at1:00, good news on the economy — the uk, is officially out of recession. the nation's gdp, or the value of all goods and services, went up 0.6% in the first three months of the year. in northern iraq we track down europe's most wanted migrant smuggler, known as scorpion. he's arranged for thousands, to cross the channel. a warning from fire chiefs over electrical items with lithium—ion batteries tossed in household rubbish. harry and megan begin a three—day visit to nigeria. we caught up with the prince, ahead of his trip. and the race to save the african penguin in the wild. is it heading for extinction?

coming up on bbc news, aston villa fall short of the first european final in 42 years, but they are beaten by a team who have never been in one up until now, olympiakos. hello. the uk is officially out of recession, with economic output up by 0.6% in the first three months of the year. that's better than expected, and marks a modest return to growth after the mild recession, of late last year. rishi sunak says it's proof the economy is turning a corner, but he's told the bbc it'll take time for people to really feel better. dharshini david, is here with all the details. dharshini. finally, some news we really can use — the sun is not only shining across the country today, the economy also hit a brighter spot

at the start of the year according to these initial estimates, beating expectations. with stronger consumer spending in shops, hotels and restaurants, the service sector perked up, and while a rebound in trade kept manufacturers busy, the heavy rain did dampen construction activity. but we have, officially, left recession behind. this was how the major economies fared. we saw a stronger bounceback than france, germany and italy in the first three months this year as we all emerge from that battle with higher rates and inflation. we even did better than the us — although overall, we've not made the gains they have compared to prior to the pandemic. for this rebound follows notjust a shallow dip but a couple of years of basically flatlining growth — which means we have a way to catch up . many are not feeling better as yet. actually, once we account for population growth and rising prices, each person in the uk was over £100 worse off in march because of our gdp performance, compared to the start of 2022.

people can't afford the things that they used to at the supermarket. shopping and all those sort of things are going up. it doesn't feel like it's over now. it certainly could be in a better position than it is. but hopefully we're sort of on the right track. i'm feeling not particularly happy about the economic situation. i things are getting more expensive. shops are shutting because theyjust can't afford the rents. _ inevitably, political leaders saw different sides to this story. forfamilies who've been having a really tough time, i think they can see that the very difficult decisions that we've taken in order to get the economy back on its feet after the pandemic, after the energy shock, are beginning to pay off and we need to see them through. we all welcome the fact that the economy is no longer in recession, but it's hardly cause for a victory lap. and if you look at the forecasts from the oecd, who look at the major industrialised economies,

they say that of those economies, of the g7 economies, the uk will have the second slowest growth rate this year and the lowest growth rate next year. i don't think that is a cause for celebration. economists are taking a brighter view of the growth outlook after these numbers that we'll proceed at less of a crawl than feared — but still far from a sprint. how to up the pace and maintain it is a challenge for all politicians ahead of the election. the bbc has tracked down one of europe's most wanted people smugglers, barzan majeed, nicknamed the scorpion. speaking from northern iraq, he defended arranging for thousands of people to travel to the uk in small boats and lorries, arguing migrants are begging him for help. sue mitchell, is part of the team that tracked him down. so, sue, how did you do it?

so, barzan so, ba rzan majeed's so, barzan majeed's phone number was found on the mobile phones of people arriving in the uk by small boats. i was working on this investigation together with a former soldier and aid worker, who has great contacts in europe and the middle east. together, we started our search in nottingham. that is where barzan majeed used to live when he first came to the uk. we're searching for the boss of one of the biggest smuggling gangs in europe. he calls himself scorpion. he's on the run and he's wanted by crime agencies across europe. we finally track him down, after eight months. a search that began in nottingham, through france, belgium and turkey, then finally to iraq, where rob and i meet him face—to—face. he sets out to rob shocking claims about how many people he's smuggled into the uk. maybe 1,000, maybe 10,000, i don't know, i didn't count. thousands of passengers had your number in their phones. i'm telling you, yeah. you're right, what you are saying.

nobody forced them, they wanted to. they are begging, they are begging the smugglers, please, do this, do this for us. you know, right, you know that smuggling through europe is illegal and highly dangerous — you know that? of course. and yet, you did it? i'm telling you, i've done those kind of things, i've done it. the rise in these gangs has led to even more people attempting dangerous channel crossings in small boats. the haunting words of six—year—old miley. she was rescued from a dinghy as it was sinking in the channel. others are not so lucky. great journalism, but greatjournalism, but what happens now? great “ournalism, but what happens now? . ., ., , great “ournalism, but what happens now? . ., now? barzan ma'eed already has a conviction for — now? barzan majeed already has a

conviction for people _ now? barzan majeed already has a conviction for people smuggling, l now? barzan majeed already has a conviction for people smuggling, a belgian court sentenced him to ten years in his absence, but he went on the run. he managed to avoid arrest since that sentence in 2022. we tracked him down to iraq, but there is not a clear framework for deporting him to belgium or the uk, where he is also wanted. if he isn't captured within the ten year time frame of that sentence, that sentence in a belgian court will automatically expire. when rob and i finally did tracking down, he seemed concerned about whether the police were working with us and whether he would be arrested. he brought three minders along when we met him. before we left, we saw clear evidence that he is still trading in false documents for people planning to leave iraq. we found evidence that included documents for himself. a fascinating story, thank you. you can hear the full story in a new series — intrigue: to catch a scorpion. you'll find it on bbc sounds or wherever you listen to podcasts. well, here, the labour leader,

sir keir starmer, has been in kent, setting out his plans to tackle people smugglers and the migrants arriving on small boats. he says he wants to make britain's shores "hostile territory" by setting up a new border security command, using some of the £75 million earmarked for the government's rwanda policy. here's helen catt. it's a calm, warm day in the channel and already the crossings have started. the people you can see walking up the gangway there, migrants picked up by a border force ship. just as the labour leader wasn't far away, preparing to set out his plans to stop the crossings, with dover's mp, until wednesday, a tory, now here to support her new leader. under rishi sunak the conservatives have become a byword for incompetence and division. they have abandoned the centre ground and failed to deliver for the british people. when he took to the stage, sir keir promised action, notjust tough talk, although there was that too. this problem must be tackled, these gangs must be stopped.

0ur asylum system must be rebuilt, our borders must be secured. sir keir said he plans to use an approach he'd found successful in fighting another threat. these vile people smugglers are no better than terrorists. they are a threat to our national security and a threat to life and it's time we treated them as such. that means new powers, powers that will allow us to shut off internet access, close their bank accounts, trace their movements using information provided by the intelligence services. under labour the scheme to send asylum seekers to rwanda would be scrapped. £75 million would be diverted away from it to set up a new border security command. the unit would oversee hundreds of new dedicated intelligence agents, investigators and police officers. the government already has a team that coordinates work on small boat crossings and the home secretary claimed labour

was merely rebranding it. the conservatives have also criticised labour's confirmation that it would process, the claims of the tens of thousands of asylum seekers who have already arrived. sir keir said he wanted to drastically reduce the number of crossings but wouldn't put a figure on what would mean he succeeded. he has though now given a clearer view on how he intends to do it. helen catt, bbc news. prince harry says it's been great to be back in the uk, at the end of a three—day visit from america. the bbc has been given exclusive access to a charity event in central london he attended, and daniela relph was there. go! it's a side of prince harry we've not seen so much of lately. he mucked in for a very special party. every child in this room has lost a parent who served in the military. the charity, scotty's little

soldiers, supports them. prince harry was the surprise party guest. since he left the uk for california, seeing him up close in this context has been rare. very nice to meet you. nice to have you back. how is it being here? it's great. it's amazing. what scotty's is doing with these kids is absolutely incredible and very needed as well. the more...the more opportunity we get to do these kind of events, the more that families and kids up and down the country actually know that scotty's exists, which is really the most important thing. is it nice to be back in the uk? nice to see you. the family fallout on the move to america has limited what prince harry can do for organisations who support in the uk. this party was the first event he had been able to attend in person with the charity. prince harry got so much from that room and had so much fun and joy that i would not mind betting that he's probably thinking about those children right now, because it does

that to you. it really makes you think that these children are incredible.— think that these children are incredible. . j , , incredible. harry's competitive streak was _ incredible. harry's competitive streak was on _ incredible. harry's competitive streak was on full _ incredible. harry's competitive streak was on full show. - incredible. harry's competitive streak was on full show. this | incredible. harry's competitive i streak was on full show. this was incredible. harry's competitive - streak was on full show. this was a race to eat the strawberry laces the quickest. the prince found himself on the winning side. and the roll the chocolate down the tape measure game was also a crowd pleaser, with not a bit of food going to waste. how many maltesers did you eat off the floor? er, you guys probably know better than i do but at least three. i think, at that point, it started getting a little bit weird. from london to nigeria, and a reunion with his wife, meghan, duchess of sussex. the couple are in abuja, talking to schoolchildren about using the stigma of mental health. cheering and applause

its a visit that will highlight the work they do with the art shell foundation. but harry and meghan are no longer working royals, so this isn't an official visit of any kind. it will include engagements related to the military, sport and gender equality. a very similar agenda to the royal tours they have done in the royal tours they have done in the past. seemijolaoso is in the nigerian capital, abuja, where the duke and duchess of sussex touched down earlier today. what have they been up to so far? well, as daniela mentioned in her package, the duke and duchess of sussex spent their first morning here in abuja at this school, where they interacted with primary and secondary school they were welcomed by a group of traditional dances. the couple appeared very relaxed around the kids. meghan even opened up around the kids. meghan even opened up about her own children, talking

about how lily, who is turning three, enjoys singing and dancing, and how archie, five, enjoys construction and playing with toys. afterwards, as daniela mentioned, they launched a two day mental health summit. 0n they launched a two day mental health summit. on stage, the duke spoke about the importance of addressing the stigma around mental health and encouraged the kids to speak up about emotions such as stress and grief, and made them promise to be open about that, saying it is ok to not be ok. separately, this trip could be of a personal significance to meghan. the duchess revealed about two years ago that she herself is 43% nigerian, something she found out after taking a genealogy task. it was no surprise that they both appeared very happy to be here. they said they were very happy to be here. this could be the first of more visits by the duke and duchess of sussex to nigeria. indeed, who knows. thank you for

that. the time is 1:15. our top story this afternoon... there's a boost to the economy, with gdp up — meaning the uk is officially out of recession. and coming up, we speak to 0lly alexander, britain's entry for the eurovision song contest, ahead of tomorrow's final. coming up on bbc news: after a week that has decided finalists in europe, it is time to turn the attention to those in domestic football with both spurs and last year's runners—up, manchester united, attempting to win the women's fa cup for the first time. it's feared the african penguin could become extinct in the wild by 2035 because of overfishing, climate change and oil pollution. their population has reduced by 99% in the last century. conservationists are hoping legal action against the south african government over failure to protect the endangered species might help save them. jenny hill, has more

from the western cape. theirs is a story of survival. but every year there are fewer african penguins. soon there may be none at all. life on africa's southern tip is precarious. there are predators, seals and gulls. but the real enemy is human, wrecking their habitat and taking their food. now conservationists are taking the south african government to court. if the current rates of decline persist into the near future, we could see the extinction of the species within our lifetime, by 2035. the birds need sardines and anchovies, but the fishing industry wants them too. south africa's entering untested legal waters. fishermen are already banned from some areas. conservationists want the courts to close off more. in the harbours here, fury.

it'll cost, workers warn, money and jobs, and it won't help the penguins. we're a fraction of the problem. well, there's predation, seals, sharks. we've got oil and gas exploration, noise pollution. it's going to be a little bit bumpy. watching the case, a man who's spent decades monitoring the wildlife here. if government, fisheries and all the ngos play their part, i think they've got a good future. we can overcome what's happening at the moment. you really get a sense of their vulnerability. many of the penguins in this colony are protecting eggs. they're waiting to raise their young, and yet ultimately their fate lies in human hands. the south african government won't yet comment on the case and legal action can take a long time. already too late, some fear,

for africa's dying breed. jenny hill, bbc news, the western cape. israel's benjamin netanyahu says he hopes to overcome his differences with president biden, but insists he will press ahead with a full—scale assault, on the city of rafah in southern gaza. the white house is against an attack, because of the fear of la rge—scale civilian casualties. more than a million palestinians are sheltering in the city, and america has already paused a shipment of munitions in protest at israel's plans. but the israeli defence force says it has enough weaponry for an assault, and an attack is the only way to fully defeat hamas. paul adams has the latest from jerusalem. the fifth day of israel's ground operation in the south. israel still calling this "limited" — troops yet to enter rafah�*s overcrowded streets. the tanks and troops are massed nearby. the threat of an all—out

assault still feels real. joe biden has warned israel not to do it and threatened to withhold weapons, but israel's prime minister says he's determined to destroy what is left of hamas. you know, we often had our agreements, but we've had our disagreements. we've been able to overcome them. i hope we can overcome them now, but we will do what we have to do to protect our country. israel is heavily dependent on american weaponry with the ministry of defence celebrating the arrival of everything from jeeps to smart bombs. joe biden�*s threat to suspend deliveries carries rare symbolic weight, but how much does it really matter? when we speak about difficulties within the idf, it would be for the long range or the medium one. for tomorrow war in gaza or tomorrow more war in lebanon, if it will happen, that will not make any difference. this week has seen a fresh wave of palestinians

fleeing the fighting. most have moved multiple times before, the war following wherever they go. some are going north, searching for scraps of open ground, often by the sea. places without any basic services. "we take water from the sea for our children", soumya says. "there are no bathrooms, no food, no tents. look at the children. they haven't had any breakfast or even seen food". seven months of war have totally upended life in the gaza strip, displacing most of the population, creating vast new refugee camps. with ceasefire talks still deadlocked, this desperate movement looks set to continue. paul adams, bbc news, jerusalem. chief fire officers are warning of increasing incidents of what they call "ferocious" blazes in bin lorries, and at waste and recycling sites, because of lithium—ion batteries, thrown away in rubbish.

an estimated 1.6 billion batteries, the majority hidden in electrical appliances, were mixed with general waste, in the last year. harriet bradshaw has that story. this is a test to show what can happen when you crush or penetrate a large lithium—ion battery. even smaller batteries than this one can cause huge fires if they're thrown into the general waste instead of properly being recycled. the results can be ferocious. this waste transfer site fire at herne hill in london took days to put out. the cause, the fire service concluded, most likely a lithium—ion battery setting alight, and not suspicious. it was a really scary experience. you could smell this horrible, horrible smell. we had to close our windows during a heat wave. we were stuck in our homes and eventually we decided to leave our home because our two—year—old daughter was coughing and her cough was getting worse. we didn't know if it was caused

by the smoke from this hideous fire. now, imperial college london's new research has found there was a significant spike in air pollution during this fire. so this is just another example of where air pollution is being affected negatively. and it's something that we don't need. we need to be reducing the release of pollution into the air, not increasing it. and the problem is growing, according to the national fire chiefs council, which says fire services are dealing with increasing incidents involving incorrectly disposed of batteries which can alight in bin lorries and rubbish and recycling centres. and they're a really big challenge to the fire and rescue service. they cause really unpredictable, really prolonged, protracted fires and the results can be really catastrophic with the types of toxic gases that go into the atmosphere, the types of water run—off that will go into the water systems and, of course, the smoke that can

affect our local communities. so people are putting batteries in the bin, but they might not realise they are. what are we talking about? things such as electric toothbrushes, power banks, remote controls, speakers and shavers, too. all of this is powered by battery technology. and it's really important that we never bin batteries, but we never bin these hidden batteries, too. scott butler admits it's not just down to the public, but retailers and manufacturers also have a responsibility. but the advice for customers is to recycle electricals responsibly to avoid the ferocious risks of these waste fires. harriet bradshaw, bbc news. military sources in ukraine say russian troops have advanced a kilometre into ukrainian territory, near the second city of kharkiv. residents are being evacuated from a town nearby, because of sustained russian shelling. james waterhouse is in kyiv. is this the start of the fabled russian spring offensive many had

predicted, james? figs russian spring offensive many had predicted, james?— predicted, james? as of this lunchtime. _ predicted, james? as of this lunchtime, clive, _ predicted, james? as of this lunchtime, clive, not - predicted, james? as of this lunchtime, clive, not yet, i predicted, james? as of this | lunchtime, clive, not yet, but predicted, james? as of this - lunchtime, clive, not yet, but this is concerning for kyiv. we are told that around 5am this morning there was an unprecedented level of shelling around a town called vovchansk, where around 30,000 people are living and as we speak being evacuated. now, defending troops describe seeing several russian scouting groups, these reconnaissance groups, moving around villages before trying to push through in armoured vehicles. from the science so far, suggests this wasn't large—scale and president zelensky has said they were stopped effectively in their tracks, their gains have been described as being one kilometre, but you are right to point out unanticipated russian offensive in this north—eastern kharkiv region but moscow has also been open about wanting to create a zone along this border after ukrainian troops have been increasingly shelling the belgorod region inside russia itself, so the objective not yet clear but as far

as ukraine is concerned it's been contained. as ukraine is concerned it's been contained-— contained. and what about the arrival of this _ contained. and what about the arrival of this shipment - contained. and what about the arrival of this shipment of - contained. and what about the . arrival of this shipment of military aid from america? could that help turn the tide, do you think? ukraine will be heping _ turn the tide, do you think? ukraine will be hoping so, _ turn the tide, do you think? ukraine will be hoping so, but _ turn the tide, do you think? ukraine will be hoping so, but the _ turn the tide, do you think? ukraine will be hoping so, but the delay - turn the tide, do you think? ukraine will be hoping so, but the delay to l will be hoping so, but the delay to the arrival of this much—needed american ammunition and weaponry is what the russian forces are trying to capitalise on. so, at the moment they are gathering between around 35,000 troops across the border and what ukraine will be hoping to do is to launch more artillery shells in their direction to try and suppress those advances. they'll be hoping to launch medium—range missiles to frustrate and suppress russian supply lines as it continues to launch a counter offensive in this area and many will remember the gathering of russian troops across the border, it will feel very 2022 to some people. a lot has changed since. i don't think russia has the resources, as kyiv take that, it

takes cities like kharkiv, but if it's able to take territory and force more ukrainian settlements to fall into russian control, then it applies the pressure all the more on kyiv as it continues to lose territory despite the gradual arrival of this american aid. indeed, james, thank you for that, james waterhouse, live in kyiv. let's take a look at some of the day's other news. florida police have released body camera footage from a deputy sheriff who fatally shot a us air force member at his home. 23—year—old senior airman roger fortson was taken to a hospital where he died. his family allege the police burst into the wrong home. the police say the deputy reacted in self—defence after he saw fortson armed with a gun. further disruption is expected this weekend, with drivers being warned only to use the m25 in surrey " if absolutely necessary". the motorway will be shut between junctions nine and ten, from 9pm this evening, to 6am on monday morning. the closure will allow for ongoing

improvements to the motorway. prince william has said princess kate is doing well, after he was asked about her health during a visit to a hospital in the isles of scilly. the prince also spoke to a patient and cut the first sod at the site of the new health and social care facility being built on duchy land next to the community hospital. the israeli singer, eden golan, has made it through to tomorrow's final of the eurovision song contest, defying pro—palestinian demonstrators. there was some booing as she performed in the malmo arena in sweden, and a protest was held outside, calling for israel to be banned from the competition. david sillito has more from malmo. welcome to the second semifinal! semifinal number two and all the attention was on one competitor — eden golan, from israel. outside, there had been protests from those angered about israel's actions in gaza, but nothing was going to stop her in her progress to the final.

this was for her and the israeli delegation, a symbolic moment for the country after the events of october the 7th. and all of this has had a wider impact on the contest, both in terms of the extra security and also on the competitors. for the uk's 0lly alexander, it's added a whole new level of pressure. however, when we met, he was putting all that out of his mind. the focus — the show, and reflecting on his preview performance earlier this week. # there's a place where we break the line. # what did it feel like? oh, my goodness. it's a lot of nerves. excitement, the atmosphere. it's just like a military operation. # beautiful gardens. # did you ever think to yourself, why am i doing this? i've tried to just, like, embrace the madness of the whole process, really, because i knew it would be, yeah, like i said, i knew it would be a crazy ride and it

definitely has proven to be that. and i knew there would be a lot of attention, a lot of scrutiny and pressure. so i think you've just got to deal with it. indeed, there has been pressure on him from some to pull out because of israel's presence. and in a recent documentary it's clear the issue has affected him. it's an incredibly complicated political situation — one that i'm not qualified to speak on. and i really respect people who, you know... ..people should do what's right for them. if they want to boycott eurovision, if they don't feel comfortable watching, that's their choice and i respect that. this, it was said, was all he was going to say. but shutting it out, focusing on the night. i deleted all my social media apps on my phone, so i don't have, like, i don't look at anything. so you're off twitter, you're off instagram, you're off all of them. yeah, yeah. so i don't say anything, really. you're in a little bubble. i am, i'm in my bubble. and all that's left now is the big

night — on saturday. david sillito, bbc news, malmo. now, welcome to my bar! before the weather, how often do you read the small print on anything you buy? well, a free bottle of wine has finally been claimed after three months, with news of the prize hidden in a privacy policy. the tax policy associates added the clause in february as an experiment, to see if anyone would actually read the full terms and conditions. the first person to spot it would get the plonk. it took three months! time for a look at the weather. here's ben. it feels more like some out there than spring today, sunny skies overhead and temperatures well into the 20s celsius. as we head into the weekend, will it last? it will at first, it's going to be warm. saturday is dry for many with some

sunshine but on sunday things