this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories. china has made another attempt to calm the diplomatic dispute over the presence of a chinese surveillance balloon in american airspace. the us airspace is a clear violation of us sovereignty and international law. documents obtained by bbc news show magistrates in england and wales were told to wave through a bulk of applications by energy companies to focibly install prepayment meteres in homes. pope francis and other christian leaders continue their peace mission to south sudan — they're addressing crowds at the mausoleum of the independence hero, john garang.

the family of nicola bulley, who went missing in lancashire eight days ago, urge people to keep an open mind about what's happened to her. police in england believe she fell into a river. health leaders in the uk are warning that there will be a struggle to clear backlogs and improve emergency care — unless industrial action by thousands of staff is brought to an end. hello and welcome. china has tried to calm tensions after two chinese spy balloons were spotted over the united states and latin america. the chinese foreign ministry has spoken to the us secretary of state, antony blinken, after he cancelled his trip to china this weekend. beijing says the matter must be dealt with in a "cool—headed and prudent" manner. our north america correspondent barbara plett usher reports from beijing.

americans are looking up to spot the spy balloon in the sky. it's actually a weather balloon that blew off course, the chinese said. but the pentagon's convinced it's more than that — and that it's not the only one. the ballon burst plans for america's top diplomat antony blinken to travel to beijing for rare talks, about covid, trade disputes and the security situation over taiwan, but mostly to calm sky—high tensions. this crisis shows just how fragile relations are. because of the fact that it stopped over the us air force base, it stopped over some of the strategic missile silos for icbm, intercontinental ballistic missiles, that's not a mistake, and i think they knew we would see that. so, i think that it's probably some kind of an intentional message, but i think it went way off course

and blew up far more than they expected. i think that they're embarrassed by this. the chinese have dismissed what they call "groundless conjecture" and accused american politicians of hyping things up. but they've also expressed regrets that the balloon flew over us territory. wind patterns took it on an epicjourney, from china across the pacific. then floating over alaska and canada, before arriving in the us. the balloon lingered over rural montana, and this could be why — you're looking at a satellite image of an air force base that houses intercontinental missiles. the americans are focused on getting the balloon out of their airspace, but say they will try to reschedule blinken�*s beijing trip. mike pompeo was secretary of state under donald trump and also served as director of the cia. he told the bbc the balloon was an intentional incursion into american airspace. i'm very confident that the chinese communist party is more capable than that.

i think i saw one of their statements that said it is mainly civilian. let's translate mainly civilian as into this is a spying effort on the united states of america and frankly, regardless of whether it is civilian or military, the chinese communist party does not separate between those two things. they have a unified theory of hegemony and they are intent on delivering it and the united states knows that they are conducting espionage against it. when they did it to us during the trump administration, from the houston consulate in the great state of texas, we shut it down. we should shut down this spying as well. dr thomas withington is an expert in electronic warfare, radar and military communications. he explains more about why it's so difficult to deal with the balloon. the balloon is, judging by all appearances, made of a soft, probably rubber or plastic—like material that makes, i would imagine, does make it very difficult to detect.

and because it's difficult to detect, it's hard to effectively guide either a surface—to—air missile or a fighter onto it. both of those capabilities require radar in some shape or form, to be able to fix the target, follow it and then to be able to guide the aircraft or the missile in. for more on that, i'm joined now by susan shirk, chair of the 21st century china center. it looks at us china relations. very good to have you do you think antony blinken was correct in his decision to cancel his rated visit to beijing? i to cancel his rated visit to bei'ina ? ~ ,., to cancel his rated visit to bei'inu? ~ , , ., bei'ing? i think so because it made it beijing? i think so because it made it impossible _ beijing? i think so because it made it impossible to _ beijing? i think so because it made it impossible to really _ beijing? i think so because it made it impossible to really have - beijing? i think so because it made it impossible to really have a - it impossible to really have a diplomatic engagement in beijing at this time. the domestic hue and cry here in the united states would put

tremendous pressure on secretary antony blinken, so they would talk about this instead of the other disputes they need to work on. so he had to cancel the trip. but i'm struck how both sides are trying to get back on track. the chinese apology is very unusual. and they said it was beyond their control. on the us side, we've said that we are going to get the trip on the calendar as soon as possible, to make it a productive engagement. hmm, i was struck by something you said, there. that it's a distraction from other matters. is it too cynical a question to ask whether such a distraction might be done

deliberately?— deliberately? well, of course there's a lot _ deliberately? well, of course there's a lot of _ deliberately? well, of course there's a lot of speculation i deliberately? well, of course - there's a lot of speculation about that. ijust listened to secretary pompeo saying that the chinese are too capable to make a mistake. this reminds me of when i was the deputy assistant secretary of state in the clinton administration. the united states and nato accidentally bombed the chinese embassy in belgrade. people in china were certain that it must have been intentional because the us was too capable to make such a mistake. and to this very day most people in china and certainly the chinese government believed that the clinton administration intentionally bombed the chinese embassy in belgrade. so, these accidents happen and the two countries view one

another as so capable that they believe they must be motivated by intentions. . ,. ., ., , intentions. fascinating to elements, i'm sure we'll— intentions. fascinating to elements, i'm sure we'll talk— intentions. fascinating to elements, i'm sure we'll talk about _ intentions. fascinating to elements, i'm sure we'll talk about them - intentions. fascinating to elements, i'm sure we'll talk about them in - i'm sure we'll talk about them in the future. thanks forjoining us. the bbc has seen internal guidance to magistrates in england and wales which said they should wave through bulk applications by energy companies who want to forcibly install prepayment meters in people's homes. earlier this week the regulator ofgem asked firms to suspend the compulsory installation of the devices, after a times newspaper investigation showed british gas subcontractors breaking into the homes of vulnerable people. our correspondent noor nanji told me the background to this latest development. it relates to warrants to forcibly install prepayment meters. now, of course, that's something we've been talking about a lot in the last week.

of course we had that investigation by the times which exposed how debt agents for british gas had broken into vulnerable people's homes in order to fit these meters, so there has been a lot of concern and discussion around all of this since then. so, to give you a sense of the scale, here, every day last year, over 1000 warrants of entry were granted to energy companies, mainly in order to forcibly fit these meters in people's homes. now, we've obtained this new internal advice to all magistrates which reflects that there was some sort of internal disquiet that the process had been watered down and that magistrates were essentially being obliged to take energy companies' claims in good faith with little or no questioning. so, the top magistrate, duncan webster, told his colleagues last month that it would be irrational to block the claims made by energy companies under oath and when he was answering a question about what had changed since the days when such applications were scrutinised more carefully, very carefully, mr webster said the old advice had not necessarily kept up with energy companies' procedures and were now

in a way disproportionate. it's also important to say that almost all of these claims are actually made through computerised systems. sometimes authorised over telephone calls and up to 1000 claims can be processed with warrants then giving legal powers of access to properties and they can be issued in a matter of minutes. energy companies pay a fee per case which helps to fund the court system. what's been the reaction to all of this? well, some legal experts that we've been speaking to said that the advice showed that the magistrates had no safeguarding role in the process and that is a concern, campaigners say, because it suggests that energy companies, their systems, are not correctly identifying those vulnerable customers to whom these processes shouldn't apply. now, there have also been concerns in the light of everything that came up this week with that investigation by the times, so this is just adding onto that. the government said this was a matter the independentjudiciary. the magistrates leadership executive has been approached by the bbc for comment.

judicial sources suggest the document was an explanation of how current law and processes that magistrates are bound to apply. the pope, archbishop of canterbury and moderator of the church of scotland are on an historic three—day visit to south sudan. they've called it a pilgrimage of peace to the country, where more than 400,000 people have been killed in violence since independence 12 years ago. our religion editor, aleem maqbool, is travelling with them. it's his 40th foreign trip as pope, but it's a visit like no other. a journey that takes him to south sudan, but what makes it unique is that for the first time, leaders of other global christian denominations are visiting with him. when we landed, the moderator of the church of scotland, iain greenshields, and archbishop of canterburyjustin welby climbed on board to greet the pope. they're here together to persuade leaders in this young,

troubled nation to put aside their differences for the sake of their people. "i've come with two brothers," said the pope, "stretching out our hands, we present ourselves to you and to this people." since independence in 2011, south sudan slipped quickly into conflict. it is along tribal and not religious lines, but the leaders are mainly christian — catholic, anglican, and presbyterian. back in 2019, in one of the most powerful moments of his papacy, pope francis kissed the feet of the south sudanese rivals at the end of a meeting at the vatican. they promised to work for lasting peace, but little changed. so, the religious leaders came here. does the same thing happen — you make a dramatic gesture and you go away and things don't move forward?

dramatic gestures are to kick open doors, to create momentum. they don't solve problems. what they do is, they may unstick stuck situations and then they have to be followed up. and in response to the visit, south sudan's president says he'll meet rivals who for years he shunned. but in spite of the fanfare and celebration here now, there's much scepticism about long—term impact. aleem maqbool, bbc news, injuba. let me show you the scene atjohn garang mausoleum in south sudan where the pope is holding economical prayer. —— ecumenical prayer. large crowds have gathered. he told the

clergy to raise their voices against injustice. the archbishop of canterburyjustin welby described canterbury justin welby described how canterburyjustin welby described how his heart breaks with sorrow after the civil war. the country became independent in 2011. there was a peace deal in 2018 but violence driven by ethnic differences has continued and more than 400,000 people are thought to have died as a result of the conflict so far. this visit by three very senior christian leaders they described as a pilgrimage of peace, to try and help resolve the ongoing conflict in the country. as if to underline the scale of the ambition, even on the ee of their visit at least 20 people were killed —— even on the eve of their visit, at least 20 people were killed. the threat of potential violence is there. in a meeting with displaced people the pope urged all parties to work

towards peace. translation: i want to renew with all my strength _ translation: i want to renew with all my strength to _ translation: i want to renew with all my strength to stop _ translation: i want to renew with all my strength to stop conflict - translation: i want to renew with all my strength to stop conflict and | all my strength to stop conflict and renew the peace process in a serious way so that the violence can end and people can live in dignity. only with peace and stability and development can there be social integration. there is no room for further delay. we will have live coverage and bring you any significant moments. the former burnley boss saw di —— sean dyche only took over this week and saw his team winning1—0 at goodison park. three points between

everton and the bottom side southampton. i everton and the bottom side southampton.— everton and the bottom side southamton. ~' ' :: , everton and the bottom side southamton. ~' ' ::, ~ southampton. i like those 1-0s. all manauers southampton. i like those 1-0s. all managers do. _ southampton. i like those 1-0s. all managers do, they _ southampton. i like those 1-0s. all managers do, they pretend - southampton. i like those 1-0s. all managers do, they pretend that. southampton. i like those 1-0s. all. managers do, they pretend that they don't. been very pleased with the players. they've been invaluable to us, having a base to work from. a few of them felt they had let down the last manager. we build on the back of that and say we can correct that and we got to do it together. quality wise we can build that but there had to be a base to work from, to have a feel and a commitment to the cause.

ireland have shown why they are the number one side in the world as they got a bonus point win over wales in the opening match of the rugby union six nations in cardiff. there was no dream return for the wales coach warren gatland, in his second spell in charge. wales were blown away, ireland were relentless from the start. james lowes scoring in the first quarter. a bonus point for the irish in the second half. they won 34-10. it irish in the second half. they won 34-10. ., , ., .,

34-10. it was tough and disappointing _ 34-10. it was tough and disappointing but - 34-10. it was tough and | disappointing but they're 34-10. it was tough and i disappointing but they're a 34-10. it was tough and - disappointing but they're a good side because they've been together a long time. they don't make mistakes and they managed to gain well and that's why they are the number one side in the world. that's what we need to take, to be clinical and patient. need to take, to be clinical and atient. ., need to take, to be clinical and atient. . ., ., patient. the new england area under steve borthwick _ patient. the new england area under steve borthwick begins _ patient. the new england area under steve borthwick begins against - steve borthwick begins against scotland who have won the last two calcutta cup matches. this one kicked off half an hour ago and it is lively and entertaining. scotland have an early lead, max malins replying. scotland have scored a second try, leading 12—5 with 33 minutes played. you can stay across it on the bbc sport website. here in the uk, lancashire police investigating

the disappearance of mother—of—two nicola bulley believe she fell into a river. a major search for 45—year—old continues, but no trace of her has been found. nicola was seen by a fellow dog—walker last friday morning shortly before 9am. she was last seen at 9:10, in a field further along the river bank. at 9:20 — police have now established — her phone became stationary at a riverside bench. 13 minutes later, her phone is found along our reporter olivia richwald has been in the village of st michael's on wyre in lancashire well, the light is fading now, but it has been another day of searching, both from the police and also an army of community volunteers. the police were here from early this morning with a helicopter. it was hovering low overhead for quite some time, presumably scouring the river from above. we also saw police on foot, walking the length of the river, and they told me they were going

to be walking the entire length from here near to where nicola disappeared, to the bit where the riverjoins the sea. it's about eight and a half miles. so another day of searching from the police. we haven't had any updates from the police today. meanwhile, there's been a big community operation going on and not very far from where i'm standing, just over there, there's a tennis club and that's where the community—led effort has been coordinated from. you can walk in there as a volunteer and pick up one of about ten maps of the river, to then go and do your own searches. and volunteers we've been speaking to have come from quite far afield, actually from across the northwest, even cumbria. some of them have brought dogs, others have brought things like metal detectors and drones because everyone is just trying to do their bit to try and find out what happened to nicola. it is now eight days since she vanished. a 16—year—old girl has died after being attacked by a shark in western australia. she was pronounced dead after being pulled from the swan river in perth. reports say the girl was riding jet skis with friends when the incident happened and local police say it's possible the girl had jumped in the water to swim

with dolphins nearby. it's believed to be the first fatal shark attack in the swan river in 100 years. nhs leaders are warning that there will be a struggle to clear backlogs and improve emergency care, unless industrial action by thousands of staff is brought to an end. it comes as nhs england prepares for the biggest round of strikes in its history next week, with thousands of nurses, paramedics and physiotherapists planning walkouts. health leaders have called on ministers and the unions to urgently find a resolution to break the deadlock. ukraine says it's recovered the bodies of two british men who were killed in the east of the country. the bodies of christopher perry and andrew bagshaw have been reportedly handed over by russian forces as part of a prisoners swap. they were killed by shelling last month while doing voluntary work, evacuating civilians from conflict zones.

an award—winning iranian film maker, jafar panahi, has been released from jail on bail on friday, two days after he went on hunger strike to demand an end to his imprisonment. mr panahi was arrested last july when he protested against the detention of two fellow film—makers, who had been critical of the authorities. i am nowjoined by kasra naji from the bbc persian service. why was the decision made to release him? we why was the decision made to release him? ~ ., �* , why was the decision made to release him? . . �* , ., him? we aren't quite sure, of course. him? we aren't quite sure, of course- the — him? we aren't quite sure, of course. the iranian _ him? we aren't quite sure, of course. the iranianjudiciary l course. the iranian judiciary doesn't course. the iranianjudiciary doesn't announce these things but he was announced yesterday evening, early evening, and he was released two days after he announced, as you said, going on hunger strike because he was in legal limbo. he didn't know why he was in jail, on what charges and the judiciary officials were not announcing anything about his case. and after quite a bit of publicity about him going on strike,

authorities released him. for publicity about him going on strike, authorities released him.— authorities released him. for what had he been _ authorities released him. for what had he been arrested? _ authorities released him. for what had he been arrested? he - authorities released him. for what had he been arrested? he actuallyj had he been arrested? he actually went, had he been arrested? he actually went. seven _ had he been arrested? he actually went, seven months _ had he been arrested? he actually went, seven months ago, - had he been arrested? he actually went, seven months ago, went. had he been arrested? he actually went, seven months ago, went to| went, seven months ago, went to prison to inquire about two other film—makers who had been arrested earlier. when he went to the prison to ask after them, he was picked up and put injail. previously to ask after them, he was picked up and put in jail. previously he to ask after them, he was picked up and put injail. previously he had been given a six—year sentence signing a petition in which he along with 14 others had called for a peaceful transition to a secular democracy and he was saying in the petition that the regime in iran is incapable of reforming itself, the leaders are incapable of reforming themselves so they asked for a regime change, in a sense, but a peaceful one. he'd been given six years. but the sentence was

overthrown by an appeal court. so technically he had no sentence against him to be put in prison. he is well—known abroad, his films have won prizes at major film festivals. do you think that's made a difference? £31 do you think that's made a difference?— do you think that's made a difference? , , , difference? of course it has because once he's announced _ difference? of course it has because once he's announced he's _ difference? of course it has because once he's announced he's going - difference? of course it has because once he's announced he's going on l once he's announced he's going on hunger strike there was quite a lot of publicity around it because he's a well—known person. he was twice nominated for an oscar, twice winning prizes at the cannes film festival and also in the berlin film festival, so he's very well—known. alongside the publicity he had a lot of international film—makers, artists, actors coming out in support of him. that and the whole issue of him going on hunger strike managed to draw the attention of the iranianjudiciary. maybe managed to draw the attention of the iranian judiciary. maybe they thought it's not worth keeping him in prison. they released him on

bail, by the way, not completely. gas in iran —— deaths in iran continue, presumably with the same levels of commitment from protesters?— levels of commitment from rotesters? �* , ., , ., protesters? there's quite a bit of anuer and protesters? there's quite a bit of anger and commitment - protesters? there's quite a bit of anger and commitment but - protesters? there's quite a bit of anger and commitment but we i protesters? there's quite a bit of. anger and commitment but we don't see the same level of direct confrontation on the streets with authorities, not in the country, except for one city in the south—west where every friday tens of thousands of people use friday prayers to come out and shout slogans against the iranian supreme leader and wanting to overthrow the regime. in the rest of the country, the form of protest has changed. they have become more safe protests, if you like. setting fire to banners with pictures of iranian leaders on them, setting fire to a flag with an

insignia of the regime on it and so on. nobody thinks this is over. the legitimacy of the regime is questioned in a big way. hello there. a tale of two halves with the weather for this weekend. there's a lot of cloud around today, and that's because we've got a weather front slipping southwards, it's mild air as well. it's mostly cloudy. but tomorrow behind our weather front, it looks as if we'll see a good deal more sunshine. but we do change from this mild air ahead of that weather front to this colder air coming in behind under a ridge of high pressure. but again, i do think it'll feel decent enough in the sunshine. this is the weather front that's slipping southwards through today. the rain starting to peter out. brighter skies and a few wintry showers following on behind. a little bit of sunshine ahead of it, but more limited. and overnight, the cloud will allow southern areas to just about escape a frost. but under that high pressure further north, temperatures will fall away

under the starry skies, and we're looking at a fairly widespread rural frost at the very least. so we start off on a rather chilly note first thing sunday, quite a keen wind coming through the north sea as well for eastern areas, still that brisk—ish wind towards the north and west. but for mostjust a day of dry and bright weather with hazy spells of sunshine for the most part. and temperatures will obviously not be as high as today because they're starting at a lower level, about eight, possibly ten degrees celsius in east anglia. but some pleasant—feeling weather, light winds, if you're out and about. during the evening and overnight, we do pick up a little bit more cloud ahead of the next weather system in the north and the west. so it won't be quite as cold for the far north west of scotland, northern isles, the west of northern ireland. but elsewhere, another cold night and this time it will be frosty further south as well, possibly one or two mist and fog patches, because that high pressure's sat with us just slipping away towards the south and allowing more of an atlantic influence, if you like, on monday across parts of scotland and bringing a bit more cloud, perhaps a few spots of rain and drizzle. but eastern scotland,

east of northern ireland, much of england wales, after the clearance of any morning fog in england and wales, will have plenty of sunshine, dry and bright as well. light—ish wind. so feeling pleasant enough in that sunshine. but the high pressure stays with us pretty much for the rest of the week. but we will have some strong winds at times and those weather fronts brushing the far north. but as i say, with the high pressure staying firm in the south, at least it looks like very little rain here. some chilly nights with frost and fog, but by day, some good spells of sunshine. a little bit more unsettled, and windy in the north—west

this is bbc news, the headlines. officials from beijing and washington speak by phone to try to ease tensions over a suspected chinese spy balloon in american airspace. the us secretary of state has postponed a trip to china, saying the presence of the object was unacceptable. documents obtained by bbc news show magistrates in england and wales were told to wave through a bulk of applications by energy companies to focibly install prepayment meteres in homes. pope francis and other christian leaders continue their peace mission to south sudan —— they're addressing crowds at the mausoleum ofjohn garang. the east african country has been wracked with civil war since independence in 2011. the family of nicola bulley, who went missing in lancashire eight