welcome to bbc news, broadcasting at home and around the globe. i'm gavin grey. our top stories: china's premier, li keqiang, tells the opening session of parliament in beijing that economic growth for 2017 will be a slightly less optimistic figure than last year. barack obama rejects claims from president trump that he ordered the tapping of his phones during the us election campaign. the french presidential candidate, francois fillon, urges his supporters not to give in amid calls from some within his own party to stand down. north korea's ambassador to malaysia is expelled for criticising the investigation into the murder of the half—brother of north korea's leader. and — argentina's football stadiums fall silent — as players go on strike over unpaid wages. china's premier says his country's growth target

will be reduced to six—point—five % and that policy makers will focus on reducing pollution with major reforms involving its steel and coal companies. premier li keqiang was speaking to more than 3,000 chinese lawmakers at the annual national people's congress in beijing. 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. mr li started the session by outlining the country's economic report card. translation: the economy has registered a slower but stable performance with good momentum for growth. gross domestic product reached 74.1; trillion yuan, representing 6.7% growth and seeing china outpace most other economies. china contributed more

than 30% of global growth. domestically, china faced multiple difficulties. major structural problems, prominent risks and dangers and mounting downward pressure on the economy. china found itself in a complex environment and reforme entered a critical stage. profound changes took place affecting interest, and factors impacting social stability grew. wing thye woo — professor of economics at the university of california in sacramento — specialises in china and east asian economies. he is also president of thejeffrey cheah policy institute on southeast asia, in malaysia. first of all, how realistic to you

think those projections for growth in china are? he is projecting 6.5 which is slower than the growth rate of 6.7 of last year. so it is certainly realistic. it is realistic because it is a continuation of the steady decline in the growth rate year after year since 2010. in 2010, the growth rate was 10%. it has been declining every year. 6.7 last year and now he is predicting 6.5. if it holds a 6.5 continue to decline in future years at the same rate, to something like 4% in 2020. they think that it brings up the real essence of the problem. should you

hold at 6.5 as long as you can or are you willing to put up with re— edge a should and have slower growth at 6.3 42 years —— readjustment. —— for two years. he has begun to outline into the future but if he is going to try and reduce things like pollution of those will have costs as well, won't they? yes but these are as well, won't they? yes but these a re costs as well, won't they? yes but these are costs that the chinese public understands and is so he would be able to have lower growth rates and yet have a cleaner environment. because you might know that the dirty air into some of the northern cities reduced life expectancy by as much as five years. i think people

are willing to live five years longer in return to a lower growth rate. —— in return for a lower growth rate. what about donald trump. are we going to get any hints from the congress about future aims for that? you would notice in the report there was little said about future inflows of foreign direct investment and very close about the export and import performance of china. i think that is a deliberate because they realise that with the america first policy of donald trump, there are going to be some pretty strong actions up and down the road. —— coming down the road. donald trump says he will build a wall on the mexican border. we all

thought it was a big joke and ben he is building it now. —— vendor. —— and then. he meant every word what he said at that chinese manipulating the country and he will do something about it. —— mini collating the currency. “— about it. —— mini collating the currency. —— manipulating. about it. —— mini collating the currency. -- manipulating. we will leave it there. 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. "just found out that obama has my wires tapped just before the victory. a pro—trump rally outside his tower in new york, a skyscraper that donald trump claims was a crime scene. but he made these explosive accusations 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 can order a wiretap," he says. "these restrictions 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. there have been numerous clashes between supporters of president donald trump and his detractors on saturday. in the californian city of berkeley, protesters from opposing sides hit each other with wooden sticks and fired pepper spray. riot police intervened and five people were arrested. there were other incidents across the us as pro— and anti—trump groups held rallies in over half of american states. the wife of the embattled french presidential candidate, francois fillon says that the work she had carried out for him was real and that she wants him to continue his campaign. in a newspaper interview, penelope fillon says she carried out "very varied tasks" as parliamentary

assistant for her husband. francois fillon has called on his supporters not to give up, in a campaign that he said was becoming an unusual battle. he will try to stabilise his campaign at a mass rally in paris on sunday. ben hennessy reports. under fire but defiant. francois fillon takes to the stage at a rally outside paris. in aubervilliers, 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 for 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 either 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. in other news:

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 ofaid. 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 i—s by us—led rebels last year. the german chancellor and the turkish prime minister have 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 death 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 on bbc news, still to come: cycling on ice: it's not normally a good idea, but "ice biking" is becoming a booming sport across 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 as 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. i'm gavin grey. 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. the thousands of british soldiers who died in the d—day landings during the second world war are to be remembered with a new monument. the memorial will be built in normandy at the site of some of the fiercest fighting in 1944. it is due to be unveiled on the 75th anniversary of d—day in 2019. the government is contributing £20 million towards it. robert hall reports. this is it. they are on the beach. it was the largest operation of its kind ever mounted. injune 1994 it was the largest operation of its kind ever mounted. injune1994 —— 1944, members of the british armed forces lost their lives as they fought alongside their allies to gaina fought alongside their allies to gain a foothold in occupied europe. in the 70 years since the landings,

vetera ns in the 70 years since the landings, veterans have returned to the normandy beaches to remember the fallen. but there is no permanent memorial to the friends they lost. injune memorial to the friends they lost. in june 2014, the memorial to the friends they lost. injune 2014, the normandy veterans association of to watch their lowered for the last time on the seafront above sword beach as their numbers dwindled, the decision has been taken to disband. but individuals continue to make the journey. george batts was 18 when he landed on old beach. the secretary of the normandy veterans association, he campaigned for a single monument to all british casualties on d—day. now veterans are being told that the government will contribute £20 million towards a new memorial. it will be erected in one of the french seaside towns that saw fierce fighting and it will bear the names of british soldiers, sailors and air crew but all also

allied troops who landed with them. the hope is that further funds can be raised towards an interpretation centre, telling the story to future generations. surviving veterans are delighted that their campaign is being rewarded. they and the government want them memorial to be completed in time to the 75th anniversary of the landings injune 2019. in the south african township of khayelitsha, close to cape town, 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 —— psychologist 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 clinical 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 pressure and other traumas that they experience and see and observe each and every day that might set them back from achieving some of the 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 mobile

unit going through the dusty streets of cape town in south africa. it's one of the world's most celebrated footballing countries — but all matches in argentina's top three divisions have been postponed this weekend as players went on strike over unpaid wages. the players' union say some clubs haven't paid them for four months. argentina's troubled football association says negotiations have progressed and the season will resume next friday . but the players say they won't go on the field until they get the money their owed. sarah corker reports. —— the money they're owed. argentina is a football crazy nation. a two—time world cup winner that has produced some of the greatest players of all time. but its stadiums are silent, deprived of football. the players are now on strike. unions say that some footballers have not been paid for four months and clubs faced heavy debts. the crisis began last year

after senior football officials were implicated in a corruption scandal involving television broadcasting rights. there has been no action since mid—december and the champions went to summer recess. this season should have begun again on february three. then, last week, to try and avoid the strike, the government made a $22 million payment to the argentinian fa, aiming to compensate the clubs for the termination of the tv contract which was held by the government. but unions say the amount is not enough and dismissed reports of a proposal to return to the field. translation: we do not have any proposals. there has been no meeting. the only thing that has happened is pressure to play without payment. we will refrain from our task. soccer players will not be providing their services. and so loyal fans may have to wait patiently for any football celebrations this year.

clubs who refuse to play are being threatened with sanctions. but with players from over 200 clubs on strike, that may be hard to enforce. 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. gul unless you do it regularly, well, it can be quite a bit of pain is 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 a go 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 we 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 pick 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. time now for a quick reminder of the top story. the chinese premier has told the opening session of parliament but this year's economic growth will be about 6.5%. 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 these 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, really. 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'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.