this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. new zealand joins a growing number of countries putting limits on the video sharing app tiktok. a $30 billion rescue package is confirmed, as 11 top us banks step in to shore up the embattled first republic. anger in france after the government pushes through pension reform without a vote. and the families on a remote scottish island with a high risk of cancer after scientists discover a harmful gene.

hello and welcome. new zealand's government has become the latest to ban tiktok on devices with access to its parliamentary network, due to security concerns. this is because of fears that the chinese—owned app passes information about users to the chinese government, something the owners, bytedance, deny. earlier on thursday, the uk followed the united states, and the european commission, in banning the app from sensitive government devices. china says it's a politically motivated decision, not one based on facts. our news reporter, azadeh moshiri, joins us now. why governments are so worried? given by lbs is a chinese company that owns tiktok, governments are concerned that user could be violated and

uses�* personal information can be passed on to the chinese government —— bytedance. but bytedance and tiktok deny this, saying there is nowhere the chinese government can get its hands on the data, but this is why governments are so concerned, it is because the extent of data that tiktok has on its users is massive. it has information on your location, on yourfriends, it information on your location, on your friends, it allows itself to collect biometric data. it calls those faceprints and voiceprint, it does not say how it will use those, even what you like, what you what websites you visit. so if you�*re a government minister or a journalist or activist, the stakes get even higher and they have to deal with a wider security issues. but the bbc spoke to a tiptop representative in the united kingdom shortly after the uk�*s decision to ban the app on government devices and they strongly denied the allegations.-

strongly denied the allegations. strongly denied the alleuations. ~ ., , allegations. we are very disappointed. _ allegations. we are very disappointed. the - allegations. we are very - disappointed. the government has said — disappointed. the government has said that this is about tears _ has said that this is about tears rather than facts. we haven't _ tears rather than facts. we haven't done anything wrong. we believe _ haven't done anything wrong. we believe this is based on geopolitics more than anything else _ geopolitics more than anything else. tiktok is political football in this. and the united states is potentially taking even stronger action? they want bytedance to sell the us app to a us company and are threatening to sell the app to ban the app across the country if they don�*t do that. tiktok and bytedance are considering their options but they have said that they think it is a pointless move because it would not change its data flows and access and that they are already trying to keep all us data in the us.— data in the us. interesting. thank you _ data in the us. interesting. thank you and _ data in the us. interesting. thank you and will- data in the us. interesting. thank you and will have - data in the us. interesting. thank you and will have a l data in the us. interesting. | thank you and will have a lot more on the story in business news coming up in a little

while. bobby allyn is a tech journalist with npr and hejoins us now from los angeles. this all started with trump in 2020. where do you see it ending for tiktok? tiktok has been across razz of the tribe administration and now the biden white house. as wejust heard, now the biden white house. as we just heard, with the now the biden white house. as wejust heard, with the biden administration telling tick—tock they must fully divest from bytedance or be put out of business, they are left with two options. they need to find a buyer in the us or they are going to be put out of business completely. this is an existential crisis for the company, the walls are closing in and it�*s going to be judgement day soon for the company. you�*ve been to the tiktok hq when they were trying to launch their fightback against all of this. tell us about the company you found. yes, so i and two dozen journalists went to the tiktok

headquarters here in los angeles and top executives explained what they call project taxes, a $1.5 billion restructuring in which a separate entity will be formed and overseen by this austin, texas based software called 0racle. texas based software called oracle. the plan they were debriefing me and other journalists on, the aim is to quarter of americans�* data from beijing based employees and the chinese government. this company has been notoriously secretive since its founding and the algorithm and its data practices are famously opaque. the fact they brought reporters into its headquarters and explained all of this really marked a huge departure for the company, only offensive because they know if there is one thing republicans and democrats can agree upon in washington, it�*s not much days, but it�*s beating up not much days, but it�*s beating up on china and tiktok has been caught in his crosswinds. he up on china and tiktok has been caught in his crosswinds.- caught in his crosswinds. he is the evidence _ caught in his crosswinds. he is the evidence for— caught in his crosswinds. he is the evidence for this _ caught in his crosswinds. he is the evidence for this at - caught in his crosswinds. he is the evidence for this at all? i the evidence for this at all? that�*s a great question. now my

project is in a difficult position of proving a negative because there is no concrete evidence that chinese communist party has ever accessed the data on americans. that said, there are laws in china that save your operate in a country and chinese communist party asked for information, companies have no other choice but to over. the white house, national grid exports there are afraid of the theoretical. they are worried that if it comes down to it, the chinese communist party can launch disinformation campaigns, espionage efforts against virtual employees or regular american citizens, but now to answer your question, no, there is no evidence this has ever happened but it potentially could according to national security experts. to could according to national security experts.— could according to national security experts. to your word, there is no _ security experts. to your word, there is no evidence _ security experts. to your word, there is no evidence that - security experts. to your word, there is no evidence that this i there is no evidence that this is happening or has happened before. does this company have the firepower to fight this? tiktok is valued, some estimates say around 40— $50 billion and have a lot of

wherewithal, lots of lobbyists in washington, an incredible team of lawyers who are working vigorously to stay in business. 100 million americans use the app. people in the us is at an average about 56 minutes per day, more than instagram and facebook, all of that culture emanates from tiktok. there are a lot of people in the country trying to keep the app in existence and they have a team of lawyers and experts here trying to convince the lighthouse and states now taking action in the us against tiktok that it is safe, according to data from china and it ought to stay around, but that�*s going to play out in the courts. we are looking at months or years are very protracted legal battles ahead over the future of tiktok in america. over the future of tiktok in america-— america. we will leave it there. thanks _ america. we will leave it there. thanks very - america. we will leave it | there. thanks very much. we will talk more about the legal challenges and the popularity of facebook and about half—an—hour. eleven of america�*s biggest

private banks have stepped forward with a $30 billion rescue package for the troubled first republic bank. fears had been growing that the regional lender might be at risk of failure as a result of market turmoil. 0ur north america correspondent, peter bowes, has more. this is an attempt to shore up confidence in the banking industry, the words of the treasury secretary janet lennon who said she is confident the banking sector is secure but also the actions of the 11 major private banks including jp morgan chase and citigroup injecting some $30 million into first republic, this medium—sized that was in danger of also go under. it�*s a bank thatis of also go under. it�*s a bank that is quite prominent here in california and it also likely silicon valley bank that went down last week, it also serves that community, the start—up community in northern california, also serves the

wine industry here in california. 0verseen over the last few days some people queueing outside their branches to take money out of that particular bank because they were so concerned that it too could go under. what we are seeing now is perhaps a rallying and increasing confidence in not only this bank but the banking sector at large because there are being tremendous jitters, large because there are being tremendousjitters, a ripple effect not only here in the us but really across the world as to what was happening. it is a matter of holding our breath a few hours, maybe a few days see how investors respond to the actions of the 11 banks, two save first republic. janet yellen talked about a contagion effectively comparing what could happen with a virus sweeping through a community, essentially, this is the financial version of a virus that could have serious

effects, perhaps causing a pandemic. everyone hopes there won�*t be a financial pandemic. we�*re certainly far from the moment but but it does hinge on certainly the response of the markets but also the response of individual investors. french riot police have used tear gas and water cannon to clear thousands of protesters from the streets of paris. the unrest began after president macron forced through plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to ga. his government invoked a rarely—used clause in the constitution to avoid a vote in the assembly. russell trott reports. they sing la marseillaise this isn�*tjust a rendition of the national anthem. this is a protest by france�*s own lawmakers. speaks french the prime minister was repeatedly heckled. speaks french

translation: i wasn't angry, i was really shocked. - it reflects the fact that a certain number of opposition groups do not respect our institutions. some of them have said it clearly — they want chaos in the assembly and on the street. president macron would have known this move would anger the people of france. pushing through laws without a vote has always been unpopular, and pension reform has been an inflammatory issue. this is how president macron approached the vote. his prime minister invoked article 49:3 of the constitution so they could bypass a vote in the national assembly. that allowed the government to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, mere minutes before lawmakers were due to vote. translation: we could not gamble on the future - of an essential reform to preserve our retirement system, dealing with possible changes of position of opposition members.

protesters across the country do not agree. unions are calling this a declaration of war. translation: it's an important day, - because we feel that there is anger, determination, and that we had turn that into victory, and we're determined. the far—right opposition leader marine le pen has said she will table a vote of no confidence. unions are calling for more protests next week. but, for now, mr macron is standing firm. russell trott, bbc news. after months of strike action by public health workers in england, there�*s hope that a new pay offer will put an end to the dispute. nhs nurses and ambulance workers will be presented with a deal negotiated by trade

unions and government. negotiators on both sides say it�*s the best deal they can produce. here�*s our health editor, hugh pym. cheering it was an unprecedented set of strikes in the nhs. what do we want? fair pay! when do we want it? now! the royal college of nursing staging the most extensive action in its history. sirens ambulance unions followed with walk—outs affecting all but the most urgent calls. 0ther unions including the chartered society of physiotherapists also went on strike over pay. it�*s hot—off—the—press information. and today, a breakthrough after intense talks, the prime minister approving more money for nhs staff. well, today�*s pay agreement is fair for nhs workers. we want to make sure that we reward them and recognise the hard work they do, whether that�*s nurses, paramedics, midwives, but it�*s also fair for taxpayers,

and this was important to us as well. it needs to be affordable. the biggest health unions are ready to recommend the government�*s offerfor england. now, members will vote on it. having that pay rise earlier could have been useful in stopping people leaving jobs in the health service for better paid work elsewhere. but people today will at least be glad that they have an offer that is worthy of consideration. it is a reasonable offer. it certainly isn't all that we would have asked for, but it is enough that we can put to our members. before the strikes, nhs staff in england, wales and northern ireland had an average pay award of about 4% for this financial year. in wales, ministers raised that to 7%, though this has been rejected by some unions. in scotland, a pay offer averaging 7.5% has been accepted by most unions. in northern ireland,

no new deal has been proposed. ministers have now added a one—off payment for nhs staff in england for this financial year, and there is a pay offer of 5% for the next year, beginning in april. a spokesperson said the treasury and department of health would work out the required funding. it began with strikes called by the royal college of nursing followed by other health unions. now, it�*s got to the point of a pay offer to be put to members. ministers had said before there was no more money available for this financial year, but now, that has changed. the strikes have caused disruption — around 140,000 operations and appointments were cancelled. nhs leaders say they are now keen to get on with tackling the backlog. obviously, this signals the opportunity to do that and to avoid all other disruption that we�*ve seen as a consequence of the industrial action and, crucially, a fair dealfor staff. chanting: claps | don't pay the bills! but thejunior doctors are not part of today�*s agreement. after three days of

strike action this week, there is no sign of talks, let alone a deal. hugh pym, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: why the inhabitants of a remote scottish island have a high risk of cancer. 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 now

that the search for it. has 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 latest headlines: new zealand joins a growing number of countries putting limits on the video sharing app tiktok. a $30 billion rescue package for the embattled first republic bank, as concerns grow of a possible crisis in the global financial sector. dmytro kuleba, ukraine�*s foreign minister, has warned that countries which "mistreated ukraine" during "the darkest moment of its history" will be held

to account after the war ends. in an interview with the bbc, he also warned western allies that delaying the delivery of weapons will cost the lives of ukrainian soldiers. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale began by asking him why the battle for bakhmut is so important. the battle for bakhmut is now the longest of the war. more than half a year of body fighting for control of what is little more than rubble. ukraine�*s foreign minister told me that holding the city was vital and notjust for the vital and not just for the damage vital and notjust for the damage it is causing to russia�*s army. damage it is causing to russia's army. defending bakhmut _ russia's army. defending bakhmut is _ russia's army. defending bakhmut is emotionally l russia's army. defending i bakhmut is emotionally very challenging because people find it hard emotionally to take — to carry the burden of the deaths, the loss of human life, and destruction. it is a

struggle to save those who are behind bakhmut from the same destiny as bakhmut is now suffering from. like mackey said what ukraine needs in bakhmut and elsewhere on the frontline is artillery shells, and western partners were not acting enough. if one delivery is postponed for one day, it means that someone is going to die on the frontline. it means that someone who could have been still alive is going to die. ~ , ., , been still alive is going to die. , . , , die. western allies may be aaivin die. western allies may be giving military _ die. western allies may be giving military support, . die. western allies may be| giving military support, like tanks, and now potentially even fighterjets, but some fighter jets, but some countries fighterjets, but some countries oppose the war and have given ukraine nothing. for them, mr kuleba had a warning, telling me any nations which mistreat ukraine and now will pay a price in the future. if anyone in the world thinks that the weight this or that country

behaved itself, or treated ukraine at the darkest moment of its history, and that that will not be taken into account in building future relations, these people just don�*t know how diplomacy works. the these people just don't know how diplomacy works. the now, the fighting _ how diplomacy works. the now, the fighting continues, - how diplomacy works. the now, the fighting continues, but - how diplomacy works. the now, the fighting continues, but so . the fighting continues, but so too does the diplomacy. without that ukraine soldiers will run out of the arms and ammunition is they need to hold their ground. a gene variant which is known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer has been identified in people who can trace their heritage to the orkney islands off the scottish coast. a new study suggests one in 100 people with grandparents from the remote island of westray has a specific mutation of the brca1 gene. laura goodwin has the story. people have lived here on the island of westray for many thousands of years. in part, the community�*s deep connection to their roots have helped scientists solve a 25—year medical puzzle — an increase in family history of breast

cancer first noticed by the screening services in 0rkney. now a team of geneticists have come to the island to communicate their findings face—to—face. over time, a pattern emerged, that we were starting to come across a gene difference in the gene that was, at that point, we were uncertain of the meaning of, but we kept finding it. and i was really suspicious that that gene alteration was important, and it was explaining the pattern of breast and ovarian cancer that we were seeing in those what appeared to be branches of one big family. around one in 1,000 women across the uk have a brca1 variant. the study found one in 100 people with 0rkney grandparents have this particular variant. the study was able to trace the gene all the way back to the 18th century. this family tree shows known carriers of the gene but also those who were not tested but who researchers believe carried the gene because of their family links. it also shows who then went on to develop cancer. linda hagan can map her own westray

family tree for many generations. i lost my sister four years ago — she was younger than me — to breast cancer. and an aunt, a well loved aunt, she died when she was 46. so it has affected our family and there are cousins as well who have had breast cancer. although this is news that we don�*t want to hear, it is important for us to know what is going on, and in the hopes that some maybe further treatment or at least a recognition of what could happen if we carry the gene. karen scott has already been tested for the gene due to herfamily history of breast cancer. she did not have it but hopes other women will be tested. 0rcadians are all over the world. this is a massive discovery. and hugely important for the health of every individual in 0rkney,

and the generations to come. there are other communities within the uk that have a known prevalence of brca gene variants but identifying founder mutations like this is rare. women with the same variation have already been found across the uk and america, which means their roots, most likely, lead back to 0rkney. laura goodwin, bbc news. time now for the sports news. hello. i am mark edwards with your sports. there were 15 games played in the europa league and europa conference league on thursday, with quarter—final places up for grabs. you can find all the results on the bbc sport website. the qualifiers include sporting lisbon, who beat arsenal on penalties, and manchester united. they cruised past real betis 1—0 in spain for a 5—1 aggregate victory. alistair bruce—ball reports.

marcus rashford smooth the passage into the river league victory first heart and they have got a couple of goals and pressured silence the stadium with a drive that flew into the bottom corner and trained the players and fans of any belief in the improbable comeback. finally enough the goal came after him mr absolute sitter over the range with only the goalkeeper to beat. he is human after all. goalkeeper to beat. he is human afterall. bruno goalkeeper to beat. he is human after all. bruno fernandes avoided a booking which means he is available for the first leg of the quarter—final is manchester united look to go and lift the trophy they only one once before in 2017. tennis, and world number one iga swiatek is through to the semi—finals of the indian wells open in california. the defending champion beat romania�*s sorana cirstea 6—2, 6—3 in an hour and 20 minutes, and remains on course to become the first woman to retain her title at indian wells since martina navratilova back in 1991. swiatek will now

face elena rybakina. the reigning wimbledon champion and number 10 seed from kazakhstan was taken to three sets by the unseeded czech karolina muchova. rybakina reached the final of the australian open earlier this year and she took the deciding set 6—4 to seal her place in the semi—finals of a wta 1000 event for the first time in her career. to formula 1. 0n the eve of this weekend�*s saudi arabian grand prix, lewis hamilton says his mercedes team is currently further behind red bull than they were last year. reigning world champion max verstappen led a red bull 1—2 in the opening race of the season in bahrain two weeks ago, and hamilton says they�*ll be even harder to catch this year than they were in 2022 when mercedes finished 3rd in the constructors�* championship, with george russell�*s win in brazil their only victory of the season. that is all your support for now. from me and the rest of the team, goodbye. all your

business news coming up. i will see you very soon. hello. thursday brought a fair amount of rain for some parts of the uk, but it also brought northern ireland its warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures peaking just above 16 celsius at helens bay, not too far away from belfast. it�*s all because of low pressure, the centre of which you can see swirling here on our earlier satellite image. that has been bringing rain in places, but it�*s also been drawing warm air, or at least mild air, up from the south, and it will continue to do so during friday. the far north of scotland sticking with something just a little bit chillier, because here we�*ve got a northerly wind, a band of cloud and some patchy rain to start friday. elsewhere, this area of wet weather moving across southeast england and east anglia. some of that rain could turn heavy and thundery for a time before clearing. and then for most of us, it is a story of sunny

spells and showers. again, some of the showers could be heavy with some flashes of lightning, some rumbles of thunder mixing in. but in between the showers, there will be a decent amount of sunshine, maybe not quite as mild as it was on thursday across northern ireland. highest temperatures, perhaps a little further east, 16 celsius there in newcastle. but with these northerly winds, it will be a little bit chillier across the likes of caithness and sutherland, 0rkney and shetland, six celsius, for example, in lerwick. the northerly wind continues here into the evening. elsewhere, southerly winds pushing areas of cloud and rain northwards. i think it will turn quite misty and murky in places. a little bit chilly in the far north, again, one celsius there for lerwick, but elsewhere generally between 6—9 celsius to start saturday morning. now, for the start of the weekend, this area of low pressure will be transiting eastwards across the uk, near the centre of the low, very light winds. so that means where the showers do pop up through saturday, they are likely to be very slow moving. if you catch a shower, it could be with you for quite some time. again, some could be

heavy and thundery, some sunny spells in between, the chance for some slightly more persistent rain into northern ireland and especially northwest scotland. again, it is going to be mild, ten celsius degrees for aberdeen, 12 celsius for belfast, perhaps 14 celsius in norwich and in london. and then we get to sunday, not as many showers on sunday. there should be some spells of sunshine around, although cloud will roll in from the west, bringing some rain into northern ireland and perhaps western scotland later in the day. perhaps not feeling quite as mild at this stage, but still not bad for the time of year, 9—14 celsius.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a group of america�*s biggest lenders agree to bail out first republic bank, in an effort to calm fears of a collapse in the united states�* financial system. the ecb raises eurozone interest rate, despite banking sector fears. new zealand and the ukjoin a growing number of countries putting limits on the video sharing app tiktok. hello there.