this is bbc news. the headlines at 11. the us confirms it's assessing its military response to north korea's nuclear programme — china warns conflict could break out at any moment. the us defends its decision to drop a huge bomb on islamic state militants in afghanistan — 36 militants are thought to have been killed. the national union of teachers says it's prepared to take legal action against the government, over part of its plans to expand selective education in england. pope francis marks good friday with the traditional via crucis or "way of the cross" procession around the colosseum. and at 11:30 we'll take a second look at tomorrow's papers, including some alarming headlines about the situation in the korean peninsula. good evening and welcome to bbc news.

north korea's army has promised what it called a "merciless" response to any us provocation — reflecting growing tension about the country's nuclear and weapons programmes. china has called for calm, saying it fears conflict could break out at any moment. it comes as the united states says a huge bomb, dropped on so—called islamic state militants in afghanistan, was "the right weapon against the right target". the us military insists it was a local, tactical decision — others believe its principal aim was as a show of strength. our security correspondent frank gardner reports. a "powerful armada", in the words of president trump. this is the us navy's carl vinson carrier battle group, equipped with 90 strike aircraft and other weapons and diverted

to the seas off north korea. mr trump is hoping it will intimidate that country's isolated regime into abandoning any further nuclear tests or long—range missile launches. china has warned of the imminent danger of a war being triggered on the korean peninsula, and north korea remains defiant, saying it's ready to respond to any attack with nuclear weapons. meanwhile, in afghanistan, the us has dropped an immense bomb, 11 tons of high explosive dropped on an isis tunnel complex in the mountains of eastern afghanistan. the blast was felt 30 miles away. the weapon used is called a moab, a massive ordnance airburst, also known as the "mother of all bombs." this was its first time used in combat. this was the right weapon against the right target. we will continue to work shoulder to shoulder with our afghan comrades to eliminate this threat to the afghan people,

especially the people of nangarhar, to the people of the entire region and indeed, the people around the world. local villagers confirmed that isis fighters had set up bases in the mountains behind them, and said the bomb had hit its target. but the strike was condemned by both so—called islamic state and afghanistan's former president. how could the united states use afghanistan as its ground for experiments, for testing weapons of mass destruction? president trump's targets now include three major problem areas for the us — afghanistan, syria and north korea. the massive weapon that the pentagon has used in afghanistan is intended to send a message to its enemies that "you're not safe underground". in syria, the trump administration will be hoping that last week's cruise missile strike will deter presdent assad from any further chemical attacks.

but north korea is the biggest gamble. mr trump is hoping that sending this powerful naval armada offshore will deter any further nuclear tests. the question now, though, is can he manage three global crises simultaneously? it's very possible that if these three scenarios come together, syria, afghanistan and north korea, that it would overwhelm the policy—making capabilities of mr trump's administration, it will overwhelm the strategic planning capabilities of the pentagon and it would overwhelm the resource capabilities of the us military. but president trump and his entourage now feel they're on a roll, tackling head—on the foreign policy challenges the previous administration was unable to resolve. there is now the risk that ramping up the rhetoric could lead america into more conflict, or that in the absence of any swift resolutions, mr trump may simply turn his back on foreign adventures and focus instead on domestic issues. well to discuss the situation

in north korea, earlier i spoke to professor hazel smith from the centre of korean studies at the school of oriental and african studies. she told me that we'd seen crisis situations like this before — but the current situation seems very different. in the last 25 years there have been many occasions where the united states and north korea looked like they would go to war. in 1994 resident clinton and the white house, they had seen these issues before. what is different now is that we have a very unstable government in north korea... that is trying to take control in north korea. you have somebody who looks like they are having a growing influence in north korea, and there

are rivals in the elite at the top. you have elites at the top, brutality, a youngish leader who has no experience of controlling the various factions within the country, so various factions within the country, so you have unstable leadership. you have a population which despite all the images you havejust have a population which despite all the images you have just shown, have a population which despite all the images you havejust shown, does not believe a word of the propaganda that comes out of pyongyang, all these parades, it is to be 5 million people, the same size as australia, -- it is 25 people, the same size as australia, —— it is 25 million people. they have access to a market, they know about china and africa, they know they are living in countries that are better. he had instability in north korea, and at the same time you have in the united states again, president who is leading towards military action rather than resolve crises through what is often very painful diplomacy. we know from in the uk that it was very painful to

have a diplomatic process in ireland, where people were sitting around a table with people they thought of as murderers, were murderers and. but in order to have a political solution to this long—lasting conflict on the peninsula at it seems unlikely we will see anything positive happen through military escalation. china is saying that this could very well happen, there would be no winners coming out of this, first off, do you think it could well escalate, and china being north korea's, one of north korea's few allies, hugh are those —— who are this comment is being directed at, north korea or the us? it is notjust china saying there would be no winners if there was escalation, if you talk to people inside the us government, individuals in defence, in state, if you talk to south korea officials, they are all saying that this could very well, if there was escalation may they could be a protracted conflict. seoul is 30 miles from the

north korean border, if there was a conflict, north korea would be defeated, it is a weak military power compared to its neighbours, but they would be a lot of damage done to seoul, buffalo and china. that is simply a fax —— let alone china. if there was a conflict there would be a lot of damage, a lot of people would be killed and they would be casualties. this is an issue on the ground. it is not possible to contain a conflict, a military conflict with just a bombing for instance as we have seen last few days in afghanistan. the national union of teachers says it's prepared to take legal action against the government, over plans which it believes are being used to expand selective education in england. the union has said it's identified comprehensive schools which it believes are bending the rules by introducing some selection based on the results of a test. the move comes as ministers seek to lift the ban on new grammar schools.

0ur education editor bra nwen jeffreys reports from the union's annual conference in cardiff. grammar schools have a long history. in altrincham, 100 years of tradition. then, almost 20 years ago, new grammar schools were banned. now, some comprehensives offera grammarstream — for many, a way of stretching the brightest. but could this also be used to get around the law? so today, a warning of legal action. they fear ministers could encourage more of this. the schools where we'd have an issue around this is a school that's advertising a grammar stream, that is putting children through tests for it, and where we get the sense from documents and other things that children stay in that stream, that it's actually a selective system that is being introduced. that's what we would want to challenge. is this essentially a shot across the bow of the government, to say don't try to do this without changing the law? what we're saying to government is if you want grammar

schools, you have to win it through the parliamentary process. do not try and go round the back way. who can tell me what soluble was? for schools like elton primary in cheshire, the big worry is budgets. bills going up mean less money per pupil, leaving school governors facing tough decisions. we're already having to consider over the next three years losing at least two teachers, merging year groups, potentially shortening the school week by one or maybe half a day. these are all things that we're having to consider. for teachers, that means fears aboutjobs, so a warm welcome for labour's shadow chancellor. this is the first real terms cuts in school budgets for two decades. this is the worst school funding settlement, since, to be frank, i was wearing flares. it's no surprise he gets a warm welcome at a union conference.

but the issue of school budgets matters to parents too. the government is facing cross—party opposition to its plans for new grammar schools. schools can stream pupils after they get a place. the government says that's perfectly legal. and only a change in the law could allow new selective schools. a young british woman who was stabbed to death on a tram in to wrestle has been named. the 23—year—old was taken to hospital but died soon after. she was an exchange student from the university of birmingham, to other people were injured in the attack in the old city. a 57—year—old palestinian man has been arrested, police say the suspect had been recently released from a psychiatric hospital. columnist kelvin mackenzie has been suspended by the sun newspaper

after comments he made about everton footballer ross barkley. in an article, mr mackenzie compared the midfielder to a gorilla — mr barkley‘s grandfather was born in nigeria. liverpool mayorjoe anderson said he had reported the article to the police for a "racial slur". the sun apologised for any offence cause, and added the paper was unaware of the footballer‘s heritage. mr mckenzie has disputed that his article was racist. 0ur correspondent helena lee has the latest from news uk's headquarters in central london. the article was about ross barkley, who was punched earlier this week in liverpool, city centre. in the peace kelvin mackenzie said "the lack of reflection in his eyes has always made him think he was one of our dimmest footballers", he also went on to say, "it was like seeing a gorilla at a zoo." ross barkley‘s

grandfather was born in nigeria. the piece also went on to say that men who had similar amounts of money to footballers in liverpool as were drug dealers. this trumpet the mayor of liverpool to complain to the police and an eye to kelvin mackenzie has been suspended from the paper, he is away on holiday at the paper, he is away on holiday at the moment but in a statement he said he did not know of ross ba rkley‘s said he did not know of ross barkley‘s family background and he also said it was beyond parody that his critics would describe his article as racist. here at news uk they say the views expressed by kelvin mackenzie were wrong, and unfunny, and not the views of the paper. but i think it is important to note that even from kelvin mckenzie who wrote the article himself, they would have been an editorial process and the paper still went ahead and published his piece. buses are evacuating hundreds of villagers and fighters from four rebel held villages in syria — two of them close to the capital damascus.

it follows a deal struck between president assad's government and rebel forces. but the opposition says it amounts to deliberate displacement of the president's opponents. the international development secretary has accused government and rebel forces in south sudan of deliberately blocking food aid. 0n rebel forces in south sudan of deliberately blocking food aid. on a visit to the famine stricken country she also accused both sides of what she also accused both sides of what she called abhorrent human rights abuses include in rape and murder. she was speaking to our diplomatic correspondent who travel with her and sent this report. in many civil wars, aircraft bring death. but here in south sudan, they bring hope, dropping not bombs, but bags. this is leer, a desolate spot near the front line of the conflict that has left millions of people hungry and displaced. these bags are full of food, paid for by british taxpayers to relieve the famine that the us

has formally declared here. to have the operation... we travelled with priti patel, the international developer and secretary to see how the aa she has ordered is being delivered to regions that are ha rd est to delivered to regions that are hardest to reach. airdrops that she admits complicate and expensive, not enough is getting through. there is a complex taking place and food is being used as part of this conflict. this is a man—made famine, there is a civil war that is taking place here in south sudan, and we are seeing all sorts of point practices ta ke seeing all sorts of point practices take place in terms of human rights violations, rape, murder, people being persecuted. it absolutely has to stop. in the meantime uk is providing a lifeline. so close is the fighting that this is only a temporary food distribution centre, here for just a few days while security can be negotiated. to people here, these bags of seed represent a chance to live, a chance to survive. but to british ministers, they also represent the sharp edge of british soft power —

proof, they hope, that britain is still playing a key role on the international stage despite brexit, and, they hope, an argument against critics back home who say britain's aid budget is just too large. i think for viewers back home and for people who question our aid budget, this makes us stand tall in the world. it gives us influence. this is south sudan's only children's hospital, where more and more babies are arriving with acute malnutrition. cecilia is 18 months old and severely malnourished. her mother's dead, and her grandmother had no milk to feed her. "i had to beg food from neighbours," she told me, but after a few days here, cecilia's diarrhoea and fever has got better. this war‘s also forced people from their homes. this is the registration centre over the border in uganda, where thousands are arriving each day. mary fled after her husband was killed by soldiers. one night, her husband was followed

out of their home and he was pulled away from the house and slaughtered. he was slaughtered like an animal is butchered in a slaughterhouse. for all the aid, this is a crisis that many think will get worse before it gets better. the headlines on bbc news: the us confirms it is assessing its military response north korea's nuclear programme. china wants complex could break out at any moment. —— conflict. the us defends its decision to drop a huge bomb on islamic state militants in afghanistan — 36 militants are thought to have been killed. the national union of teachers says it's prepared to take legal action against the government, over part of its plans to expand selective education in england. we will be taking you through the

papers at 11:30pm with helen growden and josie cox. but first, let's have and josie cox. but first, let's have a look at the front pages. —— croydon. the mirror says north korea and the us are edging towards a nuclear war — it says kim jong—un threatens a merciless response to any provocation. the same story is on the times front page, with china warning that a conflict could break out at any minute. the telegraph concentrates on comments from cia director mike pompeo, who has said rogue states should take note of donald trump's forthright military decisions in syria and afghanistan. it is sport on the front of the financial times. the premier league is set to announce a record loss due to new accounting rules and the fall in the value of sterling, that's according to documents seen by the financial times. the daily mail says learner drivers will soon be tested on whether they can follow directions from satnavs in a shake—up of the driving test.

the daily express leads with the tension surrounding north korea, with the country vowing to target american bases in south korea if war broke out. the guardian reports on north korea too, but also headlines the news that some doctors are being offered £95 an hour by hospitals short of staff. and the i says teachers are preparing to take legal action to stop academy schools selecting pupils. a doctor in the united states has been charged with carrying out female genital mutilation on young girls.

authorities in the state of michigan say the doctor, jumana nagarwala, performed the practice for 12 years on girls aged between six and eight. if found guilty, she faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. let's get more on this story. we're joined by shelby quast americas director of equality now a legal charity for women and girls. shejoins me now via webcam from washington. how and where is it in the us?|j think how and where is it in the us?” think we are moving forward to where it is in the uk. but we've been doing work in the last few years especially to change the idea that fgm is a cultural practice to one that it fgm is a cultural practice to one thatitis fgm is a cultural practice to one that it is a former child abuse and violence. and people have a responsibility to step up and protect children. so i think we are seeing shift they are. why and who benefits from fgm? we know it is a secretive procedure. he read about it. --

secretive procedure. he read about it. —— you read about it. secretive procedure. he read about it. -- you read about it. why does it. -- you read about it. why does it take place? i think ultimately we are seeing it as a part of a draughty. it is part of controlling women and girls in society. and that idea, we're getting healthcare professionals standing up and said there are no health benefits of us. and religious leaders are standing up and religious leaders are standing up and say there are no religious requirements for it. there are myths around it and people are doing it may be to protect their child, to save them from marriage, to make that girl more valuable. and really, many survivors and many people are stepping forward and saying she is valuable as she is. and we want to protect girls from violence. so that message is getting across. how do you do this? of easily, speaking to doctors to highlight it, too reported if they see something. what about younger children, schools? absolutely. we just held a summit in

december that when we brought together educators and doctors and religious leaders and law enforcement with survivors crossed the united states, and coming from other countries. really to say we need to work together. all these factors need to come together if we are going to end this practice. —— sectors. people cannot be uncomfortable to discuss it. they have a responsibility to prevent the violence happening to girls. and we need to treat it like any other form of child abuse or violence. and we need to reject all girls from violence, including from female genital mutilation. when you read about people who carry out the practice of fgm, there is always an issue of money. is it the same in the us? do they want to detect this practice because it gives them hard cash‘s practice because it gives them hard cash's tactician is certainly been

paid to perform female genital mutilation. this doctor i am sure was being paid to perform out. there was being paid to perform out. there was a recommendation around this type of surgery on girls called labia plastic. and until we really pushed back and say it is against the law against all girls under 18, i think there is protection because there is financial gain for some. —— labioplasty. many of us then up and say this is a human rights issue and we need to step up like we do against any other form of child abuse. thank you very much for joining us. pope francis has attended a good friday service in the vatican and prostrated himself in prayer during a solemn service in st peter's basilica, laying in contemplation for several minutes on the floor of the church. it isa

it is a very important roman catholic holiday. the online accommodation booking company airbnb says it will improve its security, after a bbc investigation found that people's homes have been burgled by scammers using stolen accounts. they hijacked profiles with verified badges and changed some personal details to pull off the thefts. the company says it will now warn members if their profile information is changed. chris foxx reports. like millions of people, christian had let out his home on airbnb while he was out of town, as a convenient way to make some extra money. he had done so for years without a problem. but on his birthday, his home was burgled. i got that horrible text message saying someone is in the flat, and it is not me, because my account had been compromised. christian thought he had let out his home to a verified profile, somebody who had showed airbnb government identification, and had positive reviews from previous bookings. but the account had been stolen. the attacker had changed the name, photograph and contact details on the profile, but kept

airbnb's "verified" badge. and christian is not alone. the bbc has spoken to two other people who were robbed this way, and three others who had their accounts stolen. and airbnb's facebook page has dozens of comments from people who had their accounts compromised. there are many ways attackers could have been hijacking airbnb accounts. they might be able to trick people into handing over their passwords. but there are ways airbnb could have defended against this. we put our security concerns to airbnb. the company said this... those changes include two—step verification when somebody logs in from a new device, and text message alerts if somebody changes your profile information. but, for christian, the changes come too late. he says the whole experience has left him with a bad feeling, and he may not use airbnb again. a piano from the reign of george iv

has ridden return to its original home, brighton's royal pavilion, 175 yea rs home, brighton's royal pavilion, 175 years after is made for the king. the ornate instrument was bought from a private collection for £62,000. he was perhaps the greatest royal patron of the arts. george iv loved dining, drinking, dancing, and music. his piano extremely expensive and flamboyant, like the king. when we heard this piano was coming up for sale, we thought this was something we must absolutely acquire. and so am absolutely delighted that it is back here for the first time in 175 years. built

in 1821 by thomas tompkinson, rosewood inlaid with brass. it has only been back a couple of days. this painting shows its original presents in in the entrance hall. —— its original position. there is the most detailed in the piano. these mythological creatures were just identified as griffins. it is wonderful having his back. because hopefully if we make it fully playable, it will be the only historical instrument in this building that can be played. historical instrument in this building that can be playedm historical instrument in this building that can be played. it was purchased using funds and trust. it would appear that some has disappeared. let's find out from the

man in the know where it has all gone. you are talking about last weekend when temperatures surged up just a week and too early, really. because we've got to easter and it has gone the other way. go back a bit further, tomorrow, as well. call and fresher ‘ across the bit further, tomorrow, as well. call and fr snow ‘across the uk. bit further, tomorrow, as well. call and fr snow around ‘across the uk. bit further, tomorrow, as well. call and fr snow around in across the uk. the itic—z cmuwi some snow around in the scottish hills and mountains as well. a bit of up—and—down in the easter weekend. it will be on the cool site, but there will be sunny days. tomorrow will be one of those. some of us had rented a and some will see it again on sunday. getting to all of this. some outbreaks of rain right now through parts of england and wales. becoming increasingly light before clearing way from southern parts later in the night. cooler air, clearer, following behind. showers in a colder air into scotland, increasingly falling is no on the high hills by the end of the night. gales in places as well. so feeling cold. even a touch of frost

as we start the morning. this is nine a.m.. showers in scotland, most frequent in the north. some in northern england and northern ireland. the rest of england and wales, very few showers. may start on the cloudy side across parts of southern england. bear with it though, it will brighten up. a cooler fresher day wherever you are. not quite as breezy across southern parts, compared to northern areas. with the showers around. hit and miss for many of us, but somehow possible in northern scotland. snow on the hills as well. difficult conditions on the high hills across the north of the uk if you're venturing out. the rest of england and wales will be mainly dry. again, cooler and fresher wherever you are. if you've had a few showers during the day, there will not be many left out and about on saturday. but gradually. then we are watching a weather system coming in for easter g sunday. weather system coming in for easter é sunday. still weather system coming in for easter 55:5 sunday. still like

will bring rain on saturday night it will bring rain on saturday night into northern ireland. this will feed into parts of scotland, northern england, wales, england, and east anglia. sunday, as you can see, a cloudy day. still some uncertainty about the position and timing of this weather system. so keepin timing of this weather system. so keep in touch with the forecast during saturday. it looks like much of southern england will avoid rain and northern scotland says chilly but bright with some showers around. and then to easter monday, this is monday, it we have a few showers down the eastern side of the uk. sun sunny spells run. that is the forecast that takes you to be weakened. either way, monday forecast that takes you to be weakened. eitherway, monday night, there could be a scattering of frost weakened. eitherway, monday night, there could be a scattering c to ost