a virtual session of the welsh assembly _ might be.irtual session of the welsh assembly heard from the i might be. a virtual session of the - welsh assembly heard from the first minister mark drakeford. to welsh assembly heard from the first minister mark drakeford.— minister mark drakeford. to have lived such a _ minister mark drakeford. to have lived such a life _ minister mark drakeford. to have lived such a life at _ minister mark drakeford. to have lived such a life at the _ minister mark drakeford. to have lived such a life at the centre - minister mark drakeford. to have lived such a life at the centre of. lived such a life at the centre of world events, and in a way which made almost every experience of public rather than simply private interest, makes it even more remarkable still.— interest, makes it even more remarkable still. and that was the life of the duke _ remarkable still. and that was the life of the duke of _ remarkable still. and that was the life of the duke of edinburgh. - remarkable still. and that was the life

political leaders will be taking part in a bbc debate making their case to the government in the welsh assemblywe will be looking at the keyissues assembly. we will be looking at the key issues for voters to consider in all the elections which take place next thursday. they include the scottish parliament elections and we will hear the thoughts of the political scientists and pollster sirjohn curtis on how hollywood could change and the issues most concerning voters. and in england polls will decide who runs more than 140 councils and districts and as a by election in hartlepool and there are also 30 mayoral contests taking place including in london, birmingham, and liverpool. you are watching bbc news. in a week voters across the country will cast their ballots in a series of interactions. there are local councils and mayoral elections across england and national elections in scotland and wales. tonight it will be there voters in wales to hear from the leaders of the main parties in the bbc rails debate. we will be building up to that debate which starts in just under half an hour time. let us

by abolishing the welsh assembly we shall not only have a _ the welsh assembly we shall not only havecation service, but we will also prevent the break—up of the union. in the words _ the break—up of the union. in the words of— the break—up of the union. in the words of sir— the break—up of the union. in the words of sir tom jones, we are stronger— words of sir tom jones, we are stronger together as part of a united — stronger together as part of a united kingdom.— stronger together as part of a united kingdom. stronger together as part of a united kinudom. . ,, ,, , . united kingdom. thank you very much. so, len united kingdom. thank you very much. so. plenty to — united kingdom. thank you very much. so, plenty to discuss _ united kingdom. thank you very much. so, plenty to discuss tonight _ united kingdom. thank you very much. so, plenty to discuss tonight and - united kingdom. thank you very much. so, plenty to discuss tonight and i - so, plenty to discuss tonight and i think we can all agree we want to have a constructive and respectful debate. 0urfirst question have a constructiv

there'll be elections to the welsh assembly, the senedd, on the same day as those in scotland. e dodds pledged to put post—pandemic recovery first by freezing business rates and by creating a £500 million welsh towns fund. we want to make sure that we support our high streets and our small businesses. we want to abolish business rates and have a much more different model. on the mental health, we want a 24—7 mental health service. for our carers, we want to make sure they have the living wage and we want better working conditions for them. and finally, on the planet, we want to make sure that there is a better funded approach to our planet, and to make sure that we address climate change here in wales. returning to our main story — the funeral of the duke of edinburgh. as we heard earlier from the archbishop of canterbury, the scale of loss over the last year, combined with covid restrictions, has meant that hundreds of thousands of families haven't been able to say goodbye to loved ones in the way they would have wanted. small funerals, limited wakes and social distancing have

but before then there is the small matter of the welsh assembly election and how will the results of t of welsh society? tomas morgan, bbc news, cardiff. the british—iranian woman nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe has been sentenced to another year in jail in tehran after being found guilty of "propaganda" against the regime in iran. let's speak to our correspondent caroline hawley. another bitter blow for the family. very bitter blow. her husband richard said this was a really bad sign, it is what herfamily had feared. at the moment she is at her parents' house and has not been summoned to appear in prison. but this is the court case came about a week after her five year sentence on charges of working against the regime had ended and her ankle tag had been removed. what happened this morning is that her lawyer was summoned to the office of the judge who had tried her and he was told about this verdict, the one—year sentence, the one—year travel ban. it has been condemned by the foreign secretary as totally inhumane and wholly unjustified and by the prime minister as just plain wrong. carolin

political leaders will be taking part in a bbc debate making their case to the government in the welsh assembly thoughts of the political scientists and pollster sirjohn curtis on how hollywood could change and the issues most concerning voters. and in england polls will decide who runs more than 140 councils and districts and as a by election in hartlepool and there are also 30

but before then there is the small matter of the welsh assembly election and how will the results of ommission has launched legal action against astrazeneca over its contract for the supply of covid vaccines and for not having what it called a "reliable" plan for timely deliveries. the two sides have been in dispute over the matter for several months. an eu spokesman said the action was launched on behalf of the 27 member states. in response, astrazeneca has issued a statement expressing regret at the news. around half—a—million more people in england can now book their first coronavirus vaccine. alt—year—olds should receive a text message inviting them to get a jab. 40—t0—43 year olds in england are expected to be contacted later this week. the health secretary says it's �*a huge few days for vaccinations�*. our health correspondent jim reed reports. in places like this football ground in wimbledon, the vaccination drive continued this morning. all those aged 44 years old being invited to book theirjabs in england, with those from 40—15 likely to be added later this week. people are

all members of the welsh assembly.as well as a whole sweet of other directly elected mayors, 13 of them. how are these elections conducted? it might be a bit more complicated than you think, it depends where you live and what you are voting in. in scotland and wales you get two votes, one for your local constituency member, and another for the regional list. this vote effectively helps parties which do not do so well in the local constituencies but do still do well overall in the election, it tops up their representation and gives them extra seats and makes the overall system more proportional. but that is different of course if you are living in england. in english local councils, it is our old friend, first—past—the—post. one photo, one candidate, one vote, whichever candidate, one vote, whichever candidate gets one more vote than all of the other candidates, they are elected, whichever party controls more than 50% of the seats in a local chamber, they control the local council, and if they are not able to get more t

a virtual session of the welsh assembly heard from the first minister mark drakeford. in a way which made almost every experience of public rather than simply private interest, makes it even more remarkable still. and that was the life of the duke of edinburgh. he had stepped onto the national stage before most of the day's political leaders were born. today, they spoke out in their appreciation of him. nicholas witchell, bbc news. emily nash is the royal editor of hello magazine. all the duke's children have issued personal— all the duke's children have issued personal statements are now the two grandchildren, william and harry, as well. , ., , , , grandchildren, william and harry, as well. , ., ,, i, ., well. obviously extremely personal matters in terms _ well. obviously extremely personal matters in terms of _ well. obviously extremely personal matters in terms of their _ well. obviously extremely personal matters in terms of their early - matters in terms of their early childhood but were you surprised by what some would consider the sting, the barbs in both state

a virtual session of the welsh assembly heard from the first minister mark drakeford.lic rather than simply private interest, makes it even more remarkable still. and that was the life of the duke of edinburgh. he had stepped onto the national stage before most of the day's political leaders were born. today, they spoke out in their appreciation of him. this nicholas witchell, bbc news. he lived the life of public service and was also a grandfather. for those watching on bbc world news — we'll be right back. the veteran liberal democrat politician baroness williams has died at the age of 90. as shirley williams she served in two labour cabinets in the 1970s and was instrumental in the introduction of comprehensive schools. in the 1980s she was one of the so—called gang of four this who founded the social democratic party. the former leader of the liberal democrats lord steel paid tribute to her: i always remember the photograph taken of the two of us sitting, we have published a document, a joint document and iforget have published a document, a joint document and i fo

democrats who hope to retain their one seat in the senedd and also the leader of the abolish the welsh assembly. what are the indications from | polls. what are the indications from ullin: ? polls. what are the indications from pulling? we — polls. what are the indications from pulling? we do _ polls. what are the indications from pulling? we do not _ polls. what are the indications from pulling? we do not have _ polls. what are the indications from pulling? we do not have a - polls. what are the indications from pulling? we do not have a wealth i polls. what are the indications from \ pulling? we do not have a wealth of polling data here in wales. what pulls we have show that labour is in the lead as the biggest party, as it has been through two decades of devolution. behind them, then, is a bit of volatility for plaid cymru and the conservatives, but really quite a close race between them for second place, or so it would seem. the likelihood is that there will be some need for discussions between the parties in the aftermath of the election. coalitions and minority government have been a feat

signal and a change in the way farmers are treated, i hope they will vote conservative in the welsh assemblyer gave a commitment in his election manifesto to introduce legislation to protect those men and women from vexatious prosecutions. will the prime minister and by and on other commitment? i prime minister and by and on other commitment?— commitment? i thank my right honourable _ commitment? i thank my right honourable gentleman - commitment? i thank my right honourable gentleman very - commitment? i thank my right - honourable gentleman very much, testable, for his service. i know the whole house will agree and i want to say, put on record by the way, my thanks to the former ministerfor way, my thanks to the former minister for veterans way, my thanks to the former ministerfor veterans for all way, my thanks to the former minister for veterans for all that he did to help with improving the lot of veterans across our country. we have protect many veterans with the overseas operations ill. there is more to be done in the case of veterans in northern ireland, of the northern ireland confl

but before then there is the small matter of the welsh assembly election and how will the result of thatccepts the oscar on his behalf. it was the final award of the night, and meant the oscars had a very flat ending. but four hours later he posted his acceptance speech on instagram. here i am in my homeland in wales. and at 83 years of age, i did not expect to get this award, i really didn't. i am very grateful to the academy and thank you. and i want to pay tribute to chadwick boseman who was taken from us far too early. earlier, britain's daniel kaluuya was named best supporting actor for playing the black panther fred hampton injudas and the black messiah... the black panthers are forming a rainbow coalition of oppressed brothers and sisters of every colour. ..and managed to thoroughly embarrass his sister. like, it's incredible. my mum, my dad, they had sex. it's amazing. like, do you know what i'm saying? i'm here! do you know what i mean? so, i'm so happy to be alive. there was a very different feel to this year's oscars. it was far less star—studded, there were very few laughs an

welsh government's decisions can define daily life. others say it's made a case for scrapping the senedd. why do we have mps and assembly? why is that happening? because... why are we squandering money, mark, on vanity projects? the question of welsh independence kept returning. some see it as a distraction that could cause real harm. a strong union benefits wales, and wales benefits the union. so this break—up that adam wants to see and the constitutional chaos that would come from that referendum that he wants to put on the table over the next five years would detract from the work of the nhs and rebuilding after covid. with just one lib dem in the last senedd this election is existentialfor some. their message tonight, all about revival. i make one promise to you, that the welsh liberal democrats will put recovery first — recovery of our economy, recovery of our mental health, recovery of our planet. after a year of keeping our distance, the parties hope people are now ready to re—engage. they've just seven days left to win over the voters. hywel griffith, bbc news. it's a rare inherited eye condition which eventuall