and the benefits it can all bring to us. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines. donald trump's long—serving finance chief allen weisselberg and the organisation set up in the former president's name have pleaded not guilty to tax fraud and theft at a court in new york. the charges are the first to be brought as part of a 3—year investigation by the manhattan district attorney. president biden has said it is essential to find out what caused an apartment block in miami to collapse last week. he also promised that federal funding for the rescue effort would continue for a month. mr biden was speaking after meeting families of victims of the disaster. counting is under way in the yorkshire constituency of batley and spen where voting has been taken place. it will be seen as a test of keir starmer�*s leadership of the labor party. nissan has

announced a major expansion of electric vehicle production at its car plant in sunderland, which will create more than 1600 newjobs. the japanese carmaker says it will build its new generation of electric model with batteries on site. these are the new engines of the world automotive economy. a new battery factory will make 100,000 of them a year, to be fitted to a brand—new model at a plant supplied by its own renewable energy grid. a £1 billion investment, creating over 6,000 jobs here and in the supply chain. today we're announcing the world's first manufacturing ecosystem, in sunderland, because of the skill and competencies of our workforce and the competitiveness of this plant. and i do believe that sunderland will become our flagship business model to apply in other parts of the world. the prime minister was on—site, as you might expect, after a government contribution of around £100 million to the project. money well spent,

according to borisjohnson. this is something that is a massive benefit to the uk economy. nissan is going to be creating about 900 jobs alone in the battery gigafactory. a further 750, plus thousands potentially in the supply chains. but what it's also doing is helping to lengthen the lead of this country in bringing low—carbon technology. it wasn't so long ago that nissan was warning a no—deal brexit could see it leave the uk. the future now looks brighter. nissan's always had a strong presence in the north—east of england and i think what this announcement does is solidifies that for the younger generation, for the future. horn to0ts this is clearly great news for this industry, for this region and for the uk. in the future, with petrol and diesel bans coming down the tracks, if you don't have a battery industry, you won't have much

of a car industry. but investments like this are being made all over the world and this will have to be the first of many if the uk is to keep pace with the electric car revolution. batteries are heavy and require careful handling, so building cars and batteries close together makes economic and operational sense. by having the gigafactories in the uk, we are actually safeguarding the future of the automotive industry and the jobs that go with that. and, yes, we are behind germany, for example, who already have production at six or seven times this level, but we can catch up and this is a very good start. it's not just nissan. vauxhall is in talks with the government about its own electric plans, with an announcement expected imminently. this is also a race against the clock. from 2024, the brexit deal means cars exported to the eu must have higher levels of local content to avoid tariffs. the uk government started wooing nissan 35 years ago. it's been a success story which, with government support helping oil the wheels,

looks set to continue for many years to come. simon jack, bbc news, sunderland. now on bbc news: our world. it should be the safest place a child could be. why do you study? from there, to go back towards what? but schools in northern nigeria are being targeted by kidnappers. since december, more than 1,000 students have been abducted in the region. and it's affecting everyone from the youngest to the oldest pupils, rich and poor. save this country from the hands of these evil people!

she said: "mummy, they came to our school yesterday night and kidnapped us. " she now says: "mummy, come and see, they are just beating us." so, why are criminal gangs kidnapping schoolchildren? to find out, i've travelled across northern and central nigeria, speaking to those affected. this banditry is not some mere criminality. and the only way to deal with it is to launch a full—scale war against the bandits. under the cover of darkness, criminal gangs are disturbing the peace. armed men are targeting boarding schools, stealing children away as they sleep.

since the kidnapping of the chibok girls in 2014, the mass abduction of schoolchildren has become an increasingly common phenomenon here in nigeria. and every time, it follows a similar, chilling pattern. armed gunmen storm dormitories in the middle of the night, often arriving by foot or by motorbike, and take dozens of students with them into nearby forests. 39 students and staff were seized from the forestry school in the northern state of kaduna in early march. a video of the hostages was sent to the parents on social media. victory sani and her sister, rejoice, were among those abducted. since that day, their parents have been trying to secure their release.

victory is my first daughter, she has done a lot of schooling, she's a brilliant student. rejoice is someone who loves hairdressing, she plaits, she braids. the two of them are too addicted to themselves that they are always finding it difficult to live with each other. mr sani, since the incident, have you been contacted by the bandits? first contact that we

was from the bandits, demanding for 500 million naira from the state government. and when we got a video of our children being flogged in the bush, i was sent to the social media by the bandits. we decided to go in protests. chanting after ten days with no news of the 39 pupils seized at the forestry school... chanting ..friday sani and other parents took to the street to protest. the government threatened to prosecute anyone negotiating with the kidnappers, including parents. the government came out again with another press statement, that anyone caught negotiating with the bandits would be arrested and prosecuted. but we would prefer to be arrested, provided our children would be in their home, at home. so, you are saying

the strategy is not working? it's not working. if there is any strategy at all! people are dying and look as if nobody cares. it looks as if nobody cares. and we are still calling on the government to do something, fast. because those people will lose their patience and do something irrational. over the past seven months, a wave of kidnappings targeting schools and universities has swept the region. there have been nine mass abductions of students across five states. many believe the payment of ransom has created an industry. more than 1,000 students and staff have been taken and nine students have been killed. this round of kidnappings started in december, when more than 300 schoolboys were abducted from their dorms in the town of kankara. the town lies in a rural part of nigeria's north—western katsina state,

vulnerable to attack. at the time i travelled to kankara to cover the story. back then, i met usama, a student with sickle cell, who had managed to escape the kidnappers. i also spoke to ruqayya bello and bello sidi, whose asthmatic 14—year—old son, umar, was still missing. the kidnapped boys were released after six days. now, the school remains closed, leaving many boys at home without an education. the situation remains precarious. less than six months ago, we drove down this road to the town of kankara, to cover the kidnapping of over 300 schoolboys by armed men. since then, the area has become even more unsafe, with multiple

reports of attacks. ursama and others in his year have been relocated to a school in a safer location, closer to the state capital. why do you study? from there, to go back toward, what? what about the second one? he's one of the lucky few attending class, so he can take his school leaving exams. z is what? y? that moves from 2 to y. while he's pleased to be reunited with his friends, the past is hard to forget.

as a young person studying in nigeria today, how safe do you feel? 14—year—old umar has also been reunited with his parents. he remembers the day he got to see them again fondly. tell us about your time in the forest, umar, what was it like? was it difficult, did you have enough to eat?

when you think about umar going back to the school, to sleep there, do you feel a bit nervous?

in katsina, where ransoms were allegedly paid, umar and others were safely reunited with their families. but one state in nigeria's north has taken a different approach. i am travelling to neighbouring kaduna, where the state's governor has taken a stand against the payment of ransoms. he has repeatedly appeared on local media to say he won't speak to, let alone negotiate with, armed gangs that are attacking rural communities.

it's had devastating consequences — the number of kidnappings have increased. # we sing his praise. # we rise to see ourjesus.# mr and mrs yoanna's daughter dorothy attended the private greenfield university. 0n the day after she was abducted, mrs yoanna got a phone call from the kidnappers who put dorothy on the line. she said, "mummy, they came to our school yesterday night—time, they kidnapped us, we are in the bush." she now said, "mummy, come and see, they are just beating us." then the man collected the phone and he said they need money.

if you want them to release our children, we must be 800 million. we must pay 800 million. i shouted and screamed, i said "800 million?" so they asked for 800 million naira. that's about $2 million. did you have that kind of money? no. and i told him, "how did you expect us to get such money?" that was the last i spoke to her, and the man. we are still asking questions as to how this thing - happened, why our daughter? just two days later, mr yohanna got a call from the university telling him to come to a local hospital to identify the bodies of three students. when i went inside, the first person i saw was my daughter. i screamed, i said, "they killed my daughter!" ijust wept and then it was when i came to the home that i broke the news to them

that dorothy is no more. that was when i started crying. that is when my voice now ceased, that very day. you both had the worst possible news that any parent could hear. are you satisfied with the response from the authorities? i'm not satisfied because this thing happened on tuesday, and they called me on wednesday, and on friday, they killed my daughter. there is nojustice in that. i don't believe there is justice in that case. kaduna's state government says it has a strict policy of not negotiating with criminals, they don't pay ransoms. what do you both make of that decision? the people whojudge, the whole world should judge on that. therefore we will be praying

for our whole nation, - nigeria. this nation is burning. if they are not ready to negotiate with criminals, i also hope they have the way of getting the criminals because if they don't get the criminals and they are not negotiating with them, then we are in trouble. father, keep watch over your children. | you are the keeper of zion, | you never sleep or slumber. save this country from the l hands of these evil peoples. you know, the more you speak to parents whose children have been kidnapped, the more overwhelming this problem is. i became a parent myself a year ago so i understand, if your child has been taken, all you want them is for them to come back home. but then there is the other side of the argument. if you pay ransoms, the kidnappings continue, its an industry that is growing, so if you are a parent in nigeria right now, it's frightening because you want

it to stop, but then you want your children to come back, and there are no clear answers. two more students from greenfield were killed after dorothy. eventually, the remaining abductees were released after the parents paid the kidnappers 150 million naira. that's $360 , 000. but nasir el—rufai, the governor of kaduna state, is refusing to pay ransoms, a policy which only seems to have emboldened the kidnappers. they have decided that they have to bring this state government to its knees by concentrating their attacks in this state. so you think that one of the reasons why they may be targeting the states is because you've made it clear that you won't pay ransoms? yes. do you think then that by making that statement, you're putting your citizens, your residents of kaduna

state, at greater risk? not necessarily. i think, in the long run, or even in the medium term, it actually makes the state safer. we still have kidnappers, we have individuals being kidnapped, we even have attempted kidnap of students, they have been successful in two cases, but not on the kind of scale you've seen in other states. here in kaduna just last week, three university students were kidnapped. yes. so how can you tell their parents that their children were safer? i commiserate with the parents, i sympathise with them, but that will not change our stand. the only way to end kidnapping is for societies to stake a stand that we will not pay. i know the pain of losing children, but i have to subordinate that to the overall interest of the society which elected me to provide leadership. the nigerian government has long denied the links between criminal groups operating in north—western nigeria and the extremist group boko haram in the north—east.

but in recent months, they have acknowledged that the two security crises may now be connected. we have to branches of islamic state active or building up here, and it's quite worrying, and this is why i said that the country is at war. this banditry is not some mere criminality, it is war, and the only way to deal with it is to launch a full—scale war against the bandits because the bandits and terrorists are linked, and they are one and the same. if boko haram's influence is spreading, doesn't it show that the federal government doesn't have a handle on security at all in nigeria, like many nigerians are saying, they haven't handled security well. no, security has definitely improved. those that are, yeah, yeah... i think many parents would disagree with you. when we came into office, boko haram occupied how many local governments in borno state? today they are restricted. should they have been wiped out? yeah.

we work with the security forces to try to rescue the students. they are doing their best, but they can do better. the resources available to them can be improved, definitely. criminal gangs are not only targeting schools. they also regularly abduct civilians travelling by road. some think that negotiation is the only way to end the the kidnapping pandemic sweeping rural areas. villages have been raided and the death toll is rising. according to the international crisis group, many but not all of these gangs are made up of members of the seminomadic fulani ethnic group. traditionally they made their living from cattle rearing but climate change and competition for resources has left many of them without an income.

controversial islamic cleric ahmad gumi has made acted as a self—appointed mediator between groups of kidnappers and the government but the sheikh says the marginalisation of the nigeria's fulani population is counterproductive. they are voiceless in nigeria so they express themselves in a violent way. it's dangerous for a nation like nigeria that has a lot of money to allow a big segment of this population, without any formal or informal education, to behave in a certain manner. i understand that they might be unhappy with the way they've been treated by the authorities in the past. do you think that that killing, that action is justified? it doesn't justify crime at all from whatever angle it is. when you put people in the middle of a war, they feel it is right

to kill the opposite. that is what is happening in nigeria now. the press has been saying, fulani men are criminals, killers, the nation is charged against fulani. innocent people. while we were filming, there is news of victory and rejoice, the missing sisters from the forestry school. they finally made it home. theirjoyful prayers this time, as the girls are reunited with their family. rejoice and victory, you're home. welcome home. ijoined them on a video call from lagos.

what is it like to have your daughters home with you, how do you feel? now that the this thing has happened to you, this terrible thing, are you going to apply to university? do you want to continue with your education? what about you, rejoice, are you scared? especially if you have to sleep there?

the students' release was negotiated by sheikh gumi. the return is not an uncommon experience. the majority of children who have been kidnapped in the last eight months have gone home. but there is no doubt that education here has been deeply disturbed. the subject is what, plural? the answer is plural. even before the kidnappings, nigeria was home to the largest number of out—of—school children in the world. it is correct. in the north of the country, only one in two attend school. now schools here are no longer secure. many have been forced to close. families continue to live in fear that their child could be the next to be taken.

hello there. thursday wasn't a bad day for many of us. it stayed dry across much of the country, apart from a few showers which developed later in the afternoon across southern england. for friday, though, it looks like we could see a few more showers around generally. but that said, there should still be quite a bit of sunshine around. it'll feel quite warm too. so we're in between weather systems for friday. this area of low pressure, though, will be moving in just in time for the weekend. it could bring quite a bit of rain at times and even some thunderstorms. so we start this morning off rather cloudy for many, bit of mist and fog around. that should tend to melt away quite quickly,

and then there will be plenty of sunshine as we head on into the afternoon, but a scattering of showers will develop. some of them could turn out to be heavy and thundery. i think the focus of them towards central and eastern parts of the country. some areas avoiding them completely and staying dry, and it will be quite warm too — top temperatures around 2a degrees. those showers continue into the evening, push their way further northwards, and then we start to see the influence of that area of low pressure arriving across the south—west, sending a band of showery northwards and eastwards across wales, the west country, into the midlands, and some of the rain could be quite heavy and thundery by the end of the night. and generally double figure values for most, so it's going to be a mild night. so for this weekend, it is looking decidedly unsettled, as low pressure will be nearby. here it is, very slowly moving its way north—eastwards as it's pushing against this area of high pressure. it's likely to bring spells of heavy rain, maybe longer spells of rain at times on saturday. and then into sunday, widespread showers develop, and some of these could really be quite intense. so this band of rain will

continue to journey its way northwards across england and wales through saturday morning. again, some of it could be thundery. scotland could start dry with some good spells of sunshine, before showery rain arrives there later on. further south, there will be some sunshine appearing, but again showers will develop when temperatures reach highs of around 21 or 22 degrees. sunday, i think generally looking more unsettled across the board. we'll start off with some sunshine, but then showers will get going — some of these will be heavy, some thunderstorms mixed in there. we could see some localised flooding in places, in fact. and temperatures might be a degree or so down range from around 17, generally, to around 20 or 21 celsius. and then into the start of next week, low pressure sticks nearby. in fact, we could see a deep low which could sweep through, to bring some wet and windy weather for a time.

welcome to bbc news. i'm ben boulos. our top stories: lawyers for the trump organization and its chief financial officer plead not guilty to tax fraud at a court in new york. a key test for britain's opposition labour party as counting gets under way in the batley and spen by—election in west yorkshire. president biden meets families of people still missing after the building collapse in miami. meet the woman heading to outer space in her 80s after being picked by jeff bezos tojoin him on his mission next month.