this is bbc news. the headlines at two — pressure mounts on the white house — as the president's national security advisor stands aside — there are calls for an investigation into the trump administration's links with russia. i think eventually the trump administration is going to have to adapt towards russia. as a response, the president takes to twitter again ina the president takes to twitter again in a series of angry tweets. a woman is arrested in malaysia — in connection with the death of north korean leader kim jong—un‘s half—brother. unemployment drops to an 11 year record low — as figures also reveal a fall of 19,000 in the number of workers from the eu. and in the next hour — more division in the church of england as the ruling body debates amid claims it has ‘betrayed' gay

and lesbian christians in its stance on gay marriage and harrison ford lands himself in trouble after flying his plane onto the wrong runway — narrowly missing a packed passenger jet. before we turn to events in the united states, some news hasjust come through regarding tata steel. workers have voted to accept reforms to their pensions. this is coming through from the unions in the last few moments. thousands of tata steelworkers had been balloted on this and all this in essence is about trying to save people's jobs. members were asked whether they would accept moving from a final salary pension scheme to a less generous scheme. the flip side of that would be continued commitment at port talbot and no compulsoryjob loss. the price was effectively

accepting a less generous pension scheme. a 70% turnout in that ballad from one particular union. 72% of those workers accepting the deal. that is to give you a sense of the turnout from the community union. in essence, overall, they have voted to accept a less favourable deal in return for investment. much more from our correspondent thomas morgan shortly. donald trump is coming under more pressure as questions continue

about what the president knew about the events surrounding the resignation of his national security adviser. there are calls for a formal investigation — after claims that the trump team were in contact with russian intelligence officers during the election campaign. donald trump has effectively accused the intelligence agencies in collusion. all this as he welcomes the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu to washington — with one white house official saying a peace deal between israel and the palestinians may not come in the form of a two—state solution. wyre davies has the latest. if donald trump thought that by accepting the resignation of michael flynn he might have neatly wrapped up flynn he might have neatly wrapped up the first big rises of his presidency, he will be frustrated to

hear the growing clamour from leading democrats and some republicans for a much wider investigation into the formal national security adviser‘s links to russia. several respected figures in washington have expressed concern that someone so close to the president had several detailed discussions with senior russian officials before mr trump took office. if there is a -- i think —— i think eventually the trump administration is going to have to adapt its approach to russia. the official explanation for the

resignation of michael flynn is a breakdown of trust between him and the president. in his tweets, he been best bemoaned the leaking of tweets. the press is going to continue to write about it and the press is going to continue to leak any morsel of information it can find. the trump administration is leaking like a sinking ship. accusations come thick and fast after what could only be described asa after what could only be described as a difficult relationship between benjamin netanyahu and barack 0bama, he is meeting donald trump and israel is expecting great things from the new administration. reports coming from a white house official said that a two state solution, may not be the only option to achieve

middle east peace. pursuing such a line would be a genetic departure from existing us policy, delighting right—wing ministers in israel who advocate settlement expansion. palestinian leaders would see any such move as a dangerous provocation and will be monitoring the president's every move and tweet. gary 0'donoghue who's in washington. the tweets targeted at his usual targets, the intelligence services and the media. i think it's extraordinary, accusing the fbi of political interference and leaking material. there is undoubtedly been a lot of leaking, some of it seems to have come from people who have left those organisations, former intelligence people who were around during the campaign but there is a clear implication that some of these

are still serving people and that is what has really got his anger. you can see it on social media. just lashing out. james komi, the director of the fbi, -- fbi, —— comey. iwonder fbi, -- comey. i wonder how fbi, —— comey. i wonder how long he will be kept in hisjob. he is the one who was leading investigations into russian context during the election campaign and that is where the focus of the story is. it goes back to the old story of what the president knew and when he knew it. it takes you back to the whole nixon era stuff. what we do know is that the president and the white house we re the president and the white house were told about the connections between michael flynn, the conversation between michael flynn

and the russian ambassador, talking about sanctions, we do know they knew that back on the 26th of january. that so few weeks now. about three weeks ago now. we also know that vice president mike pence who went out and defended michael flynn, saying they had not discussed sanctions, we know now that he didn't know about thatjustice department warning until the 9th of february and then things moved very quickly and michael flynn was gone. the white house want to confine this to an issue about trust between michael flynn and the vice president. it's clearly much wider. people in congress on both sides are realising they are going to have to look at the wider question of connections between russia and the american election and potentially between some of those who worked in the trump campaign. an angry resident and no rest for the livid.

he has got to meet the israeli prime minister. benjamin netanyahu visiting today. a massive reset in us- visiting today. a massive reset in us— israeli relations on the card. under the 0bama administration, relations work terrible. they didn't like each other. the peace process run into the sand and nothing was happening. looking for a reset. run into the sand and nothing was happening. looking fora reset. i think this administration is still working out what its policy is. we heard a white house brief talking about a two state solution, maybe, maybe not. that has been a cornerstone of american policy on the middle east for the last couple of decades. i think they are feeling their way. today will be about what they call in the media the optics, they call in the media the optics, the warm new relationship. a bit of noise about iran on which they can agree. i don't think you'll hear

anything concrete today about what a new israeli palestine peace process will look like at this stage. let's go tojonny diamond in jerusalem. it looks like they are moving away from a two state solution. it goes down differently amongst different people. the nationalist and religious right here in israel are cock—a—hoop over the comments, unattributed, from an anonymous white house official that the two state solution is not necessarily part of the negotiations that might happen between the israelis and palestinians. if you are part of the majority of israelis, a palestinian or part of the wider arab world, you are wondering what is going on and if they are making it up on the hoof. the two state solution has been the bedrock of negotiations between the

israelis and palestinians guided by outside actors for the last few decades. it means that the palestinians end up with a state next to the state of israel. essentially, the west bank and probably the gaza strip. the religious right, the nationalist right say the west bank is part of greater israel and they don't want to give it up. everybody else and acknowledges that there is not much point in the palestinians coming to negotiations unless a two state solution is the end point. you have to wonder whether the trump administration and this official, whether or not policy is being made up whether or not policy is being made up on the hoof or whether he is acknowledging that the peace process has produced very little piece in the last few decades and instead it needs a major reset. we will wait and see. we have a press conference and see. we have a press conference and we will look at the chemistry between the two of them but i'm sure president trump will be pushed on this critical issue as to what is

the end point of negotiations, what will american be pressing the two sides towards? until we talk about optics again, thank you very much. tata steelworkers have voted to accept reforms to their pensions. agreements on changes to pensions have been seen as essential to future investment, including £1 billion at the port talbot plant in wales over 10 years. that is the result of the ballot that has come through in the last few minutes. let's go live to port talbot where our correspondent tomos morgan has the latest. took us through what it all means. 70% of the of the unions balloted voted for the end of the final salary scheme at. there was a

suspicion that members would reject the proposal which would mean a difficult situation for that macro and its workers but a few days before the ballot begun i7 and its workers but a few days before the ballot begun 17 days ago, the union said that this was the best and last option for the members to go through. what this means is security for jobs as tata to go through. what this means is security forjobs as tata have pledged to keep there work force in the uk open. they have said that there will be no more redundancies and will invest over £1 billion over ten yea rs and will invest over £1 billion over ten years maintaining to blast furnaces import all but four the next five years. there was sweetness for the elderly workforce here, about £10,000. those coming to the end of their working life. it means a guarantee for the medium and short—term for workers here but also it means that the merger between tata steel and the german steel

giant is now closer because the pension deficit was one of the main reasons that those companies weren't coming together. that means that deal is now closer together. so, relief for the short and medium—term but the future now needs to be sorted between tata and other mergers. will this be seen as essentially good news for now? diminished conditions with the pensions butjobs not lost. good news for now but still talks and negotiations to continue looking further ahead. there will be talks and negotiation between tata and thyssen krupp. people we've been speaking to over the last year or so, such a turbulent year here, thousands of job losses so, such a turbulent year here, thousands ofjob losses this time last year, the company then put up

for sale and then taken off the market when it looked like it was going to be sold. then rumours that tata was merging with thyssen krupp. some people have lost faith and trust in the company because they we re trust in the company because they were hearing things in the media before being brought to them individually. discussions may be behind closed doors between the big condom at to see what becomes of those. but relief for the workers —— between the big condom at. thank you very much. members of the rmt are going to strike an at february 22 in the long running staff dispute. talks broke down earlier this week. discussions ended without the sides reaching

agreement. industrial action resumes on february 22 on southern rail. the headlines on bbc news: tata workers have voted to accept pension reforms. growing pressure on the white house as there calls for an investigation into trump's administration ties with russia. that's ahead of the meeting later this afternoon between trump's new administraion and the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. trump has vowed he'll be "the best friend israel ever had." ta ra tara palmer tomkinson died of a perforated will sand did not have a brain tumour, according to her sister. —— also. carlo ancelotti believes that arsene

wenger should be immune from criticism as they meet tonight with speculation surrounded his future. mark warburton has said that rangers have not provided an explanation for his departure. they say they accepted his resignation although he said he had never resigned. a woman has been arrested in connection with the death of the half—brother of north korea's leader kim jong—un. the authorities say they're hunting a number of other suspects believed to be involved. south korea claims north korea is behind the killing, and says it shows the ‘brutal inhumane nature' of the regime there. kimjong—nam died at kuala lumpur airport, in malaysia, from where karishma vaswani now reports. is this one of the female assassins who carried out an allegation is attack in the airport. authorities

say over the burmese woman has been detained as part of the investigation into the alleged assassination of this man, kim jong—un. the strange half brother of the reclusive leader kim jong—un. jong—un. the strange half brother of the reclusive leader kimjong—un. —— kimjong—nam. he the reclusive leader kimjong—un. —— kim jong—nam. he fell out of favour in north korea and has been living in excel ever since. how he may have died is still unclear. the facts in this case are murky to say the least. there are a number of varying accou nts least. there are a number of varying a ccou nts of least. there are a number of varying accounts of what may have happened. what we do know is that between nine and ten o'clock in the morning on monday, a man believed to be kim jong—nam was attacked in this crowded and busy airport. police say he was accosted by a least one woman who covered his face with a cloth filled with some sort of earning

chemical. after that, he walked over to the information counter to ask for help and was taken to a medical clinic one floor down. how could an attack of this nature take place in broad daylight in the middle of this airport? i asked a number of people but no one was willing to comment. the police are the only one who can give you updates about the investigation. south korea insist that the man who died was a kim jong—nam, brutally murdered on the north korean regime. translation: the government is certainlyjudging that the murdered man is kim jong—nam. we should wait for details until the malaysian government makes an announcement. the focus of the investigation now moves to the

hospital where the man believed to be kimjong—nam is being autopsied. his identity may not be discovered until after the results of the autopsy are released. a record number of people in the uk are now in work. official figures show nearly 32 million adults are in a job — 300 thousand more than a year ago. unemployment also fell, in the three months to december. and there's been a fall of 19,000 in the number of workers from the eu, as our economics correspondent andy verity reports. this worcestershire based manufacturer of machine tools for the car industry has a problem. it wants to expand to meet demand for its precision parts, but it can't grow without the staff to do the work. it has been able to draw on a supply of skilled workers from the rest of the european union in make—up quarter of its workforce, but now that supplies drying up. we are working with several recruiting agencies at the moment who have been trying to find me

people for several months, now. and, the calibre of people but we require are just not out there. that is both indigenous population and overseas. the number of workers in the uk from the rest of the european union has been growing by hundreds of thousands per year, but to the right of this chart you can see how it stopped growing as quickly and in the last three months of 2016 the number dropped slightly. workers from poland, for instance, who were working in the uk, can buy a less goods for what they earn than in their country of origin. so, you only get say, 90% of a washing machine for the same money for which you could buy an entire washing machine. that clearly create a disincentive to come to uk and work in the uk or to stay in uk. the official figures also break down where peoplejoining and leaving the workforce were born.

the number of workers... dropped by 120,000 and the number of workers who weren't born in the uk increased by 43,000. many people would argue that we can't carry on with the immigration numbers that we have had in recent years. the effect of that must be that we get better at retraining are own workers, reskilling of own workers and bringing into the employment market groups that were previously not unemployed but inactive. for more than a decade the economy grown used to large inflows of migrant labour which has jobs created jobs owing to money the immigrants spend and allowed companies to find skilled workers will otherwise they would struggle. for many businesses who the conduct and for the growth migrant workers, a big adjustment is underway. the prime minister theresa may is visiting cumbria, ahead of next week's by—election in copeland, which is, at the moment, held by labour.

it was triggered by the resignation ofjamie it was triggered by the resignation of jamie reid who it was triggered by the resignation ofjamie reid who is taking a job in the nuclear industry. the industry is central to the campaign for everybody. absolutely. not least because of the 10,000 jobs or so at sellafield and the jobs planned at moorside, a new nuclear power station development about which there is some uncertainty after one japanese investor said it may not be involved of the construction of it. that is a big issue in the by—election. the prime minister was here in the village of bootle, visiting a local school for about an hour before she left a short time ago. that visit itself is a sign of the confidence with which the conservatives are approaching the

by—election. it is rare for the prime minister to visit a seat vacated by an opposition mp. to win a seat like this hasn't happened since the 1980s. this is a big test forjeremy corbyn's leadership of the labour party because this is been a labour seat since anyone can remember, back in the 1930s. a place that voted leave, traditional labour supporters with jobs dependent on the nuclear industry. this is a test as to whether he can keep hold of this seat. the conservatives are saying thatjeremy corbyn is ambivalent and of equivocal about nuclear industry. labour say that this is about local services which are at risk particularly at the local hospital. ukip have a

candidate as well. we have this by—election and the one in stoke where paul not all —— paul not all isa where paul not all —— paul not all is a candidate as well. you will see both of these elections notjust a test forjeremy corbyn and labour but also for the other parties. more ofa but also for the other parties. more of a three horse race in stoke. here in copeland, it is a two horse race. we will look at how that plays out between conservatives and labour. all eyes will be on both of these constituencies to see how theresa may's leadership is being absorbed with brexit and with many backbenchers who walked out on jeremy very unhappy. he was re—elected, and this is one of the big electoral tests for him.

and the parliamentary by—election in copeland takes place on the 23rd of february. there's a full list of the candidates on the screen and it's also available on the bbc news website. there's more division in the church of england today — with claims that it has ‘betrayed' gay and lesbian christians in its stance over gay marriage. as its ruling body debates the issue — members of the general synod will vote on a bishops' report which says only a man and a woman should marry in church — and services should not be held to bless the relationships of same—sex couples. our religious affairs correspondent martin bashir has more. amazing grace sung by protesters this morning and almost certainly required this afternoon as the general synod prepares to debate the bishops report on same—sex marriage. a report that says marriage in

church should remain the lifelong union between a man and a woman. after engaging in three years of shared conversations, many lesbian and gay christians are angered that church doctrine is not falling into line with the law of the land which legalised same—sex marriage in 2014. we are talking about the national church being massively out of step with people. this is notjust saying we have to follow what society is saying but saying where people perceive love in relationships between one another, can the judge of england simply not recognise that god is present in those relationships. bishops present at knowledge their own struggles with church doctrine on same—sex marriage. i would mislead you ifi saidi marriage. i would mislead you ifi said i was not conflicted about what this report says. i am not alone

amongst the wider church. people on all sides on the debate rarely find themselves satisfied. today's debate will conclude at 7pm with a vote. members of synod will be invited to affirm or reject the report. if they choose the latter, then questions about the unity of the church of england and the global anglican communion are likely to surface once again. our correspondent lisa hampele is at church house. ijust wonder what sense, i just wonder what sense, what sort of mood you've been picking up from people attending that today and indeed some of the protesters. after three years of private debate, the general synod will have the opportunity from five o'clock, a quarter to five this afternoon to

discuss this openly. they discussed the bishop's report which says marriage in church should be a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman. activists are not happy about that and say it is out of step with the general public and makes 93v with the general public and makes gay and lesbian people feel that it's not fair to them. there has been a protest going on all day. we have a vigil behind is which has gone inside now because of the rain but a lot of people are very angry and think this should be looked at again. we heard from the bishop of norwich who presented this report and who says he is conflicted with it. he says that he doesn't think anyone really will be particularly happy with the outcome. there are

three different votes. there is the laity, bishops and the clergy. they'll have to have a majority, each one, for this to be affirmed. we are hearing that it is very tight and if it is not affirmed, it will be kicked into the long grass and can't come back with this report, they will have to start again. we are going to wait for the light at 7pm. the other problem here is the unity of the church of england. two sides to this debate and we have a very polite big protest here. lisa, more later. as you say, that vote at 7pm tonight. all the headlines coming up. first the weather and signs of change. we are seeing sunshine coming into

wales, the south—west, channel islands as well. a few heavy bursts of rain as they head across the midlands. then it is out of the way but we will find strong winds blowing wetter weather into scotland, not far way from northern ireland. south, different story. things are quieter, drier, the winds will be lighter. could be chilly in the morning. and across the southern parts of england could be some patchy bog which goodling of the most of the morning. one or two showers... windy and wet weather for scotla nd showers... windy and wet weather for scotland in the morning. later on across northern ireland. i obey. the temperature is wildly in double figures and if you do get the sunshine it shouldn't fill hello.

tata steel union members have backed a plan from the company to move from a final salary pension to a less generous scheme. the move smooths the path for liberty house to pursue its takeover of tata steel's uk business. politicians in the us are calling for a probe into ties between the white house and russia following claims donald trump's team were in contact with russian intelligence officers during his election campaign. former national security adviser michael flynn quit yesterday over claims he discussed us sanctions with russia before donald trump took office. a woman has been arrested in malaysia in connection with the death of north korean leader kim jong—un's half—brother. local police said she was arrested at the airport in the capital kuala lumpur where kim jong—nam was targeted in an apparent poisoning on monday. tara palmer—tomkinson died of natural causes and "did not have a brain tumour", that's according to her sister, the author santa montefiore.

mrs montefiore posted a series of tweets thanking people for their support but said she had wanted to "clarify" a few things. the church of england's ruling body is meeting today to discuss the contentious issue of gay marriage. the general synod will vote on a recent report, which upheld the church's view that marriage in church should only be between a man and a woman. to the sport. what are you kicking off with? hello, let's start with the rugby because the scottish captain will miss the rest of the six nations women ankle injury. the gloucester swarm... lets be to our rugby union reporter. how big a blow would this be to scotland ? reporter. how big a blow would this be to scotland? yes, and he was instrumental in the famous win over ireland at murrayfield. it is a

significant setback. it was ankle ligament damage. he's out for the rest of the championship. other players will have to fill in the void at scrum—half. while other players may the space and spark., the his leadership and outstanding goal—scoring will be missed by the scots. thank you. elsewhere, by and knew nick boss believes arsene wenger should be immune from criticism. arsenal face constant speculation surrounding wenger‘s future. arsenal have been knocked out in the last six years. he has the experience to know that in our job it is normal to be criticised and soi job it is normal to be criticised and so i think that for this reason he has no problem. he built a strong

identity in this club. he has a really good style of football. so, i have a lot of respect of this job arsenal. we have experienced we played against bayern munich side every year and the same target is to win the championship league and when you look at their record they are always in the last four. so, it is a massive challenge but i think we are capable of dealing with it. mark warburton said that rangers have yet to supply him with an exclamation for announcing his departure on friday. the club said they accepted the resignations of the manager, the assistant and the head of recruitment, however warburton says this is not the case. a statement released this afternoon on his behalf says that rangers have not responded to key questions put to

them. it also says that they want to say record that they did not resign from their positions. the chairman, dave king, suggested that warburton lacked commitment to the ibrox club. london will hope the 2017 women's tour final store. the five stage event is part of the uci women's world tour concluded in the capital on sunday the 11th ofjune. it will be the fourth edition of the event. it will include stages in northamptonshire, warwickshire, stoke—on—trent, staffordshire and derbyshire. having the women store ending in london says a number of purposes. i'm keen to encourage more people to cycle in london to make it safe at and easier. we also want to show the world that london is open and we are the sporting capital of the world. we have the big boxing match taking place at wembley the, the biggest boxing event in london post—2nd world war. we have the

largest number of nfl games taking place in london later on in this year. we have discussions with major—league feasible. year. we have discussions with major-league feasible. former sunderland striker pierre is among a group of more than 40 players deemed to have unethical higher. ——— this former sunderland striker. some islamic teaching ban hairstyles were only part of the head is shaved. refereesjudge only part of the head is shaved. referees judge whether players had cuts are appropriate or not on the day. a warning letter has been sent to him with punishment escalating to is fine and then a suspension if he doesn't comply. on the subject of unethical hair, simon, it's back to you. we were just wondering where that was going and whether that was the best. sort of funny. more now on the visit of the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu to washington. us president donald trump will meet the israeli leaderfor the first time since coming to power.

the israeli— palestinian conflict is surely to be on the agenda with one white house official saying a peace deal between israel and the palestinians may not come in the form of a two—state solution. with me is dr amnon aran, a senior lecturer in international politics at city university, london and an expert in the arab—israeli conflict. perhaps we should pick up on this two state solution and white, that was stalled the years, why the chains of policy now. it is yet to be seen whether there will be a change of policy. there is a lot of pressure to push this to state pollution off the table by members of the cabinet. in the campaign donald trump... i'm not sure that you're too is motivated to do it. it seems to suggest that the white house is not easy to depart from the

two state solution just yet, lamenting the expansion of settle m e nts lamenting the expansion of settlements and trump stating that territorial is limited and therefore taking part that is not helpful. territorial is limited and therefore taking part that is not helpfullj think taking part that is not helpful.” think it is yet to be seen. there's meeting, quite a big agenda. yes, israel and the palestinians and the arab — israeli relations more generally, certainly the deal on iran which trump described as a terrible deal and the prime minister benjamin netanyahu to feel strongly against it. probably, further down on the list the issue of transferring the embassy to jerusalem. why is the big deal? the question ofjerusalem has huge symbolic implications to the arab—israeli conflict generally, but also too much broader part of the muslim world. this is a multi—faith issue not only and is really per in issue. no american president has enacted on the issue since 1995.

unsurprisingly it is symbolically emotional issue. trump says he wants to be the best men to israel, which went be difficult giving the difficulties between 0bama went be difficult giving the difficulties between obama and the none too. is this a new hero? --- if this a new era? there is opposition to the israeli government and this meeting will the fan that contours of what it means to be israel's best friend and how best friend acts. i think this is a discussion rather than a foregone conclusion. and how does benjamin netanyahu new approach this? the two men don't know each other very well. one would issue with caution. he was trying to temper the strong feelings from his mark in pewsey astec cabinet members. i think he's going with a

more optimistic view but a much testing the ground and seeing where he can get with president trump. crucially demonstrating a close chemistry between the two men which will be essential in the first meeting. if the less sense that these are too many get things done? i think they can get things done with straw and strong caveat which is that both are facing is quite a pew obstacles. ——— quite a few obstacles. bennink constraints in mind they can achieve something but it is unclear how each of these will penetrate into their bilateral relationship. thank you very much. tens of thousands of people who've been moved out of their home because of fears that america's paula sta nwood of fears that america's paula stanwood bale have been told that it is safe to go back into their home. is their homes were at risk of being

engulfed by water. the american defence secretary, james mattis, has described nato as a fundamental bedrock of transatlantic ties. mr mattis said nato headquarters in brussels was a second home to him, in what's being seen as an effort to counter concerns about president trump's comment before he took office that the alliance was obsolete. he was speaking after his first meeting with the nato secretary general. our defence correspondent, jonathan marcus is at nato headquarters in brussels. a second home that. what sense are you picking up to this meeting?” think a lot of allies are really sore by what they've heard from the general, he was a former senior nato commander himself and he knows the alliance well. he knows the headquarters here well. he knows many of the individuals as well. the difficulty is that he has had all

the excuses as well that have been given in the past. the trump administration is clear it wants nato allies in europe to spend more to reach this agreed to present that they all signed up for but very few of them are meeting. i think in discussions today while the general will have reassured people about trump's commitment of the alliance he will also make the point that mr trump also wants to see more money put on the table and to what extent does issues surrounding russia get discussed as well, publicly or privately? that will be touched on in the meetings i think clearly for many nato countries certainly in the small baltic countries and poland, russia is their principal security concern and the united states has employed additional forces in concern and the united states has employed additionalforces in europe to reassure them. another worry is this extraordinary listening of

stories about contacts between trump campaign officials and others in the to his election victory. we have seen his national security adviser being forced to resign due to a misleading remarks made about some of those contacts. i think there was still a lot of uncertainty here as to what exactly the trump administration's attitude will be towards russia, towards mr putin. and still fear in some quarters that the americans may seek to try and do deals with the russians over the head of the europeans. presumably with everything going on, there isn't much much right now the general mattis can say to reassure other members of nato. as it is so fluid at the moment. it is fluid but asi fluid at the moment. it is fluid but as i say, he's well—known here and much respected. i think what alliance ministers have heard from general mattis, from the new secretary of state what they've

heard from other trump administration officials and indeed the nato secretary general has cruelly spoken with president trump himself. they are hearing the right messages. but, the trump administration is still a work in process and many keyjobs have not been even had people selected for them. of course, this huge argument with the demise of mr flynn and the continuing controversy over links with russia is a huge distraction at a time when the administration should be getting its feet under the table and beginning to set out its stall, in terms of what sort of policy changes it is going to be pushing forward with. thank you. our defence correspondence at nato headquarters. ina in a moment we will have a summary of the business news, but first headlines. unions announce that tata steelworkers have voted to accept changes to their pensions,

in order to protectjobs. there's growing pressure on the white house following calls for an investigation into the trump administration's ties with russia. and, tara palmer tomkinson died of natural causes and did not have a brain tumour, according to her sister in the business news... unemployment in the uk stays at its lowest level for more than a decade at 4.8% according to the office for national statistics. the number of people out of work fell in the three months to december. it's down by 7,000 so it stands at 1.6 million almost three quarters of people are in work as the rate edged up to a record high. wages also rose in december but at a slower rate than the month before. however, nearly a third of the population are living on an "inadequate" incomes. that's according to research by thejoseph rowntree foundation. in 2014 to 2015, the foundation said that 19 million people were living on less than the minimum income standard. it said the problem was that

household costs have been rising, while incomes have stagnated. the bank of england has said that the new £5 note will not be withdrawn. there have been concerns about traces animal fat found on the notes. vegans and some religious groups had voiced concerns, as the note contains a small amount of tallow, which is from animal waste products. now more and more couples are deciding not to get married and live together again. but new research out today show that these couples tend to be confused about what their legal entitlements are and also tend to have poorer finances. joining me now is paul brencher, a managing director at the insurers aviva who conducted the report. hello, paul. these statistics are pretty shocking that say two thirds don't have as good as finances as

their married counterparts. also a lot of people don't have willed and cohabitation cobbles. why is it that it is worse? why does the deficit exist. 3.3 million cobbles cohabit outside of marriage and civil partnerships and the benefits system and tax systems are all favoured for unmarried couple. our research showed that cohabiting couples are not aware of these different years or one in five mistakenly believe that they still apply to cohabiting couples which is not true. so if people find themselves in a situation where they once know what their legal entitlements are and wa nt to their legal entitlements are and want to get their finances in better shape what advice would you give them? the government is looking at a cohabitation rights bill but have been doing it for ten years. i think that cohabiting couples need to think about that they have a will, three quarters have no will in place, second, they should consider

a cohabitation agreement that puts in place principles of what would happen ina in place principles of what would happen in a worst—case event, in a sad death or loss of a partner, thirdly they should do some research to look at their rights. one third have not nominated the beneficiaries of their pension. fourthly, they need to talk about it, this is a cobbles' decision. look at some financial protection in place, two thirds don't. i would recommend that they do that. what can the government do a local authorities to support couples that aren't very? any awareness and creating a mindset that it any awareness and creating a mindset thatitis any awareness and creating a mindset that it is notjust married couples that it is notjust married couples that need plan for their financial future. with cohabiting couples there was a much lower level of home ownership. we need to get a campaign in place that gets the mindset out to all cohabiting couples. ok, thank

you very much. a quick look at markets before we go... the ftse 100 a quick look at markets before we go... the ftse100 level hit a quick look at markets before we go... the ftse 100 level hit that an hour ago, because the chair of the federal reserve hinted that interest rates rise in the us is on the cards. did it for me i will be back with more business news. a major new study suggests there is a link between head injuries and long—term brain damage in former footballers. in the first study of its kind, researchers studied the brains of six deceased players known for their skill at heading the ball. they all developed dementia in later life. the football association has welcomed the research as our health correspondent smitha mundasad reports. it is an integral part of the game but could doing this... over and

over again lead to long—term brain damage. that is the question the family of former england player have been campaigning to have answered. he died in 2002 he suffered from degenerative pain braving disease. if we can highlight it and push and push to get it recognise notjust the dad but for all these other families that are relying on others. we will never give in and never stop fighting for them. now in the first of the of its kind scientist looked at the brains of the six life long football who develop dementia. where we examined their brains at autopsy we examined their brains at autopsy we saw the sort of changes that we see in ex—boxers, so changes that are associated with repeated head injury. for the first time in a series of players who have shown that there is evidence that head injury has occurred earlier in their

life which presumably has some impact on them developing dementia. the football association says that one question that needs to be a nswered one question that needs to be answered is whether degenerative brain injuries are more common in professional footballers and they say they are determined to support that we service. but some experts footballers say the action from the fa has not come soon enough. with three other members from england's 1966 world cup winning team suffering from dementia some say this is more urgent than ever. so, what does this say the people who like to kick a ball around a few days a week. we shouldn't forget that exercise has a lot of benefit it reduces your risk of diabetes, obesity and indeed dementia in later life. that means to be balanced against any risk that can come from doing that exercise. the researchers

are clear, the study did not analyse the risks to children, but with us soccer already recommending that children under 11 shouldn't head—butt balls, and will be taking action on brain health, the question is whether it is football's turn to do more about the long—term consequences of playing the game. the hollywood actor harrison ford has been involved in a near—miss while flying his plane in california. he mistakenly landed on a taxiway where an american airlines jet was waiting to take off. us authorities say an investigation is underway. british cycling's golden couple — jason and laura kenny — are expecting their first child. the pair — who have ten olympic gold medals between them — announced the news by posting a photo of two adult bikes with a child's bike next to it.

that was followed by a photo of two baby—sized trainers. the couple's agent said they are "absolutely thrilled and delighted with the news." as we all are. 30 years ago it was supposed to herald a revolution in personal transport — but the "sinclair c5" quickly became a by—word forfailure. part tricycle and part electric car, it was the brainchild of the computer designer, sir clive sinclair. now his nephew has designed his own version which he believes will flourish where the c5 flopped. our transport correspondent richard westcott went along to take a look, and just a warning, his report contains flash photography from the start. this is how they did glitzy launches in the mid 1980s. after revolutionising home computers, people could not wait for the next invention from the genius sir clive sinclair. but the c5 never lived up to the hype. who better to test the new trike than stirling moss? sales were slow. along with safety fears, there were other fundamental problems. it was at this point

that the battery gave out. i have waited about 30 years to have a go in one of these! ask anyone under 30 and they have no idea what this is. to people of a certain age — my age — it was the defining cool invention. clearly testing this vehicle planted a seed with sir clive sinclair's nephew. grant sinclair helped his uncle trial the c5. he even had one at school. he's now designed his own, the iris. it combines pedals with an electric motor. you can drive it without a license from 14 years old, but it is weatherproof, streamlined and made from the same material as ski safety helmets. it is about three times quicker than the sinclair c5. i can't keep up with grant. it didn't get

the mass sales, the millions that were hoped for at the time, why do you think this is going to work this time? my product is a different concept altogether. it was a clever idea, the original item. i always wanted to do a fast e—bike, and a much safer one. this product is like being in a large crash helmet, really. 30 days after it disappeared, the sinclair name is returning to britain's roads. the same idea, a new design. a good job, really. my battery went! laughter we both sheltered, i remember that. definitely showing wage. time for a look at the weather. ——— showing our age. good job has a

refu nd ——— showing our age. good job has a refund and there is some rain today. yesterday we had a temperature in alex bya rs yesterday we had a temperature in alex byars 14 degrees. we have seen a lot of clout in the western isles of scotland. one part of the country right in the far south that sunshine is saint pete ‘s support in guernsey. the the cloud is breaking up guernsey. the the cloud is breaking up nicely. we have a broad band of cloud producing brain moving northwards and eastwards. we see sunshine across wales and self—worth and the channel islands. this evening we could see some showers. still drives of the channel islands. our main area for rain by six o'clock is heading towards lincolnshire will stop still a few heavy bursts of rain even at this time. dreyer in the north. we could see a few misty patches of

fog across the north—east of scotla nd fog across the north—east of scotland after that sunshine of today. most of the rain coming in on the weather front across eastern england should be out of the way. low pressure close to scotland will keep some rain and stronger winds not far away from northern ireland as well. further south that will be quieter, and, weather. lighter winds and chile by the morning. patchy fog across southern parts of england which could linger throughout the morning. otherwise some good sunny spells across england and wales. something a bit wetter innings northern ireland. wetter and windier weather in scotland. pleasant day if you have sunshine temperature 12, 13 degrees. more fog by friday across southern and eastern areas of the uk. west, we have more clout coming in on friday with a spot of rain. temperatures ten, 11 degrees better

than we would expect that this time of years. you can see through the rest of the weekend into monday above average temperatures. on monday, if we do get sunshine we could be looking at the mid—teens. don't expect much in the way of sunshine. not a great deal of rain, most likely at times across the north especially on saturday and later on sunday. a lot of places will still stay dry and temperatures ten or 11 degrees. further south, it will probably be dried, a lot of clout and a limited amount of sunshine but still on the mild side. that a lot of cloud. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm.

after his national security adviser quits, donald trump is urged to rethink his policy on president putin. i think eventually the trump administration will have to adapt their approach with russia as a result. and in response, the president takes to twitter to vent his frustration in a series of angry tweets. also this hour: unions announce that tata steelworkers have voted to accept changes to their pensions, in order to protectjobs. tara palmer tomkinson died because of a perforated ulcer, and did not have a brain tumour, according to her sister. in the next hour: fresh divisions in the church of england. protests outside a meeting of the general synod as they debate the issue of same sex marriage.