welcome to bbc news, broadcasting at home and around the globe. i'm gavin grey. our top stories: we're in beijing as china's annual national people's congress gets under way. the communist party leadership is announcing the main priorities for the coming year. barack obama ba rack obama rejects barack obama rejects claims from president trump that he ordered the tapping of his phones during the us election campaign. and francois fillon urges his supporters not to give in amid calls from some within his party to stand down. also, north korea's ambassador to malaysia is expeued korea's ambassador to malaysia is expelled for criticising the investigation into the murder of the half rather of north korea's leader. —— half—brother. hello.

more than 3,000 chinese lawmakers are meeting for the annual national people's congress. it's got under way in the last hour in the capital beijing. the meeting is taking place in the great hall of the people and will last for ten days. the congress is the body which debates and approves government policy. high on the agenda is the state of the chinese economy and concerns about economic growth. they are also expected to discuss ways to reform finances, the future of international trade policies and how to tackle pollution. chinese premier, li keqiang, is delivering the country's economic report card to the npc. 0ur china editor, carrie gracie, is in beijing. earlier, she told me how the party had outlined its achievements so far and what challenges it was anticipating. in terms of the message,

there is a lot about the attention to getting on top of smog, for example, and the zombie businesses, especially steel and coal. and those two issues relate, steel and coal and zombie steel and coal companies. because if you can get on top of steel and coal, you can improve every day of the year for the chinese public. notjust for congress. interesting to mention as well the difficulties internationally for china. grave challenges in the international environment. no mention by name of donald trump, the new us president, but talking about the danger of deglobalisation and new protectionism around the world and china's role as what they call a major responsible country in improving the national environment. the sheer scale of the hall is quite something. we're getting some live

pictures showing the number of people in there. but it won't be just people in there who will be watching what is said so closely, is it? they will have to watch very closely, as it is a dangerous thing in china to be sitting in that hall and to be asleep. you must not be asleep while this is being read. so, they're very conscious that they have to kind of look busy, taking notes, paying close attention, otherwise it could be very career—ending for them. but, wider afield, there are 200 people involved in the advisory co nsulta nt committee. they are from all over china. big technocrats and big innovators and film stars, sports stars, they all pile in here as well. it is a huge networking event for the great and good of china, as well as for those politicians from all over the country.

the public at large, though, i mean, how far they're watching this document line by line is hard to say. because it does have a ritual quality. a lot of it is the same year in and year out. so, i think, if you just climb on the subway here or go to a park, whether they are paying attention to this, one or two will be, but many will be going about their lives. many world leaders will look at the figures being announced today here very closely. i think that is right. the growth rate is important for the world because china is one third of global growth now. so, it's the engine of the global economy, not just its own engine. so that is 6.5% announced for that ambition of economic growth for next year announced and it will be important to people around the world.

but it will not be any surprise. because the slightly slower speed growth is the shape of china's new normal, as they call it, economically. the defence spending. we haven't talked about that yet. that is something the npc will be talking about. donald trump has been talking about 10% growth in the us. some have said that will put pressure on beijing to raise its defence spending. but we're seeing a steady growth. it was about 7% last year. seven again this year. that was enough to continue modernising their military and defend what they see as their sovereignty. thank you very much. barack obama has issued a strong denial of allegations by president trump that the outgoing administration tapped phones at trump tower in new york during the election campaign. in a series of tweets, mr trump described the alleged surveillance as "terrible" and called his predecessor a "bad or sick guy," but he didn't offer any evidence to back up his claims. 0ur north america correspondent, nick bryant, reports. it was warm handshakes and friendly bonhomie on inauguration day

as donald trump peacefully took power from barack obama, two men fiercely hostile in the election campaign, coming together in a show of presidential and personal civility. but early this morning donald trump launched the kind of public attack on a predecessor which in modern times is completely without precedent. "terrible," he wrote in a twitter tirade. a pro—trump rally outside his tower in new york, a skyscraper that donald trump claims was a crime scene. but he made his allegations without offering any proof or saying they came from intelligence briefings or reading reports from a right—wing website, breitbart news. it is extraordinary for a president to allege this against anyone let alone his predecessor, without citing any evidence. a key former aide of barack obama has shot back at donald trump, "no president could order a wiretap," he says. he said things were put in place "to protect citizens

from people like you". during last year's election campaign the fbi opened an investigation which is still ongoing, looking into investigations between donald trump associates and the russians. the whole truth and nothing but the truth. this week the new attorney general jeff sessions faced calls for his resignation for not disclosing meetings he held with the russian ambassador. donald trump's national security adviser michael flynn had to resign last month because of conversations about us sanctions against the kremlin with the same ambassador. we will have made america greater than ever before. donald trump began this week with a widely praised speech on capitol hill which was supposed to reset his presidency. but this is a speedy return to the kind of angry

attacks that many think are farfrom presidential. somalia's prime minister says 110 people have died from hunger in a single region in the past 48 hours. all those who died came from the south—western bay region. the country announced a drought—related national emergency on tuesday. un authorities say up to five million people are in need of aid. the us—led coalition against the islamic state group has sent reinforcements to the syrian town of manbij, where allied militia have clashed with turkish—backed rebels. manbij has become the focus of competing forces in northern syria. it was captured from is by us—led rebels last year. the german chancellor and the turkish prime minister have spoken by phone a day after a public row between the two countries over next month's referendum on greater

powers for president erdogan. ankara reacted angrily after rallies for turkish voters living in germany were cancelled by local authorities. the wife of francois fillon says the work she carried out for him was real and that she wants him to continue his campaign. in a newspaper interview, penelope fillion says she carried out various tasks for her husband. francois fillon has called for his supporters not to give up in a campaign he said was becoming an unusual battle. he tried to stabilise his campaign at a rally, as we report. under fire but defiant. francois fillon takes to the stage at a rally outside paris. mr fillon enjoyed the backing of faithful supporters. but within the republican party,

that support appears to be fading. translation: my friends, this campaign is a straight fight. you are courageous and they want to intimidate you. i am being attacked. but what they are looking for is to defeat the recovery of the nation. and the will for change that you represent. so i am asking you, do not abdicate, never renounce, your commitment must continue. facing allegations he used taxpayer money to pay his wife and family members for work they did not do, senior members of his campaign are heading to the exit. in the past few days his campaign manager and spokesperson quit. there are now calls for him to step aside. translation: we are in a countdown. it is the stopwatch or the detonator. this is likely to explode our politicalfamily and i do not want it. on monday, the republican party will meet to discuss his failing campaign.

many believe the door could now be open for the ex— prime minister to step in. he was convincingly defeated by fillon in the republican party primary in november. but a recent poll suggests he is now the best chance of the party in the presidential election. meanwhile, the far right candidate marine le pen faces her own legal troubles, also accused of misusing funds. but while her numbers hold, mr fillon‘s continue to fall. he goes about trying to salvage a presidential election he was once favourite to win. malaysia has expelled the north korean ambassador. kang chol is expected to leave within 48 hours, after criticising the investigation into the murder of the north korean leader's half—brother. relations between the two countries have deteriorated steadily in the last few weeks. tom sa ntorelli reports. the north korean embassy in kuala lumpur.

in a little less than 48 hours it will need a new resident after this man pulled no punches in his criticism of the malaysian investigation into the brazen killing of the estranged half brother of kim jong—un. it has been seven days since the incident but there is no clear evidence on the cause of the deaths and at the moment we cannot trust the investigation by the malaysian police. the malaysian prime minister called the diplomat‘s words "undiplomatically rude". tensions between the two nations ramped up in the following days as malaysia recalled its ambassador from pyongyang and revoked a visa—free travel arrangement with north korea. but after the ambassador failed to apologise to authorities and did not turn up a meeting on saturday, that was the last straw. the foreign minister released a statement

declaring him a persona non grata, barred from entering the country. with this deterioration in relations, north korea could find itself increasingly shut out from dialogue with even formerly friendly nations. stay with us. cycling on ice. normally not a good idea, but booming around the world. first the plates slipped gently off the restaurant tables. then suddenly the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards and it was a matter of seconds before the ferry lurched onto her side. the hydrogen bomb on a remote pacific atoll. the americans had successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i had heard the news earlier and so my heart went bang and bang. the constitutional rights of these marchers have their rights

as citizens of the united states and they should be protected even in the right to test them out so they don't get their heads broken and are sent to hospital. this religious controversy, i know you don't want to say too much about it, but does it worry you it's going to boil up when you get to the stage? well, it worries me, yeah. i hope everything will be all right at the end of the day. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: china's annual parliamentary session has begun in the great hall of the people in beijing. premier li keqiang said economic growth would be at around 6.5% in the coming year. barack obama has rejected claims from president trump that he ordered the tapping of his phones during the election campaign. sinn fein and the democratic unionist party will begin trying

to form a power—sharing government on monday, after the republicans made major gains in elections to the northern ireland assembly. sinn fein‘s president, gerry adams, said it was "a watershed election" and the end to a permanent unionist majority in northern ireland. the two parties now have three weeks to try to agree a new power—sharing coalition. from belfast, chris buckler reports. sinn fein believe they have changed the political picture in northern ireland. if this election was a battle in the long fight between unionism and nationalism, they are claiming victory. clearly, the unionist majority in the assembly has been ended and the notion of a permanent or a perpetual unionist majority has been demolished. the dup are still stormont‘s biggest

party, but they could only watch as republicans ate into their sizeable lead from the last election, just ten months ago. many voters were motivated by the harsh words of the campaign. at one stage, the dup compared republicans to crocodiles. now they've bitten back. in order to go back into government, sinn fein are calling for arlene foster to step aside as first minister, while a public inquiry takes place into a financial scandal, linked to a botched green energy scheme. it's a demand that's angered mrs foster's party. now we've got to pick up the pieces after having a brutal election, and i think that the party which has got most to be concerned about, as to how it repairs the damage, is sinn fein. for so long the big beast of politics here, unionism is facing a fresh roarfrom nationalism. just months ago, they seemed to be working together, but in unionist east belfast, where the cs lewis square has been built in honour of the author's

mythical tales of battle, there is concern about what's emerging. our whole government system is not working for the people who need it, right, because they're up there squabbling over very little, to be honest. republicans are out again in force, so they are. we should get off our backsides, get out and vote now. 0nce hailed as the champion of unionism, a statue of edward carson stands outside stormont. today his political successors feel on their guard, and no—one is sure if a deal to restore power sharing is within their grasp. the french carmaker which owns peugeot and citroen is reported to have reached an agreement to buy vauxhall from general motors. an official announcement is due on monday, but talk of a deal has raised concerns about the future of vauxhall‘s two uk factories at luton and ellesmere port. more than 4,000 people are employed across the two sites.

our business correspondent joe lynam reports. this vauxhall plant is one of the more efficient car—making factories in the world. 66% of the vehicles made here are exported, mostly to europe. but the workers here may have new bosses from monday, when it's likely that the company which makes peugeot cars, psa, confirms it's bought vauxhall and 0pel. but with too many factories in europe and not enough demand, psa is likely to have a long, hard look at which plants to keep open and that puts vauxhall under the microscope. vauxhall employs just under 2,000 staff in its ellesmere port plants which make astras. the whole area, the whole plant's really worried. because it's going to affect a lot ofjobs in the area in ellesmere port. there's nothing here, is there, if vauxhall goes. there's nothing, is there? bad, really bad, mate. its van—making factory in luton employs 1,400 people. i'm optimistic about the future

of this plant, here in luton, but really, the prospects of car manufacturing in the uk will come down to the kind of deal we get out of brexit. in all, vauxhall makes just under 200,000 cars a year. psa has capacity to build more cars in its own plants. it doesn't need these plants in britain, and, of course, there are obstacles in the way with currency fluctuations, the problems posed by brexit with freedom of movement, freedom of movement of parts as well. the government says it is cautiously optimistic that it will be able to limit the job losses as a result of this deal, possibly by providing the kind of assurances it gave to nissan in sunderland. we don't know what those assurances are for sure, but there are quite a few british—based car makers that will be watching very carefully. only this week, nissan said it now needs £100 million to support car manufacturing in the north east.

bmw said it might make battery—powered minis in germany instead of britain, and ford looks like it could be shedding more than 1,000 jobs in wales. so the pressure will mount on theresa may to support the automotive sector at the very time she will be in intensive talks with the eu over brexit. joe lynam, bbc news, in luton. ina in a south african township, one local psychology graduate has started taking the fight against mental illness to the streets in a brightly coloured van. andreas mphunga believes that too many young people have undiagnosed mental issues and lack access to counselling. he's trying to put that right and help to raise awareness of the problem. young kids, as young as eight, nine. they grow up seeing terrible stuff, whether it's someone being mugged, someone being shot or someone being stabbed, even violence taking place in our own households. this is my mobile consultation room.

this van brings services to that kid in the township that comes from a family that do not afford services of a psycologist or a registered counsellor like myself. the kids, when the vehicle passes by, they see this funky—looking van, then they realise it's actually a psychology clinic. it's an innovative way of providing a service so it's more attractive to them than having to go and sit in my office and talk to me from that typical environment. i've got this young guy who just jumped in. he would like to talk

but because of confidentiality you can't come in. my fear is for those young people growing up in khayelitsha or in any township, is exposure to substance abuse, peer pressur and other traumas that they experience and see and observe each and every day, that might set them back from achieving some of their dreams that they would love to achieve for the betterment of the community. what keeps me going and providing this service for free is that i would love to see a young person from the township succeed and go against all odds and become a role model for the next coming generation. no matter what happens, we are going to keep this at mobile

unit going through the dusty streets of cape town in south africa. cycling on ice doesn't exactly sound like a good idea, but ice biking is becoming a booming sport all over the world. it's now arrived in the uk and our correspondent mike bushell has been to try it out. for some of us, iceskating can be a bit of a challenge. unless you do it regularly, well, it can be quite a bit of pain and humiliation without much gain. but at tamworth there's now a new way for us all to get up to speed on the ice. under starter‘s orders, i'm ready to go. one of scandinavia's popular new sports has arrived on the ice in the uk as well now. on these ice bikes, back wheels have been replaced with blades. some people are afraid of iceskating and afraid of falling over

and giving it a try. this is a lot more inclusive. everyone can give it ago and you don't have worry about falling over or anything like that. anyone can do it. i've been overtaken again! this takes some getting used to at first, especially the way you glide around those corners. when there can be contact in his frantic wheel to wheel tussles, and the slightest of nudges we'll send you into a spin. even more so in the 400 metre races held across scandinavia and the netherlands, in which riders reach speeds of 25 mph. and this sport, which is changing perceptions about cycling on ice, has now spread as far as mexico, as well as the uk. this really works the legs! you're peddling furiously to take up speed and then you glide around the corners like that. but what a workout! it's very fast. you can lose it quite hard on the corners, but it's so much fun to do it.

it's a bit like a spin class, but on ice. in scandinavia, they can hold their longer races on frozen lakes and, while tamworth doesn't have such icy exposures, they do hold a tour de france style endurance race around their longer track. it's a way of exposing you to something new, something you haven't tried before, pushing you out of your comfort zone a little bit maybe. and, yeah, introducing you to things you've never seen or tried before. and no skating skills required. think wacky races, but on ice. sport of a very different kind now and onto boxing. there was a huge upset at london's o2 arena, as tony bellew won the heavyweight clash with favourite david haye. haye dominated the early stages, before suffering an ankle injury in the seventh round. bellew then began to get the upper hand, knocking haye to the ground and out of the ring. this is bbc news. good morning.

saturday was a day of mixed fortunes. sunny for some, wet for others. let's have a look at some of the weather watcher pictures that we have to illustrate the point. a pretty miserable day across parts of aberdeenshire. the rain relentless all day. further south, some lovely spring sunshine and warmth to go with it. highs of 13 degrees close to london. yes, it was beautiful here, but the rain continued with over an inch across parts of northern scotland and plenty of showers piling in around the low. as we go through sunday, the rain will clear into the northern isles and that will allow this weather front to push into the south—west. so, a change. looking at 9am in the morning, some sunny spells. a few showers across much of scotland, but on the whole an improving weather story. not bad into northern ireland and northern england as well. sunshine from the word go. we might see rain pushing into the southern fringes of the isle of man and across the north—west of england and wales, down through the midlands and into the south—east corner. a wet and windy start

to sunday morning. even once the rain clears away there will be plenty of frequent showers towards the south—west and this will start to drift further inland, driven in by strong to gale force gusts of wind that are likely to develop through the day. gusts in excess of 60 mph for a time, so a pretty miserable afternoon for some of us if you get caught in the showers. for northern england, scotland and northern ireland, we'll keep that sunshine and it'll be quite pleasant. a day of changed fortunes. 7—10 is the overall high. it means for the premiership matches, if you are lucky enough to have tickets and you're keeping a close eye on the forecast, a few showers for the tottenham match into the afternoon, but the rain will have cleared. sunderland v man city should be dry, albeit clouding over a touch. into monday there's another low that is likely to threaten into the south—west for a brief spell, but it could be quite tricky,

with some very strong to gale force gusts of wind and some heavy rain across parts of south—west england early on monday morning. we we'll need to keep an eye on that. it drifts off into the near continent, so shouldn't cause too much of an issue for too long. and then behind, sunny spells and scattered showers for monday. as we move into tuesday, another weather front looks likely to push in from the west. so things stay pretty unsettled. tuesday will see more wet and windy weather moving in from the west. by wednesday, a quieter spell and a little bit milder. until then, take care. the latest headlines from bbc news. i'm gavin grey. china says its economy will grow by around 6.5% this year. the figure, announced at the opening of the country's annual parliamentary session, represents a softening of last year's target, an indication of the major challenges facing the country. president trump has accused his predecessor, barack obama, of having the phones at trump tower tapped during the election campaign.

in a series of messages on twitter, mr trump said it was "a new low," and suggested it might have been illegal. a spokesman for barack obama has issued a strong denial. the beleaguered candidate for the french presidency, francois fillon, has urged his supporters not to give in. he has defied calls from some within his centre—right republican party to stand down, amid a scandal about payments he made to members of his family. mr fillon denies any wrongdoing. the government has promised to crack down on companies who lure people into paying subscriptions with the offer of free trials. it's estimated they cost customers up to £200 million a year,