and more could still be admitted, leaving rivals including britain frustrated. the uncertainty can be quite challenging, quite tricky. and i think both the ioc and obviously the court of arbitration for sport is involved now as well. and those decisions will be happening we think right up until possibly the starting point of the games. it is a bit of a mess, isn't it? it is certainly a confusing situation and one i do not think anybody in sport would want. and this is no time for distractions. after their success in sochi, led by lizzie yarnold's gold, team gb's target here is up to ten medals. so will it be a winter wonderland? they will be hoping the celebrations are onlyjust beginning. the opening ceremony takes place here on friday and amongst those attending is the sister of north korean leader kim jong. the good news for everyone attending on friday is that temperatures are forecast to rise over the next 48 hours. thanks, andy.

time for a look at the weather. here's sarah keith—lucas. well last night we got down to —10 degrees in parts of eastern scotland and it is another chilly day out there but a lot of sunshine on offer gci’oss there but a lot of sunshine on offer across many parts of the country. in fa ct we across many parts of the country. in fact we had some beautiful images coming in from our weather watchers. this in north wales where we had a lot of snowfall yesterday. but through the afternoon it will cold but there would be quite a bit of sunshine around. higher pressure is in charge before the next front comes in from the north—west. so the cloud has been pushing in across scotla nd cloud has been pushing in across scotland and northern ireland in particular. clearer skies more sunshine across england. and here we

keep the bright skies through the afternoon. further north west you can see that cloud working in and the breeze picking up for scotland and northern ireland with a bit of rain and hill snow around as well. taking a look in more detail at the weather this afternoon across scotla nd weather this afternoon across scotland and northern ireland, some snow falling over the hill. at low levels mostly rain, some sleet. some sunshine for much of northern england and down across the midlands introduced in wales and the south—west of england. just the chance of some wintry varies across parts of kent, norfolk. but these fade away so we keep the clear skies towards the south and east. but this evening and tonight cloud in the north west pushes slowly further south bringing some outbreaks of rain across parts of northern england in particular. in the south—east we will see the coldest conditions. thursday, the weather

dominated by this front which will sit across central parts of the country bringing some cloud and freezing vision. and also some rain. so some rain to come for parts of northern england and wales. and later in the day it could become quite heavy for a time. i decided that some drier weather but till some blustery showers in the north west of scotland. but things remaining unsettled and particularly windy as we look towards the end of the week. that's all from the bbc news at one — so it's goodbye from me — time for some sport on bbc news. hello, i'm hugh ferris. england's cricketers have lost their opening match of the t20 tri series after glenn maxwell survived a drop and another dramatic reprieve to take australia to

victory by five wickets. paul garrity reports. arm this term, australia have shown why they are the best at test cricket and england have led the way on 50 overs. dawid malan has been masterful with the bat to claim a half—ce ntu ry masterful with the bat to claim a half—century but as he triumphed, ashton agar had his say, two wickets to hold england's acceleration. england set a target of 156 to win. it was an explosive start to the innings, david willey with two wickets in the first over, the hosts in hobart on the back foot. 0 glenn maxwell. he was even more majestic than dawid malan, moving to a half—century in just 30 balls. than dawid malan, moving to a half—century injust 30 balls. he survived a couple of scares, dropped already before jason roy gave him

grounds to continue and how he capitalised. a one—man demolition squad, maxwell feeling his century and leading them to a four wicket victory. british sprinter nigel levine has been provisionally suspended for failing a drugs test. let's find out more on this from our reporter ade adedoyin who's alongside me. ade, what's he alleged to have done? late last year, it was recorded —— reported that nigel levine had tested for —— tested positive for an asthma drug that is on the banned list. you can athletics at the time wouldn't comment but they have said today that he has been suspended, supposedly showing that the b sample has come back positive as well. he has come back positive as well. he has the right to appeal showing how it came to be in his system, and he can take it to be court of

arbitration for sport. he has won gold medals at the european indoors and outdoors as part of the uk relay team. we have contacted him but he said he would rather not comment until this has played out. after being minutes away from their first ever victory over spurs, league two newport county will have another go tonight. they travel to wembley for their fa cup fourth round replay after being so close to the upset of this year's competition so far in the first match. padraig amond's goal was cancelled out by harry kane in the 82nd minute. we will walk out on that pitch at 7:45pm at 0—0 against 11 spurs players who, let's be honest, there are only a view that could come in to strengthen the team from the one who played us. do i think he will play a full strength team? no, because they were fantastic on sunday and they have a massive game on saturday morning against arsenal. i'm hoping it'll not be as strong as it can be and i'm hoping he makes a

few changes, because, let's be straight with that, they still should have enough to tide us over. jason and laura kenny will represent great britain for the first time since the olympics after being selected for the track cycling world champoinships in the netherlands. since increasing their gold medal haul to 10 between them in rio, the couple have got married and had a baby, albie, just over six months ago. jason also retired briefly before returning to competitive cycling last month. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc. c0. uk/sport and i'll have more for you in the next hour. thank you very much indeed. around 60 people are still missing in taiwan after a 6.4 magnitude quake struck the city of hualien. at least three people died and more than 200 others were injured. several

buildings have grumbled or are at risk of collapsing. from taiwan, our correspondence sent this report. taiwanese people are used to earthquakes but this one shocked many. it forced several buildings to new complete collapse. new cctv footage has emerged of the moment when the earthquake struck. this terrified woman escaped without injury. the quake shook many people out of bed. they scrambled to save those still inside. more than 100 people were rescued by residents, firefighters and soldiers. miraculously, an employee of the hotel was found alive after being trapped for 15 hours on a collapsed floor. but many remained unaccounted for more than 12 hours after the quake struck. some of them are feared to be tourists staying at a

backpackers hotel on the second floor of the building. it was crushed, along with four other lower floors. 0thers crushed, along with four other lower floors. others are believed to be residents who may not have been home at the time. more than a dozen quakes and after—shocks shook hualien after the initial shock, complicating rescue efforts. this one struck as an eyewitness spoke to the bbc. 0h one struck as an eyewitness spoke to the bbc. oh my god. this is an after—shock, i'm sorry. the bbc. oh my god. this is an after-shock, i'm sorry. my goodness. 0h after-shock, i'm sorry. my goodness. oh my god. so, we are told to go to the road and stay in the road. we are having a few after—shocks. this is the seventh of the hour. without knowing how many people might be trapped, residents urge the government to search for those who may be trapped. the money pledged may be trapped. the money pledged may be little comfort for taiwan, an island which sits on two tectonic plates and frequently suffers with

earthquakes. deepening worries is that the quake happened on the anniversary of the deadly earthquake which killed 117 people and exposed poor construction standards on the island, making many buildings there potentially unsafe. in a moment, a summary of the business news this hour but first — the headlines on bbc news. the high court has ruled that victims of the serial sex attacker john worboys can begin a legal challenge against his release from prison. tesco faces a possible bill of £4 billion as female store workers bring britain's largest ever equal pay claim — and we'll have more on this in business in a moment. jon venables — one of the killers of the toddlerjames bulger — is sentenced to 40 months in prison for downloading more than a thousand indecent images of children. in the business news, as you have

been hearing, tesco is facing britain's largest ever equal pay claim. it could cost the supermarket £4 billion. thousands of women who work on an hourly rate in stores are demanding parity with male colleagues who work in the company's warehouses. tesco says it works hard to ensure all staff are paid ‘fairly and equally‘. the government has promised an overhaul of employment rights to improve conditions for millions of workers, including those in the gig economy. the changes include stricter enforcement of holiday and sick pay rights, and higher fines for firms that breach contracts or mistreat staff. european stock markets have recovered ground after three days of frantic trading. london, paris and frankfurt are all up following asia and the us. markets across the globe have see—sawed on worries that interest rates could rise faster than expected. house prices have fallen for the second month in a row, according to the uk's largest

lender. the halifax said prices were down by 0.6% injanuary, following a 0.8% fall in december. however, year—on—year halifax said the cost of homes was still rising — byjust over 2%. britain's brexit—bound economy will grow faster than previously thought over the next two years, thanks mostly to strength in the global economy, that's according to the national institute of economic and social research. in november uk gdp — the total value of everything produced in the country was forecast — at 1.7% for the next 2 years. that has been increased to 1.9%. joining us now is vicky pryce, chief economist at the centre for economic and business research why are you expecting this increase? the global economy has been rising slightly faster than anyone forecast ina slightly faster than anyone forecast in a synchronised way. everyone has

spent upping their forecast slightly but i think the national institute is above the consensus which is between 1.7 and is above the consensus which is between1.7 and 1.8% is above the consensus which is between 1.7 and 1.8% growth for this year and next. in reality, what is .1 of 1%? it's a rounding up error which can happen at any point. the interesting thing about the national institute one is that they think the uncertainty over brexit have gone and met trade will be a significant contributor to great. we havejust been hearing from the chambers of commerce this morning that in fact this uncertainty is still here and anything in fact could intervene to suggest in the end that we will not get this kind of growth at all in 2018 or 2019. you mention the institute feeling various uncertainty over brexit that have slipped away, what kind of brexit are they assuming for this report? they are assuming a very soft brexit with practically full access to the eu market. but they are saying though is that if that isn't the

case and we go back to world trade 0rganisation rules, tariffs and allsorts of restrictions in terms of goods and services, then there will bea goods and services, then there will be a loss to every person in this land. they are assuming, in fact, that in the long term there will be a loss per head of about £2000, which is the equivalent to a very significant loss of gdp over the period. it's about a 2% loss, which is the equivalent to £6,000 per head, if i canjust is the equivalent to £6,000 per head, if i can just correct myself. putting brexit aside, the underlying headline in this report is that the grave prediction is not so much driven by uk growth but by global growth? absolutely, it is global growth? absolutely, it is global growth that is doing it. what we saw in 2015 and 2016, going into 2017, was that world growth was falling in certain sectors. there were questioned as to why that was. wars,

sanctions, some of the emerging markets in recession. that seems now to have changed and of course the result of years of monetary expansion and very substantial injection in the economy has led to that increase and very low interest rates have helped the economy generally all across the globe. what's going on right now of course is that if that gets reversed, and thatis is that if that gets reversed, and that is the worry that everyone has a head, is that we may see that slowdown in world trade growth. not immediately, but i think there is an issue and that's why the markets are very worried now that interest will go up, very worried now that interest will go up, inflation will go up and this monetary easing could be reversed with negative consequences. thank you very much for your time. the chief executive of the gambling commission is stepping down and she had some harsh words for the industry. sarah harrison highlighted issues such as sexism, inequality and lack of support for problem gamblers in a speech ahead of her departure. she called out the world's biggest gambling conference, ice totally gaming, which is being held in london, over some of the women

there being told to wear "nothing more than swimsuits." five million of the uk's most vulnerable households are facing an average rise of £57 a year in their energy bills, according to regulator 0fgem. savings under the safeguard tariff will be reduced from april because the cost of producing energy, including wholesale costs, is expected to rise in the spring. the asa ruled that this and eight other images breached its code of practice for advertisers. the regulator pointed out that the images were available on "ungated" websites and therefore viewable by anyone, including children. let's ta ke let's take a quick look at the markets which have recovered a bit today. yesterday's word was

correction, today's volatility. i returned to volatility, something the markets have not had since about 2015. i will be back with more throughout the day. theresa may has been challenged to explain if police chiefs are "crying wolf" over funding asjeremy corbyn claimed the public is "less safe." at prime minister's questions mrs may also faced questions about brexit and the government's negotiating position with the eu. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith, is at westminster. you listened and watched prime minister's questions. what did you make of it? in the olden days, ed miliband used to give us a nod and a wink as to what he would ask the prime minister about but you don't get any of that from tim corbyn so i was predicting he would go on the railways. wrong, he went on the police which is likely surprising as it is not a subject you would normally assume he would go on. however, he picked on the fact that police numbers have been cut by

something like 21,000, a cut in police budgets of nearly two billion and recorded crime had done up. how did he do? have a look. crime is of course wrong. the way you deal with it is by an effective probation service, community service orders, by rehabilitation of offenders. what she said goes to heart of the prime minister's record. she was home secretary for six years. crime is up, violent crime rising, police numbers down, and chief constables saying they no longer have the resources to keep communities safe. after seven years, seven years of cuts, will the prime minister today admits that her government's relentless cuts to police, probation services and social services have left us less safe? the social services have left us less safe ? the reality social services have left us less safe? the reality is you can't have

public safety on the cheap. safe? the reality is you can't have public safety on the cheaplj safe? the reality is you can't have public safety on the cheap. i did think, then, that this pmq ‘s might have been a first, they might have got through without any brexit questions, but then sir bill cash stood up and mentioned the dreaded word maastricht and then followed a spate of questions about the looming brexit negotiations. i don't think he got anywhere in particular but mrs may was asked whether she would stand up to eu ultimatums. this was her response. we will be robust in our arguments. as i've said right from the very beginning, we will hear noises off, we will hear all sorts of things being said, of positions being taken. what matters is the positions that we take in the negotiations as we sit down and negotiate the best deal. we've shown we can do that. we did it in december and we're going to do it again. so what do we make of all things to do with pmq ‘s? well, i am drained to discuss it. —— joined. mrs may again slammed the door of a customs

union but you believe it is really slammed shut? people like ken clarke are saying she is still talking about a customs arrangement. so if it closed? about a customs arrangement. so if it closed ? i about a customs arrangement. so if it closed? i don't think it is closed and importantly she made a solid commitment to the good friday agreement andl solid commitment to the good friday agreement and i think if we are going to see no hard border in northern ireland, there will have to be some arrangement over both customs and of course you talked about common travel area is, so an element of free movement, too. i think the door is left open and no doubt we will be wiser after the cabinet meetings on thursday. maybe. jess phillips, if the government is going to be pushed into accepting membership of the customs union, that requires tim corbyn to get on board. any sign of that happening any time soon? personally, i think we need to stay in the customs union. the labour party has been very clear that the very least in the transitional arrangements, the customs union is the best option. if

theresa may finally comes round and see sense that we have to stay in the customs union, the labour party would welcome that. leila, i had peter benn at the moment ago saying people don't care about the customs union. they want to end freedom of movement, stop sending money to brussels and control of our laws. and he is probably right, isn't he? i think they care most about their jobs and how this will affect them and theirfamily. if jobs and how this will affect them and their family. if we have a customs union that is prohibitive for business, that will not be good for business, that will not be good for people'sjobs for business, that will not be good for people's jobs and that realisation is suddenly coming round. that is why the liberal democrats have always pushed to stay in the single market as well.|j think vince cable scored the only real hit today when he challenged on us contracts for the nhs. is that a hit or a glancing blow? no, it isn't at all. we launched a report this

week, that he was focusing on this issue, because it's a real worry. the fact she wouldn't really —— rule it out was extraordinary talent, as was her body language and the way herand was her body language and the way her and philip hammond were glancing at each other. i was surprised she didn't really tout because it's so toxic for her. jess phillips, it's a paradox, isn't it. the nhs was used asa paradox, isn't it. the nhs was used as a way of saying, we can get you more money. now that might turn if the nhs is at risk —— at risk from brexit? i think the argument is already turning as people are trying to use nhs facilities in their local areas and struggling. it is now well regarded that the nhs promise was a lie. people will not tolerate the idea of american companies buying our nhs. for theresa may, it was the best blow and she has got to clear up very quickly, because it's easy

for us to say theresa may sells your nhs to donald trump.|j for us to say theresa may sells your nhs to donald trump. i don't think there is any prospect of a sale of there is any prospect of a sale of the nhs to american companies. that'sjust not going to happen. it's not our record in government and its absolutely clear that even under the arrangements that were proposed, there were arrangements to protect public services, so i think thatis protect public services, so i think that is a distraction. where there are issues around the nhs is around staffing and whether or not we can recruit eu nationals and i think thatis recruit eu nationals and i think that is far more of a threat than any american agreement. let me put this to you. is mrs may a bit politically tone deaf when it comes to the nhs? i have listened to have in response to the winter crisis and how language, i kind of sense she doesn't really getjust what how language, i kind of sense she doesn't really get just what an issueit doesn't really get just what an issue it is a british politics.|j think she does. that's why she appointed jeremy hunt and hopefully

we will be looking at the integration between the nhs and social care and that's where the resident and blockages are, if you like, about that seamless transfer of care in relation to social care from acute hospitals. it's a real commitment, it was an unpopular manifesto commitment about how it was dealt with, but the fact it was dealt with means she recognises the problem, she knows it is there and it's something we need to address beyond brexit. finishing up on that thought, jess, do you think there is much chance of anything happening on social care because let's be honest, we have been around the houses on this for so many years. we have been around the houses on this for so many yearslj we have been around the houses on this for so many years. i think there is political capital building because for our constituents it is becoming every week icn issue of social care, somebody having to pay extra for their families or differentiation between what their dad get them one bit of the country, what their mum gets in another bit, it is really starting to show on the

basis of my constituents and as it happens to matter to people, i hope it will start to matter here. politicians need to understand that we cannot have better social care unless there is more money and having that political conversation with the public about whether they might be having to pay for some of thatis might be having to pay for some of that is so difficult in a time when politics is literally on the edge in a hung parliament where nobody wants to give even an inch. we've got to just be honest about it. it needs to be paid for. i think there needs to be paid for. i think there needs to be cross—party working.|j be paid for. i think there needs to be cross-party working. i was going to say that. i know there is encouragement to work cross—party on this and doctor sarah wollaston has worked on this. norman lamb has been working on this as well, the cross—party basis working on this as well, the cross— party basis looking working on this as well, the cross—party basis looking at the long—term. it's time to stop using the nhs as a political football and all of our parties are guilty at time of elections of doing that. for

the good of the country, we need to put down the sword and start having a proper conversation. that is what people want at the end of the day. thank you. so not a knockout pmq ‘s. mrs may will be happy with that. she can save her energy for her brexit subcommittee which has just begun. you'd better get down there. lovely blue skies over westminster. what is the web doing elsewhere. lots of parts of the country are seeing beautiful blue skies out there today. it's another kolbe but it's not feeling too cold where you are seeing that sunshine, it is another cold day, but not feeling too cold where you see sunshine. this is a picture from wales earlier on today. a lot of snow there, ten centimetres on higher ground. today, less in the way of snow around but still feeling cold. wintry sunshine on offer, a little bit more hill snow moving into the far north—west

and that lower level, some rain as well. that is courtesy of this frontal system. higher pressure holding over most of the country. that is the view from space looking down at the cloud. you can see this line of ploughed across scotland and northern ireland but sunny skies for central parts of england, down towards the south—east and south and east in wales as well. the breeze is also picking up and there is rain and hill snow here, too. a few degrees less cold than they were yesterday, so in sunnier skies, it should feel pleasant. looking at this afternoon's detail, we zoom in to our localised map of scotland with snow over the hills, some rain and sleet around the coast and for northern ireland a mix of rain and snow over high ground as well. clear conditions, lots of sunshine right across much of england and wales. slightly cloudier skies with just one or two wintry flurries around the far east coast, several parts of norfolk and kent, for example. we

will keep clear skies in eastern parts through the course of tonight and for the north—west, this frontal system slips in bringing more cloud, strengthening breeze and more outbreaks of rain as well. less cold under the clouds, further south we could see minus five degrees. a widespread frost for part of the country. there's a's widespread frost for part of the country. there's as weather dominated by this front as it pushes through the country. rain for northern england and into wales to in the morning, either side of that, drier, brighter weather. those temperatures by tomorrow up to seven to9 temperatures by tomorrow up to seven to 9 degrees, so feeling significantly milder at least for a day or so, because by the end of the week we have still got strengthening winds to watch out for, further rain or snow over the hills and things will once again continue to feel pretty chilly. you can keep up—to—date with our latest forecast

on our updated weather website and the bbc web app. hello, you're watching afternoon live. iam simon i am simon mccoy. today at 2:00... the black cab rapistjohn worboys hears lawyers challenge the decision to free him from jail — some of his victims were in court and weren't expecting to see him there. one of the killers of the toddler james bulger admits having indecent images of children for a second time. jon venables has been sentenced to just over three years in jail. tesco could face a bill of £4 billion after britain's biggest ever equal pay claim. there are such discrepancies that you can't explain them, and i think tescos are just one of many companies that really aren't addressing the fact that women seem to still be paid less. 0ld blue eyes — new research suggests this is cheddar man, the first modern briton who lived 10,000 years ago. also coming up, we have all