hello, this is breakfast, with rachel burden and rogerjohnson. the british government toughens its rhetoric over russia's involvement in the syrian civil war. defence secretary michael fallon blames the kremlin for the civilian deaths in tuesday's chemical weapons attack. boris johnson seeks support for a new initiative to end the conflict. good morning, it's sunday 9th april. also ahead: a rare honourfor murdered police officer keith palmer. his coffin will be taken to the palace of westminster ahead of his funeral tomorrow. a ceremony to mark the centenary of the first world war battle of vimy ridge. more than 20,000 people are expected to take part. in sport, england'sjustin rose is at the top of the leaderboard at the masters.

rose is six under par along with spain's sergio garcia going into the final day in augusta. who is the bossy one? also this morning, we meet the sisters with a combined age of 300 and a century of stories to share. and ben has the weather. morning. after yesterday's sunshine and warmth, today will be even warmer. but not for all of us. scotland and northern ireland turning cloudier and cooler, with some rain at times. all the details in 15 minutes. thanks, ben. first, our main story. there's been more tough rhetoric from the british government on russia, over its continued support for syrian president, bashar al—assad. the defence secretary, sir michael fallon, has sharply criticised the kremlin, saying it was responsible for every civilian death in syria last week. meanwhile, foreign secretary boris johnson has pulled out of a planned visit to moscow

and is seeking support for a new move to end the conflict. we can speak now to our political correspondent susana mendonca. good morning. the rhetoric is getting tougher from the british government, but whether or not the russian government will take any notice remains to be seen. and that's the key question. we are certainly hearing a much tougher sta nce certainly hearing a much tougher stance from michael fallon. in the sunday times he makes these comments where he basically says that by proxy russia is responsible for all of those deaths that we saw in syria last week. he says that what russia needs to do is it needs to bring assad to heal and exert pressure on him. michael fallon also says that russia is failing in its obligations. back in 2013 it was supposed to deal with trying to destroy all of the chemical weapons

that syria held and michael fallon is basically saying that russia has failed to do that. what the british government wants to see is a situation where assad is no longer the leader in syria, where there is some kind of political solution, but also where russia intervenes and puts pressure on assad. at the same time, michael fallon has renewed his support for the us action in syria. he said that president trump took the right action, it was a co—ordinated approach, and that was something he had to do because of the severity of the situation that we saw with those gas attacks in syria last week. at the same time the foreign secretary borisjohnson was supposed to be going to russia tomorrow. that trip has been cancelled. he has been criticised by the liberal democrats, who have been describing him as an american poodle, basically handing dealings

with russia over to the americans, because they will be going there later in the week. but what we've heard from borisjohnson‘s team is heard from borisjohnson‘s team is he is now trying to work on some kind of co—ordinated effort. the g7 group of industrialised nations will be meeting in italy on tuesday. we understand he is trying to get them to come up with a co—ordinated response that they can put to russia and really apply more pressure. we will follow that later in the week. thanks very much. thousands of people are expected to gather at services in stockholm later, to remember those killed in friday's terror attack. four people died when a lorry was driven into them on a busy shopping street. police are still investigating whether a device laterfound onboard was a bomb. 0ur reporter maddy savage is in stockholm. what's expected to happen today? people are already out and about on the streets. this is the very road that the truck ploughed into on friday. as you say, sweden is one of the most secular countries in the

world, people are expected to bring candles to special church ceremonies around the country. there will also bea around the country. there will also be a peaceful non— political rally about 100 metres away from here, where we are expected to hear music and messages of love. home. one controversy that has emerged is that the shop the hind me that the lorry smashed into released a statement saying that they would offer the items half price for people today. —— behind me. a statement to some considered as insensitive. it is a store owned by one of the richest families in sweden. they've apologised for anything that may have caused offence. security remains tight across the capital, but it certainly feels much calmer than in recent days. thank you very much for talking to us. a controlled explosion has been carried out in the centre of norway's capital, 0slo, after police found a bomb—like device. the area has been sealed off while investigations continue. a suspect has been detained. the us military has ordered a navy strike group to move towards the korean peninsula, amid growing concerns

about north korea's missile and nuclear weapons programme. us pacific command described the deployment as a "prudent measure to maintain readiness in the region". president trump has said the united states is prepared to act alone if necessary to deal with the nuclear threat from north korea. pc keith palmer, who was killed in the westminster attack last month, will today receive a rare honour. the queen has given her consent for his coffin to lay at rest at the chapel of st mary undercroft in the palace of westminster. his funeral takes place tomorrow afternoon at southwark cathedral. a 48—year—old father and husband, pc keith palmer had been a policeman for 15 years. he was stabbed by khalid masood during the westminster terror attack, as he stood guard outside the houses of parliament. pc palmer was one of four people killed, while a fifth, andreea cristea, died in hospital

just a few days ago. later today, pc palmer's coffin will be taken to rest at chapel of st mary undercroft in the palace of westminster. it's a rare honour and one only done with the consent of the queen. the former prime minister baroness thatcher and tony benn are the only people in recent times to have laid there too. tomorrow, pc palmer's coffin will be taken to southwark cathedral. as a mark of respect, the metropolitan police have retired pc palmer's shoulder number. a157u will not be reissued to another officer. more than 20,000 people, including princes charles, william and harry, will gather in northern france today to mark the centenary of one of the bloodiest battles of the first world war. thousands of scottish and canadian troops died in four

days of fighting in the battle of vimy ridge. 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy reports. the fighting to take the bridge on lasted for days but this was just pa rt lasted for days but this was just part of the price paid by allied troops. overall, the arras campaign saw 300,000 casualties. the battle of arras saw over 4,000 men killed and wounded on average, which gives it a higher daily casualties rate than any of the other famous battles, like the somme. so it was one of the most intense and brutal campaigns the british army fought. these are scenes from the battlefield. much of the heavy load to dislodge the germans from the ridge was shouldered by comedian and scottish troops. the canadians won three victoria crosses on the first day alone. the scots suffered so many casualties, communities back home were shocked. today's event, here being rehearsed,

will be witnessed by prince charles, prince william and prince harry, as well as 25,000 guests. all those attending will be sat here in front of the striking monument, soaring out of the top of the ridge itself and dedicated to those who died. its humbling scale a symbol of losses on both sides. every kind of weapon was used here and, although world war i would come to a close the following year, this battle showed its horrors were drawn out to the end. brian matthew, who died yesterday aged 88. his broadcasting career spanned almost 70 years. he's most well known for the sound of the 60s,

a programme he presented for 27 years. but it was his first appearance on the saturday skiffle club which caught the ear of producers, as brian matthew explained in 2013 to tony blackburn. it was a wonderful opportunity with that one, because it covered a wide range of the arts and every month or thereabouts we did a live show from a theatre and it amazed me that a vast audience always turned up and filled that theatre, wherever we were. i mean, it was an opportunity to see a number of eminent stars, i suppose that was the attraction. but it was a great programme to be associated with. such an instantly recognisable voice. those paying tribute to the radio two broadcaster include musician and lyricist sir tim rice, saying: he called him "a truly magnificent broadcaster". brian matthew's, former

colleague at radio two jeremy vine, said he'd done everything in broadcasting and met everyone in music. a great picture with the beatles as well. 0ne well. one of my favourite subjects, this one! people caught fly—tipping will have to help councils clean up litter, under new proposals by the government. it says fly tippers cost £50 million a year in england and the number of instances of rubbish being illegally dumped by roads or in parks is on the increase. we've all seen that, but that really is terrible. monaco grand prix events could be hosted on roads in england under new laws that come into force tomorrow. this would allow motorsports promoter is to apply for authority to close roads. the government says this could increase tourism. the final decision on whether a race is to proceed will be made by councils.

0n e—mail this morning, allen says it could only happen on the roads of britain if the potholes were filled first! very true. perennial problem. good morning, this is bbc breakfast. it's been a violent week in the six—year long syrian war, with civilians being targeted with chemical weapons, and an airbase hit by cruise missiles from the united states. abdel hameed alyousef lost 20 members of his family in the chemical attack, including his nine—month old twins. it was photos of the twins that helped persuade president trump he had to authorise the strikes. the father of the twins thanked president trump for taking action, but urged him to do more. translation: i would like to thank president trump and the us administration on the initial steps they took against the airport that killed my children and all the martyrs. but i didn't expect the strikes to stop. i was surprised.

why did president trump stop the strikes? why one airport? why one base? author and journalist diana darke has lived and worked the middle east for 30 years, shejoins us now from our london newsroom. thanks very much for your time this morning. b ask you this first of all. you think those of strikes by the americans on that airfield in syria, against the regime, will make any difference to assad and his holding onto the position they're? it won't make any difference at all. u nless it won't make any difference at all. unless he thinks anything will follow through with a further military strike, in other words taking out all of his airbases. the mentality in damascus is they feel very secure because of the support from the russians and irradiance. bashar al—assad has been in charge of this war since the beginning. he has felt invincible since the russians have come behind him, so it

will take a lot of diplomatic pressure and i'm not sure it will happen. hard to tell how effective that particular strike was. in the airfield is still operational. we don't what president trump will do. everyone is in the dark about that. have you any idea of?” everyone is in the dark about that. have you any idea of? i think what they are trying to do now is maintain momentum and they want to push forward with a diplomatic solution as much as they can. exert maximum pressure on political lines with russia, to try to bring this to an end. if that fails, then i don't doubt actually that trump is not a man for empty threats, he will follow through. what i think he has got to be seen to put as much pressure as he possibly can now. writing in the sunday times today, michael fallon said that in order to

move this on, to try to bring an end to this awful conflict, three things need to happen. the first of those is the departure of assad. we are revisiting old arguments that have been going on for six years and there's been nothing to indicate that bashar al—assad is in any position or has shown any inclination to move to step down in any way. do you get a sense of that? having lived in damascus, what might persuade him to relate to? 0nly only if he really, really believes that america will do a major strike. if you look back, whenever he has really felt that the americans are going to follow through and he is in a really tough position, he backs down very quickly. he did it with the chemical weapon deal. he was so believed. he honestly thought the red line was going to be crossed by american. but after they did not, he

was given carte blanche to do whatever he wanted. and then after that assassination and there was a huge international outcry when syria was implicated in that, within months, all of the syrian troops that had been stationed in lebanon we re that had been stationed in lebanon were pulled out quickly. it can happen very fast. but he has to believe that the pressure is real. the difference now is he has russia behind his shoulders. they are a strong. when he lent on the chemical weapons a few years ago, the difference was that russia and america were co—ordinating the pressure on bashar al—assad. and now, the russians are firmly behind him. they say they want to see the evidence that the regime was behind this chemical attack in syria. so, is there any way forward to try to bring america and russia together on this? well, i think they have to be seen this? well, i think they have to be seen to be trying. my own view is that it will be very, very unlikely

that it will be very, very unlikely that it will result in something. but who knows? at every step, people have got the syrian war wrong. it has not played out how everyone expected. i mean, we could wake up tomorrow and find out that bashar al—assad was deposed in some sort of coup. it is an opaque animal. you hear it rumours. you hear that russia cannot bring him in any more. you hear that he cannot rein in his militia any more. iraqi militias, lebanese militia, many of them are operating on the ground in their own fiefdoms and no one can be reined in any more. and the complexity of the situation is that the more pressure put on him, potentially, the more strength is given to, umm, the jihadists groups operating in that area who we refer to as terrorist. we know that the rebel group is very multilayered. but certainly there

are organisations in there that western governments would not like these the anywhere near any kind of power base. —— western. these the anywhere near any kind of power base. -- western. yeah, but the reason these jihadi power base. -- western. yeah, but the reason thesejihadi groups have even gained in power is nobody came into how the moderate rebels at the beginning. of course, moderate rebels in desperation were forced into the arms of the extremists. syrians are not extremists by nature. the type of islam practised in syria is nothing to do with radicalism. they are open and tolera nt radicalism. they are open and tolerant on the whole. it is a tiny minority of people and they are being slowly diss placed. the only reason they became strong in the first place is because of the vacuum left by the vacuum. thank you. a beautiful day yesterday. the same for most of the country today. a

quick look at the view outside our window. we may have a guest. there was apparently a spider their moments ago and he has just dropped off. —— there. . it looks like get nice day. and now for the forecast. lots of people waking up to a similar site this morning. good morning. the weather watchers have been waking up in getting their cameras out and taking some lovely pictures for us already. do keep them coming. this one is from somerset to be a lovely start of the mist and he around. that will lift. southern and eastern and central pa rt southern and eastern and central part of the uk, another sunny day. if anything, warmer than yesterday. but they split in the fortunes of the north and west, things will cloud over. rain for northern ireland and scotland courtesy of this weather front. however,

pressure is still in charge in the east. the closer you are to be higher, the better chance there is it is sunny. the bulk of england and wales, another beautiful and sunny day. but you can see more cloud creeping in from the west. rain in the afternoon for northern ireland and western scotland. this is three o'clock for much of the scottish highlands and northern ireland. some of the rain is heavy to be eight, nine, 10 degrees. inverness and we will see cloud. cloud rolling in through north—western england. manchester may be in the sunshine. coastal path in the south—west turning chilly. clouds rolling in from the sea. further east, in the sunshine, you could get 25 or 26 degrees. the premier league this afternoon. sunny at sunderland. some of the in merseyside and everton. when that happens, temperatures will give away. temperatures will dip in

the west. behind the cold front, the one bringing the rain through northern ireland through the night, that will go south. while most of the rain will fizzle away, the call able spread across the country is. why the timely wake up tomorrow morning, 49 degrees. —— cool air. pushing through northern scotland. through the day tomorrow, dry weather and sunshine, but showers as well the showers to it or not across northern scotland could be wintry. —— believe it or not. at best tomorrow we are looking at heights of 15 or 16. a big change on the way. people are taking advantage of this. this person says it is sunny in leicester. make the most of it. what is on the andrew marr show? a sense of international crisis with

the attack on syria. i am joined by the attack on syria. i am joined by the shadow foreign secretary, emily thornberry. and the international development secretary talking about borisjohnson development secretary talking about boris johnson cancelling development secretary talking about borisjohnson cancelling the trip to moscow. and alex hammond and an actor. and the band as usual. we will say goodbye shortly. at first, three incredible sisters. we'll hear from joan as she turns 100, and from her sisters, who are 98 and 102. and there won't be any separate male or female categories at the mtv awards. do we get along? we do have some arguments. why not? nobody is the

same. you cannot say yes all the time, can you? three sisters, 300 years of history. ilott to reminisce about at her 100 year birthday. ——a lot. i do not feel my age. i have to do the counting. joan was born the day after america entered the first world war and was vital in the second. i was stationed at newmarket with commander harris. i enjoyed it. at just with commander harris. i enjoyed it. atjust 98, this is the youngest sister. do you still see yourself as the baby sister? certainly not. do they treat you as the baby sister?

no. we've all had a very good relationship. 0ne no. we've all had a very good relationship. one needs the other. we help each other. the oldest sister has travelled from scotland for the party. she finally gave up her favourite activity at 102.|j gave up driving. i am really sad about it. i feel as gave up driving. i am really sad about it. ifeel as if gave up driving. i am really sad about it. i feel as if i gave up driving. i am really sad about it. ifeel as if i have gave up driving. i am really sad about it. i feel as if i have lost my legs. she always had a zest for adventure. in her 90s she backpacked through chile. we went there in 1938 to see hitler. when you saw hitler, did you have any inkling of what was to come? yes. yes, it was very, very strange. i think they are role models. they are something to look up models. they are something to look up to. i mean, they are so inspirational to me. who up to. i mean, they are so inspirationalto me. who is the bossy one? david, bbc news. who was

the youngest? 98. incredible. bossy one? david, bbc news. who was the youngest? 98. incrediblelj bossy one? david, bbc news. who was the youngest? 98. incredible. i hope they enjoy the celebrations. good morning if you havejustjoined us. the newspapers. anne longfield, children's commissioner for england, is here to tell us what's caught her eye. many harrowing pictures of the recent campaign civil war in syria, in particular, in relation to the apparent chemical attack on a town which killed 80 plus civilians. you have picked it out today. it was the photo that really caught my eye. i think it brings home the devastation. a town that has had many bombardments overtime. but from that, you have families saying how cani that, you have families saying how

can i live here? you have families with young children. just imagine what it must be like to survive in that not only devastating kind of area but also the unknown of what is coming. last year i went tojordan and met many syrian families that went over the border. they had unimaginable stories. family is going to work and not coming back. trying to get out of the country. that brought it home for me. the awful thing about that is, and this has happened, i suspect, as a result of the americans bombing, the people living in that town felt they would potentially be a target once again from syrian government forces. and that has happened. there has been more bombing. think of the lack of power and destiny does families have. it is something which, you know, for us, is unimaginable, but for them is very real. they don't know where to go. and we have this

story and see these awful pictures and we wonder if it is going to be the turning point. the complexity of this is almost impossible to see a way out the pillow you have just had your own kind of contribute talking about where it is going to go. —— out. . —— correspondent. about where it is going to go. —— out. . -- correspondent. this shows the anguish of this father. the sunday times. an interesting one. pa rents sunday times. an interesting one. parents who struggle to get their children away from screens might be interested to read that a top school, the king solomon academy in west london is knocking on doors and taking away xboxes. it might strike fear into the hearts of children. it is a serious piece behind that headline.

a top school. clearly a principal is ona a top school. clearly a principal is on a mission with this. and, umm, it is part of a bigger piece of work where he is working with there and then families to try to look at helping them manage their children's time, not only on line, but also in broader behaviour. you know, he would say that staying up all night playing games, i think the thing is that it playing games, i think the thing is thatitis playing games, i think the thing is that it is a different world because children are on line but parents need to work out what is it they are going to do about it. what is your position on this? i think the internet is a great force for good. my internet is a great force for good. my idea is that there are great things that children can get out of this. and this is reality. people spend a third of their time on line. but screen time is important to manage for parents. if it means children are not getting sleep, they need that sleep. it is good in schools when they take screens away at the beginning of the day. it

brings a different atmosphere. 30 seconds. tell us about jean, brings a different atmosphere. 30 seconds. tell us aboutjean, amazing eye surgery. it is part of a trial. amazing eyesight. macular degeneration. they put a lens in and it rebalances your eyes. it is for people with failing eyesight. two of my grandparents lost their eyesight like this. it is good. we will hear more from the later on. right now we will be on the bbc news channel until nine o'clock this morning. coming up on the programme, a tense overnight night for england's justin rose. he is leading the masters as joint leader. we will ask a professional coach for his chances. all of that to come on the bbc news channel. i hope you canjoin us. this is where we say goodbye on bbc 0ne.

hello, this is breakfast, with rogerjohnson and rachel burden. coming up before 8am, will have the weather for you. first, a summary of this morning's main news. the uk government is leading growing criticism of russia over its continued support for the syrian president, bashar al—assad. sir michael fallon, the defence secretary, has claimed the kremlin is responsible for the 80 civilian deaths in a chemical weapons attack in syria on tuesday. last night russian television showed jets taking off from an air base hit with us cruise missiles after the attack. thousands of people are expected to gather at services in stockholm later, to remember those killed in friday's terror attack. five people died when a lorry was driven into them on a busy shopping street. police are still investigating whether a device laterfound onboard

was a bomb. a 39—year—old man, thought to be the driver, remains in custody. a controlled explosion has been carried out in the centre of norway's capital, 0slo, after police found a bomb—like device. the area has been sealed off while investigations continue. a suspect has been detained. the us military has ordered a navy strike group to move towards the korean peninsula, amid growing concerns about north korea's missile and nuclear weapons programme. us pacific command described the deployment as a "prudent measure to maintain readiness in the region". president trump has said the united states is prepared to act alone if necessary to deal with the nuclear threat from north korea. pc keith palmer, who was killed in the westminster attack last month, will today receive a rare honour. the queen has given her consent for his coffin to lay at rest at the chapel of st mary undercroft in the palace of westminster. his funeral will be held tomorrow

afternoon at southwark cathedral. more than 20,000 people will gather in northern france today to commemorate the 100th anniversary of one of the bloodiest battles of the first world war. princes charles, william and harry will be among those attending the event to mark the battle of vimy ridge, near the city of arras. it was a hugely significant battle for scottish and canadian troops, both of whom suffered heavy losses. people caught fly—tipping will have to help councils clean up litter, under new proposals by the government. it says fly tippers cost £50 million a year in england and the number of instances of rubbish being illegally dumped by roads or in parks is on the increase. the crew onboard a turkish airlines flight had the crew onboard a turkish airlines flight had to look after one more passenger than they bargained for after a woman gave birth onboard.

cabin crew helped to deliver the baby girl. this picture is so sweet! the mother went into labour shortly after ta keoff. the journey was to burkina faso, from guinea. things happened rather quickly, but they found a blanket to wrap her in. absolutely lovely. she has free flights for life on turkish airlines! loads to talk about in the masters. it is set up for a brilliant finish. yes, and we will talk about the chinese grand prix in a moment. the question with the masters, could there be another english winner? danny willett last year. justin rose is thejoint leader at six danny willett last year. justin rose is the joint leader at six under par. the final round of the masters at the augusta national is perfectly poised, with england'sjustin rose and spain's sergio garcia joint leaders. tim hague can bring you the story of the overnight action. the third round of the masters is known as ‘moving day‘

and justin rose moved right to the front of the queue at augusta. after a slow and steady start for the olympic champion, five birdies on the back nine help him to a super 67 and he now sits joint top, at six under par. the key for me was staying patient early in the round. i think this is a golf course where you have to pick your moments and that's what worked well for me today and i'm sure that will be somewhat the gameplan tomorrow. perhaps the englishmen can discuss the gameplan with his playing partner, sergio garcia, who's still looking for his first major. but a little luck won't harm his chances. in the creek! not so, the water somehow avoided and look how the spaniard profited. a beautiful shot and, like rose, he too is on six under. but they have quite a crowd chasing them, including rickie fowler and former champion jordan spieth.

he hit nine shots on the 15th in the first round. but not this time. he really is a remarkable young man and an amazing golfer. and it was an equally successful day for lee westwood. he's one under in total and still has an outside chance. as does world number two rory mcilroy. six shots back, but it could have been much better. a double bogey at the seventh damaging what had been an otherwise good ground. no moving day for rory, but perhaps he'll come good on proving day. the chinese grand prix is underway in shanghai. lewis hamilton started on pole for mercedes and sebastian vettel, who won the first race of the season, is starting just behind in his ferrari. there's been a lot of bad weather in shanghai this week and the course is slippery and causing a few problems, but they got off to a clean start.

35 minutes into the race and vettel is still in front. that's after a pit—stop. you can listen live on 5live right now. one for arthur, ridden by derek fox, won yesterday's grand national at aintree. it was the first winner trained in scotland for 38 years. the 1a to one shot finished well clear of the favourite blaklion, who came home in fourth place. fox, thejockey, had looked set to miss the race, only returning to the saddle this week following injury. all a0 horses who started the four and half mile race came home unharmed. it's unbelievable. i couldn't believe when i came up to the line, to be out in front. it's hard to put into words, but it's the best feeling you'll ever get. just as anyjock, who wants to win a grand national, i just feel very lucky to win one. so early in my career, it's my first time riding it, and it's unbelievable.

chelsea maintained their lead at the top of the premier league after they won 3—1 at bournemouth. marcos alonso rounded off the scoring following an own goal and a strike from eden hazard. the blues are seven points clear, with seven games left to play. in england it isn't easy, because there's a lot of pressure. i'm pleased for my players because they showed me it's always good to have concentration. we decided to fight, to try to have a fantastic season. tottenham remain in second place, trying to keep the pressure on chelsea. dele alli scored the pick of the goals at white hart lane as spurs beat watford 4—0. it was a sixth win in a row for mauricio pochettino's men. liverpool had to come from behind at stoke to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the champions league and remain in third place

in the table. philippe coutinho and roberto firmino weren't fit to start, but both scored to turn the match around after coming on after half time. celtic kept up their hopes of going a whole scottish premiership season unbeaten, with a 3—1win at home to kilmarnock. hearts ended a run of three straight defeats with a 1—0 win over dundee. it was a sixth straight loss for dundee. great britain have failed to reach the semi—finals of the davis cup for the first time in three years. jamie murray and dom inglot had to win their doubles match against france to stand a chance, but lost. nicolas mahut and julienne benneatau took the first set before murray and inglot responded. but it proved to be the only set britain won, with the french taking the crucial points and the next two sets. saracens kept up the pressure on premiership leaders wasps with a 40—19 victory against london rivals harlequins at wembley. there were more than 70,000 fans

there to witness mike rhodes sealing it with this run and score for sarries‘ third try of the game. the win secures their place in the play—offs. quins are sixth. bath kept up their hopes of claiming the fourth play—off spot, that's the last one up for grabs now. they beat leicester in a dramatic game at twickenham, two tries from anthony watson helping them come from behind to win 27—21. exeter beat bristol 38—34 in yesterday's other game. a drop goal in the final minute of the match helped leinster strengthen their grip on the top of the pro 12. they beat 0spreys at the liberty stadium. leinster‘s replacement fly half ross byrne found space for a shot at goal to put the irish side ahead with overtime approaching. 0spreys then missed a kick of their own. 20—18 was how it finished to leinster. cricket — england's ben stokes hit his first 50 in the indian premier league, but his team, rising pune supergiant,

lost by six wickets to king's xi punjab. the 25—year—old all—rounder hit three sixes on the way to getting his half—century. this was the first. stokes is the most expensive overseas player in the ipl, but he was unable to help his side avoid defeat. pune have a win and a defeat from their first two matches. british olympic hero nicola adams won by a unanimous points decision in her first professional boxing fight. the two—time olympic champion beat the argentine fighter virginia carcamo at the manchester arena, winning all four rounds with thejudges. having dominated in the amateur ranks, she turned professional earlier this year, signing with promoter frank warren. oh, it was really good. really enjoyed myself, loved the crowd. like entertaining. yeah, it was an amazing experience for the first time. i think i tried a little bit too hard to get the stoppage, but it will come with experience. the more times i box and the more rounds i get in, i'll get ma bit more used to settling down

and placing my punches a bit more. great news for nicola and a great start. she wants to be the first female boxer to headline in las vegas. did i mention that i have the grand national winner yesterday? fantastic! we didn't do too badly. we collectively, as a family. is that £1 each way? we went for it! fantastic. ididn't we went for it! fantastic. i didn't have any winners. mine finished... well, they all finished and that was brilliant, to see them all come home safe and well. next week is holy week, leading up to easter sunday, the day christians mark their belief jesus rose from the dead. but research commissioned by the bbc suggests belief in a life after death is by no means limited to people of faith.

the study found that a fifth of people who say they don't believe in a god also believe in an afterlife. 0ur religious affairs correspondent martin bashir reports. you're here to worship today! come on! worship at hillsong church in surrey isn't just an expression of gratitude for what the christians say god is doing in their lives now, but also what they say he has in store for them when they die. the bible says that we will have eternal life, we will enter heaven. it doesn't go into major details, itjust says that there will be no more weeping, no more tears. it will be a place of greatjoy. the confidence of christians in the existence of heaven is based on what they believe happened at easter, whenjesus died, was buried and then rose again. after our life here we go to heaven and it's paradise, it's perfect, there's no pain.

it's good. the resurrection is a really powerful event for me, because it'sjesus conquering death, essentially. that gives us life. but what of those who don't claim to have any religious faith? a bbc poll of 2,000 people conducted by comres shows thatjust over 30% of those who say they are not religious still believe they will live again after death. mediums and tarot card readers here in covent garden charge £115 for 30 minutes and say they can put you in touch with friends and relatives who have passed away. it's hoped that what has left is literally the flesh, the physical body, but they believe that they can still sense and be in contact with the loved ones. it's the hope that they have.

a desperate hope? a desperate hope, exactly. the sense that we might be able to live beyond the grave has now made the journey from the spiritual to the scientific community. companies like this one are now offering to freeze the deceased body, just in case it proves possible to raise the dead in the future. until that happens, the world's great religions continue to fill the void. so, whether you're planning to attend church during holy week orvisita medium, ourshared beliefs may be closer than we realised. that humanity has a sense that this isn't all there is, even though it's tough to prove. tough to prove is understating it somewhat. i am looking forward to

easter and some chocolate. and now for the weather. today is looking good for most of us. it doesn't look like this for the easter weekend. something cooler i suspect is on the way. compare that with yesterday, 20. today, another day like that. a beautiful sunrise in kent this morning. in southern and eastern parts of the country, another sunny day. if anything, parts of the country, another sunny day. ifanything, even parts of the country, another sunny day. if anything, even warmer. fortu nes day. if anything, even warmer. fortunes becoming increasingly divided. this was the scene earlier on in highland scotland and western areas. we will see increasing cloud, some rain, and turning cooler as well. that is courtesy of the weather front slinking in from the north—west just easing weather front slinking in from the north—westjust easing across northern ireland. further south and east, after some mist and fog, it will be a beautiful day. plenty of

very will be a beautiful day. plenty of very warm will be a beautiful day. plenty of very warm sunshine. gradually increasing amounts of cloud for the western coast of england and wales. northern ireland in scotland, more generally, cloud increasing. golf —— some of the rain on the heavy side. south—east scotland, dry. increasingly cloudy. cloud increasing in north—west england and coastal parts of wales and the south—west. as the cloud rolls in from the sea, temperatures will take a tumble. 11 year. compare that to the east. 25, 26. a fine late afternoon. the weather front is bringing some rain. behind that, cool air. as the thunder goes out this evening and overnight, most of the rain goes along with it. cooler air by the end of the night. temperatures for tomorrow morning,

4-9 temperatures for tomorrow morning, 4—9 degrees. tomorrow, all of us into this cool is —— —— and north—westerly wind. a few heavy showers for eastern england. forget about 55— 26. i think 15 or 16 is the best we will see. —— 25—26. thank you. a nice day. we will be back with the headlines later. time for the travel show. coming up on this week's travel show, i meet the people who are cleaning up the canals of bangkok. we've got so much just rubbish. hello, and welcome to the travel show, coming to you this

week from the capital of thailand, bangkok. it's a vibrant city packed with sparkling temples, skyscrapers and night markets, but home to some of the most congested roads in the world, and getting across the city through the tuk tuks and the traffic is a bit of a nightmare. but i'm here to find out what's being done to take the people off the frantic streets and on to the city's waterways. first built over 200 years ago, bangkok's huge network of canals criss—cross the city. this is thailand, bangkok, the venice of the east, where water is in everyone's way of life. over the years, some of the canals, or ‘khlongs‘ as they're called here, were filled in, but an extensive system still exists today. saen saep canal is an important artery in the network and 100,000 people travel on it every day. but hopping onto one of the boats as a tourist looks daunting, to say the least.

take a look at this — these commuter boats quite literally wait for not a single person. you'll see as soon as it docks, everybody leaps for their lives off it. and we are going to be right in the melee. people get splashed, maybe even fall into the river itself. the canal. you don't want to go in there — the water is dark, dingy, and very, very smelly. here comes another one. the pollution is caused by waste from houses, stalls and restaurants that line the sides of the canal. now, work is underway to clear up the khlongs and improve boat services. by doing that, it is hoped more people and tourists will use bangkok's waterways, and congestion on the city roads will be reduced. this doctor manages the clean—up teams that work on the canals. we've been travelling through this canal for quite a while.

going through all the skyscrapers, all the way through the middle of bangkok. this is one of the main boats that are cleaning by hand these canals. you can see the amount of rubbish, the plastics, the leaves, that could clog up this place. hard work. and they do this every single day. you have to clean the canal, of course, but how to clean it? you have to prohibit people to throw away what they don't need into the canals. so, do you think it's about educating the local thais and not throwing their rubbish? yes, of course. that is very important. education is very important — especially the younger generation. further down the canal, i see just how much of a challenge is facing the cleaning crews here. and what they have here is these

bamboo booms which are collecting all of the rubbish. and this is where they crane it out of the water, literally, with a huge machine here. you can just have a look at what actually floats up. insane. so much polystyrene. there's old teddy bears, mattresses. have a look at that. so how often do they have to take all of this out? twice a day. twice a day?! you've got so much... just, rubbish...! what are the types of things that washed down? anything and everything? even furniture! something like that. so people just throw couches, refrigerators, whatever they don't

want, they throw it in the river? yes, yes! i've got to say, the smell coming off the water itself is very rancid. very sort of seweresque. not very nice at all, not pleasant. time now to get away from the smell, and head to one of several canals, that has already been cleaned up. and new boat services are already running. looks nice from afar. look at that — seats! not too packed, so that's always good. i've got to say that this is so much more of a calmer way of seeing the city. i don't know if it's the time of evening, when it's kind of golden—lighted. but it's smooth. there's no sort of smell

of that nasty water. and, the plus for tourists, there's wi—fi! because who can't go without wi—fi these days? look at that, straight to a beautiful temple — that's the benefit of travelling by these waterways. no traffic, no fuss. it's hoped cleaning up the khlongs won'tjust help to ease traffic on the congested roads, but will mean more tourists go and explore the floating markets and canal—side communities that are a big part of the city's heritage. so this is our boat for the day? amazing! long tail boat. the james bond boat! this man runs longboats to an area where some of the traditional wooden houses have been restored. so where are we heading now? we're heading into the one that is for the old—fashioned market, and we are going to see the artist's house. how long has it been there for?

oh it's about — a long time ago... before 1782, before bangkok city was even built. in the 18th century, hundreds of stilted houses like this would have lined the canal. that's how they get across the canals themselves — these motorbikes have to come over these very steep bridges. so people still live here. yes. amazing. slanting at all sorts of weird angles. because of the — how old this place is. these old thai puppets. they open this place to be an artist house,

for any artist to come and enjoy making a masterpiece. the last thing i sort of expected while coming here was seeing this rather eccentric place. you know, the artist need some feeling and emotion to create their masterpiece. 0r their things. this is a beautiful area to get that stuff. the clean—up has already gone a long way in restoring the canals to theirformer glory, but for the project to be a lasting success, the community here also has a big part to play in protecting the amazing system of waterways that help make bangkok so special. time now for this week's global gourmet. coming to you from the rolling countryside of lancashire, in the north—west of england, where they are cooking up a new twist on a traditional dish. the first thing about using all of the food from the local area is that everybody helps each other.

another fact is that the boned beef and mutton isjust so good. because of the rain, we had lots of grass, that is what they eat, and it makes fantastic produce. you want to encourage people to eat what is from within the region. because we think there is enough of it around. plenty to go around. and to populate the menu, yeah. why would you order a lancashire hot pot? first, why not, because you are in lancashire, and it is a nice old traditional dish from the industrial revolution. it is a one pot dish, cooked in an earthen ware pot and slow cooked in an oven for quite a while. it is delicious. it is hearty. it is robust, it warms your cockles on a winter's day and when you're eating it, you really feel you are having a flash

of the countryside in your dish. and then you've got this lovely onion, quite a lot of the onion, very important, this onion, it adds a lot of sweetness. not only do we have a hotpot, we have a beautiful light very sort of sexy modern dish that you can eat. very important, this onion, it adds a lot of sweetness. not only do we have a hotpot, we have a beautiful light very sort of sexy modern dish that you can eat. you're not going to feel heavy and stodgy. "we're up north, it's really heavy, it's full of fat." that is so removed from what we do with our hot pot. there we are. this is the lancashire hotpot. beautiful gorgeous melting lamb underneath, fragrant, clean, clear light broth. gorgeous crispy, crunchy topping. lancashire hotpot, what a lovely dish. that's it for this week,

but coming up next week... i'll be continuing myjourney here in thailand and heading north to visit the world's first ever elephant hospital. brea kfast. i'll be meeting some of the amazing animals. and don't forget you can join us on the road by following any of our social media feeds. the details are on your screen now. from me, henry golding, and the rest of the travel show team here in bangkok, thailand, it's goodbye. hello this is breakfast. the british government toughens its rhetoric over at the russian involvement in the syrian civil war. the defence secretary blames the kremlin for the civilian deaths in tuesday's chemical weapons attack and boris johnson seek support for a new initiative to end the conflict. good morning, it is sunday the 9th

of april. also ahead, a rare honour for pc keith palmer who was killed in the westminster terror attack. his cough and will lie in rest at the palace of westminister ahead of his funeral tomorrow. a ceremony to mark