this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm shaun ley and these are the latest headlines. pope francis presides over palm sunday mass at the vatican — just a day after leaving hospital in rome for treatment for bronchitis. and these are live pictures of st peter's square . there is a camera on top of this pope bill. increasingly the pope needs to restless legs. severe storms batter the north—east of the united states after leaving a trail of devastation in the south and midwest.

at least 21 people are known to have died. these are two of three british men the uk foreign office says it is trying to get in touch with since being detained by secret police in afghanistan. the uk's home secretary tells the bbc the government is looking at further land sites and vessels to house migrants. we do need to increase how detention stay. we have several thousand places already and we have capacity. we will need to increase some of our detention capacity. we will need to increase some of our detention capacity. more than 100,000 people take part in protests across israel for the 13th consecutive week againstjudicial reforms, despite the government's decision to pause the legislation. after becoming one of the first cities in the world to authorise e—scooter rentals, paris holds a referendum on whether to ban them.

pope francis has presided over palm sunday mass at the vatican — just a day after leaving hospital in rome. the 86—year—old was admitted with breathing difficulties, and later diagnosed with bronchitis. the pontiff's admission to hospital came ahead of the busiest week in the christian calendar. thousands of people gathered in st peter's square waving palm and olive branches as pope francis was driven into the huge esplanade, sitting in the back of a white, open—topped vehicle. he then celebrated mass — his initial blessing was made standing up, but he spent the rest of the service sitting down.

the altar part of the ceremony was conducted by a cardinal. he said in his message that people should not ignore the suffering and solitude of others. the service ended with a procession in st peter's square. we saw some flight pictures and we will see them again now. from the pope's perspective as he waves on his departure through the crowds throughout st peter's, one of the busiest sundays of the coroner. nixon day will be easter sunday, marking the resurrection of christ after his crucifixion. and palm sunday today marks the moment when christ entered jerusalem on the start of his lastjourney. we will have more from rome with our correspondentjenny hill later in this hour.

tornadoes, apparently. authorities in the united states have been this assessing the damage caused by severe storms and tornadoes. at least 21 people are now known to have died, as the 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 in chicago. 0ur reporter shelley phelps has more. two tornadoes left a trail of destruction in arkansas. this was the small town of wynne where at least four people were killed. homes and businesses lie flattened. the local high school torn apart, devastated teachers and students came to see the extent of the damage for themselves. yeah, i taught here for 25 years. this is my classroom and when i walked out yesterday i didn't realise that would be the last time i would be teaching in this classroom. it's just... god protected this town,

and he will rebuild it and everything will be fine again. i am a sophomore. i have been here since first grade. the school, ijust love it. we have many traditions that... voice waivers. ..that i'm so proud of the school for. i'm just so sad it is gone. i know we can come back stronger. we can build a better school, keep those traditions going. 100 miles away in the state capital of little rock, another person killed, over 50 hospitalised and at least 2,000 homes and businesses damaged. the wind was absolutely howling. it

was constantly making screaming noises. i could hear it blowing through the cracks in the van, pushing in, shaking the whole thing. if i didn't have as much equipment in that fine and it didn't have the bulkhead and some other stuff attach to the band to make it a bit heavier, i am to the band to make it a bit heavier, iam pretty to the band to make it a bit heavier, i am pretty sure it would have been blown away. also hit was the central state of illinois where a storm caused a theatre roof to collapse at a packed heavy metal gig in belvedere. the lights go out, i hear noise. everything _ the lights go out, i hear noise. everything crashes down, which is the ceiling — everything crashes down, which is the ceiling and i felt like a tornado _ the ceiling and i felt like a tornado hit. i honestly don't know. but that— tornado hit. i honestly don't know. but that went down. one person was killed in the tragedy and dozens of others injured. recovery operations are working at pace but some of the affected areas could face more storms on tuesday. shelley phelps, bbc news.

here in the uk, the foreign office says it's "working hard" to get in touch with three british men who have been detained by the taliban's secret police in afghanistan. one of those being held is thought to have built an online following by visiting dangerous places, while the two others are understood to have been arrested during a raid on accommodation used by foreign aid workers. helena wilkinson has more. back under taliban control since the summer of 2021, now it's emerged that three british men are being held in custody by the taliban in afghanistan. so maybe i might be evacuated tonight, maybe next week, maybe a month. it's understood one of them is miles routledge. he was evacuated from the country during the final days of the occupation in 2021. he's built up a social media following, visiting dangerous places. two other british men are also in custody. one of them is kevin cornwell, a 53—year—old charity worker.

it's understood he's a paramedic and has been working in afghanistan for some time. another british man, who hasn't been named, was detained at the same time as mr cornwell injanuary. no formal charges have been laid against the two men. the organisation supporting the families of mr cornwell, and the man who hasn't been named, said the men are facing challenges. the difficulty that you have in the current system in afghanistan is that there's no codified rule of law as we would understand it, and so when somebody becomes subject to these kinds of procedures there's no legal access, there's no representation, there's no access to consulate officials, so they've essentially been in a diplomatic and legal black hole for some time. in a statement the foreign office said:

families who will be no doubt desperate for the men's safe release. helena wilkinson, bbc news. the british home secretary has defended the government's plans to send migrants, who arrive in britain by crossing the english channel in small boats to rwanda. suella braverman described the plans as being a "significant deterrent", but the opposition labour party has criticised the move, accusing the government of failing to "get a grip" of the migration system. it comes as the bbc understands the government could announce alternatives to hotel accommodation for migrants as early as next week. two military sites and ferries could be used to house arrivals, thousands of whom are currently staying in hotels at a cost of nearly £6 million a day to the british taxpayer.

home secretary was asked about all of that. our political... 0ur political... earlier our political correspondent david wallace lockhart gave us the latest. people crossing the channel in small boats is one of government's key priorities in terms of cracking down on that. a piece of legislation they're trying to pass called the illegal migration bill will say that everyone arriving without permission will be detained and then sent to a safe country, unable to claim asylum in the uk. when it comes to that safe country, the key nation that everyone is looking at is rwanda, the uk government has signed a deal with rwanda that asylum seekers would be sent there and live their lives after in rwanda. now, the home secretary, suella braverman has been speaking to the bbc, saying that rwanda is a safe country

for people to be sent to, despite she was asked about reports of refugees being shot at with live rounds in 2018. she said it is a safe country to be sent to and talked about how the uk courts have accepted that. she did mention there was circumstances where someone could challenge the decision. but you're right to say it is a longer term solution as the government see social security. questions about detention capacity and that is something the home secretary touched on. well, let's be clear that our scheme to detain and swiftly remove does not require 50,000 new detention places. the government is in no way planning to do that. what we need to do is... what happens if 50,000 people arrive? we do need to increase our detention stay. we have got several thousand places already that we use and we have got capacity there. we will need to increase some of our detention capacity. but what we believe to work is that

once we are able to relocate people from the uk to rwanda, pursuant to our world—leading deal, that will have a significant deterrent effect and people will stop making the journey in the first place. they will stop paying the evil people smuggling gangs in the first place, and the numbers will come down. and that is notjust speculation, that is actually born out of experience of other countries who rolled out a similar scheme, for example, australia. the main opposition party very sceptical about this plan. they don't attack it on ethical or moral grounds, moral practicalities, pointing out the fact that the uk has signed up to this deal which is costing a lot of money and because of legal challenges no one has so far been sent to rwanda. the labour party is very sceptical. that is something that lisa nandy was asked about this morning.

for a policy that has cost the british taxpayer a huge amount of money and has sent seen a single person go to rwanda. so i think the evidence so far suggest this is just yet another outlandish nonsense came from the home secretary that is unable to do the very basics of getting her own system working. she complains about an asylum system that is broken. i think she really does need to ask who broke it, and the answer to that lies by looking in a mirror. i think this is a con trick being perpetrated on the british people. the government is not processing asylum claims. they have got an enormous backlog. they have added £500 million to the costs because of these delays that have been caused by the pursuing of all these new strategies. the government are adamant there rwanda scheme will take effect. they won't put any dates on when they were staggering to rwanda. there was some talk about the summer for those legal challenges being completed and the skin getting up and running but

no firm date yet. the issue of where exactly these large numbers of people coming across the channel will be kept, first and foremost in a lot of peoples minds, there were official home office prediction is that you could be looking at 80,000 people making that dangerous crossing this year so the government adamant this is a problem they are going to solve but big questions about exactly how and when. for the 13th weekend in a row, more than 100,000 israelis have held protests across the country against a radicaljudicial overhaul, despite prime minister benjamin netanyahu's decision to pause the reforms earlier this week. talks have been initiated between the government and the opposition, but protest organisers fear the legislation, that would give the government control overjudicial appointments, could still be brought to a vote. the end game will be that we are going to win because this is not something that we can live with. we cannot live in a state

that is not democratic. these people which came out here today to cry for their future, to fight for the future, they feel their future is in danger. extra ferries have been put on between france and the uk overnight to try to work through an easter weekend backlog. strong winds and slower processing times by french border officials were said to have contributed to the heavy traffic, which began building up near the port of dover on friday where some passengers waited 1a hours to board their ferry to france. according to the port of dover authorities, over 300 coaches departed on saturday, with all of the freight backlog cleared and tourist cars processed successfully. there remain pockets of coaches still waiting to be processed with smaller volumes of coaches expected today. earlier, we were joined by louisa pilbeam live from dover. well, i have to say, the roads are clear on the approach to dover here.

it is just when you get to the ferry terminaljust over my shoulder here, where you can see the coaches that are backed up. so it is really the coaches that people on board are suffering. so, school trips, ski trips, there are families who are going on holiday, and they are all on board and they have been on—board for up to 2a hours. we heard from one school, saintjosephs from wrexham in wales, and they have been on their coach or they have been, for 2h hours, and they've only been given a kit kat each and a drink and the rest of them didn't have any other food. so they have really been going through a lot on those coaches. and the problem is there that if you've got 40, 50, 60 people on a coach then everybody�*s passport needs checking, and since brexit it means that more checks need to happen, so every page of those passport needs to be gone through to make

sure that somebody hasn't gone to france and been there recently, because you can only spend a certain amount of days in france now. so that is causing some problems. from the port of dover, they said that they didn't expect to have so many coaches come through, which is quite interesting. they said that they had put in contingency plans for more vehicles because of course this is one of their busiest times of year. they didn't expect so many coaches to come and that is why they are all still there, waiting for hours. more ferries, as you heard, have been put on, and that seems to have eased things. we have been here since 6am and the roads, i mean, the traffic is coming through absolutely fine until you get to the ferry terminal. so things are definitely improving here. we will have a live update in an hour from we will have a live update in an hourfrom now we will have a live update in an hour from now on we will have a live update in an hourfrom now on bbc news. we will have a live update

in an hourfrom now on bbc news. school bosses who run more than 200 academies in england, say 0fsted must rethink how it carries out their inspections. they've told the bbc that the regulator often fails to take into account the effect of the pandemic on poorer areas. their concerns follow the death of a head teacher who took her own life, after her school was downgraded. 0ur education editor branwenjeffreys, reports. music is important at this london primary school, but two 0fsted inspections in the last year have struck a note of discord. it's been a year like no other in my life, notjust for me but for the entire school community. on a visit a year ago, inspectors raised concerns. they'd heard racist, sexist and homophobic language in the playground and wanted better record—keeping on child safety. the head teacher was told the school would go from "good" to "inadequate". i was so distraught, i went walking for about five hours

before i could find the strength to return home and face people again. it was five months until the report was published in september. 0fsted rejected a challenge to the "inadequate" grade. the head teacher could tell no—one. i wasn't sleeping. i was always anxious. i had lost my confidence. i had lost my self—esteem. publicly, i'm here at school. you have to be seen to be resilient and strong and confident, and i hope i was still doing that as much as i possibly could. but internally, your — every essence of your being has been eroded. two months after that first report, different inspectors were back. the school had made a few changes. at the end of term it was judged good again, leaving some parents baffled by the disruption. it sent shockwaves through

the school, and then for it to be reversed and no—one to say, "hang on a minute, that shouldn't "have happened," and someone to be held accountable for that. 0fsted has a legal duty to inspect all state schools, checking that children are safe, happy and get the education they need. i've been speaking to people who between them run hundreds of schools across england. they share similar concerns about 0fsted. they told me the way inspections are carried out is too rigid and that one grade that is awarded at the end doesn't give parents the full picture of what's going on. this nottingham school is part of a group of 38 academies. the chief executive says 0fsted isn't taking account of the impact of the pandemic, and many others share his view. people are saying the need for change is now, but actually quite a lot of people are frightened to come out and say

that we need to change. i think the fairness for some communities is not right at the moment. i think that there is an issue, particularly for disadvantaged communities and schools that serve disadvantaged communities, how fair their experience is, when obviously they're looking for things that are becoming increasingly challenging for any school to deliver. 0fsted said it recognised the challenges schools face, adding there is a legitimate debate about how schools are graded. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. paris is holding a referendum today on whether to ban e—scooter street rentals. the french capital was one of the first cities to authorise their use, but they've faced criticism from some who say they're often driven recklessly and clutter the streets. 0ur correspondent hugh schofield has more. perhaps the operators are producing figures to show that there are 400,000 regular users. it's certainly very easy to find people. if you go out voxpopping who say

yes, they rely on them for their daily trip to work. they find it very useful coming home late at night. it's cheap, they're relatively green and so on, and they're fun. so they certainly have their supporters, but to say the least, they also have their detractors, one of whom is the mayor of paris, anne hidalgo. and she's the one who's called this referendum, you know, with a clear intention, one senses, that she wants them banned. there's no question of banning e—scooters in general, but of the free floating variety. and yes, the complaint is that they clutter up the space, you know, there have been moves to try and regulate that, but also that the free floating ones are often picked up by youngsters who ride very recklessly. if it's not your bike, you don't really care how you ride it. if it is your... sorry, your bike, if it is your scooter, you'll look after it. it's your regular means of getting

about, you'll ride it differently. and i mean, it's true. i mean, everyone knows everyone's had a horror story or heard a horror story or had had a close brush with someone coming burning down the road or down the pavement towards them or down the street the wrong way. it happens the whole time. and that that is why a lot of parisians, particularly older parisians, are very angry. and the thing about this referendum, so—called, is that, you know, it's going to be older people probably who turn out to vote. the younger people who use them won't be voting. and that's the point being made by the operators who really are very, very angry about this referendum. a new respite lodge has opened in devon in southwest england, hoping to provide a place of comfort for children who've lost a parent serving in the armed forces. scottie's little soldiers is behind the project — a charity which was founded by nikki scott in 2010, after her husband was killed in afghanistan. john danks has been to meet her. he served with the second tank regiment, and ijust noticed the effect his death had on our two young children. just taking my children

away and having time out from being surrounded by the military, and just being free to have some fun. and you relax and then the children relax, and they start to open up and talk. scotty's lodge is now open. today in exmouth, a new place for bereaved military families to spend time together and to create new, happier memories. the charity also offers emotional and educational support to children and young people who have lost a parent. tried to get a little bit older with the bed in here, for the teenagers as well. corporal mark palin was 33 when he was killed in afghanistan. he left behind a one—year—old son, lennon, and wife carla, who was pregnant with his daughter. the week that he was meant to be coming back on leave, he was killed over there. my life changed forever that day. i was pregnant and then i had to give birth to his daughter on my own, so my life just changed forever. and when he was older,

lennon benefited from having someone to talk to about his dad. for him it was online, just him and the counsellor talking, and he found it so helpful to be able to talk freely about his dad without the fear of upsetting me. when someone is bereaved, unless you've gone through it, i suppose, it's very difficult to understand the pressures they're under, what they're feeling. and scotty's little soldiers really provides a bolthole for families to go to to recharge their batteries, where the kids can really enjoy themselves and let loose. it's always just a nice place because, like,| you can feel like you're at home, i because you know if there are other people here that you can relate to them. i like, you're not the only one, so everyone has the same stories. and understanding each other�*s stories is often a huge help to those who are grieving. john danks, bbc news, exmouth. good luck to all of them down in

south devon. right by the sea. that's it. we have got a fairly dry, settled spell of weather, notjust for today but certainly over the next few days as well. a real change from the weather we saw during march. a much quieter start to april. a drier and brighter day than we had yesterday. more sunshine today. that is down to the fact we have high pressure building. both the south—west and the north—east of the uk. and that is keeping their weather fronts largely at bay at the moment. we have had a fair amount of cloud earlier this morning but that tends to thin and break in most places, lingering longest through central scotland, perhaps into wales and south—west of england. northern ireland seeing patchy cloud into the afternoon. the best of the sunshine for central and eastern parts of england but some fair weather cloud and a bit of a breeze coming

in across east anglia and south—east as well, and if you are close to the east coast of england and eastern scotland it will feel cooler in that easterly breeze. 9 or 10 degrees here, where it is further west for the likes of liverpool, we are set to see temperatures of 13 celsius. some late sunshine into the evening hours and then overnight looking clear and dry, light winds for most of us. that is a recipe for quite a cold night. we are likely to see frost around. you can see the blue hue returning to the mat. you can see the blue hue returning to the map. temperatures a degree or two either side of freezing, milder, more cloud for northern ireland and western scotland. but monday promises lots of blue sky and sunshine. frost clearing away really quickly and there will be areas of cloud drifting around, especially across parts of scotland, northern ireland and perhaps the south—west of england. temperatures generally about 12 or 13 degrees, a touch cooler close to that east coast. heading into tuesday, a bit more cloud that will work in from the north—west across northern ireland

and scotland. a breeze picking up. some light showers. further south and east you will be staying dry, clear and sunny and it will feel warmer. 1a, possibly 15 degrees. not as cool as it has been close to the east coast. middle of the week sees some weather fronts trying to move in from the atlantic. as they do, they move across the area of high pressure so they will tend to fizzle out but they will bring some outbreaks of rain, especially across northern and north—western parts of the uk through the middle part of the week, but mostly dry further south and at the moment it looks dry for good friday and into the easter weekend. goodbye.

this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley and these are the headlines. pope francis presides over palm sunday mass at the vatican, a day after leaving hospital in rome for treatment for bronchitis. authorities in the united states have been assessing the damage caused by severe storms and tornadoes. at least 21 people are now known to have died and dozens more are missing after the severe weather left a trail of devastation. these are two of three british men the uk foreign 0ffice says it is trying to get in touch with since being detained by secret police in afghanistan. the uk's home secretary tells the bbc the government is looking at further land sites and vessels to house migrants, just days after it announced three former military sites will be used.