the latest headlines from bbc news: donald trump has withdrawn his healthcare bill, after it became clear he didn't have enough support from his own party to win a vote in congress. some republicans opposed his alternative to obamaca re, which will now remain in force across the us. british police have appealed for the public to help uncover the motivation of the man who killed four people in wednesday's attack in westminster. the taxes are still trying to establish whether he worked alone when he drove into pedestrians before stabbing a police officer to death. the russian president, vladimir putin, has met the french far—right presidential hopeful marine le pen in moscow. president putin denied trying to influence the french election next month, but says he reserves the right to communicate with all political forces. the eu will not try and punish britain because of brexit. we received this report. kicking out the red carpet for the leaders of the eu, coming to rome for the club's 60th anniversary. the timing of this birthday bash is awkward, just as one of the eu's most influential members, the uk, prepares to leave. jean—claudejuncker is the president of the european commission, which will be the lead eu negotiator in brexit talks. in brussels, just before leaving for rome, he told me theresa may would be sorely missed this weekend.

on saturday there will be a celebration. the leaders of 27 member states will be there. u nfortu nately, yes. not 28, but only 27. that surely is going to be the elephant in the room, isn't it — the fact that theresa may is not there on saturday? she's not an elephant. her absence. no, no. but i like her as a person. i'm deeply respecting the british people and the british nation. brexit or no brexit, we should not forget that the european continent has a duty when it comes to britain, because without churchill and without the resilience of the british people, we wouldn't be where we are now. so i'm everything but in a hostile mood when it comes to britain. how do you balance that in brexit negotiations — on the one hand wanting to keep britain close, but on the other wanting to make sure that others are put off leaving? when it comes to negotiations, we'll negotiate in a friendly way,

in a fair way, and we are not naive. so what about the around £50 billion the commission has demanded britain pay before it leaves the eu, covering long—term budget commitments, for example? there will be no sanctions, no punishment. nothing of that kind. but britain has to know, and i suppose the government does know it, they have to honour the commitments, the former commitments. to the tune of £50 billion? but i don't have... i was mentioning like that years ago, 50 or 60 billions, around that. but that's not the main story. we have to calculate scientifically. how will you feel on wednesday, when that letter of notification, that formal letter of notification arrives in brussels?

i will be sad. as i was sad when the vote in the referendum took place in britain. for me, it's a tragedy. does it feel like a failure, presidentjuncker? it's a failure and a tragedy. and more sombre words for the eu this evening in the vatican. pope francis welcomed leaders ahead of the 60th anniversary celebrations with a warning. without new vision, a renewed social conscience, he said, the european union's days were numbered. katya adler, bbc news, brussels. now on bbc news, it is time for the travel show. india. 70 years after independence, this emerging world power of more

thani billion this emerging world power of more than i billion people this emerging world power of more thani billion people is still changing. iam thani billion people is still changing. i am on a journey to two extremes changing. i am on a journey to two extre m es of changing. i am on a journey to two extremes of this vast subcontinent. it is crystal. hard crystals. white sold. i've got to taste it. i began in good rat in the far worse. this is january incredible. it is pretty crowded. and this week, i have travelled 2000 miles over to the north—east. i am on the banks of this mighty river. and i about to go toa this mighty river. and i about to go to a very spiritual place. it is one of india's lesser—known regions, we are of india's lesser—known regions, we a re really of india's lesser—known regions, we are really high out. and just a right is the with bangladesh. —— the border with. a country that prides itself on traditions. he makes it look so easy, and it is incredibly given to. but it is also looking

forward and embracing progress. so now, iam forward and embracing progress. so now, i am on my way to go and see azam's very own eco— warrior. —— assa m. azam's very own eco— warrior. —— assam. it is going to be an incredible adventure. india's north—east: a collection of eight states almost cut off from the rest of this vast country. but for a tiny strip of land. that partition, and large swathe of this region was sectioned off to become east pakistani, which later began bangladesh, leading the indian portion landlocked. it is geographically and culturally out on a limb. this is frontier country. little—known to tourists, and other indians alike. they call it the land

of clouds, but that is because of the monsoon season. hilly, remote, the area so crisp and fresh, and the view, simply spectacular. it's this cool climate that made the state of meghalaya and its capital, shillong, that made it a popular retreat for the british during the colonial era. they dubbed it the scotland of the east. it's pretty crowded! what about the city today? there's only one way to find out. i take a bus into the city centre. so it's a modern industrial town these days, shillong. whoa, feel it!

i think those breaks may need a bit of work. so tell me, what do you think about shillong. this is your home city. what do you think about this place? the culture here is so different. you see the people here. it's not like the rest of india. here they are their own country. more than half of the population of meghalaya belong to the khasi tribe, and here at the british—built polo ground, a traditional british sport is thriving, but it sure ain't polo. every afternoon, hundreds of people

gather from all around to take part in a really interesting daily ritual. this is called teer, derived from the hindi word for arrow. the target is mounted and 50 archers have just two minutes to hit it as many times as possible. the significance of the sport dates back to the early 1800, when khasi warriors defended their homeland not with guns and swords but with bows and arrows. i'm aiming forthe target, obviously. the small one. why is it going to the ground like that? spectators get involved by taking

bets on the number of arrows that hit the target. crucially, it's only the last two numbers of the total score that matter. they are all added up, and the last two digit will be the result. 690, five arrows. so 95 is the result. meghalaya became one of the few states to legalise gambling in 1982. people here are very superstitious. they'll dream about their dead family. a dog, a cat.

and they'll try to make it into numbers. so i have 200 rupees of my hard earned money here. i want to go and gamble, can you show me how to do it? let's go to one of these counters. i want to gamble on a lucky number. two digit, lucky number. i'm going to go for... 39. and i'm going to put 100 rupees on 39. and on my other bet i'm going to bet on... 77, can you fix it so i win? laughter that depends upon your fortune. i had a dream last night, i had a dream... that a strange dog walked past me, and that dog had the number 39 on it, is that the kind of dreams we have. wish me luck.

it's a tense moment as the numbers are counted... 310, 320... and my dream turns out to be... a shaggy dog story. 77 was my number, 97 is the result. still, two of my lucky numbers, nine and seven. next, i head out the city to the region's famed khasi hills and villages. incredible to think that despite landscapes like this, the north—east is one of the least visited areas of india. but things are slowly changing. we've been travelling out of shillong into the countryside towards the bangladesh border

for about two hours, it has been pretty bumpy and rough roads until suddenly, we have reached this bit and it is beautifully smooth road, would not look out of place in a major town. we are heading towards a village which has a really interesting reputation. the khasi hills are the only place in the world that you will find a bridge grown from the roots of the indian rubber tree. 0r ficus elastica. this was built in 1840. this bridge was meant for the villagers to cross over during that time there was no partition, no bangladesh, —— this bridge was meant for the villagers to cross over the river when they go back to their daily life. during that time there was no partition, no bangladesh, no pakistan, so we had that link.

during monsoon, the khasi hills are hit by record—breaking downpours, more than 20 feet of rain in a month. these are some of the wettest places on the planet. but people here have found an ingenious way to harness nature in order to prevent the village being cut off by floods. just tell me what they are doing right now. now they are tying the bamboos, to cross on both sides of the river, so that the roots of this tree will be woven along here. bamboo acts as a scaffolding, which helps connect routes from trees growing on opposite river banks. this is skilled and occasionally dangerous work. thanks to continuous repairs, bridges like this have stood firm for generations. and will probably remain

for many more to come. so we leave meghalaya and head to assam. passing through some of the 25,000 tea plantations that have made this region world—famous. we're on our way tojorhat, a few hundreds kilometres from india's border with china, and thejumping off point for the next adventure. i'm on the banks of the mighty river brahmaputra, and about to go to a very spiritual place, the island of majuli, one of the biggest river islands in the world. now there's 150,000 people on that island, and only six ferries a day, each one is really crammed. just looking at the list of prices for all the different categories: passengers, 15 rupees, that's ok, that's reasonable.

then you go down, pass the vehicles, animals have to pay. buffalo has to pay a5. bull, cow, 30. and then the poor elephant has to fork out 907 rupees! perhaps fortunately, none of these creatures were travelling with us today. and incredibly, after a few last—minute panics, we are set to go. i climb onto the corrugated aluminium roof tojoin men who do this trip day in, day out. starting in tibet, the brahmaputra river is nearly 2000 miles long, second only to the amazon, in the volume of water that rushes through it. interesting game of cards going on here, i think they are playing whist.

i'd like tojoin in. but it may be a private game. with high stakes. we arrived at majuli and it is turmoil again trying to get off the boat. to avoid the queue, there is a sneaky way out, which involves climbing onto another boat and going down that way. you know what, i think i'm going to take that one. well, he we are, on land, doesn't look quite as spiritual as i imagined, but if you look away into the distance, it'sjust one big flat land of desert. let's see. the island is home to 22 monasteries, or satras, initially established in the 16th century by the assamese guru, sankardeva. boys are instructed from a very

young age in the religion that he preached, vaishnavism, an offshoot of hinduism. the monks are celibate and according to their beliefs they worship only one god, follow a vegetarian diet, and reject the caste system. and here, the doctrine includes this special art form. this form of classical dance is now recognised by the authorities as a genre in its own right. many of these monks have

performed around the world. that was amazing. this form of classical dance is now recognised by the authorities as a genre in its own right. many of these monks have performed around the world. that was amazing. thank you very much indeed. i know you spend a lifetime learning the skills of this, but can i have a go, can i try? arms through here...? very good. thank you so much. one, two, three, four.

there are 64 positions in this classical dance and i'm having trouble with the first two. it's very difficult. one, two, three... without the grace, as well. no grace whatsoever. he makes it look so easy. and it's incredibly difficult. i'm going to leave it to the experts. sometimes you have to give up and let them carry on. an exquisite performance. but there's one problem, one very big problem, and that is, that this island may simply not exist in just a few decades time. hard to believe at the moment

but there is a genuine worry that majuli will be submerged and destroyed within 20 years. in the last 70 years it has shrunk in size by two thirds. and a majority of the original 65 monasteries have gone. every monsoon, the brahmaputra river swells, eroding the terrain around it. bit by bit, land is disappearing. but there is hope. so now, i'm on my way, in a tractor, to go and see a man whose life ‘s mission has been to tackle the flooding that has afflicted this island. he is jadav payeng, basically

assam's very own eco—warrior. sadly, these areas that get completely deluged, when the monsoon hits, there is some water there, we have to cross... for the last 36 years, he has taken on an extraordinary challenge, to save this land from vanishing. and so, his lifelong calling began. jadav is known today as the forest man of india. and so, his lifelong calling began. jadav is known today as the forest man of india. he began planting trees so the roots would bind the soil, soak up excess water, and prevent the land from being eroded by flooding.

from a barren landscape, he has created a forest the size of new york's central park. and he feels this will be more effective in saving nearby majuli then following government flood prevention schemes. so we are now going to do the ritual that every guest that comes here is asked to do, which is to plant a tree. what kind of tree is this? i'm going to put this in here...

it's good. jadav has spoken at environmental summits all around the world, and his roll call of guests is equally international. i do know that everyone who plants a tree, when it grows, they put a plaque down with their name on it, and i'm going to have that privilege, fantastic, thank you. and so to my final day in assam, and a different kind of ritualistic celebration of nature. if there's one repairing theme throughout my trip

in the north—east, it's the sense of community, everywhere, really, and there's nothing better to illustrate that than this... a local village going down to the river, to celebrate harvest. this community was started in 1939 by a young woman who came from the mountains in search of food. i believe she found that this place was better for her because it is coated in water, and civilisation needs water, she brought friends and family here, followed by a brother. the entire family of her own clan... all from that one woman? really, fascinating, wow. this is a much—loved annual celebration and people of all ages gathered to mark in, using fishing methods that have been passed down the generations. then you pull it towards you...

pull the stick... and look! you can see this! it's full of fish, it full of fish. this is today's catch... wow! that is pretty good. and this, you will cook, now? excellent. so my trek across india from border to border is almost over, and it's been a realjourney of discovery for me off the beaten track. this isn't india "on tap", instant gratification, which some people are accustomed to, but the rewards, if you make the effort, are immense. asnake?!

can they bite? yeah, it does. it bites. is it poisonous? no, not much. not much?! can i get out now? hello. there will be some chilly nights this weekend. there will be frost for some of us as the weekend begins, but by day, this weekend, it is sun, sun, sun. colder it is sun, sun, sun. in the countryside, especially colder in the countryside, especially across northern england, northern ireland and scotland. a sub zero start to saturday. early mist and fog patches. sherrins last long. more cloud for the northern isles compare to elsewhere. shetland, some occasional light rain. the vast majority, sunshine from dawn to dusk. quite a breeze blowing through parts of east anglia and southern

england. you need to be out of a breeze to take advantage of the warmth and sunshine. 15— 16 celsius in the warm spots on saturday. not quite as chilly on saturday night. not that many fog patches around a sunday begins. still quite easy to the south, maybe some cloud coming into eastern parts of the uk during the day. the vast majority will end the day. the vast majority will end the weekend as they begin it, with plenty of sunshine. for a more detailed forecast where you are, go online. hello, this is breakfast, with charlie stayt and rachel burden. a blow for president trump as he admits defeat on one of his main campaign promises. he's forced to abandon a vote on healthcare reform because he couldn't get enough support from his own party. good morning, it's saturday 25th march.

also ahead — did he act alone? police try to piece together the final movements of the westminster attacker khalid masood. a whatsapp message sent minutes before his killing spree is being looked at. police have now released all but two of the 11 people arrested since the attack on wednesday. almost two million people in the uk don't have access to a bank account.