the pentagon says it will "rush" patriot air defence missiles and artillery ammunition to ukraine as part of its new $6 billion military aid package. it comes as ukraine says russia has carried out another air attack. scotland's first minister, humza yousaf, insists he won't resign after a week of political turmoil. he's expected to spend the weekend announcing policies to shore up support ahead of two potential no confidence votes next week. king charles returns to official public engagements as doctors say wildlife in antarctica is being exposed to potentially damaging levels of uv thanks to a hole in the ozone layer and bushfire. scientists say animals and plants are at risk from the raise.

a hole in the ozone layer over antarctica, that's fuelled by smoke from wildfire events in australia, is exposing wildlife to protentially damaging levels of uv light. scientists from the university of wollongong say animals and plants are having to put more energy into avoiding the rays. here's our science correspondent victoria gill. the ozone layer that protects us from the sun's most harmful rays is healing gradually. but in antarctica, in cold high atmospheric clouds, a hole in that layer still appears every year. that ozone thinning or loss used to peak in september or october, when animals and plants are tucked under winter snow and marine animals are protected by sea ice. but it's now lingering until december, well into the antarctic summer, when wildlife is much more vulnerable. researchers say that's been driven in part by smoke from the australian

wildfires in 2019 and 2020, which were fuelled by climate change. the researchers found evidence that antarctic plants might have to put more energy into producing their own protective sunscreen compounds. and krill, the marine crustaceans that are the foundation of the food chain in antarctica, move deeper into the ocean to avoid ultraviolet rays. while penguins and seals are covered by protective feathers and fur, scientists say exposure to harmful rays could damage their eyesight. the researchers say we can no longer take the recovery of the ozone layer for granted. it's more evidence, they point out, that carbon emissions have to be reduced quickly so that more bushfires don't put extra pressure on a vital shield in our atmosphere. victoria gill, bbc news. we were joined by one of the authors of this research, distinguished professor sharon robinson from the university of wollongong. as pa rt of

as part of our work on the united nations environment programme, we have to look at how the uv and ozone depletion or change across the globe. a paper came out in the last few years which showed the uv index, which is the number we got on our phones which tells us whether we need to wear sunscreen, had gone up in antarctica from six, which is moderate, to m, which is extreme. 14 moderate, to m, which is extreme. 1a is what we have in summer in sydney. so that huge difference, which had occurred because of ozone depletion, made us think about also, what does that mean for the animals and plants that live in antarctica? and in the last four years, even though ozone is recovering, we've seen that the ozone hole has started in september and extended through to december. that was particularly concerning for me, because as a biologist, i know that's when most of the biology turns up in antarctica, to breed, pups are born,

penguin chicks hatching and all the plants and animals come out from under the snow, so everything is happening. so uv at that time of year could be really concern for all those and plants. find year could be really concern for all those and plants.— those and plants. and 'ust talk us throu~h those and plants. and 'ust talk us through what * those and plants. and 'ust talk us through what has _ those and plants. and just talk us through what has caused - those and plants. and just talk us through what has caused this - those and plants. and just talk us through what has caused this i . those and plants. and just talk us i through what has caused this i think it is specifically the wildfires we've seen in australia. 50. it is specifically the wildfires we've seen in australia. so, any chemicals _ we've seen in australia. so, any chemicals we — we've seen in australia. so, any chemicals we inject _ we've seen in australia. so, any chemicals we inject into - we've seen in australia. so, any chemicals we inject into the - chemicals we inject into the stratosphere, many chemicals could destroy ozone. the 2019—20 bushfires were particularly intense so we know that bushfire smoke cut up into the stratosphere as a result of that, that then gets distributed across the globe and it ended up affecting the globe and it ended up affecting the ozone hole for the following year, so that next summer, the ozone hole was particularly large and extended into december that year. then we had two large volcanic eruptions, and again, volcanoes spew soffits into the stratosphere or in the case of the big hunger tonga

volcano, there produce a lot of water vapour, which out into the stratosphere and because of a such a big explosion, it caused more ozone depletion. so even with the montreal protocol reducing cfcs most of those chemicals that we have been producing being taken out of the stratosphere, there is still this thread to the ozone layer because of new chemicals being injected into the stratosphere. new chemicals being in'ected into the stratosphere._ new chemicals being in'ected into the stratosphere. professor sharon robinson from _ the stratosphere. professor sharon robinson from the _ the stratosphere. professor sharon robinson from the university - the stratosphere. professor sharon robinson from the university of. robinson from the university of wollongong. here in the uk, the government's being urged to take urgent action to stop unpaid carers unwittingly racking up thousands of pounds worth of debt. carers are entitled to nearly £82 per week in benefits — but only if they earn less than £151 in take home pay from otherjobs. tens of thousands of carers owe money because of benefit overpayments. 0ur reporter dan whitworth has the details. good girl, thank you. unpaid carers who look after a loved

one do an incrediblejob — often 2a hours a day, seven days a week, with very few breaks — their lives dedicated to caring for someone else. of the nearly six million carers across the uk, just under a million receive carer�*s allowance — that's worth about £80 a week. 175,000 of them also have a job, but there's an earnings limit of £151 take—home pay a week. go above that limit — even byjust a few pence — and you lose the entire allowance. that's what happened to karina, who cares for her daughter, amber, who has complex needs and requires around—the—clock care. karina unknowingly earned slightly above the limit at her part—time supermarketjob, due to overtime, but wasn't told by the department for work and pensions for three and a half years, so is now in the middle of slowly paying back £11,000. the system has to be a lot simpler.

the forms need to be easier to fill in so you don't make these mistakes. you have to be... they need to stop the cliff edge so that if you earn over 50p too much, then maybe they take that away, not take all of it. because they're pushing people into poverty. labour mp stephen timms, who chairs parliament's work and pensions committee, is urging the government to act quicker to warn those who have exceeded the earnings limit. the problem is most of those notifications seem to be completely ignored, so people carrying on — carry on receiving the benefit, even though they aren't entitled to it, and even though the department has been notified about that. we end up with these enormous accidental overpayments, which should never have been allowed. the dwp says overpayments account for 2.1% of its £3.3 billion annual spend on carer�*s allowance.

that works out at around £2,000 worth of debt for each of the 311,000 carers with overpayments in the last year. what we would like to see is a fundamental review of ca rer�*s allowance and all benefits around it, because it is a very complicated system, and if you take one little bit of it, it will impact on all the others, so it needs a fundamental review. in the short term, we need the overpayments to be written off by this government in order to stop penalising the very lowest—paid unpaid carers, who are looking after our most vulnerable in society. in a statement, the dwp said... with growing political and public pressure on this issue, campaigners will be hoping it stays

that way in the weeks and months to come. dan whitworth, bbc news. elon musk�*s social media platform x has defended publishing posts showing a bishop in australia being stabbed during a sermon. the app, formerly known as twitter, rejected a regulator's order to take down the content due to it being violent and offensive. in a post on friday, x's "global government affairs" account said... it also said the content can be reasonably considered as part of public discussion or debate, under australian law. the order to take down the footage has sparked heated public exchanges between mr musk and australian officials. they claim that police have fears of the footage being used to encourage people to join terrorist groups. dan svantesson is a professor specialising in internet law — he explained how big a story

this is in australia. this is dominating the news during the week, and more heated debates and more people exercising their free speech on this matter, the temperature has really risen. ranging from elon musk being jailed two politicians being the enemy and threatening people and so on. such comments have been made. 50 threatening people and so on. such comments have been made. so what is the lehal comments have been made. so what is the legal position _ comments have been made. so what is the legal position on _ comments have been made. so what is the legal position on this _ the legal position on this particular issue?- the legal position on this particular issue? the legal position on this articular issue? ~ , ., particular issue? well, the starting hoint here particular issue? well, the starting point here i — particular issue? well, the starting point here i think _ particular issue? well, the starting point here i think is _ particular issue? well, the starting point here i think is that _ particular issue? well, the starting point here i think is that every - point here i think is that every responsible and mature platform should be deleting this sort of content voluntarily. 0ther content voluntarily. other platforms, you know, the big ones we are used to have already done so, but x for some rather mysterious reason, decided to fight a sort of

free speech fight on this particular issue. the problem i think is that there is no realfree speech issue. the problem i think is that there is no real free speech value in the content in question. so to frame it as a free speech issue has been a bit misguided. the real issue, i think, been a bit misguided. the real issue, ithink, is been a bit misguided. the real issue, i think, is the impact that global take—down orders can have on the internet as a whole. 50 global take-down orders can have on the internet as a whole.— the internet as a whole. so what are our the internet as a whole. so what are your personal _ the internet as a whole. so what are your personal thoughts? _ the internet as a whole. so what are your personal thoughts? is - the internet as a whole. so what are your personal thoughts? is a - the internet as a whole. so what are your personal thoughts? is a case i the internet as a whole. so what are your personal thoughts? is a case of free speech? i your personal thoughts? is a case of free speech?— free speech? i don't think there is an free free speech? i don't think there is any free speech — free speech? i don't think there is any free speech value _ free speech? i don't think there is any free speech value in _ free speech? i don't think there is any free speech value in the - any free speech value in the content. x should have removed it from the start. the unfortunate situation in now is that the safety commissioner has had to step in and it's going to court and so on. and then there are things that my view have been in the wrong direction too, in that the court order is global removal. x had the ability to make its content inaccessible to australians about the safety commissioner did not see that a

sufficient and requested global take—down. you can imagine how quickly that escalates, if every country can ask every platform to remove anything that is unlawful in a given country. hamas has insisted that it won't release any more israeli hostages without an end to the war in gaza, after the group released a video of one israeli—american captive, hersh goldberg—polin. his parents have urged both sides to "seize the moment and get a deal done". 0ur middle east correspondent lucy williamson has been speaking to one former hostage, moran stella yanai, about the conditions she was held in, and fears for those who remain. through the night, we had hunches and we felt something is going on. just after dawn on the 7th of october, moran stella yanai heard the first sounds of hamas gunmen approaching the nova festival site. half of the people of 232 road was already murdered and people

in the tent area was already murdering and we didn't know. as the gunmen stormed the site, she ran into nearby fields. twice she says she was caught by groups of hamas followers and talked her way out by pretending to be arab. the third time, she wasn't so lucky. i heard "cuckoo" and we raised our head up and the terrorists were standing on top of the mountain, smiling, happy. "we found them." she was put in a car with nine gunmen and driven into gaza. it's like a bull being entered to an arena. everybody�*s happy. the civilians, the children, the women, the men. and then the car door opened. and then i felt somebody trying to pull my leg. and then i felt a pipe in my knee. all we can think of at that point is please let it end fast,

like one hit to the head and i will not feel anything. moran was held captive for sa days, moved between seven different locations, quickly learning strategies to survive. what happened in the first house. . .stay there. doesn't come with you to the second house. it will not come with you to the third house. you need really to protect your story and come to the new house. my friends — "what are you talking about?" i'm fine, the terrorists, the hamas, everybody. why? because... ..if something will happen to a girl, in the arab culture, they will probably kill the terrorist and the girl, too. you mean something sexual? yeah. what happened in this house left in this house. so it's not only sexual, it's also violent. what did happen?

for me, it was more violence. it's like when you move from house to house, you need to be examined to see if you're not hiding something on you. it's a really necessary test, as they explained it to you. i always try to explain to people that "rape" is a really big word. it's not only the act. even when a guy stands in the front of your door, and you sit down and he's staring at you for ten minutes straight. it's power. five, six times a day, every day for sa days.

trust me. that's rape. moran was released in a ceasefire deal last november in exchange for palestinian prisoners held in israeli jails. her hamas captors filming the handover. i heard that people were saying, "but they were happy, looking happy when they came out," you know. nobody heard the whisper under the nose that i'm saying to the boy next to me, it's like, "hold on five more minutes. do not start to cry now. stay smiling. 0k? do not cry now." like, the minute we cross the border to egypt, we waited for that minute that we can scream and cry, because we couldn't do it. we couldn't do it. we were hiding on the first day. we couldn't do it when they were dragging us into gaza. and we couldn't do it

when we sat down in the houses. 0bviously, that's the first thing i promise to myself, that the minute will step in my country, i will scream the loudest i can. because nobody will take my voice any more. staying in the us — pro—palestinian protests are continuing at major universities as several have called police in — leading to hundreds of arrests. at columbia university in new york — the epicenter of the demonstrations — a student leader has been barred from the campus over comments he previously made. at the same time, columbia's senate, which makes decisions on behalf of students and teachers, has voted to investigate how the university's leadership handled the protests. nomia iqbal reports from new york. another day and another encampment has cropped up in the us. in this part of new york, students camped outside the city college. we should make sure that the administration knows

that we will not back down. sarah is palestinian—american. students here and faculty here are not scared of anything. they're willing to risk their careers. risk their schools, their personal lives. they know that there is a risk of arrest. they know there is a risk of suspension. but they're willing to stand here and risk it all for palestine and for divestment. sergei once studied here. i came here out of curiosity... he describes himself as very pro—israel. i do find it unfair that certain groups are allowed to occupy public space, block people's access to those spaces. i do find it offensive when my people are accused of genocide, when we defend ourselves. but at the same time, i do recognise freedom of speech, freedom of assembly. this protest is peaceful. though as the crowds grow, so does the police presence. tensions between officers and students have led to an escalation across many parts of america. from georgia to texas... you are under arrest l for criminal trespasss. ..to ohio and california,

there have been hundreds of arrests with students accused of trespassing. the protests were started here by columbia university students more than a week ago. tensions have been fraught between those who are pro—palestinian and those who are pro—israeli, both accusing each other of hate speech. one student has since apologised for prior remarks saying zionists "don't deserve to live." khymanijames has now been barred from the protest site. it's much calmer here today at columbia university, but the students in the encampment behind me aren't budging on their demands. they and other students who are protesting across the country are calling on their universities to essentially cut economic and academic ties with israeli institutions. all of our demands have to be achieved in orderfor us to leave the encampment. we're asking for financial transparency. we're asking for cops off campus. we're asking for amnesty

for all students that have faced disciplinary charges or have been suspended or arrested. tali is one of those students. i think it was veryjarring to be placed in zip ties and held for that long. but i will also say as kind of frustrating and angry and scary as it was, i was also very proud to be standing in solidarity with my peers. american campuses have long been political battlegrounds. the october 7th attacks in israel are the latest flashpoint, with many universities struggling to rein in the turmoil. nomia iqbal, bbc news, new york. now, the post office—horizon it inquiry was hearing more evidence during the week. yesterday former a senior post office executive faced questions about the suicide of a sub postmaster — who was being pursued for apparent losses at his branch. 0ur reporter marc ashdown has the details. angela van den berg, a top executive

at the post office for many years, viewed by the ceo as a safe pair of hands should handle all issues regarding missing money and it faults. ., faults. the truth, the whole truth and nothing _ faults. the truth, the whole truth and nothing but _ faults. the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the _ faults. the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth... - faults. the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth... overj and nothing but the truth... over two da s and nothing but the truth... over two days of— and nothing but the truth... over two days of questioning - and nothing but the truth... over two days of questioning she repeatedly insisted she lacked the skills and knowledge to investigate. the council for the inquiry should his frustrations. just the council for the inquiry should his frustrations.— his frustrations. just take a step back from the _ his frustrations. just take a step back from the answer _ his frustrations. just take a step back from the answer of - his frustrations. just take a step back from the answer of an - back from the answer of an automaton. what does that mean? that is automaton. what does that mean? that musl— automaton. what does that mean? that isjusl word _ automaton. what does that mean? that isjust word of automaton. what does that mean? that is just word of super.— is just word of super. another solicitor asked _ is just word of super. another solicitor asked her _ is just word of super. another solicitor asked her about - is just word of super. another solicitor asked her about an i is just word of super. another - solicitor asked her about an e-mail solicitor asked her about an e—mail she was sent in 2010 suggesting the horizon it system could be accessed remotely. pare horizon it system could be accessed remotel . �* , ., horizon it system could be accessed remotel . �* i. , horizon it system could be accessed remotel . �* , , ., , remotely. are you being dishonest about this now, _ remotely. are you being dishonest about this now, or _ remotely. are you being dishonest about this now, or why _ remotely. are you being dishonest about this now, or why are - remotely. are you being dishonest about this now, or why are you - remotely. are you being dishonest about this now, or why are you in l about this now, or why are you in exclusively— about this now, or why are you in exclusively negligent _ about this now, or why are you in exclusively negligent at - about this now, or why are you in exclusively negligent at the - about this now, or why are you inl exclusively negligent at the time? i'm exclusively negligent at the time? l'rn nol— exclusively negligent at the time? l'rn not being _ exclusively negligent at the time? i'm not being dishonest _ exclusively negligent at the time? i'm not being dishonest about- exclusively negligent at the time? i'm not being dishonest about it. i i'm not being dishonest about it. had this registered with me at the time, if i'd seen it, i would have had a different outlook on what's

come next, but i clearly didn't, because i hadn't read it. at the time. ,, , time. sub-postmaster martin griffiths because _ time. sub-postmaster martin griffiths because in _ time. sub-postmaster martin griffiths because in life - time. sub-postmaster martin griffiths because in life afterl griffiths because in life after being hounded over £100,000 which was supposedly missing from his branch in chesher. while he lay seriously ill and dying in hospital, post office executives exchanged e—mails and discussed engaging a media lawyer. is that what it was like working in the post office at this time, that the first thought was, we need a media lawyer here? i don't think it is the first thought, it was definitely a consideration in everything that we are doing around pr and the comms element, it was i was a consideration. the pr and the comms element, it was i was a consideration.— pr and the comms element, it was i was a consideration. the only way to sto- it is was a consideration. the only way to stop it is to — was a consideration. the only way to stop it is to prove _ was a consideration. the only way to stop it is to prove that _ was a consideration. the only way to stop it is to prove that i'm _ was a consideration. the only way to stop it is to prove that i'm not - was a consideration. the only way to stop it is to prove that i'm not a - stop it is to prove that i'm not a thief. it must be a bug. she also confirmed that mr griffiths' widow was ordered to sign a gag order in

return for staggered compensation payments and hopping on a legal challenge to clear his name. i haven't got the money and i don't know where it's gone.— know where it's gone. former sub-postmistress _ know where it's gone. former sub- postmistress jo - know where it's gone. formerj sub-postmistress jo hamilton know where it's gone. former - sub-postmistress jo hamilton has sub—postmistressjo hamilton has also been central to the drama. she also been central to the drama. she also said there have been no clear answers. i'm quite happy to wait, i think the truth will come out in the end, whether it comes out in a court of law, wejust end, whether it comes out in a court of law, we just have to wait. but i'm patient. described by victims as an intimidating bully, she time and again denied those claims and how essential she was to how this scandal unfolded. don't be fooled by the weather, it is spring, which for many, usually means it's time for a clean and spruce up, including for one of london's most famous landmarks, tower bridge. a team of specialist window cleaners, with a good head for heights, have been abseiling from the tower�*s high—level walkways. 0ur reporter vince rogers has more.

dangling from ropes off the famous london landmark are a team of abseilers reaching the parts that others can't reach. what i'm doing now is i'm protecting the ropes as we go underneath, as humans don't do too well when they fall from heights. so what we've done is we've put platforms underneath. what the team will do is they will abseil over the platform as works positioning, clip into the steel beams underneath, and that way they can safely traverse and carry out the cleaning of the glazing. it's all right, that. the walkways have glass floors for spectacular views of the bridge below, but now they've become a bit grimy and they've been clean for the first time. years of grime coming out of there, vince. look at that! beautiful. look at that. what we're doing is we're cleaning with a nylon brush. we're using purified water,

which doesn't leave any imperfections. so when you use it on the glass, it's like this, it dries spot free, which means we haven't got to squeegee it off and get rid of any excess water, just a good rinse like that does thejob. the bridge had to be closed through the night for the work to take place was but, of course, river traffic was flowing as normal. have you ever done anything like this before? we have done it on smaller bridges, but nothing quite of this stature nor of this prestige as well. so it's a huge honour, a huge privilege as well. the cost of this extreme window cleaning won't be picked up by the taxpayer, it will be picked up by an ancient charity called the city bridge foundation. is there a lot of grime up there? there's not a lot, because it's on the underside the bridge, the dirt doesn't get there, the rain doesn't get there particularly much, but it is now needed,

particularly as you can see on the shelves and the steel work you can see the dirt attracting and accumulating there. yeah, you can see years ofjust coming out there, it rinses off. lovely as well. though it's essentially only a matter of cleaning windows, this is a job that luke and his team will remember for a long time to come. that was vince rogers reporting. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. hello. it's a weekend of mixed fortunes weather—wise because things are still very unsettled. some rain around at times and it is going to feel chilly for the time of year as well. if you are after a bit of warmer weather, you might well see it into next week, but the weather still remaining pretty unsettled. low pressure never very far away. we have it to the south at the moment towards the bay of biscay, that low pressure approaching us from the south. we have an area of cloud and patchy rain through central parts of england and wales for the rest

of the day. that rain tending to peter out as it pushes northwards. some sunny spells and a few scattered heavy showers around the south coast but then the next area of rain works into the south later on in the afternoon. for northern england, scotland and northern ireland, much of the day will see some sunshine, a largely dry picture but there will be some scattered showers, most frequent across the north—west of scotland. it is going to feel cool, particularly under the cloud. this evening and tonight, that area of rain pushes its way northwards across the bulk of england, much of wales as well. it could be really quite heavy. under the cloud and rain in the south and east, it is going to be relatively mild but across scotland and northern ireland, cold night, under those clear skies, a touch of frost. not as cold as last night. low pressure still with us tomorrow. it's pushing its way gradually northwards and eastwards so that rain through the morning sits across parts of north—east england into east wales, central southern england. some heavy showers, perhaps thunderstorms for the likes of east anglia. that rain pushing the east of scotland,

windy close to the east coast and it is going to feel chilly. 8 to 10 degrees. over the rest of scotland, northern ireland, wales and south england highs of up to 13 degrees. this stage in the week it is moving on from the west so showery rain from northern ireland, western parts of england and wales. dry and a little bit warmer. 16 degrees or so, only 12 for the likes of belfast. low pressure still looks like it will sit out towards the west of us so some rain arrives at times but a change in wind direction with the wind is rotating around that low pressure, they are going to be coming in from a south—easterly direction bringing a slightly warmer air mass. those temperatures will be on the rise, we could see 20 degrees in the south by the middle of the week but it is going to stay unsettled — there will be some sunshine and some rain around at times through next week. bye— bye.

live from london. this is bbc news.

the us says it will �*rush' air defence missiles and ammunition to ukraine as part of its new military aid package. south africa marks thirty years since the end of apartheid and its first democratic elections. scotland's first minister, humza yousaf, insists he won't resign despite a week of political turmoil. and taylor swift matches a madonna chart record. we'll tell you why. the ukrainian military says russia carried out another massive air attack overnight. the mayor of kharkiv, ukraine's second city, said one missile narrowly missed a hospital with 1,000 people inside. attacks also took place in the dnipro region in central ukraine and in the western areas of lviv

and ivano—frankivsk.