this is bbc news. i'm sally bundock, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk, and around the world. an expansion of free childcare in england is expected to be announced in the budget, as part of a wider drive to help people back into work. washington and moscow are giving very different accounts about an american surveillance drone that plunged into the black sea. three weeks on from greece's deadliest train crash, rail services are set to restart, gradually, next wednesday. manchester city in seventh heaven, as star man erling haaland scores five, and ease into the champions league quarterfinals.

and back on the prowl — how come wolves have returned to belgium after a century. hello and welcome to the programme. it isa it is a very big day for the chancellor today, jeremy hunt. it is the budget of course. free childcare for working parents in england is expected to be expand to cover one and two—year—olds, in jeremy hunt's first budget as chancellor. currently, only working parents with three and four—year—olds are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare per week. the plans are part of a uk government drive to encourage more people back to work, to boost economic growth. ben king reports.

for lauren from south london, being a working mum is a constantjuggle. forthree being a working mum is a constantjuggle. for three days constant juggle. for three days a constantjuggle. for three days a week, she looks after eight—year—olds zane while she works from home. on the other two days, she spends an hour or more travelling to nursery. the nursery near— more travelling to nursery. the nursery near us _ more travelling to nursery. the nursery near us was _ more travelling to nursery. tue: nursery near us was £92, more travelling to nursery. tte: nursery near us was £92, and we couldn't afford that, so we've had to commute further away to be able to get a price that we can attempt to manage. my day is like a game show. i'm like, come on, quickly, if you don't do by this time, oh, i've got how many minutes for him to sleep. yeah, but i'm still here. ., , , here. today's budget is exnected _ here. today's budget is expected to _ here. today's budget is expected to offer - here. today's budget is expected to offer 33 . here. today's budget is i expected to offer 33 hours here. today's budget is - expected to offer 33 hours -- expected to offer 33 hours —— to offer 33 hours for childcare one and two—year—olds in england that will definitely help seed, definitely helpful if you get a place at nursery, says his mum. the chancellor jeremy hunt says his first budget is to help people like lauren stay in work and tens of thousands of others not

currently working to join them. the government has been borrowing less than expected this year, by £30 billion, which could fund this and a number of other spending measures. that's expected to include extending the £2500 cat on a typical energy bill for another three months, an extra £5 billion for defence, and a freeze on fuel duty. there will likely be measures to boost business investment, perhaps some extra money to resolve a blick sector pay disputes, and chancellors often like to throw in a surprise or two as well. this afternoon we will also get the latest set of economic forecast from the obr, the government has much official spending watchdog, which will tell us how fast the economy is expected to grow in the next five years, and that's crucial, because that will tell the chancellor how much extra money he can afford to spend without breaking his own pledge to have the national debt falling in five years' time.— the national debt falling in five years' time. the bank of england's — five years' time. the bank of england's forecast _ five years' time. the bank of england's forecast for - five years' time. the bank of england's forecast for a - five years' time. the bank of l england's forecast for a month ago were really quite gloomy

over to the medium term. they think the economy can barely grow at 1% a year, which is pathetic by historic standards. if that's what the obr thanks as well, then there's going to be very little money to spend over the medium run because tax revenues won't be coming in if the economy is not growing. jeremy hunt is calling this a budget for growth, and without a strong economy, all the decisions a chancellor must make become more difficult. ben king, bbc news, south london. yes indeed, a budget for growth, and we will unpack that and a lot more detail in our business coverage in 25 minutes' time. we have several guests lined up to talk through what is expected in that budget. hundreds of thousands of workers are going on strike in the uk today, in what could be the biggest walk—out since the current wave of industrial unrest started last year. let's get more from our reporter, stephanie prentice. so, stephanie, it's quite a day, isn't it? talk through who

is on strike and where. absolutely. so it's fair to say a significant amount of people will be waking up today to some disruption to their daily routine. we are expecting strikes from teachers, doctors, civil servants and across the london underground, some of those workers will be making their way down to london to take part in protests. so is that budget is unveiled, jeremy hunt will likely be able to hear those people protesting outside. now, how will it affect people? let's start with schools. teachers are striking in a widespread manner and that is over pay as well as conditions. this is a two—day strike. they want a pay rise above inflation. in previous strikes, that has affected about 50% of schools quite significantly, but parents are still being told to send their kids in unless they've been told otherwise.— kids in unless they've been told otherwise. , ., , told otherwise. yep, some of my children will— told otherwise. yep, some of my children will be _ told otherwise. yep, some of my children will be at _ told otherwise. yep, some of my children will be at home - told otherwise. yep, some of my children will be at home today i children will be at home today and tomorrow, so when i come home from work. junior doctors are headed to central london aren't they, they have been on strike for several days now. they will be on the opposite side of the river to the house

of commons.— of commons. yes, cross the river we _ of commons. yes, cross the river we are _ of commons. yes, cross the river we are expecting - of commons. yes, cross the | river we are expecting picket lines from junior doctors, and why this is so significant is the sheer amount ofjunior the sheer amount of junior doctors the sheer amount ofjunior doctors in the medical workforce. it's around 45%. two thirds of them are in that union. a lot of those planned appointments were already being cancelled but the problem is urgent care accident & emergency departments. there are currently about to be staffed by senior doctors put on the sea that will still cause delays and issues than you are needing urgent care today. you are needing urgent care toda . �* ., ., today. and the london underground - today. and the london underground is - today. and the london underground is on - today. and the london l underground is on strike today. and the london - underground is on strike today as well, which of course will impact the capital in a major way. impact the capital in a ma'or wa . ~ , y impact the capital in a ma'or wa . �* , , , impact the capital in a ma'or wa . , , , . way. absolutely, yes, civil servants — way. absolutely, yes, civil servants are _ way. absolutely, yes, civil servants are on _ way. absolutely, yes, civil servants are on strike - way. absolutely, yes, civil servants are on strike in l servants are on strike in 150,000 of them come in with that comes to transport, and london underground will be particularly affected. they have said in their words little or no service can be expected. the advice for londoners is stay at home if you can, and thatis stay at home if you can, and that is overjob cuts, pension disputes and things like that. the only good news, the overground will be working as well as buses and some trams. stephanie, thank you so much. there is also a lot to detail

online about how you could be affected on the uk and more on the budget a little later. let's get some of the day's other news. more than 200 people are now known to have been killed in malawi, in one of the most powerful storms to ever hit southern africa. dozens of children are among the dead, and thousands of people have been left homeless. in an unusual weather pattern, it's the second time in a month that storm freddy has struck southern africa, previously hitting neighbouring mozambique and madagascar, before reaching malawi, as our africa correspondent andrew harding reports. this is southern malawi. whole neighbourhoods have been swept down hillsides, washed away by the storm that won't stop. there are plenty of houses, plenty of houses, but they are all gone. here in blantyre, malawi, grieving relatives queue outside hospitals, waiting to identify the dead. rescue workers already grappling with a cholera outbreak, are entirely

overwhelmed. cyclone freddy first hit mainland africa last month, but instead of petering out as expected, it swerved back out to sea, picked up more strength, then headed back to shore, tearing through one of the poorest corners of the continent. in the hospital where i am speaking from at the moment, they've had around 119 deaths. at least half of those of children and the residents where the mudslide was said that there were an awful lot more people buried in the mud. so i think this is going to get worse as we get a fuller picture of what's going on. freddy first took shape off the coast of distant australia. it's since become one of the longest and most powerful storms on record. only four storms have made the journey all the way across the indian ocean from australia to africa. so this is really unusual.

now, as for climate change, will it make long—lasting storms like this more common? that is really unclear. but we know in a warmer world we expect more rainfall, more flooding. so the impacts will get worse. right now, this region needs urgent help. tens of thousands of people are homeless and the full extent of the destruction caused by the relentless cyclone freddy is not yet clear. andrew harding, bbc news, south africa. let's get some of the day's other news. imran khan has accused pakistan's authorities of acting outside the law in trying to arrest him. he said the law of the land no longer held in pakistan, it was the law of the jungle. pakistan's information minister said the government had nothing to do with the arrest order. elections to 12 provincial parliaments in the netherlands are expected to highlight discontent with prime minister mark rutte's centre—right

coalition government. campaigning has focused on the quality of public services, migration and climate change. the three candidates vying to become the new leader of the snp and scotland's first minister have set out their stall in the final televised debate of the campaign. humza yousaf, kate forbes and ash regan took questions from each other and from members of the audience. the result of the vote will be announced on march 27th. the creators of the viral ai chatbot, chatgpt, have unveiled its latest version, gpt—ii. it can respond to words as well as images, such as suggesting recipe ideas from a picture of ingredients. it can also process up to 25,000 words. the us and russia are giving conflicting accounts about how an american surveillance drone plunged into the black sea. washington says two russian jets tried to intercept the drone, before striking a propeller. russia's ambassador to the us has denied any collision took

place and claimed the aircraft's presence was a provocation. here's our north america correspondent, peter bowes. an american mq-9 an american mq—9 drone, and two russian fighterjets. their russian fighter jets. their encounter, russian fighterjets. their encounter, according to the pentagon, lasted up to 40 minutes in international airspace. they were over the black sea, where tensions have risen, eversince black sea, where tensions have risen, ever since russia �*s annexation of crimea in 2014, and where us surveillance aircraft have been flying regularly since the start of the war last year. the pentagon says one of the russian jets moved in front of the drone and eventually forced the unmanned aerial vehicle, eventually forced the unmanned aerialvehicle, or eventually forced the unmanned aerial vehicle, or uav, to crash into the sea. it was a complete loss of the aircraft. we are continuing to assess exactly what happened, but i think, based on the actions of the russian pilots, it's clear that it was unsafe, unprofessional, and i think the

actions speakfor unprofessional, and i think the actions speak for themselves. what we saw again were fighter aircraft dumping fuel in front of this uav, and then getting so close to the aircraft that it actually damaged the propeller on the mq-9. we assess that it likely caused some damage to the russian aircraft as well.— aircraft as well. russia 's ambassador _ aircraft as well. russia 's ambassador to _ aircraft as well. russia 's ambassador to the - aircraft as well. russia 's ambassador to the us i aircraft as well. russia 's i ambassador to the us called aircraft as well. russia 's - ambassador to the us called the drone is's presents a provocation. he said the aircraft's presents a provocation. he said the aircraft was my transporter, used to avoid collisions, were switched off, and it violated the russian airspace. the uss russian pilots were reckless. but was a deliberate or a careless mistake that caused the drone to crash into the sea, an error that risks escalating tensions between washington and moscow? the pentauon washington and moscow? the pentagon is — washington and moscow? tte: pentagon is engaging in washington and moscow? tt2 pentagon is engaging in diplo speak, but it is clear if you're flying in front of the drone, flying down to max

speed, dumping fuel on it, that this is a deliberate attempt to bring down the drone, absolutely. the pentagon announced with this this isn't the first time that they've had these kinds of incidents, but this seems to be the worst of the first time they've really attempted, the russians have attempted, the russians have attempted to bring the drone all the way down, instead of just harassing it, so i think it is a serious escalation at this point. it is a serious escalation at this point-— this point. this is the first ublicl this point. this is the first publicly acknowledged i publicly acknowledged confrontation between the us and russia since its invasion of ukraine. for now, it has led to a war of words, but the longer term consequences are farfrom longer term consequences are far from clear. longer term consequences are farfrom clear. peter longer term consequences are far from clear. peter bowes, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: manchester city ease into the champions league quarterfinals. today, we have closed the book on apartheid and that chapter. more than 3,000 subway passengers were affected. nausea, bleeding, headaches and a dimming of vision —

all of this caused by an apparently organised attack. the trophy itself was - on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. now, this was an international trophy, and we understand i now that the search for it has i become an international search. above all, this was a triumph for the christian democrats of the west, offering reunification as quickly as possible, and that's what the voters wanted. this is bbc news.

the top stories: an expansion of free child care in england is expected to be announced in the budget as part of a wider drive to help people back into work. washington and moscow are giving very different accounts about an american surveillance drone that plunged into the black sea. the greek government says rail traffic will resume "gradually" from next week, more than three weeks after the deadliest train crash in the country's history. 57 people were killed when a passenger train and freight train collided head—on at the end of february. louisa pilbeam reports. 57 people died here, many of them teenagers and young people with their lives ahead of them in what was the worst train crash reset has ever seen. —— race. how could this happen? the question bringing thousands of people onto the streets of greece. among the protests,

this in athens. 12,000 people angry and demanding this never happens again on the country's railways. they are afraid of a government cover—up and say the country's rail infrastructure is old and dangerous. a week ago, these protests in the capital turned violent. greek police using tear gas. passenger and freight services on the road linking athens and the northern city of thessaloniki have been halted since the crash between the passenger train and freight train on the same piece of track two weeks ago. the transport minister has confirmed the route will reopen gradually next week. four railway officials have been charged over the disaster, but more protest are planned. on thursday, flights to and from the greek airport will be grounded as air—traffic

controllers join a 24—hour nationwide strike over the crash, which many feel was a disaster waiting to happen. louisa pilbeam, bbc news. president biden has signed an executive order to enforce tighter rules on gun sellers, which moves the us a little closer to what might be considered universal background checks. he made the announcement in monterrey park in los angeles, a community devastated by a mass shooting injanuary, that claimed 11 lives and injured nine other people. last year, after the mass shooting in buffalo, new york and uvalde, texas, i signed into law, after being both places, the bipartisan safer communities act, the most significant gun safety law in almost 30 years. that was in addition to me signing more executive actions to reduce gun violence than any of my predecessors at this point in the presidencies. today, i am announcing another executive order that will accelerate and intensify this work

to save more lives more quickly. first, this executive order helps keep firearms out of dangerous hands as i continue to call on congress to require background checks on all firearms sales... cheering and applause ..and in the meantime, in the meantime, my executive order directs my attorney general to take every lawful action possible to move us as close as we can to universal background checks without new legislation. it is just common sense to check whether someone is a felon, a domestic abuser before they buy a gun. staying in the us. heavy snow because the roof of a shopping mall in minnesota to collapse. police say the roof caved in just before 9am and staff and early shoppers were evacuated. they say no—one was injured.

over the weekend, more than 30 centimetres of snow fell in duluth. large parts of the us have seen huge amounts of no this winter. time now for the sports news. hello there. i'm tulsen tollett, and this your sports news, where we start with football, and erling haaland has broken the manchester city goalscoring record in a season after grabbing five in his team's 7—0 demolition of rb leipzig in their champions league match. the 22—year—old norwegian has surpassed a record that's stood at the club for 94 years, and the 8—1 aggregate win sends his team through to the quarterfinals. what can i say? the numbers, we will be criticised for the rest of his career. this is the reality. emma, so many times. his mood in the locker room always has been a gift to all of us. it is a huge competitor

mentality. he is there and, yeah, the goals is not easy. inter milan are also through to the last eight after a goalless draw at porto. a late flurry from the hosts where both medhi taremi and marko grujich hit the posts in stoppage time failed to see them score as the italians go through to the quarterfinals. napoli will look to continue their strong season later when they host eintracht frankfurt in the second leg of their champions league last 16 tie leading 2—0 from the opening match. the italians are 18 points clear at the top of serie a, while liverpool are in spain looking to overturn a 5—2 deficit against real madrid. the hosts were 2—0 down in the first leg before turning it around and believe home advantage will count for plenty in this match. when you play against real madrid last year, you feel that it is something different and

the fans and players rise up to big occasions, two big matches, and their experience in big matches. for me, it isjust and their experience in big matches. for me, it is just an honour to be part of that and grow and learn from other experienced players. in the premier league, there are two games as brentford travel to bottom—of—the—table southampton. victory for the bees could lift them as high as seventh if brighton fail to collect a win at home to crystal palace in what is always a hotly contested affair. brighton need onejust more win to equal the club's premier league record of 12 in a season. at indian wells, 2021 champion cameron norrie is into the quarterfinals after a straight—sets 6—2, 6—4 win over andrey rublev, and world number 12 norrie will now play frances tiafoe. also through to the last eight is russian dannil medvdev

daniil medvdev who was a 3—set winner over germany's alexander zverev. the match lasted over three hours and sees medvedev move through to face spain's alejandro davodovich fokina. while in the women's draw, sixth seed coco gauff is through to the quarterfinals after a 3—set win over sweden's rebecca peterson. the american will face australian open champion aryna sabalenka after she won in straight sets over babora krejikova. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest of the team, that's your sports news for now. that is indeed. thank you to the team. wolves are back in belgium for the first time in more than 100 years as their numbers grow across europe. strict eu legal protections have, in part, led to the resurgence. estimates put the total number across all 27 eu member states at over 19,000. for conservationists, it's a great success but for affected farmers, it's a proving a stress

and burden, asjessica parker reports. on heathland in the east of belgium, a pack of wolves is on patrol. curious about a camera set up to track them. we patrol. curious about a camera set up to track them.— set up to track them. we are 'ust set up to track them. we are just looking _ set up to track them. we are just looking for... _ set up to track them. we are just looking for... searching | just looking for... searching for signs — just looking for... searching for signs of _ just looking for... searching for signs of walls _ just looking for... searching for signs of walls in - just looking for... searching for signs of walls in the i just looking for... searching l for signs of walls in the area, this research and isaac liu what to look for. so this is wolf faeces?— wolf faeces? this is wolf faeces. what _ wolf faeces? this is wolf faeces. what remains i wolf faeces? this is wolf faeces. what remains is| wolf faeces? this is wolf i faeces. what remains isjust some hair. faeces. what remains is 'ust some tani faeces. what remains is 'ust some hair. ~ , . , , some hair. why are the numbers curowin some hair. why are the numbers growing in _ some hair. why are the numbers growing in europe _ some hair. why are the numbers growing in europe and _ some hair. why are the numbers growing in europe and why i some hair. why are the numbers growing in europe and why are l growing in europe and why are they back in belgium for the first time in over 100 years? it is mainly legal action. from the early 90s, a lot has happened and they have started to disperse over the continent. the walls sometimes i'm here in this forest, and this is one of the cameras that is keeping an eye on them. there is up to 40 of these across parts of

eastern belgium and attracts the wealth's movements, well being, whether they might have injured, as well as the numbers throughout the year. it also traceable are the rising attacks on livestock. that has led eu lawmakers to challenge the wharf�*s rejected status. a farmer says he has lost dozens of sheep and that current compensation fails to cover the true cost. , ., compensation fails to cover the true cost-— true cost. every morning when we look through _ true cost. every morning when we look through the _ true cost. every morning when we look through the field, i true cost. every morning when we look through the field, you | we look through the field, you are afraid to find some sheep killed. , .,, _ killed. some people might say ou 'ust killed. some people might say you just need _ killed. some people might say you just need to _ killed. some people might say you just need to build - killed. some people might say you just need to build a - killed. some people might say you just need to build a betterj you just need to build a better fence. yes. you just need to build a better fence- yes-— you just need to build a better fence. yes. �* , ., fence. yes. but we can use more wires, fence. yes. but we can use more wires. more — fence. yes. but we can use more wires, more sticks, _ fence. yes. but we can use more wires, more sticks, but i - fence. yes. but we can use more wires, more sticks, but i don't. wires, more sticks, but i don't think it exists, the wolf is so smart, he overlooks every fence. ., ., ., , ., fence. here, a wolf holds a baby wild _ fence. here, a wolf holds a baby wild boar. _ fence. here, a wolf holds a baby wild boar. it's - baby wild boar. it's mother gives chase but it is too late wolves are predators warnings the growing numbers in europe

cannot go unchecked. here the growing numbers in europe cannot go unchecked.— cannot go unchecked. here we have another _ cannot go unchecked. here we have another wolf _ cannot go unchecked. here we have another wolf print. i cannot go unchecked. here we have another wolf print. but i have another wolf print. but wh are have another wolf print. but why are they _ have another wolf print. but why are they a _ have another wolf print. but why are they a positive thing? why is it positive that they are back?— are back? first of all of course. _ are back? first of all of course. you _ are back? first of all of course, you need i are back? first of all of course, you need to i are back? first of all of i course, you need to maybe are back? first of all of - course, you need to maybe also ask if everything has to have a positive effect on the way we see it as humans. some animals alsojust have a see it as humans. some animals also just have a right to exist, notjust because we find it unusable.— it unusable. these invasive creatures _ it unusable. these invasive creatures can _ it unusable. these invasive creatures can be _ it unusable. these invasive creatures can be hard i it unusable. these invasive creatures can be hard to i it unusable. these invasive i creatures can be hard to spot, but across this densely possibly —— populated region, there present is getting noticed. jessica parker, bbc news, belgium. you will find lots more detail about the stories we're covering on our website — iust head to bbc.com/news — or use the bbc news app. next on the programme, we will be looking at the top business stories with a big focus on what is in that budget for business. it is being called a budget for growth with billions

promised to boost investment and to get people back to work, so we shall discuss that in more detail in the moment. don't go anywhere. i shall see you soon. hello. this week, we've got some very big swings in temperatures from one day to the next. yesterday, widely, we had temperatures double figures, whereas today, it's been about nine celsius colder than that. for example, boulmer, 14 yesterday, just 5 this afternoon. now, that drop in temperatures has brought with it much colder air, and in turn, we've seen some snowfall over the staffordshire moors again here and here at low levels in the carlisle area. so, across parts of northern ireland, southern scotland, northern england, we have seen some snow getting down to quite low elevations,

risk of a few showers pushing across the midlands, east anglia, southeast england, but clearing later in the night with clear skies then following, well, we are looking at a widespread and sharp frost in our towns and cities. temperatures widely between —2 and —6 degrees celsius, and where we've seen those showers, there is a risk of some icy stretches to start the day on wednesday. otherwise, it should be a fine start with lots of sunshine. now, in the west, we'll see cloud quickly thicken in northern ireland, outbreaks of rain spreading in here. you might even see a little bit of snow just on the forward edge of this weather system. but, ultimately, the air is turning milder in northern ireland, so any snow will be transient, it will turn back to rain. however, during wednesday evening time, we could well see some more troublesome snow just for a time across parts of northern england and scotland. the snow potentially could come down to quite low elevations, but it's across the hills and particularly to the north of the central belt where we'll probably see the snow lasting longest. but as we go through wednesday night, again, we are going to see milder air push in from the southwest, so by the end of the night, most places will have temperatures above freezing. now, for thursday, friday and the weekend beyond, this area of low pressure

is going to be in charge, the weather unsettled, and with those southwesterly winds feeding in, it will be turning a lot milder. that milder air will be arriving for most parts of the united kingdom on thursday, although it will be accompanied by brisk winds and some heavy outbreaks of rain. temperatures will be climbing to around 12 to 14 degrees pretty widely, so very mild for the time of year. but the cold air hasn't quite left our shores — lerwick, just 3 celsius. through friday, generally it is going to be on the mild side with outbreaks of rain at times, but the cold air never far away across the north of scotland, and there are signs it could start moving southwards

this is bbc news, with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk, and around the world. it's budget day in the uk — from free childcare provision to pension tax incentives — the chancellor is betting big on getting people back to work. meanwhile, a plea from the hospitality industry, for the chancellor to help unleash the sector, as it struggles with rising costs and lack of staff. also this half hour, the lay—offs in big tech continue, as facebook�*s owner announces another 10,000 job cuts — what next for the sector? and averting a global food crisis — officials scramble to extend a deal to let grain

through the black sea.