that is probably not something that emma raducanu could have said.e wants to be part of the team, it wasn't possible on this occasion and she wants the focus to be on the players who are competing here, the same player to got great britain to the semifinals in november. yes, this squad reached the semifinals last year and we know the likes of katie boulte and harriet dart love a home crowd. that is where the hope comes from. if you look at this as a contest it looks to be very much in the favour of france. the first match will be katie boulter, who has not had a win on the wta tour this year, up against the numberfive on the wta tour this year, up against the number five seeds. then harriet dart, who had a good year last year, but has struggled in the first three or four months of this year up against elise corneille, who has been on this french squad for 15 years. if you look at the record that these two have had, harriet dart played well for a country last year. katie boulter�*s record in this competition far exceeds anything she has been able to d

emma raducanu has pulled out of her madrid open first—round match today.ions over her form, with three successive defeats. she's been in the headlines too for a rather brief and frosty pre—madrid interview. our tennis correspondent, russell fuller, explains. that is becoming an increasing concern. she has pulled out of the madrid openjust concern. she has pulled out of the madrid open just hours concern. she has pulled out of the madrid openjust hours before she was due to play a first round match because of what it described as a right hand injury, it is the same wrist problem that affected her at the end of last year, that been particularly apparent since march, and it's affected the amount of practice she can do. she has been practising here in madrid, but i think the pain became too much yesterday in a practice session. there was a very terse exchange with a couple of british writers, who arrived in madrid ahead of the first round match, and we have had the news now that she has withdrawn. i think the bigger picture is worrying, because for a while, th

having skipped last week's billiejean king cup tie, emma raducanu plays herfirst clay court event ofen and faces a tough first match, having been drawn against the 2017 french open champion jelena ostapenko in the first round. it's raducanu's first match since losing in the opening round of the miami open last month, and only her third tournament since the australian open injanuary. the former us open champion is looking to build some momentum after her recent injury struggles as she builds up to the french open in may and wimbledon this summer. if she beats ostapenko, then third seed ons jabeur would await her in round two in germany. fellow britons liam broady and kyle edmund are also in action today in the men's draw. you can get all the latest sports news at from the bbc sport app, orfrom our website — that's bbc.co.uk/sport. from me and the rest of the team at the bbc sport centre, goodbye. hello, this is bbc news. secretary of state for northern ireland, chris heaton—harris, gave a speech earlier at queen's university belfast, where he spoke on government's efforts to uphold th

emma raducanu has withdrawn from the madrid open with a hand injury hours before herfirst—round matchtoriya tomova, who will now receive a bye in to the second round. raducanu's withdrawal means she is almost certain to drop out of the world's top 100, and our tennis correspondent russell fuller has been reacting to the news. the pressure of being emma raducanu and winning the us open, as she did in the such extraordinary fashion in 2021, is enormous. now, there are lots of elements to that debate. wrong steps that might have been taken over the past 18 months, but it is an enormously difficult thing to have to live with being emma raducanu, given what she achieved and then trying to live up to the expectations of many, many people. england captain marlie packer is fit for saturday's grand slam decider against france in the women's six nations. packer had been a doubt ahead of the game, but will now start, and she will walk out in front of a record crowd of 53,000 at twickenham with her son 0liver. packer's saracens team—mate hannah botterman has also been declared fit for the match.

emma raducanu has withdrawn from the madrid 0pen with a hand injury hours before herfirst—round matchwas set to face bulgaria's viktoriya tomova, who will now receive a bye in to the second round. raducanu's withdrawal means she is almost certain to drop out of the world's top 100, and our tennis correspondent russell fuller has been reacting to the news. the pressure of being emma raducanu and winning the us open, as she did in such extraordinary fashion in 2021, is enormous. now, there are lots of elements to that debate, wrong steps that might have been taken over the past 18 months, but it is an enormously difficult thing to have to live with being emma raducanu, given what she achieved and then trying to live up to the expectations of many, many people. and that's all the sport for now. matthew, i'll be back with more later on and of course with more build—up to later on and of course with more build—up to that later on and of course with more build—up to that big later on and of course with more build—up to that big game later on and of course with more build—up to that big game

the squad will be without emma raducanu though, who is unavailable for the best—of—five qualifier asule. it means katie boulter will take on world number five caroline garcia in the opening rubber before harriet dart faces alize cornet in the second match. great britain reached the semi finals last year. that's all the sport for now. north korea has described its latest weapons test that took place on thursday as a major step in its ability to carry out nuclear strikes. pyongyang said that for the first time it had successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic device that used solid fuel. our correspondent in south korea jean mackenzie told us about the significance of this latest missile test. it is a major breakthrough in north korea's nuclear weapons programme. it is a more advanced version of its long range missile, so the sort that is intended to target the united states. the solid fueled bit, it is a technical detail, but it's an important one, solid fueled missiles don't need to be fueled ahead of launch. this means that they can be launched far more quickly in a crisis

plus, emma raducanu is out the madrid open — and it could seriously impact her world ranking. to the programme. it's been billed as the title decider and — while tonights match between manchester city and arsenal won't crown them champions — it will change the dynamic of the league. if city win they will be just two points behind arsenal with two games in hand. if arsenal win, then they will go eight points clear at the top of the table. patrick geary reports. commentator: another arsenal win. the champions have come here to the emirates and they have won. what a significant moment this could be for arsenal! _ a 10th win in a row for manchester city. a missed opportunity for arsenal. only time will tell howi pivotal tonight will be. in a title race, there are no finals. the twists and turns you've just seen might be significant or irrelevant, but at dusk it will feel like east manchester is hosting a showdown. the contenders, arsenal. five points clear but staggering of late. manchester city, with games in hand, are chasing notjust the title but a treble. i think it was always

and in sport, disappointment for emma raducanu, as the british number one, loses herfirst clay—courtunder an hour. good evening. the state of crisis in the scottish national party has deepened today with the arrest of the party treasurer who was taken into custody this morning by police investigating the snp's finances. colin beattie — who's also a member of the scottish parliament — is on his second stint as party treasurer. police are examining the way in which over half a million pounds of donations were used. mr beattie was released without charge this evening while investigations continue. two weeks ago, police arrested the former snp chief executive peter murrell, who's married to the former first minister nicola sturgeon. today's events overshadowed a major speech given by new snp first minister humza yousaf, setting out his priorities in government — as our scotland editorjames cook reports. colin beattie is not a familiar face. but for two decades, the man who was once an international banker, was at the heart of the snp, holding the purse strings as the party soared in popu

emma raducanu pulls out of the madrid open with a hand injury.00 and faces a battle to get fit for the french open next month. a leading food bank charity says it's handing out more emergency food parcels than ever. the trussell trust, which supports more than 1,200 food banks across the uk, says it provided nearly 3 million emergency parcels in the year to march, which is a 37% increase on the year before — and in that time, more than three quarters of a million people used a food bank in the trussell trust network for the first time. hwyell griffith reports from cardiff, pasta. oh, yes, please. a helping hand that means sharon can now feed her family. since losing her husband three years ago, making sure her two children have enough has become increasingly hard. admitting you need to come to a food bank isn't easy either. it's embarrassing. it's degrading at times, but then at the same time, its needs must. you know, where else can i go? over the last year, over three quarters of a million people like sharon have come to a food bank run by the

having skipped last week's billiejean king cup, emma raducanu is playing herfirst clay court event ofs. he'll be playing at the atp 250 event in bosnia, looking to get over his surprise defeat to lorenzo musetti at the monte carlo masters. djokovic will be looking to win a men's record breaking 23rd grand slam singles title at the french open which starts at the end of next month. ireland's cricketers have been thrashed in their first test against sri lanka in galle. following on, they were dismissed for 168 second time round to lose by an innings and 280 runs. no ireland player managed to reach a half century in either innings with harry tector reaching 42 before being run out. the second and final test starts next monday. it's been a controversial couple of years for yorkshire county cricket club. former player azeem rafiq was found to have been the victim of bullying and racism and the club is still rebuilding its reputation. one of the ways the club is trying to show times are changing, is by electing its first female president. jane powell, a former player, has been speaking to o

british number one emma raducanu is out of the stuttgart open after losing to former french open championjelenat to ten frames will progress to the next round. you can follow all the scores and reaction on the bbc sport website and bbc sport app. last year's runner—upjudd trump has work to do after falling 6—3 behind against scotland's anthony mcgill. trump led 2—0 and 3—2 against the world number 21, but mcgill rattled off the final four frames of the session to threaten an upset against the 2019 champion. jonny bairstow says he will be available for england's first test of the summer, after recovering from a broken leg and dislocated ankle. bairstow hasn't played since he injured himself by slipping while playing golf last september. he's won the wisden trophy test award for his performance against india last summer and hopes to be back on the field in the next few weeks. it's not been easy. at all. it's been — it's not been easy. at all. it's been my— it's not been easy. at all. it's been my first _ it's not been easy. at all. it's been my first long—term i it's not been easy. at all. it'si

emma raducanu. yeah.— well, by the way. emma raducanu. yeah-hew— well, by the way. emma raducanu.. they tettewet— the way you go around the park. they followed that— the way you go around the park. they followed that and they sent them — they followed that and they sent them the — they followed that and they sent them the-way— they followed that and they sent them the way round. they them the wrong way round. they meet— them the wrong way round. they rnteeet-a— them the wrong way round. they rnteeet-a tap— them the wrong way round. they missed-a lap so— them the wrong way round. they missed a lap so everybody missed out a lap so everybody ant—eatt- missed out a lap so everybody ant—eatt tt- missed out a lap so everybody and—call it null| and they've had to call it null ant— and they've had to call it null ant vett. — and they've had to call it null ant vett. se— and they've had to call it null and void. so winner couldn't and void. so the winner couldn't hetteve— and void. so the winner couldn't believe-breaking- and void. so the winner couldn't believe breaking the believe they w

disappointment for emma raducanu at the start of her clay court season. before getting the goals that leaves them one win away from promotion back to the football league. goalkeeper ben foster the hero after they beat notts county, he was celebrating. they beat yeovil town last night and nowjust need to beat boreham wood at home on saturday and the title and promotion will be theirs. time for a party. you think? i think they are booking their flights right now. that private jet will be on its way, and what a party it will be at the racecourse. at the very opposite of chelsea's season. and ryan reynolds also says football is evil after the nervousness of that first half, and that is what chelsea are facing. thank you very much indeed. before we get the weather from carol, here's how it's looking in glasgow. doesn't it look beautiful there? look at that sunshine. blue skies and sunshine over the bbc in pacific key, a gorgeous doubt to the day and some very high temperatures over the last few days as well. you are still insisting it is summer, aren't you? it

all is not well with emma raducanu.st injury and her withdrawal came a day after she gave short shrift to two british reporters in a press conference, using just 58 words to answer 16 questions. the pressure on raducanu has been huge since she won the us open in 2021 in such extraodinary fashion. the big concern does seem to be that wrist problem that has been troubling her since the end of last seasonit troubling her since the end of last season it does seem may be a long—term solution is needed, so maybe some time out or surgery to fix it, so it puts some doubt over her participation in the french open and wimbledon which would be a shame for all of the fans. find and wimbledon which would be a shame for all of the fans.— for all of the fans. and it sounds like she is _ for all of the fans. and it sounds like she is a _ for all of the fans. and it sounds like she is a bit _ for all of the fans. and it sounds like she is a bit fed _ for all of the fans. and it sounds like she is a bit fed up _ for all of the fans. and i