fiona lamdin, bbc news. scientists are warning that parts of england need sustained and unseasonable levels of rain to avoid drought conditions following the driest february in 30 years. data from the uk centre for ecology and hydrology shows that river levels across much of england fell to below average last month. the environment agency says recent rain and snow has helped to replenish water reserves, but vigilance is still needed. time for a look at the weather. here's elizabeth rizzini. a drought warning, but actually a lot of wet weather around at the moment. there certainly is. it hasn't been a dry start too march in some spots in england have seen above average rainfall so far this month. also a wet start to the day particularly in western parts of the uk, some soggy

daffodils in wales. and there is plenty of wet weather, muddy foot pads in lancashire and across the south—west of england with rain across scotland as well. not a lot is set to change as we head through the rest of this week and into the start of next. still cloudy, mild and a lot more wet and windy weather to come in the forecast. this is today. you can see the rain starting today. you can see the rain starting to ease across scotland with a brisk south—westerly wind and another cold front pushing slowly across england giving outbreaks of rain. south—westerly wind, brisk towards western coasts dragging on mild air so temperatures away from the far north—west of scotland are higher than they were yesterday. this afternoon in more detail without picks of rain across central and southern england was not the best of us sunshine today in north—east england and temperatures peaking between 11 and 15. much higher than they were yesterday. all of that

much milderfeeling they were yesterday. all of that much milder feeling air. they were yesterday. all of that much milderfeeling air. overnight tonight, the weather front towards east anglia and the south—east of england fizzles out but look out for it again into tomorrow morning. also clear spells towards the north and west and it's a frost free start to the day tomorrow in that milder air with temperatures generally between six and 10 celsius as we kick off friday morning. the rain re—invigorates across the channel islands and south—east england for a short time tomorrow morning, clearing into the afternoon. elsewhere we are set to see a lot more sunshine than to date with the wind a bit lighter but some sunshine, the daytime heating could help start some heavy thundery downpours will stop highs of 15 or 16 possible. low pressure is never far away as we head through the weekend. a lot more wet and windy stuff to come in the forecast with showers and longer spells of rain on saturday. a strong and gusty wind towards the western coasts. mostly towards the western coasts. mostly towards western scotland with showery rain across northern ireland moving to wales and then more showers developing across england

through the afternoon with the air still mild on saturday, 1a or 15 degrees. the south—westerly wind becomes more north—westerly on sunday so a cooler start with brighter skies on sunday but then quite a bit of cloud around us well. largely dry but here is the next weather front, largely dry but here is the next weatherfront, still largely dry but here is the next weather front, still unsettled into the start of next week. a reminder of our top story... the chancellor defends his budget over concerns that households will continue to feel the pain with incomes squeezed due to the freeze on tax thresholds. that's all from the bbc news at one, so it's goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc�*s news teams where you are. time for some sport here on bbc news. hello, i'm betty glover.

it could be a big day for, another irish—trained horse, at the cheltenham festival. flooring porter, is aiming to win the stayers hurdle — the big race of the day — for a third year in a row. let's go live to the course — there is plenty to look forward to isnt there, lizzie greenwood hughes? thank you, betty. the home thank you, betty. the home of thank you, betty. the home of 'ump thank you, betty. the home ofjump racin, thank you, betty. the home ofjump racin-, it is rainin-, definitely racing, it is raining, definitely another hat day here at the festival, if it is the most prestigious jump festival, if it is the most prestigiousjump racing event of festival, if it is the most prestigious jump racing event of the year, the gold cup is the most prestigiousjump race, 2a hours to 90, prestigiousjump race, 2a hours to go, affected by the going because it is still raining here. you mention flooring porter in the stayers hurdle, a race for horses that can go a long distance. as opposed to the champion hurdle, more for sprinters. flooring porter has won

it for the last two years, it is a very open race. anyone could win. particularly with the wet conditions. the ryanair cutback conditions. the rya nair cutback chaseis conditions. the ryanair cutback chase is interesting this year, it has a wonderful horse called shishkin, the favourite for the champion chase last year, flunked. everyone thinks that shishkin could win the ryanair chase, two to look out for today. arsenal manager mikel arteta is looking forward to a "big european night" against sporting lisbon at the emirates. as they look to reach the quarter finals of the europa league. they drew 2—2 in portugal last week in the first leg. arsenal had no european football last year and missed out

on champions league qualification at the end of last season. they come into tonight's game off the back of beating fulham on sunday, where four players were back in action — including brazil forward gabrieljesus. he'd been out for three months with a knee injury. meanwhile — manchester united, will be without anthony as they look to seal qualification. they hold a 4—1 lead over real betis from the first leg. the brazilian forward missed training on wednesday through illness and has not travelled with the 21—man squad. seb bechara was a teenager when he lost his leg in an accident — but a decade later he was one of the big stars of england's historic triumph at the wheelchair rugby league world cup. seb won the golden boot during last year's tournament — which of course opened up the sport to a whole new audience. now, as the new season gets under way this weekend, he's been showing our reporter adam wild, that he's a man of many talents. out of season, this corner of french coastline can be quiet. still, amidst the sound of seaside silence,

there is an english world cup winner making plenty of noise in more ways than one. england are the world champions! seb bechara is a catalan dragon. he's also a halifax panther, an england superstar of a sport that feels now on the brink of a breakthrough. it's really emotional, the first night when we played against australia and wheelchair rugby went trending number four on twitter and just everyone was talking about it. the impact it's had isjust been incredible and hopefully we'll keep going in that direction. we'll keep that momentum going. seb divides his rugby time between catalan in the french league and halifax in the super league. a true rugby international who never fails to find an opportunity. i was 18 and i had a motorbike accident and i lost my right leg. it was just when the paralympics were on, london paralympics.

so i was in my hospital bed watching the paralympics and thought, "well, that's where i'm going to be in four years, in the paralympics." so i just thought there's still loads of opportunities. it doesn't really matter what's happening to me. incredible mental resiliency. he just kept smiling and just kept positive and he just knew it was life—changing, but he was onward and upwards. the year ijoined catalan dragons, 2013, just, like, this is the dream sport and it's given me an extraordinary life. i love it. thatjourney, though, began much earlier. the bechara family moved to the south of france when he was a child. seb eventually finding his way to the top. like all burgeoning sports, wheelchair rugby league needs its big performers, and that's a role seb bechara plays with the confidence of a true performer. and there is a reason for that. as well as being a world—class rugby player, seb is also a professional trumpet player.

i started playing the trumpet when i was about eight, or seven, back in england. since the accident, i decided that would be my mainjob and i decided i wanted to follow my passion, and that was music and rugby. and i've been loving it ever since. all this music side of my life really helped me when i got to the big stage in the rugby world cup final. i don't remember the crowd being that big. ijust got there, played my game and that was it. and i kind of realised after watching back the videos how and i think, thanks to my music career, just, you know, i'm used to performing in front of people. so it definitely helped, i think, to manage pressure. i was in the crowd, it was fantastic. but on the side of the french people and the french supporters and i was the only one in the crowd on the french side saying, "yeah, come on, england, come on, seb!" england, come on, bech!" and at the end i wasjust crying. we are so proud of him.

and he's himself. he's the greatest. so with the memories of world cup victory over his adopted homeland still fresh, thoughts now turn to the game's future, a sport built on inclusivity, which remains both a strength and a source of contention. anyone can come and sit down and play. you can be non—disabled, just sit down, strap yourself in a chair and play. and i think that's great. i think it's an amazing part of the sport. it does stop us from getting into the paralympics. so i'm hoping that the dream would be for it to become worldwide. and we just get into the olympics instead as a sport and not a para sport, etc. and i think we should keep going in that direction for now. and if we need to change things in the future, maybe, maybe we will. but i think the product is beautiful at the moment and it's going to grow now, thanks to what i've done and what we've done as a team. and i hope i can still play a major part in helping that happen. from the birthplace of the wheelchair game here in france to the post world cup glow back home, more clubs, more players, a growing interest, this season is getting brighter. adam wild, bbc news, perpignan.

and that's all the sport for now — back to you, ben! the british government has banned the social media app tiktok from their phones and devices. it comes amid security concerns because tiktok is owned by a chinese company. there've been claims that the data of tiktok users could be passed on to the chinese government — an allegation the company strongly denies. the prime minister has been under pressure from some mps to follow the united states, and the european commission in banning the app from government devices. here's chancellor of the duchy of lancaster, oliver dowden, announcing the move in the commons. as this week to four integrated review refresh demonstrated this

government is dedicated to meeting the challenges of today and tomorrow. we take the security of government devices seriously. we are constantly working to make sure those devices remain as safe and secure as possible. and so is part of that effort i recently commissioned a review by our cybersecurity experts to assess the risks caused by certain third—party apps on government devices. in particular, the installation and use of tiktok. i know there has been a lot of interest in this and the house i wanted to take the opportunity today to update members. that review has now concluded and it is clear they could be a risk around how sensitive government data is accessed and used by certain platforms. as many colleagues will know, social media apps collect and store huge amounts of user data, including contacts, user content and geolocation data. on government

devices, that data can be sensitive. and so today we are strengthening the security of those devices in two key respects. first, we are moving to a system where government devices will all vanish my only able to access third—party apps on a preapproved list, the system already in place across many departments. now it will be the rule across government. second, we are also going to ban the use of tiktok on government devices. we will do so with immediate effect. mr speaker, this is a precautionary move. we know that there is already limited use of tiktok across government, but it is also good cyber hygiene. given the particular risk around government devices — which may contain sensitive information — it is both prudent and proportionate to restrict the use of certain apps, particularly when it comes to apps where a large amount of data can be stored and accessed.

this ban applies to government corporate devices within ministerial and non—ministerial departments but it will not extend to personal developments —— devices for government departments or ministers or the general public. as i have outlined, this is a proportionate move based on specific risk within government devices. however, as is always the case, we do advise individuals to practice caution online and consider each social media platform for data policies before downloading and using them. it is of course the case ministers receive regular security briefings and advice on protecting data on their personal devices and on mitigating cyber threats. we will also be putting in place specific, very limited exemptions for the use of tiktok on government devices where required for operational reasons, those exemptions only granted by security teams on a

case—by—case basis with ministerial clearance provided as appropriate. overall this approach aligns with approaches taken by allies including the united states, canada and the eu. mr deputy speaker, our security must always come first. and today we are strengthening that security and are strengthening that security and a prudent and proportionate way. oliver dowding in the commons. —— oliver dowding in the commons. —— oliver —— oliver dowden in the commons. the uk's chancellor, jeremy hunt, insists his budget will get people back to work — and won'tjust benefit the rich saving for retirement. his comments come after the opposition labour party criticised his plans to get rid of a cap on the amount people can save for their pension, before paying extra tax. the chancellor also unveiled plans to expand free childcare in england. i'm joined now by the shadow climate change secretary ed miliband.

what is your general reaction to the budget, having read through some of the details now? i budget, having read through some of the details now?— the details now? i think my biggest reaction, the details now? i think my biggest reaction. ben. _ the details now? i think my biggest reaction, ben, is— the details now? i think my biggest reaction, ben, is that _ the details now? i think my biggest reaction, ben, is that there - the details now? i think my biggest reaction, ben, is that there is - the details now? i think my biggest reaction, ben, is that there is such | reaction, ben, is that there is such a yawning gap between the rosy picture of the chancellor tried to paint yesterday and what all the experts are now saying today, which i think people feel in their daily lives. we are seeing the biggest fall in living standards on record, for 70 years records go back. that is the scale of the problems people are facing in their lives. that is what then brings me to this issue of the massive pensions tax relief give away to those right at the top of society, the top 1%. how can that be the priority when the living standards crunch is facing people in such a harsh and stark white? i

think the government has made the wrong call. think the government has made the wron: call. . .., think the government has made the wron: call. ., u, , think the government has made the wron: call. ., , , think the government has made the wron: call. ., , ., wrong call. that call is based on them trying _ wrong call. that call is based on them trying to _ wrong call. that call is based on them trying to keep _ wrong call. that call is based on them trying to keep senior- wrong call. that call is based on i them trying to keep senior doctors in the health service. we them trying to keep senior doctors in the health service.— them trying to keep senior doctors in the health service. we called for a carveout — in the health service. we called for a carveout for _ in the health service. we called for a carveout for doctors _ in the health service. we called for a carveout for doctors from - in the health service. we called for a carveout for doctors from some l in the health service. we called for| a carveout for doctors from some of the pension arrangements. more than half of the benefit of this is not to doctors but people in the private sector. the wealth management industry is saying this is a bonanza for people above 250,000 or £300,000 per year. for people above 250,000 or £300,000 peryear. if for people above 250,000 or £300,000 per year. if you have a pension pot, a few thousand people here, £1 million pension pot, you get £250,000 giveaway as a result of this budget. how can that possibly be right when taxes are going up for ordinary families when people are seeing a dramatic reduction in living standards, cannot afford to pay their bills? it tells you something about where this government's priorities lie and how

they think our society succeeds. how are ou they think our society succeeds. how are you going — they think our society succeeds. how are you going to _ they think our society succeeds. how are you going to try to fight that move? what are you going to do about it? ithink move? what are you going to do about it? i think you're going to try to force a vote on this in the commons. we are going to indeed hold a vote at the conclusion of the budget debate next tuesday. i would urge mps from all sides to really think hard about whether this is right priority for their constituents. facing all the problems i have outlined, all the issues in their lives. there needs to be a solution for the doctors, there can be but the idea that hundreds of millions of pounds should be given to the richest in our society, the top 1%, it is worth saying that when george osborne introduce the thing jeremy hunt is reversing, he said the measures were aimed at the top 1% of society. even george osborne was saying this was the fair and right thing to do, i don't often quote him. i would urge conservative mps to say this is the right thing to

do. —— is this the right thing through? b, do. -- is this the right thing through?— do. -- is this the right thing throu~h? �* , ., ., , through? a further living standards b the through? a further living standards by the government _ through? a further living standards by the government would - through? a further living standards by the government would say - through? a further living standards by the government would say a - through? a further living standards by the government would say a lot | through? a further living standards l by the government would say a lot of this is to do with post—pandemic global conditions and the war in ukraine, that is what is falling thatis ukraine, that is what is falling that is fuelling inflation in particular. —— fuelling inflation. i think your viewers will be asking themselves, why is britain hit the worst, among the worst countries on this? we are most exposed on energy because we have not taken the right decisions over the last on renewables, nuclear, energy efficiency. we are the most exposed on that and are also exposed because our economy frankly has not grown over more than a decade. every g7 major country has now got a bigger economy than they had before the pandemic. which is the one country

out of the seven that does not? britain. that is the truth about the conservatives' record. my other worry about the budget, they have a huge growth opportunities in the future, department eye shadow around green growth, the transition, business has been saying almost as one this was not the bold action when needed. president biden is taking action on the green economy, he wants thejob taking action on the green economy, he wants the job is there, europe is taking action. i am afraid britain is in the slow lane. a£111" taking action. i am afraid britain is in the slow lane.— is in the slow lane. our nuclear, that is your _ is in the slow lane. our nuclear, that is your brief, _ is in the slow lane. our nuclear, that is your brief, the _ is in the slow lane. our nuclear, - that is your brief, the environment, the government are reclassifying nuclear as environmentally sustainable, they say that is absolutely crucial to generate investment in the nuclear industry and that in turn is important because it helps our energy security going forward and we need that because, as we have seen from the impact of the war on ukraine, we are vulnerable to global price movements on energy. bud vulnerable to global price movements on ener: . �*

vulnerable to global price movements onener: . ~ , on energy. and i support new nuclear- — on energy. and i support new nuclear. but _ on energy. and i support new nuclear. but i _ on energy. and i support new nuclear. but i would - on energy. and i support new nuclear. but i would say - on energy. and i support new nuclear. but i would say i - on energy. and i support new| nuclear. but i would say i wish on energy. and i support new- nuclear. but i would say i wish the government would do less announcements on nuclear and more action. when we left office in 2010, we identified ten new nuclear sites. 13 years later, the prospect is that one of them, hinkley, will have a nuclear power station towards the end of this decade. the point the office for budget responsibility makes. the announcement again yesterday, it sounded ok, when you look at the detail there are no new resources for nuclear, just like there are not for carbon capture storage, the other area of the chancellor identified. businesses, when it comes to electric vehicles, carbon capture and storage, renewables, we are not taking the action to get the jobs and wealth in this country. gb energy, labour would have a national wealth fun to

drive that investment to get the jobs in britain.— jobs in britain. good to talk to ou, jobs in britain. good to talk to you. shadow _ jobs in britain. good to talk to you, shadow climate - jobs in britain. good to talk to| you, shadow climate secretary jobs in britain. good to talk to . you, shadow climate secretary ed miliband. seb bechara was just a teenager when he lost his leg in an accident — but a decade later he was one of the big stars of england's historic triumph at the wheelchair rugby league world cup. seb even won the golden boot during last year's tournament, which brought the sport to a whole new audience. now, as the new season gets under way this weekend, he's been showing our reporter adam wild, that he's a man of many talents. out of season, this corner of french coastline can be quiet. still, amidst the sound of seaside silence, there is an english world cup winner making plenty of noise in more ways than one. england are the world champions! seb bechara is a catalan dragon. he's also a halifax panther, an england superstar of a sport that feels now on the brink

of a breakthrough. it's really emotional, the first night when we played against australia and wheelchair rugby went trending number four on twitter and just everyone was talking about it. the impact it's had isjust been incredible and hopefully we'll keep going in that direction. we'll keep that momentum going. seb divides his rugby time between catalan in the french league and halifax in the super league. a true rugby international who never fails to find an opportunity. i was 18 and i had a motorbike accident and i lost my right leg. it was just when the paralympics were on, london paralympics. so i was in my hospital bed watching the paralympics and thought, "well, that's where i'm going to be in four years, in the paralympics." so i just thought there's still loads of opportunities. it doesn't really matter what's happening to me. incredible mental resiliency. he just kept smiling and just kept positive and he just knew it was life—changing, but he was onward and upwards. the year ijoined catalan dragons, 2013, just, like, this is the dream sport and it's given me an extraordinary life. i love it.

thatjourney, though, began much earlier. the bechara family moved to the south of france when he was a child. seb eventually finding his way to the top. like all burgeoning sports, wheelchair rugby league needs its big performers, and that's a role seb bechara plays with the confidence of a true performer. and there is a reason for that. as well as being a world—class rugby player, seb is also a professional trumpet player. i started playing the trumpet when i was about eight, or seven, back in england. since the accident, i decided that would be my mainjob and i decided i wanted to follow my passion, and that was music and rugby. and i've been loving it ever since. all this music side of my life really helped me when i got to the big stage in the rugby world cup final. i don't remember the crowd being that big. ijust got there, played my game and that was it.

and i kind of realised after watching back the videos how big the crowd was and how impressive that atmosphere was. and i think, thanks to my music career, just, you know, i'm used to performing in front of people. so it definitely helped, i think, to manage pressure. i was in the crowd, it was fantastic. but on the side of the french people and the french supporters and i was the only one in the crowd on the french side saying, "yeah, come on, england, come on, bech!" and at the end i wasjust crying. we are so proud of him. and he's himself. he's the greatest. so with the memories of world cup victory over his adopted homeland still fresh, thoughts now turn to the game's future, a sport built on inclusivity, which remains both a strength and a source of contention. anyone can come and sit down and play. you can be non—disabled, just sit down, strap yourself in a chair and play. and i think that's great. i think it's an amazing part of the sport. it does stop us from getting into the paralympics.

so i'm hoping that the dream would be for it to become worldwide. and we just get into the olympics instead as a sport and not a para sport, etc. and i think we should keep going in that direction for now. and if we need to change things in the future, maybe, maybe we will. but i think the product is beautiful at the moment and it's going to grow now, thanks to what i've done and what we've done as a team. and i hope i can still play a major part in helping that happen. from the birthplace of the wheelchair game here in france to the post world cup glow back home, more clubs, more players, a growing interest, this season is getting brighter. adam wild, bbc news, perpignan. a new banksy mural has appeared on the wall of a derelict farmhouse in the seaside town of herne bay in kent, uk. the mural, called morning is broken, shows a young boy opening curtains made of corrugated iron alongside a cat. however, it wasn't long before the piece, and part of the building, appeared to be demolished. the owners of the land said

demolition work is currently being undertaken at the site. now it's time for a look at the weather with elizabeth. a lot milder today than yesterday but along with a milder air comes wet and windy weather, particularly towards the west, this is chorley in lancashire, soggy, not much changing into the start of next week. brighter spells around, cloudy, mild, more wet weather in the forecast. this is today, rain from the weather front across much of scotland, a cold front pushing eastward slowly across england. south—westerly wind, brisk towards western coasts dragging in the mild air, temperatures lots higher than yesterday but still cold across the far north of scotland. outbreaks of rain this afternoon, sunny spells, showers across northern ireland, maybe some rumbles of thunder,

best of the sunshine developing across north—east scotland, sunny spells holding on for the far south—east of england, temperatures 11—15c. a lot milder than yesterday. this evening and overnight, we still have our weather front giving a few outbreaks of rain across south—east england at times, towards the north and west we will see the clearest of the skies, still some showers across much of scotland but largely frost—free as we head into the start of the day tomorrow, generally 6—10c. there could be some more rain across the channel islands just moving into south—east england through the morning. that will clear through the afternoon, elsewhere a lot more sunshine around than today, still mild, watch out for some showers that may well develop with sunshine and it could be a rumble or two of thunder as well. low pressure always close by as we head through the weekend, along with the weather front, likely to see some outbreaks moving into scotland, for western coasts and across northern ireland.

rain moving into wales, longer spells of rain here by the end of the day. more showers on saturday than friday, air still mild, temperatures 11—15c the peak, south—westerly winds picking up towards the end of the day. north—westerly on sunday it turns, coolerfeeling air, dry on sunday but another weather front approaching. temperatures a bit lower, between 9—12c.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm martine croxall. our top stories: european markets rally after the swiss national bank bails out credit suisse as the european central bank raises interest rates despite mounting turmoil in the banking system. the united states releases footage of what it claims is the collision between a us drone and a russia jet over the black sea. the chinese—owned social media app tiktok is banned on phones used by uk government ministers and officials. uk chancellor, jeremy hunt, insists his budget will get people back to work — and won'tjust benefit the rich saving for retirement. the leaders of south korea and japan meet for the first time in 12 years, seeking to set aside historic differences.