we start with social media giant meta. the owner of facebook, instagram and whatsapp has been winning back friends online and on wall street. it's been a brutal couple of months. shares lost almost half their value. back in february, we learned that that the number of people using facebook had fallen for the first time ever, and that sparked a collapse in meta's shares. but on wednesday, it revealed that, over the past three months, that decline has reversed. our north america business correspondent michelle fleury has more. the exec substantial threat to facebook still there but one measures how many people are using the social network, on that front it appears to have satisfied investors, the daily active users 1.96 billion users for march and an increase of 4% year over year. for march and an increase of 4% year overyear. better for march and an increase of 4% year over year. better than expected. the company �*s founder and ceo mark zuckerberg spoke optimistically, saying with progress this court across a number of key company priorities. 43, the parent company of facebook and instagram has plenty of issues. it reported its weakest revenue growth for a decade, the company explained ad budgets were coming under strain made worse from the invasion of ukraine, pointed to the impact of an apple update last year that its people choose whether they want to be tracked around they want to be tracked around the firm like meta who can sell that information to advertisers. overall the results have investors hitting the like button with the meta share price rising sharply. joining me now is james evans. how do they get numbers to start going up again?- how do they get numbers to start going up again? meta have been always _ start going up again? meta have been always been _ start going up again? meta have been always been a _ start going up again? meta have been always been a country - start going up again? meta have been always been a country able to innovate and they have been able to work out what the next big thing is. 43 they are focusing on the real is part of the business and the missive is part of the business, they have been able to look at what other platform users are doing, we create that, and ultimately get people back. it is worth looking at it from how many users they have, meta have the top three platforms out of, sorry, the three top platforms in facebook, instagram and whatsapp, so they are able to kind of utilise all the people on their and then bring them back to that platform over time. chief among the headwinds facing consumerfacing business is advertising. what is meta saying about how advertising budgets? where is this going, how bullish two people feel how much money are they putting on these platforms?— these platforms? there have been headwinds _ these platforms? there have been headwinds with - these platforms? there have been headwinds with meta, i been headwinds with meta, people were surprised with their result last night, meta had talked about headwinds with apple privacy could cost him £10 billion, they are talking about the macro economic conditions, they talked about the war in ukraine and that what —— what they will ultimately do across europe on ad spend, overall they are able to get people attracted to the platform for both advertisers and for consumers. the platform for both advertisers and for consumers.— platform for both advertisers and for consumers. the eu has aareed a and for consumers. the eu has agreed a new piece _ and for consumers. the eu has agreed a new piece of- agreed a new piece of legislation that is effectively going to force the big tech companies including meta to take more responsibility for content posted on their sites. how is that extra level of transparency going to affect countries —— companies like meta and their overall value? 1 think we saw it with twitter, elon musk was going to talk about how he wanted free speech but the eu talking about you still can't have paid. it is the same for all platforms it will be similarfor meta, the same for all platforms it will be similar for meta, they need to ensure there is a huge amount of hate going through their there will be additional cost to moderated but overall, they should be fine with what they should be fine with what they are currently doing. let's turn to the economic impact from the war in ukraine because the european union has accused russia of blackmail after it cut off gas supplies to poland and bulgaria. they are the first countries to have their gas cut off after refusing to pay in roubles, which russia is demanding as a way of supporting its currency. the european commission president ursula von der layen said both are now receiving gas from their european neighbours. gazprom announcement that they are unilaterally stopping gas deliveries to certain interstates is another provocation from the kremlin. but it comes as no surprise that the kremlin uses fossil fuels to try to blackmail us, this is something the european commission has been preparing for, and close co—ordination and solidarity with member states and international partners. our response will be immediate, united and co—ordinated. tough words. nathan piper is head of oil and gas research at investec in edinburgh. nathan, as time goes on, energy contracts with other countries and russia expire. how secure is europe's energy? what we are seeing is a number of major uptake is in germany actually to a certain extent complying with the wishes of russia, they will put euros into the right bank account for gazprom bank which can be converted into roubles. the unity isn't quite there on the eu side to act on the same way as what the polish and people are trying to understand the limits of the eu sanctions in order to pay is. $5 limits of the eu sanctions in order to pay is.— limits of the eu sanctions in order to pay is. as the eu in a osition order to pay is. as the eu in a position to — order to pay is. as the eu in a position to step _ order to pay is. as the eu in a position to step in _ order to pay is. as the eu in a position to step in for- order to pay is. as the eu in a position to step in for what. position to step in for what will be a growing number of countries on this list?- will be a growing number of countries on this list? that is the -e countries on this list? that is the type part _ countries on this list? that is the type part the _ countries on this list? that is the type part the eu - countries on this list? that is the type part the eu is - countries on this list? that is the type part the eu is so - the type part the eu is so dependent on russian gas imports, 40% of gases delivered by rush into a high extent some of those eastern european countries, germany, italy and some others, finding gas to report that on a short—term basis can be done with storage, from a longer term point of view getting access to another source of gas is very challenging and reflected in the high prices we see at the moment. the high prices we see at the moment-— moment. this has certainly 'olted moment. this has certainly jolted gas _ moment. this has certainly jolted gas prices _ moment. this has certainly jolted gas prices higher, i jolted gas prices higher, pushing things more unobtainable direction. russia using it to divide and rule strategy. you alluded to in your first answer how united do your first answer how united do you think europe really is in the face of the strategy from russia? ., ~ , the face of the strategy from russia? . ~ , , russia? frankly, we will see, these are _ russia? frankly, we will see, these are commercial - russia? frankly, we will see, | these are commercial entities trying to source gas to deliver on the run domestic requirements. the eu will have to be clear whether or not these methods of accepting —— sending euros to gazprom is acceptable, getting russia —— getting money to russia through the back door. not what many people want to do but they need these gas supplies, it's a very difficult for the eu to facing difficult for the eu to facing difficult decisions will have to be made. to be fair the polish and bulgarian 's have made those difficult choices. they had been reducing their reliance over the last year, knowing this was coming. let's go to the us now where official figures are expected to confirm a sharp slowdown in the world's largest economy. at the end of last year the economy was growing at an annual rate of almost 7%, but between january and march that's expected to have fallen to barely 1%. some economists are even predicting the economy could have shrunk during that period, and others are warning that soaring inflation and rising interest rates could mean a recession is on the way in the us. chris campbell is chief strategist at the risk consultants kroll. he's a former us assistant treasury secretary for financial institutions. he's in miami, florida. how well founded are those recession fears? i think they are a very real threat. your lead and was accurate, there are supply chain challenges, the war going on with russia and ukraine, and inflation, before the war are all significant challenges that we are facing in the united states and raising interest rates is only going to be able to tamp down a certain portion of that inflation. anything federal reserve and policymakers control, to the fate of the us economy. just some comments _ fate of the us economy. just some comments from - fate of the us economy. just some comments from mitt romney, the utah senator and presidential nominee calling for the president to ditch what he is described as his woke advisers to fix the economy because as he says a new set of priorities requires a new set of principles. what do you think he meant by that and you think he meant by that and you think he meant by that and you think he has a point? i think he meant by that and you think he has a point?— think he has a point? i very much value _ think he has a point? i very much value and _ think he has a point? i very much value and respect - think he has a point? i very - much value and respect senator romney who you might know well, i think what he was trying to say, was that there is a propensity in washington, dc, among the democratic party, to spend money. to try to spend their way out of a recession. which many other people more progressive —— not progressive small moderate would feel they are slowing down of government spending and getting our budget under control, and perhaps looking at more fiscally prudent measures and ways forward, perhaps as the best way to pursue the us economy to withstand the challenges of head of us. midterms coming up and polling shows biden�*s approvals ratings are down, and there's widespread disapproval of his handling of economic affairs. what are the priorities for the american public right now? is it all about the economy? many, many issues facing the us right now our pocketbook issues, we have enormous amount of inflation, wages not go as fast as inflation so, let's remember seven out of ten americans live paycheck to paycheck, those folks living paycheck, those folks living paycheck to paycheck, with rising inflation, wages not keeping up, it means they are out priced, everything is out pricing the american family. if you raise interest rates with credit cards and mortgages become more expensive as well. those folks that will bear the brunt of the most, those who can afford at the least in the united states, that's the real challenge facing the united states, the kitchen table issues you see going on in the united states right now. sounds familiar doesn't _ united states right now. sounds familiar doesn't it, _ united states right now. sounds familiar doesn't it, living - familiar doesn't it, living paycheck to paycheck, living on your overdraft and those issues affecting families. here in the uk fears of a recession have driven the pound sterling to its lowest since june 2020 when the economy was gripped by the pandemic. david madden is market analyst at equiti capital in london. the strength or weakness of the currency is a measure of the strength or weakness of the economy. and compare contrast what is going in the us and what is going in the us and what is going in the us and what is happening in the uk? the two economies are in a similar boat, but the us economy grew by 7% in the final quarter of last year. could be in for a sharp downturn. but although we saw levels of much more moderate levels of growth in the uk, we are looking for a relatively large cooling off in the uk economy and months ahead. it is a fact the us economy was growing that much faster, and the fact it seems as if the us central bank in the federal reserve are going to down a more aggressive rates in the bank of england. it is worth pointing out bank of england have hiked interest rate three times since december, they went faster to take down inflation but ultimately, it is the us central bank and federal reserve they seem to be picking up reserve they seem to be picking up the pace, almost compounding us issues. here in the uk we are in a similar situation to the us with the inflation rate in the uk, cpi at 6.2%, its highest level for 30 years, what that means is if you received a pay rise less than 6.2% over the past year you are net worse off, not to mention the fact we are yet to see the higher energy bills kick in here in the uk. we obviously have as your previous guest mentioned supply chain issues because of the post— pandemic era and further disruption because of the russian invasion of ukraine, a mixture of all of the above that is chipping away at the perception of the health of the uk economy, hence we have seen a sell—off with the british pound against the us dollar. also against a basket of other currencies, it has fallen to a one year low multi—year lows against the australian dollar, swiss franc and canadian dollar in the past few weeks as well. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: having four, waters, the cruise ship industry sets course for recovery after a stormy couple of years. i nelson mandela do hereby serve. ., i nelson mandela do hereby serve. . ., , , serve. channel tunnel has been formally opened _ serve. channel tunnel has been formally opened by _ serve. channel tunnel has been formally opened by the - serve. channel tunnel has been formally opened by the queen l formally opened by the queen and president met around, but the tunnel is still not ready for passengers and freight services to begin. for centuries, _ services to begin. forj centuries, christianity services to begin. for centuries, christianity and islam _ centuries, christianity and islam struggled _ centuries, christianity and islam struggled for- centuries, christianity and - islam struggled for supremacy. now the — islam struggled for supremacy. now the pope's _ islam struggled for supremacy. now the pope's visit _ islam struggled for supremacy. i now the pope's visit symbolises their_ now the pope's visit symbolises their ability— now the pope's visit symbolises their ability to _ now the pope's visit symbolises their ability to coexist. - now the pope's visit symbolises their ability to coexist.— their ability to coexist. roger bannister _ their ability to coexist. roger bannister became _ their ability to coexist. roger bannister became the - their ability to coexist. roger bannister became the first i bannister became the first person to run a mile underfour minutes. they're memories of victory as the celebrations reach their climax. this is dedicated to everyone who believes in the beauty of peace and freedom. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines... russian forces must be pushed out of the whole of ukraine, according to britain's foreign secretary, as she says western allies must "double down" in their support. the united nations secretary general, antonio guterres, arrives in kyiv to meet ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky, a day after talks with vladimir putin in moscow. huge table. let's go to norway now. back on a huge table. despite its oil wealth, the scandinavian nation is the biggest adopter of electric cars in europe. that has made it a key target for chinese ev manufacturers, looking to break into the european market and showcase their technology, as adrienne murray reports from the capital, oslo. anyone for table tennis, yoga, or perhaps a latte with that? it feels more like a clubhouse oran it feels more like a clubhouse or an apple store, but this is actually a car showroom. chinese electric car—maker neo is one of the latest brands to enter norway. its business model also breaks convention. you buy the car and then you have a subscription, you lease the battery. there are several advantages of that, first of all the purchase price is reduced, then of course you will always have the newest battery technology. just outside oslo, _ battery technology. just outside oslo, this - battery technology. just outside oslo, this is - battery technology. just outside oslo, this is europe's 's battery swap station. just rolling forwards into the square. rolling forwards into the s: uare. ., rolling forwards into the suuare. ., , .,, rolling forwards into the suuare. ., , , ., square. power swap has started. the car is _ square. power swap has started. the car is guided _ square. power swap has started. the car is guided inside - the car is guided inside autonomously. so i'm not even touching the steering wheel, my feet are off the pedals.- feet are off the pedals. power swa is feet are off the pedals. power swap is due — feet are off the pedals. power swap is due to _ feet are off the pedals. power swap is due to start _ feet are off the pedals. power swap is due to start with - feet are off the pedals. power swap is due to start with the l swap is due to start with the with— swap is due to start with the with the _ swap is due to start with the with the plan end of the year in norway. in china, there are already hundreds. the idea of this battery swap station is when you are going longer distances, what if you didn't manage to charge up, you can replace the battery or use a fully charged one. the car can be charged, but swapping breach the range without the weight, and in about five minutes i'm ready to go. but it will be up against other new tack, like faster charges and longer lasting batteries. a wave of chinese evs have launched in norway and others are coming, testing the water for wider european roll—outs. others are hoping to take on established brands like tesla, vw and audi. in norway, they only have to commence us about buying a chinese car, not buying an ev. we are already convinced about that. the consumers have a lot more to choose from, and especially the last six months, lot of new chinese companies have entered norway. wade the chinese home market is now the biggest in the world for electric cars, but norway has the most per capita, and plans to phase out sales of new diesel and petrol cars by 2025. we have very favourable set of incentives for the electric cars _ incentives for the electric cars. norway has been used as a test market for some time, and it is test market for some time, and it isiust — test market for some time, and it isjust obvious test market for some time, and it is just obvious that also chinese _ it is just obvious that also chinese makes will come here and try— chinese makes will come here and try it _ chinese makes will come here and try it out. chinese makes will come here and try it out-— and try it out. players like neo hone _ and try it out. players like neo hone to _ and try it out. players like neo hope to win - and try it out. players like neo hope to win over - and try it out. players like - neo hope to win over norwegian drivers but soon they will be batting for business elsewhere in europe, too. adrian murray, bbc news, oslo. how cool was that? the battery swap. finally, as we all know, it's been a turbulent couple of years for the travel industry, and a particularly stormy one for the cruise ship business. the pandemic completely crippled what was a $5 billion industry, with scenes of passengers quarantined aboard ships causing lasting damage. the bbc�*s lucy hockings has been at the industry's annual gathering in miami, where she's been talking to kelly craighead, head of the cruise lines international association. she began by asking how the past few years had been. to say it has been a journey is probably an understatement, but if i had to sum it up in one word, it is pride. i have tremendous pride. they put people first the very first moment people and about the pandemic. to not only put people first but develop some of the most robust and effective health and safety protocols that exist in any commercial setting. 50 protocols that exist in any commercial setting. so how has the in'u commercial setting. so how has the injury future _ commercial setting. so how has the injury future proved - commercial setting. so how has the injury future proved itself i the injury future proved itself around covid then? you have mentioned protocols, can you be more specific? for mentioned protocols, can you be more specific?— more specific? for protocols, it is from _ more specific? for protocols, it is from when _ more specific? for protocols, it is from when you _ more specific? for protocols, it is from when you leave - more specific? for protocols, it is from when you leave the | it is from when you leave the house until when you return, so the kind of future proof is just the value of the communication with the consumer. i don't think we will see another outbreak that anybody saw at the start of the pandemic, butjust the routine isolation of health questionnaires, testing when you need testing, the need for vaccines are something i think will continue on a line by line basis because they were a game changer. i5 basis because they were a game chanaer. , ., , changer. is that this realisation - changer. is that this realisation that - changer. is that this realisation that you | changer. is that this - realisation that you have to get it right, because reputations are so fragile and you only need a few headlines about, you know, sending shivers up the spine about the petri dish at sea. have to come up petri dish at sea. have to come up that in the mind of the public so that is something you have to get right. does that occupy people's mine's? you have to get _ occupy people's mine's? you have to get this _ occupy people's mine's? hm, have to get this exactly right. no one could have predicted covert, certainly no one did, and it was unfortunate that the cruise industry was one of the early symbols of covid, but we've learned a tremendous amount as a society, and we've learned a tremendous amount as an industry that has helped i think other industries adapt. i think other industries adapt. i think you saw hand washing on ships long before you saw them at hotels and other places you see it now. 50 at hotels and other places you see it nova— see it now. so what are your urowth see it now. so what are your growth predictions _ see it now. so what are your growth predictions for - see it now. so what are your growth predictions for the i growth predictions for the industry? i growth predictions for the industry?— industry? i think we are predicting _ industry? i think we are predicting by _ industry? i think we are predicting by the - industry? i think we are predicting by the end i industry? i think we are predicting by the end of industry? i think we are - predicting by the end ofjuly we will be back at 100%, which would be terrific. 100% of ship capacity, and again in the united states, the north american market is the largest market, and it is still fighting to come back after its first ships sailed i think 13 months after in europe, so we are really excited to have all of the fleet back in operations sometime this summer. 50 of the fleet back in operations sometime this summer.- sometime this summer. so is there anything _ sometime this summer. so is there anything that _ sometime this summer. so is there anything that people i sometime this summer. so is there anything that people in| there anything that people in there anything that people in the industry need to worry about then, in terms of growth? is there anything you can see, with a cost of living crisis at the moment, fuel has gone up, are those factors that could influence the industry? right. i mean, influence the industry? right. i mean. i— influence the industry? right. i mean, ithink— influence the industry? right. i mean, i think the _ influence the industry? right. i mean, i think the cruise - i mean, i think the cruise industry is one of the most textured, interesting industries from a standpoint of that, because ukraine fuelled inflation, the unpredictability of the virus, these old things that are concerns to the business leaders of not only the cruise lines but the companies and the businesses that are dependent on it. but i think again the experience through the pandemic is indicative of what you can expect from the industry, is that the leadership of the industry is adaptable. they have foresight, they really are willing to make investments in the things that are needed to make sure we are delivering an extraordinary experience. b, extraordinary experience. a quick hello to steve watching us on a cruise ship off the coast of california. i am sorry i am making you homesick. hello again. many parts of scotland, northern ireland, western england and wales had some decent spells of sunshine, but across central and eastern england, we had some of this cloud yesterday. this is called stratocumulus. now, through the afternoon, in hastings, that cloud began to break up, and because it's a thin cloud, it's only 200—300 metres thick, above that, you've got clear blue sunny skies, and once it starts to go, it can go very, very quickly, so it was a lovely end to the day here. now, i'm telling you about that because that's what this type of cloud is, running in off the north sea, affecting parts of eastern england and the midlands at the moment. now, that is going to be prone to thinning and breaking up a bit more, i think, as we go through thursday. but with clearer skies out towards the west, it's cold at the moment. we've got some frost to watch out for, heading into the first part of the morning. now, across southern england, a better chance of seeing some sunshine. should have some sunshine, as well, across much of the northwest of the uk, and i suspect this cloud will tend to get eroded, so the areas that are most likely to keep it into the afternoon, well, probably east midlands, lincolnshire, norfolk and suffolk, but otherwise, i think most of you will see some sunshine. dry for many, an odd shower for northern scotland, an odd shower in southwest england, but in the best of the sunshine, we're looking at highs up to 16 degrees. it's a similar kind of day, really, on friday. again, we start off with some of that patchy cloud coming in off the north sea, but for many of us, it's a dry day, again with some spells of sunshine, and starting to turn just a little bit warmer as well. 17 the top temperature in cardiff and glasgow as well. after this lengthy spell of dry weather, caused by this high pressure, we're actually going to see some changes into the weekend. it starts to weaken, to allow this weather front to move in from the north and west. so, saturday, although england and wales is looking at another fine day, with some further spells of sunshine, much thicker cloud than we've seen all week will be heading into scotland and northern ireland, with outbreaks of rain, especially through the afternoon, the rain turning heavier and steadierfor a time. temperatures, though, out of the rain, still around 15 or 16 degrees, which will feel pleasant, given the light winds. through saturday night and into sunday, the rain moves southwards across england and wales, but as it does so, it will weaken, so it will turn lighter and patchier. temperatures on sunday should reach a high of around 14 or 15 degrees, with the best of the drier and brighter weather in scotland and northern ireland. good morning. welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines today... russian forces must be "pushed out of the whole of ukraine," according to the foreign secretary, liz truss. she calls on the west to use its strength to deter vladimir putin. some argue that we shouldn't provide heavy weapons for fear of provoking something worse. but my view is that inaction would be the greatest provocation. calls for more humanitarian help as the head of the united nations, antonio guterres, arrives in kyiv for talks with the ukrainian president, vlodymyr zelensky. going from bad to worse. britain's worst—performing mental health trust is rated inadequate again, with some services said to be further deteriorating.