this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak with the headlines. at least 23 people have died as violent storms triggered by a tornado rip through the southern us state of mississippi. growing tension in france — riots today in the west — after unrest in the capital. vladimir putin says russia has struck a deal with neighbouring belarus to station tactical nuclear weapons on its territory. hello and welcome to bbc world news.

a tornado has killed at least 23 people in the us state of mississippi, in the south of the country. the authorities said the storm left a trail of damage for more than 150 kilometres. president biden has called the storms heartbreaking — and vowed federal support. one of the worst affected towns is rolling fork — where entire neighborhoods were flattened to rubble. our north america correspondent, david willis, reports. the extent of the devastation is truly extraordinary. entire communities reduced to piles. heavy vehicles were picked up and tossed around like toys. dozens are still missing but it's difficult to imagine anyone emerging from this sort of devastation alive. the tornado struck at night, leaving bewildered residents struggling to take and the impact of such a malevolent

force of nature. around 820 we had the sirens on, warning people to take cover. it happened so fast. right now we've got multiple homes damaged and also in other areas of the county. local residents say the first they knew of it was when the light started flickering. many were left stranded after their vehicles were swept away. we had to get ourselves into the middle part of the house. we did, we got in there, and obviously, was coming right behind us because as soon as we got in there we heard a big boom. sad, sad. it really is. every trailer in this town, gone. rescue crews have been surveying the effects of the tornado which as well as reducing vast areas to a virtual wasteland, also cut power to around 100,000 homes. rebuilding these communities in one of the most impoverished parts of america will take years.

russia says it has struck a deal with its neighbour, belarus, to station tactical nuclear weapons on its territory. president vladimir putin has reportedly said the move wouldn't violate global efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons — as the us had a similar deal in place with its european allies. from warsaw, i'm joined now by hanna liubakova — a nonresident fellow at the think—tank, the atlantic council. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. since 1996 russia has kept weapons on its territory, nuclear weapons on its territory, nuclear weapons will somehow significance is this? {131 weapons will somehow significance is this? , ,, ., weapons will somehow significance is this? , this? of course russia has been usin: this? of course russia has been using nuclear — this? of course russia has been using nuclear weapons - this? of course russia has been using nuclear weapons and - this? of course russia has been using nuclear weapons and the l using nuclear weapons and the threat, the deployment of nuclear weapons for quite some time, basically sense the beginning. i think it is a development of a significant want. i think what

russia wants to do, they want to blackmail the west, russia wants to scare the west. i thinks a sign that belarus is becoming this really loyal, controlled ally. but putin said they don't really give these weapons to belarus, they will deploy the weapons but they will be controlled by russia. so the risk of him trying to threaten the west but also showing who is in control of belarus. ~ , ., ~ also showing who is in control of belarus. , ., ~ belarus. why would mr lukashenko auree belarus. why would mr lukashenko aaree to belarus. why would mr lukashenko agree to this? _ belarus. why would mr lukashenko agree to this? he _ belarus. why would mr lukashenko agree to this? he has _ belarus. why would mr lukashenko agree to this? he has three - belarus. why would mr lukashenko agree to this? he has three nato i agree to this? he has three nato orders. i agree to this? he has three nato orders. ~ �* , agree to this? he has three nato orders. ~ �*, ., ., orders. i think it's also in no way for lukashenko to _ orders. i think it's also in no way for lukashenko to show - orders. i think it's also in no way for lukashenko to show how- orders. i think it's also in no way - for lukashenko to show how important he is. since 20/20, because he's been saying that we would welcome this nuclear weapons in belarus from russia. just to raise the stakes and to become more significant. and put in size and in the western eyes. at the same time i don't really think

that putin trust lukashenko enough to really give the weapons to him uncontrolled. i think what lukashenko is doing, he violates the constitution of belarus because our constitution of belarus because our constitution says we're a neutral country. and people of belarus are also against the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of our country. that is basically what lukashenko is doing, he is violating the constitution. if lukashenko is doing, he is violating the constitution.— the constitution. if you could stay with me. the constitution. if you could stay with me- i— the constitution. if you could stay with me. i want— the constitution. if you could stay with me. i want to _ the constitution. if you could stay with me. i want to say _ the constitution. if you could stay with me. i want to say goodbye i the constitution. if you could stay| with me. i want to say goodbye to our viewers watching us on world news. we will continue with this shortly. thank you very much for that. let's turn to the people of belarus. they are not happy or i'm assuming they would not be happy with this move in terms of having russian tactical nuclear weapons on

their soil. russian tactical nuclear weapons on theirsoil. how russian tactical nuclear weapons on their soil. how are they generally with her relationship with russia? by with her relationship with russia? by the way there was this research that proved that belarus is against the deployment on the territory of belarus. these are not our assumptions these are figures. when it comes to the relationship in russia, i think many belarusian supporters are not against partnership because we have a lot of economic ties, especially since 20/20, lukashenko made belarus very dependent on russia in many ways, including the economy. people understand we will have to be a partner of russia. but i think many people also see what is happening in ukraine, the waragainst people also see what is happening in ukraine, the war against ukraine. they also feel the threat to the independence of belarus and they feel that russia is not in ally, it's actually a threat. a lot has

changed since 2020. of course without any doubt belarusian want to see belarus as an independent country. i think they understand that because of lukashenko his actions our country is losing its sovereignty. the decision to deploy nuclear weapons is a step of losing sovereignty. nuclear weapons is a step of losing sovereignty-— sovereignty. interesting that you sa a lot sovereignty. interesting that you say a lot of _ sovereignty. interesting that you say a lot of belarusians - sovereignty. interesting that you say a lot of belarusians want - sovereignty. interesting that you say a lot of belarusians want the i say a lot of belarusians want the country to be independent. today they are celebrating marking belarus freedom day. let us return back to the messaging this is giving, not only to nato, in terms of reactions, i mentioned those three nato countries on belarus is border, poland, lithuania and latvia. what reaction can we expect from them and of course the us is well? one of the defensive that president putin has put forward is that the us has been doing this for years, having nuclear

weapons on foreign soil. £31 doing this for years, having nuclear weapons on foreign soil.— weapons on foreign soil. of course the can weapons on foreign soil. of course they can blame — weapons on foreign soil. of course they can blame the _ weapons on foreign soil. of course they can blame the us _ weapons on foreign soil. of course they can blame the us there - weapons on foreign soil. of course they can blame the us there is - weapons on foreign soil. of course they can blame the us there is of. they can blame the us there is of the uk doing the same, support has been waning in the west in lukashenko swirl. with regard to the response, the reaction, i think it would be met with criticism, for sure. it's not clear whether there will be harsh reactions, like sanctions. but there should be definitely some response. unfortunately, belarus is becoming also a target for attacks. a potential attack or anything would happen having nuclear weapons in belarus is making us also a target. this is vaguely dangerous, very frightening. —— very dangerous. nato

countries, western countries that border belarus will see what's going to happen with this nuclear weapons. and whether it is really would be delivered. and to what extent? we will need to see.— will need to see. hanna liubakova, thank ou will need to see. hanna liubakova, thank you very _ will need to see. hanna liubakova, thank you very much _ will need to see. hanna liubakova, thank you very much for _ will need to see. hanna liubakova, thank you very much for your - will need to see. hanna liubakova, thank you very much for your time | thank you very much for your time today. the israeli defence minister, yoav gallant, has called on the government to halt plans to overhaul the country's judicial system, which has led to weeks of nation—wide, mass protests. the minister made a statement after discussing its impact on national security with prime minister, benjamin netanyahu on thursday. it comes as mass rallies have taken place across israel, for 12 weeks in a row. police have closed roads in the commercial capital, tel aviv, where the biggest marches are happening. we're going to return to our top

story. a deadly tornado in the us state of mississippi. search and rescue efforts are under way and at least 23 people have died. the us, presidentjoe biden has released a statement offering condolances and support to the people of mississippi. he said. i'm joined now by brian hoeth, meteorologist with the national weather service's southern region. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. it is the worst of this weather now over and how unusual was it? , ., y ., ., weather now over and how unusual was it? , ., _, ., ., it? yes, hello, everyone. for now the worst — it? yes, hello, everyone. for now the worst of _ it? yes, hello, everyone. for now the worst of the _ it? yes, hello, everyone. for now the worst of the weather - it? yes, hello, everyone. for now the worst of the weather is - the worst of the weather is certainly over in mississippi. today

is going to be fine. then we do have a chance for some severe weather again tomorrow in mississippi but it will be south, where we had the worst storms last night. as far as how rare this is, we usually get about four tornadoes on average in march for mississippi. when all is said and done and we get all the data from the tornadoes last night i am thinking we will have more than four. this is definitely above average. four. this is definitely above averaue. ., ~' , four. this is definitely above averaue. . ~ , ., four. this is definitely above averaue. ., , average. peak severe weather season is where we're — average. peak severe weather season is where we're now, _ average. peak severe weather season is where we're now, isn't _ average. peak severe weather season is where we're now, isn't it? - average. peak severe weather season is where we're now, isn't it? march, | is where we're now, isn't it? march, april, may. i understand what's really shocked people, because this was being tracked, alerts were giving out, which is fantastic because it allowed people to seek shelter. but it was the ferocity for which a touchdown for the just talk us through that. what would people have experienced? it’s

us through that. what would people have experienced?— have experienced? it's always hard, a lot of times _ have experienced? it's always hard, a lot of times we _ have experienced? it's always hard, a lot of times we know _ have experienced? it's always hard, a lot of times we know there - have experienced? it's always hard, a lot of times we know there is - have experienced? it's always hard, a lot of times we know there is a . a lot of times we know there is a chance for tornadoes but as far as how devastating they are going to be, we don't generally know that until maybe about an hour or less sometimes before the actual tornado touches down. adding difficulty two things is the tornadoes last night occurred after sunset. we can't get visual confirmation so any time their air tornadoes at night it makes the situationjust their air tornadoes at night it makes the situation just that more damaging and destructive. bud makes the situation just that more damaging and destructive. and 'ust dan . erous. damaging and destructive. and 'ust dangerous. okay. i damaging and destructive. and 'ust dangerous. okay. the i damaging and destructive. and 'ust dangerous. okay. the town i damaging and destructive. and 'ust dangerous. okay. the town of h damaging and destructive. and justl dangerous. okay. the town of ruling dangerous. okay. the town of ruling p, it's a poor town. dangerous. okay. the town of ruling p, it's a poortown. —— dangerous. okay. the town of ruling p, it's a poor town. —— rolling fork. the infrastructure was not the best. it was just smashed, it looked like splinters on the ground. in terms of the power that this tornado packed and the time that people

would've had to seek shelter, what were their chances and what advice you give next?— were their chances and what advice you give next? unfortunately, mobile homes are one _ you give next? unfortunately, mobile homes are one of _ you give next? unfortunately, mobile homes are one of the _ you give next? unfortunately, mobile homes are one of the worst _ you give next? unfortunately, mobile homes are one of the worst places i homes are one of the worst places you can be when there is a tornado. when we have these tornadoes, especially the violent ones like what we saw last night and they run into areas that are where people live in mobile homes, that's where were going to see those fatalities. folks don't always have anywhere else to go. it's just not a safe place to be, in a mobile home when there are tornadoes. brian hoeth, thank you very much.— security forces in france remain on high alert, after legislation to raise the state pension age caused massive protests. the dispute and outbreaks of violence forced the authorities to postpone a planned state visit by the british monarch,

king charles. meanwhile, there've been separate demonstrations in western france linked to concerns over water usage by large—scale agricultural producers. earlier our paris correspondent sent us this update. well, the big day of action that took place here was thursday and that's where over a million people took to the streets over france. this weekend has been much quieter than that, but we have seen, as you mentioned, this demonstration in western france. i demonstration about a separate issue, the use of water, but there were some scenes where we saw protesters throwing molotov cocktails and stones at police. several police cars were set on fire. police used tear gas, and we are told by the authorities that at least one policeman and one protester were gravely injured.

what was interesting as well to see in that protest in western france was that some of the demonstrators there were making links between their cause and then there's bigger because of upset and anger about president macron's pension reforms. one man said, we're making a link. if the same fight. 0urfight for water and our fight for work. so there is a sense here of a very angry country, then small—scale local demonstrations throughout france today. and of course, another day of national action, a tnese day of national action against president macron's against president macron's pension reforms has been planned for tuesday. bethany, president macron spoke

earlier this week on television. did he cut through to the french? how did he come across�*s? those of his opponents say that he is extremely out of touch, that he is really with a contempt for democracy in some people's words. in some people's words. president macron though says he is doing this because that is necessary for the french economy. this law will allow the pension age to increase from 62 to 64, which is lower than a number of other european countries. but it is interesting, even those people who don't particularly dislike him are saying they find his style very heavy—handed at the moment. lets get the weekends sport action now — from the bbc sport centre, here's 0lly foster. it is lizzie. good evening. scotland and wales

started their qualifying amoaigns for euro 2024, and scot mctominay scored an unexpected brace for scotland as they made the ideal start against cyprus...a packed against cyprus, a packed hamden park had to waitjust over 20 minutes for the opening goal from john mcginn, his 16th for scotland. the crowd had to wait until the 87th minute for scotland to make the game safe as mctominay finished lyndon dykes�* knock down. and the manchester united midfielder added his second in stoppage time to seal a comfortable win against the lowest ranked side in their group. wales have a much tougher task in croatia — they've been going half an hour against the team who finished 3rd at the world cup. croatia had a goal disallowed. it was goalless but they have literally just scored for the 1—0. 27 minutes on the clock. this year's women's 6 nations championship is underway and england are off to a flying start — demolishing scotland 58 point to 7 in newcastle. it took england just 8 minutes to score their first try, claudia macdonald touching down. amy cokayne added their second at the touchline later in the half

before macdonald broke clear to score her second. try number two for cokayne followed before they went into the break 31—nil up, /// the tries continued the tries continued in the second half but the biggest cheer of the match was reserved for co—captain sarah hunter — who went off for the final time, retiring as the world's most capped women's player with 1111 caps and it was particuarly fitting because she was born in newcastle... because she was born in newcastle. sheerjoy, you sheer joy, you know. sheerjoy, you know. itried sheerjoy, you know. i tried to play for this amazing team over the years. ijust feel so lucky for this amazing team over the years. i just feel so lucky and privileged that i've been a part of it for so long. and the girls have been brilliant this week. i've had the best week, i've enjoyed it. to come out here and to play at home for this amazing crowd and put in a performance like that, itjust means everything. elsewhere wales also started with win — thrshing ireland. 31—5 at cardiff arms park.

wales overpowered the irish, scoring four tries in the first half , kerin lake bursting through to set up her captain hannahjones to lead 26—nil at the break. player of the match — sisilia tui—pulotu then scored a fifth early in the second half to put the game out of sight although the irish did pull a try back late on. there's no words i can explain how i'm feeling right now. ijust going to the team that i have. all my family and friends always supporting me. ~ �* . ., family and friends always supporting me. ~ �* ., ., family and friends always supporting me. �* ., ., family and friends always supporting me. we've come a long way and i'd like the packed _ me. we've come a long way and i'd like the packed crowd, _ me. we've come a long way and i'd like the packed crowd, we - me. we've come a long way and i'd like the packed crowd, we got - me. we've come a long way and i'd like the packed crowd, we got a - like the packed crowd, we got a record _ like the packed crowd, we got a record crowd today. it's a brilliant atmosphere so thank you very much. saracens are guaranteed a top two finish in rugby union's premiership — the league leaders had their 6 nations stars on show in front of 55 thousand people at the tottenham hotspur stadium todayas they flexed their muscles against harlequins, beating them 36—24 to increase their advantage at the top of the table and with it, dent quins diminishing

playoff hopes. and that's all the sport for now. thank you, lizzy. "0peration chiffon" was the codename given to a top—secret british intelligence operation, that eventually paved the way for the good friday agreement — bringing an end to more than 3 decades of violence in northern ireland. at the centre of it all, was an undercover agent, known as "robert". thejournalist, peter taylor, has spent more than 20 years tracking him down and in a new documentary, he explains what really happened. explosion. by the early 1990s, more than 3,000 people had been killed on all sides in what was known as the troubles. explosion. the continuing violence was fed by one question — should northern ireland remain in the united kingdom or become part of a united ireland? when peace finally came with the good friday agreement, i was convinced that an m15 secret agent had played a vital role in helping to make it happen.

he ran a top secret back channel between the british government and the leadership of the ira. i've finally tracked him down, but following mis�*s rules, he lied to me and said he wasn't the man i was looking for. then, astonishingly, in 2021, i received a letter. "dear mr taylor, you will no doubt be "surprised to hear from me after so many years. for a variety of reasons, i could now give you some background "which might fill in some gaps." explosion. screams. robert was due to meet senior republicans, but the government canceled the meeting after ira bombs in warrington killed two children. robert disobeyed orders, sensing that, despite its campaign, the ira was looking for peace. at the meeting, he gave them an extraordinary prediction. "the final solution is a union. it's going to happen anyway. "this island will be as one." is that what you said?

i must have done. that's what's in the minute that they took. if they wrote it down, then, yeah, it seems quite likely. but you had no authority to say that. no. and what you said flew directly in the face of what british government policy was? yes. those words were absolutely crucial because it appeared that behind the scenes the british government were secretly working towards a united ireland. the ira's goal, but to unionists treachery. but in the autumn of 1993, with no sign of the violence ending, robert's secret mission was exposed. he resigned from m15. the operation looked like a failure. but that's not the end of the story. the ira still had a desire to carry on discussing a way forward, remembering robert's words — "the final solution is union.

this island will be as one." i believe that robert's words helped pave the way for the cease fire and ultimately the good friday agreement of 1998. it also meant that an uncountable number of lives were saved. looking back, it's a degree of pride that i've played a small part in history, done some good in the world. peter taylor, bbc news. an asteroid large enough to destroy a city has passed safely between the earth and the moon, as predicted by scientists. the object estimated to be between a0 and 70 metres in diameter. flew past 100 and 75 thousand kilometres from the earth, described by scientists as "very close". here's richard galpin.

john bridges, tell me more. yes, it's auoin john bridges, tell me more. yes, it's going at _ john bridges, tell me more. yes, it's going at such _ john bridges, tell me more. yes, it's going at such a _ john bridges, tell me more. yes, it's going at such a high - john bridges, tell me more. yes it's going at such a high speed, it's got so much energy. that's why there is this general issue that if ever an asteroid at this sort of speed and size did burst on the earth it could have potentially catastrophic effects. this earth it could have potentially catastrophic effects. this must be wonderful for— catastrophic effects. this must be wonderful for a _ catastrophic effects. this must be wonderful for a scientist - catastrophic effects. this must be wonderful for a scientist like - wonderful for a scientist like yourself. and in terms of whatever information you can gather from an asteroid like this.— asteroid like this. yes, we plan an awful lot during _ asteroid like this. yes, we plan an awful lot during the _ asteroid like this. yes, we plan an awful lot during the space-age - asteroid like this. yes, we plan an| awful lot during the space-age but awful lot during the space—age but also about the asteroids —— learned also about the asteroids —— learned a lot. and comics, the building blocks our planets. it's almost a double edge sword, if you like. we're fascinated by these objects, we like to study them and i'm on a high booster team where we brought backs samples into our lab to study

of course we do recognise increasingly because we see all those impact structures on the other planets and on earth, we do know that it planets and on earth, we do know thatitis planets and on earth, we do know that it is potentially hazardous. there is a lot of space debris up there, isn't there? are we getting to the point where there is a risk that the space debris could well knock off an asteroid like this? or in the future it knock it off its track and make it head towards the moon or the earth?— moon or the earth? well, last year there was a — moon or the earth? well, last year there was a mission _ moon or the earth? well, last year there was a mission called - moon or the earth? well, last year there was a mission called dart - moon or the earth? well, last year there was a mission called dart led by nasa, which actually went out after an asteroid and its small orbiting moon. and it purposefully impacted into that asteroid to change its orbit. very successful the reason for that was, we now know we can change the orb bit, just nudge a little bit even by tens of

metres then we know we can deflect these potentially hazardous asteroids from earth. i think that is probably the way to deal with these. the debris in low earth orbit is sort of our parallel issue for that we might start damaging satellites if we leave too much debris up there. i satellites if we leave too much debris up there.— ta ke take you live to the streets of tel aviv. with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets of tel aviv. we're now in week 12 of these protests. the president netanyahu has been pushing through about one of the main developments today on saturday has been that the defence minister actually called on the government to halt the legislation

on the changes to the judiciary saying that the dispute over these measures poses a danger to national security. some people saying this is an illustration of a split that is starting to emerge between the military and defence institutions. thousands of israelis have been taking to the streets across the country. this is tel aviv. you can see the flags and drums beating. people are refusing to stop, saying they will continue to take their voice and their demonstrations to the street. this judicial overhaul also causing some concern abroad. a lot of questions about the state of democracy in israel. mr netanyahu was in the uk a few days ago. the

opposition to the plan says it doesn't appear to of weakened president netanyahu is pledge this week to enshrine those several liberties and minority rights. i don't know if you copy rainbow flag there on the screen a short time ago. this is due for in overhaul during parliament in the april recess. and it's time for the weather. hello. tomorrow marks the start of british summer time. over the next few days, things will turn briefly colder again. more on that in a moment. back to this evening, this has been a picture through today. a fairly messy picture with showers or longer spells of rain in places. now our eyes are drawn to the system approaching from the south—west, which will bring rain into south—west england and wales to this evening and overnight, and also in the central southern

and south—east england, east anglia, may be part of the lens. further north, may be dry but cloudy. clear skies across scotland, wintry showers feeding in from the north. here, temperatures at or below freezing. similar temperatures for the far north of england. further south, something a bit milder. lows between four and seven celsius. the clocks move forward one hour through the early hours of sunday morning. it's a wet start to sunday across the southern half of the uk, thanks to this area of low pressure. as it moves eastwards, it opens the gate for the cold air across scotland to push its way southwards across the uk. something much colder over the next few days for all of us. certainly a wet start across the southern half of the uk, through sunday morning. the rain will pull away, leaving in its wake a legacy of cloud for england, wales and northern ireland. sunshine developing from the north, wintry showers for northern and eastern scotland, may be north—east england as well. perhaps 11 or 12 across the far south—west of england. as we head through sunday night, the skies become increasingly clear,

but still some wintry showers pushing on across northern and eastern scotland. a widespread frost across the uk. away from the far south—west of england, but perhaps potentially some icy stretches where we have seen the wintry showers. monday is a very different picture. high pressure starts to build, and that means a quieter day, a drier day, but a cold and frosty start on monday morning. still some strong winds across the eastern coast. this weather system could bring rain and snow into the northern isles. perhaps a bit more cloud developing from the south—west. foremost, a cold but dry and sunny started new week. it doesn't last, because things will be changing from the west as more atlantic systems started pushing. after the cold but sunny start to the new week, we will see things turning increasingly wet and windy, with heavy spells of rain. also, much milder, particularly from wednesday onwards. that's all from me. goodbye.