as well. so we want you to go and download the app, go to the big help out. there are opportunities now, but there will be more and more opportunities between now and may the 8th. so download the app, go to the 8th. so download the app, go to the website, get involved. if you are an organisation, get involved. and if you are a business, we want businesses involved as well. think about this is a great opportunity for your staff to promote incredible hr policies, flexible working, because businesses as well can make such a difference to our communities.— such a difference to our communities. ., , ., , communities. lovely, thanks very much. communities. lovely, thanks very much- and _ communities. lovely, thanks very much. and this _ communities. lovely, thanks very much. and this is _ communities. lovely, thanks very much. and this is very _ communities. lovely, thanks very much. and this is very much - communities. lovely, thanks very much. and this is very much seen communities. lovely, thanks very i much. and this is very much seen as a legacy project for the coronation so they want people to get involved in may the 8th and then to carry on volunteering. once again, it is the big help out app. back to you. sarah, thank you very much indeed. we've just heard members of the rmt in network rail have voted to accept a pay offer from network rail — siad to be worth up to 14%

for their lowest paid workers. rmt members who work for the 1a train operating companies are still due to go on strike, but this vote todayis due to go on strike, but this vote today is being seen as a breakthrough. we will have more of that on the news channel and the bbc news at six. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. good afternoon, today is the spring equinox, the beginning of the astronomical spring. and certainly, we have been feeling the days getting longer. the sunrise this morning in the east of england was just before six o'clock in the sun won't set in parts of northern ireland until nearly quarter to seven this evening. but you may not get to see too many sunrises and sunsets this weekend because the jet stream, high up in the atmosphere, is blowing strongly across the atlantic feeding what is essentially a conveyor belt of weather systems in our direction. it will often be cloudy and there will be quite a lot of rain. this is the rain we expect

to accumulate through the next five days. over the hills of cumbria, parts of wales, south west england, we could potentially see 100 millimetres of rain piling up so a pretty soggy week in prospect. and this afternoon, one band of rain is drifting north—eastward across scotland although some bright skies in the far north. more heavy rain in northern ireland, wales, the south west later on and there will be showers elsewhere. but really mild, 8 degrees for aberdeen and perhaps 15 in norwich. and this evening and tonight, we will see this band of heavy rain working its way eastwards, there will be showers elsewhere. generally quite a lot of cloud, but if you are clear breaks getting into the west late in the night. the breeze strengthening. but really mild. five to 10 degrees as we start tomorrow morning. tomorrow will bring heavy rain across the northern isles, that continuing a crash at part of the day. elsewhere, spells of sunshine but some showers as well some of which will be heavy and thundery. and this is the next weather system in the conveyor belt.

another band of rain getting into northern ireland. look at those temperatures. widely 12 to 15 degrees. so there goes that weather system on tuesday night into wednesday. heavy rain with that. behind it, plenty of showers running in on what will be quite a brisk and gusty south—westerly wind. a band of rain pushing across the northern isles and we are back to sunny spells and showers. some hale and thunder in the showers. gusty winds. around some western coasts, we could see costs of 50 mph. but still a very mild feel to the weather with temperatures for most of us between nine and 1a degrees. and it will stay mild generally speaking for the end of the week. perhaps eventually a bit cooler in the far north of the uk. it will often be windy and there will be yet more rain at times. thank you very much

good afternoon. i'm qasa alom. it's 1.30pm and here's your latest sports news. alexander mitrovic should be banned for 10 matches — that's the view of bbc 5 live pundit chris sutton. the fulham forward was sent off for pushing referee chris kavanaugh during his side's 3—1 loss to manchester united in the fa cup yesterday. that was one of three sendings off in the match. joining me now isjoe lynskey. fuller more 1—0 away from home, in old trafford and could be in the semifinals. old trafford and could be in the semifinals-— old trafford and could be in the semifinals. ~ . ., , , , old trafford and could be in the semifinals. ~ . . ,, , semifinals. what happened? they saw three red cards — semifinals. what happened? they saw three red cards in _ semifinals. what happened? they saw three red cards in the _ semifinals. what happened? they saw three red cards in the space _ semifinals. what happened? they saw three red cards in the space of - semifinals. what happened? they saw three red cards in the space of 37 - three red cards in the space of 37 seconds for fulham. first was for the manager, and they went over to

the manager, and they went over to the vaio manager to look at the incident. a third for mitrovic who put his hands on the referee. you can see him protesting that decision. he subsequently had to be foot held back by the fulham coach. this came as fulham led the game in the quarterfinal 1—0. had they remained on the pitch even at 1—1 they had remained within a chance to reach the semifinal. we will ascertain how long mitrovic will be banned for. as well as him, one referee support group has set out how long they feel that ban should be and why it is so important for them given the wider context for referees across the game. it needs to be a significant ban.

minimum — it needs to be a significant ban. minimum 12 day ban. a significant ban that— minimum 12 day ban. a significant ban that says the message that this is not _ ban that says the message that this is not acceptable. if people think they can — is not acceptable. if people think they can behave like that towards a match _ they can behave like that towards a match official, what chance does the match _ match official, what chance does the match official, what chance does the match official have in being respected. they continued good the -ood respected. they continued good the good work_ respected. they continued good the good work they've done, but let's see what — good work they've done, but let's see what they are going to do to address— see what they are going to do to address it — you can keep across the latest on that story on the bbc sport website. nowjoe another story you're looking at today is the manager situation at tottenham. antonio conte is still there, but the big question is for how much longer. this came off the back of another disappointing day for tottenham where they came from in the lead against southampton to draw 3—3.

that led to a set of accusations in a press conference. he said that the players don't want to play under pressure. he said they are worse as a club from this point last season, and that is 20 years under the owner daniel leavey and the fault for that is apparently the club. the another accusation is they haven't done enoughin accusation is they haven't done enough in the transfer market. chalice and is still yet to score a league goal this season despite getting three of brazil at the world cup. another seems to be leading to a pretty unhappy ending for his time at spurs. jamie carriere said that spurs should put an end to his time right now. the contract runs until the end of the season. most fans don't expect him to be in charge for the start of the next campaign and we are looking to see whether the

club take action sooner than that all leave antonio conte hanging on as manager as it stands. aaron ramsey says the new—look wales team can "make their own history" as they begin their quest to reach euro 202a. a fresh qualifying campaign starts in croatia on saturday before latvia visit cardiff three days later. the games mark the start of a new era for wales, who have lostjoe allen, chris gunter, jonny williams and record goal scorer gareth bale to retirement since last year's world cup. they've been amazing for wales over the years, and have contributed so much to the success that we have had in recent years. so, we will be forever grateful for what they have brought to this team, to this nation, but things are always

changing and there are opportunities now for other players. there is so much excitement with some of the players that are paint playing at the highest level at the moment. definitely make their own history with this team and it's very exciting to be a part of this team with so much opportunity for us. now, paralympic champion erin kennedy is plotting a remarkable return to rowing less than a year since she was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. the 30—year—old started chemotherapy last year and had a double masectomy in january. last week she revealed she'd been given the all—clear and kennedy is now hoping to be selected for the european championships in may, which begin exactly a year since she was told she had breast cancer. i was 29 when i was diagnosed, so it really did come out of the blue. i did have some family history of breast cancer, but even sober at 29

was really young. a lot can happen in the year. i was diagnosed on the 25th of may and it is mid—march now and i am sat here with the all clear. the biggest thing i could possibly say is that early detection is the key. it really does save lives. i was proactive about checking myself and knowing what my normal was. checking myself and knowing what my normalwas. ifound checking myself and knowing what my normal was. ifound a lump in a training camp and was checked really quickly and as a result i could get treatment really quickly. i had the type of cancer that can be one of the hardest to treat, but because it was detected so early, i now have the all clear. that's a big thanks to my team who essentially made it all possible and made it possible for me to come here and carry on training as well.— for me to come here and carry on training as well. you talked about tri -s to training as well. you talked about trips to the _ training as well. you talked about trips to the hospital. _ training as well. you talked about trips to the hospital. talk - training as well. you talked about trips to the hospital. talk to - training as well. you talked about trips to the hospital. talk to me l trips to the hospital. talk to me about their ringing the bell. i got about their ringing the bell. i got to rinr about their ringing the bell. i got to ring the _ about their ringing the bell. i got to ring the bell— about their ringing the bell. i got to ring the bell for _ about their ringing the bell. i got to ring the bell for the _ about their ringing the bell. i grrt to ring the bell for the end of kurt kimo at the end of december. i was

absolutely exhausted. i had a double mastectomy and a restructure back in january, and waited nervously for the results and thankfully they came back ok which is the best results i could get. back ok which is the best results i could net. ., ., ~ back ok which is the best results i could net. ., . ,, ., , back ok which is the best results i could net. ., ., ,, ., , ., , could get. you talk about being able to train through _ could get. you talk about being able to train through your— could get. you talk about being able to train through your illness - could get. you talk about being able to train through your illness as - to train through your illness as well. how important was that the recovery and mental health through all this? �* , ., recovery and mental health through all this? �* recovery and mental health through allthis? �* ., ., all this? anyone facing a diagnosis or findinu all this? anyone facing a diagnosis or finding a _ all this? anyone facing a diagnosis or finding a lump. _ all this? anyone facing a diagnosis or finding a lump. actually, - all this? anyone facing a diagnosis or finding a lump. actually, life . orfinding a lump. actually, life does not need to stop completely. from the diagnosis, you can essentiallyjust become a cancer patient, but actually you can go on to do amazing things. in patient, but actually you can go on to do amazing things. in competitive terms, to do amazing things. in competitive terms. what — to do amazing things. in competitive terms. what is _ to do amazing things. in competitive terms, what is next? _ to do amazing things. in competitive terms, what is next? it's _ to do amazing things. in competitive terms, what is next? it's emotionall terms, what is next? it's emotional thinkin: terms, what is next? it's emotional thinking about _ terms, what is next? it's emotional thinking about it _ terms, what is next? it's emotional thinking about it for _ terms, what is next? it's emotional thinking about it for me. _ terms, what is next? it's emotional thinking about it for me. the - thinking about it for me. the european championships are coming round again, so for me that is such a huge goal. if i can get there and get that seat, i will essentially be doing my first day back in international competition exactly one year after being diagnosed with

cancer. ., . . one year after being diagnosed with cancer. ., .. ., ., ., cancer. you can get more on that sto on cancer. you can get more on that story on a — cancer. you can get more on that story on a bbc— cancer. you can get more on that story on a bbc website _ cancer. you can get more on that story on a bbc website as - cancer. you can get more on that story on a bbc website as well. l and that's all the sport for now. let's get more on that breaking news tha the rmt union have voted to accept a pay offer from network rail. our transport correspondent katy austin is with me now. just explain what this pay deal means for those rmt workers and what it means for the travelling public. after months and months of strikes, essentially part of the rmt issues have been settled. maintenance workers and signal workers were given vote on a slightly revised offer from given vote on a slightly revised offerfrom network given vote on a slightly revised offer from network rail. given vote on a slightly revised offerfrom network rail. there is a headline pay rise on that offer, same as the last one, 5% for last year and 4% for this year. what they

have done is backdated this year's pay to last octobers, meaning more “p pay to last octobers, meaning more up front and a bigger lump effectively. and rmt for the lowest paid members. this would bring their salary up to 40.4%. this does not mean that all strikes are off though because this was network rail members and not to those who are chilly work for the train operating companies. 50. chilly work for the train operating companies-— chilly work for the train operating comanies. ., , ,, , ., companies. so, though strikes that those workers _ companies. so, though strikes that those workers have _ companies. so, though strikes that those workers have still— companies. so, though strikes that those workers have still got - companies. so, though strikes thatl those workers have still got planned is still in the pipeline, but is this looking like their breakthrough that might affect all rmt workers? i that might affect all rmt workers? i think that is the big question now, because the strike coming up on the 30th of march of the 1st of april they involve train operating companies. they have not had an updated offer from the companies. they have not had an updated offerfrom the rail companies. they have not had an updated offer from the rail delivery group which is the industry that

negotiates with the rmt on their behalf. they keep saying that the rmt should put that to a vote in the previous put to a vote as well. the question as to whether it will give them some momentum to get back in them some momentum to get back in the room and get a revised offer in any way and get back to a note for numbers, and then perhaps we could see the end of the dispute if that were accepted. we are not quite there at the moment. their dispute with the train companies is very much to live in the strikes are very much to live in the strikes are very much still happening, but this will be seen as a breakthrough that will potentially open doors to more progress. if potentially open doors to more rouress. , , ., potentially open doors to more ll’oa fess. , , ., , ., " ., progress. if this is a breakthrough, who has blinked _ progress. if this is a breakthrough, who has blinked first _ progress. if this is a breakthrough, who has blinked first in _ progress. if this is a breakthrough, who has blinked first in terms - progress. if this is a breakthrough, who has blinked first in terms of. who has blinked first in terms of the negotiations?— who has blinked first in terms of the negotiations? who has blinked first in terms of the neuotiations? ~ ., , ., ., �* , the negotiations? what you don't see in these negotiations _ the negotiations? what you don't see in these negotiations is _ the negotiations? what you don't see in these negotiations is that - the negotiations? what you don't see in these negotiations is that the - in these negotiations is that the other may think first really. what we have found both sides to be satisfied and see it as the offer they thought would work.

interestingly, the government is the one that holds the purse strings and controls how much money is on the table to be worked with. so, did they put more money and for this offer to be submitted, —— they didn't put more money in. but it was clearly a way for them to make an offer that would be acceptable to members. 76% were in favour of that, from a turnout of 90 pacific percent eligible. from a turnout of 90 pacific percent eliaible. ., ~ from a turnout of 90 pacific percent eliaible. . ,, i. , from a turnout of 90 pacific percent eliaible. ., ~' ,, , . eligible. thank you very much indeed. the world's financial markets have reacted with unease following last night's emergency takeover of the troubled swiss bank credit suisse. shares in credit suisse fell by more than 60% this morning after european markets opened — and the value of banking shares across europe has dropped sharply. credit suisse was bought by rival swiss bank ubs in a deal brokered by the swiss government over the weekend. katie martin, is markets editor

at the financial times in london. she spoke to my colleague geeta guru—murthy a little earlier and gave her, her assessment of events. we saw quite heavy falls in european banking stocks across the board, obviously credit suisse shares fell heavily but also a decent amount of weakness in german and french banks. that has calmed down a little and it is early days and too soon to make strong pronouncements about what investors broadly think but it is at least comforting to see some of the sell—offs have calmed down right now. the market is quite jittery, we have had a testing two weeks in global banking. credit suisse has had issues for years, seen as a problem child in european banking circles so it is not a huge surprise it should come to this but the speed with which the swiss authorities took control of the situation tells

you we came quite close to a potentially problematic bank failure here and that is not a great sign for banking as a whole. if we were to see smaller regional banks in the us, running into big trouble, but remaining concerted action by central government, will that be basically ok? will we go through further ripples but fundamentally the banking system will remain sound, can we say that? it is brave to assume the situation is over, i think people will see stress particularly in small regional banks. we are seeing governments and central banks and regulators are coming together to put forward a show of force and strength to say we have got this situation in hand, we will look at it and make difficult decisions which is what happened

with credit suisse to make sure the system is sound. there is some disagreement as to how it has been handled in terms of the treatment of some bondholders in credit suisse, nonetheless it is all about shoring up confidence and showing authorities have the situation under control and trying to stop it spreading. there is no direct link between the issues of small us regional banks and the problems at credit suisse but it goes to show when markets get nervous especially when interest rates have been rising quickly, people are looking for cracks and vulnerability and that is what took down credit suisse when its biggest shareholder said we will not stump up any more cash to smooth over your problems so this is a nervous market environment and it is worth treading carefully. as we heard earlier, exactly 20 years ago today, us forces, with the uk and other allies, invaded iraq in order

to oust the dictator saddam hussein. it was part of the us called its �*war on terror�*, begun by president george w bush in the wake of the 9—11 terrorist attack in 2001. our international editorjeremy bowen has been speaking with haider al—abadi, prime minister of iraq between 2014 and 18. the invasion by the americans, by the british and others, exactly 20 years ago, what went wrong? i think many things went wrong. i mean, the planning for the war was intelligent in my mind, in my opinion, because it was performed very quick, very quick results. but nobody has planned properly for the day after. they thought it is easy. i remember one of the arguments was before the war, they are going to use the top tier

of the leadership and will leave everything else in place. we told them, well, look, saddam is running iraq like a mafia. the whole thing will collapse. what were the consequences of the invasion for iraqis? yeah, well, it's drastic. bloody. that doesn't mean to say we loved for saddam hussein to stay. i mean, that was even more catastrophic. but i think there was a huge opening in 2003. but i think there is a level of mismanagement, of discrepancies, of not knowing the nature of iraq, the nature of people, of not knowing the whole area as well. we've talked a lot about what's happened in the last 20 years since the invasion. predictions, next five years, what are the biggest challenges iraq faces? it is economical. oil prices are not going to stay high. there's a lot of speculation, but everybody is saying it's not the world of oil

in the next ten years. 0k? we are not sure about this year or the year after, but we know oil is not a commodity which the world will value in the medium and short term. so i think we are relying on oil too much. our public sector, a lot of employment relying on the oil. what about the place of violence in society? the fact that the the militias that grew up to fight islamic state now have political representation at the heart of government. is that a problem? it can be, but it can be a bonus as well, because this is their state. now they have to defend it. see, that's why you have to rein them within the framework of the state. but that doesn't mean to fight them. it's two different things. they are not enemies. they felt they've been given a lot of sacrifices, but people told them, well, thank you very much, go home. but now they're in the government.

well, i mean, they are iraqis and they have the right, i think, to be within the political process. we should encourage them. well, look, you want to be politicians, leave the arms to the state. they're calling up their friends in iran and saying, what should we do next? well, that's very unacceptable, i think. iraqis... but do you think that happens? well, people of interest, they do anything. i think when people commit treason, what does that mean? i mean, usually under the guise of ideology or religion, but it is treason. i mean, you are harming your own people. you shouldn't do that. i mean, no religion in its own right calls for that. the twin sister of a woman shot dead by her partner is to meet with home office ministers to discuss changes to gun licensing laws in the uk. kelly fitzgibbons was shot dead in march 2020, along with her two daughters, ava and lexi. her partner rob needham lied about treatment for depression on his shotgun application to sussex police in 2016.

kathryn stanczyszyn reports. three years ago, kelly fitzgibbons was shot dead by her partner, rob needham, along with their two daughters, ava and lexi. the trauma of losing kelly, of losing the girls, of not having them as part of your life...is difficult enough. but knowing how they've died and what they went through, and how they're...you know — the girls were two and four — and how their short lives havejust been ended at the hands of their father. rob had a valid gun licence, but afterwards it was revealed police knew he'd lied about drug use and mental—health episodes when it was granted. emma believes that cost three lives. today, she's meeting with the home office to voice her concerns over licensing. the frequency of reviews — they're only every five years, they should be annually. they need to increase the cost and the gun licensee needs to cover that.

i think they need to not give gun licences to people that lie, and i think they shouldn't give gun licences to people that have reoccurring mental health or depressive episodes. it comes as a report in the wake of a shooting in plymouth has recommended urgent changes to gun control. 22—year—old jake davison killed five people — an inquest found there had been catastrophic errors by police when it came to vetting him. in the prevention of future deaths report, coroner ian arrow said there had been an abject failure to adequately train police officers and staff involved in firearms licensing decisions, that root—and—branch reform of firearms legislation is needed, and that current gun laws are at odds with public safety, and future deaths could occur unless action is taken. the shooting devastated the community of keyham. local mp luke pollard says things must change. i think people are slipping through the cracks because the cracks in the system are now so big.

our gun laws are out of date — most of that legislation stems from 1968. the changes have been haphazard and ad hoc since then, and i'm afraid we're not having a proper assessment of people's suitability. the home secretary, policing minister and chief constables across england and wales now have until the beginning of may to respond to these inquest findings. the home office says it has already taken steps to tighten firearms licensing — including social—media checks and sharing of gp information. but campaigners say the government must go further, faster. kathryn stanczyszyn, bbc news. let's show you the latest pictures from moscow. this is a state visit by the chinese leader to moscow. he has been telling —— president putin

has been telling —— president putin has told xiejin ping that their proposalfor has told xiejin ping that their proposal for the has told xiejin ping that their proposalfor the end of has told xiejin ping that their proposal for the end of the war have been viewed with respect. mr putin also said that russia is slightly envious of china's rapid development in recent decades. for his part, the chinese leader said we should have close relations with russia, and mr putin told him that i believe, under your leadership, china will further develop. this is a significant visit for mr putin in particular who is increasingly isolated at the moment and there is that international arrest warrant issued for him over war crime charges related to the war in ukraine. much more of that through the afternoon. let's check on the weather prospects with ben rich.

hello. today is the spring equinox, the start of the astronomical spring, but the spring daffodils are set to get quite a watering this week because of an active jet stream. the jet stream, of course, the winds higher up in the atmosphere, blowing straight across the atlantic in our direction, feeding bouts of heavy rain our way. the rain is really going to pile up, particularly across the western side of the uk. this chart shows the rain we are expecting to accumulate over the next five days. and over some hills of wales, south—west england, north west england as well, we are likely to see around 100 millimetres of rain. and there is some rain in the forecast for the rest of today. various bands of rain will be pushing eastwards across scotland, some further wet weather drifting in from the west, and the odd shower down towards the south. and quite large amounts of cloud, but very mild out there. seven to nine celsius in northern scotland. elsewhere, around 12 to 15 celsius. through this evening and tonight, we will see further outbreaks of rain. a band of heavy rain pushing eastwards, some showers elsewhere, perhaps a few more clear spells pushing in from the west later in the night.

it's going to be really mild. temperatures north to south five to 10 celsius. so, into tomorrow, we will see some outbreaks of heavy rain drifting northwards across orkney and shetland. elsewhere, some spells of sunshine, but some showers as well. some of which will be heavy and possibly thundery. and then, later in the day, thicker cloud, and more persistent rain getting back into northern ireland. it will be breezy and very mild indeed. 11 celsius in stornoway, 15 for norwich and london. during tuesday night, we see yet another band of rain sweeping eastwards. behind that, a feed of showers running in on what will be quite a strong south—westerly wind. another band of rain to clear through. really soggy across shetland for a good part of wednesday. then some spells of sunshine, but a real rash of heavy and thundery downpours blown in on a strong and gusty wind. these are the wind gusts we are expecting, gusts of around 50 mph for some western coasts. again, though, it will be mild, with temperatures between seven and 1a celsius.

it stays broadly mild for the end of the week. perhaps eventually a little bit cooler in the north of the uk. we will see further bouts of rain at times and some brisk winds.

this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... the chinese president, xijinping, has arrived in moscow a new report on global warning says karen efforts to limit greenhouse gas. the democratic unionist party will... will. .. the chinese will... the chinese president xi jinping meets vladimir putin in moscow, his first visit since pressure's invasion of ukraine. us markets have opened largely flat and european banking shares fall as the financial markets react to the

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