as she first brought up her half century before she and captain heather knight calmly steered england to a comfortable nine—wicket victory. today was a special day and one we have been really aiming towards, getting a complete game in with bat, ball, in the field, and we will definitely take a lot of confidence from this. that result leaves them with their fate in their own hands, now knowing that a win against bangladesh on saturday will secure their spot in the knockout stages. jo currie, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear. good afternoon. aren't we being spoiled at the moment? this is a glorious picture and it is sheffield. this was just a couple of hours ago, not hardly a cloud in the sky and really glorious. the high pressure is still with us and will do into the weekend as well, but there are some subtle differences today. you see this little frontal

system toppling across the high, so a slightly different story across scotland, northern ireland and north—west england and keswick in the border is today a little more cloud and thick enough for some spots of light rain as well. we will keep the cloud through the afternoon. the best of the through england and wales, that's where the best of the temperatures are likely to be as well through the afternoon. with light winds and lots of sunshine, we are likely to see widespread temperatures into the mid and high teens i suspect by the middle part of the afternoon, may be close to cambridgeshire, just in north london as well we could see 20 degrees. through this evening and overnight, once again the temperatures are likely to fall away quite sharply and we will see the cloud that we have had by day retreating back to the west coast of scotland. widely we will see a single low figures, may be just below in rural parts. but we are in repeat mode, we do it all again as we go into tomorrow. if anything

there will be more sunshine for areas where we have had the cloud today. just a little bit of cloud shrouding the northern isles, ticking off for a few showers, but elsewhere dry and settled, sunny and warm with highs up to 18 degrees with a slim chance of an isolated shower perhaps to higher ground in the afternoon. the high is with us but we will pick up a breeze towards the south—west and there could be some low cloud just shrouding coastlines potentially as we go through the day on saturday. generally speaking, again we should see highs inland with the best of the sunshine of around 19 degrees. sunday we are going to move the clocks forward as well so we lose an hour, but also it is mothering sunday and there could be more cloud across england and wales, and may be across england and wales, and may be a little bit cooler if it stays murky throughout the day. further north, the best of the warmth potentially on sunday. average temperatures for the time of year but it is not set to last. as we close out the month of march, we are

back to reality and quite a shock in fact as temperatures in the north just below par for the time of year and we could see a return potentially do some wintry showers as well. victoria. thank you, louise. a reminder of our top story... good afternoon. it's 1.30pm, and here's your latest sports news. it's like a cup final tonight, according even though his team would still have one more hurdle to clear, if they beat austria, in their world cup play off semifinal. it means so much because its been so long since a welsh team were last

involved in the planet's biggest football tournament. joe lynskey reports. june 19, 1958 the last time wales played at a football world cup. that day they were beaten by a goal from pele. end of 20 20s wales have their own superstar, gareth bale is the great hope and he has barely played this year through injury and at 32 this year through injury and at 32 this could be his last chance. everyone of the biggest games i have played in for sure, not having qualified before, it is something i want to achieve and the country wants to achieve. it means so much to play for wales and a few were not nervous you should not be playing. tonight they face austria who

reached the r 16 but this must face global events. and the other semifinal r ukraine. some of their team have gone home to fight in war, their match with scotland has been put back untiljune so wales could when they're semi but then wait three months for a final. i am watching _ three months for a final. i am watching the _ three months for a final. i am watching the scenes - three months for a final. i am watching the scenes unfold i three months for a final. i am watching the scenes unfold inj three months for a final. i —n watching the scenes unfold in what is happening in ukraine is appalling, it is more important that any football match was the good news is we can play this game, we wanted to get it played and we will see what happens after that. it to get it played and we will see what happens after that.- to get it played and we will see what happens after that. it has been 64 ears what happens after that. it has been 64 years and — what happens after that. it has been 64 years and we _ what happens after that. it has been 64 years and we also _ what happens after that. it has been 64 years and we also watched - what happens after that. it has been j 64 years and we also watched teams come close. for most the memories of 58 have faded and now wales no two wins take them to qatar and a world cup that means so much.

the resurgence of england's women, at the cricket world cup, has taken them to the verge of the semi—finals, after an outstanding nine—wicket win over pakistan. they made a dreadful start to the tournament but katherine brunt was back in form, taking three wickets, as pakistan were swept aside forjust 105 and england raced to their target insidejust 20 overs, danni wyatt with an impressive 76 not out. that moves the defending champions, into the top four of the round robin group — and they'll make the semis, if they avoid defeat to bangladesh on sunday. we will definitely take confidence from this and keep trying to gain momentum and that is what we have been trying to do the whole series and sometimes you have to be on or off, but you keep turning up and giving your best and you are all for the team and to get better and that

this tournament so we will take a lot of confidence for sure. england centre emily scarratt will return for england when they begin the defence of their women's six nations title on saturday. they take on scotland in edinburgh. scarratt has been out with a broken leg — this will be her first international appearance for 11 months. england are seeking to win their fourth tournament in a row and scotland head coach bryan easson knows his team will be up against it at the weekend. we know what to expect from england, it is having the discipline around the defence and attack and our game management so we can stick to those systems, we have not really talked about outcome, be have talked about processes and hopefully the outcome takes care of itself free stick to our processes. that's all the sport for now but there's more on the bbc sport website, including the news that the former england strikerjermain defoe has

announced his retirement from football. i'll be back with more later. let's get more on the nato meeting in brussels — and following morning talks — the secretary general has been giving up an update on the progress of talks... after the discussions this morning the secretary—general had this to say. the people of ukraine are fighting with courage and determination, we stand with them. president zelensky addressed us with an impassioned message, thank you for the significant support we are providing and stressing the vital importance of even more military assistance. today nato leaders agreed that we must and will provide further support to ukraine. we will continue

to impose unprecedented costs on russia and will reinforce allied deterrence and defence. leaders approved are for new battle groups and bulgaria, hungary, romania and slovakia, in addition to the four already in the baltic countries and poland so we have eight multinational nato groups now. from the baltic sea to the black seat. across europe there are 100,000 us troops supporting nato efforts and european allies have also stepped up, we have 40,000 forces under direct nato command, mostly in the eastern part of the alliance. backed

by major air and naval power. including an unprecedented strike groups from the high north to the mediterranean. today nato leaders agreed to reset our defence for the longest term to face a new security reality. 0n land we will have substantially more forces in the eastern part of the alliance at higher redness with more repositioned equipment and supplies. in the air we will deploy more jets and strengthen our integrated air and strengthen our integrated air and missile defence. at sea we will have carrier strike groups, submarines and significant numbers of combat ships on a persistent basis. we will also strengthen our

defences and enhance our exercises focusing on collected defence and interrupt ability. we will decide on the details at our next summit and madrid atjune. allied leaders also agreed to provide further support to ukraine, helping uphold the right to self defence. allies are also equipping ukraine with significant military supplies including anti—tank and if defence systems and drones. which are proving highly effective. as well as substantial financial and military aid, humanitarian aid. today we agreed to do more including cybersecurity assistance and equipment to help ukraine protect against biological chemical radiological and nuclear threats. this could include the

detection protection and medical supplies as well as training for decontamination and crisis management. we are determined to do all be can to support ukraine and i welcome the concrete offers of assistance made by allies today. at the same time we have either sponsored ability to ensure the conflict does not escalate further. because this would be even more dangerous and devastating. allies agreed we must also increase our support for other partners at risk from russia, at risk from russian threats and interference including georgia and bosnia and herzegovina. working together and with the european union we must help them uphold their sovereignty and strengthen their resilience. we

addressed the role of china and the crisis, we call on them to refrain from supporting the russian war effort. china must not provide economic military support for the russian invasion. instead beijing should use a certificate influence on russia and promote an immediate peaceful resolution. allies also agree belarus must stop acting as an accomplice to putin's invasion. at the meeting today leaders reaffirmed our strong commitment to nato's open—door policy under article ten of the washington treaty. nato has been a historic success spreading democracy and freedom and prosperity across europe. 0ne democracy and freedom and prosperity across europe. one month since the start of the russian invasion of

ukraine nato security environment has fundamentally changed for the long haul. we are responding. but security does not come for free and doing more will cost more so nato leaders agreed to redouble efforts to meet the investment pledge we made an 2014. allies will submit additional plans on how to meet the pledge and time for the method summit injune. the chief executive of p80 ferries has apologised for the decision to sack eight hundred employees last week, with no notice. appearing before mps, peter hebblethwaite was pushed by the chair of the committee darrenjones on how the dismissals were handled, but said the company believed there wasn't "any other way" to do it. the transport secretary grant shapps has called the situation �*unacceptable'.

we think that the p80 management have exploited a loophole here to sack british workers, bringing some very low—paid international workers, we don't think that is right and we will be returning to parliament with a package of measures to ensure that that situation is undone. you say undone. is there anything you can do to reverse it? yes, we will change the law to make sure that it cannot happen. we think it's unacceptable that ships who are essentially working from british waters british ports all the time, backwards and forwards, within our economic zone, if you like, that that management will not be able to exploit what they think is a loophole in the law, that will be tested by legal action. either way, we have a package of measures for them that will absolutely close it off. and i'll be saying more to parliament next week. meanwhile — a little earlier we heard from paul nowak — the deputy general secretary of the tuc. he called for the government to take action against

the company. well, i'll be more reassured when i see action from government, but i think itjust worthwhile reflecting on mr health evidence reflecting on the evidence today because what we've seen is is proof positive that not only did p&0 break the law acted unlawfully, they deliberately set out to break the law and issue in those sackings of 800 seafarers. i don't think the government can let that stand, so i welcome grant shapps announcement that he's going to look to closed any legal loophole that p&0 may have exploited. but i think they need to do a lot more. they need to throw the legal book at p80 because if they don't, then that will give a green light to every rotten employer in this country that they can get away with breaking employment law. they can get away with sacking their staff on a whim, and we can't let that stand. so the idea that somehow you can just pay your way out of breaking the law, i think is unacceptable. so as i say, what's really important now is the government take strong action against pay, and that means cancelling every single piano cancelling every single p&0

and dp world contract that the government might have with the company until people are reinstated. it means kicking dp world off the government's transport advisory group. it means closing those legal loopholes and in fact, looking more broadly on employment law in this country. and i think it also does mean the government being prepared to step in as the operator of last resort if p&0 doesn't comply. because at the end of the day, if the business model relies on them sacking people unlawfully and paying them below the national minimum wage, they haven't got a viable business model and they should not be allowed to operate from british ports. this is a company that paid out £270 million in dividends in 2020, whose parent company spent £147 million last year sponsoring a golf tournament, a golf tournament, £147 million. now listen, p&0 might not be the only company isn't the only company that's under financial pressure because of the pandemic and because of rising energy costs. but, you know, every other company

that's been in that position has sat down and negotiated with their unions about how do we get out of this together collectively? what's the way forward? what p&0 did was absolutely reprehensible, and i would urge them to get back around the table with the unions, come to a settlement that actually secures a fair future for seafarers in the uk. we can't let this stand. the government can't let it stand, either. the high court has found the ruler of dubai abused his former wife to an "exorbitant degree", at the end of a lengthy legal battle over their two children. sir andrew mcfarlane said in a judgment published today that sheikh mohammed bin rashid al maktoum, 72, "consistently displayed coercive and controlling behaviour with respect to those members of his family who he regards as behaving contrary to his will."the ruling is expected to be the final significant decision in the court case between sheikh mohammed and his sixth wife princess haya bint al hussein, 47, who fled the united arab emirates in april 2019, having become "terrified" of her then—husband. the rail regulator is launching

a health and safety prosecution into the tram crash in croydon in south london in 2016, which killed seven people. the office of rail and road said it would take action against transport for london, which runs the trams and the driver. bbc london's transport correspondent tom edwards reports... tram 2551 overturned in november 2016 after travelling at three times the speed limit on a cornerjust before sandilands station in south london. an investigation found it was probable the driver fell asleep. today, safety regulators said they will be prosecuting the driver, the tram operator and tfl. philip logan was one of those who died. his family today welcomed the news. we have obviously not had any answers or anyjustice whatsoever right from the beginning, and we have all, i think, in our own way, felt very let down

with the system and how things have played out. so it's a big relief. seven south londoners died in the crash. 61 were injured, 19 seriously. in a statement, the office for rail and road said, an inquest found previously that the deaths were accidental, but the families have many questions still. why were previous speeding incidents not acted on? why were drivers disciplined for falling asleep at the controls but it kept happening? it's been five and a half years of torment, torture, almost, and such a difficult five and a half years, and it seemed that, when the anniversary was coming

around, we seemed to always get more bad news on top, and obviously, hopefully, this anniversary isn't going to be the same. we have had a lot of pain in that time, the pain of waiting for news on whether anyone be prosecuted for manslaughter, the pain of waiting for the inquiry, which took so long and was so disappointing in its outcome. so, the families have held it together with such bravery and such dignity through this long period of time, and i know it will be of some comfort today that some justice can be seen to be done. if found guilty, all parties could face unlimited fines. the driver could face up to two years in prison. tfl says it will consider the proceedings, and safety will always be the highest priority. the case will be heard at croydon magistrates. the family of a young woman who was kidnapped by her ex—boyfriend has told the bbc

they finally feel they've got some justice after his sentence was almost doubled yesterday. angel lynn was 19 when she was bundled into a van by chay bowskill in 2020 before falling from the vehicle at 60 miles an hour, suffering life—changing injuries. bowskill�*s sentence of seven and a half years has been increased to 12. rachel stonehouse was in court. emotions running high, just minutes after angel's family were told chay bowskill�*s sentence would be increased to 12 years. i'm really pleased with the outcome. i'm glad we did it. to be fair, when they went in, i thought, this is not going to go our way. but i'm pleased. even though angel's going to be poorly for a lot longer, you know, we've done what we could do and now we can move on and look after angel. i'm relieved that this hits over now so we can just concentrate

on getting angel back home, and we don't have to worry about all the stress of everything. i'm so pleased. caught on cctv, this is the moment angel is kidnapped by her then boyfriend, chay bowskill, in september 2020. he forces her into a van, which is then driven off by his friend, rocco sansome. just a few minutes later, angel falls out of the van, which was travelling at 60 miles per hour, sustaining life—changing injuries. injanuary, bowskill was sentenced to seven and a half years for kidnap, coercive control during their relationship, and pressurising his mum to withdraw her police statement. his friend rocco sansome was sentenced to 21 months. because of requests by the public, the attorney general�*s office reviewed the sentences and considered they were unduly lenient, meaning they were then referred to the court of appeal to make a final decision. the judge yesterday increased

bowskill�*s sentence to 12 years to reflect the seriousness of the kidnap. she also said sansome should have beenjailed for longer, but left his sentence unchanged. there were tears and huge sighs of relief in the courtroom and outside afterwards. when we found out, we were over the moon. all our reaction in the room was like, "wow!" then all tears. yeah, we are really happy. it's very hard. but i mean, we all support each other in a way and everyone's there for each other. but the main reason that we are all doing this is for angel. angel's family and friends say they're incredibly grateful for the public support and are now focused on getting her home and giving her the best future they can. rachel stonehouse, bbc news. finally — let's return to our top story — and the war in ukraine, which has been particularly traumatic for the young children in the country but some are finding comfort in an artistic way — as tim allman explains. how do you explain war to a child? how do they process the horror they are witnessing? for two ukrainian parents one

answer was to offer a creative outlet with paper, pencils and crayons. they set up a social media account and let children use art as a way to channel the trauma of war. we definitely feel an urgent need to give them a safety space so that they could switch their focus, switch their reality from the war, from tanks and bombs and missiles. hundreds of drawings, all from ukrainian children, some showing family and friends, some showing angels, some showing tanks. one girl from 0desa drew a portrait of her mother who is now serving in the army trying to protect her hometown. this picture is really like ukraine, beautiful, very beautiful woman with flowers. very brave. brave, strong.

she must protect herself with a weapon. as the war goes on, more paintings, drawings and illustrations will surely follow. their message crystal clear, like only a child can convey. tim allman, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello, then, hasn't it been a glorious week of weather so far? we've had cool, misty nights leading to plenty of clear skies, plenty of spring sunshine and warmth. this was wiltshire just a few hours ago, but i could have shown you several weather watcher pictures. they really are quite beautiful at the moment as the high pressure dominates the weather story. there is a weak weather front toppling across that high, and that is bringing some subtle changes into scotland. northern ireland, north west england. this was cumbria just a few hours ago, so a little more in the way of cloud. and perhaps as we go through the afternoon, maybe the odd isolated shower here. but elsewhere we keep the blue sky sunshine, light winds, temperatures responding quite nicely

into the afternoon, peaking between 19, possibly one or two areas seeing 20 degrees yet again. now, as we go through the night, we will keep those clear skies around, so temperatures again falling away quite sharply to a chilly night to come with some mist around as well. even the cloud will tend to thin. it will linger across parts of northern ireland here, not quite as cold a start, but elsewhere a chilly one, but again, lots of sunshine to look out for for friday. now, any low cloud and mist will lift quite readily away. we'll see more in the way of sunshine, generally through northwest england, northern ireland and for the bulk of scotland on friday, as the high pressurejust changes its position a little. and again, those temperatures are likely to range from 12 to 19 degrees across the country. now, as we move into the weekend, the high pressure continues to drift its way that little bit further west and the wind direction changes somewhat. there'll be a fresher breeze, particularly through the channel, and we'll start to see a little more in the way of cloud and even inland.

some of that cloud will burn away, butjust cling on to the coastline as we go through saturday afternoon. not quite as warm for some, but 12 to 19 degrees, particularly inland with the sunshine. there'll be more low cloud mist and murk on sunday, particularly across england and wales. bear that in mind for mothering sunday here. temperatures not quite as promising the best of the sunshine in scotland, where we could see 16 or 17 degrees the high. but it's this cooler trend that looks likely to return as we move into next week, the blues really pushing far south. so as we go into next week, we close out the month of march. we're likely to see a different face of spring cooler again, potentially with some wintry showers in the northeast.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm yalda hakim. our top stories. nato leaders meeting in brussels pledge more military aid to ukraine and strengthen their presence in eastern europe allies are also equipping ukraine with significant military supplies including anti—tank and air defence systems and drones which are proving highly effective. the ukrainian military says it's destroyed a russian landing ship in the port of berdiansk — west of the besieged city of mariupol. iam ben i am ben brown, reporting from lviv in western ukraine. the war entering its second month.

and female high school students in afghanistan left devastated —