this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines. the metropolitan police have issued more than 50 new fines for breaches of covid rules in downing street and other at the start of 2022 with mounting fears of a cost—of—living crisis may plunge the uk into recession. we will do plunge the uk into recession. - will do things to help people in the short term, of course. and i'm going to anticipate anything more that we may do but the crucial thing is to make sure that we have the strong employment situation.— make sure that we have the strong employment situation. doctors and aramedics employment situation. doctors and paramedics along _ employment situation. doctors and paramedics along with _ employment situation. doctors and paramedics along with your - paramedics along with your ambulances across the uk are having ambulances across the uk are having a dangerous impact on patient safety. denying orchestrating a

photograph of footballers and their girlfriends of the world cup. she was giving evidence in her high court libel trial against rooney. the first picture of the enormous black hole at the centre of our galaxy and the passenger with no flying experience match to land the plane after the pilot passed out. the metropolitan police have issued more than 50 new fines for breaches of covid rules in downing street and other government buildings. these fixed penalty notices are in addition to more than 50 handed out last month, including to borisjohnson and chancellor rishi sunak. neither mrjohnson nor his wife carriejohnson are among those to be fined this time. our political correspondent

ben wright reports. are you shocked at the scale of lawbreaking in number ten, prime minister? how could you let that happen under your watch? the fallout from whitehall rule breaking has followed the prime minister to stoke. for a cabinet away day also attended by the uk's top civil servant, simon case. cabinet secretary, can you confirm whether you have been fined by the police? the police have issued more than 100 fines to people who partied in number ten and government offices during lockdown. the met has said it will not name those who have been fined as it investigates a dozen events that happened when covid restrictions were in force. we do know that borisjohnson, his wife carrie and the chancellor rishi sunak were given fixed penalty notices last month, over a birthday party held for the prime minister at number ten injune 2020. the ballooning list of party fines means tory mps cannot escape the scandal. the prime minister wasn't present that this event, this latest event that we are hearing

about but it is quite clear that the prime minister has apologised, he has already changed a lot of senior staff at downing street. i think that is absolutely what is needed to happen and i'm glad that culture shift has happened. this fictional party was a business meeting. and it was not socially distanced. the leaked video of the prime minister's then press secretary joking about a downing street christmas party ignited the scandal and a source has told the bbc that some of the fines issued recently were given to people who attended the do on the 18th of december 2020. the prime minister was not at it but labour wants to keep the pressure on him. they have reached the very dubious distinction of racking up more fines than any other location in britain, yet he's refusing to do the decent thing. i think that is quite extraordinary considering he made the rules, then broke the rules on a record scale. of course, a labour event is also being investigated by durham police and the party's leader

sir keir starmer has said he will resign if he receives a fixed penalty notice. unlike the prime minister who has swatted away calls to quit. this morning number ten said neither borisjohnson nor the cabinet secretary had received fines today but this remains a live police investigation and a smouldering political fuse. mps will investigate whether borisjohnson misled parliament about all this and a full report will be published by the civil servant sue grey. judging by the number of fines now issued, that is likely to be a long and incendiary read. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. and benjoins me now from westminster. and this is in the end of it. distil investigations under way, ben. we know investigations under way, ben. - know they were investigating ten events in total but what we do not know is how far down that list they've got. they've got some idea but it seems to be making quite slow

progress in taking their time. under penalty notices so far exceed some of the expectations people have the beginning of that but this process, does mean hundred people, it could mean that somebody got two or three in the time he got to the figure of a hundred. you've also been waiting for quite a while for this update because my police say they were not going to give any updates in the run—up to the local elections. we do know that boris johnson received run—up to the local elections. we do know that borisjohnson received a fine, we do know carriejohnson is gotten a fine and we know that she soon act has gone the fine. —— rishi sunak has gotten a fine. where this goes next, we do not know. whether or not the prime minster gets a fine, this could all go on for a very long time until this is concluded, we are not going to see the full report and all of this which is really going to present

once again a very damaging narrative about what happened and the prime minister going back to the comments to explain what he knew. information about how he became a peen information about how he became a peer. government now accused of a cover—up, explain to us why. peer. government now accused of a cover-up, explain to us why. across the ier cover-up, explain to us why. across the pier put — cover-up, explain to us why. across the pier put into _ cover-up, explain to us why. across the pier put into the _ cover-up, explain to us why. across the pier put into the house - cover-up, explain to us why. across the pier put into the house of - cover-up, explain to us why. across the pier put into the house of lords| the pier put into the house of lords in november 2020 is recommended for a period beginning of 2020 and earlier this year, there was reports in the papers asking precisely what the security services were saying to the security services were saying to the appointment commission in charge of vetting in recommending appointments to the house of lords. and last month, liver passed a motion in the house of commons requiring the government to publish any information it had about the prime ministers contact with the appointments commission about that

nomination. russian born billionaire owns the evening standard, the big figure in british public life in the beginning of the world with ukraine, his appearance attracted a lot of attention another person who runs this give evidence saying that there was no involvement from the prime minister as far as he was concerned. today, it was the chance to put all that out this week and see precisely what had happened with you have done is actually given very thin sparse collections of documents, including a public letter announcing them to the house of lords and other awarded at the time, a letter congratulating him and but they have released is not what labour were asking for and the government has said they can't because of security grounds and that tends to be what happens in your asking for details about the lords appointment process. it is a very secretive process and the government

have not use this opportunity to sort of show us all are precisely with the communications were between number ten if there were any appointments commission and the security service. i should say though that the government minister said that he is a man of good standing, no complaint has been made about him and he was vocal in his criticism of the putin regime. the uk economy shrank the uk economy shrank by 0.1% in march, as households began to feel the impact of rising prices and cut back on spending. the office for national statistics says although the economy grew by 0.8% in the first three months of the year, growth stalled in february — and the latest figures show the cost of living is �*beginning to bite'. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. a cheshire market in buckinghamshire, danny is hoping the upcoming jubilee celebrations will give sales a lift. the bunting's going up in more ways than one. every day he talks to his wholesaler and gets the same message.

everything has gone up, everything. everything i sell has gone up in price, everything. give us an example. what about these dog beds, for example? that dog bed there, i was selling it for 19.99 at christmas. it is now 29.99. with their own wages not keeping up with prices, customers are not spending like they used to. this market survived the internet and the pandemic, but in the last six months with pricesjumping and business down an estimated 30%, nearly half the traders have walked away. the cost of living has gone up everywhere, all these people are self—employed, they have obviously got to earn a living and their stock has gone up like my stock has gone up and i think people are having it hard. even in a relatively prosperous commuter town like chesham, there is now a toxic combination of soaring prices and stagnating activity. stagflation is causing real economic pain. food banks are more in demand now than they were at the start of the pandemic, even though this

is only a slow down and that back then was the biggest recession in 300 years. it is not in that crisis but in its aftermath and in the shadow of war that ordinary households are feeling the pinch most. while the economy did grow by 0.7% injanuary, official estimates say there was no growth in february and activity unexpectedly shrank in march. and that is before consumers were hit by higher taxes and bills at the start of april. since then, consumers have cut back sharply on nonessential spending. stricken small businesses are demanding government action. injanuary, our businesses were telling us that despite increasing costs, their order books were strong. in the last month they have seen those order books decline and that is what we are really worried about. we are worried that we are at a tipping point in terms of going into recession and that is why we need to see the government act now with three key measures — reversing national insurance increases, decreasing vat on energy bills and bringing in free covid testing for businesses.

today, the bbc�*s economics editor asked the chancellor why he wasn't doing more and treating this as an emergency. what i would say is i am completely aware of what the challenges that people are facing are. are you really taking the action right now that is needed by so many millions? we have taken action already but what i have always said is i stand ready to do more. labour is now demanding an emergency budget to tackle a crisis that is only likely to worsen in the coming months. with the economy already shrinking, the risk of a full—blown recession this year is on the rise. andy verity, bbc news, cheshire. let's hear of that interview between the bbc economics editor, faisal islam and the chancellor rishi sunak. i'm completely aware of the challenges of what people are facing. challenges of what people are facina. ., .., , challenges of what people are facin. ., , ., facing. you can see the action right now viewed — facing. you can see the action right now viewed by _ facing. you can see the action right now viewed by so _ facing. you can see the action right now viewed by so many. _

facing. you can see the action right now viewed by so many. we've - facing. you can see the action right l now viewed by so many. we've taken si . nificant now viewed by so many. we've taken significant action _ now viewed by so many. we've taken significant action already _ now viewed by so many. we've taken significant action already but - now viewed by so many. we've taken significant action already but i - significant action already but i sound ready to do more and every week that is going on since the spring statement, we are learning more about what's going on in the economy. more about what's going on in the econom . ~ more about what's going on in the economy-- with _ more about what's going on in the economy. iwith. with energy prices, economy. with. with energy prices, ener: economy. with. with energy prices, energy prices _ economy. with. with energy prices, energy prices are — economy. with. with energy prices, energy prices are tapped and as we... as we learn more and we have provided £9 billion to support them but that increase in energy price but that increase in energy price but i've always said, i stand ready to do more as we learn more about the situation. i'm out every single week talking to people across the country, ipswich, stoke to date and derby last week, hearing what people are facing to figure out what the right way for us to help them is that if something was spending a lot of time thinking about and as i said, we continue to learn more and they'll help us get the decisions right. this they'll help us get the decisions riuht. �* . . they'll help us get the decisions riuht. �* , ., ., ,, right. as we learn more, you looking to net a right. as we learn more, you looking to get a higher _ right. as we learn more, you looking to get a higher tax _ right. as we learn more, you looking to get a higher tax on _ right. as we learn more, you looking to get a higher tax on the _ right. as we learn more, you looking to get a higher tax on the energy - to get a higher tax on the energy companies who shall not naturally

attracted to windfall taxes, there are two counts of people.- are two counts of people. some --eole are two counts of people. some peeple think — are two counts of people. some people think windfall _ are two counts of people. some people think windfall taxes - are two counts of people. some people think windfall taxes can | people think windfall taxes can never be the answer and some that think windfall taxes are an easy quick simple answer to solve every problem. i'm not in either one of those camps. i'm not naturally attracted to the idea of them but these companies are making a significant amount of profit at the moment because of these very elevated prices what i want to see his significant investment back into the uk economy to supportjobs, to support energy security and want to see that investment soon. if that does not happen, the new option is off the table. finland's leaders say they want to join nato military alliance "without delay", and will make a formal decision this weekend. it would be a dramatic shift in the country's position — which has traditionally been neutral. nato said this morning they'd be warmly welcomed — and could join quickly. support forjoining nato has grown

rapidly in finland — after russia's invasion of ukraine. but russia has responded by saying finland joining the military alliance is a threat to its national security — and it will take steps of a "military—technical" nature in response. we have had this for years, i think 18 years we have been mentioned the security situation changes in the vicinity of finland or the baltic sea region, we are already to consider nato members. so, mentally we have been prepared for that but there has not been any need for improved security there, no feeling of the threat earlier. but i think on the 24th of february, the attack against ukraine changed the mindset of many finnish people and things are very security orientated people. we are thinking but if this happens to us or on our border. and it happened all with belarus and they organise this migrants to the border

of poland and finns are asking but if that happens in our border? we can speak now to dr samuel ramani, associate fellow at the defence think—tank rusi. he's also writing a book called putin's war on ukraine. thank you forjoining us, what might russia's response be than it has described it as military and technical. described it as military and technical-— described it as military and technical. ., ., . technical. from a military technical side, technical. from a military technical side. several _ technical. from a military technical side, several options _ technical. from a military technical side, several options and - technical. from a military technicali side, several options and scenarios both in the past few weeks and vladimir putin five years ago was to increase force concentration on the border with finland. that's unlikely because the russian manpower is in the ukraine. and recently broached, including the movement of naval ships under the government of finland and provocative drills and the expansion of the nuclear weapons which would effectively nuclear as the baltics was we should be worried about the short term is not anything in the military technical side but

economic coercion. there are reports that russia could be willing to cut off gas to finland as early as this tomorrow and that can cause a disruption to the finish economy and production. hahn disruption to the finish economy and roduction. ., . ., , ,, ., production. how much does russia, for him would _ production. how much does russia, for him would have _ production. how much does russia, for him would have to _ production. how much does russia, for him would have to fear - production. how much does russia, for him would have to fear from - for him would have to fear from russia's response aside from that energy supply which as you say would be significant crucial of the energy supply is not been confirmed it's been reported by the guardian in local newspapers with anonymous officials, so we start the clear fencer that goes by the economic coercion is much more dangerous than anything russia can really do and security fear because —— should fear, they're not going to invade finland and they have a security guarantee from britain as well as probably informally from the united states in the event of a cyber attack, it will probably get assistance and retaliatory capacity and russia have been trying to take down these websites recently and have i done much more than that. i think the economic side is more concerning than the military

technical side from a security perspective. but could the international community in la s3 nato offer finland before it becomes a member? i nato offer finland before it becomes a member? ~ . nato offer finland before it becomes a member? ~ , ., , a member? i think number of things that could be _ a member? i think number of things that could be done. _ a member? i think number of things that could be done. alex _ a member? i think number of things that could be done. alex could - that could be done. alex could involved much more closely in terms of intelligence sharing its obvious finland is there. but finland is an integral part of the securities of any kind of intelligence that know the baltic states have two create harmonisation would be good and also there affiliated with a number of nato bodies as well and they can get more support from that and in general, to protect finland and larger aggression. general, to protect finland and largeraggression. in general, to protect finland and larger aggression.— general, to protect finland and larger aggression. in terms of how ruickl larger aggression. in terms of how quickly nate _ larger aggression. in terms of how quickly nato could _ larger aggression. in terms of how quickly nato could omit _ larger aggression. in terms of how quickly nato could omit finland, . quickly nato could omit finland, what timescale are we looking at? it is hard to tell which date would be determined, there is a growing feeling within nato that is logical and makes sense, amplifying the security of northern europe and to

prevent russia from finding a weak link there potentially launching hybrid rather military threats to both sweden and finland left to join probably together. sweden's decision and its timetable will be an important factor in this. and they also stated today that finland is ready to join nato and will bring it in as soon as possible and officials have emphasised the longer the stopgap period between applying and getting article five guarantees, the more mischief that russia could do. so the tray to get it in even before the year is out. so the tray to get it in even before the year is out-— so the tray to get it in even before the year is out. thank you very much for “oininr the year is out. thank you very much forjoining us- _ in ukraine, the bbc has found clear evidence of possible war crimes committed by russian soldiers in kyiv. in shocking images caught on cctv, two unarmed civilians are shot in cold blood at the height of the battle to take the capital. police have told the bbc dozens of civilians were found shot dead after the russians retreated. from kyiv, our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has this report. these are russian soldiers

on their way to rate on their way to loot and kill, but every moment is caught on camera. the men talk to this man, leonid, even smoke. but suddenly two turned back, and shoot leonid and another man multiple times in their backs. leonid somehow survives. he somehow staggers back to the hut and calls for help. i met one of the friends he called that day. he told him, the soldiers claimed they don't kill civilians. then they shot him. translation: i asked how he was. i said, can you at least bandage yourself up? and he said, vasya, i barely crawled

to, everything hurts so much, ifeel really bad. so i told him to hang in there and called the territorial defence. the russians drove a stolen van, daubed with their v symbol and the words, russian tank special forces. and this is the man we saw shooting, now helping himself to a drink. he has no idea he is being filmed, no one does. until it's too late. until this time, leonid is hiding in here, bleeding heavily. weeks later, we found his clothes and mattress bundled up outside. he died before help could reach him. i met the man who tried to save leonid. they sold air conditioning before the war. as they rushed to the scene that day, they tried to reassure leonid that he would make it. they were scared themselves. we went there knowing

the risks, underfire. we knew the russians would come back and they had tanks. and we only had our guns. 0ur chances were not good but we had to go and get him. they show me how the nearby road looked in those days. with russian tanks rolling past their positions. police have told us the russians shot at anything that moved here. they found the bodies of 37 civilians on just this stretch of road. it's notjust the burned—out buildings and businesses along this road, that you see, but things like this. two russian tanks, just lodged in the forest. you can see the v painted on the front. and it's a really stark reminder of just how fierce the fighting was along all of these roads into kyiv and how terrified leonid must have been when he was lying

bleeding and calling to help. leonid's daughter shared this image of her dad as she would like him remembered. she is abroad now, she says she wants her father's killers to face justice. translation: my dad was not a military man at all. _ he was a pensioner. they killed a 65—year—old, what for? i'm not so much furious as full of grief and fear. those damn russians are so out of control that i'm afraid of what they might do next. leonid never returned to his home or his pets. another life stolen by russian troops now notorious

for their brutality. the government has received legal advice it would now be lawful to override parts of the post—brexit treaty for northern ireland. such a move could lead to the ending of checks on goods going from britain to northern ireland — but the eu has warned it could retaliate by introducing trade sanctions. doctors and paramedics say long waits for ambulances across the uk are having a �*dangerous impact�* on patient safety. bbc research found the number of serious safety incidents involving ambulances in england rose by 77% over the past year, compared to before the pandemic. 0ur health correspondent jim reed reports. i rememberjust lying down on my mum's lap. we needed to go to the hospital as soon as possible. ten—year—old willow spent four nights in hospital last year after falling off her bike. isaid, "help! i can't breathe!" that's all i said, that's what came to my mind. yeah, she was screaming for help and we couldn't really move her because she was in a real mess, like a car accident rather than a bike accident.

but when a passer—by called an ambulance, they were told it would be a ten—hour wait for help, well above the two hour target for an accident like this. the family had to make their own way to hospital. we kept getting told by consultants that we should not have moved her because her back and her neck injuries could have been quite severe. it's the first time i've ever had to phone for an ambulance. when i really needed it, it wasn't there to help and it should be. the ambulance service said it was under significant pressure that day because of high demand. it apologised and said willow should have been assessed differently and paramedics assigned more quickly. ambulance response times have been rising sharply over the last year. in england the most serious life—threatening cases should be seen within seven minutes. in april the average was more than nine minutes. for so—called category two emergencies, like strokes or heart attacks, the target is 18 minutes. the average is now more than twice that. in other parts of the uk, services are under similar pressure.

we may have had crowding in emergency departments, it's worse now, but we've always been able to get ambulances and i think the fact that we are struggling to guarantee somebody an ambulance in a timely way moves us into a whole new territory of patient safety issues. hospitals are extremely busy for this time of year as doctors continue to deal with a backlog of health problems caused by the pandemic. that means ambulances are often having to queue outside, sometimes for hours, before they can drop off patients. all this comes at a time when the number of 999 calls has been rising to record levels. if ambulances have to queue outside hospitals like this, it might mean they can't get out quickly to the next person on the line who needs help and the concern is that could have a knock—on effect on patient safety. in the year before the pandemic, ambulance staff logged 312 serious safety incidents where a patient could have died or been permanently injured. over the past year that has

risen to 551 reports. the nhs says it is working hard to free up hospital beds to see patients quickly. the government says it is providing billions of pounds to tackle the treatment backlog in england. doctors though say too many people who need emergency care are still left waiting. jim reed, bbc news. the united states has become the first country to report a million deaths from covid. president biden said it was a tragic milestone and the us must remain vigilant in the pandemic. it's the highest official total in the world, although the world health organization says the true death toll may be much higher elsewhere. a place or no light exists making it impossible to capture on film. despite this, team of astrophysicists matched a photograph astrophysicists matched a photograph a black hole in our galaxy, the milky way for the first time. my for

decades, for decades, astronomers have been on a quest searching the skies and into the very heart of our galaxy for a mysterious and elusive black hole. now, they've found it, and taken this picture. the black hole is at the centre of the image. it is revealed by swirling hot matter pulled in by powerful gravitational forces. ziri younsi is among the 300 scientists involved in the project. i think it's really cool and amazing that we can even see a black hole. it's extremely far away, and it's dark, you're not meant to see a black hole, it traps light, and yet here we are capturing something that's meant to be invisible, seeing at the literal edge of space and time, i think that's truly remarkable. a black hole is created by a dead star collapsing in on itself. it has such strong gravity, not even light can escape its incredible pull. the black hole is the glue which binds our galaxy together,

it's part of the evolution of our galaxy, it explains where we came from, it will explain where we're going to. more than half a million computer simulations have been run and compared to the actual image. scientists believe that this video reconstruction is the closest to what the black hole in our galaxy looks like. no single telescope can see the object, so, several have been linked together to create a giant observatory on earth. here, high in the mountains of southern spain, scientists have been part of that search. we're in the heart of a telescope that's 40 years old. inside is the man who came up with the idea of photographing a black hole when he was a student in the 1990s. he was told by his professors that it would be impossible. it's the fulfilment of a dream and the beginning of a new chapter, actually. studying black holes in great detail. it is no longer fantasy, we can test all our understanding and our models, we can

do precision astrophysics. how does it make you feel now that you've finally produced this image? it's, you know, it's wonderful! you know, it's. .. it's a dream come true, after 25, 30 years. for researchers, this is just the beginning. theory has now become reality. and they can now kick on to find out how this black hole really works, and even how our own galaxy came to be. pallab ghosh, bbc news. time to look for the weather forecast. today, cloud bubbling and spreading across the sky but we still had temperatures returned 18 degrees around southeast england and the brighter moments. the cloud is not really starting to thicken across the northwest in northern ireland to

sing extensive objects of rain pushing in here and that rain even as far south as parts of wilson in northern england of the will tend the clear leader of the night. requests of the uk, it stays dry temperatures between nine and 11 celsius, a start and end another area of low pressure bringing rain, particularly to northern and western areas of scotland to the day quite wendy for the northern avenue of the country, gus running into the sixteens in the south, the cloud more broken and there be a bit more sunshine and so it gets warmer and peeking in at around 22 celsius or so the warm response, the weekend not looking bad in northern areas in the best of the weatherstrip stay dry and bright or sunny spells elsewhere in looking for some thunder and rain that is likely to move in from the south at some point during the weekend, i have more on that and half an hour.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: police say they have now issued more than 100 partygate finds following investigations into breaches of covid—19 regulations in downing street and whitehall. britain's economy grew at the slowest pace of the year started 2022 is mounted for the year started 2022 is mounted for the cost of living crisis could plunge the uk into recession. we will do plunge the uk into recession. - will do things to help people in the short—term, of course, i'm not going to anticipate anything more that we may do, but the crucial thing is to make that we have a strong employment situation. doctors and aramedics employment situation. doctors and paramedics a _ employment situation. doctors and paramedics a long _ employment situation. doctors and paramedics a long waits _ employment situation. doctors and paramedics a long waits for- paramedics a long waits for ambulances across the uk are having ambulances across the uk are having a dangerous impact on patient safety. rebekah vardy denies orchestrating a photograph of footballers wives and girlfriends of the 2018 world cup. she was giving evidence in her high court libel

trial against coleen rooney. the very first picture of the enormous black hole at the centre of our galaxy. sport, and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. brendon mccullum said he is looking to move the england test team into a new as head coach. he has a big job on a signed with england winless in the new as head coach. he has a big job on a signed with england winless in the test, the first crack the test, the first on a signed with england winless in the test, the first crack will be the test, the first crack will be against this country of new zealand next month in test series. it is also subject to their kiwi captain getting a work of user. he really transformed the mood and culture around the new zealand team. he began the resurgence that ultimately led to them winning the world test championship last year. there is one caveat perhaps, he has only ever coached in limited overs cricket, never in the more traditional form of the game, so in that sense it is a little bit of a gamble.

not long to go now until spurs welcome arsenal to the tottenham hotspur stadium in what might be one of the most important london derbies in recent memory. they're fighting it out for a place in the champions league. the gunners are in the driving seat. they're four points clear of spurs so a win for antonio conte's team would be vital. we are talking about an important game and an important game for many different situations and the first, i think the most important thing, we are playing this game for an important target and that is playing in the champions league. i think that has to be the first thing, to try to win this game. juventus defender declared he will

leave the team. he has been visiting for 17 years, hejoined leave the team. he has been visiting for 17 years, he joined from fiorentino, has won many titles with them, he wants to say goodbye to the juventus stadium when the old lady played here in the final home game of the season on monday. england have been named hosts of the 2025 women's world cup. the rfu have said they want 2025 to be the best attended women's world cup. they're looking to fill twickenham's 82,000 seats for the final. in the men's game, australia were unanimously voted the men's hosts for 2027, and it'll be a debut for the united states as they get set to host the 2031 tournament for the first time. in tennis it's 20 three matt more wins in the italian open. as she

joins an elite list, of winning consecutive titles. a french sprinter beat mark cavendish at stage six of the jiras italia. cavendish on the right of the screen led the sprint, but he was outpaced. the finest of margins between those two. just edging it there. spain is number one pedro lopez keeps the overall race lead. it's been announced that bt sport and eurosport will merge, as part of a new venture between bt and warner bros discovery. the companies have struck a joint deal which could bring big changes to the uk tv sports market. events such as the olympics, premier league football, and cycling grand tours could all come together on one platform. the deal is subject to regulatory review and is expected to go

through by the end of the year. i told you earlier on i would give you more sports news. if that isn't enough, sportsday later on. you can't have too much, isaac. i love the tie, by the way. the chancellor has been talking about a windfall tax. energy firms have been posting huge profits this year amid soaring prices for gas and oil as economies restart after covid lock dance. i'm not naturally attracted to windfall taxes in general, i find there are two camps of people, there are some who think windfall taxes can never be the answer and there are others who think windfall taxes are an easy quick simple answer

to solve every problem. i'm not in either of those schools of thought. i am pragmatic about it. i am not naturally attracted to the idea of them, but what i do know is these companies are making a significant amount of profit at the moment, because of these very elevated prices. what i want to see, is significant investment back into the uk economy, to supportjob, to support energy security, and i want to see that investment soon. if that doesn't happen, then no options are off the table. let's get more on this with dr carole nakhle, energy economist and ceo of crystol energy. thank you forjoining us. we talk about when full taxes, but what does that mean? what is a windfall tax? aha, that mean? what is a windfall tax? windfall tax is simply a tax is imposed to capture additional profit that companies can do when prices increase. it not normal profit, is anything which is above normal profit, so if you normally expect 10% profitability and then suddenly there are market conditions that

improve and increase prices in your profit ends up being 15%, the windfall profit tax capture the extra 5% of profitability. what windfall profit tax capture the extra 596 of profitability. what are the ros extra 596 of profitability. what are the pros and _ extra 596 of profitability. what are the pros and cons _ extra 596 of profitability. what are the pros and cons of _ extra 596 of profitability. what are the pros and cons of imposing - extra 596 of profitability. what are l the pros and cons of imposing such attacks? , .,, ., the pros and cons of imposing such attacks? , ., _, , the pros and cons of imposing such attacks? , ., , ., attacks? the pros, of course, are hither attacks? the pros, of course, are higher revenues, _ attacks? the pros, of course, are higher revenues, that's _ attacks? the pros, of course, are higher revenues, that's the - attacks? the pros, of course, are i higher revenues, that's the simplest way, but the cons, there is a long list i can think of primarily it's the complexity of imposing such on top of an existing tax structure, in uk law you have several taxes that apply on all and gas companies, and second the fact that it's got to be applicable in the north sea in the uk on all companies whether they are large or small or medium—sized alike, knowing the profitability you are hearing about from the shares of this are not solely on oil and gas activities in the uk, they are on the global activities, and as such she would end up increasing the tax burden on all players in the north sea. ~ . burden on all players in the north sea. . ., . burden on all players in the north sea. ~ ., _, ., burden on all players in the north

sea. ~ ., ., ., ., sea. what impact could that have on the very investment _ sea. what impact could that have on the very investment that _ sea. what impact could that have on the very investment that rishi - sea. what impact could that have on the very investment that rishi sunak is trying to stimulate?— is trying to stimulate? hopefully hither is trying to stimulate? hopefully higher prices _ is trying to stimulate? hopefully higher prices is _ is trying to stimulate? hopefully higher prices is going _ is trying to stimulate? hopefully higher prices is going to - is trying to stimulate? hopefully higher prices is going to be - is trying to stimulate? hopefully higher prices is going to be a - higher prices is going to be a strong incentive for companies to invest, particularly in the uk, because historically there has been a good relationship between the government in the industry, particularly if you look at other countries around the world, but if you go to increase the tax burden the capital is likely to go elsewhere, so i think that without the tax, pricing is going to be strong enough for these companies to invest in the north sea. what invest in the north sea. what happens if — invest in the north sea. what happens if the _ invest in the north sea. what happens if the prices - invest in the north sea. what happens if the prices go - invest in the north sea. what happens if the prices go down, then? because you could be penalising a company for making a loss of profits that they then go or not to make. well, it's unlikely that the companies are going to make a loss, because of this windfall tax, because of this windfall tax, because their taxes meant to capture only the additional profitability, but if market conditions change drastically, if prices collapse be given economic recession, and the

price goes down, as we saw in 2020, that additional profitability are complicated tax system is not going to generate any revenues for the government. to generate any revenues for the government-— to generate any revenues for the government. ~ ., �*, , , ., government. what's the best way of encouraging — government. what's the best way of encouraging a _ government. what's the best way of encouraging a very _ government. what's the best way of encouraging a very profitable - encouraging a very profitable company to invest in the kind of projects that the government wants to see? �* . , projects that the government wants to see? �* ., , projects that the government wants tosee?�* ., , projects that the government wants tosee? ._ to see? already the uk has lost some attractive features _ to see? already the uk has lost some attractive features above _ to see? already the uk has lost some attractive features above ground, - attractive features above ground, because if you look at the geology of the north sea, it's really a mature, declining province, and there is much more opportunity outside the uk, but uk has the ability of infrastructure, cooperation between industry and the government, which really quite unique. if you look at many other places around the world, so this will be a strong incentive for the companies to collaborate with the government and deliver on the british and energy security and by the pris equal emphasis on the north sea as well as investment in green

energy. sea as well as investment in green ener: . . ~' sea as well as investment in green ener: . ., ~ y sea as well as investment in green ener: . ., y . sea as well as investment in green ener: . . ~' , . ., energy. thank you very much for talkin: to energy. thank you very much for talking to us- — energy. thank you very much for talking to us. the _ energy. thank you very much for talking to us. the bbc— energy. thank you very much for talking to us. the bbc has - energy. thank you very much for talking to us. the bbc has been| energy. thank you very much for - talking to us. the bbc has been told the government will support a conversion helpline, despite plans not to introduce trans— conversion therapy in a ban on the queen's speech. let's get more from our lgbt and identity corresponded. we would have to stop the basics. what we mean by conversion therapy? conversion therapy, sometimes called 9“ conversion therapy, sometimes called gay cure therapy, their practices that are aimed to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity, and what the government has announced today is a helpline to support anybody who is experiencing this, has experienced this, or thinks they could be at risk of

experiencing this, and the helpline, just to give you an overview, is going to be run by the lgbt anti—violence charity which launched what their own one in november, the government is going to fund us for the next three years and expand upon it and offer phone advice, online chat service and support for anybody who contacts them, this is significant because of all the twists and turns that we have taken around the topic of conversion therapy recently. so, early this week we have the queen's speech which pledged to ban conversion therapy, but only for practices that are an attempt to change someone's sexual orientation, not for gender identity for trans people, you might remember last month organisations pulled out of the conference that was going to be held injune because they were not happy with this and said it was unacceptable around this position run transgender conversion therapy, but the government says it's a really legally complex area and there is further work being

carried out to consider transgender conversion therapy further, so they have done today is sort of saying they are people that need support with conversion therapy, the ministerfor with conversion therapy, the minister for economy equality is that it doesn't achieve its intended outcomes and has no place in modern society, the victims are not alone, and charities working this on the whole, some are saying it is a piecemeal approach, though, whole, some are saying it is a piecemealapproach, though, because piecemeal approach, though, because the piecemealapproach, though, because the governor has not pledged to ban transgender conversion therapy, but people are raising concerns about the blanket ban of trans— gender conversion therapy, there are doctors in teachers and parents who might be supportive people, and gender identity.— might be supportive people, and gender identity. others say there is a medicalisation _ gender identity. others say there is a medicalisation happening - gender identity. others say there is a medicalisation happening of - gender identity. others say there is| a medicalisation happening of young people, even quite young teenagers,

who might want to undergo reassignment surgery or take hormones to help them deal with their gender identity, so people like that will be pleased to see that there are breaks of input on. yeah, like register, there are those concerns from some people, and the prime minister has acknowledged that, as well, saying there are these complex issues relating to transgender conversion therapy that is reworked through, but this would be going through for people who may or may not expose the sides of this, and there was an interim report which was published a couple of months ago by a paediatrician looking into gender identity services for young people in england that said they just services for young people in england that said theyjust need to be fundamental changes needed to the service, there has been a large increase in the number of young people being referred to the service, we know the waiting time is a very long, so the government is doing here with this helpline is

sort of extending an olive branch as it were to acknowledge territory we may be experiencing difficulties with conversion therapy, not to be confused with what i was just talking about, and the services must be catering for those people. bier? be catering for those people. very ruickl , be catering for those people. very quickly. you _ be catering for those people. very quickly, you mentioned gallup have already set up their own helpline, how busy has it been? thea;r already set up their own helpline, how busy has it been?— how busy has it been? they don't want to give _ how busy has it been? they don't want to give us _ how busy has it been? they don't want to give us set _ how busy has it been? they don't want to give us set of— how busy has it been? they don't want to give us set of figures - how busy has it been? they don't want to give us set of figures for| want to give us set of figures for this, because they say it's quite a sensitive issue, and they want to highlight difficulties lgbt people face, but it's thought that about 5% to more than 100,000 people responded to said that they had been approached and offered conversion therapy, and the ceo told me today that it therapy, and the ceo told me today thatitis therapy, and the ceo told me today that it is an un—talked about problem within the lgbt community, and they hope that this will do just that. i headlines on bbc news. police say

the have i headlines on bbc news. police say they have issued _ i headlines on bbc news. police say they have issued fines _ i headlines on bbc news. police say they have issued fines and - i headlines on bbc news. police say they have issued fines and damages and work for. british economy grew at the slowest pace it started 2022 year with their fears that the kosovan crisis because you came to recession. england's leaders have said the country mustjoin nato without delay following russian invasion of ukraine. rebekah vardy has been giving evidence for the third day at the high court where she is being questioned about allegedly leaking stories to the sun newspaper. ms vardy is suing coleen rooney for libel — after rooney accused vardy of selling private stories. 0ur correspondent colin paterson is at court. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba is at the high court. we just have so much representation there at the high court today. tell us what's been happening in court today. it’s us what's been happening in court toda . �* . . us what's been happening in court toda . �* , , ., us what's been happening in court toda . �*, , ., , . today. it's been a difficult afternoon _ today. it's been a difficult afternoon for _ today. it's been a difficult afternoon for rebekah - today. it's been a difficult - afternoon for rebekah vardy, she

broke down in tears twice in the witness box, once when she was having a slightly testy exchange with david sherborne, who is coleen rooney's barrister, she corrected something he said in a question she asked, and he replied, is that your best lying, ms vardy, which was a complaint the comments like this was slightly unnecessary, but all seem very overwhelming for mrs vardy, who burst into tears in the witness box, and that the court took a few minutes while she managed to compose herself. later on she became very tearful when she was being confronted with supposed inconsistencies in what the courts have been told in documentation earlier in the case, and what you are saying the witness box. she said it was a very abusive time for me and she was getting lots of abuse from people and again took a slight break when she had become very

tearful, but she spent the entire day, most of the day, in fact, basically denying the fact that she has a track record of passing stories to the sun newspaper, passing other people's private information to the sun newspaper, although she did acknowledge that her then agent did appear to have passed one story from choline rooney's instagram, but she thought it was information the sun already knew, and she emphasised that she did not have a track record of passing on peoples private records to private newspapers like the sun. she was asked about a particular photograph that appeared in the sun of the 2018 cup when england players were outside the restaurant in st petersburg with their governments,

and she was accused by the barrister of organising it, and she said that she didn't have a part in that being actually appearing in the sun newspaper, she is expected to finish giving her evidenced tomorrow morning, i think she said today was that she hadn't been at destroying evidence is but had been alleged, she will finish giving evidence tomorrow. aha, she will finish giving evidence tomorrow-— she will finish giving evidence tomorrow. �* ., ., , , tomorrow. a lot of interest in this, thank ou tomorrow. a lot of interest in this, thank you very _ tomorrow. a lot of interest in this, thank you very much. _ it sounds like the plot of a hollywood movie — an air passenger with no flying experience has to land the plane when the pilot falls ill. but it was all too real for one man, who managed to land an aircraft safely in florida, after the pilot passed out mid—flight. mark lobel reports. when the pilot of this florida—bound single engine cessna 208 suddenly got ill mid—air, he fell against the controls, sending the aircraft into a nose dive and sharp turn, leaving passenger darren harrison on a wing and a prayer 2,750 metres high.

but despite having no experience of piloting a plane, he pulled it out of its nosedive and radioed air traffic control. with just the florida coast for reference, mr harrison was then given step—by—step instructions of what to do next. at this point, formerflight instructor robert morgan was pulled off his break to help guide the plane down. when somebodyjust drops that bomb on you that you're not expecting, like, this is the situation, you're just like, whoa. ifelt like i was in a movie. but he wasn't.

morgan'sjob now, to keep the passenger turned pilot calm and point him to a longer runway so he could land safely. he was calm all the way in. how am i looking? your altitude is good, you're 1000 feet, your 600 feet, you're 300 feet, and then he disappeared off the radar stuff, so i was kind of like, "uh—oh, what do i do now?" so i wasjust like, "hey, i don't see you any more on my radar. i just want to make sure you are still there, can you still hear me?" "yeah, i still hear you." after a bouncy landing, the plane was towed away. the man who put the plane down safely hugged his unexpected instructor on the tarmac before rushing home to see his pregnant wife. the original pilot was taken to hospital. his condition remains unknown. mark lobel, bbc news. after days of violent unrest, sri

lanka has sown in a new prime minister. protesters forced out previous prime minister on monday blaming him for the economic collapse of the country. they also demand that his brother the president also resigns. after being sworn in as — president also resigns. after being sworn in as prime _ president also resigns. after being sworn in as prime minister, - president also resigns. after being sworn in as prime minister, he - president also resigns. after being sworn in as prime minister, he is l sworn in as prime minister, he is now leaving the prime ministers house and was sworn in by the president, the previous prime minister resigned on monday after violence broke out between supporters and opponents of the government here and people have been protesting against soaring prices and the cost of living crisis. that really triggered their political crisis in this country. now, at the main protest site about a kilometre

from here, where those protesters say they want the president to also step down, because they want a new political system, step down, because they want a new politicalsystem, but step down, because they want a new political system, but the appointment may not satisfy these protesters, many people are wondering what kind of stability this will have, but economists say the country needs to come out of the political deadlock so that they can negotiate with the imf and other countries to restructure the existing debt and ask for more money to bring this country's economy back on track. the first major event of the queen's platinum jubilee celebrations begins today, and it involves one of the queen's favourite things, horses.

it's the royal windsor horse show, now in its 79th year. the queen went to the first one with her family and has been a regular ever since. back then, help raise money to raise typhoon fighters of the second world war. always a horsewoman, the queen one this when she was 17, and of the as it is grown. the queen is expected to come to the show and this is where she will sit, in the middle of the royal box. her majesty has been showing horses here for the last seven decades. this year she has got a0. that's the most she's ever had. this year, beneath the lit ramparts of windsor castle, 500 horses in over 1000 performers were put on a special show. it will take the queen and the audience on a

gallop through history, showing five centuries of kings and queens. among the military displays, musicians and stunt acts performing tonight, are 50 dancers from a bollywood group in london. i started dancing when i was seven and i started learning traditional folk dance from punjab in india which is one of the dances we are going to be doing here today to represent india. and it is a happy dance. it is a celebration of the harvest and, yeah, it is just a very happy vibe and done so, yeah, it makes me happy. all the costumes have made in india and arrived just a few days ago. i work in investment banking and technology, and care were to be my canary _ technology, and care were to be my canary wharf, its complete different pace of _ canary wharf, its complete different pace of life, and this could be different _ pace of life, and this could be different. i started about five years — different. i started about five years old, i started dancing, gave up years old, i started dancing, gave up and _ years old, i started dancing, gave up and i_ years old, i started dancing, gave up and i went to school and university— up and i went to school and university and refounded the week before _ university and refounded the week before the global pandemic started and didn't ever expect to be performing for the queen in such a

bil performing for the queen in such a big scale. — performing for the queen in such a big scale, and to see bhangra, which is my— big scale, and to see bhangra, which is my favourite style of dance in front _ is my favourite style of dance in front of— is my favourite style of dance in front of the queen, it'sjust insane _ front of the queen, it's 'ust insane. ,, , , insane. the queen is the first british monarch _ insane. the queen is the first british monarch to _ insane. the queen is the first british monarch to rain - insane. the queen is the first british monarch to rain for. insane. the queen is the first british monarch to rain for 70 j british monarch to rain for 70 years. today it will honour all she has done during her many years of service. jane hill is with you for the six o'clock news and just a second. taking us there though let's look at the weather forecast. many will have seen some sort of sunshine, we got temperatures up to 18 degrees across parts of south—east england. this was the scene across the west midlands, turning a little bit cloudier, the satellite picture shows the satellite picture shows the satellite picture shows the satellite picture we have had, the cloud certainly thickening across the north west, and we have

outbreaks of rain is starting to were moving, this band of rain extensive, and we expect it to be a wet evening here over the next few hours without rain. also trickling into parts of wales and opening for time. clear away later in the night, there'll be more rain to come across there'll be more rain to come across the north west of scotland, otherwise becoming dry. temperatures about 9—11 degrees, sir relatively mild starts were down friday. further north we have low pressure thatis further north we have low pressure that is going to be moving in across scotland, bring your band of rain here, affecting north and western areas in particular, and generally across the northern half of the uk, we are looking at some fairly brisk westerly winds, and up to a certain coolness to the air across the nose. across parts of england and wales we are looking at temperatures climbing into the low 20s, 23 degrees on cut across parts of east anglia. heading

into the weekend, high pressure starts to drift northwards, trough stocks are moving from the south, and that will threaten some thundery bricks of rain across southern areas. it's a quiet start to the weekend for many you will be bright with some spells of sunshine, sunny spells lasting all the way into the afternoon, as well, and in the sunshine temperature starting to rise, in scotland 17 degrees in glasgow, warm weather to a northern ireland, the highest temperatures again across the instance 22 degrees on the cards, and saturday nights and we will succeed in thundery bursts of rain arriving from the south. the amount of rain you will get from this will vary a lot from place to place, and that is the case into sunday, two, across parts of england as though thundery showers continue to push northwards, perhaps reaching southern scotland towards the very end of the day. temperatures 21 degrees in wales and south—west england, so feeling warm and sunny spells here, 19 in glasgow, that should be a pleasant enough as well. through the weekend

will see some changes, a few thunderstorms around, but still on the balance quite a bit of dry weather sticker since the weekend.

another 50 fines are issued for parties at downing street and government buildings during the covid lockdown. the metropolitan police say their inquiries are continuing. the prime minster isn't among those fined today but labour say he should still resign. they've reached the very dubious distinction of racking up more fines than any other location in britain, yet he's refusing to do the decent thing. now, i think that is quite extraordinary considering that he made the rules, then broke the rules, on a record scale. we'll have the latest from westminster. also on the programme... warnings that higher prices are beginning to bite as new figures show the economy shrank in march, raising fears of recession.

the bbc sees evidence of alleged war crimes committed by russian