playlists on their mobile phone from next year. and two young sisters whose dad took his own life tell us how funds raised by children in need helped them. the charity event is held tonight. and coming up on the bbc news channel, australia captain tim paine steps down just weeks before the ashes, after sending sexually explicit messages to a female colleague. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. cricket chiefs are holding an emergency meeting to discuss racism in the english game. it comes after shocking testimony earlier this week from ex—yorkshire player azeem rafiq about the racism he faced. he had to apologise himself yesterday for anti—jewish comments he wrote on social media ten years ago. and another player, alex hales, has apologised after a photo was published showing him wearing black make—up at a fancy dress party in 2009. laura scott reports. after another turbulent week, cricket�*s latest response to its rate is in crisis, crisis talks, at the 0val today as the game comes together to tackle its discrimination problem, evidence of which continues to emerge. what you hope to get out of the meeting? just clari and hope to get out of the meeting? list clarity and togetherness i suppose. does cricket have eight racism issue? ~ . ., ., ., ., ~' does cricket have eight racism issue? . ., ., ., ., ~ ., issue? we have a lot of work to do, no doubt about _ issue? we have a lot of work to do, no doubt about it. _ issue? we have a lot of work to do, no doubt about it. i _ issue? we have a lot of work to do, no doubt about it. i think _ issue? we have a lot of work to do, no doubt about it. i think it - issue? we have a lot of work to do, no doubt about it. i think it will- no doubt about it. i think it will be resolved — no doubt about it. i think it will be resolved today, _ no doubt about it. i think it will be resolved today, there - no doubt about it. i think it will be resolved today, there is - no doubt about it. i think it will- be resolved today, there is actually a desire _ be resolved today, there is actually a desire to — be resolved today, there is actually a desire to get it sorted, a real desire — a desire to get it sorted, a real desire within the game. last night the former england _ desire within the game. last night the former england cricketer- desire within the game. last night the former england cricketer alex| the former england cricketer alex hales became further embroiled in the scandal after a photo emerged showing him dressed in a racially offensive way at a fancy dress party in 2009. he said his appearance was a trip to the late rapper tupac shakur but now realises it was in could be this respectful and issued a video statement —— a tribute. i a video statement —— a tribute. i deplore all forms of racism and disc of a nation, i have been incredibly lucky to play around the world in different backgrounds, players of different backgrounds, players of different races and cultures —— anti—discrimination. different races and cultures -- anti-discrimination.— different races and cultures -- anti-discrimination. earlier this week there _ anti-discrimination. earlier this week there was _ anti-discrimination. earlier this week there was widespread - anti-discrimination. earlier this i week there was widespread praise anti-discrimination. earlier this - week there was widespread praise for azeem rafiq as he gave harrowing testimony to mps about his experiences of racism in cricket but he has been forced to front up to his own mistakes, apologising after facebook messages from 2011 surfaced showing him using anti—semitic language. in a statement, he said... he later apologised for a further social media post containing eight saying relating to african people. as a result of the scandal, the ecb chief executive, tom harrison, is under pressure, and some think the very existence of the governing body is underjeopardy. buti very existence of the governing body is underje0pardy-— is under 'eopardy. but i think will ha en is underjeopardy. but i think will happen quite _ is underjeopardy. but i think will happen quite quickly _ is underjeopardy. but i think will happen quite quickly is _ is underjeopardy. but i think will happen quite quickly is that - is underjeopardy. but i think will happen quite quickly is that the l is underjeopardy. but i think will i happen quite quickly is that the ecb will probably be dismantled and we will probably be dismantled and we will see three boards replace it which will become part eight national governing body one will look after the professional game, one will look after the international game and the england teams, and the other will look up at the grassroots and the amateur game. meanwhile, australian cricket is dealing with its own damaging episode. 0vernight, tim paine stepped down as test match captain after sexually xmas it has much —— sexually explicit text messages were sent to a female colleague. i apologise to the entire cricket community and fans. i have been blessed with wonderful, loving and supportive family and it breaks my heart to know how much i have let them down. heart to know how much i have let them down-— them down. with less than three weeks to go _ them down. with less than three weeks to go before _ them down. with less than three weeks to go before one - them down. with less than three weeks to go before one of- them down. with less than three weeks to go before one of the i weeks to go before one of the biggest occasions in the cricket calendar, a series of off field incidents add cast a significant and lingering shadow over the sport. as this continues to rock cricket, we have heard more today from azeem rafiq over those anti—semitic comments he made on social media. he told jewish news he does not expect told jewish news he does not expect to secure the forgiveness of british jews quickly but said he would do all they can to educate himself and be a bridge betweenjews and muslims. his own use of discriminatory language has been described as awkward by thejewish leadership council while others said it serves to highlight the scale of the problem that cricket must now tackle but of the game wide meeting here at the 0val is still ongoing and we are expecting collective action to be agreed put up several chairman told us on their way in that there was a consensus within the game that it must act together if it is to resolve this crisis which has left the soul and survival are cricket at stake. thank you, laura. austria has announced a full nationwide lockdown for up to three weeks, from monday, because of a record number of covid cases. 0ur health correspondent naomi grimley is here. only a few days ago, austria put unvaccinated people into lockdown, so this must be serious? yes, it is. intensive care wards in austria are under severe pressure and the reason for that is that only around 67% of the population is fully vaccinated which leaves a significant pocket who are not. that is behind the west european average. they will try this lockdown, things like bars and restaurants closed, also online learning for schools, and they will review it after ten days. perhaps the most significant thing is that they are going to require vaccination by law, the first european country to do so. others have tried it they have others have tried it they have tended to be like indonesia and turkmenistan that have had a more serious problem. how does austria's rate compare to the uk? i think we can see a graph now showing what is happening at the moment in austria, you can see the red line which has gone into what the scientists call exponential growth, incredibly steep. if you at the uk, have levels have remained high but have been and indeed, we have heard in around. and indeed, we have heard in the last from the for national statistics, their infection survey suggests for national statistics, their infection survey sug bye 5 for national statistics, their infection survey sug bye was at the in 65 of us have the bye was at the moment which is from one in 60 moment which is down from one in 60 last week —— have the virus. but the daily case rates seem to be going up again now so we are heading into an uncertain period in the run—up to christmas. uncertain period in the run-up to christmas-— uncertain period in the run-up to christmas. thank you very much, naomi. an investigation's being carried out into a fire at a house in south—east london in which two children and two women died. a man escaped from the blaze in bexleyheath last night. megan paterson is there for us now. what can you tell us about what happened? as you can see, a police cordon is still in place here near this busy road, we know emergency services were called at around 8:30pm last night with a fire so great that a six fire engines and a0 firefighters were involved in the operation. the man had already managed to escape when the crews arrived and he is being treated in hospital for injuries to his legs but two children and two women were confirmed dead at the scene put at the met police have said the two children were an infant boy and girl and the victims were all believed to be from the same family. people living in the area who saw what happened described it as very distressing and shocking, some of them coming down this morning to lay flowers and leave teddies. the met police say they don't believe the fire was suspicious, there have been no arrests, but as you can see, the investigations are continuing. london fire brigade has described the incident as a terrible incident and one that has caused sadness and shock and they have expressed their condolences to the families and the community here which are very much trying to cope with what happened last night. trying to cope with what happened last niuht. . ~ trying to cope with what happened last niuht. ., ~ i. , trying to cope with what happened last niuht. . ~' , . last night. thank you very much, mean last night. thank you very much, megan paterson _ last night. thank you very much, megan paterson reporting. - a 13—year—old boy is in a critical condition after being shot in the back as he was walking down a street in birmingham last night. the teenager is said to have "life— changing injuries" in the attack in the hockley circus area. phil mackie is there. this is the hockley circus, the big flyover going over and an underpass, you can see itjust there, this is where we believe the 13—year—old may have been attacked last night. a lot of the police investigations going on at the moment and they have been through the morning and at the incident itself happened at around seven o'clock last night when it was obviously dark. the 13—year—old was shotin obviously dark. the 13—year—old was shot in the back, he is in a critical condition in hospital today and we are told he may well have suffered life changing injuries. there was a team of paramedics, a merit team, which means they sent a trauma doctor as well as a senior paramedic to the team to look after him because he was so badly injured at the time. we have not had any other updates other than we can say that here in birmingham we have seen, tragically, a lot of teenagers the victims of violent crime in recent years. one was shot dead a few miles away from here early this year put it we expect updates later and when we get them, we will bring them to you. and when we get them, we will bring them to vow— the bomb used in the explosion outside liverpool women's hospital on sunday could have caused "significant injury or death", if it had gone off as the bomber intended. police said the device had ball bearings attached to it which could have acted as shrapnel. counterterrorism officers still don't know why the device exploded when it did, killing the bomber, but say it could have been triggered by the movement of the taxi he was travelling in. the uk and the european union are holding further talks in brussels today to try to ease the row about customs arrangements in northern ireland. 0ur europe correspondent jessica parker is in brussels for us now. it's their fifth meeting. has there been any progress? as lord frost arrived earlier, he said he did not expect a breakthrough today but five weeks in, the two site are still talking and there has been a suggestion of some progress in certain areas and the mood music appears to have improved a little bit as well. the northern ireland protocol was an agreement signed up to by both sides and it effectively keeps northern ireland in the eu single market for goods to keep a trade free and flowing with the republic of ireland. that is checks coming that good coming from england, scotland and wales put to the eu gave proposals to address some of these problems, the uk said it did not go far enough. britain has repeatedly said it could look to suspend part of the protocol if enough progress is not made although interestingly, in the last hour or so, senior cabinet minister michael gove had suggested he is confident progress can be made without triggering what is known as article 16 and the eu had made it critically it can take retaliatory action if that happens. it is important to say we are not there yet, talks are continuing. there may be some greater sense of momentum but i think there were always going to be ups and downs in this process and there are still significant gaps between the sides. thank you, jessica. the cutting down of trees in brazil's amazon rainforest has hit its highest level in over 15 years. a report by the country's space research agency found that deforestation increased by 22% in a year. brazil was among a number of nations who promised to end deforestation by 2030 during the cop26 climate summit. india's prime minister, narendra modi, has announced he's scrapping three controversial farm laws, after a year of protests in which hundreds of people died. it's a huge victory for india's farmers, who fought to get them repealed. they said the reforms put their livelihoods at risk. laws to prosecute drivers who use their mobile phone are to be strengthened. at the moment, motorists are banned only from texting or making calls. but from next year, it will also be illegal to take photos, play games or scroll through playlists while driving. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent, colletta smith, reports. # happy birthday to you... joe cairns was 1a years old when he was killed. at the point of the last few months of his life, he was spectacular. hurray! i couldn't be more proud of him, i couldn't. you know, he was always going to deal with different things. but... he was shining. he was. two years ago, joe cairns was sitting in the back of a minibus on the way to his special school when a lorry ploughed straight into the back of them. it was a a5 minute journey until the collision and for a5 minutes, that man was on his phone. 0n various applications — text messages, phone calls, but also he was on sky sports, he was on his facebook, and he was playing a game. the driver was convicted, he got eight years for dangerous driving, but changing the law will close a loophole making it easier for police to stop and fine anyone holding their phone and using it for any reason when they are behind the wheel. but you will still be able to use your phone in hands—free mode. if you get caught now, you're going to get a £200 fine and six points on your licence. that is quite significant. the police will be able to enforce the laws much more strongly and actually, there is some quite interesting technology coming out as to other ways we can spot people using their phone. for example, putting cameras in fake hgvs. so be careful on the roads. steph, how do you feel when you see people in their cars using their phones, looking down at their phones? he had a life, a whole beautiful life to lead. and he hasn't got it any more. you are missing a part of you, your heart, i gave birth to that boy and i gave him life. and through somebody�*s choice that day, they took his life away. and it's no more. and has to be out there it has to be, how dangerous it is to use your phone whilst you are driving. colletta smith, bbc news, in radcliffe. the time is 13:16. our top story this lunchtime: cricket chiefs are holding an urgent meeting about racism in the game in england. as the government says it will support the idea of raising the age people can get married in england and wales from 16 to 18 — we speak to someone forced into a marriage. and in the sport on the bbc news channel: rory mcilroy is in the mix at the top of the leaderboard on day two of the season—ending tour championship in dubai. a life—changing drug that can improve mobility in children and adults with spinal muscular atrophy is to be made available on the nhs. it could be used to treat hundreds of patients a year with this rare, and often fatal, genetic disease that causes paralysis, muscle weakness and progressive loss of movement. 0ur medical editor, fergus walsh, met two patients with the condition. i'm still an incredibly positive person, but i can't deny the effects that this condition has had on me physically in the last couple of years. good, good. right in my chest. chris has a masters in sports management and is a coach. remember, a push off your index finger. he also has spinal muscular atrophy, which causes progressive muscle weakness. in the last two years, he's lost the ability to walk. he should be eligible for a new treatment, risdiplam, shown to improve movement and stability. it'd be huge, just to have the certainty that it's not going to get any worse. i may not get back my ability to walk — that's fine. i'm still happy in the skin that i live in, i'm still happy with my lot in life. risdiplam is the first oral medicine for sma, but each bottle has a list price of £8,000 and may last patients just a couple of weeks, although the nhs has negotiated a confidential discount. having it as a syrup, that really makes a difference, doesn't it? oh, yes. doctors say the drug works by boosting the levels of a protein crucial for keeping nerve cells healthy. it really alters the outlook for these people. ten years ago, we had no treatments available for sma, and things have moved on now to having three available treatments. hello, everyone. i am melville. three years ago, i was the first child in england to test- a new medicine that helps with my sma~ _ nine—year—old melville takes risdiplam once a day after breakfast, as part of a medical trial. his parents hope he may never need a wheelchair because he's now so much stronger. yes! basically, he has now more stamina, he's able to endure stairs better. i have a lot of hope and i'm very happy that it's now available for other families. on a day—to—day basis, it's great to see melville improving a little bit every day. there is no cure yet for sma, but the outlook for melville — and hundreds of other patients — looks much brighter. fergus walsh, bbc news. plans to make it illegalfor 16 and 17 year olds to get married have been supported by mps. campaigners say the current rules — allowing 16 and 17 year olds to marry with permission from their parents — puts them at risk of being forced into marriage. rajdeep sandhu has more. and i knew that one day, i would escape. one day, i would come out of it. at 16, farhana says she was taken out of the uk and forced to marry. i was ushered into a room and asked to say a couple of words, after, repeating after some male older relatives who i hadn't met — which i duly did, not thinking anything of it, and then realised that i'd just agreed to marital vows. the intention was to essentially play along, allow myself to be married, knowing that i had a return ticket booked back to the uk. and it was very much a grin and bear it and then do what you need to do when you get home. mps agreed to raise the minimum age of marriage from 16 to 18 in england and wales, and make it illegalfor anyone under 18 to get married in either a civil or religious marriage. the bill will safeguard young people i by establishing 18 as the legal age i of marriage in this country, with no exceptions, - giving a clear message to everyone that child - marriage is unacceptable. we support the un's call to end . child marriage and we can only do that if we ban it in this country. this is now an opportunity for this house to show, unambiguously, make it crystal—clear that child marriage is child abuse and it will never be tolerated in our country. hear, hear! on this issue, there was lots of agreement across the chamber. i'd like to make clear- that this isn't about race, it's not about religion, it's not even about - the institution of marriage. it's about child protection. but there are concerns from some. the vast majority of our young people are not marrying early any more. but it's still there, it's still happening. and we think that enforcement and criminalising this will definitely have a negative impact. while the bill has got the green light, it still needs to go through the parliamentary process. and although it won't cover northern ireland and scotland — where the minimum age will remain at 16 — it will add a lot of pressure for them to follow suit. farhana believes if this law existed when she was younger, it would have made all the difference. rajdeep sandhu, bbc news. the new culture secretary says some political campaigners have "highjacked" social media and made people "afraid" to say what they think, but says she doesn't want to start a culture war. nadine dorries has today announced another £107 million, as part of the culture recovery fund, to help venues in england recover from the pandemic. she's been speaking exclusively to our culture editor, katie razzall. she's got a newjob. how does the crown fit? does it suit me? nadine dorries' appointment as culture secretary raised alarm in some parts of the creative industries, but she was relaxed as she toured london's young vic theatre — a far cry from her combative reputation. she's seen by some as a divisive figure, who's been vocal on social media, particularly against the "left—wing snowflakes," as she's put it, who are "killing comedy" and "suppressing free speech". there's this kind of image that's been painted of me that i'm going to go out on some kind of, you know, charge out some kind of culture—war battle. it just isn't true. but talking about "left—wing snowflakes" and their "woke agenda" is quite aggressive. well, there are some people who will politicise that, and that's what i'm talking about when i do that. campaigners kind of hijack the space that young people would like to occupy to talk about some serious issues, on the left, who've hijacked that space, and that's who my comments are targeted at. liverpool. the great atlantic port of the north of england... nadine dorries is culture secretary and a best—selling novelist, whose books are based on her upbringing in a deprived part of liverpool. she says she went hungry as a child and shared shoes to go to school. and so i made it my ethos in the department, within 2a hours of arriving, every decision we take has a filter laid over that decision and that is — does this policy help those from socially—deprived areas to access both arts and culture and sport? we express our solidarity! she got a sneak preview at a rehearsal for the young vic's new play about political division in 19605 america. this theatre is one of 925 cultural organisations in england — the majority outside the capital — that she's today announced will share more than £100 million from the government's culture recovery fund. it's the latest instalment to help them through the pandemic. so, just let's acknowledge what the government did — £2 billion. and the reason why that money was allocated, many theatres would not be standing today if the government hadn't supported them over the last 20 months. the funding we're doing now is to help people through the recovery period. they can'tjust go from, you know, from zero to heroes overnight. nadine dorries has taken on the beasts in the tvjungle. oh, god, it's horrible! it's the media jungle she's taking on now, as she decides the price of the bbc licence fee over the next five years. she's long been a vocal critic of the bbc. now, perhaps, there's a change of tone. of course i want the bbc to survive. i'm british. you know, it's the best of british. of course i want the bbc to survive. that's why we have to have those really hard discussions about how do we enable it, over the long—term, to remain that global institution? she's the tenth culture secretary in ten years. not many have faced the criticism from the start that she has. nadine dorries says the reaction to her appointment was snobbish and sexist. will her actions in the role change their views? katie razzall, bbc news. schools in england will be required to keep uniform costs down by removing unnecessary branded items, from next autumn. the government announced schools will be expected to make second—hand uniforms available and encouraged to allow more high—street options. research shows parents could save up to £50, on average, if they were not limited to designated suppliers. children in need is on bbc one tonight, with the money raised going to help disadvantaged children. one of the projects funded by the charity is the kemp hospice, in kidderminster. it offers specialist counselling to children when a loved one takes their own life. john maguire has met one family who needed that help. in march last year, just before lockdown, mark — a husband and father of two young girls — took his own life. my dad, he was really kind. he was very smiley, so when everything sort of happened, i was very shocked about everything because he was like my best friend. he used to play loads of games with me. he used to give me sky. he used to do loads of tiktok videos with me. because he died through suicide, it's difficult, obviously, because we were a really happy family. it came so suddenly. and so, for you, it was here one day and then gone the next day. mark's death was sudden and shocking, but laura and her daughters made a pledge. we were a really happy family and we're still a happy family. yeah. and really, that's our main goal. because actually, we're exactly the same as we always have been. we're just a man down, aren't we? shall we sit on the pink bench? yeah. yeah? children in need helps fund bereavement counselling services provided by kemp, the hospice for the wyre forest area, in worcestershire. and the green means lifelong memories. memories of dad. yeah _ gareth supports the girls and says there's a different approach required for children. so, they're notjust satj talking to a counsellor. they're able to, you know, - be doing something and also go ito those really difficult placesi and talk about the grief they're holding or the emotions they might be feeling. i like anger, or low mood, or anxiety. for sienna, that one—to—one relationship is essential. i get really scared about leaving my mum. yeah. because of what happened with my dad, that's like another thing that gareth has helped me with. funding enables special camps for children, and amelia is a fan. they all make me laugh because i'm having a really bad day and then they'll brighten up my day and i'lljust get on with the day. and the second best thing is at the end, when you get games. they're amazing! we call each other the three i musketeers because we're very, like, close all together. we are, we are the three musketeers. that's what we call ourselves, isn't it? and i think our bond just together hasjust grown stronger really, in some ways, hasn't it? yeah. john maguire, bbc news, kidderminster. if you've been affected by any of the things raised injohn's report, you can find help and information on the bbc action line. the website is bbc.co.uk/actionline. 0ur entertainment correspondent colin paterson is on the set of tonight's show. hello. this is studio one in media city waiting for the first time in the history of children in need in salford, it will be held tonight. we have just seen ed salford, it will be held tonight. we havejust seen ed sheeran rehearsing. the cast of the 95 musical and unlike last year where it was all done in lockdown, there will be a studio audience. that is where they will be sitting. eastenders is taking on coronation street in a first date special. stephen fry will be sitting in the big red chair of graham norton and the twits ? make the twist tonight is kids decided they flip or not. and how about this? some of the biggest names in children's tv puppet history uniting for a singalong. big ones. zippy. bungle from rainbow. gordon the gopher. for the last two years, the money raised on the night has fallen, but the omens this time are good. bbc weatherman 0wen wyn evans has already raised 3 million from his ramadan and sophie ellis baxter with a 2a—hour kitchen disco one million and that will be added to the schools tonight.— and that will be added to the schools tonight. thank you very much. time for a look at the weather. it is all about the temperatures come at 16 yesterday and close to that in eastern scotland