounds a month to live on. pay rises just help him stay afloat. i think they balance, because obviously everything else goes up in price, so it sort of — you even out every single year. so maybe for, like, a month you'll be like, "ooh, i've got money this month," and then it'lljust be like next month be a bit of a rough one. workers across the uk in some of the lowest—paid jobs are about to get a boost in their pay — from tomorrow the national living wage is going up from £10.42 an hour to £11.44 an hour — that's an increase of 9.8%. the age at which a worker qualifies is also being reduced from 23 to 21 years old. the treasury says a full—time worker should be paid

about £1,800 extra over a year. this is the largest increase in the minimum wage in cash terms, and the first time it's gone up by more than a pound in one go. and it reflects, really, the strength in pay growth across the economy — which looks set to continue. minimum—wage levels for workers aged between 16 and 21 will also rise. the lobby group ukhospitality said, taken across all the pay scales, businesses could be having to fund an increase of 17%. got significant cost headwinds that they're facing into not just wages but energy, food price, inflation and the cost—of—living pressures. so there is a perfect storm going on here and, on top of this, a 17% increase in their wage bills. charities want to see more businesses sign up to the so—called real living wage — which sets minimum pay at a higher rate. but tomorrow's increase will give a pay boost to millions of workers. marc ashdown, bbc news. romania and bulgaria have become the newest members of the europe's schengen area

of free movement — but only for air and sea crossings. land border controls will remain in place because of austria's opposition to the eastern european nations becoming full members of the zone. vienna fears an influx of asylum seekers if all border controls disappear. romania's interior minister, catalin predoiu, said joining schengen was an important moment for his country and its citizens. polling stations have opened shortly across turkey for its local elections. president erdogan�*s party, thejustice and development party, hopes to regain control of cities it lost in the last round of voting five years ago. most notabaly, the country's largest city istanbul. the elections are taking place against a backdrop of severe economic problems, including inflation of nearly 70%.

let's speak to ayca alemdaroglu, at the center on democracy, development and the rule of law at stanford university. why is the election so important for president erdogan? it important for president megan?— important for president erdouan? , ., erdogan? it will show under the circumstances _ erdogan? it will show under the circumstances the _ erdogan? it will show under the circumstances the national - circumstances the national mood, the satisfaction. basically everyone is focused on istanbul at this time, the race between the current mayor and the government candidate. the government candidate supported by erdogan, who is campaigning for the last couple of weeks for the mayor candidate. it's going to be another referendum basically for erdogan�*s government. what for erdogan's government. what are the main _ for erdogan's government. what are the main campaign - for erdogan's government. what are the main campaign points president erdogan is arguing on? �* ,

president erdogan is arguing on? �*, , on? he's basically running another — on? he's basically running another polarising - on? he's basically running i another polarising campaign, undermining the achievements of the current mayor in istanbul. all the discourses we have seen in his previous campaigns, basically polarising the country again. basically saying a vote for the government candidate would be a vote for him, so he is basically backing him, so he is basically backing him up, and all the ministers are in the field, campaigning for the candidate. so there is nothing new in terms of the campaign discourses. would you describe these _ campaign discourses. would you describe these elections - campaign discourses. would you describe these elections as - describe these elections as free and fair?— describe these elections as free and fair? it's hard to say that. in turkey, _

free and fair? it's hard to say that. in turkey, i— free and fair? it's hard to say that. in turkey, i mean, - free and fair? it's hard to say that. in turkey, i mean, we i that. in turkey, i mean, we can't really talk about the independence of the electoral authority. the media access of the opposition is very limited. the state is using all its resources to back up its candidates, whereas those resources are not available to the opposition parties. many politicians and journalists in jail, which makes things a little difficult for the parties other than the government to run. but there is still a vibrancy when you go to any town in turkey. i was just in izmir, ankara, istanbul. big political engagement with the parties. traditionally turkey has a high voter turnout. traditionally turkey has a high voterturnout. but traditionally turkey has a high voter turnout. but analysts are worrying about platt going down this election. —— about that

going down. this election. -- about that going down-— this election. -- about that auoin down. . ~' , going down. 0k, thank you very much for being _ going down. 0k, thank you very much for being with _ going down. 0k, thank you very much for being with us. - with me is mohamed taha, from bbc arabic. talk to us about istanbul in particular. why is it so important for president erdogan?— important for president erdouan? ., erdogan? good morning. actually. _ erdogan? good morning. actually, the _ erdogan? good morning. actually, the a _ erdogan? good morning. actually, the a k - erdogan? good morning. actually, the a k party, i erdogan? good morning. i actually, the a k party, the erdogan party, held istanbul for more than two decades before they lost it in 2000 and lighting. erdogan himself was the mayor of istanbul for a long time before he became president. —— they lost it in 2019. the mayor of istanbul actually would be the next president, the saying is... the current mayor of istanbul, who

won the election is over erdogan's candidate in 2019, he is looked at as a threat to erdogan in the upcoming presidential elections. he is competing with the a k party candidate in this election. the whole local elections in turkey is about this seat, the mayor of istanbul.— of istanbul. talk to us about the economy. _ of istanbul. talk to us about the economy. we _ of istanbul. talk to us about| the economy. we mentioned of istanbul. talk to us about. the economy. we mentioned in the economy. we mentioned in the introduction, inflation of nearly 70%. how big a deal is this in these municipal elections? it this in these municipal elections?— this in these municipal elections? , . ., ,, elections? it is a massive deal elections? it is a massive deal, actually. _ elections? it is a massive deal, actually. erdogan i elections? it is a massive i deal, actually. erdogan says elections? it is a massive - deal, actually. erdogan says he dealt with the installation and people wouldn't feel it so much, but there are critics, as the previous guest sees, erdogan didn't do much in the economy, in swedens, and there are many issues in his rule. ——

in swedens. he regained the majority in parliament in the last election. —— in freedoms. so he might seek constitutional changes to stay in power until 2026. , ., ., changes to stay in power until 2026. , a, ., ~ , 2026. there is another turkey sto i 2026. there is another turkey story i want — 2026. there is another turkey story i want to _ 2026. there is another turkey story i want to ask _ 2026. there is another turkey story i want to ask you - 2026. there is another turkey story i want to ask you about. | story i want to ask you about. reports that israel might be keen to have turkish troops on the ground in gaza. talk to us about what we know around this story and the significance of that. ., , ., , that. indeed, i did a story about this _ that. indeed, i did a story about this topic _ that. indeed, i did a story about this topic yesterday that. indeed, i did a story . about this topic yesterday for bbc arabic. there are reports in israel and western media that multinational forces would be suggested to be deployed in gaza. there are unconfirmed

names of countries, like egypt, united arab emirates and turkey, to be part of this. indeed, the turkish voters are going to elections today, it will be in the back of their mind, 80 people died in gaza in the last 2a hours, and the situation in the al—shifa hospital. the unclear position of the a k party against israel and against what is happening in gaza is causing some anxious for some voters. a new islamist party has appeared in turkish politics, the new welfare party, and the polls say this party, and the polls say this party is taking 5% of the votes from the a k party. this will reinforce the position definitely in these elections. thank you very much. a car bombing at a busy market

in northern syria has killed at least seven people and injured many others. the blast took place in the town of azaz in aleppo province. pro—turkish forces and their proxies control large areas of syria near the border with turkey, including a number of major towns. a ship carrying food aid to gaza has set sail from a port in cyprus. it's the second shipment along a maritime corridor, although one united nations aid agency says the safest and quickest way to feed people is by bringing supplies in by road. the international community began sea and airdrops because israeli restrictions and security issues have meant few land convoys have been able to reach people facing starvation in northern gaza. 0ur middle east correspondent, lucy williamson, joined one us military flight and sent this report. aid drops into gaza are expensive, inefficient and increasingly controversial. these ready prepared meals from the us army are being flown more than 1,000 miles from a us air

base in qatar. there is plenty of food just a short drive from gaza's borders, but this american aid is being flown right across the middle east. 80 crates of food on board two c17 transport planes, dropped into a population the un says is on the brink of famine. it's not perfect, we know that there's upwards of 2 million people who need food on the ground and who are hungry, innocent civilians, who didn't ask for this conflict, and we are dropping meals in the tens of thousands. but at least it's something, so does it feel like a drop in the bucket? maybe a little bit, but if you are family on the ground who got some of this aid, it can be a life—saver. 12 people were reported to have drowned this week trying to retrieve packages from the sea, six others crushed in a stampede. what are you doing to try and mitigate those risks? literally everything we can. i know you spoke with the colonel earlier. we use a chute that falls at a slower rate to give the gazans more time to see

the parachute and make sure they are out of the way. we also have assets overhead that clear the drop zone so we will not drop if there is any sort of groupings of people there. after three hours in the air, the ramp opens on gaza's devastated coastline. they have just opened the hatch, ready to release the aid down into gaza. there is no organised distribution system down there. there it goes. a drop of aid in an ocean of hunger. two of the parachutes don't open. we watch as the parcels crash into the sea. 0n the ground in gaza city a journalist working with the bbc was watching. he counted 11 separate aid drops yesterday. ahmad was one of those trying to get some of the parcels, but there isn't nearly enough to go around. translation: we have tried without luck to find _ aid twice this morning.

if we can at least get a can of beans or hummus that will help. for most people hunger has consumed them. we have no energy any more. american aid is falling where american weapons have already left their mark. with demands for action growing in the western and arab capitals, how much do these eye—catching flights relieve pressure on gazan civilians, and how much the pressure on governments elsewhere? lucy williamson, bbc news, qatar. university of oxford rowers have criticised sewage levels in the thames after losing the boat race to cambridge. high levels of e.coli have been found in the river where universities race every year with the oxford men's team revealing they had been vomiting before the race. thames water has said improving river health was a "key focus" for the company. joe lynskey was watching.

they've raced on the thames for nearly 200 years. this time the winners kept theirjoy on dry land. the boat race for the students had changed this year through geography, rainfall through the winter, increasing sewage in the thames. the river action campaign group found high levels of e.coli rowers were told to stay out of the water. cambridge went clear in the men's race and stretched out a lead. they put in so much through four miles. some barely had the strength to finish. they won by 10 seconds, but 0xford had an explanation. we've had a few guys go down pretty badly with the e.coli strain. so, i mean, this morning i was throwing up. it would have been ideal not to have so much poo in the water. but, you know, that's not to take away from cambridge. they were a talented crew. i don't know if we would have had a chance to get them, even if we'd all been on form. so it's no way to make excuses.

the women's boat race was close until it changed on a moment. oxford, i'm warning you, oxford. that stern word from the umpire was to stop the boats colliding. oxford fell back and cambridge powered on to chiswick. it's their seventh straight win and the men's fifth in six years. but what did change this year was the team's celebration. by tradition, the coxes get thrown in the river. but this year on the thames, they're staying out of the water. joe lenski, bbc news. donald trump has been criticised byjoe biden's campaign team for sharing a video on social media featuring a truck bearing the image of the us president with his hands and feet tied together. a spokesman for mr trump said it was just a picture on the vehicle's tailgate, filmed as it travelled down the highway. but a biden election campaign official accused mr trump of inciting political violence.

well, this is a video that donald trump posted on his truth social media yesterday. it's about a 20—second clip, says that it's filmed in long island. and what it shows is two pick—up trucks travelling along the road, both absolutely plastered with pro—trump images and flags. but one of them, on the tailgate of the pick—up truck, has a picture — a mocked—up image ofjoe biden with his hands and feet tied. so it kind of looks as though the president has been kidnapped and put in the truck. now, this image has caused some controversy, as you say. that statement from the biden campaign saying that trump is regularly inciting political violence, and said that it's time that people took that seriously. but the trump campaign's hit back against these allegations — they said, as you said, you know, this was just a truck travelling down the highway, and they said it's democrats that have called for despicable violence against president trump and his family.

let's get some of the day's other news now. firefighters in indonesia are battling to put out a massive fire that broke out at a military ammunition depot just outside the capital, jakarta, causing a series of explosions and sending flames and smoke into the night sky. no—one was reported to have died or been injured in the incident, military officials told reporters at the scene, saying the fire had started in a part of the facility that was used to store expired ammunition. police in ecuador arrested a man suspected of being involved in the killing of five tourists. the five were among a group who travelled to the coastal province of manabi for the easter holidays. on friday night, some 20 gang members stormed their hotel and took seven of the tourists away, thinking that they belonged to a rival criminal group. police in peru raided president dina boluarte's home as part of a corruption inquiry dubbed "rolexgate". authorities were searching for more than a dozen rolex

watches president boluarte had allegedly not declared. the investigation began after a news report drew attention to luxury watches she wore at public events. peru's government described the raid as "disproportionate and unconstitutional". the london—based iranian tv news channel whose presenter was stabbed yesterday says "heavy threats" have been made to its staff. pouria zeraati was attacked outside his home in south london. the iranian regime has denied any involvement in the attack, which is being investigated by counter—terrorism police. normally, they're the ones grilling washington power players. but the tables have been turned on the white house press corps. jounalists have been told to stop stealing souvenirs from air force one, the us president's official aircraft. kelly o'donnell of the white house correspondents' association told members that removing items from the plane was forbidden.

she said it didn't cast journalists in a very good light. the pilfering was identified after an inventory was taken following a visit by president biden to the us west coast. but reports say taking souvenirs with an air force one logo, including drinks glasses, cutlery and towels, has been popularfor years. let's speak to misha komadovsky, who's a white house correspondent for voa and travel�*s regularly on the air force one. i feel like i should say you have the right to remain silent but that wouldn't make a very good interview. what have you taken? ., good interview. what have you taken? . ., ., taken? thanks for having me. well, my _ taken? thanks for having me. well, my collection _ taken? thanks for having me. well, my collection is - taken? thanks for having me. well, my collection is quite i well, my collection is quite subtle, to be honest. i didn't embarrass anyone or commit any wrongdoing to put this collection together. i have a paper cup that literally reads air force one that i simply forgot to throw away. my

network actually paid for this. and a pack of the presidential m and ms withjoe biden's signature. spoileralert, m and ms withjoe biden's signature. spoiler alert, they are regular m and ms in a nice box. during my first flight, i asked the flight attendants for asked the flight attendants for a pack and they kindly provided me with a couple. i a pack and they kindly provided me with a couple.— me with a couple. i think you have given — me with a couple. i think you have given us _ me with a couple. i think you have given us a _ me with a couple. i think you have given us a pretty - me with a couple. i think you have given us a pretty good i have given us a pretty good example. some of this stuff is pretty cool, some good memorabilia. some m and ms with the president's signature, but talking about cutlery and towels, where do you draw the line with what is acceptable to take and what is not acceptable?- take and what is not accetable? �*, , , , take and what is not accetable? h , , , ., acceptable? it's surprising how many fellow — acceptable? it's surprising how many fellow journalists - acceptable? it's surprising how many fellow journalists are - many fellow journalists are snatching bigger items from air force one despite the super tight security. you can't even take pictures on board for security reasons, and it's still a mystery how those reporters did what they did, literally the white house correspondents association president had to recently

remind asked, the members, not just write anything that would not be a good look for the press crew. but people just can't resist. —— not to take anything. after some bigger items went missing, there was an effort to get them back. a reporter returned a fancy pillowcase. not calling out supporters but rather sending a message, guys, just stop stealing stuff. message, guys, “ust stop stealing stuff._ message, guys, “ust stop stealing stuff. that's what kelly o'donnell— stealing stuff. that's what kelly o'donnell said, - stealing stuff. that's what kelly o'donnell said, and | stealing stuff. that's what - kelly o'donnell said, and she's got a point. this doesn't look good on journalists, got a point. this doesn't look good onjournalists, does it? of course. but you have to understand that anything with the presidential seal, it's quite popular here in washington. it may sound silly, but in the washington bubble, as we call it, a souvenir from air force one or the white house can silently communicate

to the others, hey, i travelled with the president. or, i have shaken his hand. for instance, last year i had a rare chance to cover the trilateral summit at camp david, in maryland. the press rarely get access. let me show this off. a baseball cap for my partner. little did we know... , u, ., for my partner. little did we know. . ._ people l for my partner. little did we - know. . ._ people would know... very cool! people would sto us know... very cool! people would stop us on _ know... very cool! people would stop us on the — know... very cool! people would stop us on the street _ know... very cool! people would stop us on the street and - know... very cool! people would stop us on the street and ask, i stop us on the street and ask, where did you guys get it? my partner is a white house correspondent... indie partner is a white house correspondent... we have to leave it there, _ correspondent... we have to leave it there, but _ correspondent... we have to leave it there, but it's - correspondent... we have to leave it there, but it's a - correspondent... we have to | leave it there, but it's a good shot to finish, thank you very much. goodbye for now. we saw some pretty decent weather for saturday across much of the south and east of

the uk. further north and west, still further showers. for part two of the easter weekend, a bit more cloudy for many of us and further showers pretty much anywhere, but especially across the north and the west. low pressure sitting close by to the uk, and it's not going to move anywhere in a hurry. start to bring up some weather signeds sombre south this week. some showers from the word go across western areas. sunshine around, the clouds building, some rain arriving across southern and eastern areas later in the day, quite a keen east and south easterly breeze. the best sunshine across parts of scotland, and there we could see 15 degrees. most places looking at 11—11l. through easter sunday night, we start to see the rain gathering across england and wales. further north, poking into some colder air, further north, poking into some

colderair, it further north, poking into some colder air, it should be dry. low single digits, versus 7—9 further south where we have more cloud and rain. easter monday, a weather front and associated low pressure across central and southern areas, could be a wet day for some of us on easter monday. maybe a bit of brightness later across southern areas, and a few showers. scotland and northern ireland getting drier and brighter weather. the best sunshine in western scotland and northern ireland, some low cloud in off the north sea on a brisk north—easterly wind, so again feeling quite chilly. further south, despite the rain, 11—13. as we move deeper into the week, banneds of rain and low pressure systems affecting the uk, moving up from the south—west. it could be quite windy at times. a very unsettled week to come. milder air across the south pushing the colder air away from scotland as we move through the

week. the wet and windy weather pushing up from the south—west. it is unsettled for the rest of the week. outbreaks of rain, a bit of sunshine, but on the flip side, very mild, particularly across southern areas. could be in the high teens and with some sunshine.

this is bbc news. the headlines... king charles willjoin the queen and other members of the royal family at an easter sunday service

at st george's chapel at windsor castle. it will be his most significant public appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. voting is taking place in municipal elections across turkey, with president erdogan's party hoping to regain control of cities it lost five years ago. the vote takes place amid severe economic issues, including inflation of nearly 70%. romania and bulgaria have become the newest members of europe's schengen area of free movement — but only for air and sea crossings. land—border controls will remain in place due to austria's opposition. and the white house correspondents' association issues a stern notice to journalists telling them to stop stealing souvenirs from the us president's official aircraft. reports say the press has been taking items from air force one for years. now on bbc news, click.