this is bbc world 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. we will formally adopt the text in all six official languages of the united nations. a reduced growth rate, increased defence spending, and army training in combat conditions — some of the things china announces at the start of its annual parliamentary session. in israel, up to 200,000 people take part in protests against the government's planned judicial reforms.

fighting on the streets of bakhmut as russian forces continue their attempt to capture the ukrainian city. 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, i felt incredibly free. i felt a huge weight off my shoulders. after more than 15 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. 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. cheering we will formally adopt the text in all six official languages of the united nations. it took all night, but countries from around the world finally agreed on how to protect the high seas. high seas are international waters not controlled by any nation. they make up two thirds of the world's oceans and play host to most of our planet's marine life, some 2 million species. until now, all countries had a right to fish, ship and research in these areas, but it has left the animals and plants there vulnerable. around 10% of monitored species are at risk of extinction.

i think that this treaty that 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 how genetic material from plants and animals found in the high seas should be shared between nations. several important drugs, 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 a little bit hard to even wrap our heads around how big and distant these areas are. so if you imagine a big high definition widescreen tv, and if only three or four of the pixels on that

giant screen are working, that's kind of our knowledge of the deep ocean. we don't know so much of what is going on. countries will need to meet again to formally adopt the treaty, but for many, now, there will be much relief. esme stallard, bbc news. i've been speaking to nichola clark — she's an 0ceans governance expert with pew charitable trust who joined us from the un headquarters in new york. she told me how much this significant this moment is. it was an incredible moment to be in the united nations. we have been working on trying to secure this treaty. we have been talking about this idea for over 20 years, and it took a lot of work, and there is a lot of enthusiasm and just generaljoy in the room that we were finally able to get it across the finish line. and this means a lot in terms of being able to protect these international waters.

it enables us to create high seas and marine protected areas which are some of the most important tools we have in our tool box to protect marine biodiversity and ecosystem services, and it provides us a really important pathway to achieve this goal of protecting 30% of our oceans by 2030. so, these finer details have been bashed out and it has been agreed upon. what is in the implementation now? how does that work? right, so, it will have to go through legal scrubbing and be formally adopted. but after that, it will go to a ratification phase, where states will have to formally ratify. once we reach that number, then it will enter into force, and we can actually start to implement it, which is really exciting to think about. could you briefly tell us what this means for biodiversity now? it means that, for the first

time, we have some incredible tools in our tool box to provide meaningful protections for these areas, which make up two thirds of our ocean and cover almost half of the surface of our planet. we're going to be able to protect some of those incredible places through marine protected areas. and also have some baseline safeguards to ensure that any activities that take place there are sustainable and will not have significant adverse impacts on the environment. and how are these countries going to be accountable to these very high standards now? sure. i have to confess i haven't seen the details yet. it was just gavelled less than an hour ago. and we have not seen the final version yet. but to say, it is going

to create a number of new... it will create a new body and a couple of different committees that will help with facilitating implementation and compliance. china's annual parliamentary session has opened in beijing. the chinese premier li keqiang has been delivering the government's work report. he's announced an economic growth target of about 5% — one of the lowest in years. and china's defence spending is to rise by more than 7% this year — marginally up on last year. let's speak to our correspondent stephen mcdonell in beijing. it's interesting that they have a lot of convincing to do to foreign and national investors. in other countries it might seem ambitious, but not really

in china. it doesn't sound like a lot in china. so when this congress opened in beijing, here on this rather belated day, the economy was front and centre. and this meeting is like glee designed to be laying out a bit of a blueprint, a way forward for the country to come out of the coronavirus period, to try and give people hope, that faith that it is in good hands. but the other thing this congress is doing is putting president xijinping's people into these key roles, more of his people into the key roles and thus solidifying his control of the party. the question being asked is that with so many president xi jinping loyalists in these positions, ministries, head of the peoples bank, propaganda chief, you name it, will the government kind of be echoing

—— operating here in an echo chamber. there won't be the fearless advice needed in making these decisions if there is too much fare around for people saying the wrong thing. so that is why everyone is looking to see who gets put into all of these positions. what does president xi jinping achieve here? he is promising a huge overhaul in terms of economic policy.- huge overhaul in terms of economic policy. they are talkinu economic policy. they are talking about _ economic policy. they are talking about changes - economic policy. they are talking about changes to l talking about changes to procedures within the government here, the relationship with the party and the government. that all sounds a bit dry. changing this and that means we are making laws are what have you. but what it amounts to, though, is again giving him and his people in the party more power. so it is more powerfor the party, less power for the government, if i

can put it to you that way. and this is, again, why questions are being asked. is this the leadership team that will be able to move china forward? 5%, around 5% gdp growth, many countries would love to have a bit of that. and it is going to take off this year. imagine china's growth going up quite quickly, but it's coming at a very low base. the fear is that that might start to plateau, and the measures that have been put in place, we might have too many rigidities, it stifles the economy, and big questions are being asked about where the new drivers are going to come. i’m drivers are going to come. i'm sure we will— drivers are going to come. i'm sure we will be _ drivers are going to come. i'm sure we will be talking to you over the next week. thank you very much, steven mcdonnell in beijing for us. 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. 0ur diplomatic correspondent 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. 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. 0ur reporter sofia bettiza reports. for the ninth week in a row, tens of thousands of israelis took to the streets. in the capitaljerusalem and in tel aviv. they have been protesting against a controversial plan by prime minister benjamin netanyahu that would allow ministers to choose supreme courtjudges and would limit the court's powers. tonight, we came to express our democratic rights and to fight for what is right, and to hope that there will be a constitution, and the separation of authorities will remain

as it is and will improve, without impulsive reforms and without crazy people in the parliament. but, the parliament includes a number of nationalist religious parties that have made changes to the justice system a key priority. they say the supreme court needs to be reined in from over reaching into the political sphere. but many fear that this will weaken the court and give the government too much influence when appointing judges. the separation of powers is very important, and they want to cut the judicial independence, and i think it is very dangerous. besides, what is very dangerous is the way this government is treating palestinians and the fact that it wants to annex big parts of the west bank. it is very extreme, nationalist, racist, religious, even fascist government. these were the largest demonstrations so far against the government's judicial reforms. they were largely peaceful, but later in the night,

things turned violent. some people broke down barricades and blocked highways. the police used water cannons to clear the crowds. and things are getting increasingly tense. earlier this week, police in tel aviv fired stand grenades at protesters. but with many people fearing that democracy in israel is under threat, tensions are likely to get worse. sofia bettiza, bbc news. this is bbc news. the headlines... a un summit has reached a legally binding agreement on an environmental treaty for protecting high seas biodiversity. china has announced a reduced growth target and greater defence spending at the start of the annual parliamentary

session in bejing. 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, that could be enriched to an almost weapon—grade level. it was found at an underground nuclear plant in iran. here's mr grossi speaking earlier after he arrived back in vienna. 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. 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.

0ne 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. 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. 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. 0n 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. a reminder of our main news this hour. after more than 15 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 and are threatened by climate change, pollution and overfishing.

you can reach me on twitter. i'm @bbcvishalasp 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.

bettiza 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. china's annual parliamentary session, the national people's congress, is underway in beijing's great hall. trade, diplomacy, and the environment will all be discussed during nine days of meetings. the chinese leader xi jinping is due to be confirmed as president for a third term. israel has seen the largest protests so far against the government's planned judicial reforms. up to 200,000 people took to the streets, with flags and banners. the changes would allow ministers to choose seniorjudges and limit the courts powers.