this is bbc news. the headlines: nine people have been arrested after animal rights activists stormed the race track ahead of the grand national horse race at aintree. the race was delayed, but was won by corach rambler,

ridden by derek fox. at least three people have been killed in sudan, in heavy fighting between the army and paramilitary forces in the capital, khartoum. a man is pinned down and arrested by security staff in japan as the prime minister, fumio kishida, is rushed to safety after an explosion. the french president has visited notre—dame cathedral, which was nearly destroyed by fire four years ago. the restoration is expected to be finished on schedule. you're watching bbc news. and we want to bring you some breaking news. we are hearing the royal mail and the communication workers union have reached an agreement over pay and employment terms. the postal company cw have

said in ajoint terms. the postal company cw have said in a joint statement. now, we understand executives are going to meet and consider the agreement on monday and tuesday this week. and thatis monday and tuesday this week. and that is following a year of talks and strikes. so agreement does seem to have been made. you're watching bbc news. it's time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday. the start was delayed by protestors, but there was a stunning finish from corach rambler to win the grand national. we will be live there next. the fight for the top four — are aston villa now in the race, after newcastle and spurs both slip up? and could there be a shock in the women's fa cup semi—final? brighton take the lead against manchester united. but there has been another goal.

also coming up on sportsday... it's been another golden day for great britain at the european gymnastics championships in turkey. for great britain at the european obviously, for great britain at the european the goal is always win. obviously, the goal is always to win. so, yes, that was probably the best routine of my life. welcome along. what an afternoon it's been! let's start at aintree, where corach rambler — the 8—1 favourite — has won the grand national. the race was delayed by m minutes. animal rights activists had threatened to disrupt the world—famous steeplechase and a number of protestors managed to get onto the course. let's cross live to aintree. patrick gearey is there for us. there he is.

patrick, we'll get to the race in a moment, those fears for the police and racecourse security were realised. yes, there has been a heavy police presence here at aintree all day really and that is because of the threat by the animal activist group animal categorising to disrupt the national, they said they wanted to stop the race to protect the horses. a handful of arrests were made, but 15 minutes before the schedule is started, we saw activists trying to get onto the course. police were on the scene quickly, but some protesters did get on the track and attempted to attach themselves to fences. that meant the start of the race had to be delayed and it was quite a sum —— warm and sunny day so the horses had to go back to the pre—paddock while the course was cleared. eventually, protesters were

taken cleared. eventually, protesters were ta ken away, cleared. eventually, protesters were taken away, nine were arrested and the race did start a0 minutes late. we know there was one fatality, 17 of the 39 finished. and it was a fairly chaotic race, a number of followers early on.— followers early on. yes, some suggesting — followers early on. yes, some suggesting the _ followers early on. yes, some suggesting the time _ followers early on. yes, some suggesting the time the - followers early on. yes, some l suggesting the time the horses followers early on. yes, some - suggesting the time the horses spent in the sun didn't do them any favours, but it was chaotic and it is always chaotic, particularly the early stages, the first and second fences were pretty chaotic. mr breakaway and fury road two to four early. and we had a problem with loose horses causing some confusion. seems you don't want to see, you don't want to see falling horses and you don't want to see fatalities. —— scenes. it came down to a battle between mr coffee which seem to go away with it, and along came corach rambler ridden by derek fox who previously won the national on—board

one for arthur. he used that experience to surge at the right moment. box taking corach rambler to victory, trained in scotland by lucinda russell. —— fox. a victory for scotland, third victory for them and a second national victory for derek fox, sensational day for him. he was proudly going into the winning enclosure. tells about this aintree festival. dominated by the irish. scottish horse going and winning it, the scottish connections.— winning it, the scottish connections. , , ., connections. yes, the irish did have about three — connections. yes, the irish did have about three quarters _ connections. yes, the irish did have about three quarters of _ connections. yes, the irish did have about three quarters of the - connections. yes, the irish did have about three quarters of the runners| about three quarters of the runners in the national. it has been a very high standard of racing through the festival. but an emotional victory for scotland and interesting story in corach rambler, it is owned by a syndicate, one of whose members is a 21—year—old student to pay £3000 for their share, so it will be some evening for them and a great story.

and what is the end of a very m —— very eventful day here at aintree racecourse. very eventful day here at aintree racecourse-— very eventful day here at aintree racecourse. after five wins in a row, third—placed newcastle were beaten 3—nil at aston villa. that dents their hopes of a top—fourfinish. for villa, they are now just six points off the champions league places. joe lynskey reports. for the last six months, aston villa have been the blueprint for how a club can change its coach and dries. backin club can change its coach and dries. back in october, they were 17 and brought in unai emery. now they face newcastle in a race for european football. keep a villa in the middle is a mild who grew up down the road. 21—year—old jacob ramsay slammed his hometown team in front. the break through in a match between two inform teams newcastle had won five inform teams newcastle had won five in a row, but here, theirfew chances galvanised the home side.

up—front for aston villa is ollie watkins. who with their had now scored in four games in a row. like his team, he has got attention, watkins�*s form could take villa to the top six and beyond. for them, it is five straight top—flight wins for the first time this century. and right now, they are the team who keep on rising. let's from both managers — a frustrated eddie howe and, first, the man who's performing miracles at villa park, unai emery. yes, the first aim was to be off the bottom, then the top ten, we did. but we can face another target. and of course, after the three points, it is to be in the top six. today, we showed as well and we believed with our supporters we can do it and we can take this chance now. i

with our supporters we can do it and we can take this chance now.- we can take this chance now. i think we can take this chance now. i think we were off — we can take this chance now. i think we were off our _ we can take this chance now. i think we were off our best _ we can take this chance now. i think we were off our best levels - we can take this chance now. i think we were off our best levels today i we were off our best levels today i’i l ht we were off our best levels today right from — we were off our best levels today right from the start of the game, we were not_ right from the start of the game, we were not where we needed to be. aston _ were not where we needed to be. aston villa — were not where we needed to be. aston villa are a team in good form and we _ aston villa are a team in good form and we never got going. today is probably— and we never got going. today is probably the first step we have had the season in terms of overall level — the season in terms of overall level it — the season in terms of overall level. it can happen, we are disappointed it has today, we have to react _ disappointed it has today, we have to react very quickly. that newcastle defeat came in the lunchtime kick—off, so tottenham knew a win would see them draw level on points with the magpies. but they blew it, losing 3—2 to bournemouth at home. dango ouattara scored the winner in the 95th minute, to ease their relegation worries. tottenham had taken the lead through son heung—min, before goals from matias vina and dominic solanke gave the visitors the lead. arnaut danjuma thought he'd salvaged a point for spurs late on, but the cherries clinched all three points late on. they are iath, tottenham remain in 5th, three points off the top four. we literally just switched

we literallyjust switched my co—insides and he comes inside of his right foot and finishes unbelievably well. —— switched dango sides. it was the opportunity a huge step today to where we need to get to get to know. but to come here and win is one thing, to come here and be as dominant as we were for the opening spells of the game is impressive from them. everton's hopes of staying in the premier league suffered a serious blow, as they slumped to a 3—1 defeat at home to fulham. goals from harrison reed, harry wilson and danjames were enough to secure the points for the visitors, after dwight mcneil had earlier drawn everton level. sean dyche's side sit 17th, level on points with nottingham forest, who play tomorrow. they started brightly, we didn't. then 15 minutes or whatever into the game, we started to take more control and we change the shape and it was effective. they scored a very

good goal, the atmosphere changed. we were very productive and dominant in that period, we had a great chance to go to up and stop them. then the second half was a different feel, we started brightly with the second goal, the biggest thing for me, reverted back to before we were here, the mentality shifted very quickly, we lost our way very quickly, we lost our way very quickly and we have got to change that. brighton came from behind to beat chelsea at stamford bridge to spoil frank lampard's homecoming. teenagerjulio enciso scored a stunning winner for the seagulls in the second half, after danny welbeck had earlier cancelled out conor gallagher's deflected opener. brighton remain seventh, seven points off the top four, and head into their fa cup semi—final against manchester united on a high. amazing day for us. the result, the performance. but this game has to

give us more energy, more confidence, more enthusiasm to follow the season, to finish the season in the best way. no we have to prepare the next game semifinal. we would like to play the final. and to play the final, we have to win. two other results. crystal palace continued their resurgence under roy hodgson, winning 2—nil at southampton. they are twelfth, just ahead of wolves, who beat brentford 2—nil. they should both be looking at mid—table finishes. manchester city looking a lot higher than that, the champions. they are firmly in control against leicester city, 3—0 early in the second half, all the goals came in the first half, john stones with the beauty, who else with the other two? erling haaland. sheffield united are a step closer to the premier league,

after they beat struggling cardiff a—i. cardiff scored first from the penalty spot, but the blades — who are second in the table — drew level, thanks to a great solo goal from james mcatee. they scored three more in the second half. this one, from iliman ndiaye, was the pick of them. it means top—of—the—table burnley, who are already promoted, must wait until at least tuesday to win the championship title. defeat for cardiff leaves them fourth from bottom. that is the top of the championship. burnley drew against reading, so their lead is down to 12 points. they will win the title if they win on tuesday night, if they beat rotherham and sheffield united don't beat bristol city. it's so tight for the play—off places. coventry hang in there at the moment, but only on goal difference. afairfew a fair few clubs below that from ninth, tenth and 11th down. they could creep into that play—off picture as well. leaders celtic play tomorrow in the scottish premiership, rangers have trimmed their lead

to nine points, with a 5—2 win at home to st mirren. there were also wins for hibernian and livingston. dundee united have lifted themselves off the bottom of the table, coming from behind to beat motherwell. jamie mcgrath scored the winning penalty. the first of the women's fa cup semi—finals is under way. manchester united are taking on brighton at the leigh sports village, and the bottom—of—the—table club surprisingly took the lead in the first half. veatriki sarri's cross punched in by united keeper mary earps. but united hit backjust a9 seconds into the second half, leah galton left unmarked in the box for the simple finish. united have ta ken united have taken the lead through alessia russo. these are live pictures. this match is over on bbc two, i am guessing. pictures. this match is over on bbc two, iam guessing. oryou pictures. this match is over on bbc two, i am guessing. or you can watch it on the bbc sport website. or the

red button. man united leading brighton in the first of the women's fa cup semifinals. stay with us here on sportsday. we'll hear from joejoyce, ahead of his big fight tonight. and that could be a step closer to a world title shot. there's been more success for british gymnasts at the european championships in turkey. after winning team gold a few days ago, becky downie took silver on the uneven bars, and luke whitehouse won gold in the floor exercise. this was his first major championships, and he'd only qualified for the final in seventh place. but the 20—year—old put in the performance of his life, beating olympic and european

champion artem dolgopyat, of israel, to claim the title. honestly, i just came honestly, ijust came here to enjoy myself and to gain some experience, for me, the team medal was enough. then i made forfinal, the goal is always to win. so that was probably the best routine of my life. i knew i could do it, but i have never scored that high, i was ia, five, five. so when i saw it,, i knew there was a good chance of the medal, but artem dolgopyat was still to go and when his score came up, i was over the moon. for more on those british medals, i wasjoined by world champion giarnni regini—moran. he did fantastic. first european championships, he has gone out there and come away with the gold medal. for luca, it was all about nailing those tumbles. we tend to see in his previous competitions earning qualification, he does find he has

massive tumbles, but he does find it hard to land them. fame today, it was going out there and to have fun and to gain that experience. he knew he was capable of getting a medal, he was capable of getting a medal, he has that potential. and again, it was about landing and nailing those tumbles. and when they started to happen, he started to nail the first few, he then went with it, he gained that confidence and the rest of the routine followed.— that confidence and the rest of the routine followed. becky downie knows all about major— routine followed. becky downie knows all about major championships, - routine followed. becky downie knows all about major championships, but i routine followed. becky downie knows all about major championships, but a l all about major championships, but a few months ago, we didn't know whether we would ever see her back because of that achilles problem. she takes team gold and silver in herfinal. she takes team gold and silver in her final. . . , . , ., her final. fantastic result for bec . her final. fantastic result for becky- the _ her final. fantastic result for becky. the journey - her final. fantastic result for becky. the journey she - her final. fantastic result for becky. the journey she has i her final. fantastic result for - becky. the journey she has been on becky. thejourney she has been on has been far from easy. becky. thejourney she has been on has been farfrom easy. i think she should just be proud of herself or the fact that she still there, still competing among some of the best gymnasts in europe, that in itself is a massive achievement, but come away with team gold and european medal on bars as well is incredible.

british gymnasts are among the best we have seen, the russians are not there, we know why they are not at this championship, but my word, they are so competitive. it bodes really well and still another day of competition as well. definitely, and i think ou competition as well. definitely, and i think you can _ competition as well. definitely, and i think you can only _ competition as well. definitely, and i think you can only compete - competition as well. definitely, and| i think you can only compete against who is there. we can only compete against that. we are taking this opportunity now to become the best versions of ourselves. we have known of years we have had a little bit more to give and i think both the men's and women's side, we have kind ofjust stuck our heads down and got on with it and worked hard behind the scenes and we are now starting to see those results come out, as you can tell, we have got no european women's champions and we are seeing medals follow that and we have also got european medallists on the men's side and we are seeing medals following that as well. great britain are out of the billiejean king cup after losing their tie to france in coventry. harriet dart needed

to beat world numberfive caroline garcia for britain to stand any chance, she saved two match points to take it to a deciding set. they have been all pretty tight against the french, these matches. but in the end, garcia overpowered dart to win it 6—1. gb now face a play—off in november that could see them relegated from the world group. boxerjoe joyce will look to preserve his unbeaten professional record against china's zilei zhang this evening. the heavyweights are fighting in the copperbox arena in london. win tonight and joyce will look to challenge for the world title against olexandr usyk. why are you always walking towards the fire, joe? why are you always walking towards the fire. joe?— the fire, joe? because i am the juggernaut! _ juggernaut! translation: ., ., ., ., translation: the translation of a “u: rernaut translation: the translation of a juggernaut in _ translation: the translation of a juggernaut in chinese _ translation: the translation of a

juggernaut in chinese is _ translation: the translation of a juggernaut in chinese is read - translation: the translation of a juggernaut in chinese is read tank, j juggernaut in chinese is read tank, a tough chain, great stamina, but i am the big bang, i bang everything. yes, i am getting the credit now, especially— yes, i am getting the credit now, especially on the back of the last win, that — especially on the back of the last win, that was a big boost. and fighting — win, that was a big boost. and fighting joseph parker and beating him and _ fighting joseph parker and beating him and being the first to knock him out was _ him and being the first to knock him out was another big step. so beating zhang _ out was another big step. so beating zhang will_ out was another big step. so beating zhang will be another little step. and hopefully, iwill get zhang will be another little step. and hopefully, i will get a shot at the other— and hopefully, i will get a shot at the other belts as well and get the full wb0~ — the other belts as well and get the full wbo. i visualise the other belts as well and get the full wbo. ivisualise it. i visuaiise— full wbo. ivisualise it. i visualise me knocking him out, knocking — visualise me knocking him out, knocking him down. and winning. and keeping _ knocking him down. and winning. and keeping the _ knocking him down. and winning. and keeping the wbo interim and marching onwards _ keeping the wbo interim and marching onwards i8— keeping the wbo interim and marching onwards. 'j~ , ., , ., onwards. 18 stone, £4! it is going to be at high _ onwards. 18 stone, £4! it is going to be at high paced _ onwards. 18 stone, £4! it is going to be at high paced fight. - onwards. 18 stone, £4! it is going to be at high paced fight. zhang l onwards. 18 stone, £4! it is going| to be at high paced fight. zhang is recently fit. he lost his last fight, but i thought he won the

fight, but i thought he won the fight, but i thought he won the fight, but his issue was he faded towards the end, joejoyce, the juggernaut is the most fitting boxing nickname around. he fights like a juggernaut, he takes shots to land his own. incredible engine, incredible durability. i thinkjoyce wins in the last third of the fight. i thinkjoejoyce deserves a shot against fury or usyk and i think probably at this point of time to meet he is the only heavyweight that has a chance of beating either fury or usyk. has a chance of beating either fury or us k. ., ., or usyk. the fight tonight at the co er or usyk. the fight tonight at the copper box- _ it's the first day of the world snooker championship in sheffield. the reigning champion ronnie o'sullivan has made a strong start, he's six frames to three up after the first session of his match against china's pang junxu. from the crucible, here's hazel irvine. there is a lot at stake for stephen hendry who is alongside steve davis.

ronnie o'sullivan has already equalled your tally of seven and now he is trying to own outright the record with eight what you make of his initial progress against the rockies this morning, pang junxu? he: wasn't at his brilliant best, but he will be pleased enough with a 6—3 lead, but he was ahead, so pang junxu did really well to win the last three frames. not scoring very heavily, ronnie. his highest break was a 70. his opponent did the heavy scoring of the two. the 6—3 lead, the first round is about winning and getting through the first round, if you manage to play well, that is a bonus, but getting the job done is the most important thing. thea;r bonus, but getting the job done is the most important thing. they will come back at _ the most important thing. they will come back at seven _ the most important thing. they will come back at seven o'clock - the most important thing. they will come back at seven o'clock for - the most important thing. they will come back at seven o'clock for the l come back at seven o'clock for the deciding session, the first ten goes through. your impression of pang junxu?, he made a 133 and finished off with an 83 and aa to take the last couple of frames and give himself a foothold in this match, confident player.— himself a foothold in this match, confident player. yes, he settled down towards _ confident player. yes, he settled down towards the _ confident player. yes, he settled

down towards the end. _ confident player. yes, he settled down towards the end. from - confident player. yes, he settled down towards the end. from 6-1| down towards the end. from 6—1 behind, — down towards the end. from 6—1 behind, he — down towards the end. from 6—1 behind, he sort of had nothing to lose _ behind, he sort of had nothing to lose when — behind, he sort of had nothing to lose. when he comes out tonight, back lose. when he comes out tonight, hack to _ lose. when he comes out tonight, hack to a — lose. when he comes out tonight, back to a little bit of parity in the views _ back to a little bit of parity in the views of the players as they walk— the views of the players as they walk out, — the views of the players as they walk out, he has to get off to a quick— walk out, he has to get off to a quick start _ walk out, he has to get off to a quick start because ronnie o'sullivan rarely gives you a match from _ o'sullivan rarely gives you a match from in _ o'sullivan rarely gives you a match from in front. but he threatens to be from in front. but he threatens to he a _ from in front. but he threatens to he a very— from in front. but he threatens to be a very good player in the future. whether— be a very good player in the future. whether it — be a very good player in the future. whether it is going to be this year, questionable now from 6—3 behind against _ questionable now from 6—3 behind against one of the greatest players we have _ against one of the greatest players we have ever seen at the table. but it looks _ we have ever seen at the table. but it looks pretty confident amongst the halls — it looks pretty confident amongst the balls. in the qualifying part of the balls. in the qualifying part of the game, — the balls. in the qualifying part of the game, the tournament we have had before _ the game, the tournament we have had before this _ the game, the tournament we have had before this effectively, is how little — before this effectively, is how little tournament, has shown how good _ little tournament, has shown how good he _ little tournament, has shown how good he is — little tournament, has shown how good he is— little tournament, has shown how aood he is. . , ., , ,, good he is. that is at seven o'clock and ou good he is. that is at seven o'clock and you can _ good he is. that is at seven o'clock and you can see — good he is. that is at seven o'clock and you can see it _ good he is. that is at seven o'clock and you can see it on _ good he is. that is at seven o'clock and you can see it on the _ good he is. that is at seven o'clock and you can see it on the different| and you can see it on the different platforms. but catrin heledd is joining our team from seven o'clock this evening on bbc four and you will see that and there's a lot more to come between now and the 1st of may, the marathon has begun. lots of snooker head.

england took a step towards yet another women's six nations grand slam, with a 59—3 thrashing of wales at cardiff arms park. both teams came into the match boasting two wins from two, and it was wales who drew blood first, through a keira bevan penalty. but the red roses were stung into action and scored three unanswered tries before halftime, including a magnificent solo effort from abby dow to lead 19—3 at the break. england turned on the style almost immediately after the break — holly aitchison running in the first of six more tries for the visitors, as wales had no answer to stop simon middleton's side. england at one stage were reduced to 13 players, following yellow cards to marlie packer and debutant may campbell, but it made no difference, as they wrapped up yet another commanding win. i think the finals will certainly doesn't do them justice, but they fell away little bit in the second half because they put so much into the first half. flip side is how we

maintained our intensity and then we stepped it up and some really big performances for us right across the board. and i thought defensively, we were absolutely fantastic today. hagar were absolutely fantastic today. how leased were absolutely fantastic today. how pleased were — were absolutely fantastic today. how pleased were you with the defensive effort, given the fact wales had a few chances and they didn't manage to score a try?— to score a try? absolutely, they missed a bit _ to score a try? absolutely, they missed a bit of— to score a try? absolutely, they missed a bit of a _ to score a try? absolutely, they missed a bit of a chance - to score a try? absolutely, they missed a bit of a chance underl to score a try? absolutely, they i missed a bit of a chance under our steaks and if they had shifted it to their left, we would have been in trouble. —— under our sticks. their left, we would have been in trouble. —— under oursticks. but their left, we would have been in trouble. —— under our sticks. but we dug it out and we didn't let them score, that was a big moment, and when we got our structure, they had a lot of phase play. we worked really hard on our defence and it showed today. and how we adapted when we were down to 13 players and we were really smart how we defended then. yes, we did a lot of really good things today and i am really pleased with the team. in the day's other game, italy beat ireland by 2a—7. sofia stefan's superb try in the first half helping them on the way. ireland stay bottom after losing all

three of their games so far. two more rounds to go. northampton saints have moved into the premiership play—off places, with a victory over saracens. the saints took full advantage of a weakened saracens side, who were reduced to 1a men afterjust eight minutes — duncan taylor sent off for that tackle. northampton ran in six tries on their way to a 38—29 win. in the day's other match, harlequins beat newcastle falcons a8—20. just to bring you back to the first of the women's fa cup semi—finals before we go. manchester united taking on brighton at the leigh sports village. it's now 2—2. danielle carter has brought brighton level again. so they are five minutes away from possible extra time to decide a winner in the first of the semifinals. an update from manchester city, about 25 minutes to play against leicester city, still

leading 3—0. and a reminder of our top story, corach rambler has won a delayed grand national, delayed by 1a minutes because of protesters on the course. there were nine arrests on the course by the police. we will have more on that story or reaction to the winner of corach rambler in the national at harper seven. from me and the rest of the team, goodbye. —— half past seven.

live from london, this is bbc news. police make a series of arrests after animal rights activists storm aintree racecourse ahead of the grand national horse race. the race was delayed but was won by corach rambler, ridden by derek fox. at least three people have been killed in sudan — in fighting between the army and paramilitary forces, in the capital khartoum. doctors and nurses in england are considering co—ordinated strike action — after unions turn down the government's latest pay offer. hello, i'm frankie mccamley.