this is bbc news with the latest headlines. pressure grows on the government over its pay offer to health service staff in england — more unions have joined the backlash. speaking out for dialogue, pope francis meets one of the most powerfulfigures in shia islam on day two of his historic trip to iraq. concerns over unnecessary self—isolation for school children in england because of inaccurate coronavirus test results. a warning for the un security council that anti—coup demonstrators in myanmar are beginning to lose faith in the organisation. they're usually a sign that spring has sprung, but why is this host of golden daffodils being left unpicked? in cricket, india thrash england by an innings and 25 runs in the fourth test to secure the series 3—1. and coming up —

click looks at how gaming has helped people with their mental health through the pandemic. hello and good afternoon, welcome to bbc news. let's bring you some live pictures now from the chaldean cathedral of "saintjoseph" in baghdad where the pope is leading holy mass. the chaldean church is a branch of the catholic church dating back to the 16th century. this is the beginning of mass, the pope has just arrived to give the address.

laboursinging singing. the numbers of questions are much diminished, they were persecuted at several stages. —— number of christians. persecuted during the conflicts that followed the invasion of iraq. victims of the group that called itself islamic state included a forced conversion as an alternative to death. many christians fled iraq, along with many others who tried to get out of

the country, to seek sanctuary abroad, means the numbers in iraq have gone down from around a quarter of a million, sorryjust over 2 million, gone down to about 100,000, and that only the space of about 20 years. so this has been a matched diminished part of the country. here is the pope. we will return to the chaldean church of saintjoseph, the cathedral i should say, during the course of this hour when we will hear a little more from pope francis himself as mass is conducted in the church there in baghdad. the group representing health service trusts, nhs providers, hasjoined unions in saying the government's proposed 1% pay rise for health service staff in england is not enough. ministers have defended the rise,

saying the pandemic had placed unprecedented strain on public finances. here's our political correspondent, jessica parker. pulling up, a very public row about this week's1% pay offer, with claims an increase of 2.1% had been baked—in as part of a longer—term settlement. which is actually enshrined in an act of parliament, so we've got a really strong legal basis here to say that that the pay rise was there. 0bviously, that was all set out pre—pandemic, but actually the pandemic really only enhances the case for a pay rise for nhs staff. an nhs funding boost was enshrined in law, say the government, but not figures on pay. its proposal will now be looked at by an independent pay review body. last night, again, the message — the pandemic has changed things. the challenge is that nation's finances are tight and whilst everybody else in the public sector is going to have a pay freeze, we are able to give a...

..to propose a pay rise for nurses. they also say over a million nhs staff are benefiting from existing deals, but is this new offer counter—productive? a former conservative health minister says yes. you begin to erode morale and you push people to work as agency staff, and that ends up costing the nhs much more than actually employing permanent staff and giving them a slightly better annual wage settlement. out on the water earlier this week, the prime minister, post—budget, with a chancellor who talked about fixing the public finances, but with the threat of strike action, already the right ——ride is getting bumpy. jessica parker, bbc news. pope francis has delivered an impassioned condemnation of extremism and violence during the first ever papal visit to iraq. he said believers could not remain silent when terrorism abused

religion, and he talked of the need for coexistence. earlier he had an unprecedented meeting with the hugely influential shia muslim cleric, grand ayatollah ali al—sistani. the ayatollah echoed the pope's sentiments, saying that it was time for wisdom and sense to erase the language of war. ina in a moment we will return to the scene inside the chaldean cathedral in baghdad. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen is travelling with the pope and has sent us this report. if the first day of pope francis�* visit to iraq was about the politics and about meeting the country's dwindling christian community, today was about the outreach towards other faiths, most notably a meeting this morning with the country's top shia cleric, grand ayatollah ali al—sistani, bringing together the leader of the world's catholics with perhaps the most powerful and influential figure in shia islam. it's thought that they discussed interfaith dialogue and the violence that iraqi christians have long suffered.

then the pope came on here to ur, the ancient birthplace of the prophet abraham, in which he met again with members of other religions... ..and he spoke of how hostility and extremism and violence were, in his words, "the betrayal of religion". he spoke in favour of peace, unity and against hatred. so the meeting this morning, perhaps the most symbolic moment of this trip, and then the dialogue here in ur, as well, very much at the cornerstone of pope francis�* attempts to reach out to other religions and using a figure of abraham, revered by christians, muslims and jews, to try to spur reconciliation today. the leaders of catholicism and shia islam face—to—face, a powerful and rare emblem of fraternity in a country torn apart by sectarianism. mark lowen reporting there.

he has been travelling on the aircraft that is known as shepherd one. let's bring you some live pictures now from the chaldean cathedral of "saintjoseph" in baghdad where the pope is leading holy mass. there is a choir of local christian women singing. the paper's visit is a four date visit, when you think that many political leaders do not even stay a night in iraq because of the security concerns, you realise in a sense what a big risk the pope is running. christians have been targeted in iraq but there was a terrible suicide bomb attack in a church the pope visited yesterday, the attack happened about ten years ago, but the pope visited to pay his

respects. 0ne ago, but the pope visited to pay his respects. one of the highlights will be at sunday mass on the holiest day of the week for christians in which they will mark a very important celebration and one of the things that the pope is doing is going to a town which is one of the oldest christian towns in iraq, largely destroyed in a 2015 by the group which calls itself islamic state when they swept through the province. but when residents have started to return, they started rebuilding and they are completing the work on a beautiful style which is going to be given to pope francis when he visits on day three of his visit. it is two metres long, read from a chequered fabric, its edges

in a glimmering gold and it sounds like a beautiful piece of local handiwork which he will wear during services during the rest of his visit, so it is a thank you for the support that there is christians in that town feel like they received from the church. this is the first pope who has visited iraq, despite this long and ancient association with the religion. it is important as well for pope francis, because he has made something of a feature of his papacy, the idea that the remote and less remembered, perhaps even forgotten parts of the church, should be given their tribute. whereas perhaps at popes in recent years have been tempted to go to the big places where there are many adherents of their faith and they can expect, in a sense, you get lots

of people who are there to appreciate the papal visit and will value it, here he will go to places where only a small number are. i was talking to a muslim academic in baghdad yesterday he said it meant a lot to her that he was coming and it is a sign of confidence in the country that he should even risk such a visit, a visit that involves staying three nights in baghdad, it must have been a massive security effort notjust must have been a massive security effort not just for the must have been a massive security effort notjust for the vatican but security forces. rocket attacks continue on us military bases in baghdad and there are many groups he would regard the visit of a christian leader is anathema. the

extremists are still very much alive and active in iraq and prepared to do whatever they can to cause damage, so there will be security throughout his visit, but the pope has made the view this is a risk worth taking for events like this and you can see from the beautiful churches that exist in iraq that thatis churches that exist in iraq that that is a tradition which remains alive and well, even if much diminished compared to how it was even 20 years ago. we will return to the pope's visit during the course of this afternoon here on bbc news. there are fears that thousands of school children in england — and theirfamilies — could be forced to self—isolate as a result of so—called "false positives" when mass coronavirus testing begins next week. every secondary school pupil will be offered three rapid—result tests over the next fortnight as part of government plans to bring children back into the classroom. 0ur health correspondent nick triggle has more. the tests that will be used in schools in england are designed to give quick, on the spot results. but it's thought that

for every 1,000 carried out, between one and three will result in an incorrect positive result, a so—called "false positive." when these tests are carried out at home, users are entitled to a standard covid test that's processed in a lab to check the result is right. but this will not be happening with the tests in schools. instead, it will be assumed the rapid test is correct. the royal statistical society and testing experts are worried low infection rates could cause a higher proportion of positive cases to be false, meaning thousands of pupils and families could be forced to isolate for no reason. the main concerns are that actually, tests are not going to be finding very many cases at all. the data from the last week of testing from the government, from 300,000 children and staff being tested, they were finding one positive for every 1,500 people being tested. and that means the tests are both missing cases,

and it's a large amount of effort and work being done, being put into this, to find very, very little. but government insists the testing regime will have a positive impact by identifying asymptomatic cases that would otherwise be missed. it says around one in three people who have coronavirus have no symptoms. nick triggle, bbc news. the department of health is expanding its workplace testing programme in england. until now, only businesses with 50 or more employees have been able to get free lateral flow tests. now companies of all sizes are eligible. the tests will be free until the 30th ofjune and businesses have until the end of this month to register. a 50—year—old man has been arrested in dundee in connection with the disappearance of a woman and two children. 0fficers entered a property in troon avenue in the city yesterday afternoon as part of an enquiry into a missing 25—year—old woman,

bennylyn burke, and two children, from south gloucestershire. the woman's next of kin has been informed and are being supported by colleagues in avon and somerset. police say they're increasingly concerned about the disappearance of a woman in south london. sarah everard, who is 33, spoke to her partner on the phone while walking from clapham junction to brixton on wednesday night, which was the last time anyone heard from her. a friend said it was extremely uncharacteristic for her to go missing. the headlines on bbc news... pressure grows on the government over its pay offer to health service staff in england — more unions have joined the backlash. speaking out for dialogue — pope francis meets one of the most powerfulfigures in shia islam on day two of his historic trip to iraq. concerns over unnecessary self—isolation for school children in england because of inaccurate

coronavirus test results. sport now, and let's hear all the bad news about england's cricket performance. england's cricketers were well and truly humbled in the final test in india, losing by an innings and 25 runs. they were bowled out for 135 in their second innings, meaning india didn't have to bat again, to complete a 3—1 series victory. joe wilson reports. 0ne consolation for england. it is finally all over. no more must they endure the embarrassment of batting india. crawley began the final collapse. bairstow still soon followed, and other not for him. stokes had onlyjust finished bowling. he was batting briefly. two runs from ten, two asked of him. what of burden onjoe root? he made 30.

a familiar—looking lbw left england 65—6. patel had his fifth wicket. whether the ball is red or pink it turns to gold in his hand. england needed 190 to make india bat again and needed pride. dermot lawrence took his opportunity, made 50, at least it was something to get dressed up for. —— dan lawrence. that was a surprise. this wasn't. five wickets. england all out to spin. this test lost like the previous two and a series which began with two nations competing ended with one utterly dominating. so a thumping win for india then — and questions for england captain joe root. despite taking the lead in the series, he says they failed to make the most of their opportunities. there have been times where we had a

chance to wrestle the game in our favour, to get on top and we just did not manage to do it. in the early days, they played better and they deserve the credit for doing it better than we could. i know that there was a huge amount of effort, and i want it has gone into it from our crew, the results are certainly not from a lack of effort. i think character stood up very well in that respect, but unfortunately we were out skilled by some great players. the scottish government say they are extremely disappointed a number of rangers supporters have gathered at ibrox today. fans have been outside the ground despite covid lockdown rules ahead of the game against st mirren. rangers will win the scottish premiership this weekend if they beat st mirren and celtic lose to dundee united tomorrow. images showed flares being set off and fans singing despite current guidance saying public gatherings are banned and a maximum of two people from two households

are allowed to meet outdoors. so, rangers involved in one of five in the scottish premiership today. currently 2—0 up against st mirren. looking good for them. aberdeen in 11th home to hamilton. and third placed hibs in 3rd are 1—0 down at stjohnstone. granit xhaka had a day to forget as arsenal threw away a 1—0 lead to draw with burnley in the premier league's early kick—off. the gunners had led from the start with captain pierre emerick aubamayang scoring inside the opening six minutes. but mikel arteta's side gifted burnley a route back into the game. some good pressuring from the hosts forcing xhaka to give chris wood the chance to level, not that he knew much about it! arsenal could have snatched it at the end — dani ceballos hit the post. the point leaves the gunners in 10th while burnley stay 15th. bottom of the table sheffield united are looking

to make it two wins from two. they're action now against southampton. it is currently goalless in that one. later on, aston villa are home to wolves, with brighton home to third placed leicester in the evening kick—off. edinburgh's pro14 match against benetton tomorrow has been postponed after a positive covid—19 test in the benetton camp. the pro14 say concern around close contacts within the italian club's squad led to the postponement. the match is likely to be rescheduled in april. glasgow warriors have just beaten zebre by 31 points to 20. the scottish side ran in four tries in parma with nick grigg scoring the final one inside the last ten minutes to put the match beyond the italians. britain's andrew pozzi sailed through to the final of the 60—metres hurdles at the european indoor athletics championships in poland. he's won gold in this event twice before — and he looked really impressive, winning his heat with ease. that's all the sport for now. you can watch the evening athletics session on bbc two from 5.15pm.

i'll be back with more in an hour. thank you very much, gavin there at the bbc sport centre. the duke of edinburgh has spent his first night back at the private king edward vii's hospitalfollowing his heart surgery at st bartholomew's on wednesday. he has spent 18 nights in hospital, his longest ever stay. buckingham palace says he will remain in hospital for a number of days. in myanmar, an increasingly brutal crackdown by police and the military has not stopped protests against the military coup. meanwhile the un's special envoy on myanmar has urged the security council to restore democracy to the country. in a private meeting in new york, members were told that anti—coup demonstrators were beginning to lose faith in the united nations. mark lobel reports. gunfire. the crackdown continues on citizens calling out the coup. they chant. they remain defiant, despite the deadliest week here.

appealing for international support, these signs are reference to the un's responsibility to protect principle, to prevent mass killings. now, a month after the un's top security body called for a return to democracy and for the immediate release of detainees, including aung san suu kyi, it's met again. we requested this morning's meeting following further deterioration of the situation in myanmar. as of today, more than 50 people have been killed and many more injured since the coup began. 0ver1,000 people have disappeared or are unaccounted for, the economy is in a state of deterioration, and up to a million people face a humanitarian crisis. but diplomacy can take time. it's significant that security council members and myanmar�*s neighbours and trade partners — china, russia, india and vietnam — agreed to this meeting.

but until a joint statement is issued, we won't know how far they are prepared to go. we'll be exploring further national sanctions and stand ready to consider possible measures under the un charter should the deterioration — the situation deteriorate further. that could mean an asset freeze, travel ban or even arms embargo to cripple the junta. but at the meeting, the un special envoy on myanmar warned of the consequences of no action. the envoy said that "the people of myanmar, including committed civil servants, are the real heroes and protectors of their nation's democratic progress. "but," she warned, "the hope that they have placed in the united nations and its membership is waning." however, china and russia are unlikely to rush towards implementing sanctions, and other asean nations — of which vietnam and myanmar are both members — are seeking their own solutions, too. nonetheless, there is no doubt

at the shared frustration now building globally at the myanmar military�*s increasingly violent approach. military�*s increasingly mark lobel, bbc news. military�*s increasingly thousands of indian farmers are blocking a highway near the capital, delhi, in their latest protest against agricultural reforms. farmers have parked cars, trucks and tractors on the multi—lane expressway, blocking toll booths and disrupting traffic. they're marking a hundred days since their protests started. the government says the reforms will benefit farmers. but farmers fear they may lead to the abolition of government protection, including minimum prices for their produce. bbc hindi's salman ravi has more. it has been 100 days since different farmer organisations have surrounded delhi from all directions in protest against the farm laws enacted by the indian parliament. farmer organisations say that these laws are only going to make way for corporations

into the agricultural sector and that is why they are protesting against it. but the government says that the farmers have got nothing to fear because they are going to be protected by the government. but the farmer organisations say that they want a new law guaranteeing a minimum price for their produce. that is why a stalemate is continuing for many days now. there were violent protests on india's republic day when farmers took a tractor rally across this country's capital. many people were injured and many have been arrested in connection with those incidents. today, the farmer organisations, on the completion of 100 days, have called for a blockade of highways for many hours in the day in protest against the decision of the government not to withdraw the laws that were enacted by the parliament. farmer organisations are saying it is a symbolic protestjust to convey their demands

to the government so that they can repeal the laws that were enacted recently. exiled tibetan spiritual leader, the dalai lama, has had his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. he enrolled himself for a vaccination when the programme started. early this morning he was administered with astrazeneca's covishield vaccine in the indian hill town of dharamsala. the dalai lama is now appealing to everyone eligible to get vaccinated and to take care of their health. in order to prevent some serious problem, this injection is very, very helpful, very good, so other patients also should take this injection for greater benefit.

spring is on the way here in the uk and that means it's daffodil season. there are plenty to be seen in parks, roadsides and on verges, but it is a big business. britain produces 90% of the world's crop, but this year, millions of the flowers will rot in the field because of a shortage of seasonal workers to pick them. growers are blaming it on the government's post—brexit visa scheme. john kay reports. it is a beautiful springtime sight, but not for daffodil farmerjames walkers. it is heartbreaking, it is heartbreaking. it's just saddening to see flowers going to waste. when they're yellow, it's too late to pick them, so 50 million daffodils are being left here to rot. everybody loves to see it, it looks really, really nice as you drive around the county, but to a grower, it's a crop loss.

we would like to see nice green fields at this time of the year which we know have been picked. like other farmers, james has come to rely on seasonal workers from europe. but this spring he only has half the number he needs. aurimas has officially settled in the uk, but his lithuanian friends have stayed away. because of all the brexit, especially this year, there's not many people in the field, as you can see. so we need more workers here. farmers hoped they may be able to turn back the clock and attract more local workers like they did in the past. pickers today can earn £1000 a week. how many british workers have you got here now? none, no british workers at all. we had five young lads who came to work for us, and then it got wet and it was windy

and their backs ached — theyjust said they couldn't hack it any more. the government has given 30,000 visas this year to foreign fruit and vegetable pickers, but farmers say the scheme also needs to include flowers. ministers have promised they will make sure that all sectors will have the labour they need in future. if you're wondering why the farmers don'tjust use machinery to pick the daffodils instead, well, they say it's not really practical because there are so many different varieties of flower, all growing at different heights, and blooming at different times. they say without changes, their industry could also wither and die. jon kay, bbc news, cornwall. it does look beautiful, doesn't it? time for a look at whether the sunshine will be with us over the

next few days. well, it is fairly quiet on the weather front out there at the moment. it is a little on the nippy side and it has been like it for the last few days. that will not change in the short term and a frost on the way tonight. these are the temperatures late afternoon into early evening. five, six celsius and a fair amount of cloud across the uk. just a bit of rain there in the north—west of scotland. through tonight, we have light winds and clearing skies, temperatures will dip below freezing, certainly outside of city centres and even in some of the towns on the south coast it could be below freezing as well. but not in western scotland where there is an atlantic breeze here which is blowing in more cloud, bits and pieces of rain for places like the hebrides, so i think wet here into tomorrow. you can see the outbreaks of rain, but the vast majority of the country should have another dry day and remaining quite cloudy and also a little on the nippy side. big changes on the way next week.