Hello, youre watching afternoon live. Im simon mccoy. Today at 2pm British Airways files a complaint with the European Commission over the government bail out of struggling Airline Flybe. Ba says its a blatant misuse of public funds. The government isnt in the market to bail out private companies. What we do on a case by case basis is look to see whether a business is viable. In the case of flybe, it is a viable business. The duchess of sussexs father, Thomas Markle, is prepared to testify against meghan in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. At least 60 people many of them children are treated for breathing problems and skin irritation, after a passenger plane dumps fuel over schools in la. Coming up on afternoon live, all the sport with katie shanahan. Good afternoon, simon, and some of tenniss biggest stars have raised over £2. 5 million in a Charity Event to help those affected by the australian bushfire crisis. And the weather has stepped in. Yes, we will look at what has been going on in melbourne, scenes like these but hopefully something more positive in terms of news on the pollution situation. Also coming up. As spotify launches a playlist to play to keep your dog calm while youre out, well be looking at what might be the most suitable tracks. A bit of bach, maybe . Sorry, i know. Hello. This is afternoon live. The government rescue plan for the loss making Airline Flybe has been branded a misuse of public funds by a number of rivals. Last night the government told flybe it could defer payment of a substantial air Passenger Duty bill, and shareholders agreed to inject additional investment. But willie walsh, the chief executive of iag, which owns British Airways, is among those whove questioned the deal, saying taxpayers would be picking up the tab for the airlines mismanagement, and has now filed a complaint with the European Commission, in relation to rules about state aid. The government says any changes to taxes would apply to all airlines. Our Business Correspondent, Simon Gompertz, reports. Flybes now become a target in the intense rivalry between the worlds major airlines. Its part owned by virgin atlantic, which itself is part owned by one of the biggest carriers of all, delta. So British Airways has gone on the attack. Willie walsh, the ultimate boss of ba, argues that virgin and delta
have the resources to rescue flybe themselves, and the taxpayer was picking up the tab for their mismanagement of the airline. He added, this is a blatant misuse of public funds. Flybe is the latest in a succession of troubled uk travel companies. Last year, it was thomas cook, with 9,000 jobs, which the government decided not to save. Ministers have moved quickly to defend their approach this time. The government isnt in the market to bail out private companies. What we do, on a case by case basis, is look to see whether a business is viable. The difference, for example, between flybe and thomas cook was that in the case of thomas cook it had huge amounts of debt, and any taxpayers money would have simply been throwing good money after bad. It was not a viable company. It is understood that the flybe rescue package involves the government allowing it to defer £100 million of tax, the air Passenger Duty,
which it collects from travellers and is then supposed to pass on to the exchequer. Also at least £80 million shareholders, including also at least £20 million shareholders, including virgin and stobart air, and a possible loan from the government in the future. Flybe is relied on by smaller airports round the uk, and the government was under pressure to step in to back its promise to level up the regions. The chancellors agreed to review the £26 of flight air Passenger Duty on these routes, provoking criticism from environmental campaigners. But overall, the package has kept flybe flying. Regional fly is traditionally a difficult market to work in. Some routes can never be made to actually pay, and theres actually a mechanism, something called Public Service obligation, where a tender can be made and operators can fly certain routes on a subsidised basis, but the rest has to stand on its own two feet on a normal commercial basis, so this is looking rather politically murky
at the moment for the government. But 2,400 staff at flybe are heartily relieved today, along with all those who have booked to fly in the coming days and weeks, and now have more confidence they will get where they want to go. Simon gompertz is here. So the backlash against this bill out for want of a better word is growing. Notjust complaining about it, British Airways now putting in a formal question to the eu as to whether the government is abiding by its state aid rules and these rules are to make sure if a government subsidises something it doesnt distort competition in that market. We dont know what will happen about that, in fact the eu has allowed state support for Smaller Airlines in certain circumstances but it shows British Airways wants to stop this happening and they have been supported by easyjet and ryanair, who also criticised this rescue
package. It puts the focus on air Passenger Duty. And people are wondering, the airline collect that duty when we fly, its £26 there and back within the uk dont they pass it straight to the government . It seems they have this £100 million backlog, and other airlines will say if there is to beat some change as a result of a review, to let airlines off the air Passenger Duty in some circumstances, that should apply to all airlines, circumstances, that should apply to allairlines, and circumstances, that should apply to all airlines, and the other question is about where the line is drawn, which flights would qualify for a discount or to have it removed. The government will be under pressure because if they agree to this amount of money to save flybe, will that be enough . Its clearly tough for them out there, they run a lot of routes, they have to persuade people to pay enough to make a profit on smaller
roads and running a lot of Smaller Airlines, they have a big fleet even though they are small aircraft so the worry has to be an eight month 01 the worry has to be an eight month ora the worry has to be an eight month 01 a year 01 so, the worry has to be an eight month or a year or so, they are still not making money and come back and say they need more to survive, and this is supposed to be a one off, its not supposed to be a state run or supported airline. Thank you, simon. The duchess of sussexs father, Thomas Markle, is prepared against his daughter in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. The duchess is suing the paper for publishing a letter she sent to her father. Meghans half sister Samantha Markle says if her father is called to give evidence he will attend. It comes as meghan made her first public appearance, in canada, since she and prince harry said they would step back as full time royals. Sarah campbell reports. Stepping back from royal duties but still a campaigner. This is meghan yesterday at the eastside Womens Centre in vancouver. She flew back last week, the day after she and prince harry informed the world and the royal family of their plans, which will include basing themselves in canada for at least part of the time. Locals on Vancouver Island are getting used to the idea. Very exciting. Well, i think maybe it is a nice break for them to come to canada and chill with nice canadians. I think its a nice move. Beautiful place, i know they have visited before and they liked it. Happy to have them obviously. The couples unhappiness with the press coverage they have received is believed to be one reason by their decision to cease being senior working royals, it was announced last october meghan was suing the owners of the mail on sunday for the publication of extracts from a letter she sent to her estranged father thomas. The papers defence rely
on telling his side of the story and his eldest daughter said today if her father is called to give evidence he will do so, raising the prospect of a potentially damaging case. If this case is to be determined, mr markle will have to give evidence, and i think there is more than likely to be a face off, unless of course there is a settlement between the newspaper and Meghan Markle. The court papers have already revealed details of what may be heard in evidence. In the run up to the couples wedding in 2018, mr markle alleges he had been planning to attend and walk his daughter down the aisle. However he had to undergo an emergency heart procedure and texted meghan to say doctors wouldnt allow him to fly. He said he received a text back accusing him of causing hurt to meghan. It read as if harry had written it. Mr markle responded via text. The Court Documents state meghan and her father havent spoken since the wedding and Thomas Markle has yet to meet his son in law harry or grandson archie. Today in bradford, Prince William and catherine going about royal duties, but well wishers thoughts here are with meghan and harry. I think they need do what is right for them and i think good on them, they have a young family now and your perspective changes. It is important the royal family are seen as people. And i cant make their own decisions. It is quite brave as well. So i say good luck to them. Following the queens statement, sanctioning the new life away from royal duties desired by harry and meghan, discussions are continuing behind closed doors to see exactly how this might work in practise. Extraordinary developments in russia. The government, including the Prime Minister, has resigned. It comes as president Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address, in which he proposed a series of constitutional changes. Lets get the latest from sarah ra i nsfo rd. Lets get the latest from Sarah Rainsford. The news slashjust lets get the latest from Sarah Rainsford. The news slash just said russian government resigns, is it that dramatic . When it says resign i dont think they are jumping, i think they were pushed into this and reports say the cabinet had no idea this was coming. It happened after a meeting between then Prime Minister. We have lost sarah, but we will try to restore our communications with moscow. We will return to that story, dramatic developments in the last hour in moscow and we will return to her
shortly. The uks inflation rate fell to its lowest level for more than three years increasing speculation that the bank of england will cut Interest Rates. The fall from one point five percent in november to one point three percent in december is partly due to lower prices for Womens Clothing and hotel rooms. The health secretary, matt hancock, has suggested that the way four hour waiting targets for patients in accident and Emergency Departments in england are measured could be changed. In a bbc interview, mr hancock raised the idea of targets being led by doctors. At Prime Ministers questions in the commons, the labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said action not promises was needed to reduce a e waiting times. Borisjohnson accepted the delays were unacceptable and promised the government would get waiting lists down by investing record sums in the health service. At least 60 people, many of them children, have been treated for breathing problems and skin irritation, after a passenger plane dumped fuel over a number of schools as it made an Emergency Landing in los angeles. An investigation has been launched although fuel is allowed to be released in an emergency, it is meant to be done over designated areas and at High Altitude. Richard galpin reports. You could hear schoolchildren playing outside as this Delta Air Lines passengerjet flies directly over them dumping thousands of litres of aviation fuel. Eventually an adult realises it is dangerous. That cannot be good the Emergency Services were soon called out to several schools in the region. More than 60 people, many of them children, needed treatment for minor injuries. Worried parents rushed to find their children. I was scared. I was scared too, we were all scared. None of the patients required transportation to hospital which is a great sign and obviously means that the irritations were minor. The affected areas of the children or adults that
were complaining were minor. In a statement Delta Air Lines said. The dumping of the fuel is now being investigated by the authorities. It is supposed to be done at High Altitude and over unpopulated areas. Until something more surfaces and given that it appears that the aircraft did not request fueljettison but the airline subsequently confirmed it, it appears to be highly questionable. In emergency situations jettisoning fuel can be vital but could the plane have gone out to sea to prevent causing injuries . Richard galpin, bbc news. Youre watching afternoon live. These are our headlines British Airways files a complaint with the European Commission over the government bailout of struggling Airline Flybe. Ba says its a blatant misuse of public funds. The duchess of sussexs father, Thomas Markle, is prepared to testify against meghan in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. At least 60 people many of them children are treated for breathing problems and skin irritation, after a passenger plane dumps fuel over schools in la. And in sport, around £2. 5 million has been raised at a Charity Event to raise money for there affected by the australian bushfires. Stuart hogg has been named as captain for the upcoming six
nations. And the former england striker aluko announces her retirement from womens football. Lets return to that breaking story, the government of russian Prime MinisterDmitry Medvedev is to resign. Sarah rainsford rejoins me in moscow. We were saying this is a moment of high drama. It is and bear in mind that Vladimir Putin has made stability his byword so under this president we are not used to this kind of political turmoil and it is a very unexpected move. We are reading on telegram channels and elsewhere that that cabinet ministers didnt even know this was coming until some moments before it
was announced that they were all being sacked but the cabinet will stay in place, they have been asked to stay in place until a new cabinet is formed. Dmitry medvedev, the Prime Minister, is definitely being removed, he is going to become deputy in the Security Council but its not clear that as a promotion, its not clear that as a promotion, it seems like he is being moved out of the way. The big question is why . President putin and Prime Minister medvedev have switched between president and Prime Minister in the past to help president putin to keep power and at the moment we are not clear why medvedev has been removed from his seat. Of all the people Vladimir Putin would seem to be the last two needs to flex his muscles at this stage. I dont think you need to flex his muscles but perhaps find a scapegoat. He just made his state of the nation address, he
spoke for an hour and ten minutes in a huge amount of that speech was devoted to real problems economically and socially in russia and bear in mind mr putin has been in powerfor 20 years, when he left such problems as millions of People Living beneath the poverty level, people will ask who is to blame so perhaps this was him finding a convenient scapegoat, a lot of people had speculated that Dmitry Medvedev would be sacrificed but why now . There are people speculating that perhaps it is something to do with these constitutional changes that are afoot, that president putin announced today, talking about a reader version of the balance of power in russia which could see the presidency weakened in future and the Prime Ministership and government and the parliament finding their powers strengthen, so this could be about mr putin jockeying for some position in
future when he has to stand down as president but at the moment we dont really know. Thank you, sarah. Six of the democratic president ial contenders have clashed during a televised debate in iowa, with the sharpest exchanges on the issue of whether a woman could win the election against donald trump. The biggest applause of the night went to elizabeth warren, who said the two women on the stage had won more elections than the four men, while Bernie Sanders again denied ever telling her that a woman could not win the presidency. 0ur correspondent, gary 0donoghue, reports from des moines. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome tonights candidates. And then there were six. Six white people on the cnn stage for the last democratic debate before the voting begins. But it was the issue of gender that was the focus of a row between the two left of centre candidates, Bernie Sanders and elizabeth warren, after senator sanders was accused of saying a woman couldnt beat donald trump. Why did you say that . Well, as a matter of fact, i didnt say it. And i dont want to waste a whole lot of time on this because this is what donald trump and maybe some of the media want. The Sanders Campaign first called the accusation ludicrous, then said there had been crossed wires. Elizabeth warren sidestepped an outright row. What did you think when senator sanders told you a woman could not win the election . Laughter. I disagreed. Can a woman beat donald trump . Look at the men on this stage. Collectively they have lost ten elections. The only people on this stage who have won every single election that theyve been in are the women. Former Vice President joe biden took the opportunity to make his case that he was the candidate that could move beyond identity politics and unite the opposition against donald trump. But the real issue is who can bring the whole Party Together and represent all elements of the party. African americans, brown, black,
women, men, gay, straight. The fact of the matter is that, i would argue that in terms of endorsements around the country, endorsements wherever we go, im the one who has the broadest coalition of Anyone Running up here. Foreign affairs was always going to make an appearance in this debate after the killing of Qasem Soleimani and the brinksmanship with iran. So what about those us troops . There were differences on whether they should be brought home. I would leave some troops there but not at the level that donald trump is taking us right now. No, i think we need to get our combat troops out. You know, we have to stop this mindset that we can do everything with combat troops. We can continue to remain engaged without having an endless commitment of ground troops. While sparks didnt exactly fly tonight, there were tensions between the two progressive candidates. And it was clear at the end
of the debate that they werent happy with one another. None of the four frontrunners could have claimed a knockout blow tonight. But for those candidates still in single digits, this could have been the final roll of the dice. Gary 0donoghue, bbc news, at the democratic debate in des moines, iowa. The impeachment process against donald trump will reach a critical moment later this afternoon, when the house of representatives votes to send formal charges against the president to the senate for trial. Democrats in the lower house say they will include new evidence that mr trump abused his power and obstructed congress. The Senate Impeachment trial is likely to start next week. Ben wright is in washington. It gets darker and darker, this new evidence suggesting the former Us Ambassador to ukraine was put under surveillance under Donald Trumps orders. Yes, the democrats released
dozens orders. Yes, the democrats released d oze ns of orders. Yes, the democrats released dozens of pages of evidence last night that they say shows how serious the trump team and Rudy Giuliani, his lawyer, were in trying to pressure ukraine to find evidence they could use againstjoe biden, who wants to be the democrat nominee for president. Its the reason why the democrats i as this trial starts in the senate next week, there must be the ability for the prosecution to call new witnesses and to submit new documentary evidence. That has been the focus of an intense wrangle for three weeks and explains why there has been a stand off since the house actually impeached President Trump in december but now that nancy pelosi has decided it is time to send those articles of impeachment to the senate and fought the trial to the senate and fought the trial to start and within the next hour or so, the speaker of the house will
say who she wants the impeachment managers to become the team who will prosecute this case in the senate and there will be quite a dramatic ceremony when the articles of impeachment are carried from the house of representatives through congress and read out in the senate chamber. Its a milestone, this will only be the third time in history a us president faces a trial like this in the senate. Then things will calm down because there is no weight they will vote for impeachment but is there a sense that could change . No, i dont think so. There is no indication anything like enough republicans will change their minds during this trial and vote to impeach, sorry, about to convert donald trump and turf them out of office. There needs to be a two thirds majority in the senate and nobody expects that to be the case but uninteresting vote that could come in the next few days is whether
new witnesses could be called. There will have to be a vote on that and that only requires a simple majority and there could be enough republicans, four would be needed, to make that happen. Mitch mcconnell, the majority leader, said yesterday he was happy to see witnesses be called and that could change the dynamics and the impact this trial has. I think the republicans and the white house are fairly sanguine that the damage from this could be limited, they think Many American writers dont care but democrats feel a trial will raise Big Questions again about mr trumps character, judgment and what he was trying to persuade ukraine to do in an effort to affect his chances of re election later this year. An effort to affect his chances of reelection later this year. Ben, good to see you. Thank you. Lets
ta ke good to see you. Thank you. Lets take you to bradford, these pictures may have flash photography, but this is the duke and duchess of cambridge who are visiting a number of projects which support the community and promote cohesion in what is one of the uks most diverse cities. They arrived at city hall earlier this morning and both the duke and duchess are meeting young people, talking about their lives and growing up in the district, and meeting employers and business people, asking about creating opportunities for todays youth, so that the duke and duchess of cambridge, they continue their duties as normal as their family is surrounded by the fury over the decision by the duke and duchess of sussex to resign as senior royals and talk of going to canada,
something we will be talking about later but there is pictures of the duke and duchess of cambridge in a restau ra nt. A leading Italian Restaurant chain has been fined £40,000 for serving ordinary fish disguised as luxury lobster. Swansea Magistrates Court heard that the dish being served at the citys branch of ask was actuallyjust over a third lobster, and an equivalent amount of white fish formed to look like shellfish. The chain was found to have mislead customers and were caught out by a trading standards officer. Ask apologised for what it described as a labelling mistake. Time for a look at the weather. Susan powell is here. Yesterday we we re susan powell is here. Yesterday we were talking about the bad quality ofair in were talking about the bad quality of air in melbourne and now they have a different problem. If anyone has been following the tennis, its one thing after another, firstly our quality and now
another, firstly our quality and now a wash out. We have some nice satellite imagery, it may be difficult to discern but the density of smokers been so bad, this part to the east of melbourne is called gippsland and the density is so bad that its visible from space and we have seen other satellite imagery showing some of this has been carried to new zealand, recovered that last week, as far east as chilly but it has been bad again and we saw that poor air quality in melbourne yesterday but the best way to clean up the air was less rain but it came through with ferocity, we saw to the north of melbourne 70 millimetres of rain fall in a place cold albany in six hours and in one place 30 millimetres fell into ours so that is over an inch of rain coming down at that pace and some magnificent hail, this is the radar which doesnt dojustice
magnificent hail, this is the radar which doesnt do justice how intense the rainfall was. The other amazing thing, this is the afternoon in melbourne, really hot to start with, this is 1pm, 30 degrees, in comes the rain and in two hours a 15 degrees temperature drop so nothing too chilly but down to 22 is a marked change but for many the response was relief with the air clearing and a temperature dissipating. Air clears, but where does pollution go . That is the next concern, its going into the water course and that is a big talking point now for sydney as the rain is moving further east, especially around sydney, that threat is up may go into the rivers and then get processed back into portable water so that will be monitored closely and bear in mind all those contaminants will be
washed into whatever vegetation is growing as well. Closer to home. The tennis was stunning. This is remarkable, from something covered in haze and smog to a wash out in the space of ours and there were reports of dramatic tale andi there were reports of dramatic tale and i can come up late yesterday ground to a halt. 0n and i can come up late yesterday ground to a halt. On a more positive note for melbourne, there is more rain to come and dent the latter pa rt rain to come and dent the latter part of the week doesnt look too bad. Especially if you are following the tennis, the weekend doesnt look too bad and this could be a bit worrying, too bad and this could be a bit worry|ng too bad and this could be a bit worrying, by monday that south easterly flow is feeling that there are across where the fires are but with a few thunderstorms, its a bit of a balancing act and a p pa re ntly bit of a balancing act and apparently not all rain is good rain for the farmers because they like to perform controlled burns and that can inhibit them doing that and make things dangerous at ground level,
and now they have no vegetation there is a greater risk of landslides which we saw in california. Very complicated. A little bit more straightforward for us. We are having a breather today. There is your breather. There you go still the remnants of stone brand and swirling away to the north. This broad wet weather to the south east earlier. Tomorrow, or one more allowed to ride its way across the uk before we move into a properly quiet spell of weather for the weekend. 0vernight temperatures will rise as the low approaches from the atlantic. Frost confined to scotland. There could be some snow as the weather system bombs into the colder air across scotland. The snow levels will rise through thursday. Windy for all parts of the uk. Not reaching the east until the afternoon. Widespread gales, gusts around the irish sea coasts. It will
be on the mild side. A pocket of warm air. A cold front for south. That will get a move on as we go overnight thursday to friday. Into cooler air with average temperatures for the time of the year and early on on friday. Then a nasty line of showers putting across england and wales on friday. For many it is not a bad day. A lot of dry weather. Caught in the showers where they linger, they could be significant amounts of rain. Better come the afternoon. Temperatures slip into single figures. As promised, here comes the real break in the weather for the weekend. After all the wet and windy weather of recent days, High Pressure starts to build. It gets properly established through saturday and sunday. Things turn much drier. They should be decent sunshine. There is the potentialfor some fog. A return of widespread overnight frost. A reminder it is stilljanuary despite the fact some
of the days have been mild recently. This is bbc news our latest headlines. British airways files a complaint with the European Commission over the government bailout of struggling Airline Flybe. Ba says its a blatant misuse of public funds. The duchess of sussexs father Thomas Markle is prepared to testify against meghan in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. Russias president announces
possible changes to the law that could tighten the criteria for candidates wanting to become his successor. At least 60 people many of them children are treated for breathing problems and skin irritation, after a passenger plane dumps fuel over schools in la. Strong winds and heavy rain bring roofs and scoffolding crashing down, as well as causing disruption to flights, roads and Rail Services across the uk. Sport now on afternoon live with katie sha na han. We have just been talking about it in the weather. The terrible air quality that has affected the tennis, now it has got some other problems . It certainly has. The Australian Open qualifiers had to be cancelled today because of the rain, following delays for the second day ina row following delays for the second day in a row because of the poor air quality from the ongoing bushfires. The organisers have come under heavy criticism after beginning matches
for only an hour later than scheduled yesterday. Today they pushed the start backed by three hours despite the conditions rated as unhealthy. You may remember this time yesterday we spoke about the likely you the who was forced to retire from her qualification match ahead of the grand slam. Dalila jakupovic. She was forced to quit after suffering a coughing fit due to the air pollution. She says it was a really tough decision to make. I have no asthma or breathing problems. I never experienced Something Like this and i like i had yesterday. It was really scary. I couldnt breathe. I didnt know what to do. I had a feeling like i was going to collapse. I was really scared. The whole match was tough for me. To breathe, to get some fresh air, to get some air at all. So yeah. Other players have
struggled too. Journalists have talked about smoke in the hotels with people in melbourne told to keep their windows and doors shut. The qualifiers were cancelled because of rain. That might create a headache for the schedulers. It may help as well. A bit of a treat for fa ns help as well. A bit of a treat for fans because of some great names helping to raise money to try to come out of the bushfires . Yeah, this was really nice. Legends from the tennis world have come together to play in a Charity Fundraiser in melbourne ahead of the austrian open next week. It is all to help raise money for the victims of the bushfire crisis. It was a star studded line up, including roger federer, rafa nadal, serena williams, Novak Djokovic and nick kyrgios. They showed their support of the rally for relief event. Federer played a one sided contest against nick kerry gas, the driving force for the event. It was so emotional. By common candour i couldnt even go outside. It was emotional. Back home in canberra. I it was emotional. Back home in canberra. Lam it was emotional. Back home in canberra. I am so grateful we had some of the greats to get behind it. And everyone around the world. The awareness is growing and we are doing everything we possibly can. Always happy to help, always happy to lend my time or my money for that matter. It was a pleasure to be here with nick and the other legends of the game. Full back stuart hogg will captain scotland for this years six nations. He replaces Stuart Mcinally, who led the team at the world cup. With 72 caps, hes the most experience player in Gregor Townsends 38 man squad for the championship. After missing out on the world cup, there are also recalls for hquones and rory hutchinson. Having scored nine tries in 12 games for gloucester this season, Lewis Rees Zammit has been handed his First International call up for wales for the six nations. Hes one of five uncapped men in wayne pivacs squad. Theres also a return for scrum half rhys webb. He had previously been ineligible
because he played for toulon in france. But after announcing he was leaving and rejoining 0spreys for next season, wales rugby have relaxed their rules and immediately picked him. Former england striker eni aluko has announced her retirment from football at the age of 32. She enjoyed a successfulcareer with the likes of birmingham, chelsea and most recentlyjuventus, and scored 33 times in 102 games for england. She said shell keep working hard to drive the womens game forward in the next part of her career and push for more opportunities, coverage and finances. Finally, if you were named International CricketCouncil Player of the year, how would you celebrate . Well, heres how ben stokes did it ahead of england third test against Soutrh Africa tomorrow. Hes already been awarded the bbc Sports Personality of the year award, as well as being voted players player of the year. Last year it seemed he could almost walk on water. So now hes walking in his hands. Thats all the sport, ill
have more for you in the next hour. Thank you very much. Lets take you back to bradford. The duke and duchess of cambridge are out on a walkabout. They are about to visit bradford because my kid matter centre, a centre that helps the most vulnerable members of the community. From minority ethnic backgrounds. As you can see, chatting to the crowds. Very much continuing as normal. While the ferrari surrounding his brother continues. They are going to be hearing about activities and workshops that volunteers offer, as well as organisations they themselves support. They willjoin a session which has more than 20 projects for pregnant women and children. That is what is happening
in bradford. Lets talk about harry and meghan. With me now is media lawyer mark stephens. Also, im joined roy greenslade, a media commentator and former editor of the daily mirror. Thank you both are joining thank you both arejoining me. Mark, we are talking about a court case thatis we are talking about a court case that is coming which meghans and father will be called to give evidence against her. At the heart of this is an issue of copyright. Legally, where do we stand . There are two elements in the case. One is the copyright case. It is a most certain that meghan will win that bit of the case because she. This isa bit of the case because she. This is a letter she wrote . A letter she wrote to thomas. The law is that if you send the letter to somebody, say i sent a letter to you, i only copyright but i am gifting you the paper in which the letter is written, but you have no rights to reproduce it. In this situation. In any part . In any part. The letter
was received by Thomas Markle and he had no right to reproduce it or let somebody else. The story doesnt stop there. The privacy allegation which is being made by meghan in this particular case is that there was also an invasion of her privacy by the revelation of this letter. And the information about their personal relationship. And effectively, Thomas Markle, and therefore the mail on sundays defense, is that because it is alleged that meghan and her team we re alleged that meghan and her team were briefing against Thomas Markle, he had a right to reply, he had a right to defend himself and put the record straight. It is less clear that she wins that are cleanly or at all. Roy, injournalistic terms, you couldnt make this up . All. Roy, injournalistic terms, you couldnt make this up . You cant. When they first sued i thought it was an open and shut case in terms
of copyright. I accept makup as mike version of the law because he is a lawyer and i version of the law because he is a lawyerand i am version of the law because he is a lawyer and i am not. But journalistically, i thought this was a fully section to begin with because it will end up surely either with a mucky compromise, in which they do not win, or they go to court and it will be an extraordinary event should it reach the court with Meghan Markles father giving evidence against her, possibly prince harry being dragged into court as well, and i would have thought of the royal family as a whole will suffer if this becomes a public event, which is what it would be ina public event, which is what it would be in a court action. Particularly because any lawyer worth their salt is going to make life very difficult for whoever is in the witness box . Yes, and so there is a very ferocious cross examiner, Anthony White qc, who has been retained by the mail on sunday and he will make
mincemeat of meghan. With the best will in the world. That is his job and he will do it effectively. What do you mean . The tactic is very plain. It is going to be, i am going to fore nsically plain. It is going to be, i am going to forensically dissect the way in which you have been manipulating the media over time. This was the same tactic used by Geoffrey Robertson qc against Princess Diana when we had the gym photos and that case collapsed a week before trial. The gym photos and that case collapsed a week before triatm was the day before. Yes. The palace couldnt let her go into the witness box and be cross examined by someone like him. And so it is in this case. The palace really cannot run the risk of putting her into the witness box because what if she were not believed or in some way found to be not a witness of truth . It is just, it beggars belief. And of course the editor of the mail on sunday has absolutely no incentive to settle this. As far as he is concerned he has died and gone to heaven because
every time this case comes up he gets another story. Every single element of this is another story and more publicity for the mail on sunday. It doesnt matter to him what this costs. Roy, the three of us we were what this costs. Roy, the three of us we were all around during the diana years, and i command i dont know about you, there is a similar sense of this febrile atmosphere. I wonder if we have learned anything since then . Are you slightly concerned about where we are . No, i think this is a straightforward matter which does echo Princess Diana in the sense that we know that diana in the sense that we know that diana couldnt assort it with journalists in order to plug her side of the argument with prince charles. And it would appear from what we know that Meghan Markle has done the same. In terms of her friends briefing on her behalf. You imagine her in the box needing to explain whether or not she had a conversation with jessica maroney, her close friend, or a
conversation with jessica maroney, her close friend, ora number of other close people about what they did ordidnt other close people about what they did or didnt do. Then there is a matter of discovery, whether texts between her and her friends can be produced. It will be a disaster for herand for her produced. It will be a disaster for her and for her husband and for the royal family as a whole. Peer briefings is how the sausage of news is made. You really dont want to see how that is made that you dont wa nt to see how that is made that you dont want to explain it in a witness box and if that is what she will have to do. Everyone thinks we make it up. As was proved in the diana case, which was extraordinary in itself when you think about the Andrew Morton book and his revelations and people not believing it, in the end it all turned out to be true. The falling down the stairs and all the re st of falling down the stairs and all the rest of it. Its extraordinary to think that people still think we may get up. This will show once again,
this case, that the mail on sunday had proper sources for their story and that they werent. 0n the copyright action, though i bow to as knowledge on this matter, i would have thought there might be a case of fair dealing, of the mail on sunday quoting from that letter to show that what had previously been said was untrue. Would that be the case . Yeah, you are allowed to extra ct case . Yeah, you are allowed to extract things from copyright for the purposes of news and current events. There is an argument about that. The question here is, could you have told that story without extracting it in the way they did . It was clearly a better story for it. It was the evidence the story required, thats why they did it. It. It was the evidence the story required, thats why they did itm was a necessity to publish it. Roy, you would have published it, wouldnt you . You would have published it, wouldnt you . I would have. If you had written a story without showing those extracts, people would not have believed you. But seeing it, seeing those extracts and knowing that they were in her hand, that gave the story verisimilitude. That they were in her hand, that gave the story verisimilitudelj think often a better way of doing it is to publish the story, wait for the denial and then slap them with the denial and then slap them with the incontrovertible proof. Hang on, why are you laughing . That is the difference between a lawyer and a journalist. Just show the truth of the matter, not catch people out. That is what the mail on sunday did. If you are called now by somebody saying, i represent harry and meghan, is there any advice she would give them right now . Would it be drop it straightaway . Yes, shut this down now. You are leaving the
country, you dont need this residue. You dont need to fly back in the year to give evidence. It will be a bunfight. It would be painful for a will be a bunfight. It would be painfulfor a few months. Will be a bunfight. It would be painful for a few months. At least you can get out clean. You dont wa nt to you can get out clean. You dont want to go down this particular road. Whoever is advising them is, frankly, not doing them any service whatsoever. And it is, i think, important to know that the queens solicitor started off dealing with this case and he is no longer dealing with this case. Perhaps there was a difference of view between the client, harry meghan. And how this would normally be handled by royal lawyers. It is not being handled in a sophisticated way. How much trouble are they in . They are in a great deal of trouble. When you are in a hole dont keep digging. They will only be more mod if they go to court. Clearly they should pull out. Roy greenslade, thank you so much forjoining us. And mike stevens. The taal volcano, one of the most active in the philippines, is continuing to release ash more than half a mile into the sky. Nearly 40,000 people have been moved out of the area because volcanologists say a dangerous eruption could happen within hours. But despite that warning, some people have been returning to their homes to check on the livestock theyve left behind. Howard johnson sent this report. Theyve declared a state of calamity here, and its clear to see why. But despite the continued threat of a hazardous eruption, some people are returning to their family homes. Margie and noel vargas own a small plot of land in the vicinity of the volcano. They grow vegetables and breed chickens for a living. But their lives were turned upside down on sunday when taal began erupting. Translation around four in the afternoon, we panicked. We saw a huge smoke cloud coming from the volcano and we could smell something awful. Ash began falling with small stones and soil. We evacuated because some people said that there would be a tsunami on the lake next to taal. We became scared. Noel says he wanted to return to his house today to check on his livestock. But he found that many of his birds were in a sorry state. Noel is showing me a fighting cock here. Its a popular sport in the philippines. And the bird here is covered in dust and ash. He said a lot of the birds were affected when he left his farm to seek safety in a shelter, an evacuation centre. And other chickens are in a bad state, you can see one at the back with what looks like a broken wing. The Philippine Department of agriculture says the thick ash has caused more than 10 million worth of damage to livestock and crops. Noel is showing us his vegetable patch, he grows squash. But he says that the condition of these plants now is so bad that he cant harvest them and he cant take them to market for sale. Today, state seismologists say although the eruptions in the main crater have been weaker in the last 24 hours, residents evacuated from the 14 kilometre danger zone should not be lulled into a false sense of security and return to their homes. Howard johnson, bbc news. In a moment the business news. First, a look at the headlines on afternoon live. British airways files a complaint with the European Commission over the government bail out of struggling Airline Flybe. Ba says its a blatant misuse of public funds. The duchess of sussexs father, Thomas Markle, is prepared to testify against meghan in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. Russias president announces possible changes to the law that could tighten the criteria for candidates wanting to become his successor. Heres your business
headlines on afternoon live. British airways owner iag has filed a complaint to the eu arguing flybes rescue breaches state aid rules. The move comes amid a growing backlash against the governments plan to defer some of flybes air Passenger Duty payments, thought to top £100 million. Greggs has signed a delivery deal with just eat as the market for food takeaways continues to grow. The boss of greggs said the aim was to capable of delivery all across the uk by the end of the year. The uks inflation rate fell to its lowest for more than three years in december, increasing speculation that Interest Rates could be cut. The rate dropped to 1. 3 , down from 1. 5 in november, partly due to a fall in the price of womens clothes and hotel room costs. After months of talking, the us and china are a just few hours away from a first step in a formal de escalation of trade tensions . All exactly. A couple of hours. Uk time for 30 pm. President trump might be sitting down with the chinese vice premier to sign a trade deal, putting to bed this bruising trade war that has been haggling over everything from prices of soybeans to iphones. The numbers involved are huge. Since the start of the trade words thought these two sides have raised import taxes on 470 billion worth of each others exports. That is more than half of what these two giant economies buy from each other every year. And it is notjust america and china affected . No. Undoubtedly it is the chinese end the us bearing the brunt of it. But considering the size of these countries they account for more than 40 of the global economy. It has affected the global trade certainly on our own markets. The so called
phase one deal, which is going to be signed today. That is expected to die by china to spend 200 billion dollars. We are expecting the us to roll back tariffs on certain goods. Still, under the deal billions of dollars worth of tariffs are expected to remain in place. Michelle fleury is in washington. She has got more on this. Michelle, does this actually and the trade war, what we are expecting to happen ina war, what we are expecting to happen in a couple of hours . Let me set the scene for you. There has been a great deal of excitement here in washington. You have got the chinese delegation who were just over my right shoulder. They were of the us treasury earlier having breakfast. They have now moved into the white house where we are expecting the signing of this phase one of the trade deal. To your question, does this end trade tensions . In short, no. This is seen by many as a truce, a sort of temporary pause in what has been a
nasty two year battle between these two sides. It rolled back some tariffs, it stops the introduction of some new tariffs. But it does leave them a role in a higher place than where we were before any of this got started. As you say, we cant really overplay the significance of what is about to happen ina the significance of what is about to happen in a couple of hours. But why is the us saying it wont move remove tariffs immediately . Because if you consider this as a first step, then you still want to have some leverage as you go forward with negotiations. What they have agreed now is this idea that china will make a commitment to buy a certain amount of American Goods. That will please a certainly american farmers, manufacturers, those in the Energy Sector likely to benefit. 0n the chinese side is good for them because they have had to buy these products from somewhere given theirenergy and buy these products from somewhere given their energy and food needs. They might as well buy American Goods and resolve some of these
trade tensions. But some of the trickiest of that america has been pushing for when it comes to things like state subsidies, to state owned enterprises, and subsidies where the chinese industrialists. 0f enterprises, and subsidies where the chinese industrialists. Of those havent been resolved. They have been left for further down the line. Experts say this is the thornier, trickier stuff which may not get resolved. You had a former Federal Reserve governor, janet yellen, saying this week she expects trade tensions to remain and that the bigger battle will be on the Technology Front between these two economic giants. That story is set to rumble on. Michelle, to you. Good to talk to you. 0utside michelle, to you. Good to talk to you. Outside the white house ahead of the signing of this trade deal between President Trump and the chinese Vice President. Thank you very much, alice. Just to let you know what is coming up, as one particular Music Streaming Service says it is putting together a playlist for dogs that are left
alone, i have been on twitter asking what you might suggest. It was a huge mistake. Many of you suggesting there should be some back. One of you saying if you put it on repeat you could play lots of often back. We are going to bejoined by lots of often back. We are going to be joined by bounce the dog. We are going to talk about what tunes would apply most. That is in the next half an hour. Now the weather with susan. Afternoon. Plenty going on in the weather. To the north of the uk is one of cloud is the remnants of the system we had earlier on this week. To the south, still the remnants of the frontal system that came across as yesterday. The gap in between them has given us a breather from most of the day to day. Then this swell of cloud towards the south west is another area of low
pressure heading our way this thursday. Hang on in there. The weekend does look like it settles down. This evening a lot of dry weather. A few showers in the north. Wintry once across scotland. As we move into the night, things start to turn milder as the weather system approaches the southerly or south westerly wind picks up. At the end of the night the temperature in glasgow around 7 degrees. An early frost. They could be a little bit of ice across the far north of scotland. Tra nsiently, ice across the far north of scotland. Transiently, some snow. The snow level will come up through the day on thursday. A wet picture across the western part of the uk through thursday morning. Widespread gains particularly for those western coast and across the hills. 60 mph in the east. The east clinging onto the dry weather until we get into the dry weather until we get into the evening. Wendy across the board on thursday. The wettest weather for the eastern side on thursday evening. It also swirled is
north eastward as we get to friday. Not quite plain sailing for freddie. This little frontal system just running down across england and wales will bring some quite slow moving and heavy showers. They could be somewhat weather in parts of the midlands, Eastern England on friday. Still some showers to the far north west. The wind does remain rather keener. 0verall on friday the winds are lighter but a chillier feel. Tomorrow is going to be quite mild, with temperatures of 12 to 13. For the weekend, the cooler air comes to dominate. High pressure sta rts comes to dominate. High pressure starts to build. Through the weekend it becomes well established. It brings with it the promise of much lighter winds and a lot of dry weather. Plenty of sunshine as well. Just the possibility for some areas to get stuck with lingering fog. The biggest change will be the chillier feel. We will have that through the day. Also by night, a frosty start to saturday and sunday. Landslides which we saw in california. Hello, youre watching afternoon live. Im simon mccoy. Today at 3pm British Airways files a complaint with the European Commission over the governments bail out of struggling Airline Flybe. Ba calls it a blatant misuse of public funds. The government isnt in the market to bail out private companies. Hello, youre watching afternoon live. What we do on a case by case basis is look to see whether a business is viable. In the case of flybe, it is a viable business. The duchess of sussexs father Thomas Markle says he is prepared to testify against meghan in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. Russias government resigns just hours after president putin proposes consitutional changes to prolong his grip on power. Russia must remain a strong president ial republic. Coming up on afternoon live,
all the sport with katie shanahan. Qualifying at the Australian Open was cancelled due to heavy rain and poorair was cancelled due to heavy rain and poor air quality from the ongoing brush fires in the country. And susan powell has been looking at the weather. We will see what has been going on in melbourne and a complex picture in the uk where something a bit more settled by the weekend. Also coming up in the programme as spotify launches a podcast and playlists to keep your dog calm while youre out well be looking at what might be the most suitable tracks. And whether you will need a subwoofer. Hello, everyone. This is afternoon live. We start this hour in washington where the speaker of the house of representatives, nancy pelosi, is set to reveal which House Democrats will serve as impeachment managers during the Upcoming Senate trial of President Trump. Those managers will act as prosecutors by presenting the case against the president. Two articles of impeachment against President Trump are also expected to be sent to the senate today after a key vote. This follows a month long delay. The houseis this follows a month long delay. The house is expected to vote to send those two articles to the senate, setting in motionjust a third impeachment trial in american history. Considerable pond pomp and ceremony surrounding us. There
will be a vote, up formal ceremony and then a procession through the rotunda to deliver the charges to the senate. We are awaiting the arrival of nancy pelosi as she prepares to name those who will be taking without prosecution against President Trump. Revealing who she has chosen to serve as the impeachment managers to prosecute and the house will then vote to formally appoint them and transmit the articles of impeachment to the senate, and ms pelosi scheduled to announce her choice any moment now. She is running at about five minutes late already. The house is scheduled to vote at 12 30pm to 1 30pm washington time, in a couple of ours, and that will follow at ten not debate. Ms pelosi and the managers will then hold that
ceremony at five b m washington time with the manager is immediately marching across the Capitol Building to deliver the charges to the senate. We will be following these developments on capitol hill. The formalities largely bringing to a conclusion the houses constitutional role in the filing of impeachment charges against President Trump and it will in effect and the long stand off between nancy pelosi and senator Mitch Mcconnell, the republican leader, over the outlines of the trial which will be detailed to the senate. Ms pelosi had hoped to force mr mcconnell to commit to calling witnesses and allowing additional documentary evidence by withholding these articles for several weeks but that plant has now changed and in the next few moments we will hear from nancy pelosi, a number of
moderate republican senators agree with mr mcconnell to delay the decision until after both sides have presented their arguments and senators has an opportunity to ask questions, and that could take two weeks or more. Last time we saw anything like this, the impeachment trial of president bill clinton in 1999, when a bipartisan agreement was struck on trial rules, that are not voting unanimously to approve them. We are still awaiting the arrival of nancy pelosi, it looks imminentand the arrival of nancy pelosi, it looks imminent and the law dictates as soon as we pull away from this she will appear, so we will pull off this and if she does appear i will ta ke this and if she does appear i will take you straight back to washington. Meanwhile, here come the duchess of sussexs father, thomas
michael, is prepared to testify against his daughter in her legal battle with the mail on sunday newspaper. The duchess is suing the paper for publishing a letter she sent to her father. Meghans half sister Samantha Markle says if her father is called to give evidence he will attend. The duke and duchess of cambridge have been continuing with their world duties in bradford and fiona trott is there. Not the nicest places to be in terms of weather but business as usual as far as they are concerned. Not the nicest place to be at the moment weather wise but despite that the royal couple had a warm welcome, around 400 people behind me still in the rain and the wind and a cold and i had a lively welcome, a punjabi band played here when they arrived and a lot of laughter because Prince William himself had a go at playing the drums and this is a final visit today here in bradford and what they
have been doing is getting an idea of what is happening in and around the city, to help people whether its with employment opportunities, whether they need help in life generally, this Community Centre where we are at the moment is where they are spending time chatting to people inside involved with various projects, one of them with young mums, another is for grandparents who have parental responsibilities and project is all about helping them build relationships with younger children, giving them advice on how to raise children the 21st century. Another project is about involving people from different ethnic and religious communities coming together and understanding each other better to improve relationships in the local community and chatting to some people who have been watching out here in the rain, they were excited to see them here today. They have
taken time off work, some of them have taken time off school and say how pleased they are because they see the duke and duchess of cambridge as role models, speaking about young peoplesissues, Mental Health issues, one little boy i spoke to was keen to ask them about Prince George so while the couple are inside here talking about the serious side of parenting, they will have a chance to chat about their own family. The rain seems to be stopping but its still windy there. It is, and very cold, these people are not leaving soon, i think they will be here until the royal couple come out and they will have a chance to ta ke come out and they will have a chance to take more photos and shake hands before they leave on their final visit of the date here in bradford. The glamour of this job sometimes really gets to you. Thank you, fear
not. We will go to washington because nancy pelosi hasjust not. We will go to washington because nancy pelosi has just taken to that podium. Lets hear from because nancy pelosi has just taken to that podium. Lets hearfrom her. Good morning, everyone. This is a very important day for us and temple markers that our founders and poets have used over time to place us in time to emphasise the importance of the time because everything is about time, how we use it, how we mark it and today is an important date because today is the day we name the managers who pass the resolution to transmit the articles of impeachment to the senate and later in the day, when we have are in grosmont, that
wea k when we have are in grosmont, that weak march those articles of impeachment to the United States senate. Its always been our founders, when they started, in the course of events when it becomes necessary , course of events when it becomes necessary, thomas paine said these are the times that try mens souls, and even our poets, long fellow, listen my children and you will hear the midnight brine, the 18th of april 1875, its always about marking history, using time. On december 18 the house of representatives impeached the president of the United States. An impeachment that will last forever. Since december 18, there have been comments about when we will send the
articles over, we had hoped the courtesy would be extended that we would have seen what the process will be in the senate. Short of that, time has revealed many things sense that. Time has been ourfriend in august because it has yielded incriminating evidence, more troops into the public domain. Since we passed the articles on december 20, two days later, new e mail showed 91 minutes into trump is s phone call with president zelensky, a top aide asked judges to hold off on ukraine eight. 0n asked judges to hold off on ukraine eight. On december 29 allegations emerged about the acting chief of staffs role in the delay by lawyers in the administration to justify the delay and that the delay caused was
in the administration. 0njanuary two newly unredacted pentagon e mails which the house subpoenaed and the president blocked serious concerns about administration officials, they were concerned about the legality of the present was not called on the ukraine. Former National Security adviserjohn bolton said he would comply with a subpoena to testify and that he has new relevant information. On subpoena to testify and that he has new relevant information. 0njanuary 13 reports emerged that the russian government hacked the gas company boro is not as part of their effort to influence us elections in support of President Trump and just yesterday the house voted to allow chairman nadler, german chef and
chairman nadler, german chef and chairman angle of foreign affairs, and chairwoman maloney of government form, they released new evidence pursuant to a house subpoena. An associate of Rudy Giuliani proves the present was a central player in the present was a central player in the scheme to pressure ukraine for his own benefit in the 2020 election. This is about the constitution of the United States and its important for the president to know and for putin to know the american voter, voters in america should decide who our president is, not them. So today im proud to present the managers who will bring the case which i have great confidence in, in terms of impeaching the president and his removal, but this is further
evidence, we would not be in the situation had we not waited and insist that there be witnesses and that we see documentation, and now you see some of that change happening on the senate side. I hope it does come for the good of our country and to honour our constitution, so today on the floor we will pass a resolution naming the managers, appropriating the funds for the trial and transmitting the articles of impeachment of the president of the United States. For trying to influence our Foreign Government for his own personal political benefit. Chair adam chef of california, chair of the Oversight Committee on intelligence
and serving his Term Congress adam schiff. Before congress he was a california senator and served as a federal prosecutor at the Us Attorneys Office for six years, prosecuting the first fbi agent to be indicted for espionage. Chairman jerry nadler, chair of the house Judiciary Committee, is serving his 15th term in congress. He served as a top democrat on thejudiciary subcommittee on the constitution, civil rights and Civil Liberties for 13 years. Before congress he served in the new York State Assembly for 16 years. Chair zoloft and, chair of the committee on administration is a Senior Member of the House Administration committee. Miss lovkin is serving in congress and
this is her third impeachment is at Judiciary Committee staffer in the nixon impeachment, as a member of thejudiciary nixon impeachment, as a member of the Judiciary Committee in nixon impeachment, as a member of theJudiciary Committee in the clinton impeachment and now as a manager in this impeachment of the president. Chair Hakeem Jeffries is the chair of the House Democratic caucus and is now serving his fourth term in congress. He is a member of the housejudiciary term in congress. He is a member of the house Judiciary Committee, term in congress. He is a member of the houseJudiciary Committee, for being in congress he served in the assembly of newark for six years. An accomplished litigator in private practice before running for elected office, he clocked for the honourable howard berrickjunior of new York District court for the Southern District of new york. Congresswoman val del mings of florida, a member of both the house the Permanent Select Committee and the Permanent Select Committee and the housejudiciary
the Permanent Select Committee and the house Judiciary Committee. The Permanent Select Committee and the houseJudiciary Committee. Miss deming is serving her third term in congress, before which she served in 0rlando as the First Woman Police chief. Congressman jason 0rlando as the First Woman Police chief. Congressmanjason crowe of colorado is a member of the House Armed Services committee. He served our country bravely as an army major in iraq and afghanistan before running for congress. He was a respected litigator in private practice in colorado. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia of texas, a member of the housejudiciary Sylvia Garcia of texas, a member of the house Judiciary Committee, before congress she served in texas state senate, she was the director and presiding judge of the houston municipal system and was elected city controller. She was later elected the first hispanic and first
woman to be elected in her own right to the Harris County commissioners court. As you can see from these descriptions, the emphasis is on litigators. The emphasis is on Comfort Level in the courtroom. The emphasis is making the strongest possible case to protect our constitution, to seek the truth for the American People. Im very proud that these seven members, distinguished members, have accepted this serious responsibility to protect and defend for the people, defending our democracy. They will leave here at noon and go to the floor and pass a resolution naming the managers officially but i wanted to say more about them here and to say that the decision to come down
in favour of litigators is necessitated by the clear evidence that we should have witnesses and we should have documentation and we have to make the strongest prosecution, not only of our very strong case but of all the information that has come forth since. Im going to take a few questions. Why did you rush to have about before christmas couldnt you have stretched this out longer to get more information to bolster the case . I will say we had a strong case . I will say we had a strong case for impeachment of the president and his removal. Anything more would be in terms of going to the senate. We always felt a certain urgency about this impeachment given the president was trying to get foreign help in cheating in the next
election but as soon as we did pass the articles, Mitch Mcconnell made clear he didnt want a trial in the senate, he didnt want witnesses or documents and this time has given us the ability to shout the American People the necessity of a fair trial, to expose the degree to which mcconnell is working hand in hand with the subject of the impeachment, the president , to turn what should bea the president , to turn what should be a trial into a sham, and uptime has been very effective in not only bringing a new evidence to light and the evidence was already overwhelming, but also forcing senators to go on record, do they wa nt senators to go on record, do they want a senators to go on record, do they wanta fair senators to go on record, do they want a fair trial, fair to the president but also to the American People, or will they participate in a cover up . Sol people, or will they participate in a cover up . So i think its been effective and additional evidence continues to come to life that has bolstered our case. We will pull
away. Adam schiff there, one of the impeachment managers, there will be at the ceremony today, that follows at the ceremony today, that follows a vote where they will vote the managers into office and then marched through the Capitol Building and we will rejoin them for that a little later but that is the latest in impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. The government rescue plan for the loss making Airline Flybe has been branded a misuse of public funds by a number of rivals. Last night the government told flybe it could defer payment of a substantial air Passenger Duty bill, and shareholders agreed to inject additional investment. But willie walsh, the chief executive of iag, which owns British Airways, is among those whove questioned the deal saying taxpayers would be picking up the tab for the airlines mismanagement and has now filed a complaint with the European Commission, in relation to rules about state aid. The government says any changes to taxes would apply to all airlines. Our Business CorrespondentSimon Gompertz reports. Flybes now become a target in the intense rivalry between the worlds major airlines. Its part owned by virgin atlantic, which itself is part owned by one of the biggest carriers of all, delta. So British Airways has gone on the attack. Willie walsh, the ultimate boss of ba, argues that virgin and delta have the resources to rescue flybe themselves, and the taxpayer was picking up the tab for their mismanagement of the airline. He added, this is a blatant misuse of public funds. Flybe is the latest in a succession of troubled uk travel companies. Last year, it was thomas cook, with 9,000 jobs, which the government decided not to save. Ministers have moved quickly to defend their approach this time. The government isnt in the market to bail out private companies. What we do, on a case by case basis, is look to see whether a business is viable. The difference, for example,
between flybe and thomas cook was that in the case of thomas cook it had huge amounts of debt, and any taxpayers money would have simply been throwing good money after bad. It was not a viable company. It is understood that the flybe rescue package involves the government allowing it to defer £100 million of tax, the air Passenger Duty, which it collects from travellers and is then supposed to pass on the the exchequer. Also at least £20 million from shareholders, including virgin and stobart air, and a possible loan from the government in the future. Flybe is relied on by smaller airports round the uk, and the government was under pressure to step in to back its promise to level up the regions. The chancellors agreed to review the £26 of flight air Passenger Duty on these routes, provoking criticism from environmental campaigners. But overall, the package has kept flybe flying. Regional flying is traditionally a difficult market to work in. Some routes can never be made to actually pay, and theres actually a mechanism, something called Public Service obligation, where a tender can be made and operators can fly certain lifeline routes on a subsidised basis, but the rest has to stand on its own two feet on a normal commercial basis, so this is looking rather politically murky at the moment for the government. But 2,400 staff at flybe are heartily relieved today, along with all those who have booked to fly in the coming days and weeks, and now have more confidence they will get where they want to go. Just to let you know, bounce is on his way but first, just to return to that impeachment hearing in the United States and the process which is not fully under way. Amber phillips is political reporter for defects. Just explain what nancy
pelosi has done defects. For defects. Just explain what nancy pelosi has done defects. She has named democrats with experience in the courtrooms before they came to congress, either as the courtrooms before they came to congress, eitherasjudges the courtrooms before they came to congress, either asjudges or lawyers, she named them as house managers in impeachment partners, the people who will spend the next several weeks trying to convince 67 senators that they should convert trump on the two counts of impeachment the house passed in december, abuse of power and obstruction of congress. December, abuse of power and obstruction of congresslj december, abuse of power and obstruction of congress. I wasjust saying, overnight some damning documents appeared, all adding to the sense of the pressure on the president. Yes, that House Democrats are continuing to investigate this and hold subpoenas to attain information and overnight she named these managers, the news is there
was an associate of trump is my lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who might have had the Us Ambassador under surveillance and provided documents that showed giuliani purporting to go to ukraine for the president s personal interests and get ukraine to investigate democrats. As nancy pelosi and adam schiff and other democrats said, it underscores the evidence they feel they have collected which says he abused ukraine policy for his own benefit. Theres this strange ceremony a little later once they have been voted in where they marched through the Capital Building. You dont see stuff like this every day, they will ta ke stuff like this every day, they will take the physical articles of impeachment after a procedural vote in the house to approve the articles and the managers and then they will walk them from one side of the Capital Building under that rotunda, the famous part of the capital that
you see, over to the senate side and go on the senate floor and present them to the secretary of the senate. In past trials at the managers have stood there and read the articles. Its stood there and read the articles. Its a very ceremonial moment and something you do not see in Congress Every day, house lawmakers going on thats not floor. Every day, house lawmakers going on thats not floor. Good to get that update on whats going on, Amber Phillips from the fix. How do you feel less guilty for leaving your dog alone while you go off to work . The streaming platform spotify tried to help by launching a podcast especially for dogs offering a mix of soothing music and encouraging messages. The five Hour Programme has been designed with british animal behaviour experts to help relieve stress and boost happiness when dogs are left alone at home. Well, im nowjoined by dr samantha gaines, dog welfare expert for the rspca, which has been involved with the podcast and playlists on spotify, and im alsojoined by animal psychologist dr roger
mugford and his dog, bounce. A welcome return. There he is. Bounce the dog is back on bbc news. Lets see if this works. Lets play a bit of this playlist, and c. Its voiced by call the midwife star Jessica Raine and ralph ineson, best known as finchy from the office. Lets see how bounce reacts. Over music hello, you. Ive got good news. Today is another lovely day. It makes me so happy to start the day off seeing your happy face. How lucky am i that ive been able to hang out with you before i have to head off . I would stay here and stroke you all day long if i could. Ah, there you are. I wondered where you had gone for a moment. But i knew you wouldnt be far away. Ijust love seeing that look on your face. Seriously, what would i do without you . If you justjoin, this is afternoon live on bbc news and that is bounce, and the ears pricked up. They did, a dog at this age with this intelligence understands a vocabulary of several hundred words, they acquire our language and are responsive to the things we site and the way we say it and those were soft, encouraging voices but the owner would be the best people to leave these recordings so copy this excellent innovation from the rspca and spotify, god bless them, and make recordings of your own, you speaking to your dog saying i will be home soon, i wont be long, i will bring your best friend over to
play with you and those sort of silly things, dogs understand the content silly things, dogs understand the co nte nt of silly things, dogs understand the content of what we sigh. Bounce has just heard the studio door open and reacted. The point of the music is to soothe them so when they hear noises like that they dont react so much. Yes, i have recommended that people if they normally watch tv in the evening leave it on when they go out in the daytime if they have a favourite, ideally sound and talk radio mixed, then leap that on this ta kes radio mixed, then leap that on this takes that process a bit further and makes them feel wanted and at home because. He looks more at home in here than i do. Hes only had good experiences at bbc. Thats where we differ its the lord rhys arafat. Jakupovic, you would never encourage anyone to leave dogs alone for any
particular length of time. What is a sensible length . The general recommendation is that you dont leave dogs for longer than four hours, and thats if you have a dog thatis hours, and thats if you have a dog that is happy to be left alone. Unfortunately, we know a huge number of dogs struggle being by themselves and become very distressed when they are left by their owner. The good news is it is treatable, so there is advice on the rspca website, that is why we are keen to support this podcast, because its a further option dog owners have to help their dogs to be a bit more relaxed when they are by themselves. If the rspca recommends it, i think it must work. It will work for some dogs but it is not a panacea. If you have a dog thatis not a panacea. If you have a dog that is worried, it will not necessarily be fine for you might need professional help. This can help some dogs. It has put Classical Music in it, which has been scientifically proven help some dogs relax. We were told that bach works,
or is that a myth . 0r often bark . The point of it is that people do worry about leaving their dog and bounce is not performing any way we could illustrate. He was very attentive to the short recording you played, but he chilled out here. It is, as sam says, a big problem, dogs are being left on their own. We all wa nt are being left on their own. We all want the benefits and psychological support of the company of dogs, but we also have to go to work, and not everybody has an employer that welcomes a dog their place of work. We have to make compromises, and tha nkfully we have to make compromises, and thankfully there is this wonderful institution of dog daycare, a worldwide phenomenon, and thats important. Talk to your neighbours and have them dropping in as well. And there are Interesting Technology products coming along and, at its
simplest, you have a camera on a dog so do you what it is doing, but i have invented a game you can manipulate through your mobile phone and what your dog online on camera and what your dog online on camera and speak to it. You may as well be at home, richard. You could well be at home, richard. You could well be at home, richard. You could well be at home so you can see what your children, granny are up to, and you can keep an eye on do things with your dog from a distance. Can keep an eye on do things with your dog from a distancelj can keep an eye on do things with your dog from a distance. I want to talk to bounce, but im not going to get anything out of him. You had quite a conversation last time. Bounce, you went viral last time, in a good way things like fireworks night, moments like that when people worry about dogs, the best thing is to be with them, isnt it . Absolutely, and the rspca is very concerned about the effects of fireworks on dogs, and this is where the podcast could be useful, because
there are sounds in the podcast that have been developed to help muffled sounds outside, so its another tool people can use to help dogs cope. But if you know your dog struggles when on their own or they have a around fireworks, getting help is important. Bounce, you are the star of the show. Up, up are you all right . Really good to meet you again, bounce. He is wagging his tail. He is happy. Roger, great to see you, and, bounce, great pleasure to see you again. He is 13 years old and doing very well in his old age. Of and doing very well in his old age. 0f twitter has gone mad at the that bounce was coming back, and its cheered many people up. There we are. Ten minutes of our lives we can
all remember and rejoice. You are watching afternoon live on bbc news. Now the weather with susan powell. Its its not too bad out there at the moment across the uk. This clearer slot, with some showers peppering m, slot, with some showers peppering in, but the heavy rain from earlier is now headed off to the continent. We have got the remnants of brendan to the north, but we will look at the south west as we head for thursday, with another loaf heading our way. A quiet evening, lighter winds than yesterday, but overnight the wind will start to lift to the west of the uk, a southerly or south westerly, flooding milder air so, by the end of the match, the temperature in glasgow will rise to 7 degrees. Limited frost in northern scotland. There could be some transient snow on the hills, but the snow level will come through the day, and its looking quite wet in the west through the morning. Dry
but patchy cloud in the east. Windy across the board, the strongest winds in the west, especially around western coasts and hills, gusting up to 60 mph, not quite as strong as the winds associated with brendan, and its a mild story for thursday, because this pocket is technically known as a warm sector, giving you a clue as to how it will feel. 0vernight into friday, we will move into more typical airfor 0vernight into friday, we will move into more typical air for the time of year, and temperatures will come back down to average values for friday. A bit calmer with that low moving away, but another frontal system moving away, but another frontal syste m ru ns moving away, but another frontal system runs in across england and wales, which could bring more potent showers. A spell of heavy rain for some. Quite a bit of sunshine on friday, a view showers in scotland and northern ireland, much lower temperatures than thursday, back down to average values of six to 8 degrees. For the weekend, finally, it looks like things will calm down considerably, with an area of high
pressure building through the weekend and becoming well established, with its centre across the uk on sunday. That promises much lighter winds, a lot of dry weather, but just the lighter winds, a lot of dry weather, butjust the possibility in one or two spots that we get stuck with lingering fog, so i cannot promise wall to wall sunshine, but certainly bright. So much more chilly mornings, and certainly a widespread frost across the uk first thing on saturday and sunday, but much, in contrast to the very wet and windy weather weve had across the uk this week. This is bbc news. Our latest headlines. British airways files a complaint with the European Commission over the governments bailout of struggling Airline Flybe. Ba calls it a blatant misuse of public funds. The duchess of sussexs father Thomas Markle says he is prepared to testify against meghan in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. In the United States, the House Speaker, nancy pelosi, reveals the team of seven democrats
who will prosecute donald trump in an impeachment trial which begins in the senate early next week. Russias government resigns just hours after president putin proposes consitutional changes to prolong his grip on power. Children are treated for skin irritation after a passenger plane dumps fuel over the playground of a school before making an Emergency Landing at Los Angeles International airport. Sport now on afternoon live with katie sha na han. So the terrible conditions at the tennis in melbourne, which we have reported on, giving way to something just as bad. The Australian Open qualifiers had to be cancelled today because of heavy rain. The second day of delays ina row, heavy rain. The second day of delays in a row, due to the poor air quality from ongoing bushfires. 0rganisers have come under heavy criticism after beginning matches later, and today they pushed the start time back by three hours, despite the conditions rated as unhealthy. Now you may remember that this time yesterday we spoke about dalila jakupovic, who was forced to retire from her qualifcation match ahead of the grand slam. The slovenian world number 180 was worried about her health and was forced to quit after suffering a coughing fit due to the air pollution in melbourne. She says it was a tough decision to make. I have never had breathing problems, i never experienced Something Like this like i had yesterday. It was really scary, i couldnt breathe, i didnt know what to do and i had a feeling on the court. I was really scared, i have to say. It was really tough for me to breathe and get fresh journalists have spoken about how theres smoke in the hotels, with people in melbourne told to keep their windows and door shut. But, as we mentioned, the qualifiers were cancelled because of heavy rain, which might create a headache for the schedulers but it should help the atmosphere ahead of the grand slam last week. There was a treat for tennis fans, with some big names in the world tennis helping to raise money to combat the fires. Legends from the tennis world have come together to play in a Charity Fundraiser in melbourne ahead of the Australian Open. Its all to help raise money for the victims of the bushire crisis. It was a star studded line up too, including roger federer, rafa nadal, serena williams, Novak Djokovic and nick krygios and more, to show their support at the rally for relief event at a packed out rod laver areana. Federer played a one set contest against nick kyrgios, whos been the driving force for the event. It was so emotional back home in
canberra, i couldnt even go outside. It was emotional, and i am so happy we had roger, novak, rafa, some of the greats getting behind it, and awareness is growing around the world and i think we are doing all we can to overcome this. the world and i think we are doing all we can to overcome this. I was happy to help and lent my time all my money, for that matter, and it was a pleasure to be here tonight with nick and to do my fair share. Fullback stuart hogg will captain scotland for this years six nations. He replaces Stuart Mcinally who led the team at the world cup. With 72 caps, hes the most experienced player in Gregor Townsends 38 man squad for the championship. After missing out on the world cup, there are also recalls for hquones and rory hutchinson. Good news for tottenham fans as spurs have signed midfielder Jedson Fernandes on loan from benfica for an initial 18 months. The club do have the option to make the move permanent. He won the portuguese title last season and isjose mourinhos First Signing as tottenham boss. Former england striker eni aluko has announced her retirement from football at the age of 32. She enjoyed a successful career with the likes of birmingham, chelsea and most recentlyjuventus, and scored 33 times in 102 games for england. She said shell keep working hard to drive the womens game forward in the next part of her career and push for more opportunities, coverage and finances. Fernando alonso escaped a serious injury after rolling his car at the dakar rally in saudi arabia. Just look at this. Scary stuff. Well, the two time f1 World Champion was able to continue without a windscreen, but fell from 10th to 14th by the end of the stage. His fellow spaniard carlos sainz won the stage and has a lead of more than 18 minutes with just two days to go. Finally, if you were named International CricketCouncil Player of the year, how
would you celebrate . Well, heres how ben stokes did it ahead of englands third test against south africa tomorrow. Hes already been awarded the bbc Sports Personality of the year award, as well as being voted players player of the year. Last year it seemed he could almost walk on water. So now hes walking in his hands and his captain thinks he deserves his award. Pretty impressive stuff. Do you reckon you could do a handstand, simon . I have enough trouble walking normally, kt. You are lucky to have me here at all, to be honest. We will leave it there. At least 60 people, many of them children, have been treated for breathing problems and skin irritation, after a passenger plane dumped fuel over a number of schools as it made an Emergency Landing in los angeles. An investigation has been launched although fuel is allowed to be released in an emergency, it is meant to be done over designated areas and at High Altitude. Richard galpin reports. You can hear schoolchildren playing outside as this
Delta Air Lines passenger jet flies directly over them, dumping thousands of litres of aviation fuel. Eventually, an adult realises its dangerous. That cant be good, right . The Emergency Services were soon called out to several schools in the region. More than 60 people, many of them children, needed treatment for minor injuries. Worried parents rushed to find their children. I was scared. I was scared too, we were all scared. None of the patients required transportation to hospital which is a great sign and obviously means that the irritations were minor, the affected areas of the children or adults that were complaining were minor. In a statement, Delta Air Lines said. The dumping of the fuel is now being investigated by the authorities. It is supposed to be done at High Altitude and over unpopulated areas. Until something more surfaces, and given that it appears that the aircraft did not request fueljettison but the airline subsequently confirmed it, it appears to be highly questionable. In emergency situations, jettisoning fuel can be vital but could the plane have gone out to sea to prevent causing injuries . Richard galpin, bbc news. In a moment, well have all the latest business news. First a look at the headlines on afternoon live. British airways files a complaint with the European Commission over the governments bailout of struggling Airline Flybe. Ba says its a blatant misuse of public funds. The duchess of sussexs father, Thomas Markle, says he is prepared to testify against meghan in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. In the us, House Speaker nancy pelosi has revealed the team of seven democrats who will prosecute donald trump in an impeachment trial which begins in the senate early next week. Heres your business headlines on afternoon live. British airways owner iag has filed a complaint to the eu arguing flybes rescue breaches state aid rules. The move comes amid a growing backlash against the governments plan to defer some of flybes air Passenger Duty payments, thought to top £100 million. Greggs has signed a delivery deal with just eat as the market for food takeaways continues to grow. The boss of greggs said the aim was to capable of delivery
all across the uk by the end of the year. The uks inflation rate fell to its lowest for more than three years in december, increasing speculation that Interest Rates could be cut. The rate dropped to 1. 3 , down from 1. 5 in november, partly due to a fall in the price of womens clothes and hotel room costs. Another uk employee has missed to offer all staff equal parental leave. Unicef, the United Nations childrens agency, will now offer 52 weeks leave and equal pay for all new caregivers, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. The policy will also include staff who are adopting a child. Unicef said the uk ranked fourth lowest out of 31 European Countries when it comes to Family Friendly policies. Thats not a great ranking . Analysis by the university of birmingham found only 9,200 new parents, just over 1 of those, took shared parental leave in 2017 18. That increased to 10,700 in the Financial Year 2018 19. At the moment, the majority of uk Companies Offer fathers two wigs statutory paternity leave, provided they have worked for the company for 26 weeks, but Research Shows only two to 8 of those fathers make use of these policies, so unicefjoining the likes of Goldman Sachs and trying to boost the uk opt that european ranking when it comes to Family Friendly policies. Another story youre looking at low income households have seen the fastest rise in the use of Consumer Debt since the financial crisis. The Resolution Foundation says a lot of lower income families are
increasingly reliant on things like credit cards and store cards to help shore up their family funds, and therefore creating potentially a bigger problem for the future. 0n the line i have kathleen henehan, a policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation, which was behind the research. Good to talk to you, kathleen. Just explain to me what it is that youve discovered when it comes to the reliance of some families in the uk on things like credit cards. I think a lot of households are still feeling the effects of the financial crisis ten yea rs effects of the financial crisis ten years ago, but overall levels of debt relative to income have not risen beyond their financial crisis levels, they are actually lower. We have seen a big rise in the proportion of families at the bottom of Income Distribution using things like credit cards, overdrafts, Hire Purchase and so on, and it is worrying because these are the same groups which have been suffering from the pay squeeze, rising housing costs a nd from the pay squeeze, rising housing costs and also have reduced savings. How worried should we be . We are a long way from the levels of debt which drove the financial crisis, arent we . And the availability of new credit can be incredibly useful and a good thing for some of these low income households. Those are excellent points, and what our Research Shows that, on the first one, whilst overall levels are nowhere near what they were before the financial crisis, for some particular households there is a problem, and Financial Inclusion is absolutely a good thing and should be celebrated, but the important thing to look at is whether or not these households use high interest products because they want to and have the freedom to or because they are forced to and are not making as much money as they were in the past or struggling with other forms of arrears. What sort of debt are we talking about . Is it mortgages or credit cards or store cards . It is Consumer Debt, including a host of things, things like credit cards,
consumer cards, store cards, Overdraft Fees can be problematic, and it includes things like Hire Purchase agreements, and it is interestingly skewed, so some of the lower interest of forms are more likely to be used by higher income families, but things like those with high Interest Rates are much more used by lower income families. We area used by lower income families. We are a long way from the levels of debt we saw back in 2008, but is the fear that this increasing level of debt amongst many uk households leaves people exposed to any financial shocks which might come in the future . That is hitting the nail on the head. Its the exposure, particularly among the most vulnerable households, which we need to worry about, because we know that these households have less savings than they did in the past, so whether it is a national downturn or a change in their circumstances they could find themselves in trouble. Thank you very much, kathleen henehan. We are waiting for that signing of trade talks at 4 30pm, i believe. Yes, for 30 pm trade talks at 4 30pm, i believe. Yes, for30 pm uk trade talks at 4 30pm, i believe. Yes, for 30 pm uk time. The high speed rail link hs2 could divide and destroy Natural Habitats across england, according to a new report by the Wildlife Trust. After analysing the impact along the proposed route, the trust warns endangered species could become extinct and eco systems could be destroyed. 0ur transport correspondent, tom burridge, explains. Close to nature at calvertjubilee. This Wildlife Reserve is a mix of habitats. Get here early. So at the moment theres a cormorant out on the raft. And you might get lucky. You can see, looks like a bitterns just come out from the reed bed here. Seeing a bittern up close. Yeah, what a stunning bird. Like this in Central England is rare. But a section of the woodland and scrub near the lake at this side of the reserve will have to be cleared to make way for a new High Speed Railway called hs2. As you can see, theres already a local line here. Broadly speaking, thats where high speed 2, the first stretch of it, linking london to birmingham, will run. But a High Speed Railway is a much bigger project. It requires land either side of the line and in this case, it will mean woodland on this side of the Nature Reserve will have to be cleared and, as we have seen, it is a vital habitat for rare species of insect and birds. Some locals are concerned. People know you cant move an ancient forest from one place to another. You cant move species. Once youve lost a habitat like this, its gone. Plus all the wildlife within it, its gone. This reserve is one of hundreds
of wildlife sites which feature in a new report on the Environmental Impact of hs2. The Wildlife Trust says constructing the new railway will divide and destroy huge swathes of irreplaceable natural habitat and important protected wildlife sites the length of england. The reason these sites that are going to be trashed are designated is because they are precious and vital to our wildlife, so species like the dingy skipper or white clawed crayfish could be wiped out from certain areas because of the disruption h52 is causing, and h52 and the government have said theyre going to do mitigation works. But the reality is, theyre only just starting these mitigation works and, for them to be mature enough to support wildlife, they should have been done years and years ago. Hs2 ltd says its done extensive work to relocate species like the Great Crested Newt at this site near birmingham. We will be impacting on species
and habitats up and down the line. Ecological surveys have been undertaken in the last few years to really understand whats there, whats in the landscape, so we can appropriately respond to that in our designs, our mitigation plans, so that through construction we can understand whats happening and that those designs will eventually be in an area where all the habitats that are recreated are flourishing. With hs2 on hold, conservationists like mark are holding their breath. Soon the government will decide if the project should proceed. Tom burridge, bbc news, in buckinghamshire. The taal volcano, one of the most active in the philippines, is continuing to release ash more than half a mile into the sky. Nearly 40,000 people have been moved out of the area because volcanologists say a dangerous eruption could happen within hours but, despite that warning, some people have been returning to their homes to check on the livestock theyve left behind. Howard johnson sent this report. They declared a state of emergency and its easy to see why but some people are returning to their homes. This family own a spot of land in the vicinity of the volcano and grow vegeta bles the vicinity of the volcano and grow vegetables and breed chickens for a living, but their life was turned upside down on sunday when taal began erupting. Translation on friday afternoon, i panicked. There was a big smoke cloud and we could smell something awful. Ash began falling with small stones and soil. We evacuated because somebody said there would be a toonami. We became scared. He says he wanted to return to his house today to check on his livestock, but he found many birds were in a sorry state. He was showing me a fighting clock, a popular sport in the philippines, and the bird is covered in dustand philippines, and the bird is covered in dust and ash. He said a lot of
the birds were affected and he left his farm to seek safety and shelter in an evacuation centre, and other chickens are in a bad state. I have seen one at the back with what looks like a broken wing. The Philippine Department of agriculture says thick ash has caused more than 10 million worth of damage to livestock and crops. He is showing us his vegetable patch. Gross squash, but he says the condition of these pla nts he says the condition of these plants is now so bad that he cannot harvest them or take them to market for sale. He gross squash. Seismologists say, although the eruptions in the main crater had been weaker in the last 24 hours, residents evacuated from the danger zone should not be lulled into a false sense of security or return home. Now its time for a look at the weather with susan powell. Hello. Wet and windy weather aplenty
across the uk so far this week. We started the week with brendan, but another low is rolling across england and wales on tuesday, and now in parts of the south west cloud is gathering for thursday. For this evening, its a pretty quiet story. There will be a few more snow showers in scotland and foster likely to develop. During the small hours, here comes the low, approaching from the atlantic, swinging the wind direction round to southerly or south westerly and temperatures rise overnight, so limited to scotland for the first bit of thursday. There could be some snow, but the snow level will rise through the day. Plenty of rain in the west. Strong winds and, especially around irish sea coasts, gusting 50 to 60 mph. Eastern areas largely dry in the morning, the rain arriving here in the afternoon. And it is on the mild side. Experiences at bbc. Thats where we differ its the lord rhys arafat. Hello, youre watching afternoon live. Im simon mccoy. Today at 4pm Severe Weather, drought, fire and floods new figures confirm that the past decade has been the warmest since records began. The duchess of sussexs father Thomas Markle says he is prepared to testify against meghan in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. In the us, the House Speaker reveals the team of seven democrats who will prosecute the impeachment case against President Trump in the senate. This is about the constitution of the United States and its important for the president to know and for president putin to know the american voter, voters in america, should decide who our president is, not them. Coming up on afternoon live, all the sport with katie shanahan. Sum all the sport with katie shanahan. Of ten iss bigge raise sum of ten iss biggest stars helped raise over £2. 5 million in a Charity Event to help those affected by the australian bushfire crisis. Thanks, katie, and well bejoining you for a full update just after half past. The Australian Open is seeing its challenges this year thanks to the weather. We have been contending with extreme pollution and then in the last 24 hours we have had a heavy rain and hail. We will have a look at whats going on and the forecast. Thanks, susan. Also coming up in the programme. Soothing music. As spotify launches a podcast and playlists to keep your dog calm while youre out, well be looking at what might be the most suitable tracks. A bit of bach maybe . More often back. Or offenbach. Hello. This is afternoon live. Im simon mccoy. I will bejoined by i will be joined by others shortly. Its official the past decade was the warmest on record. New figures released in the last few minutes paint a stark picture about rising Global Temperatures and the impact human activity is having on our planet. The data, compiled by british and american scientists including the met office and nasa, not only found that the past ten years were the warmest since records began but the past five years were the hottest since the mid 19th century. And more specifically, 2019 was the second warmest year, with temperatures reaching 1. 05 degrees above pre industrial levels. With me now is our environment correspondent matt mcgrath. We saw how keen you were to get these figures out so lets explain, should we be hugely surprised by
this . We shouldnt be surprised because this follows a trend we have seen for several years and we reported before christmas the provisionalfigures but reported before christmas the provisional figures but this today ta kes provisional figures but this today takes data from three different agencies come to in the us and the met office in the uk, and put those together and says if temperatures continue to rise, they are now above one celsius above the preindustrial yea rs one celsius above the preindustrial years and this past year was the warmest in those years. These are recordings from weather stations and from the seas, the oceans, from every pa rt from the seas, the oceans, from every part of the welcome they dont agree on everything but when you merge them you get the temperatures went up in 2019 by one point one celsius. What caught your eye . Is there anything we should be particularly alarmed about . The consistency over the past number of
yea rs. Consistency over the past number of years. In 2015 there were no jeans, the first time i remember they went over the 1 degrees mark, Scientists Say that 1. 5 is this threshold beyond which if the world goes past that it will suffer impacts and now here we are at1 degrees 1 degrees, nudging up all the time and that is a concern as the Political Action to deal with these seems to be lagging behind. And the science suggests if these figures go on, how much trouble will we be in . By the end of that century at the Current Situation we would be about three degrees warmer than we are now and we saw in the past few days what has been happening in australia and uk Scientists Say what we saw in australia in the last month is a world with three degrees, that kind of hate. Is there a Tipping Point where there is nothing we can do to reverse it . That is a worry among
santas, there reverse it . That is a worry among sa ntas, there is reverse it . That is a worry among santas, there is a Tipping Point like you melt all the ice in the arctic and then it cannot absorb heat so you get more c02 coming out of the ground, we are not at those yet but the big statement from scientists when they look at figures like this is that the time for action is short and thats why they are putting a lot of emphasis on 2020 as the year they expect to see real action on this. When they give us real action on this. When they give us the figures like that, apart from australia what other examples back 7 australia what other examples back up . In the last year we sought to record heatwaves in europe, heat waves all over the world, some places remain cooler but we sought temperatures in the uk of 38. 6, records in almost every european country so its as long as your arm, the record of data showing the temperatures going up. And this abnormal weather will become normal. That is the worry, what we see as
extreme now becomes the norm in the next two or three decades. Thank you, matt. The duchess of sussexs father Thomas Markle is prepared to testify against his daughter in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. The duchess is suing the paper for publishing a letter she sent to her father. Meghans half sister Samantha Markle says if her father is called to give evidence he will attend. Stepping back from royal duties but still a campaigner. This is meghan yesterday at the eastside Womens Centre in vancouver. She flew back here last week, the day after she and prince harry informed the world and the royal family of their plans, which will include basing themselves in canada for at least part of the time. Locals on Vancouver Island are getting used to the idea. Very exciting. Well, i think maybe its a nice break for them to come to canada and chill with nice canadians. I think its a nice move. Beautiful place, i know theyve visited before and they liked it. Happy to have them, obviously. The couples unhappiness with the press coverage they have received is believed to be one reason behind their decision to cease being senior working royals. It was announced last october that meghan was suing the owners of the mail on sunday for the publication of extracts from a letter she sent to her estranged father thomas. The papers defence relies on telling his side of the story and his eldest daughter samantha said today if her father is called to give evidence, he will do so, raising the prospect of a potentially Damaging Court case. If this case is to be determined, mr markle will have to give evidence, and i think there is more than likely to be a face off, unless of course there is a settlement between the newspaper and Meghan Markle. The court papers have already revealed details of what may
be heard in evidence. In the run up to the couples wedding in 2018, mr markle alleges he had been planning to attend and walk his daughter down the aisle. However, he had to undergo an emergency heart procedure and texted meghan to say doctors wouldnt allow him to fly. He said he received a text back, which read as if harry had written it, accusing him of causing hurt to meghan. Mr markle responded via text. The Court Documents state meghan and her father havent spoken since the wedding and Thomas Markle has yet to meet his son in law harry or grandson archie. Today in bradford, Prince William and catherine going about royal duties, but well wishers thoughts here are also with meghan and harry. I think they need do whats right for them and i think good on them,
they have a young family now and your perspective does change. Its important the royal family are still seen as people and they can make their own decisions. Its quite brave as well. So i say good luck to him. Following the queens statement sanctioning the new life away from royal duties desired by harry and meghan, discussions are continuing behind closed doors to see exactly how this might work in practise. Well, joining me now is robert hardman, royal correspondent for the daily mail, and author of queen of the world. Its its the timing of this, we are reeling from one story to do with the suffixes and this is a big one as well. Yes, however this pans out, whenever it pans out, its early days, these documents only went to court yesterday but this will colour the whole public debate about what
happens to the couple, where they go from here on the wisdom of doing what they are doing. You talk about the wisdom, there was pressure on them to drop it. In any court case them to drop it. In any court case the lawyers on both sides think they have a strong case to answer, i am obviously part of that mail organisation, i dont work for the mail on sunday but there will be lawyers on both sides who have gone through this carefully so from a journalistic point of view it seems a straightforward case of public interest, you have a wedding watched by1 billion people worldwide and the father of the bride isnt there. Theres a sense of deja vu and you will feel it as keenly as i do because diana, princess of wales was 24 hours from appearing from the high court when she pulled out of a
similarof high court when she pulled out of a similar of action. How damaging could this be to see the duchess of sussex in the witness box . Its something the royal family have a lwa ys something the royal family have always tried to avoid for the same reason that the old adage, when it comes to the media its like complaining about the weather, never apologise, never explain. Its a philosophy that im sure at times has driven them to distraction but nonetheless it has served them well. I think the paper will defend itself robustly so its really down to the plaintiff as in any case to decide whether to go ahead with this. There will be those who site Meghan Markle has consistently said the level of press interest, the nature of the press interest, the nature of the press interest, the nature of the press interest is what she wants to pull out of the world life and she is scheduled to go in court to prove that point and again the media is on her case. The media has been
covering her aversions she entered the life of prince harry, one of the most high profile figures in this country. The media and public have been keen to find out all it can about megan and i would argue the coverage since she entered his life has been overwhelmingly positive, there have been times when its got heated, there has been criticism, the couple find that unfair. Its the couple find that unfair. Its the nature of the criticism that has upset them. That is their perception. Prince harry has talked about a relentless campaign. I think if anyone had been looking at the coverage of their major trips, because they have popped up in big chunks uncertain terms, certain engagements and when that has been the case they have had an overwhelmingly favourable press. This febrile atmosphere we are in
the middle of at the moment, it does have reminiscences of a previous time. I wonder if any of us have learned any lessons because we are talking about two people who whatever their background, are fairly vulnerable. We are talking about two individuals, its clearly about two individuals, its clearly a subject that polarised the nation. If you look at the response on twitter and on social media, and right across the media spectrum, this is a Big International story but at the heart of it are two individuals and people are mindful of that. You and i both covered the diana years and some of the treatment she received was appalling. No one can allow that to happen again and i dont think this isa happen again and i dont think this is a return to these days. Its pretty sad, though. Its terribly sad. This is a family issue. Its
not constitutional, harry is sick in line and will descend further down but its very sad and one feels slightly unnecessary sect in line. The government rescue plan for the loss making Airline Flybe has been branded a misuse of public funds by a number of rivals. Last night the government told flybe it could defer payment of a substantial air Passenger Duty bill, and shareholders agreed to inject additional investment. But willie walsh, the chief executive of iag which owns British Airways, is among those whove questioned the deal saying taxpayers would be picking up the tab for the airlines mismanagement and has now filed a complaint with the European Commission, in relation to rules about state aid. The government says any changes to taxes would apply to all airlines. Our Business CorrespondentSimon Gompertz reports. Flybes now become a target in the intense rivalry between the worlds major airlines. Its part owned by virgin atlantic, which itself is part owned by one of the biggest carriers of all, delta. So British Airways has gone on the attack. Willie walsh, the ultimate boss of ba, argues that virgin and delta have the resources to rescue flybe themselves, and the taxpayer was picking up the tab for their mismanagement of the airline. He added, this is a blatant misuse of public funds. Flybe is the latest in a succession of troubled uk travel companies. Last year, it was thomas cook, with 9,000 jobs, which the government decided not to save. Ministers have moved quickly to defend their approach this time. The government isnt in the market to bail out private companies. What we do, on a case by case basis, is look to see whether a business is viable. The difference, for example, between flybe and thomas cook was that in the case of thomas cook it had huge amounts of debt, and any taxpayers money would have simply been throwing good money after bad. It was not a viable company. It is understood that the flybe rescue package involves the government allowing it to defer £100 million of tax,
the air Passenger Duty, which it collects from travellers and is then supposed to pass on the the exchequer, also at least £20 million from shareholders, including virgin and stobart air, and a possible loan from the government in the future. Flybe is relied on by smaller airports round the uk, and the government was under pressure to step in to back its promise to level up the regions. So the chancellors agreed to review the £26 of flight air Passenger Duty on these routes, provoking criticism from environmental campaigners. But overall, the package has kept flybe flying. Regional flying is traditionally a difficult market to work in. Some routes can never be made to actually pay, and theres actually a mechanism, something called Public Service obligation, where a tender can be made and operators can fly certain lifeline routes on a subsidised basis, but the rest has to stand on its own two feet on a normal commercial basis, so this is looking rather politically murky
at the moment for the government. But 2,400 staff at flybe are heartily relieved today, along with all those who have booked to fly in the coming days and weeks, and now have more confidence they will get where they want to go. Youre watching afternoon live, these are our headlines Severe Weather drought, fire and floods new figures confirm that the past decade has been the warmest since records began. The duchess of sussexs father Thomas Markle says he is prepared to testify against meghan in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. In the us. The House Speaker nancy pelosi has revealed the team of 7 democrats who will prosecute donald trump in an impeachment trial which begins
in the senate early next week. Children are treated for skin irritation after a passenger plane dumps fuel over the playground of a school before making an Emergency Landing at Los Angeles International airport. Ben stokes is raring to go for his match against south africa but england still have a dilemma over their side. And stuart hogg has been named scotla nd and stuart hogg has been named scotland captain for the upcoming six nations. I will be back with more on those stories after 4 30pm. In the us, the democrats leader in the house of representatives, nancy pelosi, has been naming the politicians who will pursue the impeachment of donald trump in its next stage. The house is expected to vote later today to send the articles of impeachment for a trial in the senate. She unveiled a seven member team to prosecute President Donald Trump at his impeachment trial in the senate, headed by adam schiff, a former prosecutor who has become a nemesis of the republican president. Making the announcement, mrs pelosi said that american voters
should decide who the president is without foreign interference. This is about the constitution of the United States and its important for the president to know and putin to know the american voter, voters in america, should decide who our president is, not them. So today im proud to present the managers who will bring the case which i have great confidence in, in terms of impeaching the president and his removal, but this further evidence insists, and we would not be in the situation had we not waited, insists that there be witnesses and that we see documentation, and now you see some of that change happening on the senate side. I hope it does, for the good of our country and to
honour our constitution. So today on the floor we will pass a resolution naming the managers, appropriating the funds for the trial and transmitting the articles of impeachment of the president of the United States for trying to influence our Foreign Government for his own personal political benefit. Extraordinary developments in russia, where the government including the Prime MinisterDimitri Medvedev has resigned. It comes after president Vladimir Putin delivered his annual state of the nation address. President putin used the address to propose a series of constitutional changes which many see as an effort to shore up support in orderfor him to lead russia past 2024 when the constitution requires him to stand down as president. In the last few moments we have heard he has none of the federal tax service chief is the new Prime Minister. He has nominated. I spoke to our moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford earlier, she gave her analysis of the situation. Vladimir putin has made stability his byword so under this president we are not used to this kind of political turmoil and it is a very unexpected move. We are reading on telegram channels and elsewhere that the cabinet ministers didnt even know this was coming until some moments before it was announced that they were all being sacked essentially, but the cabinet will stay in place, they have been asked to stay in place until a new cabinet is formed. Dmitri medvedev, the Prime Minister, is definitely being removed, he is going to become deputy in the Security Council but its not clear that is a promotion, it seems like he is being moved out of the way. The big question is why . President putin and Prime Minister medvedev have switched between president and Prime Minister in the past to help president putin to keep power and at the moment we are not clear why medvedev has been removed from his seat. So what could be going on . Of all the people Vladimir Putin would seem to be the last who needs to flex his muscles at this stage. I dont think he needs to flex his muscles but perhaps find a scapegoat. He just made his state of the nation address, he spoke for an hour and ten minutes and a huge amount of that speech was devoted to real problems economically and socially in russia and bear in mind mr putin has been in powerfor 20 years, when he lists such problems as millions of People Living beneath the poverty level, people will ask who is to blame so perhaps this was him finding a convenient scapegoat, a lot of people had speculated that Dmitri Medvedev would be sacrificed, but why now . There are people speculating that perhaps it is something to do with these constitutional changes
that are afoot, that president putin announced today, talking about a redivision of the balance of power in russia which could see the presidency weakened in future, when he leaves it, and the Prime Ministership and government and the parliament finding their powers strengthened, so this could be about mr putin jockeying for some position in future when he has to stand down as president but at the moment we dont really know. Sarah rainsford there in moscow. At least 60 people, many of them children, have been treated for breathing problems and skin irritation, after a passenger plane dumped fuel over a number of schools as it made an Emergency Landing in los angeles. An investigation has been launched although fuel is allowed to be released in an emergency, it is meant to be done over designated areas and at High Altitude. Richard galpin reports. You can hear schoolchildren playing outside as this Delta Air Lines passenger jet flies directly over them, dumping thousands of litres of aviation fuel. Eventually, an adult
realises its dangerous. That cant be good, right . The Emergency Services were soon called out to several schools in the region. More than 60 people, many of them children, needed treatment for minor injuries. Worried parents rushed to find their children. I was scared. I was scared too, we were all scared. None of these patients required transportation to hospital which is a great sign and obviously means that the irritations were very minor, the affected areas of the children or adults that were complaining were minor. In a statement, Delta Air Lines said. The dumping of the fuel is now being
investigated by the authorities. It is supposed to be done at High Altitude and over unpopulated areas. Until something more surfaces, and given that it appears that the aircraft did not request fueljettison but the airline subsequently confirmed it, it appears to be highly questionable. In emergency situations, jettisoning fuel can be vital but could the plane have gone out to sea to prevent causing injuries . Richard galpin, bbc news. Now, this is afternoon light. Afternoon live. How do you feel less guilty for leaving your dog alone while you go off to work . The streaming platform spotify tried to help by launching a podcast especially for dogs offering a mix of soothing music and encouraging messages. The five Hour Programme has been designed with british animal behaviour experts to help relieve stress and boost happiness when dogs are left alone at home. Ive been speaking to animal psychologist dr Roger Mugford and his dog bounce. Bounce the dog is back on bbc news. Lets see if this works. Lets play a bit of this playlist. It voiced byJessica Raine and ralph and a son, best known as thin sheet from the office. 0ver music hello, you. Ive got good news. Today is another lovely day. It makes me so happy to start the day off seeing your happy face. How lucky am i that ive been able to hang out with you before i have to head off . Id stay here and stroke you all day long if i could. Ah, there you are. I wondered where youd gone for a moment. But i knew you wouldnt be far away. Ijust love seeing that
look on your face. Seriously, what would i do without you . If you justjoined, this is afternoon live on bbc news and that is bounce, and the ears pricked up. They did, a dog at this age with this intelligence understands a vocabulary of several hundred words, they acquire our language and are very responsive to the things we say and the way we say it and those were nice, soft, encouraging soft, encouraging voices but the owner would be the best people to make these recordings so copy this excellent innovation from the rspca and spotify, god bless them, and make recordings of your own, you speaking to your dog saying i will be home soon, i wont be long, i will bring your best friend over to play with you and those sort
of silly things, dogs understand the content of what we say. Notjust not just the way we say it. Bounce has just heard the studio door open and reacted. The point of the music is to soothe them so when they hear noises like that they dont react so much. Yes, i have recommended that people if they normally watch tv in the evening on aparticular channel leave it on when they go out in the daytime if they have a favourite, ideally sound and talk radio mixed, then leave that on. This takes that process a bit further and makes them feel wanted and at home. He looks more at home in here than i do. Hes only had good experiences at the bbc. Unlike others. Youre watching afternoon live on bbc news. Now its time for a look at the weather with susan powell. Hello. Wet and windy weather aplenty
across the uk so far this week. We started the week with brendan, but another low is rolling across england and wales on tuesday, and now in parts of the south west cloud is gathering for thursday. For this evening, its a pretty quiet story. There will be a few more snow showers in scotland and frost likely to develop. During the small hours, here comes the low, approaching from the atlantic, swinging the wind direction round to southerly or south westerly, and temperatures rise overnight, so frost limited to northern scotland for the first bit of thursday. There could be some snow, but the snow level will rise through the day. Plenty of rain in the west. Strong winds, especially around irish sea coasts, gusting 50 to 60 mph. Eastern areas largely dry in the morning, the rain arriving here in the afternoon. And it is on the mild side. This is bbc news. Our latest headlines. Severe weather, drought, fire and floods new figures confirm that the past decade has been the warmest since records began. The duchess of sussexs father, Thomas Markle, says he is prepared to testify against meghan in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. In the us, the House Speaker reveals the team of seven democrats
who will prosecute the impeachment case against President Trump in the senate. British airways files a complaint with the European Commission over the governments bailout of struggling Airline Flybe. Ba calls it a blatant misuse of public funds. Russias government resigned just hours after president putin proposes constitutional changes to prolong his grip on power. And his next successor has been announced. Sport now on afternoon live with katie sha na han. A troubled start for the tennis in melbourne, but something to cheer fa ns melbourne, but something to cheer fans up. Yes, a mixed day for the australian 0pen. 0n the one hand, qualifying was cancelled due to heavy rain following the very poor air quality in melbourne. But on the other side of things we saw legends of the game coming
together to play in a Charity Fundraiser raising money for the victims of the bushfire crisis. It was a star studded line up too including roger federer, rafa nadal, serena williams, Novak Djokovic and nick krygios and more, to show their support at the rally for relief event at a packed out rod laver area na. Federer played a one set contest against nick kyrgios, whos been the driving force for the event. It was so emotional back home in canberra, i couldnt even go outside. It was emotional, and i am so happy we had roger, novak, rafa, some of the greats getting behind it, and awareness is growing around the world and i think we are doing all we can to overcome this. I was happy to help and lend my time, or my money, for that matter, and it was a pleasure to be here tonight with nick and to do my fair share. And lets move to protect. The third
test tomorrow with south africa, and problems for the england team. There are real questions for england for the crucial third test tomorrow. Who will replace James Anderson in the bowling ranks . He has had to return home because of a broken rib. Jofra archer, chris woakes and mark wood are all vying to replace anderson. Wood and archer though are battling to be fit themselves, so Big Questions forjoe root over the next 24 hours with the series tied at 1 1. Well, one man whose place is never in doubt when hes fit is ben stokes. Today hes been named the iccs player of the year and how do you celebrate such an award . Well, heres the answer with a handstand during training today in port elizabeth. Yet another award to add to the mantelpiece for the current Sports Personality of the year. And one which his captain thinks he deserves. Its its the right decision, hands down. He has been outstanding. For me, at the moment, he is comfortably the
best player in the world. He has affected a number of games across all formats, all three departments, and he is an invaluable member of our squad is a senior player, as a role model, and obviously has performances out on the field. Fullback stuart hogg will captain scotland for this years six nations. He replaces Stuart Mcinally who led the team at the world cup. With 72 caps, hes the most experienced player in Gregor Townsends 38 man squad for the championship. After missing out on the world cup, there are also recalls for hquones and rory hutchinson. Meanwhile, jonny sexton has been named as ireland captain for the six nations. He takes over from the retired rory best. Good news for tottenham fans as spurs have signed midfielder Jedson Fernandes on loan from benfica for an initial 18 months. The club do have the option to make the move permanent. He won the portuguese title last season and isjose mourinhos First Signing as tottenham boss. And another football line for you former england striker eni aluko has announced her retirment from football at the age of 32. She enjoyed a successful career with the likes of birmingham, chelsea and most recentlyjuventus, and won 102 caps for england. She said shell keep working hard to drive the womens game forward. Former masters runner up kyren wilson is through to the quarter finals at ally pally after beating Jack Lisowski 6 2. Wilson will now play Mark Williams or Stuart Bingham next, they face each other in the one remaining first round match this evening. And Fernando Alonso escaped a serious injury, after rolling his car at the dakar rally in saudi arabia. Just look at this. Scary stuff. Well, the two time f1 World Champion was able to continue without a windscreen, but fell from 10th to 14th by the end of the stage. His fellow spaniard carlos sainz won the stage and has a lead of more
than 18 minutes with just two days to go. But luckily alonso showed his bravery by dusting himself down and driving off into the distance. Thats all the sport for now. Now on afternoon live, lets go nationwide and see whats happening around the country in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. First, we have Annabel Tiffin in salford. Shell be talking to us about an investigation by Greater Manchester police into child sexual exploitation. And peter levy is in hull, telling us the story of a former red arrows pilot who has joined the team at the invictus games. But first, Greater Manchester police say theyve identified more than 300 people suspected of grooming children. It comes after the force was criticised for failing to protect Vulnerable Children in a report yesterday. Senior officers had shut down a Major Investigation just
as it was starting to get results. Just remind us of the background to this. That investigation that you mention, 15 years ago, was called 0peration augusta, and it was set up in 2004 specifically to investigate cases of Vulnerable Children, mostly in council care, targeted, groomed and sexually exploited. The team had made Good Progress identify suspects and winning the trust of some of the victims and then, in 2005, the top brass at Greater Manchester police shut it down saying it was costing too much. Fast forward to 2017, and a review was commissioned by the mayor of Greater Manchester, andy burnham, after a documentary was broadcast about the scale of abuse in rochdale, Greater Manchester. Yesterday, that report was published. The authors didnt hold back, saying that the decision to
halt operation augusta allowed abusers to carry on operating, and that police and social workers new children being abused and exploited but did nothing to stop it. Greater Manchester Police has confirmed they have resurrected 0peration augusta under a new name, have resurrected 0peration augusta undera new name, green have resurrected 0peration augusta under a new name, greenjacket. Have resurrected 0peration augusta under a new name, green jacket. One case being investigated is victoria agoglia. Yes, she was 15 and died in 2003 after being injected by a man who was aged 50 stop in her short life, she had been subjected to horrific abuse by older men. She was supposedly being looked after by Manchester City council and had even told social workers what was happening to her, but they didnt do anything to help. The council has apologised, but former mp and coffee, who wrote a Previous Report ofa coffee, who wrote a Previous Report of a child sexual exploitation, says more needs to be done. Make some change in our attitudes to children,
we cannot simply hold the cps and police to account. We as the general public also have to change our attitudes, because we need to police ourselves, we need to say it is adults who are responsible for the rape and sexual abuse of children, it is not the children themselves. At the moment, there are 56 live investigations into child sexual exploitation, and officers at Greater Manchester have identified 344 potential victims and 317 suspected abusers. The force has clearly been stung by the criticism it came in for yesterday, and said it came in for yesterday, and said it is determined to prove it takes theissue it is determined to prove it takes the issue seriously and now listens to children, and it will bring anybody responsible for abuse to justice. I suppose critics will take some convincing. And is this your lead story again tonight . Yes, we will have much more on this at 6 30pm. Peter, first off, just remind us of what these games are. The invictus games, many will know, international multisport event, like the olympics or paralympics, but for the olympics or paralympics, but for the wounded, injured or sick armed forces personnel. The games cover nine sports and were created by prince harry, the duke of sussex. The stories of the team are moving and often heartbreaking. We are going to talk about david morris, who is from sleaford in lincolnshire and is the vice captain of our team. He is competing in the 100 metres, shot and discus. He has post Traumatic Stress after watching his colleague, sean cunningham, died in an accident involving the red arrows. Sean cunningham died when he was ejected from his aircraft while it was stationary on the ground at raf scampton in 2011. You will remember that terrible and tragic story, david was there on the day,
watching, and witnessed what happened. He says his life will never be the same again, but he does say that sport, through the victims desperate through the invictus games, makes you believe you can leave a good, different life to the one you had before. This is david. When my story started, it was an incident in the red arrows which wasnt a very pleasant experience at all, and unbeknownst to me i had suffered in my head quite a lot, and that was brought to the surface by a lot of changes in my attitude and behaviour, and after about two years it was very noticeable so, for me, changes i went through were changes that i thought were irreversible and, through this process, what happened was, like i said, the pope as it gives you, it makes you believe that you can live your best life. The focus it gives you. You are never going to be the same
person again, but it gives you a new way to believe you are worth something. Remarkable people involved and its heart warming to watch their stories and to hear what they have been through. It makes you think, thats for sure. Many of these peopleslives change forever overnight, as in davids case. They found a new life through sport and its amazing to watch. In davids case, he had post Traumatic Stress and Mental Health issues which he thought would be irreversible, but his involvement with invictus has changed him for the good. It is obvious that these games have been a huge success, and this year they will be held in the hague, between the ninth and 16th of may, 500 people will be competing from 19 different countries, so you can see how it has grown since the first one in 2014. I am sure there will be plenty of Coverage Later in the year on the news channel, and sport relief is coming up, so what are we
going to do . Do you have a suggestion . Not really. Intel dominus sounds about your. Hang on a minute having beaten you on the tennis court last year, i will take you up on that. I will take you i laid my self right open. Thank you, both, very much. If you would like to see more on any of those stories, you can access them on the bbc iplayer, and we go nationwide every weekday afternoon at 4 30pm on afternoon live. One in six women who lose a baby in early pregnancy have experienced symptoms of post Traumatic Stress, including nightmares and flashbacks, many months later. A new study says say women need more sensitive and specific care after a miscarriage, to deal with its psychological impact. 0ur health correspondent
sophie hutchinson reports. Baby ivy, a little miracle. She was eventually born after her mother Laura Worsley had lost 13 pregnancies. Laura says the miscarriages were heartbreaking. It was the one thing i wanted and i had to just keep trying. At times i felt really low and like i thought, i couldnt see a future without a baby. And sometimes i questioned my existence, but that was the way i felt, how it made me feel. Researchers say that for some losing a pregnancy can be the most traumatic event in their life. The study of 650 women led by Imperial College london found a month after their loss 29 of women showed signs of post Traumatic Stress disorder. That dropped to 18 after nine months. It is estimated as many as one in four pregnancies end
in miscarriage, symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts. Zoe clark coates runs a charity providing counselling for women who have been through miscarriage, she has had five herself and says women need more support. You hear from so many people who are suffering from ptsd and sadly often gps and medical professionals tell them it is just grief, so they are not offered the appropriate treatment. So it is great news this study has been done, because it can mean for so many people they get offered the treatment they need. The researchers say the support women receive must improve. They suggest after a miscarriage women should be screened to see who needs the most help, and for specific treatments for ptsd to be made more widely available. Laura would certainly welcome better support. I think it is very easyjust to dismiss it as one of those things, and you can try again and it will happen again, but it is not the case of that, it is a very
traumatic time that obviously stays with you. It doesnt matter what stage you are at in your pregnancy, you have still lost something and everything is out of your control, that is another thing, you feel helpless. The next stage in the research will look at how to identify women most at risk of developing post Traumatic Stress disorder after a miscarriage, and which psychological therapies will help them best. Sophie hutchinson, bbc news. These are live pictures from washington. Any moment now, we will have historic signing of a trade deal between the United States and china. They are getting ready. A lot of excitement in that room, after months of delay, and it looks like it is about to happen. We will take you to washington in a moment. First, the headlines. Severe weather, drought, fire and floods new figures confirm that the past decade has been the warmest since records began. The duchess of sussexs father, Thomas Markle, says he is prepared to testify against meghan in her legal battle with the mail on sunday. In the us, House Speaker nancy pelosi has revealed the team of seven democrats who will prosecute donald trump in an impeachment trial which begins in the senate early next week. Heres your business headlines on afternoon live. The owner of iag, ba, has complained to the eu arguing flybes rescue breaches state aid rules. The move comes amid a growing backlash against the governments plan to defer some of flybes air Passenger Duty payments, thought to top £100 million. Greggs has signed a delivery deal with just eat as the market for food takeaways continues to grow. The boss of greggs said the aim
was to capable of delivery all across the uk by the end of the year. The uks inflation rate fell to its lowest for more than three years in december, increasing speculation that Interest Rates could be cut. The rate dropped to 1. 3 , down from 1. 5 in november, partly due to a fall in the price of womens clothes and hotel room costs. After months of talking, the us and china havejust taken a first step in a formal de escalation of trade tensions . Yes, the trade war has been going on for two years, and we are moments away from seeing President Trump and the vice premier of china sitting down at the white house to finally sign this trade deal that could signal the beginning of the end of this bruising battle over the price of pretty much everything, from
iphones to soybeans. Since the start of the trade war, the two sides have raised import taxes on 470 billion worth of each others exports more than half of what they buy and sell from each other every year. Months of talking, and it hasnt just affected the countries involved. No, while us and chinese consumers have borne the brunt of this, the two countries account for more than 40 of the worlds economy and theres no doubt the trade war has hurt global growth. That is really why this is taking place, because the money which is involved, and some research i came across suggested the ongoing trade war in the us is costing average households around 800 a year in terms of the rising costs of goods they need to buy over the course of they need to buy over the course of the year, but yes, whereas it is the us and chinese consumers bearing the
brunt, these two countries account for 40 of global trade, so it affects the rest of us globally, and what is happening today, this so called phase one deal, is expected to include a commitment by china to spend an extra 200 billion on American Made goods, and the us will roll back some tariffs, to be clear, billions worth of tariffs will still be in place, even after todays historic signing. I have put a guest on the line who is an expert on this, fiona cincotta, a Senior Market analyst from city index. Good to talk to you, fiona. What is happening today, does this signal the end of the trade war . No, its not the end, its the next step, so what will happen now is that markets will be looking. I have to break m, will be looking. I have to break in, iam will be looking. I have to break in, i am sorry, because i think we arejust seeing president in, i am sorry, because i think we are just seeing President Trump and
the chinese vice premier taking to the chinese vice premier taking to the stage to begin to announce the signing of this phase one of this trade deal. 0r, signing of this phase one of this trade deal. Or, at least, that is what we thought was happening. They are taking to the stage. Lets listen in. Thank you very much. We greatly appreciate you joining us at this white house event. This is a very important and remarkable occasion. Today, we take a momentous step, one that has never been taken before with china, towards a future of fair and reciprocal trade, as we sign
phase one of the historic trade deal between the United States and china. Together, we are righting the wrongs of the past and delivering a future of the past and delivering a future of economicjustice and security for american workers, farmers and families stop i want to thank resident cheap, who is watching as we speak, and i will be going over to china in the not too distant future to reciprocate. President xi. Iwant future to reciprocate. President xi. I want to thank him, a very good friend of mine. We represent different countries, you represent china, i represent the us, but we have developed an incredible relationship and i want to thank him for his cooperation and partnership throughout this very complex process. Negotiations were tough, honest, open and respectful, leading us honest, open and respectful, leading us to this really incredible breakthrough. Most people thought this could never have happened, should have happened 25 years ago,
by the way, but thats ok, a man who has also become a good friend of mine, and somebody who is very talented and capable, and we are delighted to be joint by the vice premier and the ambassador and many other representatives from the peoples republic of china. We are especially proud of the efforts of Vice President mike pence, who is with us, but id like you to say a few words, please, mike. Thank you, mr president. Its an honour to be here with you, with the chinese vice premier, without treasury secretary, the ambassador and so many distinguished guests, members of congress and governors from around the country. This is a good day for america, china and the world, and its an honour to be with you. Mr president , we gather here today thanks to your leadership at a time when the American Economy is booming, with the strong support of
members of congress who are gathered here, and we are now experiencing an economy that has created more than 700 millionjobs economy that has created more than 700 million jobs and economy that has created more than 700 millionjobs and our Unemployment Rate is at a 50 year low, the average Household Income has risen by more than 5,000, all a result of your commitment to cut taxes, rollback regulation, unleash american energy, but it also reflects your commitment to free, fairand reflects your commitment to free, fair and reciprocal trade. Early reflects your commitment to free, fairand reciprocaltrade. Early in this administration, you made it clear that the era of economic surrender was over. And you took a strong stand for american jobs and american workers. You said to our friends in china that things had to change and, thanks to your leadership, today the change begins. Applause. Thanks to your efforts, mr president , we are now making great
progress on protecting intellectual property, preventing Technology Transfer and currency manipulation, andl transfer and currency manipulation, and i know it means so much to you that the greatest impact may well be on american agriculture, with 40 50000000000 in purchases secured in the deal that will result in greater prosperity for farmers all across the land. Mr president , your commitment to a growing and prosperous america has made the centrepiece of your leadership. Has been the centrepiece. Today is one more example of your commitment to put commitment to american jobs and workers first. We recognise that differences remain between our two nations, but today is the start of a new chapter in trade relations between the two largest economies in the world, but i can assure the American People that this president will continue to stand firm and put america first, even as we forge a more productive relationship with china and with the world. Mr
president , there is an ancient chinese proverb that says, man see only the present, but heaven sees the future. So let today be the beginning of a brighter future, more prosperous for the American People, the Chinese People and the world. Thank you, mr president. Applause thank you, mike, youve done an incredible job. Thank you, mike, youve done an incrediblejob. Incredible guy. I also want to give special thanks to our us trade representative, who has been kept very busy. We will have another big one next week, which should get approved very shortly, and that will be tremendous with canada and mexico, but well talk about that next week, but robert lighthouse, are we keeping you busy enough . The poor guy cant sleep. He tosses and turns. What happened to him . I tosses and turns. What happened to
him . Iam tosses and turns. What happened to him . I am sorry for oh, i dropped it. Tag thanks. But robert lighthouse is an outstanding guy and he gets along with people, he is smart, he is sharp and he understands trade than anybody. When i first took understands trade than anybody. When ifirst took this, understands trade than anybody. When i first took this, i said, ive got to get the best guy, and all signs point to robert lighthouse, so thank you very much, bob. Applause i have one question. Was this an easier or tougherjob i have one question. Was this an easier or tougher job than you thought . Tougher. I had a fair idea
youd say that. Also a great treasury secretary, stephen manoukian, has worked with bob hand in hand. Thank you, steve. So this really is a landmark agreement but, along with them, we had the exceptional efforts of jared kushner. Where is jarrett . Applause good job, jared. You worked hard. He left a beautiful and nice, very prosperous real estate business, and came here, and i can tell you, that was hard. This is harder than real estate in new york, isnt it . But youve done a fantasticjob. You dont get people like that, so thank you very much. Also somebody that ive heard for 35 years the voice of, a great gentleman, a friend of
mine, buta of, a great gentleman, a friend of mine, but a great gentleman, and he has been outstanding, and the only problem is he doesnt like going on television much. Hes a bit shy about that. Where is larry . Where is larry . Applause we had a day where the market went down 1 trillion. Think of that in other words, it was one of those few days, because weve had 141 days where we hit all time highs, and as you know we just broke the 29,000 mark on the dowjones. Present an approach present donald trump marking a landmark in the talks. Present donald trump. Its the first phase of a trade deal signed. Plenty more coming up in the news that 5pm, which is up next with
huw edwards. From us, good afternoon. Today at five, official confirmation, that the world has experienced its hottest decade, on record. New figures from the met office, nasa, and other agencies, also show that 2019 was the second warmest year on record. And the warming is set to increase unless action is taken. This is no surprise. And the extremes that we are seeing, more extremes that we are seeing, more extremes are reported in 2019, as we look at our climate models and our scenarios Going Forward these are the things that we are expected to see on a greater frequency but also with more ferocity as well. Well have the latest, and well be talking to a climate scientist. Professor of environmental economics. The other main stories on bbc news at 5. In the us, the House Speaker reveals a team of seven democrats,