Would disagree and would say that this poll is neither free nor fair nor transparent. Vladimir putin does not face a major challenge. There are three other candidates on the ballot paper, but his most vocal critics, his fiercest opponents, are either in exile or in prison, which kind of helps you to win what we expect to be a landslide. There have been reports that Public Service workers have been strongly encouraged to come out today on day one of this election, to cast their votes. I mean, there are so many things to say about this election. Vladimir putin dominates the airwaves, dominates the screens, on russian television, much more than any other candidate. So it will be no surprise, i think, when he is eventually declared the winner. Here in the uk, the conservatives are under fresh pressure over ties to a party donor at the centre of a racism row. The party has refused to confirm, or deny, reports that the donor has reportedly given more money to the party, than was known publicly. Frank hester has apologised for what he called being rude about the mp, diane abbott, but said his comments were nothing to do with skin colour. Downing street called the comments wrong and racist, but that hed apologised and showed remorse. Opposition parties have said the tories should return his donations. Lets speak to cat neilan, Political Editor at Tortoise Media who broke the story of further donations. Thank you forjoining us. There is a lag, isnt there, eitherway thank you forjoining us. There is a lag, isnt there, either way between when the donation was made and when the party actually has to report that donation. What do you think about that lag . This that donation. What do you think about that lag . That donation. What do you think about that lag . This is one of the many problems about that lag . This is one of the many problems that about that lag . This is one of the many problems that we about that lag . This is one of the many problems that we have about that lag . This is one of the many problems that we have in l about that lag . This is one of the l many problems that we have in our system. It appears to be born out of historical reasons rather than anything else. We do have, for what is supposed to be a very transparent system, quite a complicated one in which there are various different registers updated at various different points. The electoral commissions register is only updated every quarter and i think this story has sort of renewed questions about whether thats really appropriate in this day and age when websites can be updated at the drop of a hat. That age when websites can be updated at the drop of a hat. The drop of a hat. That was the conservative the drop of a hat. That was the conservative party the drop of a hat. That was the conservative Party Response i the drop of a hat. That was the i conservative Party Response so the drop of a hat. That was the. Conservative Party Response so far when it came to frank hester� s donations, that they have reported everything that needed to be reported in the public sphere. You have looked into this closely, could you tell us how Big A Donor Frank Hester is and how important he is to the tory partys treasure chest, essentially . The tory partys treasure chest, essentiall . ,. , essentially . Sure, i would say first of all, for essentially . Sure, i would say first of all. For many essentially . Sure, i would say first of all, for many people, essentially . Sure, i would say first of all, for many people, even of all, for many people, even political obsessives and conservative figures he is a name that drew a blank with many people until this week when it transpired that he had donated already £10 million in the last year. The original guardian article which sort of started all of this row had a quote from a Party Spokesman describing him as the biggest ever donor to the conservatives. But actually, if you look at what has currently been declared, that honour goes to a different person, lord john sainsbury. And so the question, therefore, is sort of what is it that we dont know . What is it that has not been publicly declared . And as you mentioned earlier, the line that they have been putting out has evolved over the course of the week. The story broke on monday. 0n the story broke on monday. On tuesday initially there were two Micro Ministers that were sent out to say that the comments were wrong but to insist they did not believe they were race based. That line changed after the trade secretary Kemi Badenoch issued a statement, as i understand it, not one that number 10 had been expecting, describing the comments as reported as racist. Shortly after that, the number 10 position changed again to describe the comments as racist but not the individual. We heard that line then put out by rishi sunak during pmqs on wednesday. The one thing that has remained consistent on this is not to criticise frank hester individually and not to respond to calls for the money to be returned. And indeed you had another minister kevin hollinrake, the Postal Affairs minister, saying he would be happy to receive further donations. All of which kind of leads you to the question why is that . As we have seen from the story i managed to report yesterday, that is because there is another donation that is working through the system as we speak. Flat working through the system as we seak. Working through the system as we seak. ,. ,. , working through the system as we seak. ,. , ~ speak. Cat neilan, diane abbott, when it came speak. Cat neilan, diane abbott, when it came to speak. Cat neilan, diane abbott, when it came to the speak. Cat neilan, diane abbott, when it came to the alleged when it came to the alleged comments, said they were frightening, she said she already felt vulnerable. There has been heightened concern when it comes to the safety of members of parliament. Absolutely and on that it is worth reflecting on what the comments were. Frank hester is alleged to have said in a business meeting, and he hasnt denied he said these comments, that diane abbott, who is the uks longest serving black female mp, makes you want to hate all black women and that she should be shot. These comments were supposed to have taken place, have been made, in 2019, thats three years after the murder of a labour mpjo cox, and a couple of years before the murder of a conservative mp david amess. So i think there are a lot of mps on both sides of the house who are very, very conscious about the rising Security Threat and i think thats one of the reasons why conservatives are not terribly happy with the way this has been handled by number 10. Cat happy with the way this has been handled by number 10. Handled by number10. Cat neilan, we have to leave handled by number10. Cat neilan, we have to leave it handled by number10. Cat neilan, we have to leave it there handled by number10. Cat neilan, we have to leave it there but handled by number10. Cat neilan, we have to leave it there but thank have to leave it there but thank you for that insight. Voters on australias gold coast are deciding whether a Murder Suspect should be re elected as a local councillor. Ryan Bayldon Lumsden is on bail after being charged with killing his step father at their family home in august last year. Lets speak to our reporter Simon Atkinson whos in brisbane. Simon, thank you for your time. What more do we know about this case . We cant more do we know about this case . Cant talk much about the specific case, its going to go to trial in all likelihood, but as you said, ryan Bayldon Lumsden is accused of murdering his stepfather in august last year. He hasnt entered a plea in court as yet but his lawyer at a bail hearing indicated he would plead not guilty. He was given bail by the court, and what that means is he can be out and about to complain because at the moment he is the councillor in one of the wards in gold coast in queensland. Since being charged he was suspended so has not been able to represent the about 50,000 people in his division, as they are called here, and so it has upset a lot of people, it is fair to say, hes decided to stand again because there is no certainty. If he did win in this election, which takes place tomorrow on saturday here in australia, there is no certainty whether or not he would be able to return to the council. It is touch and go. There are five other candidates standing against him. They are all effectively saying the same thing, it needs to be some body else, not him. He is seen largely as a very good local councillor but the message thats coming through is he cant represent the people. 50 coming through is he cant represent the eole. , the people. So right now as it stands the the people. So right now as it stands the rules the people. So right now as it stands the rules are the people. So right now as it stands the rules are not the people. So right now as it stands the rules are not clear| the people. So right now as it stands the rules are not clear about it . ,. ,. ,. ,. , it . The rules are clear to an extent it . The rules are clear to an extent. Hes it . The rules are clear to an extent. Hes been it . The rules are clear to an i extent. Hes been suspended, it . The rules are clear to an extent. Hes been suspended, he cant be councillor, but when he is re elected the queens State Government will have to make a decision whether or not to suspend him again. I spoke to ryan Bayldon Lumsden early in the week, he was outside a Polling Booth in australia, voting is compulsory, people get two weeks to come and vote in person, so he was there trying to encourage those who were turning up to support him. What he said to me was, look, the people will decide. If they want me they will decide. If they want me they will vote for me, if they dont, they wont. But he said if he was successful he thought it would be a very brave State Government to then deny him the opportunity to serve once again. So, a lot of people i spoke to on the gold coast, very unaware of what was going on and this seems to be the big fear of many of the rival candidates that actually people dont understand the situation at the moment, they dont realise that the council is facing this very serious criminal charge, and also that he isnt able to represent them in the community. It will be interesting to see what happens and we should know potentially by this time tomorrow, or failing that Sunday Morning local time. ,. ,. , ~ , or failing that Sunday Morning local time,. ,. , ~ y. ,. Or failing that Sunday Morning local time. ,. ,. ~ ,. , time. Simon, thank you very much for the update fast food chain mcdonalds is experiencing technical problems in some of its restaurants across the world, leaving customers unable to order food. The company apologised on some social media platforms, and told customers to wait a while while service was restored. With more on this, Pierre Antoine denis joins me from the newsroom. Pierre, what more do we know . So far what we can see is this is a worldwide problem because restaurant across the world, in the uk, in australia, new zealand, injapan, are closed or have problems with their digital orders. Customers have been complaining on social media about this outage, saying they were ordering via the app and couldnt come into the restaurants. People were trying to go through the drive through, the possibilities in the restaurants were being denied, many restaurants were being denied, many restaurants are closed in Different Countries across the world. So there is indeed a Proper Technology outage at mcdonalds. A spokesperson for the Australian Branch did say to a couple of Media Outlets they were aware of a Technology Issue in mcdonalds injapan which published on social media that they were sorry for this delay. So there is indeed a proper problem with the way mcdonalds is operating at the minute. Also different websites are tracking the different outages on the apps come on the mcdonalds app, andindeed the apps come on the mcdonalds app, and indeed it recorded a massive spike in the app outage so far, since the early hours today. So there is currently a massive outage issue. It angers a couple of people on social media, and we will see how the story progresses of course during the day. The story progresses of course during the day. The story progresses of course durin the da. ,. ,. , during the day. You mentioned it and net a few during the day. You mentioned it and get a few peeple during the day. You mentioned it and get a few peeple on during the day. You mentioned it and get a few people on social during the day. You mentioned it and get a few people on social media. Get a few people on social media. What are some of the reactions that we have been seeing . What are some of the reactions that we have been seeing . There are a few funny tweets we have been seeing . There are a few funny tweets. Someone we have been seeing . There are a few funny tweets. Someone has we have been seeing . There are a few funny tweets. Someone has said we have been seeing . There are a few funny tweets. Someone has said for. Funny tweets. Someone has said for once im craving a breakfast at mcdonalds and the one day im really craving one i cant actually have one we can share that persons frustration of course. There are lots of other people who have been tweeting about how they have to pay twice, go to the counter to pay again. So of course people are taking it a bit lightly of course. But there is not so much of a big problem but for mcdonalds and in the wider context of the company this might become one, of course. All right, thank you so much, Pierre Antoine denis, the update. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. Hi, im nellie, im 11 years old and im from lincoln. Ive just done the english championships and in few weeks time, ive got the british championships, which is quite big for me. Yeah, its just exciting. Hi, imjojo, im13 and im from lincoln. It feels like youre flying and you just feel so much better. Hi, im lexie, im13l and im from lincoln. You just get to do flips and its amazing how fun it is. Its satisfying to know all the hours of hard work theyve put in actually comes to fruition. Weve got three qualified this year, hopefully, we can keep that going. Youre live with bbc news. The leaders of germany, france and poland will meet in berlin later, in an attempt to show unity for ukraine. Its being seen as an effort to address Diverging French and german policies towards the defence of ukraine. Lets speak to our correspondentjessica parker. Thank you for your time. What are we expecting today . 50 it thank you for your time. What are we expecting today . Expecting today . So it is a sort of series of meetings, expecting today . So it is a sort of series of meetings, there expecting today . So it is a sort of series of meetings, there will. Expecting today . So it is a sort of series of meetings, there will be | expecting today . So it is a sort of| series of meetings, there will be a bilateral first between german chancellor 0laf scholz and french president Emanuel Macron and then polish president donald tusk will join in as well and then we will get some statements from the leaders. Not really clear whether we will get to ask any questions but i think rather than looking at this meeting is something where they are going to announce any big decisions, as you say, it is widely being seen as an attempt to bring Emmanuel Macron the french president and 0laf scholz the german chancellor into a room together to really smooth out some pretty apparent differences that have emerged over the last few weeks. You will remember Emmanuel Macron made that remark that he would not rule out the idea of one day sending troops into ukraine which raised a lot of eyebrows. I think people who would defend him say it was a matter of strategic ambiguity but 0laf scholz definitely didnt want to be ambiguous about it at all and really went out of his way to say absolutely not, no western troops and certainly no german troops will go into ukraine because germany is not a war party in this conflict. And then there have been a series of potshots between figures in government and in and around the government between the two countries about who is doing more, who has done more to support ukraine. So there has been that kind of issue plus this really different kind of tone coming out of the two countries. Emanuel macron sounding increasingly hawkish, 0laf scholz remaining very cautious in his tone. The problem with that is of course is that these are two micro massive economies in europe, really seen as important that they get on, particularly if europe is looking to boost its defence, if donald trump re enters the white house at the us president ial elections later this year. Who other countries that really have the to come together, not just really have the to come together, notjust in the eu but the nato Military Alliance as well, trying to bolster European Defence and make europe more autonomous self reliant . That relationship really seen as key and lots of reporting of tensions between the two men. So they will be trying, we assume, to iron that out today. Of course most of it is happening behind closed doors. Macron has used strong words, he said we cant be cowards when it comes to the situation in ukraine. But when you compare frances support for ukraine to germanys, is it actually that much stronger . Its it actually that much stronger . It� s interesting. There is the Keel Institute that has been Tracking Weapons pledges to ukraine and germany is only second to the us when you look at those charts, and so when you think when they feel Emanuel Macron is lecturing them about support for ukraine and people should not be cowards and that was seen as a potential swipe at germany, people in berlin do get quite irritated. I think from the french side some figures have disputed some of those figures or tried to so you have to look at the type of weapons that are being sent. Kiel institute. Wreck the french say we are sending things that are really effective in helping with the war effort and actually work on arrival. So there has again been a bit of a tit for tat over that. And all of that scene as a slightly unhealthy, notjust for the Franco German relationship but for europe as well. It is interesting because the two men, Emanuel Macron and 0laf scholz, they are such different characters as well, arent they . Emanuel macron tends to say things that do raise eyebrows and sometimes cause irritation. 0laf scholz actually criticised by some as not being a particularly good communicator, much more cautious in his communication, although i think his communication, although i think his backers would say that he really considers things very carefully before making any big bold statements. They are just too huh very different types of politicians which has been seen as part of the problem. Which has been seen as part of the roblem. ,. ,. , ~ which has been seen as part of the roblem. G ,. , ~. , ~ which has been seen as part of the roblem. ,. , ~. , ~ i. Problem. Jessica parker, thank you so much. In senegal, the opposition leader, 0usmane Sonko has been released from jail. This follows an amnesty law passed by parliament intended to calm political tensions ahead of president ial elections this month. His partys president ial candidate, Bassirou Diomaye faye, was also released from prison on thursday. Lets take a look at some Award Winning pictures from the world of nature and the British Wildlife photography awards. This is the winning entry a floating football, which has been covered by goose barnacles. It was pictured after it washed up on a beach in dorset. A coot running across a lake at sunrise was the winner of the young photographer section. This image of a Common Starling took the prize for best animal portrait. It was caught using a mix of flash and natural light, mid flight. And this picture shows a close up of slime mould magnified many times. Slime moulds are neither plants norfungi and each of the ball like heads on the stems is approximately one millimetre wide in real life. This snap took the award for Animal Behaviour with three frogs squeezing together in a pond in springtime. You can see more of the best photographs on our website bbc. Co. Uk news. Sir lenny henry will present his final comic relief tonight after almost a0 years. The comedian, who co founded the charity, fronted the First Programme back in 1988 which built on the success of band aid. Its gone on to raise millions of pounds for good causes. Lets see what theyve got in store for us tonight with our culture reporter noor nanjee. We will have more on that later but first i want to bring you some live pictures from the al aqsa mosque. You can see here it is the first friday prayers since ramadan began, and of course this year ramadan is coming at a time of war in the middle east. We have been showing you some of our reporting from Anna Foster Injerusalem and we will bring you more of that coverage across the next few hours. Ramadan has come at a time when World Leaders were hoping for a ceasefire in the war, a ceasefire that would allow not only hostages to be released but also allow more aid to come into gaza. Ramadan of course is part of the reason that these talks were hoping to come sooner was because of the worry it could cause further tensions in the region. We will bring you more of that coverage as soon as we can. Stay with us on bbc news. Lets bring you some coverage now of the comic relief. Sir lenny henry will present his final comic relief tonight after almost a0 years. As we mentioned the comedian who co founded the Charity Front of the First Programme in 1988 which built on the success of band aid. It has gone on to raise millions of pounds for good causes. Lets see what they have in store for us tonight without cultural reporter noor nanji. What are you doing . You need to be. Youre so unprofessional, man. I cant believe it. The big comic relief night of tv is back. Time to once again do something funny for money. Richard madeley, tell us, what do you think you could bring to red nose day . Oh, well, thats easy. I mean, obviously, youve got to be funny. And there will be a lot to laugh about, including when the cast of the tv series w1a reunite to find sir lenny henrys replacement. Yeah, hi, yeah. Will . Yeah, so, like, romesh ranganathans here. I right, great. Romesh . Yeah, i know, yeah, i but i couldnt stop him. Well, you know, i might as well get out of here. I mean, whats the point . I mean, romesh gets everything, doesnt he . Everything. Jeez ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a night of comic relief. There will also be a special show dedicated to sir lenny� s 39 years of comic relief, including a vote that will see the public choosing their favourite lenny sketch. What youve got there, fam, is a chicken well, like, bruv, its dead. To see a new generation of people taking it forwards. Remember, weve got maya jama, weve got david tennant, romesh ranganathan. Theres such a huge amount of people coming up that it will be fantastic to leave knowing that theres. Im getting emotional now. A new group of people taking over and treating it the way we did. The traitors the movie. Other highlights from the fundraising bonanza include an All Star Line Up in the traitors the movie. Prepare to die. But in, like, a super nice way. Its the first time i felt real terror. This years challenge took place in the Arctic Circle in norway. It was comic relief� s coldest ever challenge where stars laura whitmore, vicky pattison, alex scott and sara davies all pushed themselves to the limit. One of the mornings we actually woke up in a hut and that was in a sheltered area and i looked at the thermostat and it said 13, and that was inside. And its a different type of cold. And this is why it all matters. The money raised on red nose day goes towards Funding Projects like this Food Redistribution Charity in north west london. So how important are comic felief funds to a project like this . You know, this year well rescue about 15,000 tonnes of food. So that funding supports all of the infrastructure and distribution apparatus that gets that out into the community, which is incredibly important. Comic relief also supported the Felix Project with the cost of providing this massive walk in freezer. Having the increased Storage Capacity allowed them to give out more than 30 million meals last year. You give me something i need. Behind all the fun and games, a serious goal. Raising funds to help people in the uk and around the world. Noor nanji, bbc news. Come on, baby, do what you do red nose day is on tonight at 7pm on bbc one and bbc iplayer. So do watch. The uks busiest motorway, the m25, will close this weekend for the First Time Since it opened nearly a0 years ago. Its often referred to as � britain� s biggest car park� and its set to live up to that reputation with the closure of its busiest section for essential maintenance works. 0ur correspondent tom edwards has more. Opened in 1986 by the then Prime Minister margaret thatcher, the m25 is an orbital motorway encircling london. The aim was to bypass the capital and create a relief road, although it quickly suffered from chronic congestion. Somejoked the trafficjams made it britains biggest car park. Now its being redesigned and rebuilt. But that will mean this weekend the first Daytime Closure of the m25 in its history. And the collisions is the issue, is it, here, in particular . The collisions occur on the approach to both the m25junction ten and also the a3 as it approaches junction ten. Its just because of the sheer volume of traffic and people changing lanes often at the last minute. So multiple collisions, not generally serious ones, butjust the sheer number of them. Today we were given a tour of the construction works. The m25 will be closed this weekend from 9pm on friday to 8am on monday between junctions ten and 11 in surrey. This is the footbridge thats going to be demolished over the weekend and itll mean theyll have to shut the m25, the first time theyve shut it for that amount of time. A,000 5,000 vehicles every hour use this section of the motorway so you can imagine how bad the disruption is going to be. Transport bosses say its going to be significant. The scheme has faced opposition, although it has taken ten years to get to this point and itll cost £300 million. So it is going to be significant, the disruption here, do you think . I mean, if im candid, it probably will be. Itll be disruptive on some of the local roads because you cant take four lanes of traffic, as you see, on the m25 and funnel that all into a single carriageway. So as long as people are heeding our message and as far as they can avoiding this part of the country, itll really help us. This weekend, diversions will be in place through surrounding towns and villages. Drivers are being told to avoid the area unless its absolutely vital. And more closures are planned for later in the year. Tom edwards, bbc news. Next it is the weather with elizabeth. Hello there. Well, its still unsettled today in through the weekend, so there will be further outbreaks of rain to come at times. But today, something a little cooler and a bit brighter emerging from the north and the west as we head through the afternoon, as low pressure starts to drag these Weather Fronts further southwards and eastwards. So some sunny spells emerging across Northern Ireland through the afternoon and also across parts of Western Scotland. But therell also be some showers here just moving through on that now, northerly to north westerly wind. Further south across much of england and wales for the second half of the day, its a mixture of cloud, some brighter spells and possibly some heavy, even thundery downpours. The thunder most likely across central Southern England and east anglia for the second half of the day. Temperatures are lower across the board than they were yesterday, with that colder air sinking further southwards and eastwards. And that process continues overnight tonight. Still a hang back of cloud across many parts of Eastern England, this will help to keep the temperatures probably in mid single figures here. But there will be A Touch Of Frost developing across Northern England and scotland and a bit of frost probably for at least part of the night across Northern Ireland as well. With lighter winds, therell also be some mist and some fog forming perhaps, too. And then into tomorrow when we look out towards the south and the west again to find another set of Weather Fronts, gradually sweeping eastwards, introducing more cloud and some outbreaks of rain, but probably dry for much of the day across Eastern Scotland and down through Eastern England with some Sunshine Hazy at times. But turning wet through the afternoon for western spots again, its mild with now that south westerly wind blowing all of these fronts further northwards and eastwards as we head through the night. Now there will be some heavy rain through the night across southern areas of england, probably lingering on into Sunday Morning as well. Weve still got that South Westerly Flow so the air is going to be really quite mild again. But a lot of cloud around on sunday, some brighter spells developing perhaps particularly towards the east as we head towards the end of the day. Some showers moving across Northern Ireland and Western Scotland and it will be turning quite windy across the Northern Isles again. Its mild highs of around 13 to 16 degrees celsius for the vast majority. And we are set to keep the same sort of conditions as we head into the start of next week. Monday could be mostly dry with a few showers. Well be keeping that mild air again on tuesday. Bye bye. Live from london, this is bbc news. Russia votes in an election which Vladimir Putin is bound to win securing another six years in power. This is the scene live in moscow. Well look at what putin is hoping to achieve. I is hoping to achieve. Am anna foster live in east jerusalem. I am anna foster live in east jerusalem. Israel says hamas proposals for a ceasefire are unrealistic. Hope on the horizon, a ship carrying aid is now visible from the garden coast. And at the Princess Diana legacy Award Ceremony in london, both her sons make an appearance, but not together. And fast food slows right down an it problem leaves customers unable to order at mcdonalds. Hello, im azadeh moshiri. We begin in russia, where voting is under way in president ial elections which will almost certianly see Vladimir Putin extend his quarter of a century in power. The process began in russias far east several hours ago. These pictures are from vladivostok. And lets bring you some pictures live from a Polling Station in moscow