this is bbc news. millions of people across the country have fallen silent — in memory of those who have lost their lives while serving in the armed forces. the husband of a british woman — held in prison in iran — renews his call for a meeting with borisjohnson and to accompany the foreign secretary should he visit the country. a lynx which escaped from a small zoo near aberystwyth last month, has been caught and destroyed. new figures reveal nearly forty per cent of battery powered smoke alarms failed to activate in residentialfires in the past year. and in half an hour here on bbc news, click goes to shen—jen in china, once the centre for consumer electronic goods, and now hoping to become the home of innovation. good afternoon and

welcome to bbc news. a two minutes silence has been held to commemorate the dead of two world wars and all later conflicts. it marks the time in 1918 when an armistice brought to an end the fighting in the first world war. tributes were held across the country marking the 11th hour of the 11th month when the guns stopped 99 years ago. in central london on the cenotaph in

whitehall, they were playing there we re whitehall, they were playing there were paying respects, and also in the national memorial arboretum in staffordshire, where people gather to remember theirfallen staffordshire, where people gather to remember their fallen colleagues. in westminster, flags were lowered and respect. we can speak to our correspondent phil mackie, who's at the national memorial arboretum in staffordshire. this has become an increasingly important location for remembrance commemorations, and of course, remembrance sunday force just 23 hours from now, so presumably it will be the focus again tomorrow? yes, it will, and you are right, it has only been here for ten years, which is when it was dedicated, and it hasn't, become an important part of the commemorations. there is a band playing in the background, and

a march past is taking place at 12 o'clock. this is the final event of today's ceremony. we will be back here tomorrow for remembrance sunday. next, armistice day and remembrance sunday at the same day, 100 years after the end of the first world war. organisers here say they are already planning for that and reckon the royal family will be spent rather thin because of various events around the world will stop as you mentioned, lots of veterans come here today to commemorate fallen comrade and just meet up with one another. one of them is gerald. why have you come from? i am from nottingham. i was in the royal electrical and mechanical engineers, but i was born into and army family, and my father served 30 years. he was wounded in the first war, but served on, and when we went out to india, iserved served on, and when we went out to india, i served as a child in india, and my brother's just india, i served as a child in india, and my brother'sjust passed away in august, and he did 22 years as well. so, military family going back

generations. that is often the case, isn't it? and in nottinghamshire, not farfor isn't it? and in nottinghamshire, not far for you to come. and you been here before? yes, i have been many times. today, the local branch of the association meets the memorial, just behind the main one here, to pay tribute. so that is what we do. and like i said, a chance to meet up one or two people you already know, you probably meet people you have never met, is that right? yes, that is true. a thing when you wear' batch, —— i think when you wear' batch, —— i think when you wear a veterans' batch, even in the street, you find people who maybe are lonely and they enjoy a chat, and that is the way it is. getting up to 100 years ago, and it was in the 1920s that they started celebrating armistice day, they if

wondered they would still be doing at all these years later, but it seems to have grown and grown, hasn't it? i think the most pleasurable thing is that the younger generation now starting to appreciate it more, and they are, shall we say, thirsty for more knowledge about it, and making it more interesting. sol knowledge about it, and making it more interesting. so i think it is going to continue now, there is no doubt. my granddaughter is always very interested in it, and my niece's daughters. so, yes, ithink it will always to continue. will you be back for the centenary next year? yes. most interesting, i served my apprenticeshipjust yes. most interesting, i served my apprenticeship just over the road here. 0h! apprenticeship just over the road here. oh! so they built this pretty much where you grew up. i will hang back to the studio, but larry, if we could show you what we have got down this way. this is where the service will take place again tomorrow, and again next year. this is where the service took place this morning. you can see reefs have been made since then. that is the obelisk at the

end. —— wreaths have been made. the place is a little gloomy right now, but it was nice that an hour ago, at 11 o'clock, the sun came out and it was beautifully lit. i think it was one of the moments in our modern life where we have that sales, and the room was able to contemplate their loved ones and think about people who wear their ancestors who may have died in those world conflict and other conflict in the last century. phil mackie at the national memorial arboretum, thank you very much. and as phil says, we will have coverage of the events tomorrow on bbc news throughout the morning and at the cenotaph ceremony, the annual remembrance sunday ceremony taking place there. in france, president macron led the commemorations in paris for armistice day. hejoined in the parade down the champs elysees before laying a wreath underneath the arc de triomphe at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

after that, president macron laid a wreath to honour soldiers lost in world war i at the foot of the clemanceau statue in the french capital. the husband of nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, a woman held in iran, has renewed his call for a meeting with borisjohnson and also to accompany the foreign secretary should he be given permission by the iranian government to visit his wife in tehran. last week, mrjohnson suggested that nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe was training journalists when she was detained last year, before correcting himself. her family have insisted she was merely on holiday. ms nazanin‘s husband, richard ratcliffe, has told the bbc he wants to meet with the foreign secretary this week and accompany the foreign secretary to iran should he be able to go. speaking on bbc breakfast, mr ratcliffe said he has been told by a minister, alistair burt, that the government is seriously considering this. i think it is really important that

he gets on a plane to go and see nazanin. i would he gets on a plane to go and see nazanin. iwould really like he gets on a plane to go and see nazanin. i would really like to go with him. that is a serious attempt would request i have put into the foreign office. after all these months, i would at least get a cf. so the player effectively, what you are asking for now, is what from the foreign secretary? to meet with him this week, and then whenever he goes to iran, which will hopefully be in the next few weeks, to be on the plane with him so i can go and visit nazanin. have you had any indication thatis nazanin. have you had any indication that is possible? i spoke yesterday to mr birt who said so serious consideration they were looking at. the bbc understands that the labour mp, kerry mccarthy, will submit letters to party officials on monday which she says show she received "unwa nted attention" from her fellow labour mp, kelvin hopkins. mr hopkins is currently suspended from the party, following accusations of inappropriate behaviour, which he denies. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. kerry mccarthy says she is speaking out to support the young labour activist ava etemadzadeh, who alleged hopkins had acted inappropriately towards her after a meeting at essex university four years ago.

kelvin hopkins is currently suspended by the labour party while those allegations, which he denies, are investigated. kerry mccarthy is not making any formal complaint. instead, she is submitting information to the inquirer which she believes could be helpful for the ava etemadzadeh. she says she first suffered unwanted attention from mr hopkins “119911, and more recently, she received a letter in which he described as a very attractive woman and confided he had a dream about her. she is submitting this letter to the labour enquiry on monday. in a statement, kelvin hopkins describes kerry mccarthy as a long—term friend and says he is disappointed she appears to have gone to the press rather than telling him that she was unhappy. earlier, i spoke to our political

correspondent who told me why she had made these. in particular, what is on to sing, kerry mccarthy said in her statement that since the activists by that, she had seen her come under attack from what she called misguided and sometimes malicious individual since then, so she said as a result of that she made her mind up, went to see the chief whip, saw the leaders' office, but she has made it very clear, she says they were not expected to know about this before the first they knew of it. she is easily given it some thought that says, i do not relish being in the public eye over this, but the out was not a difficult one to make. presumably we don't know what is in the letters, what she is alleging took place? kelvin hopkins' statement says he is baffled by it and regarded her as a long—standing friend. i think she was his constituency party chairman in one point. in terms of local

relationships, it is difficult, but also at westminster, because they will still bump into each other? yes, absolutely, and i think there will be a number of these awkward relationships going on at the moment, because kelvin hopkins is just one of these political figures who are under investigation currently. but yes, westminster life must go on, but there is a sense now this is a step change. as baby that has been tolerated a red nod in the past will no longer be ignored in future. we have had a bit of a flavour of the kind of flavour kerry mccarthy a study about until letters —— the kind of flavour of what kerry mccarthy is talking about in recent letters. he confided he had a dream about her. she said the unwelcome attention she received from him goes back to 1994. it is important of course to point out that kelvin hopkins has denied the allegations from the activist, and is bemused

that kerry mccarthy did not come to him first, but went to the press. emma vardy, our political correspondent. the american goalkeeper hope solo has accused former fifa president sepp blatter of sexual harrassment. the world cup winner said mr blatter groped her moments before they went on stage at the ballon d'or event in 2013. a spokesman for mr blatter has described the accusation as "absurd". one of the latest hollywood figures to be accused of sexual harassment has admitted that all the allegations against him are true. five women have made claims against the american comedian louis ck. he's expressed remorse for his actions, as our north america correspondent peter bowes reports. another hollywood figure accused of sexual misconduct. but louis ck admits he did it. the new york times first reported the claims of five women who said he subjected them to various acts of indecency, and two of his accusers say it happened in his hotel room in a comedy festival in 2002. in a statement, the comedian said the stories were true and he was now aware of the extent of the impact of his actions. he said:

the power i had over these women is that they admired me, the statement doesn't include an apology to the women. hi, everybody. nice to see you all. what's up? louis ck is best known as a stand—up comedian. he is also a successful writer, producer and actor. hollywood's response to the allegations against him has been swift. his latest film, due to be released next week, has been scrapped. he has been dropped by several tv networks and netflix has cancelled plans to a stand—up special. the streaming service cited the comedian‘s "unprofessional and unacceptable behaviour with female colleagues".

us president donald trump and vladimir putin have vowed to fight ice together. they say there are so committed to maintaining syria's territorial integrity. as doctor middle east reporterfor territorial integrity. as doctor middle east reporter for some you territorial integrity. as doctor middle east reporterfor some you do more than report the middle east, you analyse it and try to give it some kind of context for us. let's talk about what they mean first ball when they talk about syria's territorial integrity? how important is this? it is becoming more and more important of the war is going on in there seems to be stalemate and there does not seem to be any resolution in sight. i think particularly with the defeat of isis, which is looming now, the com plete

isis, which is looming now, the complete defeat territorially, essentially, it has opened up a can of words, especially to the east where they still held territory, because there are competing forces in the north, turkish, turkish backed forces, the new us backed forces which to back, used to be rebels but maybe we don't call them rebels but maybe we don't call them rebels any more, just us backed fighters. but i was absolutely a huge moment when raquel was taken. many of the syrian government which did not fight ice is very much at the start, but for the rebels, then it has entered this battle later as it has entered this battle later as it has entered this battle later as it has to some extent seen off most of the threat from the rubble thanks to the russians. so they have moved over into the east as well, and so it is syrian government forces and their allies who are taking the last town that has left there. interestingly, they actually announced yesterday that they had taken this town, fully captured. they said it shows the collapse of the isis project, but they had not taken it. the isis project, but they had not ta ken it. we

the isis project, but they had not taken it. we know from reportedly had not gone in, but surrounded it. they will take it, it is a done deal. why did they say they had taken a? it might be able sign to other groups in the area, don't come around, we have taken this. mr trump and mr putin may have tried to address this in this brief communique. they both have influence in the region in different degrees and to different countries. doesn't matter if they are speaking, as it were, with one voice on this issue? does it affect other issues as well? that is very interesting. in the wider picture, the big confrontation regionwide is saudi arabia against iran, which the saudis have talked up iran, which the saudis have talked up more than the iranians have, it has to be said, and mr trump is clearly backed the saudis are always. wheezing in lebanon, qatar, yemen, syria and iraq, —— we have seen yemen, syria and iraq, —— we have seen that in. as well as the

domestic and terrorism issues, there is this regionwide conflict. the russians have been fighting on the same side of the iranians in the syrian conflict, backing president assad, but that it is an extent an alliance of convenience. what is adjusting with a statement like this, is it is not the first time they have issued a statement like this. but it would seem like a major change if you went back a year ago, because then they were divided on absolute key issues, such as the fate of president assad. the americans demanded that in any future resolution of syria, president assad could play no role, he must go. they are not saying that any more, mainly because of what the russians have succeeded in doing, they have completely changed the battlefield. they have essentially given president assad enough of a victory. not a complete victory, but enough that his position for now can't really be assailed by the rebels, by isis, or by anyone else. what this opens up is that once isis has gone, which is, in a sense, providing a way of lying that does not affect those deeper issues, when

they are gone, those deeper issues re—emerge, and it is the idea that mr putin and mrjohn by trying to address, saying, we will do we can to sure there aren't conflict in these other areas, but we will have to see on the ground how that works. thank you rematch. —— thank you very much. the headlines on bbc news: two minutes' silence has been observed around the country but armistice day. the husband of a british woman jailed in iran says he hopes to meet borisjohnson as soon as possible. almost 40% of battery—powered smoke alarms failed to go up in residential fires alarms failed to go up in residentialfires in alarms failed to go up in residential fires in england alarms failed to go up in residentialfires in england and —— in the past year, according to figures published today. a custody hearing for a british woman detained in egypt on drugs charges has now been postponed until tomorrow. laura plummer, who's 33 and from hull, was arrested in cairo last month with nearly 300 tramadol tablets in her suitcase. she says the tablets were for her egyptian boyfriend, who has a bad back. her lawyer has told the bbc that he's come forward with documents which should help her case. these include medical records.

orla guerin reports. it looks like paradise. egypt's red sea coast is a tourist trap. but now, one british holiday—maker is trapped in a legal nightmare. she is accused of smuggling drugs. 33—year—old laura plummer, a shop assistant, has been coming here for years. her family say she lives for her holidays in the sun. for the past month, she has been detained at police station number one, with others accused of drug trafficking. the offence can carry the death penalty here. well, we have managed to speak to laura plummer by phone. she told us she is being held in a cell about the size of her bedroom back home, but with 25 other women, so it's hard to breathe. she said her fellow inmates are trying to look after her, but nobody

speaks her language. she told us her spirits are at rock bottom. here is the drug that laura plummer was carrying, tramadol. it is legal in britain, with a prescription, but banned in egypt, where many are addicted to the opiate. police said she had about 300 tablets in her case. she says a colleague gave them to her for her egyptian boyfriend, omar, who has a back problem. i have no idea they were illegal here, she said. i can't tell you how stupid that i feel. egyptian police say that ignorance of the law is no defence. relatives hope the judge will realise she made an innocent mistake. earlier, i spoke to laura plummer‘s mp, labour's karl turner. he told me he's been in contact with her family. the family are very anxious still.

laura is clearly still very worried about what is happening to her. she's a woman with no previous convictions. clearly, she would be very shocked to find herself incarcerated in an egyptian prison, but this is really welcome news. laura has always maintained her innocence in that she didn't know the drugs were illegal. her father put it like this, she would not know, doll from a panadol. she was simply taking painkillers over to help her partner who suffers with severe back pain. he has as i understand it now come forward to confirm that is correct with medical evidence, so we are very optimistic this will go some way to persuade the egyptian judiciary of her innocence. you have been in regular contact with the foreign office over this case. do you think they realised quickly that this was a genuine case, because a lot of them do cover—up involving tourists, and

they don't always have and isn't explanation? i am quite sure that the foreign office are aware of the situation with laura and believe her story, and they have been working very ha rd story, and they have been working very hard along with the british embassy to ensure her welfare in this egyptian prison. what about the general kind of situation in terms of people travelling. i suppose it isa of people travelling. i suppose it is a reminderfor all of of people travelling. i suppose it is a reminder for all of us not to make assumptions about the things we might regard as routine medicines over here. there are lots you can buy in countries like the us which are not available here. clearly was are not available here. clearly was a case where the 30s have a problem with this opiate and are taking drastic activities to deal with it? that is a very fair point. laura was taking other things, perfumes, your drinks, things that are difficult to obtain in egypt, and along with it, painkillers to treat her partner's

bad back. but i think it's a very valid point. ididn't but i think it's a very valid point. i didn't know an awful lot about tramadol in egypt until this case. i have researched it now. it is clearly banned in egypt. it is a drug which is abused their and use recreationally, and changes hands for money. laura would not have known any of that. frankly, nor would i. let me ask you briefly, are you confident tomorrow's hearing will use to help her get bail. that is one of the options are lawyers considering, and we will be very helpful as she is bailed at the very least, but the family are desperate to have their daughter back home, and clearly, that is what we are working towards, but we must respect and appreciate the customs and laws of egypt. we can't be critical of doing what you would expect them to do. the labour mp for hull east to

do. the labour mp for hull east to do as earlier about the case of his constituent currently held in egypt. almost 40% of battery—powered smoke alarms failed to go off in residentialfires in england in the past year, according to new figures. the local government association is warning people to check their smoke alarms in the run—up to winter, when the number of serious fires usually goes up. dan johnson reports. the images can be hard—hitting, and the message is familiar. but it appears it's still not getting through. figures show that in house fires last year, 40% of battery—powered smoke alarms go off. for mains—powered fire alarms, the rate was more than 20%. there is a claim that more than one in five households never test their smoke alarms. one in ten households do not even have one fitted. check your fire alarms and smoke alarms at home. check the batteries are working. check they are in a suitable position where it's actually going to help you. make sure you have at least one on each floor of your house. that is the key message.

we have seen too many smoke alarms and too many fire alarms which haven't done theirjob because people haven't either placed them in the correct position, or checked their batteries. with more boilers and heat is being turned on in colderers being turned on in colder weather, this is a reminder that smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are tried and tested and proven to work. a two minute silence has been held to commemorate those who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces. it marks the time, 99 years ago, when an armistice brought to an end fighting in the first world war. we can now speak to our correspondent ian palmer, who's at the cenotaph. ian, good afternoon to you. an important day tomorrow, and of course, an important day—to—day. very important and very poignant, for sure, really, and very

interesting to hear big—band sound its chimes again on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, which it did 99 years ago, 101 years ago, when the war and the guns fell silent afterfour ago, when the war and the guns fell silent after four years of conflict. thousands of people were gathered here to pay their respects to the war dead. you find me, of course, in front of the senator, which has become a monument, a memorialfor britain's war dead. behind me, you can perhaps just see there is another ceremony being carried out for britain's war widows, and that will take place over the next few minutes. earlier today was all about armistice, it was organised by the western front association. britain and its empire lost a million men on the western front during the four yea rs of the western front during the four years of conflict. gathered here

we re years of conflict. gathered here were a selection of veterans, soldiers, former soldiers, cadets, teachers and school children. tomorrow, resuming shouldn't, it will be remember —— as you mentioned, it will be remembrance sunday, and that will be led by her majesty the queen, who will, incidentally, observe the service for the first time from the balcony. the royal wreath will be laid by prince charles, and of course, again, the cenotaph will be surrounded by many war veterans and of course, members of the public to mark that particular day. armistice day was of course revived in 1995 after falling out of favour. it used to be marked and remembrance sunday, the sunday nearest to the 11th of november, but since then, we have had an armistice day service. the queen will be marking armistice day

at the royal festival of remembrance at the royal festival of remembrance at the royal festival of remembrance at the albert hall later on this evening. and there are a series of centenaries during a ceremony, this into new area of the women's association with the armed forces, the 100th anniversary of passchendaele, the 100th anniversary of the warboys commission, and indeed, the 100th birthday of the forces sweetheart, dame vera lynn. good to reminders of that. ian palmer at the cenotaph on whitehall. thank you much. time for the weather now with susan powell. hello there. quite mixed prospects weather—wise across the british isles at the moment. in the south, lots of cloud and still some rain to come in the next few hours. further north, the better the sunshine, but the colder the weather. it is that colder weather that will come to dominate on sunday. for this afternoon, still cloudy to the south, slightly milder, temperatures

in double figures across the south and south—west. not really feeling it, rain here. that colder air will sink its way south overnight, eventually chasing away the three wet weather that will still affect southern counties of england and southern counties of england and south wales through the evening and overnight. then we get on into remembrance sunday, and as i said, the cold weather wins out, but also so the cold weather wins out, but also so shy. lots of sunshine through the day, showers and the west, tending to clear the afternoon. showers in the east moving onshore during the second half the day. doctor bridges, 6-7 second half the day. doctor bridges, 6—7 for the majority, colder in the wind. susan powell. sport now. sport now...and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's mike bushell. good afternoon. let's start with the women's ashes in the cricket, ending and have it all to do on the final day of the ashes test after australia took charge and 83. australia took charge and 83. australia resumed this morning on 177-5,

australia resumed this morning on 177—5, and the game was equally boys, but perry soon swung the game in australia's direction, making her first test hundred and then went on to make it a double century, becoming only the first woman to do so. becoming only the first woman to do so. australia declares a lead of 168 runs. in reply in their second innings, they were doing ok, 40 without loss at the close of play, but they need to avoid defeat theoretically be ashes alive. england's men beat a cricket australia in 11 as the build—up to the first ashes test, craig overton took three wickets to put himself in the frame for an ashes starting players, especially with others out of contention. and getting there. there's still a bit to work on. it's just finding that rhythm. it's just getting