this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. as pope francis prepares to leave iraq, he declares that the country will remain in his heart at the last public event of his historic trip. the west african state of equitorial guinea appeals for international hel after a munitions dump blows up in an extremely powerful explosion, killing 15 people and injuring hundreds more. —— international help. 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. the first papal visit to iraq is drawing to a close, as the pontiff prepares to fly out of the country on monday. pope francis spent his last full day visiting parts of the country once held by militants from the self—styled islamic state. the pontiff then celebrated mass at a football stadium in irbil, the capital of iraq's kurdistan region. he told an audience

of thousands that iraq will always be in his heart. our correspondent mark lowen is travelling with pope francis and has this report on the historic visit. 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. officials in the west african country of equatorial guinea have appealed for international help following a series of explosions. they said the blasts were due to negligence in the storing of dynamite at a munitions depot inside a military base. a statement from the president says 15 people have been killed and more than 500 injured. state tv showed video footage of traumatised people staggering to safety and attempts to rescue those trapped under the rubble. the health ministry said three hospitals receiving the injured had been overwhelmed — it urged people to donate blood and asked off duty doctors to help. 0ur africa editorfor the bbc world service will ross has more. 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. that was will ross of the bbc world service. 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 when they're 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 was taken off. nazanin said she was ecstatic and went to visit her elderly grandmother, but in a week she faces a different court case on another secret charge. by the time i was speaking 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've got the ankle tag off and there's been progress. and they clearly issued a formal note this morning saying, "you have to release her". so the iranians have done that. but they've kept it as leverage going forwards. and i find that my emotional reaction has been quite guarded

about what this means and we're still in the middle, we're in the 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's suffered months of solitary confinement, blindfolded interrogations and several false promises of release. nazanin has been told by iranian officials that she's being held as collateral for a debt owed by britain dating back to the 1970s. calls are now growing for the government here to take a stronger stand against iran's hostage diplomacy. it's clearly another trumped up charge, because hardliners in the regime are saying, "we've paid the diplomatic price for holding nazanin, now let's not lose the leverage 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, and they're just forgetting that

in all these grand power games, there are ordinary people who are paying a most terrible price. 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 a toy shop. but now their hopes have been dashed 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's safely on a flight back to the uk will they know their ordeal is finally over. i love you, baby. love you! violence has escalated again in myanmar, with at least 18 people killed on sunday alone, in clashes between anti—coup demonstrators and police forces. huge protests broke out after an official of aung san suu kyi's party, died in police custody. security forces near the ancient city of bagan, fired rubber bullets on protestors, and in yangon, they carried out several raids, firing at apartment

buildings and arresting activists. danai howard reports. instead of the now—usual sounds of gunfire and tear gas, a moment of silence filled the streets of yangon on saturday in memory of protesters killed by security forces. this man is one of the latest — an official from aung san suu kyi's over their own government. he died in police custody after being arrested on saturday evening by security forces in yangon. witnesses say he was violently beaten and kicked before being taken from his home. his parents were told he had died after fainting. huge crowds of demonstrators took to the streets in response to his death. in some areas, police responded with gunfire, adding to the death toll. the un has condemned it as a gruesome day. when you look at what's going on on the streets of myanmar right now,

you see exactly why it is so compelling for countries to take action. we simply can't afford in any sense of the word to sit back and turn our backs on the people of myanmar. some governments have started to take action. australia has suspended defence cooperation with the military and says its development programme will now be directed to the immediate humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable people. and china, whose cooperation is needed in the un to impose sanctions on myanmar, announced on sunday that it is willing to engage with all parties to ease the crisis. beijing's top diplomat says the situation in myanmar is absently not what china wants to see. —— absolutely not. translation: on the basis of respect for myanmar's sovereignty _ and the will of its people, china stands ready to engage and communicate with the relevant parties and play a constructive role in easing the situation. as the week begins with international women's day, the protests will take

on a new dimension. human rights activists say women in myanmar have long endured inequality and oppression under past military regimes. —— repression. many women activists have paid with their lives in their fight for democracy. women's traditional skirts have become another symbol of the protests. strung across streets like this, it's considered bad luck to walk under them. demonstrators say they're them up to deter advancing soldiers and give the people time to run away. danai howard, bbc news. my next guest is not new to political protest in myanmar. wai wai nu has been advocating for the rights of women and ethnic minorities in the country for several years, suggesting that the system needs to be more inclusive for all. shejoins me now from washington, dc. thank you very much forjoining us here at bbc news. how have women's lives in particular been affected by events in myanmar?—

lives in particular been affected by events in myanmar? thank you for havin: events in myanmar? thank you for having me- — events in myanmar? thank you for having me. women _ events in myanmar? thank you for having me. women throughout - events in myanmar? thank you for| having me. women throughout the history have been particularly targeted in many ways by the military dictatorship. 0ver targeted in many ways by the military dictatorship. over the past several decades, ethnic women in the ethnic areas have been targeted for rape, gang rape and mutilation, to terrorise and dehumanize an entire community as well as women themselves. and we remember in 2016-17, themselves. and we remember in 2016—17, even before this, thousands of rohingya women have been targeted for the sexual violence, rape, of rohingya women have been targeted forthe sexualviolence, rape, gang rape and mutilations again. and none of these crimes have been addressed as the military, that very same military now leading the crew is held unaccountable until now. now what we've seen since the coup from the 1st of february is that women

are targeted in a way that has dehumanized them, when they've been arrested or killed in many ways. women are brutally beaten by male police officers, and women are violently arrested without presence of female police officers — all of these patterns become increasingly dehumanizing to women themselves, and it's been very, very disturbing to see. ~ , , ., ., to see. why is it then that women are still going _ to see. why is it then that women are still going out _ to see. why is it then that women are still going out on _ to see. why is it then that women are still going out on the - to see. why is it then that women are still going out on the streets? why are they risking their lives, what's so important for them knowing that that's what'll happen if encounter security forces? still going out on the streets to protest? i mean, the protests now involve the entire country. it's mostly younger people, but again, from all social and economic backgrounds, to the

ethnic backgrounds and gender backgrounds, a lot of them are young women and a lot of them are women of ethnic minority populations. and i think this is because many women on the ground now at the forefront of the ground now at the forefront of the protests, particularly ethnic women, the women from the minority backgrounds are there because they have endured this suffering, they have endured this suffering, they have experienced the human rights violations that repress them with the military...— the military... sorry to interrupt, i 'ust the military... sorry to interrupt, ijust want— the military... sorry to interrupt, ijust want to _ the military... sorry to interrupt, i just want to get _ the military... sorry to interrupt, i just want to get a _ the military... sorry to interrupt, i just want to get a very - the military... sorry to interrupt, | i just want to get a very important question in. did anything change whilst aung san suu kyi was in power was back also, there was a strategic plan that was put in place in 2013 by the ministry of social welfare relief and resettlement that were targeting specifically gender

issues, equality issues for men. was any progress made on that? yes. issues, equality issues for men. was any progress made on that?- any progress made on that? yes, in 2013-14, the _ any progress made on that? yes, in 2013-14, the military _ any progress made on that? yes, in 2013-14, the military had _ any progress made on that? yes, in| 2013-14, the military had introduced 2013—14, the military had introduced a law that race and religion data protection law, including women's right —— limiting women's rights to marry a non—buddhist males. this was a very racist and gendered law that targeted women and it has not changed yet. so the women, over several decades, have been suffering and many come up by the military, all this accumulation of suffering and experiencing of the women, so women are the ones leading the protests in most cases and are using

ourfemininity... you know, the women are using their own scarves basically to use against the patriarchal, misogynistic military —— skirts. patriarchal, misogynistic military -- skirts. ., ~' , patriarchal, misogynistic military -- skirts. ., ~ , . -- skirts. thank you very much indeed, thank _ -- skirts. thank you very much indeed, thank you. _ hundreds of protesters demanding justice for george floyd have been marching through the us city of minneapolis, on the eve of the trial of a white policeman charged with his murder. protesters carried a mock coffin and black lives matter signs, on a march through the city. mr floyd died in minneapolis in may last year, after police office officer — derek chauvin — pinned him down by the neck for more than eight minutes, as mr floyd repeatedly said "i can't breathe". jury selection is due to begin on monday. mr chauvin is expected to plead not guilty. there's much more on the website on this story — including a look at why the trial is so important,

as well as a report which takes you step—by—step through the last moments of george floyd's life. that's on the bbc news website. the headlines on bbc news... pope francis is preparing to leave iraq on monday, after attending the last public event of his historic trip. he celebrated mass at a football stadium in irbil, telling the audience that iraq will remain in his heart. the west african state of equitorial guinea is appealing for international help after a munitions dump blew up in an extremely powerful explosion, killing 15 people and injuring hundreds more. here in england, 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? the risk of false positives is extremely low, less than one in 1,000, and we would expect that that would be the same risk with pcr tests. no test is perfect, and a test that reveals less than one in 1000 false 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 - 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 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 has elected joan laporta as its new club president, a week after his predecessor josep maria bartomeu 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 ho. 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 at the nou camp. the football legend's future at the club has been a major issue during the election. catalunya radio sports reporter ernest macia has been looking at how the scandal affected the election. i believe it's a difficult situation for the club, and a financial situation which is evident. the week has been really difficult,

and i think that it will have — well, it has had a direct effect on the result of the elections becausejoan laporta representsjust the opposite of his opponent, so probably that's the reason why he's won so broadly. also, there's been — for the first time in history — mail—in ballots, which also has an influence, and the fact that many people have been closed in in their homes due to covid—19 as well is one of the reasons why the turnout has been one of the highest if not the highest in history. the situation is very difficult. he's a man on a mission, joan laporta is a man on the mission, and of course, what's been happening in recent days has had an influence, of course, on the result, although laporta was already favoured. 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. she 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. you're watching bbc news. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers this evening — the journalist caroline frost and tony grew from the sunday times. that's coming up after the headlines at 11:30pm. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. high pressure has brought largely fine and settled conditions to the uk during the weekend. it looks like this settled weather is going to last through monday and tuesday, but then it's all change. midweek, it's going to turn very windy with the possibility of severe gales developing through wednesday night into thursday. we'll also have some heavy rain as well, so some big changes to the weather as we move deeper on into this week.

in the short term, though, we still have higher pressure to south of the uk, some weather fronts to the north of the uk. so monday is a north—south divide, it's a cold, frosty start across the midlands, wales, southern england, with some sunshine. clouds may tend to increase at times, and further north, we will see some showery bursts of rain, some of thatjust pushing into eastern england as well into the afternoon. but there will be some sunshine as well across central and northern scotland, and i think temperatures will be a degree or so higher than what we've had in recent days, 8—10 celsius. now, through monday night, many central and eastern areas will turn dry with clear spells, but we will have this weak front pushing into the western parts of the uk, so that will produce some showery rain. a bit more of a breeze here as well, so temperatures holding up around 4—6 celsius, some chilly spots, though, further east under those clear skies. by tuesday, we start to lose this area of high pressure. it declines and starts to allow this first area of low pressure to hurtle in off the atlantic, which will affect northwestern parts of the uk later on tuesday. for tuesday itself, it's a chilly start, central eastern areas, that weather front will fizzle out. in fact, for much of scotland, england and wales, it should be dry with some sunshine,

but clouds will tend to build up further west later in the day with a few showers, and the breeze will pick up as well. we could see temperatures reaching 11—12 celsius in the sunshine further east. now, the jet stream is really powering up across the north atlantic by the middle part of the week, and that will spin off some deep areas of low pressure. that's tuesday's low, this is wednesday and thursday's low, which could be even deeper. so for wednesday, we could see a spell of wet and windy weather spread across the country, and then it will be mixed with some brighter, sunnier, showery weather before the centre of this low arrives across western areas later on wednesday to bring even stronger winds and some heavy rain. there will still be some fairly mild air in the mix, but it might not feel like that because of the strength of the winds. and then through wednesday night into thursday, this is where we could see the strongest of the winds, potentially severe gale force, which could lead to some disruption. so do stay tuned to the forecast.

hello. this is bbc news with lukwesa burak. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings 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. it's not the release we wanted. it's not that ticket home and her passport back in coming back 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.