this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. iranian state television says the country's supreme leader has pardoned thousands of prisoners, including many who'd 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. 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 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. and who'll claim the major prizes at this year's grammy awards? all you need to know about music's biggest night. hello, welcome to bbc 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. the supreme leader has agreed to pardon and commute sentences of tens of thousands of people who are in prison or who are waiting for sentences. the letter from the judiciary said a considerable number of people who were arrested and imprisoned in relation to the recent protests are among these people. but there is a long list of conditions for these people to be pardoned. one of those conditions is they shouldn't be linked to any spying activity, they shouldn't be facing any charges of corruption on earth

or waging war against god. as you can see, these are quite ambiguous charges as well 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 show remorse and also they have to provide a written promise that they will not participate in the protests or take similar actions again. that is what has raised some concerns among social media users and people who have been listening to the news today and who have said that this can potentially be problematic and can potentially be a long process. it may be possible for some to be pardoned or released. i

have been talking to an expert from amnesty international. we do usually get pardons around the anniversary of the revolution. one is on 11th february and usually around the new years as well. but it is fare for them to pardon those involved in political protest. i think it is interesting that 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. let's really see what comes out of these promises and if the government really will follow through with them. and so is this even announced more for international consumption? i think it is and i think the timing is very relevant actually.

yesterday we had a major opposition figure in iran, mir—hossein mousavi, who is one of the leaders of the green reformist movement in iran and a presidential candidate in 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. he urged for fundamental change and a new constitution and a constitutional assembly based on the promise of freedom. that is huge, for somebody the leader of the reformist movement to come out and say it is not possible to work within the current confines of the islamic regime. that really reflects the sentiment not just of the protesters, but of the national mood. and how many people does amnesty international believe are currently in detention as a direct result of those anti—government protests that

we have been witnessing and people have seen images around the world of? ~ ., have seen images around the world of? ~ . , ., have seen images around the world of? . ,., , have seen images around the world of? ~ . , ., , ., of? we have said up to tens of thousands _ of? we have said up to tens of thousands and _ of? we have said up to tens of thousands and that _ of? we have said up to tens of thousands and that is - of? we have said up to tens of thousands and that is based i of? we have said up to tens of| thousands and that is based on leaked recordings. up to tens of thousands have been detained as part of the protests, unfairly so, just simply for exercising their right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. and of course hundreds were killed as part of this process. little forth was used against protesters, live bullets were used and were killed. four young protesters were arbitrarily executed, hung in secret and many more are at risk. we said that at least 14 are at imminent risk of execution, including someone who has mental health concerns. he remains at imminent risk of execution. we know these pardons do not extend to those who have received death sentences and received their

sentences and received their sentences as a result of torture and tainted confessions. we have said we have recorded that these individuals have recorded that these individuals have been raped, tortured and flogged and as a result have confessed to crimes which they have not done, they have been involved peaceful process —— protest. the government has said they are not subject to these parties. the government needs to drop all the charges, course convictions and death sentences against all those involved in peaceful protest. the latest air from _ involved in peaceful protest. the latest air from amnesty international following those pardons in iran. 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 working assumption is that she fell into the river and today many members of the local community joined 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 she 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. danny savage, bbc news, st michael's on wyre. 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 tax and spend 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.

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 out their politically? how concerning is that to rishi sunak at the moment? well, i don't think 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 the party loses office 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 way you are describing all of that, even the use of the language that you are using, is it quite bitter? you are using the word battle, is it a 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 had several prime ministers, several changes of approach, accumulated grievances, frustration that having been

in power they have not got more done. whatever that more is. so, yes, absolutely, it is increasingly fractious. you can see that in the briefings 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. henry hill, the deputy editor of conservative home. 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 a 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. earlier i spoke to lgbt campaigner jayne ozanne who's a memeber of the general synod, the assembly of the church of england. she told me how significant these comments are. for the leader of the catholic church to come out and say this is not a sin, these are real people, they are loved by god, it is quite a long way from the harsh rhetoric we have had over the years and it is part of the trajectory to push on constantly since i met him in 2019 of 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 sinful and 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 talk about the issue of marriage and gay people getting married in church and that is still not something that is possible. so is he trying to balance two things here?— possible. so 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 - two things here? yes, he is wanting to have it all ways. in fact i think . to have it all ways. in fact i think the archbishop of canterbury who was on the plane with him would be in the same boat. they are trying to be, quote, lgbt friendly, but at the same time saying you are still second class, you can't get married, you can't be in a relationship that we will bless. 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, and so to be in communion with him, to take him with them on the journey, that was also 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 lgbt community. talking about the comments made by pope francis. three children and a woman thought to be around 20 have died after a boat carrying more than a0 migrants from turkey capsized. it sank off the greek island of leros according to coastgards. search operations continue but are being hampered by strong winds and choppy seas. a total of 41 survivors were rescued, including six children.

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 or homeless 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 in 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. now we are going to catch up with the latest sports news.

harry kane, the history maker, becoming tottenham boss my all—time record scorer, surpassing jimmy greaves. it was his 267 goal for the club and it dented manchester city's title ambitions. the england captain reached the landmark with a composed finish. pep guardiola's city remain five points behind arsenal. tottenham's victory moves them one point behind fourth placed newcastle. to point behind fourth placed newcastle.— point behind fourth placed newcastle. ., ., .,~ g , newcastle. to overtake jimmy greaves, one _ newcastle. to overtake jimmy greaves, one of _ newcastle. to overtake jimmy greaves, one of the _ newcastle. to overtake jimmy greaves, one of the best - newcastle. to overtake jimmy i greaves, one of the best strikers newcastle. to overtake jimmy - greaves, one of the best strikers to ever play our game, i am just really grateful and, like i said, ever play our game, i am just really gratefuland, like i said, i ever play our game, i am just really grateful and, like i said, i look back over the years and my first premier legal at the old white hart lane against sunderland and the years go by so quick and ijust try and take it all in and i am not sure icould and take it all in and i am not sure i could have done it yet, but my friends and my family were here and to do it at home in a 1—0 victory,

it wasjust perfect. to do it at home in a 1-0 victory, it wasjust perfect.— it wasjust perfect. nottingham forest beat _ it wasjust perfect. nottingham forest beat leeds _ it wasjust perfect. nottingham forest beat leeds to _ it wasjust perfect. nottingham forest beat leeds to move - it wasjust perfect. nottingham forest beat leeds to move six| it wasjust perfect. nottingham - forest beat leeds to move six points clear of the relegation places. they were second best throughout the first—half but led at the break next to johnson's 14th minute first—half but led at the break next tojohnson�*s14th minute strike. four is comfortably held on for a third victory in five premier league games. they moved to 13th place in the table. , ., , , games. they moved to 13th place in the table. , ., _ ~' ., games. they moved to 13th place in the table. , ., _ ~ ., ., the table. obviously we know what the table. obviously we know what the table. obviously we know what the table situation _ the table. obviously we know what the table situation is _ the table. obviously we know what the table situation is and _ the table. obviously we know what the table situation is and the - the table situation is and the frustrating thing is to just let opponents, after opponent slip away. we have got to change that dialogue and we have got to change that internally to become more winners, instead of finding ways to lose. that is basically no my full responsibility. it that is basically no my full responsibility.— that is basically no my full responsibility. that is basically no my full resonsibili . , , , responsibility. it is probably the first time where _ responsibility. it is probably the first time where we _ responsibility. it is probably the first time where we maybe - responsibility. it is probably thej first time where we maybe have responsibility. it is probably the - first time where we maybe have not played _ first time where we maybe have not played great and got something out of the _ played great and got something out of the game. there have been a lot of the game. there have been a lot of games— of the game. there have been a lot of games where we have played really -ood of games where we have played really good football and we came away with

nothing _ good football and we came away with nothing. maybe the players deserved the lock _ nothing. maybe the players deserved the lock. but for sure we need to play better— the lock. but for sure we need to play better with the ball in the next _ play better with the ball in the next game and show the defending structure _ next game and show the defending structure and personality that we did in_ structure and personality that we did in the — structure and personality that we did in the second half. a lot to reflect— did in the second half. a lot to reflect on_ did in the second half. a lot to reflect on but at least we walk out with three — reflect on but at least we walk out with three points.— with three points. defending champions _ with three points. defending champions france _ with three points. defending champions france came - with three points. defending| champions france came from with three points. defending - champions france came from behind with three points. defending _ champions france came from behind to avoid a shock defeat and beat italy in a thrilling rugby union six nations game. italy went into the lead for the first time with 50 minutes ago before france went over from close range as france claimed eight bonus points wins. it stretches their unbeaten run to 1a matches after they won the grand slam last year. they travel to dublin to face the world's number one men's side, ireland, on saturday, while italy face england at twickenham a day later. that is all for now. we will have more in the next hour.

the biggest names in the music industry are gathering in los angeles for the 65th grammy awards. beyonce leads the nominations with nine — she could break the record for the most wins in the history of the grammys. this year there are 91 categories and among the contenders for album of the year as well as beyonce are abba, adele, and coldplay. jem aswad is the deputy music editor at variety. he told me that though there has been a decline in tv viewers for award ceremonies, the grammys are still the peak achievement in the industry. there is only one grammy award. it is the absolute peak of achievement, public achievement, whatever, except for the pulitzer or the nobel prize or something like that, in the music world. 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 and even when people fight with the grammys, like ariana grande i got in a scrap 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. so that shows how much it means. ~ ., ., bedroom. so that shows how much it means. a, ., bedroom. so that shows how much it means. ., ~ , means. more from los angeles as the ni . ht means. more from los angeles as the night progresses. _ means. more from los angeles as the night progresses. i — means. more from los angeles as the night progresses, i am _ means. more from los angeles as the night progresses, i am sure. - means. more from los angeles as the night progresses, i am sure. thank i night progresses, i am sure. thank you for being with us. you are watching bbc news. 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. i'mjane hill i'm jane hill with 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.