hopes for nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe as she is released from house arrest in iran. her ankle tag was removed today as a five—year sentence came to an end. separated from her young daughter, she now faces a court hearing on another charge. her husband says the ordeal is not over: my emotional reaction is quite guarded about what this means, and we're still in the middle of it. we're still in the middle of it. as the prime minister calls for nazanin�*s permanent release and return home, we'll have the latest. also tonight: a big day for millions of children tomorrow as schools in england reopen to all pupils — a first step in easing the covid lockdown. the queen's message on the importance of duty

as she marks commonwealth day. and fans break virus restrictions after rangers win the scottish premiership for the first time in a decade. good evening. nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, who was detained and jailed in iran nearly five years ago, has had her house arrest lifted as her sentence came to an end today, raising hopes that she may be a step close to returning to britain. but shortly after her ankle tag was removed, she was told of a court summons on a separate charge next week. her husband richard says she remains in harm's way. our correspondent caroline hawley reports. a rare glimpse into what's keeping this family together.

when they are forced to be thousands of miles apart. it's still quite a messy house. for six—year—old gabriela, an image on a mobile phone can't replace the touch of her mother. she'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. nazanin said she was ecstatic and went to visit her elderly grandmother, but in a week she faces another court case on another secret charge. bi; another court case on another secret charae. �* , ., , another court case on another secret charae. j ,, .,~ charge. by the time i was speaking to nazanin. — charge. by the time i was speaking to nazanin, everyone _ charge. by the time i was speaking to nazanin, everyone was - charge. by the time i was speaking to nazanin, everyone was going . charge. by the time i was speaking i to nazanin, everyone was going mad, is she out? and yes, she is. technically, the first court case is finished. at the same time, the second court case simultaneously has been evoked. so the foreign office are pleased that they have got the ankle tag of and there has been progress. and they clearly issued a formal note this morning saying, you have to release her. so the iranians have to release her. so the iranians have done that. but they have kept

it as leveraged going forwards. and ifind it as leveraged going forwards. and i find that my emotional reaction has been quite guarded about what this means and we are still in the middle of this game of chess. she was at tehran _ middle of this game of chess. she was at tehran airport, preparing to fly home from a holiday visiting her parents, when she was arrested in 2016. since then, she has suffered months of solitary confinement, blindfolded interrogations and several false promises of release. nazanin has been told by iranian officials that she is being held as collateral for a debt owed officials that she is being held as collateralfor a debt owed by britain dating back to the 19705. calls are now growing for the government here to take a stronger 5tand government here to take a stronger stand against iran's hostage diplomacy. stand against iran's hostage diplomacy-— stand against iran's hostage diloma . ., ., diplomacy. it's clearly another trum ed diplomacy. it's clearly another trumped up — diplomacy. it's clearly another trumped up charge, _ diplomacy. it's clearly another trumped up charge, because l trumped up charge, because hardliner5 in the regime are saying we have paid the diplomatic price for holding nazanin, now let's not lose the leveraged of keeping her. and it is totally and utterly inhumane, because at the centre of this is an innocent woman, her

husband and her daughter, as they arejust husband and her daughter, as they are just forgetting that in all these grand power games, there are the5e grand power games, there are ordinary people who are paying a most terrible price.— most terrible price. what's the first thing you're _ most terrible price. what's the first thing you're going - most terrible price. what's the first thing you're going to - most terrible price. what's the first thing you're going to do . most terrible price. what's the i first thing you're going to do with money— first thing you're going to do with money when she comes back? first thing _ money when she comes back? first thing you _ money when she comes back? first thing you are going to do together? go thing you are going to do together? 60 to— thing you are going to do together? 60 to a _ thing you are going to do together? 60 to a toy— thing you are going to do together? go to a toy shop. but thing you are going to do together? go to a toy shon— go to a toy shop. but now their ho es go to a toy shop. but now their hepes have _ go to a toy shop. but now their hopes have been _ go to a toy shop. but now their hopes have been dashed - go to a toy shop. but now their hopes have been dashed yet i go to a toy shop. but now their - hopes have been dashed yet again. hopes have been da5hed yet again. their mp has called it mental torture. for how much longer will they have to go through this agony of separation? only when she is 5afely on a flight back to the uk where they know their ordeal i5 where they know their ordeal is finally over. i where they know their ordeal is finally over-— where they know their ordeal is i finally over._ love finally over. i love you, baby. love ou! and caroline is with me now. how likely is it that this does lead in time to her return to britain? that is an impossible question. we don't know what will happen next week. she still doesn't have her british passport back. the new court case could be used to block her

release. richard has told me that the iranians 5ee nazanin a5 release. richard has told me that the iranians 5ee nazanin as an asset and that they are making this up as they go along. the debt that the uk owe5 to iran for tanks that were never delivered to iran after the islamic revolution, that is still outstanding. the uk acknowledges that it owe5 outstanding. the uk acknowledges that it owes the debt, but can't pay it back because of sanctions. so you have got these complicated geopolitics and then a family caught in the middle of all this, and it's been this horrific emotional roller—coaster for them, and all of that in a way collapsed ju5t into today, the ups and downs, thejoy that in a way collapsed ju5t into today, the ups and downs, the joy of nazanin's release, the idea that can go out and have a cup of coffee, a simple pleasure, and now the threat 5imple pleasure, and now the threat of a court case next week. simple pleasure, and now the threat of a court case next week.— of a court case next week. caroline hawle , of a court case next week. caroline hawley. thank— of a court case next week. caroline hawley, thank you. _ schools across england reopen to all pupils from tomorrow, marking the first stage in moving the country out of lockdown. after a year of disrupted teaching and months at home, longer school days and shorter holidays are being considered to help pupils make up for lost time. our education editor, branwenjeffreys 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 ju5t 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 fa5t tests? the risk of false positives is extremely low, less than one in 1000, and we would expect that that would be the same risk with pcr test5.

no test is perfect, and a test that reveals less than one in 1000 fal5e positives is a very good test. 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. school reopening is a calculated risk. it may well increase the rate of infection. that's why masks for teenagers in classrooms are being advised. we saw from wearing i masks in communal areas that it wasn't compulsory, but 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 desk5 fill up, the worry is helping kid5 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 daily data on coronaviru5 shows 5,177 new 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 5,995. 82 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19test. this number is often lower on a sunday. the total number of deaths so far across the uk is 124,501. 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.

that takes the overall number of people who've had their fir5tjab to 22.2 million and 1.1 million people have now had both doses of the vaccine. the vaccine rollout has reached three quarters of people in their 605 and 56 to 59—year—olds are now being invited to book a jab. across the uk, the aim is to reach all over—505 by the middle of april. our 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 theirfir5tjab. 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 respiratory viruses of any other type, i and that means potentially the population immunity— to that is less, and so we could see surges in flu, we could see surges and other respiratory viruses i 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've all been living with will be with us for some months to come. dominic hughes, bbc news. the queen has spoken of the importance of maintaining a sense of closeness with friends and family in a message broadcast just hours before the us television interview with prince harry and meghan markle.

her majesty was among senior royals appearing in a special programme to mark commonwealth day, and talked of how technology had helped to transcend divisions caused by the pandemic. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. they sing. an image of common unity and purpose. yet this is about two different broadcasts and sharply diverging agendas. first, in celebration of the commonwealth. it embraces nearly a third of the world's population and it's been one of the abiding commitments of the queen over the many decades of her reign. tonight, a pre—recorded broadcast in which the queen spoke about the testing times for the commonwealth of the covid pandemic. stirring examples of courage, commitment and selfless dedication to duty have been demonstrated in every commonwealth nation and territory, notably by those working on the front line. the queen spoke of testing times

and have the need to use technology, as she put it, to stay in touch with friends and family. it was all quiet and unflashy. the duke and duchess of cambridge were seen expressing their thanks to health care workers. it's fantastic, what you're doing. a huge congratulations from catherine and i in terms of what you're managing and dealing with. were you silent or were you silenced? but now the focus shifts to broadcast number two, the interview the duke and duchess of sussex have given in california to oprah winfrey. it'll be transmitted in america in the next few hours. their comments potentially will deepen the rift between harry and meghan and the remainder of harry's family. we're on the other side of a lot of... a lot of life experience that's happened. so who has better caught the mood of the moment, the couple in california who've chosen a path away from royal duty, or the monarch, who spoke

in her broadcast about selfless dedication to duty and who has epitomised precisely that for so many decades? nicholas witchell, bbc news. detectives investigating the disappearance of a woman from south london have released information about where she was last seen. 33—year—old sarah everard was spotted on cctv close to clapham common at around 9.30 on wednesday evening. she was walking back to her home in brixton after leaving a friend's house. her family have described her disappearance as "totally out of character". borisjohnson has insisted the government is giving nhs workers in england as much of salary increase "as it possibly can." ministers have faced days of criticism from healthcare workers since it was disclosed that a 1% pay increase had been proposed for them. our political correspondent iain watson is in westminster — how likely is a u—turn ?

it is certainly the case that there are predictions here at westminster that the row over nhs pay the end the same way as the row over school meals, with the government changing its position. certainly, some senior conservatives are privately expressing their unhappiness tonight. but borisjohnson defended the proposed 1% rise, saying we live in tough times. but he also pointed out an independent pay review body will look at the issue over the next few months. that could just be delaying the political pain, because if it says salaries should go up by more than 1%, then the prime minister will have to decide at that stage which cuts to make elsewhere in the nhs budget to pay for it. but it could be a problem for labour too because they denounced the 1% as a disgrace, but they also said today that they would accept the recommendations of that pay review body. if it says actually, times are tough, 1% it is, then labour would either have to change position or face a backlash from the unions. so you can see why some mp5 across the

political divide are really hoping borisjohnson will change his boris johnson will change his position borisjohnson will change his position and change it quickly. iain watson at westminster, thank you. in myanmar, large numbers of protesters have continued to demonstrate against military leaders — five weeks on from the coup. security forces used stun grenades and tear gas to break up protests in the cities of yangon and mandalay, and opened fire at the world heritage temple complex in bagan, injuring several people. pope francis's visit to iraq took him to the northern part of the country today, into areas once held by the islamic state group. christians were among those targeted by is when they seized the region in 2014. the pope prayed among ruined churches in mosul, before meeting iraqi christians in qaraqosh. he ended the day in irbil with an outdoor mass attended by 10,000 people. our correspondent mark lowen has been travelling with the pope 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. 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. the visit was a plea to iraqi christians to halt their exodus. killed or forced to flee by sunni extremists, they've fallen from 1.5 million to under 300,000, one of the world's oldest christian communities itself in ruins. and 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 infections, 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. with all the sport now, here's olly foster at the bbc sport centre. good evening.

there have been some important matches affecting the premier league and scottish premiership title races — highlights follow the news, but stay right there for a couple of minutes if you want the details... rangers are champions for the first time in 10 years, after their nearest rivals celtic dropped points at dundee united today. manager steven gerrard called it a monumental achievement. jane dougall reports. anticipation for this title win has been building for a decade. fans' jubilation saw hundreds ignore covid rules to gather outside ibrox when confirmation came from almost 100 miles away. the confirmation came from almost 100 miles away-— miles away. the wait is over! ranuers miles away. the wait is over! rangers are _ miles away. the wait is over! rangers are champions i miles away. the wait is over! rangers are champions of i miles away. the wait is over! i rangers are champions of scotland! their bitter rivals celtic couldn't beat dundee united, handing rangers the title, and their players knew it. these players knew it too. rangers won their match yesterday,

and were watching events unfold together at their training ground. pass title winners also joined in from home. pass title winners also “oined in from hamlet from home. congratulations to glasaow from home. congratulations to glasgow rangers, _ from home. congratulations to glasgow rangers, stevie i from home. congratulations to glasgow rangers, stevie g i from home. congratulations to| glasgow rangers, stevie g and from home. congratulations to i glasgow rangers, stevie g and the boys. we were magnificent this season, you deserve to be top of the league, deserve to make it 55. it’s league, deserve to make it 55. it's been ten years since rangers last won the top tier trophy. financial turmoil at the club was liquidated and had to work its way up from the bottom. during those fallow years, celtic capitalised, winning nine league trophies. but in 2018, former liverpool and england captain steven gerard took over, guiding them to their 55th title and his first silverware as a manager. ecstatic, man. ten silverware as a manager. ecstatic, man- ten years — silverware as a manager. ecstatic, man. ten years of— silverware as a manager. ecstatic, man. ten years of misery - silverware as a manager. ecstatic, man. ten years of misery and i silverware as a manager. ecstatic, j man. ten years of misery and look silverware as a manager. ecstatic, i man. ten years of misery and look at the place, bouncing. this man. ten years of misery and look at the place, bouncing.— the place, bouncing. this is the best ever- _ the place, bouncing. this is the best ever. over _ the place, bouncing. this is the best ever. over the _ the place, bouncing. this is the best ever. over the moon. i the place, bouncing. this is the best ever. over the moon. a i the place, bouncing. this is the i best ever. over the moon. a long time coming- _ best ever. over the moon. a long time coming. winning _ best ever. over the moon. a long time coming. winning so - best ever. over the moon. a long time coming. winning so early i best ever. over the moon. a long time coming. winning so early in | best ever. over the moon. a long i time coming. winning so early in the season has many _ time coming. winning so early in the season has many benefits. _

time coming. winning so early in the season has many benefits. rangers'l season has many benefits. rangers' next match is at celtic park, where they will be welcomed as champions of scotland. jane dougal, bbc news. manchester city's 21 match—winning run has been ended by manchester united. united won the derby 2—0 at the etihad stadium to move back up to second in the table. they still trail city by 11 points, with 10 games left to play. liverpool's woes continue — the champions lost 1—0 at home to fulham, their sixth defeat in a row at anfield. elsewhere, it was goaless between west brom and newcastle. tottenham beat crystal palace 4—1. england's women have completed a 3—0 clean sweep in their t20 series against new zealand. they won by 32 runs in wellington. stand—in captain nat sciver took the winning wicket. it's been a succesful tour, they also won the one—day series against new zealand. great britain have finished third in the medal table at the european indoor athletics championships. keely hodgkinson capped an impressive three days for the team in poland. the 19—year—old took gold in the 800 metres. great britain won 12 medals in all, equalling their best return in the championships.

much more on the bbc sport website, a busy day in the women's super league, chelsea are still top after beating west ham. a first look at tomorrow's newspapers is coming up on the bbc news channel in a moment, but that's it from us for tonight — on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. goodnight.

hello. this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. let's return to the pope's visit to iraq. earlier, i spoke to to catherine pepinster — a catholic commentator and the former editor of the tablet magazine — about this historic visit. this pope, pope francis, has spent a large part of his pontificacy engaging in dialogue with people east and west. he's been very concerned about interreligion dialogue. he's been aware that relations between catholics and muslims took a dip during the previous pontificate of pope benedict xvi, and so he's been working towards this. in 2019 in the united arab emirates, he signed a

declaration of what was called fraternity with a leading sunni cleric, and now he's gone to iraq and he's engaged with one of the great shia ayatollahs, al—sistani. so, this is part of a pattern of dialogue that he wants to develop. but being there now for christians in that part of the world is incredibly important because they've had so many years of persecution, many of them fled and now there seems the hope, perhaps, that they can rebuild. and in going to iraq, pope francis is asking for protection, for the safety of christians there, but more than that, really. the conversations that he had with al—sistani were also about rights, about the importance that christians should have equal rights, should be seen as much as citizens as muslims in that country, and that's something that he continually says about christians

in muslim countries. that's why it's so significant, and i think that's what he's trying to get to. he wants people to be reconciled. he 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. the reality on the ground is so very different there, isn't it? a highly significant part of the world for roman catholic christians, and that's why, obviously, the pope is there. so, realistically, what has this trip achieved? i think the fact he's gone there is terribly important to the christians of the middle east themselves. i think it does give them a boost.

it's comforting, it shows that there, he's in solidarity with them. but i think it shows that he's very serious about that dialogue, too, and it seems from the way that al—sistani responded to him that he also recognised the importance of the pope going there, that actually being there was very important. and hopefully out of that, there could come some more dialogue and some recognition of the importance of the safety and the rights of those christians in that part of the world. but it's going to take a long time, both in terms of that physical rebuilding because there's still so much there that's lying in the rubble, but also the rebuilding of the country, the rebuilding of citizenship and the joining together to develop the possibility of people living there safely. 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 lukwesa burak. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow morning's papers in a moment with tony grew and caroline frost. first, 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.