this is bbc news, welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm jane hill. our top stories... iranian state television says the country's supreme leader has pardoned thousands of prisoners, including many who had taken part in recent anti—government demonstrations. new cctv pictures of missing lancashire woman nicola bulley have been shared by one of her friends. the images show the 45—year—old in the hours before she went missing next to the river wyre nine days ago. the pope has said the criminalisation of homosexuality is a sin and an injustice. but he added that the roman catholic church couldn't permit same—sex marriages.

union leaders in the uk urge the prime minister to intervene in the dispute about healthcare pay. the biggest week of strikes in the history of the national health service is due to start on monday. the us continues to search for the wreckage of a chinese balloon suspected of being used for spying which was brought down by an american fighterjet yesterday. hello and welcome to bbc world news. iran's supreme leader is pardoning a large number of prisoners, including some of those arrested during the past months of protests. the pardon by ayatollah khamenei comes on the eve of the anniversary of the islamic revolution in 1979, a date on which he regularly offers an amnesty to some prisoners. but the iranian state media says it

excludes those facing charges of spying for foreign agencies, murder and bodily harm, as well as the destruction or arson of state property. taraneh stone, from the bbc�*s persian service, says those freed have several conditions attached to their release. one of those conditions is that they should not be linked to any spying activity, they should not be facing any charges of corruption or theft or waging war against god. figs any charges of corruption or theft or waging war against god. as you can see, or waging war against god. as you can see. these _ or waging war against god. as you can see, these are _ or waging war against god. as you can see, these are quite _ or waging war against god. as you | can see, these are quite ambiguous charges and people have been charged with these accusations for setting fire to bins in the street or merely protesting. so these are quite

ambiguous charges. also one of the conditions is these people have to show remorse and also they have to provide a written promise that they will not participate in the protests or take similar actions again. what's the background of these pardons and is there anything unusual about them 7 here's more from nina navid, an iran expert and campaigner with the amnesty international in the uk. we do usually get pardons around the anniversary of the revolution. usually around the new year as well. but it is unusual to pardon those in political protest. i think it is unusual they said they will include those involved in the protest movement. but as your previous guest just said, there is this long list

of conditions. the pardons do not extend to those who have received capital charges, so those who have already received death sentences. and one of the conditions is you have to show remorse and apologise for your offences. have to show remorse and apologise foryour offences. let's have to show remorse and apologise for your offences. let's really see what comes out of these promises and if the government really will follow through with them. find if the government really will follow through with them.— through with them. and so is this even announced _ through with them. and so is this even announced more _ through with them. and so is this even announced more for- even announced more for international consumption? i think it is and i think _ international consumption? i think it is and i think the _ international consumption? i think it is and i think the timing - international consumption? i think it is and i think the timing is - international consumption? i think it is and i think the timing is very l it is and i think the timing is very relevant actually. yesterday we had a major opposition figure in iran, who is one of the leaders of the green reformist movement in iran and a presidential candidate in 29 —— 2009. he came out yesterday and said, do you know what, there is no chance of a viable alternative working within the current islamic regime and the urge for change and a new constitution and constitutional assembly based on the promise of

freedom. that is huge. for somebody of the leader of the reformist movement to come out and say it is not possible to work with in the current confines of the islamic regime. that really reflects the sentiment notjust of the protesters, but of the national mood. pope francis says laws criminalising lgbt people are a "sin" and an "injustice" and that people who are attracted to the same sex are "children of god". the pope made the remarks aboard a plane while returning from an historic visit to south sudan. he said it's "not right" for some countries to still outlaw same—sex relations. last month in an interview, the pope said homosexuality "is not a crime" and called on catholic bishops to welcome lgbtq people into the church. for more on this, we're joined by lgbt+ campaignerjayne ozanne.

she is a member of the general synod, the assembly of the church of england. how significant are these comments, do you think? i england. how significant are these comments, do you think?- england. how significant are these comments, do you think? i think they are very significant. _ comments, do you think? i think they are very significant. i _ comments, do you think? i think they are very significant. i am _ comments, do you think? i think they are very significant. i am not - comments, do you think? i think they are very significant. i am not a - are very significant. i am not a catholic, i am an anglican who is part of the church of england's general synod, but for the leader of the catholic church, in charge of a global body, to come out and say this is not a sin, these are real people, these are people who are loved by god, is quite a long way away from the harsh rhetoric we have had over the years. i think it is part of the trajectory that the pope is shown constantly since i met him in 2019, wanting the catholic church to be pastoral in its approach. but we have still got a long way to go. we are still saying that sex between two people of the same sex is simply wrong and that teaching is what can

cause so much harm and pain, particularly amongst young lgbt people growing up in churches. i believe as part of these comments that he made to journalists whilst they were on this flight back from south sudan, he did also talk about theissue south sudan, he did also talk about the issue of marriage and people getting married in church and that is still not something that is possible. is he trying to balance two things here?— possible. is he trying to balance two things here? yes, he is wanting to have it all— two things here? yes, he is wanting to have it all ways. _ two things here? yes, he is wanting to have it all ways. in _ two things here? yes, he is wanting to have it all ways. in fact, - two things here? yes, he is wanting to have it all ways. in fact, i- to have it all ways. in fact, i think the archbishop of canterbury who was on the plane with him, will be in the same boat. they are trying to be lgbtq friendly, but at the same time saying you are still second class, you can't get married, you can't have sex, you cannot be in a relationship with the same sex. but if you want to get to rome you have to go in steps and this is a step on the way. if i may, one of the most important things is they had with them the moderator of the church of scotland and he, of course, blesses and performs

marriages of lgbtq people. so to be in communion with him and to take it with them on the journey, that was a strong signal that he was prepared to be with other christians who hold deeply different views and who are far more progressive in their approach to the lgbtq community. really interesting and as you say, he was there with the archbishop of canterbury and the moderator of the church of scotland and justin welby, the archbishop of canterbury noted that the anglican church has its own internal divisions over the issue of gay rights. it is very much a continuing conversation, debate, whatever word we want to use. but is your thought fundamentally that being as frank as they could be is still positive, it is something of a step forward? it still positive, it is something of a step forward?— still positive, it is something of a step forward? it is a step forward. we have moved _ step forward? it is a step forward. we have moved away _ step forward? it is a step forward. we have moved away from - step forward? it is a step forward. we have moved away from telling| step forward? it is a step forward. i we have moved away from telling us we are completely disordered and we should be shunned by the church. both the archbishop and the pope

were at pains to say we are children of god and should be welcomed. but we have got a long way to go. we have seen that work out in practice. we have the general synod next week where we will be debating this. the critical thing is whether we learn to accept that people have differing views on this and to respect christians like myself who believe that god blesses me and wants me to celebrate the love i might have for another woman and who i might want to marry. another woman and who i might want to mar . ., ~ i. another woman and who i might want tomar . ., , another woman and who i might want tomar. .~g , . to marry. thank you very much. interesting _ to marry. thank you very much. interesting to _ to marry. thank you very much. interesting to hear _ to marry. thank you very much. interesting to hear your - interesting to hear your perspective. you are watching bbc news. the family of nicola bulley, who went missing while walking next to the river wyre in lancashire, have released new images of her on the morning of her disappearance. police have said their assumption is that she fell into the river and today many members of the local communityjoined the search to find her. a key witness, who was pushing

a pram near where ms bulley disappeared ten days ago, has come forward. here's danny savage. this is nicola bulley leaving home on the day she vanished. setting off on the school run, putting her spaniel, willow, in the boot. her family today released these pictures to show exactly what she was wearing. for days, police have been searching for any trace of the mother of two young girls. today was no different. what did seem very obvious was the large number of other people out, too. this is the bench where nicky's mobile phone was found a week last friday. today is dry and sunny and the number of people out along here is extraordinary. there are dozens and dozens of people along this stretch, along the other stretches as well, all walking the riverside paths to try and assist in the search. i mean, if you went missing in the same way, i would be expecting people to go looking. do you understand what i mean? i would really want there to be a search party.

if it was myself, my eldest, we both takes the dogs out on our own. if it was one of us that was in that situation, iwould hope the community would do the same thing for us as well. ijust feel like everybody should be doing their part. she disappeared without trace. police believe she accidentally fell in the river wyre, but it's the not knowing for sure which is keeping people looking. the uk government and the health unions remain far apart on the eve of the biggest health workers strike so far in england. the two sides remain deadlocked as nurses, paramedics and physiotherapists are among those due to walk out this week. our political correspondent jonathan blake, has more. they chant. a week of walk—outs by nhs staff in england. nurses, ambulance workers, physiotherapists and others are due to strike in the coming days.

as industrial action continues by unions demanding higher pay, they are trying to put pressure on the government to negotiate. i can categorically say to you we are in no talks at any level whatsoever with the government about pay in the nhs. that is a real abdication of responsibility. why is rishi sunak not coming to the table? what do we want? fair pay! when do we want it? now! _ in wales, some unions have suspended strikes to consider a new offer from the labour—run welsh government. but uk government ministers responsible for setting pay in england are showing no sign of giving ground. i don't think we need to be having these strikes at all. the reality is, as i said, actually, over a million nhs workers got a pay rise last year when there wasn't one on offer. there is a pay rise on the table this year. and just to clarify one point, the government has actually, the system is agreed by the unions, asked for by the unions,

that there is an independent pay review body that accepts evidence from the unions, from the management, and then they recommend a figure to the government. labour hasn't said how it would fund higher pay for nhs staff in england or what its offer would be, but insists the government should at least engage. it is the government's responsibility. they can sort this. you know, the unions have said even before this started at christmas, if you meet us to discuss pay, we'll call this strike off. we have seen when proper negotiations take place about pay, not everything else, they can stop it. nhs staff determined to secure higher pay, a government adamant its offer is fair. and for now, no sign of an end to the stand—off. jonathan blake reporting from westminster. jonathan blake reporting from westminster. the former uk prime minister liz truss has blamed what she's called a "powerful economic establishment"

and a lack of support from the conservative party for her downfall. liz truss was forced to resign as prime minster after barely seven weeks, after her package of tax cuts caused panic in the markets and the pound dropped to a record low. earlier, the former conservative cabinet minister david gauke gave us his view. i think it's a pretty unconvincing case, in all honesty. the fact is that the government pursued a fiscal strategy, a policy that did not have credibility. the markets took flight, interest rates rose accordingly, the pound fell and the uk faced a real problem and market crisis, and that was a consequence of a reckless approach to the public finances. and i don't think there's really an indication from liz truss that she probably recognises that or recognises the errors that she made and her chancellor made

in pursuing a policy that undermined market confidence. the former conservative cabinet minister, david gauke. i spoke to henry hill, who is the deputy editor of conservative home and asked whether david gauke's assessment of the article was fair. essentially, yes. it is completely understandable that liz truss would want to try and carve a continuing role for herself in public life, nobody wants to spend so long climbing to the top and be committed to their ideas and then be seen as a failure. but ultimately most of her article was about expectation, it was about trying to shift the blame and blame outside forces for what happened to her premiership and ultimately she has to take responsibility for what happened. how concerning is her stance and the fact that she is putting herself back at their politically? how

concerning is that he rishi sunak at the moment?— the moment? well, i don't think oliticall the moment? well, i don't think politically it _ the moment? well, i don't think politically it is _ the moment? well, i don't think politically it is necessarily - the moment? well, i don't think politically it is necessarily bad i politically it is necessarily bad for him to have liz truss saying that what he is doing is not what she would have done, given the recent public memory of how her government went. in terms of political organisation, the conservative party is very divided and there are more than enough mps who sympathise with liz truss that they could cause trouble for the prime minister in the house of commons with regards to his legislative agenda. mostly what this is about is to try and rally the libertarian wing of the conservative party so that when party loses off as they are ready to fight it out with the other wings of the party for control in opposition and try to shape the future of the party once they are in government. the shape the future of the party once they are in government.— shape the future of the party once they are in government. the way you are describing _ they are in government. the way you are describing all— they are in government. the way you are describing all of— they are in government. the way you are describing all of that, _ they are in government. the way you are describing all of that, even - they are in government. the way you are describing all of that, even the l are describing all of that, even the use of the language that you are using, is it quite bitter? you are using, is it quite bitter? you are using the word battle, is it a bitter fight already?-

using the word battle, is it a bitter fight already? there are dee - , bitter fight already? there are deep. deep — bitter fight already? there are deep, deep divisions - bitter fight already? there are deep, deep divisions within i bitter fight already? there are | deep, deep divisions within the conservative party at the moment. they have been in office in one form or anotherfor 13 years, they have been in office in one form or another for 13 years, they have had several prime ministers, several changes of approach, accumulated grievances, frustration that having beenin grievances, frustration that having been in power they have not got more done. so, yes, absolutely, it is increasingly fractious. you can see that in the briefing is coming out from different politicians to journalists about other conservative politicians. ultimately the problem is that at this point the conservative government does not have a sense of mission. margaret thatcher, the great tory icon, she was prepared to be unpopular and was extremely unpopular, but no matter what you thought of her there was always that sense of what the government was in office to do and that was a great help for providing discipline. currently it does not have that and that has given lots of space for tory mps with lots of different personal views to have it out with each other. the different personal views to have it out with each other.— out with each other. the deputy editor of conservative _ out with each other. the deputy

editor of conservative home. i us navy divers have been working to recover equipment from the chinese balloon that was shot down off the coast of south carolina. our correspondent barbara plett—usher reports from beijing. for days, this solitary object floated serenely through us airspace, putting a diplomatic crisis onto television screens in real time. was it a harmless weather balloon, as a chinese claimed? or a spy in the sky? moments after it arrived over the atlantic, the us brought an explosive end to the drama. that trail of white vapour you see on the left of the screen is an american fighterjet heading for the balloon. the second vapour trail is from a heat—seeking missile fired from the jet, easily finding its target. whoa! did you hear that? shortly after impact, the sound of the explosion was heard by people watching on the ground. then, what was left of the balloon came down in the sea off the coast of south carolina. suddenly we saw something take off from the jet

and we knew that was a missile, and you could see the explosion. gosh, it was almost like a moving cloud coming down. it's scary. it is a different way of spying on us, let's put it that way. i the us navy is now recovering debris spread over seven miles in relatively shallow water. down to earth, the us shoots down a suspected spy balloon monitoring us military sites... this was how america woke up to the news on sunday morning. late yesterday, an air force fighter jet fired a single air to air missile into the balloon, bringing it down. president biden was criticised by republicans for not acting sooner, but he chose his own time. i ordered the pentagon to shoot it down on wednesday as soon as possible. they decided — without doing damage to anyone on the ground — they decided the best time to do that was over water, within a 12 mile limit.

china's foreign ministry accused the us of overreacting. the statement said... china expresses strong dissatisfaction and protests against the use of force by the united states. and that it would reserve the right to reserve further necessary responses. the incident has blown up a chance to ease tensions between the world's two great powers, with the us secretary of state antony blinken postponing a planned trip to beijing. here in beijing, the foreign ministry in china had been expecting to welcome antony blinken today to talk about stabilising the relationship and carefully planned meetings. instead, suddenly relations have taken a sharp turn for the worse. the visit could still very well take place later in the year. butjust getting here is now part of the problem. barbara plett usher, news, beijing. a british family are to travel to grenada later this month to apologise publicly for their ancestors' ownership of more than 1,000 slaves. the trevelyans owned six sugar plantations on the caribbean island

during the nineteenth century. the family includes the bbc correspondent laura trevelyan who says they are paying reparations by donating £100,000 to a fund on the island. celestina olulode reports. a painful past with a legacy that lingers. a reality bbc presenter laura trevelyan was confronted with after learning her family was listed on a database of slave owners. when i went to grenada and i saw for myself the plantations, where slaves were punished, when i saw the instruments of torture that were used to restrain them, when i looked at the neck braces, at the manacles, at the system of dehumanisation that my family had profited from as absentee slave owners, of the sugar plantations, i felt ashamed. later this month the family will donate

£100,000 to establish a community fund for the island and have agreed to apologise for their ancestors' role in the slave trade. when slavery came to an end, the trevelyan family received the equivalent of £3 million in compensation. laura says the £100,000 donation may seem inadequate, but she hopes herfamily are setting an example by apologising for what her ancestors did. the trevelyan family is only one. also, the amount of money we are talking about is really a drop in the bucket. so while we applaud this effort, we are conscious of the fact that more can and should be done. the real legacy of slavery is the underdevelopment of the caribbean, the underdevelopment of grenada, you are talking about the education system, the health care system, our whole economic premise. as contributing nations continue to grapple with that legacy, there is mounting pressure from some for

governments to pay reparations, too. celestina olulode, bbc news. the biggest names in the music industry are gathering in los angeles later for the 65th grammy awards. beyonce leads the nominations with nine, and could break the record for the most wins in the ceremony�*s history. this year there are 91 categories with abba, adele, coldplay and beyonce among the contenders for album of the year. let's cross to la and talk tojem aswad, who's the deputy music editor at variety. thank you so much for talking to us. i think we are stopping you getting ready, getting dressed to go to the grammys. ready, getting dressed to go to the gramm s. ~ ., i. ready, getting dressed to go to the gramm s. ~ ., ,, ~' ready, getting dressed to go to the gramm s. ~ ., i. ~ ., ready, getting dressed to go to the gramm s. ~ ., ~ ., , ready, getting dressed to go to the gramm s. ~ ., ~' ., , , grammys. would you like to see my suit? it is right _ grammys. would you like to see my suit? it is right over— grammys. would you like to see my suit? it is right over there. - grammys. would you like to see my suit? it is right over there. you - suit? it is right over there. you can show— suit? it is right over there. you can show us — suit? it is right over there. you can show us while _ suit? it is right over there. you can show us while we -

suit? it is right over there. you can show us while we talk- suit? it is right over there. you can show us while we talk to i suit? it is right over there. you i can show us while we talk to you. suit? it is right over there. you - can show us while we talk to you. i am slightly concerned for you, when i read there were 91 categories. are you going for three days or something?— you going for three days or somethin: ? ., ._ ., something? no, the way it works, there are always _ something? no, the way it works, there are always a _ something? no, the way it works, there are always a lot _ something? no, the way it works, there are always a lot of _ there are always a lot of categories. most of the awards are presented in a ceremony before the big show. they ran for two or three hours and it is called a premier ceremony, and those are the ones not on television. it is things like best bluegrass artist and best album package. i actually love that ceremony. i am hopefully going shortly. you willjust be sitting there and they will call out the winner and the person behind you is like yay! the mother is crying and the family is all cheering and you don't see that from taylor swift. are you hoping to be sitting there close to beyonce? filth. are you hoping to be sitting there close to beyonce?— are you hoping to be sitting there close to beyonce? 0h, she will not be there. close to beyonce? 0h, she will not be there- it — close to beyonce? 0h, she will not be there. it is _ close to beyonce? 0h, she will not be there. it is fairly _ close to beyonce? 0h, she will not be there. it is fairly sparsely - be there. it is fairly sparsely attended, except for the people who are nominated.—

are nominated. what shall we be lookin: are nominated. what shall we be looking out _ are nominated. what shall we be looking out for _ are nominated. what shall we be looking out for tonight? - are nominated. what shall we be looking out for tonight? is - are nominated. what shall we be l looking out for tonight? is winning a grammy and a massive boost to your sales? i5 a grammy and a massive boost to your sales? , ., , a grammy and a massive boost to your sales? , . , , , sales? is that still the case? it is still. sales? is that still the case? it is still- there _ sales? is that still the case? it is still. there is _ sales? is that still the case? it is still. there is only _ sales? is that still the case? it is still. there is only one _ sales? is that still the case? it is still. there is only one grammy i still. there is only one grammy award and it is the absolute peak of achievement, public achievement, whatever, except for a pulitzer or a nobel prize, in the music world. there is absolutely nothing like it. there is absolutely nothing like it. the brit awards are great, the american music awards are cool, there is nothing like a grammy. award shows in general have lost a lot of their lustre with the decline of network television, sorry. but to a musician it is still the ultimate thing. even when people fight for the grammys, like ariana grande got in a spat with the former producer of the show a few years ago and said, forget it, i am not appearing. but when she won her first grammy she posted that night a video of

herself dancing around her bedroom. that shows how much it means. ok, we will let you go and we will let you head out there. thank very much. jem as well from variety, heading out to the grammy awards, taking place tonight in los angeles. but here let's have a look at the weather. hello again. well, it's certainly been a weekend of two halves. take yesterday's weather. the satellite picture from saturday shows extensive cloud across the country, whereas today it's been, well, a lot sunnier, particularly across england, wales, northern ireland and at times, the south and east of scotland, enjoying some brighter conditions as well. there have been some areas of high cloud in the sky like here in pembrokeshire. just made the sunshine a little on the hazy side at times. but despite the sunniest skies working in today, it's actually been quite a bit cooler. temperatures dropping by around about 4 celsius in places and closer to average for this time of the year. now, overnight, high pressure is going to stay dominating across england and wales, keeping the skies clear and starry.

some clear weather as well for eastern scotland. and it's for these areas that we'll see a widespread frost with the lowest temperatures in the countryside, probably getting down to what, minus five or so, whereas across the northwest of the uk, here there'll be a lot more cloud around, and so probably a frost—free start to the day on monday. and indeed that cloud may thicken up enough to bring an odd spot of drizzle. otherwise, we're looking at a largely dry day. the best of the sunshine, though, once again, will be across england and wales, with temperatures quite close to average, 7 or 8 degrees, quite typically. some of the higher temperatures will be where it stays cloudier in the north west of the country, with temperatures up to ten. now, for tuesday, i think we're going to start the day with quite extensive and dense patches of freezing fog across parts of the south of the uk. some of that will last into the afternoon, making the weather particularly cold. a weak weather front drifts southwards across southern scotland, northern ireland, into northern england, thickening the cloud up to give an odd spot of drizzle. but still, for most of you, tuesday will be another dry day.

by wednesday, the winds will start to pick up, and that could mean that we don't see quite as much in the way of mist and fog and a better chance of seeing some cloud breaks to the east of high ground. temperatures still quite close to average across england and wales, 6—8 degrees. scotland and northern ireland still mild, 9 or 10 here. now, there will be some further changes later in the week as this cold front moves southwards across the country on thursday. there won't be a great deal of rain left on it by the time it reaches southern parts of england and wales. but it will allow some cooler air into northern areas — lerwick, for example, 5 degrees on thursday and we could even see a few wintry showers in the far north. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines. iranian state television says the country's supreme leader has pardoned thousands of prisoners, including many who took part in recent anti—government demonstrations. some human rights groups believe 20,000 people have been detained over the protests since mid—september. new cctv pictures of missing lancashire woman nicola bulley have been shared by one of her friends. the images show the 45—year—old in the hours before she went missing whilst walking next to the river wyre, nine days ago. the united states is trying to find the wreckage of a chinese surveillance balloon,

which it shot down over the atlantic on saturday. beijing has accused the us of an over—reaction.