is the this is bbc world news, i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: french police shoot dead 3 man who killed at least three people and took others hostage in a supermarket. as the attacker claims allegiance to islamic state, a policeman emerges as a hero by offering to swap himself for one of the captives. he's now fighting for his life. to the kernel who was with those men voluntarily swap himself hostage. who the terrorists then let go. the officer stayed with him and then the terrorists opened fire, so our forces intervened and brought down the terrorists. also ahead: british officials search the offices of the data gathering company cambridge analytica, despite it insisting it broke no laws while amassing online information. and backing off from a veto — donald trump approves the latest

us budget, despite threatening to block it if he didn't get the funding for his mexican border wall. hello and welcome to bbc world news. france is once again coming to terms with what president macron is describing as an islamist terror attack. three people were shot dead, and sixteen others injured, as one man opened fire in several locations in the south west of the country. the attacker, named as 26—year—old redouane lakdim, pledged allegiance to the islamic state group. he was shot and killed as he held hostages in a supermarket in the town of trebes. one woman has been arrested in connection with the attacker. lucy williamson reports. it wasn't a symbol that was

attacked in trebes today. a local supermarket provided the only target necessary — people. special forces surrounded this provincial branch after a gunman burst in, shouting his allegiance to the jihadist group islamic state. translation: people were running everywhere. lots of them were wounded on the ground. our butcher was shot. translation: i took cover, but he saw me, he ran after me. i don't know if he had run out of bullets. i managed to escape through an emergency exit. the gunman was named as 26—year—old moroccan—born redouane lakdim, known to police as a petty drug dealer, but not a violentjihadist. his motive the release of salah abdeslam, a key suspect in the november 2015 paris attacks, currently in jail in france. lakdim began by hijacking a car in carcassonne, killing a passenger and injuring its driver. then he shot and wounded a policeman — the bullet, passing three centimetres

from his victim's heart. before heading to trebes, where he took several people hostage inside the supermarket, shooting two of them dead. with hundreds of police surrounding the building, one senior officer swapped himself for some of the hostages. unknown to the attacker, his mobile phone was connected to his colleagues, listening outside. when lakdim began firing at him, special forces stormed the building and shot the gunman dead. the officer is now fighting for his life. france's interior minister, visiting the scene, called him a hero. president macron said he did honour to his office and his country, and that france had once again been the victim of islamist terrorism. translation: i invite all citizens to be aware of the seriousness of the terrorist threat. but also understand the strength and resilience of our people who have been attacked. tonight, police have raided

the flat in carcassonne where redouane lakdim lived. one close associate has been taken into custody. this investigation, raising old unanswered questions about how to spot everyone at risk of radicalisation, and how to tackle a threat that strikes at random in every corner of france. president micron said today the threat against france had changed. where attacks were once planned from iraq or syria, the risk was now what he said were dangerous individuals inside france. challenge is now how to spot and how to tackle the threat that strikes at random in every corner of france. the british company at the centre of claims that data was illegally gathered from social media sites like facebook — and then used to influence elections — is being searched by a team of investigators.

this is the moment staff from the office of the uk's information commissioner went into the london offices of cambridge analytica. the company itself denies any wrongdoing — and says any data it gathered was done so in compliance with facebook‘s rules, and the relevant laws. our technology correspondent rory cellanjones gave this update from outside the company's headquarters a short time ago. things have moved very quickly, these searches were started just underan hour these searches were started just under an hour after the search warrant was granted full of the information commissioner had been seeking to search warrant since monday and it only came to court this afternoon, and then very quickly once it was granted, in they were. inside they are looking at computers and documents, all relating to that incident a few yea rs relating to that incident a few years back when this company acquired the data of 50 million

facebook users. that has been a centre of this huge controversy which has enveloped facebook and also this company as well. cambridge analytica put out a statement this evening insisting that yet again it had deleted all of this data some yea rs had deleted all of this data some years ago, and it insisted once again that it had never been used in its work for president donald trump during the election campaign. still sticking by its story. the information commissioner is doing a wider enquiry into the use of data during elections in the uk. one other developments today, cambridge university has announced that it has mounted an enquiry into the case of the academic who collected that data, doctor kogan on the half of cambridge university. the university says data integrity is very important to it. the director of the uk's military research centre has denied claims made by moscow that his facility was the source

of the poison that's left a former russian spy and his daughter in a critical condition. scientists at the chemical defence unit at porton down have been analysing samples taken after the attack. our security correspondent gordon corera has been given exclusive access and sent this report. it is one of the most sensitive and secret sites in the country. porton down, home to the defence science and technology lab, and now at the heart of the salisbury poisoning investigation. inside one of the labs, scientists demonstrated to us one of the many ways used to detect the presence of chemical agents. a call came here to porton down in the early hours of monday march the 5th. within hours, a specialist response team was deployed down the road to salisbury. they collected samples that were brought back to laboratories at the site and which identified a military grade nerve agent. based on that, as well as other information, the government said it is highly likely that russia was responsible for poisoning sergei and yulia skripal.

security at porton down is tight. russian diplomats have raised questions as to whether somehow nerve agent from here could have got out. that is something officials say is impossible. you know, we have the highest levels of controls of security around the work that we do here. we would not be allowed to operate if we had a lack of control that could result in anything leaving the four walls of the facility here. so, you know, we have complete confidence that there is nothing that could have come from here out into the wider world, as it were. is it frustrating when you hear that kind of accusation? yes, it is a coincidence that it is down the road, that this has happened, it is very frustrating to hear that. everybody here knows that is just not true. they emphasise that the work here is purely defensive. chemical agents are pumped into this chamber to test how well the chemical suits given to soldiers stand up. there have been allegations

in russia that a new chemical weapons factory is being built. but officials showed us the local planning application, saying what is being built here is actually going to be a facility for the analysis of explosives. what about the accusation that it's secret chemical warfare facilities here, or being built here? that is just nonsense. this is a defensive organisation and we know that the russians have been suggesting certain buildings are for making chemical warfare. that is just complete rubbish. this afternoon, the park bench in salisbury where sergei and yulia skripal were found was taken away. international inspectors from the opcw are now taking samples from the scene. they are also working inside porton down itself to independently confirm its analysis, including the conclusions that point to russian involvement. well in russia, a convoy of vehicles left

the british embassy this morning, as the deadline for the expulsion of british diplomats was reached. president putin has called on the russian people to unite behind him during what he called this ‘challenging time'. steve rosenberg reports from moscow. to applause from colleagues and friends, the british diplomats headed home. the send—off far warmer than the moscow spring. russia had expelled 23 from the embassy here. it was tit—for—tat. britain had ordered out 23 russians. for those left behind, it was an emotional moment. they can feel the chill in uk—russian relations. but now, european governments are moving closer to expelling russians. so, is moscow feeling the pressure? there is little sign of it. we are absolutely against any pressure from abroad. we are ready for discussions but we cannot accept any attempt

of pressure against my country. and we have proved that within 1,000 years of our history. today, president putin told russians he had made history with his landslide election win. no mention of diplomatic tensions over the salisbury attack. one thing the kremlin has been working hard to do in recent years, with some success, is to drive a wedge between different countries in the european union, to sow discord in europe. that is why a strong, coordinated response by eu states to the salisbury attack, that would come as a surprise to moscow. this evening, russia took on brazil in a pre—world cup friendly. tension with the west risks overshadowing the tournament russia will be hosting. translation: sport and politics should be separate. the world cup should bring people together. translation: they always blame russia for everything.

it is rubbish. translation: it would not bother me one bit if england did not come. they can believe what they want. it's their problem. england fans will be safe here, says moscow. but salisbury has set the scene for a political showdown — russia against europe. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. tens of thousands of people have demonstrated in cities across poland against plans to further tighten the country's already strict abortion laws. a draft bill before parliament would outlaw abortion on grounds of foetal abnormality and would only allow terminations in cases of rape or incest. five catalan separatists, including a presidential candidate, have been detained by spain's supreme court pending their trial for the crime of rebellion. among those detained wasjordi turull, who is campaigning to lead the region.

if found guilty at trial they could face up to 30 years in prison. european union leaders have formally adopted their joint negotiating stance on a future trade relationship with britain after it leaves the bloc. the chairman of the summit, donald tusk, added that the guidelines come with an offer of a 2i—month transition period — to help businesses adapt following brexit in march 2019. officials in afghanistan say at least 14 people have been killed by a suicide bomber in helmand province. several other people were injured by the explosion, outside a stadium. harvey biggs reports. the aftermath of a deadly car bomb attack in afg hanistan‘s the aftermath of a deadly car bomb attack in afghanistan's helmand province. they vehicle packed with explosives blew up outside a sports stadium as speakers were leaving a

wrestling match. investigators said the bomber tried to go inside the stadium but was stopped by police and detonated his explosives. the blast was very intense, children we re blast was very intense, children were also killed and some were children. the bombing of this bomb has not yet claimed responsibility, of the taliban and also isis. the wrestling match was part of celebrations for the persian new year holiday considered by some fundamentalists as un— islamic. on wednesday 33 people were killed and 65 wounded in suicide bombing in trouble, the fifth bomb attack in the capital in recent weeks. the group calling itself islamic state has claimed responsibility. there are fears the situation will only get worse as both is and the taliban mmp get worse as both is and the taliban ramp up attacks ahead of the official start of what has become known as the spring fighting season. afg hanistan‘s president known as the spring fighting season. afghanistan's president meanwhile has condemned this latest attack

against innocent people. once again it is they who is paying the heaviest price for the country's unrest. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: nigeria's president offers a personal greeting for the dapchi girls, who were kidnapped and then released let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. with great regret, the committee have decided that south africa should be excluded from the 1970 competition.

streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a french policeman who swapped places with a hostage during an attack by a suspected islamist militant is fighting for his life in hospital. the gunman killed three other people before being shot dead. president trump has signed a massive government funding bill into lawjust hours before a government shutdown. he'd earlier tweeted that he was unhappy with aspects of the bill and

threatened to veto it. the bill authorises federal government spending worth one point three trillion dollars. it was a marrow of national security i have signed this on the best budget bill. there are lots of things that i unhappy about in this bill, there are a lot of things we should not have had in this bill but we were, in a sense, forced, if we wa nt to we were, in a sense, forced, if we want to build our military, we were forced to have. there are some things we should have in the bill but are said the congress i will never sign another bill like this again. i not going to do it again. peter bowes has been watching developments and join me now. in terms of the president, it is fed to say he did not get what he wanted from this funding? far from what he wa nted from this funding? far from what he wanted from the water board. ——

border wall. the distance of the wall probably 700 miles. not only did not get enough money to do that but the money allocated towards the wall came with conditions and it means much of that money, a fraction of it, will be used simply to repair sections of the existing wall, only about 72 miles of new ball will be built and it would not be based on prototypes of with which the president came to see. really, this is why the president is so angry. this was one of the centrepieces of his election campaign. it is what his election campaign. it is what his supporters wanted to seek and the budget simply will not allow that. while you're with us, peter, can i ask about bump stocks — the devices which can turn semi—automatic weapons into fully automatic machine guns and proposals from the usjustice department which would effectively ban them?

this comes about a month after the florida school shooting when bump stocks were not use but you might remember the shooting in las vegas, last year, it was confirmed the gunmen did use bump stocks. last month, after the school shooting, the president said he wanted the justice department to look at the situation, indicating he wanted to see them banned and within the last few hours, jeff sessions, the attorney general, has said essentially that is what will happen. bump stocks will be categorised as machine—guns and they have been banned for public use since 1986 and this in effect will ban bump stocks. that will because of the asian period of 90 days because this becomes law but it looks like those bump stocks, which so looks like those bump stocks, which so many people were critical of,

will be outlawed. has there been any response from the nra on this? this isa response from the nra on this? this is a relatively new announcement. i have not had any indication from the an array about what they feel about this. —— an raf. a few hours before people gather in the nation ‘s capital, expected to converge on washington to demonstrate about gun control and to demand tougher laws, and clearly this is one of the changes that these people wanted to see. the nigerian president, muhammadu buhari, today met the 106 girls and one boy who were released by the islamist group boko haram after being abducted in the north—eastern city of dapchi. he gave them a simple message, to pursue their dreams without fear of violence. mayenijones reports. fed and cleaned up, ahead of their

meeting with muhammadu buhari, these girls have come a long way in a few days. the scene is reminiscent of the release of girls i must year ago. they were released in may as there were speculations about how there were speculations about how the government secured their liberation. muhammadu buhari had a message for the families. never to lose hope or to despair. we are determined as never before to bring back our remaining chibok daughters and this we must accomplish. but there are still girls missing. there is no confirmation of the death of one of the girls and six girl believed to be the only christian in the group believed to be still in custody after refusing to denounce

herface. custody after refusing to denounce her face. relatives are anxious for their return. she was the only christian girl and to my surprise she is the only one there. i asked the government to please do something better, to return our daughter back to her parents. they are also defined. refusing to be cowered by those who abducted their daughter. i have a message to keep being a faithful christian. never, never denounced christianity, no matter the suffering. president muhammadu buhari say he is committed to freeing the girls and has asked security forces to ensure the future of dutch is to place after two major

mass kidnappings, it isn't clear how they will avoid another one from happening. in western australia a rescue operation to try and save stranded whales has come to an end. most of the mammals have died — only six survived and were pushed out to sea just before nightfall. the short—finned pilot whales, which are known to strand en—masse were beached at hamelin bay. it comes nine years — to the day — since the last mass stranding at the same spot. at the moment we have officers and volu nteers at the moment we have officers and volunteers down that and they are stabilising in the wales so the asked the biggest concern is them are being out of the water and some boat so we have them covered and keep them as moist as we can. the plan is to get escalators down debate and move the live once to an area close to the boat ramp and refloat them and send them back out. on a visit to northern ireland, prince harry and his fiancee, meghan markle, have been shown a peace—building initiative in lisburn, county antrim,

and enjoyed a pub lunch in belfast. as our royal correspondent sarah campbell reports, the trip is one of a string of public engagements ahead of their wedding on 19 may. the audience could not quite believe who was walking in. prince harry and meghan markle surprise that thousands of youngsters gathered at the site of the former maze prison, all they can promote peace between the communities. part of an initiative launched by harry on a visit here last september stop and then to lunch in one of belfast‘s best—known pubs. on the menu, irish stew, washed down with a little liquid refreshment, of course. stew, washed down with a little liquid refreshment, of courselj gave megan half a guinness and a golden hailed the sample with the lunch. fed and aborted, the couple

of them now familiar hands—on approach to their royal walkabout. these visits have been about introducing ms mark will to the people but also giving her a greater understanding of the uk, the place she has chosen to call home. cardiff injanuary and she has chosen to call home. cardiff in january and they were she has chosen to call home. cardiff injanuary and they were given she has chosen to call home. cardiff in january and they were given welsh love spreads. in london, they took pa rt love spreads. in london, they took part ina love spreads. in london, they took part in a broadcast and in edinburgh a close encounter with a shetland pony. rain today in belfast, the final uk capital city. that's the way it is looking at this hour. plenty more on how website and i am on twitter. bye for now. this weekend is looking better than

last weekend. certainly much warmer and on sunday we should see good spells of sunshine by cloudy on saturday and the reason for the is because of this low pressure to the south of the uk. to the north it should be clearer and as a result it will be a cold start to saturday. the cloud will be thick enough outbreaks of rain and across wales, central parts of england. where we have the cloud, it should be milder. scotla nd have the cloud, it should be milder. scotland and northern ireland with clear skies and a touch of frost. good spells of sunshine on the weekend, especially on sunday.

temperatures around the seasonal average. through saturday morning, grey start for england and wales as the area of low pressure can then use to move southwards. scotland and northern ireland will have the best of the sunshine. a few showers, wintry over the high ground and the cloud thick enough to produce the odd spot of light rain or drizzle. during saturday night, as that area of low pressure starts to pull away it will take the cloud with it as well. here we we have the cloud, by the end of the night, there should still be milder temperatures. elsewhere, a chilly night with a touch of frost. we start sunday on a chilly note the many. right chris sunshine across central and northern areas. “— sunshine across central and northern areas. —— bright, crisp. a better looking day across the board. a few showers for the north and west of

scotland, wintry over the hills. temperatures at the higher here. a rich of high pressure bringing fine weather sunday moves away. this feature running in of the atlantic in the western areas bringing stronger wind. monday starts up again cold but bright. 20 of sunshine. 5b increase and our ways of rain through northern ireland and western parts of england along with the strengthening breeze. temperature wise, again, 9— 12 degrees celsius. things are set to change as we moved deep into the week. cold air from the north have through easter we could see a little bit of sleet and snow. this is bbc news. the headlines: french authorities say the gunman who has shot dead three people in the town of trebes was known to security services for his links to radical islam. french security forces killed him after surrounding the supermarket where he held hostages earlier.

president trump has signed a huge government funding bill into law just hours before the third government shutdown of the year. he said he approved the bill even though it contained items that were not justified. in the uk, a team of enforcement officers have entered the offices of cambridge analytica after a judge issued a search warrant. the company denies gathering data from facebook on millions of people without their consent. officials in afghanistan say at least 1a people have been killed by a suicide bomber in helmand province. the teenager who planted a bomb on a london tube train that partially exploded at parsons green has been sentenced life in prison,