our defence ministry _ goal. what does that look like? our defence ministry has _ goal.l. what does that look like? our defence ministry has done a - goal. what does that look like? our defence ministry has done a long i defence ministry has done a long paper and what does the victory look like. the peace strategy that president zelensky has come up with has all the elements. accountability, going back to its borders, by russia. all of it that i can't really list here about the point is we have to have a goal to win otherwise it is going to be more difficult for all of us. and coming to the us, if you think back to history then in the 19305 and 405, our economies, europe and america were not so interlinked as we are now. 45 states out of 50, the main export or investment partner is europe. american companies are earning 2.7 times more in europe than they are earning in asia. not talking about china but asia. so if something happens in europe so that all of europe goes into war, then it definitely has a huge effect on america, like also history has shown. it america, like

the ministry of defence sa s the used up. the ministry of defence says they are _ used up. . the ministry of defence says they are spending more - used up. the ministry of defence i says they are spending more money than ever before and introducing new systems to make procurement more efficient. they also say the uk's armed forces stand ready to protect the national interests and those of the national interests and those of the uk's allies. what implications does this have for our defence? i5 the uk's allies. what implications does this have for our defence? is a critical time- _ does this have for our defence? is a. critical time. we have huge unrest around the world we have a defence equipment plan for what we should today which is not affordable. the mod has to make a very tough judgment and whoever wins the next election will have to look and make very tough decisions about what is spent on what bits of kit and whether or not we do continue to try and deliver every bit of capability thatis and deliver every bit of capability that is currently in the plan. the re ort that

russia's defence ministry says that overnight its air defence systems brought down 35 ukrainian dronesons, including moscow. drones also started a fire at an oil refinery in the krasnodar region, and these images are from the belgorod region which the ministry said had come under attack from ukrainian rockets; the governor said a teenage girl died when a shell hit a residential building. 0ur eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford has this analysis on these attacks from the ukrainian capital kyiv. and certainly there has been an intensification of attacks by russia and ukraine around this election over the three—day period. and of course, in the run up to it, i'd say it's pretty much war as usual here, frankly. russia has been launching missiles and drones targeting cities like kharkiv in the north and 0desa on the black sea. and 0desa on the black sea in the last day or so and overnight. russia is saying that drones from ukraine are being launched at targets there, reaching as far as moscow, we understand, and also krasnodar in the south of the country. the accusation is it's an

let's start in the middle east, where the syrian defence ministry says israel carried out an air strikefighters — were killed. syrian officials say aleppo had also come under fire from drones launched by what it called "terrorist groups". a british—based monitoring group the syrian 0bservatory for human rights said the strikes targeted weapons stores near aleppo international airport. contacted by the afp news agency, the israeli military said it would "not comment on reports in the foreign media".

0ur defence ministry has done a long paper on what does the victory look like.egy that president zelensky has come up with has all the elements. accountability, going back to its borders, by russia. all of it that i can't really list here but the point is we have to have a goal to win otherwise it is going to be more difficult for all of us. it is an election here in the us, you have said that the answer to donald trump's criticism of nato is to spend more and commit more, also to the war in ukraine. but you saw as well after he hosted the hungarian prime ministerviktor 0rban, he said in an interview that donald trump wouldn't spend another penny on ukraine if elected. what do you think of that? it is concerning, of course. what is the plans of the us? i think donald trump wants america to be number one in the world. when the us stops supporting ukraine, then the us lets russia win and then america will not be the first but the second in the world because we are against the powers like russia, iran, china, north korea. so you don't think he necessarily would fol

so for its part, the russian defence ministry says the border has not been breached and that the fighterso show a destroyed military vehicle and they posted this video said to show a destroyed military vehicle of the pro—ukraine fighters in one of the villages. now, we've matched the location to this spot on the map. as you can see, it's right on the border between russia and ukraine. but we can't be sure when exactly the incident took place or who the tank belongs to. russian authorities also say 234 pro—ukraine fighters were killed, but they haven't provided any evidence to support this. so what proof is there to suggest that the pro—ukrainian fighters are still on russian soil? now, the freedom of russian legion posted this earlier today. they claim they are still in the village of talkeetna. we don't know where exactly this was filmed, and there aren'tjust enough clues for us to analyse. but you can see the sunny weather in this video is consistent with yesterday's forecasts for the village. not today. this isn't the first time pro—ukrainian groups have made a cross—border raid since

the syrian defence ministry said israel had carried out the attack.ps. a british—based monitoring group said the strikes targeted weapons stores near aleppo international airport. at least a5 people have died in a bus crash in south africa. transportation officials there say the vehicle, travelling from botswana to limpopo province, went off a bridge into a ravine after colliding with a crash barrier. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. well, with british summertime just around the corner, thursday was a stark reminder ofjust how fickle british weather can be. yes, we had some snow, some of it settling for a time in northern ireland on thursday. it was a wild day, wet and windy for many as well. and in fact in wiltshire we had over a0 millimetres of rain in a 2a—hour period. now it's all due to low pressure that's anchored itself to the southwest and that low is still going to be with us during the day on friday. the showers, hopefully few and further between in comparison to thursday's weather. and we'll start off on a relatively quiet note f

let's start in the middle east, where the syrian defence ministry says israel carried out an air strikee city of aleppo. reports say at least 36 people — including some hezbollah fighters — were killed. syrian officials say aleppo had also come under fire from drones launched by what it called "terrorist groups". a british—based monitoring group the syrian observatory for human rights said the strikes targeted weapons stores near aleppo international airport. contacted by the afp news agency, the israeli military said it would "not comment on reports in the foreign media". the international court ofjustice has ordered israel to take all necessary action to ensure that basic food supplies reach palestinians facing hunger in gaza. thejudges said the israeli military must not violate the international convention on genocide. it's the world court's strongest language yet on the war. it's also ordering israel to open more land crossings to allow aid into the strip. but the icj does not have any power to enforce its ruling. meanwhile, aid agencies are concerned for patients at gaza hospitals

this is a protest, a number of people gathering their from the main square in tel aviv to the defence ministrylding up the signs of women hostages held in gaza. they are calling for their immediate release. we can hear the chanting there, and the posters in the pictures are just behind the camera's position there. is itjust turns around again, you can see that protest calling for the immediate return of the hostages. we will get more on the humanitarian situation in gaza. cancer patients say they're being denied exit for life—saving treatment through the rafah crossing to egypt, despite their names appearing on authorised evacuation lists. in parallel, fees charged by an egyptian company arranging evacuations from gaza have rocketed during the war, the bbc�*s lara elgebaly has the story, which was also produced by haya al badarneh. hopefully i will find my name there and be able to travel. god willing. translation: i'm on my way to the border crossing. - hopefully i will find my name there and be able to travel — god willing. this is sahem's third time at the border in as many months. she was

yesterday, russia's defence ministry said five drones were shot down around moscow also so we know these are specifically trying to target in particular fuel de—pose and oil refineries. we also know there has been shelling across the border of belgorod, that russian town in the south of russia, close to the ukrainian border and of course there is shelling and missiles fired in the other direction every single day at places like kharkiv and 0desa here in ukraine so ukraine is making the point that whilst russia is accusing it of disrupting the election, ukraine has pointed out very clearly that it is defending itself against two years of vladimir putin's war of aggression against ukraine, his full—scale invasion of this country. —— fuel depots. ukraine, his full-scale invasion of this country. -- fuel depots. people castina this country. -- fuel depots. people casting their — this country. -- fuel depots. people casting their minds _ this country. -- fuel depots. people casting their minds back _ this country. -- fuel depots. people casting their minds back to - this country. -- fuel depo

on thursday, syria's defence ministry said an israeli air strike injured two people near damascus.ll bring you more details when we get them. meanwhile, judges at the international court ofjustice in the hague have ordered israel to take all necessary action to ensure that basic food supplies reach the palestinian population of gaza without delay. they said famine was taking hold in the territory. the new measures were requested by south africa, which has accused israel of genocide in gaza. israel has vehemently denied that its military campaign is illegal, and has blamed the un for causing delays in the delivery of aid. our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, has more details on the icj's order to israel. this is an important court — it's the primaryjudicial body of the united nations. it's been around since the united nations was set up after world war ii. and it's there primarily to adjudicate on disputes between states. and that's what's happened here. there's a dispute between south africa and israel. south africa claims that israel is committing genocide, which it disput

here, a group of mps have warned the ministry of defence has no credible plan to fund the armed forceseave the uk increasingly reliant on its allies. the public accounts committee report that the gap between the ministry of defence's budget and the uk's intended military capabilities has ballooned to £16.9 billion, their largest—ever deficit. simon jones has more. raf fighterjets called into action last month to strike houthi targets in yemen. but this all comes at considerable cost. the public accounts committee, which examines the value for money of government projects, says it is alarming that in an increasingly volatile world, the military is facing a record shortfall between what is expected of it, and what the ministry of defence can afford. this british warship took part in a recent nato training exercise in norway, designed to be a show of strength to neighbouring russia. but the committee says in future the uk could be left increasingly reliant on its allies. at zero zero speed. it accuses the mod of a lack of discipline in budgeting, delays in defence procurement, and a failu

the public accounts committee report that the gap between the ministry of defence's budget and the uk's16.9 billion, their largest ever deficit. simon jones has more. raf fighterjets called into action last month to strike houthi targets in yemen. but this all comes at considerable cost. the public accounts committee, which examines the value for money of government projects, says it is alarming that in an increasingly volatile world, the military is facing a record shortfall between what is expected of it, and what the ministry of defence can afford. we can go straight to the old bailey where chris kaba is' family are talking to stop the 24—year—old shot in london in september 2012. the officer charged with his murder is now being named and they have just been talking outside the old bailey. it was a brief statement and we will bring you more on that. chris kaba died from a single gunshot after the car he was driving was hemmed in by a police vehicle and an officer opened fire. the construction worker was being followed by an unmarked police car with no lights or sirens. up police car

this has been released by the ministry of defence. are the last picture is that we have of the princess of wales, from when she was at a big family event. we know that she underwent a planned abdominal surgery injanuary and has been recuperating ever since. the ministry of defence has released information that she will attend trooping the colour onjune the 8th. i should also say that buckingham palace have said that she had had this planned surgery and would be expected to be seen around easter. it will be interesting to see whether there are any engagements before during the eighth, but certainly confirmation that she will be at trooping the colour in central london onjune the 8th. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news here in the uk. the prisons watchdog has found that a vulnerable girl — being held at a young offenders' institution — was twice pinned down and forcibly stripped by male guards. the children's commissioner for england — dame rachel de souza — said she was ap

. >> the defence ministry, ministry of defence says grant shapps was forced to abandon a trip to southern last week for security reasons. british intelligence warned of a credible missile threat from russia, saying the kremlin had got wind of his visit. that's according to the sunday times. mr shapps was due to travel to odesa a day after a missile hit the city, while the ukrainian president and the greek prime minister were visiting there. five people were killed the five people were killed in the explosions, to explosions, according to ukrainian . ukrainian authorities. meanwhile, the latvian prime minister has told the sunday telegraph that britain should consider conscription and a total defence model to deter russian aggression. latvia reintroduced the model last year with all able bodied men required to complete 11 months of military service . however, in of military service. however, in january, the uk armed forces minister james heappey , said any ministerjames heappey, said any talk of the uk introducing conscription to the army if nato goes to war with russia was nonsense . all

and it's been announced by ministry defence . by the ministry of defence. >> right.g to take a formal of take part in a formal review of the trooping the colour. but take part in a formal review of the untiling the colour. but take part in a formal review of the until june the colour. but take part in a formal review of the until june . the colour. but not until june. >> but joining us now is former bbc royal commentator michael cole. if we could ask cole. michael if we could ask you, first of all, good morning to you. the photograph that we've seen of apparently kate middleton , although my colleague middleton, although my colleague here sure it's her in the here is not sure it's her in the front seat with mother in front seat with her mother in the car. the british media have decided not publish it . same decided not to publish it. same with broadcasters . is that the with broadcasters. is that the right decision? bearing in mind she is recovering from some pretty complicated and pleasant surgery . surgery. >> yeah. good morning andrew. >> yeah. good morning andrew

britain's new laser weapon with the ability to shoot down drones, has been released by the ministry of defenceing to our top story now — the princess of wales has acknowledged editing a family photograph that was issued by kensington palace on sunday. leading news agencies withdrew the photograph because of concerns it could have been digitally manipulated. in the last few minutes we have her kensington palace will not be releasing the original photographs of the princess of wales and her three children, only the one that has already been published. let's speak to royal commentator katie nicholl. what should have been a reassuring episode has turned into a bit of a mess, hasn't it? it episode has turned into a bit of a mess, hasn't it?— episode has turned into a bit of a mess, hasn't it? it has, as you say, this was meant _ mess, hasn't it? it has, as you say, this was meant to _ mess, hasn't it? it has, as you say, this was meant to be _ mess, hasn't it? it has, as you say, this was meant to be the _ mess, hasn't it? it has, as you say, this was meant to be the sort - mess, hasn't it? it has,

the ministry defence says grant ministry of defence says grant shapps was forced to abandon a trip toty reasons. british intelligence warned of a credible missile threat from russia, saying the kremlin had got wind of his visit, according to the sunday times. mr shapps was due to travel to odesa a day after a missile hit the city, while the ukrainian president and greek prime minister and the greek prime minister were visiting. five people were killed the explosions, killed in the explosions, according to ukrainian authorities . the widow of authorities. the widow of russian opposition leader alexei navalny was cheered by voters outside the russian embassy in berlin . yulia navalnaya was berlin. yulia navalnaya was protesting on the final day of voting for the country's next president, vladimir putin, who's beenin president, vladimir putin, who's been in power since 1999, is expected to win another six year tum with a landslide victory. the election comes just over two years since russia's invasion of ukraine began. work on the m25 in surrey is on schedule to reopen for monday rush ho

of britain's new laser weapon with the ability to shoot down drones has been released by the ministry of defenceen described as cutting—edge technology — with the potential to revolutionise warfare. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has been meeting some of the people behind its development. this is what's been happening in the red sea. british and us warships shooting down cheap houthi drones to protect commercial shipping, with missiles costing in excess of £1 million each. but this could be the future. the first video of britain's first laser weapon being tested in scotland. a silent, less expensive killer. the beam filmed through a special lens. in reality, it's invisible to the naked eye. this is where the high energy laser comes out of. out of there? out of this window here. a number of tens of kilowatts is coming out of this aperture here. so, that's a number of beamlets that are combined to make sure that we can get that laser onto target. dragonfire has been developed in the uk at a cost dragonfire has been developed in the uk at a cost of more than £100 million, but it will give

. up by the ministry of defence. nothing but stonewalling. that's the inquiry and the judge concerned from the ministry of defence , which ministry of defence, which johnny mercer himself has complained about and one key source of information is what was told to him. now, you're not allowed under any law or under any any court or under any system to say, oh, i'm not going to tell you, your honour, what i know, because, you know, i want to keep it secret. it doesn't work quite like that. so johnny mercer , who i think is an mercer, who i think is an admirable man, is a difficult admirable man, is in a difficult position. and if this continues, there's explosive there's this. it was explosive in australia, where the australian army had to face up to its own death squads, killing afghan afghan prisoners. frankly, we should never have beenin frankly, we should never have been in afghanistan. we just provided our soldiers with target practice for the taliban. i to david cameron in i told that to david cameron in the house

defence spending. he alongside other ministers in the ministry of defence are known to be supportive of a more urgent movecent of its national income on defence, the government says it will eventually reach that figure, but perhaps some would like that to happen a little bit sooner rather than later, but, yeah, interesting to note we have got now 98 mps who say they are going to stand down at the general election the study clear majority of those are conservative. that is not out of the ordinary. if we look at other previous elections, a similar number step down. there is perhaps the suggestion here conservatives in particular see the writing on the wall, with the polls at the moment suggesting labour are going to win the general election. remember, though, politicians are human beings too and they might have personal reasons for one to stand down at the general election. this job here at westminster is not for the faint—hearted, that for sure. thanks very much indeed. peter saull, our political correspondent. meanwhile, the prime minister has been facing questions from the liaison committee, a group made

, 15 billion— by the ministry of defence, 15 billion is— by the ministry of defence, 15 billion front of you. my name is jim. nobody in their _ gentleman in front of you. my name is jim. nobody in their right - gentleman in front of you. my name is jim. nobody in their right mind i isjim. nobody in their right mind wants— isjim. nobody in their right mind wants nuclear weapons but we need them, _ wants nuclear weapons but we need them, they— wants nuclear weapons but we need them, they are a deterrent. that's them, they are a deterrent. that's the thing — them, they are a deterrent. that's the thing we need. there has been no world _ the thing we need. there has been no world war— the thing we need. there has been no world war since 1945, i would like it to remain— world war since 1945, i would like it to remain like that. i'm lucky, i am 73— it to remain like that. i'm lucky, i am 73 now. — it to remain like that. i'm lucky, i am 73 now, i've never had to fight, i am 73 now, i've never had to fight, i havent— am 73 now, i've never had to fight, i haven't been called up and that

defence spending. the influential public accounts committee warned the government lacked a "credible plan" to fund the ministry conditions allow." the government�*s counter—extremism commissioner says london has become a "no—go zone for jews" during weekend pro—palestinian marches. robin simcox also urged ministers to "be willing to accept higher legal risk" when tackling extremism. rishi sunak�*s spokesman said the prime minister took concerns of extremism "extremely seriously" and noted a rise in both anti—semitism and islamaphobia. new rules on paternity leave have come into effect in england, scotland and wales. fathers will be allowed to take their statutory two weeks leave in two separate chunks instead of in one go. campaign groups want all fathers to be given more time off work at better pay. you�*re live with bbc news. a report has found that a british army spy operating at the heart of the ira during the troubles in northern ireland probably cost more lives than he saved. 0peration kenova took seven years to examine the activities freddie scappaticci. the investigation cost nearly £40 million and the

defence spending which is obviously a very big issue. important as we will have heard from the us but also important here. a group of mps is warning that the ministryible plan" to fund the armed forces the government wants. the public accounts committee says the gap between the mod budget and the uk's intended military capabilities is close to £17 billion. our correspondent simon jones has the details. but this all comes at considerable cost. the public accounts committee, which examines the value for money of government projects, says it is alarming that in an increasingly volatile world, the military is facing a record shortfall between what is expected of it, and what the ministry of defence can afford. this british warship took part in a recent nato's training exercise in norway, designed to be a show of strength to neighbouring russia. but the committee says in future the uk could be left increasingly reliant on its allies. at zero zero speed. it accuses the mod of a lack of discipline in budgeting, delays in defence procurement, and a failure to cancel projects it can no longer afford. the committee notes the mod will see a budget increase of

the united states and europe, but about what what is important is to fight corruption in the ministry of defence, in the armed forces, so that the troops who go forward or go to sea, so that they know that every penny that is ... spent is carefully controlled and that everything that is allocated goes to for the sake of victory, and it is very important to. and the fight against corruption , first of all, i also wanted to add a few things, the colonel talked about some good news, but even i, who is an american of hungarian descent, as an american, i would like to end on a positive note: first, as my good friend general pridlav said, the russians didn't get anything strategic... from russia, well, avdiivka, it was terrible, but now we are looking at a situation that has not changed much for us, even if you had 340 billion dollars, these discussions took place in brussels, in the capitals, regarding a certain interest, and number three the black sea corridor, we talked a lot about the land situation. but the maritime situation is a huge success, i don't know why they didn't talk about it more, the

ministry of defence russia said that its air defense had allegedly destroyed three drones.ording to local telegram channels , traffic was blocked on the kerch bridge, and... loud explosions are reported in the southern part of simferopol. positive results from the explosions at the airfield in the russian city of engels are damaged planes. andriy yusov, representative of the main directorate of intelligence, reported this. according to him, the resort remains an important strategic object for russia and a dangerous object for ukraine and europe. so incidents on that will continue. let me remind you, at the airport. bombers that attack ukraine are based in engels. in vinnytsia , a five-year-old child died of carbon monoxide poisoning, three more women were hospitalized, the state emergency service reported . the tragedy happened in the village of lityn. previously, the cause of poisoning was arbitrary interference with the exhaust gas removal system. all circumstances determine the law. the portrait of the kobzar was firmly attached to the wall, there were no walls or window

defence spending. the influential public accounts committee warned the government currently lacked a "credible plan" to fund the ministryonomic conditions allow". new rules on paternity leave come into effect today in england, scotland and wales. fathers will be allowed to take their statutory two weeks' leave in two separate chunks — instead of in one go — but campaign groups want all fathers to be given more time off work at better pay. you're live with bbc news. an investigation into one of the british army's top intelligence sources during the northern ireland troubles will be published today. the interim report is part of operation kenova — which was set up to investigate the activites of the agent known as stakeknife. it's expected to call for an apology from the government and the ira. here's our ireland correspondent sara girvin. don't take any more photos of this house, i'm telling you now. because if you, i'll come out and i'll- do you. - this is freddie scappaticci. his double life personified the so—called dirty war between the ira and the british state during the troubles in northern ireland. on one hand, h

royal air force plane carrying the defence secretary had its signaljammed as it flew near the russian territory of kaliningrad this week. this image released by the ministryhe plane during the journey in question. the electronic interference is understood to have happened on wednesday evening. mobile phones could no longer connect to the internet, and the aircraft was forced to use alternative methods to determine its location. the uk government says it isn't unusual for aircraft to experience this when flying near the russian territory. still to come on the world today, we'll be live on the ground in haiti as the un is trying to get some of its staff out of the country. and a huge leap for elon musk�*s spacex after a third test flight of its starship rocket. around the world and across the uk, this is the world today on bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a 17—year—old boy's admitted killing a schoolgirl who was stabbed at a bus stop in south london. 15—year—old elianne andam was attacked in croydon in september on her way to school. during an appearance at the old bailey, the teenager, who can't be named because of his age, pleaded g

the ministry of defence says more than 20 tonnes of essential aid has been delivered this week.t calls �*dystopian levels�* of work—related stress. in sport, it's official. former wales rugby star louis rees—zammit has signed for the back—to—back super bowl champions, the kansas city chiefs. and there will be fewer showers and a little _ and there will be fewer showers and a little more — and there will be fewer showers and a little more sunshine _ and there will be fewer showers and a little more sunshine and _ and there will be fewer showers and a little more sunshine and it- and there will be fewer showers and a little more sunshine and it shouldl a little more sunshine and it should feel a _ a little more sunshine and it should feel a touch — a little more sunshine and it should feel a touch warmer. _ a little more sunshine and it should feel a touch warmer. i— a little more sunshine and it should feel a touch warmer. i will- a little more sunshine and it should feel a touch warmer. i will have - a little more sunshine and it should feel a touch warmer. i will have the full

force plane carrying the defence secretary grant shapps had its signaljammed as it flew near the russian territory of kaliningrad this week. this image, released by the ministryschapps on the plane during the journey in question. the electronic interference is understood to have happened on wednesday evening. mobile phones could no longer connect to the internet and the aircraft was forced to use alternative methods to determine its location. the uk government says it isn't unusual for aircraft to experience this when flying near the russian territory. here's our diplomatic correspondent paul adams. can we start with the significance of the place they were, kaliningrad, the most westerly point on russian territory was to mark it's important to look at the map because. it’s to look at the map because. it's important _ to look at the map because. it's important to — to look at the map because. it�*s important to look at the map because kaliningrad is what it is all about, the plane carrying grant shapps and a small company parted took off from any polish airfield a short distance south of that, an area of russia the colleton exclusive, a fragment of russia sepa

britain's new laser weapon with the ability to shoot down drones, has been released by the ministry of defenceare. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has been meeting some of the people behind its development. this is what's been happening in the red sea. british and us warships shooting down cheap houti drones to protect commercial shipping, with missiles costing in excess of £1 million each. but this could be the future. the first video of britain's first laser weapon being tested in scotland. a silent, less expensive killer. the beam filmed through a special lens. in reality, it's invisible to the naked eye. this is where the high energy laser comes out of. out of there? out of this window here. a number of tens of kilowatts is coming out of this aperture here. so, that's a number of beamlets that are combined to make sure that we can get that laser onto target. dragon fire has been developed in the uk at a cost of more than £100 million, but it will give the military more bang for its buck. what this could bring is not having to use that very expensive missile for these cheap threats

defence spending. the influential public accounts committee warned the government currently lacked a credible plan to fund the ministrygional variation in doctor numbers. the nuffield trust think tank found kent and medway had the fewest gps per person, followed by bedfordshire, luton and milton keynes. it comes as ministers have struggled to hit the pledge to boost the gp workforce. you can get more on that story on the bbc news website and app. you are watching bbc news. let's turn to nigeria now, where there have been two mass kidnappings — one in the northeast and one in the north west of the country. in the north—east — authorities are searching for at least 200 people kidnapped by suspected boko haram militants. the victims are thought to be mostly women and children who lived in a camp in the town of gambaru — after fleeing their homes because of attacks by the insurgents. in a second mass kidnapping in the country this week, reports say more than 200 nigerian school students have been abducted in the north—western town of kuriga. the students, between the ages of 8 and 15, were taken away. the regional governo

but i believe he will give a statement today, or the ministry of defence.is a nato territory and nato should also react. poland is not the only country whose airspace is being violated. romania has had the same problem with russian drones that crash in their territory. this is also a dire situation. the question what could we do. there are some proposals to shut down russian missiles in the ukrainian airspace and radar stations detect missiles coming too close to the polish border should have been shut down, that was the proposal. this is a risky scenario. this could lead to escalation. the other problem is that russia is also interested in seeing how our air defence system works, all those electronic signals being emitted are being recorded and tracked and russians are looking for some countermeasures. if we overreact they will learn too much about our readiness to face such attack which we don't want. it is a consecrated situation.— attack which we don't want. it is a consecrated situation. indeed. thank ou for consecrated situation. indeed. thank you for

defence spending. the influential public accounts committee warned the government lacked a credible plan to fund the ministryony to enshrine in the french constitution of the right for a woman to have an abortion. france becomes the first country in the world to guarantee such a right. hugh schofield is in paris. nothing actually changes _ hugh schofield is in paris. nothing actually changes from _ hugh schofield is in paris. nothing actually changes from the - hugh schofield is in paris. nothing i actually changes from the ceremony. the change was voted through parliament on monday, doesn't actually come into effect until it is released or entered into the officialjournal, which will happen over the weekend. this is a purely stage—managed affair to enact publicly something which would have happened normally behind closed doors, which is the imprint of the seal of the republic in hot wax with a trickle of ribbon running through it on to the bit of parchment containing the change to the constitution, which will then be added to all the other changes to the constitution, there have been about 25, which are kep

this footage, released by the ministry of defence in ukraine, purported to show the sergey kotov damageds been going on for two years now, but in the last few months, there's been a lot of important activity here in the black sea. have a look at this. these three dots that are popping up. sure. ukrainian attacks on russian ships since the start of february, according to ukraine. all three of these ships sunk. that's a pretty significant attack on russia's navy. let's focus in on the one that happened overnight, reportedly down here in the kerch strait. have a look at this video. this was released by ukraine and we're told that it shows the drone attack on a ship called the sergei kotov. we have this video up at the top, too, which was posted by russian bloggers on telegram. you can see the similar similarities in the explosion. that makes us confident that both of these videos are from the same incident. i want to show you a bit, too, about what we've done to verify whether this is the ship in question, the sergey kotov. have a look here. this is from last night. this is a stock picture

britain's new laser weapon with the ability to shoot down drones, has been released by the ministry of defence

mps say the ministry of defence has no credible plan to buy the weapons it needs for the uk's armed forceslives at risk. a crackdown on holiday rentals, with an end to tax breaks for second homes. but will it do anything to help priced—out renters find somewhere to live?

yasmine, thank yon _ this image released by the ministry of defence shows grant shapps on the plane duringrnet and the aircraft was forced to use alternative methods to determine its location. the uk government says it isn't unusual for aircraft to experience this when flying near the russian territory. doctor thomas willington is an expert in electronic warfare. and was in the baltic region for research on the recently. hello to you. thank you forjoining us. just explain the significance of this location, first of all.— explain the significance of this location, first of all. thank you very much _ location, first of all. thank you very much for— location, first of all. thank you very much for having _ location, first of all. thank you very much for having me - location, first of all. thank you very much for having me to - location, first of all. thank you i very much for having me to speak location, first of all. thank you - very much for having me to speak to you this evening. kaliningrad is a russian escalade. it is the most westerly point i think of russian territory. it is not attache

the ministry of defence has confirmed reports of a fire on board its flagship aircraft carrier , hms queen elizabeth. carrier, hms queen elizabeth. this morning. the royal navy vesselis this morning. the royal navy vessel is currently docked at glen mallan in scotland . the mod glen mallan in scotland. the mod said the fire was quickly brought under control with no reported injuries. no ordnance was involved in the incident . was involved in the incident. they are now working with scottish fire and rescue to establish the cause . the prime establish the cause. the prime minister says he plans to pay for cuts to national insurance contributions by kerbing the benefits budget. rishi sunak told the sunday times he's concerned by forecasts which show welfare spending is set to rise by more than £100 billion a year until 20 2829. mr sunak said that 2.5 million working age people have been signed off as unfit to work and that, quote, just doesn't strike me as a system that's working properly. he insists he will end national insurance contributions if he wins the next general election . the

conversation as well. >> em— >> i mean, michael was saying that there's a lot of wastage in the ministry defencere's we actually spend quite a lot of money on defence. i was money on defence. and i was looking some i mean own looking at some i mean my own service was the army. i was just looking at some, some figures. we got about . 157 looking at some, some figures. we got about. 157 main we have got about. 157 main battle tanks in, in our, in our, on our inventory of good quality at battle tanks. but the poles have got nearly five times that many. and their defence budget is nearly half of ours. so he's getting really badly wrong in the way in which we actually run our defences that can we can our defences that we can we can end you know, 157 on end up with, you know, 157 on a good day. they have something at 567 main battle tanks on a good day on on a budget that's day and on a, on a budget that's over half half ours. so i over half a half ours. so i think it's a massive, massive question mark about how the mod uses money. >> you and i are in >> good. simon, you and i are in agreement on that

overnight, according to the russian defence industry, i think about 35 ukrainian drones, the defence ministrythat mme strikes would not go unpunished. steve, good to talk to you. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, there in moscow. the family of laura nuttall says it means the absolute world to them to have a road named after her in her home town of ba rrowford. laura died from a brain cancer last may, aged just 23. her mum nicola says someone named the road laura nuttall way online and when they saw it they asked for it to be made official. she says it's a little road behind a village park, where they spent lots of time together. she would love it, but she would also find it hilarious. she used to come here with her friend thomas and they'd have a surreptitious wine in the bus shelters nearby. we had picnics here, and she would run up the road as well. it is an area that is really special to us, to be honest. she would love it. and she has a bench in the park, as well, so it feels special to us. we have no idea who made this possible. people in the family suspect it could been laura! she was

he was a very widely regarded armed forces minister, and he's he's a loss to the ministry of defence . ministryviduals middle are two individuals as middle ranking respected ranking but well respected ministers, both by labour and the i think both , the tory party. i think both, who may have been hoping for a cabinet job in a fifth terms. tory government. what are they going? are they, are they looking at writing on the looking at the writing on the wall thinking this party is wall and thinking this party is sunk that election sunk and won't win that election this year? >> well, i've just mentioned james. rob halfon , i declare >> well, i've just mentioned janinterest.ob halfon , i declare >> well, i've just mentioned janinterest. he'salfon , i declare >> well, i've just mentioned janinterest. he's afon , i declare >> well, i've just mentioned janinterest. he's a fellowieclare >> well, i've just mentioned janinterest. he's a fellow essexe an interest. he's a fellow essex mp.we've personal friends >> we've been personal friends for 30 years. for crumbs 30 years. >> is loss . you know he >> rob i

defence. today conservative danny kruger spoke of a "national security crisis" and labour's kevanjones that the ministryunts committee, though put much of the blame on the forces�* mismanagement of procurement. so have the cries of alarm across europe about a possible war with russia changed the way that the public view this issue? polling by the british foreign policy group suggests that 59% support raising defence spending and 78% strongly support nato. but of course that's asking about those specific issues — other surveys suggest that the british public overestimates by a factor of four the proportion of government spending that goes on the military, and when you ask people to choose three priority areas, only 20% pick defence, which is the same for crime, but behind immigration on 37%, health on 45% and the economy which is a top three issue for 53% of people. to explore that we're joined now by scarlett maguire at pollstersjl partners. you've looked at the electoral figures on this, the opinion research. this ought to be an issue that plays well for the conservatives, shouldn't it? yes, traditiona

access opposition, you don't get access to information from the to any information from the ministry defenceif we were to win the election to to win the election is to conduct security defence conduct a security and defence spending look at how spending review to look at how the is allocated and if the budget is allocated and if there's a case for more money. i'm that colleague, the i'm sure that my colleague, the shadow john shadow defence secretary, john healey, the case for healey, will make the case for that government. that inside a labour government. in circumstances. that inside a labour government. in okay. :ircumstances. >> okay. >> okay. >> darren jones, good to talk to you.thank >> darren jones, good to talk to you. thank you. >> well, let's get the thoughts of christopher of political editor christopher hope. see you this hope. good to see you this morning christopher. to morning christopher. lots to unpack there from that interview with should we with darren jones. should we start government's new start with the government's new definition extremism? what do start with the gover