this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. at least four extremely powerful explosions have gone off in the west african state of equatorial guinea — killing 15 and injuring more than 500 people according to the president. pope francis celebrates mass in irbil — declaring that iraq will remain in his heart — as he holds the last public event of his historic trip to the country. the british—iranian woman jailed in iran on spying charges has ended her sentence — but nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe now faces a new court case. the uk takes its first step towards easing the coronavirus lockdown — with schools in england to re—open on monday.

and the queen stresses the importance of staying in touch with friends and family — in a message to mark commonwealth dayjust hours before the broadcast of the duke and duchess of sussex interview with oprah winfrey. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. we begin with breaking news. in the uk or around the world. at least four extremely powerful explosions have gone off in the city of batuh, in the west african state of equatorial guinea, causing huge destruction. an official statement has just been released, saying 15 people have been killed and more than 500 injured. the explosions happened at a military camp, and the official statement says they were due to negligence in areas

where dynamite was kept. the government is calling for help from the international community. a little earlier, i heard more detail from the africa editor for the bbc world service will ross. clearly the emergency services were completely overwhelmed with at least three hospitals very full very fast. and health officials were appealing for people to go and donate blood and to off—duty medical staff to go and help out. the scene, the footage that we have seen from the area is extremely distressing, seeing so many people clearly traumatised and somewhat dazed by what has gone on, trying to get to safety, coming out of clouds of smoke, these where we understand four separate explosions that took place and really destroyed many buildings over a large area and as you mentioned there, there is footage on the state

television of desperate attempts to try and rescue people amongst the buildings that were completely were completely flattened, people going through with their hands lifting up the bricks and blocks to try and reach people there and at the hospitals, we know there are quite a lot of children amongst the people who were injured. certainly an extraordinary event that has caused a great deal of shock in equatorial guinea. a quick thought about, given the scale of this devastation, who equatorial guinea might be able to turn to, who it will naturally turn to if he needs help from outside. there could be help from spain, which has obviously very strong links with equatorial guinea. but also in the region, there may be help from other countries in the region that could possibly help with the rescue effort but this has happened at a time when darkness will have

will have fallen now and that will be very difficult. but there is no suggestion that the moment from the authorities that there are a lot of people still trapped. they are giving the impression, although it is very hard to know if this is the truth, they give the impression that things are calming down and emergency services are now dealing with what has been an extraordinary event. the historic papal visit to iraq is drawing to a close — after pope francis visited parts of the country once held by islamic state militants, on the third day of his trip. the pope celebrated mass at a football stadium in irbil, the capital of iraq's kurdistan region. thousands of people were there, and the pope left saying that iraq will always be in his heart. our correspondent mark lowen is travelling with pope francis. 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. one of the stops of the pope's tour of iraq was the city of ur, the birthplace of abraham, but while both christians and muslims were well represented on this trip, the iraquewish community was not. i'm joined now by edwin shuker, vice president of the board

of deputies of britishjews, who grew up in iraq but was forced to flee the country by saddam hussein's regime. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. i want to check with the first, was there a plan to invite a jewish delegation? i first, was there a plan to invite a jewish delegation?— first, was there a plan to invite a jewish delegation? i believe there was. even when _ jewish delegation? i believe there was. even when the _ jewish delegation? i believe there was. even when the pope - jewish delegation? i believe there i was. even when the pope messaged jewish delegation? i believe there - was. even when the pope messaged him he also mentioned judaism last tuesday, and the press conference at the vatican, they were asked whether there will be a jewish presence in there will be a jewish presence in the vatican spokesman assured them that this will be the case and that looks forward to that dialogue up interface with them. truth? looks forward to that dialogue up interface with them.— interface with them. why do you think this did — interface with them. why do you think this did not _ interface with them. why do you think this did not happen? -- i think this did not happen? -- interfaith- — think this did not happen? -- interfaith. i— think this did not happen? » interfaith. i think the iraqi government failed and wasted a golden opportunity, historic opportunity to make amends to the jewish community that actually lived in that part of the world for 2600

years and was unceremoniously displaced and kicked out, the majority in 1950, and myself what the final batch in we escaped in 1971 as you mentioned. i think they relied on possibly the localjewish community numbers, but it is less than six people, probably five at most, and they are still terrorising and traumatised without proper protection and there was no chance of them coming to the floor and sitting on the platform with the pope. —— still terrorise. if sitting on the platform with the pope. -- stillterrorise.- pope. -- still terrorise. if you were invited _ pope. -- still terrorise. if you were invited back, _ pope. -- still terrorise. if you were invited back, would - pope. -- still terrorise. if you were invited back, would you| pope. -- still terrorise. if you - were invited back, would you have got to see this moment? absolutely. as the oet got to see this moment? absolutely. as the poet left _ got to see this moment? absolutely. as the poet left today _ got to see this moment? absolutely. as the poet left today and _ got to see this moment? absolutely. as the poet left today and he - got to see this moment? absolutely. as the poet left today and he said - as the poet left today and he said iraq is in his are and will remain come it will always remain in the hearts of the jewish come it will always remain in the hearts of thejewish community come it will always remain in the hearts of the jewish community that lived there for so long and for so many decades who were instrumental and every part in everything from

music to art to culture, to trade, we are very much part and parcel of the iraq he diversity of society. it will never leave us. —— iraq he diversity. i would've loved to take with me and i recce rabbi and a leader who came with me in 2019 and we visited baghdad. we would've gone there and told the iraqi people we are part of your family and we there and told the iraqi people we are part of yourfamily and we might have left physically but our hearts are with you and we hope one day we will be back with you and actually participate in rebuilding iraq. eaten participate in rebuilding iraq. even thouh ou participate in rebuilding iraq. even though you couldn't _ participate in rebuilding iraq. even though you couldn't be there, clearly an emotional moment. thank you so much forjoining us. the saudi government has said a drone fired from yemen by houthi rebels hit an oil storage yard in ras tanura, a major oil shipment port, but did not cause any injuries or damage. meanwhile a saudi—led military

coalition carried out several air strikes on yemen's houthi—controlled capital sanaa, according to state media. it's a new escalation in the six—year conflict between the rebels and the coalition, which is backed by the yemeni government. we can talk now to the bbc�*s security correspondent frank gardner. really determined attack in terms of the drones and missiles from the back of side. that is not new but do you think they are getting more successful? == you think they are getting more successful?— successful? -- houthis site. certainly _ successful? -- houthis site. certainly the _ successful? -- houthis site. certainly the number - successful? -- houthis site. certainly the number and i successful? -- houthis site. - certainly the number and intensity in the targeting of these attacks is increasing. so today, the houthis said they fired 11t explosive laden drones and a ballistic missiles at saudi arabia targets. this included the oil export terminal in the mid east coast but that is unusual. normally they target western saudi arabia because it is closer to yemen

and it is easierfor them arabia because it is closer to yemen and it is easier for them to target with accuracy. airports in the southwest and they recently have been targeting riyadh and the saudi rebels were able to shoot down most of these incoming ballistic objects but it seems that today it is possible, although not confirm, that one did hit a target in eastern province and reports of casualties are not here yet but it is will be very worrying to saudi arabia oil company and to all of thousands of employees that even though they are on the other side of the country a long way from yemen, they are not safe from attack.— safe from attack. within yemen we have been reporting _ safe from attack. within yemen we have been reporting the _ safe from attack. within yemen we have been reporting the less - safe from attack. within yemen we have been reporting the less they l safe from attack. within yemen we l have been reporting the less they or so the houthis have been waging this attack on a mirror become another key city, so the saudis have a lot to worry about —— marab. they did really make do. it to worry about -- marab. they did really make do.— really make do. it went into this for six years _ really make do. it went into this for six years ago _ really make do. it went into this for six years ago with _ really make do. it went into this

for six years ago with a - really make do. it went into this for six years ago with a lot - really make do. it went into this for six years ago with a lot of i for six years ago with a lot of confidence. i went down to riyadh at the time inside out run coalition operations centre and interviewed the chief spokesman and a major general and he was confident that it would all be over by the end of the year because the saudis and allies had complete air superiority, there was no due air force but the houthis have been resilient and may very stubborn and political negotiations but resilient in the country has suffered enormous tax and both sides are responsible alleged war crimes here. —— enormous attacks. but the houthis remain in control of the capital and most of the most populated areas of yemen and there were negative in the side he say they are now needing a lot of technical help from iran and that the construction of targeting used by the stones which i think are really starting to write off saudis. the the saudis want out of this war but they cannot leave an armed enemy attack that given which will

continue to threaten them. thank ou. a british— iranian woman imprisoned in iran since 2016, nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, has been freed after her sentence came to an end — and almost immediately told she'll have to appear in court again on a separate charge. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe was arrested after travelling from the uk with her baby daughter to visit her parents. she was accused of spying, which she has always denied. the bbc�*s caroline hawley is following the story. 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. the headlines on bbc news... at least four extremely powerful explosions have gone off in the west african state of equatorial guinea, killing 15 people and injuring 500 according to the country's president. pope francis celebrates mass in irbil — declaring that iraq will remain in his heart — as he holds the last public event of his historic trip to the country. here in the uk — the first easing of the coronavirus restrictions is to begin on monday — when ten million pupils in england begin going back to schools and colleges. 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 i 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. barcelona football is electing a new club president, a week afterformer presidentjosep maria bartmaio was arrested following an investigation into the clubs financial issues. the allegations are believed to relate to the so called barcagate scandal. in february last year the club denied the accusation it had fired a private firm to attack some of its own players on social media — including lionel messi. bartomeu resigned in october, after 20,000 fans signed a petition demanding he leave. following bartomeu's arrest

on monday, catalan police raided the club's h0. whoever takes over his position has a considerable task ahead — last year the club reported major losses of $114 million for the previous season. earlier lionel messi cast his vote for the new president. the football legend's future at the club has been a major issue during the election. ernest macia is a sports reporter for catalunya radio. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. how would you describe the substance of these allegations? well, i've believed it is a difficult situation for the club, the financial situation which is evident in the week has been really difficult and i think that it has had direct effect on the result of the elections because the opposite,

that's the reason why he has not made and also for the first time in history, mail—in ballots, which has an influence. and the fact that many people have been in their home due to covid—19 as well, the reason why the turnout has been one of the highest if not the highest in history. the situation with the club is very difficult. what is been happening in recent days has had influence on the result although porter was already the favourite. who do you think is likely to replace him and how soon will be no? i believejohn up for tuh is the main favourite. according to our survey, a survey made by catalonia radio and tv, he won by 50% of the votes. now the 10% of the most

recounted and he seems to go up from 57% of the vote sojohn portillo will be the president unless there is a big change. this is so big. all of these thousands of voters asked and he is likened to be the new president again.— and he is likened to be the new president again. and he is likened to be the new resident aain. ., ., , president again. something that has been uite president again. something that has been quite controversial, _ president again. something that has been quite controversial, bartomeul been quite controversial, bartomeu talked about this, barcelona joining a european super league. tell us about this idea and do you think it will continue? i about this idea and do you think it will continue?— will continue? i think it is quite difficult. will continue? i think it is quite difficult- it _ will continue? i think it is quite difficult. it was _ will continue? i think it is quite difficult. it was one _ will continue? i think it is quite difficult. it was one of - will continue? i think it is quite difficult. it was one of the i will continue? i think it is quite difficult. it was one of the lastl difficult. it was one of the last decisions that bartomeu made even when they knew that things were going ahead and he took business decisions and sign the papers and said because it was for the club from a financial point of view but we saw many criticism from the three candidates and i think it is not going forward but we will see what

happens in the future because the new president will have to see what is at stake and what exactly bartomeu left behind. irate is at stake and what exactly bartomeu left behind. we talk about what is at stake, _ bartomeu left behind. we talk about what is at stake, lionel— bartomeu left behind. we talk about what is at stake, lionel messi, i bartomeu left behind. we talk about what is at stake, lionel messi, veryl what is at stake, lionel messi, very important to the club course. indeed. i believe that now barcelona has many chances to retain lionel messi. he casted his vote today for the first time. he never voted until today. he has a big relation with messi. there the chance will stay in barcelona. thank you much forjoining us. the queen has spoken of the importance of staying in touch with family and friends during what she called testing times. she said technology had helped to transcend the divisions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. senior royals including the prince

of wales and the duke of duchess of cambridge have been appearing on a television programme to mark commonwealth day on monday. the queen's message to the commonwealth was broadcast just hours before the us television interview, involving prince harry and meghan markle. nicholas witchell is the bbc�*s royal correspondent. 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. as soon as that interview errors and also of course with prince harry, we will have the very latest here.

you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. well, all in all, it's been a largely settled weekend, thanks to high—pressure. it has been chilly, though, and many places have held onto the cloud. now, this upcoming week starts fine, monday and tuesday, but then it really changes midweek onwards, as we see deep areas of low pressure moving from the atlantic to bring spells of rain and gales. and there's a chance we could see some stormy weather through wednesday into thursday, the risk of severe gales. back to the here and now, we've still got higher pressure towards the central southern portions of the uk. a few weather fronts affecting the northern half of the country as we head through this evening and overnight. some patchy rain for scotland, northern ireland, northern england. further south, under clearer skies with light winds,

it will be another cold one, subzero values with some frost, a little bit of mist and fog. less cold further north, of course, where we have the cloud and the showers. so monday's a north—south divide, we will have the showery bursts of rain for northern ireland, parts of scotland, northern england, perhaps into the east midlands later in the day. a bit of sunshine, though, there for northern scotland. the best of the dry and brighter weather will be across wales, the midlands, southern england, after that cold start, we should see sunny spells. i think temperatures up a degree or so right across the board, nines and ten celsius for many of us. now, for tuesday, we've got our area of high—pressure really retreating away now, and it's going to allow the first of these areas of deep low pressure to move into the far west of the country later on tuesday. but for tuesday itself, actually quite a pleasant day for many. we will see the winds picking up from the southwest, but plenty of sunshine across central, eastern and southern areas where we will see temperatures reach highs of around 11—12 celsius, but thicker cloud, stronger wind developing out west with some rain as that first low moves in. now, the reason things turn very windy indeed is that powerful jet will develop across the north atlantic,

aiming towards our shores and steering these deep areas of low pressure, which will develop underneath, and this is wednesday's low, an even deeper feature which could bring some disruption. so for wednesday, we will see wet and windy weather spreading across england and wales. a bit of sunshine and showers across the north of the country before the very strong winds and heavy rain arrive across western areas later on wednesday and through wednesday night. slightly milder air moving up from the southwest, but it might not feel like that because of the strength of the winds and all the rain. so through wednesday night into thursday, we are looking at the risk of gales or even severe gales, so stay tuned for the forecast for the latest details.

hello, this is bbc news with philippa thomas. the headlines... 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 it's not the release we wanted. it 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 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. pope francis on the final day of his visit to iraq, greeted by thousands for an outdoor mass in irbil. now on bbc new, our world. bbc europe editor katya adler explores what went wrong at the austrian resort of ischgl at the start of the global pandemic and asks what lessons

can be learned.