this is bbc news. swedish prosecutors drop their investigation into a rape allegation against the wikileaks founderjulian assange — his lawyers claim victory. he's been a fugitive, holed up in the ecuadorian embassy in london since 2012, but scotland yard says he'll be arrested for a separate offence if he tries to leave. labour is accusing the conservatives of a savage attack on vulnerable pensioners over their manifesto plans to means test winter fuel payments. i willjust i will just make i willjust make it absolutely clear. a labour government will maintain the winterfuel clear. a labour government will maintain the winter fuel allowance asa maintain the winter fuel allowance as a universal allowance for all older people. russia condemns an american air strike, on a pro—government convoy, in syria. it came as president trump embarks ona it came as president trump embarks on a visit to saudi arabia. tv entertainer rolf harris

is released from prison. the former entertainer was convicted and sentenced in 2014. also in the next hour, digital departures. one british airport is to abandon its air traffic control tower and use digital technology to monitor planes from 80 miles away. maria sharapova has announced she will not seek a wild card into wimbledon‘s main draw and will instead play the qualifying rounds to secure a place. hello, good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the wikilea ks founder, julian assange, has issued an angry response to the announcement by authorities in sweden that they would no longer pursue a rape allegation against him. in a tweet he claimed he had been detained for seven years without charge,

saying he had been slandered and that he would not "forgive or forget". mr assange, who's a5, has not left the ecuadorian embassy in london since 2012, claiming asylum to avoid extradition to sweden. scotland yard says it's obliged to arrest him for breaching his bail conditions if he leaves the embassy. this afternoon, the prime minister was asked about the case. we look at extradition requests when we receive them on a case—by—case basis. in relation to julian them on a case—by—case basis. in relation tojulian assange, any decision that is taken about uk action in relation to him, were he to leave the ecuadorean embassy, would be an operational matter for the police. let's go to richard lister who is outside the ecuadorean embassy in london. i can see quite a crowd

gathered. what is mr assange going to do? is he going to stay there, or is he going to leave? that is the question everybody is asking. there are dozens of camera crews from across the world hoping to get a response to that question, hoping mr assange will appear on the balcony behind me from the living quarters of the embassy where he has been for the last four years and 11 months to the last four years and 11 months to the day. the question is whether the announcement from sweden materially affects his to sijsling on whether he can leave the embassy without fear of arrest. for the moment, it seems he can't. victory is howjulian assange's lawyer has described today's news. moments after it was announced, wikileaks founder tweeted this photo of himself in the ecuadorian embassy. in stockholm, swedish prosecutors had just said that the case against him was being dropped. translation: today i have decided to revoke the order to remand mr assange custody in his absence

and to revoke the european arrest warrant that he should be handed over to the swedish authorities. their dramatic decision was not a statement on whether mr assange is guilty or not. they have just been unable, in the circumstances, to proceed. translation: there are now no further measures remaining which are possible to advance the investigation. in order to proceed, it would be necessary forjulian assange to be formally served notice of the crimes of which he is suspected. this was a measure that was to have been conducted during an interview in london, but mr assange refused to make this possible. it is now almost five years sincejulian assange took refuge in the ecuadorian embassy. it's nearly seven years since he was first accused by two swedish women of sexual assault. this was mr assange last year, again claiming victory. in his hand, a un report which criticised the swedish prosecutors for their handling of his case. but the woman who accused him of rape has said today

she is shocked by their decision, that she stands by the allegation. and mr assange cannot nowjust walk out of the embassy. the metropolitan police said they are still obliged to arrest him for failing to surrender to a court in london back in 2012. in a statement they said: "now that the situation has changed and the swedish authorities have discontinued their investigation into that matter, mr assange remains wanted for a much less serious offence." ecuador gave julian assange political asylum because he says he fears being prosecuted in the united states over the classified documents published by wikilea ks. we don't know what the next twists will be in this long—running saga, but it isn't over yet. caroline hawley, bbc news. let's talk now to the campaigner peter tatchell, who's outside the embassy now. let me ask you, do you think that

what has been announced in sweden materially moves julian what has been announced in sweden materially movesjulian assange's case forward, in terms of being able to leave the embassy? obviously, the decision not to proceed with further action against him by the swedes, that does confirm his view that he was never charged with any offence. he has always maintained his innocence. that side of the equation is now done. but if he does leave the embassy, he would face the prospect of arrest by british police for having breached his bail conditions, and more seriously, the prospect of an extradition order to the united states, where he would face very serious charges, possibly resulting in 30—50 years imprisonment, and the kind of abuse that chelsea manning suffered when she was behind bars. jeff sessions,

the us attorney general said last month that arresting assange was a priority. we believe that a secret grandjury priority. we believe that a secret grand jury has already been convened to draw up charges against him, so understandably, he is not going to be leaving this embassy any time soon when he faces those kinds of charges. the one hope is that the ecuadorians have made a request to the british government to give him safe passage to go to ecuador. i do hope that theresa may and boris johnson will follow the protocols of international asylum law. julian assange has been granted asylum, as he is entitled, under international law. in those circumstances, a government has a duty to provide safe passage for a person to secure that asylum, so the ball is in the court of the british government. we just heard theresa may saying that this is a matter that will be

considered, if extradition is requested, considered in the normal way. it does not sound like the british government is prepared to make any big concessions, and many in america believe julian make any big concessions, and many in america believejulian assange should face justice. what is your response to that? of course, julian assange published leaked files from the us government and ministry. he did not leak them, the us government and ministry. he did not leakthem, he the us government and ministry. he did not leak them, he published them, so he has the same status as any other publisher, like the guardian and the new york times, who also published some of the leaked material. so everyone is asking why the us is going afterjulian assange and not after the new york times. it is evidence of double standards, and he is being picked on because he simply followed the basic principle that the people have a right to know. wikileaks shone a light on human rights abuses and other wrongdoing by the us government and military, which had been hidden from the american people. in my view,

that was a great public service. julian assange may not be a saint, you may disagree with some things he has done, but on that level, in terms of giving us information about what was being done in secret, behind closed doors, by successive us administrations, that was a great, great public service. what is your prediction about how much longer he may be here?|j your prediction about how much longer he may be here? i suspect he will not be leaving the embassy any time soon, and i fear he will not be leaving the embassy any time soon, and ifear he may be here many more months, even years. thank you forjoining us at the ecuadorean embassy. we have yet to see mr assange, although we have had these tweets from him, but we have not had a full idea from him about exactly what his response to the news from sweden is, and it is not entirely clear whether we will get one. back to you. if he appears on the balcony, we will come back to you live. it's been a week of manifesto

launches from political parties in the run up to the election, involving lots of attention on the elderly, from pledges on pensions to social care. now, labour claims plans by the conservatives to means test winter fuel payments, are "an attack on vulnerable pensioners". at present, the majority of people aged over 64 are eligible. eleanor garnier reports. please welcome the prime minister, theresa may. she said it herself yesterday, there are big and difficult decisions to make. it couldn't have been closer to the truth. the conservatives say they want to protect the poorest, but plans for a radical shake—up of pensioner benefits, including cutting back on winterfuel payments, is proving controversial. they haven't set out exactly what they mean by the very poorest, but in the pension system at the moment we have a thing that does that, it's called pension credit and it only goes to 2 million of the poorest pensioners. that means that 10 million, the other pensioners, would lose out if that was the system the conservative party chose to go with.

at the moment, all pensioners get the winter fuel payment. the allowance is worth between one and £300 a year, and in 2015—16, more than 12 million people got the benefit at a cost of over £2 billion. this week, labour published its manifesto... labour say the tories‘ plans are sick and sneaky, and claim many pensioners will end up choosing between heating and eating. this is a savage attack on vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who are just about managing. it is disgraceful, and we are calling upon the conservative party now to withdraw it today. well, i think taking the winter fuel payment away from pensioners who have worked hard and paid in all their life is just wrong. the winter fuel payment is not a king's ransom, it's about giving pensioners who've contributed all their lives a little bit of extra help during the cold winter months. are they warm enough, them radiators?

it's the most in need the conservatives say they are focusing on, with savings from the winter fuel payment going into social care. but without giving more detail of their plans, they face accusations 10 million would be hit. that's guesswork. we're going to consult on the exact level, exactly how we do the means testing. but let me be plain about this, the only people who will lose the winter fuel allowance are people who can afford it. there are well—off pensioners as well as poor pensioners. we're going to protect the poor pensioners. but without exact calculations, the conservatives' opponents have filled the gaps. and until they've got some answers, it's likely the questions will keep coming. well, the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has been campaigning in peterborough and bedford today, and has been speaking about the party's pledges for older people. we can talk now to our political correspondent leila nathoo, who has been following him

on the campaign trail. what is his key message in peterborough? well, jeremy corbyn has just finished giving peterborough? well, jeremy corbyn hasjust finished giving his peterborough? well, jeremy corbyn has just finished giving his speech to labour party members and activists in peterborough. you can see the battlebus is still behind me. jeremy corbyn came with a message about pensioners, clearly sensing that the conservative party is vulnerable on this issue. it is a huge political shift if you cast your mind back to david cameron's conservative party. back then, the conservatives were seen as the party of protecting older people. with these manifesto changes on pensions, on social care, on the issue of means testing winter fuel allowance, jeremy corbyn senses an opportunity. in his speech today in peterborough, he accused the conservatives of abandoning unthreatening pensioners.

we have a process in this country called winter fuel allowance is. they are there for a reason. because there is so much poverty amongst older people, some of whom die of hypothermia. so there is a winter fuel allowance. and it is paid to everybody, universally, as is so many other universal services in this country. they propose somewhere along the line to put a cap on it, somewhere along the line to remove it from an unknown number of people, causing great hardship and great consternation across all of the elderly population of this country. i willjust elderly population of this country. i will just make elderly population of this country. i willjust make it absolutely clear, a labour government will maintain the winter fuel allowance asa maintain the winter fuel allowance as a universal allowance for all older people. as you can imagine, that went down pretty well with

jeremy corbyn's supporters. he also talked about protecting the nhs, putting money into schools, ending tuition fees and other messages for young people which the labour party has traditionally been talking about. jeremy corbyn is asking millions of unregistered young people to make sure they can vote in the election. in a seat like peterborough, a key target seat for the labour party, the conservative majority of just the labour party, the conservative majority ofjust under 2000, the issue here is brexit. peterborough voted strongly to leave the eu. 7500 ukip voters at the last election. jeremy corbyn will be hoping that his message on domestic policies, like on pensioners, will resonate with voters and actually obstruct theissue with voters and actually obstruct the issue of brexit which has clearly dominated the political landscape here. thank you. a former youth team coach at newcastle united has been charged with 29 sexual offences alleged to have been committed between 1973 and 1998. george ormond, who's 61,

will appear before magistrates in newcastle next month. the tv entertainer rolf harris has this morning been released from stafford prison. mr harris — who's 87 — was convicted and sentenced in 2014. he is currently on trial facing four counts of indecent assault against three teenage girls that allegedly took place in the 70s and early 80s. he had been appearing by video link but will appear in court in person when the trial resumes on monday. he denies all the charges against him. an inquest into the death of a transgender inmates an inquest into the death of a tra nsgender inmates has an inquest into the death of a transgender inmates has found that the key thomson was let down by a range of services. she had been on the arm for a month before being found dead in a cell in 2015. the inquest found that it had been correct to place her in an all—male

gel —— jail, but there were failings by services. the headlines: julian assange has said he does not forgive orforget julian assange has said he does not forgive or forget after julian assange has said he does not forgive orforget after a julian assange has said he does not forgive or forget after a swedish prosecutor claimed she was dropping an investigation of rape against him. jeremy corbyn has criticised conservative plans to introduce a means conservative plans to introduce a m ea ns test conservative plans to introduce a means test for winter fuel allowa nce, means test for winter fuel allowance, saying it would cause hardship and anxiety for pensioners. us warplanes operating over syria have attacked a convoy carrying pro—government militia forces, in a mission to protect british and american forces. it comes as president trump embarks on a visit to saudi arabia for his first foreign trip since taking office. in sport, maria sharapova will take pa rt in sport, maria sharapova will take part in wimbledon qualifying. she says she is not going to request a wild card for the main draw but will ta ke wild card for the main draw but will take part in the roehampton event. she needs to win three matches to reach the first round proper at the all—england club.

arsene wenger‘s future arsenal could be decided at a board meeting following the fa cup final. arsenal are like —— likely to finish outside the top fourfor are like —— likely to finish outside the top four for the first time in 20 years. olympic silver medallist gemma gibbons has retired from judo. she missed out on last year's rio games, and she is going to become a pe teacher. i will be back with an update in 15 minutes. the new french president, emmanuel macron, has said that france will be uncompromising in the fight against islamist terrorists. he made the comments on his arrival in the west african country of mali, where he'll meet french troops and mali's president, ibrahim boubacar keita. like france, mali has suffered a number of attacks, including the radisson blu bamako hotel siege two years ago in which 20 people died. american warplanes operating in syria have attacked a convoy carrying militia fighters supporting president assad. the us—led coalition says the convoy was heading towards a base used by western

special forces, near the border with iraq. russia has condemned the attack as ‘unacceptable'. the incident comes as president trump prepares to visit saudi arabia, his first overseas trip since becoming president. james landale reports. us warplanes launching air strikes against so—called islamic state targets in syria. but now they are also attacking ground forces loyal to the syrian government. ostensibly the air strike was designed to protect british and american special forces like these. they are based in the south—east of syria, where they are training opposition groups fighting is. these pictures were taken last year. the pro—syrian convoy that included iranian backed militias was heading toward a military base near a strategically important border crossing with iraq and jordan. unlike many previous strikes such as this, us officials said the coalition warplanes warned the convoy to turn around before attacking.

there were reports that some tanks and trucks were destroyed and a number of troops killed. president assad's spokesman condemned what they call an act of government terrorism, which they said showed that america's claims it was fighting only is were false. russian ministers said the attack was a completely unacceptable breach of syrian sovereignty. the us claimed russia tried but failed to dissuade the convoy from heading south. the american defence secretary james mattis insisted that the air strike did not mark an escalation by the us. well, we're not increasing our role in the syrian civil war, but we will defend our troops, and that is a coalition element made up of more than just us troops, and so we'll defend ourselves from people who take aggressive steps against us. the diplomat said that as president trump prepared to head to saudi arabia the us was sending a strong signal that last month's attack on the syrian air allegedly used for chemical warfare was not a one—off and that the us was now prepared to use force to stop

iranian backed militias taking territory in syria. that is a message that will go down well in riyadh this weekend, where they are laying out the red carpet for the us president. both sides are hoping the visit will improve relations between both countries that have been strained in recent years. james landale, bbc news. the people of iran are voting in presidential elections, with the incumbent, hassan rouhani seeking a second term. the 68—year—old, who negotiated a landmark deal with the us and several world powers two years ago, to halt iran's nuclear programme, is standing against three other candidates. his main rival is thought to be the hardline cleric ebrahim raisi, who's opposed to closer relations with the west. here's paul adams. the start of a decisive day. a chance for millions of iranians to have their say on this country's future direction — the economy, human rights and iran's international reputation all stake.

the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei was the first to vote. iranians can choose their president from an approved list. but it's this man who wields ultimate authority. he urged people to vote. the destiny of the country was in their hands, people should pay attention. and voters seem to be responding. long lines at polling stations, some people frustrated by what they see as the dead hand of an ageing revolutionary elite. others fearful that old values are under threat, that the west is still the enemy. and all impatient for jobs and a better life. "we've come here today in order not to go backwards," says this man. "we are the generation of war, and we don't have good memories of war."

and she says she expects the president to carry out more economic development. "i want socialjustice," she says, and good relations with all the countries of the world." the two main candidates both hail from the same revolutionary establishment that represent very different visions of the future. hassan rouhani is the older of the two, he's 68, he's been president since 2013, his main achievement so far, the nuclear deal with world powers that led to the lifting of sanctions. ebrahim raisi is less well known. he's 12 years younger, he heads one of the wealthiest charities in the muslim world and is widely seen as the possible successor to the supreme leader. it all looks peaceful so far but there is apprehension. eight years ago, the suspicion that hardliners rigged the results triggered months of protests. it was a national trauma which rocked the establishment to the core.

no—one wants to see that again. paul adams, bbc news. we understand the release of figures for the nhs budget deficit may be delayed until after the election. throughout the election campaign, we are looking at some of the issues that are most important to voters and hearing from our specialists. today, hugh pym has been assessing the state of the national health service. the big challenge for the nhs is coping with rising demand for care, partly because of a growing and ageing population. last year in england there were more

than 23.6 million visits to a&e units, an increase of 3200 competitive the previous year. funding has not kept up. traditionally, demand for health ca re traditionally, demand for health care rises at around 4% per year, but annual funding increases care rises at around 4% per year, but annualfunding increases in england have been around 1%. many health leaders now say the nhs has to have more money. some point out that the health service could be more efficient, and more ways could be worked out to make resources go further. one way of ensuring the nhs can make its money go further is treating more patients away from hospitals. that's where gps have a really important role to play. in many areas, local doctors are working with social care staff to ensure that people can be treated in their communities, or if possible at home. that's the theory, but it may ta ke home. that's the theory, but it may take a while to get any savings from this process. the nhs is under serious financial pressure right

now. in some parts of the country, health commissioners are restricting the care they are prepared to fund. that is england, where the focus of the health debate has been during this general election campaign. scotland, wales and northern ireland run their own nhs services and there are no elections for the devolved administrations this year. london city airport, is set to become the first in the uk, to replace its on—site air traffic controllers with a digital system, operated from more than 100 miles away. instead of sitting in a tower overlooking the runway, controllers will watch live footage from high—definition cameras in hampshire. the new system will be operationalfrom 2019. richard westcott reports now on this brave new world. modern airports are dynamic, fast flowing, hundreds of pieces being moved around every minute and all of those movements must be tightly choreographed to keep it safe. this is london city airport and that is just one of the 300 or so take—offs and landings that

happen here every day. until now, all of those flights have been coordinated by a group of controllers who look out of these windows here. but in the future, those windows are going to be replaced by these high—definition tv screens. controllers won't just see the airport, they will be able to hear it as well. the thing is, this digital control tower is 120 miles away from the airport. we've been shown this simulation, but by 2019, controllers will be sitting here directing traffic for real, using pictures fed from a new camera tower next to the runway. unlike the old tower, they can zoom in for a better view, put radar data onto the screen to track aircraft. critically, for safety, the cameras can pick out rogue drones near the airport and light the runway at night. my initial reaction was sceptical because i'm used

to being at an airport. they give the controller more information in terms of what they can see, what they can hear, how they can identify targets, how they can track targets. the awareness that the controller gets, it's all about being heads up, they're no longer looking down. a tower controller's job is we get paid to look out of the window, so it makes thatjob much easier. now, i know exactly what you're thinking. the number one question i've been asked by everybody i've told about this is, what if the tv screens go down, what if the system is hacked? how secure is it? so, highly secure. the system has been independently stress—tested by security specialists. we have three cables that are in place between the airport and swanwick, in the control centre. if one of those was to fail, there's a back—up. and in the event that that fails, there's another cable. and they're all routed, taking different routes between the airport and swanwick. london city is convinced the new system will make their operation more efficient

and more safe. the idea of the control tower miles from the airport may seem odd, but it isn't far away. richard westcott, bbc news. let's check out the latest weather. in some places, shower clouds, not great for flying through. turbulent beasts, and thunderstorms which will continue through the rest of today with thunderstorms in between. that is the story for most of us as we head through the rush hour, but it is different in north—east england and eastern scotland, where there is cloud and more persistent rain. through this evening and to mike, rain in the north—east will move north across scotland. some of it will turn heavy by the end of the night in northern scotland.

elsewhere, showers should fade. largely dry by the end of the night with maybe some frost in sheltered spots and a few fog patches. tomorrow, sunshine and showers across england and wales and northern ireland. scotland, especially the northern half, seeing cloudy and wet weather. it could get up cloudy and wet weather. it could get up to 20 degrees on sunday, particularly if we see some sunshine. fewer showers and more dry weather. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. the lawyer of julian assange says "he's won" after swedish prosecutors dropped the rape investigation into the wikileaks founder. mr assange has always denied the allegations against him. police say they are still obliged to arrest him if he leaves the ecuadorian embassy in london where he has lived since 2012. labour have condemned the conservatives over their plans to means test the winter fuel allowance. the shadow chancellorjohn mcdonnell accused the tories of

being "sick and sneaky". us president trump is on his way the middle east where he will meet gulf arab leaders over the weekend. his visit follows the us—led coalition strike on a a convoy carrying pro—government militia forces. after serving three years in prison, rolf harris has been released. the 87—year—old is currently on trial at southwark crown court, facing four charges of indecently assaulting three teenage girls in the 1970s and 1980s. he denies all the charges. all the latest sport now. maria sharapova is not going to request a wildcard into the main wimbledon draw but will enter qualifying the week before. the former champion has relied on wildcards to play on tour since retuning to compettion last month following a 15—month doping ban. the 30—year—old was denied a wild card by the french open this week.

but she has risen high enough in the world rankings to earn a place in wimbledon qualifying on merit. she received a wild card to the birmingham grass court tournament next month. arsene wenge is still keeping his cards very close to his chest when it comes to his arsenal future. he's had a difficult season and the gunners are likely to miss out on a top—four finish for the first time in his 20 years at the club and his contract runs out after the fa cup final, that's when a board meeting is likely to discuss the manager's position. theirfinal league match is at home against everton on sunday so could that be his last match at the emirates? of the season, yes. ever? i cannot tell you. i think what is most important for us is to win the football game on sunday. after that, what happens to me is less important. i am here to serve

the club and the best way to do it is to win the next game. lots of managers have been giving their final pre—match news conferences of the season. jurgen klopp's liverpool need to beat middlesbrough on sunday to be sure of a top—four finish. regardless of the result, klopp says they'll be strengthening the squad during the summer. we were working not only on the pitch, because my day is 24 hours. we have a lot of good people around so we were working hard and having a good position for different players but it is not the day to talk about this. we want to make this team better, it should be the aim every year, probably. it is not easy because we have already a good side. if the first 11, 12, 13, 14 players are fit, ok, maybe there are a few

out there and you can be sure we spoke to them. saracens captain brad barritt is out of the premiership semifinal against exeter with a calf injury. his absence is the only change to the 15 that won the european champions cup last weekend. barrit actually picked up the injury in the final. duncan taylor comes in at inside centre as his replacement. good news for ospreys with skipper alun wyn jones good news for ospreys with skipper alun wynjones back good news for ospreys with skipper alun wyn jones back for the good news for ospreys with skipper alun wynjones back for the pro 12 semifinal at monster. he has not played since picking up an injury in the six nations. the first of the semifinals in the pro 12 is between lei nster semifinals in the pro 12 is between leinster and scarlet ‘s tonight in dublin. the world anti—doping agency could lift its suspension of russia's drug—testing authority which would be another step towards being reinstated

in international competition. wada also say that yelena isinbayeva will be removed from a key anti—doping position in russia. she has been strong critic of the sanctions imposed on russia following the revelations of systematic state sponsored doping. she was one of the athletes barred from taking part in last year's rio olympics. london 2012 olympic silver medallist gemma gibbons has retired from professionaljudo. she missed out on a place at the rio olympics last year and turned down an offer of funding in december. she took time away from the sport to decide herfuture. she's decided to become a pe teacher. that is all the sport. lizzie will be with you the next hour. let's go back tojulian assange. the wikileaks founder has had a seven—year—long investigation into rape allegations against him dropped this morning. that decision made by

prosecutors in sweden. in the last hours, mr assange has been tweeting about the move — he said... earlier, i spoke to the journalist and friend ofjulian assange, john pilger, and i asked him for his reaction. he has been subjected to a relentless smear campaign. now the whole thing has been dropped there area whole thing has been dropped there are a few things, a preamble, that are a few things, a preamble, that are not quite correct. the prosecutor and in fact in obstructed this from the beginning. the chief prosecutor of stockholm said there

was absolutely no crime committed here, there was nothing to answer. julian could go home. she stepped in because she was an associate with somebody then running for parliament. there is a deep and murky political situation in sweden. attached to her obsession with this. for seven years, six years last year, she sent someone finally. she has refused to interviewjulian assange. she played a game with the swedish press, leading it, but most of all she suppressed sms messages that are absolutely critical to the investigation, to the women. i have seen investigation, to the women. i have seen them. their lawyers have been allowed to see them, but they have not been allowed to present them as evidence. one of the women said julian assange and she have been railroaded into this and she was shocked by what happened. that there

was no reason for him to have been arrested. interestingly, about this woman, on the day she actually took over from the prosecutor, woman, on the day she actually took overfrom the prosecutor, who had dismissed the case, the head of sweden's intelligence and security organisation denounced wikilea ks sweden's intelligence and security organisation denounced wikileaks for its revelations about iraq and afghanistan and so on. the independent i think in 2010 revealed there had been discussions between sweden, the united states, about extraditing julian assange to the us and this is what it is all about. you said he has been detained in the embassy but people watching will say hang on, he could have gone to stand trial in sweden and cleared his name and proved his innocence, if he is

that confident of proving his innocence. i am not saying it. the highest international agency is saying it. the united nations working committee on unlawful detention. the people who pronounced on the detention of aung san suu kyi, for example. britain goes along with what this high legal un body says. it has said julian assange has been illegally detained. if he walked out of the embassy, almost certainly he would be on the way to the kind of hellhole that chelsea manning hasjust the kind of hellhole that chelsea manning has just been freed from. again, that is what it is about. john pilger, the veteranjournalist and close friend ofjulian assange. social media may be fuelling a mental health crisis in young people, according to a new study. the report from the royal society for public health found photo—sharing app instagram had the most negative effect on factors

including body image, fear of missing out and impact on sleep. instagram say the app is a safe and supportive place, where people feel comfortable expressing themselves. with me is nick harrop, media manager at young minds, an independent charity who work to improve the mental health of children and young people. what do you think is the impact of not only instagram, but other sites and apps? young people say social media can have a positive and negative impact and it can be great for expressing yourself, great if you are isolated to find a community of like—minded people and if you struggle with mental health it can be useful for reaching out to support and getting advice. on the other hand cyber bullying is common and it is easy to compare your life

to other people'son social media and see edited highlights and think your life is not as good. everybody else seems to live the perfect life and you are not. exactly, and that can fuel though self—esteem and add to depression and anxiety and the key is education so that at a young age children learn about the effects of social media and how to use it in a way that is good for their mental health. you cannot turn back the clock, you cannot abolish it. social media is not going away and it is about helping young people to manage it and to be resilient if they come across things that are concerning. is there any difference between boys and girls, different ages that are more vulnerable? people using social media at a younger age, boys and girls are affected. it can have an impact on body image. people appearing to have wonderful bodies,

living a perfect life, it can affect your own self—esteem and so it is important that schools helped children to deal with this and learn it is not necessarily a reality you are seeing but filtered version will stop and to manage that. in terms of body image that could lead to problems like anorexia? yes, it can. social media is not going away. we know it can cause a negative impact but it can be positive. it can be a good way to reach out for help. with eating disorders, there are positive communities out there, negative ones as well, but it is helping people to find the positive out of social media. we mentioned the impact on sleep. looking at your phone last thing at night is not ideal. no, it can have an effect on sleep. having notifications going through the night. something children could learn about at school and learn to

deal with and use social media in a way that is good for their mental health. lots of good advice. thank you. a bbc investigation has found flaws in the voice recognition system used by hsbc. the bank says everyone's voice is unique, but making the system secure, bbc click has found actually, it is possible for strangers to access bank details. passwords, key fobs and apps have all been used to protect us but over the past year a new gold standard in security has emerged, biometrics. like fingerprints, the human voice is unique to each of us, and hsbc, along with other banks has started using the voice of its customers as their password. they say it is secure... my voice is my password. but a simple experiment

with my nonidentical twin brother... welcome to hsbc advance... ..proves otherwise. my financial details and the ability to transfer money, wide open. i am shocked — under no circumstances should two different people be able to get into the same bank account with voice biometric authentication. yes, every voice is unique. however, it is up to the system to differentiate between voices, and it hasn't done it in this case, and granted access. unlike a password, a voice is public and experts worry artificial intelligence software can synthesise voices so well that it would soon be able to clone a voice from a sample of 30 seconds or less, a tool which could make the hacker‘sjob much easier. it is a scary application, but we are working with security researchers to figure out what is the best way to proceed with this. this is one of the reasons why

we have not published this to the public yet. in response to our attempt to break in, the bank said this. most experts agree that by making security more personal, you make it more secure. but if your voice can be copied, then, unlike passwords it may be difficult to get a new one. dan simmons, bbc news. ina in a moment, the business news and before that the headlines. julian assange has said on twitter he "does not forgive or forget", after the swedish director of public prosecutions announced she was dropping an investigation into a claim of rape against him. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has criticised conservative plans to introduce a means test for the winter fuel allowance. he said they would cause "great

hardship" and anxiety for millions of pensioners us warplanes operating over syria have attacked a convoy carrying pro—government militia forces in a mission to protect british and american forces. it comes as president trump embarks ona it comes as president trump embarks on a visit to saudi arabia, his first foreign trip since taking office. hello. the business news. online food ordering firm just eat is facing an investigation into its takeover of its great rival hungry house. regulators are worried the deal could harm competition — and lead to worse terms for restaurants using the service. london city airport is going to be first in britain to scrap its control tower in favour of a high—tech remote monitoring system. planes will be directed from a centre 100 miles away in hampshire — by controllers using high definition cameras.

they will be able to zoom in for detail, light up the runway at night and even follow rogue drones straying into dangerous areas. what a nice day for doing nothing. the mighty peppa pig. last year, peppa's exploits earned the company behind the series £161 million in product sales alone. the canadian firm, entertainment one, has promised another 177 episodes. it's always been a bit pricey to take the kids away on holiday during half—term. but the cost to take them away this month has risen by almost 8% from this time last year. according to figures out today. now you can always save money by taking them to lesser—known destinations, but, realistically, are people actually brave enough to do that? alison rice is a travel writer. our people going further afield in

an attempt to get cheaper flights in half term? a canny ones who booked some time ago possibly are, but with family holidays, which is what half term holidays are about, it is about convenience, going from your regional airports rather than one of the big ones in the south, if you live in the north. it is about tra nsfer live in the north. it is about transfer time is between getting to the airport at both ends. if you travel with children, that is not a goodidea travel with children, that is not a good idea necessarily, to go to lesser—known resorts. this survey quoted that a holiday in seville is more expensive than a holiday in fuengirola, which is more suitable because it's on the beach, so of course it is cheaper than a city holiday and so people have to use their common sense. people going to their common sense. people going to the eurozone this half term, the

problem will be the weak pound. money will not go as far as last year. that is a real problem. the flip side of that, a cheaper pound means more people coming from overseas to overhear. exactly. last year, figures for 2016 have been announced and it was a record year forforeign visitors announced and it was a record year for foreign visitors coming to the uk, as indeed it was a record year for us going abroad on holiday and to visit friends and relatives. when you look at the record figures of foreigners coming to the uk, it is just over half the amount of money, they spend half the amount of figures of the uk residents going abroad. this is a phrase i cannot stand, but they staycation, will we see more of that? possibly, yes. more people will have less money to

go abroad. there are other factors, especially for families. terrorism has knocked figures back a bit. the hassle of going abroad for a lot of families. record numbers of us went abroad in 2016, when the prices of package holidays were fixed when the pound was strong. i think the figures, if i talk to you next year, will be different. more will stay at home and more will rely on what was the original meaning of the word staycation, which is sleeping at home and going out for day trips. hopefully the weather will be a more co nsta nt hopefully the weather will be a more constant pleasure. you just need good clothing. someone said what changed tourism in the country was an invention in the 70s and that was the invention of a gortex.

britain's factories seem to be powering up. orders are growing at their fastest rate since early 2015. and output in the past three months has risen at its fastest rate for four years. that's according to the cbi. but on the downside the cost of manufacturing is also rising. sobering news from the cocktail—bar chain revolution. it says profits won't rise this year. it's blaming things like the living wage and the increase in business rates. the food chain leon is heading to america. the private equity firm which owns most of the firm is helping out with a cash injection of £25 million. the first american branches will open in the second half of the year. we could update you on the markets. all very positive. the markets seem to be getting over the jitters of yesterday with investors worried that donald trump's plans to stimulate the economy in america could be derailed by political

scandal. good company news have helped to boost the ftse in london with house—builders benefiting from the left by theresa may's promise of 1.5 million new homes, if she wins the election. sterling making progress against the dollar but some say the games could be limited because of uncertainty over brexit. thanks very much. back to the election campaign now. the south of england is seen largely as a conservative stronghold. but voters have raised fears about cuts in local services in some areas. peter henley, bbc south's political editor in the south, reports from the isle of wight. for a small place, there are some big contrasts on the isle of wight. expensive yachts in cowes harbour, picture—postcard villages, and a laid—back lifestyle. but on an island, local issues, even the state of the roads, are what gets people talking. a lot of it is down to local situations and issues. you'll find you get a lot of people

voting for local causes — schools, education, things that matter to them. some of the problems are hidden. the citizens advice centre has seen a record number of people getting into debt and using food banks. job security isn't that good, and a lot of work is seasonal. we are making sure people get their rights, so people aren't getting holiday pay, not getting sick pay when they are entitled to it. cutbacks to the local council budget means they are less able to support an ageing population. they are increasingly seeing greater numbers of people who are struggling, really struggling, to either access services or to have enough money to live. that little strip of water separating the island from the mainland also brings a streak of defiance. 62% voted to leave in the referendum. fisherman pete williams says he is being hammered by eu quotas. we didn't have a lot

of option, really. brexit was the only way we would get something better, it couldn't be any worse. will you get something better from theresa may? she has a difficultjob ahead. but i think she seems to be the right person. she seems to have taken hold of a difficultjob and she is getting on with it. the island is a microcosm of a divided country. and at the model village, there are people yearning for some old—fashioned certainty in turbulent political times. you have to feel confident about your leader. if you don't, it doesn't matter how much they say or what they offer in the manifesto, if you don't believe in them you won't vote for them. the younger ones didn't bother to vote. and then come the result, it didn't go the way they wanted, then, "come on, have anothervote." is that their lookout? it's their tough luck. people say you step back in time when you visit the isle of wight. with grammar schools now on the political agenda and rail nationalisation, perhaps the political parties

are just catching up on what the public wants. combine that feeling of disconnection with real economic pressures and, at this political crossroads, you can't completely count on anywhere. there is a list of the candidates in the isle of wight for this general election. some breaking news coming in from liverpool crown court. we hear that aidan mcateer has been jailed for nine years for causing death by dangerous driving of a four—year—old and causing serious injury by dangerous driver to her grandmother after a hit crash in st helens on merseyside. now we can ta ke helens on merseyside. now we can take a look at the weather prospects. the weather is looking mixed through

the weekend. unsettled today and tomorrow with showers. things slowly improving by sunday. this is north somerset earlier in the day. some sunshine. further to the north—east, we have more cloud, outbreaks of rain. the second picture from nottinghamshire, where we have had cloud at apache rain, pushing to the north now and a slowly improving picture here. —— patchy rain. the showers in the north and west should ease away this evening and overnight. further east, rain pushing in across much of central and eastern scotland overnight tonight. saturday morning, if you have plans, 9am, some showers lingering in parts of northern ireland and for scotland, rain, persistent towards the north—east,

brighter skies to the southern and south—western parts. heading south across england and wales, a mix of sunshine and showers. most of the showers across wales and the south of england in the morning. central and eastern parts largely dry to start the day but we will start to see showers bubbling up. there will be sunshine between any showers but like today, some could be heavy across england, wales, northern ireland. some thunder, flashes of lightning. we could see 18 in the south—east. by sunday, rain in scotla nd south—east. by sunday, rain in scotland gradually clearing. still some showers likely in the north—west, but for most of the country, a drier picture and temperatures up to 20. this is the weekend summary. saturday, heavy showers, thunderstorms likely and equally some sunshine. on sunday, the showers start to fade away and for many, it will feel warmer.

heading through to the start of the new working week, low pressure close to western and north—western parts. high pressure towards the east. on monday, a lot of dry weather in southern and eastern parts. scattered showers in the north and west. temperatures creeping up to 22 degrees by monday and then high pressure building to the middle of the week, so plenty of dry weather in the week ahead. this is bbc news. wikileaks founder, julian assange, says he will not "forgive or forget", after swedish prosecutors drop their investigation into a rape allegation against him. he's been a fugitive, holed up in the ecuadorian embassy in london since 2012, but scotland yard says he'll be arrested for a separate offence if he tries to leave. labour is accusing the conservatives of a savage attack on vulnerable pensioners over their manifesto plans to means test winter fuel payments.

we are going to make changes for the payments winter fuel payments but we will continue to ensure that the least well off pensioners are protected. russia condemns an american air strike, on a pro—government convoy, in syria.