of thousands of asylum—seekers, but few can be as strangely located as this — wedged as it is between a retirement village and a golf course. to provide beds for more than 51,000 asylum—seekers — and rising — the home office has booked out hotels in seaside resorts and cities, in villages and the countryside, at airports and on golf courses — anywhere they can find willing hotel owners. there are 395 hotels in all — 363 in england and 20 in northern ireland — but far fewer in the other two nations — ten in scotland and only two in wales. the leicestershire village of kegworth is one of the latest places to have the local hotel's business model changed overnight to housing asylum—seekers. yew tree lodge was the local wedding venue, swimming pool and gym — as well as bringing in business from the nearby east midlands airport. but that all changed last month.

fredricka reynolds used to do all the flowers for the weddings, but in an instant, that key part of her business was snatched away. they rang me on the thursday before the asylum—seekers came on the monday, and cancelled all my weddings for the foreseeable. that's a huge amount of work and income to me. and she told me it's notjust the loss of thousands of pounds. me and my boys used to go swimming every saturday there. i've got two little ones and every time we drive past there, they want to go swimming and, unfortunately, that's closed now. because of the small boats crossing the channel, the number of asylum—seekers in hotels has gone from 3,000 to 51,000 in just three years. it's the government policy that almost no—one is in favour of — not even the government — and it's costing the taxpayer £6 million a day. daniel sandford, bbc news, kegworth.

more than 100 metropolitan police officers, who are being investigated for domestic abuse or sexual misconduct, are being allowed to remain on normal duties, according to information obtained by the liberal democrats. the force is awaiting the release of what's expected to be a highly critical report by baroness casey on the culture within the met, which was prompted by the murder of sarah everard. the mother of a teenage boy who died after taking pills on a night out, says a jail sentence for the dealer who sold him the drugs, has given her a sense of "closure". 17—year—old will horley took tramadol while drinking with friends in whitstable in 2018. now his mum, kim webster, is raising awareness in schools. chrissie reidy reports. 17—year—old will — seen here in the black shorts — was passionate about boxing. but four years ago, while out drinking with friends in whitstable, he made the fatal decision to take tramadol. he never survived.

last week, the drug—dealer — also 17 at the time — was jailed for nine months at canterbury crown court. there were so many mums and parents out there that have lost their children to drugs, and there's been nojustice for those children. so i am grateful that this has been seen through, and has actually ended in a guilty and custodial sentence. this is my son behind me — my son will — and he died four years ago. since his death, kim has spoken openly about will's fate with more than 17,000 teenagers in schools across the south east — by teaming up with the kenwood charity — about the dangers of drugs. at the moment, in the curriculum, there is only an hour a year put towards education on drugs and alcohol, and that's something that we would like to see is increased. so cannabis is a class—b drug — you can go to prison for 14 years for supplying it. students at this grammar school in broadstairs today were being encouraged

to think differently. itjust made it more real to hear- the story from people who have gone through it so closely. it makes it just... it makes you think about how the people who you're close i to would feel if it was you. and i think it's really important that they've, you know, come in and they've done this whole presentation about it — especially from, like, a really personal aspect, because it, like, really reinforces, like, the harsh reality of it. will had his whole life ahead of him — with a starting date to join the army. i think it was just a moment of madness, of curiosity, ofjust...just giving it a go just to see what all the fuss is about. and, unfortunately...what he took, he reacted to, and cost him his life. you're going to be exposed to alcohol and you will be exposed to drugs at some point... while kim says will made the wrong choice that night,

she hopes by empowering youngsters to make different choices, they won't make the same mistake. it's 30 years since ira bomb attacks in warrington killed two children. three—year—old jonathan ball and 12—year—old tim parry both died when two bombs, planted on a busy shopping street, exploded. a memorial service will take place in warrington later — but first, john maguire looks back at what happened on that day in 1993. siren wails. on an ordinary saturday afternoon in a town in the north west of england, as people went about their business, terror came to the high street. two bombs planted in litter bins exploded among the shoppers in warrington. 5a people were injured, and two young boys were killed. three—year—old jonathan ball, and tim parry, who was 12, became the victims of the provisional ira, who admitted causing the explosions. in the months that

followed, tim's parents — their lives changed forever — set about working to spare others the pain they were enduring. they became campaigners, setting up a charity in the boys' names and creating a peace centre in the town dedicated to helping people through education, conciliation, and conflict resolution. tim's father, colin, has said the cause has given his family a strong sense of purpose, and the charity has ensured their sanity. for it to grow as it has, and for it to reach as far as it has, and to help as often as it has been — i think that's been the glue which has kept the family together. and in bridge street, where the bombs were detonated, there's a memorialfountain named the river of life. it's a reminder not only of the atrocity perpetrated here 30 years ago, but also — as with the charity named after tim and jonathan — they act as symbols of peace and hope for future generations.

john maguire, bbc news. to celebrate the coronation of king charles, hundreds of charities are offering people the chance to volunteer during the bank holiday weekend in may. 0ur royal correspondent, sarah campbell, as been to visit one of them — and has more on what's being called the �*the big help 0ut�*. across the uk, there is an army of volunteers, giving up theirtime and sharing their talents and expertise to the benefit of all. i'mjane. i've been involved in scouting for 23 years now. it's the satisfaction element, i think, of seeing them enjoy themselves and being part of it. it's like being one part of a big family really. my name is ian. i've been volunteering at london zoo for nearly seven years. my background, i was a public sector accountant, so something completely different to what i'm doing here. and it's just wonderful to get such new experiences, meet many new people,

make many hundreds of new friends. i'm priti, and i volunteer- for the royal voluntary service. i've been volunteering _ because i love being around people. it gives me a sense _ of belonging to the community and it makes me happy. at the last count, there were 7 million people in england alone, who volunteered at least once a month. sounds a lot, but that's about a third down on pre—pandemic levels. and it's at a time when the most vulnerable really need the support volunteers so generously give. this charity, little village, provides free toys, clothes and baby equipment. we're expecting to support 2,000 more children this year than we did last year. and, for us to be able to do that, we need to have volunteers on sites to be able to help. so come and help. and that's the idea behind the big help 0ut — a national day of volunteering planned as part of the coronation weekend in may. download the app — the big help 0ut app.

find those opportunities, find out what your passion is and how you can make a difference to your community and then select the opportunity that's right for you. and although it's about may 8th initially, what you really want is people to discover it, love it, carry on volunteering. that's right. it's more than one day. take care, honey. there will be thousands of charities and organisations looking for new helpers. lots of sex in the city again. 0h, excellent. people like husband and wife team carol and andy, who spend a few hours a week in their local age uk shop. it's good fun. then we have a laugh and a giggle about the things that have gone in the shop today. we enjoy it. we like each other's company and that's good fun for us. keeps us young. this is suzanne. she spends her evenings rescuing wildlife as an rspca volunteer. my normal dayjob, it's very much sat down. it's very much behind a desk. so it's something that's that real hands on helping animals. and they're really rewarding for seeing the difference

that you're making. it is a simple message — get involved over the coronation weekend however you can and find out where your help might be needed using the new app. walkers on a beach in hampshire have made an exciting discovery — the body of what's been descibed as an "exceptionally rare" kind of shark, believed to have been a smalltooth sand tiger. but the tv historian dan snow — who was there — says that before the body could be recovered by biologists for further study, �*trophy hunters' removed its head and tail. he's now appealing for those body parts returned in the interests of science, as briony leyland reports. it's a shark, so be careful! an unexpected visitor to the south coast in trouble, when a shark was spotted thrashing

about in the shallows at lepe beach, locals went to help. the rescue mission seemed to have been a success. yes, yes! but yesterday, the shark believed to be a smalltooth sand tiger, rarely seen in uk waters, was found washed up. historian and local resident, dan snow, tweeted about the discovery and scientists urged him to salvage the shark, but he and a team of volunteers were too late. the head, fin and tail had been cut off. we are desperate to get hold of that head because there's things like isotopic analysis, you can see where it's been, what it's eaten. if you have its brain, you can tell a lot from its brain. so we would love to get hold of it. there's nojudgment, but if we could have it back, just to do some tests on it and then the person can have it back again, they can keep it. scientists want to know more about why the shark, which by the way, wouldn't present a threat to people, was in the solent at all.

if this is or was a smalltooth sand tiger, then they are often found in more in the atlantic, more around the bay of biscay and as we see changes in climate change, ocean currents, we are seeing changes in distribution the species around the world, but also around our british waters as well. the hope is the head may be returned, so the full story of the shark and why it came to the solent can be told. bryony leyland, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. 0ne band of rain pushing northwards towards scotland. another band of rain drifting into western england and wales and northern ireland. a few showers elsewhere, lots of cloud but it is going to be mild. three

tonight, this band of heavy rain sweeps eastward with some showers elsewhere. perhaps a few more clear spells by the end of the night. it will be breezy and mild him chooses between five and 10 degrees. tomorrow, is heavy rain to come across 0rkney and shetland. heavy foundry showers and then more... north to south, eight to 15 degrees. it says mild into wednesday but it is going to be a blustery day and there will be some heavy showers.

this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm ben boulos. our top stories... a new report on global warming published by un scientists warns humanity is rapidly running out of time to secure a sustainable future for all. swift today i am presenting a plan to supercharge efforts to achieve this climate solidarity pact through an all hands on deck acceleration agenda. the chinese president xi jinping meets vladimir putin in moscow — his first visit since russia's invasion of ukraine. the democratic unionist party will vote against the uk government's post—brexit trading plans in the uk parliament. the party's leader says he wants a re—working of the windsor framework. european stock markets have experienced volatile trading after switzerland's biggest bank, ubs, agreed a takeover of its failing rival, credit suisse.

rail workers in the uk have accepted a new offer from network rail for better pay, jobs, and conditions. the deal includes wage rises of up to 14.4% for the lower paid staff. and 20 years since the us—led coalition invaded iraq to topple dictator saddam hussein, we look at the legacy. the un secretary general antonio guterres has hailed a major new report on climate change as a survival guide for humanity. climate scientists from intergovernmental panel on climate change said clean energy and technology can be exploited to avoid the growing climate disaster. but they also warned a key global temperature goal will probably be missed.

they say the world is expected to warm above 1.5 degrees centigrade by the early 20305. mr guterres has been speaking at the launch of the report and said everyone needs to work together quickly to achieve the climate change goals. today i am presenting a plan to supercharge efforts. it starts with parties immediately hitting the fast forward button on the net zero deadlines to get to global zero by humans are responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years. the rate of temperature rise in the last half—century as the highest in 2000 years. concentrations of carbon dioxide are at their highest in at least 2 million years. the climate time bomb is ticking. i'm joined now by dr friederike 0tto, senior lecturer

in climate science at grantham institute — climate change and the environment at imperial college london. dr 0tto is also one of the report authors. do you at all despair about the fact that these warnings are remade in report after report and we still seem to be on course to miss one of the key goals? i seem to be on course to miss one of the key goals?— the key goals? i don't think it is time to despair, _ the key goals? i don't think it is time to despair, i _ the key goals? i don't think it is time to despair, i think- the key goals? i don't think it is time to despair, i think what. the key goals? i don't think it is| time to despair, i think what this report particularly shows is that other ripples have not previously shown us is that we do have all the knowledge and all the technology that we need to get to net zero, so we don't have too, we have no excuses any more to wait. we just have to implement them now. so despairing will not stop climate change, but acting well. it despairing will not stop climate change, but acting well.- change, but acting well. if the technologies _ change, but acting well. if the technologies out _ change, but acting well. if the technologies out there - change, but acting well. if the technologies out there and . change, but acting well. if the technologies out there and allj change, but acting well. if the i technologies out there and all we need to do is use them, what is stopping us? need to do is use them, what is stepping us?— need to do is use them, what is stopping us? need to do is use them, what is stoninu us? ~ ., ,, , ,

stopping us? what is stopping us is the political — stopping us? what is stopping us is the political will _ stopping us? what is stopping us is the political will and _ stopping us? what is stopping us is the political will and the _ stopping us? what is stopping us is the political will and the sense - stopping us? what is stopping us is the political will and the sense of. the political will and the sense of urgency. so, we do have the technology and the knowledge, and we also, there is also enough money in the world, but at the moment, laws and governance frameworks are not implemented and designed in a way that allow us to implement this knowledge. and at the moment, finance is still going very much in the wrong places, in most parts of the wrong places, in most parts of the world. we still subsidise fossil fuels. i the world. we still subsidise fossil fuels. , , ,.,, the world. we still subsidise fossil fuels. , ., the world. we still subsidise fossil fuels. , , ., ., fuels. i suppose the background to that at the moment _ fuels. i suppose the background to that at the moment is _ fuels. i suppose the background to that at the moment is the - fuels. i suppose the background to that at the moment is the issues l that at the moment is the issues facing energy supply, the war in ukraine, the sanctions against russia, and the price of energy being a real problem for many households and businesses, both in the uk and around the world, i suppose for governments, the concern is that if they don't invest —— invest in robust energy supplies, then potentially the economic pain becomes even greater for people. it

is not the case that we don't have clean technologies that are not robust, it is a narrative that is quite persistent but it is not true, and the report shows this very clearly, that green energy and clean energy is able to sustainably change and provide energy and change the course of climate change. but, of course, we need to implement those technologies and the governance frameworks to go with it. it is not happening byjust doing nothing. qm. happening by 'ust doing nothing. 0k, a ve clear happening byjust doing nothing. 0k, a very clear message. one of the report authors there, thank you very much. ., �* . ., the chinese president, xijinping, has been holding talks with the russian president vladimir putin in moscow during his first visit since russia's invasion of ukraine last year. the visit is a clear sign of support for russia —

and its president vladimir putin — at a time when the kremlin is under intense pressure from the west to stop the war. president xi's visit comesjust days after the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for the russian leader for alleged war crimes. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg is in moscow following events. when xi jinping arrived, you could tell the russians were pleased to see him. full military honours for one of the world's most powerful leaders. but this was pomp with a purpose. russia knows it needs china more than ever. putin and xi have met many times before, but never before has russia's president being under such pressure. his war in ukraine has not been going to plan, and last week in the hague, the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for vladimir putin for alleged war crimes. xi's visit is a show of support. the two leaders have been

building what they call a no—limits partnership. it's not an equal one, though. russia, under heavy international sanctions, is increasingly dependent on china as a market for its goods and raw materials. as for no limits, well, there have been some. up till now, beijing has been reluctant to provide russia with lethal aid for the ukraine war, to avoid secondary sanctions against chinese companies. still, china is thought to be supplying dual—use technology, like semiconductor chips, vitally important to the russian military. ahead of the summit, president putin went travelling himself, paying his first visit to territory occupied by russia in its full—scale invasion of ukraine. he toured mariupol, a city that had been heavily damaged by russian shelling. his presence sent a clear message to ukraine and to the west — this kremlin leader is not about to compromise. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

the former uk prime minister boris johnson has submitted evidence in his defence over whether he misled parliament about parties held in downing street. he has now handed his report to the privileges committee — ahead of a hearing on wednesday where he will faces questions from mps. thejohnson administration brought in laws during covid banning gatherings — but mrjohnson was fined for attending drinks parties. misleading parliament is seen by other mps in the uk as a serious breach of parliamentary rules. boris johnson's appearance on wednesday will be televised. i'm joined now by our political correspondent iain watson. we understand boris johnson we understand borisjohnson has submitted this evidence in advance, we believe he wants it published as soon as possible. when will we find out what he has submitted? iligie’iiii out what he has submitted? we'll find out between _ out what he has submitted? we'll find out between now— out what he has submitted? .11 find out between now and wednesday when he is going to be in front of

the privileges committee, a committee of senior mps chaired by a member of the labour opposition but with a conservative majority so a majority of the mps come from boris johnson's own party, they are likely to grill him for up to four hours on wednesday. he wants his evidence, this dossier to be published as soon as possible, but if it is 50 to 60 pages long, it is likely members of the gritty will want to go through the gritty will want to go through the document first before they make it available to the wider public. but in a sense they have got their retaliation in first. the document sets out effectively the questions that boris johnson sets out effectively the questions that borisjohnson has to answer. there are various occasions on which he may have misled parliament, in other words, lied to parliament, and theissue other words, lied to parliament, and the issue for them isn't so much did he mislead parliament but what was the intention behind it? was it inadvertent? did he know what he was

doing? if he did know, did he rectify it? or did he deliberately mislead parliament? that is more serious and might lead to a suspension from parliament and might trigger a by—election. there is a lot of jeopardy trigger a by—election. there is a lot ofjeopardy here for boris johnson and that is why i think he has gone to a great deal of trouble to assembly —— assemble this dossier of his own to try and refute this, that he deliberately misled parliament, and from his point of view, the argument is quite straightforward, that if parliament was at all misled, he was simply acting on the division —— advice of his officials, he was not responsible for suggesting, for example, that rules had been followed when in fact they had been breached. and in addition to that, he didn't knowingly mislead parliament, what his legal team has concentrated is a lot of precedent

from various cases over the years of parliament, and what they are effectively saying is there is not enough simply to mislead parliament, that shouldn't lead to a punishment in itself, you have to do knowingly mislead parliament and it is something which is difficult to prove, that is why they have introduced this idea of recklessness, did you check the facts? should he have been aware of the facts? the document says he should have been aware of them. indie should have been aware of them. we shau should have been aware of them. we shall all be watching and waiting for that televised session on wednesday. thank you forjoining us. the democratic unionist party will vote against the government's brexit plans in a vote in parliament on wednesday. known as the windsor framework, the plans sought to resolve post brexit trading issues caused by the northern ireland protocol, which was criticised by unionists for effectively creating a border betwen northern ireland and the rest of the uk. the dup are refusing to share power with sinn fein until issues around post brexit trading

agreements are sorted. as such, there is no functioning government in northern ireland. let's get more on this from our ireland correspondent chris page. a complicated issue, if ever there was one, chris. just explain the dup's position on this and what they want, what changes they want to before they would be willing to back the so—called windsor framework. supposedly at the heart of all these issues, ben, is here in northern ireland is when will people have their government back? the dup says their government back? the dup says the foundation is a power sharing has been badly damaged by what they see as the border within their country, trade border between northern ireland and the rest of the uk as a result of the brexit arrangements. what the uk prime minister and the dup hoped—for was a deal that would deal with the dup's

concerns and that the dup would lift its veto on power sharing and allow that to happen in belfast. important to note it that although the dup has said it will vote against the government on wednesday in relation to one specific aspect of that agreement between the uk and the eu, known as the windsor framework, the dup is also not rejecting the deal out right, i think, at this stage. it is been sitting in a position that it has come to over the last few weeks as it has been looking at the windsor framework. the dup says it wants seven tests it will look at the legal detail in the context of to decide whether the trade border has been lifted and in their view northern ireland is a place within the uk that has been fully restored. but when it comes to the framework, it is a complicated document, there will be more legislation to come after the legislation that goes

before parliament in london on wednesday, the dup has set up a panel chaired by a former party leader to consult with businesses and with other groups here in northern ireland to see what they think of the windsor framework. so it will be a long process but certainly in voting against the government on wednesday, the dup are hoping to put more pressure on the government to see what further concessions or clarifications, they say they can get as the process of legislating for the windsor framework moves forward. chris, thank ou framework moves forward. chris, thank you very — framework moves forward. chris, thank you very much _ framework moves forward. chris, thank you very much for - framework moves forward. chris, thank you very much for that, - framework moves forward. chris, | thank you very much for that, chris page, our island correspondents. 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. and us markets have opened largely flat. credit suisse was bought by rival swiss bank ubs in a deal brokered by the swiss government over the weekend, a move welcomed by european central bank chief,

christine lagarde. i welcome the swift action and the decisions taken by the swiss authorities. these actions are instrumental for restoring orderly market conditions and ensuring financial stability. that me also remind that we are monitoring market developments closely and stand ready to respond as necessary to preserve price stability and financial stability in the euro area. the euro area banking sector is resilient, with strong capital and liquidity positions. in any event, the ecb's policy tool kit is fully equipped to provide liquidity support to the euro area financial system, if needed, and to preserve the smooth transmission of monetary policy. i'm joined now by the founder

and ceo of straterix, anna gil, in new york. straterix helps banks test their balance sheets and their robustness. anna, what do you make of the takeover of credit suisse? is it the right move and enough to reassure markets? i right move and enough to reassure markets? . , , markets? i am sure it is the right move and — markets? i am sure it is the right move and i _ markets? i am sure it is the right move and i think _ markets? i am sure it is the right move and i think we _ markets? i am sure it is the right move and i think we can - markets? i am sure it is the right move and i think we can see - markets? i am sure it is the right move and i think we can see that| markets? i am sure it is the right - move and i think we can see that the government is, both in the us and in europe, are acting very proactively, trying to reassure the markets. and i think that, well, we have seen markets are trying to cope with the situation. i think one of the biggest questions that will need to be addressed is obviously credit

suisse and the exposure and contracts, how that can be handled, and i am sure ubs will be do everything to make sure that it is handled in an organised, orderly manner. ~ ., ., , ., manner. what we had seen other last or two with manner. what we had seen other last er two with a — manner. what we had seen other last or two with a failure _ manner. what we had seen other last or two with a failure is _ manner. what we had seen other last or two with a failure is two _ manner. what we had seen other last or two with a failure is two banks - or two with a failure is two banks in the united states, signature bank, s veiby, and other problems at credit suisse, i thought all the stress test imposed by governments was meant to avoid this situation. were those tests either not stringent enough or were they simply useless? ~ ~ , useless? well, i think they were useful and _ useless? well, i think they were useful and they _ useless? well, i think they were useful and they were _

useless? well, i think they were useful and they were stringent l useless? well, i think they were l useful and they were stringent but only on one side. they are not wide enough. the companies must stress themselves on the full range of potential future scenarios. and inflationary scenarios have never been a really kind of stressful, evenin been a really kind of stressful, even in the recent publications, you can see that, you know, people were looking at 100 or 200 basis points increase in interest rates, and obviously something much more dramatic happened, much faster. nevertheless, at the end of 2021, institutions were supposed to stress themselves with 4%, 5% interest rates. i themselves with 496, 5% interest rates. , . themselves with 496, 596 interest

rates. , . . themselves with 496, 596 interest rates. , ., ., , ., ., rates. i understand what you are sa in: rates. i understand what you are saying but _ rates. i understand what you are saying but the — rates. i understand what you are saying but the reality _ rates. i understand what you are saying but the reality is - rates. i understand what you are saying but the reality is there . rates. i understand what you are | saying but the reality is there are people paid incredibly vast sums of money in leadership positions at these huge banks whosejob it is money in leadership positions at these huge banks whose job it is to foresee the kind of thing and avoid it and avoid the pain for ordinary people. do you think they have failed? , ~ , ., failed? yes. i think they have failed? yes. i think they have failed because _ failed? yes. i think they have failed because they _ failed? yes. i think they have failed because they were - failed? yes. i think they have . failed because they were chasing failed? yes. i think they have - failed because they were chasing net income without serious consideration for risk. the risk was analysed most likely taking some historical data, and you have to analyse unprecedented changes in market environments, potential shocks, their effects, and respectively changing behavioural patterns of

clients, consumers, depositors x cetera. so, definitely it wasn't viewed in the full range of scenarios consistently across multiple risk.— multiple risk. anna gil, chief executive — multiple risk. anna gil, chief executive of _ multiple risk. anna gil, chief executive of straterix, - multiple risk. anna gil, chief executive of straterix, thank| multiple risk. anna gil, chief - executive of straterix, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. now to the uk, where the national union of rail, maritime and transport workers has voted to accept a pay offer from network rail. the deal signals an end to a bitter row, which led to a series of strikes in recent months. effectively, part of the dispute has been settled, the part that involved network rail. members such as a maintenance work on our signal workers were given slightly revised

offer from workers were given slightly revised offerfrom network rail, the headline pay rise and an offer was the same as the last one, really, it was 5% last year, 4% this year, but what they have done is backdated this year's pay rise to last october, meaning more cash up front, 0ctober, meaning more cash up front, basically, and a bigger lump sum, effectively. in the rmt says that for the lowest paid members, this would mean an uplift on salaries of “p would mean an uplift on salaries of up to 14.4%. they were other benefits in there as well like discounted travel. it doesn't mean that all strikes are off because this was an offer to the network rail members and not to those who work for the actual train operating companies. 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. i'm joined now by ferhad alaaldin in baghdad,

who was a political advisor to iraqi presidents barham saleh and fuad masum from, and before that the regional kurdish authority. it is very good to have you with us. 20 years on some still see that invasion as having been a catastrophe for iraq and its people. what is your analysis of it? clearly, 20 years ago, a dictatorial regime was ousted and the iraqi people were freed. so, what came after that is something else that could be debated. however, the demise of the dictatorship and having a democracy by far is better for the iraqi people, and we can see it on an almost daily basis, that iraq is a much better under this new system of democracy and parliamentary system rather than a one—man dictatorship. so i would agree and i wouldn't share that point of view that you said. but.

agree and i wouldn't share that point of view that you said. but, do ou see point of view that you said. but, do you see where _ point of view that you said. but, do you see where some _ point of view that you said. but, do you see where some people - point of view that you said. but, do | you see where some people believe that strategic failures left a vacuum that ultimately led to the rise of the islamic state group and extremism that was filled by the anger about what many people felt the us and its allies had done to their country?— their country? well, islamist extremists — their country? well, islamist extremists existed _ their country? well, islamistj extremists existed pre-2003 their country? well, islamist - extremists existed pre-2003 anyway, extremists existed pre—2003 anyway, it started from afghanistan and worked its way throughout for many years or decades. the mistakes that were made in the aftermath of the collapse of the regime is not an excuse for that. however, the iraqis are much better now, they live better, they have much better standards, they are now part of the international community. before, they were a pariah state. no matter what mistakes are made, the iraqis are better now than they were under are better now than they were under a brutal dictator who killed, gassed, their own people. five days

ago was the anniversary of the chemical attack that killed 5000 people, that was by the same dictator who did that. so how we even think about living in that regime was better than living under the democracy we have now. in which case, do the democracy we have now. in which case. do you — the democracy we have now. in which case, do you think _ the democracy we have now. in which case, do you think the _ the democracy we have now. in which case, do you think the mistakes - the democracy we have now. in which | case, do you think the mistakes made by the coalition were down to a fundamental misunderstanding or lack of awareness about the sectarian divisions, the tribal powerplay that they were going into? i divisions, the tribal powerplay that they were going into?— they were going into? i believe there was _ they were going into? i believe there was lack— they were going into? i believe there was lack of _ they were going into? i believe there was lack of planning - they were going into? i believe there was lack of planning and | they were going into? i believe | there was lack of planning and a lack of understanding of the iraqi society, the iraqi system, the iraqi people, as well as overplaying the opposition hand, dismantling the iraq institutions. for example, the disastrous decision to disband the military. and having 1 million

soldiers into the wilderness, they had lost theirjobs overnight, and they became very easy picks for the extreme groups. these kind of blunders and mistakes were made for sure paved the way for bisson in the aftermath, so, yes, the preplanning was not well thought of. i don't think they had an idea of how to deal with post—saddam and how to make iraq stable and work in progress. turning deliberation into occupation was a mistake, they should have been an interim government, they should have been an interim rule rather than bringing a rule from abroad for a to preside over iraq, in occupation. these are things that have been dilated long, but there definitely were mistakes. —— has been debated long. but there definitely were mistakes. -- has been debated long.- -- has been debated long. ferhad alaaldin, thank _ -- has been debated long. ferhad alaaldin, thank you _ -- has been debated long. ferhad alaaldin, thank you for _ -- has been debated long. ferhad alaaldin, thank you forjoining - -- has been debated long. ferhad alaaldin, thank you forjoining us. | alaaldin, thank you forjoining us.

and thank you forjoining us as well, this is bbc news, more coming up well, this is bbc news, more coming up for you injust well, this is bbc news, more coming up for you in just a few minutes, don't go away. 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 0rkney 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 14 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. the headlines: a new report on global warming published by un scientists warns humanity is rapidly running out of time to secure a sustainable future for all. all at on deck. the chinese president, xijinping, meets vladimir putin in moscow — his first visit since russia's invasion of ukraine. the democratic unionist party will vote against the uk government's post—brexit trading plans in the uk parliament. the party leader says he wants "a re—working" of the windsor framework. european stock markets have experienced volatile trading, after switzerland's biggest bank, ubs, agreed a takeover

of its failing rival, credit suisse. you're watching bbc news. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly hamilton. hello, good afternoon. marcus rashford is one of three players to have withdrawn from englands' squad for the upcoming euro 2024 qualifiers against italy and ukraine. the 25 year old is having the best season of his career with 30 goals in all competitions so far, but has pulled out of gareth southgate's squad after picking up a knock yesterday during manchester united's 3—1 fa cup quarter final win against fulham. mason mount and nick pope will also miss the start of england's qualiying campaign. fraser forster has been added as goalkeeping cover.

speaking of that fa cup quarter final victory for united — and fulham striker alexander mitrovic should be banned for 10 matches — according to bbc 5 live pundit chris sutton. the serbian forward was sent off for pushing the referee during the defeat to manchester united at old trafford after chris kavanaugh awarded the home side a penalty. that was one of three sendings off in the match. willian and fulham boss marco silva were also shown the red card. the message needs to be strong and significant. the discipline process. minimum of a day ban and i think that's what we should be looking at, a significant ban that sends a message that this is acceptable. if people think they can behave like that towards people, what chances do

we have? being respected are being treated well. tottenham manager antonio conte remains in thejob desipte extraordinary comments following his team's 3—3 draw with southampton on saturday. the italian boss called his players "selfish" and criticised the club's hierarchy. but he's staying for now. this seems to be leading towards their unhappy ending as the manager at spurs. jeremy carrico said after that press conference spurs should just put an end to it now. he does have a contract there ends until this season, most fans don't expect him to be in charge at the end of this campaign. we'll see if they take action sooner than that. aaron ramsey says he is ready to lead wales' new generation and has urged them to "make their own history"

as they begin their quest to reach euro 2024. 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. there has been a long time since i last had it and lock this has changed in that time. i feel like i'm ready for it now, i've learned a lot over the years. i was 20 years old when i last had it so it's a very unusual experience at the time. one which i will be forever grateful for from gary but now i feel like i'm ready for this. it's a really proud moment for me and my family and hopefully it can be a very successful time for us.

and he very nearly quit golf altogether but this weekend he cruised to victory in the dp world tour. matt baldwin's 200th start in south africa resulted in a commanding seven shot win with a final round of 68. unbelievable really. it's still not sunk in, it's a busy bee goal of mine to actually achieve it is a dream come true. knowing that it has open the door to bigger and better events and knowing that i have proved to myself that i can do it. it's a bit of the surreal moment really. my brain is still spinning about it now.— really. my brain is still spinning about it now. there will be more news on about it now. there will be more news en that _ about it now. there will be more news on that on _ about it now. there will be more news on that on sports - about it now. there will be more news on that on sports day - about it now. there will be more news on that on sports day at. about it now. there will be more i news on that on sports day at 630. and that's all the sport for now.

now, all network rail union members have resolved their dispute, voting for a reasonable pay increase and accepting the need for a modern railway. not every rail workers given that chance because despite the rail delivery group, under half of the train operating companies putting a similarfair and putting a similar fair and reasonable putting a similarfair and reasonable offer on the table, the rmt refused to put it to a vote. refused to suspend last week's strike action to even consider it. such a lack of cooperation is disappointing. but as if it achieve? it denies them the pay rise they deserve and most importantly, delivers more disruption to the travelling public so my public to

the rmt is simple, call off your strikes, put the rdg offered to a vote. clearly by the vote today, the overwhelming vote in the rmt�*s own words, their members understand that it's time to accept a deal that works not only for their interest but for passengers too. i'd like now to turn to the steps we are taking to turn to the steps we are taking to help passengers and help solve theissues to help passengers and help solve the issues in the west coast main line. rest day working or overtime is a common time for operators to run at a normal timetable. last july, drivers for avante west coast simultaneously stopped volunteering to work overtime. without enough time, avante had leftjoints but you run fewer trains running from london to midlands and the north.

passengers, businesses and communities along a vital route rightly felt let down, facing cancelled services, overcrowded trains and poor customer information. it has big enough. while the removal of rest day working was a contributing factor, he repeated make clear to avante's owning groups that their performance needs to improve to you because we should always help train operators to account for matters within their control but that accountability should not come with a chance to put things right, that's why my predecessor extended avante's contract by six runs in october. she rightly set a clear expectation that performance had to improve. no ifs and no buts. i'm pleased to say that avanti's recovery plan was notjust

well come it has led to improvements on the network. weekday services rising from hundred 80 to 264 trains per day, the highest level in over two years. cancellation rates falling to an average of 4.2% in march, the lowest level in 12 months. nearly 90% avanti's arrive within 50 met their scheduled time. 0ver100 additional drivers have been recruited. it's very pleasing to see their new discounted ticketing scheme benefiting passengers on certain routes. you would expect me to say there is much more still to do to make sure avanti risk or services to the level we expect, to earn back the trust that pastors have lost. but we should welcome those improvements, recognising the hard work. my

honourable friend the rail minister has overseen weekly meetings on avanti for months and has kept honourable members from both sides of the house regularly informed. he deserves credit along with avanti for the turnaround. 0ctober�*s intention was not popular. it was the right decision and avanti is turning a corner. their recovery so far has given me sufficient confidence to confirm that today, we will extend its contract by a further six months, running until the 15th of october. the short—term contract comes with the expectation that they will continue to win back the confidence of passengers with a particular focus on more reliable weekend services, continued reductions in cancellations and improvements in passenger information during planned and unplanned disruptions. my department will continue to work closely with their smack to ensure reliability.

passengers have a right to expect. i realise some honourable members will also want to hear about trans— pennine experts. i will update the house separately about them. let me be clear, their current service levels are frankly unacceptable. we will hold tp on the recovery plan. we have made clear that less passengers will see cancellations, or update regarding that contract remain on the table. i was holding the mat talking earlier about holding them to account. we should also recognise that across the industry, train operating companies have few leaders to change it. avanti like others are reliable on

drivers goodwill. they are at the mercy of infrastructure issues out of their control. 0utdated working practices and tracked resilience are why predictable calls for nationalisation widely missed the point. any operator would face these constraints and struggle to run a reliable service. ideological paul debates are a distraction. 0nly fundamental reform will fix rails systemic issues which is what this government mat is delivering, bringing track and train together, taking a whole system approach to cost, revenue and efficiency and by freeing up a private sector to innovate and prioritise passengers and having set up my decision for rail last month, very soon, i will

announce the location of the headquarters of great british railways, another clear sign of the moment and we are building on reform. mr speaker, we are getting on with thejob reform. mr speaker, we are getting on with the job of delivering a better railway, that's why we are finally seeing improvements along the west coast main line as we continue to hold avanti to account. ed wo making progress in rail reform, it's why we will always defend the travelling public from unnecessary strike action and it's why we will always play our part in resolving disputes in a way that's to rail workers, though travelling public and the taxpayer. unlike others, i am public and the taxpayer. unlike others, iam not public and the taxpayer. unlike others, i am not interested in pointless ideological debates about privatisation and nationalisation. this government is focused on gripping the long—standing issues, facing the industry for the benefit of its customers and passengers. taking the tough responsible decisions in the national interest,

building the growing, financially the stable modern railway that britain deserves and i commend a statement to the house.— britain deserves and i commend a statement to the house. thank you very much- — statement to the house. thank you very much. what _ statement to the house. thank you very much. what a _ statement to the house. thank you very much. what a relief _ statement to the house. thank you very much. what a relief it - statement to the house. thank you very much. what a relief it is - statement to the house. thank you very much. what a relief it is to - very much. what a relief it is to see him — very much. what a relief it is to see him in— very much. what a relief it is to see him in his play since he announced huge changes in h s two affecting _ announced huge changes in h s two affecting billions of costs to the taxpayer. this is the first we've seen _ taxpayer. this is the first we've seen or— taxpayer. this is the first we've seen or heard of it. can i welcome the deal— seen or heard of it. can i welcome the deal on — seen or heard of it. can i welcome the deal on network rail festival, it is overdue. after ten months in which _ it is overdue. after ten months in which the — it is overdue. after ten months in which the government refused to negotiate and according to the chief executive _ negotiate and according to the chief executive network rail, engage in noisy. _ executive network rail, engage in noisy, political rhetoric that had been _ noisy, political rhetoric that had been counter—productive to negotiations finally, rice has been done _ negotiations finally, rice has been done. passengers across the midlands, north and scotland members on both— midlands, north and scotland members on both sides of this house will be

looking _ on both sides of this house will be looking on— on both sides of this house will be looking on in disbelief today. as miiiions— looking on in disbelief today. as millions more in taxpayer cash is being _ millions more in taxpayer cash is being handed to an operator that is so demonstrably failing passengers. for the _ so demonstrably failing passengers. for the secretary of state to stand at the _ for the secretary of state to stand at the dispatch box and hail a turnaround for the service demonstrates how staggeringly out of touch he _ demonstrates how staggeringly out of touch he is. with a lived reality of people _ touch he is. with a lived reality of peepie in— touch he is. with a lived reality of people in this country. the figures speak— people in this country. the figures speak for— people in this country. the figures speak for themselves. people in this country. the figures speakforthemselves. 0verthe people in this country. the figures speak for themselves. over the last six months. — speak for themselves. over the last six months, under the secretary of state's _ six months, under the secretary of state's intention improvement plan, avanti _ state's intention improvement plan, avanti have — state's intention improvement plan, avanti have actually broken several records _ avanti have actually broken several records. they have broken records for delays — records. they have broken records for delays and cancellations. the highest — for delays and cancellations. the highest known numbers of chains more than 15_ highest known numbers of chains more than 15 minutes late ever. the higher— than 15 minutes late ever. the higher single months of cancellation since records began. in one month, almost _ since records began. in one month, almost 25% — since records began. in one month, almost 25% of services were delayed. but higher— almost 25% of services were delayed. but higher then the case in august, that's— but higher then the case in august, that's higher than in the pandemic. under_ that's higher than in the pandemic. under the — that's higher than in the pandemic. under the secretary of state's so—called improvement plan, the number— so—called improvement plan, the number of— so—called improvement plan, the number of trains on time actually fell number of trains on time actually felt to— number of trains on time actually felt tejust — number of trains on time actually fell tojust one third. it is what

success— fell tojust one third. it is what success looks like the government, is it any— success looks like the government, is it any wonder that people question— is it any wonder that people question if anything in this country works— question if anything in this country works in_ question if anything in this country works in this country works any more? — works in this country works any more? why— works in this country works any more? why they look on in disbelief that the _ more? why they look on in disbelief that the answer to this prolonged failure _ that the answer to this prolonged failure is — that the answer to this prolonged failure is always millions more in taxpayers's cash. this matters because — taxpayers's cash. this matters because across the north, services remain— because across the north, services remain in— because across the north, services remain in chaos. 0n trans pennine express— remain in chaos. 0n trans pennine express alone today, over 35 services _ express alone today, over 35 services have been cancelled. that hasn't _ services have been cancelled. that hasn't been — services have been cancelled. that hasn't been an issue for months, but for years _ hasn't been an issue for months, but fervears six— hasn't been an issue for months, but for years. six years ago, trans pennine — for years. six years ago, trans pennine express had exactly the same issues _ pennine express had exactly the same issues in _ pennine express had exactly the same issues in places today, then as now, they blame — issues in places today, then as now, they blame to staff shortages. they said they— they blame to staff shortages. they said they would recruit drivers improve — said they would recruit drivers improve resilience. as now, the government shrug their shoulders and let them _ government shrug their shoulders and let them off the hook. the secretary of state _ let them off the hook. the secretary of state dismisses debates about the future _ of state dismisses debates about the future of— of state dismisses debates about the future of railway as pointless. their— future of railway as pointless. their answers to the enormous challenges facing the railways is always _ challenges facing the railways is always more of the status quo. the

conservatives promised a decision that will_ conservatives promised a decision that will help customers, just like today, _ that will help customers, just like today, contracts are recorded without— today, contracts are recorded without the faintest hint of competition while fares rise again and again— competition while fares rise again and again and passengers suffer. their_ and again and passengers suffer. their answer to all of this is more of the _ their answer to all of this is more of the same _ their answer to all of this is more of the same. the same failing operators _ of the same. the same failing operators. the same waste and fragmentation, the same broken since _ fragmentation, the same broken since. labourwill end fragmentation, the same broken since. labour will end their fractured _ since. labour will end their fractured system holding our railways _ fractured system holding our railways back and put passengers back at _ railways back and put passengers back at the heart of our rail network. _ back at the heart of our rail network, privatising long—term decision—making but the message today's— decision—making but the message today's decision sends, couldn't be ciearer~ _ today's decision sends, couldn't be clearer. underthe today's decision sends, couldn't be clearer. under the conservatives, our broken — clearer. under the conservatives, our broken railways ahead to stay. i wonder— our broken railways ahead to stay. i wonder the — our broken railways ahead to stay. i wonder the conservatives, passengers will always _ wonder the conservatives, passengers will always come last. mr wonder the conservatives, passengers will always come last.— will always come last. mr speaker, i think the honourable _ will always come last. mr speaker, i think the honourable lady _ will always come last. mr speaker, i think the honourable lady must - will always come last. mr speaker, i | think the honourable lady must have been listening to a can clearly

different statement. what she'd said bears very little relationship to either fact or the things that i said. let mejust take either fact or the things that i said. let me just take them either fact or the things that i said. let mejust take them in either fact or the things that i said. let me just take them in turn. i am very pleased that she welcomed the deal and the acceptance by rmt. i am pleased that he didn't say that she recognises the approach i've taken since i became transport secretary is the right one that has helped lead to the situation is wearing today. i didn't expect it to say, or pay any credit for for me to that. on avanti, she said the figures speakfor that. on avanti, she said the figures speak for themselves, weekday services have risen to 264 trains a day. the cancellation rate she talks about was last year, the most recent cancellation rate is down to 4.2% which is the lowest level in 12 months, which is quite a

clear improvement and i have said that needs to be a sustained and that's why they have only got an extension until october. 90% of their trains now arrive within 50% of their scheduled times. not good enough, in a pact with the other train operating companies, they are at the bottom of the pack. i've been very clear to them that they need to develop improvement within the next six months. the figures do speak for themselves. they are turning things around but they still have more to do, which is exactly what i said in my statement. as far as dpe are concerned. i'm interested in her focus on guarding taxpayer's money. she and her front bench colleagues on that side of the house have made

underfunded promises of 62 £62 billion of funding for rail spending with nojust honourable means billion of funding for rail spending with no just honourable means to pay for it. ifind her with no just honourable means to pay for it. i find her professed with no just honourable means to pay for it. ifind her professed concern for it. ifind her professed concern for the taxpayer to be a little in a credible. finally, iam for the taxpayer to be a little in a credible. finally, i am surprised that she does not seem to have noticed that far from talking about the status quo, i set out clearly last month, a very clear proposals for the reform about bringing track and train together in great british railways, set out in some detail which irritated the statement, that's what we're going to continue doing, not an ideological debate about who owns a railways but about delivering better services to passengers was up that will remain are relentless focus on the side of the house. are relentless focus on the side of the heuse-— are relentless focus on the side of

the house. ., ,, i. ,., _ the house. thank you. may i start by welcomin: the house. thank you. may i start by welcoming resolution _ the house. thank you. may i start by welcoming resolution of— the house. thank you. may i start by welcoming resolution of the - welcoming resolution of the industrial dispute.— welcoming resolution of the industrial dispute. lets leave the house of commons _ industrial dispute. lets leave the house of commons there. - industrial dispute. lets leave the house of commons there. that l industrial dispute. lets leave the - house of commons there. that update from the transport secretary mark harper updating mps on news that the union representing rmt union members workers at the network rail organisation, that the organisation that looks after the rail infrastructure, signal workers, engineers and so on, that it looks like they will accept a pay offer that has been put on the table. it brings to an end months now of a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. it is important to note that that is a deal between network rail and the rmt, the dispute between the petit companies and the union, that has not been resolved

and there are still sites due to take place next week. so we'll wait and see to see what happens on that front. almost 400 hotels across the uk are being used by the government to house tens—of—thousands of asylum seekers. seaside resorts, airports and even retirement villages are among the locations being used, as part of a home office scheme which is costing more than £6 million every day. welcome to the wiltshire — a hotel, golf course and retirement village set in rolling hills near royal wootton bassett, home to more than 100 mostly older residents. now also home to more than 80 asylum—seekers, who moved in in december. the leisure village residents pay to access the hotel's pool, gym and golf course, but have had to enter by the back door since the asylum—seekers moved in. down in the village, i found resident and former tv presenter christopher morris — now 84 years old and quietly fuming. we find it difficult now to access the facilities. we can't go in the front

door — it's locked. there are security men shooing us away. we have to go round the back. and the facilities are much more reduced, people don't bother to go there any more. the retired residents are unnerved by the arrival of lots of young men who mill around at night, but they're not the only ones who say the hotel is completely unsuitable for asylum—seekers. i found this 25—year—old from sudan heading to catch a bus to swindon. he's been in the hotel for three months, and says its isolated location means there's no way of learning about british society. there's nothing to do here. nothing. we stay the whole day at the room doing nothing. what do you do? nothing. nothing, actually. we started getting depressed. i've been talking with them to see some therapist. the home office has rented hundreds of hotels to house tens of thousands of asylum—seekers, but few can be as strangely located as this — wedged as it is between a retirement

village and a golf course. to provide beds for more than 51,000 asylum—seekers — and rising — the home office has booked out hotels in seaside resorts and cities, in villages and the countryside, at airports and on golf courses — anywhere they can find willing hotel owners. there are 395 hotels in all — 363 in england and 20 in northern ireland — but far fewer in the other two nations — ten in scotland and only two in wales. the leicestershire village of kegworth is one of the latest places to have the local hotel's business model changed overnight to housing asylum—seekers. yew tree lodge was the local wedding venue, swimming pool and gym — as well as bringing in business from the nearby east midlands airport. but that all changed last month. fredricka reynolds used to do all the flowers for the weddings, but in an instant, that key part of her business was snatched away.

they rang me on the thursday before the asylum—seekers came on the monday, and cancelled all my weddings for the foreseeable. that's a huge amount of work and income to me. and she told me it's notjust the loss of thousands of pounds. me and my boys used to go swimming every saturday there. i've got two little ones and every time we drive past there, they want to go swimming and, unfortunately, that's closed now. because of the small boats crossing the channel, the number of asylum—seekers in hotels has gone from 3,000 to 51,000 in just three years. it's the government policy that almost no—one is in favour of — not even the government — and it's costing the taxpayer £6 million a day. daniel sandford, bbc news, kegworth. now it's time for a look at the weather 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 0rkney 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 14 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... a new report on global warming published by un scientists warns humanity is rapidly running out of time to secure a sustainable future for all. today i am presenting a plan to supercharge efforts to achieve this climate solidarity pact through an all hands on deck acceleration agenda. former uk prime minister boris johnson has submitted evidence in his defence over whether he misled parliament over parties in downing street during covid. european stock markets have experienced volatile trading after switzerland's biggest bank, ubs, agreed a takeover of its failing rival, credit suisse. the chinese president xi jinping meets vladimir putin in moscow — his first visit since russia's invasion of ukraine.

the democratic unionist party will vote against the uk government's post—brexit trading plans in the uk parliament. the party leader says he wants "a re—working" of the windsor framework. rail workers in the uk have accepted a new offer from network rail for better pay, jobs and conditions. the deal includes wage rises of up to 14.4% for the lower paid staff. and 20 years since the us—led coalition invaded iraq to topple dictator saddam hussein, we look at the legacy. the un secretary general antonio guterres has hailed a major new report on climate change as a survival guide for humanity. climate scientists from intergovernmental panel on climate change said clean energy

and technology can be exploited to avoid the growing climate disaster. but they also warned a key global temperature goal will probably be missed. they say the world is expected to warm above 1.5 degrees centigrade by the early 20305. mr guterres has been speaking at the launch of the report and said everyone needs to work together quickly to achieve the climate change goals. humanity is on thin ice, and that ice is melting fast. as today's report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change ipcc details, humans are responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years. the rate of temperature rise in the last half—century is the highest in 2000 years. concentrations of carbon dioxide are at their highest in at least 2 million years. the climate time bomb is ticking.

dr friederike 0tto is senior lecturer in climate science at imperial college london and one of the authors of todays ipcc report. i don't think it is time to despair, i think what this report particularly shows, that other reports previously have not shown us, is that we do have all the knowledge and all the technology that we need to get to net zero, so we don't have to, we have no excuses any more to wait. we just have to implement them now. so despairing will not stop climate change, but acting will. if the technologies are there and all we need to do is use them, what's stopping us? what is stopping us is the political will and the sense of urgency. so, we do have the technology and the knowledge, and we also... fhere is also enough money in the world, but at the moment, there is also enough money

in the world, but at the moment, laws and governance frameworks are not implemented and designed in a way that allow us to implement this knowledge. and, at the moment, finance is still going very much in the wrong places, in most parts of the world. we still subsidise fossil fuels. i suppose the background to that at the moment is the issues facing energy supply, the war in ukraine, the sanctions against russia, and the price of energy being a real problem for many households and businesses, both in the uk and around the world, i suppose for governments, the concern is that if they don't invest in robust energy supplies, then potentially the economic pain becomes even greater for people. it is not the case that we don't have clean technologies that are not robust. it is a narrative that is quite persistent but it is not true, and the report shows this very clearly, that green energy and clean energy is able to sustainably provide energy and change the course of climate change.

but, of course, we need to implement those technologies and the governance frameworks to go with it. it's not happening byjust doing nothing. the former uk prime minister boris johnson has submitted evidence in his defence over whether he misled parliament about parties held in downing street. he has now handed his report to the privileges committee — ahead of a hearing on wednesday where he will faces questions from mps. thejohnson administration brought in laws during covid banning gatherings but mrjohnson was fined for attending drinks parties. misleading parliament is seen by other mps in the uk as a serious breach of parliamentary rules. boris johnson's appearance

on wednesday will be televised. earlier, i spoke to our political correspondent iain watson about when we'll find out what evidence borisjohnson has submitted as part of his defence. we'll find out between now and wednesday when he is going to be in front of this privileges committee. it's a committee of senior mps chaired by a member of the labour opposition but it has a conservative majority, so a majority of the mps come from borisjohnson's own party. they are likely to grill him, we believe, for up to four hours on wednesday. now, he wants his evidence, this dossier, to be published as soon as possible, but if it is, as reports have suggested, 50 to 60 pages long, it is likely that members of that committee will want to go through that document first before they make it available to the wider public. but in a sense they have got their retaliation in first in this document which came out at the beginning of this month. and this document sets out

effectively the questions that borisjohnson has to answer. now, they say there are various occasions in which he may have misled parliament, in other words, lied to parliament, and the issue for them isn't so much did he mislead parliament but what was the intention behind it? was it inadvertent? did he know what he was doing? if he did, then subsequently found out he'd made a mistake, did he correct it quickly enough? or was he reckless, or did he deliberately mislead parliament? that is something which is seen as more serious and which might lead to a suspension from parliament, which in turn could perhaps trigger a by—election. so there is a lot ofjeopardy here for borisjohnson and that is why i think he has gone to a great deal of trouble to assemble this dossier of his own to try and refute the suggestion that he may have at least recklessly misled parliament or deliberately misled parliament. from his point of view, although it may be 50 pages long, the argument is quite straightforward, that

if parliament was at all misled, he was simply acting on the advice of his officials, he was not responsible for suggesting, for example, that rules had been followed when in fact they had been breached and, in addition to that, he didn't knowingly mislead parliament. what his legal team has concentrated is a lot of precedent from various cases over the years of parliament, and what they are effectively saying is it is not enough simply to mislead parliament, that shouldn't lead to a punishment in itself, you have to knowingly mislead parliament, which is something which is difficult to prove, and i think that is why the committee has also perhaps introduced this idea of recklessness — did he check the facts? should he have been aware of the facts? and, again, in this document, they say he should have been aware of breaches of guidance because he was present at some of the gatherings that shouldn't have been allowed under the covid rules. 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. and us markets have opened largely flat. credit suisse was bought by rival swiss bank ubs in a deal brokered by the swiss government over the weekend. theo leggett reports. grim—faced and determined, top officials from switzerland's central bank arriving for weekend talks that led to the shotgun wedding of the country's two biggest banks. at a hurried press conference it was announced that credit suisse was to be acquired by its bitter rival, ubs, the latest victim of a sudden crisis of confidence in the banking sector. the bankruptcy of a global systematically important bank would have caused irreparable economic turmoil in switzerland and throughout the world. for this reason, switzerland had to take the responsibilities beyond its own borders.

credit suisse has been battered by scandals and it's been losing billions of pounds a year, but even so it was not expected to get into so much trouble so quickly. and that's the problem the banking sector is now facing, a loss of confidence, because if people aren't confident their money is safe in a bank, they will go and withdraw it, and that can rapidly create serious concerns. the demise of credit suisse was triggered by the collapse last week of two american lenders which sent shivers through the industry. now the bank of england and five other central banks have taken coordinated action to ensure banks have access to a steady supply of cash. but concerns that other lenders could get into trouble and create a 2008—style banking crisis haven't gone away. this should not be 2008. 2008 was a common problem through the banking system, bad assets that virtually everybody owned. this started out as isolated problems. the policy response is turning it into something more systematic.

so should banking customers here be worried? analysts say for most people there is no cause for concern just yet. if you've got savings in an account with a bank that has got a banking licence, up to £85,000 per account is guaranteed by the financial services compensation scheme, and forjoint accounts up to 170,000. 11,000 people work at credit suisse and ubs here in the uk, and amid all the turmoil, theirfuture is very much up in the air. theo leggett, bbc news. the purchase of credit suisse by ubs has been welcomed by european central bank chief, christine lagarde i welcome the swift action and the decisions taken by the swiss authorities. these actions are instrumental for restoring orderly market conditions and ensuring financial stability. let me also remind that we are monitoring market developments closely and stand ready to respond as necessary to preserve price

stability and financial stability in the euro area. the euro area banking sector is resilient, with strong capital and liquidity positions. in any event, the ecb's policy tool kit is fully equipped to provide liquidity support to the euro area financial system, if needed, and to preserve the smooth transmission of monetary policy. the chinese president, xijinping, has been holding talks with the russian president vladimir putin in moscow during his first visit since russia's invasion of ukraine last year. the visit is a clear sign of support for russia — and its president vladimir putin — at a time when the kremlin is under intense pressure from the west to stop the war. president xi's visit comesjust days after the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for the russian leader

for alleged war crimes. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg is in moscow following events. when xi jinping arrived, you could tell the russians were pleased to see him. full military honours for one of the world's most powerful leaders. but this was pomp with a purpose. russia knows it needs china more than ever. putin and xi have met many times before, but never before has russia's president being under such pressure. his war in ukraine has not been going to plan, and last week in the hague, the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for vladimir putin for alleged war crimes. xi's visit is a show of support. the two leaders have been building what they call a no—limits partnership. it's not an equal one, though. russia, under heavy international sanctions, is increasingly dependent

on china as a market for its goods and raw materials. as for no limits, well, there have been some. up till now, beijing has been reluctant to provide russia with lethal aid for the ukraine war, to avoid secondary sanctions against chinese companies. still, china is thought to be supplying dual—use technology, like semiconductor chips, vitally important to the russian military. ahead of the summit, president putin went travelling himself, paying his first visit to territory occupied by russia in its full—scale invasion of ukraine. he toured mariupol, a city that had been heavily damaged by russian shelling. his presence sent a clear message to ukraine and to the west — this kremlin leader is not about to compromise. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

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. mina is a member of the bbc�*sjihadist monitoring team. in 2003, she was living with herfamily in baghdad. those memories must be seared in your mind ever since that day. what do you recall of the day that invasion began? do you recall of the day that invasion bean? ~ , invasion began? absolutely, it was reall like invasion began? absolutely, it was really like yesterday. _ invasion began? absolutely, it was really like yesterday. it _ invasion began? absolutely, it was really like yesterday. it was - invasion began? absolutely, it was really like yesterday. it was very i really like yesterday. it was very scary. we didn't have our passports, we can let the country, so we felt stuck. we had experienced several

walls, 1981 gulf war, the iran iraq war, there were uss truxton the country, so it is not that we were new to conflict but this one seems very different and that is why it was scary, because the declared us goal was to remove about party regime, and we thought they would fight to the end and we were worried about what would happen, getting caught in the middle, and we were worried that the saddam regime would use all the weapons that it's disposable, including chemical weapons that could not be controlled, so there was not a lot of fare around that. find controlled, so there was not a lot of fare around that.— controlled, so there was not a lot of fare around that. and there are a lot of of fare around that. and there are a let ef peeple _ of fare around that. and there are a let ef peeple in _ of fare around that. and there are a lot of people in iraq _ of fare around that. and there are a lot of people in iraq that _ of fare around that. and there are a lot of people in iraq that would - lot of people in iraq that would have been glad to see that i'm removed from power. —— would have been glad to see saddam hussein removed from power. where people hopeful about what this might achieve or were they more concerned and worried about how the days and weeks and months following would unfold? this

weeks and months following would unfold? �* , ,, weeks and months following would unfold? a , ., unfold? as you said, people had mixed feelings, _ unfold? as you said, people had mixed feelings, mixed _ unfold? as you said, people had mixed feelings, mixed views - unfold? as you said, people had| mixed feelings, mixed views and stances, depending on whether you had any affiliations with a government or the bhat party regime, if you would lose power as a result of their removal. even within the same family. even within our extended family, because we'll huddle together in my grandparents house, people are different views. and the problem at the time was we only got state media so we were only listening to what the government was telling us, and there was a big contrast, of course, just maybe even hours or days before the us tanks rolled down our streets, the government was telling us that we are winning, a defiant tone, we are thwarting the advance, so it was a big shock when the americans arrived in baghdad. but of course there was a lot of fear but there was also hope. like i said, different people, there was excitement and apprehension. it was mostly also fear of the unknown, what is going

to happen? but i generally remember, in hindsight, there was this period of watch and wait, people were watching and waiting to see what would happen, and ifeel that was a window where there was a bit more kind of hope and optimism, something that could have come out within that period, but of course lots of things happened and the country was actually plunged into violence and chaos after that.— actually plunged into violence and chaos after that. your 'ob now is as art of chaos after that. your 'ob now is as part of the — chaos after that. your 'ob now is as part of the such chaos after that. yourjob now is as part of the bbc monitoring - chaos after that. yourjob now is as part of the bbc monitoring team i chaos after that. yourjob now is as i part of the bbc monitoring team that monitorsjihadist part of the bbc monitoring team that monitors jihadist activity. part of the bbc monitoring team that monitorsjihadist activity. iran, monitors jihadist activity. iran, with monitorsjihadist activity. iran, with a power vacuum that was left behind, we sup —— iraq, we saw the rise of the islamic state group, i suppose because of the anger people felt, to what extent do you think that those two are connected? i mean, absolutely, there was a vacuum, there was that window, there was a vacuum, and then an insurgency

started, more nationalist in identity, bhat party remnants, but then that she had it very quickly hijacked that and turned it into more of a holy war against the americans, and then all of a sudden, iraq became a magnet forjihadists from all over the world. the presence of us troops is a magnet anyway forjihadists. so, at the time, the borders were porous and jihad started coming in. for me, i remember it was very different because despite living under a detector ship, because despite living under a detectorship, it because despite living under a detector ship, it was a relatively secular government and system because saddam hussein was terrified of any kind of opposition, any islamist parties where movements were banned in the country, so it was very strange for us to see the rise of the jihadists. and, was very strange for us to see the rise of thejihadists. and, of course, that of course started the tit—for—tat sectarian attacks and until this day, of course, the government currently has managed to

push i or the remnants of is to remote areas in iraq but they are still active and present. bind remote areas in iraq but they are still active and present. and what are our, still active and present. and what are yeur. 20 _ still active and present. and what are your, 20 years _ still active and present. and what are your, 20 years from - still active and present. and what are your, 20 years from the - are your, 20 years from the invasion, what are your realistic hopes for the future for iraq? i think the main thing, the only hope, really, is for good governance. we have moved away a bit from the sectarian tensions from the presence of the jihadists, and sectarian tensions from the presence of thejihadists, and i think it is really about good governance because people want to move forward, that is the only way to move forward. people are just hoping that a stop to political corruption and that is the only way to move forward, really. thank you very much, i appreciate it was a personal matter for you to discuss with that clash with us.

thank you. members of the french parliament are beginning a debate about controversial pension reforms, before voting on two motions of confidence in the government. there have been violent protests in paris and other cities after a rise in the pension age was forced through parliament last week without a vote. president macron's party is in a minority in the national assembly, meaning it is possible that he could lose a vote. let's get more on this from our paris correspondent, hugh schoefied. we'll present�*s macron's government survive this? we'll present's macron's government survive this?— survive this? probably. he has a minority government, _ survive this? probably. he has a minority government, in - survive this? probably. he has a minority government, in other. survive this? probably. he has a - minority government, in other words, his party does not command the house, it relies on those mainly from the small conservative party, the 60 or so mps, the republicans, they are called. they were the hinge in the vote last week or what would

have been about last week on the pensions issue. and it was because president macron could see that a good many of them were not going to vote for the reform that he decided to not hold a vote to institute this or invoke this part of the constitution, that is leading noun to the sense of motions. it is a long way to not voting for a reform last week to voting to bring down the government this week. so it is most unlikely that more than a few of the 60 or so republican mps will vote to bring down the government. everyone is saying here that the government is safe. but there is always a small risk that things will go wrong. what is noticeable in the house as the debate gets under way now is that, you know, you would think that the supporters of the government would be out in force, you know, massing their ranks in the seats of the national assembly to show that they support the prime

minister and this reform, but they are not there. that is very noticeable. their benches are very sparsely attended. where the far right, the far left, the conservatives, they are all there to rally round this idea of bringing down the government. a party that is because in this strange vote system, you know, it is only votes against, only votes for the motion that counts. so, the pro—macron mps don't have to vote at all, but still they could have showed up to show their support, and that shows they know this is a very unpopular measure thatis this is a very unpopular measure that is being discussed. unpopular it ma be that is being discussed. unpopular it may be that _ that is being discussed. unpopular it may be that the _ that is being discussed. unpopular it may be that the president - that is being discussed. unpopular it may be that the president has i it may be that the president has said that the current pensions system is unaffordable, so those who disagree with him on these reforms, what are they proposing instead? it is a very good question and a full set is the strength of his position, that there is no unity in the

opposition to him. apart from anything else, you have the far right and the far left. 0ddly, they come quite close together and some of their prescriptions on pensions, they both agree, many on the left agree that with the front national, with the far—right party, that the agent state pension could come down to 60 not go up. but the republicans, who are the conservatives, who are pro—business, some would say they are cynically using this crisis in order to differentiate themselves from the government even though basically they support the idea of pushing up they support the idea of pushing up the pension age, what the opposition is saying is that this is an unfair reform and it is an unnecessary reform, that, yes, we can build that changes down the line to the pension system, there may be problems there, but basically it wasn't that bust you needed to fix it in this very divisive way, to which some of the government can pull say, well, yes, you always say that and whenever we

try to fix anything which comes with a cost to people which is a necessary cost, perhaps, it is always voted down, and this isjust another emblem of the and reform of all nature of france, which is i think a conclusion many people are coming to. think a conclusion many people are comin: to. . ~ think a conclusion many people are comin: to. ., ~ i. let's remind you of our top story, the un secretary—general antonio guterres has described a major new report on climate change as a survival guide for humanity. this is after climate scientists from the un from the internet —— said that clean energy and technology could be used to avoid the growing climate disaster, but they also issued a warning that a key global temperature goal will probably be missed, they said that while is now expected to warm above 1.5 celsius by the early 20 30s. you can meet —— read more on that report and the reaction to it on our website, and

also if you have the bbc news app, it is on their as well. see you in just a few minutes' time. 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 0rkney 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 14 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. a new report on global warming published by un scientists warns humanity is rapidly running out of time to secure a sustainable future for all. european stock markets have experienced volatile trading, after switzerland's biggest bank, ubs, agreed a takeover of its failing rival, credit suisse. former uk prime minister boris johnson has submitted evidence in his defence over whether he misled parliament over parties in downing street during covid. the chinese president, xijinping, meets vladimir putin in moscow — his first visit since russia's invasion of ukraine.

the democratic unionist party will vote against the government's brexit plans in a vote in parliament on wednesday. known as the windsor framework, the plans sought to resolve post brexit trading issues caused by the northern ireland protocol, which was criticised by unionists for effectively creating a border betwen northern ireland and the rest of the uk. the dup are refusing to share power with sinn fein until issues around post brexit trading agreements are sorted. as such, there is no functioning government in northern ireland. earlier our ireland correspondent chris page gave us this update. the dup says that the foundations of

power—sharing have been badly damaged by what is a border between northern ireland and the rest of the uk as a result of the brexit arrangements. so what rishi sunak and the eu had hoped would happen would be the deal they reached earlier this month were to deal with a dup's concerns, smooth trading arrangements. and allow a power—sharing coalition of the regional assembly here in belfast to be formed. so it is important to note that although dup has said that they will vote against the government's on wednesday on one specific aspect of that agreement between the uk and the eu known as the windsor framework. the dup also not rejecting the deal outright at this stage. it basically been maintaining the position that it has come to over the last few weeks as it's been looking at the windsor framework. basically the dup says it wants, it has seven tests, it will look at the legal detail and the

context to decide whether the trade border has been lifted and in their view, northern ireland's place in the uk has been restored. but when it comes to the framework, it is a completed document. the dup has set “p completed document. the dup has set up a panel shared by a former party leader to consult with businesses and other groups here in northern ireland to see what they think of the windsor framework. so it's quite a long process but certainly going against the government in wednesday. it's hoping to put more pressure on the government to see what further concessions and the clarifications what they can get as the process of legislation for the windsor framework move forward. downing street has responded _ framework move forward. downing

street has responded by _ framework move forward. downing street has responded by defending | street has responded by defending that windsor framework. the prime minister's official spokesperson saying we continue to believe this is the best deal for the people and businesses of northern ireland. it says there will be a range of views from parties and it also said ministers are still willing to answer questions, this is uk government ministers will be willing to answer any questions at the democratic unionist party had. the prime minister spokesperson stressed that the stormont break, divides meant that members of the assembly in northern ireland could suspend eu rules and uk government, meaning rules and uk government, meaning rules could be permanently supplied. just summing up the prime minister's spokesperson said that rishi sunak remains confident that the windsor framework plan will be backed by the house of commons and that there are no plans for any substantial changes

to the deal. that response just reaching us from the uk government mac. now to the uk, where the national union of rail, maritime and transport workers has voted to accept a pay offer from network rail. the deal signals an end to a bitter row, which led to a series of strikes in recent months. earlier the transport secretary mark harper gave us his reaction to the outcome of this dispute. i'm pleased that our network rail we have now solved the distribute across. ' :: , have now solved the distribute across. ' i: , ., have now solved the distribute across. ' :: f ., ~ have now solved the distribute across. ' i: , ., ~ ., across. 9096 turnout, 7696 voting in favour of across. 9096 turnout, 7696 voting in faveur ef what _ across. 9096 turnout, 7696 voting in favour of what was _ across. 9096 turnout, 7696 voting in favour of what was a _ across. 9096 turnout, 7696 voting in favour of what was a reasonable . favour of what was a reasonable offer. ii favour of what was a reasonable offer. ., , , , ., offer. if the whole dispute is going to be offer. if the whole dispute is going te be selved. _ offer. if the whole dispute is going to be solved, surely _ offer. if the whole dispute is going to be solved, surely going - offer. if the whole dispute is going to be solved, surely going to - offer. if the whole dispute is going to be solved, surely going to put l to be solved, surely going to put more money on the table? idistill to be solved, surely going to put more money on the table? will be ve clear more money on the table? will be very clear that _ more money on the table? will be very clear that this _ more money on the table? will be very clear that this deal _ more money on the table? will be very clear that this deal consist. more money on the table? will be very clear that this deal consist of| very clear that this deal consist of two parts, it consisted of reform to

the way that a network rail operates. that has been accepted and it's going to go ahead and a fair, reasonable... it has been accepted because this deal has been accepted. that's reform is going to take place and i'm very pleased that at the same time, that's reform is going to take place, network rail staff are going to get a fair and reasonable pay offer and that's the right thing to do. we also heard from rmt secretary general mick lynch. the payoff is still way below inflation, do you think that is something the member shall accept? is not as far as we would have wanted to go. we've taken a lot of action, our members have shown their commitment to the cause. we have taken some of the worst aspects off the table. when not saying it's a

great payoff, we think it's very modest, that's the best we can say about it. , , ., modest, that's the best we can say aboutit. , , ., , ,, , about it. does this mean the strikes failed then? — about it. does this mean the strikes failed then? no, _ about it. does this mean the strikes failed then? no, they've _ about it. does this mean the strikes failed then? no, they've upped - about it. does this mean the strikes failed then? no, they've upped it i about it. does this mean the strikes failed then? no, they've upped it to 596. with failed then? no, they've upped it to 5%- with an — failed then? no, they've upped it to 596. with an underpinning _ failed then? no, they've upped it to 596. with an underpinning for - failed then? no, they've upped it to 596. with an underpinning for a - 5%. with an underpinning for a lowest paid members, it makes it quite valuable for those people under £35,000. we're not pretending that this is overwhelming victory. it's a deal that has come at the end of the very long dispute that the members have shown a commitment to. we are not celebrating the outcome but would you do expect our members verdict that they have said this is enough and we will get on with engaging with the company on what's coming to us in the next year or so. at least one person has been shot amid protests in kenya's capital nairobi. the nationwide demonstrations have been planned by opposition leader raila 0dinga over his claim —

without evidence — that the last election was stolen. he also accuses the government of failing to address the high cost of living. almost 400 hotels across the uk are being used by the government to house tens of thousands of asylum seekers. seaside resorts, airports and even retirement villages are among the locations being used, as part of a home office scheme which is costing more than £6 million every day. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has more. welcome to the wiltshire — a hotel, golf course and retirement village set in rolling hills near royal wootton bassett, home to more than 100 mostly older residents. now also home to more than 80 asylum—seekers, who moved in in december. the leisure village residents pay to access the hotel's pool, gym and golf course, but have had to enter by the back door since the asylum—seekers moved in. down in the village, i found resident and former tv presenter christopher morris — now 84 years old and quietly fuming. we find it difficult now to access the facilities.

we can't go in the front door — it's locked. there are security men shooing us away. we have to go round the back. and the facilities are much more reduced, people don't bother to go there any more. the retired residents are unnerved by the arrival of lots of young men who mill around at night, but they're not the only ones who say the hotel is completely unsuitable for asylum—seekers. i found this 25—year—old from sudan heading to catch a bus to swindon. he's been in the hotel for three months, and says its isolated location means there's no way of learning about british society. there's nothing to do here. nothing. we stay the whole day at the room doing nothing. what do you do? nothing. nothing, actually. we started getting depressed. i've been talking with them to see some therapist. the home office has rented hundreds of hotels to house tens of thousands of asylum—seekers, but few can be as strangely located as this — wedged

as it is between a retirement village and a golf course. to provide beds for more than 51,000 asylum—seekers — and rising — the home office has booked out hotels in seaside resorts and cities, in villages and the countryside, at airports and on golf courses — anywhere they can find willing hotel owners. there are 395 hotels in all — 363 in england and 20 in northern ireland — but far fewer in the other two nations — ten in scotland and only two in wales. the leicestershire village of kegworth is one of the latest places to have the local hotel's business model changed overnight to housing asylum—seekers. yew tree lodge was the local wedding venue, swimming pool and gym — as well as bringing in business from the nearby east midlands airport. but that all changed last month. fredricka reynolds used to do all the flowers for the weddings, but in an instant, that key part

of her business was snatched away. they rang me on the thursday before the asylum—seekers came on the monday, and cancelled all my weddings for the foreseeable. that's a huge amount of work and income to me. and she told me it's notjust the loss of thousands of pounds. me and my boys used to go swimming every saturday there. i've got two little ones and every time we drive past there, they want to go swimming and, unfortunately, that's closed now. because of the small boats crossing the channel, the number of asylum—seekers in hotels has gone from 3,000 to 51,000 in just three years. it's the government policy that almost no—one is in favour of — not even the government — and it's costing the taxpayer £6 million a day. daniel sandford, bbc news, kegworth.

to celebrate the coronation of king charles, hundreds of charities are offering people the chance to volunteer during the bank holiday weekend in may. 0ur royal correspondent, sarah campbell, has been to visit one of them — and has more on what's being called the �*the big help 0ut�*. across the uk, there is an army of volunteers, giving up theirtime and sharing their talents and expertise to the benefit of all. i'mjane. i've been involved in scouting for 23 years now. it's the satisfaction element, i think, of seeing them enjoy themselves and being part of it. it's like being one part of a big family really. my name is ian. i've been volunteering at london zoo for nearly seven years. my background, i was a public sector accountant, so something completely different to what i'm doing here. and it's just wonderful to get such new experiences, meet many new people, make many hundreds of new friends.

i'm priti, and i volunteer- for the royal voluntary service. i've been volunteering _ because i love being around people. it gives me a sense _ of belonging to the community and it makes me happy. at the last count, there were 7 million people in england alone, who volunteered at least once a month. sounds a lot, but that's about a third down on pre—pandemic levels. and it's at a time when the most vulnerable really need the support volunteers so generously give. this charity, little village, provides free toys, clothes and baby equipment. we're expecting to support 2,000 more children this year than we did last year. and, for us to be able to do that, we need to have volunteers on sites to be able to help. so come and help. and that's the idea behind the big help 0ut — a national day of volunteering planned as part of the coronation weekend in may. download the app — the big help 0ut app. find those opportunities, find out what your passion is and how you can make a difference to your community and then

select the opportunity that's right for you. and although it's about may 8th initially, what you really want is people to discover it, love it, carry on volunteering. that's right. it's more than one day. take care, honey. there will be thousands of charities and organisations looking for new helpers. lots of sex in the city again. 0h, excellent. people like husband and wife team carol and andy, who spend a few hours a week in their local age uk shop. it's good fun. then we have a laugh and a giggle about the things that have gone in the shop today. we enjoy it. we like each other's company and that's good fun for us. keeps us young. this is suzanne. she spends her evenings rescuing wildlife as an rspca volunteer. my normal dayjob, it's very much sat down. it's very much behind a desk. so it's something that's that real hands on helping animals. and they're really rewarding for seeing the difference that you're making. it is a simple message — get involved over the coronation weekend however you can and find out

where your help might be needed using the new app. more than a hundred metropolitan officers are being they are expecting release and what is expected to be a highly critical report by baroness casey on culture within the met. the report prompted by the murder of severo everard. walkers on a beach in hampshire have made an exciting discovery — the body of what's been descibed as an "exceptionally rare" kind of shark, believed to have been a smalltooth sand tiger. but the tv historian dan snow —

who was there — says that before the body could be recovered by biologists for further study, �*trophy hunters' removed its head and tail. he's now appealing for those body parts returned in the interests of science, as briony leyland reports. it's a shark, so be careful! an unexpected visitor to the south coast in trouble, when a shark was spotted thrashing about in the shallows at lepe beach, locals went to help. the rescue mission seemed to have been a success. yes, yes! but yesterday, the shark believed to be a smalltooth sand tiger, rarely seen in uk waters, was found washed up. historian and local resident, dan snow, tweeted about the discovery and scientists urged him to salvage the shark, but he and a team of volunteers were too late. the head, fin and tail had been cut off.

we are desperate to get hold of that head because there's things like isotopic analysis, you can see where it's been, what it's eaten. if you have its brain, you can tell a lot from its brain. so we would love to get hold of it. there's nojudgment, but if we could have it back, just to do some science on it and then the person can have it back again, they can keep it. scientists want to know more about why the shark, which by the way, wouldn't present a threat to people, was in the solent at all. if this is or was a smalltooth sand tiger, then they are often found in more in the atlantic, more around the bay of biscay and as we see changes in climate change, ocean currents, we are seeing changes in distribution of species around the world, but also around our british waters as well. the hope is the head may yet be returned, so the full story of the shark and why it came to the solent can be told. briony leyland, bbc news.

asi as i sat here about 24 hours ago, there was a huge amount of uncertainty would be done to rescue the giant credit suisse. it turns out that a deal was done. it was ubs to the rescue! it's been a day of volatility on the global markets following that unprecedented, historic banking deal — the emergency takeover of the failing bank credit suisse, by its larger swiss rival, ubs. there were sharp losses in early trading in asia and europe, although banking stocks have since rebounded. ubs is currently up around 2% — let's take a look now at how the markets are performing now. in the us, a picture of positivity

across the board. in asia and in europe, there was some initial fright taken by investors — particularly because certain bondholders in credit suisse have lost all the value of their investment — but by the middle of the trading day most european indices were trading positively again. you can see they're a pretty strong rebound there by the major indices. now one aspect of the deal was that any investor holding additional tier1 bonds, or at1 bonds, in credit suisse will get nothing. that's more than 15 billion euros written off. it spooked the whole at1 bond market which is worth more than 200 billion euros. dan kemp, global is the chief investment officer at morningstar investment management. i asked him why the burning of these bondholders is so controversial. that is the key question,

that is what has been driving all of this price force volatility that we've seen over the last few hours. in the back of what is very good news. these at1, as you said, are bonds that are low in the structure that they rank, just under equities. the equity holders would not be behind these bonds which would mean that if these bonds got wiped out, equity holders wouldn't get anything. but in this situation, the difference is that equity holders are walking away from this deal with some ubs stock but the at1 holders don't get anything. now these bonds were deliberately established post global crisis to be loss absorbing, so tha they the fact that they are high risk should not surprise anyone, it was just that order at which the loss has been taken that have surprised people and left some concerned with the banking market. many aspects of this turmoil have brought back memories of the 2008 banking crisis, prompting questions about banking regulations allowed for such a situation to unfold again. speaking earlier to the bbc,

the chief economist at allianz, well, all eyes will be on how the federal reserve responds to the banking crisis in two days' time when it makes its latest interest rate decision. let's speak now to our north america business correspondent michelle fleury who's in new york. any indication whether these latest of elements are going to influence how the fed accented a time? mas of elements are going to influence how the fed accented a time? was a difference a — how the fed accented a time? was a difference a week— how the fed accented a time? was a difference a week mac _ how the fed accented a time? was a difference a week mac makes. - how the fed accented a time? was a difference a week mac makes. if - how the fed accented a time? was a difference a week mac makes. if you j difference a week mac makes. if you had asked that question a week ago, i would have said that there would have been talk that the federal reserve may raise interest rates. now the question is whether they will hit the pause button altogether and that's because america's central

bank currently has two challenges on its hands. it's time to fight inflation but now it's got the other issue of stability in the financial sector, restoring some degree of calm. we have seen the actions it's taken over the last few days, whether it is increasing the availability of us dollars to other central banks across the world or last week, when it set up this emergency lending funds to banks. all of these actions have been set “p all of these actions have been set up now the question is why monetary policy also reflect some of this more measures it has been taken or will it stick to their guns and focus on fighting inflation? sri lanka's foreign minister has told the bbc expects the island nation to return to economic growth by next year. the international monetary fund decides today on a $2.9 billion dollar bailout loan for the country, after nearly a year of negotiations between the imf, sri lanka, and its creditors. in a bbc exclusive, ali sabry confirmed the government

will privatize sri lankan airlines, as part of efforts to raise billions of dollars by selling all or part of 10 state—owned companies. he told archana shukla why negotiations with china, ali sabry, sri lanka's biggest sovereign lender, took so long. they have lent a lot of money over a period of time. they have the perspective of saying that they in principle and at against the discussion on that part but what they're saying is for everybody else should also take part. that means including the banks. that difference in opinion is how they should be restricted. do you believe now that now there is china has come forward with this sort of reassurance, they are open

to writing off some of the law is that sri lanka owes two chinese banks? we are setting within our minds that all the bilateral creditors will be treated equally. there will not be referential treatment of any country. we are encouraged by the fact that they said that immediately, they are not pushing for a payment but in the interim they are willing to sit and to negotiate and discuss. we have the will to pay but we don't have the capacity. so what we are now trying to do is get that capacity back so that's going to be a very difficult and serious discussion. are we asking too much from the sri lankans? we have lived beyond our means so therefore, whether we like it or not, these difficult measures which may be very unpopular, need to be taken. last year, sri lanka was one of the lowest revenue collecting in terms of gdp, just 8.3%. a difficult communication task, i understand that but luckily,

most of them, other than politically motivated unions and trade unions have understood that and i know they are not happy but they also understand we have no choice. amazon plans to cut another 9000 jobs as it seeks to save costs. the cost will fall in cow competing and advertising. they didn't specify which countries the bid be affected. 18,000 jobs have really been cut in january. farmers across india have now gathered for more demonstrations across delhi. their demanding government ski promises they made more than year ago. they say the indian government has not acted on its written assurances, they want a law giving minimum support for

crops. that's your business news here. hello, today is the spring equinox. the spring daffodils are set to get quite a watering this week because of an active jet stream. the wins high up in the atmosphere. bone straight across the land in our direction, feeding bouts of heavy rain our way. the rain is particularly piling across the uk. .we are . we are likely to see over hundred millimetres of rain. there is a main and focus. some further wet weather

drifting in from the west and some odd shower dance towards the south and is quite large amounts of cloud is very mild. elsewhere, around 12 to 15 degrees. for this evening, we will see further outbreaks of rain, a band of heavy rain pretty eastwards. perhaps a few more clear spells pushing elsewhere it then the night and it's going to be very mild. entry tomorrow, we will see some outbreak of heavy rain dripping northward across 0rkney and shetland. elsewhere, some spells of sunshine but some showers as well. so there which will be heavy and possibly thundery and later in the day, thick cloud and more persistent rain getting back into northern ireland. it will be breezy and very mild. during tuesday night, we see yet another band of rain sweeping eastwards. behind that, a feed of

showers running in what will be quite a strong south—westerly wind. so another band of rain declare through. then some spells of sunshine and a real rash of heavy thundery downpours blowing in on a strong and blustery winds. these are the west gas we are expecting. it will be mild with temperatures between seven and 14 degrees. it stays broadly mild for the end of the week. perhaps a bit cooler in the week. perhaps a 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.. a new report on global warming published by un scientists once humanity is rapidly running out of time to secure a sustainable future for all. is the former uk prime minister borisjohnson submitted evidence in his defence of or whether he misled parliament over parties in downing street during covid—19. stock markets of received volatile trading after the biggest bank to go over its biggest rival. the