this is bbc news, the headlines at 12. home secretary amber rudd will chair a second emergency meeting of the government's cobra committee later as the investigation continues into the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. specialist troops have been deployed to salisbury, a police car is being examined, and the grave of sergei skripal‘s wife has been cordoned off. he and his daughter yulia remain in a critical condition in hospital "a deal with north korea is very much in the making" — the words of president trump on twitter, as he agrees to a meeting with leader kim jong—un. the 21—year—old nephew of the actress liz hurley is in hospital after being stabbed repeatedly. and a british medal on day one of the winter paralympics. millie knight and guide brett wild take downhill silver in pyeongchang. this time last year, i sustained quite a severe concussion on this slope where i crashed into the finish line. and to now cross the line today as paralympic silver

medallists is amazing. and in half an hour here on bbc news, does the answer for curing cancer lie in artificial intelligence? click investigates at 12:30. and how did the teams behind the new blade runner film create the world of the future? good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the home secretary will chair a second meeting of the government's emergency cobra committee today, as investigations continue into the poisoning of a former russian spy. sergei skripal and his daughter yulia are both in a serious condition in hospital in salisbury after being exposed to a nerve agent. specialist troops trained in chemical warfare have been deployed to the city, as andy moore reports. driven away by the army last night,

a police car possibly contaminated by traces of nerve agent. it had been parked outside salisbury hospital. during the day, military personnel in protective gear had made it ready for transportation. this cemetery is another focus of the investigation. sergei skripal‘s wife is buried here, and there's also a memorial stone for his son. alexander's birthday was last week. yulia had flown in from russia to visit her father. did they both come here to pay their respects before they fell ill? we're told yulia is responding better than her father to medical treatment, but they are both seriously ill. detective sergeant nick bailey, who was also exposed to the nerve agent, is said to be making good progress. from the people of salisbury, there's some understandable anxiety, but no sign of widespread fear. we're concerned about public safety.

we've got two young sons who often come into the centre, so, you know, we want it to be safe here. if there have been no further cases that we have been told about — and i presume we would have been told about — then we can only trust the government and trust the local authorities that they are handling the case. i don't feel worried, i feel very safe in salisbury. i assume that everybody has got it under control. i just hope they get to the bottom of it so we can actually find out exactly what's been happening. on tuesday, the defence secretary was just one of several senior ministers to attend the first meeting of cobra dealing with this attack. this afternoon, there will be a second meeting. senior counterterror police officers will give an update on the progress of their investigation. but very little information is being shared with the public. andy moore, bbc news. well, a close friend of yulia skripal has been speaking to the bbc. irina petrova, who went to school and grew up with ms srkipal, described how she dealt with her

father being arrested in russia. translation: she never shared her problems, never. we found out about her father when they showed him on all the tv channels, everyone was shocked. i can only say good things about yulia, because i know her from the best side. she hasn't done anything to deserve to die like this. i hope everything will be ok. i will go to church and pray. well, our correspondent sarah corker spent the morning salisbury, and she gave me details about the interview with yulia skripal alp‘s close friend. yes, we are now learning a bit more about yulia skripal, described by her friend there as a talented girl, a straight a student, speaks fluent english, and her friends said that she knew that her father worked in the foreign ministry, but there was a lot of shock when they found out about his work as a spy, a suspected double agent. we heard that she moved

back to moscow to be with her long—term boyfriend in 2015, after living in the uk for a number of years. as for what is going on here in salisbury today, we saw yesterday soldiers moving into the city to help gather evidence, and it is fair to say it has been pretty quiet this morning, still a police presence, the cordon is still up, and we expect the focus of activity today could be on ambulances that took victims to hospital, we could see those being moved by the army. we had the local mp, who also happens to be a treasury minister, putting out a facebook message, trying to reassure people. what has been the mood in the city? pretty shocking image, people in hazmat suits wandering around your local streets. yes, and the government has sought to reassure people, to say, yes, it may be slightly unnerving,

but there is no wider threat to public health. i think it is fair to say that this investigation, going on for the last six days or so, has now become part of daily life for people in salisbury. they are trying to go on with their daily business, i can see people just walking up and down, gazing at the police cordon, carrying on. they are trying to get back to normal if they can. but the authorities have been pretty tight—lipped about the progress of this investigation. we know that this afternoon, at 3pm, the home secretary, amber rudd, is expected to chair an emergency cobra meeting, an emergency briefing with top security and intelligence officials, civil servants and ministers. they will be looking at any potential new information, new evidence. we don't know at this stage, though, whether they will made any public comment after that meeting. but there are still major questions — where and when was this substance,

this chemical agent, administered? who administered it, and why? finally, the latest on the condition of the three people in hospital? yeah, well, we have heard that sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia, are still in a serious condition in intensive care at salisbury district hospital. detective sergeant nick bailey, one of the first on the scene on sunday, he is serious but stable in hospital. so we will keep bringing you those updates on their conditions, and also any activity, any military that we see in salisbury as the day goes on. president trump has posted a message on twitter saying a deal §§e’e‘§f%fi3§ffifi1§$5$§fiffl§§i‘£g_

from the trump administration. first, we had that startling revelation that the president was ready to accept the meeting with kim jong—un with no conditions, with no preparatory talks that we know of. and then sarah sanders, the press secretary, said there was the need for concrete steps, and it looked like they were rowing back. also some reporting from the wall streetjournal in washington overnight saying the white house is clear the meeting will happen, there are no preconditions. it will happen before the end of may. we don't know where or when, but it is on. in terms of the reaction in seoul to any possibility that perhaps things were being toned down, perhaps it might not happen,

we haven't heard anything today, but looking to the words of president moonjae—in yesterday, the south korean leader who has managed to engineer the meeting, he was frankly euphoric and described the prospect of kimjong—un and donald trump sitting down opposite each other as a miracle. he described the meeting, even before it has happened, even before we know when and where it will happen, he described it as a milestone on the road to realising peace. so he is hugely optimisticjust about the meeting itself, let alone the prospect of some substantive agreement between the two men. we've always thought of china as being the key player in terms of the prospect of getting north korea to change tack. the chinese state media today saying that they had played a role, and it's all down to both whether there is denuclearisation and the americans stop military action with the south koreans. is any of that seriously on the table, do you think? i think the chinese role

in getting to where we are now, there is no doubt their willingness after much reticence to finally ensure those un sanctions were properly enforced and restricting severely the flow of coal and also particularly oil to north korea in the last few months, there is no doubt that has put even more pressure on north korea and its economy, and there is a widespread feeling that may be one of the things that has brought the north koreans to the table. one problem i think i have with the chinese claim is what is known as their suspension for suspension strategy has brought about this meeting, is we are told kim jong—un is willing to accept that south korea, the united states, and the military exercises they have planned for the coming months, is that he has said that can go ahead. so that is not

suspension for suspension. these events are the most incendiary in the eyes of the north koreans, presumably. they fear a us—led south korean invasion of the north, so they don't like to see these military exercises, so the chinese say suspension for suspension has worked, but apparently kim jong—un has accepted there will not be a suspension of the next due military exercise. i find that a little confusing. teachers in england could see their workloads cut, under proposals being set out today by the education secretary, damian hinds. he's been telling a headteachers‘ conference in birmingham that he wants to end what he calls "pointless tasks" so teachers can "focus on what really matters". it comes after research shows head teachers have increased spending on supply teachers. here's more from our education correspondent elaine dunkely. this is passmores academy in essex. like so many schools, it's struggling to recruit teachers.

classrooms around the country are now relying on agency supply teachers to cover permanent vacancies. we employ supply staff within our school, a long—term supply, so they get to know the students. but when we have to use short—term supply, they don't know the systems or the students. the trust that often comes when you build up a relationship isn't there. it is quite erosive of standards, potentially. in a survey by the association of school and college leaders, 71% of head teachers who responded said they had had to increase the amount they spend on agency supply teachers over the past three years. nearly one fifth spent 6—io% of their budget on supply teachers. according to the most recent government figures, schools are spending £835 million per year on supply agencies. the issue isn'tjust recruitment, but stopping existing teachers leaving. for me, it was a multitude of factors. i found the workload

and the job itself consuming. i would work 65 or 70—hour weeks. with planning, marking, the assessments you're doing. the actual teaching part probably took up the least time of everything! today, the government will announce a strategy drive to improve teachers‘ workloads, which includes no changes to the national curriculum for gcses and a—levels, and no new tests for primary schools — measures which the government says will attract new teachers and stop experienced ones leaving. elaine dunkley, bbc news. the nephew of the actress liz hurley has been stabbed in a street in south london by a group of men. miles hurley, who's a 21—year—old model, was attacked in nine elms on thursday night liz hurley has described the incident as a "brutal attack". she said it was an "appalling" time for the family and has thanked fans for their support. an 85—year—old man has died while waiting in an a&e unit because of "dangerous overcrowding" according to a hospital boss. the man suffered a cardiac arrest

while waiting to see a senior consultant at northampton general hospital. a leaked email from the trust's medical director describes his death as "due entirely to dangerous overcrowding in the department". in a statement, the hospital said the long wait for treatment was unacceptable. the row over america's gun laws has resurfaced after the state of florida signed new gun control measures into law. it raised the age limit for buying a gun from 18 to 21, following the school shooting at parkland, in which 17 students and staff were killed. but the lobby group the national rifle association has mounted a legal challenge, saying the new law goes against the constitutional right to bear arms. our washington correspondent chris buckler reports. standing side by side with the families of some of those killed inside a school, florida's governor signed new laws, legislation designed to try to prevent such shootings

by restricting access to guns. the common—sense things as a father, as a grandfather, as a governor, is we need to have law enforcement in our schools, we need to harden our schools. we need more mental health counselling, we need to make sure people that are going to do harm... think about it — we know these people are talking. the legislation is named after the marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland. last month, 17 people, both staff and students, were shot dead here, as others fled from classrooms in search of safety. former pupil nikolas cruz is accused of carrying out the killings with an assault rifle he had bought when he was just 18. the new law raises the age at which somebody can buy a firearm in florida from 18 to 21 and imposes a three—day waiting period for all sales. it allows some staff to be armed, subject to training and school

district approval, but it doesn't ban the type of semiautomatic weapons that were used in the parkland shooting. in florida, grief has been coupled with anger, and the pupils who lost friends and teachers have led a campaign for tighter laws. chanting: what do we want? gun control! when do we want it? now! notjust in this state but across america. there are some signs that president trump is listening, but many americans believe in their right to bear arms, and the gun lobby has huge political sway in the us. we are done with your agenda to undermine voters' will and individual liberty in america. alongside their adverts arguing that their members' voices are not being heard, the national rifle association is now bringing legal action to try to overturn the new legislation in florida. the nra claims that raising the age at which someone can buy a gun breaches both the second and 14th amendments of the us constitution.

it's an argument that may end up being fought out in florida's courts, but it's only one part of a wider debate, and before the end of the month students will march in washington to demand new countrywide restrictions on gun sales. the campaigners say they no longer want just sympathy — they want change. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. let's take a look at the headlines on bbc news, and home secretary amber rudd will chair a second emergency meeting of the cobra committee later as the investigation continues into the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. a deal with north korea very much in the making, the words of president trump on twitter this morning after he agrees to a meeting with kim jong—un. and as we have been hearing, the 21—year—old nephew of actress liz hurley is in hospital after he was repeatedly stabbed on a street in london. syrian government forces

are stepping up their offensive in the rebel held enclave of eastern ghouta. reports suggest forces loyal to president assad have now managed cut off the towns of douma and harasta, effectively splitting the enclave into two areas. continued bombardments from land and air were reported overnight. around 400,000 people remain trapped in ghouta despite un efforts to implement a ceasefire. the european union has held talks to find out if it will be subject to new tariffs imposed by the united states on imported steel and aluminium. senior trade officials from the two sides, as well as representatives from japan, met in brussels earlier. president trump has indicated that us allies might not be affected, and britain has said it will seek an exemption. our business correspondent, joe lynam, explained that this wasn't the first time the us has taken action on other countries. well, let me give you an example, the democrats imposed a safeguard

tariff on tyres under president obama. it saved a fewjobs, supposedly, something like 11100 jobs, but the cost perjob saved was $900,000, because consumers ended up paying for the extra costs. it is like putting your hand on one side of the balloon, pushing it out on the other. if you look at the long—term employment trends of us steel workers over the last 20—30 years, the curve is going down, and very little will stop that, especially with increased robotics, increased automation. it is very difficult to force a that the curve will go back up again. so this process looks to me like a political play, he wants to get re—elected in those rust belt states, pennsylvania, ohio, michigan et cetera, and as a result he will look as if he's acted and done something, even though, in effect, it could spark a trade war, a global trade warfrom

which consumers will end up paying. and it won't save that manyjobs. business correspondentjoe lynam there. an eight—hour siege at a military veterans‘ home in northern california has ended with four people being found dead. police said the bodies of three women and a man, believed to be the 36—year—old gunman, were discovered in a room in the complex at yountville. tim allman reports. in the sprawling hills of the napa valley, a stand—off that ultimately ended in tragedy. holed away in a single room in this veterans‘ home, a man armed with a rifle and three women being held hostage. for hour after hour, police officers, investigators from the fbi and specialised hostage negotiators all tried in vain to talk to the suspect and convince him to let the women go free. but there was to be no peaceful resolution

to this story, the siege ending in the saddest way imaginable. i come before the public with some tragic news. shortly before 6pm this evening, law enforcement personnel made entry into the room where we felt the hostages were being held by the suspect, and unfortunately made the discovery of three deceased females and one deceased male suspect. it is believed that suspect had until recently been a resident at the home, the biggest of its kind in the united states, which provides mental health services for veterans. he was reportedly a 36—year—old former soldier who had been suffering from post—traumatic stress. his hostages were thought to be a clinical worker, a psychiatrist, and an executive director at the centre. an investigation is under way as to how and why this tragedy happened, and how a veteran was driven to kill the people who were trying to help him. tim allman, bbc news. a former us drug company executive who became known as the most hated

man in america for inflating the price of a life—saving medicine has been sentenced to seven years in prison. martin shkreli was convicted last year of defrauding investors in two hedge funds he ran. in 2015, he increased the price of the anti—parasitic drug daraprim, used to treat aids patients, by 5,000%. the cathedral of notre dame in paris attracts around 13 million visitors every year, more than any other paris landmark. but for how much longer? parts of the 850—year—old gothic masterpiece are starting to crumble, because of pollution eating away at the stone. hugh schofield reports from paris. because actually the pinnacle has fallen down is outside on the roof above the back of the cathedral,

this is the part of notre dame that visitors do not get to see,, golden, fallen chunks of stoneware, a flying boat is held together with metal sta ples. boat is held together with metal staples. this jewel of gothic architecture is becoming unstable. staples. this jewel of gothic architecture is becoming unstablelj think if there is no repairs, the risk is that the stone begins to fall down, and the risk is also that the structure itself of the walls, of the nave, of the cathedral, for instance, will be in danger. part of the cathedral could fall, and this isa the cathedral could fall, and this is a big risk, yes. you get a real sense of the dilapidation of notre dame cathedral when you come here, a private garden just behind the cathedral, off limits to the public, and this section is what they call the cemetery. these pieces are all bits of gothic masonry which are in such bad repair they simply fell off. examples of stone that have

been recently damaged... the problem is pollution, combined with cold and rain, together eating into the limestone, eventually it crumbles away. the only solution is to replace the masonry block by block, but that is a massive job, and the french state can‘t afford it. that is why the cathedral has launched an international plea for private funds aimed principally at the us. this very roof, after all, once carried the hunchback of disney claim — oh, yes, and the book. if you look at the worldwide levels, not begging, but asking for help is the best thing to do, because it is not a french moneymen, it is not a paris monument, it is a worldwide monument. time, the elements and the petrol engine have exacted a heavy toll on notre dame cathedral. today

the imaginative genius of its medieval craftsmen is being eroded into annihilation. without urgent help, much more will be lost. hugh schofield, bbc news, paris. looks likely to cause camera out on a gloomy looks likely to cause camera out on day looks likely to cause camera out on a gloomy day there! louise lear is at the map. hello, some rain around this saturday, but you will have noticed the difference in the feel of the weather, and i‘ll come onto that in just a moment. but if we take a look at the weather watchers picture from hull earlier on this morning, you can see some nuisance rain, poor visibility, that is the story further north, but behind the weather fronts, milderair pushing in, and that will spill further north into scotland as we go through the day. the weather fronts will bring rain, one moving through northern ireland into scotland, another bringing showery outbreaks from the south west later on this afternoon. in fact, if we take a look at the last few hours of the radar, you can see that the rain is heading through northern england, northern ireland, stretching up into scotland.

sleet and snow to higher ground, we are not too concerned about that, showery outbreaks of rain following on behind. for the six nations matches taking place this afternoon, there will be rain for the ireland—scotland game, but england play in france, where it looks like it will be 16 degrees and largely dry. for the remainder of the afternoon, unsettled, but feeling reasonably pleasant with southerly winds. light sleet across higher ground, primarily rain into scotland as milder air creeps in, wet with 10 degrees into northern ireland this afternoon, heavy rain perhaps into the lake district. and behind it, showery outbreaks of rain for england and wales. if we get sunny spells coming through, temperatures will respond, 13—15 degrees, not bad when you think about where we were this time last week. the rain will continue to drift steadily northwards, sitting in the northern isles by the end of the night, like southerly breeze, temperatures in the low single figures, a chilly start, and with all that moisture around,

and a light breeze in central and eastern england, some fog forming, so a murky old start to mothering sunday, but eventually that fog will lift, and a good deal of dry weather in the story, particularly for the north of the country. for wales, central and southern england, a scattering of showers, possibly heavy and thundery into the afternoon. if you dodge the showers, well, top temperatures are likely to sit at 9—12 degrees. enjoy your sunday, take care. this is bbc news. our latest headlines... home secretary amber rudd will chair a second meeting of the government‘s emergency cobra committee this afternoon as the investigation in to the attempted murder of the ex—russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter yulia continues. specialist troops are in the city today to help with decontamination and assisting the police. "a deal with north korea is very much in the making" — the words of president trump on twitter as he agrees to a meeting

with leader kimjong un. but his spokeswoman says the summit won‘t happen unless washington sees concrete actions by pyongyang. and the nephew of the actress liz hurley is recovering after being repeatedly stabbed in an attack in central london. now for a round—up of all the day‘s sports, including good news from the paralympics, ourfirst sports, including good news from the paralympics, our first medal, sports, including good news from the paralympics, ourfirst medal, here is mike bushell. that is where we start. millie knight said it was "the best feeling in the world" after winning great britain‘s first medal at the winter paralympics in pyeongchang. she took silver in the visually impaired downhill, with her guide, brett wild. only a year ago, knight thought she may not make the games when she crashed just after winning the world championship title. it's absolutely fantastic. this time last year i sustained quite a severe concussion on this slope, where i crashed into the finish line. to now cross the line today as paralympic silver medallists is amazing.

the paralympicsgb curling team have won their opening match — against the world champions, norway. it all came down to the final stone of the eighth end, with norwegian skip needing a perfect shot to pull it back, but it finished 5—2 to great britain. the six nations championship could be decided today — if results go their way, ireland will take the title. they‘re the only side that can do the grand slam, and if they beat scotland, and take a bonus point, england must do the same in france to take the championship to the final weekend. we just need to make sure that we play from the first minute, and that we don‘t let any distractions or little things or even a drop in the warm—up, or the bus breaking down, or anything leftfield like that, that that doesn‘t catch us, this game is all about experience, getting together and using it. they‘re up against a scotland team full of confidence after beating england. the scots are third in the table, and victory for them would mean a whole new set of permutations. if we are serious about

challenging for the title, we need to win this game. clearly, ireland are unbeaten and going well, a very good side, so it is going to be a huge test for us.