this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm jane hill. our top stories a state visit by king charles to france is postponed — ahead of more planned protests against president emmanuel macron�*s pension reforms. translation: i think would be lacking some sense to propose | to his majesty and the queen consort to come and make a state visit in the middle of the demonstrations. the price of dissent in russia: how a child's drawing sparked a police investigation, a criminal case — and a family torn apart. india's congress party says it'll challenge a decision to disqualify opposition mp rahul gandhi — after he was handed a two year prison sentence.

on day four of the trial of gwyneth paltrow about her role in a skiing accident, the actress is preparing to give testimony. we will have the latest. 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 and follows the widespread protests over france's pension reforms. the interior ministry says more than a50 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. here's some of what mr macron said about postponing the king's visit. translation: i believe that you see l the situation linked to the protestsl because of pension reform in france. from the moments last night when the unions announced a new day of mobilisation on tuesday, and with the king's visit planned from monday to wednesday, i think we wouldn't be being serious and would be lacking some sense to propose to his majesty and the queen consort to come and make a state visit in the middle of the demonstrations. let's go live to paris and our correspondent hugh schofield. in terms of the state visit it does seem impossible, doesn't it? the notion it could go ahead against the backdrop of some of the images we

have seen. indeed. there were questions _ have seen. indeed. there were questions being _ have seen. indeed. there were questions being asked - have seen. indeed. there were questions being asked at - have seen. indeed. there were questions being asked at the l questions being asked at the beginning of the week because at the beginning of the week because at the beginning of the week because at the beginning of the week we were seen trouble on a nightly basis and people were saying, is this really the right moment? there was talk of changing his itinerary and so on but at that point it was a question making adjustments. yesterday, we had this big day of trouble here in paris and around the country not least in bordeaux in the southwest, where the king was to have gone. where the portal of the town hull he was to have gone into satellites. all in all, of course, it was becoming impossible. it was impossible to rule out there wouldn't be some sort of protest action, maybe a security easy, more likely something highly embarrassing and in decorous and highly out of place. forthat and in decorous and highly out of place. for that to become the focus of the visit. so, it was a

friendship decision as i understand it, at least a french initiative, but ones which both sides exceeded fairly rapidly because there is too much at stake. the conditions as president micron said were not right, especially as the unions had called for another day of action, like yesterday's, for tuesday which was a bang in the middle of the visit. in was a bang in the middle of the visit. , ., visit. in terms of the continuing rotests visit. in terms of the continuing protests and — visit. in terms of the continuing protests and the _ visit. in terms of the continuing protests and the pension - visit. in terms of the continuing i protests and the pension reforms, what is your reading of it? is it a standoff at the moment, the protesters presumably want president micron to rewind on his proposals but he shows no sign of doing so. no, it is very hard to read the rooms here. it is a standoff. the process is certainly not going to give up, and tuesday has every sign of being another big day. there are more and more young extremists who are prepared tojoin in and cause

trouble and they feel they are justified. more and more people in the demonstrations are looking with a benign eye on the trouble that breaks out around them. so, it is a very difficult tense situation. it has to stop at some point but right now, both sides, people of goodwill on both sides are looking for a bit of common ground. where there might be a kind of postponement of the introduction of the law and the promise of talks and other things to underline, but president micron has made it clear that he believes the central point of the law, putting off the state pension state age is too important. we have to see. at some point something will give and the government hopes there'll be recognition that once this is done, there's no point in going forward and it would become a minority fear run by extremists and will wither away but were not there yet. thank

ou huh away but were not there yet. thank you hugh schofield _ away but were not there yet. thank you hugh schofield our— away but were not there yet. thank you hugh schofield our correspondent in paris. russians who protest against the war in ukraine take considerable risks by doing so: they can lose their jobs, even theirfreedom. but in one town, a russian man currently being prosecuted for anti—war posts on social media risks losing his daughter. the child, who's now 13, has been sent to a children's home and social services are taking legal action to restrict the father's parental rights. pressure on the family began last year after the girl drew an anti—war picture at school. from the town of yefremov steve rosenberg reports. this is the last time masha moskalyov was seen in public. police had just detained herfather for anti war social media posts. masha was taken to a children's home. it was on march 1st. but the story began last year, with a picture.

12—year—old masha drew it at school. "glory to ukraine", it says. "no to war", as russian missiles fly in. then the problem started. town counsellor olga podolski says masha's father, a single parent, contacted her to say the school, shocked by the drawing, had called the police. herfather, alexei, told me he was dumbfounded. then the police began checking his social media. they told him he was bringing up his daughter in a bad way. the authorities want everyone to toe the line. no one is allowed to have their own opinion. alexei is under house arrest and not allowed to talk to us. since masha drew that picture he's been charged twice with discrediting the russian army. he could now be sent to prison. his lawyer says alexei is distraught without his child.

alexei is very worried about his daughter. he doesn't know what's happening to her. the social services seem obsessed with this family. i think that's purely for political reasons. the family's problems only began after the girl drew that picture. we tried contacting masha's school to get its side of the story. school number nine didn't respond to a written request for comment. so we went along there, but were told, no, we couldn't come in. we tried calling. same result. across town, supporters of the family gathered in court. "return masha to her father", it says. the localjuvenile affairs commission is taking legal action to restrict alexei's parental rights.

the commission has yet to respond to our request for comment. alexei moskalyov had wanted to come here to court, but he wasn't allowed to interrupt his house arrest to be here. even though what's at stake is whether his rights as a father are going to be restricted and whether his child will be taken away from him. local activists are doing what they can to help, buying food and supplies forfather and daughter. but when we ask the moskalyovs neighbours what they think, they're reluctant to say. "i'm scared to", angelina says. "i'm frightened to answer." "sorry", she says. "i won't express an opinion." and that, too, paints a picture of today's russia, of the level of fear. dissent is unacceptable, punishable. what those in power here expect is people's support no matter what decisions are taken.

steve rosenberg, bbc news, yefremov, russia. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has had talks with uk prime minister rishi sunak in downing street today — but the visit comes at a time of political turmoil in israel. the country has been gripped by months of some of the biggest demonstrations in its history over the government's plans to limit the powers of the courts. protestors gathered outside downing street as well. a planned photo opportunity for the gathered media was cancelled and there was no joint statement. during their meeting, mr sunak and mr netanyahu were expected to discuss strengthening �*strategic ties', the war in ukraine, and forging �*a united international front�*against iran's nuclear programme — that's according to mr netanyahu's office. paul adams reports

reporter: mr netanyahu! your own attorney general says you are breaking the law. israel's prime minister arriving in downing street this morning. a warm welcome from rishi sunak. but the sounds of anguished protests ringing out behind them. it's nothing mr netanyahu hasn't seen for weeks back home. on a much, much bigger scale. but his domestic woes are following him wherever he goes. for the first time in a really long time, britishjews are really making a stand and making a statement in support of the israeli protesters. they don't want anything to do with what they see in israel, the racism, the extremism, the deterioration from democracy and liberal values. a battle for the soul of israel has been raging for weeks.

mr netanyahu's opponents are furious at legal reforms which they say will undermine the rule of law and shield the prime minister from his own legal difficulties. we have a dictator in israel that is trying to make these people hurt us. you tell your government, you tell your people. protesters outside the british embassy in tel aviv last week. they want israel's traditional allies to intervene, but this week, britain and israel said their bilateral relationship had never been closer. for palestinians, israel's political turmoil forms a noisy backdrop to their own difficult lives. this morning, they queued up at israeli checkpoints hoping to reach jerusalem for the first friday prayers of ramadan. there's real tension here, and violence is on the rise in the west bank. the coming weeks could be challenging. paul adams, bbc news.

well, we can also speak to hen mazzig who i believe was out protesting earlier today. he's a writer, activist and senior fellow at the tel aviv institute. he identifies as an lgbt and zionist, supporting the two state solution. thanks for being with us and you were taking part or we saw the protest outside downing street and there's another outside the hotel that benjamin netanyahu was staying and that was part of your protests i understand? it and that was part of your protests i understand?— understand? it was 'ust part of my pess right h understand? it wasjust part of my process right outside _ understand? it wasjust part of my process right outside the - understand? it wasjust part of my process right outside the savoy . understand? it wasjust part of my| process right outside the savoy are very popular hotel in london. what very popular hotel in london. what are our very popular hotel in london. what are your fundamental _ very popular hotel in london. what are your fundamental reasons for protesting about his time in london? it's the first time were seen something like that. israelis following the prime minister wherever he goes, in berlin and everywhere he is travelling, there are is really protesters not practising against israel but the government of israel and protestant forward democracy. i think the biggest fear that many israelis and the protesters have, were talking

about 200,000 people going out every week and protesting the government, week and protesting the government, we are afraid. we are afraid for israel's democracy and the future and the protection that the supreme court used to give us, and he still given us for minorities and israelis from all backgrounds which is what the government is trying to change. and, you served in the defence forces, you served quite a few years, actually, in israel. and yet, you still have huge anxieties what specifically about these changes to the courts question mark yes, absolutely. we the courts question mark yes, absolutely-— the courts question mark yes, absolutel . s . , , ., absolutely. we are seeing the plan that the government _ absolutely. we are seeing the plan that the government has _ absolutely. we are seeing the plan that the government has proposed| that the government has proposed answers the most right wing government israel has ever had, it's very frightening. we are here and what the politicians are saying about their plans for the future of israel and lgbt q about their plans for the future of israel and lgbt 0 folks and women, it's really terrifying for our communities. i'm not the only reservist that is speaking,

countless israeli reservists from elite units and pilots and people who serve and love their country like i do, i'm a big zionist, we are speaking up the try and stop that because we want to see israel's character maintained as a jewish and democratic state. that's what we're about which is why we hold the israeli flag, we're not against israeli flag, we're not against israel but the israeli which is a question good operative to show that we can criticise the israel government. we can criticise the israel government-— we can criticise the israel government. we can criticise the israel covernment. s . ., ., government. what about the fact that he was voted — government. what about the fact that he was voted in? _ government. what about the fact that he was voted in? democracy - government. what about the fact that he was voted in? democracy means i government. what about the fact that l he was voted in? democracy means you can do everything _ he was voted in? democracy means you can do everything you — he was voted in? democracy means you can do everything you want, _ he was voted in? democracy means you can do everything you want, this - he was voted in? democracy means you can do everything you want, this is - can do everything you want, this is why we have checks and balances. in 1974 here in the uk the labour won more seats on the cover and the conservative party although they lost the popular vote. the same thing happened in the electric or other college lost to the popular

vote. i think the question would be enough for benjamin netanyahu to decide whether to promise herfor the country are for himself. fiend decide whether to promise her for the country are for himself. and the fact that these _ the country are for himself. and the fact that these protests _ the country are for himself. and the fact that these protests are - fact that these protests are following him around as you and pulp colleagues have done, is a hope that the embarrassment on the international stage will shift something? that there is more embarrassment in that than process in his own country?— embarrassment in that than process in his own country? yes. there were 250,000 people _ in his own country? yes. there were 250,000 people coming _ in his own country? yes. there were 250,000 people coming out - in his own country? yes. there were 250,000 people coming out every l in his own country? yes. there were - 250,000 people coming out every week for ten weeks now. proportionality in the uk that would mean 2 million people would go out every week to process. if 2 million people protested in the uk every day or every week i think i would mean something would have to change in the government would have to hold itself accountable. so far, the government hasn't done everything. what we are asking for, those speaking from abroad, is for the government to stop and listen to us and to have a contras of conservation. it seems that the

progression of the set of rules is growing rapidly, very intensively, and several rulers have already passed. ourfear is and several rulers have already passed. our fear is that the supreme court won't protect israeli minorities and democratic nature if we don't stop it. minorities and democratic nature if we don't stop it— we don't stop it. thank you very much hen _ we don't stop it. thank you very much hen mazzig. _ we don't stop it. thank you very much hen mazzig. our- we don't stop it. thank you very i much hen mazzig. our democratic correspondent was i hope able to listen to some of that and those are the feelings that are described here in london today paul. to what extent will concerns about his have permeated that reason meeting between benjamin netanyahu and rishi sunak? between ben'amin netanyahu and rishi sunak? , ,, ., ,, between ben'amin netanyahu and rishi sunak? , ,, ., �* ., sunak? rishi sunak would've heard the halts of — sunak? rishi sunak would've heard the halts of protests _ sunak? rishi sunak would've heard the halts of protests as _ sunak? rishi sunak would've heard the halts of protests as benjamin l the halts of protests as benjamin netanyahu arrived this morning. he would not be ignorance of the fact that british dues are more exercise about this particular moments in particular israeli politics than they have been for a long time. even

though, earlierthis they have been for a long time. even though, earlier this week we saw the two governments signing a paper which pledged to deepen is really, anglo — is really cooperation in coming years. we talked about the relationship being as good as it has ever been, there were clear signs from the readout we got from the prime ministers spokesperson earlier today that these issues did come up. i will call to what was said, the premise are, that is rishi sunak, stresses the importance of the democratic values that underpin our relationship in the proposed judicial reforms in israel. that may suggest that even though it sounds rather gentle, that rishi sunak has heard and seen what is going on in the streets of israel but also what is going on in the streets of london. ., ., is going on in the streets of london. ., ,, , ., ., is going on in the streets of london. ., ,, ., ~ ., ,

the family of a man in northern ireland have been awarded £350,000 in damages after the high court ruled he was tortured by british soldiers. liam holden, who died last year, had said water boarding techniques used while he was in military custody in 1972 had led to him making a false confession of murder. his conviction for that murder was dropped in 2012. i'm joined now by our ireland correspondent, emma vardy. i distress in case, emma. explain what more has happened today and crucially what his family are seen. yes, it's very significant. is thought to be the first time in in courts has actually recognised that waterboarding techniques were used ijy waterboarding techniques were used by british soldiers during the troubles. it dates back to 1972, this man was just 19 at the time and was arrested and accused of murdering a british soldier and it was while he was in military custody, he says he was taken by soldiers from the parachute regiment to a lloyd's list area of belfast,

he had a gun but to his head and believed he was going to be killed and he said he was waterboarding which is something that left them with nightmares for the rest of his life. that treatments and duress led to him making a false confession and admitted to killing the british soldier and made up a story at the time while he was suffering the torture and treatments, and that led torture and treatments, and that led to him being given the death penalty for murder. he was a last man in the uk to be sentenced to hanging us up that penalty was changed to a jail sentence, he served 17 years in jail over 40 years jail term. this is something which has affected the majority of his life but you always claimed that he made that false confession because of the torture that he suffered and he fought a long campaign forjustice. the original murder conviction was quashed in 2012 and he later brought a case against the ministry of

defence for damages and his that case that has concluded today. mr holden never lived to see the end of that case, he died last year, his family were in court today and they will be awarded now £350,000 in damages. they spoke outside court today of their relief, they feel final vindication, today of their relief, they feel finalvindication, his today of their relief, they feel final vindication, his son and daughter spoke about the vindication for their father. daughter spoke about the vindication for theirfather. this daughter spoke about the vindication for their father. this shows that he was an innocent man.— for their father. this shows that he was an innocent man. emma thank you our island correspondent. _ opposition leaders in india have denounced parliament's decision to disqualify the congress party leader rahul gandhi as an mp after he was given a two year prison sentence in a defamation case. 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. the congress party says it will challenge the verdict.

i'm joined now by our south asia regional editor anbarasan ethirajan. what does this mean because is a hugely interracial figure? what does this mean because is a hugely interracialfigure? it’s what does this mean because is a hugely interracial figure? it’s a hugely interracial figure? it's a setback for _ hugely interracial figure? it's a setback for rahul _ hugely interracial figure? it's a setback for rahul gandhi - hugely interracial figure? it's a setback for rahul gandhi who l hugely interracial figure? it�*s —. setback for rahul gandhi who is a senior leader of india's main opposition congress party. and for the party itself because they are now preparing for next years general election and the parties suffered huge losses in 2014 and 2019 and it comes as a crucial time for india's congress party. mr gandhi argues that the court case is all about giving, he was cited for giving a voice to the people of india and he was willing to pay any price for it to some of the congress party said the hull case is politically motivated and they would challenge the verdict. he is on bail at the moment and can appeal the verdict,

but this incident has united many opposition parties who say this event new low for india's constitution democracy and the court says properjudicial process was followed and it it was a court decision. has followed and it it was a court decision-— followed and it it was a court decision. a �* ., . ., decision. as you're touching on there, decision. as you're touching on there. it's _ decision. as you're touching on there, it's coming _ decision. as you're touching on there, it's coming at _ decision. as you're touching on there, it's coming at a - decision. as you're touching on there, it's coming at a time - decision. as you're touching on i there, it's coming at a time when there, it's coming at a time when the government is accused of clamping down on dissent. there been a number of — clamping down on dissent. there been a number of applications _ clamping down on dissent. there been a number of applications accusations i a number of applications accusations against the government of curtailing dissent and not allowing it rights activists to perform theirjobs. many have been imprisoned on various charges, the recent one for a journalist. the risk is they say that the government is using anti—terrorist laws for those who were critical of the establishment. some of the issues raised by mr gandhi in parliament was against the government and many people believe that the garb government doesn't

want him in parliament raising these uncomfortable questions regarding the policies of the government. the governing party leaders flatly dismiss the charges and say that india has a free press and judicially if there are any issues they can always go to the courts or express their views freely in the media. many people would reject those arguments, saying that they are finding it difficult every day to find a space in expressing their opinion in the media, because the argued that the media are mostly pro—government. argued that the media are mostly pro-government.— argued that the media are mostly pro-government. thank you so much anbarasan ethirajan _ pro-government. thank you so much anbarasan ethirajan are _ pro-government. thank you so much anbarasan ethirajan are south - pro-government. thank you so much anbarasan ethirajan are south asia i anbarasan ethirajan are south asia regional editor. let's end with some pictures from ottawa where the us presidentjoe biden is meeting the canadian prime ministerjustin trudeau.

mr biden is scheduled to address parliament later before he and mr trudeau hold a joint news conference. they've reached a deal to reject asylum seekers at unofficial border crossings. hundreds of people gathered on sydney's bondi beach dressed in bright fluorescent colours to raise awareness of mental health. it was organised by a charity and 17 countries will be taking part in this throughout friday in the so—called floor wave for mental health. the wave started in new zealand and will and in norway. at the top of the hour we were talking about king charles and his state visit to france, that has been postponed but the king, in other matters, does have a new wax statue made of him. that's it there. it has

been unveiled at the museum in paris and you can decide what you think of that. we leave that thought with you. you are watching bbc news. it's been a sense it's a unsettled day. we have seen downpours like here in norfork. you can barely make out this rainbow, it was raining so heavily. the rain has been touching up heavily. the rain has been touching up and this month has been wet so far. there someplace suits which have seen nearly double the amount of rainfall you would expect in march and is more rain to come through the weekend and into the early part of next week as well. the radar picture shows just how widespread that showers have been today about this line of showers creating a few storms across parts

of southern england and areas of east anglia as well. during the evening and overnight that showers won't be quite as heavy but there will still be quite widespread overnight so many of us will continue to see rain on and off through the night. it was still quite windy across england and wales it is the breeze and a cloud that keeps temperatures up and temperatures falling no lower than four to eight celsius. as we head into the weekend, no pressure starts to put away incident artsy but it's close enough to bring plenty of showers around. we have a rich building into wales and southwest england later in the day and that should improve the weather here. saturday morning, it is a shower you start with showers widespread and some bright arson spells coming through but the greatest chance of downpours in the afternoon in northern ireland and northern england and across the midlands and it's a part of east anglia. some showers in that zone still heavy with thunder and for most of us it is on the mild side with

temperatures 10—14 but started to get cooler in scotland with the sign of things to come for the second half of the weekend because colder area is moving into northern areas of the uk. further south across england and wales it is a wet day on sunday with heavy rain slow to ease off and brighter skies further north with sunshine and showers, but the showers in scotland would have a wintery flavour with some snow on the hills above 200 metres elevation you will see the snow coming down and it will feel a bit cooler, particularly in the northerly winds. i reminded this week and that the clocks changed but the weather doesn't, we have not lots more rain into next week.

this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories — king charles' visit to france has been postponed, as demonstrations continue against changes to the country's retirement age. at least 450 people have been arrested during the protests. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu is in london for talks with british leaders — amid mounting political turmoil at home. demonstrations have continued in israel over his government's controversial reforms that would limit the power of the courts. india's congress party has vowed to challenge a decision to disqualify opposition mp rahul gandhl on thursday, mr gandhi was handed a two year prison sentence in a defamation case.

the disqualification is in accordance with parliamentary rules. on day four of the trial of gwyneth paltrow over her role in a skiing accident — the actress herself is prepaing to give testimony. she denies she was responsible for the injuries suffered by a retired eye doctor. sport now, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre. after cristano ronaldo and harry kane's record—breaking nights for portugal and england on thursday, there's another busy evening ahead of qualifying matches for next summer's european championship. the pick of the matches comes in group b as world cup runners up

france take on the netherlands. the french will be led out by their new captain kylian mbappe at the stade de france, who's been given the armband following the retirement of hugo lloris. that's one of seven matches getting under way a little bit later. amongst those fixtures, sweden take on belgium, with the 41—year—old zlatan ibrahimovic back in sweden's squad. poland travel to the czech republic while bulgaria have kicked off against montenegro. meanwhile, on saturday, spain begin their qualifying campaign. they're at home to norway in group a. scotland face cyprus in the day's other match in that group, and ahead of the fixture there's been some good news for scotland manager steve clark. he's agreed to stay in charge of the team until 2026. clarke, who's now 59, took over from alex mcleish in 2019 and led the side to the euro 2020 finals. scotland are bidding to reach back to back euros, after failing to make the qatar world cup.

it's always nice when you work is recognised. i think it's good but the people above me, my bosses are understanding of what were trying to do. and i think for the players i've always preach continuity in sports, continuity, continuity. if that involves me a little bit but not great. we can all be moving forward together. elsewhere on saturday, switzerland travel to belarus while croatia, who finished third at the world cup, start their qualifying group at home to wales, who will be without a number of well known faces, including gareth bale, following their retirements. and wales will also be without one of his new talents in the squad. brennanjohnson has not travelled with the squad because of injury. welch midfielder says ambition is higher in the squad. irate welch midfielder says ambition is higher in the squad.— welch midfielder says ambition is higher in the squad. we need to not 'ust auali higher in the squad. we need to not just qualify for _ higher in the squad. we need to not just qualify for the _ higher in the squad. we need to not just qualify for the tournament, - higher in the squad. we need to not just qualify for the tournament, we | just qualify for the tournament, we need to progress in that tournament.

enact the challenge that we face and that's what we need to enjoy because we've got a very good group of players and everyone has benefited from those past experiences, that we can first and foremost qualify for every tournament that's in front of us and secondly, we can go as far as possible. leeds united have closed their elland road stadium following reports of a security threat to the premises. police say investigations are currently ongoing to establish the credibility of that threat. leeds united say the offices, ticket office, foundation offices and club shop at elland road will be closed until further notice on the advice of the police. the premier league club have sent staff home because of the incident. meanwhile, the former premier league manager thomas tuchel is back in management — taking charge of the german champions bayern munich. tuchel, who spent a year and a half at chelsea, will replacejulian nagelsmann — who was sacked earlier today. nagelsmann had been there less

than two years and leaves with the side only a point behind bundesliga leaders — borussia dortmund. they're also through to the champions league quarter—finals where they'll face manchester city. uk athletics says it welcomes yesterday's decision by the world governing body to ban transgender women from competing in the female category at international events. in a statement today, uk athletics said "in principle we support and welcome the direction they've taken in protecting the female category. we remain committed to continuing to work to maintain the inclusivity of our sport and ensure that transgender women are able to continue to compete whilst respecting these rules. men's tennis world number one carlos alcaraz is in action at miami open today — as he aims to reach the third round on another busy day of action. in the women's draw, ukraine's marta kostyuk refused to shake hands with anastasia potapova after she was beaten by the russian.

kostyuk has previously refused to shake hands with russia's varvara gracheva and belarusian victoria azarenka following the war in ukraine. ahead of what's expected to be his final appearance at the london marathon, mo farah will compete in a 10k race in port gentil in gabon in what will be a major moment for the country. the quadruple champion who is currently competing will compete on april the 8th. the organisers of the gold labelled 10km port—gentil announced today the participation of one of the greatest british this is the first time that such an event will host 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. tim muffett has this report. "she was an exemplary leader at a wonderful school," according to a statement from her family. headteacher ruth perry took her own life whilst waiting for the publication of an ofsted report, a report that downgraded her school, caversham primary in reading, from outstanding to inadequate. ruth was under enormous stress before she died. she knew the outcome of her report but was unable to tell her staff, which is incredibly distressing. for ruth, for 54 days, she was unable to share that information, that really crucial and actually quite world destroying for all of the staff there at caversham. and it's such a tricky and difficult time for head teachers.

there have now been calls for ofsted inspections to be paused and reformed. in her first public statement since ruth perry's death, ofsted's chief inspector amanda spielman described it as a tragedy. she went on to defend the current system. ofsted inspectors seek to assess the overall effectiveness of schools in england, looking at the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, as well as leadership and management. after a two—day visit, schools are placed into into one of four categories — outstanding, for the very best, followed by good for those not

quite in the top tier. requires improvement, or inadequate. the national education union has been campaigning for ofsted to be replaced and the inspection process changed. it held a protest outside the department for education in london with banners and photographs of ruth perry. its petition calling for change had more than 50,000 signatures. our members tell us we need an inspection system fit for purpose, one that does notjudge schools on a single—word judgment based on a two—day visit. teaching unions also say disruption caused by covid and issues with recruitment add to the need for radical reform of ofsted's inspection framework. a former head of our stead defended the organisation. despite all the problems, ofsted has i believe been a force for good over the last 30 years. yes, it holds schools to account, but it has helped to raise

standards, it has challenged schools to do better and it has challenged over the years governments as well, when ofsted as an independent inspector believes it is going wrong. the department for education said inspections remain hugely important because they hold schools to account. teaching unions however are determined to ensure ruth perry's death is a catalyst for change. tim muffett, bbc news. andrew bailey said that increasing the cost _ andrew bailey said that increasing the cost of goods and services could push the _ the cost of goods and services could push the cost of living even further and would — push the cost of living even further and would hurt people who are the least _ and would hurt people who are the least lala — and would hurt people who are the least lala. for and would hurt people who are the least lala. ., ., ., , , least lala. for more on this, my colleague _ least lala. for more on this, my colleague has — least lala. for more on this, my colleague has been _ least lala. for more on this, my colleague has been talking - least lala. for more on this, my colleague has been talking to i least lala. for more on this, my| colleague has been talking to our business correspondent. abet

colleague has been talking to our business correspondent.- business correspondent. at the moment, business correspondent. at the moment. it's — business correspondent. at the moment, it's about _ business correspondent. at the moment, it's about 10.4%. - business correspondent. at the moment, it's about 10.4%. the business correspondent. at the - moment, it's about 10.496. the bank moment, it's about 10.4%. the bank wanted to be a 2%. you can see the target there on the screen. we have had, it is gone up usually over the past year and that is having a big impact on our pockets and our energy bills. if you look at some of the weekly shopping staples, things like cheese, milk, sugar have all gone up hugely as well. now, until now, this inflation has really been driven by global factors as a issue of supply chains and the role in ukraine. this turns into what he calls domestic inflation. businesses, costs have gone up, that puts their cost up. inflation could stay high for much longer. it inflation could stay high for much loner. ,., , ~' inflation could stay high for much loner. ,., , ~ ., inflation could stay high for much loner. , ,, ., , longer. it sounds like quite a bit asked.

well, i mean, firstly, the reason why he's saying it now is because inflation is forecast to come down pretty sharply. and when you saw that graph there, but it does tail off in the summer. i mean, mathematically, really, unless there's another big global shock, those prices won't go up as fast as they were. so it will start coming down really, really sharply. but i mean, businesses, of course, telling us that they've been doing all they can over the past 18 months to keep costs down. but we're talking to one restaurant chain who said if he put his prices to the point he should do really to cover his costs, then a pint of beer, he'd be charging £20, for a steak dinner, £100 at the moment. so you can imagine how much business you get there. ukhospitality, the trade body said businesses are facing another catastrophic hit when the help with their energy bills changes next month. but i think this message really is aimed at the big players, the supermarkets, the petrol stations. there is this sort of saying that prices go up like a rocket, come down like a feather. what the governor of the bank of england is saying is consider your prices carefully. look ahead to a climate where inflation is very low. that goes for wages as well. he made some comments last

year saying to workers, don't ask for big pay rises, you're baking inflation. but as you say, that's a difficult message for households and businesses. but the message is really if the prices do go up, we could bake in inflation and this pain could go on for a lot longer. 179 british servicemen and women were killed during the iraq war that followed the us led invasion 20 years ago. three and a half thousand others were wounded, and many more suffered mental trauma. our correspondent caroline hawley has been talking to three people whose lives were scarred by their service in iraq —— now finding healing at sea. her report contains emotional testimony that you may find upsetting. these iraq veterans are now moving forward with their lives and helping others do the same. sean set up a sailing charity for those scarred by their experience. paul is the chief instructor. being out on the water, mother nature as well. that's how i came about. sailing was to find something

to keep me occupied. paul did two tours during the iraq war. i wouldn't want it to be forgotten about, as a lot of people did some great work out there. a lot of people died doing that work. and like, as always, we should never forget that. did you know, people who died? yes. some close friends. yeah. over the years, sean's job as a medic in the raf, a trained a&e nurse was to save lives. multiple casualties, significant injuries, absolutely life changing, multiple deaths. some of the decisions i had to make were really challenging with limited resources. sometimes you had to say no. you know that that was really, really hard. jan was injured when the helicopter

she was travelling in was shot down in baghdad. after her leg was amputated, she was medically discharged from the navy, fitted into civvy street. ok, i still have my anger issues. i still have my nightmares, which i struggle with. - i'll sleep about three or 4 hours a night. i and when you look back now on the iraq war, how do you feel about it? idon't see the point personally of wars, because nobody- ever wins a war, do they? it's just a lot of - pain and suffering. thousands of veterans like jan have now sailed with the charity, turned to starboard and experience the therapeutic effect. sean wanted others to benefit after it helped him find a way out of the darkest point of his life. i was no use to anybody and i had some really awful negative thoughts. i never actually attempted to kind of take my own life, but i certainly thought about it. the charity's got veterans of iraq still coming forward for help two decades on. here they can recreate

the camaraderie, the sense of belonging, of pulling together that many myths when they leave the military. we've got 22 yacht masters on the programme. three of those attempted suicide last year. now, we've sailed them. and you see this positivity and excitement about their futures and then they go home and have a conversation with their other half. and there's light. it's extraordinarily positive. i love myjob. i love every day. and i know that my family are really proud of what i've achieved. shaun pascoe ending that report from caroline hawley. and if you are suffering distress and need support, including urgent support — a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline,' you can also phone for free to hear recorded information on 0800 066 066.

gene—edited food can now be developed and sold in england after a change in the law. supporters of the technology say it will speed up the development of crops that will adapt better to climate change. critics argue that the move could bring disaster to food production and the environment. here's our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. this research centre in the cambridge countryside has been developing crops for farmers for more than 100 years. they crossbreed different varieties to produce new ones that grow better and are more resistant to diseases. it can take ten to 15 years of development. but from now, they'll be able to use a new to credit technology in england called gene editing that can half that time. ., that time. the other thing we need to know do — that time. the other thing we need to know do is _ that time. the other thing we need to know do is climate _ that time. the other thing we need to know do is climate change. - that time. the other thing we need to know do is climate change. the | to know do is climate change. the head of the _ to know do is climate change. the head of the lad shows me what can be done with gene editing. typically

with wheat we have a very shallow root structure. but we look at some other varieties that can go deeper and we will be better prepared for climate change because they will do better in conditions of drought. the professor believes traditional methods will not be able to produce all the food we need. the projections are showing that if we don't bring an assimilation into how we can improve crops, we will be struggling to feed the world. the uk is among the world leaders in plant genetics, but that expertise hasn't really been able to take off because of the effective ban on the commercial development of the technology. the hope is the change in law will attract greater investment, leading to new companies, newjobs and new foods. but gene—edited foods won't be allowed in scotland, wales and northern ireland because the devolved governments

won't be changing their rules. and there's also opposition from campaign groups in england. the entire process of this bill has been one of the government consulting a narrow range of vested—interest scientists, usually in the biotech industry, who are reassuring the government that this change in the law will have no consequences. history has shown that when we remove regulatory control, particularly around food and the environment, there is a looming disaster on the horizon. the next step is to allow gene—edited animals on english farms, like these disease—resistant pigs, but that will require another vote by mps in westminster once the government is satisfied that animals won't suffer. pallab ghosh, bbc news, cambridge. campaigners have won a bid to continue a high court injunction preventing the further felling

of trees in plymouth city centre. a row over the cutting down of more than 100 trees last week has triggered the resignation of the city council's leader richard bingley. our south west england correspondent, jenny kumah, has this report. "despicable vandalism." "environmental devastation." "a chainsaw massacre." just some of the words used by opponents to this felling of more than 100 trees in plymouth city centre. at around 1am, campaigners were able to get an injunction to stop the chop. if you cut any more trees down, it'll be a criminal offence. by then, only a few trees remained. do you have anything to say to the people of plymouth? plymouth city council said the work happened at night for public safety reasons. in the cold light of day, the sight of the destruction left some feeling astounded and angry.

it's just disgraceful that all the protests and all the people's feelings just meant nothing. they're supposed to be putting in new ones. but why cut down the old ones? they could have left them there. today, the council lost its appeal at the high court against the injunction imposed last week, throughing into question the future of its regeneration plans. this is what the council aims for the city centre to look like as part of the £13 million revamp. many traders and residents agree a spruce—up is long overdue. but 70% of more than 2000 respondents to a consultation said that they were against the councils plans. changed the final design so it will deliver more than 170 semi—mature trees. it was the leader of the council, richard bingley, who used his executive powers to order the felling of the trees. and he hasn't responded to our requests for an interview. and just a few days ago, his conservative group announced

that he'll resign on monday, when he's due to face a no—confidence vote. this has been an emotive and divisive issue in plymouth. that's likely to continue to be the case, despite today's court hearing. jenny kumah, bbc news, plymouth. the bbc says it will not resume filming on the latest series of top gear after one of the show�*s presenters, freddie flintoff, was

injured during filming in december. the bbc says an investigation was completed, and a health and safety review will now be carried out. top gear is one of the bbc�*s most widely exported programmes — and it hasn't commented on reports that flintoff has decided to leave the programme. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba has the story. and you're expecting me... yeah. ..to go down there? freddie flintoffjoined top gear in 2019. along with co—presenters paddy mcguinness and chris harris, he helped to reverse the fall in ratings that had followed the departure ofjeremy clarkson, richard hammond and james may four years earlier. the incident at top gear's test track at dunsfold park aerodrome in surrey last december, resulted in freddie flintoff being taken to hospital for treatment. just over three months later, bbc studios, which produces the bbc one show, says it's concluded its report into what happened. it says that it has sincerely apologised to flintoff, and that it'll continue to support him

throughout his recovery. in a statement, it also says that, under the circumstances, it would be inappropriate to resume making the current series of top gear at this time, and that it will make a judgment about how best to continue later this year. at the time of the incident the team said that all safety procedures had been followed while the external executive said there was need to investigate further. three, two, one, go! one past member thinks it might be time to alter the programmes format. moving forward, if freddy wishes to leave the show, i guess that we will need another presenter. there's enough components within top gear that many people enjoy that can be

fun, engaging, to get that reaction. so right now there is certainly a degree of uncertainty over whether top gear which is partly filmed here will return with or without freddie flipped off. but the bbc is likely to be unwilling to part ways with her show that as well as having a strong uk audience is sold to dozens of countries across the globe. the bbc has suspended its decision to close its choir — the group is britain's only full—time professional chamber choir. more than 140,000 people signed a petition against the closure. those

are the main story here on the bbc news. thanks for being with us. as ever, there is more on the bbc website. bye for now. hello there. you can see storm stretching on the horizon as far as the eye can see and then of course we have downfalls here. and then we had, of course, the inevitable downpours like here in norfolk. you barely make out this rainbow. it was raining so heavily. now the rain has been totting up and of course, this month has been wet so far. there are some places that have seen nearly double the amounts of rainfall we'd expect in march. and there's more rain to come through the weekend and into the early part of next

week as well. now, the radar picture shows just how widespread the showers have been today. this line of showers created quite a few thunderstorms across parts of southern england, extending into areas of east anglia as well. and during this evening and overnight, the showers won't be quite as heavy, but they'll still be quite widespread overnight. so many of us will continue to see rain on and off through the night. so it's going to stay quite windy across england and wales. it's the breeze and the cloud that keeps temperatures up. so temperatures falling no lower than four to eight degrees celsius. and as we head into the weekend, low pressure starts to pull away into the north sea, but it's close enough still to bring plenty of showers around. we do have a ridge building into wales, in south west england later in the day and that should improve the weather here. so saturday morning, it's quite a showery start with showers quite widespread. there'll be some bright or sunny spells coming through, but i think the greatest chance of seeing downpours into the afternoon northern ireland, northern england, across the midlands and into parts of east anglia, some of the showers in that zone still heavy with some thunder. still for most of us, just about on the mild side with temperatures 10 to 14, but starting to get a bit cooler in scotland.

and that's a sign of things to come for the second half of the weekend, because colder air is going to start to move in to northern areas of the uk. now further south across england and wales, it's a wet day coming up on sunday with some heavy rain. quite slow to ease off as well. bright skies further north, a mixture of sunshine and showers, but the showers in scotland will have a wintry flavour with some snow up over the hills, above about 200 metres elevation. by the end of the day you'll start to see the snow coming down and it will start to feel a good deal cooler, particularly in the northerly winds. a reminder this weekend that the clocks change, but the weather doesn't. we've got loads more rain into next week.

today at 6pm... the king's visit to france this weekend is postponed after french unions plan more street protests on pensions. this was to have been the royal couple's first trip abroad since charles became king, but domestic french politics have intervened. violent demonstrations this week in paris and elsewhere over president macron's plan to raise the pension age without a vote in parliament. translation: we'd have lacked common sense if we'd proposed the state - visit of his majesty the king and the queen consort in the midst of the protests. we'll be looking at how a visit that was meant to celebrate anglo—french relations has turned into a major embarrassment for france. also on the programme... school inspections in england

will continue, says the head of the watchdog ofsted, after a headteacher took her own