this is bbc news, i'm lucy grey and these are the headlines.... warnings of more severe weather in mississippi — after a powerful tornado kills at least 26 people. early projections suggest voters in berlin have voted against making the german capital climate neutral by 2030, in a referendum held today. two boats carrying migrants sink off the coast of tunisia. 29 people have died and others are still missing. hello and welcome to bbc world news. the governor of mississippi has warned there are "significant risks" of more severe weather

after a tornado left hundreds homeless. president biden has declared a major emergency in the state. this is the moment on friday when the wind barrelled through a school in the area, captured by cctv cameras inside. and these are the latest drone pictures after the tornado struck — carving a path of destruction 170 miles long. at least 26 people were killed in mississippi and one person in alabama. dozens have been injured. our north america correspondent sophie long reports from mississippi. this is rolling fork, a small, close community in mississippi. there is little left. they've lost loved ones, their homes, everything. we get storms like bad rain or, you know, probably high winds or something. but we never experience nothing like this where it can wipe out a whole town. you know, schools, children, you know, parents, loved ones.

it wiped out everything. these girls said they came back to look for their belongings. they didn't find much. this is what remains of people's homes here in rolling fork. you can see washing machines, signs of a life that took place here before the tornado struck in the middle of the night. many people were sleeping. you can imagine just how terrifying that must have been. ran in the bathroom, closed the door and jumped in the tub. _ francisco said the only warning he had was the noise of the wind, a sound that will haunt him forever. it was terrifying. and it was like something that i i never want to go through again. i never want to experience that again in my life, - but i made it through it. but it was scary. he survived by sheltering in his bathroom, the only bit of the house that's still partially standing. there is some long term resentment here.

mississippi is the poorest state in america, and some feel forgotten by leaders in the nation's capital. excuse my language. damn, you forgot about us? just because we already last in everything? you forgot about us. that's not right. that is very heart wrenching. other than we lost everything and we feel that we don't have support from the superior people also. president biden described what happened here as heartbreaking and said he and the first lady are praying for those who had lost loved ones. but people here are asking for more than prayers and emergency relief. they want long term support. sophie long, bbc news, rolling fork, mississippi. speaking at a press conference earlier, mississippi governor tate reeves gave a sense of the scale of the relief efforts: search and rescue assets, when you have 300 of them as we had throughout the state yesterday, we believe we have searched and most of the

rubble. there's still a lot of damage out there, a lot of work be done. at this point it's really difficult to rebuild communities if you don't have power or water, and other things that through public assistance we have been able to secure three partners in seamer, will be able to get there up and running and operational very quickly. —— through partners in fema. i can give you exact numbers at this time but we have people monitoring this weather in mississippi today and we continue to have assets monitoring and assessing damage, and the easiest thing we can do is to continue to work with our local people to get that done. tate reeves, the governor of mississippi. campaigners hoping to make berlin climate neutral by 2030 appear to have lost the referendum — acccording to initial results. the binding referendum was seen as a test of whether germans want their country's climate policy

to be more ambitious. 0ur berlin correspondent, damien mcguinness, explains more. just over 400,000 people voted no but slightly more than that voted yes. so what that means is more people voted yes than no, saying they wanted a climate neutral berlin by 2030, but not enough to make this law, and that's because of the things about this referendum is, you needed 25% of the entire berlin electorate in order for this referendum to be valid and binding and to go straight into berlin law. that did not happen, so they missed the target. campaigners say they're disappointed but they say this is just the beginning of theirfight, because this is obviously a long—term issue and the national target of 2045, a lot of people in berlin say is too little too late. the reason they didn't win, though, and the reason why this referendum was so controversial, is that the targets were really ambitious. it would have transformed the city, campaigners say for the better, because it would've got rid of a lot of cars from the city centre, which is what they want. but then, of course, if you're a car driver living on the edge of the city and you need

that car, it's not what you want. so, it was quite a divisive campaign and a divisive issue, really dividing the city in two between green voting young people in the centre and a lot of conservative, sometimes older people on the city edges and the outer boroughs who really didn't agree with the referendum at all and don't agree with the entire issue. so it's, on one hand, a big cultural divide within berlin, but also a matter of money, and berlin's political leaders said achieving this target so quickly and so soon would have been far too expensive for the city to manage, budget wise. it would have meant refitting public buildings to make them emissions free and completely transforming the transport network, which berlin's government said was just unaffordable. so that's why, really, a lot of people voted no in the end, it seems. coastguards in tunisia say 29 people

are now known to have drowned when two boats carrying migrants sank within hours of each other. the vessels were heading to italy as part of an increase in crossings that's seen several other boats sink, and dozens more reach the italian island of lampedusa. four other boats have gone down in the region in the last three days amid an unprecedented series of departures from north africa. earlier i spoke to elizia volkmann, a freelance journalist based in the tunisian capital, tunis, and began by asking her what why there has been an increase in migrant crossings. in the last month, we've had exceptional circumstances. this was preceded by mass arrests, which were endorsed by the president, who said that there needs to be radical measures to counteract what he called hordes of migrants. and then basically, we had a period of chaos where there was extreme racial violence and evictions. so sub—saharans who had been either illegally working here or working clandestinely suddenly found themselves in real peril in danger.

over 1,000 of them were made homeless. they have been appealing for evacuation outside of tunisia, but this surge is basically from fear and frustration, and trying to get towards europe so they can try and getjobs and work and have normal lives. and as i was saying, many have reached lampedusa. what is happening to them there? i would imagine they're being processed by the local authorities there. i mean, quite a lot of them are actually already registered as unhcr refugees, and they have become very frustrated because they've just been stuck in tunisia. tunisia is not a signatory to the geneva convention on refugees at all. so it's very much been sort of living in limbo in tunisia, where there is a serious economic crisis and absolutely no future. so a number of them will be registered as asylum—seekers, as refugees.

you're watching bbc news. a major incident has been declared due to an oil leak in dorset. the incident happened at wytch farm, which is an oilfield. let's get more from our reporter greg mckenzie. what can you tell us? it's the largest natural harbour in dorset, in southern england. and what has happened is a pipe has burst. that pipeline is operated by an oil company, and it estimated 200 barrels of reservoir fluid, which can also include types of oil, has leaked into the water. so an emergency has been declared in

dorset, and ultimately, members of the public are being urged not to get into the water. now, anyone who has come into contact with the spill or been in the water earlier today, because this happened this afternoon, when the incident was declared, they have been told to simply wash with warm water get the chemicals off of them. and the police have been contacted, as have the poole harbour commissioners, who have basically declared this a major incident, and major agencies are involved. incident, and ma'or agencies are involved. . , , ., , ., incident, and ma'or agencies are involved. , . , ., ., involved. has there been any word on what miaht involved. has there been any word on what might have _ involved. has there been any word on what might have caused _ involved. has there been any word on what might have caused this? - involved. has there been any word on what might have caused this? no - involved. has there been any word on| what might have caused this? no idea et. it 'ust what might have caused this? no idea yet. itjust happened _ what might have caused this? no idea yet. itjust happened this _ yet. itjust happened this afternoon, so at the moment, they're securing the scene, which is huge in terms of the area, and the reservoir fluid has leaked into the water. so there are no barriers blocking each end of the leak —— there are barriers on each end of the league

now, but people are being asked not to get into the water and multiple agencies are involved including the environment agency, also the poole harbour commissioners have also activated its oil spill plan. so a pretty big deal. activated its oil spill plan. so a pretty big deal-— activated its oil spill plan. so a re bindeal. ., , ~ israel's prime minister benjamin netenyahu has has sacked his defense minister, yoav gallant, after he called on the government to suspend overhauling the judiciary. it follows months of protests over the plans, which will makes it harder for courts to remove a leader deemed unfit for office. campaigners say they threaten the country's democracy, but netenyahu insists they're "responsible". nato has condemned russia for what it called its "dangerous and irresponsible" rhetoric, a day after president putin said moscow would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in belarus. the eu foreign policy chiefjosep borrell warned brussels was ready to impose further sanctions.

ukraine said the move would make belarus a nuclear hostage, destabilise it and strip it of its sovereignty. kyiv is also calling for an urgent meeting of the united nations security council. the secretary of the ukranian national defence council said on twitter that the move was a step towards the �*internal destabilisation�* of belarus. ukraine says the deployment violates non—proliferation commitments, something mr putin has denied. 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. 0njuly ist, we will finish the construction of the special repository to store the tactical nuclear weapon in belarus. hugo bachega sent us this update from kyiv. we've seen from the beginning

of the conflict, and senior russian officials have frequently talked about nuclear weapons and raised the possibility of nuclear weapons being used in this conflict. so, every time they talk about nuclear weapons, those remarks spark reaction and concerns in some countries. this is what we are seeing today. we've seen reaction from nato, the nato alliance described russia's rhetoric as irresponsible, and also said it was following the situation closely but they had not seen any change in russia's nuclear posture. some strong reactions in kyiv as well. the foreign ministry said russia was using nuclear weapons as a tool of threats and intimidation. and the government here called for an emergency session of the united nations security council. we also got reaction from washington, the us being the main ally of ukrainians in the war and

perhaps, in an attempt to downplay concerns russia could be planning to use tactical nuclear weapons, a senior us official said there were no signs that russia was preparing to do so. president putin said there was nothing unusual in his announcement and also said the us has long deployed its own nuclear weapons in european countries. and i think some experts and observers say this could be part of the russian strategy here, to play with western fears of a nuclear escalation of this conflict. in parts of the uk, the police have been accused of failing children. this following a highly critical report into their use of strip searches. new figures show almost 3000 children were strip—searched by police forces in england and wales, between 2018 and mid 2022. the youngest was just 8 years old. more than half didn't involve an appropriate adult being present, as required by law, except when there's a serious risk to life, and black children were up to six times more likely to be strip—searched

compared to the rest of the population. the children's commissioner for england says she's deeply concerned about the findings, as celestina 0lu—loday reports. a year ago, thousands marched in solidarity with a black schoolgirl strip—searched by police in 2020. wrongly accused of carrying cannabis, the 15—year—old child 0 was on her period at the time. her ordeal has encouraged others to come forward. 0ne teenager recounted his experience being strip—searched at the age of 13 to the children's commissioner. now 19 years old, his words are voiced by an actor. after being arrested at school, he was taken to a police station.

the children's commissioner has raised concerns about locations where the strip searches were carried out. i have seen data sharing strip searches in fast food outlets, in an amusement park and in a number of schools and police vehicles. both totally unacceptable. there needs to be training for all staff who might do this. there needs to be better data and record keeping. it is shocking to me and parents need to be informed. responding to the findings, the national police chiefs' council said... but this campaigner says

more action is needed. there should be a complete cessation on searches until we have those safeguards in place. _ until there's a proper system of reporting i and scrutiny and oversight, because otherwise we're allowing potentially abusive situations - to continue to be perpetuated. the children's commissioner says she will be calling for more data next year. here in the uk, the possession of laughing gas is to be banned, as part of a wider government crackdown on anti—social behaviour. the gas nitrous oxide has legitimate uses in medicine as an anaesthetic, but when taken as a psychoactive drug, the government says it can lead to anti—social behaviour. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. to the government, these little silver canisters are a symbol of anti—social behaviour. the gas they contained,

nitrous oxide, can lead to feelings of euphoria when inhaled. but ministers say it can also harm the health of young people in particular, and this littering that blights the communities is no laughing matter. public spaces that should be safe and orderly and much to begin to achieve these public spaces, they say anything goes and then as you know, what appears to be small infringements and the degree of lawlessness. there are already restrictions on the supply of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, but the government will overrule its own expert advisers on drugs by banning its possession. sales are already illegal and littering is already illegal and using while driving is already illegal. you don't need to criminalise half a million young

people to tackle this problem. we just need to use the system controls and laws that are in place. this feels like a political theatre. labour is in favour of taking a stronger stance. we want to see a banned as well because it does because as huge amount of littering and disruption and anti—social behaviour. - when tony blair was here in downing street, anti—social behaviour orders were first introduced. but 25 years on, both government and opposition have seen polling which suggests that some voters believe their concerns are being ignored. so rishi sunak overruling the expert advice on laughing gas, that might be a way of symbolising he is listening to concerned communities. in a wider plan to tackle anti—social behaviour which will be unveiled tomorrow, those guilty of vandalism will be expected to repair rapidly the damage they've caused. labour say cuts to neighbourhood policing is making a more difficult to catch the culprits. in the next election,

expect a competition on who can be tougher on crime. the levelling up secretary, michael gove, has admitted the uk is now a poorer country, citing the covid pandemic and the war in ukraine as causes, but he refused to accept brexit was also part of the problem. it comes as the independent body that provides economic forecasts for the government, the office for budget responsibility, says economic output would be around 4% higher had the uk stayed in the eu. earlier i spoke to our business correspondent noor nanji and started by asking if michael gove blames brexit at all for the uk's current economic position. he was asked whether the government had anything to do with this, he refused to acknowledge brexit but paid what other issues by saying one can always do better. insisting the government was doing everything they could to attack the cost of living crisis and the windfall tax and looking to pay households with their energy bills. but his view was the reason we're in the situation is because of those twin shocks, the pandemic and the war in ukraine which have pushed up

and not because of brexit. let's listen to what he said. everyone accepts that if we had not had the war, the impact it had on fossil fuel prices and other supplies as well, including food, if we had not had the covid—19 pandemic, then we would've been a position where our growth rate would be significantly higher. we've also heard from the obr saying that brexit had an impact of around 4%, which is the equivalent to something like the pandemic or the energy crisis. this is richard hughes, a chairman of the office for budget responsibility and he says they are currently the biggest squeeze on record. that hit the living standards is going to continue.

and it will not recover to pre—pandemic levels until five or six years. like gove, he pointed to rising prices, rising food prices and energy prices plan to pardon all of that. he also said the brexit and core productivity growth. and in the long run, brexit has reduced our output by around 4% compared to where we would've been if we had not left the eu. us vice president kamala harris has arrived in ghana as part of a three nation tour of africa. the visit is part of a diplomatic push by the biden administration to deepen ties with the continent amid competition from china and russia. after visiting ghana, she will be going to tanzania and zambia. our reporter in accra thomas naadi has more. vice president kamala harris�* visit is a further diplomatic push to strengthen us ties in africa. the visit is significant because

ghana is seen as a of democracy ——a beacon of democracy in africa. during the opening remarks, she said that america is helping to prevent more in africa. countries struggling to overcome the combined effects of the global pandemic and russia's of ukraine. ghana is seeking to renegotiate its step with china with $1.9 billion. and harris will be visiting is exceeded $17 billion in the majority of which is owed to america's allies have been china, which is africa's biggest business partner and lender have been very reluctant to play ball. the presence of other global powers like russia on the continent is growing with mercenaries operating in countries like mali and the central african republic. a direct threat to us interests, but american officials have said that their engagement is to give africa more options rather than to limit them. in what is considered a mutually

beneficial relationship. president biden is expected to visit this continent later this year. people in lebanon woke up in two time zones earlier, with the country's political and religious authorities unable to agree on when the clocks should go forward. the caretaker prime minister, najeeb mikarti, announced that daylight saving would begin at the end of ramadan in late april, allowing those fasting to enjoy their first meal of the day earlier. but the christian authorities insisted on the change on the last sunday in march, as happens most years. now to two people who have been preparing for the journey of a lifetime. chris and julie ramsay from scotland are about to embark on a drive which will take them from one of the earth's poles to the other. the couple are taking an electric car from the arctic to antarctica. ben philip reports. a first of its kind adventure, driving an electric car from pole to pole. one of the most common questions we get asked is how we're going to be

charging in the polar regions where there is no electricity source. there will be a wind turbine and full double solar on this device that we will be towing along in the arctic and harnessing the renewable energy sources, the wind and the sun, to power the car. starting at the magnetic north pole, the couple will navigate across sea ice into canada and then south through the us and mexico, and into warmer temperatures in south america. 17,000 miles and 1a countries later, they will cross the finish line at the south pole in ten months�* time. modifications have been kept to a minimum, but bigger tyres have been added to help cope with harsh terrain. there are also some modcons — a coffee machine in the boot and a drone launcher so they can film their journey.

i have every confidence we can do it. there will be challenges. we know that it will be a difficult road. but what is an adventure without a challenge? we have to embrace it. if you don't try something and push boundaries, then you will never know what you're capable of. chris and julie are no stranger to defy the odds. in 2017 they were the first team to complete the mongol rally in an electric car, a 10,000 mile journey from london to mongolia. their aim is to demonstrate that electric vehicles can be adopted anywhere in the world. at the moment, more research in antarctica and the arctic use fossil fuel vehicles, the most fragile environments and ecosystems on the planet. so if we can help stimulate their conversation, that mindset, that potential change, i guess that is a huge part of our legacy. nearly a year on the road is a long time, so are there any home comforts they will be taking with them? i would like to take some tunnocks tea cakes, caramel wafers. they are always good.

and not forgetting our rowies. yeah. we could share them with the team and take a bit of scotland over on the expedition with us. of all the challenges that might face them, perhaps explaining what a rowie is to somebody at the north pole might be their hardest task. ijust need to quickly look up what that is! _ hello. things have been turning progressively colder today. we started with some rain across southern areas as that slowly cleared eastwards. it left a hang back of cloud, but also some bright or sunny spells. but the north or northeasterly winds have been starting to dig in. and with that cold air already embedded across parts of scotland and northern england, some of the showers that we saw here gave a covering of snow.

and there's more wintry showers overnight for the northern isles, northern scotland, northeast england, perhaps even clipping parts of east anglia. increasingly clear skies for many away from eastern coast, but some cloud developing through parts of wales and southwest england, maybe a few showers here. and also temperatures here will be a few degrees above freezing. but for many, temperatures at or below zero, minus five or minus six for parts of northern scotland. so an ice risk where we've had the showers and a frost for many. so it's a cold and dry start to the new week. it doesn't last for long. it will soon turn wet and windy, but also very mild, particularly for the middle part of the week. this is how monday shapes up underneath an area of high pressure. it's the only day of the week that we see this set up. waiting in the wings is our next atlantic system. we'll see the cloud moving in ahead of that later in the day. but monday morning will be crisp, plenty of sunshine for many. still some wintry showers for eastern coast. they will tend to fade once again. cloud for parts of south west. england and wales could bring a few showers, but cloud, rain, sleet and snow moving into the northern isles later in the day. still a cold feeling day, but we'll have lost that biting northeasterly wind. it won't feel quite as cold

as sunday, particularly for the northeastern coast. and a dry cold start to monday night before the cloud starts to gather ahead of this atlantic system that i previously mentioned. and this will be extending its way north and eastwards through the early hours of tuesday morning and then staying with us for much of the day on tuesday. and as it bumps into that cold air across scotland, the potential that we could see some snow for a time through tuesday morning, certainly some heavy rain initially across western areas, but then soon extending further eastwards, perhaps turning drier and brighter across northern ireland in the afternoon, temperatures rising a touch. but given the strengthening wind, the cloud and the rain, still going to feel on the cool side. and then there's more atlantic systems moving our way as we head through wednesday, thursday. and an area of low pressure will linger through friday and saturday. so after that cold, dry start on monday, it will quickly turn wetter and potentially windy as well through thursday and friday, but also much milder.