this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at seven... hopes for nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, as she's released from house arrest in iran. but a new court case against her is scheduled for next week. it's not the release we wanted. it is not _ it's not the release we wanted. it is not that— it's not the release we wanted. it is not that ticket home and the passport— is not that ticket home and the passport back and her coming home to us. schools in england re—open to all pupils tomorrow — the first step to easing the coronavirus lockdown. the queen stresses the importance of staying in touch with friends and family — in a message to mark commonwealth day, coming just hours before the duke and duchess of sussex's interview with oprah winfrey. pope francis on the final day of his visit to iraq —

greeted by thousands for an outdoor mass in irbil. and coming up in sportday, celebrations after rangers win the scottish premiership for first time in a decade. good evening, and welcome to bbc news. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe — the british—iranian woman detained in iran on spying charges, has been released from house arrest, after completing her five year sentence, raising hopes of her return to britain. she still faces another potential charge, and herfamily say she remains in harm's way, and fear her ordeal may not yet be over. our correspondent, caroline hawley, reports.

a rare glimpse into what's keeping this family together. it's still quite a messy house. but there's no such thing as an online cuddle. for six—year—old gabriela, an image on a mobile phone can't replace the touch of her mother. gabriela's been counting down the days till the end of her mum's sentence. this morning, nazanin�*s ankle tag that the family have had to rent from the iranian authorities, has been taken off. she used her freedom to visit her grandmother, but she still doesn't have her british passport and she's not free to fly home. this was the moment five years ago when nazanin was arrested by iran's revolutionary guards at tehran airport. her holiday with her parents was over, and she was heading back to london. since then, she's endured eight months of solitary confinement, blindfolded interrogations and many false promises of release. and now, another court case hangs over her. her husband says she's been held over financial debt that britain owes iran.

i think if i'm honest, the point i make to the government is if we get to this point and she's not out, then she's a hostage. you know what they want, they've been talking a long time. "we want our money back, we want the debt, it hasn't been settled." and here we are at the end of nazanin�*s prison sentence, which was unfair in the first place, but it's illegal under british law, it's illegal under iranian law, illegal under international. every kind of law you want. we have to face the facts that needs to be sorted. right now, i don't have an answer as to what we'll get home. we've just gone past what was the worst threshold. the worst case scenario we imagined for a long time was her full sentence, and here we are at the end of five years, and it's not the end. i can reassure... but the bigger picture of when will this be over, gabriela asked me that. "when is mummy coming home?" and i have to say i don't know, i'm not sure. what's the first thing you're

going to do with mummy when she comes back? first thing you're going to do together? go to the toy shop. but nazanin isn't coming home yet. she's still, richard says, a pawn in a game of international chess. the foreign secretary dominic raab says iran is putting the family through an intolerable ordeal. her mp says it's mental torture. for how much longer will they have to endure this agony of separation? i love you, baby. say goodbye to mummy. love you! bye — bye! love you. caroline hawley told us more about today's developments. i think what has happened today really shows the arbitrary nature of how the authorities are dealing with her. it is the horrific roller—coaster that the family have gone through, almost rolled into one day. so first she had the ankle tag removed, she is overjoyed, she gets in a car and goes to visit her elderly grandparents, she can now go for coffee in a cafe, the simple pleasures she has not

been able to enjoy in five years of captivity. and then she hears that she has got a new court hearing hanging over her, that is due to take place a week today and her sister—in—law has told us there will be more sleepless nights. there is really a sense that the iranian authorities are toying with her. this has never been about the law. it has been about politics and here you have an ordinary family just caught in the middle of all of that, caught between hope and despair. we'll speak to international security in the list and a little while to get more perspective on events in iran. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. 0ur guestsjoining me tonight are tony grew from the sunday times, and journalist caroline frost.

ten million pupils in england begin going back to schools and colleges tomorrow, in the first stage of lockdown easing. they'll be tested regularly, initially in school and then at home, with facemasks now expected to be worn in classrooms as well as communal areas. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys reports. nervous but willing — teenagers lining up for tests. seat 09, please. the first of three lateral flow tests in school, then they get kits to do them at home. at first, if you've never done the test before, of course you're going to feel nervous, but the moment the swab goes in your mouth, you realise this isn't as bad as everyone has made it out to be, and then all the nerves just fade away. once it goes up your nose, it's a very weird feeling, but i guess you'll get used to it eventually. so, you wipe the tonsils both sides, then up the nose as far as you can

bear and twizzle it around. and then it's into the solution, and the results should be back within 30 minutes. but how reliable are these fast tests? experts say fewer than one in 1,000 give a false positive, so will they be followed by a pcr lab test? we recommend people do pcrs if they test at home, and that's for the families, for example, with primary school children who will be testing themselves at home rather than in school. and also, when the children start to test themselves at home, we will be recommending confirmed tests for those individuals then. but will teenagers do it twice a week at home? it's voluntary, but might help get things back to normal. hopefully, with a little bit of support from us and reminding them, etc, and reminding them that if we do this and we catch anybody with the virus early,

it means they don't need to go home for ten days of isolation. i think that'll be a real incentive to both the students and the parents who won't want to home educate again. schools reopening is a calculated risk. it may well increase the rate of infection. that's why masks in classrooms are also being advised. we saw from wearing - masks in communal areas that it wasn't compulsory . but it was strongly advised. we saw that between september and december, and it— worked very, very well. we recognise we're asking people to go a little - bit above and beyond, but it's just one - of the many measures. as these desks fill up, the worry is helping kids catch up. there's tutoring as part of a £1.7 billion fund, but research today shows other ideas, like longer school days or shorter holidays, aren't always popular with parents. branwen jeffreys, bbc news.

the latest stage of the coronavirus vaccine roll—out has reached 56 to 59—year—olds in england, with everyone in that age band, being contacted with the offer of booking a jab. across the uk, the aim is to reach all over—50s, by the middle of april. 0ur health correspondent, dominic hughes reports. the vaccine programme is moving into the next stage. at 56, the prime minister, touring a vaccination centre this morning, is one of those in the next group eligible for a jab. i've got to get mine in a couple of weeks, actually. the vaccine roll—out is proving to be pivotal to our return to normality. i'm focusing on rolling out the vaccine, making sure that we get it into as many arms as possible, and using that extraordinary vaccine roll—out programme to deliver a cautious but we hope irreversible road map to freedom. that is what i am focusing on. the pace at which vaccinations have been carried out at centres like this one in manchester,

as well as thousands of gp surgeries, community settings, pharmacies and hospitals, has been extraordinary. by the middle of april, everyone over the age of 50, that's 32 million people, will have been offered theirfirstjab. and the plan is that by the end ofjuly everyone over the age of 18, that's another 21 million people, will also have been offered a vaccination. one of the keys to a successful vaccine roll—out is making sure as many people as possible take up the jab, so efforts are under way to make sure no one is missed. so what we're trying to do is keep going through the priority cohorts, but keep looping back over the initial cohorts as well — for different reasons. some people will have said no and then change their minds. some people might have moved or gone from being in hospital to out—of—hospital, or a range of other reasons why they have not been picked up. but even as the vaccine offers hope of some brighter days to come, there are warnings about what might

still lie ahead. i think we have to prepare for a hard winter. - not only with coronavirus but we've | had a year of almost no respiratoryj viruses of any other type, i and that means potentially the population immunity— to that is less, and so we could see surges in flue, we could see surges and other respiratory viruses - and other respiratory pathogens. as the vaccination programme moves forward, nhs officials say enthusiasm seems to be only growing. yesterday was reported to be the busiest day ever for people booking appointments. but while the vaccine remains the key to easing a lockdown, the restrictions we have all been living with will be with us for some months to come. dominic hughes, bbc news. the government has now updated all the latest coronavirus data yet today, but what we have shows. 5,177 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period.

and now to the vaccination numbers: [116,000 people have had their first dose of one of the three approved covid—19 vaccines, in the latest 2a hour period. taking the overall number of people who've had their firstjab to 22.2 million five and 1.1 million people have now had both doses of the vaccine. the queen has spoken of the importance of staying in touch with family and friends, during what she called testing times in a message broadcastjust hours before the us television interview, involving prince harry and meghan markle. she said technology had helped to transcend the divisions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. earlier my colleague shaun ley spoke to nicholas witchell — the bbc�*s royal correspondent. he asked him if the queen's message held any clues, as to what she thinks about the sussex�*s upcoming interview. it sounds as though the queen

is trying to send a hidden message to the sussexes. but she really isn't. it looks like it's the battle of the broadcast, that the queen in london, the sussexes on the west coast of america, it has been coincidental it's turned out like that because the queen's commonwealth broadcast has been planned for weeks if not months. it's coincidental that it's going out today. they found out of course that the sussexes have recorded the oprah winfrey interview and they were planning to transmit that in the early hours of tomorrow morning. thanks to this rather bizarre coincidence, we are getting this alternative image of what royalty is all about. so, the queen and other members of the royalfamily, including the cambridge�*s, in prerecorded messages on bbc one tonight anchored from westminster abbey, but the queen talking

about the pandemic. and it is a result of the difficulty the commonwealth has faced that it is necessary to keep in touch with family. it isn't that coded message about the sussexes. let's have a listen, she talks about reflecting on a time like no other. the testing times experienced by so many have led to a deeper appreciation of the mutual support and spiritual sustenance we enjoy. by being connected to others. the need to maintain greater physical distance or to live and work largely in isolation has, for many people across the commonwealth, been an unusual experience. in our everyday lives, we have had to become more accustomed to communicating. and with new technology.

it has been new for some of us. with conversations and common gatherings including commonwealth meetings conducted online, enabling people to stay in touch with friends, family, colleagues and counterparts who they have not been able to meet in person. we have found ourselves able to enjoy such communication, as it offers an immediacy that transcends boundaries, helping any sense of distance to disappear. it's always important to mark commonwealth day. she's supported it throughout her reign. i wonder if it's frustrating for the house that a lot of the attention inevitably whether tonight or tomorrow, will be about that interview, not about this day. it will be frustrating, but of course, commonwealth day normally goes by each year without anybody paying any attention to it. so it's actually giving much more attention this year than it normally would.

we need to remember it embraces nearly one third of the world's population, so it is this enormous multiracial organisation which has been absolutely abiding commitment of the queen throughout the decades of her reign. i think part of her will be delighted that it is getting this amount of attention, a special programme on bbc one this evening, but, yes, there will be great frustration. it has been seen as a way of competing broadcasts. now, we inevitably have to look forward to the sussexes�* broadcast, the oprah winfrey experience, which will be across all programmes tomorrow. what can we expect? it's hard to say. the trailers have given us an indication of what meghan is likely to feel that she wants to share. i think the big question is whether she will get into her perspective as to whether there has been some sort of racial

prejudice against her. but we don't know, we'lljust have to wait and see. in terms of how the palace is feeling, it would wish to give the impression that it's going to take all of this in its stride and of course, it will. it's been used to many worst windsor crises and dramas in the past. i think it is absolutely the case that if there is real substance from the duchess of sussex, backed up by evidence as to how the palace could and should have done more to support her, to accommodate her within the royal family, if she can cite that, then without question, the palace, it tried so hard to make this work, it will wish to reflect on any real evidence as to why it didn't. it remains to be seen whether in this interview she is able to produce any such evidence. we shall have to wait and see. the headlines on bbc news...

hopes for nazanin zaghari ratcliffe, as she is released from house arrest in iran. but a new court case against her is scheduled for next week. millions of pupils in england prepare to go back to schools and colleges tomorrow — the first step in easing the coronavirus lockdown. the queen stresses the importance of staying in touch with friends and family in a message to mark commonwealth day — just hours before the duke and duchess of sussex�*s interview with oprah winfrey. let's return to our lead story, that the british—iranian woman, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has had her ankle tag removed, following the completion of her five—year prison sentence in iran. she was convicted of spying in 2016, which she's always denied. i'm joined now by arash aramesh. a lawyer and a national security analyst.

lovely security analyst. to see you. thank you for joining lovely to see you. thank you for joining us here on bbc news. what is your reading of what happened today? it is quite remarkable that the islamic republic of iran that come after years of persecuting and prosecuting miss nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe is now decided to remove her ankle bracelet. now this is not a get out ofjail card by any stretch of the imagination. she cannot leave the country, she is still not a free person, she has a very limited mobility, at the same time she is under surveillance. the only thing that this means is sort of a token of good faith. whatever that means to the outside world. but she is now being summoned or indicted to the new court next week on new charges. we don't know if they are. keep in mind the idea of double jeopardy they are. keep in mind the idea of doublejeopardy doesn't they are. keep in mind the idea of double jeopardy doesn't apply in iranian courts. doublejeopardy

iranian courts. double jeopardy means iranian courts. doublejeopardy means that if you were to be prosecuted and acquitted of a particular criminal charge or if you were to be convicted of a charge and serve your time you can no longer be recharged with that same crime. that is the exact comps that we have been the americanjudicial is the exact comps that we have been the american judicial system and in the american judicial system and in the british digestive system, we don't really have that in the iranianjudicial don't really have that in the iranian judicial system and don't really have that in the iranianjudicial system and on top of that, to make matters worse, the iranianjudicial system is by no means independent. it is a political and corset apparatus. the head of the joe justice system and corset apparatus. the head of thejoe justice system is appointed by leader. and they are appointed by the ayatollah. both have very obviously strong ties to the hardliners in iran. the other hand, the case from the very get—go was a political one and that not really a

judicial one. this was not a judicial one. this was not a judicial matter it was a political one and now recently so frequently as shamelessly iranian officials are saying this is actually all about 400 plus million dollars plus interest the british government owed the iranian government after the cancelled the contract after the islamic revolution. so pay up and get your girl. the islamic revolution. 50 pay up and get your girl-— get your girl. the iranian government _ get your girl. the iranian government do - get your girl. the iranian government do this - get your girl. the iranian government do this too l get your girl. the iranian - government do this too many get your girl. the iranian _ government do this too many foreign citizens. do they actually get what they want? does the propaganda work locally? you they want? does the propaganda work locall ? ., ., ., ., , locally? you have to look at this from a domestic— locally? you have to look at this from a domestic point _ locally? you have to look at this from a domestic point of- locally? you have to look at this from a domestic point of view. i locally? you have to look at this i from a domestic point of view. and also an international point of view. domestically, the government is trying to preach to a domestic audience and the one hand, a piece hardliners by saying we're standing to the us and standing up to the british and standing up to the europeans, look at us, and also to

sceptics domestically they are saying our intelligence services, they have been under constant fire because they can't protect the scientists against assassinations, now they can arrest people accused of sabotage and espionage. so there is that domestic propaganda element tailored for a domestic audience. there is an international element as well. that is for enhanced the islamic republic of iran possibly cans and negotiations. now three years ago during president barack 0bama administration, as part of the joint plan of action or the iran nuclear deal, a number of pots were some cash for it and recently some additional hostages, chinese—americans included, they chinese—america ns included, they were chinese—americans included, they were released in iran got some cash for it or in some cases iranians who are arrested overseas in europe and

asia and in the united states for violating us sanctions or trying to procure and purchase materials and equipment for iran prospect missiles or nuclear systems and facilities are being tried. they were released because iranians arrested and took hostage and for practical purpose those citizens as bargaining chips. do you see the british government then paying up? you should never pay and hostage situations, that if the general thinking. you go about doing that quietly and not letting the rod know that you handed over cash? it is a very tough position to be in. on the one hand you cannot negotiate 0n the one hand you cannot negotiate with terrorists. every time you pay, they get more involved in. on the other hand, we are talking to a mother of a six—year—old daughter, a family that has come to the point of being shattered, the pain and suffering the nazanin

zaghari—ratcliffe family have gone through is beyond and hard to fathom but let's keep in mind that this is now become a pattern for the islamic republic but on the other hand, what is really important to my family of hostages and families of victims have two options, corset apparatus was a lot of pressure on the iranian government, don't talk, you talk will make matters worse. but it is already bad. and if you do talk to make public statements and exert some pressure on the iranian government, the options are as bad or may be better. so the option is usually better by exerting pressure on the iranian regime and sometimes they do respond to that. we know by appeasing they don't respond very well. but in terms of what to do in the future, keep in mind, each and every hostage has a family and that person a somebodies brother, mother, sister daughter, husband or wife. and there are people waiting at home looking forward to seeing them

again. it is very difficult to say stick to the hardliners don't negotiate because they are on a pattern but on the other hand, every american or british or european or any citizen for that matter that is released from the dundas of the islamic republic is absolutely welcome news.— islamic republic is absolutely welcome news. . ,. . . . ~ welcome news. fascinating and thank ou ve welcome news. fascinating and thank you very much _ welcome news. fascinating and thank you very much indeed. _ we will stay with the events abroad. 0n the third and final day of his trip to iraq — pope francis has visited some of the areas previously held by the islamic state group. christians were among those targeted by is when they seized parts of northern iraq in 2014. today, the pope prayed among ruined churches in mosul, before meeting iraqi christians in qaraqosh. and in irbil he celebrated mass in front of an estimated 10,000 people. 0ur correspondent, mark lowen, is travelling with him — and sent this report.

from the rubble of war, a messenger of peace. face—to—face with the brutality of islamic state terror in mosul, pope francis came to appeal for unity to rise from its ashes. beside a church destroyed in the fighting, a powerful moment of reflection. rarely has the hand of healing been needed more than this. he called for persecuted christians to return here and gave a prayerfor the victims. translation: today, . we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is more durable than fratricide. that hope is more powerful than death. that peace, more powerful than war. then another risk in the trips finale — a large public mass in irbil in the midst of the pandemic. it's what some had warned against — spreading the virus,

notjust the word of god. but the papal fans were undeterred. i hope that this visit will bring a lot of peace to this country and to all religions and nationalities — to live together in peaceful life. the short—term impact of these crowds could well be a spike in infection, but from the warmth of his reception to the potency of his message, this is a trip that could have a long—lasting legacy, too, beyond simply the symbolism. that he came at all was, for many iraqis, a miracle. but a defiant pope has made history here, hoping to have given a balm to this injured land. mark lowen, bbc news, irbil. let's talk about the pope's visit to iraq with catherine pepinster, she's a catholic commentator and the former editor of the tablet magazine.

thank you forjoining us. we know this is been and a lot of courage about that but why now? this pope, po -e about that but why now? this pope, pepe francis. _ about that but why now? this pope, pope francis, has _ about that but why now? this pope, pope francis, has spent _ about that but why now? this pope, pope francis, has spent a _ about that but why now? this pope, pope francis, has spent a large - about that but why now? this pope, pope francis, has spent a large partj pope francis, has spent a large part of his pontificate see engaging in dialogue with people east and west, he has been very concerned about interreligious dialogue, he has been aware that relations between catholics and muslims took a dip during the previous pontificate see i pope benedict xvi, so he has been working towards this. in 2019, and the united immigrants, he signed a declaration of fraternity with a leading sunni cleric. —— united immigrants. now he is engaged with one of the great sea ayatollahs in

iraq. so it is part of a dialogue that he want to develop. —— united immigrants. but being there now for christians in that part of the well is important. they had had so many years of persecution and many of them led and now there seems hope perhaps they can rebuild. —— united emirates. going to iraq, pope francis is asking for attention for the safety christians there but more than that really, the conversations that he had are sustained were also about rights and about the importance that christians should have equal rights and should be seen as much a citizens as muslims in the country, and that is something that he continually says about christians in muslim countries, that is why it is so significant. and i think that is so significant. and i think that is the what he is trying to get to come he wants people to be

reconciled, he has talked about the need for forgiveness on the christian side. but he wants that hand of friendship to be there that will also be about actual rights i think. ., , ., ., , think. the reality of the ground is so very different _ think. the reality of the ground is so very different though. - think. the reality of the ground is so very different though. you - think. the reality of the ground is so very different though. you can | so very different though. you can ask and speak to christians to come back, it is a highly significant part of the world for roman catholic christians and that is obviously the pope is there, so realistically, what has this trip achieved? i think the fact that _ what has this trip achieved? i think the fact that he _ what has this trip achieved? i think the fact that he has _ what has this trip achieved? i think the fact that he has gone _ what has this trip achieved? i think the fact that he has gone there - what has this trip achieved? i think the fact that he has gone there is l the fact that he has gone there is terribly important to the christians in the middle east themselves. i think it does give them a boost, it is comforting to me shows that he is in solidarity with them. —— it is comforting and it shows he is serious about that dialogue to and it seems from the way that they responded to him that he also

recognises the