this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm. in paris — a man armed with a machete is shot after attacking a soldier outside the louvre. npower announces a dual fuel price rise of almost 10%. the government says customers are already paying more than they need to. the prime minister's in malta for an eu summit. she'll brief foreign leaders about her recent meeting with president trump. iran says it is unmoved by threats from washington, and that it will never initiate a war. after the us president accused iran of "playing with fire". in the next hour, vegetable rationing. supermarkets are rationing the sale of more vegetables to cope with a shortage brought about by bad weather in spain. broker layer and iceberg lettuce are affected. —— broccoli. and re—building bridges: tadcaster‘s bridge is about to re—open, more than a year after it collapsed in the floods of christmas 2015. and this is the live shot right now.

and this is the live shot right now. and the bridge is about to be reopened in the next few minutes. it has been a long wait for the people of tadcaster. and that bridge having been closed the winding the town and causing huge inconvenience for many months. —— dividing the town. it is a beautiful, sunny day, there, with people waiting in expectation for the bridge to reopen. the bridge was closed because of safety concerns. and it has left the town divided with people who live there and visitors having to make a ten mile detour to get from one side of the road to the other, so it is going to bea road to the other, so it is going to be a great relief at the reopening of this bridge —— one side of the river to the other. we will be

bringing you more from tadcaster won stanbridge opens. let's bring you up—to—date with what is going on in france. a french soldier has shot and seriously wounded a man who attacked guards at the louvre museum in paris. a police spokesman said the man — who was wielding a machete — had shouted "god is greatest" in arabic. the french prime minister said it appeared to be a terrorist attack. france is still in a state of emergency because of the attacks in paris and nice. our correspondentjonny dymond sent this report. in the heart of the french capital, outside one of its greatest treasures, the louvre, an attack in broad daylight. translation: we heard gunshots. we didn't know what it was. then we evacuated the employees and we left. that is what happened. we were stressed. some colleagues were crying, and we were afraid, we were panicking.

translation: it happened very fast. we saw death coming for us with everything that has been happening at the moment. we were very, very scared. the reason for the shots, a machete attack by a man on soldiers guarding the area, explained a police spokeswoman. translation: in the commercial area, the man threw himself at a soldier who was there, armed with at least one knife, possibly two, with the appearance of a terrorist. the soldier was injured, and his colleagues fired at least five rounds and one bullet hit the individual. he was very seriously injured in the stomach area. france has seen much like this, and worse, before. in attacks in 2015, first 12 then 130 were killed across paris. six months ago, more than 80

were killed in nice. both times, the attacks were claimed by islamist terrorists. before he launched his attack, the man called out "allahu akhbar" — god is great in arabic. the french prime ministers said it was a terrorist attack, as the louvre was closed. let's ta ke let's take you back to tadcaster, the town in north yorkshire that was split into by the floods on boxing day last year. it is about to be reunited because that bridge which was so reunited because that bridge which was so badly damaged is reopened. danny savage is there. it is a rather day. in contrast to the danger that bridge suffered so much destruction and split the town into. this really is a big dealfor tadcaster. this is a town that saw

the main bridge swept away in the floods of 2015. for the last hour, it has been like one of those home makeover programmes with a rushing against the clock. the roads service here was not here 30 minutes ago. it has literally just been here was not here 30 minutes ago. it has literallyjust been completed. it is still soft. we saw the council the stamping on it to see how soft it is. it is going to be open in the next few minutes. hundreds of people from tadcaster, including some local schoolchildren, are ready for the real opening. children from the town's three primary schools will be the first to walk across with local councillors to head across from the east side of tadcaster over to the west side of the town. it has not been all doom and gloom over the last few months. although the bridge was swept away, there was a temporary footbridge put in place in february, last year, just a few weeks after the first one went. 0ver there is the footbridge that has

just about get this town together over the past year. that was only 30 foot traffic. cars are buses or other vehicles could not get across the town. it is a 16 mile round—trip to go from one side of the river we re to go from one side of the river were off to the other for the last 13 months. —— river wharfe. they will have the official opening ceremony, people will come across a bridge to mark it, then a little later the vehicles will come across. they have to give it some time because it is quite soft underfoot, still. they have to got this dry off before they can reopen it completely. it is set to reopen in the next few minutes, and i'm sure that if you join us, you will see some people coming across, and it is a really big dealfor this north yorkshire town. it is very last minute. we can see them still painting the double yellow lines.

there are always scheduled to be working right up to the last minute this afternoon, or is that a bit of last—minute chaos? this afternoon, or is that a bit of last-minute chaos? frankly, it is a bit of both. this bridge should have been opened about a week ago. because the weather was so cold, the render and what they were putting onto the bridge to put the finishing touches would not dry out in the low temperatures. you can see the sandstone along the top of the parapet. those were the final touches that could not be done until the temperature rose. it came up last weekend and that meant they could crack on the last finishing touches, but it has delayed everything and it delayed the road service going down. so this morning there was no road surface at all, on there was no road surface at all, on the road. it looked like a road that was under construction. but the guys have been working very hard, very quickly. it is a lesson in how quickly. it is a lesson in how quickly you can lay a road surface. and then last ten minutes they have finished off. no special vehicles

they use for making roads are now parked up with flashing lights at the top of the hill, hastily moved out of the way. it has been an enormous effort and scramble to get it done but north yorkshire county council nailed their colours to the mast yesterday and said 2pm today is when it is going to open. 0k, we are few minutes late, but it looks like it is going to happen. they arejust adding the final touches now, and it should be open in the next few minutes. very impressed with your knowledge of the technical aspects of rebuilding bridges. you should be a civil engineer! the energy company npower has announced one of the largest single price rises implemented by a big six supplier. standard tariff electricity prices will rise by 15 per cent from next month, and gas prices by almost 5%.

nearly three million people are expected to be affected. the company blames increases in wholesale energy costs, and the cost of delivering government policies such as smart meters and the renewables obligation. it adds it's the first time it has raised prices in three years — two weeks ago the regulator, 0fgem, told suppliers they should absorb the costs of wholesale price rises by buying energy in advance. our business correspondent john moylan reports. try telling that to npower‘s customers. 1.4 million are facing a jump in energy tariffs. npower says it is the first major rise in more than three years. it is blaming rising wholesale gas and electricity cost, and the impact of government policies like the roll—out of smart meters. npower‘s dual fuel customers will pay an extra £109 per year, that is 10% more. it includes 4.8% on standard gas prices and a whopping 15% increase on standard electricity braces. this is a significant price rise will that will cost a million customers £100 per year more on energy, so customers really need now more than ever to look around to get the best deal. it's not the first of the big suppliers to move. edf customers will pay around

8% more for electricity from the 1st of march, and some warned that other firms may follow suit, adding to pressure on household budgets. but the energy regulator has criticised the move, saying... and npower‘s move could spark a political row by highlighting the rising cost of government policies like subsidies for wind farms. today the department for business warned that where markets are not working, it is prepared to act. i'm joined by lee was born, who is an energy comparison expert at the comparison website uswitch. this is a blow for consumers. it is. it is

an eye watering price hike of 10%. adding £100 to the average bill for afamily is adding £100 to the average bill for a family is not going to be well received when one in three families are struggling already to pay energy bills. the company said it had to do this because of the increased cost of wholesale fuel. does that persuade you? we know that the price of wholesale energy went up by 36% since april. the announcement comes two weeks after 0fgem have made a statement saying that they don't believe there was any cause for suppliers to put up prices. so certainly, it is quite shocking. the thing that i would say, though, is that customers don't have to sit back and take this. they can vote with their feet. the back and take this. they can vote with theirfeet. the price back and take this. they can vote with their feet. the price that empower‘s standard customers will be getting onto at the end of this is £350 more expensive than the cheapest product on the market. so

there was no reason for energy customers not have a look at the market, see what the cheapest is an fix with that to protect themselves from future price rises. we hear this all the time, that if you look and you do your homework there are cheaper deals out there, but who has the time to do that? it doesn't actually take that long time. i can understand why people might think that. there are various different ways to it. you can scan your bill with an app, you can call and have somebody talk you through it all go through the normal route which takes ten minutes. but when you're talking about £350 of saving, that is time well spent in my book. we are talking about npower, one of the big six suppliers. what can we now expect from the rest of them?m six suppliers. what can we now expect from the rest of them? it is certainly looking likely be others will follow suit. we have seen edf and a raft of small suppliers, and three of the big six have frozen

prices until the end of march, so i would not be surprised to see increases to the standard variable tariff soon. and those are what 60% of uk customers are on, and they are incredibly expensive, so switching away from them and fixing can really protect customers. let's go back to paris. we were talking about the machete wielding attacker who were shot and wounded by soldiers. it has been described by the french prime minister as being of a terrorist nature. a big security operation is underway. the louvre has been evacuated and our correspondent jonny dymond is in paris. any more details emerging about what happened? the narrative of the morning is beginning to emerge. 0ne key detail is not there, yet. there is no identification of the attacker, the man who made his way

up attacker, the man who made his way up to the louvre. we believe you try to get into the shops underneath the museum. he was stopped by a soldier and told he could not take the two bags he was carrying into the shopping area. and at that point, he reached for a machete and attacked one of the soldiers. the soldier was lightly wounded on the head, but another soldier fired off five shots, three of them hit the attacker, one of them seriously in the stomach. he was described as being between life and death at the time. he is now in hospital. there was talk of another man being involved, someone acting suspiciously around the area. he was questioned and nothing else came of that. it was the fact that, as he launched his attack, he cried out

alluhu akbar, which is arabic for god is great. that prompted the french prime minister to say that this was an attack that was terrorist in nature. we are still waiting to find out where they use a french national or not, and what his motive was. and of course, france has suffered so many terror attacks in the last couple of years. so many armed security forces on the streets of paris. i suppose this is vindication for putting all of those officers on the streets, the fact that they were able to intervene so quickly. you're absolutely right. the authorities will be saying to themselves, that worked, didn't it? and clearly did work having heavily on people on the streets. it is quite surprising to see at transport hubs and outside public buildings and museums like the louvre to see the military on the streets, it is quite shocking, but clearly, authorities will be looking to the plus side of this in that it did work. the downside is that it will

be deeply alarming to parisien ‘s, french citizens, people thinking of visiting france and european citizens, because this is notjust a french problem. these kinds of attacks are popping up across continental europe with some degree of regularity. so, yes, you are right. it is a vindication of security measures but it is another shock for a country that has suffered grievously over the last couple of years. you're watching bbc news. the headlines: a machete wielding attacker has been shot and wounded by a soldier outside the louvre in paris. the french prime minister said the attack has been treated as a terrorist incident. the energy company npower has announced a big price increase. a typical dualfuel annual energy bill will rise by an average of almost 10%. theresa may is in malta, where she is speaking to eu leaders on the meeting with donald trump and calling on nato

members to spend more on defence. and in sport... england captain dylan hartley says "it's all about mental sharpness' for the six nations champions. they begin the defence of their crown tomorrow against france, as favourites for the tournament. tiger wood has pulled out of the dubai desert classic — after he experienced back spasms after his first round. it's only the second tournament he's played in since having 19 months out with back problems. it's been confirmed new stoke city striker saido berahino served an eight—week ban last year. the suspension happened while he was at his former club west brom, and follows reports that berahino was banned for failing an "out of competition drugs test." i'll be back with more on those stories in just after half past. theresa may is attending a european union summit in malta where she'll brief leaders

on her recent meeting with president trump. downing street says she wants relations with the eu to be constructive and positive. ahead of the talks, the german chancellor, angela merkel, said the leaders needed to focus discussions on europe, rather than "dealing with other parts of the wo rld ". 0ur europe correspondent damian grammaticas reports. malta's ancient cannons. europe feels threatens again. so this volley was an appropriate welcome to a summit that feels besieged, challenges on every side, migration, terrorism, now donald trump's america. theresa may believes her nascent relationship with president trump means she can be a bridge between europe and america. that could be an asset dealing with the eu, but it could also become a liability. today we have mixed feelings. the dangerous aspect of mr trump's politics are raising some concerns. europe's leaders are wary

of mr trump and what they see as his hostility to the eu, so they were keen to see mrs may's first—hand impressions. i think there are room for explanations, because sometimes there is the impression that the new administration doesn't know the european union in detail, but in europe, details matter. lithuania's president, always to the point, added europe didn't need a bridge. today we communicate with the americans on twitter, she said. the sense there are threats all around is driving eu leaders to focus on the challenges they face. this meeting's agenda, the migrant boats still crossing the mediterranean, and the eu's future after brexit. finland's prime minister told me there is no way trade with britain will be as smooth once it is out of the eu. yes of course there will be a change, because being a part of the single market,

there are no barriers at all, but create a distance between the european union and the uk, there will be some barriers anyway. soon theresa may will be negotiating with all these leaders as she gears up for brexit she is facing a eu that under pressure is seeking to close ranks and shore up its defences. and we can speak to our europe correspondent, gavin lee, who is in malta. this is an eu summit on migration but donald trump's shadow seems to loom large. they have broken off from the talks for lunch to show as a sign of unity, they have taken a boat trip around the island, going toa boat trip around the island, going to a more picturesque location, enjoying the more —— local maltese

fish, spending an hour talking, they have taken a boat trip out and they are walking around some of the main town in valletta, but before that, we're told that there had been swift ona we're told that there had been swift on a deal on the migrant crisis, trying to shore up the libya to italy flow which continues in small numbers by providing money for the libyan coast guard to work at some capacity. but overshadowing all of this has been the focus on donald trump given that it is the first real time eu leaders have had a chance to come together and reflect ona chance to come together and reflect on a turbulent two weeks will we know of the rhetoric donald trump has given, talking about how the eu has given, talking about how the eu has been a vehicle for angela merkel and comparing angela merkel to vladimir putin. jean—claude juncker said that whilst he is not necessarily an immediate threat, he said he is something about which we deserve an explanation, that donald

trump doesn't understand the nuance of the eu, and he would like to see that. we've had the president of the european council, donald tusk, including the new american administration as a threat to the ideological future of the eu, administration as a threat to the ideologicalfuture of the eu, along with russia and so—called islamic state as well. given that theresa may is fresh from her trip to the united states and she has brought a message to the nato members of the eu that they need to pay up, how is that likely to have gone down given the context of britain wanting to leave the eu? theresa may no longer has the idea of explaining how britain extra case itself. downing street says that theresa may said she went in with a new offering that she went in with a new offering that she could be the bridge builder with donald trump given that she was the first one to see him and get his commitment, that he said he's100% behind nato, given that some weeks

ago he said in an interview that he felt it was "obsolete". she says there is good news from our interview in some respects, and in 20 minutes she will explain that meeting she had with other leaders but she will also ask them to dig into their pockets when it comes to nato spending, that some countries should be spending 2% of their gdp, and they are not, and donald trump has made it clear that america choose not be stumping up for that. the left—leaning president was asked,is the left—leaning president was asked, is she a bridgebuilder? and she said no, we are already liaising with the americans through mr trump's twitter account! britain's vegetable shortage is continuing with some supermarkets rationing the sale of produce. the shortage is due to bad weather particularly in spain where there's been snow and now the worst rainfalll for 30 years. tesco and morrisons are limiting customers to three iceberg lettuces and morrisons are reported to be

preventing shoppers from buying more than three heads of broccoli. frankie mccamley reports. they are part of our staple diet and we have them with almost every meal. so for many, vegetables are not considered a luxury. but with poor growing conditions in southern europe, the iceberg lettuce is the latest vegetable to fall victim to the shortage. it was courgettes last month. so much so that supermarkets have been selling out and are now restricting the number we can buy to two or three. the russians are not targeting us when we go for our weekly shop. let's face it you can get through three lettuce in a number of days? —— the rations. what they are trying to do is stop small businesses from buying in bulk when they are facing shortages. and for weeks some market sellers have struggled to get their hands on the lettuce.

you cannot get it and whatever you can get is very expensive. and it's affecting aubergines, lettuce, courgettes, chinese veg has gone through the roof. when it goes like that i back off. and this is the reason for the shortage, severe weather in spain. it's where the majority of the uk's vegetables come from through the winter months, but crops have been damaged which has meant a poor harvest. and if things don't change there, the prices of some vegetables may continue to rise here. what i do is buy what i can afford. £1.49 i thought it must be 49p, they must have marked it wrong, i did not question it, i did not realise there was a shortage. it is not clear how long rations on one of the country's favourite salad vegetables will last but if things don't change, it could be for months. joining me now from our bristol studio is dieter lloyd from the british leafy salad

association, an industry body representing uk salad growers and packers. thanks werejoining thanks were joining us. thanks werejoining us. why thanks were joining us. why are we facing the shortages? is all about bad weather in spain, isn't it? facing the shortages? is all about bad weather in spain, isn't mm is. as your slot showed, the problem was in december, about one year's rain fell was in december, about one year's rainfell in was in december, about one year's rain fell in a 24—hour period, and it then didn't stop some days thereafter. i've seen video of the devastation. it was significant. that washed away the salad crop at that point. the second problem that then occurred was, because the salad fields were so inundated, they couldn't get tractors out into the field to sew the next crop, and that

was followed by the snow that you showed in your piece, there, i believe that there has not been snow in murcia for 30 years, so it meant anything in the ground got frozen, and a whole load of other stuff words, unfortunately, damaged and the harvesting. in addition to that they still could not get out and plant more. so it has been a particularly u nfortu nate plant more. so it has been a particularly unfortunate set of circumstances. are we wholly reliant on what is grown in spain? don't we get some from california, for example? normally, no. the cost of airfreight from example? normally, no. the cost of air freight from california to the uk is significant. that is where some of the produce is now coming from. if you are seeing shelves that

they are produce on, you may notice that some of that is from california. therefore more expensive, obviously. indeed. this rationing that we are seeing, has there been panic buying of iceberg lettuce ? there been panic buying of iceberg lettu ce ? it there been panic buying of iceberg lettuce? it is hard to imagine. i certainly would not be panic buying it myself. there has not been panic buying that i aware —— that i am aware of. as i understand it, panic buying iceberg lettuce is not something that is particularly common! 0bviously, something that is particularly common! obviously, you made mention of cou rg ette common! obviously, you made mention of courgette prices which was trending on twitter, and the hash tag # lettu ce trending on twitter, and the hash tag #lettuce has been trending on twitter and spinach has been in short supply and that has been causing some concern. it will be like this for the remainder of the imported season. so we will see

restrained availability until april and the beginning of may. so a few more weeks of this to endure, then. there is a serious impact in some ways. these vegetables are good for you. people are told to be eating things like broccoli for your long—term health, and if you can't get hold of them that is not good. that is true, but there is other produce out there, and some places are saying that this is one of those occasions when we might be looking at other produce. there was a lady in yourclip at other produce. there was a lady in your clip who said she just buys what she can afford and what she's willing to purchase, and that is probably fairly good advice at this stage. prices are going to remain fairly high until the uk season comes in in the middle of may to the end of may, and all being well, we

should be in for hopefully a bumper uk season. thank you very much for being with us, data load of the british leafy salad association. now the weather from phil avery. let's see what the uk weather has in store for us. a very good afternoon, imight store for us. a very good afternoon, i mightjust store for us. a very good afternoon, i might just kill off store for us. a very good afternoon, i mightjust kill off the demand for salads on sunday had you may look for something more sustaining, glorious weather at the moment in eastern parts but that leaves a good pa rt eastern parts but that leaves a good part of southern and western areas, not only has it been very wet, the air is getting cold across cornwall and west devon. through the evening gale force winds, 50—60 mile an hour

gusts, the whole thing will move further north with hill snow because the cold air is tucking in across the cold air is tucking in across the rest of the british isles, watch out for ice first stop. that slowly continues northwards, shell was getting in across the pennines and across southern scotland, showers later on across the far west and more low—pressure bringing rain into pa rt more low—pressure bringing rain into part of east anglia in the south—east. single figure temperatures all the way of the repeats and themes over the weekend with passing rain, some sunshine but feeling cold day and night. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines. a man armed with a machete is shot after attacking a soldier outside the louvre in paris. one other man has been arrested. the government says customers are paying more than they need to for their energy bills —

after n—power announces a dual fuel price of almost 10%. the prime minister is meeting eu leaders at a summit in malta. she'll be briefing them about her recent meeting with president and trump and her brexit plan for britain. rebuilding bridges, tadcaster‘s bridge is reopening this afternoon after a year since it collapsed in the floods of christmas 2015. let's catch up with all the sport. good afternoon, it's the eve of rugby union six nations championship and all eyes will be on england to see if they can continue their stunning form of 2016. if like last year they win all of their games in the competition then they will set a new record for consecutive test victories. stage the man who said he

started it, joe stead are doing a song he heard in a folk club and then sang at his rugby club february 19 60. from there it was learned, repeated and over decades transported to twickenham. the song, whatever its original meaning is now england's celebration. in 2016 they won england's celebration. in 2016 they wo n every england's celebration. in 2016 they won every match, five more wins will set a new road record. but there are five other nations with huge motivations. that remains to be seen, it'll be a tight championship this year. anything that comes up against england, people try to take their scalp. scotland start at home confident playing ireland, they are highly rated and buoyant, ireland beat new zealand last autumn. wales

are vastly experienced, even then the captain alun wynjones has one over 100 caps. but there is something new for everybody, for the first time bonus points are available in the tournament. as a reward for try scoring and attacking play, but fundamentally, rugby remains a contact sport. england's captain hasn't played since december, dylan hartley has been suspended centile for this. referees will show more red cards to get rid of this kind of play. i wondered how he would adapt? if you want to win games of rugby you have to be on the edge, confrontationaland games of rugby you have to be on the edge, confrontational and physical, thatis edge, confrontational and physical, that is the abc of rugby, being physical. have you had to learn about where that line is more than other players? i don't think so. we are always learning. if you regard

the recent ban i had, player safety is paramount so we have to change as players. laser beams and innovation, by players. laser beams and innovation, rugby knows it image is crucial but six nations is defined by tradition as much as it is change. the stoke city manager mark hughes says he says no reason to take off saido berahino, he served the suspension last year and there are also newspaper reports today that saido berahino failed an out of competition drugs test which is unconfirmed by either club or the fa. hejoined stoke from west unconfirmed by either club or the fa. he joined stoke from west brom last month. he served a ban when he was at west brom, i don't want to comment on the reason why but i will go back to saying what i said then and will say it again, saido

berahino never played for me or never played regularly for me because he wasn't fit enough for whatever reason. it was a personal matter and we are under strict obligations not to release any of that information and that is an fa directive. another difficult time for tiger woods. his agent says the former world number one feels terrible at having to withdraw from the dubai desert classic with a bad back, this was only his second tour appearance after three operations over 90 months, after an awfulfirst round he said he wasn't in pain, he finished 12 shots off the lead but the problem apparently came on late last night when he experienced a spasm in his lower back. that is all the sport for now. let's get more on the news that theresa may is to brief her european counterparts about her meeting with president trump. eu leaders are at a summit in malta, where they'll discuss how best to respond to mr trump —— who has repeatedly attacked

the organisation. many of his statements and actions have not won approval in the european capital, theresa may is the only leader to have met in so far and is expected to brief her cou nterpa rts and is expected to brief her counterparts on what his presidency could mean for europe. we can talk now to conservative mep dan hannan. thank you forjoining us there have been various negative comments made at the summons, do you think theresa may has to be careful not to seem too much as his intermediary?” think she has played a brilliant bridging role. most of my european collea g u es bridging role. most of my european colleagues had concerns up and she has moved him on these things, that is to say sanctions on russia, a commitment to nato and even torture, three things where there were widespread concerns. i think she can

be very proud of what she has achieved so far. but there she is speaking to eu members of nato urging them to increase their contributions, issue a difficult position doing that on one hand and on the other arguing brexit as well? we wa nt on the other arguing brexit as well? we want to have successful and prosperous neighbours. we don't want to leave in a way that collapses the union. but the neighbours make good customers. we have an immediate interest in the prosperity of our neighbours and in their security, we are contributing directly to that. i think it is quite necessary, it is a duty of her to try to urge european allies to play their part in sustaining the burdens of nato so it isa sustaining the burdens of nato so it is a fibre lines for the security of europe. but a difficult thing to do to ask for more money from an

organisation while distancing yourself? she's asking more money for nato which we are not distancing herself. we want to ensure after we leave that we remain close, that we remain the best of friends, on military alliance, and diplomatic support and co—operation but on our own self—governance. support and co—operation but on our own self-governance. can i ask you about the rumours that president trump is about to nominate ted malek as the us ambassador to the european union, he is an american academic and businessmen who several of the parliamentary groups are very worried about speakers what he has said about the eu, quite aggressive comments, what is your own view on

the possible appointment of him? they don't get to nominate, he is the american ambassador to the eu. but if he were appointed? it's important to remind ourselves what an ambassador is. he... the thing that has upset them is he said he wa nted that has upset them is he said he wanted the eu to break apart. he said he had been in previous diplomatic posts where he watch the soviet union collapsed and he thought the e might be due for something similar. at the other end you have donald tusk saying post brexit we should go in the other direction and amalgamate more than ever, i think our interest as a country is somewhere in between. we don't want the eu to collapse, a disorderly downfall and our doorstep is bad for us, apart from the fact these are our countries are our friends and allies it is bad for trade but equally more centralisation and rigidity is exactly the thing which will provoke

such a collapse so i think the british interest is to have a system in europe that allows other countries, maybe the more sceptical peripheral countries to step back a little bit from political union and tojoin us in a relationship little bit from political union and to join us in a relationship with the rest of the eu which is looser than the present one which is without links and based on a common market. we will have to leave it there thank you. cuts in disability benefits should be delayed until the government clarifies how it will support those in need of extra money. the work and pensions select committee says they found there was little evidence that lower payments would motivate disabled people to find work. the allowance is due to be reduced from £102 to £73 per week from april. 0ur correspondent sima kotecha reports. there's a lot of things to think about with your cv. a group of disabled people are being taught how to write a cv properly.

they‘ re all unemployed, and some are worried about the disability allowance cuts coming into force in april. bob suffers from inflammation of the spine. people need that money. they need the help. like i did, i needed it for mobility. obviously people with different things wrong with them, it's a help to them, as well. today's report calls on the government to postpone reducing the amount of cash given to those who can't work because they're ill or disabled. all these here fall into what the government calls the work—related activity group. they are those who can't work at the moment, but are judged capable of returning back to work at some point in the future. and it's those who will be put into this category that will be affected. at the moment, they're being paid £102 per week, but from april, the amount will go down to £73, bringing it in line with thejobseeker‘s allowance rate.

0nly new claimants will get this amount. lesley suffers from depression and has a bad back. losing another £30 is making actually people worse off, and that's why a lot of people are actually ending up sort of turning really like to crime and that. like to live, and support their families, their children. mps say they want clarity on how the government will help those in this group who won't be able to make ends meet because of the changes. what we're beginning to see in britain is the emergence of destitution, of people ground down at the very bottom. and we're anxious that those people, disabled people who cannot make the jump into employment, which the government wishes them to make by cutting their benefits, to ensure that these people are protected properly before this grand strategy is rolled out. ministers argue their welfare

reforms are increasing the incentives for people to get into work. they say they're giving extra money to those who need it because they're disabled. sima kotecha, bbc news, west bromwich. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first, the headlines on bbc news. a man armed with a machete is shot after attacking a soldier outside the louvre in paris. one other man has been arrested. it's being treated as a terrorist incident. the government says customers are paying more than they need to for their energy bills — after n—power announces a dual fuel price of almost 10%. the prime minister is meeting eu leaders at a summit in malta. she'll be briefing them about her recent meeting with president and trump and her brexit plan for britain. time now for business —— today vishala joins us from london's

tech—hub where she's spending the day looking at the impact of brexit and president trump on the uk's silicon sector. hi i'm here at a place called the tech up. they run across the world, at the moment you have screens showing us what the different campuses are doing it. handing back to rita. thank you, sorry to cut him but we're taking you straight to tadcaster in north yorkshire where a bridge which has been shut for over a year is being reopened. it was supposed open at tpm but what is 45 minutes between friends. the bridge has been closed for 30 months, the main bridge over the wharf which were swept away the

floods in december and ever since then the main road link has been shut. children from the three primary schools in tadcaster have been waiting very patiently and are getting rather cold around the corner here waiting, it has been like watching paint dry because they had to put the white lines down the middle—of—the—road in the last five orten middle—of—the—road in the last five or ten minutes naps has been done and the local youngsters are here and the local youngsters are here and there will be escorted across the bridge in a moment as the first citizens of this town to be across this ancient causeway for 13 months. this bridge has stood on the site for hundreds of years, it was swept away spectacularly, perhaps the defining image in 2015 when it crumbled into the river and the

force of the water from the boxing day reigns, it was rushed to the mac washed away, it had to be rebuilt and because it had a listed status, it has taken a long time to sort out because a lot of work had to be done on paper before they could reopen the bridge. you wouldn't think the river would be a problem at all, the water is low and is looking very benign but that is what caused all the problem all those months ago and the problem all those months ago and the footbridge that you can just see is what temporarily went in a year ago this month but kind of reunited tadcaster bodilly do the whole thing because people had to walk across the river so the doctors and the main services the side of the river here on the east bank, but the majority of people are in the eastern side of the town so we finally cut to today and this bridge should have opened about a week ago which was the plan but the weather has been so cold that it has been

able to do so. the water on the bridge wouldn't set and once temperatures set the work could be finished on the surface of the road was in here this morning so we are talking literally in the last 3—4 hours, the road surface has been laid, the double yellow lines have gone down, the white lines have gone down the middle and you finally have a finished product. what will happen now is there will be a parade across the bridge. a load of people on the other side are waiting to receive these people and cheer them over, there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony, i can sit on the other side ready to be cut and they have given the privilege of the ceremony to the children of tadcaster. hopefully the next minute also they will start walking across and parading across the as part of this. they will be led by the local mp who

is here and also one of the government ministers who is here. here they come. it begins. and a lot of cheering and clapping because this is a big deal for this town after what has happened here over the last 13 months. if you wanted to get from one side of tadcaster to the other is for the la st of tadcaster to the other is for the last 13 months, it was a 16 mile round trip for what should of course have been 150 metre river crossing so have been 150 metre river crossing soa have been 150 metre river crossing so a long drive around and they have now gotten to the stage thankfully where they can get back to using the main bridge again. fully restored,

millions of pounds it has cast, some from the local authority, some from the government and hear other people of the town. and so they cross from the eastern side to the west, this is the main shopping street here, local seo business has been down by about 20-30% business has been down by about 20—30% over the last few months, a big deal for them to finally have this restored. this link is back in, hopefully it will pick up for the

town which has been deathly quiet since the bridge close with a flood, if you visited here on a weekend it'd be quiet because people avoided coming here thinking the town was shot and lots of businesses has suffered as a result. the children have had to be bussed around every day, they will now be to take the short cut. it is basically returning life to normal in this north yorkshire town which has been anything but normal since 2015. let me just if i can have a quick word with the mayo. how big of a deal is this? i won't say unbelievable but this? i won't say unbelievable but this is fantastic, look at the sheer numbers. hundreds of schoolchildren, members of the public from miles around, notjust members of the public from miles around, not just tadcaster but really fantastic. this is a way and upwards. is this emotional? without a doubt, this town has been split into four too long. this will do it.

i hope everybody starts coming back and start using the shops. inaudible it'd be something people talk about in their memories. a historical nightmare. i think we are about to get the counter in a second. how has this affected the daily lives? health—wise shopping, the whole thing, education wise, half of the kids go to the grammar school at work and it's a long way round, the buses have done very well, people have reached... this is a positive thing though. their big day thank

you very much. there are about to have the ribbon—cutting ceremony. we are cyber attacks you can see we're having interference with the pictures where the ribbon is about to be cut. very frustrating. clearly a day of great excitement for the people of tadcaster. the reopening of that bridge which has been shut for 13 months and has involved residents and visitors having to make several miles ofjourney, at least ten miles in order to get from one end to the other. as danny was telling us, right up until the last minute, they were doing the yellow lines in the white lines and so the whole thing was delayed a little bit. you saw those rather lovely

schoolchildren crossing over the bridge which is reopened after being swept away in the floods of 2015 and it really divided the two halves of the town so as danny was saying it just made the town very quiet for a long time but now those people, really like two halves of the town being reunited and scenes of great joy, being reunited and scenes of great joy, it has had an impact on business as well. it has meant businesses have struggled really to keep going but great scenes there on quite a pleasant day in tadcaster in contrast to those floods back in 2015 that caused so much destruction to that beautiful bridge and they have worked very hard indeed. the cold weather has delayed the reopening which was scheduled for a

few days ago, but it had to be slightly postponed and they were working right up until the last minute as you could see, putting down tarmac, putting down the yellow lines and their reopening under power later. a great day out for those children from three primary schools clearly getting an afternoon of school. they cannot believe their luck. some breaking news. a planned strike by the london underground workers from sunday evening over jobs has been suspended so very good news for commuters in and around the capital. those strokes planned for london from sunday evening have been suspended by the rmt. let'sjoin

fellow free now to bring us the weekend weather. let's continue with the joyous news is weekend weather. let's continue with thejoyous news is i bring you a joyous picture. it is notjust tadcaster having a glorious day but quite widely across the northern and eastern parts of the british isles. however i will pop the balloon, in southern parts and in wales the rain is spilling towards the eastern parts of northern ireland and scotland, flirting with the isle of man and the north—western shores of england too. there is little bits of brightness to finish off your afternoon, still across northern and eastern parts, it stays dry here frea ky eastern parts, it stays dry here freaky part of the afternoon and then in the eastern side of the pennines, we will hold that rain off until a bit later on in the day. as you can see, it has been thoroughly miserable, this is the other half of the story which is... we have single

server and around 50 miles an hour and they will propagate through the channel areas along the southern shores, 60 miles an hour up towards the dover straits area, then by the time you're in bed, this whole area of low pressure will go up and across scotland. if you are open about watch out there will be some hill snow, some cold air tucking in behind all of this area of low pressure and that could give us up problem with ice first stop. those other towns and cities, there will be some frost around us is for sure. pushing the low pressure slowly away towards the western isles, one of those days for the northern half of scotland, the rest of england and wales, a lot of dry weather around for a time although this area is going to push cloud and rain into the far south—east to east anglia as well and showers later on. some of

these really quite hefty coming into these really quite hefty coming into the far west. that whole pulse of cloud will work its way up and across the country such that it will have wet surfaces. ice could be a problem again on sunday. that area of low pressure may just problem again on sunday. that area of low pressure mayjust have an impact but notice these temperatures. 5—8 on sunday said don't worry. spells of rain around the weekend, some sunshine but colder by day and night. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm. in paris, a man armed with a machete is shot and wounded after attacking a soldier outside the louvre. french authorities are treating it as a terror attack. the is responsible for the security

all the museum was attacked. it was all the museum was attacked. it was a terrorist in nature. npower announces a dual fuel price rise of almost 10%. the government says customers are already paying more than they need to. president trump warns iran it's "playing with fire" over its ballistic missile test launch. iran says it will never initiate a war. in the next hour — vegetable rationing.