is still a fair distance to go. all in the name of art. it looks like beatrice had the best of the weather for that weekend. what is happening for the rest of us? i tell you what, there is a real surge of cold in coming our way. there will be an echo of winter heading our way, but not in the short—term. in the short term, we have some sunshine and it's not looking bad for the london marathon, if you're running it tomorrow. right now, lots of clear skies across western areas, but cloud in the east and the south. so a bit of a mixed day as far as the skies are concerned, some of us having sunny weather, others overcast. tonight, the skies will create a course many areas. orkney and shetland will have temperature is not far of freezing and some frost in rural areas for some of us on sunday morning. the weather starts afresh in london for the marathon and will stay cloudy for most of the day. temperatures will hover around 11 or 12 degrees. on monday and tuesday, we expect the temperatures to drop rapidly across the uk. a surge of colder weather briefly on the way. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines. 50,000 police officers are deployed across france, as security is tightened ahead of the first round of voting in the country's presidential election. the conservatives play down speculation that taxes will rise if they win the general election after the chancellor philip hammond said there should be "flexibility to manage the system" of taxation. around one hundred afghan soldiers have been killed in a taliban attack on an army base in afghanistan. two of the attackers blew themselves up and seven were killed in the assault near mazar—i—sharif city which lasted several hours. for the first time in more than 100 years, britain has gone a whole working day without using coal to generate electricity. national grid said the news was a "watershed moment" in attempts to phase out coal by 2025. now on bbc news — benjamin zand takes our mobile bureau to lebanon. translation: hello and welcome to sunny lebanon. this is bbc pop up. bbc pop up is the bbc‘s mobile bureau. we travel to different cities for a month at a time and make documentaries out of your story ideas. this month it's beirut. lebanon is a very small country at the edge of the middle east. just bordering syria and israel. historically, these borders have meant that it's become a centre of many middle eastern conflicts, despite its small size. for centuries, it's acted as a refuge for minorities in the middle east. translation: we have christians, sunni muslims, shia moslems, jews. there's no place like it on earth. it has taken in more syrian refugees than any other country in the world except turkey, with one in five people in lebanon being a refugee. for two years, the country was left without a president, but that ended in october last year, when we elected this guy. translation: so we're currently doing the bbc pop—up story booth. basically, we set up a camera in random locations about town, and we ask people what stories they want to tell. say whatever you want to say. i'm nervous! the best thing about lebanon is probably, at my age, is the freedom. what i really love about it is its diversity. where ever you go, you will find people from different groups and religions. the majority is christian and religion, they are probably about 100 jewish people. and religion, they are probably about 100 jewish peoplem and religion, they are probably about 100 jewish people. it is very friendly. you come down to a streak that there is, you will see christians and muslims, having a great time together. you can either speak english or french or both. actually, a lot of food came from lebanon. commerce, falafel, tabulate salad. what is the meat on mystic cold? leben on is a mix of hostility and positivity, see you have angry people and positive people trying to do things. what would a good story be? give me a good story. it would be? give me a good story. it would be interesting to highlight the fact that beirut was destroyed and rebuilt seven times. we're not having a frank conversation among ourselves, we're talking about women's issues, income inequality, 93v women's issues, income inequality, gay rights. i suggest you go to the valley controlled by the shia muslims. they are trying to find out where the supply of hashes coming from. they tried to grow it. i was told that is a lot of hash each.|j guess it does. i've never tried it. i'm not looking to get into something like that, but i know a lot of people do. it looks that there's only one story we can do then, hashish. cannabis has been in lebanon for centuries, but i quickly found most people were not keen to talk about it openly and camera. punishment isjust talk about it openly and camera. punishment is just smoking can talk about it openly and camera. punishment isjust smoking can be harsh, so people don't want to admit they do it. eventually, ifound someone they do it. eventually, ifound someone who had written extensively about hashish in lebanon and he agreed to talk, as long as we didn't show his face. tell me what i need to know about hashish in lebanon. it's so common now across all classes and regions. what is the low? if it's not your first offence, you could get a few months or years. for dealers it is more. some people charge for using, because they're one of the few people who don't smoke. but nobody talks about it, because it is stigmatised. a person who suffers from that will be ostracised. who is making money from it? everyone is making money from it. the growers, the dealers, of course and sadly, the people entrusted in fighting drugs are making a good income out of it. the only people really paying the price of young people. where'd you find the dealers in the country? i wanted to speak to one of these growers to find out how they could justify a tree that is illegal and violent. during the civil war, cannabis culture flourished here and i heard the syrian war was causing the same problem. this is pretty much the most dangerous and lawless pa rt much the most dangerous and lawless part of the country, very to syria and it has seen isis infiltration, kidnappings, bombings, not nice things. but it is famous for something very different and that's for having the mass of lebanon hashish farms. we're going to speak to one of the drug lords. we're actually near syria. yes, syria is right this way. if infiltration happens, it can happen three here, so happens, it can happen three here, so there are a lot of checkpoints here. most of the suicide bombings that happen in beirut, everybody came through that way. we're currently waiting for the hashish farmer. he's asked us to come here, because he doesn't want us to come to his house, because he doesn't know who we are. it's pretty dangerous over there. nice to meet you. thank you for having us. nice to have the knowledge that there is a couple of grenades in the back of the car. there you go. he's just handed me, is that an ak—47? he's passing it around. does eve ryo ne he's passing it around. does everyone know who you are? are you the kingpin here? if we tell someone we're with you, we're safe? this is so we're with you, we're safe? this is so you we're with you, we're safe? this is so you can we're with you, we're safe? this is so you can tell someone is a drug kingpin, his ice is about ten times bigger than anyone else in the area. if we leaked this guy off, it's bigger than anyone else in the area. if we leaked this guy off, its game over. do you have kids? that's a lot of lobbying going on. you've got a golden pistol. is it loaded right now? he's just pulled golden pistol. is it loaded right now? he'sjust pulled out golden pistol. is it loaded right now? he's just pulled out a golden pistol. is it loaded right now? he'sjust pulled out a machine gun and a bazooka. is that a bazooka? what do you use the bazooka for? you've use this against isis? ali told us that recently, the so—called islamic state infiltrated the nearby village. he said as soon as he heard about it, hejumped on a truck and picked up weapons with some of the other hashish farmers, and according to him, they fought them off. because they are distracted with isis, they are distracted with isis, they are distracted with isis, they are distracted with the threat of the threat of syria. have you actually fired this? is this where the magic happens? why did you choose black and red? you've got good taste. it seems that everybody is your enemy, because hezbollah don't want you to do this, the government don't want you to, isis. who is on your side? what do you want your legacy to be? do you want to be really famous? do you want everyone to know who you are you did? he is giving me a tour. here we go. while. mountains of hashish. hashish is illegal in lebanon. how can you be so open about it? have you had to actually fight against the government to protect crops? there's just hashish everywhere, we re there's just hashish everywhere, were soaked in it. how much do you make? who is buying this hashish? how did you get hashish from here to europe? it's difficult to very tight ali's claims about the government, but lebanon is thought to have big problems with corruption. you remind mea problems with corruption. you remind me a bit of someone like pablo escobar. you happy to appear on camera. have you actually been convicted by the government of anything in court? how does that feel, to be sentenced to death. you have a hashish farm, you have killed a lot of people. do you have killed a lot of people. do you not deserve to go to jail? if you run this country, would you legalise hashish? you seem like a difficult man to pin down, because on the one hand, ecu for this to try and make money for the people in the area, but then you also kill people and you are dealing in an illegal trade. do you think you could have done it another way that wasn't illegal? do you think i'll get into trouble with the police because i have hashish leaves on my shoes and on my clogs? that was a weird day. ali was either really friendly uncle who foot so happens to be a killer and a drug dealer. and he was massively open about it. back to beirut now. i'm a bit concerned, because we've all got hashish all over us and if they find you, you get in serious trouble and get put injail. were going to you, you get in serious trouble and get put in jail. were going to try dust ourselves off. there are checkpoints all the way back. highly is quoted as out of his village, as he said it was unsafe to do otherwise. then we headed back to beirut. despite being covered in layers of hashish from ali's factory, we headed straight to the police office. i wanted to know how ali could be so open about this without getting into trouble with the authorities. people speaking to hear tell me the police too quick to punish the small—time consumers and are too reluctant to punish the big—time growers in the country. i've arranged to meet the head of drug enforcement here to see if he agrees. english? bbc. yes. i'm not purposely as close to you in the lift. where are we going now? what is in these things? hashish. do you consider hashish as bad as heroin? hashish is the most dangerous drugs for the human being. how many people do you arrest each yearfor hashish? how many people do you arrest each year for hashish? thousands of people, hundreds a year. 2000, 3000 during a year. i can put you injail for three years. three years for hashish? yes, all the boxes, we have drugs. we have big agriculture for thousands square of land for hashish. you know about that? we went to a farm to see. all, you went toa went to a farm to see. all, you went to a farm? that was one of the most amazing things was seeing a hashish farmer who was willing to go on camera and talk about it. is it not illegal to grow? yes, camera and talk about it. is it not illegalto grow? yes, it's camera and talk about it. is it not illegal to grow? yes, it's not legal. how did he get away with growing hashish and talking about it? since the war in syria, our government took the decision to send us government took the decision to send us and destroy the hashish. so you can tackle these guys because of the war in syria and resources are elsewhere? our ability is not enough, because most of the guys there have maybe weapons more than there have maybe weapons more than the police. when we went to the spartan, the guy was kind of taking out all the weapons he has, boasting that the government can never touch. ifi that the government can never touch. if i have 100 soldiers, i can go and put him like a mouse, ok? if i have 100 soldiers, i can go and put him like a mouse, 0k? on the if i have 100 soldiers, i can go and put him like a mouse, ok? on the one hand, you have these kind of drug dealers and hashish farmers, who can get away with it and talk openly on tv about growing hashish, but then you have people who are small—time consumers, who are scared to even talk about smoking it. how has it got to this point? it's a good question. it's something to make ourselves upset. we are interested to get the drugs dealer and put in jailfor hundreds to get the drugs dealer and put in jail for hundreds of years. what we do with addicts and drug users, like sick people. one argument he would users there's nothing else for him to farm but hashish. he has a liar. they try to make that beagle, because they benefit to make the hashish legal. it's war between the good guy and the bad guy. would it not make society safer in a way, because you wouldn't need drug lords, the government could control hashish farming? yes, i cannot expect one day that hashish will be legal. it's clear that the war in syria has had a huge effect, but it doesn't mean they have stopped arresting people for smoking hashish. this man was injailfor a hashish. this man was injailfor a hashish conviction. it was overturned, but it changes like the good. i was a straight-a student, but my life was put on hold, because i was sent to prison for smoking. they got me, i went to the station. they got me, i went to the station. they put the only torture device, where they handcuff you and your upside down. i was 19 at the time. how long are you in prison for?|j was in prison for a year and three months. did they find hashish on you? there was no evidence. the arrested ewing said you would a drug dealer, basically. did you deal in drugs? not at all, i don't be too. what was the worst thing that happened to you in prison? i got knifed. it is a horrible place. you find killers. block b was controlled by isis. the social destruction that was the hardest point about the experience. when you're a guy who has been to prison. some people say you are doing something illegal.- me, is not illegal. what am i doing? smoking and at home. it's crazy, it must read your life, you got kicked out of university and you're still smoking hashish. it was the government. do you see yourself as a criminal? the government made me a criminal. i'm not sure. i'm a nice quy~ criminal. i'm not sure. i'm a nice guy. ijust smoke. his story shows just how serious the consequences can be from messing around with hashish. for a country with so much of it, could it ever be legal? judy the country's civil war, the industry generated hundreds of billions of dollars. a couple of yea rs billions of dollars. a couple of years ago, the leader of the progressive party made headlines after he treated calling for legalisation of cannabis. some got excited. i met with one of his party members to see if they still thought that way. he seemed busy, so i had to be quick. so you want hashish to be legalised in lebanon on? yes. do you see that is something that will actually happen. it's not easy. they wa nt actually happen. it's not easy. they want people to be able to smoke it on the streets grow it freely? if it's legal to grow here in farm but illegal to smoke it, what's the point? 0k, all right. thank very much. it doesn't seem that marijuana is going to be legalised any time soon in lebanon. what does seem possible is growing it and exporting it illegal, but smoking it could get you into big trouble. some people say that is happening already. do i just talk about something? 0k.m say that is happening already. do i just talk about something? 0k. is he a pablo escobar after season two or the episode where he's running for president? nobody knows anything about him yet. i don't know. hashish, i don't know that much about hashish. what do you know about hashish. what do you know about hashish? i know nothing. it's very quiet on the weather front today, but there are some changes afoot. in fact, early next week, winning four and afoot. in fact, early next week, winning fourand a afoot. in fact, early next week, winning four and a chill, even wintry weather for some. but in the short term, not much happening, just sunshine, with a bit of ground around. ice picture from one of our weather watchers and the headlines we re weather watchers and the headlines were today, mostly dry with some sunshine. predominantly dry weather, any rain on the polyphony in the far north. rural kiddies will be a bit colder, and for the all—important london marathon tomorrow, the weather is set fair. it's not looking bad at all, probably ideal for set fair. it's not looking bad at all, probably idealfor many set fair. it's not looking bad at all, probably ideal for many of the runners. not blazing sunshine, it would be too hot, the winds are liked. the weather in the country will be similar, but slightly different in scotland. the rain and showers across the far north, a hint of things to come. the big changes to come. a weather system developing, which will be sweeping across scotland and then eventually, we'll see a surge cold air, but not on sunday. on sunday, most of the uk has a fine day and a relatively mild day, compared to what heading here. look how the winds turn as we go into monday. they are straight out of the arctic. huge temperature contrast between the south in the north and yes, that's a bit of snow falling in the hills. look what's happening on tuesday, those cold, if not icy winds, reach northern areas. this is not unusual in april and we had this almost exactly to the day this time last year. so there will be snow settling on the hills, particularly in the north. the wind will be strong coming from the north and there will be wintry showers in one or two places. this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm. on the election trail — jeremy corbyn and theresa may meet their supporters and are keen to emphasise their party's stance on tax. they will have a choice between a conservative party which always has been, is and will continue to be a party that believes in lower taxes, in keeping taxes down for ordinary working people. what the tories are doing is handing £70 billion back in taxes to big business and coroporations. we won't do that. we will instead reverse those tax cuts. tight security across france as the country prepares for the first round of the presidential election. more than a hundred afghan soldiers are killed or wounded in an attack on an army base in afghanistan.