a part of the paris 2024 opening ceremony. we'll tell you why shortly. hello and welcome to the programme. it could be the start of an historic new era in english men's football — the creation of the first independent regulator moved a step closer, after the government introduced new proposals. if passed into law, a new body would oversee clubs across england's top five tiers, independent of government and the footballing authorities. here's our sports editor, dan roan. whether it's controversy over teams docked points for overspending, clubs getting into financial difficulty or the threat of a european super league, english football has

faced various crises in recent years. and today, the government published legislation that will establish the game's first independent regulator. we the game's first independent reaulator. ~ . the game's first independent regulator-— regulator. we have seen 64 administrations _ regulator. we have seen 64 administrations into - regulator. we have seen 64 administrations into the - administrations into the premier league formed in 1992. today, this bill makes sure it will bring financial resilience and stability back into football so we don't see those clubs go under. it football so we don't see those clubs go under.— clubs go under. it comes 'ust da s clubs go under. it comes 'ust days aflerfi clubs go under. it comes 'ust days after the i clubs go under. it comes 'ust days after the premier h clubs go under. it comesjust| days after the premier league failed to agree a proposed £900 million funding deal that would have seen it share more with clubs like this, leyton orient of league 1. i clubs like this, leyton orient of league l— of league 1. i was hugely disappointed, _ of league 1. i was hugely disappointed, it's - of league 1. i was hugely disappointed, it's been i of league 1. i was hugely . disappointed, it's been clear from the outset in these discussions that if football didn't come to a deal, the regulator would be able to in the bill we were going to bring forward. figs the bill we were going to bring forward. �* , ., , the bill we were going to bring forward. �* , .,, forward. as well as the power to impose _ forward. as well as the power to impose financial _ forward. as well as the power| to impose financial settlement on the game and block clubs joining breakaway league, the regulator can issue club licenses linked to financial

security and fan power on key decisions, fine clubs up to 10% of annual turnoverfor of annual turnover for noncompliance and of annual turnoverfor noncompliance and implement a tougher owners and directors test. ii' . , tougher owners and directors test. ::' . , test. 2017, the club was almost in liquidation. _ test. 2017, the club was almost in liquidation. since _ test. 2017, the club was almost in liquidation. since then, - in liquidation. since then, bury have had to go through what they went through, the financial difficulties reading are going through. when you look at it from the outside in, there is definitely a concern and we want robust measures in place to protect football clu bs. place to protect football clubs. , , , clubs. this constitutes the most significant _ clubs. this constitutes the most significant reform i clubs. this constitutes the most significant reform to | clubs. this constitutes the - most significant reform to the way the game is run in england for a generation. but the premier league has said it's concerned about any unintended consequences that could weaken the competitiveness or appeal of the game here. the premier league reiterated it distributes £1.5 billion over three years to all levels of the game. some campaigners say the game. some campaigners say the legislation hasn't gone far enough, but the football league welcomed it. the gulf between

top and bottom has grown, it's a chasm. ~ ., a chasm. when we formed the premier league, _ a chasm. when we formed the premier league, the - a chasm. when we formed the premier league, the premier. premier league, the premier league turnover was £45 million. the esl was 34. the gap is now £3 billion, it is not reachable.— gap is now £3 billion, it is not reachable. they want this to become — not reachable. they want this to become law _ not reachable. they want this to become law before - not reachable. they want this to become law before the - to become law before the general election, it will not block state ownership of clubs and with the possibility of amendments, the finalform is still in place. —— in play. chelsea will fancy their chances of making the women's champions league semi—finals — after a convincing 3—0 win away at ajax, in the first leg of their quarter final tie. laurenjames got them on their way in amsterdam, in front of nearly 36,000 — a dutch record for a women's game. sjoeke nusken scored two, completing the comfortable victory ahead of the second leg next week. emma hayes�* side in pole position to reach a fifth european semi—final in six seasons. in the night's other

quarter—final tie, lyon beat benfica 2—1, but not without a scare. it was the portuguese side who led at half time — andreia faria putting benfica ahead. but lyon fought back after half—time — delphine cascarino equalised before sara dabritz scored the winner 11 minutes from time. the second leg is next wednesday. to tennis, and the bbc understands that aryna sabalenka is due to play as planned in the miami open. it follows the death of her partner konstantin koltsov on tuesday. having received a bye in the first round, sabalenka wasn't set to be in action until thursday or friday, although it's understood there may be discretion in the scheduling, given the circumstances. miami police have said in a statement that no foul play is suspected around koltsov�*s death. sabalenka will face paula badosa in that second round match, after she spoiled simona halep's return to the court, following a successful appeal to the court of arbitration for sport over her doping ban. badosa came from a set down

to win in three, in a match that lasted two hours. staying with tennis, the draw for the group stages of the davis cup have been made with defending champions italy set to face the netherlands, belgium and brazil in bologna. great britain will come up against canada, finland and argentina in manchester, as they try to reach the knockout stages in malaga later in the year. arguably, the toughest group appears to be in valencia, where spain will take on australia, france and the czech republic. for the third time in four years, australia's cricketers have withdrawn from an upcoming tour of afghanistan following the taliban's return to power in 2021. this time, they've withdrawn from a men's t20 three—match series in august because of continued restrictions on women and girls in the country, with cricket australia saying government advice is that conditions for females in afghanistan "are getting worse". the international olympic committee have confirmed athletes from russia and belarus will not be a part of the parade during the opening ceremony at paris 2024. qualified athletes from those countries will compete under a neutralflag,

following russia's invasion of ukraine two years ago. meanwhile, the ioc have also called the russian—organised friendship games "a cynical attempt to politicise sport", describing the event as a "purely politically motivated sports event". the inaugural summer friendship games are reported to be taking place in september, something the ioc have called a "blatant violation of the olympic charter". well, it's nowjust four months to go until the olympic games get under way in paris, and when it comes to final preparations, team gb is leaving nothing to chance. multiple state of the art training facilities have been set up around the city for british athletes. our reporter sarah dawkins was granted access inside the camps and sent this report. it may seem peaceful, but paris is preparing for an olympic takeover. but before the medals can be won, the hard work needs to be done, and for team gb, final preparations will take place here.

this is about 12 miles west of the city centre. it's home to a famous chateau and an even more famous football club in psg. but come the summer, this town will be swapping footballers for olympians. from rugby sevens to hockey to tennis, time is ticking as athletes hope to turn potential into podium finishes. around 140 british athletes from 12 different sports will pass through this complex in the final weeks and days before they compete. and no expense has been spared by the local community. this is a brand—new athletics track, designed to replicate the one used for competition at the stade de france. we are very good at travelling. our acclimatisation, our selection of preparation camps like this, where we are today, they are very, very acute in terms of the technical training and the competence.

and that's slightly been taken away from us just because of the geography of europe but we are still very confident in our plans. we left no stone unturned. such is the size of team gb, not all of the 350 predicted athletes will be able to train here. some will fine tune for longer in the uk while others will be here. welcome to reims, about 40 minutes from the olympic village. another french town, another state—of—the—art programme. nothing is left to chance, hundreds of thousands have been spent by the city on new facilities. a legacy investment to maximise british and ultimately french potential. when you explain that to other countries that you have that access, they are like, oh, my god, why don't we have that? you see that reflection in performances. team gb go out and do incredible things. it's all about the 1%

when you get to our level, we have done the hard training and if you can have an extra 1% against everybody else, it's beneficial. ambitious plans to stage the opening ceremony on the river seine means security concerns and the threat of a strike or two could rain on paris 2024's parade. but british athletes will be hoping to shut out the noise with olympic glory. sarah dawkins, bbc news, paris. finally, chris gayle, a man known for providing box—office moments with the bat for west indies, had the honour of kicking off the t20 world cup trophy tour in the grandest way, by lighting up the empire state building. gayle, a two—time champion, alongside usa star ali khan pulled the lever to illuminate the famous building in new york, with the trophy on top of the skyscraper. injune, 20 teams will be competing across the west indies and the usa, the first time a cricket world cup will be held in the us. you can get all the latest

sports news at from the bbc sport app, orfrom our website. bbc.com/sport. but from me and the rest of the team at the bbc sport centre, goodbye. hello. we are marking the spring equinox and for some parts of the uk, wednesday will bring some spring warmth just as tuesday did actually in parts of lincolnshire, 17 degrees, with some hazy sunshine in some relatively mild air. now, as we head through the next few days, we are going to start to see a change. the wind direction will change. we'll get into north or north westerly winds and that will bring a much colder feel in time for the weekend, but not just yet. a mild start to wednesday with extensive cloud cover, some mist and murk and some hill fog and some

outbreaks of rain. now, in many locations, the rain will turn increasingly light and patchy through the day, and for some, it will brighten up. in fact, if we see some hazy sunshine in the south east of england, temperatures could climb to 18 degrees. but parts of southwest england, wales, the midlands, eastern england are likely to stay grey with some bits and pieces of rain. it may brighten up a little bit across northern england and for northern ireland and for scotland, actually, the afternoon should bring a decent amount of sunshine. feeling quite pleasant in light winds — 11 or 12 degrees — just the small chance of a shower in the northeast of scotland. and then, through wednesday night, well, this window of clear skies moves southwards and eastwards. but that will be replaced by the end of the night across northern ireland and the western side of scotland by more cloud, more outbreaks of rain. this is our next frontal system. the winds will be strengthening as well. it is going to be a windy day, particularly in the northwest of scotland on thursday, with outbreaks of rain pushing southeastwards. that rain particularly heavy and persistent over high ground in the west of scotland.

further south and east, quite a lot of cloud, but where we see some sunny spells, again, it may feel warm — 17 degrees likely in the london area. but through thursday night and into friday, this cold front slips southwards and eastwards, and that will bring a change to colder conditions, a deep, low passing to the north of scotland that will bring some really strong winds, gales likely in the far north. for the northern half of the uk, there will be showers, some heavy, some thundery and some wintry up over higher ground. and for some places, temperatures will actually be dropping as the day wears on the afternoon — for example, in glasgow, around 8 celsius. we stay in that cold air for the weekend. they'll be showers, some of which will be wintry over high ground. and when we factor in the strength of the winds, it will feel decidedly chilly.

live from washington, this is bbc news. the us supreme court refuses to block a law that would allow texas to detain and deport suspected illegal migrants. a spokesperson for the world food programme tells the bbc that the food situation in gaza could get "darker" than it already is, without an immediate ceasefire. and we speak to a hong kong democracy activist about the territory's new security law, whch takes aim at various forms of dissent.

hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. the us supreme court is allowing texas to enforce one of the toughest immigration laws in the country. the law lets state officials arrest and deport people suspected of illegally crossing into the us from mexico. the court rejected a bid by the biden white house to block the controversial immigration policy, while a legal battle over the measure plays out in a lower federal appeals court. crossing the us border illegally is already a federal crime, but violations are usually handled as civil cases by the immigration court system. patrick svitek covers texas for the washington post. i asked him what impact this ruling will have. for the time being it allows texas to move forward with implementing this very aggressive law that really asserts, it's almost an unprecedented state role in

enforcing border immigration, which is a federal