coming into the changes coming into the northwest, wind picking up, we will get a band of rain into scotland and northern ireland. that is it see you later. this is bbc news, the headlines at four: 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. 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. a 23—year—old man has been charged with the murder of a mother and her 13—year—old son, who were stabbed to death at their home. there will be longer waits for routine operations like hip replacements as the nhs

in england tries to improve a&e and cancer treatments. 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. this news came through from the police in the last half an hour. this news came through from

the police in the last half an hour. within the past hour, a man has been charged with the murders of tracey wilkinson and her 13—year—old son pierce, at their home in the west midlands. phil mackie is in stourbridge. the 23—year—old man was my name is aaron barley. he was arrested not to buy from here yesterday and he has beenin buy from here yesterday and he has been in custody for the past 2a hours. tracy wilkinson, 50, was found dead here yesterday morning. she died from stab wounds. her son, pierce, who was 13, also died. the father peter wilkinson is in hospital in birmingham in a critical but stable condition, having been stabbed in the chest and the back. in the past 20 minutes or so a lot

of pierce‘s school friends have turned up to add their floral tributes to add to the growing pile of floral tributes to the family here today. redhill school in stourbridge said that pierce was a loyal, caring and conscientious people. he always met everyone with a smile and was a kind and thoughtful young man and was passionate about west bromwich albion and devoted to his pet greyhound dog called mandy. it is being looked after by family members at the moment. a lot of friends and family have been turning up to leave these tributes today, many in tears, a lot of them comforting each other. aaron bali, 23, has been charged with two counts of murder and one of attempted murder and he will appear before birmingham magistrates tomorrow. 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 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 there was also a warning that the uk should not try to hold separate discussions with individual member states. i'm joined from nottingham by labour's chris leslie. what do you make of what donald tusk has had to say today. this is cold, ha rd has had to say today. this is cold, hard reality, hitting the government who, of course, were saying we could get all of these benefits. the league campaign, boris johnson get all of these benefits. the league campaign, borisjohnson you saw in the package, promised we would bring all this money back into the uk, but it turns out that the bargain will have to be driven very ha rd bargain will have to be driven very hard indeed and i am quite worried because i fear for the level of goodwill that we will be able to sustain during the course of this

two—year period. sustain during the course of this two-year period. but in some ways there is encouragement in what donald task is saying. he says there does not have to be a divorce deal done and dusted, just sufficient progress, then they can talk about trade. the prime minister's fundamental mistake was not to secure this parallel, the ability to talk about the new relationship at the same time as the divorce settlement. the european union have said absolutely not. that is a problem for the uk because we are in this ticking clock which will run out in two years. the other 27 are not under that same time pressure. we are already in a very difficult negotiating position, particularly because the eu will insist on resources . because the eu will insist on resources. they will also want to write all those regulations into the future and we will not have many of the benefits that the league campaign promised us to offset that. you say it is the prime minister's

fault, but she was trying to have all these talks together, that was heraim, that is all these talks together, that was her aim, that is what she wanted, but that has not been given to her. if she had used the process towards the article 50 triggered differently, right from the referendum, which would have been securing the right to talk about our relationship simultaneously as we did the financial divorce process, this is a real setback. the european union may well want to take a very long period of time to talk about that money. we cannot afford to go off that cliff edge going into all those high tariffs. people should look in their shopping baskets for the countries of origin and products and services that we use. we have to get a good trade deal otherwise our prosperity and living standards will think. the value of the pound in our pocket will already not go far enough. of course we want to back the prime minister where we can to

get the best possible deal, but if you start to sound you are threatening that you will maybe withhold security, sharing information in certain circumstances, you will lose goodwill. we need that goodwill from the other side to get a good deal. some people might say you are and julie pessimistic. boris johnson some people might say you are and julie pessimistic. borisjohnson has just been in germany and he said he found people being very constructive in germany and optimistic and there is goodwill towards the uk as it leaves the eu. boris always meets people who have a smile in his direction because that is the sort of character he is. but these are serious times and we need serious people to be negotiating, getting the best deal we can. we should not be accepting red lines as the prime minister did. even before asking about the single market, we can see the chances of us salvaging the single market are quite slim. we

should have approached it in a different way. but we are where we are and the other 27 countries will be very firm and we have got to try and keep as positive and keep goodwill and no more posturing from the government. chris leslie, thank you very much for being with us. chris leslie, thank you very much for being with us. 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. 0ur correspondent james shaw is in edinburgh and explained more about what was in the letter. in her letter drafted here at bute house, the first minister nicola sturgeon says there is no rational reason why the prime minister should reject her request for a second independence referendum. if it is an issue of timing, she says the vote could take place after brexit negotiations have finished so people in scotland 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 a question of not if it is respected, but how. if the prime minister chooses not to do that, i will set out to parliament over the next few weeks what i intend to do to make sure the will of the parliament is respected and we make progress towards giving the people of scotland a choice. well, what might that response be? perhaps in a worst—case scenario it could be the first minister 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 in london will be thinking about just how disruptive that could be. 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 2014. 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. we are joined by orthopaedic surgeon from southampton gen

hospital dr rishi dhir. good afternoon. nice to meet you. nice to talk to you. what goes through your mind when you hear that routine operations might be put on the back burner, hip replacements and those sort of things. i day routine? i actually work at the royal london hospital, so i am just teaching today in southampton. but i am at the end of my training, i am in my last six months as a registrar. it is important to give an insight into what a patient with chronic pain has to go through. they have fun worked their last few years until retirement in chronic pain, unable to sleep at night, unable to get dressed, unable to get into a car, who have paid taxes that are entire lives. they should not be in a situation where there have

immensely long waiting lists, such as the disabled who require walking sticks and wheelchairs etc, it leads to many problems. it leaves two days of six, increased disability and increased costs in the community to manage these patients. many are elderly who have paid their taxes throughout their lives. it may be great if they can afford to pay for these things privately, but a lot of people cannot. it is not fair to have a situation where an elderly lady has to sell her house to pay for any replacement because she is not in pain. that is not the kind of society we want to live in. do you accept that something somewhere within the nhs has to give or has to change because we are all living longer? that is one of the fundamental issues facing the nhs, so fundamental issues facing the nhs, so the demand is greater as a result of that and more urgent cases, more

urgent situations have to be tackled first? something needs to change. the amount of money that is promised for the nhs needs to be put in. you have to recall that the united kingdom out of most of the developed countries, particularly in western europe, spends one of the lowest amounts of gdp. the amount of money put into the nhs sequentially in the last six years as massively reduced year—on—year in line with inflation. when you talk about something changing, the funding has not been put in which doctors and medical leaders have been asking for for a long time. yes, people are living longer, there has not been a sudden change in the last five years in people's life expectancy, there has been a political base vision to not fund the nhs. you are creating artificial waiting lists by increasing the waiting lists for hip and knee replacements which look

attractive which can be sold off to the private sector. but people need to know about the fact that those patients who are high risk in the private sector will not be accepted as private cases and will be done on the nhs. these may be people with infected hips and those infections can go into the bloodstream. they may be people with difficult hips to do as well. we have seen this in other aspects whereby coronary bypasses are not being seen as an urgent medical case as well. somebody with that could drop dead at any moment. people with chronic pain are important cases and we should not be having this discussion about a trade off. this is more like about a trade off. this is more like a sell off rather than a trade off. people listening to you will understand everything you have said. that being said, i wonder with you feel in fact that simon stephens is being as outspoken as he can be

about the financial situation and he has now reached a point where he says, i might not be happy with this, but this is the amount of money i have to work with and i have to make the nhs operates as best i can with what i have got and i have got to make choices, just as a few days ago we were all talking about not prescribing paracetamol and cold remedies as a prescription any more. he has to make decisions. what is the decision that was made to him openly claiming that there is no funding for the nhs and he changes his tune. why is that discussion not being hand? why are we not chasing the government to put the amount of money in that has been promised. we have a great rush to trigger article 50, but we have no rush to find the nhs. i would say it is a political decision and it is a poor choice. a trade off will not save the nhs. thank you for your time. google says it paid £361; million in

corporation tax for the year from june 2016, on a turnover ofjust over £1 billion. that compares with £46 million is paid for the 18 months before that when the company changed its tax structure. we can talk to simon gompertz in the studio. google's tax affairs have been shrouded in controversy. what do these figures tell us? you remember there was a lot of debate between mps into what google and other big multinationals were paying and the tax authority hmrc took a look at six years of google. they went right back to 2005, looking at the years in which they paid little or no tax. eventually google paid £130 million in a deal with the tax authorities. what we are seeing now

is the year up tojune last year, 36 million, compared with 46 million in the 18 months preceding that, and it is roughly comparable, those two figures if you time adjust them. it isa figures if you time adjust them. it is a bit more than the 20% corporation tax that companies are supposed to pay. 0n corporation tax that companies are supposed to pay. on that measure they could say we are paying our taxes now. we have already had political comment on this. the liberal democrats are saying that google are still getting away with paying such a paltry amount of their total revenue. how can we be sure they are paying the right amount of tax? this is the nub of it. the controversy tax? this is the nub of it. the c0 ntrove rsy was tax? this is the nub of it. the controversy was always over how they operated their business and where they booked their income and the way they booked their income and the way they structure their business is they structure their business is they have an outreach operation in they have an outreach operation in the uk, one of their biggest markets in the world, and they are making money from advertising and other

things. but the advertising is sold from ireland, said that is where they booked their income from selling advertising. when you look at the account they have issued in the uk, their revenue and income figure is basically what they charge google ireland for operating. it is not their advertising revenue booked, that is done in another country. if you look at the most recent google worldwide accounts, they are a subsidiary of alphabet, in the last year the revenue in the uk was $8 billion, that roughly tra nslates uk was $8 billion, that roughly translates to a bit over £6 billion. the revenue they have declared here is £1 billion, said there is a big difference and that is why you will hear politicians saying they should be paying more tax. it is important to say tax is not paid on revenue, it is paid on profits and we do not know what their profit overall in

the uk is. we only have what they have declared today in their accou nts have declared today in their accounts up untiljune. but hmrc must be happy with what they are doing. simon gompertz, our personal finance correspondent. the defence secretary, sir michael fallon, has denied a report that a funding shortfall has left the armed forces trying to find an extra billion pounds in savings every year for the next ten years. the claim's based on an analysis by the national audit office and conversations with seven serving and former senior officers. richard galpin reports. the armed forces are in the midst of a major upgrade. new aircraft carriers, planes and submarines on order. but all this now reportedly leaving a £10 billion hole in the defence ministry's budget. the report has come just as the defence secretary, sir michael fallon, holds talks here with his us counterpart, james mattis. the americans want all nato member states to have well funded defence budgets and therefore effective military forces. and there are now fears

that the reported budget problem here could lead to cuts to the royal marines. and sir michael has not ruled this out. the royal navy is growing over all, growing by around 400, because the royal navy is getting new ships, new submarines, and then it is up to the first sea lord as to the number of sailors he has and royal marines he has. the estimated price tag for the royal navy's dreadnought submarines increased by £620 million between 2015 and 2016. the project will take several decades to complete. and the cost of the f—35 joint strike fighters, bought from the united states, has increased by £843 million. it is still not known when the new aircraft carriers will be commissioned. some of our major potential opponents like iran, china and russia are improving

their capabilities day by day. we are not matching those capabilities, nor are we providing the technologies that are needed to suppress some of their systems. at a separate meeting today in brussels, nato foreign ministers are holding talks with the us secretary of state, rex tillerson. britain is one of a minority of member states which does meet its commitment of spending 2% of gdp on defence. right now, hundreds of british and other nato troops are in estonia and other areas bordering russia. part of an operation to counter russia's current aggressive foreign policy. this is a time when nato needs to be particularly strong. richard galpin, bbc news at lancaster house. members of the green party have been

gathering in liverpool for their spring conference. they promised action against an extreme brexit and said they had a special message for young people. for young people in particular let down by brexit, the green message is one of a much more hopeful alternative. young people deserve a party that will say loudly and clearly freedom of movement is your right. it will say loudly and clearly tuition fees must be scrapped and private rents brought under control. so today we have this message for young people in britain. if you want a party interested in moving forwards, not turning the clock back, a party that is honest about the challenges we face and brave enough to build a better, more hopeful country, then come and join

us, the green party. caroline lucas speaking there, the co—leader of the green party. bmw workers in the uk who also make the mini and rolls—royce cars have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike in a dispute about the closure of their final salary pension scheme. the unite union said some workers will be losing up to £160,000 in retirement income. 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. 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. tomorrow is the first a available,

you can guess what the weather will be like, we had some sunshine breaking through across the uk after the band of cloud broke away, turning pleasant in the afternoon foremost, this rain the north west of scotla nd foremost, this rain the north west of scotland and a band shall rain coming in wales and south—west. we will see that wetter weather arriving across many western parts and into wales overnight, if you showers, rain clearing up towards the northern isles of scotland, good brea ks the northern isles of scotland, good breaks in the cloud, most likely to be dry. cool than last night, last night very mild. showers and sunshine, sunshine tomorrow, some of those showers may be heavy and possibly thundery, white slow—moving, nowhere particularly immune from a shower. should not arrive until the afternoon across east anglia and the south—west where

we will see the highest temperatures. those numbers lower than today. after a chilly start, fine day, good spells of sunshine, wind will be light and in the sunshine it will feel pleasant, temperatures generally 13 or 14, a touch higher in the south—east. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: the president of the european council, donald tusk, has suggested a phased strategy for brexit negotiations. he says any discussions on future trade deals can only begin once the terms of the uk's departure are finalised. starting parallel talks around different issues at the same time, as suggested by some, 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. a 23—year—old man has been charged with the murder of a woman and her 13—year—old son, they were found dead at their home in stourbridge yesterday. aaron barley has also been charged with the attempted murder of the boy's father, who's critically ill. the head of nhs england has warned of longer waiting times for routine operations like hip and knee replacements. he says it's a "trade off" for improvements in other areas, like a&e and cancer treatments. one of the biggest wildlife conservation projects ever seen in britain has been launched. the back from the brink campaign aims to save at least twenty species from extinction. all of the sport. busy afternoon of

friday afternoon press conferences. manchester united manager jose mourinho has told us that the injuries sustained by chris smalling and philjones on england duty last week are long—term. jones picked up a toe injury in what seemed to be a harmless training ground tackle with reports claiming that it involved chris smalling. chris smalling was pictured with a leg brace following an injury also suffered in training days later. aston villa's neil taylor is "desperately sorry" for the tackle that broke seamus coleman's leg, according to his club manager steve bruce. wales defender taylor was sent off for his challenge against the republic of ireland last friday — which was during a world cup qualifier. fifa have opened proceedings against taylor, and it could result in a three game ban instead of the usual one. coleman's manager ronald koeman has

been critical of the republic of ireland for not protecting another of his everton players. james mccarthy aggravated a hamstring injury while on international duty, and had to be withdrawn from the side to face wales shortly before kick—off. the assessment by ireland's medical team was that it would be a high risk forjames to play against wales, but of course, james, of course, he is strong, he decided to play for his country. so when asked if he was fit to play, he said he felt he was fit to play. and he was selected to start the game by the ireland manager. who, in my opinion, in this instance, he was not protecting the player in this instance. 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 spiked? yeah, definitely, because if i was going to get high, like the specialist said, you would have took 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 a buzz off it? that was the question, but because i'm in the premier league show the fa have to have zero tolerance. and you can watch the the full interview on football focus on bbc one on saturday from midday. 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 but said that it is the responsibility of the governing body to deal with and they are not able to comment on the detail of any ongoing investigation. british canoeing at its most successful olympics at rio, two gold and two over. three gold and three runs medal for paralympics gb, as they topped the medal table. —— three gold and two bronze medals. —— two gold and two silver. —— three goals and three bronze. —— gold. johanna konta will climb to a career high seventh in the world tennis rankings if she beats caroline wozniacki in the miami open final this weekend. konta beat venus williams to become the first british woman to reach the final. 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. defending championjudd trump is out of the china open snooker.

he lost 5—3 to the world number 76 hossein vafaei. the iranian made two centuries on his way to victory, with breaks of 100 and 106. he 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 that is coming through from the independent parliament who standards authority which has told us in the last few minutes that it is investigating a serious data breach. a document containing details of mps staff na m es a document containing details of mps staff names and salaries, so, the staff names and salaries, so, the staff na m es staff names and salaries, so, the staff names and salaries, so, the staff names and salaries, so, the staff names and salaries of people who work for mps at westminster, it was wrongly posted on the internet, apparently. the independent

parliamentary standards authority are investigating that serious data breach, and we will bring you more on that as we get it. 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 once 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 co—operation, remain in our common interest. 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. news in from the metropolitan

police, in the wake of the westminster attacks, telling us that the 32—year—old woman that was arrested last week in manchester in connection with that attack at westminster has now been released with no further action. it means just one person remains in custody, four people died in that attackjust over one week ago. 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 conservationists say today's move is a "game changer" in the fight to save the african elephant. 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. we're joined by kirsty smith at the david sheldrick wildlife trust an elephant conservation charity in narobi. 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 vetinary units, that we can see the 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 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 does seem like the tide is turning and people will not want to buy ivory anymore. it seems ludicrous, and it is. teaching assistants are facing

new challenges as a result of growing financial pressures across the education system. unions also say teacher shortages and budget cuts mean too many assistants are being left to teach classes on their own. jayne mccubbin has been speaking to support staff to hear their stories. john, not his real name, is not a real teacher, but he is frequently called in to cover a class when a real teacher is not available. originally it was meant only to be a few days, it turned into month after month. he says that he's used as a cheap alternative to a sub that you teacher, with no qualification and no authority. this behaviour meant you spend your time firefighting, that is what you do. —— substitute teacher. it can happen where the kids will have me looking after them in one lesson and in another lesson,

another unqualified member of staff it can happen where the kids will have me looking after them in one lesson and in another lesson, another unqualified member of staff in another subject, so they could have two or three hours of this in the same day. i'm not furious at the head teacher, the budget is just not there. in scotland, only a qualified teacher can leave a class, in english and welsh state schools, it is at the discretion of the head, and all heads are facing financial pressures. here, they value tas more than most, because many students speak english as a foreign language, many have special educational needs, but even here, they are increasingly used to fill gaps. the added pressure is taking away from the role that we have to do, which is incredibly valuable. it has the domino effect, one child is not understanding something, they then feel that they cannot cope with them in the situation and it affects other children and the teacher, the whole environment there not one for learning. in other schools, financial pressures are more intense. hilton primary is £120,000 in the red.

tas like jill are not just filling gaps, they are being axed, a third of the 40 employed here have just received their redundancy notice. it is very upsetting, very upsetting. the elastic is stretched as far as it be stretched. losing these tas is a disaster, really is a disaster. seven years ago, three in ten secondary schools were in deficit in england, today, the national audit office says it is six in ten and with a further £3 billion of cuts ahead, that will get worse. department for education told me they believe efficiencies can be made without having to cut staff, without an impact on education. there was a time when do we did not have teaching assistants, yes, in years gone by, one teacher to teach a class full of pupils, but now we expect more from the education system, so we will let a generation of pupils there and if we do not provide the support for them. parents expectations might be for more but in terms of funding, the reality is less.

headteachers will have to decide how they strike a balance. in a moment a look at how the financial markets in europe closed the day, but first, a reminder of today's headline. the president of the european council, donald tusk, suggests a phased approach to brexit negotiations and says discussions about future trade relations can only begin after "sufficient progress" has been made on a separation deal. a man has been charged with the murder of a woman and her 13—year—old son, who were stabbed to death at their home in the west midlands. 23—year—old aaron barley has also been charged with the attempted murder of the boy's father. the chief executive of nhs england has warned that nhs waiting times will be longer for routine operations, as a "trade off" for better treatment in other areas, like a & e and cancer care.

now a look at how the markets in europe have ended the trading session. in london and across europe, markets we re in london and across europe, markets were loading during afternoon trading, after the potential " b rex it" trading, after the potential "brexit" deal guidelines were published and also reacting to a cabinet reshuffle in south africa. south africa's currency the rand fell after the country's president jacob zuma sacked finance minister pravin gordhan in a cabinet reshuffle overnight. mining giants bhp billiton and antofagasta slipped more than 2.0%. old mutual was among the worst performers as a result of its high exposure to trade in south africa. its shares were down 7.6% shortly after the open and remained low through the afternoon. 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.

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. 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 all jobs in the sector. the british hospitality association said that thousands of businesses are facing having to drastically reduce their dependence on eu workers. lets get detailed analysis of those stories from richard hunter, head of research, wilson king investment management. the hospitality sector say that they have two reduce their

lines on eu workers, but is that the whole point of "brexit", and we do not know what the status of these workers are. —— have to. not know what the status of these workers are. -- have to. you are absolutely right, of course, and we have to have a conversation in both directions as part of the "brexit" negotiations. quite apart from the working sides, the residency side, there is a number of experts from there is a number of experts from the uk, within the eu, and a number of eu people have chosen for whatever reason to be based in the uk and that is quite high on the agenda when negotiations begin properly. over the next few weeks and months. presumably there will not be the only sector saying that they are reliant on these workers coming over to fill the skills gap. absolutely not, apart from hospitality, you have the wider entertainment sector, you also have manufacturing, and you have the financial sector. the free movement of labour has permeated most, if not

all of the sectors in the uk, which obviously will be something of a bargaining chip for the uk. i suspect, as i say, before we even get to that, there will be the question of residency as well. house prices, fall in march, is that significant, and also, in terms of the broader picture, is it in indication of where things might go over the next 12 months? it is a lwa ys over the next 12 months? it is always dangerous to take one set of data in isolation, and obviously, even then, it is only a drop of 0.3%, if you take it year—on—year, house prices have risen 4.5%. with the ongoing help the government is giving in terms of help to buy, etc, with the ongoing supply and demand imbalance, the pressure on house prices is likely to be one that is going up, rather than down. briefly,

on some of these companies on the ftse100 that have on some of these companies on the ftse 100 that have fallen on some of these companies on the ftse100 that have fallen today because of the fall in the rand, the south african currency, that fell as a result of the finance minister being sacked, what has that done? those companies with particular exposure to south africa have been quite badly hit, what will happen now is that markets will be convinced in terms of south africa, the economic trajectory, the general direction does tend to stabilise, the finance minister who has been removed today was very well regarded asa removed today was very well regarded as a safe pair of hands in the country. let's leave it there, thank you very much forjoining us. quick look at the markets, the ftse 100 in the negative, as well as the decks, and the south african companies that were exposed to south african rand have been hit quite considerably, weighing on the ftse quite a bit. —— the dax. direct line insurance is up, after some

stockbrokers increased their rating on the stock to buy. that is it from me, a round—up of all the other top stories on the website. the flying scotsman was back on one of the uk's most scenic routes today, as it marked the re—opening of the settle—to—carlisle rail line. the world —famous train took the scenic route through the yorkshire dales and the eden valley, a year after a major landslip closed it. danny savage reports from appleby. one of the most charming things about the railway line is it looks like something from yesteryear, behind me you can see the railway buildings, water tower ready for steam engines to come through on excursions, and old —fashioned signalling as well. what it means is that despite it looking like something from the last century, there has been a real drive over the last year or so to get this line open again. voiceover: at lunchtime today, one of the most famous names in the world

of steam arrived at appleby, a station on one of the most famous rail lines in britain. after being closed for 16 months, the settle to carlisle route is open again. everyone has a personal reason for being here. i think it'sjust childhood memories. the smoke, the dirt, the grime, the coal, coal dust, everything. when you think you had the bus services, lately, it's been amazing how we coped. it's an ever—changing scene. you can come up here in the winter, fabulous. come back in the summer, completely different picture. and there are so many villages on the line to explore. we are just coming into langwathby, lovely village. this line is famous for its landscape. it runs through the high pennines in the yorkshire dales national park, over the ribblehead viaduct and on into the beautiful eden valley in cumbria. but a landslip south of carlisle left it closed to through traffic until today. network rail said the £23 million repair job

is the most challenging project they have undertaken in their 15—year history. a year ago we had a landslide of half a million tonnes of earth slipping into the eden gorge. we've done a really complicated repair, we've driven 226 steel—encased piles down into the bedrock below. we put 6000 tonnes of concrete on top and we've reinstated the railway. and today we are open for business. although this wonderful old locomotive is attracting all the headlines today, the big issue for the more remote communities along this line is they've got their main transport link back and that means a return of visitors and business. whistle. built in the 18705, threatened with closure in the 1980s, this old—fashioned, but much—loved railway route is open again. a new era, celebrated old style. hundreds of people were

on the platform to see the flying scotsman pass through about an hour or so ago, going south again later this afternoon, going back down the route. more people will be out to watch. perfect timing for the line to reopen, just ahead of the easter holidays, running into the summer, the real hope is that the number of passengers on the line will rise sharply in the coming months. danny savage reporting in the sunshine. coming up, at 5pm, not just because they are talking about " b rex it" just because they are talking about "brexit" and nicola sturgeon but also, it is the last broadcast by wonderful colleague, gavin escobar, stay with us for that, and including the film review, as well. we will miss him very much indeed. —— gavin esler. it has been a sunny afternoon across

many parts of the country, sunshine eventually, this was the scene outside cambridge, temperatures 16 degrees, recently, wet weather moving into cornwall, insurer. bigger picture, you can see how the cloud has been breaking up, that rain slowly pushing across the north of scotland, banda share was coming in to south—west england and wales, and what we will find through the evening and overnight, more showery burst of rain, coming into western parts, a few showers, wettest weather in scotland transferring up to the northern isles, and after a fine evening, eastern parts of england are likely to be dry and clear. chillier than last night, mild indeed last night, heading into the morning, showers from the word 90, the morning, showers from the word go, left overfrom overnight, sunshine across wales and the south—west of england, quite a few showers running through the midlands. east anglia, the south—east, likely to start dry with

some sunshine. that line of showers extends up towards the north—west of england onto the pennines, something little bit dryer, wetter weather up towards shetland. first day of april, able., sunshine and april showers, these can be rather heavy, maybe the odd rumble of thunder, flash of lightning, showers could turn up anywhere, sunshine in between, there will be some decent temperatures in the sun. through the evening, we should see showers fading away, because high pressure is going to be building in from the south, overnight, promising clear skies, the odd mist and fog that, chillier nights to come. these are the temperatures in the towns and cities. numbers close to freezing. much like the wind then we had last weekend, perfect conditions

on sunday. nice day on the whole really on some cloud around, there will be quite a lot of sunshine as well, the wind is quite light on sunday. in the sunshine it will feel quite pleasant, those temperatures still looking at 13, 14 degrees, possibly as high as 16 towards the south—east of england. nice day on sunday, the better of the two this weekend. some warm sunshine to come across england and wales, wet and windy weather arriving on scotland and northern ireland. as today at five: difficult, complex and even confrontational. the eu warns britain the brexit negotiations will be anything but straightfowa rd. president tusk outlines the eu strategy, with trade talks beginning only after sufficient progress is made on the divorce deal. starting parallel talks on all issues at the same time, as some have suggested in the uk, will not happen. we'll have the latest from westminster. the other main stories on bbc news at five: expect longer waits for hip

and knee replacements and other routine operations. nhs england say its a trade—off for better a&e and cancer care. full steam ahead for the flying scotsman at the re—opening of the settle—to—carlisle rail line. and coming up: is the boston gang shoot out in free fire a blast?