welcome to bbc news. i'm vishala sri—pathma. our top stories... a un summit reaches a legally binding agreement on an environmental treaty for protecting high seas bio—diversity. fighting in the streets of bakhmut as russian forces continue their attempt to capture the ukrainian city. china's annual parliamentary session, the national people's congress, is underway in the great hall. trade, diplomacy and the environment will all be discussed during nine days of meetings. the united nations and iran reach an agreement that would allow further inspections of tehran�*s nuclear programme. hundreds of iranian schoolgirls

are targeted in a series of apparent poison gas attacks. aid agencies say they could have been singled out by religious groups. and prince harry describes writing his memoir as an act of service — he says he hopes sharing details of his life will help others. once the book came out in file incredibly free. i felt a huge weight off my shoulders. within the past hour, an historic agreement to protect the world's oceans has been approved, after ten years of talks. the high seas treaty aims to safeguard marine life in 30% of areas that don't belong to any single country. only about 1% of these areas are currently protected. the deal is being hailed as a �*massive step�* by climate activists, as our climate

reporter esme stallard reports. the ship has reached the shore. it took all night, but countries finally agreed how to protect the high seas. high seas that are international waters not controlled by any nation. they make up two thirds of the world's oceans and habits habit wildlife, some 2 million species. until now, all had a right to fish, ship and research in these areas but it has left the wildlife there vulnerable. around 10% of monitored species are at risk of extinction. i monitored species are at risk of extinction.— of extinction. i think that this treaty _ of extinction. i think that this treaty will _ of extinction. i think that this treaty will lay - of extinction. i think that this treaty will lay the i this treaty will lay the groundwork for creating 30% of the ocean into marine sanctuaries that cannot be fished in is so important. we have to save these creatures.

talks were deadlocked for years, mostly over genetic material for plants and animals found in the high seas should be shared between nations. several important drugs, including treatment for covid—i9, including treatment for covid-i9, hiv including treatment for covid—i9, hiv and cancer were developed from marine life. the potential for profit is huge. but no one knows how much ocean resources are truly worth, nor how they could be split. it’s resources are truly worth, nor how they could be split.- how they could be split. it's a little bit hard _ how they could be split. it's a little bit hard to _ how they could be split. it's a little bit hard to even - how they could be split. it's a little bit hard to even wrap i little bit hard to even wrap your— little bit hard to even wrap your head around how big and distant — your head around how big and distant these areas are. so if you _ distant these areas are. so if you imagine a big high definition widescreen tv, and if only— definition widescreen tv, and if only three or four of the pixels _ if only three or four of the pixels on _ if only three or four of the pixels on that giant screen are working. — pixels on that giant screen are working, that's kind of our knowledge of the deep ocean. we don't _ knowledge of the deep ocean. we don't know so much knowledge of the deep ocean. we don't know so much of knowledge of the deep ocean. we don't know so much of what knowledge of the deep ocean. we don't know so much of what is going — don't know so much of what is going on _ don't know so much of what is going om— going on. countries will need to meet again _ going on. countries will need to meet again to _ going on. countries will need to meet again to formally - going on. countries will need i to meet again to formally adopt the treaty, but for now, there will be much relief. just to

repeat, breaking news within the past hour, an historic agreement to protect the worlds oceans have been agreed, the high seas treaty to safeguard marine life in 30% of areas, they have come to an agreement on how to do that. only about i% on how to do that. only about i% of these areas are currently protected. ukrainian forces have come under increased pressure from russian troops in the besieged city of bakhmut which russia has been trying to capture in months of intense fighting. the deputy mayor of the city has told the bbc that the 4,000 civilians still living there, out of an original population of 75,000, have no gas, electricity or water. thousands of russian troops have died trying to take the eastern city. if it falls, it would be the first russian victory of note in more than six months. our diplomatic ccorrespondent james landale reports from kyiv. this is bakhmut, or at least what's left of it, after some of the fiercest fighting

since russia invaded ukraine. for more than six months, as the bbc has reported, ukrainian forces have held off a ferocious onslaught. but now russian commanders are growing increasingly confident, including the leader of the mercenaries known as the wagner group, which have been at the heart of the assault. translation: we have - almost surrounded bakhmut. there's only one road that remains in and out of the city, the pincers are closing. before, we were fighting against the professional ukrainian army, but now we fight against old men and boys. ukrainian forces are still defending the city, street by street, and reports suggest reinforcements are being sent in. but these russian troops, say the ukrainian army, is destroying bridges like these, potentially to prepare for what western analysts call a "controlled fighting withdrawal" from parts of the city.

local officials insist ukraine still controls bakhmut, but they accept there is now fighting in the streets. translation: the city is almost destroyed, i not a single building has remained untouched. currently there is no communication in the city so it's cut off. the russians are shelling everything. they want to destroy bakhmut like they did with mariupol. for sergei shoigu, russia's defence minister, making a flying visit to his forces in eastern ukraine, seizing bakhmut would be a rare military victory for him and his bosses in the kremlin. and perhaps a much—needed diplomatic boost, after an international audience in india laughed at russia's foreign minister. the war which we are trying to stop, and which was launched against us using ukraine... audience laughs ..ukrainian people... but for now, ukrainian

fighters on the ground in bakhmut still seem ready to fight their invaders every inch of the way, with russia paying a much higher and bloodier price. james landale, bbc news, kyiv. i'm joined now by michael mackay, canadian defence analyst who writes about the war in ukraine. thanks forjoining us. firstly, there has been a lot of conflicting messages about how strategic bakhmut actually is. what is your view? my view as it is not very strategic. it is not a railhead, it is not a major industrial centre, as your report said, it is a city of about 75,000 people. in the overall battle front, it is not significant, so i think the analysts who report that it is of little strategic value are

in fact correct. itjust happens to be where the russians have pulled all their reserves to put in all this effort and where they have had some success. they have had failures on all of the areas of the front. failures on all of the areas of the front-— failures on all of the areas of the front. ~ ., ., ,., , the front. we have had reports about kyiv _ the front. we have had reports about kyiv planning _ the front. we have had reports about kyiv planning a - the front. we have had reports about kyiv planning a sort - the front. we have had reports about kyiv planning a sort of l about kyiv planning a sort of controlled withdrawal.- controlled withdrawal. what does that — controlled withdrawal. what does that actually _ controlled withdrawal. what does that actually mean? it| does that actually mean? it means that the ukrainian forces are key control at the battlement conditions, and they withdraw to prepare positions. if we look at bakhmut. there is a minor north south river, and it looks like, from the destroyed bridges, that they are being prepared to possibly abandon some eastern neighbourhoods and full back to that. after that there is a north—south road. and then there is the prepared positions in the city to the west of ten kilometres. so it is where they

evacuate the civilians all that they can, because there will be people that refuse to go. they withdraw their armour, and alas they do is they withdraw their former troops and bombard the russians as they move into these positions, as they have been doing for the last six months. to the keeping control of the whole battlefield situation. in of the whole battlefield situation.— of the whole battlefield situation. , ., situation. in terms of the front line, _ situation. in terms of the front line, what - situation. in terms of the front line, what does - situation. in terms of the front line, what does it i front line, what does it mean to that? , ., front line, what does it mean tothat? , ., , ~ to that? does that shift? a bold shift, _ to that? does that shift? a bold shift, it _ to that? does that shift? a bold shift, it flattens - to that? does that shift? a bold shift, it flattens a - bold shift, it flattens a little bit, and it moves not more than ten kilometres west. that's what it means. in more than ten kilometres west. that's what it means.— that's what it means. in terms of how that — that's what it means. in terms of how that impacts _ that's what it means. in terms of how that impacts the - of how that impacts the military advances surf each side, what kind of military —— wider impact are we likely to see? i wider impact are we likely to see? ~ , see? ithink very little. i think the _ see? ithink very little. i think the example - see? ithink very little. i think the example we i see? ithink very little. i. think the example we may see? ithink very little. i- think the example we may see if the ukrainians decide to do a controlled withdrawal, is what we saw a year ago in a similar

situation. controlled withdrawal, and the ukrainians withdrew further west to nearby towns. the battlefront is still there, and ukrainians are pressing still further north in ukrainian. the significance of it i think will play out the same way that their sea chunks geared as a city to the north of bakhmut. .— geared as a city to the north of bakhmut. . thank you very much for _ of bakhmut. . thank you very much forjoining _ of bakhmut. . thank you very much forjoining us _ of bakhmut. . thank you very much forjoining us will- of bakhmut. . thank you very much forjoining us will be i much forjoining us will be following events closely. china's annual parliamentary session has opened in beijing and the chinese premier li keqiang is delivering the government's work report. he's announced an economic growth target of about 5%, one of the lowest in years. the chinese economy grew by just 3% last year under pressure from strict covid containment policies. but delivering the government's work report, the premier li keqiang said china had maintained economic stability.

the nine—day session is expected to tighten president xi jinping's grip on power still further. the united nations and iranian authorities have announced an agreement that would allow un officials to carry out further inspections of tehran's nuclear programme. the announcement was made at the end of a two—day visit to the capital, by the head of international atomic energy agency, rafael grossi. his trip followed the discovery of traces of uranium, enriched to an almost weapon—grade level, at an underground nuclear plant in iran. here's mr grossi speaking earlier after he arrived back in vienna. this in the first place, the interactions we have, the inspections and what is expected from iran. in the second place, the issues related to some

of the questions about which, you know, locations where we have been trying to find clarifications from iran. and finally, very importantly, our ability to establish monitoring and verification measures that we believe are indispensable as a very concrete, very tangible result of this important mission. the bbc�*s bethany bell has been monitoring events for us in vienna. iran and the iaea have issued a joint statement which says that iran is prepared to give more information and more access to un nuclear inspectors who've been looking into past nuclear work by iran. and this announcement was made after a two day visit

by the head of the iaea, rafael grossi. and he said this included reinstalling monitoring equipment in some sites, including cameras. now, the iaea has also, in a separate development, been concerned about the discovery of traces of highly enriched uranium at one of iran's underground nuclear site at fordow. and the concern about this is because weapons—grade enriched uranium is 90%. and what was discovered at fordow was 84%. and we know now, mr grossi says, that there will be 50% more inspections at fordow to try to get to the bottom of this. iran says that its nuclear programme is peaceful. and although it did acknowledge that there could have been what it called unintended

fluctuations at fordow. mr grossi said he hoped that this was a new phase in relations between iran and the iaea. he said he had got concrete steps that had been agreed here, but other countries may be more sceptical, saying that iran has made such promises in the past and not delivered. will it deliver now, is the big question. hundreds of schoolgirls in iran have been targeted, in an apparent poison gas attack. schools in at least 15 provinces were attacked on saturday. the incidents have been happening since november but have spread in scope and scale over the past week. nobody has been arrested and public anger is continuing to grow. you may find some of this report by parham ghobadi distressing. mass poisoning of schoolgirls in iran, possibly with toxic gas. numerous schools in several provinces across the country

were attacked on saturday. students who have fallen ill are being taken into an ambulance in karaj, a city near capital, tehran. this girl says she can't breathe. here in southern iran, some are taken into a hospital while coughing. hospitals are packed. a girl shouts. the principal is nowhere to be found. a student from tehran told us despite the smell of gas, they were kept indoors for a while. translation: they wouldn't let us leave the classrooms - first, although everyone was smelling the gas. when we finally went to the courtyard they wouldn't let us leave the school. asking us not to worry and they said the smell would go away. they feared the news would make it to the media. here, an ambulance is seen inside the school, but worried parents are kept behind the closed doors. parents are furious.

they chanted, "we don't want a child killing regime." it shows they think hardline elements backed by the regime are behind this to prevent girls from going to school. concerned mothers have staged a protest in tehran. one says they were dispersed from the ministry of education. but the iranian president put the blame on the west, calling the school poisoning hybrid warfare. translation: in this. psychological and media warfare regarding schools, they are seeking to frighten our students and their parents. a distressed mother in central town of kashan shouts at an official, "why are you doing this to our children?" some suspect this is a revenge attack because the schoolgirls joined a protest that swept the country in september. girls in iran have been fighting forfreedom. now, they are fighting for their breath. parham ghobadi, bbc news.

let's get some of the day's other news. the british prime minister, rishi sunak, says he is committed to ensuring that no—one who arrives in the uk illegally will be allowed to stay. writing in the mail on sunday newspaper, mr sunak described his determination to stop migrants crossing the channel in small boats. large rallies have taken place across israel for the ninth consecutive week in protest at the government's plans to overhaul the judicial system. tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in tel aviv where police used water cannons to clear the crowds. there were also some clashes injerusalem. this is bbc news, the headlines.... a un summit has reached a legally binding agreement on an environmental treaty for protecting high seas bio—diversity. fighting in the streets of bakhmut as russian forces continue their attempt to capture the ukrainian city. there has been severe

flooding in malaysia, in the southern state ofjohor, near neighbouring singapore. police said at least four people have died, including a man whose car was swept away by floodwaters, and an elderly couple who drowned. nearly 41,000 have been evacuated to schools and community centres. our reporter sofia bettiza has the story. these are some of the most extreme floods to ever hit malaysia. as the waters rose, people here had to leave their homes, taking with them whatever they could carry. translation: the flooding happened too quickly, - and the water rose too fast. we couldn't salvage any of our belongings in our homes. the torrential rain flooded roads, submerged cars and damage peoples homes. some were trapped inside. translation: i've been stuck here in my room, |

unable to go anywhere. only today i've been able to get out. everywhere here is flooded. thousands of people have been evacuated to schools and community centres. but as the rain keeps pouring down, relentlessly, it is disrupting relief efforts. translation: we just accept this, whatever god has given. | what can we do? we cannot moan about our luck, because over here, everyone is going through the same thing. floods in malaysia are common during monsoon season, between october and march, but this amount of continuous torrential rain is unprecedented. and with warnings that the rain could go on until april, many fear that they have not seen the end of this yet. sofia bettiza, bbc news.

prince harry has described writing his book spare as an act of service and says he hopes that sharing details of his life will help others. in a livestreamed conversation with a trauma specialist, the prince said he's not a victim and has never looked for sympathy but has always felt different to the rest of his family, and is grateful he'd been able to move to california. here's our royal correspondent daniela relph. for an hour and a half they talked. it had the feel of a therapy session. prince harry on grief, family and trauma. i certainly don't see myself as a victim. i'm really grateful to be able to share my story and i do not and i have never looked for sympathy in this. you had to buy a ticket to watch the online conversation. each one came with a copy of spare. harry described writing his book as an act of service and spoke of feeling trapped within the royal family. i always felt slightly different to the rest of my family.

i felt strange being in this container. and i know that my mum felt the same. now, 38 years old, dad to a son and a daughter, he vowed not to repeat what he saw as past mistakes. i, as a father, feel a huge responsibility to ensure that i don't pass on any traumas that... or, i guess, any negative experiences that i've had as a kid or as a man growing up. harry was candid about his own mental health. the doctor even diagnosed him as having attention deficit disorder, a condition that affects behaviour, and they spoke of using psychedelic medication. i started doing it recreationally and then started to realise how good it was for me. and i would say that it is one of the fundamental parts

of my life that changed me and helped me deal with the traumas and the pains of the past. on serving in afghanistan, not all of us agreed with the war, he said, but we did what we were trained to do. there was, though, nothing about his current relationship with the royal family. no questions on whether he would be at his father's coronation. and as for his wife, meghan, he described her as an exceptional human being to whom he was eternally grateful. daniela relph, bbc news. tunisian director youssef chebbi has won the top prize at the fespaco. that's africa's largest film festival which ended saturday in burkina faso's capital ouagadougou. thousands of fimmakers from across the continent, took part in the festival which started a week ago. earlier bbc afrique's nicolas negocejoined me

from ouagadougou and gave a brief background of this festival. it was really nice and exciting, you know, during more than a week, 170 films made by africans were showcased to the local population. fespaco, as you said, is the biggest african film festival, the first addition to place in burkina festival in 1969, and since then each two years, film universe gather here in burkina festival to exchange, to talk, to discuss about the future of african cinema. and it hasn't been the most smooth week in terms of security in burkina faso. tell us a bit about that. it is usual to hear every day about an attack here in burkina faso, but for the past days, it has been pretty calm in the country.

ijust would like to remind the fact that burkina festival —— booking up fast so, -- booking up is touched by. a jihadist violence, especially violence, especially in the north of the country. 10,000 people were killed during the past seven years, and 2 million people were displaced because of the insecurity. here in ouagadougou, the capital of burkina faso, thousands of people gathered for this 28 edition of fespaco, and everything happened really smoothly. so back to the festival, in terms of the big winners, who were the standouts for you? so, the big prize of the fespaco was given to the tunisian director youssef chebbi for his movie called ashkal.

it's a thriller taking place in a district of tunis. a very important movie for the burkina population, sira, made by the burkina film—maker apolline traore. sira took the second place. and in the third seat, we have the movie made by angela wamai from kenya called shimoni. so, that is for the three most important prizes of the competition which also had documentaries, tv series. a reminder of our breaking news this hour. after more than fifteen years of negotiations, the countries of the united nations have agreed the first ever treaty to protect the world's oceans that lie outside national boundaries. delegates cheered and applauded as the agreement was finally signed in new york.

environmental groups say it will help reverse marine biodiversity losses and ensure sustainable development. the high seas make up more than 60% of the world's oceans. hello. there's big weather changes on the horizon, but for the time being, it's as you were. sunday, another grey day for many, particularly across england, wales and northern ireland. greater chance, actually, on sunday compared with saturday of a few showers around too, mainly of rain. there'll be some showers across scotland, heaviest in the north, but through the afternoon, central—southern scotland should see a few more sunnier breaks appear. they'll push their way into northern england, potentially north wales as well. another cool day under that cloud sheet, five to nine degrees. coldest, though, in shetland 3c, where after a brief spell of rain could see some significant snow through sunday night into monday morning and then snow showers packing in across the north of scotland. wherever you see clear skies, there will be a frost around on monday morning.

and of course, the grounds damp, the risk of some icy patches, too. but as we go into the new week, this is where the changes really begin, behind this weatherfront, which through monday will start to track its way southwards, by tuesday that will be down across the channel islands, opening the door tojust about all and some pretty cold arctic air. with it, there could be some disruption from snowfall too on monday, initially across the north and east of scotland. tuesday, that extends into northeast england. travel disruption could be possible and some very icy conditions by night. here's that weather front on monday, starts in central parts of scotland. band of rain fragmenting, turning to a bit of sleet and snow over the hills. the main snow risk will be in the far north of scotland as we go through monday. some sunshine elsewhere, turning colder here. to the south of our band, well, lots of cloud again, eight or nine degrees. but that band of fragmenting rain, sleet and increasingly snow will push its way southwards through the night. clearing skies in its wake means a significant ice risk for some of you as we go through the night and into tuesday morning. but for tuesday itself,

other than a band of cloud and outbreaks of rain towards the english channel, most, lots of sunshine around, good visibility, but frequent snow showers in northern scotland, some down eastern counties of england, too, and a very cold day. this is what it will feel like out there in the wind, feeling subzero for many. and as we go into the night, a very cold night to come, a widespread and quite sharp frost with temperatures into minus double digits across some areas of scotland, particularly where the snow is lying. so a cold start to tuesday, but with that cold air in place, there are some uncertainties as we go through the second half of the week. areas of low pressure pushing to that cold air could give a risk of some disruptive snowfall before milder air in the south. all the details, though, on weather for the week ahead on the bbc weather website.

this is bbc news, the headlines... members of the united nations have agreed the basis of an international legally—binding deal to protect the world's oceans. delegates had been in continuous negotitions for almost two days before finalising a biodiversity treaty for high seas that lie outside national boundaries. the russian army and wagner mercenaries are putting increasing pressure on ukrainian soldiers to withdraw from the eastern city of bakhmut. the city's deputy mayor has said thousands of civilians are living in shelters without access to electricity or water, as the fierce street fighting continues. china's annual parliamentary session, the national people's congress, is under way in beijing's great hall. trade, diplomacy, and the environment will all be discussed during nine days of meetings.