this is bbc news broadcasting in the uk and around the globe. i'm annita mcveigh. our top stories: protests continue outside downing street in london, ahead of a meeting between israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and uk prime minister rishi sunak. the indian parliament disqualifies prominent opposition party leader rahul gandhi, after a court sentenced him to two years in prison over defamation. the bbc agrees to suspend a proposal to close the bbc singers choir, while it explores alternative funding models. china has said it has never asked any company to provide data or intelligence located in foreign countries. on thursday, tiktok�*s chief

executive faced strong questioning from us lawmakers about the social media app's alleged threat to us national security. the french government says more than a50 people have been arrested in clashes between police and crowds protesting an increase to the country's pension age. more than a million people took to the streets in major hello and welcome to bbc news. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, is holding talks with rishi sunak in downing street this morning. as mr sunak met his counterpart at the door for a handshake, they could clearly hear loud shouts of "shame" in hebrew from protesters waving

israeli flags and placards stating their aim of "saving israeli democracy". protests are continuing in israel, where the government is pushing ahead with controversial reforms that would limit the power of the courts. well, let's speak now to paul adams, our diplomatic correspondent. the protests following mr netanyahu on this visit to the uk. they consist of... there are palestinian protesters there as well but there are many israeli and britishjews protesting proposed plans to limit the powers of the courts in israel. how is all of this affecting the tone, the mood music, around a meeting with rishi sunak? flat tone, the mood music, around a meeting with rishi sunak? not great, to be honest- — meeting with rishi sunak? not great, to be honest. downing _ meeting with rishi sunak? not great, to be honest. downing street, - meeting with rishi sunak? not great, to be honest. downing street, there i to be honest. downing street, there are no plans for a press conference, i don't think there are even cameras inside now, the meeting we are told is taking place in a secure room,

this is pretty unusualfor a prime minister's visit. you would expect there to be a little bit more pomp and access. it reflects embarrassment. even though the british government reviews its relationship with israel it is important, just early this week there was a document signed between there was a document signed between the two about crop —— about cooperation over the next few years. there is an acute awareness this is an israeli prime minister who could potentially be on his way out, if this escalates. this is the deepest political crisis we have seen in israel for decades. we have got to a situation now where the army, the security services, they are all warning of this eroding faith in the

institutions of the state. we had the spectacle of the other day of the spectacle of the other day of the israeli ambassador in washington being called into explain changes going through the israeli parliament at the moment. that was highly unusual. joe biden has yet to invite binyamin netanyahu to the white house, also pretty significant. this is an admission steam is isolated abroad and certainly in trouble at home —— this is an administration. the demonstrations, protests in israel, going on for at least a couple of months now, probably slightly more than that. but the coalition that makes up this present israeli government is a pretty fractured one, in some ways. strange bedfellows, some would say. how problematic therefore does it make it for this government to find a way out of that?— out of that? this is a very problematic _ out of that? this is a very problematic government. j out of that? this is a veryl problematic government. i out of that? this is a very - problematic government. i can

remember saying when i was in jerusalem in the late 1990s, binyamin netanyahu was at the helm of the most right—wing government in israel's history, feels like a very long time ago. this is far more right wing and also one in which right—wing religious zionists are holding sway and that is the thing causing such anxiety on the streets of israel but also here among israel's traditional supporters among britishjews who are deeply alarmed at what they see as a kind of gradual shift towards what some people are describing as a theocracy. one of the ironies today is on a day when mr netanyahu wants to talk to the british have made the threat posed by iran through its nuclear programme, there are placards held by the protesters outside saying, don't turn israel into another iran, this fear that religious zionism is taking over the israeli government, that it is driving the changes with the judiciary and that it is upsetting

this very delicate and often very fractious balance between the forces of the secular secular and religious forces in israel, since the creation of the state. forces in israel, since the creation of the state-— forces in israel, since the creation of the state. how widespread is the o- osition of the state. how widespread is the opposition among _ of the state. how widespread is the opposition among british _ of the state. how widespread is the opposition among british jews - of the state. how widespread is the opposition among british jews to i of the state. how widespread is the l opposition among british jews to the opposition among britishjews to the proposed plans to limit the power of the courts? it proposed plans to limit the power of the courts? , ., ., , the courts? it full is into a number of clamps- — the courts? it full is into a number of clamps. there _ the courts? it full is into a number of clamps. there are _ the courts? it full is into a number of clamps. there are certainly - the courts? it full is into a number. of clamps. there are certainly those talking about saving israeli democracy —— falls. that is about thejudicial democracy —— falls. that is about the judicial reforms the government is pushing through which many people suspect are partly motivated by mr netanyahu's desire to save his own legal skin. netanyahu's desire to save his own legalskin. but netanyahu's desire to save his own legal skin. but also among those, and they are a minority, but a vocal minority, of britishjews opposed to the occupation, who think that the british government has no place welcoming a person who is in bed with extreme right—wing religious

zionist figures, one of his ministers only this week in paris in a speech that there is no such thing as the palestinian people. and also accelerating the construction of jewish settlements in the occupied west bank in a way also causing profound alarm about the dwindling prospects for a two—state solution between israel and the palestinians. a number of people protesting for a number of different reasons. thank ou ve number of different reasons. thank you very much. _ number of different reasons. thank you very much, paul— number of different reasons. thank you very much, pauladams, - number of different reasons. thank you very much, paul adams, our i you very much, paul adams, our diplomatic correspondent. before he left for the uk, mr netanyahu said he was determined to press ahead with controversial reforms to israel's judicial system which have met with stiff opposition. on thursday, tens of thousands of israelis protested against the plans. mr netanyahu vowed to do everything to bring calm and cohesion to the country. from jerusalem, tom bateman sent this report. israelis are stopping the traffic

over their politicians�* plan to overhaul their courts. weeks of protests are boiling over into bitter division. this is a fight for the flag. and now it's spilling blood onto the streets of tel aviv. he sprayed us with mace, and then i tried to stop him and he hit me with the can in the face. how does this make you feel about all of this, what's happening in your country? we have a dictator in israel that is trying to make these people hurt us. you tell your government, you tell your people. the demonstrators had reached the british embassy last week, wanting foreign governments to add pressure as mr netanyahu heads abroad, visiting london today. they warn of dystopia and dictatorship and a muzzling

of legal protections by the new coalition of the ultra religious and the far right. this government is the first post—zionist, messianic government. my father and his brothers didn't fight in wars for a theocracy for orthodox jews. the israeli leader is caught between deepening dissent and a coalition he needs to survive, and he's vowing to push on. translation: i will do everything - i everything - to calm the situation l and to end division among the people, because we are brothers, and with the help of god, together we will manage, and together we will succeed. but his far right and religious coalition is under growing international pressure over both its rhetoric and its policies amid spiralling violence. in the west bank, the protests feel a world away.

for palestinians, the faces of israel's forces may change, but the occupation remains, and things are getting much worse. for people here, it feels like a crisis arriving from all sides. israel's most extreme government in its history, a palestinian leadership losing its limited security grip on key cities around here. and that is why the fears are growing that the west bank could slip out of control. for over a year, i have seen militants rearm in nearbyjenin and nablus as violence grips this region. israel's political turmoil comes amid calls for calm that may be impossible to heed. tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. back to london where mr netanyahu is meeting rishi sunak as we speak.

protesters have gathered outside downing street. our news, respondent is there. give us a sense of who is protesting, what they are saying and the size of the protest.— the size of the protest. yeah, i would say _ the size of the protest. yeah, i would say there _ the size of the protest. yeah, i would say there is _ the size of the protest. yeah, i would say there is probably - the size of the protest. yeah, i i would say there is probably about 1000 people here at the moment. we have seen a line of police dogs, there have been police horses as well today, quite noisy. rishi sunak and binyamin netanyahu, they will be able to hear the crowd. you can probably hear the dog is going at the moment. when they were meeting in downing street, they would have had the very large crowd. we have seen off course in tel aviv tens of thousands of people out on the streets protesting aboutjudicial streets protesting about judicial reforms streets protesting aboutjudicial reforms in israel. we have also seen rallies like this across the world, not just rallies like this across the world, notjust here in... in australia, north america. this one very much to

coincide with the meeting between binyamin netanyahu and rishi sunak. the group protesting here today say the israeli government has attempted to undermine israel's democracy by lamenting powers of the judiciary there, that is the attempt —— limiting powers. it is seen as a radical overhaul of the judiciary. it would prevent a prime minister from being removed against their will by the attorney general. the protesters here say that eliminates key checks and balances. they say they are concerned for the future of democracy in israel and that is why they felt that strength of feeling to come out here today. the israeli prime minister of course has said he will continue to press on with the reforms in the meantime. but the people here today very much wanted

to come out and say that during the meeting between rishi sunak and binyamin netanyahu.— meeting between rishi sunak and binyamin netanyahu. thank you very much, and binyamin netanyahu. thank you very much. and two _ binyamin netanyahu. thank you very much, and two at _ binyamin netanyahu. thank you very much, and two at downing _ binyamin netanyahu. thank you very much, and two at downing street. i binyamin netanyahu. thank you very| much, and two at downing street. -- much, and two at downing street. —— frances read. the french prime minister has condemned the violence that accompanied a day of mass demonstrations against reform of the country's pension system. the interior ministry says more than a50 protestors were arrested and 440 members of the security forces injured. more than 1 million people took to the streets on thursday to protest against the retirement age being raised from 62 to 64. most of the protests were peaceful, but there were violent clashes with police in paris and in other cities, including bordeaux, toulouse, lille and nantes. vincent mcaviney reports. bordeaux�*s town hall set alight by protesters overnight. more than a million had taken to the streets across the country through the day, angry at president macron�*s raising of the retirement age from 62 to 64.

in paris, where over 100,000 had marched in a largely peaceful demonstration, the night was also hijacked by violent protesters. running battles through the capital's centre between small groups and the police saw bins set on fire, projectiles hurled and tear gas launched in response. there were clashes too in cities including lille, strasbourg, nantes and toulouse. overnight, the interior minister visited police headquarters. translation: since this morning, police have been the target - of unacceptable attacks. 149 have been injured, some of them seriously. they have been hit with acid, molotov cocktails and cobblestones. labour protests are not uncommon in france. but what has irked huge swathes of this country this time is the way president macron made his pension reforms, forcing them through without a vote and appearing

on television to double down. it was seen by pretty much everyone as a middle finger to the entire population, and people were angry already, and itjust threw a lot more oil on the fire. translation: if parliament had voted for it democratically, _ i probably wouldn't be here at this protest today. i'm not a militant, protesting isn't what i like to do. more protests are planned for next week, which could disrupt a state visit by king charles and camilla queen consort, who are travelling to paris this weekend. but president macron made two promises when he first ran for office — to reform france and unite it. this battle is forcing him to choose which promise he most wants to keep. vincent mcaviney, bbc news. our correspondent hugh schofield is following all the developments and has more now on the impasse between the government and protesters.

the government is clearly hoping reality will set in and people will come to appreciate, unhappy they may be, but the law is the law and no real way of getting the government to turn back and at that point they will return to their ordinary lives. the atmosphere on the street kind of argues against that. everyone you talked to demonstrating yesterday, my neighbours here, they say it all feels like one of those moments, when the people of france get behind a cause and don't give up until they get some kind of victory. right now, there is absolutely no way out. there is going to be another big day on tuesday. i've no doubt the confident mood protesters were projecting yesterday will continue then. they will be out in force. we will have to see which gives first.

it is a battle of strength between the government, president macron, and this mass of the people, one of those french episodes linked historically to the revolution where the people feel they have right on their side and they want to take down the head of state, their monarch, a peg or two. given the mood, given that context, how does the visit by king charles sit with the french public, given all of this is going on? i don't think anyone has any particular beef against king charles. they don't have the same affection they had for his mother, but no particular reason to hold anything against him. it is a republic, everyone is a republican, but they quite like the royal family. i don't think there will be any protest directed at him. much more of an embarrassment in a way for president macron to be seen next to a king in state splendour because it plays

into the caricature of him as being a quasi—monarchic figure. if he is wining and dining with another king in versailles of all places on monday night, to use the terrible cliche, the optics are not particularly good. hugh schofield. joining us live now from paris is emmanuel grimaud, he's the founding chairman of maximis, a consulting firm which helps people and businesses make financial decisions at the end of their careers. i saw someone mention today the french love their pension system like the british love the national health service. is that why people are so exercised about these changes?— are so exercised about these chances? ~ , ., changes? well, the thing is, we have b far the changes? well, the thing is, we have by far the most _ changes? well, the thing is, we have by far the most complicated - changes? well, the thing is, we have by far the most complicated pension | by far the most complicated pension system in europe and in the world and unfortunately people do not understand how it works. as they do

not understand how it works today, it is very hard for them to understand how it will work with the reform. most of what we hear around is wrong. so many people think we have to work until the age of 67, 68. why it is wrong, for instance, the garbage workers think they will have to work he is more, but if you look at it, they will not have to work three years more. it is a lot about misunderstanding about the real impact of the reform.- real impact of the reform. really interesting _ real impact of the reform. really interesting you _ real impact of the reform. really interesting you say _ real impact of the reform. really interesting you say that - real impact of the reform. really interesting you say that because| real impact of the reform. really i interesting you say that because as we have been following these protests, we have heard from some of the protesters saying that these changes, increasing the pension age, disadvantages people like the refuse workers you mentioned more, especially those sorts of people doing jobs involving hard manual labour, but you are saying that is

not the case. for labour, but you are saying that is not the case-— labour, but you are saying that is not the case. for instance, for the aarba . e not the case. for instance, for the garbage workers. _ not the case. for instance, for the garbage workers, they _ not the case. for instance, for the garbage workers, they now... i not the case. for instance, for the garbage workers, they now... the j garbage workers, they now... the real age they are leaving is 61 and this age doesn't change in the law. many people will still be able and much more than before to leave earlier, age of 60, even 58, but not so many people. at the age of 60, 62, before the legal age of 64. again, some people really think they are sincere in thinking they have to work more, some have a political view saying they have to work more. obviously, some people will have to work more because this is the base of the law that we have very protective welfare state in france, but you have to finance it and as

life expectancy is increasing, you cannot imagine that you can have people retiring very early and spending 25, 28 years with a pension. spending 25, 28 years with a ension. , .,, ., ., pension. some people will have to work for longer _ pension. some people will have to work for longer before _ pension. some people will have to work for longer before they - pension. some people will have to work for longer before they can i work for longer before they can claim a pension. is that ultimately what is at the root of the protest, this anger, or do you think it is equally about the way the government has handled this, pushing it into law without a vote?— has handled this, pushing it into law without a vote? well, you have many things- _ law without a vote? well, you have many things. first, _ law without a vote? well, you have many things. first, as _ law without a vote? well, you have many things. first, as you - law without a vote? well, you have many things. first, as you know, . law without a vote? well, you have i many things. first, as you know, the french like to protest. second, you have the left—wing parties that want to protest about anything. i think evenif to protest about anything. i think even if emmanuel macron would change his mind and bring age to 60, they would keep protesting in the street. then you have people who are sincere

in their thoughts of saying, we do not want to work two years more. in the private sector, the average age of pension right now is 63 years old and six months. moving to 64 again isjust moving a and six months. moving to 64 again is just moving a few months more, it is just moving a few months more, it is not as much as people think and it is also, as i said before, it is complicated and nobody really understands how it works. ok. understands how it works. ok, emanuel. _ understands how it works. ok, emanuel, thank _ understands how it works. ok, emanuel, thank you _ understands how it works. ok, emanuel, thank you very much, joining us from paris. the uk foreign secretaryjames cleverly has met the vice president of the eu commission, maros sefcovic, to formally agree on the windsor framework — a new deal between the uk and the eu that's designed to ease trade barriers between great britain and northern ireland. speaking before the meeting, mr cleverly said the deal would provide stability and certainty for northern ireland, however the democratic unionist party remain opposed to the protocol.

the indian opposition leader, rahul gandhi, has been disqualified from parliament following his conviction for defamation on thursday. mr gandhi — who is a key congress party figure — was given a two—year prison sentence for remarks about the prime minister's surname in a campaign speech in 2019. mr gandhi was an mp in the southern state of kerala. he remains on bailfor 30 days and has said he will appeal the verdict. china has responded to the controversy surrounding the video sharing app, tiktok, by saying it has never asked any company to provide data located in foreign countries and has no plans to do so. the foreign ministry spokesperson mao ning was answering questions about the testimony of tiktok�*s ceo shou zi chew in the us congress. tiktok is owned by the chinese company bytedance. mr chew faced a grilling by us lawmakers for five hours on thursday, where he defended

the app against concerns it was a threat to us national security. our north america technology reporterjames clayton has the latest. if tiktok�*s boss thought washington would roll out the red carpet for him, he thought wrong. forfour and a half hours, shou chew faced hostile and relentless questioning. the chair of the energy and commerce committee set the tone. tiktok collects nearly every data point imaginable, from people's location, to what they type and copy, who they talk to, biometric data and more. and from there, it didn't get much better for tiktok�*s boss. it's notjust politicians in the us that are worried. the uk parliament has banned tiktok from its work devices over concerns about security, with similar measures taken by the scottish and welsh governments. there are two primary concerns about tiktok. they both involve china.

the first is that we know tiktok hoovers up data from your phone, like usage data, location information and biometric data. there are worries that this could be handed to the chinese government, something that tiktok categorically denies. the other concern is that so many people now use tiktok, it wields enormous influence. could the chinese government tweak the algorithm to influence what we think? this is what shou chew said to that. i'm making the following commitments to you, and to all our users. number one, we will keep safety, particularly for teenagers, as a top priority for us. number two, we will firewall protect the us data from unwanted foreign access. number three, tiktok will remain a place for free expression and will not be manipulated by any government. the uk often follows the us's lead when it comes to cyber security. and what we know now

is that many politicians in the us don'tjust want the platform reformed, they want it banned outright. james clayton, bbc news. earlier i spoke to our asia—pacific editor, celia hatton, and she told me more about china's reaction. the chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman this morning went a bit further in pushing the idea that the united states has no evidence when it goes against claims, when it is questioning the tiktok ceo to prove that china is taking data. it is accusing the united states of being xenophobic, of fearing outsider companies, and really one big thing i saw today which is appearing in the chinese state media today and we have one editorial cartoon that has appeared in the global times, one of the main hawkish state

newspapers, bringing up this idea of the united states being after the red menace, going back to the times of the 1940s, 1950s, mccarthyism, when famously the us senator joe mccarthy used very controversial tactics and really threw around a lot of false accusations in his efforts to root out communism. they are saying this harkens back to that and they are bringing this up again and again, this is their key line today. if there is a continued pushback against tiktok in the us, how big a problem is that for that? because it is a huge market, so if tiktok cannot thrive and survive in the us, is that the end of tiktok? we are coming up to a bit of a brick wall when it comes to tiktok. on the one hand, we have the biden administration considering an outright ban of tiktok in the us unless tiktok is sold to an american entity. at the same time, we have the chinese government coming out yesterday to say they firmly oppose

the forced sale of tiktok. both sides are really up against it. i think really there is only possibly a middle way — can they find a way for tiktok data to be relocated on us servers? that is the challenge. we should also say china's own version of tiktok... tiktok itself does not exist in china. instead the company bytedance, which owns tiktok, has a separate app available in china, douyin, which has a 40—minute limit for children to use. it is age verified, anybody has to prove their age before they can use it. it is heavily censored — very different from the version of tiktok available elsewhere. i'm joined now by the author of tiktok boom: china's dynamite app and the superpower race for social media, chris stokel—walker. just picking up on one of the

questions i was putting to celia, if the united states, massive market, band's tiktok, can it survive? i think it can because it was banned previously in india. it was banned entirely from the country over what was basically presented as a geopolitical dispute, similar to what we think is happening here, a border skirmish between india and china, india had enough, they banned tiktok along other apps of chinese origin and that meant tiktok lost about 200 million users at that time which was more than the us but of course we know from testimony that was presented in congress yesterday that tiktok�*s user base in the us is 10% of global audience and 25% of the views, significant loss, but this thing could survive. the

technology _ this thing could survive. the technology and _ this thing could survive. the technology and the politics, absolutely intrinsically linked. hard to separate those out. yeah. that is what _ hard to separate those out. yeah. that is what we _ hard to separate those out. yeah. that is what we saw _ hard to separate those out. yeah. that is what we saw in _ hard to separate those out. yeah. that is what we saw in the - that is what we saw in the congressional hearing and what we have seen in the last few weeks. this is not the first time i have been on the bbc news channel talking about a ban of tiktok in some place and we have seen successive bands of different levels on government devices in particular in recent weeks and they all seem to be protesting a sort of hypothetical fear and it is interesting we have not yet seen the smoking gun or actual evidence linking china to tiktok in a way that would give us some sort of concern and justification for a ban. the idea they are cosying up to russia, we saw china flying ace by billing over the north american continent a couple of months ago, probably playing a significant role in this

“ spy playing a significant role in this —— spy balloon. worrying more about the march of china rather than the rise of tiktok, almost collateral damage, economic sanction, if you will, for the chinese state. what will, for the chinese state. what other apps _ will, for the chinese state. what other apps are — will, for the chinese state. what other apps are trying _ will, for the chinese state. what other apps are trying to - will, for the chinese state. what other apps are trying to take i other apps are trying to take advantage of the situation tiktok finds itself in? irate advantage of the situation tiktok finds itself in?— finds itself in? we cannot ignore the broader _ finds itself in? we cannot ignore the broader context. _ finds itself in? we cannot ignore the broader context. facebook, | finds itself in? we cannot ignore i the broader context. facebook, the parent company, ban, instagram reels, youtube, now has youtube shorts, its version of tiktok, both of those probably looking on quite happily, notable that there are suggestions particularly meta has been lobbying, connection to washington, dc, to highlight issues around tiktok�*s links to china, no

suggestion of wrongdoing, but highly competitive space and people want supremacy and tiktok shook up the kaleidoscope when it comes to the world of tech, upending the old ways and became really big. meta and youtube recognise the risks and they want a share of the pie.— want a share of the pie. thank you very much- — let's stay with social media for the moment, and the us state of utah has become the first to require parental permission for children to use social media platforms, citing growing concerns for youth mental health. the bill requires a parent or guardian's explicit consent before children can create accounts on the apps. it also gives parents full access to their child's accounts, including posts and private messages. and a social media "curfew" will block children's access between 10.30pm and 6.30am. president biden is meeting canada's prime minister, justin trudeau, in ottawa. the leaders are expected to update

an asylum agreement, potentially allowing both countries to turn asylum seekers away at their borders. in exchange, canada has agreed to provide a new legal refugee programme for 1,500 migrants from latin america. it's joe biden's first official visit to canada since taking office. the organisation that oversees standards in england's schools says inspections must continue despite calls from unions and head teachers to pause them. it follows the death of a primary school headteacher. according to her family, ruth perry took her own life due to the pressure. speaking for the first time since the tragedy the chief school inspector says she knows the process can be "challenging" but that it remains in children's best interests. graham satchell reports. the death of ruth perry has devastated the education world. the headteacher of caversham primary school in reading took her own life after her school was downgraded from outstanding to inadequate.

it has led to calls for ofsted inspections to be paused and radically reformed. in her first public statement since the death, ofsted's chief inspector, amanda spielman, said ruth perry's death was a tragedy. she goes on to defend the current system. the department for education in england and a protest by the national education union, carrying banners saying, "replace ofsted" and photographs of ruth perry. this is the latest part of their campaign to change the inspection process. they handed over a petition with more than 50,000 signatures. our members tell us that we need an inspection system that is fit for purpose. that we need an inspection system

that doesn't judge schools on a single—word judgement based on a two—day visit. the criticism of the current system in england is long held, that its one—word judgement — outstanding, good, inadequate — is too simplistic for the complex roles schools play in different communities. and the anxiety and stress of the inspections themselves has become unbearable. the pressure that we're put under, as we prepare for ofsted inspections, is enormous. and alongside the general stress of running state schools at the moment, i can absolutely see how some headteachers will be pushed to breaking point. in her statement, amanda spielman concludes by saying... the department for education in england say inspections

in england remain hugely important because they hold schools to account for their educational standards. but teachers are determined that ruth perry's death must be a catalyst for change. graham satchell, bbc news. the bbc says it's stopped the latest series of top gear after its presenter freddie flintoff was hurt in an accident while filming. the former england cricketer was injured at the shows test track in surrey in december. it comes as there are reports this morning that flintoff has decided to leave the programme — the bbc has not commented. we're joined now by perry mccarthy, who used to be top gear's in—house racing driver, the stig. thank you forjoining us. and joining us at an unfortunate time given the news. what's your reaction to the fact this latest series is stopping without completing filming?

first off, we just seem to be really light on detail to be honest since freddie's accident. i wish him well, because i don't think anybody really knows what his injuries are. best wishes to freddie. i'm really surprised the bbc have now decided to stop filming because they should just be learning from lessons. i find it surprising that there has been an accident, freddie has got hurt and then they have stopped filming, instead of learning to think, 0k, filming, instead of learning to think, ok, where did this go wrong? presumably that has been done and perhaps that's why they are making the decision, although clearly a time lag between the actual accident and this news. that is slightly curious and we clearly need to know more about why that is the case. yeah, but if it has been done, who has it been done by? ijust don't get how you can look at an accident, not be able to learn the lessons for the future instead ofjust cutting the future instead ofjust cutting the show. ijust don't get it. one

of the things i do find difficult about the show, to be honest, is that as a racing driver, clearly of course me and my breed face difficulties but our training is to be able to get back out of them. one of the things in my opinion that the presenters, who are not professional racing drivers, clearly, they shouldn't be put in a position where they are going to quick and if something goes wrong it can go wrong big time. even on the road, anybody going really quickly, when something goes wrong it can go wrong very fast, so why not learn the lesson of not putting the presenters in that particular situation?— not putting the presenters in that particular situation? obviously we are missing _ particular situation? obviously we are missing some _ particular situation? obviously we are missing some of _ particular situation? obviously we are missing some of the - particular situation? obviously we are missing some of the facts, i particular situation? obviously we are missing some of the facts, as| are missing some of the facts, as you pointed out at the beginning of our conversation, perry. but talking more broadly based on your experience of driving on the show, what do you think the producers should be considering now as they look to the future? potentially a new presenter required, if it's the case freddie flintoff has decided to

leave, and again we don't know that for a fact yet. leave, and again we don't know that for a fact yet-— for a fact yet. again, as you said, we are so — for a fact yet. again, as you said, we are so light _ for a fact yet. again, as you said, we are so light on _ for a fact yet. again, as you said, we are so light on details, - for a fact yet. again, as you said, we are so light on details, i i for a fact yet. again, as you said, we are so light on details, i don'tj we are so light on details, i don't know if this is being used as an excuse to actually cancel the show. i don't know what the ratings are. the show was always expensive to produce so is the bbc or anybody looking at this as an excuse to actually cancel top gear? i don't know. moving forward, if freddie wishes to leave the show i guess they will need another presenter. have anybody, but limit how you go about it. there are enough components in top gear that many people enjoy, that can be fun, full of energy, you don't have to be going ten out of ten all the time to get that reaction. if they do, leave it to a professional driver that they can bring in. don't expect too much of your presenters. no matter their enthusiasm, which is attractive and great, but it needs to be gauged and it needs to be the right people on board to understand what the risk elements are and where

can this go wrong. that's where they need these people on board. thank ou for need these people on board. thank you for your — need these people on board. thank you for your thoughts _ need these people on board. thank you for your thoughts on _ need these people on board. thank you for your thoughts on this i need these people on board. thank you for your thoughts on this today, perry mccarthy, who was formerly the stig, the in—house racing driver on top gear. some breaking news to bring you, we are hearing that king charles�*s visit to france has been postponed. a statement from the elysee palace has said that his visit to paris has been postponed. we understand full details of the statement will be coming soon. there had been speculation that the protests which have been going on in paris and other french cities at the raising of the pension age might lead to some recalculation about whether that visit would go ahead. the suggestion was that it would indeed, it includes a dinner at versailles

but now we are understanding that the visit by king charles to france has been postponed, it was due to take place next week. this is a statement from the elysee palace. a little bit more detail coming through, the visit of king charles to france will be postponed because of tensions about pension reform. the french and british governments took the decision following a phone call between president emmanuel macron and the king, the statement says. a phone call between president emmanuel macron and the king. we had from paris correspondent hugh schofield earlier today and he said he didn't feel that the protesters had an issue per se with the royal visit, but they may well have had an issue with emmanuel macron standing alongside the king at versailles given the tensions over increasing

the pension age from 60 to 64. unions in france have said that this disadvantages many workers, particularly those involved in manual occupations. —— raising the pension age from 60 to 64. also tensions over the way the law has been introduced, because emmanuel macron used special powers to introduce the new pension age without putting it to a vote. protests have been going on for a number of days now, more than 400 people have been arrested in the latest round of protests on thursday, around 400 members of the security forces injured as well, but it must be said many protests were peaceful. in this climate it has been decided that the state visit of king charles to france should be postponed. just to recap the latest information we have, the french and british governments took the decision to cancel that state visit

by king charles following a phone call between president macron and the king. it's been confirmed that british billionaire sirjim ratcliffe has put in a revised bid to buy one of the world's biggest football clubs, manchester united. the qatari banker sheikh jassim is expected to submit a second bid later today. ratcliffe and jassim were the only publicly declared bidders until recently. but now the finnish entrepenuer thomas zilliacus has announced he wants to buy half the club. earlier i spoke former chelsea and scotland footballer, pat nevin. i began by asking him what the fans want. what the manchester united fans want is the right owners to take over at the right price, so the work that needs to be done, notjust on the team but the stadium, the training ground, etc, and with a plan going forward, so there's all that to take into account. and that's only the start of it, there's bigger things to concern the manchester united fans, even though you talk about two bidders, there is a third bid coming in now.

there's also the possibility of people coming in to buy not the entirety of the club but a part of the investment, which i do not think most manchester united fans want. they want the glazers out. what do they think, though, of an owner from the middle east, from qatar in particular? well, i can't speak for all manchester united fans, and they wouldn't want me to, but i thinkjust like manchester united... just like newcastle united before them, they did not like the owner they had. they knew they needed investment, wanted investment, and they wanted a group they could trust, but they didn't get exactly what they wanted. but most newcastle fans have now got a group in charge who they wouldn't have said yes to had they not disliked intensely the one they had. and it may well be the manchester united fans, or many of them, have the same problem. there is a big moral thing that always goes on with manchester united fans, you know? a lot of them, when the glazers took over and it wasn't run the way they wanted it to be run, they stopped supporting the club. they had another club,

remember the green and yellow scarves thing that they had going as well? they wanted it to be a club that had a moral base to it, that they could feel comfortable with. but every single club now, certainly at the top levels of world football, have to consider ethical arguments as well as the financial ones, and those are two things that more often than not don't fit particularly well together. pat nevin. the bbc has seen data that suggests older workers are less likely to get jobs at the uk treasury than younger people. it comes as the chancellor jeremy hunt urges over—50s to return to work to help tackle staff shortages. the treasury said its recruitment processes were "fair, open and based on merit". earlier, i spoke to our business reporter noor nanji. we used a freedom of information request to see recruitment data from the treasury over the past five years and the results were very interesting. what they reveal is that older workers who gotjob interviews that the treasury, they got a lower proportion ofjob

interviews at the treasury, they got a lower proportion ofjob offers compared to younger workers. if we take a look at the numbers we can see 17% of over 50s who got interviews at the treasury were successful at getting job offers. that compares with 20% of people in their 30s and 22% for under 30s. we also asked to see the average age of people working at the treasury. taken as a whole we can see that in december of last year, the average age of people who worked at the treasury was 34 years old. that's well below the average age of workers across the uk, which was 42 according to the latest data we have. just under 10% of people who work at the treasury are over 50 years of age and again that's much lower than the wider workforce, where 32% of people are aged over 50. this data is particularly relevant right now. that's right. chancellorjeremy hunt has been

calling on over 50s to return to the workplace to try to plug some of the staff shortages we are seeing across the economy. jeremy hunt became chancellor in october last year. injanuary he used a speech specifically to appeal to early retirees saying britain needs you, we need you to get back to work. in the budget last week he announced a series of measures designed to get older people back to work. but charities have warned that although many over 50s do want to work, a lot of the time they seem to face discrimination and ageism from recruiters. the treasury said its recruitment processes are fair, open and based on merit. it also says it runs a blind recruitment process that essentially means assessors do not get shown the ages of applicants. the charity age uk says that can be helpful certainly in the early stages, for example when you are sifting through cvs and application letters, but it said that biases can creep

in at a later stage so it says it is important to train recruiters to ensure they minimize biases when they are face—to—face with candidates in interviews. just to recap on the breaking news from the last couple of minutes. the news that a planned state visit to france by king charles has been postponed and this is due to the ongoing protests over pension reform. this has been announced by the french presidency, a statement from the elysee palace in the last few minutes. several hundred protesters arrested on thursday in the latest round of demonstrations against the raising of the pension age from 62 to 64. we are hearing more detail from the statement released. the

decision was taken by the french and british governments after a telephone conversation between president macron and king charles, which took place this morning. and we are being told as well that the state visit will be reorganised as soon as possible. the visit was to include a dinner at versailles but given the level of protest, ongoing protest in france at the moment over the pension reform, anger also at the pension reform, anger also at the way it was pushed through in parliament, the president using special powers which didn't involve a vote on the issue, given that context, the decision has been taken to cancel the state visit by king charles that was due to take place, beginning on sunday, and to reorganise it as soon as possible. the bbc has suspended its decision to close its choir — the bbc singers — after a public outcry. it said a number of

organisations had come forward to offer alternative funding. the group is britain's only full—time professional chamber choir and was targeted as part of budget cuts shortly before its centenary. choirs across europe added their voices to those of many professional musicians and music lovers in the uk who expressed dismay at the original decision. i'm joined by our correspondent yetunde yusuf. just a little bit more background to all of this. the bbc announced this decision because of budget cuts. that's right. bbc singers are much loved in their classical music community. they are recognised globally, so when the bbc announced it would make these cuts there was a lot of criticism from top conductors, to amateur choirs. even the musicians union said the cuts would be utterly devastating. to talk you through some of the announcements, there were plans by the bbc to make changes to orchestras and performing groups with plans to reduce some of those

roles by about 20%. the bbc said it wanted to make it more agile, but there is no doubt about it, there were some financial pressures. last year they spent £25 million on orchestras and performing groups, in the last financial year, so clearly it was looking to make some savings. what's the plan now? this decision is on hold, or perhaps reversed completely? fist is on hold, or perhaps reversed completely?— is on hold, or perhaps reversed comletel ? �* ., , ., completely? at the moment they are susendin: completely? at the moment they are suspending those _ completely? at the moment they are suspending those proposals - completely? at the moment they are suspending those proposals while i completely? at the moment they are suspending those proposals while it i suspending those proposals while it is looking at all the alternative options to fund bbc singers. they have been approached by a number of organisations over the past few weeks. they will be looking at that with the musicians union and then deciding if any of them are viable and that could mean the future of bbc singers is secured.— and that could mean the future of bbc singers is secured. for more than 100 years, kings and queens have been among the few people permitted to walk on one of britain's greatest medieval treasures — the cosmati pavement. now, for the first time in its history, visitors

to westminster abbey will be allowed to stand — in socks — in the exact spot where the king will be crowned. our royal correspondent sarah campbell has more. in just six weeks' time, westminster abbey will host another coronation. since 1066, 39 monarchs have been crowned here. and for the past 700 years, beneath their feet has been this, a mosaic made from thousands of pieces of glass, marble and stone, the cosmati pavement. it's just so unusual that this is here. italian masons came here with all their materials. they collaborated with the english masons to produce this fantastic, glittering, shiny mosaic, in front of the high altar at the heart of westminster abbey. it would have looked amazing. it's so beautiful in the flesh, but it's been covered up for years. yes. covered with carpet and boarding, just because it was in such a deteriorated condition that it couldn't be safely used. and that's why, when you look back at archive footage from the late

queen's coronation in 1953, all you can see is the light coloured carpet. the medievalfloor, which by then was uneven and damaged, had been covered up since victorian times. vanessa and her team spent two years fully restoring the mosaic, with maintenance an ongoing project. it's witnessed so, so much. you know, throughout the centuries, every special event has taken place probably on the cosmati pavement. usually, the public is kept well away from the cosmati pavement in order to protect it. but, for a few short weeks after the coronation, they will be allowed for the first time to actually walk on the mosaic, as long as, of course, they take off their shoes. it's the high altar, it's a very sacred space. it's where special services and major services take place. and for normal visiting the area is completely roped off.

but we just think as part of the celebration of coronation, we want to allow a few people access onto the pavement to see what it's really like, and to get a real feel and a sense for the space. and to stand on the place where the coronation chair will have just been. yeah, you'll be able to stand right in the centre point where the coronation chair sits and faces east. and also, you'll be able to see the pavement itself in great detail. i mean, it's a masterpiece. it's been there since 1268. it's really lovely. anti—monarchy campaigners opted not to remove their shoes when they carried out a brief protest there earlier this week. on may the 6th, the focus will once again be on this seven—metre square mosaic, a colourful example of the abbey�*s long history and connection with the monarchy. sarah campbell, bbc news, westminster abbey.

claude lorius, a leading glaciologist whose expeditions helped prove that humans were responsible for global warming, has died at the age of 91. it was his love of adventure which set him on the path to identifying and predicting an impending catastrophe for the planet. he led 22 expeditions to greenland and antarctica during his lifetime. it was during one trip to antarctica in 1965 where an evening of whiskey with ice cubes led him to prove humankind's role in the heating of the earth's surface. if you didn't manage to bag tickets for the eurovision song contest this year, it's just been announced that you'll be able to watch it live at the cinema. more than 500 cinemas are taking part and tickets will be available from 10am on monday. the final takes place on saturday, may 13th, in liverpool. and a reminder of the breaking news that king charles�*s state visit to france has been postponed because of the protests over pension reform.

you are watching bbc news. hello there. it's been an unsettled week, really, all in all. we've had rain followed by sunshine and showers. today certainly is going to be one of sunshine and showers with our area of low pressure sitting on top of the uk. but once again, like it's been all week, it's going to be mild through the afternoon. temperatures in the low to mid—teens for most of us. our area of low pressure is slowly pushing across the country. in its centre, winds will be light, so lighter winds across scotland today but blustery across many central and southern areas. through the afternoon, gusts will be reaching 40 or 50 mph in exposure across southern and western coasts. that will rattle these heavy, maybe thundery, showers through quite quickly, whereas the showers will be slower moving across scotland, with the lighter winds there. but a mild day to come for all, ten to maybe 14 degrees in the south—east. still quite chilly, though,

for the northern isles. now, this area of low pressure continues to push across the country towards the north sea overnight. again, it's going to be blustery across southern areas with showers or longer spells of rain, lighter winds further north. nowhere particularly cold. lows of 5—8 or even 9 degrees. now, into the weekend, we continue with the theme of sunshine and showers and fairly mild on saturday. but by sunday things will be turning colder for all areas. an increasing chance of wintry showers across the north of the country. this area of low pressure will skirt towards the south of the uk as we move through saturday night and into sunday, eventually clearing away on sunday, and as it does that's where it'll open the floodgates to this arctic northerly that will spread southwards across the uk from sunday and it'll stay cold into the start of next week as well. so this is the picture for saturday. again, it's sunshine and showers. i don't think quite as many showers as what we are expecting today. still quite breezy across eastern areas but the winds will turn lighter. signs of the colder air

starting to make inroads across the far north of the uk. however again it's going to be a mild one for england, wales and northern ireland. we see that overnight rain slowly clearing away from southern areas on sunday morning. eventually it will do, but then the colder air spreads southwards and an increasing chance of sunny spells and wintry showers across scotland. you can see those temperatures dipping in the north, just about making double figures across southern england. but sunday night will be cold taking us into the start of monday. don't forget this weekend the clocks go forward by one hour.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. iam martine i am martine croxall. our top stories: the french presidency announces a visit by king charles to france has been postponed amid ongoing widespread protests against an increase to the country's pension age. israeli pm, benjamin netanyahu, is meeting uk pm rishi sunak at 10 downing street right now, but controversial policy reforms at home may overshadow talks. china denies asking for access to user data stored by tiktok overseas, as pressure mounts in the united states for a ban on the video—sharing app. indian opposition party leader rahul gandhi disqualified from parliament, after being convicted

in a defamation case relating to prime minister narendra modi. british billionaire sirjim ratcliffe puts in a revised bid to buy one of football's biggest names, manchester united. welcome to bbc news. the state visit of king charles to france has been postponed. the french and british governments took the decision following a phone call between president emmanuel macron and the king. this comes after widespread protests over the country's pension reforms. the interior ministry says more than 450 protestors were arrested and 440 members of the security forces injured. more than one million people took to the streets on thursday to protest against the retirement age being raised from 62 to 64. let's get more on this with our correspondent charlotte gallagher.

this has only just this has onlyjust broken in the last few minutes. it this has onlyjust broken in the last few minutes.— this has onlyjust broken in the last few minutes. it has, and we have a statement _ last few minutes. it has, and we have a statement from - last few minutes. it has, and we i have a statement from buckingham palace, saying the king and queen consort�*s state visit to france has been postponed but they look forward to visiting france as soon as dates can be found. this was the king's first state visit. it was important to the royal family that this went well, and it is also going to be the first time a british monarch had addressed senators in france. it was going to be incredibly important. i think with the situation, with the violence, the last thing the royal family would have wanted and of course the french government would have wanted was the visit to be overshadowed with violence. so i think it will be postponed, it will happen at a later date. they will still go to germany. this was a visit to france and germany, they will still go to germany, that will go ahead, but the french part of the visit has been postponed. and go ahead, but the french part of the visit has been postponed.— visit has been postponed. and 'ust remind us why�* visit has been postponed. and 'ust remind us why this i

visit has been postponed. and 'ust remind us why this is i visit has been postponed. and 'ust remind us why this is the i visit has been postponed. and just remind us why this is the case, i remind us why this is the case, because the back story to it is nothing to do with relationships between france and the uk. the rotests between france and the uk. the protests going — between france and the uk. tue: protests going on in between france and the uk. tue protests going on in france between france and the uk. tue: protests going on in france at the moment are nothing to do with the uk, nothing to do with the king or his visit. they are to do with emmanuel macron's proposals to raise the retirement age in france. it passed through parliament but didn't have a vote and people are incredibly angry. we have seen widespread protests, trains and public transport cancelled, fires on the streets of paris. policemen were injured, protesters were injured and arrested, and it would have looked really bad had the king got caught up really bad had the king got caught up in those protests, if it had affected the visit. you can imagine the photos and videos we would have seen, and it may have been the french police and french security services thought they couldn't control everything on this trip. so for safety and also for public relations it's been postponed at this point. relations it's been postponed at this oint. :, :, :, this point. charlotte gallagher, thank you- _

joining us live now from paris is georgina wright, a resident senior fellow and director of the europe programme at the think tank institut montaigne. thank you forjoining us. tell us how important this visit was going to be for france and also the uk. thanks for having me. this was huge, it follows the franco british summit that happened two weeks ago where we saw a new dynamic in the relationship, this willingness to turn the page for acrimony and really sort of be ambitious about what these countries can do together. the fact the king chose france as his first state visit was really meaningful to france but also meaningful to the uk. i think there was a lot of hope and excitement frankly around this visit, but of course the situation in france is very difficult. we have seen widespread protests for weeks, but it seems that the anger has amplified. even yesterday we saw some protesters setting alight one

of the city is the king was due to visit. in that context it makes senseit visit. in that context it makes sense it was postponed. you mention the animosity — sense it was postponed. you mention the animosity at _ sense it was postponed. you mention the animosity at times _ sense it was postponed. you mention the animosity at times that _ sense it was postponed. you mention the animosity at times that there i the animosity at times that there has been, even in recent years between france and the uk. where is this impetus coming from to try to move on from that? it’s this impetus coming from to try to move on from that?— move on from that? it's a really aood move on from that? it's a really good question- _ move on from that? it's a really good question. i _ move on from that? it's a really good question. i think— move on from that? it's a really good question. i think first i good question. i think first pragmatism, you know, the uk and france share many of the same instincts, they share much of the same vision of the world. it makes sense for the two nuclear powers and military powers of europe to be working close together. but also the context we are in, seeing war returning europe, it makes sense to work together. also as brexit is left behind, there is a willingness to reconnect societies and governments, so it is in that context that there was willingness on both sides to strengthen that

relationship. on both sides to strengthen that relationship-— relationship. what's your expectation _ relationship. what's your expectation then - relationship. what's your expectation then of- relationship. what's your expectation then of howl relationship. what's your - expectation then of how cautiously france will proceed with trying to rearrange the state visit? i france will proceed with trying to rearrange the state visit?- rearrange the state visit? i think robabl rearrange the state visit? i think probably all _ rearrange the state visit? i think probably all the _ rearrange the state visit? i think probably all the caution - rearrange the state visit? i think probably all the caution they i rearrange the state visit? i think. probably all the caution they need. this decision will not have been taken lightly. there was a lot of excitement in france. the king's visit was much more of excitement in france than the franco british summit with prime minister rishi sunak, so they will want to make sure that actually the visit can happen peacefully, that this is an opportunity to talk about broader relations beyond politics, about relations beyond politics, about relations between societies to highlight projects, whether it's tackling climate change or strengthening our action to preserve the environment that are happening on both sides. there is a willingness to highlight these things and you can't do that when the country is facing so many

protests and violent clashes. georgina right from the institut montaigne, thank you forjoining us. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, is holding talks with rishi sunak in downing street this morning. as the uk prime minister met his counterpart at the door for a handshake, they could clearly hear loud shouts of "shame" in hebrew from protesters waving israeli flags and placards, stating their aim of "saving israeli democracy". protests are continuing in israel, where the government is pushing ahead with controversial reforms that would limit the power of the courts. well, let's speak now to paul adams, our diplomatic correspondent. what is the purpose of this visit? for benjamin netanyahu, he would like to talk about his pet concerns including iran's nuclear ambitions, a message he's taken to france and germany. he is concerned with negotiations on resuming some kind of nuclear deal at a standstill iran

is enriching uranium in an alarming way. he has voiced that many times in the past, but anything he might want to talk about is being overshadowed by this real political crisis at home, the echoes of which he would have heard when he entered downing street this morning. i think it is week 11 — downing street this morning. i think it is week 11 of _ downing street this morning. i think it is week 11 of mass _ it is week 11 of mass anti—government protests in israel, remind us of the background to those. �*, remind us of the background to those. �* , :, remind us of the background to those. �*, :, :, :, those. it's all following the legislative _ those. it's all following the legislative agenda - those. it's all following the legislative agenda that i those. it's all following the legislative agenda that his| legislative agenda that his government is pursuing, an agenda which would change or limit the authority of israel's supreme court in terms of how the judges are appointed. it would increase political involvement in that. essentially for mr netanyahu's essentially for mr neta nyahu's critics, essentially for mr netanyahu's critics, it would undermine one of the pillars of the israeli state, the pillars of the israeli state, the supreme court and its ability to

operate independent of political influence. and of course his critics argue this is something in which there is a large measure of self interest because mr netanyahu has been facing legal difficulties of his own for the last couple of years and one of the measures that was actually passed last night by the israeli knesset will make it harder for the prime minister to be removed from office. so they do see a large measure of self interest in what he and his government are doing. to what extent is he able to make these changes because of the make—up of the government in israel now? some eo - le the government in israel now? some people would — the government in israel now? some people would argue _ the government in israel now? some people would argue that _ the government in israel now? °ruue people would argue that these are being driven by some of the most right—wing and religious forces in israeli politics. this is arguably the most right—wing israeli government since the foundation of the state of israel. i do remember saying about another netanyahu government in the late 1990s that it felt like the most right—wing in israel's history but this makes that

once a moderate. the finance minister only last monday in a speech in paris said there was no such thing as the palestinian people. he called for a palestinian village where twojewish people. he called for a palestinian village where two jewish settlers had been murdered earlier to be erased from the map. so mr netanyahu has forces in his government who are very much supporters of the settlement of the west bank, but also people who support the increasing influence of the ultraorthodox and the religious zionist movement in israel. and that is anathema to those secular israelis who want to preserve the balance of forces that has existed in israel since the foundation of the state. that balance between secular and religious elements in israel has always been a fault line, and sometimes a very obvious fault

line is —— in israeli politics but rarely more obvious than it is now. paul adams, thank you. before he left for the uk, mr netanyahu said he was determined to press ahead with those controversial reforms to israel's judicial system. mr netanyahu vowed to do everything to bring calm and cohesion to the country. from jerusalem, tom bateman sent this report. israelis are stopping the traffic over their politicians�* plan to overhaul their courts. weeks of protests are boiling over into bitter division. this is a fight for the flag. and now it is spilling blood onto the streets of tel aviv. he sprayed us with mace, and then i tried to stop him and he hit the can

in my face. tried to stop him and he hit the can in my face-— tried to stop him and he hit the can in m face. :, :, , , :, ~ ,:, in my face. how does this make you feel about your— in my face. how does this make you feel about your country? _ in my face. how does this make you feel about your country? we - in my face. how does this make you feel about your country? we have . in my face. how does this make you feel about your country? we have a | feel about your country? we have a dictator. feel about your country? we have a dictator- you _ feel about your country? we have a dictator. you tell— feel about your country? we have a dictator. you tell your _ feel about your country? we have a dictator. you tell your government, you tell your people. the demonstrators _ you tell your people. the demonstrators have i you tell your people. the demonstrators have reached the british embassy last week, wanting foreign governments to add pressure as mr netanyahu heads abroad visiting london today. they warn of dystopia and dictatorship, and a muslin of legal protections by the new coalition of the ultra religious and the far right. this government is the first post-zionist _ and the far right. this government is the first post-zionist messianicl is the first post—zionist messianic government. my father and his brothers didn�*t fighting was for a theocracy for orthodox jews. the israeli leader _ theocracy for orthodox jews. the israeli leader is _ theocracy for orthodox jews. the israeli leader is caught between deepening descent and a coalition he needs to survive, and he�*s vowing to push on. translation: i push on. translation: :, , :, translation: i will do everything to calm the situation _ translation: i will do everything to calm the situation and _ translation: i will do everything to calm the situation and to _ translation: i will do everything to calm the situation and to end - calm the situation and to end division among the people, because

we are brothers. and with the help of god, together we will manage and together we will succeed. but of god, together we will manage and together we will succeed.— together we will succeed. but his far ri . ht together we will succeed. but his far right and _ together we will succeed. but his far right and religious _ together we will succeed. but his far right and religious coalition i together we will succeed. but his far right and religious coalition is | far right and religious coalition is under growing international pressure over both its rhetoric and its policies amid spiralling violence. in the west bank, the protests feel a world away. for palestinians, the faces of israel�*s forces may change but the occupation remains, and things are getting much worse. for people here, it feels like a crisis arriving from all sides. israel�*s most extreme government in its history, a palestinian leadership losing its limited security grip on key cities around here, and that is why the fears are growing that the west bank could slip out of control. for over a year, i have seen militants rearm in

nearbyjenin as violent scripts this region. israel�*s political turmoil comes amid calls for calm that may be impossible to heed. tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. the indian opposition leader, rahul gandhi, has been disqualified from parliament following his conviction for defamation on thursday. mr gandhi — who is a key congress party figure — was given a two—year prison sentence for remarks about the prime minister�*s surname — modi — in a campaign speech in 2019. mr gandhi was an mp in the southern state of kerala. he remains on bailfor 30 days and has said he will appeal the verdict. from mumbai, the bbc�*s south asia correspondent yogita limaye reports. rahul gandhi has been sentenced to two years in jail by a court in the western state of gujarat. he has been found guilty of defamation for comments that he made in 2019 about indian prime minister narendra modi�*s last name. the lower house of india�*s parliament, of which mr gandhi

is an elected mp, they have put out a notice today saying that mr gandhi has been disqualified. several legal experts believe that the rules say that if an mp has been given a sentence that is of two or more years, they cannot continue as a member of parliament. mr gandhi�*s party, the congress, they have been protesting outside the parliament. they have called the court�*s judgment erroneous, unsustainable and politically motivated, accusing the ruling bjp party of being behind it. just to give you a common text of defamation cases in india, it is extremely rare for someone to get a jail sentence for defamation in this country. that is perhaps why we have seen several opposition parties supporting the congress and mr gandhi today. as far as the jail sentence is concerned, it is not expected that he will be jailed, or not at least any time soon. but what lawyers say is that if the sentence is not suspended,

or if he is not acquitted, he cannot contest elections and national elections due next year. china has responded to the controversy surrounding the video—sharing app tiktok by saying it has never asked any company to provide data located in foreign countries — and has no plans to do so. the foreign ministry spokesperson mao ning was answering questions about the testimony of tiktok�*s ceo shou zi chew in the us congress. tiktok is owned by the chinese company bytedance. mr chew faced a grilling by us lawmakers for five hours on thursday, where he defended the app against concerns it was a threat to us national security. i�*m joined now by james titcomb, who is the technology editor at the telegraph. thank you forjoining us. no doubt you watched that testimony with interest. how convincing do you

think the us congress felt he was? they clearly weren�*t convinced. it was a very ill tempered, very uncomfortable hearing for shou zi chew, the tiktok ceo. he was trying to make his point that tiktok is storing data in the us, that has a lot of us employees, that china has never asked for data and tiktok is saying it would never give china data, but members of congress were clearly not won over. they were asking lots of questions about how chinese engineers have access to tiktok user data, and both democrats and republicans unusually on the committee just did not seem won over. shou chew struggled, he didn�*t really manage to get his point across, he was interrupted a lot and often said he would have to get back to members of congress on questions, so i don�*t think it was a particularly successful hearing for him. :, : :, , :, particularly successful hearing for him. :, : :, , him. how clear is it to you exactly what the connection _

him. how clear is it to you exactly what the connection is _ him. how clear is it to you exactly what the connection is between i him. how clear is it to you exactly. what the connection is between the chinese government and the owner of tiktok, bytedance? the chinese government and the owner of tiktok, bytedance?— tiktok, bytedance? the connection isn't clear and _ tiktok, bytedance? the connection isn't clear and that's _ tiktok, bytedance? the connection isn't clear and that's a _ tiktok, bytedance? the connection isn't clear and that's a big - tiktok, bytedance? the connection isn't clear and that's a big part i tiktok, bytedance? the connection isn't clear and that's a big part of i isn�*t clear and that�*s a big part of the problem. tiktok, shou chew the ceo yesterday said he hadn�*t ever spoken with a member of the chinese government since he had been in charge of the app. bytedance says it�*s owned largely by international shareholders, by its employees and founders. some of the concerns about this though are the chinese national security laws require its companies to hand over data when it asked for, and we might never know about that. if it did happen. how much pressure is tiktok underfrom if it did happen. how much pressure is tiktok under from other countries that are looking at the decisions of the united states, the uk parliament, the new zealand government in who should have access to the app on various devices? yes, this is becoming an international story that the us was the first to

restrict the app on devices but we have seen other country star to take action too. we have seen this before with companies such as huawei where for the country swiftly follow, it�*s a domino effect. countries will be closely following what happened in yesterday�*s hearing and what happens next. i think probably the status quo is seen as unacceptable by the us and they are putting the company under pressure to divest itself of its chinese shareholders, and i think we may well see other countries doing the same. hour countries doing the same. how cautious do _ countries doing the same. how cautious do you _ countries doing the same. how cautious do you think— countries doing the same. how cautious do you think members of the public should be about having tiktok on their devices?— on their devices? tiktok does take a lot of data, — on their devices? tiktok does take a lot of data, contact _ on their devices? tiktok does take a lot of data, contact data, _ on their devices? tiktok does take a lot of data, contact data, location i lot of data, contact data, location data, other aspects.

lot of data, contact data, location data, otheraspects. but no lot of data, contact data, location data, other aspects. but no more so than other large social media apps such as facebook and instagram, twitter. most of the time, most people aren�*t using a lot of sensitive security —related information on tiktok, and the app is clearly very popular. 150 million people using in the us this week. so if there are security concerns, they are not getting through to the general public.— are not getting through to the aeneral ublic. , :, , :, ~' ,:, it�*s been confirmed that british billionaire sirjim ratcliffe has put in a revised bid to buy one of the world�*s biggest football clubs — manchester united. the qatari banker sheikh jassim is expected to submit a second bid later today. ratcliffe and jassim were the only publicly declared bidders until recently.

but now the finnish entrepenuer thomas zilliacus has announced he wants to buy half the club. i�*m joined now byjames montague — football journalist and author of the billionaires club: the unstoppable rise of football�*s super—rich owners. how many bidders might there be? these are the ones we know about. there�*s been others as well. the delegate group who are quite famous for being known as vulture capitalists is a phrase i don�*t think they like to be used, but they buy the debt of distressed third world companies. so there�*s going to be a few people because manchester united is the biggest, most valuable sports franchise in the world. more than the most expensive football club in the world. bigger than any nfl franchise, so there will be a lot of interest around the world to buy the club. lot of interest around the world to buy the club-— buy the club. how much of this is about the football _ buy the club. how much of this is about the football rather - buy the club. how much of this is about the football rather than i about the football rather than business? it about the football rather than business? , :, , , ,, business? it is about business i cuess. business? it is about business i guess- when — business? it is about business i guess. when you _ business? it is about business i guess. when you look - business? it is about business i guess. when you look at i business? it is about business i guess. when you look at clubs, especially when we drill down into

the qatari potential ownership of manchester united, it�*s not really about business. it�*s about something much bigger. this is a trend we have seen since manchester united taken over by a state backed... they would deny it state backed, but we have the same with newcastle united. the crown prince of saudi arabia is chair of that and that essentially owns 80% of newcastle united. these are state backed middle eastern countries owning football clubs. i think there is something much wider than business in that football clubs are fantastic advertising opportunities for your country, to rebrand yourself, reputation laundering. especially somewhere like saudi arabia which has an appalling human rights record, and qatar has been a country that has used football, especially the world

cup in 2022, owns psg, and has projected itself onto the world stage. projected itself onto the world sta . e. , , projected itself onto the world stare. , , , stage. this is 'ust the next iteration_ stage. this is 'ust the next iteration of i stage. this isjust the next iteration of that. _ stage. this isjust the next iteration of that. you i stage. this isjust the next iteration of that. you have | stage. this is just the next - iteration of that. you have charted the rise of the middle east�*s influence in football. how many people can really compete with that level of investment? particularly when it�*s backed by wealthy countries? when it's backed by wealthy countries?— when it's backed by wealthy countries? :, , , , countries? nobody, this is the issue. countries? nobody, this is the issue- we _ countries? nobody, this is the issue. we have _ countries? nobody, this is the issue. we have had _ countries? nobody, this is the issue. we have had various i countries? nobody, this is the - issue. we have had various moments which have been extremely important, especially in english football because the premier league is the richest league in the world, the most successful financially, and richest league in the world, the most successfulfinancially, and it attracts huge numbers of people. so you had this moment in 2003 when roman abramovich took over chelsea. suddenly someone was spending money that no one could compete with, so everyone was looking for their own billionaires to compete. the situation in 2008 when manchester city was taken over essentially by a leading member of the abu dhabi royalfamily, that you kind of need a state backed owner with unlimited political clout, unlimited financial

means to really compete, and that�*s what we�*ve got here. there are very few people that can compete with the royal families of the gulf. to few people that can compete with the royal families of the gulf.— royal families of the gulf. to what extent do ethics _ royal families of the gulf. to what extent do ethics matter _ royal families of the gulf. to what extent do ethics matter to - royal families of the gulf. to what extent do ethics matter to the i royal families of the gulf. to what| extent do ethics matter to the fans of manchester united? it�*s extent do ethics matter to the fans of manchester united?— of manchester united? it's a tough one. they matter _ of manchester united? it's a tough one. they matter when _ of manchester united? it's a tough one. they matter when their i one. they matter when their opponents are owned by middle eastern country. we have seen that with manchester city fans being criticised, oil money, but once a new owner comes in promising the earth, very quickly people change. i was in newcastle last year to see and speak to the fans just after the takeover, and there wasn�*t a bad word to be said about saudi arabia. i think there is an extremely troubling ethical issue of newcastle united and the saudi ownership, much more than there is to qatar to an extent with the uae. if one country

in the world that shouldn�*t be buying football clubs because of its human rights record, it saudi arabia, but very quickly fans put that to one side. they were so upset with a previous ownership that they were willing to give it a go. any noise, if it is taken over by a qatari structure, the noise will soon dissipate and we will see what happens, whereas those opponents are very much in the minority. almost seen as traitors for bringing it up. james montague, footballjournalist, james montague, football journalist, good james montague, footballjournalist, good to get your insight. thanks for joining us on bbc news. the french scientist, claude lorius — whose study of antarctic ice helped prove the role played by mankind in global warming — has died at the age of 91. his analysis of ice cores extracted in antarctica established that levels of carbon dioxide started rising sharply after the industrial revolution.

stay with us on bbc news. much more on the postponement of king charles�* state visit to france here on bbc news. hello, it�*s been an unsettled week really all in all. we have had rain followed by sunshine and showers. today will be one of sunshine and showers with an area of low pressure sitting on top of the uk. but once again, it�*s going to be mild through the afternoon, temperatures in the low to mid—teens for most. the area of low pressure slowly pushing across the country, with lighter winds across scotland today but blustery across many central and southern areas. through the afternoon, gusts will be reaching 50 mph in exposure of southern and western coasts which will rattle the showers through quickly. whereas they will be slower moving across scotland with the lighter winds there. ten to may be 14 degrees in

there. ten to may be 14 degrees in the south—east but still quite chilly for the northern isles. the area of low pressure pushes towards the north sea overnight, again it will be blustery across southern areas with showers or longer spells of rain and lighter winds further north. nowhere particularly cold. those of five to 9 degrees. into the weekend we continue the theme of sunshine and showers and fairly mild on saturday, but by sunday things will be turning colder for all areas, an increasing chance of wintry showers across the north of the country. this low pressure will skirt towards the south of the uk as we move through saturday night into sunday, eventually clearing away on sunday, eventually clearing away on sunday, and that�*s where it will open the floodgates to the arctic northerly which will spread southward through sunday and will stay cold into the start of next week as well. this is the picture for saturday. again it sunshine and showers. i don�*t think quite as many showers. i don�*t think quite as many showers as we are expecting today. still quite breezy across eastern areas, but the winds will turn

lighter. signs of colder air making inroads across the far north of the uk but again it will be a mild one for england, wales and northern ireland. we see the overnight rain slowly clearing away from southern areas on sunday morning. eventually it will do, but then the colder air spread southward and an increasing chance of sunny spells and wintry showers across scotland, the temperatures dipping in the north, just about making double figures across southern england, but sunday night will be cold taking us into monday. don�*t forget this weekend the clocks go forward by one hour.

shares in deutsche bank slump as worries about the stability of the banking sector spread. as worries about the stability china hits back after tik tok�*s chief comes under tiktok�*s chief comes under fire from us lawmakers. welcome to world business report, i�*m mark lobel. there are warning signs from the banks again. a double—whammy on friday leading to a steep sell—off in european banking stocks. firsly, news of a us investigation into credit suisse and ubs