this is bbc news. the headlines at 8pm... the fiance of the children's author helen bailey is found guilty of her murder — dumping her body in a cesspit in the hope of inheriting millions of pounds. astronomers discover seven ea rth—sized planets orbiting a distant star — they could potentially harbour conditions to support life. a political row has broken out about the compensation paid to the british so—called is fighter after he was detained at guantanamo bay. the supreme court says income rules preventing some people bringing in foreign spices to the uk are lawful. also this our... the top job foreign spices to the uk are lawful. also this our... the topjob in policing goes to a woman. cressida dick is appointed as the metropolitan police commissioner, becoming the first woman in the job in its 188 year history. and who will triumph on the biggest night out in uk music? we have the

good evening and welcome to bbc news. the fiance of the children's author helen bailey has been found guilty of murdering her and dumping her body in a cesspit under their garage in hertfordshire. ian stewart, who's 56, drugged ms bailey over several weeks before smothering her in april last year in the hope of claiming a multi—million pound inheritance. the couple had met through an online bereavement group. detectives are now re—examining the sudden death of stewart's wife in 2010. our home affairs correspondent june kelly reports. police recorded ian stewart's arrest at his house. i'm arresting you on suspicion of murder of helen bailey. you're joking! he was stunned he'd finally been caught out. for three months he'd been living with the body of his wealthy partner buried under the garage.

my name is helen bailey and i'd like to introduce you to my new book, which is called when bad things happen in good bikinis. helen bailey was a successful author. as well as murdering her, stewart also killed her dachshund, boris, who she doted on. after her husband's death helen bailey began blogging about her sense of loss. and it was through a facebook bereavement group that she met ian stewart, whose wife had died. but while she was planning their wedding, he was planning her murder. ian stewart's sons were in court to see their father convicted of killing the woman who was about to become their stepmother. last spring helen bailey suddenly vanished from the home she shared with them and their father from royston in hertfordshire. it took ian stewart five days to report her missing. hertfordshire police, how can i help?

hello, my partner has been missing since monday. she's not contacted anyone. three months after helen bailey's disappearance, police began searching the garage which was at a distance from the house. this laser imaging illustrates how, underneath the hatched door there, there was a well with a cesspit. police started probing and it was here below a layer of sewage they saw an arm. they had found helen bailey's body and buried with her was her dog, boris. there was even a possibility because she had been drugged that she could have been alive when stewart put her down here. cctv shows how within hours ian stewart drove to a rubbish tip to dump a duvet. was that duvet taken to the tip because it had helen's blood on it? in police interviews stewart said nothing. he probably smothered helen bailey after drugging her over a long period with his sleeping pills. his motive was money. he was set to benefit massively from her £4 million fortune.

he probably planned it all from the day he met her. and in hindsight i don't think he loved her at all but she definitely loved him. this is ian stewart's late wife, diane. police are now re—examining her sudden death. she'd suffered from epilepsy and was said to have died from a fit. if diane stewart died of natural causes in 2010, it would only be right and proper that we really look at what the causes might be but of course it would be part of our inquiries, moving forward from this conviction. collapsed suddenly. diane was a very fit and healthy person, the whole of bassingbourn was in shock, you could not believe it could have happened because there was no sign of prior knowledge that there was anything wrong

with diane whatsoever. after his wife died, ian stewart was seen with other women before he began his predatory pursuit of helen bailey. as a writer, she was used to studying human behaviour, but she never learned the true character of the man who was closest to her and who she thought she knew best. astronomers believe they may have found a crucial step towards finding life outside of earth. well, scientists say seven planets newly discovered in a solar system a0 light years from earth lie within a temperate zone — that means they could have water and, conceivably, life. a team of international scientists, including some from britain, say they expect to establish in the next ten yea rs they expect to establish in the next ten years whether there is life on any of the planets orbiting a distant dwarf star. here's our science editor david shukman with the story. an artist's impression of a startling discovery deep in space. around a feint and distant star much weakerthan oursun,

a collection of planets surprisingly similar to earth. in all, seven of these worlds have been spotted and astronomers think it will change how we look at the night sky. an array of telescopes point to one spot in space, and scientists were looking for tiny clues about the light of a particular star becoming dimmer on a regular basis as planets orbited in front of it. they can't see these new worlds but they know that they are there. we are extremely excited, this is the biggest amount of planets we have found in one go that looked like the earth in composition, size and mass. all seven are far enough to the star and close enough to hold liquid water, and that is just incredible. this is the latest revelation in a wave of discoveries of the past 25 years of new worlds that exist in solar systems beyond our own. the total of these distant planets now stands at well over 3000. what makes this discovery so unusual is the sheer number of new worlds spotted in one go.

seven in all, and crucially they are just the right temperature for liquid water to exist at the surface. three of them are in what is called the habitable zone, raising the tantalising possibility that they could conceivably horsed life, but we will not be getting there in a hurry. —— conceivably host life. they are a0 light—years away and to reach them using the rockets we have now would take something like 700,000 years. there is so much to find out about these worlds, whether the artists' impressions are right, whether it is possible the conditions for life do exist. and astronomers said there will be a huge effort to try to find out. the more we look, the more planets we find and the more earth—like planets we find, but this is especially exciting because this, the ultra cool star we have discovered, they are quite populous throughout our galaxy and it is the first time we have found planets orbiting a star like this and we have found seven of them. the best hope lies with huge new telescopes which will come into service soon, improving

the chances of getting a really close look at these alien worlds, to see for example if they do have oceans, and maybe, just maybe, discover if they have life. david shukman, bbc news. fascinating. a political row has erupted over the compensation paid to the british fighter with so—called islamic state. ronald fiddler was formerly a detainee at guantanamo bay and is reported to have died in a suicide bombing in iraq. lord carlile — who reviewed terror laws for ten years — said fiddler should never have been paid a penny. tony blair has defended himself from attacks that he was responsible, saying the decision to award the compensation was taken by the mainly conservative government. 0ur deputy political editor john pienaar reports. the face of a fanatic. a briton, about to die an isis suicide bomber. detained, then freed, and reportedly handed £1 million compensation in taxpayers' cash. why?

that is now a bitter dispute. jamal al—harith, born ronald fiddler, was among the suspected terrorist detainees held at guantanamo bay without charge until, following british government than £1 million for what they called mental cruelty and inhuman treatment. it's been hard for us, you know? he's gone now and ijust hope that between him and his maker he is... done whatever he wanted to do. but today the papers and some tory mps blamed labour in government for letting him go and paying him off. utter hypocrisy, said tony blair — the critics had demanded the freedom of the detainee. but mr blair has hit back. he said in a statement... it is just a matter of fact that

compensation was decided by the conservative government, by kenneth clarke, the justice secretary, not by a labour government. according to this intelligence assessment on wikileaks, fiddler was a suspected terrorist associated with al-qaeda, yet he was compensated. there was intelligence against these people yet the only way the actions could have been defended is if the intelligence and the sources of intelligence had been brought out in open court. and that would have undermined the whole of the efforts of the intelligence and security agencies. jamal al—harith travelled to pakistan in 2001. he was arrested that year in afghanistan, from there a transfer to guantanamo before repatriation and release in 200a.

in 2010 he was paid compensation and in april 2014 to syria via turkey, tojoin islamic state. intelligence can now be used in court without compromising sources after a change in the law, but hundreds of britons have travelled to iraq and syria as jihadists and one former minister told me that they are believed to include some who have been monitored, perhaps even detained and compensated in the past. is that the stock market? there may be more like ronald fiddler, security forces can only try to keep up their guard in future. john pienaar, bbc news, westminster. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:a0pm and 11:30pm this evening in the papers. the brit awards will be covered as well. our guests joining me tonight are hugh muirfrom the guardian and journalist sean dilley.

a toddler who died after suffering a catalogue of injuries at the hands of her legal guardian should never have been placed with her. that's the finding of a serious case review which has concluded 18—month—old keegan downer — who died in 2015 — was invisible to professionals, despite suffering over 150 injuries. kandyce downer was jailed for life after being convicted of the little girl's murder. 0ur correspondent sima kotecha has more. —— amy cole has this report. little keegan, seen here happy and flourishing and her foster home. little keegan, seen here happy and flourishing and herfoster home. but that all changed when she went to live with kandyce downer, a distant relative who had been awarded a special guardianship order for the ca re of special guardianship order for the care of the little girl in 2015. just nine months later, she was dead. a serious case review into the death of the toddler found she was failed bya number of of the toddler found she was failed by a number of agencies. for example, a health visitor only ever made one visit not long after

kandyce became her guardian. keegan did not have a flag all right codes tom 0kker card on her medical notes decision was effectively adopted and was not seen by a gp or nurse after her placement. there was no further contact made by children social cab. that was a failing and we have no expectation set out in policy to do those visits, that is what needs to change. there needs to be ongoing support and part of our expectation has to be a working relationship with those placements, not some privacy that is very distant relationship means an automatic right to the permanency of the child without supervision. initial assessment about whether kandyce downer should become a special guardian was carried out by an external agency, not the city council. this is no longer the case. the report says that kandyce downer was given too much power to control who did ordid was given too much power to control who did or did not seek keegan. with hindsight, that is not good enough

and would not happen now. one of the other things that has changed and needs to be ensured following this case is that those universal services that would be part of the gp and health visitor would absolutely know that this child is ona absolutely know that this child is on a special guardianship —— under special guardianship. greater awareness in wider society is something that children's charity the nspcc calls for. it is very important that changes have happened, it is tragic in this case that it was too late for this individual child, the changes will need to happen in future. it is important that any member of the public help social services and the police and comes forward with information. birmingham city council says it has taken further steps to safeguard children. has anybody been sacked over keegan‘s death? children. has anybody been sacked over keegan's death? employment action has been taken, they are not working mothers any longer. so yes?

yes. birmingham children's services will be taken over this year. with me isjon brown from the nspcc. this must be heartbreaking for you and your colleagues after so many yea rs of and your colleagues after so many years of campaigning and trying to help the system get better. as we heard, people have been sacked, but it is easy to point the finger of blame at individuals. do we need to look at the system as well? yes, and at individuals in terms of training and support and the selection of people coming into social work, particularly child protection social work. so it is a multifaceted challenge. i would say in our experience at the nspcc that day in, day out, we in, week out, there is excellent practice and children are protected. with these tragedies, where clearly the abuse or, in this tragedy, the death, was preventable, things could have been done to

prevent the tragedy. we need to learn from this and get the basics right in terms of accurate assessment, child focused decision—making, prompt information sharing. and the recognition that sheu sharing. and the recognition that shell protection is everyonesponsor ability, we can dump it all at the door of local authority children's services. we heard similar warnings after the likes of baby p and victoria climbie, have lessons being learned? yes, and practice has been improved, it is important is to —— important to remember that. the way information is shared has improved, generally speaking, the establishment of multi—agency hubs where agencies come together, statutory and voluntary sector, to share information and make prompt and accurate assessments. lots of these measures have improved the overall safety a nd these measures have improved the overall safety and protection of children, the children still fall through the cracks and that is where

abuses preventable and mistakes are made, that is where the real concern is and is unforgivable. what really went wrong here, was there a lack of 01’ no went wrong here, was there a lack of or no monitoring for a long period? should that child have constantly been monitored until everybody was sure? a number of issues in terms of the thoroughness of the assessment that was originally made, the special guardianship arrangements. it does not appear that was sufficiently thorough and analytical and sufficiently child—centred. there were issues in relation to non—contact with the family, insufficient follow—up visits and not prompt sharing of concerns, where it was clear that the child was experiencing harm and abuse and that information was not shared and not acted upon, crucially. if you are concerned about the safety or welfare of a child, whether you are a professional, parent or member of the community, you can report it.

contact the nspcc helpline, do not feel like somebody else will respond to it, if you are not sure, reports something. better to be wrong by not report at all? yes. a lot more information is available on the nspcc website, lots more on that story on the bbc news website. the headlines: the fiancee of children's author helen bailey is found guilty of her murder, dumping her body in a cesspit in the hope of inheriting millions of pounds. astronomers discover seven earth size planets orbiting a distant star which could potentially harbour conditions to support life. a political row has broken out about compensation paid to a british so—called islamic state fighter after he was detained at guantanamo bay. time for the sport. let's cross to john watson at the bbc sports

centre. many thanks. starting with the football tonight. leicester city's premier league troubles continue, but up against the spanish side sevilla tonight in the last 16 of the champions league, they're looking for the win that manager claudio raneiri feels could kick start their season. they did not make the best start, wes morgan's foul led to a penalty, which was saved by kasper schmeichel. the home side team—mate events. they headed in after a cracking ci’oss they headed in after a cracking cross midway through the first half. leicester trail 1—0 and are very much up against it in spain. porto, who finished second behind leicester in their group, are facing juventus. it is goalless but the home side are down to ten men after one of their brazilian defenders was sent off following a second yellow card, his first booking came afterjust 7a seconds. so porto are up against it. manchester united are into the last 16 of the europa league with a comfortable 4—0 aggregate win over st etienne.

3—0 up from the first leg of the tie, henrik mikatarayan scored the only goal in the france to reach the next stage of the tournament. jim lumsden reports. 3-0 3—0 up from the first leg thanks to zlata n 3—0 up from the first leg thanks to zlatan ibrahimovic chad rickard, the former psg striker has scored more against st etienne than any other team. but henrikh mkhitaryan effectively brought the tie to an end after just effectively brought the tie to an end afterjust a quarter of an hour. he limped off ten minutes later. the french side were now faced with an almost impossible task, needing to score five times to win. chances we re score five times to win. chances were few, this was the only one on target in the first half. 0ne stain on the native victory was a red card for a second yellow by eric bailly, he will miss the next game. this competition is becoming less of a hindrance for the clubs, with possible champions league qualification to the winners. man utd havili cup final to look

forward to on sunday, it could be quite a season for the fans. —— have a league cup final to look forward to. wayne rooney did not travel to france. wayne rooney is unlikely to leave manchester united this month. the england captain's representatives have spoken to a club in the chinese super league. but we understand the chances of a deal being finalised over the next week are slim. 0ur reporter simon stone believes rooney will leave old trafford in the summer, whether to china or elsewhere. the simple fact is that wayne rooney is not playing enough football. since he scored that goal against stoke that made him manchester united ‘s called goal—scorer, he has m- his starts this season, he has started eight premier league games. if you compare that to zlatan ibrahimovic, who has played 2a times, and even people like marcus rashford, henrikh mkhitaryan and anthony martial, they have started more games than wayne rooney. he wa nts to more games than wayne rooney. he wants to play. allied to the fact that clubs in china are keen to get

wayne rooney, he would be a marquee signing, that is why these stories have emerged. in the scottish cup between hearts and hibs, jason cummings has given hibs the lead. it finished goalless ten days ago in the tie. holders hibs, who knocked out hearts at this stage last season. jonathan season. jonathanjoseph season. jonathan joseph has been season. jonathanjoseph has been left out of the england squad preparing to face italy in the six nations on sunday. the bath centre has played in all 15 matches under eddie jones the bath centre has played in all 15 matches under eddiejones but has referred —— return to his club after being cut. wales wing george north will start the match with scotland on saturday after recovering from a thigh injury. the 24—year—old will replace alex cuthbert, the only change to rob howley‘s side who lost to england in cardiff. that is all the sport for now, i will have more to come later.

we look forward to it, thanks. for the first time in its 188—year history, london's metropolitan police force will be run by a woman. cressida dick has been described as an exceptional leader with a clear vision for the future. but her appointment hasn't been without criticism. she was the commander of the operation that led to the fatal shooting ofjean charles de menezes in 2005. she returns to the met with over 30 years of service under her belt. but what are the main challenges she'll face? some will be familiar ground. nick beake has this report. 0utside outside the metropolitan police's new headquarters, their new commissioner. the first woman to lead the metz. it is beyond my wildest dreams. an extraordinary privilege. i am very humbled. i adore london, i think it is the world's greatest global city, and i

adore london, i think it is the world's greatest global city matter. love policing and i love the matter. but the appointment is controversial, cressida dick was in charge of the operation 12 years ago in which an innocent man was shot dead at stockwell underground station. brazilian electricianjean charles de menezes was mistaken for suicide bomber. that was a fortnight after the seven severn attacks. a jury after the seven severn attacks. a jury later found after the seven severn attacks. a jury laterfound she after the seven severn attacks. a jury later found she bore after the seven severn attacks. a jury laterfound she bore no personal responsibility. jury laterfound she bore no personal responsibilitylj jury laterfound she bore no personal responsibility. i am computer confident and delighted that we have a candidate who will ta ke that we have a candidate who will take the sun, be excellent in the role, she has shown the right leadership potential, she has the right experience. cracks that -- cressida dick takes the top job at a time when crime is on the rise and money is tight. what do londoners wa nt to money is tight. what do londoners want to be prioritised? cyber crime, online fraud, online bullying, trolling. there is a lack of investment in local policing, we re ce ntly lost investment in local policing, we recently lost out on local police

station which has been sold and turned into flats. i would quite like the rise in race hate crime in that kind of thing to be addressed, because we are a multicultural city and we need to embrace that. my embrace that. my son, at the age of 17, his life was suddenly taken away. in north london today, a mother tells schoolchildren about her unbearable loss. eva lawson's son godwin was stabbed to death in 2010. she has campaigned tirelessly to reduce knife crime but it is on the rise. i would like the commissioner to ensure that police officers work very closely with the local communities to ensure that they build trust. i would also like the police officers to find out the reasons why young people are carrying knives in the first place. less money could mean a drop in the number of police officers. the rank and file worry it could fall below

30,000. i don't see how we can protect the streets in the same way that we do now with 2500 to 3000 less cops, that is a huge number which will have a massive effect on all of the department in the metropolitan area. another concern is how to stop young londoners being radicalised. in southall, football is used to fight extremism. radicalised. in southall, football is used to fight extremismlj radicalised. in southall, football is used to fight extremism. i think it is incredibly important we have a commissioner with compassion and the approach where you could speak to the use of london or this country and embrace rising london. so many challenges, rising crime and less money. the new boss may soon discover that it is tough at the top. it is the biggest night in british music, the brit awards. david bowie

has been named best male solo artist, emeli sande won best british female. we spoke to her before the ceremony and asked if she was nervous. it is more pressure, i wa nted nervous. it is more pressure, i wanted to go well and i want to represent the music as best i can, but rehearsals have gone great and i hope people will be moved by the performance. what is so special about the brits? they have always reflected great artistry, what is current. it is an exciting award, i grew up watching the brits so to be able to perform tonight is really special. criticism in previous years that it has not reflected ethnic minorities enough, been too focused on other types of music, do you think that problem, if it was a problem, has been fixed?“ think that problem, if it was a problem, has been fixed? if you look at the nominations this year there isa at the nominations this year there is a true reflection of what is touching people and moving,

especially the young people. i think this year is a true reflection of what britain is doing and what people are hearing from around the world, iam proud people are hearing from around the world, i am proud of the brits for telling the truth about music and i think there will be some great wins and performances tonight. it reflects international artists as well, lots of it is about british music, what makes british music so special here and around the world? it is really defiant, there are no real rules in the uk because there are so many collaborations and mixes of cultures, so i feel there is a real bravery to british music, i think that is what is so special and why the world is looking at the uk now and we are doing some great things and telling great stories. much more from lizo mzimba on bbc news, you can keep up to date with all the winners and performances at the brit awards this year at the bbc entertainment website. if you click

on music news live. now the weather with tomasz schafernaker. let's check on storm doris, it is still heading for us. the storm looks pretty nasty. within the next 12 hours or so. it will strike central parts of the uk. the first problem is not the wind but the snow falling tonight into tomorrow, the southern uplands and central lowlands, there could be disruption due to the snow lying on the ground first thing. through the morning, lunchtime and early afternoon, the worst of the winds moving through this part of the country. a closer look, and amber warning is in force from the met office and the winds are striking north—western parts of england, northern wales, liverpool, manchester, through the midlands, northern england, nottingham, east anglia and very windy further south but not as windy as in this orange area where there could be structural

damage and the potential for high sided vehicles overturning, more serious scenes could be something like this, so take care tomorrow. hello. this is the bbc news. the headlines: the fiance of the children's author, helen bailey, has been convicted of murdering her to profit from her £4 million fortune. ian stewart suffocated her before hiding her body beneath their home in hertfordshire. seven planets have been discovered

beyond our solar system. they could support life. the us space agency nasa says the planets are circling an "ultracool" dwarf star 39 light years away from the sun. a political row has erupted over the compensation paid to a british fighter with so—called islamic state. ronald fiddler was formerly a detainee at guantanamo bay and is reported to have carried out a suicide bombing in iraq. the supreme court has ruled in favour of a government policy that sets an income threshold for british citizens who want to bring their foreign spouses into the country. cressida dick has been appointed as the metropolitan police commissioner, becoming the first woman to head the met in its 188 year history. the trump administration is expected to revoke 0bama transgender bathroom bill, the federal guideline telling public schools to let transgender students use bathrooms matching their chosen gender identity. let's return to the news

that the family of a british is fighter who carried out a suicide attack in iraq have denied he received £1 million in compensation after being freed from guantanamo bay. it had been reported by the daily mail thatjamal al—harith received the payout from the uk government after being freed from captivity in 200a. the family say that figure was "a group settlement including costs for four innocent people including jamal". the daily mail says it stands by its story. back in 2004, shortly after he was freed from guantanamo bay jamal al—harith, originally known as ronald fiddler, spoke to the bbc. he was asked about his thoughts upon leaving the us detention camp in cuba. when i first was told, i was scared, because i had been in a cage and i didn't want to leave. strange as it seemed.

my first reaction was, i don't want to go and that is what came to me. then obviously, you accept it and when they were taking us out, i could see the plane, the british plane and they had to walk us over about 200, 300 metres and as we got put in front of the british bobby in his uniform and the american soldier was taking off my chains... i wanted to spit in his face. but obviously you have to hold yourself inside. what has been the reaction of people to you? people have been fine, giving me hugs. people have said, keep strong and keep going. praying for me. a lot of support. i have seen people on the other side as well but mainly people have been very supportive. because you have denied any involvement whatsoever in terrorism and since you have came home, the police have not arrested you or anything so they must be presumably happy with that situation.

yet there will be people who point the finger and say, terrorist. that's right. does that bother you? yes, it is strange because before i left, the american intelligence said we put your picture through the intelligence agencies around the world and nothing came back, you haven't even got a parking ticket. the last thing they said was, are you an agent for m15? they thought you were working for m15? were you? no, absolutely not. what about compensation? you'll pursue? i would like to sue them but i am hearing that it might not be possible to sue them because they see cuba as being some legal black hole and if you are an american citizen, an international law applies but if you are not, in cuba, guantanamo, no international law applies and they can do what they want with you. this is what i am being told at the moment. so you don't think you are

going to get anywhere? not really, i will try but i don't think so. baroness pauline nevillejones, a conservative, was security minister in the first year of the coalition government. she says we may never know how jamal al—harith was radicalised. that whole story i think indicates it will be hard to know when he was radicalised, if in fact he was radicalised earlier and in effect recanted and then went back to a radical viewpoint. i think we shall never know about the history of this man and whether the judgments made at the time by the intelligence services about his state of mind and likely attitude and actions may have been perfectly valid. we will never know. it does raise the questions that i am sure you are pondering a bit tonight about whether he is just a one—off case that could never

have been that clear to the intelligence services, or if there are others who were radicalised and no longer a danger but could still become a danger, and perhaps there needs to be a security review of how these people are monitored? this is a great problem of how you deal with people who are enemies of a society that is a free society. we could employ a very great, larger number of intelligent agents and police and we could monitor many more people in our society and it would be a less free and nice place to live. you have to balance how much resource you are going to devote to monitoring with the values that we hold dear, like freedom of speech and freedom of movement. there is inevitably an element of risk involved. these judgments are made by professional people and they would be the first to say they won't always get it right. at some point, probably around 2013,

what monitoring we do have, m15 failed to pick up he had been radicalised or even re—radicalised. he went to syria and joined islamic state. indeed. and i don't suppose they would argue with you that they didn't pick it up and it was one of the failures. what i am saying, one thing is that if we want to have a free society, we aren't going to have everybody monitored. they have to prioritise and we have to balance the risk of people like this with the freedoms we want for ourselves. they won't argue this one was a failure. when you are with a question, could there be others? my only answer is there could be. but people do their best to pick up the trail is they get people who have either recanted or have gone back being radicalised if they had previously not been apparently extremist.

i think it is also true to say however, and there is evidence for this, that the number of people who are now going out to syria has very greatly diminished. as people have understood, including those who might be tempted, exactly what is is like and how brutal it is. there is much less attraction for going out than there was. the element of risk does simply remain and i don't think we can deny that. people will be watching tonight, concerned about immigration as well and concerned that there may be fewer people going to syria but there are certainly lots of people trying to come back and whether enough is being done to make us all safe from these people. yes and you put your finger on one of the things that does most concern the intelligence services, returnees. i don't think there is much doubt that will be a high priority for them and when somebody does

return, they will be high on the list of people with whom it is necessary to keep in contact. and of course people return in different states of mind. some return with the intention potentially of doing something and others return thoroughly disgusted with what they have seen and don't want to go anywhere near it at all. one cannot conclude that everybody who comes back has malign intentions. but equally we cannot assume that people won't have. these are the difficult things the police and intelligence agencies have to face. much more on the website. more help is to be given to support two million people affected

by famine in south sudan, and neighbouring somalia. the government has promised another £200 million to provide basic supplies and care for those at risk. south sudan became a country six years ago — a civil war has been raging since 2013. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. in parts of war—torn south sudan, people are now dying of starvation. and famine has been officially declared. the un and charities say that somalia, yemen and north east nigeria are facing similar humanitarian crises with millions of people having no reliable access to food. there is fighting, there's violence going on on a large scale, which is having a devastating impact on the lives of ordinary people and particularly on families and children. crops are being destroyed, people are being uprooted and forced to flee and leave behind the crops and food that they would normally be dependent on. they're finding that the price of food that they want to buy on the market is going up astronomically. and they simply cannot cope. so today the international development secretary priti patel

is promising a new package of emergency aid to south sudan and somalia. she said there would be an extra £200 million made available this year. this would include emergency food and waterfor a million people in somalia and food assistance for 500,000 people in south sudan. and there would also be emergency health care and nutritional support for starving children in both countries. britain's leadership will basically mean that we will be saving lives, bringing vital assistance to people in desperate need, but also putting the call out to the international community to get them to step up, to galvanise their support so that we can have a strong international response to what quite frankly could be a devastating humanitarian crisis. miss patel said the international response so far had been "inadequate". the world was "sleepwalking" towards catastrophe. and she calls for a faster, more effective humanitarian system. the problem is that these crises

have been caused as much by conflict as by drought. no amount of aid will end the violence that has brought so much suffering to these countries. james landale with that report on the situation in south sudan. well, today, £100 million was also pledged to help the situation in somalia from where fay hoyland from save the childrenjoins me now. gosh. you and your colleagues have gotan gosh. you and your colleagues have got an awful lot to do, to help these people. we havejust been hearing from the secretary—general, who said they are going to need at least $4.4 billion by the end of march. a surprise? that is not a surprise at all. it is a terrible situation on the ground. it is so

hot, dry. no vegetation. dead camels, goats. malnutrition rates are increasing every day. 60,000 children suffering from malnutrition. 17,000 of those cases, extreme malnutrition. i met with a mother today. and she has not been able to feed her children for two days. and when she can, it is plain grass. that there's not enough. i met with another mother today. she is not able to breast—feed because she cannot get the water herself. we're just looking at the pictures, of those families and children that you are talking about. some of these

images, shocking. this malnutrition, famine, it is not news to the people where you are. and we have two remained ourselves, when famine asda cleared, it is a certain point of crisis. could that have been avoided if the world woke up sooner? crisis. could that have been avoided if the world woke up sooner7m crisis. could that have been avoided if the world woke up sooner? it is drought, crisis. the people here have not had any rain for over two yea rs. have not had any rain for over two years. it is the worst drought since 1950. it is an extreme situation, stressful situation. and save the children are on the ground, scaling up children are on the ground, scaling up programmes. we need to do more, to prevent full blown famine. you

are echoing the words of the united nations secretary—general, it is really just a major cash flow problem. and when we call this famine, it means that a certain amount of people are dying each day, compared to a few months ago. the build—up to these famines has been around for some time, was the money, the donations just not there? people almost suffering from africa 50? the donations just not there? people almost suffering from africa 50 ?m is unprecedented. -- african fatigue. it is the worst situation. we need to scale up operations and the government do not have the resources . the government do not have the resources. they need the humanitarian agencies like save the children to work with them and we are doing that. we need to continue

to do that and scale up even more. the situation is getting worse by the day. and the children are suffering the worst, the most vulnerable. i am saying that on the ground. children dying every day. vulnerable. i am saying that on the ground. children dying every daylj am sure that your suffering is nothing compared to them, but it also must take its toll, seeing this every single day? it is really difficult. we want to be able to do more, and we need more money for that. we have been water tracking, providing mobile health units and we are trying to reach everybody that we can but we cannot. we want to do more. you have that feeling. he pulled being overwhelmed on the ground, but we need to see these children, these families.” ground, but we need to see these children, these families. i remember on reporting on famine, in the early

90s, on reporting on famine, in the early 905, it on reporting on famine, in the early 90s, it was different but they do keep re—emerging. it is something we have just got to accept? so many governments, wars, climate change? can we do more to stop this happening again? we have got a lot of drought happening across africa. and africa does experience drought. what we have never experienced it to this extreme, across so many countries. it is unprecedented. all that we can do, scale up the operations. but we need more money. we need the international community to step up, and the british public to step up, and the british public to donate. take care of yourself. we know that it is difficult. thank you for speaking to us. thank you.

the headlines on bbc news: the fiance of the children's author helen bailey is found guilty of her murder — dumping her body in a cesspit, in the hope of inheriting millions of pounds. astronomers discover seven ea rth—sized planets orbiting a distant star. they could potentially harbour conditions to support life. a political row has broken out about the compensation paid to the british so—called is fighter, after he was detained at guantanamo bay. the supreme court has upheld a controversial rule preventing

british citizens on below average incomes from bringing their foreign husbands or wives into the country from outside europe. judges rejected an appeal by families who argued the threshold of over £18,000 a year breached their human rights. the court decided the rule was lawful, but criticised it as "defective" because it didn't prioritise the welfare of children. daniel sandford reports. they look like any other family but caroline coombs, her husband carlos, from ecuador, and their 15—month—old son thomas live in a permanent state of uncertainty, not knowing whether they will be able to stay together in britain because caroline, a former television producer, is earning less than £18,000 a year, which under new immigration rules, is not enough to bring a foreign husband or wife to the uk. we were two very capable human beings, who happened to fall in love. and we were being told that we'd be split up. and we had a young baby. and we weren't being given the right to be a family in my own country. the supreme court ruling today said the new rules were "defective", particularly when it came to children, but it found that the controversial mir, the minimum income requirement, did not didn't break human rights laws.

it holds that the mir is acceptable in principle but the rules and instructions fail to take proper account of these section 55 duty in respect of children. although the government has technically lost this case in the supreme court on the way it implements its new rule, it is, nonetheless, a victory for ministers on the principle that people on low incomes can't just assume that theirforeign husband or wife can automaticallyjoin them in britain. it is considered reasonable to expect you to leave the uk... but caroline and carlos do now have a chance because the home office agreed to day to carefully consider what the supreme court had said about how the rules are unlawful because they don't pay enough attention to the best interests of children. the system is wrong. something needs to be changed. not only for me. for all the other kids that are out there, for all the other mums who are suffering every day.

can i sleep thinking that i don't have to leave the country? many thousands of couples were affected by the new laws which were designed to reduce the cost of immigrants claiming benefits. families with children now have a second chance, as do couples with other sources of income. but, for many, the minimum income requirement will still stop them being reunited in britain. later today, the trump administration is expected to revoke the 0bama trasngender bathroom bill — a federal guideline telling public schools to let transgender students use bathrooms matching their chosen gender identity. white house spokesperson sean spicer told journalists that "the president is a "firm believer in states' rights" and the new administration

had "several areas of concern, both legal and procedural". a lot of people worried. joining me now from san francisco is kris hayashi, executive director of the transgender law center. thank you forjoining us. i was just looking at your website. a lot of advice, if you are transgender, about rights, and we are talking about rights, and we are talking about federal law. it does vary state to state. confusing picture. that is a really important question. the first thing that i am going to say, regardless of what the donald trump administration says, the law is on the side of the transgender students. protected from discrimination under the law. u nfortu nately, discrimination under the law. unfortunately, many schools across

the country have transgender stu d e nts the country have transgender students facing discrimination. the president 0bama administration issued guidance, to make sure that the schools complied with the law, so that all students got an education. if the donald trump administration resigns this, it does not change the law, that transgender stu d e nts not change the law, that transgender students are protected from discrimination. but what it does students are protected from discrimi a tion. but what it does students are protected from discrimi a message what it does students are protected from discrimi a message to at it does students are protected from discrimi a message to the does it sends a message to the transgender used, that this current administration and government does not value them or protect them. this issue arose because a number of schools in a number of states, transgender people schools in a number of states, tra nsgender people not schools in a number of states, transgender people not able to use the rest room of the choice. it had to be the original. and a lot of cases going through the courts? that is correct. we are clear, if the

donald trump administration does recently guidance, —— rescind cadence, we're going to continue to fight for the rates of transgender students. we currently have a case ofa students. we currently have a case of a young transgender boy in wisconsin, singled out to use a different rest room from his peers. we were successful in stopping the school to implement that policy, that case is going to be heard in one month. and also, we have a case of another across the student who was facing discrimination at school, being singled out and treated differently than all of the other boys. that case is going to be heard before the supreme court. and they will be looking at the united states constitution. equality,

discrimination, transgender constitution. equality, discrimination, tra nsgender people should be protected. what is the president going to do? just revoking the guidance from president 0bama, or change the cadence? —— guidance? it is clear to us that this is another instance when the trump administration is attacking the most vulnerable members of the community. and this time, it is transgender students. it is making clear that this administration will not fulfil its duty to protect all people in this country. and it is shameful and it is horrible that politicians and government officials are using this to target transgender students, trying to go to school and get an education. many thanks for taking the time to speak to us. time for a look at the weather...

some pretty horrific weather. yes. the winds could be a concern. certainly, storm doris and we have the warning from the met office. it is looking nasty on these latest satellite pictures. we are starting to see that hook, the storm starting to see that hook, the storm starting to wind up. and unfortunately it is going to be occurring as it slams into the united kingdom. the north midlands and east anglia. this is what is going to happen over the next hours. we have got the rain, not much of our problem but then it does become a problem because it is going to be snow and the met office hasissued going to be snow and the met office has issued an amber warning. we can

ta ke has issued an amber warning. we can take a look in some more detail. 20, 30 centimetres across uplands, and even the outskirts of glasgow and edinburgh. that is going to cause some problems. it is also going to be the wind that is the problem. it is not the worst that we have seen but it is pretty nasty, of the winter season. we can take a look at the wind, the most troublesome aspect. northern wales, the orange area, aspect. northern wales, the orange area , severe gales aspect. northern wales, the orange area, severe gales crossing and it is populated part of the united kingdom. even the south is going to be getting this, some trees going down and the potential for some over timing. some of us could have some

significant structural damage. later on thursday, i think it is lincolnshire and east anglia that we're going to get the worst. mixed bag. sunshine and showers. the storm eventually pulls out, and by midnight going into friday, wind dies down. but no doubt some of us are going to be picking up bits and pieces through this portion of the country. and later, some rain for the north west. it is a really tough thtnottfi’wesi—rl—ww 7 ". ww" day on the way. hello, i'm nuala mcgovern, this is 0utside source. nasa has made an announcement of a new discovery. the space agency says it has found seven earth—sized exo—planets. they're located about 39 light years away from the sun. we're hearing multiple reports that the white house will revoke some 0bama era rules

on transgender rights. we'll be live in washington. malaysian police have named a north korean diplomat as a suspect in the murder of kimjong—nam, the half—brother of north korea's leader. and a new study shows that average life expectancy in south korea could reach over 90 by 2030.