live from london. this is bbc news. tens of thousands of catholics gather in saint peter's square in rome — as pope francis delivers his traditional easter blessing. the king and queen consort and senior royals gather at windsor castle for the first easter sunday service of the monarch's reign. jewish worshippers converge at the western wall for the passover blessing injerusalem. a short distance away, hundreds of palestinians have barricaded themselves inside al aqsa mosque — as a tense stand—off with israeli police continues.

thousands of catholic worshippers gathered at the vatican in st peter's square to hear the pope lead easter mass, and pronounce the traditional �*to the city and the world' blessing. pope francis has called on the international community to strive to end conflicts across the globe and he spoke of his deep concern over recent attacks in jerusalem and the surrounding region lets have a listen to what the pope had to say. translation: on this day, lord, we entrust to you the city - ofjerusalem, the first witness of your resurrection. may there be a resumption of dialogue and a climate of trust and reciprocal respect between israelis and palestinians so that peace may rein in the holy

city and in the entire region. lord, aid lebanon which still seeks stability and unity so that divisions may be overcome and all citizens cooperate for the common good of the country. be mindful of the beloved people of tunisia and in particular the young and those suffering from social and economic hardship, so that they may not lose hope and they work together to build a future of peace and fraternity. jewish worshippers have been gathering at the western wall for passover prayers this morning. the event draws tens of thousands of worshippers, with crowds spilling out from the wall�*s plaza into the surrounding areas. there is a heavy security presence today and officials are concerned there could be violence. just a short distance away, hundreds of palestinians have barricaded themselves inside al—aqsa mosque injerusalem.

these are the latest images from the mosque. police said they were bracing for violence, but so far it has been calm. jordan, which manages the religious complex, has warned of catastrophic consequences if police storm the mosque. our correspondent in jerusalem yolande knell has more on that. well, we have had this tense stand—off that continued through the morning as israeli police escorted some 800 jewish visitors around the site. for muslims, of course, this is the al—aqsa mosque compound and we saw how they had lined up many of those who had barricaded themselves in the mosque overnight actually with their prayer mats in the courtyard and a line of israeli riot police had stood there separating them from thejewish visitors. now, over the last few hours there have also been some 15,000 jewish worshippers who were crowded into

the plaza in front of the western wall, the holiest place wherejews can pray and below what they called temple mount. that was the cause of a realfear that temple mount. that was the cause of a real fear that there could be problems today, the fact that you have this big event for passover taking place at the same time as palestinian muslims continuing to mark the islamic holy month of ramadan. 0f mark the islamic holy month of ramadan. of course, in the old city ofjerusalem it has also been their easter sunday celebrations with big crowds for the prayer service at the holy church, which is not very far away and the latin patriarch leading prayers there. that also brought more visitors into the old city. this fragile security situation didn't stop the turnout of thousands of israelis who've been regularly protesting against the government's planned reforms of the judificary. they've been on the streets for the 14th consecutive weekend. this is a minutes silence the protesters held for those killed in the attacks in tel aviv

and the west bank in the last few days. funerals take place later for the two british—israeli sisters who died in a shooting on friday. they were named as 20 year old maia and 15 year old rina dee. 0ur correspondent lucy williamson injerusalem spoke to their father. a warning her report contains details some viewers may find upsetting. maia dee was 20 years old and volunteering for national service in a high school. her younger sister rina dee was 15. theirfather told me they were beautiful, popular and wonderful. they died on friday when their israeli car came under fire as they travelled from their west bank settlement to the sea of galilee for a family holiday. their mother is still unconscious and seriously ill in hospital. theirfather, a rabbi who was travelling separately, heard the news of an attack on the road before realising it involved his own family.

last night i couldn't sleep at all, every time i had a nightmare i woke up, and then the reality was worse than the nightmare so i went back to sleep. i was having recurring nightmares. that's how it worked, that how it went. hours after maia and rina died yesterday another attack in tel aviv. holiday crowds became targets when a car rammed pedestrians on the busy promenade. this is the moment when police surrounded the attacker and then shot him dead. gun shots. you can hear the fear of people filming nearby. the driver was a 45—year—old man from a nearby town. he killed an italian national named as alessandro parini, and injured seven others, three of them british. we heard gunfire. we saw shots and then we saw people sprinting across the street, then we heard sirens and we decided

it was time to get out of here. the car's journey through the grass now marked with flowers and candles. tributes to the tourist who died. this is where the attack happened last night, right on tel aviv�*s promenade. hours afterwards you've got locals and tourists already gathering here. on a warm weekend evening this place would have been packed with people. one of the doctors treating the injured said some had broken bones, and one, a fractured spine. but an event like this leaves psychological wounds too. i think that nobody is prepared ever for this type of situation. you know, it's impossible, ithink, to understand the fact that somebody one day decides to take the life of another person. israel's prime minister says attacks will only unify the country. last night in tel aviv another protest against his divisive judicial reforms.

divisive judicial reforms stopped for a minute's silence to remember the victims of these latest attacks. politics and religion may divide people here. grief and loss is familiar to all. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. well we heard rabbi leo dee speaking there — i'm joined now by his close friend rabbi mordechai ginsbury — the senior rabbi at hendon united synagogue where rabbi leo dee and his family lived for three years. thank you very much for talking to us today. i understand he came to work as an assistant rabbi?- work as an assistant rabbi? thank ou, aood work as an assistant rabbi? thank you, good afternoon. _ work as an assistant rabbi? thank you, good afternoon. yes, - work as an assistant rabbi? thank you, good afternoon. yes, he - work as an assistant rabbi? thank i you, good afternoon. yes, he came with his delightful family you, good afternoon. yes, he came with his delightfulfamily in you, good afternoon. yes, he came with his delightful family in 2008. it was the beginning of his journey into the rabbinate, he had been studying in israel forfour years

and he came tojoin us as a studying in israel forfour years and he came to join us as a rookie rabbi but soon made his mark and felt a home in the community and it is this community that remember him and his family with the greatest affection and esteem. he and his family with the greatest affection and esteem. he spoke to him briefly last _ affection and esteem. he spoke to him briefly last night, _ affection and esteem. he spoke to him briefly last night, are - affection and esteem. he spoke to him briefly last night, are you - affection and esteem. he spoke toj him briefly last night, are you able to tell what he said?— him briefly last night, are you able to tell what he said? yes, we had a brief conversation. _ to tell what he said? yes, we had a brief conversation. naturally, - to tell what he said? yes, we had a brief conversation. naturally, we i brief conversation. naturally, we are all devastated, shocked at how in just a few moments with an act of absolute evil and madness and sanity, things can change around, the loss of two gorgeous daughters and his wife now lie in critically ill in hospital injerusalem. but through the sadness there is still that determination, he is a real idealist, rabbi dee to find positives to be strong for his remaining children and above all else, he communicates the message

about how much he feel supported, embraced by a blanket of warmth and love from within israel. the community, those outside israel and those in the world who are connecting with him. you those in the world who are connecting with him. those in the world who are connectin: with him. ., . . connecting with him. you are having a secial connecting with him. you are having a special service _ connecting with him. you are having a special service at _ connecting with him. you are having a special service at your _ connecting with him. you are having| a special service at your synagogue? yes, we will be later on, service to pray for lucy's recovery and in solidarity with rabbi dee and his children. . ~ solidarity with rabbi dee and his children. ., ~ , ., , solidarity with rabbi dee and his children. . ~' ,, , . solidarity with rabbi dee and his children. ., ~ , . ., children. thank you very much for takin: the children. thank you very much for taking the time _ children. thank you very much for taking the time to _ children. thank you very much for taking the time to talk _ children. thank you very much for taking the time to talk to - children. thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us, - children. thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us, i - taking the time to talk to us, i appreciate it. today marks 20 years after the fall of the regime of the late iraqi president saddam hussein. in 2003, then us president george w bush launched 0peration "iraqi freedom" with a ground invasion by thousands of us and british troops, under the pretext of destroying iraq's alleged arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. having ruled iraq with an iron fist since 1979, saddam went to ground

until his hiding place was discovered by us troops eight months afterwards. he was later tried, convicted and hanged on the morning of december 30, 2006. i am joined by balsam mustafa, who lived with her family in baghdad in 2013. she is now a research fellow at warwick university and author of islamic state in translation. hello and thanks very much for joining us. are you all right to take us back to what life was like before 2003, what was it like in baghdad? before 2003, what was it like in baahdad? . ~ before 2003, what was it like in baahdad? ., ~ ,, , before 2003, what was it like in baahdad? ., ~ , . ., baghdad? thank you very much for havin: baghdad? thank you very much for having me- — baghdad? thank you very much for having me. living _ baghdad? thank you very much for having me. living under— baghdad? thank you very much for having me. living under a - having me. living under a dictatorship was very hard. before the invasion there was a wave of wars and conflicts and the economic sanctions. three were living through hardships and it felt like we were

living in a prison. we were longing, many of us were longing to see saddam hussein's rule and his regime come to an end one day. but we never thought at that moment what would follow and would be much worse because saddam hussein and his dictatorship and tyranny was the maximum level of brutality. just to talk me through _ maximum level of brutality. just to talk me through how— maximum level of brutality. just to talk me through how you _ maximum level of brutality. just to talk me through how you felt - maximum level of brutality. just to talk me through how you felt in - maximum level of brutality. just to i talk me through how you felt in 2003 then, we'rejust talk me through how you felt in 2003 then, we're just watching talk me through how you felt in 2003 then, we'rejust watching images talk me through how you felt in 2003 then, we're just watching images as we talk to you of the famous statue of saddam hussein in baghdad being toppled and peoplejumping of saddam hussein in baghdad being toppled and people jumping around of saddam hussein in baghdad being toppled and peoplejumping around on toppled and peoplejumping around on top of it and it being dragged through the how did you feel then at that moment as that was going on? i have mixed emotions. 0n that moment as that was going on? i have mixed emotions. on one hand i wanted saddam hussein to be gone. so

seeing his statue being toppled after one year of being set up in baghdad was something that was really hard to comprehend. i was happy to see him gone, but at the same time this was led by us troops and allies. it was not at the hands of iraqis, but the hand of invaders. however, there was a sentiment of optimism and hope for a better future. but unfortunately, that did not last very long and the feelings, the feelings of... there was a moment of tranquillity on that day in particular, when the war was over and we realised the far—fetched idea of 35 years of dictatorship finally came to an end, there was a moment of calmness and peace, but this did not last very long and the shift that we felt occurred later

gradually, but also quickly and the first stage was the toppling of the statue by the us troops. then the us troops' failure to protect iraqi institutions, except for the ministry of oil. but all other institutions, including universities and the university i studied in was left unprotected and there was a lot of looting and vandalism taking place. at that moment i started to realise this was not in a interest, we were out of their picture. this was also followed by the wrong policies and measures, particularly the disbanding of iraqi army and the sweeping ratification policy and the formation of the provisional coalition authority on ethnic and sectarian basis. this has left its

legacy and all other institutions, particularly the electoral system and also the other institutions. and then this was compounded by the controversial constitution of 2005. so you yourself have decided to leave the country. i suppose taking a step back and looking at it with hindsight, do you feel the international community has learnt any lessons from what went on, perhaps in terms of interventionism? it is really important to always talk about iraq and reflect on what happened, notjust on the 20th anniversary of the us led invasion. because what followed was lawlessness, chaos which set the right conditions for malicious and terrorist groups and most importantly, it continued the erosion of iraqi institutions that

started in the 90s during the economic sanctions. 0n started in the 90s during the economic sanctions. on this day, it is important to remind ourselves in a rack and also abroad, that there has been no accountability, for both international actors and also local actors. it is really important to also note, that yes, the us and its allies are responsible for what happened, the lack of planning and chaos that followed, but also iraqi politicians who came from exile were also responsible for what followed. thank you for talking to us from warwick university. here in the uk, health secretary steve barclay has accused the doctors' union the bma of taking a "militant stance" and pressing ahead with strikes that he says "carry a considerable risk to patient safety". mr barclay accuses the union of timing the four—day strikes to cause "maximum disruption". the national medical director of nhs

england has also warned that the industrial action will cause "unparalleled levels of disruption" to the health service — as simon jones reports. chanting: one, two, three four! we can't take it any more! - junior doctors in england are set to walk out again on tuesday. that's straight after the easter holiday bank weekend, when many staff are on leave, and those four days of action will lead into next weekend, meaning the nhs is facing ten days of reduced services. in a statement, the national medical director of nhs england, professor sir stephen powis, said: the nhs confederation, which represents hospital managers, is warning that up to a quarter of a million appointments and operations may have to be postponed if the strike action goes ahead, and professor sir stephen is warning the ongoing impact

of industrial action is making it more difficult to keep key services going, and ultimately reschedule those cancelled appointments. the nhs says it will continue to prioritise emergency and neonatal care, as well as maternity and trauma services. but nhs providers, which speaks for hospital trusts, is warning that even in those areas, there are real concerns of an increased risk to safety. this strike is long in duration and falls at a critical time during the holiday season, where securing alternative cover is proving challenging for trusts. so they are deeply concerned. it's not too late for unions and government to come to the table to open negotiations and to avert this action next week. the british medical association, which represents junior doctors, is calling for a 35% pay rise to compensate for what it describes as more than a decade of salary erosion. but the department of health says it

will only agree to talks to try to settle the dispute if the bma calls off the strike and significantly reduces its pay demand. the two sides appear as far apart as ever. simon jones, bbc news. plans to make it more difficult for children to illegally buy e—cigarettes in england are to be laid out by the government next week. an �*enforcement squad' will be set up to clamp down on shops selling vapes to under—18s. victoria bourne reports. with their sweet flavours and brightly coloured packaging, there has long been concern that e—cigarettes and vapes are becoming increasingly attractive to youngsters. and despite it being illegal, government data shows nearly 10% of all under—18s in england have either tried or are regularly using the devices. but there are hopes a range of new measures set to be announced by the department for health next week could help reduce the number of young

people taking up the habit. £3 million funding will support a new team targeting rogue retailers. it will be led by trading standards to carry out more test purchases in stores, to expose those failing to carry out age verification with customers. authorities will also have increased powers to remove illegal devices from sale. while welcoming the action, some charities have questioned whether the new measures go far enough. it's about making these products less affordable and less appealing to children. they are available for pocket money prices on every street corner, for under a fiver. this announcement on vaping is part of a broader announcement by the government, reinforcing its commitment to achieve a smoke—free 2030. but at the moment, it is ten years off—track and that is where we really need to see far more action. current nhs guidance suggests that while not risk—free, vapes can be a helpful tool for adults wanting to quit smoking, and a less harmful alternative

to traditional cigarettes. it's hoped these measures will help deter young people from taking up vaping, the long—term health implications of which remain unknown. victoria bourne, bbc news. taiwan's defence ministry says china is carrying out military drills around the island for a second day. washington's urged china to show restraint after it launched the exercises around taiwan, hours after the taiwanese president tsai ing—wen returned home from a trip to the united states. chinese state tv�*s been broadcasting images like these showing its forces carrying out exercises around taiwan. for centuries, potters in the english county staffordshire have been making ceramics for royal events — and with just a month to go until the king's coronation, they are getting ready to mark the event in style. from tankards and trinket boxes, to commemorative mugs and gifts fit for a king, the region has been producing all sorts of souvenirs.

0ur reporter liz cooper has more. the company was started by my father. we have been in business for 75 years nearly. we mainly produce china beakers, china plates, commemorative ware for celebrations. it's a special occasion and it's an honour and a privilege to do something for the coronation and for the king. and it is a souvenir, something to keep forever, really. i'm john french, i've been a ceramic craftsman for nearly 40 years. - i decided to make for the coronation a piece that incorporates _ all the skills i've used over the last 40 years. - the picture here that i've actually painted on, - this is actually the welsh guard - uniform, i thought it would be quite good to get the transition from him being the prince of wales to now. becoming the monarch. it's a part of history. i think that's the thing -

about ceramics, it marks those special occasions in history, so it's a great chance for us| to produce these beautiful pieces. we are in middleport pottery. we are the last transfer printers in the world. and in 2010, one of his majesty the king's charities stepped in to preserve, regenerate this building, using millions of pounds of funds that were gathered, so the king really did save this pottery back then and it's so important to us, and that's why we are so grateful. for the coronation we are producing a book which is going to be a gift to give to the king himself. that book is a transferrers decorator's book, a bit like a pattern book that our decorators would have in the factory over there. each one tells a story of our unique historic patterns, where to cut them and where to place them, and it acts as a bit of a guide for them. we have been making coronation

designs since 1902, with the very first piece dating back to king edward vii, king charles's great—great—grandfather. the pieces go through to 1937 to the coronation that never was for king edward viii. and then in more contemporary times, under the design stewardship of walter moorcroft, to 1953 with the coronation of queen elizabeth ii. we use a technique called tube lining. everything's made by hand. each piece takes at least a week to make from start to finish. it's an honour, every piece of moorcroft that i work with and the people we work with, it's an honour, but for the king, i mean, that is an amazing achievement and something i will remember for the rest of my life. that was a report by liz cooper. the collapse of a four—storey

buiding in the southern french port city of marseille, has injured five people — but rescue workers fear there could be many more trapped under the rubble. the building in central marseille's la plaine district collapsed on sunday. rescue workers say a fire is hampering their search for more possible victims. so far 11 have been evacuated from two neighbouring buildings damaged by the collapse. marseille mayor benoit payan told reporters: "we have to be prepared to have victims in this terrible tragedy." now take a look at this— this is possibly the biggest picasso in the world. well kind of. saturday marked 50 years since his death and so to pay tribute an italian fan and fellow artist dario gambarin used a tractor to create what he says is the largest portrait of the spanish artist in the world. etched into wasteland near verona in italy, mr gambarin said he'd been inspired

by picasso's 1907 self—portrait. thanks for watching. hello there. the weather story is on the change for our week ahead, but for many today, we should see some sunshine and warmth. that sounds a little bit odd if you woke up to skies like this in aberdeenshire, a lot of low cloud, mist and fog. the best of the sunshine first thing in the morning was out to the west and bigbury—on—sea in devon, a beautiful start here. and we will keep some sunshine today but there's rain on the way with this swirl of cloud, this area of low pressure that's going to bring rain into northern ireland through the middle part of the afternoon. so cloudy conditions as we go through the day, eventually wetter. a brisk southerly breeze starting to pick up and that should help to lift any low cloud as we go through the day. so, sunny spells for many across the country today. we could actually see the warmest day of the year so far.

in orderfor that to happen, we have to see temperatures above 17.8 degrees. we mightjust see that, but unfortunately, with that sunshine and that warmth, well, the pollen across england and wales, and it's tree pollen at this time of year, looks high or very high. now, as we go through the rest of the evening and overnight, the rain moves out of northern ireland and into scotland. the trailing weather front will bring a blanket of cloud as well across england and wales. so that will clear away first thing on easter monday. and then tightly packed isobars drive in plenty of showers from the west. so a grey and wet start across eastern england, the centre of the lowjust to the west of scotland — that's where we'll see most frequent showers. and some of these showers as we go through the afternoon could be quite heavy, maybe with the odd rumble of thunder. not everywhere will see the showers and if you do manage to escape them, you could see highs of 15 degrees, but will be a slightly cooler day, particularly in the sharper showers with temperatures struggling

at around 12 or 13 celsius and a frequent rash into the far north of scotland — here, nine to 12 degrees the high. so as we move out of easter monday into tuesday, another low moves in bringing yet more wet and windy weather. the winds remain a feature and then another frontal system and an area of low pressure is set to push in from the atlantic. so our week ahead looks pretty unsettled. showers or longer spells of rain, the winds will be a feature at times and those temperatures just a little bit below par for the time of year.

this is bbc news. the headlines: tens of thousands of catholic worshippers have gathered in st peter's square in rome, as pope francis presided over easter sunday mass. in his traditional holiday blessing, the pontiff called for an end to all global conflicts and prayed for all social wounds to be healed. king charles, the queen consort camilla as well as other senior royals gather at windsor castle for easter sunday service. the royal family have been attending st george's chapel for the first service of the new monarch's reign. jewish worshippers converge on the western wall for the passover blessing injerusalem. a heavy security presence is being carried out as officials fear violence could breakout.

a short distance away, hundreds of palestinians have barricaded themselves inside the al—aqsa