this is bbc news, the headlines: the president of the european council, donald tusk, suggests a phased strategy for brexit negotiations, allowing trade talks to begin once progress is made on the divorce deal. starting our talks on all issues at the same time as suggested by some in the uk will not happen. we really are moving forward now and there is are moving forward now and there is a lot of goodwill, a lot of willingness to achieve what the prime minister has said she wants to achieve, which is an orderly transition. longer waits for routine operations like hip replacements as the nhs in england tries to improve a&e and cancer treatments. the government denies reports of a £10 billion hole in britain's defence budget but admits there will be will more cuts to come. also, it's one of the biggest wildlife conservation projects

ever seen in britain. the back from the brink campaign is being launched today and it aims to save at least 20 species from extinction. and it's full steam ahead for the flying scotsman at the re—opening of the settle—to—carlisle rail line. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the european union has given its first formal response to the uk's decision to trigger article 50 and begin the process of leaving the eu. the president of the european council, donald tusk, warned the talks would be "complex and sometimes confrontational". and he said negotiations on future trade relations would only start after there had been what he called "sufficient progress" on the separation settlement

between the eu and the uk. he was speaking at a meeting of eu leaders in malta, from where our europe correspondent, chris morris, sent this report. time to get serious. two days ago donald tusk expressed real emotion at the prospect of the uk leaving the eu. this morning, in malta, it was down to business. he's now sent draft negotiating guidelines to the other 27 countries, setting up tough tone for two years of talks, that mr tusk countries, setting a tough tone for two years of talks, that mr tusk says could be difficult, complex and sometimes confrontational. the eu says four issues should be discussed first. the rights of citizens, legal certainty for businesses, the size of the divorce bill and the border between northern ireland and the republic. only then is it prepared to talk about a future trade relationship. whilst and only whilst we have achieved sufficient progress on the withdrawal, can we discuss the framework

for our future relationship. starting parallel talks on issues at the same time, as suggested by some in the uk, will not happen. and mr tusk suggested that the uk would have little say in the matter. what does sufficient progress mean, and who is it, simply the european council who will define that? it must be clear that eu, as 27, decides if sufficient progress has been achieved. probably in the autumn. at least i hope so. there was also a warning that the uk should not try to hold separate discussions with individual member states. divide and rule, the eu insists, will not be allowed. plenty for the government to chew on. at a nato meeting in brussels the foreign secretary was keen to emphasise the positive.

both sides genuinely want an ambitious partnership in the future. we really are moving forward now and there's a lot of goodwill, a lot of willingness to achieve what the prime minister has said she wants to achieve, which is an orderly transition and a deep and special partnership between a strong eu and a strong uk. no one ever thought this was going to be easy. this document from the eu shows how many hurdles there are going to be along the road. and if there were to be a transition phase between full membership and a totally new relationship in the future, it suggests that the uk would have to accept that current laws and budget contributions would continue to apply. we can now speak to the former foreign secretary sir malcolm rifkind he's in our westminster studio.

good afternoon. good afternoon. so this is donald task first and former response. what you take from his tone? i was most encouraged. first of all, phasing it in. there is no suggestion we have to have everything completed on the terms of oui’ everything completed on the terms of our exit before we can start talking about the future relationship. now it is much more constructive language and we have to be satisfied there has been substantial progress roundabout autumn, which is not that far away. second, on roundabout autumn, which is not that faraway. second, on the roundabout autumn, which is not that far away. second, on the budgetary contribution, no figure of 50 million even mentioned. they want to help identify what is a fair and reasonable sum. the third thing which was constructive if it is a priority from the eu's perspective, as well as ours, that we should have

early discussions on reciprocity for eu citizens living in britain and british citizens living in the eu. that has been a key demand. i suppose it is a little tricky in terms of substantial progress because that might mean different things to different people. who is coming up with the definition?m things to different people. who is coming up with the definition? it is not unreasonable in my view. it is a lwa ys not unreasonable in my view. it is always sensible the first time the negotiators meet, the first thing you have to discuss is not what comes you have to discuss is not what co m es after you have to discuss is not what comes after we leave, but the basis on which we are leaving, how does it work? like reciprocity by citizens, like the financial contribution. it is not unreasonable there should be a discussion on that. that does not mean to say we have to reach conclusions on every single point before we talk about trade. the phrase reasonable progress has been chosen and i am delighted to see it because it suggests a common—sense, pragmatic sensibility which is what

i hoped for and i suspect what the british government wants to see as well. these are draft proposals and suggestions that get sent out to the 27 member states and they gather at the end of april to discuss this. do you have any concerns about particular member states who might wa nt to particular member states who might want to be a bit more tricky? that isa want to be a bit more tricky? that is a good point. it is not unreasonable to expect there might be, but i am equally certain that before these proposals were published today, they had already had discussions with angela merkel, francois hollande, most of the heads of the major governments in the eu. he knows, i am pretty certain he already knows that the major countries in the eu are comfortable with this. there may be some tweaking of some of the words, who knows? i would expect what eventually emerges to be not dissimilar to what we are seeing today. i am interested to know what

you think about the broader timeline. there are big elections coming up in france and germany that pushes things back inevitably. i have spoken to so many people in the last few days who talk about this going on for years and years. do you think that is what will happen? maybe i am an incurable optimist, but i have never had so much concern on that front end, as you put it. the french elections are hugely important, but we will know the outcome at the end of april. that is when the final decision will be made, probably. if it is marine le pen, the eu is in such a crisis that brexit will be a sideshow in comparison. if it is likely to be macron, everybody will heave a huge sigh of relief. there is a choice between two people whose views are

not hugely different on the british question and issues relevant to the negotiations, whether it is angela merkel or mr schultz. of course they are very different personalities. we already know where each are coming from and either of them would be wishing to be as constructive as the other on this particular issue. there might be differences of nuance, but that would be all. you do not see this dragging for years and years? no, i do not. if it was going to collapse, that would not happen at the end of two years. if god forbid that happens, that would happen in the first few months. we will know by the end of this year if there is anything serious, but i do not think that is likely at all. i have been involved in the european union as mrs thatcher's europe minister and then as foreign secretary for something like a0 yea rs. secretary for something like a0 years. when the european union is trying to find problems, it will find problems. when it is trying to

find problems. when it is trying to find solutions, it will find solutions. probably all of the states, who all have democratically elected leaders, it is in everyone's interest to form relations. i am not saying it will be easy, it will be tough negotiating and it will be confrontational. there will be odd thing going late at night with harsh words and differing views. i was mrs thatcher's europe minister when she was negotiating getting our money back and that was more difficult in one sense. every euro we got back they had to pay for and you could not expect any support and yet that the end of the day after the hard talks conclusions were reached because that tends to to be what happens when democratic countries get together and find solutions. excellent to hear your perspective. thank you very much. a letter from the scottish government formally requesting the power to hold a second referendum on scottish independence has been delivered

to the prime minister. in the letter, the first minister nicola sturgeon repeats her call for a vote within the next two years. theresa may has already said it won't happen before brexit is complete. james shaw is in edinburgh and has explained about more what was in the letter. in her letter, drafted at bute house, nicola sturgeon says there is no rational regionwide prime minister should reject her request for a second independence referendum. if it is an issue of timing, she said the vote could take place after brexit negotiations had finished so people have a choice between brexit and independence. she also hinted what her reaction might be if her request is rejected. in my view the will of the scottish parliament must be respected. it is

not if it should be with respected, but if the prime minister chooses not to do that, i will set out over the next few weeks what i intend to do and we make progress towards giving the people of scotland a choice. what might that response be? in a worst—case scenario what might that response be? in a worst—case scenario it could be the first minister is somehow disrupting or delaying the legislative process which is intended to repatriate, to bring back powers from europe, to the united kingdom. ministers here in edinburgh and london will be thinking aboutjust in edinburgh and london will be thinking about just how in edinburgh and london will be thinking aboutjust how disruptive that could be. let's go back to maul to work eu leaders have been meeting. we have been hearing from donald tusk, but now let's go back to chris morris our reporter in malta. do you think from britain's

point of view it is better than what we could have expected? it sets out what is going to be a tough negotiating schedule. but i think people knew that already. perhaps if it has told us some home truths, thatis it has told us some home truths, that is not a bad thing. what it is not seeking to do is to punish the uk, even on the financial settlement. the eu argument is you have got to pay the money to settle the account so that we are even as we lead. it is not a divorced defeat, it is not a bill to enable us defeat, it is not a bill to enable us to exit, it is settling previous accounts. the problem is how you work out those accounts. that will be one of the first subject of negotiation. the tone is uncompromising, but it is the beginning of a negotiation, so it is not surprising. if you look at the detail, there was a clear need and

ambition on the eu side to have a productive partnership in the future, but it will be a tough ask to get there. this idea that substantial progress has to be done on the divorce deal, is that a compromise? we want to complete the dealfirst compromise? we want to complete the deal first before talking about trade and the british position is to talk about everything in parallel all at the same time? you could look at it that way. i think this is what the eu has always wanted, that we start with the divorce, the separation arrangements. we are not averse to talking about trade in a few months‘ time. but they do not necessarily have a number for the divorce bill, it is 50 or 60 million. but we have to agree on how we come up million. but we have to agree on how we come up to the number. so that when we get to the end of the processed it does not flare up again. it has always been the case

that the eu always knew it would need to start discussions on a future trade relationship. 0ne need to start discussions on a future trade relationship. one point of disagreement is this. there are those in our government who still believe it is possible to finalise a free—trade agreement, all the details, ina free—trade agreement, all the details, in a two—year period. i have not met anyone either here or in brussels or anywhere else who believe that is possible. that is why the third phase of this document sets out is a potential discussion about transition arrangements. that will be tricky because that involves a lot of things that are difficult for the british government to accept, such as the role of the european court of justice, continuing contributions to the european budget. each of the phases will have challenges and none of it will have challenges and none of it will be done easily. it is going to bea will be done easily. it is going to be a long road. chris morris in malta. chris morris in malta. waiting times will be longer for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements, as a "trade off" for improvements in a&e performance and better

treatment in other areas. that‘s according to the head of nhs england, simon stevens, who‘s unveiling a strategy for the nhs over the next two years. he says increasing patient demand and the growth in new treatments, mean that choices have to be made. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes reports. how have you been feeling? not too bad, thank you. at the age of 97, iris needs a little help, especially after recovering from a recent illness. so her gp called a local nhs service that provides the right care in the right place and for iris, that was home. the treatment at home has been absolutely wonderful. they have said, you need a commode, it was there straightaway. you need a walking frame, it was there straightaway. without help at home, iris might have ended up here, in her local a&e. one of the big challenges facing busy emergency departments like this one is how to reduce the sheer

pressure in terms of numbers of patients who are attending, particularly those frail, older people who might be treated at home. so today‘s announcement reflects a broader push to keep people out of hospital whenever possible. nhs england leaders are taking stock of progress since their five—year plan was published in 201a. a new strategy also focuses on improved cancer survival rates, increased access to mental health therapies and recruiting more gps. but nhs leaders are warning that faced with limited resources, there will be a trade—off between these improvements and other services. for example, people may have to wait longer for nonurgent operations. there is a solution and that lies in encouraging different component parts of the nhs to work much more closely together along with local authorities and social services to help us get people out of hospital. but medical unions say patients with conditions such as heart disease or chronic pain

will be affected. these things are being de—prioritised at the moment whereas i think that to an individual patient, the important thing is to be able to treat every patient on time as to what they need. and today, it‘s clearer than ever the money available to the health service means tough decisions are being made. there is only a fixed pot of money for the nhs and social care and we can‘t meet all of the priorities that matter to patients and the public without additional funding so the onus is on politicians, nhs leaders to start a discussion with the public about what the nhs can afford. a crisis in a&e, the collapse of social care and financial problems have all threatened to blow the nhs england five—year plan off course. today, the health service is trying to refocus on what works for patients like iris. these are the headlines: the

president of the european council, donald tusk, suggests a phased approach to negotiations and suggests discussions on trade relations can only begin after sufficient progress has been made on the divorce deal. nhs waiting times will be longerfor the divorce deal. nhs waiting times will be longer for routine operations as a trade off for better treatment in other areas. the defence secretary michael fallon has denied there is a black hole in the defence budget, but refuses to rule out cuts to the royal marines. they have called on nato allies to increase defence spending because of russian aggression. in sport, johanna konta continues to impress, she becomes the first british woman to win the final of the miami open. aston villa manager steve bruce says his defender neil taylor is desperately sorry for the tackle that broke seamus coleman‘s leg

during an international match last friday. and judd trump is out of the china open after losing to the world number 76 china open after losing to the world number76 in the china open after losing to the world number 76 in the quarterfinals. i will be back with more of those stories just after half past. hotels, restaurants and the tourism sector are warning that they‘ll face a recruitment crisis if eu immigration is heavily restricted after britain leaves the eu. the british hospitality association says it relies on 60,000 eu workers a year and it will take a decade to recruit enough british workers to fill those posts. 0ur industry correspondent, john moylan reports. here we go... at butlins in bognor regis, they are gearing up for the summer season. around a0% of the staff here are from outside the uk and the boss says they would face a recruitment crisis if brexit causes that supply of workers to be cut off. if the tap was just turned off straightaway, that would be very difficult. we are where we are at the moment, we rely on a third of our workplace

from european employees. to be able to turn that straight off and replace it straight off would be very difficult. we are in the hospitality industry, we are in the service industry, you actually have to employ people who like to serve people. tourism and hospitality accounts for around 10% of the economy. now a new report is warning that restrictions on foreign labour could hit it harder than any other sector. the uk‘s hospitality sector employs around 3 million workers, but it‘s highly reliant on overseas staff. 2a% of the workforce are eu migrants. they could face a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration is tightly controlled. the industry wants to reduce its dependence on eu workers. its new ten year strategy includes recruiting more unemployed and older workers in the uk. one thing we have to do in the united kingdom is to actually tackle the perception of careers in our industry which isn't necessarily the same as it is in france, switzerland,

austria or germany. where hospitality careers are actually seen as a career of choice. the government says that while it will end free movement as it is now, it will design a new immigration system that is in the national interest. john moylan, bbc news. with me is brigid simmonds from the beer and pub association. thank you for coming in. do you share these findings roughly? do you think this is a real concern? yes, we found among our membership that about 70% of employers across the uk come from overseas, but that rises substantially in metropolitan areas and it rises particularly with kitchen staff. it could be in london and in other metropolitan areas where it could be 18 or 90%. we need to look at soft skills, firstly in allowing those who are here now to

stay here, but secondly in making sure that whatever agreement we come to it allows people with soft skills to it allows people with soft skills to still stay in our sector. are you seeing that post brexit there might bea seeing that post brexit there might be a recruitment crisis? we have got almost full employment in this country and we are working with the department of work and pensions to look at how we can bring young people in. also traditionally there has been a perception about our industry. that is beginning to change. i look at our members and see some really good retention scheme is being rolled out, about service coaches, having interaction between staff because we need to retain them. but a6% of people who work in pubs are under the age of 25. we have got some good schemes with commonwealth countries which allow young people to move backwards and forwards for a short period and we need to make sure we are doing those deals with the eu countries.

is it those deals with the eu countries. isita those deals with the eu countries. is it a case of british people do not want these jobs or they think it is not well enough paid?|j not want these jobs or they think it is not well enough paid? i think they used to be a perception. if i said to my mum, i want to work in a pub, she would say, what do you want to do that for? if you have got people skills it really helps. if you look at chef recruitment, we are about to launch an issue, and chefs have particular skills and i do not think we can manage without some overseas people. we need a balance to offer employment to people here, but also say can we make sure that people who come here, who are students, who want to work here on a temporary basis are still allowed to come and do that? that is part of the international flavour that is the international flavour that is the uk. some people watching this might need to say you need to pay more to attract more british workers. we are raising wages. the national living wage goes up again

tomorrow by £30. if you look at the minimum wage, we have got a lot of high costs. pay is rising faster in this industry than in many others. but the government has to look at some of the red tape. we had a 1a0 million hit on beer duty in the last budget. we have got business rates and the apprenticeship levied coming forward. there are some big costs and it is how you get that balance right. pubs are third on the list for overseas tourists who visit the uk. seven out of ten visit a pub when they are here. with the pound as it is we have got more influx in tourism. but with some of the uncertainties going forward we must make sure we are an industry that continues to do well and continues to employ people. thank you very much. a man remains in a critical although

sta ble a man remains in a critical although stable condition in hospital after he was stabbed in an attack at his home in the west midlands. the attack left his wife and 13—year—old son dead. detectives are continuing to question a man in his 20s who was arrested nearby. 0ur correspondence is in stourbridge and told us the latest. the man is still in custody and at some stage soon west midlands police will have to decide whether to charge him or release him or apply for an extension. people are laying flowers outside the wilkinson family home this morning, including school friends of the 13—year—old boy who was killed in that stabbing incident yesterday morning. we have a statement from his school in which they said pearce was a loyal, caring and conscientious people who will be sadly missed by all members of the community. he was a kind and thoughtful young man, and it goes on

to talk about how passionate he was about his pet greyhound mandy. headteacher came to lay some flowers here a short while ago. the man who was detained in custody may even have stayed with the family at some stage. there was not a burglary or a robbery and they are still questioning him at the moment. the father, peter wilkinson, questioning him at the moment. the father, peterwilkinson, have stabilised although he is in a critical condition. he was stabbed in the chest and the back. yesterday morning it was terrible news for the police when they arrived here to find his wife stacey dead and his son piers also. it‘s one of the biggest wildlife conservation projects ever seen in britain and its aim is to save at least 20 species from extinction, creatures like the black click beetle, the shrill carder bee and the natterjack toad. the back from the brink campaign is being launched today. it‘s an £8 million scheme backed by the heritage lottery fund. and it‘s hoped thousands of people will volunteer to help as duncan kennedy reports.

they are the most striking, the most elusive and the most endangered species in britain. but today, a project begins to save them. when they reach the right temperature they automatically begin to use their sonar. jenny clark has been protecting bats for 30 years and is joining today‘s campaign called back from the brink. if this one were to go to extinction, what will that mean to somebody like you? it would be an appalling loss and a great tragedy and it mustn‘t happen. we would be absolutely bereft if we lost the grey long—eared. the natterjack toad is another of the 20 species facing extinction. so too, the ladybird spider. £8 million of heritage lottery and otherfunds is being put in to create the back from the brink project, but the organisers say it will only work if the publicjoin in.

the ambition is to involve 1.3 million people, engage over 5000 volunteers actually going out surveying, recording, monitoring species. so there will be lots of opportunities for the public to really get involved. and here, at this nature reserve in dorset, some of the first of those 5000 volunteers have just started work. the public is needed to help identify the threatened species and record details of their habitats. back from the brink‘s top 20 also includes adders and the shrill carder bee, with 30 organisations coming together in this unprecedented scheme. we depend on each and every one of the species, even the ones that are perhaps less fashionable or more obscure than some others. they all have their own interesting story to tell. from woods, to back garden ponds, this four—year project will seek out the 20 at—risk species and dozens of others who can join them. human activity may be

causing their problems, but now human action will try to save them. duncan kennedy, bbc news in dorset. lets get a look at the weather forecast. not as warm as yesterday, today, not too bad, 17, 18, plenty of sunshine, but, always a but, some rain around, let‘s enjoy this, north yorkshire, recently, that is because the sun has come out, still pouring with rain across parts of violence, scotland, showers running back in, chasing into the south—west. actually, looking fairly pleasant out and about. we have those showers coming up to the west as we go through the evening and overnight, dry in the east, but, at last come we lose the rain in the northern isles. it means in the fresh air, it

will not be as warm as it was last night, last night was very warm, no lower than 13 degrees in some places, average for the time of year during the day. tomorrow we change the month, april showers, some good spells of sunshine between and light wind, sunshine, some of the showers will be quite lively. small hail, some thunder and lightning. sunday looks like the drier day of the two this weekend. plenty of sunshine, fine and dry for the boat race taking place into the afternoon. tens, 11s. like wind —— light wind. —— the boat race. hello. this is bbc news. the president of the european council donald tusk has suggested a phased strategy for brexit negotiations. he says any discussions on future trade deals must remain on hold until the terms of the uk‘s

departure are finalised. starting our talks around issues at the same time as suggested by some in the uk will not happen. we really are moving forward now, and there is are moving forward now, and there is a lot of goodwill, a lot of willingness to achieve what the prime minister has said she wants to achieve, which is an orderly transition. the head of nhs england has warned routine operations like hip and knee replacements will take longer. it‘s a "trade off" for better treatment in other areas, like a&e and cancer treatments. the defence secretary michael fallon has denied reports of a multi—billion pound shortfall in the defence budget. he says he accepts the funding is tight but no cuts have been signed off yet. one of the biggest wildlife conservation projects ever seen in britain has been launched today. the back from the brink campaign aims to save at least 20 species from extinction. time to catch up with all of the

latest sports news now, including tennis, always good to be able to say that. british canoeing is the latest national sports governing body to have concerns raised about the welfare of their athletes. a coach was suspended last year following a formal complaint. an independent investigation was then started, and is yet to be concluded. here‘s our reporter david 0rnstein. uk sport, the government arm that provides public money for olympic and paralympic sports, they have also said they are aware of the investigation. they say it is the responsibility of the governing body to deal with. they are not able to comment on the detail of ongoing investigation. british canoeing had its most successful 0lympics at rio,

two goal, two silva, three gold and three bronze medals for the team gb paralympics team as they topped the table. neil taylor is desperately sorry for the tackle that broke seamus coleman‘s leg, aston villa boss steve bruce has said. wales defender taylor was sent off for his challenge on the republic of ireland‘s coleman last friday, during a world cup qualifier. fifa have opened proceedings against taylor, which could result in an increase of his automatic one—match ban to three games. everton midfielder tom cleverley‘s loan spell at watford will be made into a permanent move at the end of the season. cleverley has signed a five—year deal a five—year deal moving for an undisclosed fee. the england international joined watford injanuary and has made eight appearances so far. he also had a successful loan spell at vicarage road during the 2009—10 campaign while on manchester united‘s books. a shocking claim from stoke city striker saido berahino. he served an eight—week doping ban earlier this season whilst at his former club west brom

but he says it was because his drink was spiked in a nightclub. berahino insists that there was such a small amount in his system, it proves he couldn‘t have taken the drug intentionally. for me to get banned for something you have not done is hard to take. so, it was white? yeah, definitely, ifi so, it was white? yeah, definitely, if i was going to get higher, you would get an amount that would get you high. what they found in my system was really low. so, why would you want to take something and not get their bars of it? -- so, it was spiked? that was the question, but because i‘m in the premier league show the fa have to have zero tolerance. —— buzz. and you can watch the the full interview on football focus on bbc one on saturday from midday. johanna konta will climb to a career high seventh

in the world tennis rankings if she beats caroline wozniacki in the miami 0pen final this weekend. konta beat venus williams to become the first british woman to reach the final. amazing to think, konta was just six years old when williams first won this tournament 19 years ago. konta has said venus is one of her all time heroes, but dispatched of her opponent in straight sets. i was very happy to have come through that, i was not able to serve it out the first time but second time around i was able to so relief, and excitement that i get to be part of the last day of the tournament. in the men‘s tournament roger federer‘s great run of form continued with a three set win over tomas berdych. federer will play nick kyrgios in the semi finals late this evening. the enigmatic australian was at his crowd pleasing best during his win against alexander zverev, producing an array of astonishing shots, just watch that, known as the hot dog, apparently.

plenty of reason to celebrate. the other semi later today is between rafa nadal and italy‘s fabio fognini. defending championjudd trump is out of the china open snooker. he lost 5—3 to the world number 76 hossein vafaei. vafaei made two centuries on his way to victory, with breaks of 100 and 106. the 22—year—old from iran now takes on mark williams for a place in the final, after he beat shaun murphy. that‘s all sport for now. i‘ll have more in the next hour. news coming into us about google‘s tax affairs, google, shrouded in controversy in the past, they have announced they have paid tax of £36 million, in the uk, for the year between july 2015 and june 2016.

£36 million on a turnover of more than £1 billion. that is what we are hearing. we hope to speak with our expert on all of this next two minutes. —— july 2015 and june 2016. we will talk more about "brexit" later on but one of these stories is something we touched on earlier. china is closing almost half of its official ivory carving factories and shops today, with the rest due to close by the end of next year. the news has been welcomed by conservationists, in their battle against the illegal trade in ivory. despite a global ban on international sales, a surge in demand has resulted in the death of tens of thousands of african elephants in recent years. let‘s get more reaction to this story. we‘re joined by kirsty smith at the david sheldrick wildlife trust an elephant conservation charity in narobi.

i think, you are alongside some orphan elephants, explain a little bit more. this is the nairobi nursery, you can see behind me, some of the victims of the ivory trade, the elephants you see behind me, some of their mothers were killed by poachers for their ivory. it is through projects on the ground with this orphaned project, and anti—poaching operations, and set an airy units, that we can see the effect of the ivory trade on the ground. 0ur effect of the ivory trade on the ground. our work is about keeping elephants alive today. these are the ones we have been able to rescue. we will raise and reintroduce them back to the wild. actually, just last week, one of the ex—orphans gave birth to her own wildlife baby. it

isa birth to her own wildlife baby. it is a successful project, and we welcome this news wholeheartedly, that china, as biggest importers of ivory, are going to close their domestic trade. it is very windy where you are but we are going to persist, because it is interesting and important, it is heartbreaking to think that elephants are still killed purely for ivory, that is the only reason, people watching do not really understand still what is the draw, there is meant to be a ban on this, why is it still going on to the extent that it is? a lot of factors at play, antiquities, the cultural past china has had with carvings of ivory as souvenirs, and business favours. we are hoping this will turn the tide on that. and that

people will not want to buy ivory anymore, we have already seen the price of ivory dropped by two thirds in the last three years. it‘s a scene like the tide is turning and people will not want to buy ivory anymore. it seems ludicrous, and it is. you mentioned one of the elephants has given birth, fantastic, explain a little more about what the trust does, and the conservation work, how you try... you are trying to restore the numbers? absolutely. inaudible studio: we might have to leave it there, regrettably. very windy in nairobi, but fantastic to be able to hear a lot of what kirsty said. we certainly got a sense of the conservation work that was going on there. more on our top story this afternoon, the eu has published

draft guidelines setting out its approach to the brexit negotiations. the document suggests talks on a trade deal can only begin once ‘sufficient progress‘ is made on a separation settlement. speaking in malta, the president of the european council, donald tusk acknowledged the talks ahead could be tough. only ones we have achieved sufficient progress on withdrawal can we discuss the framework for the future relationship. starting parallel talks on all issues at the same time, as suggested by some in the uk, will not happen. and when talking about our future relationship, we obviously share of the uk desire to establish a close partnership between us. strong ties reaching beyond the economy and including security corporation,

remain in ourcommon including security corporation, remain in our common interest. —— co—operation. let me conclude by saying that the talks which are about to start will be difficult, complex and sometimes even confrontational. there is no way around it. the 27 does not and will not pursue a punitive approach. "brexit" in itself is already punitive enough. after more than 40 years of being united, we owe it to each other to do what we can to make this divorce as smooth as possible. political correspondent ian watson is in westminster for political correspondent ian watson is in westminsterfor us, what political correspondent ian watson is in westminster for us, what is your assessment? interesting that he was saying this is his first divorce, of course, divorces can be confrontational. -- iain watson. the

big headline was, theresa may said in her letter triggering article 50, a letter to him earlier this week, that she wanted negotiations to take place in parallel, alongside, was the phrase she used, the future relationship that britain would have with the eu, alongside the divorce bill, the untangling of a relationship with the european union. he said clearly, no, we have the draft guidelines here for the negotiations, this is what it will be, sainted britain, when these negotiations formally get underway. at the end of the month to ratify these, and make changes. but written ina kind these, and make changes. but written in a kind of brussels bureaucratic language. page four, section four," the first phase of negotiations will aim to settle the disentanglement of the united kingdom from the union, from the eu, from all the rights, obligations that the uk has as a

member state, and provide clarity... on the immediate effect of the united kingdom‘s withdrawal. and then the crucial phase, the european council will monitor progress closely, and determine when sufficient progress has been achieved, to allow negotiations to proceed to the next phase. that is quite significant, not just proceed to the next phase. that is quite significant, notjust saying no to parliamentary negotiations, it is effectively saying, they want the divorce bill settled, before moving onto the trade negotiations, but it is the european council, the remaining 27 members, headed by donald tusk, which will decide when sufficient progress has been made. this is not going to be an equal relationship, as the divorce gets underway. they will decide when the next phase can be triggered, not theresa may. effectively, the european council saying unequivocally that they are in charge, as you can imagine, domestic

political reaction to this has been that the liberal democrats have said unsurprisingly perhaps in a rather dreadful pun has said theresa may has been taken to tap the letter task —— that theresa may has been taken to tusk(!) and paul nuttall of ukip says the eu has shown itself to be inflexible and although they say they are strong, they are brittle. putting a brave face on this, foreign secretary boris johnson, putting a brave face on this, foreign secretary borisjohnson, he said it accentuates the positive about the eu response to the letter. donald tusk said that he does not expect negotiations with britain to be punitive because he said that "brexit" itself will be punitive enough!| "brexit" itself will be punitive enough! i have just "brexit" itself will be punitive enough! i havejust come "brexit" itself will be punitive enough! i have just come from germany, i have had some really good discussions with some of our counterparts, and they were very struck by the positive tone and substance of the prime minister's

article 50 letter, and i think we really are moving forward now, and there is a lot of goodwill, a lot of willingness to achieve what the prime minister has said she wants to achieve, which is an orderly transition, and a deep and special partnership, a deep and special partnership, a deep and special partnership tween a strong eu and a strong uk. thanks very much, everybody, thank you. boris johnson making it clear that he felt negotiations could be successful, that theresa may‘s approach had been welcomed in other european capitals, but i think this document is effectively the first proof of some of the real difficulties that will lie ahead, and this phased approach to negotiations which donald tusk seems to want, and says the other european nations seem to want, there are dangers for theresa may in this because if the initial focus are dangers for theresa may in this because if the initialfocus is are dangers for theresa may in this because if the initial focus is on the divorce bill, how much britain may have to pay to meet outstanding obligations, then it is likely that some of the unity in her own party

will become brittle as well, because some people will undoubtedly suggest that better for her to walk away with no deal whatsoever and rely on world trade organisation rules rather than plug ahead on basically a timescale and a negotiation decided by the european council, not in partnership with the united kingdom. ain't you very much. all the business news coming up in a moment. first, today‘s headlines. the president of the european council donald tusk, as we have been discussing, suggests a phased approach to "brexit" negotiations and says discussions about future trade negotiations can only begin after sufficient progress has been made on the divorce deal. the chief executive of nhs england simon stevens, has warned that nhs waiting times will be longer for routine operations, as a "trade off" for better treatment in other areas. defence secretary michael fallon has

denied there is a "black hole" in the defence budget, but refused to rule out cuts to the royal marines. both he and american defence secretary james matiss have called on nato allies to increase defence spending, because of russian aggression. as you‘ve been hearing google has announced it paid tax of £36.a million in the uk for the 12 months from 1july 2015 to 30 june 2016 on a turnover of £1.03 billion. this compares with £a6.2 million for the previous 18 months. that was for between january 201a tojuly 2015, when google changed its tax structure. hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions have warned

the government that they rely on 60,000 workers from the european union every year. the british hospitality association has sent downing street a report which predicts the industry will be damaged if immigration is strictly limited after the uk exits the european union. uk house price growth "softened" in march with values rising at an annual rate of 3.5%. the nationwide says the rise was down from a a.5% annual growth in february, and was the slowest annual increase since august 2015. the nationwide also said that the level of home ownership had fallen to its lowest since 1985. the hospitality sector has warned it faces a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration from the european union is too tightly controlled. staff from the eu make up nearly a quarter of alljobs in the sector. the british hospitality association said that thousands of businesses are facing having to drastically reduce their dependence on eu workers. ufi ibrahim, chief executive, british hospitality association. the figure shows some very important figures, notjust for the figure shows some very important figures, not just for london the figure shows some very important figures, notjust for london and urban environments in the uk but across the country, the dependence

of our industry on the eu workers and the contribution they have made is very significant. we have record level of low unemployment in the united kingdom, the competition for what is becoming a scarce resource is becoming intense, as we go forward as an industry we have said today publicly that we will up our game, we will ramp up all existing efforts, one thing we need to do in the united kingdom is tackle the perception of careers in this industry, which is not the same as it is in france, switzerland or germany, hospitality careers are seen as a career of germany, hospitality careers are seen as a career of choice there. we will have the focus particularly on the next generation, talking about going to 11—year—olds, back to school, children. what we want is when asked, as many times as a child would say they want to be a teacher, afireman, a would say they want to be a teacher, a fireman, a doctor, we want a child to say, i want to run a bar, i want

to say, i want to run a bar, i want to bea to say, i want to run a bar, i want to be a hotel manager, restaurant manager. if you cast your mind back to that time when we didn‘t talk about brexit, house prices if you remember used to prop up quite frequently. well, figures out today suggest that over the last year the cost of a home in the uk is still growing but not as fast as it was. —— crop up. there are a number of different house price indexes which release figures, one of them is the nationwide‘s which uses numbers from its own mortgage lending. today they show the average house price across the uk actual fell by 0.3% in the month of march, the first fall since june 2015. now, monthly figures can be very volatile, but this is the largest such fall for nearly five years. earlier we asked the nationwide‘s chief economist just how significant is that march fall? if you look at the price change over the month, what we have seen is prices fell by 0.3%, it is the first decline over the month that we have seen decline over the month that we have seen since early 2015, but you shouldn't read too much into one month stated, especially when you

look at changes over the month, much better measures, when you look at the annual change in prices, we see prices worth three fine 5%, compared to march last year, and that is basically in the same three to 6% range that we have seen over the la st two range that we have seen over the last two years. looking at the housing market at the moment, we see a range of things influencing prices, on the demand side, it is pretty firm, if you look at the labour market and employment rate, unemployment is at its lowest level since the mid—19 70s, wages still rising, borrowing costs close to all—time lows, all those things helping to support demand. prices still relatively high compared to earnings, that is because the supply side of the market is very constrained. we are not building and of homes to keep up with the natural increase in population and therefore even though demand is very robust, supply situation is very constrained, and that is keeping prices high relative to earnings. if you look at the trends in home ownership in recent years, we have

seen ownership in recent years, we have seena ownership in recent years, we have seen a gradual decline in the rate of home ownership, what we see at the moment is in 2016, homeownership rate in england was at its lowest level for over 30 years. i think that shows that affordability has been becoming more stretched for many people, and we have seen, as a counterpart, the growth of the private rental sector, if you look at the numberof private rental sector, if you look at the number of people privately renting now, it is around 20% of households in the private rented sector, up from 12% one decade ago. let‘s have a look at other business stories we are following today. business customers can choose their water supplier as from tomorrow, the uk‘s water market opens for competition between suppliers. water—switching has been a long time coming and something companies have campaigned for. hsbc is to let customers choose more non—gender specific titles for their retail bank accounts. customers can choose from nine titles including "m" and "misc". the prefixes are designed to give

non—binary people more choices if they don‘t want to be identified by gender. and if you‘re a parent, this is a familiar site, peppa pig on the tablet. well aswell as giving new parents a bit of peace, peppa pig has been bringing home the bacon for entertainment one, which reported strong growth for both revenue and profits in the year to march. it expects revenues for the family division to be at least 25% higher than the previous 12 months. the money it makes from selling products in the us was more than $200 million last year following the launch of a wider licensing scheme ahead of the christmas period. the uk market was trading lower, with companies with business interests in south africa hit after the country‘s finance minister was sacked. the removal of pravin gordhan after days of speculation sent south africa‘s currency, the rand, lower. insurer old mutual, which has significant interests in south africa, fell 8% in response. direct line was the biggest riser in the ftse100, climbing 3%, after several stock brokers upgraded the stock. some promising weather certainly for

the second half of our weekend, and indeed into the easter holidays for some who have broken up today, started a rather damp note in the north, north yorkshire, some sunshine, still remnants of cloud across scotland, and we have rain around, if! across scotland, and we have rain around, if i show you here, you conceive yourself, rain beginning to clear northern ireland, a future was coming into the west, sunshine breaking through in the east. as we follow through the rest of the afternoon and evening, losing the rain from the far north, showers following in behind, those will be dominant through the night, particularly in western areas, in eastern areas, lengthier clear spells, fresher area, relatively mild, nine or10 spells, fresher area, relatively mild, nine or 10 degrees. on saturday, fairly bright note in

eastern areas, already we have showers with us, showers, fairly unusual, for the weather to be doing what it should be doing, talking about those showers, good spells of sunshine between the showers, but there will be light wind, that means when we catch a shower it will move away. as the day wears on and the heat builds, we could see lively showers with small pale and even thunder and lightning. at long last, a little bit drier. as we go to the rest of saturday morning and into the afternoon, sparky ones around, there will be lengthy spells, coastal areas may see the best of those into the afternoon. 13 to 16, still a little above average. will feel pleasant in the sunshine with the light wind. goodbye to the area of low pressure, in for sunday, second half of the week and, more promising, dry and bright weather, but a rather chilly start, with fog

and frost. we have plenty of dry bright weather around, good spells of sunshine, fairweather cloud building up, away from the coast, during the afternoon, but certainly not spoiling the day, dry and bright at the very least, if not sunny for some. 11 to 16— creeping up into the fahrenheit, looking fine and dry for the boat race between oxford and cambridge, taking place in the last pa rt cambridge, taking place in the last part of the afternoon. slight chance for eastern part, of a shower on sunday, mostly reserved for saturday, the following chilly night and afine saturday, the following chilly night and a fine day on sunday. it is the start of these to holidays, if you are heading further afield, perhaps you are heading scheme, we have all of the latest information on the website and as ever we will keep you posted. this is bbc news, the headlines at three: the president of the european council, donald tusk, suggests a phased strategy for brexit negotiations, allowing trade talks to begin once progress is made on the divorce deal. starting our talks on all issues

at the same time as suggested by some in the uk will not happen. we really are moving forward now and there is a lot of goodwill, a lot of willingness, to achieve what the prime minister has said she wants to achieve, which is an orderly transition. there will be longer waits for routine operations like hip replacements as the nhs in england tries to improve a&e and cancer treatments. the government denies reports of a £10 billion hole in britain‘s defence budget but admits there will be will more cuts to come.