this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. 50-49. the bill as amended is passed! applause. the us senate passes president biden�*s 1.9 trillion dollar covid relief plan by a single vote. pressure grows on the british government over its pay offer to health service staff in england during the coronavirus pandemic. the us government says it's concerned there are a large number of victims from a hack on microsoft's email software, which the tech firm has blamed on china. pope francis has been celebrating mass in iraq during the country's first ever papal visit. dozens are reported dead in yemen as fighting takes place for control

of the oil—rich city of marib. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. one of the largest legislative packages in us history has passed its biggest hurdle by the narrowest possible margin. the senate has approved president biden�*s 1.9 trillion dollar coronavirus relief plan — the plan at the heart of his election campaign — by 50 votes to 49. the vote means millions of people will get a payment of fourteen—hundred dollars. and there'll be multi—billion dollar payouts to cities and states to help them deal with the effects of the pandemic which has now killed more than half a million americans. the bill only passed after democrats

made a key concession to placate moderates in their own party. president biden has welcomed the vote, saying it's essential to americans struggling through the pandemic. this plan puts us on a path to beating the virus. this plan gives those families who are struggling the most the help and the breathing room they need to get through this moment. this plan gives small businesses in this country a fighting chance to survive. and one more thing — this plan is historic. taken altogether, this plan is going to make it possible to cut child poverty in half. let me say it again. it's significant, historic, will cut child poverty in half. i spoke to our correspondent lebo diseko in washington — and asked how much of a gamble this vote was. because this vote was. there were so many changes or because there were so many changes or changes that were made, that there were quite a number of them,

it will have to go back to the house of representatives to be voted on there with we think that will be on tuesday, that is what the leader of the democrats the house of representatives is saying. democrats are racing to get this tojoe biden prospect x for him to sign by the 14th of march. that is because there are some key and employment benefits that expire on that day. so we are likely to see the push quite hard to get that done. by my calculations it is a day from today they have to get it to joe is a day from today they have to get it tojoe biden to sign. —— it is eight days from today. the group representing health service trusts in the uk — 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, iain watson. if government ministers thought nhs staff in england would be grateful

to be exempted from a public sector pay freeze, well, the reality looks rather different. those who run hospital trusts as well as the unions are calling for the government to look again at the proposed 1% rise, and claim that, as part of a long—term plan for the nhs, ministers had previously planned to put up pay by twice as much this year. the assumption is 2.1% which is actually enshrined in an act of parliament so we have got a strong legal basis here to say that that pay rise was there, and obviously that was all set out pre—pandemic, but actually the pandemic only enhances the case for a pay rise for nhs staff. the government say that enshrined in law, an injection of extra cash for the health service, but not a specific pay increase. they argue, anyway, that lower paid stuff will get more than 1%, staff will get more than 1%, changes to pay grades will boost some incomes, and newly qualified nurses have benefited from multi—year pay deals. but some of borisjohnson�*s own mps

say he must find an antidote to a politically toxic row. there could be a tax—free bonus as a one—off payment, that might be one way of addressing the issue, but what i do know is that the people that i represent expect and believe that there should be a reward. and that means, i'm afraid, more than 1%. the government's proposed 1% increase isn't the final word on pay. in may, independent pay review bodies will make their recommendations and if they're worried about recruitment of nhs staff it's possible they could say that pay should go up above 1%, but ministers are very clear that this could only be funded by making cuts elsewhere in the budget. with some health unions considering strike action over pay, the political temperature could continue to rise. iain watson, bbc news. the uk's 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. meanwhile the latest figures from the british government show — there were 6,040 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means that on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 6,118. across the uk, latest data shows the number of patients in hospital with coronavirus is 10,898 158 deaths have been recorded with coronavirus is 10,898. 158 deaths have been recorded in the last 2a hours, that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid test. on average in the past week, 220 deaths were announced every day. the total number of deaths so far

across the uk is 124,419. on to vaccinations now and nearly 400 and 37 thousand, 400 and 63 people had theirfirst dose of a vaccine in the latest 24 hour period. in total nearly 21.8m people have now had their firstjab. pope francis has met the influential shia muslim cleric — grand ayatollah ali al—sistani — during the first—ever papal visit to iraq. after meeting with other faith leaders, he delivered an impassioned condemnation of extremism and violence, saying that believers could not remain silent when terrorism abused religion. later, he celebrated a public mass at stjoseph�*s cathedral in baghdad. 0ur rome correspondent mark lowen has been travelling with the pope and has sent this report. peace in iraq will take time to flourish.

but this visitor is determined to see it. along the narrow alley ways and into an historic meeting of two faiths, catholic and shia islam, grand ayatollah ali al—sistani face—to—face with pope francis. at 90 and 84, it has taken long lives and generations to get here. the two religious leaders spoke of friendship to overcome oppression, rare unity after iraq's secretarian and conflict. that theme of dialogue then spread further to the remains of the biblical birthplace of abraham. and in the shadow of its ancient citadel, pope francis met followers of other faiths. gestures of respect to those often sidelined and victims of iraq's wars now brought together in a plea for peace. translation: hostility, _ extremism and violence are not born of a religious heart.

they are betrayals of religion. we believers cannot be silent when terrorism abuses religion. from these windswept plains, the pope is using the symbolism of the ancient prophet, evoking the figure of abraham, revered by christians, muslims and jews to try to spur reconciliation between religions today. and then it was onto mass. pope francis hoping to persuade a dwindling christian community to remain. iraq's patchwork of people came together today. but as this country knows too well, the spirit of coexistence can quickly fade. mark lowen, bbc news, in iraq. to myanmar now, where an increasingly brutal crackdown by police and the military has not stopped protests against the military coup. today, security forces have continued firing tear gas on protesters gathered in yangon.

the un's special envoy on myanmar has told the security council that there is "urgency for collective action". danai howard has this report. this is a scene that has become all too familiar in cities right across myanmar, from the northern mountain region to the major cities of yangon and naypyidaw in the south. young protesters have been standing up to police, banging on home—made shields, and marching for democracy. on saturday, security forces used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades against activists in yangon to clear the streets. and there have been further allegations of police brutality. it's been over a month now since the protests erupted against the military coup on february 1st that overthrew aung san suu kyi's elected government. in that time, the people of myanmar have faced internet blackouts, night—time raids, unlawful arrests and death. 38 people were killed on wednesday alone, the deadliest day since the start of the coup.

hundreds gathered in mandalay on thursday for the funeral of one of the victims. angel was just 19 when she was shot in the head during anti—coup protests a day earlier. she was wearing a t—shirt with the phrase "everything will be ok" when she died. the pressure is being felt globally. on friday, the un special envoy to myanmar urged the security council to hear myanmar�*s desperate pleas, and called for swift international action to end the violence. the envoy said that the people of myanmar, including committed civil servants, are the real heroes and protectors of the nation's democratic progress, but she warned that the hope that they had placed in the united nations and their membership is waning. it is critical that this council is resolute and coherent in putting the security forces on notice and standing with the people of myanmar firmly in support of the clear november election results. but china and russia are unlikely to impose sanctions.

so far, the biggest international reaction has come from corporations, not governments. facebook, instagram, and now youtube have all banned accounts belonging to the militaryjunta. the army have threatened civil servants who continue to strike that they will be fired. but the protests show little sign of waning. every day, people continue to raise three fingers in protest in what has become a symbol of resistance and solidarity for democracy movements across southeast asia. the headlines on bbc news... the us senate has passed president biden�*s 1.9 trillion dollar covid relief plan by a single vote. pressure grows on the british government over its pay offer to health service staff in england during the coronavirus pandemic. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's 0lly foster... hello. thank you. if you have

wrapped up the test series 3—1 against england. they won the final test match by and 25 runs with two days to spare. firstly they stretch their first innings lead to a runs in washington was stranded on 96. they reached 265 in england again collapsed against india's front—line spinners. patel within of the five wicket hall. ashwin took the other five. 30 runs from joe root and a half from dan at lawrence only delay the inevitable really. all out for 125 in india winning by another huge margin over that they're one series went also see some qualify for the final of the inaugural world test championship. we will play new zealand in lord's injune but for now they will enjoy this victory, they lost the first test so this was quite a turnaround.— quite a turnaround. what we have done incredible _ quite a turnaround. what we have done incredible wealth _ quite a turnaround. what we have done incredible wealth the - quite a turnaround. what we have done incredible wealth the last. quite a turnaround. what we have i done incredible wealth the last xmas as we have stayed in the moment you tried to play the game as we see fit. —— last six months was that we

try to play braves to protect our team. the way we came back as a group in the second test, we were in some sticky situations at all steps from all three test matches, and i think every time somebody is meant to stand up and i think that the ability to stand up is directly relation to how we bonded together as a team in these moments. there have been times _ as a team in these moments. there have been times we've _ as a team in these moments. there have been times we've had - as a team in these moments. there have been times we've had a - as a team in these moments. there | have been times we've had a chance to wrestle _ have been times we've had a chance to wrestle a — have been times we've had a chance to wrestle a game in our favour and -et to wrestle a game in our favour and get on _ to wrestle a game in our favour and get on top — to wrestle a game in our favour and get on top. itjust didn't manage to do it _ get on top. itjust didn't manage to do it india — get on top. itjust didn't manage to do it. india played us and keep moments _ do it. india played us and keep moments better than us the last three _ moments better than us the last three games. you have to give them credit _ three games. you have to give them credit they— three games. you have to give them credit. they did that better than us. credit. they did that better than us i_ credit. they did that better than us i know— credit. they did that better than us. i know there was a huge amount of effort _ us. i know there was a huge amount of effort going into it from our group — of effort going into it from our group and it has not been the results — group and it has not been the results for lack of effort or character come i think we still are very well— character come i think we still are very well irt— character come i think we still are very well in that respect but unfortunately we were out skilled by

talented _ unfortunately we were out skilled by talented players. unfortunately we were out skilled by talented players— talented players. let's get up-to-date _ talented players. let's get up-to-date with _ talented players. let's get up-to-date with what - talented players. let's get up-to-date with what is i talented players. let's get - up-to-date with what is happening talented players. let's get _ up-to-date with what is happening by up—to—date with what is happening by the major european football league. eye—catching fixtures in the english premier league on saturday. very useful point for burnley against arsenal. it finished one off. a freak goal saw the home equalise. they try to pass a cross on his own goal and he hit the burnley forward chris woods and went in. burnley edging further away from danger coming out several points clear of the relegation zone. arsenal remain tenth place. a couple of games in the premier league. aston villa was the premier league. aston villa was the goal is. southampton one. leicester can move up the second if they beat brighton. currently losing. rangers have got one hand on the scottish premiership trophy that beat st mirren three neil if the

celtics left but on sunday, the rangers will be champion for the first time in ten years. the game was marred somewhat with the scenes outside the ground from the scottish government say they are extremely disappointed that a number of supporters gathered at the ground—breaking covid—19lockdown rules. current guided spans public gatherings since has a maximum of two people from two households are allowed to meet outdoors. busy saturday in the german bundesliga. a classic lived up to his billing. leaders bayern munich going for with a robert lambert dusky hat—trick in early call colin put borussia dortmund to develop inside two minutes at before that result from rb leipzig went top briefly. —— haaland. a good one for bayer leverkusen to stay in the hunt for a top four finish. leverkusen to stay in the hunt for a top fourfinish. frankfurt leverkusen to stay in the hunt for a top four finish. frankfurtjewett home. top fourfinish. frankfurtjewett home. hertha berlin beat out sperry and wolfsberg last and hoffenheim. a

lot more on the bbc was what website including the latest scores and an legal in syria, barcelona eight evinces both in action right now in both winning. —— in la liga and syria a. that is all for now. thank you. the us government says it's concerned there are a large number of victims from a hack on microsoft's email software which the tech firm has blamed on china. the white house says the scope of the hacking of microsoft exchange is still under investigation. it comes days after the tech firm raised the alarm about attempts to compromise email servers, which it blamed on a chinese state—backed hacking group. sources involved in the investigation said on friday that at least 20,000 us organisations had been affected and many more worldwide. here's some of what white house spokeswoman, jen psaki, had to say. this is a significant vulnerability that could have far—reaching impacts. first and foremost, this is an active threat, and as the national security adviser tweeted last night, everyone running

these servers, government private sector, academia, needs to act now to patch them. we are concerned that there are a large number of victims and we're working with our partners to understand the scope of this, so it's an ongoing process, trevor, i would say. network owners also need to consider whether they have already been compromised and should immediately take appropriate steps. cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency issued an emergency directed to agencies, and we're now looking closely at the next steps we need to take. it's still developing. we urge network operators to take it very seriously. joining us from washington dc is brian krebs — a cyber expert and author of the blog, krebs0nsecurity.com. thank you for being with us on bbc news. you must see so many attempts to hack institutions. how bad is this one? it to hack institutions. how bad is this one? , ., ,, to hack institutions. how bad is thisone? ,., ,, this one? it is on the badness scale often this one? it is on the badness scale of ten of the _ this one? it is on the badness scale of ten of the worst, _ this one? it is on the badness scale of ten of the worst, it _ this one? it is on the badness scale of ten of the worst, it is _ this one? it is on the badness scale | of ten of the worst, it is somewhere in the nine range. the compromise

thatis in the nine range. the compromise that is taking place here has really not a lot of businesses and organisations, particularly small businesses, back on the hills, essentially what happened was on tuesday of this week, microsoft issue emergency security updates that plug for previously unknown and very serious flaws in this exchange server software. going back ten years and products. in this product is used by hundreds of thousands of organisations worldwide to handle the e—mail. so microsoft, when he came out with the patches on tuesday, said hey, we see hackers taking advantage of these vulnerabilities to basically steal everybody�*s e—mail. walk up to the server and say we would like to have a dump of all your e—mail. and microsoft i blame these attacks, which started back injanuary six by the way, the same day we would lose

our television sets watching the capital situation, and they actually maybe go back further but back then there were kind of targeting people quietly. poking get government groups, dissident groups, stereotypical way that chinese hacker groups work. microsoft calls this particular group and urged everybody to do the patches. by that time, several of my sources told me it was already too late for a lot of the victims running exchange. ltruthen the victims running exchange. when ou look at the victims running exchange. when you look at the _ the victims running exchange. when you look at the possible _ the victims running exchange. when you look at the possible motivations here, do you think this is miss schiff, moneymaking or something else? == schiff, moneymaking or something else? ., ,. schiff, moneymaking or something else? . , . , , schiff, moneymaking or something else? . ,. , , ., schiff, moneymaking or something else? . ,. , , . ~' else? -- a mischief bus and i think it is opportunism. _ else? -- a mischief bus and i think it is opportunism. especially - else? -- a mischief bus and i think it is opportunism. especially the i it is opportunism. especially the last couple of days. we have seen just thousands of servers getting compromised in retrofitted with back

doors, let the bad guys get remote access whenever they want to do more damage. that is what we have seen so far. it is pretty scary for a lot of the organisations because theyjust don't have the wherewithal to respond to these attacks. there are so many of — respond to these attacks. there are so many of our _ respond to these attacks. there are so many of our viewers _ respond to these attacks. there are so many of our viewers who - respond to these attacks. there are so many of our viewers who will. respond to these attacks. there are l so many of our viewers who will know and use microsoft exchange them who could be worried by this. what is microsoft doing and what is the us government trying to do to deal with the? ~' . the? like i said, the mall where nets left the? like i said, the mall where gets left behind _ the? like i said, the mall where gets left behind by _ the? like i said, the mall where gets left behind by the - the? like i said, the mall where gets left behind by the hackersl the? like i said, the mall wherel gets left behind by the hackers is the? like i said, the mall where i gets left behind by the hackers is a thing that lets them take complete control over the organisation e—mail. —— malware. the danger is you can have these guys go sideways into your network from those kinds of resources if you get compromise. what is needed now is a way to get all these infected servers off—line

and cleaned up before the bad guys decide to come back and say we would like to do all this other bad stuff. maybe upload rent somewhere, i would be very surprised if that happens, but they certainly could do that. hackers have a lot of leverage right now. so too and i think there's a high likelihood we will see the bad guys do something with this access, just because of the fact that they took the time to do it so quickly in 48 hours as if microsoft catching these up and going all my gosh, all these up and going all my gosh, all the systems we get hacked are going to be patched in a few days let's go get them all and that is what they did. ~ ., ., ., did. we have to leave it there. thank you _ did. we have to leave it there. thank you for— did. we have to leave it there. thank you for your _ did. we have to leave it there. thank you for your expertise. l reports from yemen say dozens of people have died in 24 hours of fighting between government forces and houthi rebels, who are battling for control of the northern city of marib. the rebels who are supported by iran — want to drive out the saudi— backed government in marib — which is its only stronghold

in the north of yemen and a major oil—producing area. military sources told a french news agency that about 30 deaths were on the government side, while nearly 60 rebels were killed in airstrikes. the fighting is also a threat to hundreds of thousands of displaced yemenis, living in poor conditions in camps in the surrounding desert. i've been speaking to award winning journalist iona craig, who has spent years covering the conflict in yemen, to find out more about the situation in marib. marib has become an increasingly important city in yemen. although it was before the war really occurred to me with a small rural town, more more people have moved to the city both this place as well as they give many government really, it is their last stronghold and given come some separatists have really taken control of the given city in the south and that is really left they give many government to consolidate his power in marib and also very important for the axis of the human oil —— yemeni government. whoever

controls marib really can also effectively take control of a lot of those oilfields and as well as the natural gases as well in the pipeline that ran from mirror up to the south. i5 pipeline that ran from mirror up to the south. , ., , , pipeline that ran from mirror up to the south. , . , , ., the south. is there a sense that the who these are _ the south. is there a sense that the who these are pushing _ the south. is there a sense that the who these are pushing so _ the south. is there a sense that the who these are pushing so hard - the south. is there a sense that the who these are pushing so hard on l who these are pushing so hard on marib now because with the biden administration newly installed, they could be taught in a call for both sides to stand down? == could be taught in a call for both sides to stand down? -- houthis. yes, i think— sides to stand down? -- houthis. yes, i think there _ sides to stand down? -- houthis. yes, i think there they _ sides to stand down? -- houthis. yes, i think there they that - sides to stand down? -- houthis. yes, i think there they that the i yes, i think there they that the houthis are doing this right now because they want to be able to negotiate from a position of strength and we seen this time and time again and give it in other conflicts as well. it may be a prospect of these negotiations are caught or cease—fire. —— in yemen. part of the conflict will then push them pass their position as far as they can for those talks to take place and a lot of fear over houthis pushing on merit. i was in marib this time last year in the talk was even then that houthis would less

than 20 miles from the city and they would push in take the city. and it didn't happen. they held back in from really attacking the city fully as they are doing that right now. although the have stated that the plan to fully push on the city and they will not hold back in that they are going to push to marib and beyond but it remains to be seen if they will do that or if they will place right out to the outskirts of the city before then realising that this would the best position for them to go into any kind of peace talk or political talks with the site he led coalition.- talk or political talks with the site he led coalition. what about the impact _ site he led coalition. what about the impact can't _ site he led coalition. what about the impact can't give _ site he led coalition. what about the impact can't give me - site he led coalition. what about the impact can't give me needsl site he led coalition. what about i the impact can't give me needs so many? —— society led coalition. so many? —— society led coalition. so many who have been displaced. you have seen what it's like in these cam. , . , ' ., have seen what it's like in these cam. , ., y' ., cam. yes, nearly1 million people livina cam. yes, nearly1 million people livin: in cam. yes, nearly1 million people living in the _ cam. yes, nearly1 million people living in the desert _ cam. yes, nearly1 million people living in the desert around - cam. yes, nearly1 million people living in the desert around the . living in the desert around the city. they are living in temporary accommodations, and living in tents or buildings that they have built out of mud themselves,. the

situation _ out of mud themselves,. the situation in _ out of mud themselves,. the situation in yemen. - out of mud themselves,. the situation in yemen. you are watching bbc news. finally, spring is on the way, and that means it's daffodil season. britain produces 90% of the world's crop, but this year, millions of the flowers will rot in fields because of a shortage of seasonal workers to pick them. growers say the impact of the pandemic and the post—brexit visa scheme have led to the labour shortage. jon kay reports from cornwall. 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 is 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 round the county,

but to a grower it's a crop loss. 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. there are some that don't want to come any more because of the brexit, especially this year. there are not many people in the field, as you can see. farmers hoped they may be able to turn back the clock and attract more local workers like they did in the past. 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 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. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker. quite a chilly evening out there and it is going to be a cold night, especially where the sky is clear. a touch of frost on the way first thing on sunday morning, for some of us. the weather, broadly speaking, is going to be very similar to today. for most of us it is going to be fairly cloudy.

the night, additionally some rain reaching western scotland, the north as well, because the wind is blowing off the atlantic, weather fronts brushing the far north—west of the uk. but for the rest of us, with clearer skies and light winds, temperatures down to around —1. so it starts off nippy on sunday, variable amounts of cloud and sunshine. it remains damp in western and northern scotland. the rain could be quite heavy in the hebrides. in glasgow, 8 degrees, belfastjust makes double figures, for most of us it is around seven degrees. so a quiet sunday on the way for most of us.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... pressure grows on the government over its pay offer to health service staff in england. hundreds of rangers fans gather outside the ibrox stadium in glasgow, despite lockdown rules — the team's on the verge of winning the scottish premiership. pope francis delivers an impassioned condemnation of extremism and violence, during the first ever papal visit to iraq. bill is amended as passed. the us senate passes president biden's 1.9 trillion