hello, this is breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. every active rape case in england and wales is to be reviewed because of recent failures to disclose evidence. the director of public prosecutions said cases yet to come to trial would be examined as a matter of urgency and admits some will have to be stopped. good morning. it's saturday the 27th of january. also on the programme this morning, paris on high alert as record rainfall causes the river seine to burst its banks. the implied us gymnastics board resigns over its handling of the larry nassar sex abuse scandal. relief for 1000 workers at aerospace firm bombardier, the us authorities stop plans to impose massive tariffs ofa stop plans to impose massive tariffs of a plane parts made in belfast.

in sport, no fa cup finalfor of a plane parts made in belfast. in sport, no fa cup final for yeovil town, beaten 4—0 by manchester united, alexis sanchez the new signing instrumental but tonight newport county have the chance for an upset when they take on totte n ha m. an upset when they take on tottenham. and susan has the weather. good morning, we will be up against the cloud this weekend, some pretty grey prospects for most of today. a windy story. more details coming up. thank you. 0ur our main story: all current rape and sexual assault cases in england and wales are being reviewed as a matter of urgency. the announcement from the director of public prosecutions follows the recent collapse of several high profile trials after vital evidence had not been shared with defence lawyers. it's believed a number of cases could be stopped asa a number of cases could be stopped as a result. adina campbell has more. ina move in a move seemed to help rebuild trust in the justice system, every rape and sexual assault case in

england and wales is now under review. the crown prosecution service has taken action after public concerns that evidence particularly digital records are not being disclosed early enough to defence lawyers. 22—year—old liam allen was wrongly accused of rape and sexual assault, but his trial collapsed last month after the metropolitan police failed to disclose phone records which were vital evidence. last week, a rape charge against 0xford vital evidence. last week, a rape charge against oxford university student 0liver mears was dropped shortly before his trial when a diary which supported his case was uncovered. and danny kay, who had a rape conviction overturned after spending two years in prison, said earlier this month he felt let down by the justice system. devastating. for a system that you trust to let you down and i had

com plete trust to let you down and i had complete faith in it. i trusted the truth would come out in trial and it didn't. earlier this week the bbc revealed at the number of collapsed prosecutions increased by 70% over the last two years. a national disclosure plan has now been published by the cps, the national police chiefs council and the couege police chiefs council and the college of policing to help make improvements. adina campbell, bbc news. the prime minister has welcomed a landmark ruling by trade authorities in the us overturning a decision to impose huge tariffs on planes partly built in the uk. the aerospace firm bombardier won a surprise victory in its dispute with boeing about selling its passengerjets to us airlines. the wings for the planes are manufactured in belfast. 0ur ireland correspondent chris bates reports. workers, politicians and business leaders had feared one of bombardier‘s biggest projects would

be grounded. the firm in belfast has 4000 employees and a quarter of them work in the c series jet. but the programme was after threat after boeing claimed it was unfairly subsidised because of financial help from the canadian and british governments. the authorities in washington initially proposed to impose tariffs ofjust under 300% on imports of the c series. but last night, the us international trade commission decided not to go ahead with the tariffs, the four commissioners all voting in bombardier‘s favour. workers and their representatives were surprised but very pleased. the workforce has stayed squarely behind this, put their shoulder to the wheel, we've seen politicians nationally given up the ghost saying this is something that can't be overturned, we've demonstrated tonight the power of trade unions globally, we work with our colleagues in canada the us and this is a victory for workers to like. the prime ministers spoke to donald

trump at the world economics of it in damascus week about the dispute. theresa may tweeted she welcomed the decision is good news for british industry. people have been prepared here for bad news from across the atlantic but there are delighted with this unexpected result. after months of worry, bombardier‘s bigotry in this trade dispute has brought a great sense of relief. chris page, bbc news, belfast. residence in paris are bracing for further disruption as flooding in the city is respected to peak. some of the wettest january read the in more than a century saw the river seine rise more than five metres above its normal level

by midday friday, the water was up to his thighs. in the southern suburb of villeneuve—le—roi, river police have been helping families flee their homes. translation: in the four years i've lived here, twice it has flooded. it's a big deal. i have two children. it's traumatising. experts say the river could stay high throughout next week, especially if more rain falls. and with increasingly unpredictable weather comes a sense of uncertainty for people in paris as to when the waters will return. stefan levy, bbc news. the entire us gymnastics board is to

resign because of its handling of the sex abuse scandal involving the former team doctor, larry nasa. the country's 0lympic former team doctor, larry nasa. the country's olympic committee threatened to strip the organisation of its powers if the directors failed to step down. larry nassar has been given a prison sentence of up has been given a prison sentence of up to 175 years. peter bowes reports. as larry nassar begins to what amounts to a life sentence, the fallout from the abuse scandal has been swift and decisive. the entire board of usa gymnastics has gone and there have been other resignations too. mark hollis was the athletic director at michigan state university when nassar worked there. he and another official have decided to quit. it's been an absolute honour to guide the athletic department for the last decade. that being said, today i'm announcing my retirement. i'm not running away from anything, i'm running towards something. comfort, compassion and understanding for the survivors in our community. togetherness, time and love for my family. there's been reports that

michigan state university and usa gymnastics knew all the abuse claims but failed to take action. they've both denied there was a cover—up. with several investigations into abuse in us sports now under way, the recriminations are onlyjust beginning. peter bowes, bbc news. 0fficials officials in cape town are urging people to limit flushing their toilets to conserve their water as the city continues to battle a severe drought. water supplies in the south african city are due to run out in early april after three years of exceptionally low rainfall. residents have been advised to limit showering to twice a week and save water as if their lives depended on

it. new research shows companies are abusing a loophole in the law to put up abusing a loophole in the law to put up telephone boxes on the high street and then using them as little more than advertising billboards. the local government association says there's been a tenfold increase in applications to install the boxes, which don't require formal planning permission. keith doyle has more. phone boxes used to be an integral pa rt phone boxes used to be an integral part of our high streets, but mobile phones have made them almost redundant. while bt is scrapping half its remaining 40,000 phone kiosks, councils have seen a huge surge in applications for new ones from other companies. the local government association says because planning permission is not required it believes many applicants are more interested in the prime advertising space than providing a phone service. is anyone actually using these phones? nobody is using them. this is just here as an advertisement? it's an advertising board in the high—street.

what we want to do is them to go with the normal planning system, if you want a hoarding, you have to have planning permission, we want the same from these boxes, they're like trojans getting round the planning system by being put on phone boxes that people actually don't use. this is prime advertising space right in the heart of london right off 0xford space right in the heart of london right off oxford street. two years ago westminster council got applications forjust 13 ago westminster council got applications for just 13 new ago westminster council got applications forjust 13 new phone kiosks, last year there was 180. in liverpool for the same period the figure went from ten to 97 and in newcastle, where two years ago there was an application forjust one new phone kiosk, last year it was 95 and the local government association is questioning whether it's the phones they want all the advertising space. new technology means there's a demand for a generation of phone and communication points on our streets, but councils say the law also needs to be brought up to date to control what they say is the scourge of

unregulated high—street advertising. keith doyle, bbc news. let's get up to date with the newspapers this morning. some of the front pages, the front page of the guardian, i'm not used to the new shape of the guardian as yet. and the colour change as well. a surge yet. and the colour change as well. asurge in yet. and the colour change as well. a surge in support for a second eu referendum, looking at guardian icm poll, lot of debate on this, many polls saying different things, this one suggesting britain's favour another on brexit. we will hear more about that over the coming weeks. the daily express is looking at brexit and saying the boom is here, defying the brexit doom mongers once again, exceeding expectations with the economy after figures yesterday showed growth in the fourth quarter was 0.5%. this picture is of paul yunker, the singer, and his wife, stacey, who has died at 52 from brain cancer. the front page of the daily mail, we've heard about the stresses of on the nhs, that's been

due to the flu, but here three in four health trusts deny speaking about hip and knee surgery if patients aren't in enough pain. campaigners say these kinds of operations and the patients are easy targets for cost—cutting. the daily telegraph looking again at another brexit story on the front page saying british officials are in discussions with brussels about extending the brexit transition period to almost three years. you all know the official target, the one that's been spoken about, was around two years and this is gavin williamson, the defence secretary, pictured with his wife, joanne, as there are questions about the circumstances of an old job following a relationship he had with a colleague. he said his marriage came under pressure after an affair in 2004. on the front page of the times, it's been all over the news

in the past few days, donald trump's visit to switzerland and the world economic forum, he waves as he leaves after his keynote address yesterday. it is our lead story this morning, the front page of the times, every rape and serious assault case in england and wales to be reviewed by the cps after the collapse of a number of trials. this is about the failure to disclose evidence in rape trials. another story we have been talking about this morning is the flooding parisians have seen in their city. five metres above normal levels, the river seine has been at, obviously there's been a lot of rain and susan, how has that been affecting things? good morning. what you see here at the moment is a clearer in trouble across paris but what we've had is one weather front after the other putting in relentless rain. i'll emphasise we're getting news out of paris, that's a prominent story, but

half of france basically is on high flood alert and there's big problems further south as well. you can see a weather system here. a lot of snow across the alps, lots of that has been melting to top up the rivers and more rain adding to the misery. a lot of france struggling at the moment. heading closer home to the uk and let's see what's in store. looking at the satellite picture there's a real strea m at the satellite picture there's a real stream of cloud backing out into the atlantic, and you can just make out a little bit in east anglia and the south—east of england. a little bit of clear sky. but the cloud is piling in from the west and the story really for today, it will be grey and for some rather wet one as well. the rain already in the two northern ireland and it will clear eastwards in the next couple of hours. so an improving story here through the morning, but the scotla nd through the morning, but the scotland and northern england parked up scotland and northern england parked up under the weather front it's a wet start to the day. a very windy

start as well and the northern and western scotland it will generally be windy throughout the day. northern ireland looks a lot drier by nine a.m.. rain in the north—west of england could be heavy on western hills. drizzle at this point, pushing into the midlands, but the wales and the south—west of wet spell. chilly a further east, with patchy frost in east anglia and the south—east, but a chance of early sunshine. it is shortly. —— short lived. the weather front will move eastward through the morning. keeping the gales going into the afternoon, we should see sunshine the northern and western scotland. sunshine for northern ireland and northern england. further south in dries up for wales and the south—west. a low cloud. rain for the second half of the day. that front is off into the continent, again with the chance of more rain in paris. it keeps topping things

up. we are left with a lot of mild air in the british isles. these are the overnight lows. 10 degrees. mild for this time of year. a lot of low cloud, with the mist and murk in the west. you can see how this front snakes its way all the way back into the atlantic and across the uk. we have a feed of grey and dank weather to finish off the weekend. in terms of rainfall, scotland and northern ireland seeing the wettest weather on sunday. further south, a few glimmers of brightness to higher ground, but a lot of cloud around and drizzly outbreaks of rain. temperatures amazing for the time of year. some in the north—west could see up to 15 degrees. here is the front, kinky bus company and sitting across the central belt of the british isles. —— keen to keep us company. british isles. —— keen to keep us com pa ny. slowly british isles. —— keen to keep us company. slowly coming south and bringing heavy rain. drierand brighter to the north, but chilly conditions coming later on the day

on monday. that's the way things are shaping up now. thanks very much. those temperatures are extraordinary. time now for the film of you. —— the film review. welcome to the film review on bbc news. to take us through this week's cinema releases is mark kermode. what have you been watching? an interesting week. we have downsizing. early man, always a treat. and we not quite sequel.m looks intriguing, yourfirst choice. that's what i would say. intriguing

is exactly the word. this is something a bit different. it takes riffs from the incredible shrinking man and combine that with the eco— themes of an inconvient truth and also spanglish. process is discovered to shrink people down to about five inches. you become tiny. then you will use less resources and you can produce less stuff to dispose. everyone have to agree this isa dispose. everyone have to agree this is a good idea, but the real reason people are doing it is because the lifestyle you get offered if you to become small is more extravagant than you can get on the big world. here's a clip. so the decision to... that's the thing, downsizing takes the pressure off, especially money pressure. it must feel good to know you are making a difference? you mean all that clap about saving the

planet? downsizing is about saving yourself. i'm still living in the same house i grew up in! audrey is dying for us to move. we are really strapped. there are a lot of small community is propping up, i don't mess around. liege land is where you wa nt mess around. liege land is where you want to be. it has all of the great restaurants. —— leisure. maybe back up restaurants. —— leisure. maybe back upa restaurants. —— leisure. maybe back up a little. i think it might be too much garlic in the source you had. right. it's a really interesting set up right. it's a really interesting set up and that looks like the beginning ofa up and that looks like the beginning of a great movie. then what happens is matt damon's character decides he will downsize and when he does he discovers he is isolated and alone and discontent, just like it was in the bigger world, although he is much smaller. unfortunately what happens to the film is it loses its direction. for a start, happens to the film is it loses its direction. fora start, once happens to the film is it loses its direction. for a start, once you get into the small community there's very little of that interacting with a one and most of the movies where

they deal with miniaturisation it is they deal with miniaturisation it is the small versus large. here, there are large sections where you can forget you are in a small world, which is kind of the point but makes it interesting. more troublesome is the number of threads it is dealing with. the eco— crisis, the personal crises, generally the middle—aged malaise. some either as elements don't only not come together, they start completely fracturing. the film is not short. it is two and a quarter hours long and it could have done with some downsizing in its running time, frankly. after the initial setup and promise, after what looked like being a good use of a science fiction premise, it falls apart. it's a shame because there are lots of interesting ideas and it's always good to see a director aiming big even if it does not come together. but i have to say there was a good half of it i find frustrating. having given you all these ideas, it then does not know what to do with them.

it does not know whether it wants to be funny, satirical, sombre about the fate of the planet or whether it wants to concentrate on a marriage falling apart. it ends up not satisfying any of them. unfortunately, it is terribly unsatisfying, despite the fact it starts so well. very disappointing. i was a big fan of sideways. me, too. and i am a very big fan of wallace and gromit. and no disappointment for earlyman. a stone age clanis driven out of its valley by the arrival of lord knuth who says the stone age is over and long live the age of bronze. what then happens is the young hero, dug, agrees to have a football match for ownership of the valley. it turns out that way back in his heritage, football is deep in his genes. however, all his tribesmen

can't play football, so they have to recruit a young woman to teach them to get the match ready. firstly, the visuals are incredible. they use some computer graphics to get a sense of stadium size, but all the primary animation has that aardman feel, it is physical, and i can see you looking at these images. it is fantastic. it is wonderful. and it is properly funny. it has great slapstick jokes that referred to harold lloyd and buster keaton. there is a homage at the very beginning, but it is also not about straightforward end of the pier, innuendo humour. i started laughing right from the very beginning. i never lost it, i laughed all the way through. in the screening there was only me and one other person. i became embarrassed by how much i was laughing. were they enjoying it too?

they were enjoying it but not as much as i was. you see so many comedies with insufficient laughter. all the way through this i chuckled and i was delighted by the visuals. the story was charming. and i can go on my own, i don't need to find a child? everybody understands it. they make genuine family films for people of all ages. i would happily go back and see it again, not least because they were so many fleeting sight gags that i did not catch the first time round. i want to see it again. i love nick park, he does a greatjob. a genius. your third choice? last flag flying. it is adapted from a novel and the last detail was adapted into a film and this is the novel sequel to his novel. it is an adaptation of a novel that is not a sequel. we are going to test people on that.

the story is three former marines are reunited decades later when one of their sons dies in iraq and they go on a road trip together. one of them has taken holy orders. they go on a road trip together and they bicker and the bond and they talk about the past and the present. here is a clip. what if i don't like it? we get stuck with a contract for two years? two years. what if you fall down? have you thought of that? with your legs that is a possibility. you cannot get up and nobody can see you? but with your mobile phone you can get it out and if you could see the numbers, your glasses, i can't see, help me, i cannot get up. 911 calls do not count against minutes either.

come on! if i say yes, will you shut the hell up? the joy of it is the performances. laurence fishburne is really good. steve ca rrell is the person facing up to grief. i think he does that really brilliantly. if you go there looking for a film that is as cutting edge as the last detail, you will be disappointed. if you see it as a film in its own right and you are able to enjoy the ensemble performances, it is a film about their relationship, it is melancholic, it is sad and nostalgic. it is often laughed out loud funny. it will not change the world. rather than saying it is the sequel, it is more of a footnote, but a rather charming footnote, largely because the three central performances carry it through. you were enjoying that clip. yes. it is a film that stands on its own.

oddly enough, the problem becomes if you try and put it next to others and it is a different kettle of fish. it is a not sequel to the movie. is that clear? i think so. and the best dvd? coco came out last week and i love three billboards. it is great that pixar animation is finally back at the top of its game. deals with some really complicated subjects. life, death, grief, loss, memory, but it does it in a way that children and adults alike can watch it. it looks beautiful. if you see it and you love it, get the book of life on dvd. it is a film that prefigures many themes and is also a very good movie. and dvd. ifelt ignorant when i read lots about this because of your

forthcoming recommendation, and it sounds fascinating. ifelt bad i did not know very much about it. in between is a story about three women living in tel aviv, each fighting their own personal battle for freedom against political, religious and social repression. it is beautifully observed, fantastic performances, really, really well written. it deals with difficult subject matter, often very light—hearted and funny. it has a beautifully enigmatic ending and the best way of describing it is you have seen the graduate? yes! at the end is that incredible sense of ambiguity, i think it has that. it is really well worth seeing. it didn't get a huge theatrical release, but i have yet to meet anyone who has seen it who has not loved it. no greater recommendation than that.

thank you very much, mark. an interesting week. we are now creeping up towards awards season as well. right in the middle of it. lots to talk about in the coming weeks. a quick reminder before we go that you'll find more film news and reviews from across the bbc online at bbc.co.uk/markkermode. and you can find all our previous programmes on the bbc iplayer. that's it for this week. enjoy your cinema going. see you next time. goodbye. hello, this is breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. here's a summary of the main stories today from bbc news: all current rate and sexual assault cases in england and wales are being reviewed as a matter of urgency —— rape. the

director of public prosecutions announcement follows the collapse of several recent trials including that of 22—year—old liam allen, he was accused of rape but the case against him was dropped after it emerged police failed to hand over vital phone records. it's believed a number of trials could be stopped as a result of the review. the prime minister has welcomed a landmark ruling by trade authorities in the us overturning a decision to impose huge tariffs on planes partly built in the uk. the aerospace firm bombardier won a surprise victory as the dispute with the broking company boeing about selling passengerjets to us airlines. the wings for the planes are manufacturing in belfast where unions said around 1000 jobs could have been at risk at the decision gone against them. the workforce has stayed squarely behind this, put their shoulder to the wheel, we've seen politicians nationally given up the ghost saying this is something that can't be overturned, we've demonstrated tonight the power of trade unions globally, we work with our colleagues in canada the us and this

is a victory for workers to like. residence in paris are bracing themselves for further disruption as flooding is expected to reach its peak —— residents. is the wettest january in more than a century and the river seine got five metres above normal levels yesterday that its. hundreds have been evacuated and tunnels and roads have been sealed off. the louvre museum has shut down displays on lower floors asa shut down displays on lower floors as a precaution. the us gymnastics board will resign because of its handling of a sex abuse scandal involving former team doctor larry nassar. the olympic committee had threatened to strip the organisation of powers had the directors bailed to step down. larry nassar has been given a sentence of 175 years for abusing more than nassar has been given a sentence of 175 year: andy busing more than nassar has been given a sentence of 175 year: andy calmly more than nassar has been given a sentence of 175 year: andy calmly mo his |an i:,-:: fizz-n sue/lacu é..:r.:m stop the 71’; i:,-:: fizz-n sue/lacu é..:r.:m stop the leaving. off, stop the robberfrom leaving. —— stopped. wrestles into the

ground, the owner joined —— stopped. wrestles into the ground, the ownerjoined into restrain the suspect and then the police arrived moments later. nobody is advising anyone to have a go in these circumstances, but you do have to say he did that with some style. the jacket removed calmly and then he said you're not taking anything! good morning, mike. no fa cup fairytale for yeovil town, well beaten by manchester united in the end and the debut man, alexis sanchez, who did pretty well. a good debut for the man worth 18 times the whole yeovil squad as 12 times the whole yeovil squad as 12 time winners manchester united eased toa time winners manchester united eased to a 4—0 win. a goalfor marcus rashford set up by sanchez got them on the on their wayjust before half—time. then the 87 league places separating the sides started to show

as herrera, jesse lingard and lukaku added second—half goals. a few days afterjoining manchester united from arsenal in the swap deal, jose mourinho chose to start alexis sanchez, the highest—paid player in premier league history. he was kicked, booed by the locals but sent home with the man of the match award. how did his manager think he got on? he will bring us all so this extra maturity and class so we are very pleased with him and he was keen to play, i know that was going to be difficult, i knew that was going to be an easy one for him but i'm happy with his performance. the night's other tie was an all championship match with sheffield wednesday beating reading to earn a place in the fifth round 3—1 at hillsborough. there are 12 other fourth—round ties

taking place today, among them newport county of league two taking on... newport nearly went out of the league last season and now they are pushing for a play—off place and remember, they beat leeds united in the last round. beating leeds was my highlight because i could enjoy that game and it was due to our hard work of getting in that position. and what happened at the end of last season was obviously more important for the football club. you only have to see the struggles hartlepool are going through and it could quite easily have been asked. we're fortunate. we're working hard to keep improving and that's what we always do. there will be a new women's champion happy australia day open this morning injust happy australia day open this morning in just under two morning injust under two hours. simona halep and wozniacki meet in the final, both looking to win a maiden grandslam and the world number one ranking is also at stake. wozniacki will go above halep if she wins. i'm just excited, it's another

finals, it's another great two weeks and regardless of what happens now i've done my best and when you go out there on saturday you have everything to win. she's a strong opponent. i've played her many times. like you said, i've won against her many times so it's going to be a different match, a new match, tough one, emotions are there, pressure is therefore both of us so there, pressure is therefore both of us so we'll see what's going to happen, ican't happen, i can't say anything else about it. live commentary of the women's final sta rts live commentary of the women's final starts from 8:30am and highlights are on bbc one from 1:15pm this afternoon. from a first—time winner to a serial grandslam champion, tomorrow morning federer plays a record seventh australian open men's singles final when he plays marin cilic in melbourne looking for a 20th grandslam title. his semi—final opponent chung was retired with severe blisters. federer thrashed cilic in wimbledon last year but

they met in more unusual surroundings a couple of months ago. i'm excited to play against him, he's a great guy, we won the laver cup and had a blast, we saw each other on vacation believe it or not. where was that? in the maldives a couple of months ago, it was just the two of us and we were looking for a hitting partner and it happened we were both there, the weirdest thing. i said the practice in the tropicals helped us get to the final this time around. very cool and i can't wait. even on holiday they play tennis. it's funny, you go around the world on holiday and then you bump into a tennis rival. and then you just say, let's have a game! what else can you do? ithink let's have a game! what else can you do? i think you have sorted out my tuft, naga, apologies! ben stokes has been snapped up this morning for £1.4 million in the auction for the ipl. he has been bought by the register and royals despite facing a charge for affray after an incident outside the

nightclub in bristol in september. he was the most valuable player last year at the 20, twenty20 tournament. england captain joe root england captainjoe root is on seoul, he's in the auction for the first time along with other england players like eoin morgan, who is captaining england in australia at the moment. he says they won't be changing their positive mindset despite losing in adelaide in the fourth 1—dayer by three flat: ' 7 the ernland l 7 , z... the gin-land $5555; cot . .- .-.... . -... .§ runsthingsimproved , ~ — eight runs. things improved slightly with chris woakes hitting an excellent 78 but their total of 196 never looked good enough with australia cruising to the target with 13 overs to spare. the final match of the series, which england have already won, is in perth tomorrow. the third day of the third test between south africa and india came toa between south africa and india came to a dramatic halt when umpires decided the pitch injohannesburg was too dangerous for play to continue. chasing 241 to win the

match in the final innings, elgar was hit on the helmet by a short ball from india's bowled a. discussions took place between the umpires and play was abandoned for the day. play will resume later this morning. it isn't just roger it isn'tjust roger federer doing it for the older sports men, anderson has become the oldest winner of a snowboard or cup event. he's not really that old, 42, depends how old you are! it is his 28th career win in bulgaria in the giant slalom. good timing. the penultimate world cup good timing. the penultimate world cu p eve nt good timing. the penultimate world cup event for, before the winter 0lympics. anderson is the only rider to have competed in the winter 0lympics since snowboarding made its debut in 1998. 42 is very old for snowboarding. very much an old person's sport! do

you know why he is smiling? because he is being mean. 42 is never old. talking of the winter olympics being three weeks away, a moving story to show how the slopes are opening up to all, albeit with mountainous challenges. ed stevens was a british junior champion but at 19 a car accident left him with a traumatic brain injury and many convocations, however, this week, five years on, he's done what many thought was impossible and returned to the slopes in andorra to learn to sit ski. i went with him. getting ready for one of the greatest boarding comebacks. it's rumoured that gloucestershire —— in his room in gloucestershire where he stays reminders when he was british ski champion before at 19 he was left with a brain injury and complex disabilities. are used to do a lot of skiing, would you like to see me ski? he was keen to show me how he got to the top and for five years

these on a mission to get back their. he's come a long way from lifting his head to be able to greet his mum in the morning again. morning, mum. fantastic! you can't talk and laugh at the same time, you know that! physiotherapy staff at the college have help him realise his main dream, strengthening his head and right shoulder muscles that will help him carve his own way down the mountain once more. it's been a massive part of his life. to think that he's going to have a go at doing it again isjust that he's going to have a go at doing it again is just amazing, yeah. it means more than you can imagine. this week the moment came in andorra. it was a gamble because neither ed or anyone else knew exactly how he would react to being back on the slopes. this is it and it's a moment his family never thought they would seek and it's not just a historic moment for him as we go off down the mountain but also for the whole sport because in a way

this opens up the mountains for all. although he was being guided at first, his sit ski has been adapted so ed can soon control his own direction and speed with his head rather than relying on someone pushing him on a wheelchair. by the end of this week he was nearly ready to fly down the slope alone. how was it? pretty amazing for him to do this. and to be taking control. most of the students at national star need assistance with everything they do, so to be able to go out in a sit ski andrew leigh and experience the freedom skiing gives them, not to be wrapped in cotton wool, it's something hard to replicate. ed still has the ability to ski and enjoy it. ed wasn't alone, 20 students from national star we re alone, 20 students from national star were back on the slopes and third years showed how much freedom they can have. it really does open up they can have. it really does open

up the entire mountain. we really aim forgiving up the entire mountain. we really aim for giving everyone the maximum independence possible. josh, zoe, dom and abby worth, followed and the stu d e nts dom and abby worth, followed and the students wanted to give me a taste of how much skill is needed to control your dissent with your upper body. i thought we were off, i thought we were over! but on the slopes i was always going to be in the shadow of a former british champion. another reason you love skiing, ed, is the apres ski. and you said there's some karaoke in there? i'll buy you a beer! ed of opted for a side and the apres ski is a crucial part of this whole experience as these amazing athletes posted their success. and independence. a remarkable experience. they have such a team effort, you have the

instructors and the staff. but you can't wrap them in cotton wool, let them go on their own. when you were sitting there, what was your feeling? it was very unusual. you normally ski? normally i do but badly, it is very strange just using your upper body strength, you felt like you were tipping the whole time. very hard. lots of challenges to ove rco m e time. very hard. lots of challenges to overcome to get down, amazing skills. thanks very much, mike. you're watching breakfast from bbc news, the main stories: an urgent review has been launched into every active rape and serious sexual assault case in england and wales after the collapse of several trials. around 1000 jobs in belfast appear to have been saved after the aerospace firm bombardier won a landmark case against the american company boeing. time to take a look at the weather and susan has everything about

what's going on. good morning. many of us very grateful that we're not in paris this weekend? indeed. a lot of difficult weather across france at the morning. paris looks in the clear at the moment, but obviously we have seen stories about the flooding and the december to january period this year was the third wettest on record. but actually about half of france has severe flood alerts at the moment. a lot of problems in the south, low pressure here at the moment. a lot of snowmelt and a lot of rain, so the situation is very touch and go and actually this area of low pressure could mean difficult conditions on the slopes. fresh snow is great, as it might mean you can't get in and out of your results, it could mean poor visibility and it could mean poor visibility and it could mean poor visibility and it could mean a high risk of avalanche. anyway, let's head back to city the british isles. really this is our

legacy for the weekend. this big area of cloud streaming all the way back into the atlantic and it will also bring with it some rain. we've got weather fronts tucked in there, and it's just pushing across northern ireland. it is nearly out of the way to the east of northern ireland and the picture this morning in northern ireland will be improving. however, for scotland and northern england the front is firmly in place at 9am, so a wet start to the day. a windy prospect for scotland, to the north and west. gales and may be severe gales for a time. heavy rain across the hills to the north—west of england. patchy to the north—west of england. patchy to the east of the pennines. drizzly rain at first in the midlands, but then a wet story for much of the morning for the midlands and wales and the south—west of england. further east it is clear, some early sunshine and quite chilly. it will get mild quite quickly as the south—westerly kicks in and it will also get cloudy and then it will be

the south—east of england and east anglia that has the wet weather this afternoon. elsewhere it will become dry. things are brighter the scotla nd dry. things are brighter the scotland and northern england. showers in northern scotland. further south, still stuck with quite a lot of low cloud, mist and murk. it is breezy to take us through this evening. the wind will be lighter into the small hours. chilly briefly, but with a cloud in the atlantic we will get a lot more of that piling across us towards the end of the night, so it will be a mild start to sunday. rain on the forecast from the word go. this is the weatherfront. going nowhere in a hurry. through sunday pretty great picture. still windy across scotland and northern ireland. 0utbreaks picture. still windy across scotland and northern ireland. outbreaks of rainfor and northern ireland. outbreaks of rain for much of the day. further south, largely dry and not very bright. but it will be mild. in fa ct, bright. but it will be mild. in fact, in some spots we could see temperatures as high as 14 or 15 degrees, which is slightly

freakishly warm for january. degrees, which is slightly freakishly warm forjanuary. here is monday. it will be heavy for a time as it tucks into england and wales and some cooler air pushing into scotla nd and some cooler air pushing into scotland and northern ireland. daytime highs are close to average, 7-8, but daytime highs are close to average, 7—8, but still dub —— double figures on monday. those higher temperatures usually come with rain, don't they? but also quite a lot of low cloud. very mild air that gets pulled up from the south. so not... it's not an early taste of spring, is it? it certainly isn't. thank you. now it's time for click. this week the team have gone to san francisco. ah, the streets of san francisco!

mecca for technology innovators and aficionados. a destination where the cult of geek reigns supreme. everyone's got that billion—dollar idea here and everyone wants to save the world. the ethos of nothing's impossible runs in the veins and twitter feeds of every twentysomething zuckerberg wannabe. now silicon valley is taking on life's biggest challenge, death. dave lee has been looking at how silicon valley is trying to help us all live longer. this will be my last mealfor 36 hours. like a growing number of people in silicon valley,

i'm about to try fasting, something some here believe could contribute to extending our lifespan. my advice to you, just sleep in really late so you don't have to deal with it! kristen brown is a biotechnology journalist. she tells me living longer is becoming something of an obsession for many techies. we tend to see people notjust thinking of their body as a machine but talking about it metaphorically as a machine. are they actually making any progress? it's growing so quickly right now, we understand so much more this year than we did last year even but the other thing about science is the more questions you answer, the more questions there are. 0ne incredible idea being tested here can be traced back to this man, paul bert. in the mid—1800s, he claimed if you took an old mouse and literally stitched it together with a young mouse, the young mouse would become more agile, have a better memory and heal more quickly once it had the young blood flowing through its veins. of course we can't start

stitching humans together, but there is a start—up that thinks it can do than expected thing. alkahest is a california based start—up that believes weekly injections of blood plasma from young people could fight the onest of alzheimer's. we treated these patients once a week for four weeks with one unit of plasma, and we found the treatment was safe and very importantly, although it was a short study to see learning and memory improvements, but it was good enough to see some near—term improvements. the team said it found those treated were more capable of basic daily tasks and more aware of their surroundings. encouraging but farfrom conclusive. bigger trials are happening soon. we're basically fertilising the brain so to speak with this protein cocktail.

to get some answers on whether or not fantastical ideas could actually work, i went to visit one of the world's foremost experts on ageing. one of the ideas we're looking at is fasting and how that can perhaps rejuvenate the body in some way. if that's true, what's the science behind that? fasting elicits a response in your body that triggers a protection against many of the diseases associated with age. so there's growing realisation that multiple forms of fasting might actually be beneficial in the long—term. one of them or perhaps outrageous ideas is that you can transfer young blood into an older person and that will rejuvenate and slow the ageing process, is that true? first let's talk about the science in mice. it is actually amazing work. the science is really strong. now, taking this and bringing it to humans is a completely different

story, so the idea for example that one would take human plasma or human plasma product and give it to humans to prevent ageing is, in my opinion, lunacy. finally, my 36 hours were up. i'm not sure it's worth it, the lows i had last night and this morning were awful and to do that regularly i think might lead to a longer life but it certainly wouldn't be a happier one. what could be really interesting, though, is if these companies can recreate the positive effects of fasting without the hard work of having to go without food for such a long period of time. but for now, i think i'm going to choose breakfast. now, we've been looking at various ways to try and extend human life, possibly indefinitely, but the researchers can't do it yet and so, until they can, there are those who are offering to put your life on pause. marc cieslak has been to arizona to meet the self—preservation society.

death and taxes, as the saying goes, are the two things none of us can avoid. what about if there was a workaround for death, some way of extending our physical existence on this planet? alcor was founded in 1972 in order to preserve people from the point of death, freeze them and then when technology is sufficiently advanced revive them in the future. a process it calls cryonics. this is an interesting infographic on the history of cryonics, which starts actually as far back as 1773, when benjamin franklin thought about the future of america and speculated that maybe he could be pickled in a vat of madeira with his best friends to see how the country came out. what goes on in this space here?

obviously this simulates a procedure you would normally perform when somebody dies? we're gonna cover them with ice. and at the same time, even though they've been called legally dead, we're gonna restart all kinds of things. we're gonna use a respirator to recover breathing, we will use this mechanical cpr device and the reason we're doing that is that we want to administer a series of different medications to protect the cells. so this is even though the patient themselves is dead at this point? right. it's very much like when you donate an organ, even though the person has been declared dead that doesn't mean all of the cells are suddenly dead. patients are effectively pumped full of antifreeze to protect their tissue from the freezing process which comes later. it costs up to $200,000 to preserve a full body and $60,000 if somebody just wants their head preserved. so this is our operating room. the patient will be put on this special operating table. it's basically designed to shape the patient for long—term storage. we don't want someone

at a very low temperature with their arm sticking out. it's very hard to fit into the capsule. this here as well, this is just for heads? so usually we'll begin on the operating table over there and then we do a neuro separation, a few vertebrae down, and then place the patient‘s cephalon, which is the brain plus the skull, upside down in the neuro ring. essentially the same process, we're going to remove the blood and fluids from the brain and cryo protect them against ice formation. why would people want their head separated from their body? i'm not going to come backjust as a head, i'm going to get a new body and my view is that, unless i die early in an accident, then maybe i'm 95, 100—years—old if i'm lucky, my body's going to be in lousy shape anyway and the whole thing will have to be regenerated. why go to the extra cost of storing my whole body, which is ten times the volume ofjust my head? the corridors here are lined with photos of people who are already frozen in alcor‘s storage facility. this is the patient care base, where we currently store all of our patients.

currently 152. these are all of your patients? yes, all of our patients here. actually about two thirds of them are neuro patients. that means they're just heads? yeah. so about half our living members are whole body. we actually have more neuro patients here. this can actually contain four whole body patients. alcor doesn't have any legal obligation to the people stored here as they've technically donated their bodies to science. what happens if you have a power cut, for instance? well, we don't need electricity for this. these are passive vessels, they're just gigantic, very expensive thermos flasks and you don't plug your thermos flask into electricity. we just use the liquid nitrogen, which boils off at —320, to maintain that temperature. alcor says it's a non—profit making organisation and that it has 1,150 people signed up for its services, including silicon valley billionaire peter thiel.

but what motivates ordinary people to shell out up to $200,000 for cryogenic preservation? back in the uk, derek watkinson has signed himself and his family up forjust that via a different outfit called the cryonics institute. i imagine being on my deathbed, dying, and then immediately waking up. if it's gonna work, i'm gonna wake up straightaway, ‘cause the passage of time won't mean anything, because i'm dead. so i'll wake up immediately and hopefully i'll be able to remember things. my memory will be intact, hopefully. who i am. your whole family is going to be preserved as well? yeah. luckily my wife and daughter are for the idea and they are signed up members of cryonics institute. but is this all too good to be true? we spoke to a neuroscientist who has serious misgivings about the basic foundations of cryonics.

you really can't afford to freeze biological tissue until it's been appropriately protected. but unless you take it down to those low temperatures for protection quite quickly, it will continue to decompose. and my problem with the cryonics dream, the wishful thinking contracts that are sold, is that they haven't resolved that conflict. there's no evidence that they can get the antifreeze into all those micro nooks and crannies into the brain and satisfactorily protect it. we put this to alcor, who provided a detailed response: so is this the ultimate insurance policy then? yeah, but i've not lost anything.

a bit of money. but what's a bit of money! ? that's it for the shortcut of click in san francisco. the full—length version is up on iplayer for you to watch right now and there's more from us on twitter @bbcclick and on facebook throughout the week. thanks very much for watching and we will see you soon. hello, this is breakfast with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. every active rape case in england and wales is to be reviewed because of recent failures to disclose evidence. the director of public prosecutions said cases yet to come to trial would be examined as a matter of urgency and admits some will have to be stopped. good morning.

it's saturday the 27th of january. also on the programme this morning: paris on high alert as record rainfall causes the river seine to burst its banks. the entire us gymnastics board resigns over its handling of the larry nassar sex abuse scandal. relief for 1,000 workers at aerospace firm bombardier,