georgians are waking up to the first days since their country's lawmakers in the building behind me adopted this controversial law that people fear will stifle georgia's democracy. a huge manhunt continues in france to find an escaped prisoner, after two prison officers were killed when an armed gang ambushed their prison van. schools in england will be banned from teaching sex education to children under nine, under new government guidance. and coming up... ijust called to say i'm ghanaian — stevie on the wonder of becoming a citizen of ghana. we start this hour in georgia. protesters there say they'll continue with demonstrations, after parliament passed a law

on tuesday barring what the government calls "foreign influence". protests around parliament continued into the early hours of wednesday. the law would see any organisation that receives more than 20% of its funding from abroad being subject to stronger government scrutiny. the white house has called on georgia's president to veto the law, saying it is similar to measures seen in russia. rayhan demytrie is in the georgian capital tbilisi for us. georgians are waking up to the first day since their country's lawmakers in the building behind me adopted this controversial law that people fear will stifle georgia's democracy. we are expecting students and youth to come back to this street outside parliament later today. a lot of students from a number of universities here in the capital tbilisi are on strike.

they are not attending their lectures. opposition mps are also boycotting parliament from today and we have a number of european politicians visiting georgia. they held a meeting with the president of this country to discuss ways, how to save georgia's european future. pressure coming from europe, also from the us in terms of trying to get the georgian president to veto this law but that doesn't mean to say it is the end of the road for the law even if she does that. that's right. a letter published yesterday by us senators described yesterday's events as a dark day for georgia's democracy. there are talks about possible sanctions against those who voted in favour of this law. yesterday we saw dramatic events

in this street outside parliament, as protesters clashed with the police while lawmakers inside parliament had a fistfight and verbal insults against each other. this is how the events unfolded. they marched in with a warning against the protesters who have been demonstrating outside parliament for weeks. protesters stood defiantly, refusing to move away. and then violence. all in the name of a contentious law which protesters fear will mark the end of georgia's democracy. you get a sense now, they're moving more intensely. and the protesters are beginning to boo. they're being pushed

away from the square. we will be eu. freedom to the georgian. georgian people are standing for their right to make a decision, which is to be against this law. we do not wish it. it is dragging us back into the same hole that we finally crawled out of. a similarforeign agents law exists in russia, used there to crack down on government's critics. georgians worry the same thing might happen here. they are liars. they are putin's guys, you know. they are doing russian work here. earlier, mps from the governing party passed the law after a debate turned into a brawl. authorities defended the bill, saying it would help protect georgia from foreign interference. critics suspect the government is trying to protect the interests of one man, bidzina ivanishvili, a billionaire

who made his fortune in russia. that is also intrinsically very russian, to defend the interests of one man against the interests of one nation. these mass protests have been driven by georgia's youth, standing up to defend the national dream overfuture in europe. giorgi revishvili is a former senior adviser at the national security council of georgia. he gave me his analysis on events in tbilisi. everything ties back to georgian dream's to georgian dream's objective to remain in power at all costs. violence and intimidation, the government wants to suppress the wave of protest that has been going on over a month now and people are so determined

to defend their freedom, democracy and the european future of this country which are enshrined in the georgia constitution, article 78, it says georgia's place is in nato and eu, so it is all but what is happening as georgians fight for freedom and democracy, it is as simple as that. most of the people our reporter was speaking to streets were young people protesting on the street. what sense do we have about the rest of the georgian population and their support for those foreign agents bill? you are absolutely right. it is a fundamental shift in the political landscape because the younger generation tend to be not very interested in politics. nowadays the youth are becoming increasingly involved in politics, promising in the upcoming parliamentary elections in october higher turnout, which

was not the case before. so there is a fundamental shift going on here but also it is widespread. it is not only about a new generation. people from regions we have seen demonstrations in other cities, so it is a national demonstration. people understand, not only youth but people of all ages understand that this is a red line for georgia. going back into the russian sphere of influence because that is how they perceive this law, it is a clear red line and they are increasingly alarmed, so that is why they are demonstrating and have been for a month now and people are so determined that the protests will go on. just take us through next steps because it has been passed through parliament. the president has indicated she will veto this. she is under pressure from the us, eu states, but it doesn't mean

to say the bill won't get passed because of the situation in parliament. just explain what happens next. even if the president vetoes the bill, unfortunately georgian dream has a majority in the parliament so they can pass it as it is now, so they might neglect the amendments if the president makes these, so it is all about having two different factors here. one is protests, pressure the government from within, and pressure from the outside as we have seen on numerous statements, from the european union, our partners in the united states and the uk, and they are calling on government not to pass this law as it is, change it, or withdraw it or make some amendments, because otherwise

it is truly replicating the russian style of law which will drastically change the situation here and undermine georgia's european aspirations and destroy georgian democracy so the situation as we are in the process now. ijust want i just want to take you to northern france. this is the area where the prison, the prisoner who escaped yesterday was being held. just a moment to go there was an minute's silence that was held by the colleagues of the two prison officers who were killed. they were holding a minute's science and solidarity with their colleagues.

a major manhunt is into a second day in france, after a prisoner escaped when a heavily armed gang ambushed a prison van. two prison officers were killed. the attack took place near the city of rouen in normandy. three other prison guards were injured. inside the van was a drug dealer known as "the fly" — who was being taken from court to prison when the ambush took place at a toll booth. nick beake sent this report. an unremarkable tollbooth in northern france, and the scene of a swift and brutal ambush. cctv footage shows the moment a dark car veers into a white prison van, and at least two masked attackers start shooting. terrified passengers on a passing bus throw themselves to the ground as the bullets ring out. one assailant is seen strolling calmly among the other vehicles on the motorway.

then, here, you can make out the prisoner himself — wearing white trainers — as he emerges from the prison van. the gang sets fire to their own vehicle, the smoke only adding to the chaos. some of them run towards another car — a white one — to begin their escape. the aftermath — carnage. two prison officers dead, others gravely injured as their police colleagues begin a painstaking search for evidence in an attack that's been described as an assault on france itself. translation: they will be arrested, l they will be judged and they will be | punished commensurate to the crime that they have committed. this is the man who was freed in the bloody assault — 30—year—old mohammed amra, a convicted local burglar.

but he was also the suspect in a fatal kidnapping in the southern city of marseille, which is facing an onslaught of gang violence. amra and his accomplices are now being hunted by hundreds of police officers — from here in rouen, as well as french special forces from across the country. the burnt—out vehicle that initiated the killing, a starting point for clues. forensic and other specialist investigators spent hours at the scene of the ambush. a violent attack on security staff is relatively rare in france, so many have found the level of indiscriminate violence used chilling. nick beake, bbc news, rouen, france. schools in england will be banned from teaching sex education to children younger than nine, under new government plans. the guidance, due to be published on thursday, is said to include plans to ban any children being taught about gender identity.

current guidance says it's down to primary schools to decide whether they need to cover any aspect of sex education to meet the needs of their pupils. i've been speaking to our political correspondent helen catt about the new guidance. it came about after rishi sunak ordered a review about this time last year into the teaching of relationships, sex and health education in schools in england. at the time it was after a number of conservative mps had raised concerns about what they said was inappropriate content that they claimed was being taught to some children. what is going to be in these guidelines which we haven't seen yet because they have not yet been published but it is understood what will be in them is a ban as you said on teaching sex education at all to children under nine, those in yearfive, there will also be other age limits on teaching certain specifics,

and there will also be a ban from proactively teaching the different gender identities, and if that is taught then teachers will need to say some of that is contested and make that clear, so that is the broad thrust of this. the national association for head teachers has said there was never any evidence that there was any inappropriate content being taught in schools. but the government says the aim of this guidance is to support teachers in teaching this subject and also to reassure parents. as you say the guidance is due to be published tomorrow. it does deal with potentially some areas that have proved very controversial around the rest of the uk, particularly this issue of gender identity. this isn't specific guidance on teaching that in particular. there was a different set of guidance the government has been working on around that but it does come under this general topic of relationships, sex and health.

what will happen with that is that teachers will be told they have to say that gender ideology is contested if they teach it and there will be a ban on proactively, as they put it, teaching different genders. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

ukraine says its troops have had to retreat from several villages in the kharkiv region, because of continued pressure from russian forces, who are establishing positions inside the north—east ukrainian town of vovchansk. there's intense fighting, and the capture of the town would mark the most significant gain for russia since it launched an incursion on friday. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, has cancelled a scheduled visit to spain later this week. more now from our correspondent in kyiv, james waterhouse, on the reasons behind

that trip�*s cancellation. all that we are hearing from the spanish side, sarah, is that it is because of internal events inside ukraine. so, not much in the way of detail on that statement, but i guess most of us can fill the gaps on what that means. this is a full—scale invasion, more than two and a half years on now, and it is going farfrom ukraine's way as ukrainian forces struggle to contain this north—eastern incursion by russian troops across the border. now, president zelensky, he is fairly relaxed about travelling abroad, he has grown in confidence in that sense. he is keen to appear at summits, not just in europe, notjust in the us, on favourable territory with western allies, but he is also keen to engage with the middle east, as well as the african continent. so it is a possible reflection ofjust how perilous a period this is for ukraine, with the front line growing in size and ukrainian troops

being further stretched. and of course, an important visit, as well, over the last couple of days with the us secretary of state antony blinken. what has been the key message that he has brought from the us? more help is coming, don't worry, we are behind you, putin must fail, i think is the messaging we have heard over and over. i mean, antony blinken is on the second day of an official visit, where you can be sure high on the agenda is the delay to this multi—billion dollar package of ammunition and weaponry. now, we are told some of the ukrainian forces have it, but what we are hearing from commanders in the north—east is that they are having to move to more advantageous positions — that is the wording. we don't yet know whether it is a withdrawal or a retreat, but it is clear they are struggling to contain this russian attack in the face of constant ground attacks and artillery fire. now, there are real concerns that

russia is planning another attack further north into the sumy region where troops are gathering there. and it's interesting, i think there are questions over ukraine's ability to prevent this because it has long been known that russia is gathering troops, but give is reluctantly agreeing with western allies do not use the missiles it provides on targets inside russia, only on occupied territory inside ukraine. that is a source of deep frustration for ministers here, and it might be a reason why they are seemingly unable to prevent these incursions from taking place. the us department ofjustice says it is considering whether to prosecute boeing over two deadly crashes involving its 737 max aircraft. federal investigators accuse the aviation giant of violating the terms of an agreement made in 2021. the settlement shielded boeing from legal proceedings against it for the two crashes, which killed 346 people.

boeing has denied that it violated the agreement. with more from washington, here's our correspondent helena humphrey. through this ruling, the usjustice department has effectively opened the door to boeing facing criminal prosecution over two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019, in indonesia and then in ethiopia, involving its 737 max aircraft, through which, 346 people were killed. and after those two crashes, essentially, there was a deal between prosecutors and boeing. it was contentious, and boeing paid out some $2.5 billion, but also agreed to come up with a new framework, a new ethical framework, also with regards to safety measures as well. now, that deal was set to last for three years and actually expire injanuary. just a few days before it did

expire, we saw that incident with the alaska airlines 737 max airliner as well, when a panel on that aircraft blew out. and of course, during that incident, it immediately renewed the spotlight on boeing, on its quality assurances, its safety controls. and in this ruling, the us justice department on tuesday said that boeing had violated the terms of that agreement. that is something that boeing vehemently opposes. but now, essentially, it will be up to the us government to decide whether it wants to move forward with a criminal prosecution. and in terms of the victims�* families, many of them have insisted that they do want to see criminal charges, that they do want to see more accountability in this case. the trial of the man regarded as the main suspect in the disappearance of madeleine mccann, will hear evidence today from one of his alleged victims. german national christian brueckner is accused of raping three women,

and the attempted indecent assault of two minors. earlier we spoke tojessica parker, our correspondent in braunschweig, who told us more about what we can expect. in the next couple of days, the expectation is we build your from somebody who is regarded as a key witness in this trial. so, hazel behan, an irish woman, who has previously waived her right to anonymity, it is alleged that christian brueckner, 47 years old, raped her in her apartment in praia da rocha on the algarve all the way back in 200a. now, hazel behan has previously talked about how she connected her own assault to christian brueckner after reading about another rape that he had been convicted of, and she said it bore a striking similarity to the attack that she suffered,

as i say, 200a. now, this is one of five alleged sex offences that christian brueckner has been charged with. as you say, three alleged rapes and two sexual abuse charges against children. well, christian brueckner�*s defence team have said before, as regards to hazel behan, as they don't deny that she was attacked, but they say their client was not the person responsible. the government's flagship programme to build a0 new hospitals in england by 2030, has been marred by "delay, indecision and soaring costs", health leaders have warned. nhs providers, which represents nhs trusts, says hospitals are footing the bill for delays to the project. our health editor hugh pym reports. at hospitals like this one, it's a story of delay and uncertainty. princess alexandra in harlow, essex, was part of the original 40—hospital plan, and the new building

was intended to be ready by this year. but the land hasn't yet been bought, and officials admitted earlier this month that the project might not be finished until 2032. the government recommitted to its plan last may. it included hospitals like the queen elizabeth at king's lynn, with structural problems caused by outdated concrete known as raac. but a year on, nhs trust representatives say there's still indecision on funding and timetables. what we've seen since the government's recommitment to the new hospital programme is a significant delay in any progress. and we know that that's costing money, having a real impact on patients, and undermining staff morale. the a0 new hospitals by 2030 pledge was in the conservative manifesto for the 2019 general election. it was officially confirmed by the government in october 2020. later, it emerged that some involved major

new buildings on existing sites. some hospitals say they're spending £1 million a month patching up crumbling buildings, and looking after sites identified for development, but where work can't yet start. one trust has reported that inflation has pushed up the cost of its project by £200 million over the last three years. the department of health said there was continued good progress with the programme, and there had been extra investment this year for upgrading nhs buildings. hugh pym, bbc news. you can keep up with all the latest news on the bbc news website. plenty more to come here, to stay with us here in bbc news. hello again. it's been quite a murky start to the day across parts of eastern scotland and north—east england in particular. a lot of low cloud, mist and fog has been coming in.

and we've also got this weather front here, which has produced a fair bit of cloud around central areas and the odd spot of rain. low pressure, once again, is driving our weather. so we hang on to the cloud as we go through the course of the afternoon, with some spots of rain on it. some of that will be heavy. to the north, a lot of dry weather. to the south of that weather front, there'll be sunshine and also some showers. but some of the showers could well be heavy, and we could hang on to quite a bit of low cloud along parts of the east coast, even through the afternoon. temperatures today, 21 in the highlands, possibly up to 23. widely, 18 to 20. now, as we head through the evening and overnight, a weather front weakens, becomes not much more than a band of cloud, but then it starts to rejuvenate by the end of the night, bringing in some more rain. there'll be some clear skies, and temperatures a little bit lower for some of us than they were last night. we're looking at 8 to about 11 degrees. so, then, into tomorrow. tomorrow, we start off with a weather front producing rain in east anglia and lincolnshire.

it spreads a bit further westwards through the course of the day. to the north of that, variable amounts of clouds, some sunny skies and a few showers for scotland and northern ireland. the showers developing through the afternoon. and sunshine and some heavy, potentially thundery, showers in the south of england. temperatures widely between 17 and 20. but again, it's the highlands that are likely to see the highest temperatures. then for friday, quite a bit of cloud around across england and wales, with some splashes of rain. a few showers getting in across the north. and here, too, you'll notice a little bit of a difference in the temperatures. we've got 16 in stornoway, 16 in newcastle, but still 20 in london and norwich. the average at this time of year is very roughly between about 13 and 17, north to south. saturday also sees quite a bit of cloud around. still producing some showers. in the south, some of those could merge to give some longer spells of rain. but equally, there will be a lot of dry weather and a fair bit of sunshine. and temperatures, 12 to about 20 degrees, north to south.

so for most, still a bit above average. then for sunday, we could well see some showers across parts of northern scotland, in through northern ireland. but generally, the north will be dry, and the south will be drier and still quite warm.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the eu urged georgia on wednesday to withdraw its controversial "foreign agent" law,

amid protests, warning it would hinder the country's eu membership ambitions. a huge manhunt continues in france to find an escaped prisoner, after two prison officers were killed when a heavily—armed gang ambushed their prison van. schools in england will be banned from teaching sex education to children under nine, under new government guidance. hello. iam sarah i am sarah campbell. more now on one of our top stories, and schools in england are expected to be banned from teaching sex education to children under nine. it's understood new guidelines also include plans to ban children being taught about gender identity. a review�*s currently taking place after concerns that some children were being exposed to "inappropriate content".

let's speak to pepe di'iasio who's general secretary of the association