we have to telljockeys they must be realistic about what they are trying to achieve. we offer up individually devised diet and nutrition programmes and exercise programmes based upon the research, as opposed to the jockeys adopting these culturally driven methods which obviously would not be the best for your health. extreme dieting can cause serious long—term physical and even mental health problems in the industry says it wants these and the industry says it wants these practices to become a thing of the past. so this programme aims to educate riders in having a healthy diet combined with fat burning exercises. ap mccoy says he regrets not having access to this research earlier in his career. maybe i could have been so much better if i'd had the access to something like this in the early part of my career. it could have made me better, could have made me last longer. it could have made me a much better jockey. dieticians are now routinely at racetracks and advice on healthy weight making is given at racing schools.

paul is now happy and healthy and riding 100 winners a year. time to check out the weather. spell of disruptive snow elsewhere earlier in the week. weather is not acquired this weekend. not overly warmed by the present of a lot of sunshine. that's the theme for the rest of the day. not overly warm but many seem almost unbroken sunshine. the eastern side of scotla nd unbroken sunshine. the eastern side of scotland and north—eastern england, temperatures one, two, three up the eastern shores. five, six, seven a little further to the west. tonight were bringing cloud from the north sea and in that cloud will be some wintry showers. mainly light at stage there will be a cold start to the new day on monday and feeling much colder right across the british isles compared to the

weekend. there's wintry showers a lwa ys weekend. there's wintry showers always there to be had across the eastern side of the british isles. temperatures much lower than the weekend for many locations especially through central and western parts. as we get on into the week the snow will become disruptive and it will turn bitterly cold. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. syrian warplanes are reported to have attacked the besieged rebel area of eastern ghouta despite the un security council voting unanimously for a ceasefire. labour's brexit secretary says the party would keep the uk in a customs union with the eu after brexit. russian athletes are told they won't be allowed to march under the country's flag during this morning's closing ceremony at the winter olympics. one of bollywood's most famous

actresses, sridevi kapoor — who starred in more than 150 films — has died suddenly at the age of 5a. now on bbc news. damming the nile. the river nile is the world's longest river. it's where the world's first war over water could be fought. the first of its two great tributaries, the white nile, flows from lake victoria, but ourjourney begins in ethiopia, following the blue nile from lake tana as it sweeps through africa's grand canyon to where a dam is being built close to the sudan border. lake tana, the source of the river,

is a place of myth and legend. it's the biggest lake in ethiopia and many of its 37 islands have their own monasteries. it's a very sacred place for ethiopian orthodox christians. this monastery dates back to the 14th century. some of these paintings are more than 400 years old. the nile appears in the old testament and legend has it that the ark of the covenant was briefly brought here. but all is not calm on these waters. the struggle for control of this great river is dividing the three countries that share it. the nile is the bringer of life, and from where it launches itself

downstream it has the power to bring peace or bring war. this is where the blue nile begins its long journey. from here up in the ethiopian highlands it will cut through caverns and canyons, across plains through sudan and egypt and into the delta of the mediterranean sea. around 85% of that water comes from here and that is why a vast new dam being built in ethiopia is dividing nations. this is the grand ethiopian renaissance dam and it is driving ethiopia's ambitious plans for industrial revolution, to put its growing population to work to power the region and to tame the river, but it's also at the heart of a row that has sucked in sudan and egypt and threatens peace in this part of africa. when it's finished, this will be

the largest hydroelectric power station in africa and one of the biggest dams on the continent. it will not only power this country but the surroundings countries as well. ethiopia didn't even ask the countries downstream before it started building. that is the scale of this country's ambition. after just five years of work, it's almost two thirds complete. this project is a project that is being built by ethiopians and that will benefit other african brothers, sisters and other countries. the project manager says it is costing at least $4.5 billion and that is probably an underestimate. he insists that downstream countries shouldn't worry as it is not consuming any water. this is a hydroelectric project. it is a non—water—consuming scheme project that is only dedicated to generate electricity.

this shows how the government of ethiopia, how the people of the nations, are committed themselves to eradicate our common enemy — poverty. the construction works are impressive. this second dam sweeps across a 5km valley, joining two mountains to create the edge of a vast reservoir. all this and a lot more will be flooded. once finished and filled, it will cover more than 1,800 square kilometres, larger than the size of greater london. it will flood the blue nile for nearly 250km upstream. if it is filled too fast, it will reduce the amount of water that flows to sudan and egypt. thousands of people have already been moved to make way for the lake. the power lines are ready and waiting for the electricity the dam will provide. 70% of ethiopia — that's 70 million people —

don't have electricity. it is holding back the country's grand plans for development and it is why people support a project they are paying for. translation: if we had electricity, we would be able to get what the village needs. for instance, the villagers here make a living by farming. if we had electricity, we would be able to create jobs on our own, including metal and woodwork. as well as that, we would also be able to own tvs, a fridge and so many other things. modernisation is already changing life in the capital, addis ababa. this is east africa's first metro system. the amount of construction going on speaks volumes. ethiopia wants to pull its people out of poverty, to create jobs and get

over its historic image of drought and famine. it's africa's fastest—growing economy right now, but with a population set to double in 30 years, it needs to grow even fasterjust to keep up, hence the need for cheap renewable energy. but the cost of government ambition is human rights, freedom of speech and democracy. protests across the country are being crushed. to the government, development is everything. it is one of the most important flagship projects for ethiopia. it is a project that will transform the country, it's very important. there is money to spend and the minister says that people will pay for the dam through a lottery, contributions and taxes. he insists that despite its fears, egypt will get more rather than less water.

it's not about control of the flow, it's really about providing opportunities for us to develop our service. it has a lot of benefit for the downstream countries. construction on the dam is going on around the clock, such is the urgency to get this built and generate power, but because ethiopia didn't consult with egypt or sudan before starting construction work during the arab spring, talks between the three countries keep collapsing. a new political order is emerging and egypt doesn't like it. i've spoken to senior people in ethiopia who have said that they are afraid of a war with egypt over water. that they might bomb this dam. that's the level of anger. what do you think about that? i don't think so. these kind of extreme ideas are not welcome. this will not happen in this region, i am sure. there is no record in history of war

erupting because of water. the water belongs to all of us. we have to develop it in responsible ways, not thinking about war. but whatever he says, the blue nile can now be controlled by ethiopia and that is a big concern for egypt when so much of the water that reaches cairo comes from here. sudan, however its next stop, likes the look of the cheap electricity heading its way. the waters of the nile bring life to sudan. one of the world's biggest irrigation schemes was created here more than a century ago to grow cotton for britain's industrial revolution, but now it is the gulf states who need what sudan can grow. the blue nile heads north through these vast irrigated lands

to join the white nile before meandering through a desert steeped in ancient history. we are following it to ask if a row over who controls its flow could lead to war. it's here in khartoum that the blue nile and the white nile meet and merge and then head north to egypt. the river has travelled about a third of the way from its source to the sea and is growing and strengthening in size. so what does sudan, this vast country now emerging from years of us sanctions, think about ethiopia building this dam upstream? well, it thinks it's a great idea. land is not in short supply and with the power of the sun and the waters of the nile, sudan's agricultural potential is huge. this is alfalfa, top—quality cattle feed, and this farm can cut nine

harvests a year for cows, but primarily for export to the middle east. sudan has the right to take billions of gallons of water every year through old treaties with egypt, but claims it hasn't been using its full allocation. the suggestion it now might is a source of tension with its northern neighbour. this farm is owned by a massive private company that does everything from agriculture to mining, from cars to earth—movers to health care. its owner is sudan's richest man, who designed his own golf course in khartoum. for sudan, it is wonderful. it is the best thing that has happened for a long time and i think the combination of energy and regular water levels is a great blessing. cheap electricity can be used for a lot more than just keeping your cows properly air—conditioned.

it can bring faster development to sudan, which isjust emerging from decades of crippling us sanctions and wants to take advantage of the opportunities. what do you think about the row between ethiopia and egypt about this dam? the nile is the lifeline of egypt so for them, i wouldn't say they're paranoid, but they are very concerned about anything to do with that water. and the nile is a lifeline to sudan as well. welcome to the first—ever festival of music and culture in this village. this village is about half a day's drive north of khartoum. it was abandoned 20 years ago,

the mud houses left without roofs as the villagers moved away from the river banks to avoid catastrophic flooding. this woman remembers two huge floods from when she was a child. her father was mayor. this was their house. translation: it's an image from my life i will never forget. when the 1976 flood hit, it was during the date harvest, so people used boats to collect the harvest. it has lasted three weeks. the whole village left, but now a dam upstream regulates the flow of water so it doesn't flow as high, meaning they can hold festivals here and people can move back to this village, especially if there is cheap electricity on the way. it's a time of change in khartoum.

with the lifting of sanctions, there is a strong cafe culture where issues of the day are discussed. most people here are in favour of the dam. our experience shows that it is a blessing to downstream countries, especially if the intention is power generation. do you think there is politics between the changing fortunes of the three countries? water in general is becoming politicised not only in this region but elsewhere, but i think there will always be a political case involving the three countries, i think it will work out. he's diplomatic, but this

is far from resolved. talks between the three countries have collapsed and tensions across the whole region are growing as a result of it. the rivalries go back to the time of the pyramids — the sudanese pyramids. this isjebel barkal and these are more than 2,000 years old. for a short time, the nubian kush empire ruled egypt from here. this was their capital. powers rise and fall but all are linked by one great river. this is egypt, the next stop on our trip and what a way to see it.

we are flying in a hot air balloon over luxor. the sun isjust coming up, it's a stunning way to see this country. the reason we're here is to understand and get an explanation of why it is egypt is so opposed to this dam that ethiopia is building way up the nile. even though egypt built the dam for its own development, it is angry with ethiopia's plan. from luxor, we will follow the river to cairo and onto the delta,

the heart of the country's agriculture, where water is everything. the pharaohs used to worship the river as a god. egypt, they said, was the gift of the nile. civilisations flourished here on the banks of the river. these temples represent thousands of years of wealth and power. they are part of egypt's proud national identity. you don't take something so set in stone and damming the nile upstream and threatening your lifeline. the ancient egyptians considered the nile as lifeblood. it was life itself. why? because they used the nile for everything. the nile was alive and still is alive for egyptian people in egypt. and decades ago, egypt decided the best way to protect its interests was to build a dam. work on the aswan high dam began

in 1960 and took ten years. it created the giant lake nasser, nearly three times bigger than the new ethiopian reservoir will be. it regulated the flooding of the nile, generated power and a agricultural lands to be indicated. tens of tens of thousands of people were forced from their homes and an ancient egyptian temple had to be moved brick by brick, but it was a symbol of great pride — a nationalist project projecting power for revolutionary post—colonial egypt. it has been good for this man, who at 60 has been a fisherman on the nile for a0 years, like his father and grandfather before him. translation: our life and livelihood depends on the nile. we as a family lived by the river.

we fished, we grow crops on the islands in the nile. our cattle are fed from the nile. all our food is from the nile. he has heard about the dam in the egyptian media. ethiopia wants to control the nile and its flow will be affected, but he's sceptical. the water would be affected, but only god knows what could happen. if they dam the river, there will be wars and fighting. and there are even bigger concerns downstream in chaotic cairo. egypt relies on the nile for almost all its water but the population is growing fast. the united nations is warning there will be water shortages by 2025 because of wastage and pollution. but the government argues it is already recycling water,

using it efficiently and importing wheat rather than using water to grow it. egypt's water minister says one big threat is climate change. it is unilateral action in upstream countries, it will have severe impacts downstream and this is a coordinated one. how angry are you? i am extremely angry because we are responsible for our nation which is 100 million. one of the key things i would mention to you, if the water coming to egypt is used by 2%, what does this mean? we lose about 200,000 acres of land. one acre at least. if one acre makes one family survive, the average family in egypt is five persons,

so it means1 million will be jobless. he says that means more migrants heading to europe and more people to be recruited by terror groups. europe and egypt are suffering from what is happening in syria and libya and other countries, so what if egypt is added to these countries? what will happen? it is an international security issue. experts say egypt has the right to be angry. a dam was being discussed but ethiopia started building without telling egyptjudging the arab spring. the impact downstream has not been properly assessed and although the great ethiopian renaissance dam won't extract water, filling it to quickly will reduce the flow downstream and it is a trust issue. ethiopia can now control the river. it is very much a game changer. now if ethiopia is combining the physical power of being upstream country that can in one way or another control the nile flow and the economic power of being able

to construct the dam depending on its own domestic resources, so yeah, it's an indication, it is a manifestation that the power balance is changing in the region, economically, politically and strategically as well. the last stretch of the nile is where its famous cotton is grown alongside crops like rice, a notoriously thirsty crop. irrigating fields by flooding them is one reason why so much water is wasted. the delta is silting as the dam stops being replenished, the reason the nile flood plains were so productive to begin with. it is now polluted and fish are dying and people are getting poorer. saltwater is moving gradually upstream. it is sad to see how this

great river ends up. this is it, this is where the river nile reaches the end of its long journey. this behind me is the mediterranean sea. you can see the waves coming in, this is now saltwater. whatever egypt says or does, ethiopia is building this dam. it's not an idea or a plan, it's a thing. you can already control the flow of the river nile. egypt has was been strong enough to dominate the countries upstream but that is changing. talk of war is a foolish thing to do to solve political prices and every one we have spoken to, nobody thinks that is going to happen, but this is a really serious problem and needs to be sorted out quickly. the nile is the place were the world's first war over water can be avoided. this could even become a model of how countries can learn to share great rivers. but for now, it's up to ethiopia, sudan and egypt to navigate tensions on the world's longest river.

good morning to you. gloriously sunny outside your windy, i don't throughout, just at the moment. this was the scene captured by one of our weather watchers who were out for a bit of a stroll. bracing fair to say the very least. we are beginning to pick up on this cold theme that we have been advertising for several days now. notice how we have got different colours of blue there.

indicative of different levels of cold that are just waiting in the wings. we have been slowly working the temperatures down over the past two or three days or so. and that process continues this afternoon. out west europe closer to four, five, six, seven. maybe an eight somewhere in the mix. sunshine to go around except the north—east of england and eastern side of scotland. this evening and overnight more cloud in north sea and in the midst of all that there will be some snow showers falling into a pretty cold atmosphere. once they've fallen to pretty cold ground there they will lie. the thing about monday, when you step for the commute. it will feel much colder right across and there will be snow showers in the mix. something we have not seen this weekend but you better get used to it. these that is will be light and largely but not exclusively a feature of central and eastern parts of the british isles. see how we are bleeding those temperatures down

again. zero, two, three, four. other than seven, eight, nine. that process continues apace and it gets even colder. we bring into that mix. that is not just even colder. we bring into that mix. that is notjust our shower that is significant snowfall, lying snow into the first part of tuesday's uses its way towards the south and west. leading behind it a real carpet of snow. several centimetres ona carpet of snow. several centimetres on a really cold day. just about put the wind factor into those temperatures. look at that. “11 and minus five. that sounds pretty cold that is but the pair are viewed to a really cold period in the of the week. lots by zabar ‘s birth and pa rt week. lots by zabar ‘s birth and part of the additional problem is that moisture circulating around this area of low pressure will eventually, in the second half of the week, work its way towards the british isles and that cold atmosphere. some of you will see shower after shower. and it will feel bitterly cold. at the end of the week, the persistent snow may

come at us from the south. that could cause some real problems. this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 11am: a shift of policy on europe by labour. shadow brexit secretary confirms the party would keep britain ina confirms the party would keep britain in a customs union. we have long championed being in a customs union with the eu and the benefits of that, obviously it is the only way realistically to get tariff free access. it is really important for our manufacturing base. and nobody can answer the question how to keep a commitment to a no hard border in northern ireland without a customs union. syrian warplanes are have attacked the area of eastern ghouta despite the un council voting for a ceasefire. russian athletes are told

they will not be allowed to march under the country's flag during this morning was mike ceremony at the winter olympics.