this is bbc news. i'm sophie long at buckingham palace where it's been announced the duke of edinburgh is to retire from public duties — a decision he took himself, backed by the queen. but it was business as usual this lunchtime when he took his place alongside the queen — by the autumn he will no longer be accepting engagements. the prince turns 96 next month — and his decision marks a transition for the royal family. we'll be bringing you all the latest developments. i'm ben brown. the other news at 3pm. the french presidential candidates trade insults on television — now emmanuel macron files a lawsuit to scotch rumours he holds an offshore bank account. the surfer rescued after 32 hours stranded in the irish sea speaks exclusively to the bbc — matthew bryce says he thought he was going to die.

they flew right over, i thought they'd missed me. then they turned. they turned round. and they saved my life. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. buckingham palace has announced the duke of edinburgh will retire from public engagements from this autumn. his decision to step down has the full support of the queen. she will continue her public duties as normal — with support from other members of the royal family. a palace aide said prince philip was nearly 96 and was looking

forward to enjoying more leisure time. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell‘s report contains some flash photography. arriving at st james‘s palace a short time ago, side by side, as we are accustomed to seeing them, the queen and the duke of edinburgh. but this, come the autumn, will be the exception. the duke has decided, finally, just a few weeks short of his 96th birthday, that it is time for him to step back from public duties. the palace says the decision has not been prompted by any particular concern about health, and indeed in recent weeks he has been fulflling a programme of engagements which belie his age. yesterday, he was at lord's cricket ground, opening a new stand, meeting young cricketers, and cracking a familiarjoke. the world's most experienced plaque unveiler! plaque unveiling and much more has

been a part of his life for very nearly seven decades, and although he has launched initiatives of his own, like the duke of edinburgh's award scheme, his most important role has been to support his wife, the queen. as she has become the longest reigning monarch, he has been the longest serving consort, a few paces behind in public, but her most constant and valued supporter in private. soon the public role will come largely to an end. the palace statement said... political leaders broke off from election campaigning to pay tribute. from his steadfast support for her majesty the queen to his inspirational duke of edinburgh awards, and his patronage of hundreds of charities and good causes, his contribution to our

united kingdom, the commonwealth, and the wider world will be of huge benefit to us all for years to come. 0h, he has dedicated his life to public service and to supporting the queen. i think he has more than earned his retirement. prince philip, as well as the support he has given the queen and his own public service, of course, has done an amazing amount of charity work as well. the leader of the opposition, jeremy corbyn, said of the duke... it was six years ago, in a bbc interview to mark his 90th birthday, that the duke indicated that he was thinking about slowing down. i reckon i've done my bit, i want to enjoy myself with less responsibility, less frantic rushing about,

less preparation, less trying to think of something to say. on top of that, the memory is going, i can't remember names, so yes, just sort of winding down. but nothing much changed after his 90th birthday. he continued with a range of public visits. those who know him say his contribution has been unparalleled. later this year, he will have been at the queen's side for 70 years, 25000 and more public engagements, more than 800 charities and organisations in which he has been actively involved. he has done his bit. the duke's retirement from public duties will mean that other members of the royal family will step up to support the queen. it's likely that she'll be seen on more occasions with the prince of wales and the duke of cambridge. all of which underlines the fact

that, although her husband may be stepping back, the queen is not. in the words of buckingham palace, the queen, 91 two weeks ago, will continue to carry out a full programme of official duties. nicholas witchell, bbc news. the duke of edinburgh is a patron of almost eight—hundred charities — but he'll no longer have an active role attending public functions to support them. one of his greatest legacies will be his work as chairman of the duke of edinburgh awards — which he set up sixty years ago and has benefited millions of young people across the uk. so what impact has the duke had on charities around the world? richard lister reports. almost as soon as he became part of the royal family, the duke of edinburgh was determined to make his own contribution to british life. while he is most familiar to us at the queen's side at some of the biggest moments of her reign,

he has also built up a portfolio of causes which he has promoted for decades. few, if any, of the people taking part in this park run in leeds would even have been born when prince philip became the president of the national playing fields association in 1947, a post he held for more than 60 years. it still fights to protect spaces like this for sports and recreation in urban areas. i think what's so wonderful, he was really hands—on, committees to come into the office and get his advice. he used to come into the office and get his advice. he was really passionate about our cause, which is about protecting green space. his love of the outdoor life led to the scheme which still bears his name, the duke of edinburgh awards, which he created in 1956. to give young people a chance to discover their own abilities for themselves as an introduction to the responsibilities and interests of the grown—up world,

and incidentally to make new friends and have a great deal of fun and satisfaction in the process. the scheme calls for a combination of physical activity and volunteering, which almost 120,000 young people completed last year alone. in terms of his legacy, the duke of edinburgh awards scheme, which is known around the world for getting young people out there and trying to get them away from the phones and everything they do these days, you know, that is a great legacy. for 15 years, he was the high—profile president of the world wildlife fund, travelling widely to press the case for conservation. we depend on being part of the web of life, we depend on every living thing on this planet, just as much as they depend on us. in latter years, the cause he has been most attached to, according to friends, is the maritime charity trinity house. the former admiral is thought likely to maintain some

involvement behind the scenes. and his promotion of the equestrian sport of carriage driving is likely to be undiminished, if a little less publicly than before. but he helped write the rules for the sport and has been a majorforce behind it. has been a good ambassador for eventing, he is approachable, he has always been doing something, involved, and not sort of high and mighty. i think he has done his bit, i think he has been absolutely wonderful, and he has been immaculate in every way. it is sad, but it is not surprising, at 96 you are entitled to retire from royal duties. though not always high—profile, the duke of edinburgh used to carry out at least 250 appointments in a busy year. those who know him say his impact on british life has been... absolutely huge, no single person, apart from the queen, had such an impact, and when we talk about him retiring, i do not believe it is a retirement, it is a change of the way

he does things. he is stepping out of the compulsory public duties. he will still be interested, he will still know what is going on, who is running it, he will still know their names and say to them, what is keeping you busy? so the next chapter of the duke of edinburgh's life begins, but it will be one that plays out less publicly than before. richard lister, bbc news. anna whitelock is an author and historian — shejoins me from cambridge. we learned a meeting would take place at palace staff, we then learn the duke of edinburgh is to step down from public duties as autumn. how significant a moment as this would you say? of course in many ways and almost 96—year—old stepping down from public duties and retiring

is no great surprise but of course when it's prince philip, the longest serving consort in british history, it isa serving consort in british history, it is a moment of huge significance andi it is a moment of huge significance and i think in some ways it's actual significance will become clear until we begin to see the queen appearing on her own. it's going to be a quite unique site. we haven't seen her conduct very many official engagements without philip, except for periods when he has been in hospital. i think she'll cut quite a lonely figure. i think he's been at her side for the last seven decades. we shouldn't underestimate how much support he has given the queen, and how it might impact on her as she goes forward. certainly, it marks the beginning of the end, i guess, of the queen's brain as we've known it. -- the queens reign. she referred to him as a constant strength and died in her diamond

jubilee speech to parliament. give us jubilee speech to parliament. give usa jubilee speech to parliament. give us a sense jubilee speech to parliament. give us a sense of how important his support has been to her and how it will change things for the queen from autumn. of course, he's travelled pretty much everywhere the queen has travelled to. neither of them has been going on far—flung visits recently. but i've seen the queen and prince philip at various points around the country. they are a team. the queen stops and chats to people but philip wonders behind her and spend a little bit more time talking in a little bit more detail, thinking and engaging with the people around him. they really do work very well together and in a sense he gives the queen that kind of practical support, helping her to meet and greet the public. but i think it's important to acknowledge philip is still going to be very much a presence behind the scenes. he's a very strong character, he's full of sharp wit. even today,

apparently, at the order of merit service at saint james apparently, at the order of merit service at saintjames is when somebody said, sorry to hear you're standing down, sir, he said, i can't standing down, sir, he said, i can't stand up for much longer. this quick—witted sense of... this keen intelligence, is still very much in view. there is no doubt he'll be behind—the—scenes giving the queen that support and guidance that he a lwa ys that support and guidance that he always has done. he will be very much at the helm of the great ship thatis much at the helm of the great ship that is the monarchy. i don't think we should think he's not going to have a continued influence behind the scenes. he was very busy committee continues to be busy, 110 days of royal engagement last year, is the fifth busiest oil. how much transition do you think we will see from the older to the younger generations of the royal family? this transition has already started,

prince william is stepping down from his duties in the ambulance service to ta ke his duties in the ambulance service to take on the responsibilities of a full—time royal, it is very much going to be the way of things as we going to be the way of things as we go forward. it was quite telling hearing the clip of philip talking to fiona bruce on the occasion of his 90th birthday, giving insight into what goes on around a visit. he talked about rushing around, the preparation, thinking of things to say, remembering names. in a sense, that just draws into say, remembering names. in a sense, thatjust draws into sharper relief what we continue to expect of the queen. because she does not have the choice of stepping down from public life. that pressure on her to remember names and engage with people, that remains. though some of the responsibilities will be shared among the royal family, the responsibilities will be shared among the royalfamily, the queen will still be expected to come and will still be expected to come and will want to, because she sees it as pa rt will want to, because she sees it as part of her duty to be out and about, be seen, be the visible face

of the monarchy. thank you for being with us. over the past six decades prince philip has made more than 600 trips overseas, he's given more than 5000 speeches. come autumn, all of that will stop, though we are told he might pop—out occasionally when he might pop—out occasionally when he sees fit. the latest headlines on bbc news... the duke of edinburgh is to retire from public duties. a decision he has taken by himself, backed by the queen. the french presidential candidates have been trading insults on television and 110w trading insults on television and now emmanuel macron has filed a lawsuit to scotch rumours he holds an offshore bank account. the server rescued after 32 hours stranded in the irish sea has been speaking to the irish sea has been speaking to the bbc. matthew price says he thought he was going to die. in

sport, arsenal manager arsene wenger says the highs and lows of a football career can have a negative effect on a player's mental welfare. aaron lennon was detained by police on sunday under the mental health act. he's being treated a stress— related act. he's being treated a stress—related illness. jose mourinho says they are prioritising the europa league as a pathway into next season's champions league, they play celta vigo tonight in the first leg of their semifinal. the england women's cricket captain heather knight has a stress fracture in her foot, but should be fit to lead the side at next month's world cup. a full update in about ten minutes. i voters are going to the polls for local and mayoral elections in england, wales and scotland. nearly 5,000 council seats are vacant in 88 councils in scotland and wales, and around another 30 are up for grabs in england. some councils will begin counting ballots as soon as polls shut at 10 o'clock this evening, while others will start counting tomorrow morning.

results will be announced throughout the day tomorrow. the two remaining french presidential candidates have traded insults in a heated televised debate ahead of sunday's election. the centrist candidate, emmanuel macron, said his far—right rival, marine le pen, risked civil war with her policies; she accused him of being complacent about islamist extremism. our europe correspondent james reynolds was watching. france's next president sat at this table, but at which end? emmanuel macron and marine le pen argued over the future of their country. monsieur macron est le candidat de la mondalisation sauvage... translation: mr macron is the candidate of savage globalisation, uberisation, economic uncertainty, social brutality, of every man for himself. translation: you have shown that you're not the candidate for a balanced, democratic debate. the question is, do the people want your defeatist attitude ? you say, "globalisation is too hard for us, so is europe,

let's shut our borders, leave the euro — because others succeed, not us." millions watched, but not all were impressed. translation: the debate was heated — because of that, i didn't watch all of it. the aggression really bothered me. translation: it was a stream of insults from both sides, it won't change much when election day arrives. this was one of the most aggressive debates in recent french history. more than two hours of insults, attacks and accusations made for a memorable confrontation. now french voters have to pick a side. this morning, emmanuel macron told a radio station that the debate revealed his opponent's true colours. the 39—year—old centrist maintains his lead in the polls. in her own postdebate interview, marine le pen insisted that she succeeded in revealing

the true macron. ms le pen has now gone to brittany to begin herfinal days of campaigning. it's a last attempt to narrow the gap with her opponent. james reynolds, bbc news, paris. the two candidates are continuing to campaign. today, an egg was thrown at marine le pen, as she toured the north of the country. the latest poll has macron leading le pen by 59 percent to 41 percent ahead of sunday's vote. i've been talking about the impact of that televised debate on the vote on sunday, talking to our paris correspondent hugh schofield. i asked him how much difference he thought the debate would make to those casting their ballots this weekend. it's not going to bring many new

voters for marine le pen and that's all that counts, really. i'm sure what she did in this performance appeals to a large tranche of the population that is behind her but won't have appealed to many other people. given she is so far behind, i can't see it helping her in any way. if anything, i can't see it helping her in any way. ifanything, i i can't see it helping her in any way. if anything, i would take the view, of course this is just my interpretation, that it will have maybe tilted some people thinking of are abstaining to vote for emmanuel macron. her performance was very very vitriolic, very very aggressive. not at all presidential. the french wants to see in the lycee someone the french wants to see in the lycee someone who looks and acts in a presidential way and i don't think she was doing that. i think she knows she isn't going to win the election and was acting with half an eye on the future when she wants to be in opposition. to be leading the opposition against a future president macron. i don't think

it'll make much difference and if it does it'll probably be a slight difference in favour of emmanuel macron. what about his performance? he used some strong words. macron. what about his performance? he used some strong wordslj macron. what about his performance? he used some strong words. i don't think we should put them on the same level. he kept his cool under what was a barrage of insinuation, allegation and sloganising marine le pen. i'm not saying that simply because he wanted to knock marine le pen, that was her tactic, it's quite clear. the consummate technocratic brilliance which he has at his fingertips, he was able to stay calm, smooth things over, try to return to the rational debate every time, though he accused her of lying and fabricating as well. in the circumstances that was just an observation, she was making pretty wild allegations often, saying he was backed by an islamic organisation, saying he might have a secret account in the bahamas, these

we re secret account in the bahamas, these were things thrown out by her in the hope mud would stick. he could hardly ignore it. he generally kept his calm and tried to return to the essence of the debate. having said that he won this debate, i don't think it's in any sense the end of his problems. he remains a minority leader, when a witty front runner, he only won 23% of the vote. half the country is deeply opposed to his ideas, his liberal policies and so on. he has a massive task ahead of him. what we heard from marine le pen last night is just the beginning of it. now to the united states where republicans say they are confident they have enough support to begin to repeal obamacare. they scheduled a vote in congress for later today. reforms to the health ca re later today. reforms to the health care policy would go to the senate where a tricky passage is likely. we

can speak to our correspondent gary o'donoghue. this was one of the big promises of the trump campaign wasn't it, to repeal obamacare. but it hasn't been easy. repeal and replace obamaca re was it hasn't been easy. repeal and replace obamacare was the slogan donald trump used through the campaign. it hasn't been easy, they tried to do it twice back in march. they had to pull the vote twice, humiliating for a party that controls both houses here, don't forget, in congress. here we are back again, some changes have been made. it has brought on board the right—wing of the republican party here the house. it has equally led to some compromises for the more moderates, equal and opposite reaction and all that. the leadership saying they do think they have the vote. quietly confident. planning to bring this to a vote in the next few hours. if i thought i had the votes i'd do it sooner

rather than later. it could happen pretty soon. what about the senate? the white house might get this through the house but can they get it through the senate? completely different kettle of fish. the numbers in the senate, 52 republicans, 48 democrats. you can lose two republicans and still get the vice president to vote for the bill, that could still get it through. there are other technical problems with the bill that might require even 60 votes to get parts through. it's still unresolved. at the end of the day there will be changes made to the bill in the senate. what happens then is both houses have to pat the same piece of legislation, same text, there has to be the process of reconciliation. the point at which republicans might say, we don't like what the senate has done, we're not going to vote for it. a long way to go but it'll be significant if they get this through the house today, no question. thank you very much, we'll

wait and see what happens later this afternoon or early this evening, i think it'll be. shares in the high street retailer next have fallen by as much as 7% at one point this morning after reporting worse than expected sales. it wants profits this year could be considerably lower than its forecast a few months ago, because of what it describes as ago, because of what it describes as a challenging trading environment. a surfer who was rescued after spending 32 hours clinging to his board in the irish sea has said he had prepared himself to die. speaking exclusively to the bbc, 22 year old matthew bryce told of his relief at being spotted by the coastguard helicopter — he said when it first flew over, he thought it had missed him. our ireland correspondent, chris buckler has been talking to matthew bryce in the ulster hospital in belfast, where he is recovering. i started to shiver. i knew my body temperature was dropping. matthew bryce is exhausted. sunburnt and still recovering from more than 30 hours spent drifting alone in the irish sea.

i had a white lycra top over my wetsuit and i would say that's probably a yellow surf board, so that would be the right colour. this picture was taken on westport beach in scotland on sunday, and matthew believes it shows him at the start of a day's surfing before strong winds and tides pulled him out into the water. the current changes, and i can't do anything and all this time the winds pushing me further and further out. sorry. he end up clinging to his surf board in the irish sea throughout sunday night and all of monday, before he was eventually found closer to northern ireland than scotland, 13 miles from the beach he left, found just as the sun was setting, and a second night was approaching. so i knew i had maybe three hours, and i was pretty certain

that i was going to die. before sunset. so i was watching the sun set, i pretty much made peace with all, and then i heard a helicopter. and the helicopter flew, right over, so ijumped off the board, and i lifted the board up, and i started waving the board, in the water, and they flew right over and i thought they'd missed me, and then they turned. and they turned round. and then they saved my life. i can't thank them enough. this is the moment he was rescued from the water, and his family

could finally be told he was alive. you have this elation, you're high and then 20 minutes later, you crash back down. you don't know what state he's in, you don't know how unwell he is, and until we got that phone call from matthew, just to hear his voice. the rnli have apparently recovered your surf board as well. are you looking forward to being reunited with your surf board, is that the right question? i think we'll find a good use for it. maybe a... starter fuel... but yes. you're done with surfing? i think so. i can't do that again. and his family are likely to make him keep that pledge. chris buckler, bbc news, at the ulster hospital in belfast. nasa has released a spectacular

video taken as the cassini spacecraft dived between saturn and its rings, the images cover an hour of observations as cassini flew as close as 4000 miles from the planet ‘s surface on april 26. the spacecraft encountered very few particles on the way despite fears it might hit fragments of ice all rock which could have caused it damage. lets see what the weather is doing on earth. louise lear can tell us. a beautiful beach but we would like blue skies to go with it in kent. u nfortu nately blue skies to go with it in kent. unfortunately that's not what we've got, another cold, grey day. after sunshine this morning through east anglia, the cloud arrived coming in off the north sea, driven by the brisk north—eastern breeze, making

it feel quite cold out there for the first week of may. further north and west a different story. here we have sunshine and warmth, temperatures peaking into the high teens across the sheltered western areas again. we've had quite a stunning week across the highlands of scotland. through the night goes temperatures will fall away into the far north—west, low enough for light frost in sheltered glens. further south we keep the cloud, keep isolated showers dotted around. not as cold here with early morning those in towns and city centres. we do it all again tomorrow. a nagging north—easterly breeze brings in a pouch to the south. the better the sunshine for the west. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: the duke of edinburgh, prince philip, will stand down from royal duties in the autumn, buckingham palace says.

the decision was made by prince philip himself and is supported by the queen. the palace says the prince, who turns 96 next month, will only attend previously scheduled events between now and august. his decision will mark a transition for the royal family. emmanuel macron, the centrist candidate to become the next french president files a lawsuit against his rival, the far right candidate marine le pen. the dispute centres on madame le pen's suggestions that monsieur macron holds an offshore bank account. the surfer rescued after 32 hours stranded in the irish sea tells the bbc he thought he was going to die. now the sport. the arsenal manager arsene wenger says the extreme highs and lows

of a career in football adds to the pressure on players and can lead to mental health problems. everton's aaron lennon is receiving treatment after being detained by police under the mental health act last weekend. not all the players, even if they feel the need, they do want to be helped by people who are at the club. sometimes you don't want to show that you could be interpreted as a weakness inside the club, and so i believe that you understand that most of the players, in a situation where they need help, they want to do that outside the club. jose mourinho has written off finishing in the top four in the premier league, and says that manchester united will now prioritise the europa league, because winning that is the only way

they'll qualify for next season's champions league and that could see them resting players on the home front. they are in spain for the first leg of their europa league semifinal tonight against celta vigo, but play arsenal on sunday before the second leg next week at old trafford so they may play a weakened team against the gunners. i think it would be a good achievement with the many problems we had and would allow us to be back to the champions league next season. so we have to try, that is what we are going to do england women's cricket captain heather knight has a stress fracture to her left foot but should recover in time for the world cup which starts in just over seven weeks. knight is expected to be available for england's warm—up matches, the first of those is on june 19th against sri lanka. it will be her first world cup as skipper after taking over from charlotte edwards.

england's men start their busy summer tomorrow in bristol, with a one day match against ireland. the two will also play at lord's on sunday. the england captain says his side are in good shape as they prepare to host the eight team champions trophy next month. the strength and depth we have had for this side has been extremely strong over the last 18 months. i think the squad we selected in the champions trophy reflects that. the guys that have missed out, we could have picked a squad of 18 or 19 that could take the field. that bodes well for us in the competition. i hope it continues over the next two years as we build toward the world cup. that is a huge positive. usain bolt says his legacy will be proving to youngsters that clean athletes can win medals. bolt will be retiring from the sport after defending his sprint titles at the world championships in london this summer, and speaking to bbc

sport's steve cram injamaica, he says he won't change his mind about quitting and is more than happy with what he has done for athletics. for me, just a great legacy, know what i mean? to show the kids that anything is possible. you can do it without cheating, you know what i mean? it is one of those things i am happy i can leave in the sport. you can do it without cheating. if you are going to do this, it is going to be hard work and dedication, and a lot of sacrifice. and you can see usain bolt: the final chapter on bbc one, this saturday, at 1:15pm. some rugby league news, the australianjustin holbrook is st helens' new head coach. he'll replace the club legend keiron cunningham who was sacked last month. holbrookjoins from sydney roosters with saints currently lying seventh in the super league. former saints scrum—half sean long will be one of holbrook‘s assistants. that's all the sport for now. we'll have more in the next hour. we are waiting for the next

correspondent to turn up! as we've been hearing, buckingham palace has announced that the duke of edinburgh has decided to stop carrying out public engagements from the autumn. prince philip, who is 95 years—old, is said to have the full support of the queen in taking his decision. she will continue with all her duties. the duke is the longest—serving consort in british history. let's return to buckingham palace and my colleague sophie long. to give you an indication of prince philip's contribution to public life over six decades, he has made over 600 overseas trips alongside the queen, more than 5000 speeches, and he was at lords only yesterday joking that he was the world's most

experienced plaque unveiled. that will stop, but we were told in a statement that he is patron, president or a member of more than 780 organisations and his association with those will continue. earlier i spoke to the vice president of the british driving association. he was very good. he was very accurate, very brave, and he was hard to beat. he meant everything to driving. he carried on doing it until he was 65, which sounds pretty good and remarkable to think that was 30 years ago. are you surprised he continued with his role in public life for so long? no. not when you know him. when i used to drive with him the driving was his pleasure and his work as he called

it was going places. he had five times the energy i had and was 20 years older than me. i have been out with him in the frost and ice and i thought we would stop for coffee but he did not stop. we went out again. he was a tough competitor. he came in at the right time for driving. everybody needed a boost. he gave that boost. everybody said if prince philip drives i can drive but you would be amazed the power he brought to driving. he brought it to great britain from the continent. i got hooked up with that. he got me in a lot of trouble over that because he used to take short cuts abroad and i was told if you follow him we will murder you.

but when you drove with him you realised how keen he was and he wanted to win. and he did win. he left me behind a few times as well. a huge amount of energy, and he brought that to his public life alongside the queen as well. do you think he's enjoyed the public engagements? that he has enjoyed being the queen's consort? i think he enjoyed everything. prince philip thrives on doing things. he cannot sit down for two minutes. hejust cannot. he is involved with everything. i remember years ago when we were travelling out to france and he was underneath a caravan rewiring the lights. nobody believed he would but he was. i did not know he was there and i said, come out of there, you will mess it up,

and prince philip said, go away, we are making a good job of this. you only see one side of him. we are lucky in the driving world we saw the other side. the man who would talk to everybody. he gave so much encouragement to people, the mere fact that he drove. he will still drive. he will not stop now. we are hearing all sorts of figures about prince philip's contribution, 110 days he spent carrying out royal engagements last year, making him the fifth busiest royal. he has carried out 25 days of public engagements this year. 780 organisations he will continue his association with. when you think

about that number you can understand the need to make this kind of public announcement that you will no longer be accepting any new invitations, which will start from what this year. facebook says nearly two billion people are using its services every month, 17% higher than a year ago. the company has come under sustained pressure in recent weeks over its handling of hate speech, child abuse and self—harm on the social network. yesterday, its chief executive mark zuckerberg announced it was hiring 3,000 extra people to moderate content on the site. a short time ago i spoke to our technology correspondent, rory cellan—jones, and asked him why people were flocking to facebook in such numbers. facebook marked with great enthusiasm when it got to one billion and everybody wondered at it, what an extraordinary business it is. almost frighteningly strong.

it is a third of the world's population. most of these new users are outside north america and europe in developing nations. as more people come online often it seems the first thing they do isjoin facebook. in some parts of the developing world they say the word facebook is almost synonymous with the internet, it is how people associate the internet. the other side of that is it gives this one company extraordinary wealth and power and not everybody is happy. a lot of criticism of the content and they seem to be taking some steps towards policing that. it has been an extraordinary year. facebook has had to face up to the fact of that power. it has wielded that power quite comfortably up until now and ignored criticism, particularly that it is notjust a technology company,

that it is a giant media empire and should take more responsibility for what people post on it. it used to say we leave it to our members who decide what goes on and it is up to them to warn us if things are going wrong and we will do our best, and it is beginning to realise that does not stack up. another 3000 people employed not to proactively comb it, that's the other difficult thing, the amount of content is so vast, thousands of hours of video being posted every day, impossible to do that. how do they police it? they are relying on the users to say that is breaking the rules. they say they are going to make it easier for us to report it and then this army of new recruits will be looking at those reports and trying to assess

whether they did break the rules, and getting that material off the site sooner, because in the recent incidents, a terrible murder in thailand of a baby last week, it was up for far too long, and announcing this development yesterday mark zuckerberg said we have to be faster if we are going to have a safe community, we have to respond much more quickly. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first the headlines on bbc news: the duke of edinburgh is to retire from public duties, a decision he took himself, backed by the queen. the french presidential candidates trade insults on television. now emmanuel macron files a lawsuit to scotch rumours he holds an offshore bank account. the surfer rescued after 32 hours stranded in the irish sea speaks exclusively to the bbc. matthew bryce says he thought he was going to die. in the business news:

activity in the uk's service sector rose in april, with new work growing at its fastest pace this year. the purchasing managers' index for services rose to 55.8, its highest level for four months. it has now been above the 50 level that marks the divide between growth and contraction for nine months in a row. mortgage approvals fell for the second month in a row despite lenders stepping up their offers to borrowers. a total of 66,837 mortgages were approved for house purchases in march, down 1.6% on the previous month. bank of england figures show the number of loans approved for those remortgaging also fell. it's been a pretty good start to the year for morrisons. its sales increased by more than expected in the first three months of the year. that was boosted by price cuts. like—for—like sales, which exclude new store openings,

rose by almost 3.5%. that's despite the weak pound meaning higher prices for imported food. sales of new cars plunged in april by around a fifth. that's the biggest year on year drop for more than six years. the car industry's trade body the smmt says that around 152,000 new cars were registered in april. mike hawes is the boss of the organisation and says that fall in demand was expected. in march we saw a lot of pull forward because of changes in vehicle excise duty, road tax, coming into effect on the 1st of april, so many customers decided to buy new cars in february and march, such that march was up significantly, an all—time record month, and april suffered the consequences.

you think it will pick back up? yes. we will get to a more stable position. when you have a major tax change it disrupts the market, the industry does not like that, we would like even demand. you can see this coming and plan for it. time is running out. tomorrow is the last day you can use your old five pound notes in shops and banks. they're being withdrawn from midnight on friday. but there are still 150 million of them in circulation. here's our personal finance correspondent. it is 15 years since the old five note came into circulation. some traders do not know the end is nigh. i had no idea. i have just traders do not know the end is nigh. i had no idea. i havejust been traders do not know the end is nigh. i had no idea. i have just been told that his finishing. are you still

getting people bringing them in? absolutely. did you know that the old £5 note finishes on friday? no. is that a surprise? yes. there are £750 million worth at large, or three notes for each adult in the uk. after friday you will still be able to take your old £5 notes into your bank and deposit them or exchange them but shops will not be accepting them so you are probably better just spending them accepting them so you are probably betterjust spending them before then. the bank of england says it will accept returns of the paper notes for all time but they will stop being legal tenderfrom tomorrow. challenging times for the high street retailer next. the company's sales dropped 2.5% in the last three months. it's also warning profits could be lower than expected this year, coming in at

between £600—740 million. shell's profits surged in the first three months of the year on the back of rising oil prices. the anglo—dutch giant said profits on a current cost of supply measure, which strips out price fluctuations, jumped to $3.4 billion, that's £2.6 billion, from $1 billion last year. a 55% rise in oil prices in the first quarter of 2017 was the main driver of profits. profits fell by almost a fifth at hsbc over the first three months of the year. that figure came in atjust under £4 billion, which is actually better than expected. the boss called them "a good set of results". does the economy confuse you? what's the one economics word you want to understand better? tweet us questions @bbcbusiness and join our facebook live tomorrow morning at 11am at facebook.com/bbcbusiness and at 1:45pm here on the news channel. things are pretty healthy in europe.

a lot of that is down to the fact there have been good results for hsbc and shell which have been supporting the market. hsbc has been the biggest rise because of those better than expected results. commodities have also helped fuel things in europe. on the other side of the atlantic wall street is trading law. a lot of disappointment on the facebook results, not because of the results being bad but because investors have worries about the future of the company. adele has become the richest musician under 30 according to this year's sunday times rich list. the singer's fortune has reached £125 million, up 50%

in the last year alone. she's the only female solo artist to make the list, which is topped by sir paul mccartney and his wife. fidget spinners were originally designed to relieve stress and help pupils concentrate, but they've since become the latest must—have toy and some schools say they‘ re disrupting lessons. newsround's ricky boleto has been to a school in manchester to find out more. fidget spinners are taking over playgrounds. the small toys are becoming the latest must have gadget. my spinner is a glow in the dark one. you get relaxed when it spins, and it is really satisfying. you can have challenges with other people. you can trade and customise them as well. but these little things are causing big headaches for teachers. sometimes children get distracted... and they don't concentrate

on their work. they try to rush it so they can play with it, and they don't produce much quality work. they have since been banned in a number of schools. but here in manchester, teachers are a bit more relaxed. they are happy for kids to play with them but only outside of the classroom. you can play with them at lunchtime and playtime, but you are not allowed to play with them in class. we have had them banned in class, and you are only allowed them at break and lunch. we are happy to have kids enjoying fidget spinners in the playground, we are seeing them get a lot of fun. they are developing their fine motor skills, but we have asked them to put them away as soon as they enter the building, so they are not a distraction in the lessons. we found that children were more interested in watching each other do tricks than they were in watching the teacher. the spinners only cost a couple of pounds, but some websites have started to charge a lot more as their popularity increases. online videos showing off tricks have had millions of views,

until the next big thing in the playground, it looks like the fidget spinner will be around until, at least, the summer. many of us have a soft spot for all creatures great and small, but one family has taken their love of animals to the next level. the tweedys upped sticks from kent to run a zoo in wales with more than three hundred animals, including snakes and lions. tallulah berry went to visit them. sophie tweedy has just got home from school. and she is feeding her new pets. so are her sisters. it doesn't stop with monkeys and meerkats. meet the tweedy family. they have just bought a zoo in wales. they now have over 300 exotic animals to look after, including lions, lemurs and crocodiles. at easter, the family pack up their lives in kent and moved hundreds of miles to their new home. on the coast near aberystwyth. although they have no experience of running this kind of venture, dean, a successful mural artist

and his wife tracey, a psychotherapist, are not fazed by the challenge ahead. i have always wanted to live in wales. it just seemed perfect. it was the perfect place. we came up to view it, and obviously, it is quite run down and needs work, and i know we can make a difference. how did your family react when you told them the news? they reacted pretty much the same as everyone when you say you are buying a zoo. "a zoo?!" mainly disbelief, but on the whole, people who know us know this is what we have always been like anyway. we have got a lot of pets. people always say we have our own little zoo, and now we have! the animals here were in desperate need of new homes, some of them were pets that people couldn't look after any more, and others came from zoos that didn't have room for them. the tweedy family say they will do their best, investing money and time in the site. and these guys. the tweedy plan is to build bigger enclosures, and dean will use his artistic skills to brighten up the zoo. one of the marmosets bit me!

the family have learned the ropes from the staff. lots of changes will be made with reptiles being moved into a new topical house. hopefully, in the future, we can do more with the birds and change a few things around with them. there are a lot of plans for an extension which we are excited about. it is going to take time for the tweedy family to get used to their new world, but even though it is early days, it looks like they will settle in just fine. it isa it is a mixed bag, some of us have had a lovely day so far and for others it has been grey. very little rain to speak of. northern scotland, the highlands, plenty of sunshine. looking out across the moray firth. further south, a good deal of cloud.

very little rain to speak of. the satellite confirms a lovely day across many parts of the uk, a lot of sunshine. there is a breeze to go with the cloud in the south. there might bea with the cloud in the south. there might be a little bit of rain in the first south—east, east anglia. most of us will be fine and dry. light winds and clear skies across the far north of the uk. it will turn called mike overnight. major towns and cities getting to four or 5 degrees. in rural spots it could get to freezing. it should be a lovely start across the western side of scotland, maybe more cloud towards the north—eastern corner but generally a fine and dry and bright start. heading south, we are going to run into cloud once again, maybe some rain towards the south—eastern corner but mostly these starting dry. we might see a bit of brighter

weather on the western side of wales. we are going to keep a lot of the cloud as we go through the morning across the south of the uk. further north, another lovely day. not overly windy in scotland, plenty of sunshine, temperatures to today. always cooler for the north sea coastal areas. through the evening it is going to be dry for most places, some rain getting into cornwall. that is from this weather front which is going to spread rain into the south—west of the uk. some might get further east but not widespread by any means on saturday but there will be a fair amount of cloud around. maybe a further north but western scotland is doing very well. the week weather front moves towards the near continent for the second part of the weekend. the wind sta rts second part of the weekend. the wind starts to come northerly down the eastern side which will keep it cool

and cloudy but elsewhere we are going to do well, dry, not particularly windy. not a bad weekend ahead of us. if you need more detail, head to the bbc weather website. this is bbc news. i'm sophie long, live at buckingham palace, where its been announced the duke of edinburgh is to retire from public duties, a decision he took himself, backed by the queen. but it was business as usual this lunchtime, when he took his place alongside the queen — by the autumn he will no longer be accepting engagements. the prince — who turns 96 next month — said his decision marks a transition for the royal family.

i'll be bringing you all the latest developments. i'm ben brown. the other news at 4 o'clock. the french presidential candidates trade insults on television — now emmanuel macron files a lawsuit to scotch rumours he holds an offshore bank account.