# they tried to make me go to rehab. # but i said no, no, no... and a new film on the life and troubled times of the singer amy winehouse — we speak to its star and director. and coming up on bbc news... defending champions manchester city and 14—time winners real madrid get ready to cross paths once again in the champions league. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. millions of people across mexico, the us and canada are gathering in the hope of witnessing a rare total solar eclipse taking place later today.

an eclipse happens when the moon moves between the earth and the sun, perfectly blocking the sun's rays from reaching the earth. for astronomy enthusiasts in this country, the best view, if the weather behaves, will be just before 8pm this evening in the west of ireland and north—west scotland. but it is in north america that the excitement is mounting. nomia iqbaljoins us from texas. good morning, reeta. when we got here it was pitch black so i felt like we had a slight preview of what was to come. it is early in the morning here in texas, just after 7am, but we are in the path of totality, so later on today, about one point for 0 pmi time, seven point for 0 in the evening your time, this part of texas will be plunged into darkness, so everyone is pretty excited. slight curve ball, though, i keep looking at the skies, yesterday was very clear and sunny, but there is predicted to be some cloud coverage, which could affect things. but no—one is

allowing that to put them off, everyone is excited, especially people who are camped here in the park, getting ready to experience what has been described as a once—in—a—lifetime event. music plays. this park has turned into a family music festival, with a stage for dancing, food stalls, bouncy castles and people camped out. the big star everyone is here to see is in the sky. we wait for things like this. to be able to be outside and not stuck inside doing something, or school, or whatever is going on, to be able to spend time together as a family is amazing, especially to see something so cool. the one in 2017 was the first one i'd experienced — the first total one that i'd experienced — and it was pretty mind— blowing. the moon will move in front of the sun, blocking its light and plunging the earth into darkness for up to four minutes. there will be a total eclipse of the heartland. the path of totality will stretch from mexico across the us and through to canada.

the weather is sadly looking cloudy, but everyone is trying to be upbeat. even if you have clouds, you will be able to see the drop in light, the drop in temperature. but one of the great things about a total solar eclipse is you can see the corona, or the outer atmosphere of the sun, which is this beautiful, stunning thing we don't normally get to see and unfortunately if there's clouds, we won't see that. cheering. last time this celestial phenomenon happened in the us was in 2017. you may remember this moment. to view the sky safely, definitely don't do what mr trump did there and stare right at the sun. these solar eclipse glasses are your best friends. they are much, much darker than regular sunglasses. they block out the light — and radiation. they should also carry this authentic label, which means they meet a high standard of safety. who's excited the eclipse is coming? and as the start of the eclipse draws near, anticipation is building across the us. we are literally over

the moon to welcome over i million people to our state for this once—in—a—generation moment. some people across the state have travelled hundreds of miles, others from out of town have travelled thousands of miles to come, and for one good reason — the stars are truly aligned for new york. a total solar eclipse is notjust something that you see, but experience with your whole body. you feel temperatures drop, you hear nocturnal animals wake up as day becomes night for several breathtaking minutes. nomia iqbal, bbc news, texas. for a closer look at the science behind the phenomenon and what we can expect to see, here's our science correspondent pallab ghosh. thanks, reeta. a total eclipse is one of the universe's great natural spectacles. here s what to look out for. the moment before the eclipse starts, the last chink of light seems to increase in brightness, forming what s called the diamond ring effect.

but that s just the lead in to the real showstopper, which is this. what we see is the sun s atmosphere shimmering around the moon. it s normally not visible because of the brightness of the sun, but because the moon is exactly the right size, it blocks off the bright part of the sun, leaving us to see this beautiful spectacle just for a few minutes. if we zoom in we can see details that are normally hidden. in red are gigantic nuclear explosions. some can be the size of the earth. it will be great watching it on tv this evening, but if you ever get a chance to see one for real, id highly recommend it. it is something you will remember for the rest of your life. but if you do get a chance, remember not to look directly at the sun when it's not in total solar eclipse! west yorkshire police are trying to trace a man suspected of stabbing

to death a woman in bradford. detectives say habibur masum was known to the victim. they're appealing for witnesses and asking any drivers in the area at the time to look for dashcam footage. danny savage has this report. where is habibur masum? every police force in the country is on the lookout for him. he's suspected of killing a 27—year—old mother pushing a pram on a street in the centre of bradford at the weekend. a major police investigation is under way. a shocking incident which has deeply affected those who tried to help her in the moments after the attack. i heard screaming and i came out, ran towards where the scene happened, and then what i did, i tried to check her pulse and everything. but there was no pulse, and then within a few minutes, doctor arrived. it's understood the attacker and the victim were known to each other.

the child in the pram being pushed by the woman was unharmed. for this young child, long after we've all disappeared, and the news has moved on and we've completely forgotten about this incident, that young baby will grow up motherless. and that's the tragedy here. cctv cameras overlook the crime scene. what they recorded will be vital to the investigation. police say a knife was recovered from the scene. habibur masum is from the oldham area and is believed to have links to burnley and chester. police say he should not be approached and anyone who sees him should dial 999. and this is the scene behind mejust buy this shop window where the stabbing took place on saturday afternoon. so, the suspect�*s picture is out there, the police appeal is out there, you have to believe, i suppose, that in due course that will yield a result and an arrest

will yield a result and an arrest will be made, but from what we understand at the moment, west yorkshire police and otherforces are still looking for this man, he is still at large at the moment. and i think it is quite telling that there is only one bunch of flowers here at the scene, it would appear that not many people actually knew the victim of the attack here on saturday. i think it probably makes that even more tragic, that not only does it appear that she was killed in somewhere that she was not very well—known, but it happened in such awful circumstances, so, a major investigation under way, police still appealing for information and the picture of that suspect is still being circulated widely. back to you, reeta. thank you very much, danny savage. the state pension is rising from today by 8.5%. it goes up according to what's knows as the triple lock measure, the government pledge for pensions to keep pace with inflation, wage rises, or 2.5%, whichever is highest. this time round it is wages. let's join our cost of living correspondent coletta smith,

who's in manchester for us now. yes, reeta, pensioners right up and down the country will be receiving a little bit more into their pension pots in the coming weeks. we are talking about an average of around £700 a year increase, but it depends on when you were born as to which type of pension you can apply for. so, if you have retired more recently, within the last eight years, since 2016, then you will be on the higherflat years, since 2016, then you will be on the higher flat rate of state pension which has gone up to £221 a week, an increase of £17 a week. but for most people, they are on that different rate, the basic rate of pension, which is a slightly lower rate, that has increased to £169.50. that is an increase compared to last month. of course both of those things combined mean that it has

pushed more people up a tax bracket. so, lots of people may well have been pushed into paying income tax on their pension for the first time. that is because the government has not raised the level at which we all start paying the different rates of income tax, because that rate has been frozen, that point has been frozen, and yet the pension rights have been increased, more people will have to start paying income tax on those pensions. pensions are not the only things which have increased over the last 48 hours, benefits have also gone up, by a slightly lower rate, of 6.7%, as opposed to 8.5% for pensions. and we have seen a lot of different things within that category, universal credit, personal independence payments, jobseeker�*s allowance as well as child benefits, going up. people will receive that money at some point over the next for weeks, whenever they usually receive their benefits or their state pension, it will be a small increase, potential benefit to millions of people right

across the country. colletta smith, thank you very much. the head of the un's nuclear watchdog has condemned a drone attack on the russian—occupied zaporizhzhia power plant in ukraine saying it raised the risk of a major nuclear accident. it's the first time the site, which is the largest in europe, has been directly targeted in 18 months. moscow blamed ukraine for the attack but kyiv has denied any involvement. let's speak now to our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford, who's in kyiv for us now. sarah, how much damage was done? well, the un watchdog does have people on the ground and they have been able to inspect the site and they are saying that this is an attack which does not appear to have compromised nuclear safety, they are saying there is nothing critical in terms of the damage caused. but they are raising the alarm because this attack took place in the first place. they are very concerned, they are using strong line which, they are pointing out this is the first direct attack on the nuclear power plant since november 2022, they are

saying it is very serious, they are talking about a major escalation of risk in the area and the head of the un agency rafael grossi has said that this is a reckless attack and he says it must stop. russia has directly blamed kyiv mother kremlin spokesman dmitry peskov has spoken of terrorist attacks by ukraine. i have spoken to ukrainian military intelligence here in kyiv who respond on behalf of all of the defence sector here and they have said they do not attack the powerplant, they did not do it in this instance and they did not even have drones in the area at the time. the nuclear watchdog the iaea has not apportioned blame in this instance but i think they are keen to show the wheelbase that there is around this nuclear power plant, which is on a direct front line, and the risk is real.— the risk is real. sarah rainsford reporting. _ the risk is real. sarah rainsford reporting, thank _ the risk is real. sarah rainsford reporting, thank you. _ the post office minister has said people responsible for the horizon it scandal should go to jail if there is evidence of wrongdoing.

the public inquiry into the scandal will resume this week, with senior post office bosses among those called to give evidence. more than 900 sub—postmasters were wrongly prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 due to supposed losses flagged by the faulty horizon it system used in its branches. aruna iyengar has this report. fenny compton this morning. very strong feeling in the community. 60 postmasters reconvened there today to take stock of where they are and grill kevin hollinrake, the post office minister. well, can i first say sorry for everything in this room for everybody in this room and for the thousands of people around the country? right at the back, who's there? there were questions about why compensation was taking so long. we still suffer, because all these people in this room are still- suffering as victims - and are not survivors yet. kevin hollinrake agreed the government hadn't been compensating people quickly enough. he also went further.

people should be prosecuted. that's my view, and i think you and other people i've spoken to, i certainly feel, people who were within the post office and possibly further afield, should go to jail. it's been a long road. the first campaign meeting was here in 2009. eight years later, alan bates took legal action against the post office and won compensation. but much of this was eaten up in legal fees. the secret 2017 bramble report uncovered by the bbc said that fujitsu employees had the ability to amend or delete transactions entered by post office branch staff. this information wasn't revealed to postmasters during their civil case. in 2021, the court of appeal quashed the convictions of 39 subpostmasters. the year after, the public inquiry began hearing evidence. and i come from a heritage of postmasters... - for vipin patel, who was wrongly prosecuted

for shortfalls in excess of £75,000 at his branch in oxfordshire, compensation is coming too late. for us, the life is slipping away. i've spent now 37 years - in post office, including my 13 years after convictions, so it feels like the - life has been wasted. the next phase of the public inquiry, which starts tomorrow, will look at who knew what at the top. arun iyengar, bbc news. the time is just after 13:15. our top story this afternoon: a rare total solar eclipse over north america — millions of people are gathering to watch the phenomenon when the moon fully blocks the sun, and we might see some it here too. and celebrating friendship — french soldiers take part in the changing of the guard, to mark the 120th anniversary of the signing of the entente cordiale. coming up on bbc news:

ahead of this week's masters golf, reigning championjon rahm, who moved to the liv tour, is feeling positive there'll be a resolution to the split. rail passengers are facing more disruption, as train drivers take part in strike action for the third time in four days. it's part of their dispute over pay and conditions. services in east anglia and southern england are mainly affected, with a fraction of the usual services running. passengers are advised to check before they travel. i'm joined by our transport correspondent, katy austin. what is the level of disruption? well, as you say, this is the last of three strikes by train drivers since friday, each of them has affected a different list of operators, a different area of the country. today, there are no services at all in some parts of the

south of england and the east of england. orvery limited south of england and the east of england. or very limited time tables with trains perhaps starting late and finishing much earlier than they normally would. southeastern is advising people not to travel, so limited is the amount of services it is running and it thinks those that do will be extremely busy. and tomorrow, i think there will be a late start up of trains in some places, that is something to watch out for. it will also be the last day of an overtime ban that has affected all the operators in the dispute and that can cause last—minute disruption, not the plans timetables you get on strike days. in answer to the question are we nearer to an end to this? i'm afraid at the moment, it is still no. both sides say they want to talk and want a resolution, but the reality is there has been no movement since latest proposals were rejected by aslef nearly a year ago. 0k, rejected by aslef nearly a year ago. ok, thank you. israel and hamas have expressed cautious optimism, after a new round of talks in cairo

for a ceasefire deal in gaza. any truce could see the release of hostages who remain in captivity in gaza, in return for palestinians being held in israeli jails. it would also allow more humanitarian aid to be delivered to civilians in gaza. our middle east correspondent hugo bachega is injerusalem. what is this optimism based on? this cautious optimism. the israeli foreign minister said these talks had reached a critical point and that he was more optimistic that a breakthrough was possible. an sing officials are also saying that this cautious optimism —— that is cautious optimism —— that is cautious optimism —— that is cautious optimism that a deal can be reached. we still don't know whether major obstacles have been resolved. sing wants a permanent ceasefire, in other words the end of the war, also a complete withdrawal of israeli forces from gaza and that displaced residents be allowed to return to northern parts of gaza. now, the

israelis have rejected those demands is unacceptable. but in recent days, they have been indicating that they are willing to make some concessions. now, there is renewed pressure for a deal, especially from the americans. the head of the cia is in cairo for those talks and here in israel, the prime minister is under a lot of pressure from all sides because some of his hardline allies are against any idea of making concessions. they say that sing must be destroyed. but there is international pressure on the prime minister to de—escalate the conflict in gaza —— sing must be destroyed. there is also growing opposition to his plan to launch a ground offensive into eurovision song contest, when more than1 million palestinians are now sheltering. so a lot of pressure on the prime minister, difficult talks in cairo, but indications are some progress in those talks that have been mediated by egypt and qatar have been made. —— ground offensive into rafah.

hugo bachega. two men are expected to be sentenced this afternoon for the murder of the footballer cody fisher in a nightclub in birmingham. our midlands correspondent phil mackie is at birmingham crown court for us. just remind us of the background to this story. yes, this all began with a trivial incident on christmas eve 2022 when cody fisher and his friends were in a crowded bar in solihull and they walked past a man called remy gordon. gordon took umbrage at this and started arguing. cody fisher refused to be intimidated or bullied and left the club. but remy gordon and left the club. but remy gordon and his friend kami carpente tracked him down and set about taking revenge. and in a nightclub in birmingham, they went with a zombie

knife they smuggled in and attacked him on the dance floor. cody fisher died in the arms of his girlfriend. two weeks ago, they were both convicted of murder. today, they are here being sentenced and we have heard victim statements both from cody fisher's girlfriend who said the past 14 months have been horrific, but winning sink in being attacked and holding him as he took his life breath and died in my arms was the most terrific experience of my life —— last breath. tracy fisher acknowledged there are other parents who had to suffer the same sort of loss and tragically, a 15—year—old boy was stabbed to death in waltz not far from here last night. she also described cody as a brave, fierce and most genuine soul she knew. as i said, the sentencing hearing began this morning and will resume it to be m. carpenter and gordon will get life for murder, they will wait to hear the tariff and how much time they have to spend in prison before they are eligible for parole and they will be

sentenced alongside the defendant, reegan anderson, who was convicted of affray. reegan anderson, who was convicted of affra . . ~ reegan anderson, who was convicted of affra . ., ~ i. reegan anderson, who was convicted of affra . ., ~' ,, , reegan anderson, who was convicted ofaffra . ., ~ , . of affray. thank you very much. phil mackie. now a look at some other stories making the news today. officials in the us are trying to find out why the casing of an engine on a boeing 737—800 passenger plane ripped away during take—off from the city of denver. footage online shows the cover flapping as it returned to the airport. no—one was injured. the former tesco uk boss jason tarry is set to take over as the next chairman of thejohn lewis partnership. it comes after dame sharon white confirmed she will step down at the end of her term at the employee—owned firm, which runs the department store chain and waitrose supermarket business. mrtarry will take up his role in september. the foreign office should be abolished and replaced by a new department for international affairs with modernised premises and "fewer colonial era pictures on the walls" — according to a group of former senior diplomats and officials. they've published a document calling for a new approach to uk international policy.

fire crews called to an e—bike fire at a railway station in sutton in south london last month have said the "ferocious" blaze could have had "tragic consequences". the bike exploded during rush hour last month. the london fire brigade station officer said it's important to buy e—bikes from a reputable high—street seller, so you know the battery and charger history. history has been made in buckingham palace today as, for the first time ever, french soldiers took part in the changing of the guard. 16 british soldiers from the coldstream guards have also been performing the same function over at the elysee palace in paris. they are marking the 120th anniversary of the signing of the entente cordiale, which brought about the current era of friendship between france and the uk. sam harrison reports.

# god save our gracious king... it's not often you hear god save the king blasted through paris by a french army choir, but today is an exception. it's a relationship celebrated down the generations, marking the signing of the first alliance agreement between france and the uk in 1904. welcome to the president of the french republic. this edition of the entente cordiale in 1939 was significant. just before the start of the second world war. and over the years, it's held strong. monsieur le president, mesdames, messieurs. queen elizabeth.

marking its centenary in paris in 2004. today, another landmark moment for the agreement�*s120th anniversary. thousands were present at buckingham palace to watch french troops take part in the iconic changing of the guard. a moment centuries in the making. this is a military first. french soldiers here today weren't just here to carry out a piece of ceremonial duty. they've become the first troops from outside the commonwealth to take part in this prestigious ritual. well, i think we do have a good relationship with england. we are near. and it's a historic friendship. so, yeah, i think it's it's it's great in france and also in england. it's huge here for the people. so it's wonderful to be here. it's a special day. so, yeah. everyone's holding their phones up like that and nobody can even see anything. in paris, sentiments were echoed. british troops became the first from outside of france to change the guard at the elysee palace. across both capitals,

then, a modern celebration confirming an historic alliance, the entente cordiale as strong as ever before. sam harrison, bbc news, buckingham palace. at the time of her death, aged 27, amy winehouse had already become a music legend. but her struggles with substance abuse, mental illness and addiction were well documented by the tabloid press. now her life and music are the subject of a new film, back to black. our culture correspondent, charlotte gallagher, sat down with the director, sam taylor—johnson, and marisa abela, who stars in the film. # they tried to make me go to rehab, but i said, "no, no, no" # amy winehouse, a music legend. # ..this, me: "yeah, baby, and the rest" #

# they tried to make me go to rehab, but i said...# now a new film is telling her story. i was so excited by the idea of, you know, playing and getting in touch with amy the girl, and then amy the singer, and as well as, like, you know, the woman before the icon. i don't write songs to be famous. i write songs because... i don't know what i'd do if i didn't. a big part of the film is amy's troubled relationship with blake fielder—civil. i set out to make the film, like i said, through her perspective, so her love of him, you know, had to be palpable. it had to feel real, and we had to understand why she fell in love with him. and so it wasn't about making a sort of one—dimensional villain. we had to fall in love with him to understand why she wrote one of the greatest albums about their love. and and for me, really, the villains of the film, you know, it's addiction and paparazzi. guys... come, please. do you think now, obviously, what amy went through, what britney spears went through, that maybe we've moved on a bit as a society, that people wouldn't be persecuted, essentially, like that? i don't know, recent

news may say different. i felt like we maybe had evolved to this place of maybe that wouldn't happen now, but it feels like it is happening now. # we only said goodbye with words...# what do you think she'd make of the film? i feel like, hopefully, she'd feel proud of it and us. and of herself, too. i hope that she would watch it and feel like, you know, proud of everything that she created. # ..and i go back to black #. our culture correspondent charlotte gallagher reporting there. now, those of you who were watching last night will know of the hardest geezer. russ cook, from west sussex, has earned that nickname by running the entire length of africa, for charity. he set off last april from south africa's southern—most tip and covered the equivalent of 385 marathons. the route took him north through countries including angola, nigeria and ivory coast, before ending in the north of tunisia. and a short while ago,

he spoke further about his achievement. when i think about when i have kids and what i want to pass on to them, thatis and what i want to pass on to them, that is like the deepest ever. there has officer been a bunch of times where it has been very difficult, the sahara desert, sandstorms and i'm pushing that mileage up for that last couple of months which was really tough as well. the amount of people that have been following and come out to support and stuff. i think it would be awesome to get people moving more, i am a big believer in sport. our goal is basically to use the power of running to try and our young people going through hard times. extraordinary achievement. now, before we get the full weather forecast, take a look at this. a plane passenger captured these nail—biting moments when a tiny cessna aircraft came in to land in 50—miles—an—hour winds at edinburgh airport

during storm kathleen. applause relief all round! time for a look at the weather. here's sarah keith—lucas. have you got more of that in store? mixed for some others, but a brighter day in edinburgh. this is in leith in edinburgh and quieter winds thankfully today and sunshine. but if we think about how wet it has been so far, we have only had the first week of april and edinburgh has already seen 79 millimetres of rain. we would normally expect 46 in the entire month. sojust rain. we would normally expect 46 in the entire month. so just after rain. we would normally expect 46 in the entire month. sojust after one week, we have had 171% of the expected april rainfall. itjust shows how saturated the ground is at the moment. next few days still unsettled. rain at times, often quite breezy and it is turning

colder than it has been. some more