to be a bjp memberorwanting to be a bjp member.t there, but only for the official handles that we represent. if i could interject... i mean, what shazia says is true. you know, i spent several weeks last year sort of observing kind of how the social media landscape works during elections. and what we noticed was that, you know, the bjp sort of... it established social media cells and war rooms in basically every single voting district in the state, often on the official handles that are sort of run technically by the party. it was mostly positive. these were mostly...almost all fact—based kind of positive messaging, the stuff that you would see in any sort of country. but the bjp is backed by what many would say are hindu nationalist groups, some of which are quite extremist in their views, that sort of prop up and mobilise the foot soldiers of the party. and it's within the vast whatsapp ecosystem of these groups that are intermingled with the official whatsapp groups of the bjp. that's where you see the most virulent material. it

to be a bjp memberorwanting to be a bjp member.ion out there, but only for the official handles that we represent. if i could interject... i mean, what shazia says is true. you know, i spent several weeks last year sort of observing kind of how the social media landscape works during elections. and what we noticed was that, you know, the bjp sort of... it established social media cells and war rooms in basically every single voting district in the state, often on the official handles that are sort of run technically by the party. it was mostly positive. these were mostly...almost all fact—based kind of positive messaging, the stuff that you would see in any sort of country. but the bjp is backed by what many would say are hindu nationalist groups, some of which are quite extremist in their views, that sort of prop up and mobilise the foot soldiers of the party. and it's within the vast whatsapp ecosystem of these groups that are intermingled with the official whatsapp groups of the bjp. that's where you see the most virulent materi

to counter the rising popularity of the bjp, injuly rising popularity of the bjp, in july last risingarties join injuly last year, opposition partiesjoin hands to injuly last year, opposition parties join hands to form a united front. translation: if this party wins, our country will win. this party wins, our country will win-— this party wins, our country willwin. �* ,, ., ., will win. but less than a year later, will win. but less than a year later. there _ will win. but less than a year later, there are _ will win. but less than a year later, there are cracks - will win. but less than a year later, there are cracks in - will win. but less than a year later, there are cracks in the j later, there are cracks in the alliance, and key members have left for the bjp, with others bickering for seats. you are worried about these differences?- worried about these differences? ' . , differences? bow differences. but a house — differences? bow differences. but a house that _ differences? bow differences. but a house that is _ differences? bow differences. but a house that is divided... | but

they say the 're against the governing bjp. the governing bjp. they say they're investigating agencies are i they're investigating agencies are being used to strive for dissent and prevent them from campaigning. however the governing bjp denies these charges and the mammoth exercise of india's general election in which the prime minister is seeking a third straight term is starting on the 19th of april. romania and bulgaria have become the newest members of the europe's schengen area of free movement — but only for air and sea crossings. land border controls will remain in place because of austria's opposition to the eastern european nations becoming full members of the zone. vienna fears an influx of asylum seekers if all border controls disappear. romania's interior minister catalin predoiu said joining schengen was an important moment for his country and its citizens. many of us have seagull horror stories — from having our chips nicked at the seaside, to being dive—bombed by adult birds protecting their young. but scientist

but last time we voted for the bjp.e opposition hasn't projected anyone. do you think they should? absolutely. that's what we are thinking. there has to be a face that this is our candidate. there is no leader here who can take our problems. they need to build our roads. whoever builds this road for us, we will vote for them. _ there is no bigger- issue for us than this. this is interesting because in the middle of all the national issues that are being debated for the people over here, something as small as building a road to connect this village to the city is as important to them. and just on the basis of that road being built, they will vote for the party that gives it to them. young people here are roaming around withoutjobs and prices are rising. do you think religious politics will give the bjp political mileage? they are gaining votes only on the basis of religion. if they set religious politics aside, they won't even get 100 seats in parliament. they should talk about development. they should stop this hindu—mu

but last time we voted for the bjp.position hasn't projected anyone. do you think they should? absolutely. that's what we are thinking. there has to be a face that this is our candidate. there is no leader here who can take our problems to rahul gandhi. they need to build our roads. there is no bigger issue for us than this. it's another snapshot of the hunting prowess of one of the ocean's most impressive predators. victoria gill, bbc news. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. it was quite a start to the day for some of us. a covering of snow here and there, a reminder that perhaps winter isn't quite over yet, although we are now technically into meteorological spring. rest of the day, widespread showers, often cloudy and the air over us is pretty chilly. but notice the winds coming in from different so the showers swirling around, but big gaps between the clouds as well. so there will be some clear weather, clear skies i think into this evening across a number of areas. so here's the forecast then, 11:00, you'll noti

all the laws and all the all the things which are bjp is enacted. or bjp is targeting the muslim community, definitely they think that the if they want to rule the country so they can rule the country when they can demonize muslim community, they can suppress muslim community, they can they can they can make them wetless at the time of election, so all these efforts are taking place because of the rss background, rss agenda of the present ruling party. in recent months, modi's government turned down new proposals from the states and halted payments to schemes that would finance muslim schools. critics say this amounts to snatching the livelihood of thousands of families instantly, while they have other means of earning. india will hold general elections in few weeks time, and the bjp's victory is eminent, according to observers. activists and rights groups have accused the governing party of promoting anti-islamic rhetoric in a deliberate attempt to appease the majority. voters by polarizing the voters, therefore using divide and rule policy to win the elections. rights groups have accused

the acquisition bjp rejects saying india is vibrant democracy enshrined in equality for all. critics accused the ruling party of systematic repression against the largest minority group, including hate crimes, mob lynching and cow viigilantism, and rising islamophobia. observers say such issues pave the way for prime minister modi to remain in office for a third consecutive term. press tv, new delhi. that brings us to the end of this edition of world news on press tv. thank you for watching. stay tuned, i'll be right back in half an hour with some more updates. for muslims across the world, eidal fitter, which marks one month of obedience to god in the holy fasting month of ramadan, is a special feast. muslims feel festive and proud for their servitude to god. ramadan is called the month of blessings. out of respect for the holy month, muslims put aside their differences and hostilities and forge a stronger unity. different cities and villages in iran have their own traditions for ramodon, which date back to centuries. get a... glimps of it in this documentary on press tv. ve

and that is why the governing bjp is doing this.ver, the bjp and its leaders deny these charges and they say these are letting someone through how they were favouring private retailers alcohol sales in delhi. so the law is taking its own course, but this has caused a lot of anger and also worries among the opposition leaders. what could happen next? it is not simply about mr kejriwal. what the opposition is saying, that the bjp and the prime minister narendra modi are completely trying to silence the opposition because for elections you need star campaigners like mr kejriwal who can go around the country to campaign. so if he is going to be injail, which means his party won't be able to have one of the important speakers. and earlier in the day, the main opposition congress party alleged that its accounts had been frozen, which means they cannot take out any money from their account to pay for tv commercials or newspaper advertisement or even to pay for transport. sometimes they hire helicopters to travel around the country. so ther

however, the governing bjp denies these charges and the mammoth exercise of india's general election,ndra modi is seeking a third straight term, is starting on 19th april. 30 years after it first hit our screens, gladiators is still proving to be a hit with tv audiences. an average of eight million viewers tuned in to the reboot of the 1990s show over the last 11 weeks. our culture reporter, noor nanji, has been looking into its success. gladiators theme music. the moment of victory. after weeks of gruelling challenges, finlay anderson and marie—louise nicholson finally got their hands on the prestigious trophy. contender, ready! gladiators, ready! the final showdown saw the contenders take on the tried and tested challenges against the gladiators. commentator: and here he goes! at the end, finlay and marie—louise went head—to—head with their rivals, running up the iconic travelator to the finish line. analysts say keeping the original format from the �*90s has been key to the show�*s success. what it's done, it's created a lot of nostalgia for those who might be in their 30s or 40s a

now i vote for the bjp.plastered on billboards and even covid vaccination certificates. and that energetic projection of himself and his embrace of hindu nationalism may have alarmed minorities, but will likely win mr modi a third term. political strategist prasha nt kishor, known as a political kingmaker in this country, has worked on campaigns for both the congress and bjp. so i asked him what is behind mr modi's enduring popularity? congress is a mass—based party with 100 year legacy. it's like an old building and so very difficult to maintain because of the way it is built. so and compared to that, bjp is a newly, newly structured villa. so they know things are more organised, in control, they know who does what. the accountabilities are better defined. there are less layers and therefore less opportunity for anyone to manipulate. unless congress reincarnate itself, goes back to the drawing board, and get out of this mindset that these things can be fixed with the short—term corrections, i don't think th

that united front to take on the bjp seems to also be in trouble.the stage remains indian national congress, as far as the opposition parties are concerned, and its leader, who many say appears to be the primary challenger to prime minister modi. studio: thank you very much. that was live from new delhi. you can watch a special programme all about india's upcoming elections. it is on the bbc news channel over the weekend and you can watch at anytime the iplayer. a new study has found that one in eight of the world's population are now classed as obese — that's more than1 billion people. the world health organisation says governments and the food industry need to support efforts to reduce obesity, particularly in young people. in the uk, obesity rates have doubled in the past 30 years. our reporter, imogen faulkes has more. all over the world we're getting larger. the authors of this study say they are shocked by how fast obesity levels have risen since 1990. and they're urging governments to get serious about a health problem linked to heart disease

on the one hand, you have prime minister narendra modi and his party, the bjp.rying to mount a counter to the might of the bjp, and they have aligned themselves with more than two dozen other smaller political parties to try and push back against the bjp government. but so far, they haven't really been able to gain much traction. forthe really been able to gain much traction. for the prime minister, who is seeking his third consecutive term in office, they are looking, rather the bjp party is looking to increase the number of seats that they already have in parliament. part of the strategy for them to do thatis part of the strategy for them to do that is to concentrate their efforts in these southern parts of the country, where they haven't been able to make inroads against some very strong regional parties. these elections are not only going to be watched by people within the country, it is certainly going to be an election that is watched by countries around the world. here in the uk — technical glitches mean supermarket deliveries are suffering severe delays.

the country's main opposition party the congress, is trying to mount a counter to the might of the bjpgain much traction. for the prime minister, who is seeking his third consecutive term in office, they are looking, or rather the bjp party is looking, to increase the number of seats that they already have in parliament. here in the uk — technical glitches mean supermarket deliveries are suffering severe delays. sainsbury�*s says it will not be able to fulfil the "vast majority" of online deliveries today. customers have been contacting the supermarket on social media to report issues with their online orders. sainsbury�*s says it was caused by an overnight software update and has apologised to customers. and another supermarket, tesco, says it's also working to fix a technical issue that has meant it has had to cancel some of its online orders that were due for delivery on saturday. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. tomorrow is going to be a warmer day. today felt a lot chillier across south—eastern parts of the country, but we have all seen the cloud increasing and there ha

party is looking, or rather the bjp party is looking to increase the number of seats that they alreadyl be back in a moment with the headlines. goodbye. hello there. last night was a cold one. we had a frost in places. but following on from that chilly start — at least, for a while — we did see some sunshine. but the weather is changing quite quickly because the cloud is coming in, and this area of low pressure is to the west of us, out in the atlantic. but well ahead of it, this cloud is coming in from the west, and these weather fronts are bringing some rain and drizzle. so the weather is going downhill through the rest of the day. temperatures towards the end of the afternoon maybe making double figures. it's a bit cooler than it was yesterday across south—eastern areas, but there won't be much rain here. we do have rain across other areas pushing eastwards during this evening. the heaviest of the rain will be across scotland, before it clears away, and then we'll see some rain developing across more of england and wales by the early hours of the morning, into the end of the night.

however, the governing bjp denies these charges and the mammoth exercise of india's general election,ster mahendra modi is seeking a third straight term, is starting on 19th april. let's go to baltimore and show you the latest pictures following the collapse of the francis scott key bridge during the early hours of tuesday morning, that is the cargo ship and you can see the metal structure and what's left of the bridge collapsing onto the deck of the cargo ship after the ship appeared to lose control. quite a lot of video made its way onto social media. you could see lights flashing and then going out on the cargo ship before it crashed into one of the beams, the support beams of the bridge itself, and then a short time later, the bridgejust snapped and was seen toppling into the water. at the time, there were a number of construction workers on the bridge. thankfully, there wasn't much in the way of traffic. we do know one the may day had been put out police were able to shut the entrance both sides to the bridge itself, so reducing the risk of casualties. construction workers, thoug

however, the governing bjp denies these charges and the mammoth exercise of india's general election,s seeking a third straight term, is starting on 19th april. donald trump has been criticised byjoe biden�*s campaign team for sharing a video on social media featuring a truck bearing the image of the us president with his hands and feet tied together. a spokesman for mr trump said it was just a picture on the vehicle's tailgate, filmed as it travelled down the highway. but a biden election campaign official accused mr trump of inciting political violence. 0ur washington reporter will vernon has the story. well, this is a video that donald trump posted on his truth social media yesterday. it's about a 20—second clip, says that it's filmed in long island. what it shows is two pick—up trucks travelling along the road, both absolutely plastered with pro—trump images and flags. but one of them, on the tailgate of the pick—up truck, has a picture — a mocked—up image ofjoe biden with his hands and feet tied so it kind of looks as though the president has been kidnapped and put in the truck.

however, the governing bjp denies these charges and the mammoth exercise of india's general election,ht term, is starting on 19 april. romania and bulgaria have become the newest members of the europe's schengen area of free movement — but only for air and sea crossings. land border controls will remain in place because of austria's opposition to the eastern european nations becoming full members of the zone. vienna fears an influx of asylum seekers if all border controls disappear. romania's interior minister, catalin predoiu, said joining schengen was an important moment for his country and its citizens. emer mccarthy has more from the newsroom. after a 13 year long wait, romania and bulgaria have officiallyjoined the schengen area of free movement. but there's a catch — the free movement only applies to air and sea crossings, that's after austria opposed their full membership. it's concerned about an influx of asylum—seekers if all border controls were to disappear. these are the scenes from the airport on sunday morning. translation: it's translation: it's extraordinary, - transla

however, the governing bjp denies these charges and the mammoth exercise of india's general election,arting on 19th april. 0ne one of the largest telecom companies in america has said that data was leaked onto the dark web two weeks ago. in a statement, the company said that more than 65 million current account holders had been affected. they say they are still investigating the source of the data, it is not known whether it came directly from the company or a third party. the company says it is not have evidence of unauthorised access to its systems. it has contacted customers affected by the breach. everyone likes to take home a souvenir when they travel but it seems that journalists invited onto a us president's plane might have gone too far. after a recent trip on air force one, an email was sent to the entire press pool, warning them that taking souvenirs from the plane is forbidden. items that have gone missing are said to include branded glasses, an embroidered pillow case and gold rimmed dinner plates. what is the world coming to? it is pretty bad, isn't it? stay with us here

however, the governing bjp denies these charges and the mammoth exercise of india's general election, april. the pope has delivered his traditional easter mass in the vatican, where he renewed his call for a ceasefire in gaza and the release of hostages being held there. pope francis also used his easter sunday message to warn countries against re—arming themselves. here's our religion editor aleem maqbool. when pope francis pulled out of some easter events, concerns about his health intensified. but the vatican said it was to conserve energy for today. and that seems to have worked. though a little out of breath, easter mass went smoothly. after which the 87—year—old went on a drive about, to greet what police estimated to be around 60,000 people who'd come to saint peter's square. events culminated with the pope's easter message. in he renewed calls for access to aid in gaza, for the return of hostages held there, and for an immediate ceasefire. he also focused on what children in gaza have been witnessing. translation: how much suffering we i see in the eyes of these children. i th

however, the governing bjp denies these charges, and the mammoth exercise of india's general electionht term, is starting on 19th april. let's ta ke let's take you to vatican city, and pope francis has just entered let's take you to vatican city, and pope francis hasjust entered part of the square. he was seen being wheeled into, in his wheelchair, and has now been transferred to the popemobile, in preparation for the address, urbi et orbi, that he will be giving. we are expecting him to make reference to the conflicts going on around the world, and this may all be a struggle for him this easter period, regarding his health, he had cancelled appearances on friday, but on saturday did preside over the easter vigil at the vatican in front of some 6000 people, and those around the world as well, last minute cancellation on good friday, the vatican said in a statement that it was simply a measure of caution. he has suffered quite serious respiratory issues over the winter, bronchitis as well, you remember backin bronchitis as well, you remember back in 2021, a chunk of his large intestine

translation: i'm going to vote - for modi and the bjp because no-one stands out as a possible candidateposition. translation: the modi government has not fulfilled any of their promises. - he promised to help the farmers, but he hasn't. i will vote for the one who helps the poor. each and every one, - even if it's someone small, even if it's someone poor, i someone who doesn't come from a solid background, i each and everyone's rights should be heard. and the lower segment- of the society, their word should also have a validation. pollution problem, which comes up every time, it's going on every year, and people with bronchitis, elderly people, young people, everybody is suffering. something needs to be done. we just cannot treat this and not do anything about it. we know that prime minister modi is hoping for a third term. tell us a bit about the opposition and what chances they have to go up against him? a, chances they have to go up against him? �* ., ' . , chances they have to go up against him? �* .,' . , ., him? a third term in office is what prime minister _ him? a third term in

the country's main opposition party, the congress, is trying to mount a counter to the might of the bjpcal parties to try and push back against the bjp government. but so far they have not been able to gain much traction. for the prime minister, who is seeking his third consecutive term in office, they are looking, or rather the bjp party is looking, to increase the number of seats that they already have in parliament. pa rt part of the strategy for them to do thatis part of the strategy for them to do that is to concentrate their efforts in these southern part of the country, where they haven't been able to make inroads against some very strong regional parties. these elections are not only going to be watched by people within the country, it is certainly going to be an election that is watched by countries around the world. some good news from whipsnade zoo in bedfordshire, which is welcome to the birth of a rhino as part of its endangered species breeding programme. the calf was born last week weighing 45 kilos. southern white rhinos are still being hunted for their horns, it's thoug

it's really global and one that really springs to mind happened in india, where a bjp candidate, that'stechnology to essentially speak different regional dialects that he couldn't actually speak. and in this example, it wasn't disclosed clearly to the audience that this was ai generated. and when it emerged that it was, the actual bjp party disowned this use and kind of decried it as something that they didn't want. and then, more recently, in indonesian elections that happened earlier this year, we saw an avatar of a synthetically resurrected deceased previous leader coming back to endorse one of the candidates. president indonesia... but in the argentinian elections late last year, we saw both candidates using ai—generated images to depict the opponents as weak, but also to embolden themselves, making them look like heroes or strong men. my concern, i guess, is that if we do start to see politicians really embracing this and this is becoming a much more high—volume form of political communication, it will lead to increasing distrust in media of politicians more broadly. there's an est

now, there are dozens of political parties, but two really dominate — the ruling bjp and the congress

, the hindu nationalist bjp, denies these accusations.poll and they dismiss their government. the opposition�*s criticism. tonight is the biggest night in the entertainment calendar — the oscars. final preparations are taking place ahead of the stars hitting the red carpet later. christopher nolan�*s 0ppenheimer, which has 13 nominations, is expected to sweep up many of the top awards. then there�*s barbie — last year�*s biggest hit at the box office, which has eight nods. our culture editor, katie razzall, has the latest from hollywood. a last chance to rehearse, a few final adjustments for the day that hollywood prepares for all year. this red carpet will soon be full of the a—list, stars vying for the highest accolade the movie business has to offer. and the sense here in hollywood is that this year belongs to director christopher nolan. his 0ppenheimer biopic looks set to win best picture, best director, best actor for cillian murphy, and best supporting actor for robert downeer. can you explain quantum mechanics to me? but not best s

now i vote for the bjp.o bringing him electoral success. the lot of schemes that used to be schemes run by governments, departments, every scheme has been on one three roads, ghar yojana pradhan mantri yojana. so everything. pradhan mantri meaning prime minister, prime minister. not from the department, not from any other person. it's all coming from government. and it's that spin that makes mr modi appear unstoppable. everywhere voters go, his face is visible, plastered on billboards and even covid vaccination certificates. and that energetic projection of himself and his embrace of hindu nationalism may have alarmed minorities, but will likely win mr modi a third term. samir hussein, bbc news, varanasi. you can watch a special programme all about india's upcoming elections. on the bbc news channel over the weekend and here in the uk you can watch it on the iplayer. this week south korea broke its own world record for the lowest birth rate in the world. 230,000 babies were born there last year, in a country

however, the governing bjp denies these charges and the mammoth exercise of india's general election,g on the 19th of april. romania and bulgaria have become the newest members of the europe's schengen area of free movement — but only for air and sea crossings. land border controls will remain in place because of austria's opposition to the eastern european nations becoming full members of the zone. vienna fears an influx of asylum seekers if all border controls disappear. romania's interior minister, catalin predoiu said joining schengen was an important moment for his country and its citizens. romania and bulgaria have become members of the europe's schengen area of free movement, but only for air and sea crossings. emer mccarthy has more from the newsroom. after a 13—year long wait, romania and bulgaria have officially joined the schengen area of free movement. but there is a catch. the free movement only applies to air and sea crossings. that's after austria opposed their full membership. it's concerned about an influx of asylum seekers if all border controls were to disappear. th

this visit is only for consideration and support. from the main bjp group in the rest of india for theoming parliamentary elections. modi's visit is said to be planned as part of his election campaign ahead of india's general elections. almost none of those present at modi's speech in kashmir were ordinary people. kashmiri muslims have been striving for independence for decades and tens of thousands of people have lost their lives in this process. seyyed mohammad burhan of indian-controlled kashmir broadcasting and broadcasting agency. the sky of gaza is more crowded these days than before. the fighters of the zionist regime made bombs day and night. it pours on the people of gaza and american planes feed them. when throwing food packages. maybe people have to fight to get it, if you are very lucky you can get a can. according to the announcement of the palestinian ministry of health , at least 5 children have been killed so far. now washington wants to open a new way to send aid. i ordered the us military to build a temporary dock on the gaza coast to ship food and medicine. while tha

however, the governing bjp denies these charges and the mammoth exercise of india's general election,ish wildlife, it's fair to say seagulls aren't at the top of most people's lists. they're seen by many as food—stealing pests, but scientists say they are actually very intelligent. conservation experts are warning that gull populations across the uk are dwindling and attitudes need to change. helen briggs reports. seagulls showing off their flying skills on a winter's day. they may be a common sight near the coast, but hit by bird flu and the loss of wild spaces, some populations are in trouble. i don't think people realise our numbers, especially of our breeding gulls have been declining. perhaps they don't take so much notice of them and realise that the numbers have been dropping off because they're quite a visual species, aren't they? they're in our towns and parks and urban areas and we've become quite familiar with them. three common gulls and 26 black—headed gulls there. in january, hundreds of volunteers took part in the first national survey of winter gulls in 20 years to get

look, today i ask you people to give 370 seats in the indian parliament to bjp and 400 seats to us.ry of the movie 370 is about a law of the same name, whose controversial cancellation took away the privilege of autonomy from its muslim region of kashmir. this film, which has anti-islamic themes, was screened all over india , except for kashmir, which is the majority. it promotes fear. for example, it shows that a man with a long beard is a terrorist, but in my opinion, a white person with a clean appearance and clothes can also be a terrorist. as has been proven in gaza in recent months. we muslims should also watch movies let's build islam, but we don't have the necessary budget and support. over the past few months, at least 10 such films have been screened in india, supporting modi's policies and his critics and rivals. national symbols such as mahatma gandhi, the freedom leader of india , are also worn. seyyed mohammad burhan, sed and broadcasting news agency. news from russia will be the end of the world today. the deputy head of the russian national security council threatene