these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. ministers in england throw their weight behind the prime minister after police announce he won't receive any more fines over lockdown parties in downing street and whitehall. ukraine's president says russian forces have completely destroyed the eastern donbas region, describing it as hell. the us warns that the uk will lose out on a free trade deal if it scraps post—brexit trading arrangements in northern ireland. president biden arrives in south korea to meet the country's new president — on this his first visit to an asian country as us leader. the final day of campaigning before australians decide who will be their next prime minister — incumbent scott morisson or his rival labor leader anthony �*albo�* albanese. nurseries say plans in england to allow staff to look after more

children will not cut costs for parents but the government insists the plans could help lower childcare costs overall. and eight towns that will become cities in the uk are named as part of the queen's platinum jubilee celebrations. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. bbc news understands that the senior civil servant in england, sue gray, intends to complete her report on downing street lockdown parties this weekend. she has already criticised failures of leadership at number ten and the cabinet office. the closure of the police investigation means she's now free to publish the full details of her inquiry.

our political correspondent david wallace—lockhart reports. 126 fines were issued by the metropolitan police for events in downing street and other government buildings. only one of those went to the prime minister. some say that's one too many, others say apologies have been made and now it's time to move on. he didn't feel he was breaking any rules and certainly when i have been on the doorstep, some people do feel what he was fined for, perhaps the prime minister and the chancellor may have been a little hard done by. but even with that, he actually held his hands up and said, do you know what, i'm not going to argue about this, i'm going to take responsibility, i'm going to pay the fine, and i want to move on and actually talk about those issues that people are really worried about like the cost of living or what is happening in ukraine. for opposition mps, it's the overall number of fines that's most shocking. they believe change has to come from the top and the prime minister must go. he presided over a place of work and his own home where there were 126 fines. i think there was clearly

a culture of lawbreaking, i think that number 10 downing st was the venue for parties during lockdown, and i think the culture came from the top. the police investigation may be done and dusted, but the partygate fallout isn't over. senior civil servant sue grey is expected to issue her final report looking into these events next week. the bbc understands there has been a lively debate on which senior civil servants will be named in this. and a cross—party committee of mps is due to investigate whether or not boris johnson knowingly misled the commons. for now, there doesn't seem to be widespread rebellion in borisjohnson�*s party. tory calls for him to stand down are limited. he hopes to move on from this saga. staffing structures in number ten are being altered to try and enhance the support offered to the prime minister. but with reports and inquiries yet to come, we haven't heard the last of partygate. david wallace lockhart, bbc news. earlier, our political correspondent iain watson had the latest on the publication of

the sue gray report. that report by the senior civil servant sue gray must be gathering dust, five and a half months on, she did want to produce this towards the end of january and then the police investigation intervened. as i understand it, she is going to talk to the senior officials that she wishes to name in that report. if any of them have objections to what she's saying, that could further delay the report but certainly the hope is that she will be able to do that over the weekend and finally the report will make an appearance very early next week. borisjohnson will then make a statement to parliament and he will then be questioned on his role in so—called partygate. earlier today, thejustice secretary dominic raab told the bbc that the prime minister would be accountable to his fellow politicians. i welcome the conclusion of the met investigation. i think it was important

for transparency and accountability, and we, as you say, awaits the sue gray report. the prime minister has been very clear that that will be published as soon as, as swiftly as possible once we receive it. the prime minister will go to the house of commons and take questions, so again, transparency and accountability. i think he has been clear, in relation to things that happened at number 10 downing street, mistakes were made, lessons have been learnt. from the interim sue gray report to now, he has taken a series of actions to overhaul number 10, staff changes and the like. and we are getting on... whilst we await the final sue gray report, he is getting on with the job. so, borisjohnson getting on with the job but still question marks over his leadership. i don't think there will be a rush of fellow conservative mps trying to push out of the door of downing street when this report is published. nonetheless, his critics will be looking for detail in the report — what were the kind of events, and what went on at those events that the prime minister attended? and perhaps the biggerjeopardy for borisjohnson is this inquiry

by a cross—party committee of mps called the privileges committee, and they are looking at when he misled parliament when he said guidance had been followed in downing street and we now know of course 126 fines have been issued. now, for him to be in trouble, they would have to prove that he knowingly misled, or to put it more bluntly, lied to his fellow mps. nonetheless, it also means he cannot simply draw a line under partygate next week and move on because the committee will have access to all of the evidence and information that sue gray and the metropolitan police have gathered, including more than 500 photographs of those controversial events. we can speak now to katy balls, deputy political editor at the spectator. what difference could the sue gray report make now that the police have

concluded their investigation? it report make now that the police have concluded their investigation? if we stake -- take _ concluded their investigation? if we stake -- take a _ concluded their investigation? if we stake -- take a step _ concluded their investigation? if we stake -- take a step back, - concluded their investigation? if we stake —— take a step back, when the story first emerged, the big event was the sue gray report. in a way, what happened is that the reason there was a police investigation was that sue gray uncovered so much she had to pass it to the police. at the beginning of the year, it really seemed that the sue gray report could question his premiership so i don't think we can dismiss the idea that they could be details in this report which could really rock boris johnson's leadership. i don't think he is out of the woods yet. it is definitely the case that the fact that the police have only fined borisjohnson for one that the police have only fined boris johnson for one event, that the police have only fined borisjohnson for one event, yes, a fixed penalty notice, but the event that seems to be the least serious among tory mps, he does have some cover or reply, and saying actually, on these various other events, the police did not find that our —— that i broke the law. i

police did not find that our -- that i broke the law.— i broke the law. i want to ask you about a tweet _ i broke the law. i want to ask you about a tweet from _ i broke the law. i want to ask you about a tweet from george - i broke the law. i want to ask you . about a tweet from george osborne, the former tory councillor, he has tweeted saying, it has never been about police fines or cabinet office reports, it is about whether or not anyone wants to try to take power from borisjohnson. i anyone wants to try to take power from boris johnson.— from boris johnson. i think that is definitely a _ from boris johnson. i think that is definitely a big — from boris johnson. i think that is definitely a big factor— from boris johnson. i think that is definitely a big factor in _ from boris johnson. i think that is definitely a big factor in this. - from boris johnson. i think that is definitely a big factor in this. one i definitely a big factor in this. one of the only things we know, and even then, a caveat slightly, boris johnson is not going to resign, he has been very clear he has no plans to go by choice, and it starts to get pretty ugly when it comes to removing the prime minister. plenty of tory mps in the past few months have said they would prefer a different leader but getting to that process, having someone stick their head above the parapet and potentially say they want to be the next leader hasn't yet materialised, and i think that yes, the fact that he hasn't received multiple fines has helped downing street to some degree, though a police

investigation... 0ne degree, though a police investigation... one of the other important things that has happened in recent months is the fact that rishi sunak the chancellor has seen his popularity pulled significantly and there was always a sense amongst tory mps that they could be a tory leadership contest and the chancellor was seen as a decent candidate and as soon as his popularity started to slide, the prospect started a look even more unappealing. prospect started a look even more unappealing-— prospect started a look even more unappealing. with the conclusion of the olice unappealing. with the conclusion of the police investigation, _ unappealing. with the conclusion of the police investigation, does - unappealing. with the conclusion of the police investigation, does this l the police investigation, does this somewhat take the pressure off sir keir starmer, the leader of the opposition, in terms of the investigation he faces? i’m opposition, in terms of the investigation he faces? i'm not sure it does take — investigation he faces? i'm not sure it does take the _ investigation he faces? i'm not sure it does take the pressure _ investigation he faces? i'm not sure it does take the pressure off, - investigation he faces? i'm not sure it does take the pressure off, in - it does take the pressure off, in the sense that ultimately keir starmer has put himself in a position and many on the labour side suggest he is the most principal politician of the three of them where he has said that if he is fined, if he receives a fixed penalty notice, he will go, and

therefore, keir starmer�*s fate is largely out of his own hands. those around him think he will not receive around him think he will not receive a fine but you never know with these investigations. i think from the tory perspective, i think they have avoided a fine, they feel they have enough to save the police investigated you as well so you cannot take the moral high ground and that is the tax they will want to be using. and that is the tax they will want to be using-— and that is the tax they will want to be usina. . ., , ., to be using. thanks for sharing your thou~hts to be using. thanks for sharing your thoughts and _ to be using. thanks for sharing your thoughts and analysis _ to be using. thanks for sharing your thoughts and analysis on _ to be using. thanks for sharing your thoughts and analysis on that, - to be using. thanks for sharing your thoughts and analysis on that, the l thoughts and analysis on that, the deputy political editor at the spectator. president volodymyr zelensky has said the eastern donbas region has been completely destroyed by russian forces. in his nightly video address, mr zelensky described the situation in donbas as hell, accusing russia of carrying out senseless bombardments. after failing to achieve much military success elsewhere, russia has in recent weeks been focusing on donbas where moscow—backed separatists have already been fighting ukrainian forces for years. president zelensky says the russian military approach has been to destroy everything in its path.

translation: the ukrainian i armed forces continue to make progress in liberating the kharkiv region but the occupiers are trying to further strengthen in the pressure in the donbas. it's a hell, and that's not an overstatement. bombardment of severodonetsk is brutal and meaningless, there are 12 dead and dozens injured in just one day. 0ur correspondent in kyiv james waterhouse gave us his assessment of the latest situation in ukraine. because of ukraine's deep resolve, level of resistance and support from the west, russia has failed thus far to complete its original aim of toppling president zelensky and taking full control of the country. president zelensky is still in power and the russian advance has shifted eastwards. it's goals keep shrinking but nevertheless, the invading forces have seized this huge land

corridor right across the south—east of the country, linking up troops with the eastern donbas region. it is also closer to the russian border and the thought is that vladimir putin, whilst he is saying his priority is taking the donbas region, he will also use this as an opportunity to replenish and resupply his faltering troops. whether he will want to launch something more larger scale after that, butt macro this is an industrial part after that, this is an industrial part of ukraine with strong links to russia, the majority russian speaking population. some there feel soviet union nostalgia but the russians see it as their soil. it is, however, part of ukraine, it is part of the country. so, as a result, we are seeing once more a concentration of fighting there and president zelensky says it is almost completely destroyed. he has once again accused

moscow of genocide, something russia denies. there are towns and villages which have been almost completely destroyed, hollowed out buildings, administration buildings taken out, society is unable to function. the fighting is getting bogged down and you wonder how much longer. the most seniorfigure in the us congress — nancy pelosi — has warned that the uk will lose out on a free—trade deal, if it scraps post—brexit trading arrangements in northern ireland. the speaker of the us house of representatives said the northern ireland protocol preserved the good friday agreement — which she described as the bedrock of the peace process. so how significant is her comment? here's our north america correspondent david willis. well, these are very stern comments from, as you say, one of the most powerful politicians in this country, the speaker of the house of representatives

nancy pelosi warning britain that any amendment to the northern ireland protocol could jeopardise the hopes of a uk/us free trade agreement, and such a deal, of course, has been an economic goal of the borisjohnson administration. it is a key promise, of course, of economic prosperity post—brexit, and the uk needs it badly. but in this very strongly worded statement, nancy pelosi makes clear that the northern ireland protocol is one of the cornerstones of the good friday accords which are in turn, the bedrock, as she put it, of peace in northern ireland, and a beacon of hope for the entire world. and she says that central to the good friday accord is the fact that there should be no physical border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland and of course should the uk choose to undermine

the good friday accord, she says congress will not support a bilateral free trade agreement. you asked me the significance of this. it is significant, although we have heard this from nancy pelosi in the past, nonetheless, this is the sort of rhetoric that echoes with not only her democratic colleagues but also those on the other side of the aisle, republicans as well, and they are shared, these sentiments, by president biden himself, as well, who is of irish ancestry. he has intimated that he is not looking to set about starting negotiating a uk/us trade deal whilst the uk is still at loggerheads with the eu on this. the rwandan government has said it expects to receive fifty refugees from the uk at the end of this month, the first to be sent to the east african country as part of the migrant deal signed

between the two governments. the agreement has come under criticism from refugee and human rights organisations who have described it as cruel and questioned its legality. 0ur deputy africa editor anne soy reports. and we've got a swimming pool, conference hall, restaurant. this is one of the rooms. britain's chosen destination for migrants, but not their destination of choice. this is rouge by desir, one of the hotels in kigali that's to be leased for migrants. jackie, the operations manager, doesn't know much about the deal. but she says they will be ready when it takes effect. so will you still be able to do all that when you start hosting these visitors from the uk? no, when we have visitors, we will stop that. no more other guests from outside. especially when it's a group from one place. it is known as the land of 1000 hills.

but to most people, they know rwanda as a place where a genocide took place in 1994. but since then, the country has enjoyed steady economic growth, and there has been some benefits to the people. but there are serious concerns about the country's civil rights record. rwanda is a country that routinely flouts international norms, protocols and laws with regards to refugees. this is a country that has abused refugees in its own country. allegations the government denies. there's nothing wrong with rwandan human rights, the human rights record. no matter what these external organisations say. we also have surveys and indices which talk about how safe rwanda is. we have made tremendous progress in the last 28 years. rwandans trust their government. we have people who come to live here of their own, we consider ourselves a country of migration.

to illustrate that, we are invited to a transit camp a 90 minutes drive south of kigali. it is run by the un refugee agency. close to 1000 migrants, mostly from the horn of africa, were brought here from libya. the majority had been resettled in europe or north america over the last three years. this 26—year—old will soonjoin them. he says he was imprisoned, endured torture and survived a shipwreck trying to get a better life. now he is close to achieving his goal. canada, just i'm waiting on travel. if you had another option to settle in africa, in an african country, would you take it? for me, i don't know, because as i told you, i want to go to canada. africa, i'm not so sure.

like most migrants, it's to go to a western country. rwanda is not where they hope to settle. and that raises question about the uk deal and whether it will work. anne soy, bbc news, kigali. migrants in northern france have expressed fear over the uk's plan to resettle some arrivals in rwanda, but most say they are still committed to reaching british shores. greater numbers of people are continuing to cross the channel in small boats, with a seasonal rise in crossings expected as the weather improves. lucy williamson has been to the area around calais to assess the impact of the new uk policy. bunkers once used by german soldiers, now patrolled by french police. people smugglers use these bunkers to hide passengers before channel crossings.

these sprawling beaches have always been hard to defend. despite new uk equipment, including high—tech binoculars and drones, france says the lure of life in britain is too strong to be stopped by policing alone. so has the threat of resettlement in rwanda made any impact over the past five weeks? translation: i think it is too early to measure the impact. _ regardless of the announcement, i think smugglers will watch to see if this measure is actually implemented. that might dissuade them and therefore migrants to try their luck in the uk. smugglers is to tell their passengers, just get into the water and you are basically in the uk. the french authorities will not intervene unless you are in trouble, they said, and once you are in british waters, the british coast guard will take you to the shore. but the government's new policy means that those crossing this channel now could end up in rwanda, not the uk. aid workers say the number

of migrants in calais has fallen, but it's not clear how much of that is down to tough policing breaking up camps. 0ne estimate put the number of those deterred by the resettlement policy at ten to 15%. no—one in this camp wanted to speak on camera, but standing next to a generator as he charged his mobile phone, one man agreed to speak out of vision. rwanda, nothing, you can't find protection in rwanda. some aid workers say migrants are waiting to see whether the uk follows through on its plans. the uncertainty regarding the uk policing, it makes people leave calais for a few weeks, a few months, to try to see how the situation will involve. so we have seen people asking for asylum in other french cities instead of staying in calais and trying to be the which the uk

because they don't know what will happen to them when they reach the uk. more than 600 people crossed this water last weekend, more have followed since then. it's early days, but for most migrants here willing to gamble their lives to reach the uk, resettlement isjust one more risk. lucy williamson, bbc news, calais. there's anger over plans to use a former raf base in north yorkshire, to house 1,500 asylum seekers — people living nearby have accused the home office of failing to properly consult them. residents from linton—on—0use, near york, met civil servants at a parish council meeting last night to outline their concerns. the centre, expected to open at the end of the month, is designed to help end the government's reliance on hotels while asylum claims are being processed. people are really angry. as we keep saying, this is the wrong plan for asylum seekers and for the village. it's in the wrong place because it makes no sense for anybody.

the only people who support this are the home office and it's the wrong process because there have been no planning permission applied for, there has been no consultation, there has been no looking at the issue with sewage. so when the sewage system which is already overloaded tips over, it pumps raw effluent into the river 0use. so people downstream going to experience that because there will be more people here than were ever on the base. breaking news now, reports that nearly 2000 ukrainian fighters from as a stout have surrendered. just to make clear, this has come from the russian defence minister who is quieter who is quoted in the official russian news agency. it says that nearly 2000 ukrainian fighters from azovstal surrendered a few days ago. we will bring you more on that as we get it. president biden has arrived in south korea at the start of his

first visit to asia as president. concerns about north korea's nuclear ambitions are likely to top the agenda. mr biden will meet the new south korean president, yoon suk—yeol, who favours a tougher line on the north than his predecessor. pyongyang has abandoned a freeze on testing intercontinental ballistic missiles and there are fears it may carry out a nuclear test during mr biden's trip. the us also wants to send a message to china that despite the war in ukraine, it has not forgotten about its allies in asia. mr biden will head to japan on sunday. dr david satterwhite is a specialist in north east asian politics at the council on international educational exchange. he spoke to us from kyoto injapan — and explained the visit�*s significance for the japanese. i think it's a reassurance to the japanese public and the government that the us remains firm in its commitment, both to japan's security but also to a world order in which the kind of aggression we're witnessing in the ukraine is not repeated in asia.

so, although injapan, i must say that japan has gone along very, very strongly and is committed to taking steps with the rest of the western world vis—a—vis the invasion of the ukraine, the relationship is a very strong one, it will be solidified further by the biden visit, and i think it's going to be well—received by the public and the kishida government. eight towns have been granted city status for the queen's platinum jubilee, with at least one in every uk nation — and on the falkland islands and isle of man. applicants had to demonstrate cultural heritage and show royal links in order to be considered for the title. charlotte gallagher reports. sun, sea and thejubilee. bangor on the east coast of northern ireland is one of the towns to be

granted city status. on a gorgeous, sunny day like today, it's easy to see why bangor is so popular with day—trippers and holiday—makers. but for people living here in bangor, they want city status to bring more investment and shops and businesses for them to enjoy, as well. it would be lovely. i used to come down here when i was younger. it was a beautiful place. plenty of chippies and all around there. i do think bangor needs the money spent on it, though. _ you sort of worry about it being a seaside town. that's how you see it, and you were to lose it's a bit of character for that. hopefully it doesn't. judges praised bangor�*s community spirit, naval heritage and its royal links. in 1961, the queen and the duke of edinburgh came here, with prince philip racing in the regatta. seven other towns have also won jubilee city status — doncaster, colchester and milton keynes in england, wrexham in wales, dunfermline

in scotland, douglas on the isle of man and, over 8000 miles away, stanley in the falkland islands. so what makes a good city? for wrexham, judges commended the historical importance of the football club, which has been sprinkled with hollywood star dust due to its owners, the actors ryan reynolds and rob mcelhenney. the romans loved colchester so much, they made it a capital. stanley, in the falklands, was once home to prince william, when he was a search and rescue pilot. douglas, where the rnli was founded, will be the isle of man's first and only city. it's very special and i think so often, when you're on the phone to somebody that doesn't know the isle of man even exists, to be part of that group of 38 that applied in the first place and to be one of those eight that's picked, i don't envy the people who have to do the job, i'm not going to lie.

i don't think i would like to have been that person going through it all. but for them to recognise our city is just fabulous, really. it's great. being granted city status doesn't automatically bring new investment and is more symbolic. but places like bangor are hoping there will be a sea change in opportunities. charlotte gallagher, bbc news, bangor. let's speak to charlotte who are still in bangor in northern ireland. it looks beautiful, and i imagine everyone there feeling veryjubilant at this news? everyone there feeling very “ubilant at this news?— at this news? yes, it is an absolutely _ at this news? yes, it is an absolutely gorgeous - at this news? yes, it is an absolutely gorgeous day l at this news? yes, it is an - absolutely gorgeous day today, the sun was out first thing this morning, lots of people running, walking their dogs, and so many people have said they are so excited about this, they had stopped and said they are really happy that bangor is really a city, really good

mood around this announcement. but this is just the first step, the council say along with the city status, they want regeneration of some areas of the seafront and the city centre and they are hoping that the city status will bring more businesses in and attract people not just from northern ireland but the rest of the uk as well. find just from northern ireland but the rest of the uk as well.— just from northern ireland but the rest of the uk as well. and what is it that is part _ rest of the uk as well. and what is it that is part of _ rest of the uk as well. and what is it that is part of the _ it that is part of the decision—making process? because i don't know whether this is an urban myth or not but i was under the impression that if a place has a cathedral, that is what makes it a city, that —— but that is not the case? city, that -- but that is not the case? ., , ., , case? that is not the case. it did used to be _ case? that is not the case. it did used to be the _ case? that is not the case. it did used to be the case _ case? that is not the case. it did used to be the case that - case? that is not the case. it did used to be the case that you - case? that is not the case. it did . used to be the case that you deduce to have a cathedral but now you don't have to have a cathedral. so, is an abbey here in bangor but no cathedral. so now it is judged is an abbey here in bangor but no cathedral. so now it isjudged on different things, the city status,

heritage, community for example, the football club is a historical important thing, that help them with their bid. colchester was one of the capital is when the romans were in britain. so there are all different things that make a city, and i think that one of the big things here is civic pride, definitely in bangor, people are so happy to live here, and they really want to shout about how great it is. and with it being a seaside resort, part of that is to get tourists in, especially after the pandemic, places like this did really suffer but, genuine, a lot of excitement here today. but, genuine, a lot of excitement here today-— but, genuine, a lot of excitement here today. the new nuclear power station being built at hinckley point in somerset has been delayed by a year, and will now cost a further £3—billion. the operators edf cited the impact of the pandemic and supply chain issues for the delay, which will now see the site up and running injune 2027,

at a cost of £26—billion. edf said there would be no cost impact to taxpayers. it's now well in to friday in australia — and the final day of campaigning before australians go to the polls to vote for a new parliament, and a new government. 0ne party needs to win at least 76 of the 151 seats there to form a majority government. the bbc�*s karishma vaswani is in sydney covering the election for us. key election issues have obviously been things like the cost of living in australia. it's not been immune to pressure from the global economy that we've seen in other parts the world. inflation here has reached a 21—year high. it's notjust on things like fuel orfood, it's also in housing prices and a lot of young australians are struggling to own their first home, to rent a place as they try and make their way through this world. and it's very much the kind of thing

that we're seeing in other parts of the world as well, with the economic slowdown in china having an impact here, as well as that war in ukraine putting pressure on prices here too. but away from the economy, from a lot of people we've been speaking to ahead of the polls on saturday, climate change is certainly a big issue out in big urban centres like sydney, where people have seen first—hand for themselves what it means to see australia go through a climate crisis, what with the bushfires as well as the devastating floods that many people in australia have had to go through. but it's that division across the country as well that's so interesting, given that people in places like sydney are very concerned about climate change, in other parts of the country, where jobs depend on the mining industry, they're worried about their livelihoods. this has all given rise to a real discussion about who exactly is the best party to be able to lead the country into the future. and it's also given birth,

i think it's fair to say, to a decision about whether it's a choice between experience, the parties that we've had, the traditional parties that have always been on offer here, or character, or at least that's how it's being defined by the independent candidates, some of whom have chosen the colour teal to represent what they stand for. they're very big on climate change, they're very big on questions of political integrity as well, that's another big campaign platform for them, as is the treatment of women, both in the workplace in australia and in politics. so, lots of things for voters to consider as they head into the polls on saturday. not surprisingly, the soaring cost of living is a major election issue in australia. but how much can politicians on either side realistically do about it? phil mercer reports from sydney. this is, like, $10 a kilo, see you're looking at $21. australians head to the polls as the cost of living soars to a 21—year high.

with the inflation, actually, we do need the government to get that under control. it's just rising and rising and rising and people are getting really scared these days. and many voters are feeling the pressure. i'm a single mum, i have two kids, the child care, everything is very expensive, stressful, sometimes. the rent is up, the food is up, everything up. but with inflation largely fuelled by market forces, opinion is divided about what governments can do. it's in their hands because they know the economic factors, everything, so they know how to handle the situation. i don't think anybody could do anything. even if they change the government, i don't think anything will happen, because the banks will do their thing. in australia, the reserve bank uses interest rates to try to control inflation and influence consumer spending.

navigating the choppy waters of australia's recovery from the pandemic will be a significant challenge for the next government. both major parties here are trying to reassure voters that they are responsible economic managers. businesses say one of the key tasks for a government is to instil confidence. there is a lot of catching up to do in terms of growth, in terms of opportunity and indeed, government can set the pace. as long as there is confidence in the economy and in the strength of the economy, australian entrepreneurs and australian businesses will invest. massive government spending during the pandemic protected jobs and businesses but with three—year terms, some academics say politicians can overstate their influence over the economy. if a government is always worrying about the political cycle then when do they have time to knuckle

down and really get things done? i think there is a bit of claiming more ground than they really can control. ultimately, it's individuals that power an economy but governments with vision do foster hard work, innovation and prosperity. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. authorities in israel called an early close to a religious bonfire festival on thursday after dozens of ultra—0rthodox jews rampaged against crowd—control measures. 0rganisers wanted to prevent a repeat of a crush that killed 45 people last year. mark lobel has more. chaos where thousands came to celebrate. a year after one of israel's worst civilian disasters, and now this. dissidents, in response to safety standards being sharpened up by organisers and police, culminating in the

event ending early. it began peacefully, lighting up the bonfire in front of mostly ultra—0rthodox jews for thejoyous lag ba0merfestival, where a notable rabbi is buried. but now one with a haunting past. last year's mount meron disaster was declared one of the worst to befall the state of israel, a deadly crush in an overcrowded passageway in which 45 men and boys were killed and around 150 more injured. a tragedy that could have been prevented, according to some. so, this year, worshippers were under strict instructions to rotate in and out by bus on pre—issued tickets. police said they would limit the number to 16,000 at any time, with each visit capped to four hours. i'm standing here, we would be on the roof. i'm talking about 25

years ago, 30 years ago, we used to go up there. but now, hey, this is what has to be done. we have to be safe and we have to be smart. 8,000 officers were deployed to keep order but tensions quickly rose as dozens rampaged against the crowd—control measures. a sorry end to a festival tinged with sadness. mark lobel, bbc news. in the uk, the football association is investigating an alleged incident involving the crystal palace manager patrick vieira at everton last night. vieira appeared to clash with a fan who was part of a pitch invasion following everton's win, which secured their premier league survival. meanwhile, earlier this week, police arrested a 31—year—old man after sheffield united's billy sharp was knocked to the ground following another pitch invasion in a playoff game. let's speak to bbc

sport's isaac fanin. these events in the past week or so beg the question what measures are there to stop fans invading the pitch? there to stop fans invading the itch? ~ ., , . there to stop fans invading the itch? ., , . , ., , pitch? we have seen in recent years that football — pitch? we have seen in recent years that football associations _ pitch? we have seen in recent years that football associations have - that football associations have introduced fines to clubs, have a perhaps partial stadium closure is, a number of measures in this country in the uk, it has been a crime for fans to invade the pitch since 1991 and so a number of these measures have been taken de mey taking place. the cps says there has been a rise in football related criminality compared to pre—pandemic levels, the english football league says they will be looking at what they can do in the summerto will be looking at what they can do in the summer to try and prevent these incidents from happening going forward. ., , , , forward. fans will be disappointed terha is forward. fans will be disappointed perhaps that _ forward. fans will be disappointed perhaps that given _ forward. fans will be disappointed perhaps that given that _ forward. fans will be disappointed perhaps that given that they - forward. fans will be disappointed perhaps that given that they have | perhaps that given that they have wanted football perhaps to distance itself from what may have been more

violent connotations in the past? yes, it has been a difficult few weeks for football, as the season comes to an end. a lot of fans have been coming... i was at the match involving evident last night, the incident took place with patrick vieria. the fans were goading the crystal palace players as they walked off the pitch, like you mentioned, not the first incident that has happened, on tuesday evening, billy sharp was head—butted by a fan, the man who did that has been sentenced to 24 weeks in prison. last night, in fact, at the match between swindon and port vale, the swindon manager ben garner said his players were physically and verbally abused, the mansfield coach he saw his players apparently shoved in their match against northampton, nigel clough said more needs to be done and football authorities need to do more. we have not heard from

the premier league as to what they will do but the english football league says they will look at it over the summer, merseyside police say they will investigate the incident involving patrick vieria but it is a bit of a difficult situation for english football, to find itself in.— nurseries in england say plans to allow staff to look after more children will not cut costs for parents. the government says it is considering changing the current rules in a bid to help lower the cost of childcare forfamilies, amid the growing cost of living crisis. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys reports. oh, thank you so much. ashley has four children, including her new baby. it's two—year—old reggie she worries about the most. he has extreme allergic reactions. ashley trusts the nursery to watch him carefully. you just kind of need to have someone else take the lead for a little bit. would you be happy with there being more children per adult?

probably not, no. i mean, the severity of reggie, so, a normal child... you know, it's such a massive responsibility to just do that for reggie. and to have loads more children, i don't know, i think it's too much. i found one! you found one, well done! this nursery in nottingham is facing rising bills. from wages to heating, everything is going up. and now they're looking after toddlers born in lockdown. a lot of nurseries say that coming out of the pandemic, they don't want to have more children for each member of staff. because they've missed out on so much. quite a lot of children are needing extra help with their social skills and with their speech and language. oh, thank you! more children are starting school a bit behind according to new research this week. and rachel, the owner, tells me even if the rules changed, they don't want staff looking

after more children. the children at the moment that we've got now, they need more support than ever getting up their development back to where it needs to be. we are seeing a rise in safeguarding needs. if anything, we need more adults to children at this time, not less. she worries it could mean the money for government funded hours being frozen. itjust feels like, oh, we need to cut budgets somewhere, and early years is where that cut is going to be. in england, for two—year—olds, there has to be one member of staff for four children. many other countries, including scotland allow bigger numbers, and that's why the government says it will consult on changes. ministers say it could help bring down the cost of childcare. in you get. down the road on the edge of nottingham, parents rush to drop off. for working families with children under three, it can be a big bill. see you later, love you!

we have got savannah in, and we're just about to put our baby in as well. and it's more than our mortgage. it's a really hard decision to go back to work after my second one. i feel for those that perhaps aren't in the luxury - of having a flexible job, _ working from home and have to go out to work and can't afford - to put their children in childcare. it's a big part of our outgoings. and we have to juggle sending albert to nursery or going to work or stopping at home. and if we have a holiday or not. is that your chair? have some breakfast? for babies and toddlers up to two, it's one adult to three children. this is when the cost is greatest for parents. and childcare staff like hannah have their hands full. sometimes we have points where one child needs a nappy change, one child needs to go to bed, another child needs a bottle and doing all of those things all at the same time, can become so difficult and very overwhelming. so before they consult on plans for england, the government is looking at scotland, france and elsewhere

with firm proposals expected in the coming months. branwenjeffries, bbc news, nottingham. joining us now from huddersfield, jonathan broadbery, director of policy and communications, national day nurseries association. thank you forjoining us. in nurseries in scotland they already have higher numbers of children per aduu have higher numbers of children per adult so why do you think that would not be suitable for england? jonathan, can you hear me? i am sor , i jonathan, can you hear me? i am sorry. i cannot — jonathan, can you hear me? i am sorry, i cannot actually _ jonathan, can you hear me? i am sorry, i cannot actually hear - sorry, i cannot actually hear anyone. i sorry, i cannot actually hear an one. ., ., , ., anyone. i will ask that question atain to anyone. i will ask that question again to see — anyone. i will ask that question again to see if— anyone. i will ask that question again to see if you _ anyone. i will ask that question again to see if you can - anyone. i will ask that question again to see if you can hear- anyone. i will ask that question | again to see if you can hear me? anyone. i will ask that question - again to see if you can hear me? can you hear me now? 0k, we will have to leave it there, i'm so sorry, apologies. it doesn't seem like the link between us and jonathan was working. we will try and come back to that a little bit later.

prince charles and the duchess of cornwall are bringing their royal tour of canada to a close. 0ur royal correspondent sarah campbell is travelling with them, and sent this report. a yellowknives dene first nations welcome for the royal couple. this is dettah, a remote community located on the shores of yellowknife bay in the north—west territories. it's home to around 200 people, most of whom it seems turned out to see the visiting royals. when the drum dancing began, the prince was only too happy tojoin in. so happy that hejoined in the drum dance and he participated and got to dance with our community. he saw our culture and our traditions, it was fantastic. prince charles first visited here back in 1970. and in the intervening years, the climate has changed. dettah is about four miles from here in a direct line across the bay. and in winter, the bay is frozen, so that allows an ice road to be carved out.

the ice is so thick, up to a metre, that it can easily hold the weight of all the lorries needed to transport supplies to dettah. but the water is freezing later and later each year and with no ice, there is no ice road and thejourney to dettah is about four times longer. it's making a remote community even more isolated. the prince came to see and hear for himself how these changes are being monitored with the indigenous peoples playing a leading role in working towards sustainable future. clear recognition that in practising our way of life and our culture we strengthen our relationship to land, and in doing so, we start to take care of the land and we start to take care of each other. in yellowknife for the final engagements of this whirlwind tour. the historical mistreatment of indigenous peoples and royalty�*s role in reconciliation has been raised directly with the prince on this trip. he finished not with the apology on behalf of the crown that some had called for,

but made clear he had listened. it has been deeply moving to have met survivors of residential schools who, with such courage, have shared their experiences. on behalf of my wife and myself, i want to acknowledge their suffering, and to say how much our hearts go out to them and their families. a few time zones and almost 4,000 miles from windsor, a flag was raised to celebrate the queen's platinum jubilee. sarah campbell, bbc news, canada's north—west territories. as you heard earlier, plans for nurseries and staff to allow stopper children will not allow childcare costs to be lowered overall. joining us now from huddersfield, jonathan broadbery, director of policy and communications,

national day nurseries association hopefully technology will be on our site now! in scotland, they already have higher numbers of children per aduu have higher numbers of children per adult and in england, why do you think that would not work in england? think that would not work in entland? ~ ., think that would not work in england?— think that would not work in entland? ., , england? we have numbers across the uk so we have — england? we have numbers across the uk so we have members _ england? we have numbers across the uk so we have members delivering - uk so we have members delivering excellent quality care and education in scotland within those ratios but we have been really clear, there is a very different system there in terms of how the workforce is regulated and there's a whole body dedicated to regulating the workforce and practitioners there need to keep up their own cpd to maintain their registration. so each individual professional in the early years workforce is individually registered, they have to keep up their cpd and qualifications to maintain that registration but on top of that, every early years setting in scotland to have graduate

level lead practitioner in place, manager and deputy managers so we have already got a more qualified workforce in place in scotland than the requirements in england. and the government funds childcare very differently so the structure of childcare there is more of a universal system and providers are funded in a different way as well. and that is what the system works very differently there from in england. very differently there from in entland. , , england. something definitely needs to chante, england. something definitely needs to change, doesn't _ england. something definitely needs to change, doesn't it? _ england. something definitely needs to change, doesn't it? this _ england. something definitely needs to change, doesn't it? this is - to change, doesn't it? this is something that parents have mentioned is a realfinancial concern and actually, in the past few hours, the institute for fiscal studies has released information talking aboutjust how many families are facing such costs for a quarter of families in the income between 20 and £30,000, fora of families in the income between 20 and £30,000, for a lot of them, they are spending more than 17% of their

pre—tax income on child care so what is the solution to making it more affordable?— is the solution to making it more affordable? . , , �*, ., affordable? absolutely, it's a huge tressure affordable? absolutely, it's a huge pressure on _ affordable? absolutely, it's a huge pressure on parents _ affordable? absolutely, it's a huge pressure on parents and _ affordable? absolutely, it's a huge pressure on parents and we - affordable? absolutely, it's a huge pressure on parents and we get. affordable? absolutely, it's a huge. pressure on parents and we get that and our members are very alive to that and having very difficult conversations with parents about their rising costs of delivering childcare and the pressures that that puts on them in the context of the cost of living crisis because although household bills are going up although household bills are going up for parents the same is true of nurseries whether it is food, energy, heating, all the things they need to do. but going back to this question of ratios, nurseries and other early years providers have been quite clear, it is not a magic bullet and the ministers have acknowledged that, there is not a direct link between changing the ratios and the cost of childcare to parents is what we need to do is look at the system as a whole and actually, the government is the biggest purchaser of childcare and is not paying its way, 95% of our

members say the funding they get does not cover costs so providers have to find out from somewhere and that's either coming out of their own pocket, eating into the reserves they might have on their own settings and businesses, or it's the cost that parents have to pay for the hours that are not funded. what we need to look at is actually the whole picture whereas the government is only talking about tinkering with one aspect and in your piece, you talked about the concerns of parents, they are very real and we know there's petitions out there from millie's trust and others who have concerns over child safety but at the same time, the workforce is really under pressure. we know over half the people working in childcare and early years site workload and worklife balance as a source of stress so we need to do more to help these children, they have grown up in covid, they have had limited

opportunities as a result of covid and they need more support, not less, and research backs that and at the same time we have an under pressure workforce that needs again, more support, not less. the government is talking about levelling up in general, early years is a fantastic opportunity to start children's learning and kept them on a really good path.— a really good path. jonathan, thanks so much we — a really good path. jonathan, thanks so much we must _ a really good path. jonathan, thanks so much we must leave _ a really good path. jonathan, thanks so much we must leave it _ a really good path. jonathan, thanks so much we must leave it there - a really good path. jonathan, thanks so much we must leave it there and| a really good path. jonathan, thanks| so much we must leave it there and i am so glad we got the line back up. the sunday times rich list was released today with a record number of 177 billionaires in the uk, the list was topped by the hinduja brothers' fortune of £28 billion with sirjames dyson just behind them. the uk chancellor rishi sunak and his wife akshata murty also made the list for the first time — with theirjoint fortune of £730 million — putting them at number 222 on the list. their appearance on the list follows intense scrutiny over the chancellor and his wife's finances in recent months. earlier today, i spoke to robert watts who compiled the list for the sunday times.

some people approach us to appear on the sunday times rich list this year. the chancellor certainly wasn't one of those. the large bulk of his wealth, his family wealth stems from his wife, who is the daughter of an indian it billionaire. their holding in his company infosys is worth £690 million. they have also done well from dividends as well over the years. so, the bulk of the household wealth stems from her. but the chancellor did all right, he worked for goldman sachs, he was a hedge fund manager as well, but i think people will be somewhat surprised to find the chancellor is now one of the 250 wealthiest people in the country. and you can read the full findings live on the sunday times website now. robert, given that we are talking

a lot about the cost of living crisis and how people are struggling, tell me honestly, do you feel a bit dirty putting this list together? well, i think there are readers who are going to be pretty concerned, i think, that at a time of record inflation, highest inflation for 40 years, millions of us are struggling with our petrol prices, energy bills, food costs, and yet this golden era for the super—rich just does not seem to come to an end. here's the most staggering statistic, i think, in this year's list, there is more wealth in the top 250 this year than in the entire 1,000 that we did just five years ago in 2017. you can keep up to date with all the stories on the bbc news website and app, and there'll be more headlines at the top of the hour. from me, for now, goodbye.

hello. the weather is looking a bit up and down in the next few days, some unsettled conditions on the cards for some of us but brightening through the weekend especially towards the south. here and now, a breezy and cooler day than we have seen of late, rain at times too. we have already had quite a bit of that rain towards the south and south east, all down to the system here, which will clear towards the east through the afternoon. we have another system working in from the northwest, so showers for scotland, northern ireland, pushing into western parts of england and wales, more persistent rain in the east clearing out through the afternoon. sunshine and showers, turning blustery in the north and the west later on, and feeling fresher than recent days with temperatures for most of us up to 18 degrees. into the evening hours, some late sunshine in the south, holding onto showers in eastern england and scotland, they should clear away and most of us will start saturday on a dry note.

frost—free, certainly, temperatures up to 11 first thing saturday morning. a little bit of mist and low cloud around in coastal parts of wales and southwest england as well. some showers affecting parts of northern and western scotland. through the day, many areas seeing a lot of dry weather on the cards. some sunny spells breaking through, particularly in parts of eastern and southern england, but the odd spot of drizzle out to the west with that cloud around and some showers moving into the northwest of scotland and northern ireland as well. 21 degrees in the warmest spots on saturday and as we move into the second part of the weekend, we will keep the showery rain saturday night across parts of scotland, running through into sunday morning, things looking drier towards the south. that's because we have high pressure towards the south east, low pressure to the north of the uk and weather fronts trying to move in from the atlantic. on sunday, we have heavy showers across northern and western scotland, perhaps one or two into northern ireland, northern and western parts of england and wales. further south, across

england, you should stay dry and it will feel quite warm with a southerly breeze lifting temperatures to 23 degrees in london but typically the mid—teens with outbreaks of cloud and showery rain further north. looking ahead into the first part of next week, things are rather unsettled, showers in the north and the west, drier conditions for a time in the south, but more rain to be coming into the middle of the week. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, i'm annita mcveigh. these are the latest headlines at 11... ministers throw their weight behind the prime minister after police announce he won't receive any more fines over lockdown parties in downing street and whitehall. the us warns that the uk will lose out on a free—trade deal, if it scraps post—brexit trading arrangements in northern ireland. ukraine's president says russian forces have "completely destroyed" the eastern donbas region, describing it as "hell". nurseries say plans in england to allow staff to look after more children will not cut costs for parents but the government insists it could help lower childcare costs overall. eight towns that will become cities in the uk are named as part of the queen's platinum jubilee celebrations. and after a series of post—match pitch invasions, the crystal palace manager patrick viera is involved in an altercation with a fan.

hello and welcome to bbc news. bbc news understands that the senior civil servant sue gray intends to complete her report on downing street lockdown parties this weekend. she has already criticised failures of leadership at number 10 and the cabinet office. those expected to be named in sue gray's report are being given a deadline of 5pm on sunday to respond to herfindings before the inquiry is published. the bbc has been told that the inquiry team has started contacting those who will be featured, and shared the information ms gray intends to publish about them. the closure of the police investigation means she's now free to publish the full details of her inquiry.

0ur political correspondent david wallace—lockhart reports. 126 fines were issued by the metropolitan police for events in downing street and other government buildings. only one of those went to the prime minister. some say that's one too many, others say apologies have been made and now it's time to move on. we didn't feel he was breaking any rules and certainly when i have been on the doorstep, some people do feel what he was fined for, perhaps the prime minister and the chancellor may have been a little hard done by. but even with that, he actually held his hands up and said, do you know what, i'm not going to argue about this, i'm going to take responsibility, i'm going to pay the fine, and i want to move on and actually talk about those issues that people are really worried about like the cost of living or what is happening in ukraine. for opposition mps, it's the overall number of fines that's most shocking. they believe change has to come from the top and the prime minister must go. he presided over a place

of work and his own home where there were 126 fines. i think there was clearly a culture of lawbreaking, i think that number 10 downing st was the venue for parties during lockdown, and i think the culture came from the top. the police investigation may be done and dusted, but the partygate fallout isn't over. senior civil servant sue grey is expected to issue her final report looking into these events next week. the bbc understands there has been a lively debate on which senior civil servants will be named in this. and a cross—party committee of mps is due to investigate whether or not boris johnson knowingly misled the commons. for now, there doesn't seem to be widespread rebellion in borisjohnson's party. tory calls for him to stand down are limited. he hopes to move on from this saga. staffing structures in number ten are being altered to try and enhance the support offered to the prime minister. but with reports and inquiries yet to come, we haven't heard the last of partygate. david wallace—lockhart, bbc news.

let's go over to westminster where our political correspondent iain watson. we know the met police did not name anyone and as we have been explaining to the viewers, sue gray does want to name names and beyond that, how much more might we get from her report that we haven't already got?— already got? she reached her conclusion — already got? she reached her conclusion and _ already got? she reached her conclusion and the _ already got? she reached her conclusion and the main - already got? she reached her. conclusion and the main report already got? she reached her - conclusion and the main report was put on hold because of the police investigation but at that time she spoke about failures of leadership in some parts of downing street and the heart of government. she spoke about whether proper standards had been observed, she said that some of the events should not have taken place or should not be allowed to develop as they did. what we are likely to see when the sue gray report comes out, we expect early next week, is some of the details

behind those conclusions and the devil could be in the detailfor the prime minister. why it is likely the civil service will be very much in the firing line, some of the senior permanent staff that the prime minister would have been badly advised by them on covid rules and what events he should have attended, nonetheless if you get the detail of the events he was present, some of his detractors would say, can you really maintain that rules were followed at all times, no guidance was broken must mark the kind of thing he was saying at the start of this process in parliament and some people therefore suggesting there could be the ammunition in this report for a future inquiry, which we expect to start soon by a cross—party committee of mps whether he misled parliament are lie to parliament. first he will make a statement to parliament once the sue gray report is out and thejustice secretary told the bbc earlier that

the prime minister was being trialled —— like perfectly transparent and accountable to his fellow mps. i welcome the conclusion of the met investigation. i think it was important for transparency and accountability, and we, as you say, awaits the sue gray report. the prime minister has been very clear that that will be published as soon as swift is possible once we receive it. the prime minister will go to the house of commons and take questions, so again, transparency and accountability. i think he has been clear, in relation to things that happened at number 10 downing street, mistakes were made, lessons have been learnt. from the interim sue gray report to now, he has taken a series of actions to overhaul number 10, staff changes and the like. and we are getting on... whilst we await the final sue gray report, he is getting on with the job. in order to get on with the job, the prime minister wants to draw a line under partygate as soon as possible and he would be keen to see this sue gray report early next week if it is

possible at all. she will spend their weekend contacting people she wants to name and give them a right of reply before that report comes out. if that becomes a big fuss, there could be a further deadly, there could be a further deadly, there is this inquiry across the cross—party committee of mps. —— further delay. certainly today, at the beginning of this week, the prime minister was talking about the government's action against crime, he would like to get back to that kind of focus. not a good look when you see people have been fined in the heart of government. some people are questioning whether their money spent on issuing these fixed penalty notices was money well spent i could have been spent on something more serious. there will be an argument that we should get the whole partygate scandal into proportion. critics of the prime minister inside and outside the party will be suggesting that perhaps, notjust

the civil service and people around him, are responsible for what happened but the culture is perhaps set at the very top of government itself. i expect him to receive criticism when he makes a statement next week but i do not expect him to be ousted. at, next week but i do not expect him to be ousted. �* , next week but i do not expect him to be ousted. . , ., ., , ., be ousted. a number of conservative mps have said _ be ousted. a number of conservative mps have said they _ be ousted. a number of conservative mps have said they would _ be ousted. a number of conservative mps have said they would reserve i mps have said they would reserve theirjudgment on the prime minister's future until the sue gray report was published in its final form. do you think that is still the case or has he brought enough of his critics along to avoid that? i do not think he — critics along to avoid that? i do not think he has _ critics along to avoid that? i gr not think he has deleted any of the criticism or persuaded any of the people who have submitted letters of no confidence. because of the ukraine conflict. i don't think any others are going to do that, the question is who willjoin the moment, it is likely that some of his critics may want to voice their criticism next week when they see

this full report but it has to be particularly devastating to tip this into the kind of numbers necessary to call a confidence vote on the prime minister. we have an excuse to sit on their hands longer, two things coming up stop that committee of mps inquiring into where he misled our lie to parliament. some mps will say that is a crucial matter. 0thers mps will say that is a crucial matter. others might also look at whether there are electoral consequences to all of this and we have two by—elections coming up next month. have two by-elections coming up next month. ., ., have two by-elections coming up next month. ., ~' ,, , have two by-elections coming up next month. ., ., ,, , . the most seniorfigure in the us congress — nancy pelosi — has warned that the uk will lose out on a free—trade deal, if it scraps post—brexit trading arrangements in northern ireland. the speaker of the us house of representatives said the northern ireland protocol preserved the good friday agreement — which she described as the bedrock of the peace process. so how significant are her comments? here's our north america

correspondent david willis. this well, these are very stern comments from, as you say, one of the most powerful politicians in this country, the speaker of the house of representatives nancy pelosi warning britain that any amendment to the northern ireland protocol could jeopardise the hopes of a uk/us free trade agreement, and such a deal, of course, has been an economic goal of the borisjohnson administration. it is a key promise, of course, of economic prosperity post—brexit, and the uk needs it badly. but in this very strongly worded statement, nancy pelosi makes clear that the northern ireland protocol is one of the cornerstones of the good friday accords which are in turn, the bedrock, as she put it, of peace in northern ireland, and a beacon of hope for the entire world. and she says that central to the good friday accord

is the fact that there should be no physical border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland and of course should the uk choose to undermine the good friday accord, she says congress will not support a bilateral free trade agreement. you asked me the significance of these. it is significant, although we have heard this from nancy pelosi in the past, nonetheless, this is the sort of rhetoric that echoes with not only her democratic colleagues but also those on the other side of the aisle, republicans as well, and they are shared, these sentiments, by president biden himself as well, who is of irish ancestry. he has intimated that he is not looking to set about starting negotiating a uk/us trade deal whilst the uk is still at loggerheads with the eu on this.

president volodymyr zelensky has said the eastern donbas region has been completely destroyed by russian forces. in his nightly video address, mr zelensky described the situation in donbas as hell, accusing russia of carrying out senseless bombardments. after failing to achieve much military success elsewhere, russia has in recent weeks been focusing on donbas where moscow—backed separatists have already been fighting ukrainian forces for years. president zelensky says the russian military approach has been to destroy everything in its path. translation: the ukrainian i armed forces continue to make progress in liberating the kharkiv region but the occupiers are trying to further strengthen the pressure in the donbas. it's a hell, and that's not an overstatement. bombardment of severodonetsk is brutal and meaningless, there are 12 dead and dozens injured in just one day. 0ur correspondent in kyiv james waterhouse gave us his assessment of the latest

situation in ukraine. because of ukraine's deep resolve, level of resistance and support from the west, russia has failed thus far to complete its original aim of toppling president zelensky and taking full control of the country. president zelensky is still in power and the russian advance has shifted eastwards. it's goals keep shrinking but nevertheless, the invading forces have seized this huge land corridor right across the south—east of the country, linking up troops with the eastern donbas region. it is also closer to the russian border and the thought is that vladimir putin, whilst he is saying his priority is taking the donbas region, he will also use this as an opportunity to replenish and resupply his faltering troops. whether he will want to launch

something more larger scale after that, this is an industrial part is an industrial part of ukraine with strong links to russia, the majority russian speaking population. some there feel soviet union nostalgia but the russians see it as their soil. it is, however, part of ukraine, it is part of the country. so, as a result, we are seeing once more a concentration of fighting there and president zelensky says it is almost completely destroyed. he has once again accused moscow of genocide, something russia denies. there are towns and villages which have been almost completely destroyed, hollowed out buildings, administration buildings taken out, society is unable to function. the fighting is getting bogged down and you wonder how much longer. meanwhile, russia claims that more than 1,900 ukranian soldiers

have surrendered to their forces at the azovstakl steel works. we must stress that this news is being reported by the russian news agency, tass, who quote a russian defence minister. ukranian forces had been holed up in the steelworks in the southern port city of mariupol for weeks. officials say the city is lying in ruins — after weeks of relentless russian bombardment. there's anger over plans to use a former raf base in north yorkshire, to house 1,500 asylum seekers — people living nearby have accused the home office of failing to properly consult them. residents from linton—on—0use, near york, met civil servants at a parish council meeting last night to outline their concerns. the centre, expected to open at the end of the month, is designed to help end the government's reliance on hotels while asylum claims are being processed. people are really angry. as we keep saying, this is the wrong plan for asylum seekers and for the village.

it's in the wrong place because it makes no sense for anybody. the only people who support this are the home office and it's the wrong process because there have been no planning permission applied for, there has been no consultation, there has been no looking at the issue with sewage. so when the sewage system which is already overloaded tips over, it pumps raw effluent into the river 0use. so people downstream are going to experience that because there will be more people here than were ever on the base. the rwandan government has said it expects to receive 50 refugees from the uk at the end of this month, the first to be sent to the east african country as part of the migrant deal signed between the two governments. the agreement has come under criticism from refugee and human rights organisations who have described it as cruel and questioned its legality. 0ur deputy africa editor anne soy reports. and we've got a swimming pool, a conference hall, restaurant. this is one of the rooms. britain's chosen destination for migrants, but not their destination of choice. this is rouge by desir,

one of the hotels in kigali that's to be leased for migrants. jackie, the operations manager, doesn't know much about the deal. but she says they will be ready when it takes effect. so will you still be able to do all that when you start hosting these visitors from the uk? no, when we have visitors, we will stop that. no more other guests from outside. especially when it's a group from one place. it is known as the land of a thousand hills, but to most people, they know rwanda as a place where a genocide took place in 1994. but since then, the country has enjoyed steady economic growth, and there has been some benefits to the people. but there are serious concerns about the country's human rights record. rwanda is a country that routinely flouts international norms, protocols and laws with regards to refugees. this is a country that has abused

refugees in its own country. allegations the government denies. there's nothing wrong - with rwandan human rights, the human rights record. no matter what these - external organisations say. we also have surveys and indices - which talk about how safe rwanda is. we have made tremendous progress in the last 28 years. _ rwandans trust their government. we have people who come to live here of their own, i we consider ourselvesl a country of migration. to illustrate that, we are invited to a transit camp a 90 minutes drive south of kigali. it is run by the un refugee agency. close to 1000 migrants, mostly from the horn of africa, were brought here from libya. the majority have been resettled in europe or north america over the last three years. this 26—year—old will soonjoin them.

he says he was imprisoned, endured torture and survived a shipwreck trying to get a better life. now he is close to achieving his goal. canada, just i'm waiting on travel. if you had another option to settle in africa, in an african country, would you take it? for me, i don't know, because as i told you, i want to go to canada. africa, i'm not so sure. like most migrants, it's to go to a western country. rwanda is not where they hope to settle. and that raises question about the uk deal and whether it will work. anne soy, bbc news, kigali. migrants in northern france have expressed fear over the uk's plan to resettle some arrivals in rwanda, but most say they are still committed to reaching british shores.

greater numbers of people are continuing to cross the channel in small boats, with a seasonal rise in crossings expected as the weather improves. lucy williamson has been to the area around calais to assess the impact of the new uk policy. bunkers once used by german soldiers, now patrolled by french police. people smugglers use these bunkers to hide passengers before channel crossings. these sprawling beaches have always been hard to defend. despite new uk equipment, including high—tech binoculars and drones, france says the lure of life in britain is too strong to be stopped by policing alone. so has the threat of resettlement in rwanda made any impact over the past five weeks? translation: i think it is too early to measure the impact. _ regardless of the announcement, i think smugglers will watch to see if this measure is actually implemented. that might dissuade them

and therefore migrants will continue to try their luck in the uk. smugglers is to tell their passengers, just get into the water and you are basically in the uk. the french authorities will not intervene unless you are in trouble, they said, and once you are in british waters, the british coast guard will take you to the shore. but the government's new policy means that those crossing this channel now could end up in rwanda, not the uk. aid workers say the number of migrants in calais has fallen, but it's not clear how much of that is down to tough policing breaking up camps. 0ne estimate put the number of those deterred by the resettlement policy at ten to 15%. no—one in this camp wanted to speak on camera, but standing next to a generator as he charged his mobile phone, one man agreed to speak out of vision. rwanda, nothing, you can't find protection in rwanda.

some aid workers say migrants are waiting to see whether the uk follows through on its plans. the uncertainty regarding the uk policing, it makes people leave calais for a few weeks, a few months, to try to see how the situation will involve. so we have seen people asking for asylum in other french cities instead of staying in calais and trying to go to the uk because they don't know what will happen to them when they reach the uk. more than 600 people crossed this water last weekend, more have followed since then. it's early days, but for most migrants here willing to gamble their lives to reach the uk, resettlement isjust one more risk. lucy williamson, bbc news, calais.

president biden has arrived in south korea at the start of his first visit to asia as president. concerns about north korea's nuclear ambitions are likely to top the agenda. mr biden will meet the new south korean president, yoon suk—yeol, who favours a tougher line on the north than his predecessor. the us wants to send a message to china that despite the war in ukraine, it has not forgotten about its allies in asia. mr biden will head to japan on sunday. eight towns have been granted city status for the queen's platinum jubilee, with at least one in every uk nation — as well as on the falkland islands and isle of man. applicants had to demonstrate cultural heritage and show royal links in order to be considered for the title. charlotte gallagher reports. sun, sea and thejubilee. bangor on the east coast of northern ireland is one of the towns to be granted city status. on a gorgeous, sunny day like today, it's easy to see why bangor is so popular with day—trippers and holiday—makers.

but for people living here in bangor, they want city status to bring more investment and shops and businesses for them to enjoy, as well. it would be lovely. i used to come down here when i was younger. it was a beautiful place. plenty of chippies and all around there. i do think bangor needs the money spent on it, though. _ you sort of worry about it being a seaside town. that's how you see it, and you were to lose it's a bit of character for that. hopefully it doesn't. judges praised bangor�*s community spirit, naval heritage and its royal links. in 1961, the queen and the duke of edinburgh came here, with prince philip racing in the regatta. seven other towns have also won jubilee city status — doncaster, colchester and milton keynes in england, wrexham in wales, dunfermline in scotland, douglas on the isle of man and, over 8000 miles away, stanley in the falkland islands. so what makes a good city?

for wrexham, judges commended the historical importance of the football club, which has been sprinkled with hollywood star dust due to its owners, the actors ryan reynolds and rob mcelhenney. the romans loved colchester so much, they made it a capital. stanley, in the falklands, was once home to prince william, when he was a search and rescue pilot. douglas, where the rnli was founded, will be the isle of man's first and only city. it's very special and i think so often, when you're on the phone to somebody that doesn't know the isle of man even exists, to be part of that group of 38 that applied in the first place and to be one of those eight that's picked, i don't envy the people who have to do the job, i'm not going to lie. i don't think i would like to have been that person going through it all. but for them to recognise our city is just fabulous, really. it's great.

being granted city status doesn't automatically bring new investment and is more symbolic. but places like bangor are hoping there will be a sea change in opportunities. charlotte gallagher, bbc news, bangor. we can now speak to amanda marlow, a conservative councillor — and — the newly elected mayor of milton keynes — she is now with us. great everybody must be thrilled. absolutely. it has been the immense news we have had. i cannot quite believe it, we have managed to pull it off on our fourth attempt, it has taken 22 it off on our fourth attempt, it has ta ken 22 years it off on our fourth attempt, it has taken 22 years and we are now officially the city of milton keynes. officially the city of milton ke nes. ., . ., officially the city of milton ke nes. ., ., ~ ., keynes. fourth time lucky for milton ke nes, keynes. fourth time lucky for milton keynes. what _ keynes. fourth time lucky for milton keynes, what was _ keynes. fourth time lucky for milton keynes, what was different - keynes. fourth time lucky for milton keynes, what was different of - keynes. fourth time lucky for milton keynes, what was different of this i keynes, what was different of this bid in terms of the case you made for it to become a city? i

bid in terms of the case you made for it to become a city?— for it to become a city? i have a co- of for it to become a city? i have a copy of it _ for it to become a city? i have a copy of it here. _ for it to become a city? i have a copy of it here. basically, - for it to become a city? i have a copy of it here. basically, i - for it to become a city? i have a| copy of it here. basically, i think it includes the heart of milton keynes. we had... we had to lots of different community groups and different community groups and different business sectors, different business sectors, different voluntary groups, people who represented milton keynes through heritage, culture and diversity and we all collaborated together to form the bed. the other thing we did was we asked residents to submit photographs they loved of milton keynes because the thing with milton keynes because the thing with milton keynes, everybody says it is a bit grey, it is full of roundabouts... i a bit grey, it is full of roundabouts. . .- a bit grey, it is full of roundabouts... ., , ., ., roundabouts... i was going to mention those _ roundabouts... i was going to mention those amanda - roundabouts... i was going to i mention those amanda burgauer roundabouts... i was going to - mention those amanda burgauer you have done that already for me. i did see comments like that earlier online. milton keynes is known for those things, it is perhaps not the first place when people think of

when you talk about culture. definitely. we have an amazing culture here in milton keynes. 0ur theatre is absolutely fantastic, we had a three—week of les miserables. we have fantastic amateur theatre groups, we have got the stables, which was founded by cleo laine and john dankworth. that is an absolute jewel in our crown. there is just so much to give. bud jewel in our crown. there is 'ust so much to mi jewel in our crown. there is 'ust so much to give. and the royal links? we have- -- — much to give. and the royal links? we have... wolverton, _ much to give. and the royal links? we have... wolverton, which - much to give. and the royal links? we have... wolverton, which is - much to give. and the royal links? | we have... wolverton, which is part of milton keynes was designed to be a railway town. it was designed to help build the railways. they had the most enormous operating system in order to build the trains back in the victorian era. so we started early. things like bletchley park.

lately park as you are aware, was immensely important to our effort in the second world war and we celebrate the enormity of that. —— bletchley park. it was... {lin celebrate the enormity of that. -- bletchley park. it was. . ._ bletchley park. it was... on a practical _ bletchley park. it was... on a practical level, _ bletchley park. it was... on a practical level, for _ bletchley park. it was... on a practical level, for anyone - bletchley park. it was... on a| practical level, for anyone who lives in milton keynes who is coming to visit milton keynes, what difference will it make having city status, what are their plans for the future? i status, what are their plans for the future? ., �* ,, ., ., future? i don't know quite what the tlans for future? i don't know quite what the plans for the _ future? i don't know quite what the plans for the future _ future? i don't know quite what the plans for the future are _ future? i don't know quite what the plans for the future are yet. - future? i don't know quite what the plans for the future are yet. we - future? i don't know quite what the j plans for the future are yet. we are a young town, our young city, 55 years old. we have got, we were built in the middle... we are equidistant between birmingham, london, oxford and cambridge, so they took advantage of the east west... sorry, start again, the west

coast railway line and the m1 and now we are getting the east west railway line being built. so we had all these businesses coming to milton keynes and we had people settling in milton keynes and it has grown and grown. ifeel absolutely... i guarantee this will continue to happen, we will continue to encourage businesses to set up here. we have a lot to offer. newly elected mayor _ here. we have a lot to offer. newly elected mayor of _ here. we have a lot to offer. newly elected mayor of the _ here. we have a lot to offer. newly elected mayor of the city _ here. we have a lot to offer. newly elected mayor of the city of - here. we have a lot to offer. newly elected mayor of the city of milton | elected mayor of the city of milton keynes, thank you very much. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. hello there. we saw a bit of a grey start to the day—to—day, outbreaks of rain from the word go for some of us and the rain is gradually pushing its way eastwards across many areas. so it is a cooler, breezier sort of day. rain at times but some sunshine developing as we head into the afternoon. we have this more persistent rain which is across to east anglia and the south east gradually clearing as we head into the afternoon and then

from the north—west, sunshine and showers working in. some of the showers quite heavy, could be the odd rumble of thunder, particularly in the west of scotland. temperatures 13—18 degrees. moving through this evening and overnight, the showers gradually clear from the northeast of the uk, so most of as seeing dry conditions, a few showers coming into the far north—west. we start of saturday morning with temperatures somewhere around about 8—11 degrees. through the day tomorrow, we have high pressure close to the south and east, so a fair amount of dry weather for many central and eastern parts. clouding over from the north—west with more showers for scotland and northern ireland, but a touch warmer than today, around 13—21 degrees. goodbye. hello. this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh and these are the headlines. the us warns that the uk will lose out on a free—trade deal, if it scraps post—brexit trading arrangements in northern ireland. ukraine's president says russian forces have "completely destroyed"

the eastern donbas region, describing it as "hell". nurseries say plans in england to allow staff to look after more children will not cut costs for parents but the government insists it could help lower childcare costs overall. and crystal palace manager patrick vieira is being investigated by police after an altercation with a fan as supporters invaded the pitch following everton's 3—2 win at goodison park. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's isaac fanning. good morning. the football association and merseyside police are investigating following an altercation on the pitch involving crystal palace manager patrick vieira following last night's game at everton, which saw the home side secure their place in the premier league next season. everton came from 2—0 down to clinch the three points

in dramatic circumstances, winning 3—2 with richarlison scoring the winner. that sparked huge celebrations and a pitch invasion and vieira looked to be taunted by an everton supporter. the frenchman appeared to then kick out at the fan before being ushered away by other supporters. afterwards, he said he had nothing to say. his opposite number frank lampard said this. i feel for patrick. i ifeel for patrick. i didn't i feel for patrick. i didn't get him at the end because of how it all erupted, but i wanted him to come in with us, i didn't get that, and of course there was a lot of fans on the pitch, it is not easy. but i don't know that there were any issues. it was pure elation of the fans that wanted to stay in the premier league that came on the pitch. the incident at goodison park is one of a number of altercations this week alone. last night in the league two playoff, swindon town were beaten on penalties at port vale.

but afterwards there was another pitch invasion where the swindon manager ben garner said his players were physically and verbally abused. the efl say that they will look at further measures over the summer. liverpool managerjurgen klopp has been speaking this morning and says he's concerned. these things when people cannot hold themselves back, like the two guys are busily— themselves back, like the two guys are busily now in the last two games, — are busily now in the last two games, they should for short not be there. _ games, they should for short not be there. but— games, they should for short not be there. but it— games, they should for short not be there, but it is always like this, things— there, but it is always like this, things happen, and i really hope we learn _ things happen, and i really hope we learn from — things happen, and i really hope we learn from that, so it is not a nice picture. _ learn from that, so it is not a nice picture. but— learn from that, so it is not a nice picture, but it isjust like it is and — picture, but it isjust like it is and we — picture, but it isjust like it is and we should make sure that nothing happens _ and we should make sure that nothing happens. people threaten themselves byjumping over whatever these kind by jumping over whatever these kind of things _ by jumping over whatever these kind of things i_ byjumping over whatever these kind of things. i think we can celebrate things— of things. i think we can celebrate things without threatening ourselves and the _ things without threatening ourselves and the opponent, i would say that is possible — and the opponent, i would say that is possible and we will see. arsenal women are keeping their star striker vivienne miedema has

signed a new contract. bbc sport understands that the women's super league record goal—scorer has extended her stay at the gunners by a year. 117 goals in 144 games since arriving from bayern munich the dutch striker said "i think the most beautiful thing about the game is building something with a team and with people around you that you really want to be around," want to be around." rory mcilroy goes into day to of the us pga championship top of the leaderboard. he's got a one shot lead as he looks to end his eight year major drought. he played some cracking stuff in oklahoma. this shot on the 12th hole set him up forfour straight birdies on the back nine. americans tom hogee and will zalatoris are mcilroy�*s nearest challengers on four under it was nice to get off to that good start and sort of keep it going. i

feel like this course lets you be pretty aggressive off the tee if you want to be, so i hit quite a lot of drivers out there and took advantage of my length, and finish that offers some nice iron play and some nice putting. rugby league next. st helens are back at the top of the super league after a 12—10 victory, over a warrington side that made them sweat. the home side, got off the mark early with a try from gareth widdop, but the visitors had too much quality for the hosts to handle. as tries from alex walmsley and tommy makinson put warrington's chances of victoryjust out of reach. that's all the sport for now. i will have a little bit more for you later on. isaac, thank you very much. see you later. nurseries in england say plans to allow staff to look after more children will not cut costs for parents. the government says it is considering changing the current rules in a bid to help lower the cost of childcare forfamilies, amid the growing cost of living crisis.

0ur education editor branwen jeffreys reports. oh, thank you so much. ashley has four children, including her new baby. it's two—year—old reggie she worries about the most. he has extreme allergic reactions. ashley trusts the nursery to watch him carefully. you just kind of need to have someone else take the lead for a little bit. would you be happy with there being more children per adult? probably not, no. i mean, the severity of reggie, so, a normal child... you know, it's such a massive responsibility to just do that for reggie. and to have loads more children, i don't know, i think it's too much. i found one! you found one, well done! this nursery in nottingham is facing rising bills. from wages to heating, everything is going up. and now they're looking after toddlers born in lockdown. a lot of nurseries say that coming out of the pandemic, they don't want to have more children for each member of staff.

because they've missed out on so much. quite a lot of children are needing extra help with their social skills and with their speech and language. oh, thank you! more children are starting school a bit behind according to new research this week. and rachel, the owner, tells me even if the rules changed, they don't want staff looking after more children. the children at the moment that we've got now, they need more support than ever getting up their development back to where it needs to be. we are seeing a rise in safeguarding needs. if anything, we need more adults to children at this time, not less. she worries it could mean the money for government funded hours being frozen. itjust feels like, oh, we need to cut budgets somewhere, and early years is where that cut is going to be. in england, for two—year—olds, there has to be one member of staff per four children.

many other countries including scotland allow bigger numbers, and that's why the government says it will consult on changes. ministers say it could help bring down the cost of childcare. in you get. down the road on the edge of nottingham, parents rush to drop off. for working families with children under three, it can be a big bill. see you later, love you! we have got savannah in, and wejust about to put our baby in as well. and it's more than our mortgage. it's a really hard decision to go back to work after my second one. i feel for those that perhaps aren't in the luxury of having a flexible job, working from home and have to go out to work and can't afford to put their children in childcare. it's a big part of our outgoings. and we have to juggle sending albert to nursery or going to work or stopping at home. and if we have a holiday or not. is that your chair? have some breakfast? for babies and toddlers up to two, it's one adult to three children.

this is when the cost is greatest for parents. and childcare staff like hannah have their hands full. sometimes we have points where one child needs a nappy change, one child needs to go to bed, another child needs a bottle and doing all of those things all at the same time, can become so difficult and very overwhelming. so before they consult on plans for england, the government is looking at scotland, france and elsewhere with firm proposals expected in the coming months. branwenjeffries, bbc news, nottingham. with me is neil leitch, the ceo of the early years alliance. and also i'm joined byjennie bailey, owner of sprat & winkle nursery in hampshire. welcome to both of you, thanks for your time today. neil, you have described these proposals is hideous. why?— described these proposals is hideous. why? described these proposals is hideous. wh ? �* , , ., hideous. why? because they are. i said earlier — hideous. why? because they are. i said earlier on _ hideous. why? because they are. i said earlier on today _ hideous. why? because they are. i said earlier on today actually - hideous. why? because they are. i said earlier on today actually that i said earlier on today actually that these are proposals that seem to be

put forward by people who have no understanding whatsoever of the early years sector, and they are doing it at a time when actually children are suffering, you have at the very same time as this proposal was leaked from number 10, you have her majesty's chief inspector going on the air and saying young children's development has stalled. they need more care. they need more support. you also have a situation where the government knows we have a recruitment and retention crisis in early years that we have never witnessed before. i have been around early years for nearly 20 years and i have never seen anything like it. we have people walking out the door, leaving in droves, because they are under pressure and exhausted, they are tired and undervalued. why would anyone with any common sense talk about making their workload tougher at this point in time, and why would

you deprive children who need more support of the ability to get it? it is hideous. let support of the ability to get it? it is hideous-— support of the ability to get it? it is hideous. , g is hideous. let me bring in jennie now. is hideous. let me bring in jennie now- good _ is hideous. let me bring in jennie now. good morning _ is hideous. let me bring in jennie now. good morning to _ is hideous. let me bring in jennie now. good morning to you. - is hideous. let me bring in jennie now. good morning to you. in - now. good morning to you. in scotland currently in early years settings, one adult can look after five children, in england it is one aduu five children, in england it is one adult to four children. do you think it would make a huge difference if that ratio was increased in england? i also think that if you think about childminders, the regulations in scotland — childminders, the regulations in scotland say that over eights have to be _ scotland say that over eights have to be counted in that number, and therefore — to be counted in that number, and therefore once that comes into play, we will— therefore once that comes into play, we will lose — therefore once that comes into play, we will lose even more childminders, because _ we will lose even more childminders, because their income for their places— because their income for their places will be curtailed by their older— places will be curtailed by their older children who currently they don't _ older children who currently they don't have — older children who currently they don't have to count as long as they can prove — don't have to count as long as they can prove that they are providing adequate — can prove that they are providing adequate care. so yet again you are cutting _ adequate care. so yet again you are cutting people's earning potential

and they— cutting people's earning potential and they will leave the sector. looking — and they will leave the sector. looking at families and the cost of living crisis, the iss is almost a quarter of families of household income of up to £30,000 a year spent 17% of their pre—tax income on childcare. will this proposal if it goes ahead help reduce costs for parents? goes ahead help reduce costs for tarents? . ,,., , goes ahead help reduce costs for tarents? . , , ., g goes ahead help reduce costs for tarents? . , ., g , parents? absolutely not. my staff are already _ parents? absolutely not. my staff are already really _ parents? absolutely not. my staff are already really underpaid. - parents? absolutely not. my staff are already really underpaid. we l are already really underpaid. we have _ are already really underpaid. we have huge — are already really underpaid. we have huge difficulties affording the administration time which is not accounted — administration time which is not accounted for in the money that we are allocated. we have to find funds for training — are allocated. we have to find funds for training those staff, if any more — for training those staff, if any more money were to come in, that is where _ more money were to come in, that is where it— more money were to come in, that is where it would go. but actually i think— where it would go. but actually i think the — where it would go. but actually i think the majority of us would choose — think the majority of us would choose not to increase our ratios due to _ choose not to increase our ratios due to the — choose not to increase our ratios due to the fact that we are seeing such a _ due to the fact that we are seeing such a high— due to the fact that we are seeing such a high proportion of children come _ such a high proportion of children come in _ such a high proportion of children come in with additional needs that we would — come in with additional needs that we would be using that funding to try to _ we would be using that funding to try to help pay for the time that we need _ try to help pay for the time that we need to— try to help pay for the time that we need to do— try to help pay for the time that we need to do all the paperwork to get those _ need to do all the paperwork to get those children some help and support, _ those children some help and support, because currently when they come _ support, because currently when they

come in _ support, because currently when they come in in _ support, because currently when they come in in early years, there isn't any provision _ come in in early years, there isn't any provision for them. so come in in early years, there isn't any provision for them.— any provision for them. so even if the ratio went _ any provision for them. so even if the ratio went up, _ any provision for them. so even if the ratio went up, you _ any provision for them. so even if the ratio went up, you wouldn't . any provision for them. so even if| the ratio went up, you wouldn't be adopting that practice? that is really interesting to hear, jennie. neil, back to you. i know you have done a survey at early years alliance, you have talked talk to staff and parents, and what have they said about these ideas? again, they said about these ideas? again, the atree they said about these ideas? again, they agree with _ they said about these ideas? again, they agree with our— they said about these ideas? again, they agree with our position, - they said about these ideas? again, they agree with our position, first i they agree with our position, first of all that it would not put money back into parents' pockets. the way to do that is government actually support parents and stop, and i use this word sparingly, but cheating on their position. the government knows that they under fund the so—called free entitlement. they know it would cost an additional £2 billion to adequately fund the system, and after 2.5 years of battle and trying to get them to show how they computed that figure, they actually stated that because they were short funding the sector, they accepted

that process to parents who do not get this free entitlement would go up get this free entitlement would go up by up to 30%, so they know where the problem is. tinkering around with ratios will do absolutely nothing. we know that children need more support, and they know that we are losing people, so they have to invest. , , , ., invest. jennie, let me bring you in for a final thought _ invest. jennie, let me bring you in for a final thought on _ invest. jennie, let me bring you in for a final thought on all _ invest. jennie, let me bring you in for a final thought on all of - invest. jennie, let me bring you in for a final thought on all of this. i for a final thought on all of this. the parents who use your nursery, what have they sent you about this plan? have they been talking about this much? isn't a concern for them, and even though everyone's finances are very stretched, is it vital to them that when their child is dropped off at your nursery or at any nursery in the early years setting that they know that there is just a small number of children being looked after by one person. hide being looked after by one person. we are a risk—taking setting as well, and we _ are a risk—taking setting as well, and we know that resilience and

risk—taking and school readiness and independence has been lacking due to the pandemic that we have been through — the pandemic that we have been through. it would mean that we would be absolutely strapped to offer children — be absolutely strapped to offer children those opportunities, and my parents _ children those opportunities, and my parents especially support us wholeheartedly in the sort of setting — wholeheartedly in the sort of setting that we have where we are allowing _ setting that we have where we are allowing children to take those risks _ allowing children to take those risks and — allowing children to take those risks and learn to judge things for themselves, and i don't believe that they fully— themselves, and i don't believe that they fully support us in not increasing ratios.— they fully support us in not increasing ratios. they fully support us in not increasint ratios. ~ g ., increasing ratios. well, jennie and neil, increasing ratios. well, jennie and neil. really _ increasing ratios. well, jennie and neil, really good _ increasing ratios. well, jennie and neil, really good to _ increasing ratios. well, jennie and neil, really good to get _ increasing ratios. well, jennie and neil, really good to get your- neil, really good to get your thoughts on all of those things today, jennie bailey and neil leach, thank you very much. the ministerfor brexit 0pportunities, jacob rees—mogg, has spoken out against the idea of a windfall tax on energy companies. labour has called for the government to levy a one—off tax on big oil firms to help alleviate the cost of living crisis. mr rees—mogg said it wouldn't work.

the question is what do you solve by a windfall tax? are you just saying that you don't like the oil companies, that might be a reasonable thing to say but it is not a basis for taxation. taxation is difficult because you are changing your understanding on what people do when they invest. it is difficult because tax on corporations ultimately falls on individuals anyway. it either falls on individuals because the company needs to maintain their net margin around the world, so they increase their pricing in the uk, or it falls on individuals because the profit doesn't fall through to the dividends that fund their pensions. so i think the idea that a windfall tax is a panacea to the inflation problem is wrong. the issue we have got to grapple with is how to get inflation back down, and we know what the tools for dealing with inflation are, they are monetary policy, fiscal policy, and that is really difficult because increasing

expenditure is likely to be inflationary, and their reforms to make the economy more efficient to take the cost out of doing business. are you saying you would never do a windfall tax? bre are you saying you would never do a windfall tax?— are you saying you would never do a windfall tax? are not commenting on what the chancellor _ windfall tax? are not commenting on what the chancellor will _ windfall tax? are not commenting on what the chancellor will do, - windfall tax? are not commenting on what the chancellor will do, that - windfall tax? are not commenting on what the chancellor will do, that is i what the chancellor will do, that is a matterfor his budget. i am merely saying that the idea that there is a honeypot of business that you can just raid whenever you feel like it is not true. all taxation ultimately falls on individuals, so when you are calling for a windfall tax, you're saying you want to pay more tax. that is an important thing to remember. tax. that is an important thing to remember-— remember. you talked about oil companies _ remember. you talked about oil companies and _ remember. you talked about oil companies and oversee - remember. you talked about oil companies and oversee they - remember. you talked about 0in companies and oversee they are remember. you talked about oil - companies and oversee they are very much involved in this. there is some disquiet that the fuel duty cut that the chancellor and your government put through hasn't really been passed on to consumers. this put through hasn't really been passed on to consumers. this is a matter of concern _ passed on to consumers. this is a matter of concern to _ passed on to consumers. this is a matter of concern to me - passed on to consumers. this is a matter of concern to me more - matter of concern to me more broadly. do consumers get the best prices that they ought to get? to our competition authorities work effectively to ensure that they put the consumer interest first, and

that they make sure that pricing is as clean and competitive as it ought to be. it is always very noticeable if one travels to the united states how much cheaper things are there than they are here, and we want to make sure that consumers get the best deal, that the competitions and markets authority which will be working on that very vigorously. i5 working on that very vigorously. is there a role for politicians to put more pressure?— there a role for politicians to put more pressure? politicians can put moral persuasion _ more pressure? politicians can put moral persuasion on, _ more pressure? politicians can put moral persuasion on, but - more pressure? politicians can put moral persuasion on, but cma - more pressure? politicians can put moral persuasion on, but cma has| moral persuasion on, but cma has legal authority. moral persuasion on, but cma has legal authority-— legal authority. there is one story toda , legal authority. there is one story today. and _ legal authority. there is one story today. and you — legal authority. there is one story today, and you may _ legal authority. there is one story today, and you may have - legal authority. there is one story today, and you may have not - legal authority. there is one story| today, and you may have not been briefed on this, this m15 agent, we have video evidence the bbc has seen of domestic abuse and so on, and yet this has all been kept off the radar. what are your thoughts on this? i radar. what are your thoughts on this? ., ., ., , ., this? i thought that was an exceptionally _ this? i thought that was an exceptionally good - this? i thought that was an l exceptionally good interview this? i thought that was an - exceptionally good interview with dominic grieve on radio four this morning, where he set out the case for national security implications from his role as being the former

chairman of the national security committee. i am a great believer in freedom of speech, and i commend the bbc for ensuring this was taken through the courts to get a judgment on what should be allowed. the national security card does sometimes have to be played, realistically, by politicians in a dangerous world, and the security services need protecting, but the bbc is performing a public service whenever it argues for freedom of speech. whenever it argues for freedom of s-eech. . ., . .,, whenever it argues for freedom of celebrity chef jamie oliver will hold a protest at downing street if the government does not scrap its delay to parts of its 0besity strategy. it comes after the government said it would be postponing parts of the strategy — including a ban on some junk food tv adverts, and restricting "buy one get one free" offers to assess the impact of the cost of living crisis. joining me now to discuss these issues is ben reynolds who is the deputy chief executive

of sustain which is promoting sustainable food and farming. really good to have you with us. we hear today that sainsbury�*s has now joined, i'mjust looking hear today that sainsbury�*s has now joined, i'm just looking at a tweet from your own organisation where you're commenting on this, sainsbury isjoining tesco in you're commenting on this, sainsbury is joining tesco in sticking to the planned junk food marketing restrictions, sainsbury�*s saying that it restrictions, sainsbury�*s saying thatitis restrictions, sainsbury�*s saying that it is calling on the rest of the industry to do the same, so clearly you would hope that the big supermarkets would take the lead on this. ., , ., ., this. indeed, and they are doing that because — this. indeed, and they are doing that because i _ this. indeed, and they are doing that because i think— this. indeed, and they are doing that because i think sainsbury's| this. indeed, and they are doing l that because i think sainsbury's or tesco, 77% of their customers said they wanted those supermarkets to be promoting healthier eating. but what we need to do is make sure that the government step in and create that level playing field for businesses so that those leaders like sainsbury's, like tesco's, like a couple of the other supermarkets, other food couple of the other supermarkets, otherfood businesses, are not being undercut by the lifeguards. yes. undercut by the lifeguards. yes, because at _ undercut by the lifeguards. yes, because at the _ undercut by the lifeguards. yes, because at the moment - undercut by the lifeguards. yes, because at the moment anyone who is dragging their heels on this, they are getting a bit more room on this, aren't they?—

aren't they? yes, we are calling on boris aren't they? yes, we are calling on iztoris johnson _ aren't they? yes, we are calling on boris johnson and _ aren't they? yes, we are calling on boris johnson and others _ aren't they? yes, we are calling on boris johnson and others to - aren't they? yes, we are calling on boris johnson and others to stop i borisjohnson and others to stop doing the u—turn, to stop playing with children's hell. we have an action on our website to try to convince people to write to their mp, to convince boris not to be strong—armed by a small cabal of right—wing mps who are playing politics with children's health. strong words from you, but you think that removing these junk food ads these multi—buys on less healthy products, do not think that that might help some people with the cost of living crisis?— of living crisis? sadly not. we work with a lot of _ of living crisis? sadly not. we work with a lot of parents _ of living crisis? sadly not. we work with a lot of parents across - of living crisis? sadly not. we work with a lot of parents across the - with a lot of parents across the country and old people on low incomes. there are much better things the government could be doing to solve the cost of living crisis, whether that is increasing benefits, increasing things like eligibility to free school meals, all the evidence shows the government's own evidence shows the government's own evidence and putting through these policies shows that things like buy one get one free on junk food

encourage people to spend more money. if the government went through with this legislation, it would create that level playing field, encourage businesses to actually shift their promotions onto healthier produce and staples, and i think we should also remember it is notjust things like these buy one get one frees, that are in the firing line, it isjunk food advertising as well, and that is slipping under the radar. it is really important that boris rethinks this u—turn on sticks to his plan, his own child obesity plan. this u-turn on sticks to his plan, his own child obesity plan. then, i'm sor his own child obesity plan. then, i'm sorry it's _ his own child obesity plan. then, i'm sorry it's a — his own child obesity plan. then, i'm sorry it's a short _ his own child obesity plan. then, i'm sorry it's a short interview. i'm sorry it's a short interview today, we are out of town. ben reynolds, deputy chief executive of sustain, thank you for your thoughts. the government's independent adviser on tackling violence against women and girls, nimco ali, has suggested her calls for street harassment to be made a crime are being blocked. she spoke on bbc�*s political thinking podcast with nick robinson and stated that her plan had endured "pushback". for me, i would specifically love

sexual harassment to become a crime, but that is something that, again, one of the things i have seen is a department and the secretary of state having an opinion, and there can be other things that push back... , ., ., back... other things, or other theole? back... other things, or other people? other _ back... other things, or other people? other people, - back... other things, or other people? other people, so - back... other things, or other people? other people, so it l back... other things, or other| people? other people, so it is back... other things, or other - people? other people, so it is not 'ust an people? other people, so it is not just an individual. _ people? other people, so it is not just an individual. so _ people? other people, so it is not just an individual. so i— people? other people, so it is not just an individual. so i do - people? other people, so it is not just an individual. so i do think . just an individual. so i do think that there is at times a very masculine conversation where the government institutions work, so we need to be able to address that. so why isn't this happening? because | need to be able to address that. so| why isn't this happening? because a lot of people — why isn't this happening? because a lot of people come _ why isn't this happening? because a lot of people come to _ why isn't this happening? because a lot of people come to the _ why isn't this happening? because a lot of people come to the same - lot of people come to the same conclusion. lot of people come to the same conclusion-— lot of people come to the same conclusion. ., ., ., conclusion. you how the government advisor, you — conclusion. you how the government advisor, you have _ conclusion. you how the government advisor, you have got _ conclusion. you how the government advisor, you have got the _ conclusion. you how the government advisor, you have got the backing - conclusion. you how the government advisor, you have got the backing of| advisor, you have got the backing of the home secretary! is it because people are number two who advised the prime minister think, i'm not sure i would have this argument. i am still going to have the argument, thatis am still going to have the argument, that is the whole point of being an independent adviser. we are allowing young women in society to be

subjected to the lived experiences which are going to have a massive detriment to their health on a day—to—day basis. detriment to their health on a day-to-day basis.— detriment to their health on a day-to-day basis. detriment to their health on a da -to-da basis. . ., �* , ., day-to-day basis. what i'm trying to tet at, day-to-day basis. what i'm trying to get at. though. _ day-to-day basis. what i'm trying to get at, though, they _ day-to-day basis. what i'm trying to get at, though, they aren't - get at, though, they aren't political advisers, people who try to win elections, don't have this row, this isn't the row you want to have. it row, this isn't the row you want to have. , ., ., . ., ., have. it is a lot closer than that, so i have. it is a lot closer than that, so i have — have. it is a lot closer than that, so i have become _ have. it is a lot closer than that, so i have become ok _ have. it is a lot closer than that, so i have become ok with - have. it is a lot closer than that, so i have become ok with how l have. it is a lot closer than that, | so i have become ok with how to avoid the question is, so i know i can go to that point but i can just say that the home secretary and other people within the home office are very much behind. i’m other people within the home office are very much behind.— are very much behind. i'm going to see what the _ are very much behind. i'm going to see what the prime _ are very much behind. i'm going to see what the prime minister- are very much behind. i'm going to see what the prime minister is - are very much behind. i'm going to | see what the prime minister is not, in this case. nimco ali talking there, and you can watch the full episode on political thinking with nick triggle this saturday, or on iplayer or bbc sounds. now it's time for a look at

the weather with sarah keith lucas hello. it is cooler and more breezy thanit hello. it is cooler and more breezy than it has been of late, rain at times. just going to be clearing off towards the east as we head through the afternoon. we have also got another system working in from the north—west, so showers for scotland, northern ireland, pushing into western parts of england and wales, this more persistent rain in the east clearing out as we head through the afternoon, so sunshine and showers, turning blustery particularly in the north and west later on, and fresher than recent days with temperatures of us 13—18 . into the evening hours, some late sunshine in the south, we are holding onto showers until parts have cleared over and most of us will start saturday on a largely dry note. temperatures 8—11 first thing

saturday morning. we have still got some showers affecting parts of northern and western scotland. but actually through the day, many areas are seeing a lot of dry weather on the cards, some sunny spells breaking through, particularly for parts of eastern and southern england, but again there could be the odd spot of drizzle that towards the odd spot of drizzle that towards the west and so showers are moving into the north—west of scotland and northern ireland as well. 21 degrees orso northern ireland as well. 21 degrees or so in the warmest spots on saturday, and as we move into the second half of the weekend, we are going to keep the showery rain across saturday night and rolling through into sunday morning, things looking drier in the south, because we have high pressure close to the south—east. low pressure to the north of the uk, and weather fronts trying to move in from the atlantic. so the next weather front then brings some more outbreaks of rain, perhaps one or two into northern ireland, northern and western parts of england and wales, further south across england you should stay dry and it's going to feel quite warm with a subtly breeze, and

temperatures in the mid teens. looking ahead into the first part of next week, things are rather unsubtle. we have got showers around, particular in the north and west, drier conditions for a time in the south but some more rain to be coming into the middle of the week.

goodbye.

this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh and these are the headlines... ministers throw their weight behind the prime minister after police announce he won't receive any more fines over lockdown parties in downing street and whitehall. the us urges the uk to resolve its dispute with the eu over post—brexit trading arrangements in northern ireland. we want to see this issue resolved and the _ we want to see this issue resolved and the temperature lowered and unilateral— and the temperature lowered and unilateral lines and it is particularly important right now where _ particularly important right now where we — particularly important right now where we need to send a message of unity right— where we need to send a message of unity right now to the world. ukraine's president says russian forces have "completely destroyed" the eastern donbas region, describing it as "hell". nurseries say plans in england to allow staff to look after more children will not cut costs for parents, but the government insists it could help lower childcare costs overall. eight towns that will become cities in the uk are named as part of the queen's platinum jubilee

celebrations. and crystal palace manager patrick vieira is being investigated by the police after an altercation with a fan as supporters invaded the pitch following everton's 3—2 win at goodison park. hello and thanks forjoining us this lunchtime. bbc news understands that the senior civil servant, sue gray, intends to complete her report on downing street lockdown parties this weekend. she has already criticised failures of leadership at number ten and the cabinet office. those expected to be named in sue gray's report are being given a deadline of 5pm on sunday to respond to herfindings before the inquiry is published.

the bbc has been told that the inquiry team has started contacting those who will be featured, and shared the information ms gray intends to publish about them. the closure of the police investigation means she's now free to publish the full details of her inquiry. 0ur political correspondent david wallace—lockhart reports. 126 fines were issued by the metropolitan police for events in downing street and other government buildings. only one of those went to the prime minister. some say that's one too many, others say apologies have been made and now it's time to move on. we didn't feel he was breaking any rules and certainly when i have been on the doorstep, some people do feel what he was fined for, perhaps the prime minister and the chancellor may have been a little hard done by. but even with that, he actually held his hands up and said, do you know what, i'm not going to argue about this, i'm going to take responsibility, i'm going to pay the fine, and i want to move on and actually talk about those issues that people are really worried

about like the cost of living or what is happening in ukraine. for opposition mps, it's the overall number of fines that's most shocking. they believe change has to come from the top and the prime minister must go. he presided over a place of work and his own home where there were 126 fines. i think there was clearly a culture of lawbreaking, i think that number 10 downing st was the venue for parties during lockdown, and i think the culture came from the top. the police investigation may be done and dusted, but the partygate fallout isn't over. the senior civil servant sue grey is expected to issue her final report looking into these events next week. the bbc understands there has been a lively debate on which senior civil servants will be named in this. and a cross—party committee of mps is due to investigate whether or not boris johnson knowingly misled the commons. for now, there doesn't seem to be widespread rebellion in borisjohnson's party. tory calls for him to stand down are limited. he hopes to move on from this saga. staffing structures in number ten

are being altered to try and enhance the support offered to the prime minister. but with reports and inquiries yet to come, we haven't heard the last of partygate. david wallace—lockhart, bbc news. earlier i spoke to our political correspondent iain watson — who told me what we may expect from the upcoming sue gray report into whitehall parties. she reached her conclusions back in january when she issued the interim report, the main report was then effectively put on hold because of the police investigation but at that time she spoke about failures of leadership in some parts of downing street and the cabinet office in the heart of government. she spoke about whether proper standards had been observed, she said that some of the events should not have taken place or should not have been allowed to develop as they did. so what we are likely to see when the sue gray report comes out, we expect early next week,

is some of the detail behind those conclusions, and the devil indeed could be in the detailfor the prime minister. while it is likely the civil service will be very much in the firing lines, some of the senior, permanent staff that the prime minister perhaps would have been badly advised by them on covid rules and which events he should have attended, nonetheless if you get the detail of the events he was present, some of his detractors will say, hold on a minute, can you really maintain that rules were followed at all times, and no guidance was broken? the kind of thing he was saying at the start of this process in parliament and some people therefore suggesting there could be the ammunition in this report for a future inquiry, which we expect to start soon by a cross—party committee of mps into whether he misled parliament or lied to parliament. first of all he will make a statement to parliament once the sue gray report is out and dominic raab, thejustice secretary told the bbc earlier that the prime minister

was being perfectly transparent and accountable to his fellow mps. i welcome the conclusion of the met investigation. i think it was important for transparency and accountability, and we, as you say, awaits the sue gray report. the prime minister has been very clear that that will be published as soon as swiftly as possible once we receive it. the prime minister will go to the house of commons and take questions, so again, transparency and accountability. i think he has been clear, in relation to things that happened at number 10 downing street, mistakes were made, lessons have been learnt. from the interim sue gray report to now, he has taken a series of actions to overhaul number 10, staff changes and the like. and we are getting on... whilst we await the final sue gray report, he is getting on with the job. in order to get on with the job, the prime minister wants to draw a line under partygate as soon as possible and it means he would be keen to see this sue gray

report early next week if it is possible at all. she will spend their weekend contacting people she wants to name and give them a right of reply before that report comes out. if that becomes a big fuss, there could be a further delay, there is this inquiry across the cross—party committee of mps. partygate could with us for some time. certainly today, at the beginning of this week, the prime minister was talking about the government's action against crime, he would like to get back to that kind of focus. not a good look when you see people have been fined in the heart of government. some people are questioning whether the money spent on issuing these fixed penalty notices was money well spent i could have been spent on something far more serious. there will be an argument that people should get the whole partygate scandal into proportion. critics of the prime minister

inside and outside his party will be suggesting that perhaps, notjust the civil service, the people around him, are responsible for what happened but the culture is perhaps set at the very top of government itself. i expect him to receive criticism when he makes a statement next week but i do not expect him to be ousted. the most seniorfigure in the us congress — nancy pelosi — has warned that the uk will lose out on a free—trade deal, if it scraps post—brexit trading arrangements in northern ireland. the speaker of the us house of representatives said the northern ireland protocol preserved the good friday agreement — which she described as the bedrock of the peace process. so how significant are her comments? here's our north america correspondent david willis. well, these are very stern comments from, as you say, one of the most powerful politicians in this country, the speaker of the house of representatives nancy pelosi warning britain that any amendment to the northern ireland protocol could jeopardise

the hopes of a uk/us free trade agreement, and such a deal, of course, has been an economic goal of the borisjohnson administration. it is a key promise, of course, of economic prosperity post—brexit, and the uk needs it badly. but in this very strongly worded statement, nancy pelosi makes clear that the northern ireland protocol is one of the cornerstones of the good friday accords which are in turn, the bedrock, as she put it, of peace in northern ireland, and a beacon of hope for the entire world. and she says that central to the good friday accord is the fact that there should be no physical border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland and of course should the uk choose to undermine the good friday accord, she says congress will not support a bilateral free trade agreement. you asked me the significance of these.

it is significant, although we have heard this from nancy pelosi in the past, nonetheless, this is the sort of rhetoric that echoes with not only her democratic colleagues but also those on the other side of the aisle, republicans as well, and they are shared, these sentiments, by president biden himself as well, who is of irish ancestry. he has intimated that he is not looking to set about starting negotiating a uk/us trade deal whilst the uk is still at loggerheads with the eu on this. derek chollet is an american foreign policy adviser at the us department of state. in an interview with our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, he said it was essential that the uk and the eu were united. i mean, this is a moment where vladimir putin is going to use any opportunity he can to show that our alliance

is fraying in any way. so, we value strongly the good friday agreement but at the same time, and we want to see this issue resolved and we want to see the temperature lowered and unilateral lines. it is critically important right now. where we need to send a message of unity to the world and not undermine all the things that we have been so successful in working on together in the last several months ensuring and showing unity in ukraine. president volodymyr zelensky has said the eastern donbas region has been completely destroyed by russian forces. in his nightly video address, mr zelensky described the situation in donbas as hell, accusing russia of carrying out senseless bombardments. after failing to achieve much military success elsewhere, russia has in recent weeks been focusing on donbas where moscow—backed separatists have already been fighting ukrainian forces for years. 0ur correspondent in kyiv james waterhouse gave us his assessment of the latest situation in ukraine.

because of ukraine's deep resolve, level of resistance and support from the west, russia has failed thus far to complete its original aim of toppling president zelensky and taking full control of the country. president zelensky is still in power and the russian advance has shifted eastwards. it's goals keep shrinking but nevertheless, the invading forces have seized this huge land corridor right across the south—east of the country, linking up troops with the eastern donbas region. it is also closer to the russian border and the thought is that vladimir putin, whilst he is saying his priority is taking the donbas region, he will also use this as an opportunity to replenish and resupply his faltering troops. whether he will want to launch something more larger scale after that, this is an industrial

part after that, this is an industrial part of ukraine with strong links to russia, the majority russian speaking population. some there feel soviet union nostalgia but the russians see it as their soil. it is, however, part of ukraine, it is part of the country. so, as a result, we are seeing once more a concentration of fighting there and president zelensky says it is almost completely destroyed. he has once again accused moscow of genocide, something russia denies. there are towns and villages which have been almost completely destroyed, hollowed out buildings, administration buildings taken out, society is unable to function. the fighting is getting bogged down and you wonder how much longer.

you're watching bbc news... meanwhile, russia claims that more than 1,900 ukranian soldiers have surrendered to their forces at the azovstakl steel works. we must stress that this news is being reported by the russian news agency, tass, who quote a russian defence minister. ukrainian forces had been holed up in the steelworks in mariupol for weeks. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's isaac. the football association and merseyside police are investigating following an altercation on the pitch involving crystal palace manager patrick vieira following last night's game at everton, which saw the home side secure their place in the premier league next season.

everton came from 2—0 down to clinch the three points in dramatic circumstances, winning 3—2 with dominic calvert lewin scoring the winner. that sparked huge celebrations and a pitch invasion and vieira looked to be taunted by an everton supporter. the incident at goodison park is one of a number of altercations this week alone. last night in the league two playoff, swindon town were beaten on penalties at port vale. but afterwards there was another pitch invasion where the swindon manager ben garner said his players were physically and verbally abused. the efl say that they will look at further measures over the summer. liverpool managerjurgen klopp has been speaking this morning and says he's concerned. these are things when people cannot hold themselves back, like the two guys now in the last two games, they should for short not be there, but it is always like this, things happen, and i really hope we learn from that, so it is not a nice

picture, but it isjust like it is and we should make sure that nothing happens. people threaten themselves byjumping over whatever these kind of things. i think we can celebrate things without threatening ourselves and the opponent, i would say that is possible and we will see. arsenal women are keeping their star striker vivienne miedema has signed a new contract. bbc sport understands that the women's super league record goal—scorer has extended her stay at the gunners by a year. 117 goals in 144 games since arriving from bayern munich the dutch striker said "i think the most beautiful thing about the game is building something with a team and with people around you that you really want to be around." rory mcilroy goes into day to of the us pga championship two of the us pga championship top of the leaderboard. he's got a one—shot lead as he looks to end his eight year major drought. he played some cracking stuff in oklahoma. this shot on the 12th hole set him up forfour straight birdies on the back nine.

americans tom hogee and will zalatoris are mcilroy�*s nearest challengers on four under. that is all the sport now. the health secretary sajid javid has said that the uk health security agency has confirmed 11 more cases of monkeypox in the uk. most of those cases are being described as mild. the new cases, new 11 cases, come on top of the nine cases previously identified with the initial case in someone having returned from travel to nigeria. sajid javid singh that the uk, the health security agency has confirmed these 11 new cases and he has updated health ministers on what he knows so far. he also says that the government has procured more doses

of vaccines that are effective against monkeypox. 11 new cases of monkeypox identified in the uk, most of them described as mild cases. nurseries in england say plans to allow staff to look after more children will not cut costs for parents. the government says it is considering changing the current rules in a bid to help lower the cost of childcare forfamilies, amid the growing cost of living crisis. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys reports. oh, thank you so much. ashley has four children, including her new baby. it's two—year—old reggie she worries about the most. he has extreme allergic reactions. ashley trusts the nursery to watch him carefully. you just kind of need to have someone else take the lead for a little bit. would you be happy with there being more children per adult? probably not, no. i mean, the severity of reggie, so, a normal child... you know, it's such a massive responsibility to just do that for reggie.

and to have loads more children, i don't know, i think it's too much. i found one! you found one, well done! this nursery in nottingham is facing rising bills. from wages to heating, everything is going up. and now they're looking after toddlers born in lockdown. a lot of nurseries say that coming out of the pandemic, they don't want to have more children for each member of staff. because they've missed out on so much. quite a lot of children are needing extra help with their social skills and with their speech and language. oh, thank you! more children are starting school a bit behind according to new research this week. and rachel, the owner, tells me even if the rules changed, they don't want staff looking after more children. for the children at the moment that we've got now, they need more support than ever getting

up their development back to where it needs to be. we are seeing a rise in safeguarding needs. if anything, we need more adults to children at this time, not less. she worries it could mean the money for government funded hours being frozen. itjust feels like, oh, we need to cut budgets somewhere, and early years is where that cut is going to be. in england, for two—year—olds, there has to be one member of staff per four children. many other countries including scotland allow bigger numbers, and that's why the government says it will consult on changes. ministers say it could help bring down the cost of childcare. in you get. down the road on the edge of nottingham, parents rush to drop off. for working families with children under three, it can be a big bill. see you later, love you! we have got savannah in, and wejust about to put our baby in as well. and it's more than our mortgage. it's a really hard decision to go back to work after my second one. i feel for those that perhaps aren't in the luxury

of having a flexible job, working from home and have to go out to work and can't afford to put their children in childcare. it's a big part of our outgoings. and we have to juggle sending albert to nursery or going to work or stopping at home. and if we have a holiday or not. is that your chair? have some breakfast? for babies and toddlers up to two, it's one adult to three children. this is when the cost is greatest for parents. and childcare staff like hannah have their hands full. sometimes we have points where one child needs a nappy change, one child needs to go to bed, another child needs a bottle and doing all of those things all at the same time, can become so difficult and very overwhelming. so before they consult on plans for england, the government is looking at scotland, france and elsewhere with firm proposals expected in the coming months. branwenjeffries, bbc news, nottingham. joining me now,

christine farquharson a senior research economist at the institute for fiscal studies who has been analysing the changing cost of childcare. good to have you with us. how much are people paying on average for childcare as a percentage of their income? ~ . ., , childcare as a percentage of their income? ~ _, , ., . ., income? when it comes to the cost of childcare for — income? when it comes to the cost of childcare for preschool _ income? when it comes to the cost of childcare for preschool age _ childcare for preschool age children, this is a story of two different groups. most families pay nothing at all forformal different groups. most families pay nothing at all for formal childcare, but 16% of families using formal childcare said they had difficulty meeting that cost and some of the families within that group are paying really quite a lot. 50 families within that group are paying really quite a lot. so why that disparity? _ paying really quite a lot. so why that disparity? partly _ paying really quite a lot. so why that disparity? partly it - paying really quite a lot. so why that disparity? partly it is - paying really quite a lot. so why that disparity? partly it is that l that disparity? partly it is that tuite a that disparity? partly it is that quite a lot _ that disparity? partly it is that quite a lot of— that disparity? partly it is that quite a lot of families - that disparity? partly it is that quite a lot of families aren't i that disparity? partly it is that - quite a lot of families aren't using any formal childcare at all, particularly for the very youngest children. forthree particularly for the very youngest children. for three and four—year—olds it is to do with this support the government already offer, 15 hours. 30 arrests for

those in working families. when you look at the very youngest children, thatis look at the very youngest children, that is the group facing the highest cost because of the ratios you have heard that where there is the least support available from the government to help families with those costs. government to help families with those costs-— government to help families with those costs. ., . ., , . those costs. how much does the cost of childcare — those costs. how much does the cost of childcare in — those costs. how much does the cost of childcare in england _ those costs. how much does the cost of childcare in england compared - those costs. how much does the cost of childcare in england compared to l of childcare in england compared to the rest of the country, and if there are issues increase in england, that would lead to savings being passed on to parents? people in the industry i have spoken to the that simply won't happen. it is in the industry i have spoken to the that simply won't happen.— that simply won't happen. it is true that simply won't happen. it is true that england _ that simply won't happen. it is true that england has _ that simply won't happen. it is true that england has for _ that simply won't happen. it is true that england has for one _ that simply won't happen. it is true that england has for one into - that england has for one into —year—olds, some of the tightest ratios across europe. norway has tighter ratios for two—year—olds, that does not mean it is costless to really relax those ratios. there might be concerns around the quality of care providers can offer, handling more children at once. what we find in our research as some of

the existing programmes that support parents with the cost of childcare are not working as well as they could be and improving the take—up of those programmes would be a good place to start. bud of those programmes would be a good place to start-— place to start. and where there are errors or free _ place to start. and where there are errors or free hours _ place to start. and where there are errors or free hours entitlement. place to start. and where there are j errors or free hours entitlement for some households, do you think those households are fully aware of what they can get in terms of free childcare? in they can get in terms of free childcare?— childcare? in terms of free childcare. _ childcare? in terms of free childcare, awareness - childcare? in terms of free childcare, awareness and i childcare? in terms of free - childcare, awareness and take-up is childcare, awareness and take—up is high especially for the universal 15 hours three and four—year—olds. particularly three and four—year—olds, all of them take up some of that free entitlement. half are not taking up the full number of free as they are entitled to and that suggests there is scope for families to increase the amount of childcare they use at those slightly older ages without having to be more straightaway. older ages without having to be more straightaway-— straightaway. good to get your thouthts straightaway. good to get your thoughts on — straightaway. good to get your thoughts on all _ straightaway. good to get your thoughts on all of _ straightaway. good to get your thoughts on all of that, - straightaway. good to get your.

thoughts on all of that, christine. from the institute for fiscal studies. let me bring in some of the comments you have been bringing in, around proposals to increase the ratio. staff looking after more children in early years settings. this is the family of a nine—month—old baby who died in a nursery last year, this is under investigation. they see these changes are ludicrous and appalling. sue cowley, she is chair of every school committee, we voted yesterday to increase our fees otherwise we have to close because we would be unsustainable. changing ratios is fiddling. society already undervalues and underplays the early years sector, i have worked with incredible people who work as hard as primary and secondary all year around and for significantly less

pat’- around and for significantly less pay. it will add to the stresses of people onto early years front line. the government is trying but following what successful countries do and properly fund early years education. thank you very much for sending in your comments on that story. you can continue to do that. on twitter stop if i have time i will read out more of those comments. the ministerfor brexit 0pportunities, jacob rees—mogg, has spoken out against the idea of a windfall tax on energy companies. labour has called for the government to levy a one—off tax on big oil firms to help alleviate the cost of living crisis. mr rees—mogg said it wouldn't work. the question is what do you solve my windfall tax? the reasonable thing to say it is not a good basis for taxation. it is difficult because you are changing the understanding

of what people do when they invest. it is difficult because tax on corporations ultimately falls on individuals anyway. eitherfalls corporations ultimately falls on individuals anyway. either falls on individuals anyway. either falls on individuals because the company to maintain their net margin around the world, increase their price in the uk or it falls on individuals because the profit doesn't pull through to the dividends that fund their pensions. i think the idea that a windfall tax as a panacea to the inflation problem is wrong. the issue we have got to grapple with is how to get inflation back down and we know what the tools for dealing with inflation are, money policy, fiscal policy and this is difficult because increasing expenditure is likely to be inflationary and there are supply—side reforms to take costs out of doing business. are supply-side reforms to take costs out of doing business. when ou never costs out of doing business. when you never see _ costs out of doing business. when you never see never _ costs out of doing business. when you never see never to _ costs out of doing business. when you never see never to windfall i costs out of doing business. when you never see never to windfall tax? i am not commenting on what the chancellor will do, that is up to him and his budget. the idea that

there is a honeypot of business that you can read whenever you feel like it is not true. all taxation falls on individual so when you are calling for a windfall tax, you say you want to pay more tax will stop thatis you want to pay more tax will stop that is the important thing to remember. he that is the important thing to remember-— that is the important thing to remember. ., ,, ., ., remember. he talked about oil companies _ remember. he talked about oil companies and _ remember. he talked about oil companies and they _ remember. he talked about oil companies and they are - remember. he talked about oil. companies and they are involved remember. he talked about oil- companies and they are involved in this. there is some disquiet at the fuel duty cut that the your chance of it through, then passed onto consumers. of it through, then passed onto consumers-— of it through, then passed onto consumers. ., ., . consumers. this a matter of concern more broadly- _ consumers. this a matter of concern more broadly. do _ consumers. this a matter of concern more broadly. do consumers - consumers. this a matter of concern more broadly. do consumers get - consumers. this a matter of concern j more broadly. do consumers get the best prices that they ought to get, do a competition authorities work effectively to ensure that they put the consumer interest first and that they make sure that pricing is as keen and competitive as it ought to be. it is always very noticeable when one travels to the united states how much cheaper things are in the united states than they are here and we want to make sure consumers get the best deal, that the competitions and market authority may be working on that and

thoroughly. is it authority may be working on that and thorouthl . , , ., authority may be working on that and thorouthl. , , ., u, , thoroughly. is it up to politicians to run or pressure? _ thoroughly. is it up to politicians to run or pressure? politicians i thoroughly. is it up to politicians i to run or pressure? politicians can tut moral to run or pressure? politicians can put moral persuasion _ to run or pressure? politicians can put moral persuasion on _ to run or pressure? politicians can put moral persuasion on but - to run or pressure? politicians can put moral persuasion on but they| put moral persuasion on but they have legal authority.— put moral persuasion on but they have legal authority. there is one sto and have legal authority. there is one story and you _ have legal authority. there is one story and you may _ have legal authority. there is one story and you may not _ have legal authority. there is one story and you may not have - have legal authority. there is one story and you may not have been | story and you may not have been briefed on this, this m15 agent who we have video evidence, the bbc have seen of domestic abuse and so on and yet this has all been kept, you know off the radar. yet this has all been kept, you know off the radar-— off the radar. what are your thoughts — off the radar. what are your thoughts on _ off the radar. what are your thoughts on it? _ off the radar. what are your thoughts on it? i— off the radar. what are your thoughts on it? i thought i off the radar. what are your thoughts on it? i thought it| off the radar. what are your- thoughts on it? i thought it was an exceptional good interview on radio four this morning with dominic grieve where he set out the case for the national security implications and from his role as being the former chairman of the national security committee. i am a great believer in freedom of speech and i commend the bbc for ensuring this was taken through the courts to get a judgment on what should be allowed. the national security card does sometimes have to be played realistically by politicians in a

dangerous world and the security services need protecting. but the bbc is performing a public service whenever it argues for freedom of speech. good afternoon. we have had some pretty soggy weather so far this friday, and the radar picture shows this area are pretty heavy rain that has been affecting many parts of england, clipping into east wales. this band of rain working into western scotland and northern ireland will make progress eastwards through the day. but even where we have sunshine, some pretty heavy showers popping up, breezy and cooler than it has been, 15—18 . through this evening and overnight, the rain will fade and we will see a window of clear skies before more cloud starts to roll in from the west through the end of the night. for saturday, england and wales having a mainly dry day with patchy cloud and sunny spells, a small

chance of one or two slight showers, eastern scotland staying brighter, highs of 14—21, and then a quick look at sunday's weather, it will be warmer for many particularly in the south—east corner, highs of 21 degrees and rain further north and west. hello. this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh and these are the headlines. ministers throw their weight behind the prime minister after police announce he won't receive any more fines over lockdown parties in downing street and whitehall. the us urges the uk to resolve its dispute with the eu over post—brexit trading arrangements in northern ireland. ukraine's president says russian forces have "completely destroyed" the eastern donbas region, describing it as "hell". nurseries say plans in england to allow staff to look after more children will not cut costs for parents but the government insists it could help lower

childcare costs overall. eight towns that will become cities in the uk are named as part of the queen's platinum jubilee celebrations. and crystal palace manager patrick vieira is being investigated by the police after an altercation with a fan as supporters invaded the pitch following everton's 3—2 win at goodison park. the government's independent adviser on tackling violence against women and girls, nimco ali, has suggested her calls for street harassment to be made a crime are being blocked. she spoke on bbc�*s political thinking podcast with nick robinson and stated that her plan had endured "pushback". for me, i would specifically love sexual harassment to become a crime, but that is something that, again, one of the things i have seen is a department and a secretary

of state having an opinion, and there can be other things that push back... other things, or other people? 0ther other people, and cabinet responsibility is a thing, it is not just an individual. so i do think that there is at times a very masculine conversation where the government institutions work, so we need to be able to address that. so why isn't this happening? because a lot of people come to the same conclusion. you say a lot of people. you other government— you say a lot of people. you other government adviser, you have got the backing _ government adviser, you have got the backing of— government adviser, you have got the backing of the home secretary. is it because people are number 10 who advised the prime minister think, i'm not sure i would have this argument. i am still going to have the argument, that is the whole point of being an independent adviser. we are allowing young women in society to be subjected to lived experiences which are going to have a massive detriment to their health on a day—to—day basis. what i'm trying to get at, though, they aren't political advisers,

people who try to win elections, don't have this row, this isn't the row you want to have. it is a lot closer than that, so i have become ok with how to avoid the question is, so i know i can go to that point but i can just say that the home secretary and other people within the home office are very much behind. i'm going to assume what the prime minister is not, in this case. and you can watch the full interview on this weeks episode of political thinking with nick robinson on the bbc news channel on saturday at 8:30 or on demand on bbc iplayer and bbc sounds. andrea simon, the director of end violence against women coaltion, joins us now. thank you very much for your time today. it must be very concerning for you when the person whose job it

is to campaign against violence against women and girls, her campaign has been blocked. i think it is blocked. _ campaign has been blocked. i think it is blocked, the _ campaign has been blocked. i think it is blocked, the broader— campaign has been blocked. i think it is blocked, the broader concerns| it is blocked, the broader concerns that we have about the government's plans to tackle the violence against women and girls, it is a year since they published a rate review, but they published a rate review, but the reality on the grandest that we are still waiting to see substantial change delivered for victims and survivors of abuse. we are not seeing the impact of many proposals that were announced last year, and we have said for some time that pockets of progress are not enough. we have to look at the broad spectrum of different and connected experiences of abused women and girls, so they are subjected to across the course of their lives, it is something that is frequently minimised across society, which is problematic because it reinforces this is just a problematic because it reinforces this isjust a normal part problematic because it reinforces this is just a normal part of life.

but in terms of bringing a new law, there are serious concerns about whether any new offences in that space would be at all enforceable. it is already an offence under different p pieces of legislation, but when it is reported to police, cases are commonly closed with no action taken. cases are commonly closed with no action taken-— cases are commonly closed with no action taken. what would it take for it to be enforceable? _ action taken. what would it take for it to be enforceable? we _ action taken. what would it take for it to be enforceable? we know - action taken. what would it take for it to be enforceable? we know that| it to be enforceable? we know that the criminal— it to be enforceable? we know that the criminaljustice _ it to be enforceable? we know that the criminaljustice system - it to be enforceable? we know that the criminaljustice system is - the criminaljustice system is already failing rape and domestic abuse survivors, and those areas have all lows. it is very hard to think where we currently are how the police and the justice system could respond to the vast amount of public sector harassment that women and girls experience, and they can't prosecute rape and domestic abuse. the tiny, tiny increases in the cases of rape charge and we see are set against a huge number of sexual

offences, and they are at record highs as well. so i think it is a very difficult one to be able to see the police being able to cope with well, and what we don't want is to raise women's expectations, where they can report being publicly harassed, and the reality is that there isn't very much that is going to be done. but there isn't very much that is going to be done-— to be done. but surely if street harassment — to be done. but surely if street harassment was _ to be done. but surely if street harassment was made - to be done. but surely if street harassment was made a - to be done. but surely if street| harassment was made a crime, to be done. but surely if street - harassment was made a crime, and i absolutely understand and hear what you are saying, the practicalities of enforcement, but in order to get people to sit up and take notice and to begin to change their thinking on this, surely it has to come from the highest levels, that it is made a crime and obviously this is hugely concerning. hide crime and obviously this is hugely concerning-— concerning. we want to be really clear that the _ concerning. we want to be really clear that the best _ concerning. we want to be really

clear that the best thing - concerning. we want to be really clear that the best thing to - concerning. we want to be really clear that the best thing to do i concerning. we want to be really clear that the best thing to do is | clear that the best thing to do is to prevent harm before it takes place, and this is still lagging behind, and instead of maybe looking at this, why are we not focusing on properly investing in healthy relationship education for young people in schools, and although we see the start of some public awareness campaigns around changing attitudes and behaviour, that they ultimately drive violence against women and girls, we need to see that having a real impact by being funded for in the long term and very well, because that is the route, i think, to address most things that underpin male entitlement to harass, abuse and mistreat women and girls in this way, by trying to shift attitudes, public awareness campaigns, and we are not really seeing a focus there. andrea simon, thank you very much for talking to us today.

some breaking news from police who say they have arrested four men at goodison park, they arrested four men at goodison park yesterday following incidents involving pyrotechnics at the ground and the pitch invasion in the match between crystal palace and everton yesterday. three men were arrested for entering or attempting to enter a football ground while in possession of a flare or firework, and they will attend a voluntary interview at a later date, the statement says. the statement goes on that one man was arrested for a breach of the peace and later de—arrested. chief inspector andy rankin saying that we are grateful to the majority of fans who engaged with police and stewards, however they say they have unfortunately seen a trend to develop across the country of supporters setting off pyrotechnics inside football

grounds, and reemphasise that it is illegal to bring anything like a smoke bomb orfirework into illegal to bring anything like a smoke bomb or firework into a football ground. civil servants who are expected to be named in sue gray's report into lockdown parties in and around downing street have been given until 5pm on sunday to respond to herfindings. her inquiry team has started contacting those who will be featured in the document. borisjohnson is due to make a statement to the commons once the report is out. well, dave penman is general secretary of the fda union, which represents civil servants and hejoins me now. thank you forjoining me today. what concerns do you have around this? downing street say they have no view on whether soo great names of civil servants or not, it is an independent report. what is your thinking? independent report. what is your thinkint ? , independent report. what is your thinkint? , ., . .,

thinking? there is the balancing of tublic thinking? there is the balancing of public interest, _ thinking? there is the balancing of public interest, if— thinking? there is the balancing of public interest, if someone - thinking? there is the balancing of public interest, if someone is - thinking? there is the balancing of public interest, if someone is may| public interest, if someone is may be senior in the government, potentially with influence on the lawmaking, like was the case for the prime minister and the cabinet secretary, then it would be in the public interest if their name was in this report. but there are a lot of junior staff for whom that is not the case. and it may well be that for other staff there is no overriding public interest for them to be named, and this is an internal matter. so there is a really difficultjudgment calls to make, and the police will go on the evidence and what will have been reported on to sue gray, and she will have to make thatjudgment on whether somebody should be named. clearly there is a lot of media interest, and the consequences of being named. we have views on whether we think it is appropriate. do you think that there isn't the

public interest there if someone is named who isn't well known to the public, orare named who isn't well known to the public, or are you making the wrong call on that? to actually think that the public might be interested in finding out the stories that people who are behind these parties or involved in these parties who thought it was ok to be involved in these parties? that thought it was ok to be involved in these parties?— these parties? that was a difficult 'udtment, these parties? that was a difficult judgment. in _ these parties? that was a difficult judgment, in how— these parties? that was a difficult judgment, in how do _ these parties? that was a difficult judgment, in how do you - these parties? that was a difficult l judgment, in how do you determine what was in the public interest. i think you have to set it out, clearly there is huge media interest in this, perhapsjournalist clearly there is huge media interest in this, perhaps journalist who just think this is a good story, but you have to define that separate from what is actually in the public interest. you have to look at the individual involved, the seniority, the nature of their role. there is a

lot to juggle here to make those decisions, and ultimately they will have a significant impact on those who suddenly find themselves in the middle of the media spotlight, so sue and her team will be making the judgments very carefully. hide sue and her team will be making the judgments very carefully.— judgments very carefully. we have been told that _ judgments very carefully. we have been told that if _ judgments very carefully. we have been told that if someone - judgments very carefully. we have been told that if someone objects | judgments very carefully. we have i been told that if someone objects to what is being said about them in this report or has any issue with it that that could potentially delay the publication of the report further. surely that shouldn't be the case? if someone hasn't been found to be involved, and they want their name removed, could that delay their name removed, could that delay the report? this their name removed, could that delay the retort? , , ., their name removed, could that delay the retort? , ,., , the report? this is a bit unique in the report? this is a bit unique in the way this _ the report? this is a bit unique in the way this inquiry _ the report? this is a bit unique in the way this inquiry has _ the report? this is a bit unique in the way this inquiry has been - the report? this is a bit unique in the way this inquiry has been set| the way this inquiry has been set up, but when there is a more formal inquiry, and there could be some criticism, there is usually a process where they have a period to challenge factually what has been

said about them, so they can see what the conclusion it and can see whether that is the case or whether there is other evidence. it may well be that something akin to that is what is happening now, so it wouldn'tjust be a matter of objection, you would have to have a reason to be able to object to it, whether you thought it was factually incorrect or not written in a way that provided meaningful context, for example it made you look worse than you think actually would be necessary given other issues. so thatis necessary given other issues. so that is the sort of thing that they might be going throughjust that is the sort of thing that they might be going through just now that is the sort of thing that they might be going throughjust now in terms of it. might be going through 'ust now in terms of it. ., might be going through 'ust now in terms of it.— terms of it. dave penman, general secretary of _ terms of it. dave penman, general secretary of the _ terms of it. dave penman, general secretary of the fta _ terms of it. dave penman, general secretary of the fta union, - terms of it. dave penman, general secretary of the fta union, thanki secretary of the fta union, thank you very much. we just want to bring you some more on that breaking news from a short while ago, the uk health security agency saying it has confirmed 11 more cases of monkeypox in the uk, with most of those cases being described as mild. that comes on top of the nine previously identified, with the initial case having returned from travel to nigeria.

with more on this now is our global health correspondent naomi grimley, and we understand that the health secretary has informed other countries about these new cases. tell us what more you know. that is ritht. he tell us what more you know. that is right. he tweeted _ tell us what more you know. that is right. he tweeted in _ tell us what more you know. that is right. he tweeted in the _ tell us what more you know. that is right. he tweeted in the last - tell us what more you know. that is right. he tweeted in the last hour i right. he tweeted in the last hour but he has talked to other health ministers in the g7 about this, because it is notjust britain now, other countries are announcing small pockets of cases, we have seen them in portugal, germany, france and also further afield in the us and in canada. normally this monkeypox is linked to travel, it is linked to areas where it is endemic, so particularly west africa and central africa, but here it does seem to be transmitted in the community, and thatis transmitted in the community, and that is why i think they want to act fast. ., , ., , , ,, fast. how serious can this illness be? it fast. how serious can this illness be? it can _ fast. how serious can this illness be? it can be _ fast. how serious can this illness be? it can be serious, _ fast. how serious can this illness be? it can be serious, but- fast. how serious can this illness be? it can be serious, but most. fast. how serious can this illness i be? it can be serious, but most of these cases _ be? it can be serious, but most of these cases are _ be? it can be serious, but most of these cases are mild, _ be? it can be serious, but most of these cases are mild, and - be? it can be serious, but most of these cases are mild, and sajid i these cases are mild, and sajid

javid has gone out of his way to stress that. the other good news is that it can be treated, particularly if they use a vaccine for another disease, smallpox, because they are related they are able to use that vaccine both to prevent it if they know particular groups are at risk, but also in the early stages of it, so that is why it is key to try and pick up as many cases as they can now, and honestly everyone is now on the alert for these cases, and that is why we are seeing them come to the surface. is why we are seeing them come to the surface-— the surface. and 'ust finally, briefl , the surface. and 'ust finally, briefly, naomi, _ the surface. and just finally, briefly, naomi, is— the surface. and just finally, briefly, naomi, is anyone i the surface. and just finally, - briefly, naomi, is anyone involved in contact tracing on the way that we saw in the early stages of the covid pandemic to try to identify anyone who might be at risk? yes. anyone who might be at risk? yes, that has been _ anyone who might be at risk? yes that has been happening in the uk through health networks, which is why some cases that have been coming to light have been in the gay and bisexual community because it is being monitored through sexual health networks, but it is usually spread through skin to skin contact, so anyone could get it if they have

beenin so anyone could get it if they have been in contact with an infected patient. been in contact with an infected tatient. ., ., , , been in contact with an infected tatient. .,., , , ., patient. naomi grimley, our global health correspondent, _ patient. naomi grimley, our global health correspondent, thank - patient. naomi grimley, our global health correspondent, thank you i patient. naomi grimley, our global. health correspondent, thank you very much. covid levels have fallen to historic low in the uk, down from 1.5 million people per week in the previous week. it is the lowest level of infection since early december when virus level started to rise due to the 0micron variant. celebrity chef jamie oliver is holding a protest at downing street, and this is about the government's delay to scrapping part of its obesity strategy. it comes after the government said it would be postponing parts of the strategy including a ban on somejunk postponing parts of the strategy including a ban on some junk food postponing parts of the strategy including a ban on somejunk food tv adverts and restricting buy one get one free offers in order to assess the impact of the cost of living

crisis. let speak now to our correspondent who is there. jamie oliver talking to the crowd nearby. 0liver talking to the crowd nearby. what has he been saying? iwhi’eiiii. oliver talking to the crowd nearby. what has he been saying? well, he has been expressing _ what has he been saying? well, he has been expressing his _ has been expressing his disappointment that the government has taken this step. he has encouraged people to bring posters and even to bring puddings that are and even to bring puddings that are an eton mess. he is thinking that that was actually a negative that was turned into a positive because it was created when a pavlova was dropped on the floor, the bits and pieces put together and created a new pudding, the eton mess. so we are suggesting that the negative element here, which is of course the delay to the anti—obesity measures, could be turned into a positive by the government changing its mind. so as you can perhaps see behind me, there are a couple of hundred people who have gathered opposite downing street to support him, and amongst them quite a few young people, including jacob rosenberg, who is 17, and you have come from surrey,

haven't you? what motivated you to come all this way? iaihie haven't you? what motivated you to come all this way?— come all this way? we are all here today because _ come all this way? we are all here today because we _ come all this way? we are all here today because we do _ come all this way? we are all here today because we do feel- come all this way? we are all here i today because we do feel absolutely bombarded byjunk food bombarded by junk food advertisements. bombarded byjunk food advertisements. we see them everywhere we go, i see them on my screen _ everywhere we go, i see them on my screen is, _ everywhere we go, i see them on my screen is, i_ everywhere we go, i see them on my screen is, i see them on our streets. _ screen is, i see them on our streets. on _ screen is, i see them on our streets, on my walk to school, when i'm streets, on my walk to school, when i'm sitting _ streets, on my walk to school, when i'm sitting at— streets, on my walk to school, when i'm sitting at home schooling on my phone _ i'm sitting at home schooling on my phone it _ i'm sitting at home schooling on my phone it is — i'm sitting at home schooling on my phone. it is really hard to escape from _ phone. it is really hard to escape from junk— phone. it is really hard to escape from junk food advertisements. so from junk food advertisements. sc what from junk food advertisements. what you from junk food advertisements. ’sr what you the from junk food advertisements. 5f what you the government will do? i would hope they were diverse the delay— would hope they were diverse the delay in_ would hope they were diverse the delay in bringing back forward, because — delay in bringing back forward, because there are so many children in this— because there are so many children in this country who are at risk right now from being overweight or suffering _ right now from being overweight or suffering with obesity, and the delay— suffering with obesity, and the delay has put more children at risk, and i_ delay has put more children at risk, and i hope — delay has put more children at risk, and i hope that they bring it back so that— and i hope that they bring it back so that we — and i hope that they bring it back so that we do stop feeling bombarded byjunk— so that we do stop feeling bombarded byjunk food advertisements. when byjunk food advertisements. when ou sa byjunk food advertisements. when you say bombarded, _ byjunk food advertisements. when you say bombarded, what - byjunk food advertisements. ifnqe'i you say bombarded, what kind byjunk food advertisements. wie'i you say bombarded, what kind of byjunk food advertisements. wie�*i you say bombarded, what kind of ads? did they change the way you behave? did they change the way you behave? did they change the way you behave? did they make you eat certain foods, do you think?— do you think? advertisements work, com tanies do you think? advertisements work, companies wouldn't _ do you think? advertisements work, companies wouldn't spend _ do you think? advertisements work, companies wouldn't spend so - do you think? advertisements work, companies wouldn't spend so much i companies wouldn't spend so much money— companies wouldn't spend so much money on _ companies wouldn't spend so much money on them as they do if they didn't— money on them as they do if they didn't work —

money on them as they do if they didn't work. they obviously get young — didn't work. they obviously get young people, they get everyone to buy more _ young people, they get everyone to buy more junk food, and so delaying it is only— buy more junk food, and so delaying it is only allowing more junk food advertisements to keep on going out and influencing people, and so stopping — and influencing people, and so stopping that delay and stopping 'unk stopping that delay and stopping junk food advertisements is affecting people in this country. the government says it is only delaying these measures because it recognised obesity is a significant problem. why it is important as you see it to get these in place as soon as possible? $5 see it to get these in place as soon as possible?— as possible? as i said, delaying for as possible? as i said, delaying for a ear as possible? as i said, delaying for a year puts — as possible? as i said, delaying for a year puts so _ as possible? as i said, delaying for a year puts so many _ as possible? as i said, delaying for a year puts so many children - as possible? as i said, delaying for a year puts so many children in - as possible? as i said, delaying for| a year puts so many children in this country— a year puts so many children in this country at — a year puts so many children in this country at risk, and i think this bombardment needs to stop now rather than a _ bombardment needs to stop now rather than a year— bombardment needs to stop now rather than a year later. that bombardment needs to stop now rather than a year later-— than a year later. that is great, thank you _ than a year later. that is great, thank you very _ than a year later. that is great, thank you very much _ than a year later. that is great, thank you very much indeed - than a year later. that is great, thank you very much indeed for talking to us. that is all from us here for the moment at downing street. eight towns have been granted city status for the queen's platinum jubilee, with at least one in every uk nation as well as on the falkland

islands and isle of man. applicants had to demonstrate cultural heritage and show royal links in order to be considered for the title. charlotte gallagher reports. sun, sea and thejubilee. bangor on the east coast of northern ireland is one of the towns to be granted city status. on a gorgeous, sunny day like today, it's easy to see why bangor is so popular with day—trippers and holiday—makers. but for people living here in bangor, they want city status to bring more investment and shops and businesses for them to enjoy, as well. it would be lovely. i used to come down here when i was younger. it was a beautiful place. plenty of chippies and all around there. i do think bangor needs the money spent on it, though. _ you sort of worry about it being a seaside town. that's how you see it, and you were to lose it's a bit of character for that. hopefully it doesn't. judges praised bangor�*s community spirit, naval heritage and its royal links.

in 1961, the queen and the duke of edinburgh came here, with prince philip racing in the regatta. seven other towns have also won jubilee city status — doncaster, colchester and milton keynes in england, wrexham in wales, dunfermline in scotland, douglas on the isle of man and, over 8000 miles away, stanley in the falkland islands. so what makes a good city? for wrexham, judges commended the historical importance of the football club, which has been sprinkled with hollywood star dust due to its owners, the actors ryan reynolds and rob mcelhenney. the romans loved colchester so much, they made it a capital. stanley, in the falklands, was once home to prince william, when he was a search and rescue pilot. douglas, where the rnli was founded, will be the isle of man's first and only city. it's very special and i think so often, when you're on the phone

to somebody that doesn't know the isle of man even exists, to be part of that group of 38 that applied in the first place and to be one of those eight that's picked, i don't envy the people i don't think i would like to have been that person going through it all. but for them to recognise our city is just fabulous, really. it's great. being granted city status doesn't automatically bring new investment and is more symbolic. but places like bangor are hoping there will be a sea change in opportunities. charlotte gallagher, bbc news, bangor. the sunday times rich list has been released today with a record number of billionaires in the uk. the list was topped by the hinduja brothers, with a fortune of £28 billion with sirjames dyson

just behind them. the uk chancellor rishi sunak and his wife akshata murty also made the list for the first time with theirjoint fortune of £730 million, putting them at number 222 on the list. their appearance on the list follows intense scrutiny over the chancellor and his wifes finances in recent months. now, if you were thinking about going car shopping this weekend. you havejust missed out going car shopping this weekend. you have just missed out on this 1955 mercedes which has been sold at auction for $143 million, you definitely need to be on the rich list for that one. it makes it the most expensive car ever sold. it is one of only two that were ever built, and it was bought by an unnamed private collector. the money is being donated to charity. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich

good afternoon. the shield of cloud thatis good afternoon. the shield of cloud that is coming up from the south has brought some heavy rain across south—eastern parts of england, tending to clear through the afternoon, but this band of cloud and rain will continue to make progress across western scotland, north—west england and parts of north wales, and even where we see sunshine, scattering of heavy showers, even thunderstorms across northern ireland. quite breezy and cooler than it has been, 15—18 . this band of rain will clear eastwards, keeping a few showers across north—eastern parts, but for many it turns dry overnight, clear for a time although we will see more cloud rolling in from the west later in the night. temperatures typically nine, ten or11. in the night. temperatures typically nine, ten or 11. saturday will bring cloud and some outbreaks of rain across northern ireland and into the western side of scotland, but for much of england and wales, a lot of dry weather through the day, some spells of sunshine, equally some

areas of cloud. some light showers across parts of south—west england up across parts of south—west england up into wales. temperatures 21 degrees for london, may be 17 in liverpool, a fine afternoon for much of northern england, but the northern ireland we will see some showers into the afternoon, and for scotland this band of cloud bringing some outbreaks of rain, especially across western parts. north—east scotland should see a decent amount of dry weather through the day and a little bit of sunshine. as we go into saturday night, this area of wet weather continues to work across the north of scotland, and we start to see more cloud fringing into western areas, a frontal system moving its way to the north—west of the uk, and between these two weather fronts, the uk, and between these two weatherfronts, we the uk, and between these two weather fronts, we will see a lot of cloud, some list and work in low cloud, some list and work in low cloud, but with that as well, the feed of south or south—westerly winds bring the return of something a little warmer as we get into the second half of the weekend. so for sunday, a lot of low cloud, particularly for hills in the west. some outbreaks of patchy rain, heavy rain pushing into the north areas, and the best of the sunshine towards

the south—east corner where temperatures will be climbing to around 23 degrees. things will turn cooler again for the start of the new week, with some rain for a time, and it looks like turning dryer and and it looks like turning dryer and a little warmer towards the end of the week.