this is bbc news. the headlines at 12pm: north korea stages a massive military parade to mark the birth of the country's founder amid warnings over rising tensions with the us. you can actually feel the ground shake as thousands upon thousands of goose—stepping soldiers, tanks, rockets, other weaponry have marched and rumbled their way through the capital. the sun columnist kelvin mackenzie has been suspended over comments he made about everton footballer ross barkley. the family of british student hannah bladon who was stabbed to death injerusalem have paid tribute to their "caring and compassionate" daughter. the driving test gets an update — from december this year learners will have to show they can safely follow a sat nav. also in the next half hour, concerns over the workload of young teachers after a survey from the national union teachers suggests almost half don't envisage staying in the profession

longer than five years. and coming up after sport at 12.30pm, this week's edition of click looks at how technology is being used in the fight against crime. good morning and welcome to bbc news. north korea is staging a massive military parade in the capital pyongyang — amid warnings that it will retaliate if it is provoked by the united states. president trump has sent a naval strike force to the region because of concerns that north korea is preparing to carry out another test of its nuclear weapons. in a speech at the parade, a senior official said his country was prepared to "respond to an all—out war "with an all—out war". our correspondentjohn sudworth was invited to witness the event. his movements are being tightly controlled, but earlier he described

the scene in pyongyang. it's an extraordinary sight. you can actually feel the ground shake as thousands upon thousands of goose—stepping soldiers, tanks, rockets and other weaponry have marched and rumbled their way through the capital city. this is a display of unity for the young north korean leader and it's meant, of course, to send a key message on the anniversary of his grandfather's birth that his grip on power is unassailable, but as donald trump threatens to thwart his nuclear ambitions, it also sends a message to the outside world that this country's military with its nuclear tests and missile launches is vital for its survival and military analysts will, of course, be pouring over these pictures for evidence of the latest state of technological advancement

of these forces. there is that speculation that it maybe preparing for another underground nuclear test. i think it's probably unlikely that we'll see a test today, but kimjong—un is making it absolutely clear that he is not prepared to negotiate away his nuclear weapons whilst being threatened and challenged by the united states. and experts believe that with missiles, with weaponry like this, they are just a few small steps away from having a real deliverable nuclear arsenal and, of course, once they reach that stage, it's a game changer in terms of the regional security situation and the global international diplomatic calculation about what can be done about north korea's military ambitions? it changes things for good and the young man sitting up

there in those stands has learned those lessons from his grandfather and from his father before him. the us vice—president mike pence will be in south korea tomorrow as part of a 10—day asia trip. steve evans reports from the capital, seoul on how the country is responding to events north of the border. you know, seoul is only 100 miles from pyongyang, but it could be a million miles in terms of atmosphere. that big parade has been on two of the channels here, but it doesn't get really big audiences. you get the sense that life here has just gone on here as normal. the streets have been full of people on what feels like the first day of summer. the military here in south korea has been studying the pictures of missiles and it reckons it does see developments in the long—range missiles. north korea, the south korean military, thinks is making progress. experts have picked up on new kinds of tracked vehicles carrying

missiles and those matter because if north korea can convey missiles around the country, much more easily, it's much more difficult to hit them before they launch anything. so, the sense of the common people is life goes on. this continual barrage of rhetoric and threat from the north has been there since 1953 when the fighting between the two halves of korea finished, but the military and the intelligence services look very intensely. on sunday, we are visited by the vice—president of the united states, mike pence, and he will come here and he is expected to say that the alliance between the us and south korea and between the us and japan is iron—clad is the word that he uses.

so the feeling here is north korea is there in the background. we hear the threats, but we've had threats before, we're not panic buying, we're not planning on leaving the city, but we are concerned, i think that would be the mood here. the family of a 20—year—old british student who was killed injerusalem have paid tribute to their daughter. a palestinian man — thought to have a history of mental illness — has been arrested over the attack. her family have issued a statement. "hannah was the most caring, sensitive and compassionate daughter "you could ever wish for. "she was driven and passionate and her death leaves so much "promise unfulfilled. officials in afghanistan now say that 90 islamic state fighters were killed by a powerful bomb launched by the united states

on thursday — more than double the original estimate. is has denied it suffered any casualties in the attack, which targeted a network of caves and tunnels in eastern afghanistan. police in sheffield are investigating four unexplained deaths in the barnsley area which they think might be linked to heroin use. they're trying to find out if the deaths were caused by the strength and content of the drug being used locally. the three men and a woman were aged between 31 and 47 and were found at separate addresses. the sun columnist, kelvin mackenzie, has been suspended after he compared the intelligence of the everton footballer ross barkley to that of a gorilla. the mayor of liverpool, joe anderson, reported him to merseyside police for what he called "racial slurs". caroline rigby reports. it was this column published yesterday which has seen kelvin mackenzie suspended from the sun. the article was about everton mid—fielder ross barkley who was punched earlier this week in a liverpool bar.

in it, the paper's former editor compared the footballer, whose grandfather was born in nigeria, to a gorilla. mr mackenzie also wrote that men with similar pay packets in liverpool were drug dealers. my stomach turned when i saw the picture of ross barkley alongside a gorilla. i think that was totally racist. it offended me. i'm sure it offended ross barkley and his family and it offended lots of other people and that's why i reported this to the police. i'm not reporting it to the police as a gimmick. i've reported it to the police because i felt and i do feel that it was a racial attack on an individual. merseyside police are now investigating whether the comments constitute a racial hate crime. in a statement the sun's publisher, news uk, apologised for the offence caused and said the paper was unaware of ross barkley‘s heritage. kelvin mackenzie has also responded saying it was beyond parody to describe the column as racist.

a short time ago we spoke to roy greenslade, professor ofjournalism at city university, who told us how the sun had made a huge mistake. it isa it is a gross editorial oversight, and it is one that will come back to haunt them, because i think that you are likely to see what is already a pretty firm boycott on merseyside of the sun extended, mainly even beyond that city, because there is a big football family up there, and it is highly likely that it will go further. within the last human, everton football clu b within the last human, everton football club has put out a statement on its official twitter site. it says that yesterday, it informed the sun that it was banning

journalists from the training ground, the stadium and all other areas of its operation. it said... everton football club banning the sun's journalist and staff from any of its premises. driving tests are getting an mot in order to better reflect the demands of modern motoring. from december, learner drivers will no longer have to tackle some traditional manoeuvres, but will instead be expected to demonstrate new skills — such as using a sat nav safely. judith moritz has the details. every motorist has been through it, the rite of passage of taking a driving test, but in future learners will be examined on new things. the first driving test was taken in 1935. clearly today's drivers are used to a very different road experience. more than half of them use satnav and so the test has been updated to reflect that.

so it's turning right out of gate and then continuing to follow the signs. i went for a drive with graham o'brien who helped develop the new test. satnav: turn right and then at the end of the road, turn left. drivers will have to follow satnav directions. so if we can incorporate it into the test that will drive the training and get people more familiar with dealing with that level of distraction as well which we know is one of the biggest causes of accidents in the first six months with new drivers. learners will also be asked to show they can cope with real life scenarios such as parking within a bay. we were often taking people down into housing estates where they would be reversing around a corner and perhaps using up half a test doing some of these set piece manoeuvres. the point is to change all of that, to get people far greater experience of roads. the new tests have been trialled in some areas and will be introduced for everyone by the end of this year. candidates will be asked to drive independently for longer, but the cost and length of the exam

will stay the same as no doubt will the nerves of those going through the process. 16 people have died after the collapse of a huge rubbish dump in the sri lankan capital, colombo. tonnes of debris fell onto about 100 homes on friday as residents were celebrating the tamil and sinhala new year. the dump had been destabilised by a fire and heavy rain. hundreds of troops have been searching for survivors, while heavy earth—moving machinery is being deployed to clear the rubbish. sweet manufacturers are facing demands from local councils in england and wales to help pay for the cost of cleaning up chewing gum. the local government association says around £60 million a year is spent removing gum from roads and pavements. frankie mccamley reports. inattractive packaging, it is a staple on the shelves inside most shops and supermarkets, but once the chewing gum leaves the store and makes it way onto the high street,

that's when it becomes an unattractive problem. councils in england and wales are now calling on the manufacturers to contribute to the huge bills they face to clean it up. we have over a number of years asked the industry to try and find a solution using the chemistry and science that they have at their disposal. they have been really slow to act and this is another call to say, actually, this £60 million a year that councils are spending to clear up their product could be better spent on other services to the public. the call comes after one charity found almost every main shopping street in the country is stained by gum. along with around two—thirds of all roads and pavements. and here on one of britain's busiest high streets, oxford street in london, it's not difficult to spot chewing gum stuck to the floor and it's not surprising considering it only costs us are around 3p per piece. however councils say it cost 50

times that to remove it at £1.50 per square metre of pavement. it's estimated assistance from chewing gum companies would allow local authorities to fill more than a million potholes but the message from the brands is drop it in the bin, not the floor. the national union of teachers annual spring conference continues in cardiff today. it comes as a survey ofjust over 3,000 staff carried out by the union found that almost half of young teachers expect to quit the profession within five years. increasing paperwork, longer hours and concerns over mental health were just some of the reasons cited. our education correspondent, gillian hargreaves, is in cardiff. gillian, there will be people saying, these are annual events, and we're always hearing complaints about workloads. we are always hearing about teachers threatening

to quit the profession. what is different this year from the survey results 7 this entire conference and its sister conference in manchester, they are both dominated by rows over funding cuts, because teachers say that there isn't enough money to run the classroom services in the way that they have been run in the government in turn says funding has increased in cash terms to £40 billion this year, the highest figure ever but teachers say this plea is not enough money to go around. and that is having also some impact. teachers‘ workload, enthusiasm for thejob impact. teachers‘ workload, enthusiasm for the job even. so that is the frame in which all of the debate in these conferences is being held. but a few moments ago the national union of teachers here voted to increase industrial action against the government because of what it perceives as the funding crisis. and one thing that it may consider in future, if it is not

happy with the settlement the government comes up happy with the settlement the government comes up with, is industrial action including one day of national strikes. that is something they have just voted on here. but the government is in negotiations, it is holding a consultation on what is called the nationalfunding consultation on what is called the national funding formula, the allocation of money that schools get across england. that consultation will continue for a while yet. it is not set in stone, but there is real anger about the cuts at school are facing. and in terms of that funding formula, it appears that the teachers on this issue have a lot of support amongst conservative backbenchers. have they got a potential way of having more impact than they had in recent years on government policy? certainly, i have not seen anger like this for some time. schools are facing the biggest real terms cuts for 20 years. to be fair, school

funding has been relatively generous in the past 30 years. what we are seeing now, is a sort of recalibration, because public finances are so tight. but there is real anger because there is a whole generation of teachers who have worked in an atmosphere of relatively well funded schools who are now facing significant cuts. the national audit of the reckons that savings agree to have to be made in the region of £3 billion by 2020. that same report did say that much of that saving could be done in things like procurement, the buying of things like computers and textbooks. if teachers are bit more savvy in the way in which they do that then that should not affect things like class sizes or teachers being replaced when they leave. but head teachers say that is not possible, we are having to do this right now. we can see class sizes rising. there is an incredible amount of anger in the profession

about this. thanks very much. the headlines on bbc news: north korea stages and huge military parade to mark the anniversary of the birth of the country‘s founder ahmed fears of rising tensions are —— with the united states. everett of the whole club has banned journalists from its ground amid controversy journalists from its ground amid c0 ntrove rsy over a: journalists from its ground amid controversy over a: from kelvin mackenzie over one of its players. drivers have two show they can follow a saturn as as an update of the practical test. competitors in england who take part in weekend fun runs will no longer be charged, under new rules proposed by the government. the changes would make it illegal for councils to charge parkrun, whose events aim to encourage people to exercise. britain‘s creative companies are urging the government to overhaul its approach to the sector, as ministers draw up a national industrial strategy.

they say british creativity is a big export earner — and should be taken just as seriously as other industrial sectors such as car making. here‘s our business correspondent, rob young. advertising, film—making, music and video games. britain‘s creative industries are well known around the world, and financially successful as well. more people work in the sector than in uk and gas and carmaking. areas which tend to get a lot of government attention. the trade body is demanding the government put creativity at the heart of the new industrial strategy. it recommends creative enterprise zones be set up, offering tax breaks and advice for start—ups on things like selling their services and products abroad. the organisation also want careers advice in schools to be overhauled. it says current guidance is

inadequate and misleading. thejobs in future inadequate and misleading. the jobs in future are going to require accommodation of creative and technical skills, that needs to be hard—wired and technical skills, that needs to be ha rd—wired into and technical skills, that needs to be hard—wired into the workforce, and will go some way to meet some of the skills shortages in the sector from the domestic workforce. but also we will always, i think, be an international hub for creativity. the business secretary says he wants to build on the sector‘s strengths, and is committed to doing a deal with the creative industry soon. as britain heads towards the european union exit door, cultural and creative companies are keen to push their case that british books, plays and tv programmes can also help britain define its role in the world. nasa scientists have released new global maps of the earth at night — which they say give us the clearest view yet of the patterns of human settlement across our planet. the maps are created by stitching together thousands of cloud free satellite images, taken over many months. sarah corker has been taking a closer look.

these images of the world in darkness have been dubbed the black marble. cameras on board a nasa satellite are so sensitive they can detect light from just a single fishing boat or isolated street lamp. these pictures were taken in 2016. the satellite data creates beautiful images, but also shows how humans have shaped the planet. this image shows europe at night and if you look more closely, you can see the boot—shaped peninsula of italy and lights coming from its towns and cities. and if we move over to africa, this is the river nile. it clearly shows how people have built their homes along its banks. this is a day—time image of the area, showing green fertile land and this is it lit up at night. the images have become a useful tool for scientists and researchers. they helped to detect power cuts after hurricane matthew struck parts of the caribbean and us in 2016. and in syria, the un has used

the data to monitor the movement of people displaced by war. while the most recent mount etna eruption was also caught on camera from space. next, nasa plans to release daily night images. they should help scientists to reduce light pollution, monitor unregulated fishing and even track sea ice movements across the world‘s oceans. for more than 70 years, the industry body clowns international has been painting the faces of its members on ceramic eggs. each one is a record of a clown‘s unique identity and every one is different. now a clown egg register is being published for the first time as andrew plant reports. 250 unique clown faces painted and preserved

in this somerset museum, ensuring no clown is ever copied. it‘s a register... now carefully looked after by its curator. once you‘ve had your face established, you‘d have your egg made. are you up there? iam. look, there i am. also known as matty the clown. that‘s my egg. ok, right. joined on this clown parade in bognor by some old friends, like ginger nut and kooky. crowds have loved clowns for hundreds of years. 'a circus without them is unimaginable. they are still a circus tent staple, but horror fiction and the recent craze of sinister clown sightings, alongside stiff competition from other entertainment, means earning a living as a clown is nojoke. at one time the only person doing parties were clowns and you don‘t get much with the characters

from frozen because they don‘t do party games and balloons and things like that that make a party. could the clown egg register reinvent the ancient art? a new record of every entertainer. i think that there's a great deal of fun in the costumes and the make—up. i think that it is alive and there is a time and place. it's always good to smell the theatre chairs and the smoke and anticipate them coming on stage. # if you're happy and you know it clap your hands. many of the clowns on this parade started in the 60s and 70s where plate spinning, juggling and magic tricks come as standard, alongside the squirting flowers and honking noses. their circus skills though still loved it seems by a new generation, despite the easy entertainment they have at their fingers. people say they are creepy, but they are not. they are really funny.

i've been learning how to do this with the stilts. how is it going? pretty well. i'm getting better. are you going to be a clown when you‘re older? no. clowns are the funniest thing i've seen in my life. the funniest thing you‘ve seen in your life? yes. no7 yeah. would you become a clown when you‘re older? yes. as these professionals near retirement, a new generation of clown faces is needed. any who decide to make a new name for themselves though will have some big shoes to fill. you might find a very young john cleese in an episode of the avengers is the young man who had to look after those eggs. are you planning an easter bank holiday walk this weekend? if you are, you may well come

across a beautiful bluebell wood. they‘ve been voted britain‘s favourite wildflower, but this spring it seems the blue—violet carpets have arrived later than in previous years. catriona renton is in hertfordshire for us this morning to find out why... well, look at this. for as far as the eye can see, there is this beautiful carpet of bluebells. now, they only come once a year. they‘ll be around for three orfour weeks. we are at langley woods in hertfordshire. now they are a sign that spring has sprung, but they‘ve come a little bit later this year. to explain that to us is steve marsh from the woodland trust. why have they come later? they are later this year because we‘ve got a colder spring. last year was a bit warmer so the bluebells came out earlier. it‘s nothing to worry about, they are coming, but later this year. now, you want the public‘s help to map these beautiful flowers. tell us what you want them to do. so through the woodland trust‘s big bluebell watch campaign, we want people to map and tell us where the bluebells are and whether they are native or non—native. can you explain that? so this is a native bluebell. it droops over.

a non—native is very upright and stiff. it has flowers that are one side of the stem, the non—native all the way round. the native has a white pollen, the non—native has blue and the petals on the native curl back and they don‘t on the non—native. they look incredibly fragile when you see them close up, but are they under threat? to look at this, you wouldn‘t think so, but are they under threat? in our ancient woodlands, bluebells are an indicator of ancient woodland and they are under threat from climate change and development. and also people trampling on them. so we ask people not to trample and don‘t pick them, but enjoy them. so you can go on to the woodland trust website and put in your postcode and it will bring up the nearest bluebell wood to you to go out and enjoy this easter. the sea of blue is something to behold, if you don‘t believe in magic or the fairies that live underneath them, you might once you come and see this!

let‘s have a look at the prospects for going out to have a walk and admiring the flowers. time to bring you up to date with how we see the rest of the day unfolding across the british isles. a mixture of sunny spells and showers for many northern areas, scotland, northern ireland, the north of england. further south, the midlands, wales and much of the south, a dry afternoon, variable amounts of cloud. watch out for the wind across the high ground of scotland. wintry showers tending to fade for daytime over night, as we bring ina fade for daytime over night, as we bring in a new area of cloud and rain from the atlantic. at the flight rain from the atlantic. at the flight path of that, it could be open to interpretation. just how far north varane structures, how far south, open to conjecture —— the rain stretchers. for easter monday, the wind just around a little bit

more northerly perhaps. on the cool side, scattering of showers, some dry weather around, next week, mainly dry, some sunny spells, but what about this frosty nights. —— watch out for some hello. this is bbc news at 12.30pm. north korea warns the us not to take provocative action in the region, saying it is "ready to hit back with nuclear attacks". the comments came as north korea marks the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founding president, kim il—sung. everton football club bans sun journalists from its stadium and training ground following a column by kelvin mackenzie about midfielder ross barkley. the family of british student hannah bladon, who was stabbed to death injerusalem yesterday, have paid tribute to their ‘caring, sensitive and compassionate‘ daughter. learner drivers will have to follow directions

from a sat—nav to pass their test, under new rules coming into force in december. drivers will also be expected to answer vehicle safety questions while on the move. sport now, and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here‘s mike bushell. with premier league leaders chelsea, not playing until tomorrow, tottenham have the opportunity, to narrow the gap at the top, to four points. they host mid table bournemouth. that game is just about to kick—off. .. harry kane is back in the starting line up. there are six other games in the premier league today, crystal palace host leicester with burnley off to everton. stoke face hull, and sunderland , ten points from safety at the bottom of the table, take on west ham. watford play swansea, and the tea—time match is between southampton and manchester city —