this is bbc news. the headlines at 2.00 — brendan cox, the widower of the murdered mp, jo cox, resigns from two organisations set up in her memory after claims of sexual misconduct in the past. the family ofjo cox have pledged to support him. the education secretary says university tuition fees should reflect the economic benefit graduates will have to the country, ahead of a wide—ranging review of higher education funding in england. a plane with 66 people aboard crashes in iran. it's not clear whether there are any survivors. president trump criticises the fbi for missing warning signals about wednesday's school shooting, describing it as unacceptable. benjamin netanyahu benjamin neta nyahu has benjamin netanyahu has described iran as the greatest threat to the world, not just to iran as the greatest threat to the world, notjust to israel. you can ta ke world, notjust to israel. you can take back with you a message to the tyra nts take back with you a message to the tyrants of terror and —— tehran. do

not test israel's resolve. also, emma watson donates £1 million to a new fund aimed at making uk workplaces safe for women. ahead of tonight's baftas, the actorjoined 200 female british and irish stars in signing a letter calling for an end to sexual harassment in all industries. and at 2.30, preeti shenoy will be with us for talking books. good afternoon, and welcome to bbc news. save the children says the widower of the murdered labour mp, jo cox, resigned from a senior role at the charity in 2015 before an inquiry into a complaint of inappropriate behaviour was completed. brendan cox this morning stepped down from two organisations set up in his wife's memory after admitting

he had behaved inappropriately three years ago. but he rejects a separate allegation he assaulted a woman at harvard university in 2015. charlotte gallagher reports. the murder ofjo cox by a far right extremist stunned the nation. the labour mp and mother of two was shot and stabbed in the week before the eu referendum in 2016. in the months after her death, her widower, brendan cox, vowed to campaign in his wife's memory, and set up the jo cox foundation and more in common. now, following allegations of inappropriate behaviour against women, he has stood down from both charities. he was accused of harassing a female colleague at save the children, and assaulting a woman during a trip to harvard university in 2015. late last night, brendan cox apologised for his actions. "while i do not accept the allegations contained in the 2015 complaint to the police in cambridge, massachusetts, i do

acknowledge and understand that during my time at save the children i made mistakes and behaved in a way that caused some women hurt and offence." the labour mp jess phillips, who was friends withjo cox, said he was right to stand down. i'm not defending his actions, i am trying to think about this person who i know and my friend who isn't here, and make sure that there is a change in the future. i don't defend any of this behaviour. a spokesperson for thejo cox foundation said staff admired mr cox's contribution and dedication to the charity. today, jo cox's sister said the family would support brendan cox as he endeavoured to do the right thing. charlotte gallagher, bbc news. the education secretary says university students should pay different amounts to study different courses. damian hinds suggested that subsidies could be provided to fund

more expensive degree courses, such as science and engineering. it comes as the prime minister prepares to outline details of a wide ranging review into higher education funding. but labour say another review isn't going to solve basic funding problems. tom barton reports. what's this worth? that's the question facing ministers as they try to address concerns over the cost of university, both to students and taxpayers. a review launching tomorrow to look at how degrees are funded and whether it's right that expensive science and engineering courses cost students the same as cheaper arts and humanities degrees. when the system was brought in, it wasn't anticipated that so many universities, so many courses, would all have the same fee for their course. there hasn't been as much variety that has come into the system as we would have expected

and wanted, so i think it is right to ask questions about that and see what can be done to stimulate that diversity and variety. the review comes as mps from the commons treasury committee say interest rates as high as 6.1% on student loans are questionable. with many undergraduate in england accumulating £5,000 in interest whilst still studying, and leaving university with average debts of £50,000. many are seeing today's announcement as a response to labour's success with younger voters at last year's general election, after promising to end fees and reintroduce maintenance grants. we've had three announcements and reviews in the last 12 months and eight years of the conservatives that have damaged higher education and totally decimated our further education infrastructure, so another review really isn't going to solve the problem of the hike in interest rates which this government has done. tuition fees remain a divisive

subject, something ministers hope this review will help address. president trump has criticised the fbi for missing warning signals about wednesday's school shooting, describing it as unacceptable. in a tweet, he said the fbi's failure to stop the gunman, nikolas cruz, were because it was spending too much time investigating allegations of russian interference in the presidential election. he said the fbi needed to get back to basics. thousands of people in florida, including survivors of the shooting, have taken part in a rally to demand tighter gun controls in the united states. the event took place outside the court building in the city of fort lauderdale, a short distance from the school where cruz killed 17 people. laura westbrook reports. chanting: no more! outside the federal courthouse in fort lauderdale, this

was the message to lawmakers. among the protesters was emma gonzales, who took cover on the floor of her school's auditorium as a gunman started shooting. she had this to say to donald trump. if the president wants to come up to me and tell me to my face that it was a terrible tragedy and how it should never have happened, and maintain telling us how nothing is going to be done about it, i'm going to happily ask him how much money he received from the national rifle association. cheering and applause what she's referring to is the millions of dollars the nra has given towards the trump campaign. on a visit to the hospital where the victims of the attack are being treated, the president once again made no mention of guns or gun control. instead, he says the problem is mental illness. just a few kilometres south of where the protest is being held, a gun show is taking place. in the us, there is as many guns in circulation as there are people. the nra is the most powerful lobbying organisation

in the united states. they have successfully resisted every move to tighten gun controls and for their supporters, it is a fundamental freedom. when somebody infringes a right for persons in this country to keep and bear arms, then it's an infringement upon our rights as a violation of our civil liberties, now we have a bigger problem. we will be spending our times at funerals! but after yet another school shooting, anger among the younger generation is rising. anger comes to mind for the fact that all of this happened, but overall i cannot be angry at law enforcement, they did theirjob. i cannot be angry at the school, they did theirjob. this kid was expelled, he was put through the system, and then he came back in with a gun and killed people. that was out of their power. all they could have done was make sure that somebody like that could not get a gun. i am feeling in shock, it is like i am dreaming. last night i was discouraged

when people started going on about the trump investigation, which is important, but so are children's' lives. in fact, students across the country are planning a mass walk—out of schools in april — the anniversary of the columbine high school massacre. they are demanding adults listen to them and tighten gun control. laura westbrook, bbc news. 66 people are feared dead after a passenger plane crashed in iran. the flight, which took off from the capital, tehran, came down in the zagros mountains, in the south—west of the country, on its way to the city of yasuj. it was operated by aseman airlines. would talk to the respondent amir paivar. they are currently unable to

reach the crash site jitter weather conditions. following the lead of a mobile phone signal, this will help them to pinpoint the gps coordinates of the crash site. so that's it speed up the process. but it will be quite a few hours between the crash and getting there. but there will be concerns about how they will cope in those conditions. stakis following now, it is very cold, and it will be a big shock for any survivor to actually survive the cold and the dark. —— dark is falling. 30 teams are trying to reach the area from every accessible route. this was a routine domestic flight. what is the record of internal flights in routine domestic flight. what is the record of internalflights in iran? as you probably know, iran has a

history of such aircraft is because ofa history of such aircraft is because of a long history of international sanctions, iran has not been able to purchase new planes. that has changed since two years ago because of the nuclear deal, and now iran has had its sanctions lifted and can purchase planes. it is putin orders for 200 new planes, but only 11 have so for 200 new planes, but only 11 have so far been delivered because big banks do not work with iran. although the country is ready to pay, no bank wants to help with the transaction. and i assume even when it happens, though. be a lag in terms of replacing the existing aircraft. in terms of getting information, do we know anything more about the flight? it is a routine flight, a regular one, a popular route? it is a popular

route, and we have received video footage of a very close landing of that area where a passenger taking mobile phone footage thought the plane was too close to the manson. so it is a routine flight, a difficult location where the plane was about to pass through and land. but this particular plane has a history of technical faults and was recommissioned recently after being granted for seven years. thank you, amir paivar, we will get some more softening us the story progresses. nearly 200 british stars of film, tv and stage have signed an open letter calling for an end to sexual harassment at work, ahead of tonight's bafta awards in london. emma thompson, keira knightley and emma watson are among the names listed in the letter, published in the observer. the stars are expected to wear black for tonight's bafta, in a show of solidarity with the hollywood movement time's up. the headlines on bbc news —

brendan cox, the widower of the murdered mp, jo cox, has resigned from two organisations set up in her memory after claims of sexual misconduct in the past. jo cox's family have pledged to support him. the education secretary says university tuition fees should reflect the economic benefit graduates will have to the country, ahead of a review of higher education funding in england. 66 people are feared dead after a passenger plane crashed in iran. it is still not clear whether there are any sui’vivoi’s. a committee of mps has warned that a hard brexit could mean higherfood prices for consumers. a report by the commons environment, food and rural affairs committee also said failure to get a free—trade deal with the eu could be devastating for farmers. our business correspondent joe lynam reports. the peace and bucolic splendour of uk farmlands could be dramatically upset if britain fails to get a comprehensive free—trade deal post brexit. a key group of mps says consumers

might also end up paying more forfood if the uk reverts to world trade organization rules. the environment, food and rural affairs committee of mps says a so—called hard brexit would have a devastating effect on rural communities. that's because 60% of uk food exports go to the eu and they could face much higher tariffs. the committee also said that britain should not dilute its own high food standards in order to sign new global trade deals, such as one with the us. we go into a sort of wto situation where there's tariffs on imported food that will actually drive food prices up. now, for some commodities, that will actually suit farming, but perhaps not the consumer if they have to pay more for theirfood. but the government has sought to soothe those concerns. it said that leaving the eu gave the uk a golden opportunity to secure ambitious free—trade deals while supporting our farmers and producers.

it said it would not compromise on the uk's high environmental or welfare standards. joe lynam, bbc news. benjamin netanyahu benjamin neta nyahu has benjamin netanyahu has called iran the biggest threat the world faces. israel shot down an iranian stealth drone that entered its airspace from syria, and then bombed the iranians vehicle control in the drone. during his speech in munich, benjamin netanyahu his speech in munich, benjamin neta nyahu warned iran his speech in munich, benjamin netanyahu warned iran not to test israel, while holding what appeared to bea israel, while holding what appeared to be a piece of the drone. here is a piece of that living in drone, what's left of it after we shot down. i brought it here so you can see it for yourself. do you

recognise this? you should, it's yours, mr zarif. you can take back with you a message to the tyrants of tehran, do not test israel's resolve. he was referring to mr amir paivar in the audience, iran's foreign minister. he said that benjamin netanyahu foreign minister. he said that benjamin neta nyahu was foreign minister. he said that benjamin netanyahu was time to undermine the trade deal between the two countries. here is what he has to say. i can assure you that if iran's interests are not secured, we will respond seriously, and i believe it would be a response that people would be sorry for taking the actions they did. we will not be the first ones to violate an agreement for which all others tried in spite

of netanyahu's accents. we achieved in spite of him, we lamented in spite of him, and the —— we will work to maintain that in spite of his delusional attempts. with me as oui’ his delusional attempts. with me as our middle east analyst, allan johnston. this must have been an awkward moment, but a powerful example that benjamin netanyahu was offering. he was at the border recently, i think, offering. he was at the border recently, ithink, with offering. he was at the border recently, i think, with syria to look at the fighting. rbc and upping the temple, or is this just rhetoric? —— upping of the tempo. bit of drama, mr netanyahu holding up bit of drama, mr netanyahu holding up that wound drone, two men who put across their message was branded that again today. they have diametrically opposed views, and blame each other‘s camps for all the

problems of the middle east. but they did not say anything particularly new. but what is new is the ratcheting up of the tension on the ratcheting up of the tension on the ground. as a result of that affair with the drone. 0n the ground. as a result of that affair with the drone. on saturday morning last weekend, for a few hours, we wondered if we were watching the beginning of a really serious escalation, maybe even a war between israel and iran in syria. something that would have been extraordinarily serious, and would have drawn in the united states very quickly. spreading far beyond syria. so the atmosphere in which these 29 trade their allegations is very much more heated and tense. —— in which these two men. we need to watch it very carefully. how great is the fear among the people you talk to among the people you talk to military circles that we could

accidentally stumble into some serious conflict involving israel and iran as a result of the mess in syria? the big picture is that the mess in syria is evolving, the ball is moving into another phase, the islamic state group has been largely defeated, and the syrian government has largely defeated its rebel opponents. the syrian government has been a winner, but iran has been a winner, too. it has very much militarily supported the syrian government, and that means that iran is now in a position to entrench itself more in syria militarily, and another race, and entrench its allies, the likes of the his brother organisation from lebanon. and the iranians rivals on the far side of the middle east far beyond the gulf, they are now feeling that they are

in israel's backyard. there is every danger that fear can be some sort of event that spirals and escalates very quickly indeed. benjamin netanyahu very quickly indeed. benjamin neta nyahu is a very quickly indeed. benjamin netanyahu is a master of political theatre, as we saw there was the debris flourished a lot. i wonder how we got that through the security of the conference. in terms of his own security, how much of this is about the problems he is facing at home? because police are recommending he should be indicted for corruption charges. he has major problems domestic work, no question, as you say, police recommended he be indicted, but it may be many months before the attorney general acts on that. i think the chances very much are that mr netanyahu is going to continue. and i think we can set

that aside to a degree. there are real tensions in that is really, iranians relationship. —— is iranian relationship. and they are working to stop the israelis wanting how attacks in recent years on targets in syria, and the downing of the israeli jets last weekend is perhaps a signal to the iranians that he needs to operate with more caution. morgan tsvangirai has been given a state paid for funeral in zimbabwe.

it has been suggested that he should be given the status of national hero. church spires are going to be used to help people in rural areas get better access to mobile networks, broadband and wifi services. a deal between the government and the church of england aims to make it easier to put communication masts in spires and towers, as james waterhouse explains. a church spire can often be the highest point of a village, and given that the church of england has more than 16,000 buildings of different kinds, government ministers are hoping these will give the perfect infrastructure to help more parts of the uk get better signal. they say this deal will make it easier for vicars and bishops to get this technology installed, and there's cash to be made. the rental is typically between £5,000 and £10,000, which can be equivalent or more to a normal income for a church for a year. now, conservationists may not like the idea of a mobile phone mast being bolted onto their local church. however, the government argues in many cases

the technology can be hidden within the spire. they'll be rolled out over the next five years, and both parties will be hoping this signals better mobile phone coverage and internet for more parts of the uk. james waterhouse, bbc news. 60 years ago, thousands of british servicepeople were sent to the south pacific. a new study of their dna will prove if there is a connection to genetic defects. it was so bright, you could see the bones in your hand. just saw another sun hanging in the sky. the south

pacific at the height of the cold war. the british military testing a nuclear bomb. i was a test veteran. bob was 2a and in the forces when he was one of the world's most powerful weapons detonate. we have no protective clothing. shorts, flip—flops. most of my children, grandchildren, have suffered in some way, a high rate of illnesses, some of them very frightening. three generations of the fleming family believe they suffered because of bob's exposer to radiation. 21 other members in ourfamily, bob's exposer to radiation. 21 other members in our family, and 16 of us have health problems. muscular skeletal health problems, breathing problems, tumour problems, kidney stone problems. and they have spent decades searching for answers. it

was back in 2012 when britain's nuclear test veterans took their case to the supreme court and lost. the court said they would face great difficulty proving a link between their illnesses and taking part in their illnesses and taking part in the test. but now, here at brunel university london, they are carrying out scientific research to see if the veteran's dna was irreparably damaged. a scientist told me that blood samples would be taken from 100 veterans and their families. we are sampling a group of veterans that we know were present at the nuclear tests back in the 1950s and 19605, nuclear tests back in the 1950s and 1960s, and we are comparing samples of their blood with a control sample of their blood with a control sample of vetera ns, of their blood with a control sample of veterans, who we know were not present at nuclear test sites. the scientists will work closely with better than charities. they are the forgotten generation of people who saw these very powerful weapons

explode in their faces, and it is almost like they have been wiped from the history books. the ministry of defence says it is grateful to the servicemen, but says the previous studystudies of the vetera ns previous studystudies of the veterans proved no link with ill health. the flemingto take part in this dna study, and are waiting to hear if they have been selected. we wa nt to ta ke hear if they have been selected. we want to take recognition, this is what we are fighting for. so, 60 yea rs what we are fighting for. so, 60 years on, nuclear families are still living in the aftermath of these bomb tests. a new swedish fitness craze has reached british shores. "plogging", or picking up litter while jogging, is gaining momentum in the uk. greg dawson explains.

in many ways, it looks like any other weekend fitness routine. you'll need a pair of these. a warm—up will help — it is february. ‘s but don't forget to pick up one of these. and maybe this will come in handy too. plogging, or plucking and jogging, first gained popularity in sweden but it's quickly caught on around the world, from the beaches of australia to the pavements of india, and here in the parks of south—east london. ilike running. i like doing stuff in the community. i like finding places that i didn't know existed — like, i didn't know this park was here, even though i live in the area, i've never been here before — so i think it does two things. it helps me to get fit and helps me to find out more about where i live and that, i enjoy. ivo gormley is the founder of good gym which runs plogging sessions and other community activities across the uk. we have been getting hundreds

of new people signing up. every time you go for a run, you're likely to pass by somewhere where there is some fly tipping going on. you're not likely to pass by the house of someone who is isolated and lonely. every time you are running through your community, there are things that need doing and actually, you can combine that with your exercise. this is about far more than just running, though. as we know, a lot of our litter ends up in the waterways which means that the ploggers end up in waders. and it's notjust helping the environment but also potentially the public purse. clearing litter costs local authorities more than £700 million a year in england alone. this local—level volunteering coincides with a growing momentum nationally to cut waste. the scottish parliament announced plans to ban plastic straws. and the royal family has even backed efforts to reduce single—use plastic on britain's royal estates. does it ever frustrate you when you're litter picking, you see the state of some of the parks and some of the waterways? i suppose it is a bit

frustrating, but especially because this is my local park — i live just around the corner — but it is good that so many people are willing to give up their saturday mornings to clean up parks and rivers and... to get involved. get involved in the community. with that sense of making a small difference to a bigger problem, plogging offers much more thanjust a strenuous work—out. greg dawson, bbc news, south—east london. your teacher might have told you to reach for the stars. but now, a scottish entrepreneur aims to launch a satellite before 2020. he is part ofa a satellite before 2020. he is part of a push within scotland for innovation in the space industry in the uk. even a small asteroid could be worth £2 billion. asteroids are tremendously valuable

strategic resources, i started on the asteroid mining corporation when i was 20 years old and university because i realised there were no space mining companies in the united kingdom. you have to know what you're mining before you can mine it, selecting traditional mining companies, you start by prospecting, then you look to the extraction phase. we begin by launching a satellite in 2020. that'll be a space telescope which will go into a law that and scan asteroids to determine the composition of these objects. with that data, we can then determine which asteroids will be candidates for mining. in ourfield of view, the struggle where about 5000 asteroids at the