The energy supplier, npower, is to cut to up to a500 jobs in the uk, as part of restructuring plans to make it more profitable. Three call centres, in sunderland, hull and worcester could be closed. Our economics correspondent, andy verity has more details. Sunderland, where workers used to be told that manufacturing was the past and call centres were the future. Not any more. A few miles away, near the town of houghton le spring, 2500 Call Centre Workers were among those told by npower today theirjobs were going. Disappointment, but its a shame, theres nothing else we can do. Ill take it one step at a time. Im still going to do myjob, still going to do the best i can, and take it from there. Its a heavy blow for an area already reeling from bad economic news. The future does look bleak, to be honest. Youve got tata, youve got british gas. For 2000 people to lose theirjob, what else is going to replace thatjob . Where are they going to go . Its just another nail in the coffin in this area. Its one after another. My fear is what about nissan that could be next, and if that happened this city would be dead. For people, you know, especially if theyve got children and mortgages and things like that, its absolutely terrible. Npower has struggled to stop customers leaving and recently struggled to make a profit. Its an incredibly sad day and we cant play that down. Npower has been a loss making business for some time. The Energy Retail market in the uk is under considerable strain and its absolutely critical that we take action to make sure we have a Sustainable Business for the future. Thats why were also saying to our employees that were going to take all action we can to mitigate the impact of this announcement. Competition in the industry is so intense some suppliers are now charging loss making rates to win new customers. There are now 64 suppliers competing to bill you for your electricity, some of whom went bust last year. A record 20 of customers switched supplier last year. Farfrom making big money ripping off consumers, the typical profit margin has dropped to just 3 and this year Energy Companies have come under even more pressure. The Energy Price Cap that came in injanuary is meant to help millions of households pay less than they otherwise would for their energy. It has helped to hold down the cost of living. Inflation is at a three year low, but it has also squeezed the income of Energy Companies like npower, who say they cant cover their costs. They say they cant afford to keep the lights on at centres like this if they are ever to make a profit. Unions say the financial pressure on suppliers is now so intense the Energy Market is in real danger of collapse. If nothing is done, they warn, this wont be the last round ofjob losses in the power industry. Andy verity, bbc news, houghton le spring. Now on bbc news the travel show. This week on the travel show. Hello. We are face to face with beluga whales and their table manners in iceland. Listen to that little burp. We meet the women crossing the us on two wheels. And i am in berlin taking in the spooky sides of an abandoned communist era themepark. So spooky. We are starting off in iceland this week. It is one of the best places in the world to see wales in their natural habitat. But its also now providing a home for a pair of these amazing mammals who spend their lives in captivity. They are now looking forward to their retirement in an environment that is closer to their natural home. And cat has been to meet them. Here, just off the coast of iceland, we are searching. Because, apparently, there is something in the water. Notjust one of them, either. There are 23 species of them. Every now and then, someone species of them. Every now and then, someone points in a direction and the whole boat rushes over, trying to see what is happening. And then someone to see what is happening. And then someone points in another direction someone points in another direction so we rushed that way. It is like wack a mole, you never know when they will pop up. We are watching votes cast off to see each day in iceland in the hope of catching a glimpse of these mammals full you have a great spot up here. The best one on the boat. Menke wailed two 0clock. One on the boat. Menke wailed two oclock. Menke wale at two oclock. Minke whale. Oclock. Menke wale at two oclock. Minke whale. How do you even try to find a wale . In such a vast area . What are the tell tale signs . To find a wale . In such a vast area . What are the telltale signs . The easiest one is the body. When their black body comes up and you see the triangle shape dorsal fin. But also the blows. When you see their breath you know what species you have. Really . You can tell the species from the breath . Yes. It is incredible. How often do you see wales on these tours . We basically see them almost every trip that we go out stop in the end it is the crew. We have nutrient rich waters because it is cold. The colder the water, the more oxygen and with that the more life that you have. Elsewhere in the world, travellers contact with wales is often in captivity where they are kept for public entertainment. Globally, hundreds of whales are thought to live this way. But public appetite for holding these intelligent and social animals appears to be shifting. Just last year, greenpeace due attention to dozens of beluga whales and orcas that had been caught and kept in poor conditions in russia. Destined for Entertainment Parks in china. In recent weeks they were released after a public outcry. Fortunately, these wales had only been captive for a short time so they could cope with life back out at sea. But what happens when themepark themepark owners agree to release their whales that are unable to defend for themselves in the ocean . So the next morning i travel to the south of the island and to the westerman island, a short ferry ride from the mainland. I had heard that here in iceland a new kind of sanctuary was being created. There are so many beautiful clothes around iceland. Why this particular place . Beautiful clothes around iceland. Why this particular place7m beautiful clothes around iceland. Why this particular place . It is a beautiful surrounding for them. The cliffs protect them from the wind and the icelandic weather and then also having the water temperature more like the arctic and subarctic where they would be found in the wild. Two beluga whales called little white and little grey will soon little white and little grey will soon be the first released into the bay. They had until recently been performing at an Entertainment Park in china but after the operators decided to end the prep is, they tried to find new homes for the animals where they could live out their lives. The plan with tourists is to manage boat trips. We have a partner who will be bringing visitors out. They will not get out on these pontoons but they will be able to see them from a distance, like a whale watching trip, and hear about the project and learn why little white and little grey are here. Little white and little grey we re here. Little white and little grey were carefully flown on a long journey from china to iceland but they could not be released straight into the bay. They have, for the last few months, been acclimatising in the nearby centre and working with handlers to learn how to take the final journey into with handlers to learn how to take the finaljourney into the bay. 0h, my goodness. Wow. These are incredible. Can i come down . Hello. They are so graceful in the water, arent they . What do you love about them . Beluga whales are a friendly animal. They will not hurt you and you can walk with them peacefully and so it is great fun to work with them. Beautiful gentle giants. Yes. So which is the naughty one . This one . Go. Go. You are so soft. You are so soft. I like you. Oh. Come for a little exfoliation . I am open all day. Do they like this . This countrys relationship with wales is complex. Being one ofjust a few places in the world that still legally allows some hunting the animals. But projects like this and the various whale watching experiences on offer are to encourage understanding and protection. For little white and little grey, a new life awaits in the bay next year but it cannot yet be total freedom. The bay next year but it cannot yet be totalfreedom. Some the bay next year but it cannot yet be total freedom. Some critics say that the wales are just going from one side of captivity to another form of captivity. What do you say to that . I would say that this is an opportunity for them to have a more natural environment. They are not being asked to perform nor asked to do shows. It is effectively retirement for them, and opportunity for them to still be fed and care for them to still be fed and care for because theyve never had to do that for themselves, but they can have a more natural lifestyle. We feel that is a good first step for animals like little white and little grey. Would you like some more fish . Yum | grey. Would you like some more fish . Yum iwillgive grey. Would you like some more fish . Yum i will give you. Oh, grey. Would you like some more fish . Yum iwill give you. Oh, was that a burp . She keeps wanting more. 0h, that a burp . She keeps wanting more. Oh, if you insist. If you insist. There we go. Oh, there is another little burp. Still to come on the travel show, why i am in an abandoned themepark. Plus we get creative with frankfurters in berlin and make women whose incredible journey took them on a gruelling bike race across america. So dont go away. Meet the women. I am in east berlin. For decades, this city has been a hub for artists and creatives and i am on my way to meet one who has an unusual taste for interior design. Wow. Look at this place. What is this all about . Cushions shaped like groceries. Why . i dont know. Meat is such a strong thing and this is something i cannot understand because i do not like it stop i am observing it and it is kind of my question, what is it about meat . Sylvia has been selling her textile meat for ten years. Have you ever had anybody come in here mistaking this for a real butcher . Of course and i think this is hilarious. So this is the sausage meat . Yes. So i need to stuff all that in this little thing . You will be impressed by how much fibre. Do it first. Let me see. My fingers just wont do what i am telling them to do. Why are you laughing . It is. Lumpy . Look at this. Tie it up. Ladies and gentlemen, you have the travel show sausages. My one looks rather inadequate compare to your sausage. Up up next, we meet two women who are pa rt up next, we meet two women who are part of the unique team that took on an incredible journey across america. So, race across america is 3070 miles from the west coast of america to the east coast of america. It was different kind of cycling to anything id ever done before. So from california to maryland, and had to be completed in nine days. It was an idea that i had had in the back of my mind, that i wanted to put a team together. I had seen two teams of guys do it, and seeing that there had been no females in that team, and wondered why not. There was eight riders, all who had Different Health challenges, be that physical or psychological or both. Half the team were civilian and half them were military. I met sally through some invictus training camps. The one main concern i had was the fact that i am visually impaired. I had a brain injury when i was injured in the army, quite some time ago now, 1996. So for me to be cycling on the other side of the road, when i am completely blind to the left, was always going to be something i had never done, and quite frankly didnt really know how that was going to go. We all went over the start line together. What then had to happen was as a non stop race, the team of eight riders broke down into two parts, so there were four people in each pod and the support crew. The first team carried on cycling for a nine hour period, so on cycling for a nine hour period, so within that nine hours, every 20 minutes we would change riders. The other pod in that time had moved forward and they were having to get there rest in, which is quite difficult when you have just had the adrenaline at the start and then suddenly go, right, you need to go to sleep. I can remember seeing a lot of road. When you are cycling you are concentrating on covering as much as you can. Looking up is not something you necessarily do. I looked up, and im so glad i did. We we re looked up, and im so glad i did. We were to pod that was very, very fortu nate to were to pod that was very, very fortunate to cycle through monument valley. A loss of colour, a lot of red rock formations thatjust valley. A loss of colour, a lot of red rock formations that just stand in this vast array of countryside. It is almost indescribable. in this vast array of countryside. It is almost indescribable. I had never done any proper actual cycling out tonight, sol never done any proper actual cycling out tonight, so i was very apprehensive, given that i could not see to the left. And it was something i had always avoided doing, because i didnt think i could do it, and probably because i was quite frightened. Well done, mate given that you couldnt see anything else, you could see if there was a hazard coming towards you, because you would see lights. So it was really peaceful, because there werent many people around, and actually quite easy. Yeah. It was good. Didnt realise you had a camera in my face. Well done, good stuff. They had been a lot of doubts and everybodys mind. There is often times when you wonder if you can carry on because things are hurting, and for me, i look back and reflect on the time when my depression was at its worst, when i didnt think there was any reason to live. I look back on but time and think, this isnt as difficult as but to try to overcome. The race finished in annapolis, maryland. Eight of us cycled annapolis, maryland. Eight of us cycle d d own annapolis, maryland. Eight of us cycled down the road. And everybody was cheering. I am incredibly proud to have been able to have had an opportunity to take part in such an extreme event. It has forced me to sort of go out of my comfort zone, i suppose. We were able to achieve something quite incredible, and hopefully others will be able to look back on what we have achieved and inspired them to go and take on their own race across america. This past month has marked 30 years since the fall of the berlin wall, an event which brought down a government, reunited families, and marked a change in fortunes for one very strange Amusement Park. So, i have come over to spree park, in the south east of berlin. It is about 30 minutes drive from the city centre and my First Impression is they absolutely dont want you to get in. It is totally fenced off. The park shut its gates to the public in 2001. And since then, nature has slowly reclaimed the rides and attractions. Its just feels like something horrible has happened. I feel like im the last person left ina feel like im the last person left in a nuclear wasteland. Everything is falling apart in this place. And every now and again, you just get these mad sounds in the distance. So spooky. The rides have not run for almost 20 years. But people continue to be drawn here. On windy days, you have the first wheel behind us there, the wind actually turns the first wheel and makes this kind of whistling noise. Ferris wheel. It is like something from a david lynch film. Man, look at this yes, that is another kind of bizarre attraction here. I can see your eyes lighting up looking at it. Does it remind you of the first time when you came here . Yeah, i mean, the first time was 2009, and it was just like a wonderland, really. When something is abandoned, something didnt work out. Something happened. And i guess for me, im very interested in knowing what happened, exactly what went wrong. The park opened 50 years ago in 1969 in the communist part of berlin. Back then it was the vbe vunderbelt, and up to 1. 5 million east germans came here each year. But then the wall fell and travel restrictions were lifted. The park was bought, renamed, and had some new rides installed. But it struggled to keep up with its bigger, flashier competitors in the west. With spreepark there is this crazy story with the family involved, the witter family, crazy story with the family involved, the witterfamily, they had to close it down. The family, the man, norbert witter, took some attractions and moved to peru and tried to open a theme park there. The story takes a turn when he tried to smuggle cocaine back in one of the rides. The flying carpet was the name of this ride. From the moment i came in here first to everything that happened after that, everything became more and more bizarre, the more you look into it. In this story isnt over. What we have got here, one of the rides was called the monte carlo drive, where people could sit inside and were pulled on string over trucks. We have many of these ones. This warehouse holds some of the surviving rides. It is unusual, when you see it in this context, it actually feels quite creepy. The city bought back the site in 2014 and has asked tims company to site in 2014 and has asked tims com pa ny to restore site in 2014 and has asked tims company to restore it. We want to keep the park as it is, to a certain extent, and we want to put a new layer on top of it, something that involves arts and culture and the natural habitat that has developed the essence of the place was abandoned. A modern take on what the spreepark used to be . Yes, kinda. So it is not going to be an Amusement Park anymore, you cannot go on all the rides anymore, but we will find new uses the rides anymore, but we will find new uses for the rides. A rolle rcoa ster could new uses for the rides. A rollercoaster could be Something Like a treetop walk. The spreepark is very dear to people here in berlin and in germany, and it holds a lot of memories. So youve got a big responsibility. It feels kind of heavy, to be honest as you say, it is really in the mindset, especially of people from the gdr, this is a very, very important place. That is why we want to keep the cultural and social heritage that we have found. And if you want a last look at the spreepark before its bigger restoration, guided tours and open days are listed on the kuhn berlin website. Sadly, that is it from us this week. Join us next week, when carmen is in the worlds capital of plastic surgery, soul, to explore the booming south Korean Beauty market, where she goes for a no holds barred consultation. Seoul. The checks can be lifted, it is facelift. My gosh, i need a facelift . A little lift. For now, from me, and all the travel show tea m from me, and all the travel show team here in spreepark, its goodbye. Hello again. For just about all of us, we saw the sunny but Colder Weather arriving across the uk on friday. Skies like these fairly typical. Not much cloud around. The winds relatively calm. And weve got more of the same to look forward to as we head the weekend as well. Sunny but cold, sharp frosts around, some fog patches. But it is a mostly dry weekend. Now, if you are heading outside of the next few hours, we are seeing a few showers across northern scotland. You can see the extent of the clear skies, that is why it is a cold night. Towards the south west, a bit of cloud working on. That is keeping the frost at bay here. Speaking of the frost, it could well be the coldest night of the autumn. Temperatures down to about 10 in the highlands of scotland early saturday morning, and as well as that, we are going to see some fog patches around as well. Some of it could be quite dense with poor visibility, so tricky travelling conditions to be expected. A couple of things that fog hates, cloud and wind. Thats what well have moving on from the south west early saturday morning. That means the area is most likely to see fog will be in a stretch, really, across wales and into parts of the midlands as well. That is where we are most likely to see paula s ability. Some of those fog patches might linger even into the early part of the afternoon. 0therwise, plenty of sunshine for most of us but they will be a bit of brains getting into the far south west of england with cold winds developing generally across southern england through the afternoon. And a few showers for northern scotland. For most, it is a cold day. Plenty of sunshine, 2 eight celsius, so below parfor time of year. In the evening time, we will see a bit more reins getting into cornwall, may be devon, perhaps coastal dorset for a time, certainly the channel islands, before the rain bearing cloud in the area of low pressure concentrates its efforts on france, and we see the High Pressure dominating things for us on sunday. Now, there are some subtle changes. Again we are looking at a cold and frosty start to the day. The winds have changed direction for a bit, more showers in the north of scotland, but those showers will come into the Thames Estuary and north kent coast as well. 0therwise, plenty of after a frosty start. Temperatures 4 seven celsius, and we may well see the show is merging together late in the day across northern scotland. Looking at the next few days, for most of us it stays on the chilly side but there is a trend for it to turn a bit mild as the week goes by from the north and west. Thats your weather. Good morning welcome to breakfast with Charlie Stayt and naga munchetty. 0ur headlines today the London Bridge attack passers by are praised for their bravery as its revealed the attacker is a convicted terrorist. Two people, a man and a woman, were killed. Police patrols have been stepped up across london. The attacker who was shot dead by armed officers is named as usman khan. 0vernight, an address in staffordshire linked to him was searched. The attack overshadowed the latest televised Election Debate which brought together senior figures from seven parties. And in sport, new zealand are in control once again