emma simpson, bbc news.ss of what's believed to be a chinese surveillance balloon. a pentagon official said the balloon entered us airspace two days ago — it's been spotted over the states of alaska and montana. military officials say they considered shooting it down, but didn't because of concerns about falling debris. in montana, it's believed the balloon flew over a number of sensitive sites, including a nuclear missile field at the malmstrom air base next the city of west falls. people in the state have spotted the object in the sky. i was looking out the window, like i normally do, and ijust happened to spot it out of the corner of my eye. at first, i thought it was a star, but i thought that was kind of crazy because it was broad daylight and when i looked at it, it was just too big to be a star. that was what one man saw. let's head to washington, dc and joined gary 0'donoghue. what more is the us saying, gary? the pentagon is saying this balloon has been around for a few days now. they have obviously

emma simpson, bbc news.in denial", according to the man who's been appointed acting chief executive. nigel walker was giving evidence to a parliamentary committee in cardiff, following the allegations of sexism and misogyny revealed in a bbc wales investigation, which heard about a "toxic culture" in the wru. 0ur correspondent wyre davies reports. wales men's team preparing for the opening six nations match against ireland in cardiff on saturday. plenty of pressure with a change of coach and in a world cup year. but the build—up has been overshadowed by a different kind of scrutiny. a bbc wales investigation detailed allegations of sexist behaviour and a toxic culture inside the welsh rugby union and the harrowing experiences of former female employees. there was in attitude that it was ok to make sexist/ sexual comments around women. "we don't want to shine a light on the women's game because it's not fit for purpose." "they're all gay, they're all..." you know, it was that kind of culture. damage limitatio

our business correspondent emma simpson has the story. you're through to citizens advice.thing radical. this 200 strong team in gateshead are getting full pay and an extra day off a week. i just feel like a completely different person. i'll be honest, ifeel like i've got more time on a weekend because i've got that day through the week. bethany�*s a team manager on her day off. after the pandemic she was up for trying something new. hello, otis. we'd been through so much change and were just adapted to it, i was like, well, i'm sure we'll be able to manage it. and i did feel like i'd won the lottery. so did faye. she bakes cakes with her free time. i found that just having that one extra day off her week gives me so much more time to recover and recuperate after having such an emotionally draining and demanding job. it would take a lot for me to look for a job elsewhere now. they're not the only ones feeling the benefit. out of the 61 firms that took part in the trial 39% of employees surveyed said they were less stressed. there was a 65% reduction in sick days, and compan

here's our correspondent, emma simpson.chances are you'll have seen this — a shortage of tomatoes, cucumbers and some other fresh veg. and now britain's biggest retailer hasjoined in with placing a limit on how much shoppers can buy. here's the problem. at this time of year, we rely on imports from overseas. we get a lot of tomatoes here from morocco, but it's a white—out, with harvests disrupted. extreme weather is playing havoc with food production. this huge business is in the thick of it. it's got a base in southern spain — a key food—producing region, which has also been hit by bad weather. they grow food, pack it and distribute it here in the uk and abroad. mother nature is wiping the floor with inflation. if you looked at spain and to some extent morocco, in a nutshell, they didn't have an autumn. they went from a hot summer to a summer to a deep freeze. if you get those extremes in temperature, it's going to affect your crop. i've never seen prices so high for such a long period of time across such a broad range of

emma simpson, bbc news, birmingham.u just saying, look, this proves the point we have been making for some time, that a four—day week on full pay is a win—win for all? on full pay is a win-win for all? , . ., , all? yes, certainly the research _ all? yes, certainly the research from - all? yes, certainly the research from the i all? yes, certainly the research from the uk | all? yes, certainly the i research from the uk feeds all? yes, certainly the - research from the uk feeds into the research we have done in the research we have done in the us and also ireland, and we have research coming out in a month's time for australasia, and broadly what we are seeing is that it is better for everyone, but if a business with productivity and revenue either going up or staying the same and betterfor the either going up or staying the same and better for the staff, as the gentleman mentioned earlier on in your segment. server, is it basically down to the point that if we know we are in the office or working from home, however we

emma simpson, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker.spells but a chilly wind, particularly on the north sea coast. now this is the weather map form the weekend, and you can see this area of high pressure drifting over us onceit of high pressure drifting over us once it is parked here, it will stick round for probably seven days or even longer so we are not going to see much change in the weather pattern, here here the satellite picture earlier on it was cloudy across the south, that will continue for a time, but skies should clear a bit later on today. now the temperatures in the sunny spells getting up to 11 or 12 degrees at best, a bit colder on the north sea coast and because of the wind it feels colder, so skies clear across many central and western area, a up the of frost on the way, where we have that wind italy be generally frost—free, so from aberdeen all along the coast, through newcastle down to norwich, temperatures round plus three in central and western areas, it could be round minus three. lots of sunshine in the morning,

our business correspondent, emma simpson, has been finding out.i mean, that money is in your account with the supplier. they've never been busier, but they're also doing something radical. this 200—strong team in gateshead are getting full pay and an extra day off a week. ijust feel like a completely different person, _ to be honest. i feel like i've got - more time on a weekend, because i've got that i day through the week. bethany is a team manager on her day off. after the pandemic, she was up for trying something new. hello. hi, bethany. hello, otis. when they introduced the four—day week, i because we'd been through so much change and we're just adapted to it, | i was like, well, i'm sure we'll be able to manage it. - and i did feel like i i'd won the lottery! so did faye. she bakes cakes with her free time. i found thatjust having that one extra day off per week gives me so much more time to recover and recuperate after having such an emotionally draining and demanding job. it would take a lot for me to look for a job elsewhere now. they're

emma simpson, bbc news. result of the attack, the biggest single atrocity in the troubles. the northern ireland secretary chris heaton—harris said he hopes his decision will give "some comfort" to the families on a summer saturday afternoon, the darkness of mass murder came to 0magh. in terms of the numbers of lives lost, it was the worst of many atrocities during the northern ireland conflict. it's almost 25 years since the car bomb exploded here on the main shopping street, but questions remain, particularly over what intelligence agencies new about the bombers agencies knew about the bombers and whether the security forces could have used the information to prevent the attack. that will be the focus of the independent investigation announced by the government, the response to a campaign by some families for a public inquiry. thirdly, the inquiry will involve the next of kin and will be open to public scrutiny where possible. this will of course need to be balanced against national security considerations,

emma simpson, thank ou. who travelled to syria as a teenager to join the islamic state group has lost her appeal against the government's decision to strip her of british citizenship. shamima begum was 15 years old when she left the uk and married an is fighter. today's ruling means she remains barred from returning to the uk, and the government says she is still thought to be a national security risk. her legal team insist she was a victim of child trafficking. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. in february 2015, eight years ago, shamima begum left gatwick airport with two school friends to go and join the islamic state group in syria. the three of them travelled through a bus station in turkey and were smuggled across the border by a man who it later turned out was providing information to canadian intelligence. she spent the next four years in islamic state territory. emerging in february 2015, after the caliphate collapsed. she immediately had her british citizenship removed. her law

emma simpson, bbc news. >> for more on that and all of the stories you have been watching on a website is bbc.com/news. reach me and it is a. i am @bbcmiriam. thank you for your company. you are watching the narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum-kovler foundation. pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you, thank you. ♪ ♪ narrator: you're watching pbs. ♪ ♪ narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by.. the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum-kovler foundation. pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you, thank you. woman: and now, "bbc world news".

emma simpson, bbc news.entatives at the public inquiry into contaminated blood scandal of the 1970s and 80s. the us equity of state has postponed a much—anticipated trip to beijing after china and —— chinese surveillance balloon was detected above montana. large crowds have welcomed pope francis on his arrival in south sudan, at the start of what the vatican is calling a pilgrimage of peace. the pope wasjoined at the airport injuba by the leaders of the churches of england and scotland. together on this historic visit they are seeking to promote reconciliation in a largely christian country that has been ravaged by tribal conflict since it became independent 12 years ago. pope francis is honouring a 2019 promise to visit south sudan, when in a dramatic gesture, he kissed the feet of the country's rival leaders at the vatican. merchuma is our correspondent in the south sudanese capital, juba. the people of south sudan and the leadership of south sudan, they hope and pray that this is it, because it's really a

emma simpson, bbc news.gs that could last through to me stop we have been reporting all week on the limits that some supermarket chains are placing on how much you can buy on any shop. theyjust discuss this with jack ward who is from the british growers association. good evening to you. does that sound right to you? the shortage could last until may? i think so. commencing on the point about inflation. in the fresh produce industry we have seen very little of that inflation. you're talking about strawberry jam little of that inflation. you're talking about strawberryjam going up, the price of strawberries hasn't gone up anything like that. looking at the supply situation, what we are seeing now is evidence ofjust how fragile our supply chain can be. particularly in the face of what were seen in some volatile weather situations. at this time of the year, we should be at the height of the system in terms of vegetables, especially with vegetables we see from the uk, like carrots and brussels sprouts, which were

emma simpson, bbc news. shore near the city of hamamatsu, causing huge speculation as to its origin. the authorities don't know what it is — but it's hollow and not deemed to pose any kind of threat. many suspect it may be a type of buoy. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @ bbcmaryam. hello. well, it's been a much cooler day today across the uk, with temperatures dropping by around five or six degrees celsius in places compared with yesterday. for example, in aberdeen, we went from 13 on tuesday down to about seven. and although those temperatures are a lot lower, they are actually a lot closer to the average for this time of year. it has been a very mild month. now, the satellite picture shows the extent of the days cloud, and we've seen a number of heavy showers around as well, particularly west scotland, northern ireland and across wales, with some patches of rain at times further east. now, although there were plenty of showers for west scotland, we did have something of a clearance late in the day in gl

emma simpson, bbc news.bbc�*s paul adams has been and the teams involved. ukraine's energy war. a constant battle for heat and light. a race to keep up with russian attacks. siren blares. for a week, we follow the teams fighting this war. what the missiles destroy, they rebuild. in places where people are living on the edge. for months, russian missiles and drones have rained down on ukraine's civilian infrastructure, causing untold damage all across this vast country. artillery explosion. so what happened here? this power plant in central ukraine has been hit repeatedly. it's a huge place, but this is what well—aimed russian missiles have done to its transformers, vital links to the world outside. for security reasons, we've been asked not to identify the plant or its manager. these. these, these. let's crossover to st michael's on wyre village hall, where lancashire police are holding a press conference. herfamily, particularly her family, particularly her partner, herfamily, particularly her partner, her

emma simpson, bbc news, gateshead. if you have an extra day off, what will the weather it be like? there are a couple of stories here, yesterday was 17 degrees, back down to around eight or nine for thursday and friday but it will get chillier because we have a weather front coming, some much—needed rain. this weather front coming, some much—needed rain. this weatherfront is the coming, some much—needed rain. this weather front is the colder air but once that weather front moves through there is very little rain on the horizon for the rest of february. high pressure is in, by friday staying into the weekend and the beginning of next week and we need the rain, it could turn out to be one of the driest february is on record, scotland have only had about 50% of the rainfall, in england only a few millimetres and even though we have cloud with us it is dry for the most part. misty and murky around the coast and we have that weather front looming but again even though we expect heavy rain in the room lest it might petered out in the east. where we see sunshine, perhaps around the moray

emma simpson, bbc news.stra and the royal northern sinfonia, in gateshead, are bringing together their inclusive ensembles. they use a blend of traditional instruments and electronic ones, developed specifically for musicians with impairments. simon marks went along to the rehearsals. rehearsing, two ensembles. both are inclusive led by disabled musicians and they have come together for a ground—breaking performance. they have been working together for the last year, collaborating and exploring and there is an access range of needs people have in the room and we work together as individuals to listen to each other. this is called vso resound and siobhan clough plays the lead violin. ., .., siobhan clough plays the lead violin. . ., violin. the magicalthing about resound is _ violin. the magicalthing about resound is we _ violin. the magicalthing about resound is we work _ violin. the magicalthing about resound is we work in - violin. the magicalthing about resound is we work in different violin. the magical

emma simpson, bbc news.o support vulnerable customers and it turns out they were doing anything but. so i am speaking to the chief executive this afternoon have already spoken to 0fgem and brought in all of the suppliers last week to talk about how we better look after vulnerable people because there are clear rules and they are obviously not have been followed and therefore any of the regulator and the companies to do the right thing by people who are in the most difficult of circumstances and have been treated on this evidence appallingly. we can speak to peter tutton, the head of policy at the debt charity stepchange. shed a bit of light on the people going about this work, collectors, big lift. b, going about this work, collectors, bi lift. ~ , , ., , big lift. a bailiff is quite a broad term that comes _ big lift. a bailiff is quite a broad term that comes with _ big lift. a bailiff is quite a broad term that comes with lots - big lift. a bailiff is quite a broad term that comes with lots of i big lift.

emma simpson, bbc news, gateshead. or nine. we did have rain. on the cards for northern ireland for this evening and across western scotland it had of it we could see showers drifting off northern france through the channel islands across central and eastern parts of england as well. much—needed rain of fortunately not going to make up for the deficit we have seen this month. mild overnight but we change the wind direction coming down from the north—west so much brighter skies for scotland and northern ireland tomorrow. there will be if few showers and they will fall over the top of mountains even though some are entering into the north of england into the afternoon could give a light dusting of snow. temperatures are much lower. talking about 14th and 15th and nine or ten tomorrow that is because we get off tomorrow that is because we get off to a mild start so we will pick up some night—time frost but again once tomorrow's rain clears not a lot of that in the forecast. the headlines present by delivered a speech and

here's our business correspondent emma simpson. hello, british gas.ective collectors about to break in to _ warrant. detective collectors about to break in to install— warrant. detective collectors about to break in to install a _ warrant. detective collectors about to break in to install a prepayment| to break in to install a prepayment meter. . . to break in to install a prepayment meter. , , . , to break in to install a prepaymentj meter-— the meter. this is the exciting bit. the customer a — meter. this is the exciting bit. the customer a single _ meter. this is the exciting bit. the customer a single father _ meter. this is the exciting bit. the customer a single father with - meter. this is the exciting bit. the | customer a single father with three children, isn't home. the team includes an undercover reporter. it was clear there are vulnerabilities an inhalerfor a child, but we proceeded and we switched the meter over, so that essentially the person living there f they couldn't afford to top up, they would go off supply. energy suppliers can t

emma simpson, bbc news, gateshead.latest health workers to vote for strike action in a dispute with the government over pay. members of the british medical association are expected to stage a 72—hour walk—out, possibly as early as mid—march. 0ur health correspondent katharine da costa has this report. this winter's seen the biggest wave of industrial action in nhs history — affecting nurses, paramedics and physiotherapists. nowjunior doctors in england willjoin other health unions on the picket line in an increasingly bitter dispute over pay. when 98% of us vote to strike, i think it says a lot. dr andrew meyerson moved from the us to london eight years ago to study medicine. now a junior doctor in a&e, he says too many of his colleagues feel burnt out, can't provide the patient care they'd like, and are looking for better—paid jobs overseas. we're not asking for a crazy amount of money here. we're really, really not. we're asking to be able to afford to live in this country, to afford to be able to pay our bills, and

but some are also pointing to specific problems within the uk's food industry, as emma simpson reports you've been to the supermarket, chances are you'll have seen this. a shortage of tomatoes, cucumbers and some other fresh vegetables and now britain's biggest retailer has joined in with placing a limit on how much shoppers can buy. here is the problem. at this time of year we rely on imports from overseas. we get a lot of tomatoes here from morocco but it is a whiteout with harvest disrupted. extreme weather is playing havoc food production. this huge business is in the thick of it. it's got a base in southern spain, a key food producing region which has also been hit by bad weather. they grow food, pack it and distribute it here in the uk and abroad.— distribute it here in the uk and abroad. ~ ., ., , and abroad. mother nature is wiin: and abroad. mother nature is wiping the — and abroad. mother nature is wiping the floor— and abroad. mother nature is wiping the floor with - wiping the floor with inflation. if you looked at spain and to some extent morocco, in a nutshell they didn't

emma simpson, bbc news.utstripped price rises for premium brands. they say that in january, the average price of value items had risen over 20% compared to the same time last year. we can speak more about this with chef tom kerridge, who has campaigned on the issue of food poverty alongside marcus rashford. tom, good to have you with us today, thanks for your time. we already know that people on lower incomes are more affected by the rise in food prices because they spend a larger proportion of what income they have on food, and then we have this latest news, for someone who has campaigned, campaigns, on food poverty, it's obviously very, very worrying, isn't it?— worrying, isn't it? yes, it's incredibly _ worrying, isn't it? yes, it's incredibly worrying. - worrying, isn't it? yes, it's incredibly worrying. the i worrying, isn't it? yes, it's i incredibly worrying. the news doesn't seem to be getting any better, and from the report it feels like we have still not reached the peak, whether we talk about it b

emma simpson, bbc news, gateshead.f this work for a certain type of company and not for another?— work for a certain type of company and not for another? good question. wh the and not for another? good question. why the big — and not for another? good question. why the big drawbacks _ and not for another? good question. why the big drawbacks is _ and not for another? good question. why the big drawbacks is resistant i why the big drawbacks is resistant just didn't really have much evidence. in that gap has been filled with these very large—scale trials what they've done which is very clever, i think as used a very broad range of businesses and they've done brewery, fish and chips, citizens advice, and anything thatis chips, citizens advice, and anything that is an attempt to take on these arguments that may not work in every sector. having the trials and the results goes some way towards this idea that could be a lot wider than we could've thought pretrial. what makes reading some of the steps, 65% reduction in the num

emma simpson, bbc news. his plans to address persistent labour shortages. it's thought the number of over—50s not working has jumped from 37,000 to 308,000 since 2020. one idea to address this is forjob coaches to be stationed at gp surgeries, with the aim of getting unemployed over—50s back to work. i'm joined now by dr shriti pattani, president of the society of occupational medicine— which has piloted the initiative in a number of surgeries. thank you for being with us. what has been the result from the pilots? thank you for inviting me to speak about this. we are still at an early stage in terms of the pilots, but what we are finding is people who are out of work or actually in work but are not well or having trouble at work are much more likely to see work coaches who are placed in a gp practice rather than going to the job centre. we are finding those that do see the job coaches are either leaving the caseload because they have got a newjob or a more appropriatejob, or in fact they have got a newjob or

emma simpson there. now let's get some sport. thank you very much and good evening.as they take on south korea in the arnold clark cup in milton keynes. it's a four team competition with games against italy and belgium to come next week. jane dougall will be watching for the bbc and joins us now. good to see you there. lionesses up again south korea what sort of challenge will they this even? brute challenge will they this even? we don't challenge will they this even? - don't know a great deal about them and glenn have only played them twice in the most recent time i was backin twice in the most recent time i was back in 2011 when they did went to — one but that was a while ago so it is fair to say we are not really sure what england what will be facing tonight. also south korea are 15th in the fifa rankings england are fourth so maybe not as competitive as they may like. the other two teams in the competition, italy and belgium are also far lower down the rankings, belgian have not even not qualified for the world cup so it will be interesting. sarina wiegman the en

emma simpson, bbc news, birmingham.levels meaning people could work better. what exactly do you think was going on? we better. what exactly do you think was going on?— was going on? we did a lot of talkin: was going on? we did a lot of talking to _ was going on? we did a lot of talking to these _ was going on? we did a lot of talking to these companies i was going on? we did a lot of- talking to these companies through the trial to see how each of them were coping with these changes. there were lots of different ways in which the productivity went up. often people saying that they were unable to work at the same rate if they had a five day week, that they were pacing themselves. they knew it was a long time to friday on a monday. my guess is the most important thing is, once employers knew that if they found smarter ways of working, cutting out the wastage, it was a massive benefit for them, a 50% increase in their weekends. so everybody was looking to find ways to do things better. they were using creative solutions to

emma simpson, bbc news.have a listen to what he had to sa . . , ., let's have a listen to what he had tosa. . , ., ., let's have a listen to what he had tosa. ., ., .,, ., to say. that is great to be able to be with my _ to say. that is great to be able to be with my constituents, - to say. that is great to be able to be with my constituents, to i to say. that is great to be able to be with my constituents, to do i to say. that is great to be able to l be with my constituents, to do the job of being the secretary of state for stratford upon a in. —— at stratford—upon—avon. when i was elected back in 20101 said i would be the secretary of state for stratford—upon—avon and i make sure i continue to do that and i love being back in the constituency. it being back in the constituency. it has been a rough few months for you, you have told quite a bit about clearing your name, how is that going? what is the latest? i going? what is the latest? 1 completely accepted the going? what is the latest? i completely accep

emma simpson, bbc news.ly start to slow down in the second half of this year, and there are consumer experts who think that the competitive nature of retail in the uk might even bring prices down, if the supermarkets start ringing up their suppliers and pushing for a lower price. if you're looking for more information, support or advice you can find it online at the bbc�*s cost of living web page. just search for "bbc cost of living" in your browser. i suspect many people, along with the energy bill, who does the thing that people really notice and the cost they really want to come down. i have said to charlie, never before have i been in a supermarket i pick something up and put it down again because it has gone up so much. more than ou because it has gone up so much. more than you are — because it has gone up so much. more than you are willing _ because it has gone up so much. more than you are willing to _ because it has gone up so much. ire than you are willing to pay. absolutely. thank you. let's take a

emma simpson, bbc news, birmingham.ing across that in a park! the reptile — which has reportedly been nicknamed godzilla — was taken to a zoo by the park's authorities. helpfully very carefully! they said it was "very lethargic and possibly cold shocked" when it was found. it's not known how the animal — which is native to much warmer climates — had got there. it looks bigger than four feet. it is massive, four feet wide?! they is massive, fourfeet wide?! they think it may be a pet that had been released. you don't release an alligator in the park to you. i don't know what the alligators in the british parks are facing over the british parks are facing over the next few days but matt can tell us. good morning. another mild stay out there this morning — another mild stay out there this morning and it will continue but there _ morning and it will continue but there is— morning and it will continue but there is something chillier on the way towards the end of the day. —— end of— way towards the end of the day. —— end of th