this is bbc news. the headlines at seven. hundreds of thousands of people across america join student—led protests to call for tighter gun controls the sound of silence — parkland school survivor emma gonzalez stood before the crowd for 6 minutes and twenty seconds. ina in a little over six minutes, 17 of oui’ in a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us, 15 we re our friends were taken from us, 15 were injured and absolutely everyone in the douglas community was forever altered. he fell as a hero — tributes to the french policeman who died after saving the lives of hostages. owen smith says he'll continue to argue for change to labour's position on brexit, after being sacked from the party's front bench. a warning that the headlights on modern cars are dazzling drivers. and cambridge take the 2018 men's

boat race and once more... and victory on the thames for cambridge as both the men and the women win this year's boat races. we'll have that and all the day's sporting action in sportsday in half an hour. good evening and welcome to bbc news. hundreds of thousands of students and campaigners, have gathered in cities across america, for rallies pushing for tougher gun laws. the protest called "march for our lives," is being led by survivors of the massacre at a school in parkland in florida last month. they've been addressing crowds around the country, vowing to "stop at nothing" until lasting change is made. here's our north america correspondent gary 0'donoghue. they came from across the country, bringing their message to the centre

of power in the nation's capital. one of the biggest gun control demonstrations in years. parents, students, teachers, with a unified message, put an end to school shootings. we are marching because it's time for a change. i don't want to be a teacher that has guns in my building. no guns in schools, no guns in churches, no guns in the workplace. one of those determined to make the march today was lauren, who was just six when 20 of her school friends died in the shooting at sandy hook elementary school, in 2012. it's very depressing because it's like this should have stopped a while ago. it's been very consistent since then. america is used to school shootings but the murder of 17 students and teachers at the parklands school in florida on valentine's day has galvanised a new generation

to take direct action. parklands students have already affected changes in the law in florida and as the president was heading south to his florida home, students from there came to washington to ask congress to do more. they know it's coming, they know that there if there is no assault weapons ban passed, then we will vote them out. cheering they know that if there is no tightening of the background checks, we will vote them out. they know that if there is no shrinking of magazine capacity, we will vote them out. scenes like this have been replicated all over the country with marches from los angeles to boston. it's notjust confined to america. across the uk, young people marched in solidarity. congress has passed modest measures in the last few days but nowhere near the sweeping reforms these protesters are

demanding. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news, washington. parkland shooting survivor emma gonzales addressed the march in washington, and paid tribute to her 17 fellow students who died in the attack. six minutes and about 20 seconds. in a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us, 15 were injured and everyone, absolutely everyone, in the douglas community was forever altered. everyone who was forever altered. everyone who was there understands, everyone who has been touched by the cold grip of gun violence understands. for us, long, tearful, chaotic hours in the scorching afternoon sun were spent not knowing. no one understood the extent of what had happened. no one could believe that there were bodies

in that building waiting to be identified for over a day. no one knew that the people who were missing had stopped breathing long before any of us had even known that a code red had been called. no one could comprehend the devastating aftermath or how far this would reach or where it would go. for those who still cannot comprehend because they refuse to, i will tell you where it went, right into the ground, six feet deep. six minutes and 20 seconds with an aer 15 and my friend carmine would never complain to be about piano practice. airand complain to be about piano practice. air and would never call here miss sunshine. alex would never walk into school with his brother, ryan. scott would never joke school with his brother, ryan. scott would neverjoke around with cameron at camp. helena would never hang out with macs. gino would never a wave to herfriend at with macs. gino would never a wave to her friend at lunch. with macs. gino would never a wave to herfriend at lunch. he would never play basketball with sam or

dyla n. never play basketball with sam or dylan. they would never... and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30pm this evening in the papers — our guestsjoining me tonight are rachel cunliffe, comment and features editor at city a—m — and political correspondent at the financial times, henry mance tributes have been paid to a french police officer, who died saving the lives of hostages in a supermarket siege in the town of trebes yesterday. lieutena nt—colonel arnaud beltrame, was shot by an islamist gunman and later died of his wounds. three other people were also killed. president macron, said the he showed "exceptional courage," and died a hero. lucy williamson reports. this attack has become not the story of a gunmen but the story of a hero.

arnaud beltrame. the man who made astonishing bravery seem natural, almost routine. flags were lowered to half—mast at his former base today and at units across the country to pay homage to their colleague and friend. he was remembered here too by those who never knew him. another tribute every few minutes. he is a hero for me because he's given his life, for a lot of people. he knew it was dangerous, what he did, but he did it. the gendarmerie said arnaud beltrame‘s death was a reminder of their daily commitment to protect the people. for the people themselves, his actions are a defiant response to the country's would—be attackers, a reminder of the best of france. today, the site of so much drama

was a chilled and empty crime scene. its car park still littered with the debris of a terrified and desperate flight. inside this building yesterday, arnaud beltrame offered up his life up his life in place of others'. his mobile phone, secretly connected to colleagues outside, giving the operation a vital edge. his brother told french radio that arnaud had died a hero. translation: what he did was beyond the call of duty. he gave his life for strangers. he must have known that he didn't really have a chance. if that doesn't make him a hero, i don't know what would. his mother said she wasn't surprised at what her son had done. "that's the way he lived and the way he worked," she said. "he used to tell me he was just doing hisjob, nothing more." that's not how it feels today. lucy williamson, bbc

news, carcassonne. social media is flooded with tributes to the french police officer, arnauld beltrame.. including from the french president, emmanuel macron on twitter, mr. macron says he's sending his sincere condolences to the police officer's family and calls on everyone in france to honour his memory president trump has tweeted his support: "our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the horrible attack in france yesterday." he goes on to say "we are with you @emmanuelmacron!" here, the prime minister theresa may says she is saddened to learn that the officer has died. she adds ‘his sacrifice and courage will never be forgotten.‘ there have also been a number of tributes from those involved in british policing. stirling police have tweeted a picture of the gendarme, with the caption ‘in memory of arnauld beltrame‘, hashtag homage. investigators from the information commissioner's

office, are assessing material seized during a seven hour search, of the london offices of the company cambridge analytica. the high court had granted a warrant to access the company's data bases and servers. it's part of a larger investigation into the use of personal data in political campaigning. the former shadow northern ireland secretary, 0wen smith, says he'll continue to oppose labour's position on brexit. he's been sacked byjeremy corbyn from the front bench, for saying there should be a referendum on the terms of any final deal. mr smith believes the party leadership should be speaking out more forcefully, about what he sees as the economic risks of leaving the eu. 0ur political correspondent iain watson reports. the show of unity was relatively short lived. 0wen smith failed to topple jeremy corbyn as labour leader in 2016 butjoined his shadow cabinet lastjune. he was sacked for being out of step on the eu when he called

for a second referendum on the final deal. it was a bit of a surprise, not least when other members of the shadow cabinet said similar things and haven't been sacked. we need, at the end of this process, to trust the british people once more to make a final decision on whether they are content with the real terms of brexit. curiously, last november the shadow cabinet member diane abbott told her constituents she'd argue for the right of the electorate to vote on a final deal. but she stayed at labour's top table. why did you sack him? so whenjeremy corbyn went to speak to party activists, i tried to get him to explain. why didn't you sack diane abbott? thank you so much, all of you, for coming. 0wen smith insists he was surprised to be sacked because he says his views are far more in touch with those of the party membership than his leader's. and certainly a survey of more than 4000 labour party members last year suggested that three—quarters of them wanted a second referendum on the final deal with the eu. but most of the activists i spoke

put tight—lipped loyalty ahead of any policy concerns. i think we need unity to beat the tories. is he right to sack 0wen smith over europe? no. and it's perhaps a measure ofjeremy corbyn‘s grip on his party that he sacked someone with pro—eu views swiftly without causing a serious split. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. 0ur political correspondent iain watson joins us now. the end of your piece seems to imply that a lot of people agree with the actual point but they think that discipline comes before that at this point. which is interesting. jeremy corbett when he was a backbencher rebelled about 500 times against his own party, but he would say there is more expected of people on the front bench and they need to accept

collective responsibility. a big ally ofjeremy corbyn‘s chris williamson broke ranks on council tax increases and he's continues to speak out. he stood down and 0wens smith should except doing the same thing. is he relaxed about in speaking out from the backbenches? he will be relatively relaxed. to some extent, ringing 0wen smith back, the leadership challenger, was a show of unity but it has been uncomfortable. i note that 0wen smith was unhappy withjeremy corbyn‘s performance in the commons on the salisbury attack. where is that now? it has calmed down to some extent, partly becausejeremy corbyn has said far more that the finger is pointing out russia. he still has questions to ask, he would like to see more evidence, but at other times, 0wen smith were considering

their positions. now we have the position where if you like, the bigger difference if you like, you would not call it a split, most people are toeing the line, we are ahead of important council elections, at this time, most people are going to be biting their tongues regarding jeremy corbyn, unlike 0wen smith. however, the bigger difference is on europe, many of them would like him to move further and perhaps consider staying in something like the single market. if the final deal is not acceptable, at least be open at that stage, not necessarily at that stage, to call for a second referendum. whatjeremy corbyn wants to do, is not contemplating a second referendum, he is taking the views of people seriously, he is not going to go back on that, wherever else he moves. whether 0wen smith will have more influence on the backbenches remains to be seen. thank you.

well a reminder this coming thursday marks 1 year to go before the uk leaves the eu. and throughout the week we will be putting your questions to a range of experts. you can tweet us your questions using the hashtag bbc ask this; by texting 61124 or emailing... the headlines on bbc news: hundreds of thousands of demonstrators take to the streets in america calling for tougher gun laws. the policeman who died after swapping places with hostages during yesterday's terror attack is described as a hero by the french president. 0wen smith says he will keep making the case for labour to change its position on brexit — despite being sacked from the shadow cabinet. a car bomb has targeted the head of security in the egyptian city of alexandria. he survived, but one of his police guards was killed and four others were injured. the attack comes two days ahead of the presidential election. 0ur correspondent sally nabil visited the scene

of the attack in alexandria. this is the street where the explosion took place. the whole area is cordoned off and the scale of the damage is quite big, actually. many of the cars here are severely damage. we understand that an improvised explosive device was planted under one of the parked cars and it went off when the convoy of alexandria's security chief was passing by. the security chief survived but we know that there are victims among his police guards. the timing of the explosion is quite critical, actually. it comes two days or less before egyptians go to the polls to choose a new president. the minister of interior was here a short while ago and he had a careful

look at the place and the ministry of interior issued a statement as well saying that the security chief is back to work and he will not be discouraged by the explosion. we do not know yet who carried out this attack, but we understand that the routes in and out of alexandria are being closely monitored by police forces. the minister of the interior has said that security forces are on high alert, but what happened here shows that there are still some security loopholes. public health england have issued fresh precautionary advice to anyone in salisbury who may have come into contact with the nerve agent used to attack sergei skripal and his daughter yulia. the advice is relevant to as many as 500 people who may have visited the pub and pizza restaurant between the time of the poisoning and before they were closed the following night. 0ur correspondent kathryn stanczyszyn spent the day in salisbury. it is a busy saturday here in salisbury. busier than the last couple of weekends, partly down to the free

parking that the council announced to try and get people back into salisbury. they said that businesses and shops have been suffering because people have been staying away. there is still a police cordon in place at the park were sergei skripal and yulia were found unconscious on sunday the 11th of march. one week later public health england issued advice to anyone who had been in the zizzi restaurant or at the the mill pub from the sunday afternoon until the monday evening at closing time, saying that anyone who had been in those locations needed to wash their clothes as a precaution because prolonged or repeated exposure to any of the nerve agent used could be dangerous to health. they said it was precautionary but they were advising people to wash their possessions and clothes unless they were dry clean only or something that could not be washed, they were saying bag them up, put them in plastic twice

and keep them safe. the latest advice yesterday from public health england was talking about possessions but said if you have got those dry clean only or other things you cannot wash, contact wiltshire council who will arrange to come and pick those possessions up, to be destroyed. they have not confirmed that but that is very likely to be what they mean because they are talking about compensation, that you will be paid for those items. people in salisbury have told me they are concerned that this advice came out after that initial ad vice because if that was the case, came out after that initial advice because if that was the case, why not tell people then? generally most people going about their business as normal today and saying they are just trying to carry on life here. drivers are being dazzled by the headlights on new cars, according to an rac survey. two thirds of motorists said they were caught by the glare

of headlamps ‘regularly‘ and 15 percent claimed they had nearly crashed because the lights of oncoming cars were too bright. all headlamps on uk cars must conform to eu guidelines. rod dennis is from the rac and joins us now from our bristol studio. tell us more. this was in a direct response to what our members and drivers are telling us and that is that a lot of car headlights are simply appearing too bright. we went out to a wide range of motorists around the country and the figures we are getting back, they suggest that there is perhaps an issue and are understanding is because of the different types of light bulbs that are use, this is leading to a lot of them appearing brighter. these days we use a lot more leds, fantastic if you are a driver, a better view of the road, more energy efficient and cheaper and last longer. as a driver

and asa cheaper and last longer. as a driver and as a vehicle manufacturer, fantastic, but if you are on the receiving end, in another vehicle, end, in anothervehicle, it end, in another vehicle, it can be a hazard, potentially and get in the way of you driving safely. the majority of those affected say it ta kes majority of those affected say it takes them up to five seconds before they can see clearly again and a vehicle travelling at 60 mph will travel 134 metres. that is a long time. exactly. this is down to what leds do, they scattered the light across the back of the eye and that means that while you can zoom in on the led, it means looking at anything else difficult. if you looked directly at an led on the front of yourfridge looked directly at an led on the front of your fridge or your microwave or cooker, then look away, you have that imprint on your eye and that is happening again and again when conditions are dark and drivers are driving at night. it is something that needs to be looked at and thankfully we have spoken to the government and it looks like the

issueis government and it looks like the issue is beginning to be taken seriously. it seems a bit slow to only be taken seriously now, this is across the eu and all of this car safety equipment has to go through an immense amount of testing, why has this been allowed to happen in the first place? everyone is different. different people do receive this type of light differently. 0ur receive this type of light differently. our research shows that across the age groups, people are concerned. manufacturers are in tune to this. they put in place technology which is designed to allow leds to dip clearly so you are not affected if you are an oncoming driver. the issue comes from a range of factors, many of us are driving cars

that set much higher on the road meaning the direction of the headlight will be different if you're ina headlight will be different if you're in a hatchback that sits lower. also the condition of our roads, potholes and bad conditions on the road, all those things can affect that technology and if you're u nfortu nate affect that technology and if you're unfortunate enough, it can lead to the leds going into the back of the eye and cause these problems. it is being looked at and is being taken seriously. there will be years before we see any difference because any changes need to be agreed and approved internationally and at eu level. it is something that is being taken seriously level. it is something that is being ta ken seriously and level. it is something that is being taken seriously and that is hopefully cause for hope for drivers who are concerned. what should those drivers do in the meantime in the yea rs drivers do in the meantime in the years they have to wait? it is difficult. all you can really do is make sure you avert your gaze from led lights but it is difficult. the best advice we can give and any optometrist would give is around using uv coating, if you where glasses... which is very expensive. not necessarily. it is a small add—on for most normal pairs of glasses and it cuts down on a huge amount of blair from modern—day

headlights. it will not work for people who do not wear glasses at all. you can get glasses that have no prescription bills into them that can still have that coating. if you are concerned and it comes down to safety a nd are concerned and it comes down to safety and how safe and confident you feel on the road, it is something you should speak to an optician about. we appreciate the advice. thank you so much. a rescue operation to try and save a large group of whales, who became stranded on a beach in western australia, has come to an end. all but five of the 150 short—finned pilot whales have died, despite the efforts of conservation officers at hamelin bay. it came nine years — to the day — after the last mass stranding at the same spot. phil mercer in sydney has the story. four hours, dozens of volunteers supported by vets and wildlife officials tried to save survivors from a stranded pod of short finned pilot whales. about 150 were found at hamelin bay in western australia. most were dead by the time help arrived.

but rescuers using heavy machinery did manage to return six animals into the water. for us, the biggest concern is them being out of the water and sunburnt, so we've got them covered, and we're trying to keep them as moist as we can. 0ne didn't survive, and there is a risk the others could return to dry land. it's not the first time there's been a mass beaching in this part of the western australian coast. but scientists don't know why some whales appear to be drawn as if by a magnet to the shore. researchers have called hamelin bay a whale trap. they believe the shallow waters and coastline can interfere with the bio acoustic sonar these graceful mammals use to navigate safely. there is a theory that intense wind and waves generated by cyclone marcus that's been battering parts of northern australia could have disrupted the whales' sensitive guidance system. the dna samples are being taken from the dead mammals to try to understand why so many

ended up on the beach. work to remove their bodies is continuing. a shark alert has also been issued by fisheries authorities in western australia, because of fears the whale carcasses may attract ocean predators. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. but the sad as well. let us see if matt can cheer us up with the weather. i will try my best. there are some good news for tomorrow. england and wales, you have got sunshine after a grey day today. across scotland and northern ireland, you have the lion's share of the spring fun, blue skies in the borders but a familiar grey sky across the peak district was repeated for many and for some, al brea ks repeated for many and for some, al breaks of rain and drizzle. it all links into this cloud in the bay of

biscay. this is storm you go fishing into spain and france overnight. that has thrown cloud across england and wales. it is shifting, it will move south and east overnight, confined to east anglia and the channel islands by the morning meaning clearer skies elsewhere and one or two showers in scotland and northern ireland but any length of the sky at this time of year, temperatures will drop and there could be a frost for many. the exception across east anglia and the south—east and the channel islands we re south—east and the channel islands were it will start sunday grey and a bit damp, but even here, skies will brighten up to the morning, just about all will have sunshine through the afternoon, a lovely afternoon in england and wales, just an isolated shower here and there in the north. in the north of scotland, once the sun is on your back, it will feel pleasant. 13 or 14 degrees. clear skies into sunday night, one or two showers, the frost will be back and a bit more widely through sunday night into monday, temperatures

dropping further as well. a chilly start for the new working week, a bit of frost around, al is a bit of ice, showers through the night as well. the week ahead, monday will see some milder air pushed back in and then it is a battle through the week, depending on whether the atla ntic week, depending on whether the atlantic air winds out. monday sta rts atlantic air winds out. monday starts dry and bright and frosty with sunshine around but the atla ntic with sunshine around but the atlantic air winds over on monday, clouds ballooning, outbreaks of rain, strengthening wind, but temperatures to lift it up into double figures across many parts of the country. that might have been and will continue through monday night into tuesday as this low pressure spreads across, rain for england and wales into tuesday and then as it moves south, the dividing line between something holder with some snow over the hills pushing back, something milder in the south. a little bit of irony that winter could be back for some of you when

summertime stars tonight, the clocks go forward, and our in bed. not all good news. hundreds of thousands of people join survivors of the florida school shooting at rallies across america to call for stricter gun controls. ina in a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us, 15 we re our friends were taken from us, 15 were injured, and everyone, absolutely everyone in the community we re absolutely everyone in the community were forever altered. the french policeman who died after swapping places with hostages during yesterday's terror attack is praised for his actions. president macron says he deserves "the respect and admiration of the whole nation". 0wen smith says he was standing by his principles