this is bbc news. the headlines. major travel disruption expected over the weekend as millions prepare for the bank holiday getaway amid engineering works on some of the country's busiest routes. police in northern india say at least 28 people have been killed in violent clashes after a self—styled controversial religious leader is convicted of rape. a rock starjailed for depraved child abuse could have been caught years earlier if a key witness had been believed. also in the next hour, texas braces itself for hurricane harvey. it's due to hit the southern u states tonight and is set to be the worst hurricane since katrina. here is the scene live on the texas coast. a south korean scandal as the heir to the samsung empire is sentenced to five years in prison for bribery and embezzlement.

wifi controlled convoys of lorries could be on major british roads by the end of next year as part of a plan to cut emissions and reduce congestion. and in cricket, england lose three quick wickets in the afternoon session of the second test match against the west indies. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. major disruption on the railways will peak this weekend as millions prepare for the bank holiday getaway amid engineering works on some of the country's busiest rail routes. key stations in london, and services to and from wales and the north of england and scotland will be heavily affected. road users have also been advised to expect longerjourneys as people take to the roads instead.

adina campbell reports. with the queues building here at euston station, it is set to get even busier as millions of us prepare to travel over the bank holiday weekend. this station will completely close from tomorrow, affecting passengers up and down the uk, with no trains to london from the west coast mainline. there's never an ideal time to carry out these railway improvement works, but we carry out 15,000 projects every year, and most of those happen overnight. during bank holidays, fewer people are travelling and we can deliver much bigger projects for passengers. this will be the biggest ever august bank holiday engineering project by network rail, costing more than £130 million, involving 17,000 engineers. the work's expected to benefit millions of passengers. the work will see platforms extended to make way for longer trains as well as improvements to platforms

and preparation work for hsz. i think it is absolute madness because people will struggle. it is going to cause some disruption, but they have planned for it. people know. obviously, they will take alternative routes. ijust think it is a failure of important public service for londoners and for people around the country. rail services in the midlands, wales, and across the north will also be disrupted. transport campaigners say it is well overdue. there has been historic underinvestment in the railway going back decades, and some of what is going on this weekend, not just at euston, but at waterloo, london bridge, and elsewhere on the rail network, is about putting that right and actually providing better and more reliable services. euston isn't the only station affected in london. work will also be happening at waterloo, london bridge, liverpool street, and paddington.

roads are also expected to be busier than normal, especially on monday. traffic is going to build through the course of the weekend. it is actually going to peak on monday with around 5 million leisure journeys on our roads. that is people headed back after the school holidays ahead of the new school term starting, but also people looking to enjoy day trips. passengers on roads, railways or in airports are being advised to give themselves plenty of time to travel to avoid disruption. and we're going to talk to adina campbell at euston station and dan whitworth who's on the m6 near knutsford in cheshire now. we heard in your report how things we re we heard in your report how things were looking a while ago, how are things as the afternoon has gone on? well, this is what friday afternoon getaway looks like. the queues of people are building behind me. you may be able to see them looking at

information boards. of course it's set to get even busier as commuters make their way home and those hoping to get to where they need to be for the bank holiday make their way home, as well. the advice of course, asi home, as well. the advice of course, as i mentioned many times before, check before you travel. back to you. our correspondent is on the m6 near knutsford. with the railways under strain, people will take to the roads putting pressure under there? pressure is a word the rac would describe the situation. we are here in cheshire, looking behind me, obviously, quite a heavy volume of traffic at the moment. to be fair, it's moving pretty freely. we have been here all afternoon and there have been points where both north and southbound carriageways have come to a stop. people who use the m6 will know it's a busy road but obviously as well as the usual commuter traffic today, we will have that bank holiday getaway traffic too. in terms of the wider road

network the rac is forecasting between three and seven this afternoon will be one of the busiest periods on the road. monday will be individually the most busy day, around five million cars thought to be taking to the road on monday. of course the highways agency has known about this far in advance, it's been planning for weeks, indeed months to try to help ease the road network. as such, it's removed around about 450 as such, it's removed around about a50 miles worth of roadworks, some stretches are still in place for safety reasons. there is a 20—mile stretch in place behind me on the m6 atjunction16—19. that's stretch in place behind me on the m6 at junction 16—19. that's through stretch in place behind me on the m6 atjunction16—19. that's through to manchester,. some atjunction16—19. that's through to manchester, . some other atjunction16—19. that's through to manchester,. some other pinch points motorists should be aware of, the m5 and traffic heading towards the south—west of england in the direction of exeter. all routes in

and out of the lake district and the motorways, the m1 and m3 heading out of london. don't worry, if you missed any of that, check your journey, plan your route before you travel and, if you have one of these, search online bbc august bank holiday travel and you will have all the information you need at your fingertips. brilliant! thank you very much. there are reports that at least 28 people are dead and scores injured in north india in riots after a controversial religious leader was found guilty of raping two female followers. more than 200,000 of gurmeet ram rahim singh‘s supporters flocked to the city where he was convicted. our correspondent sanjoy majumder is in delhi with the latest. the violence began hours ago when

the verdict was pronounced where the hearing was taking place. soon after that his supporters took to the streets in anger, they clashed with police, who already deployed in large numbers. they started by trying to use tear gas shells and water cannons to break up the protests. but when they were unable to do so they began opening live ammunition rounds. that's when a lot of the deaths occurred. since then, the army's been called in, in that town, and we understand asemblance of order has regained in that area but what's happened since is that the violence has spread to new areas and a number of towns in the states north of where i am, and also a couple of violent incidents taking place in the capital itself a couple of buses torched and we understand a couple of empty rail carriages also being attacked. thank you for now. a rock starjailed for child abuse could have been stopped nearly four years earlier if numerous allegations against him had been

investigated properly and if a witness had been believed. the independent police complaints commission says south wales police missed a series of chances to stop the lost prophets singer ian watkins' abuse of children. watkins was jailed for 29 years in 2013 after admitting sexual offences, including the attempted rape of a baby. 0ur wales correspondent, sian lloyd reports. a rock star, whose music earned him fans around the world, but in private, ian watkins was a paedophile. his behaviour was described as having plumbed the depths of depravity. he was convicted in 2013, but according to the police watchdog, the independent police complaints commission, he could have been stopped sooner if reports about his sexual interest in children had been followed up. bias, whether unconscious or conscious has no place in 21st—century policing.

it doesn't matter who someone is, what someone is. what is really important is what that person is saying. that's what was missing in this case. that is what meant that ian watkins was free to offend for years longer than he need have been, and that is what so important to put right. joanne mjadzelics had first reported ian watkins to the authorities. she had worked as an escort and had been in a relationship with the singer. she had messages on her phone in which he spoke of wanting to abuse children, but officers didn't think she was the right sort of complainant and she wasn't taken seriously. but she wasn't a lone voice. between december 2008 and june 20 12, six people raised concerns. it led to eight reports, and three intelligence logs. but during that time, ian watkins wasn't arrested, questioned or even required to respond to the allegations. today, joanne mjadzelics's barrister said she hoped lessons have been learned. she'd time after time went to her local police station, offering them the chance to look

at her laptop where she had any know from him attaching photographs of underage children and they didn't want to look at it. south wales police didn't begin investigating ian watkins until four years after they were tipped off that he was a danger to children. he was arrested during a drugs raid at his home here in pontypridd. what they then found on his mobile phones and computers showed that those earlier warnings should have been acted on. south wales police accept the report's findings, and admit they failed to listen or investigate properly. they say they are truly sorry. last week, the ipcc also accused the south yorkshire force of inaction in investigating watkins. he manipulated fans to get access to his victims. the extent of his abuse may never be known. at least 20 people have been killed

and dozen injured in an attack on a shia mosque in the afghan capital, kabul. an attacker detonated explosives at the gate before two gunmen entered as worshippers gathered for friday prayers. special forces say the gunmen are now dead. a man who murdered his brother by setting fire to him as he slept is to appeal against the length of his sentence. blair logan was given a life sentence after admitting to the murder of his brother cameron, who was 23, and attempting to murder cameron's 25—year—old girlfriend rebecca williams.

the incident took place on new year's day at the family home in east dunbartonshire. the government has announced that convoys of partially driverless lorries will be tried out on major british roads by the end of next year. the lead lorry would have a driver at the wheel and those behind would be connected by wireless technology. the aa says it is concerned the trials present a risk to other motorists, as our correspondent andy gill reports. they call it platooning, trucks travelling in wi—fi connected convoy, with much less space between them than normal. this dutch project is with two vehicles. the trial just announced here will be with three. they'll be more efficient, take up less space on the network, improve fuel efficiency and hopefully pass on those cost savings to the consumer. each lorry has a driver, but the lead cab has control. to think about how three trucks can travel down the road in a platoon, imagine that the lead truck is a giant wi—fi hub, sending out signals on the precise distances and speed the other two need to travel at. and the wi—fi on the trailing two trucks can react much more quickly to signals than a human being can.

the funding announcement was made at a lancashire truck factory. researchers say because vehicles in platoon are in each other‘s slipstream, fuel consumption and pollution fall. we predict through trials and demonstrations, we will see perhaps up to 10% efficiencies. that's10% savings in fuel and that's going to translate directly to 10% reduction in co2, for example. so some real benefits to operators and society. but one road user's body is sceptical. the uk motorways are the most congested in europe, we have more entrances and exits. and if you have a platoon of driverless lorries, it's difficult to see road signs, it will be difficult to exit the motorway. but highways england, which is also funding the project, says it will examine how other drivers interact with the convoys. we will not ask anybody to be particularly changing their behaviour. the normal rules, the laws

that apply today will apply in the future. this is looking at how people will behave when confronted by the situation so we can help to either eliminate the problem or manage the situation effectively. there'll be rigorous safety checks before any platoons are allowed on the road. then they'll compare real delivery journeys made by platoon trucks with one made in the traditional way. andy gill, bbc news, lancashire. the headlines. passengers have been warned by rail operators to expect delays over the bank holiday weekend due to engineering works with roadworks also affecting some journeys. police in india say at least 28 people have been killed in violent protests over the rape conviction of a controversial religious leader in the north of the country. here the

police watchdog has said that the paedophile ian watkins could have been arrested nearly four years earlier if south wales police had investigated numerous tip—offs. in sport, england's cricketers steady the ship at headingley. ben stokes has passed his 50. england's captain joe root was out for 59 earlier. england lead that series 1—0. the hosts are currently 178—6. lewis hamilton set the pace ahead of this weekend's belgian grand prix. he was comfortably quickest in the afternoon session. and nearly half a second ahead of the championship leader sebastian vettel. real madrid's gareth bale is back in the wales squad for the world cup qualifiers after serving a one—match ban. chelsea's ethan ampadu has also made the team for the first time. more at a. 30pm. see you then. texas is preparing itself

for hurricane harvey — which could be the worst storm to hit the us mainland in 12 years. the category—two storm is expected to make landfall along the state's central coast tonight. there are concerns that torrential rain could bring life—threatening flooding to some parts. nick mill certificate here from bbc weather. i want to show people at home some live pictures you will have been seeing as well. we can see corpus cryst yes here on the coast in texas. —— christie. we heard from a reporter standing right there a short while ago and he was saying the sea is starting to whip up a little bit. if we cross to other pictures we have, houston in texas there, clearly it's raining, it's misty. that sort of murky shade to the sky. it's harder to see some of the sky. it's harder to see some of the sky. it's harder to see some of the sky scapers in the background. how are things looking, we are still hours off the main event perhaps one

could say? the outer rain bands of this hurricane are starting to make their presence felt on that coastline so the rain's going to begin to intensify over the next few hours. the wind speeds are picking up hours. the wind speeds are picking up as well, we were getting gusts at 30mph, it's up to between a0—50mph. it's still a category two storm, winds of 110mph, right at the centre of this hurricane. the guidance is for it to strengthen more into a major hurricane category three, it just needs one mile an hour more to get there. we will monitor that. it's not the wind which is the main feature, it's going to be the storm surge and that's the amount of water above normal tide level which comes in around this hurricane, brought in by the winds and lower pressure at the centre of this hurricane, it pushes that on to the coastline so flooding sarment of that. it's the rainfall, as well. astonishing numbers in the forecast rainfall here, we are expecting up to 35

inches of rain, not everybody will get that, but up to in the worst affected parts, about nearly 900 millimetres of rain. that's between 110w millimetres of rain. that's between now and next wednesday. if you put that in context, that is more than belfast, manchester would get in an entire year in this country, that's how much is expected in parts of texas between now and wednesday. it's worth bringing back that live picture on the coast. we were talking to a reporter there a while ago. he was standing there making the point that he was advised that later that will very much be under water. there was no doubt of that. clearly, flooding is always an issue but here the thought is that the flooding could be prolonged because the hurricane won't move on as quickly as some do. absolutely. sometimes hurricanes will be steered through by the atmospheric flow and they'll come in a few hours sometimes and will move through rapidly weaken. this one is forecast to meander near 01’ rapidly weaken. this one is forecast to meander near or just rapidly weaken. this one is forecast to meander near orjust inland of

middle texas skoes coastline and that's the worst possible scenario, because this rain will continue to fall, not just hour after because this rain will continue to fall, notjust hour after hour but day after day. you get the flooding from the sea, but then the flooding caused by this rain, which i think will continue into next week. we are talking amounts between now and wednesday, the flooding continues after even the rain has stopped. that's why the national hurricane centre upped the language now on this latest advisory, saying rainfall of this magnitude will cause catastrophic and life—threatening flooding, that's the main headline on the guidance, catastrophic flooding expected across portions of southern and south eastern texas because this is just going to grind to a halt along this part of the coastline, spin around this area of low pressure and whilst it will weaken, it will still produce this huge amount of rainfall. nick, thank you very much. no surprise that various evacuation orders are in place along the coast there. we will continue to monitor

that here on bbc news. the billionaire boss of the samsung empire, and south korea's third richest man, has been jailed for five years after being found guilty of bribery, embezzlement and perjury. korean president, jae y. lee was found guilty of making inappropriate donations worth around $6 million — in exchange for government favours. there is flash photography in our report from yogita limaye. jae—yong lee is one of the most powerful businessmen in the world. now he's facing a jail sentence that is among the longest ever given to a top executive in south korea. mr lee, has been found guilty of paying bribes his lawyers say they will go to a higher court. translation: as a lawyer, i cannot accept any of the legaljudgment, or the fact—finding in the ruling. we will make an appeal immediately and we are confident the ruling will be overturned. the case is part of a major

corruption scandal which erupted in south korea late last year and evoked public anger. tens of thousands came out on the streets. and that triggered the removal of the country's president park geun—hye. she was accused of allowing her close friend to accept donations from south korea's large conglomerates in return for government favours. 0utside court on friday, anti—corru ption protesters gathered once again as the verdict was being delivered. "samsung is evil", one woman shouted. but there were others who were unhappy with the court's decision. she, and a group of park geun—hye supporters, think the whole verdict is part of a government plan to eventually prove that the former president is guilty too. the verdict that's come from this

court room is about so much more than just one company. if mr lee's sentence is upheld, and one of the most powerful businessmen of this country actually has to spend a significant amount of time injail, it could be a turning point for the relationship between south korea's big firms and the government here. large conglomerates like samsung dominate south korea's economy and so, even when they've been found guilty of corruption in the past, they've been let off easily. the country's new government, though, has promised to take on unethical businesses. and jae—yong lee's trial could be just the start. yogita limaye, bbc news, seoul. it's a week since the terror attacks in barcelona and on the costa brava which killed 15 people. the initial unity between the spanish government in madrid and the autonomous government in catalonia, which wants to hold a referendum

on independence in a months time, has been replaced with finger—pointing — over which police force missed information about the terrorist plot. tom burridge reports from catalonia. still bustling. tourists and locals on las ramblas paying their respects. in the town where the attackers lived, a father, brahim aallaa, insisting he never saw any sign that two of his boys were planning to kill. one of his sons looking relaxed here, shopping. hours later, said aallaa and those alongside him would attack tourists in a coastal resort. the football pitch they used to play on. opposite, the family house of the ramblas van driver younes abouyaaqoub. some of those who knew the men didn't want to go on camera. this man grew up with one of the group. he was a colleague until the attacks. all of those who ended up as terrorists spent their afternoons here,

he told us. they seemed like normal guys. there was nothing strange. we have spoken to a group of women who have just come out of the family home of younes abouyaaqoub. in fact, the women's own children went to the same mosque and were taught by the same preacher — abdelbaki es satty. and they say they never heard or saw anything to suggest he was the ringleader of a terror plot. but es satty was known to the authorities in belgium. in spanish and catalan newspapers this week, recriminations. spanish sources blaming catalonia's own police force for not sharing information. catalan sources suggesting the fault lies with the national security agencies in spain. if i was the mother of one of the children there, for example, i would be so, so cross to sit down in front of the television and watch the police fighting between each other, and doing these playground conflicts. we have to be united and not show this image of a lack of coordination and division.

because the terrorists want this exactly. pro—independence catalan flags hang in barcelona. one month before the autonomous government here plans what spain says will be an illegal independence referendum. a city and a country united in grief, but political divisions have revealed cracks in policing. tom burridge, bbc news, in barcelona. it's one of the busiest motorway junctions in the country with more accidents than any other in england. but plans to improve the m25 at junction 10 could threaten a number of rare trees and plants at the historic wisley garden. highways england says the upgrade will make the road safer but campaigners, including alan titchmarsh, are calling for british gardeners to take a stand against the plans. tim muffett reports. traffic versus tranquillity. at the royal horticultural society garden at wisley in surrey, a row is taking root.

it seems a mad proposal to be taking down some of these trees as has been suggested, because we're never going to be able to replace them. and they are wonderful, we should be really nurturing these and looking after them for the future. it's madness to be taking them down. the problem is this nearbyjunction where the m25 meets the a3. it's often congested. highways england says it has the highest accident rate of any motorwayjunction in the country and that improvements are needed. but the rhs fears one proposal being considered will see the a3 expanded and two and a half acres of its woodland destroyed along with 500 trees. it has high—profile support. this is a giant redwood. you've heard of these, massive. over 100 years old. one of several down

this great strip. this, along with rhododendrons, magnolias, camellias, would all go. other options, which would have less impact on these gardens, are being considered, but the road improvements are imminent. it's widely accepted by all sides that changes to thejunction need to be made. the road behind you, though, needs improvement, doesn't it? the junction needs improving. it does need improving. i use that road every day, too. i'm also a commuter, coming from london, and it's not perfect. but there is a brownfield site on the other side of the road where this extension could take place that wouldn't involve taking some 100 years of heritage. and these trees, like the redwood next to me, will go on to live for hundreds more years. it's not just about the here and the now. it's for many future generations. highways england said in a statement that it cares about the environment and protecting the special habitats around wisley is a priority. upgrading the junction will, it says, improve people'sjourneys and make both roads safer.

a decision is expected in the next few weeks. concerns over these trees have stepped up a gear. tim muffett, bbc news. the headlines in a moment, first the weekend weather prospects. good afternoon. we have seen sunshine the further south and east you are today. further north, more cloud and outbreaks of rain. that has pushed across through northern ireland, scotland and into northern england as we moved through the day. some heavy bursts in there and as we move through this evening and overnight we continue to see showery outbreaks of rain, that rain edging eastwards. we could hear the odd rumble of thunder for the far north of scotland. england and wales a dry night, the chance of the odd isolated shower. further south, the chance of one or two patches of mist and fog forming. tomorrow we start

off with a little bit of rain, clearing towards the east. an improvement on today for northern ireland and scotland. we start to see sunny ireland and scotland. we start to see sunny spells developing, just the risk of the odd isolated shower. pretty much anywhere, but particularly the further north you are. for much of england and wales more cloud perhaps but still dry and bright with temperatures up on today. highs of 25, perhaps 26. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines at a:30: the police watchdog has travel delays are expected as roadworks take place on some of the country's busiest routes. at least 28 people have been killed in violent clashes following the rape conviction of a controversial religious leader in north india. the police watchdog has said that the paedophile ian watkins could have been arrested nearly four years earlier

if south wales police had investigated numerous tip—offs. texas braces itself for hurricane harvey, the worst storm to hit the us mainland in 12 years. the storm has strengthened to a category two. let's cross to the sports centre for an update. it's the second test between england and the will, west indies. they have improved on their performance in the series. they bowled really well today. they have taking two wickets and the prize scalp of alistair cooke for 11. joe root dropped in the slips. he made the west indies pay, reaching 12 the second

half—ce ntu ry pay, reaching 12 the second half—century in a test match but he played an uncharacteristically poor shot that was called out. ben stokes has been dropped. he's now gone on to 76a has been dropped. he's now gone on to 76 a short time ago and was 18a for six. the tourists are still on top. f1 returned and lewis hamilton has set the pace ahead of the belgian grand prix this weekend after being picked in the morning practice, the three—time world champion was quickest in the mercedes this afternoon. nearly a second ahead of sebastian. the wheels of squad has been named for austria and moldova next month. gareth bill returns after missing the drop of serbia injune because ofa the drop of serbia injune because of a one match suspension. the 16—year—old is also in the squad for the first time after the midfielder moved from exeter to the champions

chelsea. the draw for the group stage of the europa league has been made this afternoon. arsenal face europa league has been made this afternoon. arsenalface borisov, come “— afternoon. arsenalface borisov, come —— cologne and limassol. manchester united opened their campaign at brighton a fortnight ago. so far this season, he knows big improvements are needed. not great, the results are one thing but the performances have been the most disappointing factor in that. we need to make sure this weekend with the quality of opposition, we really do fire because if we don't, it'll be another difficult afternoon. breaking news, cologne hasjoined barcelona on a five—year contract from £86.8 million, the

second—highest tra nsputer fee of from £86.8 million, the second—highest transputer fee of all time behind naymar who left him this month. the canada continues between floyd mayweather and conor mcgregor in las vegas on sunday. anthony, is one of many boxing professionals who is questioning the fight, he thinks it isa questioning the fight, he thinks it is a circus animal damned reputation of boxing. if, mcgregor makes it slightly competitive, it's a black eye for boxing, it's a guy who is yet to have a professional fight and he makes the site slightly competitive, is going to look bad for boxing. it will be great exposure and i'm glad for him but there are very few positives to come out of this. ireland have lost one 1—0 meaning

they sit second with one game remaining. the victory over austria on sunday will secure their position and hockey‘s object tournament. a draw to be enough. it would depend on the result in poland and spain. more sport in the next hour. more now on hurricane harvey, which could be the worst storm to hit the us mainland in 12 years. the storm, which has strengthened to a category two with winds of up to 110 miles per hour, is expected to make landfall along texas's central coast tonight. this is the scene live in texas now. the 53rd weather reconnaissance squadron, known as the hurricane hunters of the united states air force reserve, take part in tropical storm missions and flew into hurricane harvey yesterday. first lieutenant garrett black from the squadron joins me now on webcam from biloxi in mississippi. thank you so much for being with us. that sounds an unenviable task, to

ta ke that sounds an unenviable task, to take an aeroplane into a hurricane. it can be, but we enjoyed it and it is our way of helping out and trying to improve the forecaster we're glad to improve the forecaster we're glad to do it. tell us about what you're aiming to do when you have a mission like that. sure. our main goal is to fix the centre of the storm to figure out when it is located and from there we can give the data to the national hurricane centre where they can put it into the models and build the forecast to hopefully improve the intensity forecast of the storm is going to go. and what are the challenges of a flight like that? do you feel the hurricane while you within it or you monitoring a distance? no, we usually fly right into it at about 10,000 feet so sometimes we can feel turbulence going through the thunderstorms, but we are very safe, we ta ke thunderstorms, but we are very safe, we take precautions and we are well trained with what we do. we're kind

of used to it and we did best we can. and are you going to continue to monitor that now? will you be going up by further resume work now done? —— is yourwork going up by further resume work now done? —— is your work now done? killer michael continue to fly over the next 2a, a8 hours —— we are going to continue to fly. we will collect the data and hope for the best. many people would sit with modern technology and satellite images, they might not realise the kind of what you do is still necessary. was the difference between what you bring on what pictures can show? satellites have come a long way and they are valuable but they cannot tell you what is going on in the storm and that is where we come in, we can actually get in there as 10,000 feet like i mentioned were satellites can't go. we can then wager... measure the wind speeds at a much more accurate pace and get

that data back in real—time to improve the forecast. ipsos acquit a challenging job. i was really interested to read that your squad and isn't made up of full—time professional soldiers. about half of our squadron is full—time and traditional reservists. they have civilianjobs, traditional reservists. they have civilian jobs, maybe with a meteorology company in the private sector, governments we have pilots that fly commercially so once a year, —— once a month, we come in and train together and work together to be able to do our mission. that's quite a to be able to do our mission. that's quitea claim to be able to do our mission. that's quite a claim to fame to say, in my spare time i fly into hurricanes, it's an interesting hobby! thank you very much for your time. thank you, rachel. police in northern india say at least 28 people have been killed in clashes after a self—styled, controversial religious leader was convicted of rape. gurmeet ram rahim singh, who claims to have millions of followers, was found guilty of raping two women

fifteen years ago. a little earlier my colleague anbarasan ethi—rajan, south asia editorfor world service, gave me some context. india is home to hundreds of gurus or religious leaders, people always seek spirituality, answers to their problems from these spiritual leaders and he is one of them. how they become popular, they connect with people because they go into areas where the government doesn't 90, areas where the government doesn't go, for example, gurmeet ram rahim singh is known for establishing a number of hospitals, schools, campaigning against drug addiction, which is a big problem in the state of punjab. he also performs weddings for poorer people so he establishes a connection with people and people are dissatisfied with the lack of governance in many areas where these religious leaders work because they collect money from different parts

of the country and the hugely popular. across the country, not only northern india and the set of punjab were this violence is happening, the rest of the country there are a number of people and a number of them are also accused of mismanagement, in this case accused of rape, and in some cases murders. he appealed to the people because he was very flamboyant, he was not like teaching yoga, he was wearing colourful clothes, raiding a quad bike and wrapping and acting in movies, so he was appealing to his own people. youngsters all look up to him. he was media savvy and socially aware what he was doing. he has been convicted now, the sentencing is expected on monday. he will be under police judicial custody for the next two days and then he will be in court on monday. to south africa now where a court

has found two white south african farmers guilty of attempted murder after they pushed a black man into a coffin and threatened to burn him alive. willem 0osthuizen and theo jackson filmed themselves abusing victor mlotsha who they said needed to be taught a lesson after he had trespassed on their land. the judge said it was clear that the convicted men intended to kill the victim. supporters of the victim burst into song when the verdict was read. this story has been closely watched in south africa after a video showing two white farmers attacking a black man and forcing him into a coffin and saying that they would douse him in petrol and pet snakes and that coffin. the video went viral and was widely circulated on social media late last year and it led to the arrest of. and theo

jackson. finally, the verdict was held today. —— willem 0osthuizen and theo jackson. thejudge held today. —— willem 0osthuizen and theo jackson. the judge said held today. —— willem 0osthuizen and theo jackson. thejudge said it held today. —— willem 0osthuizen and theo jackson. the judge said it was clear the accused were intending to kill the victim and found them guilty of intended murder, assault with attempt of previous bodily harm and defeating the ends ofjustice but they were found not guilty of one charge of the illegal possession ofa one charge of the illegal possession of a firearm and shortly after the verdict was delivered, i was able to speak to the victim himself mr victor mlotsha and asked him how he felt that he was visibly emotional with tears in his eyes and he told me he was believed thatjustice had finally been served, and i also managed to speak to his mother, who says that she will not rest until the two men who attacked her son are jailed for what they have done. we also heard from the prosecutor who

said that there is a possibility that the two men who have been convicted could face a jail sentence of about ten years, but the sentencing itself is only expected in two months‘ time and that will be around 0ctober. there was a packed courtroom here full of supporters of various political parties, all of them waiting with bated breath, wanting to know what would happen and they were all saying that they we re and they were all saying that they were relieved, thatjustice has been served, but they still insist that the two men need to go to jail. we had heard earlierfrom the testimonies of the two accused saying that they admitted that they had forced victor mlotsha into a coffin because they wanted to teach him a lesson because he was trespassing on their farm him a lesson because he was trespassing on theirfarm but him a lesson because he was trespassing on their farm but meant no harm but earlier we had thejudge saying that the actions were sadistic and racist. radical action is needed to help integrate some

immigrants into society, according to a group of mps. in a new report, the all—party—parliamentary group on social integration warns that the immigration debate has become polarised. it‘s renewing calls for the government to make english lessons compulsory. the home office says it already funds community cohesion projects, including some focused on language. well, a little earlier i asked david goodhart — head of demography, immigration and integration at the policy exchange — what he thought of the report. irun an i run an integration unit on think ta nks i run an integration unit on think tanks so i‘m always in favour of more reports on integration, it is a great national issue and i think thatis great national issue and i think that is a lot of good sense in what this report is saying. it is talking about a statue —— statutorily duty on people mixing, the cabinet office working to integrate different approaches across whitehall, it‘s talking about a very sensible idea of having a learning system for

learning english that come here late the student loan system. it‘s also talking about imaginative ideas like how to provide a framework that welcomes people when they first come. it talks about welcome centres in big cities, language cafes which would also be a centre for mentors and people that want to help refugees or other kinds of immigrants to come here —— immigrants to come here —— immigrants who come here. it builds on the report that louise casey did at the end of last year. we‘re still awaiting a government response to that and hopefully some of these 56 oppose all is —— 56 proposals in this report will feed into the government response to casey. having said all that, i do think this report is too political. it is not cross— party report is too political. it is not cross—party enough, it is not trying to appeal to both levers and remainer is, it is a militant

defence of large—scale immigration. in a moment we‘ll take a look at some of the business stories of the week, but first, the headlines on bbc news: passengers have been warned by rail operators to expect delays over the bank holiday weekend due to engineering works, with roadworks also affecting some journeys. police in india say at least 28 people have been killed in violent protests over the rape conviction of a controversial religious leader in the north of the country. the police watchdog has said that the paedophile ian watkins could have been arrested nearly four years earlier if south wales police had investigated numerous tip—offs. the former thai prime minister, yingluck shinawatra, has fled the country, hours before a verdict was to be delivered in her trial for criminal negligence. ms yingluck faces up to ten years in jail over a rice subsidy scheme that paid farmers up to 50% more than market prices.

the scheme lost the government billions of pounds. jonathan head reports. they defied warnings by the military to stay away. loyal supporters of yingluck shinawatra, the vanguard of a movement which has won her party every election in the past 20 years. kept well back from the court where her fate was to be decided, still they hoped for a glimpse. but she never showed up. her lawyers said they had been told she was suffering from vertigo, yingluck shinawatra was out of the country. 0ver more than three years of military rule, she had maintained her profile, touring when she was allowed to, her party‘s strongholds in the north and north—east. she had had already been banned from politics

yet her potential as a vote winner seemed undiminished. she had refused the quiet invitations that she join her brother in exile. but while she prepared to go to jail, the extravagant rice subsidy scheme she ran well in office had cost the country billions. it was corrupt and had messed up thailand‘s exports. her opponents wanted accountability. and the generals who had overthrown her government in a coup used the race scheme‘s failings as a justification for their action. they were under pressure to have her convicted. she had argued in court that her scheme raised farmers living standards, that she wasn‘t responsible for the day—to—day running of it. right up to the end, she had seemed defiant, ready to take whatever the court delivered. why she changed her mind at the last minute is still a mystery. over the past 17 years, the family of thaksin shinawatra has

been a central player in the thai political landscape, despite the best efforts of his opponents to weaken and marginalise him. there had been feverish speculation this week over how an acquittal or a conviction of his sister yingluck would affect the influence of her party. the sudden decision by her to flee has changed that calculation once again, but even in exile, she could continue to play a significant political rule. but who will her party find to replace her? whoever now takes the helm of thailand‘s largest political party will have to negotiate its place in the guy guided semi—democracy that the military has in mind for this country‘s future. time for a look at the big business stories of the week, and vishala sri pathma is here to take us through them. let‘s start with supermarkets.

there‘s something of war brewing. that‘s right, amazon have announced they are taking over whole foods and whole foods, if you haven‘t been on, it‘s quite a premium shop that sells organic meat and high—end cheeses and regular products. amazon have said it will slash the prices so british supermarkets are worried that a price war may be on their hands and it might have to compete with the likes of whole foods which they haven‘t had to before. with the likes of whole foods which they haven't had to before. the other world that has been making waves is cars, particularly ford. they‘re thinking of a scrappage scheme to get us buying again. the scrappage scheme is an incentive for uk consumers to take their old cars, diesel or petrol, and the first company to offer non—diesel cars as well, they will be scrapped and they will get £2000 off new models so the idea is it will help with the environment, clean the air because these cars will be scrapped and forge do quite well out of it and

they can sell some more cars. let's think holidays, currency and the pound versus the euro this week. the euro has hit an eight year high against sterling which isn‘t great for holiday—makers. against sterling which isn‘t great for holiday-makers. sobbing as they board the aeroplane! especially if you are changing money at the airport cos sometimes it is less than parity. joining us now is laura lambie, senior at investment well. let‘s start with supermarkets. how worried are british supermarkets about amazon? i think the initial reaction with the supermarket this morning, tesco, morrisons and sainsbury's falling back a bit was a natural reaction that we tend to get when amazon says it is coming into any market and the incumbents in that market panic because obviously

amazon with its huge strength and reach is a competitor worth noting. i think perhaps the us markets are going to field is more than the uk. whole foods is not hugely prevalent throughout the uk so i think be the walmarts in the us that will field is more strongly than perhaps in the uk. it's interesting because we're used to hierarchy might to supermarket with premium ends at one side and cheaper brands at the other, but now it seems be merging into one ——. other, but now it seems be merging into one --. i do wonder about amazon's and is now to cut prices because whole foods is at the very top end and its customers at the moment are not particularly interested in price. the wadi range of good quality goods so i can see whole foods competing with the likes of lidl at the bottom —— i can't see

whole foods competing with lidl. hill how much is the scrappage scheme to do with the environment? that's very cynical view, but i'm sure there's something in it for ford. if you cast your mind back to 2008, car sales fell off a cliff by about 20% and the government, not the car manufacturers, the government introduced the car scrappage scheme which boosted car sales and we have seen car sales rising year in year out until april of this year when we started to see a slowdown so it is perhaps in response to that that we have seen some of the main car manufacturers adopting this car scrappage scheme which will no doubt boost sales. currency and its holiday season, lots of people changing money at the moment, we‘re hitting an eight year high against sterling which is in great news for people changing into

stemming. what do they do? because there are warnings about pre—ordering currency because of it and we had a statement today about buying back bonds which will affect the euro as well. not good for holiday— makers coming from the the euro as well. not good for holiday—makers coming from the uk into europe and i think we've got some rocky times ahead. we have not only continued brexit talks but we got the tory party conference and the eu summit. that is also little sign of uk interest rates going up, which would have a positive impact on our currency, soi which would have a positive impact on our currency, so i can which would have a positive impact on our currency, so i can certainly see over the autumn months sterling remaining weak against the euro so bad news if you're going abroad for your holidays. thanks very much for joining us, laura. markets now. the ftse ending in negative territory.

the advertising company wppp down slightly after reporting slower growth in sales. the golden couple of british cycling, laura and jason kenny, have announced the birth of theirfirst child. four—time olympic champion, laura kenny, posted a picture of albert louie kenny on instagram alongside her husband jason who is a six—time olympic gold medallist. she said he was born late on wednesday and wrote, "you kept us waiting a week, but it was all worth it." time for a look at the weather. hello. in north—south split to our weather today, the best of the bride is the further south you and our weather watchers have been sending in photos. this blue sky was sent in

from suffolk. into the weekend, we will see a lot of warm sunshine around. still, it isjust the risk of seeing the odd, isolated shower, particularly on saturday the further north you are they could be fairly heavy and a few breaks of light, drizzly rain on sunday. today, we have seen a bit of a north—south split, some outbreaks of showery rain moving across northern ireland and scotland but the best of the brightness the further south and east you are. as we move through the rest of the day today, we will see some good spells of sunshine across the far south and southeast, temperatures reaching a maximum of 2a, perhaps 25 celsius, a little bit more than we have cloud across the midlands and into wales. it could be thick enough to be just the odd spot of rain but mostly dry with sunny spells, somehow breaks a rain into northern england and heavy showers across northern ireland and scotland, the chance of localised showers and flooding. this evening and overnight, we continue to see

the rain edging eastwards. it im proves the rain edging eastwards. it improves from the west saw northern ireland and western scotland sea dry weather pushing in. much of england and wales will be dry, lows of 11 and wales will be dry, lows of 11 and 15 celsius overnight. tomorrow, we start fairly warm in the south with some good spells of sunshine, just the risk of the odd, isolated shower across central and southern england and wales. further north, and improving picture, betterfor northern ireland and scotland, some good spells of sunshine, just the risk of the odd, isolated shower which could be fairly heavy, temperatures of 2526 celsius. that ta kes temperatures of 2526 celsius. that takes us into sunday and sunday is looking like another decent state with plenty of dry and bright weather around, the best of the sunshine the further south europe. more than a way of cloud pushing into the far northwest and a few patches of drizzle as well, temperatures reaching a maximum of 27 celsius locally. into monday, the

weather front will bring outbreaks of rain to northern ireland and scotla nd of rain to northern ireland and scotland and staying largely dry in the south with temperatures at a maximum of 27 celsius. today at five — major travel disruption expected across the uk as millions try to get away for the bank holiday weekend. engineering works are expected on some of the country‘s busiest rail routes. key stations in london — and services to and from wales, the north of england and scotland — will be heavily affected. we carry out 15,000 projects every year and most of them people are travelling better a rock star, jailed for depraved child abuse could have been caught years earlier if a key witness had been believed. the us state of texas is bracing itself for a "life—threatening" hurricane, which is expect to be

the worst to hit the us mainland since katrina in 2005.