this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 11. the head of britain's biggest union calls on the government to protect jobs at vauxhall‘s uk plants as its takeover by french company psa is announced. i am asking our government to make certain that they are at the table, because the french and german governments will be. batting for our british plants and making certain that peugeot are committed to us. the former french prime minister alain juppe has announced that he will not stand in next month's presidential election. britain's most senior counter—terrorism officer says 13 potential attacks have been prevented in the past four years. councillors in cumbria are to decide whether to issue a new licence for south lakes zoo, where nearly 500 animals have died in four years. also, ceremonies are being held in the uk and belgium on the 30th anniversary of the zeebrugge ferry disaster. 193 people died when the vessel capsized off the belgian coast,

soon after setting sail for dover. and bt sport are to pay £1.2 billion to carry on showing the champions league and europa league until 2021. the new deal ends the highlights shows on terrestrial tv. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the uk factories at ellesmere port and luton employee... the new owners met government and unions last week and provided insurance that existing

production commitments would be honoured at ellesmere port until 2020 and luton for some years beyond that but the combined company will have 2a factories in europe and some say that is too many. it's one of the biggest deals in the car—making sector. british and german brands vauxhall and opel are to merge with the french brands peugeot and citroen. together they will make a company which is the second—largest automotive player in europe. today, the bosses of general motors and psa welcomed the £1.9 billion deal and stressed their commitments to vauxhall and opel at least until 2020. after that it was up to the workers. theirfuture is in their hands, based on their ability to give themselves the level of performance that will ensure the sustainability of their company. we believe that we have highly talented people by opel—vauxhall, but the only thing that really protects them is their ability to be at the right level of performance.

vauxhall‘s plants in ellesmere port and luton are some of the most efficient in the world. psa says it will honour all agreements with vauxhall workers, but unions are worried. whatever the french government and the german government are offering in terms of incentives, we should also be looking at that and of course the government talks about an industrial strategy, well, they now have to demonstrate that it is more thanjust words. we have to make certain there is proper government—led commitment. next year, psa will decide where it will make the next generation of astras, currently made in the uk. as they do so, they won't yet know what sort of trading arrangement the prime minister, theresa may, will have secured with the eu in post—brexit britain. joe lynam, bbc news. ina in a moment we will talk to our assistant political editor at westminster. first to ben and i are in luton. how are they reacting

there? i think everybody is reasonably happy that at least an announcement has been made. the last couple of weeks it has only been rumours and worries about what might be coming. there has been a reasonably positive response to the fairly straightforward and clear comments made by the psa chairman at that press conference in paris a short time ago. nevertheless people here in luton will be concerned. i am joined by the local mp. what do you think, are you confident for the future of the plant at luton? the key thing at luton is we have eight years of production and the current van, we are one of the most efficient plants in the new combined company so i am optimistic about that. but make no mistake, this is the plant where my dad and his dad before him worked, this is a common

luton story. if vauxhall, a british brand, is still to be utilised by psa it needs to maintain that —— manufacturing base in the uk. what do you identify as the important factors as to whether it stays open oi’ factors as to whether it stays open or close as? gm europe was loss—making for 16 years, peugeot has not put the company for it to continue in that state. the second issueis continue in that state. the second issue is brexit. it is fairly obvious, if you were doing a league table of the 2a plants across the eu in this combined company, ellesmere port and luton would come right at the top in terms of efficiency and making money, but the key query mark is brexit, that is in the government's gift to decide what it is pushing for, and we need to avoid the hardest of brexits which would mean we couldn't export goods. spell

that situation out the us. most of the parts coming from the european union and we export a huge amount to the continent. if you add the paperwork, the costs and vat you would have to pay and then reclaim, it isa would have to pay and then reclaim, it is a massive cost to accompany light gm europe and it would mean that this new company combining the three would be starting behind its competitors. all we -- we know the company is being taken over but we don't know what will happen. when will we find out? it is good to get certainty. the last few weeks we have been engaging with government, the unions and workers here to make sure theirjobs are secured, but the devil is in the detail. the next couple of years we need not only to hold psa to their assurances but also —— about manufacturing in the uk but also the government and brexit to make sure we have the kind of gay —— deal that has made

automotive work so successful and keep it so in the future. we are hearing from the union that so far relatively preliminary talks by have had with the new owners have been in their words relatively positive. nevertheless it is something that will be welcomed by the workers here. they are bullish about how efficient they are but they were —— they also know that some factors about tariffs or out of their control and is dependent on what the government does in terms of any brexit yield going forward. —— brexit yield going forward. —— brexit deal. norman smith, in political terms how is this being viewed? there is a bullish tone from the government not only in the short—term up to 2021 when the french company have given reassurance to continue production

in the uk but beyond that ministers this morning suggesting that because something like 16% of car sales in the uk are vauxhall, it would be in the uk are vauxhall, it would be in the company's interest to keep a british base. and they argue that because britain is at the forefront of new technologies around low—carbon, batteries, electric cars, there are huge incentives for cars, there are huge incentives for car manufacture rs cars, there are huge incentives for car manufacturers to be based here but it seems to me there was no getting away from the brexit factor because of course brexit compare —— creates an element of uncertainty and there will be questions about the trading relationship, if we are outside the customs union what does that mean in terms of tariffs, administration, and there is the politics of this. psa is a company based in the single market. will they really want to close plants inside the single market rather than those outside? it seems there is no getting away from the brexit factor,

albeit this morning the business secretary, greg clark, played that down. the context is clearly nothing to do with brexit, this is a company restructuring. in my discussions, the chief executive has said that brexit isn't a central driver of this, and we want to have the best possible trading relationship with europe. mr clarke obviously managed to reassure nissan, big —— the plant in the north—east, to remain in the uk. i would suggest it might be slightly tougher with psa, and that is because of the politics. psa is 1496 is because of the politics. psa is 14% owned by the french government, the peugeot family own another 14%. they will be, i think is hugely opposed to the idea of closing any plants in france. then you look at the german side of the equation and

of course chancellor merkel is the big power play in the eu, so you have two very powerful forces not to close down production in france or germany, and that must then i would suggest, make mr clarke's task harder in seeking to avoid a cutdown in production in the uk. breaking news, we are hearing that donald trump is expected to sign a new travel ban executive order later today. this was him signing the original controversial travel ban that was blocked in the courts. after it was blocked it ran into all sorts of difficulty, with more than two d oze n sorts of difficulty, with more than two dozen lawsuits being filed in us courts against the original ban. it was originally suspended by the court of appeal is because it violated discrimination laws and the case of religion. we understand that

the new executive order is to be signed later today. that is rotas quoting white house sources that, as anticipated, the new order is expected to not include iraq on the list of countries affected. —— that is reuters quoting. the iraqi government had proposed new vetting procedures including data sharing and because of its work with the us in countering islamic state militants. it will also not affect us green card holders from the listed countries. those are changes to the new executive order travel ban, easier to defend to the new executive order travel ban, easierto defend in to the new executive order travel ban, easier to defend in the courts. we are getting that from reuters quoting white house sources. the former french prime minister alain juppe has announced he will not be a candidate in next month's presidential election. there was growing speculation that he was preparing to step in, should the embattled centre—right candidate francois fillon

decide to resign. but mrjuppe has confirmed that after much reflection he would not stand. a meeting of the party is due to take place later today to discuss the situation. joining me now is our paris correspondent, hugh schofield. alan juppe says he alanjuppe says he is not standing, we re alanjuppe says he is not standing, were fran sol —— francois fillon to step down, but there was no suggestion that he will step down. no, alan juppe has suggestion that he will step down. no, alanjuppe has ruled himself out of the equation. he was the kind of alternative option being mooted by more and more people in the party who are exasperated by francois fillon and think he can't possibly win the election. those people were lining upa win the election. those people were lining up a possible alanjuppe candidacy and hoping that fillon would step down, but fillon has staged this coup de force in paris,

demonstrating that enough people on the right want to vote for him. he persuaded alan juppe basically the right want to vote for him. he persuaded alanjuppe basically to give up. alan juppe persuaded alanjuppe basically to give up. alanjuppe is one of those characters who want people to come to him rather than fight for the nomination and it was clear the party would not come to him so he ruled himself out, not without some bitterness towards francois fillon, who he said had led the right into a cul—de—sac. he is reflecting large opinion in the party that this election is one huge mess. there is some interesting polling out in the last few minutes, massive health warnings around any polls these days, but it is an opinion poll in france indicating that were francois fillon to stay in the race he would beat marine le pen in the run—off vote by 56% to 44%. so he would become president. macron in the

run—off would beat marine le pen by 60% to 40%. what is run—off would beat marine le pen by 60% to a0%. what is the potential impact of all of this on the race? macron beats marine le pen according to the polls by a larger margin than francois fillon. the whole focus is going to —— is who is going to get through to the second round against marine le pen. will it be francois fillon or an alternative right—wing candidate, because it is not finally decided that it will be fillon. there are negotiations going on. or will it be macron, the newcomer from the centre who has taken the country by storm and has this huge open space in the centre to attract people. at the moment all that has

happened with the centre—right, with fillon and his party has been man from heaven to macron, he can't believe his luck. everything is running in his favour thing to stand against marine le pen. she of course is also rubbing her hands, but every poll says that whoever runs against marine le pen will win, so it is macron who is the real winner in this. britain's most senior anti—terrorism officer has revealed that 13 potential terror attacks have been prevented since 2013. assista nt assistant commissioner mark rowley said that at any one time there are 500 investigations being run. he is launching

a campaign, encouraging people to report suspicious activity. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. the moment, caught on a security camera, when omar khyam visited a bag of fertiliser he was storing in 200a. he was plotting to launch an al qaeda bombing campaign against targets like nightclubs and shopping centres. he was caught because a woman working at the storage warehouse became suspicious and called the police, potentially saving hundreds of lives. voiceover: if you have a concern about something you have seen or heard that could identify a terrorist threat, report it. a new police campaign focuses on the important contributions the public can make. voiceover: it could be anything that strikes you as unusual. detectives say the public is still playing an important part in one third of their current investigations. it might be a neighbour, or somebody in the community or a relative, who's changing their behaviour, they're spending time online, they're showing signs of radicalisation, maybe they're visiting the dark web. those sorts of behaviours, all the way through to somebody you don't know, but it may be where you work or where you go shopping and you see something in an area you know that you instinctively think, that's not right.

those are the bits of information we want. senior detectives are warning that supporters of so—called islamic state are not the only threat. al qaeda remains a danger, too, as does far—right terrorism. new officialfigures show that the number of attacks in britain thought to have been thwarted sincejune 2013 has risen to 13, one higher than the figure given six months ago. at any one time, the security services are running around 500 investigations. the threat level remains at severe, which means that the risk of an attack is assessed as "highly likely". the headlines on bbc newsroom live... the french car—maker psa plays down fears ofjob the french car—maker psa plays down fears of job cuts the french car—maker psa plays down fears ofjob cuts and plant closures following being out and that it has struck a tomb —— £2 million deal to buy vauxhall‘s company. —— £2 billion.

britain's most senior anti—terrorism police officer says the security officers are carrying out more than 500 investigations at any one time. ina 500 investigations at any one time. in a moment, survivors and rescue workers gathered to mark the 30th anniversary of the zeebrugge disaster. we will be live in dover and isa disaster. we will be live in dover and is a bigger. the future of alexis sanchez at arsenal looks uncertain after he was dropped in the game against liverpool. he came on as a substitute but couldn't prevent his side losing 3—1. he changed with his clu b side losing 3—1. he changed with his club this morning. the women's world cup will be broadcast exclusively across the bbc. british athlete laura muir produces two record—breaking gold medal performances in the 3000 metres and the 1500 metres at the world

championships. gb 110 medals —— gb won ten medals, finishing second behind poland overall. survivors, rescue workers and victims relatives will gather today to mark the 30th anniversary of the zeebrugge ferry disaster. 193 passengers and crew died when the herald of free enterprise capsized shortly after leaving the belgian port, as duncan kennedy reports. the capsized hulk of one of britain's worst peacetime shipping disasters. the herald of free enterprise, laying on its side near the entrance to the belgian port of zeebrugge. the british ferry disaster off belgium... it was exactly 30 years ago tonight the vessel went down. there were a59 passengers on board, including british day—trippers. the first some knew what was happening was when the plates started slipping off the tables.

it took around 90 seconds for the 13,000—tonne vessel to turn over. the rescue operation helped save many lives but 193 passengers and crew died. the official enquiry found that the bow doors had mistakenly been left open as she left port. an attempt to prosecute crew members and the company collapsed in court. in dover today a memorial service will take place to allow the victims' families to mark the 30th anniversary. the herald's bell, which was later salvaged, will be presented at the service. three decades on, this disaster continues to influence the lives of hundreds of ordinary people, the design of ships and britain's maritime history. our correspondent gavin lee is in zeebrugge. tel us what is happening there now.

commemoration events have been going on through the morning. something quite different, every ten years but for the first time in a big way that haven't just had a for the first time in a big way that haven'tjust had a commemoration here where they have laid flowers, there is a church service in zeebrugge, rescuers and some survivors who have travelled from britain, but also a commemoration at sea. britain, but also a commemoration at sea. i was on a belgian navy patrol boat because some of those rescuers had asked if they could read part of... go back to where the herald of free enterprise sank to put flowers in the water. it struck me that it was a very eerie moment, where people stopped, allowed the boat to float in the matter and there was a moment of silence. —— float in the water. there were tragic and

desperate stories but people have to about some very hopeful stories of the survivors. stan mason from lancashire, who was 26, whose daughter, who was four months, he was in the water with her and he had a serious spinal injury and he ended up a serious spinal injury and he ended up holding her with his teeth to keep her out of the water and she survived. three lorry drivers kept an elderly lady in her 80s alive. i spoke a while ago to perhaps the most remembered passenger, andrew parker, who received the george cross because in the enquiry after they called him the human bridge, he lay down so people could walk across him, he was six but three, so people couldn't jump the chasm him, he was six but three, so people couldn'tjump the chasm from one bit of wood to another, and passengers said he survived because he put his life on the line for them. he was at

the memorial is short while ago and he said this is the last him, it is too much, he wants to get on with his life after 30 years because it has been so painful. i think a lot of people feel that way, given what happened here 30 years ago. extraordinary to hear you talking about what people went through and the impact on them 30 years on and obviously andrew parker saying it is too much, that is what will be going through everybody‘s minds, even after a ll through everybody‘s minds, even after all this time, how do you put it behind you? yes, and duncan a moment ago talked about the culpability factor, how it was a simple yet catastrophic mistake, we had a boson at the time, mark sta nley, had a boson at the time, mark stanley, who was 28 at the time, who was sleeping in his cabin and ultimately he said it was his fault. he died last year. the service is

going on at dover at the moment, both places marking it today. him is sung -- hymns are sung extraordinary tales of debut, what the bill went through to help others survive. —— tales of bravery. let's look at some of today's other developing stories. north korea has fired four missiles,

three of which landed less than 200 miles from the north—west coast of japan. the missiles appear to have been launched from a remote military base close to china. japan's prime minister described it as "an extremely dangerous action". our correspondent in seoul, stephen evans, has been following the latest developments. there has been very strong condemnation from seoul and from japan and washington. analysts are trying to work out if these missiles we re trying to work out if these missiles were significant improvement in north korean technology. the country continually flaunts its missiles in parades but nobody quite knows what they can do. its ambition is to have intercontinental missiles that can strike the united states. there is a

bit of a ritual to all of this, in that at the moment south korean and us troops are engaged in joint exercises which north korea says are practising for innovation. it signals by letting off missiles. if these missiles are technological development, that increases the pressure on president trump to do something. he says he has ruled out no options, the implication being including the military option. that, though, is a lot easier to say than to do with reliability and assured success. ina success. in a separate development, we are just hearing that north korea will be expelling the malaysian ambassador within 48 hours. this is over the continuing fallout over the

killing of kim jong—un's over the continuing fallout over the killing of kimjong—un's half brother at kuala lumpur airport. there has been diplomatic difficulty between the two countries. malaysia said it was protecting its sovereignty and dignity by expelling the north korean ambassador and now north korea says it is x 11 —— expelling the malaysian ambassador, linked to the killing of kim jong—un's half brother in control above. talks are beginning in belfast today aimed at forming a new power—sharing government. the two largest parties, the democratic unionists and sinn fein, are still divided over a botched green—energy scheme that led to the collapse of their previous administration. sinn fein say the dup leader, arlene foster, can't be re—appointed as first minister while her role in the scheme is being investigated. nearly 80% of gcse students who are forced to resit maths and english

fail the exam. since 2013 it's been compulsory for students in england who fail to get a c grade to keep trying in further education until they turn 18. schools and colleges are warning it's putting teachers and their budgets under too much pressure. the former boxer michael watson says he hung on "for dear life" as he was dragged several hundred metres along a road during a violent carjacking in east london. watson, who suffered a near—fatal brain injury during a fight with chris eubank in 1991, spoke to the bbc‘s crimewatch programme about last month's attack. it came like a nightmare. i couldn't believe it, that it could actually happen. i was just hanging on for dear life. evil thugs, that's what they are. they are evil and senseless. they have no heart. and you can see that interview in full on crimewatch tonight at 9 o'clock on bbc one. councillors will decide today whether to issue a new licence for a zoo where almost 500 animals have died in the last four years.

south lakes zoo, in cumbria, was fined almost £300,000 following the death of a keeper who was mauled by a tiger in 2013. government inspectors have criticised the zoo for overcrowding, and a lack of proper welfare for animals. for a full summary of the news you can go to our website where you'll be able to get more details on everything on the programme today. that includes the peugeot takeover of vauxhall and job insecurity in the uk as a result. it will be a fine day across much of the country, we will lose the wet weather in the south—west. a scattering of showers, some heavy across northern areas, particularly in parts of western scotland through the afternoon, with a bit of hail

mixed in, maybe some snow for high ground, increasing showers as well for northern ireland. staying quite wet across the north west of scotla nd wet across the north west of scotland and the western isles but an improving picture across the south—west. parts of wales into the midlands staying dry altogether and top temperatures of maybe 12 degrees. the shower scantily to rattle on through the first part of the night tonight. it will turn quite cold with some frost around and clear skies. that means that usedit and clear skies. that means that used it will be a lovely bright start, lots of sunshine around with increasing cloud, wind and rain piling in across western areas through day, but eastern areas of scotla nd through day, but eastern areas of scotland and eastern england staying dry after dark. this is bbc newsroom live. the headlines at 11:31:

the french car company psa, which owns peugeot and citroen, is to buy vauxhall from the us firm, general motors. the deal has raised fears ofjob losses at vauxhall‘s uk factories, which employ 11,500 workers in luton and ellesmere port. donald trump is preparing to sign a revised order about halting america's refugee programme. the former french prime minister, alainjuppe, has rejected calls to step in as a centre—right candidate to replace francois fillon. mr fillon is being investigated after allegations that he paid his family out of public funds for little or no work. police say more than 500 anteater investigations are being carried out in the uk at any one time and 13 potential attacks have been thwarted since 2013. councillors in cumbria are to decide whether to issue a new licence for the south lakes safari zoo

where nearly 500 animals have died in four years. events are being held in the uk and belgium today to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the zeebrugge ferry disaster. one hundred and ninety—three people died when the passenger ferry capsized within minutes of setting sail for dover from belgium. the future of the arsenal forward alexis sanchez looks uncertain after it has emerged he was dropped after a row with his team—mates. arsene wenger claims the decision to leave him out was a tactical one. he took pa rt him out was a tactical one. he took part in training this morning ahead of their match against munich tomorrow. ian wright said he would leave the club. it's when you are united as a team. i'm not sure that

money will keep and then at the moment because from what i've seen, if he's storming out of training and not playing games, it doesn't seem to bea not playing games, it doesn't seem to be a problem for him because he still performs to the best of his ability but i'm reading into everything and seeing it and says it's not looking good for arsenal. and him. his agent is probably on the phone to people now. if i was andi the phone to people now. if i was and i probably want to leave as well. what's happening at arsenal is not what he came to arsenal for, he's not playing games. he's u nsettled, he's not playing games. he's unsettled, he's unhappy. it seems to me like he wants to go. it's been announced this morning that all of the 2019 women's world cup will be shown across the uk. the tournament reached more than 12 million people on bbc last time and you will be able to follow at all on the bbc as

england attempt to succeed in the us. there will be no terrestrial football coverage from the start of the 2018 season. bt have exclusive coverage. it has cost them £1.3 billion and it includes all champions league, europa games, highlights and all competitions. after beating david hay on saturday, tony bell bellew is unsure if he will fight again. speaking this morning, he was asked if he would ta ke morning, he was asked if he would take up the chance of a rematch against hayes. i hope he gets healthy as soon as possible. i will ta ke healthy as soon as possible. i will take time to get well and recover and then we'll see. i'm not sure if

ican go and then we'll see. i'm not sure if i can go through this any more. i'm not sure my body can't deal with it. i've far exceeded what i set out to do in this business and this game, i really have, so it's going to take something special to get me back out. and is this the face of british athletics? lord your announced herself on the international stage with two record—breaking gold medal performances at the indoor european championships. having broken dame kelly holmes's record on saturday, this was her setting a new record yesterday. she wasn't even born the last time a british athlete won two original goals, that was 23 years ago when colinjackson did it. original goals, that was 23 years ago when colin jackson did it.|j original goals, that was 23 years ago when colin jackson did it. i try to hang in there. i was so glad i could do this. didn't go according

to plan? yes, i tagged onto her because she is more of an endurance athlete. that's all sport for now. more on our top story. the french company that owns peugeot and citroen has agreed a £1.9 billion deal to buy general motors' european unit, including vauxhall. psa group says it will cut costs to increase profits, stoking concerns about those jobs. the new owners met government and unions last week and provided assurance that existing production commitments would be honoured at ellesmere port till 2020 and luton for some years beyond that. but the combined company will have 211 factories in europe— some say that's too many. professor david bailey

from the aston business school is a car industry expert. there is a guaranteed to a certain point. how secure do you feel the jobs are? i feel until 2021 at ellesmere port, thejobs are probably secured. that doesn't change this situation before the takeover. i think in the context of peugeot taking over, they are looking to make savings of 2 billion euros a year, including closing plant in europe, to three dandelion, not immediately but over time and it raises questions about the future —— down the line. it is bang in the

middle of the article 50 negotiations. whether the car industry here will be in the single market. it is very easy to sack workers in the uk because of the flexible labour market. the business secretary greg clark says that context is nothing to do with brexit going forward, but you see it will bea going forward, but you see it will be a vital element. i disagree, because something that pushed it over the edge with the depreciation in sterling after the brexit vote. it is more expensive to import components and cast into the uk so he is wrong on that. —— cars. the uncertainty with europe is going to affect things in the uk unless the government can nail down your trading relationship with europe as quickly as possible but the government is said the uk is leaving the single market and customs union which means a lot of uncertainty in

the car industry and it makes it difficult for the likes of peugeot to commit unless the government can guarantee what the trading relationship will be. when the chairman of psa group says employees in germany will be given the chance to reach the benchmark of efficiency, what did you take that to mean and how does that play into the pockets you're talking about and the pockets you're talking about and the shifting sands of brexit? basically what the company is saying that workers across france, germany, the uk will have to compete and play—off plant against each other to screw out as much as possible in terms of cost savings, productivity growth and support from government and if you can't complete with the other plants, you'll lose yourjobs. that's the immediate to long—term perspective, i think it's inevitable that there are going to be job losses and plant closures. the question is whether it will happen. in the uk, we are particularly

exposed because of our flexible labour market and uncertainty over brexit —— labour market. joining me from ellesmere port is our news reporter andy gill. how vulnerable i have a feeling there? they're feeling uncertain. that's what a senior official has told us. he pointed out that when a family makes —— when a factory makes a carlike family makes —— when a factory makes a car like the astra, the union official told us which is not clear is whether the factory here is likely to get the new generation of astra in 2018 but more or less likely under the new french owners under. . —— general motors. they

wa nt to under. . —— general motors. they want to keep production here in britain. els near port employers just under 2000 people —— ellesmere port. it is an important employer for this part of the world notjust here but right into cheshire and in two parts of wirral and merseyside. —— into parts. these are highly skilled jobs. many thousands ofjobs exist in the supply chain dandelion. —— gallon down the line. the question is wherejob —— gallon down the line. the question is where job losses will fall. the boss of the new owners has said the future of vauxhall is in their hands and it is based on their performance. the way to keep jobs

their hands and it is based on their performance. the way to keepjobs is to be at the right level of performance. what the people here would say is that the ad at that level already. —— they are at. they wa nt to level already. —— they are at. they want to have a manufacturing strategy. when asked how important they thought it was that the british government get involved, they said it was vital. we are just getting a brief comment from theresa may's spokesman saying the government has made clear its long—term commitment to ensuring the competitiveness of the car industry. what would workers and unions affected by this government strategy say? they would like anything that the car plant in sunderland got. they decided to continue investing in the uk after talks with government. it's not clear what the government said to them by what they promised if

anything —— or what they promised, but the people at nissan would like the same thing. in the past there have been problems here but it has been a productive plant for a long time and they believe firmly it has a future here and there stressing the point that vauxhall is seen as the point that vauxhall is seen as the british brand and it sells well because people here like buying the british brand. they think that's something the new owners really need to ta ke something the new owners really need to take notice of and carry on building cars here after 2021 which is when the next generation of astras is due to be built. councillors are meeting to decide whether to issue a new licence for a zoo where almost 500 animals have died in the last four years. south lakes zoo, in cumbria, was fined almost £300,000 following the death of a keeper who was mauled by a tiger in 2013. government inspectors have criticised the zoo for overcrowding,

and a lack of proper welfare for animals. will travers, president of the born free foundation joins me down the line now. what's your reaction to what has emerged? this particular zoo has a very sorry history, a catalogue of one disaster after another including keeper safety and animal welfare. there is a bigger question behind this. if all these things have been known, which they have over an extended period of time, is south la kes extended period of time, is south lakes just the exception that proves the rule or should we be looking at problems that might exist any other 250 plus animal sanctuaries in the uk? hal arpad 250 plus animal sanctuaries in the uk? halarpad hasn't been 250 plus animal sanctuaries in the uk? hal arpad hasn't been what is going on, because this was just

eight —— hal apparent has it been, what has been going on here? they talk about obvious deficiencies and a lack of proper welfare and husbandry. we have a well regulated, at least on paper, a well regulated zoo at least on paper, a well regulated zoo industry and the licensing act reflects the zoo directive and we have secretary of state standards of practice which is detailed documents and we have a 200 page document produced by the zoo's expert committee which is a handle on how to interpret all this stuff. the problem is that we have it in paper but don't seem to have it in practice and in situations such as what has happened at south lakes but

are unique and not in other places, we have to look at the ways in which enforcement is taking place across the zoo industry. if you're a licensing authority and have spoken about it today and you got a facility in your patch that brings in over 250,000 visitors a year, there is definitely, in my view, a conflict of interest to whether you get tough with the zoo to the extent that you make even close it down because what will that do for jobs and for the economy in your particular area? i hear what you're saying obviously that in paper the regulation system should be effective but are you saying it is not working in reality? it is not working in reality and we need an overhaul and more independence in the system, an independent review, a speedy follow—up. if you get a

licence, often there are conditions attached to it and you have to do this within that period of time when you have to meet a particular criteria. the criteria have not been vigorously followed up at south la kes vigorously followed up at south lakes and it is in decline and it leads to bigger questions, questions that we hope to be discussing and debating in westminster with mps on the 22nd of march when we will be looking at both zoos, services, exotic animals as pets. there is a raft of activities to do with exotic animals whether in zoo circumstances, as pets, but are not properly addressed by the current regime. what needs to happen? do inspectors need to go in as a matter of urgency and do a check? indeed, and we need to look at those conditions of the 256, 258 zoos

across the country. there will be hundreds of thousands of conditions attached to the licenses and we need to make sure those conditions have been met, met in full and in a timely fashion according to whatever criteria the inspectors have stepped forward. if they happen, it's another demonstration of why our current licensing system is not fit for purpose. thank you very much. the french car company psa, is playing down fears ofjob losses and closures. the former french prime minister, alainjuppe, has rejected calls to step in as a centre—right candidate to replace francois fillon. police say more than 500 antiterror investigations are being carried out

in the uk at any one time. us media is reporting that the director of the fbi has rejected claims by president trump that barack obama tapped his phones. let's remind you of exactly what mr trump is claiming and how it's been received. our washington correspondent has more. we will bring you that package from the united states in a moment. first, the business updates. the business secretary greg clark has welcomed the sale of vauxhall to psa group, the french company that owns peugeot and citroen. saying "vauxhall has a long history of success in this country

and we are determined to see that continue." fund managers aberdeen asset management and standard life have agreed terms for a merger. the move will create one of the uk's largest fund managers, overseeing assets worth £660 billion. and returning to the automotive industry as car sales registered their first february fall in six years according to new monthly data from society of motor manufacturers and traders, analysts predict that the market could be feeling the pinch from early signs of a consumer spending slowdown in the british economy. february is typically one of the quietest months of the year for the car market. as you've been hearing, general motors will sell opel and vauxhall to psa group, the french company that owns peugeot and citroen. and the group's chief executive carlos tavares said today vauxhall‘s factories in luton and ellesmere port are an asset for the french car maker.

he told analysts and investors this morning that acquiring opel vauxhall presents new export potential and that he sees an opportunity in having inside the uk some manufacturing plants in case of a hard brexit scenario. he also said the future of vauxhall workers in the uk would depend on their performance. i trust my vauxhall employees in the uk. i trust them. i know that they are skilled, i know they are dedicated, i know they are committed and i trust they will be in a very good position by working in a constructive and open manner with the psa group colleagues to improve the performance. as long as we improve the performance and we become the best, there is no risk they should fear. joining me now is professor christian stadler, of warwick business an expert in strategic management and the car industry. so quite a positive message from mr taveres — but there will have to some restructuring won't there as the opel vauxhaull business has

been lossmaking under general motors? absolutely. it made sense to be friendly at that point in time but i would be surprised if we don't see somejob cuts coming up. would be surprised if we don't see some job cuts coming up. where will those job cuts be? some job cuts coming up. where will thosejob cuts be? we some job cuts coming up. where will those job cuts be? we also some job cuts coming up. where will thosejob cuts be? we also heard about the hard brexit scenario where the head was saying he sees an opportunity for uk factories in this scenario. what do you think he means by that? he means should there be a ha rd by that? he means should there be a hard brexit involving tariffs. it will be more expensive to move cars reduced in continental europe to the uk so having facilities in the uk means we can produce cars in the uk rather than abroad including some models that are currently produced by peugeot in france. it's one of

the examples that are rear were brexit could be something positive for some people —— rare. brexit could be something positive for some people -- rare. do you think it would be solely for the uk market or do you think they would be exported in a post—brexit scenario? this would be clearly for the uk market because of tariffs are up, it is more expensive to move them abroad. it will depend on what kind of trade deals the uk fosters with these countries. if the uk gets a deal better than the deal the european union has, it means that vauxhall is going to produce cars for markets outside the european union in such a situation. thanks for talking to us. let's check in with the markets now. the blue—chip ftse 100 index has edged down as weakness in mining stocks outweighed the positive impact of a potential £11 billion

merger between scottish fund managers standard life and aberdeen asset management. the deal would create one of the world's industry powerhouses, overseeing £660 billion worth of global assets. the dax in frankfurt opened lower but has since made up lost ground — shares in deutsche bank subduing the index after it announced it wanted to raise almost £7 billion by issuing new shares to overcome its recent financial troubles. shares in the german lender have fallen by more than 6% this morning. that's all the business news. the culture secretary karen bradley is going to make a statement in the commons this afternoon on the proposed merger between sky and 21st—ce ntu ry proposed merger between sky and 21st—century fox. there will be a

response from labour. it is not likely to be until after 3:30pm but just a a few days ago she was talking about it and said she had concerns about the impact of the proposed merger. she said she was minded to refer the case to offer comparable investigation and would make a final decision within ten days. she's going to be giving a statement in the commons later this afternoon. we don't know what time yet. they are listed to be as 3:30pm. we should know the timings in the next couple of hours. we will keep you updated on what is happening. also coming up at the top of the hour on bbc news, we will have more reaction to that takeover of vauxhall after general motors sold off its european holdings and vauxhall comes under that. there is concern what it will mean for a500 jobs in the uk. the new company that

owns vauxhall says jobs at the plant is here are safe until 2020 at the earliest but there are concerns about the impact of brexit on the plant here in the uk and a future competitiveness. there are calls from unions for the government to do what it did for nissan. more on that at the top of the hour. for now, let's get the weather. it's going to be a better afternoon across south—western areas. there will be showers in the forecast and across much of the country, they will be a mixture of sunshine and showers. particularly heavy across scotla nd showers. particularly heavy across scotland were there could be hill. this low pressure has battered northwest france was damaging winds. it has brought rain to the southwest of england and rain into northern ireland. conditions brightening up

across the southwest. showers continue to affect eastern parts of england. there should be sunshine in between the showers. four wales in the midlands, plenty of dry weather, but in the southeast towards northern england, they will be a brisk northerly wind and showers becoming more frequent for northern ireland, a bit of wintriness and showers pushing towards western scotland. the northern ireland —— northern isles and northeast of scotla nd northern isles and northeast of scotland will be showery. they continue to the first part of the night but start to fizzle out due to high pressure is a wind will go right and we will see clear spells, a few showers across scotland and that will be a chilly night with frost around and with light winds is going to be critical for most people. that ridge of high pressure pushes off to the new continent and we stuck to see this weather front working its way and fog justice we start off on a bright note, a cold

blood, major, but there should be plenty of sunshine around —— a cold night, mind you. centraland plenty of sunshine around —— a cold night, mind you. central and eastern parts of scotland and england stay dry until after dark. the rain sweeps dry until after dark. the rain swee ps a cross dry until after dark. the rain sweeps across the uk on wednesday night and into tuesday. quite misty and murky across parts of england and murky across parts of england and wales. a bit of sunshine across scotland, but heavy showers here. mild in the south at 1a15 celsius over the rest of the week, spells of rain at times interspersed with drier, brighter interludes. this is bbc news and these are the top stories

developing at midday. the government says it is cautiously optimistic, as britain's biggest union calls for jobs optimistic, as britain's biggest union calls forjobs at vauxhall‘s british plants to be protected as general motors is taken over by the french giant psa. i am asking our government to make certain that they are at the table, because the french and german governments will be. batting for our british plants and making certain that peugeot are committed to us. the travel ban is back — donald trump is preparing to sign a revised executive order temporarily barring the entry of people from certain muslim—majority countries. iraq will not be on the list this time. the former french prime minister alainjuppe rules himself out as a replacement for centre—right presidential candidate francois fillon if he steps down. britain's most senior counter—terrorism officer says 13 potential attacks have been prevented in the past four years.

councillors in cumbria are deciding whether to issue a new licence for south lakes zoo, where nearly 500 animals have died in four years. also, ceremonies are being held in the uk and belgium on the 30th anniversary of the zeebrugge ferry disaster. 193 people died when the vessel capsized off the belgian coast, soon after setting sail for dover. and bt sport pays £1.2 billion to carry on showing the champions league and europa league until 2021. the new deal means highlights will no longer be shown on terrestrial tv. good afternoon. it's monday 6 march.

i'mjoanna i'm joanna gosling. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the french company that owns peugeot and citroen has agreed a £1.9 billion deal to buy general motors' european unit, including vauxhall. gm europe has not made a profit since 1999. the uk factories at ellesmere port and luton employ about a500 people. psa group says it will cut costs to increase profits, stoking concerns about those jobs. the new owners met government and unions last week and provided assurance that existing production commitments would be honoured at ellesmere port till 2020 and luton for some years beyond that. but the combined company will have 2a factories in europe — some say that's too many. joe lynam reports. it's one of the biggest deals in the car—making sector. british and german brands vauxhall and opel are to merge with the french brands peugeot and citroen. together they will make a company which is the second—largest automotive player in europe. today, the bosses of general motors and psa welcomed the £1.9 billion deal and stressed

their commitments to vauxhall and opel at least until 2020. after that it was up to the workers. theirfuture is in their hands, based on their ability to give themselves the level of performance that will ensure the sustainability of their company. we believe that we have highly talented people by opel—vauxhall, but the only thing that really protects them is their ability to be at the right level of performance. vauxhall‘s plants in ellesmere port and luton are some of the most efficient in the world. psa says it will honour all agreements with vauxhall workers, but unions are worried. whatever the french government and the german government are offering in terms of incentives, we should also be looking at that and of course the government talk about an industrial strategy, well, they now have to demonstrate that it is more thanjust words. we have to make certain there is proper government—led commitment.

next year, psa will decide where it will make the next generation of astras, currently made in the uk. as they do so, they won't yet know what sort of trading arrangement the prime minister, theresa may, will have secured with the eu in post—brexit britain. joe lynam, bbc news. in a moment will take to our correspondent andy gill, who is at the vauxhall plant at ellesmere port. first to ben ando, who is at the vauxhall plant in luton for us. what is the reaction there?” what is the reaction there? i think at the moment people may be slightly concerned about the long—term future of the plant but broadly speaking they are cautiously optimistic. the managers in paris this morning made the right noises about keeping production going and certainly the future of workers here is assured for at least eight years and they have got the fact they know they are amongst the most efficient plants in the entire group. but of course there is the spectre of brexit

hanging over everybody‘s head. let's talk about that with the trades union representative from unite. how safety you think the workers here are? the assurances we have had from gm and psa, peugeot, we feel relatively assured that we are ok at least until 2025, at which point we will be negotiating for the next product. how much do you think brexit is a factor in this going forward ? brexit is a factor in this going forward? we were assured that wasn't he main factor but we were told that it shone a spotlight on to the vauxhall operations and more needed to be done. that is why gm took the opportunity to speak to psa. the fa ct opportunity to speak to psa. the fact that this is one of the most efficient plants must give you confidence. we are hard-working

plant and always open to efficiency changes and we work with the management. peugeot closed the plant at ryton, which must ring alarm bells for you. just like any news we have, we treat anything anybody says with caution and that is no different in this case. going forward , different in this case. going forward, do you have any idea when you will get concrete assurances? we know the deal is done but we don't know the deal is done but we don't know really what it will mean. the news broke with the workforce today that it was the pre—signing agreement. we understand they will go through june diligence agreement. we understand they will go throuthune diligence process that could take up to a year. —— due diligence. you know you will be producing here for at least eight yea rs. producing here for at least eight years. we have a good product, it makes money, well received by customers, and there is no reason why we shouldn't be here until 2025

at least. that is the view here from luton. back to you. joining me is our correspondent andy gill, who is at ellesmere port. as we were hearing in luton, the guaranty is only until 2020 at ellesmere port. —— the guarantee. that is when the astra model is due to come in. uncertainty is part of the life in the car manufacturing industry, i was told, and whether else mere port is owned by gm or psa it will still have to bid to get the building of the next—generation astra. it is not clear whether that uncertainty is greater or less under the new french owners then it was under the old american general

motors owners. what unite here are saying is they believe they have a very productive factory and they believe they have a popular model. if psa, as unite believe, want to sell cars in this country they have to sell make them —— make them in this country. most of the cars here are exported but they are mostly made with parts imported from europe. the question then is what brexit means in that case. the fact that the new owners have 24 factories around europe adds to the uncertainty and i don't think anybody is in any doubt that at some stage the new owners will lose jobs and possibly shut factories, that is how they want to improve some —— increase profits. here in else mere port there is a definite feeling

that the british government must talk to psa to ensure that the jobs to stay here. —— in else mere port. the chief executive of general motors has been told that the british government wants to see jobs at the two plants secured for the long—term. president ramp is to remove iraq from the list of countries affected by his new executive order which he will probably published today. the move was welcomed by the iraqi foreign minister. we expect another executive order travel ban to come in later. how will it differ from the first one that was kicked out? nothing official at the moment but

we are hearing that iraq could be taken off that list of seven countries that were facing a 90 day travel ban to the united states, and the reason for that apparently is that the secretary of state rex tillotson has been lobbying hard on behalf of iraq. they have visa examination programmes in place that we re examination programmes in place that were helped in their development by the us, so that is the yard in. the political argument for removing iraq is that the us has 5000 troops in iraq, it is helping to fight isis in mosul and so the us government will wa nt to mosul and so the us government will want to stay close to baghdad. we expect that green card holders, those who have the right to reside and work here, there was some doubt about their status in the previous ban. we understand that they will be

allowed to travel. and people with existing visas from those countries would be allowed to travel here. it would be allowed to travel here. it would be allowed to travel here. it would be about new visas, also some changes on the refugee moratorium as well, possibly remove ring syria from its own is bestial category, a special ban on refugees from that country. —— possibly removing syria from its own category. the former director of the fbi has denied that presidents cup's home was tapped. president trump offered no evidence for his claim but according to reports applications we re according to reports applications were made for a surveillance warrant

from the f isa. the us government must seek approval from 11 judges before carrying out electronic surveillance. a statement from barack obama surveillance. a statement from ba rack obama has surveillance. a statement from barack obama has stated that neither president obama or any white house official had ordered any surveillance to take place. what should we make of this? it is extraordinary. it is being seen by president trump's opponents as an attempt to distract from the problems he already has with his connections and investigations into the russian link during the campaign, difficulties he is having with getting people nominated for his cabinet etc. what we are seeing is people trying to get some evidence from the white house and then simply resisting and not feeling they have to justify the claim and effectively saying, everybody is writing about it so let's have an enquiry, congress should do that. they have sent it

over to capitol hill and it will be up over to capitol hill and it will be up to the chairs of the committee is there to see whether they take it on. on the face of it, where is the evidence, why would you begin an enquiry on the basis of one assertion? is there likely to be an enquiry? that will depend. congress, don't forget, is a very bipartisan place at the moment, those committee chairs who are republican will feel enormous pressure to try to deliver on what the president once, but of course they have hall committees of their own to keep happy, and the fa ct their own to keep happy, and the fact that there isn't any evidence to launch an enquiry except for one session will give some pause for thought. the former french prime minister alain juppe has announced he will not be a candidate in next month's presidential election. there was growing speculation that he was preparing to step in, should the embattled centre—right candidate francois fillon

decide to resign. but mrjuppe has confirmed that "after much reflection" he would not be standing. a meeting of the party is due to take place later today. earlier i spoke to our paris correspondent, stu scoville, who said there was no indication that fillon would step down. he was the kind of alternative option being mooted by more and more people in the party who are exasperated by francois fillon and think he can't possibly win the election. those people were lining up a possible alan juppe candidacy and hoping that fillon would step down, but fillon has staged this coup de force in paris, demonstrating that enough people on the right want to vote for him.

he thus persuaded alanjuppe basically to give up. alanjuppe is one of those characters who want people to come to him rather than fight for the nomination and it was clear the party would not come to him so he ruled himself out, not without some bitterness towards francois fillon, who he said had led the right into a cul—de—sac. he is reflecting wide opinion in the party that this election is one huge mess. there is some interesting polling out in the last few minutes, and massive health warnings around any polls these days, but it is an opinion poll in france indicating that were francois fillon to stay in the race he would beat marine le pen in the run—off vote by 56% to aa%. so he would become president. macron in the run—off would beat marine le pen by 60% to a0%. what is the potential impact

of all of this on the race? it is not a surprise that whoever gets through to the second round will read marine le pen. macron beats marine le pen according to the polls by a larger margin than francois fillon. the whole focus is on who is going to get through to the second round against marine le pen. will it be francois fillon or an alternative right—wing candidate, because it is not finally decided that it will be fillon. there are still negotiations going on. or will it be emmanuel macron, the newcomer from the centre who has taken the country by storm and has this huge open space in the centre to attract people. at the moment all that has happened with the centre—right, with fillon and his party has been manna from heaven to macron, he can't

believe his luck. everything is conspiring in his favour to stand against marine le pen. she of course is also rubbing her hands, but every poll says that whoever runs against marine le pen will win, so it is macron who is the real winner in this. we are getting unconfirmed reports via the reuters agency that allies of former president nicolas sarkozy have been meeting with francois fillon and have told him to choose himself a replacement candidate in the election. that just himself a replacement candidate in the election. thatjust through, we don't have any more information on that, but potentially a significant development because of course francois fillon is standing firm, saying he will participate in the election. alain juppe said saying he will participate in the election. alainjuppe said he would not stand as a replacement were fillon to step down, but it seems

allies of nicolas sarkozy are telling francois fillon he needs to choose a replacement. psa is playing down the fears ofjob cuts after the announcement that it has arranged a £2 billion deal to buy vauxhall‘s parent company. president trump is expected to sign a second executive order after his last one was blocked by the courts. alan juppe has said last one was blocked by the courts. alanjuppe has said he will not stand were francois fillon to step down. now all the sport. arsene wenger has this afternoon denied that alexis sanchez had a training ground bust up with his team—mates. he was dropped to the bench for the first defeat to liverpool. sanchez took place in

full training ahead of the match against bayern munich tomorrow. ian wright says he would leave the club in sanchez‘s permission. when you are united as a team it doesn't come out. if he has stormed out of training, he is not playing in games, it doesn't seem to be a problem for him when he comes on because he performs to the best of visibility, but everything i am reading into it and now hearing says that it reading into it and now hearing says thatitis reading into it and now hearing says that it is not looking good for arsenal and him. i that it is not looking good for arsenaland him. i believe that it is not looking good for arsenal and him. i believe that his agent is probably on the phone to people now. if i was him i would probably want to leave as well because what is happening arsenal right now is not what he came for. especially not being in the top four. he stormed out of training and he is not playing in games like the liverpool game. everything points towards him being unsettled and unhappy, seems he wants to go. there will be no champions league football on terrestrial tv from the

start of the 20 18th season. bt sport has secured exclusive rights to live football and highlights. the deal includes champions league andy europa league highlights and matchplay. —— and the europa league. the 2019 women's world cup will be broadcast across the bbc. england came third in canada two years ago after they beat germany in the play—offs. more than 12 million people watched it on the bbc last time and you will be able to watch it all on the bbc as england attempt to succeed the united states as champions. after beating david haye, world cruiserweight champion tony bellew says he is not sure whether he will fight again. he came through the fight again. he came through the fight which was built on pretty nasty words in the build—up. he was asked whether he would take up the

option of a rematch against david haye. i don't know. option of a rematch against david haye. idon't know. iwill take option of a rematch against david haye. i don't know. i will take some time off to heal and recover and spent some time with my family. i'm not sure if i can go through this again, i'm not sure why body can deal with it. ifar again, i'm not sure why body can deal with it. i far exceeded again, i'm not sure why body can deal with it. ifar exceeded what again, i'm not sure why body can deal with it. i far exceeded what i set out to do in this business, this game, i really have, so it will take something special to draw me back out. i am something special to draw me back out. iam being something special to draw me back out. i am being totally honest now. your next sport update at around 1:30pm. britain's most senior anti—terrorism officer has revealed that 13 potential terror attacks have been prevented since 2013. assistant commissioner mark rowley also said that, at any one time, the security services are carrying out more than 500 investigations. a campaign is being launched to encourage people to report any suspicious activity, as our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, reports. the moment, caught on a security camera, when omar khyam visited a bag of fertiliser

he was storing in 200a. he was plotting to launch an al qaeda bombing campaign against targets like nightclubs and shopping centres. he was caught because a woman working at the storage warehouse became suspicious and called the police, potentially saving hundreds of lives. voiceover: if you have a concern about something you have seen or heard that could identify a terrorist threat, report it. a new police campaign focuses on the important contributions the public can make. voiceover: it could be anything that strikes you as unusual. detectives say the public is still playing an important part in one third of their current investigations. it might be a neighbour, or somebody in the community or a relative, who's changing their behaviour, they're spending time online, they're showing signs of radicalisation, maybe they're visiting the dark web. those sorts of behaviours, all the way through to somebody you don't know, but it may be where you work or where you go shopping and you see something in an area you know that

you instinctively think, that's not quite right. those are the bits of information we want. senior detectives are warning that supporters of so—called islamic state are not the only threat. al qaeda remains a danger, too, as does far—right terrorism. new officialfigures show that the number of attacks in britain thought to have been thwarted sincejune 2013 has risen to 13, one higher than the figure given six months ago. at any one time, the security services are running around 500 investigations. the threat level remains at severe, which means that the risk of an attack is assessed as "highly likely". survivors, victims' relatives and rescue workers are gathering to mark the 30th anniversary of the zeebrugge ferry disaster. 193 passengers and crew died when the herald of free enterprise capsized shortly after leaving the belgian port, as duncan kennedy reports.

the capsized hulk of one of britain's worst peacetime shipping disasters. the herald of free enterprise, laying on its side near the entrance to the belgian port of zeebrugge. the british ferry disaster off belgium... it was exactly 30 years ago tonight the vessel went down. there were a59 passengers on board, including british day—trippers. the first some knew what was happening was when the plates started slipping off the tables. it took around 90 seconds for the 13,000—tonne vessel to turn over. the rescue operation helped save many lives but 193 passengers and crew died. the official enquiry found that the bow doors had mistakenly been left open as she left port. an attempt to prosecute crew members and the company collapsed in court. in dover today a memorial service

will take place to allow the victims' families to mark the 30th anniversary. the herald's bell, which was later salvaged, will be presented at the service. three decades on, this disaster continues to influence the lives of hundreds of ordinary people, the design of ships and britain's maritime history. let's look at some of today's other developing stories. north korea has fired four missiles, three of which landed less than 200 miles from the north—west coast of japan. the missiles appear to have been launched from a military base close to china. there's been international condemnation of the launch, with japan's prime minister describing it as "an extremely dangerous action". our correspondent in seoul, stephen evans, has been following the latest developments. there has been very strong condemnation from seoul

and from tokyo, from prime minister abe, and from washington. analysts are trying to work out if these missiles were a significant improvement in north korean technology. the country continually flaunts its missiles in parades but nobody quite knows what they can do. its ambition is to have intercontinental missiles that can strike the united states. there is a bit of a ritual to all of this, in that at the moment south korean and us troops are engaged in joint exercises which north korea says are basically practising for an invasion. it often retaliates, sending a signal by letting off missiles. if these missiles are

a technological development, that increases the pressure on president trump to do something. he says he has ruled out no options, the implication being including the military option. that, though, is a lot easier to say than to do with reliability and assured success. talks are beginning in belfast today aimed at forming a new power—sharing government. the two largest parties, the democratic unionists and sinn fein, are still divided over a green—energy scheme that led to the collapse of their previous administration. sinn fein say the dup leader, arlene foster, can't be re—appointed as first minister while her role in the scheme is being investigated. the former boxer michael watson says he hung on "for dear life" as he was dragged several hundred metres along a road during a violent carjacking in east london. watson, who suffered a near—fatal brain injury during a fight with chris eubank in 1991, spoke to the bbc‘s crimewatch programme about last month's attack. it came like a nightmare. i couldn't believe it,

that it could actually happen. i was just hanging on for dear life. evil thugs, that's what they are. they are evil and senseless. they have no heart. and you can see that interview in full on crimewatch tonight at 9 o'clock on bbc one. for a full summary of the news you can go to the news at any time. there is the news that peugeot has agreed a deal to buy vauxhall. good afternoon. for many of way the working week has got off to a decent start, some sunshine out there. —— many of us. some showers as well. a lot of the persistent rain has started to fizzle away and sunny spells and scattered showers covers it for the rest of the day. the odd

hefty shower across eastern england. some heavy showers across western scotla nd some heavy showers across western scotland and perhaps showers merging into persistent rain across northern ireland. in between there will be a fairamount of ireland. in between there will be a fair amount of sunshine and temperatures around where they should be at this time of year. for most the showers fade away overnight, to leave clear skies and light winds, with temperatures low enough for quite a widespread frost across northern england, northern ireland and scotland. tomorrow, plenty of sunshine to start with but it won't last, things cloudy over from the west, temperatures of eight to 11 degrees. —— clouding over. this is bbc newsroom live

with joanna gosling. the headlines at 12:31: the french car company, psa — which owns peugeot and citroen — is to buy vauxhall from the us firm, general motors. the deal has raised fears ofjob losses at vauxhall‘s uk factories, which employ a,500 workers in luton and ellesmere port. us president donald trump is preparing to sign a revised executive order temporarily barring the entry of people from certain muslim—majority countries and halting america's refugee programme. the former french prime minister, alainjuppe, has rejected calls to step in as a centre—right candidate to replace francois fillon. mr fillon is being investigated after allegations that he paid his family out of public funds for little or no work. police say more than 500 anti—terror

investigations are being carried out in the uk at any one time, and that 13 potential attacks have been thwarted since 2013. councillors in cumbria are deciding whether to issue a new licence for south lakes safari zoo, where nearly 500 animals have died in the past four years. events are being held in the uk and belgium to mark the 30th anniversary of the zeebrugge ferry disaster. 193 people died when the passenger ferry capsized within minutes of setting sail for dover. more now on our top story. the french company that owns peugeot and citroen has agreed a deal worth almost £2 billion to buy general motors' european unit, which includes vauxhall. gm europe has not made a profit since 1999. vauxhall‘s uk factories at ellesmere port and luton employ about a,500 people. psa group says it will cut costs to increase profits, stoking concerns about those jobs.

the new owners met government and unions last week and provided assurances that existing production commitments would be honoured at ellesmere port till 2020 and at luton for some years beyond that. but the combined company will have 2a factories in europe. some say that's too many. speaking at a news conference in paris, the chief executive of psa, carlos tavares, said the purchase will benefit all companies involved. we will totally unleashed the full potential of opel and vauxhall. we are committed to these two iconic brands with british and german heritage. we trust the talent of opel vauxhall employees and management to accelerate the turnaround and leveraged the resulting, enhanced capability to address electrification and services opportunities. our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster.

lots of demand for the government to stick by the plants. there are lots of guarantees. what do people want to see and how was the government responding? the response of the government has been to stress the economic case for continuing production in the uk, arguing that vauxhall is an established brand in britain which makes up 60% of car sales so why would you want a polite production from the uk? it is argued that britain is at the forefront of many modern car technologies, the battery storage or low—carbon or electric cars so there strong incentives for psa group to

continue. the big factor is brexit and it creates an element of uncertainty. we will have an entirely new trading agreement which might make it impossible or maybe just difficult to keep plant here. the french and german governments will be fighting to keep it in their markets and it will make it difficult for mr clarke even though this morning he was stressing that he did not believe brexit was a key factor in these negotiations. the context is really nothing to do with brexit. this is a restructuring of the organisation. brexit isn't essential driver of this and we want to have the best possible trading relationship with europe but in the event, carlos has said there is opportunity post—brexit.

notwithstanding what mr clarke said, it is easy to see after 2021 that the french government will go to war to protect french plants and psa group is partially owned by the french state. likewise, angela merkel, biggest player in the eu, will likely do everything she can to protect the german plants and the real issue is whether there is any danger that we lose political beverage in this sort of negotiation —— leveraged once we leave the eu. the victoria derbyshire programme has found that nearly 80% of gcse students who are forced to re—sit maths and english fail the exam. since 2013 it's been compulsory for students in england who fail to get a c grade to keep trying in further education until they turn 18. schools and colleges are warning it's putting teachers and their budgets under too much pressure. here's james longman. english and maths. some would say

the building blocks of a good education and in 2013 the government made it compulsory for gcse students in these subjects to get at least a c grade. the problem is a lot of people find that quite hard. they don't make the grade and have to reset. —— resit. the majority aren't getting there. incredibly, nearly 80% of students taking these gcses after you live in last year didn't manage to make the grade even after a5 attempts. manage to make the grade even after as attempts. i felt my maths gcse about four times. it's horrible because you feel like you're stupid. i'm 18 and i'm being put into a class of 15—year—olds. i'm 18 and i'm being put into a class of 15-year-olds. if all these stu d e nts class of 15-year-olds. if all these students aren't making the grade, doesn't that just mean students aren't making the grade, doesn't thatjust mean that students aren't making the grade, doesn't that just mean that the teaching isn't good enough? some might say perhaps the teaching is not up to scratch but i refute that. in some cases, i think

fundamentally, they are the wrong sort of course because the different pathway is required for them. lots of stu d e nts pathway is required for them. lots of students prefer vocational subjects to academic ones and because they are now required to stay in school training until 18, sixth form colleges are left with thousands of students who still don't have the grades. city college in norwich has so many students that need to take their gcses they need to rent this space to fit them all in. this is norfolk showground, one of the biggest indoor spaces in the cou nty of the biggest indoor spaces in the county and it's not the only place being rented out by colleges needing more room. the association of colleges says that in england last year, one in five plans to hire external venues to cope with the numbers, two thirds were forced to ta ke numbers, two thirds were forced to take on extra short—term staff. numbers, two thirds were forced to take on extra short-term staff. the costs are almost incalculable. the costs are almost incalculable. the cost of the transport, first aid is, catering. we receive no additional

funding for that whatsoever.m catering. we receive no additional funding for that whatsoever. is that because of the new 2013. . . ? absolutely. we have in the numbers of stu d e nts absolutely. we have in the numbers of students taking gcses. what would you like the government to do? we've seen you like the government to do? we've seen what works and what doesn't and what we need is alternative level to gcse qualifications which are accessible for the hundreds of other stu d e nts accessible for the hundreds of other students each year who have already failed something that was, to a degree, design for them to fail. —— designed. and you can see more on this story if you go to the victoria derbyshire programme page at bbc.co.uk/victoria. the director—general of the world health organization has warned that air pollution is one of the biggest threats facing global public health. in an interview with the bbc, margaret chan said poor air quality is especially harmful to children, as it increases the risk of respiratory disease. she's calling on governments around the world to take urgent action. air pollution is actually one of the

most pervasive threats to health because it is so pervasive and because it is so pervasive and because you cannot escape it, everybody has to breathe and when breathing becomes deadly, the entire city, it doesn't matter which part you becomes a hazard to health. the aircan you becomes a hazard to health. the air can travel for hundreds of kilometres beyond a city to endanger health in surrounding areas and this isa health in surrounding areas and this is a big problem. joining me now from nairobi is erik solheim, executive director of the united nations environment programme. we've known about the dangers of air pollution for a long time. what is happening in terms of the impact on health of pollution? it's enormous. bolivia estimate that seven or 8 million people are dying prematurely because of the air. in

the native kingdom, the rangers probably in a0 to 50,000 people who could be alive —— the range is. we're looking at how we can change this situation. why hasn't there been more of a focus on this?” think maybe because the focus has been an tra nsmittable think maybe because the focus has been an transmittable diseases, measles, tuberculosis, malaria, smallpox, all of these diseases have thank god came down so much, but air pollution is rapidly coming up and is probably now the biggest killer of humans. what is causing it? emissions have been a focus because of climate change. we haven't really talked about pollution as a result but presumably a big by—product of emissions being looked at because of climate change has been a reduction

and an improving of the situation for health. absolutely. the fantastic opportunity is that nearly everything you want to do to change climate change is helpful for climate change is helpful for climate pollution and vice versa. the two big revolutions have been moving from coal and oil and gas into solar and wind and we are moving from gas in cities into metros and electric vehicles. we need to really speed up the speed so that we get electrical vehicles and renewable energy much faster than at the moment. so what is it in the uk thatis the moment. so what is it in the uk that is happening in pollution terms that is happening in pollution terms thatis that is happening in pollution terms that is killing those a0 to 50,000 every year? this particularly vulnerable and where is it happening? children are very

vulnerable. all people can easily have a stroke, cancer, all those with asthma, those are the most vulnerable for pollution but air pollution is harming all of us and getting into your body —— our bodies and it made even create alzheimer's and it made even create alzheimer's and brain damage —— might even. it's not an issue of whether it is harmful, it is how fast we can act at speeds to change it. ireland was the first nation in 2003 to prohibit smoking in public places and restau ra nts. smoking in public places and restaurants. at the time, most people are opposed to it and now, 13 yea rs people are opposed to it and now, 13 years later, it's very hard to find anyone ina years later, it's very hard to find anyone in a restaurant to accept smoking so change can happen very fast and how can we wipe out passive

smoking the same as part of pollution. in some big cities, people wear face masks to protect themselves against pollution as a matter of routine. should we all be doing that? i will not give generalised advice on that. in every city, there is a good monitoring system so that the public can actually know the level of pollution. that will also inspire action because when people see the real pollution, they will tell the politicians and businesses, we don't wa nt to politicians and businesses, we don't want to live like this any longer. we need to change. thank you very much, executive director of the united nations department for environment. any number of reports this week we will be looking at ways to improve the way we breathe —— in a number. a0 to 50,000 are dying

every year in the duty as a result of pollution. we have been to the city of bath where the record levels like beijing. the air quality in our towns and cities is a huge problem so inside out is asking two people who live in bath, a cyclist and a taxi driver, to carry around one of these, to find out who's breathing in the worst air. first, kahlil who will carry an air quality monitor in the back of his cab. he's not expecting the results to be good. what do you think about air quality here? it's not very good in bath. it's not good at all. some people say they cannot breathe proper air. and he's not wrong. we record high levels of small particles called pm10s and pm2.5s found in diesel fumes. on one occasion they're as high as those measured in beijing. why are they bad? particulate matter known as pm10

is small enough to go through our noses into our lungs where it can cause respiratory complaints. the other one, pm2.5, is even smaller and can go through the lungs into the bloodstream and is associated with notjust respiratory conditions but cardiovascular conditions such as strokes and heart attacks. also measuring for us is adam reynolds, a self—confessed bike fanatic. the data from his monitor shows high levels of nitrogen dioxide or n02, caused by diesel engines. every time he hits a busy road, levels soar. n02's bad because when we breathe it in it can inflame our respiratory system, exacerbate diseases such as asthma and cause other diseases. after ten days, we show adam and kahlil the results. adam, the air you were breathing in depended on the time of day

and the routes you took to work. your levels are minuscule. cool, that looks good. newly cyclist! laughter. khalil, for six out of ten days, you are way above the world health organisation standard. i'm speechless, i don't know what to say. with that, i'm losing my breathing in my chest. i might have cancer, i don't know. so why is kahlil‘s air quality much worse than adams? surely being in a car he is more protected. winding up your windows might give you the perception you've recided your exposure to air pollution but the intakes for the car's air system are at the front of the car and the problem is generally they are level with the exhaust pipe of the car in front of you. so the answer in heavy traffic may be to switch off the fan altogether and open the windows. as for cycling, the health benefits mean that even on polluted roads, it's a much better option. all this week will be covering the

issue of what can be done to improve air quality. you can see plenty more online. the headlines on bbc newsroom live: the french car company, psa — which owns peugeot and citroen — is to buy vauxhall from the us firm, general motors. the deal has raised fears ofjob losses at vauxhall‘s uk factories, which employ a,500 workers in luton and ellesmere port. us president donald trump is preparing to sign a revised executive order temporarily barring the entry of people from certain muslim—majority countries and halting america's refugee programme. his first controversial attempt was blocked in the courts. the former french prime minister, alainjuppe, has rejected calls to step in as a centre—right candidate to replace francois fillon. the ftse is down, the dax and nasdaq

are both up. you can get more details online. reports from the united states suggest that donald trump's new executive order barring travel from seven muslim—majority will remove iraq from the list. donald trump signed his original executive order in late january — but it was later blocked by the ninth circuit court of appeals. he has promised to introduce a new order in the coming weeks. joining me now from washington dc is daniel lippman reporter for politico and a co—author of politico's playbook. thank you forjoining us. we're expecting this new executive order today with tweaks to make it more defendable in the event of action against it. what do you think? liberal groups lately aclu are

preparing against the new executive order and claim that the order is the same, they have only done a minor change and removed iraq. this new order could be in legal jeopardy. the significance of taking iraq off is because the iraqi government had imposed a new vetting procedures including kite and these are screening and data—sharing and that was brought up immediately after the order was outlined previously as a case against it. also the green card holders. but you think there will still be legal action. how problematic is this for donald trump? his immigration

strategy was to have a tougher ban on people from the middle east, from terror prone countries. it will still be taken through the courts until he gets a result one way or another. the reason they removed iraq is because the defence department pushed for that change because we are helping iraq to defeat isis and we did not want to antagonise that country with a ban on their citizens so that is the cause of that removal but i think the other countries, their relationship with the us will be harmed by this order because it almost labels all of their as dangerous until proven otherwise. what you think about these claims from donald that barack obama ordered donald trump's phones to be tapped during the election campaign?

no evidence has been produced to back up that claim. yes, that the discussion this weekend in washington. yesterday, trump ordered capital hill to launch an investigation into whether this happened. it's a risky strategy for him because there is no evidence that obama did this. if he has proven that trumps all is on a right—wing website and put it on twitter on his own account —— donald trump saw this on a right—wing website, it undermines his credibility because most capitol hill republicans that i spoke to say there is no basis for what donald trump said so it is almost a distraction. thank you, daniel. it little bit of trouble hearing you with the dodgy line but it's good to

talk to you. councillors are meeting to decide whether to issue a new licence for a zoo where almost 500 animals have died in the last four years. south lakes zoo, in cumbria, was fined almost £300,000 following the death of a keeper who was mauled by a tiger in 2013. government inspectors have criticised the zoo for overcrowding, and a lack of proper welfare for animals. will travers, president of the born free foundation spoke to us earlier. this particular zoo has a very sorry history, a catalogue of one disaster after another including keeper safety, public safety and animal welfare. there is a bigger question behind this. if all these things have been known, which they have over an extended period of time, is south lakes just the exception that proves the rule or should we be looking at problems that might exist in the other 250 plus zoos in the uk?

how apparent has it been, what has been going on here? this was injanuary when government inspectors talked about obvious deficiencies and a lack of proper welfare and husbandry. we have a well regulated, at least on paper, a well regulated zoo industry and the licensing act reflects the zoo directive and we have secretary of state standards of practice which is detailed document and we have a 200—page document produced by the zoo's expert committee which is a handbook on how

to interpret all this stuff. the problem is that we have it in paper but don't seem to have it in practice and if situations such as what has happened at south lakes are not unique and happen in places, we have to look at the ways in which enforcement is taking place across the zoo industry. after all, if you're a licensing authority and have spoken about issuing a licence today and youve got a facility in your patch that brings in over 250,000 visitors a year, there is definitely, in my view, a conflict of interest in whether you get tough with the zoo to the extent that you might even close it down because what will that do for jobs and for the economy in your particular area? in a moment, the news at one with sophie raworth. first the weather with ben rich. good afternoon. many of us get away

with decent weather could start the new meat. eliot and isle of man, it was beautiful. blue skies and sunshine as captured by one of our weather watchers. it wasn't like that for heavy one. this was not somerset. but it could easily have been a whole lot worse. on the southern flank of this, some tightly squeezed isobars. a wind gust of 119 miles an hour in one spot. we avoided it. there was extra cloud across the southwest and extra rain but the rain is fizzling away. a lot of showers to come across northern ireland this afternoon. they will merge into longer spells of rain. some hefty downpours across the eastern part of scotland and scattered showers elsewhere in scotland. in between, some good spells of sunshine and after a wet

start to southwest wales, it is quite pleasant, the odd shower but spells of sunshine as well, more showers for northeast england into east anglia and the southeast, tempted back where they should be at this time of year. this evening and overnight, we continued see showers are —— across england and the western side of scotland but in between, the showers tend to fade away and we will see a lot of light winds, and the chance of a touch of frost, particularly in northern areas so frost, particularly in northern areas so it will be a chilly start on or about a decent start, spells of sunshine and a few showers in eastern areas which will tend to fade away but out west, change with cloud rolling away and southwest temperatures around eight to 11 celsius. this band of rain associated with the weather front could bring hill snow for a time across scotland and north wales by generally speaking, at these weather fronts moving from the southwest,

they bring increasingly mild air across the country. mild weather does not always mean sunny by any stretch of the imagination. on wednesday, quite a cloudy day with rain moving through, blustery and showery and still chilly across northern scotland but further south, 15 celsius, mild air making its presence felt. we stick with the mild theme. for many, a mixture of rain and drier spells as well. fears ofjob cuts at vauxhall‘s uk plants as they're sold to a french car maker. more than a000 people are employed at two sites in the uk — the new owners say the future of the plants will come down to their performance. we believe they understand that they need to build for themselves a sustainable future based on performance. also this lunchtime. a new travel ban from president trump — he's expected to announce one today — but this time iraq

won't be on the list. 13 potential uk terror attacks have been prevented in almost four years say counter—terrorism police as they call on the public to be vigilant. the cumbrian zoo whose future hangs in the balance after hundreds of animals died there. and 30 years after the zeebruge disaster which killed almost 200 people — relatives of the dead and survivors return to sea to pay their respects.