i'm david willis in washington and this is bbc world news america. a debate over the retirement age, rages in france. police clash with protesters after the french president emmanuel macron pushes through controversial pension reforms, without a vote in parliament. coming to the financial rescue — a number of big us banks team up to provde billions in funding to troubled lender first national. the us military releases footage that it says shows the moment a russian jet took down an american drone. and, authentically african.

senegal celebrates the rich traditions of the continent's fabrics and textiles — with some of africa's leading contemporary designers. welcome to world news america, in the uk, on pbs, and around the globe. we start in france, where hundreds of protesters have filled the vast square opposite the parliament building in central paris. they started fires and chanted their opposition to the government's move to push through unpopular pension reforms without a parliamentary vote. president emmanuel macron opted to invoke a controversial article in the french constitution, after a frantic series of meetings with close aides and ministers revealed he'd lose a potential vote. the french prime minister

elisabeth borne — was booed as she arrived in the national assembly to announce that the government would trigger article 49.3 of the french constitution. a short while ago our correspondent hugh schofield joined us from outside the parliament building. hugh schofield, the use of this constitutional article, article 49.3 is by no means unprecedented. but how controversial is it in this particular case, given the months of protest that we've seen at the national assembly, where you are and other places? well, you're absolutely right. i mean, in fact, it's the exactly the 100th time that this procedure has been used since the fifth republic started in 1958. so it's not unprecedented and it's been used by other governments massively as well, notably back in the eighties, when again, there was a minority government.

and that's the point. this government has a has a minority representation in parliament. it can't command a majority. it needs allies. and so what's happened here is that they've tried to get an alliance together with conservatives, and they thought they had it. and today was to have been the climax of that whole process with a vote in the parliament behind me there. but in the end, at the last minute, they decided they looked at the numbers and they decided it didn't add up. it sounds very abstruse, but in fact, 49 three is a very current sort of part of the political vocabulary here. and everyone knows that when you invoke 49.3 as a as a government in france, you're going to run into trouble because the opposition are all going to say you're riding roughshod over the will of the people. you can't command a majority even in in the in parliament. and so you're using your powers to push it through.

the opposition is now likely to table a no confidence vote in the government. what chance this could lead to the downfall of the current french government? there's a theoretical possibility of that, but i think it's pretty unlikely. you're right. the 49.3 procedure allows the government to bypass a vote in the national assembly, but it then opens the way to a censure motion, a motion of confidence tabled by the opposition. the thing about the french opposition, that it's very divided. there's the far right, there's the left and the far left, and then there's the conservative opposition for a censure motion to pass all those three elements would have to come together to support the motion, and i think that's pretty unlikely. so the government probably will survive and probably this pension change will go through. but it's a government that will have been winged, i think a government that will been weakened and a government that knows that this protest movement, which has been developing for the last couple of months, is going to continue and probably intensify.

meanwhile, opinion polls show that the majority of french voters bitterly oppose these pension reforms, don't they? yeah. and that is why the people around me here, the left and the opposition to this bill feel very emboldened. they feel they've they've they've won around in a sense. of course, they've lost around because the bill probably will go through now. but they feel that the moral argument has been won by them. hugh schofield, thank you very much indeed forjoining us. news now of further repercussions from the recent financial turbulence on both sides of the atlantic. shares in european banks hit a two—month low — after the eurozone�*s central bank hiked interest rates by a half—of—one percent. but here in the us, stocks rallied, after it was announced that a group of big banks had injected $30 billion into a smaller regional bank, first republic, which had been seen as at risk of failure.

shares in first republic rose more than 20% at one point earlier, on reports thatjp morgan—chase and bank of america — amongst others were working on a rescue plan for the california bank. our business correspondent samira hussainjoins me now from new york. similar, why are other lenders coming to first republics aid, what's in it for them?- coming to first republics aid, what's in it for them? they are basically trying _ what's in it for them? they are basically trying to _ what's in it for them? they are basically trying to shore - what's in it for them? they are basically trying to shore up - basically trying to shore up confidence in the american banking system. the collapse of those two us banks have really spooked investors and consumers that are left wondering, well, if those banks of collapse which ones could possibly be next? a lot of investors were thinking well, it could be a regional bank like first republic. in the recent days we saw that the share price for first republic was cut in half. you saw the depositors took out billions of dollars from the bank. that had everyone very

spooked about again that contagion idea, that ripple effect. a consortium of ii idea, that ripple effect. a consortium of 11 banks have stepped in and said ok, here is $30 billion of uninsured loans going to first replubic. of uninsured loans going to first re - lubic. , of uninsured loans going to first relubic. , ., . , ., replubic. giving the assurances that officials have — replubic. giving the assurances that officials have been _ replubic. giving the assurances that officials have been giving _ replubic. giving the assurances that officials have been giving about - officials have been giving about these dates of the banking system around the world. it's all very well, isn't it? in actualfact, haven't measures taken in days simply delayed rather than inverted liquidity crisis, because the money those banks have been lent still has to be paid back, doesn't it? so what we're seeing — to be paid back, doesn't it? so what we're seeing now— to be paid back, doesn't it? so what we're seeing now is _ to be paid back, doesn't it? so what we're seeing now is the _ to be paid back, doesn't it? so what we're seeing now is the us - we're seeing now is the us government and other players and us regularities trying to get in front of the banking crisis. in fact, the treasury secretary janet yellin was testifying to congress, she was meant to testify about the us budget but of course there were lots of

comments and lots of questions about what has happened in the banking industry in the last few days. have a listen to what you said. can reassure the members of the committee that our banking system is sound and that americans can feel confident that their deposits will be there when they need them. this week's actions demonstrate our resolute commitment to ensure that our financial system remain strong and that depositors' savings remain safe. for all ofjanet for all of janet yellen's assurances there, isn't the truth of the matter that this whole situation leaves financial regulators with almost impossible tasks? in order to control the situation they have to bring down interest rates and that runs the risk of fuelling inflation. absolutely. inflation has been the word does your for many days. you

will know that interest rates have been climbing all around the world to try to contain inflation. now we heard from the ecb who said we're still going to raise interest rates by half a percentage points. seeing all of us and saying we're still going to stay the course. the question is, what are central banks to do in the midst of all of this. the calculation of course is going to be very different for america's central bank, the federal reserve. they are going to be meeting next week and they were obviously watching all of this and the impact that it rising interest rates have had on these banks. the biden administration says tiktok the social media app used by more than a billion people worldwide should be sold or else face a possible ban in the country. the video—sharing app, owned by chinese company bytedance, is accused of posing a national security risk through data gathered

from millions of users. meanwhile, the british government has become the latest to ban its ministers from using tiktok on their work phones and other devices on security grounds. 0ur security correspondent gordon corera sent this report. it's the video app that's gone from nowhere to everywhere, taking over the world. from nowhere to everywhere, even mps and the ministry of defence have been using it. but it is now facing new restrictions. what's been announced ? today, after growing political pressure, the uk government has followed the us, canada and the european union in new restrictions. government officials will no longer be able to download the app onto work devices. we will do so with immediate effect. mr speaker, this is a precautionary move. we know there is already limited use of tiktok across government but it is also good cyber hygiene.

so what are the concerns? one of the reasons tiktok is so successful is because it is so good at understanding its users. it can collect lots of data about their contacts and location. what's different about tiktok is that it was founded in china. tiktok is collecting a huge amount of data, which is relatively similar to all social media platforms, but i think the problem is who they may be sharing it with. it's not proven who they are sharing it with or if they are, but it's that collection of data that could be sensitive that could cause risks to countries should it be shared with the incorrect people. what does the company say about this? today, tiktok told the bbc that there is no evidence of it having done anything wrong. we are disappointed. we believe this is based, this change of heart is based more on geopolitics than anything else.

we ask to be judged not on the fears people have, but on the facts. should i delete it from my phone, people might ask. the government is not advising the general public to stop using tiktok, just government officials who might have more sensitive information on their phone. there is no sign of a wider ban but the growing controversy over tiktok is a sign of deepening tensions between the west and china. gordon corera, bbc news. now to ukraine, and the ongoing battle for the city of bakhmut in the east of the country. two ukrainian army brigades defending the city's southern flank recently gave the bbc access to their positions as fierce fighting continued in and around the city. they say russian casualties far outweigh theirs, but that the enemy is using new techniques to try to seize the city and the surrounding countryside. 0ur correspondent quentin sommerville sent us this special report.

in war�*s uncertain journey, fates are decided in the unlikeliest of places. ukraine has drawn a line in the mud, and that line is bakhmut. no matter the hardship, the enemy must not pass. this ground must be held. winter has given way to early spring. they hope it might slow russia's advance. the thing is, it complicates the job for both parties. the enemy has difficulty attacking, because nothing moves in the mud. nothing except tank tracks. ..and army boots. the mud's unreal. it pulls you this way and that way.

it's a trap for men, for vehicles. it makes moving around this battlefield almost impossible. and for the soldiers of the third separate assault brigade, it means going the long way round. moving as fast as the territory allows. they're in range of russian guns. we're told to keep low. stop, stop! there's a russian outpost around here. these trenches are new, but warfare along this front is antiquated. below ground, these are dugouts that their grandfathers would recognise. but by digging in, they've tied up russian forces here and held bakhmut longer than many expected.

but it isn'tjust the conditions that are basic. this is a 21st—century war, being fought with i9th—century weaponry. it's a maxim machine—gun. 120 years of history of killing russians. a weapon from the first world war, used in the third world war. sporadic gunfire. right, we are heading right to the very forward position. we can hear shelling right now and automatic gunfire. there's more shelling. they get attacked here on a daily basis. translation: there are the enemy positions, so let's move very fast. i 0k. almost every day, some

shells from artillery. we can see the craters all around here. there is a fresh crater, right there. we've got to go, we've got to go. there's hardly any tree cover here, the men are exposed. gunfire. and the russians have found them. 0k, move, move. you can go in the car, because it's a little bit hotter here. keep down. gunfire. the russians are only 500 metres away. that's automatic fire. all along this line there's grenade fire, automatic gunfire and tank fire. translation: it's really

dangerous there, bullets are flying everywhere. that kind of fire is every day here. seven months, more than seven months into this battle, it's created a wasteland. this is the longest battle of the war so far. to the north, and to the east, and here in the south, russia's been making gains. but it's costing them. the ukrainians say that for every one soldier they lose, russia loses seven. but still they hold on here. and bakhmut is a town that no—one believes has strategic value. but to russia and to ukraine, it matters in this war. translation: this is not| a strategic question for us. we are just ordinary soldiers. but this is our land. if we lose here, then do we retreat to chasiv yar, to sloviansk, then all the way to kyiv?

however long it takes, two, four, five years, we have to fight for every piece of ground. so, every tiny step of land needs to be defended, even as they toil under waves of attack from russian prisoners sent by wagner group. translation: we were in combat every two hours. l as far as i understand, they were wagner. we were fighting them, and without over estimating our achievements, i would say a single company was killing 50 of their men a day. we checked the figures, they are awful numbers. they are outgunned and outnumbered but, for now, unyielding. in bakhmut, like in the rest of this war, they have grown used to the odds being against them. quentin sommerville, bbc news, on the outskirts of bakhmut. in the us, the pentagon has released

video of what it claims to be part of tuesday's incident between a us drone and a russian jet. the incident which happened here in the black sea, was the first direct us—russian incident since the war in ukraine began in february last year. in the footage, you can see what is claimed to be the russian su27 jet approaching the drone. the jet releases fuel as it passes, before flying over the top of the drone. the russian jet then repeats the manoevre. russia has denied us accusations that its jets acted recklessly. our defence correspondent jonathan beale has more. i think certainly, what the us has released, and this is edited footage that it has released, they say this interaction was going on for at least 30 minutes, so we are only seeing a snapshot of the moments when the fuel was dumped, it seems deliberately,

on the drone, whether it was to try and make it go down, we don't know, or to disrupt its sensors. but we see the propeller blade being twisted after the second pass being shown, which interrupted the video feed. a drone is operated from the ground, remember, by a ground crew, and there is a live feed of whatever information it is sucking up and it always has a camera. but it looks like this is backing up the us version of events. lord austin said he's confident the story they are giving is accurate, but the russians are saying the downing of the drone was not their responsibility, and the drone made a sharp turn, but the only extraordinary move in this video is by the russian jets and not the drone.

the united nations nuclear watchdog is working to verify reports that ten barrels of missing uranium have been recovered in libya. a local militia says it found the barrels close to the country's border with chad. the iaea sounded the alarm over the missing ore after a visit — by its inspectors earlier this week to the undisclosed site. senegal has acquired a rather impressive reputation when it comes to fashion. the luxury fashion house chanel recently chose the country for its first—ever show in africa. why does that matter? well you may remember the outcry that accompanied big names in the industry being accused of cultural appropriation that is, using african designs in their collections. now, more african designers are championing the continent's textures and textiles, as nicola negoce reports.

originality and elegance were top priorities for the fashion show organised by senegalese designer muna muda. as well designers from senegal, he was joined by creatives from nigeria and cameroon. in all, with the single aim of promoting fabrics from africa. translation: many say that dakar is the capital of fashion. _ but we can also say africa is the centre of fashion. for my first collection called afro fusion, i used fabric. for the second one, i used woven loincloth. amongst his guests was mustafa tari, a leading ambassador for senegal culture from the north of cote d'ivoire. like many ethnic groups, they have an agent culture of weaving. there fabrics are recognisable by their geometric shapes.

translation: my favourite fabrics are woven loincloth. _ i came to dakar to show the culture of my home, the loincloth that people are not familiar with. another designer with a totally different style kayapo, otherwise known as the stylists to the stars. his outfits are seen on stages around the world. artist fell under the charms of his creations. like sidiki, diabate, sabino or yusuf, to name a few. translation: my style is really avant-garde. i my style is for people who party a lot, video clips, movies. it is different. my creations, i use print fabric from my home country like kente. sometimes i go to the north of the country or in mali to get cloths for my creations.

a real creative buzz, boldness and a desire to promote african culture all make west africa a favourite destination forfashion lovers. next weekend the party will move with the sixth edition of fashion week organised by this organisation. and before we go — we bring you pictures of the inaugural camel cup race from the arid desert of al ula in northwest saudi arabia. with a prize pool of over 21 million us dollars, the race is said to be the biggest and most expensive in the region. camel owners and breeders from different part of the world gathered in the kingdom to compete in the event, held over three days in march. the crown prince mohammed bin salman's push to transform saudi arabia's economy and society,

al ula has gained prominence. i'm david willis. thank you for watching world news america. hello there. let's take a look at the weather for the week ahead. we're into some much milderfeeling air now. so thursday's temperatures a lot higher than they were on wednesday. some rain around at times, particularly for western parts of the uk. this is lancashire, some rather soggy footpaths here. no big changes as we head through the rest of the week. so it stays mild — temperatures above the seasonal average and it will be really rather unsettled. so more wet and windy weather to come particularly out towards western spots. low pressure remains a dominant. it's just sending these atlantic fronts our way, so wet and windy and also really very mild. that mild airfeeding through on the brisk south—westerly winds. you can see that marked in yellow. the cold air hangs on in blue

towards the far north of mainland scotland and across the northern isles and that's true for the rest of the week. now, on friday morning, a cold frontjust reinvigorates across the channel islands, the far south east of england, east anglia. so some heavy downpours here potentially through the morning, but it will clears off into the afternoon. elsewhere for the rest of the uk, there will be more sunshine than on thursday. the winds are a little lighter, but the daytime heating could help to spark off a few heavy, even thundery downpours, but they will be fairly localised temperatures again on a par with thursday, so 13 to 15 degrees celsius. a local 16 always possible in all of that mild air. and of course, the air stays mild on friday night into saturday. another weather front approaches western scotland here. but elsewhere, a lot of dry weather, a few clearer spells, but temperatures frost—free between six and nine degrees celsius, maybe just a touch of frost where we see prolonged clear spells in sheltered glens of scotland.

now a weather front approaches scotland, west of scotland as we head through saturday morning, some showers, some longer spells of rain here or so moving through northern ireland and approaching northwest england by the end of the day. elsewhere for much of england and wales, a lot of dry weather, but some more showers popping up as we head through the afternoon. it's certainly more showery than on friday. temperatures between 11 and 14 degrees celsius for most of us. the south—westerly wind becomes a bit more north—westerly, though, as we head into the second half of the weekend, as our area of low pressure just continues to push its way eastwards. and that, of course, is going to bring us some slightly cooler feeling air by the time we get to sunday with that north—westerly wind. the temperatures are still a little above the average for this time of year, but the air will feel cooler than on saturday in that north—westerly. it's quite a cloudy start to the day, a cooler start as well. there will be some brighter skies developing, i think, as the day wears on. another weather front approaching from the west as we head into sunday evening, but it should stay dry for most of the daylight hours. temperatures a little lower, peaking between nine and 13 degrees celsius for most with a little bit of added wind chill towards exposed coastal areas, of course. now into the start of next week,

we're back to the south—westerly winds, we're back to that very mild air. again, it's going to be unsettled for the start of the week. wet and windy again at times, possibly turning a little colder by the weekend. but it's still quite a long way, meteorologically speaking. so the south—westerly wind returns — you can see that in yellow here. we've still got the easterly across the northern isles, still staying very cold here. and as you can see, it's very mobile. all of these atlantic fronts just working their way in from the south—west. it will be wet, it will be windy, particularly towards western facing coast. low pressure is dominant. and here is the outlook for some of our towns across the uk as we head through the rest of the week. so on tuesday, temperatures already lower than they are at the moment. those temperatures will dip as the week wears on, but it does stay unsettled. so more wet and windy weather to come in the forecast.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. there are hopes tonight a solution has been found to the nhs pay dispute in england, a new offer has been put to hundreds of thousands of staff. a new offer has been put to hundreds the new offer involves a one—off payment this year and a 5% pay rise next year. singing anthem president macron has forced through pension reform without a parliamentary vote. the unions say it is a declaration of war. and tik tok... tik tok, the british government has taken its time, but it has finally sided with the us administration. the social media app will be banned from all government devices in the uk.

tonight with the context, anand menon, director of the thinktank, the uk in a changing europe