welcome to bbc news. us regulators have shutdown silicon valley bank, the biggest banking failure since the 2008 financial crisis. the bbc�*s star football presenter gary lineker has been suspended over social media comments he made criticising the british government's asylum policy. as editor in chief of the bbc, i think one of our founding principles is impartiality — and that's what we're delivering on. asylum policy was centre stage in paris, where the uk promises france hundreds of millions of dollars to deal with illegal channel crossings. the amazon in brazil reached

record levels of deforestation in february. one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the southern hemisphere rips through mauritius and madagascar twice and is now heading for mozambique for the second time. we start in the us, and regulators have shut down silicon valley bank, a major lender to tech companies, after it ran into financial trouble. worries triggered a sell—off on global financial markets. it's the largest banking failure in the us since 2008. james clayton has been explaining how it happened. this day will go down in silicon valley history, certainly one of the most stressful days for silicon valley founders in modern times. we have spoken to people today who have been able to withdraw their money

from silicon valley bank, and some who haven't. one person i spoke to said they put in a wire request yesterday, they waited nearly 2a hours and eventually found that they had got the money, but we spoke to another person who said they have tried and tried and tried, and they simply haven't been able to withdraw any funds. they said they physically came down to one of these branches, to try and get the money out. it's been an incredibly stressful time if you are a start—up. the federal deposit insurance corporation has essentially taken over this bank and they are literally in there now advising customers what to do. the hope is they will be able to withdraw their funds on monday. but that is no certainty around that claim at all. and when you speak to people who haven't been able to get their money out, it is a time of deep, deep concern. they may not know for another 48 hours whether that money has completely evaporated. and there's another worry, that this isn'tjust a local story about start—ups, and it could spread to other

banks across the world. i asked danny blanchflower what he thought was happening in the us banking sector considering interest rates were creeping up. i think it's a combination of things. first thing is, the fed started to raise rates rapidly thinking there wasn't going to be any fallout, and that was almost inevitable. the place it really hit hardest was in the tech sector, and it wouldn't take a genius to work out that if the tech sector is in trouble and the central bank is raising rates, banks that lend to tech companies are likely to be in trouble. and that's really where we are, not least because these banks... it's one bank, silicon valley bank, but there are a few others we are worried about,

they haven't really diversified their portfolios, they put their money into crypto and start—ups in the high—tech sector. so they are vulnerable. listening then, it reminded me almost exactly of what happened with northern rock. on the monday, the bank started to lose money. and essentially, the website crashed on wednesday, and the chancellor of the exchequer had to work out... he's got to do something over the weekend, because the banks and markets have to open on monday. i think that's the really big deal. what is the fed going to do over the weekend? the story you had, yes, there is federal insurance on deposits, only up to 250,000... over that, we don't know what's going to happen, they may get their money back, they may not.

but the danger is this sets the domino going and there is panic around the world, but hopefully that won't happen. as you say, in terms of diversification, when perhaps a bank has investments and assets into lots of parts, that has changed considerably since 2008. are we looking at a similar scenario? well, we are in some sense. we have seen banks, the big banks especially, have been made very liquid, they have been told to diversify their portfolios. but these somewhat smaller banks, under 250 billion in assets, it's quite a lot of money but they are much less regulated, and under trump, regulations were reduced. in fact, one of the people pushing hard for it was the ceo of this bank. so they are not so subject to regulation, but the reality is the central bank and the treasury, janet yellen and jay powell, over this weekend have to make sure panic

doesn't break out and things are done over the weekend. hopefully they are working feverishly. remember what happened in the uk to northern rock. there was no deposit insurance at all, and on monday morning alistair darling announced that all deposits were guaranteed. the difference with northern rock, actually people stood outside the banks, lined up to try and get their money out. the worry here, certainly don't want to spread panic, but what we learned in 2008 was banks in florida were connected to banks in london and germany and japan and everywhere else in the world, so the worry is this is a domino that will develop. just briefly, professor, will this impact the trajectory now of interest rates? as you say, the governor of the central bank in the united states, jay powell, will have to discuss the situation this weekend. the thinking was that rates

would continue to rise. markets are already pricing in rate cuts later in the year. it looks certainly that most of the things the fed have been saying are unlikely to be true. we saw unemployment rising today by 0.2, which is worrying. markets are not going to expect to see the fed raising rates. inflation is already coming down, and the danger is, there was always a danger when the fed said, it's fine, we can raise rates, all of the architecture in place is fine, and now this is the first step suggesting that isn't true. that was professor danny blanchflower. the man nominated prime minister in china has been formally elected by the parliament. he is the former party leader in shanghai and a close ally of president xi, he is considered pragmatic and

business friendly, in charge of reviving the country's flagging economy. he is one of a number of loyalists expected to be installed in key positions. the bbc�*s highest paid presenter gary lineker has been suspended from the corporation's flagship football show after he compared the british government's language on migration to that of germany in the 1930s. the bbc has strict impartiality guidelines and said the former england footballer would remain suspended until agreement was reached over his social media use. in a show of support for gary lineker, pundits and commentators have pulled out of the programme on saturday. we've got big games... gary lineker, for more than 20 years, the face of match of the day, but not tomorrow. he's been taken off air by the bbc, and his co—presenters, alan shearer and ian wright, won't be appearing either as a mark of solidarity with gary lineker.

the reason? these tweets, in which he described a statement about immigration policy by the home secretary as, beyond awful, then went on to say it was immeasurably cruel and the language used not dissimilar to that used by germany in the �*30s. the corporation says this breaks their guidelines on impartiality, and in a statement said, the bbc has decided that he will step back from presenting match of the day until we've got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media. if gary lineker breached the guidelines, why didn't you sack him? we always look to take proportionate action. have you just kicked it further down the line? i don't want to add to the statement. i think we had very constructive discussions. the statement's clear and that's where we are. as editor in chief of the bbc, i think one of our founding principles is impartiality and that's what we are delivering on. this is not what gary lineker was expecting. only yesterday, he said

he wasn't fearing suspension. do you fear getting suspended? no. and he was looking forward to presenting this weekend. one of those furious with the bbc is alastair campbell, who now has a podcast produced by gary lineker�*s production company. i think this decision is driven by an utterly craven political| cowardice at the top of the . bbc, and that is what has led to gary lineker, and this thing about stepping backwards, - let's be absolutely frank about this, gary, it's been made - clear to him i would imagine, he is not going to be - presenting match of the day because he is not toeing - the line. the bbc says it would like to resolve this, but gary lineker has given no indication he is going to be silenced, and he's not bound by the strict rules covering news, but there is a clause in the rules saying if you have a high profile there is an extra responsibility. if you allow the most highly paid presenter on the bbc to breach i the guidelines in a way that the bbc says he has, -

then why should anybody else, who's paid less, - obey the guidelines? and the bbc has to be impartial and perceived to be impartial. i and for the bbc, there is another issue hanging over it — its chairman. there is an ongoing inquiry into richard sharp's role in a loan made to borisjohnson which has raised many questions about his appointment and impartiality, but this weekend, it's all about gary lineker, with presenters lining up to say they will not be replacing him. match of the day will take place tomorrow with no presenters and no pundits. britain will more than double the amount of money being given france in the next three years to pay for help on migrants crossing the channel in small boats. it was agreed in paris between rishi sunak and emmanuel macron.

chris mason reports from paris. heading overseas by train, the early service to france, arriving in the courtyard of the elysees palace... is france a friend ori foe, prime minister? a reminder that relations have been bumpy of late. but look at this, a warmth in the parisian breeze, pleasantries and handshakes, arm in arm, hand in hand. the two leaders met for an hour and 20 minutes, although we were eased out rather sooner. later, they almost gushed in mutual admiration. i believe today's meeting does mark a new beginning, an entente renewed. the french president said the summit was exceptional and a moment of reunion, of reconnection. and the prime minister set out why they thought a new deal for dealing with migrants was necessary. emmanuel and i share the same

belief — criminal gangs should not get to decide who comes to our countries. within weeks of my coming into office, we agreed our largest ever small boats deal. and today, we've taken our cooperation to an unprecedented level to tackle this shared challenge. today's new deal will see more than double the number of personnel deployed here in northern france. this will be paid for in part by the uk more than doubling its annual funding for this. some of the money will help build a detention centre in france, too, although it won't be fully up and running until the end of 2026. all part of the efforts to cut the number of people trying to cross the channel like this. the same question to you both, if i may — do you think you'll ever be able to arrange a deal where migrants leaving france for the uk are returned to france? what you've seen today is an unprecedented level of cooperation on tackling

this shared challenge, because that's what it is, it's a shared challenge. and going forward, there will be more that we can do. we started that last november. we've built on it today. first, i think we focus on what we have to do in the short run. second, this is not an agreement between uk and france, but an agreement between uk and the eu, because to be in agreement are no more in a situation to be implemented. so this is something now to be negotiated. in other words, a returns agreement isn't happening. brexit has been something of a stone in the shoe of uk—france relations for years, but the prime minister hopes he has shaken it out, with his personal relationship with the president and that new brexit deal for northern ireland, which has improved relations with the european union. but, on the issue of small boats, rishi sunak acknowledges there is no simple solution to resolve the issue. and remember, this is one of his key promises — resolving the issue.

personal relationships aren't everything in diplomacy, but they do matter. bromance under a shared brolly tells you rather a lot about how things have changed. but ultimately it's what it delivers that really matters. chris mason, bbc news, in paris. iran and saudi arabia have agreed to re—establish diplomatic relations after seven years. they will also resume trade and security relations and reopen their respective embassies within two months. the announcement came after discussions in china. both sides have praised beijing's role, the two countries have had no formal ties since 2016 when riyadh's embassy in tehran was attacked after the execution of a shia cleric.

the relationship between saudi arabia and iran has fluctuated over the decades, but as you mentioned, it has been really tense in recent years. this recent agreement to normalise relations, mediated by china, is really a sea change in the middle east. through this move, china has demonstrated its ability to resolve conflicts impartially, rather than relying solely on arms sales. on the contrary, the united states has had a habit of taking sides in conflict, such as the war in yemen. and as region's largest weapons dealer. some in washington probably sweating bullets right now, looking at china's increasing involvement in mediating these conflicts in the middle east. but really they should look at this as a positive development, we should all welcome it, because regional stability is good for the united states,

it's good for the region, and it's obviously good for the whole world. in terms of regional stability, what kind of impact do you think this is going to have on the wider region? well, you know, there's a lot of things at play. we don't know how it's going to be. for china, this is about economic security. they have much to gain in securing oil, and preventing a wider conflict between saudi arabia and iran. for iran, they see this as a way to solidify the relationship with china, as it deals with record inflation, and as it deals with protests over its human rights abuses. saudi arabia's decision to normalise relations, may be in its own interests for now, but it also might be an attempt to see if the united states is going to provide more security assistance and more guarantees to counter chinese influence.

but the us really should not take the bait. instead they should take advantage of this opportunity to shift its approach in the middle east away from hegemony, away from dominance, away from endless war, towards diplomacy. and restraint and supporting regional power sharing deals. people in coastal mozambique have been moving into shelters as the country braces for cyclone freddy to hit for a second time. the storm is due to make landfall in the coming hours. it formed 33 days ago and experts say it is on course to set a new record as the longest lasting tropical storm. freddy has been fearsome and freddy has been persistent. for weeks, it has rattled around the indian ocean, weakening and strengthening, causing chaos in its wake. and if you thought freddy was calling it quits, think again.

tropical cyclone freddy is continuing its incredible and dangerous journey. it may have broken the record as the longest lasting cyclone in history, on record, it's been a named tropical cyclone now for 33 days. the cyclone first made landfall in mozambique and madagascar last month. thousands were affected, the storm bringing floods, damaging homes and crops, and leaving nearly 30 people dead. experts believe climate change is making these weather events wetter, windier and ever more intense. freddy's travelled more than 10,000 kilometres, it's generated as much accumulated cyclone energy as an average north atlantic hurricane season. this is one storm. officials are warning more than half a million people are at risk.

according to mozambique�*s national disaster management agency, last time cyclone freddy washed away roads and flooded homes and schools. now, the slow—moving storm is sucking up even more moisture, so the rainfall will be even heavier. cyclone freddy could be even more dangerous second time around. uk government loans meant to help companies during the covid pandemic, but billions of pounds were defrauded in the government's bounce back loan scheme. now a bbc investigation reveals the inside story of a criminal gang that stole more than £10 million of tax—payers�* money, laundering millions more, and after a court case which ended on friday, a total of ten people have now been sentenced. angus crawford has the details. bags full of cash. bundles of dirty notes.

they even needed a safe. now, after a series of court cases, the inside story of the gang that stole £10 million of taxpayers�* money. i've never seen anything like it. it is the biggest one i know of. it's the biggest one i've seen, and it's probably going to be the biggest one we will see for a long time. when covid shut down the economy, the chancellor announced the bounce back loan scheme. well, today, we announced a brand—new loan scheme... £50,000 on offerfor small firms with few questions asked. the gang used a network of bogus companies to make hundreds of claims. ringleaders artem terzyan and deivis grochiatskij received long prison sentences. they have strong links to lithuania, and we've learned that directors of two of the companies used in the fraud are still living there. and here they are — yekaterina kobrina and

povilas bartkevicius, a model and a chef. we just want to ask you where the money went? what money? the money from the bounce back loans. your name is on a company, bart solution, yes? and that received £10 million in your name. yeah, your name. i don't know anything. if i had some money or 10,000, i didn't work twojobs here. - povilas tells us he has no idea his name was being used in this way. next, we tracked down yekaterina. nice to meet you. yeah, nice to meet you. i ask her about the company in her name. but i don't know anything, and you should ask other people. no comments, only with my lawyer. we have no idea if either

of them knew what those companies were being used for, and the national crime office says their investigation is over. it was a colossal sum of money gone to some very bad people. lord agnew was the government's counter fraud minister until he resigned. appalled by the loss of billions of pounds from the scheme. i am worried that there is still a reluctance to grip this with real vigour. so, as we stand, do we think that those at the top of government have learnt the lesson of the bounce back loans scheme? i would like to hope so, but i'm not convinced. so, where does that leave us? we've found two people whose names are on the companies which were used for the money laundering and the bounce back loan fraud. but we just don't know if they had any idea where the money came from and where it went to. and as for that money, are we going to find it? is the british taxpayer

going to get it back? it looks highly unlikely. loans which kept firms afloat also made criminals rich. angus crawford, bbc news, vilnius, in lithuania. brazil's amazon reached record deforestation in february. the figures highlight the challenges faced by the left—wing government of president lula da silva. they are often called the lungs of the earth but the amazon is choking. deforestation reached record levels last month. modelling by the brazilian government found there has been a year on year increase of more than 60% in the area of forests destroyed. most of the country's soybeans are produced in the savannah region south of

the amazon, and deforestation there went up by a staggering 99% in a year. figs there went up by a staggering 99% in a year.— there went up by a staggering 99% in a year. as long as they don't reach — 99% in a year. as long as they don't reach the _ 99% in a year. as long as they don't reach the entire - 99% in a year. as long as they don't reach the entire region, | don't reach the entire region, illegal deforestation will ramp up. illegal deforestation will ramp u - . illegal deforestation will ramp u -. , , illegal deforestation will ramp u. , , illegal deforestation will ramp u . _ , , , ., ., up. the numbers paint a difficult _ up. the numbers paint a difficult picture - up. the numbers paint a difficult picture for - up. the numbers paint a - difficult picture for president lula da silva. after years of surging deforestation under his predecessorjair bolsonaro, he pledged to end illegal logging. we just left behind pledged to end illegal logging. wejust left behind a government we just left behind a government that supported deforestation and completely abandoned actions to control it. �* , , ., it. but experts warn it could take years _ it. but experts warn it could take years to _ it. but experts warn it could take years to reverse - it. but experts warn it could take years to reverse the i take years to reverse the damage already done. you can read more about that story on the amazon rainforest online. that's it from us for now. you can reach me on my

socials, on instagram and twitter. thanks for watching. hello. snow has been dominating the weather story over the past few days, and whilst it does turn milderfor many through the weekend, there is still snow in the forecast for some. and it's a cold, frosty, and icy start to saturday for a large swathe of the uk. the temperatures for some down to minus ten, minus 11 celsius, particularly where we have seen the snow. for many on saturday, it is mainly dry, particularly the further east you are. more snow moving into northern england and scotland, though, and for many, it will turn milder through sunday. so, this is how saturday shapes up, a good deal of sunshine for many through the morning, but you will notice the cloud gathering through northern ireland, wales, and south—west england, some outbreaks of rain and hill snow here, maybe a few showers across the far north of england and into southern scotland, likely to be snow, particularly over the higher ground, but for many it's dry, the best of the sunshine the further east you are,

temperatures generally between three and seven celsius, could see ten, 11, maybe 12 celsius across the far south—west of england. this band of rain then increasingly snow moves north and eastwards through northern england and into scotland overnight. behind it, we'll see some clearer skies, and also some milder air so actually frost and ice—free for a large swathe of northern ireland, england, and wales. as we head into sunday morning, still cold, frosty, and potentially icy for the north of scotland. so, this sunday, another atlantic system moving in, notice the squeeze in the isobars, so the winds will be strengthening through the day. once again, a good deal of sunshine to start but rain will soon move in to northern ireland, into northwest england and scotland, moving to northern scotland, likely to see some snow here, but once again, the further east you are, mainly dry. but those winds strengthening all the while and feeling milderfor many, particularly for england and wales, we could even get into double figures but still on the cold side, particularly for the far north of scotland.

so, through sunday into monday, here is our atlantic system sweeping its way across the uk. again those isobars really close together, and we could potentially see some gales across the southern half of the uk through monday, certainly an unsettled start to the week with bands of showers and longer spells of rain working their way north and eastwards, we could still see a little bit of snow over the highest ground of scotland, but it's a mild start, a much milder start to the new week, but it doesn't last for long because on tuesday some colder air starts to dig back in. further rain to come in the week ahead, bye—bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines... us regulators have shut down silicon valley bank, a major lender to tech companies, after it ran into financial trouble. it's the largest bank failure since the 2008 banking crisis in the us. fellow broadcasters and commentators have said they will not work on match of the day after gary lineker was taken off presenting duties following social media posts criticising the government's asylum policy. the un's weather and climate monitoring agency says cyclone freddy is on course to be the longest—lasting tropical storm. it has left mauritius and madagascar, and is likely to reach

mozambique for a second time on saturday, forcing residents there to take shelter.