hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. this is outside source. mass strikes across france, as hundreds of thousands protest against plans to raise the retirement age to 64. we can no longer earn a decent living. we get up every day and struggle to have a decent life and finally we are told they are going to prolong our working life, but no, that's not good enough. we'll be getting the latest live from paris. also on the programme. 100 people are now confirmed dead at a mosque in pakistan — after monday's suicide bomb attack. and the uk will be the only major economy to shrink in 2023, according to the international monetary fund.

we start in france, where hundreds of thousands of workers are out on strike for a second time. they're protesting against president emmanuel macron�*s plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. eight big unions are taking part in the strike, which has disrupted schools, public transport and oil refineries. let's take a look. the first marches had started in the morning across the country, like this one, in rennes in north—western france. thousand of people also took to the street in toulouse, marseille and nice in the south of the country. and this was the scene in paris. the main cgt union claims more than a million people were protesting against the president's plans. there was also some clashes, police deployed tear gas, the authorities said they were stopping what they called radical elements

from damaging shops. let's hear from some protesters in marseille. i have to do another year because of this proposal which i hope will not come to anything, because that is what we are here for and it is a scandal to always make the same people pay. what kind of story is this? i am fed up. our wages are already being cut. we can no longer earn a decent living. we get up every day and struggle to have a decent life. and finally we are told they are going to prolong our working life, but no, that is not good enough. we will be there until the end. we will continue to fight to say that it is not possible. let's look at what they're striking about. france's retirement age is 62. the same as in sweden, portugal and greece. but much lower than many countries in western europe. the average retirement age across the european union is 65. italy and germany have moved towards raising the official retirement age to 67.

as is the uk. the french government says raising the pension age to 64 will bring in an extra 19.5 billion dollars, nearly 18 million euros, by 2030. the far—left leader jean—luc melenchon said the country was at a crucial point. take a listen. it is notjust an ordinary day of demonstration. it is kind of citizens uprising of the people who are protesting against the fact that the government wants to take away from them this very simple thing. the right to lead a human existence and therefore to stop working after a certain age because the body, mind, nerves have all worn out. mr macron is certain to lose. those disruptions i mentioned are having an impact across the country, as transport workers and others in public services walk off the job. one in three high—speed trains is running and only two driverless metro lines are operating normally in paris. the cgt union says at least three—quarters of workers walked out at the big totalenergies oil refineries and fuel depots,

although the company said the number was far lower. students also took part in the protests. and one of the main teachers�* unions says more than half of secondary school teachers walked out, though the government puts the figure atjust over a quarter. but the french government insists that its pension reforms are economically necessary. here's emmanuel macron speaking this week while in the netherlands. translation: first of all we must never forget that this reform - is essential when we compare ourselves to europe and we look at the need that we collectively have to preserve and save our pay—as—you—go pension system. so how big are these protests? and how do they compare to the one earlier this month? 0n the 19th ofjanuary, the authorities say some 1.1 million demonstrators turned out. the unions say it was more than 2 million. today's could be bigger. 240 protests have been reported around the country, in addition to strike disruption to transport, schools and other services.

around 11,000 police have been deployed as a result, around 4,000 in paris alone. i'm joined now by paris based journalist anne—elisabeth moutet. thank you for coming onto the programme. thank you for coming onto the programme-— thank you for coming onto the rouramme. . ~ i. ., ., programme. thank you for having me. hue programme. thank you for having me. huge numbers- _ programme. thank you for having me. huge numbers. we _ programme. thank you for having me. huge numbers. we do _ programme. thank you for having me. huge numbers. we do not— programme. thank you for having me. huge numbers. we do not have - huge numbers. we do not have official confirmation of the numbers out, we have some estimates and different groups which we will come to in a moment, but what do you make of the turnout of the protest? the fi . ures of the turnout of the protest? the figures are — of the turnout of the protest? the figures are so _ of the turnout of the protest? tue: figures are so spread of the turnout of the protest? tte: figures are so spread apart of the turnout of the protest? t'te: figures are so spread apart that of the turnout of the protest? tte: figures are so spread apart that i do not want to pronounce in them but certainly there were lots of people out there and probably more than last week. it seems that there is a kind of anger has solidified and which has got to do with as much of cost of living and the expectation that when you retire you will not have enough to live. so it is a combination of two worries. 0ne

about the specific system which is the pay—as—you—go system and the other is the current situation in the country with the feeling of injustice and the feeling of helplessness.— injustice and the feeling of hellessness. . , , helplessness. that is interesting because many — helplessness. that is interesting because many people _ helplessness. that is interesting because many people watching l helplessness. that is interesting i because many people watching this helplessness. that is interesting - because many people watching this in other countries like the uk where the retirement age is officially already significantly higher than in france and the thought of this and people coming out on strike just for moving the age from 60 to 264 seems unfashionable but you are saying there are other things going on as well. ., ., ., ,., ., there are other things going on as well. ., ., ., ., well. you have to point out as well that in britain _ well. you have to point out as well that in britain only _ well. you have to point out as well that in britain only half _ well. you have to point out as well that in britain only half of - well. you have to point out as well that in britain only half of your- that in britain only half of your system is pay—as—you—go the rest is pension based. in france most is pay—as—you—go when it was founded in 1946 you had eight people at work paying for one pensioner and now you have slightly fewer than two people paying for one pensioner and you can

understand what the government is worried about the sustainability of the other is that we have always had a structural employment in france, between eight and has been like that for decades. bosses have the tendency to fire people or not to hire people above 50. so what people are saying is i do not want to be unemployed for two more years and have a ridiculous pension after that because my being unemployed will not count. so we are talking also about a situation that is a bit different from other countries. that a situation that is a bit different from other countries.— from other countries. that is valuable _ from other countries. that is valuable information. - from other countries. that is valuable information. what i valuable information. what about where this goes from here? there is a debate in — where this goes from here? there is a debate in parliament _ where this goes from here? there is a debate in parliament as _ where this goes from here? there is a debate in parliament as you - where this goes from here? there isj a debate in parliament as you know, a debate in parliament as you know, a majority in parliament but he can make alliances. in the party on the right what used to be the great neo— gorgeous probably and they probably will vote for reform and try to get

some details and amendments changed some details and amendments changed so that what's left of the voters will not feel abandoned. the national reality which is the second largest group after macron�*s group which i think has 89 mps, if they say in the whole strategy where they show they are responsible, they say that that changes to the reform and want to be a part of government and therefore they might vote it, on the other hand the people who vote for it who are close people who voted for the communist party in france. she is a great deal of work in class, maybe not so working—class these days, vote and these people feel fragile right now and may not be happy. so all this means that there will be surprises and he did discussion and a national assembly where first of all outside there

will be pressure, a debate in the house and it is also like every kind of important bill. it is kind of referendum on whether macron is popular and he is not.— popular and he is not. fascinating stuff in the _ popular and he is not. fascinating stuff in the last _ popular and he is not. fascinating stuff in the last couple _ popular and he is not. fascinating stuff in the last couple of- popular and he is not. fascinatingj stuff in the last couple of minutes we are hearing from news agencies calling for more strikes on february the 7th and the 11th keeping an eye on that but for the moment thank you very much for coming onto the programme. to pakistan now to get the latest on that suicide bomb attack at a mosque in the city of peshawar. we now know 100 people were killed. rescue teams say they've now ended their search operation and no—one else is trapped under the rubble. many of those who died were police officers praying inside the mosque. this was supposed to be a secure part of the city. let's recap where the blast happened on monday. the city of peshawar is in the north—west of pakistan, near the country's border with afghanistan.

the mosque is in a compound in one of the most tightly controlled areas of the city, which includes police headquarters and intelligence bureaus. here's our correspondent in peshawar caroline davies: behind me are the gates to the police compound where the mosque was attacked around lunchtime yesterday. we now know that the death toll has continued to rise. today has been a day of mourning here and many flags have been flying at half mast. some have also begun the process of burying their dead. we attended one funeral earlier of a police officer and we were told that only recently he'd survived an attack that had killed some of his colleagues. we spoke to his brother, who described him as being big hearted and brave and that he wanted to continue to be a police officer because he felt it was his duty. this has sent shockwaves around pakistan because there are many concerns the scale of this particular atrocity, of this particular event, we have heard from prime minister shahbaz sharif, who has said

that this is an attack on pakistan. shahbaz sharif, who has said there's still some confusion about exactly who is behind this attack. yesterday, initially, it was claimed by a commander of a group that is affiliated to the pakistani taliban. but then later on in the day, a more central part of the pakistani taliban said that this was not to do with them. they distanced themselves and said that they do not carry out attacks on mosques. as you heard in caroline's report, the pakistani taliban have dismissed earlier reports that they carried out the attack. but pakistan's former ambassador to the united states, says it has has all the hallmarks of the group. it is most likely that pakistani taliban are one of their many offshoots. they are denying it only because they do not want pressure from pakistan on the iran taliban to act against them. all the hallmarks of a taliban attack are there in this particular case. sahar baloch from the bbc�*s urdu service has been to the hospital where the wounded are being treated. i am at the hospital right now where since morning more than 50 people have been brought in,

majority of those being treated here are police officers. these police officers were praying inside a mosque when a bomb went off. since than a lot of people are coming in looking for their relatives. at the same type some of the officers that i spoke with over here said that their family does not know that they are admitted inside of the hospital. at the same time i visited some of the homes of the officers who were killed in this bomb attack and majority of the families are asking questions as to how such a huge attack could take place at a place which is considered to be a security, and already safe zone. what we got to know so far is that there is a security operation across the city, a lot of people are not being allowed inside. so right now there is a lot of confusion, worry, but there is a question as to how they can stop, the government, basically can stop such terror attacks to happen in the future. we can cross live to lahore and bbc urdu's umer draz nangiana.

let's look at some of the potential fallout from this. some consequences. look at the devastation of that police force, so many lives lost. presumably it will have an impact on things like recruitment into the police. yes as we seak recruitment into the police. yes as we speak we _ recruitment into the police. yes as we speak we are — recruitment into the police. yes as we speak we are just _ recruitment into the police. yes as we speak we are just hearing - recruitment into the police. yes as i we speak we are just hearing another attack butjust happened where a police station came under attack from a militant group. police chief saying that there are no casualties on the part of the police but it was a big attack. so these attacks have been happening over the past few months. in the preference where this particular region in pakistan but now they are coming into the main cities as we have witnessed in peshawar. the government is already struggling with the economy and on the political front as well and this will be a huge challenge for the government. today in the parliament

they all called for a dialogue with all of the stakeholders to come together and reconstitute the policy because this is going to put a serious challenge to the government right now. serious challenge to the government riaht now. ., ~ i. , serious challenge to the government riaht now. ., ~ , . serious challenge to the government riaht now. ., ~ i. , . ., right now. thank you very much for brinuain right now. thank you very much for bringing us — right now. thank you very much for bringing us that — right now. thank you very much for bringing us that latest _ right now. thank you very much for bringing us that latest breaking - bringing us that latest breaking news there about this separate attack. i know you and your colleagues will be keeping updates up colleagues will be keeping updates up for us and details as we get them over the next few hours. back to the point, the government problem and how it can tackle the problem is there any confidence that there is a strategy and will to do it? the military officials _ strategy and will to do it? tte: military officials and generals met today and they also expressed their commitment that they are committed to root out the problem in the menace of terrorism from pakistan. but this will be a huge challenge because after the fall of kabul last

year to taliban we have seen an uptick in terror activities across pakistan. the strategy that they have been using so far is clearly not working, some of the parliamentarians today even criticised the former in previous government for the strategy of allowing some of the fighters into pakistan under the so—called policy of re—? so clearly they need to reconstitute the policy kinds terrorism and counter this which will be huge in the coming days. now to the uk economy, its predicted to perform worse than every other major advanced country this year. that includes being worse than russia. this is what the international monetary fund, the imf thinks. it predicts the uk economy will shrink by nought point 6% this year. it expects the uk to

be the only country — among the world's major economies — to see its economy contract. it says the forecast reflects the uk's high energy prices, high inflation and high interest rates. the us, germany, france, italy and japan are all expected to grow. but there is a note of optimisim for the uk — the imf believes things will improve in 2024, forecasting that the economy will grow by 0.9%. let's start by hearing from the imf about where the uk is underperforming. we have a very challenging environment in the united kingdom. we have a large terms of trades charge which means an energy crisis that is very strong and in a country that has a high dependence on liquid natural gas and a high pass—through of the wholesale price to the retail price. so this is adding to the cost of living crisis. we have environment with as a response to this high inflation there is a tightening of monetary policy by the bank of england and in the uk this feeds

quickly into mortgages because a lot of mortgages are adjustable rates. so a lot of homeowners with mortgages are seeing an increase in their mortgage payments. now the imf forecast for the uk is quite a downgrade on just a few months ago. this was what it was predicting in october: 0.3% growth for the uk in 2023, while it forecast contractions for both germany and italy. this is the imf�*s updated forecast, with the uk the only economy of the world's richest expected to shrink this year. here's our economics correspondent andy verity. the imf expects uk economy to do worse than other advanced economies not because of global factors but domestic policy. the bank of england is raising interest rates and the government has said it wants to restrain spending at the same time as it is raising more in tax from households not less. all of that takes money out of the economy so households and firms have less money to spend on everything else and that

is what slows the economy down. let's focus on interest rates. the bank of england has raised interest rates — or the cost of borrowing — sharply in recent months, to try to limit soaring inflation — the cost of things we buy. the benchmark uk interest rate is currently at 3.5%, with another increase expected in two days' time. so how does that compare with eurozone rates? the european central bank raised its key rate to 2.5% in december. and here's one economist on why homeowners in the uk tend to be hit harder than elsewhere by higher interest rates. we are more exposed to the rise in interest_ we are more exposed to the rise in interest rates because the way our mortgage — interest rates because the way our mortgage market works and other countries — mortgage market works and other countries where their mortgages tend to be fixed _ countries where their mortgages tend to be fixed for longer. we do have a bil to be fixed for longer. we do have a big proportion of mortgage fixed with a _ big proportion of mortgage fixed with a relatively shorter duration between — with a relatively shorter duration between 2—5 years. so not everyone will be — between 2—5 years. so not everyone will be immediately exposed within the yeah _ will be immediately exposed within the year. we could see 50% of

mortgage holders exposed to a rise in interest— mortgage holders exposed to a rise in interest rates and already factoring _ in interest rates and already factoring that in, potentially their spending — factoring that in, potentially their spending decisions. so what's been the uk government response? the uk chancellor or finance minister — jeremy hunt says many forecasts have been overly pessimistic about the uk economy in the past. he says... here's his labour opposite number, rachel reeves. britain has huge potential but 13 years of tory failer has been a drag anchor on our prosperity. today's imf assessment holds a mirror up to the wasted opportunities and it is not a pretty sight. the uk is the only major economy forecast to shrink this year. with growth

compared to our competitors for both of the next two years. —— weaker. the world upgraded, britain downgraded. growth even worse than sanctions hit russia. 0ne former deputy director at the international monetary fund has some sympathy with jeremy hunt's view. let's compare to the us to other g—7 economy— let's compare to the us to other g—7 economy is— let's compare to the us to other g—7 economy is looking back in 2023 but -ood economy is looking back in 2023 but good in _ economy is looking back in 2023 but good in 2022. if you take the three years. _ good in 2022. if you take the three years, 2022—2024 we will grow the same _ years, 2022—2024 we will grow the same as— years, 2022—2024 we will grow the same as the us. so look, i don't want _ same as the us. so look, idon't want to— same as the us. so look, idon't want to say— same as the us. so look, i don't want to say it's not bad because i think— want to say it's not bad because i think there — want to say it's not bad because i think there is a very important signat— think there is a very important signal as— think there is a very important signal as this. that is that growth is insufficient around the world and it is insufficient in the uk. that is the — it is insufficient in the uk. that is the main _ it is insufficient in the uk. that is the main message to take away from _ is the main message to take away from the — is the main message to take away from the imf today. many believe tackling inflation has to be the top priority. curtailing price levels is a goal that squarely conflicts with growth. so about the bank of england and the government have been focused

on trying to bring price levels back down under control to try to alleviate pressures from the cost of living. 0nce inflation is back down to more manageable levels, that is when the economy should think about growing once again. but carrying out major stimulus policies, like cutting tax or boosting government spending, can actually spiral inflation and worsen the cost of living crisis. so first and foremost, inflation needs to come under control. from that spring bread, governments need to think about growth. ——board. joining me is kitty ussher, chief economist at the institute of directors which represents many business leaders in the uk. thank you for coming onto the programme. thank you for coming onto the programme-— thank you for coming onto the - programme._ what is programme. nice to be here. what is our take programme. nice to be here. what is your take on — programme. nice to be here. what is your take on the _ programme. nice to be here. what is your take on the imf _ programme. nice to be here. what is your take on the imf forecast? - programme. nice to be here. what is your take on the imf forecast? i - your take on the imf forecast? i think most people are thinking growth is at best flat at the moment. my immediate reaction is that there they are too pessimistic for us to i expect growth to return

in the second half of the year. unless something changes that we are not aware of. so possibly it may be that their analysis is a little bit out of date because certainly in the second half of last year, the bank of england is being what we now know to be too pessimistic about its own growth forecast. it was expecting us to be in recession towards the end of last year and we know that is now probably unlikely from the way the data is coming in. so it may be that we look back on today's news and think that the imf was being a bit too sombre about the uk. having said that the underpinning analysis and the reasons behind the slowdown is certainly uncontroversial. the only thing that is not sure is how large and effective it is.— thing that is not sure is how large and effective it is. look to some of the reasons _ and effective it is. look to some of the reasons to _ and effective it is. look to some of the reasons to be optimistic - and effective it is. look to some of the reasons to be optimistic later, | the reasons to be optimistic later, first let's deal with the reasons,

in your eyes, whilst the uk economy is so sluggish. t in your eyes, whilst the uk economy is so sluggish-— is so sluggish. i think the main reason has _ is so sluggish. i think the main reason has to _ is so sluggish. i think the main reason has to be _ is so sluggish. i think the main reason has to be the _ is so sluggish. i think the main reason has to be the impact i is so sluggish. i think the main reason has to be the impact of| reason has to be the impact of higher costs which are constraining household spending. for those people who have less resources, it is honestly particularly difficult if you are living on a budget or if any penny that is coming in is going out. what is more unclear is the more affluent and who may have saved during the pandemic if they are not commuting into offices, whether they are spending more or trying to build up are spending more or trying to build up any possible savings at the can. if it is the latter that will be much harderfor the if it is the latter that will be much harder for the economy. if it is the latter that will be much harderfor the economy. iloathed much harder for the economy. what about brexit? _ much harder for the economy. what about brexit? brexit _ much harder for the economy. what about brexit? brexit seems - much harder for the economy. what about brexit? brexit seems to i much harder for the economy. what about brexit? brexit seems to have| about brexit? brexit seems to have had two noticeable _ about brexit? brexit seems to have had two noticeable effects - about brexit? brexit seems to have had two noticeable effects in i had two noticeable effects in the

data. one, that our export performance coming out of the endemic seems to be weaker than countries so it may be that the introduction of a more customs controls and of paper to fill in and hurdles tojump through controls and of paper to fill in and hurdles to jump through has caused problems in our own institute members who are supporting back. and also in some parts of the economy certainly not everywhere, so companies that were particularly reliant on migrant workers, who were coming to the uk perfectly legally but may have been less likely to do so now that britain has left the eu. it is hard to disentangle that from the effects of the pandemic when many people wanted to go back to their families many people wanted to go back to theirfamilies and many people wanted to go back to their families and communities anyway. their families and communities an a . �* their families and communities an a. �* ., ., their families and communities an a. �* . . ., ,, their families and communities an a. .. ., ,, ., anyway. i'm afraid we have less than anyway. i'm afraid we have less than a minute left- _ anyway. i'm afraid we have less than a minute left. so _ anyway. i'm afraid we have less than a minute left. so good _ anyway. i'm afraid we have less than a minute left. so good luck - anyway. i'm afraid we have less than a minute left. so good luck on i anyway. i'm afraid we have less than a minute left. so good luck on this. | a minute left. so good luck on this. what are reasons that we can be optimistic and hope to outperform the imf�*s predictions. tt the

optimistic and hope to outperform the imf's predictions.— the imf's predictions. if the bank of encland the imf's predictions. if the bank of england gets _ the imf's predictions. if the bank of england gets it _ the imf's predictions. if the bank of england gets it right _ the imf's predictions. if the bank of england gets it right and i the imf's predictions. if the bank- of england gets it right and manages to bring inflation down in a way that everyone believes it is coming down in a few months�* time that will boost confidence. and our member surveys suggest that actually the economy feels quite similar to 2019 which was not great but it was not a big recession either.— big recession either. absolutely fascinating _ big recession either. absolutely fascinating to _ big recession either. absolutely fascinating to get _ big recession either. absolutely fascinating to get your - big recession either. absolutely fascinating to get your thoughts big recession either. absolutely i fascinating to get your thoughts on the seat of the uk economy and those forecasts from the imf. we know these forecasts can change and people keep an eye on that in a range of other forecast coming out in the days and weeks ahead but for the moment we must leave it there thank you for coming onto the programme. thank you for coming onto the programme-— thank you for coming onto the programme. thank you for coming onto the rouramme. . ~ i. ., , ., programme. thank you. that is it for me in the section _ programme. thank you. that is it for me in the section back— programme. thank you. that is it for me in the section back in _ programme. thank you. that is it for me in the section back in a _ programme. thank you. that is it for me in the section back in a few i me in the section back in a few minutes i�*m but meanwhile to get me online. {in minutes i'm but meanwhile to get me online. , . . minutes i'm but meanwhile to get me online. , ., ., ., online. on social media on twitter.

i will be online. on social media on twitter. i will be back— online. on social media on twitter. i will be back and _ online. on social media on twitter. i will be back and just _ online. on social media on twitter. i will be back and just a _ online. on social media on twitter. i will be back and just a couple i online. on social media on twitter. i will be back and just a couple of l i will be back and just a couple of minutes�* time here on outside source on bbc news. bye—bye. hello there. we lost the cloudy skies across the south of the country today, and we saw a sunny afternoon for many. but it�*s a different story further north. low pressure passing to the north of scotland is going to bring a swathe of rain and gales, certainly to the north highlands in towards the northern isles. you can see this area of low pressure moving to the north of scotland there. lots of isobars on the charts. we�*ve already seen gales through the afternoon. those gales will get stronger through the middle part of the night. so these gales could cause some disruption for the north, far north of scotland, keep tuned your bbc local radio and to subsequent weather forecasts. so plenty of showers, blustery in nature affecting the northern half of the country, fewer further south as we head through the night. but it�*s around midnight, 1am—2am we�*ll start to see this swathe of very strong winds passing between shetland and

the north highlands there, gusts of 70—80mph for a time. those gales start to pull out in towards the norwegian sea by around dawn. there�*ll be showers or longer spells of rain across the northern half of the country, wintry on the hills. further south, bar the odd shower, it�*s going to stay largely clear, temperatures overnight range from around 3—6 celsius. it�*s that area of low pressure pushing in towards norway wednesday morning, taking the gales with it, but still going to be quite a blustery day across the north and the east of the uk. this weather front will bring some showery bursts of rain to northern ireland, south western scotland, north wales, northern england and into the midlands at times. sunshine, blustery showers for the north east of scotland, and we�*ll see some sunshine across the south and the southwest corner of the uk. double figure values in the south, single figures across scotland. now as we head into thursday, this weather front will pass across the north of the uk to bring outbreaks of rain mainly to the north and the west of scotland. looks quite wet across some western hills, maybe a little bit of shelter, so some brightness

for eastern scotland. but for northern ireland, much of england and wales, bar the odd shower, it should stay largely dry thanks to high pressure, variable cloud, some spells of sunshine, but very mild across the board, double figure values there. and you can see we�*re sticking in that milder air as we head into friday, thanks to this area of high pressure, it�*ll bring settled conditions. but later in the weekend, some colder air starts to push southwards and eastwards across the whole of the uk. so a bit of a benign story for the end of the week. rather cloudy and mild. things turn a bit brighter, but colderfor the second half of the weekend.

hello, i�*m lewis vaughanjones, this is 0utside source. mass strikes across france, as half a million people take to the streets to protests against plans to raise the retirement age. we can no longer earn a decent living. we get up every day and struggle to have a decent life and finally we are told they are going to prolong our working life. but no, that�*s not good enough. also in the programme... the bbc learns that the number of executions in saudi arabia has almost doubled under the kingdom�*s current leadership. and liverpool officially takes the reins to host this year�*s eurovision song contest — on behalf of ukraine.

we�*ve talked about strikes in france. here in the uk, we�*re being told to prepare for "significant disruption".with around half a million workers expected to walk out tomorrow — wednesday in the biggest day of industrial action since 2011. here�*s our education editor branwyn jeffreys. morning, everybody. good morning. greeting parents each morning, answering questions about strikes. this primaryjust outside leeds city centre hopes to be partly open, not least for all the working parents. if they go on strike, i think it�*s not good for kids. any day of missing school, it will definitely affect their education. i don�*t have anybody to look after my child. if this happens, i have to make a plan. i'm working, my husband is working. i'm lucky to work hybrid, - so i can do some arrangements to be for a few days. this is how i will show my support to the teachers. i what is our first step? schools have been told

to stay open if possible. here, teachers belong to different unions. under half belong to the union going on strike tomorrow. some schools already know they have to close. but for many others there is going to be huge uncertainty right up to tomorrow morning. that�*s because the school gets told how many union members there are, but the head teacher won�*t know for certain how many are going to go out on strike. the head teacher is most concerned about vulnerable children — the pupils who fell behind during covid. we�*ve had lots of questions from working parents who asked what they will do with their children on that day, and obviously, we have reassured them that if they are key worker parents, we can support them and if they are parents with vulnerable children, we can support those families also. inevitably, there are some families who are not key workers and they will unfortunately have to make their own provision if the school were to close. the situation is so dynamic that we are almost unable to plan for every eventuality.

what about in terms of the size of the population? two miles away, this secondary school will also mainly close as support for the strikes has grown. it�*s only year 11s facing gcses who will definitely be in, so i wanted to know what emmanuel and naomi think about the strikes. even in our school, we see that teachers are staying until maybe six or seven, marking books, and that�*s many hours, so i�*m feeling sympathy for the teachers. but at the same time, i�*m doing my mock gcses. considering we are year 115 and only just came out of covid and we are just getting back into the routine with school and everything, i think it's really going to disrupt our learning, in a way. and the progression isn't there for teachers. - for helen, a science teacher, strikes are a last resort, after a decade of her pay falling in value. it's so important to get i a good education, and yet, we are not valuing the people who give the children - that education. teachers are leaving in droves.

new teachers are not being returned and teachers can't be recruited. i experienced teachers are leaving, |and this has never been the case. people used to leave the private sector to become teachers, i because it was a good job to have. this secondary is in a group of 12 schools. only one of those schools expects to open fully, but they won�*t know who is striking until morning. going on strike is not the way to conduct a pay negotiation in a modern economy, particularly when it means disrupting a child�*s education and disrupting the lives of families up and down the country. schools face three more days of disruption in coming weeks. so far, talks between unions and ministers in both england and wales show no sign of progress. branwynjeffreys, bbc news, leeds. to saudi arabia now where the bbc has learned that executions

of prisoners have been carried out with no advance warning for theirfamilies. the country�*s execution rate has almost doubled under the current regime of king salman — that�*s according to a new human rights report. let�*s take a look at the figures. executions almost doubled between 2014 and 2015 — the year that king salman came to power. they then dropped significantly in 2020 and 2021. that coincided with saudi arabia�*s presidency of the g20 and the covid pandemic. campaign group reprieve along with the european saudi 0rganisation for human rights, has been documenting saudi executions for a new report. this is what they found. the death penalty has been routinely used to silence dissidents and protesters. that breaks international human rights law, which says it should only be used for the most serious crimes. at least 11 people initially detained when they were children have been executed since 2015, despite saudi arabia�*s repeated claims it is limiting the use of the death penalty against minors.

and lastly, torture is "endemic" in saudi prisons, even for child defendants. here�*s the director of the human rights campaign group, reprieve. saudi arabia has a regime of secrecy around the death penalty, so you have people who were arrested, tried, sentenced to death and then executed in secret. 0ur diplomatic correspondent caroline hawleyjoins me now. caroline, i want to go back to the initial thing that i started talking about, this idea that families are not getting advance notice about what is going to happen to their relatives. t what is going to happen to their relatives. , ,., ~' what is going to happen to their relatives. , ,., ~ ., what is going to happen to their relatives. , ., ., , ., relatives. i spoke to the family of this man. — relatives. i spoke to the family of this man. and — relatives. i spoke to the family of this man, and i _ relatives. i spoke to the family of this man, and i spoke _ relatives. i spoke to the family of this man, and i spoke to - relatives. i spoke to the family of this man, and i spoke to his i relatives. i spoke to the family of i this man, and i spoke to his brother who has been given political asylum in germany. he says that he was brutally tortured, that when he first went to visit him in jail a year after he was first arrested, he

found that his brother could barely stand to create the family because he was so weak. he could see bruises on him and his brother told the family that he�*d been given electric shocks. he was arrested in 2014. i was told that he had been actively involved in demonstrations in the east of the country against the saudi government. i looked the other day at some of the accusations made against him after it was announced that he had been killed, the family didn�*t know, so there was a final phone call about a month before he died, the family didn�*t know it was the last time they would ever talk to him. it came with no warning. and they still don�*t know what happened to the body or how the execution took place. the saudi press agency announced that he�*d been killed along with 81, 80 other people, anyone in all in the biggest mass execution saudi history in march of last year. i looked at some of the

accusations against him. they were wide—ranging, murder of security personnel, to rape, to robbery, to bomb making, to spreading chaos as well as trading and weapons and drugs. the exact same charges against many others as well. now, his brother told me they were all lies and he�*s said the hardest thing was not knowing that he was about to be killed and not knowing what�*s happened to the body. so be killed and not knowing what's happened to the body.— be killed and not knowing what's happened to the body. so what has been the response _ happened to the body. so what has been the response from _ happened to the body. so what has been the response from saudi i happened to the body. so what has i been the response from saudi arabia? i sent three e—mails to and official saudi human rights by and got no response. but the saudi embassy gave us the statement and it noted that many other nations around the world have the death penalty and that countries have different views about what penalties are appropriate. it went on to say, and i quote, "as we respect their right to determine their own laws and customs, we hope others will respect our sovereign right to make our own legislative choices." what those comments didn�*t

addresses the steep rise in executions under the crown prince or the way the death penalty has been used in controversy shall internationalize. i got a statement as well who told us that it was deeply concerned about the trend in the use of the death penalty in saudi arabia and increasing the number of death sentences issues and upheld including against offenders and for offences that don�*t meet the most serious crimes threshold of international law such as drug—related offences, and executions for drugs resumed in november after an unofficial moratorium. november after an unofficial moratorium-— november after an unofficial moratorium. ., ., ., ,, , ., we�*re going to the middle east now — it�*s day two of a significant visit there. the us secretary of state antony blinken — effectively america�*s foreign minster — has been meeting the palestinian leader, mahmoud abbas. here they are together in ramallah. it comes at a time of increased tensions between israelis and palestinians — with secretary blinken referring

to "a shrinking horizon of hope" for palestinians. here�*s some more of what he had to say. we can look to both sides to take some positive steps to try to rebuild confidence, rebuild trust, and that in turn lays the foundation for, at some point, pursuing two states. but i think in this moment, the most immediate challenge is, as i said, diffusing the cycle of violence that has people here, first and foremost, but around the region, deeply concerned. you heard secretary blinken there referring to a two—state solution to the israeli—palestinian conflict. he mentioned it during his visit to israel too. essentially what it means is an independent palestinian state in the west bank alongside israel. with jerusalem as their shared capital. on monday, antony blinken reiterated the message that the two—state solution was "the best way" to achieve peace. next — let�*s hear from the palestinian president —

mahmoud abbas. translation: we've always shown commitment to the resolutions i of international laws. the renunciation of violence and terrorism, the respect of signed agreements and we are now ready to work with the us administration and the international community to restore political dialogue in order to and they israeli occupation of the land of palestine, based on the 1967 borders with eastjerusalem as then. plenty of reaction to today�*s developments — this is an advisor to president abbas, speaking to the bbc. secretary blinken is right to say there is a shrinking rise of hope, there is a shrinking horizon for a political solution of ending the aggression, and he is right to call for a two state solution in line with international resolutions, and he's absolutely right, insisting the need for equal measures of freedom,

of security, of opportunity, of dignity to the palestinians and the israelis. he's right on all of that, but we see no approach by the us administration to do that, to achieve that, we even see the wrong approach, because that would not happenjust, this has been happening for a long time. let�*s remind ourselves of the context here — the recent violence. palestinian health officials say israeli forces shot dead a palestinian man at a military checkpoint in hebron on monday. israeli forces say that their troops had identified a suspicious vehicle. on thursday — ten palestinians were shot dead injenin in the occupied west bank by israeli forces. israel said that it was acting on intelligence about an imminent attack. on friday — seven israelis were killed when a palestinian gunman opened fire outside a synagogue in eastjerusalem. mhere�*s our middle east correspondent — anna foster. here�*s our middle east correspondent — anna foster. conflict that is many ways ebbed and flowed over the years, and the reason i say

that is because you have periods of time like now, where in the last seven days, there have been two deadly incidents, when injenin in the occupied west bank where israeli soldiers went in, they say, to deal with a potential terror plots. ten palestinians were killed. most of them militants, but some of them to civilians. and then on friday of last week, just a few hours into shabbat, a palestinian gunman killed seven people outside a synagogue in occupied eastjerusalem. so at times like this, a two state solution, some kind of peace, it feels really far away. but then if you look back at times in the past, if you look back to 1993, for example, the oslo accords, those discussions of the potential two state solution, the establishment of the palestinian authority to try to make that happen, now does not feel like a moment where we are close to a solution of any kind to this conflict. on monday mr blinken held high—level talks with the israeli prime minister

benjamin netanyahu injerusalem. remember, the government there has pledged to accelerate the issuing of gun licences to israeli citizens — in response to the attacks. it�*s also reinforced its troop numbers in the west bank. and called for measures against "the families of terrorists that support terrorism." jane kinninmont is the director of impact at the european leadership network, a think tank. she is a long time scholar and observer of the middle east. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on | the programme._ let's the programme. good evening. let's start with this _ the programme. good evening. let's start with this he _ the programme. good evening. let's start with this he idea _ the programme. good evening. let's start with this he idea of _ the programme. good evening. let's start with this he idea of a _ the programme. good evening. let's start with this he idea of a two i start with this he idea of a two state solution talked about over the last couple of days. how do you access —— assess its likelihood of becoming a reality? tt�*s access -- assess its likelihood of becoming a reality?— becoming a reality? it's a long time, becoming a reality? it's a long time. but _ becoming a reality? it's a long time. but in — becoming a reality? it's a long time, but in the _ becoming a reality? it's a long time, but in the foreseeable i becoming a reality? it's a long i time, but in the foreseeable future, most israelis and most palestinians do not believe that is just —— two state solution is coming. so there is a major problem of confidence for the parties on the ground. your

correspondent mentioned the oslo accords happening in the mid—19 90s. most palestinians were boring after that. they have lived their whole lives with the status quo. most of them don�*t believe that two state solution as possible. increasingly, israeli governments have been saying as much openly. now we have a very right—wing coalition in israel where several members have declared that they are not interested in a two state solution. 0ne they are not interested in a two state solution. one has had there shouldn�*t be as palestinian identity at all. so there isn�*t any hope locally that this is coming anytime soon because of a lack of political well and her leadership. that soon because of a lack of political well and her leadership.— well and her leadership. that is really interesting, _ well and her leadership. that is really interesting, given - well and her leadership. that is really interesting, given that i well and her leadership. that is really interesting, given that as the backdrop and given the fact that antennae blink and was repeatedly talking about this as the solution, does it mean effectively that this visit for any good it will do well and fundamentally change the dial at

all? —— antony bliken. t and fundamentally change the dial at all? -- antony bliken.— all? -- antony bliken. i think the --urose all? -- antony bliken. i think the purpose of _ all? -- antony bliken. i think the purpose of this — all? -- antony bliken. i think the purpose of this focus _ all? -- antony bliken. i think the purpose of this focus is _ all? -- antony bliken. i think the purpose of this focus is to - all? -- antony bliken. i think the purpose of this focus is to stop i purpose of this focus is to stop things getting worse both in politics and in terms of violence. —— antony blinken. politics and in terms of violence. -- antony blinken.— politics and in terms of violence. -- antony blinken. it doesn't seem likel that -- antony blinken. it doesn't seem likely that this — -- antony blinken. it doesn't seem likely that this current _ -- antony blinken. it doesn't seem likely that this current israeli i likely that this current israeli government and this current palestinian government will resume talks on a two state solution. but the framework allows the us government to say it is not a good time to build more israeli settlements. it�*s not a good time to change policies on the status of palestinians in the west bank. but it is basically conflict management. it is stopping things getting worse. it is stopping things getting worse. it is stopping things getting worse. it is not an expectation that there will be a peace agreement. but it may be designed to keep the idea of a two state solution on life support so that perhaps in the long—term future, things could change. that is really interesting. _ future, things could change. that is really interesting. i— future, things could change. that is really interesting. i want _

future, things could change. that is really interesting. i want to - future, things could change. that is really interesting. i want to come . really interesting. i want to come now to this tension, the violence, of course, because on both sides for it to end. where do you place that? the well, there will now be a blame game, the israeli coalition will cover tougher measures at the palestinians and there will be palestinians and there will be palestinians coming for with israel. something that may be useful is that now there are multiple arab states that do have peace agreements with israel that are going to help benjamin netanyahu in reining in some of his less experienced and more right—wing coalition partners from taking some more escalatory actions. but, again, people are trying to calm things down. they don�*t have an actual solution in mind. it�*s more about managing the symptoms. mind. it's more about managing the s m toms. ~ , , mind. it's more about managing the s mtoms. ~ , , .,

symptoms. writes, we must leave it there, but thank _ symptoms. writes, we must leave it there, but thank you _ symptoms. writes, we must leave it there, but thank you so _ symptoms. writes, we must leave it there, but thank you so much i symptoms. writes, we must leave it there, but thank you so much for i there, but thank you so much for coming on the programme. stay with us on 0utside source — still to come... the eurovision song contest comes to liverpool. we gauge the mood as the official handover from turin takes place. a quarter of children have seen pornography by the time they leave primary school — that�*s according to a report for the children�*s commissioner for england. dame rachel de souza warned that teenagers are often viewing porn involving violence towards women. here�*s our technology editor zoe kleinman. this is a growing problem, and the children�*s commissioner for england says the results of her study are very concerning. 13 is the age at which the average child views porn for the first time. the researchers asked more than 1,000 young people aged 16 to 21 in england for their experiences. some were as young as nine — around 10%. and a quarter of 11—year—olds, that�*s year 6 in primary,

had already viewed pornography. if you�*re worried, you can activate and personalise parental control settings on most home broadband accounts, on mobile networks, and on individual devices like games consoles, and on apple and google if your child has an iphone or an android device. it�*s a lot, there�*s no single solution, and nothing will capture everything. the children�*s commissioner says it�*s also important to have conversations about porn, ideally before a child gets theirfirst phone. and it�*s important to keep up with online trends if you can. there�*s loads of info on websites like internet matters. the 0nline safety bill is designed to make the internet safer for children. it threatens big fines for tech firms who expose children to harmful or explicit content, and even jail time for senior execs if they don�*t comply. it�*s currently making its way through parliament, and it�*s due to be debated in the house of lords tomorrow. it�*s up to the companies themselves

to choose age verification tools that can�*t be cheated, and some firms, like meta, which owns instagram and facebook, are already trying them out. but the children�*s commissioner, dame rachel de souza, says it�*s also up to parents, teachers and families to help prevent children from seeing inappropriate material. zoe kleinman, bbc news. this is 0utside source live from the bbc newsroom. 0ur lead story is... hundreds of thousands of workers are out on strike for a second time. they�*re protesting against president emmanuel macron�*s plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. to liverpool — where the first event of this year�*s eurovision song contest has been taking place in the past hour. this was the moment that last year�*s hosts — the italian city of turin —

handed over the so—called "keys" to this year�*s host, liverpool — which is staging the even on behalf of ukraine. i'm really proud to be able to host eurovision for liverpool but especially proud on behalf of ukraine. absolutely. strong words and there is only one way to do this. in true eurovision fashion, let�*s seal it with a handshake. cheers, applause. there it is! eurovision is officially in liverpool! well, that marks kick—off for the song contest — let�*s take a look at the eurovision calendar for the next few months. the 11th february is being dubbed "super saturday" — that�*s when seven countries will choose their entry for the contest. then on the 9th and 11th of may, the semi—finals take place — where the public will whittle down 31 competitors to 20. and on the 13th of may — that�*s when the winning act will be crowned. joining me is william lee adams, a bbc reporter and also the founder and editor of the world�*s most

watched eurovision youtube channel, wiwibloggs. thank you so much for coming onto the programme. thank you so much for coming onto the programme-— thank you so much for coming onto the programme. hello. greetings from sain. the programme. hello. greetings from spain- quickly. — the programme. hello. greetings from spain. quickly, tell— the programme. hello. greetings from spain. quickly, tell us _ the programme. hello. greetings from spain. quickly, tell us why _ the programme. hello. greetings from spain. quickly, tell us why you - the programme. hello. greetings from spain. quickly, tell us why you are i spain. quickly, tell us why you are in sain. spain. quickly, tell us why you are in spain. tonight, _ spain. quickly, tell us why you are in spain. tonight, spain _ spain. quickly, tell us why you are in spain. tonight, spain is - spain. quickly, tell us why you are | in spain. tonight, spain is choosing its era vision _ in spain. tonight, spain is choosing its era vision 2023 _ in spain. tonight, spain is choosing its era vision 2023 act. _ in spain. tonight, spain is choosing its era vision 2023 act. it _ in spain. tonight, spain is choosing its era vision 2023 act. it is - in spain. tonight, spain is choosing its era vision 2023 act. it is a i its era vision 2023 act. it is a spicy show going on around me, you may hear the noise. one of the jurors this evening, we have a tough task of who is going to deliver. . explained to us for people who are more casual fans of your ovation. they will just know more casual fans of your ovation. they willjust know it more casual fans of your ovation. they will just know it as more casual fans of your ovation. they willjust know it as one night, when events, when everyone tunes and. we are still ages away from starting. this is a whole process, isn't that?— starting. this is a whole process, isn't that? absolutely. it's sort of like the olympic _ isn't that? absolutely. it's sort of like the olympic games. - isn't that? absolutely. it's sort of like the olympic games. if- isn't that? absolutely. it's sort of like the olympic games. if you i isn't that? absolutely. it's sort of. like the olympic games. if you want to be competitive, you have to start years in advance. getting that pool of talent into the pipeline and then you have to choose. you have the competition domestically of who will represent us in front of millions of people around the world. and what

countries will be deciding all the way until mid—march. find countries will be deciding all the way until mid-march.— countries will be deciding all the way until mid-march. and 'ust remind us wh it is way until mid-march. and 'ust remind us why it is that to h way until mid-march. and just remind us why it is that to liverpool - way until mid-march. and just remind us why it is that to liverpool well, - us why it is that to liverpool well, we just saw their is the city that is hosting this year's eurovision? right, unfortunately you came cannot host despite winning the competition from us the uk stepped in and said we will co—host this event with you. it is very important to ukrainians that eurovision have a ukrainian case, so that's why they are so heavily involved. the uk then had to choose which city to hosting, liverpool has a great venue, a great diaspora of ukrainians and newly arrived ukrainians, so it made a very natural fit arrived ukrainians, so it made a very naturalfit for arrived ukrainians, so it made a very natural fit for the sign contest. �* , ~ very natural fit for the sign contest. �* , . ., ., , very natural fit for the sign contest. �*, . ., , ., contest. let's reflect on last year, because we _ contest. let's reflect on last year, because we are _ contest. let's reflect on last year, because we are seeing _ contest. let's reflect on last year, because we are seeing pictures i contest. let's reflect on last year, because we are seeing pictures of| because we are seeing pictures of the orchestra. talk is a bit about the emotion of that day. film. the orchestra. talk is a bit about the emotion of that day.- the orchestra. talk is a bit about the emotion of that day. oh, it was incredible- — the emotion of that day. oh, it was incredible- i — the emotion of that day. oh, it was incredible. i was _ the emotion of that day. oh, it was incredible. i was there _ the emotion of that day. oh, it was incredible. i was there in _ the emotion of that day. oh, it was incredible. i was there in the - incredible. i was there in the arena, and when they won, we sigh ukrainianfans arena, and when they won, we sigh ukrainian fans break down. this is about much more than a sign, it was

about much more than a sign, it was about showing the world that ukrainian culture exists and that it will continue to exist in the future. that song became a moment, a national moment in ukraine. it is still looped and played all over the place. they travel all over europe and the world as cultural ambassadors for the country. figs and the world as cultural ambassadors for the country. as he mentioned coming _ ambassadors for the country. as he mentioned coming uk _ ambassadors for the country. as he mentioned coming uk finished - ambassadors for the country. as he mentioned coming uk finished second, sam writer with a great song, and he became, well, a superstar since as well. is it too early now to look ahead? any contenders for this year's competition? we ahead? any contenders for this year's competition?— ahead? any contenders for this year's competition? we only have three song _ year's competition? we only have three song so _ year's competition? we only have three song so far, _ year's competition? we only have three song so far, and _ year's competition? we only have three song so far, and to - year's competition? we only have three song so far, and to be - year's competition? we only have i three song so far, and to be honest, none of them are very strong. so i don't think we have a eurovision winner quite yet, however, there are a lot of competitions coming up in the coming weeks, for instance, in spain, it does appear spice and cherry, you need some water and a cooling yoghurt after this. sweden is always good they have a massive six week national selection show on

prime time. watch for sweden. 2012 at it from sweden to a competing domestically this year, she wants to win again. domestically this year, she wants to win a . ain. �* , domestically this year, she wants to win aain. �* , ., win again. and i did remind us of the dates. _ win again. and i did remind us of the dates, but _ win again. and i did remind us of the dates, but because - win again. and i did remind us of the dates, but because i've - win again. and i did remind us of. the dates, but because i've already forgotten them, remind us of those key dates we need to look out for. may nine is semifinal line, the arena in liverpool, and the 11th, may 13, this is the grand final, you need to tune in. i may 13, this is the grand final, you need to tune in.— need to tune in. i will be doing that, no doubt. _ need to tune in. i will be doing that, no doubt. william - need to tune in. i will be doing l that, no doubt. william adams, need to tune in. i will be doing - that, no doubt. william adams, thank you so much for coming on the programme and talking us through everything we need to know, thank you. everything we need to know, thank ou. ., ~' everything we need to know, thank ou. ., " . ., everything we need to know, thank yom— right. _ everything we need to know, thank yom— right. just - everything we need to know, thank you._ right, just before i j you. take care. right, 'ust before i io, you. take care. right, 'ust before i no, a you. take care. right, 'ust before i go. a quick— you. take care. right, 'ust before i go, a quick reminder _ you. take care. right, just before i go, a quick reminder of _ you. take care. right, just before i go, a quick reminder of our - you. take care. right, just before i go, a quick reminder of our top - go, a quick reminder of our top story. in the past hour, french unions have called for more strikes and protests. this time on february the 7th and to the 11th. this is after today's mass action over president macron's plans to raise the retirement age from 62 up to 64. the french interior ministry says 1.27 million people took part in the

protests with some 87,000 joining the in paris. that is that for me. this has been bbc news. hello there. we lost the cloudy skies across the south of the country today, and we saw a sunny afternoon for many. but it's a different story further north. low pressure passing to the north of scotland is going to bring a swathe of rain and gales, certainly to the north highlands in towards the northern isles. you can see this area of low pressure moving to the north of scotland there. lots of isobars on the charts. we've already seen gales through the afternoon. those gales will get stronger through the middle part of the night. so these gales could cause some disruption for the north, far north of scotland, keep tuned your bbc local radio and to subsequent weather forecasts. so plenty of showers, blustery in nature affecting the northern half of the country, fewer further south as we head through the night. but it's around midnight, 1am—2am we'll start to see this swathe of very strong winds passing

between shetland and the north highlands there, gusts of 70—80mph for a time. those gales start to pull out in towards the norwegian sea by around dawn. there'll be showers or longer spells of rain across the northern half of the country, wintry on the hills. further south, bar the odd shower, it's going to stay largely clear, temperatures overnight range from around 3—6 celsius. it's that area of low pressure pushing in towards norway wednesday morning, taking the gales with it, but still going to be quite a blustery day across the north and the east of the uk. this weather front will bring some showery bursts of rain to northern ireland, south western scotland, north wales, northern england and into the midlands at times. sunshine, blustery showers for the north east of scotland, and we'll see some sunshine across the south and the southwest corner of the uk. double figure values in the south, single figures across scotland. now as we head into thursday, this weather front will pass across the north of the uk to bring outbreaks of rain mainly to the north and the west of scotland. looks quite wet across some western hills, maybe a little bit of shelter, so some brightness

for eastern scotland. but for northern ireland, much of england and wales, bar the odd shower, it should stay largely dry thanks to high pressure, variable cloud, some spells of sunshine, but very mild across the board, double figure values there. and you can see we're sticking in that milder air as we head into friday, thanks to this area of high pressure, it'll bring settled conditions. but later in the weekend, some colder air starts to push southwards and eastwards across the whole of the uk. so a bit of a benign story for the end of the week. rather cloudy and mild. things turn a bit brighter, but colderfor the second half of the weekend.

hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. this is outside source. mass strikes across france, as over a million protest against plans to raise the retirement age to 64. we can no longer earn a decent living. we get up every day and struggle to have a decent life and finally we are told they are going to prolong our working life, but no, that's not good enough. also on the programme. 100 people are now confirmed dead at a mosque in pakistan — after monday's suicide bomb attack. the us secretary of state antony blinken holds talks with the palestinian president — at a time of increased tensions between israelis and palestinians.

we start in france, where the authorities say one point two million people took to the streets to protesting against president emmanuel macron's plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. eight big unions are taking part in the strike, which has disrupted schools, public transport and oil refineries. let's take a look. the first marches had started in the morning across the country, like this one, in rennes in north—western france. thousand of people also took to the street in toulouse, marseille and nice in the south of the country. and this was the scene in paris.the main cgt union claims more than a million people were protesting against the president's plans. there was also some clashes, police deployed tear gas, the authorities said they were stopping what they called radical elements from damaging shops. let's hear from some

protesters in marseille. translation: i have to do another year because of this proposal- which i hope will not come to anything, because that is what we are here for and it is a scandal to always make the same people pay. what kind of story is this? i am fed up. our wages are already being cut. we can no longer earn a decent living. we get up every day and struggle to have a decent life. and finally we are told they are going to prolong our working life, but no, that is not good enough. we will be there until the end. we will continue to fight to say that it is not possible. let's look at what they're striking about. france's retirement age is 62. the same as in sweden, portugal and greece. but much lower than many countries in western europe. the average retirement age across the european union is 65. italy and germany have moved towards raising the official retirement age to 67. as is the uk. the french government says raising the pension age to 64 will bring in an extra 19.5 billion dollars,

nearly 18 million euros, by 2030. the far—left leader jean—luc melenchon said the country was at a crucial point. take a listen. it is notjust an ordinary day of demonstration. it is kind of citizens uprising of the people who are protesting against the fact that the government wants to take away from them this very simple thing. the right to lead a human existence and therefore to stop working after a certain age because the body, mind, nerves have all worn out. mr macron is certain to lose. those disruptions i mentioned are having an impact across the country, as transport workers and others in public services walk off the job. one in three high—speed trains is running and only two driverless metro lines are operating normally in paris. the cgt union says at least three—quarters of workers walked out at the big totalenergies oil refineries and fuel depots, although the company said the number was far lower. students also took part in the protests.

and one of the main teachers�* unions says more than half of secondary school teachers walked out, though the government puts the figure atjust over a quarter. but the french government insists that its pension reforms are economically necessary. here's emmanuel macron speaking this week while in the netherlands. translation: first of all we must never forget that this reform - is essential when we compare ourselves to europe and we look at the need that we collectively have to preserve and save our pay—as—you—go pension system. more now from paris based journalist anne—elisabeth moutet. certainly there were lots of people out there and probably more than last week. it seems that there is a kind

of anger has solidified and which has got to do with as much of cost of living and the expectation that when you retire you will not have enough to live. so it is a combination of two worries. one about the specific system which is the pay—as—you—go system and the other is the current situation in the country with the feeling of injustice and the feeling of helplessness. that is interesting because many people watching this in other countries like the uk where the retirement age is officially already significantly higher than in france and the thought of this and people coming out on strike just for moving the age from 60 to 264 seems unfashionable but you are saying there are other things going on as well. you have to point out as well that in britain only half of your system is pay—as—you—go the rest is pension based. in france most is pay—as—you—go when it was founded in 1916 you had eight people at work paying for one pensioner and now you have slightly fewer than two people paying for one pensioner and you can understand what the government is worried about the sustainability of the other is that we have always had a structural employment you have to point out as well that in britain only half of your system is pay—as—you—go the rest is pension based. in france most is pay—as—you—go when it was founded in 1916 you had

eight people at work paying for one pensioner and now you have slightly fewer than two people paying for one pensioner and you can understand what the government is worried about the sustainability of the other is that we have always had a structural employment in france, between eight and has been like that for decades. bosses have the tendency to fire people or not to hire people above 50. so what people are saying is i do not want to be unemployed for two more years and have a ridiculous pension after that because my being unemployed will not count. so we are talking also about a situation that is a bit different from other countries. that is valuable information. what about where this goes from here? there is a debate in parliament as you know, a majority in parliament but he can make alliances. in the party on the right what used to be the great neo— gorgeous probably and they probably will vote for reform and try to get

some details and amendments changed so that what's left of the voters will not feel abandoned. the national reality which is the second largest group after macron's group which i think has 89 mps, if they say in the whole strategy where they show they are responsible, they say that that changes to the reform and want to be a part of government and therefore they might vote it, on the other hand the people who vote for it who are close people who voted for the communist party in france. she is a great deal of work in class, maybe not so working—class these days, vote and these people feel fragile right now and may not be happy. so all this means that there will be surprises and he did discussion and a national assembly where first of all outside there will be pressure, a debate in the house and it is also like every kind of important bill. it is kind of referendum on whether macron is popular and he is not.

to pakistan now to get the latest on that suicide bomb attack at a mosque in the city of peshawar. we now know 100 people were killed. rescue teams say they've now ended their search operation and no—one else is trapped under the rubble. many of those who died were police officers praying inside the mosque. this was supposed to be a secure part of the city. let's recap where the blast happened on monday. the city of peshawar is in the north—west of pakistan, near the country's border with afghanistan.

the mosque is in a compound in one of the most tightly controlled areas of the city, which includes police headquarters and intelligence bureaus. here's our correspondent in peshawar, caroline davies. behind me are the gates to the police compound where the mosque was attacked around lunchtime yesterday. we now know that the death toll has continued to rise. today has been a day of mourning here and many flags have been flying at half mast. some have also begun the process of burying their dead. we attended one funeral earlier of a police officer and we were told that only recently he'd survived an attack that had killed some of his colleagues. we spoke to his brother, who described him as being big hearted and brave and that he wanted to continue to be a police officer because he felt it was his duty. this has sent shockwaves around pakistan because there are many concerns the scale of this particular atrocity, of this particular event, we have heard from prime minister shahbaz sharif, who has said we have heard from prime minister shahbaz sharif,

who has said that this is an attack on pakistan. there's still some confusion about exactly who is behind this attack. yesterday, initially, it was claimed by a commander of a group that is affiliated to the pakistani taliban. but then later on in the day, a more central part of the pakistani taliban said that this was not to do with them. they distanced themselves and said that they do not carry out attacks on mosques. as you heard in caroline's report, the pakistani taliban have dismissed earlier reports that they carried out the attack. but pakistan's former ambassador to the united states, says it has has all the hallmarks of the group. it is most likely that pakistani taliban are one of their many offshoots. they are denying it only because they do not want pressure from pakistan on the iran taliban to act against them. all the hallmarks of a taliban attack are there in this particular case. sahar baloch from the bbc�*s urdu service has been to the hospital where the wounded are being treated. i am at the hospital right now where since morning, more than 50 people have been brought in, majority of those being treated here are police officers. these police officers were praying inside a mosque when a bomb went off. since than a lot of people are coming in looking for their relatives. at the same type some of the officers that i spoke with over here said

that their family does not know that they are admitted inside of the hospital. at the same time i visited some of the homes of the officers who were killed in this bomb attack and majority of the families are asking questions as to how such a huge attack could take place at a place which is considered to be a security, and already safe zone. what we got to know so far is that there is a security operation across the city, a lot of people are not being allowed inside. so right now there is a lot of confusion, worry, but there is a question as to how they can stop, the government, basically can stop such terror attacks to happen in the future. i got the latest from lahore from bbc urdu's umer draz nangiana. yes as we speak we are just hearing another attack butjust happened where a police station came under attack from a militant group. police chief saying that there are no casualties

on the part of the police but it was a big attack. so these attacks have been happening over the past few months. in the preference where this particular region in pakistan but now they are coming into the main cities as we have witnessed in peshawar. the government is already struggling with the economy and on the political front as well and this will be a huge challenge for the government. today in the parliament they all called for a dialogue with all of the stakeholders to come together and reconstitute the policy because this is going to put a serious challenge to the government right now. thank you very much for bringing us that latest breaking news there about this separate attack. i know you and your colleagues will be keeping updates up for us and details as we get them over the next few hours. back to the point, the government

problem and how it can tackle the problem is there any confidence that there is a strategy and will to do it? the military officials and generals met today and they also expressed their commitment that they are committed to root out the problem in the menace of terrorism from pakistan. but this will be a huge challenge because after the fall of kabul last year to taliban we have seen an uptick in terror activities across pakistan. the strategy that they have been using so far is clearly not working, some of the parliamentarians today even criticised the former in previous government for the strategy of allowing some of the fighters into pakistan under the so—called policy of re—? so clearly they need to reconstitute the policy kinds terrorism and counter this which will be huge in the coming days.

stay with us on outside source. still to come: it's day two of antony blinken's visit to the middle east. we'll be getting more on his meeting with the palestinian leader, mahmoud abbas. this is the moment that millions in iran have been waiting for. after his long years in exile, the first hesitant steps of ayatollah khomeini on iranian soil. south africa's white government has offered its black opponents concessions unparalleled in the history of apartheid, and the anc leader nelson mandela is to be set free unconditionally. three, two, one. a countdown to a critical moment. the world's most powerful rocket ignited all 27 - of its engines at once. and apart from its power, -

it's this recycling of the rocket — slashing the cost of a launch —| that makes this a breakthrough in the business of space travel. two americans have become the first humans to walk in space without any lifeline to their spaceship. one of them called it a piece of cake. thousands of people have given the yachtswoman ellen macarthur a spectacular homecoming in the cornish port of falmouth after she smashed the world record for sailing a solo around the world nonstop. this is outside source, live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is hundreds of thousands of workers are out on strike for a second time. they're protesting against president emmanuel macron's plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. we're going to the middle east now — it's day two of a significant visit there.

the us secretary of state antony blinken — effectively america's foreign minster — has been meeting the palestinian leader, mahmoud abbas. here they are together in ramallah. it comes at a time of increased tensions between israelis and palestinians — with secretary blinken referring to "a shrinking horizon of hope" for palestinians. here's some more of what he had to say. we can look to both sides to take some positive steps to try to rebuild confidence, rebuild trust, and that in turn lays the foundation for, at some point, pursuing two states. but i think in this moment, the most immediate challenge is, as i said, diffusing the cycle of violence that has people here, first and foremost, but around the region, deeply concerned. you heard secretary blinken there referring to a two—state solution to the israeli—palestinian conflict. he mentioned it during his visit to israel too. essentially, what it means

is an independent palestinian state in the west bank alongside israel, withjerusalem as their shared capital. on monday, antony blinken reiterated the message that the two—state solution was "the best way" to achieve peace. next, let's hear from the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas. translation: we've always shown commitment to the resolutions - of international laws. the renunciation of violence and terrorism, the respect of signed agreements and we are now ready to work with the us administration and the international community to restore political dialogue in order to and they israeli occupation of the land of palestine, based on the 1967 borders with eastjerusalem as then. plenty of reaction to today's developments — this is an adviser to president abbas, speaking to the bbc.

secretary blinken is right to say there is a shrinking rise of hope, there is a shrinking horizon for a political solution of ending the aggression, and he is right to call for a two state solution in line with international resolutions, and he's absolutely right, insisting the need for equal measures of freedom, of security, of opportunity, of dignity to the palestinians and the israelis. he's right on all of that, but we see no approach by the us administration to do that, to achieve that, we even see the wrong approach, because that would not happenjust, this has been happening for a long time. let's remind ourselves of the context here — the recent violence. palestinian health officials say israeli forces shot dead a palestinian man at a military checkpoint in hebron on monday. israeli forces say that their troops had identified a suspicious vehicle. on thursday, ten palestinians were shot dead injenin in the occupied west bank by israeli forces. israel said that it was acting on intelligence about an imminent attack.

on friday, seven israelis were killed when a palestinian gunman opened fire outside a synagogue in eastjerusalem. here's our middle east correspondent anna foster. conflict that is many ways ebbed and flowed over the years, and the reason i say that is because you have periods of time like now, where in the last seven days, there have been two deadly incidents, when injenin in the occupied west bank where israeli soldiers went in, they say, to deal with a potential terror plots. ten palestinians were killed. most of them militants, but some of them to civilians. and then on friday of last week, just a few hours into shabbat, a palestinian gunman killed seven people outside a synagogue in occupied eastjerusalem. so at times like this, a two state solution, some kind of peace, it feels really far away. but then if you look back at times in the past, if you look back to 1993, for example, the oslo accords,

those discussions of the potential two state solution, the establishment of the palestinian authority to try to make that happen, now does not feel like a moment where we are close to a solution of any kind to this conflict. on monday, mr blinken held high—level talks with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, injerusalem. remember, the government there has pledged to accelerate the issuing of gun licences to israeli citizens in response to the attacks. it's also reinforced its troop numbers in the west bank. and called for measures against "the families of terrorists that support terrorism." for more, i spoke to jane kinninmont earlier — she's a long time scholar and observer of the middle east. it's a long time, but in the foreseeable future, most israelis and most palestinians do not believe that a two state solution is coming. so there is a major problem of confidence for the parties on the ground. your correspondent mentioned the oslo accords happening in the mid—1990s.

most palestinians were born after that. they have lived their whole lives with the status quo. most of them don't believe that two state solution as possible. increasingly, israeli governments have been saying as much openly. now we have a very right—wing coalition in israel where several members have declared that they are not interested in a two state solution. one has had there shouldn't be as palestinian identity at all. so there isn't any hope locally that this is coming anytime soon because of a lack of political well and her leadership. because of a lack of political will and leadership. that is really interesting, given that as the backdrop and given the fact that antony bliken and was repeatedly talking about this as the solution, does it mean effectively that this visit for any good it will do well and fundamentally change the dial at all?

i think the purpose of this focus is to stop things getting worse both in politics and in terms of violence. it doesn't seem likely that this current israeli government and this current palestinian government will resume talks on a two state solution. but the framework allows the us government to say it is not a good time to build more israeli settlements. it's not a good time to change policies on the status of palestinians in the west bank. but it is basically conflict management. it is stopping things getting worse. it is not an expectation that there will be a peace agreement. but it may be designed to keep the idea of a two state solution on life support so that perhaps in the long—term future, things could change. that is really interesting. i want to come now to this tension,

the violence, of course, because on both sides for it to end. where do you place that? the well, there will now be a blame game, the israeli coalition will cover tougher measures at the palestinians and there will be palestinians coming for with israel. will be palestinians calling for less co—operation with israel. something that may be useful is that now there are multiple arab states that do have peace agreements with israel that are going to help benjamin netanyahu in reining in some of his less experienced and more right—wing coalition partners from taking some more escalatory actions. but, again, people are trying to calm things down. they don't have an actual solution in mind. it's more about managing the symptoms.

to liverpool — where the first event of this year's eurovision song contest has been taking place in the past hour. this was the moment that last year's hosts, the italian city of turin, handed over the so—called "keys" to this year's host, liverpool, which is staging the event on behalf of ukraine. i'm really proud to be able to host eurovision for liverpool but especially proud on behalf of ukraine. absolutely. strong words and there is only one way to do this. in true eurovision fashion, let's seal it with a handshake. cheers, applause. there it is! eurovision is officially in liverpool! let's hear from william lee adams — he's a bbc reporter and also the founder and editor of the world's most—watched eurovision youtube channel, wiwibloggs. tonight, spain is choosing its eurovision 2023 act. it is a spicy show going on around me, you may hear the noise. one of the jurors this evening, we have a tough task of who is going to deliver.

in liverpool explained to us for people who are more casual fans of your ovation. they willjust know it as one night, when events, when everyone tunes in. we are still ages away from starting. this is a whole process, isn't it? absolutely. it's sort of like the olympic games. if you want to be competitive, you have to start years in advance. getting that pool of talent into the pipeline and then you have to choose. you have the competition domestically of who will represent us in front of millions of people around the world. and that's what countries will be deciding all the way until mid—march. a legal challenge to her will. the couples only child died at the age of 5a earlier this month. the dispute of the 2016 amendment which removes priscilla and her business

manager as cotrustees of the estate. today, and we saw a sunny afternoon for many. but it's a different story further north. low pressure passing to the north of scotland is going to bring a swathe of rain and gales, certainly to the north highlands in towards the northern isles. you can see this area of low pressure moving to the north of scotland there. lots of isobars on the charts. we've already seen gales through the afternoon. those gales will get stronger through the middle part of the night. so these gales could cause some disruption for the north, far north of scotland, keep tuned your bbc local radio and to subsequent weather forecasts. so plenty of showers, blustery in nature affecting the northern half of the country, fewer further south as we head through the night. but it's around midnight, 1am—2am we'll start to see this swathe of very strong winds passing

between shetland and the north highlands there, gusts of 70—80mph for a time. those gales start to pull out in towards the norwegian sea by around dawn. there'll be showers or longer spells of rain across the northern half of the country, wintry on the hills. further south, bar the odd shower, it's going to stay largely clear, temperatures overnight range from around 3—6 celsius. it's that area of low pressure pushing in towards norway wednesday morning, taking the gales with it, but still going to be quite a blustery day across the north and the east of the uk. this weather front will bring some showery bursts of rain to northern ireland, south western scotland, north wales, northern england and into the midlands at times. sunshine, blustery showers for the north east of scotland, and we'll see some sunshine across the south and the southwest corner of the uk. double figure values in the south, single figures across scotland. now as we head into thursday, this weather front will pass across the north of the uk to bring

outbreaks of rain mainly to the north and the west of scotland. looks quite wet across some western hills, maybe a little bit of shelter, so some brightness for eastern scotland. but for northern ireland, much of england and wales, bar the odd shower, it should stay largely dry thanks to high pressure, variable cloud, some spells of sunshine, but very mild across the board, double figure values there. and you can see we're sticking in that milder air as we head into friday, thanks to this area of high pressure, it'll bring settled conditions. but later in the weekend, some colder air starts to push southwards and eastwards across the whole of the uk. so a bit of a benign story for the end of the week. rather cloudy and mild. things turn a bit brighter, but colderfor the second half of the weekend.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines in all the main news for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. you want a piggyback?

are you going to be superman, are you? nobody can afford to keep up with anything. i don't know how i'll cope, i really don't. it's autumn 2022, and anita's got troubles. troubles from every direction. absolutely shattered. i'm constantlyjust lying in bed and just thinking about how am i going to pay this? how am i going to pay that? i'm trying to make you a den. money is beyond tight. try that, brett. for little brett and his two older sisters, the outside world can feel scary. there's a monster out there. what monster? a huge one. a huge one? oh my goodness. for his mum, the monsters are getting real. i've always managed with the money i get, me benefits and the money that i earn from work. i've always just managed to manage, but ijust can't do it at the minute. it's the gas, the electricity, the bills, and then the cost of the food that went up. how are you supposed to live, man? bottom line, anita's working.

she's got a family. she's got no money. do you want some to eat, sweetheart? this is the first time i've actually had to say, can you help us?