hello and welcome to bbc news. hundreds of thousands of people have rallied in cities across the united states to demand stricter gun laws. the march for our lives was led by survivors of the mass shooting at a florida school last month. our north america editorjon sopel reports from washington. # run, run, run.# this wasn't some run—of—the—mill saturday morning protest by a bunch of disaffected kids. this was way, way bigger than that. far more significant. what do you hope today will achieve? i hope that congress will actually do something about gun laws. stop ignoring us! we should not have guns in schools. like, donald trump is wrong for even trying to give teachers guns at all. and it wasn'tjust in washington. protests took place across the country, bringing the so—called apathetic don't—care generation onto the streets in unprecedented numbers. these children, tomorrow's voters, are determined that this should not be a one—off protest but in the national rifle association,

they have an implacable opponent. it really is the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. # it ain't about how fast i get there. ..# the rally had performances by the likes of miley cyrus and ariana grande. # know that we're going to be alright.# but the headliners were the young people. there was martin luther king's 9—year—old granddaughter, who had a vision of her own. i have a dream that enough is enough. cheering. and that it should be a gun—free world — period. and then, of course, there were the survivors from the marjory stoneman douglas school in florida. we will come together. we will get rid of these public servants that only serve the gun lobby. and we will save lives! we need to arm our teachers. we need to arm them with pencils,

pens, paper and the money they need. they need that money! and finally, silence. alarm bleeps. since the time that i came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds. the shooter has ceased shooting and will soon abandon his rifle, blend in with the students as they escape, and walk free for an hour before arrest. fight for your lives, before it's someone else‘s job. cheering. jennifer hudson brought the rally to an end, singing the times they are a changin, and they may well be. after what these young people have been through,

they're not intimidated by the nra, nor cowed by politicians. it won't be easy to change america's gun laws but, for the first time in a very long time, it no longer seems impossible. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. australia's cricket team is in turmoil after one of their players, cameron bancroft, admitted tampering with the ball, using an object taken from his pocket to shine the ball in the third test against south africa. this is what he had to say. look, we had a discussion during the break and yeah, on myself, i saw an opportunity to potentially use some tape, get some you know granules from the rough patches on the wicket and try to i guess change the bull condition. it didn't work. the

umpires didn't obviously change the ball but i guess once i was cited on the screens in having done that, i panicked quite a lot and that obviously resulted in me shutting it down my trousers. the chief executive of cricket australia, james sutherland, has said the ball—tampering incident was extremely disappointing but he added that all of the evidence had to be gathered before decisions were taken about whether the team captain should keep hisjob. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news: three more rebel—held towns are being evacuated in the syrian region of eastern ghouta, leaving only one major settlement there in rebel hands. the local rebel leadership has agreed a deal with the government for the evacuees to be taken to opposition—held territory in idlib province. tributes have been paid to a french police officer who died after being shot by a hostage—taker in a supermarket siege. lieutena nt—colonel arnaud beltrame rushed to the scene in the town of trebes in southern france. the gendarme helped end a terror attack that saw three people killed. the regional parliament

in catalonia has abandoned plans to appoint a new leader after the separatist politician chosen for the job was jailed on the orders of a spanish judge. jordi turull was detained along with four other catalan separatists, in connection with the campaign for independence from spain. speakers have been chosen for both houses of parliament in italy — a development which opens the way for talks to start on forming a new government. the general election earlier this month resulted in a hung parliament. the two biggest parties worked together to come up with candidates to fill the posts. a huge soviet—era television tower in the russian city of yekaterinburg has been demolished in preparation for the football world cup injune. the building was once destined to be the second—tallest in russia but construction was halted when the soviet union fell, by which point the tower had reached two thirds of its intended 360m height. several people fell to their deaths from it before the local governor

decided it was time to bring it down. let's get more on that australian cricket team ball—tampering incident now from our correspondent phil mercer in sydney. the cricket australia chief executive has spoken. can you tell us executive has spoken. can you tell us what he had to say? yes, this was james sutherland speaking in the last hour or so in the southern city of melbourne, saying that it was a very sad day for australian cricket and how shocked and disappointed he was and he was telling journalists in melbourne that there would be no knee—jerk reaction to the ball tempering scandal in south africa. james sutherland saying that two senior that given the reaction here in

australia has been so furious to this scandal that cricket australia, you would have to imagine, would have to act very swiftly when it is in possession of all of those facts. this is an extremely embarrassing incident for australia and as you say there has been a lot of anger there. our people disappointed that cricket australia has not had even more swiftly to suspend the players involved? the more swiftly to suspend the players involved ? the play more swiftly to suspend the players involved? the play is that they at least know were involved? that is the sense we got from the press conference involving james sutherland in melbourne. he was acutely aware that he knew that the

journalist wanted him to give him something concrete about what he was going to do and he probably knew that, saying that there would be an investigation might not sound that he was acting tough enough but from his perspective, you can see that he wa nts to his perspective, you can see that he wants to cover all the facts, he knew about this and who was ultimately responsible for taking any action, and it does seem, given the clamourfor any action, and it does seem, given the clamour for steve smith, the captain, to resign, that his position is under great peril, given that he said that he knew about this plan to tap with the ball in advance and in the press conference he gave at the end of the play at cape town he said he was embarrassed and very sorry and quite soon, he will have to a nswer sorry and quite soon, he will have to answer those questions from cricket australia's investigators as well. do we get any sense of what the australian team might have been thinking to engage in this sort of behaviour and perhaps whether they

have done it before. well, i think richard fans in the country, and you have to remember that cricket is australia's national sport, there will be many fans and many other people in the country who will be asking just one simple under research in question does notjust what were they thinking, given that during the test match at cape town, there would be 30 odd tv cameras, other photographers with long lenses and other fans with sophisticated cameras too. what were they thinking? that must be what cricket fa ns thinking? that must be what cricket fans in the country are thinking and if you, as you say, it extends those thoughts to what might have happened in other parts, in other matches in other innings, did they do it before? is this the very first time? so this scandal raises many questions. but what does also do, it tarnishes the reputation of cricket in the country. australia lost to play its cricket in an aggressive

hit fairway. but clearly, this is an incident which is taking it over the line, much to the disapproval of many, line, much to the disapproval of any line, much to the disapproval of many, many people. thank you, phil. president macron of france says a police officer who died saving the lives of hostages in a supermarket siege showed "exceptional courage" and died a hero. tributes have been paid around the world to lieutenant—colonel arnaud beltrame, who was shot by an islamist gunman on friday in the south of france. three other people were also killed and 16 injured. lucy williamson reports. this attack has become not the story of a gunman 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 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. by by the morning after the attack, the supermarket, site of so much drama, was chilled and in the crime scene. its car park still littered with the debris of a terrified and desperate flight. inside this building friday, 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. in other news, two policemen have been killed by a car bomb in egypt's second city of alexandria. at least five others were injured in the attack, which authorities say was an assassination attempt on the local security chief. it happened two days ahead of presidential elections. lebo diseko has more. the horrifying moments after a bomb

went off on the streets of alexandria. the apparent target, the city's security chief. a home—made device exploded as his convoy passed by. he survived at least two of his police guards did not. several people were injured. 0fficials police guards did not. several people were injured. officials say this was a terrorist bombing. translation: i saw the explosion and the blood of the people. how can anyone accept this? translation: i felt and heard an earthquake and sawdust. i heard shouting and the glass was shattered. i went to look andi glass was shattered. i went to look and i saw cars on fire after the explosion. of course, all the glass in the building was shattered. now the authorities will try to piece together what happened and an urgent enquiry has been ordered. no one has yet said they carried out the attack

but state media is blaming the banned muslim brotherhood. the timing of this explosion is significant. less than two days before a presidential election. a vote that the so—called islamic state had warned egyptians not to ta ke state had warned egyptians not to take part in. and so, questions are being asked about how this could have happened and whether the security forces can stop all seems like this is people go to the polls. —— more scenes. homelessness is a global issue with many people who live on the streets suffering from health problems. but how should hospitals treat homeless people? they are admitted for emergency treatment many more times than the average patient and stay on average twice as long. but often, they are simply discharged back on to the streets. 0ne charity wants to change that. it started in london and is expanding across the uk. dougal shaw reports. meet gary spall. he slept rough in london for more than a decade. in that time, he had multiple acute health problems. he was in and out of this central london hospital.

typically, he was discharged back onto the streets. this spot is where i used to bed down. it's horrible. in winter, even worse. how did you feel when you made the five—minute walk out of hospital back to this? it's not a great place to recuperate. nah, really depressed. but thanks to the pathway charity, the nhs became a way to save gary. they made contact with him during a stay in hospital and used it as a chance to turn his life around. now he has a home and a beloved pet dog, lola. the charity helps 3,000 homeless people each year, operating in 11 hospitals across the uk, like this one in east london. it assembles a dedicated team to help the homeless. this includes a gp, a nurse, an occupational therapist and crucially, a care navigator. he's trusted by homeless patients because of his background. sometimes we'll get a patient who says to me "you don't know what it's like to be on the streets and be homeless," and i can turn round and say "i do

understand what that feels like. i've been through the system. i have been homeless." gavin has to first locate homeless people who have been admitted to hospital. this is the charity's chance to stage an intervention to turn lives around. the pathway team addresses underlying health issues but they also sort out immediate problems like getting fresh clothes and help to find housing after leaving hospital. the team hosts a weekly meeting where representatives from housing associations, local hostels and the police can share knowledge to sort out individual cases. this might seem like a lot of work in a stretched health system but the medical director of the pathway charity says this approach makes sense for hospitals. we can reduce the amount of time people spend in hospital and the need for them to come back to hospital again. so the net result is reducing the stress on the nhs. if not for pathway, i don't think i would be here now, alive, and everything is going good now. dougal shaw, bbc news. 0ur

our top stories on bbc news. hundreds of thousands of young americans have joined rallies across the country to call for stricter gun controls. the australian cricket authorities have launched an urgent investigation after the captain of the national team admitted that his side deliberately tampered with the ball during a test match. stay in with that story. 0n the line is andrew mccormack, a sports reporter in melbourne for seven news. andrew cotter thank you forjoining us. andrew cotter thank you forjoining us. we have heard from the chief executive of cricket australia in the last hour or so, but he has not announced any action against the tea m announced any action against the team members so far. is that surprising? well, yes and no, to a certain extent. thank you for having me. ican certain extent. thank you for having me. i can tell you what, everybody

toa man me. i can tell you what, everybody to a man in australia has woken up absolutely outraged by what they have seen in south africa overnight. we are baying for blood this morning, most of the general public wa nts morning, most of the general public wants something to be done, and swift action to be taken by a cricket australia. —— by cricket australia. but they have given a stay of execution to steve smith. with two days left of the test match it looks like he will walk onto the pitch in cape town tonight, day four of the test against south africa, still as australian captain. that is despite admitting what is cheating. there is no bones about it. ball tampering is cheating. it was deliberate, it was premeditated, it was calculated, and it was notjust steve smith anne cameron ancroft, who was caught on footage using a piece of tape to add adhesive to the rough side of the ball, which get

some reverse swing, which the aussies have been very effective out throughout this test. it has been moderately major factors in their victories, not only here in south africa but also at home in the ashes. i think a lot of the australian public are really baying for blood and calling this steve smith's had, but that hasn't happened and will not happen for at least a couple of days yet. for those people watching internationally, this is a relatively out of character for the australian team. but are their questions inside australia being asked about the culture of cricket and of the team in that country? —— there questions. absolutely. the culture of the australian cricket team, for this not only to be spoken about in the dressing room, that an idea like this would come about between the senior members of the team, the fact they were actually go and enact this plan, in front of 20 oi’ and enact this plan, in front of 20 or 30 cameras at a game, and not

only that, but get one of the youngest members of the team, cameron bancroft, who has only played a handful of tests, is up for speculation, to get a younger member of the team who is obviously impressionable to commit the act, so to speak, and because red—handed, it really does speak towards the culture among the senior players of the team and not only that but the coaching staff as well. steve smith said the leadership group was behind this plot, or this ploy, which they spoke about over a lunch break and then enacted in the session afterwards. it would be very surprising if the coaching group we re surprising if the coaching group were not aware of what was going on out on the field. it is very rare for the coach not to know everything thatis for the coach not to know everything that is going on on the field. so this really does speak volumes about the toxic culture around the group, and many are calling for a complete clea n and many are calling for a complete clean out of the senior players and coaching staff around this team, and

just to bring in a fresh new cap ten, coach and hierarchy. —— captain. to completely start afresh. andrew maccormack, a sports reporter in melbourne for seven news, thank you very much for that update on that story about ball tampering by the australian cricket team. cambridge has beaten 0xford in commanding manner to win the 164th university men's boat race in gloomy conditions on the river thames. earlier, cambridge also won the women's race in emphatic fashion, beating their rivals by seven lengths in just over 19 minutes. john watson was riverside for both. the traditional jewel the traditionaljewel on the thames. —— duel. under overcast skies a battle for clea rwater. cambridge, starting on the south side, had the pick of it. calm waters and calm heads, building a lead they would never relent wish. cambridge appear to be entering a period of

dominance. four members of this crew powered cambridge to a course record last year, their return ushering in an era of light blue dominance with back to back wins for the first time ini9 back to back wins for the first time in 19 years. after defeat to oxford last year, could the cambridge crew in the men's race matched that performance? they started as strongly, and with a lead comes an advantage of plotting the best course. the men's crew demonstrating power and control as they seized the lead. with the tallest man to compete in the boat race, cambridge's gym lesson at 6—foot ten, the leaders to keep you there. an emphatic victory. today this stretch of the thames belonged entirely to cambridge. the winner of the first ever eurovision song contest, lys assia, has died in zurich at the age of 94. she won for switzerland in 1956 with a song called refrain. she tried to return as a contestent when she was in her late eighties,

in 2012 and 2013. eurovision has offered its deepest condolences, paying tribute to her lasting commitment to the song contest. famous landmarks in cities across the world have been plunged into darkness to demonstrate a commitment to tackling climate change. more than 185 countries have been taking part in the 10th anniversary of earth hour. this year's theme, let nature shine, focuses on how climate change damages the world around us. georgina smyth reports. down under in darkness. sydney switches off for earth hour, kicking

off the event it launched 11 years ago. earth hour is such a great australian initiative. it helps us understand the amount of power we use every day and i'm really proud of it because it comes from australia and it helps the rest of the world understand how much power we use every day. the initiative wa nts to we use every day. the initiative wants to a galaxy far, far away in the philippines, with star wars fans utilising lifesavers to light the night. —— light sabres. utilising lifesavers to light the night. —— light sabreslj utilising lifesavers to light the night. -- light sabres. i believe that earth hour is an event where we can conserve electricity and i think thejedi can conserve electricity and i think the jedi themselves can conserve electricity and i think thejedi themselves would be big fa ns thejedi themselves would be big fans of the event because it spreads a good message and that is what the jedi are all about, spreading goodwill. singapore's cbd disappeared at the earth hour time of 8:30pm, the iconic lotus shaped art science museum dissolving against the cityscape. as the sunset asia cities unplugged in taiwan and hong kong. and the message was not

lost 6000 kilometres away into buyer. this year's theme of let nature shine inspiring participants to use candlelight over electric night, evenjust to use candlelight over electric night, even just for one hour. to use candlelight over electric night, evenjust for one hour. the world's largest grassroots movement also made its mark on ancient greece and in the city of love. the eiffel tower went dark from top to bottom. russia's red square went like to. —— black too. in london, iconic spots like buckingham palace, tower bridge and piccadilly circus powered down ina and piccadilly circus powered down in a gesture to the environmental hour. lights off a 60 minutes is unlikely to save the world, what organisers say it is individuals and their collective actions which can have an impact on the fate of the planet. —— but organisers say. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter, i'm at bbc reged ahmad let's get the weather now.

good morning. i hate to say it. i don't think winter is ready yet to slink off into the sunset. with the clock change overnight we're into british summertime, which means some lighter evenings are with us. you will want the sunshine today to enjoy it. plenty of that on saturday across the northern half of the country. a great afternoon. more of us will see skies like that through the day. that is this area of low pressure. storm hugo pushes through spain and southern france, dragging this weather front with it. that is what brought the cloud to england and wales. patchy rain and drizzle. clearer skies following in the wake. the chance of frost around into sunday morning. ice across scotland where we have showers through the night. frost free parts of east anglia, the south—east, and the channel islands. this is where the weather front lingers. bit of a grey start. some drizzle. that will clear. that will break up.

sunny spells coming through. england and wales a better day compared with yesterday. lighter winds. pleasant in the sunshine. isolated showers cannot be ruled out in the north or northern ireland. more especially for the northern half of scotland. with some sunshine in between it should feel quite pleasant once again. a fine sunday on the way. as we go into the evening, sunset around 7:30pm. the nights are still long enough for the temperatures to drop. blue more widely on the chart to take us into monday morning. a much more widespread frost to start the day on monday. away from the towns and city centres. after a frosty start things will turn mild. then a battle begins over the days ahead. we will see atlantic air try to push its way in. these across milder conditions. mainly across southern areas. from the north and north—east

colder scandinavian air will make its way back. on monday, the mild air will win out. after the frosty start, sunshine for scotland, england, wales. dating from the west through the day. sunshine turning hazy. temperatures at lifting up after that frosty start. still in double figures for many. the rain precedes this area of low pressure which will push through overnight into tuesday. this is bbc news. the headlines: hundreds of thousands of people have rallied in cities across the us to demand stricter gun laws. the march for our lives was led by survivors of the mass shooting at a school in florida last month which killed 17 people.