and going into the travel industry. and obviousl , going into the travel industry. and obviously. it _ going into the travel industry. and obviously, it is _ going into the travel industry. and obviously, it is possible for the government to move other staff into those jobs, government to move other staff into thosejobs, is it? because it is complex work, isn't it? there are security checks needed but they could potentially try that route. the government have said they will move people into those areas, but where are they going to move them from? other areas are also stretched. driving licences are also under pressure. they have not got enough staff working in those areas, and they have strikes across another range of government departments and other areas, affecting health care and transport as we know, rail. it is notjust and transport as we know, rail. it is not just a and transport as we know, rail. it is notjust a case of putting people into those positions and training them up fast enough to fill those positions. if the strike goes ahead, it will mean severe disruption and it will mean severe disruption and it will mean people awaiting those passports will have to rethink their plans forjune and july. if passports will have to rethink their plans forjune and july._ plans forjune and july. if anyone is worried now, _

plans forjune and july. if anyone is worried now, what _ plans forjune and july. if anyone is worried now, what are - plans forjune and july. if anyone is worried now, what are the - plans forjune and july. if anyone l is worried now, what are the rules about how long you have to go on your passport expiry before you are allowed to travel?— allowed to travel? these have changed. _ allowed to travel? these have changed. of— allowed to travel? these have changed, of course, _ allowed to travel? these have changed, of course, very - allowed to travel? these have | changed, of course, very much allowed to travel? these have - changed, of course, very much around the brexit period and in recent months. really, you need to make sure that you have at least six months on your passport. it differs depending on the country you're going to, and also your age, the age of the passport holder. to be on the safe side, you should always make sure you have got at least six months left on your passport before it expires in order to avoid any problems at border control in another country. any less than six months, you run the risk of being told you cannot enter that country. thank you very much indeed. you might think of homelessness as an issue confined to our big towns and cities, but rough sleeping in the english countryside is on the rise. a study by the universities of kent and southampton says the problem has increased by almost

a quarter in just one year, and that support services receive much less funding than those in urban centres. earlier, we spoke with franc, a volunteer at the non—profit organisation turning tides, who told us more about his own experience. i very quickly found myself homeless because i got evicted from my flat. in the beginning, it was very very difficult because i didn't have any skill set to cope with what was happening to me. i got on a bicycle and i decided to stick to rural areas and would only live in the woods or on the edge of small towns. while i try to get my life sorted out. the landowner that i was pitched up on in these very deep, dense woods in worthing, he turned up one day and he said, look, you've got to go, because you've been here quite a while. and i explained my situation to him, and he was very understanding but he said, now you've got to go. you've got to go and try to get yourself into some kind of accommodation. and so, that's when i reached out to turning tides. i had already been attending most days down at their community hub,

which is like an open cafe and service centre with washing machine and showers, one—to—one help, if you needed food, cooked breakfast. so, i'd already been going there for a while, and i went down and i said, oh, my god. i'm in trouble. i need to get off this land. i can't find anywhere else to pitch now. so i'm in big trouble. they took control, right from that very moment, and it was at that point when my life started to improve because they got me in touch with the council and i was declared legally homeless. and they got me into temporary accommodation and then one day theyjust phoned me and said, franc, why don't you come in for a chat and will see if we can help you further, get you into one of our projects and see what the problems are in your life and see if we can get them sorted. and that's exactly what they did. the founder of the ann summers retail chain has died at the age of 62. she specialises —— ann summers

specialises in sex toys. she was given an mbe for services to entrepreneurship. scientists in scotland say they've solved the mystery of why people from the orkney islands off the north—eastern coast of the country may be more susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer. it's all about a gene variant, which is already known to increase the risk of those cancers, being more common in people of orcadian heritage. laura goodwin has the details. 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 orkney. now a team of geneticists have come to the island to communicate their findings face to face. around one in 1,000 women across the uk have a brcai variant. the study found one in 100 people

with orkney grandparents have this particular variant. the historical nature of small island communities means there is some shared ancestry and researchers have been able to trace its origin back hundreds of years to westray. 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 who 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 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 didn't have it, but hopes other women will be tested. orcadians are all over the world. this is a massive discovery and hugely important for the health of every individual in orkney, 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 orkney. laura goodwin, bbc news. protests are continuing in france over changes to the retirement age. this is a road on the outskirts of paris one of the main orbital routes around the city. last night, french riot police used

tear gas and water cannon to clear thousands of protesters from the streets of the capital. the unrest began after president macron forced through plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, using a rarely—used clause in the constitution to avoid a vote in the assembly. russell trott reports. singing this isn'tjust a rendition of the national anthem, this is a protest by france's own lawmakers. the prime minister was repeatedly heckled. 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 had said it clearly, they want chaos in the assembly and on the street. president emmanuel 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 emmanuel 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 the 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 is an important day | because we feel that there is anger, | determination and that we have to transform that into victory. and that is our determination. the far right opposition

leader marine le pen has said she'll table a vote of no confidence. unions are calling for more protests next week. but for now, mr emmanuel macron is standing firm. 3 million people in britain and playing for a driving licence her face delayed. the following medical conditions were especially affected with worsening conditions and affected mental health. royalfans across the uk will be able to watch the coronation of king charles across big screens across the country. more than 30 big screens will be put off and to watch king charles crowned in the summary. confirmed sites include cardiff

castle, halifax, jubilee square in brighton and piccadilly gardens in manchester. a former professional australian surfer has broken the world record for the longest surf session. blakejohnston eclipsed the previous mark of 30 hours and 11 minutes at cronulla beach in sydney. he's raising money for youth mental health projects and said he felt "pretty crooked" after catching more than 500 waves. he's risked infected ears, dehydration, hypothermia and drowning. he also had to deal with swarms ofjellyfish, and at one point, the lights illuminating the sea overnight went out — meaning he had to surf in the dark. yeah, pretty good. you just smashed the world record, are you tired? yes, i've still got a job to do, though, i said 40, so... how are you feeling overall at the moment? yeah, pretty good.

now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. it is a mild day for the middle of march but a changeable picture today. there is a bit of sunshine around but there is also scattered to heavy showers, perhaps the odd thunderstorm working in through the course of the day despite the mild air. it is unsettled because we have a low pressure, to the west, this swirl of cloud, a more persistent area of rain working into the south—east as well. with the low pressure, the wind is coming from a southerly direction, a bit colder across the north of scotland. we have rain for parts of east anglia and the south—east over the next few hours. the rest of the uk is seeing a mixture of sunshine and some showers. we are not all going to see them, hit and miss, but if you catch one across southern england, the wales, midlands, heavy and potentially thundery. dry weather between the showers. they will continue across northern england and southern scotland. northern ireland clouding over later

on, drizzly rain and for scotland a band of cloud in the north, it is a weather front, to the north, clear skies towards lerwick. most places in the mid—teens today. this evening and overnight, drizzly showers working northwards on the light breeze. a lot of low cloud, a grey start to saturday morning, temperatures 5 degrees to 9 degrees for most of us. frost in the northern isles. low pressure moving eastwards, setting firmly across the british isles on saturday. that means light winds, similar to today, sunny spells and scattered showers, some showers could crop up across parts of england and wales and it could be and potentially heavy. persistent rain in the south—east and east anglia. more persistent rain for northern ireland and western scotland later on.

temperatures 8 to 14 celsius on saturday. high pressure on sunday, a little more cool in the morning, fewer showers, dry weather, best of the sunshine towards the south and east. more cloud and rain in the north—east later today and highs of around 8 degrees to 14 degrees. bye.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories. china's president, xijinping, is to make a state visit to russia next week, for talks with president putin. ukraine's foreign minister tells the bbc that countries failing to support kyiv during its darkest hour will be held to account. here in the uk, passport office staff are to strike for five weeks, which could have a major impact on holiday—makers booking summer holidays. meanwhile teachers' strikes in england are put on hold as unions agree to talks with the government about pay. introducing peanut products to babies from 4—6 months old could

reduce the chance of developing a peanut allergy according to new guidance. and, a former professional surfer has broken the world record for the longest surf session in australia. good morning. the chinese president, xijinping, will visit russia next week to hold talks with president putin. beijing and moscow say the two men will discuss "strategic cooperation". the announcement for the state visit was made by the foreign ministry in beijing and by the kremlin, which announced that a number of important bilateral agreements would be signed. and, a chinese foreign ministry spokesman said they would discuss the war in ukraine. our china correspondent, stephen mcdonell explained more about the significance of the visit. the problem for beijing, in a way,

for this trip is that all eyes are going to be on moscow. there is some expectation that the trip by xi jinping to speak to vladimir putin might achieve some sort of breakthrough in terms of peace in the ukraine war. whether it is fair or reasonable or not, there is going to be the expectation. the reason for that is firstly that beijing does have sway with the kremlin, secondly, it's a fresh off, this coup, where the chinese government was able to negotiate to get saudi arabia and iran to re—establish diplomatic relations. so people are going to be thinking, well, china is on a roll, can they do this with ukraine and russia? i think, though, many harder heads would say that it is probably not going to happen, it seems very unlikely, and, in fact, many would question whether or not they generally want to do that anyway. but, that said, there is going to be a lot of attention on this visit and what comes from it.

the key question is how much influence beijing has over moscow. we know there has obviously been a lot of political and economic pressure on russia, we saw vladimir putin speaking yesterday. what is in china's best interest? that is a very good question. the most cynical reading of this could be that it is not really in china's interests for the conflict to stop because, at the moment, russia is really taking it up to the west, eating up all of these western resources, challenging the west's presence in europe and gee—strategically, if you like, that benefits china really. however, it has upset global trade, and those types of things, so some might say it is not in china's interests for the war to keep going and they might also say that china did have pretty good relationship with ukraine before the war started.

in terms of those questions whether china is really neutral in this, you just have to look at the tv news here to see that it isn't really. the state—run tv reports here are running the kremlin line. they are not giving the people here a dose of what zelensky�*s government thinks, they are not even talking about a war. they speak about a conflict and they are certainly not describing it as an invasion. that gives you an idea of what china's position really is on this. that said, after they have patched it up, or helped to between saudi arabia and iran, imagine what a coup it would be if beijing could do the same in terms of the war between russia and ukraine. it would be quite something. it would lift the government of xijinping onto another level in terms of what it is seen that it could potentially achieve on the world stage.

slovakia has become the second country to announce that it will provide ukraine with mig—29 fighterjets. kyiv has long said it needs more military aircraft if its to win its war against russia's invasion. poland announced yesterday it would also supplyjets. both countries neighbour ukraine and are members of nato. it comes as ukraine's foreign minister, dmytro kuleba, warns that countries which "mistreated ukraine" during "the darkest moment of its history" will be held to account after the war ends. he has spoken to our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. the battle for bakhmut is now the longest of the war. more than half a year of bloody fighting for control of what is little more than rubble. but ukraine's foreign minister told me holding the city was vital, and notjust for the damage it's causing to russia's army. defending bakhmut is emotionally very challenging, because people find it hard emotionally to take, carry the burden of this death, loss of human life and destruction. it's a struggle to save those who are behind bakhmut from that same destiny as bakhmut

is now suffering from. he said what ukraine needs in bakhmut and elsewhere on the front line is artillery shells, and western partners were not acting fast enough. if one delivery is postponed for one day, it means that someone is going to die on the front line. it means that someone who could have been still alive is going to die. western allies may be giving military support like tanks, now potentially even 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 now would pay a price in the future.

if anyone in the world thinks that the way 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. for now, the fighting continues but so too does the diplomacy. for without that, ukraine soldiers will run out of the arms and ammunition they need to hold their ground. james landale, bbc news, kyiv. earlier, justin crump, chief executive of the intelligence consultancy sibylline and a former british army tank commander, told us more about the role of china in the war in ukraine. i would say there is very little chance of china acting as an impartial peacemaker, i think it is notable that xi is going to moscow to speak to putin, i think the best they are

doing is a zoom call to ukraine. of course, you might remember that before the invasion began, putin was in beijing to speak to xi around the time of the olympics where obviously the invasion was almost certainly discussed or at least the possibility of it was raised. we have certainly seen more allegations of chinese support, certainly, quiet support, for russia's position in this. that makes strategic sense as well. exactly what you said earlier in the programme, it would be a great coup for china to bring about the end of this conflict, but i think really, here, it's more of a message that they are prepared to support the russians, arguably, and i think give the russians greater prominence in the conflict, arguably trying to offset that the support that ukraine is getting from the west. at least, they are threatening or hinting that that might be the case. a lot of the posturing around these diplomatic

gestures at the moment. i'm not sure how sincere a genuine desire for peace is, i think certainly they do want to see russia lose, i think they certainly want to send a message to the us with whom china is of course almost consciously uncoupling at the moment. compared to the relationships we have had over the last four years. there was a lot of talk about the one—year anniversary of the invasion with the us warning about lethal aid from china to russia is that possible that there is also an announcement about that? china have the option as well, that's likely a confusing message, we think a lot of support going from china in less obvious ways to support russian efforts but i think, obviously, we are seeing military equipment in large numbers and very obvious quantities going but there is lots of support russia needs, especially in the face of sanctions and restrictions from china. whether we see the announcement of clear military transfer is a red line for china at the moment but there is lots of things they can do short of that to their support and that is what will expect to see next and potentially veiled threat alongside a peace offering would be almost what i would expect out of this visit.

so it sort of both an ultimatum and a bit of an offer to ukraine to help russia, frankly, get out of the trouble is on at the moment. slovakia is following poland with an announcement that it is offering some fighterjets to ukraine, what difference could that make? the great thing is thinking aboutjust a year ago, is when these jets are being discussed, it's great to see them now and something tangibly moving on this. it's not a vast number but it is probably as many in total as ukraine started the war with. they have had help in keeping some of the aircraft in the air so the great thing is for ukrainians they used to operating this type of aircraft, they got spares, mechanics understand it, they've really done work on integrating nato systems and weapons onto these aircraft so it is quite an immediate boost and in terms of utility this is better than getting 30 aircraft from the united states or something like that. what they really want

is access to more advanced western aircraft in the future not least because there are only so many currently available to give the ukraine and of course russia is the main supporter of these type ofjets in the manufacture of parts so they have got a limited life in ukrainian use like a lot of the ex soviet stuff. what they really want is the more advanced nato equipment, probably, primarily the f—16 that they will get glue might take anything they can get. it's great for now and will increase the capability in the short term. more than 1,000 passport office workers in britain are going on strike for five weeks in a dispute over pay and conditions. members of the pcs union in england, scotland and wales will take part in the action from april the 3rd to may the 5th of may. those working in belfast are being balloted and could join the strike. the union warned the action is likely to have a "significant correspondence a recall way has the latest. the union are saying

that they are expecting this to have a big impact. they say that there are 1900 passport office workers and 1300 of them are members of the union. so you can expect them to be part of this action. they have also told me today that 75 members of staffjoined the union since this morning so that number could grow over the coming days. they also say that the home office has been caught on the hot by this. they think the home office wasn't ready for this to be an else. i have spoken to the home office, i think we are going to find out, as the day progresses, what those contingency plans might look like, is it about moving other civil servants from other departments over to help? because we are talking about a strike for five weeks, monday—saturday. what happened with the border force strike was that the army came in. the home office is not going to move

the army into staff the passport office so it is still not clear who they would move in to cover this but the home office is obviously working away on this at the moment. people will be worried about not giving able to get passports ahead of the summer holiday season. absolutely. the next question is, can't they get in a room and try and sort this out? i've asked the union if the government has reached out and the union has said no. so let's see what happens over the next few days but the union are trying to bounce the government into getting on with pay negotiations as quickly as possible. there'll be no further strikes by teachers in england for two weeks, after the government and unions agreed to hold �*intensive talks'. the government says the move will create a �*period of calm' from the national education union in england, as talks take place. the discussions will focus on pay, conditions and workload, and follow strikes which hit schools across england earlier this week. more than half of schools

closed or restricted attendance on 15 and 16 march. four teachers' unions the association of school and college leaders, national association of head teachers, nasuwt and the neu will all be involved in the talks with the education secretary, gillian keegan, which are expected to go into the weekend. the british medical association says it is willing to enter talks about pay for doctors in england after a breakthrough between her secretary and other unions yesterday. nurses, aramedics and other unions yesterday. nurses, paramedics and _ and other unions yesterday. nurses, paramedics and hospital _ and other unions yesterday. nurses, paramedics and hospital porters - and other unions yesterday. nurses, | paramedics and hospital porters have been offered a one—off payment covering last year and a 5% increase for the coming year. now on to the us where the irish taoiseach leo varadkar is due to mark st particks day with presdient biden. the two leaders will hold talks in washington and celebrate their shared history. i'm joined by the host of the eu confidential podcast for politico. thanks forjoining us. it's a pretty high proportion of americans that have irish ancestry but the

political roots and the political interest from this white house is strong, isn't it?— interest from this white house is strong, isn't it? very much so. with joe biden. — strong, isn't it? very much so. with joe biden. the _ strong, isn't it? very much so. with joe biden, the most— strong, isn't it? very much so. with joe biden, the most irish _ strong, isn't it? very much so. with joe biden, the most irish president| joe biden, the most irish president we've had sincejfk. he is a president that is very proud of his irish roots, he has visited ireland a number of times, even though his links and ancestry go back quite a few generations. but it is a hugely important part of his own identity andindeed important part of his own identity and indeed of many people around him so for example the national security adviser, jake sullivan, who is a hugely important figure in the binding ministration, he was intimately involved in northern ireland politics, he has spent time in northern ireland, said he there, work with hillary clinton on northern ireland issues. you were talking about people in the administrations with a very in—depth knowledge of what is happening in northern ireland. we knowledge of what is happening in northern ireland.— knowledge of what is happening in northern ireland. we are coming up to the end of _ northern ireland. we are coming up to the end of the _ northern ireland. we are coming up to the end of the -- _ northern ireland. we are coming up to the end of the -- the _ northern ireland. we are coming up to the end of the -- the anniversaryj to the end of the —— the anniversary of the good friday agreement, are we

likely to get more information about joe biden's visit to mark the day? we are expecting a presidential visit byjoe biden about april time. we know is going to be in dublin and belfast but also probably in his own to counties of mayo where his ancestors hail from. to counties of mayo where his ancestors hailfrom. the real political issue now is trying to get biden from the unionist community, the main unionist party in ireland for the windsor framework. that is the brexit deal that was struck between the british prime minister, rishi sunak, and officials in brussels about brexit and northern ireland. the dup has raised issues around the agreement, there is going to be a vote on part of that next week in westminster, so let's see how this goes. a lot of the conversation behind the scenes are about trying to hear the unionist concerns and trying to encourage the dup in particular to get back into

government in stormont. the biden administration would prefer if there was a commitment or some kind of move towards devolved government in belfast, has been without a government now for some time and they would like to get that moving before that presidential visit takes place. it's interesting, i have spent a lot of time reporting in america myself, covering st patrick's day, it's very much an irish occasion but there is also the stocks irish community which refers to people from the unionist tradition who emigrated, protestant, ulster men and women who emigrated to america who are sometimes are not included in the irish—american conversation. it was interesting last night that leo varadkar, the irish taoiseach reference a community two in one of his interventions so i think we are going to be hearing a lot about inclusivity, all kinds of irish identity and northern irish identity over the st patrick's day celebrations in washington. just on the olitics celebrations in washington. just on the politics of— celebrations in washington. just on the politics of all— celebrations in washington. just on the politics of all of _ celebrations in washington. just on the politics of all of this, _ celebrations in washington. just on the politics of all of this, there - the politics of all of this, there is going to be a lot of focus on good friday coming up in the next

two weeks, if power—sharing isn't up and running by then, of the local elections in may, when is it likely that they will be? because the people living there, that is what happens. this comes down to the dup and their decision. it was interesting to see hillary clinton weighing in on this over the last two day saying that if members of the dup still oppose the brexit deal and don't want to go into government, they should maybe give way to other politicians who will take their place inside. that was quite a provocative statement by clinton but it does reflect some of the us thinking that this is the best deal. a lot of people think that northern ireland is best deal. a lot of people think that northern irelan- best deal. a lot of people think that northern ireland is going to net from that northern ireland is going to get from brexit, _ that northern ireland is going to get from brexit, that _ that northern ireland is going to get from brexit, that rishi - that northern ireland is going to | get from brexit, that rishi sunak feels is the best deal he got under half of britain and on behalf of northern ireland and that is now time for the dup to get on the train and go with this deal. we have had some criticism from the dup that the windsor framework, some parts of it, don't go far enough. i think a lot

of power is now in their hands and there is a big decision to be made by a lot of politicians on the unionist side of ireland to go for this and embrace it or else continue to have issues and as a result of that continue to hold off power—sharing in belfast. that continue to hold off power-sharing in belfast. that continue to hold off ower-sharina in belfast. ., ~ introducing peanut products to babies from 4—6mths old could reduce the chance of developing a peanut allergy, new advice suggests. this research shows there is a crucial opportunity during weaning to cut allergy cases by 77%. the urge has been soaring in the uk with one of 50 children are effective. sign to say the government's advice on winning, which has no solace until around six months, needs to change. our health and science correspondent explain is where this is coming from.

this is a big study that has been conducted by researchers in the uk and the us but its implications are truly global and they have been looking at outdated evidence that has come out ——updated eveidence over the past 15 years or so on what happens when you give peanut butter and things like that earlier on in life and showing that you can massively reduce the risk of peanut allergy and that is in sharp contradiction to what many people will be familiar with because you don't have to go back that long to when the advice was don't give peanut before the age of three. is this advice going to be applied globally? this is the thing. this is a series of scientific studies, this isn't an official government recommendation but truly it would apply globally because the findings have been tested in lots of different races and ethnicities and in many respects it is a global story because this started in israel where peanut is given much earlier in life, peanut—based snacks are given from earliest weaning and some researchers were there and were thinking why is nobody

here having peanut allergy and yet it is sorting and other countries like in the united kingdom, is one of 50 children now. it really stemmed from there and showed that early exposure, while the immune system is still learning and developing and trying to figure out what is safe to eat, that early exposure is what can help prevent peanut allergy. i'm joined by the acting head of clinical allergy services uk. what do you make of this advice? what is your reaction? that do you make of this advice? what is your reaction?— your reaction? at allergy uk we welcome this _ your reaction? at allergy uk we welcome this recommendation | your reaction? at allergy uk we - welcome this recommendation from the research. the findings obviously support the introduction of peanut products from an infants diet from performance of babies with severe eczema and that is under the care of a health care professional and the six months for those without. the research also suggests that delayed introduction that we have seen in the past, to about 12 months, could

actually increase the risk of developing peanut allergy. to state the obvious. _ developing peanut allergy. to state the obvious, no _ developing peanut allergy. to state the obvious, no one _ developing peanut allergy. to state the obvious, no one should - developing peanut allergy. to state the obvious, no one should be - developing peanut allergy. to state | the obvious, no one should be giving whole or crushed nuts to a baby, because they were choke, so it has to be given very carefully in the form of the better. parents might be a bit nervous about this, giving a four—month—old these products, because that is not what people have been told for so long.— been told for so long. obviously, the evidence _ been told for so long. obviously, the evidence is _ been told for so long. obviously, the evidence is suggesting - been told for so long. obviously, the evidence is suggesting that l been told for so long. obviously, - the evidence is suggesting that most infants that are not high—risk, so they don't have severe eczema, the recommendation is to give them peanut butter or brittle or pass, anything that is age—appropriate, around the age of six months. where we are seeing early introduction of peanuts around four months is for those infants at high risk and that would always be under the guidance of a health care professional to make sure that that interest is developmentally ready as well. you

are sa inc developmentally ready as well. you are saying it's _ developmentally ready as well. you are saying it's when a child has got eczema, is there anything else that would be an indication of being high—risk? would be an indication of being hiuh-risk? ., would be an indication of being high-risk?— would be an indication of being high-risk? would be an indication of being hiuh-risk? ., ., , ., ., high-risk? that would be down to the aller: high-risk? that would be down to the allergy professionals _ high-risk? that would be down to the allergy professionals themselves. - allergy professionals themselves. you would assess the child and decide, the main category for high risk has been severe eczema. there is a progression to develop food allergy with high—risk individuals from other research studies. hour from other research studies. how much of a — from other research studies. how much of a problem _ from other research studies. how much of a problem have you seen with peanut allergies? is your sense that it has been a growing problem? food aller: in it has been a growing problem? food allergy in general— it has been a growing problem? food allergy in general is _ it has been a growing problem? ch allergy in general is growing year on year. we had a fourfold increase over the last 40 years. we know that for a peanut allergy it affects probably 1—2% of children in the uk which is quite a high percentage. some of those can also go on to develop severe allergic reactions which can be life—threatening, such as anaphylaxis. this research which

has been an accumulation of different research projects including past studies have accumulated to inform this research to show that this actually could be really useful in the reduction in incidence of food allergy. to develop invention of food allergies in our food develop invention of food allergies in ourfood allergic develop invention of food allergies in our food allergic population is really important information that we need to take into account.— need to take into account. thank ou. need to take into account. thank you- there _ need to take into account. thank you- there is— need to take into account. thank you. there is more _ need to take into account. thank you. there is more information | need to take into account. thank. you. there is more information on our website. you. there is more information on ourwebsite. share you. there is more information on our website. share markets have rallied around the world after banks in the us took steps to prop up a regional lender that had been seen as at risk of collapse. the move saw 11 major institutions deposit a total of $30 billion at first republic bank. it follows the collapse of two other specialist

lenders in the us, including silicon valley bank. katie martin is a financial times market editor and explained more about this developing. we explained more about this developing-— explained more about this develoina. ~ ., ., ., , developing. we have had really quite the week in global _ developing. we have had really quite the week in global markets. - developing. we have had really quite the week in global markets. this - the week in global markets. this time, last week, silicon valley bank appear to be time, last week, silicon valley bank appearto be in time, last week, silicon valley bank appear to be in its death throes and it was really uncertain where it was going to go and how damaging that would be to the broader system. every sensible investor that we spoke to said this is just a silicon valley bank then, this is a us regional bank thing, don't worry about it spreading too far through the system. but at the start of this week, it really did spread across the system and there was a massive flight to safety for investors across the world, a massive rush into government bonds, for example. and, a big burst of nerves. the concern was that, ok, the us central bank, this federal reserve, has been pushing up interest rates really hard to try and tackle inflation, is this the thing that is going to break as a result? the this the thing that is going to break as a result?— this the thing that is going to break as a result? ., , ., break as a result? the latest on the financial changes _ break as a result? the latest on the financial changes and _ break as a result? the latest on the

financial changes and the _ break as a result? the latest on the financial changes and the stress - break as a result? the latest on the financial changes and the stress on | financial changes and the stress on the banking system that we are seeing despite a lot of reassuring noises from some including in the us. we are back in a few minutes, thanks to being with us. it is a mild day for the middle of march but a changeable picture today. there is a bit of sunshine around but there is also scattered to heavy showers, perhaps the odd thunderstorm working in through the course of the day despite the mild air. it is unsettled because we have a low pressure, to the west, this swirl of cloud, a more persistent area of rain working into the south—east as well. with the low pressure, the wind is coming from a southerly direction, a bit colder across the north of scotland. we have rain for parts of east anglia and the south—east over the next few hours. the rest of the uk is seeing a mixture of sunshine and some showers. we are not all going to see them, hit and miss, but if you catch one across southern england, the wales, midlands, heavy and potentially thundery. dry weather between the showers. they will continue across northern england and southern scotland.

northern ireland clouding over later on, drizzly rain and for scotland a band of cloud in the north, it is a weather front, to the north, clear skies towards lerwick. most places in the mid—teens today. this evening and overnight, drizzly showers working northwards on the light breeze. a lot of low cloud, a grey start to saturday morning, temperatures 5 degrees to 9 degrees for most of us. frost in the northern isles. low pressure moving eastwards, setting firmly across the british isles on saturday. that means light winds, similar to today, sunny spells and scattered showers, some showers could crop up across parts of england

and wales and it could be and potentially heavy. persistent rain in the south—east and east anglia. more persistent rain for northern ireland and western scotland later on. temperatures 8 to 14 celsius on saturday. high pressure on sunday, a little more cool in the morning, fewer showers, dry weather, best of the sunshine towards the south and east. more cloud and rain in the north—east later today and highs of around 8 degrees to 14 degrees. bye.

this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories. china's president, xijinping, is to make a state visit to russia next week, for talks with president putin. the for talks with president putin. kremlin to city leads expected the kremlin to city leaders are expected to discuss a partnership. ukraine's foreign minister tells the bbc that countries failing to support kyiv during its darkest hour will be held to account. inajoint in a joint statement, the uk government and teachers unions have said they have reached an agreement.

here in the uk, passport office staff are to strike for five weeks, which could have a major impact on holiday—makers booking summer holidays. russian state television has been told that there was no sign ukrainian forces have been intended to withdraw. the battle has lasted seven months. the army defending the southern flank gave bbc access to their positions in and around the

city. they say russian casualties far outweigh theirs, but the russians are using new techniques to try and see if the city and the surrounding countryside. in war�*s uncertain journey, fates are decided in the unlikeliest of places. ukraine has drawn a line in the mud, and that line is bakhmut. no matter the hardship, the enemy must not pass. this ground must be held. winter has given way to early spring. they hope it might slow russia's advance. the thing is, it complicates the job for both parties. the enemy has difficulty attacking, because nothing moves in the mud. nothing except tank tracks.

and army boots. the mud's unreal. it pulls you this way and that way. it's a trap for men, for vehicles. it makes moving around this battlefield almost impossible. and for the soldiers of the third separate assault brigade, it means going the long way round. moving as fast as the territory allows. they're in range of russian guns. we're told to keep low. stop, stop! there's a russian outpost around here. these trenches are new, but warfare along this front is antiquated. below ground, these are dugouts that their grandfathers would recognise.

but by digging in, they've tied up russian forces here and held bakhmut longer than many expected. but it isn'tjust the conditions that are basic. this is a 21st—century war, being fought with 19th—century weaponry. it's a maxim machine—gun. 120 years of history of killing russians. a weapon from the first world war, used in the third world war. sporadic gunfire. right, we are heading right to the very forward position. we can hear shelling right now and automatic gunfire. there's more shelling. they get attacked here on a daily basis. translation: there are the enemy

positions, so let's move very fast. i 0k. almost every day, some shells from artillery. we can see the craters all around here. there is a fresh crater, right there. we've got to go, we've got to go. there's hardly any tree cover here, the men are exposed. gunfire. and the russians have found them. ok, move, move. you can go in the car, because it's a little bit hotter here. keep down. gunfire. the russians are only 500 metres away. that's automatic fire. all along this line there's grenade fire, automatic gunfire and tank fire.

translation: it's really dangerous there, bullets are flying everywhere. that kind of fire is every day here. seven months, more than seven months into this battle, it's created a wasteland. this is the longest battle of the war so far. to the north, and to the east, and here in the south, russia's been making gains. but it's costing them. the ukrainians say that for every one soldier they lose, russia loses seven. but still they hold on here. and bakhmut is a town that no—one believes has strategic value. but to russia and to ukraine, it matters in this war. translation: this is not| a strategic question for us. we are just ordinary soldiers. but this is our land.

if we lose here, then do we retreat to chasiv yar, to sloviansk, then all the way to kyiv? however long it takes, two, four, five years, we have to fight for every piece of ground. so, every tiny step of [and needs to be defended, even as they toil under waves of attack from russian prisoners sent by wagner group. translation: we were in combat every two hours. l as far as i understand, they were wagner. we were fighting them, and without over estimating our achievements, i would say a single company was killing 50 of their men a day. we checked the figures, they are awful numbers. they are outgunned and outnumbered but, for now, unyielding. in bakhmut, like in the rest of this war, they have grown used to the odds being against them. quentin sommerville, bbc news,

on the outskirts of bakhmut. killers with a history of controlling or couldn't coercive behaviour. current sentencing rules don't reflect the fact that victims have enjoyed many years of domestic abuse. the faces of women, all killed by men, often their partners. a woman is killed on average every three days in the uk. the families of these women, filmed here by the bbc at the end of last year, have been campaigning for change, in particular for tougher sentences. 24—year—old poppy devey waterhouse was stabbed at home 49 times by her ex—boyfriend. her killer, joe atkinson, was sentenced to 16 years. poppy's family has always argued the excessive force used in her murder should have led to a longer sentence. today the ministry ofjustice in england is announcing the findings of an independent review of the sentencing

of so—called domestic murders by barrister claire wade. it says killers with a history of coercive or controlling behaviour will face tougher sentences, and the use of excessive or gratuitous violence will be made aggravating factors in sentencing decisions. i'm pleased that that will be brought in. the next step is to find how much weighting that will carry, that will involve lawyers and judges being trained to understand that and to give it the, give it the respect and give the deceased the respect that they deserve. the government has also announced a consultation on whether a starting point of 25 years in prison should be applied in domestic murder cases. at the moment, it's 15. the charity refuge has welcomed today's review but says the safety of women remains in peril. the number of prosecutions for domestic abuse has fallen and convictions in their words remain woefully low. graham satchell, bbc news.

a major review of london's metropolitan police is expected to condemn the force of a racist, sexist behaviour. a review of the met�*s culture and standards of the murder of sarah everard. the bbc has been told that the findings are very serious. protests are continuing in france over changes to the retirement age. this is a road on the outskirts of paris one of the main orbital routes around the city. last night, french riot police used tear gas and water cannon to clear thousands of protesters from the streets of the capital. the unrest began after president macron forced through plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, using a rarely—used clause in the constitution to avoid a vote in the assembly. russell trott reports. singing

this isn'tjust a rendition of the national anthem, this is a protest by france's own lawmakers. the prime minister was repeatedly heckled. 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 had said it clearly, they want chaos in the assembly and on the street. president emmanuel 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 emmanuel 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 the 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 is an important day | because we feel that there is anger, | determination and that we have to transform that into victory. and that is our determination. the far right opposition leader marine le pen has said she'll table a vote of no confidence. unions are calling for more protests next week. but for now, mr emmanuel

macron is standing firm. we are going to take you now to a story about jacqueline gold. she is the back founder of the british retail chain ann summers, and she has passed away. the 62—year—old had been receiving treatment for breast cancer. ann summers specialises in sex toys and lingerie. she was made cbe in the 2016 new years honours. scientists in scotland say they've solved the mystery of why people from the orkney islands off the north—eastern coast of the country may be more susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer. it's all about a gene variant, which is already known to increase

the risk of those cancers, being more common in people of orcadian heritage. laura goodwin has the details. 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 orkney. now a team of geneticists have come to the island to communicate their findings face to face. around one in 1,000 women across the uk have a brca1 variant. the study found one in 100 people with orkney grandparents have this particular variant. the historical nature of small island communities means there is some shared ancestry and researchers have been able to trace its origin back hundreds of years to westray. 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 who

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 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 didn't have it, but hopes other women will be tested. orcadians are all over the world. this is a massive discovery and hugely important for the health of every individual in orkney, 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 orkney. laura goodwin, bbc news. this weekend marks the 20th anniversary of the 2003 invasion of iraq by a us—led coalition of countries, including the uk. the initial phase of the war saw an intense aerial bombardment of baghdad, in which one of the many casualties was 12—year—old ali abbas. ali lost his parents and his younger brother in the attack, as well as both of his arms. our diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley — who was based in iraq before the war — has been speaking to him. few iraqis carried deeper scars from the invasion than ali abbas. his father had been desperate to see the end of saddam hussein's dictatorship. we were farmers. my father was saying that

when he see the americans coming, he'lljust make like a party for them. he'll make a barbecue. you know, we werejust hoping for a better life. we were thinking that getting rid of saddam, we will have a good future for iraq. but it's never happened. i never know any family that they haven't lost a loved one, you know? ali's family had fled the capital, baghdad, for safety, but returned thinking the worst was overjust hours before their home was hit by a rocket. i remember the house collapsed on us. fire everywhere. ihear my... my mother screaming and my father also. yeah, it was terrible. i felt the fire burning my body and my arms. so this picture was the first picture when i arrived in hospital.

i remember my neighbour was telling me that when he pulled me out of the rubble, you know, that because my arm was so badly burned... so when he pulled me out, one of my arms came off. the pain just must have been unbearable. yeah, iwas... i wasjust in so much pain. i wasjust... i didn't want to live at that time, you know. it was when his parents didn't visit him that he knew for sure that they were dead. so that's me in the middle. and that's my two brothers. that's maybe four months before the attack. this is my little brother who lost his life. ali now has a precious new family member. hello! his five—year—old son, yusef, who's with his mother in baghdad, though ali hopes to bring him here. yeah, i have a very good relationship with yusef.

he's calling me like four or five times a day, you know, we are always on the phone together. when i go back to iraq, he's always spoiling me, you know, he doesn't let me do anything. he is trying to be my carer, you know, he's taking good care of me. yeah. if i'm trying to do something with my feet, he'lljust say, "no, daddy, i'll do that for you. you don't have to do it." he likes going out with me in the car a lot. you know, he likes my driving. you know, i try to live independent. i do many things, i can write with my feet. i can use the phone. i can also hug him with my with my feet, you know. so it's ok with that. i just want to make a good future for my son, you know, and i hope also maybe i can create my own charity one day and help people who are like in my situation, you know. i have been through a very difficult time, especially

just after the injury. i have to deal with it without parents and without arms. so it was very difficult in the beginning. but i've seen many people with injuries that are much worse than mine. and i always thank god for what i have got. so i think of the positive things. remarkable person there. now let's go to the us. now on to the us where the irish taoiseach leo varadkar is due to mark st particks day with presdient biden. the two leaders will hold talks in washington and celebrate their shared history. i'm joined by the host of the eu confidential podcast for politico.

i estimate that the good at friday agreement. as we all know, the institutions of the good friday agreement had not met for a year. hopefully, the windsor record that that would give us that. whereat now, i think, when they meet next week with the democratic unionist party, they have to come to conclusions on what they want and what they are going to get from the british government in addition to what is already in the agreement. and by that, i mean

apparently they are going to seek clarification on some amendments to the 1998 act. that is mainly around koh defying european law through the european —— through the uk, rather than northern ireland still having some eu law that they have to comply with. so, that seems to be the remaining sticking point, that's the main one. do remaining sticking point, that's the main one. ~ , ., main one. do you think power-sharing will be eventually _ main one. do you think power-sharing will be eventually back— main one. do you think power-sharing will be eventually back up _ main one. do you think power-sharing will be eventually back up and - will he eventually back up and running this year? i will be eventually back up and running this year?— will be eventually back up and running this year? i do. it might take a number— running this year? i do. it might take a number of— running this year? i do. it might take a number of weeks - running this year? i do. it might take a number of weeks more, | running this year? i do. it might i take a number of weeks more, but running this year? i do. it might - take a number of weeks more, but i can't see any reason why not, i think all of the points that were put forward over the winter have been dealt with, and to the prime minister, to his credit, has been involved in serious dialogue over the past few months, and i think that culmination in the agreement between the european union and the uk a few weeks ago. maybe there is some tweaking oil some clarification, but i don't think

there is much else that is preventing the institutions from getting back up and running. and preventing the institutions from getting back up and running. and you i'm sure have — getting back up and running. and you i'm sure have been _ getting back up and running. and you i'm sure have been on _ getting back up and running. and you i'm sure have been on these - getting back up and running. and you i'm sure have been on these st - i'm sure have been on these st patrick's day visits with the us presidents. it's an annual tradition, isn't it? how engaged as president biden with maintaining good relations in the north and the south. he has spoken, hasn't he, publicly, of his deep interest in all this? ., , ~ publicly, of his deep interest in all this? ., , �* ., , all this? yeah, president biden has been in ireland _ all this? yeah, president biden has been in ireland numerous - all this? yeah, president biden has been in ireland numerous times. i been in ireland numerous times. right throughout his life in the senate he has been here many times. he has family connections in both the west of ireland and the border area in county down. he has already been very much on top of it. he is probably the politician who was kept in touch most, and he is very much across the good friday agreement,

and he understands the subtleties of it as well, which is always a complication. but he is very supportive. one of the architects of the good friday agreement. i just the good friday agreement. i 'ust want to showfi the good friday agreement. i 'ust want to show you i the good friday agreement. i 'ust want to show you some i the good friday agreement. ijust want to show you some pictures from a human and its ago when leo radtke was arriving and his partner with the vice president kamala harris and her husband. they are meeting ahead of talks with president biden a little later today marking st patrick's day. we are expected maybe to hear about the dates of president biden's visit to ireland and northern ireland to mark that anniversary of the good friday agreement. a former professional australian surfer has broken the world record for the longest surf session.

blakejohnston eclipsed the previous mark of 30 hours and 11 minutes at cronulla beach in sydney. he's raising money for youth mental health projects and said he felt "pretty crooked" after catching more than 500 waves. he's risked infected ears, dehydration, hypothermia and drowning. he also had to deal with swarms ofjellyfish, and at one point, the lights illuminating the sea overnight went out — meaning he had to surf in the dark. yeah, pretty good. you just smashed the world record, are you tired? yes, i've still got a job to do, though, i said 40, so... how are you feeling overall at the moment? yeah, pretty good. royal fans across the uk will be able to watch the coronation of king charles on big screens across the country. more than 30 screens will be erected in cities and towns ahead of charles being crowned on may the 6th at westminster abbey. the ceremony will be televised around the world. confirmed sites include cardiff castle, belfast city hall, piece hall in halifax, jubilee square in brighton and piccadilly gardens in manchester.

that's it from me for today. have a good week. and i will see you next week. bye for now. it's been a rather grey and gloomy start across kent this morning as you can see from the puddles. quite significant short showers here. here in eastern county durham, we had sunshine. it's likely that across north—east england we could see the highest temperatures for the remainder of the afternoon. this is the story, though. you can see sharp showers easing away from the south—east, and a sharp cluster of showers developing through northern ireland which will gradually push their way up through south—west england and wales in the afternoon. it is an afternoon of mixed

fortunes. sunny spells and scattered showers continue for modes stood. when is coming from a southerly direction, so generally those temperatures between 13 and 16 celsius, slightly cooler in the far north of scotland. it's a messy week. through the night, we keep quite a lot of cloud around. we continue to see showers from time to time, some of these quite shabby, but the cloud will act as a blanket and prevent showers from falling too far. i'll start to the weekend, temperatures widely between five and nine celsius. low pressure control is a story for the time being. this weather front could bring is a story for the time being. this weatherfront could bring more persistent rain by the end of the day on the far north—west. once again, sunny spells and scattered showers, starting off with grey and gloomy across the southeast with lighter winds on saturday. some of these showers could be is quite slow moving. once again, can't rule out the odd rumble of thunder. temperatures around 13 or 14

celsius. not quite as warm as friday. more persistent rain into northern ireland, north—west scotland as we go to the mid part of the afternoon as well. in terms of that reign, it is going to continue to track its way steadily northwards over to the northern isles, and the winds will pick up on the back end of that. we will see for a time some snow, should not cause too much of an issue, and release away on sunday. sunday will be inquired today. a good deal of dry weather and fewer showers before rain arrives into northern ireland by the end of the day. top temperatures for sunday afternoon ranging from six to 14 celsius.

today at 1:00: a major report on the metropolitan police is expected to criticise it for racist, sexist and homophobic behaviour. the review of the standards and culture of britain's biggest police force follows the murder of sarah everard by a serving police officer. we hear from the former partners of met police officers who say their allegations of coercive control and domestic abuse were not properly investigated. also this lunchtime... concerns for holiday—makers as passport office workers prepare to go on strike. but industrial action by teachers in england is put on hold for a fortnight while there a new talks with the government. homelessness — a growing problem in the countryside, as well as the big cities.