this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm rebecca jones. our top stories: the former pakistani prime minister imran khan has arrived at the high court in islamabad to face corruption charges. when he gets to islamabad, we know that the authorities have suspended the ability to be able to hold rallies and protests, so there will be a very close eye on the court later today. us presidentjoe biden has welcomed the international criminal court's arrest warrant against russia's vladimir putin. the icc have accused president putin of committing warcrimes in ukraine. the uk's home secretary, suella braverman, is in rwanda to discuss a controversial agreement to deport people who seek asylum in britain.

a fraud victim has won a £153,000 refund after the bbc�*s money box programme contacted his bank about him being targeted. and it's the final day of the mens six nations rugby — ireland are hoping for the grand slam when they play england in dublin this afternoon. we start in pakistan — where police have fired tear gas at supporters of former prime minister imran khan as his motorcade arrived at the high court in the capital islamabad. he left his home in lahore on saturday morning after a court lifted the arrest warrant issued against him. he's charged with corruption

while in office, charges which he says are politically motivated. his convoy to islamabad was accompanied by dozens of supporters. they had earlier prevented police from trying to arrest him at his home. 0ur pakistan correspondent caroline davies is following mr khan's convoy, and she sent us this update as he set off. this is the start of the journey for imran khan from his home to the court in islamabad. this is a much promised appearance. it is on the basis of this appearance at his arrest warrants were suspended yesterday. many of his supporters have turned out, as well as, of course, security, because his team have talked repeatedly about threats to his safety. when he gets to islamabad, we know that the authorities there have suspended the ability to be able to hold rallies and protests, so there will be a very close eye on the court later today.

i'm joined now by farhat javed from bbc urdu, who is in islamabad. good to see you. i suppose the first thing to clarify as we understand that imran khan has now arrived in the capital, there are reports that police were attacked by his supporters, what more can you tell us about what is going on? yes. us about what is going on? yes, imran khan _ us about what is going on? yes, imran khan has— us about what is going on? yes, imran khan has arrived - us about what is going on? yes, imran khan has arrived in - us about what is going on? ya: imran khan has arrived in islamabad. he is outside the court where he is supposed to appear. so he is outside the court, he is yet to enter the building. we havejust got the court, he is yet to enter the building. we have just got an audio message from imran khan himself, he says he is waiting for the last few minutes stop he the police for him not entering the building. it imran khan... there seems to be a stand—off between imran khan's supporters and the police. we have

seen videos shared by the police were large clouds of smoke could be seen. we have seen videos were a motorcycle is set on fire, for instance. there is a police van, you know, which was attacked by the workers. we could see some workers, some people in plainclothes, they were damaging a government car outside the court. there is a big number of supporters, imran khan supporters who want to enter the court's premises, but they are being stopped by the police. there has been a massive security arrangement, there is a large number of law enforcement officers outside and around the court, and there was a list provided of the persons who were supposed to go inside the court with imran khan, but it seems that imran khan and his party members do

want his supporters to accompany him, which is not allowed by the police. we have seen clashes between police. we have seen clashes between police and his supporters. police had alleged earlier that it was initiated by party workers, who started pelting stones at the police. they even say they fired tear gas shells. it imran khan's party say it was initiated by the police, and police fired tear gas and stop workers from entering the court. they say it is the police who are stopping imran khan from entering the court. he are stopping imran khan from entering the court.— are stopping imran khan from entering the court. he has arrived in islamabad. _ entering the court. he has arrived in islamabad, he _ entering the court. he has arrived in islamabad, he has— entering the court. he has arrived in islamabad, he has not- entering the court. he has arrived in islamabad, he has not been - entering the court. he has arrived l in islamabad, he has not been able to enter the court, what happens next? ., ., , to enter the court, what happens next? . ., , , ., next? imran khan is supposed to a- ear next? imran khan is supposed to appear before — next? imran khan is supposed to appear before the _ next? imran khan is supposed to appear before the court, - next? imran khan is supposed to appear before the court, a - next? imran khan is supposed to appear before the court, a courtl appear before the court, a court hearing has been started. ajudge is there and he has directed the police and security officials to that imran khan enter. the only problem they are facing right now is that his party workers want to escort him to the court. this is what is not being

allowed. but we do understand that the hearing inside the court has been started. imran khan is supposed to be indicted in a case which is linked with concealing the money that he earned by selling the mac that he earned by selling the mac that he earned by selling the mac that he received during his visits from foreign dignitaries. they say he concealed the money. that is the case which he is supposed to be indicted for. he has been called by the court a number of times, and he could not appear every time, citing his health reasons and then security reasons. but today he has committed, he had an undertaking to the court that he would appear today. if he does not appear, if he does not make it to the court, he will be facing another charge, there is a possibility that he could face another charge of disobeying court orders by not entering the court. but it seems that there is a stand—off between pti workers, imran khan, and the police. they want his

workers to be present within and that court because they fear they might be arrested. speaking to a domestic media outlet, the minister clarify that imran khan will not be arrested because he is on bail by the court, so he will not be arrested, but he needs to appear before the court today.— arrested, but he needs to appear before the court today. really good to talk to yom _ before the court today. really good to talk to you. we _ before the court today. really good to talk to you. we will _ before the court today. really good to talk to you. we will return - before the court today. really good to talk to you. we will return to - to talk to you. we will return to you for the latest developments. thank you. president biden has welcomed the decision to issue a warrant for the arrest of russia's leader, vladimir putin by the international criminal court in the hague. it has accused the russian president of war crimes over the forced deportation of children from ukraine to russia. ukraine's president zelensky said it was an historic decision. the kremlin says the accusations are "outrageous". 0ur diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley has more.

the war in ukraine has caused untold suffering and misery, a war that president putin ordered. a conflict that's now lasted for more than a year, during which there have been mounting allegations of war crimes by russian soldiers. now their leader, president putin himself, has become a wanted man, along with his children's commissioner, accused of being responsible for the forced transfer of children and teenagers out of ukraine. the allegation is they have been taken by air, by road, by train, into the russian federation and they've been given up for adoption. laws have been passed by presidential decree and they have been taught not in ukrainian but in russian. the international criminal court, based in the hague, was set up in 2002 to prosecute war crimes the world. —— in 2002 to prosecute war crimes around the world. the arrest warrant it's issued against president putin sends

a very clear message, even though it can't try defendants in absentia and russia is not a party to the court. i think theyjustified it but the question is, it's not recognised internationally by us either, but i think it makes a very strong point. he's clearly committed a war crimes. translation: this is a historic decision from which historic - responsibility will begin. the head of the terrorist state and another russian official have become suspects in a war crime. the kremlin has predictably dismissed the allegations, calling them outrageous and unacceptable. russia says the warrant has no legal meaning but it is a highly symbolic move in ukraine's quest forjustice. let's not forget about the impact something like this can have on the victims and survivors, who are seeing crimes that have been committed against them being treated seriously and being taken to task by the highest court, as far as international crimes are concerned. many other investigations are continuing in ukraine, including in bucha, for the murder of civilians. the icc prosecutor has described the whole country as a crime scene and said more arrests could follow.

russian soldiers have also been accused of torture, rape and indiscriminate shelling. russia is not about to surrender president putin to appear in court in the hague but he could now be arrested if he sets foot in any of the icc�*s 123 member states. his international isolation is deepening and steps are being taken to end the impunity with which his war in ukraine is being prosecuted. i want to bring you some news from scotland here in the united kingdom. peter morrell, the scottish national party's chief executive, and also the husband of nicola sturgeon, the leader of the snp, who is in it she is standing down, has resigned with immediate effect. to give you a little bit of context around this, the scottish national party, which

is campaigning for independence for scotland from the rest of the united kingdom, a group of members on that ruling body, which is known as the national executive committee, have been meeting. therefore, his decision is in the context of this meeting. his decision to retain dunne resigned with immediate effect. the move does come a week after what many are describing is chaos in the scottish national party, which sought two leadership campaigns... campaigners question the process. the party was forced to confirm the massive drop in its membership numbers, in a situation that the party has previously denied. but this newsjust that the party has previously denied. but this news just coming into us at the bbc that the snp's chief executive and the husband of

nicola sturgeon, the leader of the snp who is going to stand down, has resigned, and that is with immediate effect. he has been approached for comment, but we have no further details at the moment. i will bring them to you as soon as we get them. there have been clashes in paris overnight as protests continued against president macron's reforms to pensions. thousands of people lit fires and threw firecrackers at police, who responded with tear gas. a number of arrests were made. earlier on friday, in the french parliament, opposition parties filed motions of no confidence in the government, after it pushed through a contentious raise in the retirement age from 62 to 64. the uk's home secretary suella braverman is visiting rwanda in central africa. it's a trip which has deep political significance in the uk

because rwanda is the country to which ministers want to deport migrants who arrive in the uk illegally. that often involves crossing the english channel in a small boat. the british government says it wants to end the practice of people smuggling after tens of thousands of people came to the country in the last few years. it says rwanda is a safe "third country", but that view is being challenged by some human rights activists, who say the policy of deporting people who try to claim asylum would break international law. rail passengers in the uk are expected to face more disruption this weekend as workers continue with strike action. staff at 14 train operators are walking out over a long—running dispute over pay, job cuts and conditions.

0ur correspondent marc ashdown is at euston station in central london for us. what is happening? a patchy service across the uk _ what is happening? a patchy service across the uk today, _ what is happening? a patchy service across the uk today, it _ what is happening? a patchy service across the uk today, it has - what is happening? a patchy service across the uk today, it has to - what is happening? a patchy service across the uk today, it has to be - across the uk today, it has to be said. some trains are running, it is relatively busy, if you trains leaving here to go to places like milton keynes and manchester. but anything running today will be finishing pretty early this evening. you will not get a train after around six o'clock. some areas of the country have experienced fewer trains because of engineering works. and some areas will get no change whatsoever all day long. the strong advice if you are travelling anywhere in the united kingdom today is to check before you travel. this is to check before you travel. this is of course part of this long—running dispute between rmt union members and 14 rail operating companies, it is over pay, jobs and

working conditions. i think i things are a bit busier today is because network rail staff, the signallers and maintenance staff who run the railways, they are not out on strike, they are currently considering a fresh pay offer from network rail. they will have a ballot on that which closes at midday on monday. as it stands, no fresh proposals from the rail operating companies to the rmt, so there are more strikes planned. this rail strike comes in the context of wider strikes across the united kingdom, doesn't it? we wider strikes across the united kingdom, doesn't it?— wider strikes across the united kingdom, doesn't it? we had a bit of movement in — kingdom, doesn't it? we had a bit of movement in some _ kingdom, doesn't it? we had a bit of movement in some of _ kingdom, doesn't it? we had a bit of movement in some of these - kingdom, doesn't it? we had a bit of movement in some of these late - kingdom, doesn't it? we had a bit of movement in some of these late last week. the teaching union, they are sitting down to negotiate over their dispute, so those strikes are put on hold for the time being. and in staff, pretty much everyone apart from junior doctors, they have been recommended to accept a fresh pay offer. that is a percentage rise from last year of 4.7%, another percentage rise for this year, but crucially a one off payment of at least 1006 and a pounds per member

of staff. i think the idea, certainly talks with a circles, that could be crucial to unlocking some of these disputes. that reflects the huge spike we have had, in relation to over 10% last year, that has affected everyone's cost of living, but it does not make any huge percentage pay rises going forwards, which the government says they cannot afford. if they did that, they may stoke inflation further. but on the rail, this dispute between the rmt and the rail companies, that is at deadlock still. aside say they do want more talks, but at the moment, there are two more strike dates planned, march 30 and april one, just in time for easter holidays. 30 and april one, 'ust in time for easter holidays._ easter holidays. good to talk to ou. easter holidays. good to talk to from thank _ easter holidays. good to talk to you. thank you. _ a fraud victim has been reimbursed over £150,000 by his bank following a bbc investigation. james was targeted by a us—based scammer who claimed she was in an abusive relationship and tricked him into giving them money.

his bank initially declined to cover him because the criminal used an american account — until radio 4's money box programme intervened. it started like many of the investigations we do here on money box with an e—mail from one of our listeners — adam, that's james's son. he e—mailed a couple of weeks ago and explained what had happened to his father. and in short, what had happened is this. over the course of 13 months, criminals had scammed and then stolen £153,000 from james, the victim, by indoctrinating him, by grooming him into believing that he was actually helping a woman in the united states escape an abusive relationship and then to help pay for these expensive medical bills. now, the transfers that the criminals encouraged him to make started off small, then they got larger and larger. there were multiple transfers of £10,000, a few of £15,000. and james was so deceived by this web of lies that these criminals had spun, the fraud was only discovered

whenjames was admitted to hospital a few weeks ago. and so believing was he that he was doing the right thing by this person that he actually asked his son adam to make a payment to this lady, this supposed lady, whilst he was in hospital. adam, of course, took one look at the bank account, realised what had happened, called the police, called action fraud, called his dad's bank lloyds, realised it was a fraud straightaway. and in fact, i spoke to adam a little earlier this week, and he explained to me that moment when he called lloyds, they said, "well, you know, you should be covered by this voluntary code," — you mentioned, shaun — "because it covers this type of fraud." only the next day to be told by lloyds, "actually, sorry, you are not covered, you won't be getting a refund because this code doesn't cover criminals when they use foreign bank accounts." if there is a code provided by the banks to protect their customers, then it should be an all—encompassing code. there should not be any holes in it. if somebody is defrauded, then they are defrauded, and the code should kick in,

irrespective of where the criminal resides or where the money has gone. now, fortunately, shaun, we began an investigation, lloyds reviewed the case, and lloyds have actually gone much further than banks usually do in cases we come across. they had spotted these transactions of fraudulent, they had warned james, they had warned him in person, in branch, but so groomed had he been by these criminals, he insisted the payments go through. we carried out the investigation, and i heard from adam when lloyds eventually told him he was going to get a refund for his dad. it was like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, essentially, because i was kind of looking after my dad on this. so i felt a huge sense of responsibility to try to get him a good result, because he is in ill health. the relief was indescribable, really, it wasjust... yeah, it was phenomenal.

that was money box reporter dan whitworth from bbc radio 4 speaking to us, and adam, whose dad was a victim of fraud. with me now is arun chauhan, a solicitor who specialises in fraud and financial crime and is a trustee at the charity, the fraud advisory panel. very good to have you with us, welcome to bbc news. i understand that this kind of fraud is called romance fraud. i wonder if uchitel is a little bit more about it and how widespread it is.— is a little bit more about it and how widespread it is. thank you. romance fraud _ how widespread it is. thank you. romance fraud is _ how widespread it is. thank you. romance fraud is a _ how widespread it is. thank you. romance fraud is a way - how widespread it is. thank you. romance fraud is a way that - how widespread it is. thank you. i romance fraud is a way that people are being tricked and duped into believing they are falling into a relationship with somebody online, who they have not met, probably have not had video calls with, and they foster a relationship, this relationship is fostered by a fraudster who makes somebody believe they are in a relationship, then starts to ask them for help,

financial support, starts to ask them for help, financialsupport, medical starts to ask them for help, financial support, medical issues, urgent medical issues, and people start sending money. they are embarrassed to talk about it after the event when they realise they have been duped.— have been duped. clearly these --eole have been duped. clearly these people are _ have been duped. clearly these people are very _ have been duped. clearly these people are very compelling - have been duped. clearly these people are very compelling in l have been duped. clearly these - people are very compelling in order to persuade people to part with their money. to persuade people to part with their money-— their money. that is absolutely ri . ht. their money. that is absolutely right- when — their money. that is absolutely right. when emotion _ their money. that is absolutely right. when emotion gets - their money. that is absolutely - right. when emotion gets involved, sometimes our logic, our sense can depart a little bit, and we are really wanting to believe in what we are hearing, really wanting to believe in matters of the heart, and then they are very sophisticated, these fraudsters, in convincing us about a situation needing urgent money and we are the only ones that can help. we part with our money and we send it. ~ ., ., ., we send it. what more can banks do to rotect we send it. what more can banks do to protect us. _ we send it. what more can banks do to protect us, especially _ we send it. what more can banks do to protect us, especially to - we send it. what more can banks do to protect us, especially to protect l to protect us, especially to protect particularly vulnerable customers? banks are doing more everyday and trying to protect customers. it comes in around an area called effective warnings. banks are doing far more intense when you login online or go into a badge about

warning customers around the risk of being defrauded. banks need to keep pushing the envelope out on this. if they see transactions which are of concern, can they slow those transactions down, ask customers to come in branch, just to challenge them, may be sent a test payment, maybe withhold for 2h them, may be sent a test payment, maybe withhold for 2a of us. it may not save everybody, but it will help warn people that they might be the subject of fraud and it is something they can stop. the subject of fraud and it is something they can stop-— subject of fraud and it is something the can sto -. ~' , , , ., they can stop. the key here seems to be that the banking _ they can stop. the key here seems to be that the banking rules _ they can stop. the key here seems to be that the banking rules did - they can stop. the key here seems to be that the banking rules did not - be that the banking rules did not cover transactions to foreign bank accounts. presumably there are practical difficulties in securing international agreements overseas? that is right. this is about something called the contingent reimbursement model code. it is led by the payment systems regulator, that only governs transactions in the uk. there is something called the uk. there is something called the swift network which deals with international transactions, so we

would need regulators from different banking sectors to come together to agree a refund mechanism. that is just not in place yet. that is something which is desired. education is far better in terms prevention is better than the cure, have banks push that education message out. have banks push that education message out-— have banks push that education messare out. , .,, ., ., , message out. devastating if it does ha en to message out. devastating if it does happen to you. _ message out. devastating if it does happen to you. but _ message out. devastating if it does happen to you, but what _ message out. devastating if it does happen to you, but what more - message out. devastating if it does happen to you, but what more can l message out. devastating if it does i happen to you, but what more can we do to protect ourselves? this do to protect ourselves? as customers. _ do to protect ourselves? is customers, we do to protect ourselves? sis customers, we need to be more alert of the ability to be duped or tracked online. romance fraud, investments, pensions, we really need to be cautious to know who we're dealing with. it is all about verifying what you're doing, who you are dealing with. take advice from friends, family, experts, just be cautious before you enter into those transactions. cautious before you enter into those transactions-— cautious before you enter into those transactions. good advice. thank you ou for transactions. good advice. thank you you forjoining _ transactions. good advice. thank you you forjoining us- — us media is reporting that president biden's government is investigating the chinese parent company of the social media app, tiktok. 0fficials there accuse the app creator, bytedance, of possible spying. an investigation was launched late

last year after data from tiktok users in the united states were inappropriately obtained. here's our north america correspondent david willis. it appears that this investigation was launched sometime last year and then ramped up a couple of months ago after bytedance, the company, the chinese company that owns tiktok, confirmed reports here in the american media that some chinese staff had been using the app to spy on american journalists, in particular to get information about their sources of stories that had appeared about tiktok in the american media. now, bytedance said in response to today's reports that it is strongly condemning the actions of those staff, who, it says, have subsequently been dismissed. but it's only a couple of months, of course, since tiktok, the app, was banned from government phones

here and in an attempt to basically head off further restrictions, bytedance have suggested that maybe the company should keep all user data, american user data on servers located here in the united states. well, the biden administration has come under criticism from opposition republicans for not doing enough to ensure national security through apps such as this. earlier this week, the biden administration announced that it was going to demand that bytedance either sell off tiktok or face a nationwide and here in the united states. that was david willis, our correspondent in washington. i want to bring you some news coming into us from the united states, as well. it is very sketchy at the moment, i

have to say. we are getting reports from reuters news agency that the former us president donald trump has said that the manhattan district attorneys office has indicated that he will be arrested. that is on tuesday. now, the former president donald trump seems to have posted this on his social media platform, truth social. donald trump says he is expecting, quoting here, an arrest on tuesday. i am reading some reports, this from the afp news agency, that he has called for protests as a result. we do not have any more details at the moment. as i say, former us president donald trump says he will be arrested on tuesday. more as we get it here on bbc news. hello there.

it has been a morning of mixed fortunes. quite a lot of cloud around this morning, but a favoured few have seen some lovely spells of sunshine, as you can see from this weather watcher from lancashire earlier on. however, there has also been some showers, and some of them are really quite heavy at times. this was loose in kent. and i will show you just where the showers have been so far. it is all about low pressure that is dominating out to the west at the moment, and we have got this eclectic, messy mix of frontal systems which will, from time to time, enhance the showers. so, so far today we have seen some across parts of western scotland into central scotland, and also down into the south—east of england. there are some showers elsewhere, and as we go through the afternoon, if you catch one of those showers, due to the light winds, they could be pretty slow moving indeed. so, by the middle part of the afternoon, it looks likely that it is going to be a case of sunny spells and scattered showers almost anywhere across england and wales. if you dodge the showers and you keep some sunshine coming through, temperatures on the mild

side still, 13—15 the high. a line of more organised showery rain moves out of northern ireland into western fringes of scotland, with some heavier bursts to the extreme north, slowly heading towards the northern isles, which is still sitting in the cold air, only expecting a high of 5—6 by the middle part of the afternoon. so, as we close out the day on saturday, the winds will pick up, the rain will move to the northern isles, we will have a trailing weather front weakening, just a band of cloud easing away. and as skies clear, those temperatures are going to fall away, so it will be a slightly chilly start to sunday morning in comparison to of late, but hopefully it will be a sunnier start for most of us. so, not a bad prospect on sunday. gradually we will start to see some cloud pushing in from the west ahead of this weather front that will arrive into northern ireland by the end of the afternoon. but all in all, not a bad mothering sunday for most, 8—13 the high. still that little bit cooler into the northern isles. but then from monday onwards, the change comes once again to some

wet and windy weather as a series of weather fronts push in off the atlantic. so, for the start of the working week, it looks likely to stay unsettled with showers or longer spells of rain at times. the temperatures pretty much, though, where they should be for this time of year. take care.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the former pakistani prime minister imran khan has arrived