this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm monika plaha. our top stories: a state of emergency in mississippi after a violent tornado kills at least 25 people. as soon as we would go from one vehicle to the next vehicle orfrom building to building, we could hear screams and we could hear cries for help. donald trump heads to texas to start his campaign to win back the us presidency in 202a. vladimir putin says russia has agreed to keep tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring belarus. thousands of israelis take to the streets for the 12th

straight week — protesting benjamin netanyahu's proposed changes to the law. from the suburbs of paris to the river thames, meat the was boat race. the governor of mississippi has declared a state of emergency after tornadoes ripped through the us state. at least 25 people were killed. the authorities say 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 neighbourhoods were flattened to rubble. our north america correspondent david willis— reports.

this is all that remains of the mississippi town of rolling fork. heavy vehicles were picked up and tossed around like toys after the twister touched down, all but wiping this tight—knit community off the map. we've got a new scan coming on as we speak. the storm struck at night, the warnings too late for the residents of rolling fork and nearby silver city. sighs. oh, man. sighs. dearjesus, please help them. around 8:20, we have the tornado sirens going off, warning people to, you know, take cover. it happened so fast. right now, we got multiple homes damaged in the silver city area and also in other parts of the area of the county. some survivors likened the sound and ferocity of the storm to an incoming freight train. got to get ourselves into the middle part of the house and we did and we got in there and obviously, it was coming right behind us because as soon as we got in there, we heard a big boom.

even those used to tracking such malevolent forces of nature say the impact took them by surprise. all the ingredients were in place for a large—scale tornado outbreak, fast—moving super cell storm, moving at speeds of 60 mph, and we were actually chasing storms for about 4—5 hours during the day, none were going tornadic and right at sunset, it was like a switch was flipped from off to on. a massive search is now under way for survivors. president biden described the images as heartbreaking, and he said he and the first lady were praying for all who had lost loved ones. david willis, bbc news, washington. our north america correspondent sophie long is in mississippi now. this is what remains of the homes enrolling for, 24—hour scope people were gathering for

friday night dinner, a lot of people were in these properties when the tornado struck, one person coming back to search for belongings there is very little left, she said it happened so fast that is what i've heard from everyone, i spoke to the man who had lived in this property he said the only warning he had was a sound, he could hear the wind was coming, he knew something was coming, he knew something was very wrong so he took shelter in his bathroom, and thatis shelter in his bathroom, and that is the only part the property that survived, that is how —— i asked him how he knew it was safe to come out, the roof had come off and he could see the tornado had passed. iam i am asked at effort on what have you been hearing i have

been hearing this is unlike anything they have seen in a very long time, i was on a call with 60 people, a0 organisations on the ground getting ready to go in, the government is a leading most of those and yet, hearing that it's heartbreaking, it's devastating, it's reaching complete and utter destruction. of course, we know there is a of course, we know there is a big search and rescue effort under way to help as many people as possible, reports of no power, no water supplies. how are people coping? the u-rous how are people coping? the grouns that _ how are people coping? the groups that can _ how are people coping? tue: groups that can get how are people coping? tte: groups that can get an hour i will do sheltering and distributing water and basic supplies, the groups that will start coming in tomorrow will be helping people to try to make the best of what they can, find their belongings, if they do have any home standing putting a tarp on the roof, cleaning them out trying to give them some solace and

dealing with mutual care, trying to help mental health needs which will be severe after the storm.— needs which will be severe after the storm. and you are used to overseeing - after the storm. and you are used to overseeing charity i used to overseeing charity organisations especially at a time of need. what about something on the scale? have you ever seen anything quite like this? ., ., , , , like this? unfortunately, yes, centre for— like this? unfortunately, yes, centre for disaster _ centre for disaster philanthropy works around the world trying to get funders to invest in those charities and nonprofits so we can help people especially with long—term recovery, i lived in new 0rleans which went through katrina nearly 18 years ago and still not recovered. kentucky just saw similar tornadoes in 2021, alabama, georgia earlier this year, so these are storms that are happening more frequently, happening at night when people don't get wanting so having much more impact. 0bviously so having much more impact. obviously it's a really worrying time for in the area, what are you hearing about in

terms of the community rallying together to help one another? that's one of the best things that there can be a silver lining to a tornado or disaster, the first people to refine —— respond in the last of the locals, neighbours looking after each other, church groups and community or community organisations in those towns, these are small towns, one has about 200 people, one had 1800, that was rolling for, they are not big but neighbours are coming out to help each other shelter each other and support each other, and that's important.- and that's important. other southern — and that's important. other southern states _ and that's important. other southern states are - and that's important. other southern states are now- and that's important. other- southern states are now braced for powerful storms, how are organisations now preparing for what happens next and what challenges are they currently facing? challenges are they currently facin: ? , challenges are they currently facina? , ., , facing? sadly, almost every week, facing? sadly, almost every week. this _ facing? sadly, almost every week, this spring, - facing? sadly, almost every week, this spring, there - facing? sadly, almost every i week, this spring, there have been tornadoes, they have come

through more often, we are used to it but there is not enough money, there is not resources and that's part of what we do to try to get these organisations do amazing work on almost no money, but these are communities that were very low income, that had been systemically market —— marginalised and discriminated against, and they will need more resources than a wealthier community do. a lot of people live in trailers and housing, but it's just gone it's not like they can go next door and rent the place, we will have to see all of the state of mississippi and neighbouring states and the nation and the world chipped in to help out. tania, i understand part of yourjobis tania, i understand part of yourjob is actually providing funding, at times like this. how much is expected in this case? �* , ., how much is expected in this case? �* , . ., how much is expected in this case? �*, ., . case? it's hard to predict, tornadoes _ case? it's hard to predict, tornadoes and _ case? it's hard to predict, tornadoes and small- case? it's hard to predict, | tornadoes and small towns

case? it's hard to predict, - tornadoes and small towns and rural communities do not raise a lot of money, i suspect we will see in the low millions over all whereas something like the war in ukraine or the earthquakes in turkey and syria recently have a much bigger outpouring of support. and that's why we try to bring attention to these rural communities that aren't getting the attention may be, and it's so great to have bbc covering it, because of that. it's a story that needs to be told copy in the recovery that's when you usually find the phase will be years, these communities won't be rebuilt overnight. communities won't be rebuilt overnight-— communities won't be rebuilt overniaht. ., ~ , . overnight. thank you very much for our overnight. thank you very much for your time — overnight. thank you very much for your time on _ overnight. thank you very much for your time on bbc _ overnight. thank you very much for your time on bbc news. - for your time on bbc news. donald trump has opened his campaign to win back the us presidency by railing against the dark forces lined up against him. in the us state of

texas he claims the multiple legal investigations into his finances are straight out of a stalinist regime. the biden regime's weaponisation of enforcement against a political opponent is something straight out of stalinist russia horror show. let there be no doubt the injustices now done not only to me but to dozens across our country will not stand and we will not stand for it. you will be vindicated and proud and the thugs and criminals who are corrupting ourjustice system will be defeated, discredited and totally disgraced. that's what's happening. i'v e i've been speaking to calvin dark, he told me why donald trump chose waco texas for this rally. i think that there were two main reasons why former president trump chose waco, texas.

we are now in the 30th anniversary period of the stand—off of the branch davidians, it has become a rallying cry for anti—government extremists, so for president trump to have his speech there in waco, texas during this 30th anniversary period, he was definitely sending a message to those folks to potentially rile them up, the ani—government extremists. to potentially rile them up, the anti—government extremists. he also probably did it because it was a smart campaign move. this was his first rally and you want to go to friendly territory and not only texas but waco in particular, he bragged at the beginning of his speech that he had almost 100% during the last election, so i think he went there because they knew they could get a friendly crowd and they knew that they would get the numbers to make it appear that he has so much support for his first rally. you mentioned there that waco is marking 30 years since the armed stand—off which led to 86 deaths, just briefly remind us of the background and if you think there are any dangers that this being the backdrop of the rally could perhaps rile up the supporters

in the wrong way. i think in his speech today, president trump played on a lot of the fears because when we think about the stand—off that happened 30 years ago, it was interpreted by many on the extreme right as government overreach and the government was interfering in people's lives. and we have to remember the oklahoma city bomb ring that happened after was done in that name. this has continued to be a rallying cry for anti—government extremists and if you look at what president trump said tonight, things like, "if we don't win in 202a, we won't have a country, it will be over, world war ill, take our country back." these are things that he knows are whistles to this crowd and he is trying to rile them up which is unfortunate because we saw onjanuary 6th, that that riling this base up caused violence and death.

russian president vladimir putin has announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its neighbour, belarus. he indicated a few months ago that some belarusian military planes were being re—equipped to potentially carry nuclear missiles. translation: we have already transferred to belarus our- well—known, very effective complex iskander. it can be a delivery vehicle as well. on april 3rd, we will start training the crews. 0njuly1st, we will finish the construction of the special repository to store the tactical nuclear weapon in belarus. seen in belarus — we spoke earlier to hanna lubakova from the atlantic council. it's, of course, a development, it's a significant one, but i think what russia wants to do, russia wants is blackmail the west, russia wants to scare the west. and i think it's another sign that belarus is becoming this really loyal, this really controlled ally because what

putin said is that they don't really give these weapons to belarus, they will help to deploy the weapons but they would be controlled by russia. so, by doing this, of course, putin is trying to threaten the west but he is showing who is in control of belarus. the israeli defence minister, yooav gallant, has called on prime minister benjamin netanyahu to halt controversial plans for an overhaul of the justice system. the proposed laws have divided the country and resulted in weeks of protests. so far, mr netanyahu has defied calls to scrap the shake—up. tens of thousands of israelis took to the streets of tel aviv on saturday as protests against government plans to overhaul the justice system entered a 12th week. we all have to fight for our

rights because of the plans of benjamin netanyahu that want to turn this nation into a dictatorship. what we're doing here tonight is protesting against the government who wants to get all of the power for itself and take all the rights from our citizens. and this is why we are here, fighting for our democracy. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, says the reforms will stop the courts overreaching their powers and that the public voted for them at the last election. proposed changes include enabling parliament to overrule decisions made by the supreme court. but critics of the plans say they risk undermining thejudiciary�*s independence and could be used for political ends. now, israel's defence minister has broken ranks and is calling for the plans to be paused. translation: but now - i declare loudly and publicly for the sake of israel's security, for the sake of our sons and daughters, the legislative process should be stopped in order to enable the nation of israel to celebrate passover and independence day together

and to mourn together on memorial day and holocaust remembrance day. these are our holy days for us. next week, lawmakers are due to vote on an essential part of the government's proposals which would change the way judges are appointed. meanwhile, protest organisers are vowing to intensify demonstrations. shelley phelps, bbc news. this is bbc news. search and rescue efforts are under way after one of the deadliest tornadoes to have ever hit the southern us state of mississippi. at least 25 people have died. vladimir putin has said russia will station nuclear weapons in belarus. the us department of defence said it was monitoring the situation but did not currently see any reason to adjust its nuclear posture. the british government

is preparing to announce the use of ferries to accommodate migrants who have crossed the channel on small boats. the announcement could come as soon as next week. 0ur political correspondent iain watson has the details. some of the people coming here in small boats will then be housed in anotherform of vessel, on ferries, but in addition to that, the government possibly by the end of next week will confirm the use of two military bases to house migrants as well. at this stage, the thing is there are around 50,000 people in hotels who have come to the uk. the military bases between them will accommodate between 3000 and a000 people, as you can see this will not be a solution itself to getting rid of the hotel use. let's get some of the day's other news. hundreds of people evacuated following the first wild fire of the season in spain are facing another night away from their village. the fire has affected more than a,000 hectares of forest

forcing 1,700 villagers from their homes. while wild fires are common in the region, this is the earliest in the year that one has cropped up after a dry winter. venezuela's attourney—general has confirmed 21 people have been arrested for alleged corruption at the state owned oil company. tarek william saab, said they were involved in illegal oil sales and money laundering. he said ten of them were government officials who would also face treason charges. on monday the country's oil minister resigned after several people close to him were detained. former uk prime minister liz truss has been facing criticism following reports that she has drawn up a list of resignation honours. ms truss, who spent only a9 days in office, is thought to have put forward four people. the grammy nominated composer nick lloyd webber

the son of andrew lloyd webber, has died at the age of a3. in a statement on twitter, his father said "i am shattered to have to announce that my beloved elder son nick died a few hours ago in basingstoke hospital. his whole family is gathered together and we are all totally bereft. " he had previously said nick had been hospitalised after living with gastric cancer for 18 months. from the suburbs of paris, to the cambridge university boat race crew, it's been quite the journey for 21—year—old noam mouelle. on sunday, he'll become one of a very small number of non—white oarsmun, to take part in the historic annual contest on the river thames. he's been speaking to our sports reporter, james burridge. je m'appelle noam mouelle, etje prepare la boat race avec cambridge. it's quite something, i would say, it's very challenging. there is a lot of pressure, obviously.

i've never been that stressed, stressed out about rowing in my entire life. noam mouelle's mum wanted him to do an outdoor sport. little did she know how far that sport would take him — from the suburbs of paris to the wild and lonely great 0use, for one of rowing's biggest endeavours, the boat race. when you tell people in france, so people who don't do rowing, that you're doing the 0xford—cambridge boat race, it's a bit like... it's hard for them to imagine, right? because it's something that seems very old—school and very uk—based, and seems like almost a glitch in the matrix that a french guy could do this thing. while the boat race has always had an international flavour — it attracts many rowers from around the world — it doesn't have a great reputation when it comes to diversity. in fact, noam is that rare

exception this year. across the board, when you look at rowing clubs in this country, just 6% of its members come from diverse backgrounds. people in the uk mostly learn to row in schools, and for your school to have enough money, let's say, to have good rowing equipment and so on, you need to be in a private school. and it's only a certain demographic which goes into private schools, which is why maybe you have a bit less diversity here in rowing, at least. but that's really not the case in france. people are just rowing in rowing clubs. and so, for example, you will have people who row for their school, but they use the facilities... so rowing—club facilities, which makes the sport definitely noticeably more diverse. british rowing say they're increasing the number of outreach programmes in under—represented communities and want to change the make—up of gb rowing. noam doesn't want to be a trailblazer, but is hopeful he can encourage more people into the sport.

if someone feels like rowing is not for them because people who row are different from them, right? and if that person sees that i'm doing the boat race, let's say, or anyone else, and they think, "0h, maybe, maybe i could try, maybe i could give it a shot in my local club or in my school or whatever," well, yeah, definitely, i would say, in that case, i'm happy. and if you were to win, what will the reaction be like in france? it will be pretty special. so they're getting a big screen to put in the rowing club, so that people can watch. so, like, all of the kids, some of the kids and the older people are going to watch this race live on the 26th. my parents are going to be there. many friends are going to be watching online as well. so i think if i win, yes, that would be... that would be very, very special. here in the uk, the funeral of one of the last black raf veterans of the second world

war is being moved to a bigger venue, because so many people wanted to attend. flight sergeant peter brown was part of the so—called "pilots of the caribbean" and died alone at his west london flat last year. his funeral was due to take place on wednesday in a chapel which fits 1a0 people, but a new location is needed after a successful appeal for mourners. simon jones has more. flight sergeant peter brown is now set to get the sendoff he deserves. he travelled thousands of miles from jamaica to join the raf and 19a3 training as a wireless operator and an air gunner. he served as and an air gunner. he served as a crew member on lancaster bomber�*s, one of a50 young black men from the caribbean, africa and parts of the uk to fly with the raf during the second world war, described as among the brightest and the best. last december he died

alone in his flat in west london. he had no known relatives, the campaign was launched to find people who knew him to attend his funeral. now westminster council has tweeted: his life and military career were due to be remembered in a chapel that could hold 1a0 people this wednesday. now a new date and much bigger venue are being arranged. has neighbours remember him fondly. each and every person knows him, knows peter brown. so he was a good guy. he him, knows peter brown. so he was a good guy-— was a good guy. he flew lancaster _ was a good guy. he flew lancaster bomber's - was a good guy. he flew lancaster bomber's as i was a good guy. he flew lancaster bomber's as a | was a good guy. he flew - lancaster bomber's as a radio operator— lancaster bomber's as a radio operator which must've taken, aiming. — operator which must've taken, aiming, when you hearabout operator which must've taken, aiming, when you hear about the casualty— aiming, when you hear about the casualty rate from the raf, cruz, — casualty rate from the raf, cruz, that took some courage. couldn't— cruz, that took some courage. couldn't have done it myself. in a _ couldn't have done it myself. in a statement the raf said:

westminster council says it is working closely with the ministry of defence to ensure that mr brown is given a fitting service. simonjones, fitting service. simon jones, bbc fitting service. simonjones, bbc news. millions around the world have been switching off their lights to mark �*earth hour�*. and it's notjust houses, monuments including rome's coliseum shut off their lights at 8pm local time to mark the event. the appeal was launched by world wildlife fund in 2007 to raise awareness of climate change and proposes that a large number of people around the world can reduce carbon emissions by turning off unnecessary lights and electronic devices for one hour. a reminder of our top story. search and rescue efforts are continuing in mississippi after tornadoes hit the us state killing at least 25 people. the storms devastated several rural towns,

with rolling fork almost completely wiped out. the state governor has declared a state of emergency. you are watching bbc news. hello. looks like things are turning colder brieflyjust—in—time for british summertime. 0ur clocks went forward one hour during the early hours of sunday. it will be turning colder across northern areas today and we will start to notice the difference in the south once we lose the early morning rain, all courtesy to this area of low pressure, pushing into the near continent as it pulls away, northerly winds will set and initially across the north of the uk and then spread outwards and you notice the blue colours spreading to pretty much all areas by the end of sunday. but we start this morning on a rather wet note across southern areas, that rain takes its time

to clear away from east anglia and the south—east, could leave a bit of a hang back of cloud for the north. some good spells of sunshine around but it will be cold in the northerly wind with some showers which will have a wintry element to them particularly in north and east of scotland so temperatures here, low single digits and single figures for much of england and wales as well, away from the southwest. as we move through sunday night, that cold air spreads southwards, sky is clear, it is going to be a very cold night, widespread frost i think away from the far south—west of england and south wales, so ice and frost could be an issue. into monday, we are in between weather systems, this will arrive as we head into tuesday but a ridge of high pressure will bring a lot of fine and dry conditions on monday to much of the uk, it will start cold and frosty mind you, watch out for any early ice across northern areas and it should stay sunny into the afternoon as well. cloud tending to build a southern and western areas later on, temperatures lifting to 11 degrees but after that cold start in the strong late march sunshine, temperatures will reach highs of 7—9 celsius. on tuesday it starts to turn cloudier, windier, wetter, rain pushes in, preceded by some snow certainly

across the hills and across the north of england and scotland but temperatures will be on the rise you will notice, southern and western areas, we are back into the low teens and beyond tuesday, it looks like low pressure dominates the scene, sitting out to the west of us ushering in some very mild airfrom the south—west there will be strong winds and rain too. i think one of the mildest days will be thursday, we could be up to 16 or 17 degrees across southern and eastern areas but it will be mild and unsettled right across the board.

this is bbc news. the headlines: search and rescue efforts are under way after one of the deadliest tornadoes to have ever hit the us state of mississippi. at least 25 people have died, with more thought to have been trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings. the governor has declared a state of emergency. vladimir putin has said russia will station nuclear weapons in belarus — the first time it has deployed such arms outside its territory in almost 30 years. the us department of defence said it was monitoring the situation but did not currently see any reason to adjust its nuclear posture. the uk government is preparing to announce further alternatives to hotel accommodation for migrants

as early as next week. those behind the policy say it's a "big break" from hotels