this is bbc news 7 these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. nato foreign ministers are to meet as images of destruction, and allegations of war crimes continue to emerge from towns surrounging kyiv, following the retreat of russian forces. the uk, us and the eu are expected to impose fresh sanctions on russia. they're likely to target strategic industries, including energy, oil and gas. millions of people will now pay more national insurance, as an increase to contributions comes into effect today. the health secretary sajid javid says it is a necessary move to support the nhs. if we want the nhs to catch up, to deal with this covid—19 backlog, if we want better adult social care, the money has to come from somewhere. do you think

national insurance should go up to pay for health and social care and the nhs or is it the the wrong time? get in touch with me on twitter @annitabbc married couples in england and wales will be able to begin divorce proceedings without apportioning blame from today —— as new �*no—fault�* divorce legislation comes into force. calories must now appear on the menus of food and drink businesses with more than 250 staff in england and ed sheeran has won a high court battle over whether parts of his 2017 hit shape of you copied another artist's song hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk

or around the world. the united states, the uk and the eu will impose more sanctions on russia, amid allegations of war crimes in the ukrainian city of bucha. reports are also emerging of hospitals being bombed in the south—western city of mykolaiv. three were targeted, possibly with cluster bombs, according to the humanitarian charity medecins sans frontieres. and in mariupol, seen on this map in the south—east, the situation is worsening. most residents are without medicine, heat or water. the ukrainian deputy prime minister says 11 humanitarian corridors are being set up, but residents need to use their own vehicles to get out. agencies have been struggling to reach this city. nato�*s foreign ministers will meet this afternoon to discuss how to respond,

and support ukraine in its next phase of war. looking back at those sanctions, some more detail. and vladamir putin's daughters, katerina and mariya, are two of those facing sanctions. other targets include oligarchs, politicians, more banks and russian imports. our correspondentjeremy bowen has travelled to the ukrainian town of borodyanka, which has seen some of the worst attacks since the invasion began. the destruction in the centre of borodyanka is the worst for its size i've seen in any of the towns around kyiv, including much fought—over irpin and bucha. the worst killing in borodyanka might have come when these flats were destroyed. a line of them stood here. you can see the gaps. after you. next door to the rubble, dmytro stashevskyi inspected his shop. this is your shop? medical, pharmacy,

it's a pharmacy, yeah? destroyed, everything's gone. we went upstairs where his wife svitlana was trying to clean up his mother's flat. their family is safe, but not their friends in the destroyed building next door. translation: they were all our neighbours. - shortly after the air strike, people nearby heard some voices shouting for help. russian soldiers stopped them digging. they threatened to shoot if they tried. dmytro left 30 others in the cellar before the strike. when he went back in the morning, it was full of rubble. all 30 are missing. you're lucky to be alive, aren't you? "yes," he said, "my wife, mother and daughter were praying for me." this is a civilian block of flats. now, only a ballistic missile or an air strike can do this sort of damage. under the laws of war,

killing civilians and wanton destruction are both crimes unless it can somehow be proved that that was a military target. close by, local people were getting some food organised by their priest, who said he'd seen the russians shooting civilians. you saw civilians being killed by a russian sniper? translation: it was the 2nd of march near the petrol station. _ we were driving along, followed by two civilian cars. theyjust shot them. it was an execution. most people here left during the russian occupation. svitlana said coming back made her empty and scared. tell us what the town was like before. eventually she said it was very nice, very green.

hundreds of people could be lying dead under the rubble, say the police. once the heavy lifting gear arrives, they'll know more. jeremy bowen, bbc news, borodyanka. the czech republic is sending tanks and other armoured vehicles to bolster the ukrainian military. it's the first nato country to give tanks to ukraine. czech defence minister confirmed on twitter that the country is �*sending essential military material to ukrainian friends and will continue to do so.�* no other details were given. rob cameron is in prague with the latest. the czech republic has been one of the most out speed spoken reporters of ukraine since the war started. they have already sent several thousand pieces of artillery, mute munitions to ukraine. this is a major step. munitions to ukraine. this is a majorstep. it

munitions to ukraine. this is a major step. it is being reported that it major step. it is being reported thatitis major step. it is being reported that it is the first time that a nato country has sent tanks to ukraine. the czech authorities are being cagey, saying it was essential military equipment. this confirmation came after photographs appeared not only on social media but also in news reports in the czech republic appearing to suggest that around two days dozen main battle tanks and also inventory fighting vehicles, soviet era warsaw pact military equipment being loaded onto railway wagons on their way to ukraine. we know from the report in the czech media this appears to be surplus material that had previously belonged to the czech army active reserves. the czech republic, it seems, no one is denying it, is

sending it to the ukrainian army to help them in their fight against russia. yesterday the ukrainian president spoke to the un security council in graphic terms about what is happening in his country, what he had seen in bucha the day before. today vlodymyr zelensky has been addressing the irish parliament and he has told parliamentarians that russia is using hunger as a weapon and as an instrument of domination. he says they are using hunger as a weapon and an instrument of domination. let's speak to our correspondent in lviv, emma vardy. when we think of hunger, we think of mariupol because we have been hearing for weeks that people are short of food, water, medicine, heat. tell us what the latest is in the situation there. i know the

deputy prime minister of ukraine was talking about setting up humanitarian corridors. has it been any progress on that? you humanitarian corridors. has it been any progress on that?— humanitarian corridors. has it been any progress on that? you are right, that ci is any progress on that? you are right, that city is cut _ any progress on that? you are right, that city is cut off _ any progress on that? you are right, that city is cut off and _ any progress on that? you are right, that city is cut off and under- that city is cut off and under extreme bar department. we are told this is a tactic by russian forces to get the city to submit. there are still ukrainian forces they're resisting the attacks from russia. caught in the middle, tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the city. we understand they are sheltering in underground basements, in ruined buildings, a desperate situation. people are starving their and it is a humanitarian crisis. there have been efforts to rescue people, with humanitarian corridors, they do not always whole, there have been accusations of shelling when you monetary encourages have been agreed. to get more people out is going to take a larger convoy of buses and that the something the red cross has been trying to get into the area. a number of setbacks,

being held by police in russian hill territory, i understand the efforts are continuing to get a rescue mission to evacuate people. it is a delicate step because they need high—level guarantees for the safety of aid workers going in and to facilitate people coming out and all the while, heavy fighting continues there and nobody really knows how terrible the picture will look once ate workers get in.— ate workers get in. looking at mykolaiv. _ ate workers get in. looking at mykolaiv, reports _ ate workers get in. looking at mykolaiv, reports of- ate workers get in. looking at mykolaiv, reports of hospitalsj ate workers get in. looking at - mykolaiv, reports of hospitals being bombed there, it is a south—western city. three targeted possibly with cluster bombs. have you heard about that? , that? those reports started to come in from the charity medicins sans - in from the charity medicins sans frontieres. they saw three hospitals bombed. they have seen casualties. it is difficult to exactly verify what is going on on the ground there at the moment. the first report of hospitals being bombed in this work,

we are also hearing strong words from the president of ukraine addressing the united nations security committee is speaking to irish politicians today. he is an incredibly powerful speaker. every time he addresses world leaders are calling on them to set up and take notice, of course, the world is not silent on that. international condemnation, we are hearing about new sanctions plan from the eu, the ti new sanctions plan from the eu, the t1 of banning the import of russian coal, it will cost £4 billion a year to the russian economy. others say to the russian economy. others say to put a bigger dent on the russian war chest there needs to be a ban on russian oil and fuel and europe is so dependent on that. it is difficult, ukraine continues to call for help, and president zelensky waits for the world to respond. thank you very much. nato foreign ministers are gathering in brussels for talks on how best to support ukraine.

nick beake is in brussels for us. what is going to happen over the next couple of weeks, a renewed focus from russian forces or by russian forces on the eastern donbas region. what more at this stage will they be doing to try and support ukraine? i they be doing to try and support ukraine? ~ , ., ukraine? i think it is worth stressing _ ukraine? i think it is worth stressing despite - ukraine? i think it is worth stressing despite the - ukraine? i think it is worth l stressing despite the horrific images we have seen coming from the outskirts of kyiv and the chilling testimony of the russian allegations —— allegations of russian war crimes. the position of nato has not changed, they will do all they can to support ukraine but they really do not want to plunge the west into a full—blown war with russia. in nuclear armed power. that is the phraseology thatjens stoltenberg has been using. they are trying to

do two things, send military equipment to ukraine and increase the sanctions on president putin and his government in moscow. what we are seeing in brussels are eu ambassadors meeting, trying to agree on the latest package, the fifth round of sanctions targeting moscow, and the headline is an import ban on russian coal. to be honest with you, it is oil and gas from russia which would make a big difference because it was revealed today that since the war began, the eu has sent 35 times more money in terms of payment for russian oil and gas than it has in military hardware to ukraine. that exposes the position that europe is in at the moment. it exposes the position that europe is in at the moment.— in at the moment. it reminds us of the tension — in at the moment. it reminds us of the tension since _ in at the moment. it reminds us of the tension since the _ in at the moment. it reminds us of the tension since the conflict - in at the moment. it reminds us of| the tension since the conflict began between what nato feels it can do

without risking an escalation of the war as you were saying and also what president zelensky has been asking for in those powerful words speaking to our parliamentarians in ireland today saying russia is using hunger as an instrument of domination. the latest as an instrument of domination. tue: latest appeal as an instrument of domination. tte: latest appeal from as an instrument of domination. t'te: latest appeal from president zelensky, a tailored message to a specific audience. if we think back five or six weeks, he was talking about a no—fly zone being implemented, other people talking about urging nato to send troops to ukraine in defence of the country. nato has been clear that they think it would risk a huge escalation because they would be direct conflict or very high risk of direct conflict or very high risk of direct conflict with russian troops or aeroplanes. what we will be hearing today at nato in more meetings taking place in brussels, nato foreign ministers thinking about how in the coming weeks they can best serve ukrainian defence. sending

armoured vehicles to the front line, to the east of the country, would that in the next stage? we have been warned from the top man at nato that we had two or three weeks before russia launches a new assault on the east of the country. in the coming weeks, more war crimes, more allegations of russian war crimes could come to light as they moved back from the position in the territory they have been taking in the past few weeks.— territory they have been taking in the past few weeks. thank you very much. we the past few weeks. thank you very much- we will— the past few weeks. thank you very much. we will keep _ the past few weeks. thank you very much. we will keep you _ the past few weeks. thank you very j much. we will keep you up-to-date the past few weeks. thank you very i much. we will keep you up-to-date on much. we will keep you up—to—date on the nato discussions. hypersonic muscles were reportedly used by russia in ukraine last month. let's speak to our security correspondent. is there a feeling

with the uk, australia and the us that they are playing catch up with this if indeed this is the type of missile russia used last month? this announcement _ missile russia used last month? tt 3 announcement was made yesterday evening, it is a joint announcement by the uk, the us and australia and it is catch up. hypersonic missiles are potentially a game changer in future warfare. they travel at one mile per second, 1.6 kilometres every second, 4000 mph, which means two things. it means you have got a very short time in between the launch of one of these missiles and a landing forany launch of one of these missiles and a landing for any government to take any decisions. you have also got the fact that it is incredibly difficult to intercept. an intercontinental ballistic missile will go up and land in a fairly predictable

trajectory. that allows anti ballistic missile defence to pretty much predict where they are going to fly where they are going to land or where they are intending to land on the contract to shut them down. with these, with hypersonic missiles, it is very difficult, they go very fast or non—unpredictable trajectory. imagine a balloon you have blown up and you let it go and it whizzes the room. that is how it operates. there are two kinds, cruise missiles, that seems to be what was fired in ukraine at two targets, not over a huge distance, and it has been downplayed by nato officials, saying it was not a bid use of a hypersonic missile, more of a standard missile. and then you have got glide missiles which go up above the atmosphere and come down very fast. one of these

could theoretically punch a hole in the new aircraft carrier and send it to the bottom of the ocean. so it is a change in how people look at strategic defence.— a change in how people look at strategic defence. what would the defence be against _ strategic defence. what would the defence be against the _ strategic defence. what would the defence be against the sort - strategic defence. what would the defence be against the sort of - defence be against the sort of missile? has any work being done on this already? bill the west is playing catch up. china is in the lead. the happy weapon system, they have paraded it in their public parades, they are way ahead of the west on this. parades, they are way ahead of the west on this-— parades, they are way ahead of the west on this. that has meant that if there were to _ west on this. that has meant that if there were to be _ west on this. that has meant that if there were to be a _ west on this. that has meant that if there were to be a war _ west on this. that has meant that if there were to be a war in _ west on this. that has meant that if there were to be a war in the - there were to be a war in the south china sea over taiwan or over shipping rates there, the us battle carrier groups are not want to get within range of these missiles. the targeting is still to be perfected. there is a lot of work that the chinese are doing on perfecting their targeting because these things are so fast that the slightest error

means they're going to land in the wrong place. they will probably correct that. russia has three different kinds of these hypersonic missiles. america has been testing them but those ties have not gone well. britain does not have any at all. this announcement is looking into research of the weapons themselves and how to counter them. britain says there are no plans at the moment to develop it but the west is well behind russia and china in these very powerful weapons. thank you very much for explaining all of that to us. iamjoined by i am joined by a senior officerfrom the ministry of defence from 2015 to 2018. thank you very much for talking to us today. as everyone looks at trying to work out what the next move of russia is, we do know

that vladimir putin at the beginning of this war sent his troops into ukraine, thought it would be relatively easy to capture kyiv and achieve their goals and that has not been the case. whatever he does next, one assumes he will want to make sure from the perspective of russia, the military strategy is more successful.— russia, the military strategy is more successful. that is absolutely ri . ht. more successful. that is absolutely right- everyone _ more successful. that is absolutely right. everyone agrees _ more successful. that is absolutely right. everyone agrees that - more successful. that is absolutelyj right. everyone agrees that despite what russia are seeing now, they helped in the first couple of days for a lightning strike to capture kyiv etc. there is a stark choice. it has become clear that the combat power is committed into ukraine. soldiers are a wasting asset as they fight, they get tired, there are casualties, the use up supplies. the units become known combative effective. they have to be taken out and replaced. you need a second edge

alone. i do not see where that is coming from at the moment. that leads to two choices, russia has to find almost a second army, another 200,000 to mobilise society and put it into a wartime status, a social economy in a wartime status or he has to rotate the forces he's got and reduces ambition. i think that is what we are seeing at the moment, pulling forces out of the north, reallocating them to the east and make the donbas the sole theatre of operation. make the donbas the sole theatre of o eration. ., , ., make the donbas the sole theatre of oeration. . , ., ., ., operation. that is what nato thinks is auoin to operation. that is what nato thinks is going to happen _ operation. that is what nato thinks is going to happen in _ operation. that is what nato thinks is going to happen in the _ operation. that is what nato thinks is going to happen in the coming i is going to happen in the coming weeks, we know in that part of ukraine, russian forces have been fighting more effectively in terms of their communication one another. how do you think ukraine needs to respond to that? we how do you think ukraine needs to respond to that?— how do you think ukraine needs to respond to that? we see some of the best forces. —

respond to that? we see some of the best forces, ukrainian _ respond to that? we see some of the best forces, ukrainian forces - best forces, ukrainian forces deployed in what they call the joint force operation. i think there is an opportunity here for ukraine to refresh its own forces that are deployed in the north and it will be able to redeploy them into the eastern region. essentially, what you have is a race to resupply. russia is going to resupply from an economy that is under sanction from the west, and this is why sanctions are so important, to prevent it from being being able to rearm. the outcome of this conflict, russia must not prevail. to that end, the west has to come together to reinforce ukraine to allow it to prevail and to be able ultimately to defeat russia in ukraine. and? we were hearing a moment ago about the use of hypersonic missiles, concerns around those, what is the risk, what

is the danger in your estimation that vladimir putin may use a tactic that vladimir putin may use a tactic that we have seen used in syria? chemical warfare etc to try to decisively capture the eastern part of ukraine? ._ decisively capture the eastern part of ukraine?— decisively capture the eastern part of ukraine? , ., .,, of ukraine? there may be some areas where he could _ of ukraine? there may be some areas where he could escalate _ of ukraine? there may be some areas where he could escalate warfare - where he could escalate warfare weapons, that would add to war crimes they are not militarily effective, and hypersonic weapons is something that captures the imagination but they are not very militarily effective. i do not see in this context that they have been deployed. the commentary around his strike in the west looks like an airborne version which we have seen used already. share airborne version which we have seen used already-— used already. are we talking about more conventional _ used already. are we talking about more conventional warfare, - used already. are we talking about more conventional warfare, what l used already. are we talking about | more conventional warfare, what we have seen but focused on the east of ukraine? , ., ., , ., ukraine? yes, i do not see how overnight _ ukraine? yes, i do not see how overnight russia _ ukraine? yes, i do not see how overnight russia can _ ukraine? yes, i do not see how overnight russia can turn - ukraine? yes, i do not see howj overnight russia can turn round ukraine? yes, i do not see how. overnight russia can turn round its way in warfare, re—train its troops

to be as imaginative as we have seen the ukrainians be. do to be as imaginative as we have seen the ukrainians be.— the ukrainians be. do you think the ukrainians can _ the ukrainians be. do you think the ukrainians can be _ the ukrainians be. do you think the ukrainians can be as _ the ukrainians be. do you think the ukrainians can be as successful - the ukrainians be. do you think the ukrainians can be as successful in l the ukrainians be. do you think the j ukrainians can be as successful in a fight that is concentrated in that part of the country as they have been around kyiv and other areas, pushing the russians back? t see been around kyiv and other areas, pushing the russians back? i see no reason why — pushing the russians back? i see no reason why not. _ pushing the russians back? i see no reason why not. if— pushing the russians back? i see no reason why not. if you _ pushing the russians back? i see no reason why not. if you look - pushing the russians back? i see no reason why not. if you look at - pushing the russians back? i see no reason why not. if you look at the i reason why not. if you look at the size of the armed forces, my analysis that essentially the russian usable combat power is already deployed, there is no reason why the ukrainians cannot be successful except that their economy is not as big. the gdp is the tenth the size of russia, 40 million population gains... that is why they have to find a logistic tale that keeps ukrainian teeth sharp and allows ukrainians to be as effective as they have been today.— as they have been today. thank you very much- —

as they have been today. thank you very much. interesting _ as they have been today. thank you very much. interesting to _ as they have been today. thank you very much. interesting to hear - as they have been today. thank you very much. interesting to hear of i very much. interesting to hear of your analysis. thank you very much for your time. we will be taking your questions on the war on ukraine on thursday morning at 1130. guests will answer a range of questions on various aspects of the war from how it is being fought, how it might end and the human consequences. you can get in touch on twitter and you can e—mail us. police in the romanian capital, bucharest, say a car has crashed into the gate of the russian embassy, bursting into flames and killing the driver. it crashed into a fence outside the building early this morning, but did not enter the compound. it's unclear whether the crash was an accident or deliberate. let's move on now — and talk about ed sheeran, who has won a high court battle over whether his hit shape of you copied

another artist's song. in the past hour, a high courtjudge in london has ruled that he "neither deliberately nor subconsciously" copied parts of a 2015 song by the grime artist sami chokri. our entertainment correspondent mark savage has the background to the case. # i'm in love... it was the biggest selling single of 2015. after release, he was accused of copying the line, i am in love with your body from a song by the grime artist. lawyers called ed

sheeran a magpie who borrows ideas that he does not always acknowledge. in court, the qc said that his clients are not vip, and if they where they would have been treated in a different way. ed sheeran denied this and said he always craters lesser—known writers if he uses parts of their songs. —— craters lesser—known writers. the court heard how shape of you was written in under an hour in october 2016. the lord said the speed was indicative of copying. the star and his co—writers denied ever having heard the song. their lawyer said

the speed of the writing only indicated ed sheeran's genius. the issue of whether he had access to the copy was the key to the trial. if he was not aware of the song, the similarities end shape of you would be a coincidence and no copyright infringement. on the witness that it was put to the start that he must have been aware of his work because they both had videos on the shame youtube channel, the shared friends, and they had messaged on twitter. in response, the star said this is stuff that you are saying, it is not stuff that you are saying, it is not stuff that you are saying, it is not stuff that is true. the trial lasted for three weeks at the beginning of march. ed sheeran who launched the proceedings in an attempt to clear his name attended court every day listening attentively to the arguments. thejudge has now ruled in his favour saying there was no attempt to copy the song. that decision could save the star

millions of pounds in lost royalties. our entertainment correspondent mark savage is at the high court. iam i am looking at a statement by ed sheeran and his co—writers about this case. tell us what they have said. ed this case. tell us what they have said. ,, ., ., , , ., this case. tell us what they have said. ,, ., , ., ., ., said. ed sheeran has put out a video statement on _ said. ed sheeran has put out a video statement on instagram, _ said. ed sheeran has put out a video statement on instagram, they - said. ed sheeran has put out a video statement on instagram, they are i statement on instagram, they are happy with the result but they regret claims like this are coming to the court so often. people are being accused without piece of stealing other people's songs and it is preventing them from touring, making new music and doing hisjob. there are only 12 notes in the musical scale, there are only 12 notes in the musicalscale, in there are only 12 notes in the musical scale, in the western musical scale, in the western musical skill, musical scale, in the western musicalskill, coincidences musical scale, in the western musical skill, coincidences are bound to happen, being tied up in legal proceedings is damaging to the

music industry as a whole. tt was music industry as a whole. it was interesting _ music industry as a whole. it was interesting that _ music industry as a whole. it was interesting that the _ music industry as a whole. it was interesting that the judge - music industry as a whole. it was interesting that the judge said i music industry as a whole. it wasj interesting that the judge said ed sheeran had neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied parts of a 2015 song. we were wondering how you rule on how something is subconscious are not. tt rule on how something is subconscious are not. it has happened — subconscious are not. it has happened before, _ subconscious are not. it has happened before, it- subconscious are not. it has i happened before, it happened subconscious are not. it has - happened before, it happened to george harrison in the 1970s, accused of taking a melody for another song for his hit, my sweet lord, and he said he couldn't remember it. it had been popular on the radio in the 1960s when the beatles were at their height, it was properly there in his subconscious available for him to subconsciously steal. he lost millions of pounds in the copyright case. the key here was the copyright case. the key here was the question of whether ed sheeran had ever heard this song. thejudge said although there was evidence that he had tried to send it to him, had sent it to his friends and other people in his circle, they had never been able to prove substantially that ed sheeran had her dead. and

that ed sheeran had her dead. and thatis that ed sheeran had her dead. and that is what the case pivoted on. this was a huge song in 2017, everything back to them, thinking about the radio, it was being played all the time. this was the biggest selling song in the uk that year? tt selling song in the uk that year? tt is still the most streamed song of all time on spot to more than 3 billion plays, and since this copyright case started, the royalties had been frozen in the uk. that means that millions of pounds that ed sheeran and his co—writers would have got every time it was played on the radio, used on tv, have been held. he will get that money after today.— have been held. he will get that money after today. thank you very much. millions of people will now pay more national insurance, as an increase to contributions comes into effect. the increase of 1.25 pence in the pound will apply to employees, businesses and the self—employed, with the money raised earmarked for health and social care.

anyone earning more than 9,880 pounds a year will pay the increased contribution. but after a change announced in the chancellor s spring statement from july, that will increase to £12,570. that means over the next year, anyone earning less than around £34,000 a year will pay less national insurance than they did last year. as you can see on this graph — people earning £20,000 a year will pay £178 less in 2022—23, whilst those on 50,000 will pay £197 more. i'm joined now by our political correspondent, nick eardley. nick, there was a promise in the conservative party's manifesto at the last election that there wouldn't be an increase in national

insurance over the life of this parliament but now there is and it comes at a time when there is a cost of living crisis. so what is the government saying about the justifications for all of this. yeah, this is controversialfor justifications for all of this. yeah, this is controversial for both of those reasons, it is politically controversial because it means the conservative party going back on that promise in their manifesto. it made a lot of conservative mps right up made a lot of conservative mps right up to cabinet level uncomfortable. it is also controversial because as we are covering every day at the moment there is a cost of living squeeze. and adding higher national insurance contributions onto people's pay packets. some would argue would only make this worse. the argument you will hear from ministers today that we are hearing from the prime minister and others, is that it is necessary for a couple of reasons. firstly because of the backlog in nhs waiting times and the fact that operations have been cancelled and delayed. the government argues that money is urgently needed to deal with that and they are putting these payments

will help. the second is adult social care. it is an issue that we have talked about for years, that various governments have grappled with. and borisjohnson would say that he has come up with an answer. that by introducing this extra national insurance payment that in the years to come after the nhs backlog caused by the pandemic is dealt with, the government will be able to put a lot more money into aduu able to put a lot more money into adult social care. that will mean that people have a cap on how much they have to pay. people from lower incomes won't have to pay at all. but you can't get away from that because the living question in the context in which this increase is happening. that was a point that was put to the health secretary at sajid javid this morning. the put to the health secretary at said javid this morning.�* javid this morning. the cost of livin: javid this morning. the cost of living challenge _ javid this morning. the cost of living challenge is _ javid this morning. the cost of living challenge is huge, - javid this morning. the cost of - living challenge is huge, especially on many— living challenge is huge, especially on many families right across the country — on many families right across the country. first i would say in terms of public— country. first i would say in terms of public services, the nhs, what we're _ of public services, the nhs, what we're talking about they need to be paid people understand that. if you

want the _ paid people understand that. if you want the nhs to catch up to deal with this — want the nhs to catch up to deal with this covid backlog, everyone better— with this covid backlog, everyone better adult social care the money has to— better adult social care the money has to come from somewhere. we have to make _ has to come from somewhere. we have to make sure _ has to come from somewhere. we have to make sure of course this government that we spend every penny sensibly— government that we spend every penny sensibly and wisely and that's why it needs _ sensibly and wisely and that's why it needs to— sensibly and wisely and that's why it needs to be done together with reform _ it needs to be done together with reform. but when it comes to helping people _ reform. but when it comes to helping peopie with _ reform. but when it comes to helping people with the cost of living challenge, i think people also understand that there is no government in the world that can mitigate — government in the world that can mitigate this problem 100%. it is i’ilht mitigate this problem 100%. it is right to _ mitigate this problem 100%. it is right to focus resources on those that need — right to focus resources on those that need it most. 30 right to focus resources on those that need it most.— that need it most. so that is the government's — that need it most. so that is the government's case. _ that need it most. so that is the government's case. as - that need it most. so that is the government's case. as i - that need it most. so that is the government's case. as i say - that need it most. so that is the - government's case. as i say though, politically this is something that i think you will continue to hear criticised, politically it is something that causes some unease on the conservative benches as well. but the opposition parties are making the argument that it will just make the cost of living squeeze worse. have a listen to labour's and p. , ., ., worse. have a listen to labour's and p. there is a waiting list of 7 million for _ p. there is a waiting list of 7 million for people _ p. there is a waiting list of 7 million for people who - p. there is a waiting list of 7 million for people who are l p. there is a waiting list of 7 - million for people who are waiting for treatment with the nhs. there is a crisis _ for treatment with the nhs. there is

a crisis but— for treatment with the nhs. there is a crisis. but don't forget that there are _ a crisis. but don't forget that there are policies that led to this crisis _ there are policies that led to this crisis in — there are policies that led to this crisis in the first place and we had a waiting — crisis in the first place and we had a waiting list of 4 million going into covid _ a waiting list of 4 million going into covid. so, yes, we do need to tackle _ into covid. so, yes, we do need to tackle these — into covid. so, yes, we do need to tackle these challenges but right now what we need to do economically is get _ now what we need to do economically is get the _ now what we need to do economically is get the economy moving because we are forced _ is get the economy moving because we are forced to _ is get the economy moving because we are forced to have a situation where government is putting up so many taxes _ government is putting up so many taxes because we have a conservative party that _ taxes because we have a conservative party that is _ taxes because we have a conservative party that is the party of high taxes — party that is the party of high taxes. because they have the party of tow _ taxes. because they have the party of low growth and our economy has been _ of low growth and our economy has been stagnating for so long that we have had _ been stagnating for so long that we have had 15 tax rises in two years. remember— have had 15 tax rises in two years. remember that the increase in national insurance comes into force today, so people will start to see in their pay packets from this month. the change to the threshold, the point at which you start paying national insurance, which will lead to some people paying a bit less, that doesn't come into force until july. so there is that gap in between. that the latter part of that, the increase in the threshold was brought in by the treasury in

part to mitigate some of the impact of the cost of living crisis. but look, it is an issue that is not going away and we are going to keep talking about. tqm. going away and we are going to keep talking about-— talking about. 0k, nick, thank you ve much talking about. ok, nick, thank you very much for— talking about. 0k, nick, thank you very much for that. _ let's speak to our personal finance correspondent, kevin peachey if you're looking at this and trying to work out what impact this will have on your finances just take us through how it will affect people, depending of course on how much they earn. , , ., ., depending of course on how much they earn. , , . ., , ., earn. yes, it is a new tax year today and _ earn. yes, it is a new tax year today and this _ earn. yes, it is a new tax year today and this effectively - earn. yes, it is a new tax year today and this effectively is i earn. yes, it is a new tax year. today and this effectively is the start of a new tax because it is going to be the health and social care levy eventually. but from today it is being added as that one and a quarter p in the pound on our national insurance bills. that is for employees, employers and for the self—employed. and as nick was mentioning there, it has been highly controversial and so there has been these mitigating, mitigation put in by the chancellor, which will raise the threshold. what does that mean in pounds and pence? well, it means

that from today those who are earning more than around £10,000 or so a year will be paying more in national insurance. but over the year as a whole, while someone earning around £34,000 a year, if they are earning less than that then they are earning less than that then they will be paying less national insurance than they did the next year than they did for the yearjust gone. if they are earning more than £34,000 then they will be paying more national insurance. sojust to give you a couple of examples, someone on £20,000 a year will be paying £178 less national insurance over the next year. but someone on £80,000 a year will be paying £572 more. �* ., , , ., £80,000 a year will be paying £572 more. �* .,, i. ., ., more. and then as you say a new tax ear, rive more. and then as you say a new tax year. give us — more. and then as you say a new tax year. give us the _ more. and then as you say a new tax year, give us the other— more. and then as you say a new tax year, give us the other headlines - year, give us the other headlines from that. ., year, give us the other headlines from that. . , , year, give us the other headlines from that-— year, give us the other headlines from that. . , , ., , ., from that. yeah, this is obvious to be the key — from that. yeah, this is obvious to be the key one _ from that. yeah, this is obvious to be the key one but _ from that. yeah, this is obvious to be the key one but coming - from that. yeah, this is obvious to be the key one but coming as - from that. yeah, this is obvious to be the key one but coming as nick mentioned a real sort of squeeze for people's finances we had energy bills rising last week but with the new tax year there is some changes

or at least some things that don't change, which optically important. so your income tax thresholds have been frozen again, they will be for a few years. what that means is if you have a pay rise then there is a chance you are going to be dragged into a higher income tax bracket and pay more in income tax. there is also a bit of change which adds to the payment for health and social care, which is in dividend taxes. that may well affect people, business owners who pay themselves in dividends. so there are a few changes around and it is no surprise i guess that many experts are saying check your payslip very closely to make sure you're paying the correct amount of tax. make sure you're paying the correct amount of tax— amount of tax. good advice. kevin, thank ou amount of tax. good advice. kevin, thank you very _ amount of tax. good advice. kevin, thank you very much. _ amount of tax. good advice. kevin, thank you very much. our- amount of tax. good advice. kevin, thank you very much. our personal| thank you very much. our personal finance correspondent there. you have been getting in touch with me about this story today about national insurance, the rise. let me read out a few of those tweets. margaret hughes writes this national insurance rise is another nail in the coffin for struggling working class people. they've battered at

turn. why no win full tax on oil to companies? she continues, she will not vote tory again. this is from, well, quite a few people actually getting in touch on a similar theme, adam with this one, what happened to the £350 million per week promised to the nhs byjohnson in the brexit campaign? why do we need to pay more national insurance for it? and similar, david murray, regarding the increase in national insurance, which the government say is vital to the nhs, what happened to the sums of money that were all over the sides of buses in the run—up to brexit? where did those funds go? so quite a few messages on that theme. if you want to get in touch about this story or any of the other stories we're covering today you can do that on twitter. matt anita bbc.

ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has urged ireland's political leaders to use their influence to convince other eu nations to introduce even tougher sanctions to halt the russian war machine. he addressed the parliament this morning — and started on the humanitarian crisis hitting ukraine as a price of the russian invasion. they are hitting places where we store fuel, food storage depots, agricultural equipment and fields. they are putting mines into the fields. they also have locked all of our seaports together with the vessels that had already agricultural cargoes for export. why are they doing this? because, for them, hunger is also a weapon, a weapon against us ordinary people as an instrument of domination. ukraine is one of the leading food supplying countries in the world. without our exports, this is not just about the deficit and the

threat of hunger for more than dozens of countries, in asia and africa, but even more, because it will be a shortage of food and the prices will go up and this is reality for millions of people who are hungry. it will be more difficult for them to feed their families, especially in north africa. they are undermining our... they are destroying our infrastructure and deliberately provoking the food crisis. what will happen as a result of this crisis? at least there will be political turbulence and as a maximum, violence and new refugees who will be looking for saving their lives. the medical charity medecins sans frontieres says hospitals have been attacked in the ukrainian city of mykolaiv. let's speak to the charity's emergency communications

coordinator, avril benoit — she joins us from lviv. thank you forjoining us. tell us more about the apparent use of cluster bombs to attack hospitals in mykolaiv. what more can you tell us because my nieces your organisation reporting on this. because my nieces your organisation reporting on this-— reporting on this. yes, as it happened — reporting on this. yes, as it happened in _ reporting on this. yes, as it happened in mykolaiv - reporting on this. yes, as it happened in mykolaiv in - reporting on this. yes, as it happened in mykolaiv in a l happened in mykolaiv in a residential area that has a relatively high concentration of hospitals, the team of four people were there for a meeting at the oncology hospital when the bombing started. they quickly were able to seek refuge, somebody waved them over into this pit area and the barrage continued for roughly ten minutes. we can see that after it

was over that there were pockmarks all around the ground, so it wasn't one large impact crater or one direct hit on one of the hospitals around, as i mentioned there were several in the area. it was rather scattered all around. so with that, from experience of working in conflict zones, the team came to the conclusion that it must have been cluster munitions. abshd conclusion that it must have been cluster munitions.— cluster munitions. and i hope, it sounds from _ cluster munitions. and i hope, it sounds from your _ cluster munitions. and i hope, it sounds from your description, i cluster munitions. and i hope, it l sounds from your description, that the team ok, were unhurt. did they report any casualties that they could see in the immediate aftermath?— could see in the immediate aftermath? , ., ., , aftermath? yes. the team was unhurt, thankfull , aftermath? yes. the team was unhurt, thankfully. and — aftermath? yes. the team was unhurt, thankfully, and they _ aftermath? yes. the team was unhurt, thankfully, and they did, _ aftermath? yes. the team was unhurt, thankfully, and they did, as _ aftermath? yes. the team was unhurt, thankfully, and they did, as they - thankfully, and they did, as they were leaving the area very quickly because of the smell of gasoline and the risk of explosions, further explosions, they immediately tried to move away. they did report that they saw some injured people on the road. t they saw some in'ured people on the road. . ,., they saw some in'ured people on the road. . . ., they saw some in'ured people on the road. . ., ., ., ,, ., .,

road. i also want to talk to about mariu ol road. i also want to talk to about mariupol as _ road. i also want to talk to about mariupol as well. _ road. i also want to talk to about mariupol as well. clearly - road. i also want to talk to about mariupol as well. clearly the - road. i also want to talk to about i mariupol as well. clearly the people of ukraine are suffering from all of them. i'm speaking specifically about a lack of access to food, clean water, medicine, heating as well. aid agencies and charities have been having great difficulty trying to get to 21. have any of your stuff been able to reach mariupol?— your stuff been able to reach mariuol? ., ., ., _, , mariupol? no. none of the convoys have been able _ mariupol? no. none of the convoys have been able to _ mariupol? no. none of the convoys have been able to reach _ mariupol? no. none of the convoys have been able to reach so - mariupol? no. none of the convoys have been able to reach so this - mariupol? no. none of the convoys have been able to reach so this is i mariupol? no. none of the convoys have been able to reach so this is a| have been able to reach so this is a great concern of ours. we are trying to negotiate along with others to have safe passage to bring in the much needed medical supplies for example to hospitals that might still be functioning in 21. —— mariupol. but then to have the large vehicles bring out citizens who

deserve safe passage to be able to leave the city if that's what they choose. �* ., ., ~' leave the city if that's what they choose. �* ., ., ~ ., , choose. i'm looking at the broader icture choose. i'm looking at the broader picture throughout _ choose. i'm looking at the broader picture throughout ukraine, - choose. i'm looking at the broader picture throughout ukraine, as - choose. i'm looking at the broader picture throughout ukraine, as far| picture throughout ukraine, as far as msf is concerned, what are the key goals that you are trying to achieve right now? what are the greatest needs depending on what part of the country were looking at? it really does depend because obviously in the places that are more affected by the conflict you have or trauma injuries, you have people who are displaced. what we're finding is that there is an opportunity for us to bring the added value of our conflicts own experience and be in partnership with local doctors, ukrainian hospitals, to be able to help them with some of the training they might need to deal with mass casualty kind of situations and triage in situations where you would have an influx all at once. we have also supported with medical referral of patients out of some of the hotspot

areas and to safer locations. we do this by train with medical staff on board the train. and we have many ambitions to be able to continue and expand our offering. and then of course medical supplies because in this country you do have highly skilled medical staff, they are with their people, with the hospitals, and sometimes they're just letting us know look we need this and that medical supply so it is a matter of getting it to them as quickly as possible before, and we hope it doesn't happen, but before it might be cut off from being able to reach them. ., ~ be cut off from being able to reach them. ., ,, i. be cut off from being able to reach them. ., ~' ,, , be cut off from being able to reach them. ., ,, i. , . be cut off from being able to reach them. ., ~ ,, , . ., be cut off from being able to reach them. ., ,, i. , . ., i. them. thank you very much for your time. you them. thank you very much for your time- you are _ them. thank you very much for your time. you are welcome. _ scientists have warned that the number of covid cases in england in older age groups who are most at risk from the virus is continuing to increase. the react study, by imperial college london, suggests that more than 6 % of england's population were infected last month, double the rate in february. but the data also indicates that cases may have peaked in children and younger adults.

our health correspondent jim reed joins me. jim, let's begin with that last point at the moment, the data indicating the cases may have peaked indicating the cases may have peaked in children and young adults. tell us a bit more about that. that in children and young adults. tell us a bit more about that.- us a bit more about that. that is some quite _ us a bit more about that. that is some quite reassuring, - us a bit more about that. that is - some quite reassuring, encouraging news really. this study goes out and samples quite a lot of people, about 100,000 people, over100,000 people at random every month. and it gives an indication of how widespread the virus is in that group. overall, as you say, really high numbers. over 6%, that is one in 16 people would have tested positive at some point during march according to survey. but the two bits that are worth picking up really, in the younger age groups and by that i mean children and adults up to about 55 years old, you are starting towards the end of that period, toward the end of march, to see a flattening, perhaps the decrease in the plateauing in infections. that is quite encouraging news. that latest wave that we have seen driven by

this offshoot of the omicron variant appears to be starting to peak in that age group. d0 appears to be starting to peak in that age group-— appears to be starting to peak in that age group. appears to be starting to peak in thatauu-erou. ~ ., , that age group. do we know why? does the study look — that age group. do we know why? does the study look at _ that age group. do we know why? does the study look at why _ that age group. do we know why? does the study look at why it _ that age group. do we know why? does the study look at why it might - that age group. do we know why? does the study look at why it might be - the study look at why it might be plateauing? t the study look at why it might be plateauing?— the study look at why it might be ”lateauin? ., ., ., , , plateauing? i asked the authors this esterda plateauing? i asked the authors this yesterday into _ plateauing? i asked the authors this yesterday into a _ plateauing? i asked the authors this yesterday into a certain _ plateauing? i asked the authors this yesterday into a certain extent - plateauing? i asked the authors this yesterday into a certain extent what| yesterday into a certain extent what goes up must come down. immunity starts to build in any sort of group, as more people are infected and the impact of vaccinations there, at some point you reach a stage where there are fewer vulnerable people that the virus can possibly infect. and as you reach that stage and we have seen it throughout the pandemic, you start to see these infections peak and then sat come down. the more concerning thing is although we are seeing in the younger age groups, in those older age groups so by that i'm talking about 55 years and over, we're still seeing rates really quite high and are starting to pick up. by the end of march site last thursday, in over 55 is, about 8% 8.3% of people it suggested would

have been testing positive. and of course that age group is the group there is more likely to be affected by a severe covid infection and still going to hospital. still well protected most people buy vaccines but nonetheless still more cases. that age group going up you can see probably an increased dilemma increasing people that had been infected. t5 increasing people that had been infected. , ., increasing people that had been infected. , . , , infected. is that because schoolchildren _ infected. is that because schoolchildren are - infected. is that because | schoolchildren are mixing infected. is that because - schoolchildren are mixing and clearly the older age groups maybe just as likely to go out as younger age groups but there has been more socialising amongst younger age groups and i'm saying this hypothetically, and they have been getting infected and maybe there's been a passing on of that infection at home, is that why we are seeing the slight lag in the older age groups in terms of them not plateauing?— groups in terms of them not plateauing? groups in terms of them not ”lateauin ? , ., ., plateauing? exactly that. so what the scientists _ plateauing? exactly that. so what the scientists at _ plateauing? exactly that. so what the scientists at imperial - plateauing? exactly that. so what the scientists at imperial college | the scientists at imperial college and react do is they look at apple and react do is they look at apple and google mobility data, so information on your phone, it tells you how often certain groups are going out of the house and go to supermarkets and so on. it is very

detailed data across the whole population. what they said is in march in the older age group, you saw that bouncing back at a rate that we haven't seen before in the pandemic. that means more mixing, more socialising in that group. at the same time, they're pointing to higher rates of what is called waning immunity, so this is evidence showing that vaccines appear to be, in vaccine production appears to be fading in the older age group. again, it is against infection, not necessarily hospitalisation. so that is why you seen the of these fourth doses in those older age groups over 75 years old. doses in those older age groups over 75 years old-— 75 years old. jim, thank you for talkin: 75 years old. jim, thank you for talking us _ 75 years old. jim, thank you for talking us through _ 75 years old. jim, thank you for talking us through all _ 75 years old. jim, thank you for talking us through all of - 75 years old. jim, thank you for talking us through all of that. l a british man and his nine year old son have been killed by a landslide in australia. two other members of the family were critically injured by falling rocks in the blue mountains near sydney. a 15—year—old girl was unhurt. phil mercer has the latest.

this is the blue mountains national park, a world heritage listed area about 100 kilometres to the west of sydney. it is absolutely pouring down with rain. and torrential downpours here in eastern australia in recent months are thought to be the key factor in what has been described as an unspeakable tragedy involving this british family of five. they came here to the blue mountains on monday to enjoy a rare day of sunshine and were hiking on a trail very close to here. the authorities say that the cliff above them gave way and sent rocks tumbling down. a man and his nine—year—old son were crushed by falling rocks and died. a woman and a teenage boy suffered serious head and abdominal injuries. they have had surgery in hospital in sydney. a 15—year—old girl, she was the fifth member of this family, she has been praised

for her courage and composure. she survived the landslip physically at least, unhurt, and managed to raise the alarm, guiding the rescue effort in before her mother and brother were airlifted to safety. speaking to local tour guides in the blue mountains, they say that landslides here are not uncommon and one was saying that the earth, the mountains, the sandstone in this region are forever moving. and, as you can see, many walking trails have been closed as a precaution because the authorities are worried about further landslides and rock falls. archaeologists in peru have unearthed a mummy that could be 1000 years old. the preserved remains date back to before the incan empire. the discovery — which was made at an archaeological

site near lima — has been described as one of the most important finds at both a national and international level. the bbc�*s tim allman reports. they call him the lord. extraordinary well preserved, intricately tied with rope his face covered by his hands. all according to what is believed to be ancient burial customs. whoever it was he was let to have been an important localfigure. translation: it is one of the most important finds that both national and international level. what was his way of life? what was his cause of death? and above all, what was the treatment there was carried out so his skin was preserved to this day? it was here, not far from his skin was preserved to this day? it was here, not farfrom lima, that his tomb was discovered, in what used to be the middle of a town square. along with the mummified body there were other offerings, including ceramics, stone tools stop his burial dates back to before the time of the incas, to the time of an empire that stretched out parts of what is now modern day peru and

bolivia. translation: approximately this person would have been buried between the 800 to 1000 a:d.. when he died, he would have been buried with around 30 people, many of them were sacrificed in his honour. the investigation at this site continues, there are more mummies to be earth. the tomb has more secrets to be revealed. tim ullman, bbc news. and finally....a sumatran rhino has successfully given birth in an indonesian sanctuary, after suffering eight miscarriages in the last 17 years. the female baby calf was born to mum, rosa, in way kambas national park on thursday. there is the baby, trying to get to its feet. doing pretty well. officials say both mother and calf are doing well. gorgeous pictures. joanna gosling will be here next. for now, it is

goodbye for me. you're watching bbc news. —— goodbye from me. hello. the umbrellas are certainly getting a work—out for some of you today, but at least it is a little bit warmer than it was over the past few days. the colder air confined to orkney and shetland. but notice that blue, the colder colours, start to push their way southwards to all as we go through the rest of this week. another surge of cold air on its way. out there today, as i mentioned, it is not quite as chilly. certainly scotland as it was yesterday. but here and across the country, increasingly blustery showers will continue, the wind is getting stronger throughout the day. the morning will have seen the heavy showers push across england and wales, clearing away from east anglia and the south—east in mid afternoon and then fewer showers are around. the showers get more abundant through this afternoon across parts of western scotland, northern ireland. the winds pick up, 40 to 50 mil per hour gusts. more persistent rain in the far north of scotland with some sweet mix ten

which separates the slightly milder here to the colder air. and as that low—pressure bridges across holland over night, the colder air start to interact with it a bit more. we have still got lots of showers to take us through this evening and the first part of across scotland. some hail, thunder mixed in. but notice our weather front, here is, pushing his way south, turning to snow across the highlands and eventually the grampians. ten to 15 centimetres of snow for some. on the other end of the scale, some very heavy rain pushing across southern counties of england and the channel islands for a time through the night. but then clearer skies later on. temperatures falling away to the north. we could see some ice and some lying snow around to start thursday. that wintry weather uses a little bit. further wintry showers in northern scotland. but the colder air with a mixture of rain, hail, sneak sleet and snow flurries will push its way southwards across england during the day. fewer showers across the west and it is going to be a day in which temperatures drop as we go through the afternoon. it is going to feel colder to end the day, especially in what will still be a blustery wind. winds fall lighter for many into friday morning, frost across

the country, but this area of low pressure, bit of a how north that gets but will rain to the channel islands and potentially the southernmost counties of england, may south wales too. using our way, sunshine coming out as we go through the afternoon. further north, another day of sunshine and showers, some heavy with hail, sleet and, yes, a little bit of snow. as those ease through friday night into saturday morning, winds fall lighter, the blue colours on oui’ map an indication of the widespread frost that is going to take us into the start of the week. not great news for the gardeners out there. saturday should be a very pleasant day. no only a few showers around, lots of sunshine. sandy, however, after a bright chilly start, turning milder, more windy and also wetter.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 11am: millions of people will now pay more national insurance, as an increase to contributions comes into effect today. the health secretary sajid javid says it is a necessary move to support the nhs. if we want the nhs to catch up and better adult social care, the money has to come from somewhere. nato foreign ministers are to meet as images of destruction, and allegations of war crimes continue to emerge from towns surrounging kyiv, following the retreat of russian forces. the uk, us and the eu are expected to impose fresh sanctions on russia. they're likely to target strategic industries, including energy, oil and gas. ukraine's president accusses russia of hitting infrastructure in the country in efforts

to starve the population. translation: forthem hunger is also a weapon — a weapon against us ordinary people, as an instrument of domination. married couples in england and wales will be able to begin divorce proceedings without apportioning blame from today, as new "no—fault" divorce legislation comes into force. calories must now appear on the menus of food and drink businesses with more than 250 staff in england and ed sheeran has won a high court battle over whether parts of his 2017 hit �*shape of you' copied another artist's song — the judge ruled that there were significant differences with this song by sami chokri.

millions of people will now pay more national insurance, as an increase to contributions comes into effect. the controversial rise is expected to raise £11 billions more this financial year. the extra money is earmarked for government spending on health and social care. the health secretary, sajid javid, said the revenue would pay for around nine million more scans and procedures. the increase of 1.25 pence in the pound will apply to employees, businesses and the self—employed. anyone earning more than £9,880 a year will pay the increased contribution. but, after a change announced in the chancellor s spring

statement, from july, that will increase to £12,570. that means over the next year, anyone earning less than around £34,000 a year will pay less national insurance than they did last year. as you can see on this graph, people earning £20,000 a year will pay £178 less in 2022—23, whilst those on £50,000 will pay £197 more. opposition parties, and some back bench mps, say the increase will add to the cost of living crisis and should be scrapped. our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports. business is getting back on track at george's bistro. but now they'll be paying more national insurance on the wages of the 25 staff. personally, for me, if i look at my wage, i think,

"oh, it's not too much." but then i look at it as a business and how we're going to be having to pay that on everybody�*s wages. it adds up really, really quick. what does it mean, then, for you as a business? how will you cover that cost? we're going to try to bring more custom in — that's the only way we can do it. so you just need more bums on seats. yes, bums on seats — that's what we need to do. obviously, more bums on seats means more staff, so...more cost. from today, lots of the staff here will be paying extra national insurance on their wages, too. for the next few months, you'll have just under £10,000 of your wages tax—free. and then instead of paying 12% national insurance, you'll have to top up to 13.25% — and more for higher earners. but after facing criticism, the government have tried to soften the blow. so from july, the amount you can earn before you pay tax will increase to £12,500, and then you'll be charged that higher 13.2% rate for national insurance.

that's why the government say that, across this whole tax year, most people will end up paying less — but it's an extra pressure for middle earners. lots of the businesses and employees who lost the most over the last couple of years now feel like they're being asked to pay a higher price to cover the costs of the pandemic. i think it's absolutely crazy. with everything else going up and, you know, it's another thing we have to deal with. this salon will have to pay more for each member of staff, butjoseph says it's ok if he's charged more personally. i don't mind if it goes up a little bit cos i know how much help i've had over the last sort of 18 months. i think, you know, it needs to come from somewhere. but faced with a much bigger increase, boss richard doesn't agree. it's another challenge as a business owner, again, to survive and, you know, move forward. difficult, very difficult. it's an increase when so many

have already cut all the corners they can. colletta smith, bbc news, in cleckheaton. i'm joined now by our political correspondent, nick eardley. well, nick, it is the big day, there is so much discussion about what would happen. today people will see that increase. they will and it is controversial for a couple of key reasons. one is the economic context and everything we have heard about the cost of living squeeze and the fact that increased tax willjust mean that people have even more to deal with in terms of budgeting. the other reason is this breaking a conservative manifesto promise. nick, sorry to interrupt you, there is a sound issue, it is sort of booming. we will come back to you in a little bit.

joining me now is sally warren, director of policy at the health think tank the king's fund. i hope the sound is ok with you. first of all, can we be clear on the figures, the originally quoted figures, the originally quoted figure is it would raise £12 billion a year. now they say 39 billion over three years. but with the change in july, the figures will be lower than that, probably around 22 billion over three years. can you helpous? —— help out? the over all figure about how much is raised has changed since it was announced in september. some estimates have gone up, because of inflation and improved growth forecasts and some have gone down, because of the changes to threshold. the important thing is that the treasury have made it clear that the spending plans for the nhs and

social care will not change result of changes in tax receipts from the levy. we are still expected 12 billion a year to be provided to the nhs and social care services across all parts of the united kingdom as a result of the levy. 50 all parts of the united kingdom as a result of the levy.— result of the levy. so that is clear. what _ result of the levy. so that is clear. what will _ result of the levy. so that is clear. what will that - result of the levy. so that is clear. what will that 12 - result of the levy. so that is | clear. what will that 12 billion result of the levy. so that is - clear. what will that 12 billion be spent on exactly? 50 clear. what will that 12 billion be spent on exactly?— clear. what will that 12 billion be spent on exactly? so in england, the mone is spent on exactly? so in england, the money is going _ spent on exactly? so in england, the money is going to — spent on exactly? so in england, the money is going to be _ spent on exactly? so in england, the money is going to be spent - spent on exactly? so in england, the money is going to be spent on - spent on exactly? so in england, the money is going to be spent on the i money is going to be spent on the nhs and wider health care services. sorry, i think the same sound problem is creeping in. buti sorry, i think the same sound problem is creeping in. but i think we are ok with you. th problem is creeping in. but i think we are ok with you.— problem is creeping in. but i think we are ok with you. in england the money will — we are ok with you. in england the money will be _ we are ok with you. in england the money will be mainly _ we are ok with you. in england the money will be mainly spent - we are ok with you. in england the money will be mainly spent on - we are ok with you. in england the money will be mainly spent on the | money will be mainly spent on the nhs and supporting more activity to tackle the backlog caused by covid and also building up before covid. that is more operations, more tests and the waiting list of six million people in england will slowly reduce

over time. people in england will slowly reduce overtime. it people in england will slowly reduce over time. it will fund improvement to the social care system and an improvement in how we pay for social care. t improvement in how we pay for social care. �* improvement in how we pay for social care. . . �* . improvement in how we pay for social care. �* . . ,., improvement in how we pay for social care. �* . . y., , care. i can't hear anyone. sorry, sall , care. i can't hear anyone. sorry, sally. we — care. i can't hear anyone. sorry, sally. we have _ care. i can't hear anyone. sorry, sally, we have got _ care. i can't hear anyone. sorry, sally, we have got a _ care. i can't hear anyone. sorry, sally, we have got a technical. care. i can't hear anyone. sorry, i sally, we have got a technical issue here. the sound was howling around again. i'm not sure if viewers can hear, but i couldn't hear anything at that point. we will try to resolve our technical issues. thank you very much. do let us know what you very much. do let us know what you think about that increase in national insurance to... allow for more money to be spent on the nhs, that commitment is to spend an additional £12 billion a year over the next three years on the nhs to clear the waiting list backlog which has gone up since the pandemic to 6 million mean people.

the united states, the uk and the eu will impose more sanctions on russia, amid allegations of war crimes in the ukrainian city of bucha. reports are also emerging of hospitals being bombed in the south—western city of mykolaiv. three were targeted, possibly with cluster bombs, according to the humanitarian charity medecins sans frontieres. and in mariupol, seen on this map in the south—east, the situation is worsening. most residents are without medicine, heat or water. the ukrainian deputy prime minister says 11 humanitarian corridors are being set up, but residents need to use their own vehicles to get out. nato's foreign ministers will meet this afternoon to discuss how to respond, and support ukraine in its next phase of war. and vladamir putin's daughters, katerina and mariya, are two of those facing sanctions. other targets include oligarchs, politicians, more banks and russian imports. our correspondentjeremy bowen has travelled to the ukrainian town of borodyanka, which has seen some of the worst

attacks since the invasion began. the destruction in the centre of borodyanka is the worst for its size i've seen in any of the towns around kyiv, including much fought—over irpin and bucha. the worst killing in borodyanka might have come when these flats were destroyed. a line of them stood here. you can see the gaps. after you. next door to the rubble, dmytro stashevskyi inspected his shop. this is your shop? medical, pharmacy, it's a pharmacy, yeah? destroyed, everything's gone. we went upstairs where his wife svitlana was trying to clean up his mother's flat. their family is safe, but not their friends in the destroyed building next door. translation: they were all our neighbours. i shortly after the air strike,

people nearby heard some voices shouting for help. russian soldiers stopped them digging. they threatened to shoot if they tried. dmytro left 30 others in the cellar before the strike. when he went back in the morning, it was full of rubble. all 30 are missing. you're lucky to be alive, aren't you? "yes," he said, "my wife, mother and daughter were praying for me." this is a civilian block of flats. now, only a ballistic missile or an air strike can do this sort of damage. under the laws of war, killing civilians and wanton destruction are both crimes unless it can somehow be proved that that was a military target. close by, local people were getting some food organised by their priest, who said he'd seen the russians shooting civilians. you saw civilians being killed by a russian sniper?

translation: it was the 2nd of march near the petrol station. _ we were driving along, followed by two civilian cars. theyjust shot them. it was an execution. most people here left during the russian occupation. svitlana said coming back made her empty and scared. tell us what the town was like before. eventually she said it was very nice, very green. hundreds of people could be lying dead under the rubble, say the police. once the heavy lifting gear arrives, they'll know more. jeremy bowen, bbc news, borodyanka. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has urged ireland's political leaders to use their influence to convince other eu nations to introduce even tougher sanctions to halt the russian war machine.

he addressed the parliament this morning, and started on the humanitarian crisis hitting ukraine as a price of the russian invasion. translation: they are hitting places where we store fuel, food storage depots, agricultural equipment and fields. they are putting mines into the fields. they also have locked all of our seaports together with the vessels that had already agricultural cargoes for export. why are they doing this? because, for them, hunger is also a weapon, a weapon against us ordinary people as an instrument of domination. ukraine is one of the leading food supplying countries in the world. without our exports, this is not just about the deficit and the threat of hunger for more than dozens of countries, in asia and africa, but even more,

because it will be a shortage of food and the prices will go up and this is reality for millions of people who are hungry. it will be more difficult for them to feed their families, especially in north africa. they are undermining our state line. they are destroying our infrastructure and deliberately provoking the food crisis. what will happen as a result of this crisis? at least there will be political turbulence and as a maximum, violence and new refugees who will be looking for saving their lives. the czech republic is reportedly sending tanks and other armoured vehicles to bolster the ukrainian military. it's the first nato country to give tanks to ukraine. a train with with the tanks aboard was spotted by a czech television crew

at the jihlava city station. neither the army nor defence ministerjana cernochova confirmed that the czech army would donate the equipment to ukraine. let's speak to our correspondent in lviv, emma vardy. bring us up—to—date. sorry it is not emma, it is anna foster. tt is emma, it is anna foster. it is interesting — emma, it is anna foster. it is interesting seeing _ emma, it is anna foster. it is interesting seeing the - emma, it is anna foster. tt 3 interesting seeing the pictures of tanks, i was talking to two members of the ukrainian military yesterday and the key message they wanted to get across was ukraine still needs more weapons, they said they are falling short in some areas, they don't have as much as they need and in other areas, they don't have certain systems at all. that is a message that ukraine is continually trying to get out there. we have heard volodymyr zelensky saying similar when he has been addressing parliamentarians. at the moment in ukraine the focus is on the east of the country. we saw

ukraine the focus is on the east of the country. we saneremy�*s report and we have in the area around kyiv places where russian forces have pulled away and we have those images of destruction and the terrible stories from people who have experienced that in the last few weeks. in the east of the country, the fighting is continuing and it is fierce. the expectation is that russia will try to take control control of the the donbas region and we have heard from the ukrainian government that they want to establish some of these humanitarian corridors, 11 of them they say, in different parts of the east and south of the country, because the key thing is now especially after we have seen those images from places like irpin and bucha, they feel like they want to get people out before that kind of thing can happen again. but we still have fierce fighting in places like kharkiv and mariupol where still there has been no substantial humanitarian corridor set up to allow the tens of thousands of people trapped in that

city to leave. the suggestion is from the ukrainian army, they think that the russians will take a few weeks to gear up for next face and get themselves in order and to regroup and to focus on the east of the country and if that happens in the country and if that happens in the east we see more people arriving here in the west, where i am in lviv. at the station i was talking to families who have endured weeks of fighting. one family spent five weeks in a basement beneath a school that they said was being shelled and the mother said now is the time to make a run for it, to get out of that front line city and try to come to some kind of safety. those are the decisions that people in ukraine are being forced into every day. thank you very much anna foster. and a quick reminder that we'll be taking your questions on the war in ukraine, tomorrow morning at 11:30. we'll have guests able to answer

a range of aspects of the war, from how it is being fought, how it may end, and the you can get in touch on twitter using the hashtag bbc your questions, and you can email us on yourquestions@bbc.co.uk. let's move on now and talk about ed sheeran, who has won a high court battle over whether his hit shape of you copied another artist's song. in the past hour, a high courtjudge in london has ruled that he "neither deliberately nor subconsciously" copied parts of a 2015 song by the grime artist sami chokri. our music correspondent mark savage has the background to the case. # i'm in hov love with the shape of you... ed # i'm in hov love with the shape of ou... ,, ., �* , # i'm in hov love with the shape of ou... ,, ., �*, ,, ' you... ed sheeran's song spent 14 weeks at no _ you... ed sheeran's song spent 14 weeks at no i- — you... ed sheeran's song spent 14 weeks at no 1. but _ you... ed sheeran's song spent 14 weeks at no 1. but he _ you... ed sheeran's song spent 14 weeks at no 1. but he was - you... ed sheeran's song spent 14| weeks at no 1. but he was accused you... ed sheeran's song spent 14 i weeks at no 1. but he was accused of copying this line... at?

weeks at no 1. but he was accused of copying this line. . ._ copying this line... # oh, i am in love with — copying this line... # oh, i am in love with your— copying this line... # oh, i am in love with your body... _ copying this line... # oh, i am in love with your body... from i copying this line... # oh, i am in love with your body... from a i copying this line... # oh, i am in i love with your body... from a song called 0h why _ love with your body... from a song called 0h why by — love with your body... from a song called 0h why by sami _ love with your body... from a song called 0h why by sami chockri. i love with your body... from a song called 0h why by sami chockri. #| love with your body... from a song i called 0h why by sami chockri. # 0h, wh , oh called 0h why by sami chockri. # 0h, why. oh why--- _ called 0h why by sami chockri. # 0h, why, oh why... lawyers _ called 0h why by sami chockri. # 0h, why, oh why... lawyers from - called 0h why by sami chockri. # 0h, why, oh why... lawyers from for i why, oh why... lawyers from for chokri called _ why, oh why... lawyers from for chokri called sheeran _ why, oh why... lawyers from for chokri called sheeran a - why, oh why... lawyers from for chokri called sheeran a magpie, | why, oh why... lawyers from for i chokri called sheeran a magpie, who borrows ideas that he doesn't always acknowledge. in court, andrew sup cliff said: mr sheeran said he always credits lesser known writers if he uses parts of their songs. the court heard how shape of you was written in under an hour in 2016. lawyers

for mr chokri said such speed indicated copying. of? for mr chokri said such speed indicated copying.— for mr chokri said such speed indicated copying. # i'm in love withure body... _ indicated copying. # i'm in love withure body... the _ indicated copying. # i'm in love withure body. .. the star- indicated copying. # i'm in love withure body... the star and i indicated copying. # i'm in love| withure body... the star and his cowriters denied _ withure body... the star and his cowriters denied ever _ withure body... the star and his cowriters denied ever having i withure body... the star and his i cowriters denied ever having heard the song and said the speed of writing indicated sheeran's genius. the issue of whether sheeran had access of a coopy to oh why was key to the trial. if he was unaware of the song the similarities would be coincidence and not infringement. it was put to the star he must have been aware of mr chokri's work, because they both had videos on the same youtube channel and shared friends. the star said: this is all stuff you're saying, this isn't stuff you're saying, this isn't stuff that is true. the trial lasted for three weeks at the beginning of

march. sheeran, who launched the proceedings in an attempt to clear his name, attended court every day, listening to the arguments. the judge has now ruled in his favour, saying there was no attempt to copy mr chokri's song. that decision could save the star millions of pounds in lost royalties. and mark is at the high court — and has been giving us reaction from ed sheeran to the ruling so ed sheeran has put out a individual yoi statement saying they're happy with the result, but regrets that people are making these claims. it is preventing them making their songs. claims. it is preventing them making theirsongs. he claims. it is preventing them making their songs. he said there are only 12 notes in the musical scale and this is bound to happen. we

12 notes in the musical scale and this is bound to happen.- this is bound to happen. we are aoian this is bound to happen. we are aoain to this is bound to happen. we are going to be _ this is bound to happen. we are going to be speaking _ this is bound to happen. we are going to be speaking to - this is bound to happen. we are going to be speaking to a i this is bound to happen. we are going to be speaking to a copy i this is bound to happen. we are i going to be speaking to a copy right expert later. we may have been watching when we had sound issues with sally warren from the king's found talking about the new national insurance increases. i think we have fixed the issues and sally has been patiently waiting. we will come back to you, it is good tojoin patiently waiting. we will come back to you, it is good to join you again. to recap on where we were, you were explaining that while the amount raised will be variable because of changes brought in in terms of the threshold for national insurance, £12 billion a year is committed to the nhs to clear the bag logs caused by covid with waiting lists at around 6 million. how straight forward will it be to actually get that cash in to where it is needed and how quickly can backlogs be cleared?-

it is needed and how quickly can backlogs be cleared? reducing the backloa will backlogs be cleared? reducing the backlog will take _ backlogs be cleared? reducing the backlog will take a _ backlogs be cleared? reducing the backlog will take a long _ backlogs be cleared? reducing the backlog will take a long time. i backlogs be cleared? reducing the backlog will take a long time. the | backlog will take a long time. the nhs and social care services were under a lot of pressure before covid struck, with 4.4 million people on hospital waiting lists, that has increased to 6 million. it is a significant challenge for the nhs, notjust to improve waiting times for hospital treatment, but also the huge pressure on mental health services and primary care. the money is welcome. but it will take time for waiting times and lists to reduce and hen i say it will take time, it will take several years until we see those numbers decline. this is something where the public are absolutely supporting the nhs and supporting social care services by putting more money through their taxes. they are going to need to be patient to see improvements. yesterday we were talking about the impact on cancer treatments and the issue of a lack of specialist staff being one of the problems. even when

there is money to spend, you can't just suddenly find staff and extra capacity. how will it work? yeah, that is right. _ capacity. how will it work? yeah, that is right, that _ capacity. how will it work? yeah, that is right, that is _ capacity. how will it work? yeah, that is right, that is why - capacity. how will it work? yeah, that is right, that is why it - capacity. how will it work? yeah, that is right, that is why it will i that is right, that is why it will take time to make improvements. there are some things you can do more quickly. you can buy more equipment and part of the money will be buying now equipment. but you need qualified staff to be able to use that. and we haven't had a workforce plan for nearly 20 years now and we have a workforce with 100,000 vacancies and high levels of burnout and stress. having a credible workforce plan to look at how we support staff working for the nhs and have better working conditions and to attract more staff so we have staff this year, next year and five years in the future. that is why it is not an overnight recovery and something we can

suddenly increase capacity and deliver more operations, because it does require us to have the hospitals, the equipment the tests and crucially the staff to be able run those expertly. th and crucially the staff to be able run those expertly.— run those expertly. in terms of operating _ run those expertly. in terms of operating as — run those expertly. in terms of operating as efficiently - run those expertly. in terms of operating as efficiently as i operating as efficiently as possible, where is the nhs now after the pandemic? because everybody found in all aspects of life there are more efficient ways of working that were identifying with the pandemic, communicating with zoom has been an assets, but there have been issues around covid restrictions making it more difficult for people to then actually get access, because of the extra time it is taking for people to be seen. how would you describe the current situation and how things can go? the the current situation and how things can ao? . the current situation and how things can ao? ,, , , , . , can go? the nhs is very efficiently run in comparison _ can go? the nhs is very efficiently run in comparison to _ can go? the nhs is very efficiently run in comparison to many - can go? the nhs is very efficiently run in comparison to many other i run in comparison to many other health care systems across the

dmroeb. globe. the proportion spent on management is small and this is a £150 billion system and requires management and administration to run, for the right patients to be in the right place with the right sthaf. you're right that during the koefrd experience there has been some positives of improved efficiency, particularly shifting to digital appointments, efficiency, particularly shifting to digitalappointments, in primary digital appointments, in primary care digitalappointments, in primary care that enables quicker access for many people. for others face to face appointments are needed. but the nhs has also had restrictions on how efficient it can be, because it has had infection protection and fewer people can be in surgeries and waiting rooms, you need more time to clean rooms in between patients. that has reduced and those restrictions are still in place. that is on top of, we still have high levels of covid infection and people with covid in hospital and

that means that the staff who are busy and stretched are needing to support and look after those patients, which is restricting their ability to be able to get through the waiting lists for planned operations. now we have now a nature that he is does want to be able to focus on improving the backlog and we know the backlog is notjust a number, it is people waiting in pain for an intervention. but the nhs needs to make sure it can support safely the people with covid in hospital right now.— hospital right now. pro'ecting further into i hospital right now. pro'ecting further into the i hospital right now. projecting further into the future, i hospital right now. projecting further into the future, that l hospital right now. projecting i further into the future, that £12 a year specifically for the nhs, for a start on far it goes within the nhs, when we look back at what has happened with the nhs with demand increasing, ageing population, more expensive treatments coming into the picture, that does bring different pressures on the budget and also the other aspect of when expenditure

starts to switch to social care is that also a moving picture? yes at the moment _ that also a moving picture? yes at the moment the _ that also a moving picture? yes at the moment the most _ that also a moving picture? yes at the moment the most of- that also a moving picture? yes at the moment the most of the i that also a moving picture? yes at. the moment the most of the money goes to the nhs and in england around £30 billion is raised over three years and £5 billion goes to social care. that is intended to staff the reforms, but it is very small steps and funding an extension to the means test and more people get some support from the state and introducing a new cap on how much we pay for care. the point about social care and the nhs, pressures will increase, we have an ageing population and a lot of people have not had the opportunities to stay as healthy as they might and that creates a need for services in the future. real issues around increased mental health problems across the population due to the pandemic. so there will be an increase in demand and it is important that not only we

think about how we get through hospital operations quickly, but how can we reform the system to people stay healthy and well and it is only that shift to supporting people earlier that will change that long—term demand curve that tends to mean we always spend more on health and care more more and more need materialises. and care more more and more need materialises— materialises. thank you very much. sally warren _ materialises. thank you very much. sally warren and _ materialises. thank you very much. sally warren and thank— materialises. thank you very much. sally warren and thank you - materialises. thank you very much. sally warren and thank you for i sally warren and thank you for holding on so we could have a proper chat with you. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt. it is the month for april showers. heaviest at the moment for england and wales and into the early part of the afternoon, spreading from west to east some heavy with hail and thunder and shower is becoming less abundant in the second half of the day in the west of scotland and northern ireland, shower is becoming more frequent and persistent rain in orkney that could turn to sleet. for

many, temperatures in double figures and for scotland a little bit milder thanit and for scotland a little bit milder than it was yesterday. here, where the sharks keep going into the evening, still heavy with hail and thunder. rain turning increasingly to snow heading into the north of the moment, a good covering of snow over the mountains again, cold air trying to work southwards and some ice. persistent rain in the southern counties of england and the channel islands overnight, skies will clear and sunny start in the south to begin the day but wintry showers pushing southwards and temperatures dropping and a fine but cold state on friday. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. millions of people will now pay more national insurance, as an increase to contributions comes into effect today. nato foreign ministers are to meet as images of destruction, and allegations of war crimes continue to emerge from towns surrounging kyiv, following the retreat of russian forces.

the uk, us and the eu are expected to impose fresh sanctions on russia. they're likely to target strategic industries, including energy, oil and gas. married couples in england and wales will be able to begin divorce proceedings without apportioning blame from today as new �*no—fault�* divorce legislation comes into force. calories must now appear on the menus of food and drink businesses with more than 250 staff in england. # i'm in love with your body. ed sheeran wins his legal battle over claims part of his track shape of you was copied from a song by another artist. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre,

here's gavin. good morning. hello... after wins for liverpool and manchester city last night, chelsea are looking to make it a very good week for the english clubs still left in the champions league. they take on real madrid at stamford bridge this evening.... in the first leg of their quarter final. its been a tough week for thomas tuchel�*s side after a run of six straight wins ended in a 4—1 thrashing by brentford at the weekend. the boss wants a positive reaction from the fans.... we need to be better on the pitch — we are the first to admit it — but we need the crowd to be better, supporters to be better. it was like this — we need everybody on the front foot. when you play in turin, play in malmo, play in st petersburg, play in lille, it's super hard and it's much harder to play against the spectators, as well. and we will face it next week in madrid. so, yeah, everybody needs to be on top level. chelsea looking to do what city and liverpool did last night in securing a first leg lead. it took manchester city until mid—way through the second half to break down atletico madrid at the etihad. phil foden, who came on as a sub....

putting in kevin de bruyne for the only goal of the game. a valuable lead to take to spain for the return leg next week. city's big premier league title rivals liverpool come back from portugal with a 3—1 lead after an important victory over benfica. luis diaz scored late on to putjurgen klopp's side in a comfortable position. all eyes now fall back domestically with liverpool and city playing this weekend in what many are calling a title decider... although not klopp. if we win against city obviously it is difficult enough, i think nobody would think, ok, that is it, decided. because the quality of the opponent, if we play now against the best team in the world, that is how it is. we will give it a try anyway. at the other end of the premier league, there is a huge match this evening with strugglers everton going to burnley who are two points adrift of safety. despite the high stakes, everton boss frank lampard says he is looking forward to it. tension can be a good thing.

it can also go the other way. i don't think we will feel tense, i think we will feel excited with the level of game and the competitive nature of what this game is. i loved, as a player, been involved in games where there was a lot on them. you know, we had ten of those and this is the first one that is in front of us, so, yeah, i am calm and excited and when the game comes, we willjust have to have an absolute belief in ourselves. elsewhere, the us businessman chris kirchner has been selected as the preferred bidder to buy derby county. that's according to the club's joint administrators this morning. kirchner revived his interest in derby this week, having withdrawn an initial bid three months ago. relegation—threatened derby have been in administration since 22nd september. final preparations are underway in augusta, ahead of the first men's golf major of the year — the masters — which begins tomorrow. all the build up dominated by the will—he, won't—he saga of tiger woods. he's now confirmed he does intend to play, and will play a final nine practice holes today... just 14 months after suffering life—threatening injuries after crashing his car.

it is amazing, if you think about where he was that, one year ago until now. i don't know how many people, if anybody, you know, could be out here and this is not an easy walk, so to be out here and not to throw his age in the mix, but i do not think that helps much for that kind of recovery, but is anybody surprised?— kind of recovery, but is anybody sur-rised? . ., ., , , surprised? what are recovery it is araovin to surprised? what are recovery it is proving to be- _ that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. ed sheeran has won his legal battle over claims part of his track shape of you was copied from a song by another artist. the grime artist sami chokri —— who performs under the name sami switch —— had accused him of ripping let's have a quick listen to both tracks. first ed sheeran.

# i'm in love with your body. # i'm in love with your body. # i'm in love with the shape of you. here is the second track. # why do i put myself through this? but the high court ruled ed sheeran had neither deliberately not subconsciously copied the earlier song. joining me now is dr hayleigh bosher, senior lecturer in intellectual property law at brunel university london. thank you forjoining us. just to read a little bit more of what the judge said and we just heard read a little bit more of what the judge said and wejust heard it there, there are similarities between about one bar phrase, but such similarities are only a starting point for a possible infringement of copyright. iloathed starting point for a possible infringement of copyright. what is our infringement of copyright. what is your reaction _ infringement of copyright. what is your reaction to _ infringement of copyright. what is your reaction to this _ infringement of copyright. what is your reaction to this ruling? i

infringement of copyright. what is your reaction to this ruling? that l your reaction to this ruling? that is right. i think from a copyright and songwriter perspective, it is a bit of a relief, there have been similar cases recently and copyright is not supposed to be too protective and it is good to hear thejudge is not supposed to be too protective and it is good to hear the judge say that the difference between the songs, although they were similar, they were commonplace elements that should be freely available for anyone to draw upon. tell should be freely available for anyone to draw upon.- should be freely available for anyone to draw upon. tell us a bit more about _ anyone to draw upon. tell us a bit more about what _ anyone to draw upon. tell us a bit more about what the _ anyone to draw upon. tell us a bit more about what the other - anyone to draw upon. tell us a bit| more about what the other aspects are that come into working out whether there has been a copyright breach. ,, , ., , , , ., breach. sure. obviously when you hear the songs, _ breach. sure. obviously when you hear the songs, they _ breach. sure. obviously when you hear the songs, they sounded - breach. sure. obviously when you . hear the songs, they sounded similar and i think the initial reaction of most people would be that they are the same, but in copyright, there is a 2—step process to proving copyright infringement and just because two songs sound the same, does not mean you can prove the test. the first test is about access, you cannot copy something you have not heard, so you have to prove, you cannot necessarily prove

exactly that someone has heard the song, but you have to try to show that they have heard the song and that they have heard the song and that they have copied it. the second part of the test is about the copying, that the two songs are similar and the parts that are similar and the parts that are similar are substantial and normally what that means is original and unique parts, not commonplace elements. they had to show firstly that ed sheeran had heard sami chokri's song and that the elements the same are unique and substantial parts. the same are unique and substantial arts. ., , , ., the same are unique and substantial arts. . , , ., the same are unique and substantial arts. ., , , ., the same are unique and substantial parts. lawyers for sami chokri said they believed _ parts. lawyers for sami chokri said they believed it _ parts. lawyers for sami chokri said they believed it was _ parts. lawyers for sami chokri said they believed it was extremely - they believed it was extremely likely that ed sheeran would have heard the song, but he said he had no recollection of the judge found as a matter of fact that ed sheeran did not hear the song. it was very interesting, some of what emerged in terms of the process around creating a song and how much awareness there is for artists about potentially copying something and there were points during the making of the song

that ed sheeran talked about where he felt that actually it was starting to resemble some other well—known songs, so they were sort of tweaking as they went to avoid those and a musicologist listen to the final version to be sure that they were not the similarities they were concerned about.— they were not the similarities they were concerned about. that's right. because of— were concerned about. that's right. because of the _ were concerned about. that's right. because of the growing _ were concerned about. that's right. because of the growing number- were concerned about. that's right. because of the growing number of. because of the growing number of case law, i think it is a concern for some writers that there songs will accidentally sound like other songs and it is not that unusual these days to have a musicologist check the song. it is part of the songwriting process, you will draw inspiration from other music that you listen to and copyright is not supposed to stop you from doing that, it is only supposed to stop substantial copying and it is a very delicate balance.— delicate balance. thank you. it is catch , delicate balance. thank you. it is catchy. isn't _ delicate balance. thank you. it is catchy, isn't it? _ delicate balance. thank you. it is catchy, isn't it? we _ delicate balance. thank you. it is catchy, isn't it? we will- delicate balance. thank you. it is catchy, isn't it? we will all- delicate balance. thank you. it is catchy, isn't it? we will all have l catchy, isn't it? we will all have it in our heads now. i think it is

the most listen to song on spotify. exactly, they had a lot to fight for. 5 exactly, they had a lot to fight for. ., ., , ., ., , ., ~' for. 5 million a year that they make from it. thank _ for. 5 million a year that they make from it. thank you. _ for. 5 million a year that they make from it. thank you. this _ a british man who died in a landslide in australia has been named as mehraab nazir. his nine year old son was also killed. two other members of the family were critically injured by falling rocks in the blue mountains near sydney. a fifteen year old girl was unhurt. phil mercer has the latest. this is the blue mountains national park, a world heritage listed area about 100 kilometres to the west of sydney. it is absolutely pouring down with rain. and torrential downpours here in eastern australia in recent months are thought to be the key factor in what has been described as an unspeakable tragedy involving this british family of five. they came here to the blue mountains on monday to enjoy a rare day of sunshine and were hiking on a trail very close to here.

the authorities say that the cliff above them gave way and sent rocks tumbling down. a man and his nine—year—old son were crushed by falling rocks and died. a woman and a teenage boy suffered serious head and abdominal injuries. they have had surgery in hospital in sydney. a 15—year—old girl, she was the fifth member of this family, she has been praised for her courage and composure. she survived the landslip physically at least, unhurt, and managed to raise the alarm, guiding the rescue effort in before her mother and brother were airlifted to safety. speaking to local tour guides in the blue mountains, they say that landslides here are not uncommon and one was saying that the earth, the mountains, the sandstone in this region are forever moving. and, as you can see, many walking trails have been closed as a precaution because the authorities

are worried about further landslides and rock falls. the biggest reform to divorce law in 50 years has come into force in england and wales — bringing it broadly into line with scotland. married couples will now be able to begin divorce proceedings without apportioning blame. our home and legal correspondent, dominic casciani, reports. happy family life — what so many of us want, but sometimes it comes with an emotional cost. in 2018, olivia and her then—husband realised their marriage was over and they had to find a way out of it for the good of themselves and their children. but when she met a divorce lawyer, she was in for a shock. olivia was told she'd have to legally blame her husband if she wanted to get on with it quickly. i felt very uncomfortable with it right from the beginning because they seemed to be very much sort of pointing the finger and that someone was at fault.

it felt that it was not going to be useful to the divorce process. especially when young children are involved i think apportioning blame sort of fuels the flame a little, and it didn't seem like a great way to set up co—parenting in the future. hi, olivia, it's nice to see you again. the couple got help from amicable — a divorce support service — but still needed to wait two years to legally split because they had chosen not to blame each other. the more tension between us, you know, obviously would have had an impact on them, it would have impacted our ability to share custody, you know, because as we help each other out all the time, you know, we share a car, we share a dog. we're, you know, happy to look after the kids on different evenings and we're very flexible. up until now, we've had a fault—based divorce system in england and wales. someone has to be accused of adultery, desertion or unreasonable behaviour. if one partner disagrees, the couple must wait five years. from today, one or both partners can declare the marriage is over

in a statement to a court. judges will no longer ask for a reason. the same rules apply to same—sex unions. divorce and family lawyers say it's a revolution that places people and their wellbeing first. this will be more humane. i think it also recognises the dignity of the people wanting to be divorced, and it gives them some autonomy, as well. what i'm hoping is that that sets the tone and the culture, and it will roll over into resolving financial matters and children matters, most importantly. divorce lawyers say there could be an increase in applications. but the legal steps will take longer. there's now a 20—week pause to allow couples to think again. time also to divide finances and agree arrangements for children. but campaigners say the new law means more separating couples will find a happier life without added emotional and financial pain. dominic casciani, bbc

news, in north london. with me now is kate daly, co—founder, amicable who is also the host of the divorce podcast. amicable is not a law firm but a legal services company that are set up so that they can help couples to divorce jointly thank you for coming in. obviously it is a very significant change but in terms of helping couples navigate the unavoidable, the splitting up of everything, deciding what happens with the children and who sees who when, is going to those things? his when, is going to those things? no fault when, is going to those things? in? fault divorce will drain toxic elements of blame, fault and recrimination from what has been very punishing process, it is the first step in allowing people, giving people the opportunity to remain more cooperative. when you divorce, the most precious commodity that you have is cooperation. so,

starting the divorce off in the right way, by not having to blame each other, that is what will help, as you say, sort out the trickier things of who is going to see the children, how are you going to both have a relationship with the children on the finances. you believe that _ children on the finances. you believe that that _ children on the finances. you believe that that start - children on the finances. you believe that that start point, which obviously is not the star .i believe that that start point, which obviously is not the star .1 couples been having difficulties and they are already in an acrimonious situation, but you believe that actually putting down on paper when it came to filing for divorce, something that basically set up for a blame game, was guiding the approach that people would take thereafter? , , ., , thereafter? yes, we help thousands of --eole thereafter? yes, we help thousands of peeple every _ thereafter? yes, we help thousands of peeple every year _ thereafter? yes, we help thousands of people every year to _ thereafter? yes, we help thousands of people every year to do - thereafter? yes, we help thousands of people every year to do their- of people every year to do their divorce in a more amicable way and we know from our experience that actually helping them navigate that really difficult process was very important to them and that without that, often blame, recrimination and fighting it out, creating two sides:

going to two separate lawyers, that just escalated things.— just escalated things. those things remain, obviously _ just escalated things. those things remain, obviously and _ just escalated things. those things remain, obviously and that - just escalated things. those things remain, obviously and that is - just escalated things. those things j remain, obviously and that is often the first port of call for people, to call a lawyer and then echoes down that path.— down that path. exactly. that is art of down that path. exactly. that is part of what _ down that path. exactly. that is part of what we _ down that path. exactly. that is part of what we are _ down that path. exactly. that is part of what we are trying - down that path. exactly. that is part of what we are trying to - down that path. exactly. that is part of what we are trying to do | down that path. exactly. that is l part of what we are trying to do in terms of changing this narrative, you do not need to go to a lawyer first when you get divorced, the first when you get divorced, the first thing you need to do is think about what kind of process you're going to go through to sort things out, because everybody, if you have got financial things or you have children, will have to look at those things. so, polarising the debate is not necessarily the right way forward, yet we are still in a culture where that is not widely known. there are many services, like ours, where you can come and work as a couple, without the need for two separate lawyers. you can still have a legally binding settlement at the end of it, that goes through the court and that set you up in a much better place to co—parent and that is the key thing here. you

better place to co-parent and that is the key thing here. you describe our own is the key thing here. you describe your own divorce, _ is the key thing here. you describe your own divorce, which _ is the key thing here. you describe your own divorce, which led - is the key thing here. you describe your own divorce, which led to - your own divorce, which led to setting up your company as expensive and dramatic. do you think that enough is understood about the impact of divorce, which is the second most dramatic thing someone can go through, second only to losing a child, and the impact of that, notjust on the individuals who are potentially fighting it out, but also the kids and the wider family? i but also the kids and the wider famil ? ~ ., , _, ., family? i think we are becoming more coanisant family? i think we are becoming more cognisant as — family? i think we are becoming more cognisant as a — family? i think we are becoming more cognisant as a society _ family? i think we are becoming more cognisant as a society of _ family? i think we are becoming more cognisant as a society of those - family? i think we are becoming more cognisant as a society of those very i cognisant as a society of those very harmful effects. we have known for a long time that it is notjust the divorce itself, it is the way you handle divorce that has the biggest impact on children, for example. i think, as we get better as a society at understanding that and looking at different ways to negate that negative impact, that becomes way more important. but you are right, it is a huge cost, notjust emotionally, but financially as well. the cost of relationship breakdown in this country is £51

billion. 51 billion. that is bigger than the uk's defence budget. i was 'ust than the uk's defence budget. i was just thinking. _ than the uk's defence budget. i was just thinking. we — than the uk's defence budget. i was just thinking, we were _ than the uk's defence budget. i was just thinking, we were talking obviously about the impact and it came to my mind about when gwyneth paltrow and chris morton were divorcing and famously introduced the phrase to the wider consciousness about conscious uncoupling. it was kind of marked, but obviously that is what you're talking about, effectively, people separating and moving on to a new future, without the need for it to be... it is a difficult time, it is a stressful time, but how do you make it that people kind of see that bigger picture and can rise above the conflict? she bigger picture and can rise above the conflict?— bigger picture and can rise above the conflict? ,, ., , ~ ., , �* the conflict? she was mocked, wasn't she? it is really _ the conflict? she was mocked, wasn't she? it is really interesting _ the conflict? she was mocked, wasn't she? it is really interesting to - the conflict? she was mocked, wasn't she? it is really interesting to see - she? it is really interesting to see that that has been a real change and shift in narrative. if you look at celebrity culture now, there is a whole raft of people who have come out with very nicely scripted and

well worded statements about their applicability and how they are going to stay good friends, co—parent their children, and that has been a real shift and if you contrast that to the 19805 and 19905, were you had paul mccartney and heather mills in court and glasses of water being thrown over people, you have a real shift and that is a really positive thing, because ultimately the children will suffer and we do not want to have a system where divorce just churns out broken people, because then the patterns and the cycles repeat themselves and also, you have a society where this is just self—fulfilling and it is expensive and wrong. i think the new laws give more people an opportunity to do things in a better and more amicable way for sure.— to do things in a better and more amicable way for sure. thank you so much forjoining _ amicable way for sure. thank you so much forjoining us. _ from today all restaurants in england — that employ more than 250 people ? will have to print calorie information on their menus. it's part of the government's efforts to reduce obesity rates —

but there are concerns it could have a negative impact on people with eating disorders. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. the lunch rush is just getting going, and the manchester branch of the vapiano restaurant chain is one of the businesses that will be displaying calories on menus from today. when the new regulations were first announced, some restaurateurs worried about the extra costs, but the boss of vapiano says it's good to give customers choice and information. from a brand and business perspective, vapiano is very much about being transparent with our guests and with our consumers. we'd like to be able to give people access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about the food that they're consuming and the quality of the products and ingredients that they put into their mouth. the new regulations mean calories must be displayed clearly at the point of choice — normally a menu — along with the statement, "adults need around 2,000 calories a day". the new rules will only apply to businesses that employ

at least 250 people, so smaller restaurants are exempt. a survey by public health england found that 79% of respondents backed the idea. the government hopes that providing more information on calories in food will help people make healthier choices, and so reduce obesity rates. many larger restaurant, fast—food and pub chains already display calories on menus, and have done so for years. hello. wow, look at that. but the idea received a mixed reception among diners in manchester. yeah, it would make a difference. i'd choose what i thought was the healthiest option. you know, i take a keen interest on what goes into my body and, yeah, i'd definitely be interested. we should accept our own responsibility for what we eat. and i think... yeah, with lockdown and everything, i think people should get on it and look after themselves. yeah, definitely. i don't count the calories. i'm young and healthy. i don't think it really. affects me in any way. but, no, i wouldn't look at it.

i come to a restaurant because i'd go there knowing what i want to eat. i go there knowing that it's going to be a big meal. i don't go there thinking, "oh, i want to eat healthy at this restaurant today." there have been some concerns about the impact that highlighting the calories in meals could have on people struggling with an eating disorder, who can become very focused on calorie counting. and at this slimming group, they know that, while an awareness of calories may be helpful, there's much more to a healthy diet. three off — well done — amazing! the calories on their own aren't going to make that much of a difference. i think you need to know what else is in there, don't you? even your vegetables - are at least in butter or oils, just so they glisten under the light, aren't they? i whereas you wouldn't i necessarily know that — you might be thinking, - "oh, i'm going for a healthier choice by having these vegetables." i feel like there needs to be more kind of education around this, and it don't meanjust in schools, for example. i think it needs to be, like, a wider—spread thing, so thinking about the fibre content,

the protein, the things that obviously fill you up rather than just a number next to a dish. because obviously that can just be kind of misleading in terms of actually what's inside that food itself. the governments in scotland and wales are consulting on whether to introduce similar regulations. but the big question is what impact these measures will have in the fight against rising obesity levels. dominic hughes, bbc news. with me now is nisha katona, founder of indian restaurant chain mowgli street food. welcome. thank you forjoining us. what has the pupping for your business in terms of actually delivering this, has it been a difficult process? surprisingly enouuh, difficult process? surprisingly enough. it — difficult process? surprisingly enough, it has _ difficult process? surprisingly enough, it has been - difficult process? surprisingly enough, it has been quite - difficult process? surprisingly - enough, it has been quite simple. i wanted to do this a few years ago and it was difficult then, they were very few providers during the service and it was much more expensive, but big because we knew the legislation was coming, it seems there is this whole industry

calculating the calories for you, so it was surprisingly simple to tap into that. it does come at a cause, so absolutely, as your article showed, there are pros and cons, but as far as from the industry point of view, it was not difficult, but it was expensive. in view, it was not difficult, but it was expensive.— view, it was not difficult, but it was exensive. , ., . was expensive. in terms of deciding what aoes was expensive. in terms of deciding what goes on _ was expensive. in terms of deciding what goes on the _ was expensive. in terms of deciding what goes on the menu, _ was expensive. in terms of deciding what goes on the menu, have - was expensive. in terms of deciding i what goes on the menu, have changes been made? chefs will often say that the reason food taste so good in restaurants is because there is so much salt and butter and all those things we do not necessarily realise? . , ., ., realise? some chefs may say that and the are realise? some chefs may say that and they are not — realise? some chefs may say that and they are not always _ realise? some chefs may say that and they are not always right. _ realise? some chefs may say that and they are not always right. do - realise? some chefs may say that and they are not always right. do you - they are not always right. do you know what? this is really important, you have to look at the kind of restaurant you are going to and if what you know is it is food laden with salt, not all food is like that and for some of us, we are quite excited about being able to display calories, because all food is not

like that and we do have, there are some responsibility, but as restaurant owners and chefs as well, we approach this as consumers, i do want to know what is in my food, sending teenagers out into the world, there is an obesity crisis and a diabetes crisis and we cannot get behind us, they are costing the nhs millions. we have to be more circumspect and this is playing our part, tv, as financially as it might be. ~ ., part, tv, as financially as it might be. ~ . ., ., be. we were hearing in a report that a lot of peeple _ be. we were hearing in a report that a lot of people said, _ be. we were hearing in a report that a lot of people said, when _ be. we were hearing in a report that a lot of people said, when i - be. we were hearing in a report that a lot of people said, when i go - be. we were hearing in a report that a lot of people said, when i go the l a lot of people said, when i go the arrest, i not there to count calories, i want to have a nice time, do you think people will make choices around it based on your experience? choices around it based on your exuerience?_ choices around it based on your experience? no. i am really not worried about _ experience? no. i am really not worried about that. _ experience? no. i am really not worried about that. i _ experience? no. i am really not worried about that. i do - experience? no. i am really not worried about that. i do not - experience? no. i am really not. worried about that. i do not think it will particularly change the way people eat and i think if you are at this stage of your life, looking at the calories and wondering, if i'm going to have a big dinner, should i have a small lunch, there might be some of that, but i think where they will cut back will be with what they are eating at home. if you know

you're going out in the evening, there is a bit of a laissez faire attitude towards that and whether thatis attitude towards that and whether that is right or wrong, i am not worried about it changing the psyche of ordering. this is a very interesting thing, it is only businesses over 250 people and it tends to be the chains and people with more than eight restaurants and in restaurants like that, the way that diners ate, they know what they will get before they even get there, they have things that they are addicted to and that is why we go to these chains and i do not think we will circumvent that. i think people will circumvent that. i think people will always dine in that pattern. good to talk to you. thank you. time for a look at the weather with matt. april showers are the name of the game for many. heavy in england and wales and into the early part of the afternoon, spreading from west to east on some heavy with hail and thunder and shower is becoming less abundant in the second half of the day. in the west of scotland and northern ireland, shower is becoming

more frequent, more persistent rain in orkney that could turn to sleet, colder air to the north, for many temperatures in double figures and in scotland milder than it was yesterday. here with a showers keep going into the evening, still heavy with hail and thunder, a band of rain turning increasingly to snow as it spreads into the north of the mainland and a good covering of snow 10-15 mainland and a good covering of snow 10—15 centimetres again, that colder trying to work south and ice at times. persistent rain in the south of england and the channel islands but skies will clear and there will be a sunny start to begin the day but showers pushing south, temperatures dropping and the buying article day on friday.

this is bbc news, the headlines: millions of people will now pay more national insurance, as an increase to contributions comes into effect today. the health secretary sajid javid says it is a necessary move to support the nhs. if we want the nhs to catch up with and deal with this covid backlog, if we want better adult social care, the money has to come from somewhere. nato foreign ministers are to meet as images of destruction, and allegations of war crimes continue to emerge from towns surrounging kyiv, following the retreat of russian forces. the uk, us and the eu are expected to impose fresh sanctions on russia. they're likely to target strategic industries, including energy, oil and gas. ukraine's president accusses russia of hitting infrastructure in the country in efforts to starve the population. for them hunger is also a weapon,

a weapon against us ordinary people, as an instrument of domination. married couples in england and wales will be able to begin divorce proceedings without apportioning blame from today — as new 'no—fault�* divorce legislation comes into force. calories must now appear on the menus of food and drink businesses with more than 250 staff in england. #0h|amin # oh i am in love with your body... ed sheeran wins his legal battle over claims part of his track shape of you was copied from a song by another artist. good afternoon.

millions of people will now pay more national insurance, as an increase to contributions comes into effect. the controversial rise is expected to raise £11 billions more this financial year. the extra money is earmarked for government spending on health and social care. the health secretary, sajid javid, said the revenue would pay for around nine million more scans and procedures. the increase of 1.25 pence in the pound will apply to employees, businesses and the self—employed. anyone earning more than £9,880 a year will pay the increased contribution. but after a change announced in the chancellor 5 spring statement from july, that will increase to £12,570. that means over the next year, anyone earning less than around £34,000 a year will pay less national insurance than they did last year. as you can see on this graph — people earning £20,000 a year

will pay £178 less in 2022—23, whilst those on 50,000 will pay £197 more. opposition parties, and some back bench mp5, say the increase will add to the cost of living crisis and should be scrapped. our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports. business is getting back on track at george's bistro. but now they'll be paying more national insurance on the wages of the 25 staff. personally, for me, if i look at my wage, i think, "oh, it's not too much." but then i look at it as a business and how we're going to be having to pay that on everybody�*s wages. it adds up really, really quick. what does it mean, then, for you as a business? how will you cover that cost? we're going to try to bring more custom in — that's the only way we can do it. so you just need more bums on seats. yes, bums on seats — that's what we need to do. obviously, more bums on seats means

more staff, so...more cost. from today, lots of the staff here will be paying extra national insurance on their wages, too. for the next few months, you'll have just under £10,000 of your wages tax—free. and then instead of paying 12% national insurance, you'll have to top up to 13.25% — and more for higher earners. but after facing criticism, the government have tried to soften the blow. so from july, the amount you can earn before you pay tax will increase to £12,500, and then you'll be charged that higher 13.2% rate for national insurance. that's why the government say that, across this whole tax year, most people will end up paying less — but it's an extra pressure for middle earners. lots of the businesses and employees who lost the most over the last couple of years now feel like they're being asked to pay a higher price to cover the costs of the pandemic.

i think it's absolutely crazy. with everything else going up and, you know, it's another thing we have to deal with. this salon will have to pay more for each member of staff, butjoseph says it's ok if he's charged more personally. i don't mind if it goes up a little i bit cos i know how much help i've had over the last sort of 18 months. ithink, you know, it needs to come from somewhere. | but faced with a much bigger increase, boss richard doesn't agree. it's another challenge as a business owner, again, to survive and, you know, move forward. difficult, very difficult. it's an increase when so many have already cut all the corners they can. colletta smith, bbc news, in cleckheaton. i'm joined now by our political correspondent, nick eardley. well this national insurance rise controversial for a couple of reasons. one is the fact that it's

just another pressure on the cost—of—living and for many it will be another thing they have to worry about in their monthly pay packet. the other reason is because it breaks a conservative manifesto promise. the party said it wouldn't raise any taxes, including national insurance. we have heard from the prime minister though this morning and his argument is that this is the right thing to do and that the government needs to fund the nhs in some way and the argument you will hearfrom ministers is that some way and the argument you will hear from ministers is that you some way and the argument you will hearfrom ministers is that you need to get the cash into the nhs after the pandemic to start to clear the backlogs, to start to get, to reduce some of the waiting times and make sure that they don't escalate. but there is a lot of argument about what this is going to do to the cost—of—living, something that was put the to the health secretary.

this cost—of—living challenge is huge, especially on many families across the country. first i'd say in terms of public services, the nhs, what we are talking about, they need to be paid for, people understand that, and if we want the nhs to catch up, to deal with this covid backlog, if we want better adult social care, the money has to come from somewhere. we have got to make sure of course this government that we spend every penny sensibly and wisely and that's why it needs to be done together with reform. but when it comes to helping people with the cost—of—living challenge, i think people also understand that there is no government in the world that could mitigate this problem 100%. it's right to focus resources on those that need it most. so after all the debate, much of it in the conservative party, right up to cabinet level, about raising national insurance, it is clear that ministers are doubling down on this, it is going ahead and we are going to start feeling it in our pay packets over the next few weeks. remember, that the threshold goes up so the point at which you start

paying national insurance will go up injuly, that is in part because the government has recognised some of these questions about the cost—of—living. opposition parties say it doesn't go far enough and there needs to be a lot more done to help people who might struggle through the next few months with rising energy prices, with inflation, with other pressures on their pockets. and the labour party's also arguing today that this national insurance rise in itself isn't going to be enough to deal with some of the issues that the nhs is facing. have a listen to labour's peter kyle. there is a waiting listi of 7 million for people who are waiting for treatment on the nhs, there is a crisis. but don't forget that there are policies i i that led to this crisis in the first i place and we had a waiting list of 4 million going into covid. so, yes, we do need - to tackle these challenges, but right now what we need do i economically is get the economy moving, because we are forced to -

have a situation where government is putting up so many- taxes, because we have a conservative party that is _ the party of high taxes, - because they are the party of low growth and our economy has been stagnating for so long that - we have had 15 tax rises in two years. j that is an interesting point about the tax burden in the uk at the moment is the highest it has been in years. the government is i think deeply worried about the impact that could have, we know that the chancellor has promised to reduce taxes in 2024 to bring down income tax, but at the moment you're going to continue to hear ministers say if you want to clear the nhs backlog and to fund social care properly, remember that is where this levy is going to go after 2024, then this tax rise is needed.— going to go after 2024, then this tax rise is needed. thank you very much. let's speak to our personal finance

correspondent, kevin peachey. we were hearing comments there about the impact on people. how is it going to be affecting people? aha, the impact on people. how is it going to be affecting people? a new tax ear going to be affecting people? a new tax year today _ going to be affecting people? a new tax year today and _ going to be affecting people? a new tax year today and this _ going to be affecting people? a new tax year today and this is _ tax year today and this is effectively the start of what will become a new tax, so the health and social care levy will be named that in a year's time. for now it is a rise in national insurance for individuals, for employers, for the self—employed, one and a quarter pence in the pound and as nick mentioned, injuly the point at which you start paying national insurance, the threshold will be raised. all but the lowest earners will pay more in national insurance. a5 will pay more in national insurance. as the year goes on, it does get mitigated slightly. someone who earns less than £34,000 for the year to come will be paying less for the

yearin to come will be paying less for the year in national insurance than they did for the previous year. someone who earns more than £34,000 will be paying more in national insurance. to give you an example, £20,000 a year earnings you will pay £178 less in national insurance. if you're on £80,000 year, you will be paying £572 more. it does depend on your income levels, but clearly in the short—term this is going to be another hit on people's family budgets. it another hit on people's family buduets. , ., , budgets. it is part of the bigger icture of budgets. it is part of the bigger picture of the — budgets. it is part of the bigger picture of the cost-of-living - picture of the cost—of—living crisis? it picture of the cost-of-living crisis? , ., ., picture of the cost-of-living crisis? , . ., ., ., crisis? it is and what we have heard from business _ crisis? it is and what we have heard from business groups _ crisis? it is and what we have heard from business groups and _ crisis? it is and what we have heard j from business groups and individual businesses today is that 0k there is some help for individuals, but for businesses, they're going to bear the brunt of another tax rise which they say could be passed on to consumers in higher prices. that is one element for consumers to consider. we have had energy bills rising and so on. and income tax,

the threshold at which you pay income tax has been frozen, as it was a year ago and will be for a few years. that could pull more people into paying higher rates of income tax. we have a dividend tax rise for those who are affected by that. generally business owners who pay themselves in dividends. it is no great surprise that experts say look at your budgets carefully and look at your budgets carefully and look at your budgets carefully and look at your pay slip to make sure you're paying the right amount of tax. thank you. the headlines on bbc news... millions of people will now pay more national insurance, as an increase to contributions comes into effect today. nato foreign ministers are to meet as images of destruction, and allegations of war crimes continue to emerge from towns surrounging kyiv, following the retreat of russian forces

the uk, us and the eu are expected to impose fresh sanctions on russia. they're likely to target strategic industries, including energy, oil and gas. after wins for liverpool and manchester city last night, chelsea are looking to make it a very good week for the english clubs still left in the champions league. they take on real madrid at stamford bridge this evening.... in the first leg of their quarter final. its been a tough week for thomas tuchel�*s side after a heavy defeat to brentford at the weekend. chelsea did beat real madrid en route to the final last season but tuchel says that will have no bearing on this evening. it is not a point to prove, we are out there to prove a point anyway and... and to bounce back from saturday's performance and to play and to play in the right way, in the way we want to play, to be physical, to be intense, to be focussed, and

to be intense, to be focussed, and to be in our very best. a big game in the premier league as well this evening, with strugglers everton going to burnley who are two points adrift of safety. despite the high stakes, everton boss frank lampard says he is looking forward to it. tension can be a good thing, it can also go the other way. i don't feel tense, ifeel excited also go the other way. i don't feel tense, i feel excited with the level of game and the competitive nature of game and the competitive nature of this game. i loved as a player being involved in competitive games and now we have ten of those and this is the first one that is in front of us. so, yeah, i'm calm and excited and when the game comes we just have to have a belief in ourselves. final preparations are underway in augusta, ahead of the first men's golf major of the year — the masters — which begins tomorrow. all the build up dominated by the will—he, won't—he saga of tiger woods. he's now confirmed he does intend to play, and will play a final nine ractice holes today

just 14 months after suffering life—threatening injuries after crashing his car. it is amazing if you think about where he was at a year ago to now. i don't know how many people if any could be out here and this is not an easy walk, to be out here and not to throw his age in the mix, but i don't think that helps at all for that kind of recovery, but is anybody surprised?- that kind of recovery, but is anybody surprised? that is all the sort for anybody surprised? that is all the sport for now- _ borisjohnson has boris johnson has been borisjohnson has been talking about ukraine and said it looks like genocide. volodymyr zelensky has described what is happening in ukraine as genocide. borisjohnson now saying when you look at what is happening in bucha and other revelations he says it doesn't look far short of genocide to him. and

the details of what has been happening in areas that were occupied by russian forces are emerging as those forces leave those areas and bucha is the first police place where shocking images were of civilians being killed and now those similar... descriptions are emerging from other areas too. the focus continues on mariupol, where there are thousands of people still draped. let's bring you up to date. the united states, the uk and the eu will impose more sanctions on russia, amid allegations of war crimes in the ukrainian city of bucha. reports are also emerging of hospitals being bombed in the south western city of mylolaiv. three were targeted, possibly with cluster bombs, according to the humanitarian charity medecins sans frontieres. and in mariupol, seen on this map in the south east,

the situation is worsening. most residents are without, medicine, heat or water. the ukrainian deputy prime minister says 11 humanitarian corridors are being set up, but residents need to use their own vehicles to get out. nato's foreign ministers will meet this afternoon to discuss how to respond, and support ukraine in its next phase of war. and in mariupol, we are hearing from the red cross that more than 500 people have managed to get out in the red cross convoy of buses and private cars. that convoy is something that has within, they have been hoping to get that convoy moving for days, and because of the situation on the ground it was proving impossible, but for 500 at

least there is relief now. they have been taken out of mariupol with the red cross. still no aid can get into mariupol and the people there remain besieged with no supplies of food and water. we are hoping we can hear shortly from borisjohnson. we will bring you that when we get it. now jeremy bowen reports. the destruction in the centre of borodyanka is the worst for its size i've seen in any of the towns around kyiv, including much fought—over irpin and bucha. the worst killing in borodyanka might have come when these flats were destroyed. a line of them stood here. you can see the gaps. after you. next door to the rubble, dmytro stashevskyi inspected his shop. this is your shop?

medical, pharmacy, it's a pharmacy, yeah? destroyed, everything's gone. we went upstairs where his wife svitlana was trying to clean up his mother's flat. their family is safe, but not their friends in the destroyed building next door. translation: they were all our neighbours. shortly after the air strike, people nearby heard some voices shouting for help. russian soldiers stopped them digging. they threatened to shoot if they tried. dmytro left 30 others in the cellar before the strike. when he went back in the morning, it was full of rubble. all 30 are missing. you're lucky to be alive, aren't you? "yes," he said, "my wife, mother and daughter were praying for me." this is a civilian block of flats. now, only a ballistic missile or an air strike can do

this sort of damage. under the laws of war, killing civilians and wanton destruction are both crimes unless it can somehow be proved that that was a military target. close by, local people were getting some food organised by their priest, who said he'd seen the russians shooting civilians. you saw civilians being killed by a russian sniper? translation: it was the 2nd of march near the petrol station. we were driving along, followed by two civilian cars. they just shot them. it was an execution. most people here left during the russian occupation. svitlana said coming back made her empty and scared. tell us what the town was like before. eventually she said it was very nice, very green.

hundreds of people could be lying dead under the rubble, say the police. once the heavy lifting gear arrives, they'll know more. jeremy bowen, bbc news, borodyanka. the prime minister said when you look at what is happening in bucha and elsewhere it is hard to see that is falls short of genocide. in an interview he was asked about national insurance. we will play the interview and hear what he says a b the national insurance and he will talk about ukraine. we the national insurance and he will talk about ukraine.— the national insurance and he will talk about ukraine. we have got to help families _ talk about ukraine. we have got to help families in _ talk about ukraine. we have got to help families in any _ talk about ukraine. we have got to help families in any way _ talk about ukraine. we have got to help families in any way we - talk about ukraine. we have got to help families in any way we can, i talk about ukraine. we have got to| help families in any way we can, so we are putting £22 billion into supporting families through what are tough times caused by the end of the pandemic, the global inflation

problem, particularly the energy price hike that we are seeing is. we are abating that, we are helping people, but what we are doing today is unquestionably the right thing for our country, the right thing for the nhs, because we have got here in the nhs, because we have got here in the uk we have got waiting lists of 6 million people that. . that means, everyone knows somebody who is waiting for cancer treatment, or some sort of procedure that is crucial for their health. we some sort of procedure that is crucialfor their health. we have got to give our doctors and our nurses the wherewithal the funding to deal with that. that is why we are taking the steps that we are today. and look i have got absolutely no problem with it. we have got to do the difficult things. we have got to take the big decisions, the right decisions for this country. this is an amazing hospital, they are processing people with cancer symptoms very fast. but

we want every hospital in the country, every community diagnostic hub, we are putting 160 hubs, we want them to be achieving the same sorts of rate, so you don't wait more than 28 days to find out whether you have got cancer or not. absolutely crucial. we want 75% of people to wait no more than 28 days. that is achievable, but it is only possible if you invest now. and i really think, sam, it is the biggest priority for the country. reporter: what would you _ priority for the country. reporter: what would you say _ priority for the country. reporter: what would you say to _ priority for the country. reporter: what would you say to families - what would you say to families trying to make ends meet, buy cheaper food, trying to make ends meet, buy cheaperfood, don't replace trying to make ends meet, buy cheaper food, don't replace clothes, turn down the heat something ing�*? turn down the heat something ing? peole turn down the heat something ing? peo - le will turn down the heat something ing? people will face _ turn down the heat something “iq? people will face choices they have to make, we will do everything we can to help and that is what we are doing. and the most important thing, there is a couple of things you can do as a government, you can help

support people through the investments that we are making, the 22 billion whether it is supporting to people to meet energy costs, cutting fuel duty. but the most important thing is to have a strong, robust economy in which you have a high level of security in your employment, in which people know that there is a long—term plan to deliverjobs and growth. one of the most remarkable things about the performance of the uk economy since the covid pandemic began has been the covid pandemic began has been the way we have bounced back. people were predicting 14% unemployment around about now. we have actually got unemployment back down to the low levels it was before the pandemic began. record job vacancies, almost record low youth

unemployment. fin vacancies, almost record low youth unemployment-— vacancies, almost record low youth unemployment. on energy strategy, the lan unemployment. on energy strategy, the plan that — unemployment. on energy strategy, the plan that you're _ unemployment. on energy strategy, the plan that you're going _ unemployment. on energy strategy, the plan that you're going to - unemployment. on energy strategy, the plan that you're going to put - the plan that you're going to put out on thursday isn't going to bring new types of energy on stream for in some cases, two, in the case of nuclear ten year, will you promise to help people with their bills as long as prices remain high. we are. you are for— long as prices remain high. we are. you are for a _ long as prices remain high. we are. you are for a few _ long as prices remain high. we are. you are for a few months, - long as prices remain high. we are. you are for a few months, in - long as prices remain high. we are. you are for a few months, in the i you are for a few months, in the long—term will you help? we you are for a few months, in the long-term will you help? we will do eve hinu long-term will you help? we will do everything we _ long-term will you help? we will do everything we can — long-term will you help? we will do everything we can to _ long-term will you help? we will do everything we can to help _ long-term will you help? we will do everything we can to help people i everything we can to help people with the energy price hikes, that are a global thing, being exacerbated by what putin is doing in ukraine, we have to see how long that goes on for. but as we did during covid, we will make sure we look after people to the best of our ability. now, we have got to be frank with people, there is a limit to the amount of taxpayers' money we can simply push towards trying to deal with global energy price spikes. but what we can do is make sure that we fix some of the

long—term problems. and i think it was a great mistake not to invest long—term in nuclear power and i will be saying more about that tomorrow. i also think that it is possible to be more urgent in the way that we roll out some of the renewables and we can go faster. your point is basically right, you can't fix this problem overnight. but some of the technologies do allow you to make faster progress than others and i will be talk about that tomorrow.— than others and i will be talk about that tomorrow. ukraine on sanctions, aren't we essentially _ that tomorrow. ukraine on sanctions, aren't we essentially at _ that tomorrow. ukraine on sanctions, aren't we essentially at a _ that tomorrow. ukraine on sanctions, aren't we essentially at a juncture - aren't we essentially at a juncture where we can tinker around the edges, but it is up to the eu to ban russian oil and gas if you're going to squeeze putin further? i russian oil and gas if you're going to squeeze putin further?- to squeeze putin further? i think that the european _ to squeeze putin further? i think that the european union, - to squeeze putin further? i think that the european union, our. that the european union, our european friends have already made enormous strides in that direction and i think it is a great credit to

the german chancellor and other european leaders that they have been able to move so fast. but i'm afraid when you look at what is happening in bucha, with the revelations that we are seeing from what putin has donein we are seeing from what putin has done in ukraine, which you know doesn't look far short of genocide to me, it is no wonder that people are responding in the way that they are. and i have no doubt that the international community, britain very much in the front rank, will be moving again in lock step to impose more sanctions and more penalties on vladimir putin's regime. aha, more sanctions and more penalties on vladimir putin's regime.— vladimir putin's regime. a wide ranuain vladimir putin's regime. a wide ranging interview _ vladimir putin's regime. a wide ranging interview there - vladimir putin's regime. a wide ranging interview there with - vladimir putin's regime. a wide | ranging interview there with the prime minister, talking about cost—of—living, the rise in national insurance and significantly ending that interview referring to what is happening in bucha and potentially elsewhere in ukraine as far falling far short of genocide, the prime minister said. the labour leader

keir starmer has been speaking and he also started talking about the cost—of—living. we he also started talking about the cost-of-living._ he also started talking about the cost-of-livinu. ~ ., cost-of-living. we are in the middle ofthe cost-of-living. we are in the middle of the worst — cost-of-living. we are in the middle of the worst cost-of-living - cost-of-living. we are in the middle of the worst cost-of-living crisis - of the worst cost—of—living crisis for decades, some people are really struggling. last week, energy bills went up by hundreds of pounds and today the government chooses to increase tax on working people. this isn't the first rise from this chancellor, we have had 15 tax rises from this chancellor. so we have now the highest rate of taxation for 70 years. so this is the wrong tax at the wrong time and it is hitting lots of working people and it is hitting businesses. i have heard of a business that because of energy bill and the tax rise they won't take on extra staff. that is the human cost of the failure by the government. ii human cost of the failure by the government.— government. if you were in government. _ government. if you were in government, what - government. if you were in government, what would i government. if you were in l government, what would you government. if you were in - government, what would you do to tackle the covid backlog and other

problems? it is tackle the covid backlog and other roblems? , ., ., ., problems? it is important to deal with the backlog _ problems? it is important to deal with the backlog in _ problems? it is important to deal with the backlog in the _ problems? it is important to deal with the backlog in the nhs - problems? it is important to deal with the backlog in the nhs and i problems? it is important to deal| with the backlog in the nhs and a labour government would always support the nhs. the problem i have with this tax today is that the money it will raise will almost certainly to fill the black hole, because we have had over £11 billion worth of fraud and lost through covid—related payments and the government's not even twrieing trying to get that money back. this money will be paying off the incompetence and failure of the government in relation to fraud and equipment that they never used during covid. equipment that they never used during covid-— equipment that they never used during covid. how difficult do you think it is at _ during covid. how difficult do you think it is at the _ during covid. how difficult do you think it is at the moment? - during covid. how difficult do you think it is at the moment? it - during covid. how difficult do you think it is at the moment? it is i think it is at the moment? it is really difficult _ think it is at the moment? it is really difficult for _ think it is at the moment? it 3 really difficult for households at the moment. all of the prices are going up, whether that is fuel, energy, food, wages are through the floor and i have heard so many human story, a pensioner with mobility problems talked about until the cold

snap she hadn't even had her central heating on, because she is so scared about the price and the cost. so many human stories. here businesses saying to me it is impacting on them, they are feeling the extra tax and that results in them saying we are not going to take on extra staff. this is the wrong tax at the wrong time, 15 tax rises from is in chancellor in two years. highest taxations for 70 years. this is a government, because it has not grown the economy, has ended up as a high tax government. conversion therapy in all its forms should be banned. that used to be the position of the government and they have been flip—flopping on this over the past few days and they need to stick to their promises. but i cannot help feeling that this is yet more distraction tactics from the

government. they know that what is keeping people awake at night is the cost of living, whether they can pay their bills or not, in order to try and distract from that, the government wants to create an argument about conversion therapy. it will not wash, we can see what they are up to, but today is the day when most people are worried about this new taxation is the government is imposing on them today. the this new taxation is the government is imposing on them today.- this new taxation is the government is imposing on them today. the uk is su osed is imposing on them today. the uk is supposed -- — is imposing on them today. the uk is supposed -- expected _ is imposing on them today. the uk is supposed -- expected to _ is imposing on them today. the uk is supposed -- expected to announce i supposed —— expected to announce further sanctions today. we supposed -- expected to announce further sanctions today.— supposed -- expected to announce further sanctions today. we need to have even tougher _ further sanctions today. we need to have even tougher sanctions - further sanctions today. we need to have even tougher sanctions in - have even tougher sanctions in relation to what is happening in ukraine. we have all seen those images, those horrific, harrowing images, those horrific, harrowing images coming out of ukraine and we have seen the bravery and courage of those fighting in ukraine and we have to give them every support we can and that means that military support to help them defend their cities and defend their countries and it means being absolutely clear and it means being absolutely clear and with one voice, that these war crimes, and they are war crimes,

will end up with those responsible being hunted down, everyone that is involved in the war crimes, needs to know they will not have a night of sleep now until they are hunted down and put before the international criminal court and tougher sanctions, really effective remedies and we need to stand together in defence of ukraine with our nato allies. 5ir defence of ukraine with our nato allies. ,, defence of ukraine with our nato allies. . ,, . allies. sir keir starmer. let me 'ust tell allies. sir keir starmer. let me just tell you — allies. sir keir starmer. let me just tell you that _ allies. sir keir starmer. let me just tell you that there - allies. sir keir starmer. let me just tell you that there is - allies. sir keir starmer. let me just tell you that there is a - just tell you that there is a warning i suppose from the passport office that if you need a new passport, you should apply for one as soon as you can, because they are saying that between 2020 and 2021 because of covid—19 5 million people delayed applying for a british passport and while they are not saying that there are lots in the system causing a backlog, potentially there are a lot of people out there whose passports have expired and they will need a new one when it comes to travelling and they are saying, you must make

sure that you get that sorted if you're going to travel, because they are saying that people now should allow up to ten weeks to get a passport and they are saying busier periods, call waiting times take longer and we will continue to work with our supplier to get response times closer to normal levels, but they are saying that up to ten weeks should be allowed if you need to get a passport. time for a weather update. good afternoon. it has turned into a day of april showers across the uk but some of those are pretty heavy and quite prolonged in places and we have got this particular band of wet weather sweeping east moving out of wales into the midlands, some pretty hefty downpours along that line as it works its way east into the afternoon. sunshine and showers elsewhere, more persistent rain in orkney getting into the far north of mainland scotland, temperatures generally between eight and 13 degrees and it will turn increasingly windy. that process

continues into the evening, we could see gales through the english channel and also for northern and western parts of scotland, but more especially in the south of northern ireland, north wales, north west england, gusts up to 70 mph through the night and at the same time, some wet weather turns wintry in the north of scotland and we could see five centimetres of snow or more of a high ground turning chilly in the north, milderfurther a high ground turning chilly in the north, milder further south and then into tomorrow, sunny spells and showers, some of them wintry, dried for many as we end the week. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. millions of people will now pay more national insurance, as an increase to contributions comes into effect today. nato foreign ministers are to meet as images of destruction, and allegations of war crimes continue to emerge from towns surrounding kyiv, following the retreat of russian forces. in the past few minutes — borisjohnson has said images from the town of bucha do not "look

far short of genocide" the uk, us and the eu are expected to impose fresh sanctions on russia. they're likely to target strategic industries, including energy, oil and gas. married couples in england and wales will be able to begin divorce proceedings without apportioning blame from today as new 'no—fault�* divorce legislation comes into force. let's move on now — and talk about ed sheeran who has won a high court battle over whether his hit shape of you copied another artist's song. in the past hour, a high courtjudge in london has ruled that he "neither deliberately nor subconsciously" copied parts of a 2015 song by the grime artist sami chokri. our music correspondent mark savage has the background to the case. # i'm in love with the shape of you. ed sheeran's shape of you was the biggest selling single of 2017

and spent 14 weeks at number one, but shortly after its release he was accused of copying this line... #0h|,0h|,0h|. # i'm in love with your body. from a song called 0h why, by the grime artist, sami chokri. # oh why, oh why, oh why. # why do i put myself through this. # oh why, oh why, why. lawyers for sami chokri, seen here on the left, called ed sheeran a magpie who borrows ideas that he does not always acknowledge. in court, andrew sutcliffe qc said... mr sheeran denied this and said he always credits lesser—known writers if he uses parts of their songs. # me and my friends sat at the table doing shots...

the court heard how shape of you was written in under an hour in october 2016. lawyers for mr chokri said such speed was indicative of copying. # i'm in love with your body. the star and his co—writers, johnny mcdaid and steve mac, denied ever having heard the song. their lawyer said the speed of the writing only indicated sheeran's genius. the issue of whether sheeran had access to a copy of oh why was the key to the trial. if he was unaware of mr chokri's song, the similarities in shape of you would be a coincidence, not copyright infringement. on the witness stand, it was put to the star that he must have been aware of sami chokri's work, because they both had videos on the same youtube channel. they shared friends and because mr chokri

had messaged sheeran on twitter. in response, the star said, this is all stuff that you are saying, this isn't stuff that is true. the trial lasted for three weeks at the beginning of march. ed sheeran, who launched the proceedings in an attempt to clear his name, attended court every day, listening attentively to the arguments. thejudge has now ruled in his favour, saying there was no attempt to copy mr chokri's song. that decision could save the star millions of pounds in lost royalties. mark savage, bbc news. # i'm in love with the shape of you. cheering and applause. our entertainment correspondent mark savage is at the high court. what is the latest reaction? ed what is the latest reaction? eq sheeran has been on instagram this morning saying how relieved he is at the verdict and he said he brought the verdict and he said he brought the case as a way of showing that copyright claims should not be

brought frivolously, he says they are too common in music and here we can hear some of what he had to say. hey guys. mayjohnny and steve made a joint _ hey guys. mayjohnny and steve made a joint statement that will be released, but i wanted to make a video— released, but i wanted to make a video to — released, but i wanted to make a video to talk about it because i have not— video to talk about it because i have not been able to say anything while it was going on. whilst we are obviously— while it was going on. whilst we are obviously happy with the result, i feel that — obviously happy with the result, i feel that claims like this are to come — feel that claims like this are to come in — feel that claims like this are to come in and becomes a culture that a claim _ come in and becomes a culture that a claim is— come in and becomes a culture that a claim is made and that a settlement would _ claim is made and that a settlement would be _ claim is made and that a settlement would be cheaper. it is damaging to the songwriting industry and there are only— the songwriting industry and there are only so — the songwriting industry and there are only so many notes and chords used _ are only so many notes and chords used in _ are only so many notes and chords used in pop— are only so many notes and chords used in pop music and coincidences are bound — used in pop music and coincidences are bound to happen. there are 22 million _ are bound to happen. there are 22 million songs a year and only 12 notes _ million songs a year and only 12 notes available. i do not want to take _ notes available. i do not want to take anything away from the pain and hurt suffered by both sides but i want _ hurt suffered by both sides but i want to— hurt suffered by both sides but i want to say i am not an entity or a corporation, — want to say i am not an entity or a corporation, i— want to say i am not an entity or a corporation, i am a human being, a father— corporation, i am a human being, a father and — corporation, i am a human being, a father and a — corporation, i am a human being, a father and a husband and a son. lawsuits — father and a husband and a son. lawsuits are not a pleasant experience and i hope that this ruling — experience and i hope that this ruling will mean in the future claims — ruling will mean in the future claims like this could be avoided. this really—

claims like this could be avoided. this really does have to end, we are very grateful for all the support sent to — very grateful for all the support sent to us — very grateful for all the support sent to us from fellow songwriters and hopefully we can all get back to writing _ and hopefully we can all get back to writing songs, rather than having to prove _ writing songs, rather than having to prove that _ writing songs, rather than having to prove that we can write them. well, as ou prove that we can write them. well, as you can — prove that we can write them. well, as you can hear. _ prove that we can write them. well, as you can hear, that _ prove that we can write them. well, as you can hear, that was _ prove that we can write them. well, as you can hear, that was quite - prove that we can write them. -ii as you can hear, that was quite an emotional statement and the trial itself was emotional for the three weeks it took place in march, both ed sheeran and sami chokri who had accused him of stealing his song set on that they wished it had not come to trial. it was quite a colourful trial at times, ed sheeran sang some songs, he sang songs by nina simone and that was an attempt to say that the melody he was accused of copying was quite commonplace and the judge decided in his favour in the end, he said there was no compelling evidence that ed sheeran had even heard the song and therefore he could not have copied it.- heard the song and therefore he could not have copied it. thank you very much- — the biggest reform to divorce law in 50 years has come into force

in england and wales — bringing it broadly into line with scotland. married couples will now be able to begin divorce proceedings without apportioning blame. our home and legal correspondent, dominic casciani, reports. happy family life — what so many of us want, but sometimes it comes with an emotional cost. in 2018, olivia and her then—husband realised their marriage was over and they had to find a way out of it for the good of themselves and their children. but when she met a divorce lawyer, she was in for a shock. olivia was told she'd have to legally blame her husband if she wanted to get on with it quickly. i felt very uncomfortable with it right from the beginning because they seemed to be very much sort of pointing the finger and that someone was at fault. it felt that it was not going to be useful to the divorce process. especially when young children are involved i think apportioning blame sort of fuels the flame a little, and it didn't seem like a great way to set up co—parenting in the future. hi, olivia, it's nice

to see you again. the couple got help from amicable — a divorce support service — but still needed to wait two years to legally split because they had chosen not to blame each other. the more tension between us, you know, obviously would have had an impact on them, it would have impacted our ability to share custody, you know, because as we help each other out all the time, you know, we share a car, we share a dog. we're, you know, happy to look after the kids on different evenings and we're very flexible. up until now, we've had a fault—based divorce system in england and wales. someone has to be accused of adultery, desertion or unreasonable behaviour. if one partner disagrees, the couple must wait five years. from today, one or both partners can declare the marriage is over in a statement to a court. judges will no longer ask for a reason. the same rules apply to same—sex unions. divorce and family lawyers say it's a revolution that places people and their wellbeing first.

this will be more humane. i think it also recognises the dignity of the people wanting to be divorced, and it gives them some autonomy, as well. what i'm hoping is that that sets the tone and the culture, and it will roll over into resolving financial matters and children matters, most importantly. divorce lawyers say there could be an increase in applications. but the legal steps will take longer. there's now a 20—week pause to allow couples to think again. time also to divide finances and agree arrangements for children. but campaigners say the new law means more separating couples will find a happier life without added emotional and financial pain. dominic casciani, bbc news, in north london. joining me now is harriet errington who is a partner in the family team at boodle hatfield. thank you forjoining us. it is a

big change. how much of an impact do you think it will have? it is big change. how much of an impact do you think it will have?— you think it will have? it is a re you think it will have? it is a pretty exciting _ you think it will have? it is a pretty exciting day - you think it will have? it is a pretty exciting day for - you think it will have? it is a | pretty exciting day for family lawyers, because resolution, which is the foundation which campaigns for a more comical way of divorcing has been campaigning for this change. it is a very exciting day, in practice, you have to realise there is a distinction in the courts between divorce and financial process and in my experience very few cases actually argue about the reasons for the breakdown and the divorce. the main arguments tend to be around the arrangements for the children and arrangements for finances which actually are not impacted by this reform. 50 finances which actually are not impacted by this reform. so how much heat will it take _ impacted by this reform. so how much heat will it take out _ impacted by this reform. so how much heat will it take out of _ impacted by this reform. so how much heat will it take out of the _ impacted by this reform. so how much heat will it take out of the process - heat will it take out of the process in reality? heat will it take out of the process in reali ? ., , , , ., in reality? undoubtedly it should have an impact _ in reality? undoubtedly it should have an impact on _ in reality? undoubtedly it should have an impact on the _ in reality? undoubtedly it should i have an impact on the relationship between the divorcing spouses and i have had countless times where clients have come to me and said, we

both want to get divorced, we are both want to get divorced, we are both happy to proceed and they are actually really shocked to be told you need to come up with a random list of reasons as to why the other party has behaved unreasonably. there should definitely be a huge decrease in the tensions between parties which should hopefully help things going forward and will hopefully have a knock—on impact in relation to the division of finances and arrangements for children. do ou and arrangements for children. do you expect there to be an increase in the number of people applying for a divorce as a result of this? will it make it easier to get a divorce? it is an interesting question and i wonder if people have been holding off on applying for divorce to wait for this reform, because obviously we have known it will be happening for some time and it is a huge relief to a lot of people that they now do not have to jump through the hopes that they previously had to do. it will be interesting to see and i would not be surprised if there was an increase. $5 and i would not be surprised if there was an increase.- and i would not be surprised if there was an increase. as you have

indicated, there was an increase. as you have indicated. it _ there was an increase. as you have indicated. it is _ there was an increase. as you have indicated, it isjust _ there was an increase. as you have indicated, it isjust one _ there was an increase. as you have indicated, it isjust one part - there was an increase. as you have indicated, it isjust one part in - there was an increase. as you have indicated, it isjust one part in a i indicated, it isjust one part in a bigger picture of trying to reduce conflict in divorce. in your view, what else would be helpful? he said that resolution has been campaigning for this for a long time, does it now move to a new focus? there are vanous now move to a new focus? there are various issues _ now move to a new focus? there are various issues going _ now move to a new focus? there are various issues going on _ now move to a new focus? there are various issues going on in _ now move to a new focus? there are various issues going on in family - various issues going on in family law, things that we are trying to get a bit more clarity on. the issue of prenuptial agreements is an interesting one, because in a lot of countries, they are automatically binding, you either opt out or opt in to a marriage and property regime, whereas here it is a bit of a grey area, provided certain elements can be backed, they are generally upheld, but i think we would all like a bit more certainty in relation to them. do would all like a bit more certainty in relation to them.— in relation to them. do you think eve one in relation to them. do you think everyone should _ in relation to them. do you think everyone should make _ in relation to them. do you think everyone should make a - in relation to them. do you think everyone should make a prenup| in relation to them. do you think - everyone should make a prenup before they get married? it is everyone should make a prenup before they get married?— they get married? it is a difficult one, it is they get married? it is a difficult one. it is not _ they get married? it is a difficult one, it is not the _ they get married? it is a difficult one, it is not the most _ they get married? it is a difficult one, it is not the most romantic| one, it is not the most romantic decision to make, especially in the run—up your wedding, but i can't say

that they provide a great deal of clarity, for both parties, you know. if both of you are going into a marriage with different sorts of assets on either side and if a couple on their second or third marriage and they have previous children's mother relationships, it can definitely make sense for a large number of people.- can definitely make sense for a large number of people. thank you ve for large number of people. thank you very forjoining _ large number of people. thank you very forjoining us. _ borisjohnson has said the actions of russian forces in the ukrainian town of bucha "doesn't look far short of genocide" — and now it's alleged that 25 girls and women were raped by russian forces at bucha, according to a senior ukrainian official speaking to bbc news. lyudmila denisova, the ukrainian parliament's human rights commissioner, explained that a telephone helpline offering support had received at least 25 reports of rape of women and girls aged between 14 and 24 by russian soldiers. she was speaking through a translator to tim wilcox on bbc world news.

translation: today we have evidence of genocide of ukrainian people, military crimes, the new munitions of the russian federation is and the new weapon is what raping women and we have a hotline, phone, 24 hours, free hotline and we created a group providing psychological support and women have been calling that were held in bucha, there were 25 women aged between 14 and 24 that were raped by russian soldiers. idine aged between 14 and 24 that were raped by russian soldiers.- raped by russian soldiers. nine of them already _ raped by russian soldiers. nine of them already died. _ raped by russian soldiers. nine of them already died. that _ raped by russian soldiers. nine of them already died. that was - raped by russian soldiers. nine of them already died. that was also l them already died. that was also happening for one month. so, these crimes will be investigated and every criminal will be punished.

that is the human rights commissionerfor the ukrainian commissioner for the ukrainian parliament. a british man who died in a landslide in australia has been named as mehraab nazir. his nine year old son was also killed. two other members of the family were critically injured by falling rocks in the blue mountains near sydney. a fifteen year old girl was unhurt. phil mercer has the latest. this is the blue mountains national park, a world heritage listed area about 100 kilometres to the west of sydney. it is absolutely pouring down with rain. and torrential downpours here in eastern australia in recent months are thought to be the key factor in what has been described as an unspeakable tragedy involving this british family of five. they came here to the blue mountains on monday to enjoy a rare day of sunshine and were hiking on a trail very close to here. the authorities say that the cliff above them gave way and sent rocks tumbling down. a man and his nine—year—old son were crushed by

falling rocks and died. a woman and a teenage boy suffered serious head and abdominal injuries. they have had surgery in hospital in sydney. a 15—year—old girl, she was the fifth member of this family, she has been praised for her courage and composure. she survived the landslip physically at least, unhurt, and managed to raise the alarm, guiding the rescue effort in before her mother and brother were airlifted to safety. speaking to local tour guides in the blue mountains, they say that landslides here are not uncommon and one was saying that the earth, the mountains, the sandstone in this region are forever moving. and, as you can see, many walking trails have been closed as a precaution because the authorities are worried about further landslides and rock falls.

an inquiry into the mistreatment of detainees at brook house detention centre in sussex has heard that some held there suffered inhumane and degrading treatment. it follows an undercover investigation conducted by bbc panorama in 2017 which uncovered chaos, incompetence and abuse at the centre. in the last few months, an inquiry has sought to understand the extent of the abuse the home office said it has since improved the immigration detention system. the independent monitoring board, which observes the welfare of prisoners and detainees in the uk, said this in its closing statement to the inquiry. is now apparent that the mistreatment and abuse within brook house was even more widespread than was shown during panorama. the conduct which _ was shown during panorama. ina: conduct which this was shown during panorama. t“ie: conduct which this inquiry has revealed is reprehensible and inexcusable. there can be no doubt that in light of the evidence which you have seen and heard, at least

some formally detained persons were subjected to treatment that was inhuman and degrading. some behaviour went well beyond even that. this inquiry has uncovered a culture amongst brook house staff and management that failed to secure the safety and basic dignity of detained persons. that culture went beyond isolated incidents by a small number of staff. the inquiry has revealed evidence that unacceptable conduct and attitudes had become normalised within staff at brook house. there was a culture among staff of not reporting concerns about their colleagues internally, as well as to the imb and other external bodies. from today all restaurants in england — that employ more than 250 people ? will have to print calorie information on their menus. it's part of the government's

efforts to reduce obesity rates. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. the lunch rush is just getting going, and the manchester branch of the vapiano restaurant chain is one of the businesses that will be displaying calories on menus from today. when the new regulations were first announced, some restaurateurs worried about the extra costs, but the boss of vapiano says it's good to give customers choice and information. from a brand and business perspective, vapiano is very much about being transparent with our guests and with our consumers. we'd like to be able to give people access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about the food that they're consuming and the quality of the products and ingredients that they put into their mouth. the new regulations mean calories must be displayed clearly at the point of choice — normally a menu — along with the statement, "adults need around 2,000 calories a day". the new rules will only apply to businesses that employ at least 250 people, so smaller restaurants are exempt. a survey by public health england found that 79% of respondents backed the idea.

the government hopes that providing more information on calories in food will help people make healthier choices, and so reduce obesity rates. many larger restaurant, fast—food and pub chains already display calories on menus, and have done so for years. hello. wow, look at that. but the idea received a mixed reception among diners in manchester. yeah, it would make a difference. i'd choose what i thought was the healthiest option. you know, i take a keen interest on what goes into my body and, yeah, i'd definitely be interested. we should accept our own responsibility for what we eat. and i think... yeah, with lockdown and everything, i think people should get on it and look after themselves. yeah, definitely. i don't count the calories. i'm young and healthy. i don't think it really. affects me in any way. but, no, i wouldn't look at it. i come to a restaurant because i'd go there knowing what i want to eat. i go there knowing that it's going to be a big meal.

i don't go there thinking, "oh, i want to eat healthy at this restaurant today." there have been some concerns about the impact that highlighting the calories in meals could have on people struggling with an eating disorder, who can become very focused on calorie counting. and at this slimming group, they know that, while an awareness of calories may be helpful, there's much more to a healthy diet. three off — well done — amazing! the calories on their own aren't going to make that much of a difference. i think you need to know what else is in there, don't you? even your vegetables - are at least in butter or oils, just so they glisten under the light, aren't they? i whereas you wouldn't i necessarily know that — you might be thinking, - "oh, i'm going for a healthier choice by having these vegetables." i feel like there needs to be more kind of education around this, and it don't meanjust in schools, for example. i think it needs to be, like, a wider—spread thing, so thinking about the fibre content, the protein, the things that obviously fill you up rather than just a number next to a dish. because obviously that can just be kind of misleading in terms of actually what's inside that food itself.

the governments in scotland and wales are consulting on whether to introduce similar regulations. but the big question is what impact these measures will have in the fight against rising obesity levels. dominic hughes, bbc news. a sumatran rhino has successfully given birth in an indonesian sanctuary, after suffering eight miscarriages in the last 17 years. the female baby calf was born to mum, rosa, in way kambas national park on thursday. officials say both mother and calf are doing well. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben hello. it has turned into a day of april showers across the uk, some of the downpours have been pretty heavy, quite prolonged in places as well with some spells of sunshine in

between, the wind increasingly becoming a feature through the rest of the day and on the satellite picture, you can see the current of cloud, the centre of low pressure, shower clouds, this cloud working east has brought some quite hefty downpours of rain and as we move through the latter part of wednesday, this area of low pressure dominating the weather deepens and so the winds will strengthen. temperatures through the afternoon between nine and 13 degrees, sunshine and showers the story for the majority, but some more persistent rain across orkney. into the evening, more persistent rain in the evening, more persistent rain in the south west of england, turning windy through the english channel and for northern and western parts of scotland, but more especially southern parts of england and north west england and gusts of up to 70 mph in places. some of the wet weather will turn wintry in the north, there could be five centimetres of snow on high ground in scotland where temperatures will drop away, it could stay mild in the south. tomorrow morning, rain in the

far south, that should clear, a band of cloud bringing rain and sleet and hill still, all tending to break up into another sunshine and showers day, but some of the showers will be wintry, particularly in the north. it could stay windy, gusts of 40 or 50 mph, even for central and southern portions of the uk, so with that brisk wind and slightly colder air, it will feel like a colder day, still into double digits towards the south. certainly a cold night on thursday as winds ease and many of us see clear skies overhead, quite a widespread frost especially for central and northern areas, which will dawn on a sunny note on friday. rain very close to the south of england, certainly affecting the channel islands, that should pull away and on friday another sunshine and showers day, but some of the showers will be heavy and wintry places, top temperatures between eight and 12 degrees. a5 places, top temperatures between eight and 12 degrees. as we look towards the weekend, it starts off with this little bump of high pressure building in, are mainly fine day on saturday, just a few

showers in the north, but behind me low pressure pushing in from the atlantic, that will bring wet weather for many sunday, but it will be relatively mild.

can still millions of workers and employers will have to pay more in national insurance now a controversial rise has come into effect. it is earmarked for spending on health and social care and is expected to raise £11 billion more at this financial year.— at this financial year. everybody across the _ at this financial year. everybody across the country _ at this financial year. everybody across the country know - at this financial year. everybody l across the country know someone at this financial year. everybody - across the country know someone who is waiting for cancer treatment or some sort of procedure that is crucial for their health. we some sort of procedure that is crucialfor their health. we have got to give our doctors and our nurses the wherewithal, the funding to deal with that.— to deal with that. lower earners will be better _ to deal with that. lower earners will be better off _ to deal with that. lower earners will be better off across - to deal with that. lower earners will be better off across the - to deal with that. lower earners will be better off across the tax| will be better off across the tax year with middle earners hardest hit after the changes. we year with middle earners hardest hit after the changes.— after the changes. we are live in ukraine were — after the changes. we are live in ukraine were russian _ after the changes. we are live in ukraine were russian forces - ukraine were russian forces continued their onslaught in the east and —

continued their onslaught in the east and south—east of the country, deepening — east and south—east of the country, deepening the humanitarian