live from london, this is bbc news. northern ireland police warn republicans could provoke violence as the country marks 25 years of the good friday agreement. israel launches air strikes on gaza and lebanon, calling it retaliation for several dozen hamas rockets fired at israel. as emmanuel macron and ursula von der leyen wrap up their trip to china, have they got what they wanted from xi jinping? the biden white house releases a report blaming the chaotic afghanistan withdrawal on the trump administration.

hello and welcome. police in northern ireland have warned that some republicans could try to provoke street violence over the easter weekend as the country marks the 25th anniversary since the signing of the good friday agreement that largely ended 30 years of sectarian violence. hundreds of extra police have been brought in for events which culminate with a visit to belfast by us president biden on wednesday. vincent mcavinney reports. final preparations are under way in northern ireland for a week of notjust religious observation, but also a commemoration of the end of this nation's darkest chap.

events are being held to mark monday's 25th anniversary of the signing of the good friday agreement in 1998. the deal ended 30 years of violent conflict in northern ireland known as the troubles, which cost the lives of more than 3500 people. cost the lives of more than 3500 maple-— cost the lives of more than 3500 --eole. ., ., ., 3500 people. today i want to... while there _ 3500 people. today i want to... while there has _ 3500 people. today i want to... while there has been _ 3500 people. today i want to... while there has been relative i while there has been relative peace since the signing, the police service of northern ireland chief comfortable sunburn has worn the potential for public disorder linked at dissident republicans. assistant chief comfortable bobby singleton said that psn i had very strong community intelligence that attacks were being planned in londonderry, and that officers had to be prepared for that and we will be prepared for all eventualities on monday." m15 recently rated northern ireland public terrorism threat level too severe, meaning attack is highly likely. the chief constable warned resources would be further challenged by

the visit of us presidentsjoe biden and former president bill clinton next week for the commemorations. in anticipation, psn i have made temporary changes to shifts to put more officers on the front mr byrne also warned of the problem posed by ongoing violence within loyalist groups, specifically the impact of a violent feud between criminal drug gangs, which he said were previously linked to the ulster defence association, a loyalist paramilitary organisation. around 300 officers will be drafted in from other uk forces to help out. the cost of the security operation around the presidential visit and anniversary events has been put at around £7 million. northern ireland has made huge progress in the decades since the good friday agreement signing, but it is still a post— conflict society which has seen old tensions rise again in recent years due to the impact of exit. the message is they are

prepared, though, for all eventualities on this historic weekend. vincent mcavinney, bbc news. israel has launched a series of air strikes on gaza and lebanon in what the israeli government says is in retaliation for rocket bombardment from lebanon earlier. it blamed the bombardment on the palestinian militant group hamas. the israeli army released this footage in the last hour, saying it hit several hamas training sites in the gaza strip. the explosions followed comments from israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who warned that hamas would "pay a price." ambulances have been seen arriving at shifa hospital in gaza city, though no details of injuries or fatalities have been released. earlier, 30 rockets hit towns in northern israel, the highest number since 2006. you can see glass scattered in the streets from where those rockets hit. it follows israeli raids

on the al—aqsa mosque in jerusalem where police clashed with palestinians inside. tensions are running high in the region. the holy month of ramadan overlaps with the jewish holiday of passover this week, making any incidents more sensitive. and we will keep you updated on that story as it develops. i'v e i've got a lot of activity overnight, a lot of detail as well on our website. now, let us talk about the french president and the president of the european commission. they have been in china for three days. they are wrapping up their trip. after trilateral talks on thursday, they will again meet president xi jinping in the next few hours for a lunch before they head back to europe. but will they be heading back, having achieved what they set out to achieve? let's speak to the bbc�*s

nick marsh who's following the story for us. now that this three day trip is coming to an end, what are people saying about what they have actually achieved? it depends on what you define as an achievement really. if you take the objective of the western leaders is trying to get china to condemn the russian invasion of ukraine, may be trying to help broker some kind of peace deal in europe, put pressure on russia, then really they have failed. there has been absolutely no change in the position there. remember we are going from a pretty low base of expectation. there are huge fundamental differences between the western leaders and she's in being. look at the optics of what happened this week. yesterday emmanuel macron went on a lengthy speech, went off script several times, lengthy speech, went off script severaltimes, he lengthy speech, went off script several times, he was addressing xijinping directly, effectively openly pressuring him to do something on ukraine. that kind of stuff doesn't go

down well in beijing so there are differences there. we knew that already. but if you look at it from the other side, on the european perspective, they really think the talking is better than no talking, dialogue is better than no dialogue. so as far as emmanuel macron is concerned, china is a superpower, an influential global player and it shouldn't be people like vladimir putin who are engaging with china and these sorts of things. from that point of view, it is positive. we have heard ursula underlined is a possibility to say he is open to talking to the ukrainian resident vladimir lenskiso the ukrainian resident vladimir lenski so there is something positive coming out of that is from the european winter view. —— volodymyr zelensky. i understand our bus has clinched a deal which is good news for them. at the same time at home them. at the same time at home the domestic prices when it comes to strikes in france over pension reforms, that has been ongoing while he has been in

china. �* , , ,, china. absolutely. if you look at it from _ china. absolutely. if you look at it from the _ china. absolutely. if you look at it from the euro _ china. absolutely. if you look at it from the euro chinese i at it from the euro chinese bilateral perspective, the business side of things is something that really neither side to jeopardise. you something that really neither side tojeopardise. you have geopolitics and the human rights or the diplomacy, ursula von delay in pretty robust in the rhetoric there. it is not forget that europe still wants to sell to china. the german still want to sell and the chinese want to sell to this huge european market. upsetting the apple cart from that point of view is something that neither side wants to do and china is also looking to see whether europe may divert slightly from us foreign policy there as well, so a lot of different objectives coming out of this series of meetings this week. ., ~ , ., ., of this series of meetings this week. ., ~ i. ., i. week. 0k. thank you for your perspective — week. 0k. thank you for your perspective on _ week. 0k. thank you for your perspective on all _ week. 0k. thank you for your perspective on all of - week. 0k. thank you for your perspective on all of that. - well, let's get the reaction from ukraine now on the european leaders urging xijinping to intervene over the russian invasion. here's our correspondent in the ukrainian capital, hugo bachega.

ukraine was one of the main topics on the agenda, president macron visited him in china and tried to persuade him to put pressure on resident putin to end the war here. questions remain over whether china is serious about engaging in meaningful efforts to reach a resolution to the conflict or indeed over whether china has the power to put pressure on resident putin. he and kyiv, a senior adviser to president zelensky told me that any discussion about any possible role for china can only happen after dialogue between president zelensky and president zelensky and president xijinping president zelensky and president xi jinping starts. we know that both leaders haven't had any kind of dialogue from any conversations since the beginning of the war. now, there was a second piece of news that made headlines here, and that was an interview by a senior government official to the financial times suggesting that the ukrainians could

negotiate the status of crimea with russia if ukrainian army reached the border with crimea. now, that was rejected by a number of officials here who say that the ukrainian position remains the same, and that any kind of negotiation with russia can only begin after the complete withdrawal of russian forces from ukrainian territory, including an crimea. the timing of this interview is interesting because ukrainians are planning what is expected to be a major offensive to try to be a major offensive to try to take back territory that is now under occupation. so perhaps the information by the ukrainians has already started. let's get some of the day's other news. the condition of former italian prime minister silvio berlusconi, who's in hospital in intensive care, is improving according to the brother of the 86—year—old. the four—time leader has been diagnosed with leaukaemia and is also being treated for a lung infection. more than 400 people crossed the english channel

in small boats in one day despite an attempted crackdown on illegal migration by the government. the home office said 437 migrants arrived in the country on wednesday, the highest number on a single day so far this year. the white house has released a report about the decisions made regarding the 2021 chaotic american withdrawal from afghanistan. the 12—page report by the national security council largely blames former president donald trump's administration for the problems that unfolded as us troops were leaving. but the report admits that the us should have begun evacuating kabul earlier. 0ur north america correspondent david willis has more from washington. this is a 12—page summary of a classified report, that basically casts the blame for what happened in two directions.

the former administration of donald trump and the failures of the us intelligence service. basically it concludes that the outgoing administration of donald trump left the incoming administration ofjoe biden in an impossible position, having set a date for withdrawal of us troops from afghanistan, there was no plan, no to how that should be brought about. donald trump of course in february of 2020 agreed with the taliban and the withdrawal of all us troops from afghanistan by may of the following year. joe biden managed to push that deadline back a bit but he still had to adhere to it. by the time the button administration had taken office, previous forces of about 10,000 us soldiers on the ground in afghanistan had dwindled to as few as 2500, and thousands of telegram prisoners had been released from jail. the televangelist was position

it has been since the american invasion 20 years previously. this report also blames us intelligence for failures including assessment as early as 20 21 that it would be a year or two before carboor fell to the telegram as we all know. that happened in a matter of days. we will have more on that in our business coverage around 15 minutes around the world and across the uk. it is bbc news. i have interviewed fascinating people right across the planet, whether that is heads of state or global leaders from the us secretary of state to the dalai llama. but the most famous person i interviewed was the film star angelina jolie. soon after her divorce from brad pitt. we did the interview in cambodia where she was doing a documentary film about the

cambodian genocide. i think the most important thing when interviewing people is to make it clear that there are no questions that are off—limits. but you can be free to ask anything. so whether that is dealing with an authoritarian leader or a film star, there are never any prearranged questions of pre— agreed—upon questions. i am always free to ask whatever i want. that is really how i conduct my interviews and how i deal with the people i am interviewed. i like to build a connection as well and i think you get much more out of the people you are interviewing when you can empathise. my my colleague there, m. you're live with bbc news. republican legislators in the us state of tennessee have voted to expel two democrat members from the regional house of representatives. it comes after they took part in a protest for stricter gun laws in the political chamber last week. justin jones and justin pearson were ousted, but a third democrat, gloria johnson,

narrowly survived the vote. last week, hundreds of demonstrators marched to the state capitol days after a school shooting in nashville that left six people dead, including three children. one of the expelled politicians has been speaking to the bbc news about what happened. they have shut off my id badge already, they shut off my access and had to get another former colleague to let me in. they shut off my e—mail access so i'm no longer a legislator. that means the 78,000 people from district 52 have no representation from the state of tennessee, a representing most diverse group in tennessee, now they are left without a voice because of the decision of an extreme republican supermajority which is almost completely a white caucus excluding the two

youngest black lawmakers because we stood on action on gun violence. i think he nation in the world of surprises should be shot because what they have set is democracy does not matter in tennessee. they took a very extreme step, there haven't been three expulsions in tennessee history all involving crimes or unethical behaviour, this is the first or first amendment activity for a breach of decorum, they said, violating decorum rules. let's look at what is going on in north korea. escaping from north korea has always been perilous. but the country's leader, kimjong—un, made it harder during the covid outbreak. he all but sealed the country's borders. hence the number of people making it to south korea has plunged from around a thousand a year to just 67 last year. 0ur correspondent in seoul, jean mackenzie, has been speaking to song—mi, one of last known people to make it out of north korea before the border was closed. there are days song—mi still doesn't believe she's living with her mother. what she has endured to be

here made it seem like this day would never come. song—mi was four years old when her mother tried to escape north korea, with her strapped to her chest. her mother was caught and sent to prison. when she was released, she decided to escape again — this time alone. song—mi was left with her grandparents, but shortly after, they died, leaving song—mi to fend for herself. translation: i made a living by foraging for herbs - in the mountains and selling them. i was just trying to survive for the day without starving to death. it would take years before song—mi's mother was able to arrange her daughter's own treacherous escape across the river to china. translation: before you cross the river, you're supposed - to be scared.

the river is deep and the current is strong. we could have died. but the thought of getting to my mother felt like i was throwing away a heavy burden and flying away. after 1a years apart, the pair have reunited in south korea. but song—mi has never asked her mother why she left until now. translation: l was nine - when you came back from prison. why did you escape then? translation: i'd wanted i to bring you with me at first, but the broker said no children. if we got caught, both of us would have suffered again, so i asked your grandparents to watch you for a year. but much more time has passed. translation: i see. translation: i knew the morning she left. |

i rememberjust lying in bed, crying. what would you like to say to your daughter? what would you like her to know? translation: i want to say that i didn't abandon you. _ i made a choice to leave first to give you a better life. this choice might seem unthinkable, but these are the lengths people must go to to escape north korea, and it's only getting tougher. jean mackenzie, bbc news, in seoul. passengers travelling through dover are being warned they'll face delays as millions of travellers are expected make the crossing between france and the uk this weekend. contingency plans have been put in place to avoid a repeat of last week, which saw drivers waiting more than 1a hours. 0ur transport correspondent katy austin reports.

the long easter weekend is here and is traditionally a big one for travel. at the port of dover last weekend some coach passengers trying to get on ferries to france had to wait 12 hours or more. lands to make things go more smoothly now include spreading out some of today's coach travel to quieter times or until tomorrow. despite the measures in place, the board has worn be weights of a few hours at the busiest times today. it is also expected to be a busy few days on the roads and taking the train instead won't be an option for everybody is a huge programme of engineering work is carried out on the's railway. for example, there are no services between london euston and milston cans until tuesday. el: euston and milston cans until tuesda . , ., tuesday. ec is unique in that there is a — tuesday. ec is unique in that there is a four _ tuesday. ec is unique in that there is a four day _ tuesday. ec is unique in that there is a four day window i tuesday. ec is unique in that| there is a four day window for us to be able to work effectively and, of course, fewer people do travel than during the normal week. it's a

really good opportunity for us to make improvements to the railway for the future. fine railway for the future. one estimate _ railway for the future. one estimate says _ railway for the future. one estimate says 2 _ railway for the future. one estimate says 2 million i railway for the future. one estimate says 2 million brits are heading overseas this weekend stop the number of flights leaving uk airports remains below pre—pandemic levels but is 11% up on last easter. industry bosses have insisted airlines and airports now have enough staff to cope with demand, but a series of strikes in france has been causing cancellations of some flight and eurostar services. where there is by plane, train, car, orferry, the advice is to plan ahead and prepare. katy austin, bbc news. if you are travelling this weekend, good luck. let's just remind you of our top story this hour. police in northern ireland are warning of the possibility of public disorder and attacks on police officers linked to the 25th anniversary of the good friday agreement over this easter weekend and into next week. events actually start today and on wednesday the us president,

joe biden, will be visiting belfast. he will not address lawmakers that is the government assembly is still suspended. a quarter of a century after the agreement political tensions and obstacles are still very presence, as emma vardy reports. news of the troubles in northern ireland became a nightly refrain during the decades of bloodshed. explosion a huge ira bomb rocks central belfast. the aftermath of another bomb in an northern ireland high street. 27 soldiers are i still in hospital. i rememberjust being struck by the sense of tension in the city. you had barbed wire everywhere, soldiers everywhere. when you went there, you felt the presence of conflict. republican armed groups waged a campaign of violence to try to bring about the end of northern ireland as part of the uk, and loyalists attacked catholic communities, leading to a huge loss of life on both sides. there's no sign of any immediate end to ulster�*s violence. in 1997, tony blair, the newly elected british prime minister, vowed to make dealing with

northern ireland a priority. i thought, here we are, we've been decades in this conflict, we're approaching the 21st—century, this is not a conflict that has got any place in the new millennium. the core of the problem is the british government's refusal to acknowledge sinn fein's electoral mandate. sinn fein, the political wing of the ira, wanted a way in to peace talks, and much to the hatred of some unionists, gerry adams, the leader of sinn fein, was given a seat at the table. how are you doing? the ira leadership, if they were nothing else were intelligent, and they grasped the opportunity for peace. you can be blue in the face talking to people who are not involved in violence, but will that stop violence? we had at last bought the people who could stop this into the room. but some unionists remained highly sceptical that violent paramilitaries would give up their weapons. there's no surrender.

i had to satisfy the unionists if we are going to be in an executive with people, there's no threat of armed resistance, or, you know, leverage hanging over us. the prime ministers continue their marathon effort - the talks had reached the moment of truth. ifeel the hand of history upon our shoulder. the two governments and the political parties of northern ireland have reached agreement. when i went out to brief the media, ijust felt i i was going to start crying. partly exhaustion, | because we'd been going days without that much sleep, i but just a sort of sense i of ..god, this looks like it's actually happening. good evening. after 30 years of conflict, after thousands of violent deaths, northern ireland was given the chance of a new beginning. the agreement was hailed around the world. northern ireland today has the promise of a spring time of peace. but 25 years on, the question of whether to be part of the uk or ireland is still unresolved and there's no

functioning government. the political battle between the two visions for northern ireland continues as ever today, and the fragile power—sharing partnership between unionists and nationalists set up here by the good friday agreement, has often collapsed. the agreement wasn't a settlement. the agreement was an accord to bring an end to the conflict. now the stage is set to mark the historic turning point that changed northern ireland in ways once believed impossible. for some, this anniversary is a testament to those who led northern ireland away from bombs and to the ballot box. this was an ugly conflict. it was brought to an end and that peace is worth preserving. but in a divided society, questions remain over whether the agreement of the past is now in need of reform to help unlock the political paralysis of today.

emma vardy, bbc news. and we have so much more for you here on bbc news. the top business stories on next. hello there. the weather for the easter weekend is looking pretty decent for many of us. a lot of places will stay dry and there'll be plenty of sunshine around, too. the temperatures creeping up, particularly easter sunday looks to be a warm one across southern areas. however, it's all changed by the time we head into the bank holiday, easter monday. it turns more unsettled thanks to this area of low pressure. but high pressure dominates the scene, as you can see, for good friday. it starts off chilly, though, with some frost around, early mist and fog, which will clear quite quickly. as the temperatures rise into the afternoon, could see some fair weather cloud bubbling up — that could spark off the odd shower across southeast england. a bit of cloud just rolling in off the north sea for northeast england, eastern scotland, and along north sea coasts, it'll be quite chilly with an onshore breeze. 0therwise, elsewhere after that chilly starts, it's the low to mid—teens for most of us. and then, through friday night into the early part

of saturday, temperatures again tumble across central, southern and western areas where skies are clearest. it's particularly cold there, i think, for west midlands, central wales, but eastern scotland, eastern england, more cloud here, so not quite as cold as will be further west. into saturday, then, very little change, high pressure dominates the scene. this weather front getting a little bit closer to northern ireland, but it stays away, i think, throughout the day. so, plenty of sunshine once again through the morning, into the afternoon, a bit of cloud bubbling up — that could just produce the odd shower here and there. but most places will stay dry and those temperatures ranging from around 11—15 degrees again. quite chilly, though, across north east scotland, with the onshore breeze. easter sunday looks to be a little bit warmer. plenty of sunshine through central and southern areas, a bit more clouds to the east, and then to the west, this weather front starts to bring more of a breeze. outbreaks of rain to northern ireland,

the far west of scotland, later in the day. but for the rest of the country, that sunshine around southerly winds, it could be quite warm — up to around 17 degrees in the mildest spots. then it's all change for bank holiday monday. this weather front spreads across the country with some fairly gusty winds, as it does clear through during the second part of the day, it brightens up sunshine and blustery showers, most of the showers in the north and the west, some of them will be fairly heavy. temperatures coming down a touch, particularly in the north and the west, highs of 10 to around 13 or 1a degrees for most. and then, the upcoming new week looks unsettled, low pressure always nearby. it'll stay quite showery. a bit of sunshine around, too, but it will be noticeably cooler.

this is bbc news with the latest business headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a new report in the us criticises the chaotic withdrawal from afghanistan. we talk to an american ceo still running a business there and most of his employees are women. all eyes on the us jobs market. is it about to change with unemployment head higher? headed higher? a key report is out today. millions of new bank notes featuring the image of king charles are being printed. the bbc gets exclusive access! as the easter weekend begins, chocolatiers hope to cash in one of their biggest seasons. we talk to the fairtrade foundation to find out who are the real winners.