alec baldwin faces a new lawsuit over a fatal shooting on his film set. lawyers are calling mr baldwin reckless. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. it is a question many are asking... where is one of china's biggest sporting stars peng shuai? the former wimbledon and french open doubles champion hasn't been heard from since accusing a top chinese official of sexually assaulting her. she's supposed to have written an email saying she's fine; it was released by chinese state media and attributed to her, but the head of the women's tennis association in the uk says he finds it hard to believe that peng shuai actually wrote the email. part of the email reads... our correspondent robin brant is in shanghai and told us more about the email. it popped up overnight. it is the first communication apparently from peng shuai. it starts with the words, "hello, everyone." even though it was purportedly sent to steve simon, the man in charge of the woman's tennis association. it goes on to say that the allegations made against the vice premier a couple of weeks ago, it says they are false. it says though she is safe, she is not hiding, everything is fine, she says, apparently in this e—mail attributed to her, she says she is at home, resting. there are suspicions for numerous reasons about the authenticity of this e—mail. it popped up overnight and an image was put up on social media by cgtm, that is one arm of state media here. like i said, the opening words, "hello, everyone", odd for an e—mail to a single man. there is a cursor as well on one of the lines you can see on the image so that has led to suspicions that perhaps it is a screenshot. so many questions, unanswered questions, and the most strongest coming from steve simon, the man in charge of the wta, he says he finds it hard to believe it is from her and he has called on the authorities here to find out where she is, check she is ok but also go back to her original allegations, that she was forced to have sex with that vice premier before a consensual relationship between the two of them followed. sophie richardson is the china director at human rights watch and says this case is a reminder of beijing's willingness to silence critics or people whom the chinese government find problematic. we are extremely concerned about her whereabouts and well— being. we we are extremely concerned about her whereabouts and well—being. we think she should _ whereabouts and well—being. we think she should be freed immediately and -iven she should be freed immediately and given the _ she should be freed immediately and given the platform to speak freely. how do _ given the platform to speak freely. how do you know she has been kept against her will? it is against her will? it is admittedly hard to prove — against her will? it is admittedly hard to prove but _ against her will? it is admittedly hard to prove but if— against her will? it is admittedly hard to prove but if recent - against her will? it is admittedlyl hard to prove but if recent history is any— hard to prove but if recent history is any guide few people are allowed to publicly challenge senior authorities like zhang gaoli without paying _ authorities like zhang gaoli without paying some kind of price for it. i think_ paying some kind of price for it. i think it _ paying some kind of price for it. i think it would be telling if she were — think it would be telling if she were able to leave the country, for example. — were able to leave the country, for example, and speak freely, where she wouldn't _ example, and speak freely, where she wouldn't face the kind of repercussions that the chinese government can impose if she is still inside — government can impose if she is still inside the country.— government can impose if she is still inside the country. what is it about that e-mail _ still inside the country. what is it about that e-mail that _ still inside the country. what is it about that e-mail that you - still inside the country. what is it about that e-mail that you thinkl still inside the country. what is it | about that e-mail that you think is about that e—mail that you think is not written by her? it is about that e-mail that you think is not written by her?— about that e-mail that you think is not written by her? it is to the wta which is a bit _ not written by her? it is to the wta which is a bit of _ not written by her? it is to the wta which is a bit of an _ not written by her? it is to the wta which is a bit of an odd _ not written by her? it is to the wta which is a bit of an odd choice. - not written by her? it is to the wta which is a bit of an odd choice. it i which is a bit of an odd choice. it is in _ which is a bit of an odd choice. it is in english. _ which is a bit of an odd choice. it is in english, that it sounds like messages — is in english, that it sounds like messages that have been sent by other— messages that have been sent by other people. there have been lengthy— other people. there have been lengthy reports published on the chinese — lengthy reports published on the chinese government two recent views, in the _ chinese government two recent views, ih the last— chinese government two recent views, in the last couple of years, forced confessions that are broadcast domestically and then make their way into the _ domestically and then make their way into the international media. it is a very— into the international media. it is a very effective way of trying to undercut — a very effective way of trying to undercut the idea that somebody is or isn't— undercut the idea that somebody is or isn't guilty of something. if she is going _ or isn't guilty of something. if she is going to — or isn't guilty of something. if she is going to be able to make it clear that she _ is going to be able to make it clear that she can— is going to be able to make it clear that she can speak freely she would have to _ that she can speak freely she would have to do — that she can speak freely she would have to do so from outside the country — have to do so from outside the country it _ have to do so from outside the country. it is notjust a question of proof— country. it is notjust a question of proof of— country. it is notjust a question of proof of life, it is a question of proof of life, it is a question of proof— of proof of life, it is a question of proof of— of proof of life, it is a question of proof of freedom and that is really— of proof of freedom and that is really not _ of proof of freedom and that is really not an offer to many people inside _ really not an offer to many people inside china, particularly those who have levelled allegations against senior— have levelled allegations against senior party members. the uk government is preparing to publish its plans for the rail network — insisting that changes from the original proposals will mean improvements happen faster in the midlands and northern england. borisjohnson has indicated that the leg of hs2 running to leeds will be scrapped. the group representing business and council leaders in the so—called northern powerhouse said dropping some projects was unforgivably short—sighted. dan johnson has this. it's been described as the biggest ever public investment in our rail network, modernising routes more quickly and levelling up cities and regions, the government says. but the integrated rail plan focuses on improving existing lines instead of building new ones. hs2 will connect london with birmingham and manchester, but it now looks like the planned eastern leg will stop in the east midlands rather than reaching yorkshire. and it's expected that there will be no new trans—pennine route between manchester, bradford and leeds. the government says upgrades to the current lines can deliver similar improvements to journey times and capacity years earlier. but it will leave many in the north disappointed. my real concern is that our victorian infrastructure is creaking in the north of england. we have already tried to upgrade the existing line between leeds and manchester and it's taken ten years. we've onlyjust started to see shovels in the ground. i don't believe that upgrading infrastructure will be faster in delivering results than building new lines. these were the front pages of many regional papers this week, calling for the government to stand by earlier promises. this was borisjohnson's pledge two years ago. i want to be the prime minister who does with northern powerhouse rail what we did for crossrail in london. and today, i am going to deliver on my commitment to that vision with a pledge to fund the leeds to manchester route. this is a £96 billion investment plan, though it's not all new money. it includes 360 million to roll out london—style contactless ticketing across commuter networks. that will also feature price caps applying across trains, trams and buses. but new rail routes were more than 20 years away, and the government says upgrading the existing network will mean similarjourney times ten years sooner. the full details will be published later. dan johnson, bbc news. the prime minister has admitted to conservative backbenchers that he — as he put it — "crashed the car" in his handling of the row about the former conservative mp, owen paterson. he spent much of yesterday under pressure about his attitude to the way mps behave and their standards, but in the end the commons did back his proposal to limit paid political consultancy work. let's speak to our chief political correspondent adam fleming. do you want to start with his admission that the last few weeks were like crashing his car in which? it's not the first time that boris johnson has said that he got the whole thing wrong, he said it a couple of times now, this isjust the latest eye—catching metaphor he has used to convey it. he still hasn't said sorry, he's still in the regret zone rather than in the sorry zone. the reason he is in that zone at always are quite a few of his backbenchers are annoyed with him because of the practicalities of this new idea that he has proposed about limiting mps outside earnings, they are annoyed with him about buying into a labour narrative that all mps are sleazy and they are not. then you get people who have backed borisjohnson in the past who have now think maybe they backed the wrong horse. however he was defended earlier today by dominic raab. i've got total faith. the prime minister has successfully dealt with getting us through brexit. he clearly won an unprecedented majority. he has led the way with the vaccine roll—out which has been a huge success both within europe but also globally. and of course he is as restless as i am and the rest of the parliamentary party are to get on with focusing on the bread—and—butter quality—of—life issues that people care about, and we're starting today with this massive investment in rail infrastructure in the north which is going to be so important for the businesses and quality—of—life for those in the midlands, the north, and indeed the whole country. and what is the plan that politicians have voted on and agreed, that there is a new plan to limit the outside work they can do? i think plan is putting it a bit too grandly. they have kick—started a process which has now been handed to the commons standards committee which is made up of mps and lay members from outside parliament. they will look at ideas for this stuff. they were already drafting a new code of conduct for mps, guidance, rules to outside earnings and second jobs. the share of that committee —— the chair of that committee —— the chair of that committee chris bryant says he hopes to have a draft published by the end of this week so that we have the ideas in black—and—white. or we have the government is the direction of travel. we now know the government is in favour of a limit on mps doing second jobs which involve political advocacy or consultancy to firms. we also know he is in favour of some kind of measure about whether mps are doing too much work outside. there was another interesting thing that dominic raab said he introduced a concept on the potential cap that the amount of mps earn from outside jobs. yesterday all anyone was talking about was a potential limit on the number of hours that people in the standard system say there are problems with both ideas and that is why those ideas are being thrashed out by the standards committee now. thank you very much, adam fleming. people in germany are being urged to avoid large gatherings as a fourth covid wave threatens to overwhelm hospitals. the country's health agency chief has issued a stark warning that intensive care beds are filling up rapidly — as weekly infection rates soar to an all—time high. the current surge is being blamed on a relatively low vaccination rate. our correspondent in berlin damien mcguinness told us about the new measures being put in place. what we're seeing today is that the government and the parliament are going to decide new measures because emergency legislation from the old government is now expiring next week. so we have an incoming new government, which makes things more complicated politically, and they are going to decide today on a bunch of new measures in order to get down those infection rates because, as you say, what we are seeing right now are record high infection rates. this is the worst that germany has seen right through the pandemic. this morning we surpassed the 60,000 new infections per day mark which is the highest germany has ever seen. officials are describing this as an emergency situation. the incoming government is going to do or propose is compulsory tests or vaccinations for anyone is in the workplace, quite a drastic measures, also access on public transport only for those vaccinated or have a daily test, also quite a new measure. at the same time, various regions across germany have already introduced over the past few weeks, measures that mean only vaccinated people have access to all leisure services, cafes, bars, restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, measures really are aimed at getting people to get the jab. it is slightly lower than the european average, similar to the uk, about 70% of the population have had a double jab but the booster programme is relatively slow so what we're seeing now is that uptake and that has really gone up the past two days after these measures. the headlines on bbc news... where is one of china's top tennis stars peng shuai hasn't been heard from since she accused a chinese official of sexually assaulting her. a £96 billion rail plan for parts of england — not all of it new money — but there's anger as parts of the high speed hs2 line in the north is expected to be scrapped. german chancellor angela merkel calls for tighter covid restrictions — as federal and regional leaders meet to discuss new measures. poland's border force says around a thousand migrants are still gathered at the frontier with belarus, as the european union steps up its efforts to resolve the crisis. tensions increased earlier this week, after polish forces used tear gas and water cannons to stop migrants trying to enter the country. belarus says it will hold talks with the european union over the crisis which the eu says has been manufactured by belarus in retaliation for sanctions. here's our europe correspondentjenny hill, reporting from near the polish border. the situation at the border seems to have calmed somewhat, actually, since then. and there a bit of confusion around the numbers that the polish authorities are giving out this morning, depending on which source you look at, between 1,000 and 2,000 people they say still camped out on the belarusian side. as you know, we can't get to the border ourselves, the polish government won't allow journalists through so we can't have a good look at ourselves. but the polish border guards did last night publish a little bit of footage showing people set out by tents around campfires in the belarusian side. we do understand that many of these people are now sheltering in a logistics warehouse. so a slightly more robust shelter and a bit more appropriate given the weather conditions. the temperatures drop down to around freezing at night. the belarusian red cross say that some of those people were also taken to accommodation at a nearby children's holiday camp. overnight we understand there were a number of attempted crossings on the border. again, that's happening every single night, those people are desperate to get to europe. we're also told by polish border guards and from refugees themselves that in some cases the belarusian forces are trying to push them across using force and threats. but as i say, at the moment, things seem to be relatively calm with of course talk of buses taking some of those people back to minsk, potentially today to get on flights back to iraq. a new lawsuit against the hollywood actor, alec baldwin, has alleged the film script did not require him to fire a gun when he fatally shot the cinematographer, halyna hutchins last month. the script supervisor for the film rust is requesting damages for claims including assault and emotional distress. here's our north america correspondent david willis reports. barely a month on, and the lawsuits are growing. script supervisor mamie mitchell the latest to sue after a shot fired by alec baldwin killed a colleague just a few feet away from her. i heard someone moaning and i turned around and my director was falling backwards and holding his upper body. and i turned around toward alec and i saw halyna going down to the left of me. 42—year—old cinematographer halyna hutchins died after being shot in the stomach by a bullet which also injured the film's director. mamie mitchell was the first to call 9/11. ——mamie mitchell was the first to call 911. we have two people accidentally shot on a movie set by a prop gun. we need help immediately. her lawsuit claims alec baldwin should have checked the gun himself before firing it, and she is suing him and the film's produces for negligence. mr baldwin chose to play russian roulette when he fired a gun without checking it, and without having the armourer to do so in his presence. his behaviour, and that of the producers on rust, was reckless. how live ammunition made it onto the film set in the foothills of northern new mexico is at the centre of an investigation that's been carried by local police. hannah gutierrez—reed, the person responsible for guns on the set, has claimed they were sabotaged, and several crew members are known to have walked off the production only hours before the shooting, citing concerns over safety. mamie mitchell is also claiming that the scene alec baldwin was rehearsing at the time of the shooting didn't actually call for a gun to be fired. and she says the resulting tragedy will live with her forever. i'll never forget what happened on the set of rust that day. i relive the shooting and the sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again. i'm depressed, i don't feel safe. i feel like at any moment anything could happen to me, and to those i care about that are standing close to me. mamie mitchell is seeking undisclosed damages. there's been no response to the lawsuit from alec baldwin. previously, he said he was heartbroken by the incident and was fully cooperating with the police inquiry. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. next, paloma faith is best known for her hugely successful career as a singer—songwriter that's seen her winning six brit awards and releasing albums that have gone platinum. # too late to save me # i'm a monster...# but i'm going to talk to her about something quite different. i'm going to talk to her about being mum to her two daughters and the reality for women, sometimes the brutal reality, of childbirth and those first few months spent caring for a newborn. and paloma faithjoins me now. i will first of all about your experience of giving birth. i’m experience of giving birth. i'm workin: experience of giving birth. i'm working with _ experience of giving birth. “i.” working with a experience of giving birth. “i.” working with a solution based brand centred on recovering in the fourth trimester after birth. this campaign is about openly talking about that we are not what we're sort of presented with, not rosy picture. personally, ion my presented with, not rosy picture. personally, i on my first presented with, not rosy picture. personally, ion my first birth presented with, not rosy picture. personally, i on my first birth was like a 78% of women in the uk was completely shocked by what i went through and a bit dismayed that nobody had told me what would happen. and it is quite an isolating feeling. i had 21 hours of labour which resulted in a emergency caesarean with a premature baby and then postpartum quite a lot of difficulty with stuff. so frida and i are kind of working together to burst the bubble that we don't have to sit in silence about it but also that there is a lot of help out there and a lot of community because i think sometimes it can be quite a lonely time for women, thinking that they are the only person who failed but it is not a failure because it is amazing, you made a person! what is amazing, you made a person! what do ou is amazing, you made a person! what do you think — is amazing, you made a person! what do you think you _ is amazing, you made a person! what do you think you should have been told before you gave birth? i just told before you gave birth? i 'ust feel like i would i told before you gave birth? i 'ust feel like i would have i told before you gave birth? inst feel like i would have liked told before you gave birth? idlsii feel like i would have liked more realistic preparation, like this campaign is doing. just this morning i posted about it on my social media, like a real story after someone given birth, i didn't look great, i was swollen and exhausted, i feel like all of that stuff is really important because lots of people present and project the opposite and it kind of does at the woman a disservice in a way. you mean other— woman a disservice in a way. you mean other mums _ woman a disservice in a way. you mean other mums having just given birth and looking unbelievably well and non—knackered i'm sure none of them —— i'm sure some of them do do what was the biggest shock for you either with your first birth for the second. i either with your first birth for the second. ., ., ., ., ., ., second. i have now got two and a bi aer second. i have now got two and a bigger shock _ second. i have now got two and a bigger shock for _ second. i have now got two and a bigger shock for me _ second. i have now got two and a bigger shock for me with - second. i have now got two and a bigger shock for me with two and i second. i have now got two and a i bigger shock for me with two and a bigger shock for me with two and a bigger shock for me with two and a bigger shock to me with two is that they were so different. the experience of giving birth was completely different and the postpartum journey. completely different and the postpartumjourney. i completely different and the postpartum journey. i feel like if we are talking about advice to other mums then i would say, people kept saying to me before, "happy mum, happy baby." i would say that sleep and food are the two most important things. they seem so basic but if you can accept as much help as you can get to try and have those things then i think it improves your recovery. i think with my second baby i definitely had a better, more improved recovery because i was prepared for that. so it is about preparing first—time mums to fill their freezers and book people in so they can have a sleep and all of that kind of thing.— they can have a sleep and all of that kind of thing. who would have been able to _ that kind of thing. who would have been able to prepare _ that kind of thing. who would have been able to prepare you - that kind of thing. who would have been able to prepare you for - that kind of thing. who would have been able to prepare you for that l been able to prepare you for that first birth which was a very long labour and in first birth which was a very long labourand in an first birth which was a very long labour and in an emergency cesarean? i didn't know that things like the frida brand existed because it is all about postpartum care for the babies and mums. i think if had have known then i would have maybe realised that i could have taken care of myself as well. there was a lot of focus on the baby and the mum tends to come last but actually in reality is that if you get better quicker than you are there for your child quicker as well. so the preparation would be basically trying to have a birth plan but also being prepared that the whole thing may go up in the air and not be exactly to your plan. those things are not failure and they are not, you know, a defeat. i think what is most important really is to get your health back. when i spoke to chelsea who owns frida, she said it is like on an aeroplane, put your own mask on an aeroplane, put your own mask on first and then help other people. it is like that with the baby, you have to help your self first to then be able to look after the baby. some arts of be able to look after the baby. some parts of the — be able to look after the baby. some parts of the media _ be able to look after the baby. some parts of the media assume _ be able to look after the baby. some parts of the media assume that - be able to look after the baby. some parts of the media assume that you were raising your first daughter as gender neutral because you didn't announce that you had a girl. we —— what you taken aback by some of the hostility? i -- what you taken aback by some of the hostility?— the hostility? i was quite shocked. some of it was _ the hostility? i was quite shocked. some of it was very _ the hostility? i was quite shocked. some of it was very homophobic. l the hostility? i was quite shocked. some of it was very homophobic. i hadn't decided to do that, ijust wanted my privacy. it was because i didn't feel that i needed to announce details about my children in public. children aren't in the public eye, i am. so it was nobodybusiness. but this option is then made me think what i did want to do that. there was a lot of homophobic and transphobic backlash transphobic backlash appreciate tra nsphobic backlash appreciate that. transphobic backlash appreciate that. ., ., , ., that. you have said it is important for our that. you have said it is important for your daughters _ that. you have said it is important for your daughters not _ that. you have said it is important for your daughters not to - that. you have said it is important for your daughters not to as - for your daughters not to as a feminist, i think it is important to empower women and boys to feel that all the options are available to them and that their individuality is paramount. to them and that their individuality is aramount. ., , ., , ., paramount. to put labelling and -auttin paramount. to put labelling and putting kids _ paramount. to put labelling and putting kids in _ paramount. to put labelling and putting kids in boxes _ paramount. to put labelling and putting kids in boxes before - paramount. to put labelling and| putting kids in boxes before they have even had the chance to explore themselves and what they want to do with their lives is wrong. i think they need to be exposed to as many things as possible and then they kind of grow and evolve into their individual selves. kind of grow and evolve into their individualselves. i kind of grow and evolve into their individual selves. i don't want to decide that for them.— decide that for them. thank you very much for talking _ decide that for them. thank you very much for talking to _ decide that for them. thank you very much for talking to us _ decide that for them. thank you very much for talking to us this morning. | much for talking to us this morning. we appreciated. the headlines now on bbc news. where is one of china's top tennis stars? peng shuai hasn't been heard from since she accused a chinese official of sexually assaulting her. human rights campaigners are concerned. it's notjust a question of proof of life, it's a question of proof of freedom. and that's really not on offer to many people inside china, particularly those who've levelled allegations at senior party members. a £96 billion rail plan for parts of england — but there's anger as parts of the high speed hs2 line in the north is expected to be scrapped. german chancellor angela merkel calls for tighter covid restrictions — as federal and regional leaders meet to discuss new measures. us actor alec baldwin faces a new lawsuit over a fatal shooting on a film set. lawyers are calling mr baldwin "reckless." let's go back to a story we were talking about earlier and the uk government is expected to confirm later today that it's to scrap the eastern leg of hs2 from the midlands to leeds, as well as a planned high speed rail link between leeds and manchester. miriam cates is the conservative mp for penistone and stockbridge between leeds and sheffield. she's changed her mind about the need for hs2 in her constituency. earlier she told me she wasn't surprised that people in the north were disappointed this news. if you tell people that they're being betrayed and they're being left behind and that promises are being broken and they're not getting what they expected, then it's not surprising when they read those headlines and are fed that narrative that they're upset... i'm going to pause you there, because it's not a narrative. it is a fact that the prime minister has promised certain things in terms of the rail infrastructure for the north of england, and it is a fact that he is now scrapping them. let's look at the facts. firstly, the announcement hasn't been made yet, so we don't know the detail. i don't know any more than you, i've obviously read the papers. but what we do know is that this is the biggest transport investment programme in a century, that no town or village or city will be left behind, and it will involve levelling up faster than previous plans. and my constituents, who can't get to where they want to get now, it's important now. as i said, we don't know the detail, but what's important is that we have deliverability and better transport, faster transport, and we get that in the best way. with respect, wouldn't voters say, actually what's important is a prime minister keeping his promises? our promise is to level up. no, the promise was... excuse me, let's be accurate here. the promise was to build a high—speed rail line between nottingham and leeds. that's now not happening. the promise was, and i can give you the prime minister's own words if you like, the promise was to build a fast train line from leeds to bradford to manchester. do you think that hs2 eastern leg is the best option for my constituents? it doesn't matter what i think. i'm talking about your prime minister's promises, which he seems to keep on breaking. well, as i said, i don't accept that, because what we want... sorry, i'm just going to give you his exact words, if i may? this is the prime minister... "i want to be the prime minister who does, with northern powerhouse rail, that's the fast line from leeds to manchester, what we did "..what we did for crossrail in london. "and today i'm going to deliver on that commitment to that vision "with a pledge to fund the leeds to manchester route." he is about to go back on that fast line between leeds to manchester. let me put this to you. no, please could you answer the question? i don't know, victoria... let me ask you, is that a breaking of a promise or not? i don't know what's going to be in the announcement, so no, how can i say that? let me put this to you. let's say, something we can all relate to, let's say you want a new kitchen. you save up for that kitchen and you've got your eyes on a particular kitchen. and then someone tells you that actually you can get that kitchen for less money, it's a better kitchen, you can get it quicker. why wouldn't you change your mind about how you deliver that? this is what this is about. hs2 has not been without its critics, has it? especially from the bbc, in terms of cost, deliverability, environmental sustainability. now look at sheffield. i personally had said that i don't think the hs2 eastern leg is the right way to deliver for sheffield. when did you change your mind? well, i changed my mind as we were coming out of the pandemic, early summer, and i published an article about six weeks ago explaining why i've changed my mind. and i think one reason is that people's travel patterns have changed. i don't think those long distance routes, let's say sheffield to london, are as important as they used to be. especially when for business travel people are much more zooming like this than they were before. but the key connections, penistone to sheffield, stocksbridge to sheffield, penistone to barnsley, sheffield to leeds, these are the routes that people desperately need to level up, to get the same kind of quality of transport that people have in london. a couple who were metres away from a bomb that exploded in a taxi outside liverpool women's hospital, say they have been left in shock by the attack. liam spencer and stephanie stitt were in their car at the time, and mr spencer tried to pull the bomberfrom the burning wreckage of the taxi. our special correspondent ed thomas has this report. the explosion just went off and it shook the hospital building. and then i got closer to the car and i could smell the smoke. i could see the man in the back. the moment liam and stephanie will neverforget. as david perry's taxi rolls in, they were just metres away. so that's my car there, with my girlfriend steph inside. and the explosion happens. steph gets out of the car. igrab her. i push her to the side, so she goes to reception where she is safe. what are your emotions at this moment? i was just on pure adrenaline. my biggest fear was her getting hurt. everyone was like, oh my god, is there a baby in the back? i think that is why i came running back out. i was like, is there a baby in the back? we found out there was a passenger. everyone was screaming, 999. there was a passenger. liam runs back towards the car. he sees the driver, david perry, is out and say. he pauses, before returning to try and save the life of the bomber, emad al swealmeen. i could smell the smoke. i could see the man in the back. what did you say to him? i didn't say much. i just seen there was someone there. i didn't even say nothing, i was just thinking of ways to try to get him out. i couldn't really tell if he was in the back or the front, because of the whole positioning of the flames and the smoke. it was hard to make out what was going on. i was just trying to find the best way to pull him out. i couldn't reach a hold of him without setting myself on fire. i think by that point we'd already done all we could. yeah. steph is 20, liam 21. both are finding it difficult to cope. i'm struggling with my sleep. i think about the whole situation and then the adrenaline kicks in again. then it'sjust like i'm reliving the moment. it is not as mentally scarring for me, but it does cause me to feel sick and my head hurts when i think about it, just because i'm losing that sleep. it is replayed in your mind, the whole situation. when you finally get to sleep it is in your dreams, so you can't really escape it in a sense _ my mum and dad came to the hospital. seeing my mum, and seeing steph's mum in that state, broke my heart. i never want to put any family through that. the man responsible, emad al swealmeen, planned this attack since april. police also say he rented a property here as a base to build the bomb. during seven years in the uk, his repeated asylum applications had been refused, and at that time he had suffered periods of mental illness. once you found out this was a terrorism investigation, what was your reaction to that? you wouldn't think anyone would ever want to harm tiny babies and children more than anything. it's probably the most innocent place on earth. i've been to concerts where i thought, you know, what if this does happen tonight? or out in public, where you are in public places. but you never think of all the hospitals, a babies' hospital, really. you just don't think that. i was in disbelief. it is remarkable, liam, that in that moment, the panic you felt for other people, your partner and the person who is suspected of making this explosive device. i don't go around thinking the worst of people. i didn't know the situation at the time. there was just a man in that car. i hope if i was ever in that situation god forbid, or if steph was, or anyone was, somebody would help. and you want to thank the doctors and nurses who came to you afterwards? just the little things they did to help us was amazing. and the guards and the people at reception at the women's hospital i worked with for years, i can't thank them enough for how they were and how they helped us afterwards, even the comfort they gave us, i can't thank people enough. very lucky to be alive. it's scaryjust to think about how things could have been different, to be honest. you do struggle with, is it ever going to happen again? am i going to get over this? obviously i have said to myself and my family, i'm not going to let it affect me, it is not going to have a hold of my life. there is definitely somebody watching over both of us. i do feel very lucky. yeah, lucky to be alive. breaking news. six former sub postmasters who were charged with theft, full set counting and forgery after a post office full tip system made it look like they had stolen money from their branches. those six have had their convictions quashed. today the judge have had their convictions quashed. today thejudge said have had their convictions quashed. today the judge said all of these defendants walk away with no stain on their characters. he was might remember the post office prosecuted 736 of its sub postmasters and supposed mistresses. 64 of them have now had those convictions quashed with another six today. a post office spokesman said while we can't change the past we've taken action to ensure there is appropriate redress and undertaken reforms to prevent such events ever happening again. would you feel confident administering cpr in a medical emergency? what about using a defibrillator? a new initiative by the british heart foundation is training people in how to help when someone has suffered a cardiac arrest. you may remember the bolton footballer fabrice muamba, who dramatically collapsed in a fa cup and came perilously close to death. we can speak to fabrice now, and dr andew deaner, a consultant cardiologist who ran onto the pitch and saved his life. welcome. mt, you will have been asked many times about that day but there are still some watching who won't know what happened. what do you recall of your experience that day? i you recall of your experience that da ? ., �* . . . you recall of your experience that da? . day? i don't recall much really because it _ day? i don't recall much really because it happened - day? i don't recall much really because it happened very - day? i don't recall much really . because it happened very quickly. the only part i remember is when i saw the picture of me being taken off the pitch to the ambulance, that's the only thing i can remember. regarding the whole accident, when i landed on the floor, that's probably it really for me. iiii floor, that's probably it really for me. , ., floor, that's probably it really for me. . �* floor, that's probably it really for me. ., �* ., ., me. if you hadn't done what you did, doctor, me. if you hadn't done what you did, doctor. what — me. if you hadn't done what you did, doctor, what would _ me. if you hadn't done what you did, doctor, what would have _ me. if you hadn't done what you did, doctor, what would have happened i me. if you hadn't done what you did, | doctor, what would have happened to fabrice? it doctor, what would have happened to fabrice? ., , �* doctor, what would have happened to fabrice? . , �* ., , fabrice? it wasn't me who saved his life, it was — fabrice? it wasn't me who saved his life, it was the _ fabrice? it wasn't me who saved his life, it was the fact _ fabrice? it wasn't me who saved his life, it was the fact that _ fabrice? it wasn't me who saved his life, it was the fact that the - life, it was the fact that the physics— life, it was the fact that the physios and team doctors recognised he had _ physios and team doctors recognised he had had _ physios and team doctors recognised he had had a cardiac arrest and started — he had had a cardiac arrest and started cpr immediately. then there was a _ started cpr immediately. then there was a defibrillator available, in fact there _ was a defibrillator available, in fact there would two. they tried using _ fact there would two. they tried using those. i arrived maybe five minutes — using those. i arrived maybe five minutes later and because this was a more _ minutes later and because this was a more complicated cardiac arrest than usual, _ more complicated cardiac arrest than usual, we _ more complicated cardiac arrest than usual, we moved into the london chest— usual, we moved into the london chest hospital and then i got more involved _ chest hospital and then i got more involved in— chest hospital and then i got more involved in the ambulance and at the hospital— involved in the ambulance and at the hospital and was part of a large team _ hospital and was part of a large team of— hospital and was part of a large team of people who eventually can say we _ team of people who eventually can say we saved his life. but it's the early— say we saved his life. but it's the early recognition of a cardiac arrest — early recognition of a cardiac arrest and doing cpr that makes a difference — arrest and doing cpr that makes a difference. the ericsson incident during _ difference. the ericsson incident during the — difference. the ericsson incident during the euros is a more normal iiiustration — during the euros is a more normal illustration of what would happen because — illustration of what would happen because cpr was started quickly and in that— because cpr was started quickly and in that case the defibrillator worked _ in that case the defibrillator worked almost immediately and we've all seen _ worked almost immediately and we've all seen the pictures of christian eriksen— all seen the pictures of christian eriksen sitting up, smiling as he left the — eriksen sitting up, smiling as he left the pitch. he received the fibrillation very quickly and the first shock got him back into normal rhythm _ first shock got him back into normal rhythm and — first shock got him back into normal rhythm and he woke up almost immediately and that's what you would _ immediately and that's what you would expect. immediately and that's what you would expect-— would expect. fabrice, you are ururin would expect. fabrice, you are urging people _ would expect. fabrice, you are urging people to _ would expect. fabrice, you are urging people to get _ would expect. fabrice, you are urging people to get equipped| would expect. fabrice, you are - urging people to get equipped with the skills. , �* ., ~' the skills. yes, i'm working with vir: in the skills. yes, i'm working with virgin because _ the skills. yes, i'm working with virgin because we _ the skills. yes, i'm working with virgin because we started - the skills. yes, i'm working with virgin because we started an - virgin because we started an initiative of training people with defibrillators. so they are able to do cpr and when they find a customer in a difficult circumstance, they are well equipped to do the procedure taught 3d courses and know how to it. , ., , how to it. doctor, there will be some people — how to it. doctor, there will be some people who _ how to it. doctor, there will be some people who wouldn't - how to it. doctor, there will be | some people who wouldn't feel confident in administering cpr or using a defibrillator even if there was one nearby.— using a defibrillator even if there was one nearby. well, doing cpr is straightforward. _ was one nearby. well, doing cpr is straightforward. if _ was one nearby. well, doing cpr is straightforward. if someone - was one nearby. well, doing cpr is straightforward. if someone has . was one nearby. well, doing cpr is| straightforward. if someone has had a cardiac— straightforward. if someone has had a cardiac arrest you can't make things— a cardiac arrest you can't make things any— a cardiac arrest you can't make things any worse so doing something is better— things any worse so doing something is better than nothing. pressing on the centre — is better than nothing. pressing on the centre of their chest, pushing it down— the centre of their chest, pushing it down an — the centre of their chest, pushing it down an inch and a half 120 times a minute _ it down an inch and a half 120 times a minute and then calling for help and asking — a minute and then calling for help and asking someone to get a defibrillator if available can save their— defibrillator if available can save their life — defibrillator if available can save their life. when you turn it on it actually— their life. when you turn it on it actually speaks to you and tells you exactly _ actually speaks to you and tells you exactly what to do. you can't really io exactly what to do. you can't really go wrong _ exactly what to do. you can't really go wrong so — exactly what to do. you can't really go wrong so people should be confident. it would be great if everyone _ confident. it would be great if everyone was trained to do cpr perhaps— everyone was trained to do cpr perhaps at school and started to be the case, _ perhaps at school and started to be the case, perhaps when they are taking _ the case, perhaps when they are taking their driving test they should — taking their driving test they should have to learn to do cardiac massage — should have to learn to do cardiac massage and learn how to use a defibrillator. anything that can get as many— defibrillator. anything that can get as many people in this country trained — as many people in this country trained and confident to use a defibrillator and had to give cardiac— defibrillator and had to give cardiac massage would make a huge difference _ cardiac massage would make a huge difference. it's great that virgin media — difference. it's great that virgin media have trained 500 of their staff— media have trained 500 of their staff and — media have trained 500 of their staff and given them defibrillators in their— staff and given them defibrillators in theirvans, it staff and given them defibrillators in their vans, it can only help. fabrice. — in their vans, it can only help. fabrice. it _ in their vans, it can only help. fabrice, it was nearly ten years ago when this happened to you. how are you now? i’m when this happened to you. how are ou now? �* ., ., when this happened to you. how are ou now? �* �* you now? i'm good, i'm en'oying life and it's you now? i'm good, i'm en'oying life and its been — you now? i'm good, i'm en'oying life and its been a h you now? i'm good, i'm en'oying life and it's been a tough _ you now? i'm good, i'm en'oying life and it's been a tough two _ you now? i'm good, i'm enjoying life and it's been a tough two years - you now? i'm good, i'm enjoying life and it's been a tough two years with | and it's been a tough two years with the pandemic. i'm ok and happy that i've helped virgin media launch this campaign and train more people to do cpr be able to have access to defibrillator.— cpr be able to have access to defibrillator. . ., ,~' ., ., defibrillator. can i ask how what ha--ened defibrillator. can i ask how what happened to _ defibrillator. can i ask how what happened to you _ defibrillator. can i ask how what happened to you affected - defibrillator. can i ask how what happened to you affected your. happened to you affected your outlook on the rest of your life? obviously, it happened, i didn't have any control over it but i had to stop playing football for that particular reason. by with myself in terms of i've come to understand that it's better to be safe than sorry. yes, iwas that it's better to be safe than sorry. yes, i was upset that i had to retire from football but i know k in the sense that i'm happy i'm still alive, in the sense that i'm happy i'm stillalive, i'm happy in the sense that i'm happy i'm still alive, i'm happy i've got my children with me. in regard to the whole situation, i shouldn't be here so just for me to be here and whole situation, i shouldn't be here sojust for me to be here and do whole situation, i shouldn't be here so just for me to be here and do the little things, i'm happy i'm still alive. ., little things, i'm happy i'm still alive, ., ., ~' little things, i'm happy i'm still alive. . ., ,, , alive. so are we. thank you very much for — alive. so are we. thank you very much for talking _ alive. so are we. thank you very much for talking to _ alive. so are we. thank you very much for talking to us. - a state of emergency has been declared in the canadian province of british columbia, which has been hit by floods and land—slides after torrential rain. some roads have been washed away, leaving several towns cut off and there's no access to canada's biggest port, vancouver. the prime ministerjustin trudeau said hundreds of armed forces personnel were heading to the province to help in whatever way is needed and thousands more were on standby. suzanne kianpour reports. a state of emergency. catastrophic flooding, thousands displaced, and more people trapped. this is canada's western province of british columbia, underwater after mother nature dumped the monthly rainfall average for the region in a matter ofjust 24 hours. this part of canada is on a flood plain. when it became clear the town of abbotsford was in danger, there was a race by 300 people to sandbag near the pump station, working through the night. my prayer has been that the river will drop another metre or more, let us open up those floodgates. that will buy us some more time. officials in the region blame climate change for the natural disaster, specifically an atmospheric river — a long strip of moisture in the air that transports water from tropical areas toward the poles. the impact of climate change on the frequency of storms is still unclear, but we do know that increased sea surface temperatures warm the air above and make more energy available to drive hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons. the result — more extreme and more intense rainfall. prime ministerjustin trudeau is in washington for a canada—us—mexico summit, where the environment is on the agenda. obviously, extremely concerned about the situation in british columbia right now. and, quite frankly, what hundreds of families are going through, you know, thousands of people affected across the province by these extreme weather events. it's only been a few days since world leaders wrapped up a high—profile cop26 climate conference in glasgow, where the british prime minister tried to evoke a sense of urgency in his counterparts. humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change. it's one minute to midnight on that doomsday clock and we need to act now. but the results of the gathering appear minimal, and mother nature is clearly not letting up. suzanne kianpour, bbc news. two men found guilty of the murder of the us civil rights leader, malcolm x, are to have their convictions quashed. the shooting in new york in 1965 was among a series of political assassinations in america in that decade. prosecutors said the two men didn't get the justice that they deserved. aru na iyengar reports. the fire hit the window and it woke up my second oldest baby. malcolm x, the charismatic advocate of black empowerment. he was 39 when he was killed, shot dead in a new york city ballroom in front of his family. he was the public face of the nation of islam. unlike his contemporary martin luther king, malolm x didn't want to see full racial integration. he believed in his early days that black separatism was the answer. muhammad aziz and khalil islam, along with a third man, thomas hagan, were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. islam died in 2009. now, prosecutor cyrus vance says the fbi and police withheld information that could have led to the acquittal of aziz and islam. the netflix documentary series who killed malcolm x? brought to light some of this evidence. this evidence was hiding in plain sight all these years, for decades. much of what we reveal in the documentary was known. much of it was published in biographies written about malcolm, particularly the manning marable biography, life of reinvention. even the autobiography of malcolm x had kernels of evidence. and the fbi had a treasure trove of documents that we were able to uncover through the freedom of information act that led us down this path. prosecutor vance has also tweeted that more information is likely to be revealed. he's apologised on behalf of the law enforcement agencies to the families of aziz and islam. earlier this year, malcolm x's daughters added their voices to calls to reopen the investigation in the light of new evidence. it's a cause malcolm x himself might have strongly argued for. aruna iyengar, bbc news. a couple in leicestershire are searching for a specific flavour of walkers crisp because it's one of the only things their daughter will eat. walkers oven baked sea salt flavour crisps form a major part of the diet of four—year—old ava, from narborough, leicestershire — who suffers from a number of conditions, including avoidant or restrictive food intake disorder and has learning difficulties. i should say, developmental delays. we can speak to her mum michelle now. tell us about your little girl and her eating disorder. she tell us about your little girl and her eating disorder.— her eating disorder. she got diagnosed — her eating disorder. she got diagnosed with _ her eating disorder. she got diagnosed with arfid - her eating disorder. she got diagnosed with arfid after. her eating disorder. she got - diagnosed with arfid after never really mastering to eat any food or drink. she was born and we found she has a rare genetic syndrome that affects her development. she'sjust never really eaten. she said swallowing problems, sensory issues and she's never really mastered the process to eat and has a lot of choking problems. we got referred to a dietician and she's got lots of allergies, so it's a complex picture that makes ava. so far she survives on arm and milk and a couple of crisps a day. —— almond milk. hagar on arm and milk and a couple of crisps a day. -- almond milk. how do ou feel crisps a day. -- almond milk. how do you feel about — crisps a day. -- almond milk. how do you feel about that? _ crisps a day. -- almond milk. how do you feel about that? it's _ crisps a day. -- almond milk. how do you feel about that? it's not - crisps a day. -- almond milk. how do you feel about that? it's not ideal, i you feel about that? it's not ideal, it's 'ust you feel about that? it's not ideal, it'sjust ava. _ you feel about that? it's not ideal, it's just ava, she's _ you feel about that? it's not ideal, it's just ava, she's got _ you feel about that? it's not ideal, it's just ava, she's got lots - you feel about that? it's not ideal, it's just ava, she's got lots of - it's just ava, she's got lots of other things going on and it's a small part of her big personality. wee hoping that in time she will develop the skills to learn to eat and eat a variety of different feeds. she's got a lot of sensory needs and we think she's got autism and there's large waiting lists with the nhs to be seen by a specialist. we've been given this diagnosis but we don't have a plan of how to manage that yet. is we don't have a plan of how to manage that yet.— we don't have a plan of how to manage that yet. it manage that yet. is it stressful? it can be but — manage that yet. is it stressful? it can be but being _ manage that yet. is it stressful? it can be but being a _ manage that yet. is it stressful? it can be but being a parent- manage that yet. is it stressful? it can be but being a parent in - manage that yet. is it stressful? it. can be but being a parent in general of a disabled child can be stressful, searching around for crisps is just another thing to add to a long list of things we have to do at the minute. 50. to a long list of things we have to do at the minute.— to a long list of things we have to do at the minute. so, does ava only eat this particular _ do at the minute. so, does ava only eat this particular flavour _ do at the minute. so, does ava only eat this particular flavour of - eat this particular flavour of walkers?— eat this particular flavour of walkers? . , ., ., , eat this particular flavour of walkers? . ., ., , , walkers? yeah. occasionally she will eat a hula hoop _ walkers? yeah. occasionally she will eat a hula hoop but— walkers? yeah. occasionally she will eat a hula hoop but it _ walkers? yeah. occasionally she will eat a hula hoop but it depends - walkers? yeah. occasionally she will eat a hula hoop but it depends on i eat a hula hoop but it depends on her mood on the day.— her mood on the day. there is a national shortage _ her mood on the day. there is a national shortage so _ her mood on the day. there is a national shortage so you're - her mood on the day. there is a - national shortage so you're spending a lot of time looking for this flavour? ., a lot of time looking for this flavour? . . ., ,, , a lot of time looking for this flavour? . ,, ,. a lot of time looking for this flavour? . _, ~ ,. ., flavour? yeah. walkers crisps are in leicester flavour? yeah. walkers crisps are in leicester but _ flavour? yeah. walkers crisps are in leicester but we've _ flavour? yeah. walkers crisps are in leicester but we've had _ flavour? yeah. walkers crisps are in leicester but we've had this - leicester but we've had this previously with her almond milk at the start of the pandemic, when everybody panic bought uht milk. ava survives on almond milk because of her allergies. we've got a vitamin prescription for her. people bought loads and loads of milk and she was without milk for several days during the pandemic. now it's on to crisps and scaring the supermarkets for them. ~ . ., ,, , and scaring the supermarkets for them. ~ . . ~ , them. well. walkers say the reason there is a shortage _ them. well. walkers say the reason there is a shortage of _ them. well. walkers say the reason there is a shortage of oven - them. well. walkers say the reason there is a shortage of oven baked i there is a shortage of oven baked sea salt flavour crisps is to do with an it upgrade. it started last month and it's due to a glitch caused by an it upgrade and they say they are working to resolve the problems and have apologised for the inconvenience. thea;r problems and have apologised for the inconvenience.— inconvenience. they have and they will only be — inconvenience. they have and they will only be stocking _ inconvenience. they have and they will only be stocking the _ inconvenience. they have and they will only be stocking the more - will only be stocking the more popular flavours, will only be stocking the more popularflavours, so will only be stocking the more popular flavours, so anybody that likes less popular flavours are struggling at the minute. you talked about the vitamin _ struggling at the minute. you talked about the vitamin mix _ struggling at the minute. you talked about the vitamin mix and _ struggling at the minute. you talked about the vitamin mix and the - struggling at the minute. you talked i about the vitamin mix and the almond milk and these crisps, does ava eat anything else? she milk and these crisps, does ava eat anything else?— anything else? she does eat a baby uree anything else? she does eat a baby puree pouch- _ anything else? she does eat a baby puree pouch. there _ anything else? she does eat a baby puree pouch. there is _ anything else? she does eat a baby puree pouch. there is one - anything else? she does eat a baby puree pouch. there is one kind - anything else? she does eat a baby puree pouch. there is one kind she| puree pouch. there is one kind she will eat. she has developmental delays in all areas so she slowed to progress with all areas and we hope in time she will learn with different support from ots, dietitians, we are lucky to be well supported by different nhs departments, so we hope she will lend to eat other things. [30 departments, so we hope she will lend to eat other things.— departments, so we hope she will lend to eat other things. do you see an effect on — lend to eat other things. do you see an effect on her— lend to eat other things. do you see an effect on her now _ lend to eat other things. do you see an effect on her now of _ lend to eat other things. do you see an effect on her now of not - lend to eat other things. do you see an effect on her now of not being i an effect on her now of not being able to eat these particular crisps? how many packets does she have? she doesnt how many packets does she have? sue: doesn't understand. she's how many packets does she have? si9 doesn't understand. she's got how many packets does she have? si9: doesn't understand. she's got a cupboard with her snacks, she keeps walking to the cupboard, opening it and she's looking for the crisps. she gets very upset and frustrated if she can't find what she's looking for and she can't communicate in or any other way. for her it's quite confusing when she has a set routine and she likes what she likes. is and she likes what she likes. is there a possibility that she might have to have a trip to the hospital? we want to avoid that at all costs because the nhs don't need that at the minute. a&e is under great pressure and we will try to avoid that. luckily we've been contacted by a couple of lovely local people this morning who have got some packets that they are going to send. even across the uk we've had messages from people saying they will post them to us. hopefully we'd wait need to do that. i will post them to us. hopefully we'd wait need to do that.— will post them to us. hopefully we'd wait need to do that. i suppose what seems like a — wait need to do that. i suppose what seems like a simple _ wait need to do that. i suppose what seems like a simple thing _ wait need to do that. i suppose what seems like a simple thing is - seems like a simple thing is actually a really big dealfor ava. it is, it causes a lot of stress and there's a lot of misconceptions around arfid. there is a lot of negative comments on twitter today and it's really upset the arfid community, children and adults who experience this condition. it is a registered eating disorder. ilirei’hgt registered eating disorder. what kind of comments _ registered eating disorder. what kind of comments are _ registered eating disorder. what kind of comments are you receiving? they think it's poor parenting, snowflake society, they don't understand learning disabilities or autism, arfid and there's a lot of misconceptions about what it is. so, if people could read up on it more before commenting because there's a lot of people who experience this. there's adults that experience this too. to there's adults that experience this too. :, :, , there's adults that experience this too. :, , there's adults that experience this too. :, :,, ::, , there's adults that experience this too. :, _, , the too. to those comments hurt? they do, too. to those comments hurt? they do. they've — too. to those comments hurt? they do, they've really _ too. to those comments hurt? they do, they've really upset _ too. to those comments hurt? they do, they've really upset the - too. to those comments hurt? they do, they've really upset the special| do, they've really upset the special needs community and the arfid community. there is a lot of upset people and whilst you can try not to reach them, there is a lot of judgment and nasty comments. —— try not to read them. judgment and nasty comments. -- try not to read them.— not to read them. thank you for talkin: not to read them. thank you for talking to _ not to read them. thank you for talking to us. — not to read them. thank you for talking to us, you _ not to read them. thank you for talking to us, you are _ not to read them. thank you for talking to us, you are helping i not to read them. thank you fori talking to us, you are helping to educate people around the world. obviously, i wish you the best of luck in trying to get hold of the crisps and whatever else ava will try. crisps and whatever else ava will t . :, ~ crisps and whatever else ava will apple is to start selling spare parts and tools — so that customers can carry out their own repairs on iphones and macs. the "self—service repair" programme will begin in the united states next year before expanding to more countries. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. today's temperatures are going to be way above average for the time of year. what's happening is we've got high pressure dominating the weather in the south, so things fairly settled. we do have a weather front coming in from the atlantic, bringing in rain across the north and west. and those isobars telling you that in the northern half of the country it is going to be windy. now, we started off with some early sunshine across central and south eastern parts of england. but through the day, you'll notice the clouds starting to build. and the cloud out towards the west, especially in the coasts and hills, will be thick enough for some drizzle. as a weather front comes our way, it's bringing in all this rain across northern and western scotland. it will be on and off through the day and gusty winds as well. for northern ireland and also for northern england, the cloud thick enough for some spots of drizzle. and we should see some drizzle, too, across wales and the southwest. but for central and southeastern areas, it should stay dry, again with more cloud as we go through the course of the afternoon. but temperature wise, we're looking at 13s, 14s and 15s widely, possibly a 16 or 17 across the northeast of scotland, possibly 16 across the northeast of england, as well. as we head through the evening and overnight, we continue with some rain on and off across the north. still gusty winds, a lot of cloud around, and that cloud still thick enough in the west, especially in coasts and hills for some drizzle. that's going to be a very mild night for the time of year. these temperatures more representative of what we would expect as our maximum daytime temperatures rather than our overnight lows. so into friday, a lot of dry weather around. however, in the west, we'll still see some drizzle coming out of the cloud, but more in the way of brightness tomorrow compared to today, especially across england, wales and northern ireland. but we do have a weather front coming in, bringing in some rain and still mild. but that changes on saturday. this weather front coming in later on friday is going to slowly sink southwards. it's a cold front. the wind changes to more of a north—westerly and colder air with some showers will filter in behind. but ahead of it will be some dry spells, still relatively mild. and we'll also see a little bit of sunshine at times. but by sunday, that cold front will be in the south, still with its cloud, some spots of rain clearing away. some showers coming in on the northerly wind along some of our coastlines. inland, though, a lot of dry weather, but note the difference in temperatures. we're no longer in the teens, we're back down into single figures. this is bbc news. the headlines at 11... a £96 billion rail plan for parts of england — not all of it new money — but there's anger as parts of the high speed hs2 line in the north is expected to be scrapped. the transport secretary will unveil plans within the hour. where is one of china's top tennis stars? peng shuai hasn't been heard from since she accused a chinese official of sexually assaulting her. human rights campaigners are concerned. it's not just it's notjust a question of proof of life, it's a question of proof of freedom, and that is really not an offer to any people inside of china, particularly those who have levelled allegations that senior party members. the number of people on nhs waiting lists in wales has hit another all—time high and ambulance response times have worsened once more. us actor alec baldwin faces a new lawsuit over a fatal shooting on a film set. lawyers are calling mr baldwin reckless. good morning, and welcome to bbc news. the government is preparing to publish its plans for the rail network, insisting that changes from the original proposals will mean improvements happen faster in the midlands and northern england. borisjohnson has indicated that the leg of hs2 running to leeds will be scrapped. the group representing business and council leaders in the north, an organisation called the northern powerhouse said dropping some projects was unforgivably short—sighted. let's go live to rowan bridge who is at leeds station. there who is at leeds station. is anger, betrayal is a wori have there is anger, betrayal is a word i have used —— is a word i've heard used. it looks like the planned line will end in nottinghamshire and will get upgrades to the existing network to here in west yorkshire. the people here, that is a major let down for what they were expecting. we are also expecting parts of the northern rail power has scheme to be scrapped as well. or to be scaled back. there were hopes the new would connect manchester, bradford and leeds, the great cities of the north together. it looks like that will 90, together. it looks like that will go, and instead there werejust being upgrade to the existing line which went to huddersfield instead of leaving bradfield saying it will be cut off from the rest of the uk. it has left people here extremely angry. it's been described as the biggest ever public investment in our rail network, modernising routes more quickly and levelling up cities and regions, the government says. but the integrated rail plan focuses on improving existing lines instead of building new ones. hs2 will connect london with birmingham and manchester, but it now looks like the planned eastern leg will stop in the east midlands rather than reaching yorkshire. and it's expected that there will be no new trans—pennine route between manchester, bradford and leeds. the government says upgrades to the current lines can deliver similar improvements to journey times and capacity years earlier. but it will leave many in the north disappointed. my real concern is that our victorian infrastructure is creaking in the north of england. we have already tried to upgrade the existing line between leeds and manchester and it's taken ten years. we've onlyjust started to see shovels in the ground. i don't believe that upgrading infrastructure will be faster in delivering results than building new lines. these were the front pages of many regional papers this week, calling for the government to stand by earlier promises. this was borisjohnson's pledge two years ago. i want to be the prime minister who does with northern powerhouse rail what we did for crossrail in london. and today, i am going to deliver on my commitment to that vision with a pledge to fund the leeds to manchester route. this is a £96 billion investment plan, though it's not all new money. it includes 360 million to roll out london—style contactless ticketing across commuter networks. that will also feature price caps applying across trains, trams and buses. but new rail routes were more than 20 years away, and the government says upgrading the existing network will mean similarjourney times ten years sooner. the full details will be published later. dan johnson, bbc news. the metro mayor of west yorkshire was here at leeds station this morning. she described the plans that we are expecting to hear as a betrayal of the north. those feelings of resentment and a feeling of being let down were also felt by many commuters we spoke to him at leeds station this morning. i many commuters we spoke to him at leeds station this morning.— leeds station this morning. i think it's a diabolical _ leeds station this morning. i think it's a diabolical decision _ leeds station this morning. i think it's a diabolical decision to - leeds station this morning. i think it's a diabolical decision to be - it's a diabolical decision to be honest. i think we were all hoping there was going to be a big boost up to the north—east of england. a lot of services moving up here. i think it's a very negative impact on the north—east. i it's a very negative impact on the north-east— north-east. i think it would be better to introduce _ north-east. i think it would be better to introduce more - north-east. i think it would be - better to introduce more businesses up better to introduce more businesses up into— better to introduce more businesses up into the _ better to introduce more businesses up into the north and try to move the majority of businesses out of london _ the majority of businesses out of london and have a hop up here. it would _ london and have a hop up here. it would be — london and have a hop up here. it would be really important to have hsz actually. so yeah that would be really _ hsz actually. so yeah that would be really important especially for the people _ really important especially for the people of these regions. they need those _ people of these regions. they need those transport links to encourage people _ those transport links to encourage people out of london to make this a business _ people out of london to make this a business hub in the north and move business _ business hub in the north and move business out of london. but we'll see _ business out of london. but we'll see h_ business out of london. but we'll see. : , business out of london. but we'll see. m , see. a bit disappointing. new money is cominu see. a bit disappointing. new money is coming into _ see. a bit disappointing. new money is coming into the _ see. a bit disappointing. new money is coming into the north _ see. a bit disappointing. new money is coming into the north of _ see. a bit disappointing. new money is coming into the north of england | is coming into the north of england to invest in rail but many feel it is not enough. thank you very much. let's go straight to the house of commons and here the transport secretary. mr commons and here the transport secreta . ~ .,~ , secretary. mr speaker, this unprecedented _ secretary. mr speaker, this| unprecedented commitment secretary. mr speaker, this i unprecedented commitment to secretary. mr speaker, this - unprecedented commitment to build world—class railway that delivers to passengers and freight the towns and cities for communities and businesses will benefit eight out of ten of the busiest rail corridors across the north and the midlands, providing faster journeys, across the north and the midlands, providing fasterjourneys, increase capacity is, nor services up to ten years sooner than previously planned. when i became transport secretary in 2019, the hs2 project was already about ten years old. i was already about ten years old. i was concerned the cast were writing, for a newer projects and they hadn't been fully effected into those plans. underthe been fully effected into those plans. under the originals team, the h52 plans. under the originals team, the hs2 track would not have reached the east midlands and the north until the early 20 40s. clearly, everything was needed to ensure the project would deliver for the regions as soon as possible. this is how the integrated rail plan was born. a desire to deliver sooner, and so the prime minister and i asked others locally to lead that work and make recommendations. one of the key criticisms was that hs2 was designed in isolation from the rest of the transport network. it gives high—speed lands to the east midlands but it didn't serve any of the three biggest east midlands city. the derby, you would still have to go to parkway station and change onto a local tram or train. oh can be made clear and a very convincing case to consider that hs2 is part of an integrated rail plan should work alongside local, regional and national services. should work alongside local, regionaland nationalservices. not regional and national services. not just regionaland nationalservices. not just those travelling between our biggest cities. so we accepted those recommendations and asked for their national infrastructure commission to develop options. the commission came back with two key suggestions. first that we adopt a flexible approach, initially setting out integrated network but we remain open to future additions as long as cuts and timings were met. second that strengthening regional rail links would be most economically beneficial for the north and midlands, connecting towns main railway networks bringing hope, opportunity to communities felt left behind. and that we should bring these passengers and local economies as soon as possible. these are the guiding principles behind the integrated rail plan that i am announcing today. it is an ambitious and unparalleled programme, that not only overhauls the intercity links across the north and midlands, but also speeds up the benefits for local areas and serves destinations people most want to reach. mr speaker, this new blueprint delivers three high—speed lines, first crew to manchester, second birmingham to the east midlands with the hs2 train is continuing to central nottingham and central derby. jazzing in sheffield and an upgraded main line. third a new high—speed line from warrington to manchester and to the western border know of yorkshire, slashing journey times across the north. mr speaker,... laughter maci know they will want to hear the detail of those journey times and would want to understand why their constituents would want to wait decades more to deliver a journey almost no faster are told in these plans today. so, i have heard some people say that we just going about, and this i think is point, electrifying the trans—pennine electrifying the tra ns—pennine route. electrifying the trans—pennine route. this is wrong. we are actually investing £23 billion to delivered northern powerhouse rail and the trans—pennine route upgrade across the north of england. in total, this package is 110 miles of new high—speed line, all of it in the midlands and the north. it is 180 miles of newly electrified line, all of it in the midlands and the north. remind the honourable gentleman there are 60 miles in 13 years. bringing downjenny tense between leeds, darlington and edinburgh. it adds capacity and speeds of services over more than 400 miles of lines. the vast majority of it is in the midlands at the north. we studied how best to take hs2 trains into leeds as well and will start on the west yorkshire mass transit system, writing the wrong of this major city, probably the largest in europe, which doesn't have a mass transit system. we commit to data supporting west yorkshire combined authority over the long term to ensure that this time it actually gets done. in short, we are about to embark on one of the biggest single act of levelling up of any government in history. listen to the numbers. it is five times more than was spent on crossrail. it is ten times more than was spent on delivering the olympics. but they still think it is a small package. it will achieve the same, similar orfasterjourney times to london and on the core northern powerhouse nap work than the original proposals and will bring the benefits years earlier, and will double, in some cases triple the capacity. railjourneys between birmingham and nottingham come from one hour and a quarter to 26 minutes. city centre to city centre. journeys between york and manchester down 55 minutes to 33 minutes. commuters will be able to get from bradford to leeds and almost half the time. trips from newcastle to birmingham will be slashed by almost 30 minutes and passengers in durham and darlington will benefit from smoother, more reliable trains. it delivers not just for the largest cities, but also for smaller places and towns. kettering, market harborough, loughborough, like grantham, newark, doncaster, wakefield, dewsbury, huddersfield. they can all see improvements and benefits they would not have seen under the original hs2 programme. we are not stopping there. today's programme is about those places which connect and interact with northern powerhouse rail. the scale of ambition with many of these projects lying outside of the scope, so just yesterday i opened the first beeching reversal, reversing the beaching acts, and we will be doing the same in northumberland, newcastle line and many others. 3 billion in two bus services and tonnes of billings on our roads. after decades of coat decline with constrained capacity and poor reliability, finally this plan will give passengers in the north and midlands the service they need and deserve. it is notjust about infrastructure. we are going to make train travel much easier as well. today i can confirm hundred and £30 million to reform ticketing. this is a land mark plan. by far the biggest of any network improvement and focused on the north and the midlands with more seats and more frequent services, shorted journeys, meets the needs of today's passengers on future journeys. today with another £625 million for the electrification between liverpool, manchester and leeds, bringing the total and tru to £2 billion, and £249 million to further electrify the midland mainline between kettering and market harborough, with work starting on the integrated rail plan by christmas. communities of every size, right across the north, midlands and in many cases years earlier will benefit. by taking a fresh look at ages two, we will be able to build a much improved railway. we will provide services to almost every destination rather than the outdated version of h52 rather than the outdated version of hs2 drawn up almost a decade ago. it will fire our economies to rival london in the south—east. it will rebalance our economic geography. it will spread opportunity. it will level up the country. it will bring great back benefits at least a decade or more earlier. and mr speaker, i commend this statement to the house. mr speaker, i commend this statement to the house. ~ ,,, ., ,, speaker, i commend this statement to the house. ~ ., ,, the house. mr speaker, can i thank the house. mr speaker, can i thank the secretary _ the house. mr speaker, can i thank the secretary of _ the house. mr speaker, can i thank the secretary of state _ the house. mr speaker, can i thank the secretary of state for _ the house. mr speaker, can i thank the secretary of state for advanced | the secretary of state for advanced site of— the secretary of state for advanced site of the — the secretary of state for advanced site of the statement. we will begin shortly— site of the statement. we will begin shortly to— site of the statement. we will begin shortly to collect the plan and scrutinise it. i shortly to collect the plan and scrutinise it. lam shortly to collect the plan and scrutinise it. i am frankly staggered by the way the statement started _ staggered by the way the statement started. that he was proud to present— started. that he was proud to present this to the house. proud of what? _ present this to the house. proud of what? the — present this to the house. proud of what? the betrayal of trust? the betrayal— what? the betrayal of trust? the betrayal of promises and the betrayal— betrayal of promises and the betrayal of promises and the betrayal of investment that the north— betrayal of investment that the north of— betrayal of investment that the north of england and the midlands to serve? _ north of england and the midlands to serve? we _ north of england and the midlands to serve? we have all seen the reports over the _ serve? we have all seen the reports over the weekend. each one sets out the betrayal— over the weekend. each one sets out the betrayal being put forward today~ — the betrayal being put forward today. there is no amount of glass or spin— today. there is no amount of glass or spin that — today. there is no amount of glass or spin that can be put on this. he promised — or spin that can be put on this. he promised hsz to leeds. he promised northern— promised hsz to leeds. he promised northern powerhouse rail. he promised that the north would not be forgotten _ promised that the north would not be forgotten. but it hasn'tjust forgotten. but it hasn'tjust forgotten us, he has completely sold us out _ forgotten us, he has completely sold us out as— forgotten us, he has completely sold us out. as somebody who lives in greater— us out. as somebody who lives in greater manchester, i am us out. as somebody who lives in greater manchester, lam not us out. as somebody who lives in greater manchester, i am not going to take _ greater manchester, i am not going to take lectures on what northern powerhouse rail means. we know exactly— powerhouse rail means. we know exactly what it means. we were committed to a new line between manchester and leeds. within a month of becoming prime minister, boris johnson _ of becoming prime minister, boris johnson said, i am going to deliver on my— johnson said, i am going to deliver on my commitment with a pledge to fund leeds— on my commitment with a pledge to fund leeds to manchester. we were promised _ fund leeds to manchester. we were promised a — fund leeds to manchester. we were promised a new line. he has broken that promise. and he hasn't even got the decency— that promise. and he hasn't even got the decency to admit it. let's be clear. _ the decency to admit it. let's be clear. the — the decency to admit it. let's be clear, the scaling back of northern powerhouse rail, coupled with the scrapping — powerhouse rail, coupled with the scrapping of the eastern leg of h52 is a massive blow for our regions. both— is a massive blow for our regions. both schemes would have created 150,000 — both schemes would have created 150,000 newjobs, connected 13 million _ 150,000 newjobs, connected 13 million people is our major towns, cities _ million people is our major towns, cities and — million people is our major towns, cities and industrial heartlands. it was the _ cities and industrial heartlands. it was the then chancellor george osborne — was the then chancellor george osborne that first announced northern powerhouse rail in 2014. since _ northern powerhouse rail in 2014. since then, — northern powerhouse rail in 2014. since then, the conservatives, including — since then, the conservatives, including the prime minister and transport — including the prime minister and transport secretary, have recommitted and re—promised 16 times _ recommitted and re—promised 16 times this— recommitted and re—promised 16 times. this is a once in a generation chance to transform opportunity across a whole country, rebaiancing — opportunity across a whole country, rebalancing the economy and making it work— rebalancing the economy and making it work for— rebalancing the economy and making it work for working people. an opportunity now set to be lost. working — opportunity now set to be lost. working people that will now likely face a _ working people that will now likely face a record increase rail fares go up face a record increase rail fares go up next _ face a record increase rail fares go up next year. they will be playing 50% more — up next year. they will be playing 50% more to get to work that they did a _ 50% more to get to work that they did a decade ago. a crumbling, unreliable _ did a decade ago. a crumbling, unreliable and system that prioritises profit above passengers. it is prioritises profit above passengers. it is the _ prioritises profit above passengers. it is the same with buses, fares up and use _ it is the same with buses, fares up and use down, and not a single one of the _ and use down, and not a single one of the zero — and use down, and not a single one of the zero emission buses promised by the _ of the zero emission buses promised by the prime minister gets three years— by the prime minister gets three years ago— by the prime minister gets three years ago not a single one delivered. £96 billion that we should — delivered. £96 billion that we should be grateful for. let's unpack that~ _ should be grateful for. let's unpack that~ £96 _ should be grateful for. let's unpack that. £96 billion, £40 billion of which _ that. £96 billion, £40 billion of which has — that. £96 billion, £40 billion of which has already been committed from london to crewe, but is being labelled _ from london to crewe, but is being labelled as— from london to crewe, but is being labelled as investment across the north— labelled as investment across the north of— labelled as investment across the north of england. after £56 billion that remains, let's compare that to what _ that remains, let's compare that to what the _ that remains, let's compare that to what the north of england would have -et what the north of england would have get over— what the north of england would have get over the last decade having the same _ get over the last decade having the same investment as london and the south-east — same investment as london and the south—east. we are still £10 billion short~ _ south—east. we are still £10 billion short~ we — south—east. we are still £10 billion short. we are not going to accept crumbs— short. we are not going to accept crumbs of— short. we are not going to accept crumbs of the table. labour would reform _ crumbs of the table. labour would reform our— crumbs of the table. labour would reform our transport network so they work for _ reform our transport network so they work for working people. so that parents — work for working people. so that parents are not forced to see their children— parents are not forced to see their children leave the places where they were raised only to find opportunity that is— were raised only to find opportunity that is denied in their own doorstep. most importantly, labour will put _ doorstep. most importantly, labour will put working people first, using the power— will put working people first, using the power of government and the school _ the power of government and the school of — the power of government and the school of business to ensure good 'obs school of business to ensure good jobs are _ school of business to ensure good jobs are created here in britain in every— jobs are created here in britain in every single region. borisjohnson was elected on a promise to level the playing fields, to make things better— the playing fields, to make things better for— the playing fields, to make things better for households across the country — better for households across the country. we were promised and northern— country. we were promised and northern powerhouse. we were promised — northern powerhouse. we were promised and midlands engine. to be levelled _ promised and midlands engine. to be levelled up, but what we were given up levelled up, but what we were given up today— levelled up, but what we were given up today was a great train robbery, rubbing _ up today was a great train robbery, rubbing the — up today was a great train robbery, rubbing the north of the chance to realise _ rubbing the north of the chance to realise its — rubbing the north of the chance to realise its full potential. rubbing the next — realise its full potential. rubbing the next generation of the hope and opportunity they are now due. and rubbing _ opportunity they are now due. and rubbing the people across the north of the _ rubbing the people across the north of the investment they have been denied _ of the investment they have been denied over the last 11 years under this rotten — denied over the last 11 years under this rotten government. | denied over the last 11 years under this rotten government. ijust denied over the last 11 years under this rotten government. i 'ust want to make fl this rotten government. i 'ust want to make it this rotten government. ijust want to make sure i understand - this rotten government. ijust want to make sure i understand the - to make sure i understand the admirable gentleman's approach to this. ' ~, :, admirable gentleman's approach to this. ' ~ , :, :, admirable gentleman's approach to this. :, :, , this. £96 billion of expenditure, the sinale this. £96 billion of expenditure, the single biggest _ this. £96 billion of expenditure, the single biggest ever - this. £96 billion of expenditure, - the single biggest ever investment, and we have not made any secret that the fact that some of that money is already there birmingham to crewe line, the crew to manchester line. last time i checked, that benefits the midlands and north, doesn't it? the last part of his response there, before hearing the statement decided to ignore it, there is as high speed line from warrington to manchester to west of yorkshire and marsden. and yet, he doesn't think that that exists by his response. but what confuses me most of all by this is that the leader of the opposition seems to be in a completely separate place. the leader of the opposition said, i oppose hs2 on cost and merit. he would not achieve its stated objectives. he did say that in 2015. more recently, he says the government should take this opportunity to cancel hs2. this is the leader of the opposition saying it. so before the honourable gentleman gets carried away, why does he not have a word with the leader of his party and work out whether they actually agree with his position on this. because this is an enormous investment. it will create three new high—speed lines. it electrified track. and just today, nearly 400 miles of track electrification was announced within these programmes. what a contrast. with 63 miles of track they managed to electrify in 13 years in office. ijust to electrify in 13 years in office. i just want to finish by talking about the importance of the overall transport approach. this is notjust about rail, as the honourable gentleman points out. it's also about the means of getting around. you can't get around without the roads programme. we have a 20 billion plus roads programme. they oppose it. i'm not sure where he wants to run these buses he keeps talking about it, but i have already written to him, and he will continue to go around saying that of these 4000 buses known are on the road. that is factually untrue. i have written to him with the detail. 900 of them are ordered and many on the road. i know it is the opposition job to oppose, but is if he is already opposing his opposition leader, no wonder they don't have a cohesive transport policy. let’s cohesive transport policy. let's leave the house _ cohesive transport policy. let's leave the house of— cohesive transport policy. let's leave the house of commons l cohesive transport policy. let's leave the house of commons then having heard the transport secretary. jim mcmahon claimed this was the great train robbery. he was a member of the hs2 review panel. chris travers, thank you forjoining us. how hard do you think the transport secretary has had to work to reframe this as a positive thing? it is one of the enormous intriguing parts of politics, isn't it, the way pollard governments announced something very differently from what they originally announced, they managed to do it by announcing something even better than what they originally announced. of course that is true of all parties at all times. it is true that the government is effectively announcing here are substantially scaled down version of high speed two, calling it three lines, ratherthan high speed two, calling it three lines, rather than one system. the reason for this predominantly is that the treasury has decided enough is enough. it cannot go on funding very large schemes, particularly when high speed two costs have gone up when high speed two costs have gone up so much. they fear if it is one huge railway, they won't be able to control the costs in the future. it has gone up from 30 million to over 100 billion. so the government is now creating smaller interventions. still big but they are significant. hoping that not only will they cost less money in the long term but will be delivered more rapidly than the hs2 in full which would have taken at least until 2040. but h52 in full which would have taken at least until 2040.— at least until 2040. but how 'ustified at least until 2040. but how justified will _ at least until 2040. but how justified will the _ at least until 2040. but how justified will the people - at least until 2040. but how justified will the people in i at least until 2040. but how. justified will the people in the north of england be in feeling they are not getting what they were promised? a lot of the original plan was about connectivity from east to west which was very difficult to travel under the current network. there is no doubt that the government is not doing what it said it was going to do. they will say they are doing something better of course. that's what you would say, wouldn't you? but they are not doing what they said in a number of occasions what they were that they would do, and it is partly about speeds and about providing extra capacity. in some parts of the north of england in the midlands, the problem is not so much speed as capacity, the number of seats and standing room available for getting in and out of city centres. i don't think much capacity is going to be added from what has been said today, and there is a lot of places that would benefit from all these rail improvements, and i'm sure that is true, but plenty of other places weren't mentioned. it will be interesting to see when we can deconstruct all of this who really benefits and who doesn't buy when of course. it benefits and who doesn't buy when of course. , ., course. it did seem that the government _ course. it did seem that the government was _ course. it did seem that the government was choosing i course. it did seem that the - government was choosing speed over scale with rethink as the transport secretary has called it. how much of a risk are they taking given that they won quite a lot of seats in the last election in the north of england with the promise of the levelling up agenda? it is england with the promise of the levelling up agenda?— england with the promise of the levelling up agenda? it is a risk, there is no _ levelling up agenda? it is a risk, there is no question. _ levelling up agenda? it is a risk, there is no question. the - levelling up agenda? it is a risk, there is no question. the great i there is no question. the great thing about the announcement of building a big new railway or making an announcement that you're going to do something different, it immediately cuts through to the public imagination. newspapers across the north of england are campaigning together about this. the mayors in the north of england are complaining along the same lines about this. i think people, as they go home to leeds and manchester tonight from the stations, will immediately get the message that this is that what was originally promised. in fairness to the government, the fact that what they were going to deliver might come sooner and might deliver more local benefits quicker, and most people don't travel on high—speed trains most of the time. they are more likely to travel to and from work on a bus. they might get more of that, and a metro for west yorkshire. it looks slightly like a consolation prize for leeds which is not going to be on hs2 in the way it was expecting to be, but the secretary of state is correct in saying that leeds and birmingham lacked the kind of metro systems that manchester now has and london has and which many of their competitors cities overseas do have. they will be glad they are getting a tram network or at least the beginnings of one. tow; getting a tram network or at least the beginnings of one. tony travers from the london _ the beginnings of one. tony travers from the london school _ the beginnings of one. tony travers from the london school of - the beginnings of one. tony travers i from the london school of economics, thank you very much. the head of the women's tennis association has said he finds it hard to believe that an email released by chinese state media and attributed to the tennis star pung sh—why is authentic. the former wimbledon and french open doubles champion has not been heard from since she made sexual assault allegations against a former vice our correspondent robin brant is in shanghai and told us more about the email. it popped up overnight. it is the first communication apparently from peng shuai. it starts with the words, "hello, everyone." even though it was purportedly sent to steve simon, the man in charge of the woman's tennis association. it goes on to say that the allegations made against the vice premier a couple of weeks ago, it says they are false. it says though she is safe, she is not hiding, everything is fine, she says. apparently, in this e—mail attributed to her, she says she is at home, resting. there are suspicions for numerous reasons about the authenticity of this e—mail. it popped up overnight and an image was put up on social media by cgtm, that is one arm of state media here. like i said, the opening words, "hello, everyone" are odd for an e—mail to a single man. there is a cursor as well on one of the lines you can see on the image so that has led to suspicions that perhaps it is a screenshot. so many questions, unanswered questions, and the most strongest coming from steve simon, the man in charge of the wta, he says he finds it hard to believe it is from her and he has called on the authorities here to find out where she is, check she is ok but also go back to her original allegations, that she was forced to have sex with that vice premier before a consensual relationship between the two of them followed. we have just heard via their home office that a public enquiry will be held over the poisoning and aim spree in wiltshire in 2018. the home secretary has confirmed that that public enquiry will take place. don sturgess and her partner charlie rowling were taken to salisbury district hospital in wiltshire. police determined at the time that boasted both had been poisoned by nava chuck, the same nerve agent used in the toilet poisoning about four months before. don sturgess died unfortunately her partner gained consciousness two days later. but there will be an enquiry into the deaths. time for the weather forecast. for many of us it has been a mild start of the day and will be a mild start of the day and will be a mild start across the board. a bit of cloud across central and parts of england. cloud they can offer some drizzle in the west, but we've also got rain crossing the far north of scotland, and in the northern half of the scott country it is going to be windy. temperatures could be 70 degrees in aberdeenshire this afternoon. still a lot of cloud tonight, still that rain on and off, and still some drizzle coming from the figures cloud. temperatures between about nine and 13 celsius, so another mild one in prospect. today's weather tomorrow is whether very similar to today. perhaps we will see more brighter spells than today with some sunshine coming through across parts of england and also wales. temperatures again ten to 16 celsius. hello this is bbc news. the headlines... the transport secretary scraps the hs2 line from the east midlands to leeds and unveils a new rail plan for the midlands and north of england. we are about to embark on one of the biggest single acts of levelling up in any government in history. he promised hsz to leeds. he promised northern— promised hsz to leeds. he promised northern powerhouse rail. he promised that the north would not be forgotten _ promised that the north would not be forgotten but it hasn'tjust forgotten but it hasn'tjust forgotten us, he has completely sold us out _ where is one of china's top tennis stars? peng shuai hasn't been heard from since she accused a chinese official of sexually assaulting her. human rights campaigners are concerned. it's not just it's notjust a question of proof of life, it's a question of proof of freedom and that's really not offered to many people inside china, particularly those who have allegations against a senior party members. the number of people on nhs waiting lists in wales has hit another all—time high and ambulance response times have worsened once more. us actor alec baldwin faces a new lawsuit over a fatal shooting on a film set. lawyers are calling mr baldwin reckless. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's jane. good morning. as the fall out, from azeem rafiq's powerful testimony to mps continues, his former team—mate at yorkshire, the west indian bowler tino best, says a yorkshire coach told him that he, "would be put, on the next plane back to barbados," during his spell at the club. best said although he "loved" his time at yorkshire, he now considered that to be a racist statement. the bbc has contacted yorkshire for a response to best's claims. the bowler, also referred to the drinking culture in cricket, which rafiq spoke about in his testimony, and which best thinks creates divisions in dressing rooms. you've got to stop bullying people into doing what they don't want to do. if a guy doesn't want to drink, just leave him, but still give him the equal opportunity that you will be giving a guy that is drinking and that is what rafiq was trying to get at. if you're not part of the drinking culture, if you're not a part of the boys club, you're not going to get opportunities after cricket. i think that is something that is hampering people of colour and that asian ethnicity. i think that's the thing. england's ashes test against australia in melbourne and next year's australian tennis open will be played in front of full crowds. it's after covid—19 restrictions were eased in the state of victoria. the mcg cricket ground has a capacity of 100,000, and will stage the traditional boxing day test, which starts at 11.30pm uk time on christmas day. the fourth and fifth tests in sydney will also be held in front of full crowds, but restrictions mean the grounds in brisbane and adelaide will only be three quarters full. earlier this year, there were limited spectator numbers at the australian open, and there was a five—day snap lockdown in the middle of the event, but january's tournement will be open to full crowds. well, it's not clear if the world number one novak djokovic will be there to defend his title at the australian open, as he reiterated his stand about freedom of choice over taking the covid vaccine. the victorian premier daniel andrews says international players who haven't received both doses of the vaccine will be denied entry into the state. djokovic has repeatedly declined to disclose his vaccination status. he doesn't really matter —— it doesn't really matter, whether it's vaccination or anything else in life, you should have the freedom to choose, to decide what you want to do. in this particular case, what you want to put in your body, so i have been always a proponent of that and a supporter of freedom of choice and a supporter of freedom of choice and i will be always supporting that's because freedom is essential for a happy and prosperous life. chelsea's women will be confident of picking up another three points, when they take on servette in the women's champions league at kingsmeadow later. chelsea thrashed the swiss side away earlier this month and are top of the group with seven points after three games. last night, arsenal put themselves on the verge of reaching the knock out stages after a 3—0 victory, over danish side hb koge. vivianne miedema was on target with arsenal's third. they're second in their group, behind leaders barcelona. the top two go through. there was a special night in the fa cup last night for non league side stockport county. eight goals, extra time and a pitch invasion. stockport came from behind to upset their league one opponents bolton wanderers with a 5—3 win in extra time. the fifth goal prompted a mini—pitch invasion at an excited edgeley park. stockport are through to the second round. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. thank you very much, jane. the worst ever performance figures have once again been recorded by both hospital emergency departments and the ambulance service in wales. last month, half of the immediately life threatening calls were reached within the target 8 minutes. there was also an increase in waiting lists with one in five people on waiting for planned treatment. let's speak to our wales correspondent mark hutchings. mark, elaborate if you would on these findings.— mark, elaborate if you would on these findings. well, the prognosis for the past — these findings. well, the prognosis for the past month _ these findings. well, the prognosis for the past month have _ these findings. well, the prognosis for the past month have been - these findings. well, the prognosis| for the past month have been pretty bleak and as you suggest, they have now been borne out by today's figures. poor performance records have been set tumbling once again. let's go through a snapshot of them. 65% of patients spent less than four hours in a&e and the target for that is 95%. in one hospital, wales' newest hospital, the grange in cwmbran,... nearly 9000 people wait more than 12 hours in a&e and no one should wait that long. 21% of the welsh population is waiting for planned hospital treatment. now, these figures, i suspect, as bleak as they are, will come as little surprise to anyone, certainly no one working within the health service and no one who has spent some time recently, probably very long time waiting for treatment. so. recently, probably very long time waiting for treatment.— recently, probably very long time waiting for treatment. so, what is causina waiting for treatment. so, what is causing these _ waiting for treatment. so, what is causing these delays, _ waiting for treatment. so, what is causing these delays, these - waiting for treatment. so, what is i causing these delays, these waiting times because we are not in the depths of winter yet? trio. times because we are not in the depths of winter yet?— depths of winter yet? no, i'm surrounded _ depths of winter yet? no, i'm surrounded by _ depths of winter yet? no, i'm surrounded by leaves - depths of winter yet? no, i'm surrounded by leaves pouring | depths of winter yet? no, i'm - surrounded by leaves pouring upon me and it's a sunny, autumnal day and these figures relate to october, so there are some pretty tough winter months ahead. there are some pressures from all sides. the nhs confederation, the people responsible for the health board say what's happening at the moment is unsustainable. the welsh government based here said they are investing in improvements. they are calling on people not to call out emergency help unless they really need it. they say there is a record number of calls for emergency help and they also point out that they have brought in the military, more than 100 military personnel have been seconded to the ambulance service to help. the problem with that is that the gmb union published a letter complaining that the military were very little assistance, the way they were being deployed was putting extra stress on medically trained staff. on top of that, you've got a pressures within the hospitals. it is estimated that up to 15% of beds are occupied by patients who don't need to be there. they could leave if only they had alternative care. so, as you say, it's only november now and some pretty tough winter months lying ahead. the fear as it will get worse before it gets better. ~ :, :, will get worse before it gets better. . ., , better. what are people within the nhs sa in: better. what are people within the nhs saying it _ better. what are people within the nhs saying it needs _ better. what are people within the nhs saying it needs to _ better. what are people within the nhs saying it needs to happen - better. what are people within the i nhs saying it needs to happen before we alleviate these problems? weill. we alleviate these problems? well, there is a call— we alleviate these problems? well, there is a call for— we alleviate these problems? well, there is a call for extra _ we alleviate these problems? well, there is a call for extra staffing - there is a call for extra staffing from the nhs confederation. they say this cannot be sustained through those difficult winter months. staffing is clearly an issue and you've got the added problem, of course, of the pandemic. that brought part of the nhs to a virtual standstill to the height of the knockdown and you've also got staff who have to isolate, which is adding to problems of keeping sustainable levels. —— height of the lockdown. and you've got a backlog of people needing treatment, waiting for treatment that have to be cleared as well. so, clearly there are more calls and certainly from opposition parties as well for greater investment into the nhs in a more efficient way of running the nhs system but it is a mighty challenge to turn this tank allowed to try and see improvements. —— turned this tank around. the prime minister has admitted to conservative backbenchers that he — as he put it — "crashed the car" in his handling of the row about the former conservative mp, owen paterson. he spent much of yesterday under pressure about his attitude to parliamentary standards, but in the end the commons did back his proposal to limit paid political consultancy work. this morning, the deputy prime minister dominic raab defended the prime minister. i've got total faith. the prime minister has successfully dealt with getting us through brexit. he clearly won an unprecedented majority. he has led the way with the vaccine roll—out which has been a huge success both within europe but also globally. and of course, he is as restless as i am and the rest of the parliamentary party are to get on with focusing on the bread—and—butter quality—of—life issues that people care about, and we're starting today with this massive investment in rail infrastructure in the north which is going to be so important for the businesses and quality—of—life for those in the midlands, the north, and indeed the whole country. a couple who were metres away from a bomb that exploded in a taxi outside liverpool women's hospital, say they have been left in shock by the attack. liam spencer and stephanie stitt, who were in their car at the time, told the bbc they felt a "big impact" and at first thought there had been a crash. mr spencer tried to pull the bomberfrom the burning wreckage of the taxi, but was stopped by the flames. i didn't say much. ijust seen there was someone there. and then, i didn't even say nothing. i was just thinking of ways to try and get him out, and i couldn't really tell if he was in the back or the front because ofjust the whole positioning and the flames and the smoke. it was hard to make out what was going on, so i wasjust trying to find the best way to pull him out. people in germany are being urged to avoid large gatherings as a fourth covid wave threatens to overwhelm hospitals. the country's health agency chief has issued a stark warning that intensive care beds are filling up rapidly, as weekly infection rates soar to an all—time high. the current surge is being blamed on a relatively low vaccination rate. our correspondent in berlin damien mcguinness told us about the new measures being put in place. what we're seeing today is that the government and the parliament are going to decide new measures because emergency legislation from the old government is now expiring next week. so, we have an incoming new government, which makes things more complicated politically, and they are going to decide today on a bunch of new measures in order to get down those infection rates because, as you say, what we are seeing right now are record high infection rates. this is the worst that germany has seen right through the pandemic. this morning we surpassed the 60,000 new infections per day mark which is the highest germany has ever seen. officials are describing this as an emergency situation. what the incoming government is going to do or propose is compulsory tests or vaccinations for anyone in the workplace, quite a drastic measures, also access on public transport only for those vaccinated or have a daily test, also quite a new measure. at the same time, various regions across germany have already introduced over the past few weeks, measures that mean only vaccinated people have access to all leisure services, cafes, bars, restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, all of these measures really are aimed at getting people to get the jab. it is slightly lower than the european average, similar to the uk, about 70% of the population have had a double jab but the booster programme is relatively slow so what we're seeing now is that uptake and that has really gone up the past two days after these measures. so the hope is if you can get more people to get the booster and get the remaining quarter of the population, who are hesitant about the vaccine, to get the first and second jab, the hope is that you get the infection rates down but they are very high so it will take a lot of work. more now on the government's rail plan for england. the prime minister has been speaking to journalists in the past half hour. i think that this is fantastic, a monumental programme for rail investment for commuters and passages in the east midlands, west midlands, the whole of the north of the country. we are not only building hs2, so we are building both prongs of the y but you are building a crossrail of the north from manchester to leeds and the key thing is from the east midlands point of view, we are not only upgrading the midlands' main line, which we talked about some years ago, you and i, but what we are also doing is building hs —— hs2 on the upper end of the y. because you then serve much better, you serve the big towns, the cities of the east midlands, so derby, nottingham, they will have massive reductions in journey times, they will be much better connected to the west midlands. forthe better connected to the west midlands. for the first time in the history of our country, you will have a high—speed link between birmingham and nottingham. birmingham and nottingham. birmingham is currently one hour 40 minutes away from nottingham. it will be 26 minutes away under these plans. the times from london to derby and nottingham will be shaved from an hour and a half or so, maybe more to enter an hour. so, these are massive gains and what they will also produce is the commuter benefits that we went to see, so we are notjust digging huge swathes of new rail across virgin countryside through peaceful villages, which is what some of the critics say that we should be doing more of what we are doing a bit of that, there is no doubt about it, we're building over 100 miles of high—speed line but we're also improving and separating the commuter network to journey times in the east midlands, in the west midlands and across the whole rest of the country.— rest of the country. you're going to have to make _ rest of the country. you're going to have to make it _ rest of the country. you're going to have to make it so _ rest of the country. you're going to have to make it so that _ rest of the country. you're going to have to make it so that people - rest of the country. you're going to have to make it so that people can| have to make it so that people can afford to travel on it because it's expensive to stop the afford to travel on it because it's expensive to stop— expensive to stop the way to cut costs on train _ expensive to stop the way to cut costs on train travel— expensive to stop the way to cut costs on train travel is _ expensive to stop the way to cut costs on train travel is to - costs on train travel is to modernise and to electrify and that's what we are doing. if you look at the way you cut costs on other transport, which i used to run, it is by getting those mass participants, the mass transit benefits, if you have a huge number of passengers, then you can start to drive the cost of riding down. you also need to modernise the staffing, you need to look at the way things work on the railways generally. that's not something that we can ignore but this is the biggest package of infrastructure investment in the east midlands, the west midlands, in the whole of the north of the country for a century and if you look at what it will do both things together, so the northern powerhouse rail plus the y, it will offer people commuting in the north confidence about their daily lives, about their commute as people have been used to for a century in the south. :, :, , ~ , south. that was the prime minister on the latest _ south. that was the prime minister on the latest real— south. that was the prime minister on the latest real announcements. | a new lawsuit against the hollywood actor, alec baldwin, has alleged the film script did not require him to fire a gun when he fatally shot the cinematographer, halyna hutchins last month. the script supervisor for the western film "rust" is requesting damages for claims including assault and emotional distress. here's our north america correspondent david willis reports. barely a month on, and the lawsuits are growing. script supervisor mamie mitchell the latest to sue after a shot fired by alec baldwin killed a colleague just a few feet away from her. i heard someone moaning and i turned around and my director was falling backwards and holding his upper body. and i turned around toward alec and i saw halyna going down to the left of me. 42—year—old cinematographer halyna hutchins died after being shot in the stomach by a bullet which also injured the film's director. mamie mitchell was the first to call 9/11. the first to call 911. we have two people accidentally shot on a movie set by a prop gun. we need help immediately. her lawsuit claims alec baldwin should have checked the gun himself before firing it, and she is suing him and the film's produces for negligence. mr baldwin chose to play russian roulette when he fired a gun without checking it, and without having the armourer to do so in his presence. his behaviour, and that of the producers on rust, was reckless. how live ammunition made it onto the film set in the foothills of northern new mexico is at the centre of an investigation that's been carried by local police. hannah gutierrez—reed, the person responsible for guns on the set, has claimed they were sabotaged, and several crew members are known to have walked off the production only hours before the shooting, citing concerns over safety. mamie mitchell is also claiming that the scene alec baldwin was rehearsing at the time of the shooting didn't actually call for a gun to be fired. and she says the resulting tragedy will live with her forever. i'll never forget what happened on the set of rust that day. i relive the shooting and the sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again. i'm depressed, i don't feel safe. i feel like at any moment anything could happen to me, and to those i care about that are standing close to me. mamie mitchell is seeking undisclosed damages. there's been no response to the lawsuit from alec baldwin. previously he said he was heartbroken by the incident and was fully cooperating with the police inquiry. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. the skies above wales are some of the darkest and clearest in the world, and november is said to be the best time to go stargazing there. but as well as looking up to the skies, imagine getting a first—hand account of life amongst the stars from astronaut tim peake. he spent an evening with a group of young explorers — and our wales correspondent tomos morgan was there too. a night under the stars with someone that knows a thing or two about them. then a telescope is very, very good. children in the gower meeting and quizzing british astronaut tim peake about the diamonds in our skies. do you think we are going to see a lot of stars tonight? i think we're going to see loads of stars, amelia, yes. and hoping to spot some up above in the autumn sky. oh, wow. i've learned a lot. if it wasn't for tim, then i probably wouldn't have learned about space. but, yeah, it's wonderful to learn about space. i've learned about like, - how stars, like, they compress together in a way. it's just very fascinating and interesting. - from anglesey to the elan valley, to swansea bay, wales has some of the best places to go stargazing. that's because it has the highest proportion of protected dark skies in the world, crucially needed to spot the twinkling up above. the dark sky reserve is an area that's really been protected in order to preserve it against light pollution, because if you are in a city area, for example, with lots of light pollution and you look up, you're simply not going to see an abundance of stars. it's a bit like looking up when there is a full moon. the light from the moon will obscure light from the stars. it's a similar effect when you are living in a bright area. so, by coming to a dark area, that's where you can really appreciate what the night sky should look like. november is one of the best times of the year to go stargazing, as our skies are darker due to a lower level of water vapour, haze, dust and pollen in the air. unfortunately, on this evening the clouds shadowed the stars above. has it made you more interested in it? yeah. has it influenced you at all and what you'd like to be when you grow up? eh, no. no, it hasn't. what is it you would like to do when you grow up, play for swansea, is it? footballer. yeah, play for swansea city, is it? yeah. of course it is. so, what would you like to do when you grow up? em, it depends, actually. baker or scientist, something to do. baker or scientist? yeah. well, yeah. very similar. baking is a science, isn't it? yeah. yeah, yeah. like, how you mix stuff together. it's called proxima centauri. and it's the star closest to the sun. no doubt a night to remember for these first—time stargazers in a country full of sparkly night wonders. tomos morgan, bbc news in the gower. now, it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. today's temperatures are going to be way above average for the time of year. what's happening is we've got high pressure dominating the weather in the south, so things fairly settled. we do have a weather front coming in from the atlantic, bringing in rain across the north and west. and those isobars telling you that in the northern half of the country it is going to be windy. now, we started off with some early sunshine across central and south eastern parts of england. but through the day, you'll notice the clouds starting to build. and the cloud out towards the west, especially in the coasts and hills, will be thick enough for some drizzle. as a weather front comes our way, it's bringing in all this rain across northern and western scotland. it will be on and off through the day and gusty winds as well. for northern ireland and also for northern england, the cloud thick enough for some spots of drizzle. and we should see some drizzle, too, across wales and the southwest. but for central and southeastern areas, it should stay dry, again with more cloud as we go through the course of the afternoon. but temperature wise, we're looking at 13s, 14s and 15s widely, possibly a 16 or 17 across the northeast of scotland, possibly 16 across the northeast of england, as well. as we head through the evening and overnight, we continue with some rain on and off across the north. still gusty winds, a lot of cloud around, and that cloud still thick enough in the west, especially in coasts and hills for some drizzle. that's going to be a very mild night for the time of year. these temperatures more representative of what we would expect as our maximum daytime temperatures rather than our overnight lows. so into friday, a lot of dry weather around. however, in the west, we'll still see some drizzle coming out of the cloud, but more in the way of brightness tomorrow compared to today, especially across england, wales and northern ireland. but we do have a weather front coming in, bringing in some rain and still mild. but that changes on saturday. this weather front coming in later on friday is going to slowly sink southwards. it's a cold front. the wind changes to more of a north—westerly and colder air with some showers will filter in behind. but ahead of it will be some dry spells, still relatively mild. and we'll also see a little bit of sunshine at times. but by sunday, that cold front will be in the south, still with its cloud, some spots of rain clearing away. some showers coming in on the northerly wind along some of our coastlines. inland, though, a lot of dry weather, but note the difference in temperatures. we're no longer in the teens, we're back down into single figures. this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at midday... the transport secretary confirms high speed rail lines connecting leeds to birmingham and manchester will be partially scrapped. but grant shapps insists journey times will still be slashed by billions of pounds of investment. we are about to embark on one of the biggest single act of leggett levelling up of any government in history. he levelling up of any government in histo . , :, , ,, :, , history. he promised h52 to leeds. he promised _ history. he promised h52 to leeds. he promised northern _ history. he promised h52 to leeds. he promised northern powerhouse| he promised northern powerhouse rail. he promised northern powerhouse rait he _ he promised northern powerhouse rail. he promised that the north would _ rail. he promised that the north would not — rail. he promised that the north would not be forgotten. but he hasn't — would not be forgotten. but he hasn't just forgotten us, he would not be forgotten. but he hasn'tjust forgotten us, he has completely sold us out. where is one of china's top tennis stars? peng shuai hasn't been heard from since she accused a chinese official of sexually assaulting her. human rights campaigners are concerned. it's not just it's notjust a question of proof of life it's a question or proof of freedom which is not an offer to many chinese nationals of particularly those that have levelled allegations against senior party members. the number of people on nhs waiting lists in wales has hit another all—time high — and ambulance response times have worsened once more. us actor alec baldwin faces a new lawsuit over a fatal shooting on a film set. lawyers are calling mr baldwin reckless. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. the transport secretary, grant shapps, has confirmed that high speed rail lines connecting leeds to birmingham and manchester will be partially scrapped. the shadow transport secretary accused the government of a "great train robbery" by breaking promises to people in the midlands and the north of england. but unveiling the government's intregrated rail plan for england, grant shapps told the commons that journey times will still be slashed and the improvements will be delivered sooner. this will be delivered sooner. unprecedented commitmi build this unprecedented commitment to build a world—class railway that delivers their passengers, freight, towns and cities, communities and businesses, will benefit eight out of ten of those busiest rail corridors across the north and the midlands, providing fasterjourneys, increase capacity, more frequent services, but sooner than previously planned. from every side, right across the north and midlands, in many cases years earlier than planned will benefit. looking hs2 and how it fits with the rest of the rail system will be able to prove improve much better railway system. a much better vision drawn up for ages to then was done over a decade ago. it will fire up economies to rival london and the south—east. it will spread agility. it will level “p will spread agility. it will level up the country and bring benefits at least a decade earlier. i'm staggered by the way this statement started, that he was proud the way— statement started, that he was proud the way he _ statement started, that he was proud the way he presented it to the house — the way he presented it to the house. proud of what? the betrayal of trust. _ house. proud of what? the betrayal of trust, promises and betrayal of investment the north of england and the midlands deserve. we have all seen the _ the midlands deserve. we have all seen the ports over the weekend. each _ seen the ports over the weekend. each one — seen the ports over the weekend. each one setting out the betrayal being _ each one setting out the betrayal being put — each one setting out the betrayal being put forward today. and there is no _ being put forward today. and there is no amount of glass or spin that can be _ is no amount of glass or spin that can be put— is no amount of glass or spin that can be put on this. he promised hsz to leeds _ can be put on this. he promised hsz to leeds he — can be put on this. he promised hsz to leeds. he promised northern powerhouse rail. he promised that the north— powerhouse rail. he promised that the north would not be forgotten. but it— the north would not be forgotten. but it has— the north would not be forgotten. but it has notjust forgotten us. he has completely sold us out. as somebody who lives in greater manchester, i will not take lectures over what _ manchester, i will not take lectures over what northern powerhouse rail means _ over what northern powerhouse rail means we — over what northern powerhouse rail means. we know what it means. let's be clear. _ means. we know what it means. let's be clear. the — means. we know what it means. let's be clear, the scaling back of northern— be clear, the scaling back of northern powerhouse rail coupled with the _ northern powerhouse rail coupled with the scrapping of the eastern le- with the scrapping of the eastern leg of— with the scrapping of the eastern leg of h52 is a massive blow for our regions _ let's talk to our political correspondent caroline davies. this should be right up her street as she was transport correspondent. how much of it change was this compared with the original plan? this was definitely a change from the original plan. let's look at the eastern leg which was meant to go from birmingham through toting in the midlands and then up to leeds. that is changing and will now go from birmingham to east midlands parkway and not go up straight through to leeds. talking about northern powerhouse rail, we also know that one of the intentions or plans or what people wanted to have was a link that would be a high—speed link between manchester and leeds and stop at bradford. there is not a suggestion that that will happen. there will be some other routes as instead. we have the route from crewe up to manchester which is the western leg. in many respects, it was never really in doubt that that was going to be delivered. and going from birmingham from his midlands parkway to toting. and then from warrington through to manchester and done to western yorkshire as well. but that is not exactly what many people hopeful. however the government is now arguing and saying that this is better than the plan they originally put together. the plan they had before was drawn up a decade ago and was now outdated. this is a much more improved service that people will be able to see the results of. quicker. the labour government say this is a series of broken promises from the government where they have said the northern powerhouse rail was going to be delivered. is that it was very telling saying don't tell us what northern powerhouse rail actually means. there will be discussion as to what was promised in terms of northern powerhouse rail. in the prime in the days conference earlier this year he spoke about that. the government are arguing that this is better than the alternative. how risky is this for the government meant given they have been talking about levelling up giving the north of england some of the advantages the south has had for a number of year. it will be really interesting to see now how the mps pick over the details of this plan and how it will be advantageous to them and whether they can sell it to them and whether they can sell it to them and whether they can sell it to them and they can stitch when saw whether it is disadvantages to them. the government is saying this is a make do and mend approach the rail network. things are being upgraded and electrified instead. whether some of the new intake of conservative mps in red wool seats look at these details and go this is ok, i can see there are things that are going to be advantageous to my constituents, i can sell this to them. they can try and persuade them that this is not a broken promise, thenit that this is not a broken promise, then it may be easier for politicians. the difficulties will come if the government find that the politicians who have not picked through these details feel that they have been hard done by and it has not been delivered what was promised before. thank you very much. where is one of china's biggest sporting stars peng shuai? the former wimbledon and french open doubles champion hasn't been heard from since accusing a top chinese official of sexually assaulting her. she's supposed to have written an email saying she's fine. it was released by chinese state media amd attributed to her, but the head of the women's tennis association in the uk says he finds it hard to believe that pung shway actually wrote the email. part of the email reads... our correspondent robin brant is in shanghai and told us more about the email. it popped up overnight. it is the first communication apparently from peng shuai. it starts with the words, "hello, everyone." even though it was purportedly sent to steve simon, the man in charge of the woman's tennis association. it goes on to say that the allegations made against the vice premier a couple of weeks ago, it says they are false. it says though she is safe, she is not hiding, everything is fine, she says. apparently, in this e—mail attributed to her, she says she is at home, resting. there are suspicions for numerous reasons about the authenticity of this e—mail. it popped up overnight and an image was put up on social media by cgtm, that is one arm of state media here. like i said, the opening words, "hello, everyone" are odd for an e—mail to a single man. there is a cursor as well on one of the lines you can see on the image so that has led to suspicions that perhaps it is a screenshot. so many questions, unanswered questions, and the most strongest coming from steve simon, the man in charge of the wta, he says he finds it hard to believe it is from her and he has called on the authorities here to find out where she is, check she is ok but also go back to her original allegations, that she was forced to have sex with that vice premier before a consensual relationship between the two of them followed. the worst ever performance figures have once again been recorded by both hospital emergency departments and the ambulance service in wales. last month half of the immediately life threatening calls were reached within the target 8 minutes. there was also an increase in waiting lists, with one in five people still waiting for planned treatment. the still waiting for planned treatment. prognosis for ti been the prognosis for the past month had been pretty bleak, and as you suggest, they had been borne out by today's figures. poor performance records have been sent tumbling once again. let's run through a snapshot of them. 65% of patients spent less than four hours in a&e where the target for that is 95%. at one hospital, the grange in cumbrae and, it was 33.9% spending less than four hours in a&e. nearly nine and a half thousand patient waited nearly more than 12 hours in a&e. the target is no one should wait that long. 50% of ambulance calls, the urgent ones, were answered within eight minutes, the target for that 65%. and the target percent of the well population waiting vase beetle treatment. these figures, bleak as they are, will come as little surprise to anyone, certainly, not working in the health services and those waiting for treatment. so what is causina those waiting for treatment. so what is causing these _ those waiting for treatment. so what is causing these delays _ those waiting for treatment. so what is causing these delays and - those waiting for treatment. so what is causing these delays and waiting i is causing these delays and waiting times. we are not even in the depth of winter yet. times. we are not even in the depth of winter yet-— times. we are not even in the depth of winter yet. no, i'm surrounded by leaves falling — of winter yet. no, i'm surrounded by leaves falling upon _ of winter yet. no, i'm surrounded by leaves falling upon me. _ of winter yet. no, i'm surrounded by leaves falling upon me. it's - of winter yet. no, i'm surrounded by leaves falling upon me. it's a - of winter yet. no, i'm surrounded by leaves falling upon me. it's a nice i leaves falling upon me. it's a nice sunny, autumnal day. these figures relate to october, so there is a pretty tough winter ahead. there are pressures ahead from all sides. the nhs confederation, people responsible for the health board to say what is happening at the moment is unsustainable. the welsh government based here say they are investing in improvements in calling on people not to call for emergency help unless they really need it. they say there are a number of calls for emergency help. they also point out they have brought in the military, while than 100 military personnel seconded to the ambulance service to help. the problem with thatis service to help. the problem with that is that the gmb union published a letter last week complaining saying that the military were very little assistance the way they were deployed and were putting extra stress on medically trained staff. on top of that, you have the pressures within the hospitals, estimated that up to 15% of beds are occupied by patients who don't actually need to be there. they could leave if only they had alternative care. as you say, it is only november now, so some pretty tough winter months lying ahead and the theories it will get worse before it better. some breaking news, before it better. some breaking news. the _ before it better. some breaking news, the what _ before it better. some breaking news, the what the _ before it better. some breaking | news, the what the environment agency ends water regulator has said that sewage discharges could be omitted into rivers and watercourses. any sewage treatment works caught breaching regulations could face court action including fines. it has been happening far more often than usual would have expected, hence needing to this investigation that has just been announced. you're watching bbc news. a man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia who stabbed a man to death and injured seven others in a 90 minute stabbing rampage last september has been sentenced to sentenced to life with a minimum term of 21 years. phil mackie is at birmingham crown court. remind us of the background of this. last september, the early hours of the six, the man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia went on a murderous rampage through the city centre, stabbing people and killing one of them. he has now been sentenced to life for manslaughter and other offences of attempted murder and wounding with intent with a minimum sentence of 21 years, but there are also other things attached to that. he will be attained in a mental institution hospital for as long as necessary. the events of that night were described as a murderous rampage. injust over an hour and a half, zephaniah mcleod wreaked havoc over the streets of birmingham. he wreaked havoc over the streets of l?eirmingham-_ wreaked havoc over the streets of birminuham. :, , ., , :, birmingham. he tried to stab me on the street but _ birmingham. he tried to stab me on the street but is _ birmingham. he tried to stab me on the street but is not _ birmingham. he tried to stab me on the street but is not being _ birmingham. he tried to stab me on the street but is not being the - the street but is not being the neck. :, , the street but is not being the neck. . , ,. , ., the street but is not being the neck. . , ,. , :, , neck. he was described on the street is a dangerous _ neck. he was described on the street is a dangerous offender. _ neck. he was described on the street is a dangerous offender. he - neck. he was described on the street is a dangerous offender. he had - neck. he was described on the street| is a dangerous offender. he had been diagnosed with diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and recently released from prison. i’ee paranoid schizophrenia and recently released from prison.— released from prison. i've 'ust found out fl released from prison. i've 'ust found out that i released from prison. i've 'ust found out that someone h released from prison. i'vejust found out that someone else i released from prison. i've just i found out that someone else has released from prison. i've just - found out that someone else has been stabbed. ~ :, ~ found out that someone else has been stabbed. ~ . ~ , ., , , stabbed. with a knife, he stabbed eiuht stabbed. with a knife, he stabbed eight people- _ stabbed. with a knife, he stabbed eight people- they _ stabbed. with a knife, he stabbed eight people. they were - stabbed. with a knife, he stabbed eight people. they were serious i eight people. they were serious attacks, eight people. they were serious attacks. often — eight people. they were serious attacks, often targeted - eight people. they were serious attacks, often targeted towards| eight people. they were serious i attacks, often targeted towards the head, _ attacks, often targeted towards the head, neck and chest areas which have _ head, neck and chest areas which have left — head, neck and chest areas which have left some of the victims with catastrophic injuries but also a mental— catastrophic injuries but also a mental scar that the victims will have _ mental scar that the victims will have in— mental scar that the victims will have. . :, , :, mental scar that the victims will have. , :, . have. in the confusion, police did not have. in the confusion, police did rrot initially _ have. in the confusion, police did not initially realise _ have. in the confusion, police did not initially realise the _ have. in the confusion, police did not initially realise the attacks i not initially realise the attacks were related. it took more than 24 as to identify the man responsible. the worst of the attacks was hearing urban street. some people walking back from the hotel when they were attacked. he back from the hotel when they were attacked. , _, ,. :, , back from the hotel when they were attacked. , ,. :, , :, back from the hotel when they were i attacked-— two attacked. he is unconscious now. two ofthe attacked. he is unconscious now. two of the friends — attacked. he is unconscious now. two of the friends were _ attacked. he is unconscious now. two of the friends were in _ attacked. he is unconscious now. two of the friends were in this _ attacked. he is unconscious now. two of the friends were in this band. - of the friends were in this band. the lead singer is michael callahan and the drummer is his best friend jacob billington. despite their friends best efforts, jacob did not friend's best efforts, jacob did not make it. his family want to know why mcleod was not under closer observation. he did not appear to be monitored in the way that you would imagine he word to somebody who was known to be dangerous and had a long previous history of being dangerous. he had a known mental condition. his... ~ : . ., ., he had a known mental condition. his... a . ., ., , he had a known mental condition. his... a . . ., , , his... michael hannigan survived but has suffered — his... michael hannigan survived but has suffered life _ his... michael hannigan survived but has suffered life changing _ his... michael hannigan survived but has suffered life changing injuries. . has suffered life changing injuries. and i've severed his carotid artery. he lost a huge amount of blood and we don't understand how even survived. . we don't understand how even survived. , , :, ,, , survived. his progress has been astonishing _ survived. his progress has been astonishing but _ survived. his progress has been astonishing but in _ survived. his progress has been astonishing but in his _ survived. his progress has been | astonishing but in his statement read in court, he said he sometimes wishes he hadn't made it. there are still many unanswered questions about what happened last september and whether more could have been done to prevent the attacks that left seven people wounded and one dead. there is going to be a multi—agency review into what happened in this case. clearly he should have been supervised when he was released from prison last year. he basically went to live on his own and was basically unsupervised and they were clearly lessons that need to be learned from that. in sentencing him, this is some of what the justice sentencing him, this is some of what thejustice said. your actions have had the most profound effect. one family was left grieving and the others were left wondering if their loved ones would survive. hopes and dreams have been crushed and the survivors have suffered this year horror of their brush with mortality. at the end of the case he addressed three families in particular, jacob billington, the man who died, and the dignity with which they have behaved during this case. they have come from liverpool to sitting because to hear the evidence. but the woman who was stabbed six times in his street and another man have suffered the greatest injuries and life changing into injuries. when they come out and read their statements, we will bring those to you. thank you very much. sport, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. the fallout from as in rafiq powerful testimony on tuesday continues. he has been reacting very strongly to the racism scandal and what the cricket board proposed to do to tackle the problem. this what the cricket board proposed to do to tackle the problem.— do to tackle the problem. this has been going — do to tackle the problem. this has been going on _ do to tackle the problem. this has been going on with _ do to tackle the problem. this has been going on with the _ do to tackle the problem. this has been going on with the same - do to tackle the problem. this has| been going on with the same rafiq formally from about 2017. this has been kicked into the long grass for years. that is not appropriate. so i think we need a little bit of time for ecb and lord patel who is conducting his review to then, actions may be taken. meanwhile, somerset county _ actions may be taken. meanwhile, somerset county cricket _ actions may be taken. meanwhile, somerset county cricket club - actions may be taken. meanwhile, somerset county cricket club have reprimanded jack brooks over things he said that contained rage show connotations. —— racist connotations. —— racist connotations. brooks has unreservedly apologise. england's ashes test against australia and melbourne and next year's australian tennis open will be played in front of full crowds. covid—19 restrictions were eased in the state of victoria. it has a capacity of 100000 and will stage the test on christmas day. the fourth and fifth test in sydney will be held in front of full crowds. restrictions mean big rounds in brisbane and adelaide will only be partially full. there were limited spectator numbers at the tennis australian open, but january's tournament will be open to full crowds. in the last few minutes, the new aston villa head coach, steven gerard has been speaking to the medias for the first time since his appointment. he says being closer to his family and back in the premier league where his reasons for leaving glasgow rangers. the former england midfielder denied it was in order to get his dream job ultimately. it was in order to get his dream 'ob ultimatel . :, ., ultimately. you will never hear me sa in: it's ultimately. you will never hear me saying it's a _ ultimately. you will never hear me saying it's a stepping _ ultimately. you will never hear me saying it's a stepping stone. - ultimately. you will never hear me saying it's a stepping stone. for. saying it's a stepping stone. for me, i am saying it's a stepping stone. for me, iam really saying it's a stepping stone. for me, i am really honoured and proud to be in this position. as i say, i am all in. i will give thisjob everything it needs for it to be a success. i will be 100% committed. i don't think there's anything wrong in football to have dreams and aspirations but as i say, liverpool have got a world—class coach they are very happy with. if he was to sign a lifetime deal right now i would be very happy for them and him. . would be very happy for them and him. , :, ., , :, ., :, him. there is more details on all of those stories _ him. there is more details on all of those stories on _ him. there is more details on all of those stories on the _ him. there is more details on all of those stories on the bbc— him. there is more details on all of those stories on the bbc sport - those stories on the bbc sport website. that's it for now. thank you very much. the prime minister has admitted to conservative backbenchers that he — as he put it — "crashed the car" in his handling of the row about the former conservative mp, owen paterson. he spent much of yesterday under pressure about his attitude to parliamentary standards, but in the end the commons did back his proposal to limit paid political consultancy work. this morning the deputy prime minister dominic raab defended the prime minister i've got total faith. the prime minister has successfully dealt with getting us through brexit. he clearly won an unprecedented majority. he has led the way with the vaccine roll—out which has been a huge success both within europe but also globally. and of course he is as restless as i am and the rest of the parliamentary party are to get on with focusing on the bread—and—butter quality—of—life issues that people care about, and we're starting today with this massive investment in rail infrastructure in the north which is going to be so important for the businesses and quality—of—life for those in the midlands, the north, and indeed the whole country. six more former sub—postmasters caught up in the post office computer scandal have had their convictions overturned. they'd been charged with theft, false accounting or forgery, after a faulty i.t. system made it look like they'd taken money from the branches they were running. today, the judge said they could all walk away from court "with no stain on their characters". 64 people have now have their convictions quashed, after the uk's most widespread miscarriage ofjustice. the nhs is to start offering people with hiv injections every two months to keep the virus at bay. 13,000 people in england will be eligible for the treatment which will replace daily pills. the injection is called vocabria and has been developed by viiv healthcare. deborah waterhouse is its chief executive. she told us the jab would help people currently struggling with their medication. people in germany are being urged to avoid large gatherings as a fourth covid wave threatens to overwhelm hospitals. the country's health agency chief has issued a stark warning that intensive care beds are filling up rapidly, as weekly infection rates soar to an all—time high. the current surge is being blamed on a relatively low vaccination rate. our correspondent in berlin damien mcguinness told us about the new measures being put in place: what we're seeing today is that the government and the parliament are going to decide new measures because emergency legislation from the old government is now expiring next week. so we have an incoming new government, which makes things more complicated politically, and they are going to decide today on a bunch of new measures in order to get down those infection rates because, as you say, what we are seeing right now are record high infection rates. this is the worst that germany has seen right through the pandemic. this morning we surpassed the 60,000 new infections per day mark which is the highest germany has ever seen. officials are describing this as an emergency situation. what the incoming government is going to do or propose is compulsory tests or vaccinations for anyone in the workplace, quite a drastic measures, also access on public transport only for those vaccinated or have a daily test, also quite a new measure. at the same time, various regions across germany have already introduced over the past few weeks, measures that mean only vaccinated people have access to all leisure services, cafes, bars, restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, all of these measures really are aimed at getting people to get the jab. it is slightly lower than the european average, similar to the uk, about 70% of the population have had a double jab but the booster programme is relatively slow so what we're seeing now is that uptake and that has really gone up the past two days after these measures. so the hope is if you can get more people to get the booster and get the remaining quarter of the population who are hesitant about the vaccine to get the first and second jab, the hope is that you get the infection rates down but they are very high so it will take a lot of work. a new lawsuit against the hollywood actor, alec baldwin, has alleged the film script did not require him to fire a gun when he fatally shot the cinematographer, halyna hutchins last month. the script supervisor for the western film "rust" is requesting damages for claims including assault and emotional distress. here's our north america correspondent david willis reports. barely a month on, and the lawsuits are growing. script supervisor mamie mitchell the latest to sue after a shot fired by alec baldwin killed a colleague just a few feet away from her. i heard someone moaning and i turned around and my director was falling backwards and holding his upper body. and i turned around toward alec and i saw halyna going down to the left of me. 42—year—old cinematographer halyna hutchins died after being shot in the stomach by a bullet which also injured the film's director. mamie mitchell was the first to call 9/11. we have two people accidentally shot on a movie set by a prop gun. we need help immediately. her lawsuit claims alec baldwin should have checked the gun himself before firing it, and she is suing him and the film's producers for negligence. mr baldwin chose to play russian roulette when he fired a gun without checking it, and without having the armourer to do so in his presence. his behaviour, and that of the producers on rust, was reckless. how live ammunition made it onto the film set in the foothills of northern new mexico is at the centre of an investigation that's been carried by local police. hannah gutierrez—reed, the person responsible for guns on the set, has claimed they were sabotaged, and several crew members are known to have walked off the production only hours before the shooting, citing concerns over safety. mamie mitchell is also claiming that the scene alec baldwin was rehearsing at the time of the shooting didn't actually call for a gun to be fired. and she says the resulting tragedy will live with her forever. i'll never forget what happened on the set of rust that day. i relive the shooting and the sound of the explosion from the gun over and over again. i'm depressed, i don't feel safe. i feel like at any moment anything could happen to me, and to those i care about that are standing close to me. mamie mitchell is seeking undisclosed damages. there's been no response to the lawsuit from alec baldwin. previously he said he was heartbroken by the incident and was fully cooperating with the police inquiry. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. let's catch up on the weather forecast. mailed in a word. it was a tad on the chilly side this morning, but that sunshine won't be repeated now. you can see from the thickness of the cloud in the north—west, that is a weather front. some drizzly rain elsewhere and that is what we will see for the rest of day like today. when we see some breaks in the cloud, is east of the scottish mountains, we got quite a brisk wind across the north. for many, it is a dry but mild picture. western areas, the thick low cloud remains through the thick low cloud remains through the night here. it acts like a blanket and stops the fall in temperature. it is more like lead to turn misty orfoggy temperature. it is more like lead to turn misty or foggy if we have some breaks here. the temperatures overnight will be what they should be by day and then another really cloudy, mild, mostly dry day. a little later in the weekend, it is getting colder. hello, this is bbc news i martine croxall the headlines. the transport secretary confirms high speed rail lines connecting leeds to birmingham and manchester will be partially scrapped. but grant shapps insists journey times will still be slashed by billions of pounds of investment. we are about to embark on one of the biggest single act of levelling up of any government in history. he of any government in history. h9: promised hsz to leeds. he promised promised hs2 to leeds. he promised northern powerhouse rail. he promised that the north would not be forgotten but it hasn'tjust forgotten but it hasn'tjust forgotten us, he has completely sold us out. where is one of china's top tennis stars? peng shuai hasn't been heard from since she accused a chinese official of sexually assaulting her. human rights campaigners are concerned. it's not just it's notjust a question of proof of life, it's a question of proof of freedom and that's really not offered to many people inside china, particularly those who have allegations against people in senior party members. the number of people on nhs waiting lists in wales has hit another all—time high and ambulance response times have worsened once more. let's get more now on the government's rail plan for england. the transport secretary, grant shapps, has confirmed that the eastern expansion of hs2 will no longer go all the way to leeds, as he outlined the government's plans to modernise the rail network. instead, three high—speed lines will be built, including a service linking warrington to manchester. the prime minister has been speaking to journalists about the plan. i think that this is a fantastic, a monumental programme for rail investment, for commuters, and passages in the east midlands, west midlands, the whole of the north of the country. we are not only building hs2, so we are building both prongs of the y but you are building a crossrail of the north from manchester to leeds and the key thing is from the east midlands' point of view, we are not only upgrading the midlands' mainline, which we talked about some years ago, you and i, but what we are also doing is building hs2 on the upper end of the y. because you then serve much better, you serve the big towns, the cities of the east midlands, so derby, nottingham, they will have massive reductions injourney times, they will be much better connected to the west midlands. for the first time in the history of our country, you will have a high—speed link between birmingham and nottingham. birmingham is currently1 hour 40 minutes away from nottingham. it will be 26 minutes away under these plans. the times from london to derby and nottingham will be shaved from an hour and a half or so, maybe more to under an hour. so, these are massive gains and what they will also produce is the commuter benefits that we want to see, so we are notjust digging huge swathes of new rail across virgin countryside and through peaceful villages, which is what some of the critics say that we should be doing more of. we are doing a bit of that, there is no doubt about it, we're building over 100 miles of high—speed line but we're also improving and separating the commuter network to journey times in the east midlands, in the west midlands and across the whole rest of the country. you're going to have to make it so that people can afford to travel on it because it's expensive. yes, the way to cut costs on train travel is to modernise and to electrify and that's what we are doing. if you look at the way you cut costs on london transport, which i used to run, it is by getting those mass participants, the mass transit benefits, if you have a huge number of passengers, then you can start to drive the cost of riding down. you also need to modernise the staffing, you need to look at the way things work on the railways generally. that's not something that we can ignore but this is the biggest package of infrastructure investment in the east midlands, the west midlands, in the whole of the north of the country for a century and if you look at what it will do both things together, so the northern powerhouse rail plus the y, it will offer people commuting in the north confidence about their daily lives, about their commute as people have been used to for a century in the south. as we've been hearing the home secretary, priti patel, has announced that a public inquiry will be held following the death of dawn sturgess, who was poisoned by the nerve agent, novichok, in wiltshire in 2018. our security correspondent gordon corera joins us. just remind us about the circumstances of her death. yes, she died in wiltshire _ circumstances of her death. yes, she died in wiltshire in _ circumstances of her death. yes, she died in wiltshire in july _ circumstances of her death. yes, she died in wiltshire in july 2018 - circumstances of her death. yes, she died in wiltshire in july 2018 after - died in wiltshire injuly 2018 after she came into contact with novichok, the nerve agent, which was in a perfume bottle which had been discarded after the attempt on the life of the former russian spy. the british police, the government, believe that russian military intelligence had sent a hit team to try and kill him and somehow this perfume bottle containing the nerve agent had been discarded and dawn tragically became into contact with it and died a few days later. an inquest has gone on into her death but the coroner said that she wanted a public enquiry. the crucial reason being that a public enquiry, unlike an inquest, can examine secret intelligence including potentially about the russian involvement in this case and that would not have been possible in a normal inquest. how many people have been pushing for this public enquiry to take place because it is quite some time since dawn sturgess died. it is place because it is quite some time since dawn sturgess died.- since dawn sturgess died. it is but the coroner _ since dawn sturgess died. it is but the coroner herself— since dawn sturgess died. it is but the coroner herself had _ since dawn sturgess died. it is but the coroner herself had been - since dawn sturgess died. it is but i the coroner herself had been pushing for this and she will now chair this enquiry, which can have these closed proceedings, allowing her to look into russian state involvement potentially. we had a similar situation with the death of alexander an opinion... they concluded that the russian state was likely to have been involved with his death. eventually, the government led to in this case. after some pressure from the coroner and others, to make this move, they have agreed that we should see this public enquiry into dawn sturgess' death. the tech giant, apple, is to start selling spare parts and tools, so that customers can carry out their own repairs on iphones and macs. the "self—service repair" programme will begin in the united states next year before expanding to more countries. 24 aid workers are going on trial in greece today, charged with espionage. they include sean binder, an irish professional diverand sarah mardini, a syrian olympic—level swimmer. they were working for an organisation dedicated to assisting migrants. amnesty international has called the case "farcical". dozens of members of the european parliament have written an open letter to support the activists. housing and consumer experts have told the bbc that shared ownership schemes, designed to help people on low incomes get on to the property ladder, must be reformed in light of the cladding crisis. concerns about building safety were triggered by the grenfell tower fire in 2017, and it's estimated more than half a million people still live in homes covered in dangerous materials. sarah corker reports. who should pay to fix britain's dangerous buildings? from london to leeds, birmingham to manchester, more than half a million people are still living in unsafe, unsellable homes. what work needs doing? if you look at all the timber cladding that you see, that all has to come down. in south london, single mum emma has outgrown this one—bed flat. this is the living room and... this doubles as your bedroom? yeah, in the evening it's like changing rooms. and in here is my bed. it was 12 months ago when we first met. residents had just been told the building was so unsafe it needed round—the—clock fire wardens. i'm angry, i'm actually furious at it. this is ruining people's lives. a year on, emma's share of the bill to remove the cladding and fix other fire safety faults could be up to £30,000. and the building doesn't qualify for any government funding because it is under 18 metres. i'm on universal credit. every penny literally counts. we're still facing higher, huge, out of this universe type bills. and emma only actually owns 50% of the flat. she bought through an affordable housing scheme, but the terms of the lease mean she is liable for 100% of the costs. what has the reality of shared ownership been for you? i don't think shared ownership is fit for purpose. it's to help people like me who couldn't afford to get, i guess, a full mortgage on the property, so it's really done me a disservice. i wouldn't recommend anybody to go on a shared ownership. under shared ownership, you pay rent to a housing association on the part you don't own. housing experts say the cladding crisis has exposed it's a flawed system and needs urgent reform. i think the scheme does have a sort of fundamental unfairness. there are potential liabilities which are so great that people are potentially going to go bankrupt or lose their homes. any scheme which purports to be affordable housing, and which can leave people in that situation, is not doing itsjob. housing associations are now coming under greater scrutiny. i've spoken to shared owners from across the country who are deeply unhappy with the way their housing associations are dealing with this. poor communication, a lack of transparency over cost and a refusal to share fire safety assessment and surveys are common complaints. this is one of the worst affected. the conservative mp for stevenage says leaseholders should not have to pay these huge bills, but warns housing associations are facing a tough choice between building safety and building new homes. some of the ones in london have said they're going to build a 300,000 fewer homes over the next few years as a result of it. so, not only is it really damaging the shared ownership market, it's also damaging the supply of affordable homes going forward. emma's housing association optivo says safety is its number one priority and it's continuing to call for government funding to help cover costs on low and mid rise blocks. the government told us it is unacceptable leaseholders are facing these excessive bills, and further proposals to help will be set out soon. but until then, emma and thousands of others are stuck living in homes they can't afford. sarah corker, bbc news in south london. two men found guilty of the murder of the us civil rights leader, malcolm x, are to have their convictions quashed. the shooting in new york in 1965 was among a series of political assassinations in america in that decade. prosecutors said the two men didn't get the justice that they deserved. aru na iyengar reports. the fire hit the window and it woke up my second oldest baby. malcolm x, the charismatic advocate of black empowerment. he was 39 when he was killed, shot dead in a new york city ballroom in front of his family. he was the public face of the nation of islam. unlike his contemporary martin luther king, malolm x didn't want to see full racial integration. he believed in his early days that black separatism was the answer. muhammad aziz and khalil islam, along with a third man, thomas hagan, were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. islam died in 2009. now, prosecutor cyrus vance says the fbi and police withheld information that could have led to the acquittal of aziz and islam. the netflix documentary series who killed malcolm x? brought to light some of this evidence. this evidence was hiding in plain sight all these years, for decades. much of what we reveal in the documentary was known. much of it was published in biographies written about malcolm, particularly the manning marable biography, life of reinvention. even the autobiography of malcolm x had kernels of evidence. and the fbi had a treasure trove of documents that we were able to uncover through the freedom of information act that led us down this path. prosecutor vance has also tweeted that more information is likely to be revealed. he's apologised on behalf of the law enforcement agencies to the families of aziz and islam. earlier this year, malcolm x's daughters added their voices to calls to reopen the investigation in the light of new evidence. it's a cause malcolm x himself might have strongly argued for. aruna iyengar, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... the transport secretary confirms high speed rail lines connecting leeds to birmingham and manchester will be partially scrapped. but grant shapps insists journey times will still be slashed by billions of pounds of investment. where is one of china's top tennis stars? peng shuai hasn't been heard from since she accused a chinese official of sexually assaulting her. human rights campaigners are concerned. the number of people on nhs waiting lists in wales has hit another all—time high and ambulance response times have worsened once more. a state of emergency has been declared in the canadian province of british columbia, which has been hit by floods and land—slides after torrential rain. some roads have been washed away, leaving several towns cut off and there's no access to canada's biggest port, vancouver. the prime minister, justin trudeau said hundreds of armed forces personnel were heading to the province to help in whatever way is needed and thousands more were on standby. suzanne kianpour reports. a state of emergency. catastrophic flooding, thousands displaced, and more people trapped. this is canada's western province of british columbia, underwater after mother nature dumped the monthly rainfall average for the region in a matter ofjust 24 hours. this part of canada is on a flood plain. when it became clear the town of abbotsford was in danger, there was a race by 300 people to sandbag near the pump station, working through the night. my prayer has been that the river will drop another metre or more, let us open up those floodgates. that will buy us some more time. officials in the region blame climate change for the natural disaster, specifically an atmospheric river — a long strip of moisture in the air that transports water from tropical areas toward the poles. the impact of climate change on the frequency of storms is still unclear, but we do know that increased sea surface temperatures warm the air above and make more energy available to drive hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons. the result — more extreme and more intense rainfall. prime ministerjustin trudeau is in washington for a canada—us—mexico summit, where the environment is on the agenda. obviously, extremely concerned about the situation in british columbia right now. and, quite frankly, what hundreds of families are going through, you know, thousands of people affected across the province by these extreme weather events. it's only been a few days since world leaders wrapped up a high—profile cop26 climate conference in glasgow, where the british prime minister tried to evoke a sense of urgency in his counterparts. humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change. it's one minute to midnight on that doomsday clock and we need to act now. but the results of the gathering appear minimal, and mother nature is clearly not letting up. suzanne kianpour, bbc news. a couple in leicestershire are searching for a specific flavour of walkers crisp, amid a national shortage because it's one of the only things their daughter will eat. walkers oven baked sea salt—flavour crisps, form a major part of the diet of four—year—old ava, who suffers from a number of conditions, including avoidant or restrictive food intake disorder. michelle spoke to my colleague victoria derbyshire a little earlier. she was born and we found that she has got a rare genetics syndrome called cohen syndrome, that affects her development and she has just never really eaten. she has swallowing problems, she has sensory issues and she has never really mastered the process to eat and has a lot of choking problems, so we got her to a dietician and she's got lots of allergies, so it's a big complex picture that makes ava, and so far, she survives on almond milk and a couple of crisps a day. goodness, and how do you feel about that? it's not ideal but it's just ava and she's got lots of other things going on. it's just a small part of her big personality, really. it's not ideal but we hope in time that she will develop the skills to learn to eat and eat a variety of different foods. she has a lot of sensory needs and we think she has got autism and there are large waits at the minute with the nhs to be seen by a specialist, so we have been given this diagnosis but we haven't got any plan of how to manage that yet. is it stressful? it can be. being a parent in general of a disabled child can be stressful. searching around for crisps is just another thing to add to a long list of things that we are having to do at the minute. so, does ava only eat this particular flavour of walkers crisps? yeah, occasionally, she will eat a hula hoop, a ready salted hula hoop but it depends on the day. and there is a national shortage, so you're spending a lot of time looking for this particular flavour? yes, we are. the walkers crisps are in leicester but we have had this previously with her almond milk at the start of the pandemic when everybody went out and panic bought uht milk. ava survives on almond milk because of her allergies and we put a vitamin prescription powder to keep her vitamins and minerals at a safe level and people panic bought in bulk loads and loads of milk and she was without milk for several days during the pandemic, so now, it's on to crisps and scaring the supermarkets for them. wow, walkers say the reason there is a shortage of the oven baked sea salt flavoured crisps is to do with an it upgrade. it started last month and it is due to a glitch caused by an it upgrade and they say they are working to resolve the problems and they have apologised for the inconvenience. they have and they are only going to be stocking the more popular flavours, so anybody that likes less popular flavours are struggling at the minute. so, you talked about the sort of vitamin mix and the almond milk and these crisps. does ava eat anything else? she does eat a baby puree pouch. there is one kind that she will eat. because she could not walk until this time last year, she can't talk, she's got developmental delays in all areas, so she is slow to progress with all areas of development, so we do hope that with time she will learn and with different therapies and support from her dieticians, community paediatrician, we are very lucky to be well supported by different nhs departments, so we do hope in time she will learn to eat other things. do you see an effect on her now of not being able to eat these particular crisps? what does she normally have? how many packets a day? she has got a cupboard with her snacks in and shejust keeps walking to her cupboards and opening it and she'sjust looking for the crisps and she gets very upset and frustrated if you can't find what she's looking for and she can't communicate to us in any other way, so to her, it's quite confusing when she has got a set routine and she likes what she likes. is there a possibility if you don't get hold of these at some point that she might have to have a trip to the hospital or what's? we want to avoid that at all costs because the nhs don't need that at the minute. a&e is under great pressure and strain and we will try to avoid that. luckily, we have been contacted by a couple of lovely local people that have got some packets that they are going to send to us and even across the uk, we have had messages from people saying that they will post them to us. so, hopefully, we won't need to do that. the skies above wales are some of the darkest and clearest in the world, and november is said to be the best time to go stargazing there. but as well as looking up to the skies, imagine getting a first hand account of life amongst the stars from astronaut tim peake. he spent an evening with a group of young explorers — and our wales correspondent tomos morgan was there too. a night under the stars with someone that knows a thing or two about them. then a telescope is very, very good. children in the gower meeting and quizzing british astronaut tim peake about the diamonds in our skies. do you think we are going to see a lot of stars tonight? i think we're going to see loads of stars, amelia, yes. and hoping to spot some up above in the autumn sky. oh, wow. i've learned a lot. if it wasn't for tim, then i probably wouldn't have learned about space. but, yeah, it's wonderful to learn about space. i've learned about like, how stars, like, they i compress together in a way. from anglesey to the elan valley, to swansea bay, wales has some has it made you more interested in it? yeah. has it influenced you at all and what you'd like to be when you grow up? eh, no. no, it hasn't. what is it you would like to do when you grow up, play for swansea, is it? footballer. yeah, play for swansea city, is it? yeah. of course it is. so, what would you like to do when you grow up? em, it depends, actually. baker or scientist, something to do. baker or scientist? yeah. well, yeah. very similar. baking is a science, isn't it? yeah. yeah, yeah. like, how you mix stuff together. it's called proxima centauri. and it's the star closest to the sun. no doubt a night to remember for these first—time stargazers in a country full of sparkly night wonders. tomos morgan, bbc news in the gower. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen. good afternoon. we have enjoyed a little sunshine in a few spots today. little sunshine in a few spots toda . . . little sunshine in a few spots toda. . ,, little sunshine in a few spots toda. , little sunshine in a few spots toda. today. this is aberystwyth 'ust a short today. this is aberystwyth 'ust a snentrmefi today. this is aberystwyth 'ust a short time ago. i today. this is aberystwyth 'ust a short time ago. on * today. this is aberystwyth 'ust a short time ago. on the h today. this is aberystwyth just a short time ago. on the whole, i today. this is aberystwyth just a i short time ago. on the whole, for what remains of today, tonight and tomorrow will be predominately cloudy. that will keep things mild because we are introducing... quite a lot of wind through the rest of the day across the north. with it, are those where the friends and proximity parts of scotland. it's here, we are seeing highest temperature. 60 or 70 more they should be this time it's the wind it's th it's1d it's th it's coming direction, because it's coming off the it's a wind the atlantic. it's a blustery wind for all but should start to for all but it should start to ease a as through this and overnight. does the and overnight. does the cloud ivernight. does the cloud in rnight. does the cloud in the ht. does the cloud in the south, does the cloud in the south, will es the cloud in the south, will be so, the cloud in the south, will be filled in by wind. it's already quite drizzly in the irish sea. it should be milderfor all parts, even in southern areas overnight tonight. less sunshine potentially tomorrow. i think it will be quite misty and grey, to the grey, particularly close to the irish sea, where we have got that most are coming off the irish sea here. still potentially 15 or 16, where the cloud breaks east of the mountains, across scotland and north—east of england. that is really it. that's where the mild s stops because if turning much colder as we get into the weekend. we get a blast from the north, from the arctic. it will feel much colder and we will introduce a night—time frost which will link into the next week. this is the cold weather fronts. behind it, colderair coming southwards. it's still quite mild across southern areas on saturday, cloudy and grey at times. much brighter skies coming into the north behind. as we going to sunday, we will also feel that colder air arrive across southern parts as well. there is that front exiting the south coast and the show is coming south. the main changes, how it will feel, much colder for all. a. the government confirms it's scrapping a key part of the high—speed hs2 rail link. the leg running between the east midlands and leeds will not now be built, saving tens of billions of pounds. i think that this is a fantastic, this is a monumental programme for rail investment, for commuters, for passengers in the east midlands, the west midlands, the whole of the north of the country. this was the first test of levelling up this was the first test of levelling up and _ this was the first test of levelling up and the government has completely failed and _ up and the government has completely failed and let down everybody in the north. _ failed and let down everybody in the north. and _ failed and let down everybody in the north, and you can't believe a word the prime — north, and you can't believe a word the prime minister says. we'll have reaction from rail users in the north of england and from westminster. also this lunchtime... where is this chinese tennis star? she disappeared after making sexual assault allegations.