i'mjane hill at kensington palace where prince harry has announced his engagement to american actress meghan markle. prince harry said he was "thrilled" and ms markle said she was "so happy" as the couple posed for photographers this afternoon. they will marry next spring. the ring designed by the prince contains diamonds that belonged to his mother. the queen and duke of edinburgh said they were "delighted" at the news, as was prince charles. no, we're thrilled, thank you very much, for both of them. i hope they'll be very happy indeed. that's all i can say. and the other main stories on bbc news at 5. two pharmaceutical firms have said they'll invest more than a billion pounds in the uk, creating nearly 2000 jobs. emotional tributes after three children and two adults were killed when a stolen car crashed in leeds at the weekend. and a volcano warning — 100,000 people in bali have been ordered to leave the area, as officials fear a major eruption. hello and welcome to kensington

palace on the day that prince harry announced his engagement to his american girlfriend meghan markle. they are to be married next spring. the couple, who will live here at kensington palace, became engaged in london earlier this month. the queen and the duke of edinburgh said they were ‘delighted', the prime minister theresa may offered her ‘warmest congratulations‘. ms markle, who is 36 and divorced, describes herself as a ‘strong, confident, mixed—raced woman'. the prince, who‘s 33, complained that she‘d been subjected to a wave of abuse and harassment when news of their relationship became public a year ago. we start this hour with this report from our correspondent richard lister. we‘ll watch it had been anticipating this for months. prince harry and meghan markle made their first appearance as an engaged couple in the garden that had been a favourite of his mother diana, princess of wales but today is all about them. congratulations from all of us. how are you both feeling?

erm, proud. and i‘m very glad it‘s not raining as well. and, meghan, how are you feeling? so happy. and tell us, how did you propose? laughter was it romantic? very. can you show us the ring? it has been revealed that the ring was designed by harry including some diamonds from his mother‘s collection. for the past 18 months, they have done their best to keep a low profile. this is an exception when they were seen hand in hand at the invictus games at toronto earlier this year, but now they are to be married with the wedding planned for the spring of next year. the news was given in a statement from clarence house at ten o‘clock. his royal highness prince henry of wales and miss meghan markle are engaged to be married. news of the engagement has been warmly welcomed within the royal family. the queen and the duke of edinburgh, who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last week,

are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness. those who have seen them together say that they are very much in love. that much was confirmed recently by meghan markle herself. in an interview for vanity fair magazine, she declared, "we are a couple, we are in love." for harry the engagement brings to an end to the bachelor life he has enjoyed for many years while also seeking someone with whom he could settle down and start a family. twice it had seemed he had found the right person. chelsea davy, born in zimbabwe, was his girlfriend for six years until 2010, then as cressida bonas, an actress from an aristocratic british family was with harry for two years until 2014. in both cases the relationships foundered, partly because of the intense media scrutiny. that is something that meghan markle may be better prepared to deal with. you‘re pretty.

good, you've hit on me, we can get it out of the way that i'm not interested. as an actress with several public roles, she‘s used to the spotlight. beyond her acting career, there are significant other dimensions to meghan markle‘s life. i‘m smart and i know i would be a good lawyer. she has described herself as a strong woman of mixed race. her father is of irish descent, her mother african—american. she has been active in un campaigns and is a un advocate for the empowerment of women. i‘m proud to be a woman and a feminist. for harry, an engagement finally offers the prospect of the personal fulfilment which at times has seemed elusive. as any girl would tell you, it‘s sort of, oh, my god, he‘s a prince. this was him in a tv interview in 2012. look at me, i‘m 27 and not so much searching for someone to fulfil the role

but finding someone who would be willing to take it on. harry has finally found that special person. we‘ll look at privacy and harassment laws. one of their immediate challenges will be to find privacy. in a statement soon after the relationship became public, harry issued a statement saying this was not a game, it was his life and ms markle‘s life. but it will be a life in the public eye with all that entails. a modern couple finding their place in an ancient institution. we will speak to a journalist from vanity fair we will speak to a journalist from vanityfair in we will speak to a journalist from vanity fair in the next little while but as we saw reflected there, meghan markle is best know for playing rachel zane in the us tv drama suits. she was born on the 11th of august 1981 and grew up in los angeles. 0ur royal correspondent daniella relph reports on the actress who will soon be

a member of the royalfamily. this is no ordinary royal engagement. meghan markle, an american, an actress, a divorcee and a campaigner. she grew up in an affluent suburb of los angeles, went to a private catholic school, she is mixed—race, the daughter of divorced parents, her mother a yoga teacher, her father a respected lighting director. there is no question over her ability to cope with her new status. she handles herself with poise and grace. as i said, it‘s a great tribute to the way she handles herself, she doesn‘t seem to be preoccupied, influenced by the fact that she is going to be a member of the royal family. and in the area her mother now lives there have been many offers of wedding help. great, love it. i want to be a bridesmaid! i think it would be nice, different, the first of a kind,

i think it's something the community can embrace. i'm ecstatic and i would love to do a fascinator or a hat for her or even her wedding piece. as an actress her early career included adverts. and a stint opening the boxes on the tv programme deal or no deal. before her big break in the show suits. but alongside her acting has been her humanitarian work, focused on young women and gender equality. that interest in campaigning was common ground with her husband to be. but in the early days of their relationship some of the media coverage unsettled the couple, prince harry issued a statement describing it as having racial undertones. it definitely felt very coded and very racist to me and very much like there was an attempt to make her seem like an other, an outsider. yes, that was pretty startling. meghan markle‘s background is unlike any other senior member

of the royal family, she will have to navigate life inside the british aristocracy. it is a path trodden byjulie montague of illinois, she married the son of the earl of sandwich. marrying into this real old british aristocratic family, you know i have had to i guess, sort of touch up on my manners. when i arrived over here i was much more an open book, married into the british aristocracy i realised you have to, you have to close down a little but for good reasons. this will be a whole new world for meghan markle, one of great privilege but with it, will come great scrutiny. as we‘ve heard buckingham palace said the queen and the duke of edinburgh were "delighted for the couple" and wished them every happiness. the duke and duchess of cambridge

said it had been "wonderful getting to know meghan", while the prince of wales said he was thrilled. jane frances kelly reports prince charles was looking at community and green initiatives this morning but the first topic was of course. . . morning but the first topic was of course... congratulations, sir. what you think about the engagement? we're thrilled, of course. i hope they will be very happy indeed, that's all i can say. prime minister offered her warmest congratulations on twitter saying "this is a time of huge celebrations were two people in love."jeremy huge celebrations were two people in love." jeremy corbyn‘s press conference, the first issue to be addressed was the engagement. my congratulations to harry and meghan. i wish them well, hope they have a great time and great fun together. having met harry a couple of times, i‘m sure they are going to have a lot of fun together. the home

secretary in his first —— the new defence secretary in his first appearance at the dispatch box also offered his wishes. he has been a bright champion of service men and women in the armed forces, most notably with his commitment to the invicta schemes. and engagement, prince harry and meghan markle are engaged. unsurprisingly, headline news in america. breaking news out of london this morning, drum roll please, prince harry and american meghan markle are engaged to be married. hip, hip and hooray. congratulations. canada's prime minister offered his congratulations and one of her co—stars gave his blessing as her tv father. tourist visiting buckingham palace greeted the news with enthusiasm. wonderful. fantastic. yes, definitely, ithink

they are going to make a great team. it's very exciting. my mum just ta kes it's very exciting. my mum just takes me about it. it's so exciting. the archbishop of canterbury said he was absolutely delighted. and a cheerful news headline for once. we‘re joined now from new york byjoshua duboff, a writer at vanity fair. meghan markle gave an interview to vanity fair was she spoke about prince harry. hello from a very chilly london to you there. what is the reaction, first of all, with everybody there at vanity fair and what are you picking up people in the state are saying about this?

yes, thank you for having me. i had a very exciting day. i know over there and here as well, i think eve ryo ne there and here as well, i think everyone is very excited at vanity fairand in the everyone is very excited at vanity fair and in the us everyone is very excited at vanity fairand in the us in everyone is very excited at vanity fair and in the us in general. i was looking at twitter before i came on and almost every trending topic is somehow about meghan, harry, i think people are very excited about this. people who are interested in the royalfamily as people who are interested in the royal family as people who aren‘t. i think she has created a lot of interest and people are very excited about this. i mean, you add the magazine must be pretty chuffed that you managed to get that interview which now turns out to be really not very long at all before the couple announced their engagement. yeah, i think she appeared on the cover of oui’ think she appeared on the cover of our 0ctober think she appeared on the cover of our october issue and, as you mentioned earlier, she spoke about harry and her relationship with harry. she said they were in love, she said at a later point she would be able to share the full story of everything about how they came

together, but she was very, very happy right now and peter lindbergh took some amazing photos and she was very, very excited and we were excited to have her on our cover for sure. do you think, again, as much as you can generalise, that people are more excited about her or about him? how do you quantify all of that? that's funny, yeah, i think it‘s interesting. people have always been very, generally in the past few yea rs been very, generally in the past few years i‘ve noticed covering the royals at vanity fair, harry is extreme and popular. people love him. when he was dating previously, people were interested in that as well but i think meghan brought a whole new level of excitementjust about him and i think the fact that she was an american actress honour sure that was quite popular here, which is run for seven seasons now so which is run for seven seasons now so people have a familiarity with her, i think there is also the was a fairy tale elements. 0bviously

her, i think there is also the was a fairy tale elements. obviously the american who ends up marrying the prince i think has been in movies and tv shows and all sorts of books for as long as i can remember growing up here in america, so i think that‘s what a fairy tale element to it plays into it as well, that she was sort able to, you know, in probably some might say find her way into prince harry as a relationship. our two nations are supposed to have a special relationship, aren‘t they? and this is its now! i know, this is really forging the us— uk and i think, you know, when the story was written for oui’ cover know, when the story was written for our cover and they went to interview her, she made thejournalist his meal, she brought him into her toronto house, she had two dogs, she was by all accounts lovely and felt welcoming to her and wanted to talk about harry and wanted to talk about the relationship which people were obviously interested in so she seems to be very much april at this and maybe that comes from having been in

the entertainment industry for seven yea rs the entertainment industry for seven years and longer even. and we have also been talking quite a lot here today about her charity work, the work she has done with various un projects. she is very outspoken about equality, about empowering young women and girls to be the best that they can be, these are obviously topics dear to her heart. do you get the sense that that is the sort of line she will go down once she is a member of the british royalfamily, once she is a member of the british royal family, that she will very much continue in that vein? yeah, absolutely. i think she has made it pretty clear, i think she wrote an essay for elle magazine in 2005 about growing up as a mixed—race actress and the feeling she has had to deal with and the different reactions she has had in hollywood and she has visited britain a bunch of different essays on feminism and all sorts of topics that are close to her so that is a big she is

passionate about and she will have a chance to do it on perhaps the greatest scale one can, in this position she will be in now. i definitely think it seems that is the case and, obviously, stepping down from suits this past season indicates that maybe she isn‘t as interested or able to pursue acting any more, so interested or able to pursue acting any more, so i think the humanitarian work definitely seems like it will be the focus. 0k, well, let‘s see who makes it onto the guest list for the wedding from both sides of the atlantic. thank you very much for now, thank you for joining us from new york city. thanks so much. continuing coverage of this story, of course, bbc news. for now, here at kensington palace, i will hand you back to the studio. thank you, jane. this is bbc news at five. the headlines: prince harry and meghan markle have made their first public appearance since announcing their engagement. the couple will marry in the spring. the government launches a plan to reverse the slowdown in britain‘s

productivity and growth. 100,000 people near bali‘s mount agung have been ordered to evacuate as officials fear a major eruption. and in sport, england are one down in the ashes series while their off field conduct has hit the headline afterjonny field conduct has hit the headline after jonny bairstow field conduct has hit the headline afterjonny bairstow allegedly head—butted australian opener cameron bancroft. both men say there was no malice involved. romelu lukaku was no malice involved. romelu lu ka ku will face no was no malice involved. romelu lukaku will face no further punishment from the fa for an apparent kick at brighton defender. and west brom‘s interim head coach has been told he will still be in charge against newcastle tomorrow night. find out who is back in contention for the evertonjob. that and more at half past five. two major pharmaceutical firms, one american, the other german,

have said they will invest more than a billion pounds in the uk, creating more than 1800 jobs in the biotech industry. the government said the deals illustrated confidence it its industrial strategy, aimed at supporting more research and development, encouraging firms to embrace new technology and boosting the economy. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. high levels of investment harnessing cutting edge ideas — the robots at this coventry manufacturing centre cost millions to design and programme and the car doors they turn that can compete across the world. with britain‘s weak productivity record, innovation like this is very much the exception, not the rule. we‘re looking at how we translate good ideas from academia and take them into industry and if we can utilise that for other sectors including things like infrastructure and construction, i think we have a great opportunity for the future. the government chose a biomedical research institute as the venue for its industrial strategy launch.

it includes bigger tax breaks to encourage innovative ideas, re—skilling people with better maths and technical education, investment in infrastructure like 56, improving the business environment through partnerships with environments like life sciences and making places more productive with better transport links. 0n the basis of setting that out in the strategy document, these companies already recognise this is a long—term strategy, have confidence in it and are making big investment decisions today that are creating good jobs around the country. but it‘s not in high—tech industries but low—tech, low—wage companies that productivity is weakest. the new money announced today, 725 million is spread over three years. compare it to total spending of 780 billion and it‘s a small fraction, just 0.03%. when they talk about industrial strategy, they mainly focus on high—tech sectors like aerospace, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, and the automotive sector where productivity is already very high. the problem we have

is in the rest of the economy, in what you might call the everyday economy, sectors like retail, social care, tourism and hospitality, like manufacturing where our productivity is considerably worse than most of our european competitors, where there‘s tremendous variation between firms and that‘s really where the effort now needs to go. many private companies have funds to invest in skills and technology that could boost each worker‘s productivity but since the financial crash, directors have been uncertain. will there be enough demand for the goods for that investment to pay off? and with brexit looming, overcoming that uncertainty isn‘t getting any easier. police in leeds investigating a fatal accident involving a stolen car say the five people who died were all in the vehicle when it crashed. three children were among those in the renault clio when it hit a tree in the city on saturday night. a teenager is custody on suspicion of dangerous driving. 0ur correspondent danny savage reports. the scene of saturday night‘s

terrible crash remains sealed off today. the search for evidence to establish how and why a stolen car careered off a straight road. the tree it hit is scarred, as are some of the people who were first on the scene. when i arrived here in the early hours of sunday morning, this was a catastrophic scene. all the witnesses, all the police officers, the emergency services that were here would have seen an absolute scene of total carnage. named locally, the youngest victims were ellis and elliott thornton, brothers aged just 12 and 1a. also in the car we re aged just 12 and 1a. also in the car were darnell harte, anthoney armour and robbie meerun. anthony armour

was a father of two. the car was stolen and some of the people in the car were known to police. there were six people in the car which is designed to take a maximum of five passengers. the single survivor, aged 15, was arrested on saturday night. he remains in custody as the families of those who died struggled to deal with the aftermath. some of the other stories making bbc news at five. councils in england generated £819 million in profit from parking fees and ines during the last financial year, 10% higher than in the previous one. the figures were obtained by the rac foundation. the local government association said income from parking went towards essential transport projects and repairs. data seen by the bbc shows that 4,800 people were taken to court and threatened with prison for not paying a council tax debt. the figure has risen 11% in four years, despite 2013 government guidance saying court action

should be a "last resort." at least 62 people were locked up in england and wales in 2016—17. the health watchdog nice is to recommend that vaginal mesh operations should be banned from treating organ prolapse in england. draft guidelines from nice say the implants should only be used for research and not routine operations. the indonesian authorities have urged people living near mount agung, a volcano on the island of bali, to move to safety because of fears it‘s about to erupt. last night the island‘s main airport in the captial denpasar was shut, leaving thousands of tourists stranded. officials have ordered that 100,000 residents need to leave the immediate area around the volcano, but so far only 40,000 have done so. the volcano first began belching thick smoke last week. the last time it erupted in 1963 more than a thousand people died.

0ur correspondent tom burridge has the latest. a giant cloud of rocks, glass, crystal and gas spews out of bali‘s tallest volcano. mount agung started stirring two months ago, but the force of nature here has taken another unpredictable turn. i‘m very concerned for the people within the exclusion zones. i really hope they manage to get out of the way. the biggest worries are the mudflows which began several hours ago now. if this develops and starts to produce hot, rapidly moving avalanches down the volcano, that is a very big concern. life does go on nearby. many remain here even as the authorities work to evacuate 100,000 people. the hope, that there won‘t be

the death and destruction wrought by mount agung last time round. that was in 1963. in a country with a history of volcanic eruptions, this was one of the worst. archive footage: ash and lava leave 100,000 acres forever unproductive. more than 1000 died. the orange glow today, magma visible at the top of the volcano, a sign that a full—scale eruption could come soon. as the magma‘s moved up through the volcano, it has heated water inside, creating steam and pressure. breaking off fragments of rock and hurling it thousands of metres into the air. so for weeks some have been living in temporary accommodation, ever since tiny earthquakes caused by the volcano were detected. but others in the many villages surrounding mount agung have no choice but to stay put.

translation: i'm scared but i don't have the money to leave. and this morning, disruption as the island‘s airport closed. thousands of holidays and journeys affected. we have got no information because the gates to check—in have been closed, indefinitely. some tourists, though, staying put to take it all in. this could be a relatively minor eruption over a long period of time, or something more serious. even for experts, predicting what a volcano will do next is an impossible task. tom burridge, bbc news. we will catch up with the headlines and the sport and we will have more on the engagement between prince

harry and meghan markle as more commentary and reaction comes in the next half hour or so. a little later, we will be sharing the first interview that has been done by the bbc‘s michelle hussein by the statement with the couple within the next half hour or so so stay with us for all of that. it might have felt chilly today with gusty winds but if anything it is going to get colder. nice end to the day in fife, the sun showed there, some showery cloud on the distant horizon but still and in the last half hour at the glencoe ski resort have announced that they are going to open so there is enough snow for skiing in the mountains of scotland and it is stilljust november. 0n the satellite picture, plenty of shower clouds moving in across north—western areas. they will continue as we go over night and there will be snow in the higher parts of scotland, three or 400 elevation. things could get icy across both scotland and also in

northern ireland where a few patches of frost are possible. by and large, brisk winds just about keeping temperatures a few degrees above freezing although it may feel like that tomorrow morning. it will feel pretty silly. the cold weather is here to stay. why? because we have this big ridge of high pressure blocking milder weather from the west atla ntic blocking milder weather from the west atlantic from reaching our stores and instead we are in the cold northerly winds and over the next few days, the air is going to get progressively colder and colder. probably the coldest day of this week will be thursday, three degrees in sheffield, eight for the time of year is average. as we look at tomorrow, a cold start the day. i surround first thing in scotland and again some wintry showers dotted around at first. shadows from the word go across northern ireland and the north west of england and wales but come inland and there will be plenty of sunshine. quite breezy with temperatures around three or four celsius, low humidity and it will feel really quite cold first thing in the morning. the other

change to notice during the day is more of the northerly wind which will drag these shall resign from the north sea to affect eastern areas of scotland and eastern areas of england so much greater chance of seeing reindeer. they could have a wintry flavour is specially over higher parts. the north york moors and maybe one or two getting to the north pennines as well but a cold day and temperatures 5—7 for most of us. day and temperatures 5—7 for most of us. wednesday and thursday, the pattern looks pretty similar. northerly winds, calls, one shower strea m northerly winds, calls, one shower stream moving into western areas down the irish sea so getting into pa rt down the irish sea so getting into part of pembrokeshire, cornwall and devon and showers affecting eastern areas but as those temperatures start to fall away, so increasingly there will be a risk of getting some snow in the showers and potentially even down to lower elevations across parts of the north and east. yes, it is going to get colder over the next few days. if you

this is bbc news — the headlines. prince harry announces his engagement to actress meghan markle. they will marry next spring. the ring designed by the prince contains diamonds that belonged to his mother. the queen and duke of edinburgh said they were ‘delighted‘ at the news,

as was prince charles. two pharmaceutical firms have said they‘ll invest more than £1 billion in the uk — creating nearly 2,000 jobs. and a volcano warning — 100,000 people in bali have been ordered to leave the area as officials fear a major eruption. sport now, here‘s holly hamilton. good evening. let‘s start with the cricket and as australia wrap up the first test — england have less than a week to prepare for the second in adelaide on saturday — but for now attention has been off the pitch. wicket keeperjonny bairstow had to field questions today about an alleged headbutt towards australian opening area

batsman cameron bancroft earlier this month — our correspondent andy swiss has more. as australia cruised to victory the focus was onjonny bairstow behind the stumps and cameron bancroft and fun. what happened between the many bars for weeks ago? after hitting the winning runs bancroft revealed bu rstow‘s the winning runs bancroft revealed burstow‘s pissarro greetings was a typewritten dynamical conversation withjohnny typewritten dynamical conversation with johnny and he greeted typewritten dynamical conversation withjohnny and he greeted me with a head—butt. withjohnny and he greeted me with a head-butt. i was expecting a handshake but it was not the greeting of choice that i was inspecting. as for burstow, he insisted the incident had been blown out of proportion. cameron and i enjoyed the evening and continued to do so. there was no intentional malice about anything during the evening. as you can see that there's

no animosity between myself and cameron and any of the other australian players. england side and will be no disciplinary action againstjonny bairstow but after losing this match fit as a distraction and they have the need and one that raises more questions about players behaviour. after the incident involving ben stokes and now this, the ecb said it will be reminding the squad of their responsibilities and one former england captain says the players should be more careful. to arrive in australia, you have to get overjet lag and many teams do what's jonny ba i rstow lag and many teams do what's jonny bairstow and the boys did on that first night. but with what has gone back home and everything surrounding the england team at the minute, the lads have to be a little bit smarter. england's ashes has begun a defeat and controversy. what was already ate off challengers know a whole lot tougher. the mac already eight off challenge.

west brom‘s interim head coach gary megson has been told he‘ll still be in charge of their premier league match against newcastle tomorrow night. west brom sit 17th in the table and are reported to be close to appointing alan pardew as the permanent replacement to tony pulis, who was sacked as manager last week. but megson says he doesn‘t know how long that‘ll take. absolutely no idea. they will make their mind up on who they want to be their mind up on who they want to be the candidate. i am just doing this job for as long as i am told and then you will see what happens after that. i am sure they will take the time, get the person they want and like everybody else you decisions and there are consequences to them. it is for other people to judge, not myself. and some more manager news — sam allardyce is the leading contender for the everton manager‘s job. the former england manager is back in frame for the job after everton suffered a 4—1 defeat at southampton. romelu lukaku will face no further punishment from the fa, for an apparent kick at brighton defender gayton bong.

the alleged incident wasn‘t seen by the referee at the time but retrospective action could have meant the striker was banned for three games. a panel of three former premier league referees failed to all agree it was deemed worthy of a red card. wales‘ ross moriarty willjoin dragons from gloucester, for the start of next season the british and irish lion has never played his club rugby in wales, but the move was made necessary by their new selection policy and follows team—mate george north‘s return back to his home country. that‘s all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. and we‘ll have more for you in sportsday at half past six. more now on the announcement that prince harry and meghan markle are engaged and will marry next spring. although meghan is best—known for her role in tv show suits, she has also been honoured for her humanitarian

and charity work. one of the organisations meghan has worked with is 0ne young world, a charity that encourages young people to have an active role in global issues. here‘s meghan markle speaking at a summit three years ago in dublin. every script began with she enters wearing a towel. we have already seen wearing a towel. we have already seen it and that it certain point you feel empowered to say no. it is a challenging thing to do if you do not know your worth and value for women to speak up. as an auditioning actresses women to speak up. as an auditioning a ctresses years women to speak up. as an auditioning actresses years ago you are so hungry for work of course you‘re going to do things like that. a lot of these women in the videos, that

is still exciting for them. what we need to shift in the mains is that they have higher value than that and they have higher value than that and they do not need to be doing that. for me speaking up and being able to say i am not going to do that any more has been a big shift personally. ella robertson is from the charity and has worked with meghan on several occasions. edu sense in that clip of the strength of character, real eloquence and if willingness to speak out. there is that a fair summary speak out. there is that a fair summary of the kind of character?- yes and she is genuinely committed to the issues. particularly gender equality. it is not something that she has recently come across something she has always cared about and lends an eloquent and passionate voice to it. what are the real issues? we have talked about women‘s rights, quality, as the one campaign issue that she feels more strongly

about and anything else?|j issue that she feels more strongly about and anything else? i think it is gender equality and have worked with world vision, and united nations women‘s, shows that. within theissue nations women‘s, shows that. within the issue of gender equality it is across the board. it is things like the entertainment industry, she has recently written an article for time magazine about equal access to health care in india saw knowledge is very deep and the passion is very sincere. would you say she has achieved things in these areas? yes i would. i think through using our platform as an actress and raising awareness of these issues makes it easy to talk about and one of the things she says about being a television star is that people feel they know you because they have been watching you and their homes in their pyjamas for many years and they come up to you and fill your other friend. they come up to you and fill your otherfriend. she brings a familiarity and sincerity to these issues but not everybody can do. looking at these images, what is your view on the immense pressures

of this role? it is so visible and a different role together from even the one she has had before she has obviously been a public figure. is a different sphere. how will she respond to it? it is considered a unique and the combination of experience in the entertainment industry and having fans around the world who want to take self is an talk to her as a phenomenon, and being involved in so much vanity and so being involved in so much vanity and so much humanitarian work. , she is a quote for thejob. —— she is equipped for thejob. a quote for thejob. —— she is equipped for the job. it is a question of character, you think she has the resources to do with it? she certainly very professional and personable and used to working in high—pressure exposed situations. i think she will do a greatjob. high—pressure exposed situations. i

think she will do a great job. the question now is, to what extent they she will be able to within the kind of moral parameters pursue some of theseissues of moral parameters pursue some of these issues as enthusiastically as she has done? —— the royal parameters. she wrote an article about menstrual health and that was after a relationship with prince harry was announced and she felt co mforta ble harry was announced and she felt comfortable doing it. prince harry and the royal highness is having tackling mental health and issues that are difficult to talk about jaidee not —— do i do not think she is concerned, she will speak about what she cares about and she has been supported. in terms of the bond between this young couple, clearly in love, what do you think are the elements they really buying them together? —— bind them together?

prince harry has been incredible with the invicta schemes and google introduced to meghan so issues that buy them together and i am sure there is a lot of spark a lot of other as well. thank you. it is 5:42pm. six british men who‘ve been in prison in india for more than four years have been freed by an appeals court. they were jailed on weapons charges while working on ships in the indian ocean. they said they were security guards employed to combat piracy. 0ur correspondent sanjoy majumder sent this report from chennai — it begins with the moment relatives heard the news during an interview with the bbc. all 35 released. oh, my god! a short text message with the news they have been waiting to hearforfour years.

yvonne machugh‘s partner billy irving and joanne tomlinson‘s brotherjohn armstrong are among six former british soldiers acquitted of smuggling arms into india. it‘s an emotional moment for the families of the six men. they‘d campaigned long and hard to bring them home, and were nervous in the hours living up to the verdict. it's official — the lawyer'sjust messaged. we've been waiting for four years so we have kind of got used to the waiting, but that doesn't mean it gets any easier, especially at times like this when we know the judge has written his verdict — he knows what he's going to say. we just want him to announce it. the men were on board this ship, the american—owned mv seaman guard 0hio, when it entered the southern indian coast in october 2013. they were accused of illegally possessing arms, a charge they denied, saying they were legally carrying weapons as part of anti—piracy operations to protect merchant ships.

in january last year, to their horror, they were convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. this is where they have spent their time, behind the high walls of a prison outside the southern indian city of chennai. conditions have been grim. they have slept on the floor and lost considerable weight, with minimal contact with theirfamilies. once the judge‘s orders is officially communicated to the prison authorities the six former british soldiers will finally walk free, emerging from the gates you see behind me, the chennai central prison where they have been for four years. they have spent several anxious weeks expecting to hear of their fate and finally they are free to go home and be reunited with their families. years of frustration and restoration have finally given way to joy as news of their release is shared swiftly with friends and family. gratitude for those who have

given their support. thank you for everything you‘ve ever done for us. sanjoy majumder, bbc news, chennai. the latest data from local authorities in england, wales and northern ireland suggest an increasing number of children with special needs are being educated at home. the government says it‘s creating extra places at special schools, as our education editor bramwen jeffries reports. for more than a year, emily has been learning at home. she‘s been diagnosed with autism and adhd. school felt noisy and overwhelming. a bit stressful because i don‘t really like, like, a lot of loud noises because itjust makes me really upset and i want to learn things that i‘m interested in, but, it‘s like i can‘t learn anything because i don‘t know how to and they don‘t tell me how. emily would get angry and lash out.

now she is on medication at home. her mum, lorna, decided to home educate after trying three schools. i couldn‘t cope with her going to school and then coming back with her so stressed out, so angry at me and then not wanting to go to school the next day. the meltdowns were horrendous and i can‘t pick her up and put her in the car and physically take her to school. lorna isn‘t the only parent to reach this decision. a growing number of families with children with special needs are deciding to home educate. the fear is they‘re doing that because they feel let down by the school system. between 2013 and 2017 there was a 57% increase in children with special needs being home educated, and that‘s just children who have a statement or equivalent in england, wales or northern ireland. it‘s a 64% increase if you just look at england. scotland has a different system, making comparisons difficult.

i think before there was people genuinely making a choice because that was the right thing for them and now there are too many families who are saying they don‘t feel like they have either option so they‘re having to resort to home education, that can‘t be right. emily is learning differently with some extra classes. she‘s happier out of schools but misses her friends. in england, the government says more special education places are being created and its putting money into the system to make it work better. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. this is bbc news at five — the headlines. prince harry and meghan markle have made their first public appearance since announcing their engagement. the couple will marry in the spring. the government launches a plan to reverse the slowdown in britain‘s productivity and growth. 100,000 people near bali‘s mount agung have been ordered to evacuate —

as officials fear a major eruption. an update on the market numbers for you — here‘s how london‘s and frankfurt ended the day. and in the the united states this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. let‘s get more now on our top story — prince harry and meghan markle announcing their engagement. the couple got engaged earlier this month after meeting last year. they plan to marry next spring. meghan markle, who is 36, is not your typical royal bride — she‘s from los angeles, she‘s an actress best known for her role in the tv series suits. she is mixed race and has been married before. joining me now is the cultural commentator basma khalifa and royal writer and photographer ian lloyd.

thank you forjoining us. what is your thought on the kind of role that she will want to play?|j your thought on the kind of role that she will want to play? i think she will play a pretty significant role. i think representing young woman, representing women of different backgrounds. that is—year—old she will probably play. it is important because we are moving so followed in society, there are so many moving so followed in society, there are so many different types of people and everyone wants to have their say and be talked about and i think she represents every girl. a mixed race couple, a caucasian girl, the black girl and she has a powerful woman and all before she met harry so she can be just as powerful and have her prince charming. it is a remarkably rich mix. what does she represent and

what does today‘s news represent? mix. what does she represent and what does today's news represent?” think for prince harry he has a partner because last week when he was at windsor castle with william and kate, he seems to tag along with them. isaw and kate, he seems to tag along with them. i saw them last year at the queen putt 90th birthday and the three of them arrive together. now he has a partnerand three of them arrive together. now he has a partner and they can arrive one after the other. he has his other half. he made a remark for five years ago and that american television interview where and i am paraphrasing but he said he was looking for somebody who would be prepared to take on this role, another was acknowledging that there isa another was acknowledging that there is a huge burden involved in this. what is your thought on the capability of meghan markle who is clearly a very able and assertive person to fulfil that role? she does not seem to need the sort of thinning that diana and sarah ferguson needed all those years ago. —— the sort of training. she has

experienced as an a list and has dealt with the press and cameras and addressed conferences. she will easily slip into that sort of role. it isa easily slip into that sort of role. it is a good point, easily slipping into a role which for most people would be an impossible one. campaigning, these are political issues and for some people that is an area of sensitivity that the royals possibly should not be involved in. what are your thoughts on how active she should be?” involved in. what are your thoughts on how active she should be? i think she is already active. she has a very pennies and woman and she has so very pennies and woman and she has so say with a humanitarian work and have qualities. she says things already so it is not much of a shift in who she already is. i think she has an opinion it in woman and she stands for the right things. the question as to what extent she might

become slightly less forceful and the way she offers opinions, she does not seem to be the kind of person who would want to there.” does not seem to be the kind of person who would want to there. i do not think she will be told what to do. she carries herself so well. evenif do. she carries herself so well. even if she is forceful with our opinions, she is good at what she says and she says with politeness and authority that they do not think she will they will the wider problem because she never necessarily says anything she should not say. in terms of the wider royal family, what this represents in terms of the kind of person she is, the kind of qualities and values that she now brings into the wider royal family, what are your thoughts on that? she will reinvigorate the royal family. the queen and prince philip longer doing overseas tours, charles and camilla are 70, they will give you and vitality and undertake visits abroad but it is interesting that

the charities referred to, she was involved in clean water for rwanda. africa is harry and william's favourite area and empowerment for women. it is very modern. moving away from flower shows and cutting ribbons, it is a different type of royal family. thoughts on what we have seen on the kind of relationship because again it is a.d. calibrating the kind of traditional relationship and may have seen in the past. the public are going to see a couple who are interacting in a different way.” like to think of it as a modern meghan. she is a modern—day princess. they can be best friends and hang out and do those things but also they will fulfil the duties and i think we have to move forward in the modern—day and assess what you want, we want to see someone we can look at and say she relates to me

about alleged to have and this is the royal family are about alleged to have and this is the royalfamily are not about alleged to have and this is the royal family are not as untouchable with someone like. the royal family are not as untouchable with someone likem the royal family are not as untouchable with someone like. it is character changes. it is that conundrum that they want continuity but also change. that is the whole secret of the success in one way of the lasting success of the royal family that sense of continuity and yet it‘s depends on renewal. family that sense of continuity and yet it's depends on renewal. this is pa rt of yet it's depends on renewal. this is part of that. i first remember the royal family and the 19605 and 19705 and it went through a boring patch, the queen and prince philip were middle—aged and there was little intere5t so they have to do a road documentary and it started when charle5 married diana, the interest from the press which goes in pics and troughs and this is another glamorou5 figure and this is definitely a peak. when we think of the charity work on mental health

for example that william and kate and harry have been involved in which is impressed so many people, for meghan coming into that, she has an important contribution to make demented neutrophil that.” an important contribution to make demented neutrophilthat. i think she does and i think she will. -- to the of that. and as well as being a an actress and a model and presenter she is very adaptable so i think mental health and the rising of issues official tuck them below. —— i think she will tackle them really well. a question about british society, there is certainly a? question mark about the

relationship, to what extent does have a arrival help us to understand more about the nature of the society we have, the factory want to be outward looking and that is a very important thing for us? and so many ways, being mixed race, and have to be able to speak to both sides of the party is so important. for americans, villa british culture and our royalfamily americans, villa british culture and our royal family suffered them it is kind of any sense kind of sweet, they have a little piece of the pie as well and we are moving forward so much that we are opening up, let‘s share, and that is the really world should be going so of it is a positive. a final thought on the impact in terms of the way british society is also changing the character, what is meghan markle‘s arrival tell us about that?” character, what is meghan markle‘s arrival tell us about that? i think it has been interesting that since

they announced that they were together as a couple, the very fact that she is american and divorced and of mixed race descent ha5 that she is american and divorced and of mixed race descent has not been an issue. that to me is quite amazing. i rememberwhen prince andrew dated koo stark and then in the 19805, had she been adjusted divorced that would emit a no—no so we have come a long way. good to talk to you both. thank you. for adding a few perspectives of what has been a very happy day at kensington palace. injust a moment here on the bbc news channel i‘ll be bringing you prince harry and meghan markle‘s first interview since their engagement was announced — they‘ve been speaking to the bbc‘s mishal husain. the bbc news at six with all the day‘s news will be on bbc one.

time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. a glorious end to the day in scotland. this was the sunset and fife. a bit of snow in the mountains over scotland. 0ne fife. a bit of snow in the mountains over scotland. one of the scottish ski resorts, glen court announced it would be opening this winter tomorrow. a bit of snow up there. on the satellite picture, showing clouds showing across the north—west, a cloudy day for the sofa across much of england and wales. 0ccasional brighter spells. through the night, show was rattling and on that brisk north—westerly wind and that has made it feel critical today. cold enough for some snow and the scottish hills and a risk of ice with a few patches of

frost possible but for many temperatures of staying above freezing on account of the brisk winds. 0ver freezing on account of the brisk winds. over this week, a big area of high pressure stretching from the mid—atlantic high pressure stretching from the mid—atla ntic to greenland high pressure stretching from the mid—atlantic to greenland which is stopping the mild on atlantic winds from moving towards our shores and instead we are stuck with cold northerly winds. this week temperatures going down a day by day, the coldest on thursday, temperatures for example in sheffield around about three degrees, 5 degrees below normal for the time of year. tomorrow morning, a cold start, a number of showers across the northwest and northern ireland and england and wales in the northwest, trickling down into cornwall and devon as well. generally head inland and although it will be cold and breezy, many areas have a lot of sunshine. you will need to wrap up warm, it will feel on the cold side. through the afternoon, winds going even more

northerly, tracking and showers from the nazi to affect eastern coast of scotla nd the nazi to affect eastern coast of scotland —— showers from the north sea. and land areas dry and sunny but cold, cold than today, temperatures for the most between five and seven. for wednesday and thursday, whether looking similar, ecole stuck to the day, foster‘s melbourne plenty of sunshine and land and showers down the irish sea copying west wales, asked of cornwall and devon but as the aid gets colder, temperatures and —— area gets colder, snow any showers and getting down to low levels, feeling colder later this week. prince harry and his american girlfriend

meghan markle are engaged — there‘ll be a royal wedding in the spring. the couple appeared together here at kensington palace this afternoon. they revealed they got engaged in secret earlier this month. the queen and duke of edinburgh said they were delighted. this afternoon, they were delighted. this afternoon, they gave an interview to