those these scenes live in relationship. those scenes live in dublin. you are watching bbc news. lightfoot from london, this is bbc news. this handshakes and history, joe biden meets the irish prime minister after spending time with the country's president. another day, another protest, protests continue in france due to pension age. and mary quant, the fashion designer who shaped the look of the 1960s, has died. hello and welcome. us presidentjoe

biden is continuing his official visit to the republic of ireland. he is meeting the irish president, michael d higgins at his residence. he also held talks with the irish prime minister, those are going underway right now. this afternoon, president biden will become the fourth us president tojoin president biden will become the fourth us president to join a sitting of ireland's parliament. michael d higgins and present biden side the physical book. as the irish saying goes, "your feet will bring you where your heart is." and then i say, "it is an honour to return." i talk about returning to the home of my ancestors, to celebrate the things that bind ireland and the united states, i think the most irish of words used in my family was dignity. anyway, thank you all very much.

i'm not going home, i'm staying here in this incredible place. all you american reporters, it is just like the white house, right? thank you. this is the scene live. a short distance from where those events took place. they were at the official residence of the irish president. you can see here at the residence of the irish prime minister. president biden was meted there by leo varadkar. talks are now under way. there by leo varadkar. talks are now underway. he there by leo varadkar. talks are now under way. he will now head to the irish parliament after a little later. he will address a speech to both houses of the irish parliament.

we will follow events from this. discussions are taking place behind closed doors. he is now on the formal part of his visit to the republic of ireland. he has been writing in the visitor book two, feeling very much at home in dublin. i spoke about the importance of the visit and what parliamentarians might expect to hear it later. he will be the third he will of course, and i think he will be the third the fourth president to address our parliament. obviously any president from america is very welcome to come and talk to us and to tell us how we can continue to work together.

over a0 million americans claim irish heritage and we are very proud of that heritage and we are very proud of our president, because he is from my county and he visited my county yesterday. and unfortunately the weather is not as welcoming as the people are. it is very important that the western world has a leader we can all be proud of and obviously given the war in ukraine, the uncertainty between china and russia and so on, that we have clear leadership and support in the western world and we are part of obviously welcoming him here. and we are also very conscious of our relationships with the united kingdom and the government. they have recently improved significantly. we very much welcome that, we all have to live and work together in peace. some people unfortunately were killed in the south and also the united kingdom, and it was a very

difficult period for us. so we have looked to the next 25 years and american investment and support which was offered yesterday. i think 3 billion at least in the united states into the economy. will be very welcome. lots of things to look forward to. briefly for us a few would, fergus, what do you expect the parliamentarians will want to hear most when he addresses them later today? his message is a message of peace and economic growth and support. i think he has already outlined that in belfast, and no doubt the fact that over 200,000 people employed in the south here directly in american companies is very important. and to sustain that investment and to give us the employment in the high—tech industries that we have here, we hope that will continue. and also the political and the personal relationships.

i will never underestimate the power of irish americans in particular, and it has been very helpful to us in our history. it is really good to have you with us. he will be there in parliament today when joe he will be there in parliament today whenjoe biden addresses parliamentarians. when joe biden addresses parliamentarians.- when joe biden addresses parliamentarians. when joe biden addresses arliamentarians. . , parliamentarians. earlier, i spoke to joe parliamentarians. earlier, i spoke to joe blewitt. — parliamentarians. earlier, i spoke to joe blewitt, a _ parliamentarians. earlier, i spoke to joe blewitt, a distant - parliamentarians. earlier, i spoke to joe blewitt, a distant relative l tojoe blewitt, a distant relative ofjoe biden. i am a third cousin to president biden, his great—great—grandfather left in the 1850s, and historically he was a stonemason so he made bricks by hand and he sold the bricks to the cathedral which was being built at the time. in the pillars of the cathedral, that is how he raised money to bring his family to america. i suspect over recent days, you have been very busy. talking to people, attending events, and i know you will be

attending some of the events later today, too. it's great, it's great fun and a great buzz around here, you can see the whole base is decorated with american flags and the stage has been built and there is a great buzz. a lot of media attention. you have met him before, haven't you? tell me about who was president biden, what is he like? i was in the white house in 2016, he was here in 2017 and i was in the white house for st patrick's day. he's a really nice guy, and it's all about you and not himself and he is a great man. he's very proud of his irish roots and very charismatic. that is the sort of fellow he is. more coverage on that throughout the day. let's take you to france now

where police are expecting hundreds of thousands of protesters to gather on the 12th day of nationwide strikes against pension reforms. this could be seen as a final day, a last push by those protesters to change the proposed law. the constitutional court is expected to rule on the legality of the law to raise the age from 62 to 64 tomorrow. unions are hoping their voices will be heard and change the changes will be made. this is the scene in paris earlier. police have been forced to use tear gas and fire brigade using hoses to extinguish fires set in the streets. protesters

also broke into a luxury goods firm. they were protesting against the rich. they say the rich should be asked to pay more to pay for pensions rather than raising the pensions rather than raising the pension age. this is against president macron�*s statement that the system will collapse if the pension age is not raised. they say the rich should be asked to pay more rather than asking workers to change the retirement age. here in the uk, the economy failed to grow in february despite hopes that it might expand slightly. it is

expected this is due to recent strikes offsetting what recent growth there was in construction and retail. more on that. let's take you now to the official residence of the irish prime minister. we showed you the outside earlier, president biden meeting with the irish prime minister. ., ., ., minister. ireland moving in away, helinu minister. ireland moving in away, helping countries _ minister. ireland moving in away, helping countries around - minister. ireland moving in away, helping countries around the - minister. ireland moving in away, l helping countries around the world dealing with starvation, the way you have welcomed, i know it is not easy, welcome to ukrainians here and the leadership you have shown. it feels good to be able to have this emerging and stronger and stronger relation between the united states and ireland. ithink relation between the united states and ireland. i think our values are

the same and our concerns are the same. i'm looking forward to continuing working with you. thank ou and i continuing working with you. thank you and i am _ continuing working with you. thank you and i am looking _ continuing working with you. thank you and i am looking forward - continuing working with you. thank you and i am looking forward to - you and i am looking forward to hearing — you and i am looking forward to hearing about your visit to belfast and the _ hearing about your visit to belfast and the party leaders meeting. we will be _ and the party leaders meeting. we will be working together on that. i really— will be working together on that. i really want to thank you and your administration and country's leadership when it comes to ukraine because _ leadership when it comes to ukraine because i_ leadership when it comes to ukraine because i never thought in my lifetime — because i never thought in my lifetime that we would see a war of this nature — lifetime that we would see a war of this nature happening. and democracy and liberty— this nature happening. and democracy and liberty and the things we believe — and liberty and the things we believe in are in the retreat in large — believe in are in the retreat in large parts of the world and if it wasn't — large parts of the world and if it wasn't for— large parts of the world and if it wasn't for american leadership and america. _ wasn't for american leadership and america. i— wasn't for american leadership and america, i don't know what kind of world _ america, i don't know what kind of world we _ america, i don't know what kind of world we would live in. we really appreciate — world we would live in. we really appreciate your leadership, both in securing _ appreciate your leadership, both in securing peace in ireland and trying

to protect _ securing peace in ireland and trying to protect democracy here in europe. ithink— to protect democracy here in europe. l think what— to protect democracy here in europe. i think what year and prime minister sunak worked out was very valuable, as well. i am looking forward to talking about this in detail. thank you. it certainly seems that the media will be ushered out of the room at that point and real talks will begin. just to recap on what we heard there, leo varadkar, the irish prime minister, thanked the president for its assistance in ukraine. he said he did not expect a war of this nature in europe in his lifetime. comments they're thanking the us presidentjoe biden. more on

that as we get it. we were talking earlier about uk gdp failing to grow at all. that is because of concerns about a number of different factors. to explain what is going on, he was our correspondent.— our correspondent. here we have a ical our correspondent. here we have a typical example — our correspondent. here we have a typical example of _ our correspondent. here we have a typical example of what _ our correspondent. here we have a typical example of what a - our correspondent. here we have a typical example of what a bride - typical example of what a bride would choose. it typical example of what a bride would choose.— typical example of what a bride would choose. it is a busy day at the jewellery _ would choose. it is a busy day at the jewellery store _ would choose. it is a busy day at the jewellery store here. - would choose. it is a busy day at l the jewellery store here. ramadan thejewellery store here. ramadan has brought in trade but the onus is behind the scenes, business is difficult. �* ., , , behind the scenes, business is difficult. �* , ., ., difficult. brass is the main metal used and it _ difficult. brass is the main metal used and it has _ difficult. brass is the main metal used and it has increased - difficult. brass is the main metal used and it has increased 33% i difficult. brass is the main metal used and it has increased 33% as difficult. brass is the main metal. used and it has increased 3396 as a used and it has increased 33% as a raw material in the last seven or eight months. that is a significant increase in our product cost. rising

rices and increase in our product cost. rising prices and interest _ increase in our product cost. rising prices and interest rates _ increase in our product cost. rising prices and interest rates have - increase in our product cost. rising prices and interest rates have been weighing on the economy. new figures from the office for national statistics shows zero growth in february. some sectors of the economy have plume been performing better than others. some shops have been pretty buoyant, especially in discount stores. and the construction centre, too. that has been building up momentum. but those benefits have been offset by strikes which has weighed down on growth. while shops may be getting busier and selling more, they are not necessarily making more money. the supermarket giant tesco said its sales rose 7% this last year. international forecasts suggest the economy will shrink by 0.3% this year. but that represents an an

improvement from predictions. inflation is rising higher than wages — inflation is rising higher than wages. you would expect that to translate — wages. you would expect that to translate into weaker construct them consumption and spending but it is not true _ consumption and spending but it is not true. for consumption and spending but it is nottrue. ., , , ,, consumption and spending but it is not true. ., , , ,, ., , not true. for business owners, the real issues — not true. for business owners, the real issues are _ not true. for business owners, the real issues are the _ not true. for business owners, the real issues are the price _ not true. for business owners, the real issues are the price of- not true. for business owners, the real issues are the price of his - real issues are the price of his stock, whether the customers have money to spend and whether they are willing to spend it. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

many people may not know what gross misconduct means. as opposed to just misconduct, gross misconduct means it's a serious enough offence for those police officers to be sacked. that's what was being discussed in the hearing i'vejust come that's what was being discussed in the hearing i've just come out of. all eight police officers were found guilty of gross misconduct. six of those officers have either resigned or have been dismissed and there are two police officers who are currently serving in the force. that's when it becomes incredibly important. you might think if they are now found guilty of gross

misconduct, they will nessus —— they will necessarily lose theirjob but that's not the case and we have been hearing there is mitigation from the legal teams as to why these two officers who are still within the force could keep theirjobs —— should keep theirjobs. we don't want to go into too much detail because some of these messages are highly offensive but give us an idea about what these messages contain. i won't go into the detail, i wouldn't be able to repeat some of the things they have said, they were incredibly offensive, but to give you an idea, one officer suggested he could name his dog after a german concentration camps, like auschwitz or adolf, and the eight officers saw these messages in the group. he also said he could call a dog after fred west or ian brady. he marked harvey price, the son of model katie price

and there werejokes price, the son of model katie price and there were jokes about his weight and the fact that he is blind. offensive things in there and also a police officer referred to another male police officer as being another male police officer as being a legend because he had got away with rape in terms of those words. down's syndrome was also marked, a derogatory term is used to describe a female colleague. none of these things are things that police officers, serving police officers, should be saying, that's what was discussed at this hearing. the met is the uk's largest _ discussed at this hearing. the met is the uk's largest police - discussed at this hearing. the met is the uk's largest police force. i is the uk's largest police force. explain the background and the relevance of that context given what we have heard today. this relevance of that context given what we have heard today.— we have heard today. this is the latest blow _ we have heard today. this is the latest blow for _ we have heard today. this is the latest blow for the _ we have heard today. this is the latest blow for the met, - we have heard today. this is the latest blow for the met, its - latest blow for the met, its reputation has been dragged through the mud. the latest report in the last few weeks said that the met was

institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynistic and this is the latest in a stream of reports like this, and a report said 50% of the british public trust at the police and if you consider that the british police are there to serve the british public, one of the only police forces in the world where they have that right because of the public allow them to, and the met to a said they would be pushing for the two police officers who are serving to be dismissed —— the met said today they would be pushing. they said if the met remains in the force, —— the met said if they remain in the force, it would do further harm. joe biden has reiterated his hopes for the return of power—sharing in northern ireland as he rang the symbolic peace bell in the grounds

of the irish president's official residence in dublin. right now his meeting with the irish prime minister leo varadkar. a little later he will address both houses of the irish parliament which is where our ireland correspondent chris paige is right now. a lot going on right now, very much the formal day of this visit, we've seen that visit to the irish president's house, no speaking with the irish prime minister and today when he arrives where you are it will be a very symbolic moment. the president on this trip has been exploring his irish ancestry which he said means a lotto him. he is currently holding talks with the leader of the irish government, leo varadkar across the building here in. there was a picture perfect

moment when present biden got out of his vehicle and shook hands with mr varadkar. the sun broke through the cloud just as he did that. the weather has now turned on the other direction but maybe when the president arrives here, maybe it will brighten up again. they have been discussing the peace process in northern ireland, the power—sharing. .. northern ireland, the power—sharing... the dup is vetoing the power—sharing of coalition because of its brexit arrangements. he said he hoped power—sharing would be restored after the good friday peace agreement anniversary which ended the conflict in northern ireland. that will certainly be a subject which him and leo varadkar will discuss. so important for the economy in this country, it is really underpinned years of major

economic growth in ireland, particularly in the tech centre and the war in the ukraine being discussed. some are brief remarks in the presence of the media as he was meeting leo varadkar, president biden said that is something he would be keen to talk about. later this afternoon, one of the big set piece events of his visit to ireland will be visiting the houses of irish parliament, the oireachtas. only three presidents before him have it done this. we expect to hear more about these themes of transatlantic ties and more contemporary issues in the speech. it is ties and more contemporary issues in the seech. , , the speech. it is interesting because there _ the speech. it is interesting because there is _ the speech. it is interesting because there is so - the speech. it is interesting because there is so much . the speech. it is interesting i because there is so much they the speech. it is interesting - because there is so much they have gone through today and we have heard comments about ukraine and america's

leadership, coordination of america's role in trying to resolve that conflict. you touched on it already but what will those politics aryans want to hear later? —— parliamentarians. what do they really want to hear from the us president? it really want to hear from the us president?— really want to hear from the us president? , ., ., president? it is important to most members of _ president? it is important to most members of the _ president? it is important to most members of the irish _ president? it is important to most members of the irish parliament l president? it is important to most i members of the irish parliament that the us and ireland have a special relationship that is often talked about. people feel here that they have a particular strong bond with the current president because of his irish roots. it will be important for them to hear that. his visit hasn't been universally welcomed by

politicians, for members out of about 160 are boycotting the speech and will not be in the chamber because they have strong objections to us foreign policy. but all the other parties will be there, i understand. they will be there, i understand. they will be there, i understand. they will be keen to be part of the historic moment for this nation. it'll be interesting to see what present biden has to say. a little bit about ireland's role in the world today, the end of a two—year speu world today, the end of a two—year spell on the security council. it is a country ofjust 6 million people and the relationship with the white house is very important for that to continue. tote house is very important for that to continue. ~ , . ,, i. continue. we will be back with you later thank — continue. we will be back with you

later thank you. _ continue. we will be back with you later thank you. more _ continue. we will be back with you later thank you. more coverage i continue. we will be back with you later thank you. more coverage in | later thank you. more coverage in dublin later. ongoing protests in france. you're watching bbc news. hello. after the stormy weather that some of us had to endure yesterday, today things are a little calmer. storm noa, you can see here on our earlier satellite picture, tending to break apart. but still some shower clouds left behind, there are some heavy showers out there, some of which will contain some hail and some thunder. some spells of sunshine in between. still quite breezy for some, particularly in parts of northern ireland, northern england, into the midlands and east anglia, but not as windy as yesterday. still feeling chilly, though, nine to 13 degrees. and as we head through this evening and tonight, we will continue to see some showers, bands of showers typically drifting a across scotland and northern ireland, the odd shower into wales. ahead of this rain band into the south—west of england, holding temperatures up to around 7 degrees there in plymouth. further north, ones, twos and threes, there

will be a touch of frost. tomorrow, low pressure still in charge. this frontal system is running across the south of the uk and will bring in some outbreaks of rain, particularly through southern counties of england, clipping into south wales and south midlands, some rain for a time in the channel islands and some brisk winds. further north, sunny spells and showers once again. during the afternoon, we may well see some more persistent rain developing across parts of the midlands and up into parts of yorkshire and lincolnshire as well. temperature—wise, 10, 11, 12 degrees, no great shakes for this point in april. as we head through the weekend, things begin to change. high pressure is going to tend to build and that will give more in the way of dry weather, it will give spells of sunshine and temperatures will start to pick up a little bit. a slightly warmer feel to the weather. this saturday, there could be some early mist and fog patches around, some patchy cloud, as well. but spells of sunshine, more cloud generally rolling into northern ireland, may be some rain here late in the day.

but those temperatures will start to lift a little bit, 11 to 15 degrees. as we head into sunday, we will see split fortunes, a lot of cloud for northern ireland, parts of scotland, may be the odd shower. but some sunny spells across england and wales and also sunny spells in north—east scotland, which could lift temperatures to 17 degrees and elsewhere, highs of 14 to 17. a much warmer feeling day than we've been used to of late. that continues into the start of the new week, temperatures are likely to be in the mid—to—high teens, perhaps the low 20s for some, with spells of sunshine.

where you are it will be a very symbolic moment. no growth for the uk, the latest gdp figures show the british economy is flatlining. premier league clubs agree to phase out front of shirt gambling sponsorships. welcome to world business report. the uk economy saw no growth whatsoever in february after being hit by the effects of strikes. a rise in construction activity was offset by walk—outs by teachers and

civil servants. meanwhile, separate data from the bank of