families criticise the decision not to prosecute 15 former soldiers and an ira member — for alleged perjury — at the bloody sunday inquiry in northern ireland. and there's a growing backlash, a day after the football association announced it was scrapping fa cup replays — with lower league clubs demanding a rethink over the scheme. let's return to our top story: world leaders are calling for restraint after what's believed to have been an israeli attack on iran overnight. according to us officials, israel was responsible for air strikes here, near the city of isfahan — which is at the centre of iran's nuclear programme. israel has been threatening to retaliate — after it was targeted last weekend by 300 iranian missiles and drones. here's our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. lighting up the night sky over isfahan. this appears to have been israel's answer to iran's unprecedented missile attack last week. triggering iranian defences.

not long afterwards, this amateur video was put out from a nearby nuclear site. a man showing his watch as he indicates it's safe and secure. iran's state tv quoted military officials downplaying the strike, saying there were only aerial interceptions. triggered by the presence of three small drones that were present in that area. other than that, nothing has happened. but israel took iran's strike early on sunday very seriously. more than 300 drones and missiles were launched. 99% were downed. iran said it was hitting israel in response to a deadly air strike on its consulate in syria. suddenly, the long shadow war between two old enemies was out in the open. this morning, in tel aviv, israelis said their country had to react to iran to deter further assaults.

attacking iran is a necessary action in our environment, which is much harsher than the jungle in africa. hope people in iran will understand, we're not seeking for war, but we're seeking for peace, and we want to be here safe — so, understand that. however, not all were satisfied. 0n social media, the far—right national security minister itamar ben—gvir gave his view with one word — "lame". but world leaders worried about triggering a wider regional war have been urging israel to show restraint. we are committed to israel's security. we're also committed to de—escalating, to trying to bring this tension to a close. back in isfahan, life for iranians appears to be going on as normal. what is not yet clear is whether what has happened

here will end the latest dangerous round of violence in the middle east. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. reaction coming in all the time. nato secretary generaljens stoltenberg has been speaking about the situation in the middle east. let's listen to what he said. of 0f kos we are concerned and i echo the words from the g7 foreign ministers. —— mike of course we are concerned. no one stands to benefit from another war in the middle east. it is vital that the conflict does not spiral out of control and therefore we call on all parties to show restraint. 0ur chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, had this assessment of the attack. it may be unseemly to talk about a win win situation when the region is at its darkest and most dangerous moments. but both sides can now say that they have established deterrence.

israel felt it had to respond. lord cameron said, well, do as little as possible so as not to escalate. i think we have to be careful. this may only be the beginning and not the end of israel's response. but israel is not claiming officially it was at work. allows iran to operate in the grey, to have to take that sort of that warning that it sounded so many times that if israel hit hard, it would hit back immediately. now it's saying it was limited. we don't know who did it. so they are claiming victory. israel is claiming victory. and for the moment the tensions have eased, but the hostility is not gone away. and i suppose it helps both of them to operate, as you're suggesting, in the shadows slightly here. yes. and not make very direct statements. but while we wait to see whether we're at the start or the end of this, i suppose what happens is you remain in this period of quite extended tension, high tension.

because i think you were discussing with matthew about the cease fire. until there is an end to the war in gaza and there's not going to be any end any time soon, all of iran's proxies are still going to be burning fires and sometimes they blaze dangerously. iran will continue to speak out against what it describes as the usurped zionist regime. that seething enmity between the two sides has not gone away. the ending of the gaza war would help to ease the tensions, but there are so many players in that mix, it still remains a highly, highly unpredictable situation. we will be live in washington and jerusalem in about 20 minutes' time on the programme. to northern ireland now, where fifteen former british soldiers, and an alleged former ira member, who were investigated for perjury, will not face any charges. they were accused of giving false accounts to the inquiry into bloody sunday when soldiers opened fire during a march in londonderry in 1972, killing thirteen people.

prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence. 0ur correspondent in belfast jennifer 0'leary has the latest. the day that became known as bloody sunday occurred on the last sunday ofjanuary in 1972, when some members of the army's parachute regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in londonderry. now, 13 people were shot dead. this case arose from lord saville�*s inquiry report into bloody sunday. that report was published in 2010 and the report was critical of some soldiers who had said, and i quote, knowingly put forward false accounts to the inquiry to seek to justify their firing. now that formed part of a police investigation. a file was forwarded to northern ireland's public prosecution service, who today announced that no prosecutions of perjury against 15 former army veterans and a decision that also applies to one former member of the ira, now northern ireland's public

prosecution service in their statement said that the testimony to the inquiry and this is crucial, that testimony to the inquiry does not amount to a criminal standard of proof. now, the pps did acknowledge in its statement that that decision would result in what it described as another difficult day for the bloody sunday families. those families were informed of that decision this morning and they say they are disappointed. they have not ruled out the prospect of further legal action. an mp in who is based in derry, the foyle mp, calum eastwood, has said the decision is another difficult moment for the bloody sunday families. now i might add, matthew, that today's decision does not impact proceedings against one former soldier he's referred to as soldier f because his identity is protected under a court order.

he has been charged in connection with events on bloody sunday and he will stand trial for the events that he is alleged to be connected to. documents seen by the bbc suggest treatments containing blood — infected with hiv and hepatitis c — were tested on british children in the 19705 and 80s without their parents�* knowledge or consent. doctors are accused of putting research ahead of the needs of patients. 0ne former patient has told the bbc he was deliberately given a new version of a blood product by a doctor who likely knew it was contaminated, so he could then be enrolled in its clinical trials. hugh pym reports. this school in hampshire,

for haemophiliac boys, there was a chance to lead as normal a life as possible, with a medical unit to treat their bleeding episodes. they thought they were being treated with blood products. they didn't realise they were taking part in trials of products used as preventative measures are known as prophylaxis. many became infected with viruses. a letter in 1973 shows the involvement of the government in the research, with the message, time is short if the trial is to begin at the start of term in april. i have been speaking to three former pupils at the school from the 19705 and the 1980s. every boy there was on a trial at some time, or continuously, from their hold period at the college, and that spanned ten years from 1975 to 1985. they had access to our blood, our veins, whenever they wanted it, and they exploited that. how do you feel about that?

when we went there in the mid—70s, we were not on prophylaxis, we had not even heard of the word prophylaxis. it was sold to us, saying, we've got these new products, if you are prepared to have an injection every other day, it will make you fit, you will be able to play more, you will be able to go out more, you will live a normal life. but our parents were never informed. there was just a change from having an injection whenever you had a bleed to having an injection every other day. and we accepted it, we didn't question it, we thought it was the norm, and it was the norm, because we were all doing it. if we didn't go for our prophylaxisl appointments we would either get dragged out of school lessons| because you have missed your appointment, and if you did it - so many times, you got black marks and things like this. being called out of class for a blood test that i missed, and then another blood test that i have missed. and when you're called out of class at that age,

you feel punished, don't you? and of course, you've lost school friends, that must be very difficult? yeah, it is, lots of funerals. i stopped going to them because i always pictured myself one day there. so, you it was hard. 75 boys have died, to date. we think of each other all the time, and the voices of the boys that - are gone, and the families that have i lost those voices of their children, i we are going to fight for them, because they're not here now. | so we have to fight for them. so, we just want to get to the bottom of it and do this because they can't and get to the truth. the truth, that's what it's all about. the school has said it hopes the public inquiry will provide former pupils with answers, and campaigners who have waited decades final report, due next month, will dojust that. penn, bbc news. —— hugh pym, bbc news.

more reaction to that report in about 25 minutes. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

you are live with bbc news. there's a warning today that more and more young people have developed bladder problems because of their chronic use of ketamine. the drug is widely used as an anaesthetic, and a sedative. but increasingly it's also misused as a recreational drug — and addiction rates are soaring. here's rachel stonehouse. from the minute you wake up... it's a saturday night in bristol. we are with beth and her friend we are calling jay, as he wants to be anonymous. they are both in their 20s and chronic ketamine users, after trying it as teenagers. i was 1a years old and somebody had

some in the classroom and i had a little bit at the back of the classroom. that was the first time i had it. what is the physical impact for you now of taking ketamine? can't work, yeah, i can't do anything, i can't feed myself or go and get a drink. yeah, it really disables you completely. i can't walk 50 metres without either needing to sit down or needing to run to the toilet. ketamine use is estimated to have more than doubled since 2016 in england and wales, and ketamine addiction has quadrupled in that time. and, although deaths linked to ketamine are rare, they are also on the rise. with a justin bieber haircut. i used to have to straighten his hairfor him before he went to school. claire's son, ryan, got addicted to ketamine after his best friend died, and he used the drug as a way to cope with his grief.

he didn't look like the son that i had. he went from being such a happy, confident, clever boy to this shell of a person. i didn't know who he was any more. in april 2023, ryan died at the age of 26. ketamine is really popular here in bristol, so much so there's even a term "bristol bladder". that's to refer to the impact ketamine can cause to the bladder if you take a lot of it. southmead hospital, like others across the country, set up a specialist clinic last year to help patients struggling with the impact of chronic ketamine use. why ketamine seems to be the drug of choice, it's cheap to buy, i think people don't realise that it has detrimental effects to the bladder and i think it's viewed as sort of a safe drug by people. back with beth and jay, who say they had no idea of the impact ketamine can have when they first started using and wish they'd never tried it.

i'm hoping that i'll get back into work and one day be a person that has recovered from this really rubbish journey that i've been on. rachel stonehouse, bbc news. the football association has defended its decision to scrap fa cup replays from 2024—25 and insists "all parties accepted" they could not continue. it was announced on thursday that the competition will only be played on weekends with replays scrapped from the first round onwards. the move has sparked an enormous backlash from clubs in the lower divisions. i'm joined now by lincoln city fc�*s chief executive — liam scully. well come here to the programme. let's take this in stages. emotionally first of all. what was your response, how angry were you when you heard that announcement? at when you heard that announcement? git two levels, really. there was real surprise and then there was shock

and utter dismay and the surprise came first and foremost that we, as clubs, heard at first the new press release just as everybody else did, fans and all stakeholders of the game, so that was a real surprise then the decision itself, we vehemently disagree with that. it is not necessarily about the water but how we have arrived at this decision as it lacked real consultation in order to reach this outcome. j as it lacked real consultation in order to reach this outcome. i was listenin: order to reach this outcome. i was listening to _ order to reach this outcome. i was listening to the _ order to reach this outcome. i was listening to the manchester - order to reach this outcome. i was listening to the manchester united manager earlier in the neck last few minutes justifying saying his protectors and players had to be protected. the fixture congestion, is this, in your view, all about protecting the big boys? we is this, in your view, all about protecting the big boys? we have to remember the _ protecting the big boys? we have to remember the fa _ protecting the big boys? we have to remember the fa cup _ protecting the big boys? we have to remember the fa cup is _ protecting the big boys? we have to| remember the fa cup is participated in by over 700 teams, notjust the 20 or top six sitting at the very top of our excellent football pyramid and what this is about is

actually having sympathy, understanding and respecting the fact we have a pyramid, an ecosystem and this seems to have been made at the top by only a few clubs which is the top by only a few clubs which is the real challenge we face. what we ask for any game is to have dialogue on structures and ways of ratifying and reaching our decisions and without labouring the point from our view, it does not seem like we have been involved in that process. teiiii been involved in that process. tell me, a been involved in that process. tell me. a club — been involved in that process. tell me, a club like _ been involved in that process. tell me, a club like yours, lincoln city, financially, what you replays actually mean for a club like that? i will talk directly about lincoln city and if you want an item singularly, our legacy to where we sit at the moment was partly funded by the 2017 cup run where we became the first non—league club post—war to reach the quarterfinals and there are fantastic events like ipswich town in the third round replay where

a 91st replay winner created the win and the legacy and journey of that is our training ground and not long after that, is our training ground and not long afterthat, it is our training ground and not long after that, it was a league fixture in league1 after that, it was a league fixture in league 1 which shows you the impact this can have but we have to look at it directly and indirectly so you look at the wider economic impact these games have to the clubs and it is a proud town centre football club and the impact on our match days do notjust impact lincoln city but the wider impact on economic climax which is the same elsewhere and it is up and down the country we have to recognise the impact of this decision. £15 country we have to recognise the impact of this decision. 45 seconds left, is impact of this decision. 45 seconds left. is there _ impact of this decision. 45 seconds left, is there any _ impact of this decision. 45 seconds left, is there any hope _ impact of this decision. 45 seconds left, is there any hope the - impact of this decision. 45 seconds left, is there any hope the fa - impact of this decision. 45 seconds left, is there any hope the fa will i left, is there any hope the fa will actually reconsider this? what left, is there any hope the fa will actually reconsider this?- left, is there any hope the fa will actually reconsider this? what it is now is analysis _ actually reconsider this? what it is now is analysis about _ actually reconsider this? what it is now is analysis about how - actually reconsider this? what it is now is analysis about how we - now is analysis about how we approach this. you can see the voice on the power of clubs and para— fans and what they've said about this and now we have to find the appropriate

structures to go and have this dialogue in order to put our opinions forward and look to how we reverse this or take it forward but thatis reverse this or take it forward but that is the most important thing, you properly govern strategic dialogue is what we are all after. we have to leave it there. great to have you on the programme. just getting that perspective after that announcement yesterday, so much reaction on social media but you are watching bbc news. now turning to some of the day's other stories... the first minister of scotland and snp leader humza yousaf has said many in his party will be shocked after its former chief executive peter murrell was charged in connection with embezzlement of funds. mr murrell, who is married to the former scottish first minister nicola sturgeon, was taken into custody for questioning yesterday. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna

gordon has more on this from glasgow outside nicola sturgeon�*s home. nicola sturgeon emerged from the house she shared here in glasgow with her husband, peter murrell. she was asked how these latest developments have been for her personally. it's incredibly difficult, but that's not the main issue here, so i can't say any more. i'm not going to say any more. and if you don't mind, i'd also really appreciate... i'm still quite a new driver so please try not to distract me and i'm driving away. thank you. well, mr murrell was held in custody at falkirk police station for nine hours yesterday and then charged with the embezzlement of snp funds. he's a big figure in the party. he ran it for more than two decades. he was its chief executive for 22 years. it's now emerged that he has resigned his party membership this morning. late this morning, the snp leader, humza yousaf said that mr murrell was right to resign his membership and he also had this to say about this development in the long

running police investigation into what's happened to hundreds of thousands of pounds of donations to the snp. we now know that an individual has been charged. peter has been charged where the allegation of embezzlement from party funds and that's a really serious matter indeed. many people in the snp right across scottish politics will be shocked by the news. well, no details of what mr murrell is accused of embezzling and the fact that proceedings are now live means that strict legal rules kick in which constrain what the public and politicians can speculate and say. that's to ensure that there's a fair trial. should the crown office, which now looks at the evidence which has been gathered by police, decide whether to go ahead with a prosecution as that process gets under way. the police investigation, which is known as 0peration branch form, continues. and they have said within the last few minutes that colin beattie,

who was the former treasurer of the snp who was arrested last year, and nicola sturgeon, who was the former leader of the snp, who was also arrested last year, have not been rearrested or charged but remain under investigation as part of inquiries into the funding and finances of the scottish national party. just time to squeeze in one more story... taylor swift has delighted herfans — by making her new album a double whammy. the �*tortured poets department�* was released this morning — then, just hours later, she announced' a second instalment with an extra 15 tracks. our music correspondent mark savage reports. # and for a fortnight, there we were...#. fans were already expecting a long album from taylor swift, with 16 brand—new songs, but in the small hours of this morning she had a surprise. the countdown is going down and we think something big is going to happen. two hours after the record was released, taylor updated it with 15 extra songs. writing online, she explained she had written so much tortured poetry in the past two

years that she felt compelled to share it. many of the songs deal with her break—up from the british actorjoe alwyn. # he said he'd loved me all his life...#. taylor swift says the end of the relationship even overshadowed the eras tour that has turned her into a billionaire. this is so... this is so good. the emotional weight of the album floored many of her fans. # i left all i knew. # you left me at the house...#. but taylor swift's soul—bearing lyrics have always been the key to her appeal. she just sits so fondly in the hearts of her. fans and she means... she has just been there . at different points in their lives, and she still continues to be there, which i think- is rare that a celebrity- is at the peak of their fame 15 years into their career,

but that is kind - of where she is at. she is kind of an anomaly. # it's me, hi. # i'm the problem, it's me...#. this is taylor swift's first new music since 2022, and presumably the latest songs will be added to the set list when the eras tour hits the uk injune. before then, fans have a lot of listening to do. mark savage, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. —— before the weather let's bring you up—to—date with what we have coming in the next 60 minutes, really busy because we have the latest from the middle east after those israeli strikes on iran, we will be live in washington on the programme and also injerusalem and get the latest from our persian service. that is samir hussein live in delhi waiting to give us the latest on the start of india's huge general election, we will have more on that board story that bbc report from huw pym.

—— that is samira hussain live in delhi waiting to give us the latest on the start of india's huge general election, we will have more on that board story that bbc report from huw pym. hello. high pressure is going to be building across the uk this weekend. high pressure normally means dry weather and it will be largely dry. however, it will not always be sunny. often it will be cloudy, quite chilly too. the brightest and warmest weather to be found across the west of the uk. here is our area of high pressure right now, sitting just to the west of the uk. the jet stream, the flow of winds high in the atmosphere, is running just to the north of that high and then diving down across continental europe. the jet really meandering across europe this weekend. actually, if anything, it's going to bend back on itself and that will allow colder air in across the eastern half of the uk. through the rest of today, an old weather front is clearing the south. a little bit of rain with that. behind it some sunny spells. quite breezy close to this east coast, making it feel rather chilly. eight degrees there in aberdeen, the highest temperatures further south and west,

15 or 16 degrees. this evening and tonight it will stay fairly breezy close to this east coast. there may be the odd shower. a bit more cloud pushing into the north of scotland, but in between some clear spells, the odd mist patch and it is going to be a cold night, a touch of frost for some as we start saturday morning. saturday should start for most of us with a decent amount of sunshine. however, i think we will see cloud building as the day wears on. some showers potentially across these eastern parts, where it will stay quite breezy. cloud and some patchy rain as a weather front moves into northern scotland. the best of the sunshine and the warmth likely to be across northern ireland. 15 degrees here. compare that with just eight, nine or ten for some north sea coasts. as we move into the second half of the weekend, yes, our area of high pressure will be with us, but this frontal system really just gets stuck in the flow. that will bring a band of cloud,

maybe the odd shower, so i can't completely rule out a showerfor the london marathon. certainly, there will be quite a lot of cloud and i think it will feel very cool, particularly given this nagging breeze that will affect south—eastern parts of england. a fair amount of cloud around on sunday. there will be some bright or sunny spells. i think the best of the sunshine across northern ireland, that could lift temperatures to 18 degrees, but further east i think it will feel quite chilly.

live from london. this is bbc news. the us calls for a "de—escalation" after an apparent israeli attack on iran. we will be live injerusalem, washington and here in london with our persian service. three victims of the contaminated blood scandal say they were subjected to secret medical trials when they were school boys in the 19705. if we didn't go for our prophylaxis appointments, we would either get dragged out of school le55on5 because you had missed your appointment, and if you did it

so many times, you got black mark5. iam i am live in the capital of new delhi with the country has started its first of seven pha5e5 delhi with the country has started its first of seven phases of voting. i will keep you up—to—date on all the election results. at donald trump's hu5h money trial — the judge says — we have a jury — after 12 juror5 are selected. we'll get the ,'latest in new york. and taylor swift fans are in for a double treat as she releases two sets of songs about her love life. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala. welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. the us secretary of state antony blinken has reiterated the importance of de—escalation in the middle east, after a reported israeli strike on iran.