this is bbc news. i'm carrie gracie. the headlines at 3: home secretary amber rudd is due to chair the government's second emergency meeting on events in salisbury as the investigation continues in to the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. in the last few minutes, two ambulances have been removed by military vehicles. mr skripal and his daughter yulia remain in a critical condition in hospital. no more changes to exams and a reduction in teachers‘ workload. the promise of the education secretary as he attempts to resolve the school recruitment crisis. president trump says a deal with north korea is "very much in the making" as he agrees to a meeting with kim jong—un. the 21—year—old nephew of the actress liz hurley is in hospital after being repeatedly stabbed in london. and in half an hour here on bbc news, does the answer for curing cancer lie in artificial intelligence? click investigates at 3:30.

good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. in the last few minutes we have received mobile phone footage of a military vehicle and personnel arriving at an ambulance station in arriving at an ambulance station in a suburb about half a mile south of salisbury. eyewitnesses say they are loading two ambulances which had been left outside, to remove them for investigation. meanwhile, the home secretary, amber rudd, is chairing a second meeting of the government's emergency committee, corporate, right now, as the investigation into the poisoning of

a former russian spy continues. specialist soldiers trained in chemical warfare have been sent to salisbury in wiltshire, where sergei and yulia skripal were exposed to a nerve agent. both remain in a serious condition in hospital. sarah corker reports. nearly 200 military personnel have been drafted in to help to recover and gather evidence in salisbury. some of the soldiers specially trained in chemical warfare. there has been a flurry of activity at the cemetery where sergei skripal‘s wife is buried. full protective suits and gas masks an unnerving sight here. a police car is among the vehicles that have been taken away by the army for decontamination. and we're learning more about the skripal family. this is the voice of irina petrova, a childhood friend of yulia skripal, who knew her family well. she talked to the bbc. translation: she always had the best grades at school in everything. she was perfect. that's why she so easily adjusted to britain, she speaks brilliant english. better than an english person. i can only say good things about yulia. she hasn't done anything

to deserve to die like this. i hope everything will be good with her. i will be praying and will be going to church. the former russian spy and his daughter remain critically ill in intensive care. detective sergeant nick bailey, one of the first on the scene on sunday, is in a serious but stable condition. this investigation is becoming part of daily life here in salisbury. sites around the city centre remained cordoned off as investigators try to piece together a timeline of events, the places that sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia, visited before they were found in this park on sunday, unresponsive. after her visit to the city yesterday, the home secretary, amber rudd, will chair an emergency cobra meeting later, the second in a week, to review the progress of the investigation. and major questions remain — where the chemical agent came from, who administered it and why? sarah corker, bbc news, in salisbury. let's speak to our political correspondent emma vardy, who's outside the cabinet office,

where that cobra meeting is taking place. any news? well, the home secretary, amber rudd, is chairing the meeting which we understood got under way just after three o'clock. we are expecting a statement from amber ruddin expecting a statement from amber rudd in the next hour or so, which may provide some new answers to the many ongoing questions surrounding this case. at the cobra meeting there will be updates given to government ministers from police, the intelligence services, but also from public health england the ministry of defence, that is on the work they're doing with the troops that have been deployed in this case. ben wallace, the security minister, speaking to the bbc this morning, described this as a very brazenly committed, nasty crime. he said there are range of responses that the uk can take to river ouse binders, but he stressed that

investigators must first gather the right sort of evidence to a tribute is claimed to somebody, which with g? of , 7 j with g? of uk , 7 j respend with. the. fell. fergggf kk if that is appropriate. resources if that is appropriate. russia has continued to deny any involvement but earlier this week, the foreign secretary, boris johnson, said a uk response to take the form of sanctions, suggesting that dignitaries may boycott the football world cup. we will be expecting to hear a statement from the home secretary, amber rudd, within the next hour or so and perhaps that may provide us with some new answers to the many questions that are continuing in this ongoing mystery. thanks very much. we will catch up on the progress of the cobra meeting later. on the line is dominic casciani, who's in harnham, south of salisbury. he gave us this update earlier on

the military presence. the question on everybody‘s leadsom salisbury is win the military? one joker on the market said they must be in some kind of stealth uniform because we cannot see them. we had this big presence at the hospital to remove that first police car last night. we have been told they will be removing other items, ambulances that are potentially contaminated as pa rt that are potentially contaminated as part of the incident, and other objects relevant to the investigation, perhaps the park bench buying me where the skripal please might —— skripals collapse last sunday. that is not surprising. ina lot last sunday. that is not surprising. in a lot of —— and an investigation like this, you have lots of public activity very early on, but quickly the investigation moves behind closed doors. officers use electronic tills to try to choose whoever was behind this. moving on to other news. the education secretary says he wants to resolve a recruitment crisis in england's schools by cutting the work load for teachers. this morning, damian hinds told a conference of head teachers that the government would "strip

away" pointless tasks so their staff can "focus on what actually matters". elaine dunkley reports. this is passmores academy in essex, and 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. the government keeps missing targets about recruitment into the profession. we have 4,000 less teachers than we need, and especially in the shortage subjects, key subjects in the curriculum, english, maths, science, all those sorts of things. the issue isn't just about recruiting new staff, but stopping existing teachers from leaving the profession. over the next five years in england, the pupil numbers are expected to increase, along with pressures and demands on teachers. jake rusby left the profession after three years. i would work 65, 70—hour weeks, with planning, marking, the assessments you're doing. the actual teaching part probably took up the least time of everything! so that was one major factor, but for me, i got out

of the education system thinking and feeling that the whole thing needed to be turned on its head. today, at a conference for headteachers, the government promised to address these issues. for the rest of this parliament, there will be no new additional statutory tests or assessments for primary schools. no further changes to the national curriculum, and no more reform of gcses and a—levels. stability in schools was the message. the government accepting it needed to work harder to relieve pressures in the classroom. elaine dunkley, bbc news. talks have been taking place in brussels between the european union and trade representatives from the united states about president trump's plans to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminium. the president has suggested allies might not be affected by the move. britain has said it will seek an exemption. our business correspondent joe lynam reports. the meeting between the us trade representative robert lighthizer and his eu counterpart cecilia malmstrom

had long been in the diary for saturday, but following the formal imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminium by the us this week, the meeting took on some urgency. the eu is not one of the biggest steel exporters to america, but it does not want its producers to pay a 25% tariff either. to complicate matters, britain is quitting the eu next year but cannot get an exemption to the tariffs until then. but its international trade minister, liam fox, travels to washington next week to seek exactly that. we will, of course, be looking to see how we can maximise the uk's case for exemption under these particular circumstances, but we will want, over the next few days, to look at them in great detail. if europe gets a carve out from the american tariffs they will join an ever—growing list of nations who will not be paying. the australian prime minister, malcolm turnbull, met donald trump on friday and removed his country from the list. canada and mexico have already been exempted. i was very pleased the president

was able to confirm that he would not have to impose tariffs on australian steel and aluminium, and of course, now the legal paperwork, the proclamation process under the executive order, will take its course to put that direction into effect, so that was a very good and productive discussion with the president. america's other key allies, including japan and south korea, will also want to be spared. in the end it might only be russia and china paying the us tariffs. that, though, might be enough to start a trade war between two of the world's biggest exporters. joe lynam, bbc news. a 15—year—old boy and three men in their early 20s are being questioned by police after a man was stabbed to death in broad daylight in oldham. the man in his 20s died in hospital after he was stabbed multiple times near a jeweller‘s on waterloo street just after 3 o'clock

yesterday afternoon. the teenager and the three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder. police have been doing extra patrols after appealing for witnesses. the nephew of the actress liz hurley has been stabbed repeatedly in a street in south london by a group of men. miles hurley, a 21—year—old model, was one of two men injured in the knife attack on thursday. he remains in hospital. police say his condition is not life—threatening. 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. 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 yont—ville. 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. the headlines on bbc news: specialist military personnel are examining a number of ambulances near salisbury — as the investigation continues in to the poisoning of a former russian spy and his wife. —— daughter. home secretary amber rudd is due to chair a meeting of the government‘s cobra committee. no more changes to an exams and a

reduction any teachers workload, the promises from the education secretary as he attempts to resolve the recruitment crisis. and president trump says a deal with north korea is very much in the making as he agrees to meeting kim jong—un. manchester united beat liverpool 2—1 in the lunchtime kick—off, marcus rashford scoring both goals. ireland could win the six nations today, they play scotla nd six nations today, they play scotland in dublin, the lead 14—3 at half—time, england play france later and must at least match ireland result. and great britain has its first medal at the winter paralympics, downhillsilver first medal at the winter paralympics, downhill silver on the opening day in pyeongchang. i will be back with an update in the next hour. president trump has posted a message on twitter saying a deal with north korea is very much

in the making and if completed, would be very good for the world. mr trump said the time and place of the deal were still to be determined. but his white house press secretary said the summit with kim jong—un would not happen unless washington saw concrete steps or actions by pyongyang. our correspondent robin brant is following the story for us from the south korean capital, seoul. he gave us his assessment of the mixed messages coming 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 a peace. so he is hugely optimistic — just about the meeting itself, let alone the prospect of some substantive agreement between the two men. so how will this be portrayed to citizens living inside the so—called secretive state? we can speak now tojihyun park, she escaped north korea twice. she now lives in the uk. thank you so much forjoining us. what do you think of the news of

this? it is my opinion that it's maybe two early to take his invitation as a promise given the history of north korea‘s international and diplomatic dialogues. it is worth emphasising that north korea‘s human rights issues should be fully and deeply acknowledged and discussions in order to resolve the crisis, last month president donald trump posted north korean refugees at the white house and heard terrible and awful stories in north korean human rights

soi stories in north korean human rights so i escaped north korea twice and i live in a free country but every night i have terrible dreams. my younger brother was disappeared. sometimes i was in the prison camp and tortured. but now 25 million people live in present in north korea under the dictatorship without the freedoms and happiness so i hope that president trump to really think what he can do to solve the north korean problems. please pay attention to 25 million people, we need north korean ‘s liberties and freedoms not dictatorships. so if i understand you correctly, you think it‘s a gift to kim jong—un to have the opportunity to share a stage

with an american president, but do you think it‘s possible that out of that meeting could come a deal which would make the world safer and disarm those north korean nuclear weapons, is that possible? kim jong—un will ever give up, that is key to so many issues, they have made nuclear weapons because the north korean people are brainwashed, we made nuclear weapons. now it‘s the same, he controls the people about this nuclear weapons so he will never give up nuclear weapons, he needs only top and because last

year president donald trump you made a lot of sanctions on north korea so at the moment north korea has financial problems so he needs only top and a deal but he will never give up nuclear weapons. you are basically saying that unlike his grandfather and unlike his father, he now has functioning nuclear weapons and saw that gives him bill etheridge to extract this concession from the world superpower the united states and that he is going to win from this summit, but the world and the american president is going to come away, what, empty—handed? inside the north korean people they don‘t know what has happened outside of the country at the moment. so because inside north korea no electoral systems and no newspapers,

so they have not heard about outside news and cannot read the newspaper. but north korea publish fake news. they say america is in meltdown and they talk about kim jong—un or north korea is the strong country. thank you so much forjoining us, we have to move on but it was fascinating to talk to you. thank you. let‘s return to the investigation into the poisoning of the former spy and his daughter. earlier we should you pictures of a military vehicle and personnel arriving at an ambulance station outside salisbury. let‘s talk to our correspondent because she is right there at the ambulance station, what is happening? in the last hour or so

yea rs happening? in the last hour or so years been a flurry of activity, we are about ten minutes away from the city centre and just behind me you can probably see there is a military vehicle getting ready to move one of the ambulances, they are thought to have transported victims to hospital on sunday and we know of course the military have been drafted in to help recover evidence and some of those soldiers we have seen are specially trained in chemical warfare. we saw them last night moving some cars. today the activity of the army has been focused here, you might be able to see in the background there are men in full protective suits and gas masks. i have counted at least 20 soldiers but we know 180 soldiers have been employed to help of this investigation and the world‘s media have come to this area of salisbury

to see exactly what is happening. a lot of activity behind me. what we think might happen is there is an ambulance covered in shooting at the moment and it looks like it will be loaded onto that military vehicle. talking to people who have been watching this unfold, they are telling me they are expecting multiple trips over the next hour to get these vehicles out. still any critical condition in hospital parts of central salisbury still cordoned off. the other activity we are seeing is the cemetery where sergei skripal‘s wife is buried, we have seen barriers, screens have been put up. also at the restaurant in the city centre, still a police guard. we will come back to you later, thank you for bringing us the latest

on those extraordinary scenes from the suburbs of a provincial british time. the cathedral of notre dame in paris attracts around 13 million visitors every year — and is one of paris‘s leading landmarks. 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... outside on the roof above the back of the cathedral, this is the part of notre dame that visitors do not get to see — fallen chunks of stoneware, a flying buttress held together with metal staples. this jewel of gothic architecture is becoming unstable. i 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 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 stones 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. on this very roof, after all, once cavorted the hunchback of disney fame — oh, yes, and the book. it is a jewel at the worldwide levels, so not begging,

but asking for help is the best thing to do, because it is not a french monument, 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. more of us tomorrow will see broken cloud and sunshine, better and brighter picture, here is how it

looks going through the ceiling and tonight, we have still got rain and hill snow in scotland edging its way, many of us will turn drier into tonight, temperatures dipping away where sky is clear, more so southern scotland, northern ireland and northern england, fog patches, wales, midlands and east anglia into tomorrow morning so poor visibility. into tomorrow it‘s the northern and western isles seen rain, much of scotland, northern ireland and northern england will have broken cloud, sunny spells and a fine day. rest of england and wales will have some showers from time to time, could be quite heavy with the freshening south—easterly wind. today we have had quite a range of temperatures, tomorrow a bit closer together. milder day in scotland, a bit cooler than further south you are.