this is bbc news, i'm vishala sri—pathma. our top stories: devastating tornadoes tear through america's south and midwest, at least 21 people are killed. another week, another protest, thousands of israelis once more demonstrate against a radical overhaul of the judiciary. uproar as russia takes over the presidency of the un security council. ukraine calls it a slap in the face. translation: there is no form of terror that _ translation: there is no form of terror that russia _ translation: there is no form of terror that russia has - translation: there is no form of terror that russia has not - of terror that russia has not already committed and there will be no reason that that would stop for reform of global institutions, in particular, the un security council.

and, fancy footwear, we'll tell you about the huge convention in asia dedicated to the humble trainer. hello and welcome to bbc news. we start in the united states, where authorities in several us states have been assessing the damage caused by severe storms and tornadoes. at least 21 people are now known to have died, as storms ripped through the south and the midwest, leaving a trail devastation. hardest hit were tennessee, arkansas and indiana. in illinois, one person was killed, when a theatre roof collapsed. these pictures have just come into us in the last few hours of the storm passing. this car in arkansas, and as you can see, the pictures speak for themselves.

dozens of storms and tornadoes left a trail of destruction, two of the fiercest touched down in the southern state of arkansas. tearing off roofs, bringing down power lines, sweeping through homes with incredible force. the rate of pace and the volume of itjust seemed rather intense and it was extremely dangerous. it came through a set of double doors and ploughed through my house, out of my front door which has steel bars in the front of it. several people have been killed, dozens injured, in this state alone. the governor declared a state of emergency. i think the real story here isn't the damage that happened but it's the heroes that were born out of the tragedy and the fact that we have firefighters who despite the fact that they had a tornado literally coming through their station were worried about the community. that tells you who they are and it tells you, i think, a lot about our state. 600 miles to the north

in belvidere, illinois, another storm hit. the roof of the apollo theatre collapsed. one person has been killed, dozens injured. this latest destructive weather arrived just as president biden was visiting mississippi where he promised help to those hit by another tornado last week. sancha berg, bbc news. i'm joined now by senior forecaster with the national weather service in little rock, arkansas, joe goudsward. you arkansas, joe goudswa rd. very you arkansas, joe goudsward. very much forjoining us he you very much forjoining us. he clearly a hugely upsetting and devastating set of events there. what is the scene at the moment in arkansas, what is the situation? we moment in arkansas, what is the situation? ~ . . , situation? we are currently in cleanup mode _ situation? we are currently in cleanup mode and _ situation? we are currently in cleanup mode and very - situation? we are currently in cleanup mode and very happy situation? we are currently in i cleanup mode and very happy to be here, thank you for inviting me. streets are being cleaned, people are being taken care of. there is no act of weather

right now, it is very quiet so we are basically in recovery mode at this time.- we are basically in recovery mode at this time. and what is the situation _ mode at this time. and what is the situation going _ mode at this time. and what is the situation going forward - the situation going forward over the next 2a hours, 48 hours? over the next 24 hours, 48 hours? what guidance is being given out to people?— hours? what guidance is being given out to people? there are numerous _ given out to people? there are numerous shelters _ given out to people? there are numerous shelters open - given out to people? there are numerous shelters open and i given out to people? there are| numerous shelters open and as far as weather is concerned we are looking at fairly quiet weather tonight so the search and rescue can continue without any weather concerns. are expecting some rain tomorrow night in southern arkansas for the most part but unfortunately we are looking at another chance of strong to severe thunderstorms coming in for tuesday but until then the weather will be a little wet over the south but relatively quiet. over the south but relatively cuiet. �* , ., quiet. and in terms of those families and _ quiet. and in terms of those families and individuals - quiet. and in terms of those families and individuals that| families and individuals that have been impact did by the weather, by these storms, tornadoes which clearly have devastated people's lives here, what can they do right now? they can heed the advice of their county officials are

stopping there are curfews in effect for parts of the city, there are shelters that are road that remain closed so the best advice that they can give is pay attention to the weather for tuesday but also pay attention to your local officials. they are the ones who are taking care of all the search and rescues and all the shelters so just listen to what does local officials have to say. does local officials have to sa . �* , does local officials have to sa , �* , , ., ., does local officials have to sa . ~ , ., ., say. and is it safe for them to return to _ say. and is it safe for them to return to their— say. and is it safe for them to l return to their accommodation? or are they best keep away? it would depend on what part of little rock that you are in. some parts of the houses are habitable. in many parts they are not habitable so people are staying with friends and family or staying in hotels or staying in shelters. many homes are simply unlivable at this time. thank you very much forjoining us there from arkansas. you thank you very much for “oining us there from arkansas. you are very welcome- _ for the 13th week in a row, more than a 100,000 israelis are holding protests

against a radicaljudicial overhaul, despite the process having been put on hold, by the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, earlier this week. here's bbc monitoring'sjoel greenberg from jerusalem on what the protests have been like this week. originally when the parameters of this plan on hold for about a month until parliament reconvenes at the end of april that there might be a fallout in the protest but tonight the reports are that there are of thousands of israelis demonstrating in different cities. the biggest protest was in tel aviv where there were reports of over 150,000 demonstrators, several thousand in jerusalem demonstrators, several thousand injerusalem as well outside the president's residence where compromise talks are going to resume tomorrow so it seems that the protesters want to keep the pressure on the government despite the pores announced by the prime minister. i was out to have a look at the jerusalem protest and they have to tell you there were people there of all ages there were high school students, university students, elderly folks, middle—aged

people. it is much wider than the usual causes hair that attract protesters of a certain stripe. this seems to be attracting people from various walks of life and various age groups and that has been noted very much here in the local media as well copy there are of course people who support the government's plan and there have been pro—government protests but the anti—government protests have been going on for 13 weeks and seem to have captured a large slice of the population. let's get some of the day's other news. the abbot of ukraine's most important monastery, the kyiv—pechersk lavra, has been placed under house arrest for two months. he's been detained on suspicion of backing russia's invasion of ukraine. the security services also suspect metropolitan pavel lebed of inciting religious hatred. he will have to remain in a village southwest of kyiv and wear an electronic bracelet. metropolitan pavel denies the allegations.

spain's asturias region has been ravaged by fires as authorities blame what they called terrorist arsonists. 71 fires were still underway on saturday. more than 600 firefighters were deployed and several towns have been evacuated. the authorities in iran are vowing to enforce the wearing of a headscarf by women more rigorously, despite months of protests. a growing number of women have been seen unveiled in public, and hardline politicians are giving judges ultimatums, to punish those who ignore the rules. param ghobadi from the bbc persian service has the story. scenes like these were unimaginable seven months ago in iran. women refusing to wear the hijab in public. videos obtained by bbc persian show women floating the islamic dress code at a sports complex in tehran on friday. it's not only women. he would also have

been arrested for wearing shorts in public a few months ago. the young iranian generation is fearless. they don't want to dance to the tune of the clerical establishment. and it's not only in capital tehran. this was sent to us from hormuz island in southern iran, in the persian gulf. and this is the central city of isfahan, and here in this western town these girls are barred from entering a tourist attraction because they have no hijab. such acts of defiance has infuriated the hardliners. here a man warns a girl who is not wearing a headscarf. he then hits both women in the head with a yoghurt bucket. the iranianjudiciary said all three were arrested. many critics say hardliners like him are emboldened due to a statement by the iranian

interior ministry published on thursday. but enforcing the hijab is not that easy any more after months of protests following the death of a kurdish girl, mahsa amini, in police custody in september. iranian security forces killed over 500 protesters, according to rights groups. despite the deadly crackdown, it would seem there is no going back for iranian women. param ghobadi, bbc news. russia has taken over the presidency of the un security council, in what ukraine says is a "slap in the face to the international community,", because of the ongoing war. the presidency is rotated among the council's 15 members every month, and the last time russia had the role, in february 2022, vladimir putin launched his a full—scale invasion of ukraine.

let's get more persepctive from larry korb, a senior fellow at centerfor american progress and former united states assistant secretary of defense. thanks forjoining us. firstly, given that there was a lot of opposition to this happening, does that mean there isn't a huge amount that nations could do to stop this from going ahead? w do to stop this from going ahead? ., , u, �* w ahead? no, they can't fact it already started _ ahead? no, they can't fact it already started started - ahead? no, they can't fact it | already started started today, the united states, president biden�*s press secretary said we don't like it but we hope that russia will behave responsibly during the next month but as you mentioned they were running the security council when the russians invaded ukraine, illegally. russians invaded ukraine, illeuall . �* , ., illegally. and is there a bi . . er illegally. and is there a bigger questionnaire i illegally. and is there a - bigger questionnaire about the relevancy then about this presidency position? i don't

think, because _ presidency position? i don't think, because it _ presidency position? i don't think, because it rotates i presidency position? i don't - think, because it rotates among all 15 members, including the people who, the other 11 people who are not part of the permanence, you could have a very small country running it in the midst of a major crisis. and in terms of a wider sense of the kind of role and significance of the un security council, questions have been asked of this since the invasion of ukraine. do you think that is in jeopardy a moment with yellow basically, the general assembly has had 140 countries both to condemn the invasion, the security council couldn't do that because china and russia obviously were abstaining, so i think basically the international criminal court which is not technically part of the un has indicted president putin so they are

doing what they can but you got to remember, when you got great power and politics it is very hard for an international organisation to go against the wishes of any of the great powers. and from russia's point of view, are they going to be happy about this?— happy about this? russia basically _ happy about this? russia basically has _ happy about this? russia basically has vetoed - happy about this? russia basically has vetoed all. happy about this? russia l basically has vetoed all the resolutions that have come through the security council. they have vetoed about 24 resolutions in the last year, the chinese another ten, the united states for example only one. �* h, united states for example only one. ~ ,., , ., united states for example only one. ~ , ., ., one. and so in terms of what happens _ one. and so in terms of what happens in — one. and so in terms of what happens in the _ one. and so in terms of what happens in the future, - one. and so in terms of what happens in the future, do i one. and so in terms of what| happens in the future, do you think there will be perhaps a review of the rules and the regulations around this? because that is a ring that is mental about, for those reasons that you mentioned, the power they wield within the un security council. i mean, basically _ security council. i mean, basically what _ security council. i mean, basically what i - security council. i mean, basically what i think - security council. i mean, basically what i think the | basically what i think the russians are going to do as they are going to bring up the united states invasion of iraq and say we didn't condemn that,

that was illegal, it didn't have un support when they did it, they invaded underfalse pretence as and i think they will spend the month doing that quite thank you very much for joining us, seniorfellow, centre for american progress. thank you for having me. this is bbc news, a reminder of our top stories: a series of devastating tornadoes have torn through america's south and midwest, at least 21 people are killed. for the thirteenth week in a row, thousands of israelis have demonstrated against a radical overhaul of thejudiciary. finns are heading to the polls on sunday, with three party leaders all vying to become the country's next prime minister. opinion polls suggest it'll be a tight race, with sanna marin who became the world's youngest premier

at 34 back in 2019, battling to stay in power. finland is on the verge of formallyjoining nato and this election will determine who'll actually lead it into the alliance. ms marin campaigned to voters at a rally in the capital, helsinki on saturday. situation is very tight, we have three parties that are, any of these three parties can win tomorrow and of course we hope that we will enter and continue our work that we have been doing for the last four years. a court in romania has agreed to allow the controversial social media influencer, andrew tate, to leave prison and move into house arrest. the british—american former kickboxer is being investigated for a number of crimes, all of which he denies. lucy williamson reports. the police have been here to the compound a couple of times already today. it's day one of house arrest for the brothers and the police have come to check they're on the premises as they're supposed to be. the judge has said they have to stay in this building for 30 days

until the end of april. the tate spokeswoman said the brothers are nevertheless ecstatic to be out of police custody and that there aren't that many restrictions on them while they're under house arrest. they can have visitors into the compound, they can post material online and they can also talk to the media. although, as you can see today, the media is being kept out here in the rain for the moment. these gates have remained largely shut today, apart from a few comings and goings. but if you look through the gaps, you can see that life is continuing pretty much as it did before. inside the lobby here looks a little bit like the set of a tv show. there's a swimming pool and a small gym. there used to be a fleet of luxury cars, but they've now all gone. they've been impounded by the romanian authorities here at the end of the street, there are large areas that are undeveloped, really just wasteland. and we also now know that some of those luxury cars inside this compound didn't belong to the brothers themselves. they were leased from a car rental company. all of that gives a slightly

different impression to the one they gave in the videos online. water companies could face unlimited fines, if they illegally discharge sewage into england's waterways. uk ministers want to lift the £250,000 cap for those who break the rules. companies are allowed to discharge untreated sewage into rivers, but only in exceptional circumstances. our political correspondent, ione wells has more details. raw, untreated sewage, pumped into rivers, lakes, streams and the sea. this happened more than 300,000 times in england last year. that's more than 800 times a day. water companies release sewage like this when there's too much demand on their treatment works in rainy periods. they can be acting illegally, though, if they pump sewage into water when the conditions are dry or if they don't treat enough of the waste

before releasing it. ministers want to clamp down on firms breaking the rules. they will announce plans for firms to face unlimited fines for polluting the environment. the environment secretary therese coffey says money from higherfines will be ringfenced and invested back into rivers, lakes and streams. the body representing water companies says fines alone won't clean up waterways. it's really important to remember that with 99% of sewage works meeting their legal conditions in full last year, rule breaking is an absolute minority of the problem here. we have to rebuild the sewer system to place less reliance on overflow. but why has the government decided now to adopt stricter rules? local elections are coming up in may. while it's not an issue councils have the power to fix, it's one coming up on doorsteps around the country. other parties have said water companies should face greater accountability.

what we need is a strong plan, mandatory monitoring, so we know exactly where this is happening. automatic fines are making sure those that are responsible are held to account. that's what a plan looks like. we put that before parliament and the government, if you can believe it, voted against it. i think we need to see a different approach to prevent executives receiving their huge bonuses until this problem is sorted out, and to make dumping sewage into our bathing waters illegal. it's too little, too late, - and we need to see some much, much stronger solutions, including bringing water. companies back into public ownership. i as parties vie for votes next month, they all hope to put clear blue water between them and their rivals on plans to make these murky brown scenes a sight of the past. ione wells, bbc news. thousands of people have taken to the streets of lisbon and other cities across portugal to protest against soaring rents and house

prices at a time when inflation is making it even harder for people to make ends meet. the demonstrations were organised by the home to live movement and other groups as shelley phelps reports. taking to the streets to protest against the housing crisis. government data shows more than half of workers in portugal in less than 1000 euros a month while the average rent for a one bed flat in the tourist hot spot of lisbon is nearly 1400. and with costs continuing to rise, those here say they are facing an impossible situation. we say they are facing an impossible situation. say they are facing an im ossible situation. ~ . ., impossible situation. we have a salary which _ impossible situation. we have a salary which is _ impossible situation. we have a salary which is higher _ impossible situation. we have a salary which is higher than - impossible situation. we have a salary which is higher than the l salary which is higher than the salary which is higher than the salary in lisbon and i cannot afford renting a flat. because it's too expensive. and the prices went up so much in the last year, the rental housing issue in lisbon, i think, is the worst, the worst situation in the city than other cities in the city than other cities in europe. in the city than other cities in eur0pe-_

in the city than other cities ineuroe. , , . , in europe. many share stories of their struggle _ in europe. many share stories of their struggle to _ in europe. many share stories of their struggle to access - of their struggle to access housing but situation is challenging for young people. translation:— challenging for young people. translation: people who for exam - le translation: people who for example work _ translation: people who for example work and _ translation: people who for i example work and are homeless, students whose lives come to a halt and maybe cannot study at the university they choose. people who are evicted because of their houses turned into short—term accommodations for tourists. short-term accommodations for tourists. ., , short-term accommodations for tourists. ., tourists. last month, the portuguese _ tourists. last month, the portuguese government | tourists. last month, the - portuguese government announced plans to end its golden visa scheme for investors and to ban new air b&b rentals in urban areas but critics say it's not enough. translation: this areas but critics say it's not enough. translation: this is a social emergency _ enough. translation: this is a social emergency and _ enough. translation: this is a social emergency and the - social emergency and the government seems to remain unaware of this huge crisis, given its motions that will mainly benefit the real estate sector. , ., sector. those here say they are determined _ sector. those here say they are determined to _ sector. those here say they are determined to keep _ sector. those here say they are determined to keep banging i sector. those here say they are| determined to keep banging the drum for change. shelley phelps, bbc news. donald trump will appear in the new york court early next week.

the former president is to face criminal charges over the hush money payments to adult film star stormy daniels in the days before the 2016 presidential election. court officials have confirmed that the former president is expected to appear for his arraignment on tuesday. our north america reporter nada tawfik has the latest from new york. in new york security has been ramped up to surrender ——to prepare for when donald trump will surrender here. he prepare for when donald trump will surrender here.— will surrender here. he is expected _ will surrender here. he is expected to _ will surrender here. he is expected to arrive - will surrender here. he is expected to arrive on i will surrender here. he is i expected to arrive on monday night where he will stay at his trump tower residences escorted throughout by his secret service detail before he turned himself into authorities here are the district attorney's office on tuesday. tuesday afternoon, he will then hear the charges formally against him and be able to enter a plea in front of a judge. it will be a moment that will be captured by the world's media here and it's something that donald trump is trying to capitalise on. we've seen him turn this narrative of trying to rally his bass, belly other around him, this is a witch—hunt

against him, that it is political persecution and an attempt to interfere with the upcoming residential markerfor upcoming residential marker for presidential election. upcoming residential markerfor presidential election. at the moment he is the frontrunner for republicans as they look towards the primary. he has been sending out campaign e—mails, asking for donations and the trump campaign says on the 24 hours since the news of his indictment he has raised $4 million so certainly in the short—term, he is seeing a boost. the manhattan district attorney has hit back at against him, saying this was a new york grand jury, citizens, who did their civic duty and decided there was evidence to proceed and he hit back at what he calls "unlawful interference in a local prosecution". whether you call them trainers, sneakers or sports shoes, they are big business. the industry is estimated to be worth around $70 billion a year. now, a convention dedicated to athletic footwear is taking place in singapore — the first of its kind

in southeast asia. tim allman explains. they are notjust they are not just footwear. they are not just footwear. they are not just footwear. they are a way of life.- they are a way of life. you keep seeing _ they are a way of life. you keep seeing you've - they are a way of life. you keep seeing you've got i keep seeing you've got something for me. keep seeing you've got somethin: for me. , ., something for me. hundreds of millions of— something for me. hundreds of millions of trainers _ something for me. hundreds of millions of trainers are - something for me. hundreds of millions of trainers are sold i millions of trainers are sold every year, one by the athletically inclined and those who are less so.— who are less so. these boots are made _ who are less so. these boots are made for _ who are less so. these boots are made for walking. - who are less so. these boots are made for walking. and i are made for walking. and that's just what they'll do. one of these days, these boots are going to walk all over you. where there is money, there is always a convention and this one is happening in singapore. organisers say around 15,000 people were in attendance, hitting a kick out of their kicks. ~ ., hitting a kick out of their kicks. ~ . , .,, hitting a kick out of their kicks. ~ . , , ., kicks. we have people here from indonesia. _ kicks. we have people here from indonesia, thailand, _ kicks. we have people here from indonesia, thailand, brunei, i indonesia, thailand, brunei, malaysia, it's a really amazing

thing to see sneaker heads unite from around the region together for this event. sneaker con is a togetherfor this event. sneaker con is a global phenomenon, travelling to more than 20 cities worldwide. this stop was originally scheduled for 2020 but then, covid happened. they are making up for lost time and there may be no better place to do it.- no better place to do it. there is a lot of— no better place to do it. there is a lot of attention _ no better place to do it. there is a lot of attention on - no better place to do it. there is a lot of attention on asia i is a lot of attention on asia right now and a lot of collaborations happening with asian sneaker designers and it's amazing! the way it has become, you know? pare it's amazing! the way it has become, you know? are you read , become, you know? are you ready, boots? _ become, you know? are you ready, boots? start - become, you know? are youj ready, boots? start walking! next — ready, boots? start walking! next stop for sneaker con is the united states, the spiritual home of the modern sports shoe. this is an industry with big ambitions and its advice for anyone thinking of buying a pair of trainers — just do it. tim allman, bbc

news. that's all for now. i'm on instagram and twitter. i'm @bbcvishalasp. thank you for watching. saturday was a brighter day for some than for others. and across the east coast of england and eastern scotland, brightness was in short supply. cloud and a brisk breeze in stonehaven keeping temperatures pegged back to five degrees celsius but parts of south wales saw highs of 15 with a little bit of sunshine. and i'm hopeful that on sunday, more of us will get to see some spells of sunshine. certainly a drier and brighter day overall because high pressure is going to be building its way in, squeezing out a lot of the cloud, also squeezing out much of the rain. there mayjust be a bit of dampness first thing, particularly in the north—west of scotland, across scotland, northern ireland, parts of wales and south—west

england, i think we will keep some areas of cloud through the day but generally speaking, some good spells of sunshine, certainly a brighter and less chilly day for north sea coasts. temperatures of nine or ten degrees. highest temperatures out towards the west — 12 belfast and cardiff, 13 degrees in plymouth. and then, as we head through sunday night with those clear skies overhead, temperatures will drop. it is going to be a colder night than we've been used to of late. quite widely, i think we'll see a touch of frost. the temperatures you see here are for the town and city centres. minus one there in the centre of birmingham. some spots in the countryside will get colder than that, so a chilly start to monday. but at this time of year, the sun has got some strength to it, so once the sun comes up, the frost will lift and the temperatures will start to climb. good spells of sunshine through the day. this frontal system trying to push into northern ireland. it may introduce more cloud here later in the day, turning the sunshine rather hazy. temperatures ten to 13 degrees. now into tuesday,

i think we will see a weather front bringing cloud and some patchy rain into northern ireland and scotland, particularly western scotland. best of the sunshine will be found across england and wales. temperatures there in liverpool perhaps up to 14 degrees — which won't feel too bad at all if you do get sunshine overhead. now, the middle part of the week will bring frontal systems in from the north—west. that will introduce some outbreaks of rain, particularly across the north—west of the uk. it is likely that high pressure will hold on further south and east, so there won't be a huge amount of rain here and, actually, for the end of the week and the start of the easter weekend, at this stage, it looks mostly dry.

ione wells, bbc news. this is bbc news — the headlines: the authorities in several us states have been assessing the damage caused by severe storms and tornadoes across the south and the midwest. at least 21 people in six states have been confirmed dead. hardest hit states were tennessee, arkansas and illinois. more than 100,000 israelis have been holding protests againstjudicial reforms for the thirteenth consecutive week. they gathered in spite of a pause in the lawmaking process — announced earlier this week. in the city of tel aviv — there were scuffles between protesters and counter—demonstrators. ukraine has condemned russia's assumption of the rotating

presidency of the un security council as a "slap in the face to the international community".