this is bbc news. i'm sally bundock with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. on the frontline in southern ukraine — where ukrainian troops are holding their defences, despite constant attacks from russian shelling those two russian shells that have just come in, those two russian shells that havejust come in, i think it is tank fire moving close to these positions, it gives you an idea of how exposed it is here. the french president defends his decision to push through unpopular pension reforms — despite a wave of nationwide street protests. the more we wait the more it

will get worse and so this reform is necessary. i do not enjoy doing this, i would prefer not to but it is a sense of responsibility. the us federal reserve raises interest rates again despite fears that it could add to the financial turmoil after recent bank failures. severe storms leave tens of thousands of californians, under evacuation and without power. a warm welcome to the programme. in ukraine's eastern donbas region, the ukrainian army continues to lose ground to russian forces in and around bakhmut. but further south it's a different story, continuing attacks by russian tanks and armoured vehicles have resulted in heavy losses for moscow's forces with almost

nothing to show for it. this months of battles have turned the countryside, and the town of velyka novosilka into a wasteland, where civilians and the military come under daily russian bombardment. our correspondent, quentin sommerville and camera journalist darren conway have sent this report which you can see in full on bbc news and on our website later today. this is a daily duty for dema. for months, the first bank gate have been under russian attack. but they have barely given the enemy an inch of ukraine soil. this way, come on, run! run! straight to me. all around here are the enemy's friends. there are the enemy's friends. there are spotter drones above.

russian eyes are always watching. and waiting for movement.— watching. and waiting for movement. , ., ., movement. get in and get down. as to russian _ movement. get in and get down. as to russian shells _ movement. get in and get down. as to russian shells that - movement. get in and get down. as to russian shells that have i as to russian shells that have just come, i think it is tank fire close to these positions and that gives you an idea of how exposed it is here. there is no tree cover and the safest place for these men is in the trenches. they have already taken a couple of casualties here in the last week. panting heavily are you all right? keep down. the bombardment never stops. keep down. the bombardment

neverstops. explosion you can watch quentin�*s report in full on the bbc news website from 1200 gmt and on the bbc news channel from 1800 later today. do make sure you see that later. french president emmanuel macron has defended his decision to push through an unpopular reform to the pension system, despite a wave of protests across the country. in a television interview yesterday, he said pushing up the pension age from 62 to 64 was a necessity in order to protect the system forfuture generations. a new day of protests has been called for today, and there are concerns about security for king charles�*s upcoming state visit. our reporter sofia bettiza has been following the story. shejoins me in the studio now.

tell us what resident macron said in this interview. essentially he defended his decision to raise the pension age to 64. he said the reformers absolutely necessary and it needs to be done. france is at the very low end of their retirement age when you compare to other countries in europe and mr macron says this is not sustainable and something needs to change. the interview was never going to change the minds of his opponents and after he spoke he was accused of being out of touch and arrogant and contemptuous. let's listen to a bit of the interview. translation: ., ., translation: there are no solutions — translation: there are no solutions if _ translation: there are no solutions if we _ translation: there are no solutions if we want - translation: there are no solutions if we want the - solutions if we want the pension system to be balanced. the more we wait the more it will get — the more we wait the more it will get worse. this reform is necessary— will get worse. this reform is necessary and i say to the french_ necessary and i say to the french people i do not enjoy doing — french people i do not enjoy doing this and i would prefer not to— doing this and i would prefer not to do— doing this and i would prefer not to do this but it is also because _ not to do this but it is also because of a sense of

responsibility.- because of a sense of responsibility. this is very unp°pulan _ responsibility. this is very unp°pulan as— responsibility. this is very unpopular, as mentioned. responsibility. this is very - unpopular, as mentioned. talk through some of the reasons why. through some of the reasons wh . a , through some of the reasons wh . ~ . , . through some of the reasons wh. , . , why. many french people feel the pension — why. many french people feel the pension reform _ why. many french people feel the pension reform will - why. many french people feel the pension reform will place | the pension reform will place an unfair burden on women, on low earners and people doing physically wearing jobs. also there is a lot of anger in france at the way that macron has gone about it, the way he has gone about it, the way he has handled the situation. last week he used controversial executive powers to push through this reform without votes and, essentially, bypassing parliament entirely many feel that this, the way that he has acted is undemocratic.- that he has acted is undemocratic. ~ . , undemocratic. we have seen eo - le undemocratic. we have seen people in _ undemocratic. we have seen people in france _ undemocratic. we have seen people in france protesting i undemocratic. we have seen l people in france protesting for months about these reforms and we have the images of rubbish piling up in paris because of the strike.— piling up in paris because of the strike. what will happen next? there _ the strike. what will happen next? there is _ the strike. what will happen next? there is another- the strike. what will happen next? there is another day. the strike. what will happen | next? there is another day of strikes and protests for today and a big risk that these demonstrations could turn

violent because that is what we have seen in the past week, we have seen in the past week, we have seen in the past week, we have seen protests all over france and some of these protests have turned violent. demonstrators have been clashing with police. setting things on fire and police are responding by using teargas and arresting hundreds of people. another element to all of this is that on sunday, king charles is that on sunday, king charles is planning a state visit to france and there are security concerns about that. it is likely that his itinerary will have to be changed because this is a risk, as you mention, the streets of paris are full of rubbish and he will face transport disruptions, et cetera. also, some mps are calling for the visit to be cancelled completely because they say that hosting the king right now feels like the wrong time and that there is something much more important happening in french society and mr macron should focus on that. a lot going on. thank you, sofia. i will talk to a leading

economist in paris later in our business coverage in 20 minutes about that story as well. for now let's have a look at some of the other news of the day. the white house has urged uganda not to enact some of africa's strictest anti—lgbt legislation which threatens sexual minorities with long jail sentences. us officials warned of possible economic repercussions if the bill, which passed parliament on tuesday, was signed into law. canada's population grew at its fastest ever rate last year after it welcomed hundreds of thousands of immigrants including many from ukraine and afghanistan. the country added more than a million people. it's now among the top twenty fastest growing nations on earth — rare for a developed country. us financial regulators have announced fraud charges against the chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur, justin sun. the actress, lindsay lohan, the youtuber, jake paul and six other celebrities were fined for having promoted mr sun's assets on social media, without disclosing that they were being paid to do so.

let's look through the news that has been dominating financial markets through the week. we're looking at japan and its main market has opened today following losses on wall street. this is after the us central bank announced it was raising interest rates yet again. the federal reserve increased its key lending rate by a quarter of a percent on wednesday, despite fears it could add to instability in the banking system. but the fed chairman spoke to reassure the public. our banking system is sound and resilient with strong capital and liquidity. we will continue to closely monitor conditions in the banking system and are prepared to use all of our tools, as needed, to keep it safe and sound. additionally we are committed to learning the lessons from this episode and to work to prevent events at this from happening again. let's go to our asia business hub and joining me now is joao da silva.

we heard there from the fed chair and it was expected they would raise rates. talk the reaction to this.— would raise rates. talk the reaction to this. there was a little speculation _ reaction to this. there was a little speculation leading - reaction to this. there was a little speculation leading up| little speculation leading up to the decision that the inflation would take a and instead the fed would be able to pause rate hikes and cut them further down the line. instead we got a rate hike and the fed reiterating its commitment to bringing soaring prices under control. that expectation of a pausing rate hikes was fuelled by the turmoil in the banking sector and in recent weeks we saw two banks fail with the us and we saw that sudden acquisition of credit suisse by ubs. and all those events were caused by a variety of factors there was a common thread which was tighter monetary conditions. the fed statement suggested that the central bank might soon be in a

position to pause rate hikes but the fed chair, jerome powell walked back that notion a little bit saying that the fed will do enough to bring the crisis under control including further rate cuts, he also said any cuts to interest rates are not a base case for the federal reserve at the moment.- reserve at the moment. what about the _ reserve at the moment. what about the asian _ reserve at the moment. what about the asian markets - reserve at the moment. what about the asian markets right| about the asian markets right now what are they doing? markets are trading flat at the moment. the japanese market is down 0.2% and the hong kong market up 0.7%. a slight improvement from wall street where we saw a bit of a sell—off earlier with major indices down i.6%. this is off the back of weeks of volatility in financial markets and despite those commitments by regulators and policymakers that the banking sector is sound and can withstand the current conditions there is concern in the market, particularly about the state of small banks in this tighter monetary condition. thank you

so much and — monetary condition. thank you so much and we _ monetary condition. thank you so much and we will _ monetary condition. thank you so much and we will have - monetary condition. thank you | so much and we will have more on that as well in our business coverage later in the programme. still to come, the new report demanding urgent action to ensure that everyone has access to britain's green spaces. applause i'm so proud of both of you. let there be no more wars or bloodshed between arabs and israelis. with great regret, - the committee has decided that south africa will be excludedl from the 1970 competition.

chanting streaking across the sky, the white—hot wreckage from mir drew gasps from onlookers on fiji. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: on the frontline in southern ukraine: troops loyal to kyiv are holding their defences, despite constant attacks from russian shelling. the french president defends his decision to push through unpopular pension reforms — despite a wave of nationwide street protests. tiktok�*s ceo, shou zi chew, is expected to give testimony in the us congress for the first time on thursday over security concerns. mr chew is likely to face a barrage of questions on tiktok�*s relationship with china, what data it

collects, and what it does with it. he will reportedly appear before the us house of representatives energy and commerce committee, as lawmakers scrutinise the chinese—owned video—sharing app. i'm joined now by mark douglas the ceo, president of mountain in los angeles. a digital advertising agency based in los angeles. a warm welcome to the programme, mark. are you going to be glued to this later when this starts? yeah, it's definitely something interesting to watch. so i'll definitely be watching for sure. ., ., ,, , sure. so what do you think they will be asking _ sure. so what do you think they will be asking or— sure. so what do you think they will be asking or even _ sure. so what do you think they will be asking or even find - sure. so what do you think they will be asking or even find out | will be asking or even find out because right from the very beginning this whole debate about tiktok, whether it threatens national security or not, the company has always said, "we don't pass on data to chinese authorities." what more can their crow ceo say? i chinese authorities.�* what more can their crow ceo say?- can their crow ceo say? i mean, ou 'ust can their crow ceo say? i mean, you just kind _

can their crow ceo say? i mean, you just kind of— can their crow ceo say? i mean, you just kind of nailed _ can their crow ceo say? i mean, you just kind of nailed it. - you just kind of nailed it. it's a pretty straightforward story, is that tiktok is obviously very popular around the world. it's very popular in the world. it's very popular in the us, and i think the idea that you can have an app with this scale and the chinese government has no role in it at all, just is kind of counter to what everyone understands about how technology companies operate in china and how the chinese government, you know, involved in those companies so involved in those companies so i don't think it's a possible statement. then itjust comes down to they're collecting all this data. this data — i think everyone would expect that the data is accessible by the chinese government and it is —— is that a threat to the people in the us and in other countries. and, in particular, you know, the app has access to a microphone, a camera. there's a microphone, a camera. there's a lot it can collect — your location. there's a lot it can

potentially collect passively, not even just actively. it's a big... not even 'ust actively. it's a bi . .. ~ . not even 'ust actively. it's a bi... ~ . ., not even 'ust actively. it's a big... what do you think the outcome _ big... what do you think the outcome will _ big... what do you think the outcome will be _ big... what do you think the outcome will be in _ big... what do you think the outcome will be in the - big... what do you think the outcome will be in the end? | outcome will be in the end? because now currently in the us, and correct me if i'm wrong on this, i believe if you work in any federal departments you can't have tiktok on your devices obviously, but across the us, the population can use tiktok if they wish to ie children, etc. is — it's yeah. do you think the ultimate outcome will be it will be banned completely for all? well, a few years ago, this topic is not new. this topic was brought up a few years ago during the trump administration, and the outcome seemed to come very close to having a big us company essentially operate tiktok in the us as an active partner who would then ensure that data was stored in the us or, you know, something similar could be done in the uk and other countries. and that still seems to be, you

know, if they wanna operate under the rules of the chinese government, but operate freely in other western countries, that still seems to be the most plausible solution there. and i don't think — it really comes down to how much the us congress and biden administration want to kind of advocate that and go down that path. advocate that and go down that ath. ~ , path. 0k. well, we will be watching _ path. 0k. well, we will be watching closely _ path. 0k. well, we will be watching closely later - path. 0k. well, we will be. watching closely later that's for sure. mark, thank you very much, mark douglas, chief executive of mountain. falling trees have killed two people in california as storms, winds, rain and snowfall continue to hit the western us state. stephanie prentice reports: after waves of extreme weather in california in the last few months, new before and after satellite images show the full extent of the flooding after what had been called atmospheric river storms. tens of thousands of people are without power in the central and southern regions

with evacuation warnings issued for 50,000 residents statewide, and more than 14,000 people under orders to seek higher ground because of flooding. communities here have been struggling to get back on their feet before another storm hits. it is set to get worse before it gets better. with more intense rain expected in already saturated areas. in los angeles, high winds have torn apart industrial areas in the city of montebello, social media footage claims to show a vortex touching down into a tornado. ripping roofs off buildings and destroying cars. the national weather service says it's assessing possible tornado damage to infrastructure. throughout the succession of pacific storms during the past three months, there has been a direct reversal of fates for a state preoccupied by drought and wildfires. but it's a swing in weather extremes experts say is symptomatic of human induced climate change.

stephanie prentice, bbc news. prince william will meet ukrainian refugees in poland on the second day of his visit to the second day of his visit to the country. on wednesday, the prince of wales thanked british troops in a trip to a military base in poland near the ukraine border. his visit was kept secret until he left the area because of security concerns. i just wanted to come here in person and say thank you for all that you're doing, keeping everyone safe out here, and keeping an eye on what's going on. sojust a keeping an eye on what's going on. sojusta big keeping an eye on what's going on. sojust a big thank you keeping an eye on what's going on. so just a big thank you for what you do on a day—to—day basis. i know some of you are coming to the end of your time out rear —— here, so looking forward to a bit of r and r at home. you're doing a so good job here, supporting freedoms. everyone supports you at home, and supporting the poles and counterparts is really cou nterpa rts is really important. counterparts is really important. thank you for your

time, lovely to meet you all and good luck.— time, lovely to meet you all and good luck. now let's meet ou all and good luck. now let's meet you all the _ and good luck. now let's meet you all the sports _ and good luck. now let's meet you all the sports news. - hello. hello, i'm hugh ferris. the race to become manchester united's potential new owners has taken a twist with the deadline for revised bids being extended and several other proposed investors apparently coming forward. it's unclear when the new deadline will be in a situation that's understood to be live and fast moving. qatari banker sheikh jassim and ineos ownerjim ratcliffe had been the only two interested parties to go public, and it was understood that they had submitted a revised offer. but it's emerged they both asked for an extension to the deadline, which was on wednesday evening, and, in a new development, was met by what's been described as several other potential investors. football finance expert professor simon chadwick sez —— says united are an enticing prospect for what's a broadening field of suitors. they get an established business with guaranteed revenue streams that has been built up over a periods of

decades, it's one of the world east most valuable sports brands, one of the world's best performing clubs. this is not buying, for example, newcastle united or even manchester city, they were projects that needed to be developed. united is a ready made project, there's money already being generated from the club and essentially that's why the bryce is higher now. both french teams lost at home in the opening legs of their women's champions league quarterfinals. psg were beaten 1—nil by wolfsburg and chelsea won at holders lyon by the same scoreline. norwegian international guro reiten scoring the only goal of the game midway through the first half. a nice curling finish. lyon are looking to win the trophy for a record—extending 9th time and the nearest they came to scoring was delphine cascarino hitting the post in the second half. but it's the english champions who'll take a slender lead into next week's second leg at stamford bridge. world number one iga swiatek has pulled out of the miami open because of a rib injury. swiatek is the reigning champion in miami and was due to begin the defence

of her title against american claire liu on thursday. but she's been forced to withdraw because of an injury that she sustained on her way to winning the qatar open last month. swiatek will also miss poland's billiejean king cup qualifier in kazakhstan next month. meanwhile, canada's bianca andreescu was among the winners on wednesday. the world number 31 — who's unseeded in miami — beat emma raducanu of great britain in a meeting of two former us open champions. it went to three sets with andreescu taking the decider 6—2. she'll now face the number 7 seed from greece maria sakkari, who had a bye in the first round. and there was further british disappointment in the men's singles, with a first round exit for andy murray — a two—time champion in miami and four—time finalist. he was beaten in straight set by dusan lajovic. in their first ever meeting, the world number 76 from serbia came through 6—4, 7—5 — and he'll face the french—born american maxime cressy in the second round.

you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me that's all your sport for now. access to nature should be a human right, that's what 100 uk citizens behind a "people's plan" for reversing the decline in british nature say. in a new report they demand urgent action to ensure everyone has access to green spaces and that rivers and wetlands are restored to full health. they also call for a permanent "people's assembly" that puts the public at the heart of decisions over how to use the land. helen briggs has this report. come round here and look at it all. , . . , , , all. rebecca's been visiting the fields _ all. rebecca's been visiting the fields near— all. rebecca's been visiting the fields near her- all. rebecca's been visiting . the fields near her oxfordshire home since she was child. growing one nature on my doorstep, i have always enjoyed being in and around it and it being in and around itand it does being in and around it and it does need to be protected. it's really scary to think what the children of today are going to grow up. children of today are going to crow u. ~ ,

children of today are going to i row u . _ . , ., , children of today are going to u-rowu.~ , . ., , grow up. when she was randomly selected to _ grow up. when she was randomly selected to be _ grow up. when she was randomly selected to be part _ grow up. when she was randomly selected to be part of— grow up. when she was randomly selected to be part of the - selected to be part of the people's plan nor nature. she jumped at the chance. the plan noes jumped at the chance. the plan goes across _ jumped at the chance. the plan goes across lots _ jumped at the chance. the plan goes across lots of _ jumped at the chance. the plan goes across lots of different - goes across lots of different things. everyone is to get involved and take part, make those little changes. that involved and take part, make those little changes.- those little changes. at this hotel in birmingham, - those little changes. at this hotel in birmingham, a - those little changes. at this i hotel in birmingham, a people from across the uk have been meeting over the past year to share ideas and devise their own plan for bringing wildlife back from the brink. and they're calling for a complete overhaul in the way we treat nature and the food we eat and how we use the land to tougher action on preventing pollution. here at the university of reading scientists have been monitoring declines in plants and animals on home soilfor decades. and they say nature's in a lamentable state.- in a lamentable state. despite the number — in a lamentable state. despite the number of _ in a lamentable state. despite the number of plans _ in a lamentable state. despite the number of plans that - in a lamentable state. despite the number of plans that we l the number of plans that we have had, the government haven't met targets for restoring nature. there are 70,000 species in the uk from

fun guy, plants, insects and mammals and around two of those —— fifths are in decline. a people's plan for nature is important because it allows civil society and business and government to work together towards a shared goal. what's the main message _ towards a shared goal. what's the main message from - towards a shared goal. what's i the main message from ordinary people about what we need to be doing to restore nature? just an little doing to restore nature? just any little change _ doing to restore nature? inst any little change you can help and do, do it, i think would be it. it's no change is too small. it. it's no change is too small-— it. it's no change is too small. ,, ., small. our islands are known from their— small. our islands are known from their natural— small. our islands are known from their natural wonders i small. our islands are known i from their natural wonders from bluebells to butterflist badgers, but experts say reversing decades of devastating losses will involve efforts from every one of us on a scale we have never seen before. the federal reserve and it's decision on the interest rates today. the bank of england is

facing a very similar dilemma. it saw inflation in the uk rise in the month of february to 10.4%, an eye watering sum for so. we'll be getting an expert on that and live to paris for more on the strike action there. i'll see you injust more on the strike action there. i'll see you in just a moment. hello, there. the weather is remaining pretty unsettled for the rest of this week. low pressure will always be nearby, out to the west of the uk, in the atlantic — steering weather fronts our way, bringing outbreaks of rain, followed by sunshine and showers. and it will be blustery, even windy at times, particularly across england and wales. but on the plus side, it'll be fairly mild, with our air source coming in from the south—west. but it's quite a messy picture, i think, as you can see here for thursday, low pressure out to the west, lots of isobars, plenty of weather fronts. this weather front will bring more persistent rain to the south and south—east of the country later in the day. so we'll have showers, even longer spells of rain affecting central, northern and western areas. some good spells of sunshine around, too. but later in the day,

we'll see the cloud building up across the south and south—east as this persistent rain starts to push in. it will be a blustery day, certainly for england, wales, parts of northern ireland, not so much for scotland. a quieter day for you, but gusts around 40 miles an hour in exposure. but another mild day to come, temperatures reaching the low to mid—teens for many. a little bit chilly there for the far north of scotland. that rain, then, persistent at times, affects the south—east corner and then pushes on into the north sea. that'll be followed by further showers, even longer spells of rain, across scotland, in towards northern ireland for a time, but some clear spells, too. and temperatures, again, fairly mild because of the cloud, the breeze, the rain. no lower than around 5—8 degrees. now into friday, our area of low pressure is a bit closer to the uk, so it looks like we'll start off with some sunshine, fairly breezy, but then showers will get going. they'll be widespread and they will be heavy at times, some thunderstorms mixed in, some hail at times too. but again, temperatures low

to mid—teens for many. it will feel quite pleasant when you're out of the showers and in the sunshine. then it's all change into the weekend. we start to pick up northerly winds. that'll turn things very much colder. and we'll see showers turning increasingly wintry, particularly across the northern half of the country. you can see the arctic air plunging its way southwards gradually as we move through the weekend. the coldness of the air initially at the weekend across the north and then spreading to all areas by the time we reach sunday. so another mild day on saturday with sunshine and showers. by the time we reach sunday, it'll be very much colder, particularly in the north — where we could see some snow, notjust in the hills, even down to lower levels.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the us federal reserve moves forward with another rate hike, despite the turbulence in the financial sector. time is ticking for tiktok as its chief faces a congressional hearing today, amidst mounting data privacy concerns from us lawmakers. france is bracing for more transport woes and a new day of nationwide protests after president macron pledges to implement his pensions overhaul by year—end. and confusion as the deadline for bids to buy manchester united football club is unexpectedly extended.