this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm frankie mccamley. the headlines... growing tension in france — riots today in the west — after unrest in the capital. these are the dramatic scenes just a few mintues ago at least 23 people have died as violent storms triggered by a tornado rip through the southern us state of mississippi. security forces in france remain on high alert, after legislation to raise the state pension age caused massive protests.

the dispute, and outbreaks of violence, forced the authorities to postpone a planned state visit by the british monarch, king charles. meanwhile, separate demonstrations have begun in western france, linked to concerns over water usage by large—scale agricultural producers. it's feared the disputes could converge at a time of growing tensions. earlier i spoke to our paris correspondent bethany bell and she explained the background of the protests. the most dramatic one at the moment is this one we are seeing pictures of in western france, this was a demonstration that has been planned for a while. it was always expected to attract radical protesters, and we've seen at least two police vehicles in flames. we understand that police have used tear gas, and

that police have used tear gas, and that protesters have thrown fireworks at police, and there has also been use of water cannon. this is a separate protest from the very big protests we have seen against president macron�*s pension reforms. of course, it adds to the general atmosphere of anger, of uncertainty here in france, and a sense that many protesters are angry, and that it might develop a situation where you see generalised anger fuelling the pension reform protests. we are still looking — the pension reform protests. we are still looking at _ the pension reform protests. we are still looking at those _ the pension reform protests. we are still looking at those pictures - the pension reform protests. we are still looking at those pictures in - still looking at those pictures in western france, but where you are, in paris, are we expecting any further protests there? if so, is anyone he was heading to the capital, are tourists being given any information at the moment? i think you can see behind me that

there is a very heavy security presence here in the capital. overnight and this morning, paris has been quiet. we haven't seen the sort of widescale protests that we saw on thursday. but another day of national action has been planned for tuesday, the tenth day of national action. and one of the reasons that the visit of king charles was postponed is that the french government didn't want his visit to take place on that tenth national day of action. also, what has emerged here is the sense many of the protesters are angry with president macron because they perceive him, they say, somebody who is behaving above his powers. some of the protesters carried signs suggesting he was acting in a king —like manner, and the danger, that the government felt, was that if

there were pictures of emmanuel macron having dinner with king charles in the palace of versailles, that would not do his image any good. so, there is really a sense of crisis here. at the moment, people are not sure how this is going to be resolved. the government is saying that the pension reform was necessary, it was necessary for france's economy, but many french people here, even if they are on board with the idea of a pension reform, say they are concerned. they say they are concerned that president macron is not acting in a way that is compatible with democracy, as they see it here. while you are speaking, we are seeing pictures now of a bus that we understand has been lit on fire there, lots of police gathering around, it looks like things seem to be getting out of hand? yes. around, it looks like things seem to be getting out of hand?— around, it looks like things seem to be getting out of hand? yes, some of those cars. — be getting out of hand? yes, some of those cars. we _

be getting out of hand? yes, some of those cars, we know _ be getting out of hand? yes, some of those cars, we know they _ be getting out of hand? yes, some of those cars, we know they are - those cars, we know they are police vehicles. as i said, this was a protest that was always expected to attract radical protesters. the protesters themselves say that 30,000 people are there, the authorities say that 6000 people are there. 1000 of whom are radical and potentially contributing to this violence. as i said before, again, we understand that fireworks have been thrown at police, tear gas has been thrown at police, tear gas has been used by the police and water cannon in an attempt to bring the protest under control. but, yes, really a sense of anger there in western france.— several tornadoes have killed at least 23 people in the us state of mississippi. the authorities said the twisters left a trail of damage for more than a—hundred—and—fifty kilometres. trees and power lines were torn down, and tens of thousands of power outages reported. radar information indicated that , at one point, debris was being pulled more than 6000

metres into the sky. search and rescue operations are under way. our reporter david waddell is with me. 23 people killed, there are fears that it could rise higher than that, a number of people are missing, people are trapped under rubble in multiple locations. there was hail the size of golf balls, massive amounts of rain, absolutely widespread. in addition to this, affecting vast swathes of mississippi, there are concerns and mobilisation efforts to conduct rescue efforts if needs be, in alabama, to the east, tennessee to the north. you mentioned that rubble had been lifted, objects had been left at 6000 metres into the air. sam emerson, a meteorologist from the university of oklahoma, he said the university of oklahoma, he said

the fact that some degree has been lifted 9000 metres into the air, 30,000 feet. lifted 9000 metres into the air, 30.000 feet-— lifted 9000 metres into the air, 30,000 feet. . , . ., ., 30,000 feet. incredible. what are eo - le 30,000 feet. incredible. what are people saying _ 30,000 feet. incredible. what are people saying in — 30,000 feet. incredible. what are people saying in the _ 30,000 feet. incredible. what are people saying in the areas - 30,000 feet. incredible. what are people saying in the areas that - 30,000 feet. incredible. what are i people saying in the areas that have been affected? fine people saying in the areas that have been affected?— been affected? one small town in articular, been affected? one small town in particular, rolling _ been affected? one small town in particular, rolling fork, _ been affected? one small town in particular, rolling fork, all- been affected? one small town in particular, rolling fork, all that i particular, rolling fork, all that has been left of that tiny place is essentially rubble. cars were overturned and smashed, fences ripped up and trees uprooted. i have a quote from the mayor of rolling fork. he says, my city is gone. they call it a city in the us, we might regard to places like rolling fork as a town. he said, my city is gone, devastation a sailor from left to right, that is all i can see. the mississippi governor, tate reeve, said that the loss will be felt in these towns forever. please pray, he said, for god's hand to be over all of those who lost family and friends. of course, so many people have been killed, that may be many more. , ., ., have been killed, that may be many more, , ., ., ., have been killed, that may be many more. , . ., ., ., more. this area, we hear of tornadoes _ more. this area, we hear of tornadoes in _ more. this area, we hear of tornadoes in the _ more. this area, we hear of tornadoes in the united - more. this area, we hear of. tornadoes in the united states, more. this area, we hear of- tornadoes in the united states, but is this area specifically well known for weather systems like this? it

is, but not so much in march. we would be expecting soon at this time of year, from april, may and june to see tornadoes. not so much in march. as we experience more and more climate change, there is expectation that we will see more tornadoes and extreme weather events. i suppose people will fear notjust that extreme weather events. i suppose people will fear not just that we will have more extreme weather events in the usual window, but they might start to see some outside of that window too.— that window too. thank you very much. that window too. thank you very much- we _ that window too. thank you very much. we are _ that window too. thank you very much. we are going _ that window too. thank you very much. we are going to - that window too. thank you very much. we are going to be - that window too. thank you very i much. we are going to be following that story throughout the afternoon. the indian opposition leader rahul gandhi has said his disqualification by parliament on friday is politically motivated. he says it's an attempt to distract from accusations he made against prime minister narendra modi over his relationship with the billionaire businessman, gautam adani. mr ghandi also faces two years in prison after a court found him guilty of criminal defamation for a comment made at a rally where he disparaged mr modi's surname. mr ghandi is a leading figure in

the main opposition congress party. here he is speaking at a news conference on saturday. iam here, defending i am here, defending the democratic voice of the indian people. i will continue to do that. i am not scared of these threats, all these disqualifications, all these allegations, of these prison sentences. i don't care, i'm not scared of them, ok? these people don't understand me yet. i am not scared of them. they are used to everybody getting scared of them. i am not scared of them. i will continue to ask the question. what is the prime minister's relationship with mr adarni? it is an old relationship. mradarni with mr adarni? it is an old relationship. mr adarni constructed the idea of resurgent gujarat. this is a partnership, a close partnership, and i will keep asking that question.

let's get some of the day's other news. authorities in rwanda have released dissident from prison after his twenty—five year sentence for terrorism offences was commuted. the us citizen was sentenced in 2021 over his ties to a group opposed to president paul kagame. he is also widely known for his heroic acts during the 1994 genocide. sharp declines in banking shares in europe have renewed concerns that the panic triggered by the collapse of two us banks and rushed takeover of swiss giant credit suisse may not be easily contained. shares in germany's deutsche bank fell by 14% at one point on friday, with other lenders also seeing big losses. two people have died and another ten have been taken to hospital after border police in the united states stopped a train in texas. the stop came after an anonomous tip off. temperatures near where the train was intercepted have risen to almost 30 degrees. all of the victims are

believed to be migrants the hollywood actor gwyneth paltrow has told a court in the us that she did not cause a skiing accident in 2016 — in which the man suing her was injured. terry sanderson, wants more than a quarter—of—a—million dollars in damages — claiming the oscar winner is to blame for the long—lasting brain injury he suffered. our north america correspondent david willis reports. day four of this trial saw the oscar—winning actress take to the witness box to give her account of the ski slope collision she stands accused of causing. i was skiing and two skis came between my skis, forcing my legs apart, and then, there was a body pressing against me and there was a very strange grunting noise. so, my brain was trying to make sense of what was happening. ithought, "am i...? "is this a practicaljoke? "is someone, like, doing something perverted? "this is really, really strange."

my mind was going very, very quickly. more used to the red carpet of hollywood premieres than the austere surroundings of a utah courtroom, gwyneth paltrow denies she was to blame for a collision on the slopes of the upmarket ski resort park city that left a 76—year—old retired optometrist, terry sanderson, suffering from brain damage and broken ribs. his lawyers maintain she was skiing recklessly and, asked what effect the accident had had on mr sanderson, his daughter, shae, had this to say. my dad is very insecure. he doesn't show it, but he doesn't trust his brain any more. gwyneth paltrow told the court she felt sorry for mr sanderson but maintained that he hit her, rather than the other way around. mr sanderson's lawyers claimed she was distracted by her children and fled without checking if he was hurt. i think you have to keep in mind when you're the victim of a crash, right, your psychology is not necessarily thinking about the person who perpetrated it.

so, the answer to my question is...? no. ..no, you did not inquire? i did not. terry sanderson is due to give evidence next week, along with gwyneth paltrow�*s children, moses and apple. david willis, bbc news, washington. you are watching bbc news. operation chiffon was the codename given to a top—secret british intelligence operation that eventually paved the way for the good friday agreement — bringing an end to more than three decades of violence in northern ireland. at the centre of it all was an undercover agent known as robert. journalist peter taylor has spent more than 20 years tracking him down, and in a new documentary, he explains what really happened. explosion by the early 1990s, more than 3,000 people had been killed on all sides

in what was known as the troubles. explosion the continuing violence was fed by one question — should northern ireland remain in the united kingdom or become part of a united ireland? when peace finally came with the good friday agreement, i was convinced that an m15 secret agent had played a vital role in helping to make it happen. he ran a top secret back channel between the british government and the leadership of the ira. i've finally tracked him down, but following mis�*s rules, he lied to me and said he wasn't the man i was looking for. then, astonishingly, in 2021, i received a letter. "dear mr taylor, you will no doubt be "surprised to hearfrom me after so many years. "for a variety of reasons, i could now give you some background "which might fill in some gaps." explosion screams robert was due to meet senior republicans, but the government canceled the meeting after ira bombs

in warrington killed two children. robert disobeyed orders, sensing that, despite its campaign, the ira was looking for peace. at the meeting, he gave them an extraordinary prediction. "the final solution is a union. it's going to happen anyway. "this island will be as one." is that what you said? i must have done. that's what's in the minute that they took. if they wrote it down, then, yeah, it seems quite likely. but you had no authority to say that. no. and what you said flew directly in the face of what british government policy was? yes. those words were absolutely crucial because it appeared that behind the scenes the british government were secretly working towards a united ireland. the ira's goal, but to unionists treachery. but in the autumn of 1993,

with no sign of the violence ending, robert's secret mission was exposed. he resigned from m15. the operation looked like a failure. but that's not the end of the story. the ira still had a desire to carry on discussing a way forward, remembering robert's words — "the final solution is union. this island will be as one." i believe that robert's words helped pave the way for the cease fire and ultimately the good friday agreement of 1998. it also meant that an uncountable number of lives were saved. looking back, it's a degree of pride that i've played a small part in history, done some good in the world. peter taylor, bbc news. uk audiences can see

peter�*s full story on bbc 2 at 7pm tonight, at 9:50 in northern ireland — and it's also on the iplayer. and for international audiences there's full coverage on the bbc news website. travelling at 17,000 miles an hour, a massive asteroid dubbed the city killer, because of its size, is passing between the earth and the moon this weekend. experts say the asteroid will pass by safely and can be seen through binoculars and telescopes. here's richard galpin. it may look like a tiny dot, but this asteroid is 115 feet across and travelling at 17,000mph. it is coming comparatively close to our planet. if it were to hit our world, it could do significant damage. it's thought it could destroy a city. this is the moment when an asteroid hit russia back in 2013, damaging buildings and frightening the local population.

but, thankfully, this time scientists say there is nothing to worry about. it's just going to sail straight past us, so it's going to be moving really quite rapidly across the sky, so you'll see it move through lots of different constellations as the night progresses. but, yeah, this is not going to hit anything at all, it's just going to zip past between the earth and the moon. according to nasa, it is an important opportunity for astronomers to increase their knowledge of asteroids, in the event that a dangerous object were to be discovered with the potential to hit earth. all asteroids are kind of potato—shaped, they are irregular bits of rubble left over from the solar system's formation. but as this one comes closer, we'll be able to study it a bit more and maybe give a more realistic description of what it might look like. that's important, because it may not be the last time this asteroid visits planet earth. this orbits the sun as well, and that means, because it crosses earth's orbit, it will actually cross over again, and so therefore we will see it in a few years' time. check the night sky this evening

to see if you can spot it. richard galpin, bbc news. i've been speaking to dr ashley king who is a planetary scientist with the natural history museum. he explained how far the asteroid is and what this pass by will mean for us and researchers like him. we shouldn't be worried. it is definitely not going to hit us. but it is close. so, dizzy, the asteroid you mentioned that was discovered about a month ago, is going to pass just under 200,000 kilometres from the earth, about halfway to the moon. it will be nearby, but it is definitely not going to hit us. this asteroid was _ definitely not going to hit us. this asteroid was discovered around a month ago, is this normal, do we often find out about a month in advance that an asteroid is quite close to us?— advance that an asteroid is quite close to us? .,, ., , ., close to us? so, most asteroids are relatively small, _ close to us? so, most asteroids are relatively small, and _ close to us? so, most asteroids are relatively small, and they _ close to us? so, most asteroids are relatively small, and they tend - close to us? so, most asteroids are relatively small, and they tend to l relatively small, and they tend to be very dark. they are actually

quite difficult what is to detect. the big ones, we know where they are. the smaller ones, it is only when they get closer to us that we can spot them. sometimes it can be a month or so before they make their closest approach, before you even know they exist. once we have spotted them, we can track them really accurately and we can be confident working out that this one is not going to hit us. goad confident working out that this one is not going to hit us.— is not going to hit us. good news for us, is not going to hit us. good news for us. we _ is not going to hit us. good news for us, we will _ is not going to hit us. good news for us, we will be _ is not going to hit us. good news for us, we will be able _ is not going to hit us. good news for us, we will be able to - is not going to hit us. good news for us, we will be able to sleep l for us, we will be able to sleep tight tonight. you talk about the size, and also researchers like yourselves, how exciting are something like this for you? is it something like this for you? is it something you can gain intelligence on? $5 something you can gain intelligence on? �* , , something you can gain intelligence on? as you said, this is a once in a decade or— on? as you said, this is a once in a decade or so _ on? as you said, this is a once in a decade or so type _ on? as you said, this is a once in a decade or so type event. _ on? as you said, this is a once in a decade or so type event. this - decade or so type event. this asteroid is probably about 70 metres orso asteroid is probably about 70 metres or so in diameter. it is going to pass by quite close to the earth, and we are going to be able to study it. we will be able to use our observatories, use our telescope to look at this asteroid as it passes by. asteroids are amazing objects, they are kind of the leftover building blocks of our solar systems. they take us all the way

back to the start of our solar system, just over 11.5 billion years ago. they tell us how we ended up with planets like the earth. we are excited, it's a fantastic opportunity to learn what the asteroid is made from, what is it structure like, and what can it tell us about our origins. it is structure like, and what can it tell us about our origins.— us about our origins. it is not 'ust ou that us about our origins. it is not 'ust you that is — us about our origins. it is not 'ust you that is excited, i us about our origins. it is not 'ust you that is excited, i i us about our origins. it is not 'ust you that is excited, i am i us about our origins. it is notjust you that is excited, i am quite . you that is excited, i am quite excited. i would like to look outside my window. will somebody like me be able to see it with the naked eye, do we need binoculars or be in a certain part of the world? the chance of seeing it in the northern hemisphere, i think the naked eye, probably not. binoculars, probably a bit of a struggle. small telescopes, they have a chance of picking this up. it is going to pass by. it will be about ten minutes to eight this evening. if you can't do that, there will be lots of streams on the internet and you will be able to watch this thing as it whizzes past the earth.— to watch this thing as it whizzes past the earth. you talk about this and been quite — past the earth. you talk about this and been quite safe, _ past the earth. you talk about this and been quite safe, we _ past the earth. you talk about this and been quite safe, we are - past the earth. you talk about this and been quite safe, we are going| past the earth. you talk about this i and been quite safe, we are going to be ok, and i will keep repeating that. but what if one was to come

close to the earth? what mitigation measures are in place to protect us? that is a good question. people out there watching the skies, basically, looking out for these things and trying to detect them as quickly as we possibly can. recently, we had a nasa mission called doubt, that fired an impact into an asteroid to see what would happen, how does the dust come out? one of the and us was to slightly change the orbit of the asteroid. so, that is one of the ways we think, if one of these things is going to hit us at some point, we might be able to send a spacecraft to knock these things off their orbit, so they pass by the earth rather than hitting us. we have a mission coming up, called nasa respect, mission. one of the aims are still enough of the composition of asteroids, what their structure is, so we can develop plans for if they are going to hit us, we want to work out the best way to stop that happening.

two teenage boys have appeared in court this morning charged with murdering a 16 year—old who was stabbed to death in northampton. rohan shand died in kingsthorpe on wednesday. our correspondent angus crawford has more from northampton magisrates court. rohan shand was just 16 when he died. he was known to family and friends as fred. police say there was an incident in the kings thorpe area of the town at 3.30 on wednesday afternoon. they say that rohan received a single stab wound to the chest and died shortly afterwards. we know since his death there has been an online fundraising campaign to support his family, which has raised almost £20,000 already. immediately after the incident, there were four arrests, two adults, two teenagers. the adults were released without charge, but the two teenagers, aged 1a and

16, were charged last night with rohan's murder. they appeared before northampton magistrates today, they were remanded and will appear again at northampton crown court on monday morning. from the suburbs of paris to the cambridge university boat race crew — it's been quite the journey for 21—year—old noam mouelle. on sunday, he'll become one of a very small number of non—white oarsmen to take part in the historic annual contest on the river thames. he's been speaking to our sports reporter, james burridge. je m'appelle noam mouelle, etje prepare la boat race avec cambridge. it's quite something, i would say, it's very challenging. there is a lot of pressure, obviously. i've never been that stressed, stressed out about rowing in my entire life. noam mouelle's mum wanted him to do an outdoor sport. little did she know how far that sport would take him — from the suburbs of paris

to the wild and lonely great ouse, for one of rowing's biggest endeavours, the boat race. when you tell people in france, so people who don't do rowing, that you're doing the oxford—cambridge boat race, it's a bit like... it's hard for them to imagine, right? because it's something that seems very old—school and very uk—based, and seems like almost a glitch in the matrix. a french guy could do this thing. while the boat race has always had an international flavour — it attracts many rowers from around the world — it doesn't have a great reputation when it comes to diversity. in fact, noam is that rare exception this year. across the board, when you look at rowing clubs in this country, just 6% of its members come from diverse backgrounds. people in the uk mostly learn to row in schools, and for your school to have enough money, let's say, to have good rowing equipment and so on, you need to be in a private school. and it's only a certain demographic which goes into private schools,

which is why maybe you have a bit less diversity here in rowing, at least. but that's really not the case in france. people are just rowing in rowing clubs. and so, for example, you will have people who row for their school, but they use the facilities... so rowing—club facilities, which makes the sport definitely noticeably more diverse. british rowing say they're increasing the number of outreach programmes in under—represented communities and want to change the make—up of gb rowing. noam doesn't want to be a trailblazer, but is hopeful he can encourage more people into the sport. if someone feels like rowing is not for them because people who row are different from them, right? and if that person sees that i'm doing the boat race, let's say, or anyone else, and they think, "oh, maybe, maybe i could try, maybe i could give it a shot in my local club or in my school or whatever," well, yeah, definitely, i would say,

in that case, i'm happy. and if you were to win, what will the reaction be like in france? it will be pretty special. so they're getting a big screen to put in the rowing club, so that people can watch. so, like, all of the kids, some of the kids and the older people are going to watch this race live on the 26th. my parents are going to be there. many friends are going to be watching online as well. so i think if i win, yes, that would be... that would be very, very special. hello. another fairly changeable day ahead, but certainly our soggy march weather is continuing towards the end of the month. so we're going to see a mix of some sunshine, but also more of those showers. they won't be quite as heavy or as frequent as they were yesterday. and the blustery winds that we've

seen of late, especially in the south, are going to be gradually easing through the day. low pressure is going to just drift its way out towards the north sea, towards the east and a smaller ridge of high pressure for a time — it was going to be building in from the south—west. so if you're stuck underneath that weather front today across parts of southern scotland, northern england, for a time for northern ireland as well, it's going to be quite grey with outbreaks of rain. into the afternoon, there is some sunshine across the bulk of england and wales. still a scattering of showers, you could be seeing one or two heavy ones, perhaps the odd isolated rumble of thunder towards east anglia, lincolnshire, could be a bit of hail, but generally, they are not going to be as frequent or as heavy as we have seen. and brightening up too for northern ireland, north wales. here, we could see some sunshine, just one or two showers through the afternoon. but still staying damp and cloudy for much of northern england, central and southern scotland. a little bit of wintriness over the highest ground, as that cold air cuts its way in from the north. now, overnight tonight, the next area of fairly heavy rain sweeps its way eastwards

across the southern half of england and wales too. so a really soggy start to sunday morning in the south, but mild, five to seven degrees. colder conditions further north, particularly for the far north of england and scotland, where we're likely to see a bit of frost to start your sunday. so that colder air moving in from the north on sunday. further south, as low pressure drifts towards the east, we'll still see that mild air just holding on for parts of southern england, perhaps south wales, but colder conditions working in for many of us through the day. some wintry showers, some snowfall for parts of northern and eastern scotland, perhaps the odd snow flurry across the pennines. further south, cloud and rain through sunday morning gradually easing away towards the south and the east through into sunday afternoon, hopefully drying up for the cambridge—oxford boat race in the afternoon. temperatures in single figures for many of us, i think, on sunday, a coolerfeeling day, but we'll just about hold on to double figures in the far south—west. and don't forget, saturday night into the early hours of sunday, the clocks are going to spring forward by one hour. so it's the arrival of british summertime from sunday onwards. the weather not looking particularly summery over the next few days, but monday brings us a bit of a drier, quieter interlude. turns unsettled from tuesday onwards,

but things are warming up during the middle of the week. bye for now. this is bbc news. the headlines: growing tension in france — riots today in the west after unrest in the capital. these are the dramtic scenes from the last few hours in saint solines where demonstrators gathered for a banned protest against a new reservoir for agricultural irrigation. several tornadoes have killed at least 23 people in the us state of mississippi. the authorities said the twisters left a trail of damage for more than 150 kilometres. and revelations from an m15 spy who helped bring peace to northern ireland, has told the bbc he met ira leaders in march 1993, despite talks being called off by the british government. gwyneth paltrow, has repeatedly insisted that she was the victim