this is bbc news. the headlines at three. as he formally launches his party's general election campaign, jeremy corbyn refuses to categorically say whether he would take britain out of the eu if he's elected as prime minister. we win the election, we'll get a good deal with europe that will ensure that the very large number of manufacturing jobs in britain that rely on trade with europe won't suddenly find themselves under world health organisation rules where there'll be a tariff wall put up immediately around this country. the conservatives promise to cap energy tariffs if they win the election; they say it would save money for millions of households. too many ordinary working families, vulnerable people find themselves on ta riffs vulnerable people find themselves on tariffs that are above that that they should be paying. that's why we are taking action. alexander blackman, the former royal marine who was jailed for killing a taliban fighter in afghanistan, tells the bbc how he regrets his actions. exit polls in south korea's presidential election indicate that

human rights lawyer moon jae—in is on course to win. in the next hour, a librarian discovers a previously unknown fifteenth century text. two 500 year old pages from william caxton who brought printing to england in the moo's are found by chance, inside another book. and international ballroom champion shirley ballas is the new head judge on strictly come dancing replacing len goodman. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. jeremy corbyn, the labour leader,

has declined to confirm that he would definitely take the uk out of the eu, if he's elected onjune the eighth. mr corbyn was speaking to the bbc‘s political editor, laura kuenssberg, for the launch of the party's official general election campaign. he's been in manchester today and he told supporters labour was offering a real alternative to what he called a rigged system under the conservatives. he was asked repeatedly whether he'd leave the european union whatever the deal on the table at the end of negotiations. look, there's a clear vote to the referendum a year ago, but there is now the negotiations which have already begun. esent a letter to mr macron congratulating him what

happens in the negotiations however well or badly they are. we'll be leaving if... we'll go into the negotiations with a determination to achieve what i outlined. it's not a one—off meeting, or a one—off discussion, it also involves relations with all the governments across europe. we will ensure that the jobs in britain that rely on trade won't find themselves under world trade organisation rules where there will bea organisation rules where there will be a tariff wall put up around this country. in your speech today, you said that the country has four weeks to ta ke said that the country has four weeks to take back its wealth. what does

that mean? it means that the levels of tax evasion and tax avoidance that have happened with a great increase in the wealth of the very richest, the reference the sunday times rich list today, i think we have to have a taxation system that means that those who have the broadest shoulders and some of those shoulders are very broad indeed shoulders are very broad indeed should pay a little bit morement we need to understand the anger that many people feel in this country. six million earning less than the living wage, one million on zero hours contracts, many on short—term jobs and short—term working, in communities that have seen precious little investment for 30 years. so using that anger is part of your election strategy? you have to recognise when people are angry and do something about it. and are you angry? yes. i do get angry about poverty. i get angry about injustice, i get angry about inequality. when you use language

like promising a reckoning, taking back their wealth. to some voters to some of our viewers that sounds like the politics of envy? not at all. what i'm saying is we benefit when we all do better. we are a very rich country. unfortunately, the riches are not fairly spread around the place. what is it that makes you think a general election could be won from the left? it is what ed miliband tried to do by moving the labour party further to the left. you clearly want to move it further to the left. what makes you think now is your time? isn't it a great tradition in this country that we actually try to look after everybody andi actually try to look after everybody and i think what we are offering is actually all that is sensible and rational and will bring about a much more secure and harmonious society. that's our offer. jeremy corbyn, the labour leader talking to the bbc‘s

political editor laura kuenssberg there. we'll talk about everybody that's happening on the campaign trail today later in the hour. breaking news from turkey. we are hearing a british man suspected of being in an is cell which bale headed hostages has been convicted of terrorism in turkey. this is the man arrested in november 2015 near istanbul along with three other britons. he's been found guilty of being a so—called member of is. jailed for three years and six months. he was arrested in late 2015. now found guilty today of being a member of so—called islamic state. we will hear more from the courthouse where this verdict‘s just come through in the next little while. the prime minister says britain's energy market isn't working and has vowed to end what she described as rip—off bills. she wowed to end what she described

as rip—off bills. theresa may has confirmed that the conservative party manifesto will propose a cap on energy prices for anyone on a standard variable tariff. the party says this would benefit 17 million households. our political correspondent chris mason reports. cook our lunch, making a brew, heating our home — we have all got to do it, but it's not cheap and the conservatives say too many are being ripped off. the key thing is that people are clearly paying too much for their energy bills today. too many ordinary working families, too many vulnerable people, find themselves on tariffs that are above that that they should be paying and that's why we are taking action. for the second day, an idea that might ring a few bells, this is the labour manifesto from two year ago and they they from two years ago and they they would ensure that bills would fall not rise. the conservatives say their idea now is more subtle, although we have been told some around the cabinet table thought it was too crude.

but we know rewind and the tories didn't like the idea. we would love to live in a marxist universe. but he needs a basic lesson in economics. little wonder the former labour leader raises an eyebrow. no guarantee rises won't rise under tory policy, he asked no guarantee prices won't rise under tory policy, he asked the energy secretary. asking for a friend. labour's shadow energy secretary said. it is not a tory policy. it is scandalous they have stolen a labour policy. but they have not gone far enough. i asked the liberal democrats about it. it is good politics, it sounds great, because it is rubbish policy great, but it is rubbish policy because it would harm and damage

the people that it's supposed to be helping. on a visit to scotland, the snp were scathing about the conservative plan. the record of the tories on fuel poverty has been poor so, this announcement has nothing to do with dealing with the poorest in society and everything with trying to win a general election and outflank the labour party. what is clear is the conservatives desire to be seen to be putting themselves on the side of the consumer than the energy companies. what is rather less clear is what if any difference it would make. the energy sector has always criticised any move to cap prices, saying such a policy could in fact lead to people paying more. five out of the so called "big six" energy suppliers have raised their prices this year. so what could a cap mean for the consumer? our industry correspondentjohn moylan investigates. every three months, adam and margaret from eccles

near manchester take a trip to their local bank. they are on a standard tariff, they've been with the same energy suppliers for 30 years and when the quarterly bill arrives in the post, they like to pay it in full. i won't have direct debits, i'm not confident with online, it's a minefield, so after two hours ploughing through, i gave up and thought, the better the devil i know, get a bill, pay it at the bank. i know i've paid it, use less electric and gas, that's the only way we're going to save. they aren't alone, the two—year competition investigation found the energy market wasn't working for the two thirds of households on standard tariffs. it proposed a price cap for households in prepaid meters and consumer groups say it should go further. the energy market clearly isn't working, too many people stuck on standard variable tariffs playing up to £300 a year more than they need to for their energy.

one of the things we've called for is a price cap to protect the most vulnerable, on low incomes who can least afford to pay too much for their energy. many people choose their energy supplier using one of these, a price comparison website. there are more than 50 energy suppliers in the market offering a range of tariffs from cheaper fixed—price deals to more expensive standard tariffs and those standard variable tariffs, so—called default tariffs, which are being targeted by this energy price cap. the conservatives claimed that could save 17 million households around £100 a year. the energy companies say it could also damage competition. we've seen fantastic numbers coming through switching. last month, 14% increase, half a million, the rest of this intervention is that you destroy that confidence, that engagementjust when we are making real progress. the energy price cap will require legislation,

so it's unlikely to help people like margaret and alan this winter. it is also a major intervention in the energy market that could have ramifications for years to come. it is a major intervention in the energy market which could have ramifications for years to come. the liberal democrat leader tim farron has been campaigning in the south west. mr farron warned that a conservative government with a large majority would take people for granted. the liberal democrats have promised a second referendum on any brexit deal. the nhs is the focus of the green party today as they continue their campaign on the isle of wight. the nhs is the focus of the green party today as they continue their campaign on the isle of wight. breaking news. the owner of a dog that attacked a girl in liverpool at

the weekend has appeared in court and pleaded guilty to being in charge of dangerously out of control dogs. andrew mcgowan from the dingle area of the city. the little girl was playing in the garden of her home when several dogs got into the garden. she was attacked by several dogs and is still in hospital. she's being treated for serious injuries to both her head and her body. so andrew mcgowan aged 35, pleading guilty in the last few minutes to being in charge of dangerously out of control dogs. just to bring you more on the news we brought you earlier. a man suspected of being in an islamic state member, he's been

found guilty of being an is fighter. he was nicknamed the beatles? he was ca ptu red he was nicknamed the beatles? he was captured in 2015 in a seaside town just outside istanbul on the sea of marmara. he was captured in a luxury seaside villa along with a jordanian man and palestinian man. since then they've been sitting in prison awaiting trial. today we got the verdict in that trial and, all three men, including mr davies has been found guilty of being members of a terrorist organisation, namely islamic state. during the case, mr davis was asked about his association with jihadi davis was asked about his association withjihadi john davis was asked about his association with jihadi john and whether or not he'd been involved in the beheading cell in syria. he denied that. western intelligence agencies are absolutely clear that they believe that mr davies was one of the beatles, nicknamed the beatles by the western journalists and aid workers who they detained, many of them had their heads cut off

byjihadijohn. so mr davies is starting a seven and a half year sentence which he'll serve here in turkey while the british and american authorities decide whether they want to extradite him to one of those two countries to serve trial for his role in that beatles detention cell. daniel, his wife has beenjailed in connection with terrorism offences already? that's correct. his wife was jailed at the old bailey for sending him money or trying to send him money while he was in syria. she's actually served her sentence and is now out of prison but she actually, while he was still on the run as it were, served a substantial prison sentence in the uk for trying to send him money. mr davies was a low—level drug dealer in west london, a man who served time for possession of a firearm. but in 2013, he travelled out to syria, travelled into the area controlled

by so—called islamic state and only a few months later, the first stories started coming back from western journalists being detained there of the way that they were being treated. one hostage who survived described graphically how jihadi john survived described graphically how jihadijohn threatened survived described graphically how jihadi john threatened to cut off his head with an antique sword, held a gun against his head, pretended to open fire and in fact the gun was empty and he was of course one of the lucky ones, released, negotiated release by the spanish government and he was set free but for several of the hostages, including two british hostages of course, it didn't end like that at all and those gruesome beheading videos followed in the summer of 2014. mr davies is safely behind bars, jihadi john has been killed in a drone strike. but two of the suspected beatles, named by the us state department earlier this year are

still believed to be alive and at large in syria. alexander koti and al—shafi al sheikh. it seems all four men knew each other in west london before separately travelling out and being reunited. thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news: theresa may says too many ordinary working families are paying too much for their energy bills and promises a price cap if the conservatives win the election. jeremy corbyn says a labour government would give people the chance to "take wealth back" from tax cheats and rip—off bosses, as he formally launches the party's general election campaign. 7? ?? newsub 77 newsub the ? ? newsub the owner of a dog who attacked a girl in liverpool has pleaded guilty in the last few minutes to being in charge of dangerously out of control dogs. in sport, maria sharapova will be offered a wild card to play at the

pre—wimbledon grass court tournament in birmingham next month. she's been criticised by players for receiving so criticised by players for receiving so many wild cards on her return to the tour following a doping so many wild cards on her return to the tourfollowing a doping ban. the tour de france champion chris froome has escaped injury after being knocked off his bike. the cyclist says he was deliberately rammed by a car near his home in monaco. and, jamie roberts might have missed out ona jamie roberts might have missed out on a third lions tour but he's going to captain wales for next month's tests against tonga and samoa. i'll be back with a full update in the next 15 minutes. polls have closed in south korea's presidential election which is being held after the former president was impeached, and indicted on fraud and corruption allegations. exit polls indicate that human rights lawyer moon jae—in will win. if he does he is expected to change course on north korea and increase contact with the rogue regime, despite recent missile tests there. steve evans reports from seoul.

the last rallies before the big events. the election hype, nearly over, the 13 candidates vying to become the leader of south korea. this is one of a clutch of candidates trailing the leader in the pre—election opinion polls. and so to the day of decision. the issues for these voters, the economy, of course. young people are worried aboutjobs and whether to confront or talk to north korea. as a person who's going to the military in a few years i don't want to live in a country where it is at risk of breaking out in a war or me actually having to go into the war with north korea. i think i'm not that much different from most people, for me, national security is the main point of concern. when the main presidential candidate says he wants to resume talks with the north, that is a concern to a lot of us.

all the indications are that turnout is very high in the election, people have been galvanised by politics with the sacking of the previous president. and the issues are so big. this is not a country that is fed up with democracy. voting has now finished. a short time ago the exit polls projected that this man will win. predicted that this man will win. moonjae—in. he wants to talk to north korea and he doesn't like the new american anti—missile system on south korean soil. his softer approach might not please washington. stephen evans, bbc news, south korea. alexander blackman, the former royal marine who was jailed for killing a wounded taliban fighter in afghanistan, has given bbc news his first television interview since he was released, following an appeal.

the former sergeant who's been dismissed from the marines was interviewed with his wife claire, who organised the campaign to free him. they've been speaking to our correspondent clinton rogers. don't know why exactly i did it. still, a moment of madness is the best description i can give. not exactly the proudest moment of my life. in the last three years, much has been said about alexander blackman. today, his wife alongside him, he was having his say on a decision in the heat of battle that led to a murder charge. his actions, captured on helmet camera. if you look at the video, it would seem plain that you knew what you were doing. it's a five—minute section of an incident that took well over an hour. to be fair, you can put quite a view different spins on what was said. unless you were actually

there you don't know the full story. hindsight is a wonderful thing. especially what's happened to us in our life, if you could go back, we would change it. if we had a time machine and could go back and do things differently, he would. you lost a lot of colleagues and friends. it's hard and i think one of the hardest things i found, and i think i said before, you don't get to give a lot of good news to people when you're out there. someone's died in an incident. what would normally be a really bad piece of news to follow, you're giving it as a plus, this guy has lost a leg but he's going to live. blackman's conviction for murder led to protests, his wife claire leading the campaign for his release but her husband had offered her the chance to walk away

from their marriage. i said, if she didn't want to stick around and part company, at that point, or at any point through the process, it's something i would understand and i would wish her well for the rest of her life. you were basically offering her the chance to walk away? yes. never crossed my mind, never once. wouldn't have done anything differently. i know sometimes people said to me, how are you doing this, how do you keep going? i don't really have an answer. it wasn't an option to do anything else. it's only 11 days since he was released from prison. now they both say that they need time to readjust to life as a couple. in seven years of marriage, they've been apart more than they've been together. clinton rogers, bbc news, somerset. kelvin mackenzie is leaving his

newspaper after making comments about ross barclay, comparing him to about ross barclay, comparing him to a gorilla. kelvin mackenzie is a giant of british tabloids. a brash and brutal editor editor who was a close confidant of his patron, rupert murdoch. but this time he went too far. a column about everton footballer ross barkley, whose grandfather is nigerian, compared him to a gorilla. mackenzie claimed not to know about the heritage but his column, published on the anniversary of the hillsborough disaster that he so notoriously misrepresented, prompted everton to ban the sun from its stadium. newspaper columnists are meant to provoke strong feelings and over nearly five decades in fleet street, kelvin mackenzie certainly did that. but this time was different for two reasons. first because his column threatened to further alienate the sun's readers in the north—west and second because there's a huge scandal is erupting at rupert murdoch's fox news over in new york. what rupert murdoch and fox want to do is show that they are fighting prejudice rather than feeding it.

you are about to enter the no spin zone. murdoch's bid forfull control of sky is currently with the media regulator, ofcom. there is concern within murdoch's company that bad headlines could thwart their ambitions just as the phone hacking scandal derailed their last bid for sky. i was just amazed that given the sensitivity of it that no one took a closer look at the column. i can't believe that kelvin's column is so sacrosanct that lawyers and editors, it was good friday, so the top tier team may not have been there, but even so it seems to be a systemic failure, not just involving kolbe mackenzie. it remains to be seen if mackenzie has cut ties with murdoch's company completely. the bbc has announced who'll replace len goodman

on strictly come dancing. the newjudge is shirley ballas. she's known as the queen of latin, and although not widely known to uk audiences, she frequently appears on the american version of the show, dancing with the stars. she will take up her position as head judge when the show returns this autumn. our arts correspondent rebecca jones. she is nicknamed the queen of latin. shirley ballas is one of the world's most successful professional dancers. a former world champion, during a long career she has won numerous titles and praise from the man she's going to replace. when i first saw her i was absolutely gobsmacked, the best feet ever, one of my favourite latin women dancers of all time. please welcome the fantastic shirley ballas! after she retired she appeared on the strictly spin—off programme, it takes two, in 2009, to talk about a routine she

had choreographed. what was quite surprising is that they've only had a few days together with this celebrity, so when i walked into the room, nobody knew anything, they hadn't got used to their partner. her partner is pretty good at dancing and her son, her family is pretty good at dancing and her son, mark ballas, is a professional dancer and has won the american version of strictly twice. shirley ballas tweeted that she was over the moon to be joining the show which returns in the autumn. by taking over as head judge, not only will she have the casting vote in the dance off, but a high profile role in one of the most successful programmes on british television. rebecca jones, bbc news. let us shimmy over to the weather.

good afternoon. thank you. in the long—term, we are going to see changes in the weather. towards the end of the week some rain is on the way, but in the short—term it remains dry. but with huge contrast across the uk. a lot of sunshine out west. we have seen a lot of cloud for central and eastern areas that has been slowly melting away from the west and it will continue to do so. the west and it will continue to do so. over the next few hours, eastern parts will stay quite grey. at least it's dry underneath it. it's dry pretty much everywhere except for the northern isles. quite warm in the northern isles. quite warm in the north—west. 15 or 16 for glasgow, belfast and still cool underneath the cloud. the winds are lighter than they have been. the cloud continues to melt away overnight. for most of us, the skies will be clear with light winds. temperatures will be dropping away. by temperatures will be dropping away. by the end of the night, major towns and cities into single figures. more

rural spots we'll be at the bottom end of the single figures. a touch of frost on the grass first thing. clear skies overnight means sunshine tomorrow. a lovely day for england, wales and northern ireland. northern scotla nd wales and northern ireland. northern scotland sees a bit of rain. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3.30pm: as he launches his party's election campaign, jeremy corbyn refuses to say whether he would take britain out of the eu if he's elected as prime minister. if we win the election we'll get a good deal with europe which will ensure the large number of manufacturing jobs in britain that we lie on trade with europe won't suddenly find themselves under world trade organisation rules where there will be a tariff wall put up around this country. theresa may has been defending the conservative promise to cap energy prices for customers on standard variable tariffs. too many ordinary working families,

too many vulnerable people find themselves on tariffs that are above that that they should be paying and that's why we're taking action. a british man suspected of being part of an islamic state group that beheaded hostages has been convicted of terrorism by a turkish coup. a 35—year—old man has admitted being in charge of dangerously out of control dogs after two—year—old girl was attacked in liverpool. let's catch up with all the sports. olly foster. the all england club are waiting to see if maria sharapova will qualify for wimbledon by right, but the lawn tennis association will offer her a wildcard to the grass court warm up tournament in birmingham next month. she has only recently returned to the tour after a 15 month doping ban and some players are unhappy at the ease with which she has received wildcards to major tournaments.

here's our tennis correspondent russell fuller. it does seem that this decision has been taken purely on commercial grounds and it has taken i'm sure, with thought at least given to the opposition that's been raised by many players. andy murray and heather watson are just two players who have expressed their concern that sharapova is being offered so many wildcards. i think when all tournaments look at these in the cold light of day and the grand slam are slightly different, there is a moral dimension for the french open and wimbledon, but when commercial events like the birmingham event look at this, they will see that sharapova is likely to drive ticket sales. that's normally overshadowed by the agone championships. at the moment tickets are available. even though i don't think we will get confirmation, the lta won't make a song and dance, they will want sharapova in their draw to drive

interest in their tournaments. the tour de france champion chris froome has been knocked off his bike while training near his home in monaco. the british rider, who was unhurt, posted this picture on social media, writing "just got rammed on purpose by an impatient driver who followed me onto the pavement!" "thankfully i'm okay. bike totalled. driver kept going!" he has reported the incident to local police. jamie roberts will captain wales in next month's tests against tonga and samoa. roberts, who been capped 91 times by wales, missed out on a third tour with the lions and started every six nations match on the bench. but he'll lead a 32—man squad, which includes 13 uncapped players. they take on tonga in auckland on 16thjune and samoa a week later in the capital apia. arsene wenger still won't reveal what he's planning to do at the end of the season but the arsenal manager has responded to the reports that the board are thinking about restructuring the coaching set

up and introducing a director of football. i don't know what he means. is it somebody who stands on the road and directs play right and left. i don't understand. i never could understand what it means. i'm not prepared to talk about that. i think i'm manager of arsenal football club and as long as i'm manager of arsenalfootball clu b as i'm manager of arsenalfootball club i will decide what happens on the technical front and that's it. the fifa secretary—general says that the italian football federation may face disciplinary action for the way they treated sulley muntari. the former portsmouth midfielder walked off in a game playing for pescara in italy's serie a after being racially abused by cagliari supporters. he was subsequently banned for one match but that was overturned following worldwide condemnation. what matters is that this

disciplinary committee has to act and the sooner, the better. i have my personal feelings on anybody that is treated like he has been treated on the pitch and off the pitch, but i'm not here for my personal matters. i'm here to make sure that fifa takes, through the committee, the appropriate action for any single discriminatory action. that's all sport for now. hugh will be here in the next hour. studio: excellent news. oh, he winked, as well. the russian president, vladimir putin, has commemorated the end of world war ii by telling a victory parade in red square that the country will never be defeated. he said the defeat of nazi germany had cost the soviet union millions of lives, but he said there would never be a power that

would conquer russia. jonny dymond reports from moscow. it is the biggest ceremony of the year to remember the biggest victory in russia's history. 72 years to the day, nazi germany surrendered to the soviet and allied armies. the soviet military had, at enormous cost, thrown out the invading nazis and chased them back to berlin. today, the servicemen and women took centre stage. president putin, who has poured money into modernising the armed forces, said the russian people could never be defeated and he spoke to the veterans of what russia calls the great patriotic war. "you will never", he told them, "be ashamed of us". watching the parade one of those veterans, 93 years old now, today is a celebration, he said, because of the way russia responded to the war. translation: people's spirit turned out to be so powerful. their faith in the justice

of what they were fighting for meant it was possible to turn the tide of the war. red square has heard these sounds and seen these sights before, of course, but repetition does not diminish the power of this occasion. a celebration of victory, the remembrance of sacrifice and a reminder of russia's military might. now, a confident russia sends its military to foreign wars in syria and ukraine. but here, today, it commemorated a long past day of victory when a terrible war came to an end. an investigation into problems with blood tests used in criminal cases — that could lead to scores of convictions being overturned — has now been extended to more than 6,000 samples since 2014.

the national police chiefs council says the vast majority of samples are from drug—driving cases, but they also include serious crimes such as rape and murder. the duke of edinburgh hasjoined the queen on a visit to a school near reading, to mark its centenary. it's his first appearance since announcing he is stepping down from royal duties. after meeting local dignitaries, the royal couple attended the centenary service in the school's chapel. the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall have arrived in northern ireland at the start of a four—day visit to both parts of the island. this morning the royal couple toured a visitor centre dedicated to the memory of late nobel laureate poet, seamus heaney. the royal couple will undertake a range of engagements in northern ireland, including officially opening a memorial garden to members of the police service of northern ireland, who lost their lives on duty. the prince has officially visited the republic of ireland four times before,

most recently in may 2016. earlier i spoke to our ireland correspondent, chris page, who's been following the visit for us. well, today it has been all about the prince and the poets. this village where i am now in county londonderry is the place in northern ireland which more than anywhere else is associated with seamus heaney, the leading irish poet and possibly the leading irish writer of his generation. he grew up on a farm close to here and buried in a churchyard a meal from close to here and buried in a churchyard a mealfrom here. the landscape around here inspired some of his most famous works, poems like digging and mid—term break. prince charles met seamus heaney a number of times and was a fan of his work. on national poetry day last year the prince read one of seamus heaney‘s poems on bbc radio 4. so he and the

duchess of cornwall arrived at a centre dedicated to the life and the work of the poet about an hour ago. some well—wishers were here with union flags ready to greet them and they took sometime to walk around and shake hands. local schoolchildren met them to perform some music and then the royal couple went on a tour of the centre here along with members of the late poefs along with members of the late poet's family including his wife, marie and their three children. so, it's a symbolic day, the fact there was a personal link between the prince of wales and seamus heaney is something that this community are thankful and proud of as they look to promote this new centre which has only been open for a few months and it's the start of a four—day four of the island of ireland which the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall will be taking on. from here, they'll go on to another series of engagements around northern ireland, today and tomorrow, and then they'll cross the border to the republic of ireland

and spend the rest of the week there. scientists working in south africa have discovered more remains of a human like species called homo naledi. it's believed the species lived at the same time as early human beings — much more recently than had been thought. karen allen reports. already scientists made history discovering a new species of early human they've called homo naledi. now, revealed for the first time, its age, thanks a skeleton they've called nao. these buried of an almost perfectly preserved adult male dates the species at 230,000 years old. much younger than originally thought. now we know that it is as young as 200,000 to 300,000 years ago. that sounds like a long time ago, but that's really, really recent.

it means it's likely that they overlap here in africa with modern humans. it was inside these caves where scientists made the remarkable discovery. it's dark and dangerous work as they pick their way through a labyrinth of rock tunnels 30 meters underground. there they found hundreds of fragments of bones, hands and teeth. suggesting that our primitive ancestors may have buried their own dead. homo naledi is thought to have walked on two legs with a tiny brain, the size of an orange. and a picture from the national geographic magazines shows it could have been a link between ape—like creatures and early humans. now the discovery of a near complete skeleton provides a road map for scientists to better understand earlier forms of human life. we get to look at what a male looks like and we're very confident this is a male compared to the other specimens and he will allow us

to take the bits and pieces found, normally it is a fragmentary fossil record and begin to look at how long the bones were, how they related to each other across the body. he's the new plan for interpreting homo naledi. without doubt, buried beneath these african soils are further clues as to who modern humans shared this planet with and today's find opens the possibility that the technologies, the tools, and the traditions that we as humans credit ourselves with, may have in fact been the invention of others who were here first. in a moment a summary of the business news this hour but first the headlines on bbc news: theresa may says too many ordinary families are paying too much for their energy bills and promised a price cap if the conservatives win the election. jeremy corbyn refused

to say if he would take britain out of the eu if he's elected as prime minister. a british man suspected of being a member of an islamic state cell which beheaded hostages has been convicted of terrorism in turkey. i'm rachel horne. the energy industry has criticised the prime minister's proposed energy price cap, saying it stifles competition and could push average prices up. business secretary, greg clark, says customers who don't switch provider should be given safeguards. staying with energy, a fall in the number of uk customers has hit quarterly profits at german energy giant e.on. the group, one of the uk's big six energy suppliers, said its overall revenues were down 7%, partly because of the decline in the uk. the german company's quarterly profits have fallen 34% to just over1 billion euro.

and there's some good news from the high street, with data showing that retail sales jumped in april thanks to the late easter holidays. a british retail consortium and kpmg report showed that like—for—like uk retail sales were up 5.6% last month compared to a fall of 0.9% a year earlier. theresa may has promised to end what she's called the "injustice" of rising energy costs by including a price cap in the conservative general election manifesto. the prime minister says the energy market "is not working", with vulnerable people worst hit. industry groups warn the plan could lead to higher prices. labour, which offered its own bill cap ahead of the 2015 election, accused the tories of "desperate stuff". energy pricing expert ann robinson believes that the policy is good for consumers. i think there is still a lot of

people who don't know what to do, how to go about it, lack the confidence to do it and actually, just hope that their energy companies will treat them fairly, but the evidence is clear, they are not being treated fairly. what it's costing people on the expensive standard tariffs, there is plenty of room for what i call a relative price gap, ie one that's indexed—based on the cheapest deals. so you could have an index and there will still be plenty of scope for people to continue to scope if they wa nt people to continue to scope if they want to, at the same time as protecting consumers who don't feel able or confident to switch. the other thing i would mention is that, you know, the energy companies intrn drinking in the last chance saloon for quite sometime now and i was furious last year when i saw what was happening. when wholesale prices came right down and. the price

reductions passed on? no, they weren't, i reckon for people on standard variable tariffs, the big six owed them something like 12%. and that was again, demonstrated the point that i'm making. if this is happening, this isn't a market that's working. so we've had those retail sales figures from the uk but how is retailfaring in the us? when it comes to jobs much attention has been paid to the loss of manufacturing and heavy industry jobs in the us. but in the last few months alone, morejobs have been lost in retail than exist in the entire coal industry. samira hussain reports on a crisis that can be seen from the boutiques of manhattan to the local shopping mall. new york city, known for broadway shows, great restaurants and shopping. oh, the shopping. but there is a seismic shift happening in american retail

which is even evident right here in the big apple. the red on this map shows the vacant store fronts in new york city. when they close, they take jobs with them. new york city clothing stores have been shedding jobs for the last three years and overall the us economy has lost more than 90,000 retailjobs since october 2016. there was too much square footage built out. too many stores, too much space, too much infantry and then we have the on—set 20 years ago of the internet. it's a story that is repeating itself across the us. this is what's left of the hudson valley mall in up state new york. the empty stores show the demise of the american shopping centre. it's lunch time and i'm in the food court. normally it would be really busy, but as you can see, it's rather quiet. this is what happens when the big department stores leave —

they take the customers with them. in just the last two years, both macy's and jc penney have closed their doors at the hudson valley mall and the future of sears is looking rocky. independent kiosks, like emile freedman's, will become collateral damage. the mall is getting a little bit slower, almost every month. a lot of stores left, but we still have hope. in the absence of customers, hope maybe all emile has. although it is a hope shared by the new owners of the mall who believe they can turn it around. nationwide though, the outlook for retail looks bleak. in other news, holiday phone calls should be getting cheaper. from 15thjune, 02's pay monthly and business customers will be able

to use their uk plans abroad — in 47 european countries — at no extra cost. the move echoes the scrapping of roaming charges in similar destinations by ee, three and vodafone, and coincides with the incoming abolition of such fees by the european union on the same date. microsoft has released an urgent update to stop hackers taking control of computers with a single email. the unusual bug, in microsoft anti—malwa re software such as windows defender, could be exploited without the recipient even opening the message. researchers discovered the flaw at the weekend and pushed out the fix just hours before the software giant's weekly tuesday security update. and alipay, the chinese digital payment giant owned by ecommerce giant alibaba, is expanding in the us. customers will be able to use alipay at about four million businesses — the deal is chiefly aimed at chinese tourists visiting north america. let's see how the markets are getting on. centrica and sse are

listed and they are two of the big sixment their share price was down. centrica was down almost 4% and sse we re centrica was down almost 4% and sse were down almost 3%, they have recovered, but taken a hefty hit. the ftse is up. it has been pushed up the ftse is up. it has been pushed up by the ftse is up. it has been pushed up by mining stocks today. that's it from me, buti up by mining stocks today. that's it from me, but i will be back with a round—up of the markets news in an hour. some details coming through about some sort of incident which it appears is on—going at drayton manor theme park this. is in staffordshire. drayton manor theme park, we are hearing, well, west midlands ambulance service are describing this as reports of a patient in the water. so via the ambulance service, we're hearing about someone in the water on a ride called the splash canyon. the

ambulance service was called at about 2.15pm. let's show you their twitter page because they're saying that splash canyon has been closed. park staff are assisting. the family theme park is home to thomasland as well as sparb canyon. we await more details of the incident. west midlands ambulance service saying they were called to reports ofa saying they were called to reports of a patient in the water at a park. we'll keep you up—to—date with any developments and anything we might hear from the theme park itself as well, of course. a trial launches today to see if statins may help those with multiple

sclerosis. ms affects the central nervous system and can cause mobility problems, but it is thought that statins could help slow the progression of the condition. sarah smith reports. statins — prescribed to six million of us every year to lower cholesterol. but in the coming months, a major new trial will test whether they could help tackle a condition which can wreak devastation on sufferers. multiple sclerosis causes the immune system to attack the lining of the nerves, disrupting messages travelling along nerve fibres. it can mean increasing levels of disability. more than 100,000 people in the uk have ms. half will develop the secondary, progressive stage. there is currently no treatment to slow its progress and this trial, involving more than 1,000 people, is aimed at them. if we can prove it has a long—term impact, long—term results for people with ms, we know its safety record, it's extremely cheap, so it could be quickly made available to everyone that needs it and it won't put a big hole in the nhs budget.

a previous, smaller study suggested statins did have an impact. this trial will provide much more information. but, at six years long, it will be some time before it's known just how effective statins could be. two pages of medieval text, which for centuries lay hidden inside another book, have been identified as the work of william caxton, who introduced printing to england in the 1470s. there are no copies of the pages anywhere else in the world as duncan kennedy reports. it was in the rolling book shelves of the university's library that erica was carrying out some research. she picked up this box and made her extraordinary discovery. this is the box i found it in and here it is. it's a page of a medieval latin

printed by william caxton in 1477, just a year or so after the first ever british book came off a printing press. what was your reaction when you realised what this document was? i was absolutely amazed. i mean this is the sort of thing that you hope you will find one day in your career as a librarian. so it was an extraordinary moment to realise that we have this early caxton. william caxton was a merchant who was the first to bring printing to britain in 1476. his newly discovered page is a kind of instruction manual for priests. it lay hidden in reading university for 20 years and had previously been pasted to another book to strengthen its spine. experts say that it takes us back to the very origins of printed british books. book collectors go crazy for caxton.

if this ever came on the market i would have an estimate of £30,000 to £50,000 on it, expecting it to do better. perhaps up to perhaps £100,000. the university has the kind of printing press that caxton used to create the document. it goes on display at the merle museum from tomorrow. one of britain's first printed pages, the last word of history. remarkable. shall we have a look at the weather? more analysis, but remarkable did it. speaking of remarkable, there he is! thanks, simon. hi jane. is! thanks, simon. hijane. hello to you at home. weather, really, the same as yesterday. we've had some beautiful weather around as well, but also thick cloud and this

pattern that we're seeing right now was here yesterday. we've got it again today. lots of sunshine across northern and western areas. look at this beautiful pick picture from the west coast and rough. so not rough, but maybe choppy seas and cloudy skies. next 24 hours, some good news. it will be sunny and warm. there will be less cloud around. in the short—term, so we end the day on a beautiful note across many parts of the country and then the skies will clear tonight. so, this coming night is going to be nippy. city centres around six to nine celsius. in rural spots, it will be a couple of degrees above freezing. but we start off on a beautiful note. it really is going to be a gorgeous start to the day tomorrow. northern scotland, different here, because we are going to see increasing amounts of cloud and it will be damp in places there. orkney for example and chilly, but by the time we get to

central scotland, the low lands fine weather and everywhere south of that, it is looking stunning for the morning and the afternoon as well. the temperatures really will respond. one thing that you are going to notice across eastern areas is the fact that there will be lighter winds. there will be very little this the way of cloud and as a result those temperatures are going to be shooting up. so a stunning day on the way for many of us on stunning day on the way for many of us on wednesday. and then thursday, we start to see some changes happening especially to the south of that. see this low, that means increasing cloud and the threat of some rain later on thursday, maybe as early as the morning across some of the southern and south—western parts of the country, but the far north staying on the sunny side, scotland and northern england sh but notice that showers are starting to creep on on thursday. temperatures up to 20 celsius on thursday in london and on friday, we keep pushing in that warmth from the south, there is a risk of thunderstorms breaking out across central and southern england and central parts too and the

temperatures, depending on how much cloud and rain, the potential is there for temperatures into the low 20s. so there is a change on the way. we've had a dry spell, today, tomorrow, still dry, but by the time we get to the end of the week and the weekend looks like there will be more cloud and a good chance of watching one or two pretty hefty downpours. that's it from me. have a great rest of the day. this is bbc news. the headlines at four. jeremy corbyn refuses to categorically say whether he would take britain out of the eu if he's elected as prime minister.

we win the election, we get a good deal with europe, a good deal that will ensure what the large number of manufacturing jobs in britain that rely on trade with europe won't suddenly find themselves under world health organisation trade rules where there'll be a tariff wall immediately put up around this country. the conservatives promise to cap tariffs for energy prices, saying it will save money for millions of households. too many vulnerable people find themselves on ta riffs vulnerable people find themselves on tariffs that are above that that they should be paying, that's why we are taking action. a british man suspected of being in an islamic state cell