online have their sentences increased. russia bans flights to georgia after clashes in tbilisi. thousands of protesters have gathered outside parliament for a second night. and, eltonjohn receives france's highest civilian honour, the legion d'honneur, from president macron. president trump has confirmed that he called off a military strike against iran with minutes to spare after deciding that too many human lives would be lost. mr trump tweeted that the us had been "cocked and loaded", but he's now facing criticism from democrats for revealing details of the plan. the attack was to be a response to the shooting down of an unmanned us drone by iran earlier this week. it happened in a volatile region that is a major supply route for a third of the world's oil. tehran says the drone entered iranian airspace, but the us maintains it was shot down in international airspace over the strait of hormuz. here's our north america editorjon sopel. in iran they are celebrating taking out of the sky a $130 million us drone — the latest escalation in tensions between washington and tehran. today, on iranian tv, the results of their handiwork were being shown off. america has no shortage of military assets in the region but the anticipated retaliation never came. it turns out military strikes had been ordered. but at the last moment donald trump had a change of mind. he confirmed this on twitter this morning: but now a rather different account from the president. the planes weren't even in the air, so weapons couldn't have been locked and loaded. were planes in the air? we were about ready to go. no, but they would have been pretty soon, and things would have happened to a point where you wouldn't turn back or couldn't turn back. that wasn't quite the impression he gave yesterday at the white house, when watched by his hawkish national security adviser and secretary of state he seemed to suggest that action was imminent. one of iran's deputy foreign ministers told the bbc they were only acting in self—defence. when you violate iranian territorial space, then we defend. this is defence. and to back up their argument, iran's foreign minister produced a sketch to claim the drone was flying over iranian territorial waters. the us put out a more formal looking map to claim it was in international airspace. regardless, the federal aviation authority has issued orders preventing american airlines from flying over the persian gulf and the gulf of oman as a result of this incident. british airways is doing the same. at friday prayers today in tehran there were renewed chants of "death to america." last night donald trump pulled back, but this is still a tense and dangerous situation in a highly volatile region. negar mortazavi is an iran analyst and consultant editor at the news website the independent. thank you so much for your time. first of all, is there a coherent plan on iran coming out of the white house? thanks for having me. no, there doesn't seem to be a coherent plan, even for the attack that was supposed to happen last night. there are contradictory reports coming out of the white house and the situation room as far as when president trump decided to call off the plan. was it the casualties, is this part of his out of the deal? is he trying to put iranians on the edge? all of this, we have to remember, goes back to a year ago when president trump pulled out of the nuclear deal, which was working. the iranians were abiding by it. it was the only available avenue to limit iran's nuclear programme. he pulled out of it without any alternatives or strategy and this is where we are now. some are saying that you could see this latest move by donald trump as potentially a brilliant strategic move. that he essentially showed iran what was possible but didn't go ahead with it. that could be to basically put iranians on the edge, scared but not actually attacking them and escalating it. but that is not really how the next step would happen. if president trump's eventual goal, which seems to be to bring iranians to the table and negotiate with them, it is not going to happen under this kind of pressure, underforce. to happen under this kind of pressure, under force. if to happen under this kind of pressure, underforce. ifanything he has to lift the pressure, start to de—escalate. at the same time we are counting on the iranians playing by the rules and being a logical player. we also have to remember there are hardline forces, there are sometimes ruthless forces on the iranian side. both sides are on the edge but anything can change and start to escalate. obviously, iran are watching the latest news play out. what do you think their next move is going to be and what do you think they are thinking as they watch and listen to all of this? the top leadership in iran have signalled so far that they don't wa nt signalled so far that they don't want a signalled so far that they don't wanta war signalled so far that they don't want a war with the us, for obvious reasons. no—one wants a war with the us military. but that doesn't mean they are ready and prepared for a potential war. they have been preparing for this day for many yea rs, preparing for this day for many years, since the 1980s, the eight—year war between iran and iraq, when iran had very little international support. they have been preparing and building up and basically acquiring all of this technology for a day like this. it is also a mistake to think iranians are not prepared or that they cannot make life very difficult for everybody in the region. they have proxies spread across the region, unconventional methods that might not match the level of technology or the expertise of the us military, but there are other ways that they are going to use and it is going to be devastating, not just are going to use and it is going to be devastating, notjust for the us and iran, but also for many other countries in the region. thank you so countries in the region. thank you so much for your analysis. the parents of a british muslim convert dubbed "jihadijack" have been found guilty of funding terrorism by a british court. jack letts was 18 when he left for syria in 2014. his parents refused to believe he'd become a dangerous extremist. he married and had a child with an iraqi woman before being captured and imprisoned in syria by kurdish forces in 2017. 0ur middle east correspondent quentin sommerville met him last year. we had to wait until his parents' trial was over before we could broadcast this interview. one of the islamic state group's most notorious recruits was former 0xford schoolboy jack letts. he agreed to speak to us in october last year. only now that his parents' trial is over can the interview be broadcast. he said he wasn't speaking under duress and he wanted to come clean about his membership of is. i asked him if he had betrayed his country. what were you? were you a traitor or were you are a collaborator? that's the question i'm asking you. a traitor to britain? you mean a traitor to britain? it's the first time i've heard that term in a long time. i was definitely an enemy of britain. i have no doubt about this. i haven't tried to make myself innocent. i did what i did, i made a big mistake and that's what happened. i regretted what i did and thought, supposedly the british idea is that even if you do make big mistakes, you can sort of go back. not go back to britain, i mean go back from your mistakes. you can set things right. did they ever ask you to put on a suicide vest? they don't ask you, but they encourage you. in a sort of indirect way. i used to want to at one point, believe it or not. i now think it's actually haram. that's the first time i say this. i might as well tell the truth. i did at one point want to. not a vest, i wanted to do it in a car. so i said, if there's a chance, i'll do it. i didn't request to do it, but at the same time it was obvious that, i made it obvious to him that if there was a battle i'm ready. let's get some of the day's other news. thousands of protesters in hong kong have blockaded the city's police headquarters. they want a controversial extradition bill to be thrown out. this will be the third weekend of protests against the bill. hong kong's leader carrie lam promoted and then postponed the bill, but demonstrators want it scrapped altogether. firefighters in the us have been battling a massive blaze at a gas refinery in southwest philadelphia many hours after the fire broke out. people living nearby say their homes were rocked by four explosions early on friday. four people were injured and treated on site. the cause of the fire is not yet known. the american rapper cardi b has been charged with assault in connection with a fight at a strip club in new york in august last year. the singer was arrested in october for allegedly ordering an attack on two bartenders. spain's supreme court has ruled that an attack on a woman that shocked spain was gang rape, rather than an earlier verdict of sexual abuse. the five men, known as the "wolf pack", were originally given nine years injail when they were cleared of rape. but prosecutors appealed to the supreme court to upgrade the conviction and judges increased their sentences to 15 years. guy hedgcoe has the latest from madrid. in the summer of 2016, during the running of the bulls festival in pamplona, five young men led an 18—year—old woman to the lobby of an apartment building in the early hours of the morning, where they had sex with her. she accused them of raping her, but when the case went to trial last year, the court ruled that the five defendants were instead guilty of the lesser crime of sexual abuse. thejudges said that because there had been no violence or intimidation, the rape charge did not apply. the accused, who were known as the "wolf pack" because of the name of a whatsapp group they shared, were given nine—year jail sentences. that verdict drew widespread outrage. but many spaniards believed it had been a clear—cut case of rape, and took to the streets to protest. the backlash against this particular court decision fed into a broader campaign for women's rights in spain. both the defendants and the victim appealed the verdict. on friday the supreme court heard from lawyers on both sides. translation: all the acts took place in an atmosphere of terror, of absolute subjugation in which the only thing the victim declared to the court was, i closed my eyes and waited for all but two and as soon as possible. this time the court decided there had been intimidation, and that therefore this was a case of rape. the defendants had their original sentences increased from nine years to 15. one of them, antonio manuel guerrero, received an extra two years because he stole the phone of the victim during the attack. all five men, who had been freed on bail, were arrested in seville shortly after the supreme court announced its ruling. the un high commissioner for human rights, michelle bachelet, has been holding talks with the venezuelan president, nicolas maduro, as she wraps up a visit designed to break the country's political deadlock. earlier she met the opposition leader, juan guaido, and set out plans to open a permanent branch of her office in caracas. the move has been welcomed by mr guaido and human rights groups who've called for an investigation into alleged abuses by the government. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the president and the pop star — eltonjohn receives france's highest civilian honour. there was a bomb in the city centre. a code word known to be one used by the ira was given. army bomb experts were examining a suspect van when there was a huge explosion. the south african parliament has destroyed the foundation of apartheid by abolishing the population registration act, which for a0 years forcibly classified each citizen according to race. germany's parliament, the bundestag, has voted by a narrow majority to move the seat of government from bonn to berlin. berliners celebrated into the night, but the decision was greeted with shock in bonn. just a day old, and the royal baby is tonight sleeping in his cot at home. early this evening, the new prince was taken by his mother and father to their apartments in kensington palace. the real focus of attention today was valentina tereshkova, the world's first woman cosmonaut. what do you think of the russian woman in space? i think it's a wonderful achievement and i think we might be able to persuade the wife it would be a good idea if i could to get her to go up there for a little while. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: president trump says he called off an overnight attack on iran with just minutes to spare because too many people would have been killed. the parents of jack letts, a british teenager who travelled to syria to join the islamic state group, are found guilty of funding terrorism. thousands of people have again taken to the streets in the georgian capital tbilisi, a day after more than 200 people were injured in protests at the parliament buildings. on thursday, police used teargas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters, angry over a russian politican making a speech inside parliament. russia has suspended passenger flights from russia to georgia, and advised russian tourists not to travel to georgia. rayhan demytri reports from tbilisi. in this corner, some students are painting posters and the message is clear. "russia is an occupying country and 20% of my country "is occupied by russia." this is a very common slogan that one would hear in georgia. this is the reference to georgia's two break away territories, south 0ssetia and abkhazia, which are under russian control both militarily and financially. the students who have gathered outside tbilisi state university, they are here to make their voices heard. they are saying this is an anti—russian protest. they also want political changes in the country. they don't want affiliation with any of the existing political parties in the country but because of what happened in tbilisi on thursday and friday morning, the thousands of people gathered outside parliament to protest against visiting russian mps, these students think that now is the moment also to come out and say that they are against russia and what russia is doing to our country. canada has become the first g20 country to ban the import and export of shark fins. the country is the largest importer of shark fins outside asia, but the ban is an effort to help preserve the species under threat. critics say the way many of the fins are collected is inhumane and unsustainable and has had a devastating impact on global shark populations. sir eltonjohn has been awarded france's highest civilian honour, the legion d'honneur, for services to music and the fight against aids. the award was presented by president macron in a private ceremony at the elysee palace. the 72—year—old musician is in paris on the latest stop of his marathon farewell tour, as freya cole reports. hand—in—hand from french president emmanuel macron and the legendary sir eltonjohn. bonjour! sir elton has been in paris for his farewell yellow brick road world tour, but before he departs the country, he picked up france's highest civilian award, the legion of honour. i have a huge love affair with france. i have a house here, i have always loved coming here. i love the french culture, the way of life and the french people. and as a musician, to receive this award on the day of the festival de musique makes it even more special. the ceremony was held at the elysee palace, the president describing him as a melodic genius, but also paying homage to his lifelong work championing gay rights and raising billions of dollars to ending the plight of hiv/aids. translation: we have to continue to finance the research, to finance treatments and to continue to allow access to treatments for everyone, and so this commitment to music and the fight against aids has been your entire life, dear elton. the top accolade comes less than a month after the release of rocketman, a deeply personal bio pic revealing his life behind the scenes. people don't pay to see reg dwight, they pay to see eltonjohn! the 72—year—old says this final world tour will be his last, but those who have studied his life aren't entirely convinced. he could never not perform, because i think it is too much in his blood and he loves it too much. and he wouldn't want to be away too much from the fans, i don't think. sir elton is now on his way to the south of france, continuing his epic career, one which gets a big thumbs up. freya cole, bbc news. for more on this, let's speak to kenny metcalf. he's considered one of the world's top elton john impersonators and an expert on the artist's life. hejoins us from his studio in los angeles. thank you so much for your time. we can see you in your eltonjohn impersonating get up, which looks fantastic. thank you. first of all, why have you decided to devote so much of your life to this particular artist? well, elton john was the inspiration that made me want to be a piano player. i was a drummerfor ten years, and in freshman year in high school, benny and thejets came out and that was it, for me. i went home and taught myself to play the piano andi home and taught myself to play the piano and i have loved elton‘s music and everything that is elton ever since. one of the reasons elton john has been given this particular award, which is quite something, from france, is for his musical genius, essentially. and i have heard so much about it, apparently heard so much about it, apparently he comes up with these songs, these hits, in minutes. how much can you tell us about eltonjohn as the musician? he is amazing. his music is in—depth, in such a way, i mean, when he wrote this stuff, for him and his band, to write such classics in15 and his band, to write such classics in 15 minutes' and his band, to write such classics in15 minutes' time, and his band, to write such classics in 15 minutes' time, and then in 15 minutes' time the band learns it and records it, and they are standing to this day as amazing songs, they are epic. playing elton‘s music has made mea epic. playing elton‘s music has made me a better piano player than i ever was. i loved his music, i love the way he phrases chord structures, melody lines. he's just amazing, way he phrases chord structures, melody lines. he'sjust amazing, and i get to do this and put smiles on people's faces, it is the greatest thing. but there is more to demand and music. he has been rewarded for his work on aids. —— more to the man. how much of a trailblazer was he in that area? he is the guy. he is the one who impacted that and help save so many people. he has raised the most amount of money, there is nobody like elton, when it comes to that. you've got to love him. he spreads himself so thin.|j thought it was interesting, the french president said of eltonjohn, he is an icon who knew how to set an example. what do you think you meant by that? well, yeah, we have to set exa m ples by that? well, yeah, we have to set examples in life. every generation, adults, kids need to have somebody to look up to. so if i am interpreting about, that part of him, he is somebody to look up to and follow on how he loves people. he is on his farewell tour in paris. do you think this is really farewell? i don't know. it could be, but everyone has kind of got those farewell tours, and then two and three and four follow. he has loved playing his whole life. i hope he doesn't say goodbye. playing his whole life. i hope he doesn't say goodbyelj playing his whole life. i hope he doesn't say goodbye. i mean, he is not a young man. no, but when you are on stage playing the music, you feel like a young man, even though you are worn out after the show, maybe. do you think that despite this award and honour from france but eltonjohn this award and honour from france but elton john has this award and honour from france but eltonjohn has been recognised properly in his entirety, both for music and for his work on other issues? oh, yes, yes. he is very recognised. when he comes to los angeles and hosts events to raise money for his foundation he is a lwa ys money for his foundation he is always sold out, and the people come. but, i mean, around the world he is definitely recognised for this. he is a trailblazer. well, we are going to get a bit of a sense of your appreciation of elton john's music. you are actually going to play some music for us and you will play some music for us and you will play us out. can you tell us which song you have chosen and why? well, i chose the song rocket man because thatis i chose the song rocket man because that is one of my favourites, of course, but the movie is out and it is always well received by everybody when i play it, from the first note, everybody loves it. all right, well, kenny metcalf, one of the world's top eltonjohn kenny metcalf, one of the world's top elton john impersonators kenny metcalf, one of the world's top eltonjohn impersonators and also an aficionado on the man's life, playing us out here on bbc news. # she packed my bags last night pre—flight # zero hour nine am # and i'm gonna be high as a kite by then # i miss the earth so much # and i think it's gonna be a long long time # ‘till touch down brings me round again to find # i'm not the man they think i am at home # oh no, no, no # i'm a rocket man # rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone # and i think it's gonna be a long long time things are warming up this weekend right across the board. it'll certainly be noticeable across southern areas, where the humidity will also gradually increase, and into next week, certainly late on sunday, the threat of thundery showers increases as well. for the weekend, fine for most of us. lots of dry weather around. we start this morning on a cool note outside town. the single digits in one or two places. the pressure chart reveals high pressure. this will be the driving force for the fine weather, certainly for the first half of the weekend, but this low pressure system will come into play later across the south—west. lots of sunshine up and down the country this morning, into the afternoon, cloud will tend to build up in places. could see an isolated shower pretty much anywhere, but northern scotland will see a scattering of showers, i think, through the morning and into the afternoon. temperatures higher than we have seen over the last few days. high 20s for england and wales. 19 or 20 in the central belt of scotland. into saturday evening and saturday night, most places will stay dry. maybe still a few showers across the far north of scotland. we could see clouds just building up across the very far west of the country. notice the temperatures, they are starting to import warmer and more humid air. double—figure values for all. a warmer start to the day on sunday. plenty of sunshine around and still a few showers across the northern isles. then this weather front starts to push in across wales and the south—west of england later in the day, to bring outbreaks of rain. to the north and east it should stay dry, feeling even warmer, 211—25 across the south—east, high teens further north. this is the pressure chart as we head through sunday night. high pressure still holding on across the north of the country, with this low pressure and its warmer front continuing to move north and east. the rain will pop up across southern and western areas late on sunday. during sunday night and into the early hours of monday, there is the potential of some really heavy and thundery rain moving north. hit and miss, torrential downpours, some areas could see the risk of some surface water flooding. it will turn warm and muggy by the end of the night across southern areas. monday, heavy and thundery rain spilling its way slowly northwards, attracting much of scotland. the very far north of england as well. further south the sunshine could come out, but that could spark off further thundery showers, we're really importing warmer humid air during monday afternoon and we could see the high 20 celsius in the south. still fairly warm in the north, despite all the rain. as we head through much of next week it stays warm, even hot, in southern areas. with the high humidity, thundery showers are likely to continue to be a risk. there are warnings in force for this, so head to the website 00:28:55,386 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 to check those out.

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