this is bbc news. the headlines. united states top diplomat has been meeting the chinese leader for talks in beijing. we meeting the chinese leader for talks in bei'inu. ~ _, meeting the chinese leader for talks in bei'inu. ~ u, ., in beijing. we continue to communicate _ in beijing. we continue to communicate clearly - in beijing. we continue to| communicate clearly about in beijing. we continue to - communicate clearly about our differences, at the very least to minimise the chance of miscalculation, misunderstandings. the world's first personalised vaccine for melanoma skin cancer — hailed as a potential "gamechanger" for treatment — is being tested on british patients. the second phase of the world's largest election gets under way today in india. and a study says it has found the strongest evidence yet that global conservation efforts are having a positive effect. 2024 is notjust an election year.

it's perhaps the election year. globally, more voters than ever in history will head to the polls. at least 64 countries, containing just under half of the world's total population, are expected to hold nationwide polls. the results of which, for many, will prove consequential for years to come. the biggest parliamentary vote is being held in india — an operation so vast, it's being held in several stages — with the second phase getting under way today. let's get more of this in delhi. taken through this next what does it involve, who is voting what seats are contested? b5 involve, who is voting what seats are contested?— are contested? as you correctly said, are contested? as you correctly said. this _ are contested? as you correctly said. this is _ are contested? as you correctly said, this is the _ are contested? as you correctly said, this is the biggest - are contested? as you correctly i said, this is the biggest democracy in action in the world. 540 plus parliamentarians to be elected by the first week ofjune and this is a second phase of polling we are witnessing today. it is about 88

parliamentary seats which are in question today and about 108 have already gone to poll. it is a crucial election for the ruling alliance led by the prime minister in india because they have been in power for the last two terms and they will be hoping and they are hoping to make a record of sorts by winning the third election. they are being challenged by the opposition parties led by the... 900 plus million voters to vote in around seven phases of pulse until the first week ofjune. it will be a mammoth election, mammoth task. we are outside a polling booth and it is about 5pm indian standard time out here and there are long queues here in the morning, in the afternoon. it is not a very busy

booth but it has been a happening booth but it has been a happening booth and this is delhi suburb which comes under... we have seen reasonably decent voting. all of the political parties in india are worried about a slightly lesser votes being cast into the first two phases. votes being cast into the first two hases. , , ., , , phases. there is been a supreme court decision _ phases. there is been a supreme court decision about _ phases. there is been a supreme court decision about whether - phases. there is been a supreme court decision about whether or | phases. there is been a supreme i court decision about whether or not to bring back a paper ballot. what did they rule?— to bring back a paper ballot. what did they rule? there has been a lot of controversy _ did they rule? there has been a lot of controversy about _ did they rule? there has been a lot of controversy about the _ did they rule? there has been a lot of controversy about the electronic| of controversy about the electronic voting machines in india. ever since they introduced almost 15 or 20 years back. the most recentjudgment from the highest court of india says they say they don't want to go back to the era of ballot boxes, they don't want to go back to the era of ballot papers and they say they really want to stick to the electronic voting machines which have become a standard norm. there have become a standard norm. there have been some civil rights groups

and ngos which have asked the court to look at them and their functioning and allege there had been discrepancies but the supreme court has clearly stated that the ballot boxes, the traditional boating of ballot papers will not be in place. there will be certain checks and balances and they will be improved further and monitored further. so this matter has now been put to rest by india's highest court. on thursday the former hollywood producer, harvey weinstein, had one of his convictions for rape overturned. new york's highest court ruled he didn't get a fair trial, although they did call for a retrial to take place. the case in 2020, was a landmark in the metoo movement, which exposed sexual misconduct at the highest levels in hollywood. you know, what's important to know is that a courtroom is not a safe environment for survivors

of male sexual violence. they can be very traumatising spaces. you know, the most dangerous place in america for a woman is in her home. we know the men who assault and rape and murder us. and a lot ofjudges are still catching up to that reality. and juries don't necessarily know that information either. we still think of rape as stranger rape as someone who jumps us in an alley. and so a courtroom isn't necessarily even if harvey were retried and convicted in the state of new york, the place where survivors are going to get their healing. and that's what we need. that's what we need. it may be a fair outcome if he were convicted in new york, and that would sure be a magic wand. but survivors need trauma informed help and for men to stop raping women. his lawyer said that everyone has the right to justice. he said even people who are very unpopular in our society, no—one is above the law,

but no—one is below the law either, he said... and i agree with that. yes, of course i do. everyone deserves justice and i support due process. i had the opportunity to meet the great supreme courtjustice ruth bader ginsburg, and we talked about due process, even for people who are accused of the most egregious sexual crimes. and actually right now at the university of kentucky, where i did my undergraduate degree, a couple of our former student athletes experienced terrible institutional betrayal and have accused my university, of which i'm very proud, in which i love, of complicity and other betrayals. and we're going to go through due process there. and i love my university enough to hold it accountable. so i definitely support due process. and there's no doubt that harvey weinstein is a serial sexual predator. it doesn't change the fact that he committed these crimes.

over 100 women came forward after i was the named source in the new york times investigation. and on that point, a separate 16—year sentence handed down in california is not affected. it doesn't change the fact that he committed these crimes. 0ver100 women came forward after i was the named source and on that point, a separate 16—year sentence handed down in california is not affected. he will stay in prison. he won't be freed. does that bring you and other survivors any sense of comfort, any sense ofjustice or that healing that you're describing? you know, it's more complex than that because i don't think the carceral system in the united states does perpetrators of male sexual violence any favours either. you know, what i would love to have is a restorative justice conversation with harvey weinstein. you know, i think that it's stories, it's narrative that helps change hearts and minds. i'm not about punitive measures. i'm about community and safety and belonging and forgiveness. i forgave harvey weinstein a long time ago and it was no favour to him. i did it for myself. and, you know, it's a whole other conversation in terms of the american carceral system.

but harvey hasn't had a change of heart. he doesn't necessarily — his last words when he was convicted and he was walking out of the courtroom. "so how does this happen in the united states?" you know, and what would be a more satisfying outcome is if men looked at their entitlement to female bodies and thought, that is a person of dignity, she is a person of worth, and i do not have the right to encroach on her bodily autonomy. that would be satisfying. that was actress ashleyjudd, the first woman to go public against harvey weinstein several years ago. the boss of the new co—op live arena in manchester, which will be the uk's largest music venue, has resigned after a series of problems and delays. gary roden quit his role

after comedian peter kay's opening shows were cancelled this week, because the £365 million venue was not ready to open in time. let's speak to our arts and entertainment reporter ian youngs. he is in manchester. this is a huge development and it is not open on time, what has gone wrong? weill. development and it is not open on time, what has gone wrong? well, it is a big embarrassment _ time, what has gone wrong? well, it is a big embarrassment for— time, what has gone wrong? well, it is a big embarrassment for the - is a big embarrassment for the venue, which was meant to have opened earlier this week originally with peter kay playing two nights. those were then postponed until next week but now there have been postponed again until may. so this venue which is going to hold 23,500 people still hasn't opened and it is off to a very rocky start. as for what has gone wrong? the venue i said they need more time to tester

emergency communications systems to ensure that the venue is safe and all the areas can be open to fans, but it is definitely having some troubles getting fully open. the boss has quit — troubles getting fully open. the boss has quit his role. what did he have to say about it? geri; boss has quit his role. what did he have to say about it?— boss has quit his role. what did he have to say about it? gary roden, he resiined have to say about it? gary roden, he resigned yesterday _ have to say about it? gary roden, he resigned yesterday and _ have to say about it? gary roden, he resigned yesterday and he _ have to say about it? gary roden, he resigned yesterday and he hasn't - resigned yesterday and he hasn't spoken publicly yet but his decision came in light of the initial delay and presumably in advance of today's development and he had also been criticised for a row with grass roots music venues in the uk who had called for a subsidy from big arenas but he dismissed that saying that some grassroots music venues were poorly run and their campaign was

quite aggressive and so that added to the negative publicity.— to the negative publicity. thanks for bringing _ to the negative publicity. thanks for bringing us — to the negative publicity. thanks for bringing us up-to-date. - thanks for bringing us up—to—date. a coroner at the old bailey has been giving his findings at the inquest into the deaths of three people who were stabbed to death in a park in reading, shortly after the end of the covid lockdown injune 2020. joe ritchie—bennett, james furlong and david wails were killed by khairi saadallah. he was jailed for life injanuary 2021 after pleading guilty to three murders and three attempted murders. our home affairs correspondent june kelly is at the old bailey in central london. thejudge coroner will be the judge coroner will be speaking well into the afternoon because he has got a lot to say having heard the six weeks of evidence from more than 100 witnesses. the key question for the families of the three men who were murdered is, could this terror attack have been prevented? during the inquest one of those to give evidence was an officer from

the security service m15. he was adamant that although khairi saadallah was on m15's radar in the run—up to the attack and had come onto their radar and a number of occasions, he said there was no way anyone could have actually received he was going to be involved in attack planning. today the judge coroner is going through all the evidence but in terms of his direction of travel, he has already spoken on khairi saadallah as a known extremist with a terrorist mindset and he is also talked about failures by one or more identified state agencies. we are going to get his full conclusions and recommendations sometime this afternoon but this is the path he is going down and clearly the family want lessons to be learned from what happened to their loved ones. reminders of what happened on that day injune 2020. this

reminders of what happened on that day in june 2020-_ reminders of what happened on that day in june 2020. this was a summer evenin: day in june 2020. this was a summer evening during _ day in june 2020. this was a summer evening during the _ day in june 2020. this was a summer evening during the covid _ day in june 2020. this was a summer evening during the covid lockdown. i evening during the covid lockdown. people were socialising outside. these three friends they were together in redding. khairi saadallah, a man with a history of violence, suddenly lunged at them all with a knife, he killed those three men, he also attempted to murder three others. he has since pleaded guilty to all his crimes and is serving a whole lifetime, he will never be released from prison, but he was captured by the police immediately, they ran after him and got him and then it emerged he had this very violent criminal past but also crucially in his native libya here been part of an extremist militant group which is now banned in the uk, so there were questions about his extremist mindset. this is what was debated here in court and mis what was debated here in court and m15 insisting that although he was known to them, there was no way he could have predicted he was going to do what he did. —— they could have

predicted. thejudge, having heard this evidence, will now draw his conclusions and deliver his finding sometime this afternoon. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

let's turn to the post office inquiry here in london — and what's been called one of the biggest miscarriages ofjustice in british legal history. it's been hearing a second day of evidence from the former senior post office executive, angela van den bogerd. she admitted to the inquiry that the post office asked gina griffiths, the wife of martin griffiths, to sign a non—disclosure agreement, alongside a settlement of £140,000 after mr griffiths killed himself in 2013. he'd been accused of having a shortfall in his accounts. the inquiry counsel, jason beer kc, asked her to explain the request.

it's the long and short of it that you had a settlement on the basis of £140,000 payment, which figure applies to a completely different type of loss, you ensured that there was a nondisclosure agreement attached to that settlement and you agreed to the staging of payments to act as an incentive using money as a tool to keep the matter hushed up? it was never to keep the matter hushed up. any settlement agreement that the post office ever entered into was done with a nondisclosure agreement. why? because that was just the way they operated. take a step back, from the answer of an automaton. why does the post office always insist on nondisclosure?

why does the post office always insist on nondisclosure? because that was how they tied up the agreement. but why? i just accepted that that was the standard approach. for all agreements. why does the post office always insist on nondisclosure? they wanted to draw a line under that engagement. i'm not talking about this engagement but in general terms, that was how they had always proceeded. the head of the british security service, m15, has said foreign states are targeting british universities in order to undermine uk national security. ken mccallum issued the warning at a briefing given to the chief executives from twenty four universities, including oxford and cambridge. he warned of the risks to some of their cutting—edge research, which, they were told, was in danger of being targeted by states seeking to enhance their own economic and military capabilities. with more on this we can speak now to our security correspondent gordon corera.

what is m15 plasma concern here? the concern really comes to mainly their challenge from china and the concern is that uk universities, notjust the uk, other countries as well, i've seen attempts to get hold of sensitive research, sensitive material, not what would be typically thought of as secrets, not really talking about buying here, but often academic collaboration orjoint buying here, but often academic collaboration or joint ventures buying here, but often academic collaboration orjoint ventures in the academic world. but in which sensitive technology and research might then pass which could be useful to another state, for instance, china. it is hard to understand that if you think about it as perhaps if university was carrying out some kind of research on movements under water and the ability to detect those, that might be open research which could have some value commercially for a university, but it also could have a

national security implication, for instance in detecting submarines or cables underground. and native those kind of collaborations are ventures which the uk security services are worried about, that universities may not realise that sensitive research could be useful to a country and could be useful to a country and could have some kind of military or national security application or research on surveillance or technology or cctv are those kinds of areas, that then it could be used by another state and we are mainly talking about china, even though thatis talking about china, even though that is not always made explicit, and the concern is universities having been aware enough of this and they need to be made more aware, henceis they need to be made more aware, hence is breathing on the consultation to look at what measures might be needed, perhaps betting some staff at universities or having better frameworks so those universities and researchers can check whether the research they are doing does have some kind of national security implication. thank ou ve national security implication. thank you very much _ national security implication. thank you very much for _ national security implication. thank you very much for the _ national security implication. thank

you very much for the update. - national security implication. thank you very much for the update. i - national security implication. thank you very much for the update. i want to update you on a story. a 20—year—old man has been charged with conducting hostile activities in the uk in order to benefit russia. four others have been charged in connection with the investigation. that is from the crown prosecution service. we have a reaction from the british foreign secretary david cameron, he said he is deeply concerned by allegations of british nationals carrying out criminal act to benefit russia. he said he would use the full weight of the criminaljustice system to find anyone guilty of crimes linked to foreign interference to account. a wide—ranging study says it has found the strongest evidence yet that global conservation efforts are having a positive effect. the authors of the research — published in thejournal, science — say many extinctions have been prevented, along with a reduction in the loss of biodiversity. meghan 0wen has more. what is biodiversity? it is a

variety of all life on earth including animals, plants and fungi. it is normalfor these populations to fluctuate but right now extinction, the rate of extinction is 100 to 1000 times faster than titus would expect with one in three species endangered around the world. that said, this report does show conservation is working to slow down the loss of biodiversity so let's take a look at some of their success stories. we know deforestation is falling 74% in the congo basin. we also know that least turn a breeding rate are doubling and that is because of predator management in florida's barrier islands. but the report shows that in one in five cases measures taken have caused the targeted species to decline. for example, creating protected areas for australian seahorses meant that more of them were eating out is that natural predator's populations will increase. i spoke to doctorjoba

spoke. increase. i spoke to doctorjoba soke. ~ . .. increase. i spoke to doctorjoba soke. ~ , ., , increase. i spoke to doctorjoba soke. ,., , , . spoke. we should be optimistic because we _ spoke. we should be optimistic because we know _ spoke. we should be optimistic because we know the _ spoke. we should be optimistic because we know the tools - spoke. we should be optimistic because we know the tools we | spoke. we should be optimistic - because we know the tools we have can be _ because we know the tools we have can be effective and are generally effective — can be effective and are generally effective. we shouldn't be complacent because biodiversity is still declining so we need to do it on a _ still declining so we need to do it on a much — still declining so we need to do it on a much wider scope to make sure weak— on a much wider scope to make sure weak reverse — on a much wider scope to make sure weak reverse global losses of biodiversity and the kind of things we need _ biodiversity and the kind of things we need to do is fund nature more extensively, then from our past mistakes — extensively, then from our past mistakes and improve in practice over— mistakes and improve in practice over time — mistakes and improve in practice over time and mistakes and improve in practice overtime and we mistakes and improve in practice over time and we need to find ways to engage — over time and we need to find ways to engage in wider stakeholders in how we _ to engage in wider stakeholders in how we deal with conservation. ciearly — how we deal with conservation. clearly there is work to be done but this is proof conservation is working with the report described as a ray of light. working with the report described as a ray of light. it is 112 years since the titanic sank and tomorrow two of the most valuable items recovered from the wreckage are going up for auction. a violin case and a gold pocket watch, belonging to two of the best known people on board the ship, are expected to fetch more than £120,000 each. duncan kennedy reports. it was supposed to be the defining

standard of nautical opulence. the titanic — totemic of a new era of human achievement. but on the night of april the 14th, 1912, the ship hit an iceberg in the north atlantic, and sank. more than 1,500 people died. now, two of the most valuable personal items ever recovered from the disaster are coming to auction — a bag and a watch belonging to two people whose stories have become fables from that fateful night. ..and you're in the club... the james cameron movie titanic... hey, esther! ..depicts both men. well, hello, molly. jothacob astor — the wealthiest man on board, and one of the richest in the world. and wallace hartley — the violin player who bravely led the orchestra to calm passengers' nerves as the vessel floundered. each man central to the film's

narrative of bravery and loss. in real life, both hartley and astor died that night — their bodies and their possessions recovered in the aftermath. you've got the bag and the watch? correct. andrew aldridge — a world expert on the titanic — says hartley probably tried to use his violin case and its straps as a flotation device, but it came to nothing. whilst jj astor's14—carat—gold pocket watch was discovered amongst his personal effects in the days after the tragedy. why is there this continuing public obsession, interest in all things to do with the titanic? i honestly think it's to do with the people. she transcends so many different levels. we are fascinated in her because of who was on board. you could argue that titanic is the most famous ship that's ever sailed apart — from the ark. so what might they fetch at the auction? well, the estimated price on the bag is £120,000,

and for the watch, it's £150,000 — and just shows the continued interest there is in all things titanic. wallace hartley's violin itself was sold separately in 2013 for £1 million. it's now on display at the titanic museum in belfast. tomorrow's auction, streamed live, will attract bidders from around the world, ready to spend as they save these unique items from a ship enshrined in maritime folklore. duncan kennedy, bbc news. i want to leave you with some stunning pictures from florida. this is a pub two full moon, or the pink moon in all it glory. it doesn't take its name from its appearance but is based on what native americans used to call it, naming it after a herb.

americans used to call it, naming it aftera herb. i americans used to call it, naming it after a herb. i really coaxed out of the day, widespread frost, temperatures down to —6 in coldest spot but many of us have seen sunny skies already. a day when clouds will bubble up to bring showers and we have seen lots of showers in northern ireland, some in the north and eastern scotland and the eastern side of england. meanwhile, the sticker cloud affecting southern wales and southern most areas of england. at a weather front bringing general outbreaks of rain. the rain will be light and patchy stop it in southern wales, some spots, heavy rain in south—west england, the show would become more widespread across northern england popping across the pennines into the north west of england, we continue to see why switch i was for northern ireland, northern and eastern scotland and eastern side of england. northern and central wales, midlands and east anglia staying dry. 0pen eye, band of rain moves in from the south.

that will keep temperatures at around six or 7 degrees but away from that with clear skies again, looking at a cold night with widespread and sharp frosts. that weekend will be dominated by an area of low pressure moving up from the south. we are looking at rain developing on saturday across southern part of england, wales, midlands and east anglia and there will be a chilly north—easterly when developing through the day, may be as the day, may be as wrinkly as we could see heavy showers following into southern areas of england. elsewhere, scotland, northern ireland, the far north of sunny spells and passing showers after the cold start, wherever you are temperatures not doing great for the time of year. sunday, no pressure, outbreaks of rain extensively across england, reaching eastern scotland, western areas will have the best weather, sunshine and sharp showers. it is another cold day but the last of the cold days we will see for awhile because it whether it had to turn milder. we start to see that

change on monday as her whence come from a southerly direction. we will see rain across western areas, the driest and brightest weather across eastern areas of the uk and does temperatures will be climbing much closer to average for this time of year and that warming trend is set continue deeper into next week. temperatures could reach the high teens are low 20s in warmest spot but there could be rain to come as well.

today at one: a pioneering trial of a new vaccine for skin cancer gets under way in the uk. it's designed to tackle the deadliest form of skin cancer, melanoma, and has raised hopes of a breakthrough. i just think it's a great thing. i think it's really exciting, really exciting. my geek radar is off the scale! a key figure at the post office during the horizon it scandal gives evidence at the public inquiry for a second day. humza yousaf weighs up his future as he faces a vote of no confidence after his power—sharing deal with the greens collapsed. and two of the most valuable items ever to be salvaged from the titanic, which go under the hammer this weekend. and coming up on bbc news, liverpool managerjurgen klopp says city and arsenal will see the title race as a two—horse race, but says he's not in the mood to wave a white flag.