three killed and a policeman is critically ill after a gunman took hostages at a supermarket in southern france. a man was shot dead by security forces. the head of the defence laboratory porton down says there is no way any never agent from the site could have got out after russia suggested that was a possible explanation for the salad grease by poisoning. frantic teams in salisbury are still at work, russia has condemned the eu for calling its ambassador to moscow and accused britain of attempting to force allies into conflict. —— salisbury poisoning. owen smith has been sacked from jeremy corbyn par shadow cabinet, after calling for a new eu referendum. two lorry drivers have been sentenced for calling a pilot which killed eight people in a minibus on the m1 motorway. —— sack from jeremy corbyn's shadow cabinet. suzuki has ended its advertising deal with and and deck, after and mcpartlin was charged with drink—driving. —— ant & dec. —— ant

mcpartlin. with such a high turnover of staff, you would think the white house was struggling to attract decent employees, we will bring you the latest news of who is in and who is out, bbc poll found that he was the second most popular briton ever, a new museum dedicated to isambard kingdom brunel opens in the west country, we will pop along. and if you love blockbuster films with giant robot, stick around for the film review, at 8:45pm, and even if you do not, please do(!) and we will find out what mark kermode thinks about pacific rim uprising. we will be live in amsterdam as english preparations for the

world cup in russia continue with a friendly against the orange of the netherlands. formula 1 is back, the ca i’s netherlands. formula 1 is back, the ca rs reveal netherlands. formula 1 is back, the cars reveal their early form ahead of the first race of the season in melbourne. and it is sport relief, there is a whole host of events taking place, we have also spoken with the double winter olympic champion lizzie yarnold, she will be involved later on and she will be telling us what her future in sport may hold. it is always hard to a nswer may hold. it is always hard to answer that question straightaway, my automatic response is, do you know what you are doing in four yea rs' know what you are doing in four years' time! plenty to come, we have to start with the international football weekend, the first of what could be two very important friendlies for

the england manager gareth southgate as he looks to cement his thinking ahead of this summer's world cup. with a number of new faces in his squad, could someone force their way into a surprise seat on the plane to russia. we are in amsterdam, england will be taking on the netherlands, and there is plenty for gareth southgate to ponder. there is indeed, a hell of a lot for him to ponder, just three months out from the world cup, not even that is to go until the tournament in russia, and if we look at the new faces you mentioned in the team, nick pope, goalkeeper, from burnley, james tarkowski, burnley centre half, also, alfie mawson, centre half from swa nsea, also, alfie mawson, centre half from swansea, and lewis cook, bournemouth midfielder. four new faces in this particular squad which started at 27, very big, much smaller, the

squad that goes to the world cup. italy at wembley on tuesday, this one, and then friendlies against nigeria and costa rica at wembley, injune, four nigeria and costa rica at wembley, in june, four matches, nigeria and costa rica at wembley, injune, four matches, not long for gareth southgate to get the squad together. 20 fans have travelled to amsterdam, 5000 expected inside the johan cruyff arena, many in town today, 25 arrests overnight, but from what i saw, on the whole, it was good—natu red and from what i saw, on the whole, it was good—natured and they will be travelling near to this stadium to get behind england tonight. a young, experimental team, and gareth southgate has said that ahead of the tournament, in russia, he is excited about this squad. i'm pretty clear on the vast majority of the squad. and if we have to play tomorrow, i know the starting team i will play. what we have got is more opportunity to work

on things, chance to look at different options, different tactical systems. people in different roles, so that we can balance off positionally where we might want to put additional numbers in the squad in the summer as well. so, every time you get to work with the players is a real plus, really. southgate has been affected by injuries and a loss of form, key player harry kane is out antone exum month with an ankle injury, he is set to be the favourite to captain the side in russia. —— is out until next month. jack wilshere had come back into the reckon in but has pulled out this particular fixture, they hope he will be fit for the game against italy, also questions around the goalkeeping position, four goalkeepers named in this squad owing largely to a loss of form from joe hart at west ham united. the defence has questions, john stones

was set to be a certainty but he has not been playing for manchester city, jordan henderson, tonight the captain, in and out of the team at liverpool. talking of henderson, he was talking to us about the security situation in russia, and if he goes to the world cup, he wants his family to come as well. people will be deciding whether they wa nt people will be deciding whether they want theirfamily to people will be deciding whether they want their family to go, i know that ifi want their family to go, i know that if i go, my family want to go. obviously, they want to be part of the world cup. i can only really speak for myself, but as a squad, we have talked about the security aspect, that seems fine so far. whether or not that changes further down the line, we will have to wait and see. most important news for you is the team news, jordan pickford, everton, in goal. kieran trippier, totte n ha m , everton, in goal. kieran trippier, tottenham, right back. his club team—mate, danny rose, left back. kyle walker, in the defence as well. john stones of manchester city, joe

gomes of liverpool, alex oxlade—chamberlain of liverpool, getting the nod in midfield, perhaps coming in to replace jack wilshere. jordan henderson alongside him captaining the side tonight. —— joe gomez. front of marcus rashford, jesse lingard and raheem sterling. that is your team news, as england prepare for kick—off in over an hour's time, the atmosphere building very nicely. england's and ultimate game before they named the world cup squad, one of four friendlies game before they named the world cup squad, one of fourfriendlies before the tournament starts in russia, with the first match against tunisia on monday, june 18. i am pretty envious, enjoy your friday night on amsterdam —— in amsterdam. all the build—up with darren fletcher begins at 7am —— 7p on the radio. scotland trying to build something new under alex mcleish, he begins his second stint as the manager of the national tea m stint as the manager of the national team with a game against costa rica at hampden park. scotland will not

be travelling to the world cup. they did not qualify. —— 7pm. first scotland match post gordon strachan, alex mcleish is back, ten yea rs strachan, alex mcleish is back, ten years after he less left for birmingham city, he ‘s brief this time is quite simple, make scotland better and qualified for euro 2020. tonight's game is the first of a friendly double—header there. —— his brief. costa rica this evening, followed by hungary in budapest. —— friendly double—header. in terms of this evening at a fast game, is all performance all about the win? performance level would be great, but i want to win? -- in terms of this evening's game. winning will breed confidence, we are looking for a consistent way to win. expecting a debut this evening for the manchester united youngster scott mcdonald a, also expecting to start up mcdonald a, also expecting to start up front, ollie mcburnie of

barnsley, it is a new look manager, new look management team, looking to bring back a feel—good factor to this scottish national side. —— scott mctominay. in northern ireland, exactly the same, northern ireland were so unlucky to miss out on a place at the world cup, michael o'neill turned down the chance to join scotla nd turned down the chance to join scotland as their new manager, head of the game with south korea at windsor park tomorrow, michael o'neill says he is as committed as ever. opposition that is technically very good, that will be a big challenge, thatis good, that will be a big challenge, that is the nature of this, particularly for some of the younger players coming in. and potentially into the team. we have nine games between now and march, which are... march 2019, all of those games are vital in terms of preparation for the next campaign. formula 1 is returning to action this weekend, with the season opener

in melbourne, lewis hamilton out to defend his world title as mercedes go the fifth consecutive double drivers and constructors championship, can anyone stop them? formula 1 reporterjenny gow has been to the first two practice sessions. day 1 of been to the first two practice sessions. day1 of the been to the first two practice sessions. day 1 of the 2018 been to the first two practice sessions. day1 of the 2018 formula 1 world championship, fastest man, lewis hamilton, in his mercedes, but only by a whisker. 0.17 seconds was the time difference between him and the time difference between him and the red bull of max verstappen. yes, a red bull applauds the top of the field, just ahead of va ltteri top of the field, just ahead of valtteri bottas, and then the two ferraris of kimi raikkonen and sebastian vettel. what do we expect to happen in the race and qualified? well, rain, rain is on the way in melbourne, that could mix up everything, the two men most likely to succeed in the rain, lewis hamilton, of course, and sebastian vettel. let's see what happens. the best news of everything is that we could well have a really close battle for this championship, in

fa ct, thatis that is what everybody wants. that is what everybody wantsm that is what everybody wants. it is indeed, lots to look forward to, and we have entrusted former renault formula 1 driverjolyon palmer to give us his picks for the new season, starting in melbourne tomorrow. great atmosphere, you come off the back of a european winter and you don't no one to expect, even in testing, different when you hit the track in melbourne, the atmosphere is fantastic, normally, end of australian summer, so a bit of sunshine as well, and a huge set of sunshine as well, and a huge set of passionate fans there, they give you a lift. fun track to drive, in the park, street circuit feel to it, not much room for error, always nice, challenges the driver more. it isa nice, challenges the driver more. it is a great atmosphere. on sunday, i think lewis hamilton is going to win. he is favourite for good reason. mercedes still have the best car. sebastian vettel is the closest

challenger, winning the race last year, ferrari look like they can challenge, and valtteri bottas, to be third, because mercedes have the best car, he will bring home some points. where it gets feisty depends on how close the teams are, how close the title fight is, last year was very intense, especially the first three quarters, sebastian vettel was in front after 13, 1a, 15 races, then it slipped away. if we have that level of intensity between the top two and in different teams like last year, then it has every reason, it could be even more feisty now, because they are on four titles apiece and it is the first to get the fifth. ultimately, lewis hamilton will win the title, he is on the back of a fault, he can get the fifth with the best car. closest fight will come from sebastian vettel again, both of them on four titles, between them to see who can get number five, maybe max verstappen, to get third, in an improving red bull. thank you to jolyon palmer. things weather could

affect things. certainly did in auckland, only 5a i’u ns certainly did in auckland, only 5a runs possible on the second day of the first test against new zealand after being bowled out for 58, the weather was the problem, kane williamson completed his 18th test century, that, a record for new zealand, only 23 overs were bowled with williamson reaching 100, before being trapped lbw by james with williamson reaching 100, before being trapped lbw byjames anderson, the only wicket to fall as the rain came with the home side, 229—4, that, a lead of 171, play called off late in the evening in auckland, where the weather is not supposed to be much better over the weekend. england's women doing far better in mumbai, they have beaten australia, by eight wickets, in the opening t20 tri- by eight wickets, in the opening t20 tri— series mad, jenny gunn taking three wickets, england restricting australia to 149—8. the start of the show, taking two wickeds, top scoring with 68 not out. they which

their target with three overs to spare. afghanistan have sealed the final qualifying place at next yea r‘s world cup final qualifying place at next year's world cup in england and wales. —— wickets. they beat ireland by five wickets in what was effectively a straight shoot out for a place in the finals, a target of 210 to win was set, which they chased down with five balls to spare, the world cup has been cut from 1a teams to ten, many criticising that decision by the icc see, but it means that ireland, scotla nd see, but it means that ireland, scotland and zimbabwe all miss out, afghanistan joined the west indies as the two qualifying nations. still to come in the programme: getting more girls to play football, manchester city's women go back to school to encourage others to follow in their footsteps. and school to encourage others to follow in theirfootsteps. and it school to encourage others to follow in their footsteps. and it is school to encourage others to follow in theirfootsteps. and it is boat race weekend, we have been out early, in the snow, with a trainee gp, to see how hard work is just behind the preparations. quick look at some of the other

stories around today: former england women's head coach mark sampson has been invested by european football's governing body for intimidating a female official with a metal pole at the 2017 european championships, u efa the 2017 european championships, uefa described his conduct as grossly violating the basic rules and banned him for three games, next day he was fired by the fa in a separate case relating to inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour. zlatan ibrahimovic, and la galaxy, have confirmed he is heading to los angeles to play in the mls, after being released from his manchester united contract. on the front page of the la times sports section, the headline, he's ha rd to sports section, the headline, he's hard to ignore! england's women's football team have moved up to second in the world rankings, overtaking germany, united states still number one, something the men's senior team have never

achieved, they have not been higher than third. after his heavy crash in milan, former commonwealth games cycling champion mark cavendish has pulled out of next month's event, meaning he will not be able to represent the isle of man. no serious damage has been sustained, he says. now, the wbo heavyweight champion joseph parker says that he is in the best shape possible ahead of his fight with anthony joshua best shape possible ahead of his fight with anthonyjoshua at the end of the month, new zealand has only recently made it public that he underwent surgery on both elbows at the end of last year, he says he is fit and ready for the bout, the winner will hold three of the four heavyweight title. he backs himself as a champion, i back myself to be the best in the world. no reason why i should be flinching, it is you ever wins is the best man on the day. no excuses from my side, i am 100% ready, no injuries, there is no niggles... i

will put on the best performance. that is what everyone is hoping for, including one of the big names on the undercard, including one of the big names on the underca rd, anthony including one of the big names on the undercard, anthony crolla, former lightweight champion, he spoke with us earlier to discuss his fight in cardiff, but we started by discussing the chances ofjoseph parker in the main event. we don't know much about him, last time out, in the manchester reena, against fury, narrow points win, that was shown online, through youtube, was not shown on television. a lot of people missed out. missed out on seeing him. undefeated heavyweight, seems like he takes a very good punch, big lad, nearly all big lads can take a punch. —— give out a punch. in heavyweight boxing it takes only one shot to change things. i'm sure anthonyjoshua, i'm sure they will give him that. your own fight, back in the ring, 31st of march, joshua against barca, top of things to

content with, your opponent was only just named, and that huge crowd for you to perform in front of, does that change the thinking? not at all, if anything, that change the thinking? not at all, ifanything, it is that change the thinking? not at all, if anything, it is less pressure, it is for the last few years i have been in the manchester arena, great atmosphere, in my hometown, and probably... ifeel, i feed off that. but in the spotlight, rightfully so, anthonyjoshua and joseph parker, in the spotlight. if lam not joseph parker, in the spotlight. if i am not fighting main event, it is nice to be on such a big event, if there is an undercard, it is there, first stadium fight. myself, ramirez, both of us training for the day, it has onlyjust been announced. i'm expecting a tough fight, it is a fight i am expecting to come through. should be a big one. back to football for a moment, manchester city's women's tea m moment, manchester city's women's team have produced an incentive to young girls who want to take up the sport, they want to show that the similarities between the men's and

women's games are far closer than many people believe and they have found a pretty novel way of engaging young girls, asjoe currey found out. manchester city are aiming to bridge the gap between men's football and women's football by encouraging young girls to shoot for success. their new campaign challenges young females to score a goal, any time, anywhere, and they will be rewarded with a football. they have brought the campaign down to this primary school, in fallowfield, manchester, where two of the club's international players have been giving a shooting masterclass to potentially the next generation of footballers. masterclass to potentially the next generation of footballerslj masterclass to potentially the next generation of footballers. i think it isa generation of footballers. i think it is a great initiative, because if the girls receive a manchester city football they will want to play with it and they will want to get better. me and georgia are telling them, when we were young, we used to practice in the back garden, play with the ball every day. i think they can take that on board and use

it to improve and get better as a player. simple idea, it is hoped it will encourage more girls to take up the sport. it is massive that we get more people at the football, such an enjoyable game, when you are on the pitch, no worries, you are free to do whatever you want, just enjoying it as do whatever you want, just enjoying itasa do whatever you want, just enjoying it as a bunch of girls together. playing with your friends, what more could you ask for. what advice would a top international play give to a budding young striker when it comes to finding the back of the net? doesn't matter what you've got, doesn't matter who you are, where you are on the pitch, put your foot through it! might work wonders. who knows, this new campaign could unearth some new stars of the future. tomorrow sees the university boat race, between oxford and cambridge, and as ever, more than 250,000 people at bectu to take to the banks of the river thames in what is the

80th year the race has been televised by the bbc. james barrett has gone behind—the—scenes to see what the preparations are really like. voiceover: it is snowing, minus six degrees, 6am... voiceover: it is snowing, minus six degrees, 6am. .. this voiceover: it is snowing, minus six degrees, 6am... this is what it ta kes to degrees, 6am... this is what it takes to train for the boat race. every so often, when it is dark, when you get onto the water and dark when you get onto the water and dark when you get off, tipping it down, freezing, lots of deadlines, it is hard. i need to get up in the morning because there is eight other girls waiting to go running with me, i cannot have a lie in, i would be letting them down. image in grant born and brought up in cambridge, knows this stretch of river better than most, but the water is just pa rt than most, but the water is just part of the story. —— imogene grant. she is also a trainee doctor, and a local —— at a local gps surgery, which matters just as local —— at a local gps surgery, which mattersjust as much. local —— at a local gps surgery, which mattersjust as muchlj local —— at a local gps surgery, which mattersjust as much. i really like fixing things, in general, it is what brings me joy, like fixing things, in general, it is what brings mejoy, i like fixing things, in general, it is what brings me joy, i suppose. and i think being a doctor is one of the best ways to do that, being able

to give back... essentially, eve ryo ne to give back... essentially, everyone in the community, at some point, everyone will need a doctor. and i hope that i can be a good one. asa and i hope that i can be a good one. as a medical student, she is really clean, she takes the work and the patient's very seriously. she is a good communicator with patients and ido good communicator with patients and i do really hope she becomes a gp because we need good gps. commentator: the finnish white —— the finish line calls... voiceover: last year, imogene grant helped cambridge beat oxford by 11 lengths ina cambridge beat oxford by 11 lengths in a record time. looks like 15 minutes of pain, is that what it feels like? sometimes, sometimes! you know, you are working at your limit, for 15, 18, 20 you know, you are working at your limit, for15, 18, 20 minutes, depending on the conditions, but you have the other girls in the boat, shouting and encouraging you on, you have the cox encouraging you on, you

are so focused on what you are doing and what the other boat is doing, time passes quicker than you might think. from the freezing windswept waters of the cambridge offends, imogene and her crew are ready to roll, hard work done, time to deliver once again on the wild and raucous thames in front of an audience of millions. in case you failed to notice, it is sport relief week, millions of pounds already raised for charities across the world, and the event culminates in the television special tonight from 7pm on bbc one, a raft of famous faces involved, one of those is the double olympic gold medallist lizzie yarnold, who came to see me earlier, we spoke about her future plans after success in pyeongchang, but also about her involvement in the event tonight. very exciting to see other athletes taking part, the challenge, five aside competition going on, that is

aside competition going on, that is a12 aside competition going on, that is a 12 hourthing... aside competition going on, that is a 12 hour thing... and on twitter, to follow everyone's school sports relief days, and challenges, raising as much money as possible, really awesome. what is it like to be involved in a project that big? every year i have been involved in small parts, i have learned more about the projects that we are helping to fund, and the fact that sport has helped me when i was a kid, just to enjoy it and learn the lessons and be part of 18, that is weird sighting to support other people. —— a team. remind people how sport helps keep people healthy and happy and helps them smile. you have reminded everyone in great britain just how important it is, by bringing back one of these. gold medalfrom bringing back one of these. gold medal from pyeongchang, fantastic performance from you, you did it four years ago, but this time around, how did it feel? having settled them? around, how did it feel? having settled them ? it around, how did it feel? having settled them? it is busy after you win something like that. this time

around, the gold medal meant so much more than in sochi because back in saatchi i was on winning form, i was almost, i knew that i could do it, but in pyeongchang, chest infection, knee issue which i had just had operated on. —— sochi. and my form is not really there at the world cup, so there is self—doubt and motivation... i knew the race was going to be a fight and i love performing on the big stage, i love pressure. i'm glad that i can represent the team and show everyone what we can achieve. now things have settled down slightly, those questions can immediately after your performance, i guess they will come again right now, have you thought about what you will be doing in the future, is retirement something you have considered? really hard to answer that question straightaway, my automatic response is, do you know what you are doing in four years' time! hard one to predict, just five weeks after the race, i am still recovering with my knee, i

will take a break and i will see, i will take a break and i will see, i will let you know as soon as i know. she had better, sport relief, coming up, bbc one, 7pm. five live, netherlands against england, team news is on the bbc website. that is all from sportsday. we will be back with more sport for you throughout the evening. hello again, good evening call the weather is on the way next week. —— colder weather. today felt warm enough when the sun was out, most had sunshine, improvement in the weather across scotland, started the day in scotland with clout and outbreaks of rain, thicker cloud moving towards the south—east, look at this curl of cloud, beautiful satellite picture, wrapped around a deep area of low pressure, fortu nately we deep area of low pressure, fortunately we are just getting a

glancing blow from that, spilling cloud into england and wales, bringing pockets of rain and drizzle, especially towards the south—west of england. through the north, scotland, northern ireland, like the wind, temperatures touching frost in rural areas and one or two icy patches as well. as we head into the weekend, a fair bit of cloud, as the weekend, a fair bit of cloud, as the weekend, a fair bit of cloud, as the week and goes on, more sunshine developing. temperatures about where they should be at this time of year as we will see in just a moment, here is where we start on saturday, still quite cloudy across england and wales, low cloud across southern england, this is where we got most of the light rain and drizzle, should tend to peter out, sunshine developing in the far north. sunny skies for scotland and northern ireland, away from sharp shower was in the north—west. temperatures getting up to nine, ten, 11 degrees. near—normal further style of year. temperatures will fall away quickly during the evening and overnight, as skies tends to clear. clearing skies

pushing south, hanging on to cloudy skies across southern parts of england, clearer skies elsewhere allowing temperatures to drop once again. colder night across northern parts of england and into wales. touch of frost in the countryside. improvement on the way for sunday, england and wales, cloud clearing away, nice and sunny for a while, patchy clouds developing, fewer showers, wind is like for many of us. showers, wind is like for many of us. in the sunshine, pleasant. temperatures a shade higher, 12, maybe even as high as 13 degrees. convocations as we head into next week. weather heading in from the to bring rain, how quickly and how far they moved north and east across the uk, still uncertain, we have a wedge of cold airagain uk, still uncertain, we have a wedge of cold air again across scandinavia, that cold air, one way or another, filtering to the uk, and bringing sleet and snow. this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 7:00: three people have been killed and a policeman is fighting for his life after a gunman took

hostages at a supermarket in southern france. translation: the lieutenant colonel, who was with his men, voluntarily swabbed himself with a hostage, who the terrorist then let go. —— swapped. former labour leadership contender owen smith has been sacked from jeremy corbyn's shadow cabinet after calling for a second eu referendum. the head of the porton down defence laboratory categorically denies russian claims that nerve agent from the site could have been used to poison the former spy in salisbury two lorry drivers have been sentenced for causing a pile—up that killed eight people in a minibus on the m one motorway killed eight people in a minibus on the m1 motorway. also this hour — president trump signs a huge government funding bill into law just hours before the third