to the daily mail and she said she contacted the police several times over the weekend. her impression was that they didn't believe it was worth investigating on saturday and early sunday morning. at one stage, she was told to stop contacting them. she believes, had they reacted sooner, the car could have been found sooner as well. sophie russon had an operation last night. we understand she is still in a critical condition. shane loughlin, the other survivor, is also in a critical condition. as you can see behind me, a number of family and friends are out here again today, laying floral tributes, paying respects to family and friends who were involved in this terrible tragedy. now, the police response has been they won't comment on those allegations made by family and friends, because they have referred themselves to the iopc, the independent office of police conduct, and they will let that investigation take place. the local mp has also urged caution, saying that people need to wait for that investigation to be carried

out in full, so everybody knows the facts. but all in all, this has been a terrible tragedy and there are still questions to be asked as to why and how this car came to be around the corner here, in a crash site on its own and wasn't discovered for almost 48 hours after the crash took place. uefa, the governing body of european football, will refund liverpool fans who had tickets for the champions league final in paris last year. a recent independent report owned uefa ball primary responsibility for the chaotic scenes before the game against real madrid where fans were pennedin against real madrid where fans were penned in and sprayed with tear gas outside the star to france as was delayed by 36 minutes. uefa says the scheme covers all of the liverpool fc ticket allocation for the final. a court heard today how nine

year old olivia pratt—korbel was killed by a gunman in what was described as �*a ruthless pursuit�* of a man who was his intended victim. olivia was fatally wounded at her home in august last year. the bullet allegedly fired by thomas cashman went through the front door. cashman denies all the charges. our north of england correspondent, judith moritz, was in court, and she gave us this update. the trial got under way this morning in courtroom number one. the jury was told that this is the case of a shooting which went horribly wrong. the prosecution have laid out the case and they say that on the 22nd of august last year, thomas cashman was lying in wait for a man called joseph nee. the court was told thomas cashman relentlessly pursued joseph nee. his task was to kill him. we were played cctv in the courtroom and we could hear three loud bangs. the prosecution saying that is imagery of cashman as he shotjoseph nee. after those three shots, joseph nee, fearing for his life, he was able to run away.

he ran towards the nearest house. the nearest house he could see, cheryl korbel�*s house. she had heard the noise and opened her door wondering what the commotion was. as the door opened, joseph nee fell through it. we heard at that point thomas cashman fired his gun again. he had two guns and he fired his gun and the bullet went through the front door. the jury was told it went through cheryl's hand as she tried to shut the door and then we heard that her little girl, olivia, who had come screaming down the stairs saying, "mum, i'm scared," that bullet went through from cheryl korbel�*s hand into olivia and the jury heard that was the shot that killed the nine—year—old girl. we have heard details of how the police were called and tried to save her and took olivia to hospital, but she was sadly pronounced dead that evening. this trial is just under way. as you said at the beginning,

thomas cashman denies all of the charges against him. we are getting pictures from pirates of the protests we spoke to our correspondents hugh schofield about earlier —— we are getting pictures from paris. these are against plans to raise the age at which you can claim pension in france from 62 to 64. there has been a lot of disquiet about these government plans and a recent poll suggests 80% of the population is opposed to pushing the retirement age back to 64. lots of disquiet and rancour felt towards president emmanuel macron, as hugh schofield described it later. the government is pushing ahead with these plans because of what has been described as a huge deficit in its pension system. one minister has

described doing nothing about the projected pension deficit as irresponsible. so some of the protests turning a little bit unsettled, you can see riot police, people milling around, there have been protests across the north and south of france, particularly centred in cities and towns across the country. this is all to do with the country. this is all to do with the legal retirement age being raised. i have been told there is the use of some tear gas against protesters. you can hear shouting going on, protesters wearing masks across their faces. going on, protesters wearing masks across theirfaces. police going on, protesters wearing masks across their faces. police are having to deal with this in many different towns across the country. we have also heard there are strikes of deliveries of fuel, fuel deliveries have been blocked from all french refineries, according to

union officials. protesters are aiming to bring the countries to a standstill, a member of the cgt union said the strike has begun everywhere. there have been a few days of this, today marks the sixth days of this, today marks the sixth day and since mid—january, but unions say today was the biggest yet. riot police are standing off against protesters who are shouting at them and holding up banners and posters. you can also hear the sound of what i think, i don't know, i have no idea, it could be tear gas. i think we will come off these pictures to bring you up to date, if we see anything else happening we will take you straight back. the charity age uk is calling for all households on pre—payment

meters to be given the choice to have it removed. energy firms have paused force—fitting the meters until the end of this month — but what happens next is yet to be announced. our cost of living correspondent colletta smith has more. so the noodles have just been placed into boiling water. everyone here is keen to stay warm, have a chat and learn how to cook without spending a fortune. i've got an electric throw and i plug that in, put it around me, rather than put an electric fire on. get stuck in. jackie's here with her pals judy, madge and joe. but while they all pay by direct debit, jackie's gas is on a pre—payment meter. and her gas costs more as a result. it isn't fair. everybody should be paying the same amount. but, you know, that's the way it goes at the moment. mary turns 80 this year and was switched to a pre—payment meter for gas and electricity after struggling to pay her bills. she says the thought of not being able to get out to the shops to top up in bad weather does worry her, and, occasionally, she's

not noticed when she's running low. i had run out and the shop was shut. i had to wait till the next morning. while some customers are happy to pay in advance for their energy, that's not true for everyone. i've spoken to so many different people of all different ages who've moved into a house with a pre—payment meter or had one installed, and they've had real difficulty getting it reversed again. and that's what age uk want to change. the regulator ofgem are spending the rest of this month reviewing the way meters are installed and they're examining tougher rules for switching those in financial difficulty. but they and energy suppliers have told me that allowing people who already have a meter to choose to switch off it could leave millions of pounds in unrecoverable debt, which everyone else would have to pay for. but age uk think it's too dangerous not to allow people the option to switch away from pre—payment.

i went to somebody�*s house and they told me that they were cooking a roast dinner for their wife and himself. they weren't cooking anything. i saw in their fridge, there was no food. i saw that they didn't have the electricity on. the neighbours said that they were concerned about them. it's not ok. and the next lucky winner is 123. cheering. there are no easy wins when deciding what happens next. there we go. i told you it was going to be fast. but the government and the regulator are under pressure to protect prepayment customers better. colletta smith, bbc news, in trafford. an alligator believed stolen from a zoo in texas 20 years ago has been returned after being discovered in a nearby home. this eight foot long creature is thought to have been taken two decades ago as either an 999 taken two decades ago as either an egg or a hatchling. the female gator

was found near the city of austin last week before being taken back home to the animal world and snake farm zoo where she is said to be settling in well. dozens of schools are closed in scotland as heavy snow continues to cause problems. all schools in shetland have been shut due to the weather, as are more than 80 in aberdeenshire. many bus services have been delayed or cancelled, amidst difficult driving conditions. the met office has warned snow and ice could cause travel disruption in scotland through to friday night. i'm back in just a few minutes with more on all of our top stories. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @bbcmaryam. now let's take a look at the weather with helen willets. good afternoon. some lovely weather watcher pictures coming in of the snow in the north. but, as we know, snow can cause significant disruption and that's what we're expecting for the next couple of days — transport delays, cancellations, stranded vehicles, power cuts. there are numerous warnings in force. and we're pretty certain that what comes out of the sky on weather

fronts will fall as snow, because we're all in the arctic air right now and we've got weather fronts waiting in the atlantic to bring that snow in. but, for the rest of the day, our smattering of sleet and snow has cleared the south. most of the snow showers will continue across the north and the east, northern ireland, and it's cold out there despite the sunshine. and overnight, temperatures will drop like a stone. it's going to be the coldest night of the year so far across the glens of scotland. further snow showers around the coast for northern ireland, too. but this is obviously going to give concern. we could see a few centimetres of snow across some southern parts of england, possibly south wales, by morning. so we could wake up to a light covering of snow across the southern half of the country. a cold night, as i've already said, right across the board. a crisp start. ice will be an issue, of course, tomorrow morning where we've had those showers, where we have that lying snow, then a brief respite before we get another area of rain and then sleet turning to sleet and snow in that cold air across southern england, south wales, the south midlands, the south of east anglia as well. again, we could see five to ten centimetres over the hills.

it is going to cause some concerns as it coincides with the evening rush hour, and it continues to fall through into thursday morning as well. now, by the time we get to thursday, we've got another issue, this deep area of low pressure. so strong winds and widespread, quite heavy snow. we're talking 15 to 20 centimetres in the heavier bursts, even at lower levels, perhaps double that over the hills. so it looks like it's aiming for north wales, northern england, northern ireland into southern parts of scotland during thursday. clearly temperatures won't be this high where the snow is falling, mostly rain further south, but there's quite a lot of uncertainty. so for the next couple of days, we're monitoring the snow across northern areas through the rest of today and overnight. through the overnight period, today through tomorrow and tomorrow night, we're concerned about disruptive snowfall across the southern half of england and wales, and then quite a widespread significant snowfall event on thursday. as ever, we'll keep you posted.

this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... the uk home secretary sets out plans for a crackdown on migrants who enter the uk on small boats. our approach is robust and novel which is why we cannot make a definitive statement under the human rights act. china warns of potential conflict as leaders blame the us for trying to "contain, encircle and suppress" their country. russia's full—scale invasion has dramatically increased the need for rehabilitation services across ukraine. scientists say annual flood damage in parts of the uk could increase by more than 20% over the next century.

and grand final tickets sell out in just 36 minutes as eurovision super—fans rush to get their hands on tickets for this year's contest. the uk's home secretary has been outlining the government's plans to stop migrants arriving in the country from france in small boats. is enough," as she introduced the illegal migration bill to the house of commons. it puts a duty on ministers to detain and deport anyone who enters the country illegally, though the government has admitted the bill does "push the boundaries of international law." refugee charities and the main opposition labour party have called the new plan unworkable. from dover, duncan kennedy reports. dover yesterday and more migrants brought ashore after being picked up

in the channel. 45,000 people came across like this in the past year, 3,000 more have travelled this year. the government says it has to act to stop these kinds of numbers. we have seen a 500% increase in small boat crossings in two years, and this, mr speaker, is the crucial point of this bill. they won't stop coming here until the world knows that if you enter britain illegally, you will be detained and swiftly removed. the new measures will come in the illegal migration bill, which will say that anyone arriving by small boat will be unable to claim asylum. they will be removed to rwanda or another "safe" third country and they won't be allowed to return to the uk to claim asylum. what the government wants to create with all this is a deterrent to the migrants. it wants to send out the message

that if you come across, you will not only be detained in the future, but you will be sent back and you won't be allowed back in. but, after so many other measures in the past, will these new ones actually work? the government has tried various methods in the past, like funding french police to patrol beaches in northern france and putting naval vessels in the channel. it is also trying to send migrants to rwanda, but so far, that policy is being challenged by opponents. labour and the liberal democrats say the measures are unworkable. they say it would be impossible to detain thousands of migrants and return them to safe places. and many refugee charities say the new system is simply unfair on the migrants. it doesn't matter what side of the argument you sit on, stopping the boats is a priority, people risk their lives taking these journeys, but the way we do that is to offer safe legal routes. currently we don't have adequate safe legal routes

and that is what pushes people into small boats. until we offer people an alternative, the small boats will not stop. the coast around dover has been the main landing spot for the migrants. local people we spoke to simply say they want the boats to stop. i would like to think . that they would work, i don't have the confidence to think that it will finally do it. _ at the moment the problem seems completely intractable, it seems like we have got to do something different to deter people from coming here in the first place, from getting on the boats in france. it is already an offence to physically arrive on the shores of the uk without permission, but the government believes it must push back on its critics and go further. we had more details about the plan and what they want to do is detain these illegal migrants that come over and deny them access to bail or judicial review for the first 28

days of their detention. they say the idea behind that is to reduce the idea behind that is to reduce the number of challenges, appeals that can be made imports which they say slows down the system, stop the deportation and undermines what they hope is there a deterrent policy. but that is likely to produce yet more criticism from political parties and refugee charities who see this system is unfair and could well be illegal and they also say that the money should be spent on trying to smash the smuggling gangs in france. just one figure we have had in the past 30 minutes from the home office, they tell us 197 more migrants arrived yesterday. in the house of commons, opposition mps were vocal, and critical, of the home secretary. this is deeply damaging chaos, and there is no point in ministers trying to blame anyone else for it — they have been in power for 13 years. the asylum system is broken,

and they broke it. mr speaker, the snp stands proudly behind the refugee convention and the european convention on human rights _ we believe that all who seek asylum, seek refugee status, deserve a fair hearing and we are 100% behind the clear statement from the united nations high commissioner for refugees, that there is no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker. mr speaker, despite the dreary dog—whistle rhetoric, her bill will not so much as lay a solitary finger on people smugglers or people traffickers. but it will cause serious and devastating harm for people who have already endured incredible suffering. i given the brutality of the taliban l regime and the precarious security situation in neighbouring third countries, it is shocking - | that there is no specific safe routel for afghan women and girls at risk. we have failed the people i of afghanistan at every stage and the uk is an outlier in this regard. - so, what steps is the home secretary

taking to create a specific safe - route, or at least ensure existing promises are being kept? - home secretary. unspeakable tragedy is occurring on the channel and through all maritime routes around the world because of the global migration crisis. that is why it is absolutely essential that the uk takes a robust approach, but a compassionate approach. this is at core... ..a humanitarian package of measures which sends the message to people, do not come here illegally. with me now is dominic casciani bbc news home and legal correspondent. first of all, we have not seen this legislation yet, have we? note. two hours since the home secretary spoke, no legislation published yet. there is rumours going round based on the slightly interesting and novel wording she used in the house about lawyers still working on some of the unusual ideas in this that

perhaps it was still being written, we just don't know because we have not seen it yet. from what we do know, i think you have got basically some practical challenges, assuming this goes through the house, practical challenges then legal challenges so the practical thing is let's look at the numbers here. 45,000 people arrived last year over the english channel. if the government is saying they will be automatically detain for a minimum of 28 days with a view to basically putting them on the flight out of the uk to a safe country, in theory, rwanda or somewhere else, where they are going to put them all? that's a fundamental question. 45,000 people is the equivalent to half the present state of england and wales, there or thereabouts. that is a big ticket item we have got to solve there. the government will say we're only going to oldham 28 days so we don't necessarily need that kind of amount of accommodation. but that presupposes they have got agreements in place to move people to other

countries at the end of the 28 days. critically, the situation in the courts, long—standing rules about unlawful detention which state that you get to a point where you can say to a judge i am being held indefinitely, this is not fair because the government is not going to remove me to another country, so you have to give me bail because otherwise it is basically deprivation of my liberty. there are predictions the courts will get clogged up with cases, adding to the backlog in the immigration tribunal and this will add to delays in the whole thing will be potentially mired and that is what critics say. the other question is what the home secretary has conceded to mps. i want to read something she said in the letters which has been circulated to the house today. she has described the approach of this legislation is robust and novel. she has had to make a statement, as all ministers have to, about whether or not it complies with the uk's human rights act. in that statement, it

does not say that it does. the wording is that there is more than 150% chance it may not comply with those human rights standards. —— a 50% chance. that is lawyers behind—the—scenes telling the home secretary that they do not think it will withstand a legal challenge if it comes down to a court battle. we don't know why that is at the moment because we have not seen the detail, perhaps it is down to the automatic denial of the opportunity to seek asylum. we are a little bit in the dark but it clearly, this is a very novel strategy for secretary of state to take in a situation and there is no guarantee on her own admission the plan will work. if this is going to go back before mps and be potentially pushed through parliament pretty fast—paced, that's going to raise all sorts of questions about whether the legislation will stand the test of time. . ~' ,, , . jeremy hutton is a researcher at the british based think tank migration watch uk, which campaigns for reduced immigration to the uk.

given what we have heard, given that we are lacking on the detail, do you think this legislation will fly? we are uuite think this legislation will fly? we are quite concerned that certainly the government probably are going to struggle _ the government probably are going to struggle to get it in place before the peak— struggle to get it in place before the peak channel crossing season kicks _ the peak channel crossing season kicks off— the peak channel crossing season kicks off around july, august. it seems — kicks off around july, august. it seems to— kicks off around july, august. it seems to be going up against a huge amount_ seems to be going up against a huge amount of— seems to be going up against a huge amount of obstacles that hopefully they have factored in. however, we have ultimately been through all this before, the government proposed quite a _ this before, the government proposed quite a lot— this before, the government proposed quite a lot and then ultimately when it comes _ quite a lot and then ultimately when it comes down to it failed to achieve _ it comes down to it failed to achieve those, hopefully they will this time — achieve those, hopefully they will this time. but we are sceptical of some _ this time. but we are sceptical of some of— this time. but we are sceptical of some of the ability to do that. is some of the ability to do that. is there some of the ability to do that. there any some of the ability to do that. is there any part of this legislation we have not yet properly seen that you think will work?— you think will work? certainly vafious you think will work? certainly various elements _ you think will work? certainly various elements have - you think will work? certainly various elements have the i you think will work? certainly - various elements have the potential to work_ various elements have the potential to work reasonably well. however, it... ~ . for

to work reasonably well. however, | it. . ._ for example, it... which elements? for example, the rule about _ it... which elements? for example, the rule about preventing _ it... which elements? for example, the rule about preventing asylum i it... which elements? for example, | the rule about preventing asylum for people _ the rule about preventing asylum for people who have been deported from the country, future claims. that seems — the country, future claims. that seems look a strong deterrent on people _ seems look a strong deterrent on people making that journey because it is a _ people making that journey because it is a significant cost on them for being _ it is a significant cost on them for being returned outside of the countrx _ being returned outside of the count . , , ., ., ., country. right, but you need to have some sort of — country. right, but you need to have some sort of agreement, _ country. right, but you need to have some sort of agreement, don't - country. right, but you need to have some sort of agreement, don't you? | some sort of agreement, don't you? with another country to be able to return them, we don't have any agreements right now. how would that work? it agreements right now. how would that work? , , ., , ., ., ., , work? it seems the onus on rwanda is uuite work? it seems the onus on rwanda is quite extreme. — work? it seems the onus on rwanda is quite extreme. it _ work? it seems the onus on rwanda is quite extreme, it keep _ work? it seems the onus on rwanda is quite extreme, it keep a _ work? it seems the onus on rwanda is quite extreme, it keep a or _ work? it seems the onus on rwanda is quite extreme, it keep a or desire - quite extreme, it keep a or desire to take _ quite extreme, it keep a or desire to take that— quite extreme, it keep a or desire to take that amount of people, and yes, returhs— to take that amount of people, and yes, returns agreements extremely hard to— yes, returns agreements extremely hard to handle because of course passports — hard to handle because of course passports have been replaced which obviously _ passports have been replaced which obviously are destroyed by people ehterihq _ obviously are destroyed by people entering the country illegally, presents another hurdle. certainly that is— presents another hurdle. certainly that is another element that the government are going to struggle to overcome _ government are going to struggle to overcome. do government are going to struggle to overcome. y ., ~ government are going to struggle to overcome. , ., ~ , government are going to struggle to overcome. i. ~ , ., , overcome. do you think this goes in an a

overcome. do you think this goes in anyway towards _ overcome. do you think this goes in anyway towards solving _ overcome. do you think this goes in anyway towards solving the - overcome. do you think this goes in anyway towards solving the actual. anyway towards solving the actual problem of smuggling gangs, which this all basically boils down to? yes, certainly. ultimately, this is about— yes, certainly. ultimately, this is about addressing the demand for those _ about addressing the demand for those traffickers if you reduce the amount _ those traffickers if you reduce the amount of— those traffickers if you reduce the amount of people who are going to make _ amount of people who are going to make these journeys from the middle east or— make these journeys from the middle east or africa or even various parts of europe, — east or africa or even various parts of europe, then gangs will have less custom, _ of europe, then gangs will have less custom, it _ of europe, then gangs will have less custom, it is— of europe, then gangs will have less custom, it is simple supply and demand — custom, it is simple supply and demand. �* p, custom, it is simple supply and demand. �* . ., ., , demand. but we have already tried with legislation _ demand. but we have already tried with legislation last _ demand. but we have already tried with legislation last year _ demand. but we have already tried with legislation last year to - demand. but we have already tried with legislation last year to do - with legislation last year to do similar things and it has not had any impact on demand. in fact if anything, demand has gone up. indeed. that is why i think it is, there is certainly a lot of goodwill that the government are going to get it right because in the past they have proposed measures which should have proposed measures which should have fixed something and we are here again in the numbers are only ever going up. isuppose again in the numbers are only ever going up. i suppose we are hoping that they know more than we do and legislation will be more successful

than critics say it will be. it than critics say it will be. it doesn't seem like you have faith in what the government is planning. we have been here before. it talks the talk, _ have been here before. it talks the talk, just— have been here before. it talks the talk, just comes down to whether it walks _ talk, just comes down to whether it walks the _ talk, just comes down to whether it walks the walk. if it does what it says. _ walks the walk. if it does what it says. if— walks the walk. if it does what it says. if it — walks the walk. if it does what it says, if it can do what it says, then— says, if it can do what it says, then brilliant. i think we are iayihq — then brilliant. i think we are laying foundations for a robust laying foundations fora robust broader— laying foundations for a robust broader strategy for quite a long time _ broader strategy for quite a long time. however, as you and the previous— time. however, as you and the previous guest made quite clear, siqhificaht — previous guest made quite clear, significant hurdles and obstacles to overcome _ significant hurdles and obstacles to overcome to achieve that. are significant hurdles and obstacles to overcome to achieve that.- overcome to achieve that. are you worried about _ overcome to achieve that. are you worried about the _ overcome to achieve that. are you worried about the possibility - overcome to achieve that. are you worried about the possibility that l worried about the possibility that legally this may not work? yes. worried about the possibility that legally this may not work? yes, we are certainly _ legally this may not work? yes, we are certainly worried _ legally this may not work? yes, we are certainly worried it _ legally this may not work? yes, we are certainly worried it is _ legally this may not work? yes, we are certainly worried it is not - are certainly worried it is not going — are certainly worried it is not going to _ are certainly worried it is not going to happen anywhere near as quickly— going to happen anywhere near as quickly as— going to happen anywhere near as quickly as the government wanted to. it is quickly as the government wanted to. it is very— quickly as the government wanted to. it is very hard to imagine that this will be _ it is very hard to imagine that this will be in — it is very hard to imagine that this will be in place before summer. maybe — will be in place before summer. maybe they could potentially get it in place _ maybe they could potentially get it in place before next summer, however. _ in place before next summer, however, even then, if it comes down to compatibility with the european

convention on human rights, then that raises— convention on human rights, then that raises the question of whether we do _ that raises the question of whether we do need to talk about departing that, which i think is not an easy thing _ that, which i think is not an easy thing to— that, which i think is not an easy thing to do— that, which i think is not an easy thing to do and it should not be tightly— thing to do and it should not be lightly considered, however, that is what some — lightly considered, however, that is what some people are suggesting is the ultimate direction we would need to take _ the ultimate direction we would need to take. . ., the ultimate direction we would need to take. ., ,, the ultimate direction we would need to take. . ~' , the ultimate direction we would need to take. ., ,, i. , . the chinese leader, xijinping, has made an unusually direct criticism of washington, saying that the balloon incident is just one of a series of american actions which show that the us is trying to encircle and contain his country. it comes as the chinese leadership is gathered in beijing for the national people's congress and mr xi's foreign minister ching gang has also voiced criticisms. he said that the us knew china's balloon posed no threat, but over—reacted and created a diplomatic crisis. washington has claimed the balloon was part of a sprawling chinese intelligence collection programme. we'll hear from our correspondent in beijing injust a moment, but first, let's hear what oin gang

had to say to america. translation: the united states claims to be competing to win - against china rather than seeking conflict. but in fact, the united states's so—called competition is total containment and suppression. a zero—sum game in which you die and i live. the united states's perception and views of china are seriously distorted. they regard china as the primary rival and the most consequential international challenge. our china correspondent steve mcdonell has more from the foreign minister's press conference, where he warns of a real risk of conflict between us and china. this has been a very high—profile, two—pronged attack on the us from the chinese government, not only involving the foreign minister, but also the supreme leader, xijinping, no less.

he made a speech in which he said that the west, as led by the us, was encircling and containing china and that this represented a serious threat for this country. now, we don't know a lot more about what he said, because that was a speech behind closed doors to these business delegates at a political advisory body. but foreign minister oin gang held a press conference on the sidelines of the national people's congress. he said that unless washington hits the brakes soon, instead of ramping up tensions, that there was a real risk of conflict between the us and china. he went through these various points of tensions, for example, the balloon incident. now, he said that was basically an accident, but the us hyped it up, leading to a diplomatic crisis. he said that the biden administration, when it speaks about competition with china, really means trying to control china, trying to constrain it.

and in terms of the ukraine war, he said that china had put forward a peace plan for ukraine, but that the proposals for peace were being stifled by this invisible actor, this invisible hand. it's pretty obvious he's talking about the us there, but the accusation from oin gang is this invisible hand wanted the conflict to continue in ukraine for its own geopolitical ends. so this is a very serious allegation being levelled at the us, that it wants the war there to keep going. you know, in recent times, we've had a lot of tension between washington and beijing and it does seem to continue to deteriorate. it seems it was not that long ago that there was to be this visit by the us secretary of state to beijing to try to repair relations. and yet now, we have this tension increasing and even more dire warnings coming from the chinese side, as to what this tension could lead to.

let's turn to the war in ukraine now and the ongoing fighting in the eastern city of bakhmut. we often report the statistics about casualties from the war in ukraine, but rarely do we hear about what happens to those who've injured in the conflict. the bbc has been given access to one hospitial in lviv in western ukraine where the wounded are given specialist rehabilitation treatment. a warning, you may find some parts of this report from our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse upsetting. this is when illya pylypenko's war ended. his tank had just gone over a mine in the southern kherson region last september. he holds on as his comrades take him to safety. illya suffered burns across a third of his body and seriously injured his leg.

the journey for wounded soldiers is a long one. in lviv, western ukraine, thousands end up at this rehabilitation centre. in this war of old, injuries from explosions or shells are the most common. while illya is one of many, it's been an isolating six months. translation: i had many surgeries, a skin graft and three _ operations on my leg. there was a search for doctors, hope for a specialist who may be able to save my leg. then there was disappointment and then some hope, because losing a limb is not the end. illya is learning to look ahead. but his next chapter is unlikely to be from the front line. thousands of injured soldiers find

themselves in hospitals like this across ukraine and that is putting a real strain on the country's health system. the fighting, or the brutality of it that they've come from, is unimaginable. but a return to a fuller life is possible. on a cold kyiv morning is a perfect case in point. we last saw hlib stryzhko in may, when he was being treated for a broken pelvis and jaw, after he returned from captivity. he's also lost vision in one eye and has been told his military days are over. instead, he helps other veterans. translation: my country, | my troops, the marines need the best of the best. deep inside, i still feel guilty i'm not in the forces. but i can be effective, even when i'm not in military uniform.

every ukrainian bears some of this invasion�*s weight. where there is hurt, there is some healing, despite everything. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. this is the same live in paris. riot police and protesters on the streets. this is a scene that has been repeated across the country. public and private unions take to the streets to strike against the french government proposal to raise the retirement age by 2030. this is a major reform to the pension system being fit put forward by the french government. it has come against a lot of unrest and disquiet amongst the people of france with a recent

poll suggesting 80% of the population is opposed to pushing the retirement age back. i am joined by a union member by the maine teachers union, also works as a teaching fellow. it is good to talk to you. thank you for talking to us. can you exlain thank you for talking to us. can you expiain can — thank you for talking to us. can you expiain can you _ thank you for talking to us. can you explain can you explain _ thank you for talking to us. can you explain can you explain what - thank you for talking to us. can you explain can you explain what it - thank you for talking to us. can you explain can you explain what it is i explain can you explain what it is -- why is — explain can you explain what it is -- why is it _ explain can you explain what it is -- why is it you _ explain can you explain what it is -- why is it you are _ explain can you explain what it is -- why is it you are protesting i —— why is it you are protesting against the retirement age being raised to 64 when many countries have a far higher retirement age and seem to be fine. itruiith have a far higher retirement age and seem to be fine.— seem to be fine. with all due respect. _ seem to be fine. with all due respect. i — seem to be fine. with all due respect. i am _ seem to be fine. with all due respect, i am not _ seem to be fine. with all due respect, i am not sure - seem to be fine. with all due respect, i am not sure that i seem to be fine. with all due. respect, i am not sure that we seem to be fine. with all due - respect, i am not sure that we can say that having a retirement age at for instance 66 as is the case i think in the uk can be set as an example for all the countries. that is not what the trade union in france believes and we have always believed that we want to live in a

kind of society where seniors can enjoy a decent life at some point and just spend time on activities that they choose without having to work to live this decent life. so i think that is something that is very important, it has always been defended and it has always been taken for granted for the vast majority of the french population and we are defending that as a basic human right actually. what and we are defending that as a basic human right actually.— and we are defending that as a basic human right actually. what about the deficit in terms _ human right actually. what about the deficit in terms of _ human right actually. what about the deficit in terms of money? _ human right actually. what about the deficit in terms of money? because l deficit in terms of money? because of course allowing people to retire at that age is costing the french government a lot of money, successive governments have tried to push this reform through, they know it is unpopular, the reason they are trying is because they cannot afford any other way. do you agree with that? i any other way. do you agree with that? .. ., , any other way. do you agree with that? ., , ., ., ., that? i actually do not agree. i think there _ that? i actually do not agree. i think there are _ that? i actually do not agree. i think there are other - that? i actually do not agree. i think there are other ways. - that? i actually do not agree. i. think there are other ways. today that? i actually do not agree. i- think there are other ways. today in france with the pension reform as it is proposed, the additional cost

will be borne by the working class and lower middle—class people, especially women who have worked part or stopped working at some point in order to take care of children. that's why it is unfair and highly unpopular. in contrast, if bosses raised wages as much as needed, if the government did the same and civil servants hired hundreds of thousands of people required to make sure schools, hospitals, public transportation and so on are fully functional, then social contributions will rise and the cost will be paid by the employers. considering this social situation, especially inflation, that this kind of reform would be fair and popular. fiifi that this kind of reform would be fair and popular.— fair and popular. 0k, we got to leave it there, _ fair and popular. 0k, we got to leave it there, these _ fair and popular. 0k, we got to leave it there, these are - fair and popular. 0k, we got to i leave it there, these are pictures as you are seeing at home of those protests in france which are happening across the country today. to stay with us on bbc news. plenty more to come. you can reach me on

twitter. you can get through to our website. good afternoon. some lovely weather watcher pictures coming in of the snow in the north. but, as we know, snow can cause significant disruption and that's what we're expecting for the next couple of days — transport delays, cancellations, stranded vehicles, power cuts. there are numerous warnings in force. and we're pretty certain that what comes out of the sky on weather fronts will fall as snow, because we're all in the arctic air right now and we've got weather fronts waiting in the atlantic to bring that snow in. but, for the rest of the day, our smattering of sleet and snow has cleared the south. most of the snow showers will continue across the north and the east, northern ireland, and it's cold out there despite the sunshine. and overnight, temperatures will drop like a stone. it's going to be the coldest night of the year so far across the glens of scotland.

further snow showers around the coast for northern ireland, too. but this is obviously going to give concern. we could see a few centimetres of snow across some southern parts of england, possibly south wales, by morning. so we could wake up to a light covering of snow across the southern half of the country. a cold night, as i've already said, right across the board. a crisp start. ice will be an issue, of course, tomorrow morning where we've had those showers, where we have that lying snow, then a brief respite before we get another area of rain and then sleet turning to sleet and snow in that cold air across southern england, south wales, the south midlands, the south of east anglia as well. again, we could see five to ten centimetres over the hills. it is going to cause some concerns as it coincides with the evening rush hour, and it continues to fall through into thursday morning as well. now, by the time we get to thursday, we've got another issue, this deep area of low pressure. so strong winds and widespread, quite heavy snow. we're talking 15 to 20 centimetres in the heavier bursts, even at lower levels, perhaps double that over the hills.

so, it looks like it's aiming for north wales, northern england, northern ireland into southern parts of scotland during thursday. clearly temperatures won't be this high where the snow is falling, mostly rain further south, but there's quite a lot of uncertainty. so, for the next couple of days, we're monitoring the snow across northern areas through the rest of today and overnight. through the overnight period today, through tomorrow and tomorrow night, we're concerned about disruptive snowfall across the southern half of england and wales, and then quite a widespread significant snowfall event on thursday. as ever, we'll keep you posted.

this is bbc news. the headlines... the uk home secretary sets out plans for a crackdown on migrants who enter the uk on small boats. planned legislation includes removing people who enter the uk illegally and banning them from claiming asylum. china wants a potential conflict with the us, which it says it is trying to contain, encircle and suppress their country. president xi has accused america of taking a series of action such as straining relations. scientists have produced a future flood map of the uk and say damage in some areas could increase ijy damage in some areas could increase by more than 20% over the next

century as climate change takes its toll. grand final tickets sell out in 36 minutes as eurovision super fans rushed to get their hands on tickets for the final of this year, which takes place in may in liverpool. sport, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly hamilton. —— here is gavin. good afternoon. the final day of evidence, at cricket's disciplinary hearing, into allegations of racism at yorkshire is underway. the panel heard submissions in private yesterday after statements made by former player azeem rafiq, which implicate seven people, including the former yorkshire and england captain michael vaughan — charges which he categorically denies. the panel heard submissions in private yesterday. we can speak to our reporter matt graveling, who's there for us. matt — where are we at with this today? let's detail what the panel will be trying to decide today, whether or not the alleged incident occurred,

were they racist or discriminatory and did they bring the game into disrepute? seven men in total and yorkshire county cricket club have been charged with bringing the game into disrepute, this building is having closing submissions from the england and wales cricket board and also at the current time michael vaughan's lawyer, christopher stoner. the ecb say they believe it is inherently probable that michael vaughan made the racist comment in 2009, and then referenced a number of tweets posted in 2010, to meet that michael vaughan says are now completely unacceptable. in response, christopher stoner casey, the lawyer for michael vaughan, said we say there are too many inconsistencies to support the charge, and they criticise the ecb investigation which led to the charges of yorkshire county cricket club and also the seven men, including michael vaughan, they said the investigation was inadequate,

due process is important and they said, we say due process was sent on holiday by the ecb during this investigation. closing submissions continue and we will bring you the latest on bbc sport and bbc news as soon as we have it.— soon as we have it. thank you, matt gravelin: soon as we have it. thank you, matt graveling in — soon as we have it. thank you, matt graveling in london. _ liverpool fans who attended last year's champions league final in paris will get refunds for their tickets. uefa have announced the scheme after a report found the governing body �*bore primary responsibility�* for chaotic scenes which saw fans tear gassed and prevented from entering the stadium before the game. kick off for the match was delayed by more than half an hour at the stade de france — with some supporters caught in crushes outside the venue. uefa and french authorities initially blamed ticketless fans, but an independent report said there was "no evidence" of that, adding it was "remarkable no one lost their life." uefa said the refund scheme covers all of the liverpool allocation for the final — which is over 19,000 tickets. fans group the spirit of shankley welcomed the decision.

all we have ever been seeking is the honesty, the truth and justice from uefa. money certainly will not heal the hurt of those people who were traumatised or injured or attacked in paris last year, of itself it is a real victory for fan activism, a first step on the road for uefa to accept culpability, because everything before this has been about words so it is nice to see action taking place, but this is only part of the journey, they have to compete everything else to make sure that any fan, whether liverpool, real madrid or any funds from future finals, can go to a match safely and without fear. taste match safely and without fear. we are into the last 16 second leg champions league matches later, all eyes will be on stamford bridge with struggling chelsea hosting borussia

dortmund, a huge like the graham potter as the pressure mounts on him and his team —— a huge night for graham potter. he has struggled to gel his squad of expensively assembled styles. the blues are trailing, but potter is ready for the challenge. that's all the sport for now. thank you. the british government has introduced controversial new legislation to detain and swiftly deport migrants coming to the country in small boats. the law will ban such migrants seeking asylum after reaching the united kingdom. claims will instead be assessed after deportation. the interior minister, suella braverman, told parliament people wouldn't stop coming until the world knew entering britain illegally would lead to detention and removal. —— the home secretary, suella braverman. let's have a listen to the home secretary in the face of today's global migration crisis, yesterday's laws are simply not fit for purpose.

so to anyone proposing de facto open borders through unlimited, safe and legal routes as the alternative. let's be honest, there are 100 million people around the world who could qualify for protection under our current laws. let's be clear. they are coming here. we've seen a 500... we've seen a 500% increase in small boats crossings in two years. and this, mr speaker, is the crucial point of this bill. they will not stop coming here until the world knows that if you enter britain illegally, you will be detained and swiftly removed. removed back to your country if it's safe or to a safe country, a safe third country like rwanda. and that is precisely what this bill will do.

that is how we will stop the boats. mr speaker, this bill enables detention of illegal arrivals without bail orjudicial review within the first 28 days of detention until they can be removed. it puts a duty on the home secretary to remove illegal entrants and will radically narrow the number of challenges and appeals that can suspend removal. i'm joined now by dave doogan. he's the scottish national party mp for angus and the party spokesperson on defence. thank you forjoining us. let me ask your reaction to that legislation announcement?— your reaction to that legislation announcement? ., ., , announcement? sorrow, really. the wa the announcement? sorrow, really. the way the home _ announcement? sorrow, really. the way the home office _ announcement? sorrow, really. the way the home office has _ announcement? sorrow, really. the way the home office has postured l way the home office has postured their response to this ongoing situation is truly grotesque. it does not reflect the values of most people in the united kingdom, certainly not in scotland, and it is

no way to treat human beings seeking sanctuary and refuge. what no way to treat human beings seeking sanctuary and refuge.— sanctuary and refuge. what exactly do ou sanctuary and refuge. what exactly do you have _ sanctuary and refuge. what exactly do you have a _ sanctuary and refuge. what exactly do you have a problem _ sanctuary and refuge. what exactly do you have a problem with? - sanctuary and refuge. what exactly do you have a problem with? it - do you have a problem with? it begins at the beginning and ends at the end, we face a complete asymmetry in perspective within the uk and the home office particularly. germany produces seven times more asylum applications than the uk, france receives three times more asylum claims than the uk, there is nothing particularly special about the uk. what is sadly an outlier is the uk. what is sadly an outlier is the united kingdom government's reluctance to uphold their responsibility under the european convention on human rights and international law to respond positively and professionally to the asylum applications as they receive them. ~ ., ., ,, ~' asylum applications as they receive them. ~ ., ., ,, ., , them. what do you think the answer is? what with _ them. what do you think the answer is? what with the _ them. what do you think the answer is? what with the snp _ them. what do you think the answer is? what with the snp due - them. what do you think the answer is? what with the snp due to - them. what do you think the answer is? what with the snp due to solve l is? what with the snp due to solve the problem? no doubt there is a problem, than about asylum seekers those entering the country using

small boats has risen over the last few years, what do we do? the government's _ few years, what do we do? the: government's stated ambition few years, what do we do? ti9: government's stated ambition is to combat the people traffickers and the small boats coming across the channel, the way to do that is not to vilify ordinary human beings but after the traffickers, there has not been sufficient progress at that. there would not be the need for people to take their life in their hands and push their families back home where they have left into pena and debt to fund people traffickers if there were realistic safe routes to come to the uk and apply for asylum, but there are not safe routes for people to come to the to launch their application for asylum and so they are forced to put themselves and their families and tremendous danger in these small boats, funding organised crime at the same time. it is absolutely reasonable for the united kingdom government to respond to the situation in this way —— it is

absolutely risible. they can stop the small boats by creating safe and legal routes, just as every other country does, the uk is not special. suella braverman told mps that she believes the legislation is compatible with international law. do you think it is? we haven't had any details and there is talk that lawyers are still looking over it. it is very interesting about the narrative from within government is this legislation will push the boundaries, i quote directly, of international law. even if it does not breach those boundaries, which remains to be seen and i suspect it may well do, even if it does not, why would you put your government in a position where they are pushing the boundaries of international law, by their own admission, and they have created this dog whistle search

of hysteria amongst conservative backbenchers, many of whom are concerned with the amount of asylum seekers coming to the united kingdom. the problem is where they are concentrated in hotels, it creates challenges for communities, if we had a functioning hero proceed to deal with asylum claims they could be processed in a reasonable time and there would not be a need for the high concentration of asylum seekers in hotels around the country. incidentally, the home secretary today said on a number of occasions that scotland was not taking a fair share. scotland has a population share of the uk of 8.3% and we have taken 9% of asylum seekers so we are more than doing ourjob, i am very pleased scotland is taking that positive, humanitarian approach. is taking that positive, humanitarian a- roach. :, :, humanitarian approach. dave doogan ofthe humanitarian approach. dave doogan of the snp, thank _ humanitarian approach. dave doogan of the snp, thank you _ humanitarian approach. dave doogan of the snp, thank you for _ humanitarian approach. dave doogan of the snp, thank you for answering | of the snp, thank you for answering our questions. scientists have produced detailed modelling to show how much of the uk could suffer flood damage

every year in the future because of climate change. they say it could rise by more than 20% over the next century — unless promises to cut emissions are met. damage is most likely to increase in big cities like london, cardiff, manchester, glasgow and edinburgh. here's our science and environment correspondent, victoria gill. as water trickles through this woodland in calderdale, a team of local volunteers is getting to work. what we're trying to do is just divert this into the woodland. katie's nearby home has been flooded in the past, because in this steep sided valley, heavy rain can swell the river very quickly. how bad does flooding get in this area? it's...it's catastrophic. it's incredibly fast. it's a wave of destruction. it's physically and mentally hard for people here. there have been repeated devastating floods here in recent years and when the water subsides, it can take months to repair

the damage to homes and businesses. across the uk, destruction from flooding costs an estimated £700 million every year. here at the fathom labs in bristol, they're simulating all of the causes of flooding, creating maps that will help people to plan and prepare. we'd call this a flood hazard map. so what we've done is we've simulated the probability and intensity of flooding on every river in the uk. scientists used layers of information about what causes flooding. they've mapped the terrain of mainland britain and combined that with data on rainfall patterns, how waters moved through our rivers and around our coastal area. they've combined all this information with details from the met office about how exactly climate change will affect flood risk. even if we can keep global temperatures to a 1.8 degree increase, there are areas where flood risk will increase significantly, including the southeast and northwest of england and south wales. but there will be little change across northeast and central england,

as well as eastern and northern scotland. there are many places where risk is growing and being able to understand the communities and the regions where this is likely to happen allows us to make sensible investment decisions about making interventions, such as engineering structures or natural flood management, or indeed moving people out of harm's way. a warmer climate means more extremes, including more heavy rainfall. but this new research shows that every town and village will be affected differently by climate change. and the scientists say that governments need betterforecasting to protect communities and make informed decisions about where to build. being able to forecast is ideal. anything, any early warnings that we can have here i would say are so important, just because of the speed of things here. the best helper ever! it's information that will be crucial for katie and calder valley's next generation. victoria gill, bbc news.

the mother of one of the young people involved in a fatal car crash in wales has criticised the police response. eve smith and darcy ross, both 2,1 and 24—year—old rafeljeanne, were found dead in a car which had come off a major road in cardiff. two others were seriously injured, but police didn't find the victims for almost 48 hours. tomos morgan is in cardiff. well, as you mentioned there, sophie russon's mother anna certowicz has been speaking to the daily mail, and she said she contacted the police several times over the weekend. her impression was that they didn't believe it was worth investigating on saturday and on early sunday morning, and at one stage she was told to stop contacting them. she believes had they reacted sooner, the car could have been found sooner as well. sophie russon had an operation last night and we understand she is still in a critical condition. shane loughlin, the other survivor, is also in a critical condition. as you can see behind me, a number of family and friends are out here again today laying

floraltributes, paying respect to their family and friends who were involved in this terrible tragedy. now, the police response has been that they won't comment on those allegations made by family and friends because they've referred themselves to the iopc, the independent office of police conduct, and they will let that investigation take place. the local mp has also urged caution, saying that people need to wait for that investigation to be carried out in full so that everybody knows the facts. but, all in all, this has been a terrible tragedy and there are still questions to be asked as to why and how this car came to be around the corner here, in a crash, on its own, and it wasn't discovered for almost 48 hours after that crash took place. a court heard today how nine year old olivia pratt—korbel was killed by a gunman

in what was described as �*a ruthless pursuit�* of a man who was his intended victim. olivia was fatally wounded at her home in august last year. the bullet allegedly fired by thomas cashman went through the front door. cashman denies all the charges. our north of england correspondent, judith moritz, was in court, and she gave us this update. the trial got under way this morning in courtroom number one and the jury was told that this is the case of a shooting which went horribly wrong. now, the prosecution has laid out their case, and they say that on the 22nd of august last year, thomas cashman was lying in wait for a man called joseph nee, and the court was told that thomas cashman relentlessly pursued joseph nee, his task was to kill him. well, we were played cctv in the courtroom and we could hear three loud bangs, the prosecution saying that that is the imagery of thomas cashman as he shotjoseph nee. but after those three shots, joseph nee, fearing for his life, was able to run away, and he ran towards the nearest house. now, the nearest house he could see, cheryl korbel�*s house.

now, she had heard the noise and opened her door, wondering what the commotion was, and as the door opened, joseph nee fell through it. well, we heard that at that point thomas cashman fired his gun again. he had two guns, and he fired his second gun, and the bullet went through the front door, the jury was told, it went through cheryl korbel�*s hand as she tried to shut the door, and then we heard that her little girl olivia, who had come screaming down the stairs saying, "mum, i�*m scared," that bullet went through from cheryl korbel�*s hand into olivia, and the jury heard that that was the shot that killed the nine—year—old girl. and we�*ve heard details of how the police were called and tried to save her, and took olivia to hospital but she was sadly pronounced dead that evening. now, the trial is just under way and, as you said at the the beginning there, thomas cashman denies all of the charges against him. judith moritz reporting.

the charity age uk is calling for anyone with a pre—payment energy meter to be able to have it removed for free. it says half a million older households have such meters, which are more expensive than paying for gas and electricity via direct debit. energy companies say these meters help ensure customers don�*t fall into too much debt. our cost of living correspondent colletta smith reports. so the noodles have just been placed into boiling water. everyone here is keen to stay warm, have a chat and learn how to cook without spending a fortune. i've got an electric throw and i plug that in, put it around me, rather than put an electric fire on. get stuck in. jackie�*s here with her pals judy, madge and joe. but while they all pay by direct debit, jackie�*s gas is on a pre—payment meter. and her gas costs more as a result. it isn�*t fair. everybody should be paying the same amount. but, you know, that�*s the way it goes at the moment. mary turns 80 this year and was switched to a pre—payment

meter for gas and electricity after struggling to pay her bills. she says the thought of not being able to get out to the shops to top up in bad weather does worry her, and, occasionally, she�*s not noticed when she�*s running low. i had run out and the shop was shut. i had to wait till the next morning. while some customers are happy to pay in advance for their energy, that�*s not true for everyone. i�*ve spoken to so many different people of all different ages who�*ve moved into a house with a pre—payment meter or had one installed, and they�*ve had real difficulty getting it reversed again. and that�*s what age uk want to change. the regulator ofgem are spending the rest of this month reviewing the way meters are installed and they�*re examining tougher rules for switching those in financial difficulty. but they and energy suppliers have told me that allowing people who already have a meter to choose to switch off it could leave

millions of pounds in unrecoverable debt, which everyone else would have to pay for. but age uk think it�*s too dangerous not to allow people the option to switch away from pre—payment. i went to somebody�*s house and they told me that they were cooking a roast dinner for their wife and himself. they weren�*t cooking anything. i saw in their fridge, there was no food. i saw that they didn�*t have the electricity on. the neighbours said that they were concerned about them. it�*s not ok. and the next lucky winner is 123. cheering. there are no easy wins when deciding what happens next. there we go. i told you it was going to be fast. but the government and the regulator are under pressure to protect prepayment customers better. colletta smith, bbc news, in trafford. tickets for grand final of the eurovision song contest in liverpool this may went on sale at lunchtime — and it tookjust 36 minutes for them to sell out. the website selling them crashed, such was the demand.

joing us now is the bbc�*s eurovisioncast host daniel rosney. daniel, i think you try to get tickets yourself? i daniel, i think you try to get tickets yourself?— tickets yourself? i did. like everybody _ tickets yourself? i did. like everybody else _ tickets yourself? i did. like everybody else i _ tickets yourself? i did. like everybody else i hope - tickets yourself? i did. like everybody else i hope to i tickets yourself? i did. like l everybody else i hope to get tickets yourself? i did. like - everybody else i hope to get some, i got through but by the time i did the only available tickets were hospitality packages that were a bit out of my price range, £490, the lowest price was £30 forcing of the preview shows, they went up to £380 for general sale for the live grand final but nine shows in total were on sale and they sold out pretty quickly. on sale and they sold out pretty cuickl . ,':ii :: on sale and they sold out pretty cuickl , ,':ifi :: :, on sale and they sold out pretty cuickl . 9:11: :, 5:1, on sale and they sold out pretty cuickl . ;;:: :: :, 5:1, , , on sale and they sold out pretty cuickl . ,':ifi :: :, 3:1, , , :, quickly. 300 and 80p seems quite a lot of money — quickly. 300 and 80p seems quite a lot of money to _ quickly. 300 and 80p seems quite a lot of money to watch _ quickly. 300 and 80p seems quite a lot of money to watch a _ quickly. 300 and 80p seems quite a lot of money to watch a show. - quickly. 300 and 80p seems quite a lot of money to watch a show. it - quickly. 300 and 80p seems quite a lot of money to watch a show. it is l lot of money to watch a show. it is the well's largest _ lot of money to watch a show. it s the well's largest entertainment the well�*s largest entertainment show, 160 million watch it every year so the tickets are in demand, the bbc sets the price for tickets. great price, absolutely amazing, worth every penny, thank goodness

for the bbc! the worth every penny, thank goodness for the bbc!— worth every penny, thank goodness for the bbc! �* �* :,, :, :, ,, , for the bbc! the bbc has to make its money back — for the bbc! the bbc has to make its money back because _ for the bbc! the bbc has to make its money back because it _ for the bbc! the bbc has to make its money back because it costs - for the bbc! the bbc has to make its money back because it costs the - money back because it costs the broadcaster between eight and 70 million to host eurovision and every year it is up to the host broadcaster what each ticket costs. fair enough. tell me about liverpool and the venue, liverpool has been chosen as the city to host, very exciting, what kind of venue is it? it will be liverpool�*s adidas arena, there are normally about 10,000 people can watch a concert there but because of the sheer scale of this production it is one of the biggest shows in the world, the stage is huge, they need extra space for the cameras, the artists themselves and their delegations, there will be around 6000 for each show, by my maths that is about 54,000 to over nine shows but the uk government has set aside 3000 tickets for ukrainians living in the uk who have been displaced by the russian

invasion. ~ , , ,, :, :, , invasion. why is ukraine so heavily involved? normally _ invasion. why is ukraine so heavily involved? normally if _ invasion. why is ukraine so heavily involved? normally if you - invasion. why is ukraine so heavily involved? normally if you win - involved? normally if you win eurovision — involved? normally if you win eurovision you _ involved? normally if you win eurovision you put _ involved? normally if you win eurovision you put it - involved? normally if you win eurovision you put it on - involved? normally if you win eurovision you put it on the l eurovision you put it on the following year, that is tradition, ukraine won last may but because of the war the organisers said it was not safe, sam ryder came second for the uk so the bbc was asked to host on behalf of ukraine. the slogan for the competition this year was united by the competition this year was united by music, we are seeing that more and more with events planned outside of the arena, liverpool council has given some information, there will be a simultaneous rave taking place between liverpool and kyiv, the english national opera will give their take on some eurovision songs, there will be 24 cultural events over two weeks in liverpool, 19 of which will be collaborations with ukrainian artists. ukraine will be very much at the focus of some of the cultural activity outside of the eurovision arena and on top of that

there is a fanzone of 25,000 people with big screens, so liverpool will be the party city in may.- be the party city in may. speaking to one of the _ be the party city in may. speaking to one of the producers _ be the party city in may. speaking to one of the producers mouth - be the party city in may. speaking to one of the producers mouth in| be the party city in may. speaking i to one of the producers mouth in few minutes ago, he said he does not have tickets, lots of people were disappointed, but there is a feeling that watching eurovision is an event you have at home, you have the tv, your friends around, what is the draw of watching it in a stadium or a big place like that compared to at home? :, , :, , a big place like that compared to at home? :, , :,, :, , home? largely it has not been in the uk for so much _ home? largely it has not been in the uk for so much time, _ home? largely it has not been in the uk for so much time, the _ home? largely it has not been in the uk for so much time, the last - home? largely it has not been in the uk for so much time, the last time i uk for so much time, the last time was 25 years ago in 1998, it has grown so much since then so lots of fans wanted a tickets, what they might not have realised is there are people in estonia, latvia, spain, all over europe and elsewhere, also trying to get tickets because they travel every year. i have been lucky to be in the arena. preview shows in

the past and you feel you are getting a taste of the backstage action at home when you are watching on tv, but we can all enjoy graham norton because my commentary on the sofa and have a drinking game. i sofa and have a drinking game. i don't know what you are talking don�*t know what you are talking about, we at the bbc do not have drinking games, we are very good. i am sure lots of fun will be heard. the hottest tickets in town. thank you, daniel. the weather is anything but hot! good afternoon. some lovely weather watcher pictures coming in of the snow in the north. but, as we know, snow can cause significant disruption and that�*s what we�*re expecting for the next couple of days — transport delays, cancellations, stranded vehicles, power cuts. there are numerous warnings in force. and we�*re pretty certain that what comes out of the sky on weather fronts will fall as snow, because we�*re all in the arctic air right now and we�*ve got weather fronts waiting in the atlantic to bring that snow in. but, for the rest of the day, our smattering of sleet and snow has cleared the south. most of the snow showers

will continue across the north and the east, northern ireland, and it�*s cold out there despite the sunshine. and overnight, temperatures will drop like a stone. it�*s going to be the coldest night of the year so far across the glens of scotland. further snow showers around the coast for northern ireland, too. but this is obviously going to give concern. we could see a few centimetres of snow across some southern parts of england, possibly south wales, by morning. so we could wake up to a light covering of snow across the southern half of the country. a cold night, as i�*ve already said, right across the board. a crisp start. ice will be an issue, of course, tomorrow morning where we�*ve had those showers, where we have that lying snow, then a brief respite before we get another area of rain and then sleet turning to sleet and snow in that cold air across southern england, south wales, the south midlands, the south of east anglia as well. again, we could see five to tencentimetres over the hills. it is going to cause some concerns as it coincides with the evening rush hour, and it continues to fall through into thursday morning as well. now, by the time we get to thursday, we�*ve got another issue,

this deep area of low pressure. so strong winds and widespread, quite heavy snow. we�*re talking 15 to 20 centimetres in the heavier bursts, even at lower levels, perhaps double that over the hills. so it looks like it�*s aiming for north wales, northern england, northern ireland into southern parts of scotland during thursday. clearly temperatures won�*t be this high where the snow is falling, mostly rain further south, but there�*s quite a lot of uncertainty. so for the next couple of days, we�*re monitoring the snow across northern areas through the rest of today and overnight. through the overnight period, today through tomorrow and tomorrow night, we�*re concerned about disruptive snowfall across the southern half of england and wales, and then quite a widespread significant snowfall event on thursday. as ever, we�*ll keep you posted.

this is bbc news, welcome if you�*re watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... the prime minister visits home office staff in dover, as the government announces new legislation to crack down on migrants coming to the uk on small boats. our on small boats. approach is robust and novel, which our approach is robust and novel, which is why we cannot make a definitive statement of compatibility under section 19 one be of the human rights act. china warns of potential conflict, as leaders blame the us for trying to "contain, encircle and suppress" their country. how russia�*s invasion has dramatically increased the need for rehabilitation services across ukraine. another day of strikes and widespread disruption in france, as unions battle against planned pension reforms. scientists say annual flood damage in parts of the uk could increase by more than 20% over

the next century. and grand final tickets sell out in just 36 minutes, as eurovision super—fans rush to get their hands on tickets for this year�*s contest. the uk�*s home secretary has been outlining the government�*s plans to stop migrants arriving in the country from france in small boats. suella braverman told the house of commons that "enough is enough," as she introduced the illegal migration bill to the house of commons. it puts a duty on ministers to detain and deport anyone who enters the country illegally, though the government has admitted the bill does "push the boundaries of international law". refugee charities and the main opposition labour party have called the new plan "unworkable". from dover, duncan kennedy reports.

dover yesterday and more migrants brought ashore after being picked up in the channel. 45,000 people came across like this in the past year, 3,000 more have travelled this year. the government says it has to act to stop these kinds of numbers. we have seen a 500% increase in small boat crossings in two years, and this, mr speaker, is the crucial point of this bill. they won�*t stop coming here until the world knows that if you enter britain illegally, you will be detained and swiftly removed. the new measures will come in the illegal migration bill, which will say that anyone arriving by small boat will be unable to claim asylum. they will be removed to rwanda or another "safe" third country and they won�*t be allowed to return to the uk to claim asylum.

what the government wants to create with all this is a deterrent to the migrants. it wants to send out the message that if you come across, you will not only be detained in the future, but you will be sent back and you won�*t be allowed back in. but, after so many other measures in the past, will these new ones actually work? the government has tried various methods in the past, like funding french police to patrol beaches in northern france and putting naval vessels in the channel. it has also tried to send migrants to rwanda, but so far, that policy is being challenged by opponents. labour and the liberal democrats say the measures are unworkable. they say it would be impossible to detain thousands of migrants and return them to safe places. and many refugee charities say the new system is simply unfair on the migrants. it doesn't matter what side of the argument you sit on, stopping the boats is a priority, people risk their lives taking these journeys,

but the way we do that is to offer safe legal routes. currently we don't have adequate safe legal routes and that is what pushes people into small boats. until we offer people an alternative, the small boats will not stop. the coast around dover has been the main landing spot for the migrants. local people we spoke to simply say they want the boats to stop. i would like to think . that they would work, i don't have the confidence to think that it will finally do it. _ at the moment the problem seems completely intractable, it seems like we have got to do something different to deter people from coming here in the first place, from getting on the boats in france. it is already an offence to physically arrive on the shores of the uk without permission, but the government believes it must push back on its critics and go further. we�*ve had more details about the governmen�*ts plan and what they want to do is detain

these illegal migrants that come over and deny them access to bail or judicial review for the first 28 days of their detention. they say the idea behind that is to reduce the number of challenges, the number of appeals that can be made made in the courts, which they say slows down the system, stop the deportation and undermines what they hope is their deterrent policy. but that is likely to produce yet more criticism from political parties and refugee charities, who say this system is unfair and could well be illegal and they also say that the money should be spent on trying to smash the smuggling gangs in france. in the house of commons, opposition mps were vocal and critical of the home secretary. this is deeply damaging chaos, and there is no point in ministers trying to blame anyone else for it — they have been in power for 13 years. the asylum system is broken, and they broke it. mr speaker, the snp stands proudly

behind the refugee convention and the european convention on human rights _ we believe that all who seek asylum, seek refugee status, deserve a fair hearing and we are 100% behind the clear statement from the united nations high commissioner for refugees, that there is no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker. mr speaker, despite the dreary dog—whistle rhetoric, her bill will not so much as lay a solitary finger on people smugglers or people traffickers. but it will cause serious and devastating harm for people who have already endured incredible suffering. i given the brutality of the taliban l regime and the precarious security situation in neighbouring third countries, it is shocking - | that there is no specific safe route| for afghan women and girls at risk. we have failed the people i of afghanistan at every stage and the uk is an outlier in this regard. - so, what steps is the home secretary taking to create a specific safe - route, or at least ensure existing promises are being kept? -

home secretary. unspeakable tragedy is occurring on the channel and through all maritime routes around the world because of the global migration crisis. that is why it is absolutely essential that the uk takes a robust approach, but a compassionate approach. this is at core... ..a humanitarian package of measures which sends the message to people, do not come here illegally. well, in the last hour, the prime minister has been visiting kent to meet border force officials. these are the pictures we�*ve just received of rishi sunak at the home officejoint control room in dover. in the next 90 minutes he�*ll be holding a news conference in downing street, we�*ll bring you coverage of that here on bbc news. i�*m joined now by labour�*s stephen kinnock. he�*s the mp for aberavon and the party�*s shadow immigration minister.

thanks forjoining us. let me ask you first of all for your reaction to what we have heard today from suella braverman. irate to what we have heard today from suella braverman.— to what we have heard today from suella braverman. we are absolutely clear that the — suella braverman. we are absolutely clear that the small _ suella braverman. we are absolutely clear that the small boats _ suella braverman. we are absolutely clear that the small boats are - suella braverman. we are absolutely clear that the small boats are a i clear that the small boats are a very bad thing. people are risking their lives on the channel, evil people smuggler gangs are making millions of pounds out of this. there is no disagreement about that. there is no disagreement about that. the disagreement is about how to address the issue and the way to address the issue and the way to address the issue is to do a returns deal with the european union. it is to crack down on people smuggler gangs by cancelling the unworkable, unethical and unaffordable rwanda policy and using that money to boost our security and police force and have capped and limited safe and legal roots. that is the way, it is about doing the hard yards if you like, the nitty—gritty work, the quiet diplomacy and negotiation with the european union, not throwing red

meat to tory backbenchers, adding more and more pressure onto our asylum system which is been broken after 13 years of conservative rule. and having these completely unworkable ideas around detaining people and saying we are going to remove them, where will they remove them to? they don�*t have any return deals, the rwanda scheme is not up and running so i�*m afraid the whole thing isjust empty and running so i�*m afraid the whole thing is just empty rhetoric from the government. thing isjust empty rhetoric from the government.— thing isjust empty rhetoric from the government. let's talk about our the government. let's talk about your potential — the government. let's talk about your potential plans _ the government. let's talk about your potential plans to _ the government. let's talk about your potential plans to create i the government. let's talk about i your potential plans to create these return deals. with whom and how are you going to create returns deals? we need a returns deal with the european union. of course the most important countries there are the so—called calais group along the coastline, france, belgium etc. that deal needs to be of course where the uk puts an offer on the table around how many asylum seekers we should take. in return, the european union

accepts that people who come on small boats should be returned. and of course that is the way to break the people smugglers because no one is going to pay five or £10,000 to a people smuggler when they know that when they arrive in the uk they will be returned to continental europe. we need upstream processing, working with our european partners and allies, getting, so we take ourfair share, other european countries do the same and that is the way we will smash the people smugglers, stop people taking music from the dangerous journeys and of course add to that we need that clear line on safe and legal route, and clear investment in the investment and security services so they can go after the people smugglers. isn’t security services so they can go after the people smugglers. isn't it the case that _ after the people smugglers. isn't it the case that the _ after the people smugglers. isn't it the case that the tory _ after the people smugglers. isn't it the case that the tory party - after the people smugglers. isn't it the case that the tory party have . the case that the tory party have laid down the gauntlet when it comes to dealing with small boats and

migration. they don�*t believe it�*s a priority for labour moving forward to the next election. is that a problem for labour, it isn�*t perceived not to be a big priority for keir starmer. the perceived not to be a big priority for keir starmer.— perceived not to be a big priority for keir starmer. the first duty of any government _ for keir starmer. the first duty of any government is _ for keir starmer. the first duty of any government is the _ for keir starmer. the first duty of any government is the protection | for keir starmer. the first duty of. any government is the protection of our borders and the public realm. so it goes without saying that this is a top priority for the labour party and it is absolutely clear that we have a conservative government that after 13 years has completely lost control of our borders and our asylum system. 166,000 people in the system here in the uk waiting for decisions on their asylum applications, costing the british taxpayer £7 million a day in hotel bills. so rather than chasing headlines, the government throwing red meat, having more empty rhetoric, recycling and rehashing legislation which they already passed the nationality and act last year, several hundred pages of

densely wooded legislation rather than carrying on with all of these gimmicks, the government should actually do the nitty—gritty work, that quiet diplomacy with the european union and the other detailed work that is required to pragmatically compassionately and competently tackle this issue. thank ou. thank competently tackle this issue. thank you- thank you- _ our home and legal correspondent dominic casciani told me since the home secretary suella braverman spoke we�*re still yet to see legislation published. there is rumours going round based on the slightly interesting and novel wording she used in the house about lawyers still working on some of the unusual ideas in this that perhaps it was still being written, we just don�*t know because we have not seen it yet. from what we do know, i think you have got basically some practical challenges, assuming this goes through the house, practical challenges then legal challenges so the practical thing is let�*s look at the numbers here. 45,000 people arrived last year over

the english channel. if the government is saying they will be automatically detain for a minimum of 28 days with a view to basically putting them on the flight out of the uk to a safe country, in theory, rwanda or somewhere else, where are they going to put them all? that�*s a fundamental question. 45,000 people is the equivalent to half the present estate of england and wales, there or thereabouts. that is a big ticket item they have got to solve there. the government will say we�*re only going to hold them for 28 days so we don�*t necessarily need that kind of amount of accommodation. but that presupposes they have got agreements in place to move people to other countries at the end of the 28 days. critically, the situation in the courts, long—standing rules about unlawful detention which state that you get to a point where you can say to a judge, iam being held indefinitely, this is not fair because the government is not going to remove me to another country, so you have to give me bail

because otherwise it is basically deprivation of my liberty. there are predictions the courts will get clogged up with cases, adding to the backlog in the immigration tribunals and this will add to delays in the whole thing will be potentially mired and that is what critics say. the other question is what the home secretary has conceded to mps. i want to read something she said in the letter, which has been circulated to the house today. she has described the approach of this legislation as robust and novel. she has had to make a statement, as all ministers have to, about whether or not it complies with the uk�*s human rights act. in that statement, it does not say that it does. the wording is that there is more than a 50% chance it may not comply with those human rights standards. that is her lawyers behind—the—scenes telling the home secretary that they do not think it will withstand a legal challenge, if it comes down to a court battle.

we don�*t know why that is at the moment, because we have not seen the detail, perhaps it is down to the automatic denial of the opportunity to seek asylum. we are a little bit in the dark but it clearly, this is a very novel strategy for a secretary of state to take in this situation and there is no guarantee, on her own admission, the plan will work. the european commission, together with poland, are set to launch a new initiative aimed at tracing ukrainian children abducted and taken to russia during the invasion of ukraine. in a report published last month, yale university researchers identified at least 43 camps and other facilities where ukrainian children are held. this map shows ukraine and its border with russia and highlighted in red are the areas in the east now occupied by russian forces, including areas russia considers annexed. we�*re joined now by mark malloch—brown, who is president of the open society foundations and former deputy secretary general of the united nations. thank you for taking the time to

join us on bbc news. what role do you think international organisations need to play now in leading efforts to repatriate ukrainian children? this leading efforts to repatriate ukrainian children?- leading efforts to repatriate ukrainian children? this is a tragic art of the ukrainian children? this is a tragic part of the wider _ ukrainian children? this is a tragic part of the wider set _ ukrainian children? this is a tragic part of the wider set of _ ukrainian children? this is a tragic part of the wider set of abuses i ukrainian children? this is a tragic| part of the wider set of abuses that ukrainian civilians with a lot of whole families also captured and moved into russia and of course a huge array of civilian fatalities and injuries, often in very targeted, brutal rapes and other killings and so it is a subset of this wider set of impunity behaviours and war crimes that russia has committed in ukraine. but i think the specific set, the children, there have been widely varying numbers on how many of these kids have been taken into russia and some very important reporting out of london�*s sunday times on this at the

weekend showing that even one or two have got back but i think the first step in this is to get as much evidence as we can and we have ground teams working in ukraine to document as many of these cases as possible so we can scale the problem we are addressing but obviously as part of any peace agreement, at the end of this war, there should be a return of all ukrainian children and civilians to ukraine.— civilians to ukraine. what exactly is it that has _ civilians to ukraine. what exactly is it that has been _ civilians to ukraine. what exactly is it that has been happening i civilians to ukraine. what exactly i is it that has been happening here? well, i think what has been happening in a very real way at the moment is an effort by the russian government to in every way it can diminish the sense of nature nationhood of ukraine. to take away children, have them adopted by russian families, putting camps in

russia, which originally pretended to be summer holiday camps, a throwback to the old soviet model, where subsequently they were not allowed to return home afterwards. it is an attempt to, in a sense, completely change the demography of ukraine by taking away its children. the same way that mothers and fathers have been subjected to massive brutality and injury and other crimes. it is social engineering on a grotesque scale. how realistic is it though to expect russia to face any future sanctions. particularly at a un level?— particularly at a un level? bicc, the international _ particularly at a un level? bicc, the international criminal- particularly at a un level? bicc, the international criminal court. particularly at a un level? bicc, | the international criminal court is speaking on the issue tomorrow i believe. he was recently in ukraine looking at it and quite a few other

international legal bodies are making investigations and pursuing different avenues for accountability. i think where we will really see the accountability is any peace agreement that follows this war. on the one hand, diplomats will want to balance allowing putin and those around him some kind of exit strategy so that they agree to a peace agreement. on the other hand, organisations like mine will be pressing forjustice, because of the feeling that each time this happens, that there is the factual impunity, that a leader gets away with war crimes, that it merely encourages the next generation of leaders to do the same. so i think the world and international community are facing a real moment of truth on this. extraordinary crimes have been committed by a country which is one of the p5 which was responsible for most world war ii settlement of the world if you

like. it has now shown itself to be an international criminal state for elle is intents and purposes. securing accountability is absolutely critical while at the same time recognising that we have got to get peace with russia, that human rights are never secure while war goes on. so there is going to be a tricky end to this conflict one day, balancing the interests of getting peace against the interests of securing justice and judgment against those who have committed these crimes. it is against those who have committed these crimes-— these crimes. it is really important and aood these crimes. it is really important and good to _ these crimes. it is really important and good to get — these crimes. it is really important and good to get you _ these crimes. it is really important and good to get you onto - these crimes. it is really important and good to get you onto the i and good to get you onto the programme so i thank you once again for your time. programme so i thank you once again for your time-— the chinese leader, xijinping, has made an unusually direct criticism of washington, saying that the balloon incident is just one of a series of american actions which show that the us is trying to encircle and contain his country. it comes as the chinese leadership is gathered in beijing for the national people�*s congress, and mr xi�*s foreign minister, oin gang, has also voiced criticisms.

he said that the us knew china�*s balloon posed no threat, but over—reacted and created a diplomatic crisis. washington has claimed the balloon was part of a sprawling chinese intelligence collection programme. we�*ll hear from our correspondent in beijing injust a moment, but first, let�*s hear what oin gang had to say to america. translation: the united states claims to be competing to win i against china rather than seeking conflict. but in fact, the united states�*s so—called competition is total containment and suppression. a zero—sum game in which you die and i live. the united states�*s perception and views of china are seriously distorted. they regard china as the primary rival and the most consequential international challenge.

uk scientists have produced a detailed "future flood map" of britain, simulating the impacts of flooding as climate change takes its toll. the study showed that every part of mainland britain will be affected differently, with some areas much more vulnerable than others to flood damage. here�*s our science correspondent victoria gill. as water trickles through this woodland in calderdale, a team of local volunteers are getting to work. what we�*re trying to do is just divert this into woodland. katie�*s nearby home has been flooded in the past because in this steep—sided valley, heavy rain can swell the river very quickly. how bad does flooding get in this area? it�*s catastrophic. it�*s incredibly fast. it�*s a wave of destruction. it�*s physically and mentally hard for people here. there�*ve been repeated devastating floods here in recent years. and when the water subsides, it can take months to repair

the damage to homes and businesses. across the uk, destruction from flooding costs an estimated £700 million per year. here at the fathom labs in bristol, they�*re simulating all of the causes of flooding, creating maps that will help people to plan and prepare. we call this a flood hazard map. so what we've done is we've simulated the probability and intensity of flooding on every river in the uk. scientists used layers of information about what causes flooding. they mapped the terrain of mainland britain and combined that with data on rainfall patterns, how water�*s moved through our rivers and around our coastal area. they�*ve combined all this information with details from the met office about how exactly climate change will affect flood risk. even if we can keep global temperatures to a 1.8 degree increase, there are areas where flood risk will increase significantly, including the southeast and northwest of england and south wales. but there will be little change across northeast and central england as well as eastern and northern

scotland. there are many places where risk is growing and being able to understand the communities and the regions where this is likely to happen allows us to make sensible investment decisions about making interventions such as engineering structures or natural flood management, or indeed moving people out of harm's way. a warmer climate means more extremes, including more heavy rainfall. but this new research shows that every town and village will be affected differently by climate change. and the scientists say that governments need betterforecasting to protect communities and make informed decisions about where to build. being able to forecast is ideal. anything, any early warnings that we can have here i would say are so important, just because of the speed of things here. the best helper ever! it�*s information that will be crucial for katie and calder valley�*s next generation. victoria gill, bbc news, in calderdale.

an alligator believed to have been stolen from a zoo in texas zoo 20 years ago has been returned after being discovered at a nearby home. this eight—foot—long creature is thought to have been taken 20 years ago, as either an egg or a hatchling. the female gator, named tewa, was found near the city of austin last week, before being taken back "home" to the animal world and snake farm zoo, where she�*s said to be settling in well. if you want to hear more on that and any other stories you have heard, you can. online you can go to the bbc website or the bbc news app. you can reach me and the team on

twitter. do get in touch. plenty more to come. stay with us on the bbc. good afternoon. some lovely weather watcher pictures coming in of the snow in the north. but, as we know, snow can cause significant disruption and that�*s what we�*re expecting for the next couple of days — transport delays, cancellations, stranded vehicles, power cuts. there are numerous warnings in force. and we�*re pretty certain that what comes out of the sky on weather fronts will fall as snow, because we�*re all in the arctic air right now and we�*ve got weather fronts waiting in the atlantic to bring that snow in. but, for the rest of the day, our smattering of sleet and snow has cleared the south. most of the snow showers will continue across the north and the east, northern ireland, and it�*s cold out there despite the sunshine. and overnight, temperatures will drop like a stone.

it�*s going to be the coldest night of the year so far across the glens of scotland. further snow showers around the coast for northern ireland, too. but this is obviously going to give concern. we could see a few centimetres of snow across some southern parts of england, possibly south wales, by morning. so we could wake up to a light covering of snow across the southern half of the country. a cold night, as i�*ve already said, right across the board. a crisp start. ice will be an issue, of course, tomorrow morning where we�*ve had those showers, where we have that lying snow, then a brief respite before we get another area of rain and then sleet turning to sleet and snow in that cold air across southern england, south wales, the south midlands, the south of east anglia as well. again, we could see five to ten centimetres over the hills. it is going to cause some concerns as it coincides with the evening rush hour, and it continues to fall through into thursday morning as well. now, by the time we get to thursday, we�*ve got another issue, this deep area of low pressure. so strong winds and widespread, quite heavy snow.

we�*re talking 15 to 20 centimetres in the heavier bursts, even at lower levels, perhaps double that over the hills. so, it looks like it�*s aiming for north wales, northern england, northern ireland into southern parts of scotland during thursday. clearly temperatures won�*t be this high where the snow is falling, mostly rain further south, but there�*s quite a lot of uncertainty. so, for the next couple of days, we�*re monitoring the snow across northern areas through the rest of today and overnight. through the overnight period today, through tomorrow and tomorrow night, we�*re concerned about disruptive snowfall across the southern half of england and wales, and then quite a widespread significant snowfall event on thursday. as ever, we�*ll keep you posted.

this is bbc news — welcome if you�*re watching here in the uk or around the globe. i�*m maryam moshiri. our top stories... the prime minister visits home office staff in dover has new legislation as an a crackdown on migrants coming to the uk in small boats. china has wanted new conflict with the us which it says are trying to contain, and circle and suppress the country. xijingping has to contain, and circle and suppress the country. xi jingping has accused america of taking action to are straining relations. scientists who have produced a future fog map of the uk say damage in some areas could increase by more than 20% over the next century dutch future flood map. eurovision grand final tickets

sell out in 36 minutes of super fans rush to get their hands on the hottest in town. welcome back. a new report by unicef reveals the number of pregnant women and girls suffering from acute malnutrition has soared by 25% since 2020 in 12 countries hardest hit by the global food crisis. they include afghanistan, ethiopia, kenya and sudan. these countries represent the epicentre of a global nutrition crisis that has been exacerbated by the war in ukraine, ongoing drought, conflict, and instability. the gender gap of food insecurity has also more than doubled since 2021. unicef is calling for urgent investment in nutrition programmes for girls and women. harriet torlesse, the report�*s author and unicef�*s nutrition specialist, joins me now live from new york.

so good to talk to you, thank you forjoining us. why is it specifically pregnant women impacted by this issue? we specifically pregnant women impacted by this issue?— by this issue? we are extremely concerned _ by this issue? we are extremely concerned about _ by this issue? we are extremely concerned about pregnant i by this issue? we are extremely i concerned about pregnant women because of course they have a biological vulnerability during pregnancy, in fact this crisis affects all women. we know women in this context are grappling with many, many difficult circumstances. poverty, climate and, of course, the conflicts are ongoing in this region. they are struggling to access nutritious diets simply because nutritious food is not available, and if it is is extremely expensive for these very poor families. health systems are collapsing or extremely fragile so they cannot access the urgent medical care and on top of that discriminatory social and gender norms are impacting adolescent girls

and women enormously, denying them the freedom to make decisions on what they eat, when they access health care, that really affect the ability to meet their nutritional needs. : :, , :, :, ability to meet their nutritional needs. : :, :, , needs. although you are saying this has a more — needs. although you are saying this has a more adverse _ needs. although you are saying this has a more adverse impact - needs. although you are saying this has a more adverse impact on i needs. although you are saying this l has a more adverse impact on women and girls, the impact because of this is felt in wider society is too in these countries? {iii this is felt in wider society is too in these countries?— in these countries? of course, it effects the _ in these countries? of course, it effects the women _ in these countries? of course, it effects the women themselves, | in these countries? of course, it i effects the women themselves, they are more vulnerable to life—threatening complications during pregnancy, more vulnerable to infectious diseases, but what we are extremely concerned about also as their children, when women are malnourished when they enter pregnancy their babies are much more likely to be born with a low birth weight, extremely concerning because these children are much more likely to become malnourished in early life, and if they have not got the nutrients for good body weight and

growth, they don�*t have the nutrients for healthy brain development so there are really long lasting consequences for these children and their families. share lasting consequences for these children and their families. are we addressin: children and their families. are we addressing the _ children and their families. are we addressing the basic— children and their families. are we addressing the basic issue - children and their families. are we addressing the basic issue of i children and their families. are we addressing the basic issue of food | addressing the basic issue of food insecurity, which has been an issue for decades, or i�*ll be addressing specific issues within these countries? what is the priority for you? countries? what is the priority for ou? ~ :, countries? what is the priority for ou? . :, : :, :, countries? what is the priority for ou? . :, :, :, , you? we are calling on governments and humanitarian _ you? we are calling on governments and humanitarian and _ you? we are calling on governments and humanitarian and developmentl and humanitarian and development agencies to invest in women and especially adolescent girls too. we know there is a great need to expand access to the essential nutrition programmes for these girls and women and we know they are extremely vulnerable financially, so access to social protection programmes, cash transfers or food vouchers, can enable them to access the nutritious diets they really need at this crucial time in life. diets they really need at this crucialtime in life.— crucialtime in life. harriet torlesse — crucialtime in life. harriet torlesse from _ crucialtime in life. harriet torlesse from unicef, i crucial time in life. harriet. torlesse from unicef, thank crucial time in life. harriet i torlesse from unicef, thank you crucial time in life. harriet _ torlesse from unicef, thank you very much. france is in the grip

of another nationwide strike as protests against plans to reform pensions continue. many of the country�*s biggest unions are taking part in the stoppage — affecting transport, schools, and many public services. the dispute is over government plans to raise the age at which workers can claim state pensions from 62 to 64. our paris correspondent hugh schofield has more on this story. well, one doesn�*t want to overplay it. this is not a general strike. if you went out on the streets of paris today, you�*d find that most shops are open and people are going about their business when they can. it is, though, a day of difficulty, no doubt about that, in public transport, in the schools. basically, in general, it�*s the public sector movement. it is the public sector unions which are leading the strike action and they have shut down large parts of the public sector. there are private sector workers involved in the big industries like electricity and the imported gas depots and so on,

so it�*s notjust public sector, but that�*s the bulk of it. a lot of people are trying to go about their daily life. of course, the fact that many people work from home now helps, and does mean also that compared to the past, these big days of disruption to public transport on strike days don�*t have the same effect on the economy and on people�*s working lives as they once used to. tickets for the grand final of the eurovision song contest and they went on sale at lunchtime, taking just 36 minutes to sell out. the website selling them crushed, such was the demand. eurovision fan and journalist bella ovist, who�*s in stockholm, was lucky enough to get a ticket. i did, thanks to a very good friend of mine — thank you, lotte — who managed to get through, whereas i and many others didn�*t, unfortunately. there was a very high demand.

a lot of people watching this will be welljel. tell me exactly why there are such demands for tickets to watch the final live given that, throughout my childhood, it was very much a tv event,in my family. i am sure it is a tv event for many people around the world? of course, it is made to be a tv production, it�*s amazing to watch it on tv, but to be there live and experience the whole thing, it is next level. i had the pleasure of doing it myself previously, i went to lisbon, i was in stockholm when it was here, and it is amazing to have that live experience so i understand a lot of people were interested in tickets. i also feel maybe eurovision is more popular than ever. i can see the demand for it. why do you think eurovision is more popular now? what is it touching amongst so many people that is making it so popular? almost everyone i know wants tickets. mm. i think there are several reasons. i have been a big eurovision fan all my life. i feel like in these times

of darkness when there�*s lots of difficulty going on, eurovision brings that light and love and unites people, and i know it sounds cheesy but it unites people through the power of music, and i think a lot of people are seeing that. of course via all the social media, tiktok etc, in the recent years we�*ve seen a lot of eurovision stars break through there, i think that has definitely had an impact as well. you�*re presenting the english commentary for sweden�*s grand final at the weekend, tell us more. yes, saturday is a very big day here because that is when we pick our entry for eurovision this year. we have a show which goes on for six weeks and on saturday it is the big grand final. i have the big pleasure of doing the live commentary together with my dear friend who is also a bbcjournalist. we will be guiding viewers from around the world through all the glitz and glamour

of the final. we have had the pleasure of doing it for... this�*ll be our third year, and people tune in from around the world. we had messages from 20—plus countries mostly. what makes a winning song? what is the formula you need to do well in eurovision? it�*s not necessarily the one song you might think is a good one in terms of melody or words. it is a really tricky one. i sit there every year looking at the rehearsals and thinking could it be this or this? it comes down to what happens on the night, the magic of that final night. of course you need an entry that stands out and grabs the audience, especially through the screen. it is difficult to pinpoint what it is, but something that really grabs people�*s attention and their hearts and again unites them in their love for the songs. it is difficult to

pinpoint what it is. but it is magic, whatever it is. bello was looking very happy that she got a ticket to see the eurovision live in liverpool, i know many of you have been e—mailing us to tell us you have not been so successful. eight years ago, the tomb of king richard i! was found beneath a car park in the centre of leicester. archaeologists have now made another major discoveryjust 50 yards away. it�*s a roman shrine, buried beneath a former graveyard — next to leicester cathedral. our midlands correspondent phil mackie was given exclusive access to the site. deep beneath leicester city centre, they have been uncovering 2000 years of history. so we have been excavating here for nine months now. matthew morris is excited and he is the man who unearthed the remains of richard iii in a car park barely 50 metres away, ten years ago. in this corner, eight metres

underground and right next door to leicester cathedral, they have made an important discovery. these are our special artefacts we have had out so far. so lovely intact roman hairpin. that is incredible. a late first—century roman brooch. but this is our star find at the minute. this, we are pretty certain, is going to be the base of a roman altar, a portable altar. so it probably would have been about this high originally. it may not look much, but this is likely to have been part of a subterranean shrine in a large home in roman leicester, or ratae, as it was known at the time. most of it is buried underneath modern leicester. this was a rare opportunity to excavate. it is because the cathedral is building a new visitors�* centre and knew it would be interesting, but did not know how much they would find. there has always been a tradition that leicester cathedral is built on a roman temple, based on antiquarian discoveries in the 19th century. and it has always been hard tojudge whether that was true or not.

but we are now finding a roman building that looks like it might have a shrine status, so some sort of element, private worship, maybe, but maybe there is a retention of memory through the centuries from that roman building to the cathedral being built on top of it. what the dig gives you is a slice of leicester�*s history. at the bottom, you have the original iron age sediment. those gravel layers are roman settlements. above that, medieval. richard iii would have been here, a little bit above that top layer. above that, the victorian layer, and, way above me, the current ground level. they knew the area had been a graveyard for centuries, but they did not know exactly how long. these burials were from around the time of the norman conquest. these two children were buried much earlier than that. they are probably from the early anglo—saxon period, maybe eighth century. that gives the archaeologists more evidence of what happened

after the romans left leicester. in all, they recovered more than 1100 sets of human remains. after analysis, they will be reburied. this 3d image shows the excavation at the end of the dig. but now the work is complete, it is being filled back in again. the movie elvis goes into sunday�*s oscar�*s race with eight nominations. the film�*s star austin butler could win best actor for his portrayal of the king. sophie long has been talking to the cast and crew about the emotional rollercoaster during filming.

we had fire, we had flood, then a pandemic. we lost the movie. then the movie came back. then the movie is made, then the movie flourishes. and then austin wins the golden globe for best actor. and then we have the sadness and the shock of losing lisa marie. it�*s been such an incredible emotional roller coaster, an up and down. it's an incredibly difficult time and tumultuous time, you know, and... but i think back to when she first saw the film and when priscilla saw the film and how... their reaction to it, and especially because they felt the way that they did about it. no review will ever mean more to me than what what they said after, you know. # going to a party at the countyjail. tomorrow, all of america will be talking about elvis presley. i all your films have such energy. like, i remember the first time i watched moulin rouge. it kind of slaps you in the face. it�*s different to anything else. how do you do that? well, my energy might be, you know, slightly dribbling

away as the years go on. but they�*re designed like that. they�*re engagement films. they�*re meant to say, "come with us on the ride." they�*re meant to challenge you in the beginning. they�*re not keyhole psychological dramas. they are participatory cinematic works. and i think the energy of the movies comes from baz's energy— and his infectious storytelling i and the fact that as a collaborator, you feel so privileged to be part of the journey. - and he takes such care - to include me, but everybody from mandy to, you know, the grip, the dolly grip, i . whoever it is, we all feel part . of an energised, bigger company. the directive that baz gave me really super early on when we were talking about script is that the camera has to dance with elvis, and it has to fly when he flies.

and then when the drama gets heavy and emotional that we would be elegant and observational. i need to get back to who i really am. how does it feel? it feels like a dream. you know, i'm trying to... i'm trying to take snapshots in my mind and really remember these moments. the newness of all this will never happen again. so i really want to remember it. there's so much buzz around this whole, this part of the industry. and i'm used tojust being the guy who's, you know, you can sort of hide behind a character. so there's a lot of talking about yourself. cheering

that had a bit of an unceremonious ending. neverwith that had a bit of an unceremonious ending. never with an unceremonious ending. never with an unceremonious ending is ben thompson, have you seen the elvis film? i ending is ben thompson, have you seen the elvis film?— seen the elvis film? i love it, it is an incredible _ seen the elvis film? i love it, it is an incredible part _ seen the elvis film? i love it, it is an incredible part to - seen the elvis film? i love it, it is an incredible part to play i seen the elvis film? i love it, it is an incredible part to play so | seen the elvis film? i love it, it l is an incredible part to play so he deserves all the oscars if they come his way. we will look at all the business choice this hour. the boss of america�*s central banker said he will raise interest rates higher and faster than previously thought. jerome powell said the measures are needed at stronger than expected economic figures of late. he said the government needs to raise the debt ceiling, his cupboard sent stock markets much lower. samira hussain is in new york. not wholly unexpected from jerome powell but we know they are keeping an eye on how quickly prices are rising and it will not be welcome that interest rates have to keep going up to keep them in check?

certainly. originally when we saw a little bit of softness in terms of the rate of inflation it gave lots of people hope that we would probably see slower interest rate rises, we certainly saw that at the last meeting. but his comments to lawmakers today really echoed now that i think a lot of investors are thinking we could probably see a 0.5% rate rise at the next meeting on the next two weeks, the reasoning is because some of the economic data is because some of the economic data is coming in stronger than expected. looking up thejobs report, we saw so many morejobs looking up thejobs report, we saw so many more jobs created than anyone ever expected in the last month. lots of attention will now be paid to the jobs report coming month. lots of attention will now be paid to thejobs report coming up on this friday, we certainly know that the federal reserve will be watching that closely. it is the federal reserve will be watching that closel . , , , that closely. it is slightly perverse _ that closely. it is slightly perverse that _ that closely. it is slightly perverse that when i that closely. it is slightly perverse that when the l that closely. it is slightly - perverse that when the economic indicators are good, the central

bank has to signal things make it harderfor all bank has to signal things make it harder for all of bank has to signal things make it harderfor all of us, the bank has to signal things make it harder for all of us, the cost of borrowing, mortgages and credit cards will go up, but it is about trying to bring it in line, we know the target is 2%, it is currently way above that?— the target is 2%, it is currently way above that? the target is 2%, it is currently wa above that? , :, way above that? sorry, i was sort of lau~ahin way above that? sorry, i was sort of laughing because — way above that? sorry, i was sort of laughing because i— way above that? sorry, i was sort of laughing because i remember- way above that? sorry, i was sort of laughing because i remember us i laughing because i remember us talking about this year�*s and years ago, how would you see a good labour report, that it has a negative impact on markets or interest rates. it is like deja vu, an indication of how cyclical everything is and the fed is saying we understand what kind of pressure all of this is having on the pocketbooks of everyday americans, it is really important to know the fed is doing what it can to try to mitigate that and if that means raising interest rates higherfor longer and if that means raising interest rates higher for longer and and if that means raising interest rates higherfor longer and perhaps rates higher for longer and perhaps faster than rates higherfor longer and perhaps faster than one would have expected, thatis faster than one would have expected, that is a risk the federal reserve is willing to take.—

is willing to take. maybe it is a si . n we is willing to take. maybe it is a sign we have _ is willing to take. maybe it is a sign we have been _ is willing to take. maybe it is a sign we have been doing i is willing to take. maybe it is a sign we have been doing this l is willing to take. maybe it is a l sign we have been doing this job is willing to take. maybe it is a i sign we have been doing this job too long, it has come around again! samira hussain, life in new york, thank you. the international monetary fund has welcomed a pledge by china to support sri lanka�*s debt restructuring. without that support, the south asian nation has been struggling to refinance its econonmy after defaulting on the repayments of $46 billion of foreign debt. since then, sri lanka has been struggling through its worst ever economic crisis. the imf�*s reaction will give sri lanka hope of a way forward. archana shukla reports on why china�*s agreement is such a lifeline for sri lanka. china is sri lanka�*s largest bilateral lender, accounting for nearly 52% of the total sovereign debt on sri lanka�*s books. and them coming on board was literally the last piece needed for sri lanka to secure that imf loan. remember, other creditor nations like india and japan had already agreed on loan restructuring, which is a key prerequisite by the imf after sri lanka defaulted on its loan repayment.

in fact, to meet other conditions laid out by the imf, sri lanka has already imposed sharp tax hikes. interest rates have been raised, subsidies on fuel and electricity have been cut, which means tariffs have gone up. president president ranil wickremesinghe told the sri lankan parliament today that with china�*s approval now in place, they are expecting the imf loan bailout package to materialise in the third or fourth week of this month itself. and this money is crucial for import—dependent but bankrupt sri lanka. remember, for more than a year, the country has been battling a shortage of essentials and an inflation that even peaked at 70% last september, all because the country had no dollars to pay for imports. the imf bailout loan could also help other creditors to start releasing more funds, which are very crucial for sri lanka.

what does it take to come up with the next big business idea? well, that�*s what the forbes 30 under 30 list looks at. the latest pulls together some of the top, young, rising european stars — the youngestjust 14 years old. they work in all sorts of business sectors, from manufacturing and science through to sports and entertainment. so what makes these people stand out? i asked kristin stoller, the deputy editor of forbes founders, who oversaw the 30 under 30 list. we look for a lot of things. we have a big focus on founders and co—founders and people who build their own business. 72% of the people on our list founders or co—founders. but we�*re looking for revenue. we�*re looking for funding. we�*re looking for who their investors are, we�*re looking to see if their ideas have any social impact, if they�*re scalable. we look beyond whether it�*s sort ofjust the uberfor x or y. we�*re really looking for people who have new and super—innovative

ideas that haven�*t been done before. i�*m looking at this list, and one of your winners is manufacturing satellites, and he�*s 24 years old. how do you start manufacturing satellites at that age? it�*s wild! i mean, some of these people don�*t go to college and they go into these incubators like y combinator, or make all these connections with vc firms and people like that and if you get the right investors and the right team, then you can really take yourself places. why is this list so important? talk to me about some of the success stories, because this sets people up for long careers, being named on this list, because you get that recognition within the industry. absolutely. i mean, it�*s notjust celebrities. obviously, we�*ve had celebrities like adele and taylor swift before they were the people they are now, but we also have a lot of business names who started supersmall. the founders of instagram were on the list, doordash. the spotify founder,

daniel ek, he was on the list. so we�*re really trying to predict the biggest trend that�*ll happen, and the best way to predict these trends is by looking at what the young founders today across europe are doing. nothing like that list to make you feel inadequate! the governor of california has blasted pharmaceuticals giant walgreens over its decision to stop dispensing abortion pills in 20 us states. gavin newsom tweeted that california would not do business with walgreens boots alliance, or "any company that cowers "to the extremists and puts women�*s lives at risk". his comments follow criticism from the white house on friday, when democratic press secretary karinejean—pierre said it was "dangerous and unacceptable" for republicans to target pharmceuticals firms. reports say meta, the owner of facebook and instagram, is poised to cut thousands more jobs this week.

the fresh round of cost cutting comes on top of the 13% staff cuts announced earlier this year. it�*s all part of what boss mark zuckerberg calls a "year of efficiency." nissan has had its credit rating cut to junk by the ratings agency s&p. it blamed weaker than expected earnings from the japanese car—maker, and a tough outlook for the year ahead. s&p said supply chain disruptions would continue to have an impact on car components this year, and demand for new vehicles in the us and europe is set to fall. paris and much of france ground to a halt today, as hundreds of thousands of workers went on strike again over the government�*s plans to increase the retirement age. most rail services have been stopped, many schools closed, and fuel depots blockaded. unions hope today will be the biggest strike day yet, with up to 1.4 million people expected at demonstrations in paris and elsewhere.

let me show you quickly the numbers in europe, that is how markets are looking. the headlines are coming up at the top of the hour. good afternoon. some lovely weather watcher pictures coming in of the snow in the north. but, as we know, snow can cause significant disruption and that�*s what we�*re expecting for the next couple of days — transport delays, cancellations, stranded vehicles, power cuts. there are numerous warnings in force. and we�*re pretty certain that what comes out of the sky on weather fronts will fall as snow, because we�*re all in the arctic air right now and we�*ve got weather fronts waiting in the atlantic to bring that snow in. but, for the rest of the day, our smattering of sleet and snow has cleared the south. most of the snow showers will continue across the north and the east, northern ireland, and it�*s cold out there despite the sunshine. and overnight, temperatures will drop like a stone. it�*s going to be the coldest

night of the year so far across the glens of scotland. further snow showers around the coast for northern ireland, too. but this is obviously going to give concern. we could see a few centimetres of snow across some southern parts of england, possibly south wales, by morning. so we could wake up to a light covering of snow across the southern half of the country. a cold night, as i�*ve already said, right across the board. a crisp start. ice will be an issue, of course, tomorrow morning where we�*ve had those showers, where we have that lying snow, then a brief respite before we get another area of rain and then sleet turning to sleet and snow in that cold air across southern england, south wales, the south midlands, the south of east anglia as well. again, we could see five to ten centimetres over the hills. it is going to cause some concerns as it coincides with the evening rush hour, and it continues to fall through into thursday morning as well. now, by the time we get to thursday, we�*ve got another issue, this deep area of low pressure. so strong winds and widespread, quite heavy snow. we�*re talking 15 to 20 centimetres in the heavier bursts, even at lower levels, perhaps double that over the hills. so, it looks like it�*s aiming

for north wales, northern england, northern ireland into southern parts of scotland during thursday. clearly temperatures won�*t be this high where the snow is falling, mostly rain further south, but there�*s quite a lot of uncertainty. so, for the next couple of days, we�*re monitoring the snow across northern areas through the rest of today and overnight. through the overnight period today, through tomorrow and tomorrow night, we�*re concerned about disruptive snowfall across the southern half of england and wales, and then quite a widespread significant snowfall event on thursday. as ever, we�*ll keep you posted.

this is bbc news — welcome if you�*re watching here in the uk or around the globe. i�*m ben brown. our top stories the prime minister visits dover as the government sets out new legislation to crack down on migrants coming to the uk on small boats. our approach is robust and novel, which is why we cannot make a definitive statement of compatibility under section 19 one be of the human rights act. china warns of potential conflict , as leaders blame the us for trying to "contain, encircle and suppress" their country. how russia�*s invasion has dramatically increased the need for rehabilitation services across ukraine. scientists say annual flood damage in parts of the uk could increase by more than 20% over the next century as climate change takes its toll.

another day of strikes and widespread disruption