this is bbc news. the headlines at 23:00: the uk government grants a special status to nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the british citizen being held in prison in iran accused of spying. an emotional appeal from stab victim jodie chesney‘s father to help the police find those reponsible for her death. she was the nicest person. everything about her was about being kind and good and thoughtful. the northern ireland secretary says she's "profoundly sorry" for saying deaths caused by the security services in the troubles were "not crimes". canada's prime minister rejects allegations his government has abused its power. but two ministers resign over claims of political pressure.

and at 11:30 we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers rachel cunliffe, comment & features editor at cityam, and stephen bush, political editor of the new statesman. stay with us for that. good evening. welcome to bbc news. in the last half hour we've heard that the uk government is granting a special status to nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, the british citizen being held in prison in iran accused of spying. the aid worker recently went on hunger strike to protest against her treatment and denies any wrong doing. our diplomatic correspondent james landale has the latest details. it is extremely rare for the british

government to grant diplomatic protection to any of its citizens. no—one at the foreign office can remember it happening before. the way nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe being treated by or on has not met international standards and has not been given due process in the law courts or given medical treatment. the government has decided it should give full protection to nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe. this means it is now a formal legal dispute between the british government and the iranian government. in practical terms, this does not mean or an is now forced to treat in a better in jalan tehran where she is being held since 2016 but it does mean the british government can raise the case more easily in international forums like the united nations because it is not a con schuler

issue but a formal dispute between two nations. ——, council. in theory it could sue the iranian regime will compensation but officials do not wa nt to compensation but officials do not want to get bogged down in international courts but they want to put mores the pressure on iran's to put mores the pressure on iran's to save the way they have been treating is not acceptable, that they have to release is seen, that they have to release is seen, that theissueis they have to release is seen, that the issue is not going away and the british government is not giving up. the question now is how the iranians respond. will they respond positively or doubled down. will it make things better or worst? the father ofjodie chesney, the teenager who was stabbed to death in east london last week, has been paying tribute to his daughter, and made an appeal for help in finding

those responsible for her murder. in his first interview, peter chesney said anyone with information should "do the right thing". a 20—year—old man arrested in leicester on tuesday, on suspicion ofjodie‘s murder, remains in custody. here's our home affairs correspondent, june kelly: on friday morning, jodie chesney wished herfather a happy birthday before he went to work. on friday evening, peter chesney was told that his daughter was dead. today, withjodie‘s sister lucy next to him and her stepmum, joanne, the family spoke about all they've lost. the nicest person any of us know, or knew. everything about her was about being kind and good and thoughtful about others. even if she didn't want to do it, she'd do it for you. it's just... there's no way you could do this to a nicer person. jodie was in the scouts and studying for her a—levels. she was a conscientious student. i'd ask her to skip classes

so she could do my hair for work, and she'd be like, "no, i can't, i can't, i have to go." she was with friends in a park in romford when she was stabbed in the back by a killer who said nothing. she screamed for about a minute and then fell down, but then i think the shock kicked in, so then she was just moaning and groaning for the next half—an—hour or so. the ferocity of the attack, how violent it was, it was a long knife. today, scotland yard said they believe up to four people are possibly involved and they can definitely say that one is white and one is black. just please, somebody who knows about this, just do the right thing. just get this guy who did it, get some justice forjodie. peter chesney believes there should be mandatoryjail terms for people caught carrying knives. he and his family are now facing life withoutjodie. how will i rememberjodie?

fun, honest. true, pure, pure soul. just an honest, good person. she was enjoying life so much. she was so happy that day. that was the best day of her life, that day. the day she died was the best day of her life. jodie chesney‘s father ending that report. there have been two more deaths following knife attacks in london. a man died from injuries after being stabbed on sunday, and a teenager lost his life after an attack in fulham in west london this afternoon. our home affairs correspondent june kelly, is at the scene and sent this update. last week it was jodie chesney abbas family who received the worst news. ——jodie family who received the worst news. —— jodie chesney‘s. now the latest victim of knife crime. it was the killing ofjodie and the one in chester that led to a refrain that

something must be done. meetings involving the home secretary and police chiefs, calls for more resources for police and greater co—operation across departments in focusing on this issue but any new measures will take time to work three. in the here and now, police say they cannot arrest their way out of this. the challenge by anybody with any influence is how to you stop a young person from picking up a knife in the same way that they pick up their mobile phone and how to you convinced that young person that their life and their future would be better without a knife. british officials and representatives from the eu are preparing to work through the weekend, to try to break the deadlock over brexit. the eu has given theresa may until tomorrow, to come up with fresh proposals on the controversial northern ireland backstop, the mechanism designed to prevent a hard border on the island of ireland. ministers are pressing for concessions from the european union, before a crucial vote on the prime minister's brexit

deal next tuesday. here's our political editor laura kuenssberg. the bells will ring... mps will be called to vote on tuesday. walking through this lobby to back the prime minister, or the other, to reject her brexit deal again. and how many go each way depends on what he says. we have been engaging, mr speaker, in focused, detailed and careful discussions with the union. the attorney general geoffrey cox is pushing for extralegal promises from the eu on the most controversial part of the deal. we continue to see legally binding changes to the backstop which ensure that it cannot be indefinite. and it's not a laughing matter. it's come to be called "cox's codpiece". what i am concerned to ensure is that what's inside the codpiece is in full working order!

the argument‘s intense. but between the uk and the eu, over — you guessed it — the backstop, the guarantee against a hard border in ireland whatever happens. westminster wants a time limit or a way out. not much sign of that. this issue has been discussed for months between the european union and the united kingdom. now it cannot be reopened. if the idea is to weaken the backstop at a point to which it's not a backstop, it is not a last resort solution, we cannot say yes. without any change to the backstop, don't expect much change to the numbers in here. remember in january, the prime minister's brexit compromise was thumpingly rejected by mps. but there are likely to be some tweaks which will make some difference, but ministers can't be sure of how much. but whether in brussels or westminster,

several cabinet members have admitted privately the vote‘s likely to be lost. this minister says wait and see. reporter: are you going to lose the brexit vote next week? we are in negotiations, so we'll see how it goes. how are they going? tough going? lovely to meet you. we'll see how it goes, thank you. and as the day we're meant to leave gets closer with no deal in place, so calls for delay grow louder. parliament has proved itself incapable of resolving this problem. the country is totally divided as a result of nobody being able to support any of the options, and i'm joining a group of people who, in the next few days, will be calling for an extension of the negotiating period. if the prime minister's deal is booted out again next week, it's likely mps will vote to make that delay come true. but with divisions and dilemmas all around, time alone might not be the answer. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. the secretary of state for northern ireland, karen bradley, has apologised for saying yesterday that deaths

caused by the security services during the troubles were "not crimes". she says she's "profoundly sorry" for any hurt caused. it comes a week ahead of an announcement on whether british army veterans are to be prosecuted, for their role in the bloody sunday shootings, when 1a civilians were killed. here's our ireland correspondent, emma va rdy. more than 3,000 people lost their lives during northern ireland's 30—year conflict, many at the hands of republican and loyalist pa ramilitaries. but around 350 killings, some of unarmed civilians, were attributed to police or the british army. their deaths are still being investigated today. a commons question about killings during the troubles prompted this answer. the fewer than 10% that were at the hands of the military and the police were not crimes. they were people acting under orders and under instruction, and fulfilling their duties

in a dignified and appropriate way. she later clarified her comments, but faced a barrage of criticism. you've got to be very careful when you're making statements on such a sensitive series of subjects as the killings during the troubles. you've got to get it right, and she didn't get it right. after calls for her to resign, today, karen bradley said sorry. i did not mean to say it in that way. or at all. i did not mean to say... it's not what i think, it's not what i mean. so i said something wrong and i apologised. so i said something wrong and i have apologised. her comments could hardly have come at a more delicate time. next week, british army veterans will be told whether they will face prosecution for the deaths of 13 civilians on bloody sunday. for families of victims and some politicians in northern ireland, her apology is not enough. she says that the man

who shot my daddy 1a times done that in a dignified and appropriate way. and for somebody to say that, she needs to resign. she needs to resign. this is not the first time karen bradley has slipped up over the complexities of northern ireland. she still has the backing of theresa may, but gaining the confidence of people here — a place still healing its own divisions — will be a much harder task. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. meanwhile the work and pensions secretary amber rudd, has also had to apologise, after referring to labour's diane abbot as "coloured," in a bbc radio 2 phone—in. our political correspondent ben wright is at westminster and gave us this update. the on line abuse faced by black minority women was particularly nasty and had to stop. she was sticking up for diana and being supportive but at one point she

described her as a coloured woman. it is definitely worse if you are a woman and were support if you are coloured woman. diana gets a huge amount of abuse and that is something that needs to be continued to call out the cold out. it was a revealing choice of words that was outdated and offensive, was the message on twitter. it was such an old—fashioned racial term message on twitter. it was such an old —fashioned racial term that really just today and emma old —fashioned racial term that reallyjust today and emma rudd apologised very quickly saying she was mortified by her clumsy language and said sorry to diana abbot. she will not want to have stumbled into this dispute around race and language. the fashion retailer l k bennett, has gone into administration, putting 500 jobs at risk. the high end brand worn

by celebrities, including the duchess of cambridge, has 39 stores, five of which will close immediately. administrators say they're continuing to look for a buyer. the equalities and human rights commission has said it is considering launching a formal investigation into anti—semitism in the labour party. it says labour may have acted unlawfully. the party has now been given a chance to respond and says it will fully co—operate, rejecting any suggestion, it's broken the law. the headlines on bbc news: the uk government grants a ‘special status‘ to nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe — the british citizen being held in prison in iran accused of spying. an emotional appeal from stab victim — jodie chesney‘s father — to help the police find those reponsible for her death the northern ireland secretary says she's "profoundly sorry" for saying deaths caused by the security services in the troubles were "not crimes". the former foster carers

of an iraqi teenager, who left a bomb on a tube train in 2017 injuring more than 50 people, are suing surrey county council. they say officials were negligent in failing to tell them that ahmed hassan had been trained to kill by the islamic state group. he'd built the bomb in secret, while in the care of ron and pennyjones, who've been speaking to our legal correspondent clive coleman. horror on the tube. the partially detonated bomb sends a fireball down the carriage, burning morning commuters who stampede to escape. the bomber is ahmed hassan, an iraqi asylum seeker who, unbeknown to his foster parents, ron and pennyjones, had confessed to immigration officials he'd been trained to kill by the islamic state group. 18 months later, the couple finally feel able to come to parsons green, where the attack took place. ijust keep thinking about the ladies that were burnt

and the men that were burnt, and the people that got the crush injuries. i mean, 51 people, 51 counts of attempted murder. "to penny, from ahmed, happy birthday to a wonderful person." surrey county council, who placed hassan with thejoneses, didn't tell them he'd confessed to being trained to kill. the couple only found out via the judge at hassan‘s trial. surrey has stopped them fostering. now they're taking unprecedented legal action, suing the council for negligence. they didn't tell us the truth. they should have been honest with us to start with. the fact that we have lost our income, we have lost everything, we have lost our will to get up, basically, in the morning, because our life has revolved around children for over a0 years and our life is empty. surrey county council, shame on you! a group of foster carers and supporters have gathered here, outside surrey county council, to demonstrate with penny and ron, and to ask the local authority why

a couple who gave a stable home to nearly 270 children have had their foster caring career ended because they were asked to take in a young man who they weren't told was a trained killer. the demonstrators believe this case makes a broader point about the way foster carers are treated. something they wanted to communicate directly to the council. penny, what just happened? he just told me to get out. itjust shows that i am definitely on the scrapheap. in a statement, the council said... hassan was convicted and sentenced to life, thejudge branding him devious. but penny and ron — an ordinary couple —

continue to try to come to terms with extraordinary events. do you think you'll ever get over this? no, no. i think it will keep coming back. i think we will think we've got past it, and then all of a sudden, something will come back to remind us. clive coleman, bbc news. the war in syria, which has so far claimed an astonishing half a million lives, is eight years old this month. president bashar al—assad has presided over the conflict, which has displaced more people than any other crisis in modern times, more than 11 million people. among the victims are the innocent children who've grown up knowing only war, and we've been following two of them, who are now as old, as the conflict itself. caroline hawley, has been back to meet them. my name is mustafa. the eight—year—old and his little sister survived a barrel bomb. it destroyed their family home near aleppo, leaving only their grandmother to look after them. safe in the cupboard is mustafa's most precious possession.

it's all he has left of his father, ibrahim, who died saving him. his mother was also killed, but he doesn't even have a photo to remember her. mustafa was so badly injured he spent a whole year in hospital. twice a week he still comes for physiotherapy. he is a strong boy. he's very strong. his left hand doesn't move properly because of a piece of shrapnel in his brain. his hips were badly broken and one leg is now longer than the other. mustafa needs help to dress and wash.

the challenges mustafa faces are no less daunting than when we first met him, when he was five, but he's no less determined. the syrian war has created many mustafas, children whose injuries and loss will stay with them for the rest of their lives. millions of syrian children can now only remember living as refugees, many in makeshift camps with no homes to return to. this girl, who was born when the conflict began, is also eight. since we first met her, life hasn't got any easier.

she's often sick. she needs her tonsils out but her family can't afford the operation. her father can't work because his leg was shattered by a sniper‘s bullet. it crushes him to see her suffer and not be able to help. back in jordan, mustafa is saying his evening prayers. it's only recently that mustafa has stopped screaming in his sleep,

but his grandmother still can't rest. she lies awake, she says. terrified of what will happen to him when she is gone. caroline hawley, bbc news, amman. canada's prime minister, justin trudeau, has defended his handling of a growing controversy that's already led to two ministerial resignations. he's denied one of his key aides tried to put inappropriate pressure on the thenjustice minister jody wilson—raybould, not to pursue charges against a leading engineering firm, that's accused of corruption. but she maintains she was pressured. nada tawfik reports from ottawa. he's the golden boy of progressive politics, who outshines other leaders on the international stage. justin trudeau came into power promising to be different — honest, transparent and inclusive. but now he's facing allegations that his office improperly pressured the former attorney general to shield the engineering firm

snc—lavalin from a corruption trial. in a press conference — meant to put the controversy to rest — trudeau defended his government's actions, but admitted mistakes. over the past months, there was an erosion of trust between my office and, specifically, my former principal secretary, and the former minister ofjustice and attorney general. i was not aware of that erosion of trust but, as prime minister and leader of the federal ministry, i should have been. the former attorney general, jody wilson—raybould, contradicted the prime minister's account and accused his office of demoting her, in retaliation for her refusal to strike a deal that would keep snc—lavalin out of court. i experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion. justin trudeau won praise for his

commitment to women and minorities. he even touted the symbolic appointment ofjody wilson—raybould, who is a prominent indigenous woman. yet this scandal has pitted him against her, and it's not a good look for the prime minister, even as he tries to assert that he did nothing wrong. with a general election looming in october, trudeau is on thin ice with canadians. i think he should offer some kind of apology. he's a politician. i mean, he's doing the work of politicking. i think he should resign and call an election. trudeau's star power was cemented when he took on president trump, china, and saudi arabia, but controversy at home could remove him from the world stage. nada tawfik, bbc news, ottawa. a new study suggests rain is becoming more frequent in greenland, accelerating the melting of its ice sheet. scientists have been particularly surprised that even during long polar winter nights, when the temperatures should be well below zero, there can be flows of warm air bringing rain. scientists say the total disappearance of greenland's ice sheet would see the world's oceans rise by seven metres.

and we'll be taking a second in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers rachel cunliffe, comment & features editor at cityam and stephen bush, political editor of the new statesman — that's coming up after the headlines at 11:30. now it's time for the weather with ben rich. hello there. after a blustery and in places wet day on thursday friday brings something drier and calmer. certainly to start off with. but it is only a temporary interlude. you can see the zone of clear whether on the satellite picture. you can also see the next weather system hurtling in from the atlantic. this is just the first sign of what is going to be an unsettled weekend. friday sta rts be an unsettled weekend. friday starts chilly with a touch of frost, but dry and bright with sunshine. blink and you will mist it. this next weather system is very quickly pushing in from the west. for most was by the end of friday it will be

cloudy, rain, and snow over scotland. this is the pressure chart as we head into the start of the weekend. we show you a lot of pressure charts, the light lines, the isobars, show how strong the winds will be and where they will be coming from. it is going to be a blustery weekend. some computer weather models keep the light lines across the uk fairly straight, fairly consistent, while it will be windy and unsettled it should not be anything too severe. other computer weather models do something a bit different. notice that these little dips. small areas of low pressure may develop in that westerly flow. where these lows develop, potentially, they could bring some really very wet and windy weather. there is a lot of uncertainty about just how turbulent this weekend will be. it will be cold, it will be windy, there will be rain and snow, especially over the hills. some sunny spells in between. don't take any of the details to literally on

these weather charts. we are likely to see quite a few showers, heavy, sundry ones, wintry over high ground in the north. temperatures on saturday 7—13. a subtle change into sunday, it will bring some slightly colder air down from the north. a very chilly feel to the weather on sunday, particularly when you factor in the strength of the wind. sunshine and showers. there could be wintry to fairly low levels across the northern half of the uk. quite windy. wind gusts up to 50 mph. if we do develop any little areas of low pressure the winds could be stronger than that. here is another drier interlude as we move out of sunday into monday. fist bump of high pressure. temporarily quiet weather. lighter winds, spells of sunshine. potentially a cold and frosty start. we do it all again. another weather system which is in from the west. the timing is uncertain at this stage. and through

monday night into tuesday this could be another very wet and windy spell of weather. those light lines, isobars squashing together on the chart, there could be gales, outbreaks of rain, followed by showers. some of the showers could be wintry, because the cold air will be wintry, because the cold air will be making a return. high as 7—9d. as we get deeper into next week it looks like this pattern will continue. more frontal systems coming in from the atlantic. high pressure to the south—west trying to make its move. it looks unlikely it will do so. as we go through next week it looks like we will continue to see spells of wind and rain, chilly at times, some drier interludes. still some uncertainty about just how turbulent this weekend will be.